Mt 355 Unit 2

Kinshasa Abroad – African Cuisine and Culture Jennifer Johnson MT/355 – Marketing Research Theodore Alex 5/1/2012 Introduction The purpose of this paper is to refer to the case Kinshasa Abroad – African Cuisine and Culture, define the problems that appear regarding this case, and trying to find answers and solutions to these problems. As it can be noticed in the case, there are marketing problems regarding this business. There are two questions that need to be addressed.The first question is about the type of information that needs to be collected to help diagnose the marketing problem in this case. The second question, however, it is interesting because it asks to create a list of probing questions that should be asked the owner of the restaurant to help him specify research problems and also the manager’s decision problem. Kinshasa Abroad The case goes this way. Youlou Kabasella is an African entrepreneur that had a business running in his own country.It was a restaurant that was opened for more that 14 years. However, since the political context was not advantageous, the owner decided to move with his family in the United States. He manages to open the same business he had in his home country, in the downtown area of Columbus, Ohio. However, the strategy chosen by the entrepreneur with respect to his business may not be appropriate since it does not show any positive results. He considered keeping most of the aspects of his business similar to his home country.The paper tries to identify the problem and spot certain solutions through marketing research. Before getting deeper into this concept, the term marketing research must be defined. According to Churchill, Brown, and Suter (2008), marketing research represents the function that connects the consumers to the marketer through information that is used in identifying and defining marketing problems and also opportunities. Marketing research helps generating, refining, and valuati ng marketing actions; it helps monitoring performance and it enhances the understanding of marketing as a complete process. A research consultant requires various valuable data from Mr. Kabasella to identify the problem of his inefficiency. At first, a marketing consultant would require Kabasella information about his advertising and promotion practices, about the local customer preferences and habits, precise information about the prices and his menu and business activities, and other information as well.Here is a list of questions that a marketing consultant addresses Kabasella to help him with his business problems: 1. How come most of your products are African based? 2. Why did you choose to advertise without using the most important advertising mean which is the Internet? 3. Did you consider doing a marketing analysis to determine your potential competition in this area? 4. Did you consider offering free meals or other points of attraction to try and increase the number of cust omers? 5. Did you consider selling more local products?Conclusion These from above are only few of the potential questions that a marketing researcher needs to ask the employer to help him with his problems. The marketing researcher needs to focus identifying the competition for this company; it also needs to focus on advertisements and promotion to include the company in the list of the customers. The will have to find the proper marketing mix, which refers to product, place, price, and promotion (the four Ps of marketing) to help the company become more efficient and profitable.It clearly needs to add more local meals and drinks to its menu; it needs to use and promote local bands in the restaurant because clients would come and serve meals that they are aware of (at first), and then they may try to choose the African specialties. There are many elements to be considered; the solution to this case is not difficult to be identified and implemented. Reference Churchill, G. A. , Brow n, T. J. , & Suter, T. A. (2008). Basic Marketing Research (7th Ed. ). Cengage Learning.

Production Possibility Curves Essay Essay

Explain how production possibility curves can be used to demonstrate the problem of unemployment, effects of technological change and the benefits of economic growth. Human wants are unlimited and resources are scarce. In order to satisfy these wants, all societies face the problem of allocating these scarce resources to producing the wanted products. These decisions greatly affect the economy and will contribute to the movements of growth. A graph that visually represents the results of the decisions and maps the growth of the economy is the production possibility curve. Production possibility curves (PPC) are graphical models used to demonstrate the different opportunity costs that are involved when individuals or communities make choices on how much of each product to produce. The graph depicts the different combinations of two alternative products that can be produced, given technology and a fixed amount of resources. The two axes represent the amount of each product produced and the curve (frontier) shows the maximum amount of each resource able to be produced when all of the resources are used to their full capacity (refer to Figure 1. Most diagrams discussed will only deal with straight frontiers for the purpose of a clear visual). The resources are the factors of production which consists of natural resources, human labour, capital goods and enterprises. The position of the economy is often shown by a dot or a cross and its position depends on the economy’s production status. The PPC also makes a number of assumptions including the fact that economy will produces only two different goods, the state of the technology will remain constant, and the quantity of the resources remain the same and are both fully employed and used efficiently. The production possibility curve is thus able to graphically represent the problems of unemployment, the effects of technological change on the products produced and also show the benefits of economic growth in an economy. Production possibility curves can used to demonstrate the problems of unemployment when producing the products in the economy. In the graph, it takes all of the factors of production into account. Thus unemployment will mean that not all of the resource s are being fully engaged and used to their full potential. The frontier in this case will not change, however the position of the economy will move below the curve. For example (refer to Figure 2), if the economy is producing two products X and Y, the frontier does not change and instead the position of the economy on the graph will  shift depending on the amount of resources are not being used. The further away the economy is from the curve, the more resources unemployed. In this situation, the graph signifies that there is an inefficient allocation of resources. It conveys the economy is neither satisfying the maximum amount of wants nor achieving minimum opportunity costs. Essentially the economy is not using its resources to their full potential, or sacrificing the lowest amount of opportunity costs to produce the products. By shifting the dot around, the PPC makes it very obvious to where in economy is at in productions efficiency and thus can influence decisions in order to overcome the problem of unemployment. The production possibi lity curve is also able to display the effects of technological change on the production of the products. Newer technology creates more efficient production methods and thus allows the economy to produce more of one product without an increase in opportunity costs. The application of newer, more productive technology is represented by an outward shift in the respective product axis. In the example (refer to Figure 3), due to technological advancements it has made producing product X more efficient, thus allowing more of product X to be produced. The lack of movement in the Y axis portrays how there was no increase in opportunity cost for producing product Y when more of product X was produced. The shift also shows the new frontier for the economy. The amount of shift can be adjusted to provide a model of the future economy if it decides to go through with technological advancements in one area. Therefore, the PPC is a great model representation of how technological changes can affect the production possibilities on an economy. Production possibility curves enable the illustration of how the process of economic growth occurs. Economic growth occurs when more resources are able to be used or existing resources are used more efficiently. Economies often have to decide whether to produce more of capital goods or consumer goods. Producing more consumer goods will satisfy the wants immediately and thus provide higher standard of living in the present, compared to producing more capital goods which does not satisfy many wants right away. However, it provides the economy with larger production abilities later on and thus will be able to satisfy more wants in the future. In Figure 4 (the figure deals with concave frontier to represent more of a realistic approach to growth), the graph is showing the production of either consumer or capital goods. The  economy at Point A is prefers producing more consumer goods than capital goods. The economy at Point B is producing more capital goods. Both economies are on the curve C. If the economies at both A and B shift outwards to the curve C1, it will represent that both economies are able to produce more of each product. This clearly demonstrates the benefits of economic growth on production possibilities. Not only are does it enable the more production of each product as a result of more resources used, the economy will be able to satisfy more wants and thus enjoy a higher standard of living. The PPC can also demonstrate how the economy at Point B is more likely to experience economic growth as the preference of more capital goods produced allowed greater capacity to produce more goods in the future. Using the PPC, it is able to display the different amounts of growth in the various positions and will thus help demonstrate the results. In all, the clear movements of the points from one curve to another visually represent the benefits of economic growth. Production possibility curve are excellent graphs that convey the problems of unemployment, clearly represent the effects of technological change and demonstrate the benefits of economic growth. The movements in graph can show different results and thus can help make decisions on what to produce.

Facilities and Conflicts

There is an increase in tourism in Castleton, because of this many conflicts take place between the tourist and locals. To over overcome these conflicts the council have had to add facilities for tourists. The table attached with this shows some of the facilities added to try and solve some of the conflicts that take place. I have also explained below about each conflict and how the council have tried to solve the conflict. Litter: One of the first conflicts that occur in Castleton is that many of the tourists drop litter. When tourists drop litter this obviously make the locals furious because is ruining the environment. The council have tried to overcome this problem by putting bins around the village; there are also notices of fines for dropping litter around the village to make an attempt to stop tourists dropping litter. Toilets: Another conflict that occurs in Castleton is that the tourists annoy the locals to let them use their toilets. For example some tourist only go into a shop/public house to use the toilet. The council have tried to overcome this problem by putting public toilets in some places in Castleton. Directions: Another conflict that occurs that annoys some of the locals a lot is that tourists are regularly asking the locals for directions. The council have put up signs and information boards around the village. There is also and tourist information centre in Castleton, were the tourist could ask questions (directions) instead of asking the locals and they could also pick up leaflets and maps. Traffic: Another major conflict between the tourist and locals because of the traffic. There are two parts to the traffic conflict. The first part is the parking. There weren't enough parking spaces along the roads for the tourist. This caused a major problem parking problems because tourist parked their vehicle wherever they could. This caused problems and conflicts with locals because locals needed places to park their vehicles too. To solve this problem the council built a big car park for tourist vehicles (cars, coaches etc). The council have also put parking restrictions such as double yellow lines. The second part to the traffic conflict is the congestion. There is a lot tourist traffic, which causes congestion, which again annoys the locals. To solve this problem the council built a roundabout at the entrance of the car park. They have also made some roads a one-way system. The council have also introduced a system know as winnaits pass which means only car's with the pass are allowed in the area. Seating: Another conflict that has caused conflicts between the locals and tourist is that the tourists sit on walls, which eventually weaken and could make them crumble overtime (stones in a stone wall would loosen up and weaken and would crumble). To solve this problem the council have built benches in many areas to prevent this from happening. School Groups: The final conflict that occurs in Castleton is between tourist (mainly school groups) and locals. The school groups come to Castleton and make a lot of noise, which annoys the locals because they local residents want to enjoy the quiet environment. To solve this problem the council send the teachers to the information centre, which prevents too many school groups coming on the same day and also warns them about the residential areas. The council have also put up signs warning tourists about residential areas and tells the tourist to keep the noise level low

