Barnabas Essays (961 words) - Seventy Disciples, Barnabas, Acts 13

Barnabas Barnabas was a native of the island of Cyprus. His birthplace makes him a Jew of the Diaspora, the dispersion of Jews outside Palestine or modern Israel. He was originally named Joseph but the apostles called him Barnabas, he probably acquired this name because of his ability as a preacher. The name Barnabas was understood by Luke to mean Son of Encouragement (Acts 4:36). Barnabas was an apostle of the secondary group, companion of Paul on his mission to Cyprus and the Pisidian mainland. Barnabas first appears in Luke's account of communal living in the Jerusalem church, as a man of some means who gave to the church the proceeds from the sale of a piece land, Barnabas sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet (Acts 4:36-37). After the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7:54-8:1, the church was persecuted and scattered, On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison Acts 8:1-3. In Acts 9:26-27, Saul tries to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. Barnabas thus belongs to the company of first converts in Jerusalem who were won by the apostolic preaching, if not by Jesus himself. Though not a native, Barnabas had the confidence of the apostles. Later he was sent to join the company of workers at Antioch, to preach to Jews, Hellenists, and Greeks (Acts 11:19-22). As the work of the Antioch church expanded and more workers were needed, Barnabas went over to Tarsus and brought back with him Saul. It seems that Barnabas was the leader of the Antioch church, and the order which Luke gives, Barnabas and Saul, indicates the pre-eminence. It was Barnabas and Saul who carried relief funds from Antioch to the famine- stricken Jerusalem (Acts 11:30). Barnabas was commissioned by the Antioch church, along with Saul and John Mark, to undertake the missionary journey which led them to Cyprus and later to the provinces of the mainland. While on the island of Cyprus, two major changes occur, Saul is now called Paul and the leadership role changes from Barnabas to Paul (Acts 13:9). Once on the mainland the group would be referred to as Paul and his company (Acts 13:13). In Lystra there was a wave of enthusiasm on the part of the natives, and Barnabas was given the title Zeus, while Paul was only Hermes the spokesman (Acts 14:12). The reason for the fanfare in honor of Barnabas and Paul was occasioned by an ancient legend that told of a supposed visit to the same general area by Zeus and Hermes. They were, however, not recognized by anyone except an old couple. So the people of Lystra were determined not to allow such an oversight to happen again. Leadership again changes back to Barnabas after the stoning of Paul in Lystra and he and Barnabas left for Derbe (Acts 14:19-20). Luke's account of the conference at Jerusalem (Acts 15) again places Barnabas at the front, indicating that Barnabas was in better standing than Paul in Jerusalem. Barnabas and Paul made the report in the conference relating to the work which had been done among the Gentiles (Acts 15:12). The document which was sent by the conference recommending Barnabas and Paul to the Syrian and Cilician churches again shows Luke's knowledge of the relative standing of the two men in Jerusalem. The separation of Barnabas from Paul and their divergent missionary activity began in Antioch after the Jerusalem conference. The issue which Luke gives was the taking of John Mark on another journey (Acts 15:36). John Mark's defection at Cyprus (Acts 13:13) seemed to Paul to be sufficient grounds for dropping him from the party. Barnabas was extremely devoted to John Mark because they were cousins (Col 4:10), and leaving Paul, Barnabas took John Mark on a separate mission again to Cyprus. Luke's cryptic words sailed away to Cyprus (Acts 15:39) are his farewell to Barnabas. The testimony of the later

November 2007 Popular Articles

November 2007 Popular Articles November 2007 Popular Articles November 2007 Popular Articles By Daniel Scocco English Grammar 101: Sentences, Clauses and Phrases: Welcome to English Grammar 101, the newest category on Daily Writing Tips. I thought that creating a series of posts covering the basic grammar rules and parts of speech would be useful to many people, especially if you consider the diversity of our readership. On this first post we’ll cover sentences, clauses and phrases. Are You Sure You Mean â€Å"Moot†?: I just caught myself writing â€Å"the question is moot† meaning â€Å"the question is irrelevant or closed.† I immediately scrapped â€Å"moot† for a different adjective. Why? Because I remembered an occasion on which my son, a journalist, ruined the word for me by explaining that I was using it incorrectly. Is There Really Room for Error in Writing?: Writing is a battle. On one side: the force of your important message. On the opposing side: the forces of ignorance and misunderstanding. Your weapons: your words. Your support: the entire tradition of the English language. Can You Speak Your Readers’ Language?: Face it, we English speakers (which presumably includes you, since you’re reading this) don’t always read and write the same language, even if we all call it English. Sure, someone trying to communicate in a language that isn’t their native language may have a harder time being understood. But we understand that and make allowances for it. I talk more slowly (usually) when I’m not speaking English, and my listeners don’t expect me to speak perfectly. Among/Amongst: Is there a Difference?: I first heard amongst used when I went to live in England. To my ear it sounds quaint and very â€Å"British.† I especially like it in the expression â€Å"to put the cat amongst the pigeons.† If there ever was a difference between the two words, it is lost now. Malapropisms: Sheridan’s 18th century play, The Rivals, featured a hilarious character called Mrs Malaprop, who was apt to drop a verbal clanger whenever she opened her mouth. That’s where we get the word malapropism from, though its real origin is in the French phrase mal propos, meaning inopportune or not to the purpose. Five Tips For Writing Great Web Content: Writing for the web is another great freelance writing market. It’s already huge and it’s growing every day. There’s so much web content out there that you need to make yours stand out. Here are four ways to make your web content appeal to readers. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:15 Terms for Those Who Tell the Future"Certified" and "Certificated"20 Names of Body Parts and Elements and Their Figurative Meanings

Mice and Men Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mice and Men - Movie Review Example r Lewis Milestone unveils the psychological reason behind the strange friendship between two individuals and leads the audience to the hidden reason behind the tragedy in the end. In the film, the director portrays the strange relationship between George Milton and Lennie Small. One can see that this relationship is strange due to the reason that George Milton is an intelligent individual but Lennie is a mentally challenged individual. To be specific, their characters are not identical, but different. On the other side, both of them were migrants who wished to survive the Great Depression in America. At the same time, both these characters possessed the same aim, to own a piece of land. In addition, this dream or ultimate aim helped them to accept hardships in their life as a challenge. Psychologically, George is a strong person. On the other side, Lennie is mentally weak and physically strong, but attracted towards soft things in life. His life revolves around soft things. On the other side, George is workaholic and his ultimate aim is to own a piece of land. The psychological reason behind the friendship is that George is in search of an apt companion who c an understand him and his dreams. On the other side, Lennie is in search of a guide in his life. As he is mentally challenged, he needs an individual who can save him from critical situations in life. The difference in their characters and their ultimate aim acts the role of a psychological link which connects them. One can see that the director makes use of these differences in attitude towards life and physical and mental strength/weakness to link the main characters in the film. In the film, the director attempts to unveil the hidden reason behind the tragedy faced by George Milton and Lennie Small. For instance, George is aware of the fact that Lennie cannot live without his help. Besides, both of them are aiming to attain the same end result, i.e., to own a piece of land. George tries his level best to

