Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Comparing Dada to Pop Art

In this essay I will compare the Dada and Pop Art movements by depicting the characteristics of each art period, their style and social conditions that may have influenced the creation of each movement. The essay will describe the relationship between the Dada and Pop Art movements. The essay will show their similarities, differences, and the reason why Pop Art did not continue with the Dada tradition although Pop Art also utilized everyday objects as subjects to create art just like the Dada. Lastly, the essay will show how Pop Art is still very much part of today’s art world.Dada or Daism was an informal international art movement, with artists and followers in Europe and North America. The beginnings of this movement coincided with the outbreak of World War I. This artistic and literary movement started in 1916 and ended around 1923. Dada was born out of negative reaction to the World War I and as a way to protest against the conventional middle-class which the artists beli eved were the cause of the war. Dada excluded reason and logic, valuing nonsense, irrationality, irony and humor. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature, poetry, manifestoes, art theory, theatre and graphic design. Art in the traditional sense was all about aesthetics, Dada represented the opposite. Dada’s intention was to offend and shock common sense. (â€Å"Pop art/dada†, 2013)Dada artists developed the collage, photomontage, assemblage and readymade techniques. The collage, which imitated the techniques used during cubism through the pasting of cut pieces of paper items to include items such as transportation tickets, maps, plastic wrappers in order to represent features of life instead of still life. Photomontage – this technique used scissors and glue rather than paintbrushes and paints to express views of modern life from images represented by the media.The assemblage technique – is a three-dimensional variations of a collage; whic h again used everyday objects to produce meaningful or meaningless (relating to the war) pieces of work. Lastly, the â€Å"readymades† – these were everyday objects found or  purchased and declared art by an artist. These objects would sometimes have titles and/or the artist’s signature to provoke deeper thinking on the viewer. During this period there was no predominant medium to Dadaist art. (â€Å"Dada†, 2013)Pop Art (short for Popular Art) emerged in England in the early 1950s and late 1950s in the United States lasting through the early 1970s. Pop Art origins developed for different reasons in Great Britain and the United States. In the United States, it was a response to impersonal, mundane reality, irony and parody. In Britain, the origin of post-World War II also included irony and parody but its main focus was on the images of American popular culture.Pop art was also a form of rebellion against abstract expressionism whose audience was a greed y middle class, according to the artists. Pop Art understood popular culture or so called material culture which was focused on the post-World War II generation who rebelled against the mysterious undertone of the abstract art. Pop artists wanted to express their hopefulness after so much poverty had been experienced during the World War II. (â€Å"Pop art-†, 2013)Pop Art was rooted in urban environment – London and New York. Pop Art used pieces of familiar images like advertising, labels, comic books, ordinary cultural objects, film, and television, to express conceptual formal relationships. In addition, the artist also duplicated common mass production images such as beer bottles, soup cans, comic strips, road sign paintings, collages and sculptures either by incorporating these objects into their paintings, collages and sculptures. Artists usually used very bright colors, and flat images. Pop art is symbolic and realistic. Lastly, Pop Art’s subjects are non- traditional which involves the viewer on the subject unlike the traditional still life motif which engaged the viewer on the formal qualities of the painting ignoring the subject. (â€Å"Pop art-†, 2013)Dada and Pop Art developed in part to oppose the status quo, standing up in opposition to the established elite art of their respective times. Pop Art and the Dadaist thought that the traditional artist was a prop of the elite and the powerful; hence, both movements created art that was anti aesthetic. Pop Art and Dadaism both used everyday objects to create art that was symbolic, realistic, and descriptive. Both movements used what was considered non-traditional motifs. Dadaism and Pop Art used their movement as a means of criticism for their respective times in which they lived. Lastly, Dada and Pop Art movements – to some degree – were influenced by a war. (â€Å"Pop art-† 2013)Pop Art was somewhat an extension of Dadaism. Pop Art also delved into some of the same subjects as Dadaism; however, Pop Art substituted the harsh, sarcastic, and radical impulses of the Dada movement with an appreciation to popular culture. Pop Art artists wanted to express their optimism to a culture born during post-War World II who sought to acquire consumer goods in response to mass media advertising. Pop Art did not critique the consumerists it simply recognized it as a natural fact of the times. (â€Å"Pop art/dada†, 2013)Marcel Duchamp’s, Fountain, 1917 is considered a ‘readymade’ artwork from the Dada movement. The sculpture has become one of the most recognized modernist works from the Dada movement. With the Fountain, Duchamp took an everyday object of life, and changed its useful significance by calling it something else. By giving it a new title and point of view, Duchamp created a new thought for the urinal. Duchamp’s insight that art can be about ideas instead of things, a notion that would ring true with la ter generations of artists. (Pop art/dada, 2013) Andy Warhol’s, Campbell’s Soup Cans, 1962, consisting of 32 canvases each being a painting of a can of soup flavor being offered at the time.There is no clear explanation as to why Warhol  chose to paint the soup cans, his usual reply to interviews as to why he painted the cans – he had soup every day. One of the traits of Pop Art is creating art from popular recognizable object that most everyone could relate to. Just like the Fountain, the concept was more important than the image. The fact that he chose to ‘create’ art by painting the cans correlates to Duchamp’s Fountain by which both artists style was more anti-art; utilizing common objects as subject matter, evoking interest from the viewer on the concept rather than the object. (â€Å"Campbell’s soup cans†, 2013)Pop Art is a direct descendant of Dadaism because it mocks the art world by using everyday motifs as subjects t o create art. The Dadaist originated an irrational way of images to provoke reaction from the public on their work. Pop artists adopted the same visual method but concentrated their interest on popular culture. The Pop Art movement replaced the negative, satirical and radical elements of the Dada movement. The Dadaist concentrated on anti-war politics, rejecting the prevailing standards in art by creating anti-art cultural works. (â€Å"Pop art†, 2013)The dawn of the Pop Art movement in the 50†²s not only impressed the wealthy, it changed the culture. So iconic and profound were the motivations behind this movement that its art is still featured, studied and produced today. It is clear that Pop Art was much more than just a fad, it is still very popular and it is continued to be called a success. It is hard to not identify traits of Pop Art as some of its peculiarities like the dotted image, strong and multiple colors, series of images on one print, famous people faces, and everyday objects continue to be used today. Pop Art can be found in print design on birthday cards, T-shirts, calendars, canvases, poster, and contemporary graphic design. (â€Å"The influence of†, 2010)

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Court Visit Report

Court visit report My first court visit was a civil appeal case under the hierarchy of appellant jurisdiction at the Intermediate court and my second visit was a criminal case under the original of criminal jurisdiction at the district court. Both courts are found in Port Louis, Mauritius. The difference between the two courts is that the appellant jurisdiction was already heard in a lower court whereas the criminal jurisdiction was heard for the first time in the lower court.The atmosphere and the surrounding of the courts were nearly the same as both had magistrate seat and desk, advocate seat and desk, benches, microphones, speakers, air conditioning system, witness box, bright lighting system and smoke detector. The differences between the courts were that in the intermediate court there was a computer and in the district court there was an accused box. In the court of appeal, the magistrate; in a black gown behind his desk on the podium, was facing the people.There was a court u sher in a suit who was passing documents and evidences to the magistrate and a formally dressed person in front the computer who was recording the proceedings. Both lawyers in black gowns sat on the first bench. Just behind their lawyers, formally dressed, sat both claimant and defendant. Both the court of appeal and the district court function in nearly the same way. The only difference is that in the latter the accused had no lawyer to represent him and hence he sat with the audience. A quite friendly atmosphere prevailed in both courts.Their ushers gave me the cases’ histories, details and facts. In the court of appeal, the lawyers were exchanging words with their client and I even got the opportunity to interview the claimant, the defendant and even the lawyers. In the district court I interviewed the accused who was sitting next to me and was rather stressed. In each court, when the magistrate came, the people stood up to show respect and remained silent. In the court of appeal Mrs Bibi Fatima Rughoonauth filed a civil suit against the Commissioner of Police for unlawful arrest.In the preceding civil case, she was accused of molesting a police officer on duty as â€Å"lichien (dog)†. When the proceeding started, the witnesses; all police officers in uniform, were individually called by the court usher so as to maintain confidentiality. Each witness went in the witness box and presented himself. The statement of police was read as evidence for cross examination. During interrogation, the magistrate even had to intervene once as the witness was not responding. During her interrogation of the witness, the defendant’s lawyer refuted the points raised by the plaintiff’s lawyer.After the second witness’s interrogation, the third one came and the plaintiff’s lawyer questioned him in such a persuasive and enforcing way that he cracked under the strain and revealed the truth. Due to time constraint, no verdict was given an d the case was postponed. In the district court, Mr Brado Michel Nicolas was prosecuted for breaching the road traffic act (amendment) 2003. The accused had a car accident and went to the police station to give his statement. He gave an alcohol test which came positive. Mr B. M. Nicolas; casually dressed, came in the accused box upon the court officer’s call.He was asked by the magistrate to remove his hands from his pockets as such act caused disrespect to court. The magistrate asked Mr B. M. Nicolas if he pleaded guilty but the latter requested the magistrate if he could hear his statement given in the police station once again. Then a police officer presented himself in front of the magistrate and read the statement of the witness in the witness box. Then Mr B. M. Nicolas pleaded guilty. The magistrate held the accused to pay a fine of Rs 3,100 (three thousand and one hundred Mauritian rupees).According to me it was a fair trial. Changes which I believe would help in maint aining order in the court and also its dignity are as follows: 1. A normal person, unaware of court functioning, should be briefed as when I was there, due to lack of information a witness went in the accused box and had to be guided to the witness box by the court officer. 2. Equipments in such an important and sensitive place as a court should be working properly since during my visit the microphones and speakers were not working and hence the court proceedings could not be heard properly.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Buying Behavior, Perception in Indian Dth Industry

