Writing Guide on Essay about Advertisement Analysis

Got an essay on advertising? You should be 100% satisfied with the task because advertising nowadays plays an important role in our life. It is always there on the radio/TV programs, the sides of sky-scrapers and more often than not it seems to be the main function on the web. Every year more than $400 billion is spent on various types of advertising! Impressive? Make sure to mention it when writing an essay on advertisement! How about developing your advertising essay writing on the basis of history? You will be surprised to find out that ad history is rooted deep into the Roman era. At that time advertisement played a crucial role. Just remember that commercial and political materials have been bound by the archaeologists in ancient Pompeii. Moreover, scientists successfully discovered antique Egyptian posters used by ancient people as advertisements. Taking into consideration all these history artefacts, it’s no wonder that ad is one of the most discussed subjects and one of the most popular topics for the essays among college and university students. So, what is the most winning way to go about it? Advertising Essay Writing: Introduce the Service/Product It does not really matter if you are writing about a certain brand of a pasta souse, an insurance agency, a political party or anything else. Composing an essay about advertisement, always assume that none of your readers has ever heard about the brand you examining. Make certain to provide a brief history excursion, a short description (and, if possible, in what way it compares with a number of competitors) and of course the key principle of its market share. Essay on Advertising: Who is the Product/Services that Is Being Discussed Aimed at? It is impossible to create and develop an ad that will satisfy every potential client, unless you are trying to sell a huge bouquet of US dollars that grows every single say. In other words, every advertisement has its target customers and you have to keep that in your mind when writing an essay-analysis. The target audience will form the advertisement style, which can be used in order to develop the target audience. For instance, an advert that uses loud hip-hop tunes and bright colours is definitely aimed at high school teenagers; an advert that is about successful men in black outfits with Swiss watches will be the most suitable for the company owners. Estimate How Popular This or That Ad Has Been It is one of the most difficult tasks. Previously, as a rule, it was a matter of researching on how many individuals bought this or that newspaper that included the advertisement (or sat in front of TV when the movie/program was interrupted by the advert) and finding out the % of attention. Nowadays, having round-the-clock internet connection you can track the product you’re writing about way easier! Surf Facebook, MySpace, YouTube or any other social network to see how often the ad has been viewed. Moreover, it is recommended to research the history of the adverts that are alike together with brand-new media.

Questions On The Checker Shadow Illusion - 1442 Words

Introduction to Cognitive Science, 2014 Homework 2 4 questions, 33 points total Name: Josh Jordan Question 1 (4 points): The Checker-Shadow Illusion (8 points) View the illusion available at http://color.psych.upenn.edu/homework/CheckerShadow.jpg. This is called the checker-shadow illusion and is due to Edward Adelson. a) (2 points) What is the illusion? That is, how does your perception of squares A and B differ from what is objectively on the screen/paper? You may want to print out the image and use scissors to compare the checks at A and B when they are placed next to each other.† Objectively, squares A and B are the same color, but viewers perceive square B as be-ing lighter than square A. â€Å"b) (2 points) Why (at the computational level) might we experience this illu-sion/interpretation? What implicit assumption about the world is made by your brain? What is a benefit of this illusion/interpretation?† Our brain assumes that a shadow will darken an object, so our brain corrects the shad-ing of the object under the shadow to make it lighter (light constancy). Our brain’s goal (at the computational level) is to view an object in the same way under different lighting. This way we perceive something under a shadow the same way we would perceive it if it wasn’t covered by a shadow. The assumption that our brain makes is that an object will appear differently under a shadow, but is still the same object. This is beneficial because it allows us to perceive objectsShow MoreRelatedThe Plausible Theory Of Perception Direct Realism Or Indirect Realism?1998 Words   |  8 Pagesthe room). The problem of perception arises from the existence of phenomenom such as hallucinations, illusions, perceptual relativity (the idea that two people may experience an object in entirely different ways), and dreams. 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Group and Team Working Groups are an importantRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pagesand exercise recommendations in the Instructors Manual. †¢ Enhanced the test bank by adding more application questions. †¢ Revised the PowerPoint slides. A MESSAGE TO STUDENTS: Why Focus on Management Skill Development? Given that a â€Å"skill development† course requires more time and effort than a course using the traditional lecture/discussion format, we are sometimes asked this question by students, especially those who have relatively little work experience. Reason #1: It focuses attentionRead MoreCost Accounting134556 Words   |  539 Pagesare indicators of hypertext links. To use the hypertext links, simply click on the icon and it will automatically transport you to that location. Chapter 1 Cost Accounting: How Managers Use Cost Accounting Information Solutions to Review Questions 1–1. 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Declining Record Sales Who Is to Blame free essay sample

