Biblical Christian Influence on American Films

Biblical Christian Influence on American Films Essay One of the most interesting and probably the most important and influential books ever written in Western history is the Holy Bible. No other book has come close to having had such a profound influence on the religious, intellectual, philosophical, political, military and cultural life of society throughout the world where western civilization has penetrated. Some people believe its the best work of literature ever written; others believe that is the word of God written by Him alone through mortals chosen to carry His message. Some believe that the very thought of changing a single word of this book deserves severe punishment even death. Most western religions treat it as holy words from their creator and savior. Historians value it as a great encyclopedia of ancient cultures of the Near East. Artists continue to be inspired by and find material from this book for their paintings, novels, poems and other expressions of art. Architects have used information and actual plans found in the Bible as to how the ancients built their magnificent temples and cities as reference to build modern structures as well as replicating the old. The Bible has been used as a great source for scientists and researchers in identifying diseases and other maladies that plague modern societies. Doctors have found actual cures for some diseases that were passed on to them through the Bible. Politicians very often use words or passages from this book to rationalize their policies or actions. Moralists have set the doctrines expressed within its pages as the basic rules a good citizen should follow. Priests base sermons on their own interpretations of the holy words to inspire followers and to convert non-believers. How powerful the book is! Bible translation led to the study and literary development of many languages. Luthers translation of the Bible in the 16th century has been called the birth of modern Germany. The Authorized Version (English) of 1611 (King James Version) and the others that preceded it caught the English language at the blooming of its first maturity. Since the invention of the printing press (mid-15th century), the Bible has evolved to become more than a translation of an ancient Oriental text. It is not perceived as a foreign book. Certainly it has become the most available, familiar, and dependable source and arbiter of intellectual, moral, and spiritual ideals in the West. Its English translations form the shape of modern English and many writing styles. It has given birth to many masterpieces of art. Miltons Paradise Lost, Rubens Christ On The CrossIt has caused pain, suffering and conflict between various individuals and societies who interpret the book differently such as the Hebrew, the Moslem and the Christian. No one can deny the astronomical deaths heaped on western society through wars and other forms of murder perpetuated in the name of truth found in the pages of the Bible. It is the foundation of most western moral concepts and cultures. It is read daily by millions throughout the world No one can ignore or deny the place the Bible has earned. Numerous academics have studied its influence on western culture and society. I dont wish to repeat or quote what has already been said more eloquently. What I want to emphasize here is I believe that it is quite impossible to discuss the Bible and its influence over the Western World without considering the influence of different religious interpretations. What I hope to do here is to confine this discussion to the impact of the Christian interpretation of the bible on American Entertainment, specifically American film and the film industry. The Christian Bibles Effect on the American Film Industry Most Chinese audiences have no doubt: America is a nation of complete artistic and personal freedom. How is it possible then that America is under the influence and even controlled by one book? Even I would have to admit it seems true for the present there seems to be unlimited freedom in U. S. entertainment. Violence, crime, pornography, politics, drugs, etc. all have been adapted into screen. It seems there are no rules for the film industry. Filmmakers can and seem to make whatever movies they like. The truth is that until recently the film industry is subject to and has to follow, directly or indirectly, the rules set out in a kind of Production Code, which was originally written by a Catholic priest, Father Daniel Lord in the 1920s when complaints of moral abuses in Hollywood expressed through the new and powerful medium of film forced the industry to protect itself against local or national censorship and establish the Hayes Commission to investigate and make suggestions that would calm the fears of the moralists and organizations that were fearful of Hollywoods influence on their memberships. Later the Hayes Commission gave birth to what is today known as Motion Picture Association. This quasi-government organization is still headed by its first appointee and is supposed to help the motion picture industry set and follow a voluntary code of ethics by warning audiences of the content in each film through a rating system. After the birth of the Hayes Commission, in April 1934 the Catholic Church formed its own investigating commission. A committee of bishops was formed to make suggestions and determinations as to what Catholics could and could not view coming out of Hollywood. It was called The Legion of Decency. These Bishops make determinations as to the moral content of each film and how the Church wanted its priests to handle their parishioners. The priests would then pass on this information to the parishioners. Through sermons, booklets, letters, and media releases the Church let it be known what movies were acceptable for viewing and which were not. For more than three decades the Catholic Church, through its Legion of Decency enjoyed the power to control content in much of what Hollywood produced serving as a moral guardian for the American public. From 1934 until the early 1950s staunch lay Catholic, Joseph I. Breen , rigorously enforced Lords code at the Production Code Administration (PCA), often over the protests of studio executives, producers, directors, and screenwriters. The PCA, the industrys own censorship board worked hand in hand with the Legion of Decency to keep the movies from exploring social, political and economic issues that it believed were either immoral or a danger to the Catholic Church. The PCA, represented only the first step in the process of purification that all Hollywood films underwent during the Legions reign. After receiving a Production Code seal of approval, films were shipped to New York for duplication and distribution; but before that process could begin each film was submitted to the Catholic Legion of Decency for a final review. If they didnt like what they saw, word would be sent to the producing studio that negotiations were in order. A letter or a telephone conversation would detail the Legions objections. The offending films would be either altered to suit Catholic tastes or waiting for condemnation. A Legion condemnation shook Hollywood to its core because Catholics, some twenty million strong, were theoretically forbidden, under the penalty of mortal sin, to attend the condemned film. Any theater that exhibited a condemned film was targeted for boycott by Catholic organizations. Rather than risk a loss of income or challenge the Legions authority to censor their product, producers bowed to the pressure and cut the offending material from all prints exhibited worldwide. In reality, then, the Legions view of sex, politics and moral issues reached an international market. The history of the relationship between the Legion and Hollywood, of a religious organizations censorship of a mass medium entailed a cultural war between the Legion, which believed it spoke for the moral values of the American public, and the movie industry, which foughtoften rather meeklyfor freedom of the screen. From the mid-1930s until Otto Premingers release of The Moon Is Blue in 1953, no Hollywood studio seriously challenged the right of the priests to censor their films. From 1953 until the establishment of the current ratings system, only a handful of independent producers, foreign or domestic, refused to submit their films to Legion censors. The Catholics thought that strict control over the content of the movies would prevent the movies a new, popular and powerful recreation from changing the positive values of Anglo-Saxon ideals was adopted by progressive reformers. What Daniel Lord drafted as a Catholic movie code emerged a fascinating combination of Catholic theology, conservative politics, and pop psychologyan amalgam that would control the content of Hollywood films for the next three decades. Lord and his colleagues shared a common objective with Protestant film reformers: they all wanted entertainment films to emphasize that the church, the government, and the family were the cornerstones of an orderly society; that success and happiness resulted from respecting and working within this system. Entertainment films should reinforce religious teachings that deviant behavior, whether criminal or sexual, cost violators the love and comforts of home, the intimacy of family, the solace of religion, and the protection of law. Films should be twentieth-century morality plays that illustrated proper behavior to the masses. Therefore, the basic premise behind the code was that no picture should lower the moral standards of those who see it. Recognizing that evil and sin were legitimately part of drama, the code stressed that no film should create a feeling of sympathy for the criminal, the adulterer, the immoralist, or the corrupter. No film should be so constructed as to leave the question of right or wrong in doubt. Films must uphold, not question or challenge, the basic values of society. READ: Adolescent Mental Health Facilities EssayThe sanctity of the home and marriage must be upheld. The concept of basic law must not be belittled or ridiculed. Courts must be shown as just and fair, police as honest and efficient, and government as protective of all people. If corruption was a necessary part of any plot, it had to be restricted: a judge could be corrupt but not the court system; a policeman could be brutal, but not the police force. Interestingly, Lords code stated, crime need not always be punished, as long as the audience is made to know that it is wrong. What Lord wanted films to do was to illustrate clearly to audiences that evil is wrong and that good is right. Therefore Going My Way couldnt pass the censor: they thought priests in a bad light. In Inherit the Wind the whole premise of the film could not be accepted originally because it supposedly slammed Christianity and portrayed the minister as the villain in the movie (parish the thought no pun intended). Sunset Boulevard was rejected because Normas crime of shooting Gillis went unpunished. In 1968 the censorship system was replaced by the rating system. In this system the movie will not be changed only given a letter to represent the content of the movie. One cant help but wonder what movies would have come without the Hays committee. And the truth is that though the influence of this Production Code is fading nowadays, Catholics can see all the movies they like, most of the producers see the code as at best a general guideline for movie morality. In 1995, the Pontifical Council for Social Communication identified forty-five films produced in the United States, Europe, and Asia that, it said, possessed special artistic or religious merit. The list was prepared as part of the Vaticans contribution to the hundredth anniversary of the cinema. For the average moviegoer there were many recognizable films: The Vatican council cited, among others, Fred Zinnemanns A Man for All Seasons, William Wylers Ben Hur, Gabriel Axels Babettes Feast, Frank Capras Its a Wonderful Life, Louis Malles Au Revoir les Enfants, Victor Flemings The Wizard of Oz, and Steven Spielbergs Schindlers List. They are all great works representing Christian morality and values. Christian moral rate is still an important standard for audience to judge a film. It still plays a central role in filmmaking. Though the Catholic censorship system has been replaced by the rating system, its shadow is still hover over the films. It may not be so obvious but subtle. Even though they try to expose the dark side of Catholic Church or priests, theyll simply pick up a role that did something wrong then confessed and changed himself into a good man again later. They will be only shown as the smallest minority among the larger Christian family and cannot represent Christians as a whole. Even this kind of subject is very difficult to find in the film library. Christian society also has its own film companies, TV programs and own many radio and TV stations. What they express in the films, videos, DVDs, etc all focuses on converting secular citizens and reinforcing followers belief. Whereas what they produce are not only simple teaching materials, but are entertaining. The movies they have shot are good examples, which mix Christian doctrines with exciting secular plots. For example, Apocalypse, Revelation and Left behind, these three movies are among a series film that contain the message of Revelation. I dont want to describe scenes from these films but rather discuss here the Christian impact on commercial films, the films that are not made by Christian producers. According to their different style of expression, I separate the films into three groups for the