Marketing Report – Baskin-Robbins

The purpose of this report is to investigate the possible approach of a new market segment with a new offer by the American ice cream manufacturer Baskin-Robbins. 1. 2. Scope The report will refer both to the characteristics of the targeted market segment, as well as to the features of the new product that will make him accepted by the target clients.1. 3. Methodology Secondary research was used in order to build the information base necessary for the development of the present report. Various academic studies, newspaper articles, company reports and websites have been explored.In order to develop the marketing proposal, both analysis of available information, as well as creative use of observed market patterns were the other methods used in writing the paper. 1. 4. Limitations Due to limited access to well developed ice cream market studies (that might amount up to $3000) the information used as base for analysis on are rather basic. Also, the present report is limited by its word c ount of +/-2200 and is written individually. 1. 5. Assumptions It is assumed that the information found during secondary research is accurate. 1. 6. BackgroundThe present report will firstly focus on defining the targeted market segment and motivating why it should be taken into consideration. Following, the characteristics of the new product will be presented and recommendations on its introduction on the market will be given. The 4P marketing model is used in constructing the image of the new product. 2. NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT 2. 1. Market segment characteristics Ice cream is a product that makes no discrimination. Everybody loves it and it can be found in more than 93% of American households (Geisler, p. 1).Historically, ice cream’s constant consumers are children, and for years they have been the main target of manufacturers (Barrette, p. 1). Households with children sum up to 34% of total ice cream consumption, as compared to the lower 20% level reached by the household without children consumption. Nevertheless, U. S. Census Bureau predicts a declining trend in youth population for the next years, which will make producers upgrade their strategies in order to start reaching more intensively the adult consumers. There are different patterns of ice cream consumption between children and adults.As commented by Marty Hogan, director of brand management, Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc. , South Burlington, Vt. , â€Å"parents know that children will be perfectly satisfied with a big gallon tub of air-whipped ice cream, but mom and dad are also sneaking that Ben & Jerry’s [premium and super-premium ice cream] and putting it in the back of the freezer for themselves†. Laura Hindulak, director of marketing with Pierre’s French Ice Cream Co. , Cleveland, Ohio, seems to agree with the same statement, when she ads that â€Å"the majority of [adult] consumers are looking for truly rich and indulgent premium and super premium ice cream s.[†¦] When the choice is for full-fat, regular ice cream, consumers are willing to forgo calorie-counting and enjoy the rich, great taste that the higher butterfat flavors offer† (Cook, p. 1-2). The American ice-cream market knew sales of slightly more than $21. 6 Billion in 2005 and it is forecasted to reach about $24 Billion by 2008, after it knew a 24% growth between 1998 and 2003 (Rea, p. 1). The ice cream market is led mainly by four manufacturers, summing a little over 40% of its sales. These companies are: Unilever, Ice Cream Partners USA, Dreyers Ice Cream and Blue Bell Creameries.About 18% of sales are represented by the private label products, regional and local companies summing up to the remaining 40% of sales. (Geisler, p. 2) Divided by states, California leads the way in ice cream and frozen dessert production, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio, New York and Minnesota being the other leading producing states. (Geisler, p. 2) The target market segment chous ed in this paper is represented by the Hispanic young adult population, especially between 21 and 35 years. The choice of this specific segment is due to some very important demographic and consumption data:— As of July 1, 2005, the population of Hispanics within the USA is estimated at 42. 7 million (US. Census Bureau), meaning an important market in possible consumers, that is already taken seriously into account by American producers. — Hispanics are also the fastest-growing minority group in the U. S. Between July 1, 2004 and July 1, 2005 a 3. 3% growth rate has been registered within the Hispanic population by the US. Census Bureau. This offers a sure future distribution market for the products created especially to respond to their needs.— Siboney USA, a New York-based advertising agency comments that about 70% of the entire American Hispanic population resides in six states. This can make the task of better targeting and reaching the segment a lot easier. The graph hereby presents this division of Hispanics into states. — Median age of Hispanics was 27. 2 years vs. 36. 2 years for the population as a whole in 2005 (US Census Bureau), meaning: a young population opened to new products and ideas. — Hispanics tend to consume more soft ice cream compared to the other non-Hispanics: 44 vs.37% (Banerjee A, p. 1), meaning that the rate of per capita ice cream consumption within Hispanic population is higher than for non-Hispanics. Consequently, if a product will respond to the needs of this category, it would register higher sales volumes than one that would respond to the needs of non-Hispanic population. — Hispanics tend to prefer Latino flavors: as commented by Haagen-Dazs General Manager of company’s Minneapolis location, Dawn Uremovich, the â€Å"Dulce de leche† flavor is the second most popular of the company, after vanilla.â€Å"This came from our South American market, where dulce de leche is a p opular dessert† he comments. (Hall, p. 1). This might be just the needed precedent showing that products that bring that homely feeling to the Latino population, register higher sales volume within it. 2. 2. The new product 2. 2. 1. Product Based on the demographic and consumption related information presented above, we will recommend the development and introduction on the market of a Hispanic flavored ice cream – â€Å"Sabor latino†, that will for sure interest its target segment: ice cream containing a center of Latin-traditional alcohol.The ice cream base should be vanilla or chocolate – as they continue to be the two most sold flavors in the USA (Phillips, p. 1) – already flavored with the specific alcohol. Taking into consideration the most important origins of Hispanics, drinks from their respective countries should be taken into consideration: tequila (directed especially to the Mexican origin population that sums up to 64% of total Hispanic origin population in the US – see Graph above), and rum (mainly for the Puerto Rican and Cuban population).Depending on how well received by the market the product will prove to be, future flavors like Brazilian Caipirinha and Cuban Mojito might enter on the market. 2. 2. 2. Promotion Studies show that product names and advertising in Spanish are more appealing to the Hispanic population (Accetta Smith, p. 1-2). This is also the motivation for choosing the name of the brand â€Å"Sabor latino† – â€Å"Latin flavor† that would come (at least at the beginning) with the two options – tequila and rum.The regular channels of promotions should be used, with a higher focus on the regions highly inhabited by Hispanics. As well, advertising, television, in-store point-of-purchase displays should be at least bilingual. Studies show also that Hispanic TV seems to be â€Å"twice as effective and three times more efficient than general market TV at driving Hi spanic sales† (Accetta Smith, p. 1). Therefore, a focus should be established on TV promotion within Hispanic TV channels. 2. 2. 3. PriceAccordingly to US Census Bureau and own analysis, median earnings of full-time, year-round Hispanic workers was lower than for non-Hispanic workers (about 40% lower for Hispanic males and 30% lower for Hispanic women). This is one of the main reasons that it would be recommended for Baskin-Robbins to set a conveniently lower price for this product, as to make it affordable by its target market segment. Even if the product should be design as premium or super-premium, it must be taken into consideration the lower incomes of its targeted market segment, and thus fix a lower price for it, as long as total costs allow it.2. 2. 4. Placement The first destination of the product should be the six American states that concentrate 70% of the Hispanic population presented in the first graphic of the project, using the classical channels of distribution . In a second step, other states that have high percentages of Hispanic population should be reached. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS A necessary step in the introduction of â€Å"Sabor latino† will be to develop various market study and focus groups in order to decide the best concentration of alcohol both in the body of the ice cream and in its liquid center.It must be remembered that features of the product must define it as a premium or super-premium product, in order to easily reach the young adult and adult target population. As presented by the U. S. Dairy Export Council, â€Å"super-premium ice cream tends to contain 16 to 18% milk fat and low overrun (20-50% range), making it a very dense, and ultra-rich quality dessert†. A recommended future destination for the product would be the Mexican market, as well as the other Latin American countries.At is it specified in various articles, Mexico is one of the favorite importers of American ice cream. And for sure, if one product will be designed to reach to their needs, there will be no reason for a successful exporting activity of this new Baskin-Robbins brand: â€Å"Sabor Latino†. The present exports situation is described in the table below. . REFERENCE LIST 1. Terrie Hall (2005) â€Å"Haagen Dazs franchise profile†, Merger Place 2. Koppenhoefer, Katie; Pupillo, Marti (2005) â€Å"Just the facts: ice cream sales and trends†, IDFA 3.Cook, Julie, (2002) â€Å"Adult appeal†, Stagnito Publishing 4. Banerjee, A (2000-2001) â€Å"Characterization of high risk food consumption Practices among the Hispanic population†, FoodNet 5. Rea, Amy C. (2004) â€Å"Screaming for ice cream: a rapidly growing market, ice cream nevertheless faces its share of possible demons. What will be the effect of changing demographics on the frozen treat, and how will manufacturers respond? †, Prepared Foods 6. David Phillips (2002) â€Å"Frozen favorites: Twenty five favored flavors in ice cr eam – Industry Overview†, Dairy Foods7. Sarah Barrette (2004) â€Å"Ice Cream Parlor†, SBDCNet San Antonio 8. Accetta Smith, Pamela (2004) â€Å"Cultural Demand†, Dairy Foods 9. Geisler, Malinda (2006) â€Å"Dairy Products Profile†, AgMRC, Iowa State University 10. U. S. Census Bureau (2004) â€Å"Selected Summary Measures of Age and Income by Hispanic Origin and Race: ASEC, 2004† 11. U. S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, â€Å"2004 Annual Social and Economic Supplement† 12. â€Å"Hispanic Americans by the numbers†, by U. S. Census Bureau, Fact Monster – www. factmonster. com/spot/hhmcensus1. html

Advice: Times Essay

â€Å"No Michael no more baseball† my mother nagged. She had nagged on about this for the past month and a half. She really didn’t want me to play anymore I guess. But I didn’t listen to her because I felt that I was at my prime. So I played again but this time it was traveling season. So what that meant was we played all over the place. We was going to be champions, the all times greatest! I knew that we were going to make Plainfield proud. But things weren’t going so good when we had our second practice. The coaches had made us run around the whole field 5 times nonstop, so many people had thought about quitting. I had even thought about quitting myself. But I didn’t want to be known as a quitter. So what I did what practiced hard, I did all my laps before everybody until I had a â€Å"CRACK† than I just fell to the ground. At first I thought I had broken my leg until I moved it. I was in shock because I dint know what had happened. When the coach had came by I told him that I broke my knee. Then he said it wasn’t broke because I was able to move it. Then I left practice and went to the hospital The X-ray showed that I had fractured my knee. My mother was in shock but not about me she cared about the bill. Then she told me what she said a month ago about not playing baseball. But she was right, I should have listened to her. If I did maybe I wouldn’t have been in that predicament. Now today I’m left with a huge scar on my knee, two screws, and a limp walk. I mostly regret it because after the accident we went on the Disney cruise and I had to be in a wheel chair the whole time.

