Shipping the Way We Teach English Successfully Practices

FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES MASTER'S DEGREE IN METHODOLOGY English Teaching Methodology – PMI 730 Reaction Paper PARTICIPANT: EDILTRUDIS GOMEZ Q. 4-724-19 FACILITATOR: AUGUSTO GUEVARA M. A David, Chiriqui 2012 My Reaction to the videos My Reaction about shipping the way we teach English successfully practices around the world video. I think that is a very good instructional video design for EFL education which basically has two main goals: 1- building pedagogical foundations and 2- improving classroom practice. I feel that this video is promoting a manual contains 14 modules. It seems that it is divided in four categories.Category A – approaching to language teaching foundations. It is made of the following modules1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Next category B – Focus in language teaching extension which is made of the following modules 6,7,8,9, and 10. Then category C – focus on the learner and category. It is made of the following module11 and 12. Finally category D â⠂¬â€œ focus on teacher professional development. It is made of the following modules13 and 14. In my humble opinion, it is good that all of the modules have videos plus supporting material and previewing activities which can help teacher to guide students.I agree that if we observe other teachers classes in both primary and secondary level, it can give us not only a variety of teaching stiles but also cultures reflected in these examples will provide a helpful aid for both teacher and student. In addition, I believe that there are several factors affecting the results of teaching such as personal reasons, motivations to use this material, fix practice and curriculum, degree flexibility, and creativity, moreover the willing to experiment and try with different ideas and techniques.However, I agree that the fact of taking in consideration the new ideas that it offers to everyone is essential to improve the way we teach. I concur that before applying these examples we have to do it bas ed on some aspects such as ours students? language, level, curriculum and institutional setting teaching style and culture to shape the way of teaching. The second video is about the module I – contextualizing language by organizing the language curriculum to the topics we are dealing with.Consequently, Language is constructed to purpose situations and social needs, a better learning outcome approach instructions integrated skills and pair work. Finally, Think as flexible as possible, Look for the examples of different activities for instance storytelling, dramatization, singing, student presentation projects themes or topics and look for the context and language. In conclusion, I do not have any disagreement with these videos since I do not have any experience in teaching. On the other hand I found them very useful for teaching both videos were excellent and encourage me to use them as soon as I have the possibility

Post-16 option Essay

POST 16 – OPTIONS Post 16 options are given to young people and adults after they finish year 11 from school. Each post-16 option offers you different qualification opportunities and a different mix of teaching methods and assessment. Post 16 options comprises on: STUDY FULLL TIME 6th form or college Take up an Apprenticeship, Traineeship or Supported internship Take a part-time education or training course if you are employed or volunteer for more than 20 hours per week STUDY FULL TIME Schools, colleges and training providers offer a range of subjects and courses in which a student can study full-time. It normally requires to have at least five GCSEs at grades A* to C and at least grade B in any specific subjects one chooses. 6TH FORM COLLEGES A sixth form college is an educational institution in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A-levels, BTEC and the International Baccalaureate Diploma, or school-level qualifications such as GCSEs. In England and Wales, education is only compulsory until the end of year 11, the school year in which the pupil turns 16 (although this is changing in August 2013 to compulsory education until year 12 and by 2015, education will be compulsory until year 13) In the English and Welsh state educational systems, those wishing to continue may either stay on at a secondary school with an attached sixth form, transfer to a local sixth form college, or go to a more vocational further education college, although, depending on geographical location, there may be little choice as to which of these options can be taken. In the independent sector, sixth forms are an integral part of secondary schools (public s chools), and there is also a number of smaller-scale independent sixth form colleges. Students at Sixth Form College typically study for two years. Some students sit AS examinations at the end of the first year, and A-level examinations at the end of the  second. In addition, in recent years a variety of vocational courses have been added to the curriculum. There are currently over 90 sixth form colleges in operation in England and Wales. Most perform extremely well in national examination league tables. In addition, they offer a broader range of courses at a lower cost per student than most school sixth forms. In a few areas, authorities run sixth form schools which function like sixth form colleges but are completely under the control of the local education authorities. Unlike further education colleges, sixth form colleges rarely accept part-time students or run evening classes[citation needed], although one boarding sixth form college exists. Take up an Traineeship, Apprenticeship or Supported internship Traineeship It makes one get ready for work or for doing an Apprenticeship. They last from six weeks to six months and provide essential work preparation training, literacy and numeracy skills and work experience to get an Apprenticeship or other job. Apprenticeship In an apprentice ship one has to work for an employer and train to do a specific job at the s Apprenticeships at three levels: a, Apprenticeship b, Advanced Apprenticeship c, Higher Apprenticeships Entry requirements for these apprenticeships is one must be 16 or over, living in England and not in full-time education. There are now nearly 200 types of Apprenticeship from engineering to boat building, veterinary nursing to accountancy. Options depend on experience and what is available locally. There is no set time for completing an apprenticeship. Most take between one and four years, depending on the level of learning capabilities. As well as working alongside and learning from experienced staff, there will be off-the-job training, usually on a day-release basis at a local college or specialist training facility. The qualifications will be a study for a work-based qualification at level 2, 3 or 4, a technical certificate relevant to to the subject chosen occupation, such as BTEC or City & Guilds award and Functional Skills qualifications. More studies included for certificates or other qualifications that are required in chosen occupation. Assessment includes a mix of observation by an assessor, the assessment of a  portfolio of evidence and examinations. Supported internship Just for students with learning difficulties or learning disabilities who want to get a job and need extra support to do this. They last for at least six months and are unpaid. Work experience and an employer trains students to do a job role. Students also get to study for qualifications or other courses to get ready to take up a job. Work or volunteer while studying or training part-time It is a combined training or studying for a qualification and work at the same time. It doesn’t have to be a paid job, student can volunteer on a project or with a charity, or get a work-experience placement in a career or job area that interests them. Colleges and training providers offer a wide range of training courses which are part-time including A levels and work-related qualifications like BTECs or NVQs. BTEC’s- are usually studied at school or college they are work based qualifications that are a mix between practical and theory and some work experience. NVQ’s- these can be taken either at school/college, through a placement or in the work place.

A Dolls House Reaction

Reaction Paper on A Dolls House There has never been a shortage of literature with gender roles as a main topic, and A Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen is one of the premier works on the subject. Known for being startlingly ahead of its time, this play holds a firm spot in literary history and has been adapted in live theatre countless times over the past century. The dogma of what is proper and expected of both men and women for no other reason than their gender is questioned by Ibsen in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way, and his whimsical haracters cause viewers and readers to think about how relevant the topic of gender roles are today; perhaps even more so than when this play was first written. Ibsen provokes questions as to the roles of men and women in both a social and domestic setting and leads audiences to believe there is more to this complex subject than what lies on the surface of the everyday man and woman couple. The title of the play is the first clue as to the content. Dolls are toys meant for little girls and are mainly meant to be spruced up and look pretty, which fits perfectly with how Torvald elieves his little lark or his little squirrel should be. Torvald hides his belittlement with these terms of endearment and this creates a false image of love, Just like one would see as a scene inside a doll house. Nora believes he loves her unquestioningly and completely, and her actions are motivated by this belief in his love. She says to Dr. Rank at one point: miou know how devotedly, how inexpressibly deeply Torvald loves me; he would never for a moment hesitate to give his life for me. (House pg. 795). But in reality, Torvald cares more about his own image and the false respect he gets from others than he does about the overall wellbeing of his family and wife. To Torvald, the appearance of the dolls and their house is more important than anything else. The social role of women in cultures across the world has varied greatly. Some cultures have had women leading them for many years; other more male-dominated cultures cringe at the very idea of being subservient to a woman. Torvald cannot stand the idea of owing anything of importance to a woman, even his wn wife, the one person he should be able to show vulnerability to rely on as a companion. His male-driven ego puts the import of his image above even his love for his wife, which should be paramount to all things. Torvald exposes himself as a weak and cowardly man, bankrupt of moral fiber and substance, which Nora proves to be so much more than how she is first viewed. She rises above the adversities of the play and proves to be intelligent, resourceful, and able to make difficult decisions because she believes them to be right and good even though they cause her uffering. These two characters show a complete flip in role as Nora being the truly complex and human character while Torvald is shallow, conceited, and Just an abysmal excuse for a person. Ibsen shows desirable character traits are not specific to gender, and even when the most terrible conflicts arise there is no telling for certain who will snow their true and radiant colors, regardless ot gender. Another thing to consider is Just how much Nora sacrifices by the end of the play, while Torvald Jumps ship when he is first made aware of trouble. Nora is motivated by true ove to give up fancy clothes, to risk her name and reputation, and even precious time spent with her children and husband in order to save Torvalds life even though she never thinks the time will come when he should be made aware of her efforts and sacrifices. She silently takes the extra work in stride and even manages to trick her husband to buy into her false image of being a spendthrift, all so she can save his life. She even gives up her children, whom she loves to no end, because she truly believes their caretaker will be able to raise them into better people. Nora is willing to sacrifice her own happiness for the sake of her family throughout the entire play, and this shows incredible strength of character that any person, man or woman, should be Jealous of and strive to achieve. How many people would be able to deal with the kind of responsibility and burden she does without even the luxury of telling anyone about the situation for such a long time? By the end of the play, Ibsen has effectively flipped the typical role of man and woman even by todays cultures standards, though it is much more accepted now than it was in the past. Remembering the time frame in which this play was originally written speaks for itself in showing Just how ahead of its time this literary piece was. Nora walks out of her doll house and stakes her claim to independence as a woman and a human being, not with any malicious intent in her heart, but with the desire to pursue her own happiness. She considers these duties to herself Just as sacred as being a wife and a mother (House pg. 815). Her entire view of where her place in life is changes when she sees Torvald for how he is on the inside, and she begins to realize she is ot happy and never was. It comes time for her to take her life into her own hands and experience things without the tether of what a woman should be based on the declarations of a domineering male society. Ibsens genius seems like the normal views of todays standards, but the fact remains that he wrote this play back in 1879 when the roles of men and women were much more set in stone and had distinguished forms and etiquette. Women were seen as shallow, emotional, and incapable of dealing with serious issues while men were the true accomplishers and uilders of society.

