Motifs in Bless Me, Ultima Essay Example for Free

Motifs in Bless Me, Ultima Essay The novel Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya describes the maturation of a boy named Antonio, who witnesses more than his fair share of deaths at a young age. He struggles with the injustices of these deaths and thus begins to question his once-solid religious beliefs. During the conflict Antonio experiences many vivid dreams, which are considered motifs in the work. The dream motif is a catalyst for the theme of the importance of independent thinking to maturation, because through his subconscious Antonio finds the understanding he craves by facing his fears and questioning his future. In many of Tony’s dreams he encounters his fears. One of these fears is that his three older brothers will go to hell, because they gamble and spend their time at Rosie’s, which is considered the whore house. In his dreams, Tony tries to protect their innocence: â€Å"Do not enter [Rosie’s], I cried. It is written on the waters of the river that you shall lose your souls to hell if you enter† (70). He is terrified that they will go to hell and be punished for eternity. Tony’s begging is to no avail; his brothers enter anyway. His troubled thoughts then turn to his own innocence: â€Å"Oh, where is the innocence I must never lose† (71). He struggles with the concept of maturing and losing the innocence he feels he needs to become a priest. As the novel progresses, however, Tony loses his innocence because of the many deaths he sees. He realizes that this is a given part of maturation, and that he can still hold integrity without innocence. Another struggle of Tony’s is the fact that he is caught in the middle of his parents’ dreams. His mother wants him to become a farmer-priest, and his father wants him to become a vaquero. In his sleep he struggles with which dream he will follow, and often see his parents arguing about it: â€Å"Oh please tell me which is the water that runs through my veins, I moaned my mother crooned softly, it is the water the Church chooses to make holy and place in its front. It is the water of your baptism Lies, lies, my father laughed, through your body runs the salt water of the oceans. It is that water which makes you Marez and not Luna† (120). Tony cannot understand which parent’s blood runs in his veins, and becomes more confused when they argue over it. However, in his dreams Tony most often sees himself as a priest: â€Å"I swung the dark robe of the priest over my shoulders then lifted my hands in the air† (26). It seems like this is the profession he will most likely choose. Throughout the novel Antonio yearns for understanding. He wants to know why God allows evil o triumph over good, and why the innocent sometimes die. In waking he cannot find the answers, but in dreams they come to him. When he questions in his sleep where his innocence is, Ultima appears in the dream and tells him, â€Å"There in the land of the dancing plains and rolling hills, there in the land which is the eagle’s by day and the owl’s by night is innocence. There where the lonely wind of the llano sang to the lovers’ feat of your birth, there in those hills is your innocence† (71). This shows Tony that he can always find innocence in nature. When Tony cannot decide which parent’s water runs in his veins, Ultima tells him, â€Å"The waters are one, Antonio† (121). He realizes that Luna blood and Marez blood mix in his veins. The answers in his dreams allow Tony to lessen his questioning in his waking world. Antonio’s dreams allow him to face his fears and think them through, which helps to eventually resolve them. Letting go of certain problems, such as his loss of innocence, helps him to mature. He discovers through his dreams that he does not have the blood of a Luna or a Marez; he has the blood of both. He also realizes that it is more likely that he will become a priest than a vaquero. With this understanding he settles on his future and makes his own decisions rather than being torn between those of his mother and father. When he learns to make his own decisions he matures into a man. Tony’s dreams guide him towards the theme of the importance of independent thinking to maturation.

Relationship between social media and Indian cultural collectivism

Relationship between social media and Indian cultural collectivism Prakash Thakur, an Indian student in London, has once said that Internet and his iPhone are parts of his life and cannot live without it, not even get off home without his smartphone. He is an active Facebook user, log in several times a day via iPhone and relies on this networking website to stays in touch with his friends and colleagues, receives his beloved brands promotions, suggests/comments/complains about products, services and every other things that pass through his life and share it regularly with his connected friends. After being in the UK for almost 2 years, he is now called himself Internet savvy. He is more likely to purchase products or services that one or more of his friends or colleagues use or recommended, more likely to search for reviews and comments and the best deal online rather than walk around the high-street, and more likely to say it out loud in every possible ways he can online and offline. The author has been amused of how important of Internet in Prakash and her life nowadays. Distance does not matter anymore to get in touch with family and friends. Only few mouse clicks, we are real-time connected through texts, pictures, audio voices, and videos. Physical textbooks, novel, and newspaper are less important when we could find, read and download almost everything on Internet via laptop, PDA and smartphone like BlackBerry, iPhone, HTC, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and etc. Study in MIB course has been made a significant change for me to rely more on electronic resource and database through GGSBs e-library and started to read the whole series of Twilight Saga e-book version on my laptop. A thought of having an e-book reader is more attracted when iPad is launched into the market to make my life easier to read e-book and it will make me look in-trend. All above are the examples of our everyday life. Internet and Web savvy that is what we are. We acquaint in searching for best deal and become astute online customers. Internet is EVERYTHING; up-to-date all sort of information, shopping, chatting with friends (or to the world), learning, working, finding a date, and finding a job. Thanks to technology that allowed us to access to the Internet everywhere, anytime and any devices we want where there are an access point. Internet may make our life easier and more convenient, however, there is always one major problem for every internet and web users too much. For example, when I thought about buying e-book reader, I did not know where to start, then easiest way that everyone in this generation knows Googling it. By typing e-book reader, the result would be 13.4 million Webs for me to have a look. Thats far too much and actually, it is impossible to expose all those results. As a business student, I realise that it is challenging for any companies or any brands to stand out among the crowd to be at the top of 13.4 million. And this is just the beginning. Consumers are now have more choices to choose and more power on brands they consumed about their opinions and more likely to spread out their words like virus. To be continuingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. The clearer definition of Web 2.0 by OReilly (2005) said that the 7 characters of Web 2.0 are 1) the web platform that 2) harnessing collective intelligence where 3) data is