1.Compare and contrast two perspectives on the idea that commercial Assignment

1.Compare and contrast two perspectives on the idea that commercial mass media provide a marketplace of ideas - Assignment Example rence is that, in a neoliberal society, in addition to the dominant elite controlling the message, there is also a message to the mass audience that the neoliberal tenants – that deregulation, private enterprise and low taxes are all good, as are income and wealth disparities – are the tenants that should be present in society. In contrast, the opposite views, the progressive views, that higher taxes should be pursued, government should be expanded, wealth should be more evenly distributed, and businesses should be firmly regulated, are all beliefs which would presumably harm the free market system and the corporations that make up the free market system, therefore these are the tenants which are disparaged in a neoliberal society. At any rate, under either of these ideas, there is not a free exchange of ideas, because the messages are so controlled by dominant forces. This essay will examine the two schools of thought – political economists and neoliberals †“ and show how each of these schools of thought leads to a mass media that does not disseminate ideas so much as it creates propaganda for the ruling elite. Political economists, according to Brenkman (1979) are in line with Karl Marx, as his critique of the bourgeois economy was known as political economy. The basis for Marxism, at least in the classical sense, is that the economic base determines everything else that occurs in the superstructure of the social, political and intellectual consciousness of a given society. Thus, the culture industries, including commercial media, would be examined in this light, in terms of the economic determinations. This would mean that the media and the messages that are disseminated throughout a society are determined by the economic base of the organization that produces them (Chandler). The political economist looks at large economic structural forces, and how the mass media is associated with this (Havens et al., 2009). Thus, for example, in a very crass way, Fox

Retail Store Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Retail Store Design - Essay Example stores to asses the extend of the easiness in shopping for the customers. It was proposed to evaluate the degree of illumination in the shopping space, product shelves etc and a comparison across different stores on these factors and how it influenced the shoppers choice on selection of stores. Further, a comparison across the U.S. and U.K. stores was also carried out. The purpose of such comparison is to understand the pattern of change across the countries and the customer attitude behavior in the shopping in retail stores. Another major research question that is addressed here is on predicting the customer decision to shop in one store over the other. It could be due to different set of reasons and hence the research undertaken here must be able to expose the key factors that would drive the customer decision-making. in the retail store selection. In addition, it is also planned to have an evaluation on the effect of store lighting on the decision taken to shop in a particular sho p by the customer. The retail business segment is a very vibrant and dynamic area of commercial operations that demands specialized design of its building systems. The building envelope and interior features in the retail establishments are found to have direct influence on both the mental and physical well being of the occupants as well as the clients (Hiserdot, 2002). Incorporation of technology in the business operations have helped to bring tremendous transformation on the business functions and have also led to the innovative design of the functional space of the retail business unit. The two major components that design of a retail business unit must focus are design of interiors and establishing a favorable environment for effective the visual communication (Retail Systems, n.d.) Some of the specific interventions in the retail system designs are (i) Reliable and secure systems based on efficient automated systems and (ii) Solutions that are environmentally friendly and cost effective operation s (Salvador, et al. , 2006). The retail design process is a very rigid exercise involving large number of interconnected activities like the design of the exterior, floor plan creation with selling space demarcation, interior planning, placing of fixtures and merchandise on the shelves. Unlike the traditional approaches the design process is expected involves a thorough review of the past with clear understanding of the differences with the present. It is said to create a very rich design with the help of research data. To create a changing environment in the shopping space, it is better if the designs are considered as modular and flexible. The retail segment consists of large pool of trading stores. The primary classes of the retail trade are grocery stores, drug store, convenience store, discount stores and mass merchants, department stores, specialty stores, catalogue and internet shopping. Retail Drug Stores Drug stores are among the fastest growing retail stores. This is driven partially by aging baby boomers that require more healthcare products, but also as a strategy to siphon customers away from conventional stores. Consolidation in the industry has left three national players with several thousand stores each: Walgreens Drug, CVS and Rite Aid. The study undertaken here have chosen Walgreens drug and Rite aid as the samples for

