Modeling Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Modeling Evaluation - Essay Example , management, business, and applied psychology are often interested in multivariate relationships among some or all of the variables in a specified model. Incidentally, SEM provides a viable statistical tool for exploring all of these relationships. It should be noted, however, that SEM is largely a confirmatory tool rather than an exploratory procedure (Diomantopoulos, Riefler, & Roth, 2008). This means that SEM will most likely be used by researchers in cases when the validity of a certain model is to be established, rather than it being used to find the appropriate model. Typically, the models being investigated depict processes presumed to underlie values obtained with sample data, and these processes are assumed to result in measures of association, like correlation, among the variables in the model (Ringle, Gotz, Wetzels, & Wilson, 2009). By and large, SEM is largely a â€Å"glorified† regression procedure which, unlike ordinary regression, doesn’t assume that measurement error is zero and can simultaneously estimate parameters representing the whole model rather than just pieces of the model (Ringle, Gotz, Wetzels , & Wilson, 2009). In the model proposed by Williams, Vandenberg, & Edwards (2009), it is greatly emphasized that researchers must give due consideration into the validity of a theory embedded or implied in the proposed measurement since there are many cases when indicators could be viewed as causing rather than being caused by the latent variable measured by the indicators. A latent variable is a variable that cannot be directly observed and must be inferred from measured variables (Burnette & Williams, 2010). In many cases, researchers will not be able to detect all possible causes of error because there may be some which have neither been discussed in prior literature nor revealed by exploratory research (Grace & Bollen). Furthermore, Williams, Vandenberg and Edwards argue that some goodness-of-fit indexes, such as chi-square, are meaningless

The Difference Between Want and Need Essay Example for Free

The Difference Between Want and Need Essay You asked me to define the difference between want and need. And before I could write this essay to you, I had to think about the statement for a while. I had to look up the definition for both of the words want and need. Want technically means to wish for, or to desire. And need means to require, or a necessity, according to the Webster’s New World Dictionary. These two words might mean very different things, but yet they get mistaken for each other almost all the time. I could say that I need that new designer t-shirt that fits me perfectly, but we both know that I don’t need it. I want it. Being a teenager has me believing that I need materialistic things. All teenagers could say the same. I’m going to make a list for you of the things I need, and what I want. What I need: †¢ A roof over my head †¢ Enough food and water to maintain my health †¢ Blood, organs, skin, cells, bones, protein, ect.. What I want: †¢ Fancy foods †¢ Sports car †¢ Name brands †¢ Phone †¢ A big house And the list could go on and on. But hey, does that mean that we should only buy what we absolutely need? Not at all. Since life is meant to be lived, not survived. You can treat yourself to â€Å"wants† along the way to success, but only do so as long as you can afford it. And enjoy those â€Å"wants† for the EXTRAS that they are. â€Å"Wants† are things you without a doubt could live without. But needs, are a different story. Needs are essential, like water and food. Basically things that keep us alive. So here is my attempt to understand the difference between want and need. Thank you for trying to get me ready for life, appreciation is given. Since I’m a kid and I’m still yet to learn my lesson, guess I’ll have to learn the hard way. I hope you liked my writing.

