Custom Coffee Essay

I believe Custom Coffee & Chocolate mission is to establish a small cafà © where they and their customers could indulge their love of good coffee and fine chocolates. Bonnie and Stacy, recent college roommates, wanted a location that got a lot of foot traffic from shoppers and businesses. Their desire was to target a place near the university because they knew and understood those customers well. The purpose of the cafe’ is to serve unique coffee blends and specialty chocolates, and the business plan included purchasing only fair trade coffee and chocolates made by a few local suppliers. SWOT ANALYSIS: Strengths – Having a good location where public transportation is not a issue. The owners will be selling products that are considered to be good quality, near top of the line. Customers have the options of eating in or taking out their purchases. Weakness – The shop is pretty small, and can only hold a certain amount of customers, and they will need more funding to expand. Opportunity – The opportunities are unlimited, expanding the menu to include baked chocolates, desserts, tea and other beverages. If the businesses continue to grow, Bonnie & Stacy may be able to start a small franchise. Threats – I don’t detect any threats, unless a similar business moves in the same location. Bonnie & Stacy are doing all the right things to make their cafe’ affordable, and customer friendly. It is a nice place for friends and family to meet and chat while having a cup of coffee or reading the newspaper. Comfort is always important to me, so I like the idea of them having comfortable seating. Putting up a website and blog page might be helpful to customers and potential customers, for information and feedback. I don’t believe that delivery would be a good thing right now, maybe in another six months. Great job Bonnie & Stacy, you knew what you wanted and went for it. I wish you much success.

Book to Movie Comparison

The Beowulf legend has endured for centuries, having been retold time and time again. Dating back to the 8th century, this epic heroic poem employs many features that have long appealed to countless storytellers, authors, graphic novelists, and filmmakers. In Robert Zemeckis’s film Beowulf, modern technology allows a centuries-old story to be retold in a vivid, dynamic way. Still, in this day and age, it would be nearly impossible to translate a literal translation of the poem to the screen without making certain changes. Zemeckis’s film is no different. Some of these changes are obvious, while others remain curious diversions from the text.Whatever the case, each new retelling of Beowulf says as much about the time when it was created as it does about the narrative aspects that have survived throughout the centuries. Zemeckis, who has done similar experiments with computer-generated storytelling in his film The Polar Express, apparently believes that Beowulf is ripe fo r a contemporary facelift. While the actors and action are all animated, the technology is not the only thing that is advanced. The story has been updated as well, keeping some aspects intact while completely rewriting others.The film retains the complex family lineages and historical contexts that root the poem in reality. It also keeps most of the main characters (Beowulf, King Hrothgar, Grendel, Grendel’s mother) but explains their motivations in ways the poem did not. One of the major differences between the film and the original poem is the treatment of Grendel and Grendel’s mother; when Beowulf kills Grendel, the monster is reduced to a sniveling, frightened child. It is also worth noting that Beowulf fights Grendel in the nude, which is not described in the poem.The comparisons between Grendel and the Biblical Cain are completely thrown out as well, making Grendel more of a misunderstood Frankenstein’s monster than a true monster, ugly inside and out. The fifty-year gap between Beowulf visiting Grendel’s mother’s cave is also depicted in the film, whereas it is only alluded to in the poem. This allows the filmmakers to expand the poem into a feature-length film, in order to â€Å"fill in the gaps† with what they imagined occurred. This calls into question if Beowulf, who tells his story in the poem, is actually telling the truth.His relationship with Grendel’s mother is far different than in the story, wherein she is simply slain. Grendel’s mother is drawn as a strangely beautiful woman (Angelina Jolie) who seduces Beowulf. This change, like the others, is played for entertainment purposes. Like Beowulf’s physique, Grendel’s mother is his equal in physical form and advertising value. The film also makes a curious addition in that Hrothgar is the father of Grendel and Beowulf is the father of the dragon, which make sense in a Hollywood sort of way, but do not add anything new or powerf ul back to the original poem.These additions are simply to give characters more motivation, though it is difficult to say whether they gain any new depth. Most mentions of God and allusions to Biblical characters have been stripped away, despite the kingdom of Beowulf becoming Christian. It is as though Zemeckis has tried to make Beowulf as â€Å"un-literary† as possible. He has turned an epic poem into a comic book adventure. In many ways, the poem almost becomes secondary to the spectacle. Zemeckis desperately wants to render the world of Beowulf into one that fans of Lord of the Rings can identify with.The becomes more a springboard for special effects. The poem’s narrative is stretched so thin that it is impossible not to add to the original story, though the changes never add anything that matters. The story is sometimes as hollow and empty as the animated characters; it is all superficial. Beowulf never celebrates the poem as being truly great and proves that fil ms can never been grander than their source material. Works Cited Beowulf. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. Perf. Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie. Paramount, 2007. Heaney, Seamus. Beowulf: A New Verse Translation. New York : W. W. Norton & Co. , 2001.

Dramatic devices Essay

Arthur Miller wrote â€Å"The Crucible† for his beliefs in McCarthyism, rampant at that time. He was against it – being a hunt of the communist figures, no matter how questionable they being communist in the slightest. It was sparked by a fear that Russia was going to take over the world. Making people scared and suspicious, Miller had to be subtle in expressing his anti McCarthyist views, so he used an allegory – a play. This play used the Salem witch hunt, similar because of the unsupported accusations, the people encouraged to denounce their friends, and fear and suspicion. The Salem witch hunt was more brutal, with the â€Å"witches† being killed, with only people’s accusations as evidence. Miller had to recontextualize the story, to stop accusations against him. The first words spoken being â€Å"My Betty be hearty soon?†. The title is fitting as a crucible is a container where metals are purified after heating. It reflects how Proctor has been heated by his ordeal and came through to die, his conscience clear – purified. I will explore the techniques used in creating the play, to create various moods in the mind of the audience, in Act I. In Act I we find Parris’s and Mrs. Put’m’s children – Betty and Ruth, inanimate on their beds. People are jumping to the Devil and Parris is putting that off, scared for his name in the village. We find that Abigail and friends had been dancing in the woods. We do get clues that the girls are faking their illness, as Betty wakes up when Parris leaves the room, we find Abigail quickly becomes the leader; an expert is called in – Mr. Hale. Abigail takes the chance to talk to John Proctor, who becomes the main character. Tituba. Parris’s slave, as usual is blamed for witching the two children in the woods. This cause a lot of the girls to say they saw each other with the Devil. In terms of this plot tension is created within the audience. The secrecy and mistrust creates this. Talking behind people’s backs and the ducking and diving which takes place is the cause. How the plot thickens so quickly would make the audience more uneasy. The dramatic irony with the talking behind each others backs creates tension, and involves them more; they want to see what happens. The techniques used to create meaning for the reader, is the overture and the prose on the characters. The reader trusts the prose and they give information on the characters, they are there because there can be no nuances or subtext in the speech, creating a fast story, the prose slows it down, getting the reader more involved.  An audience wouldn’t have these to guide them, it would be up to the actors to read the prose and interpret them in their acting. The play was performed when McCarthyism was at its peak, so it would be blindingly obvious to the American audience what it was about. The allegory would mean the audience would relate to it, creating tension when they think it’s about 1 thing, then realize it’s about something else. The time the story is set in is a somber time, spooky because of the black garments and archaic speech, immediately making the audience uneasy, the first words spoken being â€Å"My Betty be hearty soon?† This inverted language makes it seem more Biblical and legal, heightening the impact they have as does the syntax. The older time distances us, making the characters seem austere and quite oppressive. The double-negative furthers the tension by adding confusion, making it more farcical, which further distances us. Claustrophobia, furthers the tension as there is no escape for the characters, they are trapped which makes the audience feel trapped as well. The first thing we find is that Parris’s room is small, with narrow windows and leaded panes like a prison – this creates claustrophobia. Parris is trapped, making the audience more susceptible to panic. He is also kneeling – he is suppressed by God, it bears down on him. Laws and limitations create claustrophobia as well. â€Å"Not have permitted anyone to read a novel† This shows how small minded the laws were, consequently making the people small minded. Not being able to explore themselves and their emotions, making them bland with no escape from reality. â€Å"Their creed forbade †¦ vain enjoyment† Shows how religiously they stuck to their beliefs, making their lives bland and boring, and possibly more excitable over the out-of-the-ordinary. â€Å"The edge of the wilderness was close by† The wilderness was the Devils land, they were locked in their town nothing else existed. â€Å"It stood dark and threatening† How they were held in place, scared to go further. â€Å"They believed†¦they held†¦the candle that would light the world† Shows how small minded they were; the Devils land was irrelevant. Parris makes the audience feel angry and frustrated by the fact that he is supposed to be a leader. He is pompous – â€Å"then the Doctor must search on†, unpopular and paranoid – â€Å"a faction to drive me from pulpit†, unjust – â€Å"Out of my sight!†, ambitious – â€Å"do not preach for children†, cowardly – â€Å"they will hound me out of Salem†, greedy – â€Å"not used to this poverty†, hypocritical – in defense of Abigail he calls others witches, overly pious – â€Å"send for Reverend Hale†, dishonest and vain in covering truth – â€Å"Uncle the rumour of witchcraft is all about†. So he is not a particularly pleasant person. If he denies witchcraft in his own home it could seem dishonorable and suspicious so he doesn’t. Even so the audience would realize his difficult position, and give him room to breathe. Abigail is a big character, she schemes her way to becoming the leader of the witches – â€Å"Now look you, all of you†. She is fearful of her name in the village – â€Å"Not I, sir – Tituba and Ruth† This gives her a good position, she can scheme to save herself and being manipulative – â€Å"Now if they be questioning us†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The audience can relate to her to an extent, everyone can be a leader and scheme; this also makes her the â€Å"baddie† the audience will be interested in knowing what happens to her. Proctor is the character to which we can relate to, the main one. Through Proctor we have a medium in which we can see something and consider ideas. As does Hale, it put us in their shoes. Proctor sees Abigail as a child, strengthening our bond with him. He also sees through Parris, who we find being very greedy with his fire – wood money. Also Giles sued him and he paid up although Giles just misheard him – â€Å"I’ve paid you for it† Proctor is very honest and just wants to get on with his life. The audience will have an affinity with Proctor. Conflicts between characters – Abigail and Elizabeth both love Proctor, Proctor and Parris: Parris isn’t godly and is a hypocrite etc. these conflicts are like smaller plots in their own way and add to the audience’s excitement, also annoying us when they don’t resolve, theocracy religion says the you cant, but they want to.  The structure is broken up with the overture and prose which the actors interpret and use the instructions to show it to the audience. This adds an extra dimension to the play, incorporating the prose, with its history and explanations. Intertextualism, the themes that link Salem and McCarthyism, spark questions – it is years since the Salem trials but we still haven’t learnt, human character prevails. The questions – dramatic devices that go unanswered, especially at the end with Proctor being hung, should he have been? He doesn’t want to go back to the same society that tried to hang him – a dramatic device, people are ready to persecute when that is what they are trying to escape – irony. The irony, people went to America to escape and be free, supposed to have got better – satiring the American Dream. These themes mean more to a 1950’s audience, with the exact same one present.

