Are Clinical Psychologists Simply Expensive Therapists?

Are Clinical Psychologists simply expensive therapists? Discuss. Clinical Psychology is a combination of science, knowledge and theories which together formulate a scientific approach which enables a clinical psychologist to ask questions about the human experience and life and how these experiences affect people in order to treat them (Plante, 2010). The services of clinical psychologists and therapists are required when individuals are suffering with anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship and marital issues and deeper mental health issues which alter and have a negative effect on psychological well-being (Hunsley & Lee, 2010).Mental health statistics show that one in four people will experience a mental health problem at some course in a year with anxiety and depression being the most common in the UK so it is therefore no wonder that waiting lists for therapists and clinical psychologists are very long (Foundation, 2011). There are many debates as to whether clinical psychologi sts are simply expensive therapists because it has been argued that therapists and clinical psychologists offer very similar treatments, both of which are successful but with the only different being the price.This essay will investigate and aim to answer the question as to whether clinical psychologists are simply expensive therapists. This essay will look at what clinical psychologists do and who they work with and also what therapists do. It will focus on key differences between the two and the reasons why clinical psychology is more expensive and whether this cost is justified. What do Clinical Psychologists do?Clinical psychologists as with many psychologists aim to reduce, prevent and alleviate psychological distress and dysfunction in order to promote psychological well-being and to improve people’s lives. Clinical psychologists can work with a number of people across the lifespan including those suffering from anxiety problems, depression learning disabilities and als o deeper routed mental illnesses. They can work with very young children suffering with emotional or physical trauma or the elderly coming to terms with a terminal illness.They diagnose these illnesses or disorders that people are suffering with and decide on the best course of treatment. They then work alongside a medical team of Doctors so that the Doctors can then prescribe the treatment and medication that a clinical psychologist recommends (BPS, 2011). Due to the vast amount of knowledge that Clinical Psychologists have from years and years of training, they are able to carry out research which can be very important to science and change the way we view and treat certain illnesses or disorders (Allpsychologyschools, 2011).What do therapists do? Therapists also aim to reduce psychological distress and increase wellbeing. The term therapist is a very broad term for trained people to offer treatment in order to help people feel better. As with clinical psychologists they help peop le to make decisions and problem solve by offering support, guidance and clarification (Allpsychologyschools, 2011). There are many different types of therapists and they tend to work with adults with those suffering with marital and relationships problems and life problems in general (recomparison, 2011).Examples of different therapies available are; behavioural therapies which look at thought processes and behaviours, Psychodynamic therapies which investigate the unconscious and link current behaviour to traumas and events during childhood and humanistic therapies which look at the person in the current situation and how they can develop (Counsellingdirectory, 2011). Similarities and differences between clinical psychologists and therapists.From the above examples of what clinical psychologists and therapists do it is clear to see that they are very similar. In fact many people believe the terms clinical psychologist and therapist are interchangeable and therefore this essay will now look at how they are different and answer the question of whether clinical psychologists are simply expensive therapists (Tarren, 2010). One difference between clinical psychologists and therapists is the academic qualifications and training they have undergone.Clinical psychologists have a very advanced degree, usually having studied at undergraduate level, master’s level and then PhD or Doctorate level. This therefore means they have a very deep knowledge and understand of the human mind and ways to help treat people. The training they undergo enables them to function as scientist practitioners in the NHS focusing on evidence based practises unlike therapists which focus on theory based practices.Also, Therapists only have only a general degree or in some disciples no degree at all (Allpsychologyschools, 2011). It could therefore be said that clinical psychologists ought to be more expensive as they are more advanced than the typical therapist, they are able to contribu te their knowledge and understanding at a number of different levels within the healthcare system such as schools and organizations and they also contribute to a variety of roles within the healthcare system such as assessments, consultancy, intervention and treatment.However it has been suggested that clinical psychologist are vastly over priced to the point that people cannot afford to pay for their services and now many services within the NHS are looking for opportunities to create therapy posts which will employ people from other professions who have the correct post-graduate training therefore causing implications for clinical psychologist places within the NHS.The fact that many people cannot afford clinical psychologists and see them as too expensive in the current climate gives people a reason to seek therapy and help from elsewhere and therefore using therapists. Even when the economic climate returns to the way it was, people may still avoid using expensive clinical psych ologists because using therapists and alternate therapies would have been a norm for quite a while and clinical psychologists may no longer seem a necessity.To avoid this there needs to be an increase global emphasis on the importance of clinical psychologists and the unique skills and advantages that clinical psychologists supposedly have over other therapists to make them more expensive (Smith, 2006). Clinical psychologists are able to diagnose problems and why people feel certain ways, they are trained on how the mind works and therefore work very closely with doctors and psychiatrists in order to say what medications should be prescribed to help the person.They can then refer the individual for treatment or therapy with a different person (multidisciplinary). Therapists on the other hand don’t tell the individual what the problem is but rather they listen and help the individual themselves discover why they feel the way they do. They are not as advanced on how the mind wo rks but they are trained on the techniques involved in providing therapy. These are usually called ‘talking therapies’ and are promoted in the NHS (Talking Therapies, 2011). Due to the popularity of ‘talking therapies’ within the NHS, NICE believe that 10,000 ore therapists are needed, 5,000 of which should be clinical psychologists but their training should become more based on therapy, more specifically cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). CBT is a treatment which looks at the thought processes and aims to change negative, irrational thinking into more positive, realistic though processes, therefore resulting in positive personality changes and outlook on life. CBT has been proven very successful with a success rate of over 50% for anxiety sufferers and just one course of CBT can lead to 12 months free of depression (Economics, 2006).Practitioners of CBT can claim they are therefore offering NICE approved treatments and charge a lot more fees because of t his whereas other general therapists and counsellors cannot despite the fact that there has been no sufficient evidence that CBT is more effective than other therapies even though some therapies are much more effective than others (Mollon, 2010). Clinical psychologists and therapy. Clinical psychologists seem to dislike being referred to as ‘therapists’ or those who provide therapy.Eysenck (1940) was the first clinical psychologist in Britain and he attacked one form of therapy – psychotherapy; â€Å"It is our belief that training in therapy is not, and should not be, an essential part of the clinical psychologist’s training, that clinical psychology demands competence in the fields of diagnosis and/or research, but that therapy is something essentially alien to clinical psychology, and that if it is considered desirable on practical grounds that psychologists perform therapy, a separate discipline of Psychotherapist should be built up to take its place a longside that of Clinical Psychologist. Despite Eysenck’s view of this form of therapy, Smith (1977) carried out a study of clinical psychology looking at psychotherapy and found that it is effective, â€Å"someone chosen at random from the experimental group after therapy had a two-to-one chance of being better off on the measure examined than someone chosen at random from the control group†. However the study also brought about results that slightly devalue clinical psychologists by finding that the therapy was effective regardless of the therapists academic and previous experience (PhD, no degree etc) and also the type of therapy did not affect the effectiveness either.Eysenck later developed behaviour therapy based on Pavlov’s Dog and from this cognitive behavioural therapy was formed to which clinical psychologists attacked. One clinical psychologist defined CBT as â€Å"virtually anything to anyone† therefore it is not individual specific and anyone can use it therefore devaluing clinical psychologists and also devalue the context of the patient’s experience. It has been stated that people need to be cared for and respected for and valued and not just pushed into compliant with models of ‘normality’ which are handed down by psychologists and cognitive behavioural therapists (Hussain, 2006).Why clinical psychologists are expensive. If a person goes to a therapist for help then they will talk a lot more and actually help themselves through self discovery rather than the therapist helping them directly. A clinical psychologist however, you pay for help that is specific to your needs, you gain an accurate diagnosis which can help you understand your problems and also you can be prescribed medications because clinical psychologists work in tandem with doctors and psychiatrists (Allpsychologyschools, 2011).Clinical psychologists are indeed very expensive and they are also paid a significant amount more than thera pists, sometimes up to ? 100,000 they are paid if they are for example a consultant clinical psychologist. This different in salary has caused a vast amount of rivalry amongst the profession especially with those who offer psychological therapies whom believe that the pay difference is unjustified especially since a lot of the treatment and service is very similar (NIMHE, 2007).Despite some people believing the two terms are interchangeable and therapists believing they offer a very similar service, it is not necessarily true. Indeed clinical psychologists aim to reduce psychological distress as with therapists, however clinical psychologists have been through a rigorous education system to gain a much deeper understanding and knowledge which gives them the ability to work in a multidisciplinary team and also the ability to operate across a variety of therapeutic models so that a patient receives individual specific treatment tailored to them.Therapists however are trained in their specific therapy and will usually only offer this one therapy to patients. Turpin (2009) said that clinical psychologist service is dependent on a much high level of knowledge, skills and competences rather than the provision of good quality evidence based therapies and this is why they are more expensive because these skills and competences are part of the clinical psychology curriculum and training with other therapists will not come into contact with.Overall there is great controversy as to whether clinical psychologists are simply expensive therapists. Nick Serieys, a CBT therapist argued against the NICE decision to employ 10,000 new therapists, 50% of which should be clinical psychologists. He argues that there is no sufficient evidence that clinical psychologists are more effective than CBT therapists who are counsellors, occupational therapists and so on and the only different being is that they are very expensive in comparison (Hussain, 2006).In contrary, Jeremy Halstead, a lead consultant clinical Psychologist believes that clinical psychologists are rightly more expensive than other therapists, arguing that clinical psychologists offer a much better deal as therapists due to their ability to formulate problems from a variety of perspectives and theories therefore they are more flexible in their approach and can tailor more individual specific treatment (Hussain, 2006). I believe that clinical psychologists are simply just expensive therapists, but rightly so.Clinical Psychologists go through years of extensive training as previously mentioned and have a significantly greater depth of knowledge in order to work in multidisciplinary teams and to link their knowledge for diagnosis and treatment across many topics, whereas therapists are trained in how to provide an individual therapist and do now have a greater knowledge of the underlying reasons why a person may need therapy. Clinical psychologists however do have this knowledge and work with doctors in order to ensure they are prescribed the right medicines.Therefore although clinical psychologists and therapists may appear to do very similar work, clinical psychologists have a greater depth of knowledge in order to treat, diagnose and also the skills to carry out research and are very flexible compared to therapists who do have a vast amount of knowledge but in the area of just therapy. References Allpsychologyschools. (2011). Therapist vs. Psychologist. Retrieved 04 05, 2011, from All Psychology Schools: www. allpsychologyschools. com/psychology-careers/article/therapist-psychologis

