Contemporary issues in marketing Essay

Contemporary issues in marketing Introduction                   Tesco is a UK-based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain. In the recent past, Tesco has undertaken an array of marketing activities to benefit its marketing strategies and corporate social responsibility. The company has invested in a range of own-label products, in-depth market research with customers, established such in-store facilities as bakeries and meat counters and baby change roofs, as launched first-class training program to enable its staff to offer service to customers the best way possible (Chaffey & Smith 2008, p.55). This focus on customer-centric culture has been signified by the positive impacts of the Tesco Club Card and Tesco Direct. Tesco Club Card                   Use of customer loyalty programs has become increasingly pronounced in many industries, the retail sector being no exception. Retailers are increasingly adopting customer club cards to encourage customer loyalty by providing value to them. This tapping into customer loyalty for mutual benefit is a basic technique of relationship marketing which also involves other variables of trust, commitment, satisfaction, and value (Palmer 2005, p.125). Compared to its major competitors, Tesco has the most successful customer loyalty program known as Tesco Club Card. This has given Tesco competitive advantage as the competition has only succeeded in creating false loyalty. Whilst other companies have designed good loyalty programs, they have failed to create value to their brands in the eye of the consumer leading to customer dissatisfaction.                   The Tesco Club card scheme, launched in 1995, has direct benefits to card-holding customers who receive a point for  £1 spent at Tesco stores or at Tesco’s website, as well as double points right71755on special offers by the supermarket. The points are stored and accumulated and the card holder is awarded with vouchers for the value of points they have built up at four times a year (Gummesson 2008, p.55). These vouches can then be used for shopping in store or on Club card Deals where their value is quadrupled. In addition, Club Card holders qualify for free access to a number of Club card clubs by Tesco such as healthy food, baby and toddler, food and Christmas clubs. Tesco card-holding customers also benefit from the convenience of purchasing air miles using their club card points following Tesco’s partnership with Virgin Atlantic.                   The Tesco Club card system also benefits customers by rewarding â€Å"green points† to them when they contribute to environment sustainability measures through bringing their own carrier bags during shopping. This is part of Tesco’s 10-point Community Plan intended to increase â€Å"greenness† at all Tesco stores and improve the chain’s positing within the community (Charlesworth 2009, p.85). The plan also entails Tesco’s efforts to introduce thicker and degradable bags. Through this plan, Tesco customers are able to adopt environmentally friendly behavior and significantly contribute to sustainability.                   Similarly, Tesco itself substantially benefits from the Tesco Club Card scheme. The benefits afforded to the customers allows Tesco to understand consumer behavior and micro-segment them in terms of lifestyle habits. Data obtained from this enables Tesco to target the customers with more personalized promotions along with other marketing programmes (Gummesson 2008, p.86). Tesco is able to gather detailed data about individual customers’ buying habits while at the same time maintaining feedback channels by which the stores communicate directly with their customers and build loyalty. The wealth of information obtained from the Tesco Club Card system, which is constantly updated and refreshed, has significantly contributed to the supermarket chain’s knowledge of its customer base, increased sales and commitment from customers. In addition, Tesco enjoys such operational benefits as refined stock selection, display as well as staffing levels (Hu mby 2008, p.47).                   Tesco Company has also revolutionized its use of personalized club card data through online marketing strategy. Considerable changes have been made to the company’s website, Tesco.com. Club card has been turned digital, where data about individual consumer habits are correlated with other sources of data such as mobile phone data, social networking data, payment methods to enable delivery of even more personalized offers to customers (Hart 2003, p.203). As such, value offers flash up to its most price-sensitive customers whilst finest products are the core of personalized messages to the more â€Å"up-market† club card holders. Tesco’s Home Delivery Service                   Tesco.com, previously known as Tesco Direct, has attracted a huge loyal customer base as a result of the company’s excellent home grocery delivery service. It was initially targeted at time-precious consumers needing to buy Tesco products online. This was done with the understanding that only a particular subset of the customers wanted to buy online. As such, Tesco adopted a user-friendly operating system together to produce a flexible home delivery system carefully tailored to meet the needs and expectations of the target market (Hart 2003, p.206). Tesco,com has grown to become a strong business model complimented by Tesco’s Club card loyalty programme, and helped the leading supermarket chain with identifying, segmenting and incentivizing the most potential customer for less than $250 a head (Humby et al. 2008,, p.221).                   The home delivery service strives to recreate as much as possible the experience of shopping at a local Tesco store. The home delivery model is a product of Tesco’s determination to know its customer more than rival supermarkets and other internet retailers. It has benefitted Tesco’s reputation of listening to customers and responding to their wishes accordingly (Chaffey & Smith 2008, p.98). Tesco has at least 3,200-strong fleet of light commercials that facilitate about 500,000 deliveries per week. The supermarket chain’s home delivery vehicles are in operation seven days a week for a maximum 16 hours daily, resulting in substantial positive effect on their customer service levels. Using a powerful satellite navigational system, Tesco drivers follow most efficient delivery routes that enable them to meet delivery schedules at all times. This is helped by the fact that the company has a team of high skilled pickers who take care of o nline orders. Marketing Relationships Between Organization And Its Stakeholders Tesco’s Relationship Marketing                   The existence of a business depends on its ability to build relationships between employers, employees, investors, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders, and efforts done to attain success. Tesco builds marketing relationships with its stakeholders through listening to them: pursues partnership approach with suppliers, employees and suppliers due to its belief in open and constructive relationships (Thoenig & Waldman 2007, p.152). Similarly, Tesco listens and partners with communities in which they do business for the purpose of understanding local issues and needs. Tesco as a publicly trade limited company has diverse ownership, meaning that the investment community has greater degree of leverage over retailer strategy as well greater degree of freedom of the supermarket to promote sustainability even in instances where it is against short-term financial interests.                   Considering that Tesco operates in a highly competitive marketplace where products, tastes, consumer buying behaviors and even store are constantly changing, it always have to devise proactive measures to deal with these changes. The company’s slogan, ‘Every Little helps’, describes its way of working with all its stakeholders.                   Tesco has a history of appealing to both ‘up-graders’ and ‘down-graders’, which has helped the supermarket store to significantly broaden its demographic base. Tesco strives to fulfill its aims and objectives of creating value for its customers and gain their lifetime loyalty by promoting deals and sales of products via direct mail and emails to customers. The messages are tailored for individual customers depending on their history of purchases retrieved from Tesco’s customer database developed from information gathered by Tesco Club card (Humby 2008, p.87). Tesco builds strong relationships with customers by striving to understand them and be the first to meet their needs. Tesco customers constantly receive notifications about the latest new products in stores as well on Tesco.com website. The supermarket chain also offers deals and discounts on its products in line with the customers’ needs.                   Tesco also makes use of relationship marketing on its website to market special offers to customers during such holiday seasons as Easter. The website carries a range of products and presents from which customers can pick from to purchase. Customers are also afforded the option to pre-order their deliveries, enabling customers to book in advance products they desire to purchase online and be home delivered. Tesco’s Cause-Related Marketing (CRM)                   Phrases such as ‘corporate reputation’ and ‘corporate citizenship’ have increasingly become common additions to marketing speak as brands recognize the need to be perceived as responsible players by customers and the society. Cause-related marketing refers to any partnership between an organization and a charity program which markets a product, service, or an image for mutual benefit (Hassan & Parves 2013, p.6). Tesco is at the top of an illustrious group of companies that have integrated major cause-related marketing programs into their marketing activities. This has been informed by Tesco’s understanding of the significance of CRM – substantial benefits to the organization and positive impact on the community at large. CRM programs have proved necessary due to changing expectations of stakeholders who increasingly demanding greater accountability and responsibilities from organizations.                   CRM activities have positively benefitted Tesco’s communication and marketing power. For instance, the supermarket chain has utilized major advertising spending in supporting a number of community involvements e.g. â€Å"Computers for Schools† and â€Å"Sports for Schools and Clubs†. When customers spend in excess of  £10 at Tesco stores or at Tesco’s website, they are awarded vouchers than can be given to schools and clubs (Thoenig & Waldman 2007, p.149).                   Tesco has also build reputation as a â€Å"responsible business† due to proprietary involvement in healthy eating initiatives such as it inclusion of glycemia index on food-product labeling and a Gi guide lifestyle book for customers. CRM activities through Tesco club card and home delivery services have proved to be an intrinsic component of Tesco’s marketing strategy for enhancing its corporate reputation, brand equity, loyalty, sales, and corporate social responsibility (Thoenig & Waldman 2007, p.157). CRM has strength over more conventional forms of marketing in the sense that it provides both emotional and rational connection with the customer, thus building a much stronger and sustainable relationship between the organization and customer as a stakeholder. Tesco Information Exchange (TIE)                   Tesco has also made significant efforts to boost its previously confrontational relationships with its suppliers as a result of the company’s competing on price with its supplier brands through use of copycat store brands (Thoenig & Waldman 2007, p.150). Since 1997, Tesco has been partnering with its suppliers to jointly develop a differentiated marketing approach – the Tesco Information Exchange (TIE). Through TIE, Tesco supplies its supplies with real-time information pertaining to store sales of their products. This would help in marketing analysis together with logistical planning. This arrangement enables Tesco’s supplier to give input that contributes to the improvement of Tesco’s marketing efficacy.                   