Communications and Media

Jumanji was a childrens movie which released in the year 1995. The movie is based on a book which was published in 1981. The book was written by Chris Van Allsburg. The film revolves around 4 characters that play a board game. Judy and Peter are the children whose parents leave them at home and ask them to keep the place clean. The children head out to the park and find a free board game, Jumanji.

The game instructions say that it starts in the jungle and ends in The Golden City. At the first roll of the dice, the boy, Alan is sucked into the game and can not be found. Years later another two children, Judy and Peter, find the game and start to play it. At every roll that the kids make, some animal is unleashed and the next move is the only thing that will send it back. The game can not be stopped once it has started, thus the children need to finish it. The three characters, Judy, Peter and Alan find Alans old girlfriend who also helps them out with the game.

Every roll of dice causes them to experience something new and out of the ordinary. Animals such as pythons, lions, and a rhinoceros stampede are part of the game. But it is not only animals which are unleashed. The children also experience natural disasters such as monsoons during the course of the game.
Once the game finishes and the first player to reach the end calls out Jumanji everything goes back to normal and the children are in their homes. Everything goes back to the way it was.

Reality or Fantasy
Reality is something which is true. It is something which can happen to any one of us. Fantasy is the complete opposite of reality. It is something which is not true and is not possible. Most movies incorporate some elements of fantasy. There are movies which are completely based on fantasy, for example fairy tales and then there are movies which comprise a little of both. These movies usually include movies such as Daddy Day Care. These movies are also meant for children but are not completely untrue. There is a very thin line between fantasy and reality. It is also difficult to define something as a complete reality or a complete fantasy, there are many grey areas.

Childhood is a social construction and in different times children have had different developments socially and culturally. In todays time, the schools are there to help the children understand what it is to be a child and what is expected out of children in general.

When children watch shows which border on the line between reality and fiction, they get confused. They tend to think that these things can also happen in real life. We have heard of many incidents where the children watch superhero films and then try to act like the hero. For example some kids try to fly after they have seen a Superman movie. This causes many accidents to take place and many children to loose their lives or their limbs.

To some extent it can be said that movies help children identify with people that are similar to them. But if there is too much fiction in a movie, it may result in the child identifying with something that is not possible in real life.

It is not necessary that all television and TV time is bad for children. According to the Singers, watching some TV is actually good for children as it increases their level of creativity and promotes readiness. But this requires some guidance from the parents or the teachers, who can show children the right content.

Jumanji is a film which is based on fantasy. There is hardly any element of reality in it. The concept of board games does exist in reality and children and adults of all ages do play them but the way this board game, Jumanji is played in the movie is complete fiction. It is not possible in real life for animals to come occur just because the board game says they will. There are some specific scenes which are the most confusing. First of all, it is also not possible in reality for a child to be sucked in a game and being lost until another 2 children start to play the game and the same child appears as an old man.

The second confusing scene which borders on reality and fantasy is just by playing a board game the children have wreaked havoc within the city and nobody else within the city notices. It is unusual for all the other residents to vanish, except Alans girlfriend who they found and got to play with them. Also, Judy and Peters aunt has conveniently dropped out of the movie and is not to be found, especially since she was there before the children started to play the board game.

They are running around, trying to avoid the animals and disasters which emerge from the game. The children who initially started the game and the children who re-opened the game, all four of them are trying to finish the game so that they can return to their real life.

Another confusing element for the children is that the boy, Alan when he went into the game was young but years later when the game was re-opened he had aged like a normal person. Also, the movie shows catastrophes hitting the whole city but there is nobody else in the entire city to notice that so much I happening.

There are many other such questions which come to mind when watching the movie. Also children need to connect the thoughts and understand the movie otherwise they can not make the connection between events. As adults we know the difference and are able to view things in isolation. This shows what children talk about when they view the movie with a family.

Jumanji has blurred the difference between reality and fantasy. Many film makers and authors tend to do that. They try to incorporate something out of the ordinary in real life. This leads to confusion for the children because they themselves are not so sure about the reality part of life. Children are just getting to know about all the things around them, their knowledge base is not as developed as that of an adult.

Another example of such burring by an author is the series of Harry Potter books. A life which is based on reality is running simultaneously to a life which is based on fantasy. Many young children question their parents about the things that they are shown in movies and why they are not true in reality.

Jumanji like many other movies cannot draw a distinct line between the two reality and fantasy. It has resulted in children thinking that when they play the game, same things will happen to them, which they dont because they are a fantasy and not part of reality.

Conflicts are a common scenario in the workplace. Employees tend to argue and fight over matters that concern the work, especially so if the other seems to have been favored with beaming tasks. Conflicts are detrimental to the expectations of a particular company regarding the productivity and quality of work expected of an employee. The manager is someone designated to mediate in employee misunderstandings. The ability of the manager to iron out conflicts is essential in bringing forth a working environment more conducive to quality work and more inspiring for employees to give their best in every task assigned to them. Although managers are superior and their words are often irrevocable, it is a must for them to exhibit skills in emotional intelligence for better leadership and organization.

