Comparison Between Japan and Italy

Why does Japan attract so Many Less Tourists than Italy? Contents Introduction Page 2 International TourismPage 2 Key Aspects of JapanPage 3 Key Aspects of ItalyPage 4 Typical TouristPage 5 International CompetitionPage 5 Conclusion Page 5 Graphs Page 6 BibliographyPage 7 Introduction In this project I will be researching about the difference in tourism between Italy and Japan. I will be researching why there is such a big difference and I will add several graphs and climate data.I will be researching the tourist attractions. I will explain the similarities and differences. I will research about tourist attractions and why a family would choose this country instead of the other. I will research about the two environments. International Tourism International tourism is when a person or more travel out of their home land into a different country and/or religion. It means that they travel from one place to another for reasons like for medical, sport or business. Key Aspects of Japan K ey Aspects of Japan There are many tourist attractions in Japan but why doesn’t it get as many tourists as Italy?Japan has a place called Ginza which consists of department stores, shopping centres, restaurants and coffee shops. Ginza is said to be one of the best places for shopping in the world. It is said to also be very luxurious. The Ise Shrine located in the Mie state of Japan is the shrine built in the honour of goddess Ameterasu-Omikami. This is said to be one of the most sacred places in Japan because inside it holds the Sacred Mirror. Another interesting attraction is the Osaka Castle. It was built in 1583 in Osaka. This would be a great tourist attraction because it is very historical and the castle itself is very beautiful.The biggest tourist attraction I would have to say is Mt. Fuji. Is view is truly breathtaking. It is Japan’s biggest mountain. This would be a great place for someone who enjoys climbing or like sky diving. If the tourist appreciates art work then Kyoto National Art Museum is the place for them. It focuses on Asian and Japanese art from the days when it wasn’t modern. It is built traditionally so that the tourist can really feel like he or she’s part of that era. There is the longest suspension bridge in the world in Japan called Akashi Kaikyo suspension bridge. Is is nearly 4 km long and was finishes in a span of 12 years.One of the most historic and interesting attractions is the Great Buddha of Kamakura. Its nearly 14m tall in length and it is very interesting how this survived the tsunami in the 15th century where as the others were eliminated. The Great Buddha of Kamakura Key Aspects of Italy As we all know the Italians are renowned because of Gladiators and there old empires. There most magnificent attraction would most probably be the Canals of Venice. Its romantic ambience and Italian architecture surrounding it makes it the most admirable place with the Colosseum not far behind.As I mentioned the probably most famous of them all would be the Colosseum which was built at the time of gladiators. People of all ages would gather to watch people fight till the death. They used to cheer as this was one of their few ways of entertainment. Tourists will love the Colosseum because you get the feel that you’re walking through the ages. Pompeii was a lost city in Italy. It was lost due to Mt. Vesuvius erupting in 79 AD. I think this would be quite interesting as there are still remains on the land and also the lost city of Herculaneum is one to see as well.You get an insider in how people lived back then compared to now. Santa Maria Del Fiore is the largest brick cathedral ever built and was the biggest until the modern era. Santa Maria Del Fiore is the symbol of the beautiful city of Florence. This cathedral is a must see for tourists who are Catholics and it’s interesting to see how divine it would be inside. I think Italy would also be famous for its beaches. Altho ugh temperature doesn’t go very high on a good day everyone will be at the beach. Picture of Canals of Venice. Typical Tourist In my own opinion I believe that a typical tourist would go to Italy.They would go because Italy is more of a livelier place and has more interesting tourist attractions. People from all over the world would probably choose Italy because everyone wants to know about Italy’s history. Although the temperature is almost the same there’s way more precipitation in Japan due to monsoon months which tourists don’t want to enter. Japan does have the best technology in the world but they want to go to a country where there isn’t too much poverty which I think Italy fits that criterion. International Competition Two countries come to mind when we talk about competition in the tourist trade, South Korea and Greece.Greece is like Italy it has a lot of Greek history which people would ache to see and South Korea is like Japan, has a lot of good attractions yet not many tourists come. Many people would come to both Italy and Greece but at the state Greece is in at this moment of time with financial trouble if you’re going for business they should go to Italy. Conclusion In conclusion I believe Japan have less tourist because of they're attractions. They don’t have that much to attract people from all over the world although they have the technology for it.I think they should build more attractions like make a old village so you can show people how you used to live. Also because people all over the world want to go to a country where there isn’t too much poverty which is why they would choose Italy. Also because of the monsoon season they lose many tourists who don’t want to come when its full of water. Bibliography â€Å"Crossed Flag Pins. † Http://www. crossed-flag-pins. com. N. p. , n. d. Web. Sept. -Oct. 2012. ;http://www. crossed-flag-pins. com/Friendship-Pins/Japan/Flag-Pins- Japan-Italy. jpg;. â€Å"Daibutsu a Great Buddha of Kamakura. Daibutsu a Great Buddha of Kamakura Picture & Facts a Kanagawa,. N. p. , n. d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. . â€Å"Visitstmaarten. com Blog. † World Tourism Day 2010 on Tourism and Biodiversity, St Maarten. N. p. , n. d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. . â€Å"10 Top Tourist Attractions in Italy. † Touropia. N. p. , n. d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. . Tokyo, Japan:Climate, Global Warming, and Daylight Charts and Data. † Tokyo, Japan: Climate, Global Warming, and Daylight Charts and Data. N. p. , n. d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. ;http://www. climate-charts. com/Locations/j/JP47662. php;. â€Å"World Economic Outlook Database September 2011. † World Economic Outlook Database September 2011. N. p. , n. d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. ;http://www. imf. org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/02/weodata/index. aspx;. â€Å"Employees, Industry, Male (% of Male Employment). † Data. N. p. , n. d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. ;http://data. worldbank. org/indicator /SL. IND. EMPL. MA. ZS/countries;.

: Supply Chain Management Is Primarily of Interest to Manufacturing Firms

Overview Supply chains are networks of organisations, information, technologies, activities and resources involved in the movement and conversion of physical goods or services from suppliers to end consumers. These different organisations are interlinked by physical, information and monetary flows. Organisations create value by transforming raw products into finished goods or repositioning of resources thru space and time, which is based on networks of supply chains. Both ways, it involves the movement and conversion of physical goods and information throughout supply chains across the world.Therefore organisations and supply chains are closely interlinked in the creation of value for its customers. Manufacturing firms produce goods for use or sale using labour, machines, technology and other materials usually on a large scale. Processing of materials into products takes place in a factory or manufacturing plant where the organisation’s labour and machines work in unison to tr ansform raw material into a usable product, or using many components and process it into a finished product for the end consumer, just like how a baker is able to transform flour to bread thru labour, skill, machinery and tools.Supply chain management for manufacturing firms To achieve economies of scale, manufacturing firms needs to produce their products on a large scale. Generally the higher the production output of the firm, the lower the unit cost of their product will be. Besides output volume, the speed of production will determine the lead time from manufacture to delivery. High productivity will enable manufacturing firms to achieve shorter production cycles which equates to better competitiveness in their respective markets.Capacity management will determine how efficient the manufacturer will be in producing its goods. Over capacity will result in increased wastage and costs while under capacity will see the firm lose certain profits that it should gain. Thus manufacturer s needs to carefully consider the type and amount of capacity needed for its production when doing its supply chain planning. The timing of capacity changes also needs to be taken into consideration to achieve maximum efficenty given that demands of their products varies with seasonal changes.The ability to react to market demand changes quickly will determine manufacturers flexibility in keeping up with these demands. Manufacturers needs facilities to produce, whether warehouses to store its raw materials or finished goods, or manufacturing plants to produce their products. Services facilities are needed by certain manufacturing industries such as consumer electronics to cater for returns. Distribution centres also determine the efficenty of production distribution and un-nesessary inventory holding will result in higher holding cost.Such facilities require large investments and are integral of the manufacturer’s supply chain strategy and thus proper planning is needed when making these decisions regardong the size, location which affect the overall operations. How manufacturers run their productions also determine how successful will they be in terms of productivity and quality levels. Different types of equipment and processes also affect the cost and output of the manufacturing plant.Information systems that flow both upstream and downstream affects the forecasting, planning, inventory and production levels, they must be robust to ensure the manufacturing firm is able to react accordingly to changing demands and variations. In addition to their internal environment, manufacturing firms needs to consider procurement as an integral part of their supply chain strategy, supplier selection will affect the cost and how the manufacturer will run its production and ultimately affects the whole supply chain. Transportation systems as part of the supply chain plays an equally important role for manufacturing firm’s success.To reduce inventory holding l evels many manufacturing firms are running on a lean basis where they practice Just-In-Time delivery to meet production schedules. Transportation networks to customers have to be equally efficient to reduce lead time in accordance to lean manufacturing. Many manufacturing firms leverage supply chains to achieve competitive advantages in their markets. the case study on Procter & Gamble (Bozarth & Handfield, 2006: Pg 91-92) is a good example of how a manufacturing firm leverages on their supply chain to improve on their effectiveness and lowering cost.Procter & Gamble used to operate under five different business sectors according to different product lines such as paper goods and healthcare products in the mid 1990s. Originally this makes good sense to Procter & Gamble to better manage its’ diverse business. However for the retailers and customers of Procter & Gamble who is purchasing with all the different five entities, it also meant different order processing, invoicing an d deliveries when at the core the five entities are all under the same company.For Procter & Gamble it also a logistical nightmare as they faced issues with high volume of orders which resulted in errors, inefficient deliveries with many trucks delivering to the same customer with less than truckload full and inefficient invoicing by the different entities to the same customer. After Procter & Gamble redesigned the information and physical flows across their five entities, their customers only need to deal with one entity for all its product range and logistical process.The end result is a win-win situation where Procter & Gamble increased its profitability through cost savings and increased customer satisfaction. Their customers also gained with the efficient processes and they are also able to enjoy volume discounts from consolidated orders across their product range. Summary In order to excel, manufacturers might need to produce high variations of products, produce in large volum es to meet economies of scale, be flexible enough to meet the volatile markets demands and run a lean and efficient supply chain to save costs and reduce wastages.In view of such, supply chain management to manufacturing firms are of utmost importance if they wish to compete in today’s ferociously competitive markets. Besides making and selling a product, manufacturing firms need to manage and leverage on supply chain strategically in order to gain competitive advantages. As a result of globalisation and rapid technological changes, manufacturing firms needs to constantly focus on supply chain management to align their internal operations with their external environments.