Reflective writing .. Developing the Professional Essay

Reflective writing .. Developing the Professional - Essay Example These developments are an explanation of my progress as recorded in the draft of this essay and in the assessment in Assignment 1. I shall base this reflection essay on Kolb’s Learning Cycle, since it was my guide throughout this module. Kolb’s learning Cycle helped me considerably in understanding the different components of effective learning, which I applied throughout this semester. My application of the Kolb’s cycle of learning was not only in this module, but also on the other modules that I covered this semester. Aside from explaining the responses, I shall also go through a number of interesting topics that we covered in class, sharing the most captivating segments. My reflection shall also bring out my experiences during group work. I shall also highlight how the experiences contributed to my development. In so doing, I shall employ the use of frameworks, models and theories within the module to communicate my understanding and development throughout my studies in this module. The information in this reflection shall be my honest assessment of myself as recorded in the documents attached in the Appendix section of this paper. One of the most interesting topics in this module, according to me, is Active Learning. This topic was a revelation, considering the fact that even during my undergraduate program; I was not exposed to knowledge on how different individuals are with regard to learning styles, values and personality. I understood that the process of learning depended much on the personality that a person has (Burbank, 2008).This revelation changed my approach to learning, making me develop a positive attitude towards learning new things, regardless of how difficult they appeared. This topic also helped me to understand the difference that my learning style had compared to my classmates, and how as a member of a study group I could help turn this diversity into a powerful tool for

How do real business cycle theorists go about explaining the sources Essay

How do real business cycle theorists go about explaining the sources of business cycles What are their main conclusions - Essay Example Under the technical innovation, RBC models were developed with the aid of a method called calibration. (Quiggin, 2009). Sources of Business Cycle In 1986, Edward Prsescott, argued in an article that business cycles in USA, after the World War II resulted from the random changes in the business sector productivity. He justified his argument by proving that upswings in economic activity resulted from an above average growth rate of productivity while downswings resulted from a below average growth rate of productivity. In doing so, Prescott openly challenged the then prevalent notion that business cycles were triggered by monetary and financial disturbances (Chatterjee, 1999). There are numerous ways of measuring total output and one such way is to measure the total value added in all the domestic firms. The total output tends to change when productivity of workers changes or the effectiveness of the equipments used increases. Thus an increase in the effectiveness of workers and equipm ent leads to the value-added and is known as total factor productivity (TFP). TFP increases majorly as a result of improvements in technology and increase in worker productivity. TFP can also change when the price of an imported raw material changes or when new products are developed through investments in Research and Development (R&D) or when natural calamities destroy agricultural output (Chatterjee, 1999). When the TFP increases, it signals to the firms that they can benefit immensely from hiring more labor and installing more equipment. To make good use of such opportunities, firms invest heavily in buildings, equipment and hire a lot of workers. Additional income is generated in the economy and the overall output rises and people tend to consume more. These favorable trends in macroeconomic variables such as consumption and investment are used by RBC theorists to explain a boom (Chatterjee, 1999). There are other sources of fluctuations in the RBC, such as changes in taxes and government spending, tastes, government regulation (such as laws to protect the environment and minimise wastage by factories), terms of trade and energy prices. When government spending increases such as expenditure on infrastructure and transfer payments, firms are encouraged to set up production plants and increase economic activity, and consumption of households also increases. Investment, government spending and consumption are the elements of aggregate demand and they are directly related to output: an increase in these elements results in an increase in the overall output of an economy. The graph below shows this as an outward shift of the aggregate demand (AD) curve from AD to AD1, with the corresponding increase in output from Q to Q1 (McGrattan, 2006). In RBC theory, technological distrubances are discussed at length because the fluctuations caused by technological disturbances resemble the actual economic fluctuations a lot. According to Kydland and Prescott’s mod el, when households respond optimally to changes in technology, fluctuations occur (McGrattan, 2006). In a traditional business cycle, consumption and leisure move in opposite directions: when one increases, the other decreases. During the boom period, consumption

An investigation into the current success factors for small and medium Essay

An investigation into the current success factors for small and medium enterprises in Thailand - Essay Example That is, identifying those characteristics of the enterprise relating to its management, relationships with other entities, contextual variables, etc. that either lead to or contribute in some way to the enterprise being successful. This research thus makes use of the construct of ‘success factor’, which is also mentioned in the hypothesis. The success factors themselves are qualitative because they are not quantifiable. These are possible underlying factors, which could indirectly contribute to the success of the SME based on the information gathered during the literature review. Examples are as a highly knowledgeable manager or a strong link to a supportive larger enterprise so they are not apparent as such. The success however, is measurable, for example, in terms of total sales growth, number of customers, and amount of profits as done by Vichitdhanabadee et al. (2009) or volume of exports. The major research question, which derives directly from the stated purpose o f the study, has been framed as follows: What are the underlying success factors for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand?The major hypothesis that will be tested in the quantitative phase of the study will be: There is a significant degree of positive underlying success factors that are contributing to the success of the SME. We assume that it is the preponderance of underlying success factors, such as those identified in Chapter One that lead to the success of a SME. A number of null hypotheses can be constructed, as in the two examples below, for testing the validity of the major hypothesis based on measurable quantities. There is no causal relationship between the value of capital and business performance. There is no causal relationship between the size of the enterprise in terms of the number of employees and total sales. 3.3 Research design and method This study will combine both quantitative and qualitative methods for the data collection and data analysis. It will thus take a mixed method approach, as il lustrated in Figure 1. These will then be compared and combined to construct a composite model of the study findings. This research design is shown in the figure below. It is to be noted that the quantitative phase will commence first followed by the qualitative phase. This will therefore be an explanatory sequential model. Figure 1: Mixed method (explanatory sequential) research design to be employed During the quantitative phase, data will be collected from the return of questionnaires from a mail-administered survey. During the qualitative phase, data will be collected by conducting a few case studies, which will involve carrying out interviews of Thai SME managers. In addition, some document analyses will also be conducted for gathering relevant information, such as from company profiles, reports and websites. The analysis of the quantitative data will be in the form of descriptive statistics of the data gathered from the survey. Descriptive statist

International Business Finance Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International Business Finance - Case Study Example There is transfer of technology between the subsidiaries and the parent firm in the joint venture and the industrial output of the joint venture. Therefore the following can be noted from the joint venture under the strategic option 1. In this multinational capital budgeting there are various factors as well as assumptions that were taken into consideration to determine the expected returns from the joint venture from the parent’s firm perspective. First and foremost the exchange rates fluctuations were taken into account especially when converting the subsidiary earnings into the parent firm’s reporting currency. Given that is challenging to precisely estimate the rates of exchange rates, the determination of the expected returns in pounds were established using the spot exchange rate of  £0.8410/â‚ ¬. Besides, the cost of inflation was taken into account which was charged on the cost of operations to incorporate the depreciation rates and the interest rates on loans based in Germany borrowing rates. Even though the prediction of costs or price completely takes into account the inflation, the rates of inflation rates at tikes can be volatile from one year to another for some states (Madura, 201 1; p. 49). Hence the cost of inflation from the Germany perspective was taken to be 2.5%. Lastly, the financial arrangements were put into account. These include the costs of finance which is captured by the rate of discount and the taxation rate. Nonetheless, when the foreign based projects are partly financed using the subsidiaries in the foreign nations, a more precise strategy is applied to distinguish the investment in the subsidiary and openly take into account the loan repayment of the foreign loans as cash outflows. Moreover, the returns from the Germany were not taxed due to the double taxation treaty that exists between Germany and United Kingdom. The following calculations can be noted under strategic option One; the

Managing health and safety at work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Managing health and safety at work - Essay Example The second piece of legislation ‘The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999’ whose main requirement is that employers ought to carry out risk assessments to eliminate or reduce risks. Those who employ five or more people should record the significant findings of a risk assessment. It is however not a requirement that insignificant risks should be recorded. Section 2 of The Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974 places a duty on employers to ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees. This should be done as far as is reasonably practicable. Employers are also required to consult with safety representatives from trade unions on matters to do with health and safety in the place of work. Employers who have more than five employees are required to have a written health and safety policy which should be brought to that attention of the employees. This section places a burden upon the manager not only to prepare a health and safety policy but it is clear that it is to be brought to the attention of the employees and it is trite that employees should know its contents. Consultations with trade union representatives are also mandatory. Section 4 places a duty on any person who is responsible for the place of work to make sure that the work premises, plant and machinery do not pose any danger the people who use the same. As a manager, one is required to ensure that the plant and machinery are properly maintained and thus when they are put to use, whoever is using them cannot be exposed to any harm while performing his or her responsibilities. The section could also require that the manager ensure that the employees are properly dressed and observe the laid down safety regulations at the work place (Stuhlmacher & Douglas, 2001). A competent person in the context of health and safety is one who has gone through some formal training and in addition has experience working with other people in a health and safety position. Such a person has a good grasp of safety systems of work and is able to carry out safety audits. A competent person will be able to recognize and control hazards, write risk assessments and maintain records. A competent person will be able to deal in an effective manner with the management as well as other members of staff in matters to do with safety in and out of the place of work. Such a person should be acquainted with information about the latest legislation which pertains to health and safety. A competent person would also be the one who passes such information to his employer and also to his fellow employees without any undue delays and does it in a good manner. Maintain a good knowledge of the latest legislation covering health and safety and pass that on to employees and their employer. A competent person should also have record over a period of time of successfully carrying out their Health and Safety responsibilities. This encompasses their actions in response to such situations and also expectation and discernment of potential threats and taking quick measure steps to forestall the occurrence any problem. For one to be competent they should also know what their limitations are and thus deal with those situations they can handle otherwise they should alert more competent authorities. One of the ways

How has the financial crisis of 2008 affected the real estate market Essay

How has the financial crisis of 2008 affected the real estate market in Dubai - Essay Example The recent global financial crisis affected nearly every major developed economy.   While there were numerous causes precipitating this near economic collapse, the reality is that it may take a decade of more for many sectors to recover.   One of the areas hardest hit globally is the housing sector.   In most locations, there was a tremendous drop in housing and property prices.   A glut of supply hit the market almost instantly; at the same time the access to credit became severely restricted.   In many respects, even though the economy is slowly recovering, the residual effects of economic downturn are still being felt, particularly in its impact on housing prices and the tightening of lending guidelines.   These topics form the basis for this study as we look at one of the areas in the Middle East, Dubai, which was particularly hard hit by the global financial crisis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and analyze the economic conditions, particularly in terms o f the real estate market, present in Dubai during and subsequent to the global economic crisis of 2008.   This focus was on an analysis of these economic conditions on the real estate market, how the market was affected by the crisis, and how it is expected to recover and perform in the future.   The following research question guided this process: How as the real estate market in Dubai affected by the financial crisis, and how did the market recover in subsequent years?

