Nielsen MyBestSegments Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nielsen MyBestSegments - Assignment Example The evaluation of the segmentation using PRIZM indicates that Manhattan is an Urban City with midscale earners where the age range is above sixty five years. The median household earning ranges from $52,000 to $53,000. The city has a household range of 1,059,000-1,060,000 with majority shopping done at Lord and Taylor. There are mixed races but whites make majority of the population. The Asians are the second largest group while Blacks and Hispanics trail behind the two major groups. The majority of the couples in the Blacks and Whites households have children while the Hispanics and other races have a higher number of families without children (Segmentationsolutions.nielsen.com). The evaluation of the household income range provides different values of income range for different households (Segmentationsolutions.nielsen.com). The results acquired from the graphical representation of populations of different age groups. The ease with which the houses are affordable with abundant work opportunities has caused an increase in the number of â€Å"The Booming Town Singles. There are no children in the majority of the household and there is mixed race home ownership. The individuals in the â€Å"Home Sweet Home† are below the age of 55 and it has a majority of married couples living without children in their home owned houses. The city has more learned individuals. The â€Å"New Beginners† in the city are mostly young and unmarried who are doing well professionally. The majority are whites with the rest of other races making the other half. The individuals in this category, below the age of 55, have more modest lifestyles with majority living in rented apartments. The â€Å"Suburban Sprawl† has a collection of individuals from a variation of groups who are living luxurious lifestyles. The majority are home owners hailing from different races. The individuals

China especially Essay Example for Free

China especially Essay â€Å"River Town: Two years on the Yangtze† is a book written by Peter Hessler describing how his life was in China. This is a book he wrote during his years in rural China when he was an English teacher. During this period, he was working for the Peace Corps in Fuling, a remote town located along Yangtze River. This was even before westerners became common in mainland China. In fact during this time, Hessler was one among the only four westerners in the whole rural town full of hundreds of thousands of people. He provides an account on his everyday struggles with the culture and language of the Chinese people. He tells how he teaches his English students on Shakespeare using the Chinese twist and the way communist party bureaucracy sometimes becomes a hurdle to some developments. Of much interest is the manner in which the education system in china is described as one of the most standardized. According to Hessler (34), students had the responsibility of cleaning the classroom. As explained, there are a lot of responsibilities for Chinese students in their system as they had to wash the blackboards between classes. Moreover, they had to clean the windows and the floor twice a week. Students are required to obey and accomplish their obligations and if for example the cleaning of the classroom was not adequate, they would be fined (Hessler 34). Here, students are fined if they miss morning exercises, if they skipped classes, returned late to the dormitories during the night and if they failed in the examinations. This is an education system that looks very different from that of America since students here have very little extra cash to spend and it was thus possible for the classrooms to be thoroughly and diligently cleaned. The education system has a place for exercises which is mandatory for all in the morning. Some of the exercises involved pressing two fingers on one’s eyes, cheeks or nose. Typically, children go to school as from 7:00am to 4:00pm. However, the elementary schools start as early as 7:30am. Common subjects here include propaganda, writing, reading and studying mathematics. It is during recess when children are expected to attend relaxation exercises and calisthenics. The schools seem to be overcrowded as there were around forty-five in every classroom pressed together seated on old wooden desks. Children here are accustomed to rote learning and this according to Hessler meant that they had to always follow models even to the point of plagiarism (Hessler 100). Students in this system are inveterate copiers and thus it is possible to get an exactly the same paper from a group of students. In this case, copying is not wrong in the Chinese education system as in their whole school life they are taught to imitate models, accept what they have been told by their teacher without questioning, copy things and this is what they often do (Hessler 100). In this education system, books used were mostly published in China and they had political intent overstated. For example, Hessler cites the example of â€Å"A Handbook of Writing† that he was using during his writing class that had model essay titled â€Å"The Three Gorges Project Is Beneficial† which was in the â€Å"Argumentation† chapter (Hessler 99). There is an explanation on the chapter on benefits and risks associated with the project that had made some to be against it. But in the end there was a transition that summed up everything that the worries of those against the project were justified â€Å"But we should not give up eating for fear of choking. † Thus the writer of the handbook had to focus more on the benefits of the project and thus gave examples of improved transport, more electricity and better control of flood. The conclusion was that the Three Gorges Project had more advantages than disadvantages. This is what the students are supposed to be taught and to write. When they are given a composition, they end up writing the same phrase â€Å"But we should not give up eating for fear of choking. † Thus, in short this means that the system stresses to give students literature that would make them to be more patriotic to the administration. Students are supposed to appreciate the ancient poetry as this is taken to be the strongest part in Chinese literary tradition. In comparison to American schools, the environment in Chinese schools is harsh for any writer due to culture. It is actually very difficult for any Chinese to write on what is happening at the present and especially if that writer wants to use