Aura in Walter Benjamin’s Illuminations Essay

In Walter Benjamin’s book Illuminations, two particular chapters are relevant to the corpus of works that make up film study. â€Å"Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproductions† and â€Å"The Storyteller† outline a progressive history from oral traditions to the modern traditions such as film that resulted and the bumps that have been encountered along the way. Central to these two chapters is the idea of aura. Aura, though difficult to define, is a concept that is easy to perceive because of its engaging qualities. From oral to written to visual representations including film, the story is the nucleus that produces entertainment and ideally educates the audience. To be entertained does not require much of the audience, but education is an engaging process that preserves culture and maintains the aura. Because of the absence of proverbs, morals, or other trite composite statements, the effective storyteller is kin to the guru. The advice the storyteller offers is found throughout the course of the story and the listener or reader is able to draw the meaning out from the speech or pages of their own accord. As a patient fisherman learns at the end of a long day, not all adventures are fruitful. The timeless quality of the works of Nicolai Leskov can encourage the reader to lose track of the parts of the story that, when later assembled, can be taken as advice. In this way, an attentive reader may find advice or counsel for many situations and the story can continue to unfold through the suggestions that good counsel offers. The â€Å"White Eagle† encourages quotation of different passages in order for a summary to be made and offered as a sacrifice to the luke-warm reader. However, the storyteller’s traditional place is not one of summaries, annotated bibliographies, or cliff notes. Time was meant to be integral in the creation of a story which is only preserved in the social fabric of history. The uniqueness of any event, object, or idea depends upon its temporal qualities. Time and space dictate absolutely everything according to Quantum Physicists who are considered to be on the forefront of the combination of all knowledge. These revolutionary inter-disciplinarians have shown that gravity depends on time and space, that speed depends on time and space, and that even decisions depend on time and space[1]. The decision to tell a story depends on the time, traditionally evening when there is less work to be done, and the space, made up of gathering people encouraging the story to be told. Without these two conditions, ample time to tell the story and one’s willingness to listen, a story cannot take place. Because storytelling is an interchange between the one telling the story and the one who is destined to re-tell the story, the oral tradition is dependent upon listeners for its survival. However, since the transference of the events of the tale are not verbatim, the re-telling is in fact an original telling because the details have been molded to fit the circumstances of the re-telling. If the audience is comprised of mainly children, perhaps more attention will be made to the magical parts of the story. If the audience is teenage boys, more emphasis and elaboration may be made on the graphic images in the story. In the best case scenario â€Å"the perfect narrative is derived through the layers of a variety of retellings† (Benjamin p. 93). When a storyteller chooses to relay some advice that has been intertwined in the fabric of a story which is dependent on the social fabric of the group without an audience present for the telling, the unraveling of oral traditions begins. Written history has certainly provided benefits to society that are too numerous to even attempt to summarize. The unfortunate fact is that none of the advancements resulting from changing production methods have benefited the beautiful intergenerational tapestry of storytelling. A common misconception is that a novel is in continuity with oral tradition when it is, in fact, quite a discontinuity. The novel has different properties and different purposes. For one, the novel is composed in solidarity, far from the social fabric where meaning was derived and solely existed. The reader is forced into solidarity as well and his interpretations may no longer have any bearing on those around him. That is not to say that personal meanings are unimportant, only that writing signifies the beginning of a new timeline in tradition whose grand purpose is â€Å"to carry the incommensurable to extremes in the representation of human life† (Benjamin p. 87). As personal importance and interpretation is difficult to verify, society centralizes on information which depends on its verifiability for survival. Writing is the conveyance of information and in modern times information is of paramount importance. The outcome of wars or the accrual of wealth often results from the timely reception of pertinent information. Reported events are subject to immediate verifiability which causes most contemporary novelists to tread lightly when including supernatural or mystical events in their novels. As the transference of quick and efficient information is increasing, â€Å"the communicability of experience is decreasing† (Benjamin p. 86). Storytelling in a social context was recreating the enjoyable social setting the storyteller once experienced that was moving enough for him or her that he or she decided to provide the same experience for future generations. Even further back in the tradition are the actual events themselves. A character in the story was once a person who, through fortuitous circumstances, participated in the events that produced the story. Although exaggerations have been added for entertainment value and alterations have been made, the attempt was always to communicate an awesome experience. In Leskov’s â€Å"The Left Handed Craftsman,† the namesake is not by far the protagonist, but his involvement with the steel flea from Brittan resurrected the tale which was, among many other things, a tribute to ancient craftsmen. The relationship of the storyteller to his material is that of a craftsman to his medium. Benjamin asks â€Å"whether it is not his [the story teller or craftsman] very task to fashion the raw material of experience, his own and that of others, in a solid, useful, and unique way† (p. 108). If the writer is as acutely aware of his or her audience as an oral story teller would be, it is possible to craft a utilitarian product. The solitary production method of writing that removes the writer from his or her immediate context makes this very difficult to achieve. What is lost is the mystical aura that electrified and preserved oral storytelling for so many generations. Writing by hand inevitably led to the printing press and other forms of art, such as visual art, which soon became easily reproducible. The degradation continues as the mode of production evolves. With the advent of the lithograph, whose origins lie in etching and engraving, works of art were beginning to lose their aura. Just as a written novel is not the same as the oral story from which it may have been derived, reproducing visual art leaves the third printing, especially when dealing with wood as was the case with etching and engraving, less clear than the first printing. In rhythm with the march of advancement, technology made pictorial reproductions more effective and efficient in their representations of real life. The march continued past the incorrigibly life-like photograph to film, silent at first, then at a speed that could keep up with speech. In contemporary times, film reproductions of actual events are so accountable that they can be used as evidence in court cases. As wonderful (for the plaintiff) as that may be, the aura that was so present and integral to the authenticity of storytelling is vanishing into the background just as wood engraving has been subsumed by photography. The ramifications of interest here are those of social orientation, specifically social perceptions. In film, the viewer is not allowed the uniqueness of visual perception that can be found when viewing a piece of art in a gallery. The perspective is derived from variations in the height of the viewer, distance of the viewer from the art, other people possibly surrounding the viewer and the background that changes in the case of traveling art pieces. Film, â€Å"being based on changes of place and focus which periodically assail the spectator,† gives the viewer only two options: eyes open or eyes closed. To view is to give in to the filmmaker’s point of view. The social context that has been created is that the other viewers have given in as well. As for the integrity of the aura, the production method of film, which is far removed from the stage-like presentation of storytelling, is even more fabricated because of the fragmented production method of feature films. Additionally, the aura is lost to the audience of whom nothing more than keeping their eyes open is asked. In hopeful efforts one asks, can the aura be resurrected in film if a storyteller is united with the power of film? Indigenous tribes in modern times are the least removed from their oral traditions and thus the most hopeful for a positive response to the above question. In terms of production, the â€Å"Video in the Villages Project†, headed by most notably Vincent Carelli, is a prime example. The project essentially taught indigenous people from various tribes throughout Brazil how to operate video equipment as well as to edit the final project. The indigenous people were the think tank and the executive board for the choosing of the subject of the separate films. The aura was also lost in the final project which can neither be defined as a documentary or a feature film. The people in â€Å"A Day in the Village,† have chosen to show some of their daily routines. As the events are displayed in a fragmented way, one can assumed they were also taped in a fragmented manner. There is no central story, just the theme of activities of this tribe. As for the aura emanating from a guru like storyteller, there is none. A film like the Inuit produced and directed â€Å"The Fast Runner† is the telling of an Inuit tale in the context of a tribal gathering. The storyteller is present throughout the whole tale but he is, obviously, on screen. With film, the context is always mutable because the same film can be shown simultaneously in innumerable locations. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Prague, and Minsk could all choose to premier a film at the exact same time but the social context is completely unique in each of these situations. The languages change and the people in the theater or viewing space are unique to that particular showing. According to Benjamin â€Å"The manner in which human sense perception is organized, the medium in which it is accomplished is determined not only by nature but by historical circumstances as well† (p. 222). If the historical circumstances can be so easily changed, the meaning can also just as easily be changed. To the people in the sweat lodge hearing that story, the aura could have been part of the captivating presence that maintained the story and created a central meaning for that society. But to an urban citizen who has had no direct contact with these traditions, the aura is not engaging and the meaning, if any has been found, is personal. The active participation of the audience is the same as any other film: unnecessary. There is no tradition in this context and the film will survive even if no viewer is enchanted to listen attentively enough to later replicate the story. The fragmented production of this feature film, like any other, degrades the aura of the original story to a level which is unnoticeable. This film’s attempts to be part of the Hollywood entertainment genre, which almost categorically excludes the necessarily engaging aspects of oral traditions from which the story derives, fails to maintain its original aura. The lessons of our ancestors have always been an important aspect of physical and cultural survival. Through film and indigenous attempts at film, the aura has been lost and it does not seem that it can be resurrected. Cultures are being subsumed into â€Å"melting pots† that neglect individuality and suppress autonomy. Information is more important than the unique nuances a storyteller can combine with sound advice to preserve and at the same time progress a culture. If the good of all is in question, the storyteller must survive. The only issue is if there will be a context for the storyteller to survive in.