For several years now, sales of new and popular music have steadily declined and show no sign of changing. The record companies are quick to blame the growing popularity of the Internet; music is being traded in a digital form online, often anonymously, with the use of file-sharing programs such as Morpheme, Aziza, and Mimes, to name a few. The ARIA (Recording Industry Association of America) succeeded In disbanding the pioneer Internet file- sharing program, Anapest, but is facing confrontation with similar programs that are escaping American copyright laws.While there is an obvious connection between declining popular music sales and increasing file sharing, there is more going on than the ARIA wants to admit. I will show that the recording companies are overpricing their products, and not sufficiently using the Internet as an opportunity to market and sell their products. I shall begin by describing in greater detail the problem that the recording companies are facing, as well as the growing epidemic of online music trading. From there, I will show the correlation between the two and describe the other factors affecting record sales, and how these trends could be earned around to help the industry. The Record Industry is in trouble, says Jan S. Winner in an editorial appearing in a recent Issue of Rolling Stone Magazine. Album sales are now down almost 20% from two years ago, and the record business Is facing the biggest retail slide since the Great Depression (Winner). People are buying less and less products released by the recording companies. Nobody doubts that the music business is in trouble.Last year, global sales of CDC were down by 5% from 2000, the first fall since the format was launched (ANAPEST R. I. P). The Nielsen Sounds, used to report final sales to consumers, revealed some of Its figures In a September 2002 Issue of Billboard Magazine. Nielsen Sounds reports that overall music sales compared with the year before were off by 12. 6%;while album sales were off by 9. 8%. Total first-half units sold fell to 317. 7 million units from 363. 4 million; the number of albums sold slipped to 311. 1 million units from 344. 8 million [l an 8. 1% drop (Gritty).Even the number of albums that become hits is decreasing. At mid- year 2001, 37 titles had sold more than 1 million units each; halfway through this ear, only 21 titles had sold that many, according to Nielsen Sounds (Gritty). Even sales figures for singles are down. Sales are off by 63. 9à CO7 million units were sold in the first six months of 2002 vsvs.18. 6 million unites in the same period in 2001 (GaGritty Not only are the companies themselves facing hard times, but the retail stores that sell music are also suffering their own losses. MuMusicianstores, the largest music retailer in the U.S. coContinueso report losses and declining sasalesroomhe third quarter, the Minnetonka, MiMin-based company reports a new loss of $16. miMillioncompared with a loss last year of $144. 6 million (Jeffrey). The company was even forced to close some of Its stores. At quarters end, MuMusiciansperated 1476 ststoresuring the quarter, the company closed the following: Nine Sam Goody/MuMusicianstwo Media plays, one On Cud, and on U. K. stStore(Jeffrey). This problem hits home in entertainment products like CDCDCnd audissociateswas forced to close because of insufficient revenues.Inhabitants of VeVermilionre now forced to travel anywhere from 30 to 60 miles away to purchase music offline. While this town obviously reflects ereremall percentage of consumers, the lack of immediately available music products certainly will not help the declining record sales. The stocks of music retailing companies are also falling. Publicly owned music- retail chains have lost about $800 million in share-holder value over the past few {ears, as continuing price ward have caused investors to flee these stocks and drive down their value GeJeffreyThis has had a much larger impact on retails than one may think. Big discount chains like WaWallart and K-Mart have seen their stocks tumble or remain stagnant in recent years, while others, like BrBeardlessave filed for aninerrancyrotection GeJeffrey A recent article in Rolling Stone reviews the year 2002 in terms of the music business. At the close of a dismal year for the music industry, sales were down thirteen percent, layoffs and roster cuts were imminent at many labels, and major record-store chains were struggling to survive (ElLilies20sa sssusic, 11).The following graph from that article illustrates the difference in top selling albums of recent years. 2000 Top Selling Albums 2002 Top Selling Albums 0 No Strings Attached 3. 9 million EmMine The EmMinehow 7. 4 million EmMine The Marshall MaMattersPALP 9 million NeNewly NeMelville. 8 million 3rrewrittenpears 0 Oops! 01 Did it Again 7. 9 million AvAprilaLeaving Let Go 3. 9 million Creed 0 Human Clay 5. 6 million Dixie Chicks 0 Home 3. 4 million rhereifference is evident. At the number one spot, EmMineold 2 million less copies n 2002 than ONOnionsid in the same slot only two years earlier.EmAminesop selling album in 2002 was outsold by the top three selling albums of 2000, and the difference between the number one and the number two selling albums in 2002 is nearly 3 million, compared to 20assessop two spread of two million. This chart also xhexhibitsn artists staying power. EmMines the only artist within the top four for both years shown. This illustrates how inconsistent the market is at creating good Why is the recording industry facing such hardships? The RIARIAs quick to point its finger at the growing popularity of Internet file sharing. What kind of music would people share online?Music enthusiasts would typically share CDCDChat were recently recorded and released in the more popular genres. The highest offender of online music sharing is the 18-to-24-year-old cacatastrophescomputer savvy user (Thompson, c-336). Because of this audience, other genres of music such as classical and Jazz were much less affected. In the beginning, there was NaAnapestNaAnapestas the premiere source of illegal music downloading in the Internet. Anyone in the world with an Internet connection can download NaAnapestor free. From there, the user would designate which files he or she is willing to OsShareWhen running NaAnapestall the user had to do was type in what song or artist they were looking for, much like an online search engine works for web pages. NaAnapestould then search through the OsSharedfolders of other users hat were currently using the program. In this manner, without any formal communication or consent (outside of the license agreement stated during installation), users had access to the OsSharedfolders of other users and could transfer any files in the OsSharedfolders back and forth with extreme ease. People would typically take their new CDCDCnd convert them in to mpMPHormat. From there they could be downloaded from any other computer using NaAnapestPeople suddenly had free access to virtually any popular music desired, without any formal consent from the music recording industry or the artists having their files shared. As one could predict, the RIARIAas quick to accuse NaAnapestf violating this countrys copyright laws. NaAnapestas taken to court and eventually ordered to shut down. When an appeals court issued an order last July forcing NaAnapesto shut down, there was a sigh of relief throughout the recording industry. It was the day free music died (Warner).The death of NaAnapestas not the death of Internet file sharing. Whats taken its place is a lot scarier for the music inindustryserhaps unstoppable. Theyre called file-sharing services, or P2POPpeer-to-peer) nenetworkedhe three most popular nenewsaAzizaGrGrosserand MoAmorphousness combined 70 million active users, compared with only 20 million for NaAnapestn its heyday (Warner). In America, the number of unique users of KaAzizaa NaAnapestlone, shot up by 1,491% in the 12 months to JuJunctureumber of users in America of KaAzizaMoMorphemend AuAdditionallyall file-sharing services, reached 14. 4mMmmore than 13. usUsingaAnapestt its peak (NAANAPEST. I. P. ). Hundreds of thousands of new users Join the P2POParty every weweeklieshose networks somehow get shut down, others will pop up in their place. 0TTheseetworks are Just tools to get what I want, a KaAzizaser named ErErikiidolshe record industry breaks these tools, you go out and find another' (Warner). The industry will have trouble shutting down these NaAnapestlones. The creators of these P2POPetworks have little control over what they created and cant tell whos downloading what file, whether its an EmMineong or Grandmas recipe for blueberry pie (Warner).The creators use this as an excuse to escape liability charges, simply because they cannot see or control the illegal activity. In a recent court ruling, it was proved that there was no evidence that GrGrossernd amnameuling concluded overall that companies behind internet services for sharing music and movies are not to blame for any illegal copying conducted by the services users (VeVega The new P2Pepsre also completely decentralized . One of the two creators of KaAzizaNiNikolaseCementerssays, the only way the system can be shut down is if every user elected to disable his program (Warner). ShShermanthe company formed by the creators of KaAzizaescapes copyright laws by locating itself on a group of islands in the South Pacific called VaVauntwhile GrGrossers located in a 26-square-mile tourist paradise in the West Indies called Nevis. Because of the decentralization of these programs, as well as their overseas headquarters, the RIARIAs forced to admit that their claims against KaAzizaGrGrosserand MoMorphemeare not as strong as those against NaAnapest (Warner). What is available on these P2POPetworks? The answer is simple: virtually everything in visual and audio entertainment.MeMetallicirst started filing suit against NaAnapesthen drummer Lars UlLarchesis bands track 01 Disappear pop up on NaAnapestFor one thing, the sosingsonget to be released. For another, it wawasntven finished (ElLilies21). Examples like this are not hard to find on present day P2PepsIf one searches long enough, hidden tracks, unreleased songs, unfinished tracks and rare live recordings may be found. Its not Just music being zapped across the Internet anymore. The new NaAnapestsouse vivideotapessoftware programs, and movies, including ones not playing in theaters (Warner).Any type of computer software, whether it is an expensive program, the latest movie releases, or the number one song in the country, can be and is being shared on P2PepsThe Recording Industry Association of America filed suit against NaAnapestn 2000 ndNDventually won. NaAnapestried selling its assets to Bertelsmann in an attempt to rerelianceaAnapests a legitimate business, but the courts would not allow it. The deal, ruled the Judge, was not in the best interests of NaAnapestsreditors (NaAnapest. I. p.P). Of course, letting NaAnapestnd other P2Pepsurvive certainly is not in the best interests of the recording industry. To the big record labels, NaAnapestasnt Just a nuisance; it was their worst ninightmaresnline equivalent to everyone storming into record stores and making off with armfuls of CDCDC(Warner). The industry claims hat instead of buying music, people are downloading the music for free. The RIARIAtates, in an instructional booklet handed out to companies cited for using office computers to share mpampsthat downloading copyrighted files OiOSIot OsSharing110ths theft (Cohen, 21). The industry has a point. Consumers are downloading more music and purchasing less at a rate of two to one (wire services), says the RIARIA/p>P2Pepsre downloaded for free, and people can make available and download files (or songs, as is relevant) with no purchase necessary. All it takes is one person to record an album n mpMPHormat onto their computer and make display it on KaAzizaFrom there, the so ng is up for the taking; and the more users that download any particular song, the easier it is to find and download. In some cases, entire albums are downloaded, then copied onto a blank CD and sold on the streets for a price significantly less than the price offered by the recording industry. For the first time blank CD sales could certainly be linked to an increased amount of bootlegging. Peter D. Hart Research Associates conducted a survey in conjunction with the RIARIAhat revealed lots of interesting information concerning how some music fans cqacquireheir music. 860 music consumers ages 12 to 54 were surveyed. The study showed that 63% of consumers with an Internet connection acquired at least one burned CD. The study also concluded that 35% of young music consumers with Internet connections say the first thing they do after hearing a song they like by an unfamiliar artist is download it for free form a file-sharing service. By contrast, only 10% of the same group say the first thing they do after they hear a song they like by an unfamiliar artist is buy the album (GaGritty The RIARIAs doing anything possible to stop internet file sharing. If you dont bring awsuitsthen thousands more of these networks will develop rather than the handful that pop up periodically (Warner) claims RIARIAeneral counsel Cary Sherman. They have already filed suit against NiNikolaseCementersnd JaJanisrits, the two creators of KaAzizaas well as the companies that own KaAzizaGrGrosserand MoMorpheme/p>However, because of reasons formerly stated (offshore incorporation, little control over online traffic), the RIAriasclaims against KaAzizaGrGrosserand MoMorehouseot as strong as those against NaAnapest (Warner). The RIARIAs even considering less conservative means of halting Internet file haring: The RIARIAs cocountersigningndividuals who share large numbers of files on KaAzizaGrGrosseror MoAmorphousnessss a time of crisis for the m usic industry, and the RIARIAs trying to fight a battle on multiple fronts,' (Warner).In its desperation, the music industry is using any means possible to catch people exploiting P2PepsVerizon Communications, an Internet service provider, must supply the identity of a consumer responsible for downloading 600 songs from the file-sharing network KaAzizao the Recording Industry Association of America (wire services). The RIARIAas tadartedissuing letters of warning pertaining to copyright infringement to universities and with the pursuit of individual pirates, as in the Verizon case (wire services).The industry has confronted the P2POPompanies, Internet Service Providers 11asps and is now setting their sights on the individual P2POPsers with threats of anywhere from $750 to $1 50,000 per song for unlicensed swsuperintendencesould also serve up to five years of Jail time (Cohen, 21). Confronting individual P2POPsers, however, is quite unlikely, as well as fruitless. Short of suing 70 million-plus people r encrypting every CD and DVD sold (an unlikely scenario), its hard to imagine how to stop it (Warner).The industry also has the United States Congress discussing possible means of punishment for individual users. More than a dozen members of Congress have urged Attorney General John Ashcroft to prosecute those who distribute entertainment files on peer-to-peer seserviceberryJohn CaGrotesquenesshat OiItde good idea to go