The National Geographic Society. National Geographic website Essay

The National Geographic Society. National Geographic website - Essay Example The beautiful animals illustrated in the website connect the viewers of the website with nature. At the top of the website there are eight primary links that allow the users to visit different parts of the website. The eight primary links are photography, animals, environmental, travel, adventure, nageotv, kids, and video. The photography section has lots of different pictures of animals, nature, landscapes, among other things. The kids section has educational games children can play. The travel section has images and information about the cultures of different parts of the world. Below the primary links at the top there are secondary links in yellow. The secondary links take the users to different segments of the website. The secondary links are daily news, the magazine, maps, science, education, games, music blogs, movies, in the field, mobile, and newsletters. The daily news segment has lots of interesting articles. I read an article that stated that being bilingual delays aging effects. In the maps section there are different interactive 3D maps of the world. The magazine link has the current issue of the National Geographic magazine for the month of March 2011. The issue can be read online free of charge.

One page reflection -Holland's Code Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

One page reflection -Holland's Code - Article Example The Realistic element calls for physical involvement in one’s career or vocation, an aspect that makes it vital for the counselor to inform the client about the most important attributes of being Realistic or Doer. The idea is to call the client’s attention to the fact that Doers are practical and independent, and they do well in manually demanding careers. At a personal level, Holland’s Code is undoubtedly relevant and informative. Holland’s guide will go a long way in helping me evaluate my personality and subsequently match my personality type with my career goals and objectives. At the same time, this guide will play a key role in enhancing my personal understanding of job diversity, as well as opportunities that are best for me in the job market. In the process, I hope to improve my academic and career growth and development for a successful future. Ultimately, my future success will capitalize on my personality

Analysis of movie knowing her place indu krishnan Essay

Analysis of movie knowing her place indu krishnan - Essay Example Growing up in a liberal society in the United States for immigrants like Vasu already requires for a series of psychological and emotional adjustments in order to fit in the society. Physical appearance, language, and tradition are but the easiest to get acquainted to in the society that is different from what one’s parents have grown up to, especially for young children. On the other hand, an appalling dilemma for these children is to be brought back to the society in which they have grown out of for more than a decade in their lives. When Vasu was brought back to India at a stage when she was going through her adolescent stage, every day has been a struggle since. Her life back in the United States after getting married as a teenager due to a cultural norm, life has become a huge battlefield. There were bigger challenges and heavier social and cultural responsibilities as a wife and mother. Women like Vasu have to get acculturated to the various roles that are perceived to b e played by women in the society against men. If it is Krishna’s goal to reveal women’s cultural schizophrenia with cross-cultural background (Hoppe, â€Å"Knowing† & wmm.com, â€Å"Knowing†) to the world, this movie definitely did much justice to their experiences through the main character in the movie. Cultural identity is essential in women’s competence upon accomplishing their roles and responsibilities to their family and the society. The lack of which would only provide a vehicle to emotional and psychological instability that could lead to identity

In your opinion, what creates magic in an essay What is effective, how

In your opinion, what creates magic in an What is effective, how and why - Essay Example Its benefit is a life of reflection that would allow one to â€Å"suck the marrow of life† or to be able to understand the essence of life. The message of simplicity and reflection that emanates from the works of Thoreau teaches us on how to create magic in an essay because the readers are able to relate what we are trying to say as it came from our hearts. After all, the magic of an essay depends on how it touches its reader and the best way to touch the reader is to write from the heart as what Thoreau’s writings teach. Also, the values of simplicity and reflection that are present in Thoreau’s works are now seemingly gone with pervasive materialism, insecurity and skepticism. Thus, Thoreau’s works are like a charm because it remind and ground students about the lost value of simplicity, reflection and self-reliance. It makes a good reminder to students about the essence of life by engaging us to a work of genius that reflects about what really matters in life. By truly understanding Thoreau and his work, we may realize that life is really not that complex and in fact can be better lived if we live in simplicity and reflection. This understanding helps us create our own magic in our own compositions because we are able to move our readers in a manner that Thoreau moved his readers albeit ours may be to a lesser degree. To be able to understand Thoreau’s magic in writing, it would be necessary to know him and examine his influences. This would enable us to know and understand where the magic came from, and with this understanding we may develop our own sense of magic in our writings. Thoreau’s Walden is a product of a social experiment of how life would be in one is to live an ascetic life. This social experiment is consistent with the writing of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s â€Å"Self-reliance† who was Thoreau’s teacher

International Media Communication Research Paper

International Media Communication - Research Paper Example With the free flow of information in the international arena, where the participants in the other countries now possess better accessibility to the facts and issues faced by the neighboring countries, the international media communication channels such as the news media are often criticized of being influenced by the socio-cultural and political biases or else raising the risk of ‘false consciousness’ and even ‘racial stereotyping’ (Barnhurst, 2005; Media Monitoring Project, 1999). Based on these aspects, the discussion henceforth will intend to illustrate and critically review two news stories presented from distinct ideologies by two international media channels, the Fox News of the United States and The Guardian of the United Kingdom. The stories have been selected based on the same issue, the recent support of President Mr. Barack Obama of same-sex marriages in the United States. Background of the Story: President Obama’s Support of Same-Sex Marri age Same-sex marriages have long been under critical scrutiny by social and political institutions in the United States. Even though six states of the geopolitical region of the United States, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and New York, have legally permitted the performance of same-sex marriages, the federal law yet restricts the act to be accredited openly in the American society. Apparently, the depiction of agreeability or vice-versa of the legal approval for same-sex marriages has emerged to be a base for distinction between social groups. In the social context of America, the polarization based on same-sex marriage accreditations has been apparent since the implementation of the policy measure â€Å"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell† by the former President Mr. Bill Clinton in the year 1992. This policy measure placed emphasis on restricting the open depiction of homosexual behavior, especially within the military base (Singer, 2008). This polar ization in the American society has become more perceptible with the statement in favor of homosexual marriages made by the President Obama to the ABC News. In his words, â€Å"...I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married† (Klein, 2012). This particular appraisal by the current President of the United States attracted a mass attention not only in the national context but also from the international horizon, making an obvious presence in the international media channels. Recently, after being aired in the news media, the support of Mr. Barack Obama came reverberating in the Fox News as well as in The Guardian, the former being a renowned tabloid in the United States and the latter in the United Kingdom. However, in both the narratives a distinct ideology can be examined in the course of illustrating the statements connoted by the American President. Where the narra tion or the story portrayed by the Fox News can be identified as highly

JFK'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

JFK'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS - Essay Example He was the youngest man who happened to be the President of America (This is Day in History - John F. Kennedy inaugurated) JFKS Inaugural address was mainly based on the peace, world change, freedom, rights of the people and relations with the neighbor states, including the world as a whole. The major goal of his campaign defined his eventual presidency during the time of diplomatic challenges, emerging social challenges and economic prosperity. Immediately after receiving the Oath, President Kennedy addressed the speech, which he had been preparing from the time of his nomination. His speech just not contained his personal thoughts but also the suggestions he took from the fellow economists. The main idea of the speech was to represent the United States as such a force which effectively counts in maintaining the peaceful relationships, on international level. Kennedy highlighted the new inventions and discoveries of nuclear power worldwide, along with arms. He didn’t favor the dangerous discoveries are not important and in interest of the world peace by addressing that, â€Å"to those nations w ho would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin a new that quest for peace† (Kennedy Inaugural Address, 1961). The actual focus of the speech was on the relationship between duty and power. The statement by Kennedy, â€Å"Man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life† (Kennedy Inaugural Address, 1961), proves his point that he was addressing in the favor of the whole world not only Americans. His above statement clarifies his motto that he wanted to spread peace into the whole by dismantling the goals of those states, whose priorities were to bring out Cold Wars. Kennedy referred to those people who were residing in small villages globally, struggling to live their lives, by saying that

