Strategic Management Process Paper Mgt 498 Essay Example

Strategic Management Process Paper Mgt 498 Essay Strategic Management Process Paper MGT 498 January 24, 2013 The long-term performance of a corporation is mostly reliant on managerial decisions and actions, which include internal and external environmental scanning, strategic formulation and implementation, evaluation, and control. All of these characteristics are relatable to the concept of strategic management, which emphasizes â€Å"the monitoring and evaluating of external opportunities and threats in light of a corporation’s strengths and weaknesses† (Wheelen, 2010). The primary components of the strategic management process are environmental scanning, strategy formulation, strategy implementation, and evaluation and control. Environmental scanning is described to be â€Å" the monitoring, evaluating, and disseminating of information from the external and internal environments to key people within the corporation† (Wheelen, 2010). Environmental scanning is usually used to classify strategic influences that will control the future of the corporation. Strategy formulation is the act of developing long-term plans for the future of a corporation by using the corporation’s strengthens, and weaknesses, for the effective handling of environmental opportunities and threats. Strategy implementation is the putting in action of the strategies formulated by a corporation. Lastly, evaluation and control includes the monitoring of corporate activities and performance in order to compare the actual results, to the ones that are set as goals. We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Management Process Paper Mgt 498 specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Management Process Paper Mgt 498 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Management Process Paper Mgt 498 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Strategic management helps a company sustain long-term performance. For companies that do not practice strategic management, it is very hard to attain and to sustain long-term performance. Most companies when they have finally attained a high performance level will soon experience a decrease in their performance. Strategic management will help a company understand, and realize that the environment around them is constantly changing, and evolving. It also helps a company focus on the strategies that are important and beneficial, which altogether helps in building a better understanding of strategies in regards to the corporation. Transportation is known to be an essential tool when it comes to a business, but transportation companies such as British Airways is also corporation that uses strategic management to further its success. One strategy that is used by British Airways is the merging of other airlines into one. In 1935, airlines in Britain merged together and formed British Airways Ltd. and in 1974 other airlines were also combined and finally formed British Airways (Knight, 2008). The main point of merging was being able to access a larger market and establishing a means of long-term profitability. In regards to airlines, quality is a very important factor and it determines the success of an airline. New innovations, and changes are important factors in which British Airways demonstrated these factors by being the first airline to operate weather-beating auto landings, offer jet passenger services and fully-flat beds (Knight, 2008). Lastly, British Airways in 2005 decided to work with Cisco and Prime in order to improve communications, in which the system allows all voice and data communications onto a single network while reducing costs and improving productivity. In conclusion, strategic management is an important method when it comes to improving a corporation’s well being. When making decisions all factors need to be taken under consideration. By using British Airways as an example, this paper was able to fully explain and establish the method of strategic management. Reference Knight, B. (2008, March 25). Strategic management of British Airways Company. Retrieved from http://bizcovering. com/business/strategic-management-of-british-airways-company/4/ Wheelen, T. L. , Hunger, J. D. (2010). Concepts in strategic management and business policy: Achieving sustainability (12th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Essay about Children Raising Children

Essay about Children Raising Children Essay about Children Raising Children Children Raising Children Through the years the situation of teenage pregnancy has grown abundantly throughout the United States. Though the percentile has lowered some in the past few years, it is still a complex and controversial problem American teenagers have today. The realities and effects of teen pregnancies are sometimes very challenging and tough to face for the father, mother, and child. There is no way to completely put an end to all teen pregnancies, but hopefully there are ways out there to help lower the statistics. Although teen pregnancy is an ongoing problem, there are many ways to make it a less occurring incidence through sex education programs and school activities to help teens realize the consequences arising because of unprotected sex. Often when a teenage girl becomes pregnant and has a child many opportunities she once had are taken away. You can’t go and explore the possibilities of your future; you are forced to explore options for your childâ€⠄¢s future. Teenage parents have to put themselves second because now their child comes first; there’s no more going out with their friends to the clubs or to parties, they have to stay home and feed the child and change its diapers. One of the biggest problems amongst teenage parents is thinking it’s the right thing to do. At the time it seems like everything will work out and their life will not change very much, but what they don’t realize is the massive affect a child has on its parents. Teenage pregnancy is 100% preventable and being abstinent guarantees that you will not become pregnant. The smartest way to prevent pregnancy is to not become sexually active until you are married, this is called abstinence. Not all teenagers are able to follow abstinence due to peer pressure or their friends encouraging having sex. Teens need encouragement not only from their family but also their friends, to wait to engage in sex and have children at the appropriate age. There is no evidence to support that abstinence effectively prevents teenage pregnancies or decreases the number of pregnancies. Refraining from sexual activity and abstinence is the best and safest way to avoid teen pregnancy. Unfortunately getting the encouragement to abstain from sex is rare these days slightly due to television shows such as 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom, and The Pregnancy Pact. These reality series show young girls that getting pregnant is okay and if they could do it, so could viewers. It condones premarital sex and portrays that it is okay to get pregnant. The media glamorizes the issue of being a teenager but also becoming a mother. Although the shows intentional idea was to portray the struggles of young teen mothers, it has backfired. All it portrays now is the idea that teens can get pregnant, have babies, and if you let a camera crew in your house to film it all happening, you could make money. Most teens get pregnant because they are not fully aware of all the different contraceptives that are available and do not know how to stay safe. Teenagers who become sexually active at a young age are more likely to become teenage parents because they are less knowledgeable about contraceptives and are usually not on birth control. The benefits of contraceptives are quite dramatic and helpful. Not only do they help prevent reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, they also reduce the amount of abortions, reduce the incidence of death or illness during childbirth, and they can help prevent the transmission of sexual transmitted diseases. The most common forms of contraceptives are to use a condom, go on the birth control pill, or get on the birth control shot. Misunderstanding and false assumptions regarding pregnancy and contraception can lead to an unwanted pregnancy. For instance, majority of US teenage females believe that if they lose their virginity and do not use a condom they cannot become pregnant. One should remember that there is a correlation between academic

Inequalities And Its Eeffects Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Inequalities And Its Eeffects - Essay Example a from the World Bank, the World Health Organization, the United Nations and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and others. â€Å"To avoid being accused of picking and choosing our measures, our approach in this book has been to take measures provided by official agencies rather than calculating our own† (Wilkinson and Pickett 2009, pg. 18). However, this approach of the authors to prove their hypothesis was not accepted by all the experts. They found loopholes in this methodology, particularly the statistical analysis part, and thereby found loopholes in their arguments as well. The point put forward was, by just drawing lines or even a â€Å"line of best fit† based on a various variables and series of data points does not hold any statistical significance, unless the statistical analyses was done. They are convinced that these statistical tables do not provide the correct picture, as adequate analyses were not done. This was pointed out by Moore (2010) â€Å"Drawing a line through a series of data points signals nothing concrete†¦ The authors promise that they "have only included a best-fit line through the points"†¦But since they do not provide any statistical analyses, this can't be verified.† Kay (2009) further adds up against the methodology and thereby the argument of the authors by pointing out how regression methods may not correctly aid in analyzing the economic and importantly social statistics. As social statistics could be influenced by various variables, and is an evolving process, it cannot be easily focused. In addition, adequate data were not given in relation to the estimated equations. Thus, if one â€Å"removes the bold lines from the diagram, the pattern of points mostly looks random, and the data dominated by a few... This esssay stresses that the inequality can be measured as the one that happens between the rich and the poor in a particular country, and not inequalities between the rich countries and the poor countries. The key point or differentiation, the authors make, is that wellbeing of a country’s people, cannot be actualized or should not be judged based only on the wealth or economic status of that particular country. Instead, the focus should be far more deeper, with the economic inequalities between the rich and the poorer sections of the population mainly deciding the welfare of the people. Spatial based concentration of anything including population, industries and also income could also lead to inequalities. Authors Wilkinson and Pickett points out how more equal distribution of resources and thereby the income status â€Å"will mean fewer people will be living in shanty towns, with dirt water and food insecurity†. This paper makes a conclusion that these inequalities is prevalent for the past few centuries only because of the advancements particularly in economic, social and technology sphere, which took place mainly in the last few centuries. In the earlier centuries, human beings lived in a mostly egalitarian prehistoric hunting and gathering societies with very minimal inequalities. However, as the world advanced certain sections of the population utilizing the various advancements, progressed optimally, while leaving behind others. This inequality is now visible in various facets of human life and is leading to various repercussions for the people