fiction. Most of the outstanding fiction writers in China are exiles and since they had that status for a long time, it is quite difficult for them to write about what happened in the recent past in accuracy. It is actually difficult for writers in China especially due to censorship and political issues. Even the cultural elements make it really hard for them as those who are educated in this society usually look down on the working class and the farmers and they seem to have very little interest in that world. Educated Chinese are more preoccupied on ideas than on stories and individuals (Miller 1). In American schools, the structure involves set questions, worksheets and group activities. Children are required to perform most activities as a group and ample time is awarded for individual work. Moreover, more flexibility is seen in the American education system. The Chinese education system however is more relentless on group mentality. In most cases writers are individuals but unfortunately this is an instinct that is commonly broken in a Chinese classroom. Teaching writing in China has no emphasis on character, narrative voice or perspective. The focus is on getting the kids copy poetic phrases day in day out. Children are taught that they must spout off any set opinions instead of generating something unexpected. They also deal with so much handwriting. This is traditional Chinese education system that focuses purely on other values and skills. Communist system establishes funded film-schools which impart vital technical skills (Miller 1). American education system strives to teach the students on how they can think independently as opposed to the Chinese system that aims to teach the students on imitation. Educators in China teach their students to learn via rote. An American student is given room to ask questions. On the contrary, a Chinese student is not supposed to ask any question but should expect to be taught without his/her contribution. Traditionally, children are taught via rote learning, memorizing all material with no space for asking questions. In addition, there are so many topics that are banned and great amount of time spent to learn numerous Chinese characters that are supposed to be memorized. A classroom in China carries between 40 and 50 students and in some cases this may go up to 60. This number encourages rote learning instead of using discussions and other student-driven activities. American students however have more time to engage in self-driven activities and important discussions that encourage thinking (Hays 1). Works cited Hays, Jeffrey. School Life in China, 2008. Retrieved from http://factsanddetails. com/china. php? itemid=1094catid=13subcatid=82 Hessler, Peter. River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006. Miller, JFK. Why I Write: Peter Hessler, 2010. Retrieved from http://www. urbanatomy. com/index. php/arts/why-i-write/2770-why-i-write-peter-hessler

The Industrialisation And Globalisation Of The World Economy

The Industrialisation And Globalisation Of The World Economy Due to the industrialisation and globalisation the worlds economy became as a single market where the business can be done across the world this made edge to edge competition among the organisations. Due to the huge competition and necessity to expand globally made the organisations to make them self strong and specialised by concentrating on external and internal aspects like recruiting highly skilled employees, giving advanced training to employees, introducing advanced technologies etc. and changing their dimensions according to the changes of the worlds markets. Employees are very important to an organisation. The success of an organisation depends on the skills and ability its human resources. Human resources are the major/ important determinant of the company performance over the long term (Ronald R.Sims, 2002, p.1). My company value is zero (0) from 6 pm to 9 am because there will be no employee (Narayana murthy, CEO ). According to Budhwar and Debrah(1984) in an organisation human resource is the easiest resource which can manage easily and same way human resources are the toughest resources to manage. According to Grandhi Malikarujna rao (2008) if u manage, utilize and control the human resources of an organisation then 90% of the organisation is succeed. About company: Vodafone is the first UKs mobile company which made call at past midnight on 1st January 1985. 1/3 of the new customers are connecting to Vodafone. In 1982 the Recal Telecomms (Division of Recal Electronics group) renamed as Vodafone having less than 50 employees in one building. Now it is operating in 27 countries across 5 Continents, 186.8 million customers and 33 partner networks. Sir John Bond is Chairman and Vittorio Colao is Chief Executive of Vodafone. (Home page, History, Meet the Board) Vision: The long term goal of the company is to be a leader in mobile communication by enriching customers lives, helping people, business and communities across the globe to get connected. Team Building: This is a fairly general term that is used in a number of different ways. It can cover either what you are trying to achieve or how you are trying to achieve it or both! The following cover most of the options: Team building is developing working relationships. Team building is improving the performance of the team. Team building is outdoor activities that challenge the individuals within the team. Team building is about improving motivation, communication, support and trust within a team. A Team-wise team building event will be is great fun however they have been developed with several aims in mind: Working relationships will be developed People have to work together and by doing so colleagues will develop more effective working relationships with team members who are new to the team and with team members who have been part of the team for some time. Shared positive experience The whole day is very memorable, team members will be talking about it for the rest of the year. As such colleagues will share a positive and memorable experience which further develops bonds. Strengths and talents Everyone gets fully involved in the day and their are lots of different roles so team workers will see their colleagues in a whole new light and will have a greater understanding of their strengths and talents. Teamwork Everything during the team building day clearly requires teamwork and as such team members will leave with a greater awareness of how teams work and how to make them work better. Reward Staff enjoy