Accounting Environment Essay Example for Free

Accounting Environment Essay Learning Outcomes At the end of this chapter the students should be able to: ?Explain the meaning and purpose of accounting ?Describe the role of accounting as a information system ? Describe why accounting is considered as the language of business ? Assess the impact of external environmental factors on accounting Introduction Accounting has evolved and emerged as most other fields of human activity in response to the social and economic needs of society. Today accounting is moving away from its traditional procedural base, encompassing record keeping and related activities towards the adoption of a role which emphasizes its social importance. In this context, this introductory chapter of the course manual deals with the definition of accounting, use of accounting as an information system and the language of business, users of accounting information and the impact of external environment on accounting. Definition of Accounting The question what is meant by accounting has not been answered precisely. Instead there are many definitions on accounting. Some of these definitions are considered in this section to identify the purpose and functions of accounting. The Committee on Terminology of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) formulated the following definition on accounting in 1941. Accounting is the art of recording, classifying and summarizing in a significant manner and in terms of money, transactions and events which are, in part at least, of a financial character, and interpreting the results thereof. This definition of AICPA, USA has been quoted for many years. However, it defines accounting only from the point of view of what it does. Hence, it does not clearly establish the purpose of accounting. On the other hand, the following definition provided by the American Accounting Association (AAA) in 1961 emphasizes the broader perspective of accounting. This definition focuses on accounting as an aid to decision-making. Accounting is the process of identifying, measuring and communicating economic information to permit informed judgements and decisions by users of the information. In 1970, AICPA of USA provided the following definition on accounting with reference to the concept of information. The term ‘quantitative information’ used in this definition is wider in scope than financial or economic information used in previous definitions. Accounting is a service activity. Its function is to provide quantitative information primarily financial in nature about economic activities that is intended to be useful in making economic decisions. Both definitions of AAA and AICPA show that accounting is considered not merely with record keeping. Instead it involves with a whole range of activities. These two definitions emphasize on using accounting information for decision making purposes. Both internal parties of an organization (e. g. managers) and outside parties (e. g. owners, creditors, government) use accounting information in making decisions that affect the organization. Although these definitions have looked at accounting from different perspectives, they have been able to set the boundary of accounting. They have established the nature of accounting and the purpose for which it is used. Hence, based on these definitions, it can be said that accounting is primarily concerned with the provision of information to various stakeholders of an organization to be used in decision making. Accounting as an Information System AAA definition on accounting implies two phases: (1) identifying and measuring economic information and (2) communicating economic information to users (stakeholders of an organisation) for decision making purposes. These two phases show that accounting acts as an information system in an organisation. The accounting process involves recoding and processing of transactions and events of an entity that had occurred during a specific period of time, and communicating the information relevant to processed transactions and events to aid decision-making of various users of accounting information. As an information system, accounting links an information source or transmitter (preparer/s of information), a channel of communication (financial and other statements/reports) and a set of receivers (users of information/stakeholders of an organization). The Figure 1 shows how accounting functions as an information system in business and economic decisions. In the accounting system, transactions and events are the input and the statements of reports given to decision-makers are the output. Figure 1 Accounting as an Information System in Business and Economic Decisions Data Source: Lal, J. (2005), Corporate Financial Reporting: Theory and Practice, second edition, Taxmann Allied Services (Pvt) Ltd, New Delhi. Accounting as the Language of Business Accounting is often called the language of business because it is considered as the main mean of communicating information about a business. This reference to accounting as the language of business is observed by Ijiri (1975) as follows: As the language of business, accounting has many things in common with other languages. The various business activities of a firm are reported in accounting statements using accounting language, just as reported news events are reported in newspapers, in the English Language. To express an event in accounting or in English we must follow certain rules. Without following certain rules diligently, not only does one run the risk of being misunderstood but also risks a penalty for misinterpretation, lying or perjury. Comparability of statements is essential to the effective functioning of a language whether it is in English or in Accounting. At the same time, language has to be flexible to adapt to a changing environment. A language broadly has two components: symbols and rules. In accounting too, these two components are available. In accounting, numerals and words, and debits and credits are accepted symbols and they are unique to the accounting discipline. The rules in accounting refer to the general set of procedures followed in creating financial information for an entity. Anthony and Reece (1991) draw a parallel between accounting and language as follows. Accounting resembles a language in that some of its rules are definite whereas others are not. Accountants differ as to how a given event should be reported, just as grammarians differ as to many matters of sentence structure, punctuation and choice of words. Nevertheless, just as many practices are clearly poor English (language), many practices are definitely poor accounting. Languages evolve and change in response to the changing needs of society, and so does accounting. Users of Accounting Information There is an array of users (or stakeholders) who make use of accounting information for decision making. These user groups include present and otential investors, managers, employees, lenders, suppliers, customers, analysts, media, government, and the general public. However, with the broadening of the accountability of organizations, they are accountable to a large group of stakeholders, some of them not clearly known or identified by the organizations. These users can be broadly categorized as internal and external users of accounting information. The term ‘internal u sers’ refers to parties within an organization that make decisions directly affecting its internal operations and this category usually includes managers and employees of an entity. All other users can be grouped under the term ‘external users’, which refer to parties outside the organization that make decisions concerning their relationship to the organization. These two major classifications of users have led to a distinction between two main areas of accounting: financial accounting and management accounting. The primary concern of financial accounting is to provide information to external user groups. On the other hand, the management accounting is primarily concerned with the provision of information to internal user groups. These users have diverse information needs. However, among these diverse needs too, there are common information needs. The financial statements of an entity that provide information about its financial performance, financial position, and changes in financial position address these information needs common to all users. As these financial statements are prepared to meet the information needs of a cross-section of users, they are known as common-purpose (general-purpose) financial statements. However, these financial statements do not provide all the information that users need to make decisions since they largely portray the financial effects of past transactions and events. The responsibility to prepare and present financial statements lies with the management of an entity. As general-purpose financial statements meet the information needs of users who are unable to command the preparation of financial reports of an entity, the government has imposed regulations to govern these financial statements. These regulations are intended to protect the public interest. External Environmental Factors influencing Accounting The pace and change in external environmental factors have a profound influence on business organizations and the way in which they are managed. These factors could be social, economic, political, legal or technological. Accounting, as the language of business and its information system is also affected by these changes. The changing conditions in the external environment have confronted accounting with a number of challenges that should be recognized, accepted and addressed to ensure its relevance and usefulness. This has made accounting to change and grow over the years to meet social requirements and to guide business and industry requirements. Thus, understanding accounting requires understanding the environment within which accounting operates and which it is intended to reflect. The society has been subjected to political, social, economic and technological change. These changes have resulted in globalization, the rise of informed and selective customers, the development of information technology and etc. These changes in the external environment factors are reflected in business organizations through the shift in business types and cost profiles, increase in strategic decision making and greater emphasis on survival. The changing conditions within business organizations lead accounting to change in order to meet the new requirements resulted from these changes. The areas requiring changes in accounting include selection of data, information processing, dissemination of information, role of accounting standards, assumptions and perspectives of accounting, and uses and impact of accounting information. Thus, today’s rapidly changing environment is forcing accounting to reassess its role and function both within the organization and society. Although challenges imposed by different environmental factors on accounting could be discussed separately, they should be viewed from a holistic perspective. This is because the power of potential improvement lies in the cohesion of the changes rather than in individual items. The changing conditions in the business environment will shape the future for accounting. The environment within which business and accounting function operate has become increasing complex. One of its characteristic features is that many social, economic, political, legal and technological influences that create continual change in that environment and these in turn impact on accounting and its product, accounting information. However, it is sometimes criticized that accounting has not been able to keep pace with this changing conditions in the external environment. Summary This chapter provides an overview of accounting based on its nature and purpose, users of accounting information and impact of external environment on accounting. The primary objective of accounting is to provide information that can be used by the stakeholders of an organization (users of accounting information) in making their decisions. These decisions could have a bearing on the resource allocation process in the country and thereby on the economic growth and development of the country. However, the role and functions of accounting cannot be considered in isolation from the social-political-economic context within which it is operating. The rapidly changing external environment is posing many challenges to accounting and it needs to adapt to these changing conditions. This requires a continual process of renewal and improvement in accounting. References American Accounting Association (1966), A Statement of Basic Accounting Theory, AAA. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) (1941), Review and Resume, Accounting Terminology Bulletin, No. . American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) (1970), Basic Concepts and Accounting Principles underlying Financial Statements of Business Enterprises, Accounting Principles Board Statement No. 4, Anthony, R. N. and Reece, J. S. (1991), Accounting Principles, Richard D Irwin. Ijiri, Y. (1975), Theory of Accounting Measurement, Research Report, No. 10, AAA. Lal, J. (2005), Corporate Financial Report ing: Theory and Practice, second edition, Taxmann Allied Services (Pvt) Ltd, New Delhi.