Asses the role and significance of the British Empire for the Essay

Asses the role and significance of the British Empire for the development of the nineteenth century international economy - Essay Example As compared with other powers that were not able to leverage an empire, or an empire of the sheer size and breadth/complexity and diverse peoples and markets as that which the United Kingdom had, were not nearly so competitive during this time. In such a way, these competitive powers help to show the level to which the United Kingdom’s dominance was nearly supreme. As a means of understanding this actuality, the reader should consider that the United Kingdom’s empire afforded it two extremely essential resources towards achieving and maintaining dominance within economics. These two factors were the markets which the existence of the empire afforded as well as the raw materials which the empire itself could supply. One might more broadly consider the degree of cheap and oftentimes free labor that the existence of the empire also provided as yet another key determinant in economic power and hegemony (Hagerman 2009, p. 345). As a function of this brief overview and analys is these three factors will be briefly considered and analyzed to help create the case that the existence of the empire and the economic power and strength that the United Kingdom was able to exhibit during the nineteenth century were mutually exclusive (Libecap et al 2011, p. 300). In short, without the empire, the power and dominance of the United Kingdom, both militarily, economically, and politically would not have been possible. Firstly, with regards to the raw resources that the empire afforded to the development of the British economy, with the lack of such an empire, the resources that the economy required would have been exponentially more expensive. Likewise, due to the fact that the mechanisms of resource extraction could take place throughout the British Empire and return these raw materials to the home island, finished products could then be developed and manufactured from these raw materials. By reducing the necessity to pay market prices for resources, something that any other economic power that did not retain an expansive empire during this time would need to do, the British Empire was able to provide integral resources for the production of relatively low-cost goods which in turn could be marketed and sold to the remainder of the world; as well as back to the very economies which the resources were originally taken from (Desbordes 2008, p. 128). This brings us to the second point, market places. As the British Empire spread over the entire globe, this necessarily meant that a litany of nations, regions, tribal groups and other segmentations of peoples and territory were introduced to the goods that the United Kingdom had to offer for sale (Candlin 2009, p. 524). Similarly, because there was a monopolistic type economic arrangement that existed within the empire, the ability to purchase for the competition states was a non-existent option. In this way, the United Kingdom had a captive market in which to resell the finished goods that the very same empire had supplied the raw materials for in the first place (Stuart 2008, p. 4). Finally, this analysis will consider the fact that the empire itself provided extraordinarily cheap labor which provided the Empire with a means to extract a great deal of material wealth and/or natural resources at a cost that none of the competing economic powers in Europe or the United States could match at the time (Roy 2003, p. 398). This again acted as a type of symbiotic relationship

From the book Complete Office Handbook Third Edition for todays office Essay

From the book Complete Office Handbook Third Edition for todays office by susan jaderstrom chapter 2 - Essay Example Career advancement is quite relative. Darrel (2010) explains that â€Å"advancement means climbing the corporate ladder until you reach the executive suite.† People wish for advancement to improve their professional standing. It is however necessary to emphasize that the level one may want to reach is relative. Career advancement is not an automatic phenomenon in the corporate world. It actually takes the application of laid down strategies. It also take procedures to attain career advancement. One needs constant professional upgrading to be able to climb higher on the corporate ladder. Jaderstrom et al (2002) note that employers are giving premium to the professional competence rather than academic competence. This is indeed in the right sense. This is because the office is a place for the exhibition of one’s professionalism. Professionals who want to better their corporate standing must upgrade themselves. Those who want to secure their careers must do same. Professional seminars, workshops and furthering of one’s education improve career advancement. Jaderstrom et al (2002) laments that some employees only want to be ‘gainers’ not ‘losers’. Such employees only look at what their jobs can offer them. They do not think of what they can offer their companies. Employees must show positive organizational belongingness. Some of these are commitment, punctuality, promptness and organizational ethics. Showing this belongingness will improve their chances of building their career advancement. Such employees will not to fumble when they eventually take higher positions. If you do not know where you are going, any road leads you there. This axiom emphasizes the need for career people to have goals. One must have a goal of where one wants to reach. This must be marked with time. This is a good way of ensuring career advancement. For example an employee must know where to be by a certain time. This way, such an employee

