Social Exclusion and Discrimination

Do we, as citizens, have the ability to be included, to function and to participate fully in the varied aspects of today’s society? This essay will look at defining the terms described in the title by exploring research and theories that measure these problems. The essay will identify a group of people who experience one of these struggles, citing evidence to confirm this. The essay will also look at what can be done to prevent people being excluded, oppressed and co.uk/our-changing-society/">discriminated against.Sociology is the study of human social behaviour, especially the study of the backgrounds, groups, establishments, and development of human society, and some theories help to decide why and how to choose between alternative distinctions (Payne 2005). Theories are statements of ideas, and Fook (2002) states that putting names to things help provide explanations and understanding of practice. Payne (2005, p6) stated that â€Å" Because social work is a practical actio n in a complex world, a theory must offer a model of explicit guidance. † There are different sociological theories on social influences, and these are interesting in their comparisons. Emile Durkheim was a structural functionalist. He was also a positivist, believing that society conforms to unwavering laws and that there is an objective reality(Giddens 2001). He operated within a framework that sees society as a complex structure or system in which the parts work together to promote cohesion and stability (Dubois & Prade 1990). Structure in this context refers to any stable pattern of social behaviour; the function aspect is the examination of the consequences of individual actions for the operation of society as a whole. This perspective basically perceives all different parts of a society come together and work as one whole part, in which power is underplayed. This could mean that if an individual or group does not work with the rest of society then they may be excluded. Howe (2002) explains that sociology would be the backbone of the structural perspective within social work and would look at the political, economic and material environment in which people find themselves. He goes on to say that this theory encompasses an anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory perspective and that poverty, inequality and lack of social justice can seriously disadvantage some people and that these disadvantages can contribute to poor social functioning. Structural theorists maintain that these people are not a problem to society but that society has become a problem for them. However, functionalism is often criticized for not adequately explaining change, and placing too much order on order and stability. (Haralambos et al 2004) The conflict theorists view the society from an objective and hierarchical point of view. In this perspective some individuals are inferior to society. The basis of social order is power or intimidation and the only way to change within the society is through a power struggle in which there is a lot of competition. Social class is extremely important in this perspective for it defines an individual’s place in the pyramid of power. Karl Marx was the originator of the conflict theory and described societies like Britain as capitalist systems whereby rich employers and business owners with capital set up businesses which exploit working classes to generate maximum profits (Macionis & Plummer 2008). Therefore, according to this theory, the working classes could be discriminated against. Social exclusion is a multidimensional, dynamic concept which emphasises the processes of change through which individuals or groups are excluded from the mainstream of society and their life chances reduced. (Philip & Shucksmith 1999. ) There is no agreed definition of social exclusion, but there are considered to be conditions that many agree are contributing factors. Shaw et al (2006) described social exclusion as affecting individuals or areas that suffer from linked problems such as unemployment, poor skills, low income, poor housing, bad health, high crime and family breakdowns. So it has been found that living in a deprived area can drive a person into extreme poverty and/or social exclusion. (Haan et al. 1987, p 989). Therefore, we can conclude that social exclusion is mainly associated with the above circumstances but it is also linked to a lack of social support, social position and empowerment. White (1998) describes the processes leading to social exclusion – including economic change, demographic change, changes to welfare systems and processes of segregation and separation of certain minority groups. Social exclusion is not just about individuals, it can refer to whole communities within which everyone can be affected. For example, areas with high levels of unemployment and deprivation. Sooman & Macintyre (1995) reported that studies in Glasgow showed differences in self-reported health between local areas, with more advantaged areas showing fewer health problems. In the mid 1990’s, this country was distinguished by high levels of social exclusion, with the highest rates in Europe of jobless households and teenage pregnancies (www. socialexclusionunit. gov. uk). Many of these figures worsened during the 1990’s and crime, poverty, exclusion from school and drug/alcohol dependency became significant problems. Nowadays, the concept of social exclusion is taking over from poverty. It does not just mean poor income, it suggests something more than social inequality and so it carries the risk of a multi-tier society or the relegation to the status of the welfare dependent. Robbins, cited in Alcock, 1997). We could, of course, ask the question why is social exclusion a problem? Why should we care about someone who does not participate in key activities of the society in which he or she lives? (Burchardt et al, 2002). After all, not everybody chooses to conform to social norms. So, what if an individual has used their personal autonomy to deliberately exclude themselves from society? A recluse who prefers solitude to company, a youth who chooses to join a criminal gang rather than pursue a career, or the rich people who lock themselves away at the other end of the social scale? Do all these people constitute a social problem, and if so, is it the same kind of problem as those who are socially excluded for reasons beyond their control? (British Journal of Psychiatry 2007. 191). There is, in society, an expectation that people conform to social norms, and if someone behaves or looks differently from what is expected then they could be subject to discrimination, whether their lifestyle is their own choice or has been forced upon them. To discriminate, briefly defined, means to victimize or favour a group or individual because of social, economic, race, gender or religious reasons. The law in Britain recognises two kinds of discrimination; direct and indirect. Direct discrimination occurs when, as defined above, a group or individual is targeted for specific reasons. Indirect discrimination can happen when there are rules or regulations set in place which could exclude certain people. For instance, an employer may state that no hats or headwear are to be worn in the workplace. This could indirectly discriminate against people of certain ethnicity whose religion states that they cover their heads. Discrimination and social exclusion have certain similarities and can be compared by drawing attention to the different types of social discrimination experienced by people. Discriminatory behaviours take many forms but they all involve some sort of exclusion or rejection. These behaviours can be looked at in different ways – for example, anthropologically. Anthropology as a discipline gives powerful insight to personal views and asks the fundamental question, how and why do human beings behave the way they do (Bronowski 1952) and compares the historical development of human society. This can be used in social work by enabling workers to understand different human behaviours and why they may be a product of society. As stated above, discrimination and social exclusion can have similar aspects but a key difference between them are the consequences that can come from discrimination, such as the policies put in place to ensure fair practice for those people who could be discriminated against by illness, age or gender. The core examples of these are the Disability, Age and Sex Discrimination policies now in place. These policies ensure that, legally, people can no longer be discriminated against for having a disability, being too old or too young or because of their gender. The social composition of a population affects the ways in which social discrimination is exercised. In a society with people of multiple identities, for example ethnicity and religion, individuals or groups are likely to face discriminatory problems in multiple ways. The extent and types of discrimination will depend on peoples’ status in the population. Similarly, oppression is also multifaceted and can be caused by fear of someone different, or someone who does not conform to what is thought to be the norm in social standing. It is important to recognise the common themes across the areas of exclusion, discrimination and oppression. Thompson (2006, p40) stated that: â€Å"Oppression can be defined as inhuman or degrading treatment of individuals or groups; hardship and injustice brought about by the dominance of one group over another. There are many parallels between the experiences of people with disabilities, gender issues, homosexuals and ethnic minorities but oppression and discrimination cannot be explained merely by peoples’ personal prejudices. Oppression does not derive simply from individual actions, it can be built into structural and institutional patterns and organisational policies. (Thompson 2001) The fact that we live in a highly stratified society means that inequalities are part of the social order and there are inevitably winners and losers. (Thompson 2001) Rooney (1987) gives an example of this. He describes how a local authority used a word of mouth process to recruit home-help staff. When there were vacancies for these jobs, the existing predominantly white employees would be asked to pass on information of the vacancies to friends and/or family. This meant that knowledge of the posts would only be passed on to a predominantly white group of people, some of whom would be interviewed and consequently employed. Because of this, black and ethnic minorities were systematically excluded, even though it may have been unintentional. There are many authorities and organisations that can be seen as being guilty of this kind of institutional oppression, with the ideas of powerful groups becoming dominant over the minority as quoted by Marx in 1845 â€Å"The ideas of the ruling class are, in every age, the ruling ideas. † Whilst anyone can experience social exclusion, discrimination or oppression, it has been found that certain groups are more vulnerable to them and that they are all linked to a certain degree. It is usually a combination of factors that contribute to social exclusion, thus making it a multidimensional process and not caused by a single unique factor. Madanipour et al 1998, cited in Byrne 2005). One group in particular that experience social exclusion are people that suffer from mental illness. It could be that the majority of negative attitudes towards mental illness are simply a reflection of the lack of understanding of various mental health conditions, and this could have a bearing on any initiative to combat such prejudice in the future. Link et al (1999) reported that though there has been some improvement of general understanding, the public, largely, does wish to maintain social distance from the mentally ill. Hocking (2003) found that people with schizophrenia, specifically, were subject to discrimination in housing, education and employment. Although the public perception of mental illness has been studied vastly, there are few studies to date that concentrate on how the public perceive mental illness within the workplace. Williams and Wilkins (1998) reported that when human resources officers were given vignettes of job applications where the applicants had very similar skills and qualifications, applicants who described themselves as having depression significantly reduced their chance of employment compared to that of applicants with diabetes. Baldwin and Johnson (2004) stated that workers with mental health problems were subject to a greater discrimination and suffered a lower employability ranking than workers suffering from a physical illness. Research also acknowledges that mental illness receives a greater amount of negativity than that of a physical illness. Britt (2000) reported that among military service members there was a strong belief that admitting to psychological or mental health problems at work would make them more discriminated against than admitting to physical problems. Over half of the participants of the report believed that a military service member’s career would be negatively affected by admitting a psychological problem and just under half actually admitted that they would maintain a distance from a co-worker has he or she disclosed a psychological problem. Rush et al (2005) identified 3 known misconceptions linked to people with mental illness: i)They are homicidal maniacs that should be avoided ii) They are rebellious free spirits iii) They have childlike perceptions of the world The most measurable of these is the first one – which could explain some of the exclusion, discrimination and oppression suffered by people with mental health problems. The government has encouraged action in the employment of people with mental illness through its action plan on social exclusion (Social Exclusion Task Force 2006), but levels of unemployment are still significantly high for sufferers even though most of them want to, and are able to work. They usually end up on long term benefit and suffer social exclusion in the form of deprivation, isolation and physical, as well as mental, ill health. Social support is of crucial importance to individuals and groups with mental health problems, and, maybe if there was more trust between people, along with more community cohesion and empowerment, there might be a greater understanding of the difficulties encountered by people with mental health problems and society would discriminate less. In conclusion then, it would seem that there are many similarities between social exclusion, discrimination and oppression. All of these subjects evoke a strong, emotive response from those affected by them. In the UK alone, there are still thousands of people who are in poverty, homeless or have mental health problems and who are consequently excluded from aspects of society or discriminated against. This is despite interventions from health and social care workers from all sectors, the government and educational facilities. PCTs and providers are working hard and making significant progress in improving the accessibility and quality of primary health care in order to keep people healthier for longer and reduce health inequalities (www. wdc. org. uk). Community social work, which was used at the introduction of the welfare state, is going through a regeneration period and the introduction of Sure Start and Family Centres on what the government describes as ‘Sink Estates’ enables the socially excluded to access services and skills to enable them to feel part of society. As with all government initiatives, people regard services with suspicion but social workers are in a position to build trusting and therapeutic relationships within the community. Therefore, although progress is slow, it is not unattainable. There is now evidence, however, which demonstrates that we need to go further to improve the way we meet the primary health care needs of the most socially excluded people within our society, as socially excluded clients often do not show up on needs assessments. The ‘Inclusion Health study (www. swdc. org. uk) has also produced an excellent supporting evidence pack which commissioners can use to help build the case for improvement. There is a clear need for people who work with socially excluded people to stay within a framework of guidelines. For example, social workers need to develop an understanding of the problems that can occur within people’s lives and employ anti-oppressive practice in all aspects of care. It is possible that socially excluded groups feel disempowered and unable to do anything to help themselves and it is the duty of the social worker to hand back power to the service user whilst recognising the personal, cultural and social factors affecting the individual or family in question. There needs to be adequate assessments linked to helping people to solve problems and a sound knowledge of what can cause exclusion or discrimination by using research based evidence. Howe (1993) emphasized the importance of process in evaluation and there are several ways to implement this; for example through personal perceptions, evidence from service users, colleagues and supervisors and advice from other professionals or individuals involved. In short however, the only way to eliminate exclusion of any sort is to raise awareness in the shortfalls of society and eradicate prejudice, bigotry and ignorance.