Herzberg S Two Factor Theory Tourism Essay

Herzberg S Two Factor Theory Tourism Essay It is commonly known that all Human Beings have needs. Daft (2008) defines needs as things that individuals want and work for to achieve. Kotler (2005) points out that an unsatisfied need creates tension which kindle the desire to achieve an outcome that seems to be attractive. Herzbergs Two-Factor Theory shows that there is a huge gap between the things that create dissatisfaction and the things that pertain satisfaction (Daft 2008). Furthermore, Herzberg found that satisfaction is not the opposite of dissatisfaction, but no satisfaction (Kotler, 2005). The Hygiene Factors are things that are expected by a human being and influence the level of dissatisfaction. If those factors are poor or absent, a human being is dissatisfied (Herzberg 1968 in Mead 2005). If those factors are good, on the other hand, they remove the dissatisfaction but do not create satisfaction. The Motivators however, create satisfaction if they are good, but do not create dissatisfaction when they are poor. The level that lies between the Hygiene Factors and the Motivators creates neither satisfaction nor dissatisfaction (Herzberg 1968 in Daft 2008). Applied to the Tourism Industry Hygiene Factors could be a safe environment, a clean Hotel room, friendly staff etc., whereas Motivators could be an unexpected upgrade, free wireless lan and over average security and safety precautions. Abraham H. Maslow first published his Theory of Needs in 1954. He points out that there are multiple needs that motivate human beings and they exist in a hierarchical order, from the least to the most pressing (Kotler et. al, 2006). He categorized needs in five categories which are physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. Those needs act as motivators in order to drive humans (Eckermann). The physiological needs include the needs for food, water, rest and oxygen (Daft 2008) whereas the safety needs represents the need for security in the physical and emotional environment, protection from physical and emotional harm as well as the freedom from threats (Robbins DeCenzo, 2005). Social needs, however, are the needs for giving and receiving love, belong somewhere, and get affection. Daft (2008) adds that people need to be accepted by others, have friendships and relationships, and to be part of a group. Furthermore, the Esteems needs, which are also called as Ego Needs, include self-respect and the esteem from others. Additionally, there is need for attention, a positive self-image, recognition and appreciation from others (Daft 2005). The need for Self-Actualization is the need for achieving challenging tasks and to be creative (Halepota, Eckermann ). A human desires to develop its full potential, increase competence, and to become and be a better person (Daft 2008). Cartwright (2000) suggests a sixth need level which he calls the unattainable. It is an unreachable needs that individuals strive for but can never reach and therefore, they can never be fully and entirely satisfied (in Mead 2005). The lower level needs are called biogenetic needs (Schiffmann and Kanuk) or as Mead (2005) calls them the basic needs or deficiency needs (Daft 2008). Those needs are satisfied through external factors such as food, money, and praise from others. They are comparable with the Hiygiene Factors of Herzbergs Theory. The higher-level needs are the psychogenic (Schiffmann and Kanuk) or ego and self-actualization needs (Mead 2005) which are, unlike the basic needs, satisfied by internal outcomes e.g. sense of achievement and competence. Robbins and DeCenzo (2005) have pointed out that each level has to be satisfied before an individual moves up to the next level and another needs becomes relevant. If one need is satisfied, it is no longer motivating and needs are satisfied progressively (Mead 2005). Since for this work, mainly the safety needs are of relevance, the author will mainly emphasize on only those needs. However, also the physiological needs for shelter are important to consider. The Tourism Industry has to be very familiar with and understand those needs thoroughly. Fulfilling the biogenetic needs of customers will give the company a competitive advantage, since fulfilling those basic needs will motivate the consumer to strive for higher needs (psychogenic needs) and thus satisfy them more. Therefore, the Tourism Industry has to provide a safe environment for their tourists. Equity Theory Daft Hofstede Culture Definition Hofstede (1984)cited in Mead (2005): Culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from anotherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Culture, in this sense, includes systems of values; and values are among the building blocks of culture (p. 8). Out of this definition it can be concluded that culture is learned, and passed on from generation to generation, first from parents and families and then by institutions and members, and includes systems of values. According to Hofstede (1984) in Mead (2005) values are assumptions about how members within a culture group should behave. Those values are more intensively learned in young age as children learn more unconsciously and therefore, the learned values are deep-rooted. Furthermore, Mead (2005) points out that each social group has its unique culture that is different from the culture of other social groups, and they respond differently to similar situations. Furthermore, different culture groups have c onflicting and different expectations from their environment. Several Culture Models have been established over the years, e.g. the Kluckholm and Strotbeck Model in 1961 in Mead (2005), where they compared different cultures on the basis of the different orientations they have. The model of Hall (1976) in Mead (2005) distinguishes between low-context cultures that emphasizes on the verbal way of communicating and whose members need rather facts than interpretations and non-verbal communication such as in high-context cultures. Due to space limitations, in this work however, it will only be focused on Hofstedes Model as it fits the best for this topic because it includes the dimension of uncertainty avoidance which can be applied best to the needs for safety and security. The Hofstede Model has five Dimensions with which it distinguishes cultures. Those five Dimensions are Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism/Collectivism, Masculinity/Feminity, and Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation (Hofstede 2001). Power Distance is the distance between individuals from one level of the hierarchy to the other and the extent to which individuals accept or tolerate that power is not distributed equally. In cultures where the power distance is high, there is a big gap e.g. between a manager and his employees, and everybody knows their role and accepts it. In a low power distance culture, however, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Uncertainty avoidance represent the need to avoid uncertainties in the future or to be risk-taking. Cultures in which the need for uncertainty avoidance is high, are more anxious about the future, stabilize greater relationships and put a lot of energy into making plans for the future. In culture where the need for uncertainty avoidance is low, however, individuals are more willing to take risks and to change. Individualism versus collectivism shows if individuals have deep relationships with each other or rather not have emotional connections with others. In individualist cultures the individual identity is stressed and competition is expected. In collectivist cultures, on the other side, the group interest is more important that the individual interest and individuals are very loyal to group members. Masculinity versus Femininity is how the roles and values in a society are divided. In masculine cultures there is a big difference between sex roles. Those cultures are very competitive and career oriented. In feminine cultures, however, relationships and human contacts are very important. Long-term versus short-term orientation represents a temporal orientation towards life. Long-term oriented cultures value persistence and relationships are clearly ordered according to the status of individuals. Short-term oriented cultures value personal steadiness and stability, respect tradition, and exchange greetings, favors, and gifts. Diagram Perception of risks Perception Sirgy (1982) defines perception as the process by which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets information to create a meaningful picture of the world (in Kotler et. al, p. 213). Human Beings collect information through the five senses which are sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste. People act differently based on their perception due to the fact that each person receives, organizes, and then interprets the incoming information in an individual way. That different people have different perceptions of the same object, situation etc., is because of the three perceptual processes. Selective Attention means that due to the massive amount of stimuli a person is exposed to every day, some stimuli will simply been screened out. Therefore, managers have to make their products noticeable to the consumers, by relating a stimuli to the current need, create stimuli that consumers anticipate, and establish high deviations compared to the normal size of the stimuli. Selective Distortion is the twisting of information into personal meaning so that it fits the preconceptions. Selective Retention happens when people only retain information that reinforce ones attitudes and beliefs and forget the rest (Kotler et. al, 2006). Glaesser (2003) defines risk as the term expected damage. It is calculated by the size of the damage times the probability that something will occur. If the tourist receives as risk as too much that it exceeds the tolerance level, the consumer will use risk reduction techniques (Kreilkamp, 1998; in Glaesser). This tolerance level is determined by the degree of credibility appearance of the tourism organization, the speed of its actions as well as the number of times a negative event occurred repetitiously (Kroeber-Riel, 1992; in Glaesser, 2003). It also has to be taken in account, that personal factors highly influence perception, which leads to a subjective risk assessment which includes quantitative risk factors, qualitative risk factors, and individual risk factors (Jungermann, 1991; in Glaesser, 2003). Quantitative risk factors influence a persons perception and increases if a negative event that has occurred in the past is remembered or can be imagined Differences Although these two factors are very important by talking about risk perception, the author will focus only on the individual risk factors, as those are more relevant for the work. Several personal determinants influence a persons perception such as age, gender, and education. The WTO (1994) states that female tourists have a higher risk perceptions than men. Young tourists between 18 and 24 years of age, however, perceive risk while travelling as less than older tourists (in Glaesser, 2003). Another important factor that has to be considered is the cultural aspect. Tourists from different cultural backgrounds have different risk perceptions, which could be explained due to different social, behavioral and development forms (Kemp, 1993; Sà ¶nmez and Graefe, 1998; in Glaesser, 2003). Hofstede !!!!!! Gee and Gain (1986) point out that tourists perceive risk more if a negative incident in the past has coincidentally affected someone out of their own culture/country. Furthermore, it has to be mentioned that terrorism in general does not lead to a decline in tourism demand. If the terrorism attacks, however, are directed direcly against tourists that lead to injuries and deaths, they would choose another destination (Wilkinson, 1993; Sà ¶nmez, 1998; in Glaesser, 2003). Usually higher than the real risk/danger that exists (Brayshaw) Risk Perception is usually not logical, because it is influenced through the media. (Santana) Amateur videos or colorful pictures. Higher change of being violated or having an accident at home than during the holiday/vacation. (Santana) Spill-over effect: association of one incident with the whole region or country (Santana) Tourism industry: Sectors within are interrelated and dependent (transportation, exchange rates, political and social structure, weather, etc. If one varies or changes negatively, it affects the others. (Santana) Since tourism destinations heavily depend on tourists, they have to address the heavily fluctuating demand that arises due to the changing perception of the riskiness of the destination (Meheux Parker, 2006). Destinations that are perceived as a threat to their safety or well-being of the travelers, will be avoided (Beirman, 2003). Holden (2008) stresses this further by saying that perceived risks can be so powerful that tourists would even prevent going to a destination and choosing another destination instead that appears to be more pleasant and safe (Henderson, 2007). Timothy (2006) points out an exception by saying that some tourists deliberately travel to risky destinations out of curiosity. Furthermore, it is said that most tourists are not primarily concerned with being caught in a disaster, especially if a long time has passed since the last disaster or incident. Summing up, it can be said that tourists are prepared and willing to accept a certain amount of risk. However, if the risk perception exceeds the tolerance level, the destination will be substituted. RM According to van Waldbeck à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾[r]isk assessment is a key stage in planning for crisis, involving the anticipation of what might go wrong and identification of the reasons for divergences from expectations (2005 cited in Henderson, 2007: p. 3). As a tool, marketers can continuously promote the safety in risky destinations, as this can make the tourist neglecting the threat (Henderson, 2007). Hudson (2008) suggests a hurricane guarantee that allows the tourists to rebook their vacation. Huan et. al (2004) on the other side argue that instead of building confidence, stressing the safety of a destination and safety plans have a negative impact on the tourists image of a destination and could negatively impact the buying decision. Concerning the question, how big the time span between an incident and a restart of marketing the destination, the WTO WMO (1998) suggest that this decision has to be made responsively concerning the safety instead of the profit-making (in Henderson, 2007). Definition of Crisis . (Glaesser) Definition of Crisis Management Crisis Management includes changes of tasks as response to a crisis. (Glaesser) When thinking of Tourism, one most commonly thinks of enjoyment, relaxation, and safety. On the other side, however, disasters bring about fear, stress, anxiety, trauma, and panic (Santana, 2003). Those two sides go hand in hand because crisis have always been and always will be part of tourism operations. Thus, it affects all parties that are part of the Tourism System e.g. the tourist, destination, communities, tourism companies, regulators, promoters (Santana, 2003). Faulkner defines a disaster as [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] where an enterprise is confronted with sudden unpredictable catastrophic changes over which it has little control (Faulkner, 2001: p. 136, cited in Ritchie, 2004). According to Glaesser (2003) , a crisis is an unusual and unwanted situation that demands an immediate response due to it seriousness. Differences between disasters and crisis Crisis describes a situation where the root cause of the event lies internal of an organization and is due to unskilled or ineffective management practices and the inability or unwillingness to adapt to an ongoing change (Faulkner, 2001). E.g. Chernobyl, A crisis could be to some extent prevented, but standard procedures often redefine the abnormal as normal and therefore, not adapt to change (Booth, 1993). A crisis, however, can also bring positive things as it acts as a turning point for better or for worse (Fink, 1986, in Faulkner, 2001). Pos. outcomes: innovation, recognition of new markets), totally new and more effective configuration might emerge. (Chaos Theory) A disaster on the other side is a situation or event that is unpredictable and over which organizations or enterprises has little control (Faulkner, 2001). E.g. eathquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis. Unfortunately, some warning signals of disasters that are about to happen are ignored -> leave communities unprepared (Faulkner, 2001). Burton et al. (1978) in Faulkner (2001): To sum up, the global toll of natural disaster rises at least as fast as the increase in population and material wealth, and probably faster. We live in an increasingly complex world and this has contributed to making us more crisis or disaster prone (Richardson, 1994) Daft (2008) points out that an organization is confronted with small crises on a daily basis such as data loss, a fire etc. Bigger crises of intentional evil such as bombings and kidnappings, or natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes continue to increase. Henderson (2007) states that disasters such as storms, floods, and droughts, will increase in its frequency due to extreme weather conditions, because of the ongoing climate change. This statement is supported by EM-DATs (2010) natural disaster trend which shows clearly that disasters have occurred more frequently since the beginning of 1900. This lets assume, that disasters will even increase more in the future. Graphic EM-DAT Community responses to crisis include the shock state, where individuals feel helpless and disoriented; the denial and defensive retreat (to reach back to already established safety solutions or to go somewhere else); the acknowledgement state whereby the change is accepted; and the adaption stage in which the community copes with the crisis and learns from it for the future. (Arnold, 1980, in Booth, 1993, in Faulkner, 2001) Degree to which companies work together and break down institutional barriers !!!! (because of inadequate resources -> collaboration; has to be planned before (Granot, 1997)) Fig Faulkner crisis and disasters Although there is no generally accepted definition of crisis management in the literature (Santana, 2003), it can be said that in order to respond to a crisis, organizations have to take actions accordingly by changing their tasks and processes (Glaesser, 2003). Since it can never be known in advance if and what type of crisis will occur, Organizations have to be prepared through planning for the worst case. According to Santana, this should be done through proper advance planning and establishing frameworks, because only then it is possible to cope with uncertainties. Brownwell (1990) stresses that there is even a bigger need for a good crisis management in the tourism industry since it is one of the most vulnerable industries. Fink (1986): the media plays an important role during the disaster management strategies and it has the power make the difference between whether or not a difficult situation evolves into a disaster (Fink, 1986). The media can be very useful by informing the community about warnings and to provide information during the recovery stage. However, the media often spreads false information and thus, can hinder the emergency operations by distracting the emergency personnel. In addition, the media also exaggerates in order to create panic and bring people to spend money e.g. in the form of panic buys before a possible hurricane. Due to the exaggeration and rumors of the media, the impact of a disaster in the tourism industry on the market has an unproportional impact to the actual natural disruptive effect (Cassedy, 1991; Murphy Bayley, 1989; Drabek, 1992). Drabek (1995) analyzed that tourists and tourist destinations in general are more vulnerable to disaster than other people/industries/etc. A reason for this could be that the most appealing and popular tourist destinations are tropical places where hurricanes, avalanches or volcanic eruptions are usual (Murphey and Bayley 1989). Since common targets for terrorists, such as embassies, are made less attractive due to increased safety measure, tourists became the new targets (Lehrman, 1986). Furthermore, during a disaster, tourists are always more independent and vulnerable than the community, as they are not as familiar with the local dangers (Burby and Wagner 1996). Cassedy (1991) states that only a few companies have actual disaster emergency plans in their business plans, and in case they do so it is just made for one type of hazard (Drabek, 1995). In general, one can say that the bigger tourism enterprises are better prepared than smaller enterprises (Faulkner). According to Beirman (2003), the principles of Crisis Management are coordination, collaboration, communication, and commitment. Those principles are a good attempt, however, they are not sufficient, as during an unpredictable disaster there is no time for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Stages Faulkner Preparation Kotler et. al (2006) state that if there are precautions in place, negative events can be diminished or prevented from occurring. Therefore, possible crisis that have a chance of occurring should be determined and develop plans and worst case scenarios. These plans have to be communicated to all employees so that everybody knows their tasks and expected behavior in case of emergency. cascaded strategic priority profile'(CSPP) (Heath, 1995, in Faulkner, 2001) Questionable, because an organizations usual activities and policies are not applicable during the situation of a crisis. (Huque, 1998, in Faulkner, 2001) e.g. companies with high chain of command would have a too long response rate but need to react much faster in crisis situations. Other restrictions are bureaucratic structures and low empowerment. Other problems: communication failures, lack of available resources (Heath, 1995, in Faulkner, 2001) Kotler et. al (2006) suggest that a good crisis management focuses more on the communication and less on the crisis. During training sessions, managers should be asked a set of possible challenging questions that they may have to answer by guests or the media. Prevention It is very important to implement early and warning systems, and thus, create awareness in the tourists mind of potential danger. Ritchie argues that more importance should be given to reduction and readiness than to response and recovery, and tourists rely on the Tour Operator to provide them with the necessary information (which is very important as tourists do not have the knowledge about hazard issues, as they are in an unfamiliar place (Johnston et. al (2007 $). Therefore, a proactive management is necessary, in order to provide the tourists beforehand with the necessary information and precautions (Henderson, 2007), so that tourists know the dangers that exists and adjust their behaviors accordingly ( Ritchie Crouch, 1997; in Glaesser, 2003). It is not possible to eliminate every danger or threat; this is especially the case with natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis or hurricanes. Coburn (1992), however, states that the destruction can be diminished by building hotels etc. in a more solid way which make them more resistant but also require a higher investment. Warning Signals Warning signals could be of any kind. Kotler et. al (2006) suggests that customer complaints, or strangers that walk around the property should be reported by employees to the security in order to prevent risks and crimes. Furthermore, in the internet a manager can read in chats or forums what former customers say and think about their property and thus, erase the failures. Damage Limitation As mentioned above, communication is very important for a good crisis management. It can also reduce the negative publicity, if there is a good communication with the press in place (Kotler et. al 2006). A spokesperson should be chosen who should communicate the facts to the media, give timely updates, and thus keep the press updated. It is pointed out, that by talking to the media, the spokesperson or manager should never use the term no comment as it creates suspicion. According to Daft (2008), leaders should develop four communication skills. First of all, they need to stay calm and listen harder, by absorbing peoples fears and uncertainties. They should give comfort, inspiration, and hope by showing optimism. Secondly, they should be visible in order to show that someone is in control. They need to step out immediately and respond to followers and public concerns. Furthermore, it is very important that the spokesperson always tells the truth and, thus, only communicates facts. As a result of this, rumors will be reduced as well. Last but not least, a vision for the future has to be communicated so that people do not lose hope, keep going and the rebuilding process is faster. Recovery stage In order for a destination to recover, appropriate equipment, time and monetary strength is needed. Especially during natural catastrophes, a region is unable to help itself, and therefore, needs interregional or international help and assistance in form of machinery and donations (Glaesser, 2006). Furthermore, it has to be decided who has to invest financially in rebuilding the destinations additionally to the donations. In some cases, the government pays and burdens the expenses in form of taxes on the community, stakeholders are made responsible, the insurance, or the suppliers of the tourism industry. (?) Another question is, what will be restored first. Most stakeholders demand that they are helped first, however, it is more important to rebuild the infrastructure first and this will benefit the community and the tourism industry, and thus, generate revenue which will be needed again for further reparations (Faulkner and Vikulov, 2001; Huang and Min, 2002, in Sharpley, R. 2005). The time a destination needs in order to recover and bring services back to normal depends on how well the market communication had been integrated (Faulkner, 2001) but is always influenced by the interest of the stakeholder concerning the speed of the recreation, the character of a destination, and how sever the devastation is. Learning Stage To sum up, by having a proper Crisis/ Disaster Management System in place, many hazards could either be avoided or minimize their impacts (Faulkner, 2001).

