Avoiding Groupthink Avoiding Fatal Flaws in Group Decision Making

Avoiding Groupthink Avoiding Fatal Flaws in Group Decision Making You will agree that making decisions is not the easiest thing to do. Still, we do it, every day, every minute, every second.Sometimes we are quite aware of that process, while in other moments we are not.And there are times when we simply cannot make out whether we are using our own heads during the procedure, or perhaps it’s a result of a group impact.Our task here is to help you learn more about avoiding groupthink.Find out more about avoiding fatal flaws in group decision making as that’s the only way to keep things going the right way-your way.Each type of thinking has its own pros and cons, but some people find it difficult to stick to their own opinions and beliefs.That’s because they lack some basic skills which may help them strengthen their own attitude and be more self-confident.Stay with us for more useful tips!HOW TO DEFINE GROUPTHINK?You probably know the moment- the one when you feel that things are on some desirable course and out of nowhere “blindspots” appe ar and confuse you!You realize that you don’t even know what were you suppose to decide about, is it your duty after all or should the group be involved as well?Congrats, you are a just about to get into the nasty trap called Groupthink! This intriguing term was created back in 1972 by Irving L. Janis.This social psychologist used it to describe an interesting phenomenon in which individuals often set aside their own beliefs and opt for the one that the group shares, striving to make a consensus.It’s an integral part of human’s nature to use common sense while making a decision.This involves several components such as expressing critiques and unpopular attitudes, giving alternatives.However, when the phenomenon we mentioned takes its place, the ability to make decisions and solve issues using exclusively your head slowly begins to fade away.Of course, this does not mean that sharing the same opinion with the group is necessarily a bad thing always.The psychologist wanted to fi nd out that curious case where the group can make a good decision in one moment and then make a disastrous one in the very next.Long story short- he blamed it all on poor analyses of alternatives as well as the lack of opposing opinions and conflicts.On top of it all, he also pointed out that an insufficient amount of information leads to the impossibility to make an informed decision.Before we get deeper into analyzing this phenomenon, allow us to give you two most popular examples that illustrate it. Those are Challenger Space Shuttle disaster and Bay of Pigs invasion.In the first one, engineers of the spacecraft were knowledgeable about some faulty parts months before the launch, but they did not want negative press so they proceeded with the take-off anyway.The other one refers to President Kennedy’s decision which encountered the support from individuals around him, despite their concerns.RECOGNIZING GROUPTHINK-LEARNING THE SYMPTOMSNow that you have the definition, you may th ink that spotting it is as simple as it can be.Well, don’t be fooled, because even though the explanation itself is rather clear, numerous factors which are included in it make it more challenging to recognize it easily.However, there are several occasions where this phenomenon occurs more frequently, and that’s when there’s:Extreme cohesion in the teamPlenty of strong external pressure to make a good decisionAn atmosphere of isolation where a team operatesA determined and persuasive leader to represent the groupNo standard means for evaluation of suggestionsHomogenous ideology and social background of the teamPlenty of performance-related stress in the communityA recent failure and numerous moral dilemmasUnveiling a layer by layer of this complex behavior leads us to the next step, which is learning more about the symptoms which are common for it. Here comes the list: Peer PressureWhen an individual in the team gives an opinion which opposes to the one others have or question s the rationality behind a decision, the rest of the group work unitedly to pressure or penalize that person and make him/her compliant.Such individuals are often considered to be a sort of traitorous and disloyal outcasts.It’s a common case that the group puts a sarcastic demand before such person, by reminding him/her that leaving the team is an option if such person feels that the group is making a mistake. StereotypingThis usually comes as a result of uninformed views in the group.Those who advocate individual opinion are seen as party breakers because having an opposite and inferior set of morals and characteristics from the rest of the team is simply not right.Such a group attitude leads to discrediting someone’s opposition.This goes so far that the group even begins to ignore or demonize the “outcasts” who may oppose, question or challenge the teams ideas. ComplacencyThis is one of the most common traps which often appears as a consequence of the first two symptoms we described.After a few rightfully made decisions, the community begins to feel like anything they decide is the unquestionably correct one because no-one disagrees with it.To strengthen such common belief and keep the community under such an impression, the track record of successful (group) decisions is often mentioned.The purpose of this is to encourage people to believe that group thinking is the only way to reach success. CensorshipTo make individuals censor their opinions, by persuading themselves that their thoughts are surely wrong if they are different from the rest of the group.Any information that is not compatible with what the team advocates is strongly rejected. There are no alternatives. RationalizationThis occurs when the entire team convinces themselves that the group decision is the best one, despite evidence that proves otherwise.As an argument, such people often say that the others haven’t researched the situation to the detail, which is why their (individual) d ecision is not right. Moral High Ground In a group, each person believes that he/she is ethical.When a group consists of several moral minds, it’s impossible to make a poor decision.Adding righteousness as a mandatory component for making decisions, the pressure gradually grows.That’s because no-one wants to be seen as immoral. Illusion of ConsensusWhen no-one’s opinion stands out or no individual speaks out, the entire team feels the communitys decision is unanimous.Such an attitude feeds the Groupthink and everyone believes that the entire community feels the same. IS IT POSSIBLE TO AVOID GROUPTHINK?if you feel that during a meeting the mentioned symptoms are present, stay calm. Panic won’t help, but a clear mind will.What has to be done is think of smart ways to prevent killing critical thinking and inspire individuals to have an uncommon approach while solving problems.Here’s a procedure that might be of help:1) Everyone in the team should have a critical evaluation of ideas.This is one of the simplest steps.How to perform it, you wonder?Well, ask everyone in the team to take several moments to note down both the advantages and disadvantages of suggestions that have been given before the debate takes place.Though this is more than simple, not everybody feels free enough to express themselves. If you are still worried, there’s a solution to solve all your worries.Get a polling app that allows individuals in the team to vote or comment on subjects anonymously.2) The boss of the team must keep all ideas to him/herself.When one is a leader, his/her opinions have a big impact on others.That’s where the issues may appear, as shy employees will think twice before disagreeing with the leader’s opinion or suggesting an idea that is better than the one expressed by the leader.Leaders should try to prevent the situation where his/her beliefs lead to a discussion.If that happened, plenty of great opportunities to discover individual talents and strengt hs in the team will be missed, and that is sometimes critical to future successes.3) The team head should be a no-show.Even when one is completely silent, body language is never on mute. It’s impossible to turn it off.That’s particularly problematic during meetings.Even when one says nothing, people in the team know his/her feeling about the situation.If you want to boost the self-confidence in individuals in your team, let them know that you value their suggestions so much that you plan to be absent from certain group discussions.That way your presence won’t have a notable impact on the final result.4) Consider a team approach.In case the community is a larger one, try with randomly dividing members into smaller communities. Give them the task to work on the same issue.Such an approach will have multiple benefits for the group- it will strengthen the relationship between people in the team, they will learn to discuss and value each other’s opinions.What’s even more, such a