Can Exercise Make Kids Smarter Essay Example for Free

Can Exercise Make Kids Smarter Essay I do feel exercise does and could make kids smarter. This article is mainly about scientist testing kids and animals to see how they react and their knowledge after exercising for certain amounts of time. In the article they prove scientifically that exercise has no real change on I. Q. and intelligence levels. Then they tested it and then made the pets and animals run some kind of test and instantly they scored went up just a little at least. Exercise I think just gets your mind working and thinking and that’s all that helps the scores. In my life I feel that when I get up a little early and do some quick activities my brain and mind are ready to think for the rest of the day. So I agree with the idea in this article. This article I think is truly about how exercise changes and helps the life of young people and animals. I feel exercise should be at least done every other day for at least 1 hour. Usually just getting up and exercising means you miss one game of x box or you miss one TV show, but in the big picture of life it is important to exercise. To the scientific part I think exercise gives you a mind set that your mind is fresh and clear and that’s why the scientific test don’t pick up a simple thing like that. Well I do feel exercise if nothing else sets your mind set and tells you you CAN do well on the test and comprehend a lot more that without exercise. This article helped me realize a lot about exercise and how sometimes scientific test are not as accurate as what they seem. Can Exercise Make Kids Smarter. (2017, Feb 21).

Preliminary investigation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Preliminary investigation - Assignment Example The basic steps include the filing of a Complaint-Affidavit, the Issuance of subpoena by the prosecutor who is investigating to the respondent, the filing of a counter-affidavit by the respondent, the filing of a Reply-Affidavit and Rejoinder-Affidavit and resolution. In a primary investigation, a number of things are included. They include: ascertaining if the suspect is armed and still in the area, proceeding to the scene safely and promptly, rendering assistance to the injured, effecting the arrest of the criminal, locating and identifying witnesses, interviewing the complainant and witness, maintaining the crime scene and protecting evidence, interrogating the suspect, arranging the collection of evidence, reporting the incident accurately and fully, and yielding the responsibility to the follow-up investigator (Urlacher & Duffy, 2010). The most important aspect of these is the securing of the crime scene and protection of evidence. This is because the scene of crime usually provides some important leads as well as evidence that can be useful in settling the case. If the scene is not secured, the evidence might be tampered with, and this jeopardizes the settling of the case. Preliminary investigation benefits the plaintiff in that it provides room for an investigation that might bring evidence that supports his or her case. It avoids a hasty trial that can be defeated on grounds of insufficient evidence. Therefore, by identifying a probable cause, the preliminary investigation helps to solidify the plaintiff’s case. It is beneficial to the judicial economy because with the appropriate evidence, judges are able to make a quick determination so that the case does not drag on for long. Mary Carter Agreements are used in the settlement of multi-party litigations. According to Sedrak (2012), a Mary Carter Agreement is a contract or agreement whereby one codefendant makes a secret agreement with the plaintiff that if

Choices and Decisions Enhancing Quality of Life Essay

Choices and Decisions Enhancing Quality of Life - Essay Example There has to be a proper arrangement of items in the environment so that it becomes presentable and lacking healthy hazards that can Habor diseases and other unwanted elements. Personal responsibility refers to the concept of people to having the ability to make choices, instigate or even cause their actions in different ways (Roth, 2005). When we make decisions that results in to certain actions and behavior, it is prudent that we can be legally liable or accountable for the outcomes. In this case, personal responsibility becomes different from the notion that human behavior and actions are brought about by factors beyond the control of the person himself (Pryor, 2010). It is important to note that all people have the ability to create an effective and reliable atmosphere where they can live harmoniously with other people. For this reason, it is important for people to understand that social power is something that I within everyone’s ability and control. In this understandin g, people are supposed to assume different levels of personal responsibility in order to have social power in the same way they places personal responsibility for political behavior (Greenfield, 2011). Many instances have been witnessed of people blaming the state of governance and social welfare in the community, while blaming it on the leaders in government, they always forget that it is their actions and choices in the voting process that placed them in power. This example illustrates the fact that people have to be responsible for their actions whether it is on the political, social or economic front. Personal responsibility is all about value creation, such that just as all values are personal so should be the decision to be responsible.

Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 16

Analysis - Essay Example The writer also deduces that the â€Å"sublimity and intrinsic dignity that lies in the command in duty† is evident, is not subjective, and does not go against the law. The reasons provided support the thesis by providing the two sides of binary deduction in the thesis. Since the thesis averred that duty should not be derived from human characteristics but from practical unconditional necessity; the passage explains the consequences when duty is derived from the two perspectives. When it is derived from human characteristics, it results to subjective principle, but when derived from unconditional necessity of action, it bears an objective principle. This way, the reader is able to compare and contrast the outcome of the two approaches. The passages plays a significant role because the reader is able to discern that sometimes we act because of being compelled by human characteristics; however, we should act with a sense of good faith, and that is the true sense of

The primary focus will be on the comprehensiveness of understanding Essay

The primary focus will be on the comprehensiveness of understanding the many components that are necessary to consider when desi - Essay Example The content of what children are taught in preschool and the method of teaching, or the curriculum is what measures the effectiveness and quality of learning in preschools. Programs focusing on serving 3- and 4-year-olds should decide the content of what children learn, as well as the best way to learn, if they are to improve children’s school success by enhancing their early skills and knowledge. The aim of this paper is to offer a framework that those making decisions can make use of when evaluating curriculums that would be suitable for a preschool program. Definition and scope of a preschool Children’s Health Encyclopedia defines a preschool as ‘an early childhood program in which children combine learning with play in a program run by professionally trained adults.’ Common enrolment years are children aged between ages three and five. Kids as young as two can attend preschools. While a daycare is to enable parents to work, preschool emphasis is on lear ning and development. Before the 1960s, education of young children was primarily the role of families within the home. Nowadays, most young children spend a big part of their time away from their parents. This may partly be attributed to an increase in the number of mothers working away from home. Parents also feel the desire to give their children a head start academically. The qualities of a good preschool, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research are: Helping children to expand their knowledge and build on their vocabulary Focus on literacy and language skills, plus and interactive book reading An emphasis on teaching children basic problem solving skills Learning beginning skills involving the alphabet, numerals and spatial awareness Preschools with the above qualities are only possible when the curriculum designed is good enough. That means the curriculum designer or decision-maker has in mind, the child, the parents and the teacher. For instance, when involving parents, the curricula can help make program-family partnerships or set up continuous meaningful communication with families. Curricular decisions should consider children’s ages, learning needs, cultural and linguistic backgrounds and economic status. Prior experience and training for the teacher is also important. Components of a Preschool Curriculum Given the many types of curriculum models available, there is an uncertainty regarding which models are appropriate for young children overall or more understandable to the population of the three and four year olds. Though the fields of early childhood advocates for programs that utilize what are known as Developmentally Appropriate Practices (Bredekampe & Kopple, 1997), it has not much research to endorse any single curriculum model as the best. Additionally, not a single state government or federal body directs use of just one particular curriculum in the publicly funded preschool programs. When the term curriculum is left undefined it may be very difficult to know what should be learned. It is also hard to sketch â€Å"the set of goals which are the aims of education for children† (as cited in Spodek & Saracho, 2003) in their programs, and what supports the â€Å"children’s physical, social, emotional, and cognitive growth† (as cited in Bowman et al., 2001). The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Associ

CRITICAL THINKING Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

CRITICAL THINKING - Coursework Example eas, theories and concepts of nursing and developing intellectual capacities and abilities in order to become self-directed, disciplined and critical thinkers (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2011). In nursing, critical thinking is the methodical, intellectual process of applying dexterous thinking as a guide to belief. It involves openness to question and reflection on the reasoning process employed to guarantee safe nursing practice and quality care. Critical thinking among nurses involves proficiency in using reasoning, adherence to intellectual standards, commitment to develop and sustain intellectual qualities of the mind and practices of ideas and the proficient use of reasoning skills (Finkelman, 2012). Nursing practitioners who are critical thinkers appraise and adhere to intellectual standards. Notably, critical thinkers in nursing endeavour to be unclouded, precise, accurate, significant, fair and logically competent when listening and speaking to patients and when reading and writing (Castledine, 2010). They think largely and deeply. In addition, critical thinkers in nursing develop their attitudes and dispositions to those of a fair-minded thinker. In this case, the nurses suspend their judgments till they truly apprehend another standpoint and phrase the position that another holds on a matter (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2011). Nurses come to coherent decisions so that they can act proficiently in practice. They continuously observe their reasoning, enquiring and replicating on the quality of

