Communications and Media

At a time when political space has continued to expand, the capacity to effectively uphold public opinion and articulate high profile political communication forms the basement for improving democratic ideals in the society.   Public opinion not only indicates the overall orientation of the majority, but creates the necessary emphasis on the actual pace and trend that should be assimilated by the leadership.  Macmanus (2010) concurs with Delli (2004) conclusion that political opinion forms the necessary link between the people, their preferred model of government and governance and checks that align leadership with developmental demands.   As a result, public opinion and political communication dictate the present and future of a countrys internal and external growth and development.   It is from this consideration that this paper intrinsically evaluates the United States 2008 election campaign to analyze the candidates, strategies employed during the process, representation medium and overall spending.  Finally, it examines the holistic mode of campaigning and outlines the necessary recommendations.

A brief analysis of the United States

a) The social structure
According to Margaret and Howard (2007), the United States forms one of the most culturally diverse nations globally.   From the historical search for new land, slave trade and massive movement from other nations for education and employment, United States has developed a unique social structure which can be viewed from three dimensions prestige, power and wealth.  At this point three classes that define the social structure are evident.

To begin with, the lower class consists of about 20 of the US population largely from Native Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic and African Americans descent (Delli, 2004).   The middle class often referred as the working class work in the blue-color and white color jobs and therefore have higher level of social security compared to the lower class.  On the upper side of the middle class are the bourgeoisie that consists of major managers in sub-executives positions and therefore greater social security compared to the previous two classes.  The high class consist the remaining 10 which is considered to include the political elite, top executives, sportsmen, key musician, large business owners and key investors at the local and international arena (Margaret and Howard, 2007).  Notably, the presented structure is highly fluid and massive shifts from one class to another are evident all the year round.

b) The political system
As Barbara, Mack and Steffen (2008) explain, United States political system is one of the oldest continuous democracies that stems from late eighteenth century.   It follows a federal system which is broken into three key branches.  The legislature is responsible for making laws and consists of the House of Representatives (commonly referred as congress) who represent congressional districts in the nation.  Then, the Senate (the upper chamber) consists of members democratically elected to represent all the fifty states.  Secondly, the executive branch consists of the president who is elected through an Electoral College, the cabinet, and Federal Departments and agencies (Barbara et al, 2008).  The last Branch of the political system consists of the judiciary which has the supreme and federal courts.

Candidates in the 2008 campaign

Since time in history, the United States elections involve two candidates sponsored by the two major parties (Republican and Democratic Parties).  In the year 2008, the Republican Party presidential nominee was John McCain who defeated other twelve interested candidates in the party primaries (King, 2009).  O the other hand, the Democratic Party nominated Barack Obama after a heated contest between him and his close ally Hilary Clinton.  Like the Republican Party, other nine interested candidates were involved in the primaries before considering supporting the winner in the primaries.  Notably, majority of the Democrats and indeed the whole country were at first skeptical of Obamas ability, as a black president, to win against John McCain in the presidency.  Besides, Barack Obama was considered inexperienced due to his narrow involvement in the countrys complicated top positions demands compared to John McCain who had major insights and two decades political and military experience (Macmanus, 2010).      

Strategies employed by candidates during the 2008 campaign

a) Obamas strategies
Alexander (2008) acknowledges that strategies employed during the 2008 election campaign took a critical combination between personality, experience and technology to edge and redefine the winning position before the voting date.  For Barack Obama, he shifted the race reference by billing himself with unique audacity that matched with those great statesmen of the nation such as President Kennedy and Reagan. Macmanus (2010) explains that this strategy sprouted his winning change and hope slogan, yes we can.  Besides, he capitalized on the unpopular Bush strategies especially operation Iraq Freedom which Americans felt was doing more harm than good to their sons and the country too.  At this point, Obama made his promise to bring the troops home the will of the majority who easily started supporting his school of thought.

As a major strategy, Obama emphasized on his new pool of fresh ideologies that would configure the United States to a more solid superpower position by strengthening its social-cultural and political outsets (Ethridge and Handelman, 2009).  This strategy caught the seemingly outstanding experience off-guard and made McCains grip very shaky.  To further counter his foreign relations inexperience reference, Obama selected a running mate, Joe Biden who had great experience.  Finally, Obama employed information technology such as phone messaging, internet campaigns and direct campaigning in rallies and major institutions.

b) John McCains strategies
Unlike the Obama strategy, John McCains main strategy appeared to emphasize on his long term leadership and political experience while bringing out the untested nature of Barack Obama.  King (2009) explains that McCain considered his two decades in political leadership of Arizona and previous service in the military to give him a better grip in cracking the nut of giving the United States greater security in relation to its myriad of threats in the globe.  This was very wise taking into consideration that the notion of security is indeed very deer to Americans.

Besides, King (2009) explains that McCain strategy sought to reach out to women by selecting Sarah Palin as his running mate.  This strategy was deemed to fill the gap left by the democrats choice of the seemingly unpopular Obama as opposed to Hilary Clinton who was the expectations of many.  However, Palin became a center of attacks by major celebrities, media and even youths who were fast becoming polarized towards Obama wave (Macmanus, 2010).

Alexander (2008) argues that unlike Obama who maintained balance in all states, McCain concentrated more on republicans strongholds which such as South Carolina and New Hampshire.  However, this strategy was interpreted as cowardice, a consideration that Obama took to solidify his democrat support while edging to the republican states.  McCain further strongly employed endorsements of key senators, governors and representatives to woe more voters from their regions.  Macmanus (2010) calls this a super strategy, but indicates that it required stronger support largely from other strategies such as opponent positive counter attacks. Like Obama, McCain also employed modern technology and rallies to gather more support.

Media employed for presenting the candidates to the voters

a) Television use
Unlike other previous campaigns, 2008 campaigns saw great use of information technology by the candidates to present themselves to the voters.  To begin with, both candidates strongly used televisions to reach people at their offices and homes.  NielsenWire (2008) reports that the final debate between Obama and McCain was watched by over 5.5 million while the second and first debates attracted attention of about 52.4 and 63.2 million viewers respectively.  Brian (2008) referred to TV as the best interface between the public and their candidates in that it not only presented the candidates and their viewpoints, but equally created the necessary high profile analysis of their agendas and progress as the voting day drew nearer.  It is this popularity that that saw use of media such as newspapers decline as a persuasive tool.
Figure 1 Presidential candidates debate and their viewers (NielsenWire, 2008)

b) Use of newspapers
Smith (2009) argues that though newspapers use as a medium for presenting the candidates has declined over time, it remained a key area to gather conclusive analysis of the candidates and their policies.  It played an effective role especially for the older conservative generations as opposed to the youths who were more to the television and internet.    
Figure 2 Comparison of news access through various media (Smith, 2009)

c) Use of internet during the campaign
In his view, both candidates effectively reached their candidates through the internet which has greatly gained popularity over the last two decade.  By using internet, it was possible to incorporate more information, use more attractive adverts and most importantly create an immediate response to the voters.  Smith (2009) argues that about 74 of internet users relied on internet to get news on the campaigns Kaye (2008) and Pewresearch Center (2008) indicate that most of them were willing to move a step further in fundraising and reaching out to their friends to emphasize on their best candidates.  Therefore, presentation of the candidates deflected from being their own sole responsibilities to their supporters voluntary emphasis.  About 49 of Barack Obama supporters shared related messages with others while 29 voters for John McCain equally did so (Smith, 2009).    

Taking technological innovation higher further created an even more solidifying space for the candidates.  High tech high-technology employed by Obama allowed his voter to multiply day after day due to direct response and closeness that created the needed alignment with a new advocated hope and change.  Particularly, twitter, wikis and blogs made voters effectively communicate their demands and therefore solidifying their stand (King, 2009).  Response through social networking sites such as facebook and my space were also immediate and held immediate answers to key questions, doubts and concerns that prevented easy deviation to the republican side through stereotyping or negative media publicity (Macmanus, 2010).

Campaign spending
Analysts generally agree that election campaigns are largely dependent on the ability to raise and appropriately use of the available.  According to Jonathan (2009), Barack Obama made the highest spending in American campaign history despite his refusal to accept state funding.  In total Jonathan (2009) and Ethridge and Handelman (2009) report that Obama spent about US  740 million which was estimated to be about 30 above McCains spending and further surpassed what both George Bush and his opponent John Kerry spent (US  646.7 million) in the previous general lection.  Notably, the 2008 campaigns made a historical record of surpassing one billion in the history of the nation.  Though McCain accepted taxpayers offer of US 84.1 million, both candidates strongly embarked on fundraising from voters to consolidate their spending which was very critical in reflecting their appeal, woe more voters and create a sense of continuity in their proposed policies (Moraine, 2009).

Reasons for Obama winning the election
Though the Obamas landslide win of the 2008 election has been interpreted differently by analysts, there seen to be concurrence in the following aspects.  To begin with, Wenger and MacManus (2009) credit the high level energized communication that emphasized on reaching more people in all states.  This communication created a strong shift to future focus while covering his inexperience through emphasis of the need for change and hope.  In concurrence with Alexander (2008) argument, Wenger and MacManus (2009.) explain that Obama managed to maintain a solid touch with youths who form the majority in the nation through modern technology and therefore reducing their easy shift to the opposing candidate.

