Reaction paper “Shutter Island” Essay

â€Å"Shutter Island† is a movie that is not only dedicated to delivering flawless scenery and a storyline about a mental institution locked away with a deep, dark secret away from civilization, but instead, the majority of the film is actually a character study with Teddy Daniels as the main subject. Teddy Daniels has a troubled past that is reflected in flash backs and dream sequences. Teddy Daniels is now a U.S Marshall, but prior to that, he was a veteran of war, where he saw some of the most brutally horrific and mind-scarring scenes imaginable, the kind of things that could poison a man’s mind and leave him haunted by them for life. Teddy is also a â€Å"retired alcoholic† as one of the doctor’s at Ashecliffe Hospital reveals stating that it is plainly obvious that he used to drink. The subject of alcoholism is later elaborated on in a flashback scene where his late wife asks him why he drinks. It appears that Teddy is not only haunted by the toils o f war or his alcoholism, but also by the fact that a man who set fire to his home killed his wife and children. In short, Teddy’s life has been fuelled by mentally scarring events, that somehow lead him to Ashecliffe Hospital, in what he believes to be â€Å"fate† when he learns that the man who killed his family is actually a patient at the hospital; Andrew Laediss. Before long, Teddy soon learns of the corruption on the island. Peculiar experiments are being carried out. These are later revealed to be lobotomies, which are used in order to settle the criminally insane for good. When Teddy uncovers the â€Å"truth†, he tries to leave the island to no avail. This is when the twist starts to become evident. Teddy Daniels is not a U.S marshal at all, he is actually a patient at Ashecliffe Hospital, and he has been for several years. Mentally scarred by the issues in his life, which are revealed not only to be the toils of war, but also the fact that his wife also went insane and drowned their children, it was Daniels, actually revealed to be called Andrew Laediss, who killed his wife out of revenge. Throughout the film, Teddy suffers headaches. These headaches are actually from his withdrawals from his medication which he suffers when he creates his alternate personality and gives everyone â€Å"roles to play,† something that is also referenced earlier on in the film. Teddy Daniels is criminally insane  and he is permanently haunted by hi s past. He creates personalities for everyone at the hospital and he goes about his life pretending he is someone else as a method of â€Å"escapism† from reality. His story is incredible and the truth is actually hinted at throughout the film which will leave viewers simply needing to watch the film a second time because the hints are impossible to ignore once the twist is revealed. Needless to say. Leonardo DiCaprio plays the character to perfection and Teddy Daniels, still to this day, is undeniably one of the most in-depth, detailed and most developed film characters of the 2010 decade thus far. Leonardo DiCaprio as Edward â€Å"Teddy† Daniels Mark Ruffalo as Chuck Aule Ben Kingsley as Dr. John Cawley Max von Sydow as Dr. Jeremiah Naehring Michelle Williams as Dolores Chanal Emily Mortimer as Rachel Solando Patricia Clarkson as Dr. Rachel Solando Jackie Earle Haley as George Noyce Ted Levine as Warden John Carroll Lynch as Deputy Warden McPherson Elias Koteas as Andrew Laeddis Jill Larson as Old Manacled Woman Ken Cheeseman as Doctor 1 Ruby Jerins as Little Girl Robin Bartlett as Bridget Kearns Christopher Denham as Peter Breene Matthew Cowles as Ferry Boat Captain The ending of shutter Island seems ambiguous but to me it was pretty clear-cut. Teddy wakes up to the reality that he is actually Andrew Laedis, though he is warned by Dr. Cawley and Dr. Sheehan that he has regresses into his fantasy world before. However, Andrew is smart. When Dr. Sheehan sits with him on the steps that next morning, Andrew knows that the doctors and Warden are observing his behavior. The thing is, his guilt and pain are still so heavy that he knows he cannot live with them. Rather than live with  the knowledge of his pain, he chooses to pretend that he is still Teddy Daniels and let them lobotomize him, so that he can finally be free of his burden. That’s what the line to Dr. Sheehan about â€Å"living as a monster, or dying as a good man,’ means – Andrew would rather be mind-wiped as â€Å"Teddy Daniels† than live with the sins of Andrew Laeddis. Although little information is available to analyze Teddy based on his childhood he can be examined on many other elements of Sigmund Freud’s theories about the unconscious. While he is living in his fantasy life as an investigator on the island, his unconscious thoughts often appear in his dreams. He sees his wife come to him begging him to give up on his quest for Andrew because he will not like what he finds out and she doesn’t want him to get hurt. He also dreams of Rachel Solando coming to him with her children’s bloody bodies, asking him to assist her in disposing of them. As he holds the children’s bodies they come alive asking why he didn’t save them. This perfectly illustrates the psychoanalytic theory that dreams have two levels of content. The manifest content is that Teddy thinks the dreams come from the fact that he is missing his wife and just can’t accept her death and let her go and that the macabre feeling of the island is getting to him causing him to have nightmares of the insane woman he is investigating. It is later clear that the latent content of the dreams reveal the hidden meaning of his own experiences. In other words, there was no Rachel Solando. Teddy created her as a reflection of himself because Dolores was a manic depressive who drowned their children in a lake one day when he wasn’t home. When he returned and realized the tragic happenings there was nothing he could do, hence the nightmares of the children inquiring as to why he couldn’t save them. In his dreams she often walks to him soaking wet to which he asks her â€Å"Why are you all wet, baby?