the next Intel inside which 4) allowed companies to have co-developer and work together daily to end the software release cycle. In addition, Web 2.0 will also create 5) lightweight programming models including 6) software above level of single device which 7) rich in users experiences II. Digital Life: Facts Figures Everyday, or almost everyday in the UK, according to Statistical Bulletin: Internet Access 2010 (Office of National Statistic, 2010), there were 30.1 million out of the total of 38.3 million adults internet users in the UK used the internet from their homes, workplace and when they were on mobiles. As shown in Figure II-1, unsurprisingly, internet was used primarily to send or receive emails as high as 90 per cent while it was used to search for information about goods and services just 75 per cent. In addition to that, there were 51 per cent of internet users used internet so as to read or download online news, newspapers or magazines meanwhile watching web television or listening to web radio were counted only 45 per cent. Interestingly, another 43 per cent of internet users posted messages to chat sites, social networking sites and blogs , and 38 per cent were user-generated content as they uploaded their photos, music or videos to a website (Office of National Statistic, 2010). According to the report, majority of youngster age 16 to 24 years old, in the report, 75 per cent of them posted messages on Internet whilst half of them uploaded self-created content. Figure II-1 Internet activities in the UK 2010 (Office of National Statistic 2010) Moreover, Digital Influence Index studied of how the Internet has transformed the consumers behaviour around the world, McRoberts et al. (2010) found that in the UK, individuals spend about 14 hours per week using the internet. So, to answer the question why there were so many adult users actively use Internet? McRoberts et al. (2010) revealed that 30 per cent of the UK consumers trusted internet as the most important(main) source of information rather than e-mail or information received from family, friends and/or colleagues which represented 19 per cent and 16 per cent respectively. Moreover, more than half of the UK respondents (54 per cent) believed that the online communication with others was a safe thing to do and over one third of consumers did not read printed newspaper or magazine anymore, instead, they go online. However,internet has been allowing users to participate or response back to the web as user-generated contents and share information online, still, more than of the UK consumers think there was an excess of sharing personal information and many things that was said online is boring (McRobert et al., 2010). Clearly, internet has been influencing and continuously changing the users way of life. People are just not only retrieving information from web sites but also able to create, upload, and participate or even express opinions back to the web in a real-time. All of these impacts from the internet are credited to the term Web 2.0, therefore, it is very crucial to understand and embrace the definition and effect of Web 2.0 in our life. 2.1 Web 2.0 The term Web 2.0 is considerably a vague meaning. Web 2.0 is defined internet users as user-generated content which can be seen in public reviews and comments, blogs and video in two way communication (Fenn, 2009; Ryan Jones, 2009). In addition, with Web 2.0, Internet users relatively have more control and interactivity of the content rather than just being viewers sites owners (Funk, 2009). The clearer definition of Web 2.0 by OReilly (2005) said in the 7 characters of Web 2.0 are as follow; The web as platform Website is considered as a station for two-way communication whilst user controls the data or called The network as platform. It is a platform for people to; tagging: del.icio.us, Flickr and Furl, contribute in page rank: TripAdvisor, Amazon review and epinion, participation in blog, enabling the long tail Harnessing Collective Intelligence Massive numbers of internet users are associating with and creating the network. They are dominating the market exponentially and producing an astonishing collective work in real time. This concept is so called Crowdsourcing. On the other hand, the Web is learning from the users and become gradually smarter. Such as results and location in web search will now show you the most likely what you want in your local area. Data is the Next Intel Inside Web 2.0 companies core competency is database management. Therefore, the company strives to be the first who gain and restrain the data assets and put it into their system services. End of the Software Release Cycle The daily basis operations expertise matching development, is the core competency for Web 2.0 companies. At the same time, the companies co-developer is the users as seen in open source development platform in Gmail, Flickr, del.icio.us and Google map. Together, developers and co-developers (users) are working in at least daily basis to upgrading their software. Lightweight Programming Models As seen in RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and REST (Representational State Transfer), Innovation in assembly is a must to create the effective new business model from syndicating reusable commodity components. Software Above the Level of a Single Device Concept of two-way communication is applied to many digital devices to be connected in real time. More than one device is needed, for example, one computer hosting the browser while another one is used to host the server. This is the basic requirement for the basic web application. Moreover, not only the PC that can access to the internet application, but any handheld devices with internet service can also do. Rich User Experiences Web 2.0 can benefit from shared data by creating and developing their products and services by learning from their users. Apparently, Web 2.0 is about people communicating, generating and engaging. Web 2.0 usages can be seen in blogs, wikis, social network websites, web applications, video-sharing websites, folksonomy and more. Significantly, we are now communicating more and more everyday through digital world in the global scale. Therefore, Web 2.0 can attract business people to pay attention to it, especially marketer. III. Digital Marketing Nowadays, internet is not just one of marketing channels; instead, it is the significant part for business future (Chaffey and Smith, 2008). Marketing strategies on the internet have been changing. Strauss and Frost (2009) explained the significant impacts of Web 2.0 in todays market that; Power shift from sellers to buyers. Consumer and business buyers are now easily to make an online post that have a massive impact to the business. Buyers attention and relationship are vital. The companies need to listen and learn to engage with their customers. Search engines are now reputational engines. Search marketing is the important part of marketing plan as a search engine result pages (SERP) and its popularity are improvingcan increase brand exposure and awareness, site traffic, companys image and sales. Market and media fragmentation. There are an increasing specific-interest market and declining mass marketwhich mean that market and media are now customised according to the consumers needs. Content is still king online. Contents change quickly in digital word and are driven by consumer-generated media. Marketers need to engage and respond back to the network. Connections are critical. Social networking is unavoidable. It is about who you know online and what they say about you. Improve online and offline strategy integration. As in multichannel marketing