Radio for Education in Bd

History of Radio in Bangladesh_ Bangladesh Betar (Bengali: ) or BB is the state-owned radio broadcasting organisation of Bangladesh. It was also known as Radio Bangladesh between 1975 and 1996. Radio transmission in the region now forming Bangladesh started in Dhaka on December 16, 1939. Initially, the station was located in old Dhaka. Later, the station was relocated to Shahbag. It played an important role during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971.On March 26, 1971, the broadcasting center of Radio Pakistan was used to transmit a declaration of independence, which was picked up by a Japanese ship in the Chittagong Harbor and retransmitted. During the war, it was known as Shwadhin Bangla Betar Kendro (Independent Bengal Radio Station). Due to heavy shelling, the station had to be relocated several times, and ultimately moved to Calcutta on May 25, from where it would broadcast until the end of the war. On December 6, it was renamed Bangladesh Betar. Today we have 10 radio statio ns running in Bangladesh. Those are_ * ABC Radio (Bangladesh) * Bangladesh Betar * DHAKA FM 90. * Radio 2fun| * Radio Amar * Radio Dhaka * Radio Foorti * Radio Metrowave * Radio Today * RadioGoonGoon Types of Radio_ ————————————————- FM (Frequency Modulation) Radio Frequency modulation, FM is widely used for a variety of radio communications applications. FM broadcasts on the VHF bands still provide exceptionally high quality audio, and FM is also used for a variety of forms of two way radio communications, and it is especially useful for mobile radio communications, being used in taxis, and many other forms of vehicle. n view of its widespread use, frequency modulation, FM, is an important form of modulation, despite many forms of digital transmission being used these days. FM, frequency modulation has been in use for many years. However its advantages were not immediatel y apparent. In the early days of wireless, it was thought that a narrower bandwidth was required to reduce noise and interference. As FM did not perform well under these conditions, AM predominated and FM was not used.However, Edwin Armstrong, an American engineer looked at the use of wideband FM for broadcasting and introduced the idea against the trend of the thinking of the time. Since its first introduction the use of frequency modulation, FM has grown enormously. Now wideband FM is still regarded as a very high quality transmission medium for high quality broadcasting. FM, frequency modulation is also widely used for communications where it is resilient to variations in signal strength. FM, frequency modulation basicsThe most obvious method of applying modulation to a signal is to superimpose the audio signal onto the amplitude of the carrier. However this is by no means the only method which can be employed. It is also possible to vary the frequency of the signal to give frequ ency modulation or FM. It can be seen below that the frequency of the signal varies as the voltage of the modulating signal changes. Concept of frequency modulation The amount by which the signal frequency varies is very important. This is known as the deviation and is normally quoted as the number of kiloHertz deviation.As an example the signal may have a deviation of  ±3 kHz. In this case the carrier is made to move up and down by 3 kHz. ————————————————- Community Radio Community radio stations are community owned and operated entities that serve either localized geographic communities or communities of interest, such as minorities, religious groups and universities. Community radio is unique because the stations are run by the communities themselves. They are owned and managed by the people they serve. The management is usually a small team of paid staff with the pro gramming onducted by volunteers. Unlike commercial stations, community stations are not allowed to run for profit. They must be established as voluntary associations, not-for-profits or trusts. The station’s constitution must say that any profit will be channeled into further developing the station. To ensure the stations are not run for profit they are usually subject to strict advertising controls. Commonly the regulator stipulates that advertising content ought to be capped to allow, for example, a maximum of five minutes per hour of programming. New stations often start with a public meeting.Members of a community (either geographic or community of interest) come together as a working group to create a   vision for the station, plan programming and develop facilities. Over time, more and more members of the community are recruited and trained (FETAC training is available through) to help out behind the scenes, produce and present programmes reflective of their community and experience. 100 day broadcasting licenses are secured from the BAI and as a track record is built with regards to programming, operations, and community involvement, a multi-year licence becomes available.To operate full licenses, groups constitute themselves as cooperatives or limited companies with no share capital, and a board is elected from the community to manage the station transparently and with accountability in the interests of all. Community Radio has the capacity to reinforce what is good about Irish Society and to help find solutions to its failings. Community Radio facilities individuals, groups, and communities to tell their own diverse stories, to share experiences, and in a media rich world to become active creators and contributors rather than passive consumers.It presents a unique vehicle for the community and voluntary sector, civil society, agencies, NGOs & citizens to work in partnership to make a difference. Community Radio offers- * rare and direct media access for all perspectives in our communities,   * the potential for innovation inherent in non-profit, community owned and operated media * Diversity in the provision of programming, especially where there would be insufficient profit for the commercial sector and too much cost for the public service sector. Offers a resurgence of local media highlighting local issues, opinions and voices in contrast to mainstream medias increasingly centralised content production. * The skills, resources and the opportunity to understand media by members of our communities through actively participating in its creation and delivery. * a unique mechanism to engage with social exclusion by acting as a vehicle for outcome-driven personal and professional training and development * a powerful tool in providing services and supports to communities, especially disadvantaged and excluded communities. the opportunity to promote democracy, human rights and sustainability. * a challenge to global media blandness in reinforcing local identities while acting as a catalyst for integration and inclusion. ————————————————- Public Broadcasting Public broadcasting is broadcasting made for the public, funded by the public (through tax) and controlled by the public (through parliament). The defining feature of public broadcasting is its inclusiveness. Public broadcasting must be accessible to all and diverse enough to appeal to all.Unlike state broadcasting, which serves the interests of the state, public broadcasting is uniquely positioned to serve the public in all its diverse forms. Further, public service broadcasters (PSBs) are protected from political and commercial pressures, which positions them to best serve the public’s rights to freedom of expression and freedom of information. This is why public broadcasting has such a crucial role to play in democratic societi es. Defining features of public service broadcasting: * Accessible to all * Serving the public interest in all its shapes Emphasis on quality, balance and impartiality * Provisions for minorities * Commitment to education of the public * Freedom to produce challenging and controversial programming * Independent from political and commercial interference * Forum for expression of national cultural identity Independence of a public broadcaster is vital: independence for the board and editorial independence for management. Securing independence means overcoming the prevailing mindset among those in power that the airwaves belong to the state.MISA believes the independence of a public service broadcaster in Swaziland will only be ensured if it is guaranteed in law. MISA is advocating for such a law to include the following: * A description of the composition of the PSB board to ensure it is broadly representative of the public and excludes office bearers with the state and people with f inancial interests in broadcasting; * A public and transparent board appointments procedure that minimizes political and commercial interference; * A stipulation that no one has a right to influence the work of the board; * Editorial freedom for the PSB management; Accountability of the PSB is to the public through parliament, not an individual minister or ministry; * An adequate and secure funding mechanism that protects from arbitrary interference. For more detail on public service broadcasting law see the Article 19 Model Public Service Broadcasting Law under Law Reform. MISA calls on the government to: * Enact legislation establishing a public broadcasting entity, recognizing its full independence and public service mandate. * Conduct organizational restructure allowing the merger of television and radio with one independent board to develop the organizational policy. Allow editorial policies that capture the unique responsibilities of public broadcasting. * Ensure training of m anagement and staff on the ethos and purpose of public broadcasting. * Secure a reliable funding mechanisms that will support program diversity and innovation. ————————————————- Campus Radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution.Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based. Sometimes campus radio stations are operated for the purpose of training professional radio personnel, sometimes with the aim of broadcasting educational programming, while other radio stations exist to provide an alternative to commercial broadcasting or government broadcasters. Campus radio stations are generally licensed and regulated by national governments, and s o have very different characteristics from one country to the next.One commonality between many radio stations regardless of their physical location is a willingness — or, in some countries, even a licensing requirement — to broadcast musical selections that are not categorized as commercial hits. Because of this, campus radio has come to be associated with emerging musical trends, including genres such as punk and New Wave, alternative rock, indie rock and hip hop, long before those genres become part of the musical mainstream. Campus radio stations also often provide airplay and promotional exposure to new and emerging local artists.Many campus radio stations carry a variety of programming including news (often local), sports (often relating to the campus), and spoken word programming as well as general music. Often the radio format is best described as a freeform, with a lot of creativity and individualism among the disc jockeys and show hosts. A number of these rad io stations have gained critical acclaim for their programming and are considered by the community in which they are embedded to be an essential media outlet.Although the term campus radio implies full-power AM or FM transmission over the air, many radio stations experiment with low-power broadcasting, closed circuit or carrier current systems, often to on-campus listeners only. Some radio stations are distributed through the cable television system on cable FM or the second audio program of a TV radio station. Some universities and colleges broadcast one or more Internet radio feeds — either instead of, or in addition to a campus radio station — which may differ in radio formats significantly from licensed traditional campus radio. ———————————————— Internet Radio Internet Radio – Internet Radio describes a technical achievement which allows audio to b e digitized and split into small pieces for transmission across the Interent. The ultimate