Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Few Major Brands of Kellogg Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Few Major Brands of Kellogg Company - Essay Example The case study is based on the analysis of marketing mix for Kellogg Company. The marketing mix is an essential business tool used by organizations to determine a product or brand offer. It is normally associated with price, product, placement, and promotion of any organization. These elements help marketers to create the market strategies and positioning of the company. The first element, product, helps a company to understand that how their offering meets the changing needs of customers. The price charged by any company is an important element to assess the sales of the products and place denotes the availability of the product. The last element, promotion, is very important to understand various ways of the positioning of the product (Borden, 1964). Marketing mix of Kellogg Company will help them to plan their marketing strategies and resource allocation (Vignali, 2001). Product: The products of Kelloggââ¬â¢s can be classified as convenience products. Convenience products are those which are purchased by consumers without much consideration. Most of them are low priced, easily available and frequently parched products (Vignali, 2001). Developing new product is extremely risky and expensive procedure for any business. To develop a new product, the company needs to assess the rapidly changing market and they need to predict the changing needs of customers (Annacchino, 2003). The Kellogg Company is very successful in developing any new product since its inception. Their first established product in the market was cornflakes and it helped them to attain the highest market share in the cereal market. Consumers generally purchase their product easily as the company holds a reputation for providing good quality products. Their existing products are very popular and generate a huge profit for the company. This financial gain helps them to invest in the de velopment of new products and sell them at low price as the cost is covered by the profit.
Monday, October 28, 2019
Jesse Owens â⬠A Legend Essay Example for Free
Jesse Owens ââ¬â A Legend Essay The legendary Track and Field athlete, known to the world as Jesse Owens, was born James Cleveland Owens on September 12, 1913. Itââ¬â¢s claimed that the nine-year-oldââ¬â¢s accent made it difficult for his schoolteacher in Ohio to understand Owens when he gave his name as ââ¬Å"JC. â⬠Instead the teacher wrote his name down as ââ¬Å"Jesseâ⬠(Gentry, 1990, p. 34). Jesseââ¬â¢s first brush with running was to be in the hills of Alabama, his home state. At the time though, Jesse was a sickly child given to frequent attacks of Pneumonia and other medical issues including the appearance of boils. His training for the track and field events only began when he entered Fairmont Junior High School where he was noticed by Charles Riley, an Irishman who was quick to take into account Jesseââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"potentialâ⬠despite his lack of a strong physique. Riley, took the time to coach Jesse before school began each day so that Jesse would be free after school to do the part time jobs heââ¬â¢d taken up to contribute towards his familyââ¬â¢s financial betterment. Thereââ¬â¢s nothing to show that Jesseââ¬â¢s typical workouts werenââ¬â¢t anything but pretty basic in terms of the equipment available and the routines followed in those early years. Practicing the various techniques of starting and running as well as long jump is what Jesse engaged in. Making the most of this humble start, Jesse soon began to draw attention to his abilities, having by this time, enrolled in East Technical High School. Owens then went on to join the Ohio State University where he continued to break records and draw attention though still failing to get a scholarship on account of his race. Owens greatest contribution to American history came in Berlin where the 1936 Summer Olympics were held. Jesse Owens went on to win four gold medals for his country ââ¬â 100m sprint, 200m sprint, 4 x100m relay and long jump in the face of strong prejudices exhibited by Adolf Hitler who was intent on showing off the superiority of the Aryan race to the world. Americans greeted him with great enthusiasm on his return, and cheered his accomplishments heartily (Corrigan, 1990, p. 18). Track and Field events gained popularity in the United States. However, Jesse himself was not to benefit from all these events.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Cleopatra the Character, Historical Figure, and Myth :: William Shakespeare Plays Essays
Cleopatra the Character, Historical Figure, and Myth Cleopatra is a character in a Shakespeare play. Cleopatra is a historical figure. Cleopatra is a myth of our culture. Although each of these statements may be true, neither they, nor any other such statements can hope to adequately describe Cleopatra. Cleopatra is an emergent feature of a complex system; Cleopatra is greater than the sum of her parts. Emergent features are properties associated with complex systems that cannot be deduced simply from an analysis of the elements in the system; emergent features can only be explained in terms of the causal interaction among elements in the system. Cleopatraââ¬â¢s current status as an emergent entity is a result of the causal interactions between elements of the complex system that is our Heideggerian socio-cultural immersion, here represented by our notions of historical fact, our acceptance of dramatic representation, and our human predilection towards sin and vice. Cleopatra represents the salacious East, sensuality, and the immoral desire for the forbidden fruit; she captivates the imagination as the inheritor of the Egyptian myths, with the embalming of the dead, rituals, tombs, pyramids, gods, scarabs, scorpions, and horror film mummies. Central to Cleopatraââ¬â¢s emergence is our fascination with her powers to charm the virtuous, upright paradigmatic Roman, leading him, like the Serpent, down the path of Sin. Plutarch is explicit in his description of the corrupting influence of the East: But when he [Marc Antony] was once come into Asiaâ⬠¦and that he had felt the riches and pleasures of the east partsâ⬠¦he easily fell again to his old licentious life. For straight one Anaxenor a player of the citherne, Xoutus a player of the flutes, Metrodorus a tumbler, and such a rabble of minstrels and fit ministers for the pleasures of Asia (who in fineness and flattery passed all the other plagues he brought with him out of Italy), all these flocked in his court, and bore the whole sway: and after that, all went awry. For everyone gave themselves to riot and excessâ⬠¦(696) On a larger view, Cleopatra is the embodiment of our western conception of the East as a realm of guilty, sensuous pleasures: it is the origin of spices, and the exotic tales of the Arabian Nights, and occult knowledge. The western notion of vice is encapsulated by the Seven Deadly Sins of the Roman Catholic Catechism, which are described by Chaucer in The Parsonââ¬â¢s Tale: Now it is a fitting thing to tell what are the deadly sins, that is to say, the chieftains among sins.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Proofs for Godââ¬â¢s Existence Essay
Godââ¬â¢s existence can be proven in a multitude of ways. However, several introductory caveats are in order. First, by ââ¬Å"God,â⬠we mean the traditional Christian concept of an all-powerful and wise creator. Second, the project of ââ¬Å"provingâ⬠anything is logic or science is nearly impossible. Even the best laid logical plans and the most iron clad arguments can be torn to pieces by a skilled logician. Such a state does not invalidate the proofs in question, just merely that the language of the discipline is such that any logical design can be manipulated and refuted by one who ardently desires it be refuted. What is being dealt with here is that faith in the God of the Christians is not an irrational, ââ¬Å"blind faith,â⬠but one that is eminently reasonable and defensible on metaphysical, logical and scientific grounds. 1. The proof of Aristotle, used by Thomas Aquinas later, is the ââ¬Å"hylomorphicâ⬠proof and is very important to medieval thoughts about God and the nature of his existence. The theory centers around the distinction between first, form and matter which, second, corresponds to action and passion, or act and potency. The form of an object is it in act, or developing towards its natural telos, or end. The matter is passive, that which has non being, that which still needs to be developed. But the nature of reality is such that as one rises in knowledge, the form dominates over the matter. Mathematics, for example, is almost purely form, with only a minuscule amount of material stuff. But what is the origin of such things? Only the world of pure form, and hence, pure act, that is, God. God is pure act, pure perfection with no more need for development. It is the form of Forms that renders unchanging knowledge possible. The matter within its formal shell is not nly passive, but accidental, in that it is only the generator of sensations, colors, etc. But such things cannot exist without a substratum (there is no red, without it being a red something), and hence, form is the object of knowledge, not the matter, or the ââ¬Å"accidentâ⬠of the object. But knowledge only sees form, never matter. Matter might present form in the guise of a sensate object, but logical and mathematics does not work this way, these are separated from matter. Hence, the more universal the knowledge, the less matter. Hence, the ultimately form of knowledge is Pure form, hence God (Owens, 1980: 20-25). 2. Similarly, the proof of St. Augustine from the point of view of unchanging truth. Any such unchanging truth must have a cause. The truths of mathematics or logic never change regardless of time or place, and hence, there must be an entity in existence who could have brought such a world into being. Such an entity must never change or alter its being in any way, and hence, must be perfect (the only need for change is to improve, if no need for change, then there is no need for improvement). Therefore, God exists (Augustine, 1996: 19). 3. In terms of scientific proof, there is the entire question of natural law. The world is held together by a series of laws that never seem to change. They are regular and can be seen throughout nature, from its macro to its micro level. The ââ¬Å"sensateâ⬠part of nature, logically, is anterior to the laws that allow it to exist. Hence, the laws of nature had to have come first, and are the form within which the sensate part of nature functions. Hence, an entity must exist that is capable of creating natural laws within which all created being can function in a regular and logical manner. Only God can be the cause of such things (Copleston, . 2006, 518). 4. The Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyev uses the critique of nominalism to prove the existence of God in his Lectures on Godmanhood. First, the idea of empiricism is faulty since no real individuals exist (only God has this quality, but this is putting the cart before the horse). The objects seen in daily experience are themselves not particulars, but universals, ultimately reducible to pulses of energy. Force is the ultimate reality of being in terms of metaphysics. Hence, the empirical approach to the world is arbitrary, since the particulars we take for granted are in fact huge and complex collections of force and energy that appear to the senses as colors, sounds, textures, etc. Hence, energy is the source of being, and hence, retain the ontological status as universals. But this can not be sufficient, since the universal nature of forces must be accounted for. And this accounting can only be an entity powerful enough to have first created these forces that ultimately would register in human senses as objects, seemingly solid and singular, but in truth, complex and made up of universals (and in fact, representing universals in themselves). But this ultimately spiritual reality must have an equally spiritual cause, that is God. In other words, as the empirical qualities of objects exist only in the mind, the ultimate reality of the world is to be found in universals, and hence, the world of spirit. But all spiritual objects must have a cause that is equally creative and powerful (Solovyev, 1948: 60-63). 