Speech Analysis Essay Example for Free

Speech Analysis Essay On October 10, 2013 I gave a speech to my classmates about the three most important steps in investigating a murder case. These are including separating witnesses, collecting evidence, and interviewing suspects. Watching the video of my speech, I observed many strengths and weaknesses: strengths including a lot of facts, an interesting topic, and talking at an average pace. Weaknesses that stuck out to me were my hands consistently being in my pockets and reading directly off my notecards. The first thing I thought I did well was including a lot of facts. This is important because it was an informative speech and the goal was to inform the audience of information about a topic they were not aware of. I feel as if adding information, that wasn’t necessarily told to the public, about JonBenet Ramsey’s case was a good decision on my part. For example, I incorporated that JonBenet’s father received a raise earlier that year of the same exact amount of money that was asked for in the ransom note. The second thing I thought I did well was picking an interesting topic. The subject of criminal justice is just exciting all around. From mysteries to solving crimes it is all enjoyable to learn about. Criminal justice and the JonBenet case was a good topic to choose because it kept the audience’s attention. When hearing about a mystery or an unsolved murder crime it is practically expected to stick around and listen to the end to see if it has been figured out if not people are left with a cliff hanger. The third strength would be talking at an average pace. If one talks too fast it’s hard to comprehend all the information that’s being thrown at you. Therefore maintaining a good pace helps to add onto time and to keep the audience’s responsiveness. Talking too slow can affect the outcome also though. There has to be a happy medium. Now that I have discussed strengths, I will now move onto weaknesses and how I can improve them in the future. During my speech I kept moving my hands in and out of my pockets. This is considered as a distracting mannerism and can affect the audience’s attention to my hands rather than what I am saying. I can improve this by keeping my hands to my side where they are out of the way and ignore my nervous habits. The final weakness I noticed was how often I looked at my notecards. It honestly just looks extremely weird looking up and down constantly. Memorization is key and I can improve this by practicing more often and in front of different people to get more comfortable with my words. I can’t just sit here and say I need to do this either, because it won’t change unless I continue to take action to make myself better. All in all I thought my speech went well over all. There are positives and negatives out of everything one does. In this case the strengths were a lot of facts, interesting topic, and talking at an average pace. The weaknesses were hands in my pockets and reading directly off my cards. Both of these weaknesses are completely capable of being changed. By the end of this semester I plan to have successfully given a speech without the little mistakes. All it takes is practice, motivation, and knowledge and quite frankly I feel as if I have all three!

A Dolls House: Appearance vs Reality

A Dolls House: Appearance vs Reality Choosing to live your life independently or dependently is a life changing moment: it comes without warning, and can turn your whole life upside down. Either way, nothing will ever be the same. The book, A Dolls House, by Henrik Ibsen, is about characters who are all dealing with the transition of becoming either dependent or independent. They may seem happy to other people and to the readers at first, but their appearances are really a lie. Appearance and reality are often misunderstood; just because someone may seem happy, this does not mean they lead a rich and more compelling life in comparison to someone else. Mrs. Lindes journey from independence to marriage is a foil to Noras life. At the beginning of the play Nora may seem dependant but she is actually just as independent as Mrs. Linde claims to be. In order for Nora to pay the loan that she owed Krogstad, Nora saved money that Torvald gave her for dresses, and she also found a little job. Nora says, [she] was lucky enough to get a lot of copying [done and] to do so, (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) [she] locked [her]self up and sat writing every evening until quite late at night. Many a time [she] was desperately tired, but all was the same it was a tremendous pleasure to sit there working and earning money. It was like being a man (Ibsen 13). When Nora says she felt like a man it meant she felt like she was taking on responsibilities, and having a sense of purpose in life. In other words to feel like a man in the eighteen-hundreds it must have meant you were more independent. In Noras mind she must have thought she was just as self-ruling as Mrs. Linde. Although Mrs. Linde may work, she dislikes it, and it has also aged her terribly. Mrs. Linde says she needs someone to depend on because she is quite alone in the world-[her] life is so dreadfully empty and [she] feel[s] so forsaken. There is not the least pleasure in working for ones self. Niles, give me someone and something to work for (53). Mrs. Linde may seem to be a strong willed women, but in reality she needs someone to provide for her and depend on. At the end of the play Nora chooses a life of independence by leaving Torvald while Mrs. Linde reunites with her long love Mr. Krogstad, and chooses a life of dependence. Although Mrs. Linde and Nora may have lived their lives in an opposite direction; Mrs. Linde and Nora Helmer both started a life of marriage without true love for their husbands. Mrs Linde married her ex-husband because her father passed away and she had to raise her younger brothers. She married him primarily for financial stability because her mother was alive then [but] was bedridden and helpless, and [she] had to provide for my two younger brothers; so [she] did not think [she] was justified in refusing his offer (9). The fact that Mrs. Linde refers to her ex-husbands proposal as an offer means she saw it as a business transaction. In other words this is a symbiotic relationship. Mrs. Linde needed financial stability and her ex-husband needed a wife. On the other hand Nora married Mr. Helmer even though she didnt love him. It seems as though she was influenced by her fathers opinions: when I was at home with Papa he told me his opinion about everything, and so I had the same opinions; and if I differed from him I concealed the fact, because he would not have liked it. And when I came to live with you I simply transferred from Papas hands to yours. You arranged everything according to your own taste, and so I got the same taste as you-or else I pretended to (66). Noras father had brainwashed Nora to such a point that she took on the same beliefs as him with out even noticing it. Nora then married Torvald and became even more oblivious to fact that she was being controlled. It is quite stumbling how life has forced both Nora Helmer and Mrs. Linde to start a life of marriage without true love for their husbands. As the play progresses we see how Nora is actually more independent then we expected her to be. We also find out that although Mrs. Linde works for herself, she needs a purpose in life, which to her means having a family. Although we only discover that Nora never loved Mr. Helmer at the end of a Dolls House, throughout the whole play there have been small amounts rebellious behavior from Nora towards Mr Helmer. Although Mr. Helmer had forbidden Nora from eating macaroons, she still does it anyways: What, macaroons? I thought they were forbidden here. Yes, but theses are some Christine gave me. (17). Throughout the play Nora has shown signs of independence even though the readers were to believe she was not. Also Nora was forbidden to take out a loan by Torvald and by the