Principle Underpinning the Role of the Practitioner Working

The benefits of developing reflective practice within a childcare setting is the key to quality improvement as it helps practitioners to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different aspects of skills and progress within the settings provision. It involves thinking about how you currently work to reflect to see if it can be done in a different way in order to improve your practise. Practitioners will be taking various observations of children to see if they’re meeting their norms, then practitioners will look to see where their weaknesses are in their developments, and how they are learning.They will reflect how they are planning to see if they can change it to increase the children’s development to make the child meet their norms in their weaknesses. Some children might need to be involved with multi-agency teams, practitioners then need to associate and create a meeting about the child to asses there needs to make an arrangement to meet there need by co-operating with the multi-agency teams. Practitioner could use the children strengths for example, numeracy (counting) so therefore they could put number shapes on the dough table to attract the child to increase their fine-motor skills.Practitioners then can adjust the planning to meet the child’s needs, by implementing and linking it to the national curriculum which is Early Years Foundation Stage. Reflective practice benefits the adults by communicating, thinking of new ideas, building positive relationships, being able to see how children are progressing, improving knowledge and improving skills when working with children. Reflective practice benefits the setting by building relationships between staff, it will make the setting a happier place, creates a positive atmosphere, safe environment and it will make you enjoy your work and make you want to be there.

My Virtual Life Report Essay

Attachment is defined as the positive emotional bond that develops between a child and a particular individual. Of the four major patterns of attachment (secure, avoidant, ambivalent and disorganized-disoriented), I would consider Blair securely attached. Like other children who have a secure attachment pattern, Blair uses me, her mother, as a type of home base (Feldman, 2012). At 8 months Blair is cautious and shy in new situations. She has a typical fear of strangers but will eventually warm up somewhat to a new situation. Blair shows a strong preference for me over others. I am always talking and thinking about Blair. When my husband and I find time to go out, I find myself worrying and calling grandma to make sure she is doing all right. Set 2: 19 months-TEMPERAMENT Blair has a somewhat moderate activity level. She enjoys her quiet time activities, but she also loves climbing and exploring her environment. As far as sociability goes, I would say that Blair is more introverted. This means that she is less sociable (myvirtuallife. com, n. d. ). At 19 months she seemed to not like playing with the other kids at daycare and had a hard time warming up to anyone who she wasn’t super close to. I would consider Blair a slow-to-warm up child. She shows relatively calm reactions to her environment. She tends to be withdrawn from new situations, adapting slowly. Blair is pretty cooperative for the most part, but she sometimes resists me. She usually just whines and fusses and is not usually aggressive. Her self-control is very good, but one may say that she is somewhat emotional. When she gets upset it is sometimes hard for her to calm down. Blair has been fairly stable in terms of her temperament throughout the last 18 months. Blair’s goodness of fit is directly related to her temperament. When Blair was younger she was anxious with strangers. As parents, we are benefiting from the principle of goodness of fit by gradually introducing her to new people and situations (Feldman, 2012). Set 3: 30 months-PARENTING PHILOSOPHY â€Å"For cognitive development to occur, new information must be presented- by parents, teachers, or more skilled peers- within the zone of proximal development (Feldman 2012 p. 171). This, in other words, is when a child cannot completely perform a task independently but can do it with a bit of assistance from a more competent figure. This zone of proximal development is something I experience with Blair. At two years old she has got to pick out her tooth and hairbrush, but she still needs a bit of help with both operations. Another idea that Vygotsky believed in was the method of scaffolding. This is known as the support for learning and problem solving that encourages independence and growth (Feldman 2012). For example, sometimes Blair has a tough time communicating using her words.

Exercise & Activitiy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Exercise & Activitiy - Assignment Example After classes, I played basketball for one hour before taking a walk for another mile. I also used a skipping rope and did aerobic dancing for one hour each. I appreciate the importance of physical activities because I have successfully managed to keep obesity at bay, something that other people have not been able to. I need to keep myself as fit as possible, therefore, I use all available opportunities to exercise myself. I also found time to assist my parents with household chores and this has made them to be proud of me. Today, my meals were almost similar to yesterday. However, there was some difference today because I needed to balance the nutrients out. I had little vitamins yesterday, so today I endeavored to compensate for the short today. My lunch today included some cucumbers and okra. I also took two oranges and three sweet bananas. However, this increased my calorie intake. Consequently, I had to do more physical exercises today. After classes, I went swimming for a whole hour, expending more than 400 calories. This was in addition to playing basketball and doing aerobics. I also watched TV in the evening, and afterwards assisted my mother to wash the utensils after dinner. We chatted for half an hour before retiring to bed. I also learnt that God intends us to keep our bodies healthy. Our bodies are the temples of God. Even as I endeavor to keep obesity at bay, I also need to put God into consideration. I, therefore, have to maintain positive behavior that promotes good health. I have learnt to appreciate and respect my body, keeping in mind that it is my greatest and most precious resource. Today, my breakfast consisted of the eggplant, cheese and tomato sauce. I had two servings which equal to about 388 calories. I had tuna casserole with vegetables and mushroom soup for a total of 762 calories (2 cups). For supper, I maintained the mushroom soup, which is a favorite of

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES - Essay Example Cloon Kleen is trying to look for cost effective ways in which it can efficiently market itself and gain competitive advantage. Differentiation has immensely helped the company in retaining its customers due to the uniqueness of their products’ scent. Cloon Kleen’s has had high number of loyal customers, which is approximately 80% due to the uniqueness of their products to their customers who are majorly women of age between 25 and 50. The company has also adopted their own line of body care products due to high differentiation strategy they employee in their products. Cloon Keen uses three different perfumes to create fragrances which are of very high quality and do have authentic aroma that do not smell strange. The company uses print media which shows colored picture of their products thus promoting the products. A fashion magazine which adds value to the products by associating it with other fashion designs advertised in the same magazine. The company has adopted br anding and packaging of its kind that is very attractive to their customers. The branding is unique and very beautiful thus attracting many customers especially women who are greatly attracted by colors. The company also believes in verbal interaction with their customers that help them improve on the quality of their products through their customers’ suggestion. ... How it should Be Positioned Relative to Pertinent Competitors The company should further diversify in manufacturing more products with variety of attractive fragrance combined with beautiful packaging and marketing to gain competitive advantage. Changes Required For a Better Positioning The company should embark on thorough marketing, promotion and slightly lower the prices of their products to gain competitive advantage. The company may as well use application or use strategy by manufacturing different products for different occasions and times such as romantic scented candles for lovebirds’ gifts and cool scented products for summer seasons. Another great strategy is connecting the products with the users such as classic scented products for the rich. It is also important to design products that are consumer friendly by having consumer in mind. What Is Lifestyle Brand? A lifestyle brand is a brand that tends to symbolize itself with a particular grouping or society for marke ting purposes. This strategy should not be adopted since it may hinder other potential consumers who are not incorporated in the group shun from buying the products. Electronic Media in Promotion Electronic media such as website blogging and other social media should be used to promote and market both the company and the products due to their ability to reach many people at the shortest time possible. The firm should be able to communicate with its customers freely and persuade them to buy their products, which should be well displayed on the firm’s electronic sites. The will further receive feedback from their customers via the electronic media which they will use in improving

HoneyGrow Philadelphia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HoneyGrow Philadelphia - Essay Example As earlier stated, the company provides a wide variety of fast foods. Apart from stir-frys, plus salads which have lots of ingredients, the firm’s menu contains juices from fresh fruits with no additives. Since its establishment, the firm’s product demand from its customers is experiencing a steady upward trajectory. Consequently, the company’s target audience is the group of consumers who like fast foods, salads, yoghurt and lovers of honey. For this case, Honey Grow has resorted to extending its product line so as to enable other customers access its products. Honeygrow will also add other new product lines in areas such as tri-state. It will expand its product line as far as the River Hudson and the meatpacking District. The company will further take up two neighboring positions of the Italian Restaurant. As it occupies that space, the dà ©cor in the Italian restaurant will be salvaged so as to be used in the upcoming store. The company has a high potential of growth due to its strategic location. The strengths of the company also contribute to its growth. In addition, Honey Grow is not likely to fall out of the market soon due to the stiff competition that is currently prevailing since it has proper and robust strategies in place. This competition comes from the new restaurants which are sprouting up in most locations. The marketing atmosphere has also been friendly to the company’s quality products. Therefore, it will survive the stiff competition as it provides healthy products, which are probably fresh with no additives. Fina lly the use of touch screen system motivates individuals as they can choose what they want from a variety of available ingredients. As the company’s founder, Justin Rosenberg has worked for Honey Grow since its establishment in 2012. HoneyGrow reflects Justin Rosenberg’s passion for healthy foods and other fast

