Pursuing a Career in Neuroscience Essay -- Personal Statement

Of all specialties of the Biomedical Sciences, I find Neuroscience very intriguing out of sheer fascination for the epitome of evolution – the brain. The brain directly or indirectly controls almost all functions necessary for survival, which compels me to investigate its complexity and functioning. Unexplored frontiers in Neuroscience - from the neuron to cognition, coupled with an urge to discover what makes us truly living compel me to pursue a career in Neuroscience. When I graduated from college in India, there was a scarcity of institutions offering graduate level courses in Neuroscience, and limitation of facilities and content in teaching, syllabus and research in this field. Hence, in order to obtain graduate level training, and since degrees obtained from American universities are internationally renowned for their academic excellence; I decided to apply to universities in the United States. While researching potential universities, what set Florida State University (FSU) apart was that besides academics, almost equal emphasis was placed on community service, leadership, and social or religious involvement. I really appreciated that students were recognized not merely for academic potential, but also for exemplary character demonstrated in selfless service rendered to the community, hospital or elders in retirement homes. The holistic approach that FSU had to offer during a student's college life, and quality of education in terms of coursework, research, seminars, conference, and specialty guest lecture series in Basic Neurosciences that graduate students were privileged to receive inspired me to apply to this university. My first visit to the United States was in Fall-2007 upon obtaining a scholarship ... ... rigorous academic schedule balancing a full load of course work, teaching, research, co-curricular, extra-curricular and social activities while consistently maintaining a high GPA. During the entire course of my graduate studies, I was awarded a scholarship that covered tuition and stipend. In addition, my academic excellence reached its zenith when I was inducted into the Golden Key International Honor Society in October 2008 which provided additional opportunities for personal and professional development. Unlike many international students keen in settling in the United States, I chose to return to my home country and apply the rich experience and training that I received to serve my own people. Hence, upon graduating with a Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences, I relocated to India, sought and gained admission into the topmost school for Neuroscience.

ViVa! Vienna! Essay -- Event Planning

Small children shriek at the excitement of experiencing toddler rides at ViVa! Vienna!. Teenagers scream as they cling to their seats on the scary rides. Adults scrutinize the intricate crafts on sale at vendor booths along an historic street. People of all ages enjoy the food court, a veritable United Nations of tastes. Parents appreciate the fact that there is no cost to attend ViVa! Vienna! Music fans soak up the sounds of a wide variety of free music to suit everyone’s taste. These statements, you are probably thinking, describe events at different festivals, different locations, and different parks where you would have to pay big bucks just to get in. For all these statements describe one event: ViVa! Vienna!, a three-day festival of food, crafts, music, carnival rides and community spirit, held annually along historic Church Street in Vienna, from Lawyers Road to Mill St., with the old Vienna Train Station and Caboose serving as the anchor. Now in its 27th year, ViVa! Vienna! will return on Memorial Day Weekend, Saturday, May 29 through Monday, May 31, 2010. Carnival rides, along with the carnival food traditions of popcorn, kettle corn, and funnel cakes, will round out the fare. On Sunday and Monday of Memorial Day Weekend, Church Street will be closed to traffic from Lawyers Road to Mill Street to allow booths for artisans, retail vendors, political parties and candidates, professional groups, and community organizations. Local vendors will offer a variety of foods, including pizza, barbecue, hot dogs and hamburgers, Italian sausage, as well as food traditions from countries around the world. â€Å"ViVa! Vienna! is produced and sponsored by the Vienna Rotary Club in concert with title co-sponso... ...c material, such as that found in computers and monitors, from landfills reduces environmental contamination,† said Eichert. â€Å"Helping the environment is the right thing to do and Navy Federal is pleased to offer this service to the community.† ‘Service above Self’ is the Rotary motto and ViVa! Vienna! provides the vehicle to serve the community with this celebration and then to help charitable organizations serve specific groups. The ViVa! Vienna www.vivaviennava.org provides information it also provides information and lists of sources for those who have additional questions. Become a ViVa! Vienna! Facebook Fan at http://www.facebook.com/vivavienna â€Å"Not only is this a fun weekend for all family members, it is a worthy cause,† said Jim Marshall. â€Å"Come out and see for yourself. I’m betting you will have a good time – no matter what your age.† # # # ViVa! Vienna! Essay -- Event Planning Small children shriek at the excitement of experiencing toddler rides at ViVa! Vienna!. Teenagers scream as they cling to their seats on the scary rides. Adults scrutinize the intricate crafts on sale at vendor booths along an historic street. People of all ages enjoy the food court, a veritable United Nations of tastes. Parents appreciate the fact that there is no cost to attend ViVa! Vienna! Music fans soak up the sounds of a wide variety of free music to suit everyone’s taste. These statements, you are probably thinking, describe events at different festivals, different locations, and different parks where you would have to pay big bucks just to get in. For all these statements describe one event: ViVa! Vienna!, a three-day festival of food, crafts, music, carnival rides and community spirit, held annually along historic Church Street in Vienna, from Lawyers Road to Mill St., with the old Vienna Train Station and Caboose serving as the anchor. Now in its 27th year, ViVa! Vienna! will return on Memorial Day Weekend, Saturday, May 29 through Monday, May 31, 2010. Carnival rides, along with the carnival food traditions of popcorn, kettle corn, and funnel cakes, will round out the fare. On Sunday and Monday of Memorial Day Weekend, Church Street will be closed to traffic from Lawyers Road to Mill Street to allow booths for artisans, retail vendors, political parties and candidates, professional groups, and community organizations. Local vendors will offer a variety of foods, including pizza, barbecue, hot dogs and hamburgers, Italian sausage, as well as food traditions from countries around the world. â€Å"ViVa! Vienna! is produced and sponsored by the Vienna Rotary Club in concert with title co-sponso... ...c material, such as that found in computers and monitors, from landfills reduces environmental contamination,† said Eichert. â€Å"Helping the environment is the right thing to do and Navy Federal is pleased to offer this service to the community.† ‘Service above Self’ is the Rotary motto and ViVa! Vienna! provides the vehicle to serve the community with this celebration and then to help charitable organizations serve specific groups. The ViVa! Vienna www.vivaviennava.org provides information it also provides information and lists of sources for those who have additional questions. Become a ViVa! Vienna! Facebook Fan at http://www.facebook.com/vivavienna â€Å"Not only is this a fun weekend for all family members, it is a worthy cause,† said Jim Marshall. â€Å"Come out and see for yourself. I’m betting you will have a good time – no matter what your age.† # # #

Marxist and Neoclassical Economics

Marx's economic theories mainly deal with the comparison and contrast between Marxism and Capitalism. Karl Marx had many theories that dealt with many different aspects of society. This concept deals with the exploitation of workers and the components involved in production. The first part of Marx's value of labour theory deals with commodities. Commodities are defined as an object outside of us, a thing that by its properties satisfies human wants of some sort or another (Miliband, 1977, 243). These commodities have different values and according to Marx every commodity has two values: exchange value and use value. The use value of a commodity refers to the fact that is has some sort of use; it serves some purpose or meets some want. Every commodity must have a use or it has no value and is not a commodity. Exchange value refers to the ratio at which a commodity can be exchanged with another. In certain quantities all commodities can be exchanged for other commodities (Miliband, 1977, 254). Even the most worthless commodity, when taken in big enough quantities, can be exchanged for the most valuable of commodities. For example, a large quantity of corn or apples can be exchanged for a diamond. The next part of Marx's theory deal with the values of the labour. Marx argued that what commodities all have in common is the fact that they are all products of human labour. It is human labour that has created them and it is the amount of human labour that goes into them that determines value. Karl Marx's labour theory of value asserts that the value of an object is solely a result of the labour expended to produce it. According to this theory, the more labour or labour time that goes into an object, the more it is worth. Marx defined value as â€Å"consumed labour time†, and stated that â€Å"all goods, considered economically, are only the product of labour and cost nothing except labour†(Parekh, 1982, 386). One crucial element of classical political economy that was eventually displaced in the neoclassical revolution of the nineteenth century was the idea that labour was a