Kitchen

Kitchen By: Banana Yoshimoto Mikage Satsuki Growing up is tough; especially when you are alone and young. It forces you to fend for yourself against the world. Instead of playing with your friends, you spend your time figuring out where your next meal is coming from. Which is a sad and scary truth; few stop to think of these poor souls that get such an unfortunate fate. In Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen, the character Mikage undergoes many of changes, but one thing throughout this book that does not change is her love of kitchens.Her parents passed away when she was young and her grandmother raised her. When her grandmother also passed away, she became depressed, listless, and orphaned. In the beginning of the book she is lonely, since none of her blood relatives are still alive. After she moves in with the Tanabe's, however, she finds the courage to face life again. She has a strong bond with kitchens; they seem to give her a calming feeling and help to ease her loneliness. Kitch ens serve as a comfort for her.Throughout the course of this novel Kitchen, Banana Yoshimoto depicts Mikage as a person of great morals, who loves kitchens, and is incredibly strong-willed. In this novel Mikage appears to be an individualist who keeps her morals intact; her grandparents brought her up to be an accepting, gracious person. Mikage is a person of great temperance, although she is a little touchy about her relationship with Yoichi. She is also courageous for a person who lost her entire family, and, because she doesn't want to get hurt again, she distanced herself from other people. When was it I realized that, on this truly dark and solitary path we all walk, the only way we can light is our own? † (Yoshimoto, pg. 21). Her moral stature is apparent when Yoichi tells her that Eriko is a transgender, and instead of getting upset about it, she accepted it because she feels she can trust them. Her dominant traits are her love of cooking and her love of kitchens. These traits originate when her grandmother passes away; the hum of the refrigerator keeps her from feeling lonely.So each night until she moves in with the Tanabe's she curls up beside the refrigerator in her kitchen and goes to sleep. â€Å"Why do I love everything that has to do with kitchens so much? It's strange. Perhaps because to me a kitchen represents some distant longing engraved on my soul† (Yoshimoto, pg. 56). She teaches herself to cook, the summer after her grandmother passed away, at the Tanabe's house. She buys three books and studies them, following all the directions in them.Subsequently, she becomes good at cooking and gets the job she has now as an assistant to a famous cooking teacher. Mikage is more of a rational person who knows her limits. At times, she can be emotional, but overall she thinks well on her feet and is a capable person. â€Å"However! I couldn't exist like that. Reality is wonderful. I thought of the money my grandmother had left me-just eno ugh. The place was too big, too expensive, for one person. I had to look for another apartment† (Yoshimoto, pg. 5). Mikage handles change well; she might not like some things but she gets through them.For instance, her grandmother’s death was a great tragedy, but she got through it rationally, and she adapted very well to the Tanabe's and their kindness. The author wants readers to know how tough Mikage is. She has had a rough go at life, but she still manages to stay strong; reading about her really appeals to the reader’s sympathetic side. Mikage appears to be a nice girl who has just been unlucky lately. Fortunately, when Yoichi comes into her life, she starts to open up more and realize that she is not alone. He struck just the right note, neither cold nor oppressively kind. It made me warm up to him ;†( Yoshimoto, pg. 11). Another thing about Mikage is that she is a fighter, and readers see that towards the end of the story, she fights for what she wan ts. At the beginning of this book Mikage is very guarded and lonely, but as the book progresses she becomes less guarded and more open to people who care about her. At the end of the book, Mikage becomes the one who comforts Yoichi, when his mom passes away. She becomes the center of his support system.

The Rising Cost of Healthcare Essay

Without a doubt healthcare costs are rising out of control. Not one of us are happy with the increases, but we have to understand what the reasons are for the increases in healthcare. American people look at their insurance bills, co-pays and drug costs, and do not understand why they continue to increase. The insured should consider all reasons behind the increase before getting upset. In 2004, employer health care premiums increased over 11 percent, four times more than the rate of inflation. In 2003, premiums rose 10.1 percent and in 1002 they rose 15 percent. Employee spending for coverage increased 126 percent between 2000 and 2004. These increases were lower than expected. The site to look up information on the cost of health care coverage and the breakdown on the cost is (National Coalition on Health Care, Facts on health care costs). Premiums have risen five times faster than workers’ wages, if medical spending continues to rise by just two percent more than a personâ €™s personal income, by 2040 Medicare and Medicaid will rise 8.4 percent of gross domestic product this year’s 15.6 percent by 2040, according to Congressional Budget Office projections. If all government programs stay at the same size relative to the economy, the budget will grow from 19.9 percent of GDP in 2003 to 27.1 percent by 2040, (http://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/tbb-0306-15.pdf). There are huge impacts of the rising costs of healthcare. Many people cannot afford health insurance today and struggle to pay for their medical needs. Of the families that do have health coverage, 50 percent are concerned about having to pay more for the coverage in the future, while 42 percent fear they will not be able to afford coverage at all if the rate increase keep s going the way it is. This leads to believe one of the reasons for health care cost increases: cost sharing or cost shifting. When an individual or a family does not have insurance, and cannot or does not pay their medical bills, the cost of health care rises. Over years the American healthcare system has been plagued by the continuous rise of healthcare cost. These costs include but are not limited to insurance premiums, co-pays as well as prescription drugs. One of the significant reasons for the increase is that nowadays people are living longer lives than they once did and this gives higher rates to contracting chronic diseases or developing life threatening injuries, this cause the United States healthcare system to suffer a finical  crisis. The three major parts to industries health care sector are as follows: the healthcare service industry consisting of providers such as medical practices, hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and home health care agencies, next is the healthcare insurance industry consisting of both government programs such as Medicare and commercial insurers, and last is the managed healthcare industry consisting of organizations such as health maintenance organization (HMO’s) that incorporate both insurance and provider functions. Citizens of the United States are currently spending up to 15 percent of the income expenditures on healthcare. It has been estimated that the expenditures are likely to rise to about 29 percent of gross domestic product by the year 2040. The Medicare insurance program that was created in the mid-1960’s to cover the elderly that is funded by the payroll system is costing more than $5,000 per enrollee, a national cost of more than $200 billion annually. Projected cost for the Medicare will rise rapidly from 2.5 percent to 5.5 in 2030. For HMO’s they often emphasize their ability to contain costs through oversight of physician’s decisions or by implementation of capped payment scheme that aligns physician’s incentives with those of the healthcare plan. HMO’s do have lower hospitalization than traditional healthcare providers. Some people also argue that the increasing use of managed care generates positive externalities that benefit consumers enrolled in non HMO health plans. This argument typically invokes some notion of market discipline, arguing that traditional insures or healthcare providers will have to lower premiums to remain viable in a health insurance market. It may be difficult to measure the effect of HMO participation on spending and outcomes because enrollment in managed care plans often voluntary, and those who choose to enroll are likely to differ in unobservable ways from those who do not. Using data on 300,000 welfare recipients the average effect of the mandate is to increase spending by 12%. This increase may be due to higher payments to providers, higher administrative costs, the inclusion of normal level of profit for the HMO’s, or a mark-up of bids above cost. Check out this site that goes deeper into the HMO and the reason of increase to healthcare cost at; (http://www.nber.org/bah/winter03/w9091.html). Looking at healthcare outcomes it is looking like switching to a HMO does not improve the efficiency of the Medicaid program because they lead to substantial spending  increases with no demonstrable quality improvements.

Memori Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Memori - Essay Example It all begun with a disagreement on matters of tribe and religion between my father a friend he had made soon after we had moved in to Australia. They had become easy friends especially in view of the fact that both of them and their families were Muslims in a predominantly Christian country. On that fateful day, the man invited my family to visit him and my father was glad to accept, my sister and I were ecstatic about the prospect of meeting other children since we had been told he had other girls with whom we could play with. The home was tastefully furnished and the decor bespoke a moderate but style conscious lifestyle, there were several Muslim texts displayed on a glass display giving the impression that the man was deeply religious like my father. The kitchen was beautifully decorated and from the excitement my mother showed as she examined the furnishings I could tell it was everything she had ever dreamt of in her ideal kitchen. After refreshments, my sister and I went upst airs to play with the little girls as the grownups talked in the living room. While the room was not decorated it looked just like as small looking box with two pink beds it had hundreds of toys. I had more fun than we could remember playing dress up with them especially when they gave us dresses to match theirs. I was given an elegant blue dress adorned with beautiful pink flowers, and it looked and felt so fantastic I could not find words to describe the feeling, I felt like a princess. We also played with their doll house which was full of tiny plates and chairs and for four hours, we forgot that there was a world outside our secluded heaven of fun and games just like Alice in wonderland. Although my family relatively close, I never really felt a very close connection with them, my father was a workaholic and he spent most of his time working or studying to be a doctor. My mother rarely had time for me since she was too busy being a health freak and monitoring our diet and making us eat â€Å"healthy,† while my sister was close to my age I did not find her very good since she seemed to only copy what I did. My two brothers are the last people I would play with since they are not only serious but very reserved and we almost never notice them since they seem lost each in their own world. Therefore, these two girls were the best thing to happen to me and we got along beautifully coming up with different games and I was sure they would be my friends forever. This is what made the events that followed so painful, I had convinced myself I had found my true best friends and I was to spend the rest of my childhood pinning for them knowing I would never have another chance to play with them. Abruptly, we were jerked back into the harsh realities of the outside world, strange noises were coming from the living room and there was shouting and banging of tables. The door to the bedroom was opened and my mother quickly dragged us from our new playmates were silen t with bewilderment just as we were. The girl’s mother was calm, mine looked terrified but their father and mine were each livid, I had never seen my father as angry as he was on that night, his pulsating veins seemed to push through his skin threatening to bust through and he looked as if he was on the edge of saying something but didn’t say a word. The girl’s father was equally angry and as they stood across from each other in the sitting room looking like