effect is to create the illusion of â€Å"radio†. The audio is â€Å"streamed† through the Internet from a server in one location and reassembled on the listener's end by a software player on a computer or Internet Radio receiver. Internet Radio is not really radio by the traditional definition but an incredible simulation.This term also describes the conglomeration of streaming audio which is available on the Internet which can be listened to by using a software player or browser which supports streaming audio. In another way, an audio broadcasting service that is transmitted through the Internet. Internet radio is similar in nature to Internet broadcasting, also called webcasting. However, those listening to the continuous stream audio broadcast have no control over the stream, similar to traditional radio broadcasting.Many radio stations worldwide offer their broadcast via Int ernet radio to a worldwide audience. Today dedicated hardware devices, commonly called Web radio or Internet radio appliances  , can be purchased that connect to a home network and then to the Internet to play live audio streams. Internet radio is also called e-radio. The benefits of an internet radio_ More station choice An internet radio gives you access to more than FM or DAB digital radio, including some foreign language stations. Find new stationsThe menus on an internet radio enable you search by different methods including by genre. So you could search for all of the rock stations available and find new stations that play the types of music you love. Podcasts and BBC listen again You can access podcasts from BBC and commercial stations and just as you might use listen again on BBC iPlayer or Radio player on your computer, you can access listen again to   shows through an internet radio, too. Music player/ media sharing Most internet radios have a music player mode for str eaming music from devices on your home network.If you keep your music collection on your computer at home you can use the radio’s screen to choose music from your collection and listen using the radio's speakers. Forget DAB reception Internet radio works using your internet connection. It doesn't rely on getting a signal from a transmitter the way DAB and FM do, so it doesn't matter if DAB reception is poor where you live – you can get your digital radio fix via the internet. Education System in Bangladesh The education system and structure of Bangladesh  has three major stages-primary, secondary and higher educations.Primary education is a 5-year cycle while secondary education is a 7- year one with three sub-stages: 3 years of junior secondary, 2 years of secondary and 2 years of higher secondary. The private schools also receive strong financial support from the state. The tertiary education (3-5 years) is provided through universities (31 public and 51 private un iversities) and affiliated colleges under supervision of University Grants Commission. Establishment of private universities has gained momentum in recent years. At all levels, students can choose the medium of education from Bangla or English.The Ministry of Education is the supreme state office for education which again is subdivided in different directorates for each level while running numerous development projects (Education Projects and Technical projects). According to the article 17 of the Constitution, all the children of Bangladesh are supposed to receive full free education up to secondary level. Secondary and higher secondary schools are affiliated under  ten (10) education boards. The boards administer two public examinations – one is the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Examination and the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) Examination.The higher secondary schools are known as colleges. There are also Madrasah (religiously inclined) and English medium school s which are enrolled under Madrasah Education Board and Foreign Education Board respectively. Besides this, a Technical Education Board has been established to administer the vocational training schools at post-secondary level in Education Board. The National Curriculum and Textbook Board is the authority to develop, approve and manage the curriculum and text books for primary, junior, secondary and higher secondary level.Government has also established Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS) which keeps educational information at all levels. Bangladesh Government has published an Education Policy which is developed based on the inputs taken from different education commissions over the years. There are also many non-profit organizations which operate informal and semi-formal education for underprivileged children under supervision of Bureau of Non-formal Education. Linking Radio with EducationDue to potential diversity, the CR technology can most effec tively be used for non formal education for adult people, awareness programs, youth development programs, local community knowledge sharing, recycling of knowledge, ethnic community preservation programs and in areas, where density of population is sparse, where access to school is difficult like char (land within a river) and hilly areas of the country and also isolated places because of less access to road or other communication, and where access of qualified teachers are very few. Sweeney and Parlato (1982, p. 3) stated, â€Å"Radio plays an effective educational role both as the sole medium or in conjunction with print and group support†. So, Community Radio has a prospect for education expansion and community schools. Community Radio can also help, develop and mobilize social capital. This technology is cheaper too. For example, Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) is a well-tested teaching and dissemination method that is inexpensive, accessible and flexible. In Africa, Community Radio has speeded up and expended the process of information exchange. The second goal of MDGs is to achieve universal primary education.Education is the backbone and foundation for a nation. This is one of the fundamental goals as Nobel Lauriat's Amarta Sen argues, â€Å"Development is freedom and education is the royal road of freedom† (Daniel, 2006). As most developing countries underscore its educational potential and importance, many writers have proposed that educational radio can be most effective when supported by trained facilitators, group learning, group discussion, feedback and the use of multimedia approaches, thus interactive and independent learning help develop social software which is considered essential for quality education.The dynamic potential of radio in motivating listeners to take action, modifying behavior, and undertaking activities is evident in the literature thus far. ————————†”———————- Distance Learning Learning is the liberating force of human development and every individual has a right to education. To serve the aforesaid considerations, ODL helps create democratization in education for flexible learning system. In ODL, student centered teaching approach is used. Tutors and learners are hysically separated in the system, and distance education institutes usually use technology like state-owned Radio and Television for a particular time to disseminate contents of learning to the learners, which might not be effective and accessible to all distance learners due to inflexible time allocation. Since CR is covering a limited geographical area and focusing on the local needs, culture and social events, educational and academic programs can be incorporated into the CR programs at any time of any location as it is more flexible than national broadcasting.In addition, distance education institutes have long ex periences in using the technology of Radio and TV. They can apply their experience for CR on segment base as well as programs base. Most distance learning organizations generally have several outlets for tutorial or other instructional services in distant and remote areas. Having their own infrastructures, these distant teaching outlets could be turned into Community Radio Learning Centers (CRLC) for the open and distance learning institutes and these stations can be worked as local facilitators for the academic programs of both formal and non-formal education.Anyanwk (1978 p. 15-16) mentions, â€Å"Through collective listening, discussion, and the use of audio-visual aids, the radio can contribute substantially to the process of transformation of agricultural traditions, as well as some social and economic attitudes in general†. Radio has been used extensively as an educational medium in developing countries like India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, South Korea, Mali, Guatemala, Bots wana, South Africa, Zambia, Uganda, Mexico, Philippines and also proved its impact and efficiency in health, agriculture and other development issues. ———————————————— Open University Radio-based educational opportunities are very much commensurate with the delivery system of ODL. After 15 years of the establishment of the Bangladesh Open University (BOU), it has accumulated huge resources in terms of technology and media oriented human resource and infrastructures to put forward a new look to the Community Radio applications.Bangladesh Open University needs to adopt the segment base strategies to provide education for all. The case of Bangladesh is similar as to Louw’s (Paris, France 2007) statement, â€Å". to ensure that communities who have been denied access to resources, take part in producing ethical, creative and responsible radio that encourages them to co mmunicate with each other, to take part in decisions that affect their lives, and to celebrate their own cultures†.The reason for establishing Bangladesh Open University nearly echoes Louw's statement as in the Mission statement, of the BOU Act 1992 envisages that â€Å"the objectives of the University shall be to expand all levels of education, knowledge and science by a diversity of means, including the use of any communication technology to improve the quality of education and to provide opportunities for education to the general public through mass-orientation of education and to create efficient manpower by improving the quality of education in general†.To accomplish these goals of BOU mission statement, it is no denying the fact that BOU needs immediate steps for adopting the Community Radio approach. In terms of preparation, BOU has Media Centre fully equipped with the transmission equipment, full-fledged radio recording studios, editing suites, portable radio re corders and modern radio broadcasting technology. However, BOU has already sought the permission from the Government for having its own frequency allocation. ———————————————— Adult Education About adult education Dhaka University VC Prof Arefin was highlighting on the role of mass media in the socio-economic and the educational development of a developing country. His message was that both the print and broadcast media can play a vital role in enhancing education in a developing country. It can shape and create public opinion towards on related issues by applying its strength and bring changes among individual.Bangladesh is now in a state of â€Å"Media Expansion†, we have lot of TV and radio channels and every day new channels are coming. Broadcasting media is the most common & popular media in our country. In the cases of developing countries, like Bangladesh, imp lementation of education fully depends on appropriate use of broadcasting media technology. And the government as well as private organizations are using Radio and television for meeting these demands.A significant result has already been achieved in the field of mass education of Bangladesh by using broadcasting media. All the TV and Radio channels present various educational programs for the students. These programs become very popular in the country. Bangladesh is now in a state of media expansion. A large number of people here depend on newspapers and broadcast media for entertainment. But media also has an important educational role: Adult students from rural even from city areas can take lesson from watching certain television programs Like â€Å"BBC Janala