primary or even exclusive determinant of value. Now, readings of Marx that posit him either as the last of the great classicals or as the leading left-wing critic of classical political economy often share the claim that Marx extracted from the classicals the view that labour is the sole source of value. Marx is applauded for his consistent formulation of a labour theory of value and, thus, for his adherence to the view that social relations of production determine the distribution of social labour and the value and exchange-value of commodities. That is, as for many other Marxists, the fact that individuals may desire beings and motivated in their economic behaviours by instinct, affection, emotion, and so forth is relegated to the status of secondary phenomena insofar as the determination of value, the social allocation of labour, and the distribution of income and wealth are involved. For many Marxists, the essential causes of economic activity are labour and production. Thus, the labouring body, rendered in some versions of this story as a truly trans-historical corporeal entity, is given pride of place in establishing the conditions for that which is uniquely human and thereby economic. This ‘productionist’ bias of Marxists has constituted the grounds by which Marxism has discursively ignored or excluded libido, excess, and true expenditure in the economic theory to which it has given rise. (Resnick, 2001, 56-60) Contemporary Marxian critics in the field of economics, then, often prefer to resurrect the nineteenth-century debates over the correct attribution of value to either ‘subjective’ desire or ‘objective’ labour. Their critique of neoclassical theory devolves on the claim that the bourgeois individualism, naturalism, and arcane abstraction consequent upon the use of axiomatic formulations in neoclassicism obscure the true (McCloskey, 2003, 12-14) conditions under which economic activities and institutions arise. Whereas production is viewed as ubiquitous across epochs and geographical boundaries, desire and utility maximization are seen as limited in historical importance to capitalist societies and, even there, they are more a consequence of a hegemonic false consciousness imposed by the self-promotion of the bourgeoisie (for example, to hide the ‘fact’ of exploitation or to explain away the waste and inefficiency of unplanned markets) than the objective conditions of life under capitalism. The modernism of much Marxism consists, at least partly, in its insistence in finding an ontological referent for the essential cause – labour – that emerges in Marxian economics as the source of value. The labouring body and the conditions of work, then, take precedence in everything from determining the nature of subjectivity (the individual who produces him/herself in the course of participating in social labour) and estimating the ‘good life’ (the elimination of alienation in work) to the primacy of certain struggles in the movements to transform and move beyond capitalism. Comparison and Contrast Karl Marx set the wheels of modern Communism and Socialism in motion with his writings in the late nineteenth century. In collaboration with his friend, Fredrich Englels, he produced the Communist Manifesto, written in 1848. Many failed countries' political and economic structures have been based on Marx's theories. That is why he is known as on of the most influential people of the history of the world. Marxism in its various forms has affected the world greatly throughout time. Both World Wars have involved communist countries to a great extent. Communism has gone wrong in many countries, with the state turning into an authoritarian one, with a few people at the top abusing their power for their own personal gain, at the expense of the other members of the public. (England, 1993, 37-53) Rather than codifying the classicals’ labouring body as a first principle, Marx can be said to have disrupted the order of the body established in classical political economy and in much Marxism. For us, Marx is not the inventor of a new anthropology (his work, we believe along with Althusser, represents a sharp rupture from the humanist anthropology that preceded – and, in the pretensions of the early neoclassicals, followed – him). Briefly stated, we view Marx’s contributions to be more along the lines of presenting the human body as a register of class and other economic and social processes, a place where the effects of capitalism are largely inscribed, rather than the site of the privileged origin (through labour) of subjectivity, agency, or socioeconomic relations. In other words, the body that Marx presents in his writings is over determined and has no centre or essential unity other than that which is the effect of the historical conditions of production, consumption, circulation, distribution, and so forth. In this sense, the body in Marx’s work is closer to some current neoclassical renditions, at least insofar as it is differentiated, dispersed, and brought to temporary unity by specific productions rather than by the presumption of its essentiality. (Cohen, 1978, 110-14) The problem, then, for some of the Marxian critics of neoclassical theory is that the story they prefer revives a view of the body and subjectivity that are fully part of the modernist project to promote an overarching and exhaustive notion of ‘man’. In this regard, the post-modern moments of Marxism are suppressed and the affinity that Marxists may have with other developments within which the humanism of the classicals is finally displaced is largely ignored. (Blaug, 1992, 319-22) To put this otherwise, the retention of the labouring body as prime cause of social and economic relations does little to undermine the humanist essentialism that, purportedly, many Marxists have been at pains to attack over the course of the last century. While recent neoclassicals and Marxists may make absurd bed mates, there is a sense in which Marxists can augment rather than blunt their attacks on bourgeois social order by acknowledging the fragmentation of the human body and the dismemberment of theoretical humanism that may have been accomplished by some neoclassicals. (Ollman, 1995, 201-10) A similar issue confronts post-Keynesian critics of neoclassical economics. Instead of using their trenchant questioning of the notions of certainty (and of probabilistic certainty), rationality, and much else that still abounds within neoclassical theory, together with their own exploration of the significance and effects of uncertainty, as the initial steps in decentring the body, post-Keynesian economists have largely resisted such a move. As we see it, the ‘radical uncertainty’ (de Marchi, 2001, 86-90) originally focused on by Keynes and now embraced by post-Keynesian economists has the potential of disrupting the modernist unity of the body, for example, by severing the necessary connection between, the presumed sequence of, some set of initial anticipations and the actions of economic agents as well as by ‘relativizing’ even the recognition of the degrees and forms of certain and uncertain knowledge on the part of those agents, making uncertainty into a variable and heterogeneous constituent and effect of bodily capabilities and orders. (Amariglio, 1994, 7-35) Conclusion Up to the end of the nineteenth century, the sensible presence of the monetary substance (gold, silver) which guaranteed more or less directly the value of the circulating sign, could lead us to forget that money was also a sign. The gold-standard system implied the circulation of gold by itself or the free convertibility of bank-notes into gold. And this, according to a creed which was almost unanimously shared by all economists and statesmen of the nineteenth century, regardless of their nationality, their religious beliefs, or philosophical opinions: ‘banknotes have value only because they represent gold’. Marx himself denied the possibility or the legitimacy of money which would be a mere sign. For him, the backing by commodity-money (produced by a certain amount of labour) is necessary. Nowadays, the direct representational possibility of monetary signs is suspended not only for circumstantial reasons, but completely suppressed, as we know, for reasons that became structural. Thus, we passed from a monetary regime where gold circulated in presencia to a regime where money was a sign representing gold; and finally to money which is a pure sign, without any reference to a gold-value, a regime of complete non-convertibility. The logical relationship between the non-convertibility of money and the dismissal of the labour theory of value by neoclassical economists and mainstream economics has been stressed. Post-Keynesians, however, tend to emphasize the extradiscursive ‘brute nature’ of uncertainty, reducing it to the limits on knowledge imposed by an unforeseeable future. Their view is that neoclassical economists (and, with them, others such as new Keynesian economists), by emphasizing certain (or, again, probabilistically certain) knowledge, have simply exaggerated the role and possibilities of rational calculation and diminished the ‘animal spirits’, ‘spontaneous optimism’, and other nonrational, corporeal determinants of economic behaviour. In this sense, post-Keynesian economists seek to reinscribe a more ‘balanced’ human body – one which, if not exactly derivative of the classicals, both recognizes the limitations of the body (for example, in terms of the ability to gather and process information) and recovers the kind of profusion of sentiments and emotions, conventions and habits, that were seen to be central to the activities and practices of economic agents prior to the marginalist revolution. It is this body which, for post-Keynesians, serves both to replace the ‘sterility’ of disembodied neoclassical decision-makers and to avoid the ‘nihilism’ occasioned by the post-modern decentring of the body. References Amariglio, J. and Ruccio, D. F. (1994) ‘Postmodernism, Marxism, and the Critique of Modern Economic Thought’, Rethinking Marxism 7 (Fall): 7-35. Blaug, M. (1992) The Methodology of Economics; Or How Economists Explain, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 319-22. Cohen, G.A. Karl Marx's Theory of History. Princeton University Press, Princeton. 1978. 110-14 de Marchi, N. (2001) ‘Introduction’ in N. de Marchi and M. Blaug (eds) Appraising Economic Theories, Aldershot: Elgar. 86-90 England, Paula (1993) ‘The Separative Self: Androcentric Bias in Neoclassical Assumptions’, in Marianne A. Ferber and Julie A. Nelson (eds) Beyond Economic Man: Feminist Theory and Economics, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 37-53. McCloskey, D. N. (2003) ‘The Rhetoric of Economics’, Journal of Economic Literature, 21 (June) 12-14 Miliband, R. Marxism and Politics. Herron Publishing Inc., New York. 1977. 250-59 Ollman, B. Grolier's Encyclopedia, Karl Marx and Marxism. Grolier Electronic Publishing Inc. 1995. 201-10 Parekh, B. Marx's Theory of Ideology. The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 1982. P.386 Resnick, Stephen A., and Wolff, Richard D. (2001) Knowledge and Class: A Marxian Critique of Political Economy, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 56-60