Advertising to the other Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Advertising to the other - Essay Example Fleishman –Hilliard Company concentrated on reaching out to potential customers in Canada, North America and globally. The potential customers mainly comprised environmental groups, oil-retailing companies and all-level institutions and companies that use energy. The objectives of an ad should reflect the intention of the marketing of the product. It is imperative for any advertising firm to consider the objectives of an ad before making any piece of advertisement (Williams, 2012). The Fleishman-Hilliard firm ads campaign sought to achieve different objectives. The primary objective of the ads is to promote the oil sands and Canada’s natural resource sector globally. The campaign ads incorporate this objective by using the ads to raise public awareness about the products made by the Canadian oil sands. The ads also aim at ensuring a fact-based dialogue about Canada being a responsible supplier of oil and other resources. The ad campaign aims at exploring online platform where customers can find information about Canadian oil sands. Finally, the ad campaign aims at portraying Canada as a competent and trustworthy neighbor in terms of industrial partnerships and acting responsibly. Advertising techniques are the ways in which advertising agents use to attract and engage minds of the target market and public. When made to be creative and captivating, they serve as very strong communication tools. Importance and relevance of a particular technique rests on its ability to trigger emotion and attract attention (Williams, 2012). Fleishman-Hilliard Company employed different techniques in its advertising Canadian Oil sands. These techniques included claims, repetition, bandwagon, association, and patriotism. An effective advertisement tends to imply or make claims about the unique capabilities of a particular product. The ads achieve this by concentrating on specific aspects of the

Nightmare Cover Art Essay Example for Free

Nightmare Cover Art Essay Avenged Sevenfold is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California. The band was formed in 1999. Presently, they consist of Matt Shadows(Vocalist), Johnny Christ(Bassist), Zacky Vengeance(Rhythm Guitarist) and Synyster Gates(Lead guitarist). Matt Sanders(M. Shadows); the lead singer of the band is one of the original founding members. He came up with the band name on being inspired by the fourth chapter in the Book of Genesis. It involves God asking Cain where his brother, Abel was. Cain answered that he didnt know, when in fact, he had killed Abel. †¦ whoever kills you will suffer seven times the vengeance. (Genesis 4:15, International Standard Version). Jonathan Seward(Johnny Christ) is the fourth bassist, and joined the band while he was still in High School in the year 2003. He is the youngest and shortest in the band. Zack Baker(Zacky Vengeance) is the band’s left-handed rhythm guitarist and backup vocalist. Zacky was a self-taught guitarist and would play his dad’s right-handed guitar upside-down by watching his favourite bands play and other people he knew that played, and practised as much as he could. Brian Haner Jr.(Synyster Gates) plays the lead guitar, and does backup vocals for the band. His father is Brian Haner. He also plays in some Avenged Sevenfold tracks. He mostly plays acoustic guitar solos that duel back and forth with Synysters electric guitar and also helped his son write So Far Away, a track on the band’s latest album that Brian had finished writing in memory of his late best friend and band-mate, Jimmy The Rev Sullivan. The Rev was known to the world as one of the greatest drummers of all time. He passed away on 28th December 2009, due to an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. Avenged Sevenfold kicked off with a metalcore sound on their first album ‘Sounding the Seventh Trumpet’, which included a lot of screaming vocals and heavy-metal guitar riffs. They then changed their style on their third release, ‘City of Evil’, which featured more of a mainstream hard rock style. They have still retained their heavy metal feel by using blazing guitar solos and blistering double-bass drumming patterns, while keeping their musical aggression at a minimum level compared to their earlier work which makes their music all the more appealing to the larger crowd. â€Å"The Rev ‘Seized the Day’ to conquer the ‘City of Evil’ in ‘Bat Country’, and forced the ‘Beast and the Harlot’ to ‘Scream’ their ‘Unholy Confessions’. He left them ‘Trashed and Scattered’ and ‘Blinded In Chains’ with the ‘Strength of the World’. He found it ‘Almost Easy’ and became a ‘Sidewinder’ and slithered to ‘A Little Piece of Heaven’ in his ‘Afterlife’, now he is ‘M.I.A.’ and his ‘Nightmare’ has come to pass. RIP Jimmy The Rev Sullivan, youre gone but NEVER forgotten!† Sevenfold, A. (n.d.). Quote by Avenged Sevenfold. Retrieved December 10th, 2012 from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/308559-the-rev-seized-the-day-to-conquer-the-city-of This meaningful quote is a tribute to the late legend and also uses quite a few of Avenged Sevenfold’s track names as characteristics of the quote to convey a very important message about The Rev’s personality. Avenged Sevenfold has released five studio albums, fifteen singles, and one live album/compilation. The album artwork of their latest album ‘Nightmare’ deeply reflects on the music and the band’s life without their beloved friend, The Rev. The musicality has advanced since their emergence and this is their most technically advance album yet. At first glance, it’s no doubt that the band is Avenged Sevenfold. Not just because of the text stating the obvious, but because of their signature symbol that they have made known all over the world as the Deathbat. It was originally designed by their high school friend named Micah Montague. The Deathbat is the key element in almost any Avenged Sevenfold image or poster and has also appeared on every album cover, many of which were done by Cameron Rackam, a close acquaintance of the band. Another key element in this album’s artwork is the noticeable highlighting of the alphabets ‘REV’ in the word ‘Forever’ on the tombstone. There is a pretty deep connection through which emotions pla y a major role as to how the overall message is being conveyed, which in this case is the fact that The Rev; who was by no doubt a great person and who was loved by the whole world; has moved on into his afterlife and that his memories will be treasured in everyone’s hearts and minds ‘foREVer’. With regard to color theory, it’s safe to say that Nightmare’s album art is analogous in nature. Ranging from the green(dark; leaves) end to the blue end of the color spectrum wheel. In terms of temperature, this artwork has been designed to incline more towards the cooler half of the spectrum as it can be easily inferred because of its blue sky, especially at the point where the smoke is lighter in colour, in turn providing a chilled and cold effect. The girl’s pale skin is also a sign of fear which is a marvellous combination of taking the word ‘cold’ both, literally as well as metaphorically. The fonts used are pretty spooky too. The frequent uneven thickness in certain parts of different letters in ‘Avenged Sevenfold’ makes it the most noticeable component of the art. Also, as it is white in colour, it stands out from the rest of the contrasting colours. The red ‘Nightmare’ is the only warm colour used in the entire cover. It must be so because the artist was trying to convey feelings of passion and love towards their late friend. But also since the font has more edgy feel to it, it could have slight traces of anger and anxiety too. The deathbat here is no longer just a floating skull with small wings. The symbolism used here shows that the band has grown in maturity as well as musically; hence the large deathbat with a cloak covering its presently unknown body. The album is titled ‘Nightmare’ as it is a dark word that sends shivers down one’s spine. They’ve used a good combination of the cold environment in the picture along with the hot portrayal of the album-name(red in colour). It is called so because on the day they completed writing the record’s lyrics, The Rev admitted that he was totally excited and eager to record this album. But sadly, he passed away three days after that. This came as a shock to everyone and was a nightmare to the band. Hence they dedicated this album to him. Every time I look at the cover while listening to any of this album’s songs, it feels as though a story is being told. Every song is a reminder of The Rev and that was another reason why this album topped the billboard charts, standing at #1 in the first week itself. This album really connected to all Avenged Sevenfold fans.