out and actually bust a couple of these college kids' (Cohen, 21). Finding the individuals responsible for egregious file sharing is proving to be more and more difficult.Revamps of file-trading systems such as FrEfferentan potentially hide users unique Internet addresses (Cohen, 22). While the RIARIAon in their case against Verizon, obtaining information on individuals using a program such as the control what people are doing on the Internet, yo u have to either break the Internet or create a system where everyone is monitored all the time (Cohen, 22). The court battles between the RIARIAnd various companies and individuals responsible for Internet file sharing have been going on for a few years now, and show no sign of stopping.The RIARIAs losing money fast and is determined to take onnonusersway from their computers and back into the record stores. But this situation is more than Just a quarrel between the RIARIAnd their nemesis P2POPrograms. Music consumers believe that they are being charged too much for the products produced by the recording industry. Because of this, consumers are flocking to their personal computers to avoid being overcharged for music that they feel is hardly worth buying in the first place. In an August 2001 issue of Electronic Musician, article writer Michael A.AcCanononducted an interview with three recording industry executives to discuss the different views of record distribution. Of those interviewed was KoGoofyrown, co-owner of an inIndiesabel SiSambausic Records as well as a musician and songwriter in Oakland, California. When asked about the death of retail sales due to increased use of the Internet to acquire music, she replied l think that retail sales have slowed down a bit due to the Internet, but I think its mostly because of the outrageous prices that CDCDCell for now-$17 to $18!I know plenty of people who Just wont go out and buy music the way they used to because it costs so much (AcCanon116). This fact is truer than ever in VeVermilionSouth Dakota, where On Cue used to omnominatehe music and entertainment sales. While in business, On Cue would sell CDCDCor upwards of $18. Just recently, a locally owned music and entertainment store called Last Stop CD Shop opened in downtown VeVermilionEverything for sale is second hand, and no individual CD costs more than $8.The selection may not be stellar, but the price is right. An almost mint condition CD c ells at the Last Stop CD Shop for $10 less than a new CD at On Cue or any other franchise music retailer. $18 is 4 hours or work at minimum wage for the average college student in VeVermilionoften an entire shift. Now, a minimum wage paid student at the University of South Dakota can buy two CDCDCor that same amount of work. This fact does not make big retail stores with their even bigger prices seem desirable.What about other formats of music? Also under scrutiny is why CDCDCost so much more than cassettes-most of which carry a $10. 98 list price-even though there isnt much difference in manufacturing costs between the two formats (BoBolter16). The recording costs certainly should not differ from CD to tape, and distribution costs (as Nell as packaging) should also be relatively similar. Given these observations, one egeggingo wonder why a CD costs $7-$8 more than a cassette. This much is certain: Labels have made handsome profits from the pricey compact-disc format and have been reluctant to translate those profits into savings for consumers states Eric BoBoltern a February 1997 issue of Rolling Stone, years before online music trading became a significant problem for the recording industry. Often there are explanations for price inincoherencesone seems to be missing (BoBolter16). His article tells the story of DiDiscordecords, an inIndiesabel that carries a suggested retail price of only $11 per CD.Were not a profit-oriented president of distribution at DiDiscordecords. Most retailers buy CDCDCrom record company distributors for $10. 70 to $1 1. 30, when those same CDCDCave a suggested retail price of $16. 98 to $17. 98. Thats a profit of $6 to the retailers, or 35%. Some retailers, like Best Buy and LeLecherwill sell hit albums for $10 or $11 to attract consumers to the more expensive items like computers and stereos (BoBolter17). CD prices appear so outrageous that in 1997, a class action lawsuit was filed against the six major recording companies.The record labels were being accused of ixaxingrices of CDCDCand that the consumers who were possibly overcharged should be reimbursed. Of course, the recording companies are reluctant to divulge information detailing their profits. The industry has done a terrible Job explaining [high costs] to coconsumersusiness wants to open themselves up and explain line by line how they make money (BoBolter16). To understand how these companies make their money, one must understand NhNatoney the companies spend on their products. Labels claim that the majority of their expenses lies in marketing and promotion.According to Michael Powers, VPUPf atcantonalromotion at Mercury Records, labels spend about $1 ,500-$1 ,700 on a single per ststationedotal cost is $300,000-$340-000 Just to get [the single] into the hands of the [radio] industry and let them know we have something (Stark, 84). Powers claims that the costs include about $500 to physically make and reproduce the record, $12,000 to $36,000 for independent promotion, $25,000 for trade- publication advertising, and several other factors that bring the total cost for each project to $1 (Stark, 84).The cost of making an album is so high that some record companies are oneng enderingutting singles deals; this is where a new artist is signed on to produce only a single instead of an entire album. This technique saves money and serves as a means of testing out new acts to see how they will sell. Many labels are considering making more singles deals. Its understandable given the cost of business and the current slowing down of the format (Stark, The Return, 79) says CEO of Atlantic Records Nashville operation, Berry CoCobber/p>When a label spends money on recording, wardrobe, a music video, launching a radio act and a tour, its really easy o spend half a million dollars, and the problem is now the sales arent what they used to be adds CoCobberStark, The Return, 79). The traditional business model of the recording industry follows a value chain. rhereirst step is the Artists and Repertoire development. This stage includes developing the music and the musicians, as well as establishing concerts, tours, and merchandising. The second step is the actual recording process, where most expenses revolve around equipment and mixing.After recording is manufacturing, NhInchakes up approximately 10% of the entire production cost. The fourth step is marketing, which constitutes around 30% of the entire cost. This 30% comes from television and print advertising, as well as music videos and public relations tours. Distribution makes up the most expensive step in the value chain, taking up 40% of the expenses. This includes packaging and transport of CDCDCwhich costs so much because of the sparse locality of the manufacturing facilities and the large density of retailers.The sixth and final step in the value chain is retailing, where the album The value chain has some inherent problems, however, that quite possibly onnutriento the seemingly extreme cost of making a record in todays market. Less than $1, on average, of a $16 CD made it back to the artist (Thompson, 333). Where does the rest of the money go? Why does the artist receive less than 6% of the profits? First off, the recording cost is often inflated. Nirvana, one of the top selling artists of the early 90assrecorded their album Bleach for only $600 (Online, VHVHFGreen Days album DoDioxide which has sold over 9 million copies to day, was recorded for $10,000, which is said to be a conservative budget for recording. If the album cost so ittitleo record, why are they sold for upwards of $20? According to the value chain, manufacturing takes up around 10% of the overall costs. Yet, according to BoBlottersrticle concerning CD overpricing, the basic materials of a CD cost roughly $. 90 per disc 0 approximately 60 cents for the actual CD, 20 cents for the Jewel box and 10 cents for the paper.Consumers even question the validity of the initial stage, the artists and repertoire development. Avid music listeners were disappointed with the material that was released in 2002. There was a definite lack of quality releases and imaginative arracketingast year says senior vice president of product and marketing for Virgin MeMegastarsDave Adler (ElLilies20sasssusic, 12). After considering all of these factors, I will return to the case concerning fixed- prices for CDCDC/p>The lawsuit was brought by 41 state attorneys general and was settled out of court by the defendants in September of 2002 to avoid a lengthy battle. The recording labels were found guilty of fixing CD prices and were forced to pay $143 million in punitive damages. The music was returned to the average consumer, granted that they met a three part criteria (basically determining whether or not the onnonuserought a CD in the last 7 years) and filed for this reimbursement before March 3, 2003. Even dead people were entitled to their share, which consisted of $20 :Gordon).The record companies were obviously reluctant to hand over this cash, given the date requirement for the reimbursement, as well as the extreme difficulty of reading the information on the website concerning the lawsuit. Given the cost issues, the RIARIAas a lot more to worry about than Just Internet file sharing progra ms. How can the industry turn around and get out of its sales slump? Firstly, the industry needs to stop seeing their consumers as enemies. The industry isnt putting up much of a fgfightn perhaps the most important front: creating Internet services that people actually like for legitimately licensed music (Warner).Theyre more willing to bust individuals using file sharing programs than embrace the Internet as a means of advertising and selling their products. They hastily accuse their consumers of taking advantage of the Internet and not buying albums all together. It is no secret that the music industry had been diligently fighting music piracy in the United States and around the world, but its slow pace in mbembracingew technologies and streamlining its own industry was the reason why the problem became so prevalent (Thompson, c-340).Market Data, the RIAriaslectronic music market research newsletter contains a survey targeting P2POPsers NiIntroit word mentioning the potential for a new online market: Of all the specific used these services, having access to a large selection and variety of artists and titles ranked hi ghest (87%), followed by the capability to download files easily and quickly 184%), the ability to download individual songs (83%), a convenient search feature 181 %) and the ability to get music for free (79%) (Market Data). These fgfiguresay be factual, but they fail to question the consumers willingness to take part in an online music market.In a similar survey issued by the digital music distribution industry, 80% of those surveyed said that they would buy more music if they had immediate information about the artist and title of the song; over 60% NoMouldurchase more music if they could buy a song as soon as they hear it; greater than 80% wanted to buy songs individually, and of those who usually listened to music on the Internet, one-third were more likely to purchase CDCDCn stores after hearing the music online (Thompson, c-324 0 c-325). In another study done by the lulupinesommunications Inc. roRovedhat users of NaAnapestoftware were actually more likely to buy more records than non-NaAnapestsers. Their studies showed that NaAnapestsage is one of the strongest determinants of increased music buying (Thompson, c-336). Secondly, the RIARIAeeds to embrace the latest trend in entertainment shopping NiNinthhe use of dot cocomesIn 1999, the global music market was worth $38. 5 billion. Amazon. coComeported overall sales of $1. 3 billion in the same year. The projected music sales in 2001 for Amazon. coComas $3 billion (Thompson, c-330).This means of selling entertainment products online can serve as a significant advantage for the recording industry. Online marketing eliminates the high distribution cost presented by the value chain, which accounts for 40% of the production expenses. A CD that Nas once listed for $17 now has no reason to sell for any more than $10. 20. Mike Robertson, CEO of MPMPHcoComddressed the topic of online music selling at the New fork Music and Internet Expo: When you look at record labels, they were dropping artists that were selling 200,000 CDCDCr less.To the RIAriasredit, they are slowly emerging with online alternatives to illegal downloading. Presently, music retailers are working on a program to supplement ooorales called Echo, a service formed to sell downloads through stores and official plan on licensing music from the big record labels. No prices have yet been set :ElLiliesPay for Play). The recording industry is also in talks with Apple to develop a new music downloading program that would allow Apple iPpodsers to buy songs from all five of the major labels.This program would sell songs for approximately $1 each and help lure people away from P2Pepsy offering more comprehensive, reliable selections of music. The songs would be able to be recorded to CDCDCbut the files would be roretortedrom wholesale copying tha nks to digital coding (ElLiliesPay for Play). This program is now available as an online shop that Just recently premiered called the iTtunesusic Store. Entire albums can be downloaded for $10, and individual songs are sold for $. 99.Over 200,000 titles are available for purchase, and many more are on the way (CrScroll The recording industry certainly has some problems to deal with in the coming [ears. Internet file sharing programs show no sign of becoming less popular, although the RIARIAas yet to release a legitimate program displaying the same election and convenience of P2PepsBecause of consumers tendency to download single songs by many varying artists, many may wonder if increased Internet use will eventually exterminate the record album from existence.Personally, I do not foresee the death of CDCDCnd albums as a product. The MPMPHormat is not quite CD quality, and the singles that are typically downloaded by consumers do not always reflect the talent or best product of a certain performer. Singles are what will make money, but 3-sides, the songs that people do not buy the CD for, are also a culmination of an artists hard work. B-sides make an album good or bad, and consumers simply do not download B-sides.I fear that buying an entire album will become more rare as these new programs emerge that allow consumers to buy one song at a time, but the album will prevail. Newspapers and Magazines are now available online, but they still appear for retail in stores and by offline subscriptions. Online music purchasing shows no signs of dropping, and the consumers show no sign of listening to less music. The industry Just has to take the initiative to make the music more accessible to music listeners at a fairer price.