However, this meant increased spending in the television adverts and raising the personnel to link millions through phone messaging, social networking and blogging.  Finally, (Macmanus, 2010) credits the ability of Obama to read peoples moods, respond to their hottest issues and therefore presenting himself as a critical facilitator and a force to link them with their dream America.

Though there was great use of modern technology in the campaign, it fails the test to fit in the post modern model.  Box-Steffernsmeier and Schier (2009) explain that internet use is at its infancy while Ethridge and Handelman (2009) second the view by indicating that older generation preferred the modern methods of the new paper and television.  Indeed, both candidates found television as great tool while internet use was still skeptical to them.

Conclusion
It is from the above discussion that this paper concludes by supporting the thesis statement, at a time when political space has continued to expand, the capacity to effectively uphold public opinion and articulate high profile political communication forms the basement for improving democratic ideals in the society.  2008 campaign presented a major turning point in the US history by factoring strongly on the need for effective communication between candidates and their voters.  It can be said, that the key reason for Obamas win was effective communication that not only managed to cover his race as an oppressive factor, but effectively brought out his policies, created a space for all, solidified the identity for all and therefore won the loyalty for more democrats and republicans too.  Future candidates must therefore use communication as the main tool in anchoring their support at the grassroots.  

One of the biggest challenges of a magazine publisher is knowing how to deal with the distribution. This is very crucial because the business profit will greatly depend on this factor. Making the most of magazine distribution begins with understanding what you want from your magazine (Antonow, n.d.). This includes knowing the services you want for your magazine, and how much money you can spend for it.

There are many distribution companies that deal professionally with different distributions, and there are many software programs and do-it-yourself solutions available for distributing your publication. However, the legal, financial and logistics issues associated with the magazine distribution process are complex and best left to the experts (Antonow, n.d.). Before choosing your distributor, know what does every distribution company specialize. In this case, find the best company that works best with sports magazines. To make a presentation of your magazine to a distributor, you need to be well prepared. Make sure to be ready with the ISSN or the ISBN, a media kit, a dummy magazine or a printed issue, and the retail budget as most supermarkets and chain stores will require publishers to purchase space or promotional units in store.

Depending on the appointment of the distributor, it may take three months to make the necessary presentations to retail to gain newsstand distribution which should be noted when planning a launch (SH Circulation, n.d.). If you require wider audience than newsstand distribution may bring, find a company which offers access to numerous high visibility outlets internationally. Access to this, for some companies, is subject to presentation and acceptance so it would be wise to create a presentation before closing a deal with a distributor. Your distributor will be your best friend in this business it is important that the company you choose has a good reputation and is trust worthy.

The ordinary world experiences tremendous suffering, and someone needs to save us from the mystical forces that create it.  Wachowskis The Matrix shows this world, and it stars the Onethe bodhisatva, illuminatus or heroic enlightened Onewho will save us from dukha or suffering and demonstrate the Heros Journey motif.  It also dramatically narrates Joseph Campbells 12 stages in a heros journey toward enlightenment.

Neo (Keanu Reeves) is the hero in the Matrix.  He is also called the One (prophesied to save us).  He is a computer programmer living in a mundane world of suffering (Stage 1 The Ordinary World).  He is then summoned by Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) to free the world from it (Stage 2 A Call to Adventure).  They visit the Oracle (Gloria Foster) who declares that Neo is the One but Neo doubts it (Stage 3 Refusal of the Call).  Morpheus then trains Neo in Buddhist mind techniques and Asian martial arts (Stage 4 Meeting a Mentor).  Later, they try to exit the Matrix, but they are ambushed by SWAT teams and Agents (Stage 5 Crossing the First Threshold).  Then Cyper (Joe Pantoliano), a follower of Morpheus, betrays them, and Morpheus is captured by the enemy (Stage 6 Tests, Allies and Enemies).

Morpheus is imprisoned in a Matrix government building, and the enemy tries to gain information or access codes from him for Zions mainframethe freed humans subterranean refuge in the normal world (Stage 7 Approach to the Inmost Cave).  Neo and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) attempt to rescue Morpheus and return to the Matrix.  Neos Matrix-manipulation skills have improved, and he now shows confidence by dodging bullets fired at him (Stage 8 The Supreme Ordeal).   The group tries to exit the Matrix again, but Neo is ambushed by an agent before he can leave.  The agent has the advantage, but Neo stands firm and temporarily defeats the agent by running him over with a train (Stage 9 Reward for Seizing the Sword).  As Neo reaches an exit, agents ambush him, shoot him and kill him (Stage 10 The Road Back).  Trinity, who falls in love with Neo, refuses to accept his death.  She kisses him and Neo revives (Stage 11 Resurrection).   While the Agent attempts again to kill him, Neo blocks it and finally put an end to their existence.  He later makes a phone call in the Matrix that rallies Matrix prisoners that anything is possible (Stage 12 Return with the Elixir).

Furthermore, Rodney St.Michael in Illuminati Healing and Developing the Mind and Sync My World Thiefs Honor GA SK shows that Keanu Reeves, a practicing Buddhist in real life, is a bodhisattva or illuminatus (Sanskrit and Italian, respectively, for heroic enlightened one) in The Matrix.  In Buddhist beliefs, a bodhisatva is a hero, who is already granted Nirvana (freedom from the mundane worlds bondage).  But because of his compassion for the people still imprisoned in the ordinary world, he returns to it and attempts to save the prisoners.

St.Michael also shows through Buddhas Four Noble Truths how the heroic journey of enlightenment arises.  The First Noble Truth states that life is dukkha (the uncomfortable feeling of riding a wooden cart with an uneven wheel on a bumpy road, or the screeching of an uneven potters wheel as it spins).  This experience is the same with the cycles of life (birth to death or boom and bust) as the earth spins (day to night) and revolves around the sun (Four Seasons) as the sun moves up and down around the galaxy (climate change ice ages and warm periods) which cause suffering among people.

The Second Noble Truth, as St.Michael states, is that dukkha is caused by the infinite Matrix of Yin (0) and Yang (1), which produces an infinite amount of combinations like the binary code of a computer (all pictures, video, text, software, virtual worlds, games and artificial intelligence of a computer is coded in long strings of 1s and 0s).  The Problem of Universals is solved here.  For example, Yang is male, the political Left, Stalin, the Democrats, compulsive desire, etc., while Yin is female, the political Right, Hitler, the Republicans, aversion, etc.  Yang can be further subdivided into Wood or Air (males, Yellow race, Scholars, etc.) and Fire (gays, White race, Military, Militant Business class, etc.).  And Yin can be subdivided into Water (female, Small Browns, Shamans, etc.), Earth (lesbians, Blacks, Social Business Class, etc.) and Metal or Ether (bisexuals, Big Browns, Working Class, Bi Military, etc.)  The Five Elements are details of Yin and Yang, and astrophysics creates this real Force.

The Third Noble Truth then states that to eliminate dukkha, you must extinguish the infinite Yin-Yang Matrix.  And the Fourth Noble Truth states that to extinguish the Matrix, you must follow the Middle Way.  Here then is the path of the heroic enlightened one or the illuminatusthe path of Neo.

The Middle Way strikes an ecological balance between the Five Elements (Wu Xing or Pentacle of Master Kung Fu, aka Confucius).  For example, Water nourishes trees (Wood), just as females care for males.  But too much Water or flooding will rot Wood, just as the overwhelming feminine presence may irritate men.  Wildfire can destroy a forest of trees, just as gays may sodomize men, but mild sunshine is beneficial to trees, just as friendly gays may create fashion and art for men.  Earth may absorb excess Water, but may bury trees during mudslides.  Metal can chop Wood, but if Metal is used carefully, it can carve it to fine furniture or sculptures.

In other words, if there is a balance among the Elements, whether it be gender, race, class, or political division, nations, etc., then there will be liberation from the mundane world.  There will be peace, and that is the job of a hero.  That is Neos lifes journey within all of us.

Within the current context of post-modern American society, possessing the skills needed to deconstruct and analyze media is imperative. Without it, many of the hegemonic representations that are presented to society will be received as reality when they are nothing more than symbolic constructs. The danger in this may not initially be apparent, but it is present, nonetheless. Beneath the exterior of seemingly innocent presentations of family, work, and personal life, lies a complex system of realities that all combine to form a dual presentation of reality. On the one hand, there is denotative reality, which is the reality of forms as they are, and the other is constructed reality which includes denotative reality, but goes a step further my using language and other forms of media to create and assign new meanings to denotative reality. The ability to manipulate signs and signifiers lead to a new found power for the media It could now create believable myths that offered consumers the ability to transcended the biological realities of life through colorful words and enticing imagery. With the medias presentation of constructed reality, the mundane aspects of daily living were transformed into opportunities for self-actualization.  The media helped to seduce man into believing that perfection, as demonstrated through airbrushed advertisements and creative camera angling, was finally in reach. America constructed a cultural system and reinforced its own values through various forms of media and advertising. Due to the domination of America across field of hard (military) and soft (media) power, the cultural values were exalted to universal status. That is, until international perspectives and denotative reality began to  undo the construction, piece by piece and re-present American life as it is.