Communication Strategy In Obesity Awareness Health And Social Care Essay

Communication Strategy In Obesity Awareness Health And Social Care Essay Communication is a procedure that is basically concerned with the transmission and acceptance of messages which may either change peoples perception or not (Tones and Green, 2005). This delivery of information and counsel is fundamental to strategies in a well being programme development (Naidoo and Wills, 2009, p.185). This procedure and the result of its accessibility, presents impulsive responses that affect the attitudes and opinions of many people. Therefore, communication strategy means the use of conventional media support to pass across important information to the populace so as to enhance a change in peoples way of life (Naidoo and Wills, 2009, p.185). The communication strategy for this assignment will focus on the issue of obesity among college students in Newtownabbey area of Northern Ireland, how to raise awareness about its risk, and how to combat it through informed knowledge by reducing the havoc it can cause later in life to young adults if proper strategies are not put in place. Rationale In the western world most especially in the UK and the USA an outbreak of diet associated ailment is affecting the general public, which had led to an exceptional increase in the occurrence of obesity and its related ailment, that have led to imperative intervention for its eradication (Department of Health, Chief Medical Officer, 2003). It was also estimated by the (World Health Organisation [WHO], 2002) that roughly 58% of type 2 diabetes, 21% of CVD and 42% of some kind of cancers are ascribed to surplus adiposity in the body. This data was supported by a report written by the National Audit Office (2001) stating that over 9000 premature mortality is recorded each year in England due to obesity related disease, which causes a reduction in life anticipation by about 9 years. The consequences of obesity can have a serious impact on peoples health and wellbeing especially teenagers by affecting them socially, psychologically and physically. This impact of obesity was summarised by (DHSSPS, 2002; Fit-future, 2006) as Socially causing a reduction of life expectancy by roughly nine years. Physically causing a major increase in the risk of Northern Ireland leading destructive ailment like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer. Psychologically causing a major impact on teenagers self-esteem and emotional well being. Physically predisposing overweight children to becoming obese adults in future. In Northern Ireland it was reported that obesity was said to be causing 450 deaths every year which is equal to more than 4000 years of misplaced life (DHSSPS, 2002). Also it was gathered that this pandemic always lead to a 260 000 wasted productive years, which is equivalent to around  £500 million economic lost (Fit-future, 2006). Background Obesity in children has drastically increased in England from 11% in 1995 to 19% in 2004 among boys of ages between 2-15 years old while the same trend also affected girls of the same age range by a radical increase from 12% in 1995 to 18% in 2004 (Department of health [DH], 2005). Fit-future (2006) also reported that the level of obesity in children in Northern Ireland is increasing every year resulting in about 20% of boys and 25% of girls being overweight or obese in primary one. This has resulted into more than a quarter increment in overweight and obesity in the last 10 years among 12 and 15 years old teenagers residing in Northern Ireland (Watkins and Murray, 2005). This is why this communication strategy intervention needs to be promulgated to ensure that young citizens are fully aware of the consequences of obesity and its predisposing factor. Management and Theoretical Opinions Peoples way of life in relation to their health has been regarded as the origin of several current diseases, which can be controlled by exploring many models in health that recognizes the reasons for behavioural transformation (Naidoo and Wills, 2009). Kobetz et al. (2005) claimed that a well constructed and strategic propagation of a theory based health communication and identifying the relevance of the theory is a major input to achieving a successful communication. In order to have a valuable communication strategy that is well managed to combat the pandemic of obesity in childhood, the health promoter has sourced the help of a model called the Health Belief Model (HBM) (Becker, 1974). Janz and Becker (1984) declared that this model was previously developed to envisage precautionary health behaviours. The model looks at how beliefs impact on behaviour (Abraham and Sheeran, 2005), .i.e. what a person put into practice depends on how defenceless they recognize themselves to be to the ailment, their idea about susceptibility to the ailment (obesity) and its predisposing factor, the anticipated severity of that incidence, the advantage of implementing self-protection, and the barrier to its implementation. Where such health beliefs are understood from health education or perceived symptoms, it can help in stimulating healthy behavioural change (Naidoo and Wills, 2009). This is why a college is chosen to propagate and increase the awareness of obesi ty pandemic among children and to suggest a solution that could be of help to teenagers. Prochaska et al. (1992) also brought the idea of another model that suggests that individuals change their actions at some specific stages in life rather than making a single revolution. This model identifies that an individual move through several ladder to attain a healthy living only if they are aware of the necessity to make corrections. Empowerment as related by (Tones and Tilford, 2001) was pointed out to be the major goal of health message propagation, because it help to develop individual autonomy and ensure they gain more power over their daily lives. It focuses on a bottom-up programme development technique (Laverack, 2005), because it tends to appraise peoples necessities before a strategy that will suit their condition is planned. An empowered and independent individual who recognizes that being obese can results into a lot of life threatening diseases later in life, which could make life miserable would tend to be cautious about the kind of lifestyle they adopt. This empowerment approach is viewed from the micro and macro perspectives, which are the self-empowerment and the community development approach (Naidoo and Wills, 2009). The former shows the extent at which individuals have authorities over their relationship with the society (Berry, 2007), while the latter encourage groups in the community to colle ctively discover their needs. Therefore, an approach that empowers, inform and enhance change in conduct is required for an effective health campaign. In planning a health communication programme whose overall goal is to increase the awareness of obesity, it is very crucial that the establishment work collectively together and coordinate themselves in the same direction. This combined work is evaluated by using the idea of the SWOT analysis which considers the interior and the exterior component of an environment as a very important part of the premeditated planning process (Jackson et al., 2003). This assesses the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats involved in planning the strategy. This assessment includes: Strength: The help of some of the staff of the institution will be requested for volunteering role to reduce the finances of the plan, and to make student have a sense of belonging, since some of their tutors will be involved in impacting the messages. Weaknesses: Problems might arise from encouraging food vendors to change the kind of food they prepare , because they might be reluctant in making changes due to an anticipated reduction in their sales and profit. A conflict problem might also arise when trying to create partnership among the department that would be involved. Funding of the strategy might also create a hindrance. Opportunities: This strategy might help to reduce students thought of choosing to eat food that are life threatening. Threats: This can lead to reduction of students purchasing power on foods that are high in cholesterol, which could affect the shops that need to make profit. All effective organisation routine relies on the triumphant management of the prospects, challenges and the risks presented by the outside atmosphere. A well recognized technique for analysing the general environment is the PEST analysis .i.e. the Political, Economic, Socio-cultural and Technological influences (Harvard Business School Press, 2006). The key issues pertaining to the current strategy are explained below: Political: The existing nation policies will be sourced to ensure the effectiveness of the new strategy by checking whether there are surviving political issues on obesity, and to exercise how this new intervention will add more to the knowledge of the public. Economic: An approximate idea of the student finances will be identified, to assess if they will be able to afford the healthy food, so as to ensure compliance. Socio-cultural: Student belief about the kind of food they eat their environmental and peer group influence on the choice of food they purchase will be examined. Technological: Effort to provide weighing machines for Body Mass Index (BMI) check on campus and in the hall of residence and also provision of healthy food transaction machines. In an organizational system it is of utmost significance that the manager and the leaders in charge of the success of an organization are well equipped with the traditions and personality of the people they work with. An effective leader and manager must ensure that they play a dynamic role, designate people and resources to the right avenue, and promote success all the time (Young and Dulewicz, 2009). A manager duty was summarized by (Stewart, 1999) as someone that makes a decision on how an establishment should be run by laying good examples in practice, cultivating the act of motivating the staff, encouraging good interpersonal interaction and communication, as well as ensuring improvement of staff skills and knowledge through different improvement programmes. It was also stated by Hargie and Dickson (2004, p.8) that managers at all levels must engage in four major activities to ensure the success of an organisation, this includes: planning, organising, leading and evaluating. There are different management theories that can be used in planning this strategy, but the contingency theory is the best (Donaldson, 2001). It was claimed by (Vecchio, 2000) that the technique and systems of running an organization bulge down to the incentive given to the staff and the dedication of the staff to the company. Leadership was also described by (Mullins, 2002) as the value that can be introduced into a profession which is not designated to a particular person but comes as an impulsive reaction. In achieving an effective management technique, maintaining a conflict free team work must be the ultimate duty of a leader as well as a good manager. A management skill that will ensure acknowledging the ideas of all team members must be established to avoid conflict, because a victorious team must have an apparent goal, good interpersonal relationship, excellent communication skills and must be up to the task. This idea was supported by Hargie and Dickson (2004) when they highlighted the four major skills that must be exercised to shun conflict. Martins and Rogers (2004) stated that to properly deal with a team conflict, a manager must adopt the ability to negotiate and bargain, which is very important in tackling a team problem. This help to create a rapport among the team members which will ensure reaching a compromise by finding solution to the conflict. Martin and Rogers (2004) also suggested that for a manager to be in full control, he must be calm, logical in his thoughts and be able to control his emotions. To meet the overall aims of this strategy, Martin and Rodgers (2004) pointed out that it will be important to adopt a coordinated partnership approach. This will involve statutory sectors, particularly health and education, local, voluntary and community sectors such as Health and Social Trust, as well as Healthy Living Centre. Such organisations could be involved in supporting and providing information to increase awareness. Communication Strategy The chosen venue for the proposed communication strategy is the Northern Regional College (NRC) in Newtownabbey area of Northern Ireland, since early years of children and teenagers has been described as a period when they tend to acquire long term behaviours and attitudes (Naidoo and Wills ,2009, p.206).The NRC is an educational and learning institution where skills can be impacted in a secure and compassionate environment ,which made it a perfect place for propagating a health message ( Xiangyang et al., 2003). In view of the fact that teenage years are characterized by peer group influence, the school surroundings provides a chance to communicate with adolescent and provides learning opportunities and a secure environment to perform latest skills (Naidoo and Wills, 2009, P.207). This strategy will focus on young children of both sexes in a college setting of age range 14-16 years old through the adoption of a classroom-based method of delivering lecture that will enlighten the students on the proper dietary habit and the kind of healthy food they can lay their hands on. This educational intervention will comprise of about five lectures, which will be accomplished in a week. Different materials like visual aids, slides and transparency that have been pre-tested in the pilot study will be used by the volunteers and the health promoter involved in propagating the messages. The visual aid will contain important information on diet and health, many food deficiency disorders, and importance of physical activity and the various kinds that will suit the student daily life. Interpersonal interactions, small group discourse and group work, as well as workshops that will comprise of the use of the slides to convey healthy eating messages to increase the awareness of ob esity, that is tips that will assist them to eat well will also be show cased to augment the stuff of the message being delivered (Parrot, 2004). A follow up pamphlet containing all the messages delivered will be provided for the college students to upgrade the information they have heard during the intervention. Posters displayed at every corner of the school will also be involved to ensure students are well informed. Overall Goal The overall aim of this communication strategy is to inform and raise the intensity of consciousness among college students about the risk of obesity. Objective The purpose of this proposed strategy will centre on enlightening student by creating alertness, which will result in healthy way of life from the scrash by catching them in their juvenile years. The objective is adapting the term (SMART), which means the aim must be Specific for the programme, Measurable, Achievable in its totality, and Realistic to the target group as well as Time conscious (Mullins, 2002). The learning objectives are To create awareness about the kind of healthy food that can promotes healthy living among teenagers. To guarantee teenagers disseminate the message received from school to other members of the families for optimum health. To enlighten students about the kind of lifestyle they need to instill to avoid the risk of having the ailment. To establish whether student have a prior knowledge of the ailment and its consequences. To prevent obesity and overweight by promoting attitudes, knowledge and communication skills that makes healthy eating practices realisable. Time Frame The anticipated time for the programme would be within a three months period. Which means the strategic planning should start roughly in May 2010 and execution of the plan should begin in June and end in July 2010. During this period the pilot study that is incorporated into the plan will be undertaken, to provide an opportunity to appraise and monitor the effectiveness of the strategy, so as to make amendment where necessary. Implementation of the Strategy To achieve a success in carrying out this strategy an ethical issue must be considered, since the target group are among the vulnerable groups of the society. This view was declared by (Beauchamp and Childress, 2001) where they highlighted the four famous ethical principles that need to be put in place when organising any health promotion campaign. This include respecting peoples autonomy and confidentiality, being beneficence, causing no destruction to people, and making good justice as at when necessary. Considering all this ethics the message to be delivered must be free of ambiguities, threat free, and must also be from an authentic source to avoid misinformation. Evaluation The appraisal for this strategy must be in line with measuring the goal set down during the planning of the strategy. Since evaluation is done mainly to assess the development and the usefulness of a programme, it is fundamental to gather information during the commencement and closing of an intervention program (Naidoo and Wills 2009, p.296). The type of data considered necessary for this anticipated strategy will involve the use of the two means of gathering information .i.e. the qualitative and the quantitative method of data collection (Parry-Langdon et al., 2003). An impact assessment method of evaluation will be incorporated into the sessions by distributing questionnaires to the college students to fill in furtively before each session and instantly after the session to assess their knowledge about obesity ailment and its risk before and to measure the impact of the strategy on the college students after the intervention. A focus group dialogue will also be held amo ng students and their tutors to establish if the modus operandi used for the programme execution was a good idea. This is needed to prove the quality of the future programme that will be executed (Nutbeam, 1998). Conclusion Obesity is regarded as one of the key health predicament facing both the developed and developing society today, and it is fundamental that society are provided with all the essential information and support required to improve and sustain high-quality health. The role of communication in enabling and empowering the populace to make intelligent decisions about life is vital to changing behaviour, and the approach in which knowledge is assimilated goes a long way in effecting change. The effectiveness of communication depends on the authenticity of peoples daily lives and their present practices, as well as their perception towards existence. To attain prolong success in health promotion; it is very crucial that work is motivated by using the bottom up approach (Naidoo and Wills, 2009), and to ensure all management issues are taken into consideration.