5. Spinozaââ¬â¢s concept of God is slightly different from the Christian view, but not entirely dissimilar. Spinoza argues for a single entity, Substance, that is the ultimate basis for all sensate objects. Substance is God, the ultimate basis (avoiding the word ââ¬Å"causeâ⬠here) for all change and movement. Logically, there is only one ultimate Substance since there is no real reason for positing and more than one entity that, itself, can survive all change, but is not available to the senses. Spinozaââ¬â¢s Substance is not something that can be apprehended by senses, but only by the mind, and hence, is a spiritual being. While many writers have broken their backs trying to hold that nature is God for Spinoza, there is no reason to hold this: God is what is behind nature and is the ultimate basis for all being. Spinoza is not a pantheist, as nearly all commentators hold. Spinoza held that all change needs a basis, something that does not change. That which we see as changing is the modes of existence, the sensate objects in space and time (or mind and body). All of these sensate things can be reduced to that which is extended and that which is mental, ultimately one thing seen from two different points of view. But these two are merely two available modes for human comprehension of an infinite object that never changes, but is at the root of change, its basis, and that is Substance, or God, an infinite being who lies at the root of all change and the laws that govern change. It itself, does not change, but contains infinite attributes that only appear incompletely to human beings under two attributes only. Spinoza does not hold that there needs to be a cause of all things, but he does hold that there needs to be a basis of all things, that this is God (Della Rocca, 2008, 42-48) 6. The last proof or vision of God is to be found in Apostolos Makrakis, the little known 19th century Greek metaphysician. He was a Christian rationalist who held that Descartes butchered his own method. Makrakis holds that one can begin with Descartes ontological doubt. But the conclusion to this doubt, cogito ergo sum, is an arbitrary end point. When I engage in methodological doubt, I come up with several conclusions: first, the doubter exists, second, that the doubter is not the cause of his own existence, and third, that God exists necessarily. All of this derives from the single act of cognition: it is the true unpacking of the cogito. Since if the cogito is true, than the other propositions are equally true at the same time, known intuitively. Since the cogito is not self-created, then the outside world and God must exist necessarily in the same act of cognition as the original cogito. If one must strip away the outside world in order to reach the cogito, than the outside world is real, since in removing it, one reaches the truth of existence. The outside world cannot be a phantom then, if the doubter is not self-created. Something needed to have created and sustained the doubter, and this is as certain as the cogito itself. But since that outside world itself is not self-created (in other words, that the outside world does not know itself through itself, but through another), than God necessarily exists, and again, as true as the cogito itself. Hence, the cogito really says: I exist, the outside world exists, God exists, all at the same time all in the same act of cognition since the cogito itself implies it (Makrakis, 1956, 42-43). Again, none of these proofs are final, but the same can be said for all logic and science. But these do who that reason assents to the existence of God as infinite and all powerful. Spinozaââ¬â¢s approach is the most interesting, since it is compatible with mechanistic science, but holds that such science necessarily needs a basis for action, and this is Substance. The argument #3 above is also very difficult to refute, since one cannot hold to an ordered universe without holding to natural law, and if that, than the cause of natural law itself. If that is denied, then one is in the unenviable position of trying to argue that the material objects of nature can and did exist without a law to govern their actions. Hence, evolution is impossible. Natural laws (and a lawgiver) had to be before the actual sensate part of creation. But this, in an odd way, is very similar to the argument of Spinoza. It seems that science itself cannot function without recognizing natural law and itââ¬â¢s a priori existence with respect to the objects of science themselves. Bibliography: Owens, Joseph (1980) Thomas Aquinas on the Existence of God. SUNY Press Augustine (1996) ââ¬Å"On The Free Choice of the Willâ⬠Readings in Medieval Philosophy. Ed. Andrew Schoedinger. Oxford. 3-24 Copleston, Frederick (2006) History of Philosophy: Medieval Philosophy. Continuum International. Solovyev, Vladimir (1948) Lectures on Godmanhood. Lindisfarne Press (this is sometimes called Lectures on Divine Humanity) Della Rocca, Michael (2008) Spinoza. Taylor and Francis Makrakis, Apostolos (1956) ââ¬Å"The Tree of Life. â⬠in Foundations of Philosophy. Chicago, OCES. 1-104
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Report for the Promotional Plan of Hot and Chocolate Tea/Coffee
REPORT FOR THE PROMOTIONAL PLAN OF HOT AND CHOCOLATE TEA/COFFEE OF COSTA COFFEE MODULE NAME : MANAGING FINANCE AND MARKETING IN BUSINESS MODULE CODE : TH600B1E SUBMITTED TO : Oââ¬â¢HALLERAN ERIC, LONGART PEDRO SUBMITTED BY : RATHEESH VISWANATHAN ââ¬â 21208850 RESHMI PRABHAKARAN USHA DEVI ââ¬â 21205617 SUKHWANT KAUR MANN ââ¬â 21207381 INDEX 1. INTRODUCTION 3 2 BUSINESS PORTFOLIO 3 3. SMART OBJECTIVE 3 4. PROMOTION TITLE 7 5. WHAT WE NEED TO BE DONE? 7 6. BUDJET CONSIDERATION 7 7. WORKING OF SEVEN Pââ¬â¢S 8 8. CLOSE SCRUTINY AND COST 8 . RETURN OF INVESTMENT 9 10. CONCLUSION 9 11. BIBLIOGRAPHY 10 1. INTRODUCTION This report is submitted on behalf of the marketing plan for a franchise branch of Costa Coffee located Ealing Broadway in West London of United Kingdom Costa coffee has a fabulous history to be poured in each cup of tea which is served to the customers. HISTORY Costa coffee was founded and established by Sergio and Bruno in the year 1971. The first cup of cof fee was served in Newport Street, London. Gradually Costa gained its reputation by providing coffee to local caterers and delicatessens.After seven years, Costa brothers opened their first shop and by the end of 1995, Costa coffee was spread into 41 Costa stores. It was in 1995 Costa Coffee was purchased by Whitbread PLC and from there it has grown into more and more locations to over 2000 stores world ââ¬â wide. Over the last 40 years a lot of things had changed but the endless passion for creating great tasting of coffee still lies in the heart of Costa. VISION Costa Coffee is committed to provide the best hospitality experience to its customers with a range of hospitality products which includes hotels, restaurants and leisure clubs.MISSION ââ¬Å" To serve the best coffee in the true Italian style. â⬠2 BUSINESS PORTFOLIO Over 40 years of excellence Costa had builded up and inevitable reputation of coffee excellence. This goodwill is created by a whole control of the en tire processes that is from harvesting and selection of coffee beans, the roasting of Italian masteries, the choice of machines and compliance for the various procedures of manufacturing beverages and overall ensuring that the same quality of excellent coffee is served to the customers of Costa coffee all around the world.Three different sizes are there for Costa which will serve the customer in 3 different sizes, Primo, Medio and Massimo and the customer can choose from any of Unique blend of Mocha Italia, or decaf, whole or skim milk and add an extra dose of espresso, flavored syrup, cream, candy or chocolate. 15 factors are combined and help to form the perfect Costa Coffee. On over all of these, in each store all over the world regular controls are imposed to ensure consistent and qualitated Costa products and a Barista Mastero (coffee expert) is there in each Costa Coffee to ensure the excellence of drinks served. MARKET IN UKThe deep rooted heritage and unique quality of coffe e had made Costa the market leader here in UK. Over 1,300 stores are operated by Costa or via its individual and corporate franchises. Costa coffee can be found everywhere the customers need for a great coffee. Such as high streets, airport & rail stations, shopping centers & retail parks, motorway & forecourts, hotels, cinemas, hospitals & universities, visitor attractions and leisure venues. In addition to the Costa stores, Costa coffee is also available at over 4,000 premium locations; travel, contract catering, pubs bars & restaurants and hotel & leisure venues.CURRENT MARKET SITUATION The current macroeconomic market condition was a complex one and regular effort must be required for the right tracking of the same. PESTEL Analysis Political Costa coffee beans are growing especially in developing countries. So if taxes imposed on the farmers in those countries increased it will make Costa should pay a higher rate for the coffee they purchase and any of those fluctuations in taxa tion levels will ultimately be passed over to the customers. Economical The economic recession that was happened in 2008 are still creating challenges in the business of Costa Coffee firmly as a whole.Consumers became more conscious with their discretionary spending due to the high unemployment and debt in person and the situation is still prevailing as the same Social/cultural People are spending considerable amount of money. As per the recent survey of Costaââ¬â¢s market experts we found that the annual expenditure of people in London for tea was money on coffee was ? 623million and tea was ? 738 million. Customers are going to coffee shops not only for drinking coffee but also to relax and for even unofficial meeting also. TechnologicalThe latest technological advancement is Senseo which is a better and cheaper coffee machine which can be very much helpful for home usage which can be adversely affecting Costa coffee. Environmental As a part of environmental awareness coffee co mpanies will have to be aware about the way their coffee beans are produced and the way to manufacture and sell their products. Design their supply chain Legal U K, a decade ago pulled out of the ICA (international Coffee Agreement) that set export quotas for producing nations and kept the price of coffee fairly stable.Coffee quotas and price controls ended. Since the deregulation farmers have suffered and their earnings have dropped. Many have struggled to make a living so have given up. International trade regulations/tariffs ââ¬â Trade issues will affect Costa predominantly when exporting and importing goods. Target Customers Detailed research and strategic studies have been conducted to identify the class and categories of customers. While evaluating their consumer market the conclusion was that the ideal consumerââ¬â¢s economic profile will be; 1.Upper Middle Class: Our recent surveys show that 68% of the total coffee consumers of London were upper middle class people or high economy class people. Hot coffee and hot chocolate coffee was mainly consumed by these class of people. 2. Privileged Class: These classes of people also enjoy the tea more than coffee. Thus we can capture a strong hold on the market of tea and gear up the promotion of hot and chocolate flavor of tea. While the age demographics will be: 1. Students and Youngsters: Students and youngsters consider coffee shops as a gathering spot rather than consuming the products.Here we can utilize the grouping of these people as a sales boost up 2. Professionals: These categories of people were both interested in coffee and tea products as well as they utilize their tea or coffee consumption for unofficial meetings. 3. Families: Families are usually weekend customers and leisure time customers. 4. Mature Consumers: Matured customer groups are ideal for consumption of Costa products because according to our market study most of the people of these groups are theoretically addicted to tea or c offee.We can blow up their mind towards consuming our targeted product Gender and Ethnic/Religious Background was researched to have minimal or no effect on the choices concerning coffee made by consumers and their patronage of coffeehouses. Competitor Analysis The renowned coffee brands which are prevailed in UK were Starbucks, Caffe Nero, Coffee republic, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Coffee Bean Peet's, Caribou Coffee, Cafe Coffee Day, Barista and Mochas. Amoung these we are experiencing a competition with one brand that is Starbucks. Costa Coffee and StarbucksStarbucks is the prime and most intimate competitor of Costa Coffee. Although we are in the prime market position in UK, Starbuscks occupies the position of leader in the coffee shop market with an international market of over 50 countries. Costa occupies the second position on the base of international presence in 27 countries. Both companies had extremely excellent financial performance from 2005 to 2010. However in 200 9 Starbucks had made improvements in their cost structure and therefore the liquidity is better than Costa Coffee since it managed its short-term debt payments.An important factor for both companies is globalization because most leading firms in the food service market expand their operations to other countries. Anyway the future success of both the companies will be based on their operations within UK. Situation analysis ââ¬â SWOT Strengths As we look into the strengths of Costa coffee, it is showing continuous growth which pasted up their market leader position. Costa had an excellent brand name and brand visibility. Another strength is the wide range of products and value for the money.Costa has a club card which will focus on customers loyalthy. Another peculiarity is that Costa has its own roastery that ensures quality of coffee. Also they are providing the extra bit of unique taste by training baristas within their own training academy. Weaknesses The major weakness of Cos ta is that even though it is operating globally, they are relatively in only few countries worldwide. Another problem is the difficulty to control and maintain brand standard with their franchise store. Limited range of cool drinks available in Costa is another point of weakness.Opportunities We are finding our own opportunities in global market by developing products or drinks such as organic products/cool drinks etc. Another merit include s the introduction of online /telephone ordering system . Entry to far East is another opportunity because of the chilled weather hot chocolate tea will help us to boost up regular sales proportion Threats We are facing major threats from existing coffee chains and fast food outlets. The intense price competition is another threat. As we develop new recipe that means imitating the recipe more quickly . SMART OBJECTIVE Our SMART objective is to increase the monthly sales of hot and chocolate tea/coffee in Costa Coffee by 30 % within 7 months of ca lculated marketing campaign. 