One flew over the cuckoos nest

One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, the director refers to the many struggles people individually face in life. Through the conflict between Nurse Ratchet and McCarthy, the movie explores the themes of individuality and rebellion against conformity. With these themes, Forman makes various points which help us understand which situations of repression can lead an individual to insanity. These points include: different situations patients overcome, human dignity, and the pressures we face from society to conform.Through these points, Forman encourages the viewer to consider that people react differently in the face of repression, and makes the viewer realize the value of alternative states of perception, rather than simply writing them off as â€Å"crazy. † Nurse Ratchet Is notorious for her desire to exercise complete control over the men who are under her Jurisdiction on the psych ward, both as patients and as employees. In doing so, Nurse Ratchet becomes a metaphor for the entir e mental institution, the government, society at large or any and every powerful institution that exists to regulate, control, and categorize groups of people.The institutions of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest claim that they categorize the patients as insane in order to â€Å"treat† and â€Å"rehabilitate† them. But it quickly becomes clear in the novel that this rehabilitation is more controlling than it is helpful for any mental ailment: the shock treatment table, the red pills that cause memory loss, the daily meetings that pit men against each other, and the list on Nurse Ratchet's desk to record and reward the men for betraying each other's secrets are all ways to force people to obey, not to sake them well.There Is no recreation outdoors. There Is little exposure to the outside world. All stateless and therapy sessions are scheduled with precision, and to deviate from that schedule is to be a nuisance to Nurse Ratchet. This is exactly as Nurse Ratchet prefers i t to be, because she can strip the humanity of her patients in order to be in complete control and run her ward like a machine. The hospital, Just like society, suppresses the individuality of the patients by gaining control of their lives and forcing them to conform.In the movie, the mental hospital is metaphor for the oppression Forman sees in modern society. Through Chief, we see how his way of interpreting the world emphasizes the oppressive social pressure to conform. He sees modern society as a machinelike, oppressive force and the hospital as a repair shop from the people who do not fit Into their role as cogs in the machine. Those who do not conform to society's rules and conventions are considered defective products and are labeled mentally Ill and sent for treatment. In the movie, the hospital is portrayed as a dangerous place.The patients Charlie Seasick, Chief, gettable. He sees Nurse Ratchet as a â€Å"watchful robot, mechanically controlling the ward†. The hospi tal is not about healing, but about dehumidifying and manipulating the patients until they are weak and willing to conform. Another way in which this is done is through the nurses' need to keep the patients medicated. McCarthy, the protagonist, battles against letting the oppressive society make him into a machinelike drone. He manages to maintain his individuality until his ultimate objective- bringing his individuality to others- is complete.However, when his oldness is provoked one too many times by Nurse Ratchet, he ends up being destroyed by modern society's machines of oppression. Through the points Forman is making in the movie, we begin to see the different situations in which the patients struggle to overcome. Whether insane or not, the hospital is undeniably in control of the fates of its patients. Through the points Forman is making in the movie about the hospital's ways of gaining control of the patients, we see how this parallels with the ways in which society gains con trol over individuals.Musher's character is essential to the novel because he battles against the oppressive society, and holds characteristics that clash with ward- representing sexuality, freedom, and self-determination. Throughout the movie, the sane actions of men collides with the insane actions of the institution. Through Chief, the movie establishes that McCarthy is not, in fact, crazy, but rather that he is trying to manipulate the system to his advantage. Musher's trajectory through the novel is the opposite of Chief's: he starts out sane and powerful but ends up a helpless vegetable, having sacrificed himself for the benefit of all the patients.Even though Bromide's comparisons of the hospital with machinery may seem â€Å"crazy† to readers at the beginning of the movie, they actually reveal his insight into the hospital's large power over the patients. In Mills Formant's One Flew over the Cuckoo's NestÃ'› the movie explores the themes of individuality and rebelli on against conformity. Forman makes various points which help us understand which situations of repression can lead an individual to insanity. These points again are these different situations patients overcome, human dignity, and the pressures we face from society to conform.The director notes that Nurse is eke a â€Å"motor pulling too big a load,† hinting at the fact that society cannot contain all of its hidden secrets. Any attempt would overload the system with the amount of people known as â€Å"unstable† and would cause this motor to explode under the pressure. But the point remains that modern society needs no such thing. Instead, individuality and diversity should be embraced, since globalization and the melting pots that cities have become threaten the variety of people that was once so common. People can only learn from diversity and allow the society prospers with fair opportunity for all. One flew over the cuckoos nest One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, the director refers to the many struggles people individually face in life. Through the conflict between Nurse Ratchet and McCarthy, the movie explores the themes of individuality and rebellion against conformity. With these themes, Forman makes various points which help us understand which situations of repression can lead an individual to insanity. These points include: different situations patients overcome, human dignity, and the pressures we face from society to conform.Through these points, Forman encourages the viewer to consider that people react differently in the face of repression, and makes the viewer realize the value of alternative states of perception, rather than simply writing them off as â€Å"crazy. † Nurse Ratchet Is notorious for her desire to exercise complete control over the men who are under her Jurisdiction on the psych ward, both as patients and as employees. In doing so, Nurse Ratchet becomes a metaphor for the entir e mental institution, the government, society at large or any and every powerful institution that exists to regulate, control, and categorize groups of people.The institutions of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest claim that they categorize the patients as insane in order to â€Å"treat† and â€Å"rehabilitate† them. But it quickly becomes clear in the novel that this rehabilitation is more controlling than it is helpful for any mental ailment: the shock treatment table, the red pills that cause memory loss, the daily meetings that pit men against each other, and the list on Nurse Ratchet's desk to record and reward the men for betraying each other's secrets are all ways to force people to obey, not to sake them well.There Is no recreation outdoors. There Is little exposure to the outside world. All stateless and therapy sessions are scheduled with precision, and to deviate from that schedule is to be a nuisance to Nurse Ratchet. This is exactly as Nurse Ratchet prefers i t to be, because she can strip the humanity of her patients in order to be in complete control and run her ward like a machine. The hospital, Just like society, suppresses the individuality of the patients by gaining control of their lives and forcing them to conform.In the movie, the mental hospital is metaphor for the oppression Forman sees in modern society. Through Chief, we see how his way of interpreting the world emphasizes the oppressive social pressure to conform. He sees modern society as a machinelike, oppressive force and the hospital as a repair shop from the people who do not fit Into their role as cogs in the machine. Those who do not conform to society's rules and conventions are considered defective products and are labeled mentally Ill and sent for treatment. In the movie, the hospital is portrayed as a dangerous place.The patients Charlie Seasick, Chief, gettable. He sees Nurse Ratchet as a â€Å"watchful