Arugment for Less School Hours Essay

Most students drag themselves out of bed every morning only to find themselves deparately waiting for that last bell to ring, marking the end of a school day. Increasing hours and the days students have to attend will destroy students and cause problems for them. The result would be taxes increasing, extracurricular activities getting cut and an increase on stress for kids. Most teens do not come from a wealthy background. Therefore, they have to provide for themselves as well as save up for college. If schools were to be longer, many teens that need to work to help support themselves would have difficulty finding a job that will fit to their schedule. It may also be hard for teens to hold that job. Another reason why schools should not be loner is because longer days would mean little extracurricular activities. This is very crucial, since it is one of the key factors that help many teens get into their choice of college. Colleges not only look at their grades in high school, but also any activities they have done out of school. Additionally, no extracurricular activity prevents kids from exploring their true passion, limiting their opportunities. Finally, when students miss a few days due to sickness, they end up having to make to piles and piles of work. Now if student were to have longer days, there would be more work. This might unmotivated students, as they are overwhelmed by work. Many Naive people would say yes to lengthen the school days and try to argue that students would learn more because this would mean longer instructional time. However , studies show there is no correlation between the length of the school days and the student’s academic achievements. According to Amanda Morin, it is not about how long kids are in the classroom; but how engaged in learning they are. Also many people state that lengthing the school years would allow parents to save money, as they would not have to send their kids to day care or hire a babysitter, or have to pay for the expensive childcare or hire a babysitter, or have to pay for the expensive childcare programs. However, lengthening the school year would mean a dramatic increase in taxes on parents who are sending their children to school, in order to cover for the pay in teachers and the increase on staff to help run the school. There are many reasons why the school day should not be extended including the maintainance cost, extracurricular activities and keeping hold of jobs. Many students are already stressed out, therefor adding more days would increase that stress. Having school 35 hours a week is plenty and it would be absurd to change school hours or days.

