You can choose a topic related to the theme listed below Essay

You can choose a topic related to the theme listed below - Essay Example According to Department for International Development report, migration to the urban centers is important in alleviating poverty (p. 13). This development has been good for the region as it has seen the turning of the region into a known economic power that is able to sustain itself and see the erection of various mega structures that are not found in any other part of the world. The development has come with various side effects some of which include population surge which is expected to rise more by 2020. The cities in the region are flocked with visitors from other parts of the world being many. With the population continuing to increase, questions of sustainable development arises as it is evident that after such, the population may be too much to handle, the traffic, and the industries. This essay will therefore explore city life in the gulf and evaluate the developments witnessed from sustainability point of view. Most gulf countries have witnessed the recent form of development with their urban centers growing and the population increasing double fold. However, as much as this is good for a developing nation or urban center in production of labor and market, it is also dangerous as at times the population may be a threat to sustainability. The quality of life in most of the gulf cities is at a critical condition with more people flowing in to have a share of the good economic run that is being witnessed at the period. Urbanization as indicated above is a result of good economic performance and an increase in the population. This leads to the formation of an urban center with the same social amenities that were available being used or being the center of more people who keep on streaming in. Planning is an important part of any society which may include a city or even a country. With the population increasing at such a rate, social life in the cities has become quite unbearable with more mone y needing to be put into

The subject matter of the programme Essay Example for Free

The subject matter of the programme Essay The United States has the highest gun related deaths in the world. Moore links this to the lack of gun control and the president. From childhood games to bomb threats, from shootings to terrorism. One of the main issues the documentary explored was the shootings at Columbine High School in the United States, gun control and how easily accessible guns are in the United States. the very high gun related deaths, violence, mentality, behavior, issues within schools, peer pressure the effect of societies were looked at. Also in questioning was violent video games music. Marilyn Manson came up as a name to blame, but the president was also name to blame. Bowling for Columbine starts with black and white footage of the gun association, this introduces the historical background. Moore uses a number of conventions typical to a documentary. He uses voice over commentary throughout. April 20th 1999 (a typical day in America) footage is used to accompany the narrative. Moores ridicule of the Bush Administration is shown in his voice over saying the President bombs another country whose name he cant pronounce The shot of the statue of Liberty is iconic of representing America. It can be seen as an establishing shot. Verite footage of North County Bank in Michigan, where there is use of point of view shots showing him looking through a brochure and completing a form, in return of a rifle. He uses the humor of sarcasm when asking about the questions on the form he has to fill in to retain the weapon and the fact of how it only matters if your criminally defected but not mentally defected. Moore states a rhetorical question Do you think its dangerous handing guns out at a bank? There is a long shot of Moore when he walks out of the bank, with the weapon held aloft. The viewer would probably be taken aback by this, if not American. Guns given out at banks just dont happen. The viewer would think bank robberies. How easy would it be for someone who has just taken out a weapon in false name (or not) to turn around and hold someone at gunpoint? The scene is accompanied by non-diegetic music, its upbeat and sets the viewers imagination into role. The opening credits are accompanied by black and white footage of youngsters bowling. This represents the effects on youths from a young age, the bowling to take place of the play of children from that of the effects of childhood games to shooting. The Columbine shootings. Later on in the documentary there is a link back to this, as one of the female students who went to Columbine High School said, one of the boys involved in the shootings use to bowl for Columbine. Which is where the title of the documentary may have come from. Throughout the whole of this documentary there is a continuous link to guns. There is a black and white television advertisement, from the 50/60s advertising real guns. These were fake toy guns that looked and sounded real. I think Moore shows this to show how much children are involved in the tradition of guns in America. Moore also uses home footage of himself and his history of gun use to present Americas gun culture and to present himself. He won the NRA marksman award. He then introduces the fact that he grew up in the same State as Charlton Heston where hunting is extremely common. Moore includes a scene of himself at the Hairdressers, where he purchases bullets. His message is just how easily accessible guns and ammunition really are. The viewer would be shocked, particularly with our own Laws and figures as the United Kingdom. In another scene Chris Rock, a comedian, is on stage presenting his views in his own comical way. He talks of gun control and speaks about bullets costing more then there may be less violence. He suggests $5,000 for a bullet and says I would blow your head off If I could afford it! I think Moore includes this because he has a point, it is entertaining and Moore thinks the idea needs to be made. Marilyn Manson came up as a name to blame by America, mainly by the media. But out of all the United States the President, Marilyn Manson was the only one to whom suggested listening. Said within an interview between him and Moore, as the answer to one thing he would say to the youths effected by the shootings at Columbine I wouldnt say anything, I would listen The scene was effective because Marilyn Manson is a well-known artist. Other countries such as Gothic Germany frequently listen to his music but have a significant lower percentage of gun related deaths. Other things to blame were such things as video games, horror films and a TV program COPS In America, presented in Moores way, the media seems to be racially prejudiced. That or the accusers. Big, tall, black man, in around his thirties In both documentaries there are no formal introductions to the subjects. At the beginning of the documentary particularly focuses on the NRA (National Rifle Association) that Moore is a member of, wherefore he introduces himself as an American. Weapons and shooting play a major part in the documentary as they do in America itself. Moore emphasizes on the gun accessibility and how easy it is to retain a weapon and more importantly ammunition for it. In the closing scene, the song What a wonderful world is played over visuals. This is ironic. It is non-diegetic to the whole of the documentary, but leaves the viewer to provoke the viewers thought. Fahrenheit 9/11 The temperature where freedom buns! The main issue in Fahrenheit 9/11 was Fahrenheit 9/11. The devastation and effects it had on the peoples of the United States. Terrorism. The Bush Administration. The presidents connections with the Saudis and Bin Ladens and the Iraqi War. Media footage of Fahrenheit 9/11 is shown. The scene is started by telephone calls of panicking residents with no visuals. Then footage of people looking up in the air. There is no formal introduction to Fahrenheit 9/11 but the viewer automatically interprets this. News footage is shown of the planes crashing into the twin towers, then to people crying and praying. This scene is very emotive; one might question whether it was moral of Moore to include it. I think he did because he knew the reaction he would receive and that it would get the attention he had hoped for. Moore to uses narration to take us through all his findings behind the media. From the 2000 elections to informing us of the relationship between the president and the Bin Laden family. The fact of how the FBI suspiciously decided to fly the whole of the Bin Laden family out of the States just two days after 9/11 without being held for questioning. Also the fact that the Saudis, Bin Ladens and Bush families are all invested in joint financial dealings. The president wouldnt want the American public to discover this. Perhaps Moore saw it his duty to inform the American public. Moore interviews a man who was questioned by the FBI for merely speaking of and questioning the presidents decisions. An over reaction of the FBI and president to prevent terrorism. But this man was not the only one to be questioned. This man says theyre meant to be a state where there is freedom and rights, Theyre denying me my rights as an American citizen There is footage of the U. S soldiers whilst in Iraq. The soldiers admit they did not know why the president had sent them to Iraq and that it was getting to a point when they were shooting anything that moved because they had not a clue of what they were doing. One of the soldiers spoke of how they listen to The roof is on fire by Bizzy Bone. A soldier starts saying the lyrics The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire We dont need know water let the motherfucker burn! Burn! Motherfucker. Burn! As he says this, the image on screen changes to footage of an Iraqi woman clasping onto her family with other women. The backing music plays over the scenes of destruction. This scene is very powerful and emotive. The viewer would not have expected it they would be shocked, at the language, the heartlessness of it and the following scenes of images of young children who had wounds deep as the bone, skin burns, dead people. During this there is emphasis in typography on many facts, figures and quotes with actual footage from real events that help to back Moore on his views. In another scene Royal Marines Officers were frantically recruiting young men, mainly school leavers to join up. This was because of the huge loss of American soldiers that had already been lost in the Iraqi War. An aerial shot of a huge cemetery where the U. S soldiers have been buried is shown, along with typography of the figures of thousands who died. In the second to last scene, an American citizen talks of how she persuades her children to sign up. The benefits and possibilities that the Army offers. To her deep regret, she reads out the last letter she received from her son, who lost his life in Iraq. In the letter, he writes of how negatively he felt towards the president in his decision of sending them to Iraq. The scene is highly emotive, drawing in the viewer as they sympathize with this familys loss. Creating Moores desired affect to persuade the viewer in joining him in his view, against the president. Michael Moore continuously takes advantage of his documentaries to make George Bush appear to have his priorities and concerns with matters other than the American public. He uses his documentaries to convey his own political views and opinions to his audience. His obvious dislike for the president is very apparent as he includes many edited scenes of him. An example of this is shown in the documentary, when the president is on vacation with his brother in Florida on the 10th September 2001, the day before Fahrenheit 9/11. With the aid of editing Moore sets up the cozy smug look of the presidents face after Fahrenheit 9/11, cutting to one of the victims grieving family members. Undoubtedly this brings over Moores view of the Bush Administration, therefore hopefully ensuing in the audiences view, along with the American public. One of Moores purposes for creating the documentaries. Michael Moores main purposes for creating this documentary are to inform his audience of the issues that the mainstream media has missed/not included. Moore wanted to uncover, in his opinion, the fact that the current president of the United States had sent his fellow citizens into war. For reasons only known to him and close partnerships; having little to do with the excuse of an attempt to stop terrorism, capture Osama Bin Laden or prevent Saddam Hussein from using his weapons of mass destruction. Moore uses a considerably large mount of editing; in fact editing creates most of his documentaries. Unfortunately, however fortunate for him, this creates a bias view, which is what the viewer sees. Moore continuously visually documents the weaknesses of the powerful. The main example is the president. Moore captures the presidents sensitive side. Also Charlton Heston, as he walks away from the camera unable to answer Moores request of After that happened you came to Flint to hold a big rally and, you know, I just, did you feel it was being at all insensitive to the fact that this community had just gone through more tragedy? Moore then continues, You think youd like to apologize to the people in Flint for coming and doing that at that time? Moore takes full advantage of the fact that he knows about Heston, having known of the shootings, and the fact that Heston had pretended he did not. In conclusion, Moore has presented two documentaries, from his own point of view, to present his views and some truths. Creating his desired effect, to inform and explain his view.

