Effect of reverberation and amplification on sound localisation Essay

Effect of reverberation and amplification on sound localisation - Essay Example Binaural cues are based on the processing of differences in intensity, time and frequency correlation between both ears in the central nervous system. Localisation can be affected by any number of factors, including age, hearing loss, gender, handedness, environmental conditions and sound variations. An important factor in sound localisation is reverberation, which affects auditory perception and can provide listeners with a cue for sound distance. Reverberation refers to the acoustic environment that surrounds a sound, and is defined as the combined effect of multiple sound reflections within a room. Hearing loss may affect listening in reverberation by distorting the speech spectrum, therefore it is interesting to further investigate the effect of reverberation on speech localisation. Sound localisation may also be affected by hearing aids, as these may affect the localisation cues. Sound localisation therefore can be both negatively and positively affected by hearing aids. Directi onal microphones may disrupt binaural cues for localisation, as they can artificially change the inter-aural level and phase differences, which are both critical cues for localisation. ... However, previous studies are contradictory as to whether bilateral or unilateral hearing aids are better when in terms of sound localisation. The main purpose of the present study is to investigate the contribution of adding reverberation on a listening environment to the abilities of normal hearing and hearing impaired listeners in localising speech and non-speech signals, and to evaluate whether it is necessary to add reverberant environments in clinical testing. Another objective of the study will be to determine if adding reverberation makes localisation more challenging for hearing impaired listeners in comparison to normal hearing listeners. The second main purpose of the present study is to understand the effect of the hearing loss and the hearing aid amplification systems on the utilization of the localisation cues in reverberant and anechoic environments. These two factors will be investigated separately by comparing the hearing impaired performances with and without hearin g aids in both listening environments. 1.2 Thesis Outline Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Background and Literature Review. This chapter introduces the concepts and literature on horizontal sound localisation in both normal and hearing impaired listeners. Background information on reverberation, and what is known on the effects of reverberation on our ability to localise sound sources in the horizontal plane, is also introduced. Chapter 3 Experimental Design. This chapter describes the experimental set-up and apparatus used in the localisation experiments in the thesis. It will further provide some details of the stimuli, reverberation, and the methods, used in simulating different reverberant environments. Chapter 4 KEMAR Measurements. This chapter reports the measurements

Hepatitis A Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hepatitis A - Essay Example The most effective method to prevent the disease is the use of vaccination (Hall, William and Clarke, 34-36). The symptoms for the disease are clearly visible within two to six weeks of the entrance of the virus in the human body. In some children the symptoms may not be even visible. The symptoms usually last for less than 2 months and can persist for almost half a year. The symptoms usually include high fever, nausea, and loss of appetite, pain in the abdomen, jaundice, head ache, and other such symptoms. These mentioned symptoms are common to many other diseases as well and therefore in the initial stages it is usually diagnosed as some other disease and when the infection prolongs then it is correctly diagnosed. The virus which causes hepatitis A is present in the blood stream and therefore it affects liver the most. Hepatitis A is a serious disease and can even result in death. Liver is one of the most important organs of the body and its proper functioning is extremely necessary for the proper and healthy working of the body and as hepatitis A has a direct impact on the liver and its failure may even result in death. For the diagnosis of hepatitis A several blood tests are carried out and the entire medical history of the patient is observed so as to prevent from any wrong conclusions because it is a highly misdiagnosed disease. Several tests are carried out to test the liver conditions and x-rays and ultrasounds are carried out to properly examine the liver and make proper conclusions (Atlanta, Ga.: U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, 45-70). There is no proper treatment for the cure of hepatitis A. the only treatment is that the surrounding conditions of the patient are made extremely clean and hygienic and efforts are made to eliminate germs as much as possible. The diet of the patient is made healthy and highly nutritious and fatty products are completely eliminated and it is made sure

Psychologically Manipulative Advertising Strategies