Nintendo Marketing Plan

| Marketing Plan Nintendo Encore| | | | | | | | | | | | | TABLE OF CONTENT 1. Executive Summary4 2. Problem Statement4 3. External Analysis5 3. 1 Macro Analysis5 3. 1. 1 Demographic5 3. 1. 2 Economic5 3. 1. 3 Social-Cultural6 3. 1. 4 Technological6 3. 2 Meso Analysis7 3. 2. 1 Global Video Game Industry Sales7 3. 2. 2 New Trend in Video Game Industry8 3. 2. 3 Porter’s Five Forces9 3. 3 Competitors Analysis10 3. 3. 1 Sony10 3. 3. 2 Microsoft11 3. 3. 3 Apple12 4. Internal analysis13 4. 1 The Company13 4. 2 Current Marketing Strategy13 5. SWOT Analysis16 5. 1 Strengths16 5. 2 Weaknesses16 . 3 Opportunities16 5. 4 Threats16 5. 5 Confrontation Matrix17 6. STP17 6. 1 Segmentation17 6. 2 Target Market22 6. 3 Positioning22 Strategy23 7. 1 Market Share Strategy23 We focus our area of expertise which is to entertain everyone, especially the household. We do not enter the segment that we don’t excel such as hardcore video games (wars, violence, etc. )23 7. 2 Product Strategy23 We e nter mobile gaming sector as the mobile gaming industry is booming. People are buying games and applications on every available device including iOS devices, smartphones, tablet PCs and more.Our main competitors, Sony and Microsoft are also jumping into the mobile gaming industry, in order to compete with them, we need to focus on the mobile industry. 23 We should continue to Improve our current consoles. Some of the ways that we can do this is by letting the consumer play DVD and MP3s, giving the Wii remote a rechargeable battery, and allow the consumer to save games on an SD card. 23 Product improvement will enable consumers to play social network games on Wii consoles, 3D games on Wii consoles. 23 7. 3 Pricing Strategy23 8. Objectives23 8. 1 Long Term Goals23 8. 2 Short Term Goals25 8. 2. Operational Goals25 8. 2. 2 Financial Goals25 ?To increase a 3% of growth rate in UK operation by the end of 201225 ?To reduce costs of goods sold by 10% in the end of 201225 ?To increase profit margin by 5% from UK operation by in the end of 201225 ?To invest 5% more on promotional cost by the end of 201225 9. Marketing Mix25 9. 1 Product25 9. 2 Price25 9. 3 Place25 9. 4 Promotion26 10. Budget26 11. Recommendations26 12. References27 13. Appendix28 1. Executive Summary At the moment, Nintendo is facing some serious problems regarding to its decreasing sales revenue, less productive and less innovative.It is important that in the coming three until five years that the company can gain back or even increase its sales and thus to reach higher annual growth rate. To overcome those problems mentioned above, Nintendo needs to focus on their competitive advantage and also entering new segment in the mobile gaming as well as social media gaming. From the external analysis we can see that UK is one of Nintendo’s most potential markets since it holds 12% of market share in video game industry. Furthermore, the increase use of mobile devices and internet connections have also been new opportunities for the company.Meanwhile, strong competitors (e. g. Sony and Microsoft )and the existence of substitute products (e. g. mobile gaming and social network gaming )have also caused serious threats to our company to lose more market share . Our company offers various product lines for its Nintendo Wii, namely â€Å"Wii Fit† which is a fitness game,† Wii Balance† Board which enables players to â€Å"head† virtual soccer balls and to experience ski jumping on a TV screen. Besides, handheld console like Nintendo DS is also our second best product. However, all these current product lines are apparently not sufficient in strengthening our sales revenue.Therefore new strategies formulated, they include improving our current Nintendo Encore consoles, inventing new 3D game consoles, and also switching handheld gaming to mobile devices and social network gaming. In short, we will mainly use line extension in our strategy. In addition to that, h igher investment on our Research and Development Department and stronger promotion activities will also be implemented in the coming 3 horizontal years. We will use our current distribution channels including retailers and outlets.Online selling through company websites and another webshops are also included. Some promotion activities include advertisement through TV commercials, newspapers, posters, billboards, social media pages and special display spaces in retailers and outlets. Finally, the budget highlights some key financial figures such as an 10% decrease in COGS by the end of 2012 2. Problem Statement For many years Nintendo had been number one console manufacturer in the video games industry. However, the company is losing sales as well as market share to its competitors for some reasons.First, some competitors have become more innovative because they have improved the technology discovered initially by Nintendo in creating their Wii. It is very important to remain innovat ive in this highly competitive industry and we could say that the company might stayed too long on their ‘comfort zone’ with the launch of the Wii which was a massive success. It did not take long before the competitors created imitations of the similar technology and, even more they developed further making other game consoles (Xbox360 and Play Station) which are more appealing due to the new features.As a consequence at the moment Nintendo has been a step behind them. Furthermore the needs of the gamers are changing in the day by day basis. Nowadays more and more people do not play video games in front of the TV like they did before since the development technology has made the TV unnecessary. The introduction of smart phones and tablets have change the gamers’ way on playing video games. These new gadgets allow people to be 24-7 connected on the internet and the amount of games available online that can be play on a telephone or a tablet is huge.Therefore, mob ile device gaming is a segment with a fast growth rate at the moment, though the world is in a recession. All these developments have created a new type of market. The video games industry has changed dramatically, from a teenage boy playing in front of the TV to a business man or woman playing on a smart phone, blackberry or tablet. Video games are socially accepted as an entertainment tool and has being viewed positively. Finally new online companies are creating new games that do not need a console so they can be played easily, anytime and anywhere.This factor affects our sales dramatically because our product might be seen as old fashion. Nintendo however is not present in this new market and therefore it is very important to take in consideration to enter this new area because at the moment the company does not have products that satisfy those new needs resulting in the loose of sales and consequently revenues. 3. External Analysis 3. 1 Macro Analysis 3. 1. 1 Demographic The cu rrent population in the United Kingdom (UK) has reached 62. 3 million based on mid-2010 estimation and this puts UK on the 22nd position worldwide based on total population point of view.This number has increased by an average of 0. 6 percent each year since 2001. Furthermore, natural change which is the difference between births and deaths has accounted for an increasing proportion of the total population change in this country. In 2011 there are 17. 9 million families in the UK and of these 12 million consisted of a married couple with or without children. There are also 26. 3 million households of which 29% consisted of only one person while almost 20% consisted of four or more people. The density in this country is around 255. 6/km2. 3. 1. 2 EconomicUK’s economy has been the sixth-largest national economy measured by nominal GDP and seventh-largest measured by purchasing power parity (PPP). The total GDP has accumulated to $2. 253 trillion in 2011 and $35,646 per capita w ith 0. 8% of annual growth and 1. 2% projected for 2012. The main sectors include agriculture, manufacturing, construction and services industries. The number of real GDP fell slightly in the last few years due to the recession that hits EU region. Meanwhile the current unemployment rate in UK is 8. 4% compared to its employment rate of 70. %. According to the report from the Office for National Statistics, the inflation (CPI) in UK stands around 4. 2% in December 2011 with the largest downward pressures of change in CPI came from petrol, gas and clothing 3. 1. 3 Social-Cultural British people show high appreciation on certain cultural issue for example literature, education, sports and another sociological aspects. Over 75% of UK citizens consider themselves to belong to a religion while only 27% of them who regularly attend religious services according to a report from Gallup International.Weekends are considered important occasion for families in the British society because paren ts are free after working for five days during the week and therefore the chance when families can spend time together. An Euro statistic survey showed that UK citizens spend about 45% of their free time watching television, 24% on socializing, 22% on sport and hobbies and 10% on other activities. Some popular sports in UK are rugby, tennis, cricket and football. Meanwhile, average of only 15 minutes a day are spent on doing sports by the either young or old British people. 3. 1. 4 TechnologicalThe technology sector has shown big changes through the years. The use of mobile phones as well as internet services has increased dramatically in the last ten years. For example in the UK there is a significant growth in the use of mobile internet in the previous 12 months with an extra 6 million people using their mobile phone to access the internet from 44% to 71% in one year. The graph below shows us some information about the use of internet from 2009 until 2011 divided in 6 groups of ag e categories. Graph 1. Mobile Phone Internet Connections 2009-2011 Source: Office for National Statistics, 2011We can see that the most active internet browsing are the first 3 groups which range from 16 until 44. Moreover, the usage of mobile internet has doubled from 2009 to 2011. This will be a perfect chance for companies that are related or engaged to this field to strengthen their position in the market. 3. 2 Meso Analysis 3. 2. 1 Global Video Game Industry Sales The gaming industry is one of the most dynamic growing sectors in the last century. The projected total sales of video game industry in 2011 was around $65 billion compared to the revenue in 2007 which was $41. billion as shown in the next graph. This number will keep growing in the future. According to the Price WaterhouseCooper’s report â€Å"Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2008-2012†, the console games category is growing by 6. 9 per cent annually. Meanwhile the global video game industry is g rowing at the annual rate of 10. 3 per cent. By looking at the graph we might conclude that this particular industry is currently still growing at relative high speed. This means great opportunity for companies whose main focus are on this field. Graph 3. Global Video Game Revenue Source: PriceWaterhouseCooperFurthermore, the table below shows us the top ten markets for global video game business. It reveals the average amount of money spent on game consoles, revenues and percentage of market share of each country. The USA has the biggest market share about 40% with the revenue around $22 billion, while the UK is on the second position with 12. 57% of market share and total revenue $6. 825 billion. After that Japan follows with 11. 87% of market share and revenue of $6. 443 billion. Table 4. Major Markets of Video Game Industry Source: VGsales 3. 2. 2 New Trend in Video Game IndustryAs stated in the introduction part, the video gaming on mobile devices is the current trend worldwide . People feel the need of playing game everywhere and anytime when they are not at home. Another supporting factor is the availability of internet access to mobile devices. By referring to the Graph 1. Mobile Phone Internet Connections 2009-2011, the numbers of people who use the internet connection through their mobile devices has doubled in the last three years. It has created more options for the consumers on the video games they wish to play and how or when they want to play. 3. 2. 3 Porter’s Five Forces . 2. 3. 1 Threat of New Competition In UK video game industry, the threat of new competitors will be unlikely occurred due to many barriers in this sector. These barriers prevent new entrance to the industry and this means that company like Nintendo do not need to worry about the possible new competitors in a certain length of period. 3. 2. 3. 2 Threat of Substitute Products Nowadays people travel more often that includes longer time and distance than few decades ago. The needs of having mobile devices or portable electronic devices such as tablets during their travel time become significant.This segment creates the threat of substitute product to Nintendo with their mobile video gaming. Another substitute product for Nintendo is social network gaming, in which consumer can play games through their social network pages or account. 3. 2. 3. 3 Bargaining Power of Customers Heavy gamers might have formed strong attitude towards their favorite game consoles. However, for majority of casual gamers, most video game consoles deliver more or less the same value that is to entertain during their leisure time.Therefore, choosing another video game consoles when the first choice is not available can be easily done and this means that our consumers have high bargaining power 3. 2. 3. 4 Bargaining Power of Suppliers In manufacturing video game consoles, Nintendo’s suppliers might have high bargaining power since the company depends highly on suppliers in producing specific custom-made computer chips which are used in the consoles. Moreover, our suppliers might also decide to enter the same market where Nintendo is currently serving by producing their own consoles.Therefore, the possibility of our suppliers becoming our competitors is always a concern in this business. Moreover, the decision of switching from one supplier to another can also be very difficult due to time, costs and energy consumption. 3. 2. 3. 5 Intensity of Competitive Rivalry Big market players in UK video game industry are always at the edge of inventing and producing the newest innovation in the shortest period as possible. When one company starts to introduce a new product in the market, then the competitors will also do the same or even develop a higher level roduct. This means that in video game industry Nintendo is facing a high intensity of competitive rivalry. 3. 3 Competitors Analysis 3. 3. 1 Sony Profile of competitor: ‘’Sony is committed to developing a wide range of innovative products and multimedia services that challenge the way consumers access and enjoy digital entertainment. By ensuring synergy between businesses within the organization, Sony is constantly striving to create exciting new worlds of entertainment that can be experienced on a variety of different products’’, says Sony about their company.The 8 major product categories Sony is active in are: Audio, Video, Photography, Home Cinema, Computers, Communication, Semiconductors, Electronic components . Threats they can pose: Sony has recently registered for a patent on incorporating real-life with video-games in the form of a â€Å"depth sensing device†; â€Å"a three-dimensional camera† that uses â€Å"controlled infrared lighting† to scan an area. This is proof that they are thinking ahead to a new console already, which means we need to make haste in our development. Objectives of competitor:Sony’s areas which t hey are focusing on to expand can be divided into four parts: Networked Products and Services, 3D World, Competitive advantages through differentiated technologies and Emerging markets. Strategies they are pursuing and how successful are they: They are introducing the Sony tablets S1 and S2 to enter the media entertainment on tablets market, and while this could very well be successful it is not a market we are currently aspiring to enter so the effect on our sales needs to be researched further.Another broad strategy they are incorporating is to lower their prices since sales of certain products have been low due to high prices. They have consistently been cutting the prices of their products, including their games and game consoles, so meeting these prices is imperative. Strengths and weaknesses: An example of Sony’s strengths is the fact that they have a strong brand image, as people who have had their most successful console, the PlayStation 2, will have positioned them f avorably in their minds as ‘the company who produced the PlayStation 2’.This means that they do have meanly loyal consumers. One of Sony’s weaknesses is that while they are present in many markets (ex. Gaming, photography, home cinema’s, computers, etc. ), they are not the leading company in any of them. Their product lines are too broad and they have to focus on too much to be able to be the market leader in specific markets, where Nintendo focuses on the gaming industry alone and Apple mainly focuses on its own software on computers, cellphones and IPods. This gives them an advantage and Sony a disadvantage.Another weakness is that the pricing of their latest PlayStation 3 has been relatively high compared to the other newer consoles on the market, and many consumers found this price to be too steep. Sales of the PlayStation 3 have therefore been slow, and Sony was not able to make the PlayStation 3 the success it should have been. Their new product pric ing strategy is something for us to focus on and to use to our advantage by pricing our products lower than theirs if possible and using market penetration as a pricing strategy. 3. 3. 2 Microsoft Profile of competitor: ’We are committed long term to the mission of helping our customers realize their full potential. Just as we constantly update and improve our products, we want to continually evolve our company to be in the best position to accelerate new technologies as they emerge and to better serve our customers’’ says Microsoft about their own company. They have 8 business divisions they focus on, namely: Interactive Entertainment Business, Windows Phone, Windows & Windows Live, Online Services, Server and Tools, Microsoft Business Solutions, Microsoft Office and Skype.Threats they can pose: The fact that they already have new products planned for release is a disadvantage as they will hit the market before our new product will, and they could benefit from that with their sales. Objectives of competitors: The objectives of Microsoft or 2012 are; to make the Windows Phone weather the strong competiton they expect to get from other mobile companies, to engage in media partnerships to make the Xbox a connected TV and media device and to make their PC Windows 8 program work on every platform (tablets, PC, etc. ).Strategies they are pursuing and how successful are they: One strategy of Microsoft to compete with the Nintendo Wii is the Xbox Kinect System, which allows users to play controller free (a feature the Nintendo Wii does not have) and has a similar motion detection play which Nintendo used for the Wii. This has enables them to fiercely compete with the Wii and gave the them an advantage that made many consumers consider buying the Xbox Kinect System over the Wii. Another thing they are focusing on is the incorporation of Xbox Live into the Windows phone platform. ’ Mobile phones as handheld gaming consoles are very challengi ng markets as phones have got better design and technology, and we’ve chosen to make our bet around the phone instead and add Xbox Live services to Windows Phone 7 instead’’, stated by Microsoft in their press release . The big hit for the future will be the release of the Xbox 720 late in 2013, and it is said that it will have 6 times the graphic capability of the current Xbox 360. This new Xbox will also be accompanied by a new version of the Kinect system which will have an on-board processor to be able to detect user motion better.Strengths and weaknesses: A major advantageous factor of Microsoft is that they already have some new developments and products coming out in the future. They are already one step ahead of us, both in terms of the phone as a handheld gaming-device as the new version of their Xbox 360 (with an even better version of their very competitive Kinect system)23/24. The sales of the Xbox 360 and Kinect have been good since they introduced the products, as they sold 66 million consoles and 18 million Kinect systems so far. A newer version of the Xbox would have many followers who were satisfied with the Xbox 360.A weakness is that, compared to Nintendo’s prices, the Xbox series has been priced relatively high. Even the games themselves rate $20 to $40 dollar more per game compared to Nintendo Wii games. 3. 3. 3 Apple Although Apple is not aiming for a top spot in the gaming industry, the convenience of the Iphone as a handheld gaming device has risen through the roof as many consumers download apps and games on their mobile to entertain them during their day. Why should consumers buy a separate Nintendo DS or other handheld device when they always carry around their mobile phone?This is a threat to us on the mobile phone platform, yet is it also a threat to our competitors who also have plans of integrating mobiles with handheld gaming. 4. Internal analysis 4. 1 The Company Nintendo is a company that manufactur es and distributes interactive entertainment products. It was founded and located in Japan with its main focus on the home entertainment and portable game devices. Nintendo also provides hardware and software for its video consoles. The company operates primarily in Japan, however its business has expanded globally.The main factory is located in Japan with subsidiaries in the UK, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, and Australia. Moreover this firm is also involved in the manufacturing and distribution of poker cards (Pokemon). 4. 