Furthermore, the Tesco-suppliers partnership extends into development of certain products for their customers, undertaking store-specific promotions or incorporation the vendor’s offer to the company’s customers at the store-specific level. The result of this relationship has been its suppliers’ general perception of Tesco as professional, fair, consistent, and committed to its customers (Thoenig & Waldman 2007, p.151). Role of Customer Relationship Management (CRM)                   In recent years, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has become a powerful marketing tool that has led to massive increase in sales and profit maximization in the retail sector (Stair & Reynolds 2010, p.47). This has especially been the case due to the increasingly competitive modern marketplace in which customers continue to gain vigour, translating that business have to focus more on their customers in order to retain them and attract more others. Customer Relationship Management refers to any initiative or application developed to help a firm optimize its interactions with customers, suppliers, or protests through one or more touch points such as a salesperson, distributor, call center, store, branch office, e-mail, Web etc for the purpose of acquiring, retaining and cross-selling customers (Hassan & Parves 2013, p.2).                   CRM is designed to develop and continuously improve an organization’s relationship with its customers in their real-time transactions, with the greater help of information technology. CRM utilizes such tools as databases, personalized engines, targeted marketing, response function analysis, online preference surveys, and programs designed to track and analyze customer behavior (Hassan & Parves 2013, p.3). It builds on conventional marketing principles and much emphasis is on recognizing and defining what customers perceive as value and strive to deliver it. CRM goes beyond marketing as it involves a range of business practices designed to put the organization into closer touch with its customers so as to learn more about one another, where the overall objective is to make each other more valuable to the firm. Retailers greatly rely on the implementation of CRM policy approaches and frameworks to ensure their business success (Hassan & Parves 2013, p.5).                   Tesco adopted CRM in the early 1990s when the supermarket chain started working with a marketing services firm, Dunnhumby, leading to the launch of the preliminary test of loyalty card scheme in its six stores in 1994. In relation to the Tesco Clubcard, CRM can be best termed to as initiatives designed to improve the supermarket chain’s performance at every point of contact with their customers, to make them happier while making the company richer at the same time. The main motivation behind the Tesco Clubcard was to gain insight into the shopping habits of Tesco’s customers as well as give something back to them. This scheme established a new point-of-sale (POS) technology at Tesco along with a call centre dedicated to handle customer queries. Generally, Tesco has utilized CRM in its processes to create, maintain, and expand relationships with its customers. Tesco’s CRM initiatives involve loyalty cards, home delivery services, comp any service desk, mobile shopper and Point of Sale (POS) till.                   To a larger extent, success of CRM in creating value and benefits for all concerned is dependent on both the supplier and consumers of products or services. However, with the rapid technologies changes, leading companies like Tesco have been able to utilize CRM as a strategic approach best placed to improve the value of its shareholders by achieving proper relationship with key customer bases or customer bases. This is especially because the implementation and affectivity of Customer Relationship Management are strongly dependent on the effective utilization of information technologies together with strategies of relationship marketing to deliver profitable goals in the longer term (Hassan & Parves 2013, p.8).                   Strategies of CRM have greater potential of delivering value for the business organization and its stakeholders because they are exclusively customer oriented. Through CRM, Tesco’s business practices have enabled it to appeal to its existing and potential customers more closely, creating an opportunity for mutual understanding and offering better worth to each other. At the end every three month, more than 150,000 loyal Tesco customers are delivered with magazine from the supermarket chain highlighting the latest and exclusive offers of the company’s products and services, while more than 8 million Tesco shoppers are reached by the CRM tools.                   By and large, Tesco can be termed as the most excelled practitioner of CRM pertaining to its knowledge of the customer thoughts, their perception and feeling regarding grocery shopping. Using demographic data, lifestyle data, information on total dollars spent on food items, and customer response to offers and promotions facilitated by the Tesco Clubcard, Tesco has put much focus on customer satisfaction by developing customer needs segments to which personalized coupons are awarded to individual segments.                   Tesco has also successfully applied CRM approaches to its home delivery services. They have contributed to creation of value for both the company and its customers in the sense that new technology applications (Microsoft-developed website) have resulted in reduced flexibility of delivery time and improved order-picking process. The company uses special software that manages the picking operations including routing and substitution (Stair & Reynolds 2010, p.47). Use of CRM has ensured greater availability of products most likely to be ordered by different customers given that each Tesco store’s server is equipped with each customer’s favourite product history. Also, Tesco stores add value by fine-tuning wholesale order and maintaining regional variation in terms of pricing for the benefit of the customer. Value of extended marketing mix                   As with all types of marketing activities, retail marketers need to developed concrete knowledge of their markets, needs of their customers and the competitive pressures they face in order to develop clear targeted market strategies and considered brand positioning. This requires that an organization devotes significant amount of attention to its marketing mix (Stair & Reynolds 2010, p.79). In the recent past, the traditional 4Ps marketing mix has expanded to extended services marketing mix to include additional 3Ps – physical evidence or in-store atmospheres, people, and processes. Physical evidence                   The physical evidence element refers to the tangible elements or in-store atmosphere that customers can evaluate. The physical layout is crucial today as customers increasingly come into contact with products or services in retail stores they expect high standard of presentation (Charlesworth 2009, p.211). While Tesco has not committed large amounts of money in store-design relative to its competitors, its stores are reputed for their warmth and excellent layout of products. Tesco ensures a customer who enters their stores gets exceptional personal experience through adequate amount of lighting, proper sign boards and neatly dressed employees highly knowledgeable about the products on sale in the store. As such, Tesco customers can always expect find their way and locate products around the stores with exceptional ease. The products on the shelves are supplied with sufficient information relating to prices and manufacturing ingredients besides being clea n. High quality physical layout of Tesco is evident at its virtual stores and websites which have simple design and are relatively user-friendly. In addition, Tesco has made effort to provide its customers with tangible evidence about of the quality of their products and services through brochures and magazines given after every three months. People                   The people element relates to the evaluation of personnel providing services in terms of their knowledge, competence, customer relations etc. According to Gummesson (1999), everyone in firm in the service industry is a â€Å"part-time marketer†, thus their every actions have great direct impact on the output received by customers. Thus, employees can be said to be the business and are a vital component of the marketing mix. In this regard, Tesco has strived to enrich its human resource by refining its recruitment methods, training, motivation and rewards schemes for its staff so that they can in turn give excellent service to customers. Tesco staff is divided in six specific groups with particular skills, knowledge and resources to execute their roles to the satisfaction of the customer. Ð ¼Tesco is committed to its values that state â€Å"No one tries harder for customers† as well as â€Å"We treat people how we like to be treated.† The supermarket chain believes that by managing its people well, in a culture of respect and trust, employees will deliver their best to customers while customers will develop loyalty to the company (Tesco 2012, p.2).                   Tesco has also worked hard to establish excellent buying processes for its customers by providing them with an option of visiting their brick-and-mortar stores in different locations or ordering online at Tesco.com. In Tesco stores, customers are presented with two efficient options of checking out their products: till payment or self-service. Tesco has made significant strides in improving the shopping experience of its online consumers by working to decrease the total amount of time spent on completing an order – from the previous one hour to about half an hour. The supermarket chain has also improved its home delivery service by increasing the number of delivery truck, personnel and the overall time it takes to make the deliveries. Processes                   The process element relates to the assessment of the entire experience as provided by the service (Charlesworth 2009, p.215). This is particularly crucial as most consumes increasingly perceive the process of shopping as important as the product they purchase, whether it be the calm efficiency of professionally-run department store or the overall excitement of the sale. An effective marketing process entails a variety of processes such as processes of identifying customer needs and demands, processes of handling customer complaints among others. Tesco is committed to its vision of satisfying customers with their products. In general, there are several rallying calls that attest to Tesco’s utilization of the processes element in its service marketing mix. They include: â€Å"we try to get it right first time†, â€Å"we deliver consistently everyday†, â€Å"we make our jobs easier to do†, and â€Å"we always save time and money †, and â€Å"we know how vital our jobs are†. References Chaffey D. & Smith P.R. 2008. E-Marketing excellence. 3rd Ed. Butterworth Heineman. Charlesworth A. 2009. Internet Marketing – A practical Approach. 1st Ed. Butterworth Heineman. Gummesson E. 2008. Total Relationship Marketing. 3rd Ed. ButterworthHeineman. HART, S. J. (2003). Marketing changes. London, Thomson. Hassan, A. & Parves, M. 2013. A Comparative Case Study Investigating the Adoption of Customer Relationship Management (CRM): The Case of Tesco and Sainsbury’s. International Journal of Managing Value and Supply Chains (IJMVSC) Vol. 4, No. 1.HUMBY, C., HUNT, T., & PHILLIPS, T. (2008). Scoring Points How Tesco Continues to Win Customer Loyalty. London, Kogan Page. Palmer A. 2005. Principles of Services Marketing. 4th Ed. McGraw Hill. STAIR, R. M., & REYNOLDS, G. W. (2010). Principles of information systems: a managerial approach. Boston, Mass, Course Technology, Cengage Learning.THOENIG, J.-C., & WALDMAN, C. (2007). The marking enterprise business success and societal embedding. Basingstoke [England], Palgrave Macmillan. Source document