History (Otto von Bismarck) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

History (Otto von Bismarck) - Essay Example t on German and International politics through out his tenure and even posthumously his influence hovered around the diplomatic arena of Germany often impacting the foreign relations. Otto Von Bismarck was born on 1st April 1815 at Schà ¶nhausen, Brandenberg, Prussia. Bismarck was from an aristocratic family and both his father and mother were from noble blood. The military background of his father and the political background of his mother unified at an optimum level within Bismarck and in later period of life helped him to excel in life. Bismarck completed his schooling at the Friedrich-Wilhelm and Graues Kloster secondary schools. Thereafter he went to University of Gottingen (1832-33) to study law and later enrolled himself in University of Berlin (1833-35). Bismarck had a brief career in law and as a soldier but returned to his family estate following his mother’s death. In 1847 he married Johanna von Puttkammer and their happy married life reproduced three children, two boys and a daughter. Till his marriage there was almost no sign that this man one day will become one of the father figures of modern Germany. Rather his education and sophistication caught eyes as he was comfortable in English, German and Russian. He was also well versed in Shakespeare and Byron and used to quote them in his letters. It was in the year of his marriage that he became an elected member of newly formed Prussian legislature and owing to his conservative Lutheran background he shared an image of reactionary and royalist politician. His loyalty to the monarchy can be easily gauged from the fact that he was an open advocate of the ideology that god has entrusted the divine right to rule on the monarchy. If Bismarck’s election as a legislative member in Prussia is considered as his introduction to politics then year 1848 might be considered as the first step to famous hood. In 1848 a revolution swapped Germany and the king soon found him self to be safe only around the military

1997-1998 Asian financial crisis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

1997-1998 Asian financial crisis - Term Paper Example Erroneously creditors usually thing the root of the crisis can be found in badly regulated financial systems or mismanaged exchange rates of the borrowing countries. On the other hand the debtor government tries to find financial help to make things easier with the social costs related to the crisis through forgiveness of the debt, new financing or rescheduling. Fortunately, the creditors and debtors are in equal circumstances when it comes to sharing responsibility of bad lending and all the problems do not fall on the borrowing country citizens. In the middle of the Asian crisis Malaysia disputed that the cause of the financial crisis was in growing financial integration and the reiteration might only be eliminated by reforms of the financial system on the international level. Considering the weakness of bargaining position and the will to bear the access to public and private credit flows, the governments of the debtor tend to make some typical adjustments in policy; their explicit lack of financial background is to guarantee this is the case. They might be interested or not in fulfilling all the amount of reforms sought by the institutions of finance such as IMF and creditors. More than that it is quite possible for the governments to show resistance to the reforms due to interest group and composite tension or just due to origin and na ture of political organizations and the overall process of making decisions. Causes of the Crisis. The economy of Thailand displayed a significant rise path for more than ten-year period before the crisis began in 1997. The account deficit at that time slightly exceeded 5% and the high increase gave birth to budget excess for a number of years. Simultaneously, huge capital inflows were piled up along with a differential high interest rate and under the regime of fixed exchange rate, including deregulation

Democratic Peace-International Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Democratic Peace-International Relations - Essay Example Since World War II, realists have sought a balance of power between the US and the USSR as a means of maintaining the peace. Constructivists have sought to socially construct a new political reality based on liberal values, trade, and international organizations. In a world with weak international organizations, such as the United Nations, the world is left to anarchy. Veto power by selected member nations has left the UN as an impotent body to determine the lawful respect for sovereign states. The US War in Iraq is an example where a weakened UN was powerless to stop a unilateral action. According to Brown, "Anarchy alone does not create the insecure, competitive, and war torn world... Social structures and shared knowledge determine whether states are friends or enemies. The fact that social structures are socially constructed does not, however, mean that they can be changed easily" (xxxi). Institutionalists hold some hope for order, but "treat states as rational egoists operating in a world in which agreements cannot be hierarchally enforced, and that institutionalists only expect interstate cooperation to occur if states have significant common interests" (Brown 384). Common interests most often revolve around trade and commerce. Actors do not wish to disrupt trade agreements and lose economic benefits. In the post Cold War period of nuclear availability, realism presents some clear dangers. The break-up of the Soviet Union has left a Europe where nationalism could be problematic in a scenario where a nuclear balance of power exists. Realism, a pessimistic view of human nature, would lead to further tensions in Europe and while it may provide a temporary lull in hostilities, it is incapable of solving the complex social problems of immigration, religious zeal, global health issues, or world environmental problems. Humanitarian intervention has

How One Child Policy Would Affect Chinese Economy Research Paper

How One Child Policy Would Affect Chinese Economy - Research Paper Example In 1989, the official slogan was that a â€Å"one-son or two-child† policy, and it was in force in all most all regions of China. Thus, under this changed policy initiates, couples with a daughter were bestowed with the privilege to have a second child that too after a gap of 7 years. China’s entire birth planning initiative and one-child policy was perused on the available processes and structures linked with a centrally planned economy. (US Congress Joint Economic Committee 1992:252). Population control and economic development are the two major concerns for developing nations. China’s response to this issue was the open-door policy and the reform and the one-child policy. Two miracles have been produced by China in these areas. Both, demographic and economic changes have been undergone by China in recent years. Further, China has shifted from the centralised economy to a market- based economy. China, in the last twenty years, has become as one of the fast-grow ing and most energetic economies of the world, and this is regarded to be first miracle. Further, China’s one-child policy has applied the brake to explosive growth of Chinese’s population and also there has been a remarkable decline in fertility rates, which is well bellow –replacement stages and this has been regarded as second miracle of China.( Wong & Liu 2007:333). In reality, the declines in population growth, the slow-down in fertility rates and transformation in age structure have been main features economic achievement of China. The main aim of this research study is to study the association between China’s economic growth and its demographic evolution. In the background of both future and contemporary changes in China’s age structure, this research paper will also scrutinize and evaluate on the role of transformation in populations age structure in impacting China’s prospects for economic growth in the ensuing decades. This researc h paper will endeavour to elucidate the future, and the current confronts China witnesses and suggests policies to cope with them to maintain economic growth in the globe’s most populace nation. (Wong & Liu 2007:334). One Chid Policy and China’s Economic Development History of Chinese One -Child Policy During 1978-79, there had been reformulation of China’s population policy by the post –Mao’s leadership. The population issue witnessed in the late 1970s was footed on the demographic reality that in between 1949 and 1970, China had concluded its demographic evolution from high to low mortality and fertility rates. Before the introduction of one -child policy , the China’s population strategy of the 1970s had resulted in a shark fall in aggregate fertility rates to 2.72 in 1978 from 5.81 in 1970.Despite the fact of low fertility rates , due to demographic momentum , it was foreseen that population increase would prolong for many years to come. Demographic momentums connotes that a population will prolong to increase long after replacement level fertility has been accomplished, as young age structure of the total population will generate groups in the childbearing ages for many more years to come. The research survey by Tien (1981) that was conducted in the late 1970 showed that about 39 % of population of China was in the age group of 15 and above , while 65% of the population was aged 30 and below , born after 1949 . Calculations showed that on the basis of this age structure that if every

Why Marijuana Should be Legal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why Marijuana Should be Legal - Essay Example The evidence demonstrates that legalizing cannabis for medicinal in addition to general purposes would prove a benefit to society, evidence which is well-known throughout the scientific, political and public arena but this collective knowledge has yet to be acted upon. The economic feasibility of decriminalizing marijuana has become a much-discussed subject in recent years. The federal government presently spends a lot of capital on law enforcement to combat distributors and producers of drugs. By legalizing drugs this could eradicate much of the profit, bloodshed and corruption of that trade. If legalizing drugs is to have a positive effect on the crime rate, drugs must be made both inexpensive and available. Studies have repetitively suggested that prohibiting marijuana in the U.S. has not shown to be efficient or effective. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, â€Å"U.S. The economic feasibility of decriminalizing marijuana has become a much-discussed subject in recent years.   The federal government presently spends a lot of capital on law enforcement to combat distributors and producers of drugs. By legalizing drugs this could eradicate much of the profit, bloodshed and corruption of that trade.   If legalizing drugs is to have a positive effect on the crime rate, drugs must be made both inexpensive and available. Studies have repetitively suggested that prohibiting marijuana in the U.S. has not shown to be efficient or effective.  Ã‚  