Marketing Management paper Essay

Questions: 1. Explain how Marketing affects the outcome of the financial equation: Sales-Expense=Profit. What risk the company might be facing in this equation with regards to marketing? Expound on the importance of marketing in sustaining business growth. (5 points.) In the equation, Sales-Expense=Profit, activities done in Marketing can be said or considered as marketing expenses that includes advertising costs, promotions, PR events and Marketing Research costs (e.g. FGD, etc.). Through the income statement, we can get the Profit or Revenue and costs or expenses. These may include the costs of marketing the product or services with other costs that is deducted from the amount of sales or total sales. The idea is to increase the revenue while costs are incurred through marketing activities. However, in order to achieve this, marketing activities must be done effectively and the costs or expenses should be managed correctly in order to create good results. Marketing activities that are not managed properly may incur additional costs to the company and continue on to increase. This is especially applicable to companies with different product portfolios and margins, wherein they can incur losses once the profitability of a product decreases. Read more:  What is New Public Management? 2. Why do companies resort to market segmentation? Explain why or how segmentation can be an effective market entry/penetration strategy. Give an example not discussed in the class. (10 points) Better matching of customer needs Customer needs differ. Creating separate offers for each segment makes sense and provides customers with a better solution. Enhanced profits for business Customers have different disposable income. They are, therefore, different in how sensitive they are to price. By segmenting markets, businesses can raise average prices and subsequently enhance profits Better opportunities for growth Market segmentation can build sales. For example, customers can be encouraged to â€Å"trade-up† after being introduced to a particular product with an introductory, lower-priced product Retain more customers Customer circumstances change, for example they grow older, form families, change jobs or get promoted, change their buying patterns. By marketing products that appeal to customers at different stages of their life (â€Å"life-cycle†), a business can retain customers who might otherwise switch to competing products and brands Target marketing communications Businesses need to deliver their marketing message to a relevant customer audience. If the target market is too broad, there is a strong risk that (1) the key customers are missed and (2) the cost of communicating to customers becomes too high / unprofitable. By segmenting markets, the target customer can be reached more often and at lower cost Gain share of the market segment Unless a business has a strong or leading share of a market, it is unlikely to be maximizing its profitability. Minor brands suffer from lack of scale economies in production and marketing, pressures from distributors and limited space on the shelves. Through careful segmentation and targeting, businesses can often achieve competitive production and marketing costs and become the preferred choice of customers and distributors. In other words, segmentation offers the opportunity for smaller firms to compete with bigger ones. 3. What can be a good segment to target for a facial care product? Why? What can be a compelling consumer insight and your corresponding value proposition? Illustrate your brand DNA diagram and prepare a positioning statement and a tagline. Outline your IMC campaign. (15 points) Segment – Facial products made especially for men Customer insight – There are many facial products available in the market but focused only on female needs, including anti-ageing products. Facial care products for men are very limited as not all facial care companies delve into the market. However, due to the growing number of men getting more conscious of their appearance, they look for products that are made especially for us. This is also because Men’s skin differs from Ladies thus their skin needs differ. Value proposition – â€Å"Complete men’s facial care regime line: products range from facial soaps, scrubs, non-alcohol based cleansers, and facial lotions. Brand DNA: Category – Facial care for men Character – Clear and Clean for the real man Credibility – Should be tested and approved by Dermatologists and Dermatological Institutes Benefit – Complete men facial regimen: Cleans and Clears the face, while moisturizing he skin. Difference – Made especially for men and men’s skin. Positioning statement – The Product For men of different ages and skin types which provides clear and moisturized skin. Taglin – â€Å"Complete facial regimen for the new man†Ã‚  IMC campaign: TV Advertisements, Newspapers, Men’s Magazines, Bus posters. Storyboard – A construction worker, after a long day building a wall is then seen by his co-workers using a facial wash for women. Co-workers laugh when they see the man has a white face after washing. Co-worker gives the man the facial care product for men. 4. Assuming that you are hired as a marketing manager of a publication company. Your primary task is to develop a new magazine that has a strong  market potential. a. What type of magazine will it be? b. Who will be your target market? c. Estimate or extrapolate the market value potential. What should be the subject mix (topics) of your magazine to attract and sustain readers? d. How will you promote this new magazine? e. What can be a good name for your new magazine? f. Develop DNA diagram and the positioning statement including the tagline. g. What are your pricing and distribution strategies? (20 points) 5. Hair Salons are almost in every corner, be it commercial or residential area. David’s Salon is one of the successful salon chains in the country that is targeting the mid-end of the market. A new phenomenon however took shape in recent years in the form of F Salon Chain and Reyes Cutters that are charging very low fee for a haircut (45.00-50.00 pesos only). For a while the two salons have mushroomed until they suddenly lost esteem. Assuming, you have the capital to establish a hair salon chain, how will you build your brand? Discuss your 7-P strategies. Make sure you provide a brand name and a tagline for your hair salon chain. (20 points.) Brand name: â€Å"Hairline, Careline† Tagline: â€Å"hairline, gone in 60 minutes† People: Adults with receding hairlines. Only a handful of salons or barbershops really focus on people with hairloss or receding hairlines. Product: A line of hair salons especially for individuals losing hair – services would involve scalp treatments, scalp massages and mainly haircuts that hide hair-loss and receding hairlines. Price: Haircut – Php 150; Massage – 200; Scalp treatments – 200-300 (depending on the treatment: e.g. spa or menthol) Placement: SM Malls, Robinsons malls (non-high end malls) Process: Customers come in and is assisted by the front desk for introduction of services. Customer chooses the service. An expert to that service is provided to the customer. Promotion: Newspaper ads, TV commercials, Flyering activities and on-line advertisements and postings on websites like  SULIT.COM, and/or Coupon websites like CASHCASHPINOY. 6. Illustrate the Marketing process that was introduced to the class. Discuss each of the steps in this process including their respective decision points/criteria. (20 points) Discovering / Identifying the Value Segmenting: Identify all possible segments Profiling: Determine the most vulnerable and profitable segment Targeting: Choose your target market Consumer Insighting: Gain consumer insights through research, focus group discussions and/or surveys. Value Offering: Determine your value which is relevant and distinct. This becomes your unique selling proposition. Creating the Value Product Concept: Determine product type, line, depth. Product Development: Determine the features and attributes of your products and how to improve it so that your value proposition will be realized. Branding: Determine Category, Character, Credibility, Benefit and Difference and an appropriate brand name. Positioning: Formulate what you want your target market to perceive about your product and how you want them to understand and accept your value proposition. Create a tagline. Pricing: Determine if higher, parity or lower based on mark-up, targeting or value pricing. Making the Value Accessible Distribution: Determine how you want to go to market (i.e. channels of distribution) Placement Channel Marketing Communicating the Value IMC: Determine how you want to promote your product. EMC 7. Discuss Ansoff’s Growth Matrix. Give examples. (10 points) The Ansoff Matrix, designed by Igor Ansoff, classifies and explains different growth strategies for a company. This matrix is used by companies which have a growth target or a strategy of specialization. This tool, crossing products and markets of a company, facilitates decision making. The Ansoff matrix offers four strategies to achieve the objectives. Market Penetration Trying to make a greater share of an existing market with an existing product. This could involve product re-launch or increasing brand awareness. For example, Ipods can be used for file storage as well, this gained them market share in the storage devices market. Product Development Develop new products to target the company’s existing market segments. For example, Coca Cola introduced Coke Zero and Coke Cherry. Market Development Finding or creating new markets by targeting new parts of the market or by expansion into different markets. For example, San Miguel introduced San Mig Zero targeting the health conscious people that wanted lesser calories but still enjoy beer. Product Diversification Seeking to create or develop new products, lines or product ranges for new markets. For example, when Apple introduced the IPad tablet, which revolutionized how people work and manage taske with tap and swipe on the screen. Existing Products New Products Existing Markets Market Penetration Product Development New Markets Market Development Diversification 8. Discuss BCG Matrix/Grid (10 points) The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix is a simple tool to assess a company’s position in terms of its product range. Question Marks Question marks are products that grow rapidly and as a result consume large amounts of cash, but because they have low market shares they don’t generate much cash. The result is a large net cash consumption. A question mark has the potential to gain market share and become a star, and eventually a cash cow when the market growth slows. If it doesn’t become a market leader it will become a dog when market growth declines. Question marks need to be analyzed carefully to determine if they are worth the investment required to grow market share. Stars Stars generate large sums of cash because of their strong relative market share, but also consume large amounts of cash because of their high growth rate. So the cash being spent and brought in approximately nets out. If a star can maintain its large market share it will become a cash cow when the market growth rate declines. Dogs Dogs have a low market share and a low growth rate and neither generate nor consume a large amount of cash. However, dogs are cash traps because of the money tied up in a business that has little potential. Such businesses are candidates for divestiture. Cash Cows As leaders in a mature market, cash cows exhibit a return on assets that is greater than the market growth rate – so they generate more cash than they  consume. These units should be ‘milked’ extracting the profits and investing as little as possible. They provide the cash required to turn question marks into market leaders. 9. Discuss Product Life Cycle (10 points) The Product Life Cycle (PLC) is used to map the lifespan of a product. There are generally four stages in the life of a product. These four stages are the Introduction stage, the Growth stage, the Maturity stage and the Decline stage. The Four Stages of the Product Life Cycle 1. Introduction: The Introduction stage is probably the most important stage in the PLC. In fact, most products that fail do so in the Introduction stage. This is the stage in which the product is initially promoted. Public awareness is very important to the of a product. If people don’t know about the product they won’t go out and buy it. There are two different strategies you can use to introduce your product to consumers. You can use either a penetration strategy or a skimming strategy. If a penetration strategy is used then prices are set very high initially and then gradually lowered over time. This is a good stategy to use if there are few competitors for your product. Profits are high with this strategy but there is also a great deal of risk. If people don’t want to pay high prices you may lose out. The second pricing strategy is a skimming strategy. In this case you set your prices very low at the beginning and then gradually increase them. This is a good strategy to use if there are alot of competitors who control a large portion of the market. Profits are not a concern under this strategy. The most important thing is to get you product known and worry about making money at a later time. 2. Growth: If you are lucky enough to get your product out of the Introduction stage you then enter this stage. The Growth stage is where your product starts to grow. In this stage a very large amount of money is spent on advertising. You want to of telling the consumer how much better your product is than your competitors’ products. There are several ways to advertise your product. You can use TV and radio commercials, magazine and newspaper ads, or you could get lucky and customers who have bought your product will give good word-of-mouth to their friends/family. If you are successful with your advertising strategy then you will see an increase in sales. Once your sales begin to increase you share of the market will stabilize. Once you get to this point you will probably not be able to take anymore of the market from your competitors. 3. Maturity: The third stage in the Product Life Cycle is the maturity stage. If your product completes the Introduction and Growth then it will then spend a great deal of time in the Maturity stage. During this stage sales grow at a very fast rate and then gradually begin to stabilize. The key to surviving this stage is differentiating your product from the similar products offered by your competitors. Due to the fact that sales are beginning to stabilize you must make your product stand out among the rest. 4. Decline: This is the stage in which sales of your product begin to fall. Either everyone that wants to has bought your product or new, more innovative products have been created that replace yours. Many companies decide to withdrawal their products from the market due to the downturn. The only way to increase sales during this period is to cut your costs reduce your spending. 10. How can Marketing help in nation building? What marketing concept(s) can be more useful for nation building? (5-point bonus) Nation building can be done through promotion of the wonders of the Philippines using advertisements that can be shown using international programs such as CNN and BBC. Commercials that would emphasize the talents of the people, as well as promote investments of foreign companies or investors. References: http://www.tutor2u.net/business/marketing/segmentation_why.asp http://www.nku.edu/~issues/internet_marketing/newwebpage1.html http://www2.accaglobal.com/documents/boston_consulting.pdf http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/Ansoff-matrix.html