Apathy :: essays research papers

As you wait to cross the street, a blind man is standing in front of you. Without warning, he begins to cross the street even though the light has not changed in his favor. He seems to be in no danger until you see a car about a half mile away speeding towards him. Totally unaware of the situation, the man continues walking across the street. As you and many others watch in horror he is struck by the car. Although every single one of you had plenty of time to rescue him, you just watched, hoping that someone else would do it. After all, you don't know him so it's really none of your business. This is what is referred to as "bystander apathy". People close enough to see, hear and possibly touch one another are socially distant and totally indifferent to the fact that another human being may be dying, in immediate danger, or asking for help. This extremely sad urban problem is just that- a problem of cities. The likelihood of this occurring increases with the number of people present and it is probable that there will be many people to witness an event when it happens in high density cities. Urban sociologists, social psychologists, and criminologists have argued for years that the size of cities is directly related to the amount of "social pathology" they contain. The legal consequences are not severe. Unless an individual is a certified medical doctor, they have no obligation in Alberta to help anyone in need. So generally, they don't. The personal consequences may be more severe. Feelings of guilt and regret may follow an event, especially if it ends fatally or if the individual feels that they could have done something significant. Because of this, people attempt to convince themselves and others that they were justified in their inaction because "it wasn't their place", "I didn't want to do it alone", or "I didn't want to get involved." Excuses like this often stem from fears of being seen as abnormal, possible physical harm, public embarrassment, possible involvement in police procedures, lost work days and jobs, and other dangers. Urban people are very concerned with the way they appear to others. Anything that may separate them from the "in-group" of society is usually seen as too risky to take part in. And strangely enough, helping people in need is seen as one of these risks.

Lrc Paper

1. What are the three ways that students may receive counseling services through the LRC? You can receive counseling from the student center in three different ways- over the phone, in person and online through their online counseling center. 2. What heading are the Health Tools and Health Challenges found under? Health tool and Health challenges can be located under the â€Å"Thriving† heading. 3. Where is the Assess Your Health tool located?To access â€Å"Assess Your Health† tool you go to thriving, then to health tool and assess health tool is located to the right of the page. 4. What are the five categories on the Live Healthy Page? The five categories are How healthy are you, lifestyle change, physical fitness, prevention and screening and lastly tips for healthy living. 5. Where can resources and articles about good nutrition be found on the LRC? Information about good nutrition can be found under healthy eating located in the thriving tab. . What are three of th e health topics that can be found on the LRC? There are many health topics on LRC but three of them are â€Å"action items to lower your blood pressure, action steps for sun protection, and kids in action. 7. What are two categories found under the Medical Care heading? Two categories found under medical care heading our medical and dental care. 8. Where on the LRC would a person find information on addiction and recovery?To find information on addiction and recovery you would go to the Balancing tab and it will be located at the very bottom labeled â€Å"Addiction and Recovery†. 9. Where on the LRC would a person find information about health issues related to aging? You would locate the aging tab and then select Health and there is a lot of information related to health and aging. 10. What are three psychosocial health topics that are available on the LRC? Under balancing and relationships there’s many categories that cover psychosocial health like friendships, rela tionships and divorce.