Economic factors Essay

Critical thinking is an individual’s form of judgment that has a particular purpose and reflective judgment. When individuals use critical thinking they reach a decision or solves an issue of judging what to believe or what to do, but reaches this conclusion in a thoughtful way. Critical thinking is a tool that individuals can use to evaluate incoming information. On the other hand, ethics is a branch of philosophy that encompasses right conduct and good life. Ethics has broader in the analyzing right and wrong than the standard conception. Ethics is a set of choices that individuals make on how to live their lives. ARE THE PRINCIPLES AND RULES OF CRITICAL THINKING APPLICABLE TO ETHICAL REASONING? WHY? The rules and principles of critical thinking are applicable to ethical reasoning because they both follow similar guidelines. In ethical reasoning along with critical thinking the individuals will study the details of the case, identify the appropriate criteria, determine possible courses of action, and decide which action is most ethical (Ruggiero, 2012). An example from this week would include the case of the shrinking maneuver. For step one in this case, it has been shown that the statement leaves no unanswered questions. The relevant criteria found in the case shows that laws are violated with the individuals knowingly claiming residence without meeting the requirements. A possible course of action for this case they could have physically moved to Florida or to another state with no-tax or low-tax instead of pretending they moved there. Finally, the most ethical action in the case shows that the Skirkings’ actions were unethical (Ruggiero, 2012). IF EVERYONE FOLLOWED THE RULES AND GUIDELINES OF LOGIC, WOULD THERE BE A NEED FOR ETHICAL DECISION MAKING? WHY? If everyone followed the rules and guidelines of logic there would still be a need for ethical decision making. The reason is that even though the conclusion may seem logical every individual has different ethics. For instance, if an individual needs a job and needs to obtain money quickly, logically it would make sense to do what would make the most money the quickest. Let us say the logical job would be stripping because the individual makes a large amount of money in a little amount of time. Another individual may say that even though this is the logical was to obtain money quickly, ethically it is wrong. REFERENCE: Ruggiero, V (2012). Thinking Critically about ethical issues (9th ed.). : Mc-Graw Hill.

Metropolis City Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Metropolis City Report - Essay Example All these come with occupational health and safety challenges. This article will explore the occupational health and safety challenges faced by rapidly developing cities with similar to Metropolis’ and explain a hazard and risk assessment plan that would enable these cities prepare for the public health risks that come with the exposure to environmental chemicals. Land contamination involves a wide array of conditions defined in the Environmental Protection Act (Environment Agency, 2010). The UK has had a long and varied industrial history and some of the industries that have been active at one time or the other being viewed as potential land pollutants. Much of the UK’s industrial activity, especially in the heavy industry sectors of iron and steel manufacture, chemical production and coal extraction took place before the modern systems of environmental pollution controls had been put in place. It was not until 1990 that the UK enacted a law to control land contamination (Hester et al., 2001). Metropolis faced several hazards resulting from land pollution from its former textile, coal and steel industries. Most of the land pollution that arose from the textile industry was as a result of the numerous chemical processes that raw materials pass through before turning into fabric. The textile industry processes such as dyeing, bleaching, printing, mercerization, scouring, sizing and washing require large volumes of water and result in equally large amounts of waste water which when released into the environment can cause land pollution (Darby, 1973). The waste water can not only contaminate ground water but can also interfere with the surrounding aquatic ecosystem. The waste generated from textile industries can be broadly categorized into four groups namely the toxic or hazardous wastes, high volume wastes, dispersible wastes and the difficult to treat wastes. The difficult to treat wastes are

Discuss FEMINISM IDEOLOGY and relate it to social work practice and Essay

Discuss FEMINISM IDEOLOGY and relate it to social work practice and values - Essay Example The form of feminine liberalism is more a fusion of individual rights and active government; it consists of two main parts. Firstly, the social-welfare component prescribes significant social and economic functions to alleviate the effects of capitalism. The philosophys second major component reaffirms classical liberalisms central values. This work goes into greater detail about the different feminine ideologies within the main body of the work. It also goes on to orchestrate how the variations in liberalist attitudes and perceptions have an impact on the type of social work and services that are offered and rendered to people in society. The conclusion of the work illustrates that in a democratic society, social feminine liberalism can, in a sense, add stability while sustaining individual liberty. Likewise, in the areas of individual rights, freedoms and economic equality, the feminine ideologies are vindicated in their quest for reinterpretation. Through welfare, some liberty wil l be sacrificed, but in this way, equality imposed in the right amount can strike a satisfying balance in social work and in the social life of all people. It is first very important to understand the fundamental distinction between the two different kinds of liberty and consequently the origins of such that exist within feminine ideology. This is because an assortment of the feminine ideologies, such as liberalism, delves into the more political aspects that affect people in a social atmosphere. These political elements also affect the type of services that people get from social services as well. Throughout history, these political entities have been addressed, dating as far back as the 16th century. In 1690 John Locke wrote the essay, ‘Two Treatises of Government’, where he redefined the relationship between government and the people,

LOREAL BUILDING A GLOBAL COSMETIC BRAND. Pages 644- 651 of your main Case Study

LOREAL BUILDING A GLOBAL COSMETIC BRAND. Pages 644- 651 of your main text Ghauri and Cateora text book (2010) - Case Study Example the formula on his own and selling it to the hair dressers, until 1909 when he established a full-fledged company that started manufacturing the product, under the name of Cheveux. It continued the business still in small scale, using the assistance of three-in-house based chemists (Ghauri & Cateora, 2010 p644). By 1920, the company had expanded its production of the products, and now started selling its products to other countries, such as Italy, Holland and Australia. The company initially depended on print advertisement, where Schuelter, enlisted the services of a well experienced graphic designers to make advertising posters for the company. With further growth of the business, the need for a different strategy of advertising arose, and Schuelter, established a women magazine as the basis of advertising the company’s product which were targeting women in 1933 (Ghauri & Cateora, 2010 p644). This strategy was followed by other promotional strategies such as creating a campaign for cleaning children using the company’s Dop Shampoo product in 1937, and then went ahead and created a jingle for the campaign that emerged as one of the most famous jingles of the time. The company eventually changed its name in 1940, and established the company name after one of its popular products, L’Aureole, to brand the company its current name, LOreal (Ghauri & Cateora, 2010 p644). LOreal pioneered the advertisement of its products through film commercials that were developed in theaters in the 1950 and in 1973, the ownership of the company changed hands, with 50% of the company’s stock being sold to a personal c are products manufacturing company, Gesparal, which eventually sold its stock to Nestle, while the rest half of the stock shares were traded to the public (Ghauri & Cateora, 2010 p644). Nestle received 49% of the shares, while the daughter of the owner and founder of the company retained a 51% stake in the company’s ownership. Critically comment on LOreal’s

Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural - Essay Example The nation was at the crossroads with the process of meeting the threat of secession and absorbing the shocks of the related challenges.Abraham Lincoln, the greatest American President, had to face the bitter critics for his style of functioning. In this connection, one important aspect related to his Presidency, is worth profound consideration. Wise people say desperate situations need desperate remedies. Lincoln was not a power hungry individual and he reached up to the office of the President by employing fair, democratic means. Those who accused Lincoln of â€Å"executive usurpation† need to bear in mind this trait of his personality. He acted and used the power of the Executive under extraordinary circumstances, when the nation was in the thick of Civil War. He took office as the President and then his executive branch consisted of a small number of staff but it had expanded substantially by the time his term was over. His critics leveled charges against and labeled him of being despotic for sidetracking a decision of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and for the suspension of habeas corpus. His actions were set as precedents by other Presidents at the time of war for increase of Executive authority. The discussion on the legal implications as for the power of the Executive was still at infancy when Lincoln assumed the office of the President. One of the examples quoted was, Lincoln waged war by raising armies but the Constitution directed the Congress to take action on those lines. Roy. P. Basler argues, â€Å"Now, it is insisted that Congress, and not the Executive, is vested with this power. But the Constitution itself is silent as to which or who is to exercise the power.†(601) Unity, integrity and security of the nation were of utmost importance. Actions of Lincoln needed to be judged from the angle of his conscience, and not in which legal frame they would fit into. In his address to the Congress in July 1861, he silenced his critics by stating categorically that he would do anything that he considered right in the interest of the nation in a state of rebellion. Basler substantiates this position and writes, â€Å"It was with the deepest regret that the Executive fo und the duty of employing the war power in defense of the Government forced upon him.†(609) Lincoln’s stand on the Emancipation Proclamation is liable to be interpreted both ways. That he was trying to usurp more powers for himself as the President of USA or was it the situational demand? That was a legal document written by Lincoln himself and it was drafted from defense view point. He did that as the Commander in Chief. He gradually expanded his powers as the President, like the horse that moves ahead, well-controlled by the jeans. That particular Executive decision was supported by indisputable legal stand. Under the umbrella of the legal provision Lincoln proceeded to act to abolish slavery and involuntary servitude. Even otherwise, Lincoln was a rebel against procedures, wherever they blocked national progress. Lincoln was a man of words and a man of action who delivered results to his country. Under any weak and wavering President, the unity of United States of Am erica would have been in peril and the country would have been torn into fragments. He was not inclined to over-reach for the sake of