Coaching a Manager with Interpersonal Style Issues
In every working environment, it is expected that one employee could surpass the other in terms of quality and quantity of output. Difficult people are inherent in the workplace and this includes an employee who refuses to accept the fact that one is better than him or her. In the case of Sarah, a question of workload was raised which Fred needs to answer and explain without flaring up. It is to be understood in the very first place that Sarahs questioning is based on her feeling of insecurity over the other. In this case, emotional intelligence is needed from Fred in order for him to intervene and answer the question without hurting Sarah further. The success of a company or of an organization does not just depend on the technical aspect of the business environment. It is essential for any manager to analyze situation according to emotions and personalities of involved individuals.

In this case, it is your responsibility to understand Fred based on his decision of giving out the project to George instead of Sarah. Stating plainly that George could deal with the clients requirement is vague. Let Fred explain in detail what the specific requirements are and why does he think George fit the said requisites. Clarifying the decision and the basis for the decision would lead you to analyzing Freds action and Sarahs reaction in return.

It is also necessary that Fred should understand how his reaction to Sarah would worsen the impression of bias among employees. Sarah might tend to relate what happened

inside the office and the lack of justifying explanation about Freds decision would create the notion of favoritism. This would further create a wrong impact on the business at large. Employees will no longer have the drive to work hard because Fred, the manager, sees only a few potentials.

Thus, there is a need for Fred to establish justification on preferring George over Sarah regarding the project. Freds credibility in assessing employees would reflect your credibility in assessing people for the managerial post. Considering that Fred is just a new manager in the office, the action was still unacceptable.

Fred apparently did little to demonstrate to Sarah that he heard, and understood
her concerns.

Fred lost his temper when challenged by his employee. This is not a good sign What might Fred do in another similar situation or one that requires him to remain calm under greater fire
 Fred minimized Sarahs concerns by telling her never to bring up the question of
gender bias again. His overreaction might only fuel Sarahs suspicions.

Sarah may discuss the interaction with Fred among her colleagues, thus endangering this new managers credibility with others. (p. 185)

Fred is novice in the field and there is really a need for him to be coached. Clarifying his decisions and making sense out of his preference for George would let you see his style in approaching and solving his problems. Indeed, this is a situation-based decision. Coaching primarily depends on the answers and explanations which Fred will provide.

Talking to Fred will help him understand his course of action regarding the questioning incidence of Sarah. His lost of temper and his inability to let Sarah understand the decision would further instill insecurities and inferiority to Sarah. Let Fred visualize the effect or the outcome if he responded the way you are suppose to respond.

Executive EQ Emotional Intelligence in Leadership and Organizations, propose a three-step process for managing emotional energy (p. 35)
1. Acknowledge and feel the emotion (dont pretend emotions dont exist).
2. Listen to the information or feedback the emotion is giving you . . . e.g.,Which of my principles, values, or goals is at stake here
3. Guide . . . the emotional energy into an appropriate, constructive response

Show Fred concrete words and actions which you might have done given the chance that you are in a situation like that.

Clearly state what occurs now and what needs to occur. People respond better to language focused on results (not consequences). Get the person to think out
loud
 Im not clear on details. Tell me more.
 What do you value about your work
 Why did that happen (Answer.) Why do you think that occurred (Do this until you identify the root causes under the symptoms)

Coaching Fred will be easy given the chance that you understand clearly why he decided to act that way. Let Fred see the importance of patience to explain to others so that things will run smoothly especially in a working environment such as yours. As you show Fred that patience you have for him, he will eventually have a clearer picture of what you are trying to point out.

Finally, let Fred be in rectification of his unacceptable behavior over Sarah. Your presence in the next conversation which Fred will schedule with Sarah will be showing not just your concern for the issue neither just Freds acceptance of his error but also the companys concern over the employees issues. This would show that each part of the company matters a lot.

We go behind the scenes, a contemporary phrase news journalists sometimes use to introduce the story behind the story, also aptly depicts the point of this paper which examines voice and articulation components depicted in two YouTube video clips currently showing online.   The first clip features Katic Couric, a newscaster for CBS television network.  The second video clip, Robin Williams as the American Flag, spotlights Robin Williams, a prominent comedian, who has also starred in numerous movies.