offering more than one channel to the consumers to buy products and services. Intellectual capital rule. The crucial resources are not money, but instead, they are creativity, imagination and entrepreneurship. The long tail. The term is coined by Chris Anderson. The concept refers to the economy of abundance where small amount of products sales can collectively increase the revenue significantly. The example from Amazon shows that 57 per cent of total sales come from the small quantities of very different kind of hard-to-find books in a large volume. Benefits of Web 2.0 have been used widely by businesses as material marketing strategies in epidemic rate to communicate to their customers and prospects and enhance their brand experiences. Chaffey and Smith (2008) illustrated how people in online marketplace communicate to each other which he called the web-based community communications model as shown in Figure II-2. Communications are facilitated by the sender or the company to both customers, opinion leaders and opinion formers who will encourage word-of-month online and spread the message to other customers. Furthermore, the company needs to listen and keeps an eye on the customers closely about what they have been talking about in order to improve its brand values. Figure III-1 A web of conversations accelerating word-of-mouth. C, customer; OL, opinion leader Furthermore, within this model, brand awareness is spreading among the relevant community members who will then pass along the viral messages to other members as a form of Affiliate marketing (Chaffey and Smith, 2008). From this model, the online marketer has to carefully select the appropriate channel of online media used in particular community or network so as to achieve the companys objectives. When Web 2.0 is used collectively to connect people together through PC or any other handheld devices like model above, it is called Social Media (Strauss and Frost, 2009). Social media is also called User-generated media (UGM) or consumer-generated media (CGM) which Strauss and Frost (2009) defined as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦these are Web pages allowing social networking and are primarily authored by internet usersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦User-generated media are the norm. The impact of Web 2.0 and the web-based community communication pattern indeed influenced the online customers and their behaviour. Chaffey and Smith (2008) mentioned that brand control is unlocked from marketers, the customers have their own brand discussions. Moreover, Harris Interactive, (2007) as cited in Chaffey and Smith (2008), reported that 80 per cent of consumers who have a bad or negative experience in customer services, they will not go back to the company ever again. The angry customers could be lurking in the various brands attacking blogs or websites. Also, the consumer communications in the market are effected by cultureAs a result, shared patterns were created in terms of thoughts, emotions, and behaviours (Pennington, 2009). Therefore, to understand customers behaviour inside out, it is vital to the companies and marketers to appropriately approach their customers and prospects with the right message at the right time and using the right communication channels. 3.1 Digital Customers Digital, or online, customers are also called as the Net Generation has significantly 8 characteristics that Tapscott (2008) refered as norm distinctive attitudinal and behavioural characteristic. These norms differentiate the Net Geners from any other generations. Tapscott (2008) explained the eight norms as follow; Freedom the internet gives Net Geners to have freedom of choice to do whatever they want anywhere they want it. Customization Net Geners will make what they want and make it right to their needs and desires. Scrutiny the internet provides information for Net Geners to scrutinise the products and services. For the company, candour is the best way to reach the Net Geners with easy access information. Integrity -Net Geners are increasingly favoured for the company or any organizations that behave honestly, considering and transparent. Collaboration  ­- Net Geners collaborate to each other online and influence each other to discuss their opinions on products, services, brands and companies. Entertainment amusement and fun are the point of interest for the Net Geners Speed immediate response is preferable. Net Geners often e-mail to people at work because it is faster. Innovation Net Geners prefer the greatest and newest innovative products to make them up-to-date within their social group and create their positive images. Therefore, for marketers, to use use the available technology both effectively and efficiently to communicate to the Net Geners or the online consumers is considerably critical. The behaviour of online consumers have been changing. They are now trust each other rather than advertisings or companys websites (Strauss and Frost, 2009). Ideal online customer, as Chaffey and Smith (2008) suggested, is the person who rates and reviews the product or service online and his opinions could influence another 100 persons regardless of how regular he buy. This group of individuals is called engaged customers whose marketers must try to strengthen the relationship with and stimulate the word-of-mouth. The freedom of communication and choices in digital world are now make consumers are more sophisticated than ever as information is overloaded to them (Strauss and Frost, 2009). Therefore, the concept of attention economy is created where Strauss and Frost (2009) explained that it is the idea that information might be infinite, but the demand for it is limited by human capacity. Moreover, there is a trend that online consumers will participate and engage in a group of people whom they share interests and consider other as a person like themselves (Strauss and Frost, 2009). Obviously, online consumers are grouped together and form their own communities they are segmenting themselves. 3.2 Market Segmentation Segmentation is the vital starting point for marketing strategy. It is relevant to the marketer to segment the market according to the group of people who share similar characteristics and preferences which differentiate them from the others in the market. (Strauss and Frost, 2009). There are four types of market segmentation which are based on geographic location, demographic, psychographic and behavioural related to the uses of products. In the digital world where there is no physical boundary, the population cannot be acculately justified and online consuming behaviour is changing rapidly. However, the observation showed that online users have grouped themselves according to their interest. Therefore, the psychographic segmentation is the most effective to be applied to the digital world where the group of people who share the similar activities, interests, opinions, attitudes, lifestyles, and value. (Strauss and Frost, 2009). Psychographic segment is significantly related to culture because culture is what we defines a human community, its individuals and social organisation (Mooij, 2009). 