Psychologically Manipulative Advertising Strategies Introduction: This research is based on the psychological effects of advertising on the consumer. The controversial advertising campaigns are intended to provoke discussion of global issues, not to sell clothes. Today, any product is made of two things: a percentage of material and a percentage of image. And the part of the product that is made of image is getting bigger (Luciano Benetton)( Financial Times, 2001). Therefore advertising is getting more tricky and complicated. The picture has great importance to the content of the advertisement because it has the possibility to express feelings. Owing to this, it is very important to be sure that the picture expresses feelings that agree with the strategy of the sender. If not, there is a risk that the picture sends out a message that was not intended (Sidenbladh,E 2000). This not only kills the purpose of the advertisement but fails to impact the consumers mind, not to mention the waste of valuable advertising time and the costs attached to it. Ad vertising intends to influence people to think a particular way and to apply pressure for consumers to purchase a product. There is a level of understanding of this fact on the part of the consumer, but this does not mean that the people are able to fully control their own reactions. To persuade the receiver is the most important task of the picture. The receiver is meant to think along the line of thoughts that the sender intended to create. It is therefore believed that peoples self-understanding, behaviour and lifestyle would be affected. The picture is intended to remind people about their own and personal lifestyle and experiences. The fact is that we look at a picture in accordance with our own experiences. The consciousness only grasps a small part of all the sight impressions we actually receive. This is where peoples different associations and experiences enter the picture (Hansson et al., 1992). Many of these messages are certainly involuntary, usually coming from the atti tudes that are widespread in a society at a given time. These messages are intended to attract the viewer and to guide thier thinking on certain channel with the aim of selling the product and making the consumer believe that are getting the complete package that comprises of the product along with the image attached to it. This may be achieved by giving an impression of what that product may account for in their lives by exaggerating and impressing an image of a certain level of emotional importance that they link to the product. There are many different communication models that originate from the classical Stimuli-Organization-Response Model (Aaker et al., 1992; Fiske, 1994). As an example we have chosen Edfeldt (1992) because it stresses the influence of disturbance of the senders message. The sender should create an advertisement and formulate it in the best possible way, in order to sell the product intended. Already at this stage it might happen that the message changes owing to the simple reason that it is not always so easy to put your thoughts into words and pictures. The senders own thoughts have vital importance to how the advertisement will look and through which sender and channel it will be publicized. When the advertisement reaches the sender it will be changed and also be affected by this persons personal thought; later on it will also be adjusted and might again be changed in some ways, in order to fit the media channel, which is intended. After that the receiver, and hopefully also the consi gnee, will get the message and in this step it is their thoughts that decide how the advertisement shall be interpreted. Consequently, at every step there are disturbances, which make the process sometimes troublesome.(Andersson, S. 2004)Advertising agencies make use of their knowledge of psychology to come up with campaigns that will appeal to the consumers desires and needs. In an individual society its easier to victimise the masses with such kind of an advertisement campaign as compared to multicultural societies. Products like fairness creams are significantly advertised in the sub continent and the advertisements give an impression that people who are dark are less likely to succeed in life as compared to the ones with a lighter skin tone. One of the fair and lovely ads shows how a girl cannot get her dream job only because she is dark and after using this product she get it even without an interview. (Fair and lovely, 27 Feb. 2009) Viewing such an ad will impact the people who have a darker skin and in some cases put them in a complex about their appearance. This in turn will make the consumer believe that in order to live a better life they require the product. Contrary to that in countries with a predominant Caucasian population tanning lotions are publicised. These products are again publicised sticking with the same concept. The Coppertone Sun Lotion Commercial from 1989 shows a girl walking on the beach alone and lonely and at the sight of the tanning lotion she starts to fantasize of being really sexy and a male attention magnet. (Coppertone Sun Lotion Commercial 1989, 24 Feb. 2009). This kind of an advertising approach impresses that the product being advertised is not just a luxury cosmetic anymore for the consumer but a survival necessity. Such advertisement campaigns are not taken to be offensive in that particular region and in fact are spot on as these concepts originate from the complexes that originally exist in that particular society. This may also be considered as one of the approaches to this kind of advertising. When the advertisers are dealing with a