law. Nora had taken out the loan despite the laws and Torvalds wishes. Appearances can be deceiving; just because a person may appear to be content, and carefree with their life, it does not necessarily mean they actually life a life of glamour. In the book A Dolls House Mrs Linde is the force of truth in Noras life. Although Mrs. Linde may not be the person to ask for marital advice she has lived a life similar to Noras just backwards. At the beginning of A Dolls House readers believe Nora is just a silly, selfish and spoiled character, but later readers find out that she is actually a strong willed and intelligent woman. Just like Mrs. Linde Nora proves she is able to work for herself, and that she understands business transactions without a males approval. On the other hand Mrs. Linde feels she needs a husband and children to have a purpose in life. In other words Mrs. Linde has chosen a life of dependence with Mr. Krogstand while Nora prefers to live her life independently and liberal minded. Clearly Mrs. Lindes and Noras appearances at the beginnin g of the play do not reflect their reality. Sadly as in the play this may be a reality for many people today. Does your appearance to others also reflect your reality? Work Cited Ibsen, Henrik, A Dolls House. New York: Dover, 1992. Print

Measurement Of Advertising Effectiveness Across Different Media Media Essay

Measurement Of Advertising Effectiveness Across Different Media Media Essay Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine advertising effectiveness of four media. These media include both traditional media like television, radio and print and a new medium like the internet. Design/ Methodology/ Approach An online questionnaire was floated asking the respondents to evaluate the four media on eight different parameters namely, informativeness, emotions, attitude, action, attention, entertainment, irritation and deceptiveness. The results were analysed by comparison of the means using the One Way Anova and Tukey b Test, was applied to see the difference between the effectiveness of different media on the basis of the eight parameters listed above. This was followed by Terpstra Jonckheere Test to confirm our order of alternatives. Findings The study determined that different media have significant differences in their effectiveness when evaluated on the above mentioned eight parameters. According to the study, the consumers perceive television as the most effective advertising medium followed by print, internet and radio. Research Limitations/ implications Only four media were considered for the study and it measured the effectiveness of different kinds of advertisements in general. Also, the respondents belonged to the same age group. Future research can be done with more media and can be extended for a particular product and for a particular brand. Practical Implications The study can be used to determine the most effective media for advertising a particular product. Also the advertising requirements differ with the life cycle of the product. The same can be evaluated with the help of this study. Originality/ Value There have been past studies to evaluate the advertising effectiveness of different media but none of them has been particular to Indian context. Key Words advertising effectiveness, comparison between different advertising media, traditional media compared to web Paper Type Survey based research paper INTRODUCTION Media, from long, has been used by advertisers to build brands; be it television, radio, print, internet or outdoor advertising. With increasing competition and the rat race between the various sellers, it has increasingly become important for the advertisers to differentiate themselves from others, and the efficient advertising mix has a very important role to play in the effectiveness of this differentiating behaviour. Often marketers face themselves with the problem of deciding on how much to spend on advertising on the various types of media. This decision rests on the measure of effectiveness of each of these forms, which is often a tough task. For the same product, the effect of a particular media may be far different from the others. Also, the effects of these media may vary largely across the various product categories as well. Hence to reach to the optimum advertising mix its necessary for the marketers to evaluate the perceived value of each of these media on its consumers. How do viewers perceive the TV over other types of media? Is the modern media like internet more effective compared to the traditional media like TV and print? To answer these questions, the study focuses on the view, opinions and perceptions of people who are exposed to the various media. Here, in this paper, we intend to measure the perceived value of the various forms of media in the mind of consumers, and quantify this to reach to an advertising value for each of the media across a particular product category. This perception of viewers has a large role to play on the advertisers selection of various media for advertising, and allocation of the advertising budget to these media. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Advertising on the four media which are taken into consideration for the purpose of this study namely, television, radio, print and internet have their own advantages and disadvantages. While television, radio and print are the traditional methods of advertising and have a long history behind them, internet has emerged as an advertising medium in the near past. Over the years, internet has emerged as a competitor to the traditional media and has created a niche for itself. It is however not clear from the previous studies that consumers who watch all four kinds of advertisements consider all of them equally effective or not. Also, there is a dearth of research when it comes to measuring the advertising effectiveness of the four media vis-a-vis each other in the Indian context. This study aims to fill this gap that exists. ADVERTISING ON DIFFERENT MEDIA Advertising on Television Television advertising started in United States in the year 1941. Television advertising started in India in the eighties and from then there is no looking back for this medium of advertising. Television is a commonly used medium for advertising campaigns due to its popularity and the capability to reach audiences of all ages (Edell Keller, 1989). According to the New York Times, television is to stay in India. It has seen a phenomenal growth in the past and will continue to grow. There are been a 20 percent increase in the number of homes with televisions. It has increased from 88 million in 2000 to 105 million in the year 2009. There has been a 21 percent increase in the advertising spending on Indian television from the year 1995 to 2005. Spending on television advertising reached $1.6 billion in the year 2005. Television has several advantages over other medium. The reach of television is much wider than that of other advertising media like print and it does so in a shorter duration of time. Also, television has multiple communication appeal as it uses both hearing and vision. Â  By appealing to both senses a TV advertiser can use these to reinforce each other. Television as an advertising medium has its own set of disadvantages. The cost of advertising is much higher for television as compared to other forms of media considered here. Also, if the advertisement is not intrusive enough it may fail to capture the attention of the audience. In addition to this the number of advertisements which fight for the coveted time slots on television may add to the clutter and may not help in reinforcing the belief of the customer. Advertising on Radio Advertising on radio started in the early 1920s, when the first radio stations were established by radio equipment manufacturers and retailers who offered programs in order to sell more radios to consumers. These days radio is no longer considered to be an attractive means of advertising. Radio, an old- fashioned medium existing