4G Cellular Communication Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

4G Cellular Communication - Research Paper Example The technology provides high speed and quickens transmission of data from one place to another, hence making mode of communication be fast. However, the research will face some challenges in the coming years since it will require some conditions for it to run perfectly well. The objectives of the 4G cellular communication are aimed at improving the methods of communication within two groups of people as fast as possible to enhance economic growth of the world. The potential abuse of the technology occurs when individuals fail to follow the regulations provided by the technology. Introduction There always is the need for communication regardless of place and the distance. Consequently, there has been an augmented demand of wireless communication by companies globally owing to the awkwardness in using fixed wire telecommunications. The fourth Generation (4G) is a new technology seeking to address communication needs of the populace. The 4G of cellular communication are the advancements that are realized in the wireless telecommunication industries in the recent years globally. They provide fast transfer of data across electronic devices compared to the previous cellular communication approaches such as third generation (3G). The high speeds of the data transmissions upgrade the quality of communication through improvement of high definition video. According to Lu and Hu (2006), 4G is highly expected to transform the mobile communication system through upgrading smart phones to perform certain tasks that were only previously achievable by personal computers (PC). Mobile communication is going to be affected positively by the introduction of the fourth generation, since it will transform and improve its operation. In this essay, the development, challenges, uses, potential abuses by individuals, potential new developments, objectives, features, and application of the fourth generation technology are discussed broadly. Development Its history can be traced in the 19 70s when the first generation was introduced. It comprised of analog technology that was used to unravel essential problems that existed during that time. Analog systems were used to assist in communication in dissimilar places worldwide in the 1980s. However, the system was deliberate and unwieldy to use, but it was a successful discovery that initialized a technological journey. The second generation (2G) was introduced in 1980, and was used for voice applications and introduction of digital techniques that improved the speed of data transformations (Brand & Aghvami, 2002). The technology launched the use of circuit-switched data communication that enhanced use of the digital communication rather than the analog system. 2G is still used worldwide by few people since the technology involves some digital aspects, which are habitually preferable. The introduction of 3G was highly appreciated for the substantial improvements it launched in the communication expertise. The implication of 3G was that it improved the voice technology in channels (Arshad & Farooq & Shah, 2010). However, it faced a challenge since the two companies that instigated the technology failed to agree on the terms and parted ways. The 3G telecoms business has been outstandingly successful and has gained many profits in the few years since its launch. The technology has influenced the mobile technology that has subsequently assisted in the overture of internet in

What is the pH of Soil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

What is the pH of Soil - Essay Example This is determined on a pH scale that ranges from 0 to 14. A substance with pH nearing the scale’s lower end is considered very acidic while those on the upper range would be considered basic or alkaline. The neutral on the scale is at ph 7. Pure rainwater has pH of 5.6 or thereabout, but it changes when it enters the soil depending on the soil’s chemical characteristics. Nutrients such as phosphorous and calcium are more soluble in slight acidity. In this experiment, the objective is to determine the pH of soil sample provided. Just as is the case with rain water, these nutrients can be dissolved in distilled water. When litmus paper is immersed in the clear solution after the soil settles down, acidic soil with pH less than 7 will cause blue litmus paper to turn red while basic soil with pH greater than 7 will cause red litmus paper to turn blue. Neutral soil will have no effect on both red and blue litmus papers. It is crucial to know the pH of soil as crops grow best within a narrow range of pH varying from one crop to another. For example, blueberries grow best at pH 5.5 or lower while potatoes do best at 5.5 to 6.0. The 5.5 to 7.5 range is favorable because it accommodates microorganisms which are important in breaking down organic matter and also provides the necessary condition for nutrient availability (Conklin

Managing a Multi-cultural Workforce Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing a Multi-cultural Workforce - Coursework Example Modern transport and communication, along with political structures like the European Union, have simply increased the diversity of people working on any one site. Health and Safety is a major concern in the construction industry, and there is a vast international literature on the subject, partly because this type of work is inherently more dangerous than many other types, and partly also because of the complex and often project-based nature of the working environment, involving many different participants, often coming with very different backgrounds, experience and culture. One of the difficulties of researching multicultural workforce issues is the fact that there is a huge spectrum of practice across the world: â€Å"The way in which OHS (=Occupational Health and Safety) is dealt with in different countries is a function not only of legislation, but also of the underlying culture, the attitudes of those involved, and, more importantly, the social, economic and political environ ment... Systems that may work well in, say, the United Kingdom, may not work well at all in Australia or Hong Kong.† ( p. 88) An important implication of this diversity across the world, is that migrant workers moving from one country to another bring with them a knowledge base, a set of attitudes and tendencies, and a whole world view that may be very different from those of their fellow workers. The problem for managers is how to ensure that a multi-cultural workforce shares important values and knowledge, especially in the area of Health and Safety, and follows the requirements of the particular site that they work in. 2 Literature review on SHE challenges faced in respect of multi-cultural workforce. One noticeable feature of a multi-cultural workforce is the fact that the workers may have very different linguistic backgrounds, while the situation on a construction site is usually such that one particular language is officially used for work related communications. This of ficial language of the site in question may or may not be the language of the location where the project is running, and problems can arise when a proportion of the workforce does not have adequate language skills in the main language of communication. This results in sub-groups within the workforce who communicate with each other in their native language, but struggle to join in with the official and or local language context. These groups can become isolated, and vulnerable to being left out of the loop of company planning, training and information processes. A study conducted on a multi-cultural workforce in Australia analysed the safety implications of this â€Å"ghettoization† and found that there are often distinct patterns in the workforce so that for example â€Å"Italians tend to concentrate in concrete trades, Croations in carpentry trades, Koreans in tiling trades, Maoris in steelwork and scaffolding and Irish in labouring etc† (Trajkovski and Loosemoore, 20 06, p. 1) This tendency means that there is often a three way professional, cultural and also linguistic demarcation in the workplace, and this presents a significant challenge for managers who are responsible for the Health and Safety of these workers. In theory there could be several conflicting models of behavior, supported by their own language and culture, operating simultaneously, and this has an obvious potential for misunderstanding and system failure when these areas interact with each other. Trajkovski and Loosemoore conducted a survey on multicultural construction workforces in

Low Cost Strategies of QuickFlight Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Low Cost Strategies of QuickFlight - Essay Example QuickFlight has no formal HR department and any room for staff development and training; this is something that the organization should look into, considering the increase in size will need an integration of forces. The expertise from Gone can help the organization streamline a strategic HR policy, including the personnel from QuickFlight as well to ensure proper representation of all stakeholders. To solve this problem, the organization should practice effective communication strategies in the company. In times of change management, effective communication plays a vital role in the success of the changing processes. Proper information dissemination to all stakeholders, equal intake for solutions from them would help the policy makers to gain knowledge from the valuable expertise of the Human Capital. In order to capitalize on the diverse features of both the organizations, the human resource should be encouraged to work in teams and work their way out of problems. Job rotation is an other management development that helps to train employees and provide them with exposure to the entire organization. All these activities will introduce a high sense of commitment in the employees towards the newly formed organization and will help fill the gap between the two cultures (Raymond, 2000). Â  With the addition of call center labor in the organization, the company should embark on formal training procedures to train the employees to boost their sales through call center bookings. Training and development in this area are bound to help the employees boost the sales; also, recognition for the hard work that they put in is important. Clearly, compensation that is being awarded can work as an incentive, along with recognition. Therefore, to reduce turnover and boost sales, the company should introduce a basic pay for all, adding performance-based rewards, depending on the sales that the personnel makes.

Explain, with reference to decided cases and statutory provisions, the Essay

Explain, with reference to decided cases and statutory provisions, the extent to which terms may be implied into both a contract for sale of goods and a contract of employment - Essay Example Simply put, if you promise that you will do something for another person and in return, that person agrees to pay you something, then you and that person have made a contract. A contract can be in verbal or written form but the most important thing is that there would be an agreement especially between two parties. Likewise, according to the labour laws of many countries, both the worker and the employee are bound by certain statutory regulations that would ensure that no party will breach the agreed contract. Indeed, when a person has decided to enter into an agreement with someone, both parties should have a common ground of understanding of the nature of the contract they would be agreeing upon so as to avoid conflict and misunderstanding in the future. There different factors that are taken into consideration when forming a valid contract between two parties. The most important thing in the formation of a valid contract is that there must be an agreement between the parties involved. There should be mutual understanding between the two parties involved so as to avoid unnecessary conflict in the future. Each party is expected to be very clear about the terms and conditions of the contract otherwise it may be invalid if the other party involved is not aware of the contents of the agreement. Forming an agreement is based on the notion that each party is aware of the contractual obligations to fulfil which are legally binding. Another key element for the formation of a valid contract is its legality. A valid contract ought to conform to the norms and values of the society. For instance, if a person promises to steal something in order to get payment in return, then this contract is unacceptable since it is against the societal norms a nd values. The parties entering into a contract should have the legal power to do so. In any given scenario, minors may not enter into a valid contract with adults since it