4. PROMOTION TITLE A promotion title should always be a suitable caption that can steal the hearts of public which conveys the idea of product/commodity along with our tradition that induces them to consume our product. After a lot of ââ¬Ëinventions and innovationââ¬â¢ Costa introduce its promotion title as ââ¬Å"Feel the best tea and coffee inà the true Italian style. â⬠5.WHAT WE NEED TO BE DONE? For the achievement of our preplanned objective we have decided to open 3 promotional stalls for exclusive sales of hot and chocolate tea/coffee within the circle of Ealing Broadway. Within the same we will introduce a special high street offer to our targeted product. Here we calculate that we can drive revenue through increased consumer awareness about that particular product. Supporting promotion to drive people to the outlets should be done with by leaflet distribution within the area circle and advertisement in selected local newspaper. . BU DJET CONSIDERATION The table shown below details all about the total cost of the marketing statregy of Costa Coffee of Ealing Broadway within 7 months of calculated period |Marketing Strategy |Costs for Seven Months | |Equipments from ? 800 ââ¬â ? 1100 + Signage from ? 45 ââ¬â ? 300. |Maximum ? 1,400 | |Local Newspaper Advertisement |Maximum ? ,000 | |Leaflet distribution |Maximum ? 1,500 | |Miscellaneous expenses |Maximum ? 500 | |Totalà Advertising Costs |Maximum ? 6,400 | 7. WORKING OF 7 Ps Product â⬠¢ Our brand name is our signature.The name of Costa signifies luxury, excellence and perfection all over the world. â⬠¢ The image of Costa is luxury â⬠¢ The theme of Costa, from the brand logo, the color scheme of the premises, to the entire feel of our business is warm tones & relaxing colors. â⬠¢ Costaââ¬â¢s reputation for excellence applies not only for the exceptional coffee but also the insistence on perfect service. Price â⬠¢ The prices of al l the products are comparatively higher at . But this is offset by the outstanding quality and discerning tastes at .One of the reasons for choosing the privileged and higher middle classes in the target market is the prices. Place â⬠¢ After thorough research, and competitive analysis the perfect locations in terms of exposure, accessibility and competitive edge have been acquired. â⬠¢ The inventory and easy transport facilities have also been a part of the deciding factors while choosing the appropriate locale. Promotion â⬠¢ Brand name is enough to muster the required target market. â⬠¢ Most of the awareness will be through the word of mouth of people amongst the masses. Hence the reputation is more that counts. 8. CLOSE SCRUITNY AND COST COTROL Two methods of evaluation and scrutiny will be done with related to this promotional plan. A weekly review will be conducted by the Area Manager and evaluate the weekly expenditure and progress of the promotion and the same will be reported to our corporate office. Moreover that a monthly review will also conducted by 2 of our corporate marketing and finance professionals for strict scrutiny of cost control and marketing implementation. 9. RETURN OF INVESTMENTWe are expecting minimum sale of 70 cups of hot and chocolate tea/coffee per day. 70 cups per day @ average RP of ? 3. 50 Gross profit = ? 51450 ââ¬â Expense of promotional plan = ? 6400 Net profit = 45050 We can expect the Return Of Investment and calculated sales growth within 7 months of period. 10. CONCLUSION Costa Coffee has been able to remain one of UK's leading coffee brewing companies for more than a century now primarily because of the execution of the companyââ¬â¢s branding and positioning strategies to perfection.Add to the mix the companyââ¬â¢s dedication to high quality of service and the formula for success is at hand. Moreover, the utilization of the appropriate knowledge management tools is necessary for their products t o reach out to people even in different cultures. However, certain points have to be taken into consideration by Costa Coffee regarding knowledge management tools. Since their income is relatively higher than most coffee brewing companies, the time for implementation of their chosen knowledge management tools would take longer than usual, aside from being expensive.But since the goal of Costa Coffee is towards a long-term dominance and stability in the brewing industry, then the pursuit of this promotional campaign will be beneficial for the company in the long run. BIBLIOGRAPHY About the Foundation (2012)[ online]à à à http://www. costa. co. uk/costa-foundation/about-the-foundation/, (assessed on 12 jan 2013) Costa Coffee Marketing Plan for China (2012)[ online]à à à http://www. ukessays. com/essays/marketing/costa-coffee-marketing-plan-for-china-marketing-essay. hpà , (assessed on17 jan 2013) à à Countless Studies Reveal Healthy Attributes (2012)[ online]à à à à à à www. coffeescience. orgà -, (assessed on 7 jan 2013) Dunn Bros (2012)[ online]à à www. dunnbros. comà , (assessed on 5 jan 2013) à à Dunn Bros Franchise Press Releasesââ¬â(2012)[ online]à à à www. restaurantresearch. infoà , (assessed on 5jan 2013) à à ESRI ââ¬â Business Information Solution ââ¬â Products Report Zip Code ââ¬â(2012)[ online]à www. esribis. comà , (assessed on 9 jan 2013) à Star Tribune article by Jim Buchta, pub 9-19-02 ââ¬Å"Dunn Bros. Coffee Breaks the Mold ââ¬â With Every Storeâ⬠US Census Data
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Can Britains political system continue mostly unchanged given its European Union Membership
Can Britains political system continue mostly unchanged given its European Union Membership Introduction Unlike many other nations of the world, Britain does not have a written constitution. A written constitution consists of all the laws and by-laws of a country that have been written down and explained in details. In a written constitution, every law that governs a particular nation is usually contained therein. A written constitution therefore consists of one large document, containing all the laws of a country.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Can Britainââ¬â¢s political system continue mostly unchanged given its European Union Membership? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the British constitution is not contained in a documented book, but the different rules and laws governing the country are contained in different documents. Some of the laws are not even contained in any document, but nonetheless, they exist and are in use (Jones, 2009). The British government exercises full parliam entary sovereignty, whereby the parliament is able to pass all the laws of the country. In addition, parliament has the final word on most matters concerning the nation. The British governance is thus dependent on the customs and traditions of the nation. Just as many other nations have rules that have to be followed by members of the society, albeit informally, the British government also works in a similar manner. In 1970, Britain joined the European Union and the question that now arises is whether the British government will have to change its mode of governance in order to fulfill the demands of the European Union (Jones, 2009). The most evident structure of the British government is the parliament. Parliament exercises full supremacy in the nation. In all the undertakings of the British government, the final decision rests with the parliament. The British parliament is built around democratic governance and this ensures that all its actions are directed towards democratic gove rnance. On many occasions, it has become necessary to change issues that harm or affect people negatively. On the other hand, if something does not seem to have any harmful effect, I do not think it would be of any use trying to change it (Jones, 2009). The unwritten constitution The nature of Britainââ¬â¢s unwritten constitution seems to be the best thing for the entire British kingdom. This is because British laws are not constant but dynamic. For this reason, I am obliged to support the idea that Britain should continue with its current mode of governance, whereby use is made of the unwritten constitution even though the country is now affiliated with the European Union (Jones, 2009).Advertising Looking for research paper on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The rules and regulations governing Britain can always be changed to suit any situation that arises. For example, changes in the economy can easi ly be incorporated by changing the laws of the nation. This is one of the strong points that have enabled Britain to be on the forefront in matters concerning the economy. In a written constitution, any changes in the economy of a particular nation cannot be incorporated into the nation immediately they occur. This is because doing so would be against the written law and hence, illegal. It would take some time for such changes to occur because the constitution would have to be changed as well. By the time the constitution is changed, sometimes the intended changes may no longer have a positive impact on the people, unless the intended effect is long-term. Among the countries with a written constitution, the courts have the power to strike down the judiciary of the country. However, this is not the case with Britain since, it is only parliament that has the legal supremacy over all the other sections of the nation (Jones, 2009). This does not give the courts the authority to strike d own any of the actions of the parliament. Sometimes, the actions of the courts are not usually up to standard since they must adhere to the written laws and regulations. As such, they do not take into account the benefits of a given situation at present or in the future. This brings in the issue of legal and non legal rules (Jones, 2009). All the laws contained in a written constitution are the legal regulations that should be followed at all times. This rule out the possibility of having to do something that is against the constitution, even though it may not be harmful. In Britain, both the legal and non-legal rules are contained in the constitution. The non-legal rules constitute a significant part of the constitution. These are referred to as conventions. The conventions are also flexible, in that they can be changed when need arises, unlike the written laws. However, not everybody is entitled to such conventions at all times. One can fail to adhere to a particular convention at a particular time when they feel that it is the best thing to do. This cannot be termed as illegal or against the law since conventions are not there to be followed at all times. This is unlike in the written constitutions where there are no legal and non-legal rules. All the laws are classified as legal and anybody who goes against these written laws is deemed to have defied the constitution. Consequently, such a person may be prosecuted in a court of law. In conventions, the court does not have any power over their influence (Politics Association, 1988).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Can Britainââ¬â¢s political system continue mostly unchanged given its European Union Membership? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Considering that the British government has been operating under an unwritten constitution and that no major chaos has arisen due to this form of governance, it would really be hard for the people to understand the need to change from an unwritten to a written constitution. Since Britain is now operating under a coalition government that is required to conform to the laws set by the European Union, this does not necessarily mean that Britain has to adopt a written constitution (Jones, 2009). The best thing that needs to be done is to for Britain to adhere to the laws laid down by the European Union. Whether the European Union laws are incorporated into Britainââ¬â¢s constitution in written form or unwritten, the most important thing is to acknowledge their presence and abide by them. If Britainââ¬â¢s constitution is changed from unwritten to written, it may bring about some adverse effects. The people are already used to the unwritten constitution and most of them are aware of the laws and regulations that govern the nation. With the adoption of a written constitution, the flexibility of laws would be cut short and it would be hard for the nation to catch up with the changing dynamics of the economy (Jones, 2009). Human Rights Act The European Union contains many written and well explained laws. The fact that they are written does not mean that everyone in any country under the European Union is fully conversant with each and every law. Only a few people could be fully aware of such laws. Thus, the best thing is to be aware of the existence of the laws and to follow them to the best of your capability. A major problem that seems to arise is whether British courts can acquire the power that the Human Rights Acts enforced by the European Union offers (Jones, 2009). Again, the Human Rights Act encourages cooperation between the legislature and the judiciary of a nation but the final say is always reserved to the parliament. This shows that although courts in Britain may end up acquiring some more power as a result of the Human Rights Act, the parliament can still retain its role as the final decision maker of the nation.Advertising Looking for research paper on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This shows that no major changes need to be effected in the British government as a result of the Human Rights Act being in operation. British can still retain the supremacy of the parliament because, the main theme of the parliamentââ¬â¢s actions are to the benefit and welfare of all the nationââ¬â¢s citizens (Politics Association, 1988). Conclusion In conclusion, the British government does not necessarily have to change the laws of its nation for having joined the European Union. What needs to be done is to enforce the laws that have been outlined by the European Union. These can be exercised alongside the laws of the nation. At the national level, Britain can continue with its operations as before but when it comes to matters concerning the coalition government, Britain is bound to follow the laws outlined by the European Union. Parliamentary supremacy has been the mode of governance and it can still continue to be, with only a few changes occurring to the courts, since, d ue to the Human Rights Act, they are bound to acquire some more power than before (Jones, 2009). Reference List Jones, B. (2009). British politics today. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Politics Association (Great Britain). (1988). Talking politics. London: Politics Association.
