‘Blackout’ by Roger Mais Essay

‘Blackout’ is a short story by Roger Mais. It is set in Jamaica and is about racism and the contrast of two different races, sexes and cultures! The story starts off explaining the blackout in the city and the general atmosphere of uncomfortable and tense over the city. At this point the story builds an expectation of some sort of conflict. An American women was waiting at a bus stop. Suprisingly she was not bothered by the darkness, and she was not nervous. A black man slowly approaches her and asks for a light for his cigarette. As she does not have matches she offers her cigarette and as he thanks her she flicks the cigarette away. She does that because she is disgusted that a Black man touched her cigarette and therefore she doesn’t want to smoke it anymore. After the flicking, there’s a moment of discomfort and she asks him why he was still there. He replies with an apology as a comment on her action. He stays and keeps talking about her apparent wealt h and as he talks she becomes more uncomfortable. The conversation between the two then focuses on gender and race. At that moment the reader can sense that actually the woman is interested in the current situation and she might actually be looking for an adventure, but he tells her that she is not his type of women which undermines her. During the conversation the reader can also see that the woman has some very racist thoughts. After a while he sees the bus coming and points at it. She gets on the bus and as it starts moving, she urges herself to look back at him and challenge her prejudices, but thinking of the society and worrying about how unacceptable it would seem she can’t succeed and doesn’t look back while the man picks up the cigarette from the gutter. During this short story there is always this feeling of menace and some kind of threat which is created by the blackout and the odd conversation between the two. This feeling is created especially at the beggining, introduction of the story when the blackout and the loneliness were being described by Mais. He used words and phrases such as; wave of panic, bands of hooligans roaming the streets after dark and assaulting unprotected women, slinking black shadow, to reinforce his point. Telephone Conversation ‘Telephone Conversation’ by Wole Soyinka, the poet talks about two people on the phone and the story goes on to narrate how the African man is looking  for a house and the land lady has proposed a considerable price for the same. The poem strikes a positive note as the man gets to know that his privacy won’t be hampered as the landlady doesn’t stay on the premises. The African man is happy to know that and just before he makes up his mind to consider the offer, he drops in to mention that he is black. On the other end of the line, there was nothing but silence which the African man takes it to be an impolite gesture of refusal. However, the silence is soon broken as the landlady starts to speak again asking him to explain exactly how dark he is. First, the man think that he might have misheard the question but when the landlady repeats, he understands that this is something very important for her to know before she allows him to rent her house. This is so mething that came out entirely devastating for the African man and for a moment he felt disgusted with the question and fancies himself to be a machine, like the phone and that he has been reduced to being a button on the phone. He could also smell the foul from her words and he sees â€Å"red’ everywhere all around. The idea of Telephone conversation is to depict how brutal it can be for a man who is subjected to racial discrimination. The Afro-American man is reduced to shame by the sudden silence from the other side and he gets into a state of make belief where he sarcastically thinks that the lady broke her silence and gave him option to choose and define ‘how dark† he is. â€Å"Like chocolate, or dark or light?† Then, he goes on to answer that he is defined as â€Å"West African sepia† in his passport. The lady not knowing how dark it could be didn’t want to embarrass the man further by resorting to silence. So, she asks him to define what he means. The man replies, that it is almost similar to being a brunette but a dark brunette. All this while, the man has been holding on to codes of formality which breaks loose at the landlady’s insensitiveness. The African man now shouts out loud saying that he is black but he is not that black for anyone to be put to shame. He also says that the soles of his feet and the palms of his hand are all white but he is a fool that he sits on his rear which has turned black due to friction. He knows that the landlady will never be convinced with his black complexion and he senses that she might slam down the receiver on him. At such a crucial juncture, he makes a desperate and silly attempt to plead her to come and take a good look at him but couldn’t help the situation from getting worse. Finally, the landlady slams down the  receiver on his face. Harlem ‘Harlem’ by Langston Hughes reflects the post World War II mood of many African Americans. The Great Depression was over, the war was over, but for African Americans the dream, whatever particular form it took, was still being deferred. Whether one’s dream is as mundane as hitting the numbers or as noble as hoping to see one’s children reared properly, Langston Hughes takes them all seriously; he takes the deferral of each dream to heart. Harlem simply asks, and provides a series of disturbing answer to the questions, â€Å"what happens to a dream deferred?† A closer reading reveals the essential disunity of the poem. It is a ground of unresolved conflict. Five of the six answers to the opening questions are interrogative rather than declarative sentences. The ‘dream deferred’ is the long- postponed and frustrated dream of African Americans; a dream of freedom, equality, dignity, opportunity and success. This poem concentrates, on possib le reaction to the deferral of a dream. The whole poem (Harlem) is built in the structure of rhetoric. The speaker of the poem is black poet. Black people were given the dreams of equity and equality. But these dreams never came true. Despite legal, political and social consensus to abolish the apartheid, black people could never experience the indiscriminate society. In other worlds, their dream never came true. Blacks are promised dreams of equality, justice, freedom, indiscrimination, but not fulfilled. They are delayed, deferred and postponed. Only promissory note has been given but has never been brought into reality.The speaker rhetorically suggests that the dreams will explode and destroy all the limitations imposed upon them. After that the society of their dream will be born. When the dream is postponed or deferred or delayed, it brings frustration, it dries up like a raisin in the sun but there is wet inside, likewise it stinks like rotten meat, it becomes fester like a sore and one day it will explode and cause larger social damages. The poem is in the form of a series of questions, a certain inhabitant of Harlem asks. The first image in the poem is â€Å"dream dries up like a raisin†. The simile likens the original dream to a grape, which is sound, juicy, green and fresh since the dream has been neglected for too long, it has probably dried up. The next image in the poem â€Å"fester like† a sore and then run† conveys a sense of infection and pain. Comparing the  dream to a sore of a body, the poet suggests that unfulfilled dreams become part of us, like a longstanding injury that has gathered pus. The word â€Å"fester† connotes something decay and â€Å"run† literally refers to pus. From this viewpoint of the speaker, this denotes to the pain that one has when one’s dreams always defers. A postponed dream is like a painful injury that begins to be infected. The next image â€Å"Does it stink like rotten meat† intensified the sense of disgust.

“Ishmael” by Daniel Quinn Essay

In the book Ishmael, Daniel Quinn argues claims about our culture and beliefs through Ishmael, the gorilla. He somewhat effectively argues his claim, I say somewhat because he doesn’t adequately use all three parts of an argument: ethos, pathos and logos. Quinn’s intended audience is very clearly every Taker/human that is living everyday without really realizing the destruction of the environment and society around them. His rhetorical purpose is to show these people what they’re doing wrong and not necessarily tell them how to fix it, but telling them how they should inform everyone and essentially start a revolution. He does this because the world is very quickly being destroyed by humans because of our lack of energy to do something about it. Quinn puts into perspective how the world is slowly being ruined through the character of Ishmael. The reason I don’t think Quinn’s argument was extremely effective is because he didn’t use very much ethos. In the beginning he used Ishmael’s captivity in the zoo then the menagerie to give Ishmael some credibility with being able to observe humans from the outside of our world. Ishmael also taught himself how to understand humans which gives him some credibility as being very smart. Quinn does mention a few books Ishmael read to further his knowledge about humans, one being the Bible, but that is about all the ethos he uses. He doesn’t use any ethos while arguing throughout the book to back up his claims which is where I see most of his faults. Daniel Quinn mostly uses logos to support his claims throughout the book. On almost every page there was logical evidence to back up his claim he was currently making. He did this a lot through stories he told that put many things we see every day in a different perspective hence making us think about it in a very different way. For example, my favorite story was the one about the creation of man and he ends with â€Å"then man appeared† (Quinn 53). Ishmael says the same thing with â€Å"finally jellyfish appeared† (Quinn 56). He did this to show that creation did not end with man like we previously thought. Throughout the book Quinn uses very few examples of pathos. He mostly tells stories that made me feel guilty, for example on page 80 he discusses how we’ve â€Å"poured our poisons into the world† (Quinn 80) and he goes on to say there is almost no way for the world to recover because we’ve damaged it so much. This makes me feel very guilty and angry to the CEO’s and people that have come before me because they haven’t done anything to stop it. There have been people to try but no one has ever stopped drilling for oil and driving giant semi-trucks that are destroying the earth. Quinn doesn’t use pathos often, but the few times he did it was very effectively used. Daniel Quinn presents Ishmaels arguments in a very philosophical style and it feels as though the student, who is never named in the story is the reader. I could really see myself as the student, when he was confused I was often confused as well and I think that is why Quinn never gave him a name because it made it easier to put yourself in that position since we are essentially learning as the student is. I think Quinn’s argument needed more pathos and ethos to be truly effective. He uses mostly logos which is very effective for this type of argument, but there is not much emotion or credibility to back up the logical statements he is making. At times I was angry at society and humans in general because of the destruction and I think if there was more of that pathos it would have been much more effective of an argument for me.

Excellent Communicator Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Excellent Communicator - Assignment Example They are able to strategically and competently relate to the individual and adapt the conversation to better convey the message they are attempting to impart. Great communicators are often charismatic and funny – interesting people to listen to. Effective communicators are also effective listeners, as it’s impossible to communicate without verifying that the message is being received as you intended. I believe ineffective communication begins by the person attempting to communicate not having a thorough enough understanding of the situation, or simply not allowing for a dialogue to occur that facilitates communication. During my first week as a teacher, I had an Assistant Principal who called me into her office to discuss observations made during one of my classes. She had an issue with the way a particular lesson was organized and proceeded to discuss its faults. While elements of her criticism were effective, a great deal of it was misdirected as it was founded on erroneous assumptions. It fell short in that it didn’t leave room for a dialogue to occur that could create a constructive solution. Instead, the observations were relayed in a way that spoke to the necessarily limited perspective of one individual. For work place communication to be effective, open communication among workers within the organization must be promoted. Without this collaborative environment, th e workplace becomes dry and monotonous and the creativity necessary for beneficial improvements is

DNA Functions and Structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

DNA Functions and Structure - Essay Example These are known as the nuclear DNA and the mitochondrial DNA, respectively. A very significant trait of the DNA is that it can very efficiently and easily â€Å"replicate, or make copies of itself. Each strand of DNA in the double helix can serve as a pattern for duplicating the sequence of bases. This is critical when cells divide because each new cell needs to have an exact copy of the DNA present in the old cell† (Genetics Home Reference, 2012). The DNA, regardless of its overly microscopic size, has many functions under its assigned responsibilities. The DNA normally exists in the form of either prokaryotes or eukaryotes, existing in a different chromosomal stage in either of the states. Under the biological functions that the DNA performs, there exists the storage of hereditary and genetic information by the genes which determine the traits and features of the future generations. Secondly, the DNA is responsible for the transcription and translation of the genetic codes t hat are matched with its matching RNA, in further course. Lastly, the DNA carries out the replication of cell, which means that the cells divide amongst themselves and create copies of their own selves, in order to grow, in number and size. This is considered to be the bases for the notion of biological inheritance. These functions of the DNA are carried out simultaneously. The efficiency of this is ensured by the structure of the DNA which is double helix in nature. Details of these functions will discussed in greater detail, in the following. A polymer is a composition and a collection of numerous monomers called mononucleotide units. The structure of this nucleotide unit is as simple as the concept of this unit itself. These nucleotide units are formed by bonds of phosphates, sugars and a heterocyclic base. The chemical reaction is sped up and catalyzed by specialist enzymes. As a result of the components of this structure of this type of nucleotide units, after intermolecular de hydration, they form phosphate ester bonds. In a situation where nitrogenous bases on the DNAs complementing each other are called as base pairs. There has been extensive research and there have been many conclusions to the question of the combinations of the base pairs that are formed. The conclusions, with respect to the researches have varied with time and so have the combinations that are formed, according to each research. â€Å"DNA replication  is a biological process that occurs in all  living organisms  and copies their  DNA; it is the basis for  biological inheritance. The process starts when one double-stranded DNA molecule produces two identical copies of the molecule. The cell cycle (mitosis) also pertains to the DNA replication/reproduction process. The cell cycle includes, interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. Each strand of the original double-stranded DNA molecule serves as template for the production of the complementary strand, a proc ess referred to as  semiconservative replication. Cellularproofreading  and error toe-checking mechanisms ensure  near perfect  fidelity for DNA replication† (Berg, Tymozko, Stryer, & Clarke, 2002) The RNA, like the DNA, is an acronym for the Ribonucleic Acid and is made up of lengthy chains of micro structures called nucleotides, consisting of sugars and a nucleobase. The structure of

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 13

International Business - Essay Example CEO Steve Jobs has also gained an iconic status for his intriguing nature. Steve Jobs transformed the failing image of Apple Company into one of the most successful wealthiest company in the history. The growth of apple began four years later after Jobs’ return as the CEO. This growth is also attributed to innovative products from the iPod to iPhone and iPad, which have changed the lives of people. With these products, it has integrated communication and information technologies for use in day to day life. Globalization involves various ongoing interrelated processes that include internalization of finance and trade (Dedrick, 2009.). Globalization affects business in many ways. Globalization has affected Apple Company both positively and negatively and amongst the positives, the major being increased profits. Apple operations have benefited from globalization in the several ways. Apple Company has mostly utilized advanced strategies relying mostly on importing, exporting and outsourcing. Apple Inc. realized the benefit of expanding both its market and operations all over the world especially in high potential markets. By July 2013, the company had opened 417 retail stores in 13 countries. It also established online stores in 38 countries (Dedrick, 2009). Globalization has led to emergence of new markets enabling apple to expand its operations outside America maximizations of sales and revenues. In 2013 fiscal year, Apple revenues had grown by 14.73% within the first two quarters of the year. This translated to $98.115 billion dollars. Most of this revenue was collected from overseas markets. Only 35%of the revenue was from American market (Freeland, 2011). Globalization has led to creativity in employing human resources at Apple. It has created few employee opportunities in America than in other countries. For example, the company

Fixed and Variable Costs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fixed and Variable Costs - Essay Example Examples of semi variable costs include electricity expense, telephone expense. In one broad category of Over head expenses, these costs are collectively shown for example depreciation of machinery as well as the heating and lighting cost. Electricity cost is a semi-variable cost because there is a fixed charge and then on any unit we use we are charged an additional amount. So this additional amount is the variable cost and the fixed charge is the fixed cost. Semi variable cost stays constant for a certain time period and then it goes to a higher cost at a specific increased volume (Leslie 1993). For analysis purpose, the fixed part is separated from the variable part and both are written separately so that proper analysis can be done and so the company should know as to how much is their fixed cost and how much is variable. 2. A company's break-even point is its sales volume at which its total costs equal its total revenues. This means that at the break-even point, the company is making neither any profit nor any loss. If a company is operating below its break-even point it would not be able to exist in the long run as its costs (fixed and variable) would not be covered by the revenues (Susan 2008) .