Astronomy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Astronomy - Essay Example Technical terms are broken down for novice astronomers, more advanced issues can be found for individuals that yearn for more technical knowledge, and everyone can enjoy vivid pictures of the space shuttle, planets, moons, stars, and more. Overall this website could be given the grade of an A+. Educators and students have links on the NASA website. Educators can find classroom materials to use in their classes. Students can find help for their assignments about space related issues. All ages of students can use myNASA to bookmark articles of concern. These services are provided for free. The enormous knowledge of NASA is shared through these tools. The information is vast. Everything from the first moon landing to images from the Hubble is provided by this website. An opportunity for students to watch astronauts on the space station, shuttle lift offs, and images of the earth from orbiting satellites is available. Overall this is a very informational site for educators and students. Employees and policymakers (congressmen) can also access this website. A calendar, expense report, and general accounting for operations can be found under this link. The media has a link for questions about NASA operations, press passes, and events. Employees can view videos not available to the public. Policies are explained. For example, one article â€Å"NASA Hazard and Safety Reporting† directs â€Å"If you see a situation that might result in a death or injury or damage to equipment or property, report it! All reports will receive prompt and thorough attention† (NASA.com). A login for NASA employees is also found at this link. NASA also features a news and mission link. All of the latest news and news on the shuttles is found at these links. Pictures from the Hubble telescope, reports about the finding of water on the moon, and the latest videos are available at the news link. In the news this week, NASA the Atlantis launch is scheduled for

Business Analyst vs. Financial Analyst Essay Example for Free

Business Analyst vs. Financial Analyst Essay Analyst is an essential job in our society. They make analyses to help people figure out problems, and point out a positive way to solve problems. Analysts almost apply in every different professional area, such as political analyst, military analyst, and economic analyst. They analysis all information with their professional knowledge, and then translate a certain language which everybody can understand easily. For example, social analyst can use their knowledge to analyze current social problems and provide a useful analysis to government or city hall. Then, people can understand what happen to their society. Therefore, analyst is a necessary job for our society. For business corporations and companies, there are two important analysts for them. They are business and financial analysts. Many people, including employers and employees, dont know what these two analysts are exactly, and what different between them. However, they do exist, and they do help a corporation or company become more efficient and profitable. In other words, they play important roles in business activities. In general term, business and financial analysts have different definition for their position, different working area, and different training path, but they have the same goalto help users have better business condition. According to Julia Scholz, who is a successful business analyst, she said a business analyst is like a road trip planner, helping people plan their map and route (P.1). She says, a BA will help a user determine their wants, focus on a destination or desired outcome, outline possible maps of how to get there (P.1). Simply, business analyst is a communicator or translator to translate what employer wants to their employee. They gather all information from boss, employee, and outside world, and plan an efficient way to achieve their goal. It is not easy to be a good business analyst. Scholz lists some steps that her term and she do everyday to help successful project: 1.Listen to the users: the most important task for business analyst is find  out users demand. What do users desire for? What kind of outcome do they ask for? In what way they hope to achieve their goal? And some suggestion to their employee to improve whole companys operation. These things are important for business analyst making analysis. 2.Document: when a business analyst listens to their users, they need to record and write down all they get from users. They may use computer or recorder to record users words. Then when analysts do analysis, they can use this information quickly and easily. 3.Gather information: a good analyst also needs to do some outside research to determine all possible ways to achieve goal. They need to know current business situation and economic trend because outside activities would affect their analysis and strategy. 4.Translate and analyze: it is the key part for a BA. According to Scholz, a good analyst should be able to listen to the users, analyze their requests, document the requests and then communicate these requests to the development group in a way that the development group can understand (P.3). Most employers dont have chance to speak to employees directly. So the business analyst plays a channel to communicate both employers and employees, and to coordinate both side to achieve final goal. So the job of business analysts is not only making analysis but also communicating requests to each side. In conclusion, Scholz states that, BA is like a translator, able to communication in a users language and a developers language (P.3). So a business analyst should have good communication skill in order to translate users requests to developing department. A BA also may be involved in these area: Data Warehouse, E-Commerce Development, New application Development, New Business Development, Software Package Selection, Software Package Customization, Business Process Improvement (B2Ttraining program P.1). A BA needs to have certain knowledge of these areas to be able analyze all business event and situation. Financial analysts are very similar to business analysts. Financial analysts  also need to gather information and makes analysis. They also help a corporation or company makes more benefits and profits. However, financial analysts work in different aspect and way to achieve users goal. Generally speaking, their goal is to maximize the value of the company. They are just like a doctor. They examine the whole financial condition of a corporation or company, and figure out the virus (bad strategy or financial policy). Then making a good description to improve bad things (making better financial condition). The information that a financial analyst needs to know is like: working capital, account payable turnover, and EPS. A FA needs to know the potential of a company and forecasts the financial needs of the company. In advance, FA can make a correct financial plan to the company. Compare to business analysts, financial analysts consider more about the value of company stock. So when they make financial analysis, they will put market value and stock price at the first place. Financial analysts also require communication and computer skill. They sometimes need to present their analysis in front of the chiefs of all departments, and they also need to operate some accounting software to figure out the value of the company. Totally, the job of financial analysts is to examine the financial system of the company, analyze both good and bad side, gather outside financial situation, and make a forecasting financial plan. Similar to business analysts, they try to help a company operate more efficient and profitable. In fact, business and financial analysts are very similar. They both gather information from inside and outside the company. They both make analysis form the information, and help users to improve users business condition or business competence. They both use computer to help them achieve their tasks. However, they have different aspects to make their analysis. One is emphasizes on whole system of the company and plan a good road to achieve users requests; another is emphasizes on the financial condition of the company and make forecasting financial plan. Generally, they have different ways but the same goal. Reference: 1.Scholz, Julia. What do you analyze? One Analysts View http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:JRtp_0y5V4k:www.businessanalyst.com/BusinessAnalyst.htm+business+analysthl=zh-TW 2001/10/10 2.B2T training. What is a Business Analyst? http://www.b2ttraining.com/BAwhat.htm 2001/10/10. 3.Ross, Stephen A. Fundamentals of Corporate Financial. Toronto: McGraw_hill Ryerson 1999. P. 8-10.

