television vs. Reality Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is 8:30 Monday night and the whole family is in the living room watching the Fox network’s primetime hit â€Å"Ally McBeal†. Suddenly, just after the program resumes after a painstakingly long commercial break, you see a man and a woman lying in bed talking to each other after having a night of hot, passionate sex. You look down and see your ten year old son or daughter lying on the floor just staring at the TV, taking it all in. You begin channel surfing, and end up on channel 3, CBS. There is a brand new sitcom being aired called â€Å"Some of My Best Friends†. Almost immediately after you and your family begin viewing this program, two men, both proclaiming to be gay, begin kissing and embracing each other. Upset by all of this â€Å"garbage†, you turn off the TV and decide to try and find something a little more â€Å"educational† to do.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sex. It seems to be everywhere on television today. From sitcoms to reality shows to dramas to soap operas, sex is one of the leading factors in most television programs. A recent study showed that 3 out of 4 primetime programs portray sex in relationships and 68% of all television programs contain sexual content (Cutler, Jacqueline, TVData Features Syndicate March 24,2001). There are exceptions to this, however, with networks occasionally focusing on education and children’s programming, but the mainstream of primetime television programs tends to focus on sex. But how accurate is television’s portrayal of sex in the real world? Does everything turn out like it does on shows such as â€Å"Sex in the City† or â€Å"Temptation Island†? Or are these sexual messages just an obvious ploy to help boost ratings? Recently I have watched several shows I thought would help answer these questions. The programs I have researched are â€Å"Friends †, one of NBC’s highest rated shows, â€Å"Everybody Loves Raymond†, a family sitcom on CBS, and â€Å"Days of Our Lives†, one of NBC’s daytime soap operas. In viewing these shows I hope to compare the key message behind sex and relationships in these programs to real life. I will also compare relationships between love and sex, anger and love, friendship and romantic love, and alternatives to heterosexual relationships.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first television program I researched is the critically acclaimed NBC sitcom, â€Å"Friends†. Upon viewing this show, I fo... ...n an interracial relationship or marriage. This sends the message that people of a certain race or culture should marry someone that is like them. There have been rumors, however, of a new character on â€Å"Friends† that is going to be African-American. If this character does appear, then maybe it will encourage more programs to end endogamy and introduce characters of different race and cultures.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The average teen views nearly 15,000 sexual references, innuendoes, and jokes on television every year, according to â€Å"Electronic Babysitter Overexposes Youth to Sex†, a CNN report by Holly Firfer. If these messages are inaccurate, what kind of messages are teens receiving? In the same article, Firfer gave reasons for sex on television. First, Americans seem to eat it up with a spoon. Second, Hollywood has a lack of real writing talent, so why bother with an â€Å"intelligent† story? This seems to be very true, since every year there are more television shows being produced that primarily focus on sex. When will this sexual addiction cease? There is much more in this world than sex, and television should try to portray real life situations as accurately as possible.