RESEARCH ON BUYING BEHAVIOR AND PERCEPTION IN INDIAN DIRECT TO HOME (DTH) INDUSTRY ____________________________________________________________ _ TABLE OF CONTENT Page No. Chapter 1 . Executive Summary 2-5 Chapter 2 . Overview of Indian DTH industry 6-24 Chapter3 . Top Players of the industry 25-27 Chapter 4 Introduction to the topic 28-61 Chapter5 ,Findings and Discussions 62-67 Chapter6 .Conclusions and suggestions 68-71 REFERENCES ANNEXURE List of Tables and Figures 4. 1 Pie chart of Number of respondents in different age groups 4. 2 Pie chart of number of males and females respondents 4. Pie chart of number of middle and lower level respondents 4. 4 Pie chart for the number of company’s engagement in csr activities 4. 5 Pie chart of percentage showing are these reports published 4. 6 Pie chart for response to statement formation of safe and healthy work environment 4. 7 Pie chart for response to statement contribution to regional lifestyle 4. 8 Pie chart for response to statement equality of opportunities . 9 Pie chart for response to statement continuity and creation of Regional culture 4. 10 Table and Pie chart for response to statement balance between Work and Personal life 11. Table and Pie chart for response to statement Sustainable corporate culture 4. 12 Table and Pie chart for response to statement resource cycling and Waste Reduction 13. Table and Pie chart for response updated technology 14. Table and Pie chart for response to statement reduction of environmental burden 15. Table and Pie chart for response to statement reduction of green house gases that lead to global warming. 16. Table and Pie chart for response to statement preservation of water resources and water quality 17. Table and Pie chart for response to statement reduction of environmental burden-product and services 18. Table and Pie chart for response to statement compliance 19. Table and Pie chart for response to statement corporate governance 20. Table and Pie chart for response to statement risk management. 21. Table and Pie chart for response to statement education to the society 22. Table and Pie chart for response Competitive Compensation 23. Table and Pie chart for response satisfied working hours 24. Table and Pie chart for response good quality of products 25. Table and Pie chart for response good quality of after sale services 26. Table and Pie chart for response timely delivery of products 27. Table and Pie chart for response compliance with the prescribed security measures 28. Table and Pie chart for response transparency and fairness in purchasing 29. Table and Pie chart for response hearing the opinion of the suppliers 30. Table and Pie chart for response reward for the voluntary improvement of the suppliers 31. Table and Pie chart for response survey on customer satisfaction 32. Table and Pie chart for response recognition of the negative impact of the product on the society 33. Table and Pie chart for response protection of customers information EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Report is on the topic â€Å"RESEARCH ON BUYING BEHAVIOR AND PERCEPTION IN INDIAN DTH INDUSTRY†. The objective of the research is to find the consumer’s behavior and perception in buying the DTH services in the Indian market. This will be done with help of a Questionnaire Survey based on the Consumer’s ‘Black Box’ through the entire decision making process of the consumer, which are as follows: †¢ Problem Recognition †¢ Information Search †¢ Evaluation of Alternatives Purchase Decision †¢ Post – Purchase behavior And also with the help of certain important factors that contributes heavily towards the consumer’s decision of buying a DTH service, in India, like the following: †¢ Celebrity Endorsements †¢ Other’s Influence †¢ Purchase Timing †¢ Purchase Amount †¢ Dealer Choice In short the research is carried -out to know what goes in the consumer’s mind before he finally buys the DTH services in the Indian market and also to know, when , where and how the consumer buys the services of DTH, in the Indian DTH market. Now, before starting with achieving the objective of the research, I have started with firstly explaining the buying behavior of the consumer in general with the help of its definition and then the entire report is based upon the buying behavior of consumers in the DTH industry. Although the report is an industry specific report but still I have briefed a little bit about all the major players in the Indian DTH industry. The following are the players about which a little brief has been done in the report: †¢ TataSky Satellite Television Dish TV †¢ Airtel DTH †¢ Sun Direct †¢ Reliance big TV †¢ Videocon D2H This is followed by the Literature Review on the buying behavior of consumer’s in DTH industry which contain’s the Overview of the Indian DTH industry, Technical aspects of DTH service, Factors that contribute towards the success of DTH services in India, what does the industry people, media, and customers said about this industry. The researc h methodology that has been used is the descriptive type and the data is collected through both the primary and the secondary source. For the primary source a Questionnaire was prepared for the survey to know the consumer’s behavior in buying the DTH services. The survey was conducted on people who are already enjoying the services of the DTH irrespective of age, income, lifestyle, gender etc. The questionnaire revolved around the consumer buying behavior and was designed to know the complete steps of buying behavior of consumers for the DTH industry in India. For the secondary source journals and articles in the magazine, news paper and internet have been used in achieving the objective of the research. The sample size was 150 users of DTH services in Delhi and NCR. All the questions from the questionnaire have been analyzed and findings have been inferred from it with the help of the graphs and the tables, making all the information very easy to read, analyze and infer the key findings from them. This is followed by the complete accumulated findings in bullet points from the research and then the suggestions for the DTH industry as a whole and for the DTH players in industry based on the Objectives of the research and the Findings of the survey & research which could increase the performance and sales for the companies. References that has been used in the entire preparation is also provided along with the questionnaire at the end of the project report. CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR DEFINED Consumer buying behaviour is the study of when, why, how, and where people do or do not buy products It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the buyer decision making process, both individually and in groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioural variables in an attempt to understand people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general. Customer behaviour study is based on consumer buying behavior, with the customer playing the three distinct roles of user, payer and buyer. Relationship marketing is an influential asset for customer behavior analysis as it has a keen interest in the re-discovery of the true meaning of marketing through the re-affirmation of the importance of the customer or buyer. A greater importance is also placed on consumer retention, customer relationship management, personalization, customization and one-to-one marketing. Social functions can be categorized into social choice and welfare functions. Each method for vote counting is assumed as a social function but if Arrow’s possibility theorem is used for a social function, social welfare function is achieved. Some specifications of the social functions are decisiveness, neutrality, anonymity, monotonocity, unanimity, homogeneity and weak and strong Pareto optimality. No social choice function meets these requirements in an ordinal scale simultaneously. The most important characteristic of a social function is identification of the interactive effect of alternatives and creating a logical relation with the ranks. Marketing provides services in order to satisfy customers. With that in mind, the productive system is considered from its beginning at the production level, to the end of the cycle, the consumer. Belch and Belch define consumer behaviour as ‘the process and activities people engage in when searching for, selecting, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and services so as to satisfy their needs and desires'. MAJOR DTH PLAYERS IN INDIA 1. TATA SKY – SATELLITE TELEVISION Incorporated in 2004, Tata Sky is a JV between the TATA Group and STAR. Tata Sky DTH endeavors to offer Indian viewers a world-class television viewing experience through its satellite television service. The TATA Group is one of India's largest and most respected business conglomerates. It comprises 93 operating companies in s even business sectors: information systems and communications, engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals. The TATA Group has operations in more than 40 countries across six continents and its companies export products and services to 140 nations. The Group and its enterprises have been steadfast and distinctive in their adherence to business ethics and their commitment to corporate social responsibility. This is a legacy that has earned the Group the trust of many millions of stakeholders in a measure few business houses anywhere in the world can match. The SKY brand, owned by the UK-based British Sky Broadcasting Group, brings to Tata Sky the reputation of more than 20 years experience of satellite broadcasting. SKY is well known for the innovative products and services launched by BSkyB, such as DTH broadcasting in 1989, digital satellite broadcasting in 1998, interactive television services in 1999 and the SKY+ personal video recorder in 2001. Tata Sky joins an international group of DTH businesses that includes platforms as far apart as the UK and Italy in Europe, and Mexico and Brazil in Latin America. Tata Sky has established an extensive customer service network across the country. It has engaged a field force of approximately 3000 service engineers who are complemented by high-end 24Ãâ€"7 call centres, manned by multi-lingual customer service associates, trained to solve all customer problems. Tata Sky takes direct responsibility for installing and servicing the hardware at every subscriber's home, thereby ensuring the highest levels of customer service. 2. DISH TV DISH TV is a division of Zee Network Enterprise (Essel Group Venture). EGV has national and global presence with business interests in media programming, broadcasting & distribution, speciality packaging and entertainment. Zee Network incorporated dishtv to modernize TV viewing. dishtv is India’s first direct to home (DTH) entertainment service. By digitalizing Indian entertainment, this enterprise brought best television viewing technology to the living room. It not only transmits high quality programmes through satellite; but also gives a complete control of selecting channels and paying for them. To experience the new life breathing in television technology, dishtv extends high quality broadcast and thorough entertainment. It imparts DVD quality picture and stereophonic sound effects to the customers. It promises to change the experience of TV viewing with its uninterrupted transmission service. The endeavour enters next level of entertainment with futuristic features, such as EPG (Electronic Programme Guide), parental lock, games, 400 channels, interactive TV and movie on demand. dishtv also brings exclusive national and international channels for the first time in India. dishtv uses NSS-6 to broadcast its programmes. NSS-6 was launched on 17th December, 2002 by European-based satellite provider, NewSkies (one of the only four fixed satellite communications companies with truly global satellite coverage) ishtv – India's first KU-band DTH entertainment service, hopped on to NSS-6 from an INSAT satellite in July 2004. The change in the satellite was to increase the channel offering as NSS 6 offered more transponder capacity. 3. AIRTEL DTH Direct to Home (DTH) service comes to you from Bharti Telemedia Limited, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Limited. Bharti Airtel Limited is t he flagship company of Bharti Enterprises and is India’s largest integrated and the first private telecom services provider with a footprint in all the 23 telecom circles. As India's leading telecommunications company, the Airtel brand has played the role of a major catalyst in India's reforms, contributing to its economic resurgence. Airtel since its inception has been at the forefront of technology and has steered the course of the telecom sector in the country with its world class products and services. With DVD quality picture and sound, your TV viewing experience will change forever with Airtel digital TV. Now witness the magic of television with best and widest variety of channels and programmes ranging from Sports, Music and General entertainment to best on-demand content on Airtel Live. What's more, you can choose from the best movies of Bollywood and the world, listen to radio, play games, along with a host of other interactive features and change the way you watch television. 4. SUN DIRECT Sun Direct – India's youngest and most exciting state Of the art DTH Company. Sun Direct uses the latest MPEG-4 based technology to increase broadcast capacity. Sun Direct confirms to provide next-generation services in fast-growing and emerging markets quickly and efficiently. Sun Direct will be supported by Irdeto's conditional access solution to manage content and revenues in the satellite broadcasting venture. Sun Direct selected Oracle based on its convergent multi-service capabilities and proven real-time scalability allowing it to consolidate billing operations, enables powerful new service offerings and improves visibility into customer information across services. Sun Direct Pvt Ltd, the leading direct-to-home (DTH) service provider is all set to redefine the television viewing in the country. Sun Direct today created history by launching the first ever High Definition (HD) broadcast on DTH platform in India. Sun Direct: Sun Direct is a 80:20 joint venture between the Maran family and the Astro Group of Malaysia. Sun Direct offers all customer premises equipments like the dish and Set Top box free of cost to the customer, which is a practice followed by DTH platforms across the world. Sun Direct is the first one to adopt the advanced MPEG4 technology offering better compression and signal quality and is the first to offer HD TV (High definition) content. Sun Direct offers all customer premises equipments like the dish and Set Top box free of cost to the customer offering more than 200 channels, with 7 basic packs and 41 add on packs. 5. RELIANCE BIG TV Imagine a satellite TV service that suits you and your family’s interests, passions and busy schedules. Picture all of your favourite channels, shows, and movies at your fingertips —it’s time to step into the BIG world of entertainment. Reliance is excited to present the next landmark of TV entertainment in India. With Reliance BIG TV Digital Service, you can experience spectacular entertainment, blockbuster movies, up-to-the-minute news, and your favourite programs at the click of a button. Transform your home with Reliance BIG TV Digital Service, powered by MPEG – 4 technology for the first time in India. Reliance BIG TV has fantastic features like pure digital viewing experience, more channel choice, many exclusive movie channels, easy programming guide, interactive services, parental control, 24Ãâ€"7 Customer Service and lots more — Ensure a never before viewing experience with unlimited hours of fun and entertainment for your entire family. 6. VIDEOCON d2h It is world’s 1st satellite television, via state of art satellites, which means you no longer have to tolerate all the hassles associated with Cable TV. No more frustrating disconnections right in the middle of an intense game. And whether you’re watching a Hollywood thriller or a Desi blockbuster, Videocon d2h results in a â€Å"The End† to all the unnecessary interruptions. We invite you to experience a world of awesome digital entertainment, crystal clear pictures, ultra sharp sound and state of art technology which uses the revolutionary MPEG -4 with DVB S2. This means you’ll be able to notice the minutest of details on your favorite celebrity. And hear every scream, every sound. Even if it were a faint sigh. We will provide you unique active services, multi lingual user interface, more movie on demand channels, radio channels, cross genre tickers and many more value added services. Our interactive Direct to Home (DTH) Services will be available through Satellite LCD, Satellite TV, Satellite DVD as well as a Satellite Box (STB). We bring you cutting edge technology through our services, which will make your home the most exciting place on earth. The Products i. e. Satellite LCD, Satellite TV, Satellite DVD are owned and marketed by UDCL. The DTH services and Satellite Box are marketed by BBCL subject to terms and conditions of Customer Agreement. OVERVIEW OF THE DTH INDUSTRY Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite television is becoming a buzzword in the satellite broadcast industry due to the fact that DTH offers immense opportunities to both broadcasters and viewers. Thanks to the rapid development of digital technology, DTH broadcast operators worldwide have been able to introduce a large number of new interactive applications in the television market besides a large number of entertainment programmes over a single delivery platform. In addition, since digital technology permits a highly efficient exploitation of the frequency spectrum, the number of TV channels that can be broadcast using digital technology is significantly higher than with analogue technology. The increased number of television channels allows the operator to satisfy the demand of a number of niche markets with dedicated transmissions. In general, DTH service is the one in which a large number of channels are digitally compressed, encrypted and beamed from very high power satellites. The programmes can be directly received at homes. This mode of reception facilitates the use of small receive dish antennas of 60 to 90 cm diameter installed at convenient location in individual buildings without needing elaborate foundation /space etc. Also, DTH transmission eliminates local cable operator completely, since an individual user is directly connected to the service providers. However, a digital receiver is needed to receive the multiplexed signals and view them on a TV. DTH, in sharp contrast to Cable TV, lends itself to easy monitoring,and,control. Transmission in Ku band is most appropriate and widely used for the purpose. As mentioned above, all the encoded transmission signals are digital – thus providing higher resolution picture quality and better audio than traditional analog signals. All the advantages of the digital transmission, as applicable to the terrestrial transmission are relevant in the satellite transmission also. Over the last three years, the direct-to-home (DTH) satellite industry has come on strongly worldwide. It has grown from a niche delivery mechanism into a mainstream business. The spread of subscription-based DTH satellite TV promises to enhance choices for many households in developing countries. With the Government throwing open the DTH sector in the country,a handful of players have come up with grandiose plans to enter the market. Given the stiff level of competition this premium services will face from the existing multi-channel cable network, possible entrants need to clearly grasp a few of the winning rules of the game. A DTH OFFER COMPRISES SIX ELEMENTS : [pic] Content: The movies,news channels,sporting events,and/or general entertainment features that constitute an offer to consumers. Space: Ownership or access to sufficient transponders in the right orbital slot to broadcast an offer to a specific area. Ground: The ability to distribute, install and service dishes and set-top boxes(otherwise known as customer premises equipment, or CPE), combined with access to relevant technology and manufacturing capabilities. Subscriber management: Ability to acquire and deactivate subscribers,bill and collect from them, activate pay-per-view movies and perform customer service. Financing: The provision of credit to customer seeking to buy or lease CPE. Government relation: Ability to navigate government procedures and regulations to obtain permits and so on. So diverse are these requirements,that no existing player in any market will be able to fulfill all of them on its own. This, the industry will be populated by consortia and it is unlikely that more than one or two DTH consortia will be able to achieve break-even. STRATEGIC AND SUCCESS FACTORS : Exploit Bottlenecks: In this market,content and transponder capacity are scarce and controlled by a few players. With content, access to unique local language material is critical. In a market like India,all a DTH player may need to do is repackage existing channels that are not universally available. In sports, some players have won an advantage through long-term rights purchases. Broadcasting rights to cricket in India, for example,belongs to ESPN for the next five years. It also controls the right to football for West Bengal(the most popular league) for ten years. The second obvious bottleneck is in transponder capacity. A modest DTH offering is likely to require a minimum of 10 to 15 transponders-almost a dedicated satellite. The number of satellite that can broadcast to a particular region is limited by physics. Move First: In the DTH industry, a credible and well managed first-mover service has a tremendous advantage over others. In India, a first mover may effectively shut out competition. Exploit Market Niche: In some markets, the segment of consumers who desire highly specific content may be large enough to form the core subscribership of a DTH service. An example of this could be again cricket in our country. Any DTH consortium must decide how it will deal with a number of strategic choices that will determine its success: Build an appropriate content offer: This is the single most crucial choice a DTH company will make. In a remote town with no access to television, for example,even a DTH bouquet of just two channels might seem attractive. Transponder costs are also a factor in an appropriate content offer. It is the bouquet size that determine how many transponders are needed,creating a tradeoff between the cost of transponders and the richness of the offering. Leverage killer content: A subscription service could use its rights more effectively. It might secure the exclusive right to broadcast a sporting event live, even if it is shown on free TV later. Offer superior services: Cable companies are frequently criticized for installation delays, billing errors and surly staff and the nature of cable plant makes signals prone to disruption. Staff and customer service issues relating to CPE installation and maintenance may yield a fine of differentiation above and beyond picture quality. PLACE BETS ON Another strategic choice consortia must make is which markets to make bets in. A few rules of the thumb are: Number of TV households: the number of TV households and its rate of growth determines how easy it will be to break even and how quickly, if at all, a developing market will become attractive. TV advertising and its growth: Ad revenue are also available to a DTH service provider, so the existence of a robust or growing ad market is important. Technical barriers to access TV: Even if DTH offers are likely to be thin on the ground,it is possible for a company to own a piece of the chain that links a service to subscribers. Until recently, Sky had a monopoly on the UK encryption standard, Videocrypt and could effectively dictate the terms of DTH competition, This was because it had a large installed base of set-top boxes using this standard. Ownership of key content: The availability of sports and film rights is a crucial determinant of market attractiveness. In India, such rights are divided among many separate players. In such a case, no rights owner is likely to be strong enough to play kingmaker. Position in a market: The most important asset is arguably an ability to play a unique role in the DTH value chain. This advantage may reside in business that have little or no obvious connection with DTH. A company that has pioneered a business offering credit for consumer durables in a developing country, for instance, might be well placed to supply finance to purchasers of CPE. INDUSTRY SAYS MEDIA AND CUSTOMER SAYS: Despite the global financial meltdown, the future of DTH industry in India has numerous opportunities. A 20 per cent annual growth is being witnessed in the DTH sector and there is still scope for more. Int he current context of the global financial meltdown, the Direct to Home (DTH) industry in India is in the throes of multifarious challenges and opportunities. The ‘big game’ is all about shaping up grandiose plans to master the winning rules to garner as much portion of the Indian DTH pie as possible by a handful of players. Since the DTH space denotes ‘big value’, akin to the space occupied by television [pic] and telephony, inter-firm rivalries have thrown up price wars, discount schemes, procurement of transponders, ambitious targets for improving the subscription base, popular bouquet of channels, set top boxes with superior quality of videos, improving content, etc as a desperate means to entice the Indian viewer. A neat 20 per cent annual growth is being witnessed in the DTH sector in India with over 8. million households having digital pay tv According to Harsh Bijoor, a brand consultant, â€Å"Since Dish TV, the biggest market player on the Indian soil, has not scraped even five per cent of the pie, there is plenty left for other players to eat. † In the early 2008, five major players, Zee’s Dish TV, Tata Sky, Reliance ADAG, Sun Direct and Bharti Telemedia formed an umbrella body – DTH Operators Association of India (DOAI). The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting As sociation of India in its ‘2008 Pay TV Piracy Survey’ have predicted that the Grey TV market of around USD 1. billion will gradually be taken over by the legal DTH industry. Marcel Fenez, chairman CASBAA, said, â€Å"Despite the global sinking of economies, the Asia Pacific market is healthy and the decline in growth will not derail the industry. With 1. 