Critically evaluate the claim that culture is best understood as a system of symbolic classification Essay

Introduction                      This essay will focus on evaluating the claim that culture is perfectly understood as a symbolic classification system. Culture can be defined as cumulative deposit of beliefs, attitudes, knowledge, values, experience, roles, meanings, spatial relations, hierarchies, notions of time, possessions and material objects obtained by a group of individuals in the course of the generations through group and individual thriving. Culture involves patterns implicit and explicit, for and of behavior obtained and conveyed through symbols, representing the unique achievement of the human groups, comprising of their personifications in artifacts; the fundamental core of culture include the traditional ideas and particularly their emotionally involved values; culture systems on the other hand may be deemed as products of action. A symbol refers to any object, usually material, meant to stand for another, even though there is no significant relationship. Typically culture is founded on a shared set of meanings and symbols. Symbolic culture allows human communication and therefore must be taught. The symbolic culture is more adaptable and malleable than biological evolution. Humans subconsciously and consciously, strive always in making logic of their surrounding world. Some symbols like objects, words, gestures and signs assist individuals in understanding the world. Usually symbols offer clues in understanding the experiences. They usually express familiar meanings which are shared by the societies. Uniform and badge held by police officers represent symbols of law or authority enforcement. When an officer is seen wearing a uniform or in a squad car enhances reassurance in man citizens, and anger, fear, or annoyance among others (Browne et al, 1990, p38-p42). The world has countless symbols. Company logos, traffic signs and sports uniforms are some of the symbols. A gold sign in some cultures symbolizes marriage. There are some symbols which are very functional; for example, stop signs offers valuable instruction. They belong to the material culture since they are physical objects, however they function like symbols, in addition they pass on nonmaterial cultural meanings. Some of the symbols are only helpful in what they signify. Gold medals, trophies and blue ribbons, for instance, provide no other function other than representing the accomplishments. However numerous objects have both nonmaterial and material symbolic value. Symbols are usually taken for granted easily. Few individuals challenge or even consider sticking the figure signs on the public bathrooms’ doors. However those figures signs are more than being mere symbols which informs women and men which bathrooms they are supposed to use. Also they uphold the value, in U SA, that restrooms ought to be gender exclusive. Even if stalls are comparatively private, most places do not offer bathrooms that are unisex (Hoijer, 1954, p. 14). Symbols frequently get recognized when used out of context. Symbols express strong messages and are used unconventionally. Even destruction of symbols is perceived to be symbolic. Effigies signifying public figures are beaten so as to express anger at particular leaders. Crowds in 1989 tore down Berlin wall a symbols which decades-old of the division between West and East, capitalism and communism. While diverse cultures have different systems of symbols however language is common to all. Language refers to a symbolic system by which individuals’ converse and through which the culture is spread. Various languages include a system of symbols utilized for written communication, whereas others rely on nonverbal actions and spoken communication. Societies regularly share one language, and a lot of languages have the same fundamental components. An alphabet refers to a written system which is made of symbolic shapes which refer to sound which is spoken. These symbols taken together , express definite meanings. English alphabet employs a mixture of 26 letters in order to create words; where these 26 letters create over 600,000 English words which are recognized (Smith, 2001, p. 46). Case study 1                      Additionally, through using language, individuals’ converse without using words. The communication which is nonverbal is symbolic, and, similar to the case of language, a lot of it is learned by the individual’s culture. Various signals are almost universal: crying regularly represents sadness and smiles frequently signify joy. Additional nonverbal symbols differ across the cultural backgrounds in their meaning. For instance, a thumbs-up symbol in the United States shows positive support, while in Australia and Russia, it signifies an offensive curse. Various gestures differ in meaning depending with the individual and the situation. A symbol of waving the hand can represent numerous things, considering for whom it is done and how it’s done. It may signify â€Å"no thank you,† â€Å"hello,† or â€Å"I’m royalty,† or â€Å"goodbye.† Winks express a range of messages, comprising of â€Å"Iâ€⠄¢m only kidding,† or â€Å"I’m attracted to you,† Or â€Å"We have a secret.† From a distance, an individual can comprehend the emotional idea of two individuals in conversation just through examining their facial expressions and body language. Folded arms and Furrowed brows signify a serious topic, perhaps a disagreement. Smiles, with arms open and heads lifted, imply a cheerful, friendly conversation (Durkheim, 2003, p. 41). Case study two                      Even though language is possibly the most apparent system of symbols that used in communication, numerous things we do express a symbolic meaning. For instance, of the way individuals dress and what it signifies to other individuals. The manner in which a person dress symbolically communicates to other people if that individual care about academics or if he or she is a fan of their school’s football group, or it might converse that the individual is a fan of punk music or has adopted an anarchist philosophy. In various urban settings, the symbolic meaning of individual’s clothes can signify gang connection. Other gang associates use these symbolic sartorial signs to identify allies or enemies. Anthropologists argues that, through their evolution course, individuals evolved a universal individual capacity to categorize experiences, as well as encoding and communicating them symbolically, like with language which is written. Due to the f act that symbolic systems were learned as well as being taught, they started developing independently of the biological evolution. Since this capacity for social learning and symbolic thinking is a human evolution product confuses older arguments regarding nurture versus nature. This view of culture shows that individuals who live away from each other begin develops distinct cultures. Basics of different cultures, but, can spread easily from one group of individuals to another. Belief that culture is coded symbolically and can, consequently, can be taught from one individual to another, meaning that cultures can change even if they are bounded. Culture is dynamic can be learned and taught, which makes it a rapid adaption form potentially to variations in the physical conditions. Anthropologists usually view culture both as supplement and product of the biological evolution; culture can be perceived as the core means of human version to the world which is natural (Middleton, 2002, p. 16). The above view of culture as symbolic system with the adaptive functions varying from one place to another, made the anthropologists to conceive of various cultures as described through different structures or patterns of continuing conventional meaning sets. These meanings took solid form in diversity of artifacts like rituals and myths, tools, well as the planning of villages and the design of housing. Anthropologists differentiate between symbolic culture and material culture, not only since each signifies distinct types of human activity, however also because they comprise of different forms of data that necessitate dissimilar methodologies to study. The culture sociology relates to culture since it is evident in the society: the ways of acting, the ways of thinking and the material objects that collectively shape the individual’s way of life. In regard to Max Weber, the symbols are very essential features of culture: individuals employ symbols to convey their spirituality as well as the spiritual side of actual events, and perfect interests are obtained from the symbols (Smith, 2001, p.21-24). In accordance with the sociologists, symbols composes one of the five essential basics of culture, the others being norms, values, language and beliefs. Symbolic anthropology perceives culture as independent system of meaning decoded through interpreting the key rituals and symbols (Werness, 2000, p.37). In conclusion, it is evident that culture is as set of symbolic classifications, referred to as a group of symbols which can prearranged into a paradigmatic set, frequently hierarchical. These systems of classifications show a world view or tribal order. Languages are constituted of the systems of classifications like grammars. Grammars classify number, person and time. Cultures consist of unconscious classifications which include relatives, plants, colors and animals. References Browne, R. B., Fishwick, M. W., & Browne, K. O. (1990). Dominant symbols in popular culture. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University Popular Press. Durkheim, E. (2003). Emile Durkheim sociologist of modernity. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub..Hoijer, H. (1954). Language in culture: conference on the interrelations of language and other aspects of culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Middleton, J. (2002). Culture. Oxford, U.K.: Capstone Pub..Smith, P. (2001). Cultural theory: cn introduction. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell :. Werness, H. B. (2000). The Continuum encyclopedia of native art: worldview, symbolism, and culture in Africa, Oceania, and native North America. New York: Continuum. Source document

Ontela Picdeck Harvard Case Essay

Ontela designed a revolutionary product which allows wireless subscribers to seamlessly transfer data from the consumer’s wireless phone and send it to an email inbox, PC, or website. This allows consumers to use their wireless device more frequently, which generates more revenue for the industry in mobile phone services. Joe Levy, Ontela’s director of carrier marketing, assisted with PicDeck’s segmentation in determining the appropriate target audience. Below you will find an analysis on PicDeck’s choices regarding customer segmentation and evaluation on their data; supporting that research proves their target audience are primarily middle-aged married women and men. SWOT Analysis Issues Short-term †¢Best way to determine the right target audience †¢Making PicDeck more conceptually-friendly so consumers can better understand it user-friendly functions Long-term †¢How could Ontela balance the needs of the subscribers with the carrier’s goals of decreasing churn and increasing ARPU? †¢What is the next big idea to keep company ahead of the game (please help rephrase) Problem Statement: For future growth, the industry will need to continue being creative and innovative in seeking out added services such as data and wireless Internet use to increase yearly revenue; how can Ontela and their counterparts target the right consumers which will utilize both without compromising ARPU? Case Response: Section A 1. Based on the three customer personas, which customer segment should Ontela target? a.Ontela’s objective was to increase the use of wireless carrier service and increase average revenue per user (ARPU). In order to do this the organization conducted a segmentation research to select the right Personas, which will determine how to allocate their resources and time for consumers who use their cell phones and cameras the most. Based on this criteria Sarah, the parent should be considered as the primary target. It is important to consider that women control or influence the purchase of 80% of all consumer goods, including such items as stock for investments, personal computers, and others (2011, Boone). This will automatically include Regina, the teen into the equation, which will automatically boost both revenue and data usage. According with some cell phones statistics from the Defakto Company: †¢55% of mobile social networks usage that is female. †¢42% more likely working moms are than average cellular users to download content to their cell phones †¢42% of women post photos on Facebook (2010, Vermon) Therefore, for this specific scenario, the target should be a female from age 15 to 45 years old, which are the ages for the generations that have lived through the technological changes. In order to narrow more of the target audience, a psychographic segmentation will be necessary. The organization would need to know the typical values and lifestyle of the women who use cell phones cameras, for this purpose we can use tools as VAL which classify consumer by psychological characteristics. 2. Create a positioning statement for your chosen persona and identify the key themes that should be emphasized in the messaging for the PicDeck service to this segment. a.Positioning statement for PicDeck: For the wireless subscribers who want to transfer picture to their computers, email inbox, and mobile devices, the PicDeck provides the most effective way to download and manage pictures. Unlike the currently complex and limited methods we have today, the PicDeck allows the transfer of pictures to any pre-designated destination without the need to press any extra buttons. 3. What are the risks of using qualitative personas to select target customer segments? a.The customer personas and the goal of the organization should be aligned with one another to ensure the company’s cohesiveness and allow them to determine their target customer. The use of personas is useful in marketing to understand the customer behavior, so the personas should represent attributes of the target audience that we want to reach. In using qualitative personas we are assuming that the people represented have similar expectations and goals, and we are not considering important issues as culture and race; and that’s when it becomes risky for the business. This can cause the company to lose revenue because a product of this caliber is universal and therefore the company has no need lock themselves to a certain type of customer when all types of customers can utilize the product. Section B 4. Which segment(s) would you recommend as a target for PicDeck? Explain the logic behind your choice. a.Using demographic segmentation has been a useful tool in determining which customers to target in promoting their product. According to exhibit 4 in section B the strongest response in the surveys came from middle aged married consumers and/or male wireless subscribers. There is additional statistical research supporting this data from the customer personas; which a middle-age married woman with a teenager has the need for this produce and the purchasing power to attain it. In addition, Exhibit 2 consistently illustrates that the middle age consumer wants a device that is easier to transfer photos to their PCs, email, or social website. By continuing using demographic segmentation they can place more focus on income, education, and occupations within middle aged married consumers and males; which this may address Mr. Levy’s concerns regarding the increasing and/or maintaining ARPUs. 5. Develop a positioning statement for your selected target customer(s) the key benefits of the PicDeck service and how the service is differentiated from alternative that customers might consider. a.For the up-to-date Mom and professional savvy male who is looking for timeless convenience the PicDeck Mobile provides fast and clear pictures of your loved ones or Power Point to your boss. Unlike archaic digital cameras the PicDeck can seamlessly send that memory or great idea before you can say cheese. In conclusion Ontela’s Picdeck was definitely on the right path. Looking at today’s society people are using this product every day. Whether it’s a person taking pictures with their smartphone, and instantly sending it to their Facebook page or a fellow student snapping a shot of the groups contact sheet and sending the document via email to the group members; everyone values the product for its convenience and accessibility. It has now become the â€Å"norm† function of a phone. Therefore, Levy’s positioning strategy to ensure the solvency of his company; in addition, addressing carriers’ goals seems as a success with the continuing growth of this industry.

Humanities Final Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Humanities Final Paper - Essay Example Many of the English writers tried to translate the Decameron or the hundred tales from time to time but few of them were successful in translating all the hundred tales. The Boccaccio linked these tales as both of them are about religious issues one is applauding the Christianity while the other is providing proof for all of the three religions by relating them to an example of three rings that bypasses honor and state to its descendants provided by a Jew to Saladin and remained safe from him due to him (Wallis). There are few similarities in both the novels as both of these novels are from the same day that is the First and are the product of human’s power of revoking ideas in response to the environment that one idea give birth to another idea one point is clarified by the other person in an interpersonal communications (Payne). The similarities that are observed in these two novels are the religious sentiments that are involved in these two novels one applauds Christianity while the other applauds the three big religions that is Islam, Christianity and Judaism (Migiel). In both the stories the ideas are clarified by the use of examples that is in the 2nd novel the idea is clarified by the visit of the Jew to the court of Rome and in the third novel the point is clarified by the example of the ring that passes honor and state to the dependent of a king. In both the novels the central characters are Jews that is in the 2nd novel it is Abraham and in the third novel it is Melcheizedeck. Another similarity in both the novels are both the Jews in the novels were wealthy. Main difference is the change of the result in both the novels that is in 2nd novel the end result of the is that a Jew went to Rome for personal observation of the Rome’s court after the preaching of one of his Christian friend but returned with bad experience and becomes Christian unexpectedly, this novel explains the grace of God on some people. While the end result of the 3rd novel

Quantitative Methods Database Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Quantitative Methods Database - Assignment Example Our data included information on the location, the type of houses, the number of bedrooms, the price and the parking space. From our analysis, we present different charts that summarize the numerous properties of our data. The first chart presents the standard deviation of the prices of the different types of homes in our areas under study. Standard deviation indicates the degree of variation in the prices of homes. From the analysis, it is evident that highest deviation of prices occurs in the prices of houses between the cities which has a standard deviation of 1.182649718 with the variation in the prices of bungalow being 0.559803074 and 0.245835672. Consequently, the deviation between the different types of homes for Colchester is 1.123087983, 0.337027783 for Jaywick and 1.072970694 for Mersea Island. The deviations in the prices of homes are highest is Colchester. The average prices of the homes indicate that owning a bungalow in all the three areas will cost an average of 0.713536982, while that of a flat is 0.560563004 and that of a house is 1.273070162. Consequently, owning a bungalow will cost a total of 10808630 while it will cost 4408989 for a flat and 36343708 for a house. As regards the average of prices for the different aspects of the different homes, in the case of a bungalow and house, it is evident that having a detached home will cost a grand total of 1.171448428 while the grand total for a mobile home will cost 0.116264276, 0.808875794 for a semi-detached home and 0.615969407 for a terrace home. However, as regards the same, the grand total for owning a bungalow is 0.658932363 while the grand total of owning a house is 1.172291899. As regards the average number of bedrooms, the grand total in the case of Colchester area is 3 while that of Jaywick is 2 and 3 in the case of Mersea Island.