Analysis of Katie Courics Voice
The background for the video of Katie Couric, managing editor and anchor person  for CBS Evening News, could be construed to reflect the typical faade the news journalist must routinely wear to report the news with little emotion  a bit cool.  In the background of the 849 minute YouTube video, the viewer can plainly see the world outside Courics news set through a huge picture window.   Snow still covered the ground outside when this video segment was filmed January 8, 2009, the night Couric reported the New Hampshire primary election results The viewer may also see what appears to be the edge of a dog house at the far right corner behind Couric and two thin tree trunks mid-left behind her.  A satellite news truck appears to be parked in the middle distance far behind Couric.  As she speaks, Couric regularly pauses to take a sip of what appears to be a hot beverage from an oversized, black coffee cup, with a white interior.
Nothing in the video segment posted on YouTube indicates whether Couric realized she was being recorded other than during the few seconds she reported one result that had just come in as being still too close to call  (354).   This particular speaking situation, set up for prime-time TV viewers watching CBS, also included Courics supporting team.  Although sometimes, Courics voice was pleasant to listen to, much of the time during this behind the scene scenario, her voice did not sound so pleasant.  Two particular examples of the not so pleasant times occurred at timed points, 314  and 834 when Couric verbalized the same words each time in a much too low pitched voice  Time for the weather and Al.   These two instances replicated the tone in one other instance when Couric deliberately lowered her voice to an unnatural tone and stated  My voice is so low with this cold (310).  Several times, due to Courics cold, although her voice did not sound distorted, it did reflect the undesirable quality of a too-high pitch.                  
During the times Couric was not on the air, she maintained extreme expressiveness.  Some of the material she presented while off the air was not meaningfully interpreted.  Some comments Couric made, with an extremely varied voice, appeared to be borderline sarcastic.    Sometimes Courics pitch was much too high, due to her cold.  Other times, as noted earlier, he pitch sounded entirely too low when she deliberately lowered her voice.  On the air, however, Courics pitch sounded just right, while when off the air, her pitch as well as her volume varied from one extreme to the other.  One time, her voice sounded a bit too loud another time too soft, and then yet at another time - just right.  This occurred, the writer asserts, due to Courics cold and her joking with her team members.  

The rate of Courics speech varied from too slow, to too fast, to just right.  At one point, when Couric asked members of her team whether the town of Wheatland should be pronounced Wheatland or Wheatland (136-147), she spoke in a high-pitch, at a bit too fast rate.  Couric demonstrated active lip, jaw and tongue movement during the video.  

Based on the writers analysis, Courics key voice strengths appear to be her articulation and sound quality.   One area where she seems to perhaps need voice improvement include when she spoke in a too high pitch.  That area, however, may be attributed to Couric having a cold.

Analysis of Robin Williams Voice
The YouTube 507 video segment spotlighting Robin Williams comprises part of a TV special, I Love Liberty, created by Norman Lear and presented by The People for the American Way (PFAW).  The two-hour version originally aired back on March 21st, 1982.   This video, filmed in front of a life audience, is almost 28-years old and still draws viewers.

Robin Williams tunes in to and targets his live audience held in an amphitheater style convention center.  As his audience of fans surrounds him from every angle, the majority of the mixed-race crowd appears to between 20 and 40 years old. At one point, during a brief cut-a-way made during the filming, the cameraman shows a close-up frame of Ted Turner, a prominent TV personality, seated in the audience.  

The material Williams presented on stage was meaningfully interpreted.  When the I Love Liberty, video excerpt starring Williams begins, he, dressed in a shirt replicating the American flag, stands at the front of the stage with a majestic, gigantic American flag positioned behind him in the distance. Although the viewer does not hear the song, Robbins makes a comment that leads the viewer to believe the song The Star Spangled Banner had just been played.  Robbins starts out his routine with the words, Im the one that theyre singing about Just call me Flag (14- 24).      

While Williams spoke, his voice remained pleasant to listen to.  The writer did not note any undesirable qualities in his voice or articulation, as his voice remained clear, distinct, and easy to understand, except for one intentional distorted sentence.  The line, after Williams, portraying himself as the American Flag, reported that he had been to the moon  One small step was intentionally distorted to mimic the static heard during the communication when the first men stepped on the moons surface (344).   Williams demonstrated active lip, jaw and tongue movement during his monologue.  

While pointing to several particular stars depicting states, Williams spoke with various accents.  In reference to Tennessee, Williams said with a distinct southern accent  We got yur Tennessee, How yew doin today (229).  This segment demonstrates what Lynn K. Wells (2003) explained in the text book, The Articulate Voice  An axiom is generally thought to be that of persons within the same linguistic community, while a dialect is often considered to be that of a person with another primary language (p, 135).  The writer did not notice any signs of dialect when Williams spoke, only that he complimented this one part of his monologue with axioms.

Williams remained extremely animated during the video.  His voice varied and was flexible. His pitch varied regularly from too high to too low to just right, however the inflections and changes in pitch were deliberate.  His high pitch proved particularly effective when he stated   Im in my birthday suit (42).   Williams also appropriately varied his volume.  Even when it could have been technically considered too loud or too soft, each time, in regard to this criteria,  proved to be just right as each change in volume effectively accented the words.   Williams speech rate varied and at one point may have been a bit too fast.  In his past, Williams admitted to having used cocaine.  The writer does not know whether this may have been a factor in his life at this time or it may have contributed to him demonstrating excessive speed during the video.   At the end of the video, Williams rate of speech proves particularly powerful.  As he kneels down on one knee to mirror the American flag being flown at half staff, Williams states   This is not my favorite  Look at it as if you are saluting yourselves. Im just a flag, a symbol  And if I may say so from here pointing to his heart - long may you wave (404-431).  

