Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Struggle for Power Theme in Frankenstein essays

Struggle for Power Theme in Frankenstein essays Many scenes in Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, depict the two main characters, Victor Frankenstein and the creature, in an intimate setting where both take the role of what might be called the master and the slave. From their first meeting right after the monsters making to Victors death at the end, the novel depicts a struggle for power between creator and creation. The first scene with Frankenstein and the creature is possibly the first time a master and slave relationship is shared between the two characters in the novel. In the chapter of the creatures creation, Victor is alone with the progress of his work thus far. Even with the body of the creature inanimate, it is clear to see Victor playing this role of master. Without Frankenstein, the body would remain without life, worthless and dead. The body needs Frankenstein for its existence of life itself. Victor eventually performs the masterful act of instilling a life for the motionless matter; he grants his slave, the creature, an opportunity to live. He even views himself as the creatures master when he states, I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet (Frankenstein, 60). The picture of a slave bowing at a masters feet is taken literally in this scene. Not only does Frankenstein have a subconscious image of his mastery, he also makes it a realit y by placing the creature beneath him. The act of giving life the way Frankenstein did might be considered both cruel and loving. Life, to most, is a blessing. Most world religions view time on earth as a means of proving worth to some higher being or beings. Without this time, one would not be with meaning. In this manner, Frankensteins act was a loving one and regarded as a blessing to the creature. On the other hand, he did not take into consideration the creatures wishes when bringing him i...

Friday, November 22, 2019

6 Common Negative Thoughts And How To Combat Them

6 Common Negative Thoughts And How To Combat Them We’ve been there: in a terrible state of mind, while people keep telling you to think â€Å"happy thoughts.† It’s enough to drive you nuts. But hear us out: positivity and, yes, â€Å"happy thoughts† can actually have a major impact on your success in your career and your life- while negative thoughts, or in particular, â€Å"cognitive distortions,† can have a massively bad impact on both. Here are some strategies for how to identify negative thoughts and cognitive distortions, and how to overcome them. We hope you can free yourself of all that unnecessary shame, self-pity, fear, and resentment and get back to the good vibes.1. I don’t have enough time.No one really feels like they have enough hours in their day to accomplish everything they need or want to accomplish. But being busy doesn’t always have to be a source of stress. You’re making the most of life- and probably being much more productive. If you have too much on your plate, try simplifying your schedule a bit. Remember, you’re in charge of your own calendar. Then count your business as a blessing.2. I’m not enough.Impostor syndrome, and generally feeling you’re not as qualified as your peers, is very common. But just remember that you’re probably holding yourself to a much higher standard than you would anyone else. Give yourself a break. Step away from social media for a while. Stop comparing yourself constantly to others (and to others’ online avatars). And start focusing on what you’re doing instead.3. This is going to be a catastrophe.Okay, worrywart. â€Å"Catastrophizing† is a thing. The â€Å"what-ifs† are constantly plaguing you with horrible disasters and tragedies as the result of some of your simplest actions. Try to take a step back from your worries and remind yourself of some calming statistics. Don’t avoid life because you’re afraid it might be unsafe.4. It can only be either/or.Either I ace this presentation, or I’m going to be fired. Because I screwed up at that meeting, I’m never going to earn my boss’s trust. These are examples of polarized, or black and white thinking, and they’re not doing you any good. Remember that there is always middle ground, a grey area, and a chance to redeem yourself if you make a small (or large) mistake.5. That’s it- I’m doomed.Just because one thing happened that wasn’t great doesn’t mean that similar bad things will continue happening to you. And don’t make assumptions based on what you think might be going on. Say your boss talked over you in the meeting. Don’t leap to the conclusion that she hates you or that your job is in jeopardy. Try to imagine the thousand other reasons she may have had not to give you your turn with the talking stick.6. I’m a total failure.Life goes on. Even if you did something stupid or embarrassing, t he sting is not going to last. Even if you have no idea what you’re doing and are in very much over your head, there is always an opportunity to dig your way out by gaining competence and confidence. Focus on how to turn each â€Å"failure† into an opportunity for greater success.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Art of the 19th Century Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Art of the 19th Century - Assignment Example Lastly, the paper provides a summary of the main content discussed whilst creating understanding of modernism within modern art. Romanticism If there is any intellectual or artistic movement that swept the world arena from the Middle Age then it is the romanticism movement. Through its origin and influence romanticism swept the world completely thereby starting up the fire of arts. From its inception in 1770s, romanticism started in Germany and England spreading fast into other regions of the world. No doubt, folklore and popular arts were applied extensively to spread the aspect of romanticism movement within the art arena or field (Rosenblum and Janson 56). Different aspects are associated with romanticism movement. Such aspects include nationalism, exoticism, emotion, gothic romance, medievalism, individualism, nature, and religion amongst others. These aspects made romanticism movement within the artistic world to spread very fast. Basically, romanticism is a movement within arti stic world whose wave swept the world. With such wave, romanticism like enlightenment led to realism paving way for other movements such as impressionism and neo-classicism. Despite being a way to impressionism and other artistic movements, romanticism has not been replaced and it keeps on going and influencing many artists. Films and arts have continuously employed aspects of romanticism movement despite the many years that it has existed in the artistic arena (Rosenblum and Janson 78). With respect to perception on realism/impressionism, romanticism has been on the forefront in making sure that art and films in the world attain the desired status while conveying the required message. Impressionism to Van Gogh’s Post-Impressionist Other than romanticism, there are different aspects of arts that have continuously been in art arena. As the main feature of paintings and sculpture styles in the 19th century, impressionism was considered a phenomenon that led to different art for ms such as literature, film making, and photography. Impressionism is an artistic style associated with Paris-based artists since 19th century. Some of the aspects of impressionism included paintings that were relatively small, thin, having open composition, had lights with changing qualities, and visible strokes of brush amongst others (Rosenblum and Janson 98). These aspects of artistic paintings made an avenue for post-impressionism artistic style. Nonetheless, impressionism was a style that included human perception as well as experience. Analogues styles emerged from impressionism artistic movement. Impressionism used the concept that human eye is a good and marvelous instrument in making judgments regarding artistic paintings and sculptures. While employing the concept of human eye to make judgment on arts, Vincent Willem van Gogh employed so much use of bold colors as well as emotional impact to create his paintings. The colors and emotional impact was meant to attract human perception visible through the marvelous instrument, the eye. The change of impressionism to post-impressionism was based on emotions. In fact, post-impressionism is an artistic style that is emotionally based as opposed to impression-based in the case of impressionism (Rosenblum and Janson 35). Impressionism moved to post-impressionism through psychological and expressive choice of color for various sculptures and paintings in the

