Discuss the meaning of justice Essay

Critically analyse the extent to which the law is successful in achieving justice, and discuss the difficulties which is faces in seeking to do so. (30 marks + 5 AO3) Justice is central to our law. Most would agree the law should be just, but justice is not easy to define. The concept has been studied by many philosophers all of whom have their own theories of what a just society should be. Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, was born 384 years before Christ (BC). He separated justice into two parts – distributive justice and corrective justice. Distributive justice is concerned with the fair distribution of society’s wealth. He went onto say that this wealth should be spread according to merit and an individual’s contributions into society. So this system relies on giving to those who have contributed in some way rather than to those who are needy. Aristotle said that distribution on the basis of people needs merely rewards the lazy and so would be unjust. Correctiv e justice he said, is needed to ensure that individuals can keep their entitlements. He believed that if someone is to steal from another the court should ensure that the offender does not gain and the victim does not lose out. This idea can still be seen in areas of law such as compensatory damages for negligence. Aristotle also had other controversial views. He believed that people where either suited by nature to be slaves or masters and this was seen by a matter of fit. He thought that children who were born into families of slaves were suited to carry out that role. Aristotle also believed that women where inferior to men as they are ‘colder’ and lack the ability to produce semen and so he viewed them as ‘infertile men’. He went onto say that women belong in the home and should be ruled by men who were superior. Our law today prohibits discrimination on grounds of sex so these ideas are no longer acceptable to us. Thomas Aquinas, born in 1225, was a theologian who also believed in distributive justice, but said that our society’s wealth should not be distributed just by merit, but also by rank and need – he stressed our moral obligation to look after the poor. Read more:  Justice Denied is Justice Delayed Essay Karl Marx, born in 1818, is widely regarded as the founder of communism. Marx developed a very different model of distributive justice which can be understood from his words ‘from each according to his ability, to each according to his need’. This requires that each should maximise their contribution to society by exercising full use of their abilities and secondly, each should receive in accordance with  need, regardless of what they have contributed. But if people are automatically given what they need, will they be motivated to work hard? Not only this, but how do we accurately determine what someone needs? Bentham, widely known for his development of the utilitarian approach to justice, said that maximising happiness is the object of justice. Utilitarianism is based on the doctrine that all actions should be judged in terms of their utility in promoting the greatest happiness for the largest number of people. John Stuart Mill, a 19th century liberal supported Benth am in his work of utilitarianism. He said that actions are right ‘in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness’. But unlike Bentham, Mill concentrated on the quality of happiness rather than merely the quantity of people who are happy. He also went onto say that justice ‘includes respect for people, for property and for rights, as well as the need for good faith and impartiality’. But the concept of utilitarianism can be heavily criticised. The greater good will not benefit the minority groups and ignores the feelings of individuals, as satisfying those needs may sacrifice happiness for the greater good. Under utilitarianism, torturing one person, even if it turns out that the person is not to blame, as an attempt to save the lives of others is considered to be just which some would consider morally wrong. So the expense of one innocent person or a minority group would justify the happiness of a greater number. John Rawls (1921-2002) was a professor of political philosophy at Harvard and set out in his book ‘Theory of Justice’ the concept of social justice. Rawls said that a just society is one in which rational people would choose to live if covered by a ‘veil of ignorance’. This meant without any bias towards their own situation i.e. their wealth, age, social class, gender, health intelligence and every aspect of their life. He said there are two basic principles of justice that would be chosen under these circumstances. Firstly, the principle of liberty, i.e. the maximum possible liberty for all. And secondly the principle of difference which says that goods should be distributed equally except where unequal distribution benefits those who are least advantaged. He also said they would choose equality of opportunities for social advancement which differs from Aristotle’s idea of people being born into or fitted to certain roles. Robert Nozick was a Harvard colleague of Rawls and developed an entitlement  theory of justice which had three elements. 1) A principle of justice in acquisition, dealing with how property is initially acquired. 2) A principle of justice in transfer, dealing with how a property can change hands. 3) A principle of rectif ication of injustice, dealing with injustices arising from the acquisition or transfer of property under then two principles above. This third principle, he said, would not be required if the world was entirely just. He said that where a person gains property in accordance with the principles of acquisition and transfer, they are therefore entitled to keep the property. But where people gain property due to wrong doing i.e. fraud or theft the third principle provides a remedy. Nozick’s ideas are consistent with right wing conservatism, but are diametrically opposed to the ideas of Marx. The term law can be defined as ‘the principles and regulations established in a community by some authority and applicable to its people, whether in the form of legislation or of custom of the police, recognized and enforced by judicial decision’. Justice on the other hand is not as easy to define as we have discovered people have very different views of what a just society is, but I think we would all agree that the law should attempt to achieve justice as best it can. This view was expressed strongly by Lord Denning who said that law should always strive to achieve justice. He said that ‘the proper role of the judge is to do justice between the parties before him. If there is any rule of law which impairs the doing of justice, then it is the province of the judge to do all he legitimately can to avoid the rule or even change it so as to do justice’. But others views are slightly more restrictive. For example Sir Robert Megarry had said that it is the judge’s role to administer justice ‘according to the law’. But we have seen this will not always give a just result. Emily Andrews had told the police that she was repeatedly raped by her husband, but later withdrew the accusation because of great family pressure. She was then jailed for 8 months for perverting the course of justice and her guilty husband was able to walk free. After spending 18 days in prison her prison sentence was finally overturned by Lord Judge. She is now struggling to gain custody of her four young children. Lord Judge said ‘this is an exceptional case and we hope that it will be very exceptional for cases of this kind to be prosecuted to conviction in the Crown Courts’. So it seems as if Lord Judge was saying she should not have been prosecuted, but it would have been  a very bold person to not have imposed charges because the law is very clear. So this example clearly shows that justice cannot always be achieved by following the law. Justice is often sub divided into procedural and substantive justice. Procedural justice refers to the idea of fairness in the processes of legal proceedings, whereas substantive justice is justice in the content of the law. One aspect of procedural justice is natural justice which has two basic principles. The first is the rules against bias (nemo iudex in causa sua). In the case of Rv Bingham Exparte Jowitt the defendant was on trial for a speeding offence, and his evidence was contradictory with that of the police officer’s. The magistrate said ‘my principle in such cases has always been to believe the evidence of the police officer’. This shows bias, and so it was not considered to be a fair trial – judges must be impartial. It was said by Lord Denning in Metropolitan Properties Ltd v Lannon that ‘justice must be rooted in confidence, and confidence is destroyed when right-minded people go away thinking: the judge was biased’. It also means that where a decision maker i.e. a judge has a connection with a part y or a witness they should stand down. In Re Pinochet Lord Hoffman should have done just that. Amnesty international gave evidence against Pinochet. Lord Hoffman was a non-executive direct of Amnesty so he had an undeclared link to the case. There had to be a second rehearing so justice was seen to be done. The second basic principle of natural law is the right to a fair hearing – the right to be heard (audi alteram partem). Both parties’ cases must always be put forward. This is illustrated in the case Re A where it involved a decision whether conjoined twins should be separated which would end the life of the weaker twin. Although the twins could not speak for themselves, both were represented at the trial. It also includes that a person should be given adequate prior notice of charges or allegations and a reasonable opportunity to put together his or her case. In R v Thames Magistrates’ Court ex parte Polemis a sea captain was not given adequate time to prepare his evidence for the case. He received his summons at 10.30am and the trial was heard that day at 4pm. Another difficulty in achieving justice is m oney. Although the legal aid budget is  £2 billion, legal aid was already very restrictive in civil cases. It is not available for personal injury cases so they usually run on a no win – no fee basis which means that  solicitors will only accept cases that they think are very likely to win. This means that a lot of personal injury cases will go unheard because of lacking representation. Not only this, but the current legal aid bill makes very severe cuts to legal aid.  £350 million will be cut from family and civil cases which will impact on the poorest in our society like those who are on benefits. Also legal aid will no longer be available for debt advice, benefit advice or housing. This means that more people will be forced to represent themselves at trial which will make trials much longer and less efficient therefore ultimately more expensive. It has also been proposed that legal aid is removed from medical negligence. This means that again, people will have to rely on a no win – no fee basis. So a lot of cases won’t reach court as solicitors will only take on cases that have a very high chance of winning. As a result of this, badly injured people will remain uncompensated. It is also important that rules of evidence are strictly followed to ensure that justice is served. After there has been a crime, especially if it is a high profile case, there is often a lot of pressure on the police to secure a conviction. This pressure may sometimes lead to unlawful behaviour in the way evidence is obtained. An example of this can be seen from the case of Paul Blackburn who was charged with the attempted murder and sexual assault of a nine year old boy at the age of 15. Paul Blackburn served his 25 year sentence and not until 2 years after he was released was it found that he was actually wrongfully convicted. The entire case against Blackburn rested on a confession he had handwritten, after more than four hours of intense interrogation. He finally gave into the two detectives and wrote a statement which was, he says, effectively dictated to him by the detectives. He said ‘they even helped me spell the words I didn’t know. My writing was quite basic at the time’. At the appeal in 2005 the three appeal judges heard expert testimony which questioned how a 15 year old, poor educated boy could have written a document which was punctuated and included technical terms, all of which spelt correctly. So it wasn’t until the 25th of May 2005, 28 years after the conviction that Paul Blackburn was finally acquitted. Some may argue that now Blackburn has been found to be not guilty at appeal, justice has finally been served. But 25 years of imprisonment down the line, not to mention the actual criminal walking free, can we really say justice has been served? Paul Blackburn is  now described as ‘an emotionally shattered man’. Another difficulty in achieving justice is unreliable expert evidence. When someone is up at the stand and introduces themselves as for example Professor Sir Roy Meadows a member of the general medical council the jury are likely to believe what they say. So in some way it must be checked upon that this evidence is reliable before it sways the decision of a jury in a serious criminal trial. An example of how unreliable expert evidence can affect a trial can be seen from the case of Sally Clark. Sally Clark was convicted for the murder of her two sons in 1999 and sentenced to life imprisonment even though she insisted it was caused by cot death. After spending more than 3 years in prison she was released in January 2003 after expert evidence given at the trial by Professor Sir Roy Meadow, a paediatrician, was discredited. During the trial he had said that the chance of having two cot-deaths in one family was 1 in 73 million, which undoubtedly and understandably lead the jury to convict. This evidence given by Sir Roy Meadow also lead to the conviction of Angela Canning who was sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2002 for the murder of her two children which she insisted was caused by cot death. He had said that one cot death in a family was unfortunate, two was suspicious and three was murder. After 20 months in prison Canning was released in December 2003. Her case was re-opened after an investigation found three previous cot deaths in the family, suggesting a genetic cause. After investigation it was actually found that Sir Roy Meadow’s evidence had no statistical basis and ‘grossly misinterpreted the chance of two sudden deaths with in a family’ so Sally Clark and Angela Canning’s convictions were overturned. These two cases show the power and the effects of expert evidence given at a trial. I think that it is important for future cases that expert evidence is checked upon for its reliability to prevent more horrific miscarriages of justice like the cases of Angela Canning and Sally Clark. And in fact the Law Commission want to do just that. Their report in 2009: ‘The Admissibility of Expert Evidence in Criminal Proceedings in England and Wales’ said that expert evidence’s reliability should be assessed by the trial judges, their recent report published in 2011: ‘Expert Evidence in Criminal Proceedings’ makes recommendations to the original in light of the comments they have received. The repo rt proposes that there should be special statutory admissibility test for expert opinion evidence. However the courts will only apply the test if it appears that the evidence might be insufficiently reliable to be admitted. They also said that there should be a single list of criteria to help the trial judges apply the test. And finally that the party seeking to rely on the expert evidence should bear the burden of proof in demonstrating its reliability, even if that party is the accused. These proposals where agreed in February 2011 and I think would ensure a much fairer law on the admissibility of expert evidence and will help us to achieve justice in future criminal cases. Corrective justice is an aspect of procedural justice which involves rectifying mistakes. One way in which mistakes can be rectified in our law can be seen from our appeal system. Originally in our appeal system, a retrial was not permitted if the defendant was acquitted but the appeal system has now broadened and gives the prosecution a right of appeal against an acquittal if there is ‘new and compelli ng evidence’: Criminal Justice Act 2003 (part 10). For example in Rv Dunlop the defendant confessed to a police officer that he had murdered Julie Hogg in 1991 but as he had already been acquitted in 1989 so no further action could be taken. This meant that in 2006 Dunlop was retried and was convicted of murder. Another way in which our law seeks to ‘correct’ justice can be seen from the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) which was set up in March 1997 by the Criminal Appeal Act 1995. It is an independent and impartial body that reviews the convictions of people who have been found, they think, wrongfully convicted or harshly sentenced and refers the appropriate cases to the appeal courts. The CCRC have had over 1,300 applications, 320 of which have been re-heard and the convictions quashed. An example of such is Rv Andrew Adams. The defendant was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment on the 18th of May 1993. The defendants appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal Criminal Division in January 1998. The CCRC referred the case to the courts in 2005 on the basis that there was incompetent defence representation, material non-disclosure by the prosecution, errors in the summing-up and that the jury had received inadmissible evidence concerning the appellant’s bad character. An appeal was granted and at the trial, finally, after spending 14 years in prison, on the 12th of January 2007 the defendant’s conviction of murder was quashed. It could argued that because Andrews was convicted of murder and spent 14 years in prison, justice was not fully achieved for him. But at least  because of the CCRC he is now a free and proven to be innocent man. I do think that the CCRC do well to help us achieve justice in our society, but there are mixed opi nions about the body. It has been found that every year the CCRC reject 97% of applications from individuals who claim they have been wrongfully convicted. Professor Michael Zander a member of the Runciman Royal Commission which recommended the setting of the body after cases the Birmingham Six, Guilford 4 and Maguire Seven, all of whom were wrongfully convicted. Zander believes that the CCRC need to use a little known power to refer cases to the court of appeal even when no new evidence has been uncovered, if there is serious doubt about the conviction. ‘They could use this power more’ says Zander. He also went onto say that ‘innocent people are in the greatest difficulties once they have been convicted. It is not always the case that something new can be found, even with the best will in the world and all the investigations that can be mustered’. He has also criticised the body for its overreliance on paper analysis of evidence and for not actually visiting the individuals in prison which is something that the Royal Commission had recommended. Also the body will only refer cases where they think there is a â €˜real possibility’ that the conviction will be overturned on referral to the court of appeal. But many have said that this is too restrictively interpreted by the CCRC. 45 cases listed by campaigners as having ‘plausible claims’ of innocence have been turned down by the body. So although the CCRC have been successful in overturning the convictions of some innocent people, there is still a long way to go. Just 3% of applications to the body are referred to the appeal court. So although the body is succeeding to help a small number of people who have been wrongfully convicted, which of course should be commended, there may still be a large of number of those who are not guilty whose cases are bit referred. Substantive justice is justice in the content of the law. Does the way we set out our law achieve justice as best it can? The law of murder is regularly criticised for being unjust as you can be guilty of murder with intending to kill or surprisingly, intending to cause serious harm, without knowing any risk of death (Vickers), both of course receiving the mandat ory life sentence. It seems unjust and extremely unfair, that a man who only intends serious harm and a man who sets out to kill are put in the same category of crime and both receive the same mandatory life sentence. In 2006  the Law Commission proposed that murder should be sub-divided into two categories. The first would be called ‘first degree murder’ and would cover defendants who intended to kill. And the second category would be called ‘second degree murder’ which would cover defendants who intended serious harm but were not aware there was a risk of death. By separating the offence, only defendants convicted of first degree murder would receive the mandatory life sentence and second degree murder would allow the judge discretion in sentencing. I think these proposals ensure a fairer law on murder and would help justice to be achieved. To conclude, I don’t think that anyone could say honestly, that we have a legal system that ensures that justice is always achieved, however much we aim to promote it. But I don’t actually believe that a law can ever be drafted that ensures justice for every individual. Even now, when wrongfully convicted people like the Birmingham Six, Paul Blackburn, Sally Clark and Angela Canning walk free, their lives are changed forever always hindered by the effects of a convicted of murder, justice doesn’t quite seem to be the word. It may be possible that someone is able to create a legal system that they believe will always achieve justice, but as we have seen people have very different ideas of a just society, so it is impossible that everybody’s needs are met. For our legal system to achieve justice, all members of that system have to be fair, unprejudiced and free from corruption, which we have seen is not always the case. The detectives who questioned Paul Blackburn, then a 15-year-old boy for over 4 hours and forced a conviction out of him, dictating the words for him to write in his statement were most definitely not fair. How can we ensure that every single person who in some way affects the course of justice is impartial, unbiased and honest? How can we ensure that a judge, an influential and important part of any trial is fair and non-discriminatory? Former Law Lord Tom Bingham said that perfect justice is an unattainable ideal. He said ‘a time is unlikely to come when anyone will ever be able to say that perfect fairness has been achieved once and for all, and in retrospect most legal systems operating today will be judged to be defect not yet recognized’. Unfortunately I think that these realistic words run true and although we can do everything possible to strive to achieve a just society, it will only ever be an unattainable ideal.