Technology in Classroom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Technology in Classroom - Essay Example Since the advent of computers, information revolution is creating tools that promise assistance in the intellectual dimensions of our lives. With the introduction of technology the classrooms which were passive have become active learning centers. The highly interactive nature of computers enables students a high level of involvement in learning. Today's students have mastered a large variety of tools that we will never master with the same level of skill. From computers to calculators to camera phones, these tools are like extensions to the human brain. Educating and evaluating student without these tools makes no more sense to them. (ascd.org, 2007). PowerPoint presentations are easy to obtain, modify, and create. They are versatile and a great asset to any classroom. Good presentations may take time to produce or adapt, but they can be shared and used year after year. They can be used for whole class presentations and reviews, for drills, or for individual work. Data projectors can be used in many locations (e.g. classrooms, conference rooms, lecture theaters, etc) for professional development of staff, sharing of educational resources, students presenting their work to a class. Demonstrating new software. Projecting live video of experiments. Teaching about contemporary internet in general, students will be able to show their work in full screen. Technology helps students in curriculum-free programs such as the common tool-type applications for exploring ideas and relationships with data; engaging in problem solving, locating, organizing data and presenting information; creating reports and various types. With the help of technology in team-based projects can be worked on within the classroom, with increased supervision from the teacher. Many books and journals will be available on-line i.e., in the e-library. Students are getting hands-on experience of concepts that were difficult and impossible in traditional classroom. The data analysis and interpretation is vital in many disciplines. The technology has efficiently solved this problem. Many new fields are possible only through the use of such technology. By the usage of modern technology students have become more familiar with the knowledge-management skills. Technology-usage skills are also developed in the students with a more professional environment offered by the classroom. The presence of technology in the classroom reflects the dramatic rise in the availability of readily-accessible knowledge and communication tools online in the workplace. Faculty can share their discipline specific uses of technology such as the use of online databases. Team-based projects can also be worked on within the classroom, with increased supervision from the teacher. Students are able to develop communication skills within the class. Students have a h abit of relying on a very informal writing style with instant Messaging; the use of notebook computer can be used in the coming future to develop professional writing skills. (itc.udayton.edu, 2006) Regardless of whether it is multiplication or exercises or spelling, there are certain facts that children must learn through memorization in their early education. And the key to learning these is

Relationship between mothers age , birth weight and gestation Essay

Relationship between mothers age , birth weight and gestation - Essay Example post natal weight loss.The mothers socio-economic status has been listed as a major factor underlying low birth weights though other factors have been documented. While there is a strong correlation between birth weight and gestation period, the birth weight and age correlation seem to be an interesting as we would like to know at which age are mothers more healthy at giving birth. Age and parity affects the weight of the fetus though there is low correlation between the mother’s age and weight of fetus (Jen, 1969 p.187). It has also been shown that the birth weight average for first born babies in very young couples is low (Mary and Perose n.d. p.150). It is known that the age of the mother will affect the conditions necessary for good fetal birth weights. Hypothesis; mothers age greater than 35 give low birth weight 50 sets of data containing age of mothers and the birth weight of their corresponding babies were systematically sampled from a sample of 1148 entries at the oxford street hospital. Samples were picked at intervals of 23 to constitute a representative sample. The samples were analyzed using Microsoft excel software. Table 1 is a representative sample of the data collected for the analysis. From figure 1 and figure 2 it can be observed that the sample is normal distribution and therefore statistical methods of analyzing the data can be applied. From the stem and leaf diagram we can tell that most mothers were in their 20’s whereas only two mothers were below 20years of age. From table 1 we can estimade that the mean, mode and median will likely fall within the 20’s age group. The mean birth weight was 3.46 Kg whereas the mean age for the mothers was 29.16 years. The median for the birth weights of the population was 3.42 Kg and the median age was 28 years. The most common birth weight was 3.32Kg and the common mother’s age 23 years. 25% of the birth weights were below 3.19, whereas half of the birth weights were below3.42 and 75% of the

Triage protocol Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Triage protocol - Dissertation Example The protocol is defined in such a manner that its implementation depends on the definition of the treatment to be offered; this is because it contains both inclusion and exclusion criteria, which appropriately informs the triage nurses about the exact time to request X-Rays to avoid subjecting patients to excessive radiation. Constant review of the protocol will be conducted quarterly to ensure its appropriateness. 2. Outline the rationale for selecting the change The triage protocol suggested for implementation will help provide rapid health care services for patients in critical conditions within the emergency rooms in hospitals. Request of X-rays by triage nurses through the protocol reduces the waiting time by about 18 minutes, which leads to satisfaction of both the patients and the hospital staff (Crinson, 1999). This process entails the involvement of triage nurses, who must possess the ability to make quick decisions. In addition, triage nurses must have a high level of liste ning and communication skills and extensive knowledge of warning signs and symptoms. It is important to note that these field nurses must have vast experience in emergency medicine to be able to become triage nurses (Ward, 1999). According to the Department of Health (1997), triage is critically important since it is the foremost assessment in patient care. The surest way to save resources is to identify and separate the critically injured from the patients with less severe conditions. The new triage protocol is ready for implementation to ensure that patients’ safety is taken care of and that patients are identified accurately (Davies, 1994b). 3. Discuss the organisational impact you hope the change will have and the expected outcome(s) According to the Department of Health (1997), the new triage protocol has diverse impacts in terms of how hospitals operate. The protocol is expected to bring quality in health care provision through effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare delivery. The program will also boost the employee welfare in terms of the learning and education of the nurses. Triage is, therefore, very important in hospitals, most so in emergency departments worldwide, as it helps prevent overcrowding. Therefore, it improves emergency care through prioritization during clinical emergencies. Despite resource consumption variations in patients, triage nurses are urged through ESI resource and through prediction thinking to solve the presented emergencies (Cutts, 1999). It is also in addition that resources in emergency departments consume general resources. For instance, a provider seeing a very old patient with an in dwelling urinary catheter and complaints of fever and cough will call for blood order and urine test with chest X-Ray. The triage nurse can, therefore, accurately predict the patients’ needs for two or more resources and thus be able to classify the patient as ESI level 3 through triage protocol. According to the Department of Health (2000), the outcomes of this change will be the ability for the future advancement of the same protocol; it will also ensure that there is ease in distinguishing between the responder and the

Master's level APA-style paper as prescribed herein Essay

Master's level APA-style paper as prescribed herein - Essay Example There is evidence, that in the interest of profit, the company has participated actively in compromising the conditions the workers must endure to produce product. While Nike has promoted its company and its brand as a representation of health, environmental awareness, and social conscious, there is a significant amount of evidence that suggests that the company has compromised this representation. Nike has a corporate website that is rich in content, supplying information regarding codes of operation and ethics to create an image of corporate and social responsibility. According to the website, the following is a statement of the code of ethics to which employees should adhere. There is also information about the way in which conflicts and violations of that code can be reported. Our code of ethics for employees is called Inside the Lines; it defines the standards of conduct we expect of all our employees. Every year, employees are required to verify that they have read and understand Inside the Lines. We operate a global toll-free Alertline for employees to report in confidence any suspected violations of the law or our code of ethics. Any reported concerns around accounting, auditing or internal control are communicated to the Audit Committee of the Board. We expect our suppliers to share our standards and to operate in a legal and ethical manner. While Inside the Lines covers the behavior of Nike employees, our Nike Code of Conduct covers contractors who manufacture Nike-branded products. It directs them to respect the rights of their employees, and to provide them with a safe and healthy work environment.(Nike Responsibility, 2009). In an examination of these statements, the truth of how the company has conducted its business and its relationships with workers will reveal an accurate picture of how these policies are

Information security management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Information security management - Essay Example Both threats and vulnerabilities need to be considered concurrently. Threats can provide damage to the confidentiality, availability and integrity of information present in the information systems. They explore opportunities for security breaches to cause confidential data invasion via unauthorized access, amendment of data, removal of information from information systems. Threats can hit the network from various sources. Threats are confidential on the parameters of different capabilities and approach including external approaches by cyber criminals, hackers, terrorists. For handling threats of different nature different risk mitigation and control methodologies are required in the context of protecting the prioritized information systems. Vulnerabilities are the weaknesses which are present in the system against the current threats. Vulnerabilities can be distinguished as security loop holes in the system. If hackers find these loop holes in the system, results are devastating incl uding unauthorized access, amendment or complete deletion of the system. A recent example is the hacking of wiki leaks website which impacted the whole world and also affected strategic and economic relations between countries as various confidential documents were leaked out from the website. Vulnerabilities are successful due to policy weaknesses, inadequate implementation of security infrastructure, and information of personal issues. For identifying any possible threats, testing of the security infrastructure including network components, hardware and software is essential which may occur in the future. The risk is defined as the likelihood of different threats via different circumstances, which are affecting the network and information systems. The circumstances should consider the strategy, security measures, environmental measures, own experience and the experience of other connected entities in the context of information security failure. The impact calculation is also requi red in terms of data integrity, availability; confidentiality and the cost associated with the fixing systems, lost availability and other related issues which are of prime concern to the network and information system operations. Measurements consist of Cost which is used to protect the information and systems Value of the information and information systems Threat probability and occurrence Effectiveness of Controls Hazards determine the identities and quantities of any chemicals or harmful substances present as pollute causes in the environment. There are different type of hazards required for cleaning and maintenance of the office furniture and items. Hazards may masquerade to human health or the network and information systems when spilled out accidentally by mistake. They also require flammable characteristics which may occur in severe threats and help to increase fire or other incidents. Assets are the components serving internally, as well as externally, within the network. Assets can be divided in to several different information technology environments. The physical infrastructure contains Servers, workstations, data centers, switches, routers etc. The core infrastructure contains virtual private networks, Microsoft active directory, domain controllers, email servers etc. The Internet infrastructure co

