Tuesday, November 26, 2019

How to Handle College Long Distance Relationships

How to Handle College Long Distance Relationships You may have left your girlfriend or boyfriend back in your hometown while you went off to school. You both may have left your hometown to attend school in completely different parts of the country. You may even attend the same school, but one of you is studying abroad this semester. Whatever the situation, maintaining a long-distance relationship while in school can be quite a challenge. There are, however, some things you can do to make the experience a little easier for both of you (and your hearts!). Use Technology to Your Advantage There are countless ways to use technology to keep in touch with someone, which you were no doubt using before you arrived on campus. Text messaging, IM-ing, sending cell phone pictures, talking on the phone, sending emails, and using your videocam are only some of the ways you can help stay (and feel!) connected to your far-away partner. Make times with each other to meet up online, and view it like a date. Dont be late, dont forget, and try not to cancel. Try to Send Old-Fashioned Mail As simple as it may seem, getting a card, gift, or care package in the mail always brightens someones day. For partners who are separated by long distances, these little gestures and mementos can provide a physical connection of sorts. And besides, who doesnt like getting a cute card or cookies in the mail?! Make Sure to Visit It may be hard financially, logistically but visiting a partner who is away at school can be really important to maintaining your relationship. You can meet his or her new friends, see where he or she lives, take a tour of the campus, and just get a general feel for your partners new life. Plus, when you both are back at your regular places, you can picture more about your partners life when youre talking on the phone or chatting over the internet. Despite the distance, visiting also demonstrates your interest and commitment to your partner (and might be a great Spring Break idea). Pay Attention to the Details You may not want to spend the limited time you have with your partner talking about the details of your life, but these are often the most important things. Hearing about your weird Biology lab partner, the English professor you love, and how you cant get enough of the dining hall waffles are the things that make you you. Your partner will want to hear all about the details of your new life. So settle in for a long conversation about the things that seem most ridiculous, but that may just end up being the things that keep you together during your time away at school.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Personal Ancestral File 5.2 Genealogy Software Review

Personal Ancestral File 5.2 Genealogy Software Review Personal Ancestral File has been discontinued. According to FamilySearch.org, On July 15, 2013, PAF was retired and is no longer available for download or support.  Current PAF users may continue to use the software on their personal computers. ï » ¿One of the oldest and most popular genealogy software programs available, this family tree software from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was available for free download until 2013. Powerful and full-featured, the tool is also very user-friendly, making it perfect for novice computer users and genealogists. If you want fancy charts, youll have to spring for the add-on program, PAF Companion ($13.50). And if your primary goal is publishing a family Web site or book, there are better options. Pros Very intuitive and easy to useCustomizable data entry templatesAvailable for free downloadWidely used and supported Cons Full range of charts and reports only available with an add-on, PAF CompanionOnly basic multimedia capabilitiesPublishing options are limitedNot updated very frequently Description Available for free download or $6 on CD-ROM.View screens and print reports in either English, German, Japanese, Chinese, Korean or Swedish.Type names and places using characters from any language.Create personalized templates to customize data entry.Five generation pedigree view offers easy navigation through large family treesSingle name field rather than separate fields for given names, surname and suffix titles.Prints basic reports and charts. Fancy charts and book publishing options available through an add-on.Attach images, sound clips, and video files, or easily create basic scrapbooks and slide-shows.Easily prepares information for TempleReady.Select individuals and families for export to your Palm handheld and view your data on the go. Guide Review - Personal Ancestral File 5.2 Personal Ancestral File 5.2 is surprisingly powerful and feature-packed given that it is a free program. Multiple views, including a five-generation pedigree view, make the program easy to navigate and the data entry screen is simple to use. Customizable data entry templates mean that you can create your own fields to match the information you wish to record. Source documentation options are adequate, though not as customizable as I would like. Multimedia options include attaching unlimited images, sound clips and video files to individuals, and creating basic scrapbooks and slideshows. Only a single image can be attached to each source, however, and none can be attached to families, events or places. Despite its wealth of data recording features, PAF lacks fancier charts (e.g. hourglass chart, everything chart, etc.) and many customized reports, unless you spring for the add-on program, PAF Companion ($13.50 US). Of all the genealogy software programs, Personal Ancestral File offers the best support for users with free support through LDS Family History Centers, PAF User Groups, and online. And since PAF is from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its likely that the software will continue to be developed and supported. If you want something thats easy to use and uncomplicated, and arent focused on publishing your family information in a book or online, then add PAF to your shortlist.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Characteristics of Successful Entrepeneurs Essay

