Media, Power and Responsibility
SOC 2004 Media, Power and Responsibility Essay 2: Qu.7) 'Despite various regulators efforts, Sky has undermined nascent media empires and created one of its own'. Discuss in relation to analogue and/or digital broadcasting. Emma Mills Student No. 20066838 The aim of this essay is to evaluate the notion that the Sky Television service has managed to undermine nascent media empires and create its own unassailable domain within both analogue and digital broadcasting markets through the evolution of Satellite television over the past fifteen years. This essay looks at the launch of the Sky service, and the early merger with its first competitor, the company's ability to elude broadcasting regulators efforts to constrain their operations through both the 1990 and 1996 Broadcasting Acts and Sky's development and supremacy within the Digital broadcasting market in the UK, against its main competitor ITV Digital. Sky television was launched on February 5th 1989, part of the Rupert Murdoch owned News International (later to become News Corporation) empire, the business was Britain's first Satellite television service provider. The station operated four channels initially, these were; SkyNews, Sky Sports, Sky Movies and Sky 1, and the service was to be funded by subscriptions and advertising. Murdoch had been developing cable operations in Britain since 1983; during the next
War communism and NEP
War communism and NEP As soon as the Bolsheviks seized power they introduced now economic measures that gave substantial power to the proletariat and peasants in the form of their own affairs. This in a slight manner portrayed their commitment to the Marx theory of communism and an equal ideology. Even though, they wrote of the evils of capitalism, there own ideas once they came to power was rather vague. To Lenin, the party must govern the state for 'the people' and control all businesses and industry by the state for 'the people'; so that wealth could be distributed evenly to all the people. Eventually classes would disappear and a new equality class would be formed for all. To allow a degree of flexibility for the Bolsheviks, they never confirmed how long this would take so they could justify their policies and adapt to any crisis. Economic policy 1917 Initially there were some radical new policies brought in to suit the radical politics of a far left wing party. The land degree abolished all private ownership of lands without compensation. New formed land committees would distribute land to the peasants, this in effect just legalised what had already happened. In other areas such as workers in industry were giving more rights; they had the right to elect a committee that would control industrial enterprises. In the armed forces, all ranks were abolished and replaced
Causes and Consequences Watergate
he political scandal that became known as Watergate was much more than a botched break-in at Democratic headquarters by people acting on behalf of President Nixon. In many ways it represents the zenith of an increase in executive power that had been under way for decades as the White House assumed more power over the governance of the United States. However, under Nixon the power of the Presidency went beyond accepted norms and took on an imperial feel as he sought to undermine challenges to his administration. The reasons for these transgressions can be partly explained by the social unrest at the time, which led Nixon to believe that America was under attack from within. But, arguably, they are more firmly rooted in the psyche of Nixon himself and his immediate advisers. In seeing opposition to his policies as a threat to national security, Nixon demonstrated his over-inflated opinions of self-worth and his resorting to underhand dealings illustrated a suspicious state of mind. Nixon can aptly be described as an imperial President. He was not reserved in using the full powers of his office in pursuit of his goals. He had a strained relationship with Congress and is remembered as one of the most uncooperative Presidents for his blocking of Congressional hearings by refusing access to records or personnel. He also used the power of impounding funds from programmes more
Customer Lifestyle and Behaviour
In the group task we looked into the possibility of creating a new mp3 player for the teenage market. In this part we shall be looking into the stages of decision making that take place though a consumers mind on whether to purchase a product or not. Consumer behaviour is ' The behaviour that consumers display in searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs' as defined by Schiffman & Kanuk,2007 Consumer buying behavior can be split up into four categories: Routine Response Behaviour; associated with low priced frequently purchased items. They hardly require any decision making or background information. E.g. milk, bread and general necessities. Limited decision making; this can be associated with products purchased occasionally. Consumer may require additional information on top of what they know in order for a decision to be made. E.g. clothes, going out to the cinema or restaurant. Extensive decision making; this can be associated with products purchased rarely. Consumer will be unfamiliar with the product as purchases of these products are rarely made and require a lot of information on the products. There are high financial and psychological risks associated with these products E.g. homes, cars and electrical goods. Impulse Decision making; this form of decision making has no prior
of mice and men
Isolation and Loneliness in OF MICE AND MEN Many of the characters in Of Mice and Men are lonely and isolated and this motivates them to look for an alternative way of life. The characters are lonely because of something within themselves, something which almost seems to make their loneliness inevitable. Different characters seek comfort and solace in different things - for Candy it is his dog; for George and Lennie knowing each other are there for them; for Crooks it is his pride and his excellent skill at pitching horseshoes. Steinbeck himself gave the readers a hint that loneliness is one of the biggest themes in the novella by calling the nearby town "Soledad" meaning loneliness in Spanish. All the bunkhouse men are single so they must be lonely. They are all like orphans - "They got no family". All the ranch hands have nothing to look forward to except working for the rest of their lonely lives. Steinbeck continuously repeats "solitaire lay," in reference to George. This is proving that even though George has Lennie to keep him company, he is still lonely; however this could be because Lennie is not mentally capable to play card games. Characters associated with Isolation and Loneliness: * George * Curley's Wife * Crooks * Candy However in one way or another all the characters in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men are all associated with Isolation and Loneliness.