Of Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

Of Mice and Men Essay Explain how Steinbeck presents the character of crooks in of mice and men. What is the significance of his role? Explain how Steinbeck presents the character of crooks in of mice and men. What is the significance of his role? In the novel Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck, the author, uses the character of Crooks to represent racism and show the marginalization of the black community occurring at the time in which the novel is set (1930’s). Crook provides the reality of the Jim Crow law and the feelings of all the ranchers: their loneliness and need for company. We first hear of the Name Crooks when Candy calls him a nigger, this is meant as a white insult, in 2013 this would of be seen as racism and unacceptable. Candy also mentions Christmas when crooks had a fight with smitty. ‘So he took after the nigger, done pretty good too. The guys wouldn’t let him use his feet, so the nigger got him’ this implies that the term nigger is acceptable at the time period is in the 1930s during the Depression era and is what they would. The term nigger is used by most of the ranchers, Steinbeck proves that the term is used originally and black people were seen as unworthy. Crooks got his name from his crooked back,† this was from when he had a horse kicking him in the back. John Steinbeck describes Crooks room as a â€Å"little shed that leaned of the wall of the barn† Steinbeck uses the phrase ‘’leaned’’ this is explaining the conditions or his room and how he had to live even the fact that he has to live with horses when the other men have a bunk house and get to play cards and sleep in appropriate beds show that crooks was treated differently. Steinbeck also uses the description of ‘Crooks bunk was a long box filled with straw, Steinbeck uses this to show that he had a completely different way of living unlike the white men in the bunkhouse as they slept in proper beds on the other hand he also tells us about crooks possessions, â€Å"battered magazines and a few dirty books’’, ‘’tattered dictionary’’ this Is another way of showing how passionate he is about his rights and how much he reads. ] He mentions to lennie after their argument about George that when he was a kid he lived on a farm with chickens and had a strawberry patch and fed them alfalfa it looked almost like George and lennies real American dream. Crooks gets judged by the whites at the ranch. As he says â€Å"If I say something, why its just a nigger sayin it and this shows his anger at being pushed to the side. Being judged has made him look cruel, but also has turned him into a man who needs sympathy. Crooks confront Lennie and say You got no right to come in my room.. You go on get outa my room. I aint wanted in the bunkhouse and you aint wanted in my room. He’s trying to show Lennie that black people are segregated to white people and treated completely different he owns ‘Californian civil code ‘he is desperate to knows his rights as it says the verb ‘mauled copy’ this also shows when he uses mauled it’s the state of the book that its ripped and in a state because he has spent so much time to read the book. Steinbeck uses crooks in a full chapter to show to the reads how important the character crooks was to him and the significance of his roll we can tell by reading this chapter how much he wanted to get his point across about racism in his time, This gives us a feeling of sympathy for crooks because he was on his own in the barn, This is because of the other ranchers was racist and segregated. In a section in the book Steinbeck mentions were Curleys wife comes in and argues with crooks because crooks lashed out she threatened to get crooks lynched Steinbeck uses this part to show even the hated of them all can get a black person

The Ethics Of Dark Tourism

The Ethics Of Dark Tourism The Anne Frank Organisation (2006) states that in 2004, 936,000 visitors visited the house that used to be Anne Franks, a Jewish girl who among other Jews were murdered in the time of Hitlers fascism. Among this timeframe, Auschwitz, a concentration camp based in Poland which became a symbol of genocide, annually receives 750,000 visitors (Yuill, 2003) coming close to the annual 900,000 visitors to Dachau (Lippard, 1999). All these sites and many more which are similar, are what are called sites for dark tourism (Lennon and Foley, 2000), also known as Thanatourism (Seaton, 1996 cited in Ryan et al, 2005) and Black Spots (Rojek, 1997). This form of tourism is what Seaton (1999) defines as sites and attractions that are associated with deaths, acts of violence, scenes of death and crimes against humanity. With the popularity of this form of tourism growing within the horror tourism market (Tunbridge and Ashworth, 1996), the ethical issues surrounding it will need to be questioned. With the consumers and providers taking part in this growth of dark tourism, both their potentially contrasting ethical views towards dark tourism may be different. Whereas a providers means of preserving history is to charge people to maintain its upkeep, the consumers may see it as money making scheme in the expense of the deceased lives of the site. Whereas the providers means of letting people know its history is through interpretation of vulgar images, may seem unethically distasteful for consumers. Therefore, using Stone (2006)s shades of darkness spectrum as a tool for measuring different levels of dark tourism sites, these two main issues will be critically examined in depth, and in both the consumers and providers point of views to further understand the ethical dilemma of dark tourism. Dark tourism has often raised ethical debates about the ways in which leisure and pleasure are mixed with tragedy (Kempa and Strange, 2003), as many people think some sites for dark tourism is too sensitive to present it for the world to see. However, although this may be the case, it actually varies depending on the shade the site is supplying. This has been supported by Stone (2006) in which he believes that not all dark tourism sites and its supplies have the same degree of darkness and ethics. Stone (2006) believes that each site and what it supplies has its own degree of darkness, and depending on its criteria; it can be placed on what he refers as a darkest-lightest spectrum. On one side of the spectrum is what he termed lightest side of dark tourism. Sites belonging to this side of the spectrum tend to be fully commercial providers such as the London Dungeon, which Stone (2006) also term Dark Fun Factories, as its main aim may be more financial than educational. Stone (2006) further explains that although sites belonging to this side of the scale will be associated with death and suffering, it is not OF death and suffering. Therefore, sites at this lightest side will most likely be purposeful and entertainment based, with a lower degree of ethics surrounding it. However, on the other end of the spectrum are the darkest side of the spectrum, in which its criterias are completely the opposite of those on the lighter side. Stone (2006) explains that sites on the darkest side will be sites of death and suffering and its orientation will be to educate. Examples of these darker sites are which Wight (2005) class as primary sites, such as holocaust camps to sites of celebrity deaths, as sites on this side of the scale will be seen as authentic and non-purposeful, leading to a higher degree of ethical issues surrounding the sites at this side of the scale. One of these ethical issues is the notion of whether consumers should be charged to enter a site of death and with so much history. In novices and consumers eyes, it could be seen as unethical as they may see it as a means for providers to make profits in the expense of the deceased lives and history. Although this may be the case on sites within the lighter shade of the spectrum as it may be purely commercial, it is not always the case within the darker sites. Sites from the darker shade such as Auschwitz, the Gallipoli Anzac (Slade, 2003) and Robben Island prison (Shackley, 2001) are normally sites which are old and need continuous up keeping and staff. With this continuous maintenance, sites will need money to be able to continue to run its site and its historical contents. However, this also leads to the issue of how much. If a site charges just enough to afford the upkeep, then it may seem fair and ethical to do so. For example, according to Shackley (2001), the prison in Robben Island which Dann (1998) elaborates as a Dungeon of Death attraction, employs local people as tour guides, and their average weekly wage is  £10, which is the same amount as the entrance fees. However, if the entrance fees were to double, it will then be seen as profit making, thus, unethical as it is money making in expense of the past. By charging its consumers, it may also be a means of controlling how many consumers enter the site, as mass consumption of the site may lead to deliberate sanctification and loss of original identity of the site. Strange and Kempa (2003) agrees with this and further states that the commodification of history for mass consumption frequently leads to the trivialization of the site, and in turn causes deliberate sanctification of its history, as well as the loss of original purpose of why the site was built. An example of this happening is shown in the site of Machu Picchu. Johnston (2006) explains how ever since Machu Picchu was named a World Heritage Site in 1983, over 500,000 visitors started visiting the site every year, and to prevent deliberate sanctification, an entrance fee of $20 was put up. This in turn not only did not limit the number of foreign consumers from visiting, but also pushed the local people out of its own heritage site as they could not afford the entrance fees. Johnston (2006) continues to explain that this has contributed to the mass replacement of indigenous people with tourists around the site, causing sanctification and trivialisation of the site, as the original culture of Machu Picchu was gone. Despite all the motives that the providers have for charging its consumers, its clearly shown that it needs to be managed efficiently in order for it to work. Consumers who are consuming the product as experience and integration (Ryan et al, 2005) may agree with the notion of charging as it may feel like they are giving back to the deceased lives and the history of the site. Lippard (1999) explains this as guilt tripping in which consumers of this typologies may feel guilty of what happened in the past and may want to contribute towards the history in order to feed their conscience. Consumers consuming as experience and integration (Ryan et al, 2005) may be more sentimental than consumers that are consuming as play (Ryan et al, 2005), as the typology of play consumers will come from a Psychocentric (Novelli et al, 2005) background in which they may visit frequently to lighter shades of dark tourism sites but rarely to sites of a darker shade. Elaborating from this, it could be possible that consumers consuming as play may not be used to the dark history of the sites and may be shocked of its contents and backgrounds surrounding the darker sites, thus, may welcome the sanctification of the sites but not the notion of charging. Frequent happenings of this emotion tend to happen in what Ryan et al (2005) called Grey tourism supply, in which Ryan et al (2005) explains this theory as consumers with low, or no interest and knowledge in death and tragedy visits an intended dark tourism site. In this situation, a consumer may not be aware of the dark historical contents of the site as they would not have previous knowledge due to its lack of interest, but upon arriving to the intended site and knowing its gore details, they may instantly be repulsed and shocked. However, this is rare as Seaton (1999) believes that dark tourism is consumer demand rather than attraction demand, explaining that if it was not from the high interests and demand from the audience, there will not be the dark sector of tourism. To some extent, Seaton (1999) may be correct and that the main reason for the existence of dark tourism could be from the high demands for dark tourism. However, for this to happen, the presentation of the sites may also be blamed for the high popularity of dark tourism. This is because Walter et al (1995) explains that even when consumers are interested in death and tragedies, for tragedies to be given a real meaning, it needs to have a context by explanation, and sometimes through the personal stories of those people who has been caught up in it. This has been previously mentioned using an example from one of the darker sites of Robben Island. Shackley (2001) states that the prison site in Robben Island located in South Africa, employs ex prisoners that used to be held there. These ex prisoners are now acting as tour guides for its consumers, repeatedly telling each group of consumers their own personal experience of when they were held in the cells. Shackley (2001) continues to ex plain that the emotional welfare of the guides had not been considered and many of the guides felt obliged to continue with its employment due to lack of employment elsewhere. Although Walter et al (1995) did explain that consumers are interested in personal story telling, but ethically, should stories as sensitive as this be told repeatedly and personally from the own mouths of the ex prisoners? This may not only be ethically wrong, but also morally wrong. Blom (2000) agrees with this and states that interpretation as personal as this should be interpreted though technology such as information points within the sites. However, despite this, providers within the darker sites may not see it in the same way. Providers could argue that employees such as ex prisoners are getting paid and that they decide to be employed in this job role voluntarily. Providers could also argue that story telling from the mouths of people who have been caught up within the history of the sites are more rel iable and feasible than technology. This may be because stories that will be told from someone who has actually experienced and been there, may infact reduce the exaggeration of the contents of the history and stories, as well as being less biased than if technology was to tell it. By interpreting using technology, there could be a high chance that the information recorded into the technology is from someone with no relations to the site, thus, gives consumers wrong information. Also, this method of tour guides for interpretation may actually further benefit both the providers and consumers, as if the consumers had to ask a question about the site and its history, it can be answered immediately by the tour guides, delaying the time in which the consumers may form its own answers and judgements about the site. The views of the darker site providers in employing tour guides may also be the same for the views for providers of the lighter shade of dark tourism, as it may be required and expected by consumers to have someone to guide through the lighter sites, e.g. the fun factories (Stone, 2006). However, an implication that can arise from this is that within the lighter shade of dark tourism, the tour guides may exaggerate the actual history and stories behind the site in order to manipulate the consumers attention and encourage repeat business. Manipulation of consumers attention can also be done by the movement of original objects. For lighter shades of tourism sites to do this may be accepted, as previously mentioned before; Stone (2006) explains that sites of a lighter shade tend to promote any materials in order to attract business, thus, attracting profits. However, if a site of a darker shade decides to do this, the circumstances will change and it will become unethically wrong. For example, Wight (2005) states that in Auschwitz, the famous signage that read Work will set you free was moved from its original position to a location near the end of the tour to create a high point for consumers to reach a controversial conclusion to the experience. This can be a form of manipulation as Carnegie (2006) states that some sites do intentionally move objects in order to interpret the displays to contain central, recognisable, emotional and generic truths to the local audiences. This raises an ethical dilemma, as although prov iders may see nothing wrong with this as controversial conclusion may leave its consumers feeling the pain and tragedies of the past, but the ethics of this makes it unfair and unauthentic for its consumers. The main purpose in why consumers visit places of dark tourism in the first place is because they may want to experience the real truth behind the sites first hand, and thus travelled to the site to get this experience. However, when providers moves objects around to help stimulate consumers minds, it is made unreal as it is not how the history says it was, but how the providers want it to be. By moving objects, bits of history gets moved as well, and as time moves on and nobody moves it back to its original place, the origin and bits of history of it are forgotten, hence the deliberate sanctification of some sites and the movement of sites within the shade spectrum. The phenomenon of dark tourism is a difficult and delicate field to understand, but one aspect of it that is most understood is that it is increasingly growing in popularity, with thousands of consumers flocking worldwide to see these sites of tragedy. However, the ethics of visiting sensitive sites such as these are also growing, as questions such as whether to show or not to show, and whether to charge or not to charge are often questioned in both the providers and consumers point of views. To show these sites of tragedies may cause exploitation of local people as well as deliberate sanctification of the sites and its history, but to not to show, our history may be denied to us. By understanding the ethicalities of dark tourism, it will help in preserving its history and sites, so that it can then be better managed and better preserved and presented for the future. This in turn reduces the risk of exploitation of the sites and the way different typologies of consumers think. However, ethical issues do not stop at the grounds of the consumers and its providers, the sensitivity of the tour guides are also needed to be explored. As discussed previously, tour guides such as ex prisoners are sometimes obliged to relive their experience repeatedly in order for consumers to know the history. Although this may be one of the effective methods of telling history, it is important to consider the welfare of these tour guides, as the repetitive telling of their own experience may in turn contribute to further unethical dilemmas. Therefore, maybe to finally conclude on the ethics of dark tourism, it may be possible to state that ethical issues will always continue to exist around dark tourism, as long dark tourism itself exists too. However, the importance of the consideration of the ethicalities of dark tourism cannot be understated, and both consumers and providers may want to work together, if in the future, we still would like to know about our history through the form of tourism instead through textbooks and education.