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Impact of the recent financial crisis to Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand Essay

Impact of the recent financial crisis to Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Korea - Essay Example The crisis left devastating impacts on the economies of the four countries (Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Korea) as discussed below. The 2007/2008 financial crisis left the four countries with huge financial debts borrowed from the developed economies (Lin, 2014). Generally, most south East Asian states including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Korea had borrowed huge loans before the crisis to rebuild their economy after the Asian crisis that had happened previously. The crisis reappeared in a time when the countries were struggling to repay the loans borrowed for economy reconstruction after the Asian crisis. This placed a heavy burden on respective countries thereby retarding their development progress. These states are still paying the loans acquired before financial crisis set foot in Asia. The financial crisis hiked the cost of living to more than double in the four countries. up to date, the residents in the four countries go through very difficult times because job opportunities are still few and the available jobs are underpaying (Klein & Shabbir, 2007). Furthermore, foreign investors returned back to their countries and the domestic investment has performed poorly since then. Basically, low investments (both domestic and foreign investments) in a country results in inadequate job opportunities and consequently, high poverty levels. The crisis weakened the local currencies of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Korea which caused these nations a huge fortune in terms of time and resources to reconstruct their economies. Poor performance of the local currencies made exports cheap wealthy nations seized the opportunity to develop their economies (Jensen, 2010). Moreover, depreciation of local currencies negatively affected local investment due to dumping by foreign investors. Additionally, depreciation of local currencies in the respective states during and after the crisis led to less demand of domestic products

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Ermo Essay Example for Free

Ermo Essay Ermo, directed by Zhou Xiaowen in 1994, takes place in the 1980’s when China first began to actively accept the concept of globalization. â€Å"Ermo, where the title character as the strong-willed wife of an emasculated husband† (Tang 654), explores the issues of being a matriarch as well as an individual with her own interests and desires. Compared with traditional Chinese women who were relegated to taking care of the household, Ermo is drastically different because she is the one who attends to the financial needs of her family by selling twisty noodles. Although she is a poor, peasant woman whose life revolves around the responsibilities of taking care of of her family, Ermo harbors secret ambitions which she longs to someday achieve. Fueled by her ambitions, Ermo works day and night to fulfill her aims even as she attends to her loved one’s needs. Her characteristic as responsible matriarch can also be seen when she risks her health by selling large quantities of her blood in order to earn quick money. In the film, every action that Ermo takes is a result of her free will; she is not forced or coerced to do so. Everything that she does, she does for the love of her family. The female lead in the movie is willing to do anything to support her family, which is a marked characteristic of contemporary Chinese films. The role of Ermo is a strong departure from the traditional roles of women in Chinese society. Ermo’s profession is examined in two ways: Noodle seller during the day and noodle maker during the night. In the very beginning of the film, the shot shows her as a noodle-seller on the street, peddling bunches of twisty noodles that she herself made. She yells â€Å"mai mahua mian lou† (twisty noodle for sale) (Ciecko 2) constantly. This scene particularly emphasizes her profession and skills for selling twisty noodles. There are also several close-up shots of her foot while she is making noodle dough. Ermo kneads flour with her feet, and she does it expertly, never dropping any of flour. This shot makes a statement as to the technical skills her work requires and the passion and dedication with which Ermo does her job. While generally regarded as a lowly job, it is actually a very demanding job requiring sophisticated skills. The opportunity to pursue a rewarding career among Chinese women is a fairly recent development because the women in China never had the opportunity to choose their job. Ermo’s desire can be read in various ways: desire for a better life, desire for a fulfilling sexual relationship, and desire for self-determination. Ermo’s â€Å"wish for a new life with a [Blindman, the richest guy in the town] after an amorous night halfway between town and village, expresses her desire to desire and constitutes an inspired revision of reality† (Tang, 668). This satisfies both her sexual desire and desire for better life. She also desires for having the biggest TV in her town, which at first may seem materialistic, but may actually be construed for her need to achieve and be acknowledged for her accomplishments. Although she says that she needs to buy the TV for her son so that he does not have to go to their neighbor’s house to watch, it is really her own aspiration to show people who she really is. Based on strong Confucian society, Chinese women have been traditionally relegated to the sidelines, but as China begins to open itself to changes, so do Chinese women begin to evolve and come out into their own. As examined above, â€Å"the central events in Ermo reflect a new stage in the development of contemporary Chinese society† (Tang, 663). As portrayed in this modern Chinese film, women are able to attend to their family without necessarily having to sacrifice their own dreams and ambitions in the process.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Measure for Measure Essay: The Virtuous Isabella -- Measure for Measur