Colors Tv Report

Colors TV Channel – Study of Marketing Strategy Presented By: Group 2 Gourav Dokania – 10P078 Rahul Kaushal – 10P100 Saaransh Malani – 10P106 Shalabh Arora – 10P109 Shivi Goel -10P112 Tisa Annie Paul – 10P117 Vivek Mogili – 10P120 Contents Introduction:3 Television environment: a brief study4 Marketing environment:4 The Genesis – The Launch and its effects7 The Silver Lining10 MARKET ENTRY STRATEGIES OF COLORS (PRE-LAUNCH)10 PROMOTION STRATEGIES for the launch:12 Analysing Colors based on marketing framework15 SWOT Analysis:17 Marketing Mix:18 Analyzing consumer behavior and developing targeting strategies:19 ADVERTISING POLICIES21 AD rates and Sources of Revenues:22 DISTRIBUTION POLICIES OF COLORS23 Pricing Policy24 INTERNATIONAL FORAY24 Areas of concern:25 Introduction: As part of our second project in Marketing Planning course, we would like to present a comprehensive study regarding the Colors TV channel. As part of the study, we would like to cover the following points: 1. The marketing environment revolving around TV channels in general This is divided into three parts during the course of the report: †¢ Pre-liberalization environment The immediate post-liberalization phase †¢ The environment preceding the launch of Colors channel †¢ The present marketing environment 2. The consumer target segment and their behaviour during the above phases 3. The launch strategies followed by Colors TV 4. The analysis of Colors TV channel based on various marketing frameworks Below are the frameworks, we would like to base our study on: †¢ SWOT analysis †¢ 5 C’s framework 5. The product and marketing strategies followed by the channel 6. The segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies as applicable. The study and analysis is backed by an online survey 7. The pricing policies taking into account the revenue model and AD rates 8. The distribution policies followed by the channel 9. Recommendations and conclusions Television environment: a brief study We will start our study by briefly explaining what we mean by a marketing environment and will then proceed to study the marketing environment of TV channels as discussed in the phases above. We will specifically focus our study in Hindi General Entertainment Channels. Marketing environment: A marketing environment consists of actors and forces outside the organization that affect management’s ability to build and maintain relationships with target customers. Two kinds of classification can be made: †¢ Microenvironment: actors close to the companies that affect its ability to serve its customers. †¢ Macroenvironment: larger societal forces that affect the microenvironment. Two points are worth noting at this stage: †¢ Studying the environment allows marketers to take advantage of opportunities as well as to combat threats. †¢ Marketing intelligence and research are used to collect information about the environment. Doordarshan era: Indian small screen programming started majorly in the early 1980s. At that time there was only one national channel Doordarshan, which was government owned. By the late 1980s more and more people started to own television sets. Though there was a single channel, television programming had reached saturation. Hence the government opened up another channel which had part national programming and part regional. This channel was known as DD 2 later DD Metro. Both channels were broadcast terrestrially. Liberalization era: In 1992, the government liberated the industry by opening them up to cable television. Five new channels belonging to the Hong Kong-based STAR TV gave Indians a fresh breath of life. MTV, STAR Plus, Star Movies, BBC, Prime Sports and STAR Chinese Channel were the 5 channels. Zee TV was the first private owned Indian channel to broadcast over cable. A few years later CNN, Discovery Channel and National Geographic Channel made their foray into India. Star expanded its bouquet introducing STAR World, STAR Sports, ESPN, Channel V and STAR Gold. Regional channels flourished along with a multitude of Hindi channels and a few English channels. By 2001 HBO and History Channel were the other international channels to enter India. By 1999–2003, other international channels such as Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, VH1, Disney and Toon Disney came into foray. In 2003 news channels started to boom. The most recent channels that have come up are UTV Movies, UTV Bindass, Zoom, Colours, 9X and 9XM. The growth post-liberalization: Starting with 41 sets in 1962 and one channel, by 1991 TV in India covered more than 70 million homes giving a viewing population of more than 400 million individuals through more than 100 channels. As per the TAM Annual Universe Update – 2010, India now has over 134 million households (out of 223 million) with television sets, of which over 103 million have access to Cable TV or Satellite TV, including 20 million households are DTH subscribers. In Urban India, 85% of all households have a TV and over 70% of all households have access to Satellite, Cable or DTH services. TV owning households have been growing at between 8-10%, while growth in Satellite/Cable homes exceeded 15% and DTH subscribers grew 28% over 2009. It is also estimated that India now has over 500 TV channels covering all the main languages spoken in the nation. A cursory glance at the TV offerings show the kind of diversity that Indian society has –channels for not just different languages, but also serving different niches within the broad umbrella of entertainment, spirituality, news, music & movies. The volatile tastes of India’s TV audience leads to ratings volatility and viewership fragmentation which can put pressure on ad rates, as ad volumes and rates are unlikely to move up simultaneously. Rising ad volumes will dent ad rates; hence, incumbents could see slower top-line growth. In addition we have analyzed the following factors – 1) Lack of entry barriers bringing new competition The pace at which channels are being launched is alarming and indicates the lack of significant entry barriers in television, compared to the stickiness of other media, such as print, where persuading readers to switch to another paper is not as easy as flipping channels. General entertainment channels command a 40% share of the total advertisement pie and have an estimated ad market size of US$1bn and have seen an increase in serious competition over the past few quarters, driven by new launches from entities funded by private equity investors and international media conglomerates 2) Building scale is critical, but could dent earnings momentum The entire broadcast sector wants to expand, as only companies with well-diversified exposure, a broad range of channels and control of strategic assets are well-positioned to fend off competition. This also ensures that advertisers are offered a spectrum of media choices, leading to growth through higher addressable ad volumes and reduced sensitivity to ad rates. This comes at a cost; however, as earnings performance deteriorates during the transition phase, when expansion TV18 is diversifying into unrelated assets, which could lead to significant losses in the initial phase due to lack of immediate synergies and the learning curve, required for reaching breakeven point. 3) Deviation in ad revenues as per the market conditions Research suggests a slowdown in economy directly affects the ad revenues being generated. While a worsening competitive environment, lower liquidity in financial markets and high interest rates can lead to a tough operating environment for broadcasters, we believe that strong market growth and pay revenue streams will ensure their survival of these channels in the near term. 4) Expect acceleration in organized pay revenues Expert estimate India’s organized subscriber base to expand at a 36% CAGR over the next three years, while the unorganized subscription pie is expected to witness a sharp contraction (-7% CAGR) due to ongoing efforts to switch customers onto the organized network. Subscription revenues directly add to profitability and should help broadcasters balance out margins pressure from competition and rising costs. The Genesis – The Launch and its effects Alliance formation between Network 18 Group and Viacom Inc. In May of 2007, the Network 18 Group and Viacom Inc, a New York-based global entertainment content company announced the creation of a 50:50 joint venture operation in India called Viacom 18. The strategic alliance includes television, film and digital media content across numerous brands to build India’s leading multi-platform entertainment company. Launch of Colors TV Channel In-spite of the tough competition and neither partner having any experience in operating a Hindi-language entertainment channel, Studio18, a new-age motion picture brand that produces, acquires and distributes Hindi films launched the Hindi General Entertainment Channel – COLORS on 21st June, 2008. Face Off Against a Decade Long Legacy of Star TV Colors TV Channel was the eleventh entrant into a market space that was already over-crowded and extremely competitive. Not only that, the battle for leadership in this market, which happened to be the Hindi general entertainment genre, the biggest segment in terms of both the viewership share as well as advertising revenue potential, on television had already been fought and won. The Hindi GEC space was dominated by Star plus, Zee and Sony. According to television audience measurement agency TAM Media research, four weeks prior to the launch of the channel, that is in June 2008, Star Plus was the clear leader with 351 GRPs, followed by Zee TV with 226 GRPs and Sony at number three with 102 GRPs. Intense Rivalry for the Second Spot Those at the middle and the bottom rung were not in a comfortable zone either. The other close rivals, Zee TV and Sony Entertainment Television, had been fighting tooth and nail to claim the number two slot but none could hold it for too long. Other New Entrants had Failed Most importantly, the industry response to some new entrants such as 9X and NDTV Imagine had not been too encouraging. And surprisingly, all other channels preceding and succeeding Colors had performed dismally. Colors’ immediate predecessor NDTV Imagine was far from breaking into the top three exclusive club and other new entrants such as 9X and Real, launched by Alva Brothers, of Miditech fame (the television content production company behind popular shows such as Roadies) and Turner International were struggling to keep themselves going. Colors TV Channel exceeded the general expectation setting new records Taking the above factors into account, Colors’ entry in this scenario did not seem like a sound business decision to most in the industry. Most industry watchers wrote it off even before they switched it on. The viewership ratings post-launch: [pic][pic] The viewership ratings after one year of launch [pic] [pic] ? Colors showed the maximum increase in viewership in the seven months preceding its launch. Its launch had expanded the GEC pie by 37%, maximum of which was taken by Colors as seen by the table below: [pic] ? Within 10 weeks Colors managed to gain more than 100 advertisers. The awareness transcended into unprecedented loyalty [pic] The Silver Lining In the past, it has taken a channel six to nine years to break even. Colors, according to the industry watchers, will be breaking even by end of 2010. MARKET ENTRY STRATEGIES OF COLORS (PRE-LAUNCH) 1) Colors – Jasbaat Ke Rang COLORS' is a positioned as a blend of 'emotions' and ‘variety', COLORS promises to offer an entire spectrum of emotions to the viewers that is well captured in its tagline – ‘Jasbaat Ke Rang'. The vibrant colours and leaf design used in the logo brought a new fresh perspective along with. 2) Use of existing network of Network 18 to market Colors Viacom 18 left no stone unturned to market Colors either. For a start, it made a smart use of Network 18’s news channels to cross promote the entertainment channel. 