in the shadow of high tech boom of internet advertising and cable TV, is not considered lucrative anymore (Joachim Jean C., 1999). Though radio ads have decreased in popularity but still it is widely used as an advertising medium because of the benefits it provides. The key advantage of radio advertising is its cost effectiveness as compared to other media like television. The advantages of radio advertising are low production costs and selectivity in reaching segments of audiences homogeneous in demographics or lifestyles (McDonald, 1998; Roberts Berger, 1989). Also, radio has a wider reach in terms of the number of audience covered vis a vis television or internet. Radio advertisement has the disadvantage of being ephemeral, since the consumer can only hear the ad, it becomes very necessary to have an ad which is highly attention grabbing. Also, due to smaller coveted slots, cluttering of ads may happen. Apart from this, the decrease in the popularity of the medium has made radio advertising less sought after. Print advertising is one of the oldest modes of advertising. With the advent of radio, television and internet, print advertising has lost its lustre. Due to the advantage that print medium has on the cost front, it is still the most sought after advertising medium for small, local businesses. Print medium has a very wide reach and it proves to be very cost effective. The advertisement can reach different segments in a wide geographic region. The people can refer to the ads multiple times and therefore it has the desired permanence. The biggest limitation of print is that the ad has to compete for the attention of the reader. In the limited space that the medium provides, the ads may just get lost in the clutter. In addition to this, more and more people are now switching to online versions of magazines and newspapers. So the traditional print medium is losing its charm .Advertising on the Internet Advertising on the internet started in the year 1994 when Wired magazine came up with its commercial web magazine which was the first of its kind. With this online magazine started the era of of advertising on the Internet. Since then, advertising on the Internet has increased rapidly, mainly due to an astronomical growth in Web traffic. But with this increase in the web traffic clutter over the internet has increased manifolds. The internet has many advantages over the traditional forms of media, the most prominent of them being the cost. The cost incurred is a fraction of the cost which will be paid for a similar ad on television. Another advantage of Internet advertising is that it provides a medium to buy the product as well. No other media offers this flexibility. As with other advertising media clutter is an issue, as competition for Web users becomes more intense. Also, the frequency of pop up ads can cause irritation in the consumer. Apart from this the rate of usage of internet is really an issue especially in developing countries like India and this makes internet advertising less popular. LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESIS Advertising Effectiveness as defined by Ducoffe is a subjective evaluation of the relative worth or utility of advertising to consumers. Ducoffe, in his study, suggested media mix has an important role to play in advertising effectiveness. In his research, the respondents were asked to rank different media in terms of their role in advertising. Consumers ranked television the top labelling it the most valuable source, followed by print media, direct mail and radio; web was placed at bottom. As per previous studies, consumers consider newspapers to be most effective in informativeness, reliability and credibility whereas television and radio rate lower on these attributes. Comparision of Traditional Media with Web With internet emerging as an effective media of advertising, a synergy in advertising through various media forms can be achieved by integrating internet with other media to achieve companys objectives. Leong et al [1998], in his study, suggested that though internet is different from other media, it can be used to complement other media. Many researchers [Negroponte-1995] are of the view that TV viewing would become obsolete in certain time with computer activities replacing it in a large way. But at the same time, there are many that do not support the replacement view [Coffey and Stripp-1997]. They do agree with TV popularity decreasing to some extent but expect it to still remain a popular activity. As per Kanso and Nelson [2004], various media can be integrated to serve the purpose, thereby enticing customers to the product/ brand. A similar study by Chang and Thorson [2004] show the combined effect of advertising on various media viz. traditional and web is far superior compared to repeated advertising on individual mediums. As per the survey carried out till date, there does not seem any paper which provides a complete comprehensive comparative analysis of different forms of media. Gap in extant literature The study by Ducoffe presents the results of a survey focussing on the perceived value of web advertising vis-Ã  -vis other media. To understand what makes advertising effective, Ducoffe identified the dimensions of advertising which include informativeness, irritation, deceptiveness and entertainment. But this study was limited to comparing traditional media and web advertising and also excluded parameters like degree of information dissemination and emotional effects. Though Leong et al did provide few parameters like attention, emotions, precipitating action and attitude to find out the advertising value of a particular media, but the study was limited to comparing the internet advertising to traditional media. Also, most of the researches carried out so far miss on the point that the respondents chosen should be exposed to these various media so that their responses reflect the true effectiveness of media. We intend to choose those exposed to all the various media forms as our respondent base. This effectiveness varies across the various product categories, their phase in the product life cycle, the demographics of the target group, and hence cannot be generalized. Hence, we intend to carry this research so as to keep these extraneous variables constant and can later be easily replicated across all the categories. THEORETICAL BASES DERIVATION OF FOR THE HYPOTHESIS Figure 1: Application Model The hypothesis has been derived separately for each of the eight parameters, discussed above, and is described below stating all bases for the derivation of each. Informativeness According to the information gathered about informativeness of the various media, internet ads are the most informative, followed by print, television and radio.[Leong, 1998] This fact seems to be correct as the information available about a product/service is very expansive on the internet, due to links provided that help the user gain unending information. This is closely followed by print ads that contain extensive information printed about the product, due to the availability of space. Television and radio provide lesser information, due to the expensive per second rates. Television is more informative than radio due to the visual aid available. Hypothesis 1 The level of informativeness of advertisements varies significantly across the various forms of media, with internet ads being the most informative, followed by print media, television and radio in this order. Attention This section shows how engaging and interactive the media is. Again, television and radio score high on this factor, due to their audio-visual and audio aid respectively. This is followed by print and internet. Print, due to its direct impact in a newspaper or a magazine ranks next in this regard followed by internet ads which might not be that engaging for the user. Hypothesis 2 The level of attention of advertisements varies significantly across the various forms of media, with television ads being the most attention