Characteristics of Successful Entrepeneurs - Essay Example Significance of the Research When it comes to business, what makes one successful entrepreneurship is undoubtedly one of the most significant topics because successful entrepreneur finds business opportunity, seizes it and creates a market of his own by beating the competitors and achieving sustainable competitive advantage. Studying and exploring in to the essential characteristics of an entrepreneur would be helpful to understand what makes an entrepreneur and how he brings success to enterprises. As Volery, Doss and Mazzarol (p. 1) noted, entrepreneurship remains to be a driving force in the modern economy more than ever. It’s because, entrepreneurs meet the economic needs through the creation of thousands of business every years. Many businesses in recent days started ‘downsizing’ or ‘outsourcing’ processes, but entrepreneurs are those who create new ventures and new jobs that help strengthen the economy as a whole. Entrepreneur has played pivotal roles in today’s business developments, technological advances and all the radical changes that brought renaissance in business environments. People all over the world are able to meet their varying requirements and specific individual needs only because entrepreneurs in different parts of the world, no matter how smaller or larger they are, have found opportunities, thought creatively, innovated and established an enterprise to provide something valuable to the people. Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs Many researchers have obviously agreed with the very fundamental view of entrepreneurship as described by the father of entrepreneurship, Joseph A Schumpeter. According to him, entrepreneurship is innovation (Carsrud and Brannback , p. 7). Entrepreneur is one who perceives or finds an opportunity to be seized and then to create a new product or service or changes an existing one in order to create new marketable contribution to the economy (McDaniel, p. 57). An entr epreneur is not only an opportunity finder, but be a good manager with basic managerial skills like direction, coordination, supervision, decision making, risk bearing, control and problem solving etc (Brockhaus, p. 1). An entrepreneur doesn’t need to be a manager or not to function as a manager, but he must be skilled in managerial qualities and functional areas like those mentioned above. A basic difference that most literatures have described is that a manager is not always the owner of the enterprise and therefore he is relatively less responsible where as the entrepreneur is the owner of the business and more responsible too. The most essential and basic characteristics of entrepreneur are detailed below: Entrepreneur as an Innovator Innovation is one of the fundamental qualities of an entrepreneur. As Drucker (p. 17) noted, innovation is very specific tool that an entrepreneur is essentially required to have and with this he can find chances and make them opportunities for various business purposes. Finding opportunities for some thing new and bringing a vision in to reality through innovation is thus critical element to the success of an entrepreneur. Entrepreneur needs to be innovator for major innovations, start up of business, developing new products or services for a presently

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

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

Google Glass - Essay Example Since its inception into the market, there have been diverse concerns about the use of Google Glass and this is especially the case when it comes to its potential of violating privacy rights. Privacy rights advocates have raised concerns about Google Glass users being able to identify strangers through the use of facial recognition software or even record private conversations and broadcast these conversations. This is a matter that might lead to potential legal problems for Google Glass because its widespread usage might become an inconvenience for others in society. It is for this reasons that some institutions and companies have opted to make sure that they place signs banning the use of Google Glass within their premises (Streitfeld, 2013). Organizations such as the FTC Fair Information Practice have set up guidelines which are meant to ensure that privacy rights are upheld and these have become important especially in regulating new technology such as Google Glass. Despite the privacy concerns, the development of Google Glass is one of the most fascinating stories of the twenty first century. This is because it has evolved from a prototype weighing some 8 pounds in 2011 to being lighter than the average sunglasses; showing the rapid development of this technology over such a short time. However, its original incarnations were not very appealing as a result of their not being fashionable and this has triggered Google to make this product more appealing to the market by making it more fashionable (Friedman, 2015).

