Evaluation of film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Evaluation of film - Essay Example This paper will evaluate the movie and its themes which talk about many emotional, moral, and deep decisions and thoughts. The Dark Knight is considered to be a masterpiece created by Nolan. The 2 hours long journey depicts an amazing story which is surrounded with the absolutely thoughtful creation of Nolan’s work. With powerful marketing and plenty of moral messages in the film, it proved to be one of the biggest blockbusters of all time. The strong story leads to how the hero can often be in moral and emotional trouble and how decision making can be made tough as there’s a thin line between the good and evil. The role of the Joker is that of a ruthless villain, he cares for nothing and no one, not even himself. His character is the one which keeps reminding Batman that there are no rules to the game. He creates chaos everywhere, likes to question everything, and pushes everyone to extremes. He is unpredictable and unreasonable, and he doesn’t have any planned goals except to cause destruction and chaos. The Joker is not seen as any other villain. Throughout the movie, he gives the audience the belief that he is just someone who is coming out of his personal space. Not only does he not have any plans or goals, but he doesn’t even define to the moral code of criminals. This character has no values. Even though the character of the Joker is very influential and makes the movie complete, the character of Batman isn’t ignorable. Batman is strong and masculine; he never gives in to his inner urges. He is seen in a tough position when he has to fight a man who has no rules or values. However, he refuses to take the wrong path which would lead him to the Joker and rather maintains his own moral code. Batman does not believe in killing the criminals, instead he brings them to justice. Thus, even when the Joker is standing in front of him shouting ‘kill me’, Batman does not break his moral code which costs him his capture. The fight

Factors afecting enzyme activity Essay Example for Free

Factors afecting enzyme activity Essay Below is a table of result which I obtained when conducting these experiments. Time (s) Amount of gas given off using 1cm3 of liver suspension and 1cm3 of hydrogen peroxide (cm3) 0. 0 Amount of gas given off using 2cm3 of liver suspension and 3cm3 of hydrogen peroxide(cm3)   Amount of gas given off using 1cm3 of liver suspension and 3cm3 of hydrogen peroxide(cm3) 0 Amount of gas given off using 1cm3 of liver suspension and 4cm3 of hydrogen peroxide(cm3). Amount of gas given off using 1cm3 of liver suspension and 5cm3 of hydrogen peroxide(cm3)   Amount of gas given off using 0. 5cm3 of liver suspension and 5cm3 of hydrogen peroxide(cm3) 0By looking at these results I can see that the best ratio I have tested so far is the ratio of 10:1 (5cm3 hydrogen peroxide to 0. 5 cm3 liver suspension) as it gives me a good spread of results and does not happen so quickly that I cannot take results from it. I obtained a 1cm3 syringe with which I could accurately measure to the nearest 0. 02 cm3 I used 0. 2cm3 of liver suspension and 5cm3 of hydrogen peroxide my results are in the table below. Time (s): 0. 0   Amount of gas given off using 0. 2cm3 of liver suspension and 1cm3 of hydrogen peroxide (cm3his ratio gave me good results which I can easily analyse so I have decided to use this ratio in my final experiment. I will use the concentrations 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10% of liver suspension in my experiments as these should give me sensible results. Also, after conducting these experiments I have decided to use a 1cm3 syringe as this will give me accurate results and I have decided to use a gas cylinder rather than a measuring cylinder to collect gas as this is more accurate and easy to read. Fair testing In order to ensure that my results are reliable and accurate I will endeavour to make sure that there is only one variable in all of my experiments. Given that I only wish to test one variable I will make sure that I control all other variables that could affect the amount of gas produced in my experiments. Factors that could affect the results of my experiments are temperature, pH, apparatus and substances. To maintain a constant temperature throughout all my experiments I will conduct all of my experiments with the side arm boiling tube in an electronically heated water bath set at a temperature of 30i C. I have chosen this temperature as it is higher than room temperature so this will not affect it and it is not at a temperature high enough to denature the enzymes. To control pH I will add a pH buffer to the liver suspension buffering the pH at seven. I have chosen seven as it is neutral and therefore should not affect my experiments. I will also test the pH of the liver suspension at the start of each experiment using universal indicator if the paper turns light green I will know the pH is seven. To ensure that my apparatus is in working order I will ensure that I assemble the apparatus well and double check that all connections are well made and are therefore as air tight as possible. This will mean that any all gas produced goes into the gas cylinder and does not escape the apparatus so that my results are accurate. Given that all substance concentration that I will ask for will be mixed by the school biology department I cannot be sure exactly what is in them so unfortunately I will have to trust that all the substances I use are what they should be. Before using any of my substances I will stir them for ten seconds using a glass rod, this is to ensure that there is an even distribution of liver in my suspension so my results are accurate. Also, I will always use the same concentration of 10 vols hydrogen peroxide. Another factor which could affect my results is human error. When I am conducting my experiments it is possible that I could inaccurately measure my substances and I could start the stop clock at the wrong time. To accurately measure all of my substances I have chosen the most accurate apparatus to measure them with. I will measure as closely as is possible with the human eye measuring my liver suspension accurate to the nearest 0. 01cm3 and my hydrogen peroxide to the nearest 0. 1cm3. Also, when injecting my hydrogen peroxide I will inject it as quickly as possible so the full amount is in the boiling tube as soon as possible. I will start the stop clock at the very moment I inject the hydrogen peroxide so my results are accurate. Safety When conducting my experiments it is vital that I take the utmost care to be safe in the laboratory. I will wear safety glasses to protect my eyes as well as tucking my tie into my shirt to avoid it coming into contact with any apparatus or substances. Also, when dealing with hydrogen peroxide I will only remove the stopper from the bottle when I need to use it, I will extract it with a syringe and replace the stopper immediately. I will do this as hydrogen peroxide is highly dangerous and can cause the spontaneous combustion of clothing if applied in high concentrations. Also I will take great care when handling glass equipment and will ensure that all apparatus is properly clamped in place before beginning my experiments. I will be aware of others around me, tidying my apparatus away so it does not pose a danger to others. Also, I will wash my hands after conducting my experiments so as not to leave any dangerous substances on my hands which may be ingested if I put my hands near my mouth. MethodApparatus   A water bath   A trough A side arm boiling tube   A test tube rack   A gas cylinder   A stopwatch   A clamp and retort stand   1x 1cmi syringe   1x 5cmi syringe   A bung with a space for a syringe. Thermometer Diagram Procedure Before conducting any experiments I will ensure that the gas cylinder is full of water with no air bubbles by filling it then placing my thumb over it whilst submersing it in the trough. I will also ensure that the water bath is at a temperature of 30i C. After collecting the listed apparatus I will set it up as in the diagram above. I will then remove the bung and collect a liver suspension. I will begin with a concentration of 2% then proceed to use 4%, 6%, 8% and 10% as well as a control of distilled water. I will firstly take a sample of the solution in a test tube and universal indicator solution to it to in order to monitor the pH of the suspension. I will not add a buffer to control the pH as the chemicals in the buffer could interfere with the reaction and alter my results. I will measure out 0. 2cm3 of the suspension using a 1 cm3 syringe being as accurate as is possible with the naked eye when measuring. I will inject this suspension into the side arm boiling tube and replace the bung. I will then use the 5cm3 syringe to measure out 5cm3 of hydrogen peroxide. I will place the syringe into the bung and ensure that all my apparatus is air tight. I will then quickly inject all of the hydrogen peroxide into the boiling tube whilst simultaneously starting the stop clock. I will then record the amount of gas collected in the gas cylinder at ten second intervals for a period of two minutes. I will then repeat each experiment three times for each concentration of liver. I will record all my results on the table below. After collecting my results I will go on to test a different liver concentration until I have three sets of data for five different concentrations as well as a control. I will then tabulate these results and use the average results for each experiment to plot a graph of my results allowing me to analyse them easily. Taking the average of three experiments for each suspension will give me more reliable results as it will reduce the affect of anomalous results. Also, to ensure that all my tests are fair I will endeavour to use exactly the same conditions for each experiment by maintaining a constant temperature and by measuring all substances as accurately as is possible. I will also ensure that my apparatus is set up in exactly the same way for each experiment. When conducting my experiments I will consider all factors which I discussed in the fair testing section of this project making my results as reliable and accurate as possible. Observations On the next page is a table showing my results for the experiments described in my plan. I will go on to analyse these results in the analysis section. Analysis On the next page is a graph showing volume of gas produced against time for the six concentrations of liver suspension I used in my experiments. Although the graph of my results that I produced may at first appear not to agree with my predicted graph it does in fact indicate that my hypothesis was true. The lines on my graph are in the same positions as I predicted apart from the control graph which was higher than I expected. The lines did not flatten out as I predicted however, I believe this is due to the fact that I used a short time scale and the graphs would have flattened out had I used a longer time scale. I did not use a longer time scale as it would have been pointless given that I am investigating the rate of reaction of several different liver concentrations rather than the rate of reaction changing over time in one concentration of liver. On the whole I am happy with my graphs and I think they verify my hypothesis. My graph for the reaction rate of the 2% liver concentration followed this pattern well. Initially there was a dramatic increase in the amount of gas released. After the first ten seconds this slowed significantly, the amount of gas released still increased but it increased much more slowly and steadily. This was because the catalase broke down the hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen slowly and steadily. The reason for the graph continuously going up slowly throughout the entire two minute period was because there was little catalase compared to hydrogen peroxide meaning that even by the end of the two minutes there was still a lot of hydrogen peroxide which had not been decomposed and so the enzymes were still working at the same rate. I think that if I had let the experiment continue for a longer time period the gradient of the graph would have flattened to zero as all of the hydrogen peroxide would have been decomposed. My line is approximately straight showing me that the reaction rate was roughly the same throughout the experiment however, the gradient is steepest at approximately sixty seconds meaning that the rate was highest here. In order to compare the rates of reaction of all my graphs I will need to calculate the rate of reaction for each graph. I will do this by dividing the amount of oxygen produced by the time taken to produce it. This will give me a rate in cmi of oxygen per second (cmi /s). I have chosen to take the rates of reaction from the points on the graphs after thirty seconds. Although it may seem that the maximum rate is at ten seconds and so I should take this rate I think this is due to the hydrogen peroxide I injected displacing air in the apparatus. I have chosen thirty seconds as I think this is sufficient time for the experiment to have settled after the initial burst of gas and it is not too late that some of the reactions had begun to slow down. The rate of reaction at thirty seconds for the 2% concentration suspension is as follows: 3. 83cmi 30s =0. 13cmi /s (2dp) I chose to take my rates to two decimal places as this is accurate enough for me to analyse my rate graph well and it is not so accurate that it would be difficult to plot on a graph. My graph for the rate of reaction of the 4% concentration liver suspension further supports my hypothesis. It has the same initial increase in gas from when I injected the hydrogen peroxide, it then continues to slope upwards but not as fast as before. As I predicted the 4% graph slopes up at a higher gradient than the 2% solution graph. This can be seen by simply looking at the graph. As predicted the gradient of each line is higher than the one that preceded it. This is because as the concentration of the suspension increases there is more catalase to break down the hydrogen peroxide into its component parts. I will now proceed to compare the gradients and rates of reaction for each concentration. On this graph the gradient of the line and the rate of reaction are the same thing as gradient=change in Y Change in X And rate of reaction=amount of gas produced (change in Y axis) Time (change in x axis) Below is a table showing the rates of reaction for each of my concentrations of catalase including the control experiment of 0% catalase. As before I will take the gradient of the line after thirty seconds. concentration of liver suspension amount of gas produced (cmi ) time (s) rate of reaction (cmi /s). On the next page is a graph of my results, I have plotted concentration of liver suspension against rate of reaction, this will better show my results and will help to verify my hypothesis. As you can see from the graph there is clearly a relationship of proportionality between the rate of reaction and the concentration of liver suspension as I predicted in my hypothesis. I have added a best-fit line to my graph to better show this trend. As I predicted the line is slopes upwards showing that as the concentration of liver suspension increases the rate of reaction increases, this is due to the fact that there was more catalase to collide with the hydrogen peroxide in the higher concentrations. One problem with these results is that my control experiment seems to have a rate of reaction however, this is simply due to the initial burst of gas at the start of the experiment when the hydrogen peroxide that I injected displaced air in my apparatus. Although this effectively means that all of my results are wrong I can still draw sensible conclusions from my graphs as every one of my results had the same displacement of air so when comparing my results this in fact has no effect. If there had been no displacement of air in my apparatus I think this line would have been straight and through the origin showing that rate of reaction and concentration of liver suspension are directly proportional. I will not attempt to subtract the gas displaced by the hydrogen peroxide from my results as this could further magnify any inaccuracies in my experiments and I do not need to in order to draw reliable conclusions from my graph. The conclusion I have come to by looking at my graphs is that my hypothesis was correct. I think that as the concentration of the liver suspension increases so does the rate of reaction proportionally.