†. This phrase seems to haunt him because those are the first words he said to her when he came home that day she went crazy . Teddy feels personally responsible for their death because at the time he was an alcoholic and while he loved his wife, he refused to see her for who she really was and ended up killing her after discovering the children. In the dreams she tells him to give up because he is unable to cope with knowing the truth. This leads on to how Teddy distorts his reality to protect himself against his unbearable pain and guilt through the use of defense mechanisms. All of the memories of what really happened to Dolores  and the children become repressed and replaced with false illusions that his wife was wrongfully murdered and he re-created himself as a hero in order to cope. In accordance with this mechanism he suffers from post traumatic stress from which the disturbing memories indirectly begin to reveal themselves in his dreams. Dr. Sheehan who in his mind was his partner reveals that for they had decided to try an elaborate role-playing experiment in which they went along with all of Teddy (Andrew)’s delusions in an attempt to bring his mind back to the real world and thus save him from a brain lobotomy (a form of psychosurgery) which was forced to be their last resort. When the truth is first revealed Teddy’s initial reaction is to resort to the defense mechanism of denial. He refuses to accept that what they claim is what really happened and is insistent upon the fact that they have been dosing him with drugs in order to brainwash him and keep him from discovering the truth about the gruesome human experiments that have been taking place at the hospital. Projection is also used when he accuses the Doctor’s of making up this story about what happened to him in order to protect themselves. These are both attempts to rid his mind of the anxiety provoking stimuli that he is unable to accept has any association with what happened in his life. Even before the truth is revealed while Teddy still believes that he is a hero we see this anxiety shining through during his investigation at Shutter Island. When the hospital’s main psychologist makes a comment about Teddy refraining from alcohol and Teddy responds with a witty attack the doctor notes his â€Å"excellent use of defense mechanisms†. This may relate to his implicit memory because although Teddy at first does not have any suspicions about the realism of his own identity he seems to think that everyone else is out to get him which serves as unconscious memories influencing conscious behavior causing him to constantly be on defense about the intentions and actions of the people around him. When Teddy finally comes out of his stage of denial and accepts the truth, the doctors fear that he will relapse and go back into repression. It was noted that this had happened before with their other attempts to cure him. Teddy fakes falling back into that stage in ord er to save himself his dignity, he reveals his intentions by saying â€Å"which would be worse, to live as a monster or to die a good man?†. This lets us know that Dr. Sheehan’s cure proved effective, but Teddy would rather not live in that state of misery or try to  move on with his life knowing the shocking truth. Teddy Daniels also known as Andrew Laeddis is an extremely interesting character to study in terms of personality. Before his marriage to Dolores he probably could have been analyzed for completely different attributes; however the events in his life served as strong situational factors to shape the person he would turn into. Before it is realized that he is actually one of the criminally insane prisoners, Teddy could be described as smart, witty and independent. He stands up for himself even when he suspects that the majority of the island is involved with the conspiracy. After realizing the truth behind all of his actions it is clear that his life is relatable to many of Freud’s theories which are all used to aid him in â€Å"distorting reality to protect him against pain or threatening impulses arising from the id†. It is also very interesting that in his alternate reality he views himself as a good, innocent person who is looking to set bad things right. This could come from his unconscious knowledge that he committed a violent crime and wants to take all of the blame off himsel f by portraying himself as a hero. The warden of Ashecliffe Hospital makes an interesting point of reference to the dark side of Teddy’s personality and human nature in general by telling him â€Å"You’re as violent as they come. I know because I am as violent as they come. Don’t embarrass yourself by denying your own blood lust, son. Don’t embarrass me. If the constraints of society were removed, and I was all that stood between you and a meal, you’d crack my skull with a rock and eat my meaty parts†. Teddy killed his wife because he felt that after what she had done, it was the right thing to do and his alternate personality serves as a cover-up because he â€Å"should† feel guilty that the type of violence isn’t acceptable, no matter what Dolores had done to deserve it.