Sunday, November 17, 2019

A Definition of Collaborative vs Cooperative Learning Essay Example for Free

A Definition of Collaborative vs Cooperative Learning Essay I have been searching for many years for the Holy Grail of interactive learning, a distinction between collaborative and cooperative learning definitions. I am getting closer to my elusive goal all the time but I am still not completely satisfied with my perception of the two concepts. I believe my confusion arises when I look at processes associated with each concept and see some overlap or inter-concept usage. I will make a humble attempt to clarify this question by presenting my definitions and reviewing those of other authors who have helped clarify my thinking. Collaboration is a philosophy of interaction and personal lifestyle whereas cooperation is a structure of interaction designed to facilitate the accomplishment of an end product or goal. Collaborative learning (CL) is a personal philosophy, not just a classroom technique. In all situations where people come together in groups, it suggests a way of dealing with people which respects and highlights individual group members abilities and contributions. There is a sharing of authority and acceptance of responsibility among group members for the groups actions. The underlying premise of collaborative learning is based upon consensus building through cooperation by group members, in contrast to competition in which individuals best other group members. CL practitioners apply this philosophy in the classroom, at committee meetings, with community groups, within their families and generally as a way of living with and dealing with other people. Cooperative learning is defined by a set of processes which help people interact together in order to accomplish a specific goal or develop an end product which is usually content specific. It is more directive than a collaboratve system of governance and closely controlled by the teacher. While there are many mechanisms for group analysis and introspection the fundamental approach is teacher centered whereas collaborative learning is more student centered. Spencer Kagan in an article in Educational Leadership (Dec/Jan 1989/1990) provides an excellent definition of cooperative learning by looking at general structures which can be applied to any situation. His definition provides an unbrella for the work cooperative learning specialists including he Johnsons, Slavin, Cooper, Graves and Graves, Millis, etc. It follows below: The structural approach to cooperative learning is based on the creation, analysis and systematic application of structures, or content-free ways of organizing social interaction in the classroom. Structures usually involve a series of steps, with proscribed behavior at each step. An important cornerstone of the approach is the distinction between st ructures and activities. To illustrate, teachers can design many excellent cooperative activities, such as making a team mural or a quilt. Such activities almost always have a specific content-bound objective and thus cannot be used to deliver a range of academic content. Structures may be used repeatedly with almost any subject matter, at a wide range of grade levels and at various points in a lesson plan. John Myers (Cooperative Learning vol 11 #4 July 1991) points out that the dictionary definitions of collaboration, derived from its Latin root, focus on the process of working together; the root word for cooperation stresses the product of such work. Co-operative learning has largely American roots from the philosophical writings of John Dewey stressing the social nature of learning and the work on group dynamics by Kurt Lewin. Collaborative learning has British roots, based on the work of English teachers exploring ways to help students respond to literature by taking a more active role in their own learning. The cooperative learning tradition tends to use quantitative methods which look at achievement: i. e. , the product of learning. The collaborative tradition takes a more qualitative approach, analyzing student talk in response to a piece of literature or a primary source in history. Myers points out some differences between the two concepts: Supporters of co-operative learning tend to be more teacher-centered, for example when forming heterogeneous groups, structuring positive inter- dependence, and teaching co-operative skills. Collaborative learning advocates distrust structure and allow students more say if forming friendhip and interest groups. Student talk is stressed as a means for working things out. Discovery and contextural approaches are used to teach interpersonal skills. Such differences can lead to disagreements. I contend the dispute is not about research, but more about the morality of what should happen in the schools. Beliefs as to whast should happen in the schools can be viewed as a continuum of orientations toward curriculum from transmission to transaction to transmission. At one end is the transmission position. As the name suggests, the aim of this orientation is to transmit knowledge to students in the form of facts, skills and values. The transformation position at the other end of the continuum stresses personal and social change in which the person is said to be interrelated with the environment rather than having control over it. The aim of this orientation is self-actualization, personal or organizational change. Rocky Rockwood (National Teaching and Learning Forum vol 4 #6, 1995 part 1) describes the differences by acknowledging the parallels they both have in that they both use groups, both assign specific tasks, and both have the groups share and compare their procedures and conclusions in plenary class sessions. The major difference lies in the fact that cooperative deals exclusively with traditional (canonical) knowledge while collaborative ties into the social constructivist movement, asserting that both knowledge and authority of knowledge have changed dramatically in the last century. The result has been a transition from foundational (cognitive) understanding of knowledge, to a nonfoundational ground where we understand knowledge to be a social construct and learning a social process (Brufee, Collaborative learning: Higher Education, Interdependence, and the Authority of Knowledge, 1993). Rockwood states: In the ideal collaborative environment, the authority for testing and determining the appropriateness of the group product rests with, first, the small group, second, the plenary group (the whole class) and finally (but always understood to be subject to challenge and revision) the requisite knowledge community (i. e. the discipline: geography, history, biology etc. ) The concept of non- foundational knowledge challenges not only the product acquired, but also the process employed in the acquisition of foundational knowledge. Most importantly, in cooperative, the authority remains with the instructor, who retains ownership of the task, which involves either a closed or a closable (that is to say foundational) problem ( the instructor knows or can predict the answer). In collaborative, the instructoronce the task is set transfers all authority to the group. In the ideal, the groups task is always open ended. Seen from this perspective, cooperative does not empower st udents. It employs them to serve the instructors ends and produces a right or acceptable answer. Collaborative does truly empower and braves all the risks of empowerment (for example, having the group or class agree to an embarrassingly simplistic or unconvincing position or produce a solution in conflict with the instructors). Every person, Brufee holds, belongs to several interpretative or knowledge communities that share vocabularies, points of view, histories, values, conventions and interests. The job of the instructor id to help students learn to negotiate the boundaries between the communities they already belong to and the community represented by the teachers academic discipline, which the students want to join. Every knowledge community has a core of foundational knowledge that its members consider as given (but not necessarily absolute). To function independently within a knowledge community, the fledgling scholar must master enough material to become conversant with the community. Rockwood concludes: In my teaching experience, cooperative represents the best means to approach mastery of foundational knowledge. Once students become reasonably conversant, they are ready for collaborative, ready to discuss and assess,. Myers suggests use of the transaction orientation as a compromise between taking hard positions advocating either methodology. This orientation views education as a dialogue between the student and the curriculum. Students are viewed as problem solvers. Problem solving and inquiry approaches stressing cognitive skills and the ideas of Vygotsky, Piaget, Kohlberg and Bruner are linked to transaction. This perspective views teaching as a conversation in which teachers and students learn together through a process of negotiation with the curriculum to develop a shared view of the world. It is clear to me that in undertaking the exercize of defining differences between the two ideas we run the risk of polarizing the educational community into a we versus them mentality. There are so many benefits which acrue from both ideas that it would be a shame to lose any advantage gained from the student-student-teacher interactions created by both methods. We must be careful to avoid a one-size-fits-all mentality when it comes to education paradigms. As a final thought, I think it behooves teachers to educate themselves about the myriad of techniques and philosophies which create interactive environments where students take more responsibility for their own learning and that of their peers. Then it will become possible to pick and chose those methods which best fit a particular educational goal or community of learners.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Comparing A Dolls House and Oedipus Rex Essay -- comparison compare c