Abortion And The Right To Life Philosophy Essay

Abortion And The Right To Life Philosophy Essay As both Judith Thomson and Don Marquis accept, a fetus is believed to become a living human sometime before birth. While most anti-abortion and pro-choice advocates believe the morality of abortion depends largely on this issue, both Thomson and Marquis believe more moral reasoning must occur to reach a sound conclusion. Don Marquis, arguing against abortion, establishes a fetuss right to life through examining the wrongness behind killing adult humans and relating fetuses to adult humans. Judith Thomson, defending abortion, does note a fetuss right to life, but finds this right not compelling enough to forbid abortions by revealing ones lack of an obligation to provide a fetus with life. While both philosophers search deeper into human rights than the standard arguments for and against abortion do, Judith Thomson presents a more convincing argument defending abortion that exposes holes in Don Marquiss argument by revealing the dependency of fetuses and their need to be given life. To undermine the view that abortion is immoral even in cases involving rape, Thomson first suggests considering a situation where a man wakes up and finds himself kidnapped and in a hospital bed with a famous violinist. In addition to being kidnapped, the man is told that the violinist has a fatal kidney disorder and that his circulatory system was plugged into the circulatory system of the violinist. Lastly, the man is told by the hospital staff that all persons have a right to life, so although the man has a right to what happens to his body, he cannot disconnect himself from the violinist and kill the violinist. Since the man being morally required to remain plugged into the violinist for any period of time seems extremely unreasonable and unlikely, Thomson offers a legitimate challenge to the anti-abortion argument in cases of rape. Additionally, since, although the man was kidnapped, it would certainly not be immoral for the man to detach himself from the violinist, this example also has stronger implications for Thomson. As Thomson argues, the fact that ones right to life most likely does not depend on whether one is the product of rape shows that some other right must exist that either allows or neglects ones right to life. This example introduces Thomsons main defense for abortion by suggesting that merely having the right to life may not necessarily mean that the killing of that person would be immoral. Thomson demonstrates the moral gap between showing ones right to life and then concluding that killing that person is immoral by exploring what the right to life actually entails. Thomson offers two perspectives on the right to life and reveals this gap in each. In the first perspective, Thomson claims the right to life includes having a right to be given at least the bare minimum one needs for continued life (Thomson 55). To disprove this claim, Thomson creates a new situation where the only way to save someone from death would be to have Henry Fonda touch the persons forehead. Since Henry Fonda does not have any moral obligation to touch the persons forehead and save him, though the person does have a right to life, Thomson refutes an assumption important to the anti-abortion argument: that the right to life includes the right to be given life. Thomson proves a similar point in disputing a more narrow definition of the right to life. In disputing that the right to life includes the right not to be killed by anybody, Thomson returns to the violinist example. Using the claim that the violinist has a right not to be killed by anybody since the violinist has a right to life, Thomson concludes that the violinist then has a right against everybody to prevent the man from detaching himself and killing the violinist. Since it seems difficult to find any moral reasoning that obligates the man to remain attached to the violinist, Thomson here offers evidence against a more general claim that happens to underlie almost all arguments against abortion: the claim that right to life guarantees the right not to be killed by anybody. Offering an opposing argument to Judith Thomson, Don Marquis attempts to challenge Thomsons argument by relying on a fetuss right to life. To demonstrate this right and what it means, Marquis evaluates the reasons behind the wrongness of killing adult humans. In conclusion, Marquis claims the wrongness of killing an adult human is the loss of all the activities, projects, and experiences that would have comprised the adults personal life. Marquis shows the validity of this claim by ensuring that this idea supports our natural inclinations, such as that killing is one of the worst crimes and that killing animals is also wrong, and by considering and then discrediting other theories. Although Judith Thomson would seemingly agree with this sound theory regarding the immorality of killing adults, she would certainly find fault with the premises and the ultimate conclusion Marquis draws: that abortion is prima facie an immoral act. To come to this conclusion, Marquis presents the idea that the future of a standard fetus includes a set of experiences, projects, activities, and such which are identical with the futures of adult human being and are identical with the futures of young children (Marquis 31). He continues the reason that is sufficient to explain why it is wrong to kill human beings after the time of birth is a reason that also applies to fetuses, and this leads to his conclusion. As Thomson notes in her article, a key distinction between both the futures and the actual lives of adults and fetuses lies in the fetuss dependence on the mother for its livelihood. As Thomson proves through her violinist example and Henry Fonda example, any persons right to lif e, interpreted by Marquis to mean the right for a human not to have the value of his future taken from him and interpreted by Thomson either to be given the basic means to live or the right not to be killed, does not obligate anyone to provide life to that person according to any of these meanings. Since fetuses are not capable of having any type of livelihood without someone giving them the basic necessities to live, it follows that a mother may morally be allowed to abort her fetus if she does not desire to give the fetus life. While Thomson and Marquis may seemingly agree that ones right to life, regardless of its interpretation, ensures that one has the right to be allowed to live, Thomson proves that this right does not include the right to be given life, which is so essential for a fetus to live. Since Marquis focuses on the right to life of adults, who usually do not need a right to be given life, his argument lacks the distinction Thomson makes between a right to life and a right to be given life. Since Marquiss argument holds that the fetuss right to life obligates the mother to provide her fetus with life, Marquis would seemingly believe the man connected to the violinist in Thomsons example would be equally obligated to provide the violinist with life. Marquis may argue that the relationship between the man and the violinist is different than the relationship between a mother and fetus, but, as Marquis argues in his own work, he would then need to justify how the purely biological characteristics of motherhood is morally relevant. In presenting arguments for and against abortion, Judith Thomson and Don Marquis both acknowledge humans right to life, but ultimately interpret this right differently. While Marquis connects a fetuss possession of the properties that make killing adult humans wrong to abortion being immoral, Thomson focuses on a fetuss dependence on someone else and ones lack of an obligation to provide for others. As Thomson implies, one does not have an obligation to provide for another unless one chooses to, and only after that point is ending the provisions immoral.

The Other Caste :: Essays Papers

The Other Caste For some professions the need for standardized higher education is obvious. We wouldn't want our doctors to have learned their craft by simply reading books and practicing on patients in their kitchens. Neither would we feel comfortable crossing a bridge or inhabiting a building designed by someone with a passionate interest in architectural engineering but who had not been subjected to rigorous testing of his or her own abilities. There are many professions, however, for which the unconsidered demand for a degree is unnecessary and creates an artificial class distinction. More importantly, the most qualified people for the job are often not even considered. My mother greatly influenced my views on this subject. She dropped out of high school when she was a freshman but she personified the self-motivated pursuit of knowledge. When she wanted to learn something, she read everything she could find on the subject. She then put her newfound knowledge to practical application until it because a new skill. Her library contained books on subjects as varied as horticulture, philosophy, stonemasonry, interior design, and architecture. She knew the Latin name of every plant in her extensive gardens. She knew more about heath and nutrition on a budget than the dietician at the assisted care facility where she worked, earning just over minimum wage. She eventually did get her GED but because she didn't have a degree in any of her areas of expertise she was poorly paid and sometimes perceived as uneducated. I saw this same prejudice all the years I worked for the Forest Service. They employ people with degrees and people without. Degree holders have the opportunity to advance professionally and become permanent employees. Those with no degrees are consistently paid lower wages and kept in a temporary status though they often do the same work as the permanent employees and return to work year after year. My Forest Service job required three things: being able to hike all day, not getting lost in the woods, and an appreciation that my repetitious acts were insuring future forests. A college degree was irreverent but I often had to train people with no aptitude or knowledge of the forest and watch them move ahead of me professionally because they had the degree. In Mark Salzman's book, Lost in Place most of the learning he writes about took place outside or even in spite of his formal schooling. The Other Caste :: Essays Papers The Other Caste For some professions the need for standardized higher education is obvious. We wouldn't want our doctors to have learned their craft by simply reading books and practicing on patients in their kitchens. Neither would we feel comfortable crossing a bridge or inhabiting a building designed by someone with a passionate interest in architectural engineering but who had not been subjected to rigorous testing of his or her own abilities. There are many professions, however, for which the unconsidered demand for a degree is unnecessary and creates an artificial class distinction. More importantly, the most qualified people for the job are often not even considered. My mother greatly influenced my views on this subject. She dropped out of high school when she was a freshman but she personified the self-motivated pursuit of knowledge. When she wanted to learn something, she read everything she could find on the subject. She then put her newfound knowledge to practical application until it because a new skill. Her library contained books on subjects as varied as horticulture, philosophy, stonemasonry, interior design, and architecture. She knew the Latin name of every plant in her extensive gardens. She knew more about heath and nutrition on a budget than the dietician at the assisted care facility where she worked, earning just over minimum wage. She eventually did get her GED but because she didn't have a degree in any of her areas of expertise she was poorly paid and sometimes perceived as uneducated. I saw this same prejudice all the years I worked for the Forest Service. They employ people with degrees and people without. Degree holders have the opportunity to advance professionally and become permanent employees. Those with no degrees are consistently paid lower wages and kept in a temporary status though they often do the same work as the permanent employees and return to work year after year. My Forest Service job required three things: being able to hike all day, not getting lost in the woods, and an appreciation that my repetitious acts were insuring future forests. A college degree was irreverent but I often had to train people with no aptitude or knowledge of the forest and watch them move ahead of me professionally because they had the degree. In Mark Salzman's book, Lost in Place most of the learning he writes about took place outside or even in spite of his formal schooling.