Unit 5 Individual Project 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unit 5 Individual Project 1 - Essay Example conomic Review, Microsoft is the most admired company in the world, both due to its development and vision, and because of its financial stability and economic strength. It has been on the top of the list for nine straight years. Much of the credit for this goes to the increasing financial growth of the company over the years, and its expanding revenue and costing horizons, thanks to its ever-developing subsidies all around the world. According to the Review, there was a 13% growth in its revenue in the fiscal year ending in June 2003, to an outstanding $32 billion, with an 11% increase in the operating income, to $13 billion (Review 2008). The importance of the growth of its subsidies and global presence can be inferred from the fact that Microsoft decided to spend around $750 million to build up on its position in China by 2005 (Review 2008), a strong market and a booming economic strength that is sure to provide Microsoft with an increased influx of revenue, resulting in an increa sed growth rate and financial stability post-2005 investment. In fact, the financial growth is already apparent. Owing to the increased markets and customers liking for the launch of new features of Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007, there has already been a 6% increase in the revenue for the fiscal quarter ending on 31st December, 2006, which reached $12.54 billion, a deferral of $1.64 billion of revenue and operating income, as compared to the figures of the same quarter for the previous year, that is the quarter ending on 31st December, 2005 (Microsoft 2007). All the facts and figures revealing the company’s financial standing and growth are a proof of the economic stability and expansion of

Palagrism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Palagrism - Assignment Example Routmans assignment required her to watch a movie, and then provide an equivalent of the film to ship or port experiences. She did watch Europa Europa, and then referred to Wikipedia for proper historic wording. A day before the deadline of submitting the paper, the professor asked students who had plagiarised their work to give in. The Five of them who did were awarded zeros on their papers, but were not expelled (Laconte). Routman, however, never confessed her plagiarism since she thought she had done nothing wrong. The professor later on found out that she had borrowed several phrases Xerox to those on the online entry about the film. Routmans argument was that the words were historical features and not complete phrases as the professor claimed (Sampson). University officials disagreed with Routman, and so the case had to go through a panel. The panel found her guilty of plagiarism and expelled her from the school. She went ahead to file for an appeal, but even that, she was denied. Routman and a fellow student accused of the same were forced to disembark from the ship since they had been expelled from the university and so had no right to continue with the

You are going to write an annotated bibliography of the research you

You are going to write an of the research you have done for your research paper - Annotated Bibliography Example This time Russia’s next move will affect the interests of the EU and may provoke unrest in Europe. The state of Ukraine is getting ready for presidential elections while the EU and US politicians are speculating about possible sanctions against Russia. The future of business and political order in Europe largely depends on the outcome of the election in Ukraine. The stakes are very high for all the players. The situation in Ukraine will affect global political influence and economic stability of dollar and Euro in international trade. I chose this source because it outline the events that led to political unrest and economic problems in Ukraine. It thought it would be important to understand what led to the crisis and explain its significance for existing world order. The article helps to understand why events in Ukraine affected the balance of power in the world. What is more, the source lists the candidates in the upcoming presidential election. It would be useful to try to understand how each of them would affect the balance of power in the region. Economist Staff (2014, March 22). The post-Soviet world order was far from perfect, but Vladimir Putin’s idea for replacing it is much worse. The Economis. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21599346-post-soviet-world-order-was-far-perfect-vladimir-putins-idea-replacing-it Russian President Vladimir Putin presents his actions in Ukraine to the world community as an attempt to build a new world order based on legitimacy. This approach finds some supporters in world politics where American supremacy is no longer unchallenged, especially after American failed efforts in Iraq and Syria. However, on closer inspection there are more differences than similarities between American and Russian actions in world politics. Firstly, Putin’s actions in Ukraine are likely to create unrest in many places across the world. Russian annexation of Crimea opens a

The Meaning of American Pie Essay Example for Free

The Meaning of American Pie Essay In the autumn of 1971 Don McLeans elegiac American Pie entered the collective consciousness, and over thirty years later remains one of the most discussed, dissected and debated songs that popular music has ever produced. A cultural event at the peak of its popularity in 1972, it reached the top of the Billboard 100 charts in a matter of weeks, selling more than 3 million copies. By identifying this great success it illustrates that it was no ordinary song. With its boldness, originality and it being thematically ambitious created uncertainty. Presenting the idea that we weren’t entirely sure what the song was about, provoking endless debates over its epic cast of characters. But however open to interpretation the lyrics may have been, the songs emotional resonance was unmistakable: McLean was clearly relating a defining moment in the American experience—something had been lost. Opening with the death of singer Buddy Holly and ending near the tragic concert at Altamont Motor Speedway, we are able to frame the span of years the song is covering—1959 to 1970—as the 10 years weve been on our own of the third verse. It is across this decade that the American cultural landscape changed radically, passing from the relative optimism and conformity of the 1950s and early 1960s to the rejection of these values by the various political and social movements of the mid and late 1960s. American Pie appears to chronicle the course of rock n roll, it is not, as is sometimes suggested, a mere catalogue of musical events. In using the cast of rock n roll players from the 1960s and setting them against the backdrop of Buddy Hollys death, they become polarized—metaphors for the clash of values occurring in America at this time: Holly as the symbol of the happier innocence of the fifties, the rest as symbolic of the sixties growing unrest and fragmentation. And as each verse sums up chronological periods in time—the late 1950s, 1963-66, 1966-68, 1969, 1970—another blow against the happier innocence of another era is registered: another day the music dies. Verse 1 of American Pie looks back from the early seventies and introduces the catalyst for the story about to unfold. â€Å"A long long time ago I can still remember how the music used to make me smile†. The narrator here is nostalgic for a simpler and more optimistic kind of music—a music that can make people smile, and that could help them forget their troubles—and a music that very much represents the happier optimism of the 1950s in America. â€Å"But February made me shiver†, he also identifies Buddy Holly by the month in which he dies. Hollys passing had a profound effect on him, which is displayed throughout the song. The day the music died† this reflects and supports the idea that the day the music died becomes the day the innocence and optimism within America died The chorus is the primary key in understanding American Pie as the theme of America’s lost innocence is clearly stated. â€Å"So bye bye Miss American pie† Miss Amer ican Pie* is as American as apple pie, so the saying goes; she could also be a synthesis of this symbol and the beauty queen Miss America. Either way, her name evokes a simpler time in American life when these icons held more meaning. She is the America of a passing era, and he is bidding her farewell. Drove my Chevy to the levee alludes to a drive along a levee mentioned in a series of popular 1950s Chevrolet television commercials sung by Dinah Shore and which serves as a signpost to that era—just as the Chevrolet itself is a familiar icon of 1950s America. Also, given that a drive to a levee carries the suggestion of romance in a car, we can almost see him on a date here. But the date is over, the levee is dry—someone he once loved has betrayed him; something that once gave him sustenance has evaporated. This’ll be the day that I die† is a rewording of the line â€Å"cause that’ll be the day when I die† from the chorus of Holly’s hit that’ll be the day. This signifies McLean’s way of both mourning the death of that music and way of life, and pointing to Holly as his symbol of it. Verse 2 erupts with the idea that the narrator reaches little further back in time to the days of his youth, the late 1950s—a time of sock hops, pickup trucks and pink carnations—as he courts a woman who ultimately spurns him. This is a fickle lady here, and the narrator questions her loyalties. And can you teach me how to dance real slow? † This is a romantic dance. He is courting her. The slow dance itself is yet another reference to the fifties and the kind of dancing that went out of fashion in the following decade; it also alludes to the slower pace of life in America at this time. This verse helps us to further identity Miss American Pie, whose brief introduction in the chorus needed this additional exposition; and which, along with verse 1 and the chorus, also serves to establish the 1950s as the reference point for the res t of the song. In so doing, McLean characterizes the period primarily through its musical symbol (Holly), using him and the music (those rhythm and blues) as a metaphor for the innocence of the times, and a sacred thing. The day the music died now takes on the significance of a lost faith in the values of a passing era and the sorrow the narrator feels at their passing: blow number two. Having personified America as a woman, Bye bye Miss American Pie now more clearly becomes a farewell to the America he once knew.