Impact of Genomics on the Future of Healthcare

Impact of Genomics on the Future of Healthcare The aim of this paper is to address genomics and how it can affect healthcare in the future. This paper contains an explanation what genomic sequencing is and how the sequencing can benefit the future of healthcare. Genome sequencing can allow scientists to predict diseases before symptoms show. It will also be discussing the ethical implications of genome sequencing and its current limitations. Genomics is the study of genomes; a genome is an organisms complete list or set of DNA, and all the genes it codes for[DS1]. Essentially it i all the information needed to make and sustain that organism. Genome sequencing is sourcing the exact order of the base pairs that make up DNA and genome. On 14th April 2003 the Human Genome Project was complete: it took 13 years to complete and cost $2.7 billion. Although this project took a large amount of time and money, it was definitely worth it. The completed genome has made it possible for scientists and researchers to find genes easily and has helped them understand how genes work together to direct the growth, development and maintenance of an entire organism (Genome News Network, 2003). A better understanding of the genome will also allow scientists to understand what causes certain diseases and in turn develop better treatments for them. It can also lead to more personalized medicine, for example how the variations in an individuals genome can affect how they respond to drugs. Further research into the human genome would revolutionise modern medicine and healthcare as we know it[DS2]. We attended regular meetings where we discussed futurology and topics such as DNA Health. There was also a workshop where we worked on and developed skills such as referencing. We independently conducted research by searching articles, journals, and websites online. We collected secondary data. Genomics can be used to predict illness before symptoms show. This would mean that treatment could begin as early as possible, and precautions could be taken to ensure that patients wont ever get the symptoms. The rapid development of DNA sequencing technology has now made it possible for individuals to get their genome sequenced affordably and practically, this is personal genomics. Dr. Stephen Quake sequenced his own genome and built a database of gene variations and their connections to a range of medical conditions and diseases. Using Quakes genetic profile they discovered that he had mutations that can cause a fatal and sudden heart attack, and over 50% chance of becoming diabetic and obese. It also indicated how Quake would react to different medications- there are many heart disease drugs which he may react badly to. This made it possible for doctors to take what they deemed necessary precautions to prevent heart disease and gave him statins. Being able to predict future disea se and make sure that only medicine which would work best for that individual is given would save our healthcare system a lot of money as drugs wouldnt be wasted on patients they wont benefit, and illness could be prevented instead of cures or treated which often takes a lot more money and time. Dr. Quake said, Were at the dawn of a new age in genomics, information like this will enable doctors to deliver personalised healthcare like never before. Couples who want children can also use personal genomics to find out if they are a carrier for a gene that may cause their child to have a disorder or disease, for example cystic fibrosis. If both of them have a carrier gene they can take the necessary precautions to ensure that their child does not. For example, having their baby through in vitro fertilisation (IVF). The Personal Genome Project is a long-term study which aims to sequence and analyse over 100,000 peoples genome. This could help research into personal genomics. Volunteers send in a DNA sample and information on their phenotype and medical records, this helps researchers to better understand the association between our genes, our environment, and our phenotype (our physical appearance). A survey conducted by Sermo (a social network site for doctors and physicians) revealed that 73% of physicians had not recommended that their patients get their genome sequenced. In another poll, 74% doctors stated they believed family medical history was more informative for diagnosing and treating patients than genome sequencing (Begley,2016). The field of genomics is relatively new; this could be why so many doctors are opposed to it. Dr. Girgis stated that there is a lack of treatment available to address whatever risks are identified and that there is no evidence for doing this testing (Begley,2016). Many doctors believe that genome sequencing is not evidence based and that there is not enough large scale research into its benefits. Some doctors suggested that information indicating that you will eventually have a heart attack is useless if nothing can be changed to prevent it. The benefits of genome sequencing will be more relevant and achievable when we have the technology to develop treatments which can ensure the prevention of any conditions that may be found in the sequence. Those who participate in genome sequencing research such as the personal genome project are susceptible to genetic discrimination from employers, or insurance companies. As it may be discovered that they have a variation that makes them more at risk of certain conditions or illnesses; or if they discover they are at risk of inheriting an illness[DS3]. To prevent this from occurring the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) of 2008 was created. Title I of the Act prevents health insurers from being discriminatory, by making it illegal for them to ask customers to undergo genetic testing, or inquire about genetic information when deciding a persons insurance eligibility or coverage. This part began on 21st May 2005 (Genetics Home Reference, 2016[DS4]) Title II of the Act protects people from discrimination from employers by preventing them from using genetic information when making any decisions about hiring, promotions, salary, or dismissal. It also banns employment agencies from asking about genetic information, or requesting genetic tests. This part was implemented on 21st November 2009 (Genetics Home Reference, 2016). Another ethical issue concerning genome sequencing is the protection of participants privacy. Although the data collected needs to be shared broadly to maximize its value for ongoing exploration and research; the participants privacy also needs to be protected (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2015). However, because DNA is so unique to each individual it can never become 100% anonymised. There are a number of databases held by NIH where researchers can put up de-identified data. In 2013 a study by Homer et al pointed out that it was possible to identify participants using the data in the databases and public records (Wright et al, 2013). Since, NIH has control over who has access the to the data, ensuring that the privacy of participants is upheld. Before participation, volunteers are made aware of the potential risks they face if their genetic information were to be released, and are asked to sign an informed consent form. Informed consent forms should contain a description of the method of research; uses of the results; what results mean; if results show the risk of a condition that may affect family members or children. Despite being a relatively new field, genomics has come very far in a short amount of time, the Human Genome Project took 13 years and $2.7 billion. But today anyone can have their genome sequenced in 24 hours for $1000. Genome sequencing has already developed a lot; allowing scientists like Dr. Quake to predict illness and attempt to prevent it occurring by taking precautions, whether that means a change in lifestyle or taking medicine. Genome sequencing also makes it possible to determine which drugs work best for certain individuals and which drugs dont; this is very beneficial as it means money wont be wasted on giving ineffective treatment and medicine to those it wont help. However, genomics still has a long way to go. there is no benefit of being able to predict illness if you cannot treat the illness. Medical science needs to develop more and discover ways to treat more illnesses and diseases for the prediction of them to become very useful. Also, there are many ethical implications of genome sequencing e.g. privacy and discrimination. Although law and acts have been put in place to try and solve these issues there is still a chance that participants of sequencing will experience a breach of privacy; hence they have to sign an informed consent form. Genomics can definitely benefit and change healthcare in the future with more study and large-scale research. References      Ã‚   What is the human genome project? (no date) Available at: https://www.genome.gov/11511417/what-is-the-human-genome-project/ (Accessed: 9 September 2016) Wright, G.E., Koornhof, P.G., Adeyemo, A.A. and Tiffin, N. (2013) Ethical and legal implications of whole genome and whole exome sequencing in African populations, BMC Medical Ethics, 14(1), p. 21. doi: 10.1186/1472-6939-14-21. Begley, Sharon. Consumers Arent Wild About Genetic Testing Nor Are Doctors. STAT. N.p., 2016. Web. 7 Sept. 2016. Reference, Genetics. What Is Informed Consent?. Genetics Home Reference. N.p., 2016. Web. 9 Sept. 2016. Sample, I. (2016) Healthy genome used to predict disease risk in later life. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/apr/29/healthy-genome-predict-disease-risk (Accessed: 9 September 2016). Collins, Francis et al. A Vision For The Future Of Genomics Research. Nature Publishing Group (2003): n. pag. Web. 9 Sept. 2016. J, 2004 (2000) Whats a genome? Available at: http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/resources/whats_a_genome/Chp2_1.shtml (Accessed: 6 September 2016 What Is The Human Genome Project?. Genome.gov. N.p., 2016. Web. 9 Sept. 2016. [DS6] [DS1]Needed to b referenced. [DS2]All good   points made, but what you make factual statements you will need to support them with academic literature to back it up. [DS3]Good point, but you needed to show a reference to support it. [DS4]Good. [DS5]Should have given more attention to your reference list. [DS6]The diagram needed labeling.