Williams pitch, like the waves of the ocean, rolled up and down...  His speech effectively shows how a person can deliberately control the flow as he paces his words from slow to fast and in between.
He animated his actions when responding to the question addressed to the flag at 204 years old  Flag, how do you stay so young Is it Jogging
No.
Is it tennis
No.  
Its waving.

Williams demonstrates that in comedy, the ability to flexibly change ones voice to present a range of pitches high, low pitch, and in between, serves as one of many keys to not only target ones audience, but to use ones voice to best do so.  

Conclusion
In this paper, the background and audience differed for Couric and Williams.  Couriss speaking situation placed her at a distance from most of her audience, while Williams positioned himself in the midst of his.  The quality of Courics voice may have been adversely affected her cold.  The writer did not note any concerns regarding the quality of Williams voice.  Both Couric and Williams proved to be articulate in their speech their voices were basically clear, distinct and easy to understand.  Both speakers demonstrated active lip, jaw and tongue movements.  Williams deliberately distorted the sound to replicate the communication between the earth and the moon.   Neither Couric nor Williams spoke in a dialect.  

Couric and Williams were both expressive when they spoke.  The writer considered Williams to appear more natural, however.  Some of Courics expressions seemed a bit feigned.  When Williams varied his pitch and rate it seemed natural.  When Couric used the same tactics, they did not seem as effective.  The variations in volume also seemed to work for Williams, but appeared flat at times for Couric.  Volume was the volume varied, too loud, too soft, just right. Couric, reportedly relates just the facts when she knows she is on the air something that may be perceived as a strength andor a weakness.  Even when she thinks the camera may not be recording, it appears that Courics modus operandi, her habitual way of operating in front of the camera, continues to determine the way she speaks and how she articulates her words.  The primary strength for Williams seems to be that he knows to adjust his speech and articulate his words to maintain continuity.  He also naturally adjusts his delivery to effectively target his audience.  
That, the writer asserts, depicts the main difference.  A news anchor like Couric is a talking head, reading a script.  A good comedian, like Williams becomes so intimate with his material he does not appear to even need notes.  No matter if one is a public speaker, news anchorreporter, politician or comedian, the writer contends that vital keys to consider in any presentation include quality, articulation, movement, and expressions, which include pitch volume and rate.  Then, as one targets his audience and offers words with substance, his YouTube video excerpt could possibly survive, even if he does not know the camera is recording.  It could perhaps draw viewers up to 28 years after it is first videoed  or perhaps, even longer.

Communication is a very important aspect in life, it enables people who are apart to link up and pass information from one point to another. With the advancement in technology and communication channels in the last decade, many social networks are coming up to deal with the increasing demand for communication. Many people are becoming more and more connected with the new advancement in place.Globolization process is one of the major areas that have been made easier with the latest progress in information, communication and technology (ICT). The world nowadays is like a small village and communication has been made more flexible, cheap and accessible. The research is therefore based on the impact of face book in the world both positive and negative, as a social network group in the modern world (Bucy  Newhagen, 2006).

Impact of face book on social network
Face book is a social network body that was founded by a twenty three year old student of psychology, by the name Mark Zuckerberg. It was officially launched in the year 2004 February and most students in learning institution especially in Harvard University became the first members of the famous social network. It began to spread allover the world in early 2005 and to date the group has become so famous with both the young and the old. The latest report launched by face book officials on the registered members shows that the number has tremendously increased to over 30 million people and it has extended from the studentsyouths to the older ones in corporate world. The research is to enable us find out the changes brought by face book in the world and the benefits which are increasing day by day.

Benefits of Face book to the Userspositive impacts
Face book being a social network group has enabled people to link up so easily by just inviting people as friends or joining different groups or creating new groups and inviting people. As a result, people have shared important and latest information by posting the news on walls of a friend. However if the message is more private, then it is recommended to use inbox as a way of passing the information. The inbox message can not be accessed easily by anyone whether a friend or not since it requires a pass word to open. The benefit of face book to its users varies depending on the type of user or the groups. It can be used by businessmen to advertise new products, best places to buy items are location by just pasting the information on the wall and sending to friends and friends of friends hence the information is passed without delay. One is able to upload pictures from face book and share with friends or use them on communication gadgets like mobile phones as screen savers or attach the pictures uploaded together with the message (Bucy  Newhagen, 2006).