Comparing A Doll's House and Oedipus Rex Ibsen's drama "A Doll's House", serves as an example of the kind of issue-based drama that distinguishes Ibsen from many of his contemporaries. The play's dialogue is not poetic, but very naturalistic, and the characters are recognizable people. Given the sense of modernity which the play possesses it seems unusual to compare it to a Greek tragedy produced more than two-thousand years previously. On closer examination however, there are certain similarities between the way in which "A Doll's House" is plotted and a tragedy such as Oedipus Rex. Both "Oedipus" and "A Dolls' House" depict disastrous events that occur to two very different characters. At the start of Oedipus, we encounter a hero who is almost universally adored. Oedipus is a popular king who by the end of the play will be reduced to the lowest level possible. Classically the tragic hero began a piece as a man of high position since this made his demise all the more tragic. That the tragic centre if Ibsen's play is both female and not particularly birth is a distinct departure from the classical condition of tragedy. Ibsen has moved many concepts of the genre and placed them in a domestic setting. In order to see the way Nora can be viewed as a true tragic heroine it is useful to examine some of the concepts which Greek tragedy frequently made use of. In both plays the trouble that befalls the lead characters are due to their own actions Oedipus commits a series of huge mistakes the significance of which are not really understood until it is too late. In "A Doll's House", Nora borrows a sum of money, an action that will tear her family apart. The idea that the tragedy of a play begins with a hug... ...2-838. O'Brien, Michael J. Introduction. In Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O'Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Segal, Charles. Oedipus Tyrannus: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Transl. by F. Storr. no pag. Available http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/browse-mixed new?tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&part=0&id=SopOedi "Sophocles" In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984. Van Nortwick, Thomas. Oedipus: The Meaning of a Masculine Life. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998. Watling, E. F.. Introduction. In Sophocles: The Theban Plays, translated by E. F. Watling. New York: Penguin Books, 1974.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Persuasive Advertising Essay