Learning and Instruction Part 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Learning and Instruction Part 2 - Assignment Example asks; (c) knowledge about strategies and tactics for acquiring, integrating, applying, and thinking about new learning; (d) prior content knowledge; and (e) knowledge of both present and future contexts in which the knowledge could be useful. Hence, my style of teaching would be constructivist with these learners as opposed to direct with novice learners. As McKeachie would have liked to put it, Strategic teaching and Strategic learning are like â€Å"flip sides† of a coin. Hence, the idea of strategic teaching must be closely aligned with that of strategic learning and the process is a two-way street where the instructor must orient his or her teaching strategies based on the level of education and prior knowledge of the student. Most interventions designed to increase either the effectiveness or efficiency of training focus on instructional materials, methods, and teaching strategies. A critical component that is often ignored in most of these approaches is the degree to which the individual is ready and able to interact with the instruction in ways that will result in meaningful and enduring learning. Q2) TEACHING LARGE CLASSES: Although people teaching large classes often try to avoid multiple-choice/ true-false tests, it has been found that such efforts seem to be appreciated by almost no one. Although researchers may criticize the limitations of anything other than essay tests, they usually are willing to accept an alternative if more than fifty students are involved. When teaching large classes, it has been found to be useful to make sure that the lectures contain enough material not covered in the supporting text to make it worthwhile for students to attend lectures. QUESTIONING: In his research McKeachie found that effective methods of questioning were usually those that succeeded specific instructions from the teacher. For instance, the line, â€Å"please state your explanation as to how you arrived at your particular answer† provided students and

SOCIAL THOUGHT AND SOCIAL CHANGE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

SOCIAL THOUGHT AND SOCIAL CHANGE - Essay Example Marx developed his theory based on the existing economic, social and political scenario through a series of economic manuscripts in 1850s. After the fall of Russia in 1991, the world underwent some significant changes especially in value system, financial policies, production and distribution of wealth. Many nations in the world including China, and other Asian countries show their willingness to accept new liberal ideologies in social formation. Existing social scenario demands economic growth rather than social changes. Therefore, Marxian explanations on social change have been losing its relevance and it is not capable to understand capitalism. Historians often remark that Marxian philosophy denies centralization of wealth and it always requires a society with equal distribution of wealth. Unfortunately, individuals with power in later generation discard Marxian concept of social changes. Marx follows certain moral principles in his life and expects his followers to live in accord ance with some code of morality which ensures effective social changes. As John Cunningham Wood (n. d. p.20) comments; â€Å"In fact Marx expects the individual to act according to a code which is generally accepted and when individuals with power overlooked this demand, Marx was outraged.† Another significant area that Marxian ideologies face problem is that the acceptance of private property among the public. Exponents of capitalism demand maximum profit in financial dealings. In it the thoughts gain demands men to work hard and use all their potentialities. Marxian theories individuals are not given much priority and so in this special circumstances man power and his services are often discarded. Professional competence in work field as well service sector demanded maximum products than changes in work fields. It made a flaw for the Marxian ideology. It created a group of people who became less industrious and energetic. Marx’s explanation of Social Change: Marx was a man who had great vision on the change of society and the growth of all individuals. â€Å"Marx can recognize the centrality of individual action in social explanation while at the same time insist on the irreducibly social character of the conditions that constrain individual action† (Little, 1986, p.150). He had much concern for the progress of the working class individuals and he had seen that the exploitation on the working class would come to end with the implementation of the rule of Proletariats. The Marxian theory on social change was based on his concepts of class. The notion of class in a society is seen as the constant struggle with the oppressors and the oppressed. The struggle between these two is a prolonged struggle in the history. The working class is majority in number and they try to overturn the bourgeoisie. The struggle between these two will finally take place the victory of the proletariats over the bourgeoisie. He stressed the need of individual free dom from the hands of the oppressors. According to Daniel Little, Marx’s model â€Å"indicates that he accepts the view that the ultimate source of social change is the active individual within specific relations. Indeed Marx’s view that class conflict is the engine of historical change indirectly expresses this same point; for class conflict proceeds through definite

Epidemiology of Bio-Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Epidemiology of Bio-Terrorism - Essay Example Terrorism donned a new role and it took the form of bio-terrorism in which hazardous chemicals were used to attack people. Anthrax was the first material used in bio-terrorism. (Grey, 2006). The article provides a complete picture of the stages in which anthrax affects a person. But the article fails to explain the methods adopted by the terrorists who perform this task. The epidemiological framework consists of various methods and modules. During the 1800’s and 1900’s, people in America were affected by Bacillus Anthracis. People who were in direct contact with the animal products and its related industries were the only victims. (Jernigan, 1996). In the mid-1900’s, America saw the first case of inhalational anthrax. In this case, anthrax was purposely used to attack a person. People who came in direct contact with it were affected by this bacterium. People who worked in the postal department were most prone to getting affected by this disease. The patient’s clinical data was collected and tested and the reports confirmed that these people were affected by inhalational anthrax. (Koehler, 2003). It is one of the epidemic diseases and each of the affected patient’s exhibited different symptoms but most of them had fever, chills and fatigue. The patients were treated with median incubation after which they were given certain antibiotics. Pleural effusion was the common problem in all the patients who were affected by anthracis. Though antibiotics were given, some of them showed no signs of improvement. (Guillemin, 2004).The complication depended on the case history of the patients. Inhalational anthrax affected the chest of the person who inhales it. It was a common phenomenon and chest x-ray of the patients revealed certain abnormalities in the chest. Though the counts of white blood corpuscles of most of the patients were normal, they showed some