7 million digital cable subscriptions, the digital pay-TV market is finally taking off and this degree of penetration represents a tipping point for our industry in Asia. † Starting with a million strong subscriber base in August 2006, Tata Sky, a DTH joint-venture Company between Star (owned by Rupert Murdoch) and the Tata Group, now has more than 2. million connections and the forecast for 2012 is that it will further increase to eight million. The Indian DTH growth scenario bodes well for the advertising industry as well with over Rs 30-40 crores being earmarked by these companies annually for advertising reve nues. While Tata Sky has roped in Amir Khan and Gul Panag for its promotion, endorses for the Dish TV. MD and CEO of Tata Sky, Vikram Kaushik, recently confirmed in an interview that the company estimates were standing at Rs 40 billion for its final funding requirement as ‘competitive entries’, ‘explosive growth in volume’ and customer acquisition have jacked up the costs. Tata Sky recently launched the NDS-developed XTV personal video recorder (PVR) that enables the customers to watch a particular TV show while recording another. It is being hailed a ‘major introduction’ in the Indian DTH market. Within a few days of its launch 2, 500 PVRs, priced at Rs 8, 999, were sold as claimed by the Tata Sky MD, Kaushik. This places Tata Sky among the top 19 ‘pay-TV operators’ around the world with NDS solutions being a unique introduction to facilitate flexibility of PVR to their subscribers. A deal along similar lines was announced by Bharti Airtel, in the provision of DTH services, dependent on NDS for its conditional access. N Arjun, executive director Bharti Telemedia, expressed enthusiasm about the company’s expansion plans by disclosing that his company looked forward to providing the best of home entertainment services via Airtel digital TV in terms of latest technology and exciting content. â€Å"Since DTH is the future of home entertainment, with the support of our technology partner NDS, we will render superior, state-of-the-art services to our DTH service customers†, he said. Sun Direct, which entered the DTH sector as a discounted brand in opposition to Tata Sky, notched at a 30 per cent premium and supposedly mopped up over a million subscribers within a short time span. Tata Sky, though placed at a launch-premium of Rs 1,000, is open to segmentations. A demand of a tax holiday of five years from the government has been mooted by the DOAI that should incentivise the DTH industry as its market has reportedly surpassed the Japanese one in the last five years. The Indian DTH industry players look forward to a seven times multiplication of its market, about 40 million subscribers by 2015, from a total of 165 million pay TV households. Analysis Since 1959, when Indian television was first launched and the state owned Doordarshan aired just two channels in black and white as recently as 1991; the world of entertainment has made rapid and unusual strides. The turning points were the 1982 Asian Games when colour television was introduced and the 1991 liberalisation and deregulation that ushered in the era of foreign investments and foreign channels that egged the domestic players to jump into the foray. From large metros, satellite TV moved to smaller towns that spurred the sale of TV sets and brought about an upgradation from black and white television viewing to the colour one. With time, more and more changes took place and finally the DTH services arrived. DTH operations in India could be enhanced if the dearth of satellite capacity is removed by increasing the number of available Ku-band transponders that at present is 12 on Insat 4A, which in turn would mean more channels for viewing. Tax burdens on DTH are another area of complaint for operators. Around 40 per cent of revenues are siphoned off to pay taxes and license fee and another 12 per cent for services imposed by the Central government. Apart from this, there are entertainment taxes that differ from state to state. Cable TV operators also give a stiff level of competition to the DTH sector by suppressing their prices artificially by way of under-declarations. This has pressurised the DTH operators to cut their profits to the extent of making them unviable. At present, there are 80 million TV households in India, of which over seven million are DTH ones. Since the penetration is just under nine per cent, there is much room for a massive growth rate†, according to the Bharti Airtel’s head of brand and media, Chandrashekhar Balakrishnan. â€Å"This is what the company is focusing on, to enhance its subscription base to 20 per cent,† he added. Industry analyst Siva Sundaram said that India w ill be the leading power in Asia by 2010 in the field of cable market and by 2015; it will be the most profitable in the area of pay TV market. Interestingly, the rural rich were the first to positively respond to the advent of DTH industry and those in the remote areas with no or unreliable access to the cable services will be tapped in by the DTH players. The ‘Indian Readership Survey 2008 R2’ findings have shown that the Dish TV is the largest player with over 3. 1 million subscribers, followed by DD Direct, Tata Sky and Sun Direct, which has a predominance in the southern zone. The zone wise analysis puts the western zone with 2. 24 million topping he subscriber base charts and the North, South and East following the lead. While the ‘big game’ hots up between the DTH service providers, the regular big Indian couch potatoes may keep surfing the channels and choosing from the burgeoning options. CONCLUSION : A few things are assured in the DTH industry even in the face of paradigm shifts. First, the value of transponders is likely to fall as compression allows more and more content to go through t he same satellite, and as more satellite are launched. Second, as bandwidth explodes, so will demand for content. Obscure sports and the like will become more valuable;conversely, much of the content that is currently valuable will face downward pricing pressure. Niche content providers will emerge. The industry is likely to be characterized first by a period of fragmentation and then by an increasing concentration of global consortia as unprofitable participants fold. What is clearer than ever is that satellite TV is here to stay and will play role in bringing television to mass around the world. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE The objective of the research is to find the consumer’s behavior and perception in buying the DTH services in the Indian market. This will be done with help of a Questionnaire Survey based on the Consumer’s ‘Black Box’ through the entire decision making process of the consumer, which are as follows: †¢ Problem Recognition †¢ Information Search †¢ Evaluation of Alternatives †¢ Purchase Decision †¢ Post – Purchase behavior And also with the help of certain important factors that contributes heavily towards the consumer’s decision of buying a DTH service, in India, like the following: †¢ Celebrity Endorsements †¢ Other’s Influence †¢ Purchase Timing †¢ Purchase Amount †¢ Dealer Choice In short the research is carried -out to know what goes in the consumer’s mind before he finally buys the DTH services in the Indian market and also to know, when , where and how the consumer buys the services of DTH, in the Indian DTH market. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY RESEARCH METHODOLOGY DEFINED Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. In this we study the various steps that are generally adopted by researcher in studying this problem along with the logic behind them. RESEARCH DESIGN The research design selected is of descriptive type. Data is collected through Primary and Secondary sources. PRIMARY SOURCE: A Questionnaire was prepared for the survey to know the consumer’s behavior in buying the DTH services. The survey was conducted on people who are already enjoying the services of the DTH irrespective of age, income, lifestyle, gender etc. SECONDARY SOURCE: Journals and articles in the magazine, news paper and internet have been used in achieving the objective of the research. SAMPLE SIZE: A Sample size of 150 existing users of DTH services was included in the survey through questionnaires (25 each from North Delhi, South Delhi, West Delhi, East Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida). The Sample was selected irrespective of age, gender, lifestyle, income. †¢ TABLE 5. 1 WHAT SERVICES DID YOU USE BEFORE DTH SERVICES ? |Local Channels |142 | |Doordarshan Channels |8 | GRAPH 5. 1 ANALYSIS : From the above pie-chart we can analyze that 95% of people surveyed were using local cable as against 5% who were using Doordarshan channels. INFERENCES: We can infer from the pie-chart that majority of people surveyed were using the services of local cable operators and thus it also reflects that very small segment of people use only Doordarshan channels as a source of entertainment in Delhi & NCR. †¢ TABLE 5. 2 WHAT WERE YOUR PERCEPTIONS OF DTH SERVICES BEFORE YOU USED IT ? |High Initial Cost |42 | |High Monthly Rentals |66 | |Poor Customer Service |22 | |Poor signal |30 | GRAPH 5. 2 [pic] ANALYSIS: From the above given bar diagram we can analyze that 28% of people perceived DTH as it absorbs High initial cost,44% as High monthly cost,15% as Poor customer service & 13% as Poor Signal. INFERENCE: We can now infer that most of the people before using DTH services thought it to have Heavy Monthly Rentals and also as something that had High Initial Cost attached to it . Poor Signal was also an issue that people had thought DTH to be associated with and few people had perceived its Customer Service as poor. TABLE 5. 3 WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO SWITCH TO DTH FROM THE EARLIER SERVICES USED BY YOU ? BECAUSE DTH PROVIDES : |Better Service |45 | |Economical |5 | |Beeter Picture Quality |60 | |Interactive services |40 | GRAPH 5. 3 [pic] ANALYSIS: According to customers, reason for switching to DTH, because DTH provides: 30% believe it as better service, 3% as economical, 40% as better picture quality & 27% coz of interactive services by DTH. INFERENCE: We can infer from above that most of the LCO’s customers left them and switched to DTH because of their problems with poor picture quality and people also ditched LOC’s because of poor services from them and also lack of interactive services which was there in DTH. A very small percentage of people left LOC’s because of prices charged by LOC’s †¢ TABLE 5. 4 WHERE DID YOU SEARCH FOR INFORMATION ON DTH BEFORE BUYING ONE ? |Internet |55 | |Dealers |55 | |Friends |30 | |Newspapers |10 | GRAPH 5. 4 [pic] ANALYSIS: We can analyze from the above given graph that 37% each of people surveyed searched information on DTH from Internet & Dealers. 20% consulted Friends and 6% from Newspapers. INFERENCE: An interesting comes from the fact that when it comes to searching information about the DTH services when deciding to buy them, most of the people prefer to search it on Internet & an equal no. of people visit Dealers to gather information. People also prefer to consult their Friends more than using Newspapers as a source of Information search. TABLE 5. 5 ON WHAT PARAMETERS DID YOU EVALUATE ALL THE AVAILABLE DTH SERVICES BEFORE DECIDING TO BUY BRAND OF DTH SERVICE ? |Good Reputation |40 | |Price |10 | |Interactive Services |40 | |Picture Quality |60 | GRAPH 5. 5 ANALYSIS: We can analyze that in terms of evaluation, 39% people rated Picture Quality,27% each as Good Reputation and Interactive Services and 7% as Price as the major alternative evaluation factor. INFERENCE: We can infer that the most important point of evaluating the available DTH options was the Picture, which was of paramount importance for prospective customers followed by Good Reputation and Interactive Services followed by the Price which only a meager population voted for. †¢ TABLE5. 6 DO CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS YOUR DECISION IN BUYING DTH SERVICES ? |Yes |35 | |No |115 | GRAPH 5. 6 [pic] ANALYSIS: We can analyze that 77% of people surveyed said that Celebrity endorsements do not have any impact on their decision in deciding which brand to by or not to by and only 23% people agreed that id does contribute towards their decision. INFERENCE: It is an interesting inference from the above given graph and data that inspite of almost all DTH companies going for Big Celebrities to endorse their brands, customers gave a thumbs down to celebrity endorsements with 77% people saying that they are not at all influenced by it and only 23% saying yes to this idea. TABLE 5. 7 WHO WAS THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON YOUR FINAL PURCHASE DECISION ? |Dealer |35 | |Family |20 | |Existing Users |80 | |Only Me |15 | GRAPH 5. 7 [pic] ANALYSIS: We can analyze that Existing users are the biggest influence on the final purchase decision with around 54% people going for it followed by 23% for dealers, 13% for family and 10% deciding themselves. INFERENCE: We can easily infer from the above given graph and data that as expected nd as in all other industries that existing users are always the biggest influence on the final decision and it’s the same in the DTH industry, Dealers are also big influence on the final decision followed by family and ourselves. †¢ TABLE 5. 8 ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH YOUR DTH SERVICE ? |Yes |129 | |No |21 | GRAPH 5. 8 [pic] ANALYSIS: We can analyze that 86% of people using DTH services are satisfied with the services and only 14% people are dissatisfied. INFERENCE: We can easily infer from the above given data and graph that most of the people, as expected are pretty much satisfied with the DTH services, which provides so many added features with crystal clear picture quality. One more important thing that can be inferred is there are 14% people who are not satisfied with the DTH services, which should bother all the DTH players in the industry. †¢ TABLE 5. 9 IF DISSATISFIED,THEN WHAT IS THE REASON FOR DISSATISFACTION ? Poor Customer Service |8 | |Poor Picture Quality |2 | |Poor Signal Strength |3 | |Costlier than Expected |8 | GRAPH 5. 9 ANALYSIS: Now, we can analyze that out of 14% dissatisfied customers,38% people’s reason of dissatisfaction is Poor Customer Service and an eaqual no. people think that it costlier than expected followed by 15% with Poor Signal Strength and 9% with Poor Picture quality. INFERENCE: We can easily infer that first of all there are very little dissatisfied customers and the major reason for dissatisfied customer’s are either Poor Customer Service or the Monthly rentals are higher than perceived or expected. Very small amount of people blames it on Poor Signal Strength followed by Poor Picture Quality. FINDINGS FOLLOWING ARE THE FINDINGS OF THE REPORT 1. Most of the users of DTH services today have migrated from the local cable operators in comparison with the viewers of Doordarshan network. So therefore this can viewed step of Doordarshan network viewers to local cable operators. . Initially before using the DTH service the perception of it was that of something that High monthly rentals and that comes with High initial cost. Many people also thought that as it is a satellite network, therefore there would be a lot of signal problems, with few of them having doubtful perceptions about its Customer service. 3. The major reason that led to people switching fr om their previous services to DTH was Poor picture quality, Poor service and lack of interactive services (in the same order), which had an obvious solution in the DTH services. . It was found out that the prospective customers searched for information on DTH mainly from the internet and the dealers with equal no. of respondents going for them, wherein friends are also a good source of information. Newspapers no more are hot in information search in the DTH industry. 5. The most important parameter that the customers used to evaluate all the available DTH options was that it should have the best picture quality and then came the good Reputation and interactive services with the brand. Price was not of that importance as the industry itself is gripped in price-war. 6. This was an interesting but an unexpected finding. Although almost all the DTH players have roped in big celebrities to endorse their brand, still people gave this idea a thumbs down and said it did not affect their decision. 7. The biggest influence on the final purchase decision was found out to be the existing users of the service with more than half of the respondents going for it followed by the dealers, then family members and then the respondents themselves. 8. Talking about the post purchase behavior, a major chunk of population that was surveyed was pretty satisfied with the DTH service (86% of them) and will very much carry on with the DTH, wherein 14% of them showed dissatisfaction. 9. Now, the major reason of the dissatisfaction of the 14% dissatisfied customers were poor customer service and the fact that overall rent (different packages and different channels) was costlier than the expected. SUGGESTIONS FOLLOWING ARE THE SUGGESTIONS BASED ON THE REASEARCH OBJECTIVES AND FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY : †¢ Although the companies are targeting the complete set of television iewers across the country, but they should make extra efforts in specifically targeting the rurals whose only source of entertainment is Doordarshan channels only by customizing channel packages that suits their taste and their pockets as well. Catch them before they take the local cable operator’s route to reach DTH. †¢ Erase the prospective customerâ€⠄¢s perception of DTH services requiring High Initial & High monthle costs and also that as it is a satellite network then it will always have signal problems. Reach the prospects and tell them that these are wrong perceptions and tell the advantages. The Companies should keep on striving for better picture quality, better customer service, and more and more of interactive services because these are the reasons and problems why the customers have migrated from local cable operators (LCO). †¢ Now it was found out that the Dealers and the internet were the hottest zones for information search on DTH by the prospective customers. So, therefore the company’s should, for internet push in all the information regarding their product and service and also tell the prospects about the advantage of their services over the competitors. Evaluation of alternatives by the customers are one of the most important stage for the company and the findings point out that in choosing a DTH ser vice, the customer focuses mainly on the Picture Quality and the Interactive services provided by the company so these things should be provided best by the company to the customers. One more important point is although the DTH industry is gripped by price-war, the customers are willing to pay a little more if they get a better picture quality, more interactive services and better customer service. This was an interesting but an unexpected finding that although all the major DTH players in the country have roped in big celebrities to endorse their brand, but almost 78% of the respondents have rejected this idea and said that celebrity endorsements have no impact on their decision. So, therefore the companies should concentrate on ideas to effectively communicate their message to the final consumer rather than celebrities to convey the message, which in turn would save lots of money given to celebrities as brand ambassador. Now just before buying a product or service the customer nee ds to b pushed in his or her decision and the results have found out that the biggest influence as far as DTH services are concerned are The existing users and the Dealers. So, therefore in order to take care of the influence of existing customers the company has to provide the best of services to them in order to win the Word Of Mouth and to take care of Dealer’s influence the company should have trained sales personnel at the dealer counters. Although, the major TV viewing population are pretty satisfied with DTH services, there are few which are not satisfied and the major reason for their dissatisfaction are poor customer service and costlier monthly charges than expected. To take of the first reason the companies should understand the importance of customer service as a tool to increase sales and take care of the customer service and to take care of the second reason the companies should make the packages simpler and also a little economical. Above mentioned are some of the suggestions for the DTH industry as a whole and for the DTH players in industry based on the Objectives of the research and the Findings of the survey & research which could increase the performance and sales for the companies. The above suggestions have come after an extensive study of the â€Å"CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR† in the Indian DTH industry. CONCLUSION After extensively working on the buying behavior and the perception of the consumers in the Indian DTH industry, I came to know how important it is to understand and understand it to perfection, the buying behavior of the consumers as to how he behaves right from the point he recognizes a problem in his/her previous product or service, like in this case it was mainly the local cable operates. The companies here has to follow the customer from there on to the last step of post-purchase behavior which helps companies to retain the existing customers and win the new customers. The questionnaire that I prepared was a journey through the entire process of consumer’s perception and their buying behavior for DTH services. As it was directed at the current users, it was very fulfilling to understand what the current users of this service felt at each stage of the process and as a result of this survey’s analysis and inference from the table and graph, there were some interesting and important findings which in turn gave way to some of very important suggestions that can be of great help to current DTH players in the Indian industry to improve their sales and efficiency. To conclude, it was an experience that taught me a lot of things from understanding the in and outs of the Indian DTH industry, understanding the buying behavior of consumers, insights of market research, ways to efficiently and effectively interact with the respondents, to analyze and infer important information from the table and the graph. ———————– [pic]