Q1) list and elaborate on the factors that will be affecting the Essay - 1

Q1) list and elaborate on the factors that will be affecting the demand for the following products in the next several years. do you think these factors will ca - Essay Example Additionally, a fax arrives immediately and, more importantly, delivery is instantly confirmed. According to Davidson Consulting, more than 70 million fax machines are in operation today with the demand for fax capability growing rapidly--at a compounded annual growth rate of almost 19% worldwide. While the demand for traditional SLR cameras and films is slated to go down because of the rise in digital photography, the demand for high-end and sophisticated digital cameras is going to increase in the next few years. Since internet and paperless photography is on the rise, the demand for films might come down in the following years. A decade ago, when video and set top boxes were not heard of, video cassettes and CDs were very much in demand. Today, however with the rising popularity of tools and applications like YouTube and video-on-demand, video rented from retail outlets might see a negative growth in the coming years. With the convergence of global businesses, people across the globe are hungry for news and facts affecting global business. The demand for specialized TV programs is increasing. Not everyone is interested in every sitcom. Tastes are getting more and more specialized and people more ready to shell our more for something they feel is important to them. Thus, the demand for "pay-per-view" television programmes will be going up in the coming years. Section B Q2) list and elaborate on the factors that will be affecting the supply for the following products in the next several years. do you think these factors will cause the supply to increase or decrease (draw the diagrams to show the impact) g. Crude oilFactors affecting supply of crude oil: 1. Global reserves of fossil fuels: As the reserves of crude oil get depleted with indiscriminate drilling and use of crude oil as a source of fuel, the supply of crude oil is going to come down. 2. International relations and trade With the global superpowers trying to assert their power over the oil-rich nations of the world, things might come to a stand still and the supply of crude oil from the oil-rich countries might go down. 3. Increase in use of alternate sources of fuel: As alternate sources of energy, solar , tidal, wind, hydel, organic and chemical forms of energy gain popularity, the supply of crude oil might increase in the near future. h. Computer memory chips With the world going digital and every small thing in the world getting more and more dependent on computers, definitely, the demand for computer memory chips is going to increase. These chips will replace books and note-books in schools, paper in business and industrial transactions, games and entertainment and every other field of human interaction. i. Hotel rooms As the world goes global and distances cease to exist, the demand for travel and hotel rooms is going to incr

Challenges in the Global Business Enviornment Research Paper

Challenges in the Global Business Enviornment - Research Paper Example The research will focus on the AT&T code of ethics. The details will be retrieved from the companys website. This code of ethic will be compared to other competing firms. The research will use Verizon and Sprint as the two competitors. The information will be retrieved from the two companies website. The competitiveness of each code of ethic will be used in establishing the merits and demerits of AT&T own code of ethical conduct. Information from the three firms will be examined, and recordings made based on the structures and natures of the code of ethical conduct. The information on AT&T code of ethical conduct will be examined with respect to their efforts to adapt to changing technologies and innovation nature of the environment. The challenges associated with the code of ethics will be examined and proposal made based on the efforts by the two competing firms. Global citizenship efforts by AT & T will be examined, and information recorded. AT & T has its code of ethical conduct drafted and focused on honest, which entails observing rules set by different organizations under which the firm operates ( AT&T Inc, 2014). These entails maintaining a given standards that will enhance the companys advantage while competing in a global environment. The code of ethical conduct at the firm entails defining personal interests and separating it from the companys interest. The aim is to avoid conflict of interest associated that could rise from the employees interaction with the external environment. Other issues at the firms ethical conduct include compliance and disclosure, which are aimed at maintaining a specific standard and working based on international requirements. Sprints code of ethical conduct entails a friendly working environment that promotes innovation and technology use among its internal and external environments (Sprint, 2013). The ethics code also defines requirements by each member of the internal environment while