conveniences sake: one is viewed from their stories to discover the secret of using or adapting Christian stories in a film; one is sensed from their themes to probe how Christian ideas and values dominate the American society through the media of film, the most attractive, powerful entertainment; the other is analyzed through films structure to see their connection with the Bible. This separation may not be accurate and thoroughly considered. But I hope it to be a guideline to understand this cultural phenomenon. Commercial movies also put biblical stories on screen. However unlike pure Christian films, they dont quite follow what has been written in the Scriptures. They will adapt the scenes or create a plot according to the need of a smooth story. This kind of films always reveal Christian doctrines and teachings openly and are very persuasive. Among the AFIs one hundred greatest films of all time for the celebration of the birth of film, Ben-Hur, Jesus, and The Ten Commandments are this kind of movies. Ben-Hur was released in 1959. Based on the famous novel, it tells the story of Judah Ben-Hur, a wealthy Jewish prince living during the time of Christ who is wrongly accused of murdering the Roman governor. The governor, however, is not killed during the incident of the falling tiles. He recovers. This is important because it means Judah is sentenced to die in the galleys not only for an accident, but for an accident which does not even result in permanent injury. Judah, his mother and daughter are imprisoned for the crime by Judahs childhood friend, the Roman Masala. Judah is sentenced to be a galley slave and swears revenge on Masala. As Judah works to exact his revenge, a young carpenter begins his ministry. The films story dovetails into a climatic confrontation between Judah and Masala, until finally Judah learns that love triumphs over hate, becoming a follower of Jesus, the crucified carpenter. Jesus is not the central role in this film. However the main plot develops around him and around what he did according to the Bible. His sermon on the mount, his performing miracles, the great plague of leprosy, his crucifixion, death and resurrection, etc. are all depicted in the film. At the end of the film, all the lepers were cured, all the blasted grasses were awaken, the dry rivers regained flowing water: everything was being refreshed and gained its second life, people threw away their hatred and followed their Messiah. The whole movie presents a great biblical epic and punctuates the message of peace and love through salvation in Christ, which is the core of the New Testament and the most important value that the Christians believe. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord. Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. for love is of God not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Jesus (1979) is one of the most accurate Bible dramas ever produced with a script taken entirely from the book of Luke. The story begins with the angels announcement to the virgin Mary of the impending birth of Jesus, visually depicts the main events of Jesus life and ministry, portrays a painfully realistic crucifixion, and then ends with His ascension through the clouds. As of July 1, 1997, this film has been translated into over 406 languages and is used as and evangelism tool throughout the world. Different from above two concerned the story of Jesus Christ, The Ten Commandments (1956) projects the panorama of Moses life: his mother putting him into the bulrushes to be found by Pharaohs family, the early Egyptian career and exile to Midian; the call from the Burning Bush; the plagues and the Red Sea; the giving of the Law. Unavoidable, there are many details added which are not found in the Scriptures and some events are altered or merged. These three films are all Hollywoods productions under the domination of Legion of Decency. They cannot be named perfect from a strict point of view of Christians (some violence and revision of the Scripture), They are still the most impressive interpretations of biblical stories that ever seen in the Hollywood film industry. In recent years, we could hardly find this kind of films on the screen until 1998 DreamWorks SKG did a film with brilliant animation also about the story of MosesThe Prince of Egypt. The films introduction states it is true to the essence, values and integrity of the story. There are still divergencies against the book of Exodus: Moses is not reunited with his mother as an infant, he speaks flawlessly and therefore does not need Aarons eloquence, he kills the Egyptian by accident rather than murdering him, Aaron is reluctant to support Moses and discourages him from speaking to Pharaoh Even so, despite the many textual inconsistencies, the films central theme is clear. In the words of Dream Works principal Jeffrey Katzenberg, A man has an experience with his God which forever changes his life, his perceptions and his peoples history. READ: Health Insurance and Health Care in America EssayThey vividly show the burning bush of Gods image stating I Am that I Am, and the plagues on Egypt and the parting of the water of Red Sea are also very graphically impressive with the wonderful combination of the songs I Will Get There and If You Believe. You may not find biblical stories or themes in most of the films. However since the Christian ideas and values have sunk into the deep part of the American culture. Almost every film will come down to moral issues or reveal directly or indirectly something from the Holy Bible. They have woven the preset values secretly into the films. Pay It Forward, a newly released film is a good example. An eleven years old boy Trevor McKinney, a seventh grader challenged by Social Studies teacher Eugene Simonet in an extra credit assignment to change the world, he comes up with a plan to impact the lives of three people. If they accept, it is their duty to continue the idea of paying it forward by impacting the lives of three others. Instead of each one reach one it is each one reach three. Eventually the results can change the world. It doesnt work out so successfully, but he did try. His effort was not in vain. More and more people get to know it, more and more people stretch their hands out to help. Trevor helps his mother out of alcohol and helps Eugene regain his faith in love. He is knifed by two rascals who are bullying a kid after his deed has been screened on TV. Many people come to mourn on his death and Pay It Forward is being spread out all over the country. Though this boy doesnt have a Christian background, the screenwriter provides him the most shining characteristics of a Christian. In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. Trevor is put in the position of solving all the problems in Las Vegas, including but not limited to heroin addiction, alcohol abuse, strip bars, child abuse and homelessness. And he is transformed into a Messiah figure at the end. Seven (1995) as another example is completely different from Pay It Forward. The title refers to the seven deadly sins, which a serial killer is using to brutally murder seven people in seven days. A fat man is punished for his gluttony, a lawyer for his greed, a model for her pride, and so on. The murders are apparently intended as a series of medieval sermons, a wake-up call to a civilization that doesnt know its become utterly corrupt. The murderer finally receives his punishment. The Seven Deadly Sins never occur as a formal list in the Bible, but summarized from the Bible against the Seven Heavenly Virtues. The seven sins are pride, envy, anger, sloth, covetousness, gluttony and lust. Each of the Sins was associated with a specific punishment in Hell: like pride, broken on the wheel; envy, put in freezing water; anger, dismembered alive, and so on. The film exposes the Seven Deadly Sins through the clue the detective follows to find the killer. And the Bible becomes the key to the answer: the evil will finally get punished. There is also another group of films having relationship with the Bible. They borrow the stories from the Bible to construct their own. This kind of movie always offends the Christian community, like Bless the Child and Warlock. Most of these movies are concerned with Apocalypse which means revelation, unbiding. It reveals the true meaning of events or their outcome, or the heavenly reality behind or beyond earthly appearances. It opens the imagination to strange worlds and dreamlike visions. Now the LORD is about to lay waste the earth and make it desolate, and be will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitantsThe earth shall be utterly laid wastefor the LORD has spoken his word. There are two areas of cosmic imagery in the visions of apocalypse in the Bible. One is cosmic catastrophes: the sun darkened and the moon turned to blood in Joel 2:31; the sky rolled up and the stars fell in Isaiah 34; earthquakes and floods in Isaiah 24:18,19. There is also social disintegration and conflict: deception, betrayal, murder in Daniel 11:32,33 and 2 Peter 2, etc. The other is pictures of cosmic renewal: a new heaven and a new earth in Isaiah 65:17 and 2 Peter 3:13; the rapture when Gods glory replaces the lights of Heaven in Isaiah 60:19, etc. In Bless the Child (2000), an unusual little girl is a symbol of returned Christ. And she has tremendous power to retrieve the dead to life. In order to take charge of the whole world before the coming millennium, a Satan captures her and attempts to turn her away from her faith on right and wrong and thus away from her commitment to God and worship him instead of God. He takes her to the top of a skyscraper and asks her to throw herself down from there saying, Throw yourself down from here, for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you. The girl replied exactly what Jesus answered to Satan, Do not put the Lord your God to the test. Later he tries to scare her by burning a poor homeless man in front of her. He fails and has to kill her. But the evil is not the rival of this little Messiah. She saves the world from being controlled by the evil. The screenwriter engrafts the story of Jesus on the little girl. God and Satan warring against each other and Gods ultimate victory are also adapted and woven into Warlock: the Armageddon. Satans only son the Warlock is born through a woman without pregnancy. His mission is to free his father from the fiery chains that imprison him and unleash Satans wrath upon the world. The prophets of Christianity foresee the coming war and get ready to train two young warriors who are the only ones can prevent complete world destruction. They alone possess the supernatural powers to challenge the Warlock and stop the inevitable Armageddon. Finally they outsmart and defeat the Warlock before the prophesied eclipse, sending Satan and his son back to Hell. These two mentioned above remain the frame of biblical revelation and are easily identified. Others like Star Wars series, The Matrix (1998), Twelve Monkeys (1995), Independent Day (1996), etc. throw away the meaning of the Revelation, but focus on the eschatological part of apocalyptic texts mingling with science fictions and not on the revelation of Gods sovereignty. In these films humans are able to change their future, and are not simply spectators to the divine unfolding. Actually Biblical or Christian shadow is not only cast over these three aspects. Some titles of films are from the Bible; many of them contain Bible-related dialogues or direct quotations from the Scripture and biblical figures, images or actions. Here I will not discuss the others in detail. The Bible is one of the two main sources of Western civilization; the other is the culture of Greece and Rome, or classical civilization. Of the two, the Bible is several centuries older. Its contents affected Western values and the way westerners act and think. As a production of industry and technology and combination of various kinds of Arts and an instant mirror of the society, films cannot escape the influence of the Bible and Christianity. Western societys symbols and values affected by the Bible shape the films, which on the contrary attest to the Bibles role in shaping the ways in which westerners tell their stories, mold their heroes, understand their experience, imagine their future, and explain themselves to themselves, no matter how the filmmakers do a film, to copy a biblical story or to borrow a biblical structure or embed Christian values into a film. United States is the best stage to show this story. First, the Bible has exercised a profound influence on the history and values of the United States. The early history of America is a history of the Pilgrims and other early European settlers seeking their new Israel that Gods promised to his newly chosen people. And the values the Americans cherish mostly originate from the Bible, such as the idea of equality, freedom. Second, though two French brothers first invented film, the blooming of this new form of arts and industry is achieved in America. It represents a new popular culture. And its an influential educational tool ever since it was born. In 1930s American society was experiencing the gloomy Depression. Not only economy but also moral standard decayed. The episode of Legion of Decency in American film industry is actually a self-defensive action of a biblical culture preoccupied society towards non-protestant values since they have noticed the power this popular cultural tool has to influence its audience. Through pulling film industry back to its right track, Christianity also consolidates its role in the American society. This is the point that we should pay attention to.