society like the one in UK that has a mixture of all sorts of cultures using such an advertisement strategy becomes all the more complex and difficult. Some of the ideas might create interest in one particular group of people, while others may be unaffected or worse offended by it. In order to design such a advertising strategy the advertisers may have to have a fairly good knowledge of the way the people think in that particular community which is being targeted. This study will investigate effectiveness of such advertising campaigns as The message of the advertisements is basically to sell products and to be able to catch the receivers attention. Therefore it is important that the sender not only makes sure that the product in the advertisement is successful and is selling, but also is aware of and careful about the pictures many effects. The values that are spread and how they in turn affect the consumer are important for the future of the product ((Hà ¤gg et al., 1972) Literature review Impact of media and in particular visuals on a consumers mind Background Historically, television was assumed to be an excellent vehicle for presenting a message to a relatively captive mass audience (Secunda, 1988). Lead by a large body of research, advertisers often spend noteworthy sums attempting to ensure that certain segments see specific ads enough to prompt some response and spawn the biggest â€Å"bang for the buck† (Vakratsas and Ambler, 1999). There has been a lot of research done on the way consumers react and interpret advertisement. This research focuses on the audience as a whole and consumers as a general market. However there has been no research carried out that divides the consumers in regards to their ethnicity and subcultures and study how each of them react to the same kind of an advertisement. A targeted advertisement is more valuable with the targeted segment because ad characteristics such as actors, symbols, and themes are customized specifically to the characteristics of the targeted consumer segment. Previous research shows that consumers who are members of the group being targeted by an ad are more likely to take a positive interpretive attitude regarding the ad than are members of non-targeted groups (Grier and Brumbaugh, 1999). That is, targeted consumers are likely to create meanings that transmit through the advertisement positively to themselves. It is a common awareness among the managers of multinational companies that advertising plays a vital role in a building brand. Developing and upholding a sturdy brand in the fullest sense requires much more strategic thinking as brand tools suggest the conceiving of a promise of value for customers and then ensuring that the promise is kept. Building a powerful brand requires determining the substantial characteristics of the contributions that carry the brand name and the payback the customers get from those benefits and the psychological or emotional benefits of the products. This may be described as what â€Å"value† means to a typical loyal customer; and what, ultimately, is the crucial nature and character of the brand over time. A good brand image will result in an increase in the brand equity. Strong brand equity allows the companies to retain customers better, service their needs more effectively, and increase profits. (Rajagopal, 2006) Consumers often animate brands by donating them with personality traits, and marketers often create or highlight these perceptions by their brand positioning. Brand personality traits provide symbolic meaning or emotional value that can chip in to consumers image of the brand. Human personality traits are determined by multi-dimensional factors like the individuals behaviour, appearance, attitude and beliefs, and demographic characteristics. Based on the trait theory, (Batra et al. 1993) observed that there are five steady personality dimensions, also called the â€Å"Big Five† human personality dimensions. The â€Å"Big Five† human personality dimensions are Extroversion/introversion, Agreeableness, Consciousness, Emotional stability, and Culture. Based on these human personality dimensions, Aaker (1997) identifies the new â€Å"Big Five† dimensions related to brands. These are Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, Sophistication, and Ruggedness. This pattern suggests that these brand personality dimensions might operate in different ways or influence consumer preference for different reasons. Sincerity, excitement, and competence represent an innate part of human personality whereas sophistication and ruggedness tap dimensions of indivi dual desire. Hence, the following proposition has been considered as the customers identify brands that have similarity to their own personalities and represent closeness in terms of the psychographic and emotional attributes.