competitive atmosphere will inspire them to propose as many solutions as possible, striving to give the best one that will win.5) A thorough investigation of all alternatives.After the team came up with a list of suggestions or solutions, submit them to a standardized method of assessment.This is a simple procedure, as all it takes is to give the answers to some common questions such as:How does this concept support the goal?What are the expenses of this approach?What are the risks behind such a decision? and similar.6) An external perspective is a must.When the evaluation of various ideas and solutions begins, here’s an extra assignment for each member of the team. Ask them to get an outsider’s opinion.This works for the majority of the situation.However, if the solutions being discussed are sensitive, advise members to talk to specific and trusted leader inside the organization.7) Consultations from an outbound expert.Even when the team is highly specialized in a specific ni che, sometimes a project or solution has segments that go beyond the expertise of the community.The best move in such situations is to consider asking an outside expert to attend the meeting and participate in the discussion solutions proposed by the team.Outsiders often give a refreshing change to community dynamics, and expert opinions make it possible for everyone in the group to learn from a professionals understandings and wisdom.8) Who gets to be the devil’s advocate today?Once all the participants are present, draw straws to see who will be in charge of playing the devil’s advocate for the discussion.The chosen person will have to “think like an enemy” and oppose all popular suggestions during the discussion.The purpose of this is to support healthy debate and test the strength of different arguments.USEFUL TECHNIQUES TO DEAL WITH GROUPTHINKWhat made a revolution in approaching the problems in a company or a group is- team building activities.By playing a variety of e ngaging games, solving seemingly silly tasks and having lots of fun, members of the group build a strong relationship with each other.Here are two “games” we selected, which can minimize risk for Groupthink to show up:Six Thinking HatsThis interesting challenge forces you to leave aside your customary thinking style and to approach things from several various perspectives.This allows you to get a more complete overlook of your situation.Each of the hats represents a diverse way of thinking, and here’s what each of them means:White portrays your concentrate on the available information.You have to look at the data you have, analyze past tendencies, and find out what you can learn from it.The task is to find gaps in your knowledge and do your best to fill them or use them as a direction what is it that you should learn.Red represents intuition, gut reaction, and feelings when you are trying to solve the issue.While “wearing” this one, take other people’s emotional reaction s into consideration.Do your best to understand the responses of individuals who are not fully familiar with your reasoning.Black illustrates potentially negative consequences in the thinking process.Therefore, your attitude has to be cautious and defensive to see why it might not work.To put things simply, this hat highlights the weak points in the strategy and while “wearing” it, you have the power to eliminate and change them, or come up with several emergency plans to fight them.This way of reasoning toughens you and your plan-making process. Thanks to this, you can spot potentially fatal mistakes and risks before you take any action.The ultimate advantage of this hat is the “super-vision” that a person gets.Sometimes successful individual gets so used to a positive way of thinking that they often miss seeing issues in advance, which is why they become under-prepared for difficult moments.The yellow hat is the one to boost positive reasoning.Such an optimistic view serve s so you can see all the good sides of the decision as well as the value in it.When everything looks miserable and difficult, put on this one, and the perspective will suddenly become brighter.Green equals creativity. When this one’s on your head, you suggest uncommon and ingenious answers to a problem. It is a free way of thinking, in which there is little criticism of concepts.Blue indicates process control. Individuals who chair the meetings usually wear this one. When difficult moments occur because suggestions are running dry, they may lead activity into the creative direction by putting the green one on.When emergency plans are necessary, they will look for the Black one to wear.BrainstormingOn the contrary, there’s nothing stormy here, as this procedure mixes a relaxed, informal approach to fixing issues with lateral thinking.The purpose of such a method is to motivate individuals to come up with suggestions that can, at first, seem a bit silly.Some of these concepts can be transformed into original, uncommon answers to the situation, while others can trigger even more concepts.This helps to get individuals unstuck by inspiring them to abandon their common ways of doing things and making them think outside the box.During these sessions, individuals should avoid criticizing or rewarding suggestions.The goal is to come up with numerous options and break down wrong premises about the problems limits.Judgment and analysis at this phase obstruct concept creation and limit originality. Evaluation of suggested concepts takes place at the end of the session.That’s where using common methods occur.Standard group problem solving can often be jeopardized by unhelpful community behavior.And while its significant, to begin with, a structured, analytical procedure when fixing issues, this can lead a community to develop a restricted and unimaginative approach to suggesting concepts.By contrast, this approach provides a free and open surrounding that motivates e veryone to be involved.Unconventional suggestions are welcomed and supported, and all members are inspired to contribute fully, helping them deliver a wide range of creative concepts.When used during fixing issues, this process brings community members diverse experience into play. It levels-up the richness of suggestions explored, which means that you can often find better answers to the issues that you are confronted with.It can also help you get buy-in from community members for the selected solution â€" after all, theyre likely to be more dedicated to an approach if they were involved in developing it.Whats more, because masterminding is fun, it helps group members strengthen their relationships with each other, as they fix issues in a positive, rewarding atmosphere.While this process can be effective, its significant to deal with it with an open-minded and non-judgmental way of thinking. If you dont do this, people don’t feel like suggesting anything, the number, and quality of ideas decrease, and morale can suffer. OVERCOMING GROUPTHINKHowever, if the phenomenon does set in, you must recognize and announce its presence rapidly so that you can overcome it and get back to functioning effectively.These are the steps to go beyond it with as less trouble as possible:Even with good group decision-making processes in place, watch out for signals, so you can deal with them as soon as you spot them.If there are signs of the phenomenon, talk about them in the community. Once confirmed, the team as a whole can consciously free up its decision making.Evaluate the immediate risks of any approach, and the consequences for the community and its members. If they are high (for example risk of personal safety), make sure you take steps to completely analyze any decision before it is approved.If appropriate, seek outside approval, get more external data, and test hypothesis. Refer to these steps above as a starting point in spotting things that need to be altered.Come up with ordinary group techniques and decision-making tools and encourage the community to think of their “games”.CONCLUSIONAs you have seen, this phenomenon is not a rare one, but still, there are ways to learn to spot it and deal with it.We gave you the definition along with the list of symptoms so that you can be aware of it when this process occurs.Besides this, you are now familiar with practical techniques and games that will help you overcome it and support a creative and positive way of thinking.Each person and his/her opinion has its unique value and can give a valuable contribution, particularly when the problem is complex and multi-layered.Thats why open-mindedness and critical thinking should always be encouraged.With such energy in the team, the chances to be successful are even bigger.And thats exactly what motivates individuals to keep on pushing, for their own and the benefit of the community.Use our guide as a reference whenever you have doubts and always look for more games and techniques to improve skills and learn to eventually eliminate even the slightest possibility for Groupthink to occur.