Essay --

SooJin Lee Period 2 Mr. Ajlouny Feb 6, 2014 The Metamorphosis Essay Prompt: How is Gregor’s transformation into a bug a representation of an existentialism crisis? Existentialism is known to be a dangerous philosophical theory that makes us question ourselves the purpose of our lives, and makes us feel isolated from the world that can even lead to accepting death. In his short story The Metamorphosis, Kafka represents the horror of existentialism through Gregor’s transformation of a bug. Kafka empathizes that existentialism is so dangerous that existential attitude occurs without even a person realizing until something changes in that person’s life. For example, Kafka creates a character name Gregor, a traveling salesman who works very hard to over provide for his family, to show how he does not realize how tired and overworking man he is until he transforms into a useless bug. Because Gregor over works for his family and is always out in business trips, he is a lonely man. Gregor is used to being alone and even â€Å"formed the cautious habit.. of locking all his doors at night†(13). His routine for a day is simple: work and sleep like a bug. He does not meet with any woman, go on a vacation, or even rest peaceful at home because he is so â€Å"condemned to work for a firm where people immediately conceive the greatest suspicions at the smallest sign of negligence† (15). He’s isolation from the world even before he becomes a bug already shows his existential attitude. However, Gregor does not realizes this until he turns into a beetle who no longer can work, but to stay in his room. Kafka uses Gregor to represent that existentialism can not be seen until something physically happens. Although Kafka presents Gregor as an indif... ...simply â€Å"clears out that trash† into a dumpster(51). Instead of being buried and have a funeral for Gregor, he is thrown like a dead bug on the grade. Until the end, Gregor’s family does not show their love for Gregor, but shed some tears at the end; half of it because they feel sad and the other half it because they feel free. The way how Gregor’s family treated Gregor play a big role of danger of existentialism. Through Gregor’s transformation as a bug, Kafka represents how people around Gregor and himself place Gregor into a greater danger of existentialism. He shows the reader how horrific existentialism is and that this can be one of the reasons why deaths occur in this world. He warns the reader to be able to maintain the limit and the ability of how much a person can work, so that we don’t have to be like Gregor who only works for living like a bug would do.

New England Vs Chesapeake :: essays papers

New England Vs Chesapeake Early English colonies in America hardly resembled the union of men and women that would later fight against England and build a new country. In fact, until the mid-eighteenth century, most English colonists had very little, if anything to do with the settlers in neighboring colonies. They heard news of Indian wars and other noteworthy events, not from the colony itself, but from England. The colonies in the New World appeared completely different and the prospect of any unity between them seemed impossible. The colonies in New England and the Chesapeake exemplify the many differences in the culture and lifestyles of the settlers, created mainly because of the fact that their founding fathers had held separate intentions when they came to the New World. The New England and Chesapeake colonies were both settled by immigrants from England, the New England colonies being founded by the English from East Anglia, an area in eastern England. Though this was an area thriving with small towns that they had generally liked, they decided to flee England due to religious persecution. Hundreds of families, men, women and their children, came in search of a New World where they could practice their beliefs freely. They founded colonies such as Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island as model Christian societies. Their cities upon the hills were guides, the lanterns, for those lost in the darkness of humanity, as John Winthrop meant by his famous statement. They formed a society of strict religious participation, actually very much resembling their homeland. In the beginning, many called themselves Puritans, and kept things very simple and plain, concentrating on what was important to them. They used the community to achieve t heir goals, building new towns and enjoying the social aspect of their religion. At the same time, they were committed to remain working hard to keep their community productive. They believed the â€Å"idle hands† were the devil’s workshops. An issue that really defined a split between the societies was the slavery conflict. The northerners in New England held true to their belief that every man shall be equal and no one should be enslaved, while the southerners in the Chesapeake area strongly believed in the use of slavery. At the same time the New Englanders worked to help end slavery by preaching to others about the injustices, they worked diligently to make education in their society strong.

Hinduism and Death Essay -- essays research papers

Each month our educational center section provides the Hinduism Today staff with a 'kind of group meditation. Individually we ponder our subject, and together we discuss it in detail. These past 30 days our meditation was on death. You might think we had a morbid March. Not so, since, as U.S. General George Patton rightly noted, "For Hindus death is the most exalted experience of life." This idea is sometimes hard for non-Hindus to grasp - especially for atheists facing Eternal Oblivion and for those of the semitic faiths which define death as a kind of punishment for man's sin and disobedience. According to this view, death is the ultimate sign of man's spiritual failure, a belief which understandably arouses instincts of denial and injustice. We may feel shamed, penitent, guilty and graced, not to mentioned frightened. And that's a long way from exultation. No such thoughts attend the dying and death of a Hindu. Of course, there is much sadness surrounding the passing of friends and family, but that is honest acknowledgement of our love and attachment to life and to each other. Inside we know that death is OK, it is natural. Inside we know that the soul, even if it was less than perfect in this life, is continuing its appointed journey toward Liberation and will, in time, reach the other shore. Such knowledge is reassuring, whether the death is another's or our own. Thus, Hindus called death by a lofty name - Maha Samadhi, "the Great Superconscious State." And to be near an awakened soul at the time he or she gives up the body is considered one of the most auspicious and blessed of opportunities. If we see death as the opposite of life, then life is good and death is bad. But if we see life and death not as hostile but as collaborative parts of a greater whole called samsara (the cosmic evolutionary cycle of birth-death-rebirth), then life is good and death is also good. Both are part of the Cosmic-What-Is. That being so, the pious Hindu approaches death as a mediation and a sadhana, as a spiritual opportunity. The physical body's impending demise compels him to practice detachment which yogis find easy but which is so difficult to achieve in the tumult of life. Yama's nearness brings an urgency to strive more than ever, to plunge deeper into consciousness in a renewed search for the Divine Self. No longer can he put it off. No mor... ...ht by fighting medical and legal battles in growing numbers. Death is personified in most cultures. The Greeks called him Thanatos, and to the Romans he was Mors. IN India he is Yama, riding on a black water buffalo, green in color, dressed in red. The pigeon and owl are his messengers, his weapon is a mace. He carries a noose, called kala-sutra or "black threat," with which he snares the life force, prana, and draws it from the body. He is also called Mrityu, "death," Kala, "time" and Dharma Raja, "King of Justice." There is much to be said of the Hindu insights on death, and only a fraction of it fit into the four pages you will find at the center of this issue. We intend to do more in the future and welcome readers' contributions. Our objective is to share the message of the awakened ones who conquered death and knew the body's dissolution as freedom from bondage, as liberation into the Light, as a flowing of the finite into the Infinite. They asked us to think fearlessly about death, to fathom its meaning. They urged us in exiting life to let go of the ego and be the immortal Self which time and again shrugs off the shackles of sorrow.