Child of Rage Essay

In the Documentary â€Å"Child of Rage† a six and-a –half year old girl named Beth was severely traumatized when she was one year old. She started her life in tragedy when her father would sexually molest/abuse her. The result of his actions on Beth caused her to become unattached from people around her, including her brother, John, and he adoptive parents. She developed a consciousness that enabled her to hurt or kill without remorse. The results of Beth’s abuse caused her to have uncontrollable rage, which she took out on herself and her brother, John. As the documentary says she is a child,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦who cannot love or accept love,† (Child of Rage, Gaby Monet, 1990). During Beth’s therapy sessions with Dr. Ken Magid, a clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of severely abused children, she admitted to wanting to hurt her family. She wanted to stab her parents in their sleep. Beth said that the reason she wanted to do this because she did not want to be around people, she did not like people. It was mentioned that the sexual abuse that Beth had experienced as a younger child caused to commit inappropriate sexual acts, mainly against her brother, John. She would also begin to masturbate at inappropriate times and on a regular basis. Along with Signs of incontrollable rage inside of Beth started to show when she killed three baby birds, stuck pins in the household pets and John, pinch, squeeze, or kick John’s penis, would get up in the middle of the night and punch John in the stomach, and finally continuously hit John’s head on the concrete floor in the basement. As time went on without her getting the proper treatment her violent tendencies escaladed. Dr. Magid thought, for the wellbeing of the household, Beth needed to be temporarily separated from her family. So Beth was sent to a home that was run by an expert at raising children with early attachment disorders. At this home Beth began to develop a sense of right and wrong, along with responding to affection, and feels bad when she does something wrong. Beth healed a lot when she was at the special home for early attachment disorder children. Even though she has changed she will still need extensive therapy. Now Beth is about thirty years old and is doing very well for herself working as a pediatric nurse. She also currently works with adoptive mother, Nancy Thomas, and her company Families by Design promoting Attachment Therapy and its parenting methods through lectures and material sales. Beth, Nancy, and Terena Thomas co-authored the book Dandelion on My Pillow, Butcher Knife Below (2004). Beth Thomas sells DVDs of these films, along with her presentation on â€Å"Attachment Disorder† and Attachment Therapy parenting methods which she credits her mother with inventing. Amount of missing children under the age of 5 in the country: 800,000 kids reported missing every year. That is 2,000 children missing every day. Resources â€Å"Advocates for Children in Therapy† Beth Thomas, Original Text Material Copyright 2003-2011. Retrieved from: http://www.childrenintherapy.org/proponents/thomasb.html â€Å"Child of Rage† Documentary, Gaby Monet, featuring Beth, John, Nancy, and Tim Thomas. Year 1990. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2-Re_Fl_L4 â€Å"Missing Children Statistics: At A Glance† Stop Predators. Protect Kids. United States of America. Copyright 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.child-safety-for-parents.com/missing-children-statistics.html

Impact of Media Technologies on the Structure of Environment Essay

Impact of Media Technologies on the Structure of Environment - Essay Example The environment which is deemed to be a messaging system in itself, is supposed to have a bearing on what people see and say and therefore how they act, how roles are assigned to people and the boundaries in which these roles are discharged in a society (Postman, 1980). It is observed that with rapid growth in media technology, physical spaces have shrunk and there is an integration between the physical and the social sciences. As pointed by Monberg (2005) "changes in media technology change patterns of social interaction, and changing patterns of social interaction have political consequences". The author likens the advancement of media technology to the "steel era" because steel changed the way people lived, worked, travelled, and fought wars. It is believed that new media technology will do just that in the 21st century. The impact of new media is also worth evaluating because of the notice convergent media nexus has received by the international community. It is acknowledged that media technology has an impact in facilitating or impeding man's chances of survival (Postman, 1980). As pointed by Bhuiyan (2006): "with the rapid growth of new media technology including the internet, interactive television net... It is also predicted that media technology will help preserve free speech and privacy and strengthen communication opportunities, largely owing to the use of digital media technologies such as PCs, the internet, computer games, cell phones in the ever shrinking global community. Such advancement has resulted in the advent of telecommunications, print, broadcast and computing into new domains to create a product that coalesces the elements of all these technologies, to create a brand new channel of communication and information storage. So consumers use iPods to make their own music playlists, personal video recorders to customize television schedules, digital audio broadcasting or DAB Digital Radio pumps static-free music to their homes and cars. With the heavy reliance on new media technologies, wired and wireless, into our daily life, the impact is such that it not only influences those who are using it but also those who are not because they have no access to them, lack the necessary skills, or simply do not want to. The world around is changing quickly. How it is changing is discussed in the following pages. The digital culture New media technologies have a telling effect on the culture we live in. Culture, as pointed by Stalder (2005) is "systems of meaning articulated through material and immaterial symbols". The culture is now becoming digital. The impact is felt even in the world of tangibles like chairs, automobiles, and buildings, which are designed digitally and produced through a process of information flow. Given that digital information is easy to copy, distribute and transform, it has become easier to incorporate the work of others not by