Down With the Five Paragraph Essay!

Writing essays is a skill that will serve kids well throughout their lives. Knowing how to present facts and opinions in an interesting, understandable way is valuable regardless of whether they attend college or go directly into the workforce.   Unfortunately, the current trend  is to focus on a type of writing called the Five Paragraph Essay. This fill-in-the-blank style of writing has one main goal - training students to write essays that are easy to grade in the classroom and on standardized tests. As a homeschooling parent, you can help your children learn to produce informational writing that is meaningful and alive.   The Problem with the Five Paragraph Essay In the real world, people write essays to inform, persuade, and entertain. The Five Paragraph Essay allows writers to  do that but only in a limited way. The structure of the Five Paragraph Essay consists of: An introductory paragraph that states the point to be made.Three paragraphs of exposition that each lay out one point of the argument.A conclusion that sums up the essays content. For beginning writers, this formula can be a good starting place. The Five Paragraph Essay can help young students get beyond the one-paragraph page, and encourage them to come up with multiple facts or arguments. But beyond fifth grade or so, the Five Paragraph Essay becomes an obstacle to quality writing. Instead of learning to develop and vary their arguments, students remain stuck in the same old formula. According to Chicago Public School English teacher Ray Salazar, The five-paragraph essay is rudimentary, unengaging, and useless. SAT Prep Trains Students to Write Poorly The SAT essay format is even worse. It values speed over accuracy and depth of thought. Students are conditioned to turn out a large number of words quickly, rather than to take the time to present their arguments well. Ironically, the Five Paragraph Essay works against the SAT essay format. In 2005, Les Perelman of MIT found that he could predict the score on an SAT essay solely on the basis of how many paragraphs it contained. So to get a top score of six, a test taker would have to write six paragraphs, not five. Teaching Informational Writing Dont feel you need to assign your children school-type writing projects. Real-life writing is often more valuable and more meaningful to them. Suggestions include: Keep a journal. Many kids enjoy keeping a journal or notebook to capture their thoughts. It can be something to share with you (some teachers use journals to communicate with their students; you can do the same) or a private record. Either way provides useful writing practice.Start a blog. Even reluctant writers can become enthusiastic when writing has a purpose. Writing for an audience provides purpose. There are many options for starting a free blog and privacy features offer parents and students control over who reads the content.Write a review. Ask your kids to review their favorite books, video games, movies, restaurants -  the list is endless. Unlike most school-type reports, reviews have to be written with the audience in mind, and they have to be entertaining. They also help kids learn to express opinions and present valid arguments to the reader.Do a research paper. Give your kids essay-writing a purpose by integrating it into a history project or science topic. Let them c hoose an area that interests them and explore it in depth. Writing research papers also gives students practice in critical thinking and evaluating and crediting source material. Essay Writing Resources If you need some guidance, there are some fantastic online resources for writing essays.   How to Write an Essay: 10 Easy Steps. This hyperlinked guide by writer Tom Johnson is a particularly easy-to-follow explanation of essay-writing techniques for tweens and teens. Purdue OWL. Purdue Universitys Online Writing Lab contains sections on the writing process, how to understand an assignment, grammar, language mechanics, visual presentation and more. About.coms Grammar and Composition site has an entire section on Developing Effective Essays. Research Paper Handbook. A handy textbook by James D. Lester Sr. and Jim D. Lester Jr. The Five Paragraph Essay has its place, but students need to using it as a stepping stone, not the final result of their writing instruction. Updated Kris Bales.

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo - Book Review

Assistant Manager Free Essays

string(26) " important thing to them\." Education 2 72% University or above Geographic HECK Island , Central, TTS Commercial Areas Source The Hong Kong Audit Bureau of Circulations Ltd Nielsen Media Index HECK Year-End Report 2012 Demographic According to the source from HACK Ltd and Nielsen Media Index HECK Year-End Report in 2012, 70% of readers fall into the age range between 30-49 years old. It means that the readers are used to read SCAMP English newspaper. They are loyal to SCAMP for personal reading interest or business insight. We will write a custom essay sample on Assistant Manager or any similar topic only for you Order Now For education background, 72% of readers has university graduate or above so that they are well-educated, repressions and in senior position. The readers are willing to pay the higher price to get quality news instead of free newspaper. The readers under 29 years or below is only 19% of the total market. Geographic: SCAMP circulates the print via channels like newspaper stores and convenient stores. Most of the circulation gain from HECK Island, Central, TTS other commercial areas. As ethnicity was 57% of Non-Chinese and 43% of Chinese, it reflects most of the readers are foreigners. Demographic Geographic are presenting the similar data which means the result would be more truthfully and specifically. Most SCAMP readers are of premium social status such as Managers, Executives and Professionals for self-use etc. For corporate customers, company size with over 50 staff or global firms, the subscription of SCAMP is a corporate image. They are frequent and loyal users regardless of the higher subscription price. Also schools, universities, Government, financial banking clients are the major consumers. Behavioral: SCAMP bases on different consumers’ desires to provide the following marketing plan. 0 Monday – Friday, corporate and stable readers, regularly Sunday – leisure day, less demand, no corporate Saturday is more popular for Job seekers for The Classified Post Company: At least one copy of SCAMP daily 2. 2 Targeting The target customers are divided into B to C (Business to Consumer) and B to B (Business to Business) models. B to C (Business to Consumer) For consumer market, readers are decision makers, Government officers, Coos, senior executives, scholars, professionals, university students, and Westerners. Their average income belongs to high income group (40% Monthly Household Income HECK $70,000 or above). They have high spending power. Job seekers who look for quality arrears ’employers and better salary offers will search the Jobs from Classified Post. The employers / recruitment agents who look for quality staff will place advertising on Classified Post to recruit their staff. Besides, the consumers look for news with highest creditability and they are very loyal to SCAMP. B to B (Business to Business) For corporate customers like multi-national companies, they are very loyal to SCAMP and purchase at least one print in the office on a daily basis for company image or quote SCAMP news as educational reference and or use published statistics in their business reports. For primary, secondary and university students, Education Bureau encourage students to subscribe SCAMP newspaper to pick up their reading hobby. Undeniably, SCAMP is the leader of HECK English newspaper. . 