2 Current Marketing Strategy Nintendo’s products include home video game consoles and handheld video game systems, such as Game Boy and Nintendo DS. The company also offers various product lines for its Nintendo Wii, namely â€Å"Wii Fit† which is a fitness game,† Wii Balance† Board which enables players to â€Å"head† virtual soccer balls and to experience ski jumping on a TV screen.The basic strategy that Nintendo has been usi ng is the expansion of the world wide gaming population. The company is encouraging people from all over the world, regardless of age, gender, language, cultural background or gaming experience, to embrace and enjoy video games as a way of entertainment. The firm wants to expand his market, by creating Nintendo DS which is a portable game system that has the goal of attracting the new gamers that demand a portable gaming device and, with a Wii console that targets the families because it put smiles in the people around the gamer.If we look at video games we can see that nowadays they are more accepted in society than before. Video games are used as a learning and entertaining tool for the youngest, a way of staying fit for the house wife and finally and more importantly playing a video game is something that the whole family can do together in the living room of the house so the family can have some quality time together. At the moment Nintendo wants to further the penetration of Wi i by encouraging communication in the living room of each user through continuous software launches which will positively surprise consumers with brand new game play.In addition, Nintendo will release Nintendo 3DS that allows people to play video games in 3-D without the need for any special glasses, and will strive to satisfy more people by offering innovative game-play with Nintendo 3DS. The brand Nintendo is one of the most recognized brands in the video games industry. The company has been operating since 1977 with color television games, and is consider being the oldest in firm in the market. It is one of the largest console manufactures in the world, and is a leader in the handheld console market.The company has released four generation of gaming console devices in the past 20 years; (Nintendo entertainment system, ; Super Nintendo Entertainment System; Nintendo 64; GameCube; Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi and Wii). In the handheld device segment, Nintendo DS hardware sold 27. 11 m illion units in 2010, Nintendo DSi which was lunch in 2008 sold more than 100 million units, faster than any console in the history of video games. In the console area Wii hardware achieved world sales of 70. 93 million units and Wii software achieved 16. 4 million units, Wii fit plus use to help people to be fit, sold 12. 65 million units globally, The new Super Mario Bros which allows four players to interact at the same time sold 14. 7 million units in 2010 . Due to all the previously mention Nintendo is well established Brand name in the Video game industry with 47. 2 percent of the market. Graph 5 & 6 Console Sales Market Share by Company & Positioning Key Consoles Source: The Video Gaming Industry Outlook, Business Insight, May 2011 The company can be found in countries such as in Japan, US , South and North America and Europe.The manufacturing premises are located in Japan and it operates throughout subsidiaries in US, Canada, the UK, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, and Austra lia. Moreover his global presence allows Nintendo to sell his products to most of the world. The company get his revenues as follows: 44% from America,33% from Europe,16. 1% from Japan and the rest from other countries . However not everything is good news for Nintendo, the company has been experiencing a decline of sales in 2010, The earthquake in Japan affected sales in that country. The operating profit in 2009 was 30. 9% going down to 24. 85% by 2010. Moreover declining operating profits affected the making profit capacity of the company affecting the confidence of the shareholders of the firm. In 2011 sales are declining as well falling below predictions. Heavy completion and the appreciation to the Yen against the Dollar, and the low price of the Wii consoles are affecting the profit were affecting the operating profits of the company Nintendo have only one source of income which is selling video consoles and video games. However, Sony and Microsoft have more sources or income .For instance Sony is a leader in the production of electro domestics, phones, computers, smart phones, tablets, audio systems among others. This gives to this company more resources that can be invest in R&D without taking a big risk. Microsoft is the world lieder computer manufacturer and this products are known globally. These two competitors improved the technology created by Nintendo with the Wii. Play Station and Xbox 360 have lunched better game consoles base on the revolutionary technology of the Nintendo Wii. Graph 7 Comparison between key video game consolesSource: The Video Gaming Industry Outlook, Business Insight, May 2011 The company depends heavily on outside manufactures for some of the parts of his products, moreover most of this suppliers are located in other countries. This could become a problem if any of the suppliers interrupt production, this could have a devastating effect in the company business performance. Also de possibility of any disagreement with these producers can create a problem for Nintendo 5. SWOT Analysis 5. 1 Strengths * Nintendo’s well-known brand * Existence in global market * Specialized in-house R&D department 5. Weaknesses * Limited source of income * Declining profit margins * Dependency on suppliers * Low investment in R&D compared to main competitors Sony and Microsoft * Low brand loyalty 5. 3 Opportunities * Dynamic growth of video game industry * The increasing use of mobile devices (iPhones, iPads, Smartphones, etc. ) * The easy access to internet connections * UK as the second biggest country holding video games market share * The high amount of average money spent on video consoles by UK consumers 5. 4 Threats * Strong competitive markets * Cheaper by-products (softwares) from competitors High varieties of competitors’ softwares (types of games) * Competitors’ better technological improvements 5. 5 Confrontation Matrix Graph 8 Confrontation Matrix 6. STP 6. 1 Segmentation Geographic in UK : | | Country | Unite Kingdom – is the largest video games market in Europe with the sales of $6 billion in 2008, however, the market has been fallen by 13% in 2011. | Major Cities | Birmingham EdinburghGlasgowLeedsLiverpoolLondonManchesterIn the major cities, there is a limited space and choices for children to play outside or adults to interact with each other. Climate| Rainy, cloudy and foggy. People prefer to stay at home rather than going out in such weather. | Density| Urban, suburban, rural | Population| The UK population is 62. 3 million by mid 2010. 16 – 59 year-old people are 43. 3 million; they are the major working people. ? The average gaming age is now 23+. ? 38. 2% of the UK population is an active computer gamer.? 51. 2% of British men and 25. 1% of British women aged 10-35 play games regularly. ? The average computer gamer has been playing for over 10 years. On average, gamers play for 11 hours per week. ? 27. 2% of all active gamers in the UK are wome n. ? The average age of the UK female gamer is 30-35 years old. | | | | | Demographic in UK: | | Age: 6 – 55 year-old| Consumer needs and wants change with ages. As we offer game players to not only 12-16 years old boys, but also to mature generation. â€Å"Heavy† (At least once a week and up to daily: the younger the gamer, the more likely they are to play daily)48% of UK 6-65 year olds (21. 6m) – 27% male (12m), 21% female (9. m)â€Å"Medium† (1-3 times a month)7% of UK 6-65 year olds (3m) – 3% male (1. 4m), 4% female (1. 6m)â€Å"Light† (Less than once a month) 4% of UK 6-65 year olds (1. 9m) – 2% male (0. 7m), 3% female (1. 2m)Age 6 – 10: Light users. They like to play games with their friends and classmates either by internet or individually. Age 11 – 15: Medium users. Most of people from this group are still at school; they play games via mobile and internet with friends and classmates. Age 16 – 24: Heavy us ers.These people are very busy with establishing a career, starting a family, getting started in their home and have a bit of fun as well. Age 25 – 35: Heavy users. Age 36 – 50: Medium users. As for this group, besides males, the females who plays games, most of them are housewives and have several children at home. The purpose they play it because their children are at school or they want to keep fit. They are not heavy users. Age 51 – 65: Light users, most of them are either housewives or retired people.Some of them are still very active and play Nintendo with their grandchildren. | Gender: male, female| We are offering a game machine to both males and females. As we know, boys like soccer and fighting games better, but girls like sports and dancing games more. To make sure that we will fulfill the wants, we have to develop games, which fit for both genders at the same time. | Family size: 2-4| Most families nowadays have 2-4 people, but we have to say there a re some over 20 year-old young adults are living by themselves. | Income: | Average income is 1200 pounds. Generation: Baby blooming generation,Generation X, generation Y| For the baby blooming generation, we say that most of them are over 40 years old. They could use our product because they are either housewives or have children, in that case they are light users and just want to keep in fit. With the younger generation, we should realize that smart phone are their â€Å"best toy† for people under 18 years old, and for people over 18 years old, mobile phones are their â€Å"best mate† which could help them to find friends, places, read a book and etc.If we want to develop a new product, we need to relate our games with their so-called â€Å"toys† or â€Å"mate†. | | | Behavior: | | Benefits:| Fun, entertaining, keep fit, increase self-esteem, improve social skills, stress relief, improve eyes and hands coordination and learning. | User status:| We defin ed a â€Å"gamer† as someone who had played a game on a mobile, handheld, console, PC, Internet or interactive TV at least once in the last 6 months: a broad definition designed to capture any â€Å"light† gamers as well as medium or heavier gamers. Loyalty status:| No brand loyalty, since consumes are easier to switch to a new and better quality and technology game machine. | Usage rate:| – â€Å"Heavy† (At least once a week and up to daily: the younger the gamer, the more likely they are to play daily)48% of UK 6-65 year olds (21. 6m) – 27% male (12m), 21% female (9. 6m)- â€Å"Medium† (1-3 times a month)7% of UK 6-65 year olds (3m) – 3% male (1. 4m), 4% female (1. 6m)- â€Å"Light† (Less than once a month) 4% of UK 6-65 year olds (1. 9m) – 2% male (0. 7m), 3% female (1. m) | Attitude toward product:| 6 – 25 years old: Enthusiastic26 – 36 years old: Positive neutral37 – 65 years old: Neutral There are certain amount of people in the above groups are Negative about our products. | | | Psychographic in UK Social Class| The Upper ClassOften people with inherited wealth. Includes some of the oldest families, with many of them being titled aristocratsThe Middle ClassThe majority of the population of Britain. They include industrialists, professionals, and business people and shop owners. Lower or Working ClassPeople who are agricultural, factory workers.The British Class System todayAlthough some people in the UK still refer to themselves as â€Å"working-class†, â€Å"lower-middle† or â€Å"upper-middle† (and of course there are those who think of themselves as the â€Å"elite† class), to the majority of the British the meanings don't seem to matter much these days. | Lifestyle| Teenagers: They use mobile phones a lot for gaming, communicating and Facebook. (Mobile heavy users)Adults: They use mobile phones also quite often for communication, agendas a nd few of them use that for on-line gaming.Retired people: Most of them who have a mobile phone are used as just a phone, to communicate with people for emergency. | Occupation| Kindergarten children Primary school studentsMiddle school students High school students College studentsHousewivesWorkers Retired people| 6. 2 Target Market After analyzing the segmentations, we are targeting the groups of people as follow: – All the 7 major cities in UK. | -16 – 59 years old people are 43. 3 million, they are the major working people . (But however we also target the people from 6-16 years old)| – Occupation: Children, teenagers, workers, housewives, retired people. To make these targeting groups, we based our brand image and our products functions. The main point is to entertain people, it doesn’t certainly mean that we have to fulfill only young boys’ needs and wants, but we are targeting more variety groups of people. For example, as in one family, if there are 4 members who are a housewife (43 years old), husband- businessman (45 years old) and a son (16 years old), a daughter (10 years old). They just have to buy one gamer to entertain the whole family. For housewife, she could keep herself still in shape by doing some yoga while the kids are at school. * For husband, he could play some games as darts or golf during the weekend. * For the little son, he can play super Mario or online game with his classmates after school. * For the daughter, she can invite her friends over to play the †just dance† game. 6. 3 Positioning Nintendo has been a major contender in the video industry for past several decades, and has faced the challenge of developing and maintaining the competitive advantage over the years.With the introduction of Nintendo Wii console, the company gained a stronghold as a leader in the video game industry. However, Sony and Microsoft are quickly gaining on Nintendo’s competitive advantage, forcing t he company to monitor to reevaluate its strategies. To maintain the competitive advantage, Nintendo must looking forward influencing the customers of Sony and Microsoft, continue developing innovative technologies, and also consider the impact of the social networking and mobile devices on the gaming industry.Nintendo is delivering the fun gaming experience to customers. Since it has a unique advantage to its competitors. They do not providing the violence games as shooting for teenage boys which are the common gamer user in the society. That’s the reason Nintendo could target a wide age and occupation range customers. Strategy 7. 1 Market Share Strategy We focus our area of expertise which is to entertain everyone, especially the household. We do not enter the segment that we don’t excel such as hardcore video games (wars, violence, etc. ) 7. 2 Product StrategyWe enter mobile gaming sector as the mobile gaming industry is booming. People are buying games and applicati ons on every available device including iOS devices, smartphones, tablet PCs and more. Our main competitors, Sony and Microsoft are also jumping into the mobile gaming industry, in order to compete with them, we need to focus on the mobile industry. We should continue to Improve our current consoles. Some of the ways that we can do this is by letting the consumer play DVD and MP3s, giving the Wii remote a rechargeable battery, and allow the consumer to save games on an SD card.Product improvement will enable consumers to play social network games on Wii consoles, 3D games on Wii consoles. 7. 3 Pricing Strategy We are focusing on keeping the existing product, however we should be not expanding ; improving current product that we have in order to attract more consumers and keep developing product till it meets consumer’s needs. Since there is strong competition in a market from Sony and Microsoft, often customers are faced with a wide choice of who to buy from. They may buy fro m the cheapest provider or perhaps from the one which offers the best customer service.Nintendo, being the cost leader therefore can offer prices lower than the competitors. 8. Objectives 8. 1 Long Term Goals * To be the biggest video game manufacturer in terms of market share in UK in the coming five years (2013-2017) * To realize a total 15% of annual growth rate of the UK operation in the first five years starting from January 2013 * To make the Nintendo Encore brand the most preferred video game brand of 6 – 65 years old of family and casual gamers in UK by January 2017 8. 2 Short Term Goals 8. 2. 1 Operational Goals To realize a total sales of 6 million units Nintendo consoles in UK market by December 2013 * To increase UK customers’ brand awareness by December 2012 through intensive advertising programs * To invest 10% of UK’s annual revenue in Research ; Development Department starting by beginning of 2012 * To put the Wii encore on the market by July 201 2 in the UK market * To train * To maintain good relationship with customers through social media pages by updating newest product information starting from June 2012 8. 2. Financial Goals * To increase a 3% of growth rate in UK operation by the end of 2012 * To reduce costs of goods sold by 10% in the end of 2012 * To increase profit margin by 5% from UK operation by in the end of 2012 * To invest 5% more on promotional cost by the end of 2012 9. Marketing Mix 9. 1 Product For the UK market our main focus on the product will be Nintendo Encore consoles. Meanwhile our handheld consoles such as Nintendo DS and its product lines will still be manufactured and sold as they are at the current moment.However, new improvements will be created to fulfill consumer’s needs in mobile gaming sector. This can be in the form of mobile games applications (Apps) and it will allowed consumers to play Nintendo’s games through their mobile devices. Below are more options on our product development: * Development of more varieties of new games * Concentration on 3D consoles * Reintroducing old famous games in new Nintendo consoles and mobile gaming application with better quality and features. 9. 2 Price * Using the current consoles price as the basic price reference * More for less strategy will be implemented Bundle price(Wii+ Super Mario New Limited Edition, buy 2 get 1 free, Wii Encore+ accessories) 9. 3 Place * Current distribution channels ; outlets (big retailers, smaller digital shops, toy stores) * Online selling through company websites and another online stores such as Amazon, eBay, etc. 9. 4 Promotion * Advertisement through television commercials, posters, billboards, social medias. * Buy some display space in outlets * Training and distributing the specialized sales team in outlets and retailers that sell our consoles 10. BudgetOur budget is based on the 3-year forecast starting from 2012 and can be found in the appendix. Some important points are: * Cost of goods sold is expected to decrease 10% in 2012. * Advertising/ promotional costs are increasing * Income tax is 10% 11. Recommendations If Nintendo want to recover sales and become number one in the video games industry is necessary to take some actions: One way to accomplish this is to extend or expand its video game genres to attract more gamers than the family-friendly games. If we look at our competitor we can see that they ocus on intricate fantasy role-playing games (RPGs) for mature audiences. When we develop games for this groups the company will be in better position to compete with Sony and Microsoft, however, this could risk damaging Nintendo’s brand and to move from one public to another can have possibly more negative effects than positive. Another option is for Nintendo to continue developing innovative games and technology. As an example we can mention Nintendo’s recent introduction in Japan of the 3DS, a hand-held console that allows users to pl ay games in three-dimension.Because of this we can say that the company is a leader in handheld consoles, and this new console definitely helps the company maintain its competitive industry in that field, moreover Nintendo could start to develop a similar 3D capability for the Wii to further revolutionize the gaming experience. Lastly Nintendo should consider to expand to social networking and mobile devices, which is growing rapidly. More than one third of mobile phones owners play video games whit their telephone. To enter this market Nintendo could consider develop simple, puzzle-type games for Facebook and mobile devices.As a consequence the company would align with the current focus on simple and casual gamers and more importantly it can open a brand new market with enormous potential given the popularity of smart phones and tablets at the moment. The company can further develop its capabilities to allow users to play social networking games on the Wii console. As a conclusion Nintendo must continue with the development of innovative technology and new game concepts. It is necessary to be realistic and in to take in consideration that the company has very strong competitors in this market.Moreover it is necessary to pay attention to the change in needs of our current and not customers so the company can deliver customer satisfaction if we want to remain profitable. 12. References Bob Holt, freelance writer – http://www. newjerseynewsroom. com/science-updates/xbox-720-release-may-compete-with-nintendo-wii-u Consumer Price Indices, December 2011. http://www. ons. gov. uk/ons/rel/cpi/consumer-price-indices/december-2011/index. html, accessed by March 2012 Daniel Eran Dilger, magazine writer – http://www. roughlydrafted. om/2006/11/22/playstation-3-vs-xbox-360-vs-nintendo-wii/ Howard Stringer, CEO Sony – http://www. sony. net/SonyInfo/IR/info/strategy/message. html Leisure activities in the UK, http://guides. wikinut. com/Leisure-activiti es-in-the-UK, accessed by March 2012 Microsoft, http://www. microsoft. com/about/companyinformation/ourbusinesses/en/us/business. aspx Most Britons, Canadians â€Å"Unchurched†, http://www. gallup. com/poll/19267/Most-Britons-Canadians-Unchurched. aspx, accessed by March 2012 Organization for National Statistics UK, http://www. ns. gov. uk/ons/rel/family-demography/families-and-households/2011/stb-families-households. html Pascal Gobry, Senior Research Analyst at Business Insider Intelligence – http://articles. businessinsider. com/2012-01-10/research/30610635_1_windows-phone-steve-ballmer-microsoft-ceo Robert Purchese, Senior Staff Writer of Eurogamer. net – http://www. eurogamer. net/articles/2012-02-21-sonys-ps-eye-creator-patents-kinect-like-tech Sony, http://www. sony. net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/ United Kingdom, http://www. imf. rg/external/pubs/ft/weo/2009/02/weodata, accessed by March 2012 What do British people like doing at the weekends, http://www. woo dlandsjunior. kent. sch. uk/customs/questions/weekends. htm, accessed by March 2012 Wesley Yin-Poole, Eurogamer news editor – http://www. eurogamer. net/articles/2010-10-25-nintendo-apple-is-our-greatest-threat Zach Honig, Senior associate editor – http://www. engadget. com/2011/08/16/sony-drops-ps3-price-to-250-in-us-250-in-europe/ 13. Appendix ——————————————– [ 1 ]. http://www. ons. gov. uk/ons/taxonomy/index. html? nscl=Population,