Writing about cultural practices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Writing about cultural practices - Essay Example Among friends or acquaintances, before parting, they sometimes shake hands as gesture of saying good-bye. For people who have had some misunderstanding, a handshake would mean that everything is ok with them already and that the conflict has been resolved (Kissell , par 6). This social norm of shaking hands has persisted because it is an international norm which is accepted by all races. The handshake has been a mutual sign of goodwill and peace (Haymond , par 1). It is a socially acceptable way of greeting other people in public rather than kissing or hugging. The handshake was believed to have originated as a way of showing that one’s right hand was not carrying any weapon; thus, if two men met and they both show their empty right hands, that means that there exists a level of trust between them (Kissell , par 3). Kissell goes on further to state that the shaking of the hands was supposed to remove any hidden weapon that may be kept in the sleeves. In today’s modern world, the handshake is very difficult to avoid. Some even consider it an insult if the handshake is not accepted (Kissell , par 2). For example, if a person is trying to make amends with another person and he offers his hand and the other person refuses to shake his hand, this would convey the message that one is not accepting the other person’s apology. The norm of shaking hands should be abolished because the world today is exposed to numerous sources of infection and the handshake is one of the most common ways of spreading infection. The handshake makes every person susceptible to be infected (Potty , par 4). Viruses such as AH1N1, Swine flu or Avian flu can easily be transmitted through a hand shake. Although frequent hand washing is always advised, one cannot avoid touching door knobs, grocery carts, elevator buttons, escalator railings, train handrails or money. It has also been a common practice to cover one’s mouth with

The use of covert human information sources within an investigation Essay

The use of covert human information sources within an investigation - Essay Example CHISs use different methods of surveillance to obtain intelligence or information from the targets such as interception of their communication, communications data, or â€Å"directed and intrusive surveillance† (Freedom from Suspicion: Surveillance Reform for a Digital Age, 2011, p.18). While directed surveillance does not involve any intrusion on one’s private property, the latter involves the same and security forces may use methods such as tapping of telephone, or fitting of electronic devices etc for surveillance of the premises. Law enforcement agencies also use technology for collecting intelligence from their sources or targets. However, when a suspect is not actually involved in any complicity, the security forces come under criticism for violation of privacy. Human beings must have the right to privacy and it is in the â€Å"collective interest† of all citizens to maintain a â€Å"society in which personal privacy is protected† (p.20). Therefore, the governments of nations have a responsibility to ensure that only in cases where the national security has a chance of being breached, they should endorse the use of CHIS. In the modern world, criminal activities, especially terrorism, have risen to such a high magnitude that countries are forced to implement stringent preventive policies for maintaining law and order. Under the scenario, the deployment of CHIS to obtain relevant intelligence has assumed considerable priority. This is especially relevant in the case of countries like the US, UK, India etc, which are prime targets for terrorist groups as can be evidenced from the WTC, London Bombings and Mumbai terror strikes.... In the modern world, criminal activities, especially terrorism, have risen to such a high magnitude that countries are forced to implement stringent preventive policies for maintaining law and order. Under the scenario, the deployment of CHIS to obtain relevant intelligence has assumed considerable priority. This is especially relevant in the case of countries like the US, UK, India etc, which are prime targets for terrorist groups as can be evidenced from the WTC, London Bombings, and Mumbai terror strikes. On the other hand, as stated earlier, countries also have a responsibility to ensure that the right to privacy of their citizens remains protected and no unwarranted intrusions occur on their private property or persons. Therefore, national governments in these countries need to exercise utmost discretion while deploying CHIS for obtaining intelligence. On the other hand, the United Arab Emirates, a country in the Middle East, constitutionally protects prohibits any â€Å"arbitr ary interference with privacy, family, home or correspondence† of their citizens.

WorldCom Essay Example for Free

WorldCom Essay This paper explores the Accounting fraud that took place at WorldCom. Three aspects of the corporate culture are discussed including WorldCom’s harsh top-down management approach, the lack of written rules or a code of conduct, and the inaccessibility of many of WorldCom’s departments. The CEO’s desire to be the #1 stock on Wall Street is also discussed. WorldCom’s inappropriate booking and releasing of accruals is explored and proper accrual accounting procedures are stated. Three aspects of whistleblowing are discussed, including saving a company from a destructive end, facing public reprisal, and potential legal effects. Arthur Andersen is then used to explore the credibility of the Accounting profession when corporate fraud is unveiled. Keywords: WorldCom, fraud, accruals, whistleblowing WorldCom The corporate culture at WorldCom was one that was very loose. Although several factors contributed to the loose and unhealthy environment at WorldCom, one of the greatest downfalls of the corporate culture was the harsh top-down management approach. Employees were advised to do as they were told without questioning management. In addition, CEO Bernard Ebbers and CFO Scott Sullivan dabbled in too many affairs that should have been handled by lower-level management. Too often they ordered overrides of basic procedures that resulted in the downfall of WorldCom. Orders were issued that resulted in the override of accounting procedures. This greatly contributed to the fraud. Another factor that contributed to the unhealthy corporate culture at WorldCom was the fact that no written rules or code of conduct existed. The CEO himself thought it was a waste of time. This paired with the harsh top-down management approach seemed to create a lack of internal control as well. There were no real company rules and managers were completely capable of overriding any rules that may have existed. The inaccessibility of other departments may have contributed to the fraud as well. With so many corporate headquarters, key personnel who may have detected the fraud sooner were not able to confirm that anything wrong was taking place. If a key manager from the finance department in Mississippi, a key manager from the human resources department in Florida, a key manager from the legal department in Washington, D. C. , and a key manager from the network operations department in Texas been together at any point in time, worked together in the same building, or even had the appropriate means to communicate (cell phones were not a hot commodity like they are today and e-mail was just starting to take flight), it is possible that WorldCom could have been saved from its fraudulent end. The CEO’s desire to be the #1 stock on Wall Street was the main source of the fraud. He was so driven to be on top that he ordered managers to engage in inappropriate accounting procedures that included maintaining a certain expense-to-revenue ratio at all costs, releasing accruals, and capitalizing expenses. Furthermore, his top leadership instructed employees about what information could and could not be disclosed with the external auditors. Employees were cursed and threatened if they disclosed anything that was perceived to be a threat to his plan of being the #1 stock on Wall Street. According to Beresford, Katzenbach, and Rogers, Jr. 2003), â€Å"WorldCom manipulated the process of adjusting accruals in three ways. First, in some cases accruals were released without any apparent analysis of whether the Company actually had excess accruals in its accounts. Thus, reported line costs were reduced (and pre-tax income increased) without any proper basis. Second, even when WorldCom had excess accruals, the Company often did not release them in the period in which they were identified. Instead, certain line cost accruals were kept as rainy day funds and released to improve reported results when managers felt they were needed. Third, WorldCom reduced reported line costs by releasing accruals that had been established for other purposes— in violation of the accounting principle that reserves created for one expense type cannot be used to offset another expense† (p. 69). According to Investopedia, â€Å"†¦economic events are recognized by matching revenues to expenses (the matching principle) at the time in which the transaction occurs rather than when payment is made (or received)† (para. 1). Thus, accruals are booked when transactions occur. Accruals are released when either payment is made or when they are evaluated and deemed to be in excess of the actual accrual. Accruals of one type should never be released to offset another type. Accruals should also be released in the period they are identified. While whistleblowing may seem like a relatively easy concept to some, it really is not. The decision between doing the easy thing and doing the right thing usually is not easy. For instance, a person could report fraudulent activity that is taking place within an organization, whether it is due to corruption, misappropriation of assets, financial statement fraud, or another type of fraud. However, such a decision could carry a great price tag. Not only could it lead to the complete destruction of a company, but it could cost other employees their benefits, their retirements, and their jobs. One of the pros of whistleblowing is the fact that a company could be saved from certain destruction, as in the case of WorldCom. It is possible that the sooner fraudulent activity is reported, the less negative the outcome could be. However, whistleblowers are often perceived as tattle tales and snitches and sometimes face public reprisal, as was the case with WorldCom’s Cynthia Cooper. Another downside is the potential legal effects of whistleblowing. According to Wikipedia, â€Å"†¦most whistleblower protection laws provide for limited make whole remedies or damages for employment losses if whistleblower retaliation is proven. However, many whistleblowers report there exists a widespread shoot the messenger mentality by corporations or government agencies accused of misconduct and in some cases whistleblowers have been subjected to criminal prosecution in reprisal for reporting wrongdoing† (Common Reactions section, 4). The consequences of whistleblowing may prove to be steep. The credibility of the Accounting profession is put in jeopardy when corporate fraud is unveiled. As a result of the WorldCom fraud, Arthur Andersen was ordered to cease practicing before the Security and Exchange Commission by August 31, 2002. According to Wikipedia, â€Å"†¦the damage to the Andersen name was so severe that as of 2010[update], it has not returned as a viable business even on a limited scale. There are over 100 civil suits pending against the firm related to its audits of Enron and other companies. In addition, its reputation was so badly tarnished that no company wanted Andersens name on an audit. Even before voluntarily surrendering its right to practice before the SEC, it had many of its state licenses revoked† (Demise section, 1). As stated by Charles Niemeier (2001), â€Å"A loss of confidence can cause even a company with solid core operations to fail. That is because the negative impact of a lack of credibility can be far greater than the sum of the misstatements in the financials† (The Dangers of Smoothing section, 7). References http://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/accrualaccounting.asp http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Andersen http://fl1.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/wsj/docs/worldcom/bdspcomm60903rpt.pdf http://www.sec.gov/news/speech/spch529.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistleblower

Backgroud of Malaysia Airlines Essay Example for Free

Backgroud of Malaysia Airlines Essay Malaysia Airlines System Berhad is also known as MAS in short. MAS is founded in 1947 as Malayan Airways, but it has change its name as Malaysian Airline System in 1 October 1972 .MAS is the flag carrier which is own by government of Malaysia. MAS headquarters is situated at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Selangor. MAS operates flights at its first base in Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and secondary base in Kota Kinabalu. Malaysian Airlines System Berhad is the holding company for Malaysia ¶s national airlines carrier, one of the fastest growing airlines in Asia. Malaysia Airlines has two airline subsidiaries, which is Firefly MASwings. Firefly operates scheduled flights from its two home bases Penang International Airport and Subang International Airport. The airlines focuses on tertiary cities although has recently launched services to Borneo from KualaLumpur International Airport. MASwings focuses or inter-Borneo flights. Malaysia Airlines has a freighter fleet operated by MASKargo, which managers freighter flights and aircraft cargo-hold capacity for all Malaysia Airlines passenger flights. MAS are using this type of craft Airbus A330-200 and A330-300. Boeing 737-400, 800 and400/400. Malaysia Airlines operates a fleet of aircraft with two cabin configurations. Malaysia Airlines B777-200ER fleet has a two configuration which is Golden Club Class and Economy Class. Its B747-400 fleet has a three-cabin configuration, also including First Class. Malaysia Airlines premium cabins and Economy Class have been giving numerous awards for excellence in product and service delivery. From a small air service, Malaysia airlines have grown to become award-winning airline with more than 1000 aircraft, servicing more than 110 destinations across six continents. Malaysia Airlines also practiced the online booking and buying to make their reservation or purchasing way easier for passenger. With this online purchasing, the passengers need to fulfill their details like the destination they want to go and the departure place they want. The payment will settling via the online banking. Internet user can book their air ticket, hotel, and train ticket and rent car via Malaysia Airlines Website.

Consumer Decision Making Model

Consumer Decision Making Model The consumers decision making model deals with the process of consumer decision making. This model consists of three stages the Input stage; the Process stage and the out put stage. The input stage can be broadly categorized into Firms efforts and Socio-cultural Environment. The firms efforts relate to the firms marketing mix, i.e. Product, Promotion, Price, Channels of Distribution, People and Physical evidence. This stage involves the activities the firm undergoes to sell their products. Socio-cultural environment on the other hand is the environment of friends, family, society, culture and sub culture that surround a consumer. The input stage affects a consumers decision making. The decision-making is the second stage called process. In this stage the consumer does him pre-purchase research and evaluation based on the firms efforts and socio-cultural environment. The firms efforts and socio-cultural environment influence a consumers psychological field. The psychological field consists of Motivation, Perception, Learning, Attitude and Personality of a consumer. This stage also evaluates the past experience of the consumer. The final stage in the consumer decision-making is the Output stage. This stage is concerned with the actual purchase, repurchase and the purchase evauation. Cognitive View Cognitive View explains decision making from the thinking problem solvers perspective. According to Cognitive view, decision-making is an emotional or reasoning process, which can be rational or irrational and can be based on explicit assumptions or tacit assumptions. The most important characteristic of this view is that, a consumer is in pursuit of information until a satisfactory solution is found. Once the satisfactory solution is found, the process of collecting information is terminated. Problem solving view defines a consumer who lies between the two extremes of passive and economic view. It is believed that a consumer cannot have all the knowledge of all the alternative products. Hence the consumers decisions are not perfect. But nevertheless the consumer actively seeks information and attempts to make satisfactory decision. In a cognitive view, the consumer has a predefined goal. The next step is action plan or way to achieve the goal. The third step is implementation of this action plan and controlling it. The final step is attainment or failure of Goal. Consumer Decision Making and Cognitive Learning. As defined earlier, the first step in any decision-making is a need reorganization or goal. A consumers cognitive learning is related to pre-purchase search and evaluation of alternatives. For example, if a person is looking to buy a car he will first decide what features does he want in his vehicle. Whether his first preference is safety or performance. Based on this evaluation he will evaluate various car models available in the market. The consumers psychological field will come into play once he has identified his goal. The cognitive learning combined with attitude, personality and previously will form a perception in a consumers mind. This perception will thus motivate a consumer make a purchase decision. Marketers Efforts A firms marketing efforts play a very important role in influencing cognitive learning process. Over the years the marketers has provided the consumers with information to make them believe that they have sufficient knowledge and thus spur the decision making process. The best example of this can be seen as the Free or Sale adverts. These adverts convey that something is free or there is a sale on. This Free or Sale sticker on the window display of store is enough to attract the consumers inside the store. Marketers have used Promotional Model and Diffusion of Innovation to influence the consumers cognitive learning. The promotional model focuses on Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. The Sale sign is to attract the costumers attention. Up to 50% off written under the sale sign is to create interest. Store design and reduced prices to instigate the desire and marketing campaign to cause Action. There is silent need of a consumer to buy clothes. The moment the consumer comes across the Sale sign, the final piece of information is received that instigates action. The marketers over time introduce new technology and new products, using the Innovation Diffusion, to affect the persons cognitive learning and thus drive sales. Various automotive companies use the cognitive model to understand their customer and hence sell their cars. The purchases such as cars, which are expensive, are generally well thought out. The customers generally do a through pre-purchase research and evaluate their alternatives before making the purchase. Hence to attract these customers, the marketers promote their products with test drives, and other adverts that focus mainly on the features of the vehicles. Hierarchy of Needs It can be argued that people looking to satisfying self-actualization need may need complete information about a product. Their cognitive learning process may vary from that of those aiming to satisfying physiological, safety, social and esteem needs. But nevertheless, cognitive learning is ideal for satisfying every need on Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. The degree of information gathered might vary, but learning and information processing will be constant at each level. Passive View Passive view believes that can be manipulated by self-serving interests and promotional efforts of the marketers. To a certain extent this model can be believed to be true. But the passive model does not recognize that a consumer plays an equal role in making the purchase decision. The consumer does make pre-purchase search and evaluation before buying goods. This model can be applicable in case of B2C where the customer is absolutely unaware of good and the marketer is in position to manipulate the consumers. This is mainly evident in case of tourists. Local sellers and marketers in many places often manipulate tourists. Since the tourists have very little market and product knowledge, sales people can manipulate them. In case of B2B application of passive model is highly debatable, as business men and companies generally go through a through research and back ground check before buying their desired products. There are of course certain extra-ordinary incidents, when due to lack of time or resources B2B buyers can also be manipulated. Consumer Decision Making and Passive View In the passive view model the marketers generally use their marketing mix to influence the consumers perception, personality, learning, attitude and motivate the consumer to buy the product. Innovation Acceptance Model and Innovation Decision Model are being effectively used to influence the consumers psychological field and hence instigate the consumer to buy a particular product. Marketers Efforts Apple Inc for example, have been using the Passive view combined with the Innovation Diffusion to sale their products. They came up with Ipad in 2010 and with extensive and unique marketing mix managed to sell it well, now as of 24th March 2011; people are already queuing for the Ipad 2. It is nothing but belief in the passive model that is driving the sale of various electronic innovations in todays world. There are various other companies that make an effective use of passive view. The most notable among these are the high street fashion design labels. These retailer introduce their seasonal fashion, they popularize it using their extensive marketing campaign and sell them successfully at a profit. Louis Vuitton for example have been following a concept of retro marketing and selling their products to the customers at a high price and particular trademark design. Economic View Economic view believes in a world of perfect competition, where consumers make rational decisions all the time. In the true sense of the world this model is inappropriate as there can never be a situation of perfect competition. Besides it is also not possible for the consumer to make rational decisions all the time. Because for making rational decisions a consumer will have to be aware of all the products in the market, all possible alternatives and their features. Having all this information is literally impossible in todays fast changing world. Consumer Decision Making and Economic view The consumers economic decisions are mainly influenced by their needs, attitude, personality, cultural environment, and marketers efforts. The economists believe that the decline in price of a product will increase the demand. It is not always true. The consumers consider the price as something they have to give up for the product. So the decision depends on the need for the product. Maslows hierarchy of needs depict the security and psychological needs as a set of desires which forces buyers to focus more on food, shelter, family and safety rather than price. The attitude and personality also come into action during the decision making process. This has been clearly reflected in Maslows esteem needs. The economic view of a buyer with an attitude of self respect and esteem concentrate on their possessions. And the spotlight on the product and not the price influences their decisions. For instance, buying premium range clothes boasts the buyers esteem and attention from others. Consumers with this attitude may fall under the category of materialistic people. The economic view of a buyer depends on their personality of seeking for the potential and value of the product. Buyers satisfy their actualization needs by comparing price and quality of the product with the available alternatives. The psychological traits sets the The cross-cultural analysis reveals the fact that the benefits of products or services consumed differ from one country to another. For instance, possessing premium cars in Africa portrays ones esteem in the society. The marketers still consider that the consumers economic vision towards a product has little real life application. It is unlikely that the consumer will be aware of the knowledge of all the alternatives. The consumer with an economic view conducts an extensive decision making through comparing. So the marketers come up with tactical pricing strategies illustrating discounts and offers to motivate the stimuli of the consumers effectively. However, in B2B market it is different. The business markets have well-organized resources to attain the knowledge and the potential of the products and services. Marketers Efforts Various marketers have been using the low pricing and the economic view to attract their target market and thus increase their sales. The Pound stores in the UK and Dollar Stores in the United States of America are the examples of use of economic model. Various and frequent sales and low pricing offers by the companies to increase their sales are also examples of economic view. Primark would be an ideal example of a company that tries to make best of the economic view model. The company sells its merchandize at prices, which are lowest in the market. The quality of the products though, is not as good as other in the same market. Emotional View Emotional view believes in targeting emotions and impulse of the consumers. This view believes that there are certain feelings or emotions like joy, love fear fantasy etc attached to every purchase of the consumers A consumers is less likely to do pre-purchase evaluation and search before emotional purchase. Consumer Decision Making and Emotional View An emotional view model deals with the personality and attitude of the consumer. The emotions of a consumer attached to a particular product motivate the consumer to make a particular decision. Over the years the marketers have used emotions in the their adverts and marketing campaign to influence the personality and the attitude of the consumer. Marketers Efforts Over the years football clubs have sold their merchandize on the basis of the emotional view. The various holiday packages use emotions to attract the customers. My real-estate seller promote their homes and other properties with a tag line Your Home etc just to attract the emotional aspect to their product. The Body Shop has been using the emotional model attract its consumers. The company portrayed itself as more humanitarian than the others in the same industry, by campaigning against animal testing. Marketers have also been doing various other things with the physical evidence of their stores to attract the emotional feel. In Tesco, there is a scent of fresh bread in the bakery section. The All Saints have designed their stores with a display of old sewing machines and other cloths manufacturing goods of the old times. Hierarchy of Needs The emotional view is about satisfying the self-actualization need of the customer. It is more about doing things or buying things to feel good. But it can be argued that emotional views are also about fulfilling social and esteem needs to a certain extent. Relevance of the above views There have been various criticisms of the economic and the passive view models. These models are extremely opposite of each other. The economic model believes in the existence of perfect competition and the notion that every consumer is fully aware of all the products and their features in the markets. Whereas the passive view model believes that a consumer is fully submissive to the manipulations of the marketers and has not dominance of his own. In true sense of the world both these believes are baseless and surreal. But their presence in the world is possible in certain scenarios. The relevance of the cognitive and emotional models is justifiable. As consumers do tend to make pre-purchase evaluation as well as make decisions based on impulse and emotions. Hence the marketer should use the combination of both cognitive and emotional views to market their products. Alternative theories Freudian Freudian theory believes that an individuals personality is formed as she or he passes through various stages of infant and adulthood. It believes that consumers are initially unaware of the true reasons for buying what they buy. Freud proposed that an individuals personality consists of three interacting systems: Id, superego and ego. Ids are the primitive or the impulsive drives and include physiological needs. Superego is the individuals internal expression of societys moral and ethical code of conduct. Ego is the individuals self-conscience. These factors affect an individuals personality and hence influence his or her purchase decision-making. Neo Freudian Neo Freudian theory believes social relationships are fundamental to formation and development of personality. This theory has divided the individuals personality into three categories, i.e., compliant, aggressive and detached. The individuals with this kind of personality have different purchasing habits and behavior. Traits Theory Trait is any distinct and relatively enduring way in which an individual differs from other individuals. This theory believe that an individuals specific characteristics affect his decision making process. For example, a confident individual is more likely to buy a newly introduced product than a conservative product Marketers Efforts Marketers have used various creative adverts to attract these personality adverts. Nissans tag line Enjoy the ride is targeted toward safety conscious individuals. Nikes Just do it is targeted toward impulsive personality, whereas Mountain Dews Do the Dew marketing campaign is targeted toward the adventurous people. Conclusion There are various factors that affect a consumer, while making a purchase decision. These decisions can be rational or irrational, economy driven or emotion driven. But all these decisions are influence by a consumers motivation, perception, learning, attitude and personality. This in turn is affected by the research and evaluation of the consumer. And all these factors are further influenced by the marketing communication of the firm.