Event Handling And Web Forms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Event Handling And Web Forms - Essay Example Since their inception in the early 1990's, Web forms have become the essential interface of the transactional Web. They are a central component of e-commerce applications and are used to collect business-critical information. It has also been said that Web forms are changing the paradigm of Business workflows. Do you agree with this? Discuss this in the relation of Business workflows and data collection at various points of these workflows. Any company that is engaged in e-commerce has to deal with information at three stages – ordering of a product, processing of that order and shipping the product to the customer. Different information needs to be available at these three points and also needs to be transferred from one point to another. Web forms are one of the most exciting innovations of modern times. They allow the business to interact directly with clients, prospective customers and even the employees of the organization. With the advent of web forms, business workflows of organizations have changed drastically. The first effect of web forms has been the creation of a platform-independent environment for e-commerce. Business workflows are basically concerned about collecting of information which might be unstructured and then moving this information in a structured format to the back end where it can be used for information processing. Until the advent of web forms, structured data was the purview of database applications and the unstructured information was collected through different tools.

Cultural Competencies in Advaanced practice nurse- nurse practitioners Research Proposal

Cultural Competencies in Advaanced practice nurse- nurse practitioners - Research Proposal Example trends testify to the great need for advanced practice nurse who are competent and sensitive to care for culturally diverse populations (Canpinha, 2010). To address the idea of diverse cultures in our society, specific curriculum enhancement that focused on populations that are ethically diversified have been implemented for the nurse practitioners specialty at my university. We shall carry out a research on how effective the training program of cultural competency is in this institution. The process that has been used for these report include visiting clinical and community sites, identifying the curricular components at this institutions and analyzing the didactic and clinical learning experiences. The main purpose of this research was to determine how well APN are trained to give culturally competent care in practice and enhance preparation of the students to meet multifaceted needs of ethnically diverse patients, community and families. The objective of this research was to conduct a systematic review on the training of the advanced practitioners nurses on cultural competency, asses the strength of effects and quality of studies and then propose a frame work for future studies Campinha Bacote, (2010), defined cultural competence as the process in which nurses continiouly strive to achieve the ability to work with the cultural context of a patient, individual community or family from a diverse ethnic background. Kreps and Kunimoto (2002) stated that cross cultural practice is a practice that require experience and continued interest in learning and sharpening communication skills and cultural assessment. According to Eubanks, 2010, although nurses may achieve a certain degree of competence in some cultures, they cannot be totally competent in all cultures. Yet this nurses can achieve culturally competent cross cultural care when the complex combination of cultural awareness, knowledge, skills and attitude are used dynamically for the cultural assessment of

Communityy service Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Communityy service - Essay Example The backdrop of this medical camp is that there were lots of refugees as a result of the war with Armenia and we had to ensure that they were properly looked after. I have made an effort to list down all the activities that I performed in my interaction with the refugees and their relatives and the kind of medical assistance that we provided for them. One of the most important things to come out of the medical camp was the fact that I learnt a lot personally about the human conditions in refugee camps and the kind of medical assistance that needs to be provided for them. The team from Kyunhee University was very helpful and eager to work in the various departments of the medical facility. A point to be noted is that we conducted the medical camp after extensive interaction with the local hospital and then we ensured that all of them get the medical assistance that they needed. The next sections describe each of the activities in detail and the summary of my experience is also provide d in the last section. The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan that killed 30,000 people and created one million refugees supposedly ended 13 years ago with a ceasefire in 1994 -- but the countries are still at war over Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory in Azerbaijan controlled by ethnic Armenian forces. Ordinary citizens are now caught in the middle. Azeri farmers living along the borders of the war zone dodge bullets as they attempt to sow vegetables and graze cattle; their irrigation water is blocked by Armenian forces and a lake that used to feed into six local villages has dried up. Traveling across the war zone to visit the nearest town six kilometers away requires a special pass, American and European efforts to resolve the issue diplomatically have failed, and the president of Azerbaijan is threatening a new war if the Armenians do not give up the occupied territory. The government of Azerbaijan also refuses to recognize the results of an upcoming

Recommendations for non price barriers to entry Essay

Recommendations for non price barriers to entry - Essay Example i. Larson needs to subtly and powerfully draw public's attention to its "staying power" and one of the top leaders in the market considering that it has a presence of over 5 years and 15 years in the USA and Germany respectively. ii. The company should build and strengthen its image as a responsible corporate by enhancing its presence in the community through initiatives and participatory events. This could heighten the positivism of the brand of the company and could be a clear differentiator since community events are also caught by media and do not involve additional advertising. 2) Internal Cost Cutting: The Company needs to critically analyze its cost structure and find ways and means to optimize costs instead of increasing prices. This will ensure higher profit margins and allow company to reduce product prices potentially attracting new customers. 3) Expansion to new markets: Larsen's presence is currently limited to only 2 counties which are currently in recession. It needs to expand into newer / growth oriented markets like Asia and Africa. It needs to consider organic and inorganic growth through acquisitions, mergers, setting up subsidiaries and tie-ups with local companies in other countries and homes countries too. 5) Outsourcing: Larsen can critically analyze the feasibility of moving its manufacturing bases to

The Glass Menagerie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Glass Menagerie - Essay Example She would rattle off the numerous names of her suitors and she would recount their consequent fame and fortune after some years. However, she would always refer to her husband with a note of regret and sadness. Amanda also failed to accept the disability of her daughter, Laura, who is a cripple, so she refused to face the reality that Laura would naturally have fewer suitors due to this disability. Instead, she would say that there must be a typhoon on a certain day since Laura has no gentleman callers. Amanda also exercises considerable control over her children. For instance, Amanda demands that Tom, her son should join them during meals. One of her dreams is that Laura gets to marry a fine gentleman. She also wants Laura to study the typewriter and practice the shorthand so that the gentlemen callers will perceive that she is well-bred. Laura has a low self-esteem as shown by her deep sensitivity to the negative perceptions of other people. She also seems to have an unstable mental condition. Instead of braving the negative perceptions of her classmates at the Business College, she instead chose to stay at home and be comforted by the presence of her glass collection. Hence, she settled for a less daunting feat: playing with beautiful glass figurines everyday.