What Is Meant by the Terms Aims and Objectives Essay Example for Free

What Is Meant by the Terms Aims and Objectives Essay A mission describes the organisations basic functions in society, this is in terms of the products and services that it produces for its customers. A clear business mission should have each of the following elements Purpose, this is why the business exists, next there is the Strategy and scope, this is what the business is doing and going to try and achieve, next is the standards and behaviours, this is the rules and regulations of how the business is to be operated, finally there is the values, this is what the management believes in for the business to work. The aims of a business can be different depending on which sector they’re in: Privately owned business: This business focuses more on their customers and the employees, with the costs of their products or how they give the value for the money to the products that they sell. They also focus on the profit maximisation, the growth, and their increasing market share survival. Publicly owned organisations: These may mention the service they provide, the work they do is included in the missions statements about the quality of their efficiency ad customers. These are also here to provide the best service possible to the community with the money that is provided by the government for them to spend. Non-for-profit and voluntary organisations: These people focus on the services they provide, the causes they support or their aims in helping those who are in need. These also focus on charities for example: Oxfam, British heart foundation, and many more charities, that will help people who are indeed. †¢Values †¢Strategy and scope †¢Standards and Behaviours 3 Examples of mission statements. EasyJet To provide its customers with safe, good value, point-to-point air services. To effect and to offer a consistent and reliable product and fares appealing to leisure and business markets on a range of European routes. To achieve this they will develop their people and establish lasting relationships with their suppliers. Reference: http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/easyjet/easy8.htm BAA Our mission is to make BAA the most successful airport group in the world. This means: †¢Always focusing on our customers needs and safety. †¢Achieving continuous improvements in the profitability, costs and quality of all our processes and services. †¢Enabling us all to give of our best. †¢Growing with the support and trust of our neighbours. Source: BAA Web site Reference: http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/baa/baa8.htm McDonalds McDonalds aim to be the UKs best fast service restaurant experience. Reference: http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/mcdonalds/mc9.htm Many mission statements are quite short, but others are long. These all include the aims and the objectives of the business, in other words what the business is going to do and how it will achieve its missions. 5 Business Aims: †¢Survival, Is a concern for all business especially when they first start trading, To survive a business needs to work really hard to find and keep customers, but making sure there a lot better than their competitors. †¢ Growth, this is another way of saying of increasing the sales, but the sales can be increased by increasing the market share, by selling in new areas or to new customers of the country, or even developing better products or services. †¢Breaking Even, In order for a business to service it needs to be able to break even, this is the point where a business becomes self sufficient, where the money it collects in each sales is equal to the money it spends on costs. †¢Sales, this is where some businesses only focus on their increasing sales, perhaps because they think that big firms can compete more effectively than smaller companies/ businesses. †¢Market Share,  This is where many companies will aim to increase their market share each year by winning its customers away from their rivals. The aims of a business will vary depending on the sector they’re in. †¢Private Sector, the aims for this are profit maximisation, growth, increasing market share and survival. And they also would be looking to expand the business. †¢Government, the aims for this sector is to grow the economy, to help provide the best services to the public, they also are there to keep people safe to create a fair community. †¢Public sector, there aims are to provide the best service that is possible to the community with money which is provided by the government, they also are here to help improve service provision and they also have to operate within the budget that is at break even. †¢Not-for- profit, this is to raise awareness of particular causes and is to provide the best service possible with the available money. And are to increase the rand of services †¢Voluntary sector, this sector is to raise awareness of particular causes and is to provide the best service possible, with all the volunteers that are available. These also support a free service to the needy. Example of Business Aims †¢British Airways, this year we have mapped out a long-term vision for our business. It is to be the world’s leading global premium airline. http://www.britishairways.com/cms/global/microsites/ba_ report0809/pdfs/Strategy.pdf †¢Sainsbury, Aims are to provide a safe and prosperous town for its residents advertise as much as possible http://www.ukqna.com/business/2906-2-buesiness-ukqna.html †¢Easy Jet, to provide its customers with safe, good value, point-to-point air services. To effect and to offer a consistent and reliable product and fares appealing to leisure and business markets on a range of European routes. http://www.experts123.com/q/what-are-the-business-aims-and-objectives-of-easyjet.html †¢Tesco’s Value for money- competitive prices- meeting consumer needs progressive returns on investment. http://www.blurit.com/q901525.html †¢Oxfam, to examine levels and determinates of utilisation in the views of  various stakeholders (population, health committees, providers, health authorities) in the context of cost sharing. http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/downloads/wp_costsharing_yemen/wp_yemen_2aims Business Objectives. Aims are where the business wants to go in the future; these are long term achievements for a dream to come true for them. Objectives are more specific than aims. They are set over the short to medium term. Objectives are necessary because aims, in themselves, are to general and may be overwhelming. The aims maybe *for example*, to go to university. Business can meet their objectives by keeping focused on what they’re going to do, and what they need to do to get to that objective. For example, wanting to go to university, they need to get all their A levels. Objectives need to be smart in order for them to be realistic and work for a business. Smart- stands for †¢Specific- You need to have a clear statement about what you will be doing. It is usually quantified, which this means that it has a number in it. †¢Measurable- Achievement can be checked. By keeping a record of your progress, and the completed assessment, this will be able to measure the achievements. †¢Achievable- you can attain you’re target if you work hard, you can also do really well if you stretch you’re self. †¢Realistic- Your target should be sensible one that you can stand a chance of achieving it, for example, saying you will make  £2000 a week. †¢Time- Constrained- every objective should have a date included for achievement or review. This acts as warning, as well as backup if you happen to be falling behind. The objectives of a business will vary depending on the sector they’re in. †¢Private Sector, Increase sales, and reduce the costs to develop new products and services, improve existing products and services to hopefully find new customers. †¢Government, to reduce the crime to set the appropriate taxes, petrol prices, and provide the best schools and hospitals, to create new laws they should also improve the product quality. †¢Public sector, to  exceed customer expectations, for example they could reduce the waiting time in hospitals, help to improve exam results for GCSE and A level students. And they want to lower crime rates. They could also try and meet customer targets. And keep the costs low. †¢Not-for- profit, to raise more money and to reduce the costs so more money can be used on the services, to improve services, to get more people aware of the particular cause. †¢Voluntary sector, they want to get more volunteers to help improve their servi ces. They also want to increase revenue from donations. They should also take into account of reducing costs. Examples of Business objectives: The first set of objectives is taken from Kellogg’s a PLC business and the other objectives are from a not for profit organisation Barbados’s . †¢Kellogg’s, 1.encourage and support physical activity among all sectors of the population 2.use resources to sponsor activities and run physical activity focused community programmes for its consumers and the public in general 3.increase the association between Kellogg and physical activity 4.use the cereal packs to communicate the balance message to consumers 5.Introduce food labelling that would enable consumers to make decisions about the right balance of food. http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/case-studyusing-aims-objectives-to-create-business-strategy6-267-3.php Barnardos ambition for the next three years is to help as many families and children as possible to overcome disadvantage. To fulfil this ambition, our aims include to: †¢use donations to help the most vulnerable and †¢hardest to reach children and young people †¢better demonstrate the effectiveness of †¢our children’s services †¢extend our reach into minority communities †¢campaign fearlessly on behalf of a population †¢of disadvantaged children, young people and †¢families who struggle to represent themselves †¢exceed the average fundraising performance †¢across charities in the UK †¢grow awareness of and active support for †¢Barnardo’s work †¢attract more volunteers, especially to our †¢stores and children’s services †¢continue to grow our net retail income †¢drive up organisational performance and †¢Increase our competitive advantage. http://www.barnardos.org.uk/annual_review_2010_interactive.pdf