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Gun Control Unit 2 Part 1 - Research Paper Example He pointed out that some resistance was expected form weapons, ammunition and arms industries, stating that it would be seen as an attack on them. Although only as few as four senators had agreed to support Chaffee in his quest to table the bill, he remained confident of winning more support. He was wary of refusal to hand over the guns immediately, but confident $5000 penalty thereon would compel criminals to gradually accept the ban. He was categorical on exceptional possession of the guns by police among other licensed holders. In attendance was Dr Burton Lee, the President Bush’s personal physician who was in agreement of Chaffee’s argument (Mulligan, 1992). The controlling idea in the author’s article is the legal platform being sought to bring in measures t control possession of guns by the public. It is clear that that his thesis is centered on the bill and the popularity it is likely to gain from supporters. From the reporters’ view on the bill that Senator Chaffee prepared for passage into law, some key support is lacking, such that the retired Supreme Court Chief Justice declaration for support of the bill gets such publicity. Apart from a few senators in support of the provisions of the bill, it is apparent that there is a considerable level of resentment from key quarters of arms possession stakeholders. Apart from the politics that goes with legislation, public safety enhancement lies squarely in the sealing of risky loopholes in the security policies made by the government. It might be argued that public opinion is the key to determination of policy and legislation, and so does the support of key bills, but a critical surgery of the underlying issues must be used to make the final verdict. How serious is possession of guns by the public? What popular alternative solutions could be offered in place of hand gun bans? Who could take a better

Blog Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Blog - Essay Example There are still many people who are white supremacists and are racist against people of all different nationalities. Whether it be a group of African Americans, Asians, Pacific Islanders, Arabs, or Native Americans, people still racially oppress these groups. It is a system of hierarchy and allows for white people who primarily came from Europe into the American mixing pot to claim what they thought was theirs, no matter who they had to take from. Many whites still express racism in many different forms. Individuals may have no reason to hate or be prejudice against others but based on stereotypes that they have heard in the media, it is still present. The only thing that the arrogant white people have against these individuals is the color of their skin. Though many whites this far into the future may have ties to other cultures by having an American Indian great-great-grandparent or an ancestor of a different race. The whites turn a blind eye. It is evident in songs, films, text and even in sporting teams. White people do not always take into consideration that the fact that their team might be the Atlanta Braves could be offensive to the American Indian cultures. It is common for people in power to have a sense of oppression. There have been instances of individual violence and economic power. It creates an unequal distribution of power. For example, Barack Obama was the first black President and for many there have been situations where they have acted out and been prejudiced toward black people just because a person of their race has a place in power. But why has there not been a President that is a Native American? The Native Americans are given a different type of rights. Many still live together in order to share their heritage on reserves. Other Native Americans may feel that they are not good enough. They may not teach their children the stories of their past or instill their cultural beliefs. The generations may

Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing - Essay Example Humanism is a concept that goes beyond any person’s professional laws and requirements. Nurses may need to resort to their moral values and beliefs when coming up with a solution. (Benjamin, 2010). Some situations need to be weighed on closer look so that the best decision is made. During a moral dilemma there is not a right or wrong decision to make. (Hold, 2013). All in all, the dilemma must be solve particularly when the patient’s life is at risk.   Mr. Smith, 67 years of age and widowed, is fighting a UTI. This is a urinary tract infection which if not treated at the stage in which it is, it can cause further complications in his system. The only way to stop this complication is to offer him with Intravenous antibiotics which will ultimately kill the bacteria causing the UTI. However, Mr. Smith refuses the medication at all costs even after the doctors, nurses as well as his close family members have explained to him the importance. Informed consent is important i n medicine and the doctors have done a good job telling Mr. Smith and his family of his condition and what needs to be done. While it normal to see such a case where old people refuse treatment, Mr. Smith happens to not have a sober mind following the serious effects of the complications. The doctors and nurses have used this as basis that he is not legible to make any serious decisions by himself. Following this, the IV antibiotics are still being administered to Mr. Smith without his approval. Informed consent is not fully.

Virtual Reality Essay Example for Free

Virtual Reality Essay I have chosen to research virtualization and the top benefits of this very topic. In doing so, I will detail topics such as the cloud, older applications, improved disaster recovery, and faster server provisions. I will utilize resources from the textbook, LIRN, and the Internet. Data center virtualization can reduce your costs on facilities, power, cooling, and hardware, simplify administration and maintenance, and give you a greener IT profile. If you’re thinking about migrating to a hosted data center or looking for ways to improve your on-premise data center, I have one word for you: virtualization. Offering profound changes to the way data centers perform, virtualization makes sense on multiple levels. Here are 10 key benefits of data center virtualization. 1: Less heat buildup Millions of dollars have gone into the research and design of heat dissipation and control in the data center. But the cold, hard fact is, all of those servers generate heat. The only way around that? Use fewer servers. How do you manage that? Virtualization. Virtualize your servers and you’re using less physical hardware. Use less physical hardware and you generate less heat. Generate less heat in your data center and a host of issues go away. 2: Reduced cost Hardware is most often the highest cost in the data center. Reduce the amount of hardware used and you reduce your cost. But the cost goes well beyond that of hardware — lack of downtime, easier maintenance, less electricity used. Over time, this all adds up to a significant cost savings. 3: Faster redeploy When you use a physical server and it dies, the redeploy time depends on a number of factors: Do you have a backup server ready? Do you have an image of your server? Is the data on your backup server current? With virtualization, the redeploy can occur within minutes. Virtual machine snapshots can be enabled with just a few clicks. And with virtual backup tools like Veeam, redeploying images will be so fast your end users will hardly notice there was an issue. 4: Easier backups Not only can you do full backups of your virtual server, you can do backups and snapshots of your virtual machines. These virtual machines can be moved from one server to another and redeployed easier and faster. Snapshots can be taken throughout the day, ensuring much more up-to-date data. And because firing up a snapshot is even faster than booting a typical server, downtime is dramatically cut. 5: Greener pastures Let’s face it: If you’re not doing your part to help clean up the environment, you’re endangering the future. Reducing your carbon footprint not only helps to clean up the air we breathe, it also helps to clean up your company image. Consumers want to see companies reducing their output of pollution and taking responsibility. Virtualizing your data center will go a long way toward improving your relationship with the planet and with the consumer. 6: Better testing What better testing environment is there than a virtual one? If you make a tragic mistake, all is not lost. Just revert to a previous snapshot and you can move forward as if the mistake didn’t even happen. You can also isolate these testing environments from end users while still keeping them online. When you’ve perfected your work, deploy it as live. 7: No vendor lock-in One of the nice things about virtualization is the abstraction between software and hardware. This means you don’t have to be tied down to one particular vendor — the virtual machines don’t really care what hardware they run on, so you’re not tied down to a single vendor, type of server (within reason of course), or even platform. 8: Better disaster recovery Disaster recovery is quite a bit easier when your data center is virtualized. With up-to-date snapshots of your virtual machines, you can quickly get back up and running. And should disaster strike the data center itself, you can always move those virtual machines elsewhere (so long as you can re-create the network addressing scheme and such). Having that level of flexibility means your disaster recovery plan will be easier to enact and will have a much higher success rate. 9: Single-minded servers I’ve never been a big fan of all-in-one services. Not only are you looking at a single point of failure, you have services competing with resources as well as with each other. Those all-in-ones are purchased to save money. With virtualization, you can easily have a cost-effective route to separating your email server, your web server, your database server, etc. By doing this, you will enjoy a much more robust and reliable data center. 10: Easier migration to cloud With a move to virtual machines, you are that much closer to enjoying a full-blown cloud environment. You may even reach the point where you can deploy VMs to and from your data center to create a powerful cloud-based infrastructure. But beyond the actual virtual machines, that virtualized technology gets you closer to a cloud-based mindset, making the migration all the more easy. Experience the benefits Virtual machines offer a powerful way to help relieve the typical headaches that plague administrator’s day in and day out. If you haven’t already begun to make use of virtualization in your data center, it’s time you start. Even if you migrate only a simple file server to virtualized technology, you’ll quickly see the benefits — and eventually, you may want your entire data center virtualized.