Ethnography Essay -- Ethnography

Ethnography Introduction Beginning with the early stages of savagery to the complex civilizations in the 21st century, the need to compete remains an important aspect in the continual evolution of mankind. Competition took various forms throughout history from the bloody attempts to kill a mammoth in order to provide nourishment, to the violent battles between two opposing sides taking place on college football fields every Saturday afternoon. Another form of competition involving severe contact on a scale par with football is the sport of rugby. My personal history with the sport began in a medium sized island in Polynesia. I lived and worked in New Zealand during the summer of 1999, between my sophomore and junior year. This little country hosts a number of different leagues and excels on the world level. I watched numerous matches on the television and in the parks. The first time I watched the national team (the â€Å"All Blacks†) was in a friendly match against New Zealand’s biggest rival, Australia (the â€Å"Wallabies†). I returned to Occidental in late August with an All Blacks jersey and the idea of playing rugby once my soccer season ended. Unfortunately the gods thought it would be better that I hold off on rugby for a year, so they helped me land on my right foot in such a way that I fractured my ankle during one of my last soccer games. The next semester I studied in southern France, specifically a city called Toulouse. The â€Å"Stade Toulousain† is the best club team in France, and has won numerous European club championships. After watching rugby in New Zealand and France, I finally started to play rugby over the course of my senior year. When the opportunity to study a group for my ethnography in â€Å"Anthropology 370†... ...ile too much playfulness is a problem also. The oval ball pictured above exemplifies a sport with many opposing themes and contradictions. With a round ball like soccer, the ball bounces rather consistently. On the other hand, the oval-shaped rugby ball is constantly competing against opposing forces for the specific direction it will travel. Works Cited Appadurai, Arjun. â€Å"Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy.† Global Culture: Nationalization, Globalization, and Modernity. Ed. Mike Featherstone. London: Sage, 1990. 295-319. Bourdieu, Pierre. â€Å"How Can One be a Sports Fan?† The Cultural Studies Reader. Routledge, London. Carruthers, Vanessa. In class discussions. Occidental College. 6 February 2001. â€Å"Rugby.† Encyclopedia Brittanica. Online. Internet. 9 April 2001. Available: http://search.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=114957&sctn=1

Four Problems Bahamian Farmers Face

Farming in The Bahamas has many problems. List and explain FOUR problems the farmers face in The Bahamas. Give suggestions to help the farmers solve these problems Four problems farmers in The Bahamas face First: The problem that most farmers face today is the lack of Farming in knowledge the general public has about modern procedures. Modern farming procedures have less impact on the environment than methods widely used early in the 20th century.Soil erosion inhibitors, soil carbon monitoring, and water conservation and collection have all improved over time. Second: They looked down upon by locals  costs of product (seeds fertilizer etc. ) weather, availability of water, cost of equipment-purchase repair maintain, cost of labor, labor laws, length of time between commitment and maturity of any crop, organic vs. norganic fertilization, bugs As a result of the sheer number of people working the land, the country is under  severe agricultural stress, suffering from a loss of soil fertility and a high degree of erosion. Third: Farmers have trouble growing crops and commonly experience reduced yields – as a result, malnutrition. Abrupt seasonal weather changes, including floods, early frosts and winter blizzards, cause various problems for farmers, including loss of crops and stock. Farming is carried out on small plots throughout most of the islands.Only about 1% of the land area is cultivated. The nature of the terrain limits the scope of farming, which is mainly a household industry. The main crops are vegetable onions  okra and  tomatoes, the last two raised mainly for export. Fourth: They are  lack of fertile soil  so that’s a problem for them to plant good and healthy crops and it’s hard for them to make money and that’s going to be a HUGE problem for them and their country as well. My suggestion to farmers in the Bahamas

How to Improve Our Government Essay

People every day make mistakes, and find flaws in their everyday tasks. No one person in this country can consider his, or herself, perfect. Knowledgeable people do exist in this world though, and our government strives to find and elect these representatives. These representatives then make decisions that affect our country in ways some might find positive, though others perceive as negative. Representatives could make decisions that would only impact our government in a negative way. Our government has its flaws, along with the people running it. I can think of several ways to help to improve the government and its efficiency. A decrease in government funding for our National Defense would increase funding in other important areas. People across our nation need jobs, and are struggling to find a source of income. If we used some of the funding that we attribute to our Nation Defense, then this money might benefit in the use of creating new jobs and opportunities for people. Not only would we have money to provide jobs, but this funding could be used to help create and search for new information in the field of Cancer Research. The government funds provide people that lack occupations and have no source of income, with a reliable way of obtaining money for themselves to provide for his or her, and/or his or her family. These welfare recipients may draw unemployment after applying and meeting the requirements need to obtain this welfare money. These requirements may not be strict enough, which would lead to the allowance of the unemployed to gather money while being lazy in the process. Due to the lack of work ethic found in people, drug use may attribute to this laziness. A requirement may need to be added in order for the recipients to pass a drug test (a test for multiple drugs) in order to draw unemployment, in return saving the wasted money the government provides to the unworthy. The government could invest much of their funding in renewable energy sources. The post installation outcome of these windmills, energy providing dams, etc. would help save money later on in the future. With these funds being provided to help â€Å"Go Green†, the earth itself would take a drastic increase in cleanliness. The government then might avoid conflicts  with foreign nations in the search for the fossil fuels, of which we currently use as energy. Doing this might then allow us to pull our troops out of these foreign nations, saving lives and money provided for the troops. The government has a reliable system that has gotten our country out of some troubled times, and may be one of the most united governments the world has seen. As previously stated though, nothing and no single person is perfect. With these little changes in the way the government goes about, it may impact funding, our unity, and occupations for the people of the United States, allowing people to live and prosper, with freedom and peace throughout.