Comparison of the American and Chinese Cultures Essay -- Papers USA Ch

Comparison of the American and Chinese Cultures Cultural differences are apparent from one group of people to another. Culture is based on many things that are passed on from one generation to the next. Most of the time people take for granted their language, beliefs, and values. When it comes the cultural differences of people there is no right or wrong. People should be aware of others culture and respect the differences that are between them. The United States and China are two very large countries that have cultures that are well known through out the world. There are many differences between the United States and China, but there are many contributing factors that shape the cultures of these two countries. Language is universal, but there are different meanings and sounds, which vary from one culture to another. In China citizens speak many languages, but about 94% speak the Chinese language. The difference in dialects was overcome by the written word and eventually a version of Mandrin became the â€Å"official speech† (The Cambridge Illustrated History of China, 1996,p.304). In America there are many ethnic groups with many varieties of language. The U.S. was created through many people from different countries migrating to the new states. In the U.S. there is an â€Å"official speech† which is the English language. The language of both these countries are not only different in meaning and sound, but also reflect the way in which the people in these societies live, believe, and function. Religion usually plays a big part in the cultures of the world and is the basis for their beliefs and values. In many countries religion is very important, so important that some cultures use it in every aspect of their lives. China l... ... World Wide Web: http://english.peopledaily.com. Chinatown-online is a wonderful site with an abundance of information about China. (http://www.chinatown-online.com). Henslin, J. M., (1999). Sociology A Down-to-Earth Approach (4th ed.). Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon. Education for Children: (1999). Retrieved March 21, 2001, from the World Wide Web: http://chineseculture.about.com/culture/chineseculture/l†¦/blskids4.htm?terms=chinese+educatio Thinkquest Team, (1998) . Destiny, the Culture of China: http://library.thinkquest.org/20443/culture.html ICL Document, (1988) . ICL- China Constitution: Retrieved March27, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/law/ch00000_.html American academy of Pediatrics (AAP), (1999). US Vital Statistics show Death Rates down, Birth Rates up: http://www.aapaorg/advocacy/archives/decvital.htm

The Way of the Future for Computing :: Essays Papers

The Way of the Future for Computing Computer technology is changing faster than ever. It is interacting with our daily lives and helping us make choices. The next step will be for the technology to make the decisions and choices for us. It will help us do the shopping, or will schedule our day for us. Computer technology will enable people â€Å"to do more by doing less†. That at least is the hopes and dreams of the M.I.T. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) team that is working on a project called Oxygen. In the past computers were huge, taking up whole walls of buildings, and incredibly expensive. Then they were able to fit on desktops. Now we’re able to carry them around with us. You can’t go anywhere without seeing them. The vision of the Oxygen Project is â€Å"in the future, computation will be freely available everywhere, like batteries and power sockets, or oxygen in the air we breathe†. (mit.edu) computation will be in the human world, able to handle our goals and needs. There won’t be any need to carry personalized devices, such as phones, laptops, or etc. around with you. â€Å"Instead, â€Å"anonymous† devices, either handheld or embedded in the environment, will bring computation to us, no matter where we are or in what circumstances.† (mit.edu) The devices will become so familiar to a person that they will be able to find any information or software that we need. There will be no more typing or clicking needed . You won’t have to learn a computer language. Instead, you will be able to talk naturally with speech, vision, and phrases that describe your objectives. The rest the computer will handle. There are many aspects to the oxygen project to make it as successful as M.I.T. would like it to be. I can’t cover them all because I don’t want to write a book, but I will discuss the automation part of it. This is a branch of the user technologies. User technologies is what everyone will work with or use like a telephone.

Death and Love in Little Women Essays -- Louisa May Alcott, Little Wom

   "Four women, taught by weal and woe To love and labor in their prime. Four sisters, parted for an hour, None lost, one only gone..." (365-366). Jo wrote these lines in a poem, after Beth died. This is the most significant struggle for Jo. Jo and Beth are the two middle sisters in the classic novel, Little Women (1869) written by Louisa May Alcott. This is a classic novel about an American family of four daughters, a father who is off at war and a mother who works for the food. Jo and Beth are best friends and Jo sets the example for Beth. Beth first gets sick when Mother goes off to take care of Father, who got seriously ill in the war. Beth comes down with scarlet fever that she caught from the baby down the road. Beth requests that Jo stay by her side, which she does. Beth was sicker then any one, other then the doctor and Hannah (the servant) thought. Jo decides to send for her mother, as she can not handle the burden by herself. Jo admits to Teddy that "Beth is my conscience and I can't give her up. I can't! I can't!" (143) As time elapses, both Mother and Father come home and Beth starts feeling better. Beth also starts to fall in love with Teddy (the boy next door), who loves Jo instead. Teddy asks Jo to marry him, she declines, for she does not love him and knows that Beth loves him. Beth starts to become better and Jo decides that it would be a good thing for her to move to New York, to get away from it all. In New York, Jo lives with a family friend, and becomes their families mistress. Jo meets Professor Fredrick Bhaer, a German teacher, and becomes good friends. Jo forgets about the engagement proposal, but keeps in touch with Teddy and her family. After a year, Jo gets word again that B... ... her. She sits down and writes a poem about her three sisters and herself. It turns out to be a beautiful poem about their lives thus far, and what shall become of them, in her mind. After she is done she lets her husband read it and then she burns it, as to get rid of all the painful memories that came with the writing.    After Jo had got married, had her babies, and opened up the school for the boys, she learned that every day and every person is a gift from God. She also learned to be thankful that she had Beth for as long as she did, and to treasure the memories. "Into each life some rain must fall, Some days must be dark and sad and dreary" (375). Even though, Jo thought she had lost the best thing in her life, she learned to move on.    Bibliography Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women, Children's Classic Garden City New York, 1869   

Conflict Theory and Crime Essay

Time magazine reports an alarming study, where the United Stated is imprisoning more offenders (violent and nonviolent) in prisons and jails than any other country in the world. It is useful to use conflict theory and structural functionalism to explain this practice and to break down the topic with these two schools to then begin building solutions to this crisis. The report done by the Pew Center urges states to stop the practice of putting non-violent offenders behind bars. The report also points to the spending done on corrections, which outweighs spending done on education. From a conflict theory standpoint, many â€Å"law and order† type states demonize low-level offenders, such as drug and alcohol users, and alienate them from society. These people are more likely to become â€Å"caught in the system† and commit low-level crimes (such as stealing to support a drug habit) to only re-enter jail or prison. Even though addiction is viewed as a disease, it is not treated as such, therein lies the structural functionalist perspective that the system of law is black and white. The system functions to exhibit to society what actions are allowable and which actions are criminal, from this perspective there are no nonviolent and violent offenders, only offenders. Both schools of thought are helpful in pointing out many of the interesting points in the article. According to the study, 1 in 100 Americans are in jails or prisons. Add to that number the disproportionate numbers of minorities incarcerated and from a conflict standpoint, one can see inequality in this number. One in thirty men ages 20-34 are behind bars while for African-American men, the number is 1 in 9. For women ages 35 to 39, 1 for every 355 Caucasian women are imprisoned while the figures for their African-American counterparts is 1 in 100. From the article, as well, it is shown that spending on schools is less than spending on corrections. From a conflict standpoint, it can be presupposed that schools in more violent areas could serve to help children, who may be susceptible to criminal activity, but since these schools are in â€Å"bad† neighborhoods they receive little help. Therefore, looking at poverty as inequality and the ignorance of education in lieu of incarceration spending is important, the study suggests. From a structural functionalist perspective, one can gather from reading the article, that many of the programs used today to get â€Å"tough on crime†, such as the three strikes law is putting more prisoners behind bars. From this perspective, one can see that the system of justice reacts to the public outcry for punishment for certain crimes and in turn react by enforcing stricter laws. The structure of law is something that changes due to the differences in the social value system. When a value held by Americans is threatened, for example when an ex-offender is released and commits a heinous murder on re-entry to society, the laws change to reflect the feelings of discourse. The system therefore, has changed to reflect an increasingly punitive society and another interesting note in the article is that the United States remains one of the leaders in nations, in relation to capital punishment. The structure of justice reflects the American structure of punishment and incarceration while the value of treatment and mediation is almost non-existent. In closing, the article â€Å"US Incarceration Rate Hits New High† is a look into the cost of conflict and the inadequate use of punishment in the system of justice. The sociological schools of conflict and structural functionalist theory are helpful in looking at these numbers in the current research to later apply it to ameliorating the problem, as many states are in a financial crisis with this problem. The Pew Center is urging the states, so burdened by high costs and high inmate population, to curtail the practice of incarcerating non-violent offenders. Hopefully further sociological studies will help this process further. References Crary D. (February 28th, 2008). â€Å"US Incarceration Rate Hits New High†. in Time Magazine. Available online http://www. time. com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1718266,00. html. Last accessed February 28th, 2008.