3) Not popularizing fiction shows before the launch To avoid confusing the viewer, it also cleverly pushed only its high-wattage show, and Akshay Kumar. In contrast, 9x advertised all its fiction shows during its launch. Akshay Kumar actually worked almost like a brand ambassador for Colors without the channel really having to rope him in that role. The star’s face helped the channel cut through the clutter. ) Deploying the falling popularity of K serials They also benefited from Star Plus’ own lethargy towards taking quick action against the falling popularity of its K-serials (the family soaps produced by content production house Balaji Telefilms. Since the titles of most shows produced by the company began with letter, K, they were referred to as K-serials) 5) Offering of differentiated TV programs The iron was hot to be stroked. While the popularity of s aas-bahu serials had been falling, Colors came out with a fresh and diversified mix. At one hand was Indian version of Fear Factor hosted by Akshay Kumar and at the other hand was Balika Vadhu based on the female oppression in India. Then, mythological serials, coming after a huge break greatly attracted the viewers. Mothers who were hooked on the Saas-bahu serials started switching channels during the break to check on what stunts the ravishing girls were doing on a particular episode of Khatron Ke Khiladi. The tendency to sneak into Colors Channel gradually developed into a habit for these folks and soon most of them were hooked on to Colors for their daily dose of entertainment in the evening. ) Roping in celebrities like Akshay Kumar To be sure, every aspect of Colors’ launch, be it the distribution, marketing or content had been well thought through. The channel started with only four hours of original programming but it got a competent viewership driver in the form of Khatron Ke Khiladi (KKK), which was hosted by Bollywood hottie Akshay Kumar. Akshay Kum ar was at his prime at that time. Bringing him to the small screen was sure to bring in eyeballs. It was, therefore, a good programming strategy. 7) Different days and timing of airing the programs The reality show Fear Factor was actually aired in Weekdays. Colors’ content head Ashwini Yarde, formerly at Zee, says the channel took a major risk in introducing an action-packed, male-skewed reality show with Akshay Kumar (and 13 daring pretty young things) on weekdays between 10 and 11 pm. It experimented with reality on week days against the popular trend of airing such shows during weekends. Also, it went against the tide as the 10-11 pm slot was historically oriented towards women-centric serials such as Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki and Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. The shows in 7-10 pm band were targeted at kids and non-metros and then at 10pm, they had Fear Factor, which was targeted mainly at metro audience PROMOTION STRATEGIES for the launch: The launch of Colors has seen the most innovative and all-medium encompassing strategy, yet to be seen in this competitive and cluttered space. 1) Tie up with Mumbai Dabbawalas The team also tied up with the famous 250,000 dabbawallahs of Mumbai to plaster the channel’s and its various shows’ logos and snapshots on the tiffin boxes that are distributed among people across the city. 2) Tie up with Barista Lavazza They launched Khatron Ke Khiladi limited edition coffee in association retail chain Barista Lavazza. It was for the first time, a television channel had done such exciting campaigns for itself. 3) Public Relations It was the massive public relations exercise that put Colors on the GEC map. The channel focused sharply on editorial support and ensured that it generated enough reports on the channel. For Bigg Boss, we picked newsmakers and the single-line brief was how these people should be able to move the coverage of Colors from the entertainment pages to the front pages of newspapers ) Real time viewer involvement In a bid to attract and retain viewer interest, GECs are increasingly letting viewers get more and more involved with their various offerings – from selecting the name of a show to deciding on the lead protagonist after a leap in time. Colors’ show ‘Balika Vadhu’ is set to take a time leap and the channel is letting the viewers decide on which of the three actresses shown should become the grown up Anandi, one of television’s most popular characters. Viewers can vote for the new Anandi via SMS. 5) Healthy replacements of programs When KKK went off air after 16 weeks, it was replaced by Bigg Boss, the â€Å"highly-controversial† (by design, say media experts) show hosted by Shilpa Shetty, which is averaging a healthy TVR of 2. 8. 6) Live Hoardings Live hoarding in 20 cities were run for three days to promote another big-ticket show Bigg Boss. 7) Planning to enter merchandising At present, advertising and subscription are the two main sources of revenue for the channel, but the team is contemplating an entry into the merchandising space within the next one year. ) To begin with, it has used all media such as TV, radio, print, websites, mobiles, movie theaters and outdoor for promoting the channel. It has placed  1300 hoardings and launched road shows  across the country. 9) For a more concentrated campaign,  3000 taxis in Mumbai and 2000 auto rickshaws  in small towns along with  local trains and school buses  have been painted with Colors brand. 10) Along with this 65000 ad spots are booked on TV while 15 million SMS have been send across all telecom operators. 11) At  Big Bazaar  stores, helpers and counter-guys are wearing  Colors T-shirts  and giving out information about the channel. 2) In  McDonald’s,  the Colors brand is present on the menu while Fear Factor Khataron Ke Khiladi merchandise is available at  Pantaloons  and McDonalds. 13) For program specific advertising,  Colors has tied up with ISKCON  for promoting its mythological show Jai Sri Krishna at all ISKCON temples. Also, 1000 temples across Hindi speaking states are being used to promote the show by putting banners on banner stalls and giving Krishna merchandise, literature and calendars. 14) For the show Mohe Rang De, Colors has chosen Punjab and Delhi to  organise street plays  as these plays were the maximum witness to freedom struggle. We can summarise the communication strategies based on the the 6 M’s Model of communication: Market General Public MissionTo generate Curiosity about the channel & shows MessageWatch Colors Media TV, Newspapers, Hoardings, Dabbawalas, SMS MoneySpent more than Rs. 50 crore on initial promotion Measurement Initial viewership The marketing and communication strategies seemed to be quite aggressive and innovative but ultimately it was the programming quality and show placement which established its positioning in the Indian television space. Analysing Colors based on marketing framework In this section, we would be looking after the strategizing, segmentation, targeting, positioning of Colors based on established marketing frameworks: 5 C’s of marketing: Collaborators: †¢ Colors channel is a joint venture operation in India between Viacom Inc. and Network18 Group. †¢ Colors, earlier a free to air (FTA) channel, has recently gone pay. †¢ Paid 5-10 % more than the others on cable distribution so that Colors sat between the prime channels †¢ MSM Discovery Private Limited (â€Å"MSMD†) is the designated agent to distribute Colors in India as part of the coveted â€Å"TheOneAlliance† (â€Å"TOA†) bouquet. †¢ IPL ties up with Colors Competitors: †¢ Major competitors: Star Plus, Zee and Sony †¢ Power in the hands of the cable operator †¢ Pay carriage fee to view a channel Company: †¢ Product lines : fiction, mythology, reality †¢ Image in the market: entered as a challenger, now leader †¢ Skills: innovative content, disruptive scheduling †¢ Goal: to be a profitable market leader Customers: †¢ Created thought provoking subject-based shows like Balika Vadhu, Uttaran and Na Ana Is Des Laado †¢ Reality shows with a difference like Khatron Ke Khiladi, Big Boss and now the latest BINGO †¢ Gives the viewers an expanded choice Scientific scheduling for eg: Balika Vadhu (multiple entry points) Context: †¢ Political issues: notice was sent to Colors Channel for allegedly portraying the character of a district magistrate in negative light in the serial. †¢ Social Issues: shocking scenes of a girl child being immersed in a big bowl of milk , created a social outburs t †¢ Extra working hours of the children SWOT Analysis: Strengths †¢ Shows from all walks of life †¢ A fresh outlook on everything New themes and Ideas Weakness †¢ Strong competitors †¢ A new channel with teething problems †¢ Trying to capture an already captivated part of audience Opportunity A lot of untapped market †¢ A new generation with different taste in TV †¢ Brand Loyalty in Indians Threats †¢ Failure †¢ Immediate acceptance †¢ Difficulty in looking for new grounds †¢ Copy Cats Marketing Mix: Product †¢ Innovative Daily soaps touching altogether different emotional buds of women viewers Price †¢ Prices offered to advertisers were very attractive as the channel got more than 100 advertisers within 2 months of its launch Place †¢ Viacom18 is said to have given away Rs 100 crore as carriage fee for a year to get the best band for its channel Promotion Innovative promotion Analyzing consumer behavior and developing targeting strategies: The TV consumer of today, unlike that of the Doordarshan era is exposed to various programs and content formats. With profusion of interactive social media, all kinds of TV shows, movies, user generated content, nation and culture specific content is available at a click. Again with increasing march towards a global economy, retail boom in the form of super markets, increasing foray of global brands and culture, the young consumer of today is vastly different from the old. They are more demanding, time-pressed, seek instant gratification and look for fresh content. IPTV is the future of TV industry. At the same time, any GEC cannot ignore the women-centric content and in a nation of diversity and high religious sensibilities, mythological content too is needed. We try to understand these and various other factors to understand the consumer behavior central to Colors in particular and Hindi GEC in general. TARGETING †¢ Identification