Beneath Clouds Speech – the Persona of Lena

Mr Teacher was kind enough to invite me here today to inform you of my journey to discover my personal identity and all of the trials and tribulations that came with it. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Lena and I come from an Aboriginal Irish background. Everyone I want you to imagine feeling so alone, trapped, isolated and different from everyone around you. Feeling so alienated that you absolutely have to get out. That’s how I felt at the beginning of my journey. I was a white girl living in an aboriginal society, isolated by my own heritage. I lived with my mother, stepfather and younger brother in a rural area; they were a typical aboriginal family. My parents were alcoholics and smokers and my brother was a thief. There was no way I wanted to end up like them and I knew my only way out was to find my biological father. My biological father loved to travel so he left me when I was really young so he could live the life that he always dreamed of living. The last I heard he was living somewhere in Sydney. In my head that sounded perfect, I was old enough that he wouldn’t have to do much to care for me so he could still travel and almost anything was better than living with a family that couldn’t care less about me. So I left. I know it was somewhat selfish to abandon my family out of the blue but I was fed up with living a disadvantaged life when I knew I could accomplish so much more. To make matters worse I missed my bus to Sydney because I was busy retching in the bathroom since I ate some revolting food. I was pretty much stranded in the middle of nowhere with no options except to wait for the next bus. To my surprise one of the most unusual things happened, a young boy roughly around my age hopped out of the back of a milk truck. I was almost certain that Dairy Farmers milk didn’t produce young boys, so naturally I assumed there was something dubious about him especially since he reeked of immorality. However he did say something that set off a light bulb in my head. He asked ‘which way is it to Sydney? ’ and he just started walking. Then I thought why the heck was I sitting on my butt when I could be on my way to Sydney, so I set off on foot as well. Eventually I learnt the boy’s name was Vaughn, I tried to remain distant from him though because his whole essence was exactly what I was trying to escape from; the stereotypical life of an Aboriginal. He was on the run because he escaped from a detention centre. Don’t get me wrong, he did have some morals; the only reason he even escaped was to see his Mother because she was on her death bed. However Vaughn was in the detention centre for a reason and some facts are just hard to overlook. Vaughn was actually a relatively nice guy once you got to know him. I remember we both hitch-hiked a ride from a bunch of Aboriginals and the driver slapped a girl in the face. I found his behaviour so repulsive that I told him to stop the car; I would’ve rather walked than stayed in the car with the likes of him. Vaughn had the opportunity to stay with his buddies that he so kindly referred to as ‘cuz’ but he didn’t, instead he got out of the car and walked with me. I have a very tough exterior so the fact that Vaughn was able to break through that and make me feel touched was extraordinary. I think that was the first time that I actually started to trust Vaughn, unfortunately our relationship ran very hot and cold so that never lasted for long. By the end of our journey I believe Vaughn and I made lasting impressions on each other; he taught me the importance of embracing my heritage and I would like to think that some of my morals brushed off on him. Vaughn was such major part of my journey, without him I wouldn’t be who I am today. So when it came time to part ways it was very emotional; we barely spoke and our goodbye was a simple hug, then I was on a train to Sydney. It wasn’t until after the train pulled away that the true reality of the situation hit me, I was never going to see him again that’s when the tears started to roll freely down my face. I’m sure by now many of you are wondering ‘did she ever find her father? Unfortunately I didn’t. When I finally arrived in Sydney I discovered that my father had passed away several years ago which is why he hadn’t remained in contact. I guess it would be kind of difficult to remain in contact when you are on the other side. However my journey wasn’t entirely pointless, I am now living out my dream of being a writer and Sydney gave me all the opportunities that I always thought I deserved. I believe that this entire journey help ed me discover my personal identity. It made me realise that no matter what, you should always stand by your beliefs and persevere. There is a saying ‘the grass is greener on the other side’ but I don’t believe that’s true, I believe ‘the grass is greener where you water it’. So if you put in the effort you can achieve anything. I think that is one of the rules I now live my life by and it was highly influenced by my journey. I would like to thank you all for listening to my speech and I hope I didn’t take up too much of your time.