Catherine A Mackinnon`s Only Words

She says Protecting pornography means protecting sexual abuse as speech, at the same time that both pornography and its protection have deprived women of speech, especially speech against pornography (MacKinnon, 9). MacKinnon argues this bye explaining defamation and discrimination, racial and sexual harassment, and equality and peech. Women are sexually abused for the making of pornography. Torture, rape, hot wax dripping over nipples, and murdering women are the tools to produce a product of evil. Literature is the description of these crimes against humanity (emphasized) and cameras are proof of these crimes. On the assumption that words have only a referential relation to reality, pornography is defended as only words-even when it is pictures women had to directly used to make, even when the means of writing are womens bodies, even when a women is destroyed in order to say it or show it or because it was said or shown. MacKinnon, 12) However, assuming words are only a partial relation to reality would mean we would have to reconsider what reality is. Our wedding vows such as I do would be meaningless and a jury could never return a verdict that is only partial to reality. These words are treated as the institutions and practices they constitute, rather than as expressions of the idea they embody (Mackinnon, 13) Therefore, if these words of pornography are only words, dont they institutionalize rape Since pornography is rape on women. Pornography is protected by the First Amendment as free speech, but why Because he pornographic materials are construed as ideas, and the First Amendment protects ideas. Pornography is commonly brushed of as some product of fantasy for those who buy it. But what about the women who were tortured to make it. Also it is brushed off as simulated. This means that the pain and hurt the women are feeling is just acting. Put a little music and a smile here and there to cover up the pain, and you are portraying to and giving pure pleasure for those who buy the product. Just like fantasizing a death, how do you simulate a death But discarding pornography as a representation is the most frequent excuse. But how can a murder be justified on terms of representation (MacKinnon, 27,28) . When one fantasizes about murdering another person, this is premeditation of murder. If he were to express this idea, he would be heard as expressing a threat and penalized. For the obvious reason, publications that are how to guides on murdering people are not protected speech. I believe Pornography is the catalyst for premeditation of rape. Pornography flicks are how to guides for rape. So why are they legal His idea is protected, and further more is his threat of Im gonna *censored* her, because both are seen as antasy, but why isnt murder seen as fantasy Murder is the loss of ones life, but so is pornography when women have been killed to produce it. Pornography is proven to be addicted. When somebody is addicted to premeditating rape, its only a matter of time before his addiction of premeditation becomes a solid plan. Sexual or racial harassment has been suggested to only be made illegal if only directed at an individual and not a group. The idea seems to be that injury to one person is legally actionalble, but the same injury to thousands of people is protected speech.. MacKinnon, 51) This would be disparate impact which involves employment practices that are facially neutral in their treatment of different groups, but that, in fact, fall more harshly on one group than another and cannot be justified by business necessity. (Lindgren Taub,167) Pornography is disparate impact on women, because of the sexual abuse, and ironically the disparate impact seems to be the business necessity. Under Title Sevens disparate impact treatment concept, pornography is illegal. I just have to prove it now) Also, is there not easonable harm (Wolgast, 432, Fem Juris) for a women to visit a place where men are watching a porno and premeditating her rape Is she not infringed on her First Amendment right to congregate with equal respect. The idea of pornography (pre meditated rape) does not allow her respect. It does not allow respect for women as a whole, living among men as a whole, who have the idea in their mind. Two groups, men and women, one who is premeditating rape against the other because of a purchased product, pornography, the catalyst to rape. Pornography clearly resembles the theory of Dominance. The important difference etween men and women is that women get *censored*ed and men *censored* women (MacKinnon, 499. Fem Juris) socially and constitutionally. This in turn renders them incapable of an individual self. When protected dehumanizing speech (pornography) is ramped in the market, subordination of women occurs. The more violent speech gets, it seems that more protected it becomes. The more pornography expands, the more protected it becomes. Therefore, the more pornography is produced, the more unequal women become, and there speech is less heard and reduced to Only words.. (MacKinnon) Women are then left to remain silent. Catherine A Mackinnon`s Only Words She says Protecting pornography means protecting sexual abuse as speech, at the same time that both pornography and its protection have deprived women of speech, especially speech against pornography (MacKinnon, 9). MacKinnon argues this bye explaining defamation and discrimination, racial and sexual harassment, and equality and peech. Women are sexually abused for the making of pornography. Torture, rape, hot wax dripping over nipples, and murdering women are the tools to produce a product of evil. Literature is the description of these crimes against humanity (emphasized) and cameras are proof of these crimes. On the assumption that words have only a referential relation to reality, pornography is defended as only words-even when it is pictures women had to directly used to make, even when the means of writing are womens bodies, even when a women is destroyed in order to say it or show it or because it was said or shown. MacKinnon, 12) However, assuming words are only a partial relation to reality would mean we would have to reconsider what reality is. Our wedding vows such as I do would be meaningless and a jury could never return a verdict that is only partial to reality. These words are treated as the institutions and practices they constitute, rather than as expressions of the idea they embody (Mackinnon, 13) Therefore, if these words of pornography are only words, dont they institutionalize rape Since pornography is rape on women. Pornography is protected by the First Amendment as free speech, but why Because he pornographic materials are construed as ideas, and the First Amendment protects ideas. Pornography is commonly brushed of as some product of fantasy for those who buy it. But what about the women who were tortured to make it. Also it is brushed off as simulated. This means that the pain and hurt the women are feeling is just acting. Put a little music and a smile here and there to cover up the pain, and you are portraying to and giving pure pleasure for those who buy the product. Just like fantasizing a death, how do you simulate a death But discarding pornography as a representation is the most frequent excuse. But how can a murder be justified on terms of representation (MacKinnon, 27,28) . When one fantasizes about murdering another person, this is premeditation of murder. If he were to express this idea, he would be heard as expressing a threat and penalized. For the obvious reason, publications that are how to guides on murdering people are not protected speech. I believe Pornography is the catalyst for premeditation of rape. Pornography flicks are how to guides for rape. So why are they legal His idea is protected, and further more is his threat of Im gonna *censored* her, because both are seen as antasy, but why isnt murder seen as fantasy Murder is the loss of ones life, but so is pornography when women have been killed to produce it. Pornography is proven to be addicted. When somebody is addicted to premeditating rape, its only a matter of time before his addiction of premeditation becomes a solid plan. Sexual or racial harassment has been suggested to only be made illegal if only directed at an individual and not a group. The idea seems to be that injury to one person is legally actionalble, but the same injury to thousands of people is protected speech.. MacKinnon, 51) This would be disparate impact which involves employment practices that are facially neutral in their treatment of different groups, but that, in fact, fall more harshly on one group than another and cannot be justified by business necessity. (Lindgren Taub,167) Pornography is disparate impact on women, because of the sexual abuse, and ironically the disparate impact seems to be the business necessity. Under Title Sevens disparate impact treatment concept, pornography is illegal. I just have to prove it now) Also, is there not easonable harm (Wolgast, 432, Fem Juris) for a women to visit a place where men are watching a porno and premeditating her rape Is she not infringed on her First Amendment right to congregate with equal respect. The idea of pornography (pre meditated rape) does not allow her respect. It does not allow respect for women as a whole, living among men as a whole, who have the idea in their mind. Two groups, men and women, one who is premeditating rape against the other because of a purchased product, pornography, the catalyst to rape. Pornography clearly resembles the theory of Dominance. The important difference etween men and women is that women get *censored*ed and men *censored* women (MacKinnon, 499. Fem Juris) socially and constitutionally. This in turn renders them incapable of an individual self. When protected dehumanizing speech (pornography) is ramped in the market, subordination of women occurs. The more violent speech gets, it seems that more protected it becomes. The more pornography expands, the more protected it becomes. Therefore, the more pornography is produced, the more unequal women become, and there speech is less heard and reduced to Only words.. (MacKinnon) Women are then left to remain silent.