Advertising plays an important role in our diverse, media-saturated world. It surrounds our everyday lives. It is in everything we do, whether we are looking for a number in the phone directory, taking a ride down a road, or watching TV. According to Jamie Beckett’s article in San Francisco Chronicle, â€Å"The average U. S. adult is bombarded by 255 advertisements every day–100 on TV, 60 in magazines, 50 on the radio, and 45 in newspapers† (Beckett). More recently, Advertising Age estimated that the average American sees, hears, or reads more than 5,000 persuasive ads a day, which means that there is almost nowhere we can avoid their presence. Today, ad agencies spend more than $300 billion in the United States and $500 billion worldwide on advertising. Therefore, we can acknowledge that advertising is created in a results-oriented perspective that will increase companies’ and organizations’ profits in the forms of purchases, donations, votes, joinings, etc. This perspective can be achieved by using manipulative and persuasive techniques in advertising that would get people’s attention. These messages appear in many formats–print and electronic, verbal and visual, logical and emotional. As Stuart Hirschberg wrote in his essay â€Å"The Rhetoric of Advertising†, â€Å"The most common manipulative techniques are designed to make consumers want to consume to satisfy deep-seated human drives. In purchasing a certain product, we are offered to create ourselves, our personality, and our relationships through consumption† (Hirschberg 229). Thus, we all become the targets of this form of persuasion that uses pathos, positive images, and/or deceptive language to influence our needs, interests, and decisions. The ad from Martha Stewart Living magazine shows its readers a new Honda CR-V automobile. Also, the company at the same time introduces its new campaign called the â€Å"Leap List† to the magazine’s primary audience that mostly consists of women ages 25 to 45. This campaign encourages people to make a list of the desired things they want to accomplish before the major event happens in their lives, such as the birth of their children. As we see, the ad is mostly aimed at younger consumers of the magazine who are looking for a better appearance of the car and new opportunities in their lives. The company offers to achieve these things with its new CR-V automobiles by using some of the aforementioned influential techniques, such as pathos, visual arts, deceptive claims, and weasel words in order to get viewers’ attention, establish credibility and trust, stimulate desires for the product, and the most important, motivate the audience to buy it. Pathos is the most powerful and effective tool in advertising. As stated by Hirschberg, â€Å"The emotional appeals in ads function exactly the way assumptions about value do in the written arguments. They supply the unstated major premise that supplies a rationale to persuade an audience that a particular product will meet one or another of several different kinds of needs† (Hirschberg 229). Due to the fact that human beings are initially emotional creatures who are more likely to be persuaded by emotions and feelings, and then rational by thinking and reacting, advertisers use both positive and negative emotional appeals to force and influence our minds. One of the ubiquitous emotional appeals in advertising is the use of the â€Å"you† word, which is supposed to address the message to each individual. In its ad, Honda uses the â€Å"you† word five times by making the ad more personalized and stressing consumers’ personal benefits from purchasing the company’s new car. In my opinion, Honda evokes positive as well as negative emotional appeals in its ad. There is an orange, bold title in the ad that says Before I have kids I want to and then there is an illustrated list of ten goals. It includes flying a plane, rock climbing, skyaking, sailing, running a marathon, learning to scuba, mountain-cycling, learning to pick the banjo, marching in a Mardi Gras parade, and taking up archery. As the viewer, I can say that this list catches my eyes because the goals in the ad are interesting and they make me feel enthusiastic and excited. In my opinion, Honda demonstrates our freedom and variety of opportunities that we can achieve by doing the things that we enjoy and like. After reading and seeing these examples, the audience starts to visualize its own desires and the ways of achieving their personal goals. The ad makes us feel motivated and excited about pursuing our dreams and wishes. On the other hand, the company persuades its readers to think and feel guilty of wasting their time and not achieving the things they want the most. That is why the company offers its all-new, 31-mpg-highway Honda CR-V that would deliver the potential buyers to wherever they want to go and whatever things they want to accomplish. In our modern world of technologies and computers, advertisers have recourse to artistic design, computer graphics, high-tech artistry, special effects, digital sounds, and computer animation that can help them to get various kinds of viewers’ attention. A study made by the University of Georgia has found that exposure to visual art in advertising, even if the exposure is fleeting, makes consumers evaluate products more positively. According to Henrik