Advertising- the seven sins of memory Essay

INTRODUCTION As if effective marketing communication were not hard enough to achieve, even if we succeed in getting our message attended to and processed, and a positive intention formed, the very nature of memory may step in and upset everything. Memory distortion and plain old forgetting are unfortunate facts of life. The important question, however, is: can we do anything about it? As with most things, if we are to have any hope of dealing with memory problems and their impact upon advertising and other marketing communications, we must first understand what is going on. In this paper we will be looking at what Daniel Schacter (2001) has called ‘the seven sins of memory’: transcience, absent-mindedness, blocking, misattribution, suggestibility, bias and persistence. Most of what Schacter is dealing with involves declarative memory and not procedural memory, and as a result is highly dependent upon activity in the hippocampus. Although other brain structures are involved in mediati ng declarative memory, the hippocampus is critical, especially for tasks emphasising the representational as opposed to temporal properties of declarative memory. The hippocampus is always active in encoding new information for declarative memory. Nondeclarative emotional memory is also involved here, especially in the cases of bias and persistence, which means activity in the amygdala as well. There is compelling evidence that the amygdala is critical to emotional learning and memory (cf. Griffiths 1997). Imperfections in memory have obvious implications for the successful processing of advertising. Even if a positive intention is formed as a result of exposure to an advert, if a memory malfunction interferes with that intention, the advertising will be ineffective. The problems associated with these ‘seven sins of memory’, and what advertisers can do about it, are discussed below. THE SIN OF TRANSIENCE Forgetting that naturally occurs over time may be thought of as transcience. While the memory of what one did yesterday may be all but perfect, over time those memories tend to become more a generic description of what one expects to happen under those circumstances rather than what actually did happen. †¢Advertising implication: The sin of transience implies that what people ‘recall’ from advertising is much more likely to reflect a generic description of what is expected about a brand rather than the specific benefits that are part of the message. This has clear implications for interpreting recall measures of advertising messages. But, more importantly, it also suggests that the specific content of marketing communication should be consistent with, or carefully integrated with, prior understandings of the brand. A recent advert for Reynolds Wrap illustrates this can be done with a headline ‘Sticky Foods Won’t Stic’ spelled out in cheese on a pan of lasagne, with a portion cut out of the corner cutting off the last letter of ‘stick’, revealing the aluminium foil, clean, beneath. Transcience increases with age. While older adults those over 50 years of age have the same ability to remember in the short term as younger people, over time, memory of specific detail deteriorates more rapidly. As a result, older adults tend to rely upon a general sense of ‘knowing’ rather than specific recall. The problem of memory transience can be mediated by more elaborative encoding, essentially by stimulating the lower left frontal cortex. One popular way of trying to encourage more elaborate encoding is by using visual imagery mnemonics to facilitate memory. In fact, this idea goes back to the early Greeks. Unfortunately for marketing communication, not only does using visual mnemonics require a great deal of concentration and effort (and there is no easy way to encourage such effort), but for most people there is really very little evidence of general memory improvement using such techniques. †¢Advertising implication: However, one way to encourage more elaborative encoding to help reduce transcience is to relate information the target audience is interested in remembering with something they already know. In advertising, this could be encouraged with questions in the copy to stimulate elaboration: for example, in a recent advert for the Dodge Caravan with the headline ‘What Idiot Coined the Phrase ‘Stay at Home Mom’?’ THE SIN OF ABSENT-MINDEDNESS When one fails to pay proper attention to something and as a result does not encode it properly, or when the information is actually in memory, but overlooked when needed to be retrieved, one experiences the sin of absent-mindedness. Absent-mindedness manifests itself both in failing to  remember past experiences as well as in failing to remember to do something in the future. Both, of course, can prove troublesome for marketing communication. Also, the fact that absentmindedness is more likely for routine experiences that do not in and of themselves require elaborative encoding (e.g. exposure to advertising) adds to the problem. Unfortunately, routine behaviour (which certainly includes such things as reading magazines and watching television) is associated with low levels of prefrontal cortex activity in the left inferior area, which makes it difficult to form vivid memories. Such automatic or superficial levels of encoding can also lead to something known as ‘change blindn ess’ (Simons & Levin 1998), where people fail to detect changes over time, because of an inability to recall details. This has obvious implications for the introduction of new benefits over time in advertising campaigns, or for repositioning. Memories for past experiences may be classified as either recollections or familiarity. Recalling specific details from memory (e.g. remembering specific benefit claims from an advert) is defined as recollection. Familiarity is when one has a sense of simply being aware of something without recalling specific details (e.g. remembering ‘seeing’ an advert, but not particular content). This difference is important, because when there is divided attention during exposure, there is a significant effect upon recollection, but little or no effect upon familiarity (cf. studies by Craik et al. 1996). †¢Advertising implication: Because one is more likely to pay partial attention rather than full attention to advertising, familiarity with advertising is more likely than recollection of specifics from the advertisement. This underscores the importance of maintaining a consistent ‘look and feel’ over time (Percy et al. 2001), encouraging familiarity, and utilising imagery that will elicit a positive benefit (associated with the brand) even at low or even sub-cognitive levels of attention. Additionally, too much exposure, especially massed exposure, could lead to lower levels of specific ‘recollection’ (as we understand from as long ago as Ebbinghaus 1885). Spaced exposures generally result in better memory, a finding demonstrated in Strong’s simulations (1974) of various media schedules based upon Zielske’s work, and more recently in fMRI studies conducted by Wagner et al. (1998). Remembering to do something in the future (e.g. buying an advertised brand the next time you are shopping) is described by psychologists as  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœprospective memory’. Einstein and McDaniel (1990, 1997 with Shaw) have offered a useful way of looking at this idea of prospecti ve memory, distinguishing between what they call ‘event-based’ prospective memory, where we want to remember to do something at a specific event, and ‘time-based’ prospective memory, when one wishes to remember to do something at a specific time in the future. An example of event-based prospective memory would be wanting to buy a new brand the next time you are at the store. An example of time-based prospective memory would be making sure you are home at 3p.m. to meet the delivery man. Why people experience prospective memory failure is that they are usually so preoccupied with other things in their lives that when the event occurs, or the time arrives when it is necessary to remember to do something, the correct associations in memory are not activated. †¢Advertising implication: Prospective memory failure may be minimised in advertising by using distinctive cues that are unlikely to be associated with other long-term memories (especially for competitive brands). It is important to establish links in memory with the appropriate category need in such a way that when a purchase or usage occasion occurs, it will trigger a memory of the intention to act. This is especially true for recognition-driven brand awareness, which means for most package goods products. In the store point-of-purchase material as well as packaging must be both sufficiently informative to trigger the stored memory of an intention to buy, and be distinctive enough to minimise confusion with other brand memories. Shoppers are almost always in a hurry and preoccupied with other things when they are in a store, and this may get in the way of attending to the appropriate prospective memory cue. This is just the sort of thing that goes on when a salesman creates a distraction, hoping you will forget all about your initial good intentions not to be influenced by his pitch, as we know from the literature on compliant behaviour (cf. Cialdini 2001). THE SIN OF BLOCKING We are all familiar with the sin of blocking, that all-too-familiar experience of recognising someone but not being able to remember their name. According to Schacter (2001), blocking is not the same thing as absent-mindedness or transience. In the case of blocking, the memory has been encoded and stored, unlike absent-mindedness. In fact, an appropriate  retrieval cue could be in place, but the association is just not made. Unlike transience, with blocking, the information is still in memory, but remains just out of reach when required. Because blocking generally occurs when trying to remember names, it potentially can be a problem for brand names. Blocking seems to originate in the left temporal pole, where there is a breakdown in the link made between the characteristics associated with something and the name by which it is known. The reason people often have trouble remembering someone’s name is that a person’s name tends to be isolated in memory from any conceptual knowledge about that person and, as a result, difficult to retrieve. Most models of name retrieval hold that activation of phonological representations in