PCB Pollution Essays - Monsanto, Pollutants,

PCB Pollution The Hudson River is a body of water that stretches for 315 miles from the Adirondack Mountains to the Battery in Manhattan, reaching its deepest point of 216 feet in the Highlands near Constitution Island and West Point and reaches its widest point of 3 miles across at Havestraw. This river is one of the most beautiful and scenic of the Tri-State area. Unfortunately, it happens to be New York's most polluted river. The river has been influenced upon since the early 1600's, when Englishman Henry Hudson commanded the Dutch ship Half Moon on an exploration of the river, certain that he had discovered a trade route to China. It soon dawned that this was no Atlantic-to-Pacific passage but an Edenlike place of awesome potential-a river valley teeming with prospect and spirit that was worth fighting for. In the centuries that followed, the fight for the river and its commerce never stopped, and still continues to the present. Then during the Industrial Revolution, with the advent of hulking manufacturing plants on the riverbanks, everything changed. The river became a sewer, cut off from the people around it by the electrification of the railroads. The 1825 completion of the Erie Canal instantly opened trade to the Midwest by linking Troy to Buffalo and established the Hudson River as the major commerce channel for New York City. Tycoons transformed the landscape in New York and across the country with the railroad, and the Hudson River valley became a hotbed for iron mining, limestone quarrying and clear-cutting. Toward the 19th century, when dynamite blasting was reducing the face of the Palisades to rubble, conservationists became alarmed that something was being lost to progress. In 1900, New York and New Jersey established the Palisades Interstate Park Commission to preserve the cliffs from further quarrying. Although conservation efforts continued into the 20th century, there was no progress to protect the Hudson River and its banks from industrial pollution. Some of the largest factories in the nation started production on the Hudson River, including Anaconda Wire and Cable in Hastings-on-Hudson and GM in the present day Sleepy Hallow, discharging waste into the river. There are numerous known contaminated sites around the U.S. Among the most dangerous of these, and of particular concern to residents of the Hudson Valley, are the forty "hot spots" in the Hudson River resulting from the dumping and leakage from General Electric plants at Fort Edward and Hudson Falls. From 1947 to 1977, these two plants legally discharged from 500,000 to 1.5 million pounds of PCBs into the Hudson, and unknowingly saturated the bedrock beneath both sites with at least that much again. There are PCBs in Hudson River water, biota, and sediment from Hudson Falls to New York City - 200 miles that comprise the nations largest Superfund site. Pure PCBs are oozing out of the bedrock to this day, constantly recontaminating the river and over 300,000 pounds remain concentrated in bottom sediments of the river today. The spread of PCBs throughout the Hudson River and the food chain, which it supports, has created one of the most extensive hazardous waste problems in the nation. Polychlorinated biphenyl's (PCBs) are a group of synthetic oil-like chemicals (therefore insoluble in water) of the organochlorine family. Until their toxic nature was recognized and their use was banned in the 1970s, they were widely used as insulation in electrical equipment, particularly transformers. Reputable chemists have since concluded, "it was probably a mistake ever to make or use PCBs." These are serious poisons, which have been shown to cause damage to the reproductive, neurological and immune systems of wildlife and humans and are known to cause cancer. Exposure has also been linked to behavioral damage. Specifically, because PCBs in the body mimic estrogen, women of childbearing age and their infants are particularly susceptible to a variety of development and reproductive disorders. Once in the body, these compounds do one of two things: they block the normal passage of hormones into their receptors, or, mimic the hormone itself and enter the receptor in lieu of the hormone. By doing so can irrevocably alter and damage the development of the organism. Small amounts of PCBs are taken up by microscopic organisms in the riverbed and passed up through the food chain. PCBs accumulate in microorganisms, which are eaten by small fish, which are eaten by big fish, which are eaten by bigger fish still, and so on up the food chain. The process by which PCBs concentrate at higher and higher levels up the food chain is called

Daniel Webster essays

Daniel Webster essays The book that I read was entitled Daniel Webster and the Rise of the National Conservation. It was written by Richard N. Current and was published in the year of Daniel Webster was brought into this world on the 18th day of January in the year 1782 in the valley of the Merrimack, near the middle of New Hampshire. He was son of a farmer and never really lacked attention while he was growing up. Webster demonstrated startling powers of assimilation and retention even as a child. He received the best of his early education from newspapers, his mothers bible, political gossip throughout the town and listening to his fathers fascinating tales of great men and their battles. Webster graduated from Dartmouth college in 1801 and shortly after, in 1807 he opened a legal practice in Portsmouth, New Hampshire after a legal apprenticeship. Daniel was a leading lawyer, a wonderful orator, a father, husband, and statesmen. In 1812 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives due to his opposition to the war of 1812. In the year of 1816, Webster left the congress and moved to Boston with his wife and two children to the growing New England metropolis. Soon after his move he was earning about 20,000 dollars a year, yet still borrowing large sums of money from his friends. During this period of Websters life he won many major constitutional cases. In 1820 Webster believed that protective tarrifs would multiply the dangerous proletariat, and he was strongly opposed to them. A few years later in 1823 Webster returned to congress from Boston, and in 1824 he met the irrepressible tarrif advocates again and battled with their greatest successor, Henry Clay. In 1827 Webster was elected senator from Massachusetts. The six years ahead of him were going to stand out about all of his honors in the never-ending tourney of political debate. Unfortunately, the mother of his four children who had always c...

Politics of crime essays

Politics of crime essays While sitting peacefully in my own frame of mind, I quickly jumped to the sudden, roaring sounds of police and ambulance sirens. I said to myself, I hope what is happening is not true. From blocks away, the repetitious sound of the sirens were starting to fade away. I anxiously waited for the local news to air, and there it was; another crime committed and another life lost. Each and everyday that someone watches the news, there is going to be at least one crime that has been committed. Speaking for myself and some others individuals, I cherish my life and want to live it to the fullest. On the other hand, there are some individuals that live their life in fear, not having the slightest idea of what is going to happen in the next second or minute of the day. Personally, speaking from my own point of vies, I do not think enough is being done to prevent crime. The reason I have this belief is because the people that hold higher level authoritative positions are not doing their job. For example, while watching the news, you will sometimes see a number to call for crime stoppers, to lead the police in the direction to the site of the crime and the criminals. The media tells you when you call the number, you do not have to state your name. Well, if they catch the criminal, your name will have to be stated to claim your reward. Instead of keeping that type of information confidential it will eventually be exposed. These individuals that try to be concerned citizens are sometimes the next victims of crime. Failure of completing police duties leads to a poor witness protection program. Based upon the article, the authors rationale as to why the government, national, state, and local, does not do more to prevent crime is because when there is a time to vote on a tax increase to fund crime prevention, voters bulk. The author, Richard Kneely, submits that for every reform ...

World History I Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

World History I - Essay Example Questia is the world's largest online library of books and journal articles. Both sites are academic in nature, with no special interests. What is the site's purpose Wikipedia is designed to provide browsers with access to encyclopedic articles on a wide variety of topics. Like any encyclopedia, its purpose is academic and informational. Similarly, Questia is a full-service online library with books and journal articles, as well as newspaper and limited magazine articles. It is also designed to be an academic topic research source to paying subscribers (it has a free trial available to new users). How is the site listed Both sites are obtainable through standard internet search engines by either typing in a subject for research or the names of the organizations themselves. Both are replete with referenced material and reliable antecedents, as well as full citation information. Some sources on the sites include links to the publisher or author. Who is likely to use the site On Wikipedia, the intended audience appears to be those with general interests who need basic information. It is written on a high school level, has graphics and maps where relevant, and active links within the articles for additional research.

A1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A1 - Assignment Example Industry events show that Pepsi has always shown a slight edge over Coca Cola on the basis of profitability growth. As stated by Thomas, this resulted from Pepsi’s activities in witnessing indomitable share repurchase as compared to Coca Cola. Both companies witness almost same annual growth rate because of their ability to maintain their shareholders value through strategy of strengthening their dividend. This is in form of the company’s earning, which helped in attracting investors consequently increasing the demand The TIE (times interest earned) and debt to assets ratio show Coca Cola has the best financial condition. Risk for Coca Cola’s failure to payout interest is much lower than Pepsi’s. Dividend payout ratios, dividend per share and dividend yield suggest that investors of Coca Cola have greater proposition of revenue from dividends. Larger dividends also reflect a healthy financial condition of company. This means that Coca Cola is likely to take up on projects, which needs funding as compared to its competitors. The global financial crisis witnessed might have brought the realized little earning per share registered by the companies in

Hollywood’s Dilemma Essay Example for Free

Hollywood’s Dilemma Essay After two decades of labor peace, Hollywood is now facing a major dilemma as movie and television writers embark on an industrywide strike. The walkout brought the first widespread shutdown of the entertainment industry since the 1988 writers’ strike which lasted five months and cost the industry more than $500 million. The call for strike resulted after more than three months of contentious negotiations between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the 12,000-member Writers Guild of America (WGA) whose contract expired last October 31. The dispute sparked after the writers demanded that they be given a bigger slice of DVD profits and revenue from the distribution of films and TV shows over the Internet. Producers however brushed off the writers requests, arguing that industry economics and still-shifting technology made accommodation impossible. The series of negotiations began as early as July with a demand by the producers that compensation for the new media be postponed until an industry group could study the matter. It also demanded that writers accept a radical restructuring of the residuals system, under which companies would make payments only after they had recouped the cost of movies and programs. Both demands were rejected by the writers. The producers then withdrew their demands but refused to grant the writers’ requests. Failures to come up with a compromise led to writers’ warning that would stage a strike if their demands would not be met. The writers’ guild drew up an aggressive set of strike rules that forbid members from working during the walkout. In response, producers published on their website a road map for writers who might want to invoke their rights under federal labor law to keep working during a strike. Other last-ditch talks occurred but these failed to avert the strike. The strike began after the failed negotiation talk on November 4. Writers in Los Angeles started picketing 14 studio locations in four-hour shifts from 9a. m. to 5p. m. On the other hand, 50 striking writers wore red strike T-shirts at Paramount Studio’s gate. In front of NBC studios at Rockefeller Center in New York, strikers used a giant rat to impersonate network executives and chanted, â€Å"No Contract, No Shows. † Unlike the 1988 writers’ strike which led to flourishing of reality television, cheaper production costs, and decent ratings for broadcast and cable networks, this year’s strike seems to result to more negative effects to the entertainment industry. The first casualties are the late-night talk shows which depend primarily on current events. Also expected to feel the strike’s impacts are the daytime television shows and soap operas which usually tape about a week in advance. Production of movies and primetime TV programs shall also be affected though the effects will not be immediate as most of the studios have stockpiled dozens of scripts which could last until early next year. The strike really has great implications not only in the entertainment industry but in the country’s economy as well. It affects not only the 200,000 workers in the movie and television industry but other industries as well. It also threatens to affect the economy of Southern California. The entertainment industry contributes an estimated $30 billion annually, or about seven percent to the economy of Los Angeles County. The local tourist economy shall likewise be affected as there is a tendency that tourists who observe that the entertainment industry is shut down will conclude that the economy is also weakening. In conclusion, the two parties must give way to each other’s demands and come into compromise for the sake of the industry itself and the national economy. After all, strikes or its any other forms are useless if none of the parties involved would find way to compromise. Works Cited Cieply, Michael. â€Å"Hollywood Producers Drop a Key Demand† The New York Times. October 17, 2007 â€Å"Hollywood Writers Strike† Ohio. com. November 5, 2007 http://www. ohio. com/news/break_news