robot, mechanically controlling the ward†. The hospi tal is not about healing, but about dehumidifying and manipulating the patients until they are weak and willing to conform. Another way in which this is done is through the nurses' need to keep the patients medicated. McCarthy, the protagonist, battles against letting the oppressive society make him into a machinelike drone. He manages to maintain his individuality until his ultimate objective- bringing his individuality to others- is complete.However, when his oldness is provoked one too many times by Nurse Ratchet, he ends up being destroyed by modern society's machines of oppression. Through the points Forman is making in the movie, we begin to see the different situations in which the patients struggle to overcome. Whether insane or not, the hospital is undeniably in control of the fates of its patients. Through the points Forman is making in the movie about the hospital's ways of gaining control of the patients, we see how this parallels with the ways in which society gains con trol over individuals.Musher's character is essential to the novel because he battles against the oppressive society, and holds characteristics that clash with ward- representing sexuality, freedom, and self-determination. Throughout the movie, the sane actions of men collides with the insane actions of the institution. Through Chief, the movie establishes that McCarthy is not, in fact, crazy, but rather that he is trying to manipulate the system to his advantage. Musher's trajectory through the novel is the opposite of Chief's: he starts out sane and powerful but ends up a helpless vegetable, having sacrificed himself for the benefit of all the patients.Even though Bromide's comparisons of the hospital with machinery may seem â€Å"crazy† to readers at the beginning of the movie, they actually reveal his insight into the hospital's large power over the patients. In Mills Formant's One Flew over the Cuckoo's NestÃ'› the movie explores the themes of individuality and rebelli on against conformity. Forman makes various points which help us understand which situations of repression can lead an individual to insanity. These points again are these different situations patients overcome, human dignity, and the pressures we face from society to conform.The director notes that Nurse is eke a â€Å"motor pulling too big a load,† hinting at the fact that society cannot contain all of its hidden secrets. Any attempt would overload the system with the amount of people known as â€Å"unstable† and would cause this motor to explode under the pressure. But the point remains that modern society needs no such thing. Instead, individuality and diversity should be embraced, since globalization and the melting pots that cities have become threaten the variety of people that was once so common. People can only learn from diversity and allow the society prospers with fair opportunity for all. One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest In Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, society consideres the patients as insane individuals with only the hopes of being treated. Dale Harding, one of the acutes, stated â€Å"Never before did I realiz that mental illness could have the aspect of power, power. Think of it: perhaps the more insane a man is, the more powerful he could become†, by this Harding realizes that mental illness has the power to bring fear, and the power to manipulate people. Due to their mental illnesses, both characters, Chief Bromden and Billy Bibbit, appear to be weak and powerless. However both have the aspect of true power, and with that their potential for freedom is greater. Chief Bromden uses the power of silence to his advantage. Everyone on the ward thinks that he is deaf and dumb, however, their perception on the Cheif is wrong, because of what happenes in the novel’s end. Chief Bromden is a very large man who unfortunetly thinks of himself as being miniscule. His silece provides positive effects; he is able to hear everything that goes on in the meetings where the doctors and nurses discuss the future of the patients. The doctors and nurses don’t think that Chief Bromden can hear what they are saying, so therefor they don’t hesitate to say anything in front of him. â€Å"They don’t bother not talking out loud about their hate secrets when I’m nearby because they think I’m deaf and dumb†(10). This is very beneficial because Chief Bromden knows what takes place in the ward, and knows what it takes to survive. Although he appears powerless, he actually has a lot of power because of all the knowledge he’s gained through observation and listening in on conversations. Chief states that the world is like a great big machine, Combine, and everybody is just part of that machine. The parts that are broken are sent to this hospital to be â€Å"fixed† again – to be wired back into this machine. He doesn’t want to be part of it, and hides in the fog. He resists it and part of the resistance is pretending to be deaf and speechless. He describes the Big Nurse in machine, â€Å"she blows up bigger and bigger, big as a tractor, so big I can smell the machinery inside the way you smell a motor pulling too big a load†¦. her gestures are] precise, automatic [and] her face is smooth, calculated, and precision-made. † (p. 5). Eventually, Chief shows that he can speak and hear perfectly. He tries to protect McMurphy by explaining how the system works based on what he has observed. He tells McMurphy that the nurse will go to prevent McMurphy from gaining power. But, McMurphy is too confident. Chief tries to protect McMurphy again wh en he gets into a fight with the black boys. And he tries to protect McMurphy again when they go to the disturbed ward and are subjected to electroshock therapy; the only ways of keeping the asylum patients controlled. When McMurphy finally returns to the ward as a vegetable, Chief frees him from the physical pain of his body and sofocates him with a pillow. Because of McMurphy, Chief finally has the true power and courage to break free from the hospital through a window after breaking it the way McMurphy trained him to do so. Ironically, the Cheif's insanity allowed him to attain a power beyond his limits; a power that gave him freedom and allowed him to escape the crazy world in the hospital. One flew over the cuckoos nest One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, the director refers to the many struggles people individually face in life. Through the conflict between Nurse Ratchet and McCarthy, the movie explores the themes of individuality and rebellion against conformity. With these themes, Forman makes various points which help us understand which situations of repression can lead an individual to insanity. These points include: different situations patients overcome, human dignity, and the pressures we face from society to conform.Through these points, Forman encourages the viewer to consider that people react differently in the face of repression, and makes the viewer realize the value of alternative states of perception, rather than simply writing them off as â€Å"crazy. † Nurse Ratchet Is notorious for her desire to exercise complete control over the men who are under her Jurisdiction on the psych ward, both as patients and as employees. In doing so, Nurse Ratchet becomes a metaphor for the entir e mental institution, the government, society at large or any and every powerful institution that exists to regulate, control, and categorize groups of people.The institutions of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest claim that they categorize the patients as insane in order to â€Å"treat† and â€Å"rehabilitate† them. But it quickly becomes clear in the novel that this rehabilitation is more controlling than it is helpful for any mental ailment: the shock treatment table, the red pills that cause memory loss, the daily meetings that pit men against each other, and the list on Nurse Ratchet's desk to record and reward the men for betraying each other's secrets are all ways to force people to obey, not to sake them well.There Is no recreation outdoors. There Is little exposure to the outside world. All stateless and therapy sessions are scheduled with precision, and to deviate from that schedule is to be a nuisance to Nurse Ratchet. This is exactly as Nurse Ratchet prefers i t to be, because she can strip the humanity of her patients in order to be in complete control and run her ward like a machine. The hospital, Just like society, suppresses the individuality of the patients by gaining control of their lives and forcing them to conform.In the movie, the mental hospital is metaphor for the oppression Forman sees in modern society. Through Chief, we see how his way of interpreting the world emphasizes the oppressive social pressure to conform. He sees modern society as a machinelike, oppressive force and the hospital as a repair shop from the people who do not fit Into their role as cogs in the machine. Those who do not conform to society's rules and conventions are considered defective products and are labeled mentally Ill and sent for treatment. In the movie, the hospital is portrayed as a dangerous place.The patients Charlie Seasick, Chief, gettable. He sees Nurse Ratchet as a â€Å"watchful robot, mechanically controlling the ward†. The hospi tal is not about healing, but about dehumidifying and manipulating the patients until they are weak and willing to conform. Another way in which this is done is through the nurses' need to keep the patients medicated. McCarthy, the protagonist, battles against letting the oppressive society make him into a machinelike drone. He manages to maintain his individuality until his ultimate objective- bringing his individuality to others- is complete.However, when his oldness is provoked one too many times by Nurse Ratchet, he ends up being destroyed by modern society's machines of oppression. Through the points Forman is making in the movie, we begin to see the different situations in which the patients struggle to