Changes in the history of the world since 1400 C Essay

Changes in the history of the world since 1400 C - Essay Example This paper examines social exclusion/oppression and environmental degradation under a number of headings which include Social, Economic, Cultural and Political. It critically evaluates the causes of these issues and problems in history and then links them to the two major evils that have been identified in history. Social Exclusion Social exclusion has been a major part of the interaction between people of different social and racial backgrounds. Around the 15th Century, Europeans by far, had the best technology and military mights amongst humans. They set out to discover other lands, however, this process came with a lot of social exclusion which saw the exploitation and oppression of people from other racial origins in Asia, Africa and the Americas. Europeans began a system of internal colonization in Asia2. This was done by establishing trade posts in the various ports in modern Indonesia, China, Japan, the Arabian Peninsular and India. The Europeans used their presence in these p orts and posts to exploit Asian labor which was used to produce goods and products that were bought at very cheap prices at those ports and sold at very high prices in Europe. They also sold manufactured goods at very high prices to the locals and made high profits. ... Aside the colonization of the various parts of the continents, there was the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The Spaniards started to buy Black African slaves as early as 1510 and this began the trend of slavery which saw millions of Black Africans being sent across the Atlantic to work perpetually for the benefit of European farm owners3. These slaves were not given anything more than what they needed to survive and were made to work from morning to evening all the days of their lives till they dropped dead for no rewards. They were effectively excluded from the many luxuries that reverted to their European masters. Economic Exploitation Economic exploitation affected people who were less privileged as well as the natural environment. The clash of European civilization and the other civilizations around the world led to so many forms of economic exploitations. Of course the exploitation of people in the Southern continents by Europeans brought in a lot of economic benefits to Europe. Th e Trans-Atlantic slave trade and the colonization of peoples in Africa and Asia gave the European nations access to wealth without a requirement of accountability in these lands. They only exploited and made massive wealth in these nations. After colonization was abolished, the Europeans living in the Americas, Australia, and South Africa continued to hold on to the wealth of the masses and this is a form of social oppression and exploitation. Even in other parts of the world where people of the same race and color live together, there are many places where the few rich people hold and control much wealth. It is common to find nations in Africa and Asia where leaders and a few elite, control up to 90% of the wealth of the land. This forms some kind of economic exploitation which is

Add SWOT , introduction , conclusion and executive summery Essay

Add SWOT , introduction , conclusion and executive summery - Essay Example With the current levels of globalization, the level of competition in the service industry has seen a tremendous increase. This has resulted from the ability of multinational industry to venture in different markets in the world. In addition, liberalization of the markers has also enabled these companies to diversify their operation. Also, flow of information and removal of tariffs by different countries can also be associated with increased levels of competition. This trend has necessitated the formation of a strong marketing department in every service industry which will be able to research on the changing consumption behaviors of customers and come up with better services in order to create customer loyalty. Service industries or the providers need to increase the competitive differentiation, productivity and the service quality. It is necessary to maintain a link between the desired service and the profit. Organization delivering services needs to make a profit for the growth of the organization in the future and to maintain a stable market share (Kumar, 2010). In the service industry, the perception of quality is much more important and dependent on the expectation of the customer rather than in the marketing strategies of goods. Lower expectation can however, make for the greatest satisfaction, and with it word of mouth is an important and vital in the journey towards the purchase of service. It is important to determine the target market and set an objective which would help the firm to determine the area which is of interest to the marketer (Greechie, 2008). The marketing objectives for a brand in the hospitality industry often includes customer satisfaction and gaining the trust of the customer which would increase the customer loyalty towards the brand and make the customers come back to the same brand again and again. The service sector chosen is the hotel industry, hospitality

A two year old child in extended family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

A two year old child in extended family - Essay Example Observations of my case study family led me to understand that the meaning of family is an idea that is enacted through a core, stable group of people that is extended through a fluctuating series of others who come in and out of the home. Henry (1996, p. 32) writes that parents can meet the needs of children through mechanisms of secure attachment, but interactions with others through additional secure attachments can actually enhance childhood attachments with parents. Part of the socialization of a child is to create interactions with a variety of people and to help them engage the world (Edgar 1995, p. 5). As much as the intention of observing is to be on the outside of the family, I found that in my experience the intentions of a toddler will override the intentions of the observer and include them in the family process. The study of the family is the study of origins. Studying different families means studying their diverse cultures to see how differences have an influence, if any, on how children develop (Shimoni and Baxter 2008, p. 47). The family that I visited was Muslim and the structure of the family was nuclear with a mother, father, and extended family consisting of the paternal grandmother and grandfather with whom the parents and the child lived. The mother was focused on the activities of the child with the father being unable to be as focused on the development of the child as he was preoccupied with work for most of the time I observed. (Edgar 1995, p. 5).  ... The study of the family is the study of origins. Studying different families means studying their diverse cultures to see how differences have an influence, if any, on how children develop (Shimoni and Baxter 2008, p. 47). The family that I visited was Muslim and the structure of the family was nuclear with a mother, father, and extended family consisting of the paternal grandmother and grandfather with whom the parents and the child lived. The mother was focused on the activities of the child with the father being unable to be as focused on the development of the child as he was preoccupied with work for most of the time I observed. The motherhood ideology has mothers at the centre of reproduction and early childhood interaction (Reiger 1995, p. 48). The grandparents were very involved in the experiences of the child with an almost equal participation. Shimoni and Baxter (2008, p. 48) discuss a study by Wearing who determined that the ideology of motherhood still held that there is a â€Å"legitimate men’s social power and maintain women’s primary responsibility for child-rearing†. The study also determined that women feel that a ‘good’ mother was always available for her children and being a woman and being a good mother were an intermeshed identity. In studying my case study family I found that this framework of motherhood held true. Observing and Interacting One of the problems with observing is maintaining a barrier between the observer and the observed. During the course of my observations I became close with the family as the mother confided in me some of her concerns and the child interacted with me during the course of the observations. Beckett (1988, p. 140) discusses the nature of the

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

Holocaust - Essay Example Much of this was caused by the fact that stakeholders within early European society believed that people of Jewish decent still bore a direct level of responsibility for the crucifixion and death of Christ. Such a level of innate and cultural distrust and even hatred ultimately coalesced with the economic and political pressures that Germany faced after the First World War and gave rise to the Nazi Party; a harbinger to the holocaust. 2. For the most part the film appeared to be rather unbiased. However, it must be stated that no attempt was made to understand the situation from the perspective of the German citizen or the German soldier. Naturally, the film-maker probably glossed over this due to the fact that seeking to understand the issue from such a perspective was deemed as merely trying to understand evil; something that they did not want to waste valuable time on. Yet, even though this may be true, it would have provided a further level of credibility to the film if the film- maker(s) had allowed for an alternative approach and a view of the situation through the eyes of those who were responsible for carrying it out. Even if such a view might have been unpleasant, it was necessary in order to understand the dynamics for why such inhumanity can persist and why a broad based public outcry for it to stop was never realized or witnessed. Moreover, even though the film is useful in understanding the plight of the individual caught up in the horrors of the holocaust, too much of an emotional appeal also detracts from the merit of objectivity that could otherwise be represented. Naturally, it is not fair to disregard the horrors that the individual faced during the ethnic cleansing of Jews within Europe; however, too much of a focus upon the individual loses sight of the mechanisms, causation, and realities for why this was being carried out and what forces encouraged it. 3. How does this film contribute to our knowledge of the Nazi Holocaust? Ultimately, the film contributes to an understanding of the Holocaust in the sense that it allows the viewer to come to a more informed understanding of the way in which the Holocaust not only Germany’s Jews but Jewish populations throughout the remainder of occupied Europe. This is an important understanding to gain due to the fact that a misconception with regards to the overall scope of the Holocaust is one of the most common misconceptions that exists. Whereas it is true that the Germans were responsible for murdering unknown tens of thousands of Jews within Germany itself, the bulk of the Holocaust victims were derived not within Germany’s borders; rather, these were derived from areas of heavy Jewish concentration within Eastern Europe – specifically Poland and Ukraine (Cowen 167). In helping the viewer to come to a further understanding of the scope of the Holocaust and the personal ramifications that it had upon the lives, experience, and future of the individuals that were fortunate enough to survive it, the viewer is led to a more informed understanding with respect to the many different ways in which this particular occurrence impacted upon the future of not only Europe but the rest of the world. 4. Ultimately, Suedfeld posits a litany of different reasons for why the Holocaust actually took place. The first of these theories he

Greed in Victorian Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Greed in Victorian Literature - Essay Example But Allan Quatrain cleverly acknowledges that he kept this as a motive in his mind and the man reveals his practical sense. Another thing is that Gagool, the old witch mentions about the white man’s lust for white stones many times in the story. Because of their greed, Allan Quatrain and his fellow men subject to severe death experience in the Gagool cave. All these trials and tribulations forced them to feel regression to their lust for unbounded wealth. The concept of civilized colonization is well executed in this novel. White people try to civilize Kaukauna tribe. Quatrain and his companions promise military exchanges to Umbopa for overthrowing the evil king. But the problem is that the Victorian patronizing spirit of the white people is revealed through their conscious effort to control the African tribes through guns. White people make relationships only for their material benefits and they cannot escape from greed. White exploitation against the African tribes is visibl e in the novel through the character of Good and his efforts to develop a relation with beautiful Kukuana girl.White efforts to civilizing Africans always reached in suppression and exploitation. Even though Allan Quatrain and his companions act as the protectors of civilization, they cannot hide their real intention and greed. Allan Quatrain reveals this when he says thus; â€Å"Then we all laughed and took it as a good omen. He was a cheerful savage was Umbopa, in a dignified sort of a way, when he had not got one of his fits of brooding and had a wonderful knack of keeping one’s spirits up. We all got very fond of him†.... Because of their greed, Allan Quatrain and his fellow men subject to severe death experience in the Gagool cave. All these trials and tribulations forced them to feel regression to their lust for unbounded wealth. Concept of civilized colonization is well executed in this novel. White people try to civilize Kaukauna tribe. Quatrain and his companions promise military exchanges to Umbopa for overthrowing the evil king. But the problem is that the Victorian patronizing spirit of the white people is revealed through their conscious effort to control the African tribes through guns. White people make relationships only for their material benefits and they cannot escape from greed. White exploitation against the African tribes is visible in the novel through the character of Good and his efforts to develop relation with beautiful Kukuana girl.White efforts to civilizing Africans always reached in suppression and exploitation. Even though Allan Quatrain and his companions act as the protec tors of civilization, they cannot hide their real intention and greed. Allan Quatrain reveals this when he says thus; â€Å"Then we all laughed and took it for a good omen. He was a cheerful savage was Umbopa, in a dignified sort of a way, when he had not got one of his fits of brooding, and had a wonderful knack of keeping one’s spirits up. We all got very fond of him† (Haggard 29). Protagonists like Allan Quatrain, Henry, his lost brother and Good of Haggard’s novel represent typical Victorian who searches power and wealth. They begin their journey with a noble purpose then it changed in to various dimensions. Man searching transforms to money searching at the end. Dickens’s hero Pip is also portrayed as a victim of post-