Comparison Of The Cold War And Post Cold War

Comparison Of The Cold War And Post Cold War After the end of the Cold War, the United States of America was standing victoriously. Its ideological enemy the Soviet Union had dissolved and thus, the bipolar world order had ended. The post-Cold War world was, for Americans, a unipolar belle à ©poque, in which American hyper-power dominated the global scene economically and strategically.  [1]  Still, this era of American hegemony was complex due to absence of any grand design as pointed out by Bacevich  [2]   one can argue that the end of the Cold War created panic among the United States political institutions that were oriented in dealing specifically with issues rising from the Cold War. When did the post post-Cold period begin and what started it? Is the United States of America still a superstar or is its power declining? Some experts, Nye and Craig among them, predict the rise of multipolar world while some point out that we are already living in multipolar world.  [3]  As the topic points out, the purpose of this paper is to analyze how current post post-Cold War world order in view of the United States differs from post-Cold War period. However, the United States has had very unique experiences and a complex, if not to say controversial, history having regard to this, it is understandable that many aspects dealt with in this essay are intertwined. First and foremost, one has to deal with apparent formation of multilateral world. The main thrusters behind multilateral world that shape international politics in the coming decades are, for example according to Khanna, globalization and the geopolitical competition among three empires for global leadership and allegiance of the second world.  [4]  I agree that globalization triggered by Americans themselves is a very important element. It essentially makes world a smaller place and binds everything. Also, I concur that rise of other nations is another important factor. Khanna however, in my opinion, fails take into account possible balance between forces and continuing United States supremacy. The United States of America is clearly an empire who struggles for leadership, although not in classical sense as correctly pointed by Craig.  [5]  It would be impossible to pursuit global dominance without having imperial characteristics. Indeed, the United States has projected its power over the entire world and advances its own interests. Still, why do we talk about rise of multilateral world? Craig, among other experts, first identifies military and economic aspect of the United States power. Military power of the United States is unparalleled. In the 2009 the U.S. military budget is almost as much as the rest of the worlds defense spending combined. Total defense budged exceeds one trillion dollars.  [6]  This is over nine times larger than its geopolitical competitor Chinas budget. Furthermore, the United States not only spends enormous amounts of money to upkeep and improve its armies, but has also the highest technology level advanced weaponry further increases military power. Expenditures to military, needless to say, help to improve domestic economy and project such power abroad. Besides apparent possession of highly advanced military power, United States, as demonstrated in Iraq, has also will and ability to use it. However, overemphasizing military power and especially the will to wield it  [7]  has been subject to heavy criticism both domestically and internationally. Although, the U.S. has the largest economy in the world, its economy might soon fail to support such level of military expenditure. And as pointed out by Mitchell the United States foreign policy is not sustainable anymore, it has to cut expenses and military tools as a part of foreign policy might be limited as well. In addition, critics like Noam Chomsky point out hazards of military power arms race, possible nuclear war, abuse of power.  [8]  Even realists sharply and publicly criticized the U.S. foreign policy under Bushs administration it has been taken over by expansionists dangerously dismissive to the caution and prudence that were the hallmarks of traditional realism as asserted by late George Kennan.  [9]  I think that military power is seductive as huge military might compel its possessor to use it viewp oint shared by many I believe. As Chomsky put it, probability of use of force is high. Also, there might be other signs of decline lack of ability or will to the U.S. military power as an example can be given of Russia-Georgia War where the U.S. did not help newly born democracy. Nevertheless, military is and most likely will remain vital and useful tool of foreign policy that contributes to the U.S. supremacy. Whether in future there will be decline of hard policy of using force is subject of speculation Obama administration, at least at the moment, is against use of aggressive force in view of Iraq. On the other hand, contrary to military power, economically it is already doubtful that the United States still is hegemony.  [10]  One of major differences between post-Cold War and post post-Cold War era is economical. Many industries have left for overseas as production of goods is much cheaper there. Also, other problems besetting the U.S. economy are mainly overconsumption, low savings, unemployment, current account and budget deficits and reliance on foreign creditors. Moreover, the economic downturn in 2008 swung dollars long-term prospects as the reserve currency of international system  [11]  as well as created several domestic economical problems that required immediate attention and further undermined U.S. economical dominance. Although, the U.S. domestic issues can be solved, debt of the United States and inflation caused by printing money to revive economy and to resolve domestic problems is reaching new heights. In principle, debt can be devalued  [12]  and inflation can be limited when raising interest rates, both of these can be extremely harmful to economy and only implemented with uttermost care as such practices can unbalance delicate economical situation and turn economy to steep fall. Moreover, much of the United States foreign debt is owned by private investors from Asia, but the relationship between China and the United States is unique. Although, China is the biggest owner of U.S.s foreign debt,  [13]  latter is also biggest market (besides Chinas internal market) to Chinas goods meaning that both powers are somewhat dependant on each other. Still, China is a major creditor for the U.S. and as the rising star of Asia has had the fastest-growing major economy for the past 30 years with an average annual GDP growth rate above 10% and is replacing the United States as lead consumer. As even Obama has acknowledged hope that Asia will be future engine of economic growth, it is safe to say that economically the world is already multipolar. Perhaps the most important aspect concerning rise of economical multipolar world order is that economic crisis the world is currently battling furthermore raised questions about success of Americas economic model. Today, rise of alternate models, like Chinas post-communism state capitalism, and support for them creates competition between those models and liberal open-door  [14]  free market capitalism of the United State. Bluntly put, economy of the United States is prone to crises as history as shown and might not be suitable for stable economy. To further arguments in favor for multipolar world order, rise of other powerful States, cultures and multilateral actors must be noted. First of all, integrated Europe in form of European Union is advancing its power already having technology level comparable to the U.S.s. Brazil and India, once considered third world countries, have significantly increased economic production and military power. Former superpower Russia still has stake in the game as DeHart points out.  [15]  Lastly, China already is a regional and economic superpower and unlike Russia, which only speaks about near abroad sphere of influence, China actually has sphere of influence.  [16]   Also, besides emergence of powerful States, different cultures have arisen and provide alternate models to post-Cold War world order. For example, one of these alternate models is fundamental Islam that gains supporters rapidly. Rise of other models and cultures is important as it provides alternatives to order set by the U.S. Respected scholar Samuel Huntington has even argued that in the future, conflicts will be between cultures, not between nations.  [17]  These developments (rise of other powers) are main reasons why American cooperation with traditional allies has become much more important than it was a decade ago. Significant difference between post-Cold War and post post-Cold War period will be changes in international law and reforms in international institutions as well as rise of numerous multilateral actors. As a lawyer, I know that international law is generally well observed as States do not want to be pictured as villains. Still, Iraq war set precedence of waging anticipatory self-defense.  [18]  Iraq war that was supposed to be quick victory for democracy and good against evil oil emperor is winding down. Furthermore, international community and majority of experts of international law consider actions of the United States in Iraq as illegal and not permissible under the United Nations system. This precedent is dangerous as many experts believe and was used by Russians in recent Russia-Georgia War. In view of terrorism as a global threat, it has to be noted that terrorist attack on September 11 helped Bush administration a lot. They found a new enemy (instead of former Soviet Union).  [19]  Due to these attacks, Bush Jr. was able to acquire domestic support to continue Clintons hard policy. However, although this declared war on terrorism helped the post-Cold War U.S. to find new course and is largely funded by the U.S. itself, this war might backfire and in return create terrorism and diminish the U.S. credibility in international arena (as it is being viewed as an aggressor). For example, Chomsky points out that terrorist attacks in Iraq have tripled and many experts have issued alarming reports of rising terrorist threat that is only fueled by war on terror. Although, Noam Chomsky provides harsh and linguistically somewhat forcefully bound criticism on the United States and its foreign policies, he does have many valid points. In essence he claims that the United States is an outlaw, rogue state that creates binding international law norms for other states but excludes itself from these rules.  [20]  In essence, the United States defies the principle of universality. This doctrine is well expressed by Madeline Albright that the United States is the indispensable nation. Chomsky gives a good example of the practices of this doctrine judgment of International Court of Justice was deemed inappropriate as it condemned the U.S. policies and thus was simply ignored. Chomskys ironies are almost inexpressible indeed as he describes that the same western powers who gave Saddam Hussein equipment to develop weapons of mass destruction, invaded Iraq under pretext of stopping development of WMD-s, but while guarding oil fields they allowed pilla ged equipment for developing WMD-s to cross Iraqi border to some unknown destination. In his viewpoint (most likely shared by many Arabs) the real terrorist is the United States of America. Thus, being pictured as a rogue state and an aggressor undermines the U.S. credibility in international arena (among friends and foes alike). As mentioned, new post post-Cold War period most likely changes structure of international organizations, primarily the system of the United Nations.  [21]  Notwithstanding the numerous vetoes the U.S. (and others) has made in Security Council that it deemed inappropriate as well as still the United Nations being locked in 1945, truth is that the system of United Nations is in need for reforms. The rise of soft policy and more diplomatic measures of Obama administration give hope that such reforms might be possible and thus the framework of international law reorganized. Maybe, in post post-Cold War, rules of international law that have formed throughout centuries and were almost shredded within a short period of time (during Bush administration), can be re-strengthened. In my opinion it is necessary as collective security system could prevent new wars. Other possible alternatives to reforms of the United Nations system are briefly described by Nye (and of course other prominent experts) namely benefits and downfalls of world federalism, functionalism, regionalism, ecologism and cyber feudalism.  [22]  Nye concludes that whichever model will be used, in the near future, world will be multilateral. Although, as discussed, international community is changing, the United States consists of vast geographical area and has maintained global vision presence.  [23]  Its embassies are everywhere. That is why it must be noted that whatever the world order might be in the near future, the U.S. has significant impact on it. One might confidently argue that the United States is still a superpower that can, at least to some extent, write the rules of post post-Cold War period. This global presence, mentioned in previous paragraph, of the United States is closely intertwined with global perception of the United States Chomskys second superpower that is global public opinion. The United States of America has been portrayed as benevolent Hegemony. Tools of its foreign policy include soft power financial assistance, loans, international aid and so on. Many foundations, church groups, non-governmental organizations promote democracy, human rights, education and so on. This is the reason why Americans are proud of selves and cannot comprehend why are Americans often hated. On the other hand, global perception and presence has a dark undercurrent that might explain controversial feelings towards Americans. One stream of this undercurrent manifests as a legacy from the war of hearts and minds the Cold War. During that era, the United States supported many brutal regimes and dictators that performed unspeakable atrocities it is understandable that those who experience horrific suffering are not positively inclined towards the U.S. Had U.S. not intervened, maybe democracy would not have survived as pointed out.  [24]  The other stream is reaction towards arrogance and ambitions of the United States. Statement that we are the indispensable nation raises question whether other nations are dispensable? Also, securing key resources of economy, particularly oil, has been main ambition of the United States for a long time. Unfortunately, many of these resources are located within other countries using hard power to acquire these resources has created many conflicts for the United States. For example, in the eyes of Arabs, Americans are not liberators and bringers of light, but aggressors whose arrival is interlocked with arrival of suffering in a manner of speaking, Americans are viewed as harbingers of misfortune. These strong undercurrents play an important role at the moment as global public views, according to Chomsky, Americans negatively and this undermines its ambitions to remain a superpower. Nevertheless, the United States of America is in unique position to alter the course of world. When analyzing different world order in post post-Cold War that started with Obama administration, one has to pay attention to domestic situation of the United States. For a long period of time, instabilities within the United States remained untouched. So to say, Clintons and Bushs administrations utilized an ancient principle governing when you want to divert publics attention from domestic problems, you should go to war heeding that both presidents of the U.S. utilized well. Still, domestic issues remained. Currently, it seems that Obama administration is working hard to resolve some domestic issues, for example by reforming health care system,  [25]  and by redefining others like national security. Nevertheless, most pressing instabilities within domestic system derive from economy subject already discussed above. In addition to these problems, current administration must also ba ttle with legacy of Iraq war and public opinion thereof. Although, Obama was and is against presence of American troops in Iraq, it is quite difficult to remove forces from that area while leaving still infant Iraqi democracy without direct support. To summarize, the United States has some problems domestically, but it is still quite capable and strong to solve them question is how much these issues affects the United States foreign policy. Lastly, after the Cold War, environmental issues have become important. Largely ignored by previous government, President Barack Obama has expressed serious concern about global warming and will be attending climate conference in Copenhagen in beginning of December. This is radical change in the United States foreign policy as Obama administration is the first government of the United States that acknowledges environmental problems.  [26]  As indeed, warning of scientist are alarming, we need to act together to prevent Kaplans coming anarchy  [27]   wars due to scarcity of resources. This change of direction is received well by international community and helps the U.S. to repair its somewhat damaged reputation. Still, does the post post-Cold War era mean the end of United States power its rule of unilateral world has ended? Perhaps, as pointed out by, the most important change will be the limits on American Power as it was not able to help allies like Georgia.  [28]  The world has enjoyed Pax Americana, at least western world, but in multipolar world, is the U.S. able to deal with the challenges posed by economic and financial turmoil, energy scarcity and global climate change? Even though, the U.S. dominance is not what it was after the post-Cold War period and is only great superpower among other lesser superpowers, it has enough power to change the course of the world. Current Obama administration is a new hope for Americans and to citizens of other States alike this was maybe the first global election. The challenge will now be to identify new emerging changes and deal with already known issues. Failure to solve these problems could lead to demise of humankind and fulfillment of predictions of Kaplan and Chomsky. Quoting a famous scientist I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones we cannot afford to fail in this task.