overcome. Whether insane or not, the hospital is undeniably in control of the fates of its patients. Through the points Forman is making in the movie about the hospital's ways of gaining control of the patients, we see how this parallels with the ways in which society gains con trol over individuals.Musher's character is essential to the novel because he battles against the oppressive society, and holds characteristics that clash with ward- representing sexuality, freedom, and self-determination. Throughout the movie, the sane actions of men collides with the insane actions of the institution. Through Chief, the movie establishes that McCarthy is not, in fact, crazy, but rather that he is trying to manipulate the system to his advantage. Musher's trajectory through the novel is the opposite of Chief's: he starts out sane and powerful but ends up a helpless vegetable, having sacrificed himself for the benefit of all the patients.Even though Bromide's comparisons of the hospital with machinery may seem â€Å"crazy† to readers at the beginning of the movie, they actually reveal his insight into the hospital's large power over the patients. In Mills Formant's One Flew over the Cuckoo's NestÃ'› the movie explores the themes of individuality and rebelli on against conformity. Forman makes various points which help us understand which situations of repression can lead an individual to insanity. These points again are these different situations patients overcome, human dignity, and the pressures we face from society to conform.The director notes that Nurse is eke a â€Å"motor pulling too big a load,† hinting at the fact that society cannot contain all of its hidden secrets. Any attempt would overload the system with the amount of people known as â€Å"unstable† and would cause this motor to explode under the pressure. But the point remains that modern society needs no such thing. Instead, individuality and diversity should be embraced, since globalization and the melting pots that cities have become threaten the variety of people that was once so common. People can only learn from diversity and allow the society prospers with fair opportunity for all.

Consumer Behaviour †Product Line Extension Essay

Created by two avid surfers, Billabong is a brand designed by surfers, for surfers. In 1973, Billabong offered little more than a small range of surf wear: mainly surfboards and board shorts. But today, Billabong is a brand that encompasses the Australian surf culture by offering products that cater not only for the surfer inside many of us, but for fashion and lifestyle needs. 1.2 CURRENT TARGET MARKET Billabong is a brand that offers numerous products designed to accommodate numerous lifestyles. Included in their extensive range are products designed for surfers, general beach goers, skateboarders and the fashion conscious. Comprehensive characteristics of this market are difficult to pinpoint, however, it is the assumption that the majority of consumers are males and females aged between 12 and 35 years of age. Consumer Need: Social Image Need – the most important need satisfied by Billabong 1.3 CURRENTLY SOLD In the mid 1980’s, just over ten years since the birth of Billabong, the successes of the small Australian brand were being recognised world wide and Billabong products were in high demand. This led to the export of Billabong products to the global market with countries such as the USA, Japan, New Zealand and Europe first in line. Today, the product range available extends as far as 2200 lines in Australia, 1300 lines in the US and many more in over 60 other countries. It is not unusual that the greatest distribution of Billabong products is to coastal destinations. However, countries locked by land are given the opportunity to live the Billabong experience with products available on-line and in assorted stores around the world. 1.4 PRICE RANGE Billabong products appear at the higher end of the price spectrum for the overall market, and are moderately to high priced as compared to their surf brand competitors. Some examples of how Billabong measure in the market are illustrated below: Girls Thongs: Billabong – $17.95 Mermaid Sister – $19.95 Target $4.00 Men’s Jeans: Billabong – $120.00 Quiksilver $139.95 Jeanswest $65.00 Beach Towel: Billabong – $69.95 Aztec Rose – $39.95 Bonds $29.95 1.5 MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLE The single most important environmental variable affecting Billabong is ‘Culture’; defined as † a set of values, ideas, artefacts and other meaningful symbols that help individuals communicate, interpret and evaluate as members of society† (Blackwell et al. 2001). Products are largely designed, as outlined in section 1.2 and Appendix A, for a surf/sun/style culture which is seemingly ubiquitous in Australian living. 1.6 PRODUCT EXTENSION Billabong Skinwear: a Skin-care range including sunscreen, lip-balm and after sun-gel. This range meets the highest Australian standards in sun protection whilst also providing the essential style that Australians have come to know and expect from Billabong products. 2.0 SECTION B The target audience for any given product or service is the group of people that advertisers wish to attract through their marketing activities. The process of identifying and defining an audience leads to assessing priorities. For instance, a firm may identify a sizably large group or market to be potential consumers. However, it is likely to be financially unsound to attempt to target all consumers within the group. A target audience may be established by asking questions such as: Which audience is large enough to be a significant target? Which audience is a priority in terms of the brand’s product? Which audience is the target of the product’s attributes and benefits? A target audience may be defined by their age, gender, family status, lifestyle, interests or a combination of these characteristics. It is noteworthy that a target audience invariably differs from the overall target market and is generally only a segment of a given market. For example, Billabong would target consumers (both male and female) between the ages of around 12 – 35; but different segments of this broad market are more likely to purchase than others. It is desirable to develop demographic and psychographic profiles of these likely consumers (the target audience). Accurate details of a target audience can only be obtained by means of credible market research practices. However, inferences and assumptions can be made beforehand to aid any research. Some of the demographic characteristics of the Billabong target audience are, as mentioned previously, males and females between the ages of around 12 – 35 (although  advertising is usually specific to one particular gender as seen in the example of Appendix A). Such individuals are predominantly situated in coastal regions where the beach/surf/sun culture thrives (as clearly demonstrated in Appendix A), although there are significant deviations from this trend especially in recent times with such a broad, climate and geographically unbiased product range spanning some 2200 lines in Australia alone (Billabong International 2004). Economic factors can sometimes play a role in defining a target but in this case the audience is not necessarily limited to any specific economic traits; for example, income brackets are not easily defined for consumers as Billabong International offers such a variety of products satisfying both functional lifestyle needs and fashion influenced desires, hence the user’s likelihood of purchasing is expected to be more dependant on the psychographic factors of consumer motivation, motivational intensity and consumer knowledge. Consumer motivation represents the drive to meet physiological and psychological needs via purchase and consumption of products (Blackwell et al. 2001, p.233). Billabong customers are likely to be driven to satisfy their social image needs and needs for pleasure. They are expected to have a high motivational intensity to fulfil these needs so as to willingly overcome the price barrier associated with doing so. The target consumers for Billabong have a relatively high level of consumer knowledge regarding their chosen product. The concept of consumer knowledge involves individuals pre-existing knowledge and perceptions related to product purchase and consumption. These consumers have a high awareness of the products attributes and associations, such as the famous waves symbol, the obvious ties with surfing and pro surfing and the companies Australian origins. They have a familiarity with the products image within the marketplace. They associate the brand with high quality, high fashion and are prepared to bear the comparatively high price. This target audience is aided by the purchase knowledge they hold regarding Billabong’s price positioning; that is, the company is in the high price range compared to the overall market but is moderate to high in price when evaluating surf brands (see Section 1.4). These consumers are also equipped with knowledge on when  and where to buy – aware that the products are available in specialty surf-specific stores and can rely on a least two sales each year at the end of summer and winter. Although expensive research is often the most accurate way of developing a targeted marketing approach, it is always beneficial to attempt to identify expected consumers as early as possible in a marketing plan. Whether you utilize extensive demographic and psychographic research or just use common-sense, â€Å"the key is to identify a group or groups of potential customers that offer the best opportunities for business potential† (Defining Your Target 2004). 