Hospitality Supervision And Training Skills

Hospitality Supervision And Training Skills After reading the case study of the hotel one can easily find out what are the strength and weakness of the hotel. Some of the strength are that the hotel is situated in center of the city. The hotel is 3 star properties. Which is manly focusing on the business clients? Even though the hotel is situated at the center of the city, the hotel is struggling to maintain the profit margin. From the last few years Because of the 3 new hotel which maintain the national or international standard, opened near by the hotel, that way the courthouse hotel is not able to make profit. The standard of food and service of courthouse hotel is relatively lower than the other hotels. The hotel capacity is 150 bedrooms, a bar, and a carver style restaurant and a room in which marriage and business conferences are held. Some of the weakness of the hotel is, there is no banquet facility, no room service. In this way the hotel lack some of the newer property near by. Most of the people who are employees in the courthouse hotel are on full time or permanent contract, leaving few senior manager and night workers. The staff of the hotel works in to shift either early or late shift. The hotel need staff only a weekend in the month due to the business executive staying there in weekend. 3 month before a business tycoon bought this hotel and his planning to up grade the hotel to a four star properties, giving good services to clients. For upgrading the hotel his planning to make a a-la-carte restaurant, new banquet in the hotel, staffing should be improved. And hotel needs good skills employees. The employees need a good communication skills and coordination of staff is also need. There is a opening of a new convention center is walking distance of the hotels, there will be a trade increase of 60% which is expected so the courthouse hotel standard are to be rise. And also now the hotel will be in the hands of German chancellor, so every world leader having the meeting with the German chancellor for this the hotel should improve the standard of service. 2. STAFFING ISSUES The staff should be change or hotel should hire new employees because the present employees or not accustomed to four star grading needs and requirements and it may be possible that staff may not like this type off behavior fro the management the hotel should appoint new staff because new people work a bit more harder than the older staff. In case of the curt house hotel needs to look after on the major issues of Staffing. It will take care by the upper management of the organization. Management need to looks after on the budget and the staff problems occurring in the middle, when the management planning for the next year summer objective to change hotel from 3 star to 4star property. Its not easy job, they need to organize the training and development programs for the employees. Management needs to hire employees from internal and external source of recruitment. The main thing in this training and development programs the employees need to concentrate on the training so that they can put an effort for the future goals and objectives. Management need to look after on the budget what they are spending on the training and development programs so that they get a better outcome for an organization. The hospitality industry is highly, influenced by the human labour starting right from chefs, to the servers, bartenders, dishwashers, front office personnel or room attendants. (Supervision in the Hospitality Industry, by Miller, Walker Drummond pg-5) It all depends on the employees to bring in guests or loose business. Talking about the case study The Courthouse, a 3 Star hotel has certain drawbacks issue, which the new owner would face while its up gradation. The staffing issues in the months to come, which the hotel will face are as follows (Case study-the Courthouse Hotel): 2.1 Unskilled Staff: According to the author, the hotel up gradation would result in the increase in the profit of the hotel as the city is opening a new convention center, in the upcoming months. The Courthouse would be allotted to the German Delegates who are very particular about the services. The hotel staff though are good experience holders but is unaware of the standards of services to be given in a 4star categorized hotel. The current staff being unskilled unaware of the techniques procedures to be followed in the Courthouse Hotel is an issue that would worry the management. 2.2 Variation in the Shift Timings: The employees of the hotel are not aware of the actual shift timings that is followed in any property, this is a big drawback for the hotel. The introduction to the varied shifts i.e., morning, afternoon, evening, break night shifts would create a chaos amongst the employees which might further lead to staff turnover. Not only this might the staff being used to its own ideologies might not agree to accept the new changes implemented in their working hours. Working only for one weekend out of 4 can again be a point of discussion. 2.3 Improvement in the Standard: With the up gradation of the star categorization of the Courthouse Hotel, the improvement in standard of the services facilities is an important issue in regards to the up-market of 3-star categorized hotel to 4-star standard. The hotel needs to set up certain Standard Operating Principles about which the staff needs to be trained properly. From the case study the author has already mentioned about the maximum percentage of staff being permanent, hence they have been following their own ways of performing their job they may not encourage new changes in their work culture methods. 2.4 Sacking of Employees: According to the case study, maximum staff is employed on a fulltime basis in permanent contract, which suggest that most of the employees are experienced in this situation the sacking of such staff members would be absurd. In the stage of up gradation of the star- categorization of the property sacking of experienced employees hiring of new employees would increase the financial burden on the management, as the new skilled would be required to be paid more. 3 PLAN OF ACTION The new hotel owner should go through the following plans in practice to get the targeted goal of the organization. Customer services / satisfaction Training given to staff Leadership quality Interpersonal skills of staff 3.1 CUSTOMER SERVICES/SATISFACTION:- Business comprises of a sole meaning of how much effort and the measure the company has to make in order to meet the demands of the customer. It is considered to be as one of the key performance indicator within the business. In todays competition intensive market customer satisfaction plays a vital role in providing information about how much effort is being put and how much more is required, that is the sole big reason why it is becoming an increasingly important factor in Business strategy making. This factor is considered to be an abstract concept because the level of satisfaction varies from person to person and between product and services. It also puts a psychological effect on the process and this makes a link with satisfaction behaviors such as return and proposed rates and expectations. A customer has its own factors on which it decides upon which to choose and which not to chouse he can compare the other product with the company product. Customer satisfaction usually is measured with a set of survey measures records by using a scale or Likert technique. Customer is invited to evaluate each and every statements in terms of their own observation and expectations from the use of that product being measured. LEADERSHIP QUALITY:- Transformational leaders always make a strong vision amongst the employees and set examples of a good judgment of mission and strong hospitality organization. Transformational leadership has always been of a vital importance in todays hard fought customer market of hotels where flexibility, determination, willingness to change and modernize are key factors of an organizational success. The work, which is earlier done on leadership, has extracted distinction, transactional and transformational leadership. (Burns, 1978) STAFF TRAINING:- This is an important tool in succession planning, it is used to find suitable individuals for hiring and promotions. It can also be defined as a formal tool in which plans are developed to ensure that replacements can be successfully and gladly be filled with efficient individuals. Succession planning helps continue the pursuit of strategic goals an missions in a relatively competitive way so as to be there in the market place and compete with the rival companies at par. This is always maintained by the training and development staff. 3.4 INTERPERSONAL SKILL OF STAFF:-the employees should trytalk to the peoplethis is the interpersonal skill of a employees. Interpersonal skill can be told as the way of communication in a better way, to meet that standard. Communication helps to reduce theclashes between the employees and the managers in this way the motive can be achived. The person who is having good interpersonal skills can handle difficult situtation in a better way. 4 CHANGE MANAGEMENT Change can be negative or positive in any organization in courthouse hotel staff can it as in a positive way or can put it in a negative way. The mindset of the staff can make them to resist for change or also it can be possible if they like the change they can also welcome it and adopt it as new step to development. The reason for the resistance can be as follows. Freedom- there might be thinking amongst the staff whether they will be under a boss who can resist their freedom to work. Responsibility their responsibility can be divided between the new staff. And their task can be reduced. Authority their position can be lost and power can be shared between others Work condition there work condition can be changed and they have to work under different condition which can further demotivated their moral. Status their responsibility can be reduced. As the management will be hiring more staff so this will be a thread for others staff whether their job title will be same or they have to change. It can be above the level or below the level. There is also a reason amongst other the staffs what the matter with the way the things are now? typically any change in courthouse hotel can be beneficial and management will not face much problems while implicating these changes. Resistance to change can also make staff to go against the management. Management also will have to look the staff members who are welcoming the change and how to sustain them by motivation. If the existing staff is resisting to change this amplifies that they dont have knowledge and trust on the organization and also may be because of lack of understanding about the change. If the staffs doesnt understand the reason for change they makes a distrust over the organization. This distrust can also make others positive staff to go behind the distrust. With the change of standards in courthouse hotel the technology will be upgrading and this will be a main concern between the staffs how to match the standards. A very difficult situation will be there between the staffs is they fail to grab the standards. And this creates a resistance amongst the staffs. Three 3 key elements of Kirkpatricks model for change management. 4.1 Empathy-: (Kirkpatrick, 2001), According to Kirkpatrick manager should put himself in the place of employee, which is, best way to realize the employees feeling. Managers should also refer to the doubts of the employees that they might have in their minds so that they might not resist the change process. . There are some steps by which a manager can know about the employees, first step is looking personal files, second step is asking questions from the employee and the next and last step is listening and observing. According to Robert Bacall empathy is walking in other person shoes. Thus by implying empathy in the courthouse hotel the managers should get to know the problems of the individual employees. 4.2 Communication-: Robert Bacall states that communication is a 2 way method and in this method the hotel management has to communicate the desired wants and new management policies to the hotel staff. In communication after giving instructions the management has to even look for the feedback from the employees. So that the barriers for communication can be over ridden. 4.3 Participation-: (Coch et al, 1948), states that participation is the major step. Participation is the change tends to reduce resistance build on the change and motive people to make the change to work. Kirkpatrick, (2007), states that Participation is technique for use in conducting instructional meetings. The participation has its two basic approached first one is which one is most common form is to have discussion among the participation without any hesitation and leaders gives questions and problems to entire group. Employers answer it to the leader. Second approach is that group is divided into buzz group of 4 or 5 people so that each employee can participate actively. Thus it is suggested that by implying participation the employs tend to feel better and favour the change rather than resisting it. CONCLUSION: After reading the whole study of the courthouse hotel. We get to know the hotel is facing loss in the business through this we get to what are the staffing issues in the hotel. The hotel employees may to react to the change in a favorable point of view. Because they may not like the change due to lack of coronation between the employees. If the employees and the managers are not coordinating in proper way An organization cannot be run in a good way. If the worker are not skilled enough to do there job. Then there will be issues in the organization. Change management can manage staffing issues. In the case study element of change management shows how the empathy, participation, and communication may help in handling the changes in a proper way. The hotels new owner is transforming the hotel to a four star property. and he is trying to make changes in the hotel which favorable for both the organization and the employees working there. If the organization follow the element of the change management goals can be achieved in a much easer way working with the employees and manager.