Leisure time Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leisure time - Essay Example Moreover, gender differences also determine certain variance that exists in leisure, as men seem to engage more in leisure as compared to the females. Free and leisure time remains a crucial period for adolescents, especially those below the age of fifteen, for developmental purposes. Such development is influenced by the parental attitude towards interest and control with the motivational style on the adolescent as the mediating aspect (Olszewska and Roberts, 2009). Based on such a perspective, this paper seeks to make a determination on which goods and services are marketable in the coming decade for leisure activities for children aged fifteen years and above. Kids usually engage in various activities as a means of spending their leisure time, most especially on activities of highest interests. Considering the tremendous technological development that the world is experiencing today, the kinds of activities that kids engage in during their leisure time, have equally taken a different dimension. A majority of kids spend their leisure time on activities affiliated to technology rather than in other social activities. Ideally, on an average day, kids spend approximately 2.7 hours in a possible free time of five hours watching TV. Majorities of TV stations today vary in their programming, and, therefore, provides kids with an opportunity of broadening their view. Kids of fifteen years and above are at a particular stage of their lives in which the happenings in their environments determine their behavior and activities. Additionally, the activities that interest them most are the same ones that the kids get involved in mostly. From the chart, it is a clear indication that kids ideally, spend a better part of their leisure time in watching TV, which takes a substantive part of their leisure time at 2.7 hours of a possible five hours. TV watching is far followed by socializing and communication, which takes approximately thirty-eight minutes of the five

Bearing Failure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Bearing Failure - Essay Example The fan is driven by a large electric motor mounted vertically. These motors have been giving frequent problems due to the failure of the bearing, mounted on the shaft, on the underside of the motor. Repeated failure of these bearings is a cause of concern since it leads to frequent power outages and the attendant maintenance problems. The premature failure of the bearing also leads to damage of the stator, rotor and other parts making this a problem with much larger consequences than just the collapse of a single bearing. Bearings are used to provide smooth and low friction movement between two moving parts; the movement may be rotary, as in this case, or lateral. Bearings have no wearable surfaces and are designed to fatigue after a time. With proper use this time is measured in years and not hours. The usual causes for premature failure of motor bearings are detectable from a close examination of the failed bearing since every different type of reason for failure will leave its own tell-tale signs on the bearing. Detailed examination of several failed bearings was done to determine: The study of the possible causes, collection of information analysis and preparation of report was completed over a period of 50 days. The approximate number of days spent on each activity and the scheduling of work are given in Appendix II attached to this report. Discussion The fishbone diagram A fishbone diagram was drawn to consider all possible causes that may lead to a premature bearing failure. The diagram is enclosed as Appendix-I to this paper. All aspects The four M's: Manpower, Material, Machine and Method The four S's: Suppliers, Surroundings, System and Skills The four P's: Policies, People, Procedures and Place Were considered with care and as a first step the four P's were rejected as not being relevant to this particular situation. The others were combined to form four major reasons Manpower and Skills Material and Suppliers Machine and Surroundings Method and System Every angle of how these could have led to the failure of the bearings was explored and these were eliminated one by one and the root cause of the bearing failure was isolated. The considered opinion of this writer is that the failure resulted from incorrect design and installation of the motors. A different approach was then adopted to determine the exact cause of the bearing failure by examining the engineering aspects of the design, alignment and installation of the motors that caused the bearings to fail. Technical evaluation The motor is

Arts Administration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Arts Administration - Essay Example Organizations are feeling the need to address the problem of the deficit brought about by the problems in the economy (Bonser, 2005). Arts administrators have been very much needed the past few years in various profit and non-profit organizations dedicated to the culture and the arts. This only proves that the society and the economy that caters to arts are already embracing the business component of their endeavors (Bonser, 2005). Choosing arts administration as a field of study can open up to various possibilities in the arts industry. It also promises a big contribution to the society. Arts administrators, dedicated and well-trained, are expected to help the arts institutions to confront the financial situation and organizational limits and to cater to the interests and needs of the clients and enthusiasts. At the same time, the arts administrators are also expected to have the understanding of what counts in the artistic community (Bonser, 2005). In the United States alone, there are various schools that offer Arts Administration program. These schools and universities offer considerable courses for their students and they have very comprehensive curriculum. These institutions are known for their strong commitment in developing the capabilities and skills of the students, thereby providing a strong support to the current state and the future of the arts community (Bonser, 2005). Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology or FIT is located in New York. The school is based in the middle of the city, just perfect for the institute which provides a link between creativity and commerce. It provides academic programs for students who want a career in the arts industry with at least 30 fields to choose from. The courses vary from the Master's to Bachelor's and Associate's Degree. The programs vary. There is the credit certificate program, online course and international programs (FIT, 2006). FIT recognizes the need to go beyond instilling among the students a good background in history of the arts. This is why a number of the programs FIT offers today also teach skills in technology and business. The Fashion Institute of Technology has Associate Degree and Bachelor of Science Degree Programs that have a comprehensive curriculum, covering a specific arts field and the other disciplines required in management for that specific field. Some of these programs are the Fashion Merchandising Management, Production Management and Visual Management. They incorporate the significant resources of the school in the field of Arts and Design, Liberal Arts, and Business and Technology. Through this, school aims to be able to develop the communication and business skills among the students (FIT, 2006). FIT also offers Arts Administration in its Graduate Program in Art Market: Principles and Practice. This was formerly known as the Gallery and Retail Art Administration. It prepares its students for careers in art galleries, auction houses, art market services or public art administration. There are classes in art history and history of collecting. There are also courses tackling practical disciplines like art law, professional ethics, design and management of galleries, business and marketing. Applicants for the graduate program must

The reality of the 1920s in the US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The reality of the 1920s in the US - Essay Example Advances in communication also signified this decade, as the radio was invented leading to establishment of radio stations and commercial radio networks. Coupled with introduction of long distance telephones, this led to opening up of the rural areas.1 Prior to this boom, there was a dark period at peaking in 1919, in the labor market. This was initiated by a universal strike of the entire workforce in the completely steel industry in America and all workers in Seattle. This crippled the economy as thousands of workers and consumers were affected. Employers were faced with the challenge of remaining firm against demands from the workers as a warfare based on class threatened to come up. Moreover, just two years earlier, in Russia, there had been a Communist revolution and this made employers threaten violence upon workers if they refused to return to normalcy. Nevertheless, the situation was salvaged by Hubert Hoover, then Commerce Secretary, who was able to talk industrial leaders i nto voluntarily raising production and wages in order to restore the economy. It is crucial to note that the strikes moved the American government to react strongly against such radical movements, since the Communist Revolution still lingered in people’s minds causing a certain intrigue, this came to be recognized as the Red Scare phase.2 On the political front, the decade featured three presidents Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover. Its beginning was marked by elections that brought Harding into power with Coolidge as his running mate. World War 1 had just ended and people were rearing for a return to normalcy considering the labor problems, rise in immigration and racial strife that were rampant earlier on. The 1920s saw the final participation of U.S in the League of Nations, where President Wilson convened the Council as provided for in the League’s Act that the first assembly be summoned by the President of the United States. Notabl y also, the 18th Amendment of the U.S Constitution came into effect prohibiting the making, selling and possessing of alcohol. In 1924, the National Origins Act came into effect, reducing the number of immigrants to U.S to 150,000 per year with the aim of the legislation being to let the more desirable immigrants from western and northern Europe, into America, in larger numbers (â€Å"1920s Politics†). In addition, of significance through this decade as well, is the Harlem Renaissance that was the flowering of the African American culture through creative arts. It emerged from Harlem, a district within New York but grew to include other areas, where the blacks attempted to create a different perspective of their race through literary, theatrical, visual arts and musical works. This awakened a certain consciousness that led to redefinition of the white stereotypes, and rising of civil rights movements aimed at affording blacks new socio-economic opportunities and uplift the ra ce while developing their pride. Avant-garde artists from Europe experimented with African art, further giving esteem to the African Americans. Initially referred to as the New Negro Movement, the Harlem Renaissance saw African Americans migrating from the South to the northern areas where things were more prosperous.3 Within 1920, in August, came the

College graduates get low interest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

College graduates get low interest - Essay Example ale, a research organization gathered statistics this year on graduates of over 900 colleges and universities, enquiring from them what they did at college and the amount they now make. PayScale then factored in the amount spent on the degree; after financial support .It is from this that the firm approximates the returns gotten from several kinds of degrees. It was found out that a degree course is a good bet wherever one studied it. This makes college graduates a safe bet as far as college low interest loans are concerned. The US. Department of Education develops and releases products that come with lowest student loans rates to assist college graduates. These include Direct Subsidized Loans that in 2013-2014 came with an interest rate of 3.86%, this is courtesy of US Department of Education. This rate is much lower than what is offered by private lenders. Apart from low rates of interest, students offered these loans aren’t responsible for the payment of interest during their schooling period. These costs are covered by governmental sources. Apart from federal low interest rates loans, there are also private lenders offering loan products that have low and attractive interest rates. Such products as these are tailored for students having outstanding credit scores as well as a cosigner having a good credit standing. Such like students are regarded as ideal borrowers since it’s very likely that they are going to honor their credit responsibilities. Most banks seem to reward such kind of b ehavior and battle for the business offered by