Permit Processing on Mercer Island Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

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Competitive Environment Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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The American Revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The American Revolution - Essay Example British Had an overwhelming advantage in that particular war as it had a strong navy; well trained army, experience and was the wealth empire in the world (Frank 35). It also had the largest population in the world, which comprised of eight million people compared to approximately three million people from the enemy country, America. On the other hand, America suffered numerous disadvantages. They had no regular and a strong army. The American soldier had no experience in this field. The other resources like ammunitions and the general weapons were in a short supply (Frank 39). Its military comprised much of local militia forces who fought for limited period before returning home for other chores. The colonists had no professional armed forces, no established central government, no industry to supply them with proper equipments and no financial reserves. Moreover, not all the American supported this type of war because they saw British as an undefeatable empire, which ruled wide regi ons and they faced less resistance from the natives (Joseph 25). Some other people were neutral and supported neither side in the independence conflict (Joseph 27). For instance, the Quakers could not participate in any war because they disliked all armed conflict. Other Americans remained honest and loyal to the British Empire and therefore discouraged any move to quit the rulers. These loyalists had different reasons to support the British Empire ... Tactical strategies In any war, it is always recommended to analyze the situation in terms of the strength of the enemy, in relation to their weapons, tactics, financials, and the skills of the military personnel (Joseph 53). This will help one to develop the best strategies and much applicable tactics to manage the enemy. In addition, learning the weaknesses of the opponents is the most important thing, since it can determine the end of any war if the weaknesses are well targeted (Joseph 79). In this context, exposing military’s weaknesses or showing any kind of disunity costs the military much in winning the war. Any kind of war involves such issues like secrecy, a well plan on how to carry out the attack, the military financing i.e. supplying the necessary equipments, sufficient supply of food, and the soldiers motivation. Military success is greatly determined by order and the level of discipline. As a general in the American Revolution, I could ensure a concrete unity in the military, by meeting all the personnel and appoint group leaders to properly manage and solve minor issues of their groups. Since the supply of arms for the military was the main challenge, raiding to acquire the weapons from the loyalists and the British residents could be the first assignments to soldiers (Frank 97). Ensuring a constant supply of weapons and ammunition as well as motivating the patriots to facilitate bravery could be the first action. I could ensure adequate and camouflaged uniforms to reduce visibility of the patriots. Food and medical care remains the key components of the fight since they should be strong enough to handle their enemy sufficiently. The New York City was

The Turk Chess Automaton Hoax and why it was done Research Paper

The Turk Chess Automaton Hoax and why it was done - Research Paper Example Von Kempelen created this machine after attending Maria Theresa’s court, where there was an act of illusion being performed. Von Kempelen promised himself that he would return to the Palace with a creation that would top all of the other illusionists’ acts he had seen. This is exactly what he did. He created a machine with a life-size model of a Turkish man in traditional costume. Its left arm held a long Turkish pipe while the right arm lay on top of a cabinet. Atop this cabinet was the chessboard and the cabinet had three doors, an opening and a drawer, which held a red and white chess set (Standage, 24). The design of the machine was intended to leave observers confused as to how it worked. When opened, it had a variety of gears similar to a clock on one side, while on the other it had a cushion and other brass parts. It was intended that onlookers could see through the machine, which helped to maintain the illusion that von Kempelen was trying to sustain. He further goes on with the presentation with a sliding operator’s seat, which when slid caused the gears of the machine to come into view. This allowed for furthering the illusion, as it kept the operator invisible (Standage, 24-27). To continue the misdirection even further than this, the arm of the Turk could be moved with a lever, opening and closing his hand in suit with the lever’s operation. ... The Turk debuted in 1770, about six months after the illusionists’ acts that von Kempelen had seen in Empress Maria’s court. He always went through an elaborate demonstration of the machine and all of its parts. He would open the doors and drawers and allow audience members to inspect the machine thoroughly. After this, von Kempelen would tell them that the Turk was ready for a game with a willing challenger. The Turk always used the white chess pieces and had the first move. The Turk had some movements that it could make, those being: nodding two times if he threatened his opponent’s queen, three times if he put the king in check. If the Turk’s challenger made an illegal move, the Turk could shake his head, put his opponent’s piece back, and move his own. To continually maintain this illusion even during play, von kempelen would wander around the room during the game and invited the audience to bring magnets, irons and other things to test if the m achine functioned through the use of magnetism or weighting (Standage, 203-204). Another aspect of the Turk’s exhibition was his ability to complete the knight’s tour, a complex and famous chess puzzle. This puzzle required that the player move his knight about the chessboard, landing on each square exactly one time. This was a great phenomenon to even the most experienced players, as most struggled with the knight’s tour but the Turk could complete it easily. The Turk was able to do this because of a pegboard used by the director inside the machine who also had a map of the puzzle, which he could follow (Standage, 203-204). The Turk traveled across Europe as its fame grew. Von Kempelen was more interested in other projects that he had going, thus often lying about the

Diversity, legal rights of students Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Diversity, legal rights of students - Essay Example The IEP channels the delivery of special education services and supports for the student with a disability (La Venture, 2003). 3) Evaluations for special education. It should involve more than a single process, be nondiscriminatory, be done in a child's primary language, arranged by qualified multidisciplinary team, and tailored to gauge particular areas of need (La Venture, 2003). 4) Federal financial assistance. It will be given to local and state governments that provide full educational opportunities to students with disabilities. Since federal law regulates the rights of education for students with special needs, and due to the additional costs associated with educating these students, federal money is made available to schools based upon the number of students in the special education program. Every student, regardless of cost or disability, should be given by public school districts the right to an education within their schools (La Venture, 2003). 5) Due process procedures. Occasionally school districts and parents argue on how a child with disabilities must be educated. When this occurs, there are measures in place to deal with these conflicts. Parent involvement consists of a) the right to receive notice, b) equal partnership in the decision-making pr... ght to give approval for particular activities such as changes in placement, assessments, and release of information to others, d) and the right to join in all meetings regarding their child's special education (La Venture, 2003). 6) Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) in which to learn. This concept reveals the act's solid inclination for educating students with disabilities in general education classes with the access to general education curriculum. Education in the general education classroom is the first placement preference the IEP team should consider. If the IEP team concludes that the student can be properly educated in the general education classroom via adjustments/additional services and aids, this is the LRE for that student (La Venture, 2003). The Four IDEA Re-authorizations 1) PL 99-457 (1986). PL 99-457 or "The Preschool Law" expanded services for young children or infants who are at risk or have disabilities. Two parts of the law, Part B and H, summarize services for children from 0 to 5 years old. Part B states that each state shall extend all the provisions of the law to young children with disabilities. Young children are now entitled to the six chief mandates that used to just cover older students. All states that will not conform will lose the federal funds they had been getting for other pre-school services. Part H encourages states to devise and execute a broad method of intervention for toddlers or even infants with disabilities or developmental delay (Apling & Jones, 2002). 2) PL 101-476 (1990). PL 101-476 amended the title of the special education act to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), also known as the "Person First" act. The aim of the law is to understand children first and the disability second. All terms having the

Music of world culture Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Music of world culture - Term Paper Example Moreover, they were sung by neighbors and the communities, when there were major events (Dzuris 331). In explaining folk music, I have not found an accepted definition, but this does not mean that it does not have a definition, but it ranges with the understanding of the subject. Folk music can be described as the music for and of the people, a nation, a community, or a subculture that carries messages with specific meaning regarding the people’s life and experiences (Dunaway and Beer 7-10). Music in the Western World In reference to the North America, folk music has been there before the arrival of the immigrant from Europe and later from Africa. The European immigrant brought with them ballads and other acoustic instruments. Folk music has been practiced for centuries, was, and is still referred to as the music of the masses. In the 17th century, most of the people in Europe were peasants, and folk songs transferred stories of event through oral narration. By this time, fo lk music was rarely performed musically. There composition was of simple form and represented the identity of the poorer in the communities (Dunaway and Beer 7- 17). In the period when Christianity movement started in Europe, folk music was at the centre stage of the expansion of the religion. It was highly associated with heathenism due its singing styles. Thereafter, folk music became more popular in society in sensitizing the masses in the start of the romantic period. People like Haydn, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky identified themselves with folk music. During this time, there were no cities and people lived in villages and urban communities. And with these settings, folk songs were recognized as a treasure and people identified themselves with the different styles of folk music. Each political beliefs, ethnicity, race, and religion had identified itself with specific style of folk song. Therefore, folk music played an important role in passing on the culture and the history of a particular community or country from one generation another. By the end of 19th century, folk songs had become unpopular in Western Europe and later in Eastern Europe and North America, during this time only the older individuals knew and sung folk songs. Still in the century, cities were established and people were moving from the rural areas to urban cities and this resulted to diminishing of the folk traditional music. Nevertheless, urban folklorists stimulated by a person known as Thomas Percy a British, Johann Gottfried, a German and an American by the name Francis James collected and later published volumes where they emphases on the different age of the folk songs and their meaning in the society. However, there work did not save the diminishing trend of folk songs and the music had little attention by this time. In 1899, Cecil Sharp an English scholar toured various communities in Britain collecting folk songs. He later established a society to preserve the songs, dances and other traditions of communities at that time (Dunaway and Beer 17-23). In the late 19th century, the documentation of folk songs started and more of the songs were recorded on a wax cylinder, and folk songs and other traditions were consolidated and shared far and wide as opposed to being confined within the borders of a community. Later in the same period, some new tradition begun to emerge in the urban districts where the

TOURIST ATTRACTION SITE VISIT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