of markets with unfulfilled needs and trying to tap them. Some examples include socially sensitive issues, mythology & saas-bahu serials with a difference †¢ Discovering segments on the basis of consumer characteristics and ascertaining their potential. Colors has very aptly identified the difference between ‘Bharat’ and ‘India’ and designed contents to appeal to both. †¢ Differentiating product offering from competitors – Colors has successfully offered and marketed differentiated content with intelligent scheduling. Also they have been very quick in striking deals with latest Bollywood movies. We will look at the differentiation strategy in detail in the following sections. Creating a distinctive positioning in the minds of consumers – A mixture of both program content and promotional strategies has really situated the brand as one appealing to both youth and the family and created an image of one with the freshest perspective. SEGMENTATION The various parameters on which the market can be segmented is : Age †¢ 15-24 years – They are the key viewers especially in single family households. Reality and youth shows have really appealed to this section. †¢ Lady of the house – She is attracted to fiction and afternoon slots are designed keeping their tastes in mind Urban/Rural Target Bharat – The target is skewed towards smaller towns with 7-9 pm slots. †¢ India – Metro-centric focus in slots of 9-10 pm. Product Offerings: Having the segment and their behavior in mind, let us look at the major product offerings clubbed under three heads: †¢ Fiction: eg. Balika Vadhu,Uttaran, Na aana iss des laado †¢ Reality shows: eg. Khatron ke Khiladi, Big boss, National Bingo night †¢ Mythology: Jai shri Krishna, Mahavir hanuman Differentiation: The following table list some factors which has helped Colors differentiate itself from the other GECs | Other channels |Colors | |Started with regular fiction shows |Yes |No | |Starte d with 2 reality shows with a bang |No |Yes | |Promoted only 1 show on launch |No |Yes (KKK) | |Brand Ambassador |Mostly No |Yes | |Started socially sensitive shows |No |Yes | |Reality shows on weekends |Yes |No | Positioning: Positioning is how the brand is situated in the perceptual space of the consumer. So it is their perception which is of paramount importance here and not the intended position. So to understand the positioning it was essential that we go to the consumers. We floated an online survey to understand the perception consumers have of various Hindi GECs across various parameters. But still to get the other perspective we list below some intended positioning factors driving Colors: ? Colors. An arbitrary name at first glance, this is a self-descriptive. The use of the plural form itself distinguishes itself as a general entertainment channel – one which caters to multiple audiences. This is further emphasized by its tagline ‘Jasbaat Ke Rang’ (The colours of emotion) – which promises the shows that will target the entire spectrum of viewers. ? The logo also provides some intended positioning insights. In every society yellow is associated with the sun – and hence optimism, warmth and happiness. Pink is youthful, fun and exciting. Purple, a mix of the passionate red and tranquil blue, evokes mystery, spirituality and sentimentality. The leaf motif, is a connection to earth and a acknowledgment of roots and natural origin. The Viacom 18 rejoinder at the bottom of the logo indicates an effort by the promoters to promote the parent brand (something they have not done with their other offerings: MTV, Nick and VH1). Usually the name of such an established parent adds to the credibility of the offering and in this case also reflects the aggression and pace with which the brand plans to march ahead. ? The tagline of the channel is ‘Jasbaat Ke Rang’ signifying the universal appeal of its programmes. ADVERTISING POLICIES After the product, its promotion and even the distribution has been put in place, comes the question of earning the bread and butter. In India, more than 80% of most television channels’ revenues come from advertising. Colors TV Channel was launched at a time when global economic downturn had already set in and it had begun to impact the Indian market as well. †¢ Advertisers had begun holding their purse strings tight. Yet, within weeks of its launch, the channel had most premium advertisers on board. †¢ One thing that the team at Colors responsible for raising advertising was clear about was: It would not sell its ad slots cheap even if it meant, not getting any advertising. †¢ To sell advertising inventory in the kind of market that C olors stepped in wasn’t easy. There were rivals who were ready to cut their rates to wean away advertisers and the economic scenario also wasn’t too encouraging. They had done their home work before they stepped into the market. They did a lot of number crunching, decided on some rates and held on to them. Demanding premium rates may have been rendered easier by the good work done by the channel’s content creation team. They actually went in with lower inventories and did not sign the deals till they got their price. AD rates and Sources of Revenues: In general, the AD rates for various TV News channels range from Rs 2,500 to Rs. 8,000 and for the popular shows on GECs like Star, Zee, Sony the range will be from 1. 5 to 3 lakhs. These rates are for a ten second slot and they vary too as per the volume, duration, past records of the media buying agencies and advertisers. But as we have seen in the discussion above, Colors so far has successfully commanded premium rates. †¢ Brands such as Garnier Men Deodorant, Vodafone, Micromax Mobiles, Tic Tac (from Italy's Ferrero Group) and Sony Bravia are riding on Khatron Ke Khiladi (KKK3)–a stunt reality show. †¢ Title sponsorship for high-decibel celebrity shows–such as Bigg Boss to be anchored by Salman Khan on Colors fetch '15-20 crore. †¢ Associate sponsorships for such shows are kept at 7-8 crore †¢ Celebrity backed reality shows command higher rates than soaps †¢ On average, a 10-second ad spot on a top-rated reality show sold for between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakh compared with the Rs 1-1. lakh a spot of similar length that's sold for a TV soap †¢ Another revenue earning mode in reality TV this year was in-branding of products in the shows. Networks usually charge a 200-300 per cent premium above regular advertising rates for product placements in reality shows. On offer are: passive product shots (with no interaction with the brand); an active placement (with limited interaction or activity around the brand); or a hyperactive placement (an aggressive use of product) in the show. Charges 5 to 10 lakhs DISTRIBUTION POLICIES OF COLORS As per a Delhi-based cable operator, â€Å"Distribution, in fact, is the most crucial element to the success of a television channel in today’s time,† says. A channel may have the best of content and it may burn a huge amount of money in promoting it, but if the channel doesn’t reach viewers, which means if the distribution is not in place, all these efforts will yield a naught. † Colors TV Channel has handled the distribution conundrum very well. Using its sharp distribution plan, Colors reached 36. 4 million viewers in its launch week. By end of 2009, Colors claims to have the maximum reach with 72. 5 million viewers in the GEC space . Promotional policies followed by Colors on its l aunch: †¢ It was an encrypted pay channel with a free-to-air window for first six months †¢ This was done to allow its viewers to sample it and be noticed Colors also distributed its channel by itself as gives them more flexibility in their operations. †¢ They planned to be seen in over 50 per cent of the cable homes from day one †¢ They were also to be present across the existing and the new direct-to-home (DTH) platforms. †¢ It was also encrypted on BizAsia. co. uk and hence increased its penetration throughout the world †¢ It is also available on Sky Digital channel 829. The channel in the UK and USA is being endorsed by Bollywood legend, Amitabh Bachchan. †¢ Viacom’s distribution strategy can be held to be 99 per cent responsible for the success of Colors. †¢ Colors have given away Rs 100 crore as carriage fee for a year to get the best band for its channel. Its budget was clearly much higher than the Rs 40-60 crore that NDTV Imagine and 9x reportedly invested in distribution. †¢ On 1st April, 2009, Colors’ became a paid channel, and its viewership fell. It lost market share from 298 GRPs to 292 but overall with a sustained rise in its share, it managed to beat Star Plus in the week ended 11 April, 2009 Pricing Policy 1. Colors charge around Rs21 each, excluding 10% service tax and it paid a hefty carriage fee of more than Rs90 crore to distributors when it was launched INTERNATIONAL FORAY †¢ On 21 January 2010, Colors became available on Dish Network in the US, where it is called Aapka Colors (Respectfully your Colors) because of a clash with Colours TV. Amitabh Bachchan served as brand ambassador for the UK and USA launches. †¢ Colors launched in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Sky on 25 January 2010. On 9 December 2009, INX Media confirmed that Colors had bought 9XM's Sky EPG slot on channel 829 and on 5 January 2010, Colors secured a deal to join the VIEWASIA subscription package. EPG tests began on 4 January 2010 using the 9XM stream, followed by Colors' own video and audio on 8 January. Initially the channel was available free-to-air and then subsequently was added to the VIEWASIA package on 19 April 2010. FIRST IN INTERNET TELEVISION †¢ â€Å"Colors† is the first ever global launch of an entertainment channel on IPTV. With colors, Viacom 18 has made its foray into the IPTV sector which will certainly be one of the biggest distribution mediums, with worldwide reach, in the near future. †¢ The launch has been made possible by a partnership between Viacom 18 and The New Media Group which owns â€Å"World-On- demand† IPTV platform. According to Sanjev Hiremath, Sr. Vice President, Network Development, and Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Ltd. Areas of concern: Despite the positive hype and sustained interest in its offerings, the reach of Colors in India is almost as wide as that of its competitors. Falling viewership shares 443 GRPs! That’s a number you usually associate with a channel that airs a cricketing extravaganza like the ‘Indian Premier League’ or the cricket world cup. However, this staggering number belongs to Star Plus that has extended its supremacy over other channels. Colors stands a distant second with 271 GRPS, followed by Zee TV (231) and Sony (125), according to the TAM data week 25 (June 13-19). [pic]Buzz up! Buzz up! The 443 GRPs is the highest by a Hindi GEC in the last 159 weeks. The previous record was held by the same channel too. The path ahead: 1. Maintain/increase market share 2. Continue with innovative content 3. Collaborate with diverse content providers from other countries to design and introduce new format shows and serials. 4. Exclusive screening of tele- films, short films at a particular slot to cater to a niche audience