3 Positioning SCAMP mission is ‘As we move forward in these rapidly changing times, can be summed up in three words: Aspiration, Connection and Trust. Aspiration: We deliver value and quality to our customers by enhancing knowledge. Connection: We bridge Hong Kong, China and the rest of the world, and we actively engage in these communities. Trust: We will grow with the region as the tr usted littoral on China. Being market leader in English newspaper, SCAMP won 11 awards in 2013, the Top Prize of Society of Publishers in Asia Editorial Award 2013. SCAMP gained the 1st ranking of Highest Credibility in Hong Kong newspaper market according to the survey conducted by Center for Communication Research of Chinese University (2011). SCAMP is consistently striving to seek ways to retain its market leader position in English newspaper market since 1903 and keeping the high standard in newspaper contents with highest credibility so that its readers are very loyal to SCAMP. 3. Marketing Mix The marketing mix is a business tool used to execute the market strategy into practical business activity. Our team is study focus on newspaper business – South China Morning Post (SCAMP) – an English Newspaper, retail selling price is HECK$9 from Monday to Saturday; HECK$II for Sunday Morning Post. The most important value of the newspaper is Fair, Fact, Credibility, and Integrity; it is why SCAMP can be the market leader and long lasting Product is â€Å"the tangible or intangible goods or services and how it can satisfy consumer’s needs and wants†. Products have different life cycle, it will grow, mature and eventually decline and phrase out. Therefore, SCAMP has carried various product mix in order to extend the product line to secure the income and maintain the growth of the business. Apart from printed copy, it has added digital subscription from 2010 as Internet and Smartened become more common and popular. They have changed the reading habit of the whole world. Besides, mobile APS application has been added in 2012. Subscribers are Job seekers who expect to find quality Jobs from the newspapers. On the other hand, it attracts employers or recruitment/hiring agents to post the recruitment advertisement on the newspaper. It is an important platform for Job seekers, employers and recruitment agents. Pricing is â€Å"the process of setting a price for a product or discount. The price needs not be monetary; it can simply be what is exchanged for the product or services. SCAMP is carrying premium pricing strategy. From circulation information, its target customers are well-educated and belong to the group of middle to high income. They are less sensitive (inelastic of demand) to commodity items like food and newspapers. Buying a newspaper at $9/$10 is not a concern to them. On contrast, Chinese newspaper segment is large and very sensitive to penny change on pricing, hush free newspaper is popular in the market Premium pricing also represents the reader’s prestigious status and quality. High credibility is the most important thing to them. You read "Assistant Manager" in category "Papers" Apart from newspaper revenue, advertisement is one of the major income streams in SCAMP. It also charges the customers higher advertising price for posting recruitment advertisement if comparing to Recruit, Jobs. It tells the customers that its readers possess good quality when they are looking for their companies. If the customers want to recruit people with high quality and capability, SCAMP is the only choice. Place (or distribution): â€Å"It is how to deliver the goods or service to the customer. † For printed newspaper, Scamps retailing channels will be news stand or convenient store e. G. 7-11 . In HECK, TTS, Central and HECK Island, due to business and commercial centers are gathered with numerous westerners coming from different countries. Hence, the circulation of printed copy in these districts is the most. For digital subscription, it is via internet or mobile app. Promotion: â€Å"It includes various methods of promoting the product, brand, or company including advertising, sales promotion, publicity, PR, direct marketing, digital arresting, sponsorship, personal selling. † Despite SCAMP is a media, it also needs to promote its business. Apart from putting advertisement on its own newspaper and website, SCAMP needs to promote its product via different channels. Loyalty discount to customer: Offer discount to loyalty readers, employers and recruitment agents who has subscribed its newspaper for a long period of time. SCAMP wins numerous Good Word-of-Mouth in this industry. It wins 11 awards gets the highest ranking in credibility in the HECK newspaper. E. G. Edward Snowmen fair selected SCAMP; it has shown its newspaper has high integrity to the public. It also Joins Job Exhibition Fair, Trade Fair, and Seminar to broaden its exposure to the public. 4. Customer Relationship Management Firstly, as mobile is the single fastest growing source of digital traffic, SCAMP continue to its existing digital offerings with new products such as SCAMP News Pulse, new phone app to enhance the relations with the customers, especially among younger generation. Secondly, if the customers have subscribed to the members of Classified Post, they can search their Jobs according to their requirements. The Classified Post (â€Å"CUP’) will keep customer’s C.V. and personal information in a highly secured way. Then, CUP provides Job Alert e-newsletter and course/self-enhancement information to subscribers’ emails based on subscribers, particular information. This would create a strong bonding relationship between SCAMP and its readers. 5. Market Analysis 5. Circulation Source The Hong Kong Audit Bureau of Circulations Ltd Cover price for SCAMP increased by $1 to $9 since January this year. The online subscription fee for scamp. Com has also increased in late June 2013. 2013-2015 According to the source from the Hong Kong Audit Bureau of Circulations Ltd, the daily circulation of SCAMP is around 100,860 to 107,629 from 2009 to the first half of 013. The daily circulation is very stable within this period. But the circulation m ix was changed once digital version was launched in the first half of 2010. In 2009, the daily circulation was solely print version. Once digital version was launched, it commenced to grow from 3363 in the 1st half of 2010 to 18,149 in the 1st half of 2013. The growth rate of circulation in digital version is 6 times in 3 years. There was a slight drop from 100,860 to 88,776 for print version from 2010 to 2013. This implies the fast growing popularity of phone affect the habit of readers and there is growing rend in digital version in the future. Michael Porter’s 5 forces 1. Bargaining Power of Paper Suppliers – Due to the cost of paper material increases, the paper suppliers will transfer the incremental cost to SCAMP. It is under great pressure to increase the price of the newspaper print. 2. Bargaining Power of Customers – Customers have little switching cost to read other newspapers. Besides, free digital version is offered by HECK Standard. 3. Threat of New Entrants – There are many English newspapers emerging in HECK market like China Daily and Wall Street Institute which provide free newspapers at some selected estates. . Threat of Substitute Products – Due to growing popularity of phone, the customers have been changing their habits of reading newspapers. Digital version or mobile APS to access the updated newspapers create tremendous treat to the traditional newspaper industry. 