TOURIST ATTRACTION SITE VISIT - Essay Example These hotels provide amazing facilities to tourists. I asked organizing committee about procedures for purchasing tickets for soccer season. They replied, online tickets for complete season can be purchased at cheap rates and it is also possible to select the place of own choice for watching the matches in stadium. I asked organizers that what all facilities are available at the stadium for watching soccer competitions. They replied, they have introduced great facilities like, bathrooms, food, cheerleaders, sound effects and screens for adding all sorts of fun in the events. Who all are tough teams in the event? Mayor said, â€Å"Houston Dynamo† and â€Å"Dallas† are the best teams of the event. I asked how many stadiums are available for hosting the event. Mayor counted four stadiums including a newly constructed state of the art stadium. What is tailgating in Houston? Mayor said that you have snacks and hotdogs before start of the match is tailgating. What are the other tourist destinations in Houston? Mayor replied, space Centre and downtown aquarium are worth visiting places. Organizing committee told me to visit Orange Avenue as well. This avenue provides free souvenirs, food, shirts and a band plays there to entertain people. I am enjoying the opening games 2014 more than my expectations. It is so fascinating and colourful for people of any place in the world. I heard about the Houston and soccer events from my friend and then visited online sources. After coming here, I am not ready to leave this place now. Event is so organized that tourists do not feel any problem in their activities. There is one problem that spectators cannot buy single ticket for a match and they have to buy for complete season. Organizers need to look into this matter. Moreover, stadiums with more capacity should be constructed for accommodating huge crowds. Dynamo started the season against â€Å"New England Revolution† on 8 Mar 2014. There is a long

The Fundamentals Attribution Error Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Fundamentals Attribution Error - Essay Example I am okay and you are not okay or I am effective and efficient and you are not effective and efficient, or I and my group are okay and you and your group are not okay. There are many theories to explain the fundamental attribution error but it is generally accepted that this error arises due to differences in perception and values amongst individuals. In this particular case there is a growing discontent among staff in the division of the firm which is providing legal services to the corporate, the corporates are hiring many of the capable legal consultants as their own employees from firms such as the one being discussed which are not able to value their employees, that the firm is only two years old and is growing in all other markets except the corporate law market. This implies that the firm’s resources and structure are not suitably aligned to serve the needs of the corporate law market. The department serving the corporate sector does not have the correct structure and reward basis required to skillfully serve the corporate demands. The corporate law market significantly differs from other law markets (property, marriage, taxation etc) in the sense that the sector is highly complex and in addition to having a very good understanding of law the service provider should also have a holistic viewpoint, an understanding of the business environment affecting its corporate clients. Corporate law generally addresses issues like entering into a transaction on behalf of the corporate, acquiring property which can give rise to conflict of interest, choosing the directors and officers for the organization and arriving at proper negotiations and assigning responsibilities to the director, officer or a majority shareholder, issuing stock and deciding upon the rights of the shareholders with respect to the corporation, issues related to mergers, acquisitions , consolidation or the termination of an organization etc. At present, the firm is having an ‘I am okay you are not okay’ mindset and this should be changed to ‘I am okay you are okay’ mindset. This can be achieved by focusing on the common objectives which are the existence and performance of the firm, presenting and discussing various case studies where teamwork has done wonders etc.

Christians Should Not Take Part In Sport Or Shopping Essay Example for Free

Christians Should Not Take Part In Sport Or Shopping Essay The important thing about this statement is that it can be argued two ways. Many people would see sport or shopping as a chore therefore related to work. Others would argue that it is a leisure activity and it is not work. With this in mind the church instated a law saying that all Catholics must attend mass on a Sunday. The Catholic Church itself has no laws or restrictions about shopping or playing sport on a Sunday. By tradition Sunday was the holy day separated and set aside by the fact the mass going was essential to the days activities. In The Old testament there is a saying in the book of Ecclesiastes saying there is a set and provide time for everything which basically means people should balance out there time between things. In todays society were everything is on the move and rushed priorities should be examined and people should use the gift of time wisely. God himself as many believed set down the day of worship. Sunday has three main important events, which coincide with this day. One: Jesus rose from the dead on this day.  Two: Sunday was the first Day of the week and the first day of creation.  Three: Jesus sent down the Holy Spirit On The Pentecost.  Sunday is also a day of celebration when Catholics come together to give praise to God and to thank God for what he has given all of them.  Sport nowadays has become big business for all involved. Among all the big names in sport no one objects to playing on Sundays because of all of the money involved. This is just a small list of all the sports that are being played on Sundays Although sport is played on money for reasons other the money many include because of TV rights and because of sponsors. Christians should not take part on sport on Sunday because sport is seen as work in the churchs eyes. Many values are expressed in sport such as sportsmanship, fairplay etc.  Shopping is the second of the changing faces of Sunday is becoming the most popular one. Many family lifestyles revolve around the parents work and therefore many parents only get to see their children at the weekends. The weekend is often regarded as the days to get the shopping done and many rely on Sunday heavily. Since seven day shopping was legalised in 1977, many have taken advantage over the law. Teresa Murray head of the N. Ireland Region Of Shopping Centres said Sunday Shopping has become like a leisure pursuit for families and has become an important trading day for people in business. Business provides a service and depending on the demand it either succeeds or fails and on Sunday nowadays shopping has become a demand so in order to make money business open for the maximum hours allowed which is six. Many working families dont have much time to spend so end up using Sunday to spend time with there children or getting tings that they could get during the week such as grocery shopping. All the added time spend on Sundays has increased the employment needed for Sundays. Bob Gourley head of N. Ireland Shop Workers Union said they had been opposed to the Sunday trading laws and had in fact boycotted them for many years but however hard they try Sunday trading has become a reality. Our workers only work on Sunday where it is done by agreement

1984 Skeleton Outline Essay Example for Free

1984 Skeleton Outline Essay â€Å"I used to think that cyberspace was fifty years away. What I thought was fifty years away, was only ten years away. And what I thought was ten years away it was already here. I just wasnt aware of it yet†. Bruce Sterling (www. brainyquote. com) Technology has helped society achieve great strides in the world today. It has helped us to walk on the moon and find cures for certain cancers. However, technology can also have horrible and devastating effects. This is best illustrated in Orwell’s novel, 1984. Orwell’s novel has been adapted by Michael Radford who captured Orwell’s technologically inclined society through a visual medium. See more: Social process essay Radford’s film portrayed Orwell’s idea of 1984 more effectively. This will be proven through examination of additions and deletions of scenes, cinematography, and casting. Radford’s additions and deletions leave the audience questioning his choice. At the end of the film Radford leaves the audience with unanswered questions, whereas in the novel, Orwell had clear visual clues the answered the questions. â€Å"But it was all right, everything was all right the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother. (Orwell 311) An affective addition Radford included in his 1984, was towards the end of the film, Julia and Winston were planned to meet up with each other. In the novel, they had not planned to meet and just so happened that they bumped into each other. â€Å"Actually, it was by chance that they had met. It was in the Park, on a vile, biting day in March, when the earth was like iron and all the grass seemed dead and there was not a bud anywhere except a few crocuses which had pushed themselves up to be dismembered by the wind. He was hurrying along with frozen hands and watering eyes when he saw her not ten metres away from him. It struck him at once that she had changed in some ill-defined way. † (IBID 304) Make sure that you state why this quote is significant in proving that Radford was better at depicting Orwell’s vision. In the novel when Winston goes to meet O’Brien to get the Newspeak dictionary Julia was there with him. In the film when Winston goes to meet O’Brien to get the Newspeak dictionary Julia was not there, Radford has this addition included to emphasize how much Julia did not care about the Party. Radford`s interpretation of 1984 of additions and deletions was very affective. Radford’s use of cinematography was well done based on Orwell’s vision. With the help of color or if you look at it another way, a lack of colour, the film was meant to be shot in a dull and dreary setting. Radford was able to get across to the viewers, the sense of depression. * (put a quote in here of anything that describes any way that they dress or any of the colors that are described in the novel) Consider the opening couple of paragraphs. You could also talk about the scene in the film where his mother died and compare that to another scene to show how times have changed. Radford used bland and mechanized colors such as grey, navy blue and black. In Radford’s 1984 there was a scene shown of Hurt walking home from work and there was no color but greys, and a small amount of a dull navy blue. The actors in the film were too wearing dull navy uniforms and that was it. This was a perfect representation of the way Radford emphasized how dull the film was. The characters in the film, more specifically, John Hurt and Suzanna Hamilton, were also physically grey looking. Their skin was dead looking and physically sick which helped Radford set the theme of the film. (Use the description of the golden country are they the same in the novel and the film? ) If so how? If not how are they different ? Radford’s character selection was very effective that helped to portray Orwell’s vision. Radford’s 1984 was well cast. John Hurt acted just the way he was described in the novel. Although he did not speak much, Hurt used excellent facial expressions in order to get his point across and to communicate with others. â€Å"Winston Smith (John Hurt) is 39, but he has the skinny, wizened look of a perpetually chilled, undernourished child, whose face is that of an old man. † (www. ovie. nytimes. com) Julia, Suzanna Hamilton, was better depicted in the film than in the novel. â€Å"She brings a captivating freshness and warmth to her role, a little reminiscent of a young Harriet Anderson. Her pale, wiry, broad-hipped body has a simple, unaffected, almost archetypal beauty, and in the film’s more intimate moments, she radiates all the tactile sensual grace of a Munch or Degas nude†. (www. IMBd. com) Hamilton helps to portray Julia being a very rebellious character. In the film, Julia was an upfront kind of character whereas in the novel Julia seemed very closed yet didn’t really say much. Radford’s film adaptation of 1984 does effectively portray Orwell’s vision. This was proven by characters, additions and deletions, cinematography. Radford’s cinematography is an excellent adaptation of Orwell’s plot. The characters were well cast and Orwell’s vision was seen. The additions and deletions are very effective in portraying the vision of 1984. Overall Radford’s film does Orwell’s novel justice. Maybe for your conclusion keep the compare and contrast going. So for example Orwell made many choices about where to place characters in the novel but Radford adding or deleting them was a better choice for the vision as a whole.