Critical media literacy is an educational response that expands the notion of literacy to include different forms of mass communication, popular culture and new technologies.  It allows for the term literacy to be comprehensive in its definition, as the critical element ensure that  relationships between media and audiences, information and power are not simply observed but taken apart in order to comprehend all levels of their meaning. Having the ability to analyze media critically allows observers to develop and contextual and multiperspectival approach addressing issues of gender, race, class and power,  how these issues are interwoven into the mainstream media, and how the media representations shape social reality.

In the docu-film The Fog of War Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (2003), Mr. McNamara pointed out clearly and eloquently how this universal Americanism, was in reality, not. Rather, it was a self-proclaimed ideological framework that imposed itself upon the cultures of the other world through foreign polices that sought to secularized and democratize the world. In the end, it was not the other nations that suffered the brunt of the repercussions of this hubris, but America itself, for the first time during the Vietnam War. The war was do disastrous for American in terms of life, resources, and image that Mc Namara created an entire list of lessons that America was forced to learn about how the world really felt about its impositions Our (America) judgments of friend and foe alike reflected our profound ignorance of the history, culture, and politics of the people in the area, and the personalities and habits of their leaders (Mc Namara, 1995). The reflective nature of the film, in and of itself, takes a step in the direction of suggesting personal responsibility as the framework needed to embrace humility and prevent such events from occurring in the future We did not recognize that neither our people, nor our leaders are omniscient (Mc Namera, 1995).

The entire notion of media deconstructioncritique manifest because of the exclusionary mentality that dominated soft culture for most of the twentieth century, and let too many of the errors of cultural self-perception that contributed to the loss of the Vietnam war. A structured, hegemonic series of images and values that increasing grew to not reflect the realities of American life ultimately created the atmosphere for the growing media literacy movement (Kellner  Share, 2005), headed by two organizations one of which is the Alliance for a Media Literate America (AMLA). The AMLA champions media literacy, defined as a series of communication competencies, including the ability to ACCESS, ANALYZE, EVALUATE and COMMUNICATE (Kellner  Share, 2005) which enables students to contextualize the various forms of media they consume within the larger social context. Critical media literacy tools also bring to light the aspects of media that are un-stated and allows for students to reflect on issues like the dominant cultural ideologies, gender, race, sex, class, politics, and even democracy itself. It is empowering for marginalized members of society to be given the tools to understand the notion of social context, and through technological education articulate and providing access to communication technologies, allowing them an avenue from which to voice their stories and concerns (Kellner  Share, 2005).  Without these tools, such concepts go un-considered by the masses, much less unexamined or unstated. In order to prevent the singular world view that lead America through bouts of unnecessary war and turmoil, communication technology, the media literacy movement and its techniques seek to create a citizenry that participates and is invigorated through debate and the democratic process.

A shining example of a man who is media-eloquent and learned to master the tools of communication technology to express his perspective is documentary film maker, Michael Moore. His independent alternative media film production Fahrenheit 911 (Moore, 2004), which generated a substantial amount of controversy by claiming that the Bush Administration used the 911 terrorist attacks to raise money for the un-related Iraq war. Armed with a fierce and clear perspective, satirical wit, mastery of the emotive camera angling, and a stash of relevant media clips, Moore created a film that stylistically imitated the shock and awe tactics (Hammer,) of the mainstream media as they propagate confusion within the American public regarding the actions of government and corporations. He cuts, edits, chops, omits, distorts and deletes information in order to show, subversively, the level to which American media is no longer about journalism or holding to democratic ideals relating to the peoples rights its about preventing government and corporate transparency. Moores film was critiqued for being just as manipulative as the mainstream media, regarding how messages are delivered to the public, but that was Moores goal, and the reason why the film was such a success.

In order to truly transform the American culture and the media in which it is displayed, the prevalence of counter-hegemonic views (Hammer) in the marketplace must become commonplace. It is in the push and pull of the ideologies of the culture and the counter culture that ideas get flushed out and new insights that benefit the state as a whole are formed. If the perspectives of marginalized populations are subverted, American culture ceases to be democratic in its own presentation of ideals. Instead all segments of the population must celebrate how the production of alternative and oppositional media often gives voice and agency to subaltern people, including marginalized students and allows them to talk back, and this talking back validates the integrity of the constitution and creates the space for social refection and correction.

The Climate Change Bill, introduced On November 14, 2007 and passed as a law on November 26 2008 became the primary legislation of the UK government to bind a framework in meeting the demands of climate change. In this effort, the approach used through the law is to manage and respond to climate change by setting ambitious and legally binding targets taking powers to meet those targets strengthening the institutional framework enhancing UKs ability to adapt to the impact of climate change and to establish a clear and regular accountability of the UK parliament and to the devolved legislatures. The aim of the Act is to institutionalize and improve carbon management and help the transition towards a low-carbon economy in the UK, while demonstrating UK leadership as a means to commit to international efforts and responsibility towards global emissions as founded on the global agreement at Copenhagen in December 2009.

Provisions of the Act includes a commitment of the UK to cut at least 80 percent in greenhouse emissions by 2050, 30 percent of which is targeted in year 2020. The Act also includes a provision for carbon budgeting system which caps emissions over five-year periods as indicated in the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan (Department of Energy and Climate Change, 2009). The creation of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) is also stated in this law. The CCC is an independent body with technical experts which advices the government on the level of carbon budget and where cost-effective savings could be made. The government in response must be able to respond to the annual reports of the CCC to ensure transparency and accountability. The CCC also advices on various sectors in the country on the projected emissions of for example, the aviation and shipping industry to be taken into account in the carbon budgets of UK. The Act is a domestic action of UK to climate change, thus prompting the need for the government to mediate between budgeting carbon emissions domestically and internationally.

This has been institutionalized when the EU Emissions Trading System was formed. The Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme was also created from this Act following the provision on creating schemes which measures biofuel levels, incentives for household reduction of wastes, and others (Department of Energy and Climate Change, 2009). The government is also responsible for addressing these issues to pubic bodies and informs them on risk-assessments they have made to address the risks of climate change. This Act also enables the government to monitor and give a set of guidance to companies on their greenhouse gas emissions levels, requiring them to report to the government and abide by the standards on greenhouse emissions. Publication is also crucial in the Act to inform various stakeholders of their roles and responsibility in fulfilling the duties stated by both the government and the society in response to climate change (Department of Energy and Climate Change, 2009).

The Carbon Trust  
Carbon budgets are the allocation of UK in their level of greenhouse gas emission and contribution to the global greenhouse gas emissions. Britain, by institutionalizing Climate Change Act in 2008 aimed to reduce their emission by at least 80 percent by 2050. To achieve such ambitious targets, the Carbon Trust Company was formed to accelerate the transition towards a UK with a low carbon economy.

As a not-for-profit company, Carbon Trust provides technical support to various private and public stakeholders to cut carbon emissions, save energy, and to commercialize low carbon technologies as means to reach for low carbon economy. The company provides a support system which enforces the goals of a low carbon UK economy, the development of low carbon businesses, increase energy security, and other relevant roles in effort to respond to climate change. Other than specialist advice, the company provides financial plan to different organizations and sets the standards for carbon reduction.

The Carbon Trust Company takes a practical approach in reducing carbon emissions. By aiming to deliver a long-term impact, the company advices on how to open markets for low carbon technologies, leads in collaborations to commercialize these technologies, and investing on starting low carbon companies. The company relates that through these measures, the UK can generally save over 20 million tones of carbon a year by 2050.

The current Chief Executive is Tom Delay, who came to the trust after a career with energy company Shell and management consultancies McKinsey and A.T. Kearney. The current Chairman is Sir Ian McAllister, who was also Chairman of Network Rail

Clients
Almost 75 percent of FTSE 100 companies were advised by the group, and thousands of small and medium sized business over 2,500 public sector bodies had approached the company for strategies towards a low carbon economy. The company boasts of helping their customers save around 23 metric tones of CO2 emissions which saved the companies 1.4 billionof direct cost savings. Third party investments amounting to 1 billion had gained into the development and deployment of low carbon technologies, markets, and product services. They have supported development of 250 new low carbon technology projects and companies, certified carbon footprints of over 5,000 products, and 200 companies to the Carbon Trust Standard.

The company also takes on the role in the legislative areas by providing valuable insights and informed policy directions and decisions which improved the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme of large organizations, improved support for the technologies under the revised Renewable Obligations, and the understanding on the competitiveness impacts of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. Aside from various projects they have initiated to accelerate the deployment of low carbon energy technologies, the Carbon Trust defined a new approach for UK to capture economic opportunities which addresses the goal of reducing carbon emissions.

Services
Aside from providing technical advice, the company is also committed to set the standard in lowering carbon emissions. They deliver their services in various ways such as through basic telephone support, carbon surveys, carbon footprinting, carbon saving workshops, private sector carbon management, public sector carbon management, and building design advice and schemes. The holistic and practical approach of the company also support business and public sector organization in the transition towards low carbon economy by reducing their energy bills and carbon emissions, specifically through their strategies such as interest-free loans on low carbon technologies, and enhanced capital allowances (Cave, 2009).