The Film Transporter 3 and Its Narrative Structure

The Film Transporter 3 and Its Narrative Structure Introduction Film like all other forms of art employs the usage of different elements of narrative to tell a particular story. No two film plots are exactly the same and each director has his/her own way of ensuring that each piece of work he/she is involved in has unique features that link the final product to him/her. This essay seeks to analyze the narrative structure of the film Transporter 3. To this end, a summary of the film story shall be provided and then a well detailed analysis of the structure will follow citing adequate examples of from the film.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Film Transporter 3 and Its Narrative Structure specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Summary of the plot In order to understand the narrative structure of a given film, it is of paramount importance that a clear understanding of the plot be made. In summary, Transporter 3 film is the third installment of the Transporter series in w hich the services of the lead character Frank Martin are enlisted to transport certain items/people from one corner of the world to another. For this last part of the sequel, Frank is kidnapped by an assassin named Johnson and required to transport a certain young girl, Valentina from Marseille to Budapest. He is also to deliver a certain package at the said location and he is made to believe that the package is the primary item he is to deliver. Frank and Valenina are handed bracelets laden with explosives and they are set to go off should they veer off from the car. In a slightly different development some Russian agents have been sent to kill Frank before he can complete his mission. Since Johnson and his men are constantly tracking Frank via GPS, it becomes impossible for the latter to change the course of the journey. Against all odds, though, Frank manages to overcome the challenges that come his way and manages to deliver the girl in Budapest but not before having a romantic session with her. Narrative structure The action film Transporter 3 follows the three act narrative structure. This basically means that it has a setup that introduces the viewer to a given element of conflict before a resolution is arrived at. In this particular film, Frank is forced to transport a certain package alongside a young girl (Valentina) who happens to be the daughter of head of the Environmental Protection Agency for Ukraine, Leonid Vasilev. This is the setup part of the narrative where we are introduced to the element of contention that will result in conflict much later in the film. As the scenes unfold, it becomes clear that Frank had been tricked and that Valentina is the actual â€Å"package† that he is supposed to deliver. Part of the setup aspect is the revelation that Frank and Valentina have been tagged with distance triggered explosives which prevent either of the two from going more than 75 meters from the car. This helps the view understand why the tw o have to contend with each other even though there is initial tension between them.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The conflict aspect of the narrative comes in when Frank has to constantly battle the individuals who hired him to deliver the â€Å"package† and officials from the Russian government who are out to intercept him. The non-cooperation from his passenger Valentina is also a challenge that Frank has to contend with. We see Frank getting annoyed with the girl when she intoxicates herself with drugs and alcohol. This is just one of the numerous times that we see some form of conflict arise between the two travelers. The resolution gradually kicks in when Frank and Valentina develop affection for each other owing to the fact that they have been forced to stay together for an extended period of time. After outwitting all the assailants that are after him by pulling such physically impossible stunts as outrunning a speeding car and safely crashing over two bridges, he arrives at Budapest with the girl in one piece. This brings the film to a settled conclusion whereby the viewers are not able to clearly understand why some characters in the film had to carry themselves in particular ways. The film appears to conform to the model of the classical Hollywood cinema where it has two distinct lines of narrative development, with one element leading us to follow Frank and his passenger as they drive across the black sea while avoiding and dodging the Russian. The other line follows the romantic relationship between the two lead actors (Frank and Valentina) and this develops in its own tempo but parallel to the main goal of the story (Pramagiorre and Wallis 2005, 41). The characters in the narrative generally fall in at least one of the seven spheres of action that have been fronted by the scholar Vladimir Propp (Thury and Devinney 520-521). These seven categories are hero, villain, helper, donor, princess, dispatcher and false hero (Thury and Devinney 520-521). Frank is the accepted hero of the film owing to the fact that he manages to take down his enemies and safely deliver Valentina to her parents. The individuals who forced him on the mission are the dispatchers and they are also very instrumental in the development of the plot since without them the narrative would not have kicked off. Valentina is the princess and she doesn’t do much in the story but wait for the hero to save and protect her from all the individuals that are out to harm her. The Russian agents are the villains and their main role in the film is to basically disrupt the sequence of events by constantly diverting the direction that the story is taking. Like in most Hollywood creations, the villains generally end up losing by the time the film ends.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Film Transporter 3 and Its Narr ative Structure specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The narrative of the film is generally omniscient in the sense that the viewer is able to see all the developments as they unfold (Chatman 1980, 212). The viewer is able to track the movement of the lead character, Frank, and at the same time follow the deliberations of the assailants as they craft ways to get to capture and kill him. This supreme overseer element sustains throughout the film as the narration smoothly transitions to connect the chaser and the chase in some form of explosive conflict. The action in the story is motivated by the fact that like with any other well developed film, there are good and bad guys. The good guy (in this case Frank Martin) is going on with his regular life until things change and he finds himself under the manipulation of the bad guys (Johnson and the Russians). He has to find a way of getting rid of the bad guys hanging over his shoulder once and for al l while at the same time protect all the innocent individuals that he comes in contact with (Valentina). The bad guys on the other hand have their own goals and they take all the necessary steps to ensure that they achieve what they have set to. Their efforts are however not fruitful as the story ends with the good guy having won the challenge and well on his way to his former quiet life. The end of the story however leaves the viewer in a lot of suspense as it is not easy to predict which way the lives of the surviving characters in the story will take. Since the film is but a work of art, there is a general story and a plot to help develop the same story (Aumont 1992, 91). The story is basically an outlining of the challenges that the transporter has to go through in fulfilling his objective of moving a package from Marseille to Budapest. The plot is kicks in with the gradual revelation of what the package is through the various conflicts that happen in the story. The plot and the story are however intertwined in such a way that the viewer cannot distinctly tell them apart. The story ends with the package having been delivered and the plot also reaches a genuine finality with the viewer realizing that the package was the girl, Valentina. In general, all the characters from the story have goals and this is the main reason why they act in the ways they do. Frank, the lead character intends to deliver the package in Budapest and get on with his life while his passenger, Valentina, hopes to get out of the mess that she has found herself in safely. The goal of the Russian agents is to intercept Frank before he gets to his destination and that of the individuals who set him on the mission is to ensure that he delivers the package as instructed. The pursuit of the different goals help drive the story and the regular crossing of the paths of all the characters helps bring out the intended cinematic and dramatic effect. Like with most other films, the story could eas ily have been told with the omission of a number of scenes but in order to give the film some mileage, the creators introduce an element of romance to act as some form of comic relief.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The development of romantic relations between Frank and Valentina has been put in the film ostensibly to give that part of the film a different slow-down to counter the rapid pace that the rest of the film has been hitherto taking. This, of course, also results in the final product getting a few extra minutes on the running time to reduce the element of the audience feeling â€Å"cheated†. In the maintenance of continuity, the editors of the film have to a large extent employed the technique of cross-cutting whereby the viewer is moved from one scene to another spatially unrelated scene in a series of shots (Dancyger 2007, 451). This method puts the viewer is in a position to understand that the scenes in question are separate but the happenings are parallel and related to each other. The match-on-action technique of continuity editing has also been used particularly in scenes that are heavy with action sequences. This is a technique that basically requires that a shot picks up immediately where the preceding shot had left (Bordwell 1985, 293). For instance, in the scenes where Frank crashes off bridges, the progression of shots used emphasizes the distance that the car jumps and the general effect of the impact. This technique has also been utilized in the shooting and fight scenes in order to weave the unfolding of evens as one piece of the story. Conclusion Each film is an independent work of art and it will tend to have unique structure particularly in terms of the narrative element and this will primarily depend on the choices made by the creator. This essay has analyzed the narrative structure of the film Transporter 3 by providing an assessment of the general narrative, a review of the shot techniques and has also studied elements of characters and characterization that are applicable for this film. Various forms of literature have been used to provide the background for assessment of the movie particularly in explaining the theories behind film narrative structure. Reference List Aumont, Jacques. 1992. Aesthetics of film. Texas: Texas University Press. Bordwell, David. 1985. Narration in the fiction film. Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press. Chatman, Seymour. 1980. Story and discourse: narrative structure in fiction and film.  New York: Cornell University Press. Dancyger, Ken. 2007. The technique of film and video editing: history, theory, and  practice. Massachusetts: Focal Press. Pramagiorre, Maria and Tom Wallis. 2005. Film: a critical introduction. London: Laurence King Publishers. Thury, Eva and Margaret Devinney. 2005. Introduction to mythology: contemporary  approaches to classical and world myths. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