Consumer Buying Behavior of Hybrid Vehicles Essay Example for Free

Consumer Buying Behavior of Hybrid Vehicles Essay Introduction 1 Background of the Study With the air pollution level rising day by day caused by the emission from conventional vehicles, many government bodies have put in effort to enforce emission control policy since the late of 1960, and it is becoming strict with the EURO committee being the leader until today, where their emission policy and grading system being accepted or referenced worldwide even in Malaysia. The grading system based of emission cleanliness as of today is from Euro 1 to Euro 6, where Euro 1 being the worst emission standard and Euro 6 being the environmental friendly. This is the scene where most modern vehicles are fitted with catalytic converter since late 1975, a simple device that can reduce the harmful emission such as un-burn hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide by converting them into cleaner substances such as oxygen and hydrogen through chemical catalyst effect within (Tony Andrew, 2006). The effect of this is that the rise of the awareness of fuel efficiency, as many will further relate that if fuel efficiency can be increased, then the emission can be further improved, as well as to reduce wastage. Many automobile makers has since then began development of fuel efficient engine in order to make a stand, and consequently lead to the trend of Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV). 2 Problem Statement However, emission is only one environmental factor as there is other factor which bothers a driver financial aspect, the fuel and its prices. No matter the fuel is expensive and cheap, if one can travel further with a given set amount of fuel, then one can certainly save him/her some money (Tony Andrew, 2006). And back to the environmental area, fossil fuel is non-renewable energy resources and depletion is certainly inevitable. This is why in recent years, many western automobile makers started to look into building fuel efficient vehicles, by building fuel efficient engines through various ways, most notably by downsizing the engine displacement and compensate it with force induction such as low pressure turbocharger. The effect of this implementation is that using a smaller capacity engine but can achieve the power delivery of a high capacity engine, yet with lower fuel consumption. However back in the eastern automobile industry, where the Japanese being the leader they had something else in mind, not only they wanted fuel efficiency but at the same time they wished to maximize the go green concept. Henceforth they come up with the idea of hybrid vehicle, where in general terms a vehicle is powered by 2 sources of input, which is a normal internal combustion engine, supported by an additional electric motor which requires special battery pack. The advantages of this implementation is that the fuel consumption and emission is superior over the formal, while the drawback is the maintenance and cost of replacement for faulty battery pack is very expensive. With the hybrid being the hot trend now given the promising sales figures from European countries and the USA, generally the maintenance factor is not an issue for them, however in this research we need to find out the factors that influence a buyer into considering, buying a hybrid vehicle over here in Malaysia, as the hybrid trend is still very new here in Malaysia, generally starting on the year of 2006 where Honda introduces Civic Hybrid. However with the recent tax exemption on hybrid vehicles from the Malaysia government, the trend seems to be changing positively and now we have several models from Honda and Toyota to offer in response to the policy. 3 Research Objectives a) What are the factors that influence consumer into considering a hybrid vehicle? b) What are the factors that support consumer into buying a hybrid vehicle? c) What are the factors that consumer worries about when purchasing a hybrid vehicle? 4 Significance of the Study This study into the factors that affect the buying decision of hybrid vehicles in Malaysia could project the trend and acceptance of hybrid vehicles here in Malaysia. With that information, local automobile makers can consider into developing our own hybrid vehicles to offer the local markets a broader choice, as well as to stay competitive in the market. Additionally, this will be a good catalyst to spark off â€Å"Go Green† concept into consumers’ mind that is beneficial to the restoration and perseverance of the environment. 5 Scope of the Study In this research, we will first take a general look and introduction into both the low pressure force induction technology and the hybrid technology further then compare and contrast the pros and cons in detail. With both concept understood, we will begin to focus on the trend of hybrid vehicles here in Malaysia, finding out the factors that support or deter the acceptance of hybrid vehicle through questionnaire aimed at hybrid owners and potential hybrid owners, from then we can know what are the main factors and concern of buyer upon making a decision for a hybrid vehicle, and then conclude what can be done to further increase the acceptance level of hybrid vehicles. Literature Review According to Markel Simpson (2006), the implementation of hybrid electric vehicles can effectively reduce petroleum consumption up to 30% when compared to conventional vehicle, however a fully plug-in hybrid electric vehicle shall be undergo development to further improve the savings and reduce the wastage, as current hybrid electric vehicles uses electric motor powered by battery pack to assist the engine, which is costly when one needs to replace, and it did not provide much desired power. The manufacturer can of course put in a bigger battery pack to punch out better power and durability, but with every 15% of improvement the cost is nearly doubled. This issue is also mentioned before way back in year 2001, where the development of hybrid vehicles began with the aim in providing a superior fuel efficiency vehicles with minimal wastage and pollutants emitted, in prior to address two major problems (Allella et al, 2001): a) Consumption of fuel : World petroleum reserves and residues are unlikely able to sustain against the ever growing necessity of consumption b) Pollution : Generally referred to the harmful emission that can damage the environmental health. The most common hybrid vehicle design is found within the famous Japanese automobile makers, respectively the Honda the Toyota. The idea is to fit an electric motor powered by a battery pack that will recharge itself using the lost energy during the braking procedure, to assist a smaller capacity conventional engine in acceleration. With the motor assistant, the engine need not work and rev up that hard to get the vehicle moving therefore fuel consumption can be lowered. When certain conditions are met, the vehicles may also run solely on the electric motor itself most probably during low speed cruising. Putting the vehicle design aside, as stated by Kuo Wang (2011), the disciplinary in driving, as well as the climate is major factor in reducing fuel consumption. Kuo Wang pointed out that in countries that have tropical climate, such as those near to the equator, tend to have higher fuel consumption index compared to other countries with 4 seasons climate, this is mainly due to the fact that fuel burns better and more efficient when the air temperature is colder, as colder air is more dense and henceforth carries more oxygen molecules. Other than that, since the temperature is generally high throughout the year for tropical climate countries, drivers tend to switch on the air-conditioner (A/C) most of the time to withstand the hot weather, and A/C draws power from the engine to power up the compressor and cooling coil, therefore it results in loss of power from engine and leads to higher fuel consumption. On the disciplinary side, traveling below or way above the optimum speed of a vehicle, usually around 90KM/H to 110KM/H will affect the fuel consumption, where most drivers tend to speed when the chances arise. One should also try to plan their traveling route ahead, in order to avoid unnecessary traffic congestion which can result in poor fuel consumption, as start-stop driving proven to have 60% increased fuel consumption compared to smooth non-stop driving. This is generally experienced by most drivers that they can achieve better mileage if they travel on the highway often. Research Methodology 1 Theoretical Framework [pic] 2 Generation of Hypothesis Assume that a) H0 = Null Hypothesis (No relationship between IV DV) b) H1 = Alternative Hypothesis (Significant relationship between IV DV) |H1 |H0 – There is no relationship between maintenance and purchase decision of hybrid vehicles. | | |H1 – There is significant relationship between maintenance and purchase decision of hybrid vehicles. | |H2 |H0 – There is no relationship between fuel consumption and purchase decision of hybrid vehicles. | | |H1 – There is significant relationship between fuel consumption and purchase decision of hybrid vehicles. | |H3 |H0 – There is no relationship between tax exemption and purchase decision of hybrid vehicles. | | |H1 – There is significant relationship between tax exemption and purchase decision of hybrid vehicles. | |H4 |H0 – There is no relationship between personal view and purchase decision of hybrid vehicles. | | |H1 – There is significant relationship between personal view and purchase decision of hybrid vehicles. | Conclusion In conclusion, no matter it is partial hybrid or fully plug-in hybrid, the main objectives are to prolong the sustainability of petroleum through improved fuel consumption. By going green, the hybrid technology can also help in reducing wastage and guarantee cleaner emission that can contribute to better environmental health and quality. Therefore with all the benefits and savings, we should try to adopt and embrace the implementation of hybrid vehicles. However, there is still room for improvement given the hybrid technology is still new within a decade of time. Government should come out with policy that can help greatly in promoting the adaptation of this green technology. Reference: 1) Allella et al, (2001), Negative Log-gamma Distribution for Data Uncertainty Modeling in Reliability Analysis of Complex System Methodology and Robustness, International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, Vol. 18, Napoli, Italy. 2) Allela et al, (2005), Optimal Reliability Allocation Under Uncertain Conditions With Application to Hybrid Vehicle Design [Online], International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, Vol. 22, Napoli, Italy. Available from (www. emeraldinsight. com/0265-671X. htm) [Accessed June 6 2011] 3) Apaydin O. Gonullu MT, (2008), Emission Control With Route Optimization In Solid Waste Collection Process, Vol. 33, Sadhana. 4) Davis S. Diegel S, (2004), Transportation Energy Databook, 24th Edition. 5) Duval M, (2004), Advanced Batteries for Electric Drive Vehicles, EPRI. 6) Hirsch et al, (2005), Peaking of World Oil Production: Impracts, Risks, and Mitigation. 7) Kuo Y. Wang CC, (2011), Optimizing the VRP by Minimizing Fuel Consumption [Online], International Journal of Management of Environmental Quality, Vol. 22. Available from (www. emeraldinsight. com/1477-7835. htm) [Accessed 8 June 2011] 8) Markel T. Simpson A, (2005), Energy Storage Considerations for Grid-Charged Hybrid Electric Vehicles, IEEE Vehicular Technologies Conference, Chicago, IL. 9) Markel T. Simpson A, (2006), Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Energy Storage System Design [Online], National Renewable Energy Laboratory, available from (http://www. nrel. gov/vehiclesandfuels/vsa/pdfs/39614. pdf) [Accessed 8 June 2011].