The Virtuous Isabella in Measure for Measure      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Measure for Measure is not a celebration of family values, the play points towards both the political virtuosity, which sustains the comic, and the humbler self-knowledge that preserves the integrity of the virtuoso. Human virtue can only be chosen in freedom, but we need not deny ourselves the opportunity of ensuring that this choice is not stifled by the subtly related powers of abstract intellectualism and carnal necessity    Isabella in Measure for Measure personifies innocent virtue. Isabella offers an example of the highest possible character; since she will not sacrifice her own honor or her brother's in order to save her brother's life.   She holds strong convictions as far as her morals are concerned, and considers her own soul and salvation. Pure; intelligent; beautiful, her outer beauty a reflection of her inner purity; loving, hers is an untested virtue that withstands the ultimate trial as shown in her appeal for mercy towards Angelo whom she believes to have ordered the execution of her brother. This action overcomes the questions aroused about her character when she is unwilling to sacrifice her virtue to save her brother's life. To finally allay all doubt as to how Isabella is "measured," the Duke's proposal at the end of the play stands as proof she has passed the test.    Isabella understands her chastity in a way that is largely similar to Angelo's austere virtue. We first meet her at the convent where she is about to become a nun, pleading for stricter restraint and discipline in an order already notorious for its austerity. Once she has taken her final vows, she will no longer be able to hold normal conversation with men:      "If yo... ...to plague and punish us."      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shakespeare's Isabella is portrayed as an upright young woman who remains true to her ideals. In human relationships ideals can be found out of line when in opposition to another's ideals, but this does not lessen Isabella's virtuous character in the least.      Works Cited and Consulted: Knight, G. Wilson. The Wheel of Fire: Essays in Interpretation of Shakespeare's Sombre Tragedies. London: Oxford UP, 1930. Leech, Clifford. "The 'Meaning' of Measure for Measure." Shakespeare Survey 3 1950 Rossiter, A. P. Angel with Horns and Other Shakespeare Lectures. Ed. Graham Storey. London: Longmans, Green, 1961. Shakespeare, William. William Shakespeare: The Complete Works. Ed. Alfred Harbage. 1969. Baltimore: Penguin, 1971. http://www.online-literature.com/view.php/measure/4?term=isabella      

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Capital Markets and Market Efficiency