American Comedy Through Out the Decades Essays

American Comedy Through Out the Decades Essays American Comedy Through Out the Decades Essay American Comedy Through Out the Decades Essay American Comedy Throughout the Decades American comedy films are one of the oldest genres in which the main point is purely focused on humor. From silent films of the early 1920s to modern classics such as The Hangover, American comedies have transformed though out the years. American comedies became popular as a way of escape from reality in the 1920s. It was a way to bring out humor and laughter from the audience watching these films. American comedies would take serious social issues like racial and ethnic issues, immigrants, male and female relationships and differences in social and economic class and use these issues as their material for comedies. American comedies used their exaggeration of situations to amuse the audience. There are many different types of American comedies and they have changed dramatically though out the years. The silent film era was a massive part of the history of American comedies. Silent films took silent comedians and used their exaggerations of body language and humorous story lines and transformed them into stories to amuse the audience. The two most predominate actors in the silent film era were Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. With the introduction of slapstick comedy, where use of physical comedy involving exaggerated, energetic actions, violence, and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense, actors such as Chapin and Keaton rose to the top of the entertainment industry. Movies like â€Å"The General† by Buster Keaton, allowed for a different element of comedy. Instead of Keaton always interacting with a human costar he would have relationships with machines, which lead to a more interactive experience because he would play off of the machine and it would engage the audience even more. â€Å"More often then not, Keaton’s comic costar was a machine†¦Keaton’s Relationships with machines often proved more harmonious than those with human costars†¦Ã¢â‚¬  described John Belton, author of American Cinema American Culture. Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton mastered the art of slapstick comedy by transforming it into a form of self-expression. One movie that brought back the nostalgia of silent movies was The Artist, which was a silent film that came out in 2011. The Artist took a modern approach on a silent film, which included some slapstick comedy, and you can clearly see the inspiration from Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. When sound was introduced into movies there was quite a transformation. Screwball comedy grew as the sound in movies became more obtainable. Screwball comedies took the idea of slapstick comedies but incorporated verbal word play in it. Comedies such as â€Å"Some like it Hot†, with marilyn monroe, took the idea of using exaggerated body language and incorporated verbal word play so the audience could engaged in a deeper story line. In â€Å"Some like it Hot† by Billy Wilder, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis dress up as women in a band to escape the mob who is looking for them. While they are dressed up as women they are constantly getting involved in crazy situations where they have to escape in minutes or they had to hide their real identity from Sugar, played by Marilyn Monroe. While they were involved in these scenes they had to use their body language as well as their witty verbal wordplay and by doing this the audience was able to connect to these characters. Movies like Role Models (2008) use the idea of screwball comedy there is an extreme amount of dialogue and verbal wit in movies like Role Models but when they incorporate the verbal wit with their â€Å"slapstick† comedy the result is a modern age screwball comedy that everyone enjoys. As American comedies progressed so did the sub-genres with films like slapstick comedies as well as screwball comedies it gave actors and writers to expand their talents. In the late 1930s and early 1940s romantic comedies played a big role in the expansion of American comedies. â€Å"Romantic comedies, in which the central dramatic action involved the comic (as opposed to melodramatic) vicissitudes of heterosexual love affair and that had been a staple of the silent screen, enjoyed a new lease on life in films that combined romance with the comedy of manners,† explained John Belton. Movies such as â€Å"Some like it Hot,† and â€Å"The Awful Truth† combined screwball comedy with romantic comedy. They would use elements of screwball comedy but would mix it with the drama of a romantic relationship. For example, in Leo McCareys’ â€Å"The Awful Truth†, Cary Grant and Irene Dunn play a married couple that is getting a divorce but as each person tries to move on to a new relationship the other person finds a way to mess things up. For example, when Lucy, played by Irene Dunn, starts dating a new man Cary Grants’ character finds humorous ways to mess up her new relationship. Romantic comedies sometimes incorporate screwball comedy into it to give the movie a more upbeat tone. The basic plot of a romantic comedy was that two protagonists, usually a man and a woman, meet, part ways due to an argument or other obstacle, then ultimately reunite. This basic plot is still used today in many movies. Movies like the Wedding Singer, Serendipity, and Never Been Kissed all use this basic plot. Overall, the development of American Comedy has progress tremendously throughout the years. From Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton’s slapstick comedy to Cary Grant and Irene Dunn’s romantic comedy there is always a form of comedy though out the years. With out Chaplin and Keaton there would not be such a vast history behind the idea of American Comedy. Even though these American Comedies touched on serious social issues, they brought humor to people who really needed it. One of the most important things about the classic American Comedies was the fact that it gave people an escape when they desperately needed it. Even though American comedy films have a long and important history the reason why comedies are so popular has not changed since film was invented. American comedies bring happiness to people and for this reason everyone loves comedies and I am sure that this love will remain till the end of time. Belton, John. American Comedy. American cinema/American culture. Third ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994. 164-194. Print.

Learn About the Munich Olympic Massacre

Learn About the Munich Olympic Massacre The Munich Massacre was a terrorist attack during the 1972 Olympic Games. Eight Palestinian terrorists killed two members of Israeli Olympic team and then took nine others hostage. The situation was ended by a huge gunfight that left five of the terrorists and all of the nine hostages dead. Following the massacre, the Israeli government organized a retaliation against Black September, called Operation Wrath of God. Dates:  September 5, 1972 Also Known As:  1972 Olympics Massacre Stressful Olympics The XXth Olympic Games were held in Munich, Germany in 1972. Tensions were high at these Olympics because they were the first Olympic Games held in Germany since the Nazis hosted the Games in 1936. The Israeli athletes and their trainers were especially nervous; many had family members who had been murdered during the Holocaust or were themselves Holocaust survivors. The Attack The first few days of the Olympic Games went smoothly. On September 4, the Israeli team spent the evening out to see the play, Fiddler on the Roof, and then went back to the Olympic Village to sleep. A little after 4 a.m. on September 5, as the Israeli athletes slept, eight members of the Palestinian terrorist organization, Black September, jumped over the six-foot-high fence that encircled the Olympic Village. The terrorists headed straight for 31 Connollystrasse, the building where the Israeli contingent was staying. Around 4:30 a.m., the terrorists entered the building. They rounded up the occupants of apartment 1 and then apartment 3. Several of the Israelis fought back; two of them were killed. A couple of others were able to escape out windows. Nine were taken hostage. Standoff at the Apartment Building By 5:10 a.m., the police had been alerted and news of the attack had begun to spread around the world. The terrorists then dropped a list of their demands out the window; they wanted 234 prisoners released from Israeli prisons and two from German prisons by 9 a.m. Negotiators were able to extend the deadline to noon, then 1 p.m., then 3 p.m., then 5 p.m.; however, the terrorists refused to back down on their demands and Israel refused to release the prisoners. A confrontation became inevitable. At 5 p.m., the terrorists realized that their demands were not going to be met. They asked for two planes to fly both the terrorists and the hostages to Cairo, Egypt, hoping a new locale would help get their demands met. The German officials agreed but realized that they could not let the terrorists leave Germany. Desperate to end the standoff, the Germans organized Operation Sunshine, which was a plan to storm the apartment building. The terrorists discovered the plan by watching television. The Germans then planned to attack the terrorists on their way to the airport, but again the terrorists found out their plans. Massacre at the Airport Around 10:30 p.m., the terrorists and hostages were transported to the Fà ¼rstenfeldbruck airport by helicopter. The Germans had decided to confront the terrorists at the airport and had snipers waiting for them. Once on the ground, the terrorists realized there was a trap. Snipers started shooting at them and they shot back. Two terrorists and one policeman were killed. Then a stalemate developed. The Germans requested armored cars and waited for over an hour for them to arrive. When the armored cars arrived, the terrorists knew the end had come. One of the terrorists jumped into a helicopter and shot four of the hostages, then threw in a grenade.  Another terrorist hopped into the other helicopter and used his machine gun to kill the remaining five hostages. The snipers and armored cars killed three more terrorists in this second round of gunfire. Three terrorists survived the attack and were taken into custody. Less than two months later, the three remaining terrorists were released by the German government after two other Black September members hijacked a plane and threatened to blow it up unless the three were released.

Acting on a Strategic Mission Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Acting on a Strategic Mission - Case Study Example EA should have utilized this human resource advantage to grow its market share by providing the developers with attractive incentives that would help to retain them and prevent them from switching to competitors such as Activision Blizzard (Griffin, 37). One of the weaknesses that a SWOT analysis would have revealed is the disparity between objectives of the management and those of developers. Management focused on maximizing productivity and profit whereas developers were motivated by imagination and creativity. EA could have easily eliminated this weakness by allowing developers more autonomy and, therefore, harmonized objectives of management and developers. The major opportunity and threat include a growing market and strong competitors respectively. EA should have realized early on that the video game industry market was on a steady growth pattern and sought new ways of tapping into this market. For example, EA should have developed games tailored for new market segments such as adults. EA could minimize the threat of strong competition by producing high quality games that would improve its brand name (Griffin, 36 – 41). ... Although this strategy resulted in high asset turnover and lower costs than its rivals, it killed developer autonomy and motivation (Eldring, 56). Activision Blizzard identified this niche and set on gaining competitive advantage over EA by focusing on promoting developer autonomy and providing them with financial and distribution muscle that enabled them to benefit more than previously from their innovations. This approach basically meant that Activision Blizzard now focused on the product differentiation strategy. Developer autonomy promoted product differentiation by facilitating the creation of very popular games with a high level of uniqueness that drastically increased Activision’s market share. Furthermore, it helped Activision to attract the industry’s best developers, including those working for EA. Consequently, EA lost the most important resource in the gaming industry to EA, creative talent (Eldring, 62). Q3 The Miles-Snow typology is a classification of bus iness strategies into four main categories: prospector, defender, analyzer, and reactor strategies. The strategy that Activision Blizzard ought to adopt should have a strong basis on market dynamics and strength of the competition. The video-game industry is characterized by a very dynamic and unpredictable market environment, with new market opportunities constantly arising. Developers keep on coming up with new ideas based on prevailing events and situations. Games that have a connection with current or recent events that customers are familiar with tend to be very popular and they take advantage of new market opportunities. In order for Activision Blizzard to maintain its market leadership, it should operate with an

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 4

Management - Essay Example All these are alongside adding challenges for the strengthening the capabilities of the business into competitive edge over competitors. Hence, the information in the referred article provides evidence and learning about the new dimension of sustaining strength across all change, innovation and risk is possible. This new dimension of unification of layers of product and service to generate collective strength is much sounder than the developments in recent past that insisted establishing the footings in different perspectives to remain competitive. Unified system and approach for the management of risk, change and innovation has an added advantage that it offers in the form of shared strength to businesses in dealing with highly competitive pressures. Hence, embracing change does not always require being new but it also required understating the concept of integration and collective wisdom for dealing with challenges (Kepes). Article Two: Hotz, Robert. Differences in How Men and Wome n Think Are Hard-Wired. The Wall Street Journal. 9 Dec. 2013. Online. 14 Dec. 2013. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304744304579248151866594232 The article Differences in How Men and Women Think Are Hard-Wired has important implications for the business and organizational perspective of managing diversity. Management of diversity in the business organizations is still viewed in the light of responsible behavior that organizations are adopting towards society. It is despite fact, that immense benefits of diversity are being generated by the organizations with well blended mix of the employees. The reflection of this perspective is evident from the fact that organizations who take more women in their board room present it as a pride. The article on the basis of assessment has revealed the connection differences in the minds of men and women. This article has emphasizes the on the focused and multitasking attributes of men and women respectively. Both the concepts h ave increased their importance in the organization in recent past. Therefore, diversity management in a way that is calculated for developing the optimum mix of expertise towards focused attention and multi-tasking will now enable business to develop the mix of genders as need of the organization. Hence, with these revelations, the managements of the organization will now have more quantifiable yardstick for the development of employee mix and diversity management in organization. Management of the supply and the value chain is the most important tranche of the business and management literature that has developed since recent past. Forbes published value that is claimed to be generated by Amazon in terms of value chain by introducing the drones for same day delivery (Hotz). Article Three: Banker, Steve. Same Day Deliveries by Amazon Drones? Ridiculous! What Really Makes Sense. Forbes. 3 Dec. 2013. Online. 14 Dec. 2013. http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebanker/2013/12/03/same-day-del iveries-by-amazon-drones-ridiculous-what-really-makes-sense/ The article entitled Same Day Deliveries by Amazon Drones? Ridiculous! What Really Makes Sense has some valuable contribution in the effective management of the supply Chain. The core idea in the article has identified the critical factor of effective managem