A Basic Model Of Consumer Decision Making Marketing Essay

A Basic Model Of Consumer Decision Making Marketing Essay The demographic environment is defined as the demographic factors that marketers used to analyze market trends by segmenting the targeted population. BusinessDictionary.com, 2013. It consists of six factors which are; population ethnic mix, education levels, population size and rate of growth, age distribution and migration shifts and attributes. According to statistics, Singapore Residents Growth Rate has decreased from 0.9 to 0.8 from 2010 to 2011 (Department Of Statistics Singapore [DOSS], 2012). However, the growth rate is insignificant as compared to the Non-Residents which grew from 4.1 to 6.9 ( DOSS, 2012). As most of the non-residents are workers that cater to the low end jobs in Singapore, they do not earn high income and may find Singapore Airlines (SIA) too expensive. Therefore, SIA view it as an opportunity to launch a budget airline service to cater to this group. The age distribution of the Singapore population also affects the marketing strategies of SIAs decision to launch Scoot. Singapores population percentage for ages between 45 and over accounted for 38.4% (DOSS, 2012). This is a significant result and it indicates a trend to an ageing population. It is projected that by 2030, there will be a 2.1 replacement ratio to each citizen above age 65 (Our Demographic Challenges And What These Mean To Us, n.d.). Therefore, compared to SIA, the lower cost fare of Scoot is able to cater to this group of consumers as many of the aged are retirees who may not be able to afford the standard flight fare. This may be due to reasons such as not having stable incomes, high medical and living expenses. The other group of consumers that may opt for cheaper ticket fares are the young adults. They are aged between 15 to 34 and accounted for 28.4% of the population (DOSS, 2012). They represent an opportunity for Scoot as their commitments to family, work and study means they may have to control their expenses. Thus, they may have lower purchasing power and might be unable to afford SIAs travel fares. In addition, foreigners are projected to take up half of Singapores population by 2030 (Singapore Population Half Foreigners By 2030, 2013). This trend can be attributed to the migratory movement of foreigners from developing countries such as India and China to Singapore. They come from different parts of China and India and pose an opportunity for Scoot. Thus, this provides a wider targeted consumer group for marketers to promote their services. Citing from the case study, it states that Scoot, which will compete in the growing low-cost travel sector, will fill a gap that now exists within the group. This group of commuters may travel back to their own countries annually for festive seasons or visiting of families and would not desire an expensive trip to exotic countries for holidays such as Europe or Japan. Therefore, SIA launched Scoot to provide low cost travels for these expanding targeted consumers to increase its profitability. To further maximize its market potential, the c ase study also states that Scoot will do longer flights, to Australia, China, India and eventually Europe. Thus, SIA aims to create more opportunities by increasing services to this group of people. The political-legal environment is defined as the legal and political factors that affect marketing decision making strategies. The factors are; changes in business legislation and laws, the number and strength of special interest groups and market reforms and corruption. The recent growth of special interest groups over the years may have contributed to SIAs decision to launch Scoot to serve the lower income consumers needs. The groups such as CASE (Consumer Association Of Singapore) serves to protect the consumers interest, educate and inform the consumers. It also ensures business ethics within the company by advocating fairer legislation. Since SIA is a private competitive firm with no government intervention, it has to maintain constant good services to consumers. Since such consumerist movement is increasing and SIA being one of largest airline company, it will need to establish relationships with consumers and formulate policies to increase consumers interest and reduce custom er complaints. With regards to the political-legal factor, Singapore is liberal in its aviation policy and has continue to adopt this policy in recent times by signing agreements with more countries such as United Kingdom, United States, United Arab Emirates , New Zealand and other countries (The impact of international air service liberalization on Singapore, 2009). This allows Scoot with its bigger aircrafts to fly to more destinations and longer distances where other budget airline competitors cannot reach. The economic environment is defined as the economic factors that affect the marketing decision making strategies. The economic factors include income distribution and savings, debt and credit availability of the population. As per reported, the income levels of all classes have risen over the years. The median monthly household income has risen from 5,600 SGD per month per household in 2010 to 6,310 SGD per month per household in 2011 (DOSS, 2012). Although median income has increased, majority of the increment is due to a raise in the income for the higher income group. The middle and lower income groups might not have higher income and might even be worse off due to inflation. The rich are getting wealthier and the poor are getting poorer. Hence SIA can cater to the wealthier consumers who want premium air travel services and Scoot can cater to people who need to travel at a budget air fare (Scoot: Asias Newest Low-Cost Airline, 2012). The other factor is Singapore populations savings, debt, and credit availability. The Singapore economy has contracted in the 2nd quarter in 2011 triggered by the economic crisis that happened in 2008 (Singapore may escape technical recession but downside risks remain, 2011). This uncertain outlook of the economy combined with inflation rate at 5.7%, (Global recession likely, Singapore says, 2011) may have contributed to SIAs launch of Scoot. With higher inflation rate and slower economic growth, people may be worried about the future and cut back on unnecessary expenditures. Consumers may choose to travel by other cheaper alternatives hence, demand for SIAs flight services will decrease. However, the trend of Singapores future economy and inflation rate remains uncertain as economists have forecasted that for 2013, median inflation rate for CPI would be high at 3.0% (Monetary Authority Of Singapore, 2012). Singapores GDP forecasted growth is expected to be between 1% to 3% indicating a slow economic growth ( Singapore economy expected to grow 1-3% in 2013, 2012). Thus, majority of the people in Singapore are most likely going to save more and spend less on luxury goods and services like expensive air fares which will lead to a decrease in the demand for SIA air travel. As disposable income reduces, more people would opt for budget airlines such as Scoot, Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia for air traveling. This presents an opportunity for Scoot to expand its services. However, it might be a threat if competitors pricing of tickets are comparatively lower and economy continues to shrink in the future. Question 2 All companies which render services to customers should be highly sensitive to their own service quality and achieved level of customer satisfaction. Service quality is the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs (Kotler, Keller, Ang, Leong, Tan, 2009). Companies performances may fall short, meet or exceed customers expectations. Therefore, companies performances and customers expectations determine customer satisfaction which is customers feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing a product or services perceived performance (or outcome) in relation to his or her expectations (Kotler et al., 2009). A business entitys main aim should be to generate consistent profits for its shareholders or owners. Sustained profitability is achieved when companies yield revenue streams that exceed the cost streams of attracting, selling and servicing the customers over time (Kotler et al., 2009). Scoot is a budget airline which strives to be sustainable, at the same time retaining and expanding its market share through ensuring desired service quality and achieving customer satisfaction. For cost reduction purposes, Scoot emphasizes to its customer that they are no-frills. With the removal of certain features which are prominent in full-service airlines, it is unavoidable that customers will make comparisons and mark down the service quality of Scoots flights. Scoot has made conscious efforts to distance itself from its parent company Singapore Airlines (SIA), as well as to create deeper impressions in its customer that it is a budget airline, by having its cabin crew to wear casual crew uniform (Kaur, 2011). With the use of Boeing 777 aircrafts, Scoot provides its customers with more leg space and rooms in the aircrafts to maneuver. This gives Scoot a comparative advantage over its budget airlines, which usually operate smaller aircrafts. Air travelers are expected to be more hands-on when they travel on budget airlines. With no dedicated customer service platform available to these air travelers, they have to navigate the budget airlines websites and online systems themselves, in order to obtain information or make amendments to their bookings. With large pool of available resources and experience, SIA has an efficient and comprehensive online system for its customer. Through the introduction of SIA, Scoot can discuss with SIAs service providers on how to design and implement a user-friendly online system, which is cost effective at the same time. Even though Scoot will not respond to complaints from its customers, they must take note of the complaints and implement corrective and preventive measures, in order to maintain or even improve service quality. Additionally, Scoot can also provide Feedback forms to its customers. This will give quick and accurate information on their service quality, at relatively low costs. Like most if not all budget airlines, Scoot does not offer flight packages which include free in-flight entertainment, food and drinks. With the limited services provided, it is difficult for Scoot to achieve customer satisfaction. Therefore, Scoot has to focus on constantly improving its performances, as well as to mitigate the expectations of its customers. SIA is world renowned to provide great services to its customers, therefore meeting or even exceeding the expectations of its customers. Scoot can leverage on SIAs experiences and methods, as well as the trainings regimes provided to its staff, in order to achieve similar results and have a pool of well-trained staff. Scoot has vigorously tried to shed the public impression of it being a subsidiary of SIA. The marketing strategy of Scoot has to continue in this line, that is to distance itself from premium, full-service carriers and to be in the same market as other budget airlines. Scoot can distance itself from full-service carriers, by having its customer to board and alight from its aircrafts in the same airline terminals also utilized by other budget airlines. This could also prevent customers from using full-service carrier expectations, to judge the performances of Scoot. Scoot will be able to achieve fuel-efficiency by using Boeing 777 aircrafts. This allows Scoot to have lower costs than its competitors who are using older and less fuel-efficient aircrafts. With greater savings from less fuel consumption, Scoot should pass on some of the cost-saving benefits to its consumers. For example, Scoot can afford to reduce its air ticket prices due to lower costs. This will enable Scoot to maintain and capture a bigger market share through securing new customers from its competitors. With the advancement in technology and the popularized use of social media, many companies have turn to social media and internet to advertise their products and services. Scoot has actively tried to portray a lively and young image. Therefore, they should further strengthen this image, as well as to reach out to greater market of potential customers, by exploring and utilizing the social media platform. For example, Scoot can engage fresh-faced foreign celebrities with positive images who are active on the social media platforms, to be their spokespersons in destinations where they wish to gain greater market share. This couples with more online advertising spending, could assist Scoot to reach out to greater diversity of air travelers who are not based in Singapore. Budget airlines like Scoot face mammoth tasks in achieving desired levels of customer satisfaction and service quality, while cutting costs and maximizing revenues to ensure sustained profitability. With concerted efforts in providing basic and necessary services, as well as improving performances and lowering expectations, Scoot can secure its customer base and reduce operating costs which will in turn result in Scoot meeting its main aim of earning consistent revenues and profits. Question 3(a) With the availability of a wide range of choices for air traveling, which includes budget and full-service airlines, air travelers will make thorough comparisons to decide on the most value for money option for leisure travel and business purposes. The procedure from recognizing a need to fulfilling it is shown in Figure 3.1 which is a form of cognitive learning that depicts the five-stage decision making process model. The definition of consumer learning is the process by which individuals acquire the purchase and consumption knowledge and experience they apply to future related behaviour (Belch, Belch, Guolla, 2011). Figure 3.1 A basic model of consumer decision making. (Source) According to Bauer, Consumer behavior involves risk in the sense that any action of a consumer will produce consequences which he cannot anticipate with anything approximating certainty, and some of which at least are likely to be unpleasant (1960, p. 24). Thus, consequences and uncertainty are the two basic factors that are used to determine the level of perceived risks. Bauer stresses that his main concern is only with subjective (perceived) risk and not real world (objective) risk. This is because consumers will only buy a product that he believes to be good and trustworthy. Perceived risk might not be actual risk but the amount of risk a consumer believes that could be incurred when he buys a certain product from a certain vendor (Kotler et al., 2009). The risks include functional, physical, psychological, financial and time risks. Functional risk occurs when the product is not up to consumers perceived level of service. As Scoot is a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines (SIA), most of us will expect it to be exceptional. However, Scoot is a budget airline and hence, like all other budget airlines, its main concern is to provide cheap air transportation. The basic air fare covers only transportation from one point to another. So, one has to pay for whatever is desired. The utilitarian approach is to ensure that all costs are reduced to the minimum which allows the air fare to be low, yet, profitable. Thus, consumers who expect regular amenities on budget airlines will be greatly disappointed. If a person thinks that consuming a certain product can be harmful to him or his loved ones, then this is a physical risk perceived and he would probably never consume that product. When travelling with budget airlines, the usual complaint would be limited space and uncomfortable seats. When one has to sit in a cramped aircraft with little moving space for a few hours, it can be very uncomfortable and may cause backaches and other minor aches or even death (space adaption syndrome). These are physical risks of travelling with budget airlines that travellers might want to avoid. Psychological risk is defined as the product that affects the mental well-being of the user (Kotler et al., 2009, p. 186). Some conservative consumers may feel that flying in bigger aircrafts would give them more sense of security and comfort. Hence, they would avoid by travelling by budget airlines such as Scoot. If one purchases a product and it is defective, he will incur financial losses when he has to pay extra money to repair or find a replacement. Hence, the cost exceeds the value of this product. If one intents to travel by budget flight, then he must be prepared to carry extra cash in case he gets stuck in a foreign country when his flight is delayed or cancelled. This is because budget airlines do not provide any other recompense besides ticket refund. That means, one needs to pay for whatever expenses incurred, be it lodging or purchase of another ticket to fly to the next destination. It is believed that budget air flights experiences frequent delays and cancellations. Thus, it is commonly believed that one should avoid budget flights to avoid financial risks. Moreover, with frequent cancellations and delays for budget flight is time wasted. One needs to wait indefinitely or buy another air ticket, which requires extra time and effort. In addition, one could miss an important appointment which might have undesirable consequences. Question 3(b) In order to overcome the perceived risks, marketers should know that consumers are worried about risks that they believe are true and not necessarily real. As per Gordon Allport (1935), Attitudes are learned predispositions to respond to an object in a consistently favorable or unfavorable way.. Consumers hold attitude toward many things that are vital to the marketer. Moreover, their attitudes indicate their emotions, assessment and behavioral tendencies towards a product. Therefore, we need to change the consumers attitude regarding budget airlines. To overcome perceived risks, Scoot could publish statistics of the level of customers satisfaction, of light delays, cancellations and the amount of money saved compared to the cheapest flight available. This can be done through the market research process in which marketers could identify the problem caused by the five perceived risks and provide decision alternatives. When consumers realise that the level of statistics shown is actually similar to other regular carriers, plus the incentive of the amount of money saved, they will feel more encouraged to travel on Scoot. The proven performance will help to build customers confidence in Scoots ability to meet their expectations. Hence, the perceived functional risk is solved. The growth of competitors such as Tiger Airways, Jetstar , Airasia and Webjet may influence consumers purchasing decision with extremely competitive prices and numerous attractive promotions. Scoot marketers could identify the consumers needs and wants and apply differentiation strategies through product improvement, better services and well trained personnel. Some of the frequent complaints while flying budget airlines are poor services, cramped spaces and uncomfortable chairs. Scoot uses product differentiation by offering wider spaces in planes and more comfortable seats. Also, there are pictures of the aircraft interior posted in their website to allow people to see their offerings. Additionally, on-line forums or memo boards on Scoots website allows consumers who have used Scoots service to post their reviews and share their experiences. This marketing strategy could alleviate the conservative consumers psychological risk. These include good and bad experiences and tips when fly ing Scoot. The feedback and control system also allows Scoot to track its results such as customer satisfaction and retention rate and sales. This will also allow Scoot to adapt to a shift in consumers expectations such as better services or technological access. In this way, Scoot has addressed perceived physical risks of the consumers. The purpose of using budget airlines is to save money. It defeats the purpose if consumers have to pay extra money in order to proceed with the journey. However, occasional delays are inevitable and the worst case scenario would be stuck without accommodation. Since budget airlines sustain with minimum expenses, it is impossible to make allowance for lodgings. Thus, Scoot could make a list of cozy corners or cafes that offer comfortable resting venues at minimum or no cost for the passengers as a reference. Hence, the consumers will not need to spend extra money on contingency plans. This will reduce financial risk of a consumer. It is true that delays and cancellations are possible when flying on budget flights. This is because budget flight operates like a bus and travels the identical path to and fro many times daily. Minor delays could occur but, after a long day, the slight delays become significant when many delays build up into major time lapse and even cancellations. However, delays could also happen to any regular air flights. So, it should be made very clearly to passengers that punctuality is very important and any delays will affect subsequent flights. As Scoot target consumers are the young and young at heart, a comic strip could be used to illustrate this scenario to make it fun but not offensive. In conclusion, perceived risks are what consumers believe are true but not necessarily real. In order to overcome these perceptions effectively, we need to understand their worries and help them to correct their perceptions and gain a positive Scootitude. Hence, we gain attention from hesitant potential customers and retain current customers. Question 4 Every business needs effective strategies to meet ever changing demands of the market. For a business to be sustainable, it needs to satisfy its customers expectations and build a lasting relationship. This means it needs to fulfill the customers perceived value (CPV) which is the difference between the prospective customers evaluation of all the benefits and all the costs of an offering and the perceived alternatives (Kotler et al., 2009, p. 133). Hence, long term strategies must be implemented to cultivate strong customer relationships. Customer relationship management (CRM) is essential in cultivation of long term customer relationship. It is defined as the process of carefully managing detailed information about individual customers and all customers touch points to maximize customer loyalty (Kotler et al., 2009, p. 144). There are four ways to good CRM which are: identify its prospects and customers, differentiate customer in terms of their needs and their value to the company, interact with individual customers and customize products, services, and messages to each customer (Kotler et al., 2009). When booking air tickets on-line, consumers are already giving their personal details to the airlines. The information includes: gender, date of birth, billing address, nationality, passport number and payment methods. We can use the customer data base to identify the different market types and establish effective communications to the respective consumers. Through such data mining, we can identify the trend and segments to forecast the needs and wants of different consumers. The consumers could be segmented into different nationality, gender and age distribution. With the market segmentation, Scoot could differentiate customers in terms of their needs and values brought to the company. Scoot has limited financial resources, so it needs to attract more good customers, and retain profitable existing customers. In order to build customer loyalty, Scoot need to implement special benefits for long term customers. The main objective for travelling with budget airline is to save money. Customers will have their personal accounts with Scoot upon successful purchase and they will be able to access this account to check their transactions. Hence, Scoot can emphasize this point by letting consumers know how much they have saved by frequently travelling with Scoot. The amount saved will be translated to reward points for reward redemptions. Loyal customers will be able to redeem rewards with Scoot and its overseas partners like getting free transportation at pick up points and drop off at desired destinations. This will make members feel privileged that they are rewarded for their loyalty. This also acts as a one-stop comprehensive portal that provides cost savings to these loyal customers by providing cheap lodging options and discounted ticket prices to places of interest in other countries, offered by working partners of Scoot. This is in line with Scoots objective of providing low cost and no-fr ills travel for consumers and maximise customer perceived value. Scoot needs to interact with individual customers in order to understand the requirements of different customers and implement changes where required. However, a budget airline is operating within budget constraints; hence it will not be viable to maintain a customer service department to entertain consumers enquiries and complains. Booking fees or administrative fees usually incurred when online transactions are performed. In order to encourage consumers to fill up questionnaires and survey forms designed by Scoot, Scoot can offer customers waiver of these fees when they book air tickets, after the completion of the questionnaires and survey forms. With incentives, consumers will be more willing to provide feedbacks which can help to enhance Scoots services. With data collected from these surveys, Scoot can customize communications to each customer by sending them information only for what they are interested in. This will allow Scoot to identify and differentiate customers in terms of their needs and wants. These include promotions for certain locations which are of interest, special occasions in certain countries and new exciting happenings in certain countries. As such, consumers will not feel frustrated when receiving mail trailers but will be anticipating what Scoot can offer them. In conclusion, while Scoot can lookout for potential consumers and offer them some encouragement to become its customers, the focus is still to establish and strengthen long term relationship with current customers. As such, Scoot needs to identify prospects and customers to differentiate their preferences and allocate resources effectively to enhance profitability and retain customers simultaneously. Interaction is essential to understand customers requirements which will allow Scoot to customize their services to loyal customers who will continue to patronize Scoot with its incentives and loyalty programmes which maximizes perceived customer value.