Advertisements Essay example -- essays papers

Advertisements Car safety is an issue that concerns people across the Nation. Millions of Americans die each year due to fatal car accidents. The demand for safer automobiles is ever increasing. The Saturn Corporation recognizes this demand and has begun focusing its advertisements on America's need to feel safe. Saturn brings together setting, color, and a main focus to create the image of a safe car company. In one particular Saturn ad, a Saturn worker stands in a room surrounded by crash test dummies. The dummies in the background are stacked in a cluttered way. The piles of test dummies in the are meant to symbolize bodies. Saturn knows that the reader won't see inanimate objects, but actual human beings, because that is what the dummies are meant to portray. The rea...

Attitude Theories – Essay

Attitude Theories Attitudes are our positive and negative evaluation of a situation or object. Attitudes can be divided into three distinct components the cognitive, affective and the behavioral. They may take the form of the implicit attitude, explicit attitude and the dual attitude. The components of attitudes are the cognitive which helps people structure the world to make sense to them, the affective which helps people cope with emotional conflicts and the behavior helps people achieve rewards and gain approval from others. One way that attitudes can be formed is through the classical conditioning theory. Classical conditioning is â€Å"learning through association when a neutral conditioned stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus that naturally produces an emotional response† (Franzoi 2010,p. 157). Classical Conditioning is the affective component of attitudes. An example of classical conditioning would be â€Å"the soft click of the switch that turns on a noisy bathroom fan would have little effect on your behavior. After the click a conditioned has been paired with a loud noise an unconditioned on several occasions you might begin to react to the click alone conditioned response† (Bacon and Kalsher, 2008, p. 161). Another example would be the famous study the dogs salivating at the saw or smelled food but not tasted it. Then they salivated at the sight the person bringing the food. Classical conditioning can be very useful in helping in the learning in shaping attitudes to protect us from overcoming certain fears in life and also help acquire aversion to certain foods. Classical conditioning is a gradual process. Using this conditioning can help shape, form different attitudes in many of life situations. Classical conditioning of attitudes occurs below the level of conscious awareness. The other very influential way to shape attitude is the Operant conditioning form of learning. Through the behavioral component (Franzoi, 2010, p. 158). The Operant conditioning is a type of learning attitudes in which behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement maintain, changed and weaken if ollowed by punishment through consequences. Operant conditioning occurs when some action towards an object is rewarded or reinforced. Doing this enough times, the subject will do probably repeat it in the future. Also if behavior is not rewarded or is punished then future actions are less likely to occur. An example of a positive operant conditioning would be related to basic biological needs. Positive reinforcement include food when you are angry and conditioned rein forces include money, status, trophies and praises from others. When we hear† you must clean your room before you watch TV† (Bacon and Kalsher, 2008, p. 172). This can shape a person’s attitude. A negative example of this â€Å"stimuli, other subway riders are moving away to escape the stench of a person’s cologne† (Bacon and Kalsher, 2008, p. 173). When people ride in the future they will remember that person and avoid them. This would definitely shape one’s attitude towards this person. Doing well will help shape attitude about eating habits. Since, they did not have a good experience with bad situations that will also shape attitudes. We can use the operant conditioning in teaching techniques such as learning computers, aggressive driving, traffic safety and all goal oriented tasks. In conclusion we have discussed how attitudes can take form. They shape through the implicit attitude form which is activated automatically from our memory or through the explicit attitude which is consciously held. These attitudes are seen in classical, operant conditioning. References Bacon, R. and Kalsher, M, (2008). Psychology: From Science to Practice 2nd Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon Franoi, S. (2010). Social Psychology 5th Ed.