Part 1 The Efficient market hypothesis states that all financial markets are efficient in their use of information to determine prices. This means that investors cannot expect to achieve excess profits that are more than the average market profits with similar risk factors, given all available information at the current time of investment, aside from through some form of luck. In part 1 of this report we will discuss the three different forms of market efficiency that Eugene Fama identified in her 1970 report. These can be explained as follows: 1) Weak form efficiency Fama (1970) observes that a market is efficient in weak form if past returns cannot be used to predict current stock price changes. It also assumes that prices on assets that are traded publicly already have and use all available information on the stock at any moment in time. It therefore stands to reason that the weak form of the market efficiency hypothesis means that past returns on stock are uncorrelated with future returns on the same stock. Future prices cannot be predicted by studying carefully the past prices of the stock. Excess returns cannot be earned over an extended period of time by using investment strategies that are based only upon the historical prices of shares or differing forms of historical analysis. This means that this style of technical analysis will not be able to produce high levels of returns on a consistent basis for investors. Overall one cannot expect future price changes to be predicted by using the past stock prices. Simply put weak form efficiency a ssumes that historical analysis on past stock data is of no use in predicting future price changes on stocks. 2) Semi-strong efficiency The semi-strong market efficiency form progresses from the aforementioned weak form market efficiency by stating that markets can adjust easily and very quickly to new information that is provided about various stocks. Fama (1970: 383) cites semi- strong efficiency as â€Å"whether prices efficiently adjust to other information that is publicly available. e.g. announcements of stock splits, etc†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Here it is assumed that asset prices fully reflect all of the publicly available information on the stocks meaning that only those investors who manage to possess additional unique information about the stocks could have an advantage over the market to make large gains. This form also asserts that any price outliers are found quickly and on this basis the stock market manages to adjust. In a semi-strong form efficiency share prices are able to react quickly to new information made available publicly in a quick manner so that no large returns can be gained from using the recent information. This leads us to imply that neither fundamental analysis or technical analysis will be able to produce consistent excess returns. Strong-form efficiency Strong-form efficiency assumes that prices reflect completely any type of new information about the market be that public or private information. Fama (1970: 383) says that strong form tests are concerned with â€Å"whether given investors or groups have monopolistic access to any information relevant for formation†, however Fama claims that the efficient hypothesis model still stands up well. The strong form claims the market price also includes different forms of insider information and not solely public information, and this is how it differs from the semi-strong form. The implications of this is that no one at all can therefore have any kind of advantage over the market in prediction of the stock prices as no possible additional data exists which would provide additional value to any investor. However, if any legal barriers exist which prevents the spread of useful information, such as insider trading laws for example, then this form of market efficiency is not possible. Part 2 The Efficient Markets Hypothesis was introduced by Eugene Fama in 1970. The main idea of the Efficient Market Hypothesis is predominantly that market prices must take into account all available information at any given point. Therefore meaning that no one can outperform the market by using readily available public information aside from through luck. A market is said to be efficient if the price fully reflects information about that market, for example if the price of the stock would be unaffected if all information surrounding it was revealed to all stakeholders in that market. Part two of this report will be critically discussing the evidence for and against the Efficient Market Hypothesis and whether it is possible to exploit market inefficiencies. The implications for investors and companies of the Efficient Markey Hypothesis will also be considered. Arguments For the Efficient Market Hypothesis To begin with following the birth of the efficient market hypothesis the theory was widely accepted, and it was widely assumed that the markets were very efficient in taking this information into account (Malkiel, 2003). It was accepted that when information came to the fore this would spread rapidly and would then be incorporated almost instantaneously into the share prices without hesitation. This meant that technical analysis, study of prior stock prices, nor any analysis of relevent information of a financial sense would lead an investment to achieve more successful returns than holding random stocks which have a comparable risk factor. Dimson and Mussavian (1998) observe that the evidence accumulated during the 1960s and 1970s was consistent with the Efficient Market Hypothesis view. There was a substantial backing for the weak and semi strong Efficient Market Hypothesis forms. Even though more recent times have seen an attack against the Efficient Market Hypothesis, Roll (1994) still observes that it remains incredibly difficult to make a high level of profit on a consistent basis even with the wildest variants of stock market efficiency. These violations of market efficiency are often sporadic events that do not last for a period of time. This can be seen by looking at the fact that on the whole profitable investment successes are referred to on a consistent basis as outliers (Dimson and Mussavian, 1998). Malkiel (2005: 2) says that: the strongest evidence suggesting that markets are generally quite efficient is that professional investors do not beat the market. Indeed, the evidence accumulated over the past 30-plus years makes me more convinced than ever that our stock markets are remarkably efficient at adjusting correctly to new information. This is showing that the markets must be efficient due to the fact that professional investors do not on the whole beat the market, and therefore all available information must be taken into account by the market prices and thus there is no gain to be had by any investors by using past prices, or publicly or privately readily available information. Arguments against the Efficient Market Hypothesis Malkiel (2003: 60) observes that by the beginning of the twenty first century â€Å"the intellectual dominance of the efficient market hypothesis had become far less universal† and academics were starting to question the premise and were not accepting it as they had done previously. Shiller (2003 ; 83) states that, â€Å"[contained in the EMH is] the idea that speculative asset prices such as stock prices always incorporate the best information about fundamental values and that prices change only because of good, sensible information.† However he then moves on to discuss how not all information is sensible and not all actors are rational, this would conflict with the efficient market hypothesis which relies on information having a large impact on the prices of stock. As well as this several recent reports have shown a range of empirical evidence which suggests that stock returns can actually possess components of a predictable nature, therefore also rejecting parts of the efficient market hypothesis which profess that looking at past trends do not allow for excess gains when investing on the stocks against the market. Keim and Stambaugh (1986) state that using forecasts based on a number of factors can find statistically significant predictability in a range of different stock prices. Lo and MacKinlay (1988) reject the random walk hypothesis, which is so often considered with the efficient market hypothesis theory, and show that it is not at all consistent with the stochastic nature of weekly returns. Empirical evidence of return behaviour which has been anomalous in the form of variables such as price to earnings ratio (Fama and French, 1992) has defied any kind of usual rational explanation and has resulted in a great number of researchers cons idering their views and opinions of market efficiency. Evaluation and Implications for Investors In conclusion, it is clear to see that market prices are not always predictable and that the markets have made large errors at certain points in time, for example at the recent dotcom internet bubble. Here it was obviously possible to exploit the market inefficiency to make money for investors. In the short run it may be possible to exploit these sporadic inefficiencies, but in the long term true value will always come to the fore. As long as these markets do exist, due to it being reliant on the judgement of investors, there will occasionally be errors made and some participants In the market are likely to behave in a less than rational manner, as is inherent in human nature. As well as this all information will not necessarily be sensible and investors are not likely to necessarily use it rationally. Thus irregular pricing or predictable patterns on stocks can appear and be exploited from time to time. In terms of the implications for investors in terms of the efficient market hypothesis, it is plain to see that all markets cannot be one hundred percent efficient all of the time or there would not be an incentive for people who are professionals in the field to discover different facets of information that is often quickly reflected by market prices (Grossman and Stiglitz, 1980). However, things such as the 1999 dot com bubble are exceptions rather than the rule to providing investors with extraordinary returns on their investments to exploit market inefficiencies. Therefore one could assume that the markets are efficient more often than not, and Fama (1970) is on the whole correct. This could lead to the conclusion in agreeing with Ellis (1998) and the overall idea that active equity management is indeed a ‘loser’s game’. Malkiel (2005) further advises on Ellis’ claim and professes that indexing is likely to produce higher rates of return than active por tfolio management. This is becoming more and more likely to impact investors as markets become more and more efficient, as Toth and Kertesz (2006) show in their examination of an increase in efficiency of the New York stock exchange. Therefore investors are required to question if it is indeed possible or feasible to exploit market inefficiencies using strategies the efficient market hypothesis calls into question. Bibliography Dimson, E. and Mussavian, M. (1998). ‘A Brief History of Market Efficiency’. European Financial Management. 4(1): 91-103. Ellis, C. (1998). Winning the Loser’s Game, McGraw-Hill: New York. Fama. E.G, (1970). ‘Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Theory and Empirical Work’. The Journal of Finance. 25(2): 383-417 Fama, E. and French, K. (1988) ‘Dividend yields and expected stock returns’. Journal of Financial Economics.(22): 3-25. Fama, E. and French, K. (1992). ‘Common risk factors in the returns on stocks and bonds’. Journal of Financial Economics. (33): 3-56. Grossman, S. and J, Stiglitz. (1980). ‘On the Impossibility of Informationally Efficient Markets.’ American Economic Review. 70(3). 393-408. Keim and Stambaugh (1986). ‘Predicting returns In the Stock and Bond Markets’. Journal of Financial Economics. 357-290. Lo and MacKinlay. (1988) ‘Stock Market prices do not follow random walks : Evidence from a simple specification test’. Review of Financial Studies. (1): 41-66. Malkiel, B. (2003). ‘The Efficient Market Hypothesis and Its Critics Authors’. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 17(1): 59-82 Malkiel, B. (2005). ‘Reflections on the Efficient Market Hypothesis: 30 Years Later’. The Financial Review (40):1-9 Shiller, R. (2003). ‘From Efficient Markets Theory to Behavioral Finance’. Journal of Economic Perspectives. 17(1) : 83-104. Toth, B. and Kertesz, J. (2006). ‘Increasing market efficiency: Evolution of cross-correlations of stock returns’. Physica 360(2): 505–515.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Pocari Sweat Essay