Hagtvedt, the artist and one of the researchers of this study, â€Å"Visual arts have historically been used as a tool for persuasion. It has been used to sell everything from religion to politics to spaghetti sauce to the artist’s image† (Hagtvedt). The same strategy can be observed in the Honda CR-V automobile ad that consists of many bright, positive images and bright colors. The color of the presented car is shiny Metallic Silver that typifies elegance, patience, modesty, and reliability. According to Pat Bertram’s article â€Å"What the Color of Your Car Says About You†, â€Å"People who drive silver vehicles have above average confidence about the course of their lives, and they also have consistent mood† (Bertram). Besides, this color is unisex and suits both females and males. Another visual attention-getting feature in the ad is tinted car windows. What is this for? In my opinion, advertisers make our eyes focused on the car itself rather than the interior or background and they try to accentuate the look of the vehicle. The tinted car implies the feeling of security and privacy that is becoming very popular in the modern society. Also, the direction of the car heading towards the illustrations of the goals from the Leap List emphasizes the company’s statement of helping viewers to achieve their aspirations. Another widespread element of reaching and influencing the audience is the use of weasel words and ambiguous language. Asking personal questions in ads shows us one of the deceptive techniques in language used in advertising. The question used in the Honda CR-V ad leaves its readers wondering about the answer. â€Å"What are you waiting for? † asks the ad, the question that viewers usually cannot answer. The tactic of asking the rhetorical question provokes curiosity and creates interests that make people think, desire, and visualize themselves having the product. Another kind of common deception in ads is the use of weasel words. The frequency of using the weasel words can be observed not only in politics but in advertising as well. According to Hirschberg, â€Å"Of all the techniques advertisers use to influence what people believe and how they spend their money, none is more basic than the use of so-called weasel words that retract the meaning of the words they are next to just as a weasel sucks the meat out of egg† (Hirschberg 232). As the target audience, we repeatedly see, read, or hear such weasel words as helps, free, virtually, like, new, as much as, faster, or better. These ambiguous words allow persuaders to say something without really saying anything and make us believe in the importance of purchasing their products. The ad in Martha Stewart Living magazine states that the company’s new technologically advanced, up-for-almost-anything new Honda CR-V automobile was built to help us check off every last item from our leap lists. By using the word â€Å"helps†, Honda offers a solution and aid to the consumers’ problems, but in reality the company promises nothing really concrete. So the word â€Å"helps† lets the companies escape from its supposed promises. At first sight, advertising seems to be relatively simple in structure, format, and availability, but its content and depth is complex. Hirschberg said, â€Å"Whether ads are presented as sources of information enabling the consumer to make educated choices between products or aim at offering memorable images or witty, thoughtful, or poetic copy, the underlying intent of all advertising is to persuade the specific audience† (Hirschberg 227). After reading â€Å"The Rhetoric of Advertising†, I learned that pathos is a very powerful and influential approach in advertising. I also started to analyze the details used in ads because all of them have different purposes. It is very helpful to know the techniques advertisers use to get our attention as well as the ways they apply the language and visualization. Personally, I started to pay more attention to colors that advertisers use in ads because each of these colors has its own definition and characteristic that can influence our perceptions of the images. As we may observe, advertisers do not waste any inch of the ad space on adding unnecessary information, but they also do not provide all specifics and features about their products. That is why, as the primary audience, we should be more skeptical and questionable of what we see and want to buy. In the ad created by Honda, we can see pathos, bright images, and claims that can attract the potential buyers’ attention. John O’Toole, the former president of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, believed that the consumers should be at the center of the process, and that the only kind of language either verbal or nonverbal effectively persuades the consumers as an individual. As discussed earlier, disclosing people’s desires and making the personalized ad makes this Honda ad from Martha Stewart Living magazine more attractive and memorable to the viewers. Advertisers also used the persuasive language that we can observe in the ad in the forms of weasel words and question claims. Overall, I found this ad well made and interesting to analyze because it consists of different influential and persuasive techniques that we can determine after reading Stuart Hirschberg’s essay â€Å"The Rhetoric of Advertising. †