Biography Of U.S. Representative Janice D. Schakowsky :: essays research papers

Biography of U.S. Representative Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL) Jan Schakowsky was elected to represent Illinois’ 9th Congressional District on November 3, 1998, after serving for eight years in the Illinois State Assembly. The 9th Congressional District encompasses city and suburbs, including the North Lakeshore of hicago, Evanston, Skokie, Niles, Morton Grove and several Northwest Side neighborhoods.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A consumer and senior citizen advocate U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky has fought throughout her career for economic and social improved life. She is support of universal health care coverage for all Americans, to investment in public education, and o seniors citizens, working families, and women issues.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Schakowsky is active in the campaign to give 39 million senior citizens and persons with disabilities access to affordable prescription drugs. Schakowsky is also working to ensure that seniors receive quality home, hospice, and nursing home care. In 1969 Schakowsky led the fight that put freshness dates on products sold in the supermarket, Schakowsky carries on that tradition in Congress. She introduced the Financial Consumers’ Bill of Rights Act, a comprehensive bill to put an end to ATM surch ges and exorbitant bank fees, and to deliver real financial privacy protections for consumers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In her first term in office, she was successful in including provisions in major legislation to expand housing opportunities for low-income people and to assist small business owners and farmers. She is an active member of the Congressional Human Right Caucus and is a champion of expanding our nations’ hate crime laws. Following the vicious hate crimes committed against her constituents and others over the 4th of July weekend in 1999, her bill condemning acts of hate was passed by the full House.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She active in protecting children and putting an end to gun violence. In 1999, she organized the first national women’s forum on gun safety in Chicago and is working against the gun lobby to pass sensible gun safety measures that would save lives. Scha wsky also introduced major bills to increase federal assistance for abused women and children and to protect the rights of battered immigrant women. Schakowsky is working to deliver to the people of the 9th Congressional District superior services and a voice in congress when dealing with federal agencies. Representing one of the most diverse districts in the nation, Schakowsky immediately took on t Immigration and Naturalization Service on behalf of her constituents in order to bring to an end the agency’s culture of the â€Å"customer is always wrong. Biography Of U.S. Representative Janice D. Schakowsky :: essays research papers Biography of U.S. Representative Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL) Jan Schakowsky was elected to represent Illinois’ 9th Congressional District on November 3, 1998, after serving for eight years in the Illinois State Assembly. The 9th Congressional District encompasses city and suburbs, including the North Lakeshore of hicago, Evanston, Skokie, Niles, Morton Grove and several Northwest Side neighborhoods.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A consumer and senior citizen advocate U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky has fought throughout her career for economic and social improved life. She is support of universal health care coverage for all Americans, to investment in public education, and o seniors citizens, working families, and women issues.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Schakowsky is active in the campaign to give 39 million senior citizens and persons with disabilities access to affordable prescription drugs. Schakowsky is also working to ensure that seniors receive quality home, hospice, and nursing home care. In 1969 Schakowsky led the fight that put freshness dates on products sold in the supermarket, Schakowsky carries on that tradition in Congress. She introduced the Financial Consumers’ Bill of Rights Act, a comprehensive bill to put an end to ATM surch ges and exorbitant bank fees, and to deliver real financial privacy protections for consumers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In her first term in office, she was successful in including provisions in major legislation to expand housing opportunities for low-income people and to assist small business owners and farmers. She is an active member of the Congressional Human Right Caucus and is a champion of expanding our nations’ hate crime laws. Following the vicious hate crimes committed against her constituents and others over the 4th of July weekend in 1999, her bill condemning acts of hate was passed by the full House.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She active in protecting children and putting an end to gun violence. In 1999, she organized the first national women’s forum on gun safety in Chicago and is working against the gun lobby to pass sensible gun safety measures that would save lives. Scha wsky also introduced major bills to increase federal assistance for abused women and children and to protect the rights of battered immigrant women. Schakowsky is working to deliver to the people of the 9th Congressional District superior services and a voice in congress when dealing with federal agencies. Representing one of the most diverse districts in the nation, Schakowsky immediately took on t Immigration and Naturalization Service on behalf of her constituents in order to bring to an end the agency’s culture of the â€Å"customer is always wrong.