This assignment deals with advertising and it’s concepts. So to start off we’d like to explain certain terms: Advertising is more than just a means of disseminating product information. It is a primary communication tool of our economic system and our culture. In other words it could be defined as † a purposive communication to a target market, which assists in selling by drawing attention to the characteristics of a product which will appeal to the buying motives of customers in the target segment of the market†. Advertising is mainly used for the following purposes: To support sales increase; To encourage trial; To create awareness; To inform about a feature or benefit; To create an image; To modify attitudes; To gain trade and sales staff support. There are three different kinds of advertisements: (1) Informative advertisement: This advertisement conveys information and raises consumer awareness of the product. These are common in early stages of the product life cycle. (2) Persuasive advertising: This advertisement is concerned with creating a desire for the product and stimulating actual purchase. This is mostly used for well-established products, which are in growth/maturity stages of the  product life cycle. (3) Reminding advertising: It is to remind consumers about the product or organization, or the benefits they (consumers) are receiving from buying the product. Advertising has an ethical and moral responsibility to deal honestly with its portrayal of society. Individual companies are judged by their own advertising, and the effectiveness of advertising is dependent on the overall attitude of customers towards advertising generally. (Q) What does advertising do for consumers? One of the most important roles of advertising is showing people how to solve problems. Effective advertising must start from premises, â€Å"Does my product help people?† The major trend in modern advertising is making the consumer the focus of the marketing process. Organizations find that starting with the consumer creates a relationship in which products are designed for the consumers rather than having to convince consumers that a preexisting product is the one they want. (Q) What does advertising does for business? Without advertising, businesses would not be able to bring new products to the attention of enough consumers fast enough to make the enormous cost of creating, developing, manufacturing, and distributing the products practical. In other words, advertising is both a tool and requirement of an abundant economy. (Q) What does advertising does for society? Advertising has both intended and unintended results. Obviously, the intended result of most advertising is to contribute to the profitable sales of product. In addition to its economic role, advertising revenues support a diverse and independent press system protected from government and special  interest control. As a key communication link in the process, it also is a major stimulant to vigorous economic growth and stability. However, there is a growing awareness that advertising must move beyond single-minded concerns with profitability. There is increasing agreement that advertising must be created in an atmosphere that considers a number of ethical factors. A recent survey of advertising agency executives found that they faced six major ethical considerations in conducting business: 1. Treating clients fairly; 2. Creating honest, no misleading, socially desirable ads; 3. Representing unhealthy, useless, or unethical products; 4. Representing clients whose products/services are unhealthy and unneeded; 5. Treating suppliers, vendors, and media fairly; 6. Treating other agencies fairly. It is to the benefit of advertising and society in general that ethical issues are in the forefront of discussion concerning the practice of advertising. Now that we have seen what advertising is and how it deals with various people and organizations it is easy to set the objectives of advertising. These are likely to be the following: To communicate certain information about a product. This is perhaps the most important objective. To highlight specific features of a product which make it different from the  competitors. The concept of the unique selling proposition (USP) is that by emphasizing a unique feature, which appeals to a customer need. To build up a brand or company image through corporate advertising. To reinforce customer behavior. Influencing dealers and resellers to stock the items (on as much shelf-space as possible). In case of government advertising. To achieve a policy objective. A successful ad: The content of an advertisement is determined largely by the objective of the advertising and the motivation of the potential customer. An advertisement should present information, which leads to a greater awareness of the product. It should be an attention-getter and may excite amusement or emotions such as fear, but inciting these feelings should not be allowed to be the only effect of the advertisement. Advertising will be most successful if the following conditions apply: a) The product should have characteristics, which lend themselves to advertising. 1. It should be distinctive and identifiable. 2. It should stimulate emotional buying. 3. If at point of sale a customer can refute an advertisement claim simply by inspecting the product, advertising will achieve no sales at all. b) There should be consistency throughout the sales operation. Advertising, the activities of salesperson and dealers, branding, packaging and pricing should all promote the same product image. c) There should be co-operation between advertising staff and all other  activities in the company. Product design, production, distribution, selling and financial operations should all combine to achieve customer orientation and maximum selling efficiency. After all the facts now let’s move on to our product and its advertisement. We have chosen POCARI SWEAT as our product. A Japanese company known as Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. launched Pocari Sweat in 1980. Under the company philosophy, â€Å"Otsuka – meaning – people creating new products for better health worldwide†, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is an R&D-oriented corporation with a central focus on pharmaceuticals and consumer products. Through innovative products, OPC hopes to make a difference in curing illnesses and maintaining people’s everyday health. The name POCARI SWEAT is a JAPLISH word (Japanese & English). ‘POCARI’ sounds relaxing, easeful, and light to Japanese people. It doesn’t mean any English word. We know that ‘SWEAT’ has dirty image in English. Then why did the company use such a word?