A Rose for Emily Essay examples -- essays papers

A Rose for Emily In â€Å"A Rose for Emily,† William Faulkner’s symbolic use of the â€Å"rose† is essential to the story’s theme of Miss Emily’s self-isolation. The rose is often a symbol of love, and portrays an everlasting beauty. The rose has been used for centuries to illustrate an everlasting type of love and faithfulness. Even when a rose dies, it is still held in high regard. Miss Emily’s â€Å"rose† exists only within the story’s title. Faulkner leaves the reader to interpret the rose’s symbolic meaning. Miss Emily was denied the possibility of falling in love in her youth, so subsequently she isolated herself from the world and denied the existence of change. Miss Emily was denied her â€Å"rose†, first by her father, then by the townspeople, and then Homer Barron. Through the explicit characterization of the title character, Miss Emily, and the use of the â€Å"rose† as a symbol, the reader is able to deciph er that Homer Barron was Miss Emily’s only â€Å"rose.† Miss Emily’s father denied her the ability to establish a â€Å"normal† relationship because of their family’s social position. She lost the will and the desire to do so, even after he died. The reader is aware that Miss Emily’s chances of having a â€Å"normal† relationship are hindered by her father’s obstinace. Miss Emily’s father was a prominent well-respected southern gentleman, and he would not allow his only daughter to be courted by just anyone. â€Å"None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such. We had long thought of them as a tableau.† As most little girl’s do, Miss Emily idolized her father, and held him in high regard, even though he was a strong and forbidding man, who did not allow her to experience life. Miss Emily’s father â€Å"robbed† her of her ... ...ad ever come to her, including her self-esteem, and the ability to conform to her father’s and society’s wishes. She isolated herself so that she could be who she was. Miss Emily Grierson isolated herself from a society that would not accept her for who she was. She was viewed as someone to be pitied and scorned. Everyone deserves a rose in life, and yet Miss Emily was denied her rose from everyone that ever came into contact with her. Her father, the townspeople, and even Homer Barron denied her love. Miss Emily found her rose and she would not accept the loss of love. She gave up her freedom, and isolated herself so that she could be with the one that she loved, and remember the embrace that they once may have shared. Like a flower between the pages of a bible Miss Emily found that living with memories was better than living in a society that scorned her.

Literature Review Methane

Methane Recovery from Landfills Utilization as a Potential Energy Source and Impact on Reduction of Green House Gasses According to The Conference Board of Canada, current Canadian municipal solid waste (MSW) generation levels are approximately 30 million tonnes per year, with a rate of 894 kg per capita, 67 percent of which is landfilled. (Jones L. et al. 2002) Sanitary landfills burry MSW under soil, sanctioning a complex series of reactions to occur, where anaerobic microorganisms decompose a portion of the organic fraction of the waste producing methane and carbon dioxide.Methane generation and emission from landfills are topics of major interest due to methane's role in the greenhouse effect, migration of hazard potential, health and safety issues and energy applications. The objective of this literature review is to provide a concise relationship between MSW and landfill gasses (LFG), details of potential methods used for capturing methane as appose to emitting the gas as well as the benefits of doing. Rendering to information written by D. R. Reinhart and T. G. Townsend (1998), MSW contains approximately 50 – 70 % of biodegradable material, such as food, paper, wood, and garden trimmings.Once MSW is deposited into a landfill, it undergoes a number of biological, physical and chemical changes. These changes are greatly dependent on site conditions, waste characteristics, temperature, quantity of oxygen, moisture content and other factors. (Nozhevinikova et al. 1993) The most important reactions occurring within the landfill are those involving the microbes which begin to consume the carbon in the organic material, in turn causing the decomposition and eventually leading to the evaluate of LFG.In sanitary landfills, the process of burying waste and regularly covering deposits with a low permeability material creates an internal anaerobic environment that favors methane producing bacteria since the presence of oxygen is lacking. Pathways leading to t he production of methane and carbon dioxide from anaerobic digestion of organic fraction of solid waste are briefly described bellow: 1) Decomposition of organic matter- In this preliminary process, compounds of higher molecular mass (Lipids, proteins, nucleic acids etc. are transformed into intermediate mass compounds making them much more suitable for the microorganisms as a source of energy and cell carbon 2) Conversion of decomposed matter to Organic Acid- In this phase, the existing microorganisms convert the intermediate molecular mass compounds into lower molecular mass compounds such as compel organic acids. 3) Conversion of Acetic Acid to Methane Gas- During this stage, the microorganisms transform the acetic acid into methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) gasses. Cassia de Brito Galvao, T. and Pos, W. H. 2002) As the solid waste decomposes in landfills, the gas which is emitted is composed of approximately 50 percent CH4 and 50 percent CO2, both of which are green house g asses (GHG) (Bingemer, H G. , ; Crutzen, P. J. 1987) With Landfilling being the primary source of disposal of MSW around the world, (Encyclopedia Britanica 2012) methane emissions from landfill represent the largest source of GHG emissions from the waste sector, contributing around 700 Mt CO2-e. United Nations Environmental Programme 2012) As recorded by Environment Canada (2010), similar trends exist nationally with emissions from Canadian landfills accounting for 20% of the total national methane emissions. Information gathered in a thesis prepared by Palananthakumar, B. (1991) outlines the proportion of methane produced world wide from landfills, and can be seen illustrated graphically below in Figure 1. 0. Figure 1. 0: % of Methane Production Contributions Worldwide from Landfill Existing research leads to the confident statement that methane is a potent greenhouse gas.As summarized in a 2009 article from the Municipal Solid Waste, the Journal for Municipal Solid Waste Professio nals, In its Fourth Assessment Report (2007), The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that, on a 100-year time frame, each molecule of methane has a global warming potential 25 times higher than that associated with a molecule of carbon dioxide. (Duffy, D. P. et al 2009) Table 1. 0 summarizes the enumerated global warming potential for the primary greenhouse gasses discussed. Table 1. : Global Warming Potential (GWP) for a Given Time Horizon Greenhouse Gas| GWP20-yr (kg CO2-e| GWP (IPCC 2007) 100-yr (kg CO2-e)| GWP 500-yr (kg CO2-e)| Carbon Dioxide (CO2)| 1| 1| 1| Methane (CH4)| 72| 25| 7. 6| (Forster, P. et al 2007) In the last decade, attention to methane emissions from landfills has grown significantly with increased and ongoing awareness of global warming. The efforts of individual landfills as well as the nations as a whole are closely monitored for the control of methane emissions.A trend has been observed that the magnitude of methane emission has been slightly decreasing, which is potentially due to the development of LFG to energy projects. Contrary to the negative perception associated with all greenhouse gasses, capturing this LFG can lead to beneficial outcomes. Generally, recovered methane either flares or is used as source of energy. The use of the gas as a source of energy is economical and environmentally friendly method to reduce LFG emissions. There are three primary approaches for the utilization of LFG.They include; 1) Direct use of gas locally 2) Generation of electricity and distribution through power grid 3) Processing and injection into a gas pipeline. (Palananthakumar, B. 1991) The captured LFG has the potential to provide a continuous source of energy and improve local air quality. In addition, using LFG can significantly reduce GHG emission, making the option of exploiting this alternative energy source a very viable option to MSW management. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has utilized this M SW management option and continues to encourage it.They have created a program that aims to help reduce methane emissions from landfills by assisting and encouraging the recovery and use of LFG as an energy resource. Since the programs inception, Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) has assisted 520 LFG energy projects in the United States reduce landfill CH4 emissions and avoid CO2 emissions by a combined 44 million metric tons of carbon equivalent. The reduction of methane emission through this program has slightly influenced the overall emission of LFG in USA.The success of LMOP can be reckoned by observing statistics from 2010 where reductions from all operational LFG energy projects were equivalent to Annual GHG emissions from 18. 5 million passenger vehicles. (United States Environmental Protection Agency 2012) A variety of technologies exist to generate electricity from collected methane including, internal combustion engines, gas turbines, and microturbines. Although the re is a diversity of technologies, approximately eighty five percent of existing LFG electricity generation projects use internal combustion engines or turbines. United States Environmental Protection Agency 2012) â€Å"How much energy can Municipal solid waste produce? † is a common question among existing research. According to â€Å"An Overview of Landfill Gas Energy in the United States† published by U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Landfill Methane Outreach Program, one million tons of landfilled MSW can produce an electricity generation capacity of approximately 0. 8 MW. To further quantify this value, allowing the magnitude of the electricity generation to be understood, Focus on Energy (2003) outlines that 0. 8MW would be drawn to power approximately 8 000 100w light bulbs.It can be concluded that LFG recovery wreaks benefits environmentally, socially and economically. LFG recovery, particularly methane, also makes an impact on the larger issue termed gree n house effect, as it is amongst the most cost effective and feasible measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The recovered LFG can be directly or indirectly utilized to produce energy, which is a perpetually small, however; a very important component of an integrated approach to the solid waste management given that the use of landfills continues to remain the predominant method of municipal solid waste disposal in most countries. Global Methane 2012) References Bingemer, H G. , ; Crutzen, P. J. (1987). The Production of Methane from Solid Wastes. † Journal of Geophysical Research, 90(D2), 2181–2187. Cassia de Brito Galvao, T. and Pos, W. H. (2002) â€Å"Landfill Biogas Management: Case of Chilean Sanitary Landfills. † Recovering Energy from Waste, 183-194. Conference Board of Canada. (2011). â€Å"Municipal Waste Generation. † How Canada Performs, ; http://www. conferenceboard. ca/hcp/details/environment/municipal- waste-generation. aspx#_ftnref3; ( Sept. 28th, 2012) Duffy, D.. P et al (2009). â€Å"Moving Up†¦ to the Top of the Landfill. Municipal Solid Waste Management. 19(2), 36-39. Encyclopedia Britanica (2012). â€Å"Solid Waste Management. † ;http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/553362/solid-wastemanagement /72390/Sanitary-landfill; (Sept. 29th, 2012) Environment Canada (2010). â€Å"Municipal Solid Waste and Greenhouse Gases. † ;http://www. ec. gc. ca/gdd-mw/default. asp? lang=En;n=6F92E701-1; (Sept 29th, 2012) Focus On Energy (2003). â€Å"Electricity Basics for Renewable Energy Systems†, Focus on Energy, Wisconsin. Forster, P. et al (2007) â€Å"Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and in Radiative Forcing. Climate Change 2007:The Physical Science Basis. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. Global Methane (2012). â€Å"Basic Concepts of Integrated Solid Waste Management. † International Best Practices Guide for LFGE Projects, Global Methan e Initiative, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. Jones, L. et al. (2002). â€Å"Environmental Indicators 5th Edition. † Critical Issues Bulletin, The Fraser Institute: Vancouver, BC Landfill Methane Outreach Program (2012). â€Å"An Overview of Landfill Gas Energy in the United States† U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.Nozhevinikova, A. N. , et al. (1993). â€Å"Microbiological Process in Landfills. † Water Science Technology, 27(2), 243-252. Reinhart, D. R. , and Townsend, T. G. (1998). Landfill Bioreactor Design ; Operation, CRC Press LLC: Boca Raton, FL, USA. Palananthakumar, B. (1991). â€Å"Modeling of Methane Generation, Oxidation and Emission in Landfills. † M. Eng. Thesis, Asian Institute of Technology School of Environment, Resources and Development, Bangkok, Thailand. United States Environmental Protection Agency (2012). â€Å"Landfill Gas Energy:A Guide to Developing and Implementing Greenhouse Gas Reduc tion Programs. Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Guides, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. United States Environmental Protection Agency (2011). â€Å"Landfill Methane Outreach Program. † Environmental Protection Agency, ;http://www. epa. gov/lmop/ faq/ lmop. html; (Sept 29th, 2012) United Nations Environmental Programme (2012) â€Å"Waste and Climate Change: Global Trends and Strategy Framework. † United Nations Environmental Programme Division of Technology, Industry and Economics International Environmental Technology Centre, Osaka, Japan.