5. Competitive Rivalry Within An Industry – The major competitors, HECK Standard is aggressively offering 200,000 free tabloid newspapers distributed in different districts on a daily basis as well as providing free digital version to their readers. Competitor Analysis The Standard is doing the same as SCAMP to provide English newspaper print, digital erosion and Job searching function. The Standard has changed to a free newspaper since September 2007. On the other hand, it provides different levels of subscription discounts, which include digital subscription only and print plus digital version subscription. It also offers corporate digital subscription which allows multi-reader access to the digital version. The subscriptions allow readers to access their online and tablet content unlimitedly. We have made a comparison table between SCAMP and The Standard so that we can have more understanding of the keen competition in the newspaper industry. Comparison of SCAMP and The Standard SCAMP The standard price $9 Free (1st free newspaper since 2007) Digital Version Yes Yes Daily circulation Format Black white, standard size Full-color, Tabloid Functions Archive news up to 10 years Archive news up to 1 year *HACK Audit July-DCE 2012 ** â€Å"The Standard† official website Strength Diversified information SCAMP has published diversified information. It includes the information of current issues, information of sports, property, finance, lifestyle. Also, it encloses Classified Post for Job seekers; Young Post and Education Post for student subscribers. Market leader There are not much English newspapers being published in Hong Kong. The major competitor is The Standard. The competition is not keen. Thus, SCAMP is the market leader among English newspapers. Sustained demand SCAMP targets high-educated customers. Usually, they earn more, they can afford more. Also, those NC corporations, universities and foreign residents all have regular subscriptions. There is sustainable demand. Weakness Increased staff production cost Source: SCAMP Group 2013 Interim report – Extract of Income statement Staff and production costs have increased for about HECK$48. Million and HECK$3. Lion respectively. It is mainly due to the increase in headcount and SCAMP Group has included the production of ELL on 2013. It decreases the net profit. Less popular in HECK It costs HECK$9, which is the most expensive newspaper in Hong Kong. Also, it’s bulky in size. It’s inconvenient for readers to carry it around. Moreover, it cannot satisfy those non-Engl ish readers. It cannot become a popular newspaper in Hong Kong. Subscription for unlimited digital access If readers want to have unlimited access on digital access, they are obliged to subscribe by money. However, other Hong Kong newspapers, including The Standard, are free of charge on digital version. It may hinder the increase of digital readers as they may prefer choosing free information. Shares have been suspended trading Its shares have been suspended trading in HECK stock market since 26 February 2013. SCAMP is a listed company in Hong Kong, however, its percentage of public float confidence on the investment and the public image of SCAMP has been affected. Opportunity Increases on demand Source: HECK Census and Statistics Department (â€Å"HACKS†) website – Population statistics Source: HECK Census and Statistics Department (â€Å"HACKS†) website – Foreign companies The above statistics has shown that HECK population has kept rising since mid of 2010 to 7,KICK in the mid of 2013. It has also shown that the number of foreign companies setting up local offices in HECK has increased. There is an opportunity for SCAMP to acquire more readers from the growth of population and foreign corporations. Hong Kong Government has promoted post-secondary education since the past decade. The below 2 tables have shown that there has been an increasing trend for people had Post-secondary education nowadays: The demand of English-language newspaper has been increasing with the rising umber of high educated people. Expand new market It can expand new market by the advancement of technology on digital version, for example â€Å"Southern China† as there has been an economic growth in China in the recent years. Threats Keener advertisement added competition The Government has increased 2 new free licensed TV. The advertisement companies have 2 more advertising channels, so there would be keener competition. Decreasing newspaper revenue Source: SCAMP Group 2013 Interim report Revenue from newspaper has been decreased for near HECK$5 million for the 2 interim periods. It indicates less people are willing to buy newspaper. How to cite Assistant Manager, Papers

Business Accounting Land and Building

Question: Describe about the Business Accounting for Land and Building. Answer: Introduction: In the case given, there are mainly 2 proposal on which the board of the directors of the company are confused as to which alternative must be chosen. This report relates with the issue of shares and the other with the sale and leaseback of the land and building. The company undertaken for the purposes of this report is Black Box Ltd. This report and the main aim of the Black Box Ltd is to know as to which option under the given 2 proposals would be favourable for it. The company is trying to look and go for an option that results in the minimum amount of the cash outflow and also the same complies with the Australian Accounting standards. Issue of shares: The AASB 132 deals with the presentation of the various financial instruments. In respect of the equity instruments, the examples of which includes the non-puttable ordinary shares, many types of the preference shares and warrants. The issuer of these non-puttable ordinary shares takes into account the fact that there are many of the formal acts that make the distribution and also become somewhat legally obliged to the shareholders in doing the same. This would be so when there is a declaration of the dividend or when the entity is being wound up or in the case, there are any assets left out after the satisfaction of the various liabilities that becomes distributable to the shareholders. There is a purchased call option or there are some of the similar contracts that have been acquired by the entity and that gives them the right to acquire the fixed number of the equity instruments in exchange of the delivering of the fixed amounts of cash or any other financial asset which is not a financial asset for the company. Further, in respect of the settlement of the equity instrument of the company which are its own, the examples of which includes the classification of the different types of the contracts of the own equity instruments of the company. These would further include the contract that would be settled by the entity when it comes to receiving or delivering the fixed number of the own shares for the future consideration or exchanging the fixed number of the own shares of the company for the fixed amount of cash or any other financial asset which is an equity instruments. As per the standard, any amount of consideration which would be received or be paid for such of the contract would be added or be deducted from the equity. On example of the same would be the issued share option that gives the right to the company to buy some fixed number of the shares of the entity for a fixed amount of cash. In case, there is a contract that requires the entity to purchase its own shares or any other financial assets at some fixed or at a determinable date or in demand, then the entity would recognise that financial liability for the present value of that redemption amount. An example of the same would be the obligation of the entity under the forward contract to repurchase the number of its own shares for a fixed amount of cash. When an entity decides to purchase back its own shares, then that would give rise to the financial liability for the present value of the amount of redemption even in the case wherein the shares have bene obliged to be repurchased and the same is not fixed or in case, the obligation is somewhat conditional on the counterparty that exercises the right of redemption. Another example of the same is the conditional obligation which is an issued option which requires the entity to purchase the own shares of the company for cash in case the counterparty exercises this option (AASB, 2016). There could be a contract wherein the settlement may be in cash or in any other form of a financial asset. This would include the payment of cash or the financial asset that would be delivered or received on the basis of the changes made in the market price of the equity of the company. There could be a contract that could be settled in a variety of ways in the own shares of the company whose value is equal to the underlying value of that asset. Such a contract is considered to be a financial asset or a financial liability (AASB, 2016). Now, if the company goes for the payment of just $50 per shares, then there would be a cash outlay of $6,140,000 but if the company goes for the second option, then then cash outlay of the company would be $7,613,600. So, it is recommended that the company goes for the first option wherein it just has to pay $50 per share at the end