the day and feel that the company cares about them. According to Brill (1976, p.10) that work which is done by a group of people who possess individual expertise, who are responsible for making individual decisions, who hold a common purpose and who meet together to communicate, share and consolidate knowledge from which plans are made, future decisions are influenced, and actions determined. According to Cannon-bowers A team is set of two or more individuals who interact interdependently and adoptively toward a common goal or objective. In addition, team members have specific roles or functions and the span of memberships is limited Vodafone employees spread in different locations has to interact in a multicultural environment with employees from diverse cultural and geographical backgrounds employee training from the core part of facilitating process of living the employees to a common organisational culture. Stages of Team Building: Forming: When a new team forms, the team members are new they dont know with each, they dont know the tasks what to do, what are punishments and rewards if the tasks are performed and not performed so the team leader should arrange the meeting (group meeting) and make clear about the goal of forming team, individual tasks, rules and regulations, rewards and punishments. Storming: If any problems arise in the team, the leader should bring all the members together by dialogues and make them to work towards the goal and objectives of the group forming. This the crucial part which effects the team performance if the team members does not have proper co-operation then the team leader should arrange meeting(group meeting) as early as possible and make the team perform well. Norming: In this stage team leader reduces his tasks himself and encourages the team members to take over load ( more tasks). He spends more time individually with each member and reviews their performances and motivates them to achieve the goals. Performing: Team leader should make the team members to perform well in order to achieve goal. Team leader should encourage the team members to complete their individual tasks within the time. Adjourning: This is the lost stage where the performance of the team and individual is analyzed, rewarding for the best performers in team and splitting/ separating the team officially. Learning and development in Vodafone: Learning and development is centred on quality excellence and efficiency. The main focus area is to develop the existing human capital (human resources) in line with the ever changing face of the industry and make the employees a more stable and most motivated work force with more opportunities for growth and development within the company using the latest development in learning technology. The company recognises the importance of on the job learning obtain through different assignments which are Taylor made to suit interest and provide an opportunity to develop the skills for preparing them for new roles with in Vodafone. Interaction with group in Vodafone: The annual people survey where the employees interact formally through performance dialogues with line managers from the bases employee engagement programs in Vodafone. The relationship between employee feedback and informal performance is co-related .the focus is on improving situations where employees are performing poorly. One of the main concerns is to use feedback strategies that improve the areas of poor performance and to evaluate negative feedback received by the company. This involves processing the feedback between the employee and the supervisor and identifies areas of improvement .From the employee perspective the process is motivated to maintain a positive self esteem for the supervisor and rooted in the reluctance to give any negative feedback (James .R. Larson, JR 1969). The various initiatives are targeted at improving informal and formal communication in the company. As part of working in the group people Work as a group through team meetings and interaction with group managers. All employees interact with others using the internet site using it for formal engagements and through online discussions and engagements as well as through blogs and wikis .online team rooms facilitate information transfer with subsidiaries with email news bulletin and Internal TV Channel. Conflict management Organizational managers do not view management conflict as strategic as managing information ,but this is changing gradually and the current view is to manage information and human resource and align it with financial systems .normally the conflict management is dealt with on two fronts ,one is emotional and one is strategic were it is aligned with the total business goals of the company .relationship conflict is concerned with the idea of addressing interpersonal incompatibilities and involves reducing tension within the group and solving personal issues and settling annoyance and frustration which can act as negative factors in a company s growth. A company like Vodafone with several subsidiaries should have a centralises system in conflict management and should be treated as a strategic issue rather than one which is solved emotionally and out of the book. This can go a long way in creating a congenial environment for emotional and intellectual growth. Internal communication within the group Every organization looks out for effective means to communicate within the group and the key to success lies in effective communication within the organization. A change in management can distort communication channels within the organization. The example of this can be seen in the takeover of Hutchison Essar in March 2007. The sudden change in management has displaced communication channels in its Indian subsidiary. The solution was not to distort the existing in the newly acquired company. The model the company adopted has similarities to the research paper published by (Tony Proctor 2003) Leadership within Vodafone Organizational culture has to age and has progressed to be critical in defining the work culture in the company .unbiased approach and fairness has to be key aspects that govern the policy in an organization. Large organizations like Vodafone face coordination problems in different levels in the organization. The three core areas were management in contemporary organizations face problems are the issues related to transformational management .the leadership has to facilitate the performance of collective tasking in the organization. Some research like (Garry Yuki 2002) suggests that