Chipotle and Five Guys- Competitive strategy Essay

Chipotle and Five Guys- Competitive strategy - Essay Example On the other hand, Chipotle Mexican Grill is quickly growing as a consequence of the same reasons why the best burger chains thrive. It was at some point under McDonald’s ownership but spun off to develop and operate restaurants selling Mexican food that is fast and casual. Five Guys has been stated to conduct no advertising but delivers consistent great customer experiences that has enabled them to develop a word-of-mouth buzz that attracts more customers into their restaurants (Boone and Kurtz 453). Even though Five Guys began as a family-run burger restaurant, it now has more than one thousand franchises all over the US (Motz 65). From the time a customer enters a Five Guys, the intent of the restaurant is clear as it seeks to make the burger the customer will order the best they have ever had. All companies have chances of having a shared passion with their customers and Five Guys seek seeks for burger fanatics through giving free peanuts and sandwich toppings that result in half a million different choices of an ideal meal. Different from other restaurants that operate in the same industry, Five Guys’ kitchen can clearly be seen by its customers so that they can watch their burgers as they are made. Additionally, the stores do not have free zers so that all the burgers can be made from fresh beef. Additionally, has an excellent customer experience through their secret shoppers, which instead of concentrating on its deficiencies, the secret shopper entails amplifying success and ensuring that staff, have excellent exchanges with the customers (Hatten and Coulter 409). This is a result of a company-wide regulation on the creation of fanatic repeat customers, who can download desktop wallpapers or purchase and wear branded Five Guys’ merchandise from the company’s website. This support can be viewed on the bulletin boards in the stores as well as an active Facebook community that

Large Scale Software Development Research Paper

Large Scale Software Development - Research Paper Example College diploma courses take three years and are offered by various colleges across the country. The majority of the people i.e. 80% live in abject poverty i.e. they cannot spend more than one dollar per day. Due to this most students cannot afford to pay for their education expenses which cover tuition, building and development expenses, food and catering, money to buy books and lastly the school uniform. Before free education was introduced most of the student dropped out of school due to lack of school fees. The government at that time was corrupt and very inefficient, these lend to a massive deterioration of the country education sector, and international funds were also not available as donor funds were withheld due to the many corruption scandals. In January 2003, the national rainbow coalition government took power with the promise to bring free primary education to help the poor illiterate student to attain basic education. Free primary education was implemented. This saw a massive enrollment of a student with classes which had 50 students now have more than 100 students . In Nairobi, the student population tripled. Free primary education has been advantageous. Many unlearned Kenyan have benefited from it. It was surprising that even old men joined the primary school. The limitations were however noticeable as the teacher's workload became enormous such that they were not able to handle the number of students. This, in a way, lends to a decline in the overall performance of public primary schools or. The classes are typically overcrowded. In 2008 the government implemented free secondary education, free secondary education has many setbacks as a student are still required to pay some amount in terms of development fees. Education in private schools, unlike the public school, is high tech with state of the art computers, swimming pools, well-trained teachers, student boarding facilities among other facilities. The student is however required to pay a lot of money to join these schools, these schools are dominated by the middle class and high-class citizens who can afford the fees charged.

Western Imperialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Western Imperialism - Essay Example Western imperialism is a recurrent theme in much of the historical and anthropological literature.By looking at a map of Africa, we can see a graphic example of how imperialism has affected the evolution of African countries and how the period of the "great empires" has devolved to "spheres of influence" in Africa today (Kindersley).The irony in analyzing imperialistic settling in Africa is that Africa provided the starting point for humanity over 2 million years ago. The great age of colonization from Europe started with the explorations of the Portuguese, shortly followed by the Spaniards, the Dutch, and then the rest of Europe.The English started the slave trade in the well-known "triangle" route between the UK, Africa and the Caribbean, starting in the early 1600's. On the route from the UK to West Africa, the ships' captains transported rum and trinkets, and sometimes firearms. They picked up slaves in West Africa, generally dealing with the coastal tribes who kidnapped or trade d for slaves from the interior of the Continent. The slaves were then transported to the Caribbean, generally to work on sugar plantations. At that point, the ships dropped off slaves and bought rum to transport back to the UK. The French began a similar trade, sourcing slaves for their plantations in the Caribbean.The rest of Africa was largely ignored until the Dutch settlers-the Boers-came to Southern Africa in the late 1700's. They co-settled with the English and engaged in wars against the tough native Zulus, Bantus and other tribes of the southern part of the Continent. The "golden," or "infamous," depending on your viewpoint, age of colonization was the 1800's. During that period, slavery declined but other forms of exploitation thrived. The discovery of gold and diamonds in South Africa and Rhodesia led to a renewed interest by Great Britain in that area. King Leopold of Belgium took over the Congo in the 1860's and ran it as a personal fiefdom for its mineral wealth. France took over what is now called French Africa (centered around the Ivory Coast), while Germany took what was then called Southwest Africa, but is now called Namibia. They also took Zambia. In East Africa, the British took Kenya and Tanganyika (now part of Tanzania), but failed to take the Sudan (Kitchener's famous routing in Khartoum). The French failed to take Madagascar, but took Reunion as an important naval base. They took Algeria, first as a French colony in the 1800's, then as a French "dpartement outre-mer," or non-contiguous state within France itself. The US only had a marginal role, with the 1820's founding of Liberia as a home for freed slaves. The capital of Liberia, Monrovia, was named after President James Monroe. In the early 1900's, the Italians managed to take Ethiopia. Their control was always loose, and generally limited to the Coptic Christian part of the country. During the Mussolini years of the 1920's and 1930's there was a constant low-level war, which resulted in Italy's loss of Ethiopia in the early 1940's as they pulled back their troops to the home country. Imperial rule in Africa varied from one conquering country to another. By far the worst human rights atrocities were committed by Belgium's King Leopold and his successors in the Congo and Rwanda, the two Belgian colonies in Africa. Brutal suppression by mercenaries kept the population down while the land was mined for copper, diamonds and gold. Probably the best (post-slavery) administrators were the French, who inculcated the West African colonies with language, investment and promotion of locals to important government posts. With independence in 1960 and beyond, the European colonists gradually abandoned their colonies. Portugal (Angola), Germany (Namibia) and Belgium (Congo and Rwanda) have the least to do with their former charges. France has retained stronger contacts through the CFA zone (there is

Large Scale Software Development Research Paper

Large Scale Software Development - Research Paper Example College diploma courses take three years and are offered by various colleges across the country. The majority of the people i.e. 80% live in abject poverty i.e. they cannot spend more than one dollar per day. Due to this most students cannot afford to pay for their education expenses which cover tuition, building and development expenses, food and catering, money to buy books and lastly the school uniform. Before free education was introduced most of the student dropped out of school due to lack of school fees. The government at that time was corrupt and very inefficient, these lend to a massive deterioration of the country education sector, and international funds were also not available as donor funds were withheld due to the many corruption scandals. In January 2003, the national rainbow coalition government took power with the promise to bring free primary education to help the poor illiterate student to attain basic education. Free primary education was implemented. This saw a massive enrollment of a student with classes which had 50 students now have more than 100 students . In Nairobi, the student population tripled. Free primary education has been advantageous. Many unlearned Kenyan have benefited from it. It was surprising that even old men joined the primary school. The limitations were however noticeable as the teacher's workload became enormous such that they were not able to handle the number of students. This, in a way, lends to a decline in the overall performance of public primary schools or. The classes are typically overcrowded. In 2008 the government implemented free secondary education, free secondary education has many setbacks as a student are still required to pay some amount in terms of development fees. Education in private schools, unlike the public school, is high tech with state of the art computers, swimming pools, well-trained teachers, student boarding facilities among other facilities. The student is however required to pay a lot of money to join these schools, these schools are dominated by the middle class and high-class citizens who can afford the fees charged.