Literary Analysis . book analysis the book named Ender's game Essay

Literary Analysis . book analysis the book named Ender's game - Essay Example Ender’s tactical genius comes into play, during his training. Card has since written additional novels that form the Eder’s Game series. In 1991, the novel was updated to reflect the current political climate. With the book’s military background, the book has since been recommended by many armed forces such as the US Marine Corps. The main protagonist of the book Ender’s Game Andrew â€Å"Ender† Wiggin is portrayed as weak as the plot builds up. He is even considered illegitimate â€Å"a Third† based on earth’s two child policies. Ender proves himself by fatally wounding a superior opponent Stilson. The International Fleet’s colonel Graff rewards Ender by offering him a place in the battle school. Ender eventually forms â€Å"Ender’s Jeesh† an elite squad made of former cadets who are loyal to him. Through hard work and sacrifice Ender’s action’s annihilates the Bugger’s fleet and he is proclai med hero in earth. Though his friends return to earth, Ender is posted Ero were he discovers a dormant egg. Ender and her sister Valentine transverse the universe in search of a safe place for un-hatched Hive Queen. Ender’s Game revolves around the life of Ender in different spheres. This literary analysis will do a character analysis of Ender the main character of the book. Ender’s violent nature is what eventually wins the war for earth. Though he hates this trait, it is what paves the way for his destiny and endears him to his peers and the entire earth populace. This trait shows up early in his life when he beats up Stilson to death a fact which he comes to learn of later. At only six, Ender’s violent nature is ubiquitous. Ender hates his brutality a character he shares with his brother Peter. In the events that lead to Ender fatally wounding the bully Stilson; we see Ender being cornered by group of boys teasing him â€Å"a Third†. Ender stops their bullying nature by viciously kicking Stilson in the chest though he is

Women and Children of the Crusades Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Women and Children of the Crusades - Essay Example The movement, nevertheless, is documented to happen sometime between Easter and the Pentecost and spread across northern France, Flanders, and Western Germany.1 As for women, their roles in the crusades are often not well-documented, most likely because of their gender, although some scholars have started to examine the chronicles and annals more closely to examine women’s participation in the crusades.2 Sources note that women played diverse roles during the crusades and that their home based functions should not be overlooked at all, since they kept the household and businesses alive, while their male family members were away, or died in the crusades.3 The Children’s Crusade is an effort to reclaim the Holy Land from the infidels, while the women played diverse direct and indirect roles in the military, spiritual, and financial aspect of the Crusades. The Children’s Crusade has been argued as a reaction of the disappointed youth with the crusaders, because they have not yet reclaimed Jerusalem from the infidels. They were made of children and other adolescents, who aimed to reach the Holy Land and retrieve it from the Muslims. Madden calls the Children’s Crusade as not a real crusade, but more of a collection of uprisings and processions, where the core medieval belief is that poverty will help them achieve their holy goals.4 This can be rooted that Jesus favored the poor over the rich, and so they must have believed that if the poor led the crusades, their victory will also be assured by Jesus Christ.5 Since this crusade by the children was a popular movement, its origins and developments are difficult to trace. None of the participants wrote about the event in a firsthand manner, for instance, as in the more official forms of crusades.6 In â€Å"The Children’s Crusade,† Munro reviews the veracity of the chronicles regarding the Children’s Crusade. She notes that for accounts regarding the French children, the most reliable sources are the unspecified chroniclers of Laon, Mortemer, Jumieges, and Andres.7 She notes that these writers markedly illustrated the same movement, but few facts are presented except for one of them. She provides brief accounts from each, where the story of the holy shepherd boy called Stephen can be narrated. On June, 1212, Stephen from the village of Cloyes, near Vendome, declared that the Lord had appeared to him, dressed as a poor pilgrim, had taken bread from him, and had provided him a letter to bring to the King of France.8 He travelled to S. Denis with shepherds of his own age and there the Lord performed numerous miracles through him, as many have witnessed.9 There were also many other boys who went with him and performed miracles. Numerous children joined them, as if they were to be long-term followers of the holy boy Stephen whom they all perceived as their master and prince.10 The bands, made of girls, boys, adolescents and several older persons, parade d through the cities, castles, towns, and villages, holding banners, candles, and crosses, and censers, singing in their language, â€Å"Lord God, exalt Christianity! Lord God, restore to us the true cross.†11 They sang these words and many more, which attracted more followers to the procession. When the children were asked by their parents or others where they would go, they would shout in unison: â€Å"To God.†12 The children could not be stopped initially, but based on the records of Jumieges, they went home when they got hungry.13 The Laon chronicle stated that the king, upon consultation with the masters of the University of Paris about this matter, finally ordered the children to go back home.14 The other two chroniclers do not provide any ending to this procession. As for the prevalence of the movement, one