† Actually ‘SWEAT’ has meanings of diligence, efforts, and refreshing ness in Japan, which shows their importance to work, their culture and belief. So that’s how the word came – POCARI SWEAT! Most of Japanese people call POCARI SWEAT as â€Å"POCARI.† We rarely call its full name. We suppose that people have western-like image to â€Å"sweat† especially; Since, POCARI SWEAT has been a very famous and popular name, they (the company) cannot change its name. This company also manufactures various other products like: Ornamin-C (Energy Drink), Calorie Meter (Diet Drink), Energen and Fast Break (energy drinks). Company Name Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. Head Office 2-9 Kanda Tsukasa-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8535, Japan Phone: +81-3-3292-0021 Date Established August 10, 1964 President Tatsuo Higuchi Capital 6 billion yen Employees 5,224 (As of April 1, 2002) Business Description Manufacturing, Distributing, Exporting, Importing of pharmaceuticals, Clinical testing equipment, Medical equipment, and Food products. Domestic Establishments 17 branch offices/50 district offices 16 research institutions 2 clinical research laboratory 6 factories POCARI SWEAT A WORLDWIDE BRAND! DID YOU KNOW The human body has a very high water content: 60% for the average adult, and approximately 70% for a child. This water component is known as body fluid, and contains electrolytes such as sodium and potassium ions. WATER content in a child and adult body. The composition of POCARI SWEAT is similar to that of our own body fluids. It contains just the right amount of those electrolytes – such as sodium and potassium ions – that our body loses when it loses water. It’s also gentler on our body and more easily absorbed than ordinary water. And it doesn’t  harm the important balance of body fluids. CONTENTS OF POCARI SWEAT Pocari Sweat plays a vital role in human body after consuming it. Every day we loose about 2.5 liters of water through urinating, sweating and breathing, while we intake approximately the same amount through food and drink. Body fluids automatically regulate this loss and intake of water: balancing the two is vital to the maintenance of a healthy body. Pocari does just that after playing sports, working out in a gym, practicing yoga or long tiring dances lessons. This will be clear from the following diagram: Graph showing daily loss and intake of water in a human body Now that we have seen various graphs that how dangerous can it be if we loose water in plenty. Well now that OPC (the company) has launched Pocari Sweat there is no fear of loosing excess water. Consuming Pocari not only gives a refreshing feeling but also prevents loss of fluid from our body. It will be clear from another graph, which follows: Comparison of how Pocari Sweat prevents the loss of body fluids The composition of POCARI SWEAT is similar to that of our own body fluids. It contains just the right amount of electrolytes – such as sodium and potassium ions – that your body loses when it loses water. It’s also gentler on our body and more easily absorbed than ordinary water. And it doesn’t harm the important balance of body fluids. This graph shows clearly the performance of POCARI SWEAT. POCARI SWEAT COMPETITION By now you’d wonder that who are competitors of POCARI SWEAT? Well the real answer according to Otsuka Pharmaceuticals is that POCARI SWEAT  real competitor is PLAIN WATER and not energy drinks! Many would disagree to it but it’s the truth. People would say that Pocari faces a huge competition with the energy drinks available in the U.A.E like the Red-Bull, Isostar, Blue Ox, Flying Horse etc. Well according the product agencies in the U.A.E. they mention that Pocari is not an energy drink but it’s a REHYDRATION DRINK. The product (Pocari Sweat) agents in U.A.E are AL MAYA LAL’S LLC. To prove the above statement that Pocari Sweat is a rehydration drink the following picture of Pocari’s can, which clearly shows it: In reality, Pocari Sweat is a rehydration drink, which is very similar to baby rehydration fluid. The label on the bottle clarifies: This close up is taken from the can Past advertisements Pocari Sweat had made many ads in Japan, which is shown mainly in other Eastern Asian countries, they were a huge hit there but the company have failed to make an impact with them in the Western countries, that is why the product is not much known and the popularity is not much as it have in Japan and other neighboring countries. The companies previous ads were focused mainly on sports, they had many famous celebrities, models and artists in their ads, some of them are: Cindy Crawford (model), Nancy Adrew (stunt actress and model), Tikeshi (model), and Myo Chin Haut (model) etc. The concepts, which the company wanted to show people through its ad, were amazing and very creative, shot very beautifully under water. The first which showed two men playing tennis under water; the second big ad was during the Football World Cup held in Japan, which obviously had to be a soccer ad. Lately, the company has shot an ad keeping in mind how trendy and energetic are today’s teenagers; they have a skate boarder skating (which are attached with color cans), as he goes two and fro on the ramp it creates  graffiti. (This ad is not available on the net; the concept was taken from the following link: http://spotlight.iridas.com/200303/colorado) this site also contains previous football ads made by the company. In-short after our research we feel that the company and the agents of POCARI SWEAT in the U.A.E and the Middle East should emphasize more on advertising. The product is doing fine as we can see that most of our samples drink it after some activity, with 1-2 cans at a time, they find it really refreshing and energetic, and end up with the results as â€Å"good overall performance†. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Newspapers/Magazines: Gulf News, Khaleej Times, Fortune 500, Forbes. Text Books: Advertising and Sales Promotion Techniques by Gerard J. Tellis Advertising Procedure by J. Thomas Russell, W. Ronald, 14th Edition Marketing Management by Philip Kotler 11th Edition Marketing HND/HNC Edexcel textbook, BPP Publishing Websites: http://www.google.com http://www.yahoo.com http://www.ask.com http://www.otsuka.co.jp/pocari_e/pocari1.htm http://spotlight.iridas.com/200303/colorado www.boardsmag.com/screeningroom/commercials/?link=top http://www.oranda.or.jp/index/english/embassy/agriculture/PDF/productmakerhit.htm http://www.videor.co.jp/eng/jdata/market/99tvcmtr.html