Shakespeare Relevance Today

?English Discussion on Shakespeare „What point is there in studying a dramatist who lived 400 years ago? † Shakespeare is a British dramatist, lyric poet and actor who lived from 1564-1616. Today it’s the 6th of september 2010. Shakespeare died almost 400 years ago. So why should people still keep busy with someone who lived such a long time ago? Why is Shakespeare still studied today? Many pupils would answer: Because teachers love to bore us. How could someone who lived 400 years ago write about anything which is from current interest?I think, even if Shakespeare doesn’t live anymore, he has a certain influence on the present. Weather in his own works (Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night’s dream, Hamlet, Macbeth) film adaptions of his works, theatre plays or in our everyday life- Shakespeare is everywhere. Besides Shakespeare is not just any dramatist. He is the dramatist who shaped the English language and whose words are still used today. There are about 1700 words which Shakespeare used first in his works. Most of these words, for example â€Å"critical† or â€Å"bloody† are still used even in our everyday conversations.But it’s not only his words that are still used, there are even whole expressions just like â€Å"There is something in the wind† or â€Å"That’s Greek to me†. By the way Shakespeare is also the most quoted dramatist. Who doesn’t know the quotes â€Å"To be or not to be† (Hamlet) or â€Å"A horse, a horse, a kingdom for a horse†? (Richard III) He is the dramatist whose language and expressions still fascinate people. Especially nowadays, in the century of language decline, Shakespeare’s well-formulated rhymes, seasoned with word games and his words, full of meaning and truth can inspire people.His sonnets are of such a beauty, that it’s a joy to read them. It seems like he didn’t only use the words- he brought them to life, jus t like his characters. When reading the book you can feel with them. His characters are failable, they do things because of reasons and motifs, which are still relevant today, just like love (Romeo and Juliet) or jealousy (Othello) He is the dramatist who wrote about topics which are universal and the dramatist who wrote about both the beauty of life and the ugliness of it.Certain situations which are given in his works could still happen today. Shakespeare’s probably most famous work â€Å"Romeo and Juliet† is for example about forbidden love because of hatred between two families. Today there are still reasons just like religion or nationalities why lovers can’t be together. In â€Å"A Midsummer night’s dream† Shakespeare describes the funny side of life that results from misunderstandings.I guess for every one of us there has already been a situation where it seemed like there are really elves who messed everything and left a love chaos. â€Å" The tragedy of Othello† shows us, what people do out of jealousy, and how easy it is to influence people. Shakespeare is the dramatist who understood the human mind very well. He was a connoisseur of human nature. Reading Shakespeare’s works and identifying with his characters can help us to develop a better understanding of human nature and a wider knowledge of the factors which influence human behaviour.Shakespeare was a genius and I think it’s important to motivate pupils to deal with him. There are not many pupils who would do that voluntarily but I think if you fade out the prejudice that the language is too difficult to understand or that teachers just want to bore us with Shakespeare it can be a pleasure to deal with his works. Just as Ben Jonson (british poet, 1572-1637) once said â€Å"He was not of an age, but for all time! † And I guess that’s right.

Illustrate and Critically Discuss the Representation of Gay People in Television Sitcoms or Soap Opera.