White River Massacre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

White River Massacre - Essay Example At the same time, White settlers were complaining about Utes for their excessive hunting activities. Meeker got frustrated when Utes refused to follow his order asking them to plow their race track into a farm land. Meeker sought military help from Colorado Governor Frederick Pitkin so as to protect him and his men from the Utes. His request was soon complied with and Major Thornburgh marched with 200 soldiers toward the White River Agency at the distance of 150 miles; however, the troops were first noticed by Utes during their hunting trip. Utes considered this march an invasion on them and asked Meeker to stop their arrival immediately. Meeker agreed and requested Thornburgh that better he keep his battalion outside the Ute reservation territory and only five of them accompany him for a dialogue with Utes representatives (Peters, Mike). Though Thornburgh agreed on this initially but for some reason began entering into Milk Creek. Thornburgh made a grave mistake of crossing Milk Creek and entering into Ute territory, maybe he perhaps assumed that his path would not get blocked. Thornburgh’s entry into Utes territory ignited the conflict between Utes and Whites that finally culminated into a full-fledged war. The battle began in the morning of September 29 1879 and escalated soon that triggered infamous White River Massacre (Peters, Mike). After finishing the dinner of the day Arvilla, the wife of Meeker, was washing dishes when she heard the gun shots. Perhaps Utes heard about the battle at Milk Creek and assumed that troops were marching ahead to kill or push them off the reservation area. Meeker and nine other white men were massacred methodically. Nathan Meeker was fired on the head. Utes hatred against whites was on high pitch on those days and that was evident from the heinous incident of a metal piece pierced into Meeker’s mouth (Peters, Mike). Arvilla, her daughter and one of her companion fled from

Who Am I Gender As A Social Construct, Not An Inherent Characteristic Essay

Who Am I Gender As A Social Construct, Not An Inherent Characteristic - Essay Example Sex is a physical, genetically based characteristic, visible through the sex organs. Gender is a social construct, created and utilized by society to place people in categories. This is clearly shown through Peter Levin's article "Gendering in the Market: Temporality, Work, and Gender on a National Futures Exchange." In Peter Levin's article, gender is proven to be a social construct and not an inherent aspect of self, and is hierarchically organized within the society." There are few places in America that are more gendered than the Stock exchange and trading floors. Over 90% of all trade floor workers are male, and according to Levin, "are highly heterosexual, hyper-rational, and based on the ideals of domination, aggression, and competition" (Levin 4). Levin creates the model to explain the environment, and how the environment changes to create gender. In an environment that is traditionally thought to emulate one gender or another, such as the trade floor, the discrepancies become clearer. For women to act on the trade floor successfully, they would have to overcome their gender, which, were it a genetic construct, and not a social construct, would be impossible. Yet, when the trade floor is busy, women are considered to be equally successful to men.

Oxygen Cascade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Oxygen Cascade - Essay Example Any disease which affects oxygen supply and access at the cellular level therefore has potentially fatal consequences, even if the disorder is transient. Oxygen does not normally exist in nature by itself, but rather in mixture with other gases (Townsend, and Webster, 2000). Dalton's Law therefore comes in to play at all times, with each gas in a mixture exerting an independent partial pressure (Hopley, and Schalkwyk, 2006). Nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor are three common gases which generally accompany oxygen during crucial phases of respiration. Living cells may therefore be unable to access oxygen in a state of disease, even though the gas is available in the surroundings. Oxygen availability and demand for this substance are not steady at all times. Physical activity and other physiological processes, including those affected by disease, may cause oxygen demand to peak well over the average level. The partial pressure of oxygen, on the other hand, may fall off steeply, as at high altitudes. Changes in oxygen availability and demand do not necessarily move in tandem. High altitude sickness is a common example of oxygen demand peaking even as its partial pressure falls steeply. Disease may also affect the supply/demand balance of oxygen at the tissue or cellular levels. There is a complicated and inter-related delivery system for oxygen from the atmosphere external to a living being and the mitochondria in cells responsible for oxidative phosphorylation (Lewis, and Fitz-Henry, 2001). Any defect in a tissue, structure, or a system, involved in respiration, circulation, diffusion, or metabolism, can affect the ability to use oxygen for vital processes. This paper defines the series of partial pressures at which oxygen is available at various levels of a living system, and relates the processes involved in the procurement, gaseous exchange, transport, and use of oxygen, to states of disease. Steps in the Oxygen Cascade Most people live at or around sea level. The atmospheric pressure at this level is 760 mmHg and 20.94% of air at this altitude is oxygen (Neligan, 2002). Therefore, the partial pressure of oxygen (PO2) at sea level is 159 mmHg. However, the PO2 at the level mitochondria in cells is as low as 3 mmHg (Neligan, 2002). Where have 156 mmHg gone The vast proportion of oxygen is either diluted or even lost altogether as it travels in to lungs and from the alveoli to blood in the circulatory system. The various stages by which the partial pressure of oxygen falls off are collectively known as the oxygen cascade. Life has evolved to deal with such colossal inefficiencies, and to maintain normal health at the same time. The transfer of oxygen from air to blood in the lungs, the transport of oxygen by blood to organs and to tissues, and the diffusion of oxygen from capillaries to individual cells and to the mitochondria inside them, all take place within specific ranges of partial pressures. H owever, the balances are delicate, and diseases and other may have serious effects on the oxygen cascade. All diseases which affect the structure and functioning of the lungs, or which affect the capacity of blood to transport oxygen, or which affect circulation of blood to the far reaches of the body, or which affect cellular organization, especially in terms of mitochondrial

Business Financing and Capital Structure Research Paper

Business Financing and Capital Structure - Research Paper Example This enables the determination of the basis of procurement; whether short or long term. ?Forecasting on the availability of funds: most organizations experience steady cash flow. The manager should forecast properly the amounts available to reduce the amount of money borrowed and save on interest payments. ?Establishment and maintenance of control system: proper control measures enhance determination of the adequacy of planning. The control measures facilitate effective utilization of funds. ?Development of procedure: This involves establishment of the basic plans of how the financial planning process is achieved (Brav, 2009). Working capital management Working capital management involves the relationship between short term assets and corresponding short term liabilities of a firm. Working capital management aims at ensuring a firm is capable of satisfying the maturing short term debts as well as the upcoming operational expenses, and it involves managing the cash, amounts payable, a mounts receivable and inventories (Brav, 2009). Financial Instruments used as Marketable Securities Marketable securities refer to securities whose liquidation happens with ease. People often invest excess cash in different financial instruments at the highest quality rate. The financial instruments used as marketable securities include the treasury bills, notes and bonds, and stock. Bonds are normally issued by the federal agencies, local government and the state (Brav, 2009). Equity Financing In equity financing, the business shares profits with the angel investor or venture capitalist. Some of the benefits of equity financing are that it is less risky because there is no payback. This is necessary when the person is unable to take the debt. Also, there is possibilities of tapping from the network of the investor, and thus enhances credibility of the business. In equity financing, there is a possibility of investors taking long-term view, with most of them expecting no returns on investments made. Furthermore, the business will not channel profits towards repayment of loans, and as a result, more cash is available to enhance business expansion (Brav, 2009). The equity financing does not require payback of the investment in case of failure of the business. However, in cases of irreconcilable disagreements by investors, the person conducting the business may be compelled to cash in the business section and allow investors conduct the business without the owner. Debt Financing On the other hand, in debt financing, the person takes loan from the banks instead of investors. Some of the benefits of debt financing are that the lending institution is never interested in the reasons for carrying out the business and ownership of the business. After paying the money, the business relationship ends. Also, loans can be short of long term, where the principal interest figures are well known, hence the budget can be easily planned (Brav, 2009). Benefits of Foreign Capital Foreign capital acts as the source of employment and enhances technological development through transfer of technology. The capital from other countries, especially the investors, is very rich. As a result, countries receiving foreign capital take advantage of superior management and research and development. Also, foreign capital enhances growth, productivity and competitiveness in both imports and exports, and this improves the foreign investments. In overall, foreign