Individualism in China: TV Case Study

Individualism in China: TV Case Study Individualism Transition in Chinese Cultural Values Through A Case Study of TV Show Super Girl Introduction â€Å"Individualâ€Å", the term by itself means something or someone unique. Thus, â€Å"Individualism† is a revolution which tends to power the rights of an individual. In countries like America, such a practice is followed. The people there wish that there should be enough personal space for every individual without being disturbed by name of any kind of authority or power as well. But the extreme opposite culture or practice prevails in China, which can be shortly called as collectivism. Here, neither the thought of individual nor their wish is given privilege. It is because they believe in group thought and they strive together for group success. If in case any individual in a group is having opinion mismatch with that of the group, then the individual is expected to suppress the thoughts without disturbing the groups activities. (Pratt, D. D.1991) Such a practice could also be viewed as forcing a common thought upon everybody. But this is their culture and they have be en practicing it for quite long years. We have to say that they got used to it. Now, in the recent past a TV show called â€Å"Super girls† has been commenced and succeeded as well. It is a talent reality show which brings out the talents of an individual to the sight of everybody by giving them a suitable platform. Another interesting fact about this show is that, it is the public who judge the show. They vote for their favorite star of the show and thus the winner is selected. But it is been condemned by the commentators that the Super girls show is kindling the individualistic feeling amidst the collectivism practitioners. Many have started protesting against the show fearing that the show may disturb the Chinese culture. But on the other hand the public started enjoying the entertainment. They are glad to vote for their stars. (Ding, Y. 2008) China is a country which always value team success. Simply speaking, they follow collectivism. They give much importance to group thoughts than the individual opinion. This practice is strictly followed by them in the name of culture. Chinese people have not practiced direct election. But recently the situation has changed because of the Super Girl show in China. It is condemned by the analysts that this show has initiated amidst people individualism. Let us discuss whether the show is really spreading individualism among the Chinese youths. The Chinese culture –A History Change – has been the most prominent factor characterizing the world of today. Every second of our life is changed as discoveries and inventions galore the place we live on. This kind of transformation is not new to the least. It has been a constant factor; right from man finding fire to the scientific revolution, travelling from bullock-carts to modern cars, from eating anything to standardizing the meal we take, the world has almost seen everything. Each change in turn was diversified among several groups of people based on their idealistic values, the ethical principles they followed and their welfare corresponding to their geographical region. These diversified changes slowly developed as cultural behavior of that particular group. Then there came a point where all the diversifications attained saturation. In the end, instead of these changes governing the cultural behavior, it turned out the direct opposite way where cultural behavior dominates the changes. (Songhua, F, n. d) For now, the cycle has turned again. Its almost a revolutionizing act if a person does the direct opposite of what their culture intends them to do. Chinese culture gives the Chinese people their basic identity. They have certain core values which are exclusive and consistent, and these are fashioned by a tradition of four thousand years of history and maintained by the same language as well. Considered to be one of the oldest cultures, the Chinese culture has a vast and traditional history. Several groups of people, each having their own unique traits have shaped and nurtured the Chinese traditions and practices. It has evolved through different ages constantly but has always maintained its true identity. ( Destiny: Culture of China,1998) Being the most populous country in the world, and the geographical landscape covering major part of Asia, there were as many as 56 groups of people who followed unique culture in ancient China. (Constitution, 1982) As time passed by, each of the groups lost their identity and their culture got erased with time. Chinese culture is well influenced by â€Å"Confucius†, who is a Chinese philosopher. The teachings of Confucius are called by the name ‘Confucianism, which stress the importance of individuals education based on morals so that the moral virtue of the state will be raised. (Downs, 1971) China-present Scenario In the current scenario, China is considered to be the fastest emerging super power engaging itself to compete at the top most level in almost all fields starting from business to space research. Its economic transition is increasing exponentially when compared to other countries. In such a high paced world, the time spent for conserving the true traits and habitat of Chinese culture is often neglected. Given the exposure to television and internet services, already doubts have risen among several quarters about the sustainability of the age old heritage. The different cultures exposed to people through these commercial mediums have fascinated the current generation of people to explore the then unassailable cultures leaving them unfazed by the deterioration of their own culture. (Child, J., David, K. 2001). Individualism – A theory Oyserman, Coon, et al.s (2002) through their extensive analysis on individualism and collectivism suggest that Individualism can be considered as a stand-alone construct for analyzing cross-cultural comparisons. They suggest that individualism as the core reason for the extensive differences society, emotions and individual behavior. Individualism can be considered to be the most critical factor for modeling a personality of oneself. Mcrae (2001) also suggests that a countrys decision to explore and try out new things depends on their individualistic nature. Since every person contributes to the success of a country, this statement does offer a fruitful thought about individualism and its effects. The thought of exploration and trying new things is termed to be an important characteristic of individualism as it leads individuals to form new relationships based on their needs and tasks. Also, the relationship life is not formed on the basis of solidarity and people often entangle them selves in new relationships, which is completely opposite to Chinese culture. Another important characteristic of individualism is that it plays an integral part in the well being of an individual. The individual may be fully satisfied with the right to choose their own purpose and their own vision in their life. They enjoy complete satisfaction of what they are performing. This is one of the reasons that individualistic countries produce lots of inventions and new kinds of activities every now and then. People are allowed to explore in their own ways. (Lam C 1997) On the other hand, though individualism allows people to have their own relationships, it also lends to an increase in the number of divorces in an individualistic country. But then, by all means, people are satisfied in both ends with their relationships and they enjoy complete freedom. People following individualism provide higher importance to their leisure activities compared to other nations. It has been confirmed through reports that individualistic people tend to make self analyzed decisions based on their own experiences instead of carrying out tasks suggested by others. (Schimmack, Radhakrishnan, et al., 2002) Collectivism versus individualism Basically Chinese people value collectivism rather than individualistic opinion. There is no difference that matter to race, class or community. Their focus is upon the opinion or claim of a group or association. They always demand that a group is more important than an individual. This at times led to suppression of self opinion and interest for the welfare of the group as a whole. Thus collectivists must be able to do sacrifice. But the interesting fact about this is, pure democracy is a form of collectivism. (Jhuener,2006) On the other hand most American countries have developed individualism. They believe, without protecting individuals right, there is no sense in protecting an individual. Thus individualism is described as a revolution which protects an individuals right which in turn protects a man from the other and thus it protects the state as a whole. It opposes collectivism saying that it denies an individual his or her right to life. Moreover they charge against the collectivists that they are poisoning the country. Also they condemn that the ability and efforts of some men are been sacrificed for the sake of others. (Wong, E. Y. 2001) David Brooks, a newspaper editor, has analyzed about the striking behavior of the mentality of the collectivists and that of the individualists. He cites an interesting example. If we show the image of a fish tank to an American, he will focus the biggest fish in the tank and will start explaining about it, whereas if the same image is shown to a Chinese person, he will view the tank as a whole and will start explaining about the contextual behavior of the group of fishes inside. Brooks says (2008) â€Å"An American in general looks into the category but a Chinese will look into the context†. Also Brooks (2008) explains the behavior of people in collectivistic countries and individualistic countries as People in individualistic countries tend to overestimate their skills whereas those in collectivistic societies under estimate their skills. People in countries like China will always tend to contribute more for group efforts. Scientist too has supported his thoughts. They say relationship is the key to happiness. People living in groups tend to flourish whereas those living alone tend to depression and they even commit suicide. Super Girl – the show Any country which gets a feel of something attractive and something they could get attracted too would welcome it with open hearts. Such is a scenario with the television show, â€Å"Super Girl†. It is basically a Chinese version of â€Å"American Idol† TV show. When the show first started in 2005, it attracted as many as 400 million people from China, almost equaling the population of US and UK totaled together. It is a female contested show, where any girl irrespective of our background origin and other details can participate in it and showcase her talent. The show was conducted in a hierarchical round order, where each round filters the number of candidates and only the best of the lot enter the final round. (China Daily, 2005) The 2005 season saw more than a hundred thousand applicants. Everyone was given 30 seconds to perform on stage and in the allotted time they have to impress the judge with their talent. Out of the entire competitors, three were filtered for the final round. They battled it out in one of the most exciting shows that entire China has never experienced. (China Daily, 2005) The exposure was so much that during the final show, almost every Chinese voted for the contestants to show their support. The major feature that attracted people towards the show apart from the glittering display was that the people were in turn played the role of the judges. It involved voting through SMS and other services. This made everyone feel as if they contribute towards the selection of the winner and this in turn motivated each individuals spirits. (Ding, Y. 2008) One of the major factors of individualism that affected the Chinese culture through this show was neither the Government, nor the party had any sort of role to play in its success. Its an ultimately new thing for the people of China. The reason for that is, prior to this show, the only entertainment that was given to people through television was Spring Festival show, conducted by the government itself. And this show was running under strict supervision. Only the party people were allowed to view it, the rest were all watching through television alone. In fact, they were allowed only to watch, not even to participate. Rest of the shows that got aired was all military programs, bashing out all kinds of military anthems and stuffs. And so, in short, with this show, the party and the government were neglected all together. For, the people, any kind of information and policy from the government regarding the show wouldnt have mattered anything. Hence, there was no show as universally accepted as this show was. (Hutong, X. 2005) The country till then had never favored any individual pop star to turn media towards them and gain popularity. So, when the three young lads, in their early 20s, rocked the stage with confidence and superiority, the whole nation appreciated and amazed. It was a freedom of liberty, a freedom of expression to many individuals to show their talent to all in a way they have never done before. (Hutong, X. 2005). This is the most popular as well as the most sensational show as well. But then, it is been condemned by the politicians that this show is offending the traditional custom of China. Inevitably this show has kindled the nationalists to debate upon the democracy in China. Generally the success of TV shows lies upon the comments of certain analysts who could be political commentator. Thus they took in their hands to post-mortem about the sensational show. Yardley, J. (2005). Rise of individualism Since the time when China became as Peoples Republic of China in 1949, ‘Collectivism has been their policy. It still remains the same. It does not have direct elections to select a person to run the country. On this point of view, the â€Å"Super Girl† show has provided the people a new form of election where individual voting matters. It just totally opposes the cultural values of China. (Junbo, J. 2009). It follows the footsteps of ‘individualism which leads to the path of democracy in a non-democratic country. This is the point where the show attracted envys from all corners on a political perspective. As soon as the show gained popularity, the politicians criticized it to be ridiculous and rudimentary, obstructing the growth of Chinese culture and mentioned it as promoting individualism. (Quing, M. 2005). The change in cultural values towards individualism did not stop with entertainment channel alone. The mindset of the people was another major factor that got changed. In China before Super Girl, people were not given an opportunity to vote. This in turn lead people disabled to execute their freedom to pursue their own course of life. In all ways, the government or the path came in their way. After this show, people have an opportunity to exercise their right to participate, execute their will. (Li, B. , 2005). The other change brought about by this show is that the excitement and joy experienced by the people during the show, displayed that people are ready to move away from the idealistic values followed by the communist party. Though this seems to be just a view of people, many critics believe that it has led to a new phenomenon emulating the civil society, where individual people can be given the higher priority rather than the society. Starting from the end of the 20th century, there have been innumerable divisions within the society based on social and cultural values. Zhu Dake (2005) has even mentioned about this, The Super Girls let us see that when the media can grasp public opinion, it can generate a powerful force. I feel that public opinion will be the most productive force in 21st century China. Role of media Coming to the part the media played in this, the â€Å"Super Girls† show has showed that how powerful media can be. It has given a solid strength and evidence to the people that media has the power to change the face of the nation. It has the power to raise the voice of the public, no matter how big the government is. Also, with the advent of internet really making its way into each and everyones lives, the right to express individual view as gathered attention and people are starting to use it. Super Girl-Show for all Before the show was aired, every activity performed in the country was gradually developing a split between the different levels of society. The elite and rich people of China had a better say in each and every activity than the under-privileged. This was turning out to be a major factor cultivating caste and ethnic group differences. The arrival of this show smashed up such theories that were existing and that were been practiced. It cleared the air stating a firm statement that the country and participation is for all. (Lynch, D. 2005) Super Girls – the three finalists and their spirit of individuality Out of the several thousands of people who competed in the Super girl show, three girls were selected in the final. They were Li Yuchun, Zhou Bichang, Zhang Liangying. Out of the three , Li Yuchun emerged as the winner with almost 3.5 million votes. What helped her , irrespective of our weak voice was her personality and undeterred attitude and motivation to succeed. These are the traits of individualism. She had a, very much look of boyish hair style and a smile that could lead 1000 other people smile. Her main characteristic that made her the youth icon of 2005 was her astounding capability to enthrall the public and her fearless competitive nature. She was determined to win the competitions and was ready to show her self-identity. She was an ordinary person with no identity till the show was conducted. Later on, she became the heartthrob of many youths, instilling individualism in many of them. Even after several months of performing, all the three of them continued to improve their singing skill; the way handled the public and popularity was phenomenal. Chinese culture was basically related with human inner feelings and nature. They do not care about the outer looks. But then, through this show, the girls were dressed and prepared like Westerners. The Westerners got this trend only because of individual exploration. They were not afraid of the society for what they were wearing and in-turn led them to different findings. The same principle was followed here by the super girls, leading them to advertise the individualistic love for dresses to general public. They advertised themselves as an example of individualism. The culture of westerners is being imported by the girls but nonetheless, the girls have modified it to their own culture and traditions. (Robertson 1995) An example is the fast food processing identified by U.S but then, the Chinese followed it and created thei r own menus according to their culture. The girls served as the best examples of global advertising and cultural change. Super Girl – reaction from government As a result of the pressure scenarios created by the show, the government, on 2007, banned people from casting their votes through messaging and internet. In addition to this , the government also changed the show timings in such a way that it is not shown in prime time and as a result there wont be as much viewers as there were in 2005. They have also placed rules on who all could participate in the show. ( Kim, N, 2009 ) This is in response to their thought that the contenders are turning out to be bad role models for the current and future generation. They wanted even the dressings and hairstyles of the participants should be strictly in line with the traditional culture of the society. (Bao,. X.J., 2006). Rules were proposed to an extent that they decided to ban the show. But the show went on in 2009 with all these restrictions and is expected to continue. Some critics who are in favor of the show believe the amendments in media rules to be a first step of success against the government. They are also of the opinion that with appropriate and planned teaching, people can be cognizant of the democratic values and can influence democracy to be started in the country. They pose the view that the people of US were not born with the talent of choosing right leaders, it came to them only in practice as part of their lifestyle. They believe that such thing could happen with China if practiced for twenty years. ( Ning, Q., Ning, C.T.K. 2002) Super Girl-benefits in different fields Apart from democracy, this show has been a revelation in providing quality contents to the public, the method of operations being so contemporary, changing the ideal work ethics followed by the orthodox people. In terms of social values and society, the program was able to meet the demands inherent in common people. It helped them satisfy their desire to exercise their rights. In terms of financial changes, this show provided revenue like never before, thus increasing the economical stature of the country from entertainment industry too. (Xinhua., 2006) Super Girl –Negative Remarks As a show, society wise, it didnt cause any problem. But due to its huge popularity, the show gathered crowd wherever it got telecasted. As a result of it, the law men had a tough time to handle the crowd. The crowds near the stadium were relentless to enter and the law men had to use their sources to get rid of them. The whole situation had become unruly. The politicians later on took this as one of the reasons for bashing at the show. The criticism was not a major one and it was forgotten as time passed by. Another issue that occurred was that the selection round was not done properly and there were complaints from some of the participants that though they performed well, they were eliminated and some kind of discrimination is done for selection based on some issue. All this has not been given strong evidence till now and hence the complaints were not taken seriously. These were some of the black marks which happened during its course time. Personal perspective On a personal point of view, life is just a matter of mental perception. One can find a sea of change in life if the view of the same problem is just changed from its current perception. The people who come to participate in the competition are from different traditions and origins. Before they could perform, one could see their culture and tradition being exposed to others, either by themselves, or through their characteristics. Such traditional culture takes a dump when they perform and get publicized after some success. Their individualism takes the front stage leaving out the collectivism and Confucianism. They are prompted to be self-aware, self –conscious, care about themselves and neglect the so called cultural collectivism. This can be seen in two ways. This either affects their own cultural development or in a positive note, helps them liberalize and understand their own self rights. It is obvious that both cannot be achieved simultaneously. (Bodde, D.1957) Apart from the contestant point of view, the other factor that comes in here is the democracy and direct election. In my view, I dont see any kind of relation between the Super Girl show voting system and democracy. Yes, I understand, it is one form exercising ones right to participate. It gives you pleasure that you performed something that could change the fate of other person. But the change doesnt have the magnitude that a democracy election would have over an entire country. (Zhou, R. 2005). This being one view, one other point of view is that this could be seen as a democratic seed sown in a communist land. People tend to exaggerate this simple thing into such a huge issue that it got concerns from the government itself and led to the restriction on the show itself. Here, I have to mention that Chinese people have thrown sand on themselves. They have seen something new, some new change being happening, which they could capitalize on and make it scale greater heights. Instead, they tried to expose the democratic alliance that it minutely had, into a full blown issue and it showed the effects of it. (Jakes S. 2006) It is not possible here to suggest a predicament on whether the democracy interpreted through the show is valuable, deep and thought provoking. There is no compromise on whether it kindled the thought or not. Some people would go for a yes, some would go for a no but there can never be a unanimous decision for this issue. (Time,1954). People all of a sudden forget the mere existence of the central government and without any message or communication from the top level governance; they just started forming groups and started enjoying by their groups. They have merely forgotten the presence of a top level institution in the country. They were living in their reel life rather than their real life. (Ding, Y. 2008). According to D.D Pratt (1991), transformation from collectivistic nature of human being to individualism involves transformation of personality. This in his view is done in terms of perceptual, rational and moral knowledge. On Chinese point of view, it is about perfection and education. Hence their view was fully focused on Confucianism, and their human nature was limited in its view. With the advent of this show, it is shown that the Chinese have found about the innumerable forms that a human nature relationship can take in its entirety. Hofstede, G. (2001). The major highlight of the show that specially characterizes individualism is the way each one is given the freedom to express themselves, how they are given the freedom to express their emotions, there inside thoughts, irrespective of their tradition. The show showed that culture is just nothing but sharing between one another and the resulting boundaries that develop to individual groups. When people from different culture, from different walks of the society are pitted against each other, they make their own assumptions about others only based on their own culture that is their values and principles they follow. These are only reasonable from their point of view, not from others. Hence, these conceptions take a dig when they do something wrong, which in turn, leads them to do self conscious work and that is, individualism. So, self-conscious nature gets into them once they enter the show itself. This in turn affects the already inherent cultural values inside them. (Ding, Y. 2008). The other reasons that I could state for the analysis of individualism in Super Girl show is that it is not only providing the current generation youth, a role model to look for , or a principle to follow for, but the fact is the feel of warmth, a fresh charming wavelength flowing between the contestants and the youth. They give high priority to this warmth, higher than their friends; higher than their colleagues; and most importantly, higher than the model set created on a moral basis by the Chinese government. The other factor is the psychological factor. The youth are able to get psychologically inspired through this show. Psychological inspiration involves , a belief in inside to follow their goal, a head start to achieve their goals and an attitude, that can take success or failure – no matter what comes, taking both in a positive way. So, for all these aspects, the culture of the Super Girls can be used as an instrument in shaping up their career. (Yan, Y 2000) An apt example for this scenario could be, the application of rules and regulations in an apt manner can be followed by other rule making or governing institutions. People who feel are lagging in educational career, can concentrate on their extra-curricular talents with this show as an inspiration. So, this show gives the self confidence to the youth and in the process applies self-realization. Another example that could be provided is how even the under-privileged people can learn from the Super Girls, the ability to persist until the goal is reached. It gives them the confidence not to rest until the limelight is achieved. (Zan, Z.2009). According to Ha Jin, an acclaimed writer, The Chinese youth have changed their own perception. They think about themselves differently. They are self-worthier and they have started to think in terms of earning money for themselves to achieve their purpose. He feels that people are no more thinking that individualism is a bad factor and they are appreciating it Conclusion It is a fact that the â€Å"Super Girls† show has sown the seed of individualism in China. This situation can be compared to a drowning person who gets air mixed with carbon dioxide. It is obvious that the person will try to take as much air as possible without caring the level of carbon dioxide. The same has happened in China. But, this cannot be exaggerated by any means. Though the show is running for a period of 6 years, the amount of individualism impact it had upon the Chinese youth is very minimal. Individualism is a complicated issue and is directly related with the development of the nation. China, being the fastest developer in the world is yet to come in terms with the individualistic nature of U.S on cultural perspective. The national differences are going to continue to be prevalent between these nations. No matter, how many different numbers of shows come, the domination of traditional collectivism in historic China is not going to be replaced by individualism any time soon. References Hofstede, G. (2001). Cultures consequences (2nd ed.). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. McCrae, R. R. (2001). Trait psychology and culture: Exploring intercultural comparisons. Journal of Personality, 69, 819–846. Oyserman, D., Coon, H. M,. Kemmelmeier,M. (2002). Rethinking individualism and collectivism: Evaluation of theoretical assumptions and meta-analyses. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 3–72. Pratt, D. D.(1991) Conceptions of Self within China and the United States : Contrasting foundations for adult education.international journal of intercultural relations. 15. 285-310. Robertson, Roland (1995), Globalization: Time-Space and Homogeneity- Heterogeneity, in Global Modernities, Mike Featherstone, Scott Lash, and Roland Robertson, eds.. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 45-46. Yan, Y (2000), Of Hamburger and Social Space: Consuming McDonalds in Beijing, in The Consumer Revolution in Urban China, Deborah S. Davis, ed., Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 201-225. Lam C.(1997) A cultural perspective on the Chinese Adolescent Development. Child and adolescent social work journal, 14(2), 95-115. Li, B.(2005). Moral education in transition: The values conflict in China. Studies in Philosophy and Education. 12, doi:10.1007/BF01235475 Ning, Q., Ning, C.T.K.(2002). Chinese Students Encounter America. Honk Kong: Hong Kong University Press. Bodde, D.(1957) Chinas cultural tradition, what and whither? Source problems in world civilization. London: Rinehart. Schimmack, U., Radhakrishnan, P., Oishi, S., Dzokoto, V. Ahadi,S. (2002). Culture, personality, and subjective well-being: Integrating process models of life-satisfaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 1313–1329. Ding, Y. (2008). A critical comparison of American Idol and Super Girl: A cross-cultural communication analysis of American and Chinese cultures. Retrieved from : http://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/377/1/Yding_2008-1_BODY.pdf Zan, Z.(2009). Paradise and paradox : on the Super Voice Girls : elementary discussion on popular culture, youth, media and state politics of contemporary China. Retrieved from: https://dspace.library.ubc.ca/dspace/bitstream/2429/7872/1/ubc_2009_spring_zhang_zan.pdf (n.d)(198