The threat of the global economic crisis Essay Example for Free

The threat of the global economic crisis Essay The economic crisis of United States of America has made its way to the economies of the Central Asian nations. The global economic crisis is showing its impact upon the economy of Tajikistan. This global crisis is threatening not only the economy of the country; but also its internal stability. This current downturn seems to have crippled the entire country. The history of Tajikistan does not boast of internal stability, as it has plunged into civil war that had destroyed the very economy of the state. Through this paper, the threat of the global economic crisis on remittances and towards the economy would be studied. In addition, the impact of this crisis over the internal stability of Tajikistan would also be analyzed. At the crucial point of economic destabilization, the country faces an uphill task of lifting itself from falling into the deep trenches of this global economic crisis. The country has various challenges to overcome, in order to successfully combat the current crisis. The various challenges to the economy of Tajikistan include weak infrastructure, inadequate, insufficient and ailing health and education systems and failing institutions like the financial system and the civil service. These challenges are not the only cause of concern for the country; its geography and demography along with political turmoil, make the matter worse for it. The country already had host of problems and this economic crisis has just added to its misery. Tajikistan has to address a number of challenges and needs but it does not have adequate resources to combat them. The state of current condition of the country can be judged from the fact that the proposed plan of Government has various modest goals set in their planning. Due to the various resource and capacity constraints, the Government does not have enough on its platter to help the failing economy. The global catastrophe seems to have come at a very critical point for this nation. Various problems have only aggravated the situation of this country. The country still has not been able to lift itself from the energy crisis, which originated in late 2008 and early 2009. Its worsening relations with Russia have just added to the woes, as this has raised the graph of social and economic problems, which the country had been facing since its fall out from the former Soviet Union. All these factors have resulted in creating a deep impact on the nation’s internal political matters. These problems are now threatening the political stability of the country. According to various Analysts, these prevailing conditions would ultimately result in total failure of the state. The rising monetary problems and the continued failure of the Government in combating them would bring the whole country to a standstill. The country at this point would be unsuccessful to perform its basic functions. This situation would result in threatening the steadiness of the nation’s neighbouring countries and the whole region could plunge into a series of hostilities against each other. The resulting crisis may be so severe that it could impact negatively on the stabilization operation of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in Afghanistan. Some Analysts point out that in coming months, this situation might result in eruption of warfare due to increasing dissatisfaction among the local populace. The ensuing dissatisfaction may lead to the possible overthrow of the current regime. Such action could draw the country into chaos and internal conflict. The country might have detached from Soviet Union, but its economy is still deeply affected by the developments in Russia. Therefore, the developments in the neighbouring Russian Federation and Central Asia Region directly affect developments in Tajikistan. Background Tajikistan is considered to have the worst economy out of the various nations that were carved out of the former USSR. The country’s GDP in 2007 accounted for US$3. 2 billion, while the per capita income was estimated to be US$578. The inflation rate has shown a continuous increase in recent years with the inflation rate in 2008 recorded at 19. 8%. The balance of trade in 2008 recorded a negative turnover, reflecting imbalances in the exports and imports. In 2008, the average salary, for people in Tajikistan, was estimated to be US$68. It would be unfair to compare the flagging condition of the nation’s economy with other break away states of the former Soviet Union. The current state of the Tajik economy is far more comparable with poor nations of Africa or Asia. The development of Tajikistan has faced several hurdles in the past. These hurdles are of diverse nature as they include various geographic and historical factors, as well as, economic and political factors. The economic factors include the poor development of the industry, weak infrastructure, lack of communication networks and lack of foreign investments. There were various political factors that negatively affected the economy of Tajikistan. These political factors came into picture right after its break up with the USSR. The 1992 1997 civil wars, in particular, had a major role to play in disturbing the economy of Tajikistan. Although the civil war ended with a firm settlement, it failed to bring any benefit to the country. After the civil war ended, Emomali Rahmon occupied the position of President of Tajikistan in 1994. Emomali could not gain any benefit from the settlements reached after the civil war or from the West, due to Afghanistan’s related war on Terror. He does not appear to have made much effort to change the conditions of the country since his inauguration as President. The present political system of the country suffers from many major problems such as corruption, clan system, biasness and bureaucracy. It is also alleged that certain elements of the Government and state apparatus is engaged in smuggling of drugs in the region. In order to understand this crisis, the background of country’s political and economical state is essential. 2. Economy of the Country Tajikistan became one of the poorest nations in the Central Asia after coming out of the clutches of civil war in 1997. Its foreign exchange mainly comes from the cotton and aluminium exports. This has resulted in increased sensitivity of the state to external imbalances. The deteriorating health of the economy can be noticed from the fact that in the year 2000, Tajikistan’s rehabilitation program was entirely dependent upon the international aid. This rehabilitation program brought back the combatants of civil war into the mainstream, which assisted the country in making peace at both ends. International aid was required to assist the country in combating the food crisis that Tajikistan had encountered due to severe drought. After the civil war, there was some recovery in the economy, as it grew considerably after 2000. According to the data provided by World Bank, for period 2000-2004, the GDP of the country grew at a rate of 9. 6%. This growth in GDP led to improvement in country’s position among other Central Asian countries such as Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. But since then the economy of the country has been continuously moving backwards. According to the figures available, nearly 57% of the population of this country lives below the poverty line. The country is stricken with widespread poverty. The dollar exchange rate is estimated to be 0. 82 Somoni. The wages in the country are low amounting to nearly $2-$3 per day for an average person in 2007. The civil war lasted for six years creating innumerable problems for the country including a strained relationship with Russia that resulted in loss of subsidies and more importantly the loss of its products market. The country has to look for assistance from Russia and Uzbekistan and other international humanitarian bodies to fulfil the country’s basic needs. In addition to this, the country faces the uphill task of bringing back the refugees and combatants of civil war in the country’s mainstream. The stability of the nation and pace of the peace process has an important part to play in attracting foreign investment, as well as determining the country’s future. In the 1990’s, the GDP per capita of the country fell by 67%. In the financial year 2000, the Government of Tajikistan went into reform mode and took steps towards promoting macroeconomic stabilization and certain institutional reforms even though it faced endless number of protests. The Government pursued privatization of small enterprises and increased privatization of medium and large state-owned enterprises. The Government’s budget for development of economy, during 2000, was in control until 2005. The growth rate of the financial system was in good shape with an annual growth rate above 6 percent. The main industries of the country consist of the following: †¢ Agriculture †¢ Forestry †¢ Fishing †¢ Mining and Minerals †¢ Industry and Manufacturing †¢ Energy †¢ Services The country’s economy is highly dependent on agriculture and livestock. The reason behind this dependence on agriculture is the economic downturn it faced with collapse of Soviet rule and the civil war that plagued the country. Nearly two thirds of the country is employed in subsistence agriculture. Nearly 900,000 of the total workforce of the country are employed in Russia or other countries. Government corruption is one the major challenges facing the country and contributing to the high levels of poverty in the country. The lowlands of the country specialize in the production of cotton, wheat, barley, fruit, vegetables and mulberry trees. A significant portion of the population of the nation is also engaged in livestock farming, such as sheep, dairy cattle, goats and yaks. The country also has deposits of silver, gold, uranium, tungsten, zinc, lead, coal, antimony, salt and mercury. But due to inadequate mining and raw-materials processing facilities, the country has not been able to benefit from its resources. The country’s hydro- electric resources are abundant, but the poor management of these resources has resulted in power shortages. Other industries which have suffered due to its separation from the Soviet Union include ginning cotton, spinning of silk, winemaking, carpet weaving, metals processing and textiles manufacturing. The major exports of the country include aluminium, electricity, cotton, fruits, vegetable oil and textiles. The major imports include petroleum products, electricity, aluminium oxide, machinery and equipment. The country trades primarily with Netherlands, Uzbekistan, Russia and Turkey. Inflation is the major crisis faced by the country and has been a major obstacle in Tajikistan’s economic growth. From 2001 to 2003, the inflation rate of the country decreased from 33 percent to16. 3 percent. In 2004, there was a drastic cut in inflation rate, as it reached the 6. 8% mark; but increased again in 2006 to 710%. 3. Political Scenario of the Country The country has witnessed a series of ups and downs as far as the political scenario of the country is concerned. The country gained its independence after the fall out of Soviet Union in 1991. The Independence was short lived because the country soon fell into a civil war that continued for six years. This internal turmoil was a result of tensions between the ruling elites and disenfranchised regions, democratic and liberal reformists and Islamists, who were under United Tajik Opposition. There were also other combatants and armed bands, which were not a part of any party and neither showed any kind of inclination for them. The civil war reached peak during 1992 to 1993. In 1997, there was a settlement reached between the United Tajik Opposition and the ruling Kulyabi-led Tajik Government. This peace accord was implemented in 2000. After the peace accord, the Government gradually started nation building. There is still a presence of Russian military in the country to secure the Tajikistan border with Afghanistan. The Russian 201st Motorized Rifle Division mostly consists of local Tajik officers and soldiers who never left the country and continued to live in Russia. The credentials of Parliamentary and Presidential Elections held in years 1999-2000 were doubtful, as they were labelled unfair yet peaceful by many. The Government created a strong secular image by including Islamists in the administration. There were problems in the country due to insurgency in Afghanistan, prior to the overthrow of Taliban in 2001. These forces posed a major threat to the peace prevailing through the peace accord. In 2004, there were threats to the peace when the tensions between President Emomali Rakhmonov and former war lords increased, creating ripples in the political conditions of the state. Even though life in general has become peaceful in the country, there are still elements within the country that continues to fight the prevailing conditions. There is widespread poverty, with more than half the population dependent on the international assistance. The economy is still burdened with aftermath of the Soviet past. There is too much of intervention by the State Government, which does not reflect a healthy democracy. There is too much corruption, as the state structures are involved in promoting it. This has resulted in driving away the foreign investors from the country. The current situation and the global recession have just added to the country’s problems. There is tension everywhere, since the country is fighting against too many hostilities with inadequate resources. Chapter 2: Aims Objectives 1. Aims Objectives The aim of this research is to explore the impact of global economic crisis on the economy as well as the political scenario in Tajikistan. The paper would look at the impact of global phenomenon on the current state of Tajikistan, which was marred by civil war since its inception. The objective of the paper is to look at the devastating impact of the current recession on the economy of the country. The internal stability of Tajikistan has been on stake due to this current crisis. In this research different aspects of this crisis on the political scene in the country would also be studied. 