The Role of Media in Our Lives

Topic: The Role of Media in Our Lives INTRODUCTION Thesis Statement: There are some roles of media such as, as information provider, as an entertainment, as a tool for communication, and help to doing business. BODY 1st Supporting Paragraph Topic Sentence: Media was became one of the biggest warehouses of information in the world. 2nd Supporting Paragraph Topic Sentence: All of types of media have a function to entertain people. 3rd Supporting Paragraph Topic Sentence: Another role of media for our lives is help people in doing business. CONCLUSION Restating main pointsThe Role of Media in Our Lives What will be happen if people in the world lost their television, radio, phone, magazines, and computer? Are they still can do their works as usually? Of course, they cannot do it because some of the things which needed for helping to do their works are lost. Those things are the example of media. â€Å"In all communication, the most important part is you. † 1 In all to receives so me information, the most important thing is media. There are several roles of media in our lives, that is as information provider, as an entertainment, and as the tool of doing business.Throughout decades, media have became one of the most powerful weapons in the world. As time passed, more and more varieties of media were shown, like television, magazines, and internet. From reporting the news to persuading us to buy certain products, media became the only connection between people and the world. 1 Media was became one of the biggest warehouse of information in the world. Almost the information that people need already provided in the media and additionally the information is come from many sources in various countries. It is helped many people to know about what is going on during the day by giving the news.Mass media and Electronic media are the kinds of media that provide information for people such as information about education, politic, economic, environment, sport, and even job vacancy; The example of mass media are newspaper and magazines; The example of electronic media are television, radio, and internet. Yes,media plays a significant role in our society. It has helped many people during the terrorist attack and 24 hours busy giving news . 2 All of the types of media have a function to entertain people. When people in the bad mood, they can read magazines, watching television, listening the radio, and researching internet.Newspaper and magazines can entertain people trough the articles about fashion, jokes, and story about something unfamiliar with the color full pages. Television can entertain people with many kinds of films, programs, education. Radio, hand phone, and computer can entertain people with listening the music. Internet can entertain people by allows the people to research all kinds of material or information on their computer, playing game, and can find new friends ; By log in to yahoo messenger, facebook, twitter, and so on people fi nd new friend in all over the world.Another role of media for our lives is help people in doing business. Media makes people especially businessman easy in advertising and selling goods or services. It makes the company saving more time to do something important related to their business than presented their product door to door. Many people and company use television, internet, newspaper, magazine, and radio, to advertise their product. Not only for advertise and selling, people also can buy the product online by using the internet. Nowadays, media are very important and popular . For the simple fact that is become part of our daily routine.Every morning the family guy reads the newspapers to acquire inform without any type of criticisms. People spend hours and hours watching Television to acquire entertain the same case with the Internet. People used Television as main type of media to advertise it goods. Actually media has several roles such as to provide information, to entertai n, to help people in doing business. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. De VITO, Joseph A (2005) Fifth Edition : Essential of Human Communication Pearson Education, Inc 2005 2. http://www. 123helpme. com/preview. asp? id=155955 3. http://www. shvoong. com/social-sciences/1776136-influence-media-life/

Ways to Help the Poor.

There are different ways to address poverty and one of them is charity which means simple response to immediate need and specific situations. No one can actually eliminate poverty, but we each can do our part to reduce it around us just by starting in our community, or by starting in a local food bank that provides a necessary service for persons, who for whatever reason cannot afford a meal for themselves and their loved ones. Home for the Homeless were we can provide meals, clothing, laundry service and a resource center all free of charge.Most important is help them with learning because more than one in ten children living in the increasing world never gets the chance to go to school, in that case what we can do is found scholar ships programs, and also once in school, children need to be guaranteed of a safe environment enable them to understand their potential and why it is import to learn, like classroom construction, growth and supply of equipment because basic education, giv es people greater money-making opportunities and empowers them to lead healthier and more useful lives.The other way to address poverty is social justice which means ensuring those in society that they can fulfill their basic needs. The first thing we can do and a solution for all is to ask the government to lower the taxes. If taxes are lower then there would be more help for the poor because there would be more business and employment opportunities available for them to get a descent paycheck every week to feed, and cloth their family. You might be asking, why do I have to help the poor?Well children as they grow up in poverty, it seems more likely to have poor health care later in life when compared to those children who are not poor. When compared to non-poor children, children in poverty are somewhat more likely to have lower income and are a bit more likely to engage in crime. Another reason is because you’re helping them achieve their potential, so that they can contri bute to the economy by improving their own situation and also when you help one you help God as well as if one body suffers we all suffer with it.

Would Apple, Inc. Stockholders be Better Financially if They Received Research Paper

Would Apple, Inc. Stockholders be Better Financially if They Received Dividends Annually - Research Paper Example Investors invest their money on the assumption that though dividends may not be paid for considerable period of time, the capital appreciation due to growth will significantly justify the non-payment of dividends. The overall direction set up by Steve Jobs for Apple was based upon not paying the dividends and to accumulate a hoard of cash which can be subsequently utilized in terms of making investments into innovation. As a result of this policy, Apple went on to accumulate a large quantity of cash, the returns on which were relatively low and was considered as a drag on the returns on equity for the shareholders of Apple. One of the key reasons as to why Steve Jobs consistently pursued this policy of not paying the dividends is also based upon the fact that Apple barely avoided bankruptcy in 1997 thus Jobs was focused upon maintaining a large pile of cash which can potential avert any possibility of bankruptcy in future. (Shontell, 2011) Apple Inc, however took a new turn and annou nced that it will be sharing billions of dollars in dividends to the shareholders. This move has been considered by many as a radical shift from Job’s legacy. ... In order to avoid any such mishap in future, Jobs therefore focused upon piling up cash and neglecting paying the dividends to shareholders. Apple declared its first ever quarterly dividend in 1987 amounting to $ .12 per share however, at the same time, Apple also announced a 2 for 1 stock split too. Subsequently, however, Apple experienced losses and it became a less competitive player in the market. Due to this sliding, Apple gradually reduced paying the dividends and finally stopped to pay the same to its investors despite making a promising start in the early years of its establishment as a leading PC maker in the world. Recent Announcement of Dividends After the lapse of many years, Apple recently announced that it will start paying a quarterly dividend and will spend $45 billions in the next three years in terms of dividends as well as share buy backs. The recent announcement to pay quarterly dividend however also came with the offer of stock buy back thus signaling that Apple Inc might focus on reducing its outstanding shares in the market. (Satariano, 2012) Over the period of time, the cash pile up accumulated by Apple Inc was attracting low interest rates. In an economic environment where interest rates are relatively low thus keeping cash reserves as high as over $100 billions was considered as an imprudent financing decision. Investors therefore were of the view that hoarding such large amount of cash was actually a drag on the return on equity of the shareholders. The recent announcement therefore seems to be an effort towards listening to shareholders and provide them some sort of return in terms of dividends. However, the cash used for the share buy-back as well as dividends

PICO Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

PICO - Assignment Example To ensure patient satisfaction one of the emerging areas is practice of Evidence Based Nursing. This approach helps in framing of quality decisions and provides nursing care which is determined by personal clinical experience in combination with researched knowledge acquisition on the particular aspect of care giving. The objective of Evidence Based Nursing is to provide improvement in patient health and safety ensuring patient satisfaction. The process involves collection, analysis, and appraisal and action plan as per evidence based guidelines (Melnyk, 2011). Various forms of data collection both qualitative and quantitative are in practice to understand and formulate an action plan for a specific nursing oriented approach that helps to address the clinical problem directly or indirectly. The PICOT format has gained wide recognition in this evaluation process and is routinely implemented in clinical settings. The â€Å"PICOT† abbreviation is based on Patient Population (P), Issue or Intervention associated (I), Comparison group(C), Outcome (O) and the Timeframe associated (T) (Melnyk, 2011). Evaluating questions in this format helps to unfold treatment or care issues much faster to arrive at a particular solution. Further such approach is evidenced based and helps to identify the focused need of the patient, that can be addressed through supportive healthcare. For searching the relevant evidence, the key words of PICOT question are used to find the relevant studies from Journals, web documentations, clinical guidelines and expert experiences including self experiences. The evidence that is valued the most are the case controlled randomized studies and the meta-analysis. An extensive literature search coupled with personal experiences helps to identify the localized issues which help to formulate tailor-made solutions at the local level (Melnyk, 2011). One of the issues that I have identified during my practicum experience is the process of