Critiqing two of my peers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Critiqing two of my peers - Essay Example ments because of the evidence presented, such as the statistics on accidents concerning underage drinking, and the fact that children’s brains are developing and they should not be stunted with alcohol. Its weakest argument is the one arguing for alcohol-related illness it is true that drinking at a young age can lead to cirrhosis, but it is not something particular to the age group being analyzed in this essay. All alcohol drinkers can develop these diseases, so saying this is not something that is directly relevant to the claims. The essay does not mention a counterargument. A counterargument that I would suggest is: â€Å"Opponents of setting the drinking age limit at 21 will stress that the age 18 is already a mature age for adolescents, so they should be given the freedom to drink what they want.† A response to this is providing evidence that people at the age of 18, who drink and drive, meet more accidents than people at 21, who drink and drive. Does the author use signal phrases to introduce quotes? (Signal phrases are discussed in more detail in section 10g of The New Century Handbook. ) If so, provide an example. If not, suggest the correct way to do this. Yes, the author uses signal phrases to introduce statistics, for example: â€Å"According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention more than 189,000 children under the age of 21 are admitted to the emergency room annually because of alcohol.† He did not use direct quotations though. If he did, he can write one sentence this way: â€Å"Direnfeld (2012) describes a few different diseases that are related to alcohol, such as cirrhosis of the liver.† The quotations followed proper in-text citations, although the page or paragraph number is missing. For instance, this has no paragraph number: : â€Å"According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention more than 189,000 children under the age of 21 are admitted to the emergency room annually because of alcohol.† The paragraph number is 1,