managing and leadership should be treated separately .in publically listed companies there is an increased influence to satisfy the expectations of stakeholders. The contemporary roles of leaders have change, long gone are the notions of military leaders who use to win battles .the current role of leaders have changed and the ability of managers is there ability to turnaround failing organizations into successfully managed profitable ventures. The contemporary example can be the turnaround of automobile Giant Chrysler Corporation under the charismatic leadership of Lee Iacocca (Fried .E.Feidler 1996). For an organization like Vodafone there has to be synergy of various styles of leadership like: Emergent leadership The behavior of persons within the group and their ability to perform as a group is crucial in defining successful process of building leaders in the organization. Knowledge acquisition by first line managers is equally important and much research has successfully established it helps to lever ones core competencies and achieve competitive advantages. There is another factor which surrounds this which says about the co-relation of leadership and job satisfaction. (John .D.Politics 2001). An emergent leader is mostly situational and does not possess any serious traits of a leader. The ability to accomplish goals within a specified time defines the Emergent leaders. There are mostly selected out of intuitions rather than any pre planned strategy. The other theory is centred on effectiveness where effective is measures by conducted assessment of previous work and similarities between suitable traits and the leader is analyzed. The assessment even though is formally assessed is not fully standardized and uniform, which therefore can have variations is implementation. The core centre of this theory is that it is centred around the concept that those who are socially adept and bright are more set to be prospective leaders in the future. Succession management policy Vodafone a global company were succession planning has to be carried out at different levels. And it has to be relevant and engineered to suit. The most important aspect is to cater to the gap between the is planned and what is achieved. The focus should be on how leaders can be relevant and reengineered to remain relevant and make it suitable to suit the organization. The changing expectations of the society and accelerated changes in business leadership .the workplace is becoming increasingly diverse and every effort has to made to see that women ,minorities ,ethnicities has to be taken care of in the Global context. Coclusion:   Books Naomi I. Brill (1976). Teamwork: working together in the Human Services. Toronto: Lippincott. P5-11. Ronald R. Sims (2002)Organizational success through effective human resources management. p1-5. Pawan S.Budhwar and Yaw.Debrah (1984). Human Resource Management in Developing Countries. 3rd ed. Londan: Routledge. Articles Janis A. Cannon-Bowers and Eduardo Salas . (1998). Team Performance and Training in Complex Environments: Recent Findings from Applied Research. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Current Directions in Psychological Science. 7 (3), 83-87. Osama Abudayyeh. (1994). Partnering: A Team Building Approach to Quality Construction Management. Journal of Management in Engineering. 10 (6), p26-29. (Source: http://cedb.asce.org/cgi/WWWdisplay.cgi?9404719) News Papers Interview with Narayanamurthy (Founder of Infosys)by eenadu Business Desk. http://www.eenadu.net/newarchive.asp Interview with Grandhi Malikarjuna Rao (Chairman of GMR Group)by eenadu Business Desk. http://www.eenadu.net/archives/archive-24-1-2010/buisnesshead.asp?myqry=9HYPERLINK http://www.eenadu.net/archives/archive-24-1-2010/buisnesshead.asp?myqry=9reccount=11HYPERLINK http://www.eenadu.net/archives/archive-24-1-2010/buisnesshead.asp?myqry=9reccount=11reccount=11 websites http://www.team-wise.co.uk/defintion_of_team_building.htm accessed on 4/3/2010

Elizabethan Society Exposed in King Lear Essay -- King Lear Essays

Blood gushing from stabbed eyes. Sipping poison slipped by one’s very own sister. Fathers turning against their sons. Such are the horrid outcomes of the characters in King Lear. Shakespeare has written one of the greatest tragedies of all time with this play and from the very start, has provided no cushion of happiness for his viewers. They are immediately thrust into a world of turmoil-Lear’s favorite daughter is banished by him, Gloucester is deceived by his younger son, Lear is sent into a storm by his ungrateful heirs†¦and the list goes on. Yet, what is it that causes these wretched consequences? Is it because there are many diabolical personalities in the play? Many mistakes made by fathers in disbelieving their trustworthy children? No. The answer is that society is ultimately responsible for the end results of the play. The world of King Lear demonstrates for the audience, by illustrating with its various characters and their doings that a s ociety built around a social hierarchy and material wealth will always be a place of unhappiness, filled with people committing wicked actions. Shakespeare scribbled King Lear away between the years 1603 and 1606. This was a tumultuous time because Queen Elizabeth I had died but had left no heir and no husband to seize her monarchy. Therefore, the citizens were worried and the competition for her regency was strong. In writing the play, Shakespeare broached this uneasy topic by creating the character King Lear, who is unsure of whom to pass down his power too. Thus, Shakespeare builds a setting with many of the current concerns and problems of his Elizabethan world (yet they are approached in a disguised manner). This time period in England was one where... ...me blind while if the sisters had never stolen their father’s trust, he would never have gone crazy, Goneril would never have poisoned Regan and committed suicide and Cordelia would not have died. Thus, the tragic parts in the tragedy would not exist just as a world without the unhappiness would be happy. Works Cited â€Å"King Lear: Background on Shakespeare.† PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. . Signet Classic Edition Teacher’s Guide. Hern, Leigh Ann; Ellis, W. Gieger; Reed, Aretha J. S. (co-eds.), Penguin. Web Shakespeare, William, Barbara A. Mowat, and Paul Werstine. The Tragedy of King Lear. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print. â€Å"The Stucture of Elizabethan Society.† Walter Nelson. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. .