The public sector also can finance investment on energy efficient technologies, through the Salix Finance, which provides them with a scheme to install a range of energy efficient measures. Customer can also measure their carbon emissions and take part in reducing carbon emission.

Schemes
The Carbon Trust Standard is a vital tool in the effort of the company to reach its goals aligned with reducing carbon emission. The Carbon Trust Standard certifies that an organization has made genuine reductions to its carbon footprint. It also entails the commitment of the organization to make further reduction year after year. Another scheme which is the Carbon Reduction Label was developed by the company to help in understanding the concept of carbon footprint in various products, services, and technologies used.

Contribution on Policy Directions
In gearing towards a low carbon economy, Carbon Trust works with experts to outline the current trends and policy frameworks to shape the low carbon growth in the UK. Industries also take part in this initiative to ensure that future low carbon emitting technologies are welcomed in a profitable and competitive market, and essentially will create significant carbon economic returns for UK (Cave, 2009). The company contributes ideas, presents issues and opportunities with regards to climate change legislation. The company helps in creating low carbon enterprises, and provides technology accelerators to focus on addressing the barriers to technology development and deployment (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2009). Grant support to science as well as the enterprise makes the transition towards a low carbon economy profitable for the customers, and not seen as a means to hamper the companies development. There is also the business incubator of the company to provide business support and solutions for new companies to thrive. They also provide applied research grant scheme to produce viable information, build on gaps in UK research capabilities, and invest on technologies in the effort to response to climate change.  

Ted Selkers article, Touching the Future, has graphically revealed to the readers, how he had envisioned the future to be like.  In fact, Selker is suggestive that the future has already arrived, in the form of innovative breakthroughs in visually-manipulative, hand gesture-sensitive concepts, such as what we are able to experience in Apples iPhone.  He furthers this technological prophecy by citing some of the leaders in the industry, such as Jeff Hans Perceptive Pixel, the Microsoft Surface, and the Unmouse Pad which was a creation of Ken Perlin.  These are the very people and corporations who led the way for technology to adapt to the richness of human interaction that has evolved over millions of years (Selker, 2008, p. 16).  

Indeed, numerous benefits are attainable with the introduction of these technologies.  For instance, it has paved the way for users to exercise control over Apples iPhone, by having the controls at the tip of a persons fingertips, literally.  Whence before the transferring of files, editing of picture, or the sharing of applications in cell phones demanded one to master complex and confusing buttons, now these can all be done by simply enlarging or diminishing the distance between two fingers.  The Microsoft Surface, inevitably, is the future of desk-top computers.  Primarily, its 30-inch table-top screen enables for the interaction between the said computer with other compatible devices by simply laying them on top of the screen.  As the surface recognizes hand gestures as well as objects with RFID tags, various applications are performable, such as in sharing of files between MP3 players and smartphones (Selker, 2008, p. 14).

Perhaps because this technology can be considered as still in its infancy, the applications that are presented are still limited.  For one, using a virtual keyboard may present problems for the end-user, as it may take some time for him to get used to typing on the table-top screen, as opposed to the more convenient and customary method of having an external and separate keyboard.  The same can be said of the iPhone, where admittedly Apple has confessed to some of its lesser qualities, such as having an inferior camera, a slower processor, a worse keyboard, no Flash Player, and has no capabilities to attach a lanyard (Selker, 2008, p. 14).

However, despite of all these weaknesses, its practicality in the real world holds no boundaries, especially when taken into consideration the technologys infancy stage and the seemingly enormous and countless possibilities it possesses in the near future.  Admittedly, it may be wise and logical to presume that gesture-sensitive technologies and the table-top super computers will some day soon replace how we have known these technologies to be.  Very soon, the monitors and the CPUs that have been the mainstays in every office will be made obsolete with the proliferation of table-top, gesture-sensitive, and CPU-less units.  Apples iPhone has trailblazed its way into making this possibility a certainty worthy of anticipation.  Lastly, the introduction of these technological breakthroughs will ultimately have to be assimilated with other non-software appliances.  Perhaps a gesture-sensitive monitor will some day be attached to the refrigerator, or to the air conditioning unit, or the microwave oven, or the water heater, and together in a controlled environment, all of these will be controllable by an external unit the size of a cell phone, or perhaps integrated in the cell phones system itself.

Obviously, an article that is intended for those who are technologically-equipped was suited especially for those who have an understanding on these topics, be it in the academic or professional level.  After all, these groups are the pace-setters from which the general populace follows.  Informing these groups of people will eventually lead to the education of the general populace.  Based on this reality, it certainly seems that the future has finally arrived.        

Cross-promotion is a form of advertising that involves two or more parties. It involves getting other companies to promote your product. Companies for instance will use the World Cup by referring to themselves as the proud sponsors of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. This way they are able to place adverts in various events simply by using the World Cup brand name to promote their products. The problem with cross-promotion is that conglomerates will not take you seriously, and you have to prove to them that you can reach a decent sized audience and at the same time prove that they will benefit from this deal.

Media Conglomerate
A media conglomerate can be defined as a company that owns large numbers of companies in various mass media such as television, radio, publishing, movies and the Internet. News Corporation is one of the worlds biggest media conglomerate founded by Rupert Murdoch, who also doubles as the Chief Executive Officer. In his letter, addressed in the companys 2007 annual report, Rupert Murdoch stated that the company followed a clear strategy of providing a compelling combination of information and entertainment for the largest audience around the globe.

In providing this content, we maintain what we believe is the ideal mixture of established, developing, and new businesses with significant potential. This balance serves an important purpose It guarantees that we always have at least one generation of assets that can be considered our growth assets.

Advertisingpromotion campaigns and its Outcomes
News Corporation assets like newspapers, film studios and broadcast television properties have maintained important brands and trustworthy audiences while remaining the basis upon which the company expands all its activities as well as generate reliable cash flows to fund its new businesses. In addition to this, it has broadened its offerings, from newspapers to feature film, free television, cable chains, books to pay-television and many Internet offerings.

News Corporation has also expanded its reach from Australia to the U.K, the U.S, Continental Europe and to East and South Asia. This formula is best demonstrated by the companys cable network programming - a segment that contains established, upcoming and new channels (News Corporation, 2007). Among its established channels, the Fox News channel has shown strong growth.  Strong advertising sales particularly has driven record operating income and revenue growth. FX, one more of the companys established channels, has been a leader in the basic cable entertainment,  in which it produces double digit operating profits and revenue expansion. The local sports network, National Geographic and SPEED have not been left behind either in terms of growth. Fox International Channels have also seen the companys profits grow up strongly as a result of expansion of its channel audience to a larger global audience. According to Rupert Murdoch, the companys key objective is to transform it from a traditional media giant to into a digital juggernaut.

News Corporation is the worlds leading publisher of English-language newspapers, creating four national banners in the U.K. each week. For instance, The Sun has remained the U.K.s bestselling newspaper, capturing 35 of the daily tabloid market.

The companys portfolio of consumer promotion media and trusted magazines has given it incomparable access to shoppers around the world. For instance, News America Marketing (NAM) delivers brand messages to more than 200 million shoppers through an extensive portfolio of products, which include special interest publications and free-standing inserts in Sunday newspapers across the U.S and Canada. It has also increased its retail network with new products such as Shelf Vision Video, a first of its kind at shelf-video machine that can be found in more than 36, 000 stores. News Corporation is also involved in book publishing. HarperCollins, its global book publishing division, boasts of selling more than one million copies of new titles in the fiscal 2007.  This has once again proved why it is one of the worlds leading book publishers.

But even as media conglomerates press for policies that seek to facilitate their markets throughout the world, McChesney (1999), notes that strong traditions of protection for domestic media and cultural industries still persist.  The ongoing trend toward centralized ownership of mass media is seen as a threat to journalistic freedom and the public interest.

Conclusion
Despite the good intentions a large media conglomerate may have, central ownership deprives the media of the independence that turns out to be very vital in a democracy. In addition to this, older media should be encouraged to merge so as to cut costs or many traditional media voices will be silenced by economic realities. Economies of scale can also be achieved if media companies agreed to combine operations.  For instance, a company owning more than four television stations in a single location could market advertising, and take care of the stations engineering operations in a more efficient way than a number of stations owned by different individuals. Take for example the case of News Corporation. The expansive nature of News Corporation enabled it widen its scope from Australia to the US, the UK, Europe and Asia. This strategy enabled the company establish a solid and strong cable network programming, which was ultimately reflected in the companys profit growth.

The stakeholder groups in this conflict consist of the community members for and against marijuana shops for medical purposes. The Windsor town board is considered the community members. In addition, MM dispensaries and law enforcement agencies all have an involvement in this community conflict.

The Windsor Community group against MM dispensaries leads by Windsor resident Bill Miller is identified with the following frames. First, the stakeholder group against the dispensaries sees this as a negative impact on society. As the substantive frame indicates the members perceive that anything associated with marijuana, because once illegal, will have negative consequences for the town. Next, the characterization frame also associates the evils of marijuana in the past with today and the residents see that there is no place for this in their community. They don t want to be known as a community that would allow this activity, in their opinion. The process frame for Miller is that he really does not believe in a process for this activity, it should simply not be allowed in his town. Miller, representing those against MM dispensaries does not leave much room for conflict resolution to this community conflict. And last, the aspiration frame for Miller and his followers include the fact his view is the only view that is correct and he will not quit until everyone else sees it this way and follows his aspiration for the issue.