Communication Essays

Communication Essays Communication Essay Communication Essay On the basis of your reading of book â€Å"Media effect† explain and elaborate the theory of agenda setting. Also highlight the agenda setting role of media with examples from Pakistani setting. Introduction: This theory puts forth the ability of the media to influence the significance of events in the publics mind. The media set the agenda for the audiences discussion and mentally order and organize their world. The theory is consistent with a use and gratification approach. McCombs and Shaw  assert that the agenda-setting function of the media causes the correlation between the media and public ordering of priorities. The people most affected by the media agenda are those who have a high need for orientation. Agenda Setting Theory: The  agenda-setting theory  is the theory that the  news media  have a large influence on audiences by their choice of what stories to consider  newsworthy  and how much  prominence and space to give them. Agenda-setting theory’s main postulate is  salience  transfer. Salience  transfer is the ability of the  news media  to transfer issues of importance from their  news media  agendas  to public  agendas. Through their day-by-day selection and display of the news, editors and news directors focus our attention and influence our perceptions of what are the most important issues of the day. This ability to influence the  salience  of topics on the public  agenda  has come to be called the  agenda  setting role of the  news media. Foundation The  media  agenda  is the set of issues addressed by  media  sources and the public  agenda  which are issues the public consider important. Agenda-setting theory was introduced in 1972 by  Maxwell McCombs  and  Donald Shaw  in their ground breaking study of the role of the  media  in 1968 presidential campaign in  Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The theory explains the  correlation  between the rate at which  media  cover a story and the extent that people think that this story is important. This correlation has been shown to occur repeatedly. In the dissatisfaction of the  magic bullet theory,  McCombs  and  Shaw  introduced agenda setting theory in the  Public Opinion Quarterly. The theory was derived from their study that took place in Chapel Hill, NC, where the researchers surveyed 100 undecided voters during the 1968 presidential campaign on what they thought were key issues and measured that against the actual  media  content. The ranking of issues was almost identical with a correlation of . 97, and the conclusions matched their hypothesis that the  mass media  positioned the  agenda  for public opinion by emphasizing specific topics. Subsequent research on  agenda-setting theory provided evidence for the  cause-and-effect chain of influence  being debated by critics in the field. One particular study made leaps to prove the cause-effect relationship. The study was conducted by Yale researchers,  Shanto Iyengar, Mark Peters, and  Donald Kinder. The researchers had three groups of subjects fill out questionnaires about their own concerns and then each group watched different evening news programs, each of which emphasized a different issue. After watching the news for four days, the subjects again filled out questionnaires and the issues that they rated as most important matched the issues they viewed on the evening news. The study demonstrated a cause-and-effect relationship between  media  agenda  and public  agenda. As of 2004, there were over 400 empirical studies examining the effects of  Agenda  Setting. The theory has evolved beyond the  medias  influence on the publics perceptions of issue  salience  to political candidates and corporate reputation. Functions The  agenda-setting function has multiple components: ? Media  agenda  are issues discussed in the media, such as newspapers, television, and radio. ? Public  agenda  are issues discussed among members of the public. Policy  agenda  are issues that policy makers consider important, such as legislators. ? Corporate  agenda  are issues that big corporations consider important. These four  agendas  are interrelated. The two basic assumptions that underlie most research on  agenda-setting are that the press and the  media  do not reflect reality, they filter and shape it, and the media concentra tion on a few issues and subjects leads the public to perceive those issues as more important than other issues. Levels of  agenda  setting ? The first-level  agenda  setting is most traditionally studied by researchers. Simply put, the focus is/was on major issues/objects and the transfer of the salience of those objects/issues. From these broad issues,  agenda  setting evolved to look not only at the major issues/objects, but to attributes of those issues. ? In second-level  agenda  setting, the  news media  focuses on the  characteristics  of the objects or issues. This transfer of attribute  salience  is considered second-level effects or attribute agenda-setting. The second dimension refers to the transmission of attribute  salience  to the minds of the public. More specifically, each object has numerous attributes, or characteristics and properties that fill out the picture of that particular object. As certain perspectives and frames are employed in news coverage, they can draw public attention to certain attributes and away from others. In this level the media suggest how the people should think about the issue. There are two types of attributes:  cognitive  (sustentative, or topics) and  affective  (evaluative, or positive, negative, neutral). Additionally, there are several theoretical concepts that fall under the umbrella of attribute  agenda  setting. Some of these include:   priming, gate keeping (which happens in both level) of primary importance, the concept of framing. 1. Priming: There are perspectives as to what  priming  actually is, but the primary concept is such: According to the  priming  theory,  news media  exposure presumably causes the activation of related knowledge, which is more likely to be retrieved and used in later judgments because it is more accessible in memory and comes to mind spontaneously and effortlessly. Iyengar and Kinder,  define  priming  as â€Å"changes in standards that people use to make political evaluations. 2. Gate-keeping: The concept of  gate-keeping  attempts to answer the question of who sets the  news media  agenda? Mccombs,  states that we need to look at three key elements: major sources who provide information for news stories, other news organizations, and journalisms norms and traditions. Mccombs  notes that journalists validate their sense of ne ws by observing and the work of their colleagues. Local newspapers and televisions stations note the news  agenda  offered each day by their direct competitors for local attention. Finding stories that are  newsworthy  can be difficult, but most journalists look for these characteristics throughout the information they collect. These generally are:  impact,  proximity,timeliness,  prominence,  importance,  conflict,  contradiction,  contrast,  novelty, and  human interest. 3. Framing: Although many scholars have differing opinions of what exactly  framing  is, Mccombs  defines it as, the selection of and emphasis upon particular attributes for the news media  agenda  when talking about an object (the fact of cutting and trimming news stories in order to filter it and shape it as the sender wish) . In other words, it is not just is said in news reports, but how they are characterized and presented. It is through this unique characterization/portrayal of issues/objects that communicates certain meanings to audiences apart from just stating facts and figures Usage: The theory is used in political advertising, political campaigns and debates, business news and corporate reputation,  business influence on federal policy, legal systems, trials, role of groups, audience control, public opinion, and  public relations. Strengths and weaknesses of theory It has an explanatory power because it explains why most people prioritize the same issues as important. It also has predictive power because it predicts that if people are exposed to the same  media, they will feel the same issues are important. Its meta-theoretical assumptions are balanced on the scientific side and it lays groundwork for further research. There are also limitations, such as  news media  users may not be as ideal as the theory assumes. People may not be well-informed, deeply engaged in public affairs, thoughtful and skeptical. Instead, they may pay only casual and intermittent attention to public affairs and remain ignorant of the details. For people who have made up their minds, the effect is weakened. Another limitation is that there is limited research in the realm of non-traditional forms of  news media  (i. e. Social Media, Blogs, etc ) and it’s  Agenda  Setting Role. Q-2Describe in detail the major features and concepts of the Cultivation effects hypothesis? Compare research of this tradition with traditional television effects research. Cultivation theory: Cultivation theory in its most basic form, then, suggests that exposure to television, over time, subtly cultivates viewers perceptions of reality. This cultivation can have an impact even on light viewers of TV, because the impact on heavy viewers has an impact on our entire culture. Gerbner and Gross (1976) say television is a medium of the socialization of most people into standardized roles and behaviors. Cultivation Effects Hypothesis: Stated most simply, the central hypothesis explored in cultivation research is that those who spend more time watching television are more likely to perceive the real world in ways that reflect the most common and recurrent messages of the television world, compared with people who watch less television, but are otherwise comparable in terms of important demographic characteristics (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, Signorielli, Shanahan, 2002). Gerbner  et al. 1986) go on to argue the impact of television on its viewers is not unidirectional, that the use of the term cultivation for televisions contribution to conception of social reality (Does not) necessarily imply a one-way, monolithic process. The effects of a pervasive medium upon the composition and structure of the symbolic environment is subtle, complex, and intermingled with other influences. This perspective, therefore, assumes an interaction between the medium and its publics. Cultivation Theory ( George Gerbner, 1960’s) is a top down, linear, closed communication model. It regards audiences as passive, presenting ideas to society as a mass with meaning open to little or no interpretation. The ideas presented to a passive audience are often accepted, therefore influencing large groups into conforming behind ideas, meaning that the media exerts a significant influence over audiences. This audience is seen as very vulnerable and easily manipulated. Cultivation Theory looks at media as having a long term passive effect on audiences, which starts off small at first but has a compound effect, an example of this is body image and the bombardment of images. An advantage of this theory is that it is easy to apply to a wide range of texts and to a wide range of audience members, a disadvantage however is that it doesn’t look at the background, ethnicity, gender etc. of audiences. In 1968 Gerbner conducted a survey to demonstrate this theory. From his results he placed television viewers into three categories; Light viewers (less than 2 hours a day) Medium viewers (2–4 hours a day) Heavy viewers (more than 4 hours a day) He found that heavy viewers held beliefs and opinions similar to those portrayed on television rather than the real world which demonstrates the compound effect of media influence. An advantage to this study is that surveys are able to ask specific detailed questions and can be applied over different demographic groups. Disadvantages to this study is that survey questions can be interpreted incorrectly resulting in inaccurate answers and that participants of the survey may or may not be doing the survey voluntarily which could influence how they respond to the survey and the type of people being surveyed. Gerbner created the cultivation theory as one part of a three part research strategy, called Cultural Indicators. The concept of a cultural indicator was developed by Gerbner in order to be a more common idea of a social indicator. The first part of this strategy is known as the institutional process analysis. This investigates how the flow of media messages is produced and managed, how decisions are made, and how media organizations function. The second part of this strategy is known as message system analysis, which has been used since 1967 to track the most stable and recurrent images in media content. This is in terms of violence, race ethnicity, gender, and occupation. The final part of the research study is the cultivation analysis. METHODOLOGY The first stage in cultivation analysis is a careful study of TV content in order to identify predominant themes and messages. Since 1967, Gerbner and his colleagues have been meticulously analyzing sample weeks of prime time and day time TV programming. Television’s world is populated by a preponderance of males. Moreover, in portraying occupations TV over emphasizes the professions and over represents the proportion of workers engaged in law enforcement and the detection of crime. Lastly the TV world is a violent one. Step two examines what viewers absorb from heavy exposure to the world of TV. Respondents are presented with questions concerning social reality and are asked to check one of two possible answers. One of these answers (the TV answers) is more inline with the way things are portrayed on TV; the other (the real world answer) more closely resembles situations in actual life. RESEARCH FINDINGS Most findings suggest that among some people TV is cultivating distorted perceptions of the real world. Results from a national survey of adult viewers indicate that cultivation is not limited to children. In this survey heavy TV viewers evidently felt that TV violence and crime presented an accurate depiction of reality, since they also were more fearful of walking alone at night and were more likely to have bought a dog or to have put locks on windows and doors than were light TV viewers. Research has shown that content other than crime and violence might also demonstrate a cultivate effect. One study (1981) found that heavy soap opera viewers were more likely than light viewers to over estimate the number of real life married people who had affairs or who had been divorced and the number of women who had abortions. Not all researchers have accepted the cultivation hypothesis. In particular, Hughes (1980) and Hirsch (1980) reanalyzed the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) data using simultaneous rather than individual controls for demographic variables, and they were unable to replicate Gerbner’s findings. Gerbner responded by introducing resonance and mainstreaming, two new concepts to help explain inconsistencies in the results (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, Signorielli, 1986). These concepts take account of the fact that heavy TV viewing has different outcomes for different social groups. Resonance: When the media reinforce what is seen in real life, thus giving an audience member a â€Å"double dose,† the resulting increase in the cultivation effect is attributed to resonance. Mainstreaming is a leveling effect. Gerbner says mainstreaming occurs when heavy viewing leads to a convergence of outlooks across groups. The addition of mainstreaming and resonance to cultivation theory is a substantial modification of the theory. The theory no longer claims uniform, across the board effects of Television on all heavy viewers. It now claims that TV interacts with other variables in ways such that television viewing will have strong effects on some subgroups of persons and not on others. COMPARISON OF CULTIVATION EFFECTS HYPOTHESIS WITH TRADITIONAL T. V EFFECTS RESEARCH Traditional effects research is based on evaluating specific informational, educational, political, or marketing efforts in terms selective exposure and measurable differences between those exposed and others. Scholars steeped in those traditions find it difficult to accept the emphasis of cultivation analysis on total immersion rather than selective viewing and on the spread of stable similarities of outlook rather than on the remaining sources of cultural differentiation and change. Cultivation theory is based on the results of research findings a persistent and persuasive pull of the television. Mainstream on a great variety of conceptual currents and counter currents. The focus on broad communalities of perspectives among heavy viewers of otherwise varied backgrounds requires a theoretical and methodological approach different from traditional media effects research and appropriate to the distinct dynamics of TV. Cultivation analysis is not a substitute for but a complement to traditional approaches to media effects. Traditional research is concerned with change rather than stability and with processes more applicable to media that inter a person’s life at latter stages (with mobility, literacy, etc. ) and more selectively. Neither the â€Å"before and after exposure† model, nor the notion of â€Å"predispositions† as intervening variables. So important and traditional effects studies, apply in the context of cultivation analysis. TV enters life in infancy; there is no â€Å"before exposure† condition. TV plays a role in the formation of those very â€Å"predispositions† that later intervene (and often resist) other influences and attempts at persuasion. Cultivation analysis concentrates on the enduring and common consequences of growing up and living with TV. Those are the stable, resistant, and widely shared assumptions, images, and conceptions expressing the institutional haracteristics and interests of the medium itself. Q-3Explain the concepts of Framing and Priming with examples? Also briefly describe Mainstreaming effects. Priming and Framing: Priming (mass media research), often cited next to Framing and  Agenda-setting theory, is a cognitive process, in which media information (Primes) increases temporarily the accessibility of knowledge units in the memory of an individual, which makes it more likely that these knowledge units are used in the reception, interpretation and judgment for the following external information. Framing Although many scholars have differing opinions of what exactly  framing  is, Mccombs  defines it as, the selection of and emphasis upon particular attributes for the news media  agenda  when talking about an object (the fact of cutting and trimming news stories in order to filter it and shape it as the sender wish) . In turn, as we know from attribute  agenda  setting, people who frame objects, placing various degrees of emphasis on the attributes of persons, public issues or other objects when they think or talk about them. In other words, it is not just is said in news reports, but how they are characterized and presented. It is through this unique characterization/portrayal of issues/objects that communicates certain meanings to audiences apart from just stating facts and figures; the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Entman, 1993 not only defines  frames  as â€Å"involving selection and salience. To  frame  is to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more  salient  in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation for the item described.    