2. Statement of Research The research statement for this particular report, which studies the impact of the global recession on economy and the internal stability of Tajikistan, is given below: â€Å"The current global economy crisis is a potential threat to the remittance for the economy and internal stability of the nation of Tajikistan. † Chapter 3: Literature Review 1. Literature Review Tajikistan is an underdeveloped country and its economy is very poor. Moreover, the economic slump all over the world has led its economy into a more miserable plight. The recession has not only affected its economy; but is also likely to affect its political stability. This section will be a review of the already available facts and figures related to the research question. It will help in arriving at some meaningful conclusion and in analyzing the research question. According to the information obtained from the US Department of State, Tajikistan faces great corruption in its political field and the economy is continuously falling down. It is analyzed from the information that power is concentrated with only few individuals. The country is also involved in the opium and heroin trafficking and this is a great threat to the political stability of Tajikistan. The crime rate in the country has been increasing continuously, mainly due to lack of resources available to the people and disease like HIV/AIDS that is also rising at a rapid rate. This clearly shows that there is lack of awareness among the people. The only source of foreign revenue for the country is the exports of cotton and aluminium. The information also states that the external happenings all over the world also affect the economy and stability of the country to a great extent. This signifies that the economic recession has greatly affected the financial system and political stability (Background Note: Tajikistan 2009). From the presentation on â€Å"ECA region and the global economic crisis† it can be analyzed that the GDP growth has been affected to a great extent in Russia and Tajikistan is one of them. The remittances to the country have also reduced and are affecting economy greatly. This directly creates a bad impact for the economy of Tajikistan and also the political stability of the country. The ECA region is heavily affected by the financial catastrophe. From the figure on growth of migrant remittances, it can be clearly seen that the global, as well as, ECA remittances have been continuously falling in 2008 and 2009 due to economic downturn. Unemployment has been rising along with rise in imports and a fall in exports. This has badly affected the economic condition of Tajikistan. The country should focus on attaining long term productivity and social stability (Rohland 2009). From the Country Programme Document for Tajikistan, it can be analyzed that the country faces a number of challenges relating to its economy, administration and resources. The country needs to work for the economic prosperity of its people and should put its efforts for reducing the poverty in the country. The remittances in the country comprise about 37 percent of the GDP. However, now there has been inflation in the country and the energy and food prices have risen to considerable levels. Due to the economic recession, the country is facing fiscal disaster, which has reduced the economic growth, the exports and remittances coming to the country. The foreign capital inflows have reduced and the condition of the nation is continuously deteriorating (Draft country programme document for Tajikistan: 2010 – 2015 2009). It can also be identified from the report that the Government is corrupt, resulting in mismanagement of public finances. Everything remains centralized and the implementation of reforms is also very slow. Although, the country has launched various programs for reducing poverty, creating effective decision making, overcoming disasters and controlling the spread of diseases, yet they have not been implemented in a proper manner. The programs have also achieved certain results, yet they are not so helpful in improving the conditions of the country. Moreover, the economic downturn has worsened the situation and has affected the country in a great way. It is increasing the instability in the country and making it economically dependent on other countries. The UNDP program needs to work in the right direction to achieve the predefined goals for the country. In the news article on Tajikistan, On the Road to Failure, the International Crisis Group has forecasted that Tajikistan is on the verge to decline. It has no efficient leadership and also lacks infrastructure. Most of the people have migrated to other lands and the money which these migrants end back home is the main economic lifeline for the country. But as a result of economic slowdown, these remittances have highly reduced and the country is in a bad state. The cities that were earlier prosperous are also declining now and poverty is incessantly increasing. From the news article, it can be clearly analyzed that the country needs to reform its system and if economic downturn in the world will continue, then, this will create political, as well as, economic instability in the country (Tajikistan On the Road to Failure, Think Tank Concludes 2009). As per the article on â€Å"Government under Pressure†, it has been explained that due to global depression, people are losing their jobs and there are huge price cuts. This crisis has created a social, as well as, a political impact. It has led to political instability in the developing, developed and underdeveloped countries. The social unrest due to unemployment and other factors is mainly responsible for political instability. The demand is reducing day by day and there are chances of financial crisis. The social unrest can take the form of violent acts and can adversely harm the administrative settings of the countries. The political stability index has been formulated, which is based on indicators of susceptibility and economic suffering. They help in finding out the level of political instability in a specific country. The strong and the weak, both types of democracies are likely to be threatened and face political insecurity. Tajikistan is also a country that is under serious threat of facing unsteadiness and collapse of the Government. The income of the country is greatly affected by the remittances that have reduced, as a result of great economic suffering in the world (Governments under pressure 2009). In the report by Joshua Kucera, it has been clearly elucidated that Tajikistan is dominated by weak politics, low economic development and lack of adequate resources. The fall in the oil prices has led to social unrest and the economic downfall in the countries like Russia and Kazakhstan, which has affected the flow of remittances in the country of Tajikistan. This has reduced the revenue sources of the country and led to rising pressure for its internal stability. The banking sector of Kazakhstan has weakened due to the economic break down. There is a need for reforming the democratic system of the countries, to bring an end to corruption. The economic issues need to be handled in an effective manner. There is great political pressure and economic down turn in the central Asian countries, which is a hazard to their internal stability. All the economies are undergoing a critical stage and moreover, the financial system of Tajikistan is in a very bad state, and is about to collapse. The administrative settings should be improved and reformed in the country (Kucera, 2009). In the article by Falkowski, it has been identified that the economy of Tajikistan is dependent on Russia. The increasing energy crisis has led to tensions in relation to Russia. Tajikistan has now been considered as a failing state because its political and economic situation is continually worsening. The dissatisfaction among the people has been rising and it might result in conflicts within the nation. This might also create a menace for the neighbouring countries and worsen the situation of the country by each passing day (Falkowski 2009). The political system is collapsing and the economy is also on the verge of decline due to reduction in remittances and exports. This will definitely create internal volatility in Tajikistan. It can be identified that the nation is in a very miserable state and is very deeply affected by the economic depression. From the information obtained by International Labour Organization, it can be identified that the people working outside Tajikistan, are the significant source of revenue for the country. Workers going to other countries should be provided with economic, as well as, social security assistance. They face various difficulties working in foreign countries. The economic crisis will result in unemployment of migrant workers, adversely affecting remittances coming into the country. This in turn, will also negatively affect the national income and GDP of the country. The country is very much affected by the activities in the outside world. The ILO (International Labour Organization) has begun a program known as ‘Start and Improve Your Business’, which is aimed at helping the unemployed people as a result of world recession. It is also assisting people in Tajikistan by providing good employment opportunities to them (Migrants in times of economic crisis: ILO/UNDP joins forces to make Tajik migration safe 2009). In the report on â€Å"Migrant Worker Remittances Support Development in Tajikistan†, it has been identified that IOM (International Organization for Migrants) has been working effectively to provide help to the migrant workers from Tajikistan. It helps in generating employment for the people, who return back as a result of increasing economic slowdown. Remittances have a great impact on the development of the country. It is aimed at supporting migrants and analyzing the benefits that Tajikistan gains from the remittances earned through these migrants. Several programs and conferences have been organized for supporting migrant labourers and analyzing their conditions (Migrant Worker Remittances Support Development in Tajikistan, 2006). In the report on â€Å"Impact of Global Economic Crisis on Migrants and Migration†, it has been stated that the migrant workers form most of the major economic activities in a country and significantly contribute to the income of Tajikistan. If the immigrants are restricted to work in the foreign countries, this would worsen the situation of economic break down. Migrant workers are in one of the most vulnerable categories, arguably bearing the brunt of the economic downturn through loss meaningful employment abroad and loss of income. Efforts should be focused on identifying alternative employment opportunities within Tajikistan. Training should be provided to develop the required skills and enhancing their employment opportunities when they return. The report presented by IOM analyzes the effects of financial crises which have resulted in employment restrictions being imposed on migrant workers in the foreign countries (The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on Migrants and Migration 2009). Working conditions and availability of meaningful employment has been affected by the growing unemployment rate. Central Bank of Russia statistics reflect that remittances improved in 2008, compared with 2007. The increasing remittances in 2008 had a buffering affect, effectively delaying the economic shock brought by the economic crisis first felt by the more developed economies. The slowdown in the Russian economy resulted in declining remittances to Tajikistan. Moreover, the migrants are also not able to send money, as the trust in the banking authorities have reduced because of the increasing economic downturn. The IOM aims at protecting the rights of migrants and helps in avoiding discrimination. If proper and timely assistance is not provided, this might result in increasing internal instability due to various social tensions in the countries, which are largely dependent on remittances. Thus, the policy of IOM aims at removing all these defects. In the report on â€Å"Central Asian countries†, it has been stated that the economy of Tajikistan remains much weaker in spite of increasing efforts of various authorities like IOM, UNDP, and ILO etc. The Corrupt Governmental setup has worsened the conditions in the country. The country requires various social reforms that can help in improving the conditions of the people. The European Commission has helped the nation in overcoming the problem of poverty and for managing public finance in an efficient manner. The EC aims at making developments in the field of energy, transport, education, border management etc. This has helped Tajikistan in a great way in overcoming its miserable situation. But more efforts need to be taken to avoid internal instability in the country as a result of recession (Central Asia Indicative Programme: 2007 – 2010 2009). In the book, â€Å"Towards social stability and democratic governance in Central Eurasia: challenges to regional security†, the author has explained that the international capital inflows reduce as a result of the economic depressions. The economic and political environment of the developed countries influences the flow of money to the developing, as well as, underdeveloped countries. The weak global economic situation has affected the people working outside their original countries and this has finally resulted into slow economic growth all over the world. Tajikistan is also affected in this process as the remittances to the country have reduced as a result of the economic slowdown. Labour migration has become an important source of earning in this country, which has affected its social stability (Morozova 2005). The article from the economist intelligence unit about the country outlook provides a brief overview of Tajikistan. It also throws light on the prevailing situation in the country. According to this article, the state is on the verge of political instability. The forecast for various economic indicators points towards a declining economy. The growth of Real GDP is estimated to be just 2. 5% in 2009. Inflation rate is expected to be high, as well as, the prices of international commodity would further go down. The current account deficit is expected to grow further (Tajikistan 2008). The domestic political scenario is expected to grow even worse as the threat of instability looms over it. Although, the country has come a long way from the civil war, yet there is still rise in public dissatisfaction due to failure of the Government to provide solutions to various social and economic problems. The return of migrant people from various countries is expected to pull the nation in state of unrest. The Government would have to go in for crisis management to tackle various problems. The prices of the products exported are likely to come down. According to the World Bank report on remittances forecast for 2009-10, these remittances are expected to go down. Many developing countries like Tajikistan are heavily dependant on these remittances, as these constitutes the money which their workers sent to their home countries. According to this report, the migrant workers are facing a lot of problems like job losses, anti-migrant sentiment and in some cases; even instances of violence have been reported. These are the results of the financial crisis that is troubling the global financial system at this time. According to the World Bank reports, these remittances are expected to fall by $290 billion in 2009. The only positive thing that this report indicates is that these remittances would still outdo the private capital flows and official assistance given to these countries (World Bank Lowers Remittances Forecast for 2009 as Financial Crisis Deepens 2009). According to the report â€Å"Tajikistan: Dushanbe Braces for Shock, As Remittances Set to fall off Cliff by Konstantin Parshin, the downslide of the economy of Russia is having a significant impact on the country of Tajikistan. The Russian Government in order to pull their country from this crisis is hitting out at the migrants workers by reducing the number of workers working in these countries. These efforts by the Government in Russia are having a negative impact on the economy of Tajikistan. The country is highly dependant on the remittances it receives through the migrant work forces (Parshin 2008). According to the top officials in Russia, these crackdowns on migratory workers quotas are important to ameliorate the conditions of the economy. This news has come as a shock to the migratory population, as it is expected to cut the jobs by half. Nearly 1 million Tajik nationals work in Russia. If this number is reduced, then, it would have a devastating effect on Tajikistan’s economy, since these workers send 98% of their income home. In US congressional report â€Å"Annual Threat Assessment of the Intelligence Community for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence†, the emerging challenges due to this global recession in Russia and Eurasia have been discussed. The five nations in this region, which includes Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, would be severely hit by the global recession. This situation might result in political instability in this region. This region according to the report is not at all prepared for dealing with violent extremism, economic crisis and other problem linked with distribution of water, energy and food (Blair 2009). The worst affected country in this region would be Tajikistan, which has too much dependence on remittances by migrant workers. This economic loss would result in weakening of the political stability in this region. This threat to political stability in this region can disrupt US and NATO’s lines of communication. In a report by Johannes F. Linn, titled â€Å"Tajikistan: Progress and Problems at the Heart of Central Asia†, the overview of this nation, as well as, the importance of the country stability in promoting the peace in the Central Asia has been talked about. This report throws light on