Intercultural communication( this is the course I'm studying, not the Assignment - 2

Intercultural communication( this is the course I'm studying, not the topic) - Assignment Example This is why I avoided talking about prohibited food items and drinks as it is uncommon in the country. Hence it is visible that the intercultural context is an important consideration in choosing the subject of any conversation. The cultural setting of the American society along with its diverse population calls for the need to avoid topics such as religion, politics, etc to avoid instigating disagreements. In many cultures, communication is more open and straightforward such as the student’s Dutch relative. In such a case, an American may seem more reserved in initial conversations whereas the Dutch are more casual in their communication. War and peace is a slippery subject matter. Subjects related to war are typically not viewed in a positive light which is evident in the response by the old ladies. Most people view war as an aggressive and violent action, which is why the old ladies responded thus depicting

European colonialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

European colonialism - Essay Example gh population increase, introduction of foreign crops and materials and high per capita earning of these states while at the same time enriching Europe. (De Vries) The creation of Atlantic system traces the European industrialization process within an expanding Atlantic trade. Europe driven by coercive slave trade policies, several driven by inland transportation difficulties in these pre-industrialized propelled the trade movement into the Atlantic. To a larger extent, slave trade deprived colonized states of human labor while exporting the same towards the development of industries in wool industry, agriculture, marine insurance, social structure among others, strengthening Europe’s position as a premier in international trade and controlling treaties. (Polanyi) The dawn of 1880s saw a new interest among European nations to control as much world as possible having pioneered itself in the International trade. One major outcome was the ‘scramble for Africa’ which created conflicts among nations and individuals. While being motivated by economic rather than political interests, Europe advanced slave trade to demonstrate colonialism as a powerful tool for conquest and ‘desire’ to deliberate the world. In effect this led to massive resources transfer and acquisition for development of Europe while changing the existing cultural beliefs in colonized countries. (Curtin) Studies by Bohannan & Curtin suggests that after years of European colonization, many African and Asian countries began gaining independence from Europe. Coinciding with the Cold War period, many of these colonized states either achieved decolonization peacefully or through revolutions. In essence, the process was influenced by super power competition. The result is that many countries become independent economically and socially with their own systems of governance while also directing European international relations with their former

To find how the rate of reaction Essay Example for Free

To find how the rate of reaction Essay Results analysis This set of results appear, on the whole, to support my hypothesis. There is a general trend where the higher the concentration of the hydrogen peroxide, the faster more oxygen gas is produced. More oxygen gas would be expected to have been produced with the higher concentrations of hydrogen peroxide because as the concentrations go up, the more oxygen is produced and this is how the strength of the hydrogen peroxide is measured. For example, 1cmiof 1V hydrogen peroxide will produce 1cmi. So, if we take the 10cmi 2. 5V hydrogen peroxide used in my investigation, if it had been left to fully decompose, 25 cmi oxygen gas would have been made. Therefore the 2. 5V hydrogen peroxide used in my experiment had fully decomposed, and no more oxygen gas could have been produced, which explains why the amount of gas produced levelled off at the end of the 5 minutes in which it was being tested. The hydrogen peroxide of higher concentrations continued producing gas after the 5 minutes in which I was timing the decomposition of the hydrogen peroxide was up. I could not measure past 100cmi of oxygen gas, as my gas syringe was not large enough. My hypothesis was that where there is a higher concentration of hydrogen peroxide, the rate of reaction is faster. We can see from my table and graphs that on the whole my results support this hypothesis. Saying this, there are still anomalous results. Having checked my 12. 5V hydrogen peroxide result twice, it was still a little slower rate of reaction than that of the 10V hydrogen peroxide (which I also checked twice). My results appeared to improve once I had checked them, although the results which I have plotted on my graph are averages of the two sets of results for each concentration of hydrogen peroxide. If there is an anomalous result, it will change the overall value of the averaged result, which can affect how accurately the results are shown. Other factors that can affect the results are: -That the experiment will not be timed accurately and that readings are taken at the wrong time, which gives an inaccurate result for that time. -The gas syringe did not work properly, for example if the gas syringe was broken or if it stuck, an accurate reading would not be possible as the pressure would build up inside the gas syringe until it moved. This wouldnt give an accurate result as the gas syringe would not show a different value every ten seconds. -The surface area of the liver used could also affect how well the experiment worked because if there were a greater surface area, there would be more area for the catalase to be in contact with the hydrogen peroxide, therefore more hydrogen peroxide would be exposed to the catalase in the liver. I would expect this to make the rate of reaction faster as there would be more catalyst readily available to speed up the reaction. -The size of liver used will affect the results, for example, if the size of one piece of liver was larger than another piece of liver used with the same strength and amount of hydrogen peroxide, the hydrogen peroxide containing the larger piece of liver will have a faster rate of reaction as it will contain more catalase. -Any error in measurement throughout the experiments in my investigation will affect the results in this investigation, for instance if the hydrogen peroxide was measured incorrectly, different results will be found which could possibly be anomalous. Most of these factors affecting my results are out of my control, such as whether the gas syringe is broken or the size and surface area of the liver (because it is almost impossible to weigh such a small piece of liver). The pieces of liver I used were only approximately the size of a grain of rice, although some were inevitable larger or smaller. Errors in my measurement, however, can be controlled and so I was very careful whilst measuring everything out and timing my experiments. Rebecca Allot 11Y Page 1 03/05/2007 Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Patterns of Behaviour section.