HPV Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

HPV - Essay Example Furthermore, by making the vaccine mandatory in public schools, it will be possible to immunize a large number of women and girls against HPV infection. School mandates are known to be huge public health successes and compliance rates for vaccines are often high when they are made mandatory in schools (Young, 2009). School mandates especially for vaccinations in the adolescent population have been very successful because otherwise there is poor compliance with routine vaccination among those in this age range (Young, 2009). HPV vaccination in public schools will therefore ensure that a large number of youth are immunized without the stigma associated with the vaccine. HPV vaccine is shown to prevent cervical cancer in women. The Cervarix vaccine protects against two cancer causing strains, namely HPV 16 and HPV 18 that are known to be responsible for 70% of the cases of cervical cancer (Donahou, 2013; immunizationinfo.org, 2008). The Gardasil vaccine protects against HPV types 16, 18, 6 and 11 (Donahou, 2013). The HPV vaccine works best before the individual is infected with the virus. The vaccine is rendered useless when administered to a woman already infected with the HPV vaccine strain because it cannot confer protection to a previously infected individual. Because the virus spreads through sexual intercourse, it is best for the vaccination to be administered before the initiation of sexual activity. Administration of the vaccine in public schools is thus beneficial because statistics suggest a large number of school going students engage in sexual behavior by the end of high school (immunizationinfo.org, 2008). Some contend that introducing the vaccine in public schools will promote sexual behavior among school students (immunizationinfo.org, 2008). Pro-abstinence groups and social conservatives argue that vaccinating youth in schools against HPV vaccine sends out a â€Å"subtle message condoning sexual

Love in Time of Cholera Essay Example for Free

Love in Time of Cholera Essay Time of CholeraLove, as Mickey and Sylvia, in their 1956 hit single, remind us, love is strange. As we grow older it gets stranger, until at some point mortality has come well within the frame of our attention, and there we are, suddenly caught between terminal dates while still talking a game of eternity. Its about then that we may begin to regard love songs, romance novels, soap operas and any live teen-age pronouncements at all on the subject of love with an increasingly impatient, not to mention intolerant, ear. At the same time, where would any of us be without all that romantic infrastructure, without, in fact, just that degree of adolescent, premortal hope? Pretty far out on lifes limb, at least. Suppose, then, it were possible, not only to swear love forever, but actually to follow through on it to live a long, full and authentic life based on such a vow, to put ones alloted stake of precious time where ones heart is? This is the extraordinary premise of Gabriel Garcia Marquezs new novel  Love in the Time of Cholera,  one on which he delivers, and triumphantly. In the postromantic ebb of the 70s and 80s, with everybody now so wised up and even growing paranoid about love, once the magical buzzword of a generation, it is a daring step for any writer to decide to work in loves vernacular, to take it, with all its folly, imprecision and lapses in taste, at all seriously that is, as well worth those higher forms of play that we value in fiction. For Garcia Marquez the step may also be revolutionary. I think that a novel about love is as valid as any other, he once remarked in a conversation with his friend, the journalist Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza (published as El Olor de la Guayaba, 1982). In reality the duty of a writer the revolutionary duty, if you like is that of writing well. And oh boy does he write well. He writes with impassioned control, out of a maniacal serenity: the Garcimarquesian voice we have come to recognize from the other fiction has matured, found and developed new resources, been brought to a level where it can at once b e classical and familiar, opalescent and pure, able to praise and curse, laugh and cry, fabulate and ing and when called upon, take off and soar, as in this description of a turn-of-the-century balloon trip: From the sky they could see, just as God saw them, the ruins of the very old and heroic city of Cartagena de Indias, the most beautiful in the world, abandoned by its inhabitants because of the sieges of the English and the atrocities of the buccaneers. They saw the walls, still intact, the brambles in the streets, the fortifications devoured by heartsease, the marble palaces and the golden altars and the viceroys rotting with plague inside their armor. They flew over the lake dwellings of the Trojas in Cataca, painted in lunatic colors, with pens holding iguanas raised for food and balsam apples and crepe myrtle hanging in the lacustrian gardens. Excited by everyones shouting, hundreds of naked children plunged into the water, jumping out of windows, jumping from the roofs of the houses and from the canoes that they handled with astonishing skill, and diving like shad to recover the bundles of clothing, the bottles of cough syrup, the beneficent food that the beautiful lady with the feathered hat threw to them from the basket of the balloon. This novel is also revolutionary in daring to suggest that vows of love made under a presumption of immortality youthful idiocy, to some may yet be honored, much later in life when we ought to know better, in the face of the undeniable. This is, effectively, to assert the resurrection of the body, today as throughout history an unavoidably revolutionary idea. Through the ever-subversive medium of fiction, Garcia Marquez shows us how it could all plausibly come about, even wild hope for somebody out here, outside a book, even as inevitably beaten at, bought and resold as we all must have become if only through years of simple residence in the injuring and corruptive world. Heres what happens. The story takes place between about 1880 and 1930, in a Caribbean seaport city, unnamed but said to be a composite of Cartagena and Barranquilla as well, perhaps, as cities of the spirit less officially mapped. Three major characters form a triangle whose hypotenuse is Florentino Ariza, a poet dedicated to love both carnal and transcendent, though his secular fate is with the River Company of the Caribbean and its small fleet of paddle-wheel steamboats. As a young apprentice telegrapher he meets and falls forever in love with Fermina Daza, a beautiful adolescent with . . . almondsshaped eyes, who walks with a natural haughtiness . . . her does gait making her seem immune to gravity. Though they exchange hardly a hundred words face to face, they carry on a passionate and secret affair entirely by way of letters and telegrams, even after the girls father has sound out and taken her away on an extended journey of forgetting. But when she returns, Fermina rejects the lovesick young man after all, and eventually meets and marries instead Dr. Juvenal Urbino who, like the hero of a I9th-century novel, is well born, a sharp dresser, somewhat stuck on himself but a terrific catch nonetheless. For F lorentino, loves creature, this is an agonizing setback, though nothing fatal. Having sworn to love Fermina Daza forever, he settles in to wait for as long as he has to until shes free again. This turns out to be 51 years, 9 months and 4 days later, when suddenly, absurdly, on a Pentecost Sunday around 1930, Dr. Juvenal Urbino dies, chasing a parrot upon mango tree. After the funeral, when everyone else has left, Florentino steps forward with his hat over his heart Fermina, he declares, I have waited for this opportunity for more than half a century, to repeat to you once again my vow of eternal fidelity and everlasting love. Shocked and furious, Fermina orders him out of the house. And dont show your face again for the years of life that are left to you . . . I hope there are very few of them. The hearts eternal vow has run up against the worlds finite terms. The confrontation occurs near the end of the first chapter, which recounts Dr. Urbinos last day on earth and Ferminas first night as a widow. We then flash back 50 years, into the time of cholera. The m iddle chapters follow the lives of the three characters through the years of the Urbinos marriage and Florentino Arizas rise at the River Company, as one century ticks over into the next. The last chapter takes up again where the first left off, with Florentine now, in the face of what many men would consider major rejection, resolutely setting about courting Fermina Daza all over again, doing what he must to win her love. In their city, throughout a turbulent half-century, death has proliferated everywhere, both as el colera, the fatal disease that sweeps through in terrible intermittent epidemics, and as la colera, defined as choler or anger, which taken to its extreme becomes warfare. Victims of one, in this book, are more than once mistaken for victims of the other. War, always the same war, is presented here not as the continuation by other means of any politics that can possibly matter, but as a negative force, a plague, whose only meaning is death on a massive scale. Against this dark ground, lives, so precarious, are often more and less conscious projects of resistance, even of sworn opposition, to death. Dr. Urbino, like his father before him, becomes a leader in the battle against the cholera, promoting public health measures obsessively, heroically. Fermina, more conventionally but with as much courage, soldiers on in her chosen role of wife, mother and household manager, maintaining a safe perimeter for her family. Florentino embraces Eros, deaths well-known long-time enemy, setting off on a career of seductions that eventually add up to 622 long term liaisons, apart from . . . countless fleeting adventures, while maintaining, impervious to time, his deeper fidelity, his unquenchable hope for a life with Fermina. At the end he can tell her truthfully though she doesnt believe it for a minute that he has remained a virgin for her. So far as this is Florentinos story, in a way his Bildungsroman, we find ourselves, as he earns the suspension of our disbelief, cheering him on, wishing for the success of this stubborn warrior against age and death, and in the name of love. But like the best fictional characters, he insists on his autonomy, refusing to be anything less ambiguous than human. We must take him as he is, pursuing his tomcat destiny out among the streets and lovers refuges of this city with which he lives on terms of such easy intimacy, carrying with him a potential for disasters from which he remains safe, immunized by a comical but dangerous indifference to consequences that often borders on criminal neglect. The widow Nazaret, one of many widows he is fated to make happy, seduces him during a nightlong bombardment from the cannons of an attacking army outside the city. Ausencia Santanders exquisitely furnished home is burgled of every movable item while she and Florentino are frolicking in bed. A girl he picks up at Carnival time turns out to be a homicidal machete-wielding escapee from the local asylum. Olimpia Zuletas husband murders her when he sees a vulgar endearment Florentino has been thoughtless enough to write on her body in red paint. His lovers amorality causes not only individual misfortune but ecological destruction as well: as he learns by the end of the book, his River Companys insatiable appetite for firewood to fuel its steamers has wiped out the great forests that once bordered the Magdalena river system, leaving a wasteland where nothing can ive. With his mind clouded by his passion for Fermina Daza he never took the trouble to think about it, and by the time he realized the truth, there was nothing anyone could do except bring in a new river. In fact, dumb luck has as much to do with getting Florentino through as the intensity or purity of his dream. The authors great affection for this character does not entirely overcome a sly concurrent subversion of the ethic of machismo, of which Garcia Marquez is not especially fond, having described it elsewhere simply as usurpation of the rights of others. Indeed, as weve come to expect from his fiction, its the women in this story who are stronger, more attuned to reality. When Florentino goes crazy with live, developing symptoms like those of cholera, it is his mother Transito Ariza, who pulls him out of it. His innumerable lecheries are rewarded not so much for any traditional masculine selling points as for his obvious and aching need to be loved. Women go for it. He is ugly and sad, Fermina Dazas cousin Hildebranda tells her, but he is all love. And Garcia Marquez, straight-faced teller of tall tales, is his biographer. At the age of 19, as he has reported, the young writer underwent a literary epiphany on reading the famous opening lines of Kafkas  Metamorphosis,  in which a man wakes to find himself transformed into a giant insect. Gosh, exclaimed Garcia Marquez, using in Spanish a word in English we may not, thats just the way my grandmother used to talk! And that, he adds is when novels began to interest him. Much of what come [sic] in his work to be called magical realism was, as he tells it, simply the presence of that grandmotherly voice. Nevertheless, in this novel we have come a meaningful distance from Macondo, the magical village in  One Hundred Years of Solitude  where folks routinely sail through the air and the dead remain in everyday conversation with the living: we have descended, perhaps in some way down the same river, all the way downstream, into war and pestilence and urban confusions to the edge of a Caribbean haunted less by individual dead than by a history which has brought so appallingly many down, without ever having sopoken, or having spoken gone unheard, or having been heard, left unrecorded. As revolutionary as writing well is the duty to redeem these silences, a duty Garcia Marquez has here fulfilled with honor and compassion. It would be presumptuous to speak of moving beyond  One Hundred Years of Solitude  but clearly Garcia Marquez has moved somewhere else, not least into deeper awareness of the ways in which, as Florentino comes to learn, nobody teaches life anything. There are still delightful and stunning moments contrary to fact, still told with the same unblinking humor presences at the foot of the bed, an anonymously delivered doll with a curse on it, the sinister parrot, almost a minor character, whose pursuit ends with the death of Dr. Juvenal Urbino. But the predominant claim on the authors attention and energies comes from what is not so contrary to fact, a human consensus about reality in which love and the possibility of loves extinction are the indispensable driving forces, and varieties of magic have become, if not quite peripheral, then at least more thoughtfully deployed in the service of an expanded vision, matured, darker than before but no less clement. It could be argued that this is the only honest way to write about love, that without the darkness and the finitude there might be romance, erotica, social comedy, soap opera all genres, by the way, that are well represented in this novel but not the Big L. What that seems to require, along with a certain vantage point, a certain level of understanding, is an authors ability to control his own love for his characters, to withhold from the reader the full extent of his caring, in other words not to lapse into drivel. In translating  Love in the Time of Cholera,  Edith Grossman has been attentive to this element of discipline, among many nuances of the authors voice to which she is sensitively, imaginatively attuned. My Spanish isnt perfect, but I can tell that she catches admirably and without apparent labor the swing and translucency of his writing, its slang and its classicism, the lyrical stretches and those end-of-sentence zingers he likes to hit us with. It is a faithful and beautiful piece of work. There comes a moment, early in his career at the River Company of the Caribbean when Florentino Ariza, unable to write even a simple commercial letter without some kind of romantic poetry creeping in, is discussing the problem with his uncle Leo XII, who owns the company. Its no use, the young man protests Love is the only thing that interests me. The trouble, his uncle replies, is that without river navigation, there is no love. For Florentino, this happens to be literally true: the shape of his life is defined by two momentous river voyages, half a century apart. On the first he made his decision to return and live forever in the city of Fermina Daza, to persevere in his love for as long as it might take. On the second, through a desolate landscape, he journeys into love and against time, with Fermina, at last by his side. There is nothing I have read quite like this astonishing final chapter, symphonic, sure in its dynamics and tempo, moving like a riverboat too, its author and pilot, with a lifetimes experience steering us unerringly among hazards of skepticism and mercy, on this river we all know, without whose navigation there is no love and against whose flow the effort to return is never worth a less honorable name than remembrance at the very best it results in works that can even return our worn souls to us, among which most certainly belongs  Love in the Time of Cholera,  this shining and heartbreaking novel.