A contemporary artist Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A contemporary artist - Research Paper Example The artist (say, Pablo Picasso) was born in the year 1881, in Spain. Victoria Charles states that, â€Å"Malaga must be mentioned, for it was there, on 25 October 1881, that Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born and there that he spent the first ten years of his life† (10). His father was a painter by profession. During his childhood, the artist was deeply interested in art, especially painting. Besides, his father helped him to have basic lessons in painting. Later in 1891 and 1895, the artist’s family was forced to move to A Coruna and Barcelona from Malaga. So, these incidents deeply influenced the artist because he was able to enroll himself as a student at School of Fine Arts and Royal Academy of San Fernando. Besides, his career as an artist is divided as Blue and Rose Periods, and Analytic Cubism. His artistic creativity was not limited to the context of painting, but extends to other fields like printmaking, stage designing, poetry etc. In addition, the artwork (see appen dix-1) named as The Old Guitarist (1903-04) is symbolic of the influence of the unique artistic style named as Expressionism in him. Ashley Bassie opines that, â€Å"A potent aspect of Expressionism was the conviction, held by its creators, that their endeavours were carrying art into a wholly new realm of experience† (51). One can see that this artistic style totally neglects objective reality in art, but is related to certain unique ideas. In addition, the artwork’s subject is the amalgamation of human emotionality with reality.

Diversity in the Workforce Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Diversity in the Workforce - Case Study Example Ideally, work force diversity encompasses the different attributes that a work team may have in order to achieve complementary and harmonized work forces for all. Employees learn the value of treating one another with respect and dignity to appreciate of diversities in a learning process. On the contrary, the use of these attributes to gain favoritism in workforce selection is a highly discouraged trait. In essence, an employee should attain work because they are competent for the job and not based on their gender, age, race, or religious inclination. It also applies in other forms of the work force related practices like training, demotion, payment of salaries, promotion, and accreditation. Abstract With these in mind, this essay will zone in on the indicators of the work force diversity that include race, ethnicity, national identity, age, gender, marital status, disabilities, and religion. This diversity to workforce has different impacts on an organization’s operations. In essence, this essay will explore these indicators with their impact on global organization and the overall success or failures in the maintenance of a diverse work force. Further, it will reflect on the policies safeguarding employees against any form of discrimination either because of the above mention factors also including medical conditions of the employees. Race and ethnicity Ideally, as businesses seek to expand across international markets, the aspect of race and cultural borders are narrowing down to minimal levels (Nittle, 2012). This stride draws celebration of the work force diversity since companies train their staff to appreciate cultural diversities within their work force. This training cultivates a tolerant environment for all those involved in the realization of the organization’s goals and future objectives (Hewitt, 2009). In essence, race and ethnicity bring about stereotyping and racial attributes that tend to lower the morale of the employees. For insta nce, racial prejudice becomes an inevitable factor especially when employees down play its effects on the work force. This issue may draw origin from the fact that individuals may feel that a certain race is superior to others, which will effect hatred and animosity. In essence, people have different upbringings hence making their reflections on certain issues different. Essentially, every employee should feel valued because of the contribution added to the company because of their competency. The solution to this problem is to ensure that all; the staff receive training in order to exercise the teaching of the importance of mutual respect. In addition, although expensive, this training helps the employees to understand the ways that they similar in terms of race rather than on their differences. In end, employees tend to appreciate one another ensuring that the company attains development. National origin and immigration Sequentially, a company may consist of individuals from diffe rent nationalities in order to compliment the company towards intended results. The effect s of an individual’s country of origin is similar to those of race and ethnicity (Oyler & Pryor, 2009). However, individuals within a company’s structure may view another employee from a different country as in capable because of their native origin. Ideally, work performance should not base on the citizenship of individuals, but instead should base on an individual’s merit and accreditation. In this regard, potential