It is not possible to be a disciple of Jesus in the modern world Essay Example for Free

It is not possible to be a disciple of Jesus in the modern world Essay It is not possible to be a disciple of Jesus in the modern world I disagree with this statement, although I recognise that it is not always easy to be a disciple I believe it is possible for those who have faith. We are first called to discipleship at Baptism where the father of the child lights a candle from the Pascal candle as a sign of his responsibility to enable his son/daughter to grow in full faith. I believe that faith makes everything possible, if we have faith in God and his teaching we can achieve our hopes and dreams. If we have faith then living, as a true disciple is part of our way of life, we as Christians in todays world should try to live our lives as Jesus lived his. Without faith what meaning would life itself have for us, what would be the use in perusing life if it had no meaning to us. If we believe then we can reach goals and discipleship can bring joy and purpose to our lives we can achieve goals and targets we set for ourselves. Nothing is impossible to he who believes Faith in God is not always easy to maintain; if we pick up a newspaper what headings do we usually see? Usually something related to drugs, alcohol, kidnapping, and murder. What example is this setting to children? While there parents are teaching them about how caring we should be, and how we should love our neighbour as ourselves, these children look at the newspapers or even the news and see people who have lost arms or legs as someone has shot them. What kind of example is this of loving your neighbour? What affect is this going to have on these children in the long term? They will grow up with the opinion that this is acceptable and everybody does it why should they be different to the rest? To be a true disciple we must have immense faith in God, if we have faith nothing is impossible. But there are many difficulties which disciples of Jesus have to face when trying to carry out the work of God, one of the most difficult to deal with is peer pressure. Many people, particularly the young people, feel unable to resist the pressures put upon them by their peers and therefore behave in a way which goes against the teaching of the gospel. There are many pressures maybe to smoke, drink, vandalise others property, tell lies, use foul language, and have a sexual relationship before marriage. If enough pressure is put on these people it is very difficult to say no! And therefore they are going against the teaching of Jesus not because they want to it is because they are not strong enough to resist temptation, and they are afraid others will treat them differently. Other pressures come from the media we usually get a picture from the media of very anti-Christian values and standards. Take magazines for example they tell stories of unmarried people having a sexual relationship or young people smoking and drinking, and this is all classed as Normal and acceptable in our world. They do not present the Christian way of life as being worthwhile and Cool or up to date. We also get a lot of anti-Christian standards from the television, films, and videos. These can have a very powerful influence on the lives of many people; most soap operas and films present a non-Christian way of life. How often do you see a Christian family in a soap opera, and if there is Christian families do you ever notice that they always seem to be laughed at by the rest of the families as they are seen to be out of date and definetly not trendy. Television I believe influences many people, who is going to get up early on a Sunday morning to watch the Christian services carried out in different chapels, while they could be watching Eastenders or a popular music show! There are many ways television influences us they give us pictures of what is normal in our society such as sex before marriage, abortions are acceptable, divorce is a fact of life, the only purpose in life is to search for pleasure, and violence is acceptable and part of everyday life. Media can make Christians feel confused and unsure of their own beliefs The way of life presented by the media is often made to seem more attractive, more enjoyable, easier, and more glamorous. However we as Christians should always remember that Jesus never promised that being a disciple would be easy, in fact we must deny ourselves take up our cross and follow him. We should make up our minds whether we want to be a disciple; many people are unable or incapable to make such decisions in life because of addictions to alcohol, drugs, gambling, and solvent abuse. Becoming addicted to any of these can make people lose all sense of reality of right and wrong, of what being a Christian really means. If a person is not in total control of their life then being a Christian is almost an impossible task. The family is an extremely important unit and source of Christian discipleship in our society, it is within the family that children first learn about the love of God, right and wrong and acceptable and unacceptable modes of behaviour. Parents are the first teachers of their children and the church relies on these parents to pass on the faith to their children by what they say and through their actions. There are many broken families in todays society and many children do not receive the Christian teaching and example, which they need, such as love and understanding and therefore grow up not using the example in their life. So to be a good disciple is extremely difficult but not impossible. In todays world there are many distractions and other Gods, which can lure us away from love of the one true God. Things such as money, possessions, wealth, search for pleasure, and success, laziness, indifference, friends, and Greed. These things all tempt us in many different ways, it is as if they are trying to make us forget our first priority which is God. The easier route in life is often to give into these temptations, to become distracted by worldly and materialistic values and to become neglectful to our Christian duties. If we consider all the pressures people today face we see that it is not always an easy task to follow Jesus through thick and thin, but it is not an impossible one. When Jesus chose his first disciples he knew that it would not be easy for them, nor is it easy for us in the twentieth century. The world as we know it is becoming less and less accommodating to the Christian way of life and it is not going to get any easier, this is why we should never give up and our faith should see us through even the worse times in life. We should not become what society wants to become and is encouraging us to become we should not be lured away from God so we can fit in and act like people want us to. This is the challenge of Christian discipleship.