Through the use of face book as a connection tool, one is able to get more information about people they intend to be-friend  unlike other network groups that do not expose peoples profiles, for instance one is able to know the status of anothermarried or single, religious background, age, picturelook, political background and even location. With such kind of information, many people are now keen enough to choose their friends wisely and to know what to discuss with them in consideration of their status or class in the society. To the politicians, face book has been of great benefit in spreading ideology and political intentions of different politicians hence increasing their chances of winning in an election. Face book has not only linked people but it has also made many single menwomen date each other and even marry each other. It has led to new ways of dating and encouraged associations.

Negative impact of face book
With the increasing number of users, the research will focus on the negative impacts of face book that has led to more damage both to the young ones and the old. Face book is full of fun and many friends that are of different backgrounds, age and status. Most people get addicted to face book as a result of meeting new friends and developing new network, in the long run, they tend to postpone their workjob as they spend most of the time chatting with friends during work time. The research is more concerned with the dropping profit margin affecting most companies and organizations as a result of face book use during work time by the employees.

And to find out the reason why face book has led to drop in performance especially to the students that are in learning institutions, face book has led to the drop of performance and most of the teachers are complaining a lot that most students even the former bright ones are recording low grades as a result of face book. Most marriages are also facing threat of separation as a result of face book, since most married couples find themselves attached to other friends in face book and spend most of the time chatting with their new friends than their wives or husbands, and lastly to find out why most of the current divorce cases are in connection with face book usage.

Conclusion
Face book has made communication easier, linked many people allover the world and encouraged partnership both in trade and social aspects. With the advancement in ICT, face book has helped a lot in the spread of informationideas in most parts of the world. It has not only brought benefits to the people but has also led to some negative effects in the society such as time wasting, dating among married people and poor performance in academic institutions.

Ritu Argawan and Meng Mas study entitled Through a Glass Darkly Information Technology Design Identity Verification and Knowledge Contribution on Online Communities explored the effectiveness of knowledge contribution that is encouraged on online communities and how the exchange is aided by the presence of different technological advancements in identity confirmation. For this study, the authors surveyed at least 650 members of two online communities one was an emotional-support community while the other was a common-interest community on the web. The study produced significant results on the research gap regarding the usage of information technology (IT) for communication and knowledge contribution purposes on online communities. The concept of identity verification in the online setting was also given thorough importance by producing a quantitative analysis. The formation of identity in the online world significantly affects the communication process of people and the level of possible knowledge contribution that could exist in this type of community.

The goal of the authors in this study is to explore and define the role of technology as a key factor for an online community in its objective of facilitating knowledge contribution. The study recognized that there are several reasons that affect how people participate in online communities and so the authors made use of different IT artifacts such as virtual copresence, persistent labeling, self presentation, and deep profiling to measure the reliability of their interaction with other people (Argawal and Ma, 2007, p. 43). These artifacts are deemed important in enhancing identity verification of people and in effect contributing to the satisfaction of the members in their participation on online communities and affecting their process of knowledge contribution. The hypotheses of the research study is built around the question of how these four artifacts significantly affects the perceive identification verification of people online and how they direct and indirectly affects the communication process of the community. Participants believe that the effective establishment of their online identity relates significantly to knowledge contribution in the community, increasing the recognition and self-worth that the person enjoys. Argawal and Ma (2007) believe that voluntary knowledge contribution is promoted between strangers through the help of technology-mediated communication (p. 42). There are certain reasons why people are gathered together on one community online and this study verifies if members of the communities really find their participation helpful and beneficial for them in sharing and receiving knowledge from their chosen community.

In Argawal and Mas study (2007), technology is the foundation and medium through which community members interact and therefore it is a significant factor that affects how the communication in the community flows (p. 43). Technology was a central concern in the study and the authors attempted to measure quantitatively the impact of using information technology innovation for the communication process and identity verification in community infrastructure designs. The world that is created with the help of technology has several different rules in the offline world. Therefore, communication in communities online would be different because of the medium that is used in it. As the theory of media ecology dictates, the medium used for communication is as vital as the content being communicated (Levinson, 2000).

The truth is, communication by technology is very challenging and does not always guarantee effective social interaction because crucial and important  contextual cues such as body language and physical surroundings cannot easily and conveniently be realized through computer channels (Argawal, 2007, p. 43).

Communication process is already complicated in its own sense already. The introduction of technology therefore added further complications as communication evolves along with the innovations of media that could be utilized by people. By exploring and empirically testing the communication of people in the structure of online communities, the authors of this study provided a theoretical explanation on what features of technology can help motivate knowledge contribution in the online setting.

As the study proved, one of the vital things needed in online communities is the credibility of the identity of the participants. Online communities are mostly popular because they provide support, encourage similar interests, or promote friendship across the land. The study emphasized that for a community to work effectively, identity verification is important to maintain the smooth interaction and willingness to open up and share in the community. In the study, identity is used to define more than the name of the person. Individuals can choose not to reveal their real name or assume different roles in their online world. Rather, identity takes into consideration an individuals personality, social background and roles, and value systems (Argawal and Ma, 2007, p. 59). These things are often regarded more important than an individuals real name. The establishment of satisfaction and mutual trust is not reliant on the real name of the people they interact with in online communities. Rather, the openness and honesty on personality is regarded more important. The study proved that when understanding has already been established and participants are satisfied with the amount of introduction they received from their co-participants, they could at once share a part of themselves to them and take part in the exchange of knowledge and personal experiences. The figures presented by the study show that three out of four artifacts used in the testing model are often employed.