BURGER KING CASE STUDY Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

BURGER KING CASE STUDY - Term Paper Example Thus, in modern marketing strategies, marketers have mastered the art of creating a need for their product or service offerings or constantly surprising the marketplace, an area where they have a high level of dexterity (Boone and Kurtz 11). The â€Å"Whopper Freakout† marketing campaign of Burger King is one of them. Although the forefront intention behind this was to find out if Whopper was the market’s favorite burger sandwich, the basic goal was still to create a need because this potentially resulted to word-of-mouth promotion highlighting the major justifications of the said product. The â€Å"Whopper Freakout† marketing campaign was a promotional strategy underlying the concept of viral marketing campaigns. Thus, aside from this, there are other principal advantages and disadvantages of using viral marketing campaigns to promote a product. One possible disadvantage of viral marketing campaign is the risk of flooding negative opinions associated with a cert ain product or brand. Viral marketing could potentially be successful on the part of the company if it is associated with positive conversation on a certain product or brand (Faheem 3). ... Thus, applying viral marketing would just ensure giving more to its advantage while ensuring at some point a fast-paced promotion. Therefore, it is clear that the major advantage of viral marketing campaign is speed (Schirmer 33). Through the word of mouth, if information is just only associated with positive opinions, viral marketing campaign is reliable based on the effectiveness of the speed of promotion. Thus, this would further minimize the additional cost that should be incurred in the dissemination of information that would be associated with the product or service offerings or brands. 2. Discuss the factors that resulted in the success of the Whopper Freakout campaign. Also enumerate the possible drawbacks of the campaign. One of the elemental factors that made Whopper Freakout campaign a success is the fact that Whopper was already one of its market’s favorite burger. In the event that this burger would have substantial issue, it would eventually become an integral co mponent of consumers’ conversation in their daily lives, especially among those who have positive experience with this product. This is due to the fact that Whopper is a consumer good in a form of food. Considering that every people need to eat daily, Whopper Freakout campaign is such a strong strategic marketing campaign in order to reinforce customers regarding the prevailing status of the said product. Furthermore, when consumers would be informed about the status of the said product and they have important concerns as in line with their relevant impressions of it, application of viral marketing campaign would make sense. In fact, the success of this marketing activity is highly dependent on consumers’ first impression (Allen 151). As stated earlier, since

Real Art as the Capacity to Make us Nervous Research Paper

Real Art as the Capacity to Make us Nervous - Research Paper Example For the Greeks, art was neither significant nor true. In short, what they were trying to say is that the painting of a chair is no good if someone is not going to seat on it. However, lie or no lie, art considerably has a certain value since it is a form of therapy. It has the capability to make people feel nervous and send their minds on a thoughtful journey depending on the object you are viewing (Sontag 1). With regards to the Greeks, the mimetic theory of art goes together with the view that art is figurative, all the times. However, they should not close their eyes to the fact that art is always abstract and decorative. The misleading notion that art is unavoidably a "realism" can be scrapped or modified devoid of ever going outside the issues surrounded by the mimetic theory (Sontag 1). This paper will discuss why art makes an audience nervous. It will base is on Sontags claim that real art has the capacity to make people feel nervous. It will also present its arguments using a number of performance art and the effects they had on the audience to dispute the Greek notion of art. Performance art has had its fair share of criticism over time. Most people deem that it is clearly weird, having heard rumors of bulls semen, dancing naked and even howling. A majority of individuals in the art world believe that since its halcyon days in the 60s and in the 70s, the medium has lost its power (Swan 1). No matter the side someone stands, chances are performance art makes them unbelievably nervous or maybe even cynical as some critics believe. The nervous feeling, a majority of the dramatists confirm is the proof of arts unique power to make people think afar and also feel something different. Performance art is live art and when it is really good, it creates a direct and overly personal effect on the audience (Heathfield 8). For  instance, in Lesbian National Parks and Services by Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, Dempsey's knuckles are raw and bleeding when he eventually became tired to knock on the door. A majority of the audience has gradually frittered away, but some returned periodically to watch.

Water Is Invaluable Essay Example for Free

Water Is Invaluable Essay â€Å"Water is the driving force in nature.† The importance and beauty of water in our body There are many benefits water could offer to our body: It can give us healthy skin Our skin is always hungry for water and we must always provide it in order for it not to be looking dry, dull and no life. Water has proven that it can remove lines on our skin because if you feed your skin with water, it now hydrated and if it is hydrated, the cells will be awakened and will look young and radiant. That is why people who’d rink plenty of water have a radiant and glowing skin. It even made them younger looking. If you also want to correct your complexion, drink plenty of water. It will not change your complexion suddenly but it will make it even that will look even better. Water could also brighten our eyes and can avoid us from looking tired and exhausted. A simple cold compression could decrease eye inflammation brought by fatigue, lack of sleep and eye strain due to work. Make it a habit that every night you must cold compress your eyes in order for you to look fresh and radiant all the time. It can help us achieve a healthy body One reason that a person looks fat and heavy is mainly because of water retention brought by the foods they eat most especially salty and junk foods. Water accumulates in the certain parts of their body and would form a cellulite which is not good to look at. So, if you want to minimize cellulites and extra weight, avoid eating salty instead, drink plenty of water because you may still excrete it. Soaking in a hot bath or having a hot shower could lead to a better and  relaxing sleep as well because it relaxes our nerves and system that will lead to a good night’s sleep. Improves hair Drinking enough water could improve dryness of the hair because it could add to the hair moisture. Due to too much pollution, dust and humidity, we cannot really avoid that we could get a dry and coarse hair. But with the help of water, our hair could still improve its shininess and texture. It could contribute to a better digestion Drinking a lot of water could facilitate a good digestion which will lead to a normal bowel elimination. A normal bowel elimination considered to be healthy because you take out all the toxins and bad bacteria in our body. Now, you have discovered the beauty and importance of water in our lives. Starting now, we should not take for granted water because it could really work wonders for us and could contribute to the total wellness of our body. It could really make a difference in our lives because it works beautifully.

English class system Essay Example for Free

English class system Essay The rigidity of the English class system is the root of tragedy in both novels. Discuss how far and in what ways do you agree or disagree with this? In both novels the rigidity of the social class system is the main cause of the tragedy although there are other aspects in each novel that add to the tragedy such as forbidden love, childhood innocence and jealousy. All these factors lead to Robbie Turner being falsely accused and later imprisoned for the rape of Lola due to Briony’s jealousy of the love that Robbie has for her sister Cecilia, in ‘Atonement’. They also contribute to Ted Burgess suicide as a result of his shame due to his social class and also Leo’s jealousy and childhood innocence, all this played a role in Marian Trimingham and Ted Burgess being caught and the subsequent tragedy that occurred such as Leo Colston’s physiological trauma in ‘The go between’. The social divide in ‘Atonement’ was very obvious; Robbie was accepted into the Tallis family but was never equal to them. Cecilia almost feared the relationship she had with Robbie because of his class and the repercussions it could have for her and her family within the upper class sociality â€Å"Why dont you talk to Robbie anymore?† â€Å"I do. We just move in different circles, thats all.† The social divide is also obvious after Lola’s rape in the way that it is only the men of a lower class that are questioned throwing aside the reputations that Robbie Turner and Danny Hardman had with the family and honest, hardworking men. The final thing that shows the class divide is when Cecilia finally confesses her love for Robbie her family disown her and she is force to live a lower class life because the Tallis family are scared of how their reputation would be affected if they gave their blessing for their daughter to marry not only a lower class but one that had been convicted of rape The social divide in ‘The go between’ is clear because of the fact that Ted comes from a much lower class than Marian meaning there can be no possible future for the relationship because of the social taboos involved â€Å"The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.† Another way in which social divide is evident in this novel is when Leo decides that he is not comfortable to continue being the go between Marian and Ted but Marian pressures him into doing it with the help the power that comes with her higher class. Although social class in the root of all the tragedy’s that happen in the novel there are sub tragedies such as jealousy, childhood naivety and forbidden love. Jealousy is the second biggest factor that adds to the tragedy in ‘Atonement’ because if Briorny had not been jalousie of the clear affection Robbie had for Cecilia she would not have opened the letter thus she would not have been so bias when she saw Lola was being raped. Although it also seems that Briony may have been trying to seek revenge on Robbie as age was hurt by the fact he loved Cecilia more than her and this came to a head when Briony walked in on Robbie and Cecilia in the library. This factor of jealousy also links in closely with childhood innoce nce as later on in the novel Briony realises her naivety as a child How guilt refined the methods of self-torture, threading the beads of detail into an eternal loop, a rosary to be fingered for a lifetime. The fact she did not truly understand what was going on and what the consequences of her actions would lead to and the dire consequences it would hold for everyone involved. Childhood innocence is the second biggest contributor to the tragedy in the novel ‘The go between’ as when Leo begins to read the letters he is taking between Marian and ted he becomes uncomfortable with the contents of them due to his childhood innocence and nativity towards life. Also when he tries to stop being the go between for Maria and Ted he is put under psychological pressure and is forced to continue â€Å"Grown-ups didnt seem to realize that for me, as for most other schoolboys, it was easier to keep silent than to speak. I was a natural oyster.† . Ultimately, Leo’s involvement as messenger between the lovers has disastrous consequences. The trauma which results when Maria’s family discover what are going on leads directly to Ted’s suicide. The third most important factor that influenced the tragedy in the novel ‘Atonement’ would be childhood innocence this affects how the novel ends up greatly as it is clear that Briony is in love with Robbie and from the way she talks of him you can see even though she feels as if she has matured she is still very childish in her ways The very complexity of her feelings confirmed Briony in her view that she was entering an arena of adult emotion and if she cannot have him then nobody can. Although she may have not intended for the events to become tragic as they did. â€Å"Yes. I saw him. I saw him with my own eyes.† It was clear that it was not just Robbie but Cecilia that she was punishing as well for the fact she has stolen Robbie from her in her eyes â€Å"I wouldnt necessarily believe everything Briony tells you. Shes rather fanciful†. Another thing is that if Briony had not been a child at the time she would have taken a much different perspective on the many events that led her to thinking that Robbie was a â€Å"sex maniac† The third most important factor that contributed to the tragedy in ‘The go between’ was the forbidden love between Marian and Ted because if it had not been for the love that they had for each other Leo would not have become the go between and later on being forced to carry on and t would also not have led to Ted’s tragic suicide. There was also the forbidden love between Leo held for Marian that eventually led to Leo being put under immense psychological pressure â€Å"Not Adam and Eve, after eating the apple, could have been more upset than I was.† The Feminist view on the use of it in ‘Atonement’ would be, Feminism adds greatly to the tragedy caused by the social class because women in the novel are portrayed as weak and fluttery in the way that they cannot stick to one thing and follow their hearts over their head â€Å"What do you say, Cecilia? Does the hot weather make you behave badly? Good heavens, youre blushing.† wseaA good example of this is when Cecilia is adamant of Robbie’s innocence but nobody listens to her as they all think she is just a silly woman that has fallen in love with a man below her class Ill wait for you was elemental. It was the reason he had survived. It was the ordinary way of saying she would refuse all other men. Only you. Come back†. The fact that only men are conscripted into the army and women where simply not allowed to join splints Robbie and Cecilia up again and exacerbates the clear line between peoples thoughts on women at that time. The other instance that feminism affects this novel is when Lola is raped in the way that Paul Marshall believes women as objects and that they are only there to satisfy men. This gives a clear view of how women where objectified in this time A Feminist view of the use of it in ‘The go between’ would be, the reason that the love between Marian and Ted is forbidden because Marian is the higher class person in the relationship at the time, whereas if the man had been the upper class he probably would have been commended for having a mistress â€Å"The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.†. This is because at that time women were thought to be led by their hearts rather than their heads which in most circumst ances lead to dire consequences and are patronised by men when they make a mistake â€Å"Its better to write about things you feel than about things you know about.† . The other instance of Feminism in this novel is A Marxist opinion on the use of it in the novel ‘Atonement’ is that, Marxism and the class system are closely related in the way that there is a huge amount of social inequalities in the novel that led to Robbie’s imprisonment. This is shown when the police only question Robbie Turner and Danny Hardman about the rape of Lola and even though the family have known Robbie the whole of his life once he is accused of the rape they quickly turn on him and do not for a second believe him when he pleads his innocence â€Å"what is the point now they just want the hideous thing to be forgotten† as they believe that nobody from the upper class could ever commit such a heinous crime. This enhances the idea that reader has of the adults and even though they are supposed to be mature and have a more even outlook on life they are still very childish on their outlook on the class system and the way that it affects a person. They also believe that it is only people of a lower class that would ever commit a crime. Marxism applied to another factor that caused the tragedy could be when the Talli’s family take Robbie in out of pity because he is from not only a lower class but from a broken family as well. They then pay for his education which puts emphasises on the distance between the classes. A Marxist opinion on the use of it in ‘The go between’ is that, Marxism and the class system are closely related in the novel in the way that there is a huge amount of social inequalities in the novel that led to not only Ted’s suicide, but the physiological damage that is done to Leo in the process â€Å"The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.† Marxism applied to another factor that causes tragedy could be when the Maudsley family take Leo in out of pity, showing the clear division of classes at that time and even though they treat his well he is always clearly an outsider. A good example of this is when Marian pressures him into carry on delivering messages between Ted and her even though it is clearly making him feel uncomfortable. In conclusion of both ‘The go between’ and ‘Atonement’ the key causes of the main tragedy is the social divide between the classes and that the upper class are all too happy to use the lower class for their benefit and then disown them as soon as they become a hassle. The 2 novels also share the sub causes to the main tragedy’s which are forbidden love, childhood innocence and jealousy. Although in each of the novels the sub causes did affect the main tragedy in different amounts.