Recruitment Methods of ISIS

Recruitment Methods of ISIS Abstract This paper covers a small area of topics on the infamous organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). These topics include: a brief history of the organization, who ISIS is recruiting, why the recruits are joining, and the methods in which ISIS uses to recruit its members. Because of ISIS’s clever and effective recruiters and their methods of recruitment, they are on their way to establishing a caliphate, which refers to uniting all Muslims for the purpose of total, world domination. Recruitment Methods of ISIS According to communication strategist and cyber war expert advisor, James P. Farwell (2014), in the summer of 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) made an ostentatious appearance onto the worldwide stage, with the desire to institute its religious authority across the world (Farwell, 2014, p. 49). ISIS developed a caliphate, led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (p. 49). The organization’s primary tool for increasing its influence across the globe has been â€Å"brute violence† (Farwell, 2014, p. 49). However, through their methods of recruitment, they have tried to establish credibility and implement legitimacy by skillfully advertising their propaganda through social networking and cyber technology, making it look attractive to prospective fighters (Farwell, 2014, p. 49). This paper will discuss who ISIS is recruiting, why the recruits are joining ISIS, and the recruitment methods that the organization uses to gather members, in order to accomplish their purpose of conquering the world. The slogan, â€Å"Baqiya wa tatamadad,† as stated by Amanda Borquaye (2016), is the slogan created by ISIS, meaning ‘â€Å"lasting and expanding,’† which has produced fearin many different areas around the world (p. 28). As recorded by author, Patrick Cockburn (2015), during summer of 2014, throughout the course of several weeks, ISIS altered politics in the Middle East (p. 1). Jihadi soldiers intertwined religious â€Å"fanaticism† and military experience to succeed in war against Iraqi, Syrian, and Kurdish forces (Cockburn, 2015, p. 1). ISIS aimed to destroy the Sunni opposition to the regimes in Iraq and Syria while it extended all throughout those areas (Cockburn, 2015, p. 1). ISIS did not show any concern that the list of their enemies grew greater over time, which included such areas as the United States and Iran (Cockburn, 2015, p. 1). As history has shown, ISIS generating enemies has not been a problem.    As Iraq and Syria began to disperse into their separate communities, the Shia, Sunni, Kurds, Alawites, and Christians were struggling to survive (Cockburn, 2015, p. 1). If someone was not in compliance with the ideology of Islam, they were labeled as â€Å"apostates† and â€Å"polytheists† and forced to flee or were brutally murdered (Cockburn, 2015, p. 1). The scare tactics and the forms of public violence that ISIS started using to torment their adversaries were the most extreme that had been seen in several decades (Cockburn, 2015, p. 1). The members of ISIS desire to restructure the world by committing violent acts (Cockburn, 2015, p. 5). Parts of this ideology can be attributed to the war in Iraq in 2003 and the war in Syria in 2011 (Cockburn, 2015, p. 5). Because of events like these, ISIS has discovered a new battlefield in which they are able to fight and flourish (Cockburn, 2015, p. 5). They have managed to accomplish this task by recruiting as many jihadists a s possible. Who are they recruiting? ISIS prompts their recruits to institute and obtain a caliphate, which means ‘â€Å"a unified Muslim state run according to a strict interpretation of Islamic law’† (Borquaye, 2016, p. 28). As believed by dedicated jihadists, violence is the single method in which to achieve this caliphate (Borquaye, 2016, p. 28). Over a significant amount of time, ISIS has developed the abilities of recruiting Westerners, despite viewing themselves as common enemies of the West and everything that Western culture honors and represents (Borquaye, 2016, p. 28). According to Lisa Blaker (2015), of the University of Maryland, there has been an estimated 3,000 or more nationalists from Western countries that have immigrated to the Middle East to join ISIS, contributing to the extremist movement (3). Some of these Western nationalists that ISIS is recruiting are American teenagers. According to Husna Haq, a correspondent for the news organization, The Christian Science Monitor, there are four reasons why teenagers, especially American teens, are being seduced in joining ISIS (Blaker, 2015, p. 4). The first reason is that organizations like ISIS are able to help young people to develop a sense of identity (Blaker, 2015, p. 4). They intentionally target this demographic because these teenagers are lost and have no sense of belonging or purpose (Blaker, 2015, p. 4). Joining groups like these makes them feel like they finally have a family and a purpose in life (Blaker, 2015, p. 4). The second reason is that ISIS functions as an advanced propaganda machine (Blaker, 2015, p. 4). Because we live in the Internet age and it is popular among young people, the Internet is an easy tool to lure members of this age group (Blaker, 2015, p. 4). The third reason is that ISIS creates a sense of religious obligation, which is why it is so attractive to American teenagers (Blaker, 2015, p. 4). Lastly, ISIS has made females one of their biggest demographics that they recruit (Blaker, 2015, p. 4).   The demographic of young Muslim-American females seems to be very popular (Blaker, 2015, p. 4). The most common group of Muslim-American females who join are those who feel isolated from their non-Muslim peers (Blaker, 2015, p. 4). Surprisingly, there appears to be a great desire for the recruitment of females to join ISIS. One of the most popular demographics that ISIS recruits are women. In these cases, they have had success by women recruiting other women (Blaker, 2015, p. 5). One of the most effective recruiters is Umm Ubaydah, who immigrated from Europe to Syria in 2014 (Blaker, 2015, p. 5). She has a blog that she uses as a recruitment tool for women (Blaker, 2015, p. 5). Her posts typically incorporate information on what to bring, the appropriate type of clothing, a sufficient amount of money, and includes information about what everyday life for women is like in Syria (Blaker, 2015, p. 5). Additional information that she posts include support on how to cope when leaving one’s family (Blaker, 2015, p. 5). A Senior Counter Extremism Researcher for the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Erin Marie Saltman, claimed that women are successful as recruiters of other women because there is a sense of comfort manifested when communicating with fellow women (Blaker, 2015, p. 5). Conversing with a fellow woman provides a sense of consolation of leaving one’s family (Blaker, 2015, p. 5-6). As reported by CNN, about 1 in 6 ISIS recruits are women (Blaker, 2015, p. 6).   Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Alberto Cerzone and Anita Peresin (2015), professors of counterterrorism at George C. Marshall Center, roughly ten percent of ISIS’s Western recruits are females. As of 2015, it was estimated that there were over 200 Western females who abandoned their homes to join ISIS, the majority of them from France (Cerzone and Peresin, 2015, p. 499). The rest of the women were from other European nations, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, and Belgium, with the numbers constantly rising (Cerzone and Peresin, 2015, p. 499). The International Centre for Study of Radicalization at Kings College London, found the majority of these females are between the ages of 16-24, but some are as young as thirteen (Cerzone and Peresin, 2015, p. 499). The majority of these females run away to the Middle East without telling their parents, which raises concerns and questions for security experts and the general Western culture (Cerzone and Peresin, 2015, p. 499). They typically come from Muslim families or have converted to Islam, but in either instance, families are appalled that their daughters are interested in joining this â€Å"violent jihad† (Cerzone and Peresin, 2015, p. 499).   Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Lauren Vogel (2016), of CMAG News, ISIS has also been recruiting doctors and health workers. The recruitment of these specialists began in 2015 when ISIS increased its focus of establishing control over territory to institute a caliphate, which they believe will bring all of the Muslims together to conquer the world (Vogel, 2016, p. 1). Since the summer of 2015, ISIS had advertised the need for doctors through social media, blogs, splashy magazines, and high-budget videos to showcase the state’s emerging health system (Vogel, 2016, p. 1). The advertisements show off the substantial amount of services they provide, the latest facilities and equipment, experienced professionals, and two medical schools (Vogel, 2016, p. 1). ISIS is especially eager for medical professionals because a numerous amount of local doctors have left the organization’s territory (Vogel, 2016, p. 1). There have been reports of doctors who were forced to treat patients at gunpoint, some who were targeted for arrest, and others who were executed for refusing to provide care (Vogel, 2016, p. 1). Like others that ISIS recruits, there are various reasons why they are recruiting medical professionals. Lorne Dawson, co-director of the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society, said, â€Å"‘It’s a storm of factors, from a quest of significance and identity, to maybe some experience of discrimination’† (Vogel, 2016, p. 1). A popular reason why these professionals join is because of social justice (Vogel, 2016, p. 2). A large number of medical professionals are driven by altruism, and the determination to assist others, and the radical message uses that (Vogel, 2016, p. 2). Dawson says, â€Å"‘People find it amazing that a doctor would want to be part of this ultraviolent group committing atrocities, but on the flipside a lot of what ISIS does looks like humanitarian, social welfare and medical work’† (Vogel, 2016, p. 2). Another possible factor that draws doctors is discrimination (Vogel, 2016, p. 2). An American survey was done that showed that 24% of Muslim doctors often were victims of religious discrimination in their careers and 14% currently were experiencing it in the workplace (Vogel, 2016, p. 2). No matter for what reasons medical professionals are attracted to ISIS, they still go through the same radicalization process as any other recruit (Vogel, 2016, p. 2).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Methods of recruitment ISIS’s skills of maneuvering media is a significant factor in the way that they recruit (Borquaye, 2016, p. 28). ISIS has used the Internet and online social media as a tool of circulating their message (Borquaye, 2016, p. 28). They use these forms of media in hopes of recruiting individuals, especially young people, to join them in the Middle East and fight alongside them with other jihadists, or simply to support the organization (Blaker, 2015, p. 1). These supporting roles typically fall to the young women who join (Blaker, 2015, p. 1). ISIS has designated â€Å"sympathizers† to carry out acts of violence wherever they may be when they are not able to travel to the Middle East (Blaker, 2015, p. 1). Social media networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube do not have complete sanctions that restrict ISIS propaganda from spreading across the world in real time (Blaker, 2015, p. 1). UK surveillance chief, Robert Hannigan, said, â€Å"ISIS and other extremist groups use platforms like Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp to reach their target audience in a language it understands. Their methods include exploiting popular hashtags to disseminate their message† (Blaker, 2015, p. 4). In 2015, John Greenberg, of the Tampa Bay Times, conducted research which found that each day, there are up to 200,000 pro-ISIS tweets per day (Blaker, 2015, p. 1). This study also counted re-tweets and some that were generated through computer programs (Blaker, 2015, p. 1). Some of these tweets even included death threats to Twitter’s CEO and other Twitter employees (Blaker, 2015, p. 2). According to extremism analyst, J.M. Berger (2015), there were 46,000 Twitter accounts that were owned by supporters of ISIS as of the year 2014. Since then, Twitter has suspended a great number of accounts by ISIS supporters, but the supporters simply create other accounts after suspension (Berger, 2015). As of today, there is estimated to be around 40,000 accounts owned by ISIS supporters, with about 2,000 who primarily tweet in English (Berger, 2015).   Ã‚  Ã‚   One form of social media advertising that ISIS uses that is extremely effective is videos. According to a reporter for TheBlaze, Sara Gonzales (2017), ISIS posted a video this past April that featured a boy who seemed to be around the age of six or seven years old, taking part in a double-beheading. The group increasingly uploads videos that are sophisticated, good quality, and with pictures that contain impressive visual effects (Blaker, 2015, p. 1). They post various videos, each one different from another (Borquaye, 2016, p. 28). The goal is to make a different video that will appeal to each of the demographics that they are trying to reach (Borquaye, 2016, p. 28). Their most significant speeches were uploaded to the Internet in seven languages and the videos they post present similar violent characteristics to those used in Hollywood films (Borquaye, 2016, p. 28). Many of the videos that they publish have music with lyrics that have been translated to English and various other European languages (Blaker, 2015, p. 3). The newest videos that they have published feature English-speaking jihadists (Blaker, 2015, p. 3). Sean Heuston, who teaches English and film studies at The Citadel, has done extensive research on extremist video propaganda (Blaker, 2015, p. 3). He said, ‘â€Å"Its actually surprising how contemporary and hip-looking some of these things are, especially considering the fact that the messages that they are promoting are essentially medieval’† (Blaker, 2015, p. 3).    This sort of recruiting technique has enabled the organization to disperse powerful and emotional images (Farwell, 2014, p. 50). This narrative emphasizes that the strength and dominance of ISIS is increasing, asserting that full control is inevitable (Farwell, 2014, p. 50). Many of these images are intended to portray the organization’s members as fearsome warriors by showing gruesome beheadings and executions that are meant to torment their adversaries (Farwell, 2014, p. 50). However, ISIS also post images that display foot soldiers eating candy bars and holding cats, communicating that although ISIS is strictly Islamic, they also advocate for the welfare of people, and not just killing them (Farwell, 2014, p. 50). As written by Imran Awan (2017), ISIS also portrays the fighters in their videos with a â€Å"‘moral conscious’† by showing them helping and protecting civilians (p. 139). A number of their videos feature members visiting fighters in infirmaries and handing out candy to children (Awan, 2017, p. 139). This shows the attempt to showcase the supposed compassionate feature of ISIS.   Ã‚   Additionally, ISIS has developed their own app, which a person could download for free in order to stay updated with current information on the group (Awan, 2017, p. 139). The app was titled â€Å"‘The Dawn of Glad Tidings’† (Awan, 2017, p. 139). However, the app was detected and suspended after it (Awan, 2017, p. 139). Once the app was downloaded, users were able to view tweets, links, hashtags, pictures, videos and comments on their own accounts (Awan, 2017, p. 139). The majority of the information on the app was controlled by ISIS’s â€Å"social media arm† (Awan, 2017, p. 139).   Ã‚   Dr. Anne Speckhard, Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University, and researcher, Lorand Bodo (2017), conducted a short study, measuring the dissemination of ISIS propaganda on the Internet. The study mainly included observing search engines, such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). They based their study on prior research that was gathered from Facebook (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). They used hashtags, keywords and phrases in English and Arabic that were familiar to ISIS members, endorsers, and distributors on social networks (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). As they expected, they found a good number of social network accounts, Internet sites, and forums that were promoting ISIS propaganda (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). Interestingly enough, they found that each one of those sources were connected to the same source, which they called the â€Å"Daily Harvester† (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). In this particular situation, the Daily Harvester is referred to as â€Å"Abu Abdellah Al-Ifriqi† (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). It is presumed that Abu Abdella is an official representative of ISIS (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). Speckhard and Bodo observed Abu Abdellah over the course of a month, while determining the keywords and phrases that he was using to spread his message (2017). They found four specific stages that surfaced in monitoring his activity (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). First, Abdellah observed official ISIS media channels, like Amaq News Agency and Al-Hayat Media (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). Second, he gathered audio, files, news reports, pictures, and videos, in which he uploaded into one document (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). Third, Abdellah posted documents only to two websites, which were justpaste.it and addpost.it (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). These â€Å"‘paste-websites’† permit any person to post a link that may be shared (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). Lastly, he posted the generated link on social networking sites, forums, and various different websites to reach as many individuals as he can, with a wide â€Å"compendium† of the latest ISIS propaganda (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). However, Abu Abdellah is not the sole Daily Harvester (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). There are many Daily Harvesters, each one as dangerous as the other (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). They are extremely dangerous because they are able to disseminate large quantities of ISIS propaganda, with just a click of a link, which makes it available to anybody (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). Essentially, anybody who is capable of maneuvering Google can attain this information and simply input it into Google Translator to see and read in their own language (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). Due to the ease of access of this information, it would be hard to stop or even attempt to counteract these methods that ISIS uses to recruit its members.      Conclusion The goal of ISIS from the beginning was to develop a caliphate, in which they would unite all Muslims to achieve global dominance (Vogel, 2016, p. 1). Thus far, they have taken steps to accomplish that by performing significant acts of violence and making themselves known on the Internet, mainly through social networking sites (Farwell, 2014, p. 49). Popular ways of doing this are creating high-quality videos, and tweeting thousands of times a day from thousands of pro-ISIS Twitter accounts (Berger, 2015). Because of their cleverness and the forms ISIS uses to promote their propaganda, it is not an outrageous thought that total domination could be inevitable (Farwell, 2014, p. 50). References Awan, I. (2017). Cyber-Extremism: Isis and the Power of Social Media. Society, 54(2), 138-148. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs12115-017-0114-0.pdf. Berger, J. (2015, October 23). Tailored Online Interventions: The Islamic States Recruitment Strategy. https://ctc.usma.edu/posts/tailored-online-interventions-the-islamic-states-recruitment-strategy Blaker, L. (2015). The Islamic State’s Use of Online Social Media. The Journal of the Military Cyber Professionals Association, 1(1), 1-9. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=mca Borquaye, A. (2016). Countering the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria: Why the West Has it Wrong. JUIS. 2027-34. Cervone, A., & Peresin, A. (2015). The Western Muhajirat of ISIS. Taylor & Francis, 38(7), 495-509. http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=d6ffa458-1214-4bad-96b5-b4c5c0931508%40sessionmgr102 Cockburn, P. (2015). The rise of Islamic State: ISIS and the new Sunni revolution. London: Verso. Farwell, J. P. (2014). The Media Strategy of ISIS. Survival (00396338), 56(6), 49-55 Gonzales, S. (2017, April 18). Latest ISIS recruit video shows young school-aged boy participating in execution. http://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/04/18/latest-isis-recruit-video-shows-young-school-aged-boy-participating-in-execution/ Speckhard, A., & Bodo, L. (2017, April 23). How ISIS Disseminates Propaganda over the Internet Despite Counter-Measures and How to Fight Back. http://moderndiplomacy.eu/index.php?option=com_k2view=itemid=2494%3Ahow-isis-disseminates-propaganda-over-the-internet-despite-counter-measures-and-how-to-fight-back Vogel, L. (2016). Why are Doctors Joining ISIS?. Canadian Medical Association.   http://www.cmaj.ca/content/early/2016/01/11/cmaj.109-5217.full.pdf

Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire Essa

Directed and produced by Jeremy Earp and Sut Jhally, narrated by Julian Bond, "Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire" is an unrated sixty-eight minute eye-opening documentary released in 2004 by The Media Education Foundation. The film sheds light on the relationship between 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq before the attack on the World Trade Center. Just like every other movie or documentary, this film carries a message; Hijacking Catastrophe provides concise analysis that persuades its audience to take a second look and interpret the connection. It is generally a perceptive documentary full of oppositions against the Bush administration featuring interviews with significant people full of compelling arguments. Hijacking Catastrophe takes its viewers on a journey of all fallacies the Bush administration and radical neoconservatives made to escalate the fear and persuade the American public to strike war on what they called "terror". This documentary contends to represent the political corruption caused by the Bush administration and the right-wing radical neoconservatives. For that reason, the film includes many strategies to help the audience's understanding of the suspected relationship. To begin with, the documentary starts up with the powerful quotation by Herman Goring, "The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger," This quote explicitly signifies that George W. Bush along with the neoconservatives lied to make the American public react in a certain way they have planned for their own concealed motives. In my opinion ma... ...a man determined to achieve absolute power over the cost of war tragedies. The film productively works through featuring interviews, displaying news footage and heartbreaking pictures of the after math of the war on Iraq. It specifically proves how the Bush administration provoked the media to convince the people of America to support "war on terror" by creating a non-existent fear. It offers interviews and documentaries that show the hidden motives of the Bush administration kept secret from the American public such as gradually expanding the country's power through extending the military expenditures and power to keep up global hegemony. Finally, if anyone pins the America vs. Iraq war on terrorism and have not seen this documentary they are to a certain extent mistaken hence, it is full of vital facts but with less irony, sarcasm and biases than Fahrenheit 9/11.

Ethical Journalism During the Vietnam War Essay -- Vietnam War Essays

Ethical Journalism During the Vietnam War During the Vietnam War, a rift between government officials and journalists emerged. The American government felt the need, for various reasons, to censor many war developments. In an attempt to act ethically, the press fought the censors, trying their hardest to report the truth to the general public. Despite claims of bias and distortion by several prominent government officials, these journalists acted completely ethically, allowing the general public to obtain a fair, informed opinion. The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) provides a very clear and thorough Code of Ethics, which serves as a good definition of ethical journalism. According to this code, an ethical journalist must try to minimize any potential harm done to people directly involved with the event being reported. Such a journalist should also act independently of any personal biases, and be responsive to any criticism of their work. Finally, a truly ethical journalist must seek to find and report the truth (Society). Common sense reaffirms these guidelines. When one thinks of ethical behavior, one usually thinks along terms of being truthful, appreciative of others, acting responsively and using fair judgement. All of these concepts are explicitly stated in the SPJ's Code of Ethics. Minimizing harm done by journalism in times of war is a difficult task. Naturally, there are bits of information that the government needs to keep secret for one reason or another. There is also the danger of victims' stories being exploited and sensationalized. The SPJ's Code of Ethics recommends that journalists should "treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings worthy of respect" (Society). During the extreme... ...t 29, 1968: 71. Hallin, Daniel C. The Uncensored War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. Janson, Donald. "Police Assault on 21 Newsmen in Chicago Are Denounced by Officials and Papers." New York Times August 28, 1968: 36. Kenworthy, E W. "Agnew Says TV Networks are Distorting the News." New York Times November 14, 1969: 1-2. Kifner, John. "On the Road to Chicago With Some Protestors." New York Times August 23, 1968: 22. Mitchell, Michael C. "Television and The Vietnam War." Naval War College Review 37.3 (1989): 42-52. Nixon, Richard. No More Vietnams. New York: Arbor House, 1985. Roberts, Steven V. "McCarthy Group Seeks to Put Antiwar Candidate on Ballot." New York Times August 22, 1968: 1. "The Parties Respond." New York Times March 17, 1968: E12. "Violence of Police Decried by Callers." New York Times August 29, 1968: 21.