Input and Output Devices in Computer

Input and Output Devices in Computer Name: THENG WEI JUN Question 1 A computer receives incoming data, processes them and produces an output. Hence, in a typical computer, there is An input device i.e, a key board A Central Processing Unit (CPU) I.e, a box and An output device i.e, a monitor or a Visual Display Unit (VDU). Discuss in detail how these devices work together to produce information. Introduction A computer is a general purpose device that can be programmed to carry out a set of arithmetic or logical operations. The computer is one of the 20th centurys most advanced sciences and technology invention, for the production of human and social activities had a very important influence, and the rapid development of a strong vitality. Its applications extend from the initial military research applied to all areas of society, has formed a huge computer industry, led the worldwide technological progress, which triggered a profound social change, computers throughout the school in general, corporate institutions, into the homes of ordinary people, become an indispensable tool in the information society. It is an important symbol of mankind has entered the information age. With the proposed development of the Internet, computers and other technologies once again set off a revolution in information technology, according to the definition of Chinese school-enterprise networking Union, alm ost all things technology and computers, combined with the current Internet technology, between the object and the object to achieve environment and real-time status information sharing and intelligence gathering, transmission, processing. Components of Computer Input Device The input device is any hardware device that sends data to the computer, without any input devices, a computer would only be a display device and not allow users to interact with it, much like a TV. Examples of input devices are keyboard, webcam scanner, video capture device and mouse. When the people use keyboard to typing, the keyboard will send the data to computer, the word will be show into the monitor. Output Device Output devices such as a monitor or printer make information you input available for you to view or use. A display device is an output device that visually conveys text, graphics, and video information. Information shown on a display device is called soft copy because the information exists electronically and is displayed for a temporary period of time. Display devices include CRT monitors, LCD monitors and displays, gas plasma monitors, and televisions. System Unit System unit is the main part of a desktop computer and it is also known as â€Å"chassis† or â€Å"tower†. It is the housing that is used for protecting and organizing all the components in the system unit that makes up a computer. System unit includes Motherboard, CPU, RAM, Hard Disk, Video Card, Sound Card and other components but does not include keyboard, mouse and other peripheral devices. In this section, I will explain and illustrate the electronic components in the system unit along with their functions. Working in computer The computer does its primary work in a part of the machine we cannot see, a control center that converts data input to information output. This control center, called the central processing unit (CPU), is a highly complex, extensive set of electronic circuitry that executes stored program instructions. All computers, large and small, must have a central processing unit. The central processing unit consists of two parts: The control unit and the arithmetic/logic unit. Each part has a specific function. Like input devices are used to input information to computers. Generally, the input devices send information to memory (RAM) and the processor or central processing unit processes the information and output devices shows it. Conclusion In my opinion, I think all the unit of computer component are important and their own role in getting a computer system unit to function. Input devices are used to input information to computers while output device transmit information to one or more users. Central processing unit carries out the basic operations or processes. Finally, all components are required for a system unit to function. All the components are connected to the motherboard which is mounted on the casing. If one is missing, the computer will become the system error or cannot working at anytime. Question 2 The Internet is a range of space where computers are connected to each other and they can access to information from ONE (1) place and apply that information to another place. Discuss in detail the advantages and disadvantages of internet in the education field. Introduction The Internet is a network of several computers communicate with each other using a common language connection is made, ie WAN, LAN and stand-alone international computer network communication protocol in accordance with certain composition. Internet began in 1969 in the United States is the carrier of a global network and a public information, which the mass media faster than any previous one communication medium. Advantage First point is encyclopedia, sometimes an encyclopedia may not always be available to students and they may have difficulty in gaining access to the books in the library. In that case, the encyclopedia of various subjects available on the Internet can be helpful. This is more useful for students who belong to communities not having English as their mother tongue. Kids and teenager can also be benefited by the Internet by using the pictures, videos, which is one of the major advantages, when comparing textbooks versus computer teaching or learning. Next, all the latest news constantly updated on the Internet on news sites. Students learning politic, can have an access to all the current affairs through the Internet in the college, at home, or at any other place. Example, if student want to know or search about historical accounts like speeches, biographies, etc., are also easily available on the Internet in detailed and accurate versions. No need to waste time or money finding in book shop or other place. In addition, another positive effect of Internet in education is the onset of distance education or online learning. With this facility, you can take up short-term courses with the course material available online, learn, and give exams. One of the benefits of online learning is that people from any part of the world can gain knowledge on different subjects, complete courses. Disadvantage One of the disadvantage of online learning is that Instructors will not be on hand or on campus and easily accessible to answer questions. While they may be available on email, thats not the same as having access to a living, breathing person and to be able to ask questions during a break or after class. While technology tools and the Internet infrastructure are becoming more and more stable, there are still instances when technology fails. Servers may be down, or you may experience periods when your connection to the Internet is interrupted. Hard drives fail, and email may get caught in spam filters and never be delivered. Its important to backup important class information and make certain that you have alternative ways to communicate. Working alone can isolate a student, making it easy to put off or neglect course work or drop out of an online class completely. It takes a certain amount of internal motivation to continue when youre pressed for time and dont have fellow students to talk with and help to motivate you along the way. Conclusion On my opinion, I think the invention of the Internet has both disadvantages and advantages. The disadvantages of using internet are that it has caused a lack of privacy and it has made it easier to commit crimes. The advantages of the internet are that it can be used for learning purposes and that it connects the world. Reference No.1 Jones, P. E., Wall, R. E. (1989). Components of computer anxiety.Journal of Educational Technology Systems,18(2), 161-168. Musen, M. A., Gennari, J. H., Eriksson, H., Tu, S. W., Puerta, A. R. (1994). PROTEGE-II: computer support for development of intelligent systems from libraries of components.Medinfo. MEDINFO,8, 766-770. Heninger, A. G. (1997).U.S. Patent No. 5,659,751. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. No.2 Hashim, F., Alam, G. M., Siraj, S. (2010). Information and communication technology for participatory based decision-making-E-management for administrative efficiency in Higher Education.Int. J. Phys. Sci,5(4), 383-392. Hsu, J. (2008). Innovative technologies for education and learning: Education and knowledge-oriented applications of blogs, wikis, podcasts, and more.International Journal of Web-Based Learning and Teaching Technologies (IJWLTT),3(3), 62-81. Wright, K. B. (2005). Researching Internetà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ based populations: Advantages and disadvantages of online survey research, online questionnaire authoring software packages, and web survey services.Journal of Computerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Mediated Communication,10(3), 00-00. Page 1