Americas Best Colleges Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Americas Best Colleges - Essay Example Aside from knowing the importance of choosing a reputable school, as an Economics major, I know that competition has become extremely great nowadays. The Information Age further intensifies competition to the next level, making it fiercer and tougher. The invention of the Internet has opened up numerous opportunities that I believe can be maximized only by those who have prepared well and decided to take up the more courageous and more exciting path. As a foreigner, at first I thought that by just studying in any school in the United States could already give me an edge that will secure my future success in my chosen career. With that burning desire, I struggled before to enroll in an American college. Fortunately, my efforts turned out to be fruitful. I successfully became a student of Fisher College here in Boston. But as I moved on as a student in that university, I realized that there are greater opportunities for academic growth outside it. As I become more familiar with the American school system, there was still a desire in my heart to get quality education that I need to further improve my future success. I also realized that the name and the reputation of the school really matter. This pushed me to research on the Internet on America's top universities that are found in or near Boston. On surfing the US News web site, I came across the name of Boston University Knowin

Michigan's Responce to the PBB Crisis in the 1970s Essay

Michigan's Responce to the PBB Crisis in the 1970s - Essay Example The Michigan Chemical Corporation in St. Louis, Michigan was the main producer of the FireMaster brand of these PBB flame retardants. The brand FireMaster BP-6 was made out of a mixture of various PBB congeners with 2,2’,4,4’,5,5’-hexabromobiphenyl and 2,2’3,4,4’,5,5’-heptabromobiphenyl as major components based on mass2. Other components of FireMaster products include bromochlorobiphenyls and polybrominated naphthalenes3. These components combined created the unfortunate animal and human health consequences seen in the Michigan chemical disaster. The FireMaster BP-6, in 1973, was accidentally added to livestock feed which was then distributed to various farms in Michigan4. Shortly thereafter, various livestock started dying. About 1.5 million chickens, 30,000 cattle, 5900 pigs, and about 1400 sheep died immediately after being contaminated and their carcasses were managed in landfills in different parts of the state5. About a year would pass before the animals would be culled6. This incident was caused by poor labeling procedures of the company with thousands of pounds of FireMaster being mistakenly labeled as magnesium oxide and delivered to companies manufacturing animal feed. After contamination, most of the animals exhibited mild symptoms like disorientation; others however became very much sick, manifesting internal bleeding and skin lesions. Others died immediately after contamination7. ... hey did not know the actual cause of these deaths and most of them did not perceive that the tainted meat from these livestock would imply a major health threat9. As a result, meat from some of the sick animals was added into the animal feed. This caused further contamination of other animals. Meat from the healthy cows was also sold in the markets for human consumption10. Moreover, chickens which were fed the contaminated feeds lay eggs which were also tainted with PBBs. All in all, thousands of people in Michigan were actually ingesting PBB-contaminated foods and did not even know about it11. Symptoms of PBB poisoning among humans is often based on the amount or level of contamination; mostly it includes stomach problems, abnormal bleeding, loss of balance, skin lesions, and a decreased resistance to diseases12. Many farmers and their families developed health issues attributed to PBB contamination and in general, the long-term impact of PBB among Michigan residents is still persis tent because of the long-term impact of the PBBs13. In fact, it would take more years to pass before the full impact of the contamination would ever be known. The disaster also gained much attention for their continued impact on livestock, with nearly all of the large dairy farms in Michigan reporting cattle and other animal deaths14. Many of their cows also started aborting and most of them soon started to look sick, with their coats becoming mangy and hooves overgrowing. Consultants from the Michigan Department of Agriculture launched their investigation of these incidents; however, they too could not establish the cause of these incidents15. Eventually however, investigators uncovered that chemical workers at the Michigan Chemical Corporation mistakenly mixed chemical polybrominated

An Exploration of the changing attitudes towards female body shape of Dissertation

An Exploration of the changing attitudes towards female body shape of South East Asian young adults immigrates to the UK - Dissertation Example Previous studies conducted with regard to the subject matter at hand were able to show that a person’s body image is a product of their personal experiences, personality as well as various social and cultural forces. It has likewise been stated that a person’s sense of their own physical appearance usually in relation to others and to some cultural ideal, can shape the manner by which they perceive their own bodies (Grogan 2008). In addition thereto, they also maintained that a person’s perception of their appearance can be different from the manner by which others actually see (Kindes 2006). Aside from the aforementioned, studies were also able to show that women tend to be more worried about their body image than their male counterparts (Grogan 2008). Unfortunately, their concern with respect to the same was often times considered to have a negative impact on their health. More often than not, people who have a low body image will try to alter their body in var ious ways such as dieting and going through cosmetic surgery (Kindes 2006; Grogan 2008). It is in relation to what has been previously discussed that this dissertation focuses on body image. More specifically, the researcher focuses on the Western perceptions with respect to body image from that of their Asian counterparts. In addition thereto, this study aims to look into the impact of the Western body image to Asian immigrants, focusing on young women students who came to the United Kingdom of Great Britain in order to study. Previous studies and articles written with respect to body image and the effects thereof on both women and men, tend to underscore the fact that consciousness with respect to body image is a purely Western issue. The Western Society is often perceived to give much emphasis on the so-called model-type bodies. In fact, it is because of this emphasis that eating disorders are prevalent in the Western countries (Lake, Staiger and Glowinski 2000). However, the stu dy of Lake, Staiger and Glowinski (2000) pointed out that these eating disorders are prevalent even amongst non-Western women. Nevertheless, there is still a wide disparity with respect to the manner by which Western women perceive body image as compared with their Asian counterparts. Kristy (2011) supports the study conducted by Lake, Staiger and Glowinski (2000). According to her, body image problems tend to be more prevalent amongst developed countries. The author correlates this to the fact that most children and young adults in developing countries tend to focus on other problems which in turn, gives them little time to worry about their issues with respect to body image (Kristy 2011). Yates (n.d.) supports the previous discussions stating that the Western Culture is responsible for perpetuating an unending and deeply saddening reality – the quest for bodily perfection. According to this author, this quest is fueled by advertising campaigns as well as the manner by which women are portrayed in Hollywood (Yates n.d.). The consequence of this is that 80% of American Women tend to be dissatisfied with their appearance. In relation to the abovementioned, Dixit (2011) discusses the consequences of such standards on South Asian women living in other countries. According to her, with the entire world are influenced by media-defined ideals of beauty through films, magazines and television shows, South Asian women living in other countries feel the pressure to conform to the standards of beauty set forth by Western shows, films,

Teaching strategies and adaptations shown to be effective for teaching Essay

Teaching strategies and adaptations shown to be effective for teaching individuals with learning disabilities - Essay Example Teaching Strategies for Learning Disabled Students Teaching strategies play a critical role in improving the learning abilities of learning-disabled children. Those strategies assist the teachers not only in interacting with learning-disabled children but also in improving learning and comprehension abilities of the children. Some of the most appropriate teaching strategies include repeated reading intervention, evidence based reading strategy, computer based teaching strategy, and reading comprehension strategy for the learning-disabled students. In repeated learning reading intervention strategy, repeated reading practices are used to provide multiple exposures to same words to the disabled children. â€Å"For students with or at risk for learning disabilities, developing fluency with reading connected texts remains a formidable challenge† (Chard, Ketterlin-Geller, Baker, Doabler, & Apichatabutra, 2009, p. 263-281). Evidence based and reading comprehension strategies are ver y effective in improving the literacy sills of the children.