Public Service Policy and Strategy Business Essay The WritePass Journal

Public Service Policy and Strategy Business Essay Abstract Public Service Policy and Strategy Business Essay , p. 1) or by changing the scope of its business activities. These are just some of the changes that may occur within an organisation and could lead to either a positive or negative outcome. Whilst change is inevitable, it is important that Public Service Organisations’ (PSO) are able to deal with any challenges they face. This is because, PSO’s are in a position of trust as they provide services to the public and so are owned and controlled by the government. Hence, it is therefore vital that PSO’s fully understand the public sector and are prepared for new changes. This could be achieved by ensuring that there is a need for change and thereby planning for it; by building internal support systems and by overcoming resistance by making sure that there is top management support and commitment (Sergio and Rainey, 2006: 168). Provided that these factors are taken into consideration, a trusting environment will be created and PSO’s will be equipped for any tra nsitions that take place. The main changes that are likely to take place within a PSO include: services design; structural alterations, management or administration of PSO’s, and changes to the skills that are necessary to manage PSO’s.  Understanding the process of transformation and change in PSO’s are thereby key elements of a manager’s role.  There are two kinds of strategies for managing change, these are planned and emergency, yet how these strategies are utilised will depend on the type of change taking place. Introduction The current scenario of the British Red Cross (BRC) will be explained in this report followed by an assessment as to whether change within the BRC is in fact needed. A new strategic direction will also be introduced which will contain the BRC’s main objective which is to; â€Å"help people in crisis in the UK and all over the world† (BRC, 2012: 1). This will be done by firstly introducing the BRC and putting forward a change situation. The force field analysis evaluating drivers and resisters of the change will then be explained followed by an overview of Mintzberg’s concept of an emergent strategy. Once this has been done, an action plan which demonstrates how the change shall happen will then be constructed, followed by a conclusion and overall summary of the reports main findings. Main Body Section 1: Introduction to the BRC and change proposal    1.1   Organization background (BRC): The British Red Cross (BRC) is a UK society, which is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement that aims to provide aid to those in crisis. The BRC helps those within and outside of the UK and operates a non-discriminatory policy. The main objective of the BRC is to provide assistance to people in crisis by conforming to the seven fundamental principles which are: Humanity Impartiality Neutrality Voluntary Service Unity Universality Independence In addition to these principles, the BRC strives to be compassionate, inclusive, dynamic and courageous (BRC, 2011c: 1) and is recognised as one of the main voluntary aid societies within the UK. The BRC undertakes a number of different activities annually so that individuals can be provided with the help that they need. In 2011 the BRC launched seven emergency appeals to help people around the world recover from famine, flooding, earthquakes and conflict, raising 21.6 million; helped 75,000 people in Haiti recover their livelihoods; responded to 4,200 emergency call outs in the UK; loaned out 75,000 wheelchairs; and helped 35,000 refugees and asylum seekers adapt to life in the UK (BRC, 2011b: 1-27). As the BRC is a charity, nonetheless, much of the funding comes from voluntary public contributions and whilst personal contributions are highly important so are corporate contributions since the BRC would not be able to function effectively without such aid. 1.2 Analyzing the change situation: After reviewing both the internal and external environment of the BRC, it is revealed that the BRC needs to raise greater awareness about overseas emergency aid. This is because, after undertaking various research activities, it was found that â€Å"almost three in four Britons feel that they are not well informed about overseas emergency aid issues† (BRC, 2011c: 1). In accordance with this, it is vital that changes to the ways in which the BRC operates are made so that a greater awareness of overseas aid can be achieved. Because the BRC operates on public funding, it is necessary for all individuals to be made fully aware of the different areas of the aid system. This could be attained through the formation of an executive organisation dealing primarily with aid awareness. The public would thus be provided with greater confidence when donating to the BRC as they would be fully aware of how their aid is being utilized. Consequently, the main objective of this new strategic dir ection is to prevent corruption and organisational incompetence whilst promoting an awareness of emergency aid. In realising this direction, the BRC’s current business strategy would need to be altered in order to approach the public in developed countries and provide them with an insight into the ways underdeveloped countries are being supported. This would certainly encourage further aid and would evidently lead to the growth of the BRC. Section 2 Force field analysis evaluating drivers and resisters of the change There are a number of different factors which drive change within any organisation, yet Lewin (1951) identified four different forces in his force field analysis. These are; forces for change; forces resisting change; driving forces; and restraining forces These forces are used in change management and help to understand most change processes in any organisation. If there is a balance between the two types of forces, no change will take place. However, if the driving force exceeds the restraining force then changes will be made. Accordingly, the total drivers and resisters first need to be identified. Once this has been done, an appropriate score from 0-9 then needs to be assigned to the force. Based on the total score of all the drivers and resisters, it is determined whether implementation of change would be successful or not. Below is the representation of influencer drivers and resisters of the proposed change situation for the BRC. Forces FOR change Forces AGAINST change Need to raise awareness about overseas emergency aid 8 Complex issues may be raised 5 Desire to increase voluntary donations 7 BRC’s current strategies are workable 6 Need to understand how aid is being utilised 8 Costs are reduced 5 Possibility of increased public donations 7 Rational resistance of change 3 30 TOTAL 19 2.1   Drivers of change: Need to raise awareness about overseas emergency aid    This force is imperative in preventing corrupt practices from taking place, yet the only way the public can be assured that this is being achieved is through improved public understanding as to how the BRC’s aid is being spent. At present, the public are unsure as to why developing countries remain underdeveloped when a significant amount of aid is being transferred to these countries each year. However, as noted by Akande (2001, p. 27); â€Å"the sums concerned, though large, can do little to offset the far greater imbalances in the world economic order where raw commodities exported from developing countries have lost more than 50% of their trade value in the last 15 years.† Furthermore, whilst individuals and organisations provide a lot of aid to the BRC, a substantial amount of this is paid to the bank in interest. Furthermore, debt servicing payments are also paid to the World Bank, which means that developi ng countries are left with very little to establish their own economies. This appears somewhat absurd and it is unsurprising why there is a great reluctance to provide aid to underdeveloped countries because of this. Consequently, provided that the BRC can demonstrate exactly how their particular aid is utilised, it is likely that further investments will be made. This is because, as stressed by Aid Info (2008; p. 1); â€Å"Organisations and governments are most effective when they can be held accountable to those they serve, in this instance, communities receiving aid.† Therefore, unless aid transparency is ascertained, the growth of the BRC will be affected. This force scores 8 as it is given high consideration for effective aid utilization within the UK. Desire to increase voluntary donations – Because the BRC operates on voluntary donations, it is vital that these can be increased which is likely to be attained through aid transparency. This force scores 7 from this too has a significant impact upon the drive for change. Need to understand how aid is being utilised – If the public understand how their donations will be utilised it is likely that they will donate a lot more. As such, better awareness and utilisation is required. This force impacts deeply and thus scores 8 to demonstrate the significance of aid utilization maximization. Possibilities of increased public donations – It is likely that there would be an increased level of public donations if the public were fully aware of how their contributions were being spent. Essentially, it is important that this scores 7 since the value of the chain is clearly determined by this. 2.2   Resisters of change: Complex issues may be raised – Greater accountability may cause many problems for the BRC and the internal environment may be significantly affected as a result. This force scores 5 to illustrate its impact. BRC’s current strategies are workable – Because of the success in which the BRC has had so far, it could be said that changes to aid awareness would be detrimental and that aid data would still only be partially available. This change scores 6 in order to reflect the concern surrounding this issue. Costs are reduced: Because of the costs that would be incurred from generating awareness, it is likely that the amount of net aid will be reduced which would have a damaging effect to the value of the BRC. It therefore scores 5. Rational resistance of change: In justifying the need for this change, a determination as to whether aid awareness is really necessary needs to be made. Nevertheless, because rational resistance is easily overcome it scores a low 3 as the impact of this is minimal. After quantifying the numbers of drivers and resisters with their degree of influence it is evident that there will be more drivers than resisters of this particular change. Accordingly, the total score of drivers is 30, whilst the total score of resistors is 19. As a result, it is manifest that the change to be made will be more likely to succeed since aid awareness is likely to have a positive impact on the performance of the BRC. Section 3: Mintzberg’s concept of an emergent strategy for proposed change in the BRC  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3.1 Understanding Mintzberg’s emergent strategy: An emergent strategy is one that emerges over time as unexpected changes in the environment collide with intentions. Essentially, this means that the intended strategy of an organisation eventually changes in accordance with what actually works in practice (Moore, 2011, p. 1). Thus, according to Mintzberg (1985, p. 257); â€Å"strategies are largely emergent within organisations and not simply predictable outcomes of formal hierarchical plans.† Consequently, it is thus believed by   Mintzberg (1994) that the management of any organisation should therefore adopt a more flexible approach when it comes to strategic planning since the original objectives will undoubtedly be subject to change. In accordance with this emergent strategy, it is thereby important that the strategic plan for BRC includes ways to reduce the resisters of change. This will be done in accordance with the BRC’s best practice. 3.2 Constructing emergent strategy to implement change in the BRC: An emergent strategy can be created by following these steps; (Scott, 2006, pp. 6-7). Step 1 Identify and map out any assumptions and risks of the BRC’s strategy; Step 2 – Identify and prioritise those assumptions and risks in order to learn more about them so that any risks can be dealt with accordingly; Step 3 Design and execute knowledge building exercises in order to build smart experiments and risk mitigation strategies; Step 4 Absorb and redirect based on the results of the experiments. By putting these steps into practice, BRC will be able to adjust to any new ideas and deal with any challenges they may face according. This will ultimately increase the chances of this new change succeeding. Step 1 Identify and map out any assumptions and risks in of the BRC’s strategy Because change within any organisation lead creates a certain degree of uncertainty, it is important to carefully review all parts of an emergent strategy, whether these are positive or negative. Since the BRC aims to provide help and assistance to those in crisis around the world, it is evident that the change relating to aid transparency will not have much of a damaging effect. However, there will be some concern relating to the case flow of the BRC as the costs incurred may have a negative impact on this. Nevertheless, if this change leads to an increase in donations, the dent in the cash flow can be overcome. Consequently, the change in this strategy is proposed to change the views on donating and provide those willing to donate with a deeper understanding of how aid is being utilised. This will prevent corrupt practices from being employed and the utilization of aid will be maximised. Step 2 Identify and prioritise those assumptions and risks in order to learn more about them so that any risks can be dealt with accordingly Whilst the internal and external environment of the BRC will be affected by this change, it is important to prioritise the assumptions and risks by considering the impact a wrong assumption would have on the BRC and determining how any risks can in fact be overcome. It also needs to be considered whether the assumptions are certain because even the slightest doubt can significantly affect the overall strategy of the BRC. Consideration of how further assumptions can be learnt also needs to be taken into account so that costs of running further experiments and the amount of time this will take can be established. Step 3 Design and execute knowledge building exercises in order to build smart experiments and risk mitigation strategies All good emergent strategies need experiments and risk mitigation strategies so that any uncertainties in the approach taken can be identified and dealt with early on. Experiments can consist of; partial experiments, which test one part of a strategy, and holistic experiments, which test the whole of the strategy. Step 4 Absorb and redirect based on the results of the experiments This stage of the emergent strategy process consists of a knowledge building exercise. The BRC and its management will thus be required to re-assess the approach being undertaken and consider whether any new information should lead the management to; double down, continue exploring, re-vector or shelve (Scott, 2008, p. 9). Consequently, in order to construct the emergent strategy for change in the BRC pre-strategic planning and implementation is required. Section 4: Precise Action plan Objectives Actions Responsibilities Resources Deadlines Risks Mile stones Human Financial objective Actions Resposibilities Resources measures Risks deadline Milestone Develop the BRC’s own team of executives Action 1: Implement a task-expertise-person model of team effectiveness Action 2: Organise the entire system of operation leadership and responsibilities Action 3: Construct Executive Strategy Action 4: Develop an effective HR management system Managers and employees Information Services, computerisation, resource centre and networking Calculate the costs and allocate responsibilities Costly and Time Consuming March 2013 Analyse the executive’s current skills, knowledge and competencies and develop a training plan for the team of executives through the completion of a gap analysis. Raise awareness about overseas aid in order to increase voluntary donations Action 1: Consider how aid should be effectively distributed Action 2: Raise current awareness about aid Action 3: Operative executives Questionnaires, Perceptions Survey, Networking and Resource Centres As above Negative impact of PEST factors May 2013 Interact with the public in order to determine current awareness Collect and Analyse Experimental Data Action 1: Evaluate current awareness Action 2: Consider the effects increased awareness would have on the organisation Action 3: Record current activities of aid awareness Employees As above As above Consider the effects transparency will have on the BRC August 2013 Analyse the data collected and reach a conclusion based on the findings. Use statistical methods to decide whether the change is worthwhile Finalise Emergent Strategy Action 1: Design and Execute Knowledge Building Exercises Action 2: Pre Strategic Planning Action 3: Redirect activities based on the findings Managers, Executors and Leadership Team As Above Reviewing Data, Generating Initiatives, Prioritising Activities, Writing the overall plan Consider how the resistors of change can be overcome December 2013 Adjust to the new ideas and deal with any challenges in an appropriate manner Implement the Change Action 1: Raise awareness of overseas aid Action 2: Ensure the BRC’s activities are transparent Action 3: Provide the public with an overview as to how the resources are being used Managers, Executors and Leadership Team Computer Systems, Internet, Volunteers Implement the Plan If the outcomes are negative, re-direct the strategy and start again March 2014 Review the emergent strategy and make changes where necessary Section 5: Concluding Remarks Many organisations are coming to the realisation that change is to be expected, which is why it is important that effective strategies are in place that will help to deal with such changes and ensure that only positive outcomes are produced. Whilst the introduction of significant changes can be confusing and frustrating leading to a decline in productivity, it is clear that such drawbacks can be overcome through the implementation of an effective emergent strategy. Accordingly, risks to productivity will thus be eradicated and the desired objectives of the change will be achieved. The BRC does not have an easy solution when it comes to making changes to the organisational structure of the business and instead ensures that any changes to be made are thoroughly thought out before they are implemented. Thus, in order for the BRC to reach its overall aim which is to help those in crisis, much emphasis is placed upon the need for transparency. The fundamental idea is to provide the public with a greater understanding of how the aid that is provided to the BRC is being utilised so that voluntary donations increase. In addition, it is likely that corrupt practices would be eradicated if the BRC were more transparent and although this would cost money; the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages. This report uses the force field analysis in order to identify the resistors and drivers of this proposed change and to consider whether the change should take place.   Because the score for change is 30, whilst the score against change is 19, it is evident that the change will prove successful. Therefore, in order to achieve the desired outcome of the change, the emergent strategy of Mintzberg ought to be used. References Aid Info. (2008) Aid Transparency Movement, Better Information, Better Aid, [Online] Available: aidinfo.org/about-us/aid-transparency-movement [04 January 2013]. Akande, W. (2001) Ireland: A Nation in Transition, iUniverse. BRC. (2011a) Seeds of Change Launched at Red Cross Event, [Online] Available: redcross.org.uk/About-us/News/2011/October/Seeds-of-Change-campaign-launched-at-Red-Cross-event [22 December 2012]. BRC. (2011b) Trustees Report and Accounts, [Online] Available: scribd.com/doc/90332211/2011-Trustees-report-and-accounts [22 December 2012]. BRC. (2011c) Our Values, [Online] Available: redcross.org.uk/About-us/Who-we-are/Our-values [21 December 2012]. BRC. (2012) Donate Today, [Online] Available: redcross.org.uk/ [20 December 2012]. Moore, K. (2011) Porter or Mintzberg: Whose View of Strategy is the Most Relevant Today, Forbes, [Online] Available: forbes.com/sites/karlmoore/2011/03/28/porter-or-mintzberg-whose-view-of-strategy-is-the-most-relevant-today/ [05 January 2013]. Mintzberg, H. and Waters, J. A. (1985) Of Strategies, Deliberate and Emergent, Wiley-Blackwell, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 6, no. 3. Mintzberg, H. (1994) The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning: Reconcieving Roles for Planning, Plans, Planners, Free Press: New York, Maxwell Macmillan. Scott, D A. (2006) Mastering the Emergent Strategy Process, Strategy and Innovation. Sergio, F. and Rainey, H. G. (2006) Managing Successful Organisational Change in the Public Sector, Public Administration Review, Volume 168, Issue 9. The Times. (2012) The Organisation and Change, Operations Theory, [Online] Available: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/business-theory/operations/the-organisation-and-change.html#axzz2H6FILJP6 [04 January 2013].