The QWERTY keyboard Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The QWERTY keyboard - Essay Example A quintessentially American invention, the QWERTY design demonstrates one of the key principles of human development: the triumph of culture over logic and the survival of a tradition which may not be the fittest for purpose, but certainly wins the prize for durability under pressure. The initial design of the typewriter keyboard was motivated by an intention to slow down the writing process, for technical reasons due to the tendency of the metal keys to stick if they were moved too fast (Baron 27). Through trial and error, early type writer inventor Christopher Latham Sholes from Milwaukee came up with the mechanically optimal arrangement of characters: in four rows, all in upper case (David 333). A further refinement was added by production partner Remington in the form of a letter combination which allowed the word â€Å"TYPEWRITER† to be formed using only the top row of characters. (David 27). So it was that the combined demands of technology limitations and sales ambition led to the final QWERTY format. As is the way of things in the modern world, technology moved on rather rapidly, and competitors soon appeared on the horizon, eager to take the ideas that had gone before and transform them into something better and cheaper than existing models. The so-called â€Å"Ideal† keyboard appeared in the 1870s, using the sequence DHIATENSOR in the top row, based on a calculation of the frequency of letter use in the English language: these ten letters were sufficient to produce over 70 per cent of words in English (David 334). Other ideas which have emerged since then include the use of an arrangement based on alphabetical order and the famous Dvorak layout which places the most common consonants in the central right hand position and the vowels on the left. The aim of this distribution is to shorten the distance between the most common letters, and encourage left and right hands to work in sequence (Bridger 380) with the result that typing on this k eyboard layout becomes both faster and more accurate than the original QWERTY arrangement. The Dvorak arrangement (see figure 1 below) was named after its creator Dr August Dvorak, and the patent was filed in 1936, at a time when industrial factory-style systems were common, and typing pools were set up as a way of speeding up business communications. Fig. 1 QWERTY and Dvorak keyboards compared. Source: Bridger, p. 381. On the face of it, these alternative layouts look like eminently sensible improvements based on a desire to better match the machine layout to the natural attributes of the human hands and mind. In practice, however, these later layouts have been rejected by mainstream typewriter and later also computer production in favour of the early QWERTY version. This raises the question why the older model has stuck, and improvements have been rejected. The answer comes down to a combination of different factors. Some of these are due to the momentum that the QWERTY layout gai ned in the critical years of atomization in the United States. As companies were set up they designed integrated systems which fed into each other, so that for example sales, processing of orders and invoicing were conducted by letter and telephone, and instead of handwritten ledgers, typewritten documents were used, and then retained in filing systems. People were appointed to undertake these tasks, equipment was bought, training was provided and everyone

Contemporary Muslim Interpretation of Islam and Democracy Essay

Contemporary Muslim Interpretation of Islam and Democracy - Essay Example Reconciling Islam and Democracy Three components of Islamic legal ideology are generally viewed as being incompatible with civil liberties or democracy, namely, corporal punishments, the legal inequality between Muslims and non-Muslims, and the legal gender inequality (Bowering, 2012, p. 129). Those who do not support the argument that governance in modern states has to be carried out within the context of Islamic legal doctrine do view religion as an integral foundation of a political system. They stress that democratic regimes depend on the presence of a particular philosophy for the people to comply with the law and for leaders to focus on the interests of the general public. As stated by Soroush, â€Å"Democracy cannot prosper without commitment to moral precepts. It is here that the great debt of democracy to religion is revealed: Religions, as bulwarks of morality, can serve as the best guarantors of democracy† (Bowering, 2012, p. 130). Although democratic regimes have to be unbiased towards religion and other worldviews, they do depend on moral codes, of which religious traditions could be a basis, including republican and constitutional principles. Mohammad Arkoun is one of the leading supporters of moderate Islam and Islamic modernity at present. Arkoun’s major interest is analysing both Islamic and Western traditions, and, at the same time, to develop a new jurisprudential and philosophical model of interpreting and applying Islam.. He has promoted controversial, revolutionary views.