Essay on the Departure from the Romantic Novel in Pride and Prejudice

A Departure from the Romantic Novel in Pride and Prejudice      Ã‚  Ã‚   In Pride and Prejudice, Austen describes the union of 4 couples -- namely, Elizabeth and Darcy, Jane and Bingley, Lydia and Wickham, and Charlotte and Collins. For the Elizabeth-Darcy relationship, it is clearly an inversion of romantic expectations, and Austen makes it clear that this steadfast, rational relationship is desirable, yet the Charlotte-Collins relationship, [very rational] while also being unconventional, suffers some criticism. Jane and Bingley, though playing very much to expectations of a romantic-story, are dealt with gently and not unkindly by Austen. The same sort of tempestuous emotional impulsiveness of Lydia and Wickham, so typical of romantic novels at that time, is clearly criticized.    Many critics in the nineteenth century approved of Austen's work, as she was vastly different from other novelists, injecting little of the "screams along the corridor" variety of novels that is suitable only for "maids and chamberwomen". This is characterised largely by the story of Elizabeth and Darcy, which is an inversion of romantic book expectations. Unlike the instantaneous, fiery passion that Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights had for Catherine, [not true, but I see what you mean] for this couple, it was more akin to extreme dislike-at-first-sight. Haughty, reserved Darcy, revealing none of the gushing, wondrous, she-is-the-most-beautiful-creature-in-the-world type of sentiment, caustically notes that she is "tolerable ... but not handsome enough to tempt me." Elizabeth, rightly incensed, takes a "decided dislike" for him throughout much of the first 2 volumes of the novel. This inauspicious beginning, in no way signifies to readers the fir... ...ald Gray.   New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996. Hennelly, Jr., Mark M. "Pride and Prejudice." Jane Austen: New Perspectives. ed. Janet Todd. New York: Holmes & Meier Publishers, Inc., 1983. Jane Austen Info Page. Henry Churchyard. U of Texas, Austin. 23 Nov. 2000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   <http://www.pemberly.com/janeinfo/janeinfo/html>. Monaghan, David.   Jane Austen Structure and Social Vision.   New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1980. Poplawski, Paul.   A Jane Austen Encyclopedia.   Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1998. Reidhead, Julia, ed. Norton Anthology of English Literature vol. 7, 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000. Ward, David Allen. "Pride and Prejudice." Explicator. 51.1: (1992). Wright, Andrew H. "Feeling and Complexity in Pride and Prejudice." Ed. Donald Gray. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1966. 410-420.      