Free Essays on New Jerseys Civil War Experience

New Jersey’s Internal Struggle I began research for this paper with questions in mind and so many sources that I thought it would take a year to get through them all. The first question I sought to answer was did New Jersey have any sympathy for the Confederacy. I quickly found the answer to be yes, but that wasn’t a large enough question to develop a paper with, so I asked the question why. Why, if there was sufficient sympathy for the Confederacy and ample opposition to Lincoln and the Union in general did New Jerseyans join the Union Army in such large numbers? Why is it published in nearly every secondary source that New Jersey’s contribution to the Civil War was impressive and her patriotism widespread? In my search for the answers, I found great contradiction. One book would call New Jersey the â€Å"Copperhead State† and the next would speak of the â€Å"Carnival of Patriotism† in the New Jersey. So, I drew my own conclusions. New Jersey was not a state that was pro-Union from t he start. Opinions varied, some citizens supported Lincoln, abolitionism, and Unity of the states at any cost, including war, while others were not shy in opposing the war or Lincoln. There were people who supported the South and those who depended on its business, but there were also those who saw the South’s secession as treasonous and worthy of the declaration of war. These differences caused instability within the state. The purpose of this paper is not to categorize New Jersey as only a state so sympathetic to the southern cause that it was treasonous, but to show the various issues that caused internal conflict within the state. The Civil War is known as the war between brothers, yet we often look at it as if the states were clearly cut Union or Confederate. New Jersey is known as a Northern State, so the issues that occurred within it before being unified as such seem to be overlooked. It is common knowledge that New Jersey took the side... Free Essays on New Jersey's Civil War Experience Free Essays on New Jersey's Civil War Experience New Jersey’s Internal Struggle I began research for this paper with questions in mind and so many sources that I thought it would take a year to get through them all. The first question I sought to answer was did New Jersey have any sympathy for the Confederacy. I quickly found the answer to be yes, but that wasn’t a large enough question to develop a paper with, so I asked the question why. Why, if there was sufficient sympathy for the Confederacy and ample opposition to Lincoln and the Union in general did New Jerseyans join the Union Army in such large numbers? Why is it published in nearly every secondary source that New Jersey’s contribution to the Civil War was impressive and her patriotism widespread? In my search for the answers, I found great contradiction. One book would call New Jersey the â€Å"Copperhead State† and the next would speak of the â€Å"Carnival of Patriotism† in the New Jersey. So, I drew my own conclusions. New Jersey was not a state that was pro-Union from t he start. Opinions varied, some citizens supported Lincoln, abolitionism, and Unity of the states at any cost, including war, while others were not shy in opposing the war or Lincoln. There were people who supported the South and those who depended on its business, but there were also those who saw the South’s secession as treasonous and worthy of the declaration of war. These differences caused instability within the state. The purpose of this paper is not to categorize New Jersey as only a state so sympathetic to the southern cause that it was treasonous, but to show the various issues that caused internal conflict within the state. The Civil War is known as the war between brothers, yet we often look at it as if the states were clearly cut Union or Confederate. New Jersey is known as a Northern State, so the issues that occurred within it before being unified as such seem to be overlooked. It is common knowledge that New Jersey took the side...

Research for Hemingway essays

Research for Hemingway essays Research Paper: Life and work of Ernest Hemingway The affecting history of life of one the greatest American writers of all times, Ernest Hemingway, reflects in his immortal works. A novelist, two of whose works ended up in the list of top 100 of novels of all times, describes his life and the world around him in the creations of wise and flexible language and reflects the world in them as in the mirror. Ernest Miller Hemingway, named for his maternal grandfather and great uncle, was born on July 21 in his maternal grandfathers house in Oak Park (a staid suburb of Chicago), Illinois.(Ernest Hemingway, Peter L. Hays, pg.17). Thus begun the life of one of the best writers in American literature. It is important also to understand the environment that one of the best American writers grew up in, and especially the people that grew him up-his parents. His father was Dr. Clarence Edmonds Hemingway, a general practitioner, who worked as physician for the insurance companies in Chicago. But the not important is his job next to his character, which his son Ernest inherited. Even though he was a physician and a good one, inquiring discipline and order in everything he attended, he was even a more dedicated outdoors man. He brought to campsite the same sense of order, and methodical attention to detail that surgery demanded. (Ernest Hemingway: The search for Courage, Keith Ferrell, pg.9). His friends looked up to Edmond as a right example for setting up a camp, and living off the land. He was a natural leader, a man of imposing presence, proud of his skills but modest about them. He would not show off or boast, preferring to use his abilities quietly and for the benefits of others. (Ernest Hemingway: The search for Courage, Keith Ferrell, pg.9). These wonderful features that indicate a noble nature and the character that his father possessed were inherited by Ernest. As a child, both in Michig...

23andMe Completion, Competitors and their Products Assignment

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Racism of African Americans in the US Research Paper

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Threats and Challenges of Walmart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Threats and Challenges of Walmart - Essay Example When Mike Duke took over as Chief Executive Officer in 2009, he faced more challenges from the inside and the outside. In 2009, Lee Scott announced his retirement from the company he had reined for years. During Lee’s stint, he overcame internal and external foes by transforming the company and dragged it â€Å"into the 21st century from its clannish roots† (Kapner, 2009). Under Mike Duke, Wal-Mart has a new strategy of doing business with the public and with its suppliers: it wants to sell and deliver environmentally friendly products and serve the public with the least environmental impact that it could have and do. Moreover, Wal-Mart wants to transport the products from suppliers so that it could cut costs and save more for its stores (Burritt, et al., 2010). Vice-president for corporate transportation, Kelly Abney, says that with lower costs they would have increased sales. The strategy is to take over transportation service from companies that produce the goods – Wal-Mart believes it could do it more efficiently while allowing the companies just to produce the goods for them. In this sense, manufacturers would pay Wal-Mart for the transportation through lower wholesale prices. More savings means more sales for Wal-Mart and low prices for the customers. Wal-Mart had done this before and saved $200 million by packing and scheduling efficiently its fleet of trucks (Burritt, et al., 2010). With the new strategy, Wal-Mart can use contractors and its own vehicles in picking up products directly from manufacturers’ facilities. Wal-Mart can save more time in delivery with this new strategy. The problem in this new strategy is the economies of scale that it will create. According to Randy Huffman, a former Wal-Mart executive, the move will have an adverse reaction on other manufacturers, but this will be beneficial on the part of the customers.