Nursing, ethics and sociology

Nursing, ethics and sociology Introduction: In this essay, I will discuss several issues that seem to bind nursing practice with questions of ethics, sociology and management. Reflective practice is an important aspect of nursing management and in this essay we discuss implications of discrimination in nursing care and examine the importance of anti-discriminatory perspectives in nursing. In this paper, the case study I will elaborate is of an elderly woman who was of a non-British ethnic origin and spoke little English. A junior nurse visited her home to provide care but her attitude towards the patient has been discriminatory and abrupt, a situation that calls for serious reflection on the issues of racial discrimination at the clinical setting. The patient was apparently treated with leg ulcer. The questions that have to be considered here are: Where in the observation did discrimination occur and how this could have affected the delivery of care given? And how has discrimination influenced the lady’s care? The concept of anti-discriminatory practice as a contemporary issue within adult nursing is discussed here considering observational evidence and similar case studies. Reflection in Nursing: Reflective practice in nursing is guided by models of reflection. Reflective practice model serves as a framework within which nursing or other management professions can work. Reflective practice model is also a structural framework or learning model that serves the purposes of a profession and is particularly applicable to health related professions. Any portfolio of practice includes a model of reflection as reflection helps in determining what was positive or negative or a learning experience within the profession. Reflective practice highlights the importance of learning from experiences after thinking about it and relates the practical experiences to the theoretical learning approaches. The four important reflective models that form part of the clinical and nursing portfolio are: Gibbs Model of Reflection 1988 Kolb’s Learning Cycle – 1984 John’s Model of Reflection – 1994 Atkin and Murphy’s Model of Reflection 1994 Theoretical Framework: Gibbs Model of reflection is shown in a cyclical manner and is represented a follows: Gibbs model of reflection (1988) Given by Gibbs, 1988. Source: CPSU, 2005 Unlike Gibbs’ model that has five stages, Kolb’s Learning cycle with four stages is shown as follows: Source; CPSU, 2005 In the Gibbs’ model, the event is reflected upon and includes a description of what happened followed by feelings about the situation, and reflection on what the thoughts and feelings were at that time upon being into the situation. The nursing professional then personally evaluates whether the experience has been good or bad for her and analyses whether she can make any sense to the situation. The conclusions are drawn depending on alternative and what else could have been done with the situation and what were the other options available to tackle the situation better or more appropriately. Proposed and future action plan is thought of and how the situation will be acted upon in the future is also determined. Kolb’s model however stresses on the importance of generalizations of concrete experiences testing the implications in similar situations. Whereas John’s model of reflection emphasizes on the stages of description of the event, reflection on what was aimed at, the factors influencing strategies, alternative strategies to what have been used, and learning from the experience, Atkin’s and Murphy’s model of reflection is on analysis and identification of the learning experience and action planned based on awareness and evaluation of this relevance of knowledge. Considering these models of reflection, we will use only the more popular Gibbs model to evaluate the case study discussed here and the situation of discrimination against the elderly lady Mrs. B as observed. Background and Literature Survey: The importance of reflection as part of the learning experience and using reflection as a means of improving one’s professional skills and future performance by evaluating the situation and the mistakes has been emphasized in many professions including teaching and nursing. In the Kolb cycle, reflective observation is the second phase. Reflection in action or while doing something in the job and reflection on action or some form of evaluation after the job is done, are included within reflective practice. Reflection includes several phases from simple problem solving of individual cases, to analysis of the situation considering relevant literature as well as broader social and political factors. Gustaffsson and Fagerberg (2004) emphasizes on the advantages that could be gained from reflection mainly among registered nurses or RNs. They examine the questions on the implications of nurses’ reflections, the subject matter of their reflection and how they are able to deal with their reflection and how they improve their professional approach through reflection. The authors describe the experiences of the nurses and their reflection in relation to the nursing situations to understand how the nurses use reflection in their daily work. The study included interviewing four registered trained nurses and the qualitative differences of the nurses reflective experiences were categorized. One of these is the category of reflection itself; but the ethical considerations within the nursing care situation and consequence of facing the situation or meeting the requirements of empathy or professional development are also important. The nurse attitudes and opinions on their reflective p ractice, what they thought about the situation and how they feel they will control similar future situations serves a model of future professional development. Gustaffson and Fagerberg point out that reflective practice has relevance for clinical practice as by understanding the contents of nurses’ reflections, it is also possible to understand the advantages of reflective practice and how and when such measures should be used by the nurses for further professional development. Fairley (2005) gives a consultant nurse’ perspective of a clinical role in critical care unit that has evolved as a central feature of all surgical high dependency units (SDHU) in large teaching hospital trusts. Advanced nursing practice is perceived not as the acquisition and application of technical procedures which are usually undertaken by doctors, but also an integration of medicine and nursing where holistic nursing assessment and symptom focused physical examination go hand in hand. Fairley presents a reflective account of practical problems encountered relating to role integration, professional autonomy, legal and consent issues, non-medical prescribing, and role evaluation (Fairley, 2005). The paper successfully describes a model of nursing applied to high dependency units integrating the role of the advanced nurse practitioner within the medical and clinical team an reflective practice plays an important role by being the main method of evaluation of a consultant nur se’ perspective. In a study on the importance of reflective practice in family care, Peden-McAlpine (2005) discusses the design, evaluation and outcomes of a reflective practice intervention (RPI) that was used to train critical care nurses on how to incorporate family intervention into their nursing practice. The benefits and problems of reflective practice are many and most beneficial aspects include improvement of professionalism and better ability to tackle similar situations leading to professional development through experience in nursing. Reflective practice is of experiential nature, it relates to a nurse’s experience and learning from the experience. In the study discussed by Peden-McAlpine, interviews were conducted with eight staff nurse participants after the training of RPI to determine changes in family practice when reflective practice was used. Three essential themes were identified on analysis of the interview texts and the authors have given the three themes relating to exper iences in nursing after participating in the RPI program as follows: (1) acknowledging, re-framing preconceived ideas about families, (2) recognizing meaning of family stress, and (3) incorporating family into nursing care (Peden-McAlpine et al, 2005). The reflective practice intervention program practices by nurses helped them to change their attitudes towards critical care especially in family and enhanced their communication and ability to build proper relationships with families bringing in a new way of understanding family stress or appreciating family values. The nurses thus had a new perspective of family system after their training of reflective practice on family critical care. Considering the benefits of changing nursing attitudes and developing professionalism through reflective practice, many authors have emphasized the need to use reflective practice as a training method within nursing education. Chabeli and Muller (2004) use a qualitative contextual and exploratory descriptive design for theory generation that was used to develop model facilitating reflective thing in clinical nursing education. The authors cited Wilson (1963 and Gift (1997) who provided a theoretical framework for a concept analysis of reflective thinking in nursing education. The paper also gives the case o 12 nurse educators who participated in a focus group interview on how reflective practice can be facilitated in clinical nursing education and the consensus was for a classification of reflective practice recognizing the main elements of practice and a deductive analysis and synthesis after conceptualization of each main concept. The importance of a conceptual meaning has been hig hlighted as theories with well-defined concepts and elements could facilitate reflective practice and can form an important part of clinical nursing education. Guidelines could be developed according to the theoretical framework of reflective practice and can give a new direction nursing education. In a later study, Chabeli and Muller also provided a model of reflective practice that could be used as a theoretical framework in nursing education. However, the authors suggest that ‘ Reflective thinking has become a popular word in nursing education world wide, but its meaning and effective use remains debatable because of lack of clarity in its meaning’ (Mackintosh, 1998:553 cited in Chabeli and Muller, 2004). Case study: The case of our elderly patient Mrs. B suggest that the nurse’s discrimination and ill behavior against the woman, relates to discriminatory practice, something that could be and should be stopped using reflective practice (also see Sheffield et al, 1999). The junior nurse in charge who was responsible for such an incident was given reflective practice as a framework for professional development. She was recommended to go through the Gibbs model of reflection in which she analyzed how and why she behaved the way she did, what she will do in future situations and how she learnt from the experience to not repeat her discriminatory behavior in the future. The implications are that the behavior of the nurse has led to poor quality of care delivery to the patient. The junior nurse who treated Mrs. B badly was recommended to go through reflective practice intervention to change her attitudes towards other races and ethnic minorities. According she participated in reflective practice sessions when she verbally as well as in writing had to describe the events in which she engaged in discriminatory practice and also evaluated her responses and indicated her future course of action and other alternatives for similar situations. Conclusion: In this essay I discussed the implications of reflective practice in nursing considering the theoretical frameworks of reflective practice. All the main models of reflective practice have been discussed and the models were used to consider a discriminatory case of an elderly patient who was wronged by a junior nurse. The patient was being treated for leg ulcer and was reportedly badly and disrespectfully treated by the nurse. The nurse was asked to go through reflective practice and mainly using Gibbs model of reflection, had to complete an exercise in which she described the event, indicated her feelings of the event, evaluated whether it was a good or bad experience, analyzed her own response to the situation, concluded what else she could have done for the situation and finally drew up an action plan for future similar circumstances. Bibliography: Atkins, S. and Murphy, K. (1994) Reflective Practice. Nursing Standard 8(39) 49-56 Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Further Education Unit, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford Johns, C. and Graham, J. (1996) Using a Reflective Model of Nursing and Guided Reflection. Nursing Standard 11 (2) 34-38 Haddock, J. and Bassett, C. (1997) Nurses Perceptions of Reflective Practice Nursing Standard 11(32) 39-41 Kolb, D.A. (1984) Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Prentice Hall, New Jersey Schon, D.A. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner. Temple Smith: London Sheffield J, Hussain A, Coleshill P. Organizational barriers and ethnicity in the Scottish NHS. J Manag Med. 1999;13(4-5):263-4. Smith A, Jack K. Reflective practice: a meaningful task for students. Nurs Stand. 2005 Mar 9-15;19(26):33-7. Moeti MR, van Niekerk SE, van Velden CE. Perceptions of the clinical competence of newly registered nurses in the North West province. Curationis. 2004 Aug;27(3):72-84. Chabeli M, Muller M. A model to facilitate reflective thinking in clinical nursing education. Curationis. 2004 Nov;27(4):49-62. Peden-McAlpine C, Tomlinson PS, Forneris SG, Genck G, Meiers SJ. Evaluation of a reflective practice intervention to enhance family care. J Adv Nurs. 2005 Mar;49(5):494-501. Chabeli M, Muller M. Reflective thinking in clinical nursing education: a concept analysis. Curationis. 2004 Nov;27(4):37-48. Fairley D. Discovering the nature of advanced nursing practice in high dependency care: a critical care nurse consultants experience. Intensive Crit Care Nurs. 2005 Jun;21(3):140-8. Epub 2004 Dec 8. Somerville D, Keeling J. A practical approach to promote reflective practice within nursing. Nurs Times. 2004 Mar 23-29;100(12):42-5. Clouder L, Sellars J. Reflective practice and clinical supervision: an interprofessional perspective. J Adv Nurs. 2004 May;46(3):262-9. Gustafsson C, Fagerberg I. Reflection, the way to professional development? J Clin Nurs. 2004 Mar;13(3):271-80. For diagrams, see Clinical Placements Support Unit – UCE Birmingham http://www.hcc.uce.ac.uk/cpsu/

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder which can afflict a person throughout his lifetime: "The individual who suffers from OCD becomes trapped in a pattern of repetitive thoughts and behaviors that are senseless and distressing but extremely difficult to overcome" (http:www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/ocd.htm). Obsessions and compulsions are the two main components of this disorder. The former are often highly negative such as an ever-present fear of germs. Compulsions such as repeated handwashings are rituals designed to lessen anxiety produced by obsessions. Depending on the severity, OCD can have an adverse affect on every realm of a person's life. The outlook is optimistic, however, because research has shown that even people suffering from severe OCD may benefit from medication, behavioral therapy, or a combination of the two. Researchers have gained much insight into the cause of the disorder by comparing OCD brains with "normal" brains. There is continued debate about whether OCD is caused by neurobiological factors, environmental influences, or both. There is at least evidence to show that the brains of OCD sufferers differ from "normal" brains in systematic ways: "Recent preliminary studies of the brain using magnetic resonance imaging showed that the subjects with OCD had significantly less white matter than did normal control subjects, suggesting a widely distributed brain abnormality in OCD" (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/ocd.htm). The white matter, which lies beneath the cerebral cortex, contains axons which connect neurons in the cerebral cortex to neurons in other parts of the brain. Lowered white matter content seems to suggest that there is less intracranial communication in the brains of OCD patients. Another study showed that "persons having OCD often exhibit abnormal rates of metabolic activity [in direct correlation with the severity of the disorder] in the frontal lobe and the basal ganglia [more specifically in the orbital cortex] of the brain" (http://www.mhsource.com/hy/naf-ocd.html). It has been suggested that the orbital cortex is responsible for stimulating a "worry circuit" consisting of the "caudate nucleus, a part of the basal ganglia that helps in switching gears from one thought to another; the cingulate gyrus, which wrenches the gut with dread, and the thalamus, which processes the body's sensory inputs" (http://www.schizophrenia.com/ami/diagnosi s/ocd.html). It is hypothesized that in OCD, these 3 respective brain areas become linked in action. Susan Swedo and her colleagues at NIMH have hypothesized that because OCD behaviors have been connected with antibodies attacking the basal ganglia, repeated strep throat infections in childhood may lead the formation of the fused "worry circuit.