The Truth about the Morning-After Pill :: Birth Control Pregnancy Papers

The Truth about the Morning-After Pill During her freshman year at Northeastern University, 19-year-old Jennifer Grant* thought college was just about doing minimal homework, going to parties, and meeting new people. She looked forward to every weekend when she was invited to parties with upperclassmen. Sadly, her world fell apart when she was raped by another student who was an acquaintance. Scared and confused from the experience, she turned to her friends for help. â€Å"They mentioned rumors of this ‘morning-after’ pill that would help you from getting pregnant,† Grant said. She wanted to go to the Lane Health Center, but it was Sunday and she knew it was closed. She looked on the Internet for information on what she thought was a â€Å"magic pill† and discovered she could still take it two days later. On Monday, she walked into the Lane Health Center and after waiting a few minutes, she was assisted by a nurse. After she nervously explained what had happened, she said she was given a survey that contained a series of medical questions. In addition to the emergency contraception pill, a pregnancy test was administered and she was tested for sexually transmitted diseases. "They did everything they could to help me and make me feel comfortable,† Grant said. â€Å"The only thing on my mind was, ‘I can’t get pregnant!’† The emergency contraception pill (ECP), most commonly known as â€Å"the morning-after pill,† is a back-up birth control method that is used after unprotected sex, contraceptive failure, or rape. It prevents pregnancy from occurring, however, it is not a method for abortion nor does it protect against sexually transmitted diseases. ECPs do not necessarily need to be taken the â€Å"morning-after.† They can be taken up to 120 hours after unprotected sex but the sooner it is taken, the more effective it is. According to Pamela Harris, the Health Promotion & Planning Coordinator at Lane Health Center, if it is taken within the first 72 hours after unprotected sex, the risk of pregnancy is reduced to a 15 percent to 25 percent chance. There are several different kinds of ECPs available. The most commonly used is Plan B. At Lane Health Center, Ovral, Lo-Ovral, and Levlen are other kinds of ECPs that are provided. ECPs are easy to use and are orally ingested. With Plan B, two doses are taken; one as soon as possible and the other about 12 hours later.

Jonah Lamu :: Art

Jonah Lamu His favourite show is the Simpson’s. He's the most intimidating player for rugby's most intimidating team. He is Jonah Lomu of the mighty New Zealand All Blacks. He's 6'5, 250 pounds and can run the 100 meter dash in 10.8 seconds. Combine that with his amazing ball skills and his mind-boggling ability to break tackles and you have the world's greatest rugby player - hands down. Jonah was born in Auckland, New Zealand on May 12, 1975. He began playing rugby during school and quickly became known for his speed and strength. When he moved on to high school he played forward and was his team's top scorer. At 19, he became the youngest player to ever put on an All-Blacks uniform when he suited up for New Zealand in a game against France. Jonah's career took off from there. At the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, Jonah was named player of the tournament as he led the All Blacks to the World Cup. In the semi-finals, Jonah was a one man wrecking crew - scoring four tries against England. Jonah had made a name for himself as the world's best rugby player. His success at the World cups also made Jonah a very rich guy. He was offered serious money to play rugby in England and was even asked to play football in the NFL. Jonah turned those offers down to keep playing the sport in New Zealand. But the big giant's career took a turn for the worst in 1996. Doctors told him he had a rare and serious kidney disorder. Jonah had to take nearly a full year off from the game. He wasn't able to play rugby because of the drugs he was taking to fight the illness. Jonah smashing Australia By 1998, Jonah was back with the All Blacks and wrecking havoc on the opposition. His team was defeated in the semi-finals of the 1999 World Cup but Jonah still showed the world he was the best player around. He's now focusing his efforts on preparing for the 2003 World Cup of Rugby, which will be held in New Zealand and Australia. Jonah's Jamming' Jonah has New Zealand's loudest car stereo. His Nissan Patrol pumps out his favorite tunes like Janet Jackson and Naughty By Nature at nearly 160 decibels. Jonah Lamu :: Art Jonah Lamu His favourite show is the Simpson’s. He's the most intimidating player for rugby's most intimidating team. He is Jonah Lomu of the mighty New Zealand All Blacks. He's 6'5, 250 pounds and can run the 100 meter dash in 10.8 seconds. Combine that with his amazing ball skills and his mind-boggling ability to break tackles and you have the world's greatest rugby player - hands down. Jonah was born in Auckland, New Zealand on May 12, 1975. He began playing rugby during school and quickly became known for his speed and strength. When he moved on to high school he played forward and was his team's top scorer. At 19, he became the youngest player to ever put on an All-Blacks uniform when he suited up for New Zealand in a game against France. Jonah's career took off from there. At the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, Jonah was named player of the tournament as he led the All Blacks to the World Cup. In the semi-finals, Jonah was a one man wrecking crew - scoring four tries against England. Jonah had made a name for himself as the world's best rugby player. His success at the World cups also made Jonah a very rich guy. He was offered serious money to play rugby in England and was even asked to play football in the NFL. Jonah turned those offers down to keep playing the sport in New Zealand. But the big giant's career took a turn for the worst in 1996. Doctors told him he had a rare and serious kidney disorder. Jonah had to take nearly a full year off from the game. He wasn't able to play rugby because of the drugs he was taking to fight the illness. Jonah smashing Australia By 1998, Jonah was back with the All Blacks and wrecking havoc on the opposition. His team was defeated in the semi-finals of the 1999 World Cup but Jonah still showed the world he was the best player around. He's now focusing his efforts on preparing for the 2003 World Cup of Rugby, which will be held in New Zealand and Australia. Jonah's Jamming' Jonah has New Zealand's loudest car stereo. His Nissan Patrol pumps out his favorite tunes like Janet Jackson and Naughty By Nature at nearly 160 decibels.