Comparing Huck Finn and Colden Haufield in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain :: essays research papers

Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Huck and Holden go through a series of events from which they are able to learn and grow from. They are able to develop opinions that they did not hold at the beginning of the novels but that they have formed from their travels, and both Huck and Holden are changed by the end of each novel. Although both Huck and Holden’s growth is addressed in the endings, both novels fail to provide a definite future for them. During their journeys, the reader wonders what is going to happen to Huck and Holden once this series of adventures is over and what their outlooks are. The reader is left uncertain of their future when different paths are presented from which the characters have to choose.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Huck Finn and Catcher in the Rye, the authors bring the main characters back to where they begun which makes their growth from their journeys more evident. At the end of Huck Finn, Aunt Sally is planning to ‘sivilize’ Huck, but Huck has already been ‘sivilized’ once and from his journey down the Mississippi he has viewed the ways of society and has rejected them. At the beginning of the novel, Huck holds conflicting beliefs and is not sure whether he should follow society and its rules. By the end, he has decided from his travels that he has to form his own opinions and make his own decisions because society is not all that many believe it to be. In Catcher in the Rye, Holden holds a cynical view of society and the people in it, but in the end, Holden acknowledges his cynical view by revealing that he is under the care of a psychoanalyst and then says, â€Å"Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybo dy† (Catcher 214). Holden has begun to accept the people in society that he criticized throughout the novel and accepted the fact that he cannot protect children from entering the adult world. This shows that from the various incidents in his travels through New York, he has grown and begun to develop a new view on society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While the changes made by Holden and Huck are apparent in the conclusion of their stories, their futures are left uncertain. At the end of Huck Finn, Aunt Sally plans to ‘sivilize’ Huck while Huck plans to head west.

The Turtle Jean Lafitte: Adventures of a Pet Psychic

Gordon 1 Stephanie Gordon College Writing 112. 005 Guyant 10/11/11 Psychics reading the gullible Gordon 2 The world today is filled with psychics claiming they can perform tasks involving extrasensory projections. There are people who say they can speak with the dead, read minds, feel energies, and see into the future. It is very easy, when vulnerable and gullible enough, to fall into what these psychics are saying. Most will say what you want to hear in order to gain credibility for themselves, or even to just earn a living. It is a complicated thing to argue, however, because this science cannot be proven true. It has undoubtedly been proven a hoax time and time again, but there are two sides to every story. Those who believe and buy into what these psychics are saying are the ones who keep this business alive. I think that people will believe what they want to believe, which is why psychics can continue putting on a show to make believers out of the gullible. There is a term used in Psychology to represent when it is actually the subjects who make a reading succeed. It is called the â€Å"fallacy of personal validation. This means that when someone is being read by a psychic, the way they interpret the reading to match their own character is what makes them believe in what the psychic is saying (Gordon 48). This is most often true with horoscopes. We usually only read the horoscope that matches up with our own birthday, but when reading ones that are for other months, they can be matched up to anyone. Horoscopes can be very general, such as, â€Å"Good things are coming your way†, or â€Å"You will meet someone with potential for a relationship next month†. These things could be interpreted in a different way for every person who reads them. Almost anyone could find a way to fit the readings into their own lives. Most of the time the horoscope â€Å"predicts† things that would have happened to a person anyways. Chances are whoever reads it will have something good happen to them or meet someone new any period of time after they have read it. It is the fallacy of personal validation that makes astronomical readings seem so accurate for each individual. Psychics themselves have a lot of confidence in what they do. Though there are some who know they are putting on an act, there are others who truly believe they have a gift. One psychic who Gordon 3 makes a living off of being a reader, DeAna, lives in the United Kingdom. She explains in an interview that ever since she was a young girl, her family and friends were baffled when DeAna knew information that she was never directly told. She constantly knew information that she not only should not, but could not have possibly known. Using her skill as a career measure did not come until much later in life. When asked â€Å"How have you become a psychic reader? † DeAna replies, â€Å"A lady I worked with was dreadfully distraught about a relative who had gone AWOL. One day she handed me a coffee and I found information about the person flooding in – as she touched me. I gave her the info and the person was located. She was shocked at first and then thrilled and told an awful lot of people! Before I knew it, after a 12 hour shift – 6 days a week, I would arrive home to find people waiting on my doorstep needing a reading. † (DeAna) She continues to explain how she helped people before and after her shift at her regular job, for no pay. One day a woman came along who was offended when DeAna would not accept payment. She scolded the psychic and said that she was offering a service and should expect payment for her skills. DeAna decided to make her readings a full time job, after the woman put things into perspective for her. She thought she should use her gift to help whenever she could, whenever she could. DeAna soon realized this was her calling, and chose to start charging all of her clients and turn her talent into a career. DeAna helps people who are looking for answers. Her clients who now pay her for reading sessions in person and over the phone, come to her because they need help with something in their lives. DeAna even helps corporate businesses in finding the correct applicant for a job. She states that she wrote out a paragraph for each applicant on their character traits and strengths as she saw it. Perhaps the person in charge of hiring had poor skills in his job area to begin with, which is why other people he had hired did not end up working out for their company. The fact of the matter is, every person DeAna has picked out for the company has worked extremely well in their position. One man, who admits to being a fake, is Henry Gordon. He calls himself a mentalist-magician, Gordon 4 because his tricks are what he calls slight of mind. His career has been based on debunking those who claim to have magical or psychic powers. In 1977 (Gordon 3), he put on a magic show in his hometown, but performed under the stage name Elchonen and wore a mask so his identity would stay hidden. After performing several amazing tricks, the audience was completely hooked and bought into his entire performance. When it came time for the second act, Gordon walked out on stage without his mask and was instantly recognized by his community. He told people they had been duped, and proceeded to explain why it is so easy for them to believe his tricks. People in the audience had every reason to be upset. They had put themselves in a vulnerable position and got sucked into Gordon's act. This is also part of the reason people believe so strongly in psychics and their readings. Those who are curious are the ones who are easily pulled into the hoax. After an atmosphere is created with a crystal ball, one or two correct guesses, and just a hint of belief, a psychic can pull a client in and the rest is history. It is very easy for a mentalist magician like Gordon to pull simple tricks and attract a following. Some members of the audience in Gordon's show were so upset they demanded their money back. Gordon told them they would receive a full refund for their ticket if they asked for it at the ticket office. He later found out most of the people who received their refund came back to find out the tricks of his trade. He calls himself a mentalist magician, because he uses slight of mind tricks, as opposed to sleight of hand. His tricks test a person's mind, rather than how well they were paying attention. Gordon makes a living off of debunking psychics and anyone who claims they have extra sensory projection. He says that he could make a much better living off of being a magician, but there is something standing between him and a life full of riches. His conscience. Psychics make general assumptions that lead to specific answers, based on the responses of the person they are reading. (75) This is what makes the person believe they are taking part in something outside our natural world. It is what pulls them in and makes them a believer in this phenomenon. Some people tend to believe when they need an answer that they cannot seem to find on their Gordon 5 own. Local law enforcement has been known to use a psychic when they have hit a dead end during a case. This happens rarely. Often times the psychic is brought in by the family of the victim, and not law enforcement directly. Law enforcement will comply with the psychic if they feel they have no other options and need help taking a step in a new direction. The psychics, however, can be more of a problem than a help. Police may be looking for a step in the right direction, but what if the psychic sets them on a completely wrong path? Time is of the essence in the majority of these cases and a psychic may throw off the entire investigation. If a psychic chooses to help in a search, officials may decide to ignore their claims. One man, Mr. Earl Curley, is extremely confident in his psychic abilities. He brags to his followers about how his help led to an arrest in a murder investigation. Curley states that he gave a composite drawing of the alleged killer in the investigation of the Atlanta Child Murders. He then claims that because of his help, a criminal named Wayne Williams was apprehended four and a half days later. Since Curley seemed to be so confident in his help, Henry Gordon went to investigate how much he had really helped the investigators on the outcome of this case. When Gordon contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigations about Curley's help with the case, he received a direct quote from the Press Information Office. â€Å"Mr. Earl Curley contacted our Atlanta office (voluntarily) in 1980 and 1981. He sent in some kind of write-up of what he thought the subject would look like, and he sent in some sort of a drawing. However, there was no impact on the case as a result of what he sent in. (Gordon 88) This goes to show that psychics can brag about using their abilities, but unless someone digs deeper in the matter, they will not know how much the psychic really helped. Psychics may have helped law enforcement with their two cents worth, but it does not mean that they led to any kind of conclusion in a case. Suppose the FBI had used Curley's drawings. They might have arrested a man who matched the picture, but who was not the criminal who committed the murders. Any set of circumstances resulting from Curley's voluntary help could have sent the entire investigation in a completely wrong direction. Luckily the Bureau was smart enough to ignore this psychic and stick with their own set of techniques. Gordon 6 Having confidence in their work is part of what makes them so believable. If they believe in it themselves, others are sure to follow in the hype. Psychics use all sort of ways to show their skills. Whether it is using a reading to predict an outcome, predict the future, communicate with the afterlife, they all have their own set of ways to create believers. A popular method some psychics use when attempting to contact someone who has passed on, is the Ouija board. It is a board with numbers from zero to nine and all of the letters of the alphabet on it. A game piece in the shape of a triangle with a plastic center is used to spell out the answers to questions asked. When the piece goes over a letter or number, it is supposed to spell out a word of phrase that is from a spirit. This board was considered a game in the United States. It sold extremely well, mostly to people who had lost a loved one in World War I. The woes of someone dying, going missing, or simply being affected by the tragedies of war, drove some people to turn to magic. These were people who needed answers from their loved ones and had no way of getting them elsewhere. The man who created the Ouija board, Isaac Fuld, was a toymaker. He attempted to say the game was a scientific instrument, so that he would not have to pay a ten percent tax on toy sales. This was even argued all the way to the Supreme Court. There is no way to test that connecting with those in the afterlife is a scientific measure, so the board was ruled a toy. How surprising. To make a point as to how the toy could not possibly be magic, Henry Gordon, once again was there to help us out. He taught a class on the paranormal at McGill University. He brought in a woman who claimed to be a psychic and used the Ouija board as a tool to contact spirits from the afterlife. Since Gordon made his living off of proving psychics to be fakes, she was one of his star guest speakers. She wore a long green dress and a turban, which made her appear as someone who you would see behind a crystal ball in a dimly lit room. This was obviously a part of her performance. She demonstrated how the board worked, and allowed Gordon to ask a few questions to someone he knew who had passed. After receiving a few answers from the â€Å"spirits† (Who knows if they were right? ), Gordon tested the woman’s skills. To Gordon 7 prove the board, and the woman, who truly believed in her gift of communicating with spirits, were both fake, he placed a piece of brown paper wrapping over the board. The game piece moved around over the paper, so the numbers and letters were hidden. This way the woman could not see what characters her hands were moving over. He asked a few more questions, but the game piece only spelled out gibberish for answers. Gordon 110) If the spirits really were speaking to Gordon and the class through the Ouija board, would it matter if there was paper covering it? This throws the Ouija board in with the crystal balls, tarot cards, astrological charts, and any other tricks a psychic may use to convince the world of their talent. Another way the public is pulled into psychic hysteria is with animals. Some pet owners claim that their horse or dog o r pig have psychic powers. The most well-known psychic animal came around in the 1920s. (Milbourne 40) She was a benign mare named Lady who performed in a red barn near Richmond, Virginia. Mrs. Claudia Fonda, Lady’s owner claimed she could spell, add, subtract, multiply, divide, tell time, and answer questions. Reporters who visited Lady to see the Wonder Horse with their own eyes wrote that she could predict the future and read minds. Mrs. Fonda charged a fee of fifty cents for children and one dollar for adults for admission to see Lady and her talents. People would ask the horse a wide range of questions. Lady was asked anything from â€Å"When will I marry? † to â€Å"How should I invest my money? † (41) Lady even took part in helping find the body of a missing boy in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. She also knew a lot about baseball, and even had a more success in picking winners than most professional sportswriters. Everything in Lady’s career left everyone astonished, and in 1956 (43), Mrs. Fonda shortened Lady’s time with the public to afternoons only. A man named John Kobler was being sent to write an article on Lady for the Saturday Evening Post. He asked Christopher Melbourne if he was available to come along as a consultant, because he was one who was familiar with the techniques of deception. Since Melbourne had written articles on the horse before, he introduced himself to Mrs. Fonda as John Banks, so that she would not be upset by his Gordon 8 presence. Banks carried a camera, so that he would be accepted as a photographer associate to Kobler. When they arrived at Lady’s Barn, Mrs. Fonda assumed her position to the left of Lady. Lady communicated through a giant typewriter-like machine. When she pushed down a plank with her nose, a letter popped up. Mrs. Fonda instructed the men to ask Lady whatever they wanted. Banks asked the horse â€Å"What is my name? † Lady spelled out B-A-N-K-S on her typewriter, but his name was not really Banks. He also asked when his brother would return from Europe, and Lady answered â€Å"S-U-M-M-E-R†. Banks did not have a brother. After Kobler asked several questions of his own, Mrs. Fonda handed each of the men a long, skinny pad of paper, and a long pencil. She instructed them to write down a number, and Lady would read their minds and know the number. Kobler did as he was told, and Lady guessed everytime. Banks, however, would write the number one, but act as though he was writing the number 9. He would only push the pencil to paper as the spine of the 9 came down. He used this technique for almost every number, and Lady guessed wrong every time. It was obvious that a technique called pencil reading was being used. Mrs. Fonda had given the men skinny pads, so that the stroke of the pencils could easily be seen. This is the same reason for giving them longer pencils. Had a large pad of paper and short, stubby pencils been used, pencil reading could not have occurred. At the end of the visit, Melbourne had come to the conclusion that Lady had indeed been trained very well by Mrs. Fonda, but Lady was no psychic. Mrs. Fonda stood on Lady’s left side. Horses cannot see what is in front of them, only what is on the side. Therefore the only thing in Lady’s sight was Mrs. Fonda, and the stick she held in her hand. The stick is what Fonda used to direct Lady for which plank she should push. This means that Lady was simply doing as her master instructed, and that Fonda was really answering everyone’s questions. Although it has been proved that Lady was not a psychic animal, it leaves us with the question as to how Mrs. Fonda knew all of those answers? One way researchers attempted to discover just how many people believed in Psychical Phenomena, was with a survey called the Sheep-Goat scale. In the late 1970s (Haraldsson, Journal of Gordon 9 American Society for Psychical Research 2), a group of researchers set out to discover how belief in psychical phenomena may be related to attitudes, experiences, and activities in the domain of religion and politics. The survey asked questions about belief in the existence of telepathy, ability to know the future, spiritual experiences or dreams, and whether the person read books or articles on psychic phenomena. (2-3) Subjects were scored on their answers and only taken into account if they had answered every question. This scale was used in four different to obtain information on the public’s knowledge on psychical phenomena. The first study was done in Iceland on persons ranging from 30-70 years old, selected at random. About 80% of the original sample size returned the survey, which was enough to use the results as a representative of the Icelandic population in that age range. (3) The other three studies were done at the University of Iceland. All of the studies concluded that belief in the psychic and religious beliefs have common facts to some extent. 9) This positive correlation may be due to the fact that the respondents read often. Belief in one item may lead to a belief in the other. As a result of this research, I feel it is clear that psychics can absolutely be proven to be fakes. They cannot, however, be proven to be real. Their profession relies solely on belief, most of which is from vulnerable, gullible people. Psychics use their props, tricks, and performances to pull in peo ple and turn them into believers. Depending on the type of hoax they use to attract a clientele, they can make an entire living off of other people’s gullibility. I feel it is wrong to be able to do this, but am happy there are people such as Henry Gordon who continue to work on proving them wrong. There are still some questions left unanswered, like how Claudia Fonda, knew all of the answers to everybody’s questions. The fact of the matter is that there will always be questions left unanswered, because there is no science developed to prove or disprove a psychic’s abilities. Gullible people will continue to be fed on by psychics. Only a look into the crystal ball will tell when the hoaxes will all come to an end. Gordon 10 Christopher, Milbourne. ESP, Seers & Psychics. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1970. Print. DeAna. Interview. Jacob. Parapsychology articles and blog. 3 May. 2007. Web. Gordon, Henry. Extra Sensory Deception. Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1987. Print. Haraldsson, Erlendur. â€Å"Representative national surveys of psychic phenomena: Iceland, great Britain, Sweden, USA, and Gallup’s multinational survey. † Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 53(1985) pg. 1-14. Web. Haraldsson, Erlendur. â€Å"Some Determinants of Belief in Psychical Phenomena. † The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research 75(1981): pg 1-10. Web.