Most importantly, the authors of this study also added the significant limitations of this study and included a discussion on what are the possible contributions and implications of their theory. The authors recognized that because they have only surveyed two, highly-centralized, online communities, the results of the study may not apply to some designs of online communities. Other than this, there still other more limitations on this study that can be addressed in future researches. Argawal and Ma (2007) included possible future researches for communication and what other possible aspects of technological advancements could change the process of communicating of online and offline (p. 61). The possibilities of more related studies are bountiful as the culture IT continues to grow and expand.

As the study concludes, Through a Glass Darkly successfully achieved its goal of providing significant and timely results about the interpersonal communication process that occurs abundantly on online communication. The study highlighted, through the theoretical model employed by the authors, the importance effects of technological advancements and how they computer-mediated communication affects the exchange of communication in online communities. This gives emphasis on the evolvement of media ecology and verifies how the medium is significant in delivering messages. And lastly, the authors of the study were able to provide strong empirical discussion that concerns the importance of identity verification and satisfaction for knowledge contribution in online exchanges.

This paper talks about the integrated marketing and communication activities conducted by Nike. Nike is a sports goods company that sells its products all around the world and is known worldwide but in this paper, I would be specifically talking about Nike particularly in Hong Kong.

Mission of Nike
At Nike, the goal of the company is to minimize the energy footprints of the consumers as well as of the business itself in order to flourish in the low-carbon economy. In their products, they try to reduce the energy embedded in it and more focus is placed on utilizing the energy in an efficient manner and constructing green factories. Moreover, in terms of delivery, Nike tries to reduce the logistics by optimizing the product flow and to opt for distance collaboration to reduce travelling. The products manufactured and sold by Nike are innovative and are meant for every athlete in the world. (Nike, Inc. n.d.).

Company background 
Nike is a sportswear company based on United States that manufactures and sells all sports goods such as sportswear and equipment. The headquarters of Nike are located in Beaverton and the company is known as the leading supplier of sports goods in the world. In 2008, its revenues crossed 18.6 billion and it employs around 30,000 all over the world. it was in 1964 when Nike was founded by Bill Bowerman and Philip Knight but initially it was known by the name of Blue Ribbon sports and later in 1978, it became Nike. All the products manufactured by Nike are sold under its own brand name and besides this Nike also operates retail stores under the name of Niketown. Many high profile athletes worldwide are sponsored by Nike and the two trademarks of Nike recognized by the people globally are Just do it and the HYPERLINK httpen.wikipedia.orgwikiSwoosh o Swoosh Swooshlogo.

Products
There is a wide range of sportswear and sports equipment that is produced by Nike but initially Nike used to produce track running shoes but today they have a huge variety of sports goods such as shoes, jerseys, shorts and other products needed by the baseball, ice hockey, tennis, football and cricket players. Nike produces products for women, men as well as for the children and the brand is very popular especially amongst the youth.

Customer analysis
The primary concern and the challenge for every company is to increase sales and to stay competitive for which it is essential for the company to do a proper customer analysis. However, in order to remain competitive, a company must seek for various avenues that would help in boosting the sales such as by identifying new opportunities for sales. Customer is the one who can make a company become successful and so it is important for the company to focus on the needs of the customers and to understand what they want. Customers focus and market intelligence tools should therefore be used by the company to ensure growth. By analyzing the customers, one actually gets to know the current states of sales and all the activities related to sales and this can be analyzed by keeping in view the total number of customers, those who are active and the top ten customers. (Blythe 2008).

There are many market segments that are being served by Nike such as their primary and secondary market. It is wise to sell new products to the same customers rather than to plan strategies to sell new products to the new customers and this is because the ratio of loyalty of the customers with the brand they like is always higher than those people who are new users. The primary target market of Nike is those people who indulge themselves highly in sports and so their consumption of sports goods is high.

Sports in Hong Kong
Just like all the other countries worldwide, sports are also played in Hong Kong and so there is a demand for sports goods in the country as well. In the history of Hong Kong, the first sporting club of the country was Hong Kong City Hall and initially it was involved mainly in water sports. However, due to the British influence, the primary sport of Hong Kong has been football and so Nike has a good market in the country.