Energy drink Essay

Introduction The marketing mix (tool largely used by marketers) is composed of the tactics being developed by a company in the 4 P’s areas: product, price, place and promotion, to assist them in pursuing their objectives. These variables have to be carefully managed by the organisation to meet the need of the defined target group. In this essay, we are going to focus on the â€Å"product† variable of the marketing mix. Phillip Kotler has defined the product as: â€Å"anything that can be offered to a market to satisfy a want or need† (Philip Kotler, Marketing Management, 2000). The product, but also its name and packaging, have a major impact on the brand positioning. They are fundamental tools in helping the company to induce trial and repeat purchase; they are also invaluable to achieve the desired awareness levels and to form positive attitudes among both customers and perspective customers. Highly profitable and attractive (giving the trend that consumers are increasingly looking for convenient drinks that boost their energy levels), the energy drinks market is highly competitive. A Mintel’s research (Market Trends category analysis, June 2004, www.PreparedFoods. com), found little brand loyalty among consumers of energy drinks, and a willingness to try a new product if the brand of choice is not available. This suggest the possibility that consumer could be swayed by the appeal of an intriguing package for instance. In this context, we will try to analyse, with the help of the example of the energy drinks, the importance of the naming and packaging tactics employed by the brands to differentiate their offer from the competition (given that the generic attributes of the energy drinks, in terms of composition, are quite similar). 1 Naming and Packaging: marketing mix tools of the product 1. 1 The products levels Philip Kotler, in â€Å"Principles of Marketing†, suggested that a product should be viewed in three levels (a division between five products levels has also been identified by the author but in our case, we are going to keep the simpler scheme of three levels). (source : www. learnmarketing. net/product. htm, 14/09/2004) The core product (level one) represents the core function of the product, a generic attribute that will be identical to all products on a specific market. For example, the main attribute a customer is willing to find when buying an energy drink is a liquid which composition will comprise ingredients that boost his or her energy levels (caffeine, guarana, taurine†¦ ) The actual product (level two) involves the brand, the packaging and the possible added features (benefits) that are provided to differentiate the company’s product from its competitors’. In the case of the energy drinks, if all of them actually provide a liquid that increase energy levels, some of them are sold in cans, other in plastic bottles or in aluminium bottles, using different designs and volumes. The augmented product (level three) is composed of the different additional non-tangible benefits that the company is offering to the customer. This comprises normally added services such as after-sales service, warranties, delivery†¦ It is difficult for a company providing energy drinks to differentiate itself from the competition through this kind of attributes. This is why we decided to focus on the second level of the energy beverages, their name and package. (www. learnmarketing.net/product. htm, 14/09/2004) First, what lies behind the concepts of naming and packaging? 1. 2 Naming â€Å"The naming of the product, service or company is called branding. A brand or name is the label that consumers associate with your product. For this reason, a brand or name should help communicate the product’s positioning and its inherent drama for the consumer† (Roman G. Hiebing Jr and Scott W. Cooper; The successful marketing plan, a disciplined and comprehensive approach; 2003). McCarthy, Perreault and Quester define branding as â€Å"the use of a name, symbol, design or combination of the three to identify a product† and more particularly a brand name as â€Å"a word, letter, or group of words or letters used to identify a product† (Basic Marketing, a managerial approach; 1997). 1. 2. 1 The visual distinctiveness of a brand â€Å"The name is composed of the title by which the company, product, or service is commonly known and the graphic forms of identification, including symbols, logotypes or signatures, tag lines, and representative characters† (Roman G.Hiebing Jr and Scott W. Cooper; The successful marketing plan, a disciplined and comprehensive approach; 2003). Some products, as paper clips, or energy drinks, are poorly differentiated by their â€Å"physical† attributes. One of the marketer’s tasks will be then to develop the brand in terms of its name and its graphic identity (logo), to communicate its differences. Nowadays, the consumers have an astonishing and increasing array of choice. In parallel, their available time to research products and make purchase decisions is decreasing. The importance of having a distinctive name is critical to securing competitive advantage, even more for the products such as the energy drinks, which core specificities have become insufficient to make a real difference. Consumers must be able to recognize the company in its name, logo, graphics and brand’s slogan; these must provide means of identifying the product as different from that of the competitors’, create a visual and verbal distinctiveness. For example, the name and logo of Ralph Lauren (a polo player) have become high means of recognition for the brand. Coca-cola is one of the best-known names in the world (even the characters’ type can be identified and recognized by the customer nowadays). Some companies, which offer different product lines, can use manufacturer brands, a name provided specifically for a product or collection of products that is different from the manufacturer’s one. For example, Powerade is the sport beverage supplied by Coca-Cola. Pepsi-Co sells a sport drink line under the name Gatorade. If the name is the more important element of the brand, one mustn’t forget that a brand can’t be simply reduced to its name. What is important are the positive associations that are going to be related to the brand in the customer’s mind (Philip Kotler, Marketing Management, 2000). 1. 2. 2 Selecting the right name A good brand name can help create brand familiarity (really important in the case of energy drinks). In general, good brand names are:  · short and simple (easy to recognize and remember)  · easy to pronounce  · should be able to be pronounced in all languages  · suggestive of product benefits (but not too generic)  · avoid any potentially undesirable connotation or image. (Roman G. Hiebing Jr and Scott W. Cooper; The successful marketing plan, a disciplined and comprehensive approach; 2003). 1. 3 Packaging 1. 3. 1 Definition â€Å"For manufacturers, packaging holds and protects the product and assists in communicating the products attributes and image. For retailers and service firms, packaging is the inside and outside environment that houses and dispenses the product/services (stores, offices, etc†¦ ), and it helps communicate the company’s attributes and image† (Roman G. Hiebing Jr and Scott W. Cooper; The successful marketing plan, a disciplined and comprehensive approach; 2003). Kotler has defined the packaging as â€Å"the activities of designing and producing the container for a product† (Philip Kotler, Marketing Management, 2000). 1. 3. 2 The functions of packaging Three functions lay behind the concept of packaging: protection, facilitating the product usage and communication. At its basic level, the package serves to protect the product (prevent breakage, exposure to light, exposure to air, spoilage†¦ ) and, in some cases, to hold or to contain it. Packaging also plays a role in protecting the consumer as well. Then, the package has a facilitative role in the use of the product (shape, size, fact that it can be resealed†¦ ). Finally, the product’s package represents a strong communication tool, at two levels. First, the package will comprise indications on the brand name, the product category definition, the composition, the flavour, warnings, directions†¦ Second, packaging also serves an important role in promotion. Its design, size, shape, materials, colour, text and brand mark†¦ should appeal to the target market. For example, yoghurt designated to the women on diet will not have the same package than yoghurt targeting the children. Besides, in today’s cluttered environment, where tens of thousands of brands are fighting for the shopper’s attention, consumers are making more and more purchase decisions at the point of sale. This is why the package, through graphics and colours that are attractive, plays an important role in getting the product noticed in the selves (to encourage impulse purchase for instance). (Philip Kotler, Marketing Management, 2000; Roman G. Hiebing Jr and Scott W. Cooper; The successful marketing plan, a disciplined and comprehensive approach; 2003). 1. 3. 3 The importance of packaging Packaging is a critical marketing tool. It can make an important difference from the competition by meeting customers’ needs more effectively. A better box, wrapper, bottle or can may help to emphasize the distinctiveness or novelty of a product or even result in the opening of a new market. It can even improve the product by making it easier or safer to use and then increase its value in the customer’s mind. Used correctly, the package can then underline the brand image, convey qualities such as freshness, fashion and quality (McCarthy, Perreault & Quester; Basic Marketing, a managerial approach; 1997). It is important that the packaging elements align with the rest of the marketing strategy to support it (pricing, advertising and other marketing tools). For example, an expensive perfume would rather be sold in a crystal bottle than in a plastic one, to underline and support the prestigious image (Philip Kotler, Marketing Management, 2000). 2 Packaging and Naming for the energy drink industry 2. 1 Industry overview. As a relatively new style of beverage in Australia (appearing in the mid 90’s), energy drinks, sometimes known as â€Å"smart drinks†, were originally designed to give people a boost. Other benefits advertised by these products are improved concentration, endurance, stamina and the ability to help combat fatigue (www. education. theage. com. au/pagedetail. asp? intpageid=69&strsection=students&intsectionid=0, 29/09/2004). â€Å"Lifestyles are moving faster. People seem to have become time poor and tend to work harder and play harder. These drinks are for those who need to pack more hours into their day. † (Glenn Martin, general manager, Frucor Beverages, The Age, May 2, 2001). Typically including a high caffeine level as well as vitamins, amino acids and herbal extracts, they usually sell for about $2 – $3. 5 for 250 ml, making them a relatively expensive soft-drink alternative. (www. education. theage. com. au/pagedetail. asp? intpageid=69&strsection=students&intsectionid=0, 27/09/2004). Initially popular in nightclubs and hotels, the energy drink market has been booming during the past few years in Australia, and these beverages are now widely available in supermarkets and convenience stores. Although this market is somewhat new in Australia, it is the fastest growing area of the soft-drink market. (www. education. theage. com. au/pagedetail. asp? intpageid=69&strsection=students&intsectionid=0, 27/09/2004). 2. 1. 1 Leading brands on the Australian market In 2002, the energy drink sales were dominated by four brands in Australia: Frucor Beverages Limited’s V (remaining by far the most significant player with 35% volume share), Red Bull Australia’s Red Bull, Coca-Cola Amatil’s Lift Plus and the Red Eye Company’s Red Eye. With a clever marketing and promotional tactics, V managed to cope with the growing competition and to increase its market share between 2000 and 2002, targeting at teenagers and young adults through the sponsoring of youth oriented events and advertising during youth programming (Euromonitor International, Soft Drinks in Australia, August 2004). However, in the latter part of this same period, the best growth was performed by Coca-Cola Amatil’s Lift Plus, which volume share increased from 5% in 2000 to 14% in 2002, to the detriment of the Red Eye brand which lost market share by the same amount. Red Bull signed, in 2003, a distribution deal with Cadbury Schweppes to solve its volume share decline over the recent years by accessing the group’s strong sale network. (Euromonitor International, Soft Drinks in Australia, August 2004). Considering the huge number of small brands existing today on the energy drink market, we decided to illustrate our study using exclusively the example of these 4 leaders. 2. 1. 2 Target market of the energy drinks The potential customers initially consisted in 90% of young and trendy people (club scene, extreme sports), nocturnal revellers, trendsetters and clubbers. Nowadays, the group of customers has evolved and includes:  · long distance drivers, especially people who work during the night or even employees working out of the office and rushing from appointment to appointment who have come to appreciate Energy Drinks as a good way to wake them up,  · top-level as well as free time sportsmen like snowboarders, mountain bikers, free climbers and downhill racers but also people going to the gym or participating in a triathlon, · pupils or students under stress who use the energy drinks as a new substitute of coffee. Users of Energy Drinks buy/drink them to be mentally and physically top fit and wide awake. They are dynamic, health conscious, achievement-orientated and active, in their jobs as well as in their spare time. Most of them are young but there is an increased interest in these products coming from an older age group of the population. (www. fortunecity. com/tinpan/clapton/843/energydrinks. html#eda, 29/09/2004). 2. 2 Packaging issues and trends on the energy beverage market Due to its growing competitive context, the energy drinks sector saw packaging used as an essential element in establishing brand identity. Consequently, the emergence of plastic bottles was far less pronounced in this sector than in any other soft-drinks sector. 2. 2. 1 Capacity and materials When Red Bull entered the Australian market in 1999, the company employed its trademark slim can and made it an immediate sign of recognition for the energy drink product. The brand wanted to use this as a point of differentiation to help consumers distinguish these highly caffeinated drinks from their carbonate counterparts, and competitors such as Lift Plus, V and Black Stallion followed this example to benefit from the association consumer would make between 250ml can and the type of product (Spark Gale, â€Å"Sports and energy drink market expanding faster than other soft drinks†, Food & Drink Weekly, February 23, 2004). This can size not only differentiate the product from the usual soft drink but also, according to the manufacturers, encourages only moderate consumption at any one time, because of the high caffeine content. Indeed, the energy drinks market has suffered from claims that excessive consumption of caffeine can cause a rise in blood pressure and can trigger events such as heart problems and strokes in some people (Euromonitor International, Global Packaging: Key Trends, www. euromonitor. com. library. vu. edu. au/gmid/default.asp, 20/09/2004) The initial choice of many energy drinks producers for the can packaging has also been determined according to the purpose of the beverage and the needs of its target market. Indeed, the design of the package and its material had to answer the requirements of people responding to the growing trend for eating and drinking â€Å"on-the-move†, had to offer at the same time convenience, solidity, to be light-weighted, easy to handle (the 250 mL format appears more convenient than the usual 330 mL size). Single-serve products also allow busy consumers, to drink in the car, office and in school, which happened to be essential to appeal to a broaden target market as it is now (Marsha Barancik, â€Å"Bottle cans’ have magnetic attraction†, Beverage Industry, March 2003). In fact, when the product entered the market, it was sold in major part in bars, pubs and nightclubs and convenience stores, but as brand like V and Red Bull started to gain distinctive brand identities the started to sell through supermarkets. In this context the 250mL aluminium can presented another advantage since it was an easy shape to offer in multipack that could fit in shelves optimally, and appealed to consumers because of the lower unit prices offered and the ease of transport to their homes (Euromonitor International, Soft Drinks in Australia, August 2004). However, the need for differentiating from competitors and for acquiring a strong brand equity, related to number entry the industry saw these last year, pushed the company to innovate, creating packagings that would differ from the overused 250 mL aluminium can. This need happened to strengthen with the addition of supermarket as a channel of distribution: the number of product and beverages that competed with the brand on the purchase decisional process was suddenly more diverse. To that extent, Red Eye used glass packaging as a strategy (that happened to be successful), to build brand loyalty among its consumers and to break with the expected can packaging offered by competitors. Since then, Lift Plus and V also offered a glass format to differentiate themselves from other canned energy drink brands (Global Packaging: Key Trends, www. euromonitor. com. library. vu. edu. au/gmid/default. asp, 20/09/2004). 2. 2. 2 Graphics and scripts Packaging in the energy drinks also feature distinctive graphics and script. Each brand will attend to convey a differentiated image using specific colours and visual affect known for being associated by the consumer to positive attributes. In 1988, McGraw Hill studied the feelings and the images conveyed by colour in order to show the importance of the packaging in the purchase decision process. As a result, he found out that consumer unconsciously were making the following association:  · Black: formality and elegance.  · White: Crispness  · Violet: tenderness  · Red: revolution, excitement, fire, energy, stanfurd.  · Blue: night, sadness, coolness, tranquillity  · Yellow: happy, warm, optimism  · Aluminium: high-energy voltage (http://www. alumni. berkeley. edu/Students/Group_Resource_Guide/Marketing_Tips_for_CAA_Student_Leaders. asp, 7/10/2004). Looking at each brands packaging, we can see that, according to this theory, different feelings are meant to be evocated by each brand. Except for Lift Plus, that is more oriented towards young people and students/children market, the aluminium colour is present on each packaging. The blue of the Red Bull can immediately reminds the customer with the clubbing and the nightlife while the red letter stands for energy and excitement. The yellow can of Lift Plus gives a joyful and playful image to the beverage and makes it a drink to be consumed during the day rather than in nightclub as a mixed drink (like its competitor Red Eye, Red Bull, or V). We can notice also the use of black in the two other packages, that gives a classy and distinctive image to the beverage, allowing them to stand in bar and club’s shelves. 2. 3 Naming issues on the energy drinks market In general, even if branding is one of the most important steps in the marketing plan of a product (a good name provides a strong mean of distinctiveness for the brand), there is not much secondary information available on the naming strategy adopted by the companies. Concerning the energy drinks industry, we are going to focus on the major brands present on the Australian market: V, Lift Plus, Red Eye and Red Bull. V is a typical example of a simple and memorable brand name that quickly identifies the product with an idea of vibrant, velocity, vitality, vigour†¦ Above all, V is the widely known abbreviation for volt, positioning the product as a high energy provider (www. frucor. com/brands/aus/new_age. html, 03/10/2004). The name Lift Plus explicitly suggests the benefits of the drink that, according to its producer Coca-Cola Amantil, as been designed â€Å"for people who work and play hard and need a boost to help them make the most of their waking hours†. It is also named after the well-known beverage â€Å"Lift†, to inform the consumer on the common point between the two beverages: both have citrus-based flavour (http://www. cokebuddy. com.au/about_brands. asp, 03/10/2004). Red Bull has been the first energy drink to enter the global market, the name of the product reflects well its attributes and benefits (the bull is a powerful animal, it represents the high level of energy the consumer is going to get by drinking this product). But this brand name has also been subject to a lot of controversy (that has finally benefited the brand by creating some promotion around it) related to the fact that the word â€Å"Bull† created a direct association in the public mind with one of the ingredient included in the formula: the Taurine. However, despite whatever conclusions one might draw from the name, Red Bull contains no substances of animal origin; even the taurine used in the formulation is synthetically produced (www. snopes. com/toxins/redbull. htm, 03/10/2004). Again, as for its competitor Red Eye, the code of colour (â€Å"Red†) is used as a way to suggest the energy and improvement of physical performance provided by the consumption of the beverage. Red Eye, as a following entrant in the energy drink market (after Red Bull), has used the notoriety of the Red Bull name as part of its naming strategy (the two brand names are quite similar). The term â€Å"eye† reflects the personality of the product, putting the stress on the ability of the product to provide its consumer with an improved ability to concentrate, an increased alertness and an enhanced reaction time (www. red-eye. com. au/classic. html, 03/10/2004). (Roman G. Hiebing Jr. and Scott W. Cooper, The successful marketing plan, McGraw-Hill, 2003). Conclusion Naming and packaging are critical marketing tools for the company; they assist its brand differentiation in the customer’s mind and product identification in the shelves of the store. Even if these two elements are even more important for products as energy drinks, that have quite generic core attributes (their composition is almost similar) and that cannot differentiate their offer using the augmented level of the product, we discovered through our research that a brand mustn’t limit its marketing mix tactic to its product features (naming and packaging). The three other P’s areas (Price, Place, and Promotion) are critical tools to strengthen the differentiation of its offer. The leading brands demonstrate it by supporting their product with heavy advertising campaigns and diverse promotional actions, as they proved to be essential to ensure their brand equity (sponsoring, sample distribution, co-branding, commercials, ads in various medias†¦ ). The study of the energy drinks market also showed us how the strategies linked to the issues of naming and packaging can evolve as the industry changes. Indeed, we discovered how these two aspects of the â€Å"actual product† could be used as way to assimilate the brand to a particular type of product, as well as a differentiation feature. In fact, the energy drinks market demonstrated us that the maturity of the industry influences greatly the challenges implied by the choice of a name or a package. Indeed, all the companies which launched their energy drink at the introduction of the product in the soft drink industry, chose to follow the first entrant (Red Bull) on its package choice, in order to clearly indicate to the customer the kind of product provided. As the industry matured, and the competition increased, offering a packaging that actually differentiated the brand seemed to be the only way to gain customer loyalty and to survive in this mature market. Sources : Literature:  · Philip Kotler, Marketing Management, 2000  · Roman G. Hiebing Jr and Scott W. Cooper; The successful marketing plan, a disciplined and comprehensive approach; 2003  · McCarthy, Perreault & Quester; Basic Marketing, a managerial approach; 1997 Websites:  · Market Trends category analysis, June 2004, www.PreparedFoods. com  · www. learnmarketing. net/product. htm  · www. education. theage. com. au/pagedetail. asp? intpageid=69&strsection=students&intsectionid=0  · www. fortunecity. com/tinpan/clapton/843/energydrinks. html#eda  · Euromonitor International, Soft Drinks in Australia, August 2004, www. euromonitor. com. library. vu. edu. au/gmid/default. asp  · Euromonitor International Global Packaging: Key Trends, August 2004, www. euromonitor. com. library. vu. edu. au/gmid/default. asp  · www. alumni. berkeley.edu/Students/Group_Resource_Guide/Marketing_Tips_for_CAA_Student_Leaders. asp  · www. frucor. com/brands/aus/new_age. html  · www. cokebuddy. com. au/about_brands. asp  · www. snopes. com/toxins/redbull. htm  · www. red-eye. com. au/classic. html Articles :  · Glenn Martin, general manager, Frucor Beverages, The Age, May 2, 2001  · Spark Gale, â€Å"Sports and energy drink market expanding faster than other soft drinks†, Food & Drink Weekly, February 23, 2004  · Marsha Barancik, â€Å"Bottle cans’ have magnetic attraction†, Beverage Industry, March 2003.