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Kellogg Case Study Essay

Qualitative research establishes a conversation with consumers. It prompts consumer reaction to, for example, a new product idea and helps researchers understand what they think of it, how it makes them feel, why they find it interesting or not. Qualitative research may be obtained through focus groups, where a  moderator captures feedback from a group of six or seven  consumers to the ideas shown to them. Those ideas may take  the format of drawings or having new food prototypes to taste. Quantitative research may use questionnaires administered to large numbers of respondents. This allows statistical analysis, such as the calculation of a mean score or percentages. It aims to give a representative picture of what consumers think of a new product idea or a new (real) food. It may involve the use of scales, so numbers get associated with a particular meaning – for  example, on a evaluation scale of 1 to 7, where 1 means ‘very poor’ and 7 means ‘excel lent’. Crucially those numbers need to be interpreted to enable the business to understand the  consumer’s overall response. In addition, Kellogg’s used secondary research which is existing research that has already been collected by other organisations. Sources of secondary data include books, journals, the internet and government statistics. Market research agencies collect a range of data which they process and use to provide organisations like Kellogg’s with research. The benefits of secondary research are that it is quicker and often less expensive than primary, although it may not always be completely related to the needs of a specific project. Information gathering –  discovery to selection For Kellogg’s, the order in which the information is gathered is as important as the type of information being gathered. In order to develop the new Crunchy Nut Bites, Kellogg’s undertook four distinct stages of research. Stage 1: Discovery Initial research aimed to identify a set of new food ideas that would be  suitable for developing a new Crunchy Nut product. Secondary research from Mintel and Datamonitor was used to  find out about innovation trends in the cereal market. It was also used to find out about new products, flavours and foods from around the world. Food developers at Kellogg’s used this  information to come up with a number of new food ideas. Focus groups were used to provide qualitative research. These were used to show consumers the new food ideas in the form of a number of different (real) food prototypes, including a mini crispy lattice product and a nutty triangle. The focus groups captured the attitudes and feelings of consumers towards the new foods. This primary research helped Kellogg’s to find out how new product suggestions could be developed and still fit in with the Crunchy Nut brand. It helped Kellogg’s to establish what consumers were looking for in terms of potential new flavours and textures. The results allowed Kellogg’s to discard some ideas. Other ideas were appealing for consumers but needed refining and further development. At the end of this stage, Kellogg’s had a number of new food ideas that all seemed to appeal to consumers. Stage 2: Selecting the best idea This stage aimed to select the best idea arising from the stage 1 research. Kellogg’s put the ideas from the focus group on boards. The boards had pictures showing product ideas and a description of what the new product would be like. These boards were then shown to a large group of representative consumers in a  quantitative survey. They were asked to rate those ideas against a number of scales, so Kellogg’s could identify which product ideas consumers liked best or disliked. The quantitative data created specific statistical information that indicated that a new Crunchy Nut Bites idea was perceived as the most appealing amongst all the ideas tested. †¢ It established what proportion of people liked the new product idea enough to buy it. †¢ It also identified those product ideas that had the best or least sales potential. Information gathering –  development to launch Stage 3: Crafting the idea into a complete new product Once the best idea had been selected from stage 2, Kellogg’s needed to make this idea become a real product. The Crunchy Nut Bites food prototype recipe was refined using the feedback from another qualitative and quantitative survey. The qualitative research helped Kellogg’s food technologists to explore the taste and texture of the new food idea in more detail. Kellogg’s needed to understand the ‘eating experience’ of the consumer before a decision could be made about how to develop the recipe in more detail. Following this stage, four product recipes were developed and these prototypes were then tested with representative groups of consumers in a quantitative survey to  see which product consumers preferred. This enabled Kellogg’s to select the best one. Also, at this stage, the pack design for the new Crunchy Nut Bites was developed. Several designs were developed aimed at giving the new product the same look and feel as the rest of the Crunchy Nut family. The packaging designs were tested with  consumers, which enabled Kellogg’s to select the final packaging design for Crunchy Nut Bites Stage 4: Forecasting sales for the new Crunchy Nut Bites At Kellogg’s, every product has to undergo one final test prior to a new product launch. This is called the ‘In Home Usage Test’. The consumers are given the product to try for several days and this enables Kellogg’s to capture how consumers interact with the product for the first time. At the end of the trial, consumers complete a report on what they thought of the food in the form of a questionnaire. This final survey measures how appealing the new product is to consumers and how likely they would be to buy it in real life. The data collected also helped to calculate a sales forecast for the new product for the first and second year in market. The forecast was used by the finance department to set budgets, organise the supply chain and to schedule food production. Once the data  was analysed and the product concept tested, Kellogg’s was able to make the strategic decision to go ahead with the new product. Production could then take place. Conclusion Kellogg’s used market research throughout the whole development process for a new product for the Crunchy Nut range, from the initial idea to the planning of production and delivery. During the earlier stages of research, consumer responses helped Kellogg’s to explore lots of different ideas in an open way. It then crafted some ideas in more detail and screened those ideas with consumers to select the one which seemed to have the highest appeal. The idea became real by testing several recipes, refining the food prototype selected and developing the design for packaging. Once the food and packaging elements for the new product had been developed, the whole product was tested with consumers to ensure it met their needs. The data also provided a sales forecast to predict the first two years of sales of Crunchy Nut Bites. Crunchy Nut Bites has extended the Crunchy Nut family of products. In doing so it has brought new consumers to the brand and  increased its consumption. Kellogg’s launched Crunchy Nut Bites in September 2008. Sales data shows it was one of the best  performing brands to launch in the breakfast cereal category with a sales value of  £6.9 million in its first full year of sales.* This illustrates that the detailed market research undertaken during the planning stages was valuable. It helped to ensure that the product extension hit the spot with consumers straight away.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

The Identity of Frederick Douglass essays

The Identity of Frederick Douglass essays Slavery was perhaps one of the most appalling tragedies in the history of the United States of America. To tell the people of the terrible facts, runaway slaves wrote their accounts of slavery down on paper and published it for the nation to read. Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs were just two of the many slaves who did this. Each of the slaves had different experiences with slavery, but their narratives have one thing in common; they tell the tale of the abominable institution of slavery and the adverse effect it had on their lives. The purpose of this paper is to give an extensive look at the experience of Frederick Douglass as a male slave and compared it to Harriet A. Jacobs experience as a female slave. Frederick Douglass was a successful abolitionist who changed Americas views of slavery through his writings and actions. He grew up as a slave and experienced all of the hardships, such as whippings, scarce meals, and other forms of abuse. Douglass provided a powerful voice for slaves during this period of American history and he is still honored today for his contributions to the fight against racial injustice. Fredericks life as a slave had the greatest impact on his writings. Due to his personal experience with slavery, he was able to channel and develop the necessary emotions and experiences for him to become a successful abolitionist writer and reach the American people. Frederick Douglass Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, was an autobiography written about his experiences both during and following his life as a slave. The narrative is Douglass tool for establishing himself as an abolitionist leader as well as teaching a varied audience about the reality of slave. I n his narrative, Douglass wrote the complete story of his wretched life as a slave and his strive to obtain freedom. The main motivational force behind his character was to make it through another day so that so...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Search IP Address With a PHP Script