Correlation Between Sales And Brand Value Marketing Essay

Correlation Between Sales And Brand Value Marketing Essay In the marketing concept, brand differentiates a product and services from its competitors. Brand affects consumers not only because of the knowledge systems that consumers know about the brands but it is also part of psycho-social-cultural context (Esch et al., 2006). Hence, it is very important to build a strong brand as it act as one of the contributing factor in sustaining companys performance of which the value of a company relies on its current earnings that potentially will develop its future financial performance. For instance, the powerful global companies take advantage on its brand as a contribution factor to their continuing success (Davis, 2002). Brand is classified as an important asset to the company as it helps in the generation of cash. Moreover, it has an impact to the company as the business is worth more due to its position of the brand in the market. The value of the brand is a reflection of the brand worth in regards to current and future income, reputation and market value. It is vital to understand the meaning of the brand value as it serves as a tool in determining the marketing strategy in each segment or target market. According to Gabay et al. (2009), brand value is related on how a brand is influence in the marketing mix as well as the impact of the brand name to the other features in the marketing concept. When a brand is managed well consistently, the brand value will appreciate over time that allows company to charge a premium over competitive offering leadings to a higher profit margin (Davis, 2002). A companys brand is directly related to the consumers as they are the one who decides on the purchase of a product. Brands that manage to segment its products appropriately in the competitive market will enable the company to attract consumers as well as maintaining the brand value that stands as a key point to compete in the future market. Each company would want to have a stable growth in its profitability and the key point to determine the success of the company will rely on its sales figures. As companies noticed the importance of a brand in its financial performance, huge investment has been made to ensure that its brand has a high brand value. For example, Coca-Cola is consistently investing in its brand to develop an emotional connection with the consumers. Consumers perceptions on a brand do play an important factor in the selection of the best brand for a particular product. It is important to build and have a brand value as it involve consumers understanding on what they are getting compared to what they are giving. There is a linkage between consumer loyalty and brand value. For example, if a particular brand maintains a significantly higher perception of value to a consumer than any other brand in the category, that consumer will consistently purchase that brand and consistently recommend that brand to others. As a result, consumers are confident in the product and directly will have an impact to the companys sales performance. According to the top 100 grocery brands in the United Kingdom (UK) report, it was noted that the sales pattern is related to consumers perception on the brands. Brands that have a high brand value have performed well in terms of its sales. Therefore, it seems that there is a relationship between sales and brand value. However, there is still uncertainty on the strength between the two variables. In view of this, it is viable to do a statistical analysis for further analysis on the said matter. 1.2 Previous work that has been done Brand is seen as a very important concept in the marketing perspective especially brand value which have a relationship between quality and price. High brand value is the most valuable asset for a company as it brings higher margins both short and long term (Esch et al., 2006) and host of other benefits (Oslon, 2008). By identifying the factors driving the brand values, it allows company to increase its brands performance which will result to an increase in revenue, larger market share and higher profits. Wood (2000) indicates that by using brand value as a performance measure, it creates a long term focus of the company. Research findings indicate that consumer buying behaviour is based on perception on a brand name (Gabay et al., 2009). Therefore, brand is seen as a contract with the consumers that reduce uncertainty which allows consumers to purchase uncertainty reduction or trust that leads to the increase of value (www.sdrnet.com,2010). Meanwhile according to Oslon (2008), brand creates value by generating demand and reducing risk through securing future earnings for the business which will result to creation of value for companies to its brands. Penrose and Moorhouse (1989) suggest that one important factor determining the value of the brand is its profitability. By knowing the brand value, it allows the company on how is the brand performing in the market. It is related to the element of acceptability and the strength of the brand as it is link to the consumers decision in buying a product. Blackett (1991) comment that there is a relationship between a brands strength and its ability to command future income. Therefore, the stronger the brand, company would be able to predict its future income conversely the weaker the brand, the less certain is its future. This indicates that the brand value will provide a company a clear idea of profitability from its various brands. A research was done against the most expensive leading global products and the findings indicate that each brand invest time and energy to manage its brand accordingly (Gabay et al., 2009). This shows an indication on how companies foresee the importance of b rand value. With a good brand, consumers will be prepared to pay a premium for the products and leads to a brand loyalty which will have value if the brand was ever sold. Research conducted earlier has found a relationship between sales and brand value (Gabay et al., 2009). Moreover, one of the factors determining the brand value is the strong brand acceptance in the market which is dependent on consumers. Research indicates that brand has the power to attract consumers and provide a guarantee of sales through premium price that provide a higher margin from the sale of the products (Blackett, 1991). Another research has found that there is strong correlation between strong brand value and its benefits of pricing, customer loyalty, market leadership and overall financial performance (Leiser, 2004). Moreover, Leiser (2004) and Davis (2002) also point out that there is relationship between customer loyalty with brand value and profitability as findings from a research indicate that 5% increase in customer loyalty could elevate profits by as much as 100%. Meanwhile, based on a study conducted in the hotel industry, it suggest a positive correlation between brand value and a firms performance in terms of profits and long-term cashflows (Kim, Kim and An, 2003). Based on the above, it can be summarise that there is relationship between brand and financial performance. 1.3 What would expect to discover For a product to be successful, it must have a good brand name. Once this has been establish in the market, it creates a powerful and lasting connection between consumers that leads to a positive effect of the product and simultaneously has an effect to the companys sales performance. Sales figure meanwhile definitely have several attributes to the company such as gaining market share and acceptability in the market. As a result of a positive trend in the sales figures, it helps the company to build its brand value in the market. Brands with high values are related to strong market share as it allows the company to bargain more effectively in terms of pricing and quality. Moreover, with the high market share, the brands have an advantage in economy of scales that leads to high sales figures. However in the year 2008, a number of discounted retailers entered the UK grocery market with their home brand at a low cost price. With the effect from the economic crisis, consumers buying trend has slightly shifted from high value brands to home brands which have low brand values. Although the current economy condition does have an impact across the sector, especially in the growth of own-label products, premium brands have still continue to perform well. From this report, it would like to see the relationship between sales and brand values as it is interrelated wherein with high brand value; the product has a control in the market and will lead to better sales in the future. 2.0 Description of data For the purpose of this report, the dependent and independent variables are sales and brand value respectively. Details of the data are attached in Appendix 1. The data is based on the top 100 grocery brands in the United Kingdom (UK) for the year 2008. However, for the purpose of this report, only top 78 grocery brands are used as the sample size due to lack of information of certain brands. The histograms for each variable are given in figure 1 and 2 respectively. The histogram for sales and brand value indicate that the most recorded value is  £168.7 million and  £174.07 million respectively. Meanwhile, the mean values are  £162 million and  £152.04 million for sales and brand value respectively. Based on the median for sale of  £162 million, the 95% confidence interval is between  £135 million to  £188 million while brand value is between  £121 million and  £184 million. It was noted that the distribution for both variables are positively skewed of which the lon g tail in on the right. Figure 1: Histogram for sales Figure 2: Histogram for brand value Figure 3: Normal distribution for sales The inference about the population mean is based on the following computation: 95% confidence interval = 162  ± (1.96 x 127) = (-86.92 to 410.92) Therefore, it believes that the population mean lies between - £86.92 million and 410.92 million. There is a 95% chance that this is true. 2.1 Source of data The brand value data was extracted from the report titled The UKs most valuable grocery brand 2008 prepared by www.intangible bussines.com. Meanwhile, the data for the sales value was obtained from the market research company, The Nielsen Company (2008) of which the data was recorded via checkout scanners at all major grocery chains totalling about 74,000 in the UK. The calculation of the brand value is computed based on its forecast sales, royalty and discount rate. Brand value Components: Sum of future royalty income Testing and benchmarking Discounted Components: Risk analysis Tax deduction Royalty rate Components Brand strength Royalty rate range Future sales Components: Historical sales Adjusted Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) X , = Source: The top 100 grocery brands in the UK The future sale is based on the adjusted Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) to reflect the brands long term ability for growth. The royalty rate is based on scoring of measurements i.e. preference, relevancy, heritage, perception and awareness that resulted to the brand strength for each brand. Meanwhile, discounted rate is computed by multiplying the royalty rate and reduced at the relevant tax rate. The discount rate reflects the time value and risk assessment based on 9% with the basis of the brands existence in a stable economic environment. Finally, results are tested and verified by to ensure the correct figures are used for the ranking purposes to avoid biasness. 