Nike in Hong Kong 
Since football is the primary sport played in Hong Kong, it is good for the heath of Nike as this is the most widely played sport besides many other sports in the country and so the sales of football shoes, balls and other equipments can be enhanced. Moreover, as the climate in Hong Kong is mostly subtropical monsoon with a cool and humid temperature in the winters while in summers the climate is hot and rainy, the people can play footballs and other games except for winter sports all around the year and this is advantageous for Nike. Therefore, both primary and secondary segments are found in Hong Kong and many people here are athletic who come under the category of heavy users of the products sold by Nike. Most of the area of Hong Kong comprises of land and so sports on land are played more than the water sports. 89.2 of the people in Hong Kong comprise of the Chinese people and the country has a very high literacy rate i.e. 96.9 in males and 89.6 in females according to the estimates of 2002. (Central Intelligence Agency n.d.).

Currently in Hong Kong, Nike is targeting the men as well as the women and the company is selling sports goods related to running, basketball, football, training, action sports and they are offering foot wear, clothing and equipment for these two segments as well as for the kids. Besides this, at NIKEiD Studio, the customers can customize their choice of style, color, material as well as graphic and personal ID on all the products sold by Nike and so I recommend that Nike should continue with this strategy as it is working quite well in Hong Kong. (Nike n.d.).Competitors Analysis

The top competitor of Nike is Adidas besides which the names of some more competitors of the company are mentioned below. (Daily Finance n.d.).
Reebok
Woodland
Red tape
Bata
Liberty

Nike is an international brand and it is popular especially amongst the youth, however there is intense competition around it and the company has to face various threats that erupt especially from the side of the competitors. The sports goods industry is very competitive especially for sportswear and shoes and despite of the fact that Phil Knight came up with a model to manufacture a high branded product but at a low cost. This model is now being used by most of the companies and it no more serves as a competitive advantage for Nike. Moreover, the competitors today are coming up with strategies in order to take the market share away from Nike.  Nowadays the customers have become more intelligent and savvy and they expect value pricing besides expecting customer value. The competitors that are offering sports goods at the prices lower than those charged by Nike are serving as a threat to the company. The major competition of Nike is with Adidas and so Nike has to set prices accordingly because if the same thing will be available at Adidas at a lower price, the people will shift towards the products of Adidas.

Threats to Nike
Since Adidas is a direct competitor of Nike, it is a major threat to the business in terms of quality, design and the price of the products. Some of the other threats of Nike are the threat of substitute products. Since the athletic shoes are meant for comfort, the customers might switch to other brands if the other brands offer better quality products. For the customers, the switching costs are low as the products sold by Nike are not too expensive and so people can easily switch to other brands. In the industry in which Nike is operating, the companies are mutually dependent and this means that a move by a particular competitor would affect the other companies in this business as well. For instance, if Reebok comes up with a new range of products for women, the other companies will also introduce the same kind of range as well. This again serves as a major threat to Nike as well as it is not so easy to come up with totally a new range of products but in order to deal with the competition, Nike will have to use more of its resources to introduce new products.

IMC Campaign 
In todays era the needs of the consumers differ from one another but to make things easier, the marketer forms certain market segments that are groups of people with similar needs. For instance, Nike sells its products to three main market segments, the men, women and the kids. Therefore, Nike has to adopt different marketing strategies to create an impact on each segment. When using integrated marketing communication, the marketer integrates various marketing tools to create the desired impact by using the minimum resources in order to gain the highest profit. Gone are the days when companies used to use traditional methods of marketing their products and today if Nike uses the same strategy, it will totally harm the business. Therefore, it is not good idea to opt for traditional marketing but according to the needs of the various segments Nike is targeting it must develop different marketing programs accordingly. Nike should opt for both online and offline marketing channels depending on the target market they are marketing for. For instance, for the men and the women, Nike must opt for e-marketing campaigns such as by sending e-mails and blogs. Moreover, they must also use offline marketing channels such as magazines, newspapers and bill boards to market their products. These are the basic changes that Nike needs to make in their marketing plans as traditional marketing no more works for business nowadays.

Understanding the Company 
Nike is a very successful company and from the customers perspective, the products sold by Nike are of high quality and are reliable. As Nike sells all kinds of sports goods to three market segments i.e. the men, the women and for the kids, all three segments are mostly satisfied with the products of Nike. When Nike was founded, it mainly used to manufacture shoes but later it increased its portfolio and began to manufacture apparel and sports equipment as well. Since Nike identified the needs of the consumers and more and more females were encouraged to take part in sports activities, a need for the sports goods for the women was generated as well.

Poon Yiu Cheuk is the captain of the football team of Hong Kong and to further promote the brand in Hong Kong, Nike must sponsor sports events, make him the brand ambassador and must give products manufactured by the company to the captain to market the brand further.

Major Contact Points
Besides manufacturing the products, Nike also owns retail chains where it sells its products. Moreover, in order to reach the consumers, Nike uses various methods to convey its message. For instance, it uses media channels where ads are shown such as on the television and in the newspapers and magazines. Other than this, Nike also has its own studios where the customers can choose the design and color of the product they want to buy.

For the future, Nike can come up with some more attractions such as by creating Nike theme park where the consumers can come and test their products free of cost and they can enjoy playing sports wearing Nike shoes and using their equipment.