The Nature of Conflict in the Middle East Article

The Nature of Conflict in the Middle East - Article Example Such a climate of cohabitants with little or no shared national identity being forced together has made it extremely difficult, if not virtually impossible, for effective democratic institutions to take hold as the primary vehicle of government in the Middle East. For these reasons, monarchies or dictatorships arose in many countries, crushing the human rights of minority groups. Iraq today is a microcosm of this difficulty, as the post-Saddam Hussein democratic government continues to sputter. Essentially, the Middle East is a region where vastly different peoples were forced by the victors of a war sixty years ago to live and build societies together and scramble to beat each other to fill the power void left by the colonial powers' abandonment of the area. Those who lost out on power and influence in the direction of their own political future have understandably become disillusioned with their status, and angry with the great powers of the world - particularly in the West - to whom responsibility for their plight can be directly traced. Ultimately, these disenfranchised groups who lack meaningful economic opportunities have not surprisingly turned to terrorist activities as an effective means to make their voices heard. This is arguably the biggest risk posed by the deprivation of self-determination as an ingredient in the formation of nation-states. Israeli-Palestinian Conflict The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is arguably the central issue fueling the discord that permeates the Middle East. A solution to this seemingly intractable problem would go a long way toward stabilizing the entire region. This conflict represents a poignant rallying point for Muslims and pan-Arab nationalists that will continue to feed violence and unrest until it is resolved. Thus, both Israelis and Palestinians wield a tremendous amount of influence over the state of the region. With the political will and strength of leadership on both sides, these two peoples have the potential to transform the Middle East. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has recently stated that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the root cause of problems facing Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East. In order to solve the other problems in the region, according to Blair, " we should start with Israel-Palestine. That is the core.' If progress can be made there and in Lebanon, Blair said, moderate Arab and Muslim countries could be united to push for peace throughout the region, including Iraq" (Hall, par. 15). The extent to which the problem in Palestine reverberates throughout the region is clear. Blair calls the Israeli-Palestinian conflict " single biggest issue" in blocking progress toward peace in the Muslim world was not Iraq but Palestine" (par. 18). Despite international perceptions of Palestinian resistance tactics as being terrorist in nature, Palestinians themselves do not see it that way. As one Palestinian has stated, "the international community must understand that we have rights - Palestine is ours. We are not terrorists, we are not criminals, we don't want to kill, but we are the rightful owners of the land" (Kelbie, 5).  

A New Foreign Owner of Liverpool Football Club About How the Club's Coursework

A New Foreign Owner of Liverpool Football Club About How the Club's Fans Might Be Segmented - Coursework Example The owner also plans to find out the appropriate ways of reaching out to their segmented and targeted fans. The present economic crises, the heavy debt of the club and the growing expenses have called for the need of steady revenue generation which could only be attained with the help and support of the loyal fans of the club. Table of Contents Abstract 2 Introduction 4 Brief Background of the Issues 5 Analysis of the Issues 6 Conclusion and Recommendations 9 Summary 10 References 11 Bibliography 13 Introduction The Liverpool Football Club was acquired by John W. Henry in the year 2010 and he is now the present owner of the club. The present owner has been planning to categorize the fans of the club in terms of marketing segmentation. Along with the segmentation, the owner is also planning to look and develop strategies that would help the club to reach those segmented fans. Targeting the fans was important so as to boost the sales of the club which was considered important for meeti ng up the expenses of the club as well the dues. The club was already under a heavy debt and its increasing expenses in terms of holding on and maintaining the players and also the alterations in the codes of tax have compelled the owners to seek for ways so as to augment the revenues. The club has a stadium which is situated in Liverpool itself and is also pursuing the construction of an additional one (This Is Anfield, 2011). Segmenting the fans and seeking for efficient strategies to reach them would prove to be helpful for the club to build strategies which in turn is most likely to generate revenue from them (Westerbeek & Smith, 2003). Brief Background of the Issues The recent economic crisis made it clear that professional football was in jeopardy. The football clubs that were considered as over-committed could not escape from the shackles of this crisis. This made the stakeholders realize that the clubs should be operated or functioned like financially sound trading companies rather than recreational units (Butenko, 2010; Boyle & Haynes, 2004). It was identified that a football club which had a strong support was not considered to be a throwaway company with regard to other industries. The football clubs, in order to survive the economic crisis, meet up with the rising expenses and maintain their honored reputation, required the strong support of their loyal fans. It has become a fact that the gap between the supporters and the clubs has been augmenting which was posing to be a great challenge for the clubs to earn revenue. Therefore, it has become vital for the clubs to deal with the increasing distance on an urgent basis so as to keep on the supporters pouring in. This would facilitate the clubs to establish an indispensable source of financial support which would help the clubs to overcome the present crisis as well as earn enough proceeds needed for the functioning of the clubs (Garland & Et. Al., 2000). The Liverpool Football Club was observed to e ncounter a similar problem in terms of earning revenue and meeting its expenses as well as existing liabilities. The necessity of revenue generation made the owners of the club plan to segment their fans in terms of marketing and seek suitable ways of approaching them (This Is Anfield, 2011). Analysis of the Issues The Liverpool Football Club was already known to be in heavy debt while changing hands. The new owners of the club were responsible for meeting the debt liabilities along with the usual expenses of the club. Acquiring