The Evolution of Islam Judaism and Christianity

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are the most recognized and popular religions around the globe. The three religions are in some ways very similar while at the same time very diverse. Collectively all three religions are monotheistic which means the belief in one God, creator of the Universe who hears the prayers of his faithfuls. The Jews believe that God made a pact with their ancestors, the Hebrews, saying that they are the chosen ones. They await the return if the Messiah. The Christians believe that God in the form of Jesus came to earth and established the Christian church amongst his apostles.The Muslims accept both the Jewish Messiah and the Christian Jesus, but in turn believe that their profit Muhammad was the last and greatest sent by God. The religions are all of book, and have written records of God's words. The Jews have the Hebrew Bible, the Christians have the New and Old Testament of the Christian bible which includes the Hebrew Bible, and the Muslims have the Qur'an . One of the first major Jewish Architectural creations known is the First Temple in Jerusalem.This temple was built to house the Ark of the Covenant by King Soloman back in the 10th century, it later became a place for the Jewish to worship. However it was destroyed by the Babylonians, the people where exiled and the Ark stolen. There was another grand temple built after the land was returned to the Jews by Cyrus the Great of Persia, but again destroyed by the Romans. The temple was said to be made of imported wood and was supported by two large bronze pillars. A big part of Judaism is the educations of the religion, they gather in buildings called Synagogues for this very purpose.These buildings were used by Jewish men women and children to study the Torah, and was also used for social gatherings. Before buildings were specifically built for this purpose, they would meet in private homes or anywhere Torah scrolls were kept and read. Then the construction of house like buildings be gan. One of the first has an assembly hall, a courtyard, and a separate room for women, soon after residential rooms were added. The two architectural features that distinguished the assembly hall from the other rooms were long benches lining the walls, and a place for the scrolls.Jews also built meeting places like that of the Roman basilica. This included an aisle on both sides and separated from this an apse adorned with Torah scrolls and facing east. Once Christianity was recognized by the government it's number grew rapidly, more specifically amongst the wealthy. Early Christian art is described as style and imagery of the Jewish and Roman visual traditions, this is called syncreatism. Artist take images from past traditions and give them their own purpose. The most famous is what is known as the Good Shepard.Before it was a depiction of Orpheus amongst his animals, or sometimes considered a personification of philanthropy. However in the time of early Christianity, this same i mage became a depiction of the Good Shepard of the book of Psalms. Most early Christian art is very rare and depicted either God, his son Jesus, or the Holy Ghost. Some of the few remains of art work are in catacombs which is where the dead were buried. The most famous of these are found where two Christians who were martyred for their faith are buried.The art work of their cubicula, or small room created for the deceased, is a painting of the Good Shepard. Under to painting are the words: â€Å"I am a good Shepard. A good Shepard lays down his life for the sheep. †, and around the painting are smaller paintings depicting the story of Jonah and the sea monster. Early Muslim architects were influenced by the Romans and the Byzantines. They began to build large numbers of mosques, palaces, and shrines. Of these buildings one of the most famous and recognized is the Dome of the Rock, or Haram Al-Sharif.The building site is said to be the place where Muhammad rose to the Heavens to be with God. This site also has important value to both Jews and Christians. For the Jews this is the site where both First and Second Jewish temples were built and destroyed. For the Christians this site marks the creation of Adam and where the patriarch Abraham was sent to kill his son by God. Because both Jewish and Christian faiths have history here, the building of the Dome of the Rock is the first architectural statement by Islam that it completes the other religions.