Illustrate and critically discuss the representation of gay people in television sitcoms or soap opera. As the issue of representation is central to this essay, it is important to note that there have been problems with identifying a definitive meaning of ‘representation’. Several theorists have commented on the concept of representation. Stuart Hall (1997: 61)) defines representation as ‘the process by which members of a culture use language†¦to provide meaning’.From this meaning, he says, we can already see that ‘representation’ cannot possibly be a fixed, unchangeable notion. While culture and language evolve and grow with human society, the same must therefore be said of the perceptions of ‘representation’. Gillian Swanson (1991: 123) backs up Hall’s theory, observing that ‘there can be no absolute version of ‘how things are’ but only many competing versions’. She continues: Ideas about what people are like and how they are meant to be understood already prevail in our culture.They give meaning to our sense of self and allow us to position ourselves in relation to others. Such meanings and attitudes are reproduced in representation but the way representations are constructed is as important as the ideas and meanings they project, since they offer positions for us, through which we recognise images as similar, or different from, ourselves and those around us. We continually define ourselves in changing relations to those meanings; images change over time and the meanings which are legitimated by the social or cultural context change as well.The general idea of ‘representation’ then, not only changes over time, but may also have several different interpretations at any given point. Alexander Doty and Ben Gove (1997: 84) argue that when discussing homosexual representation in the mass media and popular culture we must look ‘beyond understanding the â₠¬Ëœmass’ or ‘popular’ as necessarily meaning a mainstream media or culture that only addresses millions of heterosexuals’. They acknowledge another, ‘alternative’ mass media that runs parallel to the ‘mainstream’ mass media but has been pushed to the sidelines in the past.A conservative viewpoint would state that this is because the mass media should convey the will and desires of the ‘majority’ and therefore should not be made to positively represent anything that contradicts the society’s dominant ideology. However, Doty and Gove note that in recent years the lines between these ‘mainstream’ and ‘alternative’ mass media have become blurred with, for example, the screening of programmes written, starring and watched by lesbians, gays and queers on television.Having said that, this by no means implies that there is less of an issue to be raised by the representation of homosexuality on television. The most obvious issue surrounding this is, of course, the stereotyping of gay characters on television and, in particular, television sitcoms. While gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender characters did not appear in television sitcoms until the 1970s, modern television sees an entire genre of situation comedies featuring gays.These types of programmes are no longer written by the homosexual for the homosexual, but have become integrated within Doty and Gove’s ‘mainstream’ mass media. They discuss the importance of being aware of who finances, creates, publicises and exhibits a certain programme, and how these factors might affect the way that programme represents ‘queerness’. For example, the two creators of the ‘gay-best-friend’ sitcom Will & Grace are Max Mutchnick, who is gay, and David Kohan, who is straight.Arguably, the way in which ‘queerness’ is represented here may have benefited from having a homosex ual and a heterosexual input. This way, the show has more chance of appealing to a wider ‘mass’ audience. Consequently, it is possible that the gay, lesbian or queer characters featured in television sitcoms may have been tailored, in a sense, for a heterosexual audience. This could go some way to clarifying why Will & Grace, unlike many other similar sitcoms of its kind, has become so popular. Stephen Tropiano holds a simpler view, claiming that ‘the success of Will & Grace really comes down to one thing – it’s funny.What separates Will &Grace from the gaycoms that only last a few months has little to do with its politics and more to do with the talent of the performers and the quality of the writing and direction (mainly, James Burrows, one of the best in the business). ’ Swanson notes the ‘extreme and caricatured way in which [stereotyping] draws on commonly-held impressions and assumptions’. It may be assumed that the views Sw anson talks about are ‘commonly-held’ by the dominant, heterosexual audience that the mass media is seen to address.If this is the case, then this may account, in part, for some of the stereotyping of gays in television sitcoms. A more positive (and therefore acceptable) representation would make the programme much more accessible to a much wider audience. But what could be regarded as a ‘positive’ image of gays and lesbians in television? Doty and Gove note that many of the images regarded as ‘positive’ by, and that received praise from critics and watchdogs were ones that played down homosexuality or ignored the issue altogether, depicting gays as being ‘just like everyone else’ in their attempts not to make it a focal point.On the other hand, those images where gays were more explicitly depicted fared no better. Joshua Gamson (1998: 21) found that studies of the portrayals of gay men and lesbians in film and television ‘ha ve soundly demonstrated how homosexual lives have been subject to systematic exclusion and stereotyping as victims and villains’. For example, Gamson cites Vito Russo’s The Celluloid Closet, in which Russo argues that television has produced ‘stereotypical conceptualisations of AIDS that vilify gays and legitimate homophobia’. Doty and Gove take this a step further, observing that:By the late 1980s and 1990s, the recurring televisual image of gay men with AIDS sparked heated critical debates over exactly what kind of image it was: ‘negative’, because it depicted homosexuality as a victimhood that, yet again, ended in death; or ‘positive’, as it encouraged sympathy and even admiration for gay men through images of their courage in the face of death. They identify a bit of a grey area concerning the labelling of the representation of homosexual images as ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ in that different people wi ll look at these images from a variety of perspectives; there can be no universal interpretation of any given image.The same can be said of trying to define ‘realistic’ images of gays, lesbians and queers on television. Doty and Gove observe that there are two ways in which people recognise these ‘real’ images; some note that text expressively marks the imagery through dialogue or by showing physical or sexual activity. Recent examples of this are Matt Fielding (Melrose Place), Simon and Tony (Eastenders) and Beth Jordache (Brookside). Other people feel that realistic images do not need to use explicit text to gauge a character’s sexuality on the basis of other signs.Many viewers see characters like Mr Humphries (Are You Being Served? ) and Xena (Xena: Warrior Princess) as being gay, lesbian or bisexual. These two binary explanations of what constitutes as a ‘realistic’ image of queerness shows the difficulty in even defining what Ã¢â‚¬Ë œreality’ is for gays, lesbians and queers. It is difficult to define a ‘typical reality’ or, to put it another way, to recognise a general gay ‘identity’ in which to categorise them. Essentialist theorists state that they are bound together by the fact that their identities are determined by their sexuality.Donald Hall (2003: 42) suggests that such theorists would argue that ‘same-sex desiring individuals have always existed and that however much their context may have changed, they were, without a doubt, aware of their sexual desires and they must have thought of themselves as belonging to a distinct group of similar individuals’. While it makes sense that the individual would have been aware of their sexual desires, constructionist theory would perhaps note that historically they may not have been aware of any sense of belonging, rather one of detachment due to the cultural influences in society at the time.Constructionist theory, say s Hall, emphasises language and belief systems in order to determine identity. Richard Dyer (2002: 19) observes, rather importantly, that ‘a major fact about being gay is that it doesn’t show†¦the person’s person alone does not show†¦that he or she is gay’. He argues that there are ‘signs of gayness’ such as expressions, stances and clothing that ‘make visible the invisible’. Typification is a near necessity, says Dyer, for the representation of gayness, which he argues is the product of social, political, practical and textual determinations.He deduces that the social factor is an integral one from which gay people can be recognised: The prevalent fact of gay typification is determined by the importance of a social category whose members would be invisible did they and the culture not provide lifestyle signs with which to make recognition possible†¦It is probable that most gay people are for most of their lives in fact invisible. Acting and dressing gay may only be an evening or weekend activity; in particular, it may not be practised at the workplace, or for married gays at home either.Equally, many people who are homosexual may never identify with the various gay lifestyles, never, in this sense, define and produce themselves as gay. What Dyer conveys here is that to be classed as ‘gay’, a person must be able to identify with not only the inner, biological aspects of ‘gayness’ (as put forward by essentialism) but also with the cultural aspects around them (as suggested by constructionism). This in itself is quite stereotypical because of the presumption about what is ‘gay’. Those who do not conform to this ideal are classed as ‘invisible’.Accordingly, the images we have been seeing of gay characters in television sitcoms may only be representations of certain types of gay people, and it is difficult to know whether or not these people are a majority or a minority. Will & Grace attempts to deviate from the stereotypical notions of ‘gayness’ through its two gay main characters, Will and Jack, and provide an insight into ‘invisible’ gayness. James Keller (2002: 124) describes the two main male characters as ‘foils representing diversity within gay masculinity, a diversity which argues for and against gender stereotypes about gay men’.The name ‘Will’, Keller says, signifies resolution and courage while the surname ‘Truman’ suggests that Will is a ‘real man’. This is also put across in the way he dresses. As an attorney, his conservative style and uptight personality mean that Will shows little of the usual stereotypical traits that signal to an audience that he is gay. Keller compares him to the modern sensitive male (such as Ross Geller in Friends), and his primary relationships focus mainly on women, namely Grace.The name ‘Jack’ is reminiscent of a joker or jester, a clown basically. While ‘Truman’ represents composure and respectability, ‘McFarland’ implies waywardness and outlandish behaviour. Tropiano asserts that, similarly to Will, Jack ‘isn’t exactly gay either: he’s hyper-gay’. Keller describes Jack as ‘silly, irresponsible, immature, narcissistic, effeminate, insulting and promiscuous’, the epitome of the negative stereotypical gay male, ‘made lovable by humour and childlike unselfconsciousness’.Their apparent contradictory personalities are, says Keller, the ‘respective embodiments of the familiar and the unfamiliar, although, paradoxically, what is coded as familiar here is actually unfamiliar in the history of gay representation’. He notes that Will is presented as the ‘norm’ whilst Jack is portrayed as unusual among gay men in a respectable, middle class situation. While Will is offered as th e ‘preferable alternative’ to the stereotype of the gay man, because Jack is much funnier and more stylish than Will he could, points out Keller, easily also be a preferable alternative.This presentation of two very different types of gay men, both preferable to the stereotype, serves to not only expand the culturally accepted notion of ‘gayness’ (as part of its political agenda) but also works as a hook to keep its audience interested (the main function of the programme). In addition to this, Will and Jack have enough depth, enough layers in their personalities, to represent – arguably – a certain sense of ‘realism’. Tropiano explains ‘[Sean] Hayes and the writers have created a three-dimensional character who, beneath his somewhat shallow exterior, is a strong, confident person.As a gay man, he’s also completely comfortable with his sexuality. ’ Will, on the other hand, though smart and successful, is the cha racter that most needs personal guidance, about love and relationships in particular, and Jack is often on hand to give this advice. Between these two characters, then, are a fair number of characteristics that gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and straight people alike would be able to relate to in some way.Furthermore, Will & Grace compromises with the dominant ideologies by making the most important relationships in the lives of the two gay characters heterosocial and quasi-heterosexual. By doing this, the problems identified in earlier ‘gaycoms’ such as Ellen (which was axed for being ‘too gay’ and overly political) are overcome and, as a result, more meaningful, contemporary representations of gay people seen in the show are able to ease naturally into cultural ideology as opposed to being forced through. Vito Russo (1987:325) argues against Richard Dyer’s (and others’) theory of invisibility.He says that ‘gays have always been vi sible†¦it’s how they’ve been visible that has remained offensive for almost a century’. Joshua Gamson supports Russo, pointing out that, until recently, gays and lesbians had very little input into their own representations. Dominant ideologies have therefore held virtually all control over how gays have been represented in the past, leading to negative stereotypes of gays. To remedy this, Gamson argues that ‘more exposure is the answer’. However, this in itself poses problems, such as when considering the positive/negative images approach.Doty and Gove note that its critics have suggested that ‘most definitions of what constitutes a ‘positive’ image would restrict the range of gay and lesbian representation as much as so-called ‘negative’, stereotypical images do, by encouraging only bland, saintly, desexualised mainstream figures who might as well be heterosexual’. But herein lies the problem: dominant c ultural ideology has, throughout history, commanded how gay people are represented in society and on television, and only recently have they been able to acquire some control themselves.After a period of trial and error, the television sitcom Will & Grace, with its innovative balance of hetero and homosexual political comedy, could be making its mark on society. During this time, gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders have been continually trying to become fully accepted as part of mainstream culture. However, the images approach has been criticised for attempting to do just that. In an ever-changing culture, is the gay community in a state of confusion about which direction it wants to go, and how it wants to be represented when it gets there?References †¢ Craig, Steve (1992). Men, Masculinity and the Media. London: Sage Publications Ltd. †¢ Dyer, Richard (2002). The Matter of Images: Essays on Representation. London: Routledge †¢ Gamson, Joshua (1998). Freaks Ta lk Back. Chicago: University of Chicago Press †¢ Hall, Donald E. (2003). Queer Theories. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan †¢ Hall, Stuart (1997). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: Sage Publications Ltd. †¢ Keller, James R. (2002).Queer (Un)Friendly Film and Television. North Carolina: McFarland & Company Inc. †¢ Lusted, David (edited by) (1991). The Media Studies Book: A Guide For Teachers. London: Routledge †¢ Medhurst, Andy and Sally R. Munt (1997). Lesbian and Gay Studies: A Critical Introduction. London: Cassell †¢ Tropiano, Stephen (2002). The Prime Time Closet: A History of Gays and Lesbians on TV. Kent: Combined Book Services Ltd. †¢ Russo, Vito (1987). The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies. 2nd Ed. New York: Harper & Row