Candidate centered campaigns essays

Candidate centered campaigns essays Candidate-centered politics are election campaigns and other political processes in which candidates, not political parties, have most of the initiative and influence. The parties major role in campaigns is the raising and spending of money. The game begins with lots of money. The money chase is relentless. The major source of campaign funds comes from the RNC (Republican National Committee) and the DNC (Democratic National Committee). There are two types of money that campaigners receive, hard money and soft money. Hard money is campaign funds given directly to candidates to spend as they choose. Soft money is campaign contributions that are not subject to legal limits and are given to parties rather than directly to candidates. Because soft money is not regulated by election laws, companies, unions and individuals may give donations in any amount to a political party for the purpose of "party building." Party building may include ads that educate voters about issues, as long as th e ads don't take the crucial step of telling voters which candidates to vote for. For example: Candidate X runs an ad that says, "I am a good person. Candidate Y is a bad person. Vote for me on election day." Because of the "Vote for me..." portion, this is a political ad, which must be paid for with "hard money." Candidate Y runs an ad that says, "Candidate X has a record that includes awful things. If these awful things continue, people will come to your house, steal your money and shoot your dog. Be sure to vote on Election Day." Because the ad "educates" people on an issue and doesn't tell them to vote for a particular candidate, its party building, and can be paid for by soft money (www.how stuff works.com). Media consultants are often hired and are a staple of the modern campaign. They produce televised political advertising and create the photo-ops and other staged events that attract ...