Trends of the Malta Insurance Market Essay -- Automobile, Insurance

Today's business world is complex, unpredictable, uncertain and volatile. One of the key elements of this volatility is the swift change all around us. Taking into consideration the motor insurance industry, changes have been also made during the years. Under motor insurance, there are three types of cover available. There is the third party only, which is obligatory as it is the least required by law; it covers your liability to third parties for damage or injury to property arising from the use of your car. In addition to third party liability cover, one can also choose to be covered and protected against damage or loss arising from fire or theft, which is known as Third party fire and theft. If you add protection against accidental damage to your vehicle to the ones mentioned above, you are covered with the comprehensive. Latest statistics shows that car ownership and traffic volume are in the rise once more and this has been the agenda of the government. The number of people owning cars has grown since 1980, thus this represents good news for car manufacturers and insurance firms alike. Also it has come at an environmental cost that there is a rise in carbon emissions. In the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) newsletter of November 2011, the section of the insurance statistical review of 2010 shows that figures released by the MFSA in respect of insurance companies in Malta show an increase of 45% in total gross premiums written over the period of 2009-2010. The accident and health group of classes recorded an increase in premiums written of 85% over 2009. The motor insurance premia increased by 39% Going back to the 20th century, motor vehicles made their first appearance, but there was no need for insurance in an... ...efore increases the number of claims. The market is developing and it has come to a point where customers can go into price comparison sites such as confused.com or moneysupermarket.com and by simply typing in a query, the consumer is presented with a variety of insurance prices from which they can acquire their insurance at competitive rates. Works Cited http://www.esurance.com/insurance-resources/senior-car-insurance-myth http://www.streetdirectory.com/etoday/negative-effect-of-globalization-pcecwf.html http://www.carinsurancehub.com/car-insurance-and-credit-crunch.php http://www.talkonce.co.uk/the-history-of-motor-insurance/ http://www.autoinsurancequote.com/articles/customization-adding-tweaks-to-your-vehicle-may-affect-your-auto-insurance.html http://www.carinsurancecomparison.com/will-customizing-my-car-affect-my-car-insurance-rates/

Authentic Literacy Activities for Developing Comprehension and Writing

Sheryl Jones Reading Accountability Assignment 1 Duke, N. , & Purcell-Gates, V. , & Hall, L. , & Tower, C. , (2007). Authentic literacy activities for developing comprehension and writing. Reading Teacher. 60(4) 344-355. Summary This article discusses the use of authentic literacy activities for developing comprehension and writing. Duke & Gates define authentic literacy activities in the classroom as those that replicate or reflect reading and writing activities that occur in the lives of people outside of a learning-to-read-and write context and purpose (346).The article describes a two-year study that involved 26-second grade and third grade teachers and their students from school districts serving families of low and middle socioeconomic status. The purpose of the study was to develop students’ ability to understand and write informational and procedural text. The study found that teachers who included authentic literacy activities more of the time had students who showed higher growth in both comprehension and writing.Critique This article provides teachers with evidence from research that states that more authentic literacy activities are related to greater growth in the ability to read and write new genres. The article offers an operational definition of authentic literacy that helps teachers create authentic literacy activities across the curriculum. Also provided are ideas and strategies collected from teachers for teachers to bring authentic reading and writing into the classroom.To assist teachers in creating authentic learning opportunities for students there is an authenticity rating sheet provided that uses a 3-point scale to rate the degree to which the reason of an informational text being written or read in the classroom reflect the actual purpose of an informational text. One of the greatest contributions is the various easy to do lessons provided for authentic reading and writing created to implement authentic activities in the classro om.The article falls short in that it doesn’t provide samples of students work to show how successful authentic activities were in increasing students comprehension and writing skills. Students voices, opinions were not heard. Were they stressed out about the activities? Were they excited about doing the activities? Did they prefer this type of activity? Though the article mentioned the teacher’s thoughts on student’s performance it did not list the students. I still don’t know if students felt these learning experiences increased their comprehension and writing skills.The authors could provide examples of students work and also provide statements from the students and teachers involved in the study. This will be evidence that the research even occurred. Also the authors could provide some sort of chart with a comparison of students writing and reading comprehension skills before and after they entered the study. This will provide documented evidence that authentic activities build comprehension and writing skills. Research Pedagogical ImplicationsThis article helps me to think about the importance of providing opportunities for students to experience authenticity in their learning experiences. After reading this article I am convinced that there is a need for more research to be done on young children that provides teachers with more information about authentic reading and writing opportunities in the classroom. Research in the field is mostly done with adults leaving teachers with information that may not be accurate for a younger audience. A great idea I will incorporate into my work is getting colleagues to request artifacts produced by my students.This will make their learning experience highly authentic in that they will be producing text that will be used outside of the classroom and may help in others learning. For example one of the third grade teachers asked a colleague to come to her class and ask her students to create i nformational texts about animals that live in the rain forest for her first grade students. This experience provides my students and her students an opportunity to learn. The strategies provided in this article for authentic activities in science I will use across the curriculum.For example I can have a teacher ask my students to create Haiku poems for her to use to help her students with poetry. Maybe have the gym teacher ask students to create a nutrition pyramid to help her teach health education. In my research report I will provide evidence of children’s growth by showing their progress on before and after charts. I will provide samples of children’s work as evidence that the lessons and strategies provided really work to improve students writing. It would be important for me to know if students themselves felt they were motivated by the lesson. Also did students feel they learned from the activity.

Romeo and Juliet, Last Scene

Romeo and Juliet is one of William Shakespeare’s most well known plays and loved by many. It is a tragedy, where two feuding family’s conflict is reconciled with the loss of their children, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, the â€Å"two star crossed lovers† that take their lives. In this essay I will analyze the given passage in Act 5 Scene 3 (143) relating my discussion to the play as a whole. In the given passage, Juliet awakens from her drug induced ‘death† and finds Romeo dead along with Paris.Juliet cannot leave the tomb or even live without Romeo and decides to take her own life with his dagger. This does not come as a surprise to the viewer as they were told at the beginning of the play that â€Å"A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Doth with their death bury their parents' strife. † (1:1 3) Shakespeare not only tells the viewer right from the beginning that the lovers will die but he a lso demonstrates that fate is against them. In Act 5 Scene 5 Juliet foresees Romeo’s death in a vision, adding to the drama.She says â€Å"†¦Methinks I see thee, now thou art below, As one dead in the bottom of a tomb: Either my eyesight fails, or thou looe'st pale. † (3:5 109) Romeo replies that she too looks pale; furthermore saying that â€Å"Dry sorrow drinks [their] blood† (3:5 109). He even dreams of his own fate, â€Å"I dreamt my lady came and found me dead† (5:1 132. ) This dream of Romeo’s seals his fate and forewarns him of his death which is depicted in the given passage Act 5 Scene 3 (143). Lady Capulet also unknowingly condemns Juliet to her death.When Juliet refuses to marry Paris, Lady Capulet says â€Å"I wish the fool were married to her grave† (3:5 112). She even ironically foretells how Romeo will die when she tells Juliet that she will find someone to â€Å"give him such an unaccustomed dram That he shall soon keep Tybalt company† (3:5 110) seeking revenge for Tybalt’s death. Even Juliet brings upon the image of her own death and of Romeos on separate occasions. When she finds out she has to marry Paris she asks her mother to â€Å"Delay this marriage for a month, a week; or, if you do not, make the bridal bed In that dim monument where Tybalt ies† (3:5 114). Upon finding out about her arranged marriage to Paris, and knowing that she is already married to Romeo, she says to the nurse â€Å"My husband is on earth, my faith in heaven. How shall that faith return again to earth, Unless that husband send it to me from heaven B +y leaving earth? † (3:5 114) As seen in the examples above, the images of death and marriage often intertwine emphasizing Romeo and Juliet’s fate which was foretold and wished upon. There was one person, however, who tried to alter it- Friar Laurence.He marries Romeo and Juliet hoping that their marriage would end the feud between the fami lies. He says, â€Å"In one respect I'll thy assistant be-; For this alliance may so happy prove To turn your household's rancour to pure love. † (2:4 63) This shows the viewer that he is good intentioned yet naive and can not foresee the consequences of this clandestine marriage. In the given extract the Friar only recognizes the consequences of his plans and unexpected outcome when he finds Romeo and Paris dead.When Juliet awakens he offers to take her to the nunnery and then flees as he hears noises abandoning Juliet as he does not want to be associated with their death. Many Christians believe that the Friar tries to play God and even believe that Juliet’s death is made to resemble Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus died for the sins of humankind and Juliet dies for the sins of the two feuding families. Furthermore, gradesaver. com mentions another biblical reference, when Benvolio attempts to halt the fight in the first scene, he remarks, â€Å"†¦pu t up your swords; you know not what you do† (1. . 8). This same phrase is used by Jesus when he stops his apostles from fighting the Roman guards during his arrest. Shakespeare also contradicts these religious elements with erotic elements. To commit suicide, Romeo drinks the poison from a chalice which by its rounded shape symbolizes a woman’s torso. In turn Juliet kills herself with Romeo’s â€Å"happy dagger†, a phallic symbol. In conclusion, Romeo and Juliet die as a result of the poisonous feud between their families. With their death Shakespeare resolves the major conflict of the play as the families choose to reconcile.Fate and time is against the lovers. Romeo never receives the letter sent to him by Friar Lawrence informing him of the plans, Juliet awakes just after Romeo commits suicide and the families reconcile only after their death. Even though the audience knows right from the beginning that the lovers will die and are constantly reminded th roughout the play, they can’t help but feel heartbroken. There is however a glimmer of hope, as the night has always brought Romeo and Juliet together and on this tragic night the lovers will reunite in death, defying the stars.