Inequality and Education

Inequality and Education Brenda A Mota Adams City High School Inequality and Education has been such a big problem for many Americans around the United States. Many have written about and talked about the situation, but nobody has come up with a solution for it. There has been a shrinking of inequality between racial groups from 1970-1988, but since then the gap has grown again. Too many of American’s disadvantaged children grow up without the skills needed to thrive in the twenty-first century. Educational inequality is due to social and family background.Inequality and Education has become one of the most important political and social issues in the United States. During the last three decades the gap between the educational attainments of children raised in rich and poor families has widened dramatically. Also according to the most recent census report, about one-quarter of children under the age of 6 live in poverty. With Inequality and Education, many problems follow it. The situation is a puzzle† no one has the slightest idea what will work†. (Sabrina Taverns, 2012, paragraph 21).Their seems to be no solution to help fix this. It we may take a while to fix this problem but if we all come together we can probably all come up with a great solution that can work. According to Laura D’ Andrea Tyson, â€Å"’A mind is a terrible thing to waste†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. (2012, paragraph 21). So we should all be able to appreciate and be given an opportunity. Now there’s not that many solution to this problem. According to Sabrina Taverns,†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ the pattern of privileged families today in intensive cultivation†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. 2012, paragraph 12). One solution could be to get more poor and middle class people into education. Education can be a solution to inequality. More education would also benefit those in more in need. Professor Reardon says that â€Å"with income declines more severe in the lower brackets there’ s a good chance the recession may widened the gap†. (Sabrina Taverns, 2012, paragraph 7). The American value is that each individual should have the opportunity to realize his or her potential.So if we gave more children the opportunity to get some education it would benefit us all because this inequality in education problem would get a solution. All in all, Income inequality and education may take a while to fix but by getting more children their education and finding their potential that can help a little. Everyone has potential to become someone in life and get education it doesn’t matter what race or age you are. It shouldn’t even matter your family income.

Analysis Of genres Essay

‘Genre’ is a French term meaning â€Å"type† or â€Å"kind†. Putting things into categories is useful in any form of study; it’s a way of establishing some kind of control over an amorphous mass of information. Each medium in the mass media has its own kinds of language, characteristic signs and sign systems. Genre is part of the Key Concept of Language, and can be applied to all kinds of media text. Putting media texts such as film, television programmes, print media, or music into categories is useful as a way of establishing some kind of control over an amorphous mass of information. Each genre follows its own kinds of conventions – language, characteristic signs and sign systems. However, genres are fluid and not fixed and under constant renegotiation between media industry and audience through the combination of the familiar and the unexpected. The standard approach to teaching genre in film and television is to focus on the common codes and conventions. Looking at film posters, trailers or short scene extracts will quickly enable students to identify similarities and differences in characters, location, stories and familiar objects (the iconography). Repeated narrative patterns can be observed and beyond this the recurring theme which leads to exploration of shared ideological messages. For the study of magazines the categorisation might be based on definitions of target audiences – age, gender, ethnicity, class etc. The History and Evolution of Genres Genre analysis also includes understanding the evolution of a genre over time. Genres change and develop because of changes in the culture or historical period in which the genre is being produced. The Western solo hero who was popular in the 1940s and 1950s evolved into the group of heroes in the 1960s and 1970s with Rawhide and Bonanza—shows that reflected a shift in the workplace to that of the group in the corporation or company during that time. And, with the increasing interest in urban crime and international espionage in the 1970s and 1980s, the Western was replaced by the police/detective and the spy/thriller genres. Genres also gain popularity with certain audiences who seek out these genres given the historical or cultural forces operating in a certain period. During the Great Depression, audiences flocked to movie houses to view Hollywood romantic comedies as a way of escaping the grim realities of everyday lives characterized by poverty and deprivation. The nature of the threat in science fiction movies also shifts to reflect changes in fears or threats facing societies. During the 1930s and 1940s, Americans expressed racial fears, as manifested in the rise of the Klu Klux Klan, and in the film, King Kong. During the 1990s, with the increased production of films and the control of media conglomerates over the types of films being made, an