Memories of my childhood days Essay Example for Free

Memories of my childhood days Essay Memories of my Childhood Days My first recollection of my childhood is the day I down the stairs when I was three years old. I was so happy that time I cried and cried for nearly an hour in spite of my parents attempts at comforting me. Finally, I quietened down when I was given ice- cream and chocolates. Luckily, I was not hurt because the stairs is not to steep. My days were happy ones before I started going to school, as I had good neighbours to play with me. I was playing from morning till evening. We played games outdoors like Batu Seremban,Police entry and Lumba Lari. There were also other games to occupy our time until my mother bring a rattan to call me back.. At the age of five years, I had to attend kindergarten and this turned out to be quite an ordeal for me. To begin with, I felt very sad having to leave my mother and go off each morning to be amongst strangers. I cried and wanted my mother around, much to my teachers displeasure. As the days went by, however, I made friends easily in class and found company. I became happy again and actually looked forward to leaving the house each morning. I still remember those days when I was learning to ride a bicycle. I fell and bruised myself several times but I never gave up. Finally, I was able to join my friends going around the neighbourhood on my bike. Another fond memory is the end-of-year concert held at the kindergarten. I was chosen to play the role of Princess in the play, Princess and Gunung Ledang, and I became a celebrity overnight receiving lots of compliments for my performance. I now realise what a wonderful childhood I have had and at times wish I could relive those days.