Native American Paper Essay

In the pre-Columbian era when the Europeans had not yet discovered the â€Å"New World† there lived many distinct but also similar tribes that ruled all across. Many tribes existed during this era of prosperity for the Native Americans. A few of the main tribes of it are the Cherokee, Iroquois, Navajo, and Sioux who were all special in their own way. Firstly, the Cherokee were made up of seven clans with which each had a different purpose and job. The names and jobs of all the tribes in English are Long Hair which sends the Peace Chief, Blue who is the oldest; Wolf to protect clans, Wild Potato is the keeper of the land (gatherers), Deer is the fastest runners and hunters, Bird sends messengers, and lastly Paint are the medicine people. The belief system for the Cherokee was that good is rewarded and evil is punished. One main object they used was river cane making and using it for multiple purposes. The Trail of Tears was an important part of the Cherokee past since they used it to move to a different territory. (Information for the Cherokee Paragraph: Secondly, the Iroquois were consisted up of a small amount of tribes such as Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. The main Iroquois considered themselves to be a superior people which lowered their numbers as time went by. One more reason the numbers went down was because they joined the British during the Revolutionary War. The belief of the Iroquois was that they should not kill each other and a sense of internal unity. The way the Iroquois survived was through a political system. (Information for the Iroquois Paragraph:? http://www. tolatsga. org/iro. html).

The Arctic Monkeys album Whatever People Say I Am Thats What Im Not and the reality TV Show Popstars