increasing number of formulaic genre films were produced. Film studios needed to attract large audiences in order to make a return profit on the millions they invested in high-production, special-effects films, so they turned to safe, familiar genres and sequels. As Wheeler Dixon (2000) argues: What audiences today desire more than ever before is â€Å"more of the same,† and studios, scared to death by rising production and distribution costs, are equally loathe to strike out in new generic directions. Keep audiences satisfied, strive to maintain narrative closure at all costs, and keep within the bounds of heterotopic romance, no matter what genre one is ostensibly working in. Yet, at the same time, the studios must present these old fables in seductive new clothing, with high budgets, major stars, lavish sets, and (if the genre demands it) unremitting action to disguise the second-hand nature of the contemporary genre film (p. 8). Film versus television genres. There are some important differences between film and television genres. Film genres (see list below) tend to be more general, for example, the western, action/adventure, comedy, horror, science fiction, etc., while television genres (see list below) are often specialized, for example, cooking shows, sports-talk shows, children’s animation, etc. A film that is representative of a certain film genre also tends to be selfenclosed—the conflicts are often resolved within the film, even with film sequels. In contrast, a television genre program tends to be part of a serial, in which a storyline may continue and develop or characters may evolve across different programs. There are a wide range of different types of film genres: detective, action/adventure, mystery,  science fiction, horror, gangster, romance, comedy, musical, comedy, animation, detective, spy thriller, as well as specific television genres: game show, prime-time drama, sports broadcast, soap opera, musical, medical drama, news, pro-wrestling, reality-television, talkshow. It is often difficult to identify a particular movie or television show as a primary example of a particular genre because a movie or show may contain elements reflecting different genres. 1. Soap operas: Soap-opera is the most popular form of television programming in the world. A large proportion of television viewers watch and enjoy soap-operas. Soap-operas dominate the national audience ratings over other programmes that are telecast. Soaps in general have a predominantly female audience, and in fact at least 30% of the audiences for this soap are male. The main interest for men was in business relations and problem and the power and wealth shown, whereas women were more often interested in the family issues and love affairs. Soaps appeal to those who value the personal and domestic world. There is no doubt that viewing and talking with family and friends about soap operas is experienced by many women as a pleasurable experience. Women are stereotyped in soap operas but the image of the modern women has changed. From being a submissive, quiet, obedient housewife, she has grown and evolved into a strong individual. She not excels in her profession but is also an able homemaker. Soaps create a world dominated by interpersonal relationship, where characters discuss marital, romantic and family problems. There is little physical violence or crime. The soap opera world seems emotionally hazardous-mainly because of the continual sorting and resorting of relationships. PORTRAYAL IN SOAP OPERAS Though not as strongly as in earlier years, the portrayal of both men and women on television is largely traditional and stereotypical. This serves to promote a polarization of gender roles. With femininity are associated traits such as emotionality, carefulness, cooperation, a shared sense, and obedience. Masculinity tends to be associated with such traits as wisdom,  efficiency, competition, individualism and ruthlessness. Most significantly though, soap opera’s concern with the everyday lives of everyday people and their problems, big and small, appears to be one of the main reasons why this genre is so popular. 2. The Talk Show: The television talk show consists of four different subgenres: 1) The morning talk shows 2) The day-time talk: some of which are characterized as â€Å"tabloid† or the â€Å"confessional† talk show, as well as â€Å"courtroom† shows. 3) prime-time/late-night talk show 4) Political talk shows 1. The morning and prime-time/late shows retain a consistent format established by early hosts in the 1950s through 1970s: for the morning shows identifies five characteristics of this subgenre: †¢ The centrality of the host. The program revolves around the host as the central figure of the program. The host often has control over the show’s content and guest selection. The host is often supported by others who laughed at his jokes and provided an immediate conversational audience. The hosts often serve as commodities for their networks—functioning to promote not only their shows, but also the network itself and other products. †¢ The present-tense flow. Even though the shows are pre-taped, they are highly structured in ways that create the illusion that they are occurring â€Å"live† in present time for the viewer audience. †¢ Varied modes of address. The host is simultaneously addressing a range of different audiences: the immediate audience on stage (guests, co-hosts), their studio audience, and the viewer audience, all in ways that serve to engage the viewer audience as the intimate â€Å"you. † †¢ The commodity function. The show serves not only as an advertising vehicle, but it also serves to promote the celebrities who appear on the show. Stars of television programs on the same network often appear as guests to promote those network programs. †¢ Structured impulsiveness. Despite the seemingly spontaneous nature of the program, a large cast of writers, producers, celebrating agents, and technical people construct a scripted, semi-rehearsed production that adheres to time constraints and certain publicity messages they wish to convey. Recently talk show hosts have functioned to provide their own versions of daily news events for their relatively younger audiences who may not be acquiring news from other sources. 