seeking, radio, print media, and internet in this order. Emotions According to Nielson, the internet is a more rational medium, while the television is an emotional medium. Thus, television rates high on the emotional factor, followed by radio and print, with internet being the least emotional, due to least interactiveness of the medium and it being the most informative. Hypothesis 3 The level of emotions of advertisements varies significantly across the various forms of media, with television ads being the most emotional, followed by radio, print media and internet in this order. Precipitating Action Persuasion is an action that drives a user towards purchasing the product. Internet purchasing is the most popular and is significantly higher than telemarketing. Internet is followed by print in precipitating action. Print media seems to influence people towards buying a product due to the informative nature of the medium. Radio is the least persuasive in this regard as radio just provides a recall for the product. Hypothesis 4 The level of precipitating action of advertisements varies significantly across the various forms of media, with internet ads having the most precipitating action, followed by print media, television and radio in this order. Attitude Attitude defines the degree to which advertisements are able to change the beliefs/attitudes of people towards the product or the brand. This would affect the final buying decision of the product or service. The order for this factor ranges from television, print, internet and radio from most effective to least effective in changing attitude. Hypothesis 5 The level of attitude of advertisements varies significantly across the various forms of media, with television ads being the most attitudes changing, followed by print media, internet and radio in this order. Entertainment According to the information gathered about entertainment, television ads come out to be the most effective, followed by radio, print and internet. [Larkin] Television tops the list due to the audio visual effects present. This is followed by radio. The print media shows the entertainment factor through its creative designs and catchy print messages. The internet is considered to be a rational medium providing clear information without the frills. Hypothesis 6 The level of entertainment of advertisements varies significantly across the various forms of media, with television ads being the most entertaining, followed by radio, print and internet in this order. Irritation Advertising effectiveness depends on the users receptiveness towards an ad, and on their attitude towards advertising. Non relevant ads on TV, in newspapers and on the radio are perceived as inevitable by consumers; on the Internet, they are considered to be a nuisance. Television and radio ads are considered irritating due to the disturbance they cause during normal TV or radio screening. Print media ads are considered least irritating as they do not hinder normal operation of a newspaper or a magazine. Hypothesis 7 The level of irritation of advertisements varies significantly across the various forms of media, with internet ads being the most irritating, followed by television, radio and print media in this order. Deceptiveness Another important factor to calculate effectiveness of a medium is to measure the credibility of the medium. According to our research about the subject [Larkin], television ads seem to be to the most deceiving because of the lower airing time, thus the effect could be deceptive and important facts about the product are left out. This is followed by radio and print, with internet being the least deceptive due to the depth of information present on the internet. Hypothesis 8 The level of deceptiveness of advertisements varies significantly across the various forms of media, with television ads being the most deceiving, followed by radio, print media, and internet in this order. Overall Perception The overall perception of advertising media effectiveness has been taken to get an overall picture of the effectiveness. Hypothesis 9 On general/overall perception of the customer, television is the most effective, followed by print media, radio and internet in this order. METHODOLOGY Scale Development The scale items were adopted from Ducoffe [1996] and Leong et al [1998]. A total of 17 statements were used for the proposed scale. A 5-interval scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree was used to measure the response to each item. The respondents were given special instructions to not get biased towards a particular advertisement, brand or a product, rather evaluate each media as a whole. The internal reliability score was measured using Cronbachs alpha. The coefficient alpha reliability indicates that the items in each scale are significantly high above 0.7, except for Deceptiveness and Irritation. Though the value of alpha is not significantly low, this lower value is approximately equal to 0.6 which is close to the acceptable value. The instrument thus used was a 17-item scale, with eight underlying factors viz. informativeness, attention, emotion, precipitating action, attitude, entertainment, irritation and deceptiveness. The results were analysed by comparison of the means using the One Way Anova and Tukey b Test, was applied to see the difference between the effectiveness of different media on the basis of the eight parameters listed above. This was followed by Terpstra Jonckheere Test to confirm our order of alternatives. The scale items are listed below- Table 1: Scale Items Respondents Our survey was taken by 106 respondents in the age group of 18-30 years. Considering the kind of research we were conducting, only those people who had been exposed to all the four media viz. TV, Radio, Print and Internet were chosen to take our survey. Respondents were also asked to rank various media in terms of effectiveness with 1 assigned to the most effective medium and 4 to the least. RESULTS Result 1: Informativeness The level of informativeness varies significantly across different media, with respondents rating radio as the least informative. Though respondents consider internet most informative, followed by print and television, the tests reveal that the difference between this three different media is not significant enough to be considered. This is consistent with our hypothesis. Result 2: Attention The level of attention varies significantly across various media with respondents rating radio to have the least level of attention. Though respondents consider television the most attention catching, followed by print and internet, the tests reveal that the difference is not significant in the case of internet and print media, thus might not be considered. This result is slightly different than our hypothesis, according to which internet had the least level of attention. The reason for such a difference could be the difference in times from when the article was written and when the survey was taken. Table 2 : Reactions to Advertising on Various Media Measurement Model Means Scale Relia-bility Signi-ficance Level TV Radio Print Internet Informativeness 3.512 3.031 3.742 3.746 0.698 0.000 Ads provide relevant product information. 3.717 3.160 4.123 3.840 Ads are sources of up-to-date product info. 4.038 3.425 3.934 4.105 Ads supply complete product information. 2.783 2.509 3.170 3.330 Attention 4.344 2.986 3.642 3.524 0.768 0.000 Ads are attractive/eye-catching. 4.434 2.698 3.745 3.651 Ads are effective in producing engaging messages 4.255 3.274 3.538 3.396 Emotions 3.778 2.835 2.901 2.651 0.543 0.000 Ads give details about the product, but do not stimulate emotions* (Negative Question) 2.264 3.047 3.189 3.359 I am touched by ads. 3.821 2.717 2.991 2.660 Precipitating Action 3.953 2.698 3.755 3.255 0.737 0.000 I have thought of buying an advertised product after watching the ad. 3.953 2.698 3.755 3.255 Attitude 4.118 3.340 3.717 3.481 0.737 0.000 Ads help people change their attitude towards the brand/company. 