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Violence in the Nursing Profession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Violence in the Nursing Profession - Essay Example It has been noted that nurses are easily exposed to violence in certain scenarios in the course of dispensing their duties, thereby increasing their vulnerability (Carter, 2000). The healthcare sector is faced with many challenges including limited budgets, low work motivation, low pay and understaffing. These challenges on their own create tension in the work environment and in most cases; nurses bear the brute of the frustration. Violence is in many forms including physical, psychological, sexual harassment, isolation and intimidation. The patriarchal medical model has contributed a great deal to this vice as nurses are seen as doctor’s handmaidens (O’Connell et al 2000).In this sense, doctors may form a condescending and intimidating attitude toward nurses whereby they feel their qualification and status is superior to those of nurses. Nurses also face violence from hospital visitors and patients, some of who express their grief, frustrations and misgivings to the nurses, who tend to be more available than doctors. Horizontal violence is also rampant, where nurses themselves administer violence on each. Studies show that nursing students during their clinical assignment in their courses are the most vulnerable to violence (Randle 2003). CASE STUDY 1 SUMMARY The first case study will look into the article dubbed â€Å"Aggression in the Workplace: A study of Horizontal Violence Utilizing Heideggerian Hermeneutic Phenomenology.† The article sought to ascertain the existence and rampant widespread of horizontal violence amongst nurses in healthcare institutions. One or more group members towards another member or section of the larger group (Duffy 1995) define horizontal violence as hostile or aggressive behavior. Studies show that the prevalence is high but majority of the cases go unreported due to fear of stigmatization and/or retribution (Farrel 1997).This case study also seeks to identify the impact of horizontal violence on the victims’ work performance and relationships with others. Study Design The Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology was the chosen method of research in this article. This qualitative approach by Heidegger, a German philosopher, proposes that all knowledge comes from people in t he world and the attempt to understand other people in the world. It thus means that we are always within the hermeneutic circle of Interpretation (Leonard 1989).With this design the researcher has a preliminary understanding of horizontal violence (Leonard 1989) and will be able to add personal experience and understanding to the research (Walter 1995). Sampling Strategies and Data collection In compiling information for this article, the use of questionnaires was employed. The sample size comprised of two registered nurses who had consensual agreed to take part in the study based on their expertise in the field (Field and Morse; 1985). The sample size was relatively small but since it was a qualitative analysis, sample size depended on the accuracy of the information given by the respondents and their abilities to do so. Data collection was done using recorded audio tapes. This method was the