Death Penalty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Death Penalty - Research Paper Example There are different views and opinions regarding the question and this paper will try to address the arguments for and the arguments against. The paper will also analyze the ethics in the justice system regarding the death penalty. Those who are against the death sentence have their concrete reasons why they think that it should not exist. They define the penalty as an unbearable denunciation of civil liberties and term it as being inconsistent with the basic values of the democratic society. They believe that the penalty is a theory that is uncivilized, unmerited, and unfair in practice. Most who argue against it are of the view that the system of the penalty is applied in an unjust and unfair manner against people. This unfairness largely depends on the amount of money they have, their attorneys’ skills, the victim’s race, and the place of occurrence of the crime (American Civil Liberties Union). It is true that human life is valuable. This can even be justified by the Bible during the creation process when God created man in His image. Therefore, those against the death penalty are of the belief that even the most horrible murderers ought not to be killed themselves. The offender’s life value cannot be destroyed due to his or her bad conduct even in the case where they have killed another person. They argue that life should be preserved. Every other person has an absolute human right to life. This is defined by the Bill of Rights. This right to life is a right for every person even those that have committed a murder. By imposing a death penalty and executing a murderer, the state violates that person’s rights. However, some argue that when a person commits a murderous act, then that individual gives up his or her right to life (Ethic Guide). This is a familiar argument in opposition to the death sentence and it insists that in the imposition of capital punishment, innocent people sometimes are killed for flaws or mistakes in the

Embryonic cells Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Embryonic cells - Essay Example stem cells was discovered, and it was thought that we just might be on the threshold of an age of miracles (Cobb,2013).â€Å"Physiological studies have shown that pluripotent stem cells or embryonic stem cells have the ability to differentiate into any kind of cell. When an egg is fertilized and it reaches the blastocyst stage i.e. 4-5 days post fertilization, the embryonic cells are formed. During normal growth these cells would differentiate into different specialized and help the baby grow in the womb.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Stem cells are self-renewing, unspecialised cells that can give rise to multiple types all of specialized cells of the body† (Grier,2006) Stem cell technology involves the usage of this concept and derivation of stem cells from embryos such that the cells can be used for various therapeutic purposes and medical treatments. The procedure involves isolation of the embryonic cells from the blastocyst, artificial cell culturing using broth medium which allows cell growth to give rise to an embryonic cell line and finally stimulation of differentiation of these cells to form desired and specific cells and tissues as required. The myth is embryos are killed while harvestation of embryonic stems cells. Couples opting for IVF often have 2-3 extra embryos which they do not use and initially these embryos would end up as biomedical wastes. However, now these embryos are used for research purposes for extraction of embryonic cells which may be maintained as culture sunder laboratory conditions. Yes, it does mean that the embryo will be destroys but one needs to understand that the embryo is not a baby and is only a cluster of a few cells. It lacks organs or even lacks the human form.†Induced pluripotent embryo cells are not human organism† (Huarte & Suarez,2011) and hence ethical questions must not be raised. It rather looks like a ball than a human. Even if it was not harvested, the embryo would have to be thrown away anyways. Many have the opinion and in order

Death Penalty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Death Penalty - Research Paper Example There are different views and opinions regarding the question and this paper will try to address the arguments for and the arguments against. The paper will also analyze the ethics in the justice system regarding the death penalty. Those who are against the death sentence have their concrete reasons why they think that it should not exist. They define the penalty as an unbearable denunciation of civil liberties and term it as being inconsistent with the basic values of the democratic society. They believe that the penalty is a theory that is uncivilized, unmerited, and unfair in practice. Most who argue against it are of the view that the system of the penalty is applied in an unjust and unfair manner against people. This unfairness largely depends on the amount of money they have, their attorneys’ skills, the victim’s race, and the place of occurrence of the crime (American Civil Liberties Union). It is true that human life is valuable. This can even be justified by the Bible during the creation process when God created man in His image. Therefore, those against the death penalty are of the belief that even the most horrible murderers ought not to be killed themselves. The offender’s life value cannot be destroyed due to his or her bad conduct even in the case where they have killed another person. They argue that life should be preserved. Every other person has an absolute human right to life. This is defined by the Bill of Rights. This right to life is a right for every person even those that have committed a murder. By imposing a death penalty and executing a murderer, the state violates that person’s rights. However, some argue that when a person commits a murderous act, then that individual gives up his or her right to life (Ethic Guide). This is a familiar argument in opposition to the death sentence and it insists that in the imposition of capital punishment, innocent people sometimes are killed for flaws or mistakes in the

Informative Speech Essay Example for Free

Informative Speech Essay Attention Getter: Mothers day is coming up, and there is a few options for you to use as gifts. 1. You can spend fifty dollar on flowers just to watch them die in a week. 2. You can buy her chocolates even though most of us are constantly trying to cut back. 4. You can do nothing and look like a jerk. 5. Or can simply spend a dollar at a thrift store, and create a desk ornament using only an old book. Topic Sentence: Recently I’ve made a few of these and have gotten a really great response from family and friends. I suppose I’d call it book-origami, but I’m not sure if there’s a proper title for this sort of thing. My purpose tonight is to teach you how to make one of these. Credibility / goodwill: After I made my first book, I got several compliments on it. Afterward, I came to the conclusion it might make a great mantelpiece, or even a desk ornament. Itsinthestars.com/us shows a survey taken in 2012 that states â€Å"The average person ends up purchasing 16 gifts or more a year.† Gift buying can add up quickly so I have found that it is nice to have a backup plan in case you’re broke at the time. Surely some of us in this very room have come to this dilemma so I am hoping to provide an idea for such an occasion. Thesis: Tonight I will teach you how to make one of these decorations by first teaching you what type of books are best to use, secondly I will tell you how to prepare the process of getting started, and lastly I will be teaching you a few of the folding techniques. Body: (Chronological = steps in a process) I. The First step in making one of these book decorations is to find the right kind of book to work with A. Through trial and error, I have found that it is best to use a hardcover book. 1. The way I have been making these has been without the use of any glues or starches, and the hardcover frame seems to help the book hold its shape naturally. B. When choosing your book you will also need to consider the number of pages that it has. 2. This was actually my first book, and it has about two hundred fifty pages in it. My second book actually has over 550 pages in it. The choice you make depends on your taste, but personally I think the thicker book has a much fuller and professional look. C. You should also consider the size of the cover of your book. 1. I believe that a someone smaller book makes for the best decoration because it doesn’t take up much room. Transition: Now that you have chosen a book to work with, you are ready to divide your book in sections. A. In my first book I didn’t take a whole lot of time, and just approximately divided the book into 3 sections. 1. You might not be able to tell at first glance but one side actually has around 15 pages more using the first folding style. B. If you want to go for a truly symmetrical look, I would suggest counting out each page individually. It will take more time this way, but you will probably be happier with the end result. 1. After you have decided how much you want in each section, I would recommend marking each sections beginning and end with a bookmark. Transition : Now that you have sectioned off your book, you’re ready to start folding. (please excuse my lack of technical terms, but this is really just something I’ve been experimenting with and was not actually taught anything about origami. A. I like to start off each book with several simple corner folds. 1. After each page, you should alternate between folding the top corner down, and folding the bottom corner down. 2. The reason I start the book this way because it is a really easy technique, and it also seems to help the book expand quite a bit. B. Another fold I use quite a bit I would call an airplane fold. I call it this because it is how I remember starting off paper airplanes, again this isn’t a technical lesson. 1. This technique is done simple by folding the top and bottom edges into the middle of the page. 2. I tend to use this technique for the middle section because again, it is very easy to do, and it helps the book to stand up. C. What I have used for the outer-middle section here is actually just a variation of the airplane fold. 1. After folding both edges in, you then take the middle point of the page and fold it to either the upper or lower portion, again alternating with each following page t o get this accordion look. Conclusion: Thesis: Tonight I have taught you how to make one of these decorations by first teaching you what type of books are best to use, secondly telling you how to prepare the process of getting started, and lastly I taught you a few of the folding techniques. Closure: Now you’re ready to make one of these for yourself. I’ve only been doing this for a few months, and I have found that most of the fun comes from trying new techniques. I’ve only shared with you a couple of the techniques that I’ve used. I would highly encourage you to try some of your own ideas, get creative . You could try ripping or cutting the edges of certain pages to give them a rough look, or you could add paperclips to portions of the book to give it a specific hold. Maya Angelou once said in the book Conversations with Maya Angelou printed in 1989 â€Å"You cant use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have† I’ve always agreed with that. I have found this to be a fun, creative and cheap idea for a gift. Mothers day is Sunday the 12th of May this year, so you should get started.