( Rajagopal, 2006) This builds the grounds for the psychologically manipulative advertising strategies. Advertisers study carefully these attributes and try to link it to the consumer. Then base the advertisements to target these personality traits in people. The following discussions in the paper analyze the influence of advertising practices on the buying behaviour of consumers. The discussions in the paper are built around cognitive relationship between the consumer behaviour and communication. There do exist well thought out advertisement strategies that are carefully planned and call upon the values of a closely defined audience or a subculture. Over a period of time, some campaigns can transform the public perceptions, in turn increasing public awareness and changing general perceptions of issues previously overlooked (Rotfield, 2002). Some subjects that are commonly used as the bases of such sort of an advertising strategy are talked about in the following chapters. These form the basis of psychological manipulative advertising strategies and have an underlined meaning and an impact on the way the consumer not just sees the product but also triggers some emotions that they start to relate to it. Sexuality The upcoming and the new focus of advertiser in th fashion advertisement is the homosexual community. With approximately 22-30 million members (Dossi, 2006), or approximately 6-7 percent of American adults (Seckler, 2006), and a combined collective buying power of $641 billion in 2006, the USA gay and lesbian market is commonly considered the â€Å"Dream Market† (Packaged Facts, 2004). The average household income for gay/lesbian households is between $60,000 and $79,999, significantly higher than that of their heterosexual counterparts (GL Census, 2005). These figures portray the homosexual community as a substantial market. There for an attractive target for the advertisers and a potential consumer base for the brands. A recent study addressing this issue investigates heterosexual and homosexual responses to ads containing heterosexual, implicit homosexual and explicit homosexual imagery (Oakenfull and Greenlee, 2005, p. 429). The authors of the study find that the conventional straight audience is alienated by explicit gay and lesbian imagery, but not by implicit gay and lesbian imagery. They also find that the homosexual audience responds equally well to both implicit and explicit gay and lesbian imagery, and therefore suggested using implicit homosexual imagery to reach this audience and at the same instance avoid alienating or worse offending the larger heterosexual population that makes up a far greater percentage of the market. However, In this study the use of implicit versus explicit gay and lesbian imagery in this study did not represent a deviation in the degree of intimacy, and may have caused a level of inaccuracy in interpretation of the results. The ad that represented the implicit im agery used was an actual beer ad containing the symbolism of a pink triangle, a rainbow flag and the slogan, â€Å"Another one coming out†, this add does have a implicit under lying message to it but does not really have a level of intimacy attached to it that was meant to be studied, whereas the supposedly explicit imagery showed a kiss on the cheek or the forehead with either a lesbian or a gay male couple, both images were taken from clothing ads. Neither ad primarily contained explicit sexual contact, and could have portrayed to be a non-sexual relationship.( Dotson M.J, et al. 2009) Based on the findings of Dotson M.J it is suggested that If narrow targeting is possible, it is preferable to the use of crossover ads. If ones primary audience consists of straight males, one might not wish to use ads with any homosexual themes. There is perhaps wider freedom with a straight female audience who may be more tolerant of ambiguous homosexual imagery. If ones primary audience is gay and lesbian, evident depictions of primarily gay males and lesbians, especially androgynous depictions, are recommended. If management wishes to use crossover appeals in a publication that appeals to both gays and straights, ambiguous subtle approaches would appear to be most appropriate (Dotson M.J, et al. 2009). Gender Gender is one of another tools that can be used for this kind of an advertising approach and plays an important role in how ads are perceived. Both the gender of the audience as well as the gender of the models presented in the ads (Oakenfull and Greenlee, 2005) is of equal value. The relations between genders may have important implications for marketers. Advertisers often place the same advertisement in multiple media outlets, and rely on it communicate a specialized message to each audience (Penaloza, 1996). This could be a problem or a gamble both at the same time. It may be a problem as all the media might not be aiming to the same kind of a consumer in terms of background and mental and emotional levels, therefore the message may be interpreted differently by the variance in the market that is being targeted. It may be a gamble as the advertisers are trying to reach out to a wider demographic with the same advertisement this could be a hit or miss situation depending on the typ e advertisement and the consumer it is targeting. Advertisers usually use gender stereotypes and gender-linked traits (a collection of psychological characteristics and behaviours characterizing men and women) and gender roles activities differentially appropriate for men or women in advertisements (An.D and kim S. 2007). Usually gender role depictions of women as dependent and emotional have been criticized for perpetuating stereotypes and having adverse effects on a wide range of behaviours (Bretl and Cantor, 1988). Specifically, Jones (1991) summarized instances of subtle stereotyping in advertisements: †¢ functional ranking – the ability to depict men in executive roles and as more functional when collaborating with women; †¢ relative size – the inclination to depict men as taller and larger than women, except