But also goes on to describe these four functions: 1) Defining problems-determining what a causal agent is doing with what costs and benefits, usually measured in terms of common cultural values; 2) Diagnosing causes-identifying the forces creating the problem; 3) Making moral judgments-evaluate causal  agents  and their effects; and 4) Suggesting remedies-offering and justifying treatments for the problems a nd predict their likely effects. It is through these four functions that the  news media  can highlight/characterize certain issues/candidates/problems/attributes and/or choose to ignore others. Furthermore, many other defined  news media  framing as the central organizing idea for news content that supplies a context and suggests what the issue is through the use of selection, emphasis, exclusion and elaboration.   When the news media  supply the context, select what to emphasize or exclude information, they show us how to think about an object/issue/candidate. In order for this to be effective the audience must be able to internalize the information and â€Å"individual’s therefore apply interpretive schemas or â€Å"primary frameworks† Priming: There are perspectives as to what  priming  actually is, but the primary concept is such: According to the  priming  theory,  news media  exposure presumably causes the activation of related knowledge, which is more likely to be retrieved and used in later judgments because it is more accessible in memory and comes to mind spontaneously and effortlessly. , its the actual act of link two different elements in order to generate a general known idea. The concept of  priming  is supported by the  accessibility bias argument  as well as the principle of resonance as some attributes may resonate longer with individuals than others. Iyengar and Kinder,  define  priming  as â€Å"changes in standards that people use to make political evaluations. † The premis e of political priming is that public evaluations of political leaders are made on the basis of issues that are on the top of citizens’ mind. This study investigated the impact of a national referendum campaign about a European integration issue on the evaluation of the incumbent government, the Prime Minister as well opposition leaders. Drawing on a content analysis of news media and a two-wave panel survey, the results showed that as the topic of the referendum (the introduction of the euro) became more visible in the media during the campaign, the importance of the euro issue for formulating general evaluations of political leaders increased. The incumbent government that was seen to handle the referendum poorly was penalized by the referendum. Exposure to news media outlets that covered the referendum extensively and offered negative evaluations of political leaders boosted the decline in overall performance rating of political leaders for politically less involved respondents. These results stress the necessity of considering the campaign and the specific content of the media to understand fluctuations in public opinion during a referendum campaign. MAINSTREAMING EFFECTS: Gerbner and his colleagues define mainstreaming as the sharing of that commonality among heavy viewers in those demographic groups whose light viewers hold divergent views (Gerbner et al. , 1980, p. 15). Gerbner and his associates look for mainstreaming effects by selecting groups of light viewers that differ strongly in their answers to a particular question (such as the estimate of the proportion of law enforcement officers in the total workforce). They then look at the heavy viewers in those same groups. If the variation in the answers of the heavy viewers is significantly smaller than the variation in the answers of the light viewers, the researchers speak of a mainstreaming effect of television, or a relative homogenization, an absorption of divergent views, and a convergence of disparate viewers (Morgan Signorielli, 1990, p. 3). Related to acts of violence depicted in programming, viewers are de-sensitized to the violence and become less empathetic to the suffering of others. Likewise studies of other social issues indicate that television cultivates assumptions we label stereotypes. Thus notions of gender roles are reinforced by television content when viewers see women in th e kitchen and men in the workplace. An interesting result of mainstreaming is that heavy viewers tend to label themselves as â€Å"moderate† instead of â€Å"liberal† or â€Å"conservative,† despite the actual positions they take on a number of political issues. Mainstream does not mean ‘middle of the road’† (Gerbner et al. , 2002, p. 57). Mainstreaming has influenced the heavy viewer to consider himself as conforming to the dominant viewpoint rather than be counted among those who are outside of the norm. Q-4: What do you understand by social Cognitive theory of mass communication? Give examples from your own society. Mass communication is something were all affected by in one way, or another. Directly, or indirectly, information transmitted by todays communication mediums shape and directs a societys expectations and behaviors. The impacts of mass communication exert a cognitive effect on us as individuals, and as a social group. The cognitive theory examines how repeated exposure to the media changes human behavior. Values: Valuesboth personal and societalare the focus within the cognitive theory of mass communication. The methods used to relay information are based on how values are formed, structured and directed within our minds. Research within psychology, marketing and communications all combine to give us an understanding of how media interacts with a societys value system. Based on structured methods that work on values, attitudes, emotions and behavior, the effects of mass communication can be pre-determined, and put to use. Features: A persons value system is built on pre-learned patterns of how to identify people and things in her environment, and how to interact with them. Patterns that carry an emotional overtone have the most impact on a persons value system. Cognitive theory refers to these patterns as Exemplars. These are the building blocks that make up a value system. Exemplars represent accumulated information blocks within a persons psychological make-up. Mass communication mediums like television and newspapers affect us on a daily basis. Cognitive theory views the information passed along through these sources as seeded with exemplars. Over a period of years, or decades, the medias portrayal of exemplars becomes a means by which value systems can be changed. Function:   Media advertisers make use of exemplars within their advertising campaigns. Cognitive theory calls this the Priming method. Based on whats called a Landscape Model, advertisers can determine where best to promote a product within a television show, a newspaper, or a movie. Product placement within the framework of a story is based on where the product will most impact the viewers. Social cognitive theory is a subcategory of  cognitive theory  that focuses on the effects that others have on our behavior. It is a form of  learning theory, but differs from other learning theories such as  behaviorism  in several important ways. Tenets of Social Cognitive Theory: Expert opinions differ on exactly what separates social cognitive theory from the more general social learning theory. In general, however, these principles can be used to define social cognitive theory. . People learn by observing others, a process known as vicarious learning, not only through their own direct experiences. 2. Although learning can modify behavior, people do not always apply what they have learned. Individual choice is based on perceived or actual consequences of behavior. 3. People are more likely to follow the behaviors modeled by someone with whom they can identify. T he more perceived commonalities and/or emotional attachments between the observer and the model, the more likely the observer will learn from the model. 4. The degree of self-efficacy that a learner possesses directly affects his or her ability to learn. Self-efficacy is a fundamental belief in one’s ability to achieve a goal. If you believe that you can learn new behaviors, you will be much more successful in doing so. Social Cognitive Theory in Daily Life: Social cognitive theory is frequently used in  advertising. Commercials are carefully targeted toward particular demographic groups. Each element of the commercial, from the actors to the background music, is chosen to help that demographic identify with the product. Notice how different the commercials shown during Saturday morning cartoons are from those shown during the evening news or a late-night movie. And who hasnt at one time or another realized the power of  peer pressure? We all want to belong, and so we tend to change our behaviors to fit in with whatever group we most strongly identify with. Although we often think of peer pressure as solely a teen phenomenon, how many of us drive a particular car, live in a specific neighborhood, or have our hair done at a certain salon simply because it is expected of someone in our social class or peer group? Social cognitive theory  is a  learning theory  based on the ideas that people learn by watching what others do and that human thought processes are central to understanding personality. While social cognitists agree that there is a fair amount of influence on development generated by learned behavior displayed in the environment in which one grows up, they believe that the individual person (and therefore cognition) is just as important in determining moral development. People learn by observing others, with the environment, behavior, and cognition all as the chief factors in influencing development. These three factors are not static or independent; rather, they are all reciprocal. For example, each behavior witnessed can change a persons way of thinking (cognition). Similarly, the environment one is raised in may influence later behaviors, just as a fathers mindset (also cognition) will determine the environment in which his children are raised.