Psychological Adjustment Following Mastectomy Health And Social Care Essay

Psychological Adjustment Following Mastectomy Health And Social Care Essay Breast cancer is so common that 1 in 17 women develops breast cancer in her lifetime (Health Promotion Board, 2009). The American Cancer Society (2010) estimated 1.4 million new diagnoses of breast cancer worldwide. In Singapore, breast cancer is the leading cancer among women with an annual incidence rate of 1300 (Singapore Cancer Society, 2008). Data from the National Registry of Diseases Office (2010) shows that breast cancer contributed to a significant 29.2% of cancer in Singapore women, most prevalent at the age group 55-59. The ethnic distribution of the disease is equal and the estimated lifetime risk of breast cancer is 5% which is much lower than that of the American and European women (Singapore Cancer Society, 2010). However, the incidence rate has been rising rapidly exceeding the rate in United States (Jara-Lazaro, Thilagaratnam, Tan, 2010). Mastectomy is inevitable in patients with large breast tumors (Singapore Cancer Society, 2010). It has unique consequences because of the mutilation of an organ that represents a womans femininity and sexuality and plays an important role in sexual pleasure and stimulation. The paper reviews the literature relating to the psychosocial impact of mastectomy on a womans body image and sexuality which can affect her mental health. As survivorship of breast cancer following mastectomy becomes more common, the findings in this review are of significance to nurses caring for these women in providing interventions to address their psychological wellbeing. 2. Literature Review The review has been divided into 3 stressors for post-mastectomy women: body image, sexual functioning and marital adjustment. 2.1 Body image Ample studies had demonstrated mastectomy was associated with altered body image (Morris, 1979; Gottschalk, Hoigaard-Martin, 1984; Lasry et al., 1987). A recent study conducted by Bakhta and Najafib (2010) also found that women who had undergone mastectomy had lower body image than healthy women. However, many other recent studies proved otherwise. Moreira and Canavarro (2010) conducted a longitudinal study on breast cancer patients and found only a slight increased in body shame during the period of surgery to 6-months after the treatments ending. Esmaili, Saiidi, Majd and Esmaieli (2010) conducted a survey on 90 women during the period of 1-3 months following mastectomy and found insignificant change in body image. Hopwood et al. (2000) found that 21% of the women reported no change in body image in the first 3 years following prophylactic mastectomy as they viewed the surgery as a good trade-off for better health. The type of surgery has a predictive role on body image and various researchers have explored its impact on womens adjustment. A quantitative research showed larger proportion of those who had mastectomy without immediate breast reconstruction reported problems with body image (Sackey, Sandelin, Frisell, Wickman, Brandberg, 2010). Studies on the impact of type of surgery have revealed contradictory results with Hopwood et al. (2000) demonstrating that some women disliking the look or feel of the reconstructed breast. Young women reported more body image problems (Bakhta, Najafib, 2010) while older breast cancer patients showed greater acceptance of the mastectomy consequences (Ganz et al., 2002). Salter (1997) states that patients acceptance of body changes is largely influenced by peoples reactions around her, implying that behaviour of the partners and nurses play the most important role in determining patients acceptance of their body regardless of the type of the surgery and the age of the patient. 2.2 Sexual functioning Many researchers have demonstrated the strong impact of breast cancer and mastectomy on sexual function. Reported rates for post-mastectomy sexual problems range from a low 18.6% in those with mastectomy and reconstruction to a high 30.2% in those without reconstruction (Rubino, Figus, Lorettu, Sechi, 2006). The main causes of post-mastectomy sexual problems were altered self-perceived sexual image (Yeo et al., 2004), loss of pleasurable sensation in the breasts and consequent decreased of sexual desire (Graziottin, 2007; Burwell, Case, Kaelin, Avis, 2006). This shows that sexual difficulties can be attributed to physical problems. 2.3 Marital Adjustment Mastectomy affects not only the patient but also her relationship with her partner. In the study of Avci, Okanli, Karabulutlu and Bilgili (2009), it was found that the patients had a moderate level of marital adjustment. Research has shown that quality of a womans relationship is a stronger predictor of sexual functioning than the alteration of the body after mastectomy (Alder et al., 2008; Zee et al., 2008). Whilst each of these factors has been considered separately, it is important to acknowledge that they are interconnected. Women who have a poor body image following mastectomy have lower sexual satisfaction and are more dissatisfied with their relationship with their partners. Future research is needed to acknowledge this inter-relationship, in order to manage the multi-faceted consequences of mastectomy. 3. Discussion 3.1 Relevance to nursing practice This review has demonstrated that there is a compelling evidence that mastectomy can have a significant impact on a womans psychological adjustment in terms of body image, sexual functioning and relationship with their partners, especially in young women. Schultz and Van de Wiel (2003) found that psychological well-being and sexual intimacy help in the recovery process. This suggests that nurses should be particularly sensitive to the consequences of mastectomy for womens sexuality and body image, as well as the consequences for their partners. In view of Salters study in 1997, it is suggested that nurses consider educating the patients husbands about the facial expressions, tone, touch, and behaviour that can enhance their wives body image. The nurses should also understand that their own body language can affect their patients acceptance of the changes in their body. The findings of this review regarding marital adjustment confirmed the need for a comprehensive counseling and education serving the purpose of mental health management for women and partners following mastectomy to facilitate marital adjustment. Patients who reported greater perceived support in a study reported fewer adjustment problems and lower psychological distress (Baidera, Ever-Hadanib, Goldzweigc, Wygodaa, Peretz, 2003). As such, a good relationship with the husband is important, especially as post-mastectomy outpatient care becomes more common, more men will be involved in providing care and emotional support for their wives at home. 3.2 Recommendations for future research On the basis of gaps in the current literature, further research is required to find out about the impact of mastectomy on Singaporean womens body image and sexual functioning. In the local study, it is found that body image and sexuality is often not discussed with patients following mastectomy as most breast cancer patients felt uneasy talking about their concerns, especially among the Indians, Malays and the elderly Chinese (Saraswathi, Suzanna, Ho, 2005). One notable gap in the current literature is an understanding of cultural differences in psychological adjustment which is important to Singapores multicultural society. In exploring post-mastectomy body image and sexuality, a nurse should know about customs of different religious groups so she can be culturally sensitive to the women under their care. However, this important area has received limited attention in the published literature. In the recent years, increasing focus has been given to study the body image among patients following mastectomy (Bakhta, Najafib, 2010; Moreira, Canavarro, 2010; Esmaili, Saiidi, Majd, Esmaieli, 2010). The findings of insignificant changes in body image could be attributed to patients more preoccupied with their survival rather than the physical changes due to loss of the breast in the earlier stages following mastectomy. As such, further study is required to find out the impact on body image after a long period of time when survival is obtained. Similarly, identification of interventions to respond to women with psychological concerns following mastectomy is yet to be explored. As such, further research is needed to ensure the psychological needs of women are met during treatment. 4. CONCLUSION This literature review details the likelihood of altered body image, the nature of sexual difficulties and the implications of marital adjustment associated with mastectomy. Based on the findings of the review, it is suggested that nurses caring for women who had undergone mastectomy to be particularly sensitive to their sexuality, body image and relationship with their partners to promote better recovery. She may consider teaching the husbands of the women how to help their wives accept their body image changes. In view of the importance of family support, a nurse may want to offer counseling to both the patient and the husband so as to facilitate in the marital adjustment following mastectomy. Several literature gaps are identified, including limited attention to local womens psychological concerns following mastectomy, customs of different religious groups that may affect the psychological adjustment and effective nursing intervention for women with concerns regarding body image, sexual functioning and marital adjustment following mastectomy.