4.170 3.349 3.821 3.547 Ads help people change their beliefs related to the product. 4.066 3.330 3.613 3.415 Entertainment 4.335 3.151 3.340 3.288 0.762 0.000 Ads are enjoyable 4.245 3.255 3.330 3.179 Ads are exciting 4.425 3.047 3.349 3.396 Irritation 2.871 2.988 2.522 3.006 0.573 0.000 Ads insult peoples intelligence 2.755 2.623 2.472 2.566 Ads are annoying 3.076 3.528 2.585 3.585 Ads are confusing 2.783 2.811 2.509 2.868 Deceptiveness 3.698 3.590 3.349 3.590 0.561 0.010 Ads lie 3.660 3.406 3.330 3.613 Important facts about the products are left out of the ads 3.736 3.774 3.368 3.566 Mean responses to the item, n=106 (1 = Strongly Disagree, 5 = Strongly Agree) * Significant at 5% level of significance ** Cronbachs Alpha Reliability Test was used Table 3 : Terpstra Jonckheere Test for ordered Alternatives HYPOTHESIS TESTING PARAMETERS HYPOTHESIS Rank of different Media [from highest to lowest] T-J Statistic* Sig. 1 Informativeness Internet >Print >TV >Radio 7.269 0.000 2 Entertainment TV >Radio >Print >Internet 7.254 0.000 3 Irritation Internet >TV >Radio >Print 4.043 0.000 4 Deceptiveness TV >Radio >Print >Internet 1.768 0.077 5 Attention TV >Radio >Print >Internet 4.495 0.000 6 Emotions TV >Radio >Print >Internet 8.340 0.000 7 Precipitating Action Internet >Print >TV >Radio 3.161 0.002 8 Attitude TV >Print >Internet >Radio 7.536 0.000 FINDINGS TESTING PARAMETERS FINDINGS Rank of different Media [from highest to lowest] T-J Statistic* Sig. 1 Informativeness Internet >Print >TV >Radio 7.269 0.000 2 Entertainment TV >Print >Internet >Radio 8.963 0.000 3 Irritation Internet >Radio >TV >Print 4.889 0.000 4 Deceptiveness TV >Internet >Radio >Print 3.049 0.000 5 Attention TV >Print >Internet >Radio 10.386 0.000 6 Emotions TV >Print >Radio >Internet 8.595 0.000 7 Precipitating Action TV >Print >Internet >Radio 9.697 0.000 8 Attitude TV >Print >Internet >Radio 7.536 0.000 * Significant at 5% level of significance After having performed Tukey-Bs test to check which particular medium differs significantly from others, : Terpstra Jonckheere Test for ordered Alternatives was performed tovalidate the prescribed order of mediums as suggested by the hypothesis and key findings. These results were in conformance with those obtained by the Tukey B test. Result 3: Emotions The level of emotion varies significantly across the different media, with respondents rating television to have the greatest level of emotion. This was followed by radio and print in the same order, although the tests revealed that this difference is not significant enough to be considered. Internet was considered to have the least emotion. Our hypothesis is quite similar to the result, with only difference between radio and print. This could be due to the latest trend of social messages in print advertisements. Result 4: Precipitating Action The level of precipitating action varies significantly across the different media with respondents rating radio to have the least level of precipitating action followed by internet. Though respondents consider television to have the most precipitating action, followed by print media, the tests reveal that this difference is not significant enough to be considered. This result is significantly different than our hypothesis according to which internet has the most precipitating action, followed by print, television and radio. This could be due to the increasing popularity of telemarketing in the current times. Result 5: Attitude The level of attitude varies significantly across the different media with respondents rating radio to have the least level of attitude and television to have the most. Though respondents consider internet and print to follow television, the tests reveal that this difference between internet and print is not significant enough to be considered. This is similar to our hypothesis. Result 6: Entertainment The level of entertainment varies significantly across the different media, with respondents rating television as the most entertaining. This was followed by internet and print, although the tests reveal that this difference is not significant enough to be considered. Radio was found to be least entertaining The only difference in the result from the hypothesis is the position of radio which according to the hypothesis is the second most entertaining after television. This change could be attributed again to the changing times, where radio advertising has taken a back seat in comparison to the print and internet media. Result 7: Irritation The level of irritation varies significantly across the different media, with respondents rating print as the least irritating. Though respondents consider internet most irritating, followed by radio and television, the tests reveal that this difference is not significant enough to be considered. The hypothesis also yields the same result. Results 8: Deceptiveness The level of deceptiveness varies significantly across various media, with respondents rating print as the least deceptive, but the tests reveal that the difference in print, internet and radio are not significant enough to be considered. Though respondents consider television most deceptive, followed by internet and radio, the tests reveal that this difference is not significant enough to be considered. The hypothesis is same for the most deceptive media, but according to the hypothesis, internet is least deceptive. Result 9: Overall Perception Table 4 :Mean rankings of various media Media Mean Rankings Television 1.3208 Print 2.4906 Internet 2.8113 Radio <

Human Concepts of Aging :: Sociology Age Agism Stereotype

In this essay about aging, I will focus not only on the stereotypical view of what aging can mean to most, but also the broader focus on the many ways aging can be defined. The essay will look at what aging means to different cultures and historical periods and take a broad overview of the concept from different perspectives. Moreover it will also discuss social factors relating to aging. It will show the significant changes of aging historically and various underlying factors as to the changes. Finally, I will discuss what the changes suggest for our future. What does the concept of aging mean? Aging is defined into a definition as "Changes that significantly decrease the probability of survival caused by processes within the individual that are universal, inevitable and irreversible" (Schulz & Ewen, 1993 p. 5). However it is a narrow definition of what aging means as there is not one person who would define aging in the same manner. Most of what we think and know about aging are opinions that reflects the stereotyped and exaggerated attitudes about decline and fall that are so common in the western culture. Even though it can be defined in biological terms aging also has another perspective, an entirely social construction and the way we perceive age varies from culture to culture and from one historical period to another (Coleman & O' Hanlon, 2004). Defining what is old to oneself depends on who we are and our own social position. According to the NSW Department 1989 Report of the Healthy Older People Project, age is defined differently according to the individual. For example a medical professional would state post-menopausal women and retired men as being old. To a fifteen-year-old, parents, grandparents and 30 year olds would be seen as old, and sick elderly people are viewed as older than healthy older people. This shows that there is not one ideal for what old and age is supposed to mean. Since 1900 life expectancy at birth has increased by more than 20 years for females and males. This therefore has influenced our definitions of old age. NSW Health Department (1989) categorised old into groups. Group one `young old' 60 years and over. Group two ` Old old' 75 years to 84 years and group three, the oldest, being 85 years and over. Moreover although old can be defined to Australians somewhat differently depending on the individual it also can't be forgotten that our Australian Indigenous population vary what old age is once again.