3.0 Analysis 3.1 Scattergram and Correlation Before proceeding with the correlation between the two variables i.e. sales and brand value, a scattergram was applied to explore the relationship between the said variables. Scattergram is used as a preliminary step in investigating the existence of a relationship between two variables. In figure 4, the variables indicate a linear positive relationship which is suitable for the correlation analysis. Based on the said scattergram, it was observed that there are two values which are higher than the other values. After checking the values, it was discovered that the said variables have a very high value in sales compared to other brands. The main reason is because the two brands have a strong brand identity in the global market and is one of most respected brands in the market. Moreover, the small sample size might contribute to the finding of a number of outlying residuals. In considering the outliers, it was decided to maintain the variables as it does not have much impact to the r v alue if the same are removed. r= 0.948 Figure 4: Scattergrams and value of r In order to provide a precise measurement of the degree of correlation, the correlation coefficient is used to produce a mathematical measurement (Cohen and Holliday, 1996:80). The correlation analysis is applied to check the quantifiable relationship between two variables in terms of both the strength and direction. Based on figure 4 above, there is a large correlation i.e.0.95 between the two variables (above 0.5) which indicate a quite strong relationship between sales and brand value. Therefore, this result is interpreted in the manner that the amount of sale directly affects the brand value wherein the more sales take place, the higher the brand value. In order to decide the amount of association between the two variables justifies the sales to brand value, hypothesis testing is conducted. Null hypothesis Ho: p= 0, there is no association between sales and brand value. Alternative hypothesis H1=p≠ 0. There is an association between sales and brand value. Critical value: 5% (87-2) = 0.183 Test statistics = 0.948 The test statistics exceeds the critical value and therefore to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is significant association between sales and brand value. Inference about the population value of the correlation coefficient based on the sample is calculated using the FISHER function in EXCEL which is as follows: w= FISHER (0.95) = 1.83 (the mean for the normal distribution) the standard deviation is 1/ = 0.11 The 95% confidence interval for w is 1.83  ± (1.96 x 0.11) = 1.62 to 2.05 By using the FISHERINV formula in Excel, the 95% confidence interval for the population correlation is from 0.92 to 0.97. The narrow confidence interval indicates that adequate sample size is used for the correlation and the variables have a reasonable control in detecting the estimate of the effect. 3.2 Regression analysis Regression analysis is a technique used in analysing variables which focus on the relationship between dependent variable and independent variables. It will assist in understanding how a change in the value of the dependant variable has a direct effect to the independent variables. Clearly, the said analysis could be used to infer causal relationship between independent and dependant variables. Regression Statistics Multiple R 0.948091 R Square 0.898876 Adjusted R Square 0.897687 Standard Error 40.49166 Observations 87 Figure 5: Regression model and statistics A simple linear regression was performed on the 87 sample size to determine if there is a significant relationship between sales and brand value. Based on the regression statistic in figure 5, the Multiple R value is 0.95 and the R square is 0.89 or 89% which both indicate a liner model wherein the two predictors fits the data well and the confidence interval for the slope is wholly positive. R2 tells that 89% of the variation in the sales in associated with variations in the brand value. ANOVA df SS MS F Significance F Regression 1 1238788 1238788 755.5547 4.62162E-44 Residual 85 139363.8 1639.575 Total 86 1378152 Coefficients Standard Error t Stat P-value Lower 95% Upper 95% Intercept 38.81685 6.231001 6.229634 1.72E-08 26.42795 51.20575 Brand value 0.806217 0.02933 27.48735 4.62E-44 0.747901 0.864534 Figure 6:Regression statistic summary output With reference to figure 6 above, the intercept is given as 38.816 and the coefficient of brand value is 0.806. From this figures, the regression equation is constructed as y=38.817 + 0.806x. A significance relationship indicates that an increase in sales will have an effect to the brand value to increase between 0.75 to 0.86. The significance of the coefficients is indicated by the p-values. In figure 6, the p-value for brand value is 4.62E-44 (very small value), indicating that this variable in the population is very unlikely to be zero as the smaller the p-value, the greater significance it has. Based on the ANOVA results, the figure headed Significance F could also be used to assess the overall strength of the linear regression equation. From the regression statistic output, the value for the Significance F is 4.62162E-44 (very small value), so it can be concluded that there is a highly significant linear relationship between sales and brand value. Overall, it appears that there is a strong relationship between sales and brand value and the equation could reasonably be used to obtain predictions for sales in other brands given information about brand value. Based on the analysis above, it was noted that there is significance positive correlation between sales and brand value. It is recognised that there are four different reasons for the relationship to exist: sales indeed cause brand value. If sales increase certainly the reason is because consumers purchase more on the brand which leads to a good brand name and image. Thus, it increases the brand value. however, the results might be just a chance as it is based on sampling. If more observations and sample of the population are correctly and repeatedly done, there is tendency for the correlation becomes very unlikely (the more the test is conducted, the less likely that the results occur by chance). there may be some other factor which was not taken into consideration which produces the variation between sales and brand value and which might be the real cause of the correlation. there might be a causal connection that represents the effect of the correlation but might have put it in the other way round. It can be concluded from the high correlation between sales and brand value based on consumers purchasing power which causes the increase in sales. However, it might be the case that sales are caused by something else such as current economic condition and lifestyle. 4.0 Conclusion Prior to discussing the findings in detail and highlighting its contribution to the current literature and marketing practices, it is essential to provide an overview of this report and summing-up the findings. In summary the aim of the report is to test the relationship between sales and brand value. Based on the analysis conducted above in section 3.0, it is noted that sales have a positive effect on brand value. There is a strong relationship between sales and brand value. This is supported from the finding of Kim, Kim and An (2003) which indicate a positive correlation between brand value and a firms performance in terms of profits and long-term cashflows. Both variables complement each other to ensure the profitability of the company. Brand has always been an important identification in differentiating its products with its customers. Indeed brands with high brand value have established its existence in the market by anchoring a large sum of market share. Moreover, companies have identified the importance of the brand value and several steps have been taken up to ensure that the company will continue to perform better in its financial performance. Customers perception on a brand is related to the brand value computation as it contributes in terms of loyalty. If consumers are happy and satisfied with the product, eventually it built loyalty by consumer to the product itself. Clear example is the Coca-Cola brand, which is a global brand that is accepted by most of the consumers and this has lead to the contribution to the high brand value. It was reported that the sales of Coca-Cola has increased tremendously as it has manage to build a good brand image among its target market as well as a good positioning in the usage in sports and family gathering (www.businessihub.com). This is consistent with Leiser (2004) and Davis (2002) findings which indicate that 5% increase in customer loyalty will elevate profits of the company to the extent of 100%. According to Blackett (1991), there is a relationship between a brands strength and its ability to command future income. Based on the analysis conducted, the strong relationship between sales and brand value indicates the contribution in the aspect of companys financial performance. Therefore, companies is required to provide a wealth of information in regards to its brand value which as a result will enhance and improve both in terms of brands name and business performance. Based on the findings, companies should stimulate sales by means of promotion and advertisement. Current business environment is characterized by stiff competition and in order to survive a company has to have a well planned strategy to compete in the market. However based on the result obtained, it is not sufficient to focus only on these two variables to determine the companys performance especially when brands are supposed to last forever (Esch et al., 2006). For the long term prospect of the brand value, other variables such as brand trust and satisfaction do act as factors driving to consumer buying behavior. Therefore, continuous analyzing different indicators that have an impact to the business in some way can assist companies to interpret the result and make corresponding decision. Despite the above observation, it is hoped that the findings of the analysis could create greater interest in the subject and hopefully engender further in dept analysis which could contribute further understanding to the readers. 5.0 Reflection The analysis done through correlation and regression is able to assist company to engage into forecasting. For instance, a company introduces a new brand in the market and within the next few months its sales has increase tremendously as well as the income. By undertaking further research on how to sustain its sales, the correlation and regression analysis will assists in building up a model that can help the company to forecast its future income. Indeed, correlation is an important tool of statistics which can be used in the business decision making. It is vital to gasp the point of the correlation as even though there is strong correlation, it does not provide an immediate conclusion on the causation as it could indicate a relationship that is based on cause and effect (Taylor, 2007). For this particular example, a high correlation was seen between sales and brand value and some prediction could be made based on the factors such market share but it should be aware that the correlation itself has no proof of these assertions. As a result, correlation could not be solely used as a proof of causation. Some other statistical test should be used to support the result of the correlation. For example, if sales caused brand value, then it seen that there is correlation between the two variables as any changes in sales will cause changes in brand value. The reverse, it is not necessarily true because if sales and brand value is correlated, it could not automatically assume that sales is the cause of brand value. Linear regression using one independent variable i.e. brand value might not reflect the accurate result of the prediction for dependent variable i.e. sales. Therefore, multiple linear regressions with the use of additional independent variables could help better in explaining or predicting the dependent variables. In addition to this, the sample size used in this study only represents part of the entire population that could lead to bias and generalisbility (Saunders et al., 2007). Therefore the outcome obtained from the study may not reflect the whole population as whole and further analysis of the general population would be of value. Analysis of the population of other brands from different industry can be done to confirm, compare and expand on the results obtained earlier.