The Health Benefits of Exercise :: Physical Exercise Fitness Health

Exercise is important for many reasons. If you do not exercise your body you will eventually loose it. Your body will become weak and you will loose muscle tone. Your organs won't function properly. Doing a few simple exercises each day will not only keep you fit but will also tone your body. Exercising for at least 30 minutes a day will improve your overall health. Not only does exercise help your body, it helps cleanse your mind. The good news is that you do not have to spend money to join a gym. You can achieve the benefits of exercise in the comfort of your own home. Yoga The word yoga originates from the Yuj which is a Sanskrit word meaning to join. It indicates joining all aspects of the human being. It unites the body with the mind and soul to bring fourth a joyful, balanced and useful life. Yoga spiritually combines the person with the principle. Research show that practicing yoga helps control anxiety, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, diabetes, stress, and more. Physically, yoga can increase your flexibility and strength. It can also improve your posture. Yoga – Information on the benefits of yoga and different beginner exercises to try. The Secrets of Yoga - Information on the different positions of yoga. Yoga, As a Lifestyle – A guide on everything you need to know about yoga. 10 Ways Yoga Can Improve Your Life- The different ways that yoga can improve your life. Some Important Aspects of Yoga – The different aspects of yoga such as Hatha Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Raja Yoga. Yoga:Tap into the Many Health Benefits of Yoga – Information on how yoga can help minimize chronic stress. Videos: Yoga – Learn yoga poses and positions. The Yoga Workout for Flat Abs – Yoga exercises that work your abs and heal your body making you feel relaxed. Pilates A system of the of the mind-body exercises are known as Pilates. Pilates were brought fourth by a man named Joseph Palates. Pilates can change the way your mind and body feel by building strength without developing mass, composing a smooth toned body with a flat stomach and slender thighs. Pilates help get your mind in tune with your body. The exercise focuses on proper breathing and helps correct spinal and pelvic alignment. Breathing properly is vital to achieve different movement and power while exercising. Pilates require concentration which allows your body move in a continuous and gentle flow.

Narrative and Narration Essay

Narrative and narration in films are the way in which the audience follows the plot. The difference between narrative and narration is only really clear when both are understood properly. Narrative is basically the way we see all the events in a film unfold. E.g. ‘Blair Witch Project’. A group of film students go into the woods to film a documentary about the myth of the Blair Witch. What we see is the people film everything that they do. We see (in a nutshell) them get lost, get scared and then looking at a wall. Narration is the process through which a film conveys or withholds narrative information, the way the story is told. Narration concerns the actual arrangement and presentation of the story in the film, the way the film distributes story information in order to achieve specific effects. E.g. in the ‘Blair Witch Project’ the story conveys the idea that there is ‘something’ out there, but it withholds all the information on the thing by never showing anything out of the ordinary. Once these two are understood we have to look into the two other effects to do with narration. These two are omniscient and restricted narration. Omniscient narration is where the audience is subjected to information from many sources such as ‘Lock Stock and two Smoking Barrels’. The film switches from one character to the next all the time, thus we never get to know one character more that any other. Plus it gives the audience more information than any of the characters, so we have an advantage over them all, which creates a feeling of suspense because the viewer is on the edge of their seat wondering if a certain character will find out a specific piece of information. Restricted narrative is where the film conveys the narrative to the viewer via one character. E.g. ‘Get Carter’. In this film we get almost all of the information from Jack Carter. He is in almost every scene. The advantage of this is that you know everything Jack knows, also everything that he doesn’t know. This is used in the British gangster genre film because is ads mystery to the question what will happen to our man (Jack  Carter) next. Tzvetan Todorov’s theory of narrative structure is a very simple way of explaining filmic narrative. The following is a point from the theory followed by an example of this from the film ‘Armageddon’. â€Å"A state of equilibrium†. Everything in the world is fine. People getting on with their run of the mill lives. The main star is seen grafting on an oil rig. â€Å"A disturbance of that order by an event†. NASA discover a big ass rock coming to earth at an enormous speed. We also see New York get hit by a meteor storm which emphasises the enormity of this event because the rock was able to squash such big and strong city like New York. â€Å"A recognition that the disorder has occurred†. NASA devises a plot to stop the rock ending all life on Earth, by sending a bunch of drillers to land on it, dig a hole, set of a nuclear bomb and come home heroes. â€Å"A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium†. The rock is blown to shreds and th e world is saved, so that now everyone can continue grafting for pittance just like before. The new equilibrium is emphasised by the shot of the wedding at the end with the photo of the people who died during this event, so there is less characters so its different from the original equilibrium. This new equilibrium is necessary or otherwise there would be no difference between the start and the end of the film so it would be pointless to watch it if nothing interesting has happened in the main event. So when a film is viewed in this way we get a better understanding of the plot because we realise that its not a straight linear concept, but a circular one. Otherwise how do we get back to the equilibrium if it goes straight. But it can also be argued that it is not a circular process because its not going back to a equilibrium like before but back to a new equilibrium so effectively its going in a linear structure. The narrative in the film is driven by attempts to restore equilibrium. But Todorov’s theory does not end there. Oh no. Todorov also argues that narrative involves a transformation. The characters or the situations are transformed through the progress of the disruption. E.g. Halloween. In this film Laurie Strode starts out as a geeky teenager who is more concerned with her lessons than boys. â€Å"Shit, what, I forgot my chemistry book†. â€Å"Hey Laurie I just got you a date with that boy you like. Oh no please tell me you didn’t. I sure did. OK th en you gotta ring him on  the morning and cancel the whole thing†. But then at the end of the story (which concludes at the end of the sequel Halloween 2) she is a much stronger character. This is emphasised with the character in Halloween H20 where we see how much she has moved on from geeky teenager to a confident, strong, energetic mum. Vladimir Propp believes that the characters in a film have a narrative function in the text. Characters are there to help provide a structure for the text. He found eight basic characters who perform a certain function. Following are the eight characters and with examples of their counterparts in some famous films. The HERO. In ‘The Matrix’ Neo is the person who on a quest for something gets drawn into a world of UN-reality and comes out the unlikely hero after being trained to realise the truth. This is a common action/thriller genre film technique, because it helps the audience feel related in a way to the hero because you realise that it could happen to anyone of us. This is used in ‘Enemy of the State’. Will Smith is the usual nothing and ends up learning how to outsmart the American Government, which are so hard to outsmart apparently. The VILLAIN. In Halloween the villain is the maniac killer Michael Myers. As with most horror films at least the villai n (a killer more times than not) is a psychopath. E.g. ‘Friday the 13th’, Mrs Voorhees is the shock killer, her son was killed in the opening of the film. ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’. Freddie Kruger is the mysterious killer who slashes people up in their sleep. In ‘Night of the Living Dead’ zombies are the weird dead things that try and kill everyone. In ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ its a family of freaks that lure people in and then kill’em. These are the films that scare people. The Villains that shock people are the ones that you cant see. Such as the devil in ‘The Exorcist’ or the witch in ‘The Blair Witch Project’. The reason why the films worked was because the viewer was taken into a world of un-reality and this scared people. It let them be witness to what reality would be like in a unreal society. But more recent horror attempts such as the ‘Scream’ trilogy and ‘Children of the Corn’ use real people as the freaks who go on killing sprees. This kind of film scared film fans because it gave the impression that anyone can turn into homicidal maniacs. These film’s wer e not as praised as the old fashioned films by big horror fans such as myself because  it tries to play the audience into believe something which is already happening in the world, whereas most people go to see films to get away from reality, the new sort of horror film just shows you real life situations. The DONOR. In my view the donor in 90% of films is the narrative. The reason being that in most films the plot is for the good guy to defeat the bad guy. This can be by arresting them, killing them etc., but it doesn’t really matter. The donor provides the object for the hero to go for, or the heroes goal, and this in most films is the neutralisation or stopping of the bad guy. So when looked at like this we see that its the films presentation that provides the goal for the hero. The DISPATCHER. The dispatcher in a film is the person who sends the hero on their way. In the film ‘The Lion King’ the dispatchers are Nala and Moustapha. The reason why it’s these two is because they persuade Simba to go after Scar and regain his kingdom as the king. These are one of the key characters in the story because if it wasn’t for them the hero would no nothing to try and fix the situation. The FALSE HERO. The false hero in the film ‘The World Is Not Enough’ is the character Electra. She appears to be on the side of the hero (James Bond) but then turns against him. She provides him and M with informati on that appears helpful to their cause but we then realise that its part of a trap, between her and the bad guy. This character is very important to the flow of a film because it provides the viewer with a reason to then go on and hate that character, because we relate to the hero and as that person has screwed the hero we therefore feel that she has screwed us to. So in a way it personalises the character with the audience. The HELPER. The helper in a film is the person that seems knowledgeable in a certain aspect of the plot and then goes onto help the hero. The helper in ‘Halloween’ is Sam Loomis. This character is usually a person who for some reason knows the actions of the bad guy. In the case of Sam Loomis he is the doctor of Michael Myers. This helps him know what the killer will do next. He tells the sheriff that the killer will return to Haddonfield to try and kill his one surviving relative Laurie Strode. If it wasn’t for this character the hero would have no chance of stopping the bad guy because he knows absolutely nothing about it. Its also the same in ‘E nemy of the State’. The helper Gene Hackman (Brill) is the person who knows all about surveillance, the US governments capabilities, so therefore can help the hero (Will Smith) overcome the  challenge that the narrative of the film has set out. The PRINCESS. The princess in a film is the sexual reward for the heroes good work. The princess in ‘Armageddon’ is played by Liv Tyler and is the reward for the partial hero’s (Ben Afflleck) hard work in saving the planet from total destruction. The princess character is very important to the conclusion if the film because it is possible for the men to relate to it. The way is that the typical family picture in the world today still is that man goes out to work, women cleans the house and kids go to school. The man comes home from work and gets some sex for all his work, just like the hero in the film. Also like in ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’, Angelina Jolie is the reward for Nicholas Cage’s efforts at stealing 50 cars in one night. The FATHER. The father in ‘Armageddon’ again is Bruce Willis. The role of the father is to reward the hero for a job well done. In ‘Armageddon’ the reward for good work is being able to live with the fathers daughter, because the father rewards him for good work by staying on the rock and choosing to die himself. The father in the film also acts as the man with all the knowledge that holds the group together. In ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’ the father Auto (Robert Duval) acts as the all powerful, all knowledgeable person who’s been there before and therefore is the person who can guide all the younger ones in the right direction. All of these eight points of characters carry the film. Not just one but all of them. When looked at in greater detail Propp’s theory we realise that its the way we sub-consciously look at the characters that makes the viewer thank anything of a certain film. In conclusion narrative and narration are the key elements that make a film what it is. All the above theories are vital, when it comes to reading a film in detail. These theories are useful because they make us view the film in a different way than you normally would. They help you to understand what the importance of certain characters and effects are. They help the viewer view key elements in totally different ways and to understand them in a much deeper detail than before. E.g. When I first saw ‘Halloween’ I saw Sam Loomis as an old doctor who seems a bit crazy upstairs. I thought his importance in the film was minimal and that he was only there to involve a British dude; and now when I watch the film I can realise how important his character is to Laurie Strodes quest to kill the Shape. If it was not for  him no one would have any idea of his intentions and that he would return to Haddonfield. So basically you’re decision as to weather you like a film or not can be identified by breaking down the certain aspects of a film down into questions. I.e. How do the films narrative functions effect you’re overall perception of the film.? How does the films narration effect the way you perceive the film. When you look at Todorov’s theory of narrative structure how does your view of the film change from the one you had of it before you compared it to the points Todorov makes in his theory? How does Propp’s theory of characters and narrative function make you look at the characters when you also look at the eight points outlined in his theory? All this along with all the stuff to do with camera movement, use of sound, use of lighting, use of Mise-en-scene and the way the plot is portrayed all help you understand a film in a deeper way than before.