Decision Support Systems

Decision Support Systems Introduction A decision support system is a form of a management information system (MIS). Other MIS methods include transaction processing systems and operations information systems. Management information systems are computer programs that provide the management in any organization with information essential for effective running of the organization, for example, an MIS can be designed to improve communication among staff and to provide a platform for recording information regarding the organization’s revenue and expenditure.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Decision Support Systems specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Decision support systems (DSS), similar to other MISs, are computer programs that aid managers in their day-to-day decision making processes without requiring the presence of computer experts. A DSS has three major elements: Database management system (DBMS) that stocks huge volumes of data that i s vital in finding solutions to problems for which the DSS has been designed to solve; Model-based management systems (MBMS) that processes data received from the DBMS in information that is vital for decision-making; Dialog generation and management system (DGMS) that gives an easy-to-use interface between the system and the managers who lack a broad knowledge of computer-based applications (Turban Liang, 2008, pp. 574). A Brief History of DSS DSS has developed from two core areas of study: the theoretical study of decision-making undertaken at the Carnegie Institute of Tech. during the late 1950s, and the scientific research on interactive computer systems largely done at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Keen, 1978, pp. 10) in the late 1960s. Research and study of DSS gained momentum in the mid-1970s, it was during this time that scientists began to identify a part that computer-based information systems (CBIS) could be of assistance to managers in their decision making pr ocesses. Since then, DSS became a major area of study and in the 1980s, several DSS systems emerged from a sole user and model-oriented DSS, these included the group decision support systems (GDSS) and executive information systems (EIS). EIS is a important tool for firm executives as it provides real-time and vital information that has been processed for tracking and managerial purposes. In the early 1990s, data warehousing and on-line analytical processing (OLAP) started widening the scope of DSS and by the turn of the millennium, new web-based DSS programs were launched. Technological advancements have seen the DSS emerge as an important constituent of the management sector. The introduction of new and better tools has seen the DSS to form an integral element of management design. Decision Support Systems DSSs transform data in such a way that they become useful and quality decisions can be made from them. Coming up with the right decisions usually depends on the quality of data fed into the DSS and the user’s ability to filter the data and identify trends to which one can find solutions. Generally, DSS are simply computer applications along with a human interface that can sort out, process large amounts of data, and carry out the required analyses (Druzdel, 2002, pp. 6).Advertising Looking for essay on it? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A majority of people think that DSSs are a specific division of an organization, however, a majority of companies have incorporated this systems into their daily routines, for example, a number of firms frequently download and study income and revenue data, projected growth, and budget sheets, and they refresh their plans once the analysis of the current results is complete. DSSs have a solid position in firms, yet the data and decisions they are founded on are ever changing. The main function of DSSs is to collect data, analyze, identify trends in t he collected data, and then create strategic decisions or plans from the analyses. Whether computers, databases or persons participate in the process is usually not important, however, it is this procedure of taking unstructured records, collecting it, and after analysis, using it to assist in decision-making. DSS can be categorized in to several models, the number of categories vary from one person to another. For example, we can have two categories when we consider the extent of data processing: passive and inactive, passive DSS only collects and analyzes data while an active DSS goes a step further and processes it. Another categorization system that considers the mode of assistance gives rise to five categories: A Model driven DSS is when managers use statistical, replication, or financial models as a basis of their decisions; A Communication driven DSS is when a number of people work together in coming up with a solution or plan; A Document driven DSS utilizes documents in a n umber of data type to make decisions and strategic plans; A Knowledge driven DSS provides specifically designed rules in a computer to come up with a decision; and A data driven DSS focuses on collected data that is then operated on to correspond the manager’s needs (Topbits, 2010, para. 8). Advantages of DSS There are several advantage that are associated with DSSs, especially in comparison with earlier methods of making decisions. These are outlined below: DSSs enhance personal efficiency- when data is collected and analyzed using scientific DSS methods, there is a drastic reduction of errors collectively known as human errors. After the data is analyzed, managers are able to make informed decisions based on the findings of the DSS procedure; DSSs hasten the pace of problem solving in an organization since the processes are done by automated systems. After installing the appropriate scientific formulas in the computer, the rest of the procedure is taken over by the comput er and the analytic process is swift. Besides, the DSS system filters the data for easier management and hence shortens the duration between data collection and decision-making. DSSs enhance information tracking since the analysis process is systematic and each stage can be tracked easily. Care should be taken during the data collection process, and when feeding it into the computer. Other merits of decision support systems include: enhancing interpersonal communication, reveals new fronts of handling organizational needs; and increases the competitive advantage of a firm. Disadvantages Reduced â€Å"user friendliness†. Although DSSs have been simplified in the recent years, it still remains a hurdle for some companies, especially those that do not have the resources required to implement it. There are costs incurred during the installation stage and staff training, small companies that cannot meet the costs have to resort to traditional methods of making decisions. Hard to quantify. Another problem in using decision support systems stems from the fact that if decision makers do not how to combine the output, the whole process will be in vain. Most decision support systems give outputs that are mathematical in nature, and they require mathematical calculations to find out the type of decision to be made. Finding solutions to model inadequacies. Another problem that comes with the use of DSSs is that the manager/user may not fully understand the inadequacies/ limitations of the DSS model under use. There may be instances where the user knows the knowledge that is required, but not the way to retrieve that knowledge. This problem is common in statistical analysis of data. The majority of statistical packages have a number of tests to be carried out on data irrespective of whether it is suitable or not. Effectiveness of the system A number of new tools and technologies are currently being developed to be added on to the DSS platform, these changes will reshape decision-making in organizations (Eom, 2001, pp. 11). New tools include hardware and computer software, artificial intelligence systems, data mining, OLAP, and internet analysis gadgets. In short, the future of decision support systems is bright. Any company or organization that does not embrace DSS methods and practices will have no place in the future as a majority of companies will have adopted DSSs. Such companies will lack a competitive advantage and will only watch as rivals register huge growth margins. However, we do not have to base growth on future innovations since the competition has already began. Adoption of DSS methods has a couple of benefits as earlier discussed. A firm’s expenses are reduced when it implements DSS methods, for example, fewer staff is required since most of the computerized systems will do most of the work. Besides, the analyses will be carried out in real-time and enable the manager to make even the most urgent decisions. Looking bac k at the advantages and disadvantages of the system, the decision to adopt a decision support system was a positive one.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Decision Support Systems specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Reference List Druzdel, M. J. (2002). Decision Support Systems. Encyclopedia of Library and  Information Science. New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc Eom, S. B. (2001). Decision Support Systems. International Encyclopedia of Business  and Management. London: International Thomson Business Publishing. Keen, P. G. W. (1978). Decision support systems: an organizational perspective. Reading: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co TopBits. (2010). Decision support system. Retrieved from tech-faq.com/decision-support-system.html Turban, E., Aronson, J. E., and Liang, T. (2008). Decision Support Systems and  Intelligent Systems. California: Pearson/Prentice hall

King Williams War in America

King Williams War in America King James II came to the English throne in 1685. He was not only Catholic but also pro-French. Further, he believed in the Divine Right of Kings. Disagreeing with his beliefs and fearing the continuation of his line, leading British nobles called upon his son-in-law William of Orange to take the throne from James II. In November 1688, William led a successful invasion with approximately 14,000 troops. In 1689 he was crowned William III and his wife, who was James II daughter, was crowned Queen Mary. William and Mary ruled from 1688 until 1694. The College of William and Mary was founded in 1693 in honor of their rule. Upon their invasion, King James II escaped to France. This episode in British history is called the Glorious Revolution. King Louis XIV of France, another strong proponent of Absolute Monarchies and the Divine Right of Kings, sided with King James II. When he invaded the Rhenish Palatinate, William III of England joined the League of Augsburg against France. This began the War of the League of Augsburg, also called the Nine Years War and the War of the Grand Alliance. Beginning of King Williams War in America In America, the British and the French were already having issues as frontier settlements fought for territorial claims and trading rights. When news of war reached America, fighting broke out in earnest in 1690. The war was referred to as King Williams War on the North American continent. At the time that the war started, Louis de Buade Count Frontenac was the Governor General of Canada. King Louis XIV ordered Frontenac to take New York in order to have access to the Hudson River. Quebec, the capital of New France, froze over in the winter, and this would allow them to continue to trade throughout the winter months. The Indians joined with the French in their attack. They began to attack New York settlements in 1690, burning down Schenectady, Salmon Falls, and Fort Loyal. New York and the colonies of New England joined together after meeting in New York City in May 1690 to attack the French in return. They attacked in Port Royal, Nova Scotia, and Quebec. The English were stopped in Acadia by the French and their Indian allies. Port Royal was taken in 1690 by Sir William Phips, the commander of the New England fleet. This was the capital of French Acadia and basically surrendered without much of a fight. Nevertheless, the English plundered the town. However, it was retaken by the French in 1691. Even after the war, this event was a factor in the deteriorating frontier relations between the English and the French colonists. Attack on Quebec Phips sailed to Quebec from Boston with around thirty ships. He sent word to Frontenac asking him to surrender the city. Frontenac responded in part: I will answer your general only by the mouths of my cannon, that he may learn that a man like me is not to be summoned after this fashion. With this response, Phips led his fleet in an attempt to take Quebec. His attack was made from land as a thousand men disembarked to set up cannons while Phips had four warships attack Quebec itself. Quebec was well defended both by its military strength and natural advantages. Further, smallpox was rampant, and the fleet ran out of ammunition. In the end, Phips was forced to retreat. Frontenac used this attack to shore up the fortifications around Quebec. After these failed attempts, the war continued for seven more years. However, most of the action seen in America was in the form of border raids and skirmishes. The war ended in 1697 with the Treaty of Ryswick. The effects of this treaty on the colonies was to return things to the status quo before the war. The borders of the territories previously claimed by New France, New England, and New York were to stay as they were before hostilities began. However, confrontations continued to plague the frontier after the war. Open hostilities would begin again in a few years with the beginning of Queen Annes War in 1701. Sources:Francis Parkman, France, and England in North America, Vol. 2: Count Frontenac and New France Under Louis XIV: A Half-Century of Conflict, Montcalm,  and Wolfe (New York, Library of America, 1983), p. 196.Place Royale, https://www.loa.org/books/111-france-and-england-in-north-america-volume-two

How British Airways can overcome low profitability and threat of Essay

How British Airways can overcome low profitability and threat of redundancies - Essay Example One of the most important issues for firms in the airline industry – as also in firms in all industries worldwide – would be to understand the needs of the customer and the market trends. The use of creativity when developing a firm’s strategic plans could be particularly valuable towards the improvement of organizational performance. However, managers would have the necessary skills in order to use creativity for the development of their firms’ strategic plans. The use of appropriate supportive tools (like Porter’s five forces, SWOT analysis or benchmarking) would be suggested to managers of all firms internationally especially under current market conditions – when the development of strategic advantages is not sufficient for the improvement of a firm’s position in its market. The radical changes in markets worldwide under the influence of continuous and strong financial turbulences have been often considered to express a change in t he structure/ ethics of societies worldwide. The airline industry has to follow the practices adopted by other industrial sectors in order to survive in current financial crisis.