Feminist Research Into Soap Opera Audiences

Feminist Research Into Soap Opera Audiences Feminist Research into the field of television has made a vital contribution by studying the genre of soap opera and its audiences. The understanding of the relationship that the genre share with its audiences is important in gaining knowledge about why this genre has remained such a popular form, despite the continuous criticism that has been receiving from the television critics and journalists. Feminist researchers such as Ien Ang, Dorothy Hobson, and Lesley Henderson etc focused their research of soap operas in exploring how soap opera audiences use this genre as a medium to engage into social debates and interpret the drama in their own ways. Rather than focusing on the text alone, they have elaborated on how audiences bring their perspectives in the stories. These authors have tried to put themselves in this scenario and explored the study as fans rather than just being critics. As Brunsdon(1995, p.50, cited in Henderson, 2007, p.8) notes, On the one hand, there is a perceived incompatibility between feminism and soap opera, but, on the other, it is arguably feminist interest that has transformed soap opera into a very fashionable field for academic inquiry. The aim of this essay is to out light on and the work of this feminists by analysing and exploring the key concepts such as active audiences, and breaking away from the allegory that soap opera audiences are passive watchers. The aim is also to understand why women have always been the dominant members of the soap operas. Do they enjoy this genre merely for entertainment? If no, then what understanding do they bring to soap operas? Another aspect that this essay touches upon is to critically understand whether soap opera writers lack creative ability, as people especially non soap opera viewers, often think that the storylines of such genre are dragged and over dramatized. Lastly, it touches on the social relevance that soap operas have, apart from just being considered as a source of melodrama and entertainment. Talking about television is part of the everyday work culture of both men and women (p 175). Discussing storylines in the form of gossip or debate, criticizing or applauding, sympathizing with the characters and relating to incidents that unfold in reel life with the real lives, are some of the processes through which soap opera audiences find this genre so entertaining. Breaking the myth of passive viewer One of the most crucial contributions made to the media studies by feminist researchers is the understanding of the relationship between soap operas and its audiences. The answer to the question why the soap opera is so popular lies in understanding the relationship it shares with its audiences. The effects that soap operas can possibly have on its viewers form the basis of their success or failure on television. Feminist researchers have time and again exhibited the importance of understanding the audience/text relationships. But, often soap opera audiences are stereotyped as passive viewers. As the term suggests, passive viewers are the ones who just blindly accept the information that is provided to them. There is a misconception that the members of this category do not use their own knowledge and understanding while watching the soap operas, as they are a product of fiction and fantasy. According to Hobson (2003, p.166), journalists and critic s often stereotype the soap opera audiences as easily duped mass, who fall prey to the melodramatic storylines. This assumption is stated by Seiter et al too (1997, p. 162). They add that critics feel that viewers usually turn off their brain cells while watching a programme, hence losing any critical ability to judge the merits and demerits of a soap opera. They do not understand the difference between what is real and what is fictitious. In a recent episode of BBCs Eastenders, the show tackled with the issue of cot death and baby swap. The episode was subject of a lot of debate and criticism. Viewers termed this particular storyline as awful tragic and sensationalism, especially since it was aired during the New Years time. Joyce Epstein, director of the Foundation For The Study Of Infant Deaths (FSID) was quoted in Mailonline saying, I just hope that people realise that this is fiction, this is not real life. I would hope people can view it as something that happens on screen and is not real life. Apparently, the show received around 5000 complaints about how the subject was so sensitive and the events were exaggerated. This means that the viewers were in fact critical of the subject and brought their own understanding to the topic. Another analysis of this could be that maybe viewers always have had opinions about soaps, its just that now their opinions are more visible because more and more people are using web tools and the whole issue is sometimes blown out of proportion to gain the attention. A viewers interpretation of the text could be in any form a moral argument, a social debate, a group discussion or a part of everyday gossip. Through all these means, it can be said that audiences are bringing their own experiences and opinions to the show and also add their perspectives to the stories. Soap operas depend on the audience following the stories and need their audience to be loyal and watch regularly (Hobson, 2003, p.161). This exemplifies that soap operas are constantly thriving on the support of its audience, and if the audiences discontinue their support, then soaps cannot run for a long time. According to Gillespie (1996, p.13), spending time on watching soap operas is a productive way to understand how viewers consume the text, images and narratives. This thought is also resonated by Slade, who supports the concept of active audience and asserts that viewers do not just accept a producers perspective of a particular story, add their own meaning to it through their reactions. This statement in a way contradicts the famous Hypodermic syringe model which subscribes that audiences are under the spell of media producers and that the audiences act and think according to what the media is trying to tell us, rather than putting your understanding to the media texts. Philip J. Hanes(2000) suggests that rather than understanding the audience/text relationships through effects model terming audience as passive viewers, it is important to focus on a new approach through Uses and Gratification model , as this model focuses on how audiences use and interpret media texts rather than focusing on what effects media has on the audiences. According to the model, audiences have specific needs and actively turn to the media to consume various texts to satisfy those needs (Hanes). Originally targeted towards women above the age of thirty, are shows like Desperate Housewives and Sex And The City. These are now widely popular amongst women in their twenties. Male viewers also e njoy these shows because of the glamour quotient; these viewers would otherwise avoid soap operas. Audiences are not blank sheets of paper on which media messages can be written; members of an audience will have prior attitudes and beliefs which will determine how effective media messages are (Abercrombie 1996, 140, in Hanes April 2000). In her research on audience reception of American Prime time show Dallas, Ien Ang (1985, p.26) found that each of the viewers watching the show shared an exclusive relationship with its characters and storyline. This experience or bond that they feel could be a product of their thinking, their social surroundings, and their background or depending on their social class and age group. Gender studies Why do women audience dominant this genre? As mentioned, soap operas heavily thrive on their viewers attention. And a large part of this audience is dominated by women. Because this genre deals with storylines and themes that are melodramatic, emotional, fantasy based, critics would argue that that are the reasons that soap opera producers can easily attract womens attention. But, feminists researchers believe that there are valid and important reasons as to why women love viewing these types of programmes. Undoubtedly, Soap operas are a means of entertainment, and provide the pleasure of viewing fictitious lives. Emotional realism, the fantasy world, melodrama are some of the reasons that evoke women to watch soap dramas but at the same time, it is important to note that female audiences bring a whole new meaning and knowledge to the soap opera viewing experience. One of the most exceptional qualities that women possess (as a gender) is the ability to relate and empathize with experiences. However, Ang(1985, p. 82) argues th at the fact that women love watching soaps is not so much associated with their social surroundings, especially housewives per se and that they are inclined towards a melodramatic lifestyle. Rather she points out that women are accustomed to tackle any situation psychologically, filled with a lot emotions. Hence, it becomes easier for them to identify with tragic structure of feeling inscribed in the dramas. In her work on audience reception of Crossroads, Hobson (2003, p.168) observed that women related the content of Crossroads, with their own personal lives, by relating the stories and characters with everyday lives. The problems depicted in the programme bore resemblance with the problems that they experienced. A lot Indian audiences, (again mainly women) enjoy watching soap operas because they feel that some of the situations or events in these programs teach them how to tackle family issues, since most of the dramas revolve around family lives as the main theme while rivalry, extra marital affairs, form the sub themes. Another important aspect that attracts women towards soap operas is fantasy world, which offers things and experiences that one cannot experience in real life. It acts a mode of escape from a daily routine in to the world full of possibilities. Pleasure of fantasy lies in its offering the subject an opportunity to take up positions which she could not in real life.The best example could be that contemporary soap operas such as Desperate Housewives and Sex And The City (SATC) narrate the story of women who are independent, powerful and charismatic, but at the same, they are shown to have their share of lifes struggles, and as expected they manage to work their way through domestic problems and family quarrels. For women viewers, such situations act as a means of forgetting their own personal problems by getting engrossed in such programmes. It gives them a chance to divert themselves from the pressures of their mundane life. Women form a personal bond with such characters and start im agining themselves to be like those fictitious characters. For some women, solving a domestic issue is too serious an issue, but when from a third persons point of view, they watch a TV character going through the similar situation, it tend to imagine the issue as a minor one. Moreover, apart from emotional involvement, these shows celebrate free spirited nature of womanhood by focusing attention on female friendships. In her interaction with women via group discussions on SATC, Deborah Jermyn found out that the programmes realism lay predominantly in its depiction of the womens friendships and conversation particularly within the scenes where they meet together as a group to talk.(Akass and McCabe, 2004, p.214) Moreover, the location of the show, New York, for some women, added the escapist quality to their life. However, Mary E. Brown makes a contrasting point here. She argues that soap operas usually portray women characters as passive and powerless on one hand, and sexual objects for men on the other (Brown 1990, p. 75). She gives the examples of strong and positive women characters such as Christine Cagney from Cagney and Lacey, and Maddie Hayes from Moonlighting. The former portrays the life of two strong, independent, working women living life in a modern way. Brown stresses that such positive representation of women on soaps operas act as potential role models of its female audiences. From such a perspective, it is only logical to claim one should strive to offer positive role models by supplying positive images of women. (Brown, 1990, p.83). Hobson (2003, p. 178) echoes Brown views by noting that The women characters that were seen as the most popular were those who had to struggle against the vicissitudes of life. British soap operas often are based on the topic of emotional realism. They are considered to be realistic in nature. In her discussion on English soap operas, Hobson found out that women audiences felt that the female characters in the show held strong popularity because they had the ability to cope with difficulties. Such qualities, as per Hobson are considered as admirable (Hobson 2003, p.178). Many of the characters in the series Coronation Street and Crossroads were women who themselves had to confront problems in their everyday lives, and the resolution or negotiation of these problems within the drama provided point of recognition and identification for the women viewers(167-68) Gender studies play a vital role in understanding how different members (male or female) of audiences think about a particular soap drama. It has been mentioned above how women have the ability to relate to the fiction and bring their own meanings to the soaps. Women, especially housewives who are considered as the prime targets of this genre, generally find this medium to get away from their mundane domestic life. Hence, they switch on to soap operas and watch stories of women who either have better or worse lives than theirs. It gives them a reason to escape from their own surroundings for a while. Men, on the hand, ideally prefer entertainment. They think that soap operas are dramatized beyond belief. They believe that soaps are generally slow and even a little fictitious incident in them is dragged and hyped. Moreover, they cannot be bothered to watch every episode of the show. In short, they are not brought to think emotionally as women usually do. This is an argument put forward by some theorists that identity of a soap opera viewer is inscribed in the soap itself. Soap operas identity is most dominant by women viewers. The competences necessary for reading soap opera are most likely to have been acquired by those persons culturally constructed through discourses of femininity. (Morley, 1992, p.129 