Jacksons Disagreement :: essays research papers

Materialism is the belief that all things can be explained in physical terms or by science. Frank Jackson argues against this belief. Jackson’s philosophy is that not only are materialism false, but he also claims that consciousness is a subjective experience that can not be defined by any physical term or by science. The nonphysical experience known as qualia is Jackson’s explanation of consciousness. Qualia is the nonphysical feeling that can not be explained in physical terms or by science. Humans can not understand the feeling of qualia without experiencing it themselves. Materialism suggests that everything that occurs have some type of scientific relationship or physical term. Jackson goes through his argument looking for proof until he gets one idea. Jackson performs an experiment that demonstrates that consciousness is a qualia feeling and that one can not understand or learn the feeling with out experiencing it. The subject he uses is Mary. Mary is an extremely bright scientist and since she could remember she was placed in a room with nothing but black and white. With limiting her sight to only this black and white gray-scale, she is unaware of what true color looks like. All her life she is educated through newspapers, television and teachers giving lectures. Near the end of the experiment she has mastered every aspect of the physical terms and science explaining the process of viewing color. One example was that she knew that an apple was red, but she cannot grasp the concept if she has never seen it. The final part of the experiment is to pre sent to her real color. They use a red apple to demonstrate this. The hypothesis for the experiment follows the laws of materialism. They hypothesized that Mary would not have a shocking reaction to the apple. They believed that she would know that the apple carried those characteristics. In the conclusion of the experiment they find out that their hypothesis was wrong and that Mary was shocked to find out what red really looked like. For the first time in her life she noticed that there was more to the red apple than the physical description. She felt qualia, the feeling of actually seeing the color. This proves that materialism cannot fully explain the world.