Saturday, July 27, 2019

3. Biomaterials for bone tissue-engineering Essay

3. Biomaterials for bone tissue-engineering - Essay Example Osseointegration means the ability to integrate into surrounding bones. The ideal condition is that the tissue should be reabsorbed and may be even replaced by the body’s own regenerated biological tissues. Bioactive inorganic materials like tricalcium phosphate, HA, bioactive glasses have a large capacity to be re-absorbed. This is definitely one of the positive points of inorganic materials. But the main problem is their brittle nature. This brittle nature means that the fracture toughness of the bones cannot b matched by these materials and thus is not ideal for picking heavy loads. Polymers such as collagen and hyaluronic acid are polymers which are interesting options for the use (Seeherman H, 2008).However they have weak mechanical properties and provide a possible risk of diseases if there is poor handling. Hydrogels are the kind of polymers which are creating great buzz about their use. They have many advantages including the one that chemical biofunctionalisation and cell encapsulation and delivery are very straightforward. In order for the biomaterial to be like a real bone the toughness of a polymer needs to be combined with the compressive strength of an inorganic material (Hollinger, 2004). This improves their mechanical properties and degradation profiles. Once the adequate biodegradable polymer has been selected the next step is to find a suitable processing technique. The processing methodology must not adversely affect the biocompatibility or the chemical properties of the chosen materials. Through the years a variety of processing techniques have been developed. Some of them will be discussed here by us. Solvent casting /Particulate Leaching – This method consists of dispersing calibrated materials such as sodium chloride or organic materials like saccharine particles in a polymer solution. The dispersion is processed after this either by casting or by using the method of freeze drying which results in

Friday, July 26, 2019

Change Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Change Project - Essay Example Emotion or  affect  is the  method  in humanistic psychology that recognizes feelings and the  consideration  that results to transformations in performance and  cognition. A person realizes the need to change when something happens. This is a practical  proof  that works for individuals, healthy  family  growth  and couples. There are several behavioral forms. Change of behavior  is widely investigated  and  is applied  for parenting method. A person should  cease  the behavior and begin to work directly on  transformation. Regarding thoughts  technique, there should be  motivation  that originates from the inside because the  secret  to  achievement  is within each and  everyone. If a person has  positive  faith and  devotion  to what they do,  subsequently  things work out in a positive way. In system technique, a person needs to be  optimistic  to  attain  what he wants. Support from family is  essential  for a persons’  achievement  because  system  change involves the whole system and not just an  individual. Culture plays a crucial role when initiating change. Working against  predominant  customs will make attaining  transformation  harder, but working with it and identifying fundamental forces can  aid  ease  change. Reaction to  modification  when change  is forced  is  constantly  difficult  (Whitbourne, 2010).Reference Whitbourne, S. K. (2010). Beginnings: Psychological Perspectives on Four Types of Change. Retrieved October 19, 2011, from Psychology Today:

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Leadership Behavior in the workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Leadership Behavior in the workplace - Essay Example It also gives a narrative criticism on the article journal by examining female entrepreneurs’ management style as an application of a relational frame. The articulation of abstract in this article is decent. This is because the first line of the article contains the purpose of the research in an exhaustive manner. For example, this paper reports the result of a qualitative analysis of female entrepreneurs’ and their roles in their organizations using Relational Theory. The report of content analysis of group shows that women used a relational approach in working with employees and clients lacks the problem statement, which should appear in the second line of an abstract. The article does not explain the approach that the research employed in the third sentence of the abstract. Instead, it articulates some of the relational skills required in a place of work such as preserving, mutual empowering, achieving and creative team. The abstract indicates the findings of the research clearly in the fourth line. The findings show that Relational Theory is a useful frame in identifying and explicating women entrepreneur in their own bu siness. Finally, a concluding statement about the research is lacking in the abstract. The title of the article is appropriate. This is because it provides a thought of what is contained in the articles. It makes use of a particular theory, Relational Theory to answer subjectively the problem statement, leadership Behaviour in a work place (Xiaojun, 2014). Some of the in-text citation of the article is not in reference to American Psychology Association (APA) format. For example in page 1, the introduction of an in-text, citation at the beginning of a sentence should not make use of quotation marks as contained in this article. In addition, the use of page numbers in the in-text citation on the same reference applies to Modern Language Association (MLA) format. Therefore, this is a shortcoming since the referencing style used in the

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Surveillance technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Surveillance technology - Essay Example That respect warrants this essay a critical outlook into the evolution, merits, and demerits of spy cameras as type of surveillance technology. Additionally, this paper will also seek to give a recommendation on the way future of this subject. The evolution of spy cameras and its incorporated technologies is an important topic that examines the state of surveillance technology and its impacts on the modern society. The tumultuous history of technologies associated with spy cameras has its origin rooted in the 16th century and stretches all the way to the present generation whereby it shifted from facto disciplinary practice to a real time practice revolving around security and conveniences it offers to its participants. Spy cameras evolved in three basic stages namely, daguerreotype, film, and digital photographic spy cameras. Daguerreotype was a truly successful stage of spy cameras since photographers used copper plates coated with iodine whereby it used this combination to produce silver iodide upon sensing light. Daguerreotype photography entered the United States during the time of Civil War whereby technical fighters used it as an investigative tool. (Heir and Greenberg, 2007:217). Even though the Federal Bureau of investigation did not exist during the time of President Lincoln, documented evidence shows that, security officers used daguerreotype as a form of surveillance technology in crime scene investigation. With spy cameras came in telephone calls which aided in taking surveillance technology into the following stage. Surveillance technology shows, the introduction of telephone accounts for a big margin in this subject as it led to wire-tapping where one could listen to a telephone conversation between other people. Year 1945 witnessed a major shift as wire and tape recorders became available (Tavani,