3.3 Culture Culture, a sophisticated word, is described in Mooij (2009) that culture produces individuals ideas, values, acts, emotions and even part of identity. Hofstede (1984 cited in Cry et al., 2008) defined culture as the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the member of one group from another. Pennington (2009) also explained the term culture as the shared, learned patterns of thoughts, feelings, appetites, and behaviours, based upon a climate of values, for organizing or adapting to the natural and social environments. People mostly unconsciously absorb their cultures. And culture defined their perspectives toward things differently, including themselves, others, societies, organisations, nature and universe (Kotler and Keller, 2006). For marketer, cultural differences play an important part of both marketing communication and brand management strategies, especially in the global scale (LaPlante, 2005). Geert HofstedeTM cultural dimensions power distance, individualism-collectivism, masculinity-femininity, and uncertainty avoidance had been used in management and marketing perspective to better understand national culture (Cry et al., 2008). Specifically considering in individualism-collectivism, this dimension is described as relationship of individual toward others. Individualism society will value personal interest, individual decision-making, and lose social bounding (Cyr et al., 2008). On the contrary, collectivism is the society where social members are integrated strongly into cohesive groups (Itim International, 2009). In order to identify the level of collectivism in particular culture, Shulruf et al. (2003) presented the measurement tool for individualism and collectivism in a practical way. The measurements for collectivism society are interdependent to each other or relatedness, has sense of in-group belonging, and prefers harmony by seeking advice. Whilst individualisms measurements are the opposite independence, self-reliance, and self-focused (Shulruf, et al., 2003). 3.4 Brand According to the American Marketing Association (AMA), brand is defined as a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors (Heding et al., 2009). Consumers use brand names to identify what products or services that would satisfy their purchase (Rowley, 2004). While Pennington (2009) mentions that brand is important to social objects to communicate, identify and distinguish consumers in their market culture. Everything can be branded; products, services, stores, individuals, places, or ideas (Kotler and Keller, 2006) Especially in this digital-driven market, products and services are rather imitated easily but not brand, therefore, to create strong and powerful brand is extremely crucial (Chernatony and McDonald, 2005). The successful brand can be seen in Millward Brown Optimor (2010) cited in Clark (2010) reported that Google has the highest brand value with $114,260 million in 2010, 14 per cent increase from last year and its rank is unchanged from 2009. People know what Google is, they even use the brand as a verb to search online is to google (Kotler and Keller, 2006). So, to brand a product or service, it is about making consumers know the differences especially in the intensely competitive market. To Rosen and Rosen (2009), building a brand is the artful masters of awareness and marketers have to be careful with every aspect of brand. Brand equity is explained as the power of a brand lies in what resides in the minds of customers. and the concept plays critical role in branding process (Keller et al., 2008). To acquire brand equity, Keller (2008) suggested that marketer have to establish high level of brand awareness, in which consumers ability to recognise and recall brand, and strong positive attitude toward brand image which will result in brand association that consumer perceived the uniqueness of brand. In Pappus research (2005), it had proved that brand awareness is one of the two distinct attributes of brand equity. 3.5 Brand Awareness Kapferer (2008) said that brand awareness is a collective phenomenon that holds a reassuring message from individual level and have a correlation with many aspects i.e. trust, closeness of people, accessibility, reliability and traditional styling. Brand awareness is defined as ability to identify (recognise or recall) the brand within the category, in sufficient detail to make a purchase (Kotler and Keller, 2006). It is the likelihood of the brand trace in memory in the different conditions that will come to consumers mind (Keller, 2008). Brand awareness can be measured by 1) recognition ability to identify brand in different situations and 2) recall to retrieve brand element when some probe or cue is given (Keller, 2008). Since brand awareness is the fundamental step to acquire brand equity, therefore, it is also the most important step to start building brand especially in online market. To be top-of-mind in consumers mind in the product that relatively low-involvement choice such as electronic book or e-book, the awareness of brand is suggested to be the first criteria that consumer will choose unless other new brands draw their attention (Elliot and Percy, 2007). Therefore, efficient and effective communication channels that influence brand awareness must be carefully selected in order to create, sustain, and strengthen brand (Kotler and Keller, 2006) 3.6 Marketing Communication Media, Viral Marketing and Brand Awareness Marketing communication (MarCom) is the brand building tool used with other strategies to acquire and enhance customer relationship in the long term (Strauss and Frost, 2009). Consumers need to be aware of the product before anything else. Digital Media is nowadays used to communicate to target market as one of the tool for Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Digital media includes E-mail, web sites, and social media. According to Strauss and Frost (2009) social media here consists of; Blogs online diaries, or journals, frequently updated and presented in chronological order on Web page (from the term Web log). Social Networks social structures made of nodes (which are generally individuals or organizations) that are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as values, visions, idea, financial exchange, friends, kinship, dislike, conflict, trade, web links à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ disease transmission (epidemiology), or airline routes. Social network idea is based on theory of six degree of separation where individual is able to connect to every other person within six other people or less. According to Kirby and Marsden (2006), viral marketing refers to any strategies that make people pass along marketing message to others in exponential growth like virusand this occurred among social network as well (Strauss and Frost, 2009). De Chernatony and McDonald (2005) suggested that critical successful communication is the understanding of brand in social media context and consumers. In Cruz and Fill (2008) research to identify key criteria of viral marketing, one of their findings is that to evaluate the viral marketing, the most popular criterion is awareness. IV. E-book The definition of e-book or as known as ebook or digital book from the NetLingo (2010) is that it is a book that can be downloaded and read on a computer or other digital device. There are several e-book formats nowadays including The Mobipocket Reader, The Adobe/Glassbook eBook Reader, Microsoft Reader, PALM OS or WINDOW CE, HTML format, The Open eBook Publication Structure, The Rocket eBook, the SoftBook, Adobe PDF, Rich Text Format, and ASCII (NetLingo, 2010). The market value in terms of online book buying, Fenn (2009, p.46) reported that in 2008, the figure revealed at  £415 million and accounted for 13 percent of all new book sales. Now, the fact that there are at least about 3.5 million e-books available to download for free (World Public Library Association, 2009) from only one website called WorldeBookFair.org has been attracting more consumers to own e-books. As technology changing rapidly, market recently experienced more brands of electronic reader device (e-reader or e-book reader) in the