Advertising Print Essay Example for Free

Advertising Print Essay It is my great pleasure to take this opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of number of people who helped me in successful completing of this project. Firstly I would like to express my heartily gratitude and sincere thanks to Mr. Agarwal Sir for allowing me to do this project and gratefully acknowledge the contribution by him without his support and valuable suggestion this project could not be successful. I offer my heart self regards to Mrs Aradhana Albert for her continuous guidance, monitoring and informal discussion which become light for me in the entire duration of this project in overcoming the barrier and reaching this stage. Finally I am sincerely thankful to others who have directly or indirectly helped me in the completion of the project. (SHILPA JINDAL) 1|Page PREFACE The title of my project is ETHICAL ISSUES IN ADVERTISING. Advertising can be defined as any paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services through mass media such as newspapers, magazines, television or radio by an identified sponsor So basically advertising is a mass communications device through which companies promote or market their product to the consumer, and this enables them to make informed consumption decisions. As now a days advertisements have a very great impact on the consumer’s behavior; it plays very important role in our Indian economy directly or indirectly. so if it become unethical it leads our society in wrong direction. To overcome these problems certain ethical standards are set up by the government and I want to throw a light on this only. As it is a very wide field so here I am restricted to the electronic media only. We have to think about this unethical problem and this wrong presentation of business. So that we can give good ethics to our youngsters. 2|Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TITLE The title of the project is â€Å"ETHICAL ISSUES IN ADVERTISEMENT†. Advertising can be defined as any paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services through mass media such as newspapers, magazines, television or radio by an identified sponsor. INTRODUCTION Advertising plays an important part in our everyday lives as it enables us to choose between different ranges of products. These products are promoted through different types of advertisements and cater to all types of markets. On the other hand advertising is plagued with social and ethical issues as it results in over consumption and waste of resources. Advertising creates an environment where it abuses certain values and interests that are not universally agreed upon. For example in 2001 Yves Saint Laurent launched a fragrance called ‘Opium which featured a naked model. This stirred controversy and people found it offensive and sex was being used openly to promote a perfume. For a fashion magazine the advertisement was fine but for billboards it was inappropriate and some social groups found it morally and ethically wrong. Some times advertising draws mixed response from the public, while sometimes it becomes controversial. SCOPE AND OBJECTIVE OF STUDY Many advertisements are designed to generate increased consumption of those products and services through the creation and reinvention of the brand image†. For these purposes, advertisements sometimes embed their persuasive message with factual information. Every major medium is used to deliver these messages, including television, radio, cinema, magazines, newspapers, video games, the Internet, carrier bags and billboards. Advertising is often placed by an advertising agency on behalf of a company or other organization. 3|Page Advertising is a powerful communication force, highly visible and one of the most important tools of marketing communication that helps to sell products, services, ideas and images etc. Many believe that advertising reflects the need of the times. Whether one likes it or not, advertisements are everywhere. They are seen on the walls, on the back of buses, in play grounds, on the occasion of sports event, on roadsides, in the stores and even on aeroplanes. Advertisements are seen in newspapers, in magazines, on the television, on internet and are even heard on radio. The fact is that we are being bombarded with advertisements day in and day out from all imaginable media. The average consumer is exposed to a very large number of advertisements every day, particularly the urban and semi urban population. In spite of this, to the dismay and irritation of some and enjoyment of others, advertisement will continue to make their presence felt in our lives and influence our lives in many unsuspecting ways because of rapid changes in macro- environment and in our perception, impressions, feelings, attitudes and behaviour. It seems almost impossible to remain totally neutral and not take any notice of modern-day advertising. The most visible part of the advertising process is the advertisements that we see, read, or hear and praise or criticise. Many suitable adjectives are used to describe advertising, depending on how an individual is reacting, such as great, dynamic, alluring, fascinating, annoying, boring, intrusive, irritating and offensive, etc. METHODOLOGY For completing this project the required information or the raw data is gathered from the sources like websites , journals, magazines ,text books etc which is the most difficult task of this project making as it is the most time consuming process. but overall this topic is quite interesting to gain knowledge about the ethics in ads the controversial ads also. The purpose of taking this topic is that in the present scenario advertisement has a great impact on the consumer’s behavior so if it becomes unethical it will lead the society in the wrong direction. To overcome these problems certain ethical standards are set up by 4|Page the government or regulation bodies and i want to throw a light on this only. Ethics basically refers to what is right, good or consistent with virtue. Advertising generates complex ethical questions which have to be considered, as this mode of communication commits some highly controversial ethical acts which are damaging to the society as a whole. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Here I am restricted to the ethical issues of advertisement related to television media only as this subject has a very wide arena to be focused on. Her I just want to know that how much these set standards are successful in maintaining the dignity of the Indian’s beliefs and their feeling. 5|Page RESEARCH METHODOLOGY TITLE – Ethical Issues In Advertising Advertising is a form of communication that typically attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a particular brand of product or service. Ethics refers to principles that define behavior as right, good and proper. Such principles do not always dictate a single moral course of action, but provide a means of evaluating and deciding among competing options. In the present scenario advertisement has a great impact on the consumer’s behavior so if it becomes unethical it will lead the society in the wrong direction. To overcome these problems certain ethical standards are set up by the government or regulation bodies. DURATION OF PROJECT This is a very long term project so we have been provided with a period of one month for the completion. To make it easy this period was bifurcated into various sections of making blue print, abstract, collecting primary data, secondary data, making preliminary report, secondary report and final report at the end which makes the whole process easy to attempt. OBJECTIVE Advertising plays an important part in our everyday lives as it enables us to choose between different ranges of products. These products are promoted through different types of advertisements and cater to all types of markets. On the other hand advertising is 6|Page plagued with social and ethical issues as it results in over consumption and waste of resources. ‘Advertising creates an environment where it abuses certain values and interests that are not universally agreed upon. Advertisements as Mirrors of prevailing norms Marketers claim that advertising simply mirrors the attitudes and values of the surrounding culture. No doubt advertising, like the media of social communications in general, does act as a mirror. But, also like media in general. It is a mirror that helps shape the reality it reflects, and sometimes it presents a distorted image of reality. Advertisers are selective about the values and attitudes to be fostered and encouraged, promoting some while ignoring others The purpose of taking this topic is that in the present scenario advertisement has a great impact on the consumer’s behavior so if it becomes unethical it will lead the society in the wrong direction. To overcome these problems certain ethical standards are set up by the government or regulation bodies and I want to throw a light on this only. I can differentiate my objectives for taking this topic as follows: †¢ To know the various ethical marketing strategies of the market leaders. †¢ To know how can we make a ethical advertisement. †¢ To know the impact of unethical advertisement on the society. †¢ To enhance my marketing skills. †¢ To know the role of advertisement in the success of any organization. TYPE OF RESEARCH As I took the data from magazines , books, internet links , journals and news papers. It is research of descriptive type. SCOPE OF STUDY Advertising is a powerful communication force, highly visible and one of the most important tools of marketing communication that helps to sell products, services, ideas and images etc. Many believe that advertising reflects the need of the times. Whether one likes it or not, advertisements are everywhere. They are seen on the walls, on the back of 7|Page buses, in play grounds, on the occasion of sports event, on roadsides, in the stores and even on aero planes. Advertisements are seen in newspapers, in magazines, on the television, on internet and are even heard on radio. Here I am focusing mainly on the media as a source of advertising. The fact is that we are being bombarded with advertisements day in and day out from all imaginable media. The average consumer is exposed to a very large number of advertisements everyday, particularly the urban and semi urban population. In spite of this, to the dismay and irritation of some and enjoyment of others, advertisement will continue to make their presence felt in our lives and influence our lives in many unsuspecting ways because of rapid changes in macro- environment and in our perception, impressions, feelings, attitudes and behaviors. It seems almost impossible to remain totally neutral and not take any notice of modern-day advertising. The most visible part of the advertising process is the advertisements that we see, read, or hear and praise or criticize. 