Ethics Utilitarianism Essay Example for Free

Ethics Utilitarianism Essay a.) Explain the main differences between the utilitarianism of Bentham and that of Mill. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that looks at the concept of `utility`, or the usefulness of actions. Two of the most famous Utilitarians were Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill; Bentham was the first to introduce the theory, and his views were more similar to that of Act Utilitarianism. Mill on the other hand differed in his views, and his intention was to improve the theory, and his ideas were closer to that of Rule Utilitarianism; and Mill was also the one to coin the name of the theory. Although it is the same theory, the two philosophers had two different concepts of the best approach to Utilitarianism. One of the main differences between the two philosophers view of utility is their idea of the intrinsic good. For Bentham, the goodness of actions is measured by the amount of pleasure they produce. For him, two things were the most important, the pursuit of pleasure and the absence of pain, and so happiness is pleasure without pain. Bentham produced his `hedonic calculus` to calculate the amount of pleasure produced by actions, which includes categories such as measuring the intensity, duration, and purity of pleasure to work out the best actions to take. This is because Bentham was a hedonist; he thought the best way to live life is the most pleasurable way. Although he never specifically said himself, it is thought that he would have preferred Act Utilitarianism, which looks at individual acts, and the amount of pleasure they generate, in each situation. This differs from Mill in that he thought the goodness of actions is based on the amount of happiness they produce. The practice of following a rule creates happiness, rather than looking at every separate act; it is thought that he was closer to a Rule Utilitarian, which involves following rules to create greater happiness. Furthermore, Bentham’s Utilitarianism is much more focussed on the individual. The individual judges each act by its utility, and the amount of pleasure it will produce; as it is about the quantity of pleasure, for Bentham, which decides which action should be taken. The motivation is for self-interest, which means that often justice can be ignored, as the focus is not on the wider public, which is different from Mill’s approach. Mill’s approach involves looking at the happiness of the community, so justice is addressed, and well-being has utmost importance. To make it more  universal he said that each desires their own happiness, so they should aim at it, and furthermore everyone ought to aim for the happiness for everyone else too, making sympathy the motive for doing an action. Both approaches are consequentialist, but for Mill, an ethical act is one where the consequences favour the happiness and wellbeing of all. His approach also looks at the quality of the activities as well, arguing that certain things can be rated as `higher` and `lower ` pleasures. He said that food, sex and drink are of the `lower` category, whereas poetry, opera and fine art and the like are of the `higher` pleasures, and that we should strive for pleasure of better quality, of a more high-class lifestyle, as they are of more value. Whereas Bentham uses the example of a game of `push-pin` (a children’s game) gives the same amount of pleasure as a good book, Mill argues against that saying the quality of the pleasure is what is importance. Essentially, what makes an act ethical for Bentham is the amount of pleasure that is produced for the individual, and duration and intensity etc. For J.S. Mill, an act is ethical if it follows more set rules, how much happiness is produced on a larger scale, and the quality of the pleasure, rather than the quantity. b.) `Mill’s Utilitarianism is superior in every way to the Utilitarianism of Bentham`. Discuss. Both Mill and Bentham wished to produce an ethical theory that created the most happiness, which is what they believed to be the basis for justice, and the best way of living. However, since they saw the way to achieve this happiness in different light, they had different approaches to the theory, meaning that one approach will be considered superior to the other. In my opinion, it is true that Mill’s approach is superior to Bentham’s, although not in every way. Firstly, it must be considered that it is not certain which `type` of Utilitarianism each philosopher preferred. Generally it is thought that Bentham took the Act approach, and Mill the Rule approach, however neither put themselves in any of the categories, so it is therefore debatable. It is evident that both do not stick completely to the respective approaches; as an example, Mill was known to write, â€Å"Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness†, which implies a prefe rence to Act Utilitarianism, although others still think that he may even have been a virtue ethicist. For the sake of this writing though, I will categorise each philosopher to their assumed approach. John Stuart Mill was very familiar  with Jeremy Bentham in person, as he was Bentham’s godson, and it is evident how this relationship affected his view on ethics. Mill attempted to improve Bentham’s theory, this concept of utility, which Mill coined `Utilitarianism`. However, his whole idea of the `greatest good for the greatest number` was accentuated by Mill when he made it more focussed on the community. As he thought more that happiness should be the standard of utility, not the self-centred pleasure. This improves the theory, as otherwise everybody will be focussing on themselves, and in many situations the pleasure of one person may exclude the happiness of many. I think it is also more appropriate inside the theory; as, if one looks out for the community, it seems more likely that the greatest good for the greatest number will be reached. Likewise, Mill’s idea of happiness being about the quality, not the quantity of pleasure, is to an extent better. The higher pleasures taking preference over the lower kinds of pleasures seem to fit with the quality of life, education and so forth. However, there is a danger that this idea quickly becomes snobbish, and puts the higher classes above those who would prefer rap music over opera. I suppose that this could make Mill’s approach `superior`, but in the way that is arrogant and conceited, rather than the definition of superior meaning improved. This shows how the theory is counter-intuitive in some areas; in how the community has importance, and not just the individual; and yet Mill still argues that the quality of pleasure takes precedence over the quantity, which seems to contradict the idea of community, and involve multiple classes. Another negative side of Mill’s theory is that he makes a jump with his universalisability ideas. He makes an inductive leap in saying that just because one person desires their own happiness they will naturally aim for the happiness of everyone else. John Rawls was known for criticising Mill and how it is not ethical to assume that one person would do something for a group, and how people can be used a means to an end because of that. Theoretically it is a suitable idea, that everyone would look out for the happiness for everyone else, but in practice it is not logical, he is separating morality and motive. An alternative approach to Utilitarianism would be that of Henry Sidgwick. In his book `The method of Ethics` he explained how he was concerned with justice in society. Although he was an Act Utilitarian like Bentham, his approach was similar to Mill’s, in that  the consequences take into account the welfare of the people. This is an improvement again on Bentham’s ethics as justice and welfare have importance over the selfish desires of individuals, which supports Mill and his superiority over Bentham’s Utilitarianism. In conclusion, Mill’s Utilitarianism is superior to that of Bentham’s, in that it looks at the welfare of the people more, and even though it is snobbish in some areas where Bentham’s approach is better, overall Mill’s approach is more improved as it looks as the happiness of others.