cited in Chandler, 1994). Death of creative writing? Due to the qualities that soap operas inherit: exaggerated storylines, melodramatic imagination, tragic structure of feeling, emotional realism, escapism, it is often assumed that they tend to lack creativity and originality in terms of writing. In the recent years, there has been an increase in number of soap operas that are being produced. This might give television critics a reason to think that soap operas have nothing new to offer to its audiences, except stretched storylines and themes. This genre is originally meant to provide entertainment and the reason that it is successful in doing so, is because its audience loves it. They love being a part of writers fictitious world and then, also have the advantage of bringing their own endings or beginnings to these soaps. Moreover, it should be noted that the makers of such soap operas often take examples from real life events and situations and then play them out by adding drama and fiction to it. More importantly, the issues that formed the basis of stories were those which were important and relevant at the time when they were conceived and had a place within the planned storylines (Hobson 2003, p. 201). Since, they cater to a vast amount of audiences, it is impossible to the soap producers to not be reflective and not tackle the everyday issues. In a recent episode of BBCs Eastenders, the show tackled with the issue of cot death and baby swap. The episode was subject of a lot of debate and criticism. Viewers termed this particular storyline as awful tragic and sensationalism, especially since it was aired during the New Years time. The example that is previously mentioned about Eastenders, also to a certain extent implies that soap opera storylines do take instances from real life events. Another quote by Joyce Epstein, (FSID) saying, I would hope people can view it as something that happens on screen and is not real life. However, she did say that, But cot death does happe n (Thompson, 2011). This shows that scriptwriters do take instances from real life or issues that affect people and played them out on screen. Rather than saying that soap opera writers lack creativity, it should be said that they possess reflectivity, the tendency to reflect their views through dramas, while keeping in mind its relevance. As Henderson notes, Creeber challenges the perception of a decline in quality programming and argues that we should not lament the death of the single play but should instead celebrate the generic hybridity of television drama (Creeber, 2004, p.15, cited in Henderson, 2007, p.15). A T.V drama writer has the whole world of imagination to choose from, (Henderson, 2007, p. 9). They have the gift to experiment with the storylines, introduce new characters from time to time, bring mini climaxes and dramatize cliff hanging moments. The Eastender example manage to grab the eye balls apart from becoming a topic of debate, and both these points work in the favour of the show, because it keeps the audiences hooked and possibly also get the attention of viewers who are not regular watchers. According to Henderson, 2007 (p. 168), the production team behind the working of soap operas most often bring their own experiences to the show, hence acting as surrogate audience. Hendersons thoughts are echoed by Hobson as well. Hobson argues that the biggest advantage soap operas have as compared to other genres is that this genre has the scope to engage the audiences by exploring the events based on daily lives. Soap opera writers stay true to their audiences by showing their high creative ability to adapt real life situations rather than manipulate them. The repetitive nature of soaps, with its core of established characters, may also allow a level of identification and empathy which is impossible to replicate in other fictional forms. (For example, the single play) p 174 h) Ang states a rather different view on this. She asserts that exaggerated plots and themes function as metaphors for lifes torments.(Ang, 1982, p.63) She adds that this should mean that there is a lack of creativity or originality in the soap operas as critics who opine this ignores the structural function that lays this genre. The repetitive nature of soaps acts as metaphors for lifes torments in our culture, speaking directly to the imagination of the public.(Ang, 1982, p.64). An exploration of the important issues in everyday life, the soap opera provides a set of representations which can be seen as vibrant reflections of reality. They work because they reflect important issues and they connect with the experiences of the audience; unless they make that connection they will not succeed. After all, shows like Eastenders have always talked issues such as teenage pregnancy, issues related to drugs, suicides and extra marital affairs. Social relevance Lesley Hendersons research in the field of television fiction stresses on the argument that television fiction is not simply is a site of pleasure but it also is a site of definitional power (Henderson, 2007, p.8). She also adds that Soap opera has emerged as a format within which controversial or socially sensitive issues are played out (Henderson, 2007, p 12). As soap operas cater to a wide range of audiences across the world, it becomes important for the broadcasters to own up a moral responsibility by imparting social education to the audiences, apart from just entertainment. When producers realised that the audiences were slowly getting alienated from family dramas, they shifted their focus on socially relevant issues like Child marriage, eve teasing, female infanticide and other important issues and incorporated them into stories. Soon, the television fiction saw a huge change in the way soap operas were earlier perceived. Women, Men and children and elders, everyone started wa tching soap operas again and applauded the creative teams for talking about issues that were long ignored. Television fiction has largely been studied as a site of entertainment and pleasure despite its importance in relaying social meanings and cultural forms (Grispurd 1995, p.21, cited in Henderson, 2007, p.7). A recent T.V drama, Nivedita, talks about the issues of HIV/AIDS. Inspired from education oriented soaps operas produced in South America, this soap opera follows the route of education as entertainment, as described by its makers. Its a 26 episode series and at the end of episode, viewers get to see a short message on HIV/AIDS awareness by celebrities. In a developing country like India, where HIV/AIDS epidemic is one of the major concerns, a soap opera like Nivedita is a good way to educate the audiences about the epidemic. Besides, in India, television and film actors are considered as demi gods, whatever they do, good or bad, audiences keenly observe them. According to marketing strategy followed by media owners, incorporating a social message as a part of storyline is an eff ective tools because viewers relate to them in a better way (Pain, October 2010). The secret is to make sure that the drama remains recognisably real while subtly redefining reality in such a way as to alter perceptions of what is normal and good (Carlin 2003 in Henderson, 2007,, 2007, p.18-19). The fictional soap operas and the situational comedies give us an impersonal way to begin a debate about moral issues. (Slade, 2000, p. 424) Slade(2000, p.422-423) provides an example of Mirada de Mujer, a Mexican high quality telenova. Based on the life a women character Marie- Inà ©ss, this soap opera dealt with controversial themes such as AIDS, unwanted pregnancy and extra marital affair. It became a topic of debate not only in domestic sphere but also in the Mexican press. The life events of this central character were a constant topic of debate among Mexican household. Thus, this telenova was successful in generating enough controversy and encouraging people as well members of the audiences in participating in social debates. But, in order to be a success in terms of attracting the audiences, such soap operas need to thoroughly understand the audiences needs as well. The producers of soap operas that deal with a certain social message need to make sure that the message is clearly put across to the audience, for them to continue watching the show. (Henderson, 2007, p.19) They should avoid making the drama look like a documentary or a commentary. Contemporary soap operas audiences feel the need to be entertained with every scene. Hence, a right balance of entertainment and seriousness is a must for such a soap drama. How is this genre different from other dramas? Unlike some of the other genres such as crime, the format of soap opera is not meant to be full of suspense, where the audiences are supposed to tune in everyday to see the suspense unfold, rather this genre is a product of a long, slow, and complex fiction which becomes successful in engaging the audiences, as they are tempted to know more about the storyline and characters. According to Ang (1982, p.57), even as the theme is recurring and repetitive, it works in the favour of the audience, as they start viewing the show not as an outsider but as one of members of that show. aUnlike a talk show, where audiences are just made sit and watch two people converse, in soap operas, the main theme is constructed in a way that it seems never ending. Life in a soap opera is full of troubles crime, rape, burglary, extra marital affairs. The French semiologist Violette Morin points out, for example, that the popularity of the television serial could derive from the fact that the life depicted in it seems to proceed more slowly than real life. (Morin cited in Ang, 1982, p.81) This could mean that in todays contemporary society, where people have to just rush through moment, due to time constraints, they till crave for a life in slow motion. A small incident in a soap drama stretches for minutes, sometimes days, hence bringing a melodramatic meaning to audiences life, which they normally do not experience. The longer they run the more impossible it seems to imagine them ending.(Geraghty, 1991, p. 11, cited in Chandler, 2004) Conclusion: Undoubtedly, as Charlotte Brunsdon put it, soap operas today have become a subject of many syllabuses, rather than being considered merely an object of ridicule. While it has been mentioned that audience engage and contribute their understanding in the viewing of soap operas, it should also be kept in mind the judgment of this knowledge and comprehensive study largely depends on a viewers own awareness of culture and experiences, meaning that a particular story or a scene in a soap, could possibly have different meanings. It can also be concluded that soap operas take the process of communication beyond the experience of television viewing itself, in the form of social debates, imitating the fictional characters and their lives. Through the analysis of Angs work, it can be said that soap opera audiences relate to the metaphors that storylines often depict and this is study is relatable to contemporary soap opera audiences as well. The pleasure of watching a soap lies in i ts exaggerated plots, emotional sufferings and cliff hanging plots. The experience of watching a soap drama is very personal too, because everything is told from a personal viewpoint. Another assumption that can be disrupted from the research on Active audience is that contemporary soap opera audiences have become smart and aware of that content they are watching. They can no longer be fooled by the programme markers. That means, even programme makers have to deal with certain challenged to keep the viewers engaged. So, it is a possibility that in an effort to keep the audiences glued to the drama, producers today resort to techniques such as over dramatizing the events, sensational stories, spreading true or false link up stories of their TV actors in media, because today since news spread really quickly, owing to the internet and hence, such means help the producers in grabbing eyeballs. After all, any publicity is considered to be good for such shows. Lastly, it is important to understand that soap operas were originally meant to offer a company to housewives, who fitted their daily routine work around soaps. A domestic life of any person is filled with all kinds of emotions. These are used as metaphors to depict situations and events in soaps. While it is a valid argument that emotions are portrayed in extreme ways of melodrama, it cannot be denied that these metaphors are sourced from real life events, more or less. Apart from providing entertainment to their audience, a soap opera producer also holds the responsibility to regular be reminded of their social responsibility as a broadcaster. Critics, who view soap operas as merely a source of repetitive pleasure, need to understand that socially relevant themes can also act as means of pleasure for the audiences. After all, bringing up socially relevant issues too form a source of moral debate in the contemporary society. But when what has happened in the last thirty years or so is, a strange restructuring of presenting women on screen. This point is most valid with context to contemporary shows such as SATC and Desperate Housewives. While it has been pointed out that such shows celebrate the true spirit of women, but at the same time, shows trivialises the female condition by making them into money hungry, male craving pieces of physicality. A valid query could be do they want anything else? is the changing the attitude of the people or are people forcing their opinions onto shows? Similarly, another stereotypical notion arises when one views Indian TV soaps, where the traditional housewife is shown as the positive role model while the sexy modern thinking woman is the vamp. The strange aspect of this is that these stereotypes are still prevalent; somehow these facts are overlooked by audiences because of the popularity this genre holds. Lastly, the reason that audiences keep coming back to their favourite soap operas each and every day lies in the fact that they not only do they relate to the storylines and characters but it is the personal experiences and memories that these soaps show which intensifies their relationship with this genre, because they feel that they have been through such situations at some point of time. As Hobson (2003, p.202) puts it, The future of soap opera of intricately interwoven with the power and desire of the audience.