8|Page CORE STUDY INTRODUCTION Advertising can be defined as any paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services through mass media such as newspapers, magazines, television or radio by an identified sponsor So basically advertising is a mass communications device through which companies promote or market their product to the consumer, and this enables them to make informed consumption decisions. Advertising is a powerful communication force, highly visible and one of the most important tools of marketing communication that helps to sell products, services, ideas and images etc. Many believe that advertising reflects the need of the times. Whether one likes it or not, advertisements are everywhere. They are seen on the walls, on the back of buses, in play grounds, on the occasion of sports event, on roadsides, in the stores and even on aeroplanes. Advertisements are seen in newspapers, in magazines, on the television, on internet and are even heard on radio. The fact is that we are being bombarded with advertisements day in and day out from all imaginable media. The average consumer is exposed to a very large number of advertisements everyday, particularly the urban and semi urban population. In spite of this, to the dismay and irritation of some and enjoyment of others, advertisement will continue to make their presence felt in our lives and influence our lives in many unsuspecting ways because of rapid changes in macro- environment and in our perception, impressions, feelings, attitudes and behaviour. It seems almost impossible to remain totally neutral and not take any notice of modern-day advertising. The most visible part of the advertising process is the advertisements that we see, read, or hear and praise or criticise. Many suitable 9|Page adjectives are used to describe advertising, depending on how an individual is reacting, such as great, dynamic, alluring, fascinating, annoying, boring, intrusive, irritating and offensive, etc. Advertising plays an important part in our everyday lives as it enables us to choose between different ranges of products. These products are promoted through different types of advertisements and cater to all types of markets. . Advertising enables producers to expand their markets and therefore take advantage of economies of scale to reduce unit production costs Many advertisements are designed to generate increased consumption of those products and services through the creation and reinvention of the brand image†. For these purposes, advertisements sometimes embed their persuasive message with factual information. Every major medium is used to deliver these messages, including television, radio, cinema, magazines, newspapers, video games, the Internet, carrier bags and billboards. Advertising is often placed by an advertising agency on behalf of a company or other organization. On the other hand advertising is plagued with social and ethical issues as it results in over consumption and waste of resources. ‘Ethics basically refers to what is right, good or consistent with virtue. Advertising generates complex ethical questions which have to be considered, as this mode of communication commits some highly controversial ethical acts which are damaging to the society as a whole. It promotes overselling, exploitation of vulnerable groups, vulgarity, offending the public, promoting socially harmful values or behavior and intrusion of privacy. Advertising creates an environment where it abuses certain values and interests that are not universally agreed upon. For example in 2001 Yves Saint Laurent launched a fragrance called ‘Opium which featured a naked model. This stirred controversy and people found it offensive and sex was being used openly to promote a perfume. For a fashion magazine the advertisement was fine but for billboards it was inappropriate and 10 | P a g e some social groups found it morally and ethically wrong. Some times advertising draws mixed response from the public, while sometimes it becomes controversial. NEED OF ADVERTISING Advertising is the promotion of a company’s products and services carried out primarily to drive sales of the products and services but also to build a brand identity and communicate changes or new product /services to the customers. Advertising has become an essential element of the corporate world and hence the companies allot a considerable amount of revenues as their advertising budget. There are several reasons for advertising some of which are as follows: †¢ Increasing the sales of the product/service †¢ Creating and maintaining a brand identity or brand image. †¢ Communicating a change in the existing product line. †¢ Introduction of a new product or service. †¢ Increasing the buzz-value of the brand or the company. Significance of Advertising Basically advertising creates wants but does not fulfill them, a person may see an advertisement for a product, it might be glossy and fancy and he might be attracted to buy the product. He might eventually buy it but it will not satisfy him it will just be a waste. It’s a short term material satisfaction which just drives the economy by over consumption of goods and services. It keeps the consumer in doubt about what to buy and in what quantities and this doubt in turn has ethical implications. Four reasons are attributed to the fugacious nature of the way advertising practices are being carried out in developing countries. 11 | P a g e 1. The role of Information and Communication technologies: As ICTs evolve so do marketing practices. If yesterday it was television that revolutionized the way advertisements could create a lasting impact on the consumer, then today the internet and phone text messages are doing just that. 2. The world today is an increasingly global village: Social and ethnic boundaries are fast falling in the wake of cable television and the like. 3. Rapid economic expansions in countries like China and India have meant that marketers have to quickly respond to the changing socio-economic scenarios. Millions of people have entered the middle class and millions more are poised to do so. For marketers, the consequences can be mind boggling-as incomes and spending powers rise, marketers have to respond to increasing demands from consumers. 4. Better and improved marketing research has meant that the entire populace is not seen in totality but rather as a congeries of different types of consumers. TYPES OF ADVERTISING There can be several branches of advertising. Mentioned below are the various categories or types of advertising. 12 | P a g e Celebrity Broadcast advertising Advertising Print OutdoorAdvertising Advertising TYPES OF Infomercials ADVERTISING Public Service Advertising Covert Advertising Surrogate Advertising 13 | P a g e 1. Print Advertising – Newspapers, Magazines, Brochures, and Fliers and less popular newspaper would cost far less than placing an advertisement in a popular newspaper The print media have always been a popular advertising medium. Advertising products via newspapers or magazines is a common practice. In addition to this, the print media also offers options like promotional brochures and fliers for advertising purposes. Often the newspapers and the magazines sell the advertising space according to the area occupied by the advertisement, the position of the advertisement (front page/middle page), as well as the readership of the publications. For instance an advertisement in a relatively new with a high readership. The price of print ads also depend on the supplement in which they appear, for example an advertisement in the glossy supplement costs way higher than that in the newspaper supplement which uses a mediocre quality paper. 2. Outdoor Advertising–Billboards, Kiosks, Tradeshows and Events 14 | P a g e Outdoor advertising is also a very popular form of advertising, which makes use of several tools and techniques to attract the customers outdoors. The most common examples of outdoor advertising are billboards, kiosks, and also several events and tradeshows organized by the company. The billboard advertising is very popular however has to be really terse and catchy in order to grab the attention of the passersby. The kiosks not only provide an easy outlet for the company products but also make for an effective advertising tool to promote the company’s products. Organizing several events or sponsoring them makes for an excellent advertising opportunity. The company can organize trade fairs, or even exhibitions for advertising their products. If not this, the company can organize several events that are closely associated with their field. For instance a company that manufactures sports utilities can sponsor a sports tournament to advertise its products. 3. Broadcast advertising – Television, Radio and the Internet The radio jingles have been very popular advertising media and have a large impact on the audience, which is evident in the fact that many people still remember and enjoy the popular radio jingles Broadcast advertising is a very popular advertising medium that constitutes of several 15 | P a g e branches like television, radio or the Internet. Television advertisements have been very popular ever since they have been introduced. The cost of television advertising often depends on the duration of the advertisement, the time of broadcast (prime time/peak time), and of course the popularity of the television channel on which the advertisement is going to be broadcasted. The radio might have lost its charm owing to the new age media however the radio remains to be the choice of small-scale advertisers. 4. Covert Advertising – Advertising in Movies Covert advertising is a unique kind of advertising in which a product or a particular brand is incorporated in some entertainment and media channels like movies, television shows or even sports. There is no commercial in the entertainment but the brand or the product is Subtly ( or sometimes evidently) showcased in the entertainment show. Some of the famous examples for this sort of advertising have to be the appearance of brand Nokia which is displayed on Tom Cruise’s phone in the movie Minority Report, or the use of Cadillac cars in the movie Matrix Reloaded. 