Chinese Food Essay

Chinese food has a long history with more than 5,000 years. Different area has different kind of cooking. Also, different style of cooking has different characteristic. Chinese food covers a lot of the delicious tastes from all over the country. First, Cantonese cuisine is delicious and attractive, which is always my favorite style of dishes. Cantonese cuisine’s characteristic is sweet, original and light. It lays importance on the food’s high freshness. (About) You can see there are many living fish which will be killed and made of a dish when the customer requires. Besides, Cantonese cuisine has many kinds of food, like shumai. Shumai is filled with primarily of pork, black mushroom, green onion and ginger with seasonings of Chinese rice wine. (Wikipedia) It tastes very delicious with a salt and smooth taste. It seems like the word â€Å"mouthfeel† was invented for it. It is the typical and traditional food for Cantonese. Every time I go to Cantonese restaurant, Shumai is the dishes that I will choose automatically. Also, Shumai is always the apotheosis of Cantonese cuisine in my mind. Second, Sichuan cuisine has a long history. Sichuan cuisine has a really long history and it can be dated back to the period of Qin Dynasty. (Wikipedia) Nowadays, Sichuan cuisine has been famous for all over the world. And Sichuan restaurants exist in many areas in the world. Even President Obama also enjoys this kind of delicious food. (Z&Y restaurant) Sichuan cuisine mainly uses soy sauce, vinegar and sauce. Without these relishes, the taste of Sichuan cuisine will degrade. Besides, the style of Sichuan cuisine is fresh and simple. (Wikipedia) For me, Sichuan cuisine is always spicy and stimulating. The dishes are simple, but they can give me a sense of enjoyment and comfort. Sichuan cuisine has a really long history and now is famous all over the world. Third, besides Chinese food’s tasty, it is also good for body constitution. I have ever seen many court play on TV that many emperors would let his cooks to make medicine diet. Also, sometimes my parents will add some traditional Chinese medicine into the soup. Although I don’t have foodie tendencies, I grew up loving this kind of soup. Nowadays, many new dietary therapy cuisines are created, with good taste and effect. By eating medicine diet, I grow up healthily and strongly. In conclusion, Chinese food covers many kinds of delicious food. And it is the wisdom of Chinese people. I am really proud of it. In the future, I believe that Chinese food will go on a new stage and can be appreciated by people all over the world. Reference Wikipedia. (n. d. ). Shumai. Retrieved November 19, 2012, from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Shumai#Serving About. (n. d. ). Cantonese cuisine. Retrieved November 19, 2012 from http://chinesefood. about. com/od/cantonesecuisine/p/profile. htm Z&Y restaurant. (n. d. ). Chef Han. Retrieved November 19, 2012 from http://www. zandyrestaurant. com/en/index. html Wikipedia. (n. d. ). Diet therapy. Retrieved November 19, 2012 from http://zh. wikipedia. org/wiki/%E8%97%A5%E8%86%B3.

Divorce, the Cause and Effect

The divorce rate in America is at an all time high with approximately 41% of the first time marriages and 60% of second marriages ending in a divorce, which I am a statistic of both. Two major causes that lead to a rise of divorce rates is lack of communication and financial problems; the overall effect of a divorce is a person’s general happiness. One of the primary reasons why people cannot stay married is a lack of communication. Communication is a vital element in a marriage couples need to discuss their problems with one another. If a couple does not discuss how they feel, their spouse will never understand what they are feeling. Open communication will allow each other to know the situation he/she does not like, so that maybe they will be more considerate of the others feelings, and will adjust to accommodate the other spouse. We should also listen to what our spouse is trying to tell us; sometimes we hear, but we do not listen. For example, if we find ourselves arguing over the same topic over and over again, that means one of us was not listening. Communication is a vital key to a successful marriage and without communication; the marriage is doom to fail. I can personally attest to this. I have been married three times, the first was a cause other than communication, but the second was defiantly due to the lack of communication and one not being able to accept what the other one was saying. The second cause of divorce is financial problems. Sometimes when there is financial hardships due to the loss of a job, economy, or illness, a spouse will lose control oppose to keeping their composure and supporting a loved one. Just because you spouse got laid off from work does not mean that everything is going to crumble. This is the time a spouse should be supportive of the other spouse in a new job search. If the financial problems are due to over spending and living beyond one’s means, then the two spouses shall sit down and discuss their spending habits and ways to correct the problem. Effects of a divorce can be general happiness. Some people after a divorce can be severely depressed because they feel they have lost everything. People realize the places and things they used to do were as a couple. A person feels isolated and alone at a married friends house, a person especially females no longer feel the financial stability, and security. Some people need a companion all the time; so the loneliness leads to depression and they cannot cope without having someone with them, leading to medication or alcohol to try to overcome the depression. In conclusion, I believe that if a couple communicates with each other and will support one another financially through difficult times they will have a successful marriage. If a person has a successful marriage, then they should be a happier person. The divorce rate would be lower if people would sit down and take the time to realize what they want and what their spouse wants. Before a couple gets married they need to learn to communicate and be financially supportive of each other, then that is when a couple knows that they are ready for marriage.