Commercialization of Education Essay

Bacteria, Virus, and Parasites — Years ago, waterborne diseases accounted for millions of deaths. Even today in underdeveloped countries, an estimated 25,000 people will die daily from waterborne disease. Effects of waterborne microorganisms can be immediate and devastating. Therefore, microorganisms are the first and most important consideration in making water acceptable for human consumption. Generally speaking, modern municipal supplies are relatively free from harmful organisms because of routine disinfection with chlorine or chloramines and frequent sampling. This does not mean municipal water is free of all bacteria. Those of us with private wells and small rural water systems have reason to be more concerned about the possibility of microorganism contamination from septic tanks, animal wastes, and other problems. There is a little community in California, where 4,000,000 gallons of urine hits the ground daily from dairy cows! Authorities say that at least 4000 cases of waterborne diseases are reported every year in the U.S. They also estimate that much of the temporary ills and everyday gastrointestinal disorders that go routinely unreported can be attributed to organisms found in our water supplies. INORGANIC IMPURITIES: Dirt and Sediment or Turbidity — Most waters contain some suspended particles which may consist of fine sand, clay, soil, and precipitated salts. Turbidity is unpleasant to look at, can be a source of food and lodging for bacteria, and can interfere with effective disinfection. Total Dissolved Solids — These substances are dissolved rock and other compounds from the earth. The entire list of them could fill this page. The presence and amount of total dissolved solids in water represents a point of controversy among those who promote water treatment products. Here are some facts about the consequences of higher levels of TDS in water: 1. High TDS results in undesirable taste which could be salty, bitter, or metallic. 2. High TDS water is less thirst quenching. 3. Some of the individual mineral salts that make up TDS pose a variety of health hazards. The most problematic are Nitrates, Sodium, Sulphates, Barium, Copper, and Fluoride. 4. The EPA Secondary Regulations advise a maximum level of 500mg/litter (500 parts per million-ppm) for TDS. Numerous water supplies exceed this level. When TDS levels exceed 1000mg/L it is generally considered unfit for human consumption. 5. High TDS interferes with the taste of foods and beverages, and makes them less desirable to consume. 6. High TDS make ice cubes cloudy, softer, and faster melting. 7. Minerals exist in water mostly as INORGANIC salts. In contrast, minerals having passed through a living system are known as ORGANIC minerals. They are combined with proteins and sugars. According to many nutritionists minerals are much easier to assimilate when they come from foods. Can you imagine going out to your garden for a cup of dirt to eat rather than a nice carrot; or drinking a whole bathtub of water for LESS calcium than that in an 8 ounce glass of milk? 8. Water with higher TDS is considered by some health advocates to have a poorer cleansing effect in the body than water with a low level of TDS. This is because water with low dissolved solids has a greater capacity of absorption than water with higher solids. Toxic Metals or Heavy Metals — Among the greatest threats to health are the presence of high levels of toxic metals in drinking water – Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, Mercury, and Silver. Maximum limits for each are established by the EPA Primary Drinking Water Regulations. Other metals such as Chromium and Selenium, while essential trace elements in our diets, have limits imposed upon them when in water because the form in which they exist may pose a health hazard. Toxic metals are associated with nerve damage, birth defects, mental retardation, certain cancers, and increased susceptibility to disease. Asbestos — Asbestos exists as microscopic suspended mineral fibres in water. Its primary source is asbestos-cement pipe which was commonly used after World War II for city water supplies. It has been estimated that some 200,000 miles of this pipe is presently in use to transport our drinking water. Because these pipes are wearing, the deadly substance of asbestos is showing up with increasing frequency in drinking water. It has been linked with gastrointestinal cancer. Radioactivity — Even though trace amounts of radioactive elements can be found in almost all drinking water, levels that pose serious health hazards are fairly rare–for now. Radioactive wastes leach from mining operations into groundwater supplies. The greatest threat is posed by nuclear accidents, nuclear processing plants, and radioactive waste disposal sites. As containers containing these wastes deteriorate with time, the risk of contaminating our aquifers’ grows into a toxic time bomb. ORGANIC IMPURITIES: Tastes and Odours — If your water has a disagreeable taste or odour, chances are it is due to one or more of many organic substances ranging from decaying vegetation to algae; hydrocarbons to phenols. It could also be TDS and a host of other items. Pesticides and Herbicides — The increasing use of pesticides and herbicides in agriculture shows up in the water we drink. Rain and irrigation carry these deadly chemicals down into the groundwater as well as into surface waters — There are more than 100,000,000 people in the US who depend upon groundwater for sources whole or in part of their drinking water. As our reliance upon groundwater is escalating, so is its contamination. Our own household use of herbicide and pesticide substances also contributes to actual contamination. These chemicals can cause circulatory, respiratory and nerve disorders. Toxic Organic Chemicals — The most pressing and widespread water contamination problem is a result of the organi c chemicals created by industry. The American Chemical Society lists 4,039,907 distinct chemical compounds as of late 1977! This list only is comprised of chemicals reported since 1965. The list can grow by some 6,000 chemicals per week! 70,000 chemicals may still be in production in the US. As of December, 1978, 50 chemicals were being produced in greater quantities than 1,300,000,000 pounds per year in the US. 115,000 establishments are involved in the production and distribution of chemicals, with the business being worth $113,000,000,000 per year. According to the EPA, there are 77,000,000,000 pounds of hazardous waste being generated each year in the US. 90 percent of this is not disposed of properly. This would equal 19,192 pounds of hazardous waste disposed each year on every square mile of land and water surface in the US including Alaska and Hawaii!! There are 181,000 manmade lagoons at industrial and municipal sites in the US. At least 75 percent of these are unlined. Even the lined ones will leak according to the EPA. Some of these are within 1 mile of wells or water supplies. There is still a lack of information on the location of these sites, their condition, and containments. THIS IS A HORROR STORY OF THE MILLENNIUM. Chemicals end up in our drinking water from hundreds of different sources. There are hundreds of publications each year highlighting this problem. The effects of chronic long term exposure to these toxic organics, even in minute amounts, are extremely difficult to detect. Contaminated drinking water may look and taste perfectly normal. The users’ symptoms might include recurring headache, rash, or fatigue – all of which are hard to diagnose as being water related. The more serious consequences of drinking tainted water are higher cancer rates, birth defects, growth abnormalities, infertility, and nerve and organ damage. Some of these disorders may go unnoticed for decades!! Just how toxic these chemicals are may be illustrated by looking at two examples: TCE is a widely used chemical which routinely shows up in water supplies. Just two glassfuls of TCE can contaminate 27,000,000 gallons of drinking water! One pound of the pesticide, Endrin can contaminate 5,000,000,000 gallons of water. Chlorine — Trihalomethanes (THM’s) are formed when chlorine, used to disinfect water supplies, interacts with natural organic materials (e.g. by-products of decayed vegetation, algae, etc.). This creates toxic organic chemicals such as chloroform, and Bromodichloromethane. A further word about chlorine: Scientists at Colombia University found that women who drank chlorinated water ran a 44% greater risk of dying of cancer of the gastrointestinal or urinary tract than did women who drank non-chlorinated water! Chlorinated water has also been linked to high blood pressure and anaemia. Anaemia is caused by the deleterious effect of chlorine on red blood cells.

Media Representatin of Women in Sport

Major Essay Current society is built upon stereotypes and constructions that are predetermined by previous generations’ views. One of the most recognised historical constructions is the patriarchal theory, that the female is subservient to the male. However, this construction of gender power is slowly equalising, with the rise of feminist groups in the latter part of the 20th century giving reason for this occurring. Nevertheless, gender battles are still occurring, particularly in the sporting industry, which remains male dominated. Female sport has been given much notoriety over their uproar in the past decade, but is finding in a male controlled industry it is difficult for women to receive help from governing bodies. Female sport is marginalised compared to male sport, largely due to the sexualisation of the athletes themselves. Professionally they are receiving very little media coverage in comparison to males and in an amateur sense; females are being stereotyped as a result of the images of ‘athletic’ sexualised women displayed in magazines such as Zoo, Sports Illustrated and Alpha. The media has evolved female sport into sexually appealing entertainment and doesn’t give the sports that have not been sexualised, enough coverage. (Maria Sharapova Bikini) The media have constructed their own image of what a female athlete ultimately looks like by posting images in their magazines, â€Å"characteristics favoured in visual media are those commonly associated with feminine beauty, such as smiling, unblemished skin, slender and toned physique, and long blonde hair† (Schell n. d. ). Maria Sharapova pictured below is the perfect example, and even though she isn’t the number one female tennis player and hasn’t been for some time, she is still one of the most popular and most followed players in the women’s circuit, she was the highest paid female athlete in the world come 2006, earning more from endorsements than prize money (Carr 2006). We see in Australia the sexualisation of sports like Netball, where women in the ANZ Championship wear skin tight, short dresses to play, making it appealing to male audiences. We often see at the Australian Open, similar length dresses or skirts that leave little to the imagination. Venus Williams sent the media into frenzy in 2010 with her skin colour underwear visible as soon as she moved around the court, to which she designed herself (Eurosport 2010). Tennis uniforms are becoming a fashion statement more and more every year, which is always judged by the media when someone wears something even slightly risky or sexy. Anna Kournikova was the pioneer in making tennis ‘sexy’ with her risque photographs in the magazine Sports Illustrated (Cover pictured below). Former tennis player and feminist rights activist Billie Jean King gave a response to the Anna Kournikova Sport illustrated photographs with this, â€Å"It doesn't bother me at all if some of the guys come out to watch women's tennis because they want to see a beautiful woman. Who could hold that against Anna? Still, it's unfortunate when others with a high skill factor don't win the endorsements. Sure, the good-looking guys get more endorsements, but the difference in men's sports is that the ugly ones get their share, too. †(Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles 2000) In America, ‘sexploitation’ is taken to another level at a professional level, particularly in the sports of wrestling and in the gridiron league Lingerie Football League. In these competitions, females wear very little, going down to the bare minimum. Pictured below is an image of the Lingerie Football League, clearly the uniforms (Lingerie Football League 2009)(Anna Kournikova 2000) leave little to be desired, but are used to entertain to a male dominated audience. These sports are both considered to be female sports in their own right, but we also see the sexualisation of women in male sports, particularly in professional sides in the form of cheerleaders. Cheerleaders provide entertainment during the sporting breaks, which we often see during breaks in male sports, providing a view of females in general as sexual objects and inferior to the male ‘athletes’. So from our perspective it is clear that the media has constructed a view that the amateur female athlete must be ‘sexy’ in order to be able to succeed, we don’t read in magazines or see photographs of less attractive female athletes, they have excluded them for what in their mind is good reason, sex sells. However it is creating an unrealistic image of the perfect female athlete, they are not judged by how good they are at hitting, catching, shooting, running or jumping, but by how much they can get paid for taking their clothes off. (Caple, Greenwood Lumby 2010) Another cause for concern over female sport is that professionally they are not getting anywhere near enough media coverage and money as their male counterparts. The media cover male sport in far more depth; in fact a study in 2006 by South Australian Premier’s Council for Women found just 4. per cent of coverage was about female sport () and on Foxtel approximately 10 per cent was about female sport (Senate Standing Committees on Environment, Communications and the Arts 2006). The chart below shows the volume of news coverage that all the different sports receive, which not surprisingly shows Tennis as being pretty much the main female sport that is being covered, with very little else in comparison to male sport, even horses gain more exposure than females. So while females are being splayed all over the magazines in compromising poses and clothing, they receive very little coverage of them competing within their sports. So even though the â€Å"Australian women’s swimming team at the 2004 Olympic games secured more medals than their male counterparts. The women’s hockey team, the Hockeyroos have frequently dominated international competition, winning Olympic gold and international championships on many occasions. The Australian women’s netball team has won eight of eleven world championships†(Senate Standing Committees on Environment, Communications and the Arts 2006), we still don’t see these teams play, other than at major sporting competitions like the Olympic and Commonwealth games. The lack of exposure can be hurtful to professional female athletes, in an interview with former Australian netball player explains her pain, â€Å"’I went very close to an emotional breakdown’ Ellis said, describing a time when she was struggling to combine her work as a solicitor, a marriage and the daily demands of club training and competing for Australia. (Magnay 2006) So while professional male sportsman have sport as their only profession earning a large salary in doing so, most women who compete at the top levels of their sports don’t actually receive any payment for their services, or if they do, they definitely couldn’t live of it, so majority of them have normal day jobs, which in itself would be stressful, but in conjunction with family, training and games, they must lead extremely demanding lives, which hardly seems reasonable. The inability of female sport to be fully professional and given similar or equal coverage in the media leaves the representation of women very much being subservient in a male dominated industry. The representation of the ultimate female ‘athlete’ projected as a result of the sexualisation that has occurred in higher level sport today has created a flow on effect into the amateur level of sport. Solmon et al. (2003) found that college-aged women who perceive a sport as gender-neutral are more confident about participating than are women who identify a sport as masculine. †(Hardin and Greer 2009, 207) Which is a direct result from media exposure, they see sports on television almost every day; recognize that it is a male sport as the athletes are male and then deem it too masculine to try. There is also the issue of sexuality discrimination when a female becomes involved with sport; because we see the masculine sports on television, any participation in such by a female has become deemed as homosexual, constructed by our culture and media, â€Å"so when a female is called a ‘dyke’ or ‘lesbian’ in a derogatory manner, she may alter her actions and dress to be ‘more feminine,’ downplay her athletic talents, or avoid sport altogether†(Schell n. d. ). This has become a common problem with women’s amateur sport, particularly sports that are deemed to be too masculine for women to try such as cricket (Burroughs, Seebohm and Ashburn 1995, 29) and Australian Rules football (Hillier 2006, 18) that there is an automatic stereotype of being homosexual. The social construction that female participants are labelled as homosexual in male dominated sports is a media formed fallacy. The reason why this has occurred is that in past societies, homosexuality was frowned upon and when a female athlete is found to be a lesbian, then the media reveals it to the world, the stereotype builds. This happened to the Australian women’s cricket team in the opposite fashion when â€Å"it was reported that female cricketer, Denise Annetts, had been dropped from the Australian team and had alleged that her sacking was due to her heterosexual preference and marital status. †( Burroughs, Seebohm and Ashburn 1995, 29) This built the reputation than women’s cricket still holds to this day. Nowadays there has been a movement towards helping women’s sport grow more. There have been the new Australian digital television channels which allowed channel Ten to show Netball during the day on their channel ‘One’. ABC still broadcast lawn bowls and women’s Basketball fairly often, and just this year, channel Nine started broadcasting female Twenty20 cricket that was played before the men’s game. So there has been improvement in the coverage regard, however women across the globe are still victims of sexploitation, which is undermining the coverage solution because we are still able to receive the media’s representation of females in sport as marginalised and subservient to a male industry. Until this is solved and females stand up against this, then there is little chance they have in improving their image in the sporting industry. Reference List Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles. 2000. Sportsletter. 12 (1,2): 2009. Quoted in Messner 2002, 100. Anna Kournikova. Image. 2000. http://sportsillustrated. cnn. com/vault/cover/toc/9744/index. htm (accessed May 20, 2011). Australia. Senate Standing Committees on Environment, Communications and the Arts. 2006. About time! Women in sport and recreation in Australia. Volume 1. Canberra: Senate Printing Unit. Burroughs, A. , L. Seebohm, and L. Ashburn. 1995. Sporting Traditions. The Journal of the Australian Society for Sports History 12 (1): 29. Google. www. google. om. au (accessed 21 May 2011). Caple, H. , K, Greenwood and C, Lumby. Image. 2010. http://www. ausport. gov. au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/356209/Towards_a_Level_Playing_Field_LR. pdf (accessed May 20, 2011) Carr, J. 2006. Maria Sharapova has become the sport’s most marketable icon. http://mariasharapova. wetpaint. com/page/Endorsements (accessed May 20, 2011). Eurosport. 2010. Australian Open – Cheeky Venus outfit shocks crowd. http://uk. eurosport. yahoo. com/24012010/58/australian-open-cheeky-venus-outfit-shocks-crowd. html (accessed May 23, 2011). Hardin, M. , J. D. Greer. 2009. The Influence of Gender-Role Socialization, Media Use and Sports Participation on Perceptions of Gender-Appropriate Sports. Journal of Sport Behavior 32 (2): 207. Questia. www. questia. com (accessed 19 May 2011). Hillier, L. 2006. Safe Spaces: The upside of the image problem for same sex attracted young women playing Australian Rules football. International Journal of Football Studies 8 (2): 18. Google. www. google. com. au (accessed 21 May 2011). Lingerie Football League. Image. 2009. http://www. stuff. co. nz/sport/2834471/New-Lingerie-Football-League-under-debate (accessed May 20, 2011). Magnay, J. 2006. Women deserve sporting chance: Ellis. http://www. smh. com. au/news/sport/women-deserve-sporting-chance-ellis/2006/08/02/1154198205721. html (accessed 20 May 2011). Maria Sharapova Bikini. Image. n. d. http://www. dailybum. com/ (accessed May 20, 2011). Messner, M. 2002. Taking the Field: Women, Men and Sports. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Schell, B. n. d. (Dis)Empowering Images? Media Representations of Women in Sport. http://www. womenssportsfoundation. org/Content/Articles/Issues/Media-and-Publicity/D/DisEmpowering-Images–Media-Representations-of-Women-in-Sport. aspx (accessed May 20, 2011). Short Research Essay Reflection What strengths and weaknesses did you identify in your Short Research Essay? My short research essay was not quite as good as what I had hoped, the topic Sexual Abuse in Sport: With a focus on the AFL was too narrow, it was not a smart decision to give myself such a small focus, which basically narrowed myself down to Australian texts only, which wasn’t easy. I did find a fair arrange of resources, but perhaps didn’t utilise them as much, and just relied on my own theory. The need to rely on stereotypes and overuse of emotive language also hampered my essay. How did you use the tutor’s feedback to improve your work for the Major Essay? I firstly acknowledged the fact that my essay used too much emotive language and made it a conscious focus to not try and use it so much, to what effect I am not sure, it is a habit in my writing that needs fixing for the future. I also rewrote my whole essay, broadening the topic to women in sport, which meant I could find an array of sources. I also have cleared up my analysis and hopefully the referencing has improved. All in all I believe that this essay is a far improvement on the short research essay.