Effect of cashless police in nigeria Essay Example for Free

Effect of cashless police in nigeria Essay Vol. 1 (2), pp. 040-043, April 2013. Research Article Impact of Cashless Economy in Nigeria *Omotunde Muyiwa1, Sunday Tunmibi,1 and John-Dewole A.T.2 1 School of Computer Science, Mathematics and Information Technology, Houdegbe North American University, Republic of Benin. 2 Department of Computer Science with Electronics, Faculty of Information Technology and Applied Sciences Lead City University, Ibadan. Nigeria. *Corresponding Author’s email: [emailprotected] ABSTRACT This paper studied the impact of cashless policy in Nigeria. The policy was introduced by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in December 2011 and was kick-started in Lagos in January 2012. Survey research was adopted with questionnaire as data collection instrument. Responses from the respondents show that cashless policy will increase employment; reduce cash related robbery thereby reducing risk of carrying cash; cashless policy will also reduce cash related corruption and attract more foreign investors to the country. The study, therefore, shows that the introduction of cashless economy in Nigeria can be seen as a step in the right direction. It is  expected that its impact will be felt in modernization of Nigeria payment system, reduction in the cost of banking services, reduction in high security and safety risks and also curb banking related corruptions. Keywords: Cashless economy, Cashless policy, Lagos State, Nigeria. INTRODUCTION Cashless economy is an economy where transaction can be done without necessarily carrying physical cash as a means of exchange of transaction but rather with the use of credit or debit card payment for goods and services. The cashless economy policy initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is a move to improve the financial terrain but in the long run sustainability of the policy will be a function of endorsement and compliance by end-users (Ejiro, 2012). The CBN cash policy stipulates a daily cumulative limit of N150, 000 and N1, 000,000 on free cash withdrawals and lodgments by individual and corporate customers respectively in the Lagos State with effect from March 30, 2012. Individuals and corporate organizations that make cash transactions above the limits will be charged a service fee for amounts above the cumulative limits. Furthermore, 3rd party cheques above N150, 000 shall not be eligible for encashment over the counter with effect from January 1, 2012. Value for such cheques shall be received through the clearing house. All Nigerian banks were expected to cease cash in transit lodgment services rendered to merchant-customers from January 1, 2012. The policy through the advanced use of information technology facilitates fund transfer, thereby reducing time wasted in Bank(s). Wizzit, a fast growing mobile banking company in South Africa has over three hundred thousand customers across South Africa. Likewise, M-PESA was introduced in Kenya as a small value electronic system that is accessible from ordinary mobile phones. It has experienced exceptional growth since its introduction by mobile phone operator (Safaricom) in Kenya in March, 2007 and has already been adopted by nine million customers, which is about 40% of Kenya’s adult population. Wizzit and other mobile financial services including MPESA in Kenya are helping low income Africans make financial transaction across long  distance with their cellphones, thereby reducing their travel cost and eliminating the risks of carrying cash and also avoiding most banking charges (Akintaro, 2012). It is assumed that the proper implementation of mobile phones and other technologies can aid the implementation of cashless policy and hence, the growth of cashless economy in Nigeria. The introduction of the implementation of cashless policy (policy is program of actions adopted by government) began in Lagos State, Nigeria. Why Lagos? According to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN, 2011) Lagos state accounted for 85% of POS and 66% of cheques transaction in Nigeria. Cashless economy aims at reducing the amount of physical cash circulating in the Nigeria economy and thereby encouraging more electronic–based transaction. According to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN, 2011) the policy is expected to reduce cost incurred in maintaining cash-based economy by 90% upon its full implementation in Nigeria. This study aims to look at the impact of cashless economy in Nigeria. www.gjournals.org 40 Greener Journal of Internet, Information and Communication Systems Vol. 1 (2), pp. 040-043, April 2013. 2. BRIEF LITERATURE REVIEW Cashless economy is not the complete absence of cash, it is an economic setting in which goods and services are bought and paid for through electronic media. According to Woodford (2003), Cashless economy is defined as one in which there are assumed to be no transactions frictions that can be reduced through the use of money balances, and that accordingly provide a reason for holding such balances even when they earn rate of return. In a cashless economy, how much cash in your wallet is practically irrelevant. You can pay for your purchases by any one of a plethora of credit cards or bank transfer (Roth, 2010). (2004) observed that developed countries of the world, to a large extent, are moving away from paper payment instruments toward electronic ones, especially payment cards. Some aspects of the functioning of the cashless economy are enhanced by e-finance, e-money, e-brokering and e-exchanges. These all refer to how transactions and payments are effected in a cashless economy (Moses-Ashike, 2011). Marco and Bandiera (2004) argue that increased usage of cashless banking instruments strengthens monetary policy effectiveness and that the current level of e-money usage does not pose a threat to the stability of the financial system. However, it does conclude that central banks can lose control over monetary policy if the government does not run a responsible fiscal policy. Echekoba and Ezu (2012), in a research carried out in Nigeria, observed that 68.2% of the respondent complained about long queues in the bank, 28.9% complained of bad attitude of teller officers (cashiers) while 2.89% complained of long distance of bank locations to their home or work places. Likewise, in her 24th NCS national conference in December 2011, CBN data shows that 51% of withdrawal done in Nigeria was through automated teller machine (ATM), while 33.6% was through over the counter (OTC) cash withdrawals and 13.6% through Cheques. Payment was also done through point of sales machine (POS) which accounted for 0.5% and web 1.3%. Therefore, if the introduction of ATM in Nigeria cash withdrawals system reduced OTC withdrawal; then it will implies that introduction of cashless policy supported by application of information technology can achieve more to reduce over dependent on cash payment in Nigeria economy system. However, Akhalumeh and Ohioka (2011) observed some challenges with the introduction of cashless policy. Their findings show that 34.0% of the respondents cited problem of internet fraud, 15.5% cited problem of limited POS/ATM, 19.6% cited problem of illiteracy and 30.9% stayed neutral the respondent not been sure of problem been expected or experienced. While in some quarters there was fear of unemployment, some believe it will create more jobs especially when companies manufacturing POS machine are cited in Nigeria. More so, data sourced from Central Bank of Nigeria portal shows that Lagos state, with a population of 17 million people, only has sixty one  Point Of Sales, twenty bank branches and twenty four ATMs per 100,000 people which are far less to satisfy the needs of the population. These data verify the claim of Echekoba and Ezu (2012) on the problem of cash based economy and cashless policy in Nigeria. For effective cashless implementation in Nigeria availability of suffi cient and well-functioning infrastructure (notably electricity), harmonization of fiscal and monetary policy, regular assessment of the performance of cashless banking channels, consideration of the present state and structure of the economy, redesign of monetary policy framework and greater efforts towards economic growth whilst managing inflation should be considered (Odior and Banuso, 2012). 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This study was carried out, using accidental sampling method, in Lagos state, Nigeria. A total of 500 traders, students and civil servants were sampled. Questionnaire was used as data collection instrument, with questions on demographics and benefits of cashless economy in Nigeria. The major statistical technique used was descriptive (use of frequency tables and charts). 4. RESULT 4.1 Demographics responses on gender show that male respondents accounted for 55.6% while the female respondents are 44.4%. Figure 1 and Figure 2 presents the responses on age and occupation, respectively. For age, majority of the respondents are between 18 to 25 years, this is followed by those between 26 to 40 years while the least number are between 41 to 60 years. For occupation of the respondents, the highest percentage (44.4%) is traders, followed by students (33.3%) and civil servants (22.2%). www.gjournals.org 41 Vol. 1 (2), pp. 040-043, April 2013. Greener Journal of Internet, Information and Communication Systems 41-60 years 22% 18-25 years 45% 26-40 years 33% Figure 1: Age of Respondents 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Traders Students Civil servants Figure 2: Occupation of Respondents 4.2 Benefits Table 1 shows the view of respondents on benefits of cashless economy in Nigeria. The lowest percentage, 11.1% of the respondents, believed that cashless policy will increase employment. A higher percentage, 22.2% of the respondents, believed that cashless policy in Nigeria will reduce cash  related robbery thereby reducing risk of carrying cash. The highest percentage of the respondents believed that cashless policy will reduce cash related corruption (33.3%) and cashless policy will attract more foreign investors to the country (33.3%). Table 1: Benefits of Cashless Economy in Nigeria Benefits of Cashless Economy Increase employment Reduce cash related robbery Reduce cash related corruption Attract more foreign investment Total Percentage (%) 11.1% 22.2% 33.3% 33.3% 100% www.gjournals.org 42 Greener Journal of Internet, Information and Communication Systems Vol. 1 (2), pp. 040-043, April 2013. 5. CONCLUSION The study, impact of cashless economy in Nigeria, focused on the three major categories by which Nigerians can be divided – traders, students and civil servants. More number of traders was sampled, compared to students and civil servants, because they are more into business and financial transactions. More so, a higher number of respondents within the age bracket of 18 and 25 years show that apart from students, quite a number of Nigerian youth are  also into trade. This study shows that the introduction of cashless economy in Nigeria can be seen as a step in the right direction. It is expected that its impact will be felt in modernization of Nigeria payment system, reduction in the cost of banking services as well as reduction in high security and safety risks. This should also include curbing banking related corruptions and fostering transparency. It is also assumed that the introduction of cashless policy in Nigeria will help to reduce the amount of bills and notes circulating in the economy. This should, therefore, reduce handling operation cost incurred on conventional money, as well as reduction in cash related crimes. It should also help to provide easy access to banking services for Nigerians. REFERENCES Akhalumeh, P.B., and Ohiokha, F. (2011): Nigeria’s Cashless Economy; The Imperatives. International Journal of Management Business Studies. vol.2 pp. 12 – 17. Akintaro, S. (2012): Going Cashless. IT Telecom digest, online magazine, august,2012 CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA (2011): Towards a Cashless Nigeria: Tools Strategies. Nigerian Journal of Economy. 3(2), 344 – 350. Echekoba, F.N., and Ezu, G.K. (2012): Electronic Retail Payment Systems: User Acceptability Payment Problems in Nigeria. Arabian Journal of Business Management Review. vol.5, pp. 60 – 63. Ejiro, O. (2012): What Nigerians Think of the Cashless Economy Policy. Nigerian Journal of Economy. 4(6), 97 – 102. Humphrey, D. B. (2004): ―Replacement of cash by cards in U.S. Consumer Payments, Journal of Economics and Business, 56, 211–225. Marco, A. and L. Bandiera (2004): -Monetary Policy, Monetary Areas and Financial Development with Electronic Money, IMF Working Study, IMF. Moses-Ashike, H. (2011),â€Å"Cashless Economic can Reduce Risk of Carrying Huge Cash†, [Online] Available: http://www.businessdayonline.com/†¦/22217. Odior, E.S., and Banuso, F.B. (2012): Cashless Banking in Nigeria: Challenges, Benefits Policy Implications. European Scientific Journal. Vol 8, pp. 12 – 16. Roth, B. L. (2010). â€Å"The Future of Money: The Cashless Economy – Part 1†. [Online] Available: https://www.x.com//future-money-cashless-economy—part-i. Woodford M. (2003). â€Å"Interest Price: Foundation of a Theory of Monetary Policy†, Princeton University Press. www.gjournals.org 43

The context of Church-State Relations Essay Example for Free

The context of Church-State Relations Essay This section sets the context for testing the hypotheses. Historically, church-state relationships have been a recurring and significant source of political controversy in European states. The outcomes of these controversies may be viewed in terms of the following taxonomy: the Erastian model, in which the state has assumed responsibility for the direction of the church; the liberal model, in which the state is secular and neutral in its relationships with the church(es) found in its society; the theocratic model, in which the church has achieved supremacy in religious and secular affairs; the spheres model, in which the church prevails in some spheres and the state in other spheres of society; and the anti-church model, in which the state stands in opposition to the church and seeks to curtail or eliminate religion. The Erastian model. On this model, the state seeks to organize the church as a department of the state. This model is commonly associated with the Protestant German states of the Reformation. The Erastian model confronts the problem of internal religious change, perhaps expressed in controversies over liturgy or doctrinal controversies. From the regulatory perspective, two broad responses to internal change may be taken by the Erastian state. First, the state may simply tolerate a good deal of doctrinal variation within the church viewed as a common religious house. Second, the state may seek to play the role of arbiter or imprimatur in determining the correctness of certain positions in theological disputes. Both positions run the risk of reduced credibility for both the church and the state. The liberal model. The liberal model argues for neutrality of the state in the affairs of churches. It conceives the state as one in which there is no privileged relationship between the state and any particular church. Although the liberal model has its origins in European thought, it may be argued that it has rarely been found in European countries. Few European regimes have adopted neutrality as the basis for church-state regulation. The United States is often judged to be a better example than European nations of the application of the liberal tradition to church-state relations. [14] The United States also is a nation with one of the highest rates of church attendance on either side of the North Atlantic. Does the fact that the American state constructs church-state relations as a wall of separation contribute to the apparently greater American public willingness to attend church and to attach importance to religion? Roger Finke has argued that the deregulation of churches in the United States has promoted religious individualism; that is, for an American church to survive it must attract communicants in the open market by responding to the individuals understanding of religion as one of personal conversion. [15] The theocratic model. Here the church assumes or is given a sphere of influence that embraces both religious and secular spheres. As with the state in the Erastian model, the church is supreme and so the question of the states defining boundaries does not arise. The churchs autonomy in determining public policy is not confined to its membership but embraces the broader community in which the church is located. This model may exist in regions within a state but certainly is not characteristic of nations in Europe today. The best example of a European theocracy in the last century was the Papal states in what is now modern Italy. The spheres model. This model can best be described by saying what it is not. It is not the liberal tradition or the Erastian or the theocratic. Rather, it may be described as the situation in which the society is understood as made up of competing or perhaps complementary spheres. Conflicts between the Holy Roman Emperors and religious hierarchies often reflected this battle over spheres of autonomy. Variations of this model are found in a remarkably wide range of European nations today. These range from nations that profess to be of a certain church, to others that are critical of a specific church. Samuel Krislov argues that the determination of boundaries between church and state is enormously difficult in any system that seeks to recognize separate spheres of responsibility between a church and a state. [16] It is probably useful to conceptualize the spheres model as a continuum. At one end are the Roman Catholic Churches in Ireland and in todays Poland, where the sphere of church influence is quite large and embraces many areas of public policy making. At the other end of the continuum are Scandinavian churches which have narrowly-defined spheres of influence in public policy making. The anti-church model. This final model is one in which the state is deeply critical if not in outright opposition to the church. The former regimes of Eastern Europe reflected an oppositional tradition as historically did the nineteenth and early twentieth century regimes in Mexico and in France which often sought to disestablish or to curtail church life severely. Examples of opposition include expulsion of religious orders, seizure of church resources, and prohibition of many church-sponsored activities.