The Significance of Cultural Differences for Foreign Companies

My essay is about significance of cultural differences for international companies which want to set up a business in China. To do a clearly demonstration, I break it down into 3 parts: First is an example that the culture differences affect international companies in China; Second is the significance of these cultural differences; Third is how the companies would overcome them. For the first part, there will be examples of international companies which set up a business in China. As we know, since China joined the WTO in 2001, many foreign companies were attracted by China’s huge market and lower labour cost. But some of them experienced hard times when they came into Chinese market. The unfamiliar of the cultural difference is a very important factor. From their experience, we can have a direct impression of how the culture differences would trouble for foreign companies in China. Second part is very important. As I choose China as the country. I will try to show some Chinese features, which are the Chinese cultural difference from others. I will to analysis why the cultural differences are significance and what effects they will cause. Real evidence will be given to support my idea. The third part is most critical, because it is not enough for us just know about the problems. We should find out ways to solve them. I will from four parts to demonstration, and try to cover the ways which can both improve the ability of foreign companies to deal with cultural difference in China as possible as I can. Example that the culture differences affect international companies in China: Looking back at past, we can find that China has been the first place of absorbing international capital in all developing countries for nearly 18 years. Since China joined the WTO in 2001, many international companies had been attracted by China’s huge market, lower labour cost, preferable government policies for foreign investors. But in fact, we can easily find some of them had come across a hard Why KFC had a better development than McDonalds? The reason is KFC was more careful to deal with culture difference in China. Before the year 2004, the McDonalds focus their customer group on children, and then parents and young people. Meanwhile, KFC focus on young people, then children and parents. We cannot say McDonalds strategy was wrong, because it brought great successful for it in USA. But it is not suitable in China. A survey made by China Chain Operation Association (CCFA) showed that no matter in the ratio of customers number or the ratio of money consume, the young people account for more than 60%. After 2005, McDonalds push-off its new series called â€Å"I just like it†, and changed their strategy to young people, the situation came better. This is an example of difference of the market positioning caused by the culture difference. [3] The McDonalds’ failure was not only because of this. It also ignored that people in different culture background may have different tastes. The GADLING website (2005) [4] showed that before 2005, while KFC began to create some news kinds of foods which were fit for Chinese people’s tastes, such as the Traditional Peking Chicken Loaf, Tomato and Egg Soup, the McDonalds still insisted on its western taste hamburger. In this period, the McDonalds had to cut half price to attract customers. And there was a thing which had a very bad influence about McDonalds. The Sina website [5] has some details about it. In June, 2005, McDonalds pushed a new advertisement. One scene of this advertisement is a man kneels down to beg the McDonalds lengthen the promotion period. This advertisement caused a very bad effect. Because in China, kneel down is very important and serious thing. Chinese people think kneel down to others is a sign of lost dignity. In some countries, people may regard it just as a funny advertisement. But in China, this kind of advertisement should be avoided. This is the difference of philosophy caused by different culture. It is also which the international company should be careful. The McDonalds’ example shows us how the cultural differences affect international companies in China. Then, in the following part, I will give a more clearly demonstration based on real evidence and shows what are the China’s specificity and why the culture differences is significance for international companies in China. Significance of cultural differences in China Culture is a very widely identity. For a company, we usually consider two main parts: the national culture, and the corporate culture. So when talk about Chinese culture’s influence to international firms, I will include both Chinese national culture and Chinese corporate culture. For Chinese national culture, we need to consider many parts, such as the philosophy. Because of the long history, China has formed very complete and complicated philosophy, which has a great different from western countries. Some traditional ideas are still kept in every Chinese people’s mind. A simple example is the advertisement of McDonalds mentioned above. Kneel down in China could never be a joke or used in an advertisement. Because of the influence of Confucianism, Chinese people in some parts are more conventional than western people. Some things which have a strong sex and violence implication may be forbidden by the government. The Techcn website (2009) [6] has showed that one of the reasons why Google suffer from a failure in China in 2007 is the Chinese most powerful media CCTV made it public that Google can link to some porn websites. It would be a common thing in some countries, but