What Happened In The Tlatelolco Massacre History Essay

What Happened In The Tlatelolco Massacre History Essay The Plaza of the Three Cultures, known as the Plaza de las Tres Culturas in Spanish, symbolizes Mexicos unique cultural heritage. La Plaza de las Tres Culturas was once the center of one of the most powerful Native American empires, the Aztecs, located in the ancient city of Tlatelolco. The square contains the remains of the Aztec temples and is flanked by the Colonial Cathedral of Santiago, and the Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores (Department of Foreign of Affairs) building. Las Tres Culturas is in recognition of the three periods of Mexican history reflected by those buildings: pre-Columbian, Spanish colonial, and the independent mestizo nation. The plaza not only represents three cultures but is an important reminder of the Mexican spirit of determination. It is the site where the Aztecs made their final stand against the Spanish army in 1521 and the massacre of 1968. It has been called Mexicos Tiananmen Square, Mexicos Kent State. During the presidency of Gustavo Dà ­az Ordaz (1964-1970), there were several antecedents to the 1968 student confrontations with the Mexican government, but nothing comparable to the Tlatelolco Massacre that occurred on the night of October 2, 1968, in Mexico Citys Plaza de las Tres Culturas. Background The year1968 was a year of political turmoil around the world. The International Olympic Committeeheaded by Avery Brundage from the U.S.had chosen Mexico as the first Third World country ever to host the Olympic Games. This was aimed both to draw oppressed countries into imperialist-dominated world sport and to showcase Mexico as a model of U.S.-sponsored growth and relative stability. Mexico was supposed to provide a contrast to the national liberation struggles which were shaking most of Latin America, Asia, and Africa and sparking rebellions in the imperialist citadels from Detroit to Paris as well. To date, no other Latin America country has subsequently hosted the Olympic Games. The Mexican government invested a massive $150 million in preparations for the Olympics, an ostentatious amount considering the poverty that existed in Mexico. The Mexican president during the Olympics, Gustavo Dà ­az Ordaz ineptly strained tenuous conditions in Mexico in an attempt to preserve the peac e. During the Dà ­az Ordaz presidency, Mexicans endured the suppression of independent labor unions, peasant farmers, and the economy. From this general dissatisfaction with President Dà ­az Ordaz, the student movement was born. Initially their demands were limited to greater employment and respect for university autonomy; however, the struggles of the factory workers and rural peasants soon resonated with them. This movement of rebellious students was touched off on July 24 when a fight between gangs at two high schools connected with the longtime rivals, the Mexican National Autonomous University (UNAM) and National Politechnical Institute (IPN, or Poli), was viciously put down by antiriot police called granaderos. When outraged vocational students protested, granaderos attacked again, killing many. In response, students seized buses and put up barricades to defend their schools. Student strikes and takeovers hit high schools all over the capital. The high school students were supported by UNAM and IPN students. Students from 70 universities and preparatory schools in Mexico formed a grassroots National Strike Council (CNH) and put forward six strike demands: disband the granaderos; fire police chiefs; investigate and punish higher officials responsible for the repression; pay compensation for students killed and injured; repeal laws making social dissolutionbreaking down of societya crime (under these laws many independent unionists and communists had been jailed); and free political prisoners, including students arrested in the recent disturbances as well as those seized earlier for social dissolution. Within three days the government had to call in the army to take back several Mexico City prepas (preparatoriashigh schools connected to universities). There were clashes which led to many hundreds of arrests and injuries. Thirty-two students had been killed since the first confrontation, but this only fired up the youths resistance. The student strike spread to the UNAM, IPN, and universities throughout the country, supported by a majority of professors. By late August and September the students were calling marches of 300,000 to 600,000 people; important contingents of workers and peasants participated regularly. Over the coming months, the student movement gained support from students outside the capital and other segments of society that continued to build until that October, despite several instances of violence. CNH Tactics Student brigades strained their creativity and skills to foil police and get the word out. Engineering students designed balloons which would burst when they got to a certain height and rain leaflets on the heads of pedestrians. Acting students put on realistic street theater in which a student and a conservative woman in pearls and heels carried out loud debates in crowded markets. Hundreds of observers would be drawn in, the majority on the side of the youth, and the advanced would be quietly contacted by undercover students in the crowd. Some students found that they and the barrio or slum dwellers spoke what seemed to be two different languages. They had to throw out bookish talk and learn from the vivid calà ³ slang of the streets. After a full day of brigade work, they would spend the night in classrooms they had taken over, discussing the conditions and outrages the masses had exposed them to and figuring out how to use this new knowledge in their leaflets and agitation. The red and white buses of the IPN, always with some daring students and a loudspeaker perched on the roof, became famous for a kind of roving speak-in. Workers, market vendors, and even mariachi singers would climb up on the bus roof one after another to voice their support or disagreement with the students demands or tactics and to air their grievances. In some neighborhoods, just the appearance of an IPN bus was enough to immediately attract crowds of hundreds of people who would gather around. Students captured the spirit of the people in a way that the national government was never able to do. In fact, the national government was despised by its people. Mexican Government The turmoil of the 1960s in part reflected a widespread dissatisfaction among Mexicans with the rule of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). The PRI was aptly described in 1968 as entrenched, stagnant, and primarily self-serving in the eyes of many Mexicans. The PRI controlled the nation with an iron fist for over 70 consecutive years. The party has been known to use violence, manipulation and corruption to win elections and hide information from the public, such as the details concerning the Tlatelolco massacre. President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz was known for an authoritarian manner of rule over his cabinet and country, despite Mexico being a democratic country. Luis Escheverria, Interior Secretary to Ordaz, was also known for a no nonsense attitude against student protesters. The Mexican governments planned response to the student rally on the evening of October 2 was called Operation Galeano. The most definitive account of this operation, culminating with the Tlatelolco Massacre, is found in a Mexican special prosecutors report released in November 2006. According to this report, early on October 2 elements of the militarys Estado Mayor Presidencial (the Presidential High Command) were placed in apartments on the upper floors of the Chihuahua apartment building and other apartment buildings surrounding Tlatelolcos Plaza de las Tres Culturas. Once the rally started, the Army, using from 5,000 to 10,000 soldiers (the accounts varying) and more than 300 tanks and other vehicles, would surround the plaza to prevent those attending the rally from fleeing, while armed military men in civilian clothes, members of a unit called the Batallà ³n Olimpia that had been organized to help protect the Olympic Games, would prevent anyone from entering or leaving the Chi huahua apartment building, in which the organizers of the rally were to be arrested. The planned response of the government ended in bloodshed by the order of Luis Escheverria. Tlatelolco Massacre: The Event On October 1, the CNH held two rallies at UNAM. Speakers urged the thousands of students present to attend an October 2 rally at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas, in the Tlatelolco area of Mexico City, to be followed by a march to Casco de Santo Tomà ¡s to demand the withdrawal of authorities from the IPN campus. On October 2, 1968, approximately 10,000 people, most of them students carrying red carnations, arrived in the vast colonial plaza of Tlatelolco for a demonstration. At 6:04 p.m. green and red flares dropped from helicopters, soldiers burst into the square, tanks blocked the exits and an elite plainclothes battalion stormed the speakers platform on the third-floor balcony of an apartment building, where the National Strike Committee, the leadership body of the student movement, was stationed and opened fire. The gunfire lasted for sixty-two minutes, then started again and continued for hours. Late in the evening, when the shooting finally ceased, scores of demonstrators lay d ead and woundedchildren and the elderly among them. The official government explanation of the incident was that armed provocateurs among the demonstrators, stationed in buildings overlooking the crowd, had begun the firefight. Suddenly finding themselves sniper targets, the security forces had simply returned the shooting in self-defense. By the next morning, newspapers reported that 20 to 28 people had been killed, hundreds wounded, and hundreds more arrested. Most of the Mexican media reported that the students provoked the armys murderous response with sniper fire from the apartment buildings surrounding the plaza. El Dà ­as morning headline on October 3, 1968 read as followed: Criminal Provocation at the Tlatelolco Meeting Causes Terrible Bloodshed. The government-controlled media dutifully reported the Mexican governments side of the events that night, painting the students as trouble makers who needed to be brought to order by any and all means necessary. Olympic Games 1968 Controversy The death of hundreds did not even phase the International Olympic Committee. They did not consider to cancelling the games, due to their belief that the massacre was an isolated event involving a social minority. On October 16, 1968, an action by two African-American sprinters at the Mexico City Olympics shook the sporting world. Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the gold and bronze medalists in the mens 200-meter race, took their places on the podium for the medal ceremony barefooted and wearing civil rights badges, lowered their heads and each defiantly raised a black-gloved fist as the Star Spangled Banner was played to show their support for the student protesters and the Olympic Project for Human Rights. Some people (particularly IOC president Avery Brundage) felt that a political statement had no place in the international forum of the Olympic Games. In an immediate response to their actions, Smith and Carlos were suspended from the U.S. team by Brundage and banned from the Olympi c Village. Those who opposed the protest said the actions disgraced all Americans. Supporters, on the other hand, praised the men for their bravery. Tlatelolco Massacre: Response and Investigation Some argue that an understanding of the domestic political context within Mexico explains why the government reacted in such a harsh manner. Mexico stayed relatively isolated from other foreign powers which provided them more freedom in their ability to deal with their domestic problems. The strongest censure from abroad that Mexico received for the massacre was a mild finger wagging from the representatives of a few foreign governments. The worlds failure to confront and condemn the actions of the Mexican government fueled the killing rampage throughout Mexico in the years to follow. In 1998, President Ernesto Zedillo, on the 30th anniversary of the Tlatelolco massacre, authorized a congressional investigation into the events of October 2. However, the PRI government continued its recalcitrance (defiance of authority) and did not release official government documents pertaining to the incident. Eventually in 2001, President Vicente Fox, the historic president that ended the 70-year reign of the PRI, attempted to resolve the greatest of these unanswered questions: who had orchestrated the massacre? President Fox ordered the release of previously classified documents concerning the 1968 massacre. The documents revealed that the students did not open fire first and showed that the snipers were members of the Presidential Guard, who were instructed to fire on the military forces in order to provoke them. President Fox also appointed Ignacio Carrillo Prieto in 2002 to prosecute those responsible for ordering the massacre. In June 2006, an ailing, 84-year-old Luis Eche verrà ­a was charged with genocide in connection with the massacre. He was placed under house arrest pending trial. In early July of that year, he was cleared of genocide charges, as the judge found that Echeverrà ­a could not be put on trial because the statute of limitations had expired. However, in March 2009, after a convoluted appeal process, the genocide charges against Echeverria were completely dismissed. Despite the ruling, prosecutor Carrillo Prieto said he would continue his investigation and seek charges against Echeverria before the United Nations International Court of Justice and the Inter-American Human Rights Commission. In October 2003, the role of the U.S. government in the massacre was publicized when the National Security Archive at George Washington University published a series of records from theCIA, the Pentagon, the State Department, the FBI and the White House which were released in response to Freedom of Information Act requests. The LITEMPO documents detail: That in response to Mexican government concerns over the security of the Olympic Games the Pentagon sent military radios, weapons, ammunition and riot control training material to Mexico before and during the crisis. That the CIA station in Mexico City produced almost daily reports concerning developments within the university community and the Mexican government from July to October. Six days before the massacre at Tlatelolco, both Echeverrà ­a and head of Federal Security (DFS) Fernando Guiterrez Barrios told the CIA that the situation will be under complete control very shortly. That the Dà ­az Ordaz government arranged to have student leader Sà ³crates Campos Lemus accuse dissident PRI politicians such as Carlos Madrazo of funding and orchestrating the student movement. Still, some today believe the United States government was only concerned with security and safety during the Olympic Games 68 and was not involved in the Tlatelolco massacre in any form. Determining who is at fault however, will not change the events that occurred on October 2, 1968. The blood and tears shed that day are still fresh in the minds of those who witnessed the horrific event. Remembering Tlatelolco In 1993, a stele was erected to remember those who lost their lives. The former headquarters of the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs is now a memorial museum called Memorial 68 to remember the Mexican student demonstrations and the Tlatelolco massacre victims and survivors. Each year the anniversary of the Tlatelolco massacre is marked with a march to the same plaza and a protest for the release of government records. On October 2, 2008, the 40th anniversary, two marches were held in Mexico City to commemorate the event. One traveled from Escuela Normal Superior de Maestros (Teachers College) to the Zocalo. The other went from the Instituto Politecnico Nacional to the massacre site of the Plaza de las Tres Culturas. According to the Comità © del 68 (68 Committee), one of the organizers of the event, 40,000 marchers were in attendance. Unfortunately, still too many are unfamiliar with the events that occurred since the massacre fails to appear in most history textbooks. When asked how this could be, high school Headmaster Samuel Gonzalez Montano, replied, You cant teach anything that didnt officially happen. As of now, the newest generation of Mexicans only have a general knowledge of the events surrounding the 68 Olympic Games, which are unavoidably intertwined. Gregory P. Groggel, a graduate of the University of Puget Sound, recounts: During a visit to the plaza, I encountered a group of boys playing soccer. When I inquired from one of them if he knew what happened in October of 1968 here in the plaza, he shrugged and looked around. I told him some 300 people died. He seemed lost and turned slowly to read the memorial he was sitting in front of and had lived near his whole life. The end of it reads: Who? Whom? No one. The next day, no one. The plaza awoke swept; The newspapers said for news the state of the weather. And on the television, on the radio, in the theaters, there was not a single change in the program, not a single announcement. Nor a moment of silence at the banquet (or following the banquet). The deaths of so many youths and protesters must not be forgotten. They deserve more than a simple moment of silence. Remember Tlatelolco. Fore, those who can not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.(George Santayana)