How to Surf Essay -- essays research papers

Some would say it's like snowboarding, whereas others would say it's like skateboarding. I, on the other hand, believe surfing is unlike any other sport. Besides it being loads of fun and freeing your mind, it is also a great workout. Problem is, though, many people wonder how to get started and learn what to do. That's where I come in. First, you need to know the safety precautions. You absolutely have to know how to swim and be able to swim well. If this is a problem for you, you can easily contact a nearby gym (like YMCA) for and instructor to teach you how. Another growing issue with surfing is the strong currents and tidal waves. There are ways to predict the safety of the water on that particular day, but for now, just ask the nearest lifeguard on duty. Now that you know you are in no major harm, it is time to find the specifications on how you will surf. Stand up straight and point one of your arms to the sky. This is how long your board should be when you first start learning how to surf. As you get better, you may use shorter boards, which makes the ride a lot faster and thrilling. Next, you will test what stance you will acquire while on the board. To do this, lay your board flat on the sand, then position yourself face down on top of the board. Quickly jump up, and whichever foot is placed in front will be the same foot you lead with when you surf! If you lead with your left foot, you ride "regular," but if you rest your right foot ahead, you ride "...

Interpersonal Communication Skills Essay

Emotion: The word emotion includes a wide range of observable behaviors, expressed feelings, and changes in the body state. Emotions are feelings. Emotional communication, then, refers to the act of communicating your feelings. This is also known as â€Å"emotional intelligence† or â€Å"social intelligence.† There are six principles of emotion and emotional messages. 1. Emotions may be primary or blended: A primary emotion is a basic emotion. These would be the eight basic emotions: joy, acceptance, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger and anticipation. Emotions that are close to each other on this wheel are also to close to each other in meanings. In this model there are also blends. These blended are the combinations of primary emotions. They are noted at the outside the wheel. For example, according to this model, love is a blend of joy and acceptance, whereas remorse is a blend of disgust and sadness. 2. Emotions are influenced by body, mind, and culture: Emotions involve at least three parts: bodily reactions, mental evaluation and interpretations and cultural rules and beliefs. Bodily reactions to emotions are pretty obvious and include things like blushing when you’re embarrassed, nervous habits, or sweaty palms. The mental and cognitive part of emotion experiences involves the evaluation and interpretations you make on the basis of what you experiences. For example, you may feel angry if someone is rude or insensitive to you on purpose. Culture also dictates how we should express and interpret our emotions as well. For example, Chinese students show respect by being quiet and passive. Asking questions would imply that the teacher was not clear on the lecture. 3. Emotions may be adaptive and maladaptive: Emotions are often adaptive that is, they can help you adjust  appropriately to situation. For example, if you’re worried you won’t do well in something, you’ll work harder to prepare for that situation. Emotions may be maladaptive and may get in the way of your accomplishing your goals. For example, if you are so anxious about a situation that you don’t prepare for it. In other ways emotions can create problems is in a tendency that some theorists have cleverly called catastrophizing â€Å"taking a problem even a minor one and make it in to a catastrophe. 4. Emotions are communicated verbally and nonverbally: According to DeVito (2009), â€Å"Theorists do not agree over whether you can choose the emotions you feel. Some argue that you can; others argue that you cannot. You are, however, in control of the ways in which you express your emotions†. In some instances you determine whether you want to express your emotions in full, but with other times you censor your emotions. 5. Emotional expression is governed by display rules: We’ve talked about display rules before, but to refresh your mind it is what is and is not appropriate to do. The differences we see are in the emotional expression. Men and women also have gender display rules for what is and isn’t appropriate to express within his or her culture. For example, it’s appropriate in our culture for women to divulge a lot of their emotions and feelings; however, it is not seen in the same light when men divulge all of their emotions to other men. 6. Emotions are contagious: Emotions can be contagious. If you think of a time where one person starts laughing, and then the people around start laughing, you can see this theory working. Emotional contagion is defined as emotions passing from one person to another. Another form of emotional contagion deals with persuasions utilizing emotional appeals.