“Connected, but Alone” TED Talk

The TED talk, â€Å"Connected, but alone† by Sherry Turkle talks about how big of an influence technology had become in our generation and how it changed our social interaction. Sherry Turkle talked about how we turn to our phones or other gadgets to have a feeling of acceptance, companionship and interaction. She elucidated in her speech that people nowadays neglect social interaction with others around them and would rather tap away on their phones. She ended her speech hoping that technology can bring people back to the real world and connect us all with each other. I do agree that technology connected us to the world enabling us to learn more about the things around but in the long run, cultivated a feeling of isolation in us. Technology had connected us to the rest of the world but not with each other. At this day and age, technology had become a primary necessity for us. Professionals, students, employees or anyone rely mostly on technology to make their work easier for them. It is continuously developing and improving to make new inventions or improve old ones. Technology has done a lot of good things for us especially for Filipinos. It is not new for Filipinos to have at least one family member as an OFW and we find it hard to communicate with them regularly which is one of the problems that technology has fixed. Now, we can talk to anyone in the world no matter how far they are for us, for free. But even with these good benefits, we often tend to isolate ourselves from the real world and ignore the things or people around us. I can relate to this because as a teenager who grew up with computers and gadgets, I also feel that sometimes, since I can do everything in the internet, I would just stay in the house and tap away on my phone. Sometimes people would attend parties or other formal gatherings to interact with friends or family but now, some are just doing it to take pictures to post on Facebook or Instagram, flaunting their outfits to get a lot of â€Å"likes† which has now become a measure of confidence for some people. Families would sit around the dining table but instead of talking to each other about how their days went, everyone would be on their gadgets. We are also introduced to â€Å"virtual friends†, or people we find online and chat with them. While this is also a good example of how technology has made communication easier for us, when we actually feel the need to talk to someone personally and want to be around people, we feel lonely because we spent too much time online instead going out and meet up with friends. Sherry Turkle ended the TED talk by saying that we need to focus on the ways that technology can lead us back to our real lives. While technology brought about a lot of innovations to make work easier for humans, we must not completely rely on it and we must experience the world in real life and not just through a screen. Overall, the TED talk was effective and accurately describes how our generation utilizes technology for communication. I hope that this TED talk may serve as a wake-up call to not lose our connection with people in the real world and use technology to further improve communication without completely disregarding actual and real-life interaction.

Research Paper Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Research Paper - Article Example The causes of the rising costs are due to aging population and cost of new and modern treatments. Inefficiencies in delivery of healthcare also play a role in rising costs (Reisman, 2010). Healthcare science has rapidly progressed than the ability of managing the systems of healthcare. Patients are the main determinants of directional flow of health care, with the need to get quality and affordable treatment. Economic constraints to offer quality care lead to the need for healthcare institutions to design mechanism to meet the needs of patients. Efficient healthcare systems guarantee affordable, timely, and quality care (Bookman, 2007). Global difference with regard to price among hospitals is brought about by the service rendered quality, health and government policies in respective countries, technology used, wage bill and time. Hospitals, especially in the United States have a high cost mainly due to government policies that has made health sector expensive. Insurance is also unaffordable form many Americans. Hospitals that use state of art technology tend to be more expensive than the ones without. The payments for physicians and doctors also determine the cost in different hospitals. Doctors in America are highly paid than any other doctors. Some patients who need privacy need hospitals that are suitable to them for discrete procedures. Such hospitals tend to charge higher for such services. These are the major factors determining the difference in prices of hospitals globally According to Vick (2010), flow of patient represents the ability of systems of healthcare to serve patients efficiently and quickly as they pass through the various care stages. Working system ensures the sick flow like a river, indicating that every step of care completes with little delays. In a broken system, patients build up like a reservoir. This is seen in chronic delays especially in many emergency