Of Mice And Men American Dream

Of Mice And Men American Dream The American Dream is presented as being unattainable in John Steinbecks novel, Of Mice and Men. This is predominantly evident in the case of George, Lennie, Candy, Crooks and Curleys wife. All of these characters admit to fantasising about the American Dream; untarnished happiness and the freedom to pursue their dreams. George and Lennies dream of owning land is unattainable as a result of Lennies careless actions caused by his ignorance of his physical strength. George constantly cautions Lennie not to retaliate if harassed. However, George knew it was inevitable that Lennie would act carelessly, thus endanger their dream. This is evident when George realises that Lennie has murdered Curleys wife: -I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed wed never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would (Steinbeck, 2006, p.107). This portrays the doubt and uncertainty George had regarding his dream and the fact that he would never be successful in owning land. The American Dream, for George and Lennie, was unattainable due to Lennies careless actions that caused George to murder Lennie and, consequently eradicated their dream. Candys dream of owning land with companions to avoid becoming solitary, with the assistance of George and Lennie, was shattered when George murdered Lennie. Unlike George, Candy believed that the American Dream was within his reach from the initiation of the plan. However, after George murdered Lennie, all hope was lost. This is evident when Candy sceptically asked George if he still has the intention to purchase the land after slaughtering Lennie: Then-its all off? Candy asked sulkily. George didnt answer his question. George said, Ill work my month an Ill take my fifty bucks an Ill stay all night in some lousy cat house. Or Ill set in some poolroom til everbody goes home. An then Ill come back an work another month an Ill have fifty bucks more. (Steinbeck, 2006, p.107). Georges response to Candys question indirectly implies that George has resigned his. George has given up, making him and Candy no different to those people who waste their time and money in brothels for futile amusements as a result of lonely misery. Crooks views the American Dream as an unachievable objective. The visualisation of owning land and becoming self-sufficient was a modest ask, however, for many this was impossible because of the depression that occurred in 1937. Crooks states that he has heard numerous people have the same dream, however, never acquire a piece of land. For example, when Crooks strongly opposes the idea of Lennie and George reaching their dream, owning land: Youre nuts. Crooks was scornful. I seen hunderds of men come by on the road an on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an that same damn thing in their heads. Hunderds of them. They come, an they quit an go on; an every damn one of ems got a little piece of land in his head. An never a God damn one of em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Everbody wants a little piece of lan. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. Its just in their head. Theyre all the time talkin about it, but its jus in their head. (Steinbeck, 2006, p.83-84). This is one of the most powerful messages in the novel illustrating that the American Dream is unattainable. George and Lennie were never alone in the sense that every American has the dream of land in their minds, and every single person will result like every other, as they are all destined to fail. Crooks statement has reinforced Steinbecks intent on showing that the American Dream is unachievable. Curleys wife dream of becoming an actress in Hollywood is unfeasible for the reason that she has resigned herself to an unfulfilling marriage. She imagines how great it would be to stay in fancy hotels, own several elegant dresses and have people wanting to take her photograph. She desires friendship, fame and financial security though her dream differs from the dream of the men. Her marriage with Curley has restricted her from interacting with men and most importantly, accomplishing her dreams: [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] I cant talk to nobody but Curley[à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] I coulda made somethin of myself [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] [Curleys wife] doesnt like Curley[à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] Coulda been in the movies, an had nice clothes-all them nice clothes like they wear. An I coulda sat in them big hotels, an had pitchers took of me. (Steinbeck, 2006, p.98-100). From this it can be deduced that her marital relationship with Curley has made her lonely because she cannot interact with the ranch hands, only with Curley who is always working and, her standards of living would have improved if she had pursued her dream of becoming an actress. The American Dream of the freedom to pursue ones dreams is made unreachable for Curleys wife because she has married Curley depriving her of freedom to do so. In John Steinbecks novel, Of Mice and Men, the American Dream is presented as being unattainable for a number of characters. The dreams of the characters have been hindered by many factors that have made them unachievable. In Georges, Lennies, Candys case the American Dream was not possible as a result of Lennies ignorance and recklessness. Crooks views that the dream of owning land to be self-sufficient is the typical dream of an American worker, however, owning the land is impossible. Steinbeck is intent on showing that the American Dream is unattainable by providing the message that those who have the dream of untarnished happiness and the freedom to pursue their dreams will fail in brotherhood of desperation and disappointment.

Legends Of Seismology :: essays research papers

Legends in Our Time Seismologists†¦ Scientists and Mathematicians Beno Gutenberg was the foremost observational seismologist of the twentieth century. He combined exquisite analysis of seismic records with powerful analytical, interpretive, and modeling skills to contribute many important discoveries of the structure of the solid Earth and its atmosphere. Perhaps his best known contribution was the precise location of the core of the Earth and the identification of its elastic properties. Other major contributions include the travel-time curves; the discovery of very long-period seismic waves with large amplitudes that circle the Earth; the identification of differences in crustal structure between continents and oceans, including the discovery of a significantly thin crust in the Pacific; the discovery of a low-velocity layer in the mantle (which he interpreted as the zone of decoupling of horizontal motions of the surficial parts from the deeper parts of the Earth); the creation of the magnitude scale for earthquakes; the relation between magnitu des and energies for earthquakes; the famous universal magnitude-frequency relation for earthquake distributions; the first density distribution for the mantle; the study of the temperature distribution in the Earth; the understanding of microseisms; and the structure of the atmosphere. Source: http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/biomems/bgutenberg.html Inge Lemann's primary accomplishments dealt with discoveries about the Earth's core. In 1936, she discovered that the Earth has a small inner core. Then she "saw" the area where earthquake waves did not pass through and reasoned that there must be an outer liquid core and an inner solid core. She was the first president of the European Seismological Commission. Lehmann was Denmark's only seismologist for two decades. And, in 1977, she became the first woman to be awarded the Medal of the Seismological Society of America. Source: http://www.physics.purdue.edu/wip/herstory/lehmann.html Charles Francis Richter started working at the Seismological Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, based at Pasadena, California, in 1927. The following year, he was awarded a doctorate in theoretical physics by the Californian Institute of Technology (Caltech). During the 1930s, Richter was tabulating over 200 earthquakes a year in southern California at Caltech's Seismological Laboratory. He wanted to devise a means of assessing them on an objective, quantitative basis. Measuring the amplitudes of seismic waves recorded on seismographs in southern California, Richter formulated a local magnitude scale, to assess the size of earthquakes occurring in the region.

Microsoft Word 2000 :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Microsoft Word 2000 There are several features in Microsoft Word 2000 that makes document making simple. With features like Automatic Spell Checking, that places a red wavy line under the word that is misspelled automatically. Auto Correct, which automatically corrects commonly, made mistakes that are predetermined in Word. Inserting Clip Art adds graphics and/or pictures to make your document look better. These are just a few of the features in Word that makes document making less challenging. The Automatic Spell Checker checks your document while your typing it for possible spelling and grammar errors. If a word you have typed in is misspelled a red wavy line under the word that is misspelled. If there a grammar error there will be a green wavy line under the grammar error. To fix the error simply right click the wavy line and depending on the severity of the error there will be from one to a few choices to correct the error. If the word isn’t misspelled and it still shows up with a red wavy line under it, you can simply right click the line and choose the "add" selection and it will add the word into the Word library. Another feature in the Automatic Spell Checker is the Auto Correct {insert note here} Inserting Clip Art allows you to brighten up your documents with graphics. the clip art files contains photographs, sounds, and video clips that you can insert into your document. Clip Art is located in the Clip Gallery which contains a collection of clips, separated into sub categories such as. Favorites, academics, animals, backgrounds, borders & frames, buildings, business, button & icons, cartoons, communications, dividers & decor, downloaded clips, emotions, entertainment, flags, food & dining, gestures, government, healthcare & medicine, home & family, household, industry, lost & found, maps, metaphors, music, nature, navigation controls, office, people, people at work, photographs, places, plants, religions, science and technology, seasons, shapes, signs, special occasions, sports & leisure, symbols, transportations, travel, weather, web banners, web dividers, and web elements.