Monday, October 21, 2019
A visit to Ashford hospital Essay Example
A visit to Ashford hospital Essay Example A visit to Ashford hospital Essay A visit to Ashford hospital Essay Essay Topic: The Visit On the 11th March 2002 we visited the Ashford hospital where we were shown the x-ray department and a radiographer who gave us a talk for about an hour and a half. In my report I will include most of the aspects in x-rays and at last two in detail, starting from the basic definition of an x-ray to how and why we use them to the effects of x-rays.First it is important to know what an x-ray is: x-rays are high photon energy (that is to say short-wavelength) electromagnetic radiation. They are used in medicine both for diagnosis (radiography) and for therapy (radiotherapy). It is not possible either to reflect or to refract x-rays and therefore x-rays cannot be focused.There are three types of radiation from radioactive materials: Alpha (?), Beta (?), Gamma (?).The term radiotherapy refers to the treatment of a medical condition (usually cancer) by means of X-ray, Y-rays or beams of energetic electrons. X-ray radiotherapy falls in to two main classes-superficial therapy and megavoltage (or MV) therapy.Superficial therapy is used to treat conditions of the skin and surface tissues. The tube voltages employed are such that the X-rays have low penetrating power and therefore cause littlie damage to the healthy tissue beneath the area being treated.Megavoltage therapy is used to treat the condition inside your body and has almost completely replaced the lower voltage techniques once used for this purpose. The electrons used to create the X-ray are accelerated to the enormous energies required in a linear accelerator (LINAC).Advantages of MV Therapy- It decreases the damage sustained by the patients skin. The beam is so penetrating that hardly any of its energy is absorbed by the skin and surface tissues.- It reduces damage to the bone.Rotating BeamsThe purpose of radiotherapy is to destroy malignant (i.e Cancer) cells whilst doing as little damage as possible to the healthy tissue and bone around them. One way of achieving this is to aim the beam at the tumor from a n umber of different directions, i.e. to rotate it about the tumor. This technique is known as multiple beam or rotating-beam therapy and produces a considerable cumulative effect at the tumor but a much-reduced effect everywhere else.Treatment PlanningAny amount of radiation is potentially harmful to the person being exposed to it and therefore it is important that the following considerations are taken into account.- The likely benefits of exposure to radiation must outweigh the risks involved.- The radiation does must be the minimum consistent with obtaining good quality images or destroying malignant cells.- It must not be possible to obtain equally useful information by less risky methods.- The beam must be collimated so that only part of the body that needs to be exposed is exposed.- Increasing the PD across an X-ray tube increases the penetrating power of the X-rays produced but it decreases the proportion of the beam that is attenuated by photoelectric absorption, and therefor e decreases the contrast of the X-ray image. The PD should be high enough to produce the required degree of penetration but not so that there is insufficient contrast. Another consequence of increasing the tube voltage is that it increases the energy, and therefore the penetrating power, of the scattered radiation. This increases the likelihood of the patient receiving a significant radiation dose in parts of the body some distance away from the part being exposed intentionally. It also increases the chance of scattered radiation escaping from the patient a potential hazard to hospital staff in the vicinity.- The radiographer must employ good techniques so that repeat exposures are not required. (This is an important consideration when assessing just what is the minimum dose an underestimating would necessitate a second exposure and therefore an overall increase in dose.)A metal filament (usually tungsten) is heated and some of the electrons acquire sufficient thermal energy to es cape from the surface. The higher the temperature the filament is heated to, the greater the number of electrons that are in effect boiled off. This filament forms the negative cathode. These electrons are accelerated across an evacuated X-ray tube towards the positive anode by a large voltage that is applied across the tube.These electrons strike the anode where 99 % of their energy is converted to heat with less than 1 % resulting in X-radiation. One theory, which is very important to the theory behind X-ray, is the Band theory.The continuous background (or bremsstrahlung radiation) is produced by electrons colliding with the target and being decelerated. The energy of the emitted X-ray quantum is equal to the energy lost in the deceleration. An electron may lose any fraction of its energy in this process. The most energetic X-rays (ie. Those whose wavelength is ?min). X-rays with longer wavelengths are the result of electrons losing less than their total energy.The line spectrum is the result of electron transitions within the atoms of the target material. The electrons that bombard the target are very energetic (100keV) and are capable of knocking electrons out of deep-lying energy levels of the target atoms. (this corresponds to removing an electron from an inner orbit on the Bohr model). If an outer electron then falls into one of these vacancies, an X-ray photon is emitted. The wavelength of the X-ray is given by E = hc/?, where E is the difference in energy of the levels involved, c is the speed of the light and h is Plancks constant. Since the energy levels are characteristic of the target atoms so too are the wavelengths of the X-rays produced in this way.For example, when calculating the wavelength of the most energetic X-rays produced by a tube operating at 1.0 * 10^? V (h = 6.6 * 10^-34 Js, e =1.6 * 10^-19 C, c =3.0 * 10^8 ms-1.)The most energetic X-ray are those produced by electrons which lose all their kinetic energy on impact.KE on impact = wo rk done by accelerating PD= 1.6 * 10^-19 * 1.0 * 10^5Maximum KE lost = 1.6 * 10^-14 joulesThe energy of the corresponding X-ray quantum is hc/?min and thereforehc/?min = 1.6 * 10^-14i.e. ?min = (6.6 * 10^-34 * 3.0*10^8)/1.6 * 10^-14= 1.24 * 10^-11 mJust clarify:(max. photon energy) Emax = eV and ?min = hc/eV(where V is the Potential difference)Band theoryIn an isolated atom, the energy of an electron depends mainly on its distance from the nucleus. An electron has a negative charge and a nucleus has a positive charge, and as an electron falls towards a nucleus it loses energy. The energy of one electron in an atom is also affected by the presence of all the other electrons within that atom, since they all have negative charge and so repel one another.If atoms are very close together, as in a solid, then the energy of each electron is affected by the nuclei and electrons of many nearby atoms. This has the effect of smearing out the energy levels into broad bands. The electrons are no t longer restricted to certain well-defined energies; instead, there are broad ranges of allowed energy, and higher energy band is shared between atoms. If an electron has enough energy to be in this band, then it can break free of its parent atom and move through the solid, i,e it can take part in conduction, so this upper band is called the conduction band. If, however, an electron is still bound to its parent atom then it cannot be moved around freely and it is said to be in the valence band. Between the two bands is a range of energies known as the forbidden gap. As shown in the diagram below.The size of the forbidden gap determines whether a given material is a conductor or an insulator. In metals, the conduction and valence bands overlap, so the conduction band always contains electrons, and so metals are good conductors. In insulators, the conduction and valence bands are separated by a large forbidden gap, and the conduction band is virtually empty. To promote an electron fr om the valence band would require a large amount of energy. In a semiconductor there is still a gap, but the range of the forbidden gap is much smaller. If the energy supplied by heating or by allowing the material to absorb photons, then some electrons gain enough energy to cross the gap and enter the conduction band. The more energy supplied the more electrons are promoted, the resistance of many semiconductors fall with increasing temperature.The X-rays emitted from an X-ray tube have a range of energies, which is called the X-ray spectrum. These X-rays are produced by two different mechanisms, which are distinctive in the resulting spectrum.Continuous spectrum (approx 80% of the output)The electrons pass close to the positive nuclei of the target atoms and are slowed down. he kinetic energy that they lose is converted into photons of electromagnetic radiation which have a continuous range of energies up to a maximum value equal to the tube voltage applied.Continuous spectrum A continuous range of photon energies (up to a maximum) is produced as electrons are decelerated in the target.Characteristic spectrumSome of the electrons penetrate deep into the target atoms, ejecting orbital electrons from the innermost shells near the nuclei. Orbiting electrons from outer orbits fill gaps in the inner shells and emit photons that are characteristic of the target atom. As long as the target has a high enough atomic number, the resulting photon will be the X-ray range.Tungsten is used as the target material for nearly all X-rays tubes because it has a high atomic number and so yields high X-ray outputs and a high melting point to withstand the large amount of heat produced. The characteristic K line spectrum produced bt Rungsten is about 709 keV, which is a tube voltage used for many exposures.Line SpectrumA limited of precise characteristic photon energies is generated through electron transitions to the K and L shells.Focal Spot sizeIdeally the X-rays produced wo uld originate from a point source, which would result in a clear shadow being formed with sharp edges (like a light image formed in a pin hole camera). This is not practical because of the great amount of heat being produced by the X-ray tube. If all the electrons were directed at one tiny point, the target would melt. The target is therefore designed to increase the actual target focal spot while keeping the projected focal spot as small as possible, thus keeping the amount of geometric blur to a minimum. This is achieved by using a disc shaped anode with the target area shapely angled and spinning throughout the exposure.Positioning the film as close as possible to the patient also reduces geometric blur.So how do we select exposure?To see why different exposures are selected for different areas, the methods by which an X-ray beam is attenuated must be studied.Simple scatterThe incident photon energy does not have sufficient energy to remove an electron from its atom so it is simp ly deflected from its course without loss of energy. This scatter is proportional to the square of the atomic number.Photoelectric EffectThe incident photon gives up all of its energy to an inner orbital electron, ejecting the electron from its atom. Some of the energy of the electron is used in overcoming the binding energy of the electron. The vacancy in the shell will be filled by electrons in orbital further from the nucleus, producing characteristic radiation, which in the case of the X-ray photons interacting with the body tissue are small and in the infer-red part of the EM spectrum. Photoelectric attenuation is most useful to diagnostic imaging because the photoelectric absorption is proportional to the cube of the atomic number.Compton scatterThe energy of the photon is much greater than the binding energy of the electron. Only part of its energy is given during the interaction with the outer electron. The photon continues in a different direction with reduced energy and th e electron dissipates its energy through ionization. It is independent of the atomic number.Simple is a problem as it reduces image sharpness and increases low-energy absorption in the patients skin. Photoelectric absorption is useful because, as it is proportional to the cube of the atomic number of the absorbing material, it produces contrast on the image. Material of high atomic number absorb more X-rays by this method and those of low atomic number absorb less. As the tube voltage is increased photoelectric attenuation tends to fall and Compton scatter to rise in importance, and as Compton scatter is not proportional to the atomic number of the absorbing material, the contrast is reduced.How do we reduce scatter?- Reduce the beam size by using an adjustable diaphragm, this reduces the field size and thus reduces the random scatter produced.- Use filtration on the X-ray beam to reduce the lower energy photons that result in simple scatter, allowing photoelectric attenuation to do minate.- Use of compression to make the part X-rayed thinner.So what is the radiographer doing?When taking a simple X-ray, the radiographer must:- Choose the tube voltage- this is usually in the range 60-120kVMore kV increases maximum photon energyIncreases average photon energyIncreases total intensityEffect of changing tube voltage on resulting X-ray spectrum.* Choose the tube current this depends on the number of electrons crossing the tube per second. This is controlled by the filament current, which determines the rate at which electrons are emitted from the cathode.Increasing tube current increases the overall intensity but does not increase the maximum photon energy or change the shape of the spectrum.Increases the blackening of the filmIncreases the absorbed dose by the patient.Increases the heating of the target.Effect of the tube current on X-ray spectrum* Choose the expose timeIncreasing the exposure timeIncreases the blackening of the filmIncreases the patient absorbed doseIncreases the chances of movement blur* Choose the focal spot sizeIncreasing the focal spot size increases the tube current and the voltage that can be applied but reduces geometric unsharpness.How do we stop scatter from getting to the film?We use a grid formed by rows of lead strips stops the scattered radiation from reaching the film. To get rid of the grid lines on the image, the grid may be moved during the exposure.We can also use an air gap to reduce the scatter reaching the film.And what about the film?If we were just to use film just to record the X-ray that were transmitted through the patient we would have to use very large exposures because up to 97% of X-rays pass straight through the film without affecting it at all. We therefore use special cassettes that contain fluorescent screens. These fluorescent screens absorb the X-radiation and re-emit visible radiation in a pattern that is the same as that of the original X-ray beam.Construction of the Rotating Anode Tube InsertFluoroscopy:In X-ray fluoroscopy, X-rays are passed through the patient and onto a fluorescent screen to produce an immediate visible image. This has the advantage over photographic film in that it allows dynamic processes. Sadly, unacceptably high X-ray intensities would be needed to produce image that could be viewed directly. A device known as an image intensifier can increase the brightness by a factor of over a thousand and allows the radiation dose to be cut by up to 90% of the unintensified level. The intensifier has a fluorescent screen in contact with a photocathode. This combination converts the X-rays first to visible photons and then to electrons. The number of electrons at any point on the photocathode is directly proportional to the X-ray intensity transmitted by the patient.The electrons produced by the cathode are then accelerated through a potential difference of about 20 kV, using a series of focusing anodes, towards a second fluorescent screen. The increase d energy and concentration of the electrons creates an image that is very brighter than that on the first screen, and which is usually picked up by a TV camera and fed to a TV monitor or video recorder.Fluoroscopy is a technique that is used sparingly, for despite image intensification, the radiation dose to the patient is still significantly higher than that I a standard radiographic examination. Dose savings can be made by using short bursts of X-rays rather than a truly continuous exposure, but even so the examinations remain relatively dose-intensive.Bibliography:For my report the sources which I used were; the textbook Physics A-level by Roger Muncaster, also the textbook Salters Horners Advanced Physics, a leaflet given to me by the Ashford hospital and finally my own knowledge.Conclusion:You can obviously tell that the visit to the hospital was very informative and helpful. Funnily enough at the time I was writing this report I had broken my wrist and was treated at the Ealin g hospital. On my last visit, to take the full plaster cast off I asked the radiographer if she could give me copy of my wrist, but unfortunately she said that it had to go in report. Instead she let me get my hands on some unwanted X-rays, which was the next best thing, so included them in my report.
Sunday, October 20, 2019
I tweet, therefore I am - Emphasis
I tweet, therefore I am I tweet, therefore I am Thinking about jumping onto this bandwagon. But where will it all end? So might read my inaugural tweet by definition: an answer to the question what are you doing? in 140 characters or fewer on the micro-blogging site Twitter. And bandwagon begets bandwagon: those not tweeting are bleating about tweeting. The public is being divided into for and against camps; and perhaps the real question posed is: is there anything left now that is considered not appropriate to write about? Twitter has seen some incredible successes in its young life. It is a popular medium for celebrities, who get to by-pass the media and connect directly with their fans. Barack Obamas presidential campaign succeeded in large part because he embraced such types of social media. He updated subscribers via the site, keeping them up-to-date on his public appearances and decisions. No doubt this was key in working himself and his message into the nations psyche, while reinforcing his image as a modern man of the people. The potential of Twitter from a marketing point of view is evidently enormous. And so it is working its way into schools and university curriculums. A recent book, by money-making strategist Joel Comm, teaches the ways of Twitter Power How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time. Supporters predict a day when users will be able to search the consciousness of the planet in real-time. With a mere 140 characters to work with, Twitterers have no choice but to be succinct; and we Emphasisers are all in favour of keeping it short and simple. Whats missing is content control. Granted, escape from Big Brother (in all its forms) is generally welcome. And of course people have the right to express themselves creatively. But were considering writing instructions for this exciting new toy. The Daily Mail is using the service to send out nuggets of news to those for whom newspapers are just too darn heavy. The BBC experimented with including Twitter updates in its coverage of the Mumbai terror attacks back in November 2008, in an apparent desire to be first with the news. This rather clumsy attempt to cover a fast-moving story with equally fast-moving technology caused a considerable backlash on their website, amid accusations of inaccuracy and lazy journalism. Sky news rather glibly (and arguably massively inappropriately) sent tweets out from the courtroom where Joseph Fritzl stood trial for his horrendous crimes against his own daughter. Of course, skill in writing has little or nothing to do with Twitter, barring perhaps the occasional impressive haiku. What does is the attitude that whether youve just survived a plane crash (see the Guardians article) or youve just sat down with a cup of Bovril, the immediate prevailing thought is to publish oneself. Faced with this unrelenting, unverified barrage of thought bubbles, will we all have to become active editors of our own (and everyone elses) lives? Or will we just be tweeting while Rome burns?