of the 10 years. This is as per AASB 132. Sale and leaseback: The companys usually want to keep leases off their books since they like to defer their expenses and they do the same by the way of reporting their leases as operating leases. The financial Accounting standards Board has the following rule when it comes to treating the lease as the capital lease. The capital lease is when it meets any of the following 4 conditions: If the life of the lease is more than the 75% of the life of the asset. If there is a provision of ownership to the lessee at the end of the term of the lease. If there is an option to purchase the asset at the bargain price as in the end of the term of the lease. If the present value of the lease payments when discounted at the appropriate discount rate is more than 90% of the fair value of the asset (Stern, 2016). Under the given case, company Black Box has an option to purchase back the asset in the end of the 10 years which is the useful life of the asset. Since this condition has been fulfilled, it can be considered as a capital lease. AASB 117 on leases states that this transaction includes the sale of the asset and then leasing the same back to the seller of that asset. The payment of the lease and the sales price is interdependent since these have been negotiated as a package (Chartered Accountants, 2016). In case, the leaseback is a finance lease, then the transaction would provide the finance to the lease with the asset in the security. It is for this reason that the excess amount is never treated as the income in the statement of profit or loss. In case, the sale price of the asset is below its market value, then the any profit or loss that have been recognised shall be deferred and shall be amortised over the term of the lease for which the asset is expected to be used. In case, the leaseback is an operating lease, then the payments of the lease and if the sales price is at the fair value, and there has been a normal sales transaction, then any amount of profit or loss would be recognised immediately. For th e purposes of the finance lease, there is no adjustment necessary till there is a fall in the value in the asset in which the carrying amount would go on to reduce the amount of the recoverable as per the requirements of the AASB. The disclosure requirements for the lessees and the lessors would be applied. And the same would apply in the case of the sales and leaseback transactions as well. The required description of the material leasing arrangements would lead to the disclosing of the unique or an unusual provision of the terms and the agreement of the transactions of sales and leaseback (AASB, 2016). If we follow the above stated standard on accounting, then it is a capital lease but the company would benefit if it goes for the operating lease. The company if it goes for the operating lease would pay and the amount of the lease and would charge the stated expense as against the profit for each year but if it goes for the capital lease, then it would be entitled for the depreciation and also, the lease payment would be treated like a loan. So, double benefit in the case if the company goes for capital lease. So, it must go for capital lease. For proposal number 2, the question is about as to whether the company must go for the operating or the capital/finance lease as per the AASB 117. As per the facts given in the question, the company will have to follow the capital/finance lease method since the majority period of the lease term is more than 75% of the total useful life of the asset. Also, this method is beneficial for the company since in this method, the company could treat the lease on the asset as loan and it would be entitled for tax deduction on this and also, it would be able to claim the depreciation on that asset which is gain tax deductible. Hence, capital/finance lease would be beneficial for Black Box. Conclusion: In respect of Proposal 1, it would be appropriate if the company goes for the cash payment at the end of the 10 th year. This is since it leads to a reduced cash outflow for the company. Further, the company must go for the cash payment at the end of the 10th year. Now, if the company goes for the payment of just $50 per shares, then there would be a cash outlay of $6,140,000 but if the company goes for the second option, then then cash outlay of the company would be $7,613,600. So, it is recommended that the company goes for the first option wherein it just has to pay $50 per share at the end of the 10 years. In respect of proposal 2, the companys sale and leaseback would be termed as a capital lease. The company if it goes for the operating lease would pay and the amount of the lease and would charge the stated expense as against the profit for each year but if it goes for the capital lease, then it would be entitled for the depreciation and also, the lease payment would be treated like a loan. So, double benefit in the case if the company goes for capital lease. So, it must go for capital lease. References: AASB 117 Leases. (2016).Charteredaccountants.com.au. Retrieved 7 October 2016, from https://www.charteredaccountants.com.au/Industry-Topics/Reporting/Australian-accounting-standards/Analysis-of-AASB-standards/AASB-117--Leases AASB 1033 Presentation and Disclosure of Financial Instruments. (2016).www.aasb.gov.au. Retrieved 7 October 2016, from https://www.aasb.gov.au/admin/file/content102/c3/AASB1033_10-99.pdf AASB 117. (2016).www.aasb.gov.au. Retrieved 7 October 2016, from https://www.aasb.gov.au/admin/file/content102/c3/AASB117_07-04_ERDRjun10_07-09.pdf AASB 132. (2016).www.aasb.gov.au. Retrieved 7 October 2016, from https://www.aasb.gov.au/admin/file/content105/c9/AASB132_07-04_COMPapr07_07-07.pdf Operating versus Capital Leases. (2016).Pages.stern.nyu.edu. Retrieved 7 October 2016, from https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/AccPrimer/lease.htm

The Effects of Violence in Media on Society Today Persuasive Essay Example For Students

The Effects of Violence in Media on Society Today Persuasive Essay Is societies violence the medias fault? This is the question that has been asked since before television was in every Americans house. Of course there are the different types of media today ranging from newspapers, to on-line reports and stories. There have been arguments upon arguments about this issue, and over 3,000 studies conducted. Unfortunately there isnt one single result, there is only an array of supposed answers to this undying question. CBS president, Howard Stringer is pointing to a different scapegoat for societys violence. I come from a country that puts a lot of American movies on and has more graphic violence within its live drama on the BBC than anywhere else, and there is a lot less violence in the United Kingdom than there is here. There are 200 million guns in America, and that has a lot to do with violence. We will write a custom essay on The Effects of Violence in Media on Society Today Persuasive specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now He feels it has to do with gun control, which others have suggested. But there are so many violent acts, that one cant focus on the guns, just like one cant focus on the media. David Phillips, one of the men we discuss later put it perfectly, Its like watching rain fall on a pond and trying to figure out which drop causes which ripple.There have been many studies conducted on the effects of violence on children, and on the effects on society as a whole. There have been about 3,000 studies performed on this topic. Two of the most prolific studies were the UCLA Television Violence Monitoring Report, and the Mediascope, Inc. test sponsored by the National Cable Television Association. Of course there were many other studies done, but these made headlines because of their results. The UCLA study focused on all of the television media, and discovered some interesting facts from their study. Prime Time Series raised the least concern. Theatrical films raised more concern and had a lot more violence. The Saturday morning cartoons had mixed reviews. 