The Arctic Monkeys album â€Å"Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not† and the reality TV Show Popstars: The Rivals which produced the band Girls Aloud used innovative but very different marketing techniques to sell themselves to their target audiences. How have those strategies changed from previous techniques to make music more accessible to audiences? The music industry is a worldwide business covering many genres and it is hard to define it as one single thing. Within the music industry are a large range of different markets, all targeting their products and musicians to very different audiences. There are many aspects to the music industry that need to be considered in terms of image, audience, audience size and genre. These will all affect the way a band is marketed to its audience. It is well known that â€Å"making it† in the music industry as an artist is no easy task. Over the past 40-50 years, many bands have tried and failed spectacularly. However, some have flourished and made their mark in music history, such examples include â€Å"The Beatles†, â€Å"Queen† and â€Å"The Rolling Stones†. Audiences that need to be considered by music marketers are divided into a wide range of categories such as age, gender, occupation, social grouping, region etc. In order to target specific audiences effectively, bands may need to be branded in a certain way. Branding is usually described in terms of products and is where the product is given a certain image and personality traits in order to appeal to its audience. For example, the brand Levis describes itself as â€Å"Sexy, Original and American† therefore personifying its products. In terms of bands, branding should incorporate image and music style, especially when targeting niche groups of people. Over the years, there have been clear differences in audience, shown by their different personal images e. g. Punks, Mods, Grungers, Goths etc. Marketing of bands has to adapt and be completely specific to the typical audience of that music genre and so must be presented in an appropriate style that will sell their music. People are eager to buy into the brand of a band by incorporating that certain image into their personal appearance and lifestyle. For some bands, promotional tactics must fiercely focus on image to sell the product to that particular audience who are themselves branded a certain way. This effort by record labels to promote bands by appealing and emphasizing a certain image is becoming increasingly popular. Scissor Sisters are one example of a band who's image is a central focus of who they are and what they do. Their image is evident of records companies efforts to appeal to particular audience niches. Although in the USA Scissor Sisters have had much less success than they have had in Britain (many main stores such as Wal*Mart did in fact refuse to stock the first album due to their image and portrayal) they still vigorously emphasize their happy, camp image. In their videos they have used varying techniques to play on the ideas of sexuality in our modern society, thus creating a new and varied piece which is not comparable with anything from the past. They frequently use a colourful range of backdrops which are sometimes quite cosmic or fantastical (e. g. in the videos for â€Å"I Don't Feel Like Dancin'† and â€Å"Take Your Mama†. in one of their earlier videos for the single â€Å"Filthy Gorgeous† MTV were forced to eventually stop showing much of the content of the video as it contained sexually semi-explicit scenes. This did cause some controversy as complaints were made about the content of the video, this only sought to increase popularity and radio air play of the single which eventually achieved a chart position of number 5 in January 2005 and number one in the dance chart. Scissor Sisters although new in terms of its topical coverage of sexuality also dates back to the era of glam rock, their influences are also seen to be varying e. the Bee Gees, Duran Duran, Queen, David Bowie etc. Therefore they may appeal to some of the older generations as well as to members of the gay scene, for whom they have become a major symbol in British society. They have also broadened to reach a younger audience through their success in the UK Charts and frequent air play on radio stations aimed at the 11-25/30 age group such as Radio 1. This in itself shows how the branding and image of a band is adamantly important if people are going to want to relate and buy into the music and values of that band and why i t is such a major focus for record companies. A major tool for music marketers in recent years has been the Internet. From vinyl to cassettes to CD's to downloading files, music has developed with technology over the past 40 years. The increasing accessibility for people to music was brought about originally by the increasing numbers of record stores and increasing interest in different music. In the early 1970's, for example, Richard Branson originally ran a mail order service for buying records, this then developed into â€Å"Virgin Megastore†, a high street chain that made music readily available to a larger audience. The development of access to music continued steadily throughout this period with the introduction of more music extravaganzas such as festivals and in the 1980's, the launch of MTV, the first television channel to be entirely music orientated. The development in technology allowed widespread access to different audiences, as nearly every media division began to cover aspects of music e. g. TV, Radio, genre specific magazines etc. It fast became difficult to avoid exposure to music and its marketing. The rise in popularity of the internet as a promotional medium today demonstrates this idea. In recent years, the Internet has become far more accessible to more people. This has led to increases in Internet marketing as a new way of letting everyone know about an artist. It is reasonably cost effective and the audience is a mass one, spanning the entire world (the number of people using the internet worldwide (as of November 27th 2006) was estimated at 1,076,203,987) A recent positive example of Internet marketing can be seen in the rise of the band â€Å"The Arctic Monkeys† to fame. The bands marketing strategy has been clear-cut in showing the importance of fans to a bands success. This began in 2003, after several gigs, the Arctic Monkeys decided to burn their tracks onto CD's to give away for free to fans. Due to limited copies, many of the fans ripped the music onto their computers in order to share the files with others through mediums such as instant messaging, e-mails and forums. The band did not object to the increased sharing of files, although this was technically illegal, as it led to increased popularity of the band, as they became better known. This can be identified through an article and chart written by Heather Hopkins (Director Of Research for Hitwise UK website), November 11th 2005, shown in Figure 1 in the appendix and supported by the following quotation: â€Å"The first chart below shows that in April, when the band was virtually unknown, visits to www. arcticmonkeys. com came from chat rooms and blogs. Search engines became a more important source of visits in June as the band's name recognition grew. † This clearly demonstrates the importance of viral marketing to the success of the band. Many mainstream music brands are slightly wary of viral marketing, despite its benefits it can prove quite negative and can also lead to illegal sharing and music being leaked onto the Internet prior to its official release, for example in 2002, Eminem's album Encore was leaked on to the internet and the promoters were forced to bring the date of official release forward. As much as bands can gain high acclaim and popularity through forum and chat room discussion, there is also the risk they could gain a lot of negative criticism, which would discourage people from buying their music and merchandise. Another example of effective Internet marketing, also used by The Arctic Monkeys and many other bands, are sites such as My Space and Yahoo music. My Space offers bands own personal pages where people can easily leave their own comments on the songs and the bands performance at recent gigs as well as listening to the songs free of charge or accessing previews of up and coming releases. Many bands also publish their tour dates on My Space. My Space has generally appealed to a mass, younger audience from around 13-30 of both sexes, this is typically as a lot of the music promoted by My Space is new and there are fewer My Spaces for some of the older bands and therefore there is little to interest older audiences. It is also widely believed that todays young people are of the â€Å"technological revoloution† and the general acceptance is that computers are of more interest to them than some other older audience members. The popularity of My Space is now leading to other websites such as Bebo and Xanga being formed which offer similar services. This again broadens the scope by which music promoters can publicise their musicians to different audiences. Rupert Murdoch, the owner of BskyB, The Times, News Of The World and The Sun recently purchased (through his international company News Corp. ) the company Intermix Media Inc which own My Space among other themed social networking websites for $580 million. Murdoch is often seen as a dominant figure in British Media, and rightly so as he owns two of the leading newspapers. He is thought to be partially responsible for swinging to the side of the Labour party in 1997 and there by causing the election of PM Tony Blair, who soon became a close ally of Murdoch's, much like Thatcher before him. Many British citizens feel threatened by Murdoch's media power, yet still many of them buy into the My Space idea and the revenue continues building as more and more diverse and newly established bands start using My Space as the beginning of their steps to promote music. Increased hits on the site means more powerful companies advertising in association with My Space, therefore leading to higher annual revenue for Murdoch. This shows evidence of the importance of internet advertising to modern business. Yahoo Music is another excellent promotional tool, which has a wide variety of music videos available free for public viewing. It also runs special features on certain bands as well as exclusive interviews and performances. This has proved extremely popular with bands and promoters alike, as it is a cheap form of marketing which is also highly effective. It requires little advertising as most fans of the bands are already aware of the bands website and they are usually linked to their My Space etc. Viral marketing acts as the main promotional form behind the internet promotion phenomenon. Viral marketing refers to marketing techniques that use existing social networks to increase brand awareness, they may include many internet based mediums such as blogs (many bands use blogs to create on tour diaries e. g. Watford based band Mohair. ) chat rooms and instant messaging are also forms of Viral marketing. Throughout the 20th century, technology has experienced many developments and decades of technological advance, in particular in more media orientated areas. For example, the 50's became the era of the television. More and more families owned television sets in the UK and this was clear when 20 million tuned in on the 2nd of June 1953 to watch the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. This showed just how popular television was becoming as a medium for broadcasting what was going on in the world. This technological revolution continues today as we go through what has become widely known as â€Å"The digital revolution†. Television has expanded further to include more and more channels, which can appeal to smaller, niche audiences. This has been of great value to musicians and their promoters; they can now target their audience more specifically. For example, a band like the Arctic Monkeys who have become more of a â€Å"mainstream† rock act may be promoted through general chart music channels such as TMF and The Hits who appeal to those interested in that area of music. On the other hand, acts like Marilyn Manson and Iron Maiden may be promoted on Kerrang! As they are aimed at a more niche audience and are not so much part of the chart music industry. Kerrang! Is already an established brand in itself, the magazine from which it originates was first published in 1981 and originally covered a lot of new wave British metal. If people have certain expectations of a television channel, they can make the decision as to whether it interests them or not and if it does the niche audience for that genre can be targeted effectively by the music promoters. The increase in channels has led to a wider variety in television broadcasting. As a result, to keep the publics interest, terrestrial channel corporations such as the BBC and ITV have realised they need to develop newer more innovative programmes to keep up their audience figures. This is particularly important for Channels 4, 5 and ITV, Who unlike the BBC receive no public funding and gain all their income from advertisers. In order to increase viewing figures and boost profits, the channels have tried many different tactics and one of these has been the increasing development of Reality TV. Reality television is a genre of programming in itself, which usually presents unscripted pieces and may document actual events or people. The use of real people instead of actors has led to a real explosion in the use of reality TV since around 2000 when Big Brother began in the UK. Comparatively to 10 years ago it is now much easier to become a celebrity, and in a society that is becoming more and more celebrity obsessed, this has increased the popularity of reality shows where normal every day people are documented. The audience almost craves the â€Å"fly on the wall† type documentary where they are able to perceive and form their own judgements of others through surveillance. Simon Fullers â€Å"Pop Idol† originally kicked off the music and talent based reality television we know today. Simon Fuller was well know already in the music industry for being the manager of the Spice Girls during their highly successful mid-1990's period. He was also responsible for the band S Club 7 who were formed to appear in the children's television series LA 7 and Miami 7. The idea for â€Å"Pop Idol† proved exceedingly popular in the UK as hopeful singers entertained the nation with notorious displays of â€Å"talent† on our television screens. Fuller went on to develop this idea in other countries such as America. The first series of American Idol was highly successful and was responsible for the discovery of Kelly Clarkson, now a hugely popular international pop star. The basic format of the programme has led to various spin offs including more recently X Factor and in September 2002 â€Å"Popstars: The Rivals†, which resulted in the band Girls Aloud. The show aimed to whittle down the thousands of contenders that auditioned to just two 5 piece groups of boys and girls, One True Voice and Girls Aloud. The current success of Girls Aloud has proved that even manufactured bands can succeed in the record industry if they are promoted and marketed in the right way. A manufactured band is a group of people put together by a record company, or in this case a television show in order to make a profit and give publicity to the medium through which they are published. Manufactured bands are often selected because of looks rather than actual talent in an attempt to appeal to a modern society where beauty and appearance is clearly adamantly important. In relation to Reception Analysis however, not everyone reacts in the same way to the presentation of these manufactured bands, although younger audiences may seem them as figures they can aspire to be, critics often think of manufactured bands as being damaging to the music industry and synthetically artificial. In the 1960's, the first manufactured band â€Å"The Monkees† were brought together as the central focus for a television show of the same name in LA, California. However, the real era of the generic manufactured â€Å"girl/boy bands† began in the nineties. In an attempt to focus on a younger audience, record companies compiled different individuals with certain images in order to appeal to different segments of that audience. Bands such as The Spice Girls, Atomic Kitten, Take That, N*Sync and Backstreet Boys all enjoyed chart success in the nineties and many critics have now built a formula of these bands that is easily recognisable. The media critics and the public have developed a definite dislike for these manufactured artists. Therefore it is questionable as to why Girls Aloud have been so successful. Girls Aloud have been innovatively marketed right from the start of their careers in 2002. They began as contestants on a television show and viewers watched their progress all the way to the final. The Uses and Gratifications theory suggests that for a television show to captivate its audience, it should incorporate certain methods that allow the viewers to interact, relate and enjoy watching the characters in the programme. In the case of Girls Aloud, following their progress allowed viewers to develop personal relationships with the girls as they were regularly featured on an almost daily basis between September and December of 2002. An added benefit to the band was that their first single â€Å"Sound Of The Underground† was put up against their rivals One True Voice for Christmas Number one that year, this in itself generated considerable publicity for the band. In Chart history, the Christmas number one shows a true landmark for an artist and to reach is considered a yearly achievement. Girls Aloud succeeded in gaining the Christmas number one position for that year pushing their opponents to one side. Again, the idea of â€Å"Girl Power†, originally an element of the Spice Girls in the nineties was some what revived which may have given the band further appeal, especially to a younger audience. The beginnings of Girls Aloud and the Popstars: The Rivals show generated a lot of media interest especially from the tabloid newspapers. Particularly, the scandal involving potential band mates being disqualified from the show, or in the case of Nicola Ward, refusing to sign the contract. This proved to be good for the group and initiated promotion of the bands image, even before the television series ended. When Girls Aloud then officially began their career as a band they had effectively been given a boost already by the television shows and so they already had an established fan base, giving them much advantage over bands starting from scratch. This was a similar tactic to that used by â€Å"The Monkees† 40 years previously, however developments in technology and increased television ownership and availability of channels made this all the more effective for Girls Aloud. From these origins, Girls Aloud have been marketed using many different media forms. The girls themselves are seen as the typical models of female perfection that are such role models to young girls. They are regularly featured in such gossip magazines as Heat, Closer and OK! And so they are a central focus in today's modern celebrity obsessed society. Girls Aloud have been described as remaining â€Å"constant tabloid fodder†. Suggesting their marketing strategy is to gain as much press attention as possible in order to increase their music and merchandise sales. In June 2006, the band successfully generated a large amount of press coverage through a variety of stories and scandals in the tabloids and celebrity magazines. One such example was the press coverage of Cheryl Tweedy's relationship with Ashley Cole and her holidaying with the â€Å"WAGS† at the World Cup. This was a frequent feature throughout the summer months in all the gossip magazines and red top tabloids. Although not planned as such, this also acted as a promotional tool for the band as Cheryl, as their representative, was showing a more glamorous, rich image. Her association with well known celebrities e. g. Victoria Beckham also meant that she was receiving more media attention for the band from a larger audience which could potentially increase their international scope of fans and record sales. This increase of public interest may have also been part of the plan to further promote the bands other promotional tactics, for example their â€Å"Fly-On-The-Wall† Documentary â€Å"Girls Aloud: Off the Record†. Image is of course a central focus of the Girls Aloud current marketing strategy, they have a large male fan base and so their portrayal must be one that emanates both beauty and sex appeal as it is common media knowledge that â€Å"Sex Sells†. A recent criticism of bands like Girls Aloud and other popular female media figures is that they are projecting a bad image as role models to younger females. Society has quickly become celebrity obsessed, especially as it is now more easy to become a celebrity than ever and the â€Å"perfect body image† has never been more important in the media than it is now. Eating disorders in young females are increasingly being blamed on the media as people strive for â€Å"perfection†. This problem has been largely illustrated recently by the decision by Milan Fashion Week to not include the so called â€Å"Stick thin women† and also Spanish fashion Week â€Å"Ban on skinny models†. However, anorexia is still proving a continuing problem in this country. Another flaw in the bands representation was in January 2003 when Cheryl Cole became involved in an altercation in a nightclub with a toilet attendant, Cole was subsequently charged with racially aggravated assault (She apparently called the toilet attendant a â€Å"black bitch† among other racial insults) and later convicted to a i500 fine and 120 hours community service. This story was a major one in 2003 for all the tabloids and gossip magazines and did little to enhance the girls image as a whole. Four years on from this incident, the girls have been constantly striving to move away from this negative press to gain a more positive image, but one that still exudes beauty and sex appeal. Through promotion of the band Girls Aloud, the image focus means that they are always expected to have a certain glamorous look, if this is not achieved they are likely to receive criticism. However, music promoters must be careful in how they deal with the sensitive issue of eating disorders in relation to their band members in order to keep the press happy and in order to keep fans satisfied. Certain expectations are put on major female media icons appearances, and as suggested by the hypodermic needle theory, if the audience see these icons, they may connote certain beliefs about their image. The hypodermic needle theory suggests that the audience are passively fed these values and ideas and as today's society's obsession with personal image becomes stronger, it is clear the issue needs to be tackled delicately by celebrities and bands such as Girls Aloud. Berger suggested that â€Å"Men act women appear† and this is true to some extent in the case of Girls Aloud, despite their appeal to a younger audience, they often flaunt their sexuality to gain media attention and attention from fans. However they are in some control as they conduct the publicity and their ultimate aim is to entertain fans and make a profit. Figure 3 (See Appendix) is from the magazine â€Å"Arena† published by company EMAP. The magazine is promoted as a more male adult read than â€Å"Lad Mags† such as FHM and Maxim and may focus on more of a B, C1, C2 audience category. It runs a variety of articles on food, films, technology, sex, fitness, music etc and this cover is taken from the March 2005 issue. This front cover features two members of Girls Aloud; Sarah Harding and Cheryl Tweedy. Many connotations are immediately apparent from this cover, connotations which demonstrate the ideas behind their image focussed promotional strategy. The stance of the two girls and their clothing immediately gives suggestion of sexual innuendo, the girls are selling the magazine on this image as it is likely to be the first thing someone will see when they pick it up. The colour of their outfits, black again fits in with the idea of sexual connotations and the fact that Sarah seems to be holding on and in control of Cheryl acts as another sexual suggestion. The image has been taken at a low angle and is lit quite dimly, the lower angle may seek to show their features as well as portraying them as quite domineering and women of sexual prowess, the dim lighting adds enigma to the scene which fits with the subheading â€Å"Warning: contains scenes of an adult nature! and encourages the reader to buy the magazine to see what's inside. Although not typical of all Girls Aloud promotional tactics in written media, this front cover focuses on one segment of their target audience effectively. A more recently developed promotional technique for many celebrities are so called â€Å"Fly on the Wall† documentaries, popularised by programmes like â€Å"The Osbournes† and â€Å"Newly Weds†. Girls Aloud were quick to follow in the footsteps of these programmes when in April 2006 they launched the six-part series â€Å"Girls Aloud: Off the Record† on E4. This promotional tactic was a little different to conventional tactics used by bands for many years, such as posing for magazine covers. It aimed to show the realities of life within the band and in contrast to their image based promotion, it showed the regular ups and downs of the band. This insight into the band could have varying affects on audience members, the idea that they are â€Å"plucked from obscurity to become Britain's most successful girl group ever† could induce personal identity with the band members. There is a realisation here that they were just ordinary people before they formed the group, therefore the audience may better understand their hectic lives and can relate to that as members themselves of our fast paced modern society. The idea behind this promotional tactic would have been to increase awareness of the band and to also encourage people to re-form personal relationships with the band members as they may have done during Popstars: The Rivals. Again, showing the realities of life in the band, like Viral marketing, may have a negative impact on the audience, but it still generates publicity. The opening sequence of Episode One â€Å"Girls Aloud: Off The Record† demonstrates and connotes some of the ideas and values at the base of the bands formation. The opening shot shows the girls being introduced on a stage type setting, with curtains slowly drawing back to reveal them all dancing, this is then quickly followed by some fast edited shots of some of their promotion e. g. press taking pictures, performing, photo shoots etc. The colour and clothing codes used here are very glamorous and colourful and are likely to appeal to the younger trendy female audience that are often seen as one of the bands targeted fan bases. The image of glamour and of the girls having a good time is then balanced out by some more negative portrayals which show Girls Aloud in a contrasting light e. g. showing them swearing, some of the tabloid headlines are shown about them, arguments etc. This juxta-pose of two images acts as a teaser as to what is to come in the programme and even for those unfamiliar with the band, they may still be drawn in to watching the show. Syd Fields theory, although more generally applied to film, can still be applied here and demonstrates the importance of the first 5 minutes of a programme being essential for captivating an audience. In order for marketers to successfully gain fans of the band, the captive audience must be able to gain both surveillance and personal relationships to keep them interested. In this case, the use of voiceovers, talking head shots and the non diagetic sound of one of there popular singles in the background seeks to intensify the audiences curiosity. The interviews and shots seem a very random selection of clips and are enigmatic enough to encourage viewers to keep watching. Although the band is shown in two different lights here, it is clear the glamour could still potentially appeal to audience members and encourage them to relate and therefore like the band. In the past, other bands have also generated publicity through television appearances, on shows such as Top of the Pops, Later With Jools Holland and Friday Night With Jonathan Ross. These are seen as more covert promotional tactics used by PR not to necessarily directly advertise the band to the audience, but to target those who do not necessarily normally take an interest in celebrities and the music industry and who can be reintroduced into that idea through general television viewing. Some of the less conventional techniques used by bands have succeeded in generating the most publicity. One such example is the well renowned incident of punk rock band The Sex Pistols appearing on the early evening broadcast of the â€Å"Today† programme on the 1st of December 1976. Having taken full advantage of facilities backstage and following copious amounts of alcohol, the band caused outrage amongst viewers by openly swearing and being offensive to the equally drunk host Bill Grundy, whose career ended abruptly as a consequence. This â€Å"Filth and Fury† prompted increased public interest in the UK punk scene that was developing at the time and although it led to hostile press and local authorities cancelling gigs, it generated much publicity and for the band and reinforced the rebellious punk image. The bands continued antics built them a reputation which increased their popularity amongst teenage audiences, who were eager to rebel against societies codes and conventions of that time. This proves that even risqui promotional tactics such as that of the Sex Pistols can prove hugely successful and they are still a world renowned band to this day. Music promotional techniques have expanded in recent years with the development of new technology and trends and continue to be highly innovative. The â€Å"Digital revolution† has played a major part in this with new areas for advertising such as the Internet and more Television channels aimed at different market segments. The strategies have developed from some earlier successful music promotion tactics to effectively portray musician image and to also target more specific, niche audiences. The internet is likely to remain core to this developing range of promotion and with increasing numbers of people downloading songs online, and it may well dominate all future marketing techniques.