An Analysis Of Facebooks Advertising Methods

An Analysis Of Facebooks Advertising Methods Introduction Defining Advertising is the non-personal communication of giving information usually paid for which usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media. Now, I would like to lets take this statement apart and see what it should be. Advertising is bringing a product and service to the attention of potential and current customers. Advertising is focused on one particular product or service. Thus, an advertising plan for one product might be very different than that for another product. Advertising is typically done with signs, brochures, commercials, direct mailings or e-mail messages, personal contact, etc. The first assumption that was queried related to purchasing itself, in terms of what advertising would achieve if it was effective. This assumption was advertising achieved the conversion. In the sense of converting loyal user of the other brand to loyal users of the brand advertised. We pointed out that this pattern, although it could on occasion be found in actual purchasing sequences, was actually quite rare. It also happen in this case: I have always bought brand B, but now I have the advertising for brand A has persuaded me that it is better in fulfill my requirement under the advertisement, so in future I will buy brand A The advertisement pointed out that strengthen of the product which mean its communicating with the people. First, what is non-personal advertising? There are two basic ways to sell anything: personally and non-personally. Personal selling requires the seller and the buyer to get together. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. The first advantage is time: the seller has time to discuss in detail everything about the product. The buyer has time to ask questions, get answers, and examine evidence for or against purchase. Next, the seller can easily locate potential buyers. If you enter a store, you probably have an interest in something that store sells. Street vendors and door-to-door sellers can simply shout at possibilities, like McDonaldsretailer shop who call out, I say there, I would like to order food?, or knock at the door and start their spiel with an attention grabber. From there on they fit their message to the individual customer, taking all the time a customer is willing to give them. Disadvantages do exist. Personal selling is, naturally enough, expensive, since it is labor-intensive and deals with only one buyer at a time. Just imagine trying to sell chewing gum or guitar picks one-on-one; it would cost a dollar a stick or pick. In addition, its advantage of time is also a disadvantage. Personal selling is time-consuming. Selling a stereo or a car can take days, and major computer and airplane sales can take years. Nonetheless, although personal selling results in more rejections than sales, and can be nerve-racking, frustrating and ego destroying for the salesperson, when the salesperson is good it is more directed and successful than advertising. From the above, it appears that personal selling is much better than advertising, which is non-personal. This is true. Advertising has none of the advantages of personal selling: there is very little time in which to present the sales message, there is no way to know just who the customer is or how them is responding to the message, the message cannot be changed in mid-course to suit the customers reactions. Then why bother with advertising? Because its advantages exactly replace the disadvantages of personal selling and can emulate some of the advantages. First lets look at the latter. First, advertising has, comparatively speaking, all the time in the world. Unlike personal selling, the sales message and its presentation does not have to be created on the spot with the customer watching. It can be created in as many ways as the writer can conceive, be rewritten, tested, modified, injected with every trick and appeal known to affect consumers. (Some of the latter is the content of this book.) Second, although advertisers may not see the individual customer, nor be able to modify the sales message according to that individuals reactions at the time, it does have research about customers. The research can identify potential customers, find what message elements might influence them, and figure out how best to get that message to them. Although the research is meaningless when applied to any particular individual, it is effective when applied to large groups of customers. Third, and perhaps of most importance, advertising can be far cheaper per potential customer than personal selling. Personal selling is extremely labor-intensive, dealing with one customer at a time. Advertising deals with hundreds, thousands, or millions of customers at a time, reducing the cost per customer to mere pennies. In fact, advertising costs are determined in part using a formula to determine, not cost per potential customer, but cost per thousand potential customers. Thus, it appears that advertising is a good idea as a sales tool. For small ticket items, such as chewing gum and guitar picks, advertising is cost effective to do the entire selling job. For large ticket items, such as cars and computers, advertising can do a large part of the selling job, and personal selling is used to complete and close the sale. Advertising is non-personal, but effective. Facebook advertising method C:UsersYonGDesktopdddd.png The red arrow showing the Facebook advertisement People treat Facebook as an authentic part of their lives, so you can be sure you are connecting with real people with real interest in your products. Facebook Ads provided CM Photographic the ability to target their exact demographic 24-30 year old women whose relationship status on Facebook indicated that they were engaged. Over 12 months, CM Photographic generated nearly $40,000 in revenue directly from a $600 advertising investment on Facebook. Of the Facebook users who were directed to CM Photographic website from the ads, 60% became qualified leads and actively expressed interest in more information. http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/zD/r/2xon6QBONrZ.jpg I have found [Facebook Ads] SO effective. My business wouldnt be anywhere close to where it is today if it werent for Facebook, and the ads campaign. Chris Meyer, President From the information given, Facebook Ads makes it easy and cost-effective to quickly set up and manage your campaign. G5 found success setting up a series of Facebook Ad campaigns targeted to college students at 21 campuses prior to Summer break for StorQuestself-service storage facilities. Real-time suggested bids for our auction-based system provided guidance that enabled G5 to hone ad effectiveness based on their various targeting filters (age, college level and location). The results from StorQuests Facebook ad campaign were one of their highest performing online advertising efforts: Over 50% increase in total rentals versus prior year at the same store. 10% conversion rate from visits originating from Facebook Ads. On par with Google AdWords on a cost-per-lead and cost-per-customer basis. $1.25 CPC delivered $10.25 cost-per-lead. When you have a broader presence on Facebook with Facebook Pages or Facebook Events plus ads for instance, you can turn your advertising message into a trusted referral by including content from a users friends who are already affiliated with your products. ANA took this approach by creating a Facebook Page to acquire interested users for on-going messaging opportunities and developing a compelling advertising campaign. ANA used a creative grouping of keywords to target advertising to users specifically interested in traveling and Japanese culture and developed ad creative that resonated with their audience. Average campaigns for ANA result in CTR of 8 12%. Facebook Ads resulted in a 25% CTR. Conversions resulted in positive ROI which is unique for ANA considering their product is not an impulse purchase for most people and Japan is not traditionally seen as a leisure destination. If the company is running a Facebook Ad Campaign, they can choose to target Social Actions in their campaigns. With this feature enabled, those people who fan the Page may see the Ad listed among their News Feeds. Companies can also use the Facebook messaging system to communicate with their fans. The advantages and disadvantages of Facebook advertising method Advantages of Facebook advertising method Facebook Advertising. The popularity of facebook has become the top social network while its advertising is truly a goldmine for advertiser to use it as the facebook player owned over 39 billion page views a month and 400 million active users, its really a huge traffic source for firm to advertise their goods and service ,just like the way of there is a market ,supply will occurs when there is demand. The huge profit of Facebook advertising to internet marketing specialists and online advertisers is the social networking websites massive user base. In February 2010, Facebooks is celebrate of having 400 million active users from all around the world and the figure is still growing quickly. According to figure shows that the average Facebook user spends around 55 minutes a day on this social networking website.this is a positive symptom for the firm to advertise their goods on facebook as there are higher possibilities to let user to notice their ads. Highly Targeted Online Marketing Campaigns, Facebook advertising offers social media traffic instead of using typical tradisional search traffic. The new type or searching had leads to a different demographic targeting options, along with searching by unique keyword system. Facebooks advertising platform operate in a certain area or products that are designed for a specific age range. The facebook advertising media ,makes nine different ways to target audiences which are Location, Age, Gender, Keywords , Education, Workplace, Relationship Status, Relationship, Interests, Languages. All these are important to firm as they get to know which kind of consumer they are targeting . Customer Reach 400 million customers (100 million mobile users) cannot be ignored. Yes, there are more Google searches that are being done and one could argue that Google Ad words can reach more but with usage time on social media channels continuing to soar, the customer reach for Facebook advertising is monumental and needs to be utilized. Increased Targeting Because of its ability to dissect and segment customer information, Facebook has the ability to offer increased targeting for their advertisers. If you would like to only target women, ages 25-35 with a college education who live in Glendale, California, then you can do that. Similary when someone changes status (married, single, engaged) they move into new markets, making them more attractive to target. CPM or PPC Option Most ad networks only offer one or the other. Facebook allows you to determine whether you are more focused on exposure and awareness (CPM) or focused on conversion and providing more information (PPC). You must understanding your audience first, but it is nice to know that the option is there. Successful with Local Clients With the ability to target locally very precise, companies and services that are looking for local or regional clients can reap benefits from the Facebook advertising system. Disadvantages of Facebook advertising method Low Conversion Rates for eCommerce People are using Facebook to talk with their friends and socialize and rarely are thinking about buying something when they log into their Facebook account. This creates issues when companies are focusing on click through rate and high (>2.5-5%) conversion rates. Weird, Irrevelant Ads One thing that Facebook has continued to try and crack down on is advertising campaigns that make their way into the system that are irrevelant and are, at times, off putting to users of the system. Free giveways, rewards programs and humor sites have continued to flood the system, giving the ads less relevance when the consumer is viewing them. High PPC Cost for Niche Markets Marketers and bloggers have complained that PPC costs for niche markets, that would normally provide a low cost, are similar to pricing for general terms and demographic targeting. Facebook will need to continue to optimize their pricing model to make sure niche markets like chicago wedding photographers can afford to use this engine to attract traffic to their site. Costs-per-click tend to be higher than other companies for popular niches. Not as versatile as Google, for instance, with no suggestion of keywords. You really need to know your market to make conversions. These users are not on Facebook to buy. There are there to socialize. On the other hand, when someone types in size 8, Calvin Klein, white skinny body jeans into a search engine, she wants to buy. Someone on Facebook talking about or interested in designer jeans is not necessarily interested in your ad to sell them jeans. Facebook is more private in the sense that people keep to themselves, and trust their group or clique. You have to bother people while they are doing something they enjoy, like looking at Grandmas photos or exchanging recipes with girlfriends. This is called interruption marketing and is not always seen in a positive light. FB is not a direct sales venue. You need to understand how a sales funnel works to build trust to get leads rather than sales on the spur of t he moment. Can consume resources and waste a lot of money. With Adwords, it is possible to test ads by showing two similar ads to everyone. This is apparently not effective on Facebook because you are not targeting whole countries. And many internet marketers say it is too costly to experiment. Users complain that ads are not relevant to their interests so they have no reason to even go further. Improvement for facebook advertising method IQ Tests Ads IQ tests are by far the most popular advertisement scams on Facebook. While browsing the Facebook social network, youre sure to have come across ads that display the fake IQ test results of your friends or celebrities. In a pure case of I know they arent smarter than me most Facebook users are baited into falling for the IQ test advertisement scam. These ads are made to fit well into the design of Facebook, but once clicked; this scam will redirect you to another website where all of the scamming will begin. Ironically, by clicking the link of this advertisement scam, youve already failed the real IQ test. These ads will have you answer a list of seemingly legitimate questions, but in the end, they sink their teeth in for the real scam. In order to see the results of your IQ test, youll have to sign over your first born child submit your cell phone number and will be charged as much as $20 a month. Nice going smarty pants. Dating Ads Facebook is plagued with thousands of ads with scantily clad, well endowed, and playfully slutty women that happen to be single, and by sheer coincidence live in your hometown. Dating advertisement scams usually say things like Lonely, 18 (21), and single, Im bored, half naked, and looking to get completely naked tonight or other messages that should immediately trigger your brain with a scam alert; if all the blood in your body hadnt escaped from your brain to gather in another area. These ads are nothing but dating site scams and youll be out of cash just to receive teases on another site. To publish to people who have liked your Web page, Open Graph tags must be added to the Web page. The required Open Graph tags for publishing can be found. Once added, you can publish via our interface by clicking on the admin page link to the right of the Like button.( link only visible to the admins defined via Open Graph tags on the Web page). The best pratices for publishing is we found that involving emoational topics, passinate debates, and imprortant storts event have the activity of other stories. Status updates which ask simple question or encourage a user to like the story which haven given and stories publisher in the early morning or later evening have higher engagement. Banner advertising method C:UsersYonGDesktopasdasdasdad.png The Arrow showing the banner advertising method http://www.heybannerbanner.com/client_folders/CAGERAGE/CAGERAGE1b_300x250.gif A banner ad is an image shown on a webpage for advertising purposes. Along with animation, contemporary ad banners often use simple forms of interaction as a lure, taking advantage of plug-ins such as Flash and Shockwave to create banner-based games. As you can see, advertisers came to the conclusion that banner ads were not as effective as full-page magazine ads or 30-second TV commercials. At the same time, there was an incredible glut of advertising space, thousands of sites had a million or more page impressions available per month, and companies like DoubleClick began collecting these sites into massive pools of banner-ad inventory. The economic principle of supply and demand works the same way on the Web as it does everywhere else, so the rates paid for banner advertising began to plummet. Undoubtedly you know what banner ads are; youve seen innumerable ones as youve surfed across countless websites. You may have already clicked on a number of them. Banner ads take different shapes and sizes, and many forms and styles, but they share a common goal: attracting visitors! Banner ads usually contain graphics, sometimes they are entirely text and others they use graphics and text. The main idea of a banner ad is to present an interesting idea to the surfer and have them click on it for more information, leading them to the advertisers site. Banner ads come in many sizes, the most popular, is a full banner (468 x 60), but all styles are used. Some people claim you should stay away from using full banner ads as they are already so common that most surfers avoid them. Obviously placing banners that advertise your site on other websites costs money. There are several ways of paying for this type of advertising. You may pay per click on the banner; per thousand clicks; per sales to visitors directed to you, or another form. How much banner ads work for you will depend on a variety of things? Where you place the ads, how relevant the sites hosting the ad are to your site; what your ads look like, how appealing they are; how clear they are about what you are advertising, etc. Placing the ads on sites related to yours is vitally important, i.e. people surfing for watches will probably not be interested in an ad for parachutes. Your ads should be attractive, preferably animated, clear and to the point. They should be advertising a specific product or service, not just the name of your site. People who click on the ad should be able to find the product or service in question with relative ease. Ideally, the ad should lead directly to it. The advantages and disadvantages of Banner advertising method Advantages of using Banner advertising method Get a structured and well thought out campaign advantages of hiring a banner advertising agency to conduct your campaign is the fact that your campaign will be in the hands of the professionals and therefore it will be conducted in a sensible and professional manner. This structured campaign will also lead to better results. You will also save a lot of time when you hire a company such as this. This is because you will not have to spend any time figuring out the ground work. Professionally designed banners and email marketing agencies have professionals that work on the job. Therefore you can be assured that if you outsource your campaign to them you will have banners that are professional looking and catchy promoting your products. You must remember that a banner will be of no use if it cannot grab the attention of the people on that page. Getting your banner advertisement designed by the professionals give you a clear cut advantage as the professionals know exactly what works and what doesnt. Being in the right place at the right time another very big advantage that you have when you hire an online advertising agency to help with your banner advertising is the fact that they know exactly where to place you banner to ensure that you get the desired results. Banners such as these can only be placed on websites that have content similar to what the banner is promoting. Therefore instead of you doing all the research to figure out where you banner can be placed, the agency will do it for you. That way you get to focus on other aspects of your business Low cost is the main thing. Even if the Internet ads can be displayed as very comprehensive compared to other media, it is definitely much cheaper than most. Internet Ad Packages are offered as low as $ 10.00 for a period of one month, or by a set amount of hits, depending on the advertiser you go with. Disadvantages of using banner advertising method Online banner advertising provides a method of getting click through to the advertisers site. The biggest of the online advertising disadvantages, is cost. Banner ads are also being frowned upon because it affects website speed and traffic. Like any other graphics, banner ads take time to load. This and the idea that they create clutter can discourage some visitors. Another of the online advertising disadvantages is that bigger ads catch attention. But not every advertiser can afford bigger ads and oftentimes, the banner exchanges only accept a standard ad size. Finally, some search engines never have or are no longer accepting banner ad placements, relying instead on targeted ads and paid listings. To them, the most important of the online advertising disadvantages is interference with the user experience. For example, Google, the number one search engine, offers a user-friendly interface that relies on contextual advertising. Basically, they put text ads on non-search pages that fit based on content. Using online banner images can really come in handy. Especially if you do not have your own website. You can normally just copy and paste the codes in and have your banner up and running. They are great for websites to. But there are some times when your banner may stop working. If this happens to you then here are a few troubleshooting problems that may solve the issue. The biggest reason why most online banner images stop working is because people make chances to the codes they were given. They chance where the banner links to or rewrite what is in the alt section. Doing this can get your banner codes deleted from their service without warning. This will leave you will a image with a small red x in the middle. You must not chance the code at all to keep the image working. A simple solution to this is to download the image to your PC and then upload it to your web hosting service. Then you can link your ad to any place you want without fear of it being cancelled. Unfortunately some free site services do not give you this option so you will have to use the codes as they are given to you. You can always create your own link underneath the banner for people to click to if that helps. Another one of those troubleshooting problems can be quite simple. You may not have copied all of the code you were given. Just missing one character can prevent your online banner image from working. Double check to make sure that you got all of the code. Sometimes a banner can get blocked by other java scripts on your site. Your troubleshooting problems could start with you removing other codes off your site one by one to see which one is blocking it. When you find the right one you will then have to decide which one stays or goes. Since not all codes can work on the same page at the same time it will be a little bit of a challenge to find the code that your online banners image does work with. Unless you have lots of different codes it shouldnt take you long to find. It could be a easy as the banner site that you used have either went offline or experiencing technical difficulties. Check to see if they still exist and if they do contact them with your problem. There are times when you can run into issues of your online banner images working on the web from other computers but not from yours. This is one of those troubleshooting problems that can be confusing. There could be several reasons why this may occur. You may just need to update your java software to the latest version. There could be spyware that is blocking the code from coming up so scan your PC with the protection you are using and with an online service you trust. If you decide to rent the help of a professional, a freelancer or a company for the production of your site and /or advertising for your product or service, of course it costs more than if you did it yourself. For more information logon to www.tried-tested-marketing-strategies.com .While the costs can advance an initial disadvantage, the results in the long term may in fact be very beneficial if you have the right people to work with. Improvement of using banner advertising method Using banner advertising effectively and to create a banner ads isnt all that difficult, you just need to know what to do right? For those of you who dont know this marketing method: its a paid marketing method to promote your business or product by means of placing a banner advertisement on other websites. This could either be a banner exchange, or you simply pay another website to have your banner placed. It is a very powerful and effective method if you know how to design a good banner ad. Lets take a closer look. Using Banner Advertising Effectively 3 Golden Rules For Effective Banner Ads Golden rule 1. Whats the benefit for your customers? Effective banner ads will always communicate the main benefit(s) to your prospective clients. If your product makes people loose weight for instance, then its obvious to make your headline something like: Loose 10 Pounds In Just One Week! Banner ads will have to include the benefit of your product or service in the main headline. Communicating benefits to people gets your attention. Effectively implementing banner advertising generates a much higher click through rate. Golden Rule 2. Graphics are not as effective as text! When using banners for advertising, you also want the headline of the banner ad to stand out. Make the headline (thus the benefit of your product or business) in big bolded letters. I always use the Arial font for my effective banner ads. This font is easy to read from computer screens. Using banner advertising effectively means that you also need to include another 2-3 lines of text to the banner. Perhaps you can mention some extra benefits or additional info about the service, product or business. Check out the site you are going to banner advertise. Golden Rule 3. Include instructions for your prospects. Tell them what to do next!A lack of communication in banner ads will make your campaign fail. If you want to start using banner advertising effectively, a banner ad MUST include a Call-2-Action. Instruct your audience what to do. Include text that tell people what to do such as Show Me Now, Visit Us Now or Show Me The Biz. It will make the click through rate go up and so will the conversions to sales, generating more profits for you. Of course there are many more golden rules to follow for effective banner ads, but the above 3 are the most important for using banner advertising effectively. Using the method of advertising with banners and creating banner ads that are effective is just one method of marketing to advertise your business and to drive traffic to your website. Let me show you where you can see all the other 50 or so proven and powerful marketing methods, strategies tips and tricks to market virtually any product or business online. Pop-up advertising method A pop-up ad is an ad that pops up in its own window when you go to a page. It obscures the Web page that you are trying to read, so you have to close the window or move it out of the way. Pop-under ads are similar, but place themselves under the content you are trying to read and are therefore less intrusive. http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/web-advertising-popup-ad.gif http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/web-advertising-popup-ad2.gif A typical site with two pop-up ads that appear on top of the home page A pop-up ad is a pop-up window used for advertising. When the program is initiated by some user action, such as a mouse click or a mouse over , a window containing an offer for some product or service appears in the foreground of the visual interface. Like all pop-ups, a pop-up ad is smaller than the background interface windows that fill the user interface are called replacement interfaces and usually resembles a small browser window with only the close, minimize, and maximize options at the top. A variation on the pop-up ad, the pop-under , is a window that loads behind the Web page that youre viewing, only to appear when you leave that Web site. Pop-up and pop-under ads annoy many users because they clutter up the desktop and take time to close. However, they are much more effective than banner ads. Whereas a banner ad might get two to five clicks per 1,000 impressions, a pop-up ad might average 30 clicks. Therefore, advertisers are willing to pay more for pop-up and pop-under ads. Typically, a pop-up ad will pay the Web site four to 10 times more than a banner ad. That is why you see so many pop-up ads on the Web today. Pop-up windows come in many different shapes and sizes, typically in a scaled-down browser window with only the Close, Minimize and Maximize commands. There is a strong resentment by some Web surfers towards pop-up ads. Marketers often do not realize the ill-will generated by pop-ups because it is easier to click the close button than send an email to complain. What can often be seen is an above-average click-through rate, although some of this can come from false positives, unintentional clicks when the pop-up gets in the way of the desired target. Advertisers can get a better picture of the effectiveness of pop-up advertising by paying attention to conversion rates and return on investment (ROI). Pop-up ads are not popular with the average Web surfer, and there are several products that disable them, such as Pop-up Stopper, Pop-up Killer, and Pop-up Annihilator. One thing to look for in such a program is the ability to differentiate between user-initiated pop-up windows and others, because many other applications (such as Webcast s, for example) make use of pop-up windows. If a pop-up stopper utility cant tell the difference between a pop-up window that the user has requested and an unsought pop-up ad, the program may cause more problems for the user than it solves. The advantages and disadvantages of pop-up advertising method Advantages of using pop-up advertising method they offer the example of Web giants like Yahoo! and Google Inc. who also offer their users pop-up ads. The site owners cite this precedent as justification