Love and Licorice :: essays research papers

In order for a relationship between a man and a woman to flourish and grow, both people should be reasonably mature and honest with one another. Their goals in life should be similar. Otherwise, it is difficult to maintain a substantial base in the partnership, and inevitably, it will wither and die. Hemingway ¡Ã‚ ¯s "Hills Like White Elephants" is a very short story covering less than forty minutes in the lives of the two main characters. It doesn ¡Ã‚ ¯t take long, however, to discover that the relationship between them is not particularly deep or meaningful. Jig and her lover lead a nomadic life, spending nights here and there, as the labels on their luggage indicate. All they really do, she laments, is "look at things and try new drinks." They bicker childishly; when he warns her to "cut it out," she retorts, "you started it." In an attempt to make clever conversation, she observes aloud that the line of hills off in the distance "look[s] like white elephants." Instead of trying to make her feel "bright," Jig ¡Ã‚ ¯s companion tells her flatly, he ¡Ã‚ ¯s "never seen one." Annoyed by his lack of imagination, she attacks with "no, you wouldn ¡Ã‚ ¯t have." It seems that they must really "try" hard to "have a fine time." This is not a mature relationship. Nor is it honest. Rather than admit the fact that he doesn ¡Ã‚ ¯t want the responsibility of a baby, Jig ¡Ã‚ ¯s lover tries to flatter her by saying, "I don ¡Ã‚ ¯t want anybody but you." He also avoids taking any blame for their faltering relationship. After all, being pregnant is "the only thing" that has made them unhappy. He makes light of the abortion by telling her, "It ¡Ã‚ ¯s not really an operation" and that it ¡Ã‚ ¯s "perfectly simple," even "natural." Of course, she "doesn ¡Ã‚ ¯t" have to if she "doesn ¡Ã‚ ¯t want to," but he knows that it ¡Ã‚ ¯s "the best thing to do." Best for whom, I wonder. Jig really thinks she ¡Ã‚ ¯s ready to settle down and have a child, or she wouldn ¡Ã‚ ¯t be struggling so hard with the question of abortion. She too has trouble approaching the problem honestly. When she announces "I ¡Ã‚ ¯ll do it because I don ¡Ã‚ ¯t care about me," she ¡Ã‚ ¯s hoping that he ¡Ã‚ ¯ll feel guilty and change his mind. When he continues to resist, she tries to cut the conversation off: "I ¡Ã‚ ¯ll scream," she threatens. Jig is beginning to realize that life may not turn out the way she had planned.

Roxanne Quimby

Why Is Roseanne Glumly successful? Roseanne is successful because she saw an opportunity to create something and went for it. She was persistent and dedicated to selling Burst's Bees products. She was a hard-worker, putting in 20-hour workdays. Her moneymaking skills helped her and her two children to survive. She has always felt that she was entrepreneurial because she was always in control.Reason's traits of being so debt-averse and cash aware helped drive the company to success, not having to rely on retailers that don't ay their bills within the 30 day limit. The company was completely debt-free, Roseanne never had a credit card, and they never took out a loan. She found a partner that was â€Å"on the same wavelength† as her who was more risk-averse than she was and had great ideas. Their partnership helped to grow Burst's Bees. 2. Life Style vs.. High Potential Venture. Your opinion on this?I think this Is a high potential venture, especially with the number of people lo oking for more natural products. The increase in consumers who are more aware of what they eat, where hey shop, and the ingredients that are in the products have increased exponentially. So, actually, this product caters to lifestyle as well. The venture has numerous possibilities and the product lines that could be created are endless. 3. Location Issues. Maine Vs.. North Carolina. Please list advantages and disadvantages.Maine (Advantages) * The business existed In the minds of the Maine employees; everyone had a mark on the process * cheap labor ($5 wages for the 44 employees – all welfare Moms) * Cheap land ($100/acre) Cheap rent for the schoolhouse (production plant) – $150 for the year (that was lust for the fire insurance) * Very few expenses ; No phone line -? so they were able to convince the local health food store to take messages for their orders Maine (Disadvantages) * High Transport Costs (Its location was too far from metropolitan areas; shipping and rec eiving were expensive) * High Payroll Taxes (being taxed 10% of payroll due to 20% unemployment) * Lack of Expertise (unskilled workers) * If the business stayed in Maine, Roseanne would have stunted its growth

Analysis of Online Article

Student Name LING 305W Project #1 Final Draft – Handout 23 February 2012 Genre Analysis of the Online Article, ‘Superfoods’ Everyone Needs Genre: online article Author: Susan Seliger Target Audience: variety of ages; healthy people, healthy cooks, people who want to eat better, people with illnesses, diseases, or other health ailments Article Title: ‘Superfoods’ Everyone Needs Source: www. webmd. com Date: February 2007 Author’s claim: â€Å"A healthy diet incorporating a variety of†¦ superfoods will help you maintain your weight, fight disease, and live longer. (para. 4) My analysis tool: COLFV model, which stands for five elements—content, organization, language, format, and values Blueberries—one of the superfoods Seliger describes. Source: www. sciencedaily. com My claim: Using the COLFV model to analyze the genre of this informative online article, I find that Seliger effectively uses organization, language, and values; however, the content and format of the text could be improved. CONTENT: Feature 1 – Percentages * In reference to the outside source, Elizabeth Somer, Seliger includes percentages. I’d say about 50%-70% of suffering could be eliminated by what people eat and how they move: heart disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension can all be impacted. † (para. 3) * By including these percentages, the reader can easily refer to them in the text. * Percentages make the comment more tangible. Feature 2 – Comparisons * The author compares age with calcium levels for adults (para. 12). For example, the author includes: â€Å"Age 9-18 – 1300mg; age 19-50 – 1000mg; age 51 and over – 1200mg,† in bullet point format on separate lines. These comparisons by age and level of calcium help readers find which level fits them. * These comparisons are important, however, the ages are limited to adults. Albeit the first group includes children from ages 9-18 , it can be useful for readers to be informed about the levels for younger children. ORGANIZATION: Feature 1 – Classification * Seliger classifies each highlighted superfood in the subheadings. For example, blueberries are the â€Å"antioxident superfood† (above para. 5) whereas tea lowers cholesterol and inhibits cancer (above para. 1). * These classifications help distinguish the beneficial properties of each superfood. Feature 2 –Expansion * Describing the preferred form of beans to purchase for the superfood, fiber, Seliger cites Dr. Ann Kulze (para. 10). Kulze expands beyond the dried, fresh and frozen form of beans by mentioning that consumers should try to avoid canned beans as they contain high amounts of sodium usually. LANGUAGE: Feature 1 – Informal * The author uses vocabulary like â€Å"guess what? † (para. 1) and â€Å"yummiest† (above para. 3). * Seliger does a great job of connecting to her more general audience by using infor mal vocabulary. This shows readers that an expert, like Seliger, is more similar to them. Feature 2 – Acronyms * â€Å"ECGC† is described as a powerful antioxident by the author (para. 11). * Including acronyms can help reduce reading time for readers. * This particular acronym is not defined by each of its letters. This leaves members of the target audience to search for its definition or to overlook it. FORMAT: Feature 1 – Subheadings â€Å"Soy – Superfood to Lower Cholesterol† (above para. 9) and â€Å"Calcium† (above para. 12) are two of the subheadings used by Seliger. * Subheadings nicely guide the reader to the specific content. Specifically, each superfood receives its own section with a subheading and a paragraph description. Feature 2 – Bullet points * Fourteen items (superfoods) after the fourth paragraph and the comparisons by age after the twelfth paragraph receive their own lines with bullet points. * Bullet points help a reader quickly and easily follow emphasized text. Seliger does a great job of including the fourteen superfoods with bullet points as it resembles a shopping list. In fact, a reader could potentially print this portion of the article and refer to the bulleted items as a shopping list at the supermarket. * The comparisons could be enhanced for better reader interpretation if the content were inserted into a table or graph rather than in bullet points. The reader could refer to a visual such as a table more easily and compare each age group side-by-side. VALUES: Feature 1 – The author and the target audience share the same interest in good health. â€Å"A healthy diet incorporating a variety of the following superfoods will help you maintain your weight, fight disease, and live longer. † (para. 4) * For the readers (as described in the target audience on page one of this handout), this line directly connects the benefits of eating superfoods. Feature 2 – The aut hor and the audience share the same understanding that health can be improved. * The author refers to Somer in regards to an additional benefit of Omega 3s being a depression reducer (para. 7). * For the target audience, additional benefits support Seliger’s plea to eat superfoods. Reference Seliger, Susan.