2. The day-time â€Å"tabloid†/†confessional† shows are often organized around particularly themes or topics often related to interpersonal conflicts, health, beauty—and, on the tabloid shows. The increased popularity of â€Å"courtroom† shows dramatizes personal or family conflicts within a seemingly legal area. These shows attempt to actively promote conflicts between participants, often resulting in arguments, taunts, and physical fights. They also engage audience members as players in these conflicts, asking them to create alliances between the conflicting participants. These shows’ focus on dramatic conflict between participants serves to overlap with the conflicts portrayed in soap opera (see soap opera) and reality television. The â€Å"confessional† shows focus more on having participant’s articulate personal problems that are then addressed by an â€Å"expert† or by the host as a moral guide . The prevailing discourse of these shows is healing—the assumption that through â€Å"talking-out† issues and improving interpersonal relationships, problems can be solved, a discourse that masks the influence of institutional forces. 3. The political talk show often features competing political perspectives from what is described as the â€Å"liberal† and the â€Å"conservative† side, in which participants argue with each other in a highly dramatic, combative manner with little contextualization or development of ideas. Moreover, the â€Å"guests† who appear on Sunday morning talk shows generally represent status quo institutional perspectives and are largely white males. 3. Advertising: Media employ specific techniques to construct believable stories. They hook our attention through psychological devices and technical effects. The techniques are vast and many, but some common ones are easily recognizable and are identified here. Remember, advertisers will use many techniques not listed. Add to this list as needed. Technical effects: †¢ Camera angles enhance perspective, such as low angles that give the subject power. †¢ Close-ups provide emphasis. †¢ Sound effects animate products, giving them emotion. †¢ Mise-en-scene (set and setting inside camera frame) creates cultural and ideological context. Is the set a concert, a hall, a shopping mall? †¢ Accessories enhance the product. What’s being associated with the product, such as clothes, props, models? †¢ Lighting is used to draw your eye to certain details. †¢ Happy and attractive people are made-up and constructed to enhance the message. What kinds of people are in the ad? †¢ Music, popular songs and jingles create pneumonic devices to program or trigger your memory (some songs are used for nostalgic reasons, while others are used to cross promote products, i. e. cars and latest album). †¢ Products are sold using three main emotions: fear, sex and humour. Ads appeal to our emotions through emotional transfer and are rarely dependent on intellectual analysis. †¢ Special effects bring inanimate things to life and make them exciting. This is especially true with children-targeted ads. †¢ Editing is used to pace and generate excitement. Notice how military and video game ads have very fast cuts, usually a scene change every second. Common Attention-Getting Hooks: †¢ Emotional Transfer is the process of generating emotions in order to transfer them to a product. For example, a Coke ad shows happy, beautiful people but tells us nothing about the product. The point is to make you feel good and to transfer that feeling to the brand or product. This is the number one and most important process of media manipulation. †¢ Fear messages are directed at our insecurities, such as â€Å"no one will like you if you have dandruff,† or â€Å"bald people are losers. † This is a very common technique and extra attention is required to resist these messages. †¢ Symbols are easily recognized elements from our culture that generate powerful emotions, such as flags and crosses. †¢ Humour is often used because it makes us feel good and is more memorable. †¢ Hype, don’t believe it. Be skeptical of exaggerated claims. Statements like these are meaningless and vague, but sound good. †¢ Fitting In is a very common technique that tries to influence us by stating that if everyone else is buying the product, so should you. †¢ Cute. Children and animals always steal the show. †¢ Vague Promises like â€Å"might,† â€Å"maybe,† and â€Å"could† divert our attention. â€Å"Super Glue may heal cuts better than Band-Aids,† sounds absurd, but you will often hear claims as absurd as this and it would still be true (because it can’t be disproved). †¢ Testimonials are statements by people explaining why certain products are great. Famous or plain folk or actors can do them. This is more powerful when someone we really like or respect endorses a product. â€Å"Beautiful† people are usually used to glamorize merchandise, especially unhealthy products like alcohol, tobacco and junk food. Models and actors