George Simmel and Fashion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

George Simmel and Fashion - Essay Example The paper "Georg Simmel and Fashion" concerns the Georg Simmel and Fashion. While there are many writings on fashion, hel was the first one to make an in-depth analytical study on the subject. While his contemporaries viewed fashion as highly irrational in nature, Simmel suggested that the upper classes used fashion to set themselves apart from rest of the society. His theory revolved round concepts of individualism and collectivism, where it was conceptualised that fashion spreads from upper classes to the masses through remodelling. When a certain object or activity reaches the middle classes, the upper class must invent a new fashion to maintain distinction, which according to Simmel, illustrates the notion of recurring changes within fashion. 1904 essay â€Å"Fashion† examines sociological aspects of fashion and its role in conciliating the tension/conflict evident within modern social dynamics, related to gender and class. According to Simmel, fashion, which is a non-summ ative transformation in cultural attributes, evolves from a tension that is distinctive to an individual’s social conditions. While each individual tends to imitate or emulate others, at the same time there is also a tendency to remain separate from others. Undoubtedly, while some adopt imitation (conformism), others prefer to remain distinct (dissidence), and for fashion to be effective, it is necessary to allow functioning of both the opposing tendencies. Reviewing Simmel’s article is significant from current sociological perspectives., as it stands out as the only real attempt towards deriving basic theories on fashion. This essay reviews theories suggested by Simmel, and examines how the underlying tension (desire for conformation and distinction, at the same time) operates at group and individual levels, and how it reflects and influences wider social conditions. This essay also derives from Simmel’s writing that fashion is a kind of social relationship, wh ich makes it an important tool in understanding modern urban society. Introduction Since the beginning of 20th century, there has been a great deal of discussion on fashion. However, a closer look reveals that is a dearth of analytical and generic theories on this topic. Amongst the various available literatures, the best analysis on fashion is the essay written  by Georg Simmel in 1904.  This remains to this day, probably the only real attempt towards framing a basic theory on fashion; consequently, while the paper is now more than a hundred years old, theories and concepts suggested in it remain relevant, even in post-modern twenty-first century social structure (Coser,

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 13

Project Management - Essay Example Preciseness and accuracy as well as meeting the project’s objectives are very vital but cannot be achieved without proper planning (Butler & Richardson, 2011). It is indeed true that people variable is very significant in determining the input and the general planning of a project. Challenging free-wheeler based on the list of project variables may harvest very good returns for a particular project because every issue shall have been incorporated in the project (Butler & Richardson, 2011). Thorough discussions regarding the challenges and difficulties that may face the project may help in exposing future obstacles that may interfere with the smooth running of the project. Project planning is indeed an investment since it leads to success of the project and therefore should not be left to chance. There should be no excuse for such a thing that is aimed at saving both time and money. There may be dangerous costs that may be associated with failure to plan for a project (Rosenwinkel, 1995). According to Thilmany (2011), project planning is very crucial in controlling and evaluating a project right from its start to the end. Accountability and commitment in a project not only requires that all the information is tracked but that the resources are efficiently utilized and any form of wastage is reduced. Project variables should be highly taken into consideration while dealing with a project plan to maximize efficiency and effectiveness of a project. I was engaged in a project where the organization wanted an investigation of the installation of a new information system that would help in eliminating several bureaucracy involved in management including supervisory services. The project was supposed to take 100 hours and it involved exploration of new ways of doing business. We were in a team of five people performing the task for the project and three of us were management information system experts while two were individuals from human resource and a senior

Culture anthropolgy on Aborigines of australia Essay

Culture anthropolgy on Aborigines of australia - Essay Example The first Aboriginals are believed to have arrived in this unique and isolated piece of land some 50,000 years ago, when they migrated from the South Pole as the sea levels generally fell and the last Ice Age saw its end. Experts believe that the race then traveled on canoes and rafts across the ocean in search of a peaceful land (Barnard, 1996). The activities of aboriginals of the area remained secret and restricted to its own lands, until outsiders from around the world intruded their territories for political, economical, and anthropological purposes. Before the invasion of the British into Australia, (first invasion 1788), about 200 years ago, there were about 300,000 inhabitants living in the area, which constituted of 500 tribes using 200 distinct languages amongst each other, of which most of them are found extinct now; with each dialect defining each tribe that occupied a definite area in the continent. Whereas, lands owned by no tribal form were left arid and unoccupied, under the title of ‘no man’s land.’ (Bartlett, 2002). Though the Aboriginals vary abundantly from their appearance due to the diversity seen between their groups; however, some of the common features that all of them share are their dark brown skin with wavy hair, developed onto slender bodies which are erect showing their hardworking capabilities. Anthropologists believe that variations in their appearances are due to their migrations at different points of time in history. Whereas some critics to this opinion believe in ‘homogeneity’ of the aboriginals, whereas any variations in them might be due to variation in diet and the environment they lived in, while as a whole, they lived in isolation from rest of the world (Ashley, 2009). This paper discusses the isolation of the Aborigines of Australia form the rest of the world; as when development and technology were taking the world up by storm, they remained a loaf of this

Body shop case study, part 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Body shop case study, part 2 - Assignment Example Brand management is the result of strategic marketing. From pricing a product to pensioning that product in the targeted consumer mind are parts of strategic brand management. Customers’ feedback will be interpreted and analyzed in this paper with based on academic concept of brand management. A mind will be developed of Body Shop with respect to the feedback of the comments of interviewee customers about their experience on the products of Body Shop. Competitive analysis is another important area of brand management. Therefore, position of Body Shop brand in the customers’ mind will be evaluated by comparing the competitors positioning. Possibility and viability of brand extension will be analyzed based on the gap of customers’ satisfaction regarding the company’s products and their satisfaction. Finally, marketing momentum of this brand will be analyzed in Australian market of beauty products. Table of Contents Introduction 4 Data collection and analysis 5 Findings 6 Mind map analysis 8 Competitive market position 9 Brand extension 10 Marketing momentum in Australia 11 Conclusion 12 Reference 13 Introduction Body Shop is an international beauty products brand. Name of the company is The Body Shop International plc which is a US based multinational company established in 1976. The company has successfully grown from its first shop in Brington, England to 2400 stores in 61 countries. Effective brand management is one of the key reasons of its success. Both the market diversification along with product development strategies have been adopted by the company result a rapid growth in the European market and after that successful business in the international market. Recently, the company has been acquired by L’Oreal group and it has become a subsidiary of L’Oreal. The company sells more than 1200 products in domestic as well different foreign market across the world. There are different strategies and factors behind this s uccessful creation of international brand. The company has been ethically following its core business values which cumulatively influenced its brand image. One of the important values of the company related to its brand management is that the company is dedicated to manufacture its wide range of products from the natural resources and least usage of chemicals. This is one o9f the key strength of the company which has become its competency over years. Customer acceptance and trust on the product of this company is positive result of brand management (The Body Shop, 2012). This study will deal with detailed analysis of some customers’ feedback about the products offered by the company. This will help to assess the position of the brand in competitive global market of beauty products. Customers’ buyers’ power is very high due to higher availability of beauty products in many domestic as well as international brands. So, brand extension is most important for this bu siness that all companies keep continuous focus. Therefore, interviewing the customers will help to find out the requirement of brand extension of this company. Finally, recommendation for effective strategic brand management for its marketing momentum in Australian market will be provided based on the analysis and the demand and trend of customers’ preference about beauty products. Data collection and analysis There are different modes and processes of data collection i.e. collection of customers valuable feedback regarding products

Culture anthropolgy on Aborigines of australia Essay

Culture anthropolgy on Aborigines of australia - Essay Example The first Aboriginals are believed to have arrived in this unique and isolated piece of land some 50,000 years ago, when they migrated from the South Pole as the sea levels generally fell and the last Ice Age saw its end. Experts believe that the race then traveled on canoes and rafts across the ocean in search of a peaceful land (Barnard, 1996). The activities of aboriginals of the area remained secret and restricted to its own lands, until outsiders from around the world intruded their territories for political, economical, and anthropological purposes. Before the invasion of the British into Australia, (first invasion 1788), about 200 years ago, there were about 300,000 inhabitants living in the area, which constituted of 500 tribes using 200 distinct languages amongst each other, of which most of them are found extinct now; with each dialect defining each tribe that occupied a definite area in the continent. Whereas, lands owned by no tribal form were left arid and unoccupied, under the title of ‘no man’s land.’ (Bartlett, 2002). Though the Aboriginals vary abundantly from their appearance due to the diversity seen between their groups; however, some of the common features that all of them share are their dark brown skin with wavy hair, developed onto slender bodies which are erect showing their hardworking capabilities. Anthropologists believe that variations in their appearances are due to their migrations at different points of time in history. Whereas some critics to this opinion believe in ‘homogeneity’ of the aboriginals, whereas any variations in them might be due to variation in diet and the environment they lived in, while as a whole, they lived in isolation from rest of the world (Ashley, 2009). This paper discusses the isolation of the Aborigines of Australia form the rest of the world; as when development and technology were taking the world up by storm, they remained a loaf of this

Critically discuss the empirical evidence that there are sex Essay - 1

Critically discuss the empirical evidence that there are sex differences in intelligence - Essay Example Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings—"catching on", "making sense" of things, or "figuring out" what to do. (p.13) The complex factors that affect intelligence have fascinated researchers over the years, with the belief that gender plays a significant role in cognitive abilities. In an effort to settle controversies concerning gender and intelligence, empirical researches in the fields of psychology and learning have made attempts to identify how the two sexes perform in certain cognitive tasks. Based on the results of the standardized measures in cognitive batteries, increasing evidence from various studies confirm that men’s functioning and women’s functioning are in fact different. A study conducted by Jackson and Rushton (2005) investigated the sex differences in general mental ability. A Scholastic Assessment Test was given to 100,000 high school graduates where results showed that the male samples performed better with an average IQ score of 3.63 higher than the females. This finding was consistent with other factors across groups such as gender differences in gene ral mental ability for participants from different socioeconomic levels and ethnic groups. Likewise, the British Journal of Psychology published the findings of a study made by Lyn and Irwing (2005) on a big sample of university men and women. The controversial research that aroused public attention indicated that based on IQ, men’s average scores were higher between 3.3 and 5.0 than women. While outcomes of these research studies have favored the male sample, results of other studies revealed that although both male and females vary on average in how competently they function on different skill tests, cognitive skills are actually equally distributed between them (Halpern, D.,Benbow, C., Geary, D., Gur, R., Hyde, J., and Gernsbacher,M., 2007). For instance, women are likely to achieve higher scores on specific verbal