Managing High Growth Brand-Starbucks

Submitted To Mahbub Hossain Course: brand and product management American International University – Bangladesh (AIUB) Submitted By Khan Samara Salsabeel #07-09162-2 . | | Mr. Mahbub Hossain Course Instructor Brand and Product Management, sec-A Subject: STARBUCKS CORPORATION: Managing high growth brand. Dear Sir, We are grateful to you for giving us the chance to work on this case study.We would also like to express gratitude to you for your gracious cooperation and valuable guidance for preparing the report. Sincerely, Khan Samara Salsabeel (07-09162-2) Sadia Rezwana (07-09013-2) Kazi Masum (08-09933-1) Mohammad Abdul Kader (08-11783-2) In 1971, Seattle entrepreneurs Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker and Zev Siegl first opened Starbucks in Pike Place Market. At that time, Country’s major coffee brands were engaged in price war, therefore they were forced to use cheaper beans in their blends to reduce costs.As a result there was a decline in coffee consumption. To harness t he potential of the gourmet coffee trend in the Seattle area, the founders of Starbucks experimented with the new concept of a store dedicated to selling only the finest coffee beans and coffee brewing machines. This emphasis on quality whole-bean coffee retail was fairly unique. Starbucks placed quality as its top priority. The Starbucks management dedicated a great deal of their time and financial resources to establishing strong relationships with coffee growers from around the world.In 1982, Howard Schultz, current CEO of Starbucks recognized that the conservative business plans of early Starbucks management hindered the company from reaching other potential coffee lovers. Hence he transformed Starbucks from a coffee retailer into a cafe business. He had a vision of expanding the scope and reach of the Starbucks brand. In addition to selling only ‘best of class’ coffee, Starbucks worked to fill its stores with only the highest quality of everything, from coffee maki ng equipment to the fixtures and furnishings to the music and artwork.Each Starbucks store is carefully designed to enhance the quality of everything the customer see, touch, hear, smell or taste. The stores are designed in such a manner that it gives a warm, inviting environment essential for giving Starbucks a pleasurable coffee centered experience. The keys for success for Starbucks in building the brand are: 1. Starbucks was the first to introduce Coffee house with premium coffee to American market. 2. Consistent premium coffee. 3. It placed quality as its top priority. 4. Starbucks established strong relationships with coffee growers from around the world. . Formation of dynamic management team with highly innovative and creative employees. 6. Profitable partnerships and joint ventures with some of the nation’s strongest corporations such as Host Marriott, United Airlines, Pepsi Co, Dryers and others. Brand values of Starbucks: 1. Top priority is the quality of its produ cts 2. Premium coffee experience 3. value simplicity over technology 4. Investing in innovation 5. Employees as partners and viewed as the most important assets of the corporation. The sources of equity of Starbucks are Brand awareness and brand image.Brand awareness and image are collectively known as brand knowledge. Brand awareness has been established through word-of mouth, partnership and selective and fruitful location of Starbucks outlets. Brand image is established through: 1. premium coffee beans 2. brewing techniques 3. store designs, artwork and music 4. Consistently good customer service 5. Classy, romantic atmosphere with consistent store design that meets five senses. Pivotal to Starbucks high growth strategy was the carefully planned expansion of its specialty coffee stores to new markets throughout North America and eventually worldwide.Hence geographical market expansion, joint ventures and partnerships are some of the strategies the corporation followed to grow the brand. However these strategies had both merits and demerits for Starbucks which have been discussed later in the report. There are several things which are needed for a corporation to become a world class global brand which are also discussed in the report. For Starbucks to become a world class global brand, it must overcome some major hurdles. In addition to hurdles, Starbucks has many challenges which they need to meet in terms of American market. All these are discussed in detail in the report. SI |DESCRIPTION |PAGE | |01 |Objective Of The Report |07 | |02 |Methodology of The Report |08 | |03 |Limitation Of The Report |09 | |04 |Starbucks Corporation At A Glance |11 | |05 |Success Keys For Starbucks In Building Brand |12-13 | |06 |Starbucks’ Brand Values |14 | |07 |Sources Of Equity For Starbucks |15 | |08 |Evaluation Of Starbucks’ Growth Strategy |16-18 | |09 |Starbucks’ Challenges In Becoming A World Class Brand. 19 | |10 |Recommendation |20 | |11 |Conclusion |21 | |12 |Reference/Bibliography |22 | 1. It reflects a brief description of the corporation. 2. To know the following: †¢ Success keys for Starbucks †¢ Starbucks’ brand values †¢ Starbucks’ sources of equity †¢ Starbucks’ growth strategies †¢ Starbucks’ hurdles and challenges in becoming a world-class brand. We have collected almost all data from the case study. Moreover, we have collected data from Annual Report published by the corporation. Reference books, study materials and the internet were also of great aid for the preparation of the report.The first and foremost limitation was the time constraints. Gathering information on various aspects of the corporation was quite difficult. This is the reason we could not go to the in depth analysis within the limited time frame. In less than a decade, Starbucks was transformed from a fledgling whole bean coffee retail chain into a globally recognized brand. In 2002, Sta rbucks was comprised of more than 5400 stores located throughout North America, Latin America, the Pacific Rim, Europe and the Middle East. Growth of the corporation’s coffee retail business continued at a steady pace of one store opening a day on average, and annual revenue for 2001 topped $2. 7 billion.Moreover, joint ventures with some of the nation’s strongest corporations including Pepsi, Kraft, Dryer’s and Capitol Records, allowed Starbucks to launch a lucrative consumer product division to complement its cafe business. Licensing partnerships with other companies such as United Airlines, ITT Sheraton and Host Marriott further added to the growth of the Starbucks brand. Indeed, Starbucks rose to become one of the most impressive high growth brands in the 1990s. Despite this remarkable growth, some questioned whether Starbucks began to lose focus as the company strove to constantly reinvent itself. Critics wondered if perhaps the brand grew too quickly rapid ly to remain focused on its core values and business objectives.In less than a decade Starbucks was transformed from a fledgling whole bean coffee retail chain into a globally recognized brand. By 2002 Starbucks was comprised of more that 5400 stores located throughout North America, Latin America the Pacific Rim, Europe and the Middle East. There were some success keys which accelerated the growth of the company, some of which are given below: 1. The company had a strong and dynamic management team. The creative and highly innovative team monitored the problems of the customer and the employees. They also found out effective solutions to the problems the company encountered at different stages of its operation.In other words, the key to the company’s success and widespread appeal among loyal customers had always been the employees, whose knowledge and dedication attracted customers to continue returning to the store. 2. joint ventures with some of the nation’s stronge st corporations including Pepsi, Kraft, Dryer’s and Capitol Records, allowed Starbucks to launch a lucrative consumer product division to complement its cafe business . 3. Licensing partnerships with some other companies such as united airlines ITT Sheraton and host Marriott further added to the growth of the brand. 4. Use of improved and new technology was another key to the success of the brand. This made it easier for the company to maintain the quality of the products.Innovations such as the FlavorLock bags prevented harmful air and moisture from seeping into the coffee thereby preserving the quality and saving the company from much more significant costs. 5. Starbucks was the first to introduce Coffee house with premium coffee to American market. 6. It placed quality as its top priority. To distinguish their coffee from the bland and tasteless store brands, Starbucks only purchased Arabica beans from a carefully selected network of suppliers across the globe, from places like Sumatra, Kenya, Ethiopia and Costa Rica. Arabica beans were selected because the bean’s chemistry is such that it can withstand high roasting temperatures, resulting in richer flavor. 7. Starbucks established strong relationships with coffee growers from around the world.Starbucks sought vendors who sold products that would protect and even enhance the arabica’s flavor. This required the formation of partnerships across the globe with coffee brewing equipment suppliers who provided products that captured the essence of the coffee brewing tradition. The brand values of the company are given below: 1. The company placed quality at its top priority they emphasized on quality and never compromised with it. The Starbucks founders realized that if they wanted to enhance Seattle’s appreciation for fine coffee, they had to provide the best ingredients and brewing equipment to ensure that customers had the most enjoyable coffee experiences possible. 2.Employees are viewed as the most important assets and partners of the corporation. They were adequately educated and trained to provide the best customer service. The knowledge and dedication of the employees attracted customers to continue returning to the stores. The employees played a vital role. This is because word-of-mouth publicity can only be achieved if the company continues to recruit and retain talented individuals who can lead the company to new markets and communicate Starbucks’ strong values to the communities who knew little about the brand. 3. Another brand value for Starbucks was investing in innovation. It made easier for the company to maintain the quality of the products.Innovations such as the Flavor Lock bags prevented harmful air and moisture from seeping into the coffee thereby preserving the quality and saving the company from much more significant costs. The source of equity for Starbucks is Brand knowledge. Brand knowledge is the key to create brand equity becau se it creates differential effect that drives brand equity. Brand knowledge has two components: †¢ Brand awareness †¢ Brand image – Brand image is the impression in the consumers’ mind of a brand’s total personality. Brand awareness is again consists of: †¢ Brand recognition – relates to consumers ability to confirm prior exposure to the brand when given the brand as a cue. †¢ Brand recall – Relates to consumers’ ability to retrieve the brand from memory when given the product category.Brand awareness for the company has been established through word-of mouth, new channels partnerships and selective and fruitful location for Starbucks outlets. Brand image is established through: †¢ premium coffee beans †¢ brewing techniques †¢ store designs, artwork and music †¢ Consistently good customer service †¢ Classy, romantic atmosphere with consistent store design that meets five senses. Starbuck’s growth strategy mainly comprised of Geographical Market Expansion, Diversification and Partnerships. Pivotal to Starbuck’s high-growth strategy was the carefully planned expansion of its specialty coffee stores to new markets throughout North America and eventually worldwide.The first phase of the Starbucks expansion strategy focused on securing a major foothold in the Pacific Northwest while experimenting in other key markets that were farther away, but had a high potential for rapid growth in cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Washington, D. C. Successful expansion throughout Florida, Hawaii and Tokyo showed that fine coffee could be a hit in warmer climates as well as in the cold cities. The Starbucks management team agreed of the company’s massive expansion program by owning the operation by itself instead of pursuing franchising. This was a smart move because franchising runs the risk of a possibility of ruining the brand’s ima ge to some extent. Other disadvantages of franchising are: †¢ Franchisees are self-employed there may be problems in ensuring that they all adhere to the operational methods that are designed to achieve uniformity.Failure by an individual franchisee will reflect badly on the whole franchise operation. †¢ The franchisee may have different objectives from those of the franchisor. In the long run, they may begin to resent the control exercised by the franchisor. This may cause problems in terms of ‘policing the franchisee’ Diversification means developing new products for new markets. Some of the reasons why it is advantageous for companies like Starbucks are: †¢ Diversification promises to be especially profitable †¢ To avoid dependence on a single product †¢ To strengthen existing products by synergy †¢ To compete on all points with a rival firm †¢ To take advantage of byproducts.Although diversification strategy is risky, the company r uns the risk of neglecting the existing products and introduces new products to new markets which are a desperate move. Starbucks diversified with new products namely †¢ Frappuccino, a popular bottled cold coffee beverage using extracts from Starbucks famous Arabica beans. Frappuccino put the Starbucks brand into supermarkets for the first time. †¢ In November 1999, Starbucks launched Barista Aroma thermal coffeemaker which was positioned as a ‘durable, convenient and consistent way to brew coffee. †¢ Two new lines of proprietary products were launched in 1999: chocolates and hot cider. †¢ Starbucks also introduced a line of coffee blends, called Milder Dimensions that aimed at capturing demand for lighter roasted coffees. Starbucks purchased Tazo Tea, an Oregon tea retailer, indicated a potential new trend for Starbucks to acquire companies as a means extending product lines. With Tazo Tea, Starbucks hoped to attract new customers who were looking alternat ives to coffee. With Starbuck’s geographical market expansion proceeding at a phenomenal rate and with much success, many companies across the country began to approach Starbucks with partnership proposals. But selecting the wrong partner company or the wrong product to introduce with a partner could have devastating consequences for the brand. As a result, Starbucks entered into partnerships with companies who maintained the same commitments to quality such as Kraft, Dryer’s, Pepsi, Host Marriott, and United Airlines.These partnership arrangements provided the company with a number of benefits given below: †¢ Increased brand awareness †¢ Broader range of potential customers †¢ Exposing to new customers helped the company to cultivate stronger brand image †¢ Partnership is a way so that consumers regard Starbucks as a world class brand. †¢ Partnership resulted in innovative product development. †¢ The Dryer’s joint venture with Star bucks led to the creation of six popular Starbucks coffee ice cream flavors that are marketed under the Starbucks name but produced and distributed by Dryer’s. Sales of these ice creams surpassed others such as Haagen-Dazs and increased to 54% in the year becoming the market leader. By partnering with Kraft, the second largest packaged-foods company in North America, Starbucks was able to benefit from Kraft’s extensive distribution network. The Kraft partnership also left the door open for Starbucks to explore the possibility of marketing food products with the help of Kraft’s distribution and marketing expertise. Despite of the above benefits the partnerships were providing to Starbucks, they also had problems: †¢ There was a risk that the partner companies will not maintain the same quality, customer service and commitments because Starbucks was allowing an outside source to brew its coffee. †¢ Staffs and bartenders may not be well trained and may no t provide adequate information to customers regarding Starbucks. In case, bad tasting coffee was being served to thousands of customers, then the brand would develop a negative connotation. For the above problems, Starbucks were able to solve these problems so that Starbucks’ brand image would be harmed in the partnerships. The partnering companies were quick to remedy coffee quality problems by working with Starbucks to install more effective filtering devices in aircraft brewing equipment, and to better educate staffs of the partnering companies on how to protect on how to protect the quality of the coffee. Therefore, since Starbucks could overcome the problems, partnerships have proved to be beneficial.To make Starbucks a world-class global brand the followings are needed: †¢ Production and distribution (saving costs and coffee quality). †¢ Marketing costs ( packaging and promotion ) †¢ Power and scope ( credibility, acceptance, social status, high quality, etc ) †¢ Consistency in brand image. †¢ Sustainability of core competences †¢ Uniformity ( controlling and coordination ) The hurdles which Starbucks must overcome are given below: †¢ Consumer needs and wants in different cultures. People in different countries may have different coffee drinking behavior and coffee consumption. †¢ Consumer response of marketing mix (attitudes and opinions). †¢ Legal environment (different labor policies between countries). Administrative procedures. In terms of American market, Starbuck’s biggest challenges are: †¢ Biggest threat : Dunkin’ Donuts †¢ Increasing of direct competitors †¢ Aggressive global marketing strategies †¢ Focus on overseas growth and brand development Despite Starbuck’s remarkable growth, it began to lose focus as the company stove to constantly reinvent itself. The brand was growing too rapidly to remain focused on its core values and business objectives. St arbucks developed non related or other products, such as in November 1999 it launched Barista Aroma Thermal coffeemaker which was positioned as a durable, convenient and consistent way to brew coffee.In case of this coffeemaker the problems were, it was blocking the sightline and the traditional coffee taste was being lost. Hence in this case it can be recommended for semi-automated coffee machines and designing of proper layout for the coffee machines so that the machines do not block the sightlines. It also launched non related products such as custom made CDs and other entertainment products. Although these have the advantages of increased brand awareness, improved brand image and enhanced parent brand, these products have the demerits of losing brand identity, core values and the company may end up with frustrated and confused customers.So it can be recommended to pull out unrelated diversification and focus on being number one in the coffee business. Starbucks’ meteoric rise from a tiny local retailer to an international coffee powerhouse as one of the great success stories in American business in the last decade. The fact that Starbucks’ garnered such media and investor attention in the midst of the Information Age without an ounce of ‘tech’ in its product made this growth all the more remarkable. Incredibly, Starbucks achieved its market leader position largely without aid from advertising campaigns. Instead, the company built the brand by relying on the quality of their products and services to induce free word-of-mouth ‘advertising’ from customer to customer.As Starbucks’ continued to push for new product innovations and business opportunities as a way to differentiate itself from its competitors, the company ran the risk of straying too far from its original focus of spreading its passion for fine coffee. The ballooning size of the corporation suggested that the quality of Starbucks’ products and services, and the strength of the company’s relationships with its most valued people, would need to be closely monitored. A larger, global Starbucks’ had to find the right balance in pursuing product- driven, people- driven, value- driven and sales- driven objectives. www. starbucks. com www. hoovers. com www. businessweek. com Strategic Brand Management, Keller, 2006 Best Practice Cases in Branding written by K. L. Keller ———————– STARBUCKS |BRAND & PRODUCT MANAGEMENT | Acknowledgement Executive Summary Table of Contents Objective of the Report Methodology of the Report Limitation of the report Starbucks at a glance STARBUCKSSuccess keys for Starbucks’ in brand building Brand values of Starbucks’ SRAR Sources of Equity Growth Strategies Starbucks- A Global Brand Recommendation Conclusion STARBUCKS | |STARBUCKS | [pic] References STARBUCKSssS STARBUCKS STARBUCKS STARBUCKS STARBUCKS STARBUCKS STARBU CKS STARBUCKS STARBUCKS STARBUCKS STARBUCKS STARBUCKS STARBUCKS STARBUCKS ———————– Brand & Product Management