Pros and Cons of Piracy Essay

The Alliance for Cultural Diversity – UNESCO – works to ‘prevent and fight against an ever-increasing level of piracy, in part brought about by recent developments in the use of new technologies and their consequences on cultural product sales. Piracy is detrimental to authors because it deprives them of the opportunity to profit financially from their work. The publishing, music, audiovisual and software industries are the most severely affected sectors’. Critically discuss the pros and cons arguments regarding the consequences of media piracy and position yourself in the debate. (2500 Words) This essay will critically discuss and evaluate the pros and cons arguments surrounding media piracy and its consequences. The aim is to evaluate what media piracy is and how it has changed the world’s approaches to legislation and copyright laws. This essay will try to focus on the Political, Economic, Technological and Social factors of the consequences of piracy, doing so by positioning myself within the argument. Media piracy can be defined as the process of the distribution of someone else’s work without their legal consent. Karaginis (2011, p1) believes that piracy has arisen as the consequence of a ‘global pricing problem’. Panethiere (2005, p9) refers to piracy as ‘the activity of manufacturing unauthorised copies of protected material and dealing with such copies by way of distribution and sale.’ As the prices of media goods have risen, so have the issues surrounding piracy, due to the demand of consumers for sourcing cheaper and more cost efficient means of accessibility. Lessig (2004, p62) states that ‘the recording industry estimate that it loses about $4.6 billion every year to physical piracy’. This emphasises just how serious an issue piracy is, due to the fact that many media distribution companies are losing out on large amounts of income. A study was conducted in early 2011, questioning participants as to whether they thought illegal file sharing among the public was acceptable. Results showed that 70% of those asked believed that downloading illicit material  from the Internet was acceptable. The study also showed that ‘three out four, however, felt it was completely unacceptable to then sell that product for profit’. http://torrentfreak.com/piracy-socially-acceptable-110228/. This emphasises just how high percentage of the public that are willing to commit a crime and illegally share files veer various peer-to-peer (P2P) networking sites. Piracy can occur in many forms, although as Lessig, L (2004, p67) argues, that the most significant form of piracy is commercial. He describes this as the ‘unauthorized taking of other peoples content within a commercial context.’ However it is important to also look at the economical factors, political factors and technological factors surrounding piracy and their consequences. There are a rapidly growing number of people who are illegally downloading copyrighted material via various peer-to-peer networks. For many, piracy has become a means to access media such as music, films and books for relatively cheap prices and often for free. This is leading to huge problems within the media distributing industries. There are severe consequences for those found to be breaching copyright laws. Bouchoux (2012, p42) believes that ‘one solution in the fight against piracy of media products is to lower the prices’. He argues that the main reason for piracy is that consu mers do not believe that they should have to pay these high prices set by the owner. ‘It’s not moral, it’s not right, but it’s there and it’s easy. There’s no one to stop you from doing it, and probably never will be’. (Tassi, 2012). It is easy to predict that if one form of media copying is shut down, then another new method will emerge in its place. Napster is an example of a major P2P sharing site. Launched in July 1999, Napster accumulated over 10 million users within nine months. After 18 months, there were close to 80 million registered users on the site, showing just how vast the potential growth in this criminal market is. In December of 2000, a study showed that a huge proportion of consumers were college students taking advantage of the ‘blazingly fast Internet connections used on most college campuses’. (H2G2, 2003). This demonstrates how technology has become a major factor in the piracy issue, as the students were taking advantage of the advances in  technology as a means of accessing free me dia. Legal proceedings quickly shut Napster down, however other services emerged to take their place. These continue to provide users with a service that allows them a way of accessing the media they want for free. There are many reasons as to why people engage in media piracy. As shown above, the majority of illegal downloads are made by teenagers and young adults, most commonly in college or university. Economic and social factors make it understandable as to why these downloads are being made, as the high prices of todays media makes it difficult for many to afford the legal product, especially within the current recession and on a student budget. Cost may be a deciding factor amongst the reasons that people illegally pirate media. If the price is higher than they are willing to pay, then they may feel inclined to look for other ways of sourcing the media. A common justification for this kind of behaviour is that the companies providing the legitimate products are enormous and are maki ng millions of pounds. Therefore many people believe that one stolen piece of media would be unnoticeable for an organisation that large and profitable. In other words, the view is that if the victims can’t feel the loss, stealing from them isn’t wrong. ‘The Robin Hood Effect’ can be applied to piracy in the context of redistributing wealth and income so that economic inequality is reduced. In other words ‘taking from the rich and giving to the poor’. This is essentially what P2P sharing sites are doing, by providing people with a cheaper way of obtaining their favorite media from the large media corporation’s. Users may feel that their single purchase is not significant in the global scheme of sales, however if every consumer had this same motive, then the major companies providing the legitimate product or services would have no buyers and soon go out of business. Panethiere, (2005, p9) discusses how ‘it is a maxim of the law in many countries that a right without a remedy is, in effect, no right at all. This is well illustrated in the field of intellectual property where authors and other rights holders are so often unable to enforce the rights that the law gives to them. This is a problem encouraged by piracy.’ Panethiere continues to discuss how the P2P sharing sites too often ignore the rights of the many  people whose income is dependent upon the recognition of their work and sales. Panethiere (2005, p11) also suggests that P2P sharing sites are ‘intentionally, deliberately, and systematically attempting to profit from the creations of others’. Due to this, strict laws have been put into place to prevent such piracy actually taking place. ‘Recorded music represents the musical life of a society in a particular time. If the best of a nation’s performers are not being commercially recorded, then thei r works are not being preserved and the losses to local culture are incalculable’. (Panethiere, 2005). The Recording Industries Association of America are just one of many companies working on tracking down and abolishing piracy, working to protect ‘the intellectual property and First Amendment rights of artists and music labels; conduct consumer, industry and technical research; and monitor and review state and federal laws, regulations and policies’ (RIAA 2014). Despite the many justification that are offered in its defense, piracy is wrong. By making unauthorized copies of any form of media, the user is breaking the law and could in effect be subject to civil and criminal charges. Penalties for piracy in the USA include up to five years in jail and fines up to $250,000. It is questionable whether given these high risks piracy is worth it (RIAA, 2014). However in response to this question being raised, there are very few cases of people who have actually been caught and ultimately fined. In most cases consumers are given a written warning and some may have their Internet connection disconnected. ‘Between 2003 (the start of the RIAA lawsuits) and mid-2007, only about 20,000 people had been sued, fined or received a written warning’. When taking into account the astonishing numbers of users of P2P sites daily, these statistics on the number of people caught are minute. It is estimated that there are 146 million visits to P2P shari ng sites a day, which works out at around 204,000 views and minute and around 53 billion views a year. http://www.go-gulf.com/blog/online-piracy/. As Lewkes & Yar (2013, p50) state ‘what was once an activity of underground counter-culture, now becomes a norm of mainstream culture.’ This emphasises just how untroubled consumers are of the consequences they could encounter when illegally accessing this free media provided to them. When looking at the issue of piracy, it may be important to consider the artist’s views. Some musicians see the accessibility of free downloads as positive (a form of free advertising) whilst other artists may not see this in the same way. P2P allows users to obtain content for free. In come cases it allows consumers to decide whether or not they like the music and if they will make future purchases. This also with applies to films. Having viewed or listened to an illegal download of poor quality, a user may decide to purchase at legitimate copy. Again this relates back to Karaginis (2011) earlier point that piracy occurs as a consequence of a ‘global pricing problem’. If these forms of media were available at a cheaper price, users may not look to these sites as a way of either a free or test purchase. Some may argue that piracy is insulting and harmful to artist and producers. â€Å"When you make unauthorized copies of someone’s creative work, you are taking something of value from the owner without his or her permission† (Yar 2005). Many would strongly agree that piracy is stealing and therefore the producers and artists are more than likely to feel betrayed by fans and viewers and that their talents are unappreciated. When looking at music artists, using P2P sites has a knock on effect throughout the industry. Not only does the artist lose money due to pirating but the recording labels, advertising companies and even the loyal fans are also effected, as prices are inevitably raised in order to make up for their loses (Castells, M & Cardoso, G, 2013) and so a cycle is perpetuated. Some Indy bands make a living solely from the revenue they gain from legitimate sales. Illegal downloads of their music make it extremely difficult for them to continue to compete in the m arket and to produce their music. We can also use the case of tribute bands. This could be seen as a form of piracy as the bands are performing songs that they themselves did not write or produce. However, an individual may enjoy the song and therefore purchase the original artists version. This supports the case that piracy can often have positive effects. It can be seen as a form of advertising and ultimately increase awareness, future sales and revenue. Lessig (2004) believes that ‘the internet has provoked piracy’. Strict laws and legislation have been introduced to try and protect media producers from copyright infringements but Lessig believes that with the birth of the Internet, ‘the law has lost its sight of control, the laws role is less and less to support creativity, and more and more to protect certain industries against competition’. Technological advancements are one of the main reasons for the increased use of piracy. The scale of piracy has been led primarily by shifts in technology and cultural practices. We can look back to the introduction of CDs and VCDs in the 1990s, to the growth of DVDs in the early 2000s, and now on to the more recent growth of high-speed Internet connections. The movie piracy business, for instance, was transformed in China, with the introduction of DVD burners in 2003. This caused a huge increase in both the supply and demand of pirated DVDs, as it became extremely ea sy to make copies of media and sell at a much cheaper price. . As we can now access the majority of media digitally, it eliminates the need to have physical copies of CD’s or DVD’s. This reduces consumers desire to have physical copies of materials, and therefore may increase the chances of someone engaging in piracy. Before the introduction of the new media technologies mentioned above, consumers would have often preferred to buy a CD for its authenticity, i.e. packaging, artwork and quality. However, now we can easily access digital music files of the same quality as a CD, as well as being able to replace the physical artwork, with digital photos. Assuming the consumer has access to a computer it makes more sense for them to easily download a file in the comfort of their own home rather than going into a shop or buying a dodgy disk from someone selling pirated material in the street. Therefore by providing the public with technology that can deliver such services, it increases the chances of piracy, particularly for those with a low income. No one should condone piracy and the law needs to stamp down on it in order to allow production and sales of media goods to grow. I believe that despite the many positive effects that piracy can have for consumers and in some cases producers the laws and legislations must find a way to deter consumers for making this their chosen way of obtaining materials, before the damages to the media industries are incurable. One solution I feel could be  effective is if the companies use some of their profits to implement a stronger key code system. Whereby each user will only be able to use materials once, therefore making it harder to duplicate and harder to pass onto to others through P2P sites. If piracy continues to take place then it can be assumed that sales will continue to decline. This makes it increasingly difficult for the businesses to survive, as a loss in sales will have a knock on effect throughout the media industry. References Bouchoux, D (2012). Intellectual Properties: The Law of Trademarks, Copyright, Patents and Trade Secrets. 4th ed. p42. Castells, M & Cardoso, G (2013). Piracy Cultures: How a Growing Portion of the Global Population is Building Media Relationships Through Alternative Channels of Obtaining Content. Portugal: University of Lisbon. Jewkes, Y & Yar, M (2013). Handbook of Internet Crime. New York: Routledge. p50. Karagins, J (2011). Media Piracy in Emerging Economies. United States of America: Social Science Research Council. p1. Lessig, L (2004). Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology And The Law To Lock Down Culture And Control Creativity. New York: The Penguin Press. p62 – 82. Panethiere, D (2005). The Persistence of Piracy: The Consequences for Creativity, for Culture, and for Sustainable Development. United Nations Educational: Scientific and Cultural Organization. p9. Tassi,P. (2012). You Will Never Kill Piracy, and Piracy Will Never Kill You. Available:http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2012/02/03/you-will-never-kill-piracy-and-piracy-will-never-kill-you/2/. RIAA. (2014). Who Music Theft Hurts. Available: https://www.riaa.com/physicalpiracy.php?content_selector=piracy_details_online. http://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A741089 http://www.go-gulf.com/blog/online-piracy/ 70% of the Public Finds Piracy Socially Acceptable 70% of the Public Finds Piracy Socially Acceptable - TorrentFreak