Stranded

It has been three months on this island and no sign of human kind other than my sister and L every day is a challenge between shelter and food Saftey isn't even a factor in this situation it really is a great challenge. We are currently located at a abandoned ship beeched near some rocks. There were a couple of supplies we gathered along the was such as bottles, containers, planks and more. Saphlre my sister gashed her leg while searching for fich on a sea shell It has begun toget Infected, we are hoping to find some medical supplies on the ship. so have begun doing everything around here.The food situation Is not well. Its beginning to get chilly Inwlch the flsh are not near shore and the frlut is gone. we have nothing but small creatures to catch and eat. I have been hunting often attempting to find something larger but not succeeding. I don't know how long we can live In this type of situation. The weather patterns are so different since the war the Island should not be getting co ld. The seasons are rapidly changing and It Is maklng things harder and us weaker. It has been a week since her leg Injury and 1m beginning to worry. I can see the pain in her eyes.It is a struggle tor her to even speak im hoping she will survive. Hope is all that is left. have made the decision it we dont tind a new shelter we have no chance. have been working on a ratt and have gathered enough tood. We will be leaving tor sea in the early morning. My sister needs help. I have been placing maggots on her open wound and attempting to keep it clean that's all I can offer. Were on our way! just got us going, Hoping we will find land soon. packed enough food for two weeks, and enough water for three. Im hoping we find land before we run out.

How does Shakespeare present Ophelia Essay

In â€Å"Hamlet† Shakespeare presents Ophelia as a helpless girl, who is continually manipulated by the men around her for their own gain. In many of his other plays the women are presented as strong and admirable people who play major roles in the live of the protagonist, such as Lady Macbeth in â€Å"Macbeth. † In Hamlet, however, Ophelia becomes a very different role-she is conveyed as a lesser to the men around her. She is continually manipulated by her father, Polonius, her brother, Larertes and Hamlet, the supposed love of her life. Her sweet and innocent nature results in her becoming dependent on the man in her life to tell her how to behave. Hamlet shows a very different style in Shakespeare writing, no longer is the women controversially given respect by the male character, but is instead shown in a more traditional mere pawn for their fathers, brothers and lovers. Ophelia’s relationship with her father is less then the traditional intimate one expected. Instead it shows a controlling man, obsessed with what others think, and a daughter respectful of her fathers wises. Polonius becomes convinced that Ophelia’s relationship with Hamlet will result in the diminish of his families honour, and to him, the respect others have for his families reputation is very important. He thus begins to pressurise Ophelia into breaking off any understanding between herself and Hamlet. Shakespeare uses these characters and their interaction to present a more traditional view of how a woman should act toward the men in their lives during this time period. I personally do not see her as a week character, but instead see her as a women with no other choice than to respect and obey the man who has looked after her all her life. Their relationship is a cold one, with little compassion between the two, but apparent respect on Ophelia’s behalf. Her brother too becomes set against her love for Hamlet, believing that she will ruin herself for Hamlet, yet he will never actually marry her, due to her lower social standing. During the actual play, Larertes is the only man who conveys to her that he actually cares for her, but we can see clearly that he believes her continuous open regard for Hamlet will reduce their family’s nobility. He too adds to the pressure put on her to distance herself from Hamlet. Hamlets strategic plans towards Ophelia are probably the most conniving and vicious. He not only manipulates her constant love for him, but also toys with her emotions throughout, making her play exactly how he wants. He uses the courts knowledge of his relationship with Ophelia to get deeper involved in his plot to avenge his father and kill the king. He evolves Polonius’ theory that Hamlet is mad with love for Ophelia. When she returns Hamlets love letters and other tokens of his affections in act III scene I, Hamlet seizes this moment to cement the beginning of her descend into madness in both Ophelia’s eyes and in Polonius’ and Claudius’ as Hamlet is aware they are watching this encounter between the two ex-lovers. He appears troubled and hysterical as he denies giving her anything and laments the dishonesty of beauty. Confusingly, he claims to both have loved, and never loved her. As he leaves she mourns the â€Å"noble mind† that has now lapsed into apparent madness. Hamlet believes that by hearing this fight between Ophelia and himself, Polonius and Claudius will think he is now crazy and thus not fear him, making Claudius more vulnerable. Hamlet, Polonius and Larertes all put pressure on her to do what they want, they all use her to gain themselves and they all have little regard for her genuine love for Hamlet. Her heart begins to dictate over her head and as a result of being caught in the crossfire of all the men in her life; Ophelia goes crazy, unable to cope with the stress and contradiction. Finally, she kills herself finding no place in the situation for her own feelings. Hamlet is the least idealistic of Shakespeare’s plays, with women being presented in a more realistic view, rather than an idealistic outlook on society where women have more control over their lives and aren’t controlled by the men around them. Ophelia is presented in a more traditional feminine way, relying on men around her. This fits into Hamlet, and makes the play appear more legitimate, due to the emotion involved in the twisted love story. Still, I do not believe she is weak, but instead love struck and susceptible to manipulation by the men closely involved in her life. Many critics have argued that she is a dismal character, which no one can admire, but I see her as instead, a woman who is young, weak and naive to the world around her.