in the case when women are clearly superior in social status; †¢ reutilization of subordination – an surplus of images of women lying on floors and beds or as objects of mens mock assaults; †¢ the feminine touch – the tendency to show women cradling and caressing the surface of objects with their fingers; and †¢ Family – fathers depicted as physically distant from their families or as relating primarily to sons, and mothers depicted as relating primarily to daughters. (An.D and kim S. 2007) In the past content analysis has been used as a major research method to investigate gender roles portrayed in advertising (Cooper-Chen, 1995). Since, there has been such high levels of research in this particular area, its is not fair to provide a complete review in a few paragraphs (for articles based on the review , see Courtney and Whipple, 1983; Furnham and Mak, 1999. In the first study of this particular subject, Courtney and Lockeretz (1971) reported that US magazine advertisements depicted woman for having a place only in the household, and also did not consider them of a great value to make important decisions, and thus highly dependent on the opposite sex for that matter. In the next few decades, quite a few studies based on the subject (McArthur and Resko, 1975; Belkaoui and Belkaoui, 1976; Whipple and Courtney, 1985; Gilly, 1988; Bretl and Cantor, 1988; Mazzella et al., 1992; Kramer and Knupfer, 1997; Furnham and Mak, 1999; Furnham et al., 2000) also portrayed and examine d this depiction of woman in US magazine and television advertising. This research implied the status of woman and their role to be more of a passive nature, secondary to men, and thus dependent on men, and not capable of making important decisions, depicting their lack of brainpower and authority, younger, appealing, self-enhancing, and ornamental. Such stereotyping in the portrayal of women has continued into the mid-1990s although percentage of women shown as professionals and managers has made modest gains since the late 1950s (Cheng, 1997). The role of women was also brought forward as for being an attention grabber in advertisements, women were quiet often shown as objects of sex (Soley and Kurzbard, 1986; Ferguson et al., 1990; Klassen et al., 1993). While most researchers were mainly focusing and paying attention to the role of women, another research has observed the portrayal of men and women appearing in advertisements together (Wiles and Tjernlund, 1991; Klassen et al., 1993; Zotos and Lysonski, 1994) or male positioning solely (Wolheter and Lammers, 1980; Skelly and Lundstrom, 1981; Kolbe and Albanese, 1996). These studies generally implied that men are depicted in categorically dissimilar ways as authoritative, sovereign, professional, self-directed, outdoor, middle-aged, argumentative, practical, and pleasurable. Comparative studies showed that the difference in the portrayal of the two sexes was in the presentation (i.e. men were kept in the forground as the main focus as the women provided to be a back ground) of the type of products advertised (e.g. men were used for technical products or women for the purpose of household products). Other researchers (Soley and Kurzbard, 1986; Bretl and Cantor, 1988; Ferguson et al., 1990; Klassen et al., 1993) observed that the advertisers had made some development in the ways both the genders are advertised, mainly in the depiction of women in a less domesticated way (e.g. regular representations of women in more professional and corporate ways) perhaps due to the increasing feminine movements along with â€Å"raising† of feminist consciousness (Ford and LaTour, 1993). In this observation the cases studied the impact that the consumer psychology had on the way advertisers approach their advertising campaigns. This also suggested that the advertisers dont just use advertising to make people believe in things but at times use underlying norms prevailing in the society to structure the advertising campaigns in order to relate to the audiences and reach out to them. Hence leaving an impact on the way they view things. Celebrity Another key aspect that advertisers especially in the fashion arena use to impact and attract the consumers attention is celebrities. From the work of Langmeyer and Shank (1994), we can define this assemble not only comprise objective beauty, but also non-physical beauty, such as sportsmanship, charm, grace, intelligence and credibility. A good-looking celebrity is more likely to be a more powerful foundation of a brands image due to the advantage of their celebrity standing and their physical attractiveness (Kamins, 1990). In research that has investigated physical attractiveness showed that physically attractive celebrities have a positive effect on the products and brands with which they are linked to. As an example, after thoroughly reviewing the literature, Joseph (1982) states that physically attractive celebrities have a positive effect on the way the product is perceived and looked upon. In another study Kahle and Homer (1985) discover that the celebritys attractiveness can i mprove the way the brand is remembered, what the brand promises and the attractiveness of a brand. In an even more current study, Till and Busler (1998) bring to a close that the use of an attractive representative for the brand has positive effects, on the attitude of the consumers targeted, towards the brand. One of the findings from these observations