Search IP Address' With a PHP Script Retrieving the users IP address is actually much simpler than you might think, and it can be done in a single line of PHP code. What the PHP script you see below does is finds the IP address of a user and then posts the address on the page that holds the PHP code. In other words, any user who visits the page will be able to see their own IP address listed there. Note:  The way this PHP script is written here does not log any IP addresses nor does it show a user anyone elses IP address - just their own. "What's My IP" PHP Script To return  the IP address of the person visiting your site, use this line: To retrieve the users IP address and then echo its value back to the user, you can use this example: Note: This is generally accurate but will not work as intended if the user is accessing your website behind a proxy. This is because the proxys IP address will be shown instead of the users true address. Test the IP Address If youre not sure that the script is working, there are numerous websites you can visit to get some other perspectives on what your IP address is being reported as. For example, after you implement the code from above, load the page and record the IP address thats given for your device. WhatsMyIP.org or IP Chicken are good places to check to see if the same IP address is recorded there.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Check point Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Check point - Assignment Example iabetes risk factors include: overweight; people over the age of 45 years; family history with diabetes; higher blood sugar levels; high blood pressure; abnormal lipid levels; body inactivity (lack of exercise); blood vessel problems that affect the brain, heart and legs; and individuals with polycystic ovary syndrome (Sjà ¶strà ¶m et. al, 2006). If an individual discovers that they I have any of the above items, they are advised to seek medical attention. Diabetes disease is common with over age people (above 45 years) and obese individuals (Simmons, Thompson & Volklander, 2001). Some lifestyles also increase chances of contracting the disease. The disease affects the economy negatively since a lot of resources are used in treating the disease. Individuals are also rendered inactive hence can’t participate in their economy-developing activities. This health problem also affects their social life. Worldwide, more than 380 million people are affected by

Friday, November 1, 2019

Adding value through marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Adding value through marketing - Essay Example In today’s world, consumers are being bombarded with a multitude of products and services with the entailing cacophony of messages that vie for attention. The result is an increasing confusion and indifference on the part of the buying publicEvaluate the extent to which a sustainable and green approach to marketing can add positively to the bottom line in an age of consumer confusion and possible indifference. In today’s world, consumers are being bombarded with a multitude of products and services with the entailing cacophony of messages that vie for attention. The result is an increasing confusion and indifference on the part of the buying public. This can breed consumer discontent that, in itself, is becoming increasingly difficult to address. According to Kaptan (2003), if this confusion, indifference and discontent are not dealt with successfully, any relief created will be transitory and that later on new symptomatic issues and complaints would arise. (p. 45) Ther e is, hence, a need to introduce products and services and build brands that aim to rise above the rest. This objective is best served by adopting sustainable and green approach to marketing. The Concepts Essentially, green marketing is the holistic marketing concept wherein production, marketing consumption and disposal of products and services happen in a manner that is less detrimental to the environment, especially with growing awareness and consideration to prominent environmental issues like global warming, non-biodegradable solid waste, harmful impact of pollutants, and so forth. (Chandrasekar 2009, p458) Sustainability follows and reinforces the same principle, and is characterized by activities that seek to change existing framework in favour of sustainability. (Saren et al., p205) Pursing this strategy is significant to consumers for several reasons. The most important of these include: its contribution to the consumer’s â€Å"empowerment† since it allows the consumer to make a difference by using â€Å"green† products and services; and, it provides credibility since sustainability related claims can make consumers believe and trust in the product. (Ottman 2011, p110) The gist of the benefits of sustainable and green marketing is that their associations with the positive impact to environment provides a product or brand a mantle of uniqueness and responsibility that adds value in the eyes of the buyers. Successful sustainable and green campaigns include the Levi’s recently launched Eco line of 100 percent organic cotton jeans; Wal-Mart’s â€Å"Green† push consisted of diverse initiatives such as reducing energy waste, opening green supercenters, stocking more organic products, and working with suppliers to get them on board as well. (Hawkins & Mathersbaugh 2010, p102) Ottman emphasized that sustainable and â€Å"green† products offer tangible and direct benefits that are actually meaningful and importa nt to a number of consumers. (p110) Making a Difference The principles at work here is that green products can rise above the din of commerce that are peppered with superficial solutions to individual needs. Slater pointed to the social dilemma that emerges as a consequence. In his view, the production of more goods and services that provide false satisfactions to human needs in greedy pursuit for profit contribute to the increasing disorganization, disorientation and confusion not just with regards to their needs but also their identities. (p126) In the past, marketing and advertising could have gotten away with it with what Slater called as: an innumerable series of images are forced upon the individual, like mirrors, seemingly empathetic and totally credible, which bring their secrets to the surface and display them there. In these images, people are continually shown the unfulfilled aspects of their existence. The illusion ingratiates itself, promising satisfaction; it reads des ires in one’s eyes, and brings them to the surface of commodity. (p126) The problem now is that consumers have been satiated with these messages and strategies. This and the crass materialism had not satisfied many people’s innermost desires. (Sattar 1992, p. 41) One may say that, today, the average buyer is both aware and confused about the way products are pandered to him. Slater