Dance of Life Essay

The painting â€Å"Dance of Life†, created by Edvard Munch in 1900, is a painting that portrays people in different stages of life. It portrays two women who seem sad, a third woman who seems happy, and a bunch of other women dancing with men. The painting implies that life is difficult and that it can be depressing at times, but that it always goes on. The arrangement of the women in a half circle represents the phases of life. The women on the end of the half circle are both standing alone. The woman on the far left stands alone, representing youth, and wears white, representing innocence. The woman on the far right stands alone, representing the loneliness of old age, and she wears black, representing death or loss. The women dancing in the background represent the different phases of life and the enjoyment that can be found in every phase of life. The woman in the center of the painting represents the idea of being out of step with the ‘dance of life’. She wears a red dress, different from all the others. Red represents danger or anger which can be perceived as negative, but by painting her in the center the artist respects her unique position in life and implies that her difference from the rest is a positive quality. The way that others are turned towards her represents how people in society center so much of their lives on attention to others’ decisions. More than half of the painting has a green background representing life and vitality. The top quarter of the painting is a blue body of water that simultaneously represent tranquility. The juxtaposition of these two represents the necessity of having balance in your life. The green, as well as the people dancing, represent the joy to be found in life. Most of life should be joyous, coupled with the tranquility, silence, and reflection represented by the blue and the three girls not dancing. The different colors used in this painting represent all the different aspects in life and how important it is to acknowledge all of them. The artist doesn’t use harsh lines or defined shapes in this painting. All the shapes are smooth and rounded. It really adds to the implication that life flows. The smooth shapes help the painting transition from left to right. The smooth shapes support the half circle shape and it all works together to create a path for the eye to follow. There’s not a large contrast of darkness and light; most of the painting is dark except for one column where the sun is, which casts more light on the girl in white. This gives the idea that there’s more light, more carefree-ness in the youth. The entire painting is two dimensional. Though there are clearly different rows and elements to this painting, the grass, water, and sky all seem to run together in a flat way. This gives the feeling that we are bigger than life; that we are bigger than the problems of the world around us. The painting has three central points of interest; the three women in their different phases of life are set up as the most significant points of the painting. It represents the phases of life and brings to mind the emotions associated with those phases. The young girl in the white dress stands next to flowers which only accentuate the idea of youth and imply that the girl, like the flowers, will still continue to grow. The older woman on the end seems to have a morose, solemn look about her. It implies introspection and reflection on the long life she’s lived. It gives pause to the viewer and causes them to be solemn. One reason the painting conveys its message so well is because of the way the women are set up in contrast to each other. The harmony in the painting is created in the way that the women wear white and the men wear black. It creates a calm background which sets up a better backdrop to set the three women apart. The sun setting over the water creates a smooth backdrop and adds an idea of resignment to the painting; as though it’s okay to accept this ‘dance of life’ as a way of living. Unity is completely achieved in this painting as all of the people have something in common; be it gender, clothing color, or disposition. This is a closed compositional painting and it’s emphasized by the circle closing off at the edges of both paintings. It represents the idea of the circle of life and ensures that every aspect of life is contained in the painting. The lines and structure of this painting seem unintentional. The lines of the grass and the separation between the water and the sky aren’t straight or harsh. They’re smooth and blurred, creating an intentionally casual dynamic. The point of view of the painter is that life is short and that people are happiest in their youth. The older woman seems to have a look of remorse or regret on her face as she stares at the lady in red. The painter seems to be saying that we, as the viewers, should enjoy our youth and live without regrets. It also gives implications about life and the human experience; life is contained in a short circle and passes by quickly. In any phase of life, there are things to be enjoyed and appreciated because life passes by way too quickly. The painter’s view of the world is that there’s good aspects of every part of life. He seems to think that youth is the best part of life and that mistakes are central to life. The way that everyone circles around the woman in red represents that life circles around mistakes and trials but that it’s all surmountable. The painting accurately describes the way that the artist sees the way the life begins and ends; the way that we start as the girl in white—innocent and hopeful and young—and that we end as the lady in black—feeling morose and sad and as though life has slipped away all too suddenly. The way that she looks at the girl in red implies that the painter thinks that in our old age all we have to look back on is the choices we made, the friends we choose to keep, and the happiness that we choose to create. Though this was painted in 1900, it very accurately represents our culture right now. It’s a reminder to seize the day, to live for the moment, to make the most of whatever phase of life you’re in so that you won’t look back at the end of life and regret choices or missed opportunities. This painting causes me to reflect on my life and the decisions that I make. It makes me want to focus more on being happy with the phase of life that I’m in and to appreciate being youthful and carefree. It reinforces the desire to not make decisions that will keep me out of the circle. The painting gives the feeling that life is to be enjoyed, and that no matter what it will keep going.

Ratio Analysis Memorandum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ratio Analysis Memorandum - Essay Example The solvency ratio looks at the organizations ability to pay long term debt and interest on debts (Bull, 2008). By looking at the debt to asset ratio it can be seen that the organization’s reliance on debt financing is increasing as this ratio has increased from 0.39 in 2008 to 0.79 in 2009. From the analysis the organization is generally still performing well, however, there is need to improve on the profitability of the organization which is decreasing from as seen in the analysis. This can be done by decreasing the expenses of the organization. The current and the quick ration also needs to be improved as they have both decreased in 2009 as compared to 2008 which is mainly contributed by the increase in the current portion of long term debt as per the Balance sheet. The organization needs to pay off these current liabilities in the shortest time possible for the improvement in the ratios to happen. The organization also needs to also reduce the solvency ratio by reducing its liabilities so as to ensure that the reliance on debt financing does not increase.

Capital Punishment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Capital Punishment - Essay Example The history of death penalty dates to very ancient times. The earliest recorded evidence of this law comes from the fifth century B.C Roman law of Twelve Tables. This was followed by the Draconian Code of Athens in the seventh century B.C which made death the only sentence of every crime. The history of capital punishment also shows that this law was practiced in England as well. In England, one ruler who is famous for practicing this law was King Henry the eighth who sentenced a lot of people to gruesome death sentences. He did not even spare his wives from this punishment. It is established from history that in every civilized society there has always been a law of death in order to maintain law and order. The verdict of capital punishment has always been a matter of controversy generally because of the way a case is dealt at the court of law. A recent post by the Orlando Sentinel suggested to the state of Florida to change the way a death sentence is practiced. It suggested that instead of the existing law where a meek majority of the jury is sufficient to suggest a death sentence to the presiding judge, it would be better that a unanimous decision would be required to award the death sentence to the convicted person. The report highlights three cases in which individuals were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes which they did not commit. It took at least thirteen years before post-conviction DNA test cleared them from the charges. Such cases where innocent people are sentenced to death raises questions as to whether the individuals who were awarded death sentences in olden times truly criminals as the DNA testing techniques were not developed in those times. (Sepia 2011). Another issue which is raised with regard to death penalty is that whether the death penalty should be exercised or not in this day and age when a lot of emphasis is laid upon human rights. The ongoing case of Bradley Manning is an example. Bradley Manning leaked classified information relating to possible war crimes of the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan in WikiLeaks. The government of the United States has charged him for aiding the enemy which is a dealt with giving a capital punishment in the country. Now a letter has been sent to the president of America, Barack Obama which has been signed by more than 50 European Parliament members. They have stated their demands that Bradley Manning should be put to trial officially rather than being subjected to torture. Furthermore, they have demanded that he should not be given a death penalty (Guardian 2011). There are different places around the world where a ban has been placed on capital punishment. This includes th e state of Oregon in the United States. The governor of Oregon John Kitzhaber has declared suspension of the death sentence and would halt any execution till he is in office. The governor even declined two volunteers who were in death row and were willing to die. Mr. John Kitzhaber stated that this system was wrong and he clearly stated that â€Å"

Marketing Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing - Coursework Example Typically at this point you would have to order the tendering documents and have them filled out (This section may require the supply of samples and/or references). Moreover one would have to demonstrate that you would be able to securely and consistently supply the good/service and demonstrate the cost that you would charge. After the documents are submitted then the tender gets reviewed and should your bid be deemed as the best overall value to the government buyer then you would be awarded the contract. Give your opinion on whether the process seems worth the effort. The process would absolutely be worth my effort if the actual tender would be of any substantial value. If for example I was a supplier of high visibility clothing for municipal departments and the state highway commission was looking to procure garments for every state highway worker then the overall value of the contract (If I were to be awarded it) could be huge. However if a government contract would only be for a few protective garments and I would have to spend dozens of hours on the tender then the value of the contract may not be worth my time.

Engreeing desing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Engreeing desing - Essay Example Safe escape route are provided in all points of a building and directs people to a safe place without any assistance from the fire fighting team or from the people outside. The most important reason for performing fire test is to determine whether or not the fire suppression system meets the minimum requirement as set by different building codes and legislation. Tests are done by companies holding international accreditation and certification It is important to perform more than one experiment to actually proof that the installed product will not fail in times of fire. Conducting of one experiment may give conflicting results that may indicate that the product is ok but another test may reveal the fire fighting product will not work. This is the process by which the fire rapidly spreads or climbs up an inclined surface. The trench effects are caused by the flash over concept and the Coanda effect. The flash over effects is a condition that occurs when a fire spreads on a surface rapidly due to the surface emitting flammable gases hot enough to ignite themselves. The Coanda effect is the tendency of fast moving stream of air to deflect towards the surface nearby it. This is because the fast moving streams of air tend to experience a decrease in static pressure that creates a pressure difference between the areas far from the wall as well as the wall itself The flammability limit gives the proportion of combustible gases in a mixture between which the mixture is flammable. The flammability limit is also referred to as the explosive limit. There are two extremes defined by the lower flammable limit and the upper flammable limit. The highest flammable limit: this limit describes the richest flammable mixture. Adjustment is done to the flammable gases mixture to either increase the lowest flammable mixture or reduce the highest flammable mixture. Inert gas are used for flammability