memory occur only after activation of conceptual and visual representations. This is why it is easier to recall something about a person than to recall their name. It is also what can lead to remembering something about a product without being able to recall the brand name. Interestingly, names that are most likely to be blocked are familiar ones which have not recently been encountered (Burke et al. 1991. †¢Advertising implication: Brand names that are not well integrated or related to obvious associations with category need will be highly susceptible to blocking. If there are no logical and immediate links in memory between a brand name and the category need, there is the ri sk of occasional blocking. Arbitrary or more abstract brand names will be blocked more often than descriptive brand names, even when those names are equally familiar to people (cf. Brdant & Valentine 1998). Brand names such as Vitalegs (a herbal gel that relieves tired legs) and Soft Scrub (a cleanser that enables you to clean without harsh scratching) illustrate good descriptive brand names that are less likely to be susceptible to blocking. To minimise blocking, it is necessary to suppress the retrieval of recently encountered information that is related to a recall cue so that the mind is not cluttered with irrelevancies that could interfere with the desired memory. †¢Advertising implication: When a brand possesses identical or similar benefits as the leading brand in its category, it will be that much harder to build an association for those benefits with the brand because of learned interference from advertising for the leading brand. This again suggests the need to have copy (and packaging as well as other marketing communication) unique to a brand in order to avoid multiple connections in  memory that could minimise or override the desired brand-related memory. Certain retrieval inhibitions that lead to blocking can be ‘released’ if we encounter a sufficiently powerful cue (e.g. nondeclarative emotional memories) that helps us re-experience something in the same way in which it was initially experienced. Appropriate triggers in advertising or other marketing communication that elicit the correct emotional memories may help overcome retrieval inhibitions, and release positive memories for a brand. A wonderful advert for Nestl’s Toll House chocolate chips showing a mother with a pan of chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven with a little girl looking on in anticipation perfectly illustrates this point. THE SIN OF MISATTRIBUTION If one correctly remembers something learned, but attributes it to the wrong source, this is misattribution. Often referred to as ‘unconscioustransference’, it causes real problems with eyewitness identification. The problem stems from a strong sense of general familiarity, coupled with an absence of specific recollection. While the consequences of misattribution in advertising are obviously not as serious as they are with eyewitness identification, it can nevertheless cause marketers real problems. †¢Advertising implication: Avoiding misattribution requires more than simply retrieving appropriate benefits from memory. The benefit must be linked together in memory in such a way that you make the correct association of the brand with its benefit claim. This linking process is known as ‘memory binding’. All of the important brandbenefit associations in advertising must be bound together by the receiver into a unifying whole at the time of encoding. When advertising for different brands is visually or verbally similar, this memory binding is unlikely to occur, leading to memory conjunction error. Memory conjunction errors occur because people misattribute strong familiarity with similar (even if not identical) things from more than one source as coming from a single source; brand advertising in our case. Interestingly, a strong visualverbal congruence can help minimise misattribution (cf. Schacter et al. 1999). A recent series of adverts for Good Humor-Breyers uses the exact format and headline (‘Less fat, fewer calories, no guilt’) for three brands: Popsicle, Breyers and Klondike. This would seem to almost encourage misattribution. THE SIN OF SUGGESTIBILITY Suggestibility in memory occurs because one tends to include information that has been learned from an outside source as something personally experienced. This information may come from any external source, including advertising or other marketing communication. While suggestibility is similar to the sin of misattribution, misattribution does not require suggestions from outside sources. But when the two combine, it is quite possible for us to develop memories of something which in fact never occurred. †¢Advertising implication: Interestingly, while suggestibility may be a ‘sin’ of memory, in the world of marketing communication this sin may often become a blessing. For example, suggestive questions may produce memory distortions by creating source memory problems. As a result, advertising that utilises questions that remind people of a favourable brand association could occasion a ‘memory’ for that positive experience, even if it never occurred, e.g.: ‘Remember how easy it is to remove those nasty stains when you use our brand?’ Schacter has suggested that if you embellish a fake memory with vivid mental images it should make it look and feel like a true memory. This is based upon work done by Hyman and Pentland (1996) in successfully creating false childhood memories via suggestion, simply by asking subjects about things that never occurred. One of the important conclusions they drew from their work is that these false memories produce vivid visual images. †¢Advertising implication: The application to advertising is obvious. If a suggested favourable experience with a brand is reinforced with a strong visual image of such an experience, it should help seed a memory of a positive experience. In an extension of th ese ideas, we know that one of the best ways to elicit early childhood memories is to ask someone to ‘visualise’ themselves as children. While there is no evidence that anyone can remember anything much earlier than about two years of age, because the areas of the brain needed for episodic memory are not fully mature until that age, with suggestive visualisation techniques one can create false ‘memories’ for events going back almost to birth (cf. Spanos et al. 1999). The key here, as in all suggestibility, is expectancy. If one is instructed to expect something, and it seems plausible, it is possible to create rather strong false memories. †¢Advertising implication: It is very difficult to  suggest a false memory for something that runs counter to a recent or strong existing memory. If you don’t like a brand, advertising is not likely to create a false memory that you do; nor should you try. But if a brand is one of a set of brands used by the receiver, it is certainly possible to suggest more positive experiences with that brand. And if it is a brand they have not used, if the advertising c an relate it to a positive experience from childhood, it is quite possible to suggest positive memories for the benefit, and then link it to the brand. THE SIN OF BIAS The sin of bias reflects how current understandings, beliefs and feelings have the ability to distort how one interprets new experiences and the memory of them. Biases that are associated with memory of past experiences will greatly influence how one perceives and understands new information or situations. Schacter talks about five major types of bias: consistency, change, hindsight, egocentric and stereotypical biases. Gazzaniga (1998) has identified something in the left brain that he calls an ‘interpreter’ that continuously draws upon people’s experiences and understanding of things in order to provide some stability to their psychological world. This would seem to be the neurological source of biases, and utilises such things as inferences, rationalisations and generalisations in relating the past with the present, enabling people to justify their present attitudes with past experiences and feelings. The left brain interpreter, however, is mediated by systems in the right brain that are more attuned to actual representations of what is going on in the world around us. Consistency and change bias Consistency bias reflects a tendency to behave (or believe) today in a fashion consistent with how one remembers similar previous experiences. When this happens, current experiences and feelings are filtered through and made to match memories of those past experiences and feelings. Because memories are not ‘exact’, people tend to infer their past beliefs, attitudes and feelings from what they are experiencing today. †¢Advertising implication: This suggests that for people who hold current positive attitudes toward a brand, advertising could imply they are of long standing. For brand switchers who include a particular brand in their purchase set, advertising  could imply a long standing preference for that brand: ‘You know you have always liked this brand, why not buy more?’ Something similar occurs with change bias, where one remembers something being worse than it actually was, making what they feel now an improvement by comparison. Both consistency and change bias can occur because they help reduce cognitive dissonance, even when someone is not really aware of the source of the inconsistency they are trying to manage (Lieberman et al. 2000). Hindsight bias Hindsight bias is that familiar feeling that one has always known something would happen after becoming aware of the outcome. One is reconstructing the past to make it consistent with the present. The key here seems to be an activation of general knowledge. The new information is integrated with other general knowledge in semantic memory, and is not distinguished as such in making judgements. There is evidence that this selective recall is a function of the general knowledge that influences perception and comprehension, and a vulnerability to misattribution. †¢Advertising implication: Hindsight bias would seem to indicate that when exposed to advertising or other marketing communication one will ‘recall’ benefit claims that are not actually made, but which would have been expected to be there because of the claims that actually were made. Work by Carli (1999) tends to support this idea. Recent adverts for Infusium 23 set up a ‘beforeafter’ case, but lea ve out the ‘before’ picture, with the headline ‘You really think I would let them publish the before picture?’ This clever execution encourages hindsight bias as you imagine the ‘before’ hair problem. Egocentric bias The ‘self ‘ plays an important role in one’s ongoing mental life, and is at the root of egocentric bias. When encoding new information by relating it to the self, memory for that information will be better than other types of encoding. This is because people are more likely to value their own understanding of things, among other reasons because the self-concept plays a key role in regulating mental activity. As Taylor (1989) and her colleagues have pointed out, individuals do not see themselves objectively. †¢Advertising implication: The implication is obvious: include personal references in advertising and other marketing communication. Moreover, given  our tendency to see ourselves in a positive light, it follows that memories related to ourselves will be seen in a self-enhancing light. This suggests that copy asking people to remember a situation in a positive light should encourage an egocentric memory bias, e.g.: ‘remember when you ‘. In the same way, egocentric bias can result from exaggerating the difficulty of past experiences: ‘remember how hard it was to ‘. This idea is well illustrated in a campaign for National Rail’s Senior Railcard, where a dated-looking picture of a young child is featured, with headlines like ‘Remember what it was like to go somewhere for the first time’ and ‘Remember how it felt just to let yourself go’. THE SIN OF PERSISTENCE Research has shown that emotionally charged experiences are better remembered than less emotional occasions. The sin of persistence involves remembering things you wish you would forget, and it is strongly associated with one’s emotional experiences. †¢Advertising implication: Emotionally-charged information automatically attracts attention; and even in the briefest exposure, the emotional significance of it will be retrieved from nondeclarative emotional memory, and evaluated as to how that information will be encoded. Understanding the emotional associations generated by specific advertising is critical. Because people are more likely to remember the central focus of emotionally arousing information rather than peripheral details, it is essential to tie the brand in marketing communication to the appropriate emotion. Otherwise, it will become peripheral to the information conveyed (a problem with a lot of highly entertaining advertising). There is evidence that persiste nce thrives in negative emotional situations such as disappointment, sadness and regret. One’s memory of traumatic experiences is persistent, and while these unwanted memories may occur in any of the senses, visual memories are by far the most common. Research reported by Ochsner (2000) supports this idea. He found that when people recognise a positive visual image they tend to just say it is familiar to them. But when they recognise negative visual images, people relate detailed, specific memories of what they thought and felt when they were originally exposed to the picture. †¢Advertising implication: All of this underscores the importance of the visual images in advertising and other forms of marketing communication. Because persistence thrives in a negative emotional climate,  if advertising illustrates disappointment or problems dealing with a situation, which is resolved by using the brand, this should tap into any persistent memories of product dissatisfaction (always assuming such dissatisfaction). It also suggests that for appropriate product categories (especially those reflecting high-involvement informational decisions such as medical or other insurance, financial planning, and so forth) visual ‘reminders’ of past problems which could be avoided with a b rand should be an effective strategy. Such a strategy should also be equally effective in situations where there is strong psychological risk involved, e.g. reminding young people of a social ‘disaster’ which would never occur if they used our brand. The root of much of this kind of activity is centred within the amygdala, the source of nondeclarative emotional memory. It is the amygdala that regulates memory storage, and can release hormones that can ‘force’ us to remember an experience vividly (LeDoux 1996). And as we have already noted, this response by the amygdala is much more likely to occur for negative than positive experience. †¢Advertising implication: For appropriate product categories, it could make sense to create situations in advertising that suggest possible threats to the receiver’s wellbeing. This ‘threat’ may then well intrude upon active memory when thinking about the category, with our brand linked to avoiding the trouble. This is well illustrated in a recent advert for Imitrex, an ethical drug for migraine, that uses the headline ‘I can’t let a migraine call the shots that’s why I use Imitrex’. SUMMARY Schacter has provided us with an extremely useful framework for looking at memory problems: his seven sins of memory. Each of these ‘imperfections’ (in his words) has the potential for interfering with the successful processing of advertising and other marketing communication. Recent work in neurobiology, utilising the recent technology of fMRIs (functional magnetic resonance imaging) and PET scans (positron emission tomography), has shown us that our earlier understanding of memories as ‘snapshots’ stored away in the mind ready to be recalled is not how the brain works. Memories for objects and experiences are decomposed into a number of different parts and those parts are stored in various areas of the brain, waiting to be reassembled and ‘remembered’. This underscores why memories are rarely  perfect, and why they can be potentially unreliable. As this discussion makes clear, effective communication faces a number of formidable hurdles in m emory. However, forewarned with this knowledge, we are in a better position to avoid or at least minimise some of these potential problems. To help advertising communication overcome the seven sins of memory, advertisers should: †¢ensure the message is carefully integrated with how a brand is understood (transcience) †¢encourage elaboration of points the target is interested in remembering (transcience) †¢use personal references, especially to positive memories (bias) †¢imply current positive brand attitudes are of long standing (bias) †¢tie brands to appropriate emotions (blocking, persistence) †¢use distinctive cues not likely to be associated with other longterm memories (absent-mindedness) †¢create a unique brandbenefit claim link (misattribution) †¢establish links in memory to appropriate category need (absentmindedness) †¢make sure those links are well integrated with obvious associations to the category need (blocking) †¢ensure a consistent ‘look and feel’ over time to encourage familiarity (absent-mindedness) †¢use strong visual images to create or reinforce positive memories associated with the brand (suggestibility) †¢utilise reminders of past problems that could be avoided or solved by the brand (persistence). If these points are considered in the creation of advertising executions, one is well on the way to avoiding, or at least minimising, problems inherent in how memory works. REFERENCES Brdant, S. & Valentine, T. (1998) Descriptiveness and proper name retrieval. Memory, 6, pp. 199206. Burke, A., Mackay, D.G., Worthley, J.S. & E. Wade (1991) On the tip of the tongue: what causes word failure in young and older adults? Journal of Memory and Language, 30, pp. 237246. Carli, I.L.L. (1999) Cognitive reconstruction, hindsight, and reactions to victims and perpetrators. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, pp. 966979. Cialdini, R. (2001) Influence: Science and Practice (4th edn). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Craik, F.I.M., Govoni, R., Naveh-Benjamin, M. & Anderson, N.D. (1996) The effects of divided attention on encoding and retrieval processes in human memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 125, pp. 159180. Ebbinghaus, H. (1885/1964) Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology. New York: Dover. Einstein, G.O. & McDaniel, M.A. (1990) Normal  aging and prospective memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 16, p p. 717726. Einstein, G.O., McDaniel, M.A. & Shaw, P. (1997) Aging and prospective memory: the influence of increased task demands at encoding and retrieval. Psychology and Aging, 12, pp. 479488. Gazzaniga, M.S. (1998) The split brain revisited. Scientific American, 279, pp. 5055. Griffiths, R.E. (1997) What Emotions Really Are. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Hyman, I.E. Jr. & Pentland, J. (1996) The role of mental imagery in the creation of false childhood memories. Journal of Memory and Language, 35, pp. 101117. LeDoux, J.E. (1996) The Emotional Brain. New York: Simon and Schuster. Lieberman, M.D., Ochsner, K.N., Gilbert, D.T. & Schacter, D.L. (2000) Do amnesiacs exhibit cognitive dissonance reduction? The role of explicit memory and attention in attitude change. Psychological Science. Ochsner, K.N. (2000) Are affective events richly recalled or simply familiar? The experience and process of recognizing feelings past. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 124, pp. 242261. Percy, L., Rossiter, J.R. & Elliott R. (2001) Strategic Advertising Management. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Schacter, D.L. (2001) The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Schacter, D.L., Israel, L. & Racine, C. (1999) Suppressing false recognition: the distinctiveness heuristic. Journal of Memory and Language, 40, pp. 124. Simons, D.J. & Levin, D.T. (1998) Failure to detect changes to people during realworld interactions. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 4, pp. 501506. Spanos, N.P., Burgess, C.A., Burgess, M.F., Samuels, C. & Blois, W.O. (1999) Creating false memories of infancy with hypnotic and non-hypnotic procedures. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 13, pp. 201218. Strong, E.C. (1974) The use of field experi mental observations in estimating advertising recall. Journal of Marketing Research, 11, pp. 369378. Taylor, S.E. (1989) Positive Illusions. New York: Basic Books. Wagner, A.D., Schacter, D.L., Rolfe, M., Koutstaal, W., Maril, A., Dale, A.M., Rosen, B.R. & Buckner, R.L. (1998) Building memories: remembering and forgetting of verbal experiences as predicted by brain activity. Science, 281, pp. 11881191.