Eng225 Final Paper Film Critique

Running Head:   Film Critique Critique of The Blind Side Tabitha Teasley Eng. 225 Introduction to Film Deborah Cunningham July 13, 2012 Critique of The Blind Side The way a person start in life, will not determine who or what they will become. The Blind Side is based on Micheal Lewis book called, The Blind Side:   Evolution of a game. In this film this young man had a bad life at first. His talents and give him opportunity to had a good ending in life. It do not matter what a person had to go through in life, because it only that one opportunity to make a life time change.This movie involved a boy who was poor and uneducated. He had a bad beginning, but a recruited seen his talents and gave him the chance. Sometime it take someone else to see the talent another person is working with in life. In this film it takes the film director the props, and the lighting to tell this story. As this paper take the story one scene at a time, it will show who it take all element together and it will show that it do not matter how a person start in life. Storytelling is very important in the film world today. Each movie has to start with a story.A story is â€Å"a   narrative; all the elements and events that characters experience, whether before, during, or after the plot that is depicted in a book or a movie† (Film: From Watching to Seeing, 2011) Sometimes the person who wrote the script, will be the director also. If this do not happen, â€Å"it take the writers, producers, the director, and the actors, to put the story into action† (Film: From Watching to Seeing). The storytelling has to have a good story for it to make it to the film world. The director for   this movie is John Lee Hancock. The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who become an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family† (The Internet Movie Database). The storyteller for the   book â€Å"The Bli nd Side† is Michael Lewis. Critique of The Blind Side â€Å"Lewis today might be the most insider-ish outsider writer alive†(Maine Living, 2011 ). He was raised in New Orleans. He learn is life the â€Å"success and happiness are very different things, never become a lawyer, and you do not need a come from a bookish environment to know how to spin a helluva story† (Maine Living, 2011). The Blind Side expresses a similar theme of how value often is misjudged and overlooked. The improbable true story of how a young, African-American athlete born to a crack-addicted mother was adopted by a rich, evangelical Christian family, it was turned into a popular film featuring an Oscar-winning performance by Sandra Bullock†( Maine Living, 2011). This is a true story about Michael Oher. â€Å"He play for the Baltimore Ravens now† (NPR). He had a very hard childhood. He was a black male who had to start from scratch after being adopt by a family, who had a daughte r† (NPR).He had no identifying documents, school records, or anything that would demonstrate on paper that he existed. â€Å"His whole life changed when his adoptive mom gave him responsibility†(NPR). When a person is bought into a environment that they are not accompany with, it is hard to adopt to the change. For example when the family took him shopping for some clothes, he did not know how to receive them, because he was not used to someone going shopping just for him. Acting is what make the movie come to life. In the textbook, Film: From Watching to Seeing, it states, â€Å"Acting is all about honesty.If you can fake that, you've got it made†. The actor job is to act. They pretends to be the character in the movie. They have to learn their lines and they have to connect with the character they are pretending to be in the film. The starting actor in the movie â€Å"Blind Side† is Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock, and Tim McGraw. Critique of The Blind Sid e Aaron was born on August 15, 1984 in Bronx, New York (IMDB). â€Å"His acting began with a Christmas play†(IMDB). He played the character of Michael Oher. He stated that to get ready for this character he had to â€Å"work out twice a day, seven days a week, and he had to loss weight† (IMDB).Sometime actors had to change their appearance to fit the character they got to play. The actors are very important to the movie world. When the movie first came on   it told the story about   Micheal Oher. This allowed the audience to know about the role the character (Quinton Aaron) played. It was on a football field and the point the director wanted the audience focus on was light and the background was dark. When the narrator wanted the audience to focus on a scene the scene stopped while the narrator talked about the scene.The way a person start in life, will not determine who or what they will become. â€Å"Cinematography is the process of photographing motion†( Film: From Watching To Seeing). â€Å"The cinematographer's job is to translate the director's vision for the film, to capture what the director wants to see and to say, and to physically make that happen† (Film: From Watching To Seeing). This is what determines how the audience sees the movie. In the movie â€Å"The Blind Side† the cinematographer used medium long shots and medium close ups. In the scene called â€Å"sleep tight† this   is the shots they used.In this scene the lady was making him a place to sleep at for over night. Medium Long Shot is â€Å"human figures are visible between head-to-toe and head-to-knee in the frame†. Medium close- up is â€Å"human figures are visible head to neck†(Film: From Watching To Seeing). The lighting had a dark background. The lighting was lighter on the area that audiences needed the focus to be on. Critique of The Blind Side Editing is what â€Å"controls what views will see and when the will see it and can profoundly affect how they will interpret a film. It establishes and can manipulate the pacing of s story on the screen.It can assemble a serious of partial details, creating by skillful arrangement the illusion of complete actions and spaces that exist only in the mind of the viewers† (Film: From Watching To Seeing). The movie â€Å"The Blind Side was done in Chronological order. Chronological order makes the movie easy to follow. â€Å" It make the scene unfold one after another, from beginning to end† (Film: Watching To Seeing). Editing is very important to the film world. This is what allow them to put the final touch on the film. They clean the film up so the story can be told.The way a person start in life, will not determine who or what they will become. The sound is also important to the film world. There are three basic categories of film sound. They are dialogue, sound effects, and music. They all have to have balance between the three. Dialogue is â €Å"when the characters talking to one another in the films†. (Film: From Watching To Seeing). Sound effects are used to get the audiences attention. It help draw them into the movie. In the scene â€Å"he's changing Mine†Ã‚   the sound was low and the music was very soft in the background.There were four ladies sitting down eating and they were discussing her adopting the boy. The way the music and the low tone voice kept the focus on the characters. In this movie the sound kept the movie on the serious side. This movie had sounds that would show the sadden and the happy point of it. This was very important in this movie. If the sound be off key, then the movie would not get it point across. They did a good job with the sound and music in this film. It help get the point across with the main point of the movie; The way a person start in life, will not determine who or what they will become.Critique of The Blind Side Directing and style is very important in the movie w orld also. Each director has their own styles. Sometimes the styles maybe black and white, back in the days, and modern days films. In â€Å"The Blind Side† the style were modern days. The choice of which film making techniques to use, and how and when to use them, can define a director's personal style† (Film† Watching To Seeing). The genre for the movie â€Å"The Bind Side† is drama, comedy, sports. I think this fits the movie well. The genre is important because it lets the audience know what to expect in the movie.It described the movies and it allowed the main point of the movie, the way a person start in life, will not determine who or what they will become, to be told on time. Movies can have a positive effect on society or a negative effect. This movie had a positive effect. In the movie The Blind Side the rating from society was good. The movie encourage people. It let society know your dream can come true. It do not matter what you didn't have in your childhood. Life is what a person make it out to be. Look for opportunity, and expect changes to happen at any giving moment. In the movie the boy was seen as this quiet, fat person.Each person has gifts in life. Sometime a person need someone to help pull their gift to it full potential. This lady could have turned her nose up at the young boy, like society did. She had a gift for helping other and she seen the opportunity to use her gift. The movie also taught society to look at a person heart and not the outside appearance of a person. He had a big heart and the lady seen that society was robbing the young boy of his dream. It also taught society that dreams are made to come true. Stop focusing on what a person do not have and give opportunity when they are suppose to be giving.Critique of The Blind Side When her and her friends was having dinner they were making fun of her adopting the young boy. The way a person start in life, will not determine who or what they will become . A formalist approach is â€Å"to analysis is concerned with film form, or how the basic elements are organized to convey certain meaning†. This deals with the narrative elements. (Film: Watching To Seeing). In the text book, Film: From Watching To Seeing, it states â€Å"the most important thing to remember about film criticism is that any film can be viewed from a variety of perspectives.It may succeed at some and fail at others, but cannot be simply dismissed because the viewer does not like one aspect of it†. Each person will have their own personal conclusion on how they rate a movie. What one may like the next person will dislike. Two people can watch a movie together and each person will have their own points about the movie. It will mean this to one and some completely different to the next person. The point did come across in â€Å"the Blind Side;   the way a person start in life, will not determine who or what they will become.In the movie â€Å"The Blin d Side† everything the director did to make the movie went in together. It took all part to make the movie a success. This movie set out to encourage people about their dreams. From the director to the shoes the character had on, it took it all. There was a balance in the lighting with the sound to the music. It do not matter how a person started in life or what a person been through, they have gifts and if the right opportunity come, their life can change forever. Look for opportunity and take each one like it is you last.The way a person start in life, will not determine who or what they will become. REFERENCES Goodykoontz, B. , & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From Watching to Seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Education, Inc. https://content. ashford. edu The Internet Movie Database, Retrieved on November 20, 2011, from http://www. imdb. com/name/nm2466842/bio Maine Living Bangor Daily News, retrieved on November 19, 2011, from htt p://bangordailynews. com/2011/11/20/living/book-reviews/michael-lewis%E2%80%99-   storytelling-skills-put-more-economic-tales-on-the-bestseller-list/

The Co-operative Bank Brand positioning Project Essay

The Co-operative Bank Brand positioning Project - Essay Example Brand positioning of an organization involves the following steps: 1. Identification of the direct competition of the business (including players offering products or services amongst bigger portfolio of solutions) 2. Understanding of the brand positioning of the competitors in the market. 3. Documentation of the own positioning of the company. 4. Comparison of company’s positioning with its competitors in order to identify the possible areas of differentiation. 5. Development of distinctive differentiated and value based brand positioning concept. 6. Creation of a positioning statement with customer value propositions and messages used for the purpose of communication development throughout the target audience. In order to develop a distinctive place in the operational market, an organization should choose a target market followed by the creation of a differential advantage in their mind. Thus, brand positioning is the medium by means of which the company can convey to its cu stomers that what it desires to achieve for them. It can be said to be an activity of creation of the brand offer in such way that it will occupy a separate value and place in the mind of the target customers. It includes identification and determination of the similarity as well as difference for ascertainment of the correct brand identity and creation of proper brand image. An effective brand positioning helps in directing the marketing strategy by explanation of brand details, distinctiveness of the brand, its similarity and dissimilarity with competitive brands and specific reason for using the brand. It is the base of development or increase of required knowledge or perception of its customers. It is the only feature which distinguishes the products or services of a company from its competitors. Financial condition of Cooperative banks in Europe The financial crisis situation of the countries and financial institutions are not over. The financial condition is far away from its stability and the confidence of the public in the financial institutions is very weak (Groeneveld, 2011). The Cooperative Banking Group has weathered/battered present and previous periods of the financial distress situation relatively well (Acadia, et al., 2010; EACB, 2010; Wyman, 2008). The cooperative banking group has recovered from the financial crisis situation of the period of 2007-2008 in a better pace as compared other shareholders value or the listed banks. The financial crisis leaded to the critical assessment of the business principles, models and rules in the banks. The top priority is given to safeguard of the stability in the global financial system. A major effort was given on the restoration of confidence of the customers on the financial sector. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has announced high capital and liquidity requirements for the financial systems and banks as the preventive measures for reducing the financial crises to some extent (Basel Committe e on Banking Supervision, 2010). This regulatory reform will result in the shift of the funding structure from the short term and volatile sources to long term and stable sources like capital and other deposits (Kodres and Narain, 2010). This financial crises situation has resulted in the increased awareness of the investors related to the capital endowments of the banks. Thus, it is likely that the market participants will request for additional buffers above