in China, this let Google at the disadvantage. â€Å"Abstract, Characteristics of national cultures have frequently been claimed to influence the selection of entry modes† (Bruce Kogut) [7]. After these years of developing, Chinese market has formed its own potential market culture. It means the sales models which are successful in other countries may not work in China. To take Best Buy for an example, as the world chain electronics giant, the Best Buy didn’t have a satisfactory performance in Chinese market. An report on Netease website (2010) [8] shows that after Best Buy opened the first shop in China in 2006, it only opened 7 shops in the following 4 years. And in the 2009, while the Best Buy had done a good job in global market, which has about 45 billion dollars sales, it didn’t make a profit in Chinese market. One important factor is Best Buy insisted on its traditional model, decorated the shop and hired the sales promotion person by themselves. But in China, these things are always hand to the suppliers. This cause high cost for Best Buy and also caused for discontent of the suppliers. The suppliers in China were not like the ways which Best Buy play down the publicity of product brands, while enhance the publicity of its own brand. If Best Buy can not get the support of Chinese suppliers, its failure is an understandable result. This kind of potential market rules are critical but easily to be ignored. How to overcome cultural differences After discussed the significance of cultural difference, and the bad effects they will make, we should try to find ways to overcome them. To deal with this, I will from 4 parts to analysis. First is the foreign companies should find a suitable management mode. The reason of some foreign companies failed in Chinese market was their management mode didn’t adapt to Chinese market to a large extend. Like Best Buy I had mentioned above, even though its management mode had been proved successful in North America. It didn’t work well in China. In my personal view, the main advantage of foreign companies is their tremendous capital and their foreign background. So when the foreign companies enter Chinese market, they can learn the management mode which Chinese native companies have. Then they can use their advantages to have a foothold in the Chinese market, and continuing complete their management mode based on their improved understanding about Chinese market. Second is the companies should do clearly and comprehensive market research before they come into Chinese market. The researches which are just about the market prospect are not nearly enough. They should investigate other things like Chinese culture, government policies, the operating mode of market. These kinds of research can provide the companies much more clearly understanding about Chinese market. At least they will not make some silly mistakes when they enter Chinese market. Third is about the employ of staff. To employ staff, the companies can give priority to overseas students and the people who had the experience of working in other foreign companies. These kinds of people are more easily to adapt to the different kinds of culture in the companies. Meanwhile, they can deal with things based on Chinese practical situation, which means more efficient in sometimes. And in my opinion, the top level of the company’s Chinese branch should have at least one Chinese people, it is not only because he or she has a deeply understand about China, but his or her personal networking with others can bring some help for the company. It is also kind of Chinese specific culture, networking with others sometimes are as important as own strength. The last one is staff training and internal management [10]. The foreign company should pay attention on the training of staffs. For the Chinese staffs, the training should include the part of training them to adapt the company’s culture and ways to deal with things. For the staffs from the home country, the company should train them about the Chinese culture, at least the part in relation to their professional business. And the internal management should consider about Chinese people’s value view and norms, it should be more humanization and can provide the staffs a more stable life, that’s what most of Chinese people desirous. Conclusion: To summarise, the cultural different is a very important problem which troubles most of foreign companies. For these companies, the incomprehension of Chinese people’s and market’s view about value and norms is one of the factors which limit their development in China. Things like the potential market culture of China; the cultural conflicts inside and outside the company; the different taste and tendency for Chinese people had brought a lot of problems for the foreign companies. That’s why some foreign companies which are very strength didn’t perform well in China. To overcome those problems caused by the cultural difference, the companies should do clearly and comprehensive researches for different parts of China and Chinese culture, and they should not overconfidence about their management mode even they are successful in other countries. Meanwhile, the companies should try to employ the people who are familiar about China. It can help the companies blend in Chinese society and market. The companies should also enhance the training of both Chinese staff and staff from home country. It will reduce the conflict between two cultures in the company. A humanize internal management mode and treatment which can provide staffs more stable life will also be helpful to attract Chinese people and reduce the rate of job-hopping.