Bio Sem Mock Research Paper Essay Example for Free

Bio Sem Mock Research Paper Essay Abstract: If one was to try to grow corals in order to build up a damaged reef, what would be the most effective, quick way to do it? Coral reefs are always facing hardships from natural and unnatural destructors, causing the percentage of reefs to diminish. Coral reefs have their own, natural, ways of rebuilding but sometimes, things need to be helped along in order to restore the ecosystem. In order for coral to grow, especially in captivity, there must be proper levels of everything. Whether it be, calcium levels, pH levels, or even salt levels, everything has to be perfect, and if there are any imbalances, it could result in devastation to the captive coral population. The results found from the experiment suggest that corals exposed to zooxanthellae with proper nutrition and chemical levels in the water grew the fastest and healthiest. Introduction: Ever since I was little, I was fascinated with everything to do with marine life and I can definitely thank my father for introducing me to the complexities of the underwater world. Corals especially catch my attention because they are not only plants, they are thriving creatures with, what seems to be, minds of their own. The fact that each species have their own specific niches such as being able to collect food by themselves, protect themselves with chemicals, and move on their own is just amazing to me. My interest in coral reefs has led me to want to learn more and maybe someday help protect this staple in underwater ecosystems. My interest in maintaining coral reefs has led me to the question, how does one cultivate corals and/or restore damaged corals in a closed environment to the point of being grown and healthy enough be placed back into the ocean in the fastest amount of time possible? Materials and Methods: Pioneer corals were used in the experiment because when restoring a coral reef, pioneer corals must come first in order to create a basis for the other corals to grow off of. Different aquariums housed the coral, each with different variations of the chemicals needed. There was a constant variable aquarium that contained water most similar to that of the ocean’s and the others had variations such as higher or lower pH levels, added nutrients, and different amounts of sunlight. Results: Discussion: It was found that one of the important factors of a healthy developing coral is the harboring of a photosynthetic dinoflagellate called zooxanthellae. This develops a lining in the coral’s cells that helps produce much of it’s carbon energy needs. Acknowledgements: Literature Cited: Jaap. Coral reef restoration. Florida Marine Research Institute and Lithophyte Research. Ecological engineering 15 345-364. Elsevier. 10 March 2000.

Practical Application Of Lewins Force Field Analysis Change Model Nursing Essay

Practical Application Of Lewins Force Field Analysis Change Model Nursing Essay The aim of this paper is to to describe practical application of Lewins (1951) force field analysis change model in reducing Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients length of stay (LOS) in a Tertiary Care University Hospital. Introduction: This paper reports on a change from 6.5 days to 4 days reduction in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients length of stay (LOS) in a Tertiary Care University Hospital. The change was embedded with systemic assessment, planning and implementing standardized strategies for all ICU long stay patients and finally evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of ICU bed utilization with multidisciplinary team approach. Change is inevitable for the reason that it ingrained human lives, core processes and system reforms. Day by day many changes have been observed in health care; associated with disease processes explicitly from prevention to rehabilitation, health care norms and nomenclature, infra structures modifications, policy matters, reengineering and system transformation. Different components of health care depends on one another for assembling such changes in order to produce work like from providers to payers, hospitals to suppliers, education to regulatory bodies and research to professional associations; all these are interlinked to perform function. Many of the above stated happening are planned however at times nature takes its own turn to act as a catalyst for change for example natural occurrences like tsunami, some crucial system analysis like break through reports from Institute of Medicine (IOM) on patient safety and the quality of care provided to all the health care customers. Th ese were just simple examples of revolutions in health care taken place on an ongoing basis. Traditionally it is believed that changes are always for the betterment however at times it has been observed that this phenomenon is proven to be cynical and challenging especially when it is not made in a haphazard manner, without pursuing change management principles. Addressing the challenge of change Fetherston et.al (2009) stated that: Managing changing in the health care setting is always challenging, especially when it involves transforming entrenched habits grounded in professional expectations (p.2581). Despite change involves resources like human, material and cost and therefore whatever is proposed for change need to be evaluated for its effectiveness and efficiency, applicability, and consequences. It also depends on the team we are working with and there are times when the team building is so strong and the communication between the team is such that adopting to a new concept is very easy versus if the team members are not on same wavelength and have a lot of differences of opinions failure to reach to a simple consensus. Coch and French (1948) concluded that rate of recovery when learning a new task is directly proportional to the amount of participation. To improve understanding of change dynamics Armenakis and Harris (2011) recommends that readiness for change is distinguished from resistance to change and readiness is described in terms of the organizational members beliefs, attitudes, and intentions. Change agent is a very important contributor to make change happen constru ctively and productively. The personal and professional characteristics, interpersonal competency all these aspects are dependent to an outcome of change. Another factor involved in change process seems to be very crucial is the timeframe require for change. Is it a short term or a long run change which is going to measure and monitor, what about the sustainability of the proposed change etc. In order to have successful change Kotter and Schlesinger (2008) recommends and put idea in practice (Appendix) and suggested that analyze situational factors, determine the optimal speed of change, and consider methods for managing resistance (p1, 2). According to Lippincott-Raven Publishers 1986 Crucial to facilitating change is selecting a strategy that is likely to produce the desired change with minimal time and resistance. Background In todays health care setting, organizational change is essential for growth and development to keep up with the market competition Although health care continues to be enmeshed with ongoing challenges of cost, technologies, access to health care, human resources, quality inconsistent with an arena where error rates are too high there are multiple growing opportunities to improve client care management and service delivery components. Changes have been observed in clinical practice based on evidence based research resulting in application of new technology, diagnostics, drug regimes, treatment profile, care monitoring and finally the patient outcomes. All these are direct provision to a customer and perhaps if we look at the wider base it heavily involves all support functions available for patient care and employees of the organization. How all these are managed with patient flow and activities? Who is accountable? Change has both individual and institutional significance; and addre ssing its importance Watwood et al. (1997) shared that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦changes à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ bring opportunity for personal and institutional growth and development (p 162). When it comes to an institutional change; it has emphasized that it should complement the philosophy, mission and vision of the organization. Therefore Heller Arozullah (2001) identified four key factors for successful program development and achievement and those were: aligning the program with the strategic goals of the organization; obtaining active senior leadership commitment, including allocated resources; securing the appropriate infrastructure to facilitate integration of recommended actions into daily practice; and setting up systematic communications with all involved stakeholders (p551) Several challenges exists in system when it comes to a revolution however factors define by Heller Arozullah (2001) would help in embarking change in a more structured manner. ICU is a consolidated area of a hospital where patients with life-threatening illnesses or injuries receive round the clock specialized medical and nursing care. Intensive care is one of the hospitals most complex and expensive medical systems. As medical care has improved, the type of patients treated in critical care units has changed from those with acute illnesses to those suffering from complications of chronic diseases. While better technology and better ways of taking care of patients has improved longevity and general health, the patients in the intensive care units of hospitals are getting sicker and globally these beds have a high demand based on the critical needs of patients and it doubles the need in an arena where these resources are very scare and inadequate This would augment medical care required, cost of care and excess use of resources when they are not required. Long stays in the intensive care unit are associated with high costs and burdens on patients and patien ts families and in turn affect society at large. Williamss et.al (2010) states that: It has been estimated that between 2% and 11% of critically ill patients require a prolonged stay in ICU, accounting for 25-45% of total ICU days, and a significant proportion of resources(p 459) The cost of caring for patients in ICUs in the United States has been estimated to account for 1% to 2% of the gross national product shared by (Miller et al. 2000, Seeman David 2004) ) whereby Haugh (2003) stated that 15% to 20% of US hospital costs represents 38% of total US healthcare costs. According to Miller et al. (2003) the total number of hospitals, hospital beds, and inpatient days decreased during the years 1985 to 2000, the number of critical care beds and days in critical care increased dramatically during the same period Whereby Stricker et al (20037) found that only 11% of patients admitted to the ICU stayed for more than 7 days, these patients used more than 50% of ICU resources. Furthermore, in several studies (cited in Ryan et al 1997, Wong et al 1999) the mortality of patients with ICU admissions lasting 14 days or longer was estimated to be nearly 50%. Rosenberg et al. (2001) shared that Mortality rates are higher in ICU than in any other area of the hospital due to the complexity of patients medical condition. Fakhry et al (1996) found that 70% of patients with stay longer than 2 weeks reported less than 50% functional recovery. Esserman e t al (1995) found that 32% of ICU resources were spent caring for patients who survived less than 100 days after discharge from the hospital. In a tertiary care university hospital where I am presently working patients were found to be stuck in the ICU and have longer stays and in the month of January 2009 it was found to be 8.4 days and subsequently in the following quarter 1 it was 6.5 days (refer appendix 1). When explored, multiple factors aroused (refer appendix 2) and therefore to address this concern a multidisciplinary team was formed. It was proposed to undertake the work of reducing patients length of stay in ICU and therefore it the goal was to reduce patients length of stay from 6.5 days to 5.5 days in the second quarter for the year 2009. Rogers and Shoemaker (1971) framework was used to appraise the various component of the proposed change in order to identify its strengths and weaknesses.  Team assessed its relative advantages to current situation and felt that it is worth spending the time and effort for the given scenario, change seems to be appropriate and compatible with existing philosophy of the clinical area, easy to be understood and applicable by all bedside staff. Moreover the project was trialable to a pilot    before going the whole way and relevant to organizational goals. Discussion Changes will continue as an adaptation and at times mandatory in order to survive. Lot of literature is available when it comes to the change management in health care setting. There are models available to address organizational change, system revolution, and human transformations which address many other aspects of successful implementation of reforms. Change process follows the same course as of nursing process and problem solving approaches. According to Christensen a Christensen b (2007) Lewins (1951) theory of transitional change is the most used form of change implementation strategies. The change we were supposed to undertake; this theory appeared to address many aspects of it and therefore the mechanism for identifying the social system within organization for selecting, developing and implementing the strategies to serve as a solution was done by application of this model. According to course notes Lewins widely cited, classic model of the change process, the three changes are: Unfreezing, where faced with a dilemma or disconfirmation the individual becomes aware of the need to change; changing where the situation is diagnosed and new models of behaviour are explored and tested and finally, refreezing where the application of new behaviour is evaluated and adopted. (p53) Huber (2006) states that: The basic concept of the change process was outlined by Lewin A successful change involves three elements: unfreezing, moving and refreezing. (p810) Fetherston et.al (2009) emphasized the importance of major change like this and endorsed that: Where a major change is implemented, models such as Lewins (1951) model of unfreezing, changing and refreezing can be a useful guide Baulcomb (2003) states that This theory places emphasis on the driving and resisting forces associated with any change, and to achieve success the importance lies with ensuring that driving forces outweigh resisting forces. Driving forces tend to initiate change or keep it going whereas restraining forces act to restrain or decrease the driving forces. The intention to reach a state of equilibrium (p277). Unfreezing Lewins change approach fall within three steps and this is the first one where the process of thawing out the system to create motivation for change. Its like getting the team warming up to play their cards; getting everybody on the same wavelength and organizing. Huber (2006) shared that the first stage is cognitive exposure to the change idea, diagnosis of the problem, and work to generate alternative solutions. (p811). Though it was a great challenge for the team however the process of systemic assessment and unfreeze stabilizing the team readiness was initiated for the said change. Different strategies were brain stormed in a multidisciplinary team.ICU patients length of stay was gathered prospectively. Potential predictors were analyzed for possible association with prolonged ICU stay. Driving and restraining forces were studied (Appendix ) Moving Then we proceeded with the second stage of Lewins theory i.e., moving and changing. It involves moving a target system to a new level maintaining equilibrium; viewing the problem from a new perspective, situation is diagnosed and new models of behaviour. This stage was determine through formation of ICU long stay committee with terms of reference, notification of long stay patients stayed in ICU for more than 7days or earlier if deemed necessary to all concerned, holding meeting with primary team everyday to discuss next course of action, identification of patients difficult to wean, patient requiring early tracheotomy to maximize discharge process, initiating daily rounds by multidisciplinary team with primary team. Furthermore, introducing expected admission discharge time (EADT) to facilitate bed identification. According to Hoda (2008) length of stay (LOS) may be influenced by the availability of appropriate high dependency units to discharge patients. Review on daily basis the n eed for bed for inpatients and emergency. Admission /discharge policy was reinforced through multidisciplinary approach. Alternate accommodation in other units like CICU and CCU which has same bed accessories and uniform care provision were identified. Early tentative beds are booked in wards before rounds in order to facilitate early bed arrangement and patient transfer. Refreezing The final stage is refreezing. In this stage new developments are incorporated and improvements are made to stabilize the selected strategies to ensure the sustainability of the project. Daily check at unit and divisional level by bed management coordinator and ICU team. Monitoring on shift bases by charge nurses and nursing supervisors. Interventions involving palliative care, ethics consultations, and early decision about patient transfer and orders writing, family willingness and readiness and other methods to increase communication between healthcare personnel, patients, and patients families were helpful in decreasing length of stay in the intensive care unit. Thus, interdisciplinary communication played a vital role in improving ICU patients LOS whereby its importance is being defined by Pronovost et al (2003) and point out that communication failures lead to increased patient harm, length of stay (LOS), and resource use (p71). Hence to a major extent the daily communication st rategy worked out very well and the team was successful to bring about this change. ICU length of stay was 6.5 days in quarter one and it was reduce to 5.6 days in the second quarter for the year 2009 and consequently to 4.8 and 4 day in third and fourth quarter of 2009. Fetherston et.al (2009) stated that: When change is managed in systematic steps with adequate evaluation and communication throughout the process, it is more likely to result in successful outcomes. (p 2582) Evaluating the Change Project s took place and was received very positively. Following are the most important attributes I have experienced for this successful change like it was logical, efficient, and planned not haphazard then it was based on explanation of reason for a change so that individuals understand it. After that it was very informative and staff supported change when they were involved in assessment and planning. Change agent interpersonal competency and expertise (knowledgeable) of the given task was outstanding and hence the monitoring feedback on timely basis -to ensure that all team members is on same wave length wa carried out in a very sposticated manner.

Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky Essay -- Crime and Punishmen

In Fyodor Dostoevsky book Crime and Punishment, women at this time in Russia were not the equals of men in terms of education and power. In Crime and Punishment the women in the story were self-sacrificing in their actions, which in return paid off for the women. Majority of women, in Crime and Punishment, such as Sonya were selfless in their actions. The women in this story play a motherly role towards the men. Women in this story may have lived in a male dominated society, but it seemed that the words the women spoke in this story were very strong in influencing the men. Sonya plays a major role in Raskolnikov's life, being the person Raskolnikov relies on while he was in and out of prison. Raskolnikov felt a heavy connection with Sonya because she was a prostitute and he was a murderer, which let him feel like they've both committed sins. Because of Sonya's self-sacrificing actions it led to Raskolnikov to depend on Sonya and soon end up loving her. Sonya's behavior was beneficial for both her and Raskolnikov. Sonya gave Raskolnikov purpose in continuing to live by using the power of Christ and religion. In return Sonya self-sacrificing behavior towards Raskolnikov, gave her a new start in life in Siberia. Dunya also plays a role in Raskolnikov's life as she was willing to sacrifice herself to give him a better future, by giving her hand in marriage to Pyotr Petrovich. Sonya is a support system to Raskolnikov as she allows him to see the wrongness in the crimes he has done. Sonya heavily uses God as her support system and urges Raskolnikov to do the same, as she wishes him to redeem himself for his murderous acts. Sonya tells Raskolnikov â€Å"Go, now this minute stand in the crossroads, bow down, and first kiss the earth you've ... ... more confident character compared to Sonya was able to hold her ground against women, but still relied on men to become successful herself. She was willing to marry Petrovich to become rich and for her brother to become successful. Svidrigailov and Petrovich did not view women as equals, but they did admire them. They felt as if as long as women obeyed them they would give the women just about anything they wanted. To their disadvantage this did not work, although Dunya was desperate she did not sacrifice her self for the money and happiness they were openly willing to give her. She did not take form as the weak women in the story and took on a stronger role as a women who could stand her ground against men. Sonya's and Dunya's love is what helped Raskolnikov to redeem himself. Along with their mother like role which advised and watch over Raskolnikov to the end. Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky Essay -- Crime and Punishmen In Fyodor Dostoevsky book Crime and Punishment, women at this time in Russia were not the equals of men in terms of education and power. In Crime and Punishment the women in the story were self-sacrificing in their actions, which in return paid off for the women. Majority of women, in Crime and Punishment, such as Sonya were selfless in their actions. The women in this story play a motherly role towards the men. Women in this story may have lived in a male dominated society, but it seemed that the words the women spoke in this story were very strong in influencing the men. Sonya plays a major role in Raskolnikov's life, being the person Raskolnikov relies on while he was in and out of prison. Raskolnikov felt a heavy connection with Sonya because she was a prostitute and he was a murderer, which let him feel like they've both committed sins. Because of Sonya's self-sacrificing actions it led to Raskolnikov to depend on Sonya and soon end up loving her. Sonya's behavior was beneficial for both her and Raskolnikov. Sonya gave Raskolnikov purpose in continuing to live by using the power of Christ and religion. In return Sonya self-sacrificing behavior towards Raskolnikov, gave her a new start in life in Siberia. Dunya also plays a role in Raskolnikov's life as she was willing to sacrifice herself to give him a better future, by giving her hand in marriage to Pyotr Petrovich. Sonya is a support system to Raskolnikov as she allows him to see the wrongness in the crimes he has done. Sonya heavily uses God as her support system and urges Raskolnikov to do the same, as she wishes him to redeem himself for his murderous acts. Sonya tells Raskolnikov â€Å"Go, now this minute stand in the crossroads, bow down, and first kiss the earth you've ... ... more confident character compared to Sonya was able to hold her ground against women, but still relied on men to become successful herself. She was willing to marry Petrovich to become rich and for her brother to become successful. Svidrigailov and Petrovich did not view women as equals, but they did admire them. They felt as if as long as women obeyed them they would give the women just about anything they wanted. To their disadvantage this did not work, although Dunya was desperate she did not sacrifice her self for the money and happiness they were openly willing to give her. She did not take form as the weak women in the story and took on a stronger role as a women who could stand her ground against men. Sonya's and Dunya's love is what helped Raskolnikov to redeem himself. Along with their mother like role which advised and watch over Raskolnikov to the end.