The Relationship Between Political Democracy And Economic Growth Economics Essay

The Relationship Between Political Democracy And Economic Growth Economics Essay The relationship between political democracy and economic growth has been a center of debate in the past fifty years. A corpus of cross-country research has shown that the theoretical divide on the impact of democratic versus authoritarian regimes on growth is matched by ambiguous empirical results, resulting in a consensus of an inconclusive relationship. Through this paper challenges this consensus. In contrast to the current consensus, we show that once the microscope of analysis is applied to the accumulated evidence, it is possible to draw several firm and robust conclusions regarding democracy and economic growth. Supporter of democracy argue that the motivations of citizens to work and invest, the effective allocation of resources in the marketplace, and profit maximizing private activity can all be maintained in a climate of liberty, free-flowing information and secured control of property ( North, 1990). Democracies can limit state intervention in the economy, are responsive to publics demands on area such as education, justice and health, and encourage stable and long run growth (Rodrik, 1999, Lake and Baum 2001, Baum and Lake 2003). Opponents of democracy, on the other hand, argue that democracies lend themselves to popular demand for immediate consumption at the expense of profitable investments, cannot be insulated from the interest of rent-seekers, and cannot mobilize resource swiftly. Democracies are said also to be prone to conflicts due to social, ethnic and class struggles. While some authors favor authoritarian regime to suppress conflicts, resist sectional interests and take coer cive measures necessary for rapid growth, others remain overall skeptical on whether regimes, rather than markets and institutions, matter for growth (Bhagwati 1995). Actually, there are millions of journal articles on the internet regarding to the topic of democracy and economic growth, and in order to get those articles, Google scholars and others journal websites are used to download those to read. Moreover, I use the snowball technic to keep on trace of the best sources. For example, when I found the best source, I look at its references, and then I followed the old references or foot notes of each best source to get more best sources. Since some journals are not free for download, I somehow need to spend money on the journal website in order to get the sources. Moreover, in term of getting best sources from the Google or Google scholar, I typed the only the key words of the topic of research. For instance, instead of using economic growth, I can use economic development, or Gross nation products of each nation. What is more, in order to limit the number of sources on the net, I used the quotation mark, plus sign, or equal sing around the word finding. Importantly, even there are a lot of website that can provide the best convincing information regarding to the topic, I still looked and priority on the famous websites before selecting the sources. Meanwhile of the finding and selecting the best sources, I scanned all the sources to get the overall ideas-what those resources mean to the readers, and in specific skill of selecting the best sources, I just looked the abstract part, and jumped to the conclusion. By doing that, I can pretty sure that I can comprehend what the papers want to be told. Then, I look at those finding, methodologies, limitation, and discussion sections to analyze, find the strength and weakness, and to critic them in the right ways. Of course, even the general knowledge of the researchers seem to be so higher than me, and in order to critic them, I need to read what the fallacy of the research are. For example, some researchers might give their own judgments which cannot be applied in some extend, and some analyzed only in the present by ignoring the past. Beside this, in order to produce this paper, first of all, I need to do a lot of extensive reading on the found sources to select the best source. During the reading, I also quoted regarding to the theme which I was prepared on the time of literature reviewing. Once I had done all the reading, I started to type all the important information to each belonging theme or coding, then I read those information which came from many different scholars to get the common sense of idea on one particular point, so by doing it back and forth with a serious attention, Finally, I can produce this research paper which can summary all the main ideas of the existed sources. Therefore, this paper presents an analysis on the democracy-growth relationship, based on 10 published studies. It is an important step to addressing the deadlock on the democracy growth relationship. The literature need such as urgent comprehensive assessment on the issue in the wake of massive democratizations for many developing countries. Reviews of this literature and many authors who have contributed to it, state that the association is inconclusive. Faced with a diverse set of conflicting results, they are unable to conclude whether the association is positive, negative or non-existent. We find that once all the available evidence is considered, holding research design differences constant, the evidence does not point to democracy having a detrimental impact on growth. Moreover, this critic paper will be able to conclude that the effect is not inconclusive. There is, indeed, a zero direct effect of democracy on growth. Second, democracy has a significant positive indirect effe ct on growth through human capital accumulation. In addition, democracies are associated with lower inflation, reduced political instability and higher levels of economic freedom. However, there is some evidence that they are associated also with larger government and more restrictive international trade. Third, there are region-specific effects on the democracy-growth relationship. Particularly, the growth effects of democracy are higher in Latin America and Lower in Asia. This research paper also that much of the variation in results between studies does not reflect real underlying differences in the democracy-growth association Rather it is owing to either sampling error or the research design process. Raresh Kumar Narayan and Russell Smyth. Democracy and economic growth China: Evidence from counteraction and causality testing. Review of Applied economics, Vol. 2, No, 1, (2006): 81-89 To examine the relationship between the democracy and economic growth in the peoples Republic of China over the last three decades. Actually, China represents an interesting case in the debate over the relationship between the democracy and growth. This study was used the short and long run effect of democracy on the china within a production function framework by following the methods of error correction mechanism, and Granger Causality tests-testing between the labor and capital, and most studies by economist have tested for correlation between democracy and economic growth and have failed to adequately address the issue of causation, and using the Granger causality tests to explore the effects of shocks of democracy and economic growth beyond the sample period through the use of variance decomposit ion analysis and impulse response functions. While labor and capital can defined the core relationship between democracy and economic growth, real GDP and income of people are also the factors, and this study found out the democratization in China is impossible, and it can be true since the China never experience of being democracy. Moreover, economic growth of china is not because of democracy theories, but its own political culture, and its own indigenous development model. Meanwhile, real income and real GDP of each nations are also the factors for democracy growth too. Actually, according to Paresh Kumar Narayan, and Russell Smyth. (2007), who conducted the similar studies, examined the relationship between the democracy and economic growth in 30 Sub-Saharan African counties, supported the Lipset hypothesis. This study used the real GDP Granger to explore the cause of democracy and an increase in GDP results in an improvement in democracy. In the long run democracy Granger causes real income and an increase in democracy has a positive effect on real income, which is found for Bostwana with the freedome house data and for Madagascare, Rwanda, South Africa, and Swaziland. However, Hristos Doucouliagos and Mehment Ulubasoglu.( 2006). Democracy and Economic Growth: A Meta-Analysis. School Working paper-economic series 2006: Deakin University. This research paper is to explore the inconclusive relationship through a quantitative assessment of the democracy growth literature and use meta-regression as the methodology to analysis by collecting all the existed literature review to conclude the impact of democracy on economic. The strength point of this study was that this study concerned many variable at the same time. For example, it looked beyond the theories, the democracy in the past and the present, and so on. In addition, Elias Papaioannou and Gregorios Siourounis. (2004). Democratization and Growth. Job market paper: London business school. This research study challenges the empirical finding that democratic institution has direct effect on economic growth by using the before-after event study approach, and controlling the permanent democratization in the specific time. The strength of this study is that it study the long trend, omit the unrelevent variable, and observe the change from one time to other time of the variable affecting the democracy, but the weakness of this research article was that it didnt distinguish between different types of autocracy for example left or right wing dictatorship and democracy -presidential or parliamentary. Noam, L and Kanta, Murali. ( 2009). Does economic development explain democratic development?. Annual meeting at the Midwest political science association. This study explore the relationship between economic and democracy by using the modernization theories to analysis, and observing those change over time. The finding of this study seems to be able to apply for the new current democracy system, but it lacked of concerning about the democratization process in the past. This research study have found out the when there is economic growth, the democratization process will come as well, and according to my perspective, this assumption can be true since when one country has a high economic growth, that nation will prioritize on the domestic affair, freedom and the growth rate of the middle class. Moreover, the longer period of time, there will be positive effect of democracy, democratization growth, and economic development. Christian. H. ( 2010). Inequality, Economic development and democratization. University of Rochester. This research concerned about the inequality, income distribution of the economic sphere and took that variable to analyze the relationship between democracy and economic growth. However, this study focused on two theories-modernization and inequality theories, which was quite similar to Noam, L and Kanta, Murali. ( 2009). The strength assumption of this study was that when there is economic growth, autocracies more or less will change their political system as well in some extend, but this assumption also failed since some rich autocracies are not more likely to become democratic ( Przeworski and Limongi 1997; Prazewoki et al. 2000). Moreover, this study concluded that democracy inequality harms democratization. Of course, in the case of some nations, when there is class tension-between the level of middle class, there will be social clash, which lead to autocratic state more than d emocracy. What is more, this study fail to analyze other variable beside income inequality since economic crisis, the complexity of democracy system are also the cause of authoritarian shift. The availability of data and econometric techniques enables all the researchers to investigate these issues empirically. However, the empirical findings span a continuum of negative, insignificant and positive estimates, creating a conundrum. For instance, the distribution of results that we have compiled from 470 regression estimates from 10 democracy-growth studies shows that 16% of the estimates are negative and statistically significant, 20% of the estimates are negative and statistically insignificant, 38% of the estimate are positive and statistically insignificant, and 26% of the estimates are positive and statistically significant. This can be implied that three-quarters of the regressions have not been able to find the desired positive and significant sign. It also implies that around half of the regression models have found statistically significant estimates while the other half found statistically insignificant estimates. Such different results are not surprising because research question posed are narrow and approach the issue from different dimensions. For instance, while certain studies focus on the physical investment channel between democracy and growth, others look at the human capital or political instability channels. Likewise, certain studies present structural estimates of a well-defined model, whereas other focus on the empirical regularities in the data. Thus, the question is perplexed with a continuum of estimates, which differ due to data sources, estimate methodologies, sample composition, and time periods. The structure of this paper will be followed by the brief review of the key theoretical arguments behind a democracy-growth association, the effect of democracy on economic, the effect of economic on democracy, and conclusion of the research paper. Theoretical Arguments: Traditional perspective: Does political democracy cause the economic growth? To Hobbes (1651), absolutist regimes were more likely to improve public welfare simply because they could not promote their own interests otherwise. Similarly, Huntington (1968) also argues that democracies have weak and fragile political institutions and lend themselves to popular demands at the expense of profitable investments. Democratic governments are vulnerable to demands for redistribution to lower-income groups, and are surrounded by rent-seekers for directly unproductive profit-seeking activities (Krueger 1974, Bhagwati 1982). Non-democratic regimes can implement the hard economic policies necessary for growth, and suppress the growth-retarding demands of low-income earners and labor in general, as well as social instabilities because of ethnic, religious, and class struggles, and Democracies cannot suppress such conflicts. In term of economic progress, markets should come first and authoritarian regimes can more or less e asily facilitate such policies. Moreover, some level of development is a pre-requisite for democracy to function properly ( Lipsets 1959 hypothesis). In short, this view implies that political democracy is a best product that cannot be afforded by developing countries. Other proponents of the conflict view and stricter state command on the economy include Galenson (1959), Andreski (1968), Huntington and Dominguez (1975), Rao (19884-5) and Haggard (1990). The conflict view became more debatable after the growth success stories in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore in the 1950s and 1960s. The argument rest on several assumptions, the main one of which is that if given power, authoritarian regimes would behave in a growth-friendly manner. In that regard, server contrasting cases are provided where dictators pursued their own welfare and failed in Africa and the Socialist world ( de Haan and Sirermann 1995, Alesina et al. 1996). Proponents of democracy, on the other hand, argue that rulers are potential looters (Harrington 1656) and democratic institutions can act to constrain them. Most of the assumptions of the conflict view can be refuted with good reasons. Implementation of the rule of law, contract enforcement and protection property rights do not necessarily imply an authoritarian regime. In addition, Bhagwati (1995) argues that democracies rarely engage in military conflict with each other, and this promotes world peace and economic growth. They are also more likely to provide less volatile economic performance. Finally, de Haan and Siermann (1995) note that a strong state and an authoritarian state are not the same thing. However, markets can deliver growth under both democratic and authoritarian regimes. The modern perspective Actually, the political democracy-growth can be seen more precise and focused today. Theory has moved away from traditional conflict with compatibility arguments, because different aspects of the broader institutions-growth problem have been identified. For instance, many researchers have separated economic democracy from political democracy. Factors like protection of property rights, business, credit and labor market regulation, which were previously attributed to political democracy, are now being treated as part of economic democracy. Analysis of economic freedom indicators from the Fraser institute ( by Gwartney and Lawson 1996, 2000, 2003) and the heritage Foundation ( by ODriscoll et al. 2003) has shown that economic freedom, with also its other aspects, is equally relevant to growth. Recently, the world bank introduced the Doing Business aspect of institutions problem. In particular Djankov et al ( 2002a, 200b, 2005), Djankov, McLeish and Shleifer (2005), and Botero et al (2 004) benchmarked business regulations and quantified the easiness of private sectors activity in the economics based on labor hiring and firing practices; ease of starting, registering and closing business; protecting investors and enforcing contracts; and dealing with license and paying taxes. At this point one may feel that dissecting these aspect from political democracy reduce its scope to multi-party and free election only. Of course, political democracy is more than free and fair elections. First, empirical evidence shows that all the aspects of the institutions made precise above, i.e., economic democracy, governance and private sphere in the economy have high correlations with political democracy. In other words, the mere existence of participatory democracy implies the broader institutions conducive to growth. Secondly, various studies find that political democracy has enormous indirect effects on growth through human capital accumulation, income distribution, and political stability. In addition, Sturn and de Haan (2001) find that the presence of democracy in a country positively affects the level of economic freedom. Thus, on the question of political democracy and growth, one should remember the broader associations that encompass the channels, or the indirect effects, between democracy and growth rather than one to one causation from regime to growth. Thirdly, as Bhagwati( 1995) and Rodrik (2000) point out, democracies provide higher quality growth through various means. Rodirk puts it in the following way: participatory democracies enable a higher-quality growth by allowing greater predictability and stability in the long run, by being stronger against external shocks, and by delivering better distributional outcomes. Democratic institutions would help market function perfectly, as is assumed in neoclassical economic models. As an extension to such argument, the volatility channel has also been shown to be an important indirect effect of democracy on growth. Non democratic regimes are not a homogenous lot ( de Haan and Siermann, 1995, Alesina et al. 1996, Alesina and Perotti 1994), whereas democracies are more homogenous and can provide stable economic progress. Effect of democracy on Growth: Sirowy and Inkeless (1990) suggest that there are three major views on the effects of democracy on growth with their label the conflict, and the compatibility and the skeptical. The conflict thesis suggests that democracy and economic growth are incompatible because elected officals longing for popular approval make shortsighted decisions designed to maximize whose objective is to divert resources from productive activities in favor of immediate consumption. Related arguments are that democracy is less conducive to long term stability (world Bank, 1991, pp. 132-133) or long term development ( Barro, 1996) because of the tendency in majority voting systems to enact rich to poor redistribution of income including land reforms. On the other hand, the compatibility thesis proffers that democratic features such as political pluralism, institutional checks and balances and freedom of the press provide safeguards against system abuse or predatory behavior often associated with authoritarian regimes. Friedman (1962) was one of the first to suggest that economic and political freedoms are mutually reinforcing. He postulated that an expansion in political freedom fosters economic freedoms such as secure property rights and certainty of contract, which, in turn, underpin higher rates of economic growth. As Barro( 1996) argues, of course there is nothing in principle preventing non-democratic governments from promoting economic freedoms. Examples of autocracies which have increased economic freedom include the Pinochet regime in chile and the Fujimora government in Peru. The point, though, made by advocates of the compatibility thesis is democracy is more likely to be conducive to promoting economic freedoms than au thoritarianism because the political legitimacy and therefore long term survival of a democracy depends on maintaining economic rights. The third perspective, which is the skeptical view, suggests there is no systematic relationship between democracy and economic growth. While it might generally be true that there is more economic freedom under a democracy than an autocracy, there is no guarantee it will be at an optimum ( Esposto and Zaleski. 1999). Even in a democracy there will be those whose aims is to challenges the private property status quo if it is in their best interests, and because of the very nature of a democracy they will have more opportunities to do so( Przewoki and Limongi, 1993). However, the empirical evidence on the three perspectives in not clear-cut. Sirowry and inkeles( 1990) review thirteen studies; of which, six supported the skeptical view, four suggested qualified or conditional relationships, and three provided unconditional support for the conflict perspective. In a later survey, Brunetti ( 1997) reviewed 17 empirical studies of the democracy-growth relationship. He found ( at p. 167) nine studies report no relationship, one study a positive, one study a negative, three studies a fragile negative relationship and three studies a fragile positive relationship between democracy and economic growth. Helliwell (1994), Barro (1996) and Tavares and Waczing (2001) found that democracy has either a non-significant or moderately weak negative effect on growth once other growth-determining variables are held constant. On the basis of the mixed findings in the literature, a reasonable conclusion is that: We do not know whether democracy fosters or hinders gr owth (Przewoki and Limongi, 1993, P.64). However, as a provision to this, the balance of empirical evidence is with the conflict and skeptical views rather than the compatibility view. Effect of growth on Democracy: Political scientists have examined the effect of the economic growth on democracy. Most studies have found that economic growth generates demands for political right ( Lipset, 1959; Bollen, 1979; Bollen and Jackman, 1985; Burkhart and Lewis-Beck, 1994). At one level, casual empiricism seems to also support the view that economic growth promotes democracy. As Gupta et al. ( 1998, pp. 589-590) note, all of the developed, industrialized nations have a democratic political system. In contrast, most of the nations in the poorest segment of the world community operate under various forms of non-democratic political system. However, This is not ture in a blanket sense. Casual observation also suggests that economic growth does not necessarily bring about a demand for democracy. There are examples of authoritarian regimes in Southeast Asia and the Middle East where citizens are willing to forego demand for political liberalization provided their economic needs are being met. In these instance there is a good argument that it is only when the authoritarians government stops delivering on the economic front that there are calls for more political rights. An example is the fall of the Suharto regime in Indonesia following the Asian financial crisis when spiraling inflation and unemployment prevented Suharto from delivering in the economic sphere. Glasure et al. ( 1999) obtain results that are consistent with this view. Their finding suggest that in developing countries and newly industrializing countries economic development has a significant effect on democratic performance, but contrary to Lipest( 1959) economic development leads to lower levels of democracy. Glasure et al. ( 1999, p. 475) conclude: The sign reversal may stem from the possibility that as nations strive for economic development, the nations tend to trade off democracy for economic development Discussion of the results: In the result using the Freedom House dataset, Botswana stands out as the one country where there is support for both the compatibility and Lipset hypothese, i.e. there is Granger causality between democracy and real GDP in the long run, and democracy and real GDP have a positive effect on each other. The results using the Beck et al. (2001) dataset confirm long-run Granger causality running from GDP to democracy and the GDP has positive effect on democracy. The democracy growth is well established in Botswana. The OECD (1999, p.29) posited: Political stability has result fromà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦favorable economic conditions. While this is true, Botswanas economic success has also been built on democratic tradition in which there are no narrow ethnic-based interest groups with distinct means of expression, which has avoided infighting over diamonds and other political issue (Wiseman, 1990). Of course, Botswana has been described as an African success story ( Acemoglu et al., 2001) with the highest growth rate of any country in the world between 1960 and 1999. From 1965 to 1973 Bostswanas annual rate of growth of GDP was 14.8% which was the highest in the world except for the high income oil rich Oman (21.9%). From 1973 to 1984 Botswanas annual growth rate was 10.7% which was the highest in the world, outstripping Asian Tigers, Hong Kong (9.1%) and Singapore ( 8.2%) (World Bank, 1986). Between 1980 and 1990 Botswana grew at 11%, also the highest in the world over this period, with China second at 10.3% per annum. From 1990 to 2003 Botswanas growth slowed to 5.2% but was still in the top dozen countries in the World Bank world Development indicators list of countries over this period (World Bank, 2005). Botswana is one of only a few African countries with a democratic tradition (Wiseman, 1990). It has had continuous democracy since obtaining independence in 1996. The disc overy of diamond mines has facilitated economic growth, but there is more to Botswanas success than simply having abundant natural resources. There is universal agreement that the Botswana government has used the revenue from diamonds to pursue good policies (See e.g Acemoglu et al., 2001). Conclusion: The aim of this paper was to review the accumulated evidence on the impact of the democracy on economic growth. Existing studies and authors of primary studies have drawn inferences from only a limited set of information and have failed to reach a decisive conclusion. In contrast, I apply analysis, critic to the pool of 6 studies with 10 published estimates of the democracy-growth associations, and are able to draw other variables conclusions. This in line with Bhagwatis (1995) prediction that democracy does not handicap development. Second, while the direct effect is found to be Zero, this research papers result indicates that democracy has significant indirect effects on growth through various channels. In particular, this study also finds that democracy has a favorable impact on human capital formation, on the level of economic freedom, inflation and political instability. However, This study also find that democracy is associated with greater government spending and less free int ernational trade. Third, while there is no evidence of a democracy-growth effect for all countries combined all together, there are clear regional effects. The available evidence suggests that democracy has a larger effect on economic growth in Latin America, and that this is lower in Asia. Moreover, it appears that there is country-specific effect like China. Fourth, by comparing the democracy-growth association to research conducted elsewhere on the economic freedom growth assocaiton( Doucouliagos and Ulubasoglu 2006), we find that democracys direct effect on growth is zero, while economic freedom has a positive direct effect. In short, this research paper conclude that the empirical evidence that has accumulate over the past 40 years points to a zero direct effect on growth and significant direct effects on growth through factor accumulation, economic freedom, inflation and openness, with an adverse effect through government spending. The net effect is that democracy does not harm economic performance. This analysis paper can be applied to other dimension of democracy. For example, the links between democracy and the level of development rather than growth, the channels through which democracy impacts on both growth and development, as well as the determinants of democracy, are all promising areas for future research analysis to make more inclusive result.