On the other hand, the residents of Windsor for MM dispensaries are identified as willing to follow the law at hand which is in favor of having the dispensaries for those in medical need. They see it as a new issue that is not that big of deal. For the characterization frame, they look at changes in the past legislation as a new way for the future. They are not considering any wrong doing with marijuana in the past downplaying the fact that it is a drug. The process frame includes an open door to discuss the issue, which will also include work from the current legislation allowing MM dispensaries. Last, the aspiration frame would include the view of residents to allow such places throughout the community. Their claim that sick people should not have to drive or search for places to get the drug.

 The first stakeholder group (community members against MM dispensaries) would be asked what they think the point of the legislation was to allow such use of marijuana How did you think patients would get the drugs The second stakeholder group (community members for MM dispensaries) would be asked what impact do they think the drug would have on non-medical patients (i.e. students, teenagers, etc.) And, what impact do you think going from one extreme to the other, virtually overnight, will have on the community

The frames that prohibit collaborative resolution of this issue are both the substantive frame and the characterization frame. Both of these frames involve current face value of the issue while also looking at trends in the past to gain perspective. I don t think either of these frames have relevance in the current issue because this is a new issue, one that has never been examined before. It is important to take out the past when determining a resolution to this conflict. It is necessary to look only at the current legislation and the relevant current issues associated with marijuana use for medical purposes and the shops used to sale the drug.

As a consultant for the City of Windsor I would help the community reframe this conflict. I think it is important first to explain how the process frame may be the best frame when working out this current community conflict. I would suggest that the substantive frame only appears to be relevant for each group independently, it does not serve a purpose for this current conflict because both groups are only considering what they feel is important to them. The information presented by the members of the community are often one-sided and do not include the thinking process of the other members. The characterization frame seems to work in more favor for the opponents of such actions. This is new legislation with new mandates that will require both groups to look at the issue with a different lens. We cannot use the negative connotations of marijuana in the pass to direct the purpose of it today for the City of Windsor. I would clearly reframe by looking at the process frame and then perhaps the other frames mentioned can be explained but both groups have to agree on some aspects to even try to begin to move forward in working out this conflict.

Purpose  the purpose of this study is to understand diversity and its corresponding impact within business strategies and towards implementing effective management of issues surrounding the workplace.

Rationale  the study seeks to identify patterns where diversity is existent in the workplace (e.g. demographics and discrimination) and determine its impact as well as the trends that influence organizations to rethink their steps in addressing this issue accordingly.

Methodology  this study looked into existence of diversity management as a context and sought to apply this within existing demographics available. In particular, it sought to identify the weaknesses of organizations in handling diversity and apparent mistakes in the process.

Findings  the findings suggest that organizations need to enhance their diversity management in recognizing the importance of goal-creation and other areas shaping policy such as (1) diversity recruiting, (2) fair and equal employee development and (3) involving diversity champions within the organizations. At the same time, it is also essential to address the process of community involvement to better shape policies.

Conclusion  the study argued that the environment surrounding the application of diversity is constantly changing. Thus, companies need to continuously assess their diversity approaches and create new goals to sustain involvement and commitment to these efforts.

Authors argument  the main argument by Code looks into the ability of companies to create and recognize patterns of diversity happening in the environment. It corresponds to the capacity of establishing goal-oriented approaches together with community involvement to induce better ways of understanding diversity and its trends.

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards were hosted by actors Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. As in all Hollywood related awards shows, this years Oscars, as they are more commonly known, were extravagantly glamorous. Beginning with the teasers that showcased the nominations for the various categories of awards, almost a whole week before the actual event, the Oscars managed to spark interest in a significant population of TV Viewers.

The Red Carpet entrances of all the celebrities were as stunning as they always are with a mix of the daring and of the tasteful. Considering that this is a favorite opportunity for most females to gawk at their favorite actors andor actresses in their entire splendor, the hosts this year spared no chance of getting some one-on-one time with the all-time favorites of the television audience. In addition to which, it seems that audiences around the world love it even more when celebrities are criticized, as evidenced by the growing popularity of the E News show Fashion Police. It is the job of this show to showcase the best and the worst dresses of the Awards, and they did so with aplomb.

The Awards Show itself was pleasantly wittier than its previous attempts, thankfully, without having to resort to toilet humor. Apparently, the termination of the writers strike played a bigger role in the success of the Oscars than we previously would have predicted. The on-stage jokes and comments hit their mark more often than not, and credit must also be imparted to the various celebrities who presented the various sections of the show  nominations, movies, tributes. In addition, the nominations too were tastefully selected, and seemed more than just a politically correct attempt at judging the various categories, which further increased interest in the show.

Music
Ever since the Awards have been plagued by a myriad of unneeded curses and inappropriate remarks, a few seconds delay has been introduced into the televised version to allow time to censor the offending phraseword. Apart from that, it was often witnessed that the show would prolong for more than its required time slot, largely due to the long, winding thank you speeches of the winners. There has been a trend towards using the music to cue the entrance and exits of whoever is on stage at the moment so that the schedule can be met, and interest kept on the show. Having said that, the music itself was, again, tasteful the harmony of the music with the events happening both on and off the stage was tastefully managed by the relevant people. There was hardly a point where the music became too annoying or monotonous. It is always a task for the composers to create music that is, at the same time, both separate from other shows, and keeping in line with the theme of the fact that it is an Awards Show.

Graphics
The Gorillaz are a cartoon music band that performed live on stage for the Grammys in 2006. By breaking the barrier between virtual and real world most of the Awards Shows have ushered in a new era of graphic capability at one point virtual creatures from the movie Avatar made their way on stage and had to be sprayed away by Steve Martin. Even dispensing with this recent outflux of 3D virtual graphics into the real world on-stage, the graphics involved in creating an almost poetic frame within which to run the nominations were also sublime. It is hardly surprising though, that an Awards Show in its 82nd year that recognizes the achievements of the graphics of a moviefilm would have its own plethora of capable and competent professionals. This was proven by the quality showcased throughout the Show.

Personality
Acceptance speeches, introducers to new segments, giving out awards, tributes, and presenting the more impactful films, there were a multitude of celebrities who walked on to the big stage on Oscar night. Neil Patrick Harris, Ben Stiller, Penelope Cruz, to name a few, all left their mark on the nights festivities. While the kick-off with Neil Patricks song-and-dance routine served the intended purpose of raising the energy level of the audience, he was overshadowed by the dual-combo of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin  they managed to exude a level of chemistry that somehow enhanced their comic timing. This is not the first time that Steve has hosted the Oscars, but somehow his performance was better this time around. Having two hosts allowed them both with the opportunity to feed off of each other and be able to carry the show forward even when they were taking potshots at the celebrities. A daring change in format from the original one host to two granted the show the leeway to maintain creativity while not making the viewers tired of seeing the same host again and again of course, this was helped by the fact that the hosts were used sparingly, and then only to move the show onwards.

SpecialsSurprises
The absence of live performances by the best song nominees this year around was a surprise to many. In their place, the Show had interpretive dance routines, which still did not allow the show to end as per schedule, as was expected this time around. No surprise as far as the over-shooting of the schedule was concerned, of course.

With regards to the winners of the various nominations there were no surprises involved. For some, though, Avatars losing the best picture award was surprising but for most, the history of the Oscars was enough to predict that a science-flick would not win that particular award. Other than that, the winners were easily predictable they were mostly based on commercial success.

When the Best Short Documentary Award was given out there was an incident of awkwardness involved. There were originally two Directors involved in the Documentary, but they split up due to various reasons. However, when the nominee won, the female crashed the stage and took over most of the time for the acceptance speech.

Ben Stiller showing up as a character from the Avatar to hand out the Best Award for Makeup. His blue faade and tail were accentuated by his use of the native language of the film. His antics were a pleasant deviation from the, normally, more formal aspect of the Show.

Lighting
Judged on its own the lighting was a show in itself. The stage was highlighted at all the necessary angles to enhance its impressiveness. An important aspect of show business, good lighting can be the difference between an oily faced celebrity and a natural looking celebrity as such, it must be ensured that the makeup and the lighting are in tandem.

Apart from making the celebrities look good, as is a necessary aspect of Hollywood in general, the lighting also highlighted the various parts of the on-stage show effectively, so that the millions of television viewers at home would be able to see what the audience can see live and in person. The shimmering, crystalline, curtain-like faade of the stage, and the rings at the back, were all adequately lighted to allow them to be an integral part of the stage, yet not noticeable enough to outshine the celebrities on stage.

Opinion
As far as I was concerned, the 82nd Academy Awards lived up to its name, again. The Oscars are perhaps the most famous awards show amongst all others, especially for television viewers. An Oscar nod can greatly enhance the commercial success of a film, as well as the individuals involved in the making of it, irrespective of if the film won or was just a nominee. Of course, for the stars concerned, winning is an important part of the Show, however, their marketability is increased nonetheless.