Saturday, October 19, 2019
The Competitive Global Market and Change Research Paper
The Competitive Global Market and Change - Research Paper Example Moreover, the report will also attempt to identify the benefits or drawbacks witnessed by Apple and its employees due to the affect of globalisation. Different Countries Involved Besides, its headquarters in United States, Apple majorly operates in various other countries, such as United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Canada, Italy, China, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, France and Netherlands among others. More than 350 Apple stores are established all over the countries across the world (Apple Inc, 2012). Thus, its focus on the development of supply chains and major partners in the business is necessary in order to maintain sustainability in the global markets. Utilization of Outsourcing In the late 2000s, Apple decided to outsource its products from various countries where raw materials are available at cheaper rates. The motive behind outsourcing is to earn significant margin of profit while experimenting in developing creative products. A report by New York Times revealed that 90 perce nt of raw materials used in Appleââ¬â¢s iPhones are manufactured abroad and are outsourced. Major sections, such as display panels and circuitry from Taiwan and Korea, advanced semiconductors from Germany, chipsets from Europe, memory from Japan and Korea and uncommon metals from Asia and Africa which are later assembled and packaged in China. Technological companies depend upon the availability of low-cost materials and therefore, focus on countries that provide the advantage. The outsourcing strategy gained the momentum of growth and subsequently, Apple earned a considerable amount of profit strengthening its foothold in the global markets (Duhigg & Bradsher, 2012). Benefits of Globalisation Similar to many other multinational companies, Apple has benefitted by a large extent due to globalisation. The company shifted most of its production unit jobs to countries where cheaper workforces are available along with legal support and favourable economic conditions. This has been evi dent by a report that revealed only 13,920 employees are associated with the companyââ¬â¢s US based plant compared to 27,250 employees working at other countries, i.e. nearly twice more than US. The report further revealed that the American employees took over approximately US $750 million whereas; workers employed abroad took only US $320 million. Thus, the comparison in cost related to wages can be identified as almost double in US compared to abroad (Freeland, 2011). Globalisation has also resulted in the inflow of creative talents from across the world, to which the company gives prime importance. The incredible talents in Apple are encouraged in various ways to develop products that are unique in its class acting as a ââ¬Ëtrend setterââ¬â¢ in the industry. These engineers earn healthy paycheques from the company which are being supported by the cheap costs incurred by the bottom-line employees working abroad (Freeland, 2011). Drawbacks Due to Globalisation Steve Jobsâ â¬â¢ main target behind the incorporation of Apple was to become the leader of the industry in terms of creative products. His aim was to dominate the market in regards to sales and have a partially monopolistic environment prevailing in the global markets. However, due to globalisation many competitor brands have used the strategy of manufacturing abroad and reap equal benefits in terms of cheap labour and raw materials. Therefore, the
Friday, October 18, 2019
Now the Olympic flame has left the UK its remaining legacy is to Essay
Now the Olympic flame has left the UK its remaining legacy is to inspire a generation, promoting the benefits of physical fitness. What are the benefits to the cardiovascular system of regular exercise - Essay Example This paper is a discussion of the main physiological features of the cardiovascular system. The heart, one of the systemââ¬â¢s major components, has two ventricles at the bottom chambers of the heart and two atria at the top chambers (Aaronson et al, 2004: p47). The ventricles force the blood into the blood vessels from the heart while the atria drains and forces blood into the ventricles. The heart is divided into two chambers in order to achieve a two-circuit system of circulation. The right side pumps to the lungs while, on the other hand, the left pumps to the other organs of the body. During the cycle of a heartbeat, the right and left atria contract, then the right and left ventricles follow suit, followed by relaxation of the ventricles and atria. During the resting phase for the ventricles and atria, blood flows from the relaxed atria to the relaxed ventricles, constituting the diastole. The atria then contract to force out any remaining blood almost followed immediately by the ventricle, constituting the systole. To ensure that blood flows in the right direction, the heart has valves that allow blood to move in only one direction. The heart valves open and close when the heart relaxes and then contracts, which is caused by the pressure difference in the heart, and these valves are; aortic, mitral, pulmonary, and tricuspid valves (Aaronson et al, 2004: p50). The one way nature of the valves ensures that blood does not flow back, which avoids mixing of different blood. The heart is comprised of the cardiac muscle, which is a striated and involuntary muscle found on its walls and histological foundations (Aaronson et al, 2004: p52). While smooth muscle is also involuntary, cardiac muscle is more anatomically related to skeletal muscle since smooth muscle is not striated. The cardiovascular system is made of an amalgamation of smooth and cardiac cells, with the blood vessels lined by smooth muscle. The circulatory system is
Advances in Wireless Network Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Advances in Wireless Network - Essay Example People have now mobile with most of the functions that were never thought when wireless technologies emerged. The basic functions of voice and text communications are considered as the basic functions that early mobiles phones had, but the most modern mobile phones (also known as smart phones) are equipped with Wifi communication, Bluetooth communication, near field communication (NFC) and data communication systems along with basic systems. 1. 802.11n Wireless connections are always determined by the radio mode the communication system is utilizing. The mode of radio signal described by the 802.11n access point provides support for 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11a, 802.11n receptors. The wireless signal can be sent to a number of users at the same time. The 802.11n is capable of supporting and operating at two different frequencies to support to different clients with different operating frequencies. An Access Point of 5GHz is designed 5GHz and an Access Pint of 2.4 GHz is designed to prov ide communication to the clients, whom are operating at 2.4GHz (Juniper.net, 2009). The channel band width of the 802.11n is 40MHz. The technology is assumed to be much compatible with the device, as the functions promised by the marketing will remain incomplete without the use of 802.11n (Wewetzer, C. et al., 2012). As, the ââ¬ËHyperSlim PXââ¬â¢ has to provide with all possible wireless types of communication, the 802.11n will be the best suited communication. From the engineering perspective the communication type requires software to run that can be corrupt by the influence of other types of wireless communicationsââ¬â¢ software installed in the HyperSlim PX. The most important perspective is to couple the existing software with some auto backup system to avoid loss of important data in case of any software malfunction. The HyperSlim PX should be made in metallic body to provide a sink for the heat generated during the operation of the 802.11n. As, the access point of 80 2.11n utilized in the HyperSlim PX will convert some amount of energy into heat, the HyperSlim PX will consume much amount of energy to provide enough power for the communication system to work in a proper manner. There are less or no problems regarding the security of the data while utilizing the 802.11n. The maximum transmission rate remains as high as 270 Mbps, which is fairly a higher speed for the communication modal. On the other hand the enhancement in the range of the device will keep the user connected while in motion in a building or a factory building. Protection The Specification that are utilized in the set protocols 802.11n ensures that the communication modal do not report interference to any of the device nearby and do not allow the interference of the any other communication to distort the communication of through the 802.11n. It protection strategy also ensures that it is interfere or accept the interference of any other access points or any legacy stations. On the other hand, users have the right to turn on and off the security feature that are defiantly installed in the 802.11n communication modal. By considering these safety and protection features, the 802.11n is much feasible in the HuperSlim-PX. The performance of the device remains the same in the both the condition, with the full fledged protection and with no protection. The protection strategies of the device have low impact on the device capability of the high speed connection and transmission. 2. Bluetooth 4.0 Bluetooth is a communication type
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Discuss why line-managers might not have an enthusiastic attitude Essay
Discuss why line-managers might not have an enthusiastic attitude towards equality and diversity policies. To what extent might diversity practitioners help to overcome this problem - Essay Example "If managers do not see the business case reflected in the behaviours and skills which an organisation values and the way in which performance is measured and monitored, then the business case risks being a paper based exercise that makes little impression on managers.â⬠Echoing a sense of concern, Hodges (2008) feels that line managers must be encouraged to appreciate the strategic link between corporate social and diversity goals, vis-à -vis, production, sales, and profitability goals through concrete case studies and examples. Hodges adds that line managers must feel involved in the diversity absorption process, which essentially can be facilitated through effective engagement with diversity practitioners. The Discussion Statement: This essay explores the nuances of diversity management, and examines some of the challenges that line managers face in adapting with a diversity policy for their team. The paper also studies some of the best practices exemplified by diversity practitioners in corporate, to seamlessly implement effective diversity practices in organizations. ââ¬Å"Diversity is acknowledging, understanding, accepting, valuing, and celebrating differences among people with respect to age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, spiritual practice, and public assistance status.â⬠Diversity management, Foster and Harris (2005) opine, ââ¬Å"Encourages innovative practices in human resource management that values employment relationship by addressing individual needs.â⬠Potentially, employers see immense advantage in deploying demographically diverse workforce. Diversity, as opposed to equal opportunity, extends beyond legislation and focuses more on differences amongst individuals and groups (Laflà ¨che, 2005). The liberal perspective has moved the diversity discourse from providing equal opportunities
Business Strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1
Business Strategy - Assignment Example According to this theory, a producer should work hard to make a product that has an appealing design, such that the customer gets to like the product before even using it. This theory explains that, for the satisfaction of the customers, the strategy that the business takes into consideration should tolerate achievements that are not for the long-term sustenance; rather, they should tolerate achievements that are lofty. There should be the addressing of the competitive advantage keenly in this context of business. The theory explains that for a business to achieve the strategy, it should be defensive rather than offensive; this helps the business to avoid the acute angle, leading to the loss of customers (Campbell & Edgar 2011). Theory of pricing For customers to afford the goods that are in the offer, the prices should be at their level of income. Thus, a legitimate business strategy should ensure that the pricing favours the majority of customers. According to this theory, the busi ness should first evaluate the level of income of the customer by conducting presale marketing, thus, they are able to know what is the best price to sell the goods such that they realise the optimum profits. Market mixing theory This theory aims at tapping customers from all runs of life by a business. Thus, the business ensures that the products that the business creates possess no bias on grounds of age, sex or religion. According to the theory, conducting of promotions ensures that the business learns of the potential market, thus, is able to establish the various strategies to put in place so as to increase its market. Production of products that favour all the people is the consideration in this technique (Ireland & Hoskisson 2008). Theory of competency The theory by McDonaldââ¬â¢s explains that a business should consider a strategy that allows for the competence of employees for the maximum production. The technique indicates that the business should ensure that the strate gy does not create monotony on the workers. Giving breaks during working hours and offering considerable salaries, as well as vocational training to its employees, ensures competency (Kourdi 2009). Critical reflection in presentation of work This is essential in comparing the theory business aspects to the practical bit of business. Consideration of these factors ensures that there are minimal errors in running of the business. In work under presentation, there is a comprehensive description of the work done, from the resources in application to the actual sale of the goods. Use of critical reflection is through the determination of the actual meaning of the description. There is critical reflection due to the addition of the depth and breadth. This is through questioning things that help in the relation of the meaning of the work under presentation to a context of professional, as well as personal issues. The application of this work is essential because a business will succeed if what the management outlines for the business, that is, the theory bit is the same to the practical bit of business. Thus, customers get the best satisfaction from the products that a business sells to them (Ireland & Hoskisson 2008). The various techniques aim at legitimating the operations of the business such that the business strategy shows a building platform which ensures there is consolidation of numerous products that the business produces. The consolidation of the products leads to massive profits by the business, as