Columbus was not an imperialist essays

Columbus was not an imperialist essays No matter what is thought of Christopher Columbus, there is no argument that he changed the course of history. Without Columbus and the European supremacy that followed, the United States of America would possibly not exist. He did what no other explorer dared do. He was determined to find the New World when everybody else was afraid to. This is what made Christopher Columbus defined as a courageous hero. Some people say he is the basis (how our country was discovered) of our country. There were other people who also uncovered America but Columbus was the most attributed. Although he was always judged to be vain, ambitious, greedy, and ruthless; traditional historians viewed his voyages as opening the New World to Western civilization and Christianity. Columbus should not be regarded as an imperialist because it is not true, he did not go there to conquer the people. Columbus accidentally lurched upon the land while looking for a short route to South-Eastern Asia. The Native Americans didnt actually discover the land, they just migrated there. Columbus had a purpose, to extend European relations and earn recognition for discerning the New World. He was very determined in finding the route to Asia but instead what he found was even better. He earned reverence from people as he was knighted by the queen. Among all interpretations is that his voyages were one of the turning points in history. If a person has a national holiday named after him then he or she must be exceptionally significant in history. There are many states that celebrate Columbus with statues throughout the nation and some that dont. Everyone has a different view on this, was Columbus a hero or villain? The idea that makes him a hero is the fact that he actually accomplished what he strived to achieve and more. He brought new wealth back to Europe, making him more credible. And of course he found the land itself which credits Co ...