What Makes Children Turn To Violence essays

What Makes Children Turn To Violence essays What Makes Children Turn to Violence? School violence is a tremendous problem facing todays youth. There are many factors that can contribute to violent actions in schools. Some are child abuse, violence in the home, poverty, easy access to guns, violence in television, and drug and alcohol abuse. The major cause of violence is none of the above, but harassment from others. Many people feel as if they need to result to violence as a result of these negative influences they have received from others as they were growing up. Some people claim that it is the parents responsibility to make sure that their children are disciplined, but that is not always the case. Those troubled children feel as if they need to release the bottled up emotions that they have felt, so violence towards others seems to be the only method of escape for them from the derogatory implications from others. In high school, many forms of harassment are noticed. Verbal Harassment is the one that is most common. It is a highly influential method of convincing others that they are inferior. People feel that they are less of a person just because of what other say to them. But these put-downs can be very effective in making someone feel terrible about themselves. The people who torment others are commonly referred to as bullies. They have a tendency to degrade others either by forms such as name calling, teasing, threatening, hitting, or stealing. Bullying is a major problem that has many negative effects on the wellbeing of students and on their right to learn in a safe environment. Bullying can also have negative lifelong consequences-both for students who bully and for their victims. Studies have established that approximately 15 percent of students are either bullied regularly or are initiators of bullying behavior. Direct bullying seems to increase through the elementary school y ...

U08a2 Measure of Solar Rotation Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

U08a2 Measure of Solar Rotation Paper - Essay Example The synodic period is the temporal interval that it takes for an object to reappear at the same point in relation to two other objects (linear nodes), e.g., when the Moon relative to the Sun as observed from Earth returns to the same illumination phase. The synodic period is the time that elapses between two successive conjunctions with the Sun-Earth line in the same linear order. The synodic period differs from the sidereal period due to the Earth's orbiting around the Sun (Wikipedia 2011). Using Sunspots in Measurement of Solar Rotation. The rotation of the sun has been measured by the motion of various features ("tracers") on the solar surface. The first and most widely used tracers are sunspots. Though sunspots had been observed since ancient times, it was only when the telescope came into use that they were observed to turn with the Sun. The English scholar Thomas Harriot was probably the first to observe sunspots telescopically as evidenced by a drawing in his notebook dated De cember 8, 1610, and the first published observations (June 1611). Johannes Fabricius had been systematically observing the spots for a few months and had noted their movement across the solar disc. This can be considered the first observational evidence of the solar rotation. Christopher Scheiner, (1630) was the first to measure the equatorial rotation rate of the Sun and noticed that the rotation at higher latitudes is slower, so he can be considered the discoverer of solar differential rotation. Each measurement gives a slightly different answer, yielding the above standard deviations (shown as +/-). St. John (1918) was perhaps the first to summarize the published solar rotation rates, and concluded that the differences in series measured in different years can hardly be attributed to personal observation or to local disturbances on the Sun, and are probably due to time variations in the rate of rotation, and Hubrecht (1915) was the first one to find that the two solar hemispheres rotate differently (The Essential Cosmic Perspective, 5th Edition, Page: 287). Sunspot Analysis: (Spotexerweb[1].pdf) (Day 1) June 22, 2011 Sunspot Latitude 15 Degrees Sunspot Longitude: 60 Degrees (Day 2) June 23, 2011 Sunspot Latitude: 15 Degrees Sunspot Longitude: 45 Degrees (Day 3) June 24, 2011 Sunspot Latitude: 15 Degrees Sunspot Longitude: 30 Degrees A AC( ( A\ Rotation of Sun Calculation: Difference in Longitude in Day 1 and Day 2: DL1: 15 (Delta Longitude) S1 = 2 days x 360 degrees 2 x 360 = 2 x 24 = 48 Degrees DL1 15 Difference in Longitude in Day 2 and Day 3: DL2: 15 (Delta Longitude) S2 = 2 days x 360 degrees 2 x 360 = 48 Degrees DL2 15 Calculation of Average (S): S = (S1 + S2) = (48 + 48) = 96 = 48 Synodic Rotation Period 2 2 2 Sidereal Period of Rotation (P): P = (S x 365.25) = (48 x 365.25) = 17532 = 42.424 Sidereal Rotation (P) (S + 365.25) (48 + 365.25 413.25 Comparison with Period of Solar Rotation for Solar Equator: Solar rotation is able to vary with latitude be cause the Sun is composed of gaseous plasma. The rate of rotation is observed to be fastest at the equator (latitude ?=0 deg), and to decrease as latitude increases. The differential rotation rate is usually described by the equation (Wikipedia 2011): Citations The Essential Cosmic Perspective, n.p. (5th Edition), Page: 287, Book Tracking Sunspots Data from SOHO, Spotexerweb[1].pdf, Web Sunspots,Wikipedia, The

FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN A COUNTRY OF YOUR CHOICE Essay

FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN A COUNTRY OF YOUR CHOICE - Essay Example However the modern UK banking and Finance owe their evolution to the Crown's dissolution of the monasteries which acted as money keepers in the 1530s.( Chen 1983:1400). Today the UK banking system is extremely advanced in terms of the globalization of its financial markets. The constant development and innovation in its financial operations and strategies has changed both its operational and structural financial landscape. Currently it is highly influenced by the Basel Committee (under the Bank of International Settlements) which was formed in response to the crises caused by the insolvency of Bankaus Herstatt and the problems caused by Nixon's announcement of the closure of the Golden Window ,has worked since 1974 to prevent such risks from injuring the health and wealth of such financial institutions. Of more importance however is the UK's current monetary policy which is aimed at delivering price stability which is a result of low inflation (with the Government's inflation target of 2%. expressed in terms of an annual rate of inflation based on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).)Currently the Bank of England with its powers under the Bank of England Act 1998 has the role of the financial regulator and can set interest rates with little interference from the government.(expressed in terms of an annual rate of inflation based on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). The decade of the nineties demonstrated low and relatively stable interest rates in contrast to the high and volatile interest rates which haunted the economy in the seventies.The interest rates also fell following the 9/11 incident,yet the UK financial sector saw definite booms with in the housing sector as interest rates increased in 2004.However the current low interest rates are affecting the system of bond markets, curre ncy markets and stock markets. This has also reportedly led to an increase in the to income ratio for consumers.Before the FSA (Financial Services Authority) became the statutory banking supervisor of the UK through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000,UK bank supervision was the responsibility of the Bank of England. The Bank of England has been an informal supervisor for British Banks ever since the mid nineteenth century but the Bank of England Act 1979 confirmed these powers by granting it be able to approve or refuse authorization to carry out banking business in the UK. Employment and Inflation Recent statistics show that things are improving in terms of microeconomic indicators like that of employment and reduced inflation.The diagram below gives a rough estimate of the UK interest rates This is because during the past few years the UK has had much success in controlling interest rate fuelled inflationary problems. Employment in the UK reached 29 million in 2006 for the first time; the highest figure since comparable records began in 19711. New evidence from the Bank of England however Inflation Report2 suggests that UK has been hit by stagflation in its financial sector "In the central projection, higher energy and import prices push inflation above the target in the near term. Inflation then falls back to