Helen and Hosea Client Profile Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Helen and Hosea Client Profile - Assignment Example Hosea parents were missionaries in Africa, which was where he was born.   Hosea spent the better part of his childhood and teenage years. He studied in different international schools where he developed a love for sports. He graduated from Africa University in 2001 and went on to work for three years with a Sports organization called â€Å"Cheza† which means â€Å"Play† in the African Swahili dialect where he was paid $ 30,000. He later went to Regent University for his Master's degree, which was fully sponsored by the religious organization that employed his parents. He managed to save $ 10,000 by keeping all his expenses to a bare minimum while at college. He started working as an assistant college coach the month after his graduation earning $70,000 for three years then got promoted and started earning $80,000. He plans to continue working with this club for as long as he can. Hosea has written some books on sporting in Africa, which has brought him quite good reve nue returns. He got 475,000 as net income, which he got after the book sales. He plans to write more books before he retires. Helen originally trained to be a social worker. She worked for the inner city program in Ontario for five years after graduating earning $35,000. The pay was not so good but she liked what she was doing and felt fulfilled. It was while working there that she got involved with her current school that was doing a better job in the inner cities. They offered her a job, which paid better; $55,000 and provided free housing within the school’s grounds. It was during a sports tournament when she met Hosea, and later got married. She decided to further her education by pursuing an online Masters degree in education at Regent University, which confirmed her credentials as a teacher. Helen now earns $73,000 and plans to continue working with the school until retirement. She also just opened up old peoples home in a house she inherited from her maternal grandmother, which has been bringing in $150,000 per year. She had taken out a loan of 300,000 to renovate the property and to hire new staff but she believes she will be able to repay the loan in about three to five years. The house is worth $ 2.5 million, as it is located in the more expensive side of town. Her grandmother had come from old money. Helen though believed in living a modest life.  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Class I Railroad and Teacher Essay Example for Free

Class I Railroad and Teacher Essay Any other day in school was the same, going to class going to lunch and going home that was until I saw my schedule change. I was a bit shy not knowing what to expect from my new classes and what were they going to be like. When I come into my new class I felt scared, it was like a western movie, when a cowboy walk into a bar and its dead silence nothing but eyes staring at me and not in a good way. I was put in Mr. U Jimenez classroom. After a couple of days in the class it was still harsh but it was getting better for me. It was fun on some days and that’s when I knew I was getting along with others. Eventually I caught up and was right on track. In my new class the first few things I did was stay calm, be happy and try to go along with others. The first day of my class was towards the end of the first trimester. It was crazy knowing I had to start a new trimester in a different class; it was crazy because when the teacher would send a student out with him the class will go nuts because they had â€Å"free time† and got away from class work for a couple of minutes. After a couple of days in the class it just went from a fun class to a disaster. I’m not such a fast writer and well when it came to taking notes in Mr.  U Jimenez class it wasn’t so good for me. I wrote as fast as I could but unfortunately I wasn’t fast enough. Before I could finish my notes the power point would change and both the class and I wouldn’t have a chance to finish. On the first day of class I also witnessed that the teacher called five different student parents for bad behavior. Knowing that the first day was like this I thought a lot about what the rest of the school year would be like. People feel many different ways on their first few day of class. I felt that in the first few days of being in the class were ok but then the other few days of class weren’t. I felt afraid of my teacher at first because of how strict he was. I also dislike yelling and people telling my parents bad news about me. In some occasions (not to be crazy) I wanted to strangle Mr. U Jimenez and maybe a couple of the other kids because of how annoying they are but I’m only thirteen and well I don’t want to go to jail so I decided to put up with my feelings towards that class and just do as well as I could. However my teacher does have some kind moments and rewards us with candy. The class can be fun like the poem project I did. I enjoyed doing that, we had some good times expressing urselves, getting created, and getting to know my classmates a little more in class. I felt many different reactions in class. Some days I was pretty happy in class and other times I was pretty annoyed and wanted to leave or scared. It would be fun because the teacher was cool on some days. Once in a while the class would get to play who wants to be a millionaire or some educational activity. I’d have a good time in the class joking around with my friends. On other days it’s pretty annoying because my teacher would be mean. He calls my mom in front of the whole class and it’s pretty embarrassing. When my teacher keeps us in class it’s because a student has lost one of his many pen, he wants back. When we do activities in the class and when it comes to questions I react in a shy way and stay quiet and hope he doesn’t pick me. If the class is crazy for a long time it won’t stay that way for long. I’d be kind of surprised and scared because Mr. U Jimenez yells and says shut it and sit down in our seats. Soon were back to taking fast notes and listening to lessons all over again. My reactions toward school were never really exciting anyways. My behavior has changed thorough Mr. U Jimenez class. When I came to his class my behavior hasn’t change but I had to try now and then. At first I felt scared and a bit shy so I don’t think my behavior was too bad but after a while I felt comfortable. When I started feeling comfortable in class I was a bit crazy at some points. I now I’m lazy because I don’t want to do my work or pay attention but I don’t think I’m as lazy anymore. I know I need to pass my class so I try a little harder now. When Mr. U Jimenez gets mad we all get mad, even though he is always in a grumpy mood. Sometimes when he’s mad I don’t really understand him he says things that don’t make sense; well to me that is and again he starts to call parents sometimes he does it randomly too. I know I don’t like it when he calls my mom. Neither my mom and I like my teacher’s calls but its best for her to know that I’m not doing so well in class so I can improve better and try harder, when Mr. U Jimenez calls or sends papers talk about my behavior in class nor missing assignments my mom doesn’t give me my allowance and she takes my we and my TV, my mom would just start to tell me all these things about school to do better and improve my grades. Sometimes I forget Mr. U Jimenez name and call him (fat teacher) not to be mean Mr. U Jimenez but I’m trying to behave myself. There were many things I felt when I started my new class. I had so many things going through my mind. I was thinking about how I would feel, my reactions, my behavior and what it would be like. When it was a no teacher zone the students would get pretty crazy. On some days the teacher would scary me and annoy me so I would know my reaction for the day until I got out of class. Some days were better than others like the games we play and the activities that we would do. It would be cool when we play games because for the people that won they’d get rewarded with candy. My behavior has changed in my classroom and I’ve gotten use to my class. Now all I ‘m trying to do is to pass Mr. U Jimenez class so I can go to High School and pass science or my mom will kill me and send me to summer school. If I don’t pass I can’t go to San Francisco on our Vacation Mr. U Jimenez I know that I’m not one of your best students but I’m trying my mom always keep on saying u are smart I can do anything if I just try hard and pay attention and listen like I’m with math I just don’t know it till don’t come out of me still.

Health Literacy in the USA

Health Literacy in the USA Social Determinants of Health Constantin Vintilescu Health Literacy Predicting future trends in any profession cautions careful review of present and past trends. Over the last two decades, health care in the United States has undergone major changes due to simultaneous advances in the fields of health information and information technology. Advances in health care and life expectancy also have created dramatic changes. Subsequent gains in life expectancy have surpassed the gains achieved, between the years 1940 and 1964 with the advent of antibiotics. In fact, recent gains have exceeded that of any other time this century. The life expectancy projections for the rest of this century may turn out to be even more significant. The educations of the public about health literacy issues and the rights of the elderly have become another dimension of advancement, along with the â€Å"rights† of patients and minority groups including the physically handicapped. In the United States, the term literacy is generally defined as the ability to read and speak English (Andrus, 2002). In the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS), the U.S. Department of Education (1993) defined literacy as: â€Å"the ability to use printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential.† Although no precise point defines the difference between literacy and illiteracy, the commonly accepted working definition of what is meant to be literate is the ability to write and to read, understand, and interpret information written at the eight-grade level or above. Health literacy refers to how well an individual can read, interpret, and comprehend the health information for maintaining an optimal level of wellness. It is an essential aspect for access to health care and health-related services. Limited health literacy leads to poor health outcomes. In fact, literacy skills are â€Å"a stronger predictor of an individual’s health status than age, income, employment status, education level, and racial or ethnic group† (Weiss, 2003). Health literacy is also important for people’s maintenance of health and wellness. Health literacy is very important because requires peoples to have a more active role in health decision and their management. Based on available statistics over the past twenty years, it is evident that the United States has significant health literacy problems. Health literacy has been termed the â€Å"silent epidemic,† the â€Å"silent barrier,† the â€Å"silent disability,† and â€Å"the dirty little secret† (Conlin Schumann, 2002). In fact, the United States only ranked among the middle of other industrialized nations in most measures of adult literacy; and yet many of our educators, elected representatives, and social advocates have remained blind on this significant problem (Kogut, 2004). Over the past two decades, the literacy of the American population has been the subject of increasing interest and concern by educators as well as by government officials, employers, and the media. Health literacy continues to be a major problem in the United States despite public efforts to address the issue and developing health literacy training programs. In our society, many people do not possess the basic literacy to navigate the increasingly complex health care field. Some people have difficulty in reading and comprehending information well enough to be able to fill out job and insurance applications, tax forms, or apply for a driver’s license. In the early 1980s, President Reagan launched the National Adult Literacy Initiative, which was followed by the United Nation’s declaration of 1990 as the International Literacy year (Belton, 1991). In light of the relatively recent attention given to health literacy in the last twenty years, we must acknowledge the efforts of two organizations Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc., and Lauback Literacy International – that served for many years as advocates for the most marginalized adult populations in United States and around the globe. Of particular concern to the health care industry are the numbers of consumers who are illiterate, functionally illiterate, or marginally literate. People with poor reading and comprehension skills have disproportionately higher medical costs, increased number of hospitalizations, readmissions, and more perceived physical and psychosocial problems than do literae persons (Baker, 1998). Today the health care literacy problem has grave consequences, because patients are expected to assume responsibility for their self-care and health promotion. If people with low literacy abilities cannot fully benefit from given information, then they ca nnot be expected to maintain their health independently. Computer literacy is also an increasingly popular concern of health literacy. Many health care providers and consumers are relying on computers as educational tools. â€Å"Those clients who are well educated and career oriented are already likely to own a computer and be computer literate, but those with limited resources, literacy skills, and technological know-how are being left behind† (Zarcadoolas et al., 2006). Health care providers relied for many years on printed education brochures as a cost-effective way to communicate health instructions with people. For many years, nurses and doctors thought that written materials given to the patients were sufficient to ensure informed consent for different test or procedures. This way they promoted compliance with treatment regimens and discharge instructions. Kessels (2003) pointed out that 40-80% of medical information provided by health professionals is forgotten immediately, because not only medical terminology is too difficult to understand, but also because too much information contributes to poor recall. He also noted that half of the information remembered is incorrect. Recently the health care providers have begun to realize that if the scientific and technical terminology in education materials are not written at a level and style appropriate for their intended audiences, people cannot be expected to be able or willing to accept responsibility for self-care. In improving written health materials and in implementing health education it is important to know the literacy skills of the patients in the community and their families. Nurses play an important role in assessing patient’s literacy skills because nurses interact more with the patients and their families than the physicians do. The nurses can evaluate the ability of the healthcare client to understand printed health information by assessing the patients’ comprehension and reading skill level. There are specific guidelines for writing effective health education materials and teaching strategies for patients and their families. An individual‘s functional health literacy is likely to be significantly worse than his or her general literacy skills, because of the more complicated language used by health care providers. Now that manage care insurance companies are requiring subscribers to take more responsibility for their self-care, poor health literacy can increasingly lead to negative consequences and escalated morbidity, and mortality. People with low health literacy don’t have knowledge or are misinformed about the body and the causes of illnesses. Because they do not have the proper knowledge, they don’t understand the relationship between lifestyle factors, like diet and exercise, and wellness .Those people with limited knowledge may not know how to seek care. Health literacy tactics that improve written health materials may include: Written health materials should have plain language for better understanding and ease of sharing with people. Written health materials should be scientifically accurate and culturally appropriate. If the client does not fluently speaks English, provide the written health information in his/hers native language. If such information is unavailable, and a translator must be employed, it is critical to assess the client’s understanding of the written material. Written health information should include pictures for better understanding. Personal electronic devices such as cell phones, tablets, palm pilots, and talking kiosks can be a new method for sending health information to the patients. Before health providers make a health education brochure, they should also consider alternate methods such as individual, group, organizational, community and mass media. Use a short brochure that presents â€Å"bottom line† information, systematic instructions, and uses pictures with visual cues that highlight most important information to be absorbed. Health brochures should align health information with recommendations to services, resources, and other available support. Removing the barrier to communication between individuals and health care providers is a good opportunity for nurses to function as facilitators and work in collaboration with other health care professionals for improvement of quality of care. As Advanced Practice Nurses, it is our mandated responsibility to teach in non-complicated terms so our patients can understand an fully benefit from our nursing interventions. References Andrus, M.R., Roth, M.T. (2002). Health literacy: A review. Pharmacotherapy, 22(3), 282- 302. Baker, D. W., Parker,R. M., Williams , M. V, Clark , W. S. (1998). Health literacy and the risk of hospital admission. Journal of Internal Medicine, 13, 791-798. Belton, A. B. (1991).Reading levels of patients in a general hospital. Beta Release, 15 (1), 21-24.California HealthCare Foundation. 2005. Consumers in Health Care: The Burden of Choice. Available at http://www.chcf.org Conlin, K. K., Schumann, L. (2002). Literacy in the health care system: A study on open heart surgery patients. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 14 (1), 38-42. Institute of Medicine. 2004. Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion. National Academies Press: Washington, DC. Kessels, R.P.C. (2003). Patients’ memory for medical information. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 96,219-22. Kogut, B.(2004).Why adult literacy matters. Pbi Kappa Pbi Forum, 26-28. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Making Health Communication Programs Work. National Cancer Institute: Washington, DC. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2003. Communicating Health: Priorities and Strategies for Progress. Washington, DC. Weiss, B. D. (2003). Health literacy: A manual for clinicians. Chicago: American Medical Association and American Medical Association Foundation. Zarcadoolas. C., Pleasant, A. F., Greer, D. J. (2006). Advancing health literacy: A framework for understanding and action. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Youth Sports - Little Girls Need Sports! Essay example -- Argumentativ