Cold Mountain: Frasiers Archetypal Journey Essay -- essays research pa

The archetype of the journey is seen in Charles Frazier’s novel Cold Mountain, most clearly through experience Inman has wandering back to Cold Mountain. The journey archetype sends the hero in search of some truth to restore order and harmony to the land. The journey often includes the series of trials and tribulations the hero faces along the way. Usually the hero descends into a real or psychological hell and is forced to discover the blackest truths. Once the hero is at his lowest level, he must accept personal responsibility to return to the world of the living. Inman’s trip fits this description very well in some ways and not in others. It could be said that Inman’s search for truth is his desire to be back home. He has been disillusioned by the war. He saw horrible scenes daily and fought for his life. By coming home to Ada and his mundane life is a welcome constant for him in a world he has recently determined to be wild. He believed that once he had rea ched his destination, order in his personal world and soul could begin to return to normal. In accordance with the definitions of the archetype journey, Inman goes through a great deal angst and tribulations. He has practically starved many times, been mugged, and fired upon. This strife is culminated when he his betrayed and shanghaied, marched nearly to death, then shot and left for dead. He is buried with a thin layer of dirt in a mass grave, and spends half a day under ground with the dead. This is his low point, his personal hell. At this point he even considers not uncovering himself and allowing the easy death to occur. For such a logical and even headed man this is particularly extreme thought. But he eventually finds the will power to hoist himself out of the grave to once again take up road. Finally he gets to the house and restores order to his metaphysical kingdom, coming to terms with many of his thoughts. Ada goes through a more mental archetypal journey. She has to fi nd manageable independence, an aspect development of which she had always been deprived. Her low point was at the beginning of the book when she realized that she no longer had the money that once had enabled a work-free life style. At the beginning, she has no idea what to do or what she even wants. Once Ruby comes, she begins to come to important self-realization about the pettiness of her past life and how she is no lon... ... the greatest foils to each other. When one reads of Ruby’s extreme incredible work ethic and practicality in every matter, even towards bird-watching (she uses migratory patterns to plant seasonally), one understands that she has lived in harsh conditions and foolishness was not an option. Once contrasted with her father and his physically unproductive lifestyle, one may come to view her as a calculating robot. On the other hand, Stobrod may look as though he has a far worse work ethic than he actually does wen contrasted against his daughter. Similarly, this was the dynamic of Ada’s relationship to Ruby when Ruby was first introduced. Inman, the rational, moral, and selfless farmer boy and Veasy, the lecherous, self-centered preacher serve as foil to one another. When the pair is together Inman seems so strait laced and moral, thinking every aspect out well in advance, then taking the most sensible route. Veasy on the other hand is made to look even more of a lech erous buffoon, when he, who has just had relations with Laura Foster, solicits the massive Tildy for sex in the tavern while Inman, the lonely former-soldier who has not been with woman for a long time remains celibate.

Chinese Communist Party Essay

Throughout the countries early history, a series of dynasties ruled larger and larger territories to what has now become known as the People’s Republic of China. All through the 19th century China faced European powers that were militarily stronger than they were. The humiliation brought on by the imperialist powers during the previous century sparked an early revolution in the 20th century against the dynastic regime that had ruled for so long. By 1911 the revolutionist won the battle and the first elected president (Yuan Shikai) of the Republic of China was named thereby putting an end to the monarchies that had ruled for so long. Although officially titled the Republic of China, it wasn’t truly a republic until 1949. In 1948 the prevailing Chinese Communist Party (CCP) defeated the then ruling Nationalist Party. The current government was established in October 1949 after CCP chairman Mao Zedong declared the formation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This effectively brought an end to Western imperialist involvement in China because the communist government set up a one-party state that was to be ruled by the CCP. Under Zedong’s leadership, China began down the long road of economic recovery. In 1953, with the assistance of the Soviet model of central planning, the Communist set forth a series of Five-Year Plans to dramatically reorganize essentially all aspects of Chinese life. This involved a focus on the development of basic heavy industry, a progressive socialization of Chinese agriculture and the suppression of non-communist ideals within the country’s religion, press and schools. Although the plan reduced inflation, restored communications and reestablished domestic order, the Chinese began to back off from their original dedication to heavy industry, which was a mainstay of the Soviet model. By the end of the 1950’s China began to focus on the agricultural sector again and eventually broke their ties with the Soviets in 1960. In 1966 Zedong launched the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, which was a back-to-the-basics movement. The intentions with the Cultural Revolution were to stamp out the heavy industrialization and the â€Å"bourgeois† ideas and customs presented with the Soviet’s central planning model. The movement lasted for a decade and severely set back China’s economy. China’s foreign relations were strained early on in the Cultural Revolution; although, in 1970 things began to take a turn for the better. By 1971 the United Nation’s China seat that had been held by the nationalist government of Taiwan, was given to the People’s Republic of China. In 1976 after Zedong’s death, a group of old-guard radicals known as the Gang of Four were arrested and charged with the crimes of the Cultural Revolution thereby signifying the formal conclusion of the crusade and a new beginning for China’s economy. By 1978 moderate reformer Deng Xiaoping obtained control of the Chinese government after being removed from the vice premier public office by the Gang of Four in 1976. This marked a significant turnaround for China because Xiaoping believed in the idea of alleviating poverty via economic development. He led the economic reform with a simple slogan that promoted the â€Å"Four Modernizations† of agriculture, industry, technology and national defense. Xiaoping backed up his ideals by initiating a reform of the old communal agricultural system. The reform promoted land privatization and gave an incentive for people to work efficiently and sell their surplus. In addition he rejuvenated the military academies that had been neglected during the Cultural Revolution and he sanctioned an Open Door policy with foreign nations. The policy reversed the long lasting self-sufficiency and isolationist viewpoints held in previous decades, thus fostering the foreign relationships necessary to adopt new technology, which has assisted with the modernization of China’s industry. The reforms set in motion by Deng Xiaoping significantly improved the standard of living for many of the Chinese people. His modernization movement was so successful that by the early 1990’s, figures that indicated the people’s average incomes had tripled since he took control of the country. The modernization didn’t come easily though. For example, after people began have a better understanding of the individual freedoms and rights enjoyed by Western culture, student protest became commonplace throughout the 1980’s as the Chinese people struggled for further reforms to add more choice in their daily lives. The unrest came to a head in 1989 when students and others joined together for a demonstration in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. Eventually armored troops stormed the city center killing numerous defenseless civilians to put an end to the demonstration. Although the Tiananmen Square incident hurt the country’s foreign relations to some degree with ti me, ties were mended. Throughout the 1990’s China’s international reputation greatly improved. In fact, the United Kingdom and Portugal, respectively, handed over control of Hong Kong in 1997 and Macao in 1999 to the People’s Republic of China. This was a tremendous accomplishment for the then newly elected president, Jiang Zemin. Zemin continued to pursue the economic liberalization started by Deng Xiaoping. In addition to the transfer of power in Hong Kong and Macao, he also successfully negotiated a trade agreement with the United States that reduced barriers to commerce between the two countries. The world over took this as the next step in China’s Open Door policy. This in turn resulted in bilateral trade agreements with many other nations. By December 2001, China was formally admitted into the World Trade Organization marking what will become the rebirth of the Chinese economy. CULTURE Over 20 percent of the world’s population lives in the PRC. Most of the country’s inhabitants (92 percent) are considered ethnic Han Chinese. Approximately 5,000 years ago people began settling the plains and plateaus of northern and central China. These people eventually absorbed the residents of southern China 2,000 years ago, which spawned a shared culture and the people known today as Han. Minority nationalities make up the remaining 8 percent of the population that include ethnicities such as Mongols and Tibetans. The scarcely settled regions of western and southwestern China are home to most of the minorities. In 1982 China became the first nation with a population that just exceeded 1 billion. By 2004 China’s estimated population has grown to 1,294,629,600. The country is showing signs of decreased population growth rates in conjunction with declining fertility and birth rates. Since the Chinese Communist Party came into rule in 1950, the average number of children born per woman during their lifetime (fertility rate) declined from 6.2 to 1.7 in 2004. Over the same period, the birth rate dropped from an average of 45 births per 1,000 people to an approximated 13. This in turn has had a dramatic affect on the population’s growth rate, which was reduced from 2.25 percent in the early 1950’s to .59 percent in 2004. Even with these reductions, China’s population still increases by the millions each year. Although the nation’s economy grew significantly during this time period, China continually faces the problem of gainfully employing the millions of new wor kers entering the workforce each year. The fertility rate has dropped primarily because of government intervention. For example, couples have been encouraged to marry at an older age than what was previously common. In addition, the state began a campaign in 1979 to prevent couples from having more than one child. To assist with the one-child policy, abortion has remained legal and more public health facilities were created to distribute birth-control devices and information. Beyond these measures, women who become pregnant that already have a child will often be coerced to terminate their pregnancy due to social and administrative forces. Although the one-child policy still remains active, there are times when it’s not strictly enforced. This is often the case for females whom are considered minorities. Due to the high mortality rate among minorities, non-Han people have typically been granted more cultural freedom by the government to have larger families. This stance also serves the government who wishes to appear to be sympathetic towards the desires of the various ethnic groups within China. The one-child policy has led to an uncommonly high ratio of males to females. The preferences for males are due in part to a complicated set of cultural traditions. For example, the birth of a son ensures that the family name will be carried on. Sons are also necessary to be able to fulfill the customary requirements of ancestral worship. Most importantly, men are charged with the obligation of taking care of their natural parents once old age sets in. Women also care for their husband’s parents which can make it difficult financially for the parents of daughters in old age because the Chinese government provides little to no retirement funds in rural areas where a majority of the population is located. To adhere to the one-child policy the Chinese often take what would elsewhere be considered extreme measures to ensure the birth of a son. Males are so preferred that it’s common to see baby girls abandoned and left for adoption in public places. Some employ new technologies to determine the sex of unborn fetuses so that a pregnancy can be terminated if a daughter is expected. It’s also not uncommon to hear of baby girls being killed soon after being born so that another attempt at a son is possible.