market such as Sony PRS 505, Amazon Kindle 2, iRex IIiad 2, Bebook, Cybook Gen 3 and the list continue (ebook-reader-guide.com, 2009). Especially, the entrance of new Apples newest device called iPad has been triggering the e-book market to be more popular. As Jobs (2010) cited in Stone (2010) that for each iPad that the Apples sale in last two month, 2.5 e-books were downloaded or more than five millions books. The trend of e-book is on the rise as e-book buyers bought less printed books than before, not buying printed books at the rate 25 and 15 per cent respectively (Book Industry Study Group (BISG) (2010) cited in Holt, 2010). As Epps and McQuivey (2009) said that two new e-readers will be launched in India which will allow Indian consumers to start catching up with the e-book trend. Obviously, e-book market is growing and still has very high potential room to grow in the digital world. V. India India is the country that holds several reputation names. It is the worlds second largest population after China which has approximately 1,157 million people in July 2010 (CIA, 2010), the fourth largest, after the United State, China and Japan, in terms of oil consumption in 2009 (eia, 2010), and one of the BRIC countries the world fastest growing and largest economies (ONeill, 2001 cited in Rozhnov, 2010). Therefore, it is important to see overview of the country. From CIA (2010), India governed as a federal republic where the government share the power with another 28 states. The English common law is used as a based legal system in India. Economic in India is growing, 6.5 per cent in 2009, and is regarded as the world second highest growth within major economies. Service sector accounted for 54.9 per cent in GDP. Inflation rate is still as high as 10.9 per cent in 2009 (CIA, 2010). In term of society, 29 per cent of population is classified as urban where the literacy rate is 61 per cent. Even though India consists of variety of language, however, English is still widely used to communicate among national, political, and commercial people (CIA, 2010). As a culture, Indian was identified as collectivist where family is the central of the society and people value group performance (Banerjee, 2008). For technology, CIA (2010) reported 81per cent of Indians are internet users. The penetration of internet users, 51 million are active users, 40 million in urban area and 11 million in rural area (Juxt, 2010 cited in India Microfinance, 2010). Moreover, in India, 40 per cent of online consumers bought products online which increased 18 per cent from last year. As a result, the growth in online shopping has increased by 33 per cent (Juxt, 2010 cited in India Microfinance, 2010) As a consequence(has as a result previously), India is one of the high potential markets for e-book industry due to its population size, economic growth, unique social and cultural context, as well as technology development. VI. Research Methodology This project is exploratory market research as the paper aim to gather unique information and develop relevant strategies from the information derived as well as relationships between variables (Aaker et al., 2010; Saunders et al., 2009) This chapter will summarize the research methodology used to achieve the projects objectives as well as research philosophy, approach, strategies, and method choice. Furthermore, the conceptual framework is also described in this chapter. The selection of research methodology is determined by objectives and research questions which also will be demonstrated in this chapter. 6.1 Research Question The research question for this paper is How the social media with viral massage should be used among Indian as a collectivism culture to enhance brand awareness in e-book market? The following research objectives are established to address the research question stated above. By the end of this paper, all answers would be issued. How much social media with viral message is used in Indian cultural collectivism? How much Indians aware of e-book? What is the relationship between social media with viral marketing and Indian cultural collectivism? What is the relationship between Indians cultural collectivism that rela

John Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums Essay -- John Steinbeck The Chrysa

John Steinbeck's The Chrysanthemums The Chrysanthemums is a story that takes place in the Salinas Valley of California. The story's main character is Elisa Allen. Elisa is thirty-five years old. She is a character that goes through development and many changes in the story. Throughout the story Elisa Allen goes through both physical and mental changes." In the beginning of the story Elisa is strong and eager"). She is working in her garden. Her husband Henry comes over to see her and asks her if she would like to go to town for dinner and a movie. Elisa becomes all happy when Henry asks her to do this. Elisa tells Henry that she would like to go to town. "She said she would like to go to town with him like she really didn't get to spend much time with him". Elisa's mental attitude changes once again when the man tells her that he wants to give the chrysanthemum seeds to a lady that he sees during his trip. When Elisa heard what the man wanted to do " she ran excitedly along the geranium bordered path to the back of the house" . She was running to get a flower pot to put the chrysanthemum seeds in. The man left with the flower pot and Elisa was very happy. Elisa was really happy when she left with her husband to go to town. This didn't last very long. Her whole attitude changed when she saw what the man had done with the chrysanthemum seeds. They had all been thrown on the side of the road. The man just left with the flower pot. Elisa had felt really hurt when s...

Living with Depression, Mania, and Medication Essay -- Personal Narrat

Living with Depression, Mania, and Medication Depression joined my life shortly after I entered middle school and tagged on persistently through my adolescent years. At first, my sullen moods were brushed off as mere hormonal changes, but I quickly became aware there was something more behind them. The severity of depression is difficult to explain without personal thoughts and examples. I know that my depression is coming long before it sets in. There is a cloud of forewarning that starts to move in on the vibrancy of my thoughts and vision; the world becomes distorted and negative. Slowly, this bleakness moves in from the outside world down to the pit of my stomach where it creates a dark, menacing feeling that makes me want to cry, scream, and vomit all at the same time. The feeling beckons me to a state of hopelessness and complete despair. Lingering thoughts of paranoia become prominent which leaves friends as foes out to abandon me and complete strangers as agents out to destroy me. The thoughts of negativity drag me deepe r and deeper until I am convinced there is no bottom; they separate me from the outside world. It is in this lowest state that one of two things happens: either I am persuaded by suicidal tendencies or the blackness lifts without a trace. Without medication, death was always a daunting possibility of ending this horrid affair. The cycling of depression became a constant part of my life leaving me always afraid of what was around the corner. The other side of that corner did not appear in my life until the end of high school. Around the time of my eighteenth birthday, my mania began its cycle. The brutality of mania may set in as mere normalcy, but, in time, that same "normalcy" can end worse than d... ...nia, and medication are all part of the bipolar disorder that will be with me for the rest of