Issues In Reporting War And Crisis Global Overview Media Essay

Issues In Reporting War And Crisis Global Overview Media Essay The mass media have a powerful influence and control on how people view the world. Mass media sources i.e. newspapers, televisions and radios are frequently the only link to the situations occurring outside of ones vicinity. We live in the global age. We live in a world that has become thoroughly interconnected, interdependent and communicated in the flows of information and culture including, significantly, news journalism.(Cotler, For journalism in America today, the news has been encouraging and dispiriting. At its very best, during a time of crisis or a momentous event, the news media can do a marvelous job of telling the job the news thoroughly, yet quickly then follow up with needed interpretation and explanation to inform and reassure the public. Reporter plays a vital role because how the reporter frames the crisis, war or conflict. A story covered by a journalist or a reporter on an event can be the exclusive information presented to the masses. The news can bias the masses in support of one party, or one solution over another; it can build up the conflict, or cool it down. Whenever, the public think about any news, most of report is crisis and importantly journalists are participants in the crisis they report. However, the journalists main goal is to in form accurately and usually they make every suitable effort and attempt to be objective, but it becomes complicated at best. At times attempts to cover both views equally is actually favoring and supporting one over the other. If the report or news doesnt show that one overview is much more predominate, over another, it is commonly wrongly believed. Globally, if we analyze the situation of journalism there are many hazards and difficulties in this field. The foremost problem is that in the profession of journalism there is lack of training for journalists. Another one of the most pressing problems for the journalist is the question of ethics and the way reporting has to be shaped because of them. So due to these problems most of the complex crisis or conflicts are full of difficulties and hazards for journalists, but the more one understands what is actually going on in a conflict, and the responsibility of the conflict journalist, the better reporting one can do. From environmental change to the global war on terror, from forced migration to humanitarian catastrophe these are just some of the global crises. Global crises are conceived as the dark side of a globalizing world, but how they become reported and covered in the news media can also help maintain growing forms of global consciousness, global citizenship and global civil society. The news media have long been participant in the drama of war. The Spanish-American War of 1898 was provoked in pan by nationalistic press in the United States. Seventy years later, the media were involved in another war: The lack of public support for the US effort in Vietnam was blamed in part on correspondents who adopted a skeptical attitude in their assessment of Pentagon war claims. But rarely has the work of war correspondents come under the kind of scrutiny it does today. Journalists these days are not only accused of aggravating conflicts they are also expected to resolve them. The smaller the war and the wider their reach, the more impact of reporting is believed to have. Advances in information technology have made it possible for journalists to report instantaneously and immediately from remote locations. With the downscaling of conflict in the post-Cold War era, meanwhile, there are more wars to choose from. Some get covered and some dont, and the coverage decisions can be critical. All over the globe, professional editors and reporters define their job as bringing readers and audiences the answers to five ws and one h who, what, where, when, why and how. Due to the advent of new technology, journalists and reporters are able to communicate with one another more easily. So people on location in the desert can talk with those covering the Pentagon or the White House to confirm details. All of this technology was available in the Gulf War, but it was just really primitive, says Bob Murphy, a senior vice president at ABC News. George Seldes once said, Journalisms job is not impartial balanced reporting. Journalisms job is to tell the people what is really going on. A prominent BBC figure said: It will always be a grey area. There are never simply two sides to a story, theres a multiplicity of sides, which stretches out and stretches back. Theres a multiplicity of effects and of whats in the public interest, which will vary from issue to issue, from story to story. I dont see how you can logically, and rationally, impose some sort of blueprint which enables you to know whether its in the public interest or not. The news accuracy, unfortunately, is relative. Hence, one journalists truth is another mans misrepresentation. The public in general differentiate between truth and falsity in the course of a certain sieve they adhere to. And in todays world where there is a mix of religious and spiritual ideologies and philosophies, build out the truth is at best an educated guess unless of course the whole world starts seeing things through a single lens. Furthermore, it is journalists pivotal role that how to differentiate between objective and subjective realities. This confusion aggravated in case of crisis and war since it is not in the nature of the conflict to be unbiased. There will always be, whether its a economic, natural, military or political crisis, at least one party which acts in excess relative to the other party/parties. The media as a watch dog can play considerable role in scrutinizing and examining the public policies through analysis and furthermore with the response of public at large. It is observed that the media reporters are extremely useful sources in providing initial leads to investigate into the crisis, discrimination, conflict and war. CURRENT SITUATION: PAKISTAN Pakistan was born as an unambiguously Muslim state, and the wrestling linking its secular and Islamic natures has never been so evident as in latest years. Its other sources of unrest, including the militarys role as the authority of power, there have been four coups in its 60 years of independence i.e. its uncontrolled corruption and political instability and economic flux have been joined by the rise of Islamic militant groups that control of parts of the countrys western half and launch attacks that have slowly goaded the government to action. The ongoing violence in Pakistan, where over 1000s of people have been killed in terrorist activities, reminds us that journalists face a special challenge-and responsibility-to report accurately and fairly in times of crisis and war. Journalists play a constructive and productive role in places involved in political, ethnic or religious tensions. Pakistan has many problems, most build up after decades of governmental inaction, economic mismanagement, military coups and terrorist insurgencies. The journalists now would be under enormous stress from the complexities and the enormities of the current multifaceted challenges. Pakistans press has developed into a dynamic and significant institution. The Pakistani media have been instrumental in providing breaking real-time coverage of major events affecting the country, including the lawyers movement, the February 2008 parliamentary elections, and the recent flood situation. The number of private media outlets is increasing, and newspapers are more open in their reporting that has ultimately changed the country. It was expected by media organizations that the media especially electronic media following its incomparable development during the last few years would take accumulate its roles and responsibilities. The demanding environments are not encouraging to a culture of informed debate and the growth of sound authoritarian regimes. Nevertheless, there have been noises, pleas and appeals by several viewers, masses, analysts, forecasters and citizens even within the media organizations. From the violence and cruelty of displaying dismembered and mutilate limbs on television screens to creating a panic-oriented news culture and relegating the status of objective anchors to partisan political players, as a result the news were and persistent to be, disturbing and agitate. Against the milieu of the events of March 2009, the responsibility of the media lacked in many areas and far behind the expectations. The self admiring panic that currently pervades the various channels betrays their utter inability to appear back and introspect. In Pakistans crisis and war zones, rival groups seek to dictate the content and tone of news coverage. The country lost eight journalists in 2008, while 2009 has been equally gloomy. The murder of Musa Khankhel while he was reporting on a ceasefire negotiated in the pictorial but unstable Swat valley in Pakistans north-west shocked the country. According to the Report of World Press Freedom 2008-09, a total of nine journalists have lost their lives to violence in different parts of Pakistan. Furthermore, this report also files 23 cases of physical torture, threats and kidnaps that involved journalists and have resultantly greatly affected their work. Taking in concern the latest war zone of Pakistan i.e. operation in Swat Valley it is not just the targeted assassination of journalists and use of threats that are obliterating journalism. As a consequence, journalists they are not safe so they are leaving the region or moving their families to secure and harmless areas. Quite less journalists remain in the war area so there is less reporting from those areas. The biggest casualty of this war are the journalists rather the conflict itself. A renowned journalist Mazhar Abbas, who has for years contributed persistent efforts for the battle of the improvement of the operational circumstances of journalists in Pakistan, protect the judgment of many media professionals to move. He said: They are so poorly paid on an average they draw a monthly pay of less than 200 US dollars and have no life insurance cover that can you honestly expect them to risk their lives? Only one or two TV channels provide their staff with flak jackets and helmets. Until recently, they had no training on how to report from hostile environments. It is the PFUJ, in cooperation with the International Federation of Journalists that has trained more than 200 Pakistani journalists working in the conflict zones. News is treated more as a commodity than as a social good, in Pakistani media and it is one of the primary problems. This rudimentary thought direct journalists to use metaphors, fancy expressions, axioms, and emotionally-charged opinions etc which effects the meaning whether they are exaggerated or do not tell the truth. These kinds of writings create distortions. The above described commodity concept also pushes reporters and journalists to use high pitched tones often choosing to report heavily on juicy feature of stories with shock value rather than reporting or informing on more imperative issues to the general public. One might say that if media is reflecting the general public, then these sensational ways of speaking are vindicated, considering that Pakistanis are however loud and emotionally charged people. Although, then there is something called Adab-e-Mehfil: simple things like not speaking before ones turn, not speaking loudly and so forth, that can be clearly seen in various Pakistani Talk Shows e.g. Capital Talk, Point in Focus etc. Rather the guests should be asked to present cultured and educated way of argumentation, based on facts and logic, instead of campaigns of slander, filled with cheap tricks and mocking undertones. To continue this problem it leads to: If It Bleeds, It Leads using the title of Mathew Kerbels famous book. This implies that media in Pakistan is passionate with the short end of the problem, or the symptom as it is quite rightly said. The challenge of social inequities, usually the root cause, rarely gets air best a personalized story or a documentary and then, moves on to something more exciting such as a blast. Pakistani media in general is responsible for factual reporting realities, but it has not met the standard of reporting. In Pakistan, media, abandon responsibility and accuracy for the purpose of sensation and attention grabbing captions. Especially, the print media is accountable for failing to shield the masses from inaccurate information which sometimes reaches public disguised as news. But when coming to the electronic media, it has become the biggest threat to countrys collective confidence. It ultimately thrives on conspiracies and sensational breaking news headlines throughout the entire day. Basically, rest of the media disclaim to grow above excessively vivid and completely overstated reporting of everything that goes wrong in the county, even if it is not correct or worse, or is less important. CRISIS REPORTING: Reporting in a crisis begins with fundamental question that how to report. News representations of crisis now form a key site for the exercise of power, seen as such by primary players and many others besides. This awareness, too, is shared by many beyond the traditional elite. According to an influential critique of reporting of the Great Lakes crisis of 1996-1997, journalists should that understand from the start that warring factions, even if their soldiers wear gumboots, have now acquired a sophisticated military doctrine and techniques for fighting low-level information warfare using manipulation, disinformation, misinformation and obstruction. The coverage of the Long March, also being maintained as a media success, was full of negligent opinion, which resulted in discouragement of elected institutions and glorifying street confrontation, as if parliaments were sheer attachment of power games. A few channels went beyond the norms of objective or even acceptable reporting by posturing that the proponents of the Long March were spouting the gospel truth, and any divergent view was unpatriotic and merited proceedings under Article 6 of the Constitution. Instead of educating the public on the responsibility of institutions and how states function, the entire discourse before and after the Long March remains focused on individuals. It has been completely forgotten that the current President was elected by two thirds of the Electoral College as prescribed under the Constitution. If anything, the degradation of the Presidents role as a usurper is now an image that has been carefully crafted and reinforced by a unvarying media discourse, and now made applicable to a president elected by Parliament. The truth of the matter is that in a parliamentary democracy the assemblies and officials are elected for five years. Accountability of the executive is a must, but not in the manner that is being carried out at the cost of the integrity of the autonomous system. WAR REPORTING: Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism says: Today, war reporting means not that you know whats going on and you make judgments about whats safe and appropriate to report. The military profoundly limits the access of reporters and thus what reporters know Censorship is no longer achievable, now that reporters can carry their means of transmission with them unlike World War II, for example, when reporters dispatches had to be transferred by the military, once they were reviewed. According to Tom Rosenstiel; as a result, A great deal more of what we consider war coverage today occurs in the Pentagon press briefing room. Taking in consideration the Pakistani situation; the Swat military operation, the house of a reporter in Mingora came under fire, apparently from the military. It killed his sister. The reporter was obviously incensed, but when he reported on television he still had to toe the official pro-Army editorial policy. He couldnt risk his job, now more than ever, because he had to support his family who had just relocated from Mingora to Peshawar. Another journalist based in Peshawar managed to get in to Mingora at a time when it was still off limits to journalists. He described horrific scenes of truckloads of dead bodies, and people carrying their loved ones. But these stories werent getting out because the management was censoring them. The ISPR on the other hand was very active in issuing press releases everyday, detailing the number of militants who had been killed and the military personnel who had been martyred (but never any mention of civilians). The military had restricted journalists access to the war zone (other than the occasional ISPR-chaperoned visit) so there was no way for journalists to independently verify any of the claims. So unfortunately, they just repeated the ISPR claims on television as if they were the truth. Pakistani reporters flee fighting in the Swat valley, Zubeida Mustafa reports on the conflicts effect on Pakistans press. Journalists love the thrill of working in conflict zones where they can cover events which change the course of history, says Mazhar Abbas, the former Secretary General of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ). Sadly, this no longer holds true for Pakistani journalists required to cover the war in the Swat valley where they face dire security threats, Abbas continues. Every other day, there is news of journalists being killed or kidnapped, or threats to their families in the war-torn areas. These words concisely sum up the state of war coverage in Pakistan as Bill Clinton in 2000 described Pakistan as the most dangerous in the world. It has become even more unsafe since this statement. The media faced many challenges even before the Pakistan army went on the offensive against the Taliban in Swat. The Swat valley, was in the grip of intermittent violence with the two sides locked in a battle for the hearts and minds of the people, before the region became a theatre of war, It is expected that, the role of the media; press, television and radio assumed imperative importance, as journalism influencing the analysis of the everyday man. These are the least problems that a journalist face during reporting on the war in Swat last year, but rather reporters face more difficulties in covering the more recent wars in Waziristan, Orakzai and elsewhere. It may seem like there is a great deal of news coming from the war zone each day, but in reality it is a great big sanitized black hole in the distance, and we may never know about the civilian casualties. REPORTING CRISIS: An overabundance of TV news networks have set up in recent years. Intensely competitive, they have not avoid from covering shocking aftermaths of suicide bombings, stories of government corruption, or allowing their talk show hosts to be intrusive on air. In crisis situations, the cause of journalism would be better served if reporters and anchors were to err on the side of caution until rumors are confirmed beyond doubt. There was no need to show what looked like bodies as it can be clearly seen in the reporting of Air Blue crash. Many of the journalists while covering the rescue operation at Margalla Hills crash sight used the words dead bodies they werent whole after all. But instead of using these words they would have used parts of bodies that would have been much more effective and convey so much more. However, sentiments dont matter in the business of news anymore. It is a rat race instead of searching for authentic and reliable information, reporters are simply searching f or new ways to add more punch to stories. Victims emotions and personal stories are often exploited by the media to pull at the audiences heartstrings. The past few years, proved to be a critical year for Pakistani media persons who were callously neglected by the media owners, vis-Ã  -vis better wages, security of job and their life insurance, while they were increasingly targeted by the terrorists and other pressure groups in which numerous journalists lost their lives. One of two media trainers who designed a special training program for Internews aimed at journalists who work for media outlets within strife-torn areas named as Fiona Lloyd says: For journalists who live and work on the front line, one careless word or one inaccurate detail can ignite a conflict. But equally, one unambiguous, balanced report can help to resolve tension and neutralize fear. If truth is the first casualty of crisis, then correspondents reporting from regions of conflict face unique challenges in providing accurate and unbiased news.Pakistani journalists are caught in a vice between terrorists who use threats and kidnapping, and local government officials who do not hesitate to take the law into their own hands in order to detain troublesome reporters. PROFESSIONAL PROBLEMS: The main crisis in proper reporting is problems within an organization. The reporters and journalists must be properly educated, professionally trained and intellectually motivated to contribute towards the profession. Experience: Crisis and war reporting requires unique skills and experience, so editors should choose journalists who are competent and mature enough because they are used to crisis situations. The journalists that are covering a war for the first time should not be sent there unaided, but be accompanied by a more experienced correspondent. A collaborated, co-operated and teamwork in the field should be encouraged. Editors should thoroughly debrief staff because when they come back they can learn from their experiences. Preparation: Regular training in how to cope and deal in crisis zones or war areas will help trims down the risk to journalists. Editors should inform staff and freelances of any special training offered by nationwide or globally qualified bodies and give them access to it. All journalists called upon to work in a intimidating environment should have first-aid training and preparation. Every accredited journalism school should disseminate its trainee with these issues. Trainings/Workshops: Conferences, trainings and also workshops on innovation journalism best practices should be conducted. The conferences should be ranged from the models of modernization journalism to how to cover innovation a horizontal topic, crossing the normal invention lines in the news room. Pakistans journalism schools have not adequately met the needs of a rapidly changing and rapidly expanding media through innovation. Specialization: Specialization for journalists in explicit subject areas political, for instance, or military would produce more sophisticated reporting. So, the specialization should be encouraged. Communication Skills: Capacity-building needs range from the most basic to the most complex skills, methods and techniques. Both speaking and writing skills need to be emphasized. Even basic techniques, such as how to deal with visuals or how to balance a story, require far more attention and awareness than they presently obtain. ORGANIZATIONAL PROBLEMS: Equipment: Journalists and their assistants should provide special correspondent working in war or crisis areas with reliable safety equipment (bullet-proof jackets, helmets and, if possible, armored vehicles), communication equipment (locator beacons) and endurance and first-aid kits. Insurance: Journalists and their assistants working in war zones or dangerous areas should have insurance to cover illness, repatriation, disability and loss of life. Concerned media authority should take all obligatory steps to provide this before sending or employing personal on dangerous mission. They should strictly observe and obey with all applicable professional conventions and agreements. Fahad Desmukh, a freelance journalist, says, Something needs to be done to deal with the cutthroat competition that forces journalists, cameramen and even the drivers to take needless risks. Journalists should not be penalized for walking away from a dangerous assignment. Right now, the owners care more about protecting their cameras, vehicles and equipment rather than the lives of their employees. 3. ETHICAL PROBLEMS: Commitment: The media, public authorities, editors and journalists themselves shall systematically seek ways to assess and decrease the risks in war zones or conflict areas by consulting each other and exchanging all useful information. Risks to be taken by staff or freelance journalists, their assistants, local employees and support personnel require adequate preparation, information, insurance and equipment. Newsworthiness: The journalists should evaluate the newsworthiness. When evaluating the newsworthiness of a story or footage the ethics of the situation should be assessed. When it comes to angst there is a simple standard: let mourning be private and when it comes to violence: speech is better visuals. The portrayal of violent or grief images increases the probability of several negative and pessimistic affects. This results in an aggressive and antagonistic behavior. According to a study by James W. Potter on Media Violence there are two prevalent affects desensitization and fear that are increasing due to the unethical treatment of media. Breaking News: It is noted that reporting ethics are involved in reporting of war and crisis. Special trainings to the journalists can play an integral role as reporting is done differently in normal and crisis/war situations. Most of the journalists show tears, dead bodies and interviews with the victims family and this is ethically immoral. 4. SAFETY PROBLEMS: The protection of journalists working on dangerous mission is not always assured, even if law provides adequate protection on paper, because forces these days are showing less respect for that law. News-gatherers cannot get assurances from belligerents that they will be fully protected. Because of the risks they run to keep the public informed, media workers, journalists and their assistants (whether permanent staff or freelance) working in war zones or dangerous areas are entitled to vital protection, reimbursement, compensation and guarantees from their concerned authorities, though protection must never be taken to mean supervision by local military and governmental authorities. A number of journalists while reporting about the situation in the tribal belt, they have been threatened and subjected to the most obnoxious language on telephone by unidentified callers and many of them have been murdered, kidnapped and harassed due to the non prevalent safety measures. 5. GENDER DESCRIMINATION: Despite the existence of high-visibility female journalists in Pakistan, gender barriers and gender-based discrimination in the Pakistan media persist. Every media organization ought to have and faithfully implement a clearly articulated code of conduct forbid gender-based discrimination. 6. NEWSROOM BACK-UP PLANNING: When a crisis hits in that part of the country where the newsroom exixts, newsrooms may be crippled. But planning ahead can enable a news organization to keep broadcasting or publishing even if the newsroom is directly affected. Foremost thing is to back up everything. If the newsroom loses power, computers wont work. Keep back up copies of computer files off site. Keep critically important information on paper and keep copies off site, as well. This includes contact information and the crisis management plan itself as it will greatly help in coping with the situation. Importantly, work out an arrangement in advance to use the facilities of another newspaper for publication or another broadcast station to distribute TV or radio signals in case of emergency. PROBLEMS IN REPORTING: From the crisis reporting we can clearly evaluate that it can lead to problems in reporting. Due to the lack of facilities, trainings and compensation to the journalists it can result in several discrepancies in reporting during war zones and crisis areas. REPORTERS INTENTIONALLY MISLEAD: Reporters we expect to provide objective facts not simply tell us what we want to hear. Currently many of the Pakistani reporters are intentionally changing their reporting to cover up uncomfortable or unpopular facts, infact they are not really reporting at all as they are misleading the audiences. If journalists are deliberately reporting what they think people want to hear rather than what the facts are, an information disorder and chaos results. Unfounded rumors and gossips becomes legitimized when they are repeated on media either on TV or in the newspapers, and then become even more ingrained. It is imperative that journalists report the facts even when these facts are uncomfortable. Otherwise, we will only be building on a foundation of error. PAKISTANS MEDIA SENSATIONALISM As Pakistanis we should now all be well versed with tragedy coverage. Bomb blasts, terrorist attacks, violent protests, military operations, natural disasters you name it and we have seen it all. However, instead of making us more proficient at covering tragedies, the influx of crisis situations seem to have worked in reverse. For media personnel these situations are double disasters. The more serious the disaster is, the worse the situation in the newsroom becomes. There is a way of addressing catastrophe, crisis and violence. And it is unfortunate that those who need to be the most sensitive at such times the journalists, reporters and news agencies end up being the most insensitive. News reporting in Pakistan must move away from the sensational and overly-hyped. The media; both electronic and print must be devoted to more investigative forms of reporting. The media can play a pivotal and constructive role in reporting the crisis as it is and should essentially ignore the conspiracies and anecdotes that may exaggerate the crisis, and harm the people involved in it. BREAKING NEWS SYNDROME: Breaking news or special report is a current event that broadcasters feel warrants the interruption of scheduled programming in order to report its details. Many times in Pakistani news channels, breaking news is used after the news network has already reported on this story. When a story has not been reported on previously, the phrase Breaking News is sometimes used its use is often loosely assigned to the most significant report of the moment or a story that is being covered live. It could be a story that is simply of wide interest to viewers and has little impact otherwise. TV channels of Pakistan often provide the oxygen of publicity to the extremist ideology and in a crazy competition for breaking news many channels report events without verifying and confirming the facts and often exaggerated the events and want to win the cat and rat race. SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS: ENHANCE THE REPORTING: According to former Los Angeles Times editor John Carroll, narrative writing should not be confined to massive enterprise stories. Any story should surprise and delight even a short police report. Carroll says todays news audience is bombarded by facts with no context, We need to gratify the readers emotions and intelligence (to help them) makes sense o