3.0 SECTION C 3.1 THE BILLABONG COMMUNICATION MIX A successful communication mix is essential in the marketing of any brand or product to consumers. This ties in with the familiar four P’s of marketing which are price, place, promotion and product. The most important factor relating to the concept of the communications mix is promotion. Examples of promotion include: personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, publicity, direct mail, advertising, sponsorship, branding and distribution of samples. A good communication mix ensures that the brand receives adequate exposure whilst also targeting the appropriate audiences (see Section B). For many large corporations, their logo is an integral part of their marketing activities. This unique identifier will be present throughout all forms of visual marketing communication and is a powerful statement in itself. An obvious example of such would be Nike with its ‘swoosh’ symbol. Similarly, the famous Billabong ‘waves’ are present throughout the Billabong communication mix. 3.2 PRINT ADVERTISING Currently there are a number of communication methods that are used by Billabong. Products are featured in a number of magazines such as Dolly,  Girlfriend, Chik and Cosmopolitan, who predominately market to the female segment of Billabong’s target audience. Print advertisements also feature in more male oriented publications such as Ralph and FHM and can be seen in specific surfing magazines such as Surfing. The combination of these promotional activities effectively reaches the specific audience that Billabong targets. 3.3 BROADCAST ADVERTISING Broadcast advertising is very limited and is likely to only be featured for events such as special surfing related events such as the Billabong Pro surf championships. 3.4 INTERNET PROMOTIONS Internet promotions are one of the most extensive ways in which Billabong advertises. On almost every Billabong advertisement featured in the aforementioned media, the Billabong web address is present; ‘billabong.com’. The website shows the entire product list, which are available for purchase online. The website is not just limited to the Australian audience. It also caters for different products and prices suitable for different regions around the world, including: North America, South America, Asia and Europe – representative of Billabongs growing international presence and successful utilisation of the internet in market places around the world. 3.5 PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL Associated to Billabong is a highly influential reference group who effectively act as a promotional tool. These are pro surfers such as Layne Beachley, Alana Brennan and Andy Irons. This reference group gains credibility for the brand by using Billabong products. Billabong promotions use these public faces to give testimonials as the attention gained by having expert’s approval is invaluable in the fight for consumer preference. 3.6 POINT OF PURCHASE DISPLAYS Point of purchase displays are frequently used by Billabong. In surf shops such as City Beach Surf (Garden City, Whitfords City), Billabong products are grouped together in the store whereas in Brothers Nielsen (Garden City, Perth, Whitfords City), the Billabong are grouped alongside competing brands by category. From the marketing perspective of a reputable manufacturer, it is more desirable to have the clothes grouped by brand rather than by category as this allows consumers to search for the specific brand they wish to purchase. 3.7 IS THIS COMMUNICATION MIX APPROPRIATE? Print advertising utilised by Billabong is appropriate and effective as the magazines that they feature in are targeting similar or overlapping audiences. Promotions and promotional material aid in increasing public familiarity with the brand. This has been achieved by attaching the Billabong name and logo with events such as the Billabong Pro and other surfing events worldwide. Celebrities, especially movie stars, television actors, entertainers, and sports figures, can be very powerful assets to any marketing and advertising campaign (Blackwell et al. 2001). Billabong uses famous surfers Layne Beachley, Alana Brennan and Andy Irons to achieve higher credibility within the surfing world. Another powerful promotional tool is the brands website. Generation â€Å"X† and â€Å"Y† are very likely to search the internet for products that they wish to purchase, as it allows them to shop in the comfort of their homes without the effort of searching different stores to find certain products or information. Internet Promotions are seen to be effective because of the increasing frequency and effectiveness of e-commerce in today’s globalised market place. The website is easy to use, easy to find and is prevalent in all the advertising material; increasing consumer knowledge of the website. Broadcast advertising for Billabong is likely to have a limited effectiveness. It has been shown that only 19% of television viewers actually watch the advertisements shown during a show (Lach, cited in  Blackwell 2001, p. 438). Bearing this in mind, and realising that the target audience is a relatively specific one, it is doubtful that the audience will be reached on a frequent basis via this medium. 3.8 CHANGES TO COMMUNICATION MIX We believe that Billabong should implement a number of various changes to the current communications mix in order to launch the Skinwear range. Procedures such as distributing free samples would be effective in increasing: awareness of the product, its function of reducing the effects of sun exposure and the positive associations of the brand. An increase in Billabong sponsored events will lead to increased exposure of the Billabong name and will provide an excellent opportunity to introduce consumers to the product extension line. The Skinwear range can be officially launched by specifically attaching the name of the new product (Skinwear) to a Billabong sponsored event. On its launch, the previously mentioned method of sample distribution can be used to full effect. The launch of Skinwear will coincide with the increased marketing activities surrounding the entire Billabong range during the summer holiday season. An effective way of maximising the benefits of this situation would be to utilise POP displays, perhaps combined with promotional gift packs. 4.0 SECTION D 4.1 PRODUCT CONCEPT As a well recognised and trusted surf brand, Billabong is endeavouring to branch out into the skin-care market, in particular: sun-care to further cater to its customers lifestyle needs. Like the rest of the world, Australia as a society has become heavily health and image conscious; as demonstrated from the many articles, advertisements, new products and spending increases based in the Health and Cosmetic Industries. Billabong has made the decision to extend their existing product range in an attempt  to take advantage of this new demand for health and beauty products. In doing so, Billabong has created its ‘Skinwear’ range which includes a Sunscreen, Lip balm and After-Sun Gel all of which meet the high standards set by the Australian Government and Australian Cancer Council. Included in the Billabong Skinwear range is a Sunscreen boasting an SPF or Sun Protection Factor of 30, shielding the skin from harmful UV rays 30 times longer than our skins natural defences are able to. Through the introduction of past innovative products, Billabong has become known for its dedication to meet and exceed the needs demanded by their surfing clientele; hence incorporating an 8 hour water protection attribute into this product. This feature allows surfers and beach goers the chance to enjoy their lifestyle without the concerns of having to frequently reapply sunscreen. The combination of 30 SPF and 8hrs of water resistance will instantly place the product at least equally, in terms of functional attributes, at the top of the market. Billabongs new Skinwear range also includes a Lipbalm featuring an SPF of 15. As a means to widen the target audience, Billabong’s new Lipbalm is free of colour and taste, removing added hesitation in the male demographic. For easy application, the Lipbalm is packaged in a squeezable tube, making for easy and mess-free application; all of which is very handy when applying at the beach. Incorporated into the After-Sun Gel is an aloe extract. According to Steve Herman (2004, p.54) â€Å"aloe remains a genuinely useful healing agent widely accepted by the public†. In order to meet consumer requirements, aloe is a feature in the After-Sun Gel product. It is merely a last resort that consumers would ultimately require a product to soothe the effects the sunburn; however, as Plato quite accurately stated â€Å"The most we can teach people is what they already know†. This statement defines the need for a product such as After-Sun Gel, as it is expected that even with the existence of a Sunscreen as provided by Billabong; consumers are likely to use the product ineffectively every now and then. Pat Thomas (2004, p.16) declares â€Å"the sun is now officially the enemy – against which sun creams are our weapon of choice†. According to figures given on the Australian Cancer website (http://www.cancer.org.au) 374,000 Australian’s are treated for non-melanoma skin cancer every year. This figure accounts for 1.9% of Australia’s entire population. More alarming is that an additional 8,500 Australians are diagnosed with a melanoma, of which 1300 will die as a result. Such frightening statistics generate the question; are members of Australia’s beach and surf culture taking appropriate steps to protect their skin from such devastating consequences? Pioneers in serving this beach/surf culture, Billabong attempt to make their consumers aware of the harmful dangers associated with long term exposure to the sun and its effects. In doing so, Billabong offers such products as available in their new Skinwear range to protect the physiological needs of their consumers as well as removing the quite apparent social negativity involved in wearing and applying sunscreen. 