Having said all that, this years Oscars were different in several aspects from its predecessors. The two host format, the absence of live song performances by the nominees are just a few examples of the daring new changes introduced this year, and they worked. The Show was gripping enough to keep the interest of the viewers for the length of its duration, which in my opinion, was largely thanks to the pairing of Steve and Alec as the hosts. With regards to the winners, there were few surprises, but that is not the real reason people watch the Show they can find out the names of the Winners online soon enough. The spectacle of the Show is what interests the audience, and in that the Oscars hit the mark.

Relationships are very important in our day to day lives. I personally have had my share of problems in relationships and would like to improve on how I relate with people.

I have always cared about other peoples feelings. People in general like to know that there is someone who cares. I always think about how what I say it affects the feelings of others. I also like to keep a good impression of myself on others. People can be judgmental and I have to be careful in how I conduct myself around people I interact with. I do not let people down when they entrust me with something and am always willing to help out a friend. I always ensure that I keep in touch with friends and by doing so, I have had more people around me that I can rely on.

I have my flaws in relating to people that I would like to change. On a number of occasions, I turn up late for dates and meetings. People do not like being kept waiting especially if the time had been agreed on. Friends have commented on it and I have tried to work on it. Another flaw I have is switching off during long conversations. Friends would be very disappointed if they found out. Listening to each other is vital in any healthy relationship. In relationships, people should watch out for each other in situations that may not play out so well. I have a tendency of not interfering with other peoples affairs. Good friends warn each other if heading in the wrong direction. I need to start offering my opinion if its in the best interests of those I relate with.

There a number of things that I want to start doing in my relationships such as sending more gifts to my friends and family. It doesnt have to be on a special occasion for me to send a gift.

This I believe will let them know that theyre in my thoughts and show them how much I value them. I also intend on keeping a record of special occasions that relate to my friends and family. Its a good feeling knowing someone remembered it was your birthday. Lastly, I intend on following up on the activities of those I relate with. Calling up friends regularly to inquire on their activities will definitely improve my relationship I have with them.

Conflict seems to be ever present in our entire lives. Be it on the football field, at home, in the bathroom or even in the boardroom. The possibility that there will be a divergence impends anytime two or more people convene. The more our collaborative concepts amplify the higher the chances of getting into a clash. Conflict arises from a multitude of potential sources that reflect our differences on the basis of personality, ideologies, race, culture, race, values and even from trivial misapprehension. Conflicts can either be internal or external. Internal conflicts results from jealousy, unrequited love or even an urge for revenge. External conflicts may stern from our environs- famine or earthquake..  According to Peter, conflict is a struggle to overcome a contest from opposing forces. It is simply a disagreement through which the parties involved perceive a threat to their interests, needs and concern. For people who have witnessed conflict firsthand they do not need a dictionary or people to tell them what conflict really is.

There are various types of conflicts between man and God, man and self, man and society, man and nature and man and man conflict. . The kind of conflict I was involved in lately is between me, my best friend and some members of the society. Ann got chased from home and she sought refuge in my house. We once had an argument that did not end up well. She was planning to purchase a  300 D  G sunglass,  400 Gucci purse and a pair of shoes worth 300 dollars. I told her point blank that buying such expensive staff was not one of my priorities and I can buy the same staff elsewhere where they were cheaper. I told her to first pay my debt that she had and maybe instead of her useless staff I can take a vacation.

I asked her where she will get all this money from and she gave me this disappointing story that changed the whole topic.  She walked towards the mall one Friday evening and took away with some cash on realizing no one was watching and went home running only to find her brother who after insisting there was something wrong she decides to give the story on how she stole from a mall. This story leads her to the streets after being chased away and she seeks refuge in my house giving me a different story.

Immediately she finished giving me the story I had no option but to slap her. She was so bitter and a row starts and I decide to call up her brother who after half an hour comes with a group of people who are as mad as hell.

Get the hell out of my house Ann I gave you a chance to turn around your life and this is how you repay me I shout.

She calls me a fool and a traitor for reasons best known to her. The other people stands motionless and others cheers  on angrily  for the fight to continue as it is common to people that if you want to kindle a fire then dare to rub two opposing opinions. The fight continued.

Are you deaf I thought I have told you to go away little freak. I never want to see you I say.
Her brother starts to beat her and she revenges by giving him a punch. She is finally rescued by the police who were called by one of the men in the crowd. We had no time for reconciliation .The crowd and the police led her to where she was supposed to have gone long time ago- prison.

This conflict can be categorized into different sections. We can depict from the story what exactly power is and what it is not. Power according to Rothwell is ability to influence the attainments of goals set by others and self. Power has to be self centered and no one is powerless. In the story we see an element of dominance as far as forms of power are concerned. The uncle dominates in the story because obviously he is older than Ann thus he has power to send him out of his house. The other form of power is empowerment. We continued to fight because the community did not stop us but rather encouraged me to go on and beat her. As no one is powerless, the more I beat her, the more the issue aggravated.

Among the power indicators that are depicted from the row are verbal, nonverbal as well as general.  Though the public neither talked nor prevented the fight, it is clear that their presence had a big impact. Before the uncle could have just decided to send the niece into prison but he did not. Why did he suddenly change and decide to take her to prison He was obviously triggered by people who could not sit and watch Ann go scat free. That was nonverbal indicator.

We exchanged words with Ann leading to the other indicator which is verbal. The general indicator comes in the grounds that no amount of justification Ann made could change the impact created. She stole and at the same time lied to me. Could I have listened to her justification Rothwell goes to say that in any scenario where there is transaction of power, members have to utilize power resources which enables the parties to attain their intended goals. The first power resource is information. Information that Ann gave me about her scandal changed my perception and it led to enmity and physical war. The next resource is expertise. In the crowd there was a man who proposed they ought to call a police as he had knowledge that the war could have led to mob justice. The other resource is punishments and rewards. In this case slaps and the fact that he was taken to jail are the rewards. There was no personal quality as no one encouraged us to stop fighting or even reconcile.

Legitimate authority resource is the final one and Ann had no choice but to obey the police as they led her to prison. Power imbalances clearly encourage verbal and physical aggression. It led us to fight and engage in verbal abuse. The conflict we had was destructive as it did not lead to reconciliation. We managed the conflict through power forcing style. Ann accused me of being a traitor while I called her a freak. It was dominated by ridicule and insults. In the story we see an aspect of communication differences.  This led to break of friendship, anger, disappointment and lack of trust. As much as Ann valued beauty and could spend a fortune to get glasses and purse I could not stand that. The power imbalance in this case was addressed by sending Ann to prison.

Looking back at the whole scenario and if chance led me to the same circumstance I would do things differently. My conflict styles were not effective. First I could have appreciated the fact that we are two different people and when she gave me the story of buying luxuries, I could have just given her my opinion without criticizing her. Though it did hurt, I should have been more considerate when she gave me the story of how she stole from a mall on the grounds she had finally trusted me with that disappointing information. The tit for tat strategy did not bear any fruits for as much as she was hurt I was hurt and distraught.

The best principle I could have adopted is principle negotiation where I separate people from the issue after I have talked to her to surrender herself to authorities, though that could have been quite difficult. Finally I should have controlled my anger by listening to her nondefensively without acting and try to calm down as I let her know exactly my opinion in the whole issue and what I thought was the best thing to do. Though conflicts have an emotional component, that tends to cause destruction, some people dispute that conflicts are good for team building. People should adopt healthy ways to solve their differences without letting prejudice, self pride and anger take center stage.

Gambling is an issue that has been mostly associated with leisure in the contemporary society. In a University set up this perception is no different as students engaging in gambling activities within the school, in the casinos as well as on the internet. There is an increase in gambling among university students. This problem has grown over the last ten years. The purpose of this study is to establish the scope, causes and consequences of gambling. Gambling is therefore an issue that is affecting the most vulnerable and important population in the society and should be addressed. Exploring this issue is necessary in establishing possible solution for the involved authorities in helping students overcome and shun from this worrying behavior. The study will focus on various literatures in developing a clear picture of the problem at hand.

Literature Review
Gambling in colleges is a serious issue that researchers have invested in the recent past. Gambling poses serious problems to the gambler. Students engaged in gambling face various risks of health, academic, social and of course financial problems. As Joshua argues, students engage in gambling because of the schools have very little concern about it. In a research by Shaffer et al. (2005), 119 colleges in the

United States participated. Results revealed that, gambling is a commonplace among college students. Further it was identified that all schools had policies governing alcohol and substance abuse but amazingly only 22 percent (26 colleges) had policies concerning gambling. Joshua (2009) discloses that the policies are too weak to be able to dissuade students from gambling.

Consequently, Joshua writes that, the participation of celebrities in poker tournaments on ESPN and in other networks persuades them to engage in such. Movies such as  Casino Royale  by James Bond,  21  and  Rounders  depict glamorous lifestyles and are appealing to the younger generation.  Administrators in most cases are unaware of the situation or are arrogant of the effects of gambling on students  life. According to Jonathen (2005), some schools allow students to engage in poker tournaments within the school. Gambling is perceived as just any other leisure activity in school one of the reasons why it has been of little concern from administrators.

Despite the growing influence and participation of students in gambling, campaigns within the colleges and universities alongside strong policies can help in resolving this problem. Jonathen blames the internet, media and the society in playing a role in perpetuating this culture in the institutions of learning. Joshua (2005) warns that the problem is extent and is slowly crawling into high school students, which is devastating. The three articles used in this study all agree that the problem of gambling among university students is at an alarming rate and the school has very little concern if any in trying to resolve this issue.