Rose For Emily Essay -- essays research papers

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner Emily was a woman that cannot be described without a the words â€Å" not quite normal†, and â€Å"extra ordinary.† The story, â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner is about one woman’s life, from her being a teen to her death in her house. The town’s people did not like her, her family did not like her, but when she died, everybody showed up to Miss Emily’s Funeral. The only person to see Emily was her old manservant, a black man that was the cook and the gardener. The only time that the town would see him was when her went to the grocery store to shop. He would never talk to anybody while he was there. The end of her life never saw Emily out of her house. The town questioned this, but Emily soon just became another story with the town. Miss Emily was not always alone. When she was younger, her father lived at the house with her. He was a man without his sanity. When ever a male would come to the house to see Emily, he would great them at the door, and see them off before Emily could even say hello. The town used this excuse for Emily when her father died. He was dead for three days before she would let the coroner to take him out of the house. This can be seen as the beginning of Emily’s decent to madness. Emily was not always without a man. The town was getting sidewalks put in, and a group of colored men from the north was called in to build them. Their Foreman went by the ...

Women in the Workforce Essay example -- Gender Studies

As the times change, so do the standards. Women previously have been looked at as homemakers, housewives, subordinates. In this new century, this has changed dramatically. Not only have women sought extensive amounts of education, they have sought means to expand and solidify their skills. Although women continue to face discrimination, the qualifications of the playing field have leveled out. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (2012), in 2011, women accounted for 47 percent of the workforce (ages 16 and over). Their occupations varied, as well as their marital status and their status as a mother. Also, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration (2011), 14 percent of households are headed by single women, whereas only 6 percent of households are headed by single men. There are more households headed by women, which means more women are the sole earners of income in their household. The workplace plays a critical role in the lives of women. In addition, more women than men aged 24-35 earned college degrees based on 2007-2008 data (U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration, 2011). This is a more educated workforce with the possibility to make a significant impact in the areas of advancement (e.g. innovation), knowledge transfer (e.g. mentoring), and leadership (e.g. management). Consequently, the policies of companies that employ women can have a positive or negative effect on their households, career advancement and earning potential, as well as the lives of those that depend on them. Mary Van der Boon (2003) in her article titled, â€Å"Women in international management: An international perspective on women’s ways of leadership†, descri... ...sidered as a matter of respect. Secondarily, when having to travel to areas women have never traveled before; their safety is of highest concern. So surely, gender should be aggressively considered in terms of safety and cultural respect. Works Cited Bloch, S. (2011). Expat women: Job & careers abroad. Retrieved from http://www.expatwomen. com/expat-women-jobs-careers-abroad/8-steps-to-dissolving-the-glass-ceiling-susan- bloch.php Drury, M. (2011). Women technology leaders: Gender issues in higher education information technology. NASPA Journal about Women in Higher Education, 4(1), 96-123. Ihlwain, M. (April, 2008). Cracks in a particular glass ceiling. Business Week, 58. Van der Boon, M. (2003). Women in international management: An international perspective on women’s ways of leadership. Gender in Management, 18(3/4), 132-146.

Online Food Catering Essay

When I first began this project, I though that I would do the normal pasta and add the cheapest sauce I could find, but then I thought â€Å"why make something typical, when I could make something that reflects my culture and is cheap†. So I did just that. I went and researched online â€Å"Arab peasant food† and came up with mixed bean soup. Some of the main challenges I faced was keeping the meal under the budget. This was especially difficult because if I add more spice, it will become too expensive, but if I don’t I will have a lot of money left over. In the end I bought some popsicles for desert(which wouldn’t be a good idea in the 30’s because the lower class didn’t have freezers). The last and probably the hardest challenge I faced was getting my family to eat my dinner. During this project I realized how tough it must be to try to think of and execute something that supports your health but is also at such a low cost. When I interviewed my family members they had some vry interesting views that I didn’t expect. My father was happy with the meal and thought it suited the assignment very well though he had some critiques of the flavor of the dish. He also stated that he â€Å"would eat the dish for long periods of time if necessary, but after more than a couple days, I would choose another dish if possible. He also said that if we were to save a couple bucks we would eat less fresh foods and no fruits or veggies. † My brother was a bit less open minded and said that the soup was very bland and â€Å"boring† and that people in the great depression â€Å"couldn’t live with horrible food like this. The healthiness of this meal is fairly good, with the exception of the popsicles. The beans provided exceptional nutritional value with high concentrations of protein and lots of fats and starch in the pasta. If I would have to live like this for a long time, I would probably get sick of it, but if it the only thing available to eat, I could cope. If a present day depression were to occur, my family would probably sell all UNNESSEARY items and downgrade on items we must have. Within this period I would feel as if my government has betrayed me and I was â€Å" left for the wolves†.