Despite of the fact that Nike is doing well, there are still some areas that Nike needs to work on. Communication plays a very vital role for the success of any organization and so does it for Nike. Therefore, it is extremely important for the company to have an effective communication system as well as to manage communication well in the organization. Communications management basically refers to the planning of the various channels of communication that is being done in an organization but besides planning, it also includes the implementation of communication programs and the way in which it is monitored. Besides this, it also includes the way in which the flow of information is handled and the new technology used for communication.
             
The three most important and immediate changes that can help fulfill ccorporate objectives and the execution sequenceat Nike are mentioned below.

To take care of the labor that is employed to manufacture the goods sold by Nike as previously, Nike has already been involved in an issue that it was hiring child labor for the production of sports goods.

Nike must ensure that it markets its products in different countries according to the culture of that country and its values or else, it will not just give a bad name to the company but it will ruin its goodwill as well.
Nike should also practice corporate social responsibility and it should do something good for the society and the people as well. Since it is the people who buy their products and makes the company earn revenues, it is their right to get something in return. Moreover, they will also get inclined to buy the products of Nike when they will know that the company cares for the well being of the society.

Discussion

Contemplating on Banduras Social Learning Theory, in my own personal perspective I do believe that the ideas of catharsis in media content and the idea that violent behavior can be stimulated by viewing media exist simultaneously. This approach can be rooted in the myriad of observable actions that people feel altogether. In the process, it is not mainly the violent behavior that people see. Rather, multiple scenarios that determine their capacity to respond to each one accordingly. Seeing this, the idea then emanates from the choices made by the individual. At some point, it can be stimulated by catharsis due to an event or incident that triggered their violent behavior. However, this does not mean that this happens all the time. There are also intrinsic reinforcement that controls these aggressive stances which also corresponds to their specific value system and the lack of motivation to do such act. Thus, it is through such interplay of viewing and listening can the idea of violent behavior exist.

Analyzing the first response made, the discussion indeed satisfactorily provided inputs on the value of applying Banduras theory of Social Learning. It goes to show how observable precepts available in media may prescribe towards violent behavior. Similarly, the choice of explaining rock music and its relevant observable features only illustrate the significance and value of this process towards the value of catharsis. In here, careful consideration and distinction must be made to differentiate between the two values and understand how each one can contribute to the development of available choices. Thus, I do believe that it is the shift from the reproduction to the motivation phase where the real act of violent behavior occurs. Other than that, it merely a conceived thought of what possibly might happen.

In the second discussion, it highlights how society has created new dimensions and platforms where people can exhibit violent behavior. Emanating from music to the development of the Internet today, the writer seeks to justify that it isnt the development of these genres that violence existed. Rather, it has been an eminent societal precept that has shifted and influenced other areas such as music, gaming, and even the development of technology. Analyzing these arguments, I do believe that the aspects hold ground. In essence, this remains to be the major flaw of the theory and particularly the Bobo doll experiment. It seeks to elaborate that these pointing fingers on different trends and developments in society constitute the inability of societal norms and institutions to address the root of violence. For my part, I do believe that this situation seems difficult to comprehend not because of differentiating these actions according to the levels of social learning by Bandura, but on the way choices serve as an important catalyst for such. Since this aspect continues to be shaped by different factors other than observation, it becomes difficult to create a particular trend that influences these. Rather, it is more of attributing what are possible instances that shape these behaviors accordingly.
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Discussion 2 Media
Analyzing the debate concerning the impact of the video game Bully, I do prescribe to the argument by Mark Freedler as he tries to take a balanced side of the issue. Under this process he sought to argue concerning the validity of the Bully as just a game and a mere expression of what truly happens in reality (SMC.edu, 2006). Rather than feeling concerned and putting too much attention to these particular issues, I do agree with Freedler that there are also other instances in media that promote and instill violent images in society.
Analyzing his argument and stance, the application and implementation of media corresponds to the liberty and freedom of showcasing something to viewers regardless of the fact that they are positive or negative. In here, it greatly revolves around the parents capacity to apply proper monitoring and justification why such programs should not be watched. In essence, the media should not be blamed for such instances but rather be given a joint responsibility within society to create opportunities for responsible programming. In its very foundation, the media is an important tool to illustrate the realities of life and showcase what people want to see. That is why there must be a collaborative aspect between media and among parents to approach this issue accordingly.

Similarly, the aspect of cultivating the argument concerning video games only illustrates one aspect of the bigger picture. One can argue between the lines of violence like Thompson does, however it does keep a close eye concerning the evident occurrence of violence prior to its development and release in the past. Seeing this, the argument concerning video games may provide to be instrumental in administering violent tendencies (American Psychological Association, 2000). However, this does not mean that people dont have the choice and motivation not to since this format is only a manifestation and expression of what people really want. Thus, it is through such arguments that Freedlers points greatly influences mine as well.