People Become Overly Dependent on Technology

Environmental pollution and methods for treatment Pollution is the introduction of contaminates into the natural environment that cause adverse change , pollution can taken the form of chemical substances or energy such as noise , heat and light. The components of pollution can be either foreign substances, enrrgies or natural occurring contaminates . pollution is often classed as point source or non point source pollution. The BlackSmith issues an annual list of the world's worst ploouted places . n the 2007 issues the ten top nominess are located in Azerbaijan, China, India, Peru, Russia, Ukraine, Zambia. There are forms of pollution , which surround us from all directions . Firstly, Air pollution :- the release of chemicals and particulates into the atmosphere common gaseous pollutants include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, chlorofluoro carbons and nitrogen oxides produced by industry and motor vehicles . photochemical ozone and smog are created as nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbo ns react to sunlight . econdly, light pollution :- include light trespass, over –illumination and astronomical interference . Thirdly, noise pollution :- which encompasses road way noise, air craft noise, industrial noise as well as high – industrial sonar. Fourthly, visual pollution:- which can refer to the presence of over head power lines , motor way bill boards , scarred landforms ( as form strip mining) ,open storage of trash, municipal solid waste or space debris . ifthly, water pollution:- by the discharge of untreated sewage , release of waste and contaminates into surface waters, discharges of untreated domestic sewage, and chemical contaminates into surface runoff flowing to surface waters . finally, thermal pollution:- is temperature change in natural water bodies caused by human influence , such as use of water as coolant in a power plant, also radio active contaminates resulting from 20th century activities in atomic physics , such as nuclear power generat ion and nuclear weapon research , manufacture and deployment.Effects of pollution on human health , adverse air quality can kill many organisms including humans , ozone pollution can cause respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease , throat inflammation, chest pains and congestion, water pollution causes approximately 14,000 deaths per day, mostly due to contaminates of drinking water by untreated seage in developing countries. An estimated 700 million Indians have no access to a proper toilet and 1,000Indian children die of diarrhoeal sickness every day, Nearly 500 million Chinese lack access to safe drinking water , 656,000 people die prematurely each year in china because of air pollution . In India , air pollution is believed to cause 527,700 fatalities a year , studies have estimated that the number of people killed annually in the us could be cover 50,000. Oil spills can cause skin irritations and rashes. Noise pollution induces hearing loss, high blood pressure, stress and s leep disturbance.Mercury has been linked to developmental deficits in children and neurologic symptoms. Older people are majorly expose to disease induced by air pollution. Those with heart or lung disorders are under additional risk. Children and infants are also at serious risk. Lead and other heavy metals have been shown to cause neurological problems. Chemicals and radioactive substance can cause cancer and as well as birth defect.