The Problem of Pornography Essay -- Argumentative Essay, Censorship 201

  In the United States someone has to be eighteen years old before they can buy pornography, but just because they have to be eighteen to buy it doesn't mean they have to be eighteen to look at it. Everywhere around the Internet one may stumble upon pornography where anyone, including children, may look at it. Pornography is not something to be proud of and is not something that our children should be able to see randomly on the Internet or in a store at a young age.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Susan Brownmiller"s essay, "Let"s Put Porn Back in the Closet," she argues that "pornography represents hatred of women, that pornography"s intent is to humiliate, degrade, and dehumanize the female body for the purpose of erotic stimulation and pleasure," which I completely agree with. (Brownmiller 53.) Women that respect themselves or other women would never pose for any type of pornography. People should never look at a woman as if they are just an object in a magazine or movie. Women should be respected and so should their privacy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When I was growing up, pornography was not something peopl...

Comparing Song of Roland, The Life Story of Pavlichenko, and The Prince :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Comparing Song of Roland, The Life Story of Pavlichenko, and The Prince Abstract: By evaluating different approaches of rulers to their vassals, in The Song of Roland and The Life Story of Pavlichenko, Matvey Rodionych, it is shown that Machiavelli made a mistake when he came up with his general rule: â€Å"It is much safer to be feared than loved, if hi is to fail in one of the two.† (Machiavelli, 54). Darwin explained in his theory of natural selection, which primarily explains evolution, however also can be applied to any other situation in which sustainability is the primary concern as in ruler – vassal relationships, that only the strongest survived. Disregarding this fact Machiavelli came up with a false theory. Charlemagne is loved and succeeds, and only when hated he gets in danger. Nikitinsky is feared and dies. Both stories suit the condition of Machiavelli’s rule, and still it fails. When Darwin came up with his theory of natural selection, he explained why rulers, once they have acquired power, behave in a certain way that, to their belief, sustains their position. 1 Approximately 350 years earlier, Niccolà ² Machiavelli formulated a set of rules which was supposed to support rulers, in his case the prince of Milan, in doing so. One of his rules is: â€Å"It is much safer for a ruler to be feared than loved, if he is to fail in one of the two†(Machiavelli, 54). Juxtaposing The Song of Roland and The Life Story of Pavlichenko, Matvey Rodionych, two stories written on the bases of Ruler – Vassal relations, it becomes doubtful whether Machiavelli’s theory can be taken as cornerstone for any ruler’s principles. The theory of natural selection is widely accepted and will therefore be taken as fact in this argument. Darwin states in his theory that only the strongest survive. That suggests that a ruler’s position is only sustainable if he is stronger than his subjects and adversaries. Stronger in this case can be both, physically for example through armed forces or even physical strength, and psychologically for example through the use of superior rhetoric or wit. In most cases however, a combination of both will be necessary. In examining the relation of the ruler to his vassals, it is just as important to take into account other goals the ruler might have besides sustaining his position. His priority might also be the general well-being and the continuous development of his

George Mason Essay -- essays research papers fc

George Mason's greatest accomplishment was being the founding father of the national Bill of Rights. He was a planter from Virginia, had grown up rich on one of the nicest and best plantations in Alexandria, Fairfax County, Virginia. He was an important member of the town's church, had all the best tutors growing up, and had been raised to be a Virginian aristocrat (Miers 39). Mason married 'well' and had a large family of nine kids. He raised them in Gunston Hall, a house which he had built himself (Miers 41). He was the type of guy who, if he believed strongly enough, did not abandon his beliefs. He strongly believed in the cause for the American Revolution (he had given his son a plantation named 'Lexington'), in citizen's rights, and a non-tyrannical central government (Miers 41). He was known as a great debater, the best that James Madison had ever seen. Mason spoke up many times during the constitutional convention, about different subjects he strongly believed in. During the convention, Mason was directly and strongly involved with the topics of the electoral college, slavery, the Bill of Rights, and a strong central government (Solberg 280). He was a bestfriend to George Washington, and around 1760, became involved in Virginia's politics. Six years later, he was called to Williamsburg to help with Virginia's Bill of Rights. He took the one that had been drafted before he got there. The thing was incredibly weak, and he took it in hand. Mason proceeded to reduce it to ten simple articles and declarations. It took only four weeks to be rewritten and to go through the system of ratification, with only six more articles added, and all of his big points left in (Miers 41-46). The Declaration was taken to Philadelphia, to Thomas Jefferson, where he was just about to finish up with the Declaration of Independence. Many of Mason's ideas were 'decorated' and went into the Declaration of Independence (Miers 42-46). George Mason's Virginia's Declaration of Rights was used as the base for almost every other states (Collier 250). George Mason went to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 with writing a new form of government in mind, though he did not believe in a strong central government. He agreed with the Virginia Plan. The Virginia Plan had two houses of our government, but the population of the state determined the number of repr... ... states are no security," (Leone 27). Later when George Washington took office, a committee was formed to add a Bill of Rights to the Declaration of Independence. It was the only way to get all the states to ratify the Constitution. They too, used Mason's ideas from Virginia's Declaration of Rights to draft the Bill of Rights and amend them into the Constitution (Miers 85). George Mason was an intelligent, outspoken person who stood up for what he believed in and would not back down. Being the base of the Bill of Rights, which gave America the reputation of freedom, he gave a backbone and a firm ground to stand upon to the United States of America. bibBibliography Christopher and James Collier, Decision in Philadelphia; The Constitutional Convention of 1787 (New York: Random House, 1986), 148, 250. Bruno Leone, ed., The Bill of Rights; Opposing Viewpoints (San Diego: Greenhaven Press Inc., 1994), 27, 41. Earl Schenck Miers, The Bill of Rights (New York: Grusset and Dunlap, 1968), 39, 41-46, 72, 78, 85. Winton U. Solberg, ed., The Constitutional Convention and the Formation of the Union (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1958, 1990), 280.