16 | P a g e surrogate Common examples include of Fosters and Kingfisher beer help Indirectly brands, which are often seen Advertising to promote their brand with – the Advertising advertising. 5. Surrogate Surrogate advertising is prominently seen in cases where advertising a particular product is banned by law. Advertisement for products like cigarettes or alcohol which are injurious to heath are prohibited by law in several countries and hence these companies have to come up with several other products that might have the same advertising as an effective energy communication medium to convey AIDS, socially relevant messaged about like 17 | P a g e important matters and social welfare causes Causes integrity, – Advertising for Social political 6. Public Service Advertising conservation, bottles of the same brand. deforestation, illiteracy, poverty and people of the cigarettes or beer so on. ent or the summary of an interesting point. You can position the text box anywhere in the document. Use the Text Box Tools tab to change the formatting of the pull quote text box. ] brand name and indirectly remind Today public service advertising has been increasingly used in a non-commercial fashion in several countries across the world in order to promote various social causes. In USA, the radio and television stations are granted on the basis of a fixed amount of Public service advertisements aired by the channel. 7. Celebrity Advertising 18 | P a g e and the modern day consumer getting immune to the exaggerated claims made in a majority of advertisements, there exist a section of advertisers that Using celebrities for advertising involves signing up celebrities for advertising campaigns, which consist of all sorts of advertising including, television ads or even print advertisements. Although the audience is getting smarter and smarter still bank upon celebrities and their popularity for advertising their products. Infomercials There are two types of infomercials, described as long form and short form. Long form infomercials have a time length of 30 minutes. Short form infomercials are 30 seconds to 2 minutes long. Infomercials are also known as direct response television (DRTV) commercials or direct response marketing. The main objective in an infomercial is to create an impulse purchase, so that the consumer sees the presentation and then immediately buys the product through the advertised toll-free telephone number or website. Infomercials describe, display, and 19 | P a g e often demonstrate products and their features, and commonly have testimonials from consumers and industry professionals. ETHICS 1. INTRODUCTION In this era of globalization multinational competition, ethical practices in business are assuming importance as relationships with various suppliers customers are shaped by ethical practices mutual trust. So, ethical decision taking assumes importance in today’s corporate world. 2. What Is Ethics? Ethics refers to principles that define behavior as right, good and proper. Such principles do not always dictate a single moral course of action, but provide a means of evaluating and deciding among competing options. The terms ethics and values are not interchangeable. Ethics is concerned with how a moral person should behave, whereas values are the inner judgments that determine how a person actually behaves. Values concern ethics when they pertain to beliefs about what is right and wrong. Most values, however, have nothing to do with ethics. For instance, the desire for health and wealth are values, but not ethical values. 3. The Importance of Universality Most people have convictions about what is right and wrong based on religious beliefs, cultural roots, family background, personal experiences, laws, organizational values, professional norms and political habits. These are not the best values to make ethical decisions by — not because they are unimportant, but because they are not universal. In 20 | P a g e contrast to consensus ethical values — such basics as trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship — personal and professional beliefs vary over time, among cultures and among members of the same society. They are a source of continuous historical disagreement, even wars. There is nothing wrong with having strong personal and professional moral convictions about right and wrong, but unfortunately, some people are moral imperialists who seek to impose their personal moral judgments on others. The universal ethical value of respect for others dictates honoring the dignity and autonomy of each person and cautions against selfrighteousness in areas of legitimate controversy. 4. Why Be Ethical? People have lots of reasons for being ethical: †¢ There is inner benefit. Virtue is its own reward. †¢ There is personal advantage. It is prudent to be ethical. It’s good business. †¢ There is approval. Being ethical leads to self-esteem, the admiration of loved ones and the respect of peers. †¢ There is religion. Good behavior can please or help serve a deity. †¢ There is habit. Ethical actions can fit in with upbringing or training. There are obstacles to being ethical, which include: †¢ The ethics of self-interest When the motivation for ethical behavior is self-interest, decision-making is reduced to risk-reward calculations. If the risks from ethical behavior are high or the risks from unethical behavior are low and the reward is high moral principles succumb to expediency. †¢ This is not a small problem 21 | P a g e Many people cheat on exams, lie on resumes, and distort or falsify facts at work. The real test of our ethics is whether we are willing to do the right thing even when it is not in our self-interest. †¢ The pursuit of happiness It depends on how one defines happiness. Our values, what we prize and desire, determine what we think will make us happy. We are free to pursue material goals and physical sensations, but that alone rarely (if ever) leads to enduring happiness. It more often results in a lonely, disconnected, meaningless existence. The morally mature individual finds happiness in grander pursuits than money, status, sex and mood-altering substances. A deeper satisfaction lies in honoring universal ethical values, that is, values that people everywhere believe should inform behavior. That unity between principled belief and honorable behavior is the foundation for real happiness. †¢ Ethical Principle in Advertising All advertising should be legal, decent, honest and truthful. Every advertisement should be prepared with a due sense of social responsibility and should conform to the principles of fair competition, as generally accepted in business. No advertisement should be such as to impair public confidence in advertising. †¢ Decency Advertisements should not contain statements or visual presentations which offend prevailing standards of decency †¢ Honesty Advertisements should be so framed as not to abuse the trust of consumers or exploit their lack of experience or knowledge. †¢ Social Responsibility 22 | P a g e 1. Advertisements should not condone any form of discrimination, including that based upon race, national origin, religion, sex or age, nor should they in any way undermine human dignity. 2. Advertisements should not (without justifiable reason) play on fear. 3. Advertisements should not appear to condone or incite violence, or to encourage unlawful or reprehensible behavior. 4. Advertisements should not play on superstition. †¢ Truthful presentation Advertisements should not contain any statement or visual presentation which directly or by implication, omission, ambiguity or exaggerated claim is likely to mislead the consumer, in particular with regard to: 1. characteristics such as: nature, composition, method and date of manufacture, range of use, efficiency and performance, quantity, commercial or geographical origin or environmental impact; 2. the value of the product and the total price actually to be paid; 3. delivery, exchange, return, repair and maintenance; 4. terms of guarantee; 5. copyright and industrial property rights such as patents, trade marks, designs and models and trade names; 6. official recognition or approval, awards of medals, prizes and diplomas; 7. the extent of benefits for charitable causes. 8. Advertisements should not misuse research results or quotations from technical and scientific publications. Statistics should not be so presented as to exaggerate the validity of advertising claims. Scientific terms should not be used to falsely ascribe scientific validity to advertising claims. †¢ Comparisons 23 | P a g e Advertisements containing comparisons should be so designed that the comparison is not likely to mislead, and should comply with the principles of fair competition. Points of comparison should be based on facts that can be substantiated and should not be unfairly selected. †¢ Unassembled Merchandise When advertised merchandise requires partial or complete assembly by the purchaser, the advertising should disclose that fact, e. g. , unassembled, partial assembly required. †¢ Testimonials Advertisements should not contain or refer to any testimonial or endorsement unless it is genuine, verifiable, relevant and based on personal experience or knowledge. Testimonials or endorsements that have become obsolete or misleading through passage of time should not be used †¢ Portrayal or imitation of personal property Advertisements should not portray or refer to any persons, whether in a private or a public capacity, unless prior permission has been obtained; nor should advertisements without prior permission depict or refer to any persons property in a way likely to convey the impression of a personal endorsement. †¢ Exploitation of goodwill Advertisements should not make unjustifiable use of the name, initials, logo and/or trademarks of another firm, company or institution nor should advertisements in any way take undue advantage of another firm, person or institutions goodwill in its name, trade name or other intellectual property, nor should advertisements take advantage of the goodwill earned by other advertising campaigns. †¢ Imitation 24 | P a g e 1. Advertisements should not imitate the general layout, text, slogan, visual presentation, music and sound effects, etc. , of any other advertisements in a way that is likely to mislead or confuse the consumer. 2. Where advertisers have established distinctive advertising campaigns in one or more countries, other advertisers should not unduly imitate these campaigns in the other countries where the former may operate, thus preventing them from extending their campaigns within a reasonable period of time to such countries