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Political Campaign essays

Political Campaign essays Volunteering for the Joe Birkett Campaign. Our volunteering lead us to the Joe Birkett campaign for Attorney General. Our volunteering all took place on being pollwatchers for the Birkett campaign. This volunteering started the night before when we meet up with the Birkett staff at Hawkeyes Bar and Grill for his rally at night. We received all the documents about being a pollwatcher and filled out all the paperwork for the upcoming day. We learned the rules as to what to do and what not to do and along with being at the rally were able to get our picture taken with Mr. Birkett. So the following day we were at a Birkett office on 111th street where we received our tasks for the day. It seemed that there were a lot of problems with voter fraud in the 3rd, 15th and 21st precincts and we were to go to the polling places and observe the election judges. Being a largely Democratic region we were told just to call the cops if we had any problems whereas a pollwatcher was threatened earlier. This brought about the most valuab le lesson from the whole campaigning assignment, in that individuals are very serious about voting. We never realized it in that we have been voting since we were given the right, and you don't see it when you go in to vote. But when you show up supporting a Republican campaign in a largely Democratic region, you realize how serious the election really is. So going to the 15th precinct first on 59th and Pulaski, we came across problems in we thought were propaganda being closer than the 100 linear feet from the door. But as one of the election judges pointed out to us, they measured it from the furthest inside door and showed that it was within the legal limits. At all the polling places we were to visit we were supposed to take a count with number voting, spoiled ballets, and absentee ballets. So we placed a Joe Birkett sign next to the Lisa Madigan sign and were off after a while of watching several doze...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Reducing, Reusing and Recycling Fast Food Waste