Little Girls Need Sports! You may have seen the ad on television. It is one of the few advertisements using the voices of little girls that isn't promoting unrealistically figured Barbie dolls or the likes. The ad starts with a 10-year-old girl in a swing set and presents a series of images of different young girls saying: If you let me play sports I will like myself more; I will have more self-confidence, If you let me play sports. If you let me play, I will be 60 percent less likely to get breast cancer; I will suffer less depression. If you let me play sports, I will be more likely to leave a man who beats me. If you let me play, I will be less likely to get pregnant before I want to. I will learn what it means to be strong. If you let me play sports. If you let me play sports. Although the product being sold is never mentioned, the ad, which was produced by Nike, in just 45 seconds delivers one of the most powerful and thought-provoking messages on T.V. about the benefits gained by girls who play sports. Women in sports is an issue that has dated back for many years. The breakthrough for women was in 1972 when Title IX, an amendment to the 1965 Civil Rights Act, was passed. It was designed to address sex discrimination in all areas of education, including athletics. Although Title IX was implemented many years ago, women and girls are still fighting for the right to play despite much evidence that sports make our girls stronger women and teach them to avoid a whole host of risk-taking and self-destructive behaviors. Research from the Women's Sports Foundation show female athletes have lower rates of teenage pregnancy, are more likely to delay their first sexual experience, and have, on ave... ...tiveness, and teamwork, skills that everyone will need in life. Girls learn that you're going to fail sometimes, but they also learn perseverance and that failure is not permanent. The Nike ad drew much attention to the female need. It helps to draw a picture in the minds of educators and parents that preventing girls from participating in sports hinders their emotional and physical growth. Sports can make girls strong and not afraid to be vocal; they can teach girls how to succeed and how to cope with failure. They can help girls to know their own physical and mental strength and build confidence and self esteem. So when a girl asks if she can play, instead of telling her no, let her play. Work Cited Goff, Karen Goldberg. "Playing For Keeps; Youth sports credited with imparting lifelong benefits." The Washington Times. 10 November 2002. 19 April 2003.

Contemporary Approaches Essay

Explain how the four contemporary approaches to management are different from one another. Define â€Å"open systems† and describe the internal, competitive, and macro environments of an organization. Lastly, indicate whether the four contemporary approaches to management are relevant in these three environments and why or why not. You may research external sources to support your answer. Cite any external sources used. Sociotechnical Theory suggests that organizations are effective when their employees have the right tools, training, and knowledge to make products and services that are valued by customers. Sociotechnical promotes the use of teamwork and semiautonomous work groups as important factors for creating efficient production systems. They believed that workers should be given the chance to correct problems at an early stage of production rather than wait until products were finished creating waste. Quantitative Management helps a manager make a decision by developing mathematical models of the problem. Computers facilitated the development of specific quantitative methods. It included techniques such as: statistical decision theory, linear programming, queuing theory, simulation, forecasting, inventory modeling, network modeling, and break even analysis. Despite having all these methods, many managers will use results that are consistent with their experience,  institution, and judgment. Many managers have not been trained to use these techniques. Organizational Behavior studies and identifies management activities that promote employee effectiveness through an understanding of the complex nature of individual, group, and organizational processes. Organizational behavior draws from a variety of disciplines, including psychology and sociology, to explain the behavior of people on the job. Systems Theory organizations are open systems, dependent on inputs from the outside world, such as raw materials, human resources, and capital. They transform these inputs into outputs that meet the market’s needs for goods and services. The environment reacts to the outputs through a feedback loop; this feedback provides input for the next cycle of the system. System Theory also emphasizes that an organization is one system in a series of subsystems. â€Å"Open Systems†/ organizations are open systems meaning they are affected by and in turn affect their external environments. They use inputs like goods and services from their environment to create goods and services that are outputs to their environment. Open System is a system that interacts with its environment by exchanging energy, materials, and information with an aim of system renewal and growth. A feature of an open system is negative entropy, where the open system continues to import energy, information and resources to function while becoming more heterogeneous and complex.- http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/open-system-in-management-definition-example-quiz.html#lesson. Internal Environment is the conditions, entities, events, and factors within an organization that influence its activities and choices, particularly the behavior of the employees. Factors that are frequently considered part of the internal environment include the organization’s mission statement, leadership styles, and its organizational culture.   Competitive Environment is the immediate environment surrounding a firm; includes suppliers, customers, rival and the like. This includes the consisting of rivalry among existing competitors and the threat of new entrants, the threat of substitute and complementary products, and the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers. Macro environment is the general environment that includes governments, economic conditions, and other