What Is Criminal Justice

A crime is committed when a person has violated the law by the state, federal government and local jurisdiction system and cannot be justified. Crime can be categorized in several types of ways; felonies, misdemeanors, offenses, treason and espionage and inchoate offenses. Felonies are considered to be major crimes which could cost an offender jail time, probation and confiscated property. The two most common models of how society determines whether a crime has been committed are criminal law and criminal justice. Criminal law relates to crime and punishment.In contrast, criminal justice focus is geared towards the right and wrong doing in situations. There is no separation between social and criminal justice because justice is portrayed by our nation’s criminal court. The law is a set of guidelines that has been applied through public establishment to regulate behavior wherever possible. Criminal law has two essential parts which are substantive criminal law that identifies c rimes and punishment the offender may face and procedural law is a method use to enforce substantive law.The government structure that applies to the criminal justice system is connected by the federal, state and local level. The government has three branches to help avert and manage crime the legislature, judiciary and the executive. The legislature division determines what is right and wrong and how congress passes laws. The executive branch enforces the law and judiciary system interprets the law. Criminological theory is an explanation of the causes of crime and how it is connected within the criminal justice system.Understanding the criminal is significant to first understand how civilization thinks and determine what acts are considering a crime. A thought based on classical and neoclassical of criminology is a choice theory. Conscious choices created by choice theory are a basic belief of criminality. To understand choice theory, it is important to first address the basic ass umptions use by classical theorist.Schmalleger (2009) stated, â€Å"Crime is caused by the individual exercise of free will. Human beings are fundamentally rational, and most human behavior is the result of free will coupled with rational choice† (pp. 83-84). Early theorist of the classical school believed that pain and pleasure were the dominate traits that governed human behavior. These early rational were replaced with a more modern rational choice theory. Scott (2000) stated, â€Å"What distinguishes ational choice theory form other forms of theory is that it denies the existence of any kinds of action other than purely rational and calculative. All social action can be seen as rationally motivated, as instrumental actions, however much it may appear to be irrational or non-rational† (p. 2). The concept of personal choice is rooted in the analysis of human behavior developed by Ceasar Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham. Bentham essentially said that an individual would co mmit a crime as long as the reward outweighed the consequences.

Heuristics Lead to Predictable Biases and Inconsistencies Essay

The human brain is complex, most especially as a specimen for study regarding decision-making and problem solving. The brain uses very precise methods of compression in order to distinguish the most important features of a certain sensory data. Because of human error, these methods are not perfect. Humans obtain large numbers of sensory data a day, even terabytes worth to be more precise. Most of what a person sees within the day gets erased from his memory, yet tiny pieces of data remain. These are converted into symbolic format, which would connect to the person’s experiences once he is in contact with it. When the sensory data gets abstracted it then becomes symbolical to the person and taken from long-term memory, certain biasing effects arise. â€Å"Biases also operate when the symbols are invoked and manipulated for cognitive operations. † The results of these are our belief systems, representation and anchoring. Anchoring refers to the process where people form beliefs around an anchor and every incoming data should relate towards that anchor even though significantly irrelevant. Representation â€Å"occurs when people expect their outputs to resemble the generating process.† Yet representation doesn’t prove efficient and always true, and this is due mainly because of human bias. Representation and anchoring are examples of heuristics. They are more commonly described as â€Å"rules of thumb† which humans use in reasoning in cognitively economical ways. These are inscribed in the human brain, and it is the same for all, as we all have a pair of hands and a pair of eyes. Heuristics started in the late 1960s and early 1970s and devised by Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman where they focused their studies on human judgment. Heuristics replaced rational judgment and the algorithmic method where they theorized that judgment in uncertainty rests on a limited number of heuristics rather than other more complicated methods. Heuristics became accepted and spread upon almost all forms of knowledge – economics, medicine, law, psychology and political science. This study was revolutionary in its time because â€Å"it simultaneously questioned the descriptive adequacy of ideal models of judgment and offered a cognitive alternative that explained human error without invoking motivated irrationality. † Kahneman and Tversky’s study revolved around the assumption of â€Å"bounded rationality†. In their study, they have also showed that humans indeed are very limited in processing and are probable to erroneous judgment, they attest to the earlier models of judgment where not fit to humans since they are much simpler than what is really happens in human decision making. After wide acceptance and a moving away from the rational decision-making patterns devised in the past, where humans are thought to always choose the best decision by means of probability, Heuristics is still seen to have inconsistencies and laden with biases. The whole concept of Heuristics gives a structured way of problem solving, taking into consideration human brain function and capacity which inevitably makes the process easier. As compared to the old model of thinking where humans are always seen to know probability and choose the best way based on probability computation, Heuristics give a deeper understanding of the human condition. Some failures of heuristics enter when it is presented with data that is not part of its â€Å"domain of expertise† or what is already previously calculated. Biases are a key error in using heuristics for problem solving. A cognitive bias is defined as â€Å"any of a wide range of observer effects identified in cognitive science and social psychology including very basic statistical, social attribution, and memory errors that are common to all human beings. † Biases that are in direct relation to decision making and problem solving affect scientific methods technically designed to eliminate these exact chances of bias. Biases in Heuristics are difficult to notice for three reasons. First, the human thinking process that is used to judge and assess in problem solving is in itself full of biases. Second, biases are common and widespread that it is difficult to notice and third, the decisions that are made through the use of Heuristics feel good therefore it satisfies the person, regardless if it right or wrong. According to a University of Pennsylvania law school research paper, principal findings in behavioral economics and cognitive psychology through the years have shown in studies that humans â€Å"deviate from ideal precepts of rationality in many settings, showcasing inconsistent judgment in the face of framing and other formal manipulations of the presentation of problems.† In their research paper entitled, â€Å"Heuristics and Biases in Thinking About Tax†, they have suggested that citizens especially in the United States suffer from a wide range of biases in the understanding of the basic features of the tax-law design and reform, like the perceptual biases more studied in the domain of the private markets, like the evaluation of â€Å"risky choice† and consumer finances. The main goal of the paper was to show that in evaluating the tax systems present in the country, citizens are vulnerable and exhibit a wide range of Heuristics and biases, which lead to inconsistent judgment and evaluation. Prevalence of these biases show that there is indeed room for â€Å"skillful† politicians and facile political systems to â€Å"manipulate public opinion, and that tax system design will reflect a certain volatility on account of the possibility of eliciting preference reversals through purely formal rhetorical means. † Due to the inconsistencies and biases of Heuristics, decision theorists have studied this phenomenon more closely. It turned into a respected field, founded by of Kahneman and Tversky, commonly known as â€Å"Heuristics and biases.† Heuristics may work well in problem solving, but can also turn to harmful biases. A few examples of heuristics and biases include Framing, which means viewing a need in the real world as a â€Å"problem† you can work on solving and the counterpart bias is mistaking your view of the problem for the real need. Status quo, a heuristic that implies â€Å"Business as Usual† or â€Å"If it ain’t broke don’t fix it† may incur bias against anything new. Cognitive overconfidence is the same as decisiveness and refusal to be haunted by doubt which may lead to the bias of self-delusion. The Heuristic Prudent Estimation means â€Å"conservative estimates† which may lead to missed opportunities which are especially dangerous in group problem solving. Most likely scenario has the Heuristic explanation of avoiding wasting time on possibilities that probably won’t happen, but the bias is rare events can be the most important. Guessing at patterns implies quickly spotting the trend or the big picture, with a corresponding bias of â€Å"Outguessing randomness† and seeing patterns that doesn’t exist. The last example Recall ability or Availability which implies, if an idea doesn’t fit in with the obvious data, it’s surely suspect. The corresponding bias for this is, non-obvious things can be most important or even most common. These examples of Heuristics are common in everyday life, and these rules of thumb do help in assessing situations such as deals in business, economics, or day to day domestic problems. It is common knowledge that these Heuristics can fail predictably, which are also known as â€Å"hidden traps† when a person succumbs to the counterpart bias. It is already a given that Heuristics bring about inconsistencies and biases, but there are some methods of control. For example, for the Heuristic Framing, advice is to not automatically accept initial framing, strive for objective neutral framing, and challenge other people’s framings. These are remedies to biased formed Heuristics, which will generally help in problem solving, whichever stage of the problem the person is at.

Cultural Assimilation and American Music Artists

good afternoon everyone, today i am going talk about the impact of americanization, First of all i will talk abiut some background of americanization and then i will talk about the positive and negative impact of it. what does americanisation mean? The word, of couse has many meanings,definitions and descriptions. the impact and influence of the US on the culture, politics,business practices and technology of other countries. Nowadays, people view America in the form of a role model and a leader in influencing other countries and have their culture blended in. deals, traditions, and ways of life. Do you notice that American culture has gradually assimilated into our society? Have you ever thought of how Americanization affects our daily life? However, it can be argued that the American culture domination poses a threat to culture diversity. Ranging from Hollywood, popular music, fast food to Disney cartoons, the world in which we live in would be imbued with less local colour. Unique festivals and rites celebrated by people of different culture round the world which filled the world with vibrancy are on the verge of extinction.In addition, americanisation can also have other downsides,American culture has affected the mentality of Asians; such as increase in the number of abortion rates, illegitimate children and the surge in the number of single parents in there. Traditionally, were very conservative and the abovementioned problems were uncommon and condemned. This shows that the American culture has indirectly affected the mentality of Asians; although people generally disapprove of single parenting and abortion, the statistics prove otherwise.The spread of American media including TV, film and American music artists, has been the main component of Americanization of other countries. American TV shows are broadcast around the world. Many of the shows are broadcast through American broadcasters and their subsidiaries such as HBO Asia, CNBC Europe, Fox Channel and CNN International. All of what is known as the â€Å"big four† American broadcasters have international distributors, for example HBO broadcasts to over 20 countries. Many of these distributors broadcast mainly American programming on their TV channels.