defamation Essay examples -- essays research papers

By definition defamation is the act of injuring someone’s character or reputation by false statements. Cases of defamation are only considered attacks on if they are made in a vindictive or malicious manner. The person’s name is considered not only personal but proprietary right of reputation. Defamation is synonymous with the words libel and slander in terms of law. Defamation is a term that encompasses both libel and slander. Libel is a term used to describe visual defamation; as in newspaper articles or misleading pictures. Slander describes defamation that you can hear, not see. It is mostly oral statements that tarnish someone’s reputation. Defamation is used mainly in politically based arenas; corporate workplace, entertainment, and definitely in politics. It can be traced back to as far as governments have been established. Different countries have various roots of laws dealing with defamation and its consequences. In pre- Roman time’s crimes dealing with slanderous and libel offences were punishable by death by law of the Twelve Tables. In Roman jurisprudence the offences were dealt with in a ways similar to modern law. Statements made in public were considered an offence, yet those made in private were not. The truth was a sufficient defense. Many libel and slander laws descend from the English law of defamation. The first documented case of libel was tried by the Star Chamber in the reign of James I. American laws regulating slander and libel began previous to the American Revolution. In one of the more significant cases New York publisher John Peter Zenger was accused and brought to trial on charges of libel. In 1734 the German immigrant published an article â€Å"attacking† Governor Cosby of the New York Colony. His case was won and the trial aquitted. This case showed the oppsite side of the spectrum, on how to fight aginst defamatory charges. Another important case occurred in 1964 in New York Times v. Sullivan. This case set a preesident for libel cases. It stated that officials could only win a suit if they demonstrated actual malice, knowledge that the information was false, and reckless disregard of whether it was false or not. In 1974 Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. the supremecourt ruled that plaintiff could not win if the statements were oppionion rather than fact. These cases helped protect the first ammendment of... ...any claimed to have fired him for â€Å"cause† which means he had been convicted or entered a no-contest plea to a felony or had been found guilty of fraud or embezzlement. The suit seeks damages and a retraction of company statements that said Orlick was fired for "cause." This cases outcome has not yet been published. Another controvercial case of defamation includes now Governer of California Arnold Schwarzenegger. A Hollywood stuntwoman alleged that she was sexually harassed by Schwarzenegger. She claimed that she was touched during two of the films. When she spoke out aginst Mr. Schwarzenegger his campaign staff told reporters she was a felon with a long criminal record. After this she filed a defamation suit against him for ruining her good name in the public eye. Defamation laws along with those of privacy matters are among the most controvercial. In many cases it is hard to meet the criteria of what is actually concidered a libel and slander offence. As far back as governments can reach defamation has always been a problem and always will be. Defamation is very common and is easily found in things like propaganda, politics, magiznes, newspapers, and the television. defamation Essay examples -- essays research papers By definition defamation is the act of injuring someone’s character or reputation by false statements. Cases of defamation are only considered attacks on if they are made in a vindictive or malicious manner. The person’s name is considered not only personal but proprietary right of reputation. Defamation is synonymous with the words libel and slander in terms of law. Defamation is a term that encompasses both libel and slander. Libel is a term used to describe visual defamation; as in newspaper articles or misleading pictures. Slander describes defamation that you can hear, not see. It is mostly oral statements that tarnish someone’s reputation. Defamation is used mainly in politically based arenas; corporate workplace, entertainment, and definitely in politics. It can be traced back to as far as governments have been established. Different countries have various roots of laws dealing with defamation and its consequences. In pre- Roman time’s crimes dealing with slanderous and libel offences were punishable by death by law of the Twelve Tables. In Roman jurisprudence the offences were dealt with in a ways similar to modern law. Statements made in public were considered an offence, yet those made in private were not. The truth was a sufficient defense. Many libel and slander laws descend from the English law of defamation. The first documented case of libel was tried by the Star Chamber in the reign of James I. American laws regulating slander and libel began previous to the American Revolution. In one of the more significant cases New York publisher John Peter Zenger was accused and brought to trial on charges of libel. In 1734 the German immigrant published an article â€Å"attacking† Governor Cosby of the New York Colony. His case was won and the trial aquitted. This case showed the oppsite side of the spectrum, on how to fight aginst defamatory charges. Another important case occurred in 1964 in New York Times v. Sullivan. This case set a preesident for libel cases. It stated that officials could only win a suit if they demonstrated actual malice, knowledge that the information was false, and reckless disregard of whether it was false or not. In 1974 Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. the supremecourt ruled that plaintiff could not win if the statements were oppionion rather than fact. These cases helped protect the first ammendment of... ...any claimed to have fired him for â€Å"cause† which means he had been convicted or entered a no-contest plea to a felony or had been found guilty of fraud or embezzlement. The suit seeks damages and a retraction of company statements that said Orlick was fired for "cause." This cases outcome has not yet been published. Another controvercial case of defamation includes now Governer of California Arnold Schwarzenegger. A Hollywood stuntwoman alleged that she was sexually harassed by Schwarzenegger. She claimed that she was touched during two of the films. When she spoke out aginst Mr. Schwarzenegger his campaign staff told reporters she was a felon with a long criminal record. After this she filed a defamation suit against him for ruining her good name in the public eye. Defamation laws along with those of privacy matters are among the most controvercial. In many cases it is hard to meet the criteria of what is actually concidered a libel and slander offence. As far back as governments can reach defamation has always been a problem and always will be. Defamation is very common and is easily found in things like propaganda, politics, magiznes, newspapers, and the television.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer :: Television TV Show Essays

