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. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/aswathdamodaran/2014/06/10/a-disruptive-cab-ride-to-riches-the-Uber-payoff/ [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Department for Transport (2013) ‘Taxi and private hire vehicle statistics: England and Wales 2013’. Taxi and private hire vehicle statistics: England and Wales 2013. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/taxi-and-private-hire-vehicle-statistics-england-and-wales-2013 (Accessed: 20 November 2014). Ferrell, O., Dibb, S. and Simkin, L. (2005) Marketing: Concepts and Strategies. United States: Houghton Mifflin Company. Ferrell, O. and Hartline, M. (2011) Marketing Strategy. United States: South-Western Cengage Learning. Winer, R. and Dhar, R. (2010) Marketing Management – 4th Edition. United States: Prentice Hall. GURLEY, B., Above the Crowd. Available at: http://abovethecrowd.com/2014/07/11/how-to-miss-by-a-mile-an-alternative-look-at-Ubers-potential-market-size/ [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Hill, H. (2009) London Chamber. Available at: http://www.londonchamber.co.uk/docimages/2519.pdf (Accessed: 20 November 2014). Kell, J., Berlin bans Uber app, citing passenger safety concerns. Available at: http://fortune.com/2014/08/14/Uber-berlin-band/ [Accessed November 13, 2014]. MACMILLAN, D., The Wall Street Journal. Available at: http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/03/14/Uber-and-lyft-insurance-now-covers-drivers-between-rides/ [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Mathieu, F., Francois Mathieu shared: Taxi War: Uber vs Hailo. Available at: http://quibb.com/links/taxi-war-Uber-vs-hailo [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Palmer, S., 2013. GetTaxi – Some Real Competition for Uber in NYC T. H. Post, ed.Huffington Post. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shelly-palmer/gettaxi–some-real-compet_b_3743958.html [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Think, B., 2014.How Uber Disrupted an Industry, with Karan Girotra, How Uber Disrupted an Industry, with Karan Girotra. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfA8wzWP02Q [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Uber, 2013.How Uber Moves Your City Forward with Innovation | Uber, How Uber Moves Your City Forward with Innovation | Uber. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2M0RD7bhYY [Accessed November 13, 2014]. WOHLSEN, M., Uber’s Biggest Danger Is Its Business Model, Not Bad PR. Available at: http://www.wired.com/2014/08/the-peril-to-Uber-is-its-business-model-not-bad-pr/ [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Porter, Michael E., â€Å"Competitive Advantage†. 1985, Ch. 1, pp 11-15. The Free Press. New York.