The article written by Abelman sought to determine the intentions and purposes of people in watching religious television shows by basing arguments on the uses and gratifications approach. The uses and gratifications approach emphasizes the role of the audience in shaping messages communicated through the media. Questionnaires were distributed to 210 respondents who have cable subscriptions and have admitted to viewing religious channels for 50 of their television viewing time. The objective of in the questionnaire was to determine television viewing patterns and motives.

The results of the study revealed that most of the participants watch television during primetime and Sunday morning and for 2.3 hours, and that top television shows that viewers watch are sermons, followed by news-magazine shows and talk shows. The respondents affinity to television viewing is low, which means that they do not view the activity as particularly important in their lives. The primary motives for television viewing among the participants are information-learning, dissatisfaction with other media, and spiritual guidance. Overall, Abelmans conclusions are such that (1) the audience is selective of the kinds of television shows that they watch based on purpose, (2) the audience watch television as a ritualized activity, and (3) the audience watch television as a response or reaction to other undesirable television programs.

The outcomes of Abelmans conclusions were both expected and unexpected. I have expected that viewers who watch religious shows purposely do so in order to hear the word of God or participate in fellowship with other people who share their faith. My assumptions are based on my previous perceptions, that religious shows, being confined in a regulated platform may only be attracting viewers who support the goals of these kinds of shows. Unlike other televisions shows and channels that cater to specific viewer populations, religious television shows are understandably for individuals who share the same faith as with the people in these shows, whereas other television shows, such as sitcoms may be for adults, teenagers, believers, non-believers, and such. The targeted audience of religious shows, on the other hand, is specific, which is why it was surprising to learn that other viewers do not watch these kinds of shows for the genuine motive of listening to sermons, learning religion, etc.

The other two conclusions that revealed the viewers as engaged in a ritual and reactionaries to undesirable television programs by watching religious shows were surprising. Assuming that most people are knowledgeable of the platform and themes in religious shows, I was expecting that people who purposely watch these shows are motivated by their personal desire to learn about religion and the religious life, understand the Word of God, and join in fellowship services. Treating religious shows as a ritual television viewing activity and as a diversion from other undesired television shows seem unlikely due to the number of other television shows and channels that are available especially with cable subscriptions.

However, considering the concepts underlying the uses and gratifications theory, understanding that viewers have various motives or purposes in watching television shows, even for the most unlikely reasons, are possible. The uses and gratifications theory explicates that the value and meaning of television shows change depending on the motives and interests of its viewers. Television viewers who seek information and spiritual guidance render religious shows as valuable channels for religious worship and sharing. Television viewers, who perceive religious shows as part of their viewing ritual during Sunday morning, or those who change channels to religious shows to avoid watching other shows, do not necessarily watch the shows intently for learning purposes. In these cases, the viewers do not grasp the messages transmitted to the audience by religious television networks.

My assumptions in television viewing of religious shows also apply to home shopping shows or networks. Many television channels cater to home shopping, advertising various kinds of products that would appeal to a diverse audience, such as beauty products, kitchen utensils and appliances, gardening tools, exercise machines, and so on. Initially, I would assume that viewers who watch home shopping shows or networks are interested in purchasing products for their own use. However, considering the uses and gratification theory, television viewers may have multiple motives or purposes in watching shopping networks.

If the same study that Abelman conducted was conducted to understand why people watch shopping networks based on the uses and gratification theory, I think the results will be similar. The act of watching shopping channels will not simply elicit purchasing decisions on the part of the viewers, but other motives for watching as well. Probable motives for watching shopping channels may include gaining a guide for consumer purchases in the future, learning new information in new products and innovations, entertainment, to pass the time in between television shows that viewer really wants to watch, out of habit, to make judgments or air opinions about the products being advertised, to treat is as an alternative for window shopping or actual shopping in stores, for convenience, for social interaction, and so on.

In the study, Abelman mentioned that people watch religious television shows as a reaction to non-secular shows. Reactionary television viewing is also evident in reality shows, if the motives and purposes of viewers are based on the uses and gratification theory. If we point out the difference between fiction and reality television, then we may be able to understand how the viewership for reality television is a reactionary mechanism from the audience. The primary argument is that viewers may have grown weary of the falsehood in television shows that were based on fiction and are not in touch with reality, such that their reaction is to resort to watching reality television shows. Thus, reality television shows may not only be attracting viewers who are genuinely fascinated by the genuine interaction in reality television, but also other viewers who are seeking to be in touch with reality and not be fed with fiction when watching television.

For years, the development of a vaccine against the Human papillomavirus (HPV) demonstrates and marks a significant step towards the reduction of several reproductive health concerns, primarily cervical cancer. However, the success of the HPV vaccination programs will depend on parents open-mindedness and consent to have their female and possibly male children in the preadolescent and early adolescent years vaccinated. Gina Ogilvie et al., in their 2007 HPV related study have focused on parental intention to have their female and or male children vaccinated. In their study, they also determine the factors that may influence this intention, including concerns regarding the perception that recipients of the vaccine may be seen or interpreted as condoning earlier and more frequent sexual behavior. The study also included the attitude towards vaccination in general, geographical location, awareness of HPV, and recommendations from health professionals in receiving the vaccine. In general, most parents surveyed in the study intended to have their daughter receive the vaccine against HPV and those who reported this intent were also more likely to have their male children to be vaccinated as well.  

The study respondents were parents across Canada with children aged 8-18 years. The set of questions given to them were in a context of a grade 6, publicly funded, school based HPV vaccine program. Using a backward logistic regression analysis to identify the predictive intention of the parents to have their daughters vaccinated, more than 70 percent of the respondents (95 percent level of confidence) expressed their consent in having their daughters vaccinated against HPV. The study also used a multivariable modeling method which determined the positive attitude of respondents towards vaccines, those influenced by the subjective norms, and those who felt that the vaccine has a limited influence on sexual behavior. In the study, respondents who thought someone they knew could get cervical cancer were more likely to intend that their daughters receive the HPV vaccine. The study showed that most parents intended to have their daughters vaccinated with the HPV vaccine. Overall attitudes towards vaccines and in particular with the HPV vaccine showed the most significant predictor of parental intention with regard to vaccination.

Using the research to study health communication, we learn that health communication encompasses various communication strategies to inform and influence individual and community decisions that enhance health. This effort is necessary in efforts to improve personal and public health, and greatly helps in all aspects of disease prevention and health promotion. Individuals can benefit in health communication in terms of raising the awareness level on risks and solutions, provide the motivation and skills needed to reduce the risks, help individuals find support with similar situations, and affect or reinforce attitudes. Health communication can also be a tool in increasing the efficiency of health services, it can even influence public agenda, advocate policies and programs, ad promote positive changes which greatly influence socioeconomic and physical environment developments.

Non verbal communication is the process of passing information by any other means or use of symbols without the use of words. Regardless of the disputes and perceptual availability of the communicator, the communication behavior broadly reflects the true meaning of the verbal words. There exists no clear cut division between the two means of communication. Conceptual integration of actions as distinct from speech in broader sense including the speech errors and the behavior take on special significance in subtly conveying feelings. But the lack of explicit coding rules to these behaviors as opposed to the  verbal  has in times led to confusion.

Despite this weakness, non verbal communication is inseparable and indispensable in the field of communication. Usually, an idea or feeling is made explicit with words, but remains implicit if a speech is contradictory. I will try to emphasis the importance of metacommunication in relation to the behavior, feelings and feelings.

Implicit behavior mainly serves as social rein-forcers. Considering a speech phenomenon, non verbal acts like the emblem which includes hand shakes and smile says a lot of the level and the stage of a given speech. There is the use of illustrators that shows emphases and the stressing point of the orator.

For instance,  study of illustrators are exemplified by Bomer s (1963) experiment, which showed a direct correlation between speech disturbance and a composite measure of head, hand, and foot measurements of a patient.

Communication behaviors are also affected by the cultural differences. Immediacy related behaviors differences have also increased the confusion margin and this is yet to be harmonized due to the lack of codes to control them.

People differ in their characteristic emotional reactions to others and these individual differences are more so related to the communicators attributes.

Looking at the implicit communication behavior, they tend to vary with  personality, psychological well being, age, sex, or status or communication media, such as face to face, telephone, or video interactions. The principle communicative is the behavior but some behaviors are more communicative than others. Consider like the facial expression in comparison to the body movements.

The referents, referring to the addressee characterize enough evidence on their responsiveness to the evaluation of the communicator. Relaxation in the posture increases the implicit activity to the other person.

Interrelated non verbal communication s can be identified by the use of facial and vocal expressions. Facial expression of emotions suggests the pleasantness that includes ( joy and glee versus dread and anxiety ), control ( annoyance, disgust, contempt, scorn, and loathing versus dismay, bewilderment, surprise, amazement, and excitement ) and activation (sullen anger, rage, disgust, scorn, and loathing versus despair, pity, dreamy, boredom, quiet pleasure, complacency and adoration ).