Brand Audit South India Bank

Through this study an analysis is made on Branding strategies by South Indian Bank, this refers to the communication that is being sent by South India Bank about its product, services and other such attributes and what is being received by the costumers. Banks are coming up with new strategies to market themselves, gone are the days when Banks were an unattractive lot and one stepped foot in a bank as a last resort for financial assistance. Now new strategies are being used by Banks for retaining their customers as well as acquiring new ones. This is where the importance of Brand Management comes in. PORPORTION OF ADVERTISEMENT (EMPLOYEE ) SPONSORSHIP EVENTS (CUSTOMER ) SPONSORSHIP EVENTS (EMPLOYEE) BILLBOARDS (CUSTOMER) BILLBOARDS (EMPLOYEE) SOCIAL MEDIA (CUSOMER OPINION) SOCIAL MEDIA (EMPLOYEE OPINION) CUSTOMER YEARS IN BANK NUMBER OF TRANSCATION ONLINE BANKING MOBILE BANKING PERSONAL LOANS WELCOME 22 29 29 30 31 31 32 35 36 36 37 37 38 5 1,22 1. 23 1. 24 1. 25 1. 26 1. 27 VALUE EMPLOYEE SIB FIRST PREFERNCE CELEBRATEES INDIVIDUALS TEAM SUCCESS ONLINE BANK MOBILE BANKING DATABASE MANAGEMENT 39 39 40 40 41 42 6 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 7 1. INTRODUCTION Brand: â€Å"A Brand is a complex symbol. It is the intangible sum of a product? s attributes, its name, packaging and price, its history, reputation, and the way it? s advertised. A brand is also defined by consumer? s impression of people who use it, as well as their own experience†- David Ogilvy A brand is a Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one sellers good or service as distinct from those of other sellers. Brands are distinguished and this is protected by trademarks or service mark from authorized agencies. Brands are often expressed in the form of Logos, graphic representations, slogan etc. Good and powerful brands drive success in any competitive markets and help achieve company various difficult feats. Proper branding results in higher sales of not only one product, but on other products associated with that brand. Some people distinguish the psychological aspect, brand associations like thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, experiences, beliefs, attitudes, and so on that become linked to the brand, of a brand from the experiential aspect. Brand Management: Brand management is the application of marketing techniques to a specific product, product line, or brand. It refers to all the strategies that are used for maintaining a particular image of the brand. It involves managing both tangible and intangible characteristic of Brand. In terms of service brands this includes customers? satisfaction, and intangible refers to emotional bonding or connection to the Brand. The success and failure depends on similarity between what is conveyed by the company to what is received by the customers. Branding is based on external experience and internal experience. External experience includes Name, Logo, advertising, Brand Identity and product and services. Internal experience includes Customer relation, brand values, training, quality, staff motivation, technology etc. 1. 1. The Banking Sector The Banking industry plays a dynamic role in the economic development of a country. The growth story of an economy depends on the robustness of its banking industry. Banks act as 8 the store as well as the power house of the country? s wealth. They accept deposits from individuals and corporate and lends to the businesses. They use the deposits collected for productive purposes which help in the capital formation in the country. Today, the Indian Banking System is known the world over for its robustness. The Reserve Bank of India is the central/apex Bank which regulates the functioning of all banks operating within the country. The banking system, largely, comprises of scheduled banks (banks that are listed under the Second Schedule of the RBI Act, 1934). Unscheduled banks form a very small component (function in the form of Local Area Bank). Scheduled banks are further classified into commercial and cooperative banks, with the basic difference in their holding pattern. Cooperative banks are cooperative credit institutions that are registered under the Cooperative Societies Act and work according to the cooperative principles of mutual assistance. Banking with the passing time has gain more importance as human civilization evolved, starting with just a place where to store ones money and for transfer of it. Now banks have developed to different horizons. Indian Banking because of its strict regulation from the Reserve Bank of India has always maintained a world class banking model which was clearly visible in the recession of 2008. A great leap in banking sector in India happened with the revolution in the IT sector which helped in great technological advancements such as online banking, database management, core banking etc. 1. 1. Profile of the Company South Indian Bank Limited (SIB) is a private sector bank headquartered at Thrissur in Kerala, India. The bank was founded in the year 1929. It is headed by Dr VA Joseph, Managing Director CEO of the bank. South Indian Bank has 705 branches spread across more than 26 states and union territories in India. It has set up 683 ATMs all over India. History: One of the earliest banks in South India, â€Å"South Indian Bank came into being during the Swadeshi movement. The establishment of the bank was the fulfilment of the dreams of a group of enterprising men who joined together at Thrissur, a major town (now known as the Cultural Capital of Kerala), in the erstwhile State of Cochin to provide for the people a safe, efficient and service oriented repository of savings of the community on one 9 hand and to free the business community from the clutches of greedy money lenders on the other by providing need based credit at reasonable rates of interest. . 1. 2. Products And Services Personal Banking-Under this bank offers wide range of personal banking products and services such as deposit, saving, loans, internet banking, mobile banking, demat services, credit card, debit card, etc. The bank offers mutual funds products of various funds houses such as ICICI Prudential AMC, Franklin Templeton, TATA Mutual Fund, Sundaram BNP Pariba s, UTI Mutual Funds, Reliance Mutual Funds, HSBC Investments, HDFC Mutual Fund, Fidelity Fund Management, Principal Mutual Funds, Fortis Investments, Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company and DSP BlackRock Mutual Funds. NRI banking- SIB also caters its banking products and services to NRI customers such as deposit, car loans, remittances, investment schemes, insurance are amongst others. Corporate banking- It provides wide range of products and services to corporates. SIB offers working capital finance, project finance, structured finance etc. 1. 2. PURPOSE objective OF THE STUDY †¢The purpose of the study is to analyze the brand value of South Indian Bank stakeholders which include its customers and employees. †¢Through this analysis the weak points in branding strategy will be covered to create a better Brand image of South Indian Bank. Brand Management study is to evaluate whether the South Indian Bank as a brand with its different aspects and qualities stands different from other names. What distinguishing aspects of SIB make it different from others? This includes name, logo, slogan, services, marketing strategies etc. 1. 3. Limitation Of The Study †¢Number of employees covered in the survey is very less because of the difficulty to access them; in the survey employees from only two branches were used. †¢The less number of sample might give a less accurate and imprecise data. 10 Chapter II RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 11 2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY In general, research can be termed as an inquiry in to the nature of, the reason for, and the consequences of any particular set of circumstances. It is the process of finding solution for the problem after a thorough study and analysis of the situational factors. It tries to solve a complex and complicated problem through use of various tools and techniques. These tools and techniques try to bring out a logical, accurate and scientific solution to the problem. Research methodology is simply a plan of action for a research which explains in detail how data is to be collected, analyses and interpreted. . 1. Research Design Research design is the basic framework, which provides guidelines for the research process. It is a map or blue print according to which the research is to be concluded. Research design ensures that the study will be relevant to the problem and employs economical procedure. The type of research design used in this study is Descriptive Research. Descriptive research is concerned with the research studies with a focus on the portrayal of the characteristics of a group of individuals or a situation. It includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds of analysis. The main objective of this descriptive study is to gather knowledge and to find the state of affairs, as it exists at present. 2. 1. 1. Research Instrument A descriptive questionnaire was used to question the awareness, preferences and thoughts of the customers and employees about the Corporate Branding Strategy of South Indian Bank in. The data used in this study is both primary and secondary. 2. 2. Data Collection ? Primary data has been collected through questionnaires prepared for the stakeholders of South Indian Bank, in this case both customers and employees. Secondary data collection includes proprietary databases and search engines. These sources include company websites and reports, books, trade journals, magazines, white papers, Industry Portals, government sources. 12 2. 3. Sampling All the items under consideration on any field of inquiry constitute a „universe? or population?. Sampling is the process of selecting a sufficient number of elements from the population so that a study of sample and on understanding of its properties or characteristics would make it possible for us to generalize such properties or characteristics to the population elements. 2. . 1. Sampling Technique There are various types of sampling techniques classified under probability and nonprobability. In this research, we used convenience sampling which is a deliberate or nonprobability sampling. i. e. , when population elements are selected for inclusion on the ease of access, it can be called convenience sampling. 2. 3. 2. Sample Size The sample size is that of 58 with customers and 15 with employees, making a total sample size of 73. 2. 4. Area Of The Study Employee data has been collected from two branches of South India Bank in Bangalore, Indira Nagar Branch and Cantonment Branch. For customers both data has been collected from these branches as well from other parts, through the accumulation of an online form. It has been made sure that a particular region is not targeted when it comes to collecting data. 2. 5. Analysis Technique The analysis techniques used in this study are ? Charts representing the spread on various variables 13 CHAPTER III FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATION 14 The result of the study will be explained in the following chapters 3. 1 Marketing strategies by THE Ad agency All the current marketing communications are handled by an independent ad agency Jelitta publicity situated in Thrissur, Kerala. The ad agency was appointed in the year 1994 since then it is exclusively handling all marketing operations except for one year when it was handled by another ad agency FCB Ulka. Through these years the ad agency worked along closely with the SIB management and has contributed towards this brand building effort. The role of agency has included providing 360 degree marketing communication solutions for the bank. Above the line, Below the Line activities, events, PR are all handled by Jelitta. Customer service experience: The whole new approach comes in south Indian bank with its shift to 100 % core (centralized online real-time environment) banking, and banks approach targeting the huge NRI market. The bank needed more visibility and was going to be known as a next generation banker rather than an old generation banker. Technology based products were introduced and the NRI customer base in the Middle East were targeted in large scale. Media mix: Earlier print ads were used more as a medium, but down the years the agency has shifted more towards electronic media and outdoor activities. Now print ads are being more used to communicate the financial achievements, awards accolades, financial notifications like publishing balance sheet other financial results where as electronic media (predominantly TV Radio) is used for visibility, products services communication etc. Outdoor media has also been used simultaneously with the TV campaigns to get more impact and events PR activities are used to create better brand profile. Promotional events: They form the main tool used by SIB for the past several years. One such event was when 80 years of SIB was celebrated by conferring awards to globally acclaimed personalities for their life- time achievement. Dr. K. M. Cherian, the eminent Cardiologist, Mr. Adoor Gopalakrishnan, the film Director, Dr. Verghese Kurien, „the milk man of India? , the music- maestro Padma Bhushan Dr. K. J. Yesudas and Mr. M. A. Yusuff Ali, the prominent NRI. Public Relations: Every result announcement is followed by a press meet in Kochi and interviews one to one interactions are arranged with the press people. Entertainment programmes were organised in every major city in South India for SIB customers. Several 15 CSR activities like sponsoring a whole village in Kerala was done 2 years back. All the product launches are carried out with much fanfare and every new branch inauguration is organised with huge promotional activities. Right from designing a product to its end marketing communication, the agency has an important role in SIB. Ad agency interface: Marketing (Ad evaluation): South Indian bank has used well known personalities such as Mamootty, ZarinaWahab, M. Balamuralikrishnan in their ads with each being well known in their respective fields. The strategy is to use them as a means of reaching different line of customers. While using a brand ambassador it should be considered that the ambassadors suits the image of the bank. A bank which stands for trust and support should keep that in mind 3. 2 Services capes (External Experience) All the physical evidence of South Indian Bank has been evaluated based on the response from customers and employees 3. 3 NAME Bank for South Indians Completely Agree Completely Agree 7% 2% Disagree 23% Undecided 25% Agree 43% Fig 1. 1 Bank for South Indians When asked whether they think that South Indian Bank is a bank for South Indians, a majority of 43% believed it to be so. 16 South Indian Bank was formed in the year 1929 in Thrissur the cultural capital of Kerala, the name derived from being a bank from south India, the name gives the bank a restriction to its idea of spreading its reach all over India. India is a multi-ethnic society being basically categorised into North India and South India. When someone from North India hears of South India Bank the first impression itself goes that it is a bank for south Indians. Here is an evaluation of South Indian Bank brand name based on the standard criteria a brand name should follow. a. Uniqueness: South Indian Bank has a very unique name which easily distinguishes it from other brands b. Pronunciation and Spelling: South Indian Bank has an easily pronounced name which has a short abbreviation of SIB, but this is often confused with the more known SBI, which stands for State Bank of India the oldest commercial bank in Indian subcontinent. South Indian Bank is easily spelled as well because there aren? t any complicated words in it. . Legal Protectability: South Indian Bank has a name which can be legally protected. Having a very unique name to it ensures that other companies cannot take the same name. d. Related to product and service: The name South Indian Bank clearly states that it is involved in banking sector. e. Easily related with: The name South Indian Bank gives it a limitation of being associated as a South Indian Ban 3. 