Exploring New Trends Of Literature

Exploring New Trends Of Literature Effortless and high-speed access to internet through mobile phones and computers has made the man impatient, edgy and hungry for knowledge. No one has time to stop, to read and to enjoy. The busy life of man leaves him no time for leisure and hobbies. In this fast-paced world, knowledge is wider with little words. Somehow, words seem not as importance as they used to be. Books, newspapers, journals have taken a back-seat in this electronic-age. In America most major paper publications like the New York Times or the wall street Journal are having trouble surviving in face of the alternate media that is the internet. Cybernetic reading is displacing linear, closed, solitary reading. It is transforming the process of literary reading. The reader is continuously exposed to inter- textual ties and virtual ties of mass media and that of information technology. People, moreover kids today have short attention-spans. Long drawn out sentences, never ending paragraphs and detailed long descrip tion are not comprehensible to them. For example: Thomas Hardy. Hardy has a flair for the native lands and usually writes pages describing landscapes which is not appreciated by todays reading audience. I mean, how do we relate? There are no landscapes left which we can see and admire their beauty! Literature has faced uncountable changes ever since its existence. Passing through all the ages, it has flourished richly. In the age of cybernetics, literature has become an art form. Its being redefined as per the needs of a younger population. Modern tools have helped literature become an equalizer between the haves and the have-not. SMS has created new room for urban quotations and poems. Stories can now be presented in 140 characters or less. No wonder we say the world is growing smaller. Flash fiction and micro-fiction have sidelined long elaborative patterns of writing. Earlier people used to spend hours in libraries searching and reading up on information for their answers and papers. Now, however all one needs to do is GOOGLE it! An entire world of information is accessible at the click of a mouse. The same is with dictionaries. Oxford, which was once considered the bible for literature students is no more that important. Almost all the mobile phones have dictionaries. And i f not that, there is still the web. Software like Word web etc provides one with the meaning for almost all the words. The 6 word novel is a new field for writers to experiment. After she died, he came alive by Rebecca James and One gun, two shots, three dead by Marcy are examples of a six word novel. This is a new fashion of writing which is challenging and creative. It may be easy to write a long, narrative and detailed novel but writing a novel as short as six words requires innovation. Hundred years back no one would have thought of writing a novel in six words. Mr. Dickens is definitely turning in his grave. Six word novels leave the reader curious and thoughtful. The meaning is also left to readers interpretation. It requires a lot of creativity and imagination We are moving ever closer to the concept of the Death of the Author, that Roland Barthes had propounded. The text now has more and more gaps that makes it more and more readerly than writerly. Further Blogging sites have given opportunity to upcoming, amateur writers. They are getting more and more popular. Flash fiction too is an in thi ng. It has restricted words and the idea has to be flashy and catchy. The famous example is Aesops Fables. It is loved by all due to its concise form of writing and implied moral. Even famous writers like OHenry, Ernest Hemingway, and Anton Chekov as flash fiction writers. Examples Twitter fiction refers to original, self-contained works of fiction in each tweet published by Twitter users. Twitter fiction is being classified into certain new literary genres, which are given new names by combining the name of the different genres with the name of the application. Therefore, Thrillers become Twillers, Haikus become Twaikus and Short Stories become Twistories or Twisters. Twitter has come about as a revolution. A television serial SHIT MY DAD SAYS which makes its CBS debut in September is based on a Twitter feed started by struggling comedy writer Justin Halpern in 2003, who captured his own fathers salty language and forthright observations. As an expression of postmodern literature, twitter fiction shares characteristics of micro-fiction (printed), such as brevity, multiple meanings and inter-textual ties. Literature is also an art of writing; the above mentioned forms are not only new trends and ways of enhancing but also re-altering art. It has diverse, exigent and very spontaneous forms and unlike the conventional. It has gained immense popularity. It gives you the pleasure of knowledge and quenches your curiosity in small and controlled doses. It definitely creates new and different genres of literature. These forms have come in to acceptance because of their popular demand. These new and recent trends are unimaginable concepts from the point of view of anyone living a few decades ago. Blogging, twittering, micro blogging, 6 word novels, all of them are changing the trends of literature with regards to reading and writing. Its giving opportunity to upcoming talent and is helping decentralize the processes of who gets to publish what in the world of literature. Of course, these new trends are fascinating and interesting but, according to some literary purists, it is degrading the classics and the conventions of literature. Literary purists are put off by internet slang, which according to them gives rise to the abuse of language and superficiality. Especially on Twitter, for e.g.: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is: Rich kid thinks everyone is fake except for his little sister. Has breakdown. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen has become: Woman meets man called Darcy who seems horrible. He turns out to be nice really. They get together. Dantes Inferno is boiled down to: Im having a midlife crisis. Lost in the woods. Should have bought my iPhone. These are non-formal free form styles of writing and they often neglect grammatical errors, wrong use of vocabulary and have little respect for the great works of literature from which some of them copy. These are shorter than short stories, flashier than flash fiction and now they have beco me Twititure. SMS and Facebook poetry have been claimed to have degraded the language, vocabulary, form and conventions of writing too. Urban words and slangs are becoming common to every mouth. To some, phrases like ash hole, zombie Jesus, directionally challenged, pen you in dont make sense. Nor do they consider it as any form of valid language. Grammar is lost and has almost disappeared in todays scenario. SMS languages have ruined the role of vocabulary and spelling. Spellings with missing vowels are now growing famous. The fast-paced life is short-lived for literature. No longer do many want to learn the details of any book, grammar or even poetry. Somehow, Classics are now growing old fashioned and boring. Anything that is short and interesting is definitely catchy for todays generation. We want to know everything now! Who cares if its missing a comma or two or that it lacks in depth and research. Lastly in cybernetic culture, hypertext may survive as an art form by offering pleasures of virtual immediacy, spontaneity, rich web of texts in various media and interactivity for the reader. Literature as a form of art, can be studied in depth; adding more weightage to the content. Otherwise the subject in itself is losing its importance and charm. Hypertext version can be the boon to revive Literature. For e.g. D.G. Rosettis The Blessed Damozel in its hypertext version will have the poem and the painting juxtaposed. Using zoom in and zoom out the student and/or reader can view the relevant sections of the painting and be able to relate better with the poem. How many times have we literature students heard the word boring being tagged along with our stream of study. The decisive moment of literary life will be that of reading. Mankind is beginning to understand how to dismantle and reassemble the most complex and unpredictable of all its machines: Language. Earlier people used to write diaries but it has now become the talk of the past. Reliving memories through Facebook, twitter and other networking sites is a lot easier. Uploading of pictures on Facebook saves man from the tedious task of taking care of albums or preparing scrapbooks (Anyway there is no space to keep them!) All the friends have an access to the albums online and are free to add their comments on the pictures saving it till the account survives. Is it necessary? Todays world is far richer in words and concepts and signs than the world that surrounded primitive man. Far more people are getting involved, are taking part in the process or writing than ever before. The changing face of literature is an uncontrollable factor, whether its good or bad is undetectable and unknown.

Abortion :: essays research papers

Abortions Pro Choice supporters who claim it isn't do themselves and their cause a disservice. Of course it's alive. It's a biological mechanism that converts nutrients and oxygen into energy that causes its cells to divide, multiply, and grow. It's alive. Anti-abortion activists often mistakenly use this fact to support their cause. "Life begins at conception" they claim. And they would be right. The genesis of a new human life begins when the egg with 23 chromosomes joins with a sperm with 23 chromosomes and creates a fertilized cell, called a zygote, with 46 chromosomes. The single-cell zygote contains all the DNA necessary to grow into an independent, conscious human being. It is a potential person. But being alive does not give the zygote full human rights - including the right not to be aborted during its gestation. A single-cell ameba also coverts nutrients and oxygen into biological energy that causes its cells to divide, multiply and grow. It also contains a full set of its own DNA. It shares everything in common with a human zygote except that it is not a potential person. Left to grow, it will always be an ameba - never a human person. It is just as alive as the zygote, but we would never defend its human rights based solely on that fact. And neither can the anti-abortionist, which is why we must answer the following questions as well. 2. Is it human? Yes. Again, Pro Choice defenders stick their feet in their mouths when they defend abortion by claiming the zygote-embryo-fetus isn't human. It is human. Its DNA is that of a human. Left to grow, it will become a full human person. And again, anti-abortion activists often mistakenly use this fact to support their cause. They are fond of saying, "an acorn is an oak tree in an early stage of development; likewise, the zygote is a human being in an early stage of development." And they would be right. But having a full set of human DNA does not give the zygote full human rights - including the right not to be aborted during its gestation. Don't believe me? Here, try this: reach up to your head, grab one strand of hair, and yank it out. Look at the base of the hair. That little blob of tissue at the end is a hair follicle. It also contains a full set of human DNA.

Sexual Revolution and Methods of Contraception Essay -- Sex Protection

Sexual Revolution and Methods of Contraception Birth Control and Contraceptives The sexual revolution introduced a whole new idea of controlled births and the use of different forms of birth control. Contraceptives have been used since the time of the ancient Egyptians, but the sexual revolution introduced a whole new form and more efficient way to prevent conception of a child. The use of contraceptives helped control the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, lowered the percentage of illegitimate children, and reduced the risk of pregnancy. Even as early as the times of the ancient Greeks, people could tell the difference between abortifacients and contraceptives. During this era, things such as linen condoms, dried fish powder, and seasponges were used as forms of birth control. However, due to the use of technology and science, it has been discovered that some of the old forms of birth control can be considered deadly. Birth control has evolved through time in forms pessaries, plants, intrauterine devices, condoms, birth control pills, barriers, t he ring, and other unusual forms of birth control. Pessaries: Pessaries are vaginal suppositories. Used since ancient times, pessaries are still considered a fairly effective form of birth control. In ancient times, pessaries contained acacia gum which has evolved to spermicide now. One example, dating all the way back to 1850 BC, called the Kahun Papyrus, refers to a pessary of crocodile dung and fermented dough. Today, pessaries usually come in the typical waxy form of suppositories which contain spermicide like nonoxynol-9. The spermicide kills all the sperm so therefore, the egg is unable to be fertilized by the sperm and pregnancy does not occur. ... ...hrough time, birth control has affected society as a whole and changed the lives of the people living in the society of today. The evolution of birth control and contraceptives altered and changed tremendously during the years since the beginning of time. Works Cited - Landeck-Riker, Jennifer. "Ann Rose’s Ultimate Birth Control Links Page." 10 Nov.1997. http://gynpages.com/ultimate/ - McCleskey, Kim. "The History of Contraceptives." 1996. http://rtt.colorado.edu/~mcck/Home.html (This was an excellent source and gives great information about the history of contraceptives.) - Noble, Robert. "There Is No Safe Sex." Newsweek ( April 1, 1991). - Petrick, William. "The Hall Of Contraception." 27 March 1996. http://desires.com/1.6/Sex/Museum/ ( This is where I got all my pictures to illustrate this page.)