Buffy the Vampire Slayer In the fickle world of TV the complexity and richness of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (US, UPN) the mysterious fable turns on fantastic depiction of the supernatural. Vampire extermination and demon pursuit by teenagers has kept it alive for six seasons. Our allegiance to BUFFY depends on a remarkable emotional involvement with very young but very strong characters. So its meaning, the rhythm of the BUFFYmyth, the speed with which its world turns are a product of our involvement in its characters, people presumably like us. The ground rules of this continuing fable are variations on those of movies, especially of the Horror Picture. But BUFFY finds ways to change or make exception to the rules. There is something else new: the variation of length of story elements in narrative design: the flexibility of story rhythm. BUFFY is firmly based in time determined installments (as is all TV narrative. But characters change, develop, are dynamic. And this is a complicated narrative: the central line of vampire destruction depends on metaphors that hang together to make up an allegory. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER first showed up as a little noticed B film (1991) written by Joss Whedon. He is a third generation comedy writer who had written for ROSEANNE and the movies. Whedon sold the WB network the idea of BUFFY as a TV series and he became executive producer (he was frequently the writer and director as well). He put together the team of writers, producers, and directors, and a solid cast to do BUFFY. The auteur of the series is surely Whedon. It is now in its seventh season on TV (I 1997, II 1998~, III l999~ IV 2000, V 2001, VI 2002, VII 2003), a cult classic. Buffy is a beautiful high school student (in the movie a cheerleader but by the opening of the TV series, an ex-cheerleader who tries out for the Sunnydale High School squad but gets too busy and leaves it behind). What distracts her from high school is the need to insure the well being of Sunnydale, California, a community confused by undead neighbors who come up through an untended Hellmouth. For many BUFFY is more of an addiction than a series, but an addiction unlike Beverly Hills 90210 in its early years (which it resembles only the way it straddles high school and college years). Yes, as in 90210, groups of viewers may gather to watch BUFFY together this is a similar continuing enthusiasm.

Transnational Social Movements, International Nongovernmental Organizat

Transnational Social Movements, International Nongovernmental Organizations and Our State-centric World The 1999 Seattle protests brought the apparent proliferation of anti-globalization grassroot sociopolitical movements into the limelight of the world stage. Transnational social movements (TSMs), international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs), as well as the loose transnational activist networks (TANs) that contain them—all these came to be seen as an angry and no less potent backlash that's directed at the powerful states and increasingly towering economic IGOs such as the WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank. In the field of international relations, some regard this as a prophetic watershed event that signals the weakening and perhaps even collapsing of the state-centric system of international relations, while many others insist that Seattle is but an eventually insignificant episode in the book of globalization and state power, as evidenced by the Doha success. This paper attempts to address two questions that are at the heart of this dispute: Do TSMs and INGOs have any real power in today's international political arena against the traditional view of state dominance? And, if the answer to the previous question is yes, then does such a change merit a fundamental revision of the state-centric model of international relations? My answer to these two questions is threefold: First, I assert that TSMs and INGOs can and have posed substantial normative challenges to state hegemony, most commonly the notion that the state enjoys a monopoly on representation of its citizens and their interests. Furthermore, TSMs and INGOs that employ the use of violence (particularly terrorism) breach the conventional notion that states... ...ed Arjomand, Said Amir. â€Å"Iran's Islamic Revolution in Comparative Perspective.† World Politics, Volume 38, Issue 3 (1986. 4), 383-414. Griffith, William E. â€Å"The Revial of Islamic Fundamentalism: the Case of Iran.† International Security. Volume 4, Issue 1, 1979, 132-138. Khashan, Hilal. â€Å"The New World Order and the Tempo of Militant Islam.† British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. Volume 24, Issue 1 (1997. 5), 5-24. O'Brien, Robert, et al. Contesting Glboal Governance. Cambridge, 2000. G. Hossein. â€Å"Legitimacy, Religion, and Nationalism in the Middle East.† The American Political Science Review, Volume 84, Issue 1 (1990. 3), 69-91. Tarrow, Sidney. â€Å"Transnational Politics: Contention and Institutions in International Politics.† Annual Review of Political Science, 2001.4. Weaver, Mary Ann. â€Å"The Real Bin Laden.† The New Yorker, January 24, 2000.