my life. The cruelty of depression and ruthlessness of mania are something that no person should have to bear. They force a person to doubt society, reject friends, and lose sanity while the disease slowly starts killing the victim from the inside out. However difficult my past has been made by depression and mania, my life has come to look brighter with the advancement of medication. Bipolar disorder is a life- long disease that will always have its setbacks; however, it is a disease that, with the proper medication, will not keep me locked in a cage separate from the outside world. With the diagnoses of bipolarity, I know that I will have to deal with depression and mania, but I also know that I was not born crazy. I was born with a disease, but I was meant to live as me. Living with Depression, Mania, and Medication Essay -- Personal Narrat Living with Depression, Mania, and Medication Depression joined my life shortly after I entered middle school and tagged on persistently through my adolescent years. At first, my sullen moods were brushed off as mere hormonal changes, but I quickly became aware there was something more behind them. The severity of depression is difficult to explain without personal thoughts and examples. I know that my depression is coming long before it sets in. There is a cloud of forewarning that starts to move in on the vibrancy of my thoughts and vision; the world becomes distorted and negative. Slowly, this bleakness moves in from the outside world down to the pit of my stomach where it creates a dark, menacing feeling that makes me want to cry, scream, and vomit all at the same time. The feeling beckons me to a state of hopelessness and complete despair. Lingering thoughts of paranoia become prominent which leaves friends as foes out to abandon me and complete strangers as agents out to destroy me. The thoughts of negativity drag me deepe r and deeper until I am convinced there is no bottom; they separate me from the outside world. It is in this lowest state that one of two things happens: either I am persuaded by suicidal tendencies or the blackness lifts without a trace. Without medication, death was always a daunting possibility of ending this horrid affair. The cycling of depression became a constant part of my life leaving me always afraid of what was around the corner. The other side of that corner did not appear in my life until the end of high school. Around the time of my eighteenth birthday, my mania began its cycle. The brutality of mania may set in as mere normalcy, but, in time, that same "normalcy" can end worse than d... ...nia, and medication are all part of the bipolar disorder that will be with me for the rest of my life. The cruelty of depression and ruthlessness of mania are something that no person should have to bear. They force a person to doubt society, reject friends, and lose sanity while the disease slowly starts killing the victim from the inside out. However difficult my past has been made by depression and mania, my life has come to look brighter with the advancement of medication. Bipolar disorder is a life- long disease that will always have its setbacks; however, it is a disease that, with the proper medication, will not keep me locked in a cage separate from the outside world. With the diagnoses of bipolarity, I know that I will have to deal with depression and mania, but I also know that I was not born crazy. I was born with a disease, but I was meant to live as me.

Integrity: Morality Essay

The definition of integrity is vague and rather open ended. Morals are the premise for all perceptions of integrity and should be further explored to better understand the cloudiness behind integrity. Morals are the standing personal ideas of what basic fibers construct all decisions, right or wrong. But morals are personal, and ever changing, never exactly the same person to person. For example, the Ten Commandments, implemented on primitive people for thousands of years attempted to instill basic morality into barbaric people who, with the fear of a higher power, abided. The late George Carlin summarized these ten into a basic 4. Don’t lie, cheat, steal, or kill. Now, in a civilized world, in a country that defines social civility, these 4 seem easy and almost givens. But, in third world countries where life is not easy, and everyday is eat or be eaten, morals are far less important. Millions, everyday, commit all four acts without hesitation. Morals are expendable when survival lies in the balance. Survival, of what? Survival of life, survival of an idea, survival of a relationship? Millions have killed millions because they thought their agenda was more prevalent, or their god justified it, or because they needed to in order to fulfill the instinctual desire to live at all costs. In no way am I saying that ethics should be readily broken for personal gain, but the principles that so many try to live by aren’t as universally important as they seem. I truly believe that if you are not living for other people, you are not truely living. Relationships mean everything. Its not just the way you treat family, or your friends, its everyone. I treat people how I would want to be treated and give respect where respect is due. My morals are much more diverse then just don’t lie, steal, cheat, or kill . My morals are reflective of today’s day and age, not as dated and black n’ white as those four. My morals are competitive, like our present society. I never intend to hurt anyone, and my actions are far from malicious, but if the survival of something I hold close lies in the balance, I am willing to bend my moral code in order to ensure the continued existence of what I view jeopardized. I stand by what I believe; those are my morals. Live for others, but never forget who is left at the end of the day. I’ve always viewed integrity as personal. Its how you a carry yourself. Its how you act when no one is watching. But, this is all personal. I don’t let other people dictate my integrity, I let my actions speak, and I ask myself at the end of the day, if I acted like the man I want to be. Many days, when I reflect on myself, I realize I haven’t been. And this is life, improving day to day so you never repeat mistakes.

Pepsico Swot Analysis Essay

When making any investment decision, it is important for a potential investor to gain insight into the company. An evaluation of the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats will help the investor determine if the venture is worth going into (Nickels, McHugh & McHugh, 2010). It also provides details about the internal status of the business and the future growth to expect in the future. SWOT Analysis Conducting a SWOT analysis of PepsiCo will help the company determine where change is possible. If the company is at a turning point, an inventory of its strengths and weaknesses can reveal possibilities. The identified strengths can be built on and used to their full potential and makes can be made to reduce the weaknesses. Potential problems that need to be addressed or at least recognized are identified. It will help PepsiCo discover what it does well, could improve, whether they are making the most of the opportunities around them, and whether there are any changes in the market that may require changes in the business (Nickels et al., 2010). Strengths PepsiCo has a diverse product portfolio that includes foods, snacks, and beverages with annual revenue of over $66 billion. The PepsiCo brands such as Pepsi, Gatorade, Tropicana, Mountain Dew, Lay’s, Aquafina, Sierra Mist, Fritos, and Quaker stand for quality and are well recognized household names. These brands generate over $1 billion each