Free sample - Summary of the Marketing Plan For Campus Tax Service, LLC. translation missing

Summary of the Marketing Plan For Campus Tax Service, LLC. Summary of the Marketing Plan For Campus Tax Service, LLCA  new company is going to be launched in January 01, 2011 named Campus Tax Service, LLC. The main objective of the company is to provide tax return preparation service to the college students. Our business service is operated at five campuses i.e. Levine, Central, Cato, Harper, and North Campus in Piedmont Community Colleges with the headquarter located in the City of Charlotte at the Piedmont Community Colleges Campuses in the state of North Carolina. The company’s will be formed with the ownership of Mr. Gary Bonaccorso with the total investment of $25000, where the owner will share $5000 and the rest $20000 will be collected from taking loan. The capital is used to purchase the computer equipments, furniture, software, promotional literature for all five locations and meet up the initial cost of starting the business. Each and every students need to prepare their tax return annually.   For assisting the students, the company came up with their services. The company possesses a strong confidence and determination to penetrate the industry by serving their primary target groups. The students at the five campuses are the target group. The company has further plan to serve the parents of the students and nearby residents. This venture could be very much profitable and the company will take long term plan to increase profitability and at the same time try to reduce the overall cost. Under the strict supervision of the owner and other management stuffs, The Company projects to increase 10% annual growth in sales. The company tries to make the service popular to the students because all students are indeed of making the tax return preparation services The company set its mission to become the market leader by implementing the strategy successfully. The management of the company performs the business activities with the aim of doing the right thing at the right time at the right place. The company aims to provide unique services and strive to ensure higher client satisfaction. Campus Tax Service, LLC offers $50 for preparing any tax return for students. Additional $17.50 need to be paid if the return exceeds 7 page formats. The price is very much reasonable and attractive in the industry. The company also offers attractive referral program for students. Each successful referral enable both the referral and referee students a discount of $5. The company considers total students as the target group for operation. So, taking the service to each and every client is the main theme of marketing the company’s service. Various types of promotional activities and measures i.e. flyers, bulletin board postings, ads in college publications, circulated coupons with discounts, word of mouth referrals will be taken to promote the company products. All the information can be found in company websites. The students’ enrollment demographics consist of Black Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, American /Indian /Alaskan Native, White Non-Hispanic and others with a total of 18,608 in numbers. Company has further plan to take the service to the households, faculties and other income group who also need to pay tax. The company will employ talented and qualified personnel in order to carry the day to day activities. The company provides extensive training facilities to its employees so that they can prepare the tax return service of the students properly, accurately and quickly. The employees of the company are so adept that they can present and provide service to the students any time. They are well trained and equipped with on site software for ease of tax return preparation. Those motivated work force will bring the targeted sales for the company The company will expand its business activities with taking newer strategies relevant to the vision and objectives. The control of expenses and increment of sales in the next few years will be the priority of the company. The company is committed to serve all the clients with the expertise of its efficient personnel, attractive packages and incentive programs and effective marketing campaigns.

History of the Victorian Scullery

History of the Victorian Scullery A scullery is a room adjoining the kitchen where pots and pans are cleaned and stored. Sometimes the laundering of clothes is also done here. In Great Britain and the United States, houses built before 1920 often had sculleries located in the rear of a house. Scullery comes from the Latin word scutella, meaning tray or platter. Wealthy families who entertained would have to maintain stacks of china and sterling silver would need regular cleaning. The process of cleaning everything in a household was time-consuming- the number of staff required was proportional to the number in the household. Who took care of the household staff? The most menial tasks were carried out by the unskilled, youngest servants known as scullery maids or simply  scullions. These domestic servants were almost always female in the 1800s and were sometimes called skivvies, which is also a word used to describe underwear. Scullery maids did the most humble tasks in the household, including laundering the underwear of the upper servants like butlers, housekeepers, and cooks. Functionally, the scullery maid was a servant to the other servants of the household. On the PBS website for the Manor House television series,  The Scullery Maid: Daily Duties are outlined for the fictional Ellen Beard. The setting is Edwardian England, which is during the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910, but the duties are similar to earlier times- rising early to prepare for the household staff, lighting the fire of the kitchen stove, emptying chamber pots, etc. As the household upgraded technologically, these tasks became less of a burden. Sculleries and the servants who work in them are often featured in popular movies and television series, such as Upstairs Downstairs, The Duchess of Duke Street, and Downton Abbey. The home featured in the popular TV series, The 1900 House, has a scullery in the rear, behind the kitchen. Why Are Sculleries Thought of as British? For people living in the 21st century, its sometimes difficult to think of the day-to-day existence of people living in the not-too-distant past. Although civilizations have known about disease for thousands of years, its only been in recent years that people have understood the causes and transmission of sickness. The Romans built great public bathhouses that still influence todays architecture. Medieval households would cover nasty smells with perfumes and herbs. Not until the reign of Queen Victoria,  from 1837 until 1901, did the idea of modern public health come about.   Sanitation became a big concern in the 19th-century as the medical community gained a better knowledge of how to control infections. The British physician Dr. John Snow (1813-1858) became legendary in 1854 when he surmised that removing a towns pump handle would stop the transmission of the cholera epidemic. This use of the scientific method to deter the spread of disease made Dr. Snow the Father of Public Health, even though the bacteria Vibrio cholerae was not isolated until 1883. The awareness of cleanliness to avert disease was certainly not lost on the members of the upper class. The houses we build are not built in isolation from what is going on in society. The architecture built at the time of Queen Victoria- Victorian architecture- would be designed around the latest science and technology of the day. In the 1800s, having a room devoted to cleaning, the scullery, was high-tech thinking. Franke, a Swiss company formed in 1911, made their first sink in 1925 and still sell what they call scullery sinks. The Franke Scullery Sinks are large, deep, metal sinks of various configurations (1, 2, 3 sinks across). We might call them pot or prep sinks in a restaurant and shop or utility sinks in a basement. Nevertheless, many companies still call these sinks after the 19th-century name of a room. You can even buy these sinks from various manufacturers on Amazon.com. Significance of the Scullery to the US Homeowner People in the market for buying older homes are often puzzled at floor plans and how space is allocated- what are all those smaller rooms to the rear of the house? For old houses, remember: Kitchens were often additions, separated from the main house because of fire hazards.What we know as the middle class did not become a reality until the mid-twentieth century. What we consider  an old house today was probably built and inhabited by a financially well-off family with servants. Understanding the past helps us take charge of the future. Sources 150th Anniversary of John Snow and the Pump Handle, MMWR Weekly, September 3, 2004 / 53(34); 783 at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5334a1.htm [accessed January 16, 2017]

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7000 words

Case Study Example It was launched in 2008 November and has since grown significantly since then. The website was founded focusing on collective buying power. Today it serves over 150 markets locally and over 100 additional markets all over the world. Today it has more than 150 million subscribers around the world and over $ 4 billion dollars in revenue (Kim, Lee, & Park, 2013). As an internet application, the platform must ensure that it has a competitive advantage over other online platforms. Ensuring that users have a way of adding their own data to what the platform provides is significant because it enables participation that could market the platform further. The platform has harnessed a collective intelligence by creating architecture of participation for the users both implicitly and explicitly. For instance, the website provides discounts of products manufactured by different companies throughout its markets. To ensure that these companies directly interact with customers, the website has provided a way of customers interacting with these manufacturers by providing a way for customers to use discounted gift certificates in local or national companies. This puts the customers in a position to directly make comments about the products they buy to the companies and improve product quality. The platform has also provided a way for customers to put comm ents in the website about the services they receive. The platform has also done this by allowing merchants to put their won description and products. This platform depends significantly on the experiences of consumers with respect to the services they get and on the experiences of the companies that they deal with. Any negative experience could affect the platform detrimentally. Therefore, harnessing collective intelligence is key to the platforms continued success and to ensure that negative experiences are resolved with immediate effect to ensure that the company is not brought down. Harnessing collective

Issues in global business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Issues in global business - Essay Example In addition, if the firm has specialized products or services, which cannot be found or found in minor varieties in a foreign market, then also firms will adopt internationalization and become an MNC. Instead of competing in a saturated local environment, if the firm becomes MNC, it will have access to new markets and new customers. In foreign countries, people will always view foreign products with big expectations, particularly if it is a well known brand. If the MNCs are able to provide superior quality product than the local companies, it can attract many customers and earn good profits. However, the disadvantage is, in most cases, the MNCs have to launch a new and localized marketing campaign, to build a brand from scratch. As the local companies would have been operating for a long time, they will be in the minds of the people, but MNCs has to carry out campaigns and this could take time. There are a number of entry paths available to the MNCs to enter foreign countries. However, the common paths are Direct Investment, Joint Ventures, Franchising, Mergers, etc. Although, Direct Investment will be the favourable mode of entry for the foreign firms, if there are any government regulations against it, then they will go for joint ventures and franchising. Franchising has become one of the common entry paths because franchises have local knowledge and expertise that can be leveraged to a competitive advantage. (Neelankavil and Rai