VII) TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Many UK based companies think that it is easier to hire worker that are already skilled instead of paying for the cost of training un-skilled workers. They also do not understand the link between training employees and the increase in profits. What is training? Training is planned learning experiences and activities that are designed to make positive changes to the performance of an organisation. Training can be defined in a number of elements. These include: * Traditional training * Education * Vocational education * Management training * Organisational development What is development? Developing is enabling individuals to develop themselves in a way that is best suited to them. If the organisation helps individuals develop themselves then they will be more inclined and will be able to help the organisation meet its objectives. The benefits of training There are a lot of benefits from training: Effective training will improve service to customers, productivity, and the competitiveness of the organisation. Right attitudes are created in employees with training, and attitudes are as important as skills and knowledge. In the long run training costs less than employing fully skilled workers, form outside the company. Also employees that are trained within the organisation tend to stay on much longer than recruited fully
Market Share and Acquisitions.
Market Share and Acquisitions The future prosperity of Medtronic heavily depends on diversifying its products so it can apply its technology to other diseased parts of the human anatomy. This diversification will result in an increase in market share, and potentially overall industry dominance. Currently, the company controls about 29% of the market share, calculated by the ratio of company sales ($5, 697 million) to industry total sales (19,643 million). They are behind such companies as Johnson & Johnson who have the greatest resources to support research and development, and possess the ability to maintain the large sales force needed to promote their products. If a higher market share was desired, Medtronic would need to concentrate on building a diverse range of products, which they are trying to achieve partially through mergers and acquisitions. One such acquisition that had a large impact on Medtronic's expenditures was acquired Spinal Dynamics Corporation (SDC), a developer of artificial cervical discs designed to reduce recovery time for cervical spinal cord surgery, in June 20021. The transaction is valued at approximately $269.50. In addition, they acquired MiniMed and Medical Research Group, Inc. in 2002 for a total purchase price of $3,807 million. MiniMed is a world leader in the design, development, and marketing of medical systems for the treatment of
Organic and Inorganic Fertilisers
Organic and Inorganic Fertilisers A fertiliser is a chemical or natural substance added to soil to increase its fertility. (From The Concise Oxford English Dictionary.) Organic fertilisers are derived from animal or plant remains that decompose on or in the soil, slowly releasing mineral ions. Inorganic fertilisers are manufactured and consist of mineral ions and are usually sprayed onto soil in solution. Fertilisers are needed because in natural ecosystems, decomposition recycles mineral ions whereas with crops the plants are removed at harvest and therefore the minerals are removed and not replaced. All growing crops require nutrients to stimulate photosynthesis and growth throughout the growing season. (Arable Handbook brochure from Kemira Grow-How.) Some of which are more important than others. The major nutrients are nitrogen, phosphate and potassium. The secondary nutrients are calcium, sulphur, magnesium and sodium and the trace elements are manganese, iron, selenium, copper, cobalt, boron, zinc and iodine. (Multi-choice leaflet from Carrs Fertilisers.) Proportions of elements required for healthy plant growth Of the elements required for healthy plant growth, oxygen, carbon and hydrogen account for 96? - 45? carbon, 45% oxygen and 6% hydrogen. Fig 1: - A graph to show proportions of the elements required for healthy plant growth (The Organic Garden Book by
Prive and social costs
. Private costs for a producer of a good, service, or activity include the costs the firm pays to purchase capital equipment, hire labor, and buy materials or other inputs. While this is straightforward from the business side, it also is important to look at this issue from the consumers' perspective. A good example of private costs is to look at the private costs of an individual driving a car. They include the fuel and oil, maintenance, depreciation, and even the amount of time the owner of the car spent diving it. Social costs, on the other hand, include both the private costs and any other external costs to society arising from the production or consumption of a good or service. Where external costs do not affect firm or consumer decisions, but affect society in general. External costs can consist of things such as fly tipping to save money on waste removal by a consumer. They are negative for society and usually occur due to people trying to save money. Therefore social costs are basically: Private Costs + External Costs. They arise from the production or consumption of a good/service. If we were to add the external costs to the example of private costs a car owner has it would be: the fuel and oil, maintenance, depreciation, and even the amount of time the owner of the car spent diving it (the Private Costs) and as well as the cost experienced by people other than the
IT and financial services
IT AND FINANCIAL SERVICES ASSIGNMENT ONE WORDS CONTENTS SECTION 1 * IDENTIFYING THE DUNCAN FAMILYS FINANCIAL NEEDS SECTION 2 * FINANCIAL PRODUCTS CURRENTLY USED BY THE DUUNCAN FAMILY SECTION 3 * RECONMENDED FINANCIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVCIES AND PROVIDER SECTION 4 * REFERENCES SECTION 1: IDENTIFYING THE DUNCAN FAMILES FINANCIAL NEEDS Mr George Duncan is aged 38 and is married with two children. He works full-time as a company secretary for Leuchars and Panton Ltd, chartered Surveyors. His wife, Anne Duncan works part-time as a playgroup Leader. Salary unknown. Mr Duncan's salary earns £3,500 gross per month; this is paid directly into his current account. The Duncan family have a fairly straightforward and traditional banking system. They have one current account with the Royal Bank of Scotland and one savings account with the Dunferlime Building Society. They also have a share portfolio. The Duncan's money transmission is purely cash and cheque. They have no outstanding debts from borrowing etc. With George's monthly income of £3,500, they have a monthly outgoing of £1,185, which is detail below: £ FOOD & DRINK 315 CAR EXPENSES (petrol, road tax, repairs and insurance) 80 CLOTHING 80 ELECTRICITY & GAS 70 COUCIL TAX 210 ENTERTAINMENT (cinema, theatre, restaurants, TV) 65 TELEPHONE 25 LIFE ASSURANCE 50 OTHER EXPENSES 25 PROPERTY