Competency Goal Essay

I promote physical activities in my classroom daily. We do music and movement different songs like Pirate Ship, Bear Hunt and the Dancing Machine. All provide a wide range of movement to promote physical health. During outdoor play children are given opportunities , to play with balls, climbing up and down the stairs to the slide, hopping, skipping, jumping and balancing on a rail. Children need opportunities to develop their body strength. Pulling themselves up and down, rolling balls, swinging, throwing things such as bean bags, can strengthen their upper bodies. Running, jumping, balancing, can help strengthen their lower bodies. As they process and these activities they are working on their gross motor skills. Painting, coloring, drawing, encourage fine motor development. Functional Area 5: Cognitive I help children develop cognitive skills by encouraging them to hypothesis and try things out. In my classroom I allow the children to explore toys and objects on their own. I ask open-ended questions to allow them to think critically and imaginatively. Singing, One-to-One Correspondence, Classifying, creating things, and identify items objects gives the child opportunity to discover the purpose for the require skills. Science and media interrelate with visual stimulation and measurement skills. Functional Area 6: Communication In my classroom I help children learn, understand, and use words to communicate. This is done by encouraging conversations throughout the classroom. I ask children about what they are doing and prompt them to explain in detail. Children are reminded to use their words to express themselves when they are having a difficult time communicating.