Application of Concept Analysis to Clinical Practice Essay

Application of Concept Analysis to Clinical Practice - Essay Example Some of the concepts that are related to nursing are health, nursing, parenting, coping, and managed care. A concept analysis is thus the primary action in communicating variables such as meanings, understandings and feelings. A concept is usually considered to be a measurable variable in a hypothesis, assumption, or proposition. â€Å"Nursing has traditionally valued processes of concept analysis for the identification of concepts suitable for subsequent research and as a means to determine the appropriate methodologies for investigating the concept of interest† (Penrod & Hupcey, 2004, p. 403). Shaun M. Ryles in his article ‘a concept analysis of empowerment: its relationship to mental health nursing’ had used the evolutionary concept analysis of Rodgers by clarifying the concept of ‘empowerment’ and the concept comparison of Morse in which the meaning of competing concepts are clarified. â€Å"Empowerment is described by Gibson (1991) as a composit e of three factors: attributes that relate to the client; attributes that relate to the nurse; and those that relate to the client and nurse† (Ryder, 2001). The evolutionary concept is used to clarify the term empowerment and this is done through the analysis of the characteristics of the term empowerment. ... Empowerment as a concept aroused from the movements of political awareness of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. The concept was used in the movement for raising the political awareness among the people of the community. Thus the term empowerment is used in this article so as to raise the self awareness among the nurses as a result of empowerment. Empowerment is thus considered to be important so that they are capable of recognizing and fulfilling their individual responsibility and become accountable. The political willingness of the nurses is found to be meagre and it is said to be the result of the circumstances like subservient and deferential culture in which the nursing had grown. The lack of empowerment may further lead to tension and conflict which will have negative impact on the health care environment. â€Å"From these characteristics one can suggest that as a means of unifying the concept, empowerment can be seen as having a continuum that begins with an awa reness of something tangible, usually a deficit, and then proceeds to a point at which the actors feel this has been corrected† (Ryles, 1999, p. 602). Based on the literature, author divided the concept of empowerment into two models: Psychological model and community or political model. The psychological model is related to the humanistic approach to nursing practice giving emphasis to self-awareness and personal growth. The psychological model gives the path to the empowerment through the relationships. Thus it is related to the closeness of the people. The political model which is influenced by the humanistic perspective gives emphasis to the concept of synergy. The political model gives importance to the development of political consciousness. It is been made clear that the

3,000-word individual report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

3,000-word individual report - Essay Example They are investing in foreign countries to explore potential resources existing in these nations. They use innovative business strategies to enhance the profitability of business and quality of products and services offered to the customers. Undoubtedly, this improves the competitive advantage of the company and helps it to acquire a competitive position in the market. To develop a better understanding of globalisation and its impact on contemporary business environment; an in-depth analysis of business environment of China will be conducted. This analysis will help to identify the motivational factors as well as the obstructions faced by the international company. This analysis will also assist in understanding features of national innovation system existing in China’s automobile sector which help to attract high amount of foreign direct investment. And finally, the strategy to be followed by Volkswagen will be discussed to introduce innovation in the existing business process. This report basically discusses the globalisation strategy to be selected by one of the well know international brand, Volkswagen for expanding its business. The company was established in 1937 by the Nazi trade union in Germany. The term â€Å"Volkswagen† means â€Å"peoples car†. With time, the company diversified its market and became an international brand (Volkswagen). As per the market data, Volkswagen has a dominant position in China. In the second quarter of 2010, China was the most profitable market of Volkswagen (Cremer, 2010). The data published by the company reflects a sharp increase of â‚ ¬172m in operating profit during Q3 in China market (Schà ¤fe, 2010). From January 2010 to September 2010, the company performed well in China, registering a stupendous growth both in terms of volume and profitability. In the last three quarters, Volkswagen sold 1.48 million cars in China; a growth of 39 percent on y-o-y basis. This

Paper 3 (The Final) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Paper 3 (The Final) - Essay Example Lady Gaga has been a trendsetter in fashion and beauty for several years to date. Her photo to be featured in this paper and the way it was presented is similar to how she portrayed herself in public – deviant and trendsetter. Beyonce, on the other hand, has been a role model of popular culture for more than a decade now. She depicts talent and beauty that most young people look up to and desired to be. These two personalities in their own ways set the standards for beauty and define what popular culture is. By this, my paper will try to evaluate the effect of popular culture in people’s perception of beauty. I will explore two photos to prove that there is a connection between the photos, the popular culture and its role in influencing people’s lives and perspectives in terms of their social roles and in the aspect of beauty in particular. In the study conducted by Barbara Read entitled â€Å"Britney, Beyonce and me – Primary school girls’ role mo dels and constructions of the ‘popular girl’† it was discussed how gender and culture shape the values of young girls today into aligning with the experiences observed from their role models are, like for example Lady Gaga and Beyonce. According to Read (2), children’s peer culture play an important role in shaping the way they value things and construct meanings such that the more their friends want to become like their role models, they wanted the same things to happen to them too. According to the results of the study (Read 5), school girls look up to their female teachers primarily as their role models but this can be argued to be normal as teachers are the next best thing they normally look up to. The next school girls’ role models include female singers and performers such as Britney and Beyonce (Read 5). Source: American music photo set. The photo above is showing Beyonce as she performed Oxygen Festival in Ireland. The photo is an example of a framing vector in which the artist used edges of the image as well as other vectors within the image to direct viewer’s attention; this type was specifically used to include certain elements while excluding others (â€Å"Tools† 6). By using this type of vector, the artist or photographer was able to portray Beyonce as an object in which viewers can direct their attention (â€Å"Tools† 7). The objectified pop star can now be subjected to scrutiny and in turn may influence the perception of people especially pre-teen girls and women. They were able to see Beyonce in this photo as a role model in the way she look and dress and how beautiful and talented she is. The perspective of the photo was oblique in which there is a slightly more detached sense of involvement (â€Å"Tools† 14) and the long shot social distance that pertains to distance between people who are to remain strangers (â€Å"Tools† 17). In support to this claim, Read suggested in her work that pre-teen girls look up to people that are popular and are stranger to them (6). Read’s extensive works on the subject lead her to conclude that pop music had been important for pre teen girls in construction of their identity indicated by their interest in unknown or rare songs or bands/singers before looking up to anyone else (6).The photographer clearly conveyed the extent in which popular culture influenced a large number of people through capturing within the frame of this photo the millions of people looking up to Beyonce and by representing her as

Contemporary Issues in Marketing and Management Essay

Contemporary Issues in Marketing and Management - Essay Example Also, the SPIN framework is critiqued and analysed in order to provide information about how social media can be employed to help stakeholders in the film industry to maximise their offerings and activities in relation to the production and sale of films to the wider society and community. The Internet is the largest computer network in the world. It is a platform on which most computers can connect and get access to shared information from different parts of the world and this has created a unique and distinct marketplace for people to interact. This network has been utilised by various business and corporate entities in the world and there is the possibility of the film industry using it to achieve various forms of results in their marketing and promotion of affairs. To this end, it is important to analyse the concepts of social media and viral marketing. This is because they provide the basis for the analysis of the practical application and utilisation of the Internet for business purposes. â€Å"Social media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technology to communication into an interactive dialogue† (Evans, 2012; p62). This means that social media relates to the use of the Internet to create platforms on which different people and different individuals can interact and exchange various forms of information. Social media therefore involves various social channels that changes over time. These channels offer the space within which people can interact and communicate in order to share ideas and thoughts. The audience and people who use the social spaces on the Internet take an active part in the communication and interactions on these social media channels. Thus, such media channels that exists on the Internet can be utilised by various film producers and film marketing and promotion entities to get their information and views known. This can be done through the professional use of information and data