Comparing and Contrasting Hughess Mother to Son and Wilburs The Write

Comparing and Contrasting Hughes's Mother to Son and Wilbur's The Writer Whether life is a steep climb up a shaky stairway or a challenging voyage over rough seas, a parent hopes a child will persevere to the end. In Langston Hughes's poem "Mother to Son" and in Richard Wilbur's poem "The Writer," the poets use the voice of a parent considering a child's future, and both use imagery of struggle and survival to suggest what lies ahead for the child. Although the point of view, context, and language of the two poems differ significantly, the message is the same: a parent wants a good life for his or her child, but knows that many obstacles can block the way. While Hughes and Wilbur share a similar message in their poems, their points of view are very different. Hughes uses a first-person narrator, a mother speaking directly to her son. The title of the poem itself, "Mother to Son," states this point of view. The reader is listening in on a one-on-one conversation. The opening line introduces the mother's monologue: "Well, son, I'll tell you." The point of view stays consistent as the mother describes what life's stairway has been like for her: "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair" (2 and 20), and urges her son to do as she has done: "I'se still climbin'" (19). She addresses her son directly throughout the poem, calling him "son" (1), "boy" (14), and "honey" (18). The poem is entirely in the mother's speaking voice, with the informalities of someone speaking privately to a close relative and the grammatical errors of someone who is probably not well educated. Richard Wilbur's poem is also written in the first person, but the narrator does not address his daughter directly until the final stanza (31-33). The first thir... ...s her message across in twenty short, simple lines. Both "Mother to Son" and "The Writer" offer a parent's sincere message to a child. However, the poems' points of view, contexts, and language show two parents who have traveled very different paths before offering their messages. The reader sees that parents' hopes and concerns for a child are universal, even though their expression differs. Works Cited Bixler, Frances. Richard Wilbur: A Reference Guide. Boston: G.K. Hall 1991 Hughes, Langston. "Mother to Son." Literature and Ourselves: A Thematic Introduction for Readers and Writers. Eds. Gloria Mason Henderson, Bill Day, and Sandra Stevenson Waller. 4th ed. New York: Longman, 2003. Wilbur, Richard. Responses. Prose Pieces: 1953–1976. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1976 – New and Collected Poems. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1988

Ovids Devaluation of Sympathy in Metamorphoses Essay -- Ovid Metamorp

Ovid's Devaluation of Sympathy in Metamorphoses  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Ovid reveals two similar tales of incest in the Metamorphoses. First, he describes the non-sisterly love Byblis acquires for her twin brother Caunus. Later, he revisits the incestuous love theme with the story of Myrrha who develops a non-filial love for her father, Cinyras. The two accounts hold many similarities and elicit varying reactions. Ovid constantly tugs at our emotions and draws forth alternating feelings of pity and disgust for the matters at hand. "Repetition with a difference" in these two narratives shows how fickle we can be in allotting and denying sympathy, making it seem less valuable. Both tales begin drawing forth a sense of disgust for the situation in general yet arousing pity for each girl's predicament. Ovid clearly labels the love Byblis and Myrrha pursue illegitimate when he summarizes the moral of Byblis' tale stating, "when girls love they should love lawfully" (Mandelbaum 307) and reveals that "to hate a father is / a crime, but love like [Myrrha's] is worse than hate" (338) before describing Myrrha's tale. By presenting the girls as criminals, Ovid leads us to despise them. He then proceeds to draw out sympathy for Byblis and Myrrha as he describes their unsuccessful attempts to overcome these desires. Byblis dreams intimately about Caunus, but "when she's awake, she does not dare / to let her obscene hopes invade her soul" (308). "[Myrrha] strives; she tries; she would subdue / her obscene love," but she cannot (339). Right away, Ovid makes us question if these situations deserve our sympathy. Byblis and Myrrha compel readers to sympathize with their plight as they orally confess their incestuous passions. They use selective lang... ...d leaves us feeling sorry for Myrrha. Ovid tells this tale of forbidden sin twice to show how inconsistent we are in allotting pity. He begins both tales drawing forth our contempt for the matters at hand, then ends both tales with images that arouse our pity. Throughout each story, our emotions sway between pity and disgust. Even though incest disgusts us, we sympathize with Byblis and Myrrha as they seek incestuous loves. Byblis' broken heart arouses our sympathy, yet Myrrha's "fulfilled heart" disgusts us. Ovid devalues our sympathy by showing how unstable we are with our emotions. Works Cited Mandelbaum, Allen, trans. The Metamorphoses of Ovid. By Ovid. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & company, 1993. Crane, Gregory, ed. Perseus Project. 1995. Tufts University. 6 Oct. 1999 <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/text?lookup=ov.+met.+init>      