Free Essays on Individual Retirement Accounts

Many people often live their lives without considering how they plan to retire. People do not realize that the idea of living solely on the benefits of social security is not realistic. In order to secure a comfortable future, people must have some type of additional income. Sacrificing a small amount of money into an IRA at a relatively early age could make a considerable difference in the lives of people upon retirement. When planning for retirement, Individual Retirement Accounts offer several benefits; however, careful planning is essential to ensure that: upon retirement there is an adequate amount of money saved, that the heirs to the IRA are chosen carefully, and that unnecessary taxes and penalties are avoided. It is important to consider how much money will be needed for a comfortable retirement. Careful planning is essential when considering an item with such importance. Phaneuf states that, according to figures used by most financial planners, upon retirement the average person will need roughly seventy percent of their current income to continue living their present lifestyles (94). With only income from Social Security and money saved in bank accounts, most people are unable to achieve this goal. Furthermore, one must also consider, for a retirement account to be effective the account has to maintain interest rates above that of inflation. Inflation increases approximately four percent annually; and standard bank accounts barely beat this rate. In fact, at present, most savings accounts have an interest rate below four percent. Thus, regular savings accounts are not a practical method to save for retirement; however, IRA’s offer deferred taxes on the interest e ! arned until the money is withdrawn from the account. Therefore for a given amount of money, there is a considerable advantage when saving in an IRA. In order to qualify for an IRA one must make under $95,000 and if married under $150,000.... Free Essays on Individual Retirement Accounts Free Essays on Individual Retirement Accounts Many people often live their lives without considering how they plan to retire. People do not realize that the idea of living solely on the benefits of social security is not realistic. In order to secure a comfortable future, people must have some type of additional income. Sacrificing a small amount of money into an IRA at a relatively early age could make a considerable difference in the lives of people upon retirement. When planning for retirement, Individual Retirement Accounts offer several benefits; however, careful planning is essential to ensure that: upon retirement there is an adequate amount of money saved, that the heirs to the IRA are chosen carefully, and that unnecessary taxes and penalties are avoided. It is important to consider how much money will be needed for a comfortable retirement. Careful planning is essential when considering an item with such importance. Phaneuf states that, according to figures used by most financial planners, upon retirement the average person will need roughly seventy percent of their current income to continue living their present lifestyles (94). With only income from Social Security and money saved in bank accounts, most people are unable to achieve this goal. Furthermore, one must also consider, for a retirement account to be effective the account has to maintain interest rates above that of inflation. Inflation increases approximately four percent annually; and standard bank accounts barely beat this rate. In fact, at present, most savings accounts have an interest rate below four percent. Thus, regular savings accounts are not a practical method to save for retirement; however, IRA’s offer deferred taxes on the interest e ! arned until the money is withdrawn from the account. Therefore for a given amount of money, there is a considerable advantage when saving in an IRA. In order to qualify for an IRA one must make under $95,000 and if married under $150,000....

Semiotic Analysis Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Semiotic Analysis Paper - Essay Example Thus by making use of print media, the recruiter is also attempting to make use of this power to enforce new thoughts and replace stereotypes. The depth of semiotics can be determined by the impact they have â€Å"at the point of consumption† (Eagleton, 1983), so we need to evaluate the explicit cues in light of the context in which they appear. When we look at the purpose of the message we can infer that the it was meant to be delivered to a mass audience at the same time, for this purpose print media or out-of-home media can be very effective (Machin, 2004). The message uses visuals as well as text to attract the attention of a large audience towards the noble profession of nursing. As we perform the semiotic analysis of the image, we infer that the visuals in the image are just the tip of the iceberg; this image delivers a great deal of implicit meaning. Since the advertisement is designed to attract younger audience towards the nursing profession, it effectively makes use of semiotic elements in a very aesthetically pleasing manner to deliver the message. According to Nava, young people today are very perceptual towards advertising, so aside from differentiating the marketing element of an advertisement, treat advertisements as aesthetically pleasing objects (1992, pp 15-21). Signifiers There are a number of signifiers present in this image. The first signifier here is a man wearing green scrubs with a stethoscope around his shoulder. The nurse appears to be a middle-aged man of African origin who has a confident smile on their face. The back ground is blurred so more emphasis can be made on this signifier. The second signifier is a group of four smaller images on the bottom-right side. The images show nurses performing very critical and life-saving duties in healthcare. The nurses in these images are also male. The third signifier is the headline on the top right corner that says â€Å"My nurse is a Hero, he saved my life†. The text is writte n in all-caps in a large font and is in white colour so that it stands out from the image in the back ground. It is also written within inverted commas which show that it is a statement by a person. The fourth signifier is the sub-heading which says â€Å"Are you man enough to save a life?† this text is in smaller font and appears at the bottom of the four smaller images. This text too is in white but not in all-caps. It also appears between inverted commas which show that it is a stated question for the audience of the advertisement. The fifth signifier is the logo of the recruiter which appears at the bottom right corner of the image. It is placed in a footer which is blue so that the logo stands out. The Sign The sign in this image is a little complex. To start with when one thinks of the term nurse, almost inevitably the image of a woman appears. On the contrary the term â€Å"nurse† is not gender-specific; a nurse could be a man. Another sign in this picture is th at although the man is wearing stethoscope around his shoulders and wearing scrubs, we infer from the heading that he is a nurse and not a doctor. Most people relate stethoscopes to doctors and it becomes confusing when nurses are not wearing uniforms to distinguish them. Signified Presently women outnumber men a great deal in the nursing profession. This has little to do with their capabilities or lifestyles and more to do with the stereotypes of the profession. The term â€Å"male nurses† is as inappropriate as â€Å"

The Simplified Acquisitions Methods- Contract Administration and Essay

The Simplified Acquisitions Methods- Contract Administration and Management - Essay Example Government official can make and pay for a simplified acquisition using cash, purchase order, government wide purchase order at the convenience of the company (small businesses in this case). To win this acquisition, the company must simply provide contracting officials with a quotation. Simplified acquisition is a flexible method of purchasing as procedures vary by contract value. It also favors small businesses in the following ways: reduces administrative costs, improving opportunities for small firms, small disadvantaged firms and women owned small businesses, promotes efficiency and economically essential in acquisition of contracts and finally to avoid unnecessary burden for agencies and contractors. The public law established special requirements for the acquisition of commercial items intended to more closely resemble those customarily used in the commercial marketplace. The federal government developed a unit that conducted market research as an essential element of building an effective strategy for the acquisition of commercial items and establish the foundation for the agency description of need, the solicitation and resulting contracts (Office of the Federal Register US, 2010). The government also set specific procedures for solicitation, evaluation and award of contracts. Those procedures were to be adhered to by the contractors, thus making business favorable for small businesses. Other laws set by the federal government to monitor contracting include: contract quality assurance, notification of overpayment and determination of price reasonableness (Office of the Federal Register US, 2010). The use of technology has been an enormous advancement in the business sector; it makes transfer of information from one party to the other easily and efficiently. This therefore saves time as far as acquisition of products and contracting is concern. This can be achieved by attachment of quotations on a mail for