23% of the cartoons raised concern, but that was only rating the most popular cartoons: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, X-Men, etc. They termed the action in cartoons as Sinister Combat Violence which basically means the whole story line leads to violence.Mediascope, Inc. focused on the amount and context on cable, effectiveness of rating systems and parental advisories, and the success of anti-violent messages. They found that perpetrators go unpunished in 73% of all violent scenes, one out of four violent interactions involved the use of handguns, and premium cable channels present the highest percentage of violent programs (85%). There was more to their findings, but these were the more prevalent findings.University of Michigan psychologists Dr. Leonard Eron and Dr. Rowell Huesmann conducted a study, which continued for decades. This was conducted beginning in 1960. They took 800 eight-year-olds and found that children who watched many hours of violent television tended to be more aggressive in the playground and the classroom. They checked back with these kids 11 and 22 years later. They found the aggressive eight-year-olds grew up to become even more aggressive. They testified before congress in 1992 stating, Television violence affects youngsters of all ages, of both genders, at all socioeconomic levels and all levels of intelligence. The effect is not limited to children who are already disposed to being aggressive and is not restricted to this country.David Phillips, a scientist at the University of California in San Diego conducted a study on prizefights on television. He thought of this topic, because he felt there wasnt enough research being conducted on the copycat violence. He found that after prize fights on television, there would be about a 10 percent increase in murders for a few days afterwards. He quoted, It also seems to be the case that the kind of person killed just after the prizefight is similar to the person beaten in the prize fight.There are four major theories of television violence. The arousal theory, the social learning theory, the disinhibition hypothesis, and the catharsis hypothesis. These four hypothesis/theories are old and new conclusions to the question at hand. It is notable to see that some of these theories were stated as early as 1961. Most would have to disagree with these theories just because of the age of their births, but to most peoples surprise they still hold in the 21st century. The arousal theory is basically self-explanatory. This was theorized by P.H. Tannenbaum in 1975. .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 , .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 .postImageUrl , .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 , .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841:hover , .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841:visited , .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841:active { border:0!important; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841:active , .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Marshant Museum Of Art And History Essay He said exposure to television violence increases aggression because violence increases excitation, or arouses viewers (Tannenbaum Zillman, 1975). This is also being found in the recent studies, which shows the progression in the medias will to change.The social learning theory was described by Dr. Bandura. This theory says ways of behaving are learned by observing others, and that this is a major means by which children acquire unfamiliar behavior, although performance of acquired behavior will depend at least in part on factors other than acquisition (Bandura, 1973). A perfect example of this theory was when the murders occurred after the prizefights.The disinhibition hypothesis was L. Berkowitzs investigation. This hypothesis explains that television violence in certain circumstances will result in increased interpersonal aggression because it weakens inhibitions against such behavior (Berkowitz, 1962).The final theory, catharsis hypothesis was written by S. Feshbach. This theory explains that under certain conditions exposure to television violence will reduce subsequent aggression (Feshbach, 1961). What this is saying is that if someone sees a fantasy on TV, or now with technology, entertains themselves with virtual reality, that fantasy is fulfilled, which makes them not feel they have to do that in real life.So many people have discussed the topic of media effecting society, from Aristotle to the President of CBS. It has always been a question, but never as needy for an answer as now. Hopefully the government has some say in this soon, so the drama of centuries will finally be over. But that probably wont occur anytime soon.Aristotle was a big supporter of catharsis. He believed that the audience became psychologically involved with the story on stage, even though they knew it was 100% fiction. He felt when aggression climaxed with the actors, there was a catharsis in the audience, which was pleasurable to experience and left the audience cleansed, uplifted, and less likely to act violently among themselves. Sigmund Freud also felt as Aristotle did by saying, Unless people were allowed to express themselves aggressively, the aggressive energy would be dammed up, pressure would build, and the aggressive energy would seek an outlet, either exploding into acts of extreme violence or manifesting itself as symptoms of mental illness . But there is no direct evidence for this conclusion (Aronson, 1995, p. 258). President Clinton looks at it in a different light saying, for people who have never been taught to understand the consequences of their action these things can unintentionally set forth a chain reaction of ever more impulsive behavior. Hollywood figures of the 21st century blame factors such as poverty, drugs and alcohol, poor schooling, lax gun control and a general breakdown of families but not screen violence.University of Iowa professor of Journalism and Mass Communication Albert Talbott said, In the 30s, when I was a toddler, one of the things that concerned parents were comic books and the violence in them. As soon as the modern media started to develop, we have all kinds of things on how we are affecting people.Technology today isnt helping everyone to feel better about this dilemma. It is actually going to get worse before it gets better. There isnt only movies or news reports someone can watch to see violence, but also the new video game craze. Video games have become an enormous industry in the past decade. People from 4 years old to 70 years old own their own Sega Genesis or Nintendo Play Station. Of course there is a number of games to choose frombut what is the highest wanted game? None other then Mortal Combat. The name speaks for itself. Just for the record, this game consists of choosing a character, a weapon and then fighting another character until one is dead. It also is equipped with sound effects for when someone is punched or stabbed, and also shows the blood flying from the body when hit. So many studies have been done on the affects of media violence on children. Most are concerned with the results, especially parents. If the government, parents or others are so concerned with the effect of their child seeing violence on the television, maybe they should practice what they preach when Christmas rolls around. They should think twice before buying that Mortal combat III for their son. This is where it gets sticky. Parents need to draw the line between appropriate and not appropriate. It would be a nice convenience to have a rating system on the television, but parents should be aware enough of what their children are doing and watching that they are the rating system themselves.The question now is what is happening to help this situation currently? The answer is quite relieving. .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 , .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 .postImageUrl , .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 , .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190:hover , .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190:visited , .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190:active { border:0!important; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190:active , .