The Negative Aspects of Animal Experimentation Essay -- Ethical Issues

Imagine your dog, your cat, or even your favorite animal being hit by a car. The tests that animals are put through during research are not much different. Every year millions of animals are forced to endure pain and suffering while being put through cruel and unnecessary tests (Newkirk 1). Animal experimentation should be illegal because there are other options for research, it is cruel and unfair to the animals, and because the results are not always accurate. There are several other ways to conduct experiments that do not use animals. Instead human tissue and living cells can be used to test new drugs and their chemical toxicity (Hayhurst 36). The cell cultures are placed in test tubes, assay plates, or other experimental containers and injected with a small amount of a drug. The cells create an artificial environment exactly like the environment inside a human’s body. Organs from humans or animals can also be used along with bacteria, fertilized chicken eggs, and from embryos (Day 98-99). Animal cells are more commonly used for testing than human cells are. Some human cells cannot be cultured in labs. Also there is a limited supply of cells from humans. The human cells used only come from tissue that is left over from surgery or from cadavers. A single animal can supply a large amount of cells as well as many different kinds of cells. These cells can be used for toxicity testing and to evaluate the risk of the drug. When cell cultures are used the dosage required is only a very small amount, which prevents the drug from being wasted. The dosage can also be carefully controlled and measured resulting in more accurate data (Day 99). Organ cells can be used to predict toxicity in target organs such as the l... ...drug had been given to mice, rabbits, rats, and monkeys, and all of them showed no bad effects (Allen 1). Within minutes the volunteers were writhing on the floor in agony. The drug was designed to dampen the immune response, but instead it supercharged theirs, unleashing a cascade of chemicals. All six of them were sent to the hospital. Several of them suffered permanent organ damage. One man’s head swelled up so badly that the case was referred to as the â€Å"elephant man trial† (Allen 1). Every year millions of animals are used to test products before they are used on humans. People use these products without thinking about the animals that the suffered and died for their benefit. They are selfish, and they never stop to think about the other options for testing, the cruelty of the experiments, or whether or not the test results are even accurate.

The Duchess and the Jeweller :: Literary Analysis, Virginia Woolf

â€Å"The Duchess and the Jeweller† by Virginia Woolf is a short story about Oliver, a poor man who has become a successful jeweler, and his interaction with a Duchess. In the story, Oliver struggles with the Duchess over social power, where she has the ability to cheat him by selling him fake pearls in exchange for a weekend spent with her daughter whom he is in love with – a classic battle of the sexes. While the conflict between man and woman is evident, Virginia Woolf uses flashback, point of view and imagery to also convey the dispute between the rich and the poor. Oliver is first introduced as a man who lives very well â€Å"with the right brandies, whiskeys and liqueurs† (Woolf 90), in a house where â€Å"a more central position could not be imagined† (90). He is a man of power who has â€Å"his breakfast brought in on a try by a manservant† (90) and receives invitations from â€Å"duchesses, countesses, viscountesses and Honourable Ladies† (90). When the Duchess first arrives to see him, he has her wait for ten minutes, displaying that he, a jeweller, has the authority to make her wait. However, Woolf uses flashback to display the underlying battle of the rich and the poor. The reader sees that Oliver came from less fortunate roots where he sold stolen dogs and cheap watches. While superficially it may seem that he has the â€Å"Duchess of Lambourne, daughter of a hundred Earls† ( 93) wait because he has the masculine power to have her wait to see him, Woolf introduces the idea that Oliver, the impecun ious boy who earned his wealth, has the Duchess, a woman whose wealth was inherited, wait for his pleasure. While we see the struggle of control between Oliver and the Duchess, the reader also observes Oliver’s mother’s dominance over him. Using flashback, Woolf shows that as a child when he was swindled while selling stolen dogs, his mother disapprovingly wails, â€Å"Oh, Oliver! When will you have sense, my son?† (90). Later, Oliver talks to a picture of his mother saying, â€Å"I have won my bet† (91) while reminiscing about his past as a indigent boy â€Å"in a filthy little alley† (90) and reflecting on his success. This shows that he has something to prove to his mother, that he is still constrained by her and her thoughts of him.

Men Makes Better Teachers Than Women

Men Make Better Teachers than women (Just for comment)The simple answer is women should teach by men teacher and boy should teach by women teacher so both are study interestingly and paying attention on their subject so students get a good marks I will discuss in general view about men make better teachers than women and in my point of view both are good and bad. There are many characteristics, techniques and other factors that make a successful and exemplary teacher. These may be varied as the teachers themselves.However, there are certain time-tested attributes, characteristics, practices and environmental actors which contribute immensely to teacher success. The main topic of today is to be categorized as Teacher-Personality and Attitude, Teacher-Student Psychology and Teacher-Institute Relationship and who can be teach better men and women? If teacher doesn’t have knowledge and clear concept of his teaching he shouldn’t teach. There are some cases that, a teacher ma y be a good student in his class but he cannot be a good teacher. Good teacher requires communication skills and Teacher-Student Psychology between students and teachers.A teacher also a good friend of you. He understand the nature of students either they are in mood of study or not and how should I convey my knowledge to students in a fun or serious, in story or in joke. That’s make the teacher best that he/she understand the student on their level and if some students asks any question he/she try to understand that what students want to say and try to clear this concept on his mind. One thing also play a big role in class, â€Å"Teacher-Personality and Attitude with students†. There are certain personality characteristics and attitude issues which will help a teacher excel at his/her work.It is widely believed that if a teacher is presentable, he/she will give a good impression to the students especially in the first few days of the class. This indicates that the tea cher is taking his/her job seriously and acting professionally and the students eventually will appreciate that. In addition to looking presentable, the teacher’s personality in class plays a big role in how efficiently the class will be conducted. It is essential that the teacher send the right signals to the students so they will understand the basic rules in the class. A teacher also should active and energetic, some teachers are good in nowledge but they don’t have much communication skills with student in the result, the students are sleeping in the class and they don’t much concentrate on that subject. According to my point of view I generally categorized the teacher in different situation that are: An average teacher just tells the students that what did they do? But, A good teacher explain the students that how did they do? And also, A very good teacher demonstrate the students that like this way they can do? And a great and best teacher inspires you, he gives motion to student to achieve the target for not be a good student but also a very good person in community.That teachers are very rare today that they sincere with their students and wish they always done a best in every field of life. A famous quote â€Å"In every successful student behind a teacher, and in failure a strict teacher† So that’s reason our villages people don’t study more because teacher treat them strictly and they prefer work instead of study. The teacher who follow these things it is a good teacher either it is women or men. But in my personnel point of view a man teacher is more best then women teacher because he behaves sometime strict and he doesn’t compromise with their students as women teacher.