Touch Screen Alarm Clock Marketing Plan

Touch Screen Alarm Clock Marketing Plan The latest technological gadgets have gained immense popularity in the last few years and the customers are eager to try out new products and services. Considering the increasing demand of touch screen alarm clock as identified by Brandon (2010), our company will be introducing this product in the market and will ensure that it successfully meets the requirements of every customer by charging reasonable price for the product range. Market Research findings Since the business environment is becoming fierce and competitive, it has become vital for the companies to carry out a market research before launching the product in the market (Ranjhita, 2011). With the help of the research, it was found that touch screen alarm clock has huge potential for the new entrants and entry barriers are relatively low (Cako, 2005). In US, every top ranked brand is offering its products but there are some areas where people have limited access to these clocks. The three areas identified by our company are Ohio, Florida and California; the geographic segmentation has been done to get a clear picture of the type of customers that the company will be targeting. From the analysis of the research findings, it is decided that the brand name will be Express Alarm Clock and it will comprise of two models on the basis of features. One model will be simple with less features and other will be with complicated and extremely high technical features. The other aspects of the marketing plan are discussed below in detail. Target Market In order to reach the right market, it is important that the target market is decided beforehand which will ensure that there will be certain number of consumers who would be willing to buy the product (Flink, 2011). The target market of this new touch screen Alarm Clock is as follows: Gender: Male and Female Age: 8 years and above Income: $30,000 and above Lifestyle: Depending on the life cycle stage; young children and adults are fun-loving, adventurous and technologically savvy. Older people i.e. 40 years and above prefer to have simple technical gadgets with easy to understand features. Occupation: Depends on the life cycle stage but would mainly comprise of students, part-time or full-time employed people, professionals and housewives Positioning Statement Since every brand is developed with the aim of creating distinctive image in the market, its positioning needs to be accurately done so that the customers are communicated the message appropriately (Ferrell Heartline, 2008). The positioning statement of Express Alarm Clock is to be the number one touch screen alarm clock with simplistic features, durable quality and advanced functionalities that will allow the users to carry the gadget everywhere easily and with utmost ease. Product offerings Initially, there will be two models launched in the market to meet the demands of the touch screen alarm clock market. Every customer is looking for affordable touch screen alarm clocks, so the company will introduce two models; one will be priced for economical customers and other will be priced for brand conscious and high quality product customers. The two types of product offerings with their descriptions are given below: Simple Express Alarm Clock This product will be used simply for alarm setting purposes. It will be performing only this function and maximum five alarms can be easily set in this clock. The main target for this clock is older people who are looking for touch screen alarm clocks with easy to use features so that they can use the gadget without difficulty. LED Express Alarm Clock This model will have all the features that the customers are looking for in such alarm clocks. The design of the model has been done with perfection so that the customers love its style and design and get attracted to the product at once. The amazing features of the clock are MP3 player, Built-in FM radio and Wi-Fi along with alarm clock setting. Pricing Strategy As there are so many competitors in the touch screen alarm clock industry such as Sony, Apple, Sharp, Timex, Android, Westclox and many more, it is important that the pricing strategy is selected in accordance with the competitors. As the company is new in the market, it should either follow competitive pricing or cost plus pricing (Ernst, Hoyer RÃ ¼bsaamen, 2010). Both of the models will follow competitive pricing so that the customers can easily compare the product features and all other aspects and ensure that they make adequate purchasing decision. The price of Simple Express Alarm