Investigating the rising population in UK prisons

Investigating the rising population in UK prisons The prison population in the UK has increased dramatically in recent decades. The number of incarcerated men and women in England and Wales rose over 65% between 1995 and 2009, going from 49,500 to 82,100 (Ministry of Justice, 2009). A comparable increase over a similar time period has also been seen in the USA, the prison population increasing 53% from 1,053,738 in 1994 to 1,613,656 in 2009 (Bureau of Justice Statistics 1995, 2010). In England and Wales this can be partly explained by tougher sentencing for drug-related crimes and violent offences against the person as well as a higher recall rate of offenders to prison due to the breach of their release agreement (Ministry of Justice, 2009); similar trends can be seen in the USA (Hanlon et al, 2007). Increasing prison population means that proportionally more parents go to prison and research has shown that there is a correlation between parental incarceration and negative outcomes for the offspring (Huebner and Gustafson, 2007; Foster and Hagan 2007). There are however no official records on prisoners families in the UK (Murray, 2005) or in the USA (Miller, 2006) and the available data is often unreliable due to the incompleteness and duplication of records (Miller, 2006). Lack of methodologically strong research means that the needs of prisoners families may be neglected, it is important to investigate how imprisonment affects this vulnerable group and which policies could ameliorate their situation (Dallaire, 2007). Incarceration may affect all family members, including parents, siblings and more distant relatives yet the developmental influences are greatest on the children of prisoners and therefore, for the purposes of this essay I define family as a group consisting of two parents and their children living together as a unit (OUD, 2011). I aim in this essay to discuss the effects of imprisonment on prisoners family members during incarceration, first by exploring the current theoretical framework that helps to explain the consequences of parental incarceration and then by investigating the effects of parents imprisonment on children and the wider family, mainly drawing on studies carried out in the USA and the UK. There is an important difference in the observed impact between maternal and paternal imprisonment on the family and I will discuss this before finally identifying the limitations of existing research and suggesting how research could inform policies to help prisoners families. There are three main theoretical frameworks that try to explain the devastating consequences of parental imprisonment on their offspring: strain theory; socialisation and control theory and stigmatisation. Strain theory discusses how the deteriorating situation of family left behind by an imprisonment negatively affects a child. According to strain theory, the imprisonment of a parent may lead to difficulties in the familys financial status, whereby the remaining caretaker has less time and money to spend on the child (Hagan and Dinovitzer, 1999). Children are forced to grow up faster as they need to take on new roles of responsibility; this may deter them from education and subsequently increase the influence of delinquent peers on their behaviour (Huebner and Gustafson, 2007). Also, as the burden of supporting the family has fallen into the hands of a single person, the imprisonment can cause an already financially and emotionally strained family to suffer further exertion, making the separation from the parent more traumatising than if the same event had occurred in a stable supportive family environment (Hagan and Dinovitzer, 1999). However, parental incarceration may have a good effect on offspring if the parent was abusive and neglectful (Hagan and Dinovitzer, 1999). Socialisation and control theory focuses not on the remaining support for the growing child but instead looks at the effects of the absence of the imprisoned parent on the development of the child. According to this second perspective, the incarcerated parent cannot contribute to the family life and may threaten the parent-child attachment, depriving the child from social support, a role model and parental supervision (Huebner and Gustafson, 20007). The remaining caretaker has an increased responsibility over the child (Hagan and Dinovitzer, 1999) and reduced parental control over the offspring may increase the influence of delinquent peers and increase the likelihood that the offspring will engage in similar behaviour (Sampson and Laub, 1993). On the other hand, it is uncertain how good of a role model the incarcerated parent was in the first place. Finally, the stigmatisation perspective proposes that criminal behaviour leaves a mark on all family members and that parental incarceration may cause feelings of rejection and shame and could result in the social exclusion of the children (Foster and Hagan, 2007). Stigmatisation may also help understand the intergenerational effects of parental imprisonment: once the family is tainted as criminal the children are more likely to receive a biased treatment from the police and increase the likelihood of getting involved in criminal justice system (Huebner and Gustafson, 2007). The aforementioned theories are not mutually exclusive and it should be noted that there is a significant element of self- selection within these frameworks: families with an incarcerated parent versus those without one differ prior to the imprisonment (Foster and Hagan, 2007). The mechanisms that have been put forward to explain why parental incarceration is so influential for childrens criminality include: men and women with criminal backgrounds tend to marry and have offspring; children may imitate parents behaviour; bias of the police and courts; intergenerational criminality; environmental and genetic risks (Farrington, 2002). Thus, the effects of imprisonment may interact with and be confounded by the pre-existing differences between families (Hagan and Dinovitzer, 1999). Dallaire (2007a) suggests that both contextual and incarceration related factors may affect children whose parent has been imprisoned, making the children whose parents have been imprisoned especially vulnerab le to negative consequences. Contextual influences include poverty and low parental education level, single parenthood, large family size, bad neighbourhood, fragile parental mental health and alcohol and drug abuse (Sameroff et al 1998). Parental incarceration elevates the risk factors related to: the likelihood of the separation of siblings and the placment of children into foster care; the imprisonment of the other parent; as well as the increased likelihood of the involvement of other family members in criminal behaviour (Dallaire, 2007). Contextual risk factors influence childrens educational outcomes and behaviour and when coupled with effects of parental incarceration the previously present problems become amplified, explaining the elevated risks of negative consequences for the children with incarcerated parents (Dallaire, 2007). Although generalisations can be made on how the imprisonment of a parent influences children, the actual consequences vary greatly between individual cases and can broadly be divided into three main categories: direct, mediated and moderating (Murray, 2005). Studies investigating the direct impacts on children emphasise the distress of separation, lack of knowledge about the parent and behavioural problems related to the child identifying with and mimicking the criminal behaviour of the parent (Murray, 2005). Bowlbys attachment theory (1973) explains these outcomes by postulating that parent-child separation negatively affects psychosocial development for children from all age groups, disrupts attachment security and may lead to internalising behaviours like depression and low self-esteem (Emery, 1999). In contrast, Murray and Farrington (2008) argue that it is not separation on its own that causes distress but the nature of separation. Research on children who are separated from a p arent due to illness, death or divorce suggests that while these causes help bring the family together, separation due to incarceration has a different effect because of the humiliation that is associated with it (Fritsch and Burkhead, 1981). Indeed, the longitudinal Cambridge Study of Delinquent Development revealed that young boys who had an incarcerated parent were nearly twice as likely to be incarcerated later in life than boys who were separated from parent for other reasons (Murray and Farrington, 2005). Furthermore, studies focusing on child-parent separation through divorce suggest that childrens problems did not result directly from the separation but rather from aspects related to it, such as conflict between parents, worsened economic situation and tensions in child-parent relationship (Emery, 1999). These could be seen as the mediated effects of parental imprisonment, which although indirectly, strongly affect the level of impact on children. Other indirect influences involve new caretaking arrangements, quality of caretaker-prisoner relationship, changing school and moving to a new home, which all are likely to result in unstable environment for the child (Murray, 2005). Another important aspect is the childrens concerns over the wellbeing of the parent because childrens knowledge about their parent is mediated via the caretaker and many younger children are being lied to or only told half truth about the parents whereabouts, which only adds to their confusion and insecurity ( Poehlmann, 2005). Not all children experience parental separation in the same way and their response to parental imprisonment depends on individual variables and moderating factors. Poehlmanns study (2005) on attachment security in children whose parent had been imprisoned concludes that older children and those who live in an environment with stable caretaking arrangement may be less affected than younger children. Similarly, Hanlon and colleagues (2005) concluded that supportive family environment protects children from destructive outcomes even if their parent was incarcerated substance user. Furthermore, Dallaire (2007b) argues that infants, school-aged children and adolescents face different risks owing to parental imprisonment. She suggests that infants and young children are particularly vulnerable to the direct effects of parental separation due to incarceration, whereas as schoolchildren and adolescents may suffer more from mediating imprisonment effects (Dallaire, 2007b). Moreover, the impac t of parental incarceration depends on the quality of relationship the parent had with the child before the separation. Murray (2005) suggests that the healthier the pre-existing parent-child relationship the harsher the impact of loss on children, whereas the imprisonment of an abusive parent may benefit the child. Factors like intelligence, character, ethnic background and sex may also play a role in how parental imprisonment affects children (Murray, 2005). Thus, individual characteristics and developmental stage of children have a big role in determining the effects of parental incarceration for an individual case. However, perhaps the most important factor could be whether it is the mother or a father who has been imprisoned, which will be explored in the next paragraph. It is difficult to estimate the number of children affected by parental imprisonment with any precision due to a lack of data, however it is natural to assume that a large proportion of the majority male population are fathers. Studies that look at the effects of their incarceration paint quite a pessimistic picture. Findings from a longitudinal study in USA school students reveal that fathers incarceration and poor education level sets in motion accumulation of disadvantages for the offspring, culminating in impoverished educational achievement, reduced political involvement and increased social exclusion (Foster and Hagan, 2007). Additional adversities include socialisation issues owing to fathers absence due to imprisonment and reduced financial support for the child (Foster and Hagan, 2007). Other studies suggest that the absence of biological father, not necessarily due to incarceration, is linked to childrens antisocial behaviour (Pfiffner et al, 2001). Interestingly, the incar ceration of biological fathers is also linked with higher rates of homelessness of daughters, as they may become victims of abuse of the new resident adult male (Foster and Hagan, 2007). Although there are several negative themes, which arise as a result of fathers being imprisoned, the consequences of mothers being incarcerated are far worse and have a greater impact on the lives of their children; there are several reasons for this. First, the increasingly punitive attitude towards crime has increased the length of sentences for women and having dependent children is not considered a special circumstance for a more lenient sentence (Wildeman and Western, 2010). Second, there are fewer prisons for women, which means that they are sent farther away from their family than men, posing further obstacles to children visiting their mother (Hagan and Dinovitzer, 1999). Third, prior to incarceration the majority of women who commit crimes raise their children without a reliable partner, increasing the likelihood of siblings being separated and children being placed under non-parental care, whereas in case of paternal incarceration, children remain under the care of the moth er who helps to alleviate the stress of separation from father (Miller, 2006). Finally, adult children of incarcerated mothers had 2.5 times higher chances of being incarcerated than those of incarcerated fathers (Dallaire, 2007a). Thus, maternal incarceration seems to have a more severe effect on child-parent attachment and on childrens development than paternal incarceration. Although the majority of the prison population is still men, the female proportion of the population is on the rise (Hanlon et al, 2007; HM Prison Service, 2011a) and so the effects of maternal imprisonment are becoming an urgent matter that affects not only individuals but society as whole, raising the issue of whether mothers should have their parental responsibilities taken into account during sentencing and if a greater emphasis should be made to provide more local imprisonment to reduce the inequality experienced by convicted mothers and their families. In contrast to the evidence already put forward, it is important to note that not all children with parents in prison become criminals and many become fully functioning, law abiding members of society, despite the risks associated with parental imprisonment. Nesmith and Ruhland (2008) interviewed 34 children (the majority of whom were African American boys) who had experienced parental incarceration to hear their side of the story. Opposing the widespread opinion that living in a bad neighbourhood and having criminal family members may somewhat normalise unlawful activity for a child and poor academic performance, most of the children in this study had no difficulties at school and were aware of the negative connotations attached to imprisonment and preferred to keep their parents incarceration private. Children who knew others in their situation found it helpful to discuss their parents imprisonment with these peers, yet the majority did not know anyone with an incarcerated parent. Although the sample of this study may not be representative of children from different ethnicities and gender, it does emphasise the importance of looking at the issue of parental incarceration from different angles. A lot of research on the effects of incarceration on families has relied on the reports of inmates. However, as they are separated from their family they may not give the most accurate account of the adversities suffered by their children and partners. Other flaws include small and unrepresentative sample sizes and the small number of longitudinal studies concerned with this phenomenon. Also, some of the older research may be limited in their value today as the prison population may not reflect the general population, whereas nowadays the two have become more alike (Wildeman and Western, 2010). Parental imprisonment poses difficulties not only for children but also for the new caretakers. They become the intermediaries of the communication, visitation and feelings between the child and the incarcerated parent (Nesmith and Ruhland, 2008). If the caretaker and imprisoned parent do not get along then the children are unable to visit their parent, as individuals under the age of 18 must to be accompanied by an adult during the prison visit (HM Prison Service, 2011b). In case of fathers imprisonment the child will stay with the mother, and suffers less disturbance. Arditti (2003) and co-workers interviewed 56 caretakers visiting the prisoner, most of whom were either a female partners or wife to the inmate. The caretakers felt that it was them who were punished via the imprisonment of the father and expressed concern about their emotional and economic condition. Caretakers became single parents and often had to quit their job to take care of the children, making them dependent o f the welfare system (Arditti et al, 2003). This illuminates the fact that incarceration has unwanted consequences not only for the prisoners family but also for society. When the mother is imprisoned then grandparents are the most likely candidates who will resume care of children (Mumola, 2000). Although this arrangement is more desirable than alternatives, the grandparents who become the caretakers do so unofficially, limiting their access to external assistance and may be under extended financial, psychological and physical strain (Hanlon et al, 2007). Grandparents face issues like depression, poor health and general limitations in daily routine caused by health problems (Fuller-Thomson and Minkler, 2000). In addition, the support systems that help caregivers cope with such demanding responsibility are often limited in eligibility and may be inaccessible to grandmothers because of their fragile health (Hanlon et al, 2007). Grandparents do not receive the same financial help and legal rights as foster parents do and they need to pass the CRB check by the social services to become official caretakers of the children (Collett, 2011). The research on parental incarceration has important implications for public policy. Although research has done well to identify the most common problems of parental incarceration we are yet to learn the effects on groups with particular characteristics and finding willing participants may prove challenging (Miller, 2006). As parental incarceration exerts mainly negative outcomes on families and children, regular contact may alleviate the stress of separation and uncertainty about the parent. Unfortunately, prison visits are not always seen as a justifiable right of the family but rather as something that the prisoner must earn with good behaviour (Brooks-Gordon, 2003). A reduced number of visits is often related to longer distances between home and prison, high costs of travelling, unfriendly visitation rules, and costly phone calls (Murray, 2005). In the UK, a prisoners family may apply for Assisted Prison Visits Scheme, which means that low-income families get some of their travel costs refunded (HM Prison Service, 2011b). In addition, there are lot of online resources for families about support groups, prison visits and procedures, yet not all families may have access to the Internet and some older family members may not know how to find these resources. To help families cope with parental incarceration research proposes different support mechanisms like mentoring, church based services (Hanlon et al, 2007), peer-group support and education on prisons to alleviate the stress of uncertainty (Nesmith and Ruhland, 2008). In conclusion, imprisonment has an impact beyond the sentenced individual, causing grief to all family members. The economic and emotional strain on family often takes a toll on the quality of the relationships within the family left behind and between the incarcerated individual and family. Close family-prisoner ties make an immense contribution to the post-release success of the offender (Visher and Travis, 2003) yet imprisonment breaks down a large number of families, decreasing the stability of home environment for children and increasing the likelihood of re-offence (Wildeman and Western, 2010). Incarceration has the strongest effect on children, diminishing their educational achievement, social capital and outlooks for future. Governments should look more into alternatives to incarceration as increased prison population strips the funding from community services and translates into reduced opportunities for children with imprisoned parents and the disadvantages in their lives m ay lead them to become involved with criminal justice system. Thus, it is important to pay attention to the needs of prisoners families because if they are ignored, their problems will be postponed and manifest in intergenerational patterns of prison population in the future.