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Hypotheses of the Effects of Wolf Predation Essay All of the networks are on their tippy toes so they wont get a bad name. The Entertainment Industries council, which distributes suggestions to the writers and producers of network shows and TV movies on social issues, is now meeting with writers to develop ways for dramatizing conflict without violence and showing the consequences of violence. MTV is the most risqu station on cable right now. It shows a good amount of sex and violence everyday. Usually more sex then violence, but there is a good amount of both. But at MTV, almost one out of three music videos submitted is being ruled inappropriate for broadcast.The V-Chip is another work in progress for parents. This device will be in all televisions within 5 years. It is a rating system for parents, and they can program it to cut off shows with violence or nudity, etc. This will help parents regulate what their children will watch, even when they arent around. It will be like on-line shopping, a convenience, but you still have to choose what you want to buy.Film director Oliver Stone says, Films have become more sanitized. Were moving away from reality. Were in the grip of a political correctness thats bothersome. Obviously there will be some who are concerned with the action government is taking, because media should be realistic and educating, even if it is gruesome. Some would disagree with that statement, and those are the ones taking action now. Photojournalist Assistant Professor John Kimmich Javier said, News isnt always pretty or nice. People must face that reality. People have had to face that reality, and now are taking action to stop that from continuing to be reality. Should it be stopped is the real question. What is the effect of violence in media with children compared to with adults? Children model behavior they see in the media. If they dont see the consequences of violence, it will teach them that violence doesnt cause serious harm. Adults see more violence in the media than actually exists in real life. Thats because producers believe that they have to include extraordinary violence in order to keep the viewer. When heroes use violence, children think that violence is an appropriate way to respond to problems. Children are younger, so they see things and apply that to their lives, because they are learning everything at that age. Adults look at it as the mean world syndrome in which they see how society is portrayed on TV, and they think that every neighborhood is dangerous, like shown. When in fact most neighborhoods are nothing like they are portrayed on TV. The writers and producers are exaggerating, to make it all interesting.There is also discussion of violence on TV not having any affect at all. People have seen so much, that they dont really think about the actual act occurring on screen. Hanno Hardt, a professor at J-MC School said, Its lost its shock value. Maybe 20 to 30 years ago we would have been shocked. Now, a generation later, we know that this is a violent society. And when we read about violence, it only reinforces what we know. People have become used to seeing violence on television, but this has become somewhat surreal to them. They dont think of it as reality until it happens to them. When violence happens to people or their family, they become eyewitnesses to this violence. They have personal experiences compassion sensitivity, fear. People havent lost that. We have covered a huge amount of information about the effect of violence in media on society. Did we answer the question though? I dont think we did, but I do think that the answer is making progress. We are also a lot more informed now of what exactly is in the media right now, and what studies have shown to be happening. There has always been an issue of something effecting society, and there will always be a plentitude of scapegoats. What is the actual answer though? No one seems to have it. There is a lot of gray area, but society seems to be making this more of a black and white issue. Will the government ever really take action? Does action need to be taken? Hopefully after reading this, one is more educated on the difficulty in answering these questions.

Example University of British Colombia Admission Essay

Example University of British Colombia Admission Essay Free Online Research Papers Example University of British Colombia Admission Essay The mission statement of Johnson North Secondary School has provided me the unique opportunity to gain the qualities necessary to be a successful educator. Being a senior student, I was inspired by many teachers and school staff members to give back to the school and community. I believe my experiences working with students through the JNSS mentorship and leadership programs have contributed to the fulfillment of the JNSS mission statement for reaching young students and giving them the opportunity to become exemplary citizens in and out of the school community Currently, I am an executive member of Johnson North’s Students’ Council and Fine Arts Council as well as the Grad Council Chairperson. As an executive member of all these council I work closely with students and staff to organize numerous school-wide events. I am also the Presidents of JNSS Amnesty International and one of the more recent projects that I carefully organized was the 1st Annual Amnesty International Film Festival. Apart from serving others, I also believe in education and I have had successfully finished four dynamic 1st year University level Advanced Placement courses, Biology, Psychology, Macro and Micro Economics in grade 11 and I am currently enrolled in History of Arts Advance Placement. Moreover, I believe in the value of community service and as a volunteer, I have devoted many hours to the Canadian Aids Society, Canadian Downs Syndrome Foundation, as well as the Canadian Kidney Foundation. Just before the winter break of 2006, I spearheaded the 1st Annual Amnesty International Film Festival at JNSS. The Film Festival is a week long event, where two films related to human rights were featured each day in our school gallery. The executives worked closely with the regional director of Amnesty International of Canada and with the support of the staff from the school and the dedication of club members and volunteers, the events was a tremendous success. Through our work, we were able to give students from all grades an opportunity to learn about human rights and make them understand the values and rights that all people are entitled to. Political and social issues such as those facing Tibetans in China, the aftermath of the chemical explosion in Bhopal, India, conflict diamonds in African nations, and the travesty in North Korea, were some of the topics that were covered at our film festival. What fascinated me was the sense of good-will that radiated amongst the students. In a concerted effort to create awareness in our community, we were able to ensure the tremendous success of the event. I am always striving to help other students create and achieve their goals. My leadership at Johnson north has always been accomplished through taking action and helping others. I have been involved in my school’s Grade 8 Mentoring program where senior students are assigned five juniors and I acted as a positive role model for the elementary students in making the leap to high school. My genuine concern for the world’s problem has inspired me to become a high school science and social studies teacher. My endeavor to assist students has not only helped them to reach their full potential, but also allowed me to continue my life’s ambition to be a positive influence on my society and the University of British Colombia. Research Papers on Example University of British Colombia Admission EssayStandardized TestingHip-Hop is ArtPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyWhere Wild and West MeetDefinition of Export QuotasBringing Democracy to AfricaInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesQuebec and CanadaAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaRelationship between Media Coverage and Social and