A Study of the Cultural Imperialism Theory Essay

ABSTRACT This paper explores the validity of the Cultural Imperialism Theory which says the Western culture has dominated the cultures of developing Nations. It examines to what extent and how the Western world in the real sense has dominated the developing countries. The study further examined the means through which the developing countries are being dominated culturally by the Western culture. The paper further looked at both the negative and the positive effects of cultural imperialism. It concluded that though the western world is succeeding in eroding the culture of developing countries and Nigeria as a study, Nigeria as a Nation should put on some safety belt in safeguarding our heritage. INTRODUCTION Culture is the way of life of a set of people. It encompasses the knowledge, ideas, beliefs, values, standards, and sentiments prevalent in the group. According to Charles A. Ellwood, an American Sociologist, culture is the â€Å"collective name for all behavior patterns socially acquired and socially transmitted by means of symbols†. Dare A., defines Culture as the collectivity of human activities and general principles that tend to guide ideas of a group of people with shared traditions (general acceptability), which are passed on, instilled into generation (socialization) and reinvigorated by members of the group (sustainability) while Imperialism as defined by The Dictionary of Human Geography is the creation and maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination The Theorist of Cultural Imperialism theory, Herb Schiller postulated that Western nations dominate the media around the world which in return has a powerful effect on Third World Cultures by means of imposing on them, western views thereby destroying their native cultures Western Civilization produces the majority of the media (film, news, comics, etc.) because they have the money to do so. The rest of the world purchases those productions because it is cheaper for them to do so rather than produce their own. Therefore, Third World countries are watching media filled with the Western world’s way of living, believing, and thinking. The third world cultures then start to want and do the same things in their countries and destroy their own culture. In cultural Imperialism theory, the key words are culture and imperialism. According to Anaeto G., Onabajo, O. and Osifeso, J. (2008), they wrote that â€Å"the western countries are technologically developed in television and motion programmes and developing countries that are not technologically developed depend on the programmes from the developed countries. This means that the programmes from the developed counties which portray their culture will be imbibed by the developing nations. This western culture now dominates our local culture simply because we are consuming their mass media messages†. The assumptions of the theory according to Schiller, H., are classified into three namely 1. Ontological Assumptions 2. Epistemological Assumptions 3. Axiological Assumptions 1. Ontological Assumptions This theory says that humans do not have the free will to chose how they feel, act, think, and live. They react to what they see on television because there is nothing else to compare it to besides their own lives, usually portrayed as less than what it should be. 2. Epistemological Assumptions This theory explains that there is one truth and no matter what that truth never going to change. As long as Third World countries continue to air Western Civilization’s programs then the third world countries will always believe they should act, feel, think, and live as Western Civilizations act, feel, think, and live. 3. Axiological Assumptions This theory is value-neutral and objective. It does not matter what beliefs the people of Third World may already hold, the television programs from the Western World will communicate the same message and affect them in the same way. CRITIQUES OF THEORY The critiques of the Cultural Imperialism theory came up with scientific theory which counter-argued the theory with the following responses: Explanatory Power: It explains what happens when one group of people with their own ideas sends messages through the media to a different group of people. Predictive Power: It predicts that Third World countries’ culture will be destroyed and the people will identify with Western views. Parsimony: We can see a direct linear path from sender to receiver through the media channels and then watch the effects. Falsifiability: The theory could be proved false should the Third World countries not be affected by Western media and they do not lose their culture. E.G â€Å"Under the intriguing title Seducing the French (1993), Richard F.Kuisel concedes that the French underwent a process of Americanization. But at the same time, they succeeded in defending their â€Å"Frenchness.† French consumers found some American products appealing but they also continued to cherish and idealize French national identity, notably the idea of a superior French high culture.† Internal Consistency: There is a logical flow of events and consequences within the theory. Heuristic Provocativeness: This theory could lead to new hypotheses such as which cultures are affected more than others (if any) or whether low context differ in the reception of messages compared top high context cultures? Organizing Power: This fits with what we already know about differences between Western civilization and Third World countries. Another example the critique stated is that â€Å"if an International Broadcast station shows a video depicting Nigerians as corrupt, dangerous and malnourished, should someone in Nigeria watch this the Western stereotype of Nigerians, and not affected by it, the theory have been proved false†. John, T., further argues that Cultural imperialism consists of the spread of modernity. It is a process of cultural loss and not of cultural expansion. There never were groups of conspirators who attempted to spread any particular culture. Instead, global technological and economic progress and integration reduced the importance of national culture. Therefore, it is misleading to put the blame for a global development on any one culture. The notion of imperialism that is, purposeful cultural conquest is irrelevant; instead, all countries, regardless of whether they are located in the northern or southern hemisphere, are victims of a worldwide cultural change MODES OF CULTURAL IMPERIALISM Tracing world history all through the era of colonialism, there have been histories of cultural imperialism which will seem the only way to explain the popularity of the very-British game cricket in all countries that once served as British colonies. Invasion of a country most often doesn’t end with an invasion of the geographical territories within the political boundaries alone. Religious and cultural invasion are often inseparable parts of a political conquest. It’s much easier to rule if your subjects share the same religious and cultural platforms as the invaders? The cultural imperialism theory is founded upon the premises of imposing the influences and beliefs of the stronger culture (the invaders) upon the weaker or more submissive culture (the invaded). How does this cultural Imperialism take place? Dare A., states that Cultural imperialism takes place when one culture overtakes another in such a way that the latter ends up following a significant number of values, traditions, beliefs and influences of the former either completely or in a way merges the influences of the dominating culture with those of its own. Such a cultural invasion can either be active or passive. In its active form, the dominant culture forcefully imposes its cultural influences upon the dominated culture. This is a dynamic phenomenon where the subordinate culture is compelled to adopt the ways of the invaders. The passive form is when one culture (not necessarily subordinate) voluntarily embraces the influences and traditions of another culture. Here, the dominant culture makes little or no forceful efforts in imposing its cultural ideals upon another but the latter gets influenced as a consequence of its receptivity to the former’s cultural impacts. The passive form of cultural imperialism is what largely takes place today. Cultural imperialism can also occur due to the significant commercial relations between two countries. A country heavily importing products and services of another country may get significantly influenced by the exporting country’s lifestyle attributes and social values. We can see this phenomenon in the form of Westernization of a number of Eastern countries. This is a type of passive cultural imperialism as the receiving culture adopts the foreign values without perceiving the fact that they are, in fact, becoming slaves of a foreign culture. WORLD EXAMPLES OF CULTURAL IMPERIALISM English Cultural Imperialism English cultural imperialism has been rife in the history of cultural imperialism. Latin which has the Church’s official language to popularizing its national game all across its colonies was changed to English. The British Empire left no stone unturned to make sure that its subjects adhered to its cultural idiosyncrasies even decades after ceasing to be its subjects. The fact that Cricket is among the top ten most popular sports around the world with an estimated 3 billion fan following, especially in countries like Australia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, New Zealand and certain African and Caribbean countries proves the strength of the English cultural imperialism. It is also a known fact that English is the third most spoken language after Mandarin and Spanish. Decades of dominion and repressive policies towards Tibet, Taiwan and various other neighboring regions by China has had a significant influence upon the religion and culture of these regions. The aggressive promotion of a standardized Chinese language across Mainland China and Taiwan indicates towards an attempted cultural imperialism aimed at overtaking regional dialects in these areas. Also, the fact that most traditional aspects of the Chinese culture pertaining to religious beliefs, festivals and social norms significantly inundate the socio cultural edifices of various Oriental countries indicate towards strongly existing cultural imperialism. The most widespread and still continuing instance of cultural imperialism can be seen in the form of Americanization. This is mostly due to the multitudes of commercial relationships the United States holds with a large number of countries in all parts of the world. This is definitely passive cultural imperialism and the countries that are most affected are those that have voluntarily adopted the stereotyped American lifestyle values and specific cultural aspects CULTURAL IMPERIALISM IN NIGERIA The Issue of Sagging Sagging has become the latest phenomenon among the male youths today in Nigeria. It is what is in vogue; if you have not exposed the lower part of your private, you belong to the old school system. What is sagging and where did it come from? According to Greg, M., sagging was adopted from the United States prison system where belts are prohibited. Belts are sometimes prohibited to keep prisoners from using them as weapons or in committing suicide by hanging themselves. The style was later popularized by hip-hop artists in the 1990s. It has since become a symbol of freedom and cultural awareness among some youths or a symbol of their rejection of the values of mainstream society. Jails are typically state run institutions. What usually happens is the state will order a set number of inmate uniforms. These uniforms are usually in general sizes like small, medium and large; making them ill-fitting for most inmates. When a medium sized inmate comes in and there are no remaining medium uniforms this inmate will receive a large instead. Prisoners are not allowed to have shoe laces or belts for fear they’d use them to kill themselves (by way of strangulation or hanging), or as weapons to kill or injure other inmates. The combination of over sized clothing and lack of fastening devices created the perfect storm for falling pants. Many street hungry rappers latched on the dress of their incarcerated friends and family and brought the style to the masses. Thus a new trend was born and Nigerians have fallen into this trend Linguistic Imperialism Language is one of the principal elements in identifying a particular culture and the absence of it makes a culture unidentifiable. It is vital for cultural transmission and preservation. With the gradual loss of our indigenous languages in Nigeria, what culture are we then preserving? Ogwu, M., Agbanu, N. and Ofordile, J. describes Linguistic Imperialism as â€Å"People who can relate with each other only through the medium of communication foisted on them by a former colonist are victims of a peculiar kind of Schizophrenia†. The use of our language is declining in Africa especially Nigeria because we are compelled to embrace Western culture and civilization as Western language. Western language has created a division between an elite and mass of our people who still cannot do business with foreign language. It causes alienation for people who cannot speak English or French. Language is a vehicle of culture; we are in a very serious problem. e.g. â€Å"Professor Babafunwa project on local language as a basic tool of teaching in Nigeria was aborted because of the nature of our country.† Parents also do not encourage their children or wards to speak in their local language as they belief it causes setback in their education. Fashion imperialism You hardly find few of our men, women and the youths who still embrace our cultural mode of dressing. Our people are going ‘gaga’ with the western way of dressing thereby losing their root of African way of dressing. It’s quite unfortunate that when expatriates and tourist who come to Nigeria appreciate our native attire while the owners of the heritage has seen it as something of old school and fashion. Tattoos have also become a common phenomenon. Both the young and old are stamping themselves all over the body with symbolic ‘devilish’ tattoos. Religious Imperialism Most churches in Nigeria today have gone the western way. When you go to some churches today, you marvel at the way some our ladies apparel. The custom of covering of hair has been eroded by the western way; all kinds of dressing are acceptable. The men or young male adults put on all sort of jewels and dress ‘haggardly’. The sense of going to commune with God is lost. EFFECTS OF CULTURAL IMPERIALISM Moral Decadency Through the float of western culture into Nigeria through the advent of technology and globalization, there has been obvious moral decline in Africa and in Nigeria in particular. This moral decadence has permeated almost all spheres of our culture. Moral consciousness has been equated with awkward and odd life styles. According to Oshafu, H., in his article â€Å"Cultural Imperialism†, this resulted due to Africa’s carelessness and failure to hold their culture with high esteem. He added that the moral excellence of African society has over night transformed into moral decay. Elders are no longer respected, our rapid festivals and ceremonies are now seen as â€Å"old school† and we now have children of single parents, a phenomenon that is identifiable with America. People no longer communalize, nobody wants to be anybody’s brother’s keeper. Our mode of dressing has been totally distorted by western civilization through foreign films and media conten t. Today we seem not to have any cultural attire. Our people now prefer to go naked on the streets as against our culture, micro minis with handless tops has this to show. The acculturation of â€Å"blue jean and hamburger† has gradually found it way into young people in African society. The issue of dress code has led to controversies in our high institute in today. Cases of immoral dressing have also gave way to rapid sexual harassment among students and lecturers, bosses and their employees. Raping in our society today came as a result of reckless dressing code by ladies The traditional notion of chastity and virginity have been rendered absurd by pornographic and sleazy materials displayed on screens, distorting sexuality and condoning promiscuity, which has given rise to active homosexuality and lesbianism in our society today. These cases of reckless sex have led to the rapid spread of STD’s particularly, HIV/AIDs in our society today. Innocent children are dying of this disease. They paid dearly for the offence committed by their parents. This is immoral evil militating against the dignity of human person. Increase in Crime Rate With exposure to the western way of life, increase in crime rate is on high. Most of the films we watch on the television set are crime oriented thereby leading to increase in crime rate. In as much as there is positive impact of the television set, the negative aspect outweighs the good part, as the western world is teaching modern ways to crime though the kind of programmes being disseminated, which includes kidnapping, serial killing etc. Look for more points We have scholars who however belief that Cultural Imperialism theory regardless of its negative effect has its positive side. Cultural imperialism they say is not entirely bad as it increases the pace of development in Nigeria and other less developed countries. For example, in the giving away of media products free of charge or selling them at a very low price to these developing nations, the US actually accelerates the growth of the media industry and the advancement in technology, hence increasing the knowledge and skills of the people there. Their actions not only add on to actual growth; the subsequent increase in human capital further boosts potential growth, which is essential for the actual growth to be sustained in the long run. This investment in human capital goes a long way and benefits the country as it strengthens the competitive edge and increases productivity of the workforce. Economic growth is also achieved Even more so, being a developing nation, Nigeria would not have had the latest technology available to produce media products; it is only through the provision of the American companies that they are able to obtain state-of-the-art equipment. The advocacy of production of local-helmed programs would thus further enhance American influence on the nation. Despite government efforts to hinder cultural imperialism, they cannot completely eliminate the impacts of this influence as American media products have already found their way into the market and become a part of Nigeria’s media production efforts. They need such â€Å"interference† in order to keep their media industry alive WAY FORWARD Long Term Investment in the Development of our Mass Media One way cultural imperialism spreads is through the mass media. The local media imports foreign materials because it is cheaper than having to produce local indigenous content. An example of this issue is that indigenous journalists have to learn to transcribe and rewrite news by foreign news agencies rather than source for their own stories. Sometimes even rewriting local stories covered by the foreign news agencies. Our government and private investors should invest heavily in our local media and encourage the development of indigenous content that will reflect our culture, values, promote our languages etc. Media products like movies, news, music, advertising etc should be regulated to avoid the influx of foreign content. This is where organizations like the Nigerian Broadcasting Service come in. They should develop stronger laws and be strict in its enforcement of the laws such as the 60/40% rule (60% indigenous, 40% foreign). If the indigenous media products are of high quality, the citizens will be encouraged to consume them. This is so because a lot of people give the low quality of the products (movies, music, adverts, news etc) as reasons for not consuming them. If Nigerians consume indigenous media products, it will reflect in every area of our lives (culturally that is). An example is what is happening in the Nigerian music industry,. Because of the increase in local content in our music, it is now becoming acceptable and even encouraged to sing in our indigenous languages(Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo etc), dress in our native attires most especially Ankara and wear our national colors. There has been a rise in the popularity of Pidgin English as opposed to just speaking plain English. Also the teaching of our indigenous languages should be encouraged in our schools. All primary and secondary schools should be encouraged to teach at least one Nigerian language at all classes especially in the minority regions of the country where the minority languages are in danger of becoming extinct. Parents should further speak their native dialect with their wards or children to aid them to be conversant in their local dialect. Young adults today see it as a taboo or as inferiority complex speaking in their local dialect; â€Å"it does not sound ‘tush’ rather local† parents more importantly should be more watchful and observant in the kind of foreign stations their children tune to for their programmes as â€Å"media has become the primary means by which many of us experience or learn about many aspects of the world around us† Stanley and Dennis, 5th edition,p.200). With the presence of technology, access to International broadcast station is at the tip of the hand, we have cables surrounding us and with just a remote control, you can be anywhere in the world learning and assimilating what is been impressed on you. As such supervision is needed to regulate what is been watched. Parents should devout time for their children while they are still young as most of the western values tend to catch them while they are still young just as the â€Å"catch them young phrase†. Another solution is to try to export our own culture as this will help in boosting tourism in Nigeria. We should conscious try to sell and promote our media products to the rest of the world. This will improve our image globally and help foreigners understand our culture, values, cuisine better. I would like to say at this point that we should not consume wholly indiginous media products. A little foreign content is still advisable as there has been some good aspects of cultural imperialism such as technological and educational advancement, political structure (democracy), eradication of some harmful practices like the killing of twins etc. We should take a balanced approach, like an 80 (indigenous))/20% (foreign). CONLUSION As a result of globalization and technological advancement, the western world has succeeded in dominating the third world countries. This notwithstanding should not be an excuse for Nigerians and other third world countries to be subjugated by the western world. Nigerian as a nation should fight cultural imperialism and fight back for our lost culture. One way by which this could be done is through Long Term Investment in the Development of our Mass Media as it is the major means by which cultural imperialism spreads. The local media imports foreign materials because it is cheaper than having to produce local indigenous content. An example of this issue is that indigenous journalists have to learn to transcribe and rewrite news by foreign news agencies rather than source for their own stories. Sometimes even rewriting local stories covered by the foreign news agencies. Our government and private investors should invest heavily in our local media and encourage the development of indigenous content that will reflect our culture, values, promote our languages etc. REFERENCES Anaeto, S. G., Onabajo, O. S. and Osifeso, J. B. (2008). Models and Theories of Communication. African Renaissance Books Incorporated. Dare, A., (2010). The Effects of Western Civilization and Culture on Africa. Afro Asian Journal of Social Sciences (1/1) Quarter IV Grifin, E. (2000). A first look at communication theory. (4th edition). Boston, MA: McGraw- Hill Littlejohn, S. W. (1999). Theories of human communication (6th edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Oshafu H. U. Cultural Imperialism. Accessed from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/culturalimperialism-examples.html on 12/11/2012. Ogwu, M., Agbanu, N., and Ofordile, J. (December, 2010). â€Å"Sustaining Cultural Values Through the Promotion of Indigenous Languages in Nigeria† Journal of Communication and Culture: International Perspective. (1/3), pp 76 Schiller, H. I. (1976). Communication and Cultural Domination. Armonk, NY: International Arts and Sciences Press. Accessed online on 29/10/2012. Critics of cultural imperialism theory. Encyclopedia of the New American Nation available Accessed at http://www.americanforeignrelations.com on 29/10/2012