Comparing Fahrenheit 451 and Modern American Society :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Fahrenheit 451: Similarities to American Society Fahrenheit 451 is a science fiction book that still reflects to our current world. Bradbury does a nice job predicting what the world would be like in the future; the future for his time period and for ours as well. The society Bradbury describes is, in many ways, like the one we are living in now. We are always demanding more advanced machinery, and from the past, we have grown into a much more technological society. Lately, more and more people not only want more technology, they want them to be quicker. Things such as quicker computers, quicker connections to the internet, better cell phone connections, pagers, cars with more power, voice mail, palm pilots, etc. are in greater demand. People don't want to waste time anymore. We want things done quicker without as much effort. We want things to take less time to do them so we can have more time for other things. Their society is exactly like ours. Besides having advanced technological machines, they also have much larger speed limits, so people could get where they want a lot faster. Clarisse and Montag make it obvious to the reader that they live in a fast-paced world when they first meet each other. Before Clarisse runs into her house, they notice how fast drivers go that they "'don't know what grass is, or flowers because they never see them slowly,' she said. 'If you showed a driver a green blur, Oh yes! he'd say, that's grass! A pink blur! That's a rose garden! White blurs are houses. Brown blurs are cows. My uncle drove slowly on a highway once. He drove forty miles an hour and they jailed him for two days'"(9). Their speed limit is so high that everything that they see seems like blurs. They never see objects; they only see colors. Our speed limit isn't as high as theirs is, but people usually go much faster than the speed limit is. Another reason their society reflects the one we live in is that the people there are becoming more and more violent towards each other. Clarisse tells Montag that she's "afraid of children my own age. They kill each other... Six of my friends have been shot in the last year alone. Ten of them died in car wrecks. I'm afraid of them and they don't like me because I'm afraid" (30).