Tensions in Villette

Tensions in Villette Villette is a narrative that seems constantly at war with itself, fraught with tensions of reason versus feeling, nature versus art and reality versus imagination, as I will attempt to illustrate. Lucy is anything but a one dimensional character and it throughout the novel, her emotional growth is charted. The important elements in the narrative seem to resist a one-sided reading. Read in context, perhaps Bronte recognizes that in the Victorian world, tensions of the aforementioned impinge upon and are all shaped by one another. [1] Reason/ Feeling In chapter 23, Lucy Snowe penned two replies to Graham’s letter, one under â€Å"the dry stinting check of Reason† and another â€Å"according to the full, liberal impulse of Feeling†(281). Lucy first began writing the letter meant for her own relief in which she poured out her â€Å"sincere heart† and â€Å"covered with the language of a strongly adherent affection, a rooted and active gratitude†. Upon its completion, Reason scorned and caused her to rewrite the letter, this time for Graham’s perusal, which became a â€Å"terse, curt missive of a page† (282). Judging from the two responses to the same letter, one might think it was penned by two different people, thus indicating the precarious balancing act between reason and feeling, and the public and private self that Lucy tries to maintain. On the surface, Lucy seems innately calm, devoid of passion and presents herself as being emotionally independent, even at the start of the novel. Lucy narrates that â€Å"in the autumn of the year – I was staying at Bretton; my godmother having come in person to claim me of the kinsfolk with whom was at that time fixed my permanent residence†(8) and the kinsfolk that Lucy refers to are obviously her parents. While no details are given, we can guess that Lucy’s separation from her parents must have caused her much pain, and it destabilized her sense of what is â€Å"permanent† because Lucy finds herself having to move from Mrs Bretton’s to Miss Marchmont’s then upon meeting Ginevra and hearing about a possible job opening, to Villette. Perhaps then, through the estrangement from her parents and from Mrs Bretton, Lucy realized â€Å"there remained no possibility of dependence on others; to myself alone could I look. I know not that I was of a self-reliant or active nature; but self-reliance and exertion were forced upon me by circumstances, as they are upon thousands besides†(40). Aside from becoming self-reliant in order to exert some sort of control over her life, Lucy also resolves to be emotionally self-reliant to prevent herself from becoming like Miss Marchmont whose life was frozen in place after the death of her husband. Yet despite Lucy’s want of distancing herself, Lucy feels an amazing depth of feeling, she cannot stop herself from doing so. 2] â€Å"I suppose animals kept in cages, and so scantily fed as to be always upon the verge of famine, await their food as I awaited a letter. Oh! – to speak truth, and drop that tone of a false calm which long to sustain, outwears nature's endurance – I underwent in those seven weeks bitter fears and pains, strange inward trials, miserable defections of hope, intolerable encroachments of despair†¦ The letter â₠¬â€œ the well-beloved letter – would not come; and it was all of sweetness in life I had to look for†(297). Through this we can see that though Lucy moderates her outward responses, and tries desperately to suppress it, internally she is tortured by her emotions. We can conclude then, that although Lucy constantly berates herself for it and attempts to hide it, the private Lucy is an extremely emotional and passionate one. We first glimpse this when Lucy plays the fop in the play. Lucy thinks that she will be terrible at it, yet she not only manages to find the courage to act without worrying she will be laughed at, Lucy is so passionate in the role that she changes the script. Although everyone else seems to be fooled, M. Paul sees Lucy for the passionate creature she truly is. Through M. Paul, Lucy learns to give in to Feeling and stop letting Reason control her life. Nature/ Art The three couples in the story are all described differently and represent different values with regard to nature and art. Although we hear most about Lucy and M. Paul, what we are told about the other two pairs make Lucy’s tale even more tragic, given that Lucy suffers the most by the end of he novel. Ginevra and Colonel de Hamal, who is tiny in stature and looks like a doll to Lucy, are conceived as almost pseudo art objects. Ginevra is depicted as a butterfly flitting through life, having neither sense nor substance and quite happily so. Most of what we hear about Ginevra is about her outward appearance, thus making her primarily an object of beauty. We hear about her blonde curls, rouge, spangles and sashes, and her habit of often gazing at gaudy polished mirrors. Colonel de Hamal is figured as a dandy, â€Å"so nicely curled, so booted, gloved and crafted† (163). At one point, Polly and Ginevra are even contrasted as works of art or figures in a painting- â€Å"nature having traced all these details slightly, and with a careless hand, in Miss Fanshawe's case; and in Miss de Bassompierre's, wrought them to a high and delicate finish† (346). On the other hand, Graham and Polly are depicted as nature cultivated by art[3], something between nature and art that Robert Colby likens to sheltered greenhouse plants. Dr John’s features are said to be â€Å"though well cut they were not so chiselled, so frittered away as to lose in power and significance what they gained in unmeaning symmetry† (164), while Lucy says of Polly that â€Å"I who had known her as a child, knew or guessed by what a good and strong root her graces held to the firm soil of reality† (347). In this respect, Polly and Graham are not described to be as delicate as Ginevra and her Colonel, but neither are they described like Lucy and M. Paul whose relatively unattractive appearance are an indication of unrefined nature. We are told that Lucy looks plain, but underneath is â€Å"fiery and rash† and given to unpredictable changes, while M. Paul is â€Å"a little hawk of a man†(237), a â€Å"savage-looking friend†(247) of Lucy’s. Even the end of which they come to is poetically suitable- M. Paul perishing in waters and Lucy lamenting amidst the turbulence of nature’s elements. Also, in the beginning of the novel, most of the scenes take place indoors- in lecture halls, concert halls, art galleries while towards the end of the novel, more scenes take place in the woods and gardens. Art is posed against Nature, and it is significant that Lucy’s love for M. Paul blooms in the natural environment. She hears stories from M. Paul who narrates with â€Å"diction simple in its strength, and strong in its simplicity†¦ such a picture I have never looked on from artists' pencil. †(421). Lucy stresses that the stories seem spontaneous, free from artifice. M. Paul leads Lucy from literature to art into nature, imitations of life into life itself. Imagination/ Reality In the novel, there are also many allusions to literature especially in the earlier sections. In many instances, Lucy retreats into her imagination which is fueled by the arts, therefore it is associated with passivity and escapism while nature with the active mind and reality. Lucy herself admits shortly after arriving in Villette, â€Å"I seemed to hold two lives – the life of thought, and that of reality; and, provided the former was nourished with a sufficiency of the strange necromantic joys of fancy, the privileges of the latter might remain limited to daily bread, hourly work, and a roof of shelter. (85) As Villette progresses though, Lucy learns to fuse these two separate worlds, the arts become less important to Lucy as she becomes more of a participant in life and less of a spectator. In this sense, Lucy’s mental and emotional changes are captured as she gains the courage to stop living vicariously through other people or literary characters, and starts actively pursuing what she wants. Throughout the novel, she glides through balls and concerts as a spectator, only participating when forced to which was how she ended up playing the fop in the play. Although Lucy discovers she really enjoyed it, she â€Å"took a firm resolution never to be drawn into a similar affair† (156). It is only towards her last few interactions with M. Paul that Lucy gains the courage to experience life for herself. Two changes may be seen to mark Lucy’s change from passivity to activity- the initiatives she takes to unite Polly and Graham, and her subsequent determination to manage her own school. Lucy is able to bridge imagination and reality through her narrative, memory is her catharsis. She sets her turbulent feelings, feelings of deep joy and sorrow into the past at a distance and transforms it, the sign of reconciliation of passion with calm of mind. In this sense, by writing this narrative, Lucy is really observing herself in the process of composing and creating the characters of her life and herself, therefore perhaps explaining Lucy’s fascination with the inner workings of the mind and the imagination. ———————– [1] Patricia E. Johnson. This Heretic Narrative: The Strategy of the Split Narrative in Charlotte Bronte's Villette† in Source: Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, Vol. 30, No. 4, Nineteenth Century (Autumn, 1990), pp. 617-631 [2]John Hughes. â€Å"The Affective World of Charlotte Bronte's â€Å"Villette†Ã¢â‚¬  in Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, Vol. 40, No. 4, The Nineteenth Century (Autumn, 2000), pp. 711-726. [3] Robert A. Colby. â€Å"Villette and the Life of the Mind† in PMLA, Vol. 75, No. 4 (Sep. , 1960), pp. 410-419.