B2B Organizational Marketing

Present day market leaders confront a number of challenges in securing new orders and customers. These challenges may take the form of a larger number of players influencing the customer decision process, increased buying criteria, greater expectations of faster feedback, and more expectations from the customers that the sales force understand the customer’s requirements. The customers have become more demanding and the competitors have become more productive which have also increased the challenges being faced by the businesses.The businesses are expected to possess the characteristics of flexibility, speed, easiness in dealing, fast, resilience, customer focus, and human warmth in their dealings (Rick Wolfe). Being a business based on the impulse and moods of the customers, the leisure cruise business needs much of these factors to be integrated into them for being successful in attracting more and new customers.This paper attempts to make a detailed report on the marketing techniques and business issues relating to the Carnival Cruise Lines and Crystal Cruise Lines who are the players in the same line of business with different marketing approaches to the business. Carnival Cruise Lines – A Background The evolution and growth of Carnival Cruise Lines marked the redefining of the leisure cruise industry. The company approached a diverse market adopting a novel theme of ‘Fun Ships’ adequately supported by competitively low pricing.There was increased pressure from competition which forced the company to have a relook into its ‘Fun Ship’ brand, without disturbing the equity content of the brand already developed by the company. From the points of view of the customers the cruise lines do not have any differentials. Hence it became necessary for the Carnival Cruise Lines to differentiate them to the customers by providing upgraded product features, efficient service, and a brand image which is not only convincing but also sophisticated.The 2,974 passenger capacity 110,000 ton Carnival Liberty was set to sail in July 2005. Built at $ 500 million the ship was the twenty first vessels in the fleet of Carnival Cruise Lines and it gave the company more passenger carrying capacity than any other cruise lines. The company arranged cruises covering more than three million guests during the financial year 2004 and the company’s revenues were in the region of $ 9. 73 billion, with net earnings of $ 1. 85 billion in the year 2004.The company has been maintaining its principles to adhere to the term ‘Fun Ships’ throughout the year and a time has come when the top leaders of the company have to have a rethinking on the level of customer service so that they can still maintain the brand image. This was due to the fact that there have been increased expectations and renewed competition in the industry. Marketing Strategy of Carnival The company had to develop its marketing strategy purely out of necessity. At a certain point of time Carnival did not have to make an advertising campaign to promote its cruises.In fact at that time no cruise lines made any efforts to advertise. During the start up years which were lean the onboard product was limited. The customers’ expectations were also limited as the cruise products that were available were still relatively new to the market and to the customers. The ‘Fun Ships’ concept of marketing was set in motion by Dickinson for the first time in the 1973 when he took charge as the vice-president sales of Carnival. He was inspired by the concept of ‘Happy ship’ promoted by Commodore Cruise Lines.This promotion started at a time when the cruise marketing focused its attention on the destinations covered by the cruises rather than the ships that were used for the cruises. The cruising during these times was promoted as a highbrow, luxurious experience. However Carnival adopted a different marketing strat egy by reasoning that ‘fun’ was what people really wanted to experience in a vacation. The company promoted the cruise in Mardi Gras as a fun-ship experience while cruising instead of promoting the cruises on the basis of destinations.This way Carnival decided to send a message that was unique in the cruise industry. (20) The marketing strategy of the company centered round the policy of the company to anchor the brand ‘Fun Ships’ to coincide with its positioning strategy. This enabled Carnival build an unmatched value proposition on the promise of fun during the cruise. This promise of fun has been made the marketing strategy of the company for at least the next thirty years of its existence.In quite contrast to the other cruise line customers Carnival through its ‘Fun Ships’ marketing theme attracted middle-class customers who are relatively young. To these kinds of customers Carnival offered full casinos, live music, discos, and wild daytime activities–including belly-flop, beer-chugging, and hairy-chest contests which were offered for the first time by any cruise. These fun based activities were quite different from the existing idea of in-cruise entertainment of shuffleboard and afternoon tea.With a view to make improvements in these fun activities Carnival built the new ships starting from the year 1980 providing for the facilities for the fun activities with bright colors and neon lighting unlike anything before seen in a cruise ship. These were quite different and shocking to the traditional ship owners. Carnival used the first-time cruisers as tools for the market development strategy for communicating the brand message of ‘Fun Ships’. The company articulated the ‘Fun Ships image by showing the ships and the possible entertainment architecture within the ships.The company promoted the marketing theme as ‘having fun comprising of guests â€Å"dining, dancing, playing, swimming, sun ning, and socializing at affordable price†. The company has started the advertising commercials in the 1984 and was the first cruise to advertise on the Television. The marketing objective of the company remained provision of fun all along the cruise. The company however continued to have the marketing objective to â€Å"introduce vacationers to cruising and to reinforce the image of Carnival as the essence of fun† (J. Robert Kwortnik Jr 2006).Challenges to Carnival’s Market-Leadership The major challenge to the marketing efforts of Carnival and a threat to its market-leadership position, is the continuous copying of the ‘Fun Ships’ brand by the competitor lines. For example the Royal Caribbean’s product offering of adventure-theme challenged the fun concept of Carnival Cruise Lines by an active-adventure version of Royal Caribbean; similarly the next generation of the ships of Royal Caribbean had a water theme park which would challenge Carni val Line’s water-park innovation.Another threat to the market position of Carnival arises due to the repositioning of the brand. This may be the result of the tension faced in the development of brand image which is characterized by the improvements in the product. However the management steers the brand toward a more sophisticated version of fun, the risk of mixed signals and brand confusion This makes the a brand's equity as more a function of the customers for a particular brand than the function of the brand. Crystal Cruises – a Background Crystal Cruise offers a hybrid style of cruising experience which is intriguing.Though the cruise line is decidedly upscale, its ships are larger ones quite unlike its luxury line competitors. These ships have the capacity of carrying 940 passengers. NYK lines of Japan own Crystal Cruises. The company founded in the year 1990 is based in Los Angeles. The earlier ships owned by the company included a 940-passenger ship by name â⠂¬ËœCrystal Harmony. This ship was first launched in the year 1990. The ‘Crystal Symphony’ was the second one to follow and also has a passenger carrying capacity of 940-passengers.The company added to its fleet the new ship ‘Crystal Serenity’ with a capacity of 1080 passengers which first sailed in the summer of 2003. The company has sold the ship ‘Crystal Harmony’ in the year 2005 to have once more only two ships in its fleet (Cruise Critic). Though the company has only two ships it has earned the distinction of one of the best cruise lines in the world with the extravagance of services it offers on board the ships. The added feature which enhances the marketing ability of the Crystal is the health club products it offers on board its ships including the Spa.Crystal Serenity is the largest ship of Crystal Cruise. This ship has all the facilities that the cruises of Crystal normally provide. These features include a Sushi Bar, a tennis court, and a board room offering variety of wines. The ship also provides a state – of – the – art children’s play area known as ‘Fantasia’ and also a teen center. There is also an indoor/outdoor pool and a higher ratio of balcony cabins and about 85 percent of the staterooms are having verandahs. The attractiveness of Crystal Cruise is magnified by its getting the ISO 14001 certification for its fleet-wide environmental management system maintenance.In continuation of its environmental management program the company is continuously establishing new goals to minimize the degradation to environment by reducing the use of plastics and increased recycling and enhanced fuel efficiency (Even Keel). Marketing Strategy of Crystal Cruises Crystal’s bigger ships carrying more passengers are one of the marketing points as against its smaller competitors. The company has a unique characteristic of having a highest guest-to-staff and largest guest-to-spa ce ratio.This has won more number of repeat passengers. The smaller line competitors do not have the facilities to compete with Crystal. â€Å"The facilities that crystal offer include biggest-ships-in-luxury-class status along with far more options, in terms of entertainment, socializing, casinos, spa and fitness facilities, activities, and enrichment opportunities† (Cruise Critic). â€Å"The renowned Crystal experience is distinguished by incomparable service, abundant space, extensive choices, and superior quality† (Crystal Cruise).Crystal Cruises is offering a program known as ‘Share the Experience’ which offers membership to its repeat customers to ‘Crystal Society’. The members of this society are given $ 100 shipboard credit when they are able to persuade a first timer to take a cruise with crystal. Crystal has roughly 60 percent of its customers as first timers to the cruise line. The marketing strategy of the company is to bring in mo re new customers and increase the ratio of new customers. The company believes in getting more to the new people for its growth (Christopher Elliott, 2007)The product offering by Crystal includes the ‘Crystal Spa’ the only Feng Shui- designed Spa on board any ship is one of the major marketing points for Crystal. â€Å"Superior service, state-of-the-art facilities and amenities, such as treatment rooms, saunas and a private sun deck or relaxation area with expansive ocean views, propelled the luxury line's Crystal Spa into first place among the magazine's savvy travelers who placed it alongside, and even above, some of the foremost spas in the world† (Crystal Cruises).The other area where Crystal concentrates to improve the satisfaction of its customers is the service being provided by its extraordinary staff which makes the cruises with crystal a unique experience. The company claims that their attention to details is the strength of its marketing and the compan y also provides a personalized experience with a boutique ‘Crystal Adventures’ and other customized ‘Crystal Private Adventure’.â€Å"The line’s glamorous casinos, array of evening entertainment and creative culinary venues and menus — such as the cuisine of master chef, Nobu Matsuhisa — rate high among those seeking quality choices on their floating luxury resort† (Article Avenue). Marketing Strategies of Carnival and Crystal – A Comparison While Carnival Cruise Lines are perceived to have action packed fun and look for younger and value driven customers, Crystal Cruise targets older generation customers who are keen to receive five star services aboard luxurious ships.The basic distinction in the marketing concepts of both the lines lies in the way they perceive the preferences of the customers. On the basis of the products that these lines can offer they select their customer bases and arrive at the marketing strategies . The idea of getting more number of new customers is considered unique as far as Crystal is concerned since the company feels that with the extravagant service it offers on board it can make them repeat their visits to their cruises.By taking more care on the health aspects with the provision of Spa and other extensive health club facilities the travelers will feel more at land than at sea. This coupled with the provision of the highest guest service with more number of attendants and staff would make the customers feel that their travel was filled with an experience quite different and they may decide to experience it once again. In the case of Carnival the marketing strategy involves more value in terms of fun at lesser cost while cruising. The cost factor is taken as the base of promoting their product offering.The customers that Carnival caters to being young ones the company takes more care to provide as many number of recreation facilities to the customers so that they repeat their visits to the cruise. Conclusion In general as the sales teams deepen their knowledge about the customer’s needs and preferences they are able to pinpoint the metrics that the customers will make use of for making an assessment of the product offerings by different vendors. This gives rise to several variations and product differentiations by the suppliers to meet the requirements of different customers.This is evident from the fact that two cruise lines’ – Carnival and Crystal – product offerings. It is observed that both of the lines have different marketing objectives and different set of customer segments to cater to and serve. While Carnival has the marketing strategy of having fun during the cruise and attract younger customers, Crystal looks for increased number of new customers with a product offering of fun combined with health with the offering of the state of the art Spa and other connected facilities aboard to attract the customers. Ref erencesArticle Avenue ‘Information and Tips for a Cruise Ship Vacation’ Christopher Elliott (2007) ‘Strategies to Make More Passengers Maiden Voyagers’ The New York Times dated February 25th 2007 Cruise Critic ‘Crystal Cruises’ Crystal Cruise ‘Crystal Cruises Celebrates Thanksgiving and Fall Sailings with Family â€Å"Values† ‘ Crystal Cruises ‘Crystal Cruises Named No. 1 Cruise Line Spa by the Readers of Conde Nast Traveler’ Even Keel ‘Cruise Line News: Crystal Cruise’ J. Robert Kwortnik Jr (2006) ‘Carnival Cruise Lines: Burnishing the brand’ http://www. allbusiness. com/accommodation-food-services/1190122-1. html Rick Wolfe ‘The New B2B Marketing Dashboard’