3. 1 Suggestion The b ank should consider in changing its name, the name forms a major constraint for the bank to associate itself with north Indian customers. A proper promotion strategy can be used to convey the change in name and in the long run it will help the bank. 3. 3. 2 Logo It is graphic mark or emblem which is commonly used by enterprises, organisations, and individuals with the purpose of creating public recognition. Logos are either purely graphic or are composed of the name of the organisation and in some cases both. 17 Cant say 4% Logo (Customer Opinion) No 3% Never Noticed 20% Yes 73% Fig 1. 2 Logo When asked about whether the customers like the logo of South Indian Bank, out of the 56 customers, 73 % found the Logo to their liking. South India Bank changed its logo in the year 2007. In the erstwhile logo of the Bank, the unique picture was that of a coconut tree. The fronds of the coconut palm form the basic theme of the new logo. The sharp ends of the fronds are smoothened, thickened and twisted to form a „S? denoting South Indian Bank. Thus the new logo has the continuity from their erstwhile logo. It can also be seen as two hands clinging to a strong pillar in the middle. The pillar is SIB institution; the upper hand represents SIB customers and the lower hand symbolizes SIB staff members. S† also projects a Safe, Solid, Smart, Strong, Secular, Shining, Schooled, Seasoned, Successful and Straightforward Bank. (Source: South Indian Bank website). 3. 3. 3. Evaluation of the logo: Simple: South Indian Bank has a very simple logo with not too many complications, though without reading the details such as what the logo stands for, it is hard to understand the true meaning behind the logo. Effectivenes s: The new logo being adopted only in 2007, need more aggressive marketing for the logo to reach wide coverage. Colour: The new logo is that of cardinal red. Cardinal red forms one of the three primary colours, the important feature of colour red is that it stands out easily from other colours. 18 Cardinal red is often denoted as symbolic of faith an attribute which is very important for a banking institution. Other attributes include that of energy, creativity, warmth and love. 3. 3. 4 Suggestion The Bank should continue with the logo, because of it likability among the customers. Changing the Logo periodically leads to a lot of confusion among the stakeholders. Worldwide companies try to maintain their logo, which is rarely changed except for times of total restructuring. South Indian Bank should maintain and increase the visibility of the logo to such effect that just looking at the logo all aspects and details of South India Bank should be realised. 3. 4 Slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. Slogans vary from the written and the visual to the chanted and the vulgar. Their simple rhetorical nature usually leaves little room for etail, and a chanted slogan may serve more as social expression of unified purpose, than as communication to an intended audience. Your Perfect banking partner 5% Good people to bank with 5% Sales Pure banking and nothing else 4% Experience next generation banking 86% Fig 1. 3 Slogan Awareness When asked about slogan of South Indian Bank along with some well-known slogans of other Banks a clear ma jority of 86% were able to identify SIB slogan. 19 Your perfect banking partner Good people to bank with Pure banking and nothing else Experience next generation banking Fig 1. 4 Slogan Employee Awareness When asked to identify the slogan all the 15 employees were able to mark the correct option. From both the cases it can be seen that the slogan is well recognised among both the customers and the employees. This helps South Indian Bank in brand recognition. The current slogan of South Indian Bank is â€Å"Experience Next Generation Banking† which signifies the bank? s current vision of making the bank technologically advance such that the services are easily accessible for the customers and easily usable by the employees. Through years the slogan has kept on changing. ? ? ? ? ? The South Indian Bank Ltd. In Step With Progress Growing To Serve You Everywhere Your Interest Above Everything Else A Bank For All Seasons Blending Tradition with Technology 3. 4. 1. Suggestions The present slogan is clearly recognised among the customers and the employees, they are able to distinguish the slogan from other. A slogan should clearly reflect the company? s commitment and intentions. The current slogan presents the Bank? s commitment towards embracing and using technological advancement to form next generation banking. . 5 Analysis of SIB’s Brand Ambassadorship Mammootty became the brand ambassador of South Indian Bank in the year 2007. Though several reasons came up for discussion as brand ambassador, the decision to take Mammootty 20 was unanimous. Decision to take Mammootty had obvious reasons. He was very popular among the target audience of SIB. The new logo of SIB was also launched along with his in troduction and the brand ambassador increased the visibility of the brand and clicked well with the NRI sector too. Mamootty an iconic Indian film actor with three national awards and other accolades is a well-known personality all over India, he is widely recognised among the target customers of South Indian Bank. His image is easily able to connect well with both old generation and new generation, he is known as a custodian of technology products and has a clean image regarding his public persona. Brand Ambassador (Customer Opinion) Mohanlal Don’t know 14% Rajnikanth 0% 4% Amitabh Bachan 0% Mamootty 82% Fig 1. Brand Ambassador (Customer) When asked about who the brand ambassador of South Indian Bank is, a clear majority of 82% mentioned Mammootty as the brand ambassador. Brand Ambassador 0% 0% 0% Amitabh Bachan Mohanlal Mammooty Rajnikanth 100% Fig 1. 6 Brand Ambassador (Employee) 21 Completely Disagree 6% Reflects Values Completely Agree 7% Disagree 14% Undecided 18% Agree 55% Fig 1. 7 Rightly reflects the values It was asked whether Mammootty is the right ambassador for South Indian ban k, 55 % agreed to it. This is a clear reflection of the Brand Ambassadors wide recognition. Various such ads with Mammootty have been made in an attempt to create a more personal and emotional bonding between the customers and Bank. 4. 5. 1. Suggestions Here yet again a small constraint comes to any ambitious strategy of spreading bank? s reach to North India, where Mammootty even with his Pan India recognition fails in identifying with a North India customer. Here South Indian Bank can use dual brand ambassador strategy; one such example is in the case of Muthoot Finance where in Kerala Malayalam moviestar Mohanlal is portrayed for the ads, whereas in north India for the same ads Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar is portrayed. Here both are famous in their respective regions thus they can relate more to the target customers. The lagging part of the ads of South Indian Bank has often been the lack of quality ads with few exceptions and the numbers of ads are less compared to other competitors. The telecasting of these ads should be made during primetime when more people are watching television. The best strategy here is that of telecasting the ad when there are more chances for the customers to view the ad. Showing more humorous and exciting ads there are more chances of the ad getting good coverage. 22 3. Advertisements Advertisements (Customer Opinion) Never 0% Always 4% Rarely 21% Sometimes 25% Very often 50% Fig 1. 8 Advertisements (Customer) When asked about how often they see advertisements from South India Bank, 50% of them replied with very often. Very often is a good sign that the companies advertisements are reaching the customers. But the target here should be â€Å"always†, which clearly reflects the effective advertising strategy. Very Dissatisfied 0% Advertisements (Employee Opinion) Dissatisfied 6% Very Satisfied 27% Average 40% Satisfied 27% Fig 1. 9 Advertisements (Employee) 3 When asked about their satisfaction level over the advertisements of South Indian Bank, a majority of 40% found it average while 27% found satisfied and another 27% were very dissatisified. 3. 6. 1. Evaluation of SIB ADS Ad on International ATM ad starring M. Balamuralikrishnan 24 ? ? ? ? ? ? M. Balamuralikrishnan a world renowned classical musician who hails from Andhra Pradesh and a very familiar face in South India. Portrayed as himself, he receives an invite to go to America, where later in the ad he is being given a global ATM card by his son for easy usage in America. The ad has a more personal touch to it with some good background score, along with a good cast of supporting actors. No audio conversation used in the ad Being an 80 year old bank the banks approach during this time period was to show its attachment to traditions. Here again one can see the Bank? s approach of targeting NRI customers. 3. 6. 2 Gold Insurance and Mahila Account AD starring Zarina Wahab ZarinaWahab is an Indian actress and former model is a well-recognised face in India especially in North India, has also represented South Indian Bank in their ads. The idea behind casting her is to reach the north Indian customers. 25 26 ? ? ? In this particular ad she is shown as a housemaker who comes to the market wearing her full array of gold jewellery This causes concern for her friend who is worried about the safety while wearing gold, This is when ZarinaWahab informs her about the gold insurance being provided by South Indian Bank along with benefits of Mahila account in the end a clever mention of junior account by the bank is made. ? ? The ad through one small story line represents three products of South Indian Bank. The language used is Hindi. Here again the ad serves it purpose of informing customers about the services of South Indian Bank. 3. 6. 3 NRI Account Ad: Starring Mammootty Mamootty has acted in many south Indian bank ads with this AD being one noticeable one. 27 28 ? ? ? ? ? ? Shown as South Indian bank manager who gets a call from one of the bank? s NRI customers from Dubai After which Mamootty is shown visiting the customers aging parents Mammootty gives assurance to parents to inform him whenever they need him followed by some scenes of Mamootty? social interactions with the parents In the end the son returns and Mamootty leaves with the message that south Indian bank would always be with its customers The ad is well supported by its cast and the message is clearly shown. One of the better ads from South Indian Bank 29 3. 7 Sponsorship Events Sponsorship Events (Customer Opinion) Never Always 4% 7% Rarely 39% Very often 32% Sometimes 18% Fig 1. 10 Sponsorship Events (Customers) Whe n asked how often customers hear about sponsorship events from South Indian Bank 39% replied with rarely whereas 32% replied with very often. There is not much difference between those who see it rarely and those who see it very often, this is probably because the coverage of a particular sponsorship event is not same in all areas. This is the case where a certain target area is focused upon. Sponsorship Events (Employee Opinion) Very Dissatisfied Very satisfied 0% Dissatisfied 7% 6% Satisfied 20% Average 67% Fig 1. 11 Sponsorship Events (Employee) 30 When asked to respond their satisfaction level about sponsorship events by South Indian Bank, 67% found it average, while 20% were satisfied with it. This shows how communication is well maintained within the organisation, thus employees are aware of the various events being conducted. One aspect where South Indian Bank needs improvement, though South Indian Bank is contributing to sponsorships, with the recent example of Grand Kerala Shopping festival which was yet again a strategy by the bank to target NRI customer market. Sponsorship events loses its purpose if coverage is not enough. But it is clearly not enough more such sponsorship should be given by the Bank. 3. 8. Billboards Billboards (Customer opinion) Always Never 7% 9% Rarely 33% Very often 27% Sometimes 24% Fig 1. 12 Billboards (Customer) When the question of how often the customers see Billboards of South Indian Bank, 33% replied with rarely whereas 27% as very often. Here there is a small difference between rarely and very often, which shows how a certain particular target areas are focused which leads to a certain group witnessing more of it. 31 Very Dissatisfied 0% Billboards (Employees Opinion) Dissatisfied 20% Very satisfied 0% Satisfied 40% Average 40% Fig 1. 13 Billboards (Employee) When asked the same question about the billboards to the employees a majority found it both average and satisfied. Billboards are one of the oldest and still an effective means of marketing. More contribution should be made to placing such billboards in highways and main metro cities this helps in easy coverage of the Brand. 3. 9. Social Media Evaluation Social Media (Customer Opinion) Always 7% Never 10% Very often 22% Rarely 35% Sometimes 26% Fig 1. 14 Social Media (Customer Opinion) 32 When asked about the visibility of South India Bank in various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin etc†¦ 36% responded with rarely whereas 25 % responded with sometimes. No 7% Social Media (Employees Opinion) No Opinion 0% Yes 93% Fig 1. 