in annual global sales revenue which gives PepsiCo an advantage over its competition that have limited product line (â€Å"Brands,† 2012). Lower sales in one product line because of unforeseeable circumstances can be offset with promoting sales from another product line. PepsiCo’s geographical footprint is another strength of the organization. It currently operates in more than 200 countries worldwide which provides PepsiCo with diverse income sources. In 2011, only 50% of the company’s revenue came from the United States but this did not impact PepsiCo’s overall revenue growth because of the company’s increasing revenue from other parts of the world like Asia, Russia, Europe, and Latin America (â€Å"The Power of PepsiCo,† 2012). Weaknesses With the diverse portfolio of PepsiCo, not all products produced by this  company bear it name and its holdings are still seen by the public as separate entities, not as parts of PepsiCo. Its branding is not obvious and not easily recognized and this is hurting the image of the company. One of its most popular brands, Gatorade, recently changed its name to multiple sub-brands such as â€Å"G Prime 01,† and â€Å"G Series Pro 03 Recover† (Edwards, 2011). PepsiCo is gradually losing its credibility because of its lack of stability in management. The company has a high turnover rate and in the last four years, 26 senior marketing managers have resigned and those that are still with PepsiCo have been moved from one brand to another or from one division to another (Edwards, 2012). The revenue of PepsiCo is over dependent on sales to Wal-Mart. In 2011, approximately 18% of PepsiCo’s North American net revenue was from sales to Wal-Mart (including Sam’s Club). As a result PepsiCo is highly influenced with the business strategies of Wal-Mart (â€Å"The Power of PepsiCo,† 2011). Opportunities PepsiCo is investing its resources by expanding its operation in emerging foreign markets like China and Russia and developing continents like Africa. With the company’s recent purchase of Wimm-Bill-Dann, a Russian food and beverage company with huge market shares in dairy and juice products, PepsiCo will expand greatly its presence in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and is expected to increase its annual sales revenue by $5 billion (â€Å"Pepsi Absorbs Wimm,† 2011). PepsiCo recently signed a partnership agreement with Theo Muller, a German dairy company to sell its dairy products in the US starting with yogurt. PepsiCo will also invest in research to create new dairy products for the US market. This is a great opportunity for PepsiCo to increase its future revenue because it is predicted that annual revenue of $9 billion will be generated by 2016 with nearly 100 million American households expected to buy yogurt products (Steinberg, 2012). Threats PepsiCo faces a strong competition from The Coca-Cola Company, its primary competitor in the carbonated beverage category. These two companies have  had a long history of rivalry since the 1800s with Coca-Cola has a leader for most of the period. PepsiCo recently lost its five-year partnership deal with Dunkin’ Brands to Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola products will now be offered in 7,000 Dunkin’ brands outlets instead of PepsiCo products. In January 2012, Dunkin’ Brands announced the plan to double their outlet stores to 14,000 over the next 20 years. This is a huge revenue loss for PepsiCo (Fisher, 2012). Also in 2010, Diet Coke overtook Pepsi to become the second largest soda brand in the Unites States behind Coke, moving Pepsi to third (Theodore, 2012). There has been a steady decline in carbonated drink sales for the past seven years in the US with total sales dropping one percent in 2011. Americans are now turning to healthier food and drinks like bottled waters to avoid the high sugar contents in soda (â€Å"Soda Sales Fall,† 2012). Even with the diverse portfolio of PepsiCo, this decline in sales of carbonated soda drinks will have a negative impact on its total revenue. United States federal, State, and local laws and other regulatory authority in foreign countries could have a negative impact on the sales and profitability of PepsiCo. PepsiCo’s marketing, manufacturing, and distribution of its products can be affected as a result of what the government dictates. Also Governmental agencies that exist where PepsiCo operates can impose new labeling, accounting standards, product requirement, marketing practices, and taxation requirement. In California, PepsiCo is required to post a warning label on any product sold that contains a substance that the state has found to cause cancer or birth defect. If this type of law is enacted in other states or foreign countries, it would affect the sales of PepsiCo products (â€Å"The Power of PepsiCo,† 2011). Investor Analysis As a result of the SWOT analysis, investing in PepsiCo would yield a positive return on investment. The analysis shows a strong company with increase in earnings for the past five years. PepsiCo’s increasing presence in developing countries is most relevant in the decision to invest. With nearly 72% of the world’s processed food consumption in 2050 predicted to be  happening in developing countries because of increase in population, this will give PepsiCo a competitive edge. Internal and External Stakeholders The success or failure of PepsiCo is determined by how the wants and needs of its internal and external stakeholders are met. The internal stakeholders of PepsiCo are associates, shareholders, and board of directors. The external stakeholders of PepsiCo are consumers, local and foreign communities, retail and food service customers, partners, suppliers, and competitors. PepsiCo meets the needs of its associates by providing a supportive and empowering workplace. The company helps its employees to succeed by helping them develop the skills needed to increase the growth of the company (â€Å"Talent Sustainability,† 2012). The need of the shareholders of PepsiCo is met by striving to deliver top of the line financial performance and providing a high return on their investment (â€Å"Performance,† 2012). In 2011, the dividends paid to PepsiCo’s shareholders was six percent higher than 2010 ((â€Å"The Power of PepsiCo,† 2011). PepsiCo provides its consumers with a diverse list of products that delivers affordability and great taste. The company has recently begun offering consumers a wide range of healthy foods and beverages. Current products are constantly been improved and new products created to meet the changing needs of consumers (â€Å"Stakeholders Engagement,† 2012). Local jobs are created in the developing countries that PepsiCo operates in. PepsiCo provides support for education through PepsiCo Foundation grants. The company is working to protect the water resources they have used in India and working with nonprofit organizations to promote sustainable agricultural practices (â€Å"Stakeholders Engagement’† 2012). Products are delivered directly to retail and food service customers such as grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, and vending machines. PepsiCo  also assist these stakeholders with marketing services that contributes to the customers’ growth and profit (â€Å"Stakeholders Engagement,† 2012). Conclusion A company’s strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats must be analyzed to determine the potential of the return on investment. Even with its weaknesses, PepsiCo is a strong company with earnings growth over the past five years, and has enough cash on hand to maintain its operation. With the new initiatives that PepsiCo is working on, such as expanding its market into developing countries and providing healthier options to its consumers, the company will be able to meet the needs of its stakeholders. References Brands. (2012) Retrieved from http://www.pepsico.com/Brands.html Diet Mountain Dew, Brisk and Starbucks Ready-T0-Drink Beverages Grow to the Billion-Dollar Brands for PepsiCo. (2012, January 26) Retrieved from http://seekingalpha.com/news-article/2139612-diet-mountain-dew-brisk-and-starbucks-ready-to-drink-beverages-grow-to-be-billion-dollar-brands-for-pepsico Edwards, J. (2011, June 22). Pepsi Just Can’t Stop Pulling the Tab After Shaking Up Management. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505123_162-42749107/pepsi-just-cant-stop-pulling-the-tab-after-shaking-up-management/ Edwards, J. (2012, May 10). How Pepsi Management Shuffles Led To Sales Collapse. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/how-pepsis-management-shuffles-led-to-sales-collapse-2012-5?op=1 Fisher, B. (2012, June 12). Pepsi loses Dunkin, Eyes Emerging Markets. Retrieved from http://beta.fool.com/bobbyfisher/2012/06/12/pepsi-loses-dunkin-eyes-emerging-markets/5599/?logvisit=y&source=eptcnnlnk0000001 Nickels, W. G., McHugh, J. M., & McHugh, S. M. (2010). Understanding Business (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Pepsi Absorbs Wimm-Bill-Dann. (2011) Retrieved from http://rt.com/business/news/pepsi-absorbs-wimm-bill-dann-333/ Performance. (2012) Retrieved from http://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Performance-with-Purpose.html Stakeholder Engagement. (2012) Retrieved from http://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Overview/Stakeholder-Engagement.html Steinberg, J. (2012, July 11). PepsiCo Expanding Its American Portfolio With Dairy Products. Retrieved from http://seekingalpha.com/article/714491-pepsico-expanding-its-american-portfolio-with-dairy-products Talent Sustainability. (2012) Retrieved from http://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Talent-Sustainability.html The Power of PepsiCo – 2011 Annual Report. (2011) Retrieved from http://www.pepsico.com/annual11/downloads/pep_ar11_2011_annual_report.pdf Theodore, S. (2012, August 13). Diet Coke Enters A New Decade: The Carbonated Soft Drink Brand Has Come A Long Way. Retrieved from http://www.mintel.com/blog/diet-coke-enters-new-decade-carbonated-soft-drink-brand-has-come-long-way Tomlinson, S. (2012, March 3). Soda Sales Fall Faster As Americans Turn To Healthier Options. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2118291/Soda-sales-fall-faster-Americans-turn-healthier-options.html

India cinema Essay

India cinema over the ages has developed a flavor and aroma of its own. The vibrancy and exuberance of our cinema is unparalleled across the globe. India cinema, over the year, has transcended the barriers of language, art and culture, broken all the bonds and crossed all borders to colour the entire world with is emblematic song, dances, music, melodrama and didacticism. India cinema has a bit of everything. It has the capacity to imbibe all the shades and every spice of life within its ambit. It has been mystifying, enthralling, enchanting and entertaining millions since a long long time now. Every today, watching cinema is the most popular mode of entertainment and a favourite pastime of people from all section of society transcending over cast, creed, race or religion. In fact, bollywood after cricket is a sub-religion of the country. From the most common man to the intellectual and the elites-all enjoy watching movies in their leisure time with their friends and families. Cinema works as a great unifying factor which brings together the high and the low, the rice and the poor , the young and the old-all under the same roof for next two or three hour . It entertains without discrimination, thrill and tickles without knowing a difference man and man. I too, like watching movies with my parents and friend in my spare time. Last year, Sahara Motion Picture initiated a new era in India cinema. The long awaited animation movies for children were released and it runs successfully in theaters all over the country. Not only children but also teenagers, old and young, all cinema halls in large number to watch-Hanuman. I too had been waiting for the movie eagerly. Once the movie was released, my friend’s family and mine made plans to watch the movies in our nearest theater on the ensuing Sunday. We all were extremely excited. In fact, my friend and I could hardly wait for weekend. On the appointed Sunday, we reached the theatre filled with thrill excitement through and through. Predictable, none of us were disappointed after watching the movie. Since then, it has become one of my favourite movies. The movie is a fabulous animation of the legend of the faithful friend and follower of Lord Ram and his greatest accomplice in the battle against Ravana. The movie traces the entire life-story of Hanuman-right from his birth to the fulfillment of the aim which he was bore. The stories begin with sin and wickedness increasing on the earth and all the Gods rushing to Brahma-the Creator for his protection. The movie brilliantly captures the miraculous birth of Hanuman and his innocent childhood pranks to his education from the Sun god. The scene when the little Hanuman wakes up and mistakes the sun peeping form behind a mango tree to be mango and rushes to eat it out of grave hunger is one of my favorites. The way he reaches the sun and fight Rahu is extremely interesting. Hanuman- who is the incarnation of Lord Shiva grows up loved and pampered and gradually being trained for his great appointed task. As he grows up, he meets Lord Ram who is also growing up in his palace with his brothers. I particularly enjoyed the scene where Lord Shiva and Hanuman was extremely amusing with his multi-coloured cap and his extraordinary feats amused all of us extremely. Even the Kite scene when little Ram’s kite gets lost amidst the clouds and Hanuman disguising as the monkey is also my favourite scene. The rest of the movie too is interesting. One never loses interest throughout the movie. The movie, all through, captivates one’s attention thoroughly. The other scene, which really liked, is the ones when Hanuman goes to Lanka to search Sita. The entire sequence of the scenes thereafter is my favourite. L really liked each and every scene-the way Hanuman burns down the entire Lanka to teach Ravana a lesson and the scene later of the famous Kumbhakaran with his legendary sleep and appetite. In short, there is nothing that I don’t like about the movie. Enjoyed every bit of it and all the more so in the company of my friend and my family. I like the movie not only because it is entertaining but also because it teaches a lot about our rich and ancient mythology and the Hindu religion to us. It is usually seen that we don’t get the opportunity to know about our religion and the legends in our mythology in normal course of our lives. The movie is didactic and educative for children as the honest Hanuman, which he harbours for his lord Ram. The movie not only enriches and educates the innocent and fertile young minds but also the old adults alike. The movie was not only like by we friend but also by our parents which was a proof of how wonderful the movie was, even though but also by our parent which was a proof of how wonderful the movie was, even though an animation caters to the need of a specific age group and strata of the society. The animation was of best quality, the special effects very graphical and the morals and l hope we get many more such movies to see in the near future which educate as well as entertain the viewers irrespective of their age, cast, culture religion or race.