Business Environment of Reed Elsevier

Business Environment of Reed Elsevier The following report details the findings of our research carried out on the business environment of Reed Elsevier PLC. We have incorporated strategy analysis tools such as SWOT, Porters 5 Forces Framework and Financial Analysis to aid us in analyzing all the relevant internal and external factors that play important roles in shaping Reed Elsevier’s business environment. 1.1 Introduction Reed Elsevier is a leading provider of professional research information to organizations around the world. It publishes journals, books and databases and manages exhibitions and events. Its well-known titles such as New Scientist and The Lancet – appear both in print and online. Reed Elsevier has a worldwide customer base working in many fields, including science, research and the law, as well as in public and academic libraries and commercial organizations. This includes around 11 million scientists who access information direct from Reed Elsevier’s ScienceDirect database, whi ch is the world’s largest online library of full-text research papers. Reed Elsevier was formed in 1993 when the businesses of the British Publisher Reed International and the Dutch publisher Elsevier NV merged. The company now operates in more than 200 locations worldwide with annual revenues for 2010 being  £6 billon. To enable the business to focus on specific customer needs, the company has five divisions. They are Elsevier, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, LexisNexis Legal & Professional, Reed Exhibitions and Reed Business Information. 1.1.1 Elsevier Elsevier is the world’s leading provider of scientific and medical information and serves scientists, health professionals and students worldwide. It annually produces over 200,000 new research articles in over 1,100 journals every year, with ScienceDirect, its flagship electronic solution accessed by over 11 million users. Elsevier’s contribution to the total revenue of Reed Elsevier for the year 2010 amounts to 3 4% while it is accountable for 46% of the group’s total operating profit as shown in the pie charts below. 1.1.2 LexisNexis Risk Solutions LexisNexis Risk Solutions provides data and analytics to enable its customers to evaluate and manage risks associated with transactions and improve performance. It is also a leading provider of work flow solutions that combine proprietary, public and third party information, analytics and advanced technology. These solutions assist customers in evaluation, predicting and managing risk and improving operational effectiveness, predominantly in the US. Its contribution to total revenue is 15% while it accounts for 23% of the groups operating profit during the last financial year. 1.1.3 LexisNexis Legal & Professional This division is charged with providing content and information solutions for the legal and other corporate markets with a customer base in over 100 countries. LexisNexis Legal & Professional provides resources and services that inform decisions and increase productivity within organizations. For the year ended 31 December 2010, this division contributed 28% towards the group’s revenue while its contribution towards operating profit was 15%. 1.1.4 Reed Exhibitions Reed exhibitions contributed 11% and 10% towards group revenue and operating profit respectively during the year 2010 and was responsible for the staging of over 460 events in 36 countries which brought together over seven million active participants worldwide in 2010. 1.1.5 Reed Business Information Reed Business Information provides business information, online data and marketing solutions. Through industry critical data services, lead generation tools, over 200 community and job sites and more than 200 premier business magazines, Reed Business Information provides valued information to professionals and an effective channel for advertisers. It was responsible for 12% of group revenue in 2010 and 6% of the groups operating profit.

Higher Education and Long-Term Economic Growth Essay

Higher Education and Long-Term Economic Growth - Essay Example As the study highlights  the most vastly acknowledged gains from postsecondary learning are the economic advantages that individual graduates obtain in terms of better lifetime earnings. However, it is simply the individuals who have gone to college who benefit. The greater community also gains. Not only do graduates are increasingly taxed   on their characteristically greater earnings, but they in addition tend to have greater health, depend less upon the government social plans, are less probably to be confined, and are more possibly to engage in civic activities. In reality, each form of benefit amounts to others, creating a flow of privileges from postsecondary learning.   Many researches underestimate the privileges of higher education since they do not integrate the societal privileges, in realty, analyst’s project that the average rate of return projections utilized to calculate the privileges of rising education may capture just three fifths of the full value of learning.  This paper declares that  some of the extensive advantages created by college educated citizens are comparatively effortless to enumerate. Others are more slanted but uniformly or even more essential. Experimental communal privileges incorporate many that are connected to the economic benefits enjoyed by college graduates.  Even inside earning groups, persons with more learning details that they are in tremendous or very good health.  Projections assert that the government plans between $800 and $2, 000 annually less upon social plans.