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Discuss why line-managers might not have an enthusiastic attitude Essay
Discuss why line-managers might not have an enthusiastic attitude towards equality and diversity policies. To what extent might diversity practitioners help to overcome this problem - Essay Example "If managers do not see the business case reflected in the behaviours and skills which an organisation values and the way in which performance is measured and monitored, then the business case risks being a paper based exercise that makes little impression on managers.â⬠Echoing a sense of concern, Hodges (2008) feels that line managers must be encouraged to appreciate the strategic link between corporate social and diversity goals, vis-à -vis, production, sales, and profitability goals through concrete case studies and examples. Hodges adds that line managers must feel involved in the diversity absorption process, which essentially can be facilitated through effective engagement with diversity practitioners. The Discussion Statement: This essay explores the nuances of diversity management, and examines some of the challenges that line managers face in adapting with a diversity policy for their team. The paper also studies some of the best practices exemplified by diversity practitioners in corporate, to seamlessly implement effective diversity practices in organizations. ââ¬Å"Diversity is acknowledging, understanding, accepting, valuing, and celebrating differences among people with respect to age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, spiritual practice, and public assistance status.â⬠Diversity management, Foster and Harris (2005) opine, ââ¬Å"Encourages innovative practices in human resource management that values employment relationship by addressing individual needs.â⬠Potentially, employers see immense advantage in deploying demographically diverse workforce. Diversity, as opposed to equal opportunity, extends beyond legislation and focuses more on differences amongst individuals and groups (Laflà ¨che, 2005). The liberal perspective has moved the diversity discourse from providing equal opportunities
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
The Yellow Wallpaper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
The Yellow Wallpaper - Essay Example She can see life in the wallpaper, life in a trapped woman. The woman is told to be trying to flee herself. She eventually is released from the trap on the last day of the vacation, when the husband opens the room. The character eventually identifies herself as the woman in the yellow wallpaper. Logan Thomas directed the film, the Yellow wallpaper in 2011. The yellow wallpaper is a horror film about a family that rents a new house following the burning of their old house. The family, consisting of Gilman, her husband Dr. John and their daughter Jennie, lose their previous house, their belongings and their beloved daughter Sarah to the fire. They are forced to relocate to a rented house by circumstances. It is at this house that horrific things happen. The town is odd, with the only route to town leading them to a dessert, wolvesââ¬â¢ attacks, and some seem to be living right in the house, behind a yellow wallpaper (Thomas). The movie has various aspects that are similar to the sho rt story. Looking at the characters, there is a distinct comparison, in that they are the same. The main characters in the short story are Gilman and her husband, who is a doctor. Both characters recur in the movie. A feeling of a depressed feminine character has been sparked out in both cases, by the same character. Gilman, in the short story, is depressed and suffering from post partum trauma, soon after she gave birth. She suffers alone in a room found in a rented apartment, where they are on a three-week vacation. The depressive condition leads the character to visualizing presence of another person trapped in the wallpaper. The depression recurs in the movie, to the same character, and again due to a child. However, in the movie, the child died after their former house was gutted down. The character, in the movie, has visualizations of the daughter, and later in the movie, there is a character living in seclusion, in the house, behind the wallpaper. There are various remarkable differences between the yellow wallpaper movie and short story. To begin with, the horror aspect found in the movie is peculiar to the short story. The short story involves human characters alone who are living in a rented apartment while on vacation. The movie ends with infestation of the characters house by wolves. Another remarkable difference between the two pieces of art is the condition leading to their seclusion. In the short story, there is a case two newlyweds, Gilman and the husband, renting a house for the summer vacation. The woman had recently had a child. She was however suffering from post partum depression, a condition that saw her mental recess. In the movie, the condition arises from the burning up of their house. The fire reduced them to desperation until a stranger assists with an idea of a house. The man offers them carriage to their new home. Another difference arises from the cause of the trauma; Gilman, in the movie, unlike in the story, is depressed by the loss of her daughter Sarah, who was consumed by the fire. Other contradictions in the story arise from presence of other characters in the movie not present in the story. Jennie is seen bringing her friend who is reluctantly accepted into their house by her parents. The mode of seclusion in both cases differs as well; in the short stor
Creating a Level Playing Field for Wisconsin Education Essay Example for Free
Creating a Level Playing Field for Wisconsin Education Essay It is a well known fact that the educational outcome of our children is either boosted or hindered by their familiesââ¬â¢ socioeconomic backgrounds, and while this fact is hardly fair to those underprivileged students, (and despite a few halfhearted but well-meaning policies against it), this inequality is likely to persist. (Wisconsin 2006). Although the rates for high school completion between whites and minorities seem to be slowly equaling out, a 1999 report from the U. S. Department of Education showed that nationwide while 27. 5% of whites had received a Bachelorââ¬â¢s degree, only 12. 2% of blacks had attained that same level of education (Wisconsin 2006). In the State of Wisconsin, 15. 8% of whites have a Bachelorââ¬â¢s Degree, while only 6. 9% of blacks have the same, only about half of the nationwide percentage for blacks. (Demographic Profile 2004). In the Wisconsin school districts, the most important reason for the disparity in education between blacks and whites seems to be centered once again on socioeconomic ills. In 1954 the U. S.à Supreme Court unanimously agreed that segregating schoolchildren by race was unconstitutional, however fifty years later, while the ideas and decisions of 1954 seem fairly straightforward, the reality of the situation is a little less clear. In the Milwaukee area, the portion of the population that is black or Hispanic is rising, and the gap between black and white in Wisconsin as a whole is among the largest in the United States. (Borsuk 2004). Wisconsin has struggled with the task of overcoming that particular stigma and in education at least has made some inroads, but much work remains to be done. The difference in test scores on a recently released federal government report between white and black eighth graders was larger in Wisconsin than in any other state in the United States. (Borsuk 2004). Keep in mind that white students in Wisconsin are on par educationally with the rest of the United States, yet a higher percentage of black eighth graders from Wisconsin scored below basicââ¬âthe lowest category. Previous studies also confirm that Wisconsin again takes the lead in the gap between incarceration rates between blacks and whites, and that ââ¬Å"racial separation is the predominant pattern for neighborhoods. â⬠(Borsuk 2004). If racial separation is considered ââ¬Å"normalâ⬠or usual in the average neighborhood, then changing that in the schools systems represents a huge obstacle. When the desegregation plan went into effect the Milwaukee Public School system was 60% white, and now it is about 15% white, but there are few schools that have substantial enrollment of both black and white students. This means that the white children are leaving public schools to attend private schools, which helps very little in the overall desegregation efforts. Elizabeth Burmaster, Wisconsinââ¬â¢s state superintendent of schools says, ââ¬Å"I believe that in Wisconsin the gap is very directly correlated to economic disadvantage. â⬠(Borsuk 2004). Low income kids, as we all know, do not do as well in testing areas or graduation as do children from higher economic families. Because the lower income students are more likely to be black, the success rate of the black students, particularly in Wisconsin, are at very unhealthy rates, a problem that has been addressed by both Chapter 220 and the voucher system, with some small successes, but nothing to write home about. The white children are more likely to have parents with higher levels of education, leading to more economic advantage, while the black children are more likely to have parentââ¬â¢s with less education, leading to lower paying jobs. It becomes a vicious cycle as the black children donââ¬â¢t seem to be receiving the same education as the white children which will in turn cause them to work at low-paying jobs creating yet another generation of the disadvantaged.
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Portrayal Of Muslim Women In Western Media Cultural Studies Essay
Portrayal Of Muslim Women In Western Media Cultural Studies Essay Since the last couple of decades, the subjects of Islam, the Muslim community and especially Muslim women seem to have dominated the Western media. It started with the excessive coverage of September 11, the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, the banning of the veil in Europe, to the terrorist attacks and suicide bombers in the Middle East. These are just a few images to name that the Western societies and countries have been absorbing in their daily lives, eventually forming their attitudes, perceptions and ideas about the Muslim world. It all started with Samuel P. Huntington (1997) Clash of Civilizations, according to Macdonald (2006). It was Huntington who came within reach of this problematic relationship between the East and the West. Clash of Civilizations is a part in his book that is called The Rest Vs. The West. (Macdonald, 2006). After the Cold War ended, the desire to search for a new global ideological threat has emerged to replace the collapse of Communism. Since then, it was predicted by the Westerns experts that the Western World is facing a new enemy: Islam. Macdonald (2006). Huntington notion pointed out that Islam has a noticeable contradictory vision and action to the Western ideology, ideas of liberty, and democracy. This phenomenon has been developed and spread into a discourse and got fully attention of the Westerns (United States, the United Kingdom and its allies) perceptions and its relationships towards the world of the Middle East, the Muslims and Islam. As a result of such phenomenon and ideology, the stereotypical idea that Islam and its followers are anti-democracy and anti-Western has become fixed within the minds of the Western society. (Macdonald, 2006). The acts of stereotyping persuade people to respond and behave in the same way that is both negative and prejudiced. The word Arabs is meant to portray a person from the Middle East, it also meant to portray this Arab as terrorist, ignorant, and a person that contradicts with the Western ideologies. In spite of the reality that these persons are from different countries, with varied cultures, attitudes, beliefs, and a diversity of religions, they are typify by one word Arabs. (Cheney, 1986). Several movies have been misrepresenting Arabs men and women through the years. It is has been pointed out by Cheney (1986), that Jack Shaheen, (2003), stated that 900 films done by in the American cinema showed how Arab men women and children shaped as different and threatening. Hollywood films from 1896 until today portraying Arabs as heartless, enemies, cruel, burglars, extremist in their religion, brutal murderers, and abusers of women. (Cheney, 1986). History shows that since the beginning of cinema, Hollywoods movies have been misrepresenting Arab women. Clearly, film makers did not create these images but inherited Europes pre-existing Arab stereotypes. These images have been created long ago; in the 18th and 19th centuries, European artists and writers offered fictional versions of women as bathed and submissive exotic objects. As a result, through the time, the stereotype came to be accepted as valid, becoming a permanent part of European popular culture (Cheney, 1986). In his book Reel Bad Arabs, Shaheen noticed that In Arabian Nights fantasies such as The Sheik (1921), Slave Girl (1947), and John Goldfarb, Please Come Home (1964), Arab women appear as leering out from thin veils, or as unsatisfied, disposable knick-knacks lounging on ornate cushions, scantily-clad harem maidens with bare midriffs, closeted in the palaces womens quarters and/or on display in slave markets (Shaheen, 2001:23, cited in Cheney, 1986). The stream continues in the third millennium. In Disneys remake of Around the World in Eighty Days (2004), for example, Arnold Schwarzenegger portrays Prince Hapi, a Mideast sheikh with one hundred or so wives. This means that films continue to show Arab woman as a slave for sex, even though the image of a terrorist dominated after 9/11. A