Arguement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Arguement - Essay Example Schier argues that this passivity among many citizens is due to change of politics from mobilization, as a method of winning power, support and control, to activation (7). Skocpol, on the other hand, explains the phenomenon in terms of change of American associational life (7-8). But a critical analysis and review of the two theories reveals that Schier’s theory is more plausible, while Skocpol’s theory is weak, untenable and highly flawed. To better expose the many flaws in Skocpol’s theory, let us first look in detail the different positions held by the two scholars. To begin with, let us look at the theory of Schier. Schier begins his argument by making a distinction between the terms mobilization, and activation. He defines mobilization as ‘’ the partisan method of stimulating very high turnout in elections during the peak party power that lasted from 1876-1892’’ (7). In contrast, he defines activation as, ‘’ the more c ontemporary method that parties, interest groups, and candidates employ to induce particular, finely targeted portions of public to become active in elections, demonstrations, and lobbying’’ (7). Schier goes on to show in detail how these two processes of winning power and control differ (8-9). First, the two processes differ in focus, whereby mobilization is inclusive while activation is exclusive and for a select few. Secondly, the two processes differ in agent or source of stimulation of the public, while mobilization was a heavily partisan process, dominated by strong party organizations and party messages, in activation thousands of different organisation and individuals attempt activation. Thirdly, the two processes differ in method. Mobilization involved broad appeals carried out through personal conversation, while activation is research driven and targets particular individuals. Lastly, the processes differ in their strategy, mobilization seeks to mobilise as many people as possible to help the given candidate to win elections, while activation targets just a small, well-informed segment of the society to advance a certain goal, for example to help in polls. As it can be seen from the above explanation, activation alienates some people, as it were, from the active politics, since it aims only at a particular, few members of the society while leaving out the vast majority of the society. This exclusion of some members, more often than not, leads to the ‘’inactivated’’ and excluded members of society becoming inactive and passive in politics. Skocpol, on the other hand, understood the cause of the increasing decline in active participation in national politics by the Americans, as the result of decline in American associational life. In the contemporary America, exclusive elite, and professionally managed organisations have replaced the former organisations of the last few decades which had open membership to all citizens, irrespective of one’s social class. The emergence of progressive movements in America played a big role in the change of associational life in America. Skocpol’s theory hinges on two main claims. First, she holds that in American society, social organisations and politics are closely related, such that change in associational life of the society would invariably lead to change in civic life. She goes on to argue that, over the last few decades, American social life has greatly changed, and this has led to the change in American social civic life (6). Unlike in

Bring Mobile Phones to School Essay Example for Free

Bring Mobile Phones to School Essay It has been debated nationwide and even worldwide for and against students being allowed to bring mobile phones to school. Usually, a school consists of three parts namely, the Primary, Middle and Upper section. We live in the 21st century which is very much a digital age and nowadays, almost every student other than in primary section, has a mobile phone. In my opinion, mobile phones are good for children as long as they are educated in its appropriate usage and the privilege given without being abused. Here are some reasons and benefits as to why students should bring phones to school. In the past, children had less activities in and after school and parents often never knew where their children were until they came home. In today’s world, children are so involved in after school activities such as clubs and societies, sports, music and tuition as directed by parents. Parents need to coordinate with the children, coaches, teachers in charge and other parties within their busy day to day schedules. Mobile phones allow parents to communicate with children at any time. Parents can check up on children and arrange transportation or relay important information if necessary. This supports organizing the daily schedule as we go along the day’s activities and increases the safety aspect. Mobile phones can also be an invaluable tool in emergency situations. For instance, if a student is severely injured or there is a crisis situation, cell phones can allow students to contact authorities for help. This can be especially important for students who do not travel to and from school with a parent, but in public transportation or school vans. It also helps children to have communication and build up networks amongst groups of common interests. Facilities like SMS allow to reach and communicate with large groups instantly with a record for future references, which also will save time and money. This option is also an advantage for teachers to reach their students at large in an effective manner for common messages. Further, with the added options such as Dictionary, Thesaurus, Reminders, e-mails and camera, the mobile phone expands the knowledge base and the capacity of a child and his scope. These features are commonly available in all mobile phones. Moreover, the student who carries a mobile phone has to protect it, be disciplined in it’s usage and also has to be knowledgeable in using it to his or her benefit. This improves the capacity of responsibility, self-discipline and knowledge sharing of the child which are very important attributes in a person’s life.  In conclusion, I think students should be allowed to bring mobile phones to school under the parents’ guidance and the schools should be clear in communicating its rules and regulations in terms of usage of the phones within school hours.