Cb Prepartions

Exam: 3hours, 19/50 =15. 2/40 (-31) Section A: MCQ (20m) Section B: Choose 2 from 3 Questions (15m each) 1. Describe the type of promotional message that would be most suitable for each of the following personality market segments: (a) highly dogmatic consumers, (b) inner-directed consumers, (c) consumers with high optimum stimulation levels, (d) consumers with a high need for cognition, and (e) consumers who are visualizers versus consumers who are verbalizers. Give an example of a promotional message for each segment.Social character traits have shown that inner and other-directed consumers may have different preferences in terms of promotional messages. Inner-directed people prefer advertisements that stress personal benefits while other-directed people seem to prefer advertisements that feature social acceptance. (a) HIGHLY DOGMATIC CUSTOMERS: It is a personality trait that measures the degree of rigidity (versus openness) that individuals display towards unfamiliar and towards i nformation that is contrary to their own established beliefs. Dogmatism: general tendency to be open or closed to new ideas and innovations.A person who is high in dogmatism approaches the unfamiliar defensively while the person who is low in dogmatism will rarely consider unfamiliar or opposing beliefs. * more receptive is Ads for new products or services that contains an appeal from the authoritative figure. Marketer uses celebrities and experts to their new product advertising for making it easier for the potentially reluctant customers. * Highly dogmatic consumers are likely to respond favorably to a new product when the advertising message is presented in an authoritarian manner (e. g. celebrity endorsement or expert testimonials). * prefer traditional or established products rather than innovative ones. close minded towards unfamiliar and untoward information that is contrary to their own established beliefs * approach such information with considerable discomfort and uncertai nty. promotional message most suitable would be endorsement or appeal from an authoritative figure. * New products need to be presented in an authoritative manner and that celebrities could be employed to reach dogmatic consumers who are more closed minded. For example: Colgate Dental Cream with Doctors and Experts endorsements. Anti-Polio Campaign featuring Amitabh and Sachin Tendulkar also useAuthoritative statements. The Cadbury’s brand took a beatng in sales after the worms were found in somepackets. Dogmatic Consumers stopped purchasing the Brand. Amitabh Bacchhanwas then used as Authority figure to reestablish Brand. b) Inner-directed consumers * tend to use their own values and standards in evaluating a new product * ads aimed at them should depict the attainment of personal achievement and satisfaction. ads that stress product features and benefits, which enable them to usetheir own values and standards in evaluating products * rely on their own inner values or standa rds in evaluating new products and are likely to be the consumer innovators. * other directed customers tend to look to others for guidance as to what is appropriate or what is inappropriate. * be prefer ads that stress product features and personal benefits ( enabling them to use their own values and standards in evaluating products whereas the other * For example: Surf Ad showing Shabana Azmi saving two buckets of water is an example of the same.The latest from Surf Excel is currently running on television. This is the ad where many people are seen walking with two buckets full of water. They then pour it into a large reservoir. At this point none other than Shabana Azmi informs you what a great thing thissaving of water is for the country and implores you to use Surf Excel. * manufacturer of cameras who advertises to inner-directed consumers should stress the ability to take better pictures and the resulting personal satisfaction. c) Consumers with a high optimum stimulation leve l * more open to risk-taking, more likely to be innovative have a greater willingness to take risks, try products with many novel features, and shop in new retail outlets. * likely to respond favorably to promotional messages stressing more rather than less risk, novelty,or excitement. * to seek purchase related information and to accept new retail facilities. * For example: The exciting and exotic Vacation Campaign of Malasia-Truly Asia is positioning of  Airways to sell the Asian Adventures. These enjoy thinking. They are responsive to that part of Ad that is rich in Information. The TATA-AIG Life insurance Ad showing Naseeruddin Shah giving informationthough Q&A will click for them. benefit of new product offering should not only consider functional features but also the risk, novelty and variety that the product offers. * place different promotional emphasis on particular age segments, as it may be worthwhile to reduce perceived risk for a market segment comprised primarily of older people, while it may not warrant it for a younger market segment. d) Consumers with a high need for cognition * ones who often crave or enjoy thinking. * responsive to ads that are rich in product-related information or description and are unresponsive to the auxiliary or contextual aspects of an advertisement. Need for cognition: stable individual difference in tendency to engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive activity. Individuals high in need for cognition enjoy thinking abstractly. * high-NFC individuals are likely to express more favorable ad attitudes, brand attitudes and purchase intention. * more likely to use message content as a basis for judgments * high NFC leads to the generation of inferences about omitted conclusions ), to less memory decay and greater resistance to counterarguments about products), and to longer processing and superior recall for brands and claims individuals who are high in need for cognition would be expected to be critical thinkers, and t o not necessarily accept arguments found in media or elsewhere on face value. * should be more difficult to persuade, a phenomenon that can be investigated several ways. * high-NFC individuals did so only when the signal was accompanied by a substantial price reduction. * process information presented in the media more thoroughly than those who do not enjoy thinking as much, able to retrieve from memory more information * individuals with higher NFC, who are assumed to process information more extensively, would be expected to generate more thoughts. counterarguing and source derogations are prevalent in advertising and that support arguments are critical if persuasive messages are to have a chance of acceptance * high-NFC would be expected to engage in a wide range of media consumption activities, and would not necessarily be expected to differentiate between sources of information, such as news, advertising or entertainment. All would be stimulating. high NFC individuals are more likely to closely scrutinize the arguments contained in any message, campaign strategists must make sure that arguments are strong in order to cope with the higher resistance to messages by this group * appear to be the ones already predisposed to watch or listen to issue, image or financial advertising featuring long copy. The challenge for strategists thus is to enhance the already high motivation of high-NFC indivduals, by highlighting the relevance of messages, and to enhance the ability and opportunities to process such messages. Example: (e) consumers who are visualizers versus consumers who are verbalizers. * Verbal aggressiveness: tendency to insult and attack others' self-concepts to achieve one's objectives in an argument. * Visualisers (i. e. , consumers who prefer visual information, products that stress the visual) * Morning Dew Ad where there is a race with a Cheetah is a visual treat * detailed descriptions and explanations in targeting verbalizers (i. e. , consumers who prefer written and verbal product information). ‘Do the Dew†Verbalizers prefer verbal dimensions to the promotional message. * The Oye Bubbly Jingle of Pepsi is a Verbal treat to the ear, though it conveys nothing much about the product. 2. A marketer of health foods is attempting to segment a certain market on the basis of consumer self-image. Describe the four types of consumer self-image and discuss which segment would be most effective to target for health foods. In Self-concept theory personality is exemplified by the kinds of things with which people surround themselves.The self-concept has shown to be multi-dimensional and encompasses the way a person actually is, the way individuals see themselves, the way a person would like to be, and the way in which individuals think others perceive them. Theories of self-concept have generally focused on two areas in marketing research. In the one, self concept has been applied to the discrepancy between the self and the ideal self as a measure of personal dissatisfaction. In this instance, product use has been related to items that deal specifically with self enhancement.Consumers have four types of image. 1. Actual self image-how consumers in fact see themselves. In Everyday house hold products, they see themselves in Reality. For example,Washing powders Ads would be realistic. Nirma Powder focuses on Housewives ability to get more for less money. 2. Ideal self Image-how consumers would like to see themselves. In case of Fantasy Products, consumers desire to see themselves perfect, as in case of  Women, Fairness or looking Pretty is high on desire list. The fair and Lovely campaign for fairness cream sells this dream. . Social Self Image-how consumers feel others see them. Here there is an inherent fear factor also involved as to how they are being perceived by others. For example Products which position themselves on social front, showing appropriate behaviour at parties etc appeal here. 4. Id eal Social Self image-how consumers would like others to see them. For Example, Aashirwad ready to cook products and Sambhar Masala Product campaign show the desire of Wives to be seen as a great cook by others.However, since they are working or busy, they do not have time to cook themselves. That is when the Brandcomes to rescue. And finally they are seen as Ideal Wives. There are two more categories of Self-image: Expected Self image-how consumers expect to see themselves at some specified futuretime. The ABKING PRO Ad for machine to slim down people hypes this expectation of  individuals that they will slim down and look good in Future. 5. expected self-image (e. g. , how consumers expect to see themselves at some specified future time) . ought-to self (e. g. , consists of traits or characteristics that an individual believes it is his or her duty or obligation to possess). Ought to self image-traits consumer thinks he ought to have. The Ashrwad readymeal Adis a hit for the wiv es feel that good cooking is a trait they ought to have. The expected self-image is somewhere between the actual and ideal self-images. It is somewhat like a future-oriented combination of â€Å"what is† (the actual self-image) and what consumers would like â€Å"to be† (the ideal self-image).Moreover, because the expected self-image provides consumers with a realistic â€Å"opportunity† to change the â€Å"self,† it is likely to be more valuable to marketers than the actual or ideal self-image as a guide for designing and promoting products. In targeting consumers of health foods, the marketer can use the expected self-image to attract consumers who would like to enhance the quality of their lifestyles through better nutrition, and ideal social self-image to appeal to consumers who are likely to adopt health foods due to peer influence and pressure. Advertisers focus on components that make people feel better about themselves.Many decisions based on look ing glass and ideal self–ie. Aspiring to group not yet reached–image appeal Psychographic info enhances demographic info– people individuals 3. How can Toshiba use the diffusion of innovations framework to develop promotional, pricing, and distribution strategies for its computer notebooks targeted to the following adopter categories? a. Innovators b. Early adopters c. Early majority d. Late majority e. Laggards * In term of the nature, there are five major types of innovations: novelty, competence shifting, complexity, robust design and continuous improvement.While in term of the extent of change, innovations can be divided into incremental, radical and transformational models. Innovation deals with the change related to product, service and process, and the innovation management involve people, product, process and technology† * diffusion is defined as a process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members o f a social system * innovation as â€Å"an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as â€Å"new† by an individual or other unit of adoption. * company will usually sell the hardware at a relatively lower price to capture a share of the market, and then charge relatively higher prices for the software to maximize profitability * Based upon the time variable, individuals seeking new innovations are placed into adopter categories, according to the rate of adoption. Rate of adoption is the â€Å"relative speed with which an innovation is adopted by members of a social system. † * the rate of adoption is the relative speed in which members of society adopt an innovation. It is usually measured as the number of people who adopt an innovation within a specified time-line. Some companies have a defensive strategy and aim to follow the leader. Such companies hope to profit from the mistakes of the first-to-market company by devising incremental design and performance impro vements and cost reductions compared with the original product. In addition they hope to exploit the new market that has started to grow, so timing is important. * But it was the major Japanese companies (such as Sony, JVC, Toshiba) that captured a large share of the mass market through reducing the cost of these devices and improving their performance. (a) Innovators: Venturesome [1st group to adopt]Rogers describes innovators as obsessed with being venturesome. They have an interest in new ideas and innovation and have generally very cosmopolitan type social relationships. Innovators generally have communication patterns and friendships among a certain clique of innovators even though their geographic distance between each other may be very significant. Innovators must be very financially secure in order to absorb a possible loss from an innovation that doesn’t turn into fruition. Likewise, an innovator must have a sound educational background, in order to comprehend a comp lex technical terminology.Furthermore, an innovator must be able to cope with a degree of uncertainty whether the innovation will be adopted by society. Ultimately, Rogers believes the innovator takes risks in being the gatekeeper of innovations, but if the innovation is adopted the rewards are high. Early Adopters: Respect [2nd group to adopt] more integrated in the local society than the innovator. Where an innovator is considered a cosmopolite, an early adopter is a localite. Early adopters have the greatest degree of leadership in most localities. Most potential adopters look to the early adopter for advice and information regarding an innovation.Generally, early adopters are respected and considered successful by their peers. The early adopter is the main group that decreases uncertainty of an innovation by adopting it, and then communicating with potential adopters about the idea. Early Majority: Deliberate [3rd group to adopt] Rogers suggest that the early majority group adop ts new innovations just before the average member of society. Members of the early majority frequently interact with people in their society, but usually do not hold key positions of leadership. The early majority is the largest group and make up approximately one-third of members in a society.The early majority follows with deliberate willingness to adopt an idea, but are rarely leaders. Late Majority: Skeptical [4th group to adopt] Rogers states that the members of the late majority adopt innovations just after the average member of society. The late majority also makes up approximately one-third of members in a social system. Members of the late majority are cautious and skeptical about new innovations. Most of the uncertainty surrounding an innovation must be removed before the late majority will adopt the new idea. Laggards: Traditional [last group to adopt]Laggards are the last group in society to adopt a new idea. Generally, they possess almost no positions of leadership with in their community. Laggards’ point of reference is the past, they are very cautious and only make decisions based on what has already been done. Usually, laggards’ educational and financial resources are limited, forcing them to be completely certain the innovation will not fail before they adopt. These are the traditional categories of society members with respect to the adoption of new ideas and innovations. The diffusion of innovations follows a common life cycle. 82 However, the period over which this trend occurs varies greatly due to a number of factors. 183 By the end of the 20th century many of the following innovations were adopted by society at a much greater rate. 184 For example, the PC, Internet, and cell phone, which are all relatively new products, have steeper gradients when compared to automobiles, electricity and traditional telephones. Price is one of the most important factors involved in adoption of consumer products. This pricing policy pattern c an be used to predict the rate of adoption of new innovations.When it comes to consumers’ rate of adoption to innovations, new technologies succeed at a faster rate than replacement technologies. An early adopting individual may decide to adopt in anticipation that the innovation’s rate of adoption will take off in the near future when others adopt, although past diffusion research suggest that most individuals do not adopt an innovation until after learning of their peers’ successful experiences. † The diffusion of an innovation among the consumers can usually be presented by an s-shaped curve.On a frequency basis the adoption over time will normally follow a bell-shaped curve, but when plotted on a cumulative basis the adoption will form an scurve. 9 The s-curve reflects the acceleration of the adoption. At the early stage the curve is rising slowly meaning relatively few adopters pr. time-period (x-axis). At about the middle of the adoption period the a cceleration peaks and then fades as the percentage of adopters goes up. This course of events is typical for the adoption of new technologies. The logic behind this diffusion lies in the actual number of adopters.The early adopters will be a majority compared to the people who have not yet adopted the technology and therefore there are less people to preach the virtues of the new technology to potential adopters. At the point where the adoption process reaches 50 % the number of adopters equals the number of potential adopters, by definition, thus providing maximal acceleration of the adoption. In the last period, adopters outnumber the people who has not yet adopted, and there will be less people to convince to adopt the technology – slowing down the acceleration of the adoption process.The adopters are often divided into adoption groups. These groups are usually formed on the basis of innovativeness, meaning to which degree each individual is willing adopt new technologies, relative to other members of the social system. From this measure individuals can be placed into groups containing a certain range of innovativeness. The distribution is based on a mean and to which degree individuals’ deviate from the mean (standard deviation). Innovators are the first group of adopters and can be associated with the word venturesome.The individuals representing this group are adventurous and often related to entrepreneurial environments. The innovators run the risk that the innovation does not catch on, and thus subject themselves to a potential loss they must be prepared to absorb. Therefore innovators have to live with the uncertainty about the potentials of the technology, which can be viewed upon as the price to pay for being pioneers in a new field – catalyzing the diffusion of new technologies.The early adopters are ready to adopt a new technology when they observe that other individuals has started adopting, and sees the potential for being s ome of the first adopters of a new and promising technology. These individuals are often a more integrated part of the local society than the innovators, and their adoptions are crucial for the technology to take off and get hold of the broad public. For the early adopters the uncertainties about the merits of the new technology are strongly diminished, and can therefore adopt the new technology without running the risk of buying a young and untested technology.This group accounts for about one third of the total number of adopters, and provide the link between the progressive early adopters and the more skeptical later adopters. In the latter half of the spectrum the late majority also represent about a third of the adopters. This group is skeptical to new innovations, and is not willing to adopt, until a lot of other people have adopted before them ensuring the success of the technology and possibly massive network effects. The last 16 % of the adopters, the laggards, often focus on traditional values and base their decisions on past events.They are suspicious of any new inventions to change the way life are traditionally lived, and must be 100 % certain that the technology will prevail before they are willing to adopt. From a consumers’ point of view it is essential to think about the decisions of future adopters when choosing what technology to go with. The decisions of previous adopters are on the other hand a know factor and plays a role for the decision also. So does the structure of the market, i. e. which technologies are available at the time of adoption, compared to potential superior technologies that could be available in the future.Recent findings indicate that there is a lack of willingness to wait by the early adopters. 11 This high priority of being among the very first users of a new technology is said to inflict negative externalities on the later adopters. These later adopters can be forced to adopt an inferior technology to make sur e that they are compatible with the technologies of the early adopters, or they might be forced to give up compatibility to get a superior technology. That said the diffusion of new technologies is often strongly dependent on the choices of the early adopters.