The Capital Asset Pricing Model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Capital Asset Pricing Model - Essay Example The equation that is applied in the calculation of CAPM for the assets is as follows: E(Ri) =RF +?i [E(RM) - RF] Where, E (Ri) = expected return of the ith level. Rf = risk-free return of an asset (such as short-term government securities), ?i = beta coefficient of ith level, and (RM) = Expected return on the market. The main aim of the CAPM model underlies the identification of the market portfolio as the tangency portfolio between supply and demand in balance. However, there are several theoretical limitations that have hindered the operations of the model, in the manner that these limitations will likely cause deviations in the process of applying the model particularly between the reality and the model. These limitations can be broadly classified as: a. Being based entirely on unrealistic assumptions. b. Testing the model’s validity is quite difficult. c. Its betas will not remain stable over a long duration of time. Based on these limitations, the model is accepted to hav ing been based on several assumptions most of which are not realistic. The CAPM model supposes that the investors are always risk-averse hence, are most likely to select the investment portfolios that are efficient, and which will be based on the standard deviation or variance and expected returns of the returns from the assets (Whitman & Diz, 2013.p.85). a. Unrealistic assumptions Based on the unrealistic assumptions, it is also hard to find a security that is risk free. For example, while a highly liquid short term government security may be considered as risk free, it will be unlikely that the government will default on the security. This is because of the inflation rate which is another significant factor that will affect the portfolio’s returns. This is because; a portfolio’s variance or standard deviation is usually assumed to be an adequate measurement for a investment’s risk level, which is normally certified under the assumption of returns being normall y distributed. However, in practice, there are several other risk measures that will play an important role in the determination of an assets’ degree of risk (Pahl, 2009.p.345). The returns on assets, under the CAPM, are required to take the form of a normal distribution model. Consequently, the return on the assets in the real world may be non-normal and irregularly distributed. b. Difficulty in determining the model’s validity Additionally, it is difficult to assess the validity of the model in the testing of returns of assets. This is because most of the model’s assumptions may not be critical as a result of the practical validity of the model. Consequently, this model recognizes that different investors have different abilities for investing hence; the cost of their investments will be largely expected to have an effect on the efficiency of the portfolio. Additionally, since the portfolio markets tend to be frictionless, it is likely expected that there woul d be no transaction costs, taxes and restrictions on the nature of trade offered. However, theoretically, this act as a limitation for this model as frictionless markets may not be in existence in real practice. Consequently, while the model might assume that assets in the market are infinitely divisible to be held or traded on, the best option would be to have the market portfolio include all the opportunities of investment available in the market, and with a market value. As such, it is

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Nanosolar Solar Panel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Nanosolar Solar Panel - Essay Example Nanosolar will increase the value of its products for all its stakeholder by going global. For the same manufacturing and Research and Development expenses, it will be able to widen its market. The best strategy is to penetrate a country that is underexplored by solar panel manufacturers. By using export mode, Nanosolar will be able to maximize current investment. The mobility of its panels will make it easy to transport. Nanosolar may continue manufacturing its products in its current location and ship it to the country of choice. Introduction: Company Background Nanosolar is a revolutionary solar panel created by a startup company who got their initial funding from Silicon Valley venture capitalists (VC). True to the reputation of young Silicon Valley technology developers, Nanosolar is radically different from other solar panels such as Sunpower and Evergreen. This solar panel is as thin as newspapers, foldable, flexible and very light. This makes it a non-intrusive technology. Ot her solar panels need to be incorporated in the construction of buildings or houses or would require major construction to be installed. Nanosolar’s size, lightness, and flexibility make it easier to be installed. Any existing homeowners can buy this solar panel and install it with minor repairs (LaMonica 2008, 41). The company originated in Chicago but has expanded its operation in the United Kingdom. In fact, their first major contract was in Germany instead of the U.S. Nanosolar continues to develop its technology to improve the amount of heat it converts to energy and make solar electricity cost as affordable as conventional electricity. They are now officially the world’s most affordable solar panel and also the most profitable for the stakeholders of the company and efficient for the consumers of the product. Its superior technology and even more superior market positioning also give it the potential to be a truly global product. It is the only solar panel on the market that is possible to be shipped through conventional consumer courier. It is the framework that makes Nanosolar’s entry into the foreign market not only practical but logical. It will maximize the current investment by capturing a larger market. Main Report Motives for Internationalization The strongest reason for internationalization is the value it promises to its shareholder. The most obvious is the additional revenue it will generate using existing resources (Friedman 1970, 32). Nanosolar is the only one of its kind in the market that is easy to transport because of its flexibility. It renders the setting up of a manufacturing plant unnecessary. Companies who expand to foreign markets are forced to open a manufacturing plant in or near the market they want to penetrate. This equates to bigger investments which lengthens the returns to the stakeholder (Hollensen 2011, 231).

Monday, July 22, 2019

The U.S.A. Patriot Act Essay Example for Free

The U.S.A. Patriot Act Essay Abstract   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The protection of civil rights in the society requires thorough understanding of political, social, and economic conditions. Under certain political pressures some societal groups require special protection. However, with the desire to minimize the risks of foreign terrorism, privacy rights seem to lose their relevance in the legal system of the U.S. The U.S.A. Patriot Act   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The U.S.A. Patriot Act is the set of legal norms aimed at decreasing the risks of foreign terrorism in the U. S. The Acts provisions actually introduce amendments into numerous law enforcement, surveillance, and counter-terrorism legal norms to expand their legal borders, and to provide their broader application under the constant threat of terrorist acts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The U.S.A. Patriot Act   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The U.S.A. Patriot Act is the document which requires detailed review in the light of privacy rights protection. In the process of reading the Act, one cannot but notice that in the attempt to protect the U.S. citizens from the threat of terrorism, the authors of the Act have actually created extremely unfavorable conditions for the equality and protection of the privacy rights. Although the Act openly states that â€Å"Arab Americans, Muslim Americans, and Americans from South Asia play a vital role in our Nation and are entitled to nothing less than the full rights of every American† (The U.S.A Patriot Act 2001, I:102), it also implies that privacy rights will hardly remain important when it comes to eliminating terrorism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Title II of the Act is devoted to surveillance procedures, and significantly broadens the rights of the surveillance agencies. This Title is the key to discussing the issue of privacy rights as related to the U.S.A. Patriot Act. â€Å"Any investigative or law enforcement officer, or attorney for the Government, who by any means authorized by this chapter, has obtained knowledge of the contents of any wire, oral, or electronic communication, or evidence derived therefrom, may disclose such contents to any other Federal Law enforcement, intelligence, protective, immigration, national defense, or national security official† (The U.S.A. Patriot Act 2001, II:203). In this context, the U.S.A. Patriot Act not only fails to provide the exact criteria for such disclosure, but it also initially breaks the privacy rights of those, whose information is to be disclosed. Moreover, the Title II of the U.S.A. Patriot Act significantly expands the rights of juries, government’s attorneys, courts, and intelligence agencies in disclosing personal information which is otherwise prohibited (The U.S.A. Patriot Act 2001, II: 102).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Section 212 of the Title II of the U.S.A. Patriot Act refers to the right to disclose customer records â€Å"to a governmental entity, if the provider reasonably believes that en emergency involving immediate danger of death or serious physical injury to any person justifies disclosure of information† (The U.S.A. Patriot Act 2001, II:212). Again, we face the need to specify the criteria of such disclosure, and the legal criteria of determining the potential risks towards someone’s health or life. Without these criteria, the Act directly violates the privacy rights of the U.S. and non-U.S. citizens on the U.S. territory.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The U.S.A. Patriot Act was a legal attempt to produce sound counter-terrorist measures. However, as it has significantly expanded the rights of the law enforcement agencies, the Act has also failed to protect the basic privacy rights of those who may appear under the pressure of the Patriot Act’s provisions. This does not mean that the discussed Act loses its relevance. Under the threat of terrorism, legal provisions of the U.S.A. Patriot Act deserve attention and may serve the reliable instruments of eliminating terrorist risks. Yet, the U.S.A. Patriot Act will become legally correct only in case it provides specific criteria for each case of breaking the privacy rights and for determining the threats to ones health or life. References The U.S.A. Patriot Act. (2001). Retrieved March 02, 2008 from http://epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Bebop, Free Jazz And Fusion