generally don’t represent average people, but idealized notions of beauty that are constantly changing. †¢ Famous People such as Michael Jordan make products appealing and attractive through association. †¢ Ordinary People are people that might be like you or me. This is common in ads that stress community or family. †¢ It’s Easy. Simple solutions are often used to convince us that a product will solve our problems. †¢ Macho is generally used to appeal to males, but not exclusively. It demonstrates masculinity and male stereotypes; these are common in military and tobacco ads. †¢ Femininity is another gender stereotype used in a variety of ads, from teen make-up commercials to alcohol ads. †¢ Repetition is done to reiterate a sales pitch over and over again, like the phone ads that repeatedly display and annunciate the phone number to access their service †¢ Big Lies are exaggerated promises that are impossible to deliver. †¢ Exotic. This is the appeal of the â€Å"other†; it could be a beach location, tribal person, something strange or unknown. This is often meant to hook you through presenting something that is out of the ordinary or beyond our everyday experience. †¢ Flattery is used to make you feel good about you as a consumer and that you are making the right choice when you chose a product. † †¢ Social Outcasts generally represents a put-down or demeaning comment about a competing product or cultural group. This is not limited to ads, but is common in propaganda as well (â€Å"they don’t believe in God,† etc. ). †¢ Free Lunch offers you something in addition to the product such as â€Å"buy one, get one free† or tax cuts. Freebies constantly hook us, but there are always hidden costs. Rarely is a thing truly free. †¢ Surrealism. Commercial media employ some of the brightest minds of the media world and often require cutting edge artists to keep their material fresh (e. g. MTV). Often, as a reflection of how unreal the fantasy world of media is, you will see juxtapositions and dreamlike imagery that make no sense because the advertiser is trying to get your attention by presenting something strange and different. †¢ The Good Old Days. Images, fashion, film effects and music depicting specific eras or subcultures are meant to appeal directly to the demographic represented in the ad. †¢ Culture. Niche marketing is more common as advertisers hone their messages for specific cultural groups. Latino-targeted ads, for instance, might have family scenes or specific uses of language. 4. Music: Form – most (not all) music involves some repetition, and we find some patterns recurring in many pieces. In other words, you will need to consider the elements below for EACH melody in your song (i.e. , the elements that characterize the A melody, again for the B melody, etc. ) Be aware that even if a melody (tune) is repeated, there may be changes – a chorus might sing what a soloist sang the first time, etc. , and a good analysis will account for those changes. †¢ Melody (Melodies) †¢ Tempo(s) – literally ‘speed. ‘ Using Italian terminology, how fast or slow is this tune? Are there changes in the tempo? Are they gradual or abrupt changes? Do you feel the tempo in this particular performance is appropriate for the lyrics or mood? If not, should it be faster or slower? Who seems responsible for establishing the tempo? †¢ Dynamic level(s) – literally ‘volume’—how loud (forte) or soft (piano) is this piece? Dynamics tend to fluctuate a lot in music, so how does this particularly piece progress? Are changes sudden or gradual? †¢ Mood – the â€Å"emotional† atmosphere of the song. This is a subjective assessment, but it should be supported by some of your other answers on this page. Sad songs, for example, usually aren’t very fast! †¢ Lyrics – how would you describe the poetry? Is it continually changing, or do you hear a lot of repetition of text? Do the words seem ‘important,’ or is the emphasis on the melody? How frequent are the rhymes? Is there patter singing? †¢ Medium – the performers needed for the piece (both vocal and instrumental! Don’t forget to notice any instruments or voices used in the accompaniment! ) †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Text Setting Text Expression – has the composer crafted the music (tempo, dynamics, etc. ) to be appropriate to the meaning of the poetry? Does s/he use any devices such as wordpainting? Rhythm – Is the rhythm prominent? (Are your toes tapping? ) Can you tell what the meter is? What is the subdivision? Why might the composer have chosen this meter or subdivision? Do you notice other rhythmic devices, such as dotted rhythms or syncopation? Texture(s) – Does the texture change at any point in the piece? What’s the most prominent texture in the song? Mode – is the mode major or minor at the beginning of this piece? Does it change at any point? Is the mode appropriate for the poetry? Style – does the music seem to fall under a particular style label (i. e. jazz, swing, rap, ballad, rock, operatic, blues, gospel, etc. )? What other elements create this style? (Text setting, instrumentation, etc. ) Type – some songs can be classified as functioning in a typical way—such as soliloquies, charm songs, comedy songs, vision songs, challenge songs, â€Å"I want† songs, love songs, patriotic songs, etc. Does this song belong to a recognizable category? (Not all songs fit into these sorts of classifications. ) Action/Dance – does this song structured so that it contains some sort of staged action or dance? Is the action in the background, or does the singer(s) participate? Describe the setting as best you can.