Transportation Management

In the past, transportation management was a tactical concern – a necessary cost of conducting business, which does not have much impact on profit margins. Today, rising fuel prices and increased pressures for improved service have made transportation management a strategic issue. Companies have to meet and exceed customer expections if they are to be the preferred service and goods provider. A transportation management system (TMS) is an end- to -end software solution that is a part of supply chain management concerning transportation operations. It includes planning and optimization, execution, business intelligence, and freight payment.In addition, it also supports additional services, such as bid optimization, network modeling, yard management, benchmarking, and dock scheduling. Inbound and outbound networks too are supported on a global basis, typically helping companies to move freight from origin to destination cost effectively. In this essay, I will be using Sargento F oods as a case study. The focus of the essay will be on analysing the existing TMS solution adopted by the firm, identifying their areas of weaknesses and recommending strategies that will help to improve the transportation system to better suit the evolving needs of Sargento Foods.Background information Sargento Foods Inc. is a family-owned business, employing approximately 1,300 people at four Wisconsin facilities, one in Washington, and one in South Dakota. They are one of the largest converters of cheese in the United States, offering a variety of cheese products marketed through four business divisions: Consumer Products Division, Food Service Division, Food Ingredients Division and Culinary Solutions. Inadequacies of its existing system before the switch to Sterling TMS: Sargento was managing their distribution and logistics with a hosted TMS solution which was not able to meet their operational requirements.When Sargento Foods planned orders into shipments, the previous solut ion did not consider the cost, service or contractual commitments to carriers. It was not able to accurately allocate transportation costs at the order level. For example, accessorial costs were not being allocated. Recognizing the limitations of their current system, Sargento realised the need for a solution that would meet their current operational needs, as well as any changes they may face in the future. Solution adopted by Sargento FoodsSargento and identified IBM to be their provider and went live with Sterling Transportation Management System (Sterling TMS) in 2006, delivered on cloud, integrating with 30 carriers, shipping approximately 3,000 orders per month, and transporting 24 million pounds of Sargento products on average per month. Sterling TMS works with Sargento’s existing supply chain applications as well as IBM ® Sterling Information Broker ®, allowing them to improve logistics efficiency and customer satisfaction.Customers are placing orders via EDI, whi ch are then fed into Sargento’s SAP ERP system. SAP feeds inbound purchase orders to Sterling TMS as well as Sargento’s Warehouse Management System. Sargento uses Sterling TMS for shipment planning, execution and freight payment. They are now able to track the performance of their carriers, allowing them to identify areas where they can eliminate costs. They are also utilizing the system for visibility purposes and can now accurately allocate transportation costs to their customers.With Sterling TMS they can clearly identify where their shipments are throughout the process and confirm the right rates for the right shipments. They are also using freight payment on the back end after the shipment is completed. Key benefits: As Sterling TMS system is delivered on cloud, this results in fewer IT resource requirements, no upgrade costs, configuration instead of installation, faster and easier connectivity, and lower total cost of ownership using a system that spans the enti re process of Planning, Execution, settlement and Performance analysis.On time delivery Sargento Food’s on time delivery has always been 99%. With the implementation of Sterling TMS, on time delivery has improved. Lower cost with the implementation of Sterling TMS, Sargento has been able to lower the cost of product shipped per pound by 15 percent. through more efficient planning, clear identification of carrier costs and formalized contracts within Sterling TMS. 60 percent administrative cost savings by automating freight payment Sargento improved operational efficiencies by eliminating manual processes and non-value added services.In the past, if a carrier charged Sargento an incorrect transportation cost, Sargento did not have the visibility to correct these charges prior to being invoiced for them. Sargento would calculate the rates, but were often invoiced using a different rate. As a result, Sargento had a difficult time reconciling payments. Since the implementation of Sterling TMS, each carrier has a contract in the Contract Management Module of the system where their rates are locked and paid accordingly with no discrepancies.Not only has the system helped Sargento manage costs, the automation has reduced the manpower required to reconcile payments from 15 hours per week to six hours per week resulting in a 60 percent reduction in administrative costs for freight payment. Improved allocation of costs Accruals are done as soon as the product is loaded at the distribution center. The billing information is fed to the finance department and the accrual of transportation costs is done in real-time. Accessorials that occur during delivery are captured as part of the invoicing process and are also allocated down to the order level.This helps to ensure the real cost of freight is captured for each customer. With Sterling TMS they are now able to evaluate charges during the year to better determine what the customer charges should be the following year , taking in to account the back end fees that each customer was accumulating. This allows Sargento to accurately allocate costs back to their customers and helps ensure Sargento remains profitable. Reduced LTL shipments by 60 percent Prior to the implementation of IBM Sterling TMS, Sargento was doing 10 percent of their shipments via Less than TruckLoad (LTL).With the visibility provided by IBM Sterling TMS, they are able to convert more of their shipments into Full TruckLoads (FTL), with only 4 percent now being shipped as LTL. With enhanced planning capabilities, Sargento can now plan multi-stop and multi-pickup routes consolidating on average four different customer orders per shipment, for optimal execution and further cost savings. Recommendations to improve transportation management system: Improve on missing functionalities and international carrier network There is no perfect transportation management system in the market.While IBM sterling TMS is a comprehensive solution, h owever it does have its own inadequacies due to its missing key functional pieces( fleet management, multileg international shipment planning/optimization and execution, and multicarrier parcel management). To improve on this, it could partner up with other providers whose strengths complement and make up for its missing functionalities to provide a more comprehensive one stop solution for clients like Sargento Foods. Sterling TMS' strength lies only in its North American carrier network and its functionality is incomplete for the most complex users.The lack of a comparable international carrier network holds it back in complex global TMS management which could affect clients i. e Sargento Foods should the the needs of the latter evolve with increasing complexity, requiring a complex global TMS management. Sterling TMS would have been more competitive in the marketplace if it can replicate the scale of its carrier network in international markets. Special carrier mobile application Sterling TMS gives its carriers the ability to update shipment status and tender requests using mobile devices.Since the power of a TMS is directly proportional to the expertise of its users, vehicle operators should be trained so that they possess the skills to extract the maximum value out of the TMS solution. TMS to add social media capabilities. The communities of carriers, shippers, 3PLs, suppliers and customers who are involved in transportation process can be connected via different mediums like facebook, twitter and also google+ by sending short messages and updating the status information. Dropbox