Facebook Comments Essay

The National Labor Relations Board’s most recent decision demonstrates that not all employee social media posts are protected by the National Labor Relations Act. Questions remain, however, about the extent to which employees can be disciplined over social media activity We can expect the NLRB to continue to address the topic of employee rights as they relate to social media. Employers should review their employee handbooks and employment policies to ensure compliance with the NLRA and the NLRB’s jurisprudence. Employers should also consider training managers about permissible and prohibited conduct under the NLRA. Finally, employers should consider conducting their own education programs, including reminding employees of social media policies. 1. DOES AN EMPLOYEEE HAS ANY LEGAL RIGHT TO DESCIPLINE OR DISCHARGE AN EMPLOYEE OVER COMMENT ABOUT THE COMPANY? In my opinion addressing employee terminations resulting from Facebook posts, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) determines that the comments were concerted activity protected by the National Labor Relations Act (NRLA or Act). This latest decision reinforces that employers must exercise caution before terminating or disciplining employees as a result of their comments on social media. The answer is no. Employers should take note of the NLRB’s continued focus on social media policies and its view of social media activity as akin to water cooler conversation. The decision should prompt all employers to evaluate their policies regarding employee social media usage and speech outside the workplace. Employers should also train supervisory personnel on how to respond to the increased use of social media. 2. would you willing to settle the charges voluntarily; would you do so or insist on legal right to a formal NLRB HEARING ON THE CHARGES? I would insist on my legal right to a formal hearing with the NLRB. The NLRB’s main concern is that any restrictions employers put on workers’ social media conduct do not violate their rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act to engage in protected concerted activity, such as discussing the terms and conditions of their employment with co-workers, even on Facebook. But that does not mean you have to let your employees run amok online. Your policy is more likely to survive scrutiny if you have made an effort to provide specific examples of what is and is not acceptable conduct. Here are some examples from the recent guidance on social media policies that are employee-tested, NLRB-approved: †¢Prohibiting â€Å"harassment, bullying, discrimination or retaliation,† even at home or after business hours. †¢Informing workers that they are â€Å"more likely† to resolve complaints by speaking with co-workers or going through the company, rather than posting grievances online. †¢Forbidding â€Å"inappropriate postings,† specifically threats of violence or discriminatory remarks. †¢Instructing employees not to reveal trade secrets or confidential information, as long as you detail the kind of information you mean, so there’s no chance of the policy being read to restrict Section 7 rights. 3. DID THE COMPANY COMMIT UNFAIR LABOR ACT? An employee was discharged lawfully after posting negative comments on Facebook critical of patient care, because the employee’s postings were merely an expression of individual gripes, as opposed to protected concerted activity. In this case, at least several coworkers responded to the posting; however, their messages reflected that the posting was individual and not group activity. The NLRB also rejects a policy requiring company approval for employees to identify themselves as employees on social networking sites or requiring the employees to state that their comments are their personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the employer’s opinions. Not surprisingly, the NLRB also found it is unlawful to discharge any employee pursuant to an overbroad social media policy prohibiting disclosure of private or confidential information of another employee because the policy did not provide guidance on what the employer considered confidential. This is how I feel it was unfair labor act: †¢Ã¢â‚¬â€šA policy prohibiting employees from making disparaging comments when discussing the employer or its supervisors was unlawful because the policy did not make clear that it did not prohibit protected concerted activity. †¢Ã¢â‚¬â€šThe discharge of a paramedic i who posted demeaning comments concerning her employer’s clientele was lawful because there was no evidence of protected concerted activity: the comments did not mention any terms or conditions of employment, the posting was not discussed with any coworkers, and the comments were not for the purpose of inducing group activity or an outgrowth of collective concerns of the employee or her coworkers. The NLRB’s recent report provides helpful guidance to employers not wishing to become potential NLRB cases, including the following:†¢Ã¢â‚¬â€šCommunications that are not concerted are generally not protected. However, the cases highlight that a finding of concerted activity might turn on evidence not readily available to the employer, so caution is warranted. †¢Ã¢â‚¬â€šCommunications that are concerted (i.e., that are not merely an individual gripe) on matters of mutual concern to employees are likely to be found to be protected by the NLRA. †¢Ã¢â‚¬â€šCommunications that are protected do not become unprotected simply because the comments are communicated via the Internet and/or because they might be read by nonemployees as well. †¢Ã¢â‚¬â€šCommunications that are protected do not become unprotected just because they contain some critical (about the employer) or otherwise objectionable language. †¢Ã¢â‚¬â€šAn association policy that, reasonably interpreted, would tend to â€Å"chill† employees in the exercise of their rights under the NLRA is likely to be found unlawful by the NLRB if it is challenged. Given this new focus on social media, employers should: 1) Review their relevant employment policies to ensure that they are not overbroad and do not constitute potential unfair labor practices. 2) Proceed cautiously when determining whether to discipline an employee because of his or her comments in postings on Facebook, Twitter or other social media.