research paper aimed to analyze U.S. and international newspaper articles on Arab and Muslim women from 9/11/01 till 9/11/05, in order to understand how women who wear the veil are represented in western media. It was found that Reporters rarely give women the chance to speak to look beyond the stereotype and get to know Arab women. Whether oppressed, victimized or turned into a superwoman, that woman in the news is more often not caricature of the Arab and Muslim woman in real life. Readers have not yet able to receive a consistent and accurate representation of the diverse personalities, lives and opinions of these women. (Sakr, 2004). Its been always known that TV shows influence Western people perceptions and attitudes towards various issues, especially when it comes to issues related to the Middle East and Arabs. So, most of the misperceptions towards Arab women are caused by the flow of information through TV stations. (Kaufer Al Malki 2009) According to Kaufer Al Malki (2009), on the 28th of September 2009, Oprah Winfrey hosted the Goodwill Ambassador for the UNICEF; the famous Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram on her TV show on CBS station. In that show, Winfrey referred to Lebanon as being deeply conservative and presented a documentary that shows Lebanese women veiled like the Afghani ones and compared these women with Nancys Ajram style and dance moves. With no doubt, Oprahs documentary misrepresented Lebanese women and created misconception in the minds of Western people about Lebanese women who are the most modernized women in the region. In fact, Nancy Ajram style and fashion represent a large segment of Lebanese females. Statistics show that 75% of the Lebanese women are unveiled and have freedom of dress; they have their full education that exceeds that of men with 44 % compared to 40 % of men. The media is fascinated by the portrayal of Arab women and they way they dress. According to Ahmed (1992), when it comes to portraying Muslim woman, the media in the West seems to be attentive and obsessed by the way they dress which is the veil in particular which has resulted in a great number of reactions and debates. These debates shows that the veil is perceived as a sign of cultural difference in the Western world as it differentiate Arab women from Western ones. (Ahmed, 1992). Muslim Arab woman are always badly portrayed as the shapeless and ghost women in their Islamic dress .they are really confusing the western normal people as its not their fault that what they are seeing on TV is that its the fault of the western media. The Negative stereotyping and reactionary reporting have historically symbolized coverage of Islam and Muslims and have been reflected clearly in the theory of Orientalism created by Edward Said in 1978 which states that the East and its populations are considered backward, barbaric and outsiders to Western society. (Posetty, 2008). As a result, it seems that the media helps in creating the image of the Muslim women as the oppressed other, which will lead to imprecise conclusions, stereotypes and misperceptions of these women. (Macdonald,2006). According to the Orientalist theory, when women are portrayed, they are portrayed as being oppressed, exotic, mysterious, and shy. In addition, the Western media have always been portraying Arabs as violent, stupid, and cruel people that treat women as objects and that they are marginalized in their own society, and that the East all alike in their image for the West. (Macdonald,2006). Therefore, when the Western media frames women as sexual slave and oppressed by men as they are abusing their women, beaten, and humiliated, they are being truthful as this is the image that has been always stuck in the Westerns minds. In fact, the West has been stereotyping Arab women since forever, and they didnt change their look for the Arab women till now. Photographs and French19th Century paintings represented Arab women as property, toy of men, submissive and still, dependent on a man who is the only motive for their survival. (kaufer, 2009). Terms such as the veil, the harem, female circumcision helped in the formation of such misconceptions as well as gave the impression to some of the associated images with the oppressed Muslim woman. The problem is that these perceptions have been incorrectly generalized with no differentiation. (Gwinn, 1997). This problem has made it harder for the veiled Muslim women living in the West, as they tend to suffer more from the intolerance from the way they dress, in addition, they are hardly accepted in the Western communities. (Mohanty, 2005). Arab women in immigrant communities and who are living in Western societies, are victims of these negative stereotypes and gender based media representations. As Morin (2009), noted that these women face negative media coverage that is based on cultural misconceptions and the recent political conflicts that have spoiled Arab-Western relations. As a result, Arab women in immigrant communities cannot win the fight for better media recognition while they continue to be viewed inside the limit of traditional Arab-Islamic stereotypes. (Morin, 2009). As Posetty (2008) stated in his article, in the portrayal of Muslim women, attention is frequently focused on the way they dress, with their clothing seen as a symbol of their threatening, alien status. Images of Islamic dress are increasingly used in the media as visual shorthand for dangerous extremism, and Muslims all over Europe are suffering from the consequences of such associations. The main problem as Ahmed (1992) pointed out, is that the act of veiling among Muslim women or the veil itself is often associated with the lack of traditionalism and backwardness that does not fit into the modern society and among Western women who do not need to veil (Ahmed, 1992). This phenomenon suggests that we can reach the other cultural difference and how the West is fascinated with otherness and still continues within the Western media towards the Muslim world (Ahmed, 1992). Ayish (2010) pointed out in his paper that the Western media tends to portray Arab men as aggressive and abusers of women, and that they control women. Media portray that the women is always wearing her veil, staying at home raising children and only obey her husband who she fears. Newspapers studies has showed that Western illustration of Muslim marriage issues is vague and this is because the lack of the knowledge of foreign cultures and religions One could disagree that the major issue is Islamophobia, many Western journalists, unfamiliar with Islam religion, have a tendency to view the faith as cruel, backward and the contradictory of tolerance. (Ayish, 2010). Morin (2009) stated in his research that stories investigated about Muslim women have shown that Western news reports represents women as the oppressed, mistreated wife, who is obligated to a prearranged marriage by her parents or obligated out of a marriage, and that she is helpless and voiceless in both situations. Another disproportionate as stated by Ayish (2010), Sometimes, the Arab Muslim women is represented as the money hunter, who does not think about who she marries as long as the man she is going to marry is rich enough to indulge her hunger for money. In these situations on the other hand, Arab Muslim men think with different greed, they are sexually deprived and tends to treat women as sexual objects. The men are also harsh and controlling, playing with womens feelings and threats women through oral divorce. Women are thus represented by the Western media as weak and have no rights which permit men to claim superiority (Ayish, 2010). Dominant images of the veiled Muslim woman are always covered in the Western media to present the Muslim woman as a victim as well as being oppressed. (Ahmed, 1992). The veiled of Arab Muslim women has always been misrepresented by the media as it has became a symbol of the oppression of the Muslim woman. This representation as stated by Ahmed (1992), has been highly evoked since the event of the 9/11. As noted in Posetty (2008) research paper, Alison Donnell argues that the September 11 terrorist attacks resulted in media representations of veiling as an object of mystique, exoticism and eroticism and that the veil, or headscarf, is seen as a highly visible sign of a despised difference. The oppression of Muslim women has been regularly used in Western media as suggestive of the barbaric and pre-modern characteristics of Islam. As Helen Watson comments in her article the image of the veiled Muslim woman seems to be one of the most popular Western ways of representing the problem of Islam. (Posetty, 2008). According to Ahmed (1992), the veil has become the typical symbol of womens oppression in Islam, and is perceived as it creates hostility to Westerns. In fact, the Western media has ignored the fact that veiling as a practice existed before the rise of Islam, especially in Syria and Arabia. It was also a custom among Greeks, Romans, Jews and Assyrians, and not only to Islam. At that time, the veiled Arab woman was perceived as respectable and protected. (Ahmed, 1992). However, as Ahmed (1992) pointed out, the veiled woman is usually represented as having denied pleasure, fun, or bodily self-expression. In some of the Western conceptualizations veiling is used as a means of performing femininity self-exploration and play with identity. With these rising and continuous prejudices against Muslims and, especially, Muslim women, it seems to demonstrate that there is still a huge gap, a barrier that appears to prevent a sense, approval and understanding towards the Muslim other. And by the other we mean the oppressed, the traditional-bound, the factory-worker, the poor, etc. (Macdonald,2006). As mentioned before, besides the veil, discussions of the circumcision, polygamy, the sharia (Islamic) law, the harem, forced marriages, etc, are just a few issues that have made this group of women fit into the absolute, homogenous oppressed Muslim woman category. (Macdonald,2006). As noted in Falah Nagel (2005) paper, the problem lies when these visual images tend to portray Muslim women as a stereotypical figure; an oppressed figure suffering from a harsh culture. The veil especially is the major theme that is associated with the limitations and the oppression of Muslim Arab women as it was constantly deployed and replayed again in our visually dominated culture. Falah Nagel (2005) argue that the veil is not only representing the oppressed Muslims and Muslim women world, but also the hidden assumption about the superiority of the West in relation to that world. In this case, the figure of the veiled Muslim woman that is being represented through the media, is tending to represent these women as passive victims, muted, untraditional, and oppressed, which therefore creates a cultural-ideological barrier with the Western women. Thus, the problem is that the danger that is resulted from these representations of veiled Muslim women tends to create a division bet ween Western women (as modern, liberated) and Eastern women (as backward, oppressed), while also ignoring the diversity of practices, views and experiences of these women. As Falah Nagel (2005) pointed out, it seems important that the question on how to communicate with the other who is culturally and traditionally different has become one of the most urgent and immediate agendas within North-South/West-East relations and interactions. What is needed is an understanding of this sense of urgency, gaps and barriers that links to the Westerns knowledge of the veiled Muslim woman (Falah Nagel, 2005). As a result, veiled Muslim women become muted and misrepresented. Another major feature found in the Western media especially in advertising is the imagined perspectives such as the myths and fantasies Western culture has about Islam, the Muslims, and especially, veiled Muslim women. This means that not only misconceptions and misunderstandings towards Muslim women have been continuous in modern times, but it has also became widespread and universal by the advent of modern technology. (Falah Nagel, 2005). Miladi (2010) pointed out in his research paper that modern images of Muslim women in American advertisements, argues that Western advertisers tend to spread stereotypes and the wrong representations of the veil and Muslim women in order to appeal to consumers. As a result, advertisers use certain images of Muslim women that have been historically fixed in the Western mind, such as the harem, the hammas (public baths), the mysterious veiled woman or the oppressed woman living under an oppressive ruler or men and use this to attract consumers. The veil especially is itself is considered as an enormous marketing tool, as marketers often use the veil in order to sell sex. (Miladi, 2010). The use of the oppressed women and the veil in advertisements will make the Western consumers think that by buying the advertised product as well as buying the favors of the mysterious woman behind the veil. (Miladi, 2010). The problem as stated by Miladi (2010), is that Westerners are usually buying certain products for buying these imaginary images of the other. As a result, through the continuous and repetitive collective exposition to the media, a larger collective imagination will continue to be created and produced about this image of the imaginary veiled Muslim woman other. As mentioned by Gwinn (1997), the oppressed veiled Muslim woman in the ads may also be connected to the rising prejudices and debates that surround Muslim women and the veil in the Western world. The oppressed stereotypes of Arab Muslim women as stated by Ahadi (2009), has negative impacts on those women that is very obvious. Stereotypes occur when individuals are classifieds by others as having something in common because they are members of a particular group or category of people. Media stereotyping of women as objects and helpless beings creates very low expectations for societys Arab women. As mentioned by Morin (2009), women living abroad face distinctive discriminations from the Western communities. Western women are always considered as superior to Arab Muslim women especially, the veiled ones. In fact, Arab Muslim women are being oppressed by the negative representations created by the Western media. In addition, these representations may impact on these women psychologically as Western populations perceive the veil as a barrier between them and the veiled women.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)