Clock will be $10 and LED Express Alarm Clock will be $25. Simple Express Alarm Clock will be available in Black, Blue and Green colors and LED Express Alarm Clock will be available in Blue, Red and Black colors. Distribution Strategy The distribution strategy is one of the key components of the complete marketing plan as the only way to reach the target market is to choose compatible distribution locations (Sikdar VEL, 2010). The products of the company will be available in two places to ensure that every customer has easy access to them. First of all, the products will be available at the consumer shopping centers and retail stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, Costco and many more. The other distribution network that will be used is the companys website. Any customer who is looking for the touch screen alarm clock online will have to just visit our site, review various options available for them and make final decision after carefully evaluating all options offered by the company. However, the distribution will be done only in Ohio, Florida and California. After success of the products, the company might expand into other regions after carefully surveying the markets. Promotion Strategy The promotional strategy will ensure that the desired message is communicated to the target audience with accuracy so that the sales level can be successfully achieved (Flink, 2011). The foremost aim of the promotion strategy is to create awareness about the companys presence in the market and it will make use of complementary mediums so that the customers can develop an association with the brand. Initially, the advertising mediums that will be used are Television Commercials, advertisements in newspapers and billboards along with flyers, posters and advertisements in the leading magazines. Similarly, a trade show will be organized on the commercial street so that it can create awareness about its presence in the market. In order to be present on Internet, the stores website will be developed and all information about the company will be provided on the site. As the latest trend in the market is of social media marketing, our company will develop a webpage on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and Orkut so that the customers can start talking about the products on our community page. There are various discussion forums as well where people gather and discuss about the products and services of different companies and give their viewpoints about them as well. The social media will be beneficial for our company as it will enhance our online presence and increase the sales amount at an accelerating rate (Weber, 2007). In order to attract our customers, we will offer various attractive packages such as discount packages, gifts for purchasing products of more than $100, arrange contests to distribute various prizes to the customers and give special offers to the loyal customers. We will introduce loyalty cards for our customers who will keep on purchasing new products that are launched by our company on continuous basis. The marketing efforts of the company will be reviewed monthly as the technological advancements take place on an ongoing basis and new products are introduced quickly as well. The initial source of evaluation for the company will be the difference in the estimated and actual sales of the product (Ferrell Heartline, 2008). On the website, the customers will be allowed to give their feedback about the product features and the existing customers will be asked to participate in the survey of the touch screen alarm clocks. Sales and Service Strategy As the touch screen alarm clocks will be developed with latest technology and will have new and unique features, it is vital for our company to have an effective after sales and customer service strategy. With the help of this strategy, we will have a well-trained and competent sales force who will ensure that each customers complaints are properly handled and they are provided instant solutions to their problems. After selling the products to our customers, our sales representatives will call them after one month of purchasing to get their feedback about the products. With the help of this survey, we will be able to monitor the performance of our products and it will ensure that we take appropriate step in case of any problems so that the customers are relieved of their worries. In order to make sure that each of our customers is satisfied with his/her purchasing decision, we will offer one year warranty card and will entertain our customers aptly so that they become our loyal customers.