Environment Essay: UK energy policy

Environment Essay: UK energy policy The main problem for the UK and other countries has been the unmanaged release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere resulting from the use of fossil fuels in energy generation. There is convincing evidence that this is causing major changes in the Earths climate, the consequences of which could threaten the health and livelihoods of so many people on this planet. The major issue that Governments worldwide are now facing is how to meet increasing energy demands from an ever increasing world population. The issue is politically charged, with differing opinions on how nuclear, renewable and energy efficient measures should contribute to future energy policy. From the governments point of view, energy policies must be driven by the aim of ensuring an adequate and secure supply of affordable energy whilst also properly dealing with the production of wastes, including both carbon dioxide and radioactive materials. The Government’s figures show that UK carbon dioxide emissions have increased over the last two years, and although Kyoto targets are likely to be reached, the UKs energy policies must aim for cuts in emissions of 60 per cent in the longer term (defra, 2005). One of the major challenges facing the UK is how to generate electricity whilst minimising the damage that can be caused by waste products. In the short to medium term, some scientists comment that it will be difficult to reduce dependence on fossil fuels without the help of nuclear power (Royal Society, 2005). At present, the UK relies on nuclear power to generate about a quarter of the UKs electricity demands. All nuclear power stations are scheduled to reach the ends of their lives within the next 30 years. Unless the rate of development of both renewables and energy efficiency measures makes up for the loss of capacity resulting from the phasing out of nuclear power, the UK will become more reliant on fossil fuels, which is obviously not consistent with an overall aim of drastically reducing carbon dioxide emissions. According to the Governments own estimates, we will be more dependent on fossil fuels to generate electricity in 2010 than we were in 1995 (defra, 2005). Whilst the UK has made relatively well funded policy commitments to increasing its renewable energy capacity throughout the 1990s, it would still be hard to argue with the European Renewable Energy Study description of renewable resources à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¹Ã…“playing an almost negligible role in the United Kingdoms energy balance (TERES, 1994). Since that 1994 report the UKs efforts have seen it rise only from 15th to 14th by 2002, on a list ranking the 15 EU countries on the fraction of energy they obtain from renewable sources. Production amounts to only 3% of total primary energy use in the UK, with 46% of this figure coming from hydropower (Smith, 2002). The reasons for this low figure can be broken down into a number of categories, including problems with planning regulations, poorly thought out support mechanisms and a general lack of political will. Whilst having provided prior support for the support of RD efforts in renewable energy, significant efforts in providing UK policy on developing their potential can be traced to the oil crises of the 1970s, as with the efforts of so many of its competitors. Elliott provides an extensive overview of renewable energy RD funding in the UK up the late 1980s, and the underlying policy basis for it (Elliott, 1989). Elliott records that wave energy came to be the most favoured of the new renewable energy technologies in the late 1970s and received considerable government support on this basis. This was to change following a 1982 review by the Advisory Council on Research and Development for fuel and power (ACORD), along with a report from the Energy Technology Support Unit (ETSU) (HMSO, 1982). This led to the reassessment of wave as unlikely ever to achieve a sufficiently low price to make it economically viable. Wind had initially been classified as one of the technologies least likely to develop to an economically viable stage and was thus provided with only a low level of funding. ACORD support of wind led to favourable government policy and funding for R,DD, though the government stood firmly against providing direct financial grant aid to try to move the technology from the demonstration phase towards being fully commercial. This policy of eschewing grants was to remain intact up to the 2001 announcement of  £40 million to support a limited number of offshore wind developments and the expansion of biofuel use. One of the problems often cited in connection with the development of renewable and nuclear sources of energy is that they appear to be uneconomic compared to fossil fuels. This is based on what the Royal Society considers a flawed assumption, that there is no cost associated with pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The Government needs to introduce a charge for the right to produce carbon dioxide, through for example a carbon tax or a system of tradable emissions permits. Such measures are required to balance the economic arguments surrounding energy generation. The end of 2001 saw the announcement of a wide range of new instruments aimed at revitalising the UKs efforts regarding renewable energy. Current plans for future policy in the UK centre on achieving a target of 10% of all electrical generation from renewable energy sources by 2010. The central mechanism aimed at achieving this end is the newly introduced Renewables Obligation (RO). However, to date, not all of these have reached the statute books and begun to have an impact in real terms. The governments future energy policy must focus on how to ensure a secure supply of affordable energy, how to manage the waste products of energy generation regardless of whether it is in the form of radioactive materials or carbon dioxide, and how to increase energy efficiency. The fact that DEFRA is responsible for dealing with waste, while Department for Trade and Industry deals with the commissioning and operation of power stations, must not prevent a coherent approach to policy that meets our future energy requirements whilst properly managing any waste that is produced. Bibliographywww.defra.gov.uk (accessed 2005)Elliott D. Renewable energy RD in the UK: a strategic overview. Technology Analysis Strategic Management 1989;1(2):22337.ETSU. Strategic review of renewable energy technologies. London: HMSO, 1982.Smith A Watson J The renewables obligation: can it deliver? Brighton, SPRU, University of Sussex, 2002, 6.TERES. The European Renewable Energy Study. Luxembourg, Advisory Council on Research and Development, European Commission, 1994. Passion Fruit: Medicinal Uses and Taxonomy Passion Fruit: Medicinal Uses and Taxonomy Introduction Passion fruit is one of the most exotic tropical fruit because of the magic of its aroma and the taste of its fruit. It belongs to the family Passifloraceae and is estimated to have approximately 500 species of Passiflora. Within this species, there are two distinct forms, the P. edulis f. flavicarpa i.e the yellow passion fruit which is in Peru, Brazil and Ecuador, it is also widely distributed in Guyana as well and the Passiflora edulis L which is widely known as the purple passion fruit. The purple passion fruit is cultivated in Africa and India. They both differ not only in color but in other feathers. The purple passion fruit has is less acidic, has a better aroma and flavor, and has slightly higher juice content. The yellow passion fruit on the other hand has a, ore vigorous vine; the fruit is larger and has a thicker wall than the purple type. Thus they both make an excellent juice blend. Passion fruit vine is a shallow-rooted woody, perennial, climbing by attaching its tendri ls to objects. The leaves are evergreen, hairless and are alternately arranged, posses 3-lobed when mature, they are finely tooted, grow from 7.5-20 cm long, deep green and gloss above, paler and dull beneath, the stems and tendrils are tinged with red or purple ( mostly the stems and tendrils of yellow passion fruit). Fragrant flower grow from 5-7.5 cm wide and is borne at each node. The bloom is clasped by 3 large green leaf-like bracts, consisting of 5 greenish-white sepals, 5-white petals, a fingerlike corona of straight, white-tipped rays, rich purple at the base, 5 stamens with large anthers, the ovary and triple-branched style forms a prominent central structure. The yellow passion fruit flower grows slower with more intense color than the purple passion fruit. Taxonomic Classification of Passion Fruit Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Malpighiales Family: Passifloraceae Genus: Passiflora Species: Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa (yellow passion fruit) and Passiflora edulis L. (purple passion fruit). Brief Origin of Passion Fruit Passilflora spp, in particular the purple passion fruit is native to South America, from Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina; better adapted to tropical highland areas and it is the most popular type to be exported. On the other hand the yellow type is better adapted to tropical low land areas and is the principle type produced in Guyana. The fruit is widely distributed in the market and a small amount is exported to Barbados and Canada. It is one of the best tropical fruit to grow because it comes into production within a year and is referred to as fruit cash crop. Its juice is rich in vitamin A, B5 and C. Passionfruit acquired its name from Spanish missionaries who thought parts of the plants flower resembled different religious symbols. The Jesuit missionaries who accompanied the Conquistadors to South America saw in its striking flower a means of illustrating the Crucifixion; the 10 petals and sepals represented the apostles, the crown of thorns was seen in the filaments, the five anthers represent the five wounds, the three stigmas were allied with the nails used to pierce the hands and feet of Jesus and the vines tendrils were equated with the whips. (http://www.passionfruit.org.nz/History.htm). Medicinal uses and properties of Passion Fruit The passion fruit leaves together with a small portion of the juice contain the alkaloids, including Harman which is used to lower blood pressure, sedative and antispasmodic action. The leaves are also use in many countries as medicine. The flower of passion fruit has a mild sedative and can be use to induce sleep. Passion fruit flowers have been use in treatment for the nervous system in easily excited children, bronchial asthma, insomnia, nervous gastrointestinal disorders and menopausal problems. The flower is sometimes used as a mild hallucinogen. It provides a useful amount of fibres and iron; also use to relieve rheumatism or gout. It has been used for centuries by indigenous tribes as a sedative or calming tonic. Used for urinary infections and as a mild diuretic. The juice of passion fruit reduces cancer cell growth; the phytochemicals in this fruit juice is responsible for the inhibition of the cancer cell growth. The phenolic acid (known for its anti-microbial activity) and flavanoids present in the fruit are known to possess heart protecting function. Passion fruit is a good source of both water soluble and fat soluble antioxidants. Passion fruit possesses antiseptic properties, anticancer effect, and anti-clotting and antioxidant properties. The fruit is high in carbohydrates and simple sugars, which improves energy performance. Passion fruit contains plant sterols, which help lowers the level of cholesterol. Some studies say that the fruit is good for attaining optimum health and weight loss. Herbalist used passion fruit flower to aid in digestion, as a stress reducer and as an insomnia treatment; the flowers can be use fresh or dried for use in pills, teas and for extraction e.g. tinctures and infusions. The flowers are also used by Europeans as an effective prescription medication to relieve anxiety disorder. The flower can also improve symptoms such as shortness of breath after treatment for congestive heart failure. Plant parts use to prepare supplement obtained from the leaves, flowers and fruit of Passiflora edulis and ailment encountered from supplements: Plant parts use form medicinal purposes Ailments Leaves Lower blood pressure Flower Induce sleep, aid in digestion, as a stress reducer and as insomnia, relieve anxiety disorder, congestive heart failure. Treatment of nervous system, bronchial asthma, insomnia, nervous gastrointestinal disorders and menopausal problems. Mild hallucinogen, relieve rheumatism or gout, sedative or calming tonic, mild diuretic. Fruit juice Inhibition of the cancer cell growth, heart protecting function, water soluble and fat soluble antioxidants, improves energy performance, lowers the level of cholesterol, optimum health and weight loss. Medicinal uses of Passion fruit- Passiflora edulis as obtained from interviews of Herbal Medicine Practitioners at Bourda Market. The leaves and flowers of passion fruit can be use as a nerve tonic. Passion fruit can be taken naturally as a good appetizer. The fruit can also be use to cleanse upset stomach. The fruit has a good source of vitamin C and is mixed naturally with water or sometimes added sugar to make a clenching thirst fruit juice. Passion fruit seeds contains high amount of fiber that the body needs to cleanse the colon, improve digestion, and help prevent heart attack and stroke. Passion fruit is high in vitamin A which helps the body to remove free radicals that causes skin and tissue damage, and it also help to improve our vision. Passion fruit can also be use as pig food. Name of Bush Medicine Vendor: Mugabe Jawanza Telephone #: 639-1552 Address: Lot 25 Lane Avenue, Georgetown Date of interview: 23rd April, 2011. Name of Bush Medicine Vendor: Sharmilla Mohammed Telephone #: 220-7729 Address: 149 Broad Street, Better hope, Georgetown. Date of Interview: 23rd April, 2011. Method of Preparation for the Medicinal uses or uses of Passiflora edulis obtained from interviews: The leaves and flowers are boiled with water and draw to make a nerve tonic. The fruit can be eaten raw, chopping the fruit in half and eaten (seeds as well as the orange juicy sac in the centre). Squeeze the juice from the fruit and drink naturally to cleanse the stomach. Chop of the top of the fruit, scope the pulp into a bowl; rub the pulp through a sieve to extract the seeds; squeeze gently to extract the juice, which is in the form of a rich, natural extract, can be diluted with water or other fruit juice additive and mixed with sugar to form a refreshing drink. This quenches thirst boost up and improve the bodys energy. The seed can be obtained by chopping the fruit and gulping the pulp into the mouth naturally or obtaining it after it was strained to extract the juice. This can be taken to cleanse colon, improve digestion and prevent heart attack and stroke. The rind of the fruit is chopped, dried and combined with molasses as cattle or pig food. Non-medicinal uses of Passion Fruit- Passiflora edulis The fruit of Passiflora edulis can be use naturally to make juice. Passion fruit mousse is a common dessert, and passion fruit seed are used to decorate the tops of cakes. The fruit can be used in many countries to make jams, jellies and butter as well as syrup to use on shaved ice. The fruit can also be eaten raw with sprinkles of sugar. The juice of passion fruit can be used to flavor ice-cream and other desserts such as cakes, yogurts, cocktails and cookies. The juice can be boiled as a thick syrup and use in pastries and can also be added to fruit salads as a dressing or as a fruit. The fruit is widely use as juice mixes. Pharmacological effects and risks as obtained from literature search and interviews: Effects obtained from Literature Sources Rapid heart rate and rhythm, nausea, and vomiting have been reported as the rare but serious side effect from obtaining supplements of the passion fruit or any part of it. Side effects may also include drowsiness/ sedation and mental slowing. It is advice that person operating or driving heavy machinery should take caution when using Passiflora edulis. The passion fruit flower may increase the risk of bleeding and alter blood tests that measure blood clotting. Passion fruit flower can also cause the effect of congestive heart failure for the treatment of shortness of breath and difficulty exercising. Effect obtained from Interviewers No effect was obtained from the interviews.