4.2 TARGET MARKET REVISITED It would be unwise for a brand such as Billabong to extend an already successful product range if there was any reason to believe that it would not be as successful as the collective existing products. In accordance, Billabong has created a Skinwear range that not only extends the well recognised image of the brand but also the values and attributes that a consumer would associate with any of its other products. For instance, Billabong is renowned for its high quality surf-related products, innovative style and up-to-date fashion. A marketing approach to increase the popularity of Billabong products is to promote consumption as more than an experience, but rather a statement of image and self-expression. It is for this reason that the slogan for the new Skinwear range reads: â€Å"Wear Billabong, even when you’re naked†. As identified in Section B, Billabong’s key target audience extends between males and females aged between 12 and 35. At these ages, it would not be inaccurate to suggest that a major factor in the purchase and consumption of  surf brands and their related products is whether the product links consumers with the desire to fit certain image and style demands. The surf and beach culture is dominant in the lifestyles and images of Australian people. This, in effect, further intensifies the need for many consumers to conform. Australians are becoming more obsessed with their health and appearance. Appearing on Australian networks week by week are television shows that promote cosmetic surgery, crash diets, new health risks, advanced pharmaceuticals and much more. It is not surprising that consumers in the demographic of 12-35 years of age are identifying a need to improve and maintain beauty and health. The links between sun exposure and skin damage have been extensively researched in Australia, as it appears that compared to other geographical locations, Australian people are more susceptible and at risk of suffering, due to the consequences of living in such a sun exposed location. When taking into consideration the various issues relating to sun exposure and skin damage, Billabong decided to create their Skinwear range. It is expected that with an informative and effective marketing campaign, existing Billabong consumers will see the need to execute a diligent skin protection regime, in turn utilising the products that are now offered by Billabong. 4.3 ATTITUDES In order for this product extension to be successful, Billabong has attempted to seize the large target audience that already purchases and consumes their existing product range. It is suggested by Blackwell et al. (2001, p. 289) that â€Å"holding a favourable attitude toward a product is almost always an essential prerequisite in order for consumers to hold a favourable purchase of consumption intention†. In saying this, it is not expected that the consumer will automatically purchase the product, but that they will hold a favourable intention which may assist in their decision. Several models are used to aid marketers of company’s such as Billabong to analyse consumer attitudes and their associated effects on product evaluation and choice.  Better known as the Fishbien Model and Ideal-Point Model, marketers of brands such as Billabong are given important information from consumer’s responses. In many cases, this leads to new product developments as is the case of Billabong, where certain needs not catered for are alerted to designers. In order for Billabong to avoid consumer’ attitudes becoming impartial between brands, it is essential to do whatever it takes to achieve â€Å"Attitude persistence†¦ [where] an attitude’s immune to such corrosion† (Blackwell et al. p. 300). It is likely that the need for products such as that offered in Billabongs Skinwear range will never be made redundant, purely because the risks associated with having lives revolved around the sun are not diminishing in number and neither are the risks associated. The greatest obstacle faced when introducing Billabongs new Skinwear range is changing consumer’s preferences, in effect, â€Å"recruiting competitor’s customers† (Blackwell et al. 2001, p. 301). A strong feature of the Skinwear range is its SPF rating and Water Resistance. In order to â€Å"recruit competitor’s customers† Billabong must be effective in changing consumers attitudes, drawing on favourable attitudes held about their existing product range, as well as emphasising comparisons between their new product extension and other existing brands – hopefully in favour of their products. 4.4 CONCLUSION Billabong recognises the importance of consumers needs to ‘be protected in the sun’. After all, it is the expectation that having consumers who exude a lifestyle surrounded by surf and beach that these needs will as some point require satisfying. As a highly regarded surf brand, Billabong places importance on fulfilling consumer’s needs for safety and health. In recognising the gap in its product range, Billabongs new product extension, boasting a highly protective Sunscreen, Lipbalm and After-Sun Gel, continues their commitment to meet the demands of its consumers for the coming summer season. 5.0 SECTION E To examine the decision making processes experienced by a consumer it is practical to use the Consumer Decision Process (CDP) Model which defines seven likely stages involved in any purchase. The CDP model â€Å"†¦represents a roadmap of consumers’ minds that marketers and managers can use to help guide product mix, communication and sales strategies† (Blackwell et al. 2001, p.71). All consumers are not strictly bound by this model in making their decisions, but are likely to undergo at least some of the following stages: The Consumer Decision Process Model In the case of Billabong, to ensure the success of their product line extension and the associated marketing activities; it would be beneficial to hypothesise the probable processes of their target audience in becoming loyal users of the new product. Such predictions may be made by examining the stages of the CDP model. The first stage of the model, need recognition, involves the consumer sensing the difference between their ideal and actual state of affairs. Billabong will aim, through straight-forward advertising and other marketing communications (as outlined in Section C), to undermine the user’s perceptions about the adequacy of their existing state and will hence create a problem that must be solved. Advertising will include the contrasting negative consequences of not using the product (such as skin damage and/or cancer) with the altogether positives outcomes associated with using the new product. Such benefits include a high level of skin care and also positive social image. With so many choices and more and more variables affecting consumer decisions, especially for low-involvement products such as sunscreen, it is expected that previous loyal followers of the Billabong trademark will factor their positive experiences and high levels of satisfaction into their decision to use Billabong Skinwear. The second stage involves searching the marketplace for information on  products and alternatives. The loyal Billabong consumer will find themselves undergoing components of both an internal and external search and will then move on to assess evaluative criteria as outlined by the third stage; pre-purchase evaluation. It is in this stage that these particular consumers are likely to conclude Billabong as the better alternative. The target audience, whether undergoing an external or internal search will find Billabong to be at least equal (see Section 4.1) to its competitors in terms of its products attributes whilst the positive associations with the Billabong brand will ensure that Billabong Skinwear is seen as the superior alternative. It is the intention of Billabong to extend its dominance into the new market and it is hoped that consumers eliminate the need for extensive searching in order to simply transfer loyalty into this new market. There are two paths that will lead a consumer to the fourth stage of the purchase decision. They may either systematically travel through the previous three stages leading to an obvious choice to purchase, or they may avoid the first three stages altogether and simply purchase the product based on an instantaneous decision influenced by prior ties to the Billabong brand. An example of such may be seen in impulse purchasing, where point-of-purchase (POP) displays may play a significant role. The fifth stage; consumption, is likely to occur seasonally as sun protection is demanded mainly in summer. However, loyal consumers such as those outlined in section B are perhaps the more likely of any one in the market to use the product as suggested by Billabong and its experts – all year round. Stages five and six; consumption and post-consumption evaluations are likely to have a positive, satisfied response from consumers when taking into consideration Billabongs efforts to transfer loyalty from past experiences into the new products evaluation. The last stage, divestment, holds no definitive expectations from those marketing the new product. The only aim is for the target consumers to consume the product completely and not discard it in preference for a competing brand before the end of its useful life The transition of loyal users to the new product (as summarized in this section) demonstrates how varying influential factors will alter the processes outlined in the Consumer Decision Process (CDP) Model. Whether it be the testimony of industry experts or the word of mouth (WOM) distribution of the positive brand image, it is clear that it will be more than possible to transmit the loyalty of the brand into the new product extension line. 6.0 REFERENCES Billabong International 2004. Retrieved: September 30, 2004, from http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/ 06/12/1086749947661.html?from=storylhs. Blackwell, D.R., Miniard, P.W. & Engel, J.F. 2001, Consumer Behaviour 9ED, Harcourt Inc., Florida. Defining Your Target 2004. Retrieved: October 4, 2004, from http://www.usg.com/contractors/defining_your_target.asp. Herman, S. 2004, ‘A day at the beach’, Global Cosmetic Industry, vol. 172, no. 8, pp. 53-54. Retrieved: October 13, 2004, from Proquest. Thomas, P. 2004, ‘Behind the Label: Suncream’, The Ecologist, vol. 34, no.6, Retrieved: October 13, 2004, from Proquest.