Tax Havens or Offshore Financial Centre Research Proposal

Tax Havens or Offshore Financial Centre - Research Proposal Example You can have tax havens that charge virtually no tax at all or which just charge annual administrative sums of money for companies using its shores as a base for their operations, and you can have nations that simply charge a lower rate of taxation than competitor havens". (Barber, 2006) Recently some countries have emerged as evident tax havens and are attracting hefty capital inflow. Singapore, Hong-Kong, Barbdos etc are only a few to name. "In Asia, offshore interbank markets began to develop after 1968 when Singapore launched the Asian Dollar Market (ADM) and introduced the Asian Currency Units (ACUs). The ADM was an alternative to the London euro-dollar market, and the ACU rule enabled mainly foreign banks to engage in international transactions under a favorable tax and regulatory environment" (International Monetary Fund, 2000) Similarly in Europe, Luxembourg attracted investors from Germany, France and Belgium in the early 1970s (IMF, 2000) due to its low income tax rates, the lack of withholding taxes for nonresidents on interest and dividend income, and banking secrecy rules. On the same ground The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man provided very similar opportunities. Moreover Bahrain began to serve as a collection center for the region's oil surpluses during the mid 1970s, after passing banking laws and providing tax incentives to facilitate the incorporation of offshore banks. In the Western Hemisphere, the Bahamas and later the Cayman Islands provided similar facilities. Following this initial success by other countries, a number of other small countries tried to attract this business. Many had little success, because they were unable to offer any advantage over the more established centers. This did, however, lead some late arrivals to appeal to the less legitimate side of the business. "By the end of the 1990s, the attractions of offshore banking seemed to be changing for the financial institutions of industrial countries as reserve requirements, interest rate controls and capital controls diminished in importance, while tax advantages remain powerful. Also, some major industrial countries began to make similar incentives available on their home territory. For example, the U.S. established in 1981, in major U.S. cities, the so-called International Banking Facilities (IBFs). Later, Japan allowed the creation of the Japanese Offshore Market (JOM) with similar characteristics. At the same time, supervisory authorities, and to some extent tax authorities were adopting the principle of consolidation which reduced the incentives for banks to carry on business outside their principal jurisdiction. As a result, the relative advantage of OFCs for conventional banking has become less attractive to industrial countries, although the tax advantages for asset management appear to have grown in importance. In fact, reported bank intermediation on the balance sheet in IFCs has declined over the period 1992-1999, thus contributing to the overall decline in the share of bank cross-border assets intermediated through OFCs from 56 percent of total bank cross-border

Swot South Beauty Essay Example for Free

Swot South Beauty Essay A SWOT Analysis is a tool that identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of an organization. This basic, straightforward model assesses what an organization can and cannot do as well as its potential opportunities and threats. The method of the SWOT analysis is to take the information from an environmental analysis and separate it into internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external issues (opportunities and threats). Once it is completed, SWOT analysis determines what may assist the firm in accomplishing its objectives, and what obstacles must be overcome or minimized to achieve the desired results. Strengths * Brand Strategy and positioning. The Group’s branding strategy focuses on brand differentiation to cater a wide range of customers. The newest brand of the group, SUBU focuses on innovative healthy food for younger and more fashionable office workers, the LAN Club is the luxury brand that targets the upper-class dining segment of successful businesspeople aged over 45 years, and South Beauty, the Group’s flagship brand that targets upper-middle class segment of businesspeople aged from 30 to 45 years. No competitor in the Chinese restaurant market has such brand format. Almost all of them operate their single brands without clear brand positioning so their brand image is quite inferior to the Group’s. * Consistent brand identities. The company has built consistent brand identities by launching some outdoor and print advertisement. The company also explore cooperation with certain international airlines, including Air France and KLM Royal Dutch airlines, to provide business travelers flying between China and Europe with South Beauty-branded Chinese dishes. * Innovation. The company is regarded as an innovative company, with 55 percent annual growth. The South Beauty restaurant also introduced several innovations and improvements with regard to traditional Sichuan food, not only in terms of new raw materials, but also the process of preparing the dishes and the customer experience. The Group developed a range of innovations with regard to Sichuan cuisine but also added certain Cantonese cuisine and other flavors to its menu. One of the group’s biggest and most ambitious innovations is the combination of Chinese and Western cuisine that breaks with tradition and creates original new flavors. It is the first Chinese restaurant to offer Chinese food in a western style, and the first to mix food presentation with artistic views. * Differentiation in cuisine. Some of the factors that make the Group’s cuisine different from others are the strict requirements placed on raw ingredients, the innovation on traditional cuisine, the exacting criteria placed on a dish’s nutritional value, and the strong emphasis on the visual appeal of each dish. * Location and Pricing. The Group’s restaurants are located in top-notch office buildings in key cities. Meals are also expensively priced to cover costs, but because of the brand’s reputation and image, consumers are willing to pay the high prices. This combination of high-end location and high pricing were helpful in developing the upper-middle class brand image. * Interior decoration and ambience. Each South Beauty restaurant had a different decor, designed by well-known artists in the field. It is Zhang Lan’s belief that people should come to the restaurant not only for the food but also for the ambience. * IT applications. Advanced IT applications enhanced the image of the restaurant and improve efficiency. For example, the Group built its own CRM system to record customer information and use that information to provide tailor-made services and make promotional communications. These IT applications give the Group an edge because they are quite innovative for the traditional Chinese catering industry as most restaurants remain committed to their old ways of operating their businesses. * People management. Zhang Lang was a firm believer that a dedicated workforce could overcome challenges pertaining to financial capital and market potential, so the Group strove to apply performance management techniques with regard to the management team. It also worked with a consulting firm to design a new people management system to motivate the staff. The group also initiated a large-scale training program for the staff. * Synergies. The use of the company’s central management to achieve synergies has caused the South Beauty Group to develop functional management expertise at its head office with a view to coordinating the management of its restaurants, all of this helps brainstorm ways to differentiate the Group from its competitors to capture market share. * Expansion. South Beauty Group is not only looking to expand further in China ut is also looking for an international presence. * Right target group. Because of the booming economy in China, the business meals had more potential than the other segments because they could absorb higher prices. These business-people were not satisfied with simple eating and drinking- they required more in terms of the restaurant’s environment or ambiance. These businesspeople are the target consumers of the South Beauty Group. * Leader in the niche market of high-end Chinese dinner: South Beauty’s share was more than 7%  Weaknesses * Ranking in the high-end Chinese dinner segment. Among the top 100 restaurant companies in China in 2007, 10 were in this segment, with the leader being Shanghai Jingiang (ranked 4) and Beijing Shunfeng (Ranked 18). South Beauty’s ranking was 72. * Poor diversity on types of cuisine. The high-ranked competitors focused on various Chinese cuisines, but South Beauty only focused on Sichuan cuisine, so it could not compete with these restaurants in terms of cuisine. * Fake Restaurants and inability to protect its brand. The most crucial issue for South Beauty was that of restaurants claiming to be South Beauty franchisees. In 2005, there were at least 16 â€Å"fake† restaurants in cities South Beauty has not penetrated. The imposters used the same Chinese name as South Beauty with one or two additional Chinese characters to attract innocent customers and provided them with poor service and atmosphere. The unhappy customers however, complained to the â€Å"real† South Beauty. This hurts the brand image and reputation of the Group. * Authenticity of Sichuan food. In cities with higher incomes (where South Beauty’s target customers are mainly located), consumers had more choices of restaurants and made selections based on word of mouth. 63 percent of consumers obtained restaurant information from word-of-mouth publicity, so while a restaurant review web site state that South Beauty promoted â€Å"Refined or Improved Sichuan Food†, in other places, such as Chengdu, the birth place of Sichuan food, customers were of the opinion that the Sichuan food offered by South Beauty was not as spicy as the original cuisine. Other did not view South Beauty as a genuine Sichuan food restaurant. If consumers were looking for authentic Sichuan food, after hearing these opinions on the street, they were more likely to pick another restaurant. * Inability to do things in a standardized way to cut down costs and improve efficiency. The management team did not halt their efforts to improve the Group’s operational efficiency through standardization, which was also the foundation for scaling up. * Minimal market share in the Chinese Restaurant Market. The market share in South Beauty in the total industry was less than 0. 1 percent. Opportunities * Expansion. The Group is seeking to expand its operations from the existing 20 restaurants in China to a total of 100 worldwide (35 in China and 65 in the international market) over the next three years. * Standardization. The standardization of the process of preparing the dishes is a big opportunity to increase efficiency and quality. * Entry into new businesses. The Group wants to diversify into business of partially cooked frozen foods for retail outlets and airline catering. The Group’s market share in the Chinese dinner category was an estimated 2 percent in 2006. There is great to room to increase this market share. * Ability to invest heavily in various elements, interior decorating being one of them. No competitor is able to invest so heavily. * Cuisine diversity. South Beauty only offers Sichuan cuisine. While a typical Chinese restaurant offers one or two cuisines, expa nding into more than 2 different cuisines could give the Group a source of differentiation. * Becoming an international brand. According to Zhang Lan â€Å" (†¦) Now is the time to expand. We have met success in China, and now we wish to build an international brand, which will have a presence in New York, Paris, London, Milan, Geneva, Tokyo and other important international cities of the world. † it is projected that the Group will have 30 restaurants in short term and 100 outlets in the next three years, of which 35 restaurants would be located in China and 65 in the international market in cooperation with strategic partners in Tokyo, New York, and other cities. Threats * Some competitors of South Beauty have been able to overcome the obstacle of production and prepare Chinese dishes in a standardized way faster than South Beauty, so they are able to cut down costs and realize bigger profits. * Belief among certain consumers that the Sichuan food that South Beauty serves is not authentic because this can cause consumers to search for more â€Å"authentic† options in competitors. * â€Å"Fake† South Beauty restaurants. They make the brand look bad and downsize the brand’s reputation and positioning. * With such large ideas for expansion, if the capital needed is not raised, this could pose a threat not only for future expansion but also for future growth in China. * Operational efficiency that needs to improve: the management team did not halt their efforts to improve the Group’s operational efficiency through standardization, which was also the foundation for scaling up. Each South Beauty restaurant carried 380 items on the main menu. Raw materials depended on local suppliers, and the quality of each dish relied on the experience of the chef. Although there was a team with three main chefs at the head office to develop new dishes and control the quality, the process of standardization is still in its beginning phase. If standardization is not achieved soon, the Group may lose some of its market share to competitors that do achieve it soon because they will be able to cut down costs that will translate into cheaper prices.