Emerging retail formats in india

Emerging retail formats in india Retailing has been defined as business activities involved in selling goods and services to consumers for their personal, family or household use (Berman and Evans, 2001). Although retailing has been around for millennia, the 20th century witnessed a lot of change in the retail sector, especially in the developed countries. Modern formats such as department stores, discount stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, fast food outlets, speciality stores, warehouse retailers and hypermarkets have emerged. Retailing has become more organized and chain stores have been growing at the expense of independent shops. The chains are utilizing sophisticated information technology and communication to manage their operations and have grown rapidly not only within their home countries like US, UK, France, Germany and Holland but to other developed countries. Walmart Stores, the US retailer, was recognized as the largest firm in terms of sales in 2002 in Fortune magazines list of 500 largest globa l firms. Modern retail formats have also spread beyond developed countries and are becoming more important in the NICs and developing countries. 3 The emergence of new formats and the evolution of modern retail in India has attracted attention in recent years. The business press in India has carried several articles and news items in the last three years about the modern formats (Shukla 2001; Anand Rajshekhar, 2001; Bhattacharjee, 2001). The consulting firm KSA Technopak has organized retail meetings or summits in major metros which have witnessed participation from major domestic and international retailers, and also from manufacturers. Venugopal (2001), has discussed the census studies of retail outlets that the market research firm ORG MARG conducted in the 1990s. This census provided data and estimates on a number of parameters relating to Indian retail such as number and type of outlets and growth of outlets over time separately for urban and rural areas. Due to these reports and activities, there is good deal of information available about what is happening in Indian retail. However Indian retailing has received sparse a ttention by way of academic research with the exception of a few articles in academic journals and some case studies. Purpose of the study. The purpose of this report is to develop an understanding of the factors influencing the evolution of modern formats in Indian retailing Objective of the study The report investigates modern retail developments and growth of modern formats in this country. The challenges and opportunities available to the retailers to succeed in this country. Literature review: Indian retailing is undergoing a process of evolution and is poised to undergo dramatic transformation. The retail sector employs over 8% of the national workforce but is characterized by a high degree of fragmentation with over 5 million outlets, 96% of whom are very small with an area of less than 50 m2 (Aggarwal, 2000). The retail universe more than doubled between 1978 and 1996 and the number of outlets per 1000 people at an All India level, increased from 3.7 in 1978 to 5.6 in 1996. For the urban sector alone, the shop density increased from 4 per 1000 people in 1978 to 7.6 per 1000 people in 1996 (Venugopal, 2001). Because of their small size, Indian retailers have very little bargaining power with manufacturers and perform only a few of the flows in marketing channels unlike in the case of retailers in developed countries, ( Sarma , 2000). The corner grocer or the kirana store is a key element in the retail in India due to the housewifes unwillingness to go long distances for purchasing daily needs. An empirical study was carried out by Sinha et al ( 2002) to identify factors that influenced consumers choice of a store. Although convenience and merchandise were the two most important reasons for choosing a store, the choice criteria varied across product categories. Convenience was indicated by consumers as the most important reason in the choice of groceries and fruit outlets, chemists and lifestyle items while merchandise was indicated as the most important in durables, books and apparel. The traditional formats like hawkers, grocers and paan shops co exist with modern formats like supermarkets, and non store retailing channels such as multi level marketing and teleshopping. Example of modern formats include department stores like Akbarallys , supermarkets like Food World, franchise stores like Van Heusen and Lee, discount stores like Subhiksha, shop-in-shops, factory outlets and service retailers ( Nathan , 2001). Modern stores tend to be larger, carry more stock keeping units have a self service format and an experiential ambience. Modern formats also tend to have higher levels of sales per unit of space, stock turnover and gross margin but lower levels of net margin as compared to traditional formats (Radhakrishnan, 2003). Modernisation in retail formats is likely to happen quicker in categories like Dry groceries, electronics, Mens apparel, Books, Music. Some reshaping and adaptation my also happen in Fresh groceries, Womens apparel, fast food, and personal care p roducts (Fernandes et al, 2000). In recent years, there has been a slow spread of retail chains in some formats like supermarkets, department stores, malls and discount stores. Factors facilitating the spread of chains are the availability of quality products at lower prices, improved shopping standards, convenient shopping and display, and blending of shopping withentertainment, and the entry of industrial houses like Goenkas, Rahejas, Piramals and Tatas into retailing ( Ramaswamy and Namakumari, 2002). However formats are not easily scalable across the country. Several companies have found that it is not easy to expand beyond some regions and cities as evident from the examples of Margin Free Market and Foodworld, which are active only in a few states or cities. Affordable real estate prices and availability of sufficient number of economically well off households in the catchment area are critical requirements that will determine new store viability and thus the possibility of further expansion (Anand and Rajashekhar, 2001). According to Rao (2001), foreign direct investment in the retail sector in India, although not yet permitted by government, is desirable, as it would improve productivity and increase competitiveness. New stores will introduce efficiency. Customers also gain as prices in the new stores tend to be lower. The consequences of modernization in India may be somewhat different due to lower purchasing power and the new stores may cater to only to branded products aimed at upper income segments. However it will be wise for old style stores to join together into wholesale and retail groups to improve bargaining power as experience in developed markets such as UK has shown that the modernization in retail has led to the decline of independent mom and pop stores. The need for a fresh perspective while developing theories to explain the new developments has been stressed by Bennett et al (1998). The Indian retail environment is witnessing several changes on the demand side due to increased per capita income, changing lifestyle and increased product availability. Experience of retailing in US shows that existing theories of retail development based on changing consumer needs, are inadequate to explain new developments. In developed markets, there has been a power shift with power moving from manufacturers towards retailers. The strategies used by retailers to wrest power include the development of retailers own brands, and the introduction of slotting allowances which necessitate payments by manufacturers to retailers for providing shelf space for new products. Retailers have also used technology effectively to obtain usable information about consumer buying patterns. The increased power of retailers has led to the introduction of new tactics b y manufacturers such as everyday low pricing, partnerships with retailers and increased use of direct marketing methods. Because of these issues, a supply side perspective needs to be fused with the demand side in developing theories for explaining modernization in retail. Research design: In order to fulfill the objectives of the study primary as well as secondary data have been collected to analyze the trends in modern retail formats meticulously. To analyze the emerging trends in shoppers behavior 30 shop keepers from 6 Malls operating in Ahmedabad will be interviewed. And for the rest part of the country secondary data published by different research institutions like TSMG, CSSO, Future Group, NCAER etc have been considered to draw the key inferences.