Negotiation Skills

Effective negotiation skills are becoming increasingly important for today’s global business. A lot of time is spent negotiating in a global setting as companies and individuals conduct business. This paper will attempt to critically assess the significance of cross cultural negotiation skills for the success of international mergers and alliances. To begin with let the definition of negotiation be deduced. Daniels, Radebaugh and Sullivan (2004) identify negotiation as a sequence of actions in which two or more parties address demands, initiate, conduct or terminate operations in a foreign country. Gulbro and Herbig (1995) define it as the process by which at least two parties try to reach an agreement on matters of mutual interest. In order to be successful in such a diverse and complex business environment, negotiators must be globally aware and have a frame of reference that goes beyond a country or region and encompasses the world (Fowler, 2005). International executives attempt to negotiate for an optimal solution minimizing conflicts and maximizing gains. According to Martin et al. 1999) a clear negotiation strategy is the most important factor for successful international business relationships. Cross cultural negotiation skills are vital in today’s business. It is not just about closing deals but it also involves looking at all factors that can influence the proceedings. Cross cultural negotiation skills not only shows the people involved how to start from a strong position and find common ground with others, but also provides practical techniques for to use when talking and bargaining during business ( Kozicki, 2005). People from other countries and cultures do things differently. For alliances and mergers to succeed, these cultural differences must be taken into account when negotiating to reach a deal that will last and bring benefits to both sides. Therefore as these people play an essential role for the success of merging companies, it is crucial to have an understanding of different national and organisational cultures. Cross culture is an integral art of the overall corporate culture of the firm, which is applicable for all international alliance and merging partners (Luo,1999). Negotiation skills bring added challenges that help the international negotiator to understand how partners from other cultures view negotiation and how they think it should be handled (Michal, 2005). Although there may be much commonality between members of both sides it should not be assumed that people have the same benefits, values or priorities as each other. Nowadays, businesses of all sizes search for internat ional partnership. The increasingly global business environment requires the approach to the negotiation process from the global business person’s point of view as the process can be complex and difficult but will create huge opportunities to develop and increase success in avoiding barriers and failures in international mergers and alliances. As one partner better understands that the other partner may see things differently, they will be less likely to make negative assumptions and more likely to make progress when negotiating. Nations tend to lead a national character that influences the type of goals and process the society pursues in negotiations and this is why specifying and understanding cultural differences is vital in order to perform successfully in inter-cultural communication (Copeland, 1996). In addition, for international mergers and alliances to succeed, it is important for both sides to agree that no one approach is better than another. Lack of cross- cultural skills can cause difference in problem-solving and decision making and this can easily lead to misunderstanding. Therefore it is important for everyone involved in the proceedings to be able to use a range of decision making and problem solving techniques. Nonetheless, companies from other countries run into problems which stem from cultural differences and this leads to difficulties between negotiating parties. Negotiators from cultures that place a high importance on punctuality and schedules are more prone to set deadlines and then make concessions at the last minute to meet the schedules than are negotiators from cultures that place less importance on punctuality and schedules. They may underestimate the importance their counterparts place on the negotiations if their counterpart arrives late and do not adhere to schedules due to lack of cultural awareness (Daniels et al, 2004). Furthermore, one counterpart may understand and be adaptive to the other’s culture. Therefore it is important for both parties to have some cross-cultural knowledge as this will determine at the start whether they will follow some form of adjustment. The choice of response should be highly dependent on how well both sides understand each other’s culture. Cross-cultural negotiation skills provide people with increased knowledge which means people have the opportunity to progress at international level. For alliances and mergers to work, there must be collaboration between the two parties for the betterment of both. Kanter, (1998) argues that communication is important to achieving synergy between partners. It is harder to derive the benefits of cooperation and easier for rivalries to escalate when there is no relationship history to draw upon. Stereotypes are a pitfall when attempting to create an international merger or alliance. National stereotypes prejudice groups in the absence of evidence and should be avoided at all times. An entire culture cannot be relegated to one or two commonly held attributes. Culture is a very complex issue encompassing a plethora of subjects. A group’s customs, belief systems, values and behaviour must be understood in order to fully realise a successful partnership in a business context. A key component of successful international negotiation is effective ross-cultural communication. This requires that negotiators understand not only the written and oral language of their counterparts, but also other components of culturally different communication styles (Cullen and Parboteeah, 2005). In essence, it requires an understanding of the more subtle, nonverbal aspects of communication as they play a vital role in understanding the communication process. Cross-cultural communication proble ms can arise in any given situation, even huge co-operations can fall into this problem. For example, when the U. S. car manufacturer Chrysler merged with the German Daimler – Benz Company in 1998, problems arose out of their different decision-making processes. Chrysler was accustomed to making quick, high–profile decisions while Daimler – Benz, with their hierarchical system, were used to a slow, cautious business model with little need for public pronouncements. Cultural difficulties occurred between the more easy-going and more flexible style of Chrysler and the well structured and bureaucratic style of Daimler-Benz. All of this was as a result of the different working styles, decision making and communication processes within the company (Shelton, 2003). The incompatibility of the two different cultural aspects was realised too late and became very difficult to be overcome. In the end it was no merger of equals but one company dominating over the other. This case shows the different aspects of the need for cross- cultural awareness as its importance must be considered in cross-border alliance and merger processes in order to become global players. Negotiation involves clear communication which involves important skills such as understanding, speaking and listening. It is not possible to have one skill without the others. Negotiation is most effective when people are able to clearly identify and discuss their source of disagreement and misunderstanding. Very different cultural attributes were evident when the French Pharmaceutical company Rhone- Poulenc merged with the U. S. Company Rouer. Not only did the Americans take issue with the French people’s lax attitude owards time-keeping and punctuality, they also had to deal with their propensity to express their emotions. Emotional outbursts such as crying or shouting were commonplace in the French company as they are not considered shameful; on the contrary, the French idiom ‘soupe au lait’, used to describe such outbursts, is believed to aliviate stress, allow them to vent anger and present them from bearing grudges (Dornberg, 1999). Perhaps the best example where cross-cultural negotiation skills were used effectively is in the case of Colgate Toothpaste Company. In 1985, the U. S. Colgate Palmolive Cooperation bought Hong Kong based Hawley & Hazel Chemical Company. Hawley & Hazel’s Toothpaste, ‘Darkie’ had a 70% market share in Asia and it featured a smiley man in ‘black face’ and a top hat resembling a minstrel or Al Jolson. This image presented no protests in Asia since the association with the image was with brilliant smiles. However, Colgate knew the connotations of the name and image of the toothpaste would be offensive to many U. S. minority groups and therefore had to enter into lengthy negotiations with the Hong Kong Company with a view to changing the name and image of the toothpaste. In order to give customers in Asia time to get accustomed to the new name and image, changes were brought in generally over a year long time frame. Eventually the product was called ‘Darlie’ and the image replaced by a racially-ambiguous smiling character in a tuxedo and top hat (Morrison and Conaway, 2004). In all these examples, the negotiation skills in a cross-cultural context were successful as the negotiators took into account cultural differences, while allowing for compromise to take place. Negotiators were undoubtedly familiar with Hofstede’s models of value systems and used his suggested five fundamental dimensions to national culture: Hierarchy, ambiguity, individualism, achievement- orientation and long-term orientation to their advantage. Negotiation skills are essential in determining the terms under which a company may enter and operate in a foreign country. International negotiations occur largely between parties whose cultures, educational backgrounds, and expectations differ, it may be difficult for negotiators to understand each other’s sentiments and present convincing arguments. Negotiation skills offer negotiators a means of anticipating responses and planning an approach to the actual bargaining (Daniels, et al 2004). The key to effective alliances and mergers is skillful management of relations from the initial handshake onward. In cross-cultural alliances and mergers there is great challenge because each party brings different cultural schemata to the table through which they interpret events. For example, the French dislike being rushed into discussions, they prefer to examine various options in decisions and negotiations are likely to be in French unless they occur outside France. Punctuality is expected and they tend to be formal in their negotiations and do not move quickly to expressions of goodwill until the relationship has existed for some time. Negotiation skills call for creative thinking that goes beyond the poorly thought out compromise such as those arrived at when there is a rush to solve before an effort is made to comprehend. A deep understanding of the true and often manifested nature of the underlying challenge is required if a long term solution is sought. Many conflicts that on the surface seem to be purely about resources, often have significant components related to issues of participation, face saving and relationships. For negotiation to work in international mergers and alliances, people need to be able to share their needs and fears with each other. Negotiation skills include being well prepared, showing patience, maintaining integrity, avoiding the presumption of evil, controlling emotions, understanding the role of time pressures, breaking down bigger issues into smaller ones, avoiding threats and manipulation tactics, focusing first on the problem rather than on the solution, seeking for interest-based decisions and rejecting weak solutions (Richard, 1999). All of these help one way or another when thinking through challenging or difficult business situations and also play a huge role in successful negotiation. The skills help negotiators to learn about other people’s preferences and also make their own clear. As logic is not the only thing that prevails in bargaining efforts it gives people time to work out essential problems especially when dealing with someone of a dissimilar culture and additional time may be needed to work out an agreement (Brett, 1998). In some cases emotional outbursts tend to escalate rather than solve a conflict. This can be extremely difficult for some people to hide their emotions and this can permit negative emotions which can take control of some negotiators due to lack of skill. Business partners negotiate through life and while there may be no easy answers that will fit every negotiation need, there are many important skills that will help to become more effective. Without the relevant skills negotiation will not prosper in the absence of cooperative decision-making as it will suffer absence of commitment and participation from the individual’s part. Limited knowledge of either the alliance or merger partners’ languages or cultures puts them at a disadvantage. They may hold power by maintaining a percentage of shares of the venture, but in reality many lose power through ignorance. Skilled negotiators spend twice as much time asking questions as opposed to average negotiators. They probe to clarify issues and understand underlying drivers and reasons for the stance a given party has taken. Talented negotiators also try to understand what the other side wants so they can develop a solution that satisfies all parties. Skilled negotiators also make many more positive comments than average ones (Hayman, 2007). This emphasises and builds on the good in the negotiation to make it easier to deal with other issues. Without any knowledge of the other party’s culture they may not have any idea of what the other side wants and therefore, it is vital to explore more options to test limits. These skills help to think about how the partner should be approached, what can be given away, and what must remain non-negotiable and all is due to tolerance for differences in culture and outlook. No matter how many companies want to merge or become an alliance, success rests upon skillful management from the beginning and without this relationship between the business partners will suffer from poor initial planning, mismatched expectations, poor communications, inequitable power distribution and inadequate negotiation potential and decline can be quite rapid. Success rests in accepting the other partner despite differences in values, beliefs, educational experiences, ethnic backgrounds or perspectives. The skills involved permit partners to examine a problem from all sides, and to promote understanding and interest in the other without necessarily agreeing to one party’s viewpoint. Genuine interest in contributions help to build trust and this provides a foundation for continuing relationship and also eases future efforts to solve problems ( Herbig and Kramer,1991). The negotiation skills allow everyone involved in the business to make suggestions openly without fear of criticism and is accepted. All negotiations are completed by consensus and a negotiated solution is reached when every partner has given up something to gain common benefits. A hypothetical example of a skilled negotiator dealing with another in a foreign country could be that they both have identical proposals and packages. If one has no knowledge of cross-culture believing the proposal will speak for itself and the other party has the knowledge which involves the culture, beliefs, values, etiquette and approaches to business, meetings and negotiations the latter will most likely succeed over the rival. This is so because it is likely they would have endeared themselves more to the host negotiation team and would be able to tailor their approach to the negotiations in a way that maximises the potential of a positive outcome. It is very important to know the commonest basic components of our counterparty’s culture. It is assign of respect and a way to build trust and credibility as well as advantage that can help us to choose the right strategies and tactics during the negotiation. It is not possible to learn another culture in detail but when something is learnt especially at short notice the best that can be done is to try to identify principal influences that the foreign culture may have on making the deal (Salacuse, 1991). Apart from adopting the other side’s culture to adjust to the business environment, difficulty in finding common ground, focusing on common professional cultures may be the initiation of business relations. The skills needed to approach negotiation differs across cultures, for instance the Japanese will negotiate in teams and decisions will be based upon consensual agreement while in Asia decisions are usually made by the most senior figure and in Germany, decisions can take a long time due to the need to analyse information and statistics in great depth. Clearly there are factors that need to be considered when approaching cross-cultural negotiation. Through having the skills, business personnel are given the appropriate knowledge that can help them prepare them effectively and this will help succeed in maximising their potential. CONCLUSION In an increasing global business environment, cultural misunderstandings may sabotage even the simplest negotiation therefore, cross-cultural negotiation skills are an essential, highly accessible resource for navigating boundaries for the success of international mergers and alliances (Brett, 2001). It helps to understand how people from different countries behave and conduct business, also to close deals that create value, resolve disputes to preserve relationships, and make decisions that get implemented around the world. Cultural negotiating skills are necessary for managing in multinational network organisations. Managers heading abroad to negotiate a deal, businessmen relocating to foreign countries, multicultural teams within large organisations and individuals involved in international merger and alliance activities are those who will benefit having the skills to negotiate and acquire knowledge and development that are indispensable in today’s global business world. If there is no knowledge of cross-cultural negotiations involved, a great deal of difficulty in understanding the findings of cross-cultural experiments concerning co-operation and conflict will arise because the partner or partner’s identity is not clear to the subjects in the business (Smith and Bond, 1993). Negotiation is a specific type of interaction that should be known to partners and professionals. For mergers and alliances to succeed those involved must also recognise that cultural differences can lead to different behaviours and assumptions at work and that these can sometimes cause misunderstandings or delay. Despite their risks, mergers and acquisitions are becoming increasingly common events as a result of rapid globalization and it is important for those involved to aim to develop levels of cultural awareness and understanding within organisations so that their clients can operate more effectively and profitably within the global market place. Negotiation helps to put things in context, gives a broader perspective, and increases the likelihood that an agreement that comports well with the interests of constituents will be reached. In addition, careful attention should be paid to the interests of other parties in the negotiation process. This can help to craft a solution that makes for a successful negotiation (Cohen, 2002). Finally, everyone must do their best to learn about the cultures of their negotiating partners as this drives decisions and the more they comprehend in their strategy and tactics, the greater the likelihood that the agreement they reach will provide their negotiation partner something to bring back to whomever they consider the powers that be. Negotiators need to be well prepared for the beginning, collecting information from possible sources, clarifying their objectives, and setting their limits. During the negotiation, the relationship orientation is most important. An appropriate emphasis on time should be considered. At the end of the negotiation, consensus is the most important consideration. The success of international business relationships depends on effective business negotiation. If negotiators are well prepared, understanding how to achieve international business negotiation outcomes and the factors relevant to the process will allow negotiators to be more successful. Word count 3,185