can be used for sharing invoices and carrier credential documents. Siri for TMS.Since voice recognition is in use in the warehouse management, Sterling TMS too can also make use of this voice functionality rather than manual execution to conduct a search faster. However at present there is still room for improvement in voice search yielding precise results. Tapping into big data B eyond merely tendering the system, Sterling TMS can also further develop systems that utilise â€Å"big data† that is collected during the transportation process and stored in the TMS by imbedding business intelligence into TMS so as to analyse the data to identify key trends in the market in order to make informed business decisions.Business Intelligence Business Intelligence helps to understand transportation expenditure and allow causes of negative trends in costs and performance to be identified so that corrective actions can be taken and enable the opportunity costs between service and cost trade-offs of different transportation strategies and tactics to be evaluated. Sterling TMS makes use of performance dashboards which is useful but does not provide Sargento with any insight on how its performance compares against industry peers or the broader market. The data only reveals information at hat instant in time and is not embedded within the TMS, which limits the ability for users to leverage it. 3PLs and SaaS providers are in the best position to provide this missing link as they have a built-in network of shippers, carriers, and other trading partners that execute millions of transportation transactions annually through their operating platforms. Therefore, Sterling TMS hey can use all of this network data—such as rates, carrier performance, and transit times to develop a â€Å"transportation index† that gives companies visibility to market-level trends.They can then embed this index information within their TMS application and BI dashboard as LeanLogistics did with its â€Å"LeanDex Transportation Index’’. CH Robinson and Transplace too are exploring ways to leverage their network data and TMS business intelligence dashboards in a similar way. Similarly Sterling TMS can tap on business intelligence to provide more value add to clients like Sargento Foods. TMS vendors will go beyond execution In its 2011 Transportation Management Report, research firm Capgemini Consulting outlined the various components that make up the execution side—as opposed to the planning aspect—of a typical TMS. One of the biggest trends we’re seeing right now are TMS that are trying to be more than just execution systems,† says Chris Caplice, executive director at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Transportation and Logistics. â€Å"Basically, a TMS gathers the information on a load to be tendered and matches that data to a historical routing guide. Then it communicates to a carrier and manages the ensuing communication process† â€Å"The more advanced TMS is going beyond that and tapping into other information services and utilizing that data to help the shipper make the best possible decisions. If Sterling TMS can be connected directly into a market data benchmarking service that funnels data back to the system, this will positioning Sterling TMS to serve as mor e than just an execution feed. Customised software Transportation management systems offered by vendors like Sterling IBM should offer a flexible configuration that adapts to company’s unique strategies, network constraints and variables so that it is designed according to a company’s specific circumstances. With so many constraints and variables, transportation issues can’t be solved with a cookie cutter software that is generally used for all companies.Software designed should be personally customised for individual companies or may be customizable by users. The transportation management system should support a wide range of mathematical approaches, allowing the company to view the problem holistically and then constantly modify those approaches based on its current needs and requirements as the variables change. However, the cost of this may be higher and customisation would require the technical team in Sargento Foods to work togther with the software provid er to come up with a custom made software specifically designed for Sargento Foods.Also the assumption would be that employees of Sargento Foods would have the technical expertise to handle to complexities of the software. Instead this would increase the cost of implementation. While on demand solution (self service) is currently very popular and is functionality-driven; with the ability to deliver on all processes – from sourcing to planning to execution to costs auditing to reporting & analysis yet Only a few Transportation Management systems have the ability to execute with some functional depth in all areas.Therefore Sargento Foods would probably need to take into consideration whether IBM Sterling TMS has the ability and versatility to execute across all diverse functions through continuous review of KPIs and performance reviews as well as whether they are able to continuously meet performance targets. As circumstances and economic conditions are in a continual state of flux, a system that may be applicable now may beoutdated very soon unless continual updates and improvements to the systems are made.Sterling TMS has to continually invest in its TMS solution to ensure that it stays ahead of its competitors. Sargento Foods should also constantly monitor and tune its strategies to address changes in its networks, supply chain, market and customer demands and adapt its strategies to capitalize on market opportunities. Rather than just letting Sterling TMS solver run unattended, Sargento Foods must always look for ways to drive more value for their business by discussing with Sterling TMS should it outgrow its system.Managed TMS Some companies have discovered that investing in SaaS-based TMS reaped initial savings, but subsequent returns were not as rosy. The next stage in the development of TMS solutions, â€Å"is software plus consulting services, using a 3PL model. Should Sargento Foods adopt this new model,,it will be able to tap on the external e xpertise from the dedicated teams employed by a TMS provider often stationed permanently on-site and acting as an extension of the client’s staff.These individuals act as quasi-employees of Sargento Foods, Their relationship with Sargento Foods is ongoing and team members represent the client firm in various capacities. For instance , they are involved in customer meetings providing routine analyses and expert advice. The advantage of this is that the service provider( of the Managed TMS) has planners that do not have to go through a planning period before becoming effective as opposed to the traditional 3PL and secondly shippers like Sargento Foods do not have to worry about degradation in their planning capabilities if a key employee leaves the company.Some customers recognize that in Managed TMS they have a partner that can provide a totally integrated transportation management program—from brokerage through to execution and optimization in a one- stop solution. Sar gento FOods may consider managed TMS solution and outsourcing its transportation management and operations to a dedicated team from a service provide. this would perhaps more effectively optimise the usage of its TMS solution. Conclusion In conclusion, Sargento Foods would better manage its transportation were the above mentioned functions adopted. For instance, improving on missing unctionalities and international carrier network; using special carrier mobile application and social media capabilities; Siri for TMS, taping into big data, using business intelligence and analytics; going beyond execution and tapping into other information services, utilizing that data to help the shipper make the best possible decision; peronally customising software design for Sargento Foods; constantly monitoring and tuning its strategies to address changes in its networks, supply chain, market and customer demands and adapt its strategies to capitalize on market opportunities.Rather than just letti ng Sterling TMS solver run unattended, Sargento Foods must always look for ways to drive more value for their business by discussing with Sterling TMS should it outgrow its system. Subsequently it could consider switching to managed TMS should it require expertise from supply chain and transportation management to better optimise its operations.