Reducing, Reusing and Recycling Fast Food Waste Dear EarthTalk: What are the fast-food chains doing to cut back onor at least recyclethe huge amount of paper, plastic and foam they use daily? Are there any laws or regulations to force them to be good environmental citizens? Carol Endres, Stroud Township, PA Currently there are no federal laws or regulations in the U.S. specifically aimed at getting fast food chains to reduce, reuse or recycle their waste. Businesses of all kinds must always obey local laws pertaining to what must be recycled versus what can be discarded. And a small number of cities and towns have local laws specifically designed to force businesses to do the right thing, but they are few and far between. Voluntary Fast Food Waste Reduction Makes HeadlinesThere have been some strides in the fast food business with regard to packaging materials and waste reduction, but it has all been voluntary and usually under pressure from green groups. McDonald’s made headlines back in 1989 when, at the urging of environmentalists, it switched its hamburger packaging from non-recyclable Styrofoam to recyclable paper wraps and cardboard boxes. The company also replaced its bleached paper carryout bags with unbleached bags and made other green-friendly packaging advances. Some Fast Food Chains Offer Vague Policies on Waste ReductionBoth McDonald’s and PepsiCo (owner of KFC and Taco Bell) have crafted internal policies to address environmental concerns. PepsiCo states that it encourages â€Å"conservation of natural resources, recycling, source reduction and pollution control to ensure cleaner air and water and to reduce landfill wastes,† but does not elaborate on specific actions it takes. McDonald’s makes similar general statements and claims to be â€Å"actively pursuing the conversion of used cooking oil into biofuels for transportation vehicles, heating, and other purposes,† and pursuing various in-store paper, cardboard, delivery container and pallet recycling programs in Australia, Sweden, Japan and Britain. In Canada the company claims to be the â€Å"largest user of recycled paper in our industry† for trays, boxes, carry out bags and drink holders. Fast Food Recycling Programs Can Reduce Waste and Save MoneySome smaller fast food chains have garnered accolades for their recycling efforts. Arizona-based eegee’s, for instance, earned an Administrator’s Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for recycling all paper, cardboard and polystyrene across its 21-store chain. Besides the positive attention it has generated, the company’s recycling effort also saves it money in garbage disposal fees every month. A Few Communities Require Fast Food Waste RecyclingDespite such efforts, though, the fast food industry is still a large generator of waste. Some communities are responding by passing local regulations requiring recycling where applicable. Seattle, Washington, for example, passed an ordinance in 2005 prohibiting businesses (all businesses, not just restaurants) from disposing of recyclable paper or cardboard, though violators only pay a nominal $50 fine. Taiwan Takes a Hard Line on Fast Food WastePerhaps policymakers in the U.S. and elsewhere could take a lead from Taiwan, which since 2004 has required its 600 fast-food restaurants, including McDonald’s, Burger King and KFC, to maintain facilities for proper disposal of recyclables by customers. Diners are obliged to deposit their garbage in four separate containers for leftover food, recyclable paper, regular waste and liquids. â€Å"Customers only have to spend under a minute to finish the trash-classification assignment,† said environmental protection administrator Hau Lung-bin in announcing the program. Restaurants that don’t comply face fines of up to $8,700 (U.S.). GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalkemagazine.com. EarthTalk is a regular feature of E/The Environmental Magazine. Selected EarthTalk columns are reprinted on About Environmental Issues by permission of the editors of E.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Management Accounting Scenarios and Applications Assignment

Management Accounting Scenarios and Applications - Assignment Example In this way, a proper mechanism can be developed which can easily assist the departmental head regarding the cost patterns (Drury, 2006). Variance Analysis Variance Analysis is the next tool which can be used by the departmental heads after the incurrence of actual costs (Drury, 2006). This tool supports the departmental managers as to identify the cost which is actually representing more deviations from the estimated/budgeted/standard cost. Once the cost is identified to have shown deviations, proper investigations should be conducted as to find out the causes of the deviations of that cost. The variance can be either favorable or adverse; however, the departmental heads should investigate both types of variances because at times the favorable variances occur due to using substandard raw materials or other similar issues. By utilizing the above mentioned tools, the departmental heads can easily trace as well as monitor and control the cost patterns of their department. Email 2: The following response is generated to guide Brenda in respect of the equipment to be included in the capital budgeting process: Identification of Cash Flows For any equipment to be included in the capital budgeting process, the first and foremost step of including the particular item is the identification of all possible cash inflows and outflows along with their evaluation (Garrison, 2009). All the equipments have a particular initial outlay followed by the benefits (cash inflows in monitory terms) over its remaining useful life. However, the exact amount of cash inflows to be received is a bit judgmental task and needs careful estimation and forecast. The scenario mentioned in the case, needs a little adjustment as the printing machine to be purchased has a useful life of less than a year. Generally, equipments which are included in the capital budgeting process have a useful life of more than a year and their cash flows are estimated on yearly basis. In this scenario, the situation is a bit different. Here, an adjustment can be made such that a discount factor on monthly basis should be used by Brenda, and the Net Present Value of the printing machine should be calculated on monthly cash flow basis. If the NPV of the printing machine comes in positive figures, then the printing machines should be recommended for the final capital budgeting process. However, in case if the negative figure comes up for NPV, then plan for acquiring the printing machine should be discarded as it is no more feasible for Brenda to exploit the machine in best possible manner (Gupta, 2001). Email 3: Breakeven Quantities This response is presented for Carl’s inquiry regarding the breakeven quantity. Under the existing situation when fuel changes are not added in the cost of the product, the contribution earned is $1.87. However, if the cost of fuel is added, then contribution is decreased to around $1.72. As a result of this change in the cost of the product, the breakeven quant ity to be sold is also changed such that before the increase in the cost, the breakeven quantity is around 445,283 units. However, after the increase in the cost, the breakeven quantity is increased to around 484,116 units. Target Profits Assuming if the company is also interested in earning some profits of let’s say $100,000 then in that case, the company needs to sell some more units so that they can earn this much profit. It can be