Marketing Management UBER Analysis Essay

1. Introduction Application software has been very popular as distribution platforms since 2008 due to rapid spread of smartphones all around the worldwide. According to a marketing research done by Gartner (2013), there is an increasing trend in mobile apps usage worldwide, He indicates that 21.58 billion dollars of  revenue has been made by mobile apps in 2013. Uber was established in 2009 as a digital platform that connects cab drivers and customer, by downloading the online application. Uber determines the location of customers and shows the location of the cabs nearby. Once the customer accepts to get a ride with push of a botton, the application is then authorized to take the payment based on the credit card information that has been registered under the customer’s name, without any further exchanges. Uber was established in San Francisco and has become the world’s most valuable startup in the past five years. Uber’s latest market value has been determined as 18.2 billon dollars in June 2014. However, as a disadvantage of developing markets, the entrance of Gett and Hailo in the UK market, decreased Uber’s market value. The major advantage of Gett in this compà ©titive market against Uber is charging flat fees unlike Uber. Uber has a surge pricing strategy depending on the demand, weather and distance, which is not a cost efficient way for customer. Therefore Uber it is not the cost leader in the UK e-hail market. On the other hand surge pricing has persuaded more driver to work for Uber, as it is more in their favor so that, they will not have to go through bad weather conditions or give rides in the rush hour with the usual flat fares. 2. Audit 2.a Organizational environment The increasing trend of smartphone usage especially in younger generation, technological improvements and increasing value for time perception established Uber’s increasing value. 2.b Uber’s business model Uber employs driver after they and their cars have been screened by Uber to  ensure comfort and safety of customers, Drivers are also given an iPhone once they have become a member of Uber. Uber drivers have higher income compared to traditional taxi drivers also they do not have to pay for the taxi license and the taxes that black cab driver are obligated to pay. On the consumer side, after downloading Uber, they can track the car as it approaches them on their as well as having some information about their driver before arrival such as previous reviews and ratings and their photo. Uber ‘s pricing strategy is based on the demand, distance and the car type, incase of high demands or bad weather conditions customers may have to pay a higher fee for their journey or depending and the type of car they request prices are different. Payment is done by the credit card information that the customer is registered the app with. Transactions are totally safe and secure. Uber splits the ride receipts with the driver. Uber originally used to take 20% margin of the transaction between the customer and the driver, which is now reduced to 15% due to high compà ©titions with Gett and Hailo. Uber covers its Research and technology developments, marketing and employees expenses by the percentage they take on each transaction. Another advantage is that Uber does not own a fleet of cars so they are much less costly than their competitors, This low cost business model enables Uber to keep the large percentage of it’s revenue as profits. Uber grows by reinvesting in R&D and acquisitions rather than investing in cars or expensive infrastructures. In the spotlight of this information, it is possible to say that Uber’s business model is low inventory, high transaction and high margin. Moreover, its business model is receiving the majority of funding from Google Venture. 2.c External and internal analysis of Uber Analyzing Uber from the resource-based view is crucial to understand competitive advantages of it in London taxi hailing app market. Constraints imposed by environment can have a big impact on Uber’s strategic planning and marketing. Therefore, six external conditions (Political, Environmental, Social, Technological, Economical and Legal) will be examined in relation to Uber’s business situation by using PESTEL analysis. Political factors effects transport services external environment in terms of CO2 emissions and climate change. Even though Political factors are more in favor of public transport in order to decrease CO2 emissions and help with the climate. Uber however is providing a superior service comparing to their competitors for instance Uber is offers hybrid cars, which is low in emissions and makes it easier for Uber to have some advantage when it comes to the political factors. Environmental factors such as weather conditions can affect Uber for instance higher demand due to bad weather conditions is evident. The price of the  journeys also increases when the demand is higher. Social factors including the change in lifestyle and high percentage of younger population using smartphones, indicates the customer needs, which brings them to the market. Technology developments have a major impact on Uber’s business. Increasing role of Internet in people’s life is also crucial for Uber to make innovations. Economical factors such as recessions influence directly the customer’s budget, therefore their buying power. On the other hand volatile fuel prices can have a huge impact on pricing and they are also quite unpredictable. Legal constraints also have a direct impact on Uber. Governments have the possibility to ban Uber, which is already the case in Germany, or even set new regulations for Taxi hailing apps such as Uber which can affect their performance in the market. In the next section we under take a SWOT analysis in order to analyze Uber’s Capabilities, which enables us to determine the company’s Strengths and Weaknesses as well as pointing out Threats and Opportunities. It is essential in a competitive market to be aware of the weaknesses and threats in order to be able to find solutions for them and also use the opportunities to gain more of them market share and hence increase the revenues. Figure 2: Presents SWOT analysis Strengths; which consist of internal capabilities, Uber was first in the market which creates a competitive advantage by high consumer awareness. One of the strengths of Uber is that, it has different alternatives for different customers. For example, Uber POP and UberX car alternatives are available for a cheap and fast drive, whereas if the customer is searching for quality it offers them the Uber Black Car and Uber SUV. Another strength  of Uber is that it has spread worldwide starting from USA. It has expanded through 200 cities worldwide. Moreover, the transactions are easy, safe and trustworthy. It offers a convenient way of travelling for costumers. Weaknesses indicate the areas that could be improved internally. The major point that is considered as a weakness for Uber is that they do not charge flat fees whereas Gett, which is their main competitor, offers flat and predictable prices. Moreover, Uber drivers do not have a taxi license, which can cause legal problems by time. However it operates in many cities, Uber does not operate in rural areas, which can be considered as a weakness. One of the complaints that Uber is facing is the poor consumer service. Uber offers a surge pricing for its drivers and do not hire them, but find them through agents. Analyzing the opportunities in depth we can determine that the most influential aspect in Uber’s business model is the fact that it’s a service rather than a product hence they do not have the high sunk costs that their competitors have to deal with. Moreover, being a mobile platform and not having a fleet of taxis, which is highly costly, has enabled the firm to turn most of its revenues into profits. These revenues are made from transaction costs rather than production cost. Uber does not employ drivers, which in this case allows the drivers flexibility also permit Uber to employ more drivers. The most important external threat for Uber in UK e-hail app market is the decreasing market share due to competitors such as Gett. The flat prices of Gett and some other competitors are creating a disadvantage for Uber. Not having the proper taxi license is another disadvantage for Uber. aside from that, there have been many protests by taxi companies in Germany, France, England and other nations accusing Uber to be illegal due to the fact that their driver are not paying the same tax rates as other taxi drivers, and other taxi companies accuse Uber of compromising passenger safety, and undermining legislations which exists for them. Competitors: According to the statistics of market shares of taxi hailing apps in London, Gett with 20-30% of market share is the market leader, Uber with 20% shares is the market challenger and Hailo with 10% is the follower in the market. Uber as the challenger is in a position where they can undertake some of the facilities and services that Gett is already providing for their customers in order to be able to improve their service, gain more customer and consequently gain more market share over time. Outlining the competitive landscape is important to appraise competition and indicating the strengths of the competitors can give the company objectives on what can be improved and examine weather they can be implemented by Uber. According to national statistics from department for transport, it is estimated that there are 78 thousand taxis and 153 thousand licensed private hire vehicles in England. The fÄ ±gures present that the number of PHV are twice the number of taxÄ ±s operatÄ ±ng in England. 31% of total licensed taxis and private hire vehicles in England are in London from which we can assume that private hirÄ ±ng is a popular choice for Londoners. Analyzing Gett-Taxi as the market leader we can imply that some of their most influential advantages are: Competing with flat and predictable prices: People who take taxis are not usually loyal to a specific brand and most people would choose the cheaper option and Gett has the advantage by having predictable prices without surge pricing. Enables Advance booking: Unlike Uber, Gett offers advance booking 2 weeks prior to journey whereas Uber has failed to implement this feature in their app. Offers 24 hours customer service for driver and customers: Uber has proven to be quite poor at following through with customer enquiries. On the other hand the only major advantage of Hailo that we came across is the fact that they are the only company, which has a real taxi license for all their cars. 3. Strategic Options: According to Porter, competitive advantage is derived from the value a firm  is able to create for its buyers that exceeds the firm’s cost of creating it. Utility of Uber can be increased by the following three categories: †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Service: Reducing the time to reach customers when they need the service can enhance Uber’s service. The cab and the driver have to be reliable and can provide modern and comfortable cabs for service. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Personnel: service can be provided with professional drivers, drivers must be trained to provide personalised customer service. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Image: Advertising, promotions on special days and to first users. Porter’s Generic Strategies: Porter called the generic strategies has three direction where the market can be segment or focused on particular path. They are 1. Cost Leadership, 2. Differentiation 3. Focus The Focus strategy has been subdivided into two parts: â€Å"Cost Focus† and â€Å"Differentiation Focus†. (Refer below figure) The Cost Leadership Strategy This strategy will help to gain competitive advantage through two main methods such as maximising profits by declining costs while selling for average price in the particular industry or growing market share through selling for lower prices, although still producing a even-handed profit on each sale as you’ve focused on lowering the cost. The Differentiation Strategy This strategy involves in creating your goods or services different from others and more eye-catching for your customers as well as to your competitors. Differentiation strategy can be achieved in a success way through good exploration about the goods or services, expansion and innovation of the goods or services, and the ability to provide superior quality products or services. This will create an inimitable image in the particular industry and alongside some scopes will lead to be valued by consumers. The Focus Strategy The Focus strategy is concentrating on specific niche markets through considerate the associations of that specific niche market and the  exceptional needs of consumers in it. This can be exclusively low-cost or well-specified goods or services on that particular industry. This will construct strong brand loyalty among consumers. This will lead the market segment to be less attractive to the competitors. Uber’s marketing strategy is to provide a premium service at premium price and have loyal customers. It aims at hip, tech-savvy customers whose time is valuable and who are willing to spend money for convenience. The campaign of Uber focuses on the service. The ice cream campaign in NYC is an example of the difference in convenience and experience. Where else could you have an on demand ice cream truck pull up in front of your house delivering ice cream for few people? The focus is on providing an extraordinary experience for the customer and let them do the talking about the brand and the unique service. Uber is having partnerships with Virgin America, which offers Uber’s points to its flyer members which increases awareness and credibility to their service. And Trulia is a real-estate company provide prospective renters a discount for up to three apartment visits as long as they registered for this promotion. Potter’s Five Forces Analysis states that business can be affected by some facts which are determine the competitive power of the business to drive in reality. The fact can be classified into five important forces. They are Supplier power, Buyer power, Threat of substitute, Threat of New Entry and Competitive Rivalry. 1. Supplier Power: the number of suppliers involved determines the supplier power in the particular business and the exclusivity of their goods or service, their business strength and power over your business, and the cost of swapping from one supplier to another. UBER’s suppliers power is high because UBER don’t employ drivers, free-lanced drivers get register with UBER and get the training and the guidelines before start their self-employment. 2. Buyer Power: the number of buyers involved determines the buyer’s power in the particular business, the cost to the buyer to swapping from your goods and services to someone else. UBER’s buyer power is high because it’s a  mobile platform and customers have different alternative services like Gett and Hailo. 3. Competitive Rivalry: the number of capability of your competitors determines the competitive rivalry. When the business has more competitors, and if the competitor can offer equally attractive products and services, then the competitive rivalry is high. UBER’s competitors are Gett and Hailo, they provide service in lower cost and they have their own drivers. 4. Threat of Substitution: the number of alternative options of your customers determines the threat of substitute. When the service or the goods has more substitute, then the threat of substitute is high. UBER’s threat of substitute is high because in London there is many substitute such as tubes, trains, buses, and black cabs. 5. Threat of New Entry: the capability of other business can enter into your market space by starting up a similar business like you is the threat of new entry. If the startup cost is low in terms of capital, time, and technology the new competitor can enter in to your market easily. Uber’s threat of new entry is very high because entering to taxi service business is very easy because the new business needs a simple mobile application and some free-lanced drivers. Alternative Market Directions for Uber Diversification strategies/path: Uber can focus on Event specific marketing like special events such as Valentine’s Day, Harvesting day, Children’s Day, Christmas and New Year days. Uber can provide special offers or promotions for its loyal customers. Personalised Car/Cab with the special trained driver for business people, celebrities and high-class tourists. Market development Strategies/Path: †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Expand the market with average pricing in nearby small cities and rural areas to attract more new customers. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Initiating and developing new long term partnership with local hotel chains and airport local travel unit to provide transport service such as site seeing, and airport pic & drop to  their customers. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Initiating and developing new long-term partnership with local schools to proved service for their students. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Initiating and developing new business wing/unit for disable people to accommodate their transport need with the special features they need. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Initiating and developing new long term partnership with courier service organisations like Royal Mail, DHL, and FedEx to provide their delivery service to their customers. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Initiating and developing new long term partnership with local manufacturing companies to support their logistic service such as transporting to shipping, delivering goods to their customers, and transporting their raw materials for their production. 4. Marketing Strategies Uber focuses on hiring local drivers in each city. They are trying to localize the company in each city in every aspect they see. The effect of that is building a trust between the company, the drivers, and the customers all together. After hiring local drivers, Uber give these drivers trainings and guidelines to teach them the â€Å"Uber Way†. They also provide their employees with a global chat room that they interact in, talk, give ideas and suggestions, and best practices are shared across the company. So by cultivating collaboration and building trust internally and externally, Uber is trying to gain a competitive advantage in order to increase their market share, therefor increasing revenue. Uber likes to surprise and delight their customers. For example they delivered kittens and ice cream in New York. This is on of Uber’s ways to allow customer actions to go viral on social media and offline to try to send their message to new markets in order to gain new opportunities. Uber uses a unique way in serving their customers. They have a special team whose mission is to make sure customers get their taxi when and where they need them in no more than 9 minutes. They created a referral program integrated in the Uber app. It gives customers the ability to share a special code between their friends, and in that way Uber can track how many shares made, which indicates the percentage  of Uber’s customer’s acquisition. Uber’s Marketing Objectives: 1. Offer Better Service. 2. More Reliability. 3. Improve Customer Support. 4. Unique Style. 5. Provide Comfort. 6. Reduce Frustration. 6. Critical Analysis: The SMART analysis indicates that Uber can have many ways to improve every aspect in the company. Their objectives are not time-oriented. On the other had, their objectives are all achievable and relevant to the company’s mission. The analyses also show that most of the strategies and suggestions given are specific, achievable, and relevant. That indicates that Uber has many opportunities that they can benefit from in order to gain more competitive advantage and to operate better in the market. 7. Conclusion: Overall market share of Uber in e-hailing market can be increased by implementing some strategies.The report shows that Uber has many opportunities to increase their market value, market share and gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. Looking at the analysis we realise that Uber has a very high potential in achieving their objective about gaining customers and eventually increase their revenue. Along the side of improving some of their services, following some of the strategies mentioned above and solutions suggested by us, proves that Uber has a high potential and can use the first mover advantage. Distribution channel of Uber can be improved by targeting other parallel industries and move customers into greater contribution. Branding image of Uber can increase its value by providing good service and the operating areas can be increased to reach a higher volume of customers. Moreover, the opportunities discovered by using the analysis might be considered as a useful w ay of taking Uber to a higher position in the e-hail market in London. 10. References: Anon, How is Uber different from a standard taxi? Available at: https://support.Uber.com/hc/en-us/articles/201968463-How-is-Uber-different-from-a-standard-taxi- [Accessed November 13, 2014a]. Anon, The Business Co-Founder. Available at: http://businesscofounder.tumblr.com/post/34572063959/lessons-from-Ubers-marketing-strategy [Accessed November 13, 2014b]. Damodaran, A., 2014. A Disruptive Cab Ride to Riches: The Uber Payoff.Forbes. 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