15 Social Media (Employee Opinion) When asked to the employees if they would like to see South Indian Bank more active in Social Media a clear majority of 93% responded with yes. This shows that the present level of presence in social media is not to the satisfaction of the employees. Social media is growing at a very fast pace with new mediums coming up day by day through which companies can communicate about their products and increase their visibility in this ever competing corporate world. Having a slogan which clearly states the bank? s commitment to embracing technology SIB should make their presence felt in social media. Here an evaluation is made on South Indian Banks involvement or usage of social media, analysis of South Indian bank? s Facebook, twitter, orkut pages, Linkedin is done. Youngsters like to spend most of their time in social media websites and companies can get the attention of these target customers through regular updates about the product and services and thus spreading awareness among the target customers. Facebook page 🙠 Things to remember: Like on a Facebook Page, in an advertisement, or on content off of Facebook, one is making a connection. A story about ones like will appear on one? s Wall (Wall / timeline- shows what all activities one does in Facebook) and may also 33 appear in one? s news feed. One may be displayed on the Page you connected to, in advertisements about that Page, or in social plugins next to the content you like. Facebook Pages you like may post updates to your news feed or send you messages. Your connection to the page may also be shared with apps on the Facebook Platform) source: Facebook. From the company perspective the morelikes leads to more visibility and thus more awareness about the company? s product and services. SEARCH RESULTS: Three for South Indian Bank were found in Facebook. LIKES: The first page shows the details of South Indian Bank, the source being Wikipedia, the page has 1608 likes and 22 talking about the page. UPDATES: The second page was created in March 2012 it is an incomplete page without any cover photo. There are no updates about any kind of services or info in the page. The page has 13 likes and 1 talking about it. BRAND AMBASSADOR – HIGHEST VISIBILITY the third page is he more active one having cover image of brand ambassador Mammootty along with his signature saying â€Å"My Card My Bank†. The profile image is that of South India Bank with its logo. South Indian Bank started the FB page in September 17, 2010. The page has 256 likes and 5 talking about the page. The page has updates about its services including youth plus, pay mate, puregold etc. It also posted links of the bank receiving awards such as best bank in asset quality among all private sector banks in India, the best â€Å"Asian Banking Web Site† award from the Charlton Media Group, â€Å"Best Bank† in the old generation banks? ategory „fe India? s Best Bank Awards? and others. There is also a link to Wikipedia giving details about South Indian Bank. QUERIES AND SUGGESTIONS were found posted in the timeline of the FB page by customers, but without any reply to them from South India Bank. Twitter: (Twitter is an online social networking service and micro blogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, known as tweets. Twitter has an option of following where twitter account holders can follow the company activities. 34 Twitter is a means of reaching out to the target audience. By tweeting (when you post an update) company? s product and services are communicated directly to the customers. If a company wants to launch a new product it can be made aware to the customers and thus valuable feedback can be gained. Promotion of the upcoming events by South India Bank can also be made through twitter. South India Bank has a twitter account but there haven? t been any tweets or updates from the Bank. The twitter page has 7 followers. Competitors such as federal bank and ICICI Bank have a well maintained twitter account with regular tweets and updates about their services. Federal Bank has 849 tweets 49 following and 221 followers, ICICI bank has 8,894 tweets, 3,556 followers, 5,436 followers much higher and active than South Indian Bank. Dated 15-6-2012 Orkut: Orkut some years ago used to be the most popular social media website in India, slowly and gradually it has lost its attractiveness with less and less people joining or maintaining an Orkut account. South India Bank has an Orkut page which has around 896 members, the page has the last update on March 16, 2012. Going through the website I ound that there had been regular updates earlier, with regular interaction with members, and equal amounts of feedback. But with less usage of orkut among members the updates and discussions have diminished. Linkedin:It is a professional social networking website. It is mainly used for professional networking. One purpose of the site is to allow registered users to maintain a list of contact details of people with whom they have some level of relationship, calle d Connections. Users can invite anyone (whether a site user or not) to become a connection. Source: Wikipedia Here companies make their presence felt with regular updates about their employees and their profile. This includes new recruits, interns etc. This gives a very good transparency among the connections, with better profile of the employee leads to goodwill in the community. South Indian Bank? s Linked In page consists of 318 employees and 888 followers (those who are regularly updated about company? s activities) Date; 15-06-2012 Competitors such as Federal Bank have 690 employees and 916 followers, HDFC has 20,376 employees and 31,364 followers, ICICI Bank has 23,040 employees and 40,729 followers. Date; 15-06-2012. 5 Other notable sites where south Indian bank can make its presence felt is google+, BIGADDA, Ibibo. 3. 10. Suggestion As clearly seen from the survey majority of the customers have not seen much activities of South India Bank in social media websites. A bank which has a slogan of â€Å"Experience next generation banking† should keep this in mind as wide usage of internet as a means of providing services is part of next generation banking. In comparison with competitors such as Federal Bank, HDFC bank, ICICI bank who have dedicated teams to contributing into social media websites, South India Bank does not have such presence in this field. It is high time that South India Bank contribute more into Social media, which can help the Bank in targeting youth market in India which has high potential. For the study it has been made sure that the right sample size is chosen. Customer years in the Bank 10 years 20% 14% 5-10 years 27% 1-5 years 39% Fig 1. 16 Customer Years in the Bank Here it can be seen that the majority of the customers that is 39% in the survey have been customers with South Indian Bank between 1 to 5 years and 27% have been customers between 5 to 10 years and thus the right sample to take for the study. 6 Number of transaction with the bank gt; 6 times a week 9% none 12% 3-6 times a week 25% 1-3 times a week 54% Fig 1. 17 Number of transaction with the bank The majority of customers in the survey make 1-3 times a week transaction with the bank. For any brand it? s all about delivery of the promise which is being given out by all the branding strategies. When the company does its marketing communication a com mitment is being made to the customers about the goodness and wellbeing of the product. Very Dissatisfied 4% Dont know about the service 10% Dissatisfied 2% Online Banking Very Satisfied 10% Satisfied 26% Average 48% Fig 1. 18 Online Banking 37 Asked about how satisfied the customers are about Online Banking 50% found it as average, while another 25% found it satisfied. Dont know about the service 13% Very Dissatisfied 0% Dissatisfied 2% Mobile Banking Very Satisfied 8% Satisfied 19% Average 58% Fig 1. 19 Mobile Banking When asked how satisfied the customers are about Mobile banking 58% felt it was average. Dont know about the service Very Dissatisfied 11% 0% Personal Loan Very Satisfied 3% Dissatisfied 4% Average 18% Satisfied 64% Fig 1. 0 Personal Loan When asked how satisfied the customers are about Personal Loan 64% felt it was satisfied. Suggestions One can see that level of satisfaction is average in terms of technological services whereas service such as personal loans is to the satisfaction of the customers. Thus the Bank really should put some more effort in services which are technologically aided. With the bank? s 38 commitment to next gener ation banking, customers expect the same from the bank, if this is not delivered it would lead to a reduction of brand value 3. 10 Internal Experience 3. 10. Customer Relation The relationship between the customer and the company helps in bridging the gap between the two. Better this relationship is the better the chances of the company surviving in the long run. South Indian Bank being in the service sector must really put a lot of effort into maintaining a healthy customer relationship. Never 2% Welcomed Rarely 9% Always 21% Sometimes 23% Very often 45% Fig 1. 21 Welcomed When asked whether the customers felt welcomed in the Bank, a majority of 45 % responded that they felt so very often, whereas another 21% felt so always. This clearly shows the good customer relationship maintained by the employees which makes the customers more welcomed. Customer relationship forms the tangible part of service brands. This shows that South Indian Bank is putting its strategies right when it comes to maintaining a healthy relationship. 3. 10. 2 Staff Motivation Employees form the driving force of any organisation. Any kind of branding of the company starts with the employees, who carry it and reciprocate it in their interaction while providing services. 39 Completely Disagree 0% Values Employee opinion Completely Agree 0% Disagree 20% Undecided 13% Agree 67% Fig. 1. 22 Values Employee Opinion To the question whether South Indian Bank values employee opinion, the employees responded with 67 % agreeing to it whereas 20% disagreeing to it. This shows the bank? s commitment to its employees. South Indian Bank first preference No Opinion 0% No 7% Yes 93% Fig . 1. 23 South Indian Bank first Preference When asked to employees if South Indian Bank is their most preferred bank for employment, a clear majority of 93% responded as yes, this reflects a good working environment and culture in South Indian Bank which makes the employees favour the bank. 40 Completely Disagree 0% Celebrates individual and team success Disagree 0% Completely Agree 20% Undecided 33% Agree 47% Fig. 1. 24 Celebrates Individual and team success A question was asked to the employees on whether South Indian Bank celebrates individual and team success to which 47 % agree with 33% undecided on it and 20 % completely agreeing to it. Here again the Bank? s commitment to its employees is clearly visible. 3. 11Technology Technology is growing at a very fast pace. With the difference between companies often based on how well they use the technology. In terms of bank currently database management forms on of the most important aspect. South India Bank adopted 100% core banking in the year 2007 making service implementation faster. Very Dissatisfied 7% Online Banking Very satisfied 13% Dissatisfied 13% Satisfied 13% Average 54% Fig 1. 25 Online Banking 41 When asked to rank the satisfaction level 54 % of the employees found the services as average. Very Dissatisfied 0% Mobile Banking Very satisfied 14% Dissatisfied 0% Average 13% Satisfied 73% Fig. 1. 26 Mobile Banking When asked about their opinion regarding mobile banking services provided by the Bank a clear majority, 73 % of employees felt satisfied with the services. 42 Dissatisfied 0% Database Mangement Very Dissatisfied 0% Very satisfied 20% Average 53% Satisfied 27% 1. 27 Database Management When asked about their satisfaction level regarding the database management by South Indian Bank, 53% felt it was average whereas 27 % felt that satisfied with it.. 3. 12 Brand Identity Prism Brand Identity Prism: In 1992 Jean-Noel Kapferer developed the Brand Identity Prism, which charts the brand identity along a constructed source and constructed receiver axis, with externalization on the one side and internalization on the other. On the externalization side brand identity consists of physical facet, relationship and reflected consumer. On the internalization side brand identity consists of personality, culture (values) and self-image or â€Å"consumer mentalisation. In this respect Kapferer positions brand personality as one factor within brand identity. Source:Wikipedia. Brand Personality: This refers to association of human personality traits to a brand to achieve differentiation. This can include many human traits such as, trustworthy, conservative, openminded etc†¦ such differentiation is achieved through continuous marketing of the brand, it gets complicated if a common strategy is not used, this may lead to confusion and no solid image of the brand. This includes character and attitude. 43 Brand Culture: Symbolizes the place of the brands origin and what values it stands for. This forms one of the most important part which helps in differentiating between brands. Self Image: Is what the consumer thinks of himself/herself while using the brand. This can be the internal mirror of customer as user of brand. Brand Physique: it forms the basis of the brand. It can be described as the outline of the brand. The physical aspects are included in this. This is what the brand does. Relationship: This stands for the relationship between the customers and the company. This helps in aiding and creating of the culture. Reflection: Is all about the consumer? s perception for what the brand stands for. It stands for customers? view of the brand. Physique Personality Brand Identity Prism Relationship Culture South Indian Bank Reflection Self Image 44 3. 13 Brand Identity Prism for South Indian Bank Physique: Banking Personality: Trustworthy, friendly, conservative Relationship: Trust and welcoming Culture: Importance to human values Reflection: Supportive and open Self Image: Sense of honesty 3. 14 Web Diagram Bank for South Indians Social Media Brand Ambassador 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Online Services External Customer Internal Customer Mobile Banking Most Preferred Bank Advertisements Slogan Billboards Sponsorship Events Here an effort is made to find the difference between what the external customers and internal customers (employees) have opinion about South Indian Bank. This analysis is based on the common question asked to both the customer and the employees. The figures are based on percentage as the sample size of Customers and Employees differ. The weightage is given 45 to the customers? opinion based on which the same response from the employee is compared. The questions asked were based on ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Brand Ambassador Slogan Online banking Mobile Banking Most preferred Bank Advertisements Sponsorship Events Billboards Social Media South Indian Bank a bank for South Indians Here one can see a close similarity for the Brand Ambassador, Slogan, online services, mobile banking, and most preferred bank, this shows that what the opinion of external customers and internal customers does not differ much. There is a significant difference in the opinion when it comes to social media exposure of the Bank, and on the opinion if the Bank is for South Indians. When it comes to experiencing Social media the difference in opinion is wide showing that it is not uniform. Having a Bank which has a clear stereotyping name of South Indian Bank, bank should focus on avoiding on creation of such an image, thus here what the external customers perceive of the bank is different from the internal customers. Here the Bank should focus on bridging the gap in order to avoid any complications. 46 CHAPTER IV FINDING CONCLUSION 47 Conclusions and Suggestions South Indian Bank is clearly headed the right way in many aspects such as customer relationship, employee satisfaction etc. But there are certain areas where the Bank must clearly rethink its strategies. With all the good services that the Bank provides there is a limitation as to how much this acts as a marketing strategy. This may help in retaining the customers but when it comes to attaining new ones, a more aggressive marketing strategy must be adopted. With the presence of more than 80 years in the banking field the Bank has enough experience to be the top bank in the country. A rethinking of the marketing strategies should be considered by the Bank. Some suggestions have been given in this study, such as more presence in social media websites, activeness in internet banking and healthy recruitment from all parts of India to avoid any mark of being called a bank for only South Indians. 48 BIBLIOGRAPHY http://www. southindianbank. com http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Brand http://www. slideshare. net/Sarvajeet/brand-management-process-building-big-brandspresentation http://www. managementstudyguide. com/brand-management. htm