Thinking about the hand gestures, they can be used in making the various conclusions. They corresponds to the activity factor that entails  (active or the passive, sharp or dull, interesting or un-interesting, tense or sleepy, exciting or boring, curios or indifferent, meaningful or senseless and intentional or un-intentional) . The gesture can also be a way of evaluation symbolizing  (friendly or un-friendly, good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant, and beautiful or ugly)  and it can communicate o the potential and status of the communicator  (that is submissive or dominant, weak or strong,  unarmed or armed, doubtful or certain, slow or fast and shyness  or bravery) . Despite the dis-similarity of the communication channels, a facial and manual expression confirms similarity with the verbal communication if both are to a similar dimension.

Looking at the posture and position as another non verbal communicator, different races and sex entails significance in the interpersonal situations. This is also comparable to the gender of the communicator in comparison to jay of the audience. Taking a case of both a female addresser and addressee, there is a much more eye contact than that of the males. Postural relaxation including the forward leaning position when conversing, towards the addressee indicates a more positive attitude toward him. The relaxation cues are inter-correlated and they represent the potentiality of a relation on the two parties. This communication of liking is more so weighted in terms of relaxation and is very implied on the status connotation. There is more relaxation in high social status class than that of lower social class. When some on e assumes a tense posture there is tendency for a negative feeling which is depicted by the extreme relaxation.

Body movements complement verbal messages and may lead to contradiction and confusion. But this in turn depends on some factors including the length of the speech, the rate of speech and the number of references.  Stationary body movements can mean a gross affect where it could be a liking or not. (Heiner 1989).

The personal appearance of an individual depicts his self manipulation and presentation and this helps to send messages on the social class and even their occupation. This may also convey one s personality and mood and even the age. But these fashions changes very fast and creates confusion and keeping up to date is the main dimension of appearance. Paralinguistic signals including emotions and accents and the personal characteristics like the voice quality can mean a lot on the addresser. For example, anxious people speak very fast and in a breathy way.

In conclusion, non verbal communication must be perceived to take any effect. Paralinguistic sounds and prosodic sounds are expressions of attitude and emotion and can mean more than the actual words. The behavior and the posture can also be used in communication. Looking means an interest in something and is signaled by the accompanying facial expression. In this sense looking is closely coordinated with verbal communication. Relaxation is related to liking and females convey more positive feelings than men. This in turn, may lead to poor interpretation since different people need to be treated differently and lead to contradiction with the verbal communication.  This is by the difference in personality, emotion, interpersonal attitudes and perception during an ongoing interaction.

Reading a newspaper is no longer a physical activity where one touches the newspaper and flips over the pages. (Thiel, 1998) As the other activities, reading a newspaper is also a digital activity now due to which the newspaper industry has evolved completely. (Electronic newspapers, 2002)  It was before 1995 that world had not imagined that a newspaper could be read on the digital medium but then this new concept was laid down to the world. America Online had the first newspaper service which was initiated in May 1992 by Chicago Tribune. In 1995 a complete concept of going online and reading the newspaper was developed through CNN as the worldwide engine. This new concept was then well appreciated by the world as in April 2001 American trade journal Editor  Publisher Interactive had a total of registered 12,878 online news mediums in their database. (Krumsvik, 2006)

Today almost every newspaper has its E-paper available in most of the countries. It is believed by the researchers that in the future the printed newspapers will be replaced by their electronic versions especially in case of the young readers (Waal, Lauf,  Schnbach, 2005). This has not only increased the viewership of the newspaper but has also increased its revenues from advertisements as now people with their respective target audience that is there on the internet have started giving their advertisements on the newspapers as well. Other than that companies are also paying the newspapers huge amounts in order to advertise on the webpage through selling the companies the banners and other advertising options on the website. (Farhi, 2008)

Differences between the e-papers
The newspapers that I have selected to analyze are The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and The New York Times. All the three newspapers are the most popular ones among their competitors. The E- papers of the three newspapers have been used in order to compare them. The comparison or the similarities would be based on the various factors like the layout, easy access, easy navigation and other important aspects of an E- newspaper. The newspapers have been analyzed by viewing the websites of the respective newspapers of which the sources are available in the references.

Layout
The Boston Globe and The New York times have a pretty reader friendly layout as they have a complete summary or an abstract of the whole newspaper on the first page of the electronic edition. This makes it convenient for the reader to access any article that he wants as it is right there on the front page. The New York Times is more efficient than The Boston Globe is this respect because it also provides the page number and the section number of the article very precisely on the first page of the electronic edition. This makes The New York Times more convenient according to me because then a person could refer to the news in the conventional edition as the location is described very precisely over there.

The Washington Post is not reader friendly in this aspect. It does not specify the name of the articles in the newspapers on its first page. This may make it difficult for the reader to look for a particular article as he has to go through each of the page to find the article.

The Boston Globe and The New York times also have the picture of the print edition on the front page of the electronic edition of the newspaper while The Washington Post does not have it right it the front you have to go to another webpage to access it, though the link to the print preview is available on the front page of the e- edition.

Accessibility
The easiest access of all the E- editions is that of The New York Times where the button for E- edition is right there in front and the person does not have to search for it. The website does not even require any sort of subscriptions of signing up for anything at all. It can be accessed by anyone very easily. The Boston Globe is also easily accessible as it does not require any subscriptions but on its website it does not say anywhere about the electronic edition and thus a person has to look for it a little bit. This makes it a little less easily accessible than The New York Times. Out of all the three, The Washington Post is accessed with the most hassle because in order to view the electronic edition a person has to subscribe for it and then is able to view the paper. Subscription required the input of personal data and a one page form has to be filled up by the viewer.

Easy Navigation
Navigating from one page to another is not difficult in all three of them as there is an option in all three newspapers to go to any page without going back to the homepage. All the three have a bar which lists down the other pages in the newspaper and it is easy to go from one page to another.

The difference in the three papers is the way in which the bar that lists the pages is presented. The Washington Post has the name of all of its pages listed down. The Boston Globe and The New York Times are pretty similar in this case as they have the name of the pages listed along with that a few articles are also listed along with a little preview of the story and the picture. The only difference is that in The New York Times the two things are listed together while in the other they are there at different places.

Advertisements
The Boston Globe has the most advertising on its webpage. It has a branded banner along with more advertising columns. The New York Times has not branded any banner and has only placed advertisements that are related to various sections of the newspaper itself. The Washington Post is in the middle of the two as it does have advertisements over the webpage but the amount is very less as compared to The Boston Globe.

Similarity with the printed version
Out of three newspaper I feel that the electronic version of  The New York Times looks more like its printed version because it has all the news articles in the straight column as in case of the printed newspaper. Not only that but I also feel that the text is also quiet similar to the text of printed newspaper which makes it look like that.

Ownership
Looking at the factors that have been assessed we can find a lot of similarities in The New York Times and The Boston Globe. We can say that the two newspapers are almost on the same lines as they follow the similar rules. Both prefer a reader friendly outlook as we can find the names of the article and the name of the section there on the front page in the electronic edition.

Other than that the complete page layout for the two is pretty similar as mentioned above. Both have a preview of the first page of the newspaper which is also there on the front page of the webpage. If we observe the two WebPages very closely one more similarity that will be found is that both of these newspapers have an easy access to the previous editions of the last 7 days. The most similar thing is that the two websites present this option in the same manner. Looking at the similarities above one can safely assume that the two newspapers are from the same owners.

Print Vs. Electronic Edition
In order to compare the print and the electronic edition I have selected is The Boston Globe. I did not find much of the difference in the two as the most important things that is the news stories are the same. The format is of coarse different and that is because of the medium itself.
The most important difference is in the advertisements that are there on both the mediums. While going through the print version I found out that some of the advertisements are different in print from that of the electronic edition.

I prefer the printed version because I find it easier to read. Though the e- version is accessible anywhere but still I personally feel that the face that since all the stories and articles are right there in front of me so I find the printed version easier to read. I can very easily decide on what to read and can switch to a different article by only flipping a page.

Though the literature says that the online version gives the reader a more control but I am still of the opinion that the print version is better as in a conventional newspaper all the articles are visible so a person could easily find out what he or she is looking for. The electronic version has issues regarding the download time which makes it a hassle to read.

Another important factor that I feel makes print more favorable for me is the whole experience of reading the newspaper. Reading a newspaper to me has always referred to as a paper which has to be read in order to get the news. The whole digital aspect has taken out this whole experience of touching the newspaper and flipping its pages physically. Thus, to me it does not give a complete experience of reading a newspaper. To me reading a computer screen for hours and hours is very difficult and it causes a lot of sprain to my eyes. This serves as another very important factor for choosing conventional newspaper over its electronic edition.

Conclusion
The conventional newspaper has found its counterpart which is its electronic version. Since the first online newspaper in 1995 today almost every newspaper is available in the cyber space. (zer) The most important need of digitalization of the newspaper was because of reducing the geographical boundaries in the readership of the newspapers.

The three very important newspapers in the US have been analyzed which are The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Washington Post. The differences and the similarities among the three have been analyzed. In my opinion, print version of the newspaper is still better than the electronic version as the e-version lacks the whole newspaper reading experience. Though the Electronic version has many advantages over the conventional paper but I still prefer reading the conventional newspaper.