My Mother - The Greatest Inspiration in My Life :: Personal Narrative

My Mother - The Greatest Inspiration in My Life When asked who their hero is, most people respond with the name of an athlete or an actress/actor. When asked who my hero is I would have to respond with a simple three letter word: mom. My mother has been the greatest inspiration in my life and is the main reason that I am where I am and who I am today. Born and raised in Richmond, Kentucky, I would like to introduce you to my mother, Vicki Grant. Currently the age of 47, Mom is the oldest of three girls. At the age of 36, mom decided to return back to college to obtain her nursing degree. This wasn’t a hard decision for her to make. The April before she enrolled in school my great grandmother passed away. This major dilemma played a major role in mom’s returning back to school. She had taken care of my great grandmother for months before she passed away, and decided that she wanted to make an impact on the lives of geriatrics. While in school, Mom didn’t have it to easy. Not only did she raise a daughter and take care of a husband, she had to deal with numerous setbacks. These included such things as my father suffering a heart attack and going on to have a triple by-pass, she herself went through an emergency surgery, which sat her a semester behind, and her father also suffered a heart attack. Mom not only dealt with these setbacks but she had the everyday task of things like cooking dinner, cleaning the house and raising a family. I don’t know how she managed it all, but somehow she did. In 1996, my mother graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a baccalaureate of Nursing. Although it took her five years, we were still proud of her and all that she had accomplished. Today my mom is still working as a RN. Although she just quit her job at Berea Hospital, where she had been for 4 years, she is beginning a new style of nursing.

Cooking From South Africa Essay -- essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cooking from West Africa   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hundreds of years ago the empires of West Africa flourished and expanded through trade on the edge of the Sahara desert. Today, these lands are occupied by modern nations after a long and brutal history throughout the lands of Africa. Stretching from Senegal to Nigeria, these lands are rich in resources, ranging from wet coastal rain forests to the Sahel at the edge of the desert. Along with expansion came the foods of the region of West Africa, which are rich in flavor and reveal the wonderful diversity of African cuisine. The land south of the Sahara is full of history and contains a full array of foods, revealing the culture and creativity of the vast resources that encompass the land (Jackson 3).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  West Africa encompasses a wide band south from the Sahara Desert to the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, with very different climates accordingly. Ancient traders would make frequent journeys across the desert to exchange salt and spices for gold, along with ivory and slaves in the south. The Empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai expanded and flourished as a result of the trans-Saharan trade. This trade was crucial for West Africa and for many years this trade was the only interaction West Africa had with the rest of the world (Jackson 8). In the fiftee...

Contribution of the Business Sector in Philippine’s Development

Since the end of World War II, the Philippine economy has been on an unfortunate trajectory, going from one of the richest countries in Asia (following Japan) to one of the poorest. Growth immediately after the war was rapid, but slowed over time. Years of economic mismanagement and political volatility during the Marcos regime contributed to economic stagnation and resulted in macroeconomic instability. A severe recession from 1984 through 1985 saw the economy shrink by more than 10%, and perceptions of political instability during the Aquino administration further dampened economic activity. But in recent years, the Philippine economy is slowly doing its best to increase its economic development. Due to the strong post-crisis, the Philippines continues to face challenges and must sustain to achieve economic growth. Thus, the role of business enterprises is essential in pulling up the country’s economic development. One of the biggest contributions of the business sector in Philippine’s development is through investments. They invest in society so that nobody falls out of the market. They also invest in building and maintaining capital resources to reduce cost of doing improve efficiency and invest in new and innovative technologies that create new services that promote public good. The business sector dominates the Philippine economy contributing a big part to the country’s GDP. These private enterprises hire workforce and so uplift employment rate. The Philippine business sector has demonstrated a wide range of innovative initiatives aimed at maximizing their positive social, economic and environmental impacts on the communities where they operate and on the society in general. The business sector does not only provide employment but also has a corporate social responsibility through providing opportunities for education, communications, engineering and financial supports. That is why the business sector plays an important role in the Philippine economic development.