Types of nonverbal Communication

Types of nonverbal Communication Nonverbal Communication The definition of nonverbal communication can be as short or as elaborate and specific as one wants to make it. In general the nonverbal communication describes any and all communication that occurs outside the realm of written or spoken words and is expressed by generation of either intentional or subconscious cues and their recognition. Commonly, nonverbal communication is divided into subcategories describing individual areas that transmit communication cues. These areas, among others, include kinesics, paralanguage, proxemics, haptics, oculesics, and physical appearance. Understanding and effective application of nonverbal communication skills is becoming increasingly important in the modern world. Also, do these nonverbal cues have the same meaning all over the world? Are these nonverbal cues just modified to fit cultural ideals? I will be explaining the different types of nonverbal communication, the importance of them, and how its used throughout different parts of the world. There are different types of nonverbal communication. The first is kinesics which is the study of body language, facial expression, and gestures. Movement is strongly connected to communication style. For example, Knapp Hall notice that movement is related to interaction synchrony, the matching and meshing behaviors that accompany conversations and discussions between two or more people. Matching and meshing usually connote a sense of pleasure with the conversation and can indicate feelings of rapport. Matching can occur through postural congruence and mirroring the persons body language. Also, motor mimicry is a form of matching, such as when a person places her hand on her heart to connote sympathy during another persons sad story. Knapp Hall state that emotional contagion usually occurs in conjunction with mimicry in conversations, meaning that the conversation partners are sharing their feelings and interacting in empathetic ways. Knapp Hall describe two fundamental types of p hysical gestures, those that accompany speech and those that do not. Gestures in general are movements made by the body or some part of it. Speech-independent gestures can include anything from a shake of the head to the finger to wrinkling the nose. These non-verbal gestures often mean different things in different contexts or in different cultures. No gesture is absolutely universal although many are commonly recognized, at least throughout the same cultural context. Some personal examples of speech-independent gestures include the thumbs-up that means everything is good†. For example, in Brazil and in Denmark the American Ok hand sign is a gesture of vulgarity, and in France the same sign signifies zero and in Japan that sign means money. Cultural differences in kinesic behaviors are as significant and complex as cultural differences in verbal language. Factors like attractiveness, appearance, gesture, movement, face, eye, and vocal behaviors differ from place to place. An understanding of cultural differences and basic awareness of those differences when communicating with persons from other cultures can enormously improve cross-cultural relationships and eliminate misunderstandings. Another among these is paralanguage. This is the study of the nonverbal cues of the voice. Various acoustic properties such as tone, pitch, and accent, collectively known as prosody, can all give off nonverbal cues. George L. Trager developed different classifications in paralanguage. The first is voice set, which is the context in which the speaker is speaking. This can include the situation, mood, age and persons culture. Another is voice qualities. These are the volumes of your tone, pitch, tempo, rhythm, and accent. This is very important in getting certain points across in conversation. Vocalization consists of three subsections: characterizers, qualifiers and segregates. Characterizers are emotions expressed while speaking, such as laughing, crying, and yawning. A voice qualifier is the style of delivering a message for example, yelling Hey stop that!, as opposed to whispering Hey stop that. Vocal segregates such as uh-huh notify the speaker that the listener is listening. The se cues define in general the point you are trying to get across in conversations. Study of space as a part of nonverbal communication referred to as proxemics further analyses physical and psychological space between individuals in the interaction. Proxemics could be divided into the elements of territory and personal space. Territory refers to the general area in which the interaction occurs, while personal space is just that a space immediately around a person. One of the most important elements of proxemics is the study of haptics or in more conventional terms, touch. According to various researches, touch â€Å"enhances ones interpersonal involvement, positive affect, social attachment, intimacy, and overall liking†. The persuasive power of touch is further evident in the findings of Patterson et al, stating that people tend to associate positive characteristics with the individual who touched them. That is either speaking in terms of being friendly or intimate. For example, friendliness would be more described with handshakes. A more intimate example w ould be a kiss. But in some cultures, greeting with touch can be disrespectful in some ways. For example, in parts of Africa, trying to shake ones hand with your left is considered disrespectful. For the most part, touch of one another shows comfort and respect in America. Sign language is another aspect of nonverbal communication. The written history of sign language began in the 17th century in Spain. In 1620, Juan Pablo Bonet published Reduccià ³n de las letras y arte para enseà ±ar a hablar a los mudos ‘Reduction of letters and art for teaching mute people to speak in Madrid. It is considered the first modern treatise of Phonetics and Logopedia, setting out a method of oral education for the deaf people by means of the use of manual signs, in form of a manual alphabet to improve the communication of the mute or deaf people. Sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns such as manual communication, body language and lip patterns to convey meaning, simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speakers thoughts. The last aspect of nonverbal communication discussed in this research is physical appearance. Although, in the greater sense, attractiveness describes characteristics that go beyond the physical appearance alone, physically attractive people are perceived as â€Å"more persuasive, successful in changing attitudes, and are perceived to be warmer, more poised, and more socially skilled than less attractive people. According to Peterson and argyle, the way one dresses is also an important element of physical appearance as a source of nonverbal cues, in big part because a person has much more control over his or her clothes, as opposed to the features of the face or the body size. An example of this is the casual business clothing. It is considered distinguishing and positive status. But if you see someone in rags on the streets, you can presume that one is of lower and poorer status. Even though you cant always judge a book by its cover, physical appearance can sometimes depict who som eone is. In addition to the benefits of nonverbal communication, some problems exist as well. As the research suggests, little correlation exists between ones self-rated accuracy of decoding of the nonverbal cues and the actual performance. Some individuals also tend to concentrate more on their strongest areas of nonverbal communication while neglecting the other aspects. As in the example presented by Diane Arthur, the kinesic cues, contradictory to other verbal and nonverbal behavior, significantly undermined the credibility and effectiveness of the presenter. Another problem area within the realm of nonverbal communication is the ambiguity of generated and transmitted cues. Since the appropriate meaning and interpretation of nonverbal cues are highly contextual in nature, the same gestures, facial expressions or posture can and do mean different things in different interaction environment and settings. Often, perceivers tend to venture farther than available context allows and interpret t he signals according to their mental map, or to put it in other word their previous knowledge, experience, stereotypes and others perceptual filters. Problem is further escalated due to the natural tendency of humans to be overly confident of the purely subjective judgments reached according personally-relevant information. This idea develops into yet another obstacle in the interpretation of body language. Differences in cultural backgrounds of those involved in the interaction may interfere with correct decoding the encoded message. Most common cultural differences would probably be in kinesics. For example, a nod in the United States, as well as in many other cultures, signifies understanding or agreement. However, in the Middle East, a single nod represents disagreement or rejection. Similarly, other commonly used gestures or other aspects of nonverbal communication may have completely different meanings in various cultures. With this said, one must realize that the term cultur e does not refer to the various ethnic and geographical groups exclusively. Culture can describe anything from sex to interorganizational culture. Therefore, in order to correctly decode the nonverbal cues one must not only analyze the ones that are relative to the context of what is being communicated, but also to attempt to interpret them in light of the decoders cultural background. The task of understanding nonverbal cues clearly is extremely complex and misunderstandings are common. In conclusion, nonverbal communication is very important in depicting the message you are trying to deliver. The different kinds of communication are effective in so many ways. Some gestures are universal in meaning and some are not. But they do give a message. Without this, verbal language would show no meaning and be dull. Ones gestures and movements do bring life to conversation. Types Of Nonverbal Communication Types Of Nonverbal Communication Non-verbal communication or most commonly known as body language is the unspoken language of the body which is shown through our bodies to show our true intentions and hints of our feelings to the people whom we are conversing with. When we are conversing with others verbally our bodies simultaneously give out and receive signals which are transmitted by our bodies. This signals consists of the gestures we make, how we sit, the intonation and speed of how we talk, the distance we stand when talking and the amount of eye-contact we make while conversing. All this transmits vital non-verbal messages of oneself to another. These non-verbal messages still get across to the people around even when we are silent. The verbal message and body language very frequently contradicts which leaves the listener to choose which one to believe. Usually they will choose the body language. This is the reason why our body language should send a message which is congruent to what we are saying verbally. It is one of the biggest misconceptions to think that what is being said is more important than how it is being said. In reality only 7% of information is sent through words, the remaining 93% of communication is non-verbal. If you fail to read and de-code non-verbal messages, you set yourself up for constant misunderstandings and various communication problems. (Arina Nikitina, 2009) Sometimes the amount of attention we give towards the person who is talking can also be portrayed by our body language. The listener will increase their trust when our body language matches what we are saying but if it doesnt, the listeners will begin to develop tension, mistrust and be confused. In order to enhance what we are saying verbally, we have to be conscious of our body language to prevent sending out a wrong non-verbal message which might misinterpret what we are saying. For example, I had a classmate in secondary school which had problems catching up with his lessons in class. This was because he was suffering from some sort of mental retardation which affects his academic performance. When teacher questions him, he would apologize but the teacher would get even more furious with him and will not accept his apology. At first I thought the teacher was insensitive but then I realized that my classmate was at fault too. This is because he did not apologize in the proper mann er. His arms will be folded and while looking somewhere else he would apologize. In this case, the boy was apologizing but because of his improper body language the message he wanted to send across to the teacher was misinterpreted and the teacher thought that my classmate was being arrogant. In this scenario, the most appropriate way for my classmate to express his apology to the teacher is by looking into the teachers eyes with his arms down and saying sorry with a tone full of remorse. This real life example which happened in front of my eyes clearly demonstrates the importance of body language. This also clearly demonstrates the importance of nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication can play five roles in speech: -Repetition -Contradiction -Substitution -Complementing -Accenting Source: The Importance of Effective Communication, Edward G. Wertheim, Ph.D. The Seven Known Types of Nonverbal Communication Facial expressions Although people come from different parts of the world with different cultures, they all still have the same facial expressions for happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear, and disgust. These expressions are almost universal. For instance, if one was to attend a wedding ceremony with a sulky face, this clearly shows that he or she is unhappy with the ceremony or simply just had a bad day. Body movements and posture The perceptions of us from others are affected by how we sit, talk, stand or even by shaking or holding their hand. For example, when a person is in an interview with the human resource executive and starts fidgeting with his or her fingers or an object, this clearly sends a body language to the human resource executive showing that the candidate is feeling restless and in secured with his or her given credentials. This will make the human resource executive think twice before hiring this candidate. Gestures Gestures are practically incorporated into our daily lives. Some gestures occur during our subconscious state of thought. However gestures vary from each culture to another. We must heed to the listeners cultural norms to avoid misinterpretation. In some cultures, the gesture of pointing the finger at a person is disrespectful but to another culture is perfectly fine. Eye contact The human eyes can portray someones interest, affection, hostility or attraction towards the opposite sex. Eye contact is also another tool to show clarity of the speaker. Touch An example of touch as a form of nonverbal communication is a handshake. A handshake is used to convey a mutual agreement or when someone meets a new person. Besides that a warm hug is used to convey affection toward the particular person is being hugged. A pat on the back or shoulder is used for encouragement or to acknowledge someones presence. Space The distance the speaker is standing or seating towards the listener can be used to indicate the type of relationship they are having. According to Wikipedia there are four different levels of distance: intimate distance, personal distance, social distance and public distance. Intimate distance is the space for embracing each other, touching and whispering. Whereas, personal distance is the space for interactions among friends and family. On the other hand, social distance is the space for acquaintances or people whom you meet randomly or even mutual friends. The public distance is for public speakers who deliver their message to the masses to convey their thoughts and ideology. For example, politicians and professor who is giving a lecture in front of a huge number of students in an auditorium. Voice Saying something doesnt really make a great impact but instead the way you say something really has the potential to captivate your audiences. For example pauses can be used to show power and superiority. On the other hand, the intonation n rate of speech and enhance the understanding of the listener. For example, if one was to speak really fast I am sure that the listener would only manage to understand the gist of what the speaker was saying. This is the reason one should say what he intends to say by saying it with the proper intonation, pauses and tone to deliver his message clearly to the listener in order for him or her to understand what the speaker is saying. The Common Misconception Some people feel assume that they can fake body language to hide their feelings. This is a total failure; this is because the more a person tries to fake their body language the more obvious it will look completely unnatural. This will definitely portray a sense of insecurity towards the person whom he or she is conversing with. The truth, body language is the bodily reaction towards a feeling felt by the body of a person and its completely natural. This is why one cannot successfully fake his or her body language. What is said by the person runs congruently with the body language of the person. This is another well-known reason behind why nonverbal communication is just as equally important as verbal communication. The Basic Importance of Nonverbal Communication Nonverbal communication can be used to gain trust from the people whom you converse with. This is because, through the body language projected, one can simply read it and if you are lying or saying the truth. Instead, if you manage to portray a confident body language, this will automatically tell the person whom you are conversing with that you are a trustworthy and honest person telling the truth. When you have gained their trust, the message which you would like to send across would be successful. Businessmen who are well of this are very successful in their courier simply because they have gained the trust of the buyer. Relationships sometimes fail because the partner is able to read the body language of his or her other half. When a person cheats on his or her partner they tend to lack eye contact frequently and appear tense and agitated as in always fidgeting with their hands. But if one wasnt cheating but its simply his or her character to act in such a way then it will send a wrong message across to the partner. This is another importance of the knowledge of nonverbal communication in daily live. Conclusion Nonverbal communication is clearly as important as verbal communication. Basically, if everyone had more knowledge about the importance or simply just the context of nonverbal communication I am sure that the world we live in would be a more understanding and peaceful place to live in. This is the reason why institutions should promote the importance of nonverbal communication to their student to create some sort of awareness among the students and to understand the importance of nonverbal communication.