Life as a Master Cosmetologist Essay

What is a master cosmetologist? A master cosmetologist is an individual that has knowledge and skills in the field of cosmetology through advanced education. Cosmetology is defined as the art and science of beautifying and improving skin, hair, and nails. (Houghton Mifflin, 2009) In order to obtain the title master cosmetologist certain requirements must be met. A master cosmetologist may provide beauty services, massages and scalp treatments, apply make- up, style wigs, perform some hair removal and provide nail and skin care services. Life as a Master Cosmetologist A master cosmetologist has several advantages. One advantage from working as a master cosmetologist is the option to work on skin, hair, or nails. Many choose to work in a specific field after they are licensed. Job titles reported for a master cosmetologist are; hair stylist, hairstylist, hair dresser, hairdresser, barber stylist, manager stylist, platform artist, celebrity stylist, make-up artist and nail technician. A state issued license is required to practice cosmetology, although educational requirements to receive such license vary depending on state. Georgia State Board of Cosmetology first requires an individual to receive 1500 credit hours from an accredited cosmetology school. Coursework is taught by licensed professional instructors and consist of lectures and labs covering bacteriology, sterilization, customer service and business. † (Master cosmetologist, 2011) Additional coursework includes anatomy, physiology and chemistry. Secondly, the individual must submit an application to state board for an examination date. You must past a written and practical exam with a score of 70 or above. Following, an application for initial licensure along with a money order must be submitted. The fees vary by state between $30 and $50. A Master Cosmetologist License should be renewed every two years before March 31. Some states may allow a license holder to apply for reciprocity in another state. Reciprocity may be extended to licensees from other states or countries that have similar training and licensing requirements. The state of Georgia does not reciprocate with Florida, Hawaii, New York or California. There is an endless list of job descriptions associated with a master cosmetologist. A job description is defined as a document that outlines all duties and responsibilities of a particular position in a salon. The following entries are examples of such job descriptions. *Develop new styles and techniques. *Demonstrate and sell hair care products and cosmetics. *Operate cash registers to receive payments from patrons. *Shampoo, rinse, and condition scalp, hair or hairpieces. *Update and maintain customer information records, such as beauty services provided. *Bleach, color or tint hair using temporary, demi-permanent, semi-permanent, or permanent hair color. * Schedule client appointments. *Analyze patrons’ hair and other physical features to determine and recommend beauty treatments or suggest hairstyles. Cut, trim, and shape hair or hairpieces based on customers’ instructions, hair type and facial features. *Keep work stations clean and sanitize all tools, implements, and equipment. The skills of a master cosmetologist are limitless. Providing personal assistance, emotional support, and other personal care has proven to be the most valuable. Others include but are not limite d to; performing for or working directly with the public, thinking creatively, updating and using relevant knowledge, active listening, time management, judgment and decision making, critical thinking and management of financial resources. Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react the way they do is an important skill known as social perceptiveness. (E-Best resumes, 2011) Employment Most employers require a person to have a high school diploma or GED and cosmetology license. â€Å"Candidates must have a professional presentation and strong customer service skills. † (Cosmetologist career profile, 2011) Employers may ask that a salon stylist also provide an employment portfolio and resume. A portfolio is a collection of photos and documents that reflect your skills, accomplishments, and abilities in your field. A resume can be described as a written summary of a person’s education and work experience. By law, a master cosmetologist must display his or her credentials at his or her station, and clients may ask to see a license in areas where the license need not be displayed by law. A lengthy career in cosmetology may cause physical damages to the body. These damages would be considered disadvantages of working as a master cosmetologist. One disadvantage would be carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by pressure on the median nerve- the nerve in the wrist that supplies feeling and movement to parts of the hand. It can lead to numbness, tingling, weakness or muscle damage in the hands or fingers. Varicose veins are swollen twisted and sometimes painful veins that have filled with an abnormal collection of blood and would be considered another disadvantage of this profession. Moreover, lower back pain is triggered by a combination of overuse, muscle strain, and injury to the muscles, ligaments, bones and discs, making the back more prone to injury and re-injury. Low back pain can lead to overall imbalance in the spinal structure. Occupational Outlook The market seems favorable in years to come for cosmetologists. Cosmetology could be one of the few recession proof careers; things would have to get pretty bad for most people to prompt taking haircuts and hairstyling out of their budgets. â€Å"In fact, as stress and anxiety about the economy rise, so does business at salons, where clients can find relaxation and relief in the midst of the turmoil. †(Cosmetology career trends, 2011) According to SimplyHired. com, as of 2010, the average salary for a master cosmetologist is $31,000 per year. Income may vary due to customers’ tipping habits, services provided, experience of the cosmetologist, and whether he or she works on commission. The demand for cosmetologist is expected to grow by 20% between 2008 and 2018. Opportunities should remain plentiful, especially for new graduates seeking entry-level positions. Finally, to be successful you must take ownership of your education. Not surprisingly, employment will be greater for those with professional experience and those licensed to provide a broad range of services. A demand for specialized hair services has increased in recent years. This trend will continue, leading to a favorable occupational outlook for cosmetologists.

Evolution of Performance Management Part II Assignment

Evolution of Performance Management Part II - Assignment Example Eventually, even though we could achieve our goals to some extent, the collective goal of the organization was never achieved. Your post has therefore given me a lot of insight on the best way to avoid such a situation in the future by ensuring that performance management is integrated into the larger management of the organization. I agree with you perfectly that an organization will struggle to obtain long-term success without the existence of a well-defined performance management program (Chamberlain, 2011). One probing question I would like to put forward is that in the absence of performance management program, how can the organization know whether it output from its workforce is in accordance with projected goals for the organization? Certainly there will be shortfalls in knowing how well the organization has achieved success if there are no performance management programs. But to add an insight to your take on the issue, I would suggest that when the organization is implementing performance management programs, it should not do it in an isolated manner. Rather, it will be important to integrate it into the collective program of the organization. By so doing, it will be possible to ensure that the outcome of the program is a true measure of what the organization proposes to