Bebop, Free Jazz And Fusion First of all, there are various differences between the styles of bebop, cool, hard bop, free jazz, and fusion. Bebop seems to be the most intricate with its erratic tempos, while cool is the most soothing and relaxing. On the other hand, hard bop is the most brassy and dynamic with its horns, trumpets, and rhythm section, while free jazz is the less restricted. Free jazz exhibits no boundaries, no form, and no newly established rules. Fusion is a combination between jazz and rock, in other words, fusion exhibits extreme electronic use, effects, and synthesizers, in addition to jazz elements. Bebop transformed jazz from fashionable dance music to creative art music. In the early 1940s, bebop seemed to have emerged all of a sudden, but it had actually been developing for several years. When Art Pepper, an alto saxophonist, initially heard a bop recording, it completely overwhelmed him. The notes of a typical bebop piece are quick, technical, more elaborative, and swung. The characteristics of bebop include erratic tempos, reharmonization and chord substitution, as well as arbitrary melodies. Bebop put more emphasis on extensive, improvised solos. Manteca, a recording by Dizzy Gillespie and His Orchestra, contains a few characteristics of bebop. However, the tempos of Manteca are not excessively fast or too slow. In this recording, Gillespie created the Afro-Cuban style alongside Chano Pozo, a Cuban percussionist of the conga. Manteca contains phenomenal improvised trumpet solos and shout-like but subtle vocals of the word Manteca. The Manteca shouting in various random parts of the recording is quite amusing. In the introduction, multiple instruments begin its playing in unison, such as the bass, bongos, saxes, and brass. In particular, the bongos sound very intriguing and high-pitched. Dizzy Gillespies trumpet solos are exceptionally fantastic. Evidently, there is call-and-response between the brass section and other instruments. There are improvised solos in the connection to each chorus. This recording sounds blissful, jungle-like, and jubilant. The arrangement in Manteca is quite spectacular. Manteca sounds Cuban-like, fi ery, and passionate. Another bebop recording, Koko, by Charlie Parkers Reboppers is regarded as one of the first bebop recording. The recording, Koko is baffling and aggressive, in which displays attributes and chords that are built on a swing recording called Cherokee. Like a typical bebop recording, Koko displays significant improvised solos. The arrangements are straightforward. Charlie Parker exhibits an extraordinary talent on his alto saxophone solos that only few saxophonists can match. The piano playing is not quite noticeable, but it plays gently and leisurely in the background. The drums merely accompanies alongside Parkers alto sax playing and Gillespies trumpet mutes/piano playing. Parker plays in such a lightening manner in his alto sax, its unbelievable. The tempos in Koko are erratic, which makes it especially difficult to follow. The virtuosity of Koko sounds uncontrolled. In fact, the melodies are very unpredictable, but creative. The snare and bass drum playing by Max Roach at 2:07 is a typical because it plays in solitary. Overall, Koko is an uplifting recording that exhibits prominently rapid tempos and erratic sounding melodies. Moving along, Boplicity is a cool/west coast style recording by the Miles Davis Nonet. Boplicity contains hardly any blues influence or any dynamic contrasts. Unlike bebop, Boplicity is much more relaxed and comforting. The solos are significantly expressive and vivid. The tempos of a typical cool/west coast style are moderate with a sedative attitude. The horn section in Boplicity is nimble and soft, not like the brassiness of a hard bop recording. At :59, a contrast from delicate ensembles of the horn moves to a tone that is a bit more adequate from the saxophone; the baritone saxophone exhibits a poignant sound. The melody and arrangement of Boplicity is moderately intricate. The horn ensemble is rich and heavy in texture. Boplicity exhibits an improvised sound, although its significance is on the arrangements. At 1:36, Davis trumpet solos with clarity. The overall tone and melody of Boplicity is light and uplifting, not at all volatile and explosive. Boplicity is the most soothin g of them all. Hard bop is a style that exhibits a hard-ridden and volatile sound from brass instruments, such as the horns and trumpets. Hard bop characteristics is a contrast to cool/west cool style. Hard bop bears influences from blues and gospel and puts more emphasis on virtuoso improvisation. Unlike the intricacy of bebop, hard bop is simpler. Backstage Sally, a recording by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers is a hard bop piece that displays a dynamic groove and brassy sound. The beginning starts with horns playing together with drums in a shuffle-like beat. The dynamics of the drums is very enthralling; in particular, drums are heavy hitting. The drums contrasts from hard hitting to moderate. Unlike the other songs, the drum in this hard bop recording is especially noticeable. At 1:03, tenor sax solos play in an expressive manner. The trumpet, trombone, and other brass instruments play in an especially brassy way, even the background riffs are noticeable brassy. Evidently, there is call-and -response between the rhythm section and front line instruments. Overall, Backstage Sally is heavily brassy, vibrant, and bluesy. Therefore, hard bop is predominantly brassy and dynamic-feel style. Much like Backstage Sally, Boogie Stop Shuffle, a hard bop piece by the Charles Mingus Septet is brassy as well. The beginning is predominantly brassy with the horns. Boogie Stop Shuffle exhibits 12-bar blues in a fast playing manner. The bass plays ostinato riffs, while piano plays in a bluesy manner. The horns play in a sharp, but dissonant sound; the horns will vary and contrast from sounding like a bebop-style to hard bop. The bass line is particularly predominantly played throughout. At 2:24, there are high-pitched solos from the drum. At 3:20, the alto saxophone lets out a poignant squeal. Although, this recording does not sound nearly as brassy as Backstage Sally, it still exhibits brass-like sounds, especially the beginning. Boogie Stop Shuffle is a hasty played 12-bar blues piece with exceptional horns and bass riffs. Free jazz style is based on breaking musical rules, rather than establishing new rules; the impression of playing without boundaries in Free Jazz is significant. Unlike the other styles, free jazz exhibits atonality, dissonance, collective improvisations like that of New Orleans jazz, and no form, in the case of blues abandonment. Free Jazz contains rich-texture, great energy, and untraditional playing. Two impressive free jazz recordings are Civilization Day recorded by the Ornette Coleman Quarter and Hat and Beard recorded by the Eric Dolphy Quintet. The recording, Civilization Day, is extremely energetic, amusing, and fast-paced. Coleman exhibits passion and enthusiasm in his playing of the alto saxophone. Nearly all the instruments utilized in Civilization Day plays in a hasty manner and not very swing-like. At :24, there is unaccompanied collective improvisation from the alto sax and trumpet, generating an expressive sound. The alto sax and trumpet seems to be communicating with each other in squall-like sound. More significantly, the alto sax and trumpet play in wail-like, unusual manner. At :27, Cherry plays his trumpet with expressiveness and eccentricity. The rhythm section sounds twinkling especially because of the constant crisp ride cymbals generated from the drums. The cymbals are persistent throughout producing an ostentatious-like sound. At 1:20, the drums halt playing for a moment, while the alto sax plays improvised solos with accompaniment from non-walking bass line. From 1:35 to the end of Civilization, the crisp ride cymbals from drums will re-emerge and play persistently; at 1:57, a walking bass line emerges as well. Overall, Civilization is a very spirited and energetic free jazz recording. Similarly, in Hat and Beard, the pace is hasty. In Hat and Beard, multiple instruments were employed, including Dolphys tense solos from the bass clarinet. However, the piano was discarded in this recording. Vibes were utilized in Hat and Beard to make up for the absence of the piano. The vibes is capable of generating a melodious sound or percussive sound. The improvisation is quite appealing and impressive. Dolphy exhibits expressiveness and creativeness with an obvious appreciation of musical arrangements. Its influence on hard bop and experimental jazz is distinguishable in the recording. The tempo is relatively swing-like. At :47, the vibes enter with a walking bass line that sounds amusing. The bass plays persistently throughout the recording in a persistent pattern. The vibes and drums plays alongside each other in cooperation. The vibes is significant to the sound of this recording; the vibes definitely adds to the appeal. At 1:26, Dolphy displays eccentric solos on bass clar inet generating a peculiar, wail-like, and entertaining sound. The vibes are consistent throughout as it pops up once in awhile. At 3:14, the trumpet solos are mild and soothing with the bass playing two notes concurrently. The trumpet solos sound similar to a those employed in a typical cool/jazz west coast style. Evidently, free jazz does not employ a music form. In my opinion, free jazz sounds very peculiar and interesting. Free jazz musicians seem to play however they feel. Free jazz exhibits awkward playing from various instruments, for instance, the wail-like sound of horn players. Free jazz generates awkward, dissonant sounds and prominently retains collective improvisation. Unlike hard bop, free jazz contains little brass sound. The electrifying recording, Bitches Brew, is an ideal example of a jazz and rock fusion. Miles Davis assembled a large group for this recording, which is approximately a 12 talented group. Fusion style is quite distinct from previous styles, mainly because of the use of electronics. In this recording, there is apparently heavy use of electronic instruments and effects with a slight reduction and blend of jazz elements. Some of the electronic instruments employed in this recording were the electric bass guitar, keyboards, and electric piano. The beginning of Bitches Brew is quite spectacular, specifically playing from the electric pianos and percussionists. A rock-like rhythm and beat is employed in place of a swing-like jazz rhythm. The drums play in a funky and vigorous manner. The shaker generates an extremely vibrant sound persistently throughout, as well as the conga. At :41, Daviss trumpet playing contains studio effects, which generates an echo-like sound. My first thought when I first heard this trumpet echo-sound is that it sounds like a war horn blowing simultaneously, but in a more eccentrically way. This trumpet echo-like effect is loud and generates an especially alluring sound. At 1:31, nearly every instrument seems to collide together, creating an even more dramatic sound; this collision among the various instruments seems to be a recurring pattern. At 1:49, trumpets play in a brief, simultaneous manner. Various other effects can be heard in this recording, including Daviss finger snapping at the 2:51 mark. In addition, the bass ostinato is played at the 2:51 mark, similar to the ostinato utilized in Miles Davis Quintets Footprints. The ostinato generates a firm, concise and rhythmic musical phrase. It is evident that the effects immensely enhanced Daviss horn playing. The bass clarinet does not seem to solo with success, but instead plays merely for its tone color. A blend of instrumental effects generates an intriguing sound. There is an extensi ve, improvised solo part by Miles at 3:54, while other instruments will steadily rise to its peak with increased tension. At this point, the instruments take an entirely different turn, as the instruments seem to play altogether simultaneously in a more relaxed way. In Bitches Brew, Miles objective seems to undertake a polyrhythmic approach, since multiple percussionists were employed. Bitches Brew, definitely generates an electric feel, like that of the fusion style characteristic. Overall, these styles are very intriguing. I am most intrigued by fusion and free jazz. The sounds of a free jazz recording sound unusual, but interesting. Fusion is the most stirring and energizing. The most comforting style to listen to would be cool/west coast jazz because of its soft tone and playing. The most dynamic and danceable style would be hard bop because of the hard hitting drums, bluesy, and thunderous brass instrument sound. Each of these styles is distinct and unique in its own way.