is that the attractive sources tend to attract more attention than other less attractive sources. Therefore they are able to communicate the meaning with more effectiveness. Building on from these findings, we can say that the more attractive the celebrity, the more the image of the endorsed product will benefit. An example of an advertising campaign where the attractiveness-image of a celebrity has been linked with the image of the brand and used as a psychologically impacting tool for the consumer is the Star Ambassador campaign by a renowned watchmaker Omega. This ad champagne features supermodel Cindy Crawford and Formula One racing driver Michael Schumacher. Crawfords who is renowned for her beauty, and Schumachers for his outstanding driving abilities makes them extremely eye-catching and very noticeable in their professions and beyond. These attributes make these celebrities ideal ambassadors for Omegas products (see Omega, 2004). Considering this it is safe to say that celebrity attractiveness has a positive relationship with brand image (seno.d, et al 2007). In a study carried out by Klaus et al. It suggested that, women in particular responded more positively and had a more favourable attitude towards, celebrities in the advertisements.(Klaus N et al, 2008). This research also showed that male and female consumers responded more favourably to adverts with female celebrities, with male participants providing a more favourable response than female participants, but finds only limited interaction effects, in terms of differences between male and female participants attitudes, evaluations, and responses, to adverts with male and female celebrities.(Klaus N et al, 2008) This research observed the impact of this manipulation approach in advertising on male and female consumers. Goldsmith et al. (2000) define celebrity standing in the context of advertising as the extent to which a celebrity is â€Å"perceived as possessing expertise relevant to the communication topic and can be trusted to give an objective opinion on the subject†. This shows that the careful selection of a celebrity to represent a product is crucial, as the celebrity has to have some level of relation to the way the product is preceded by the consumer. It could be in terms of the trust that the consumers hold with the celebrity or the authenticity and the sincerity of the opinion of that particular celebrity on the subject of that product. Expertise and trustworthiness are the most important aspects of celebrity credibility. When consumers evaluate these aspects of a particular celebrity, they echo on the soundness of the pronouncements made by that celebrity. There is a level of trust between the celebrity and the consumer. The trust being that the consumer believes in the credibility of what the celebrity is endorsing (e.g.Hovland et al., 1953). The more the consumer is in favour of these celebrity credibility constituents, the celebrity endorser in turn is seen to be a more convincing source for the representation of that information about the product and also as an authentic representation for that brand (e.g. Ohanian, 1990). After a careful study of the literature on this area, Goldsmith et al. (2000) conclude by saying that the assumed credibility of a particular celebrity has a positive impact, in respect to convincing consumers and influencing consumer attitudes, towards the products with which the celebrity is associated. One such example of a celebrity whose credibility coincides with that of a brands image is John Travolta (actor). He endorses the Australian airlines (Qantas). John Travolta as an individual has a passion for airplanes and aviation. He has a commercial pilot license and also owns a Boeing 707. Considering all this, John Travolta is therefore considered to be a convincing aviation expert. Therefore, the Australian airline (Qantas) values John Travolta as a celebrity endorser for their brand (Gotting, 2002). From what has been discussed above, it could be said that celebrity credibility has a positive relation to the image of the brand. As brand image has a positive relation to brand equity, It can be said that celebrity credibility has an indirect but yet a positive effect on brand equity (seno.d, et al 2007). This research emphasises and proves the importance of such kind of an advertising approach and its positive appeal to not only the brand image but also the brand e quity. Importance of consumer behaviour Consumer behaviour can be defined as ‘the study of the process involved when individuals or groups, select, purchase, use or dispose of products, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy needs and desires (Solomon et al., 2002). From a marketing perspective, an understanding of consumer behaviour can help marketers to come up with marketing strategies that successfully aim the group being targeted while fulfilling their business objectives. In order to come to a decision the consumer processes the information conveyed to them which in turn triggers a response including feelings and emotions. These messages, usually in form of images, ‘ either present and attractive personality for the product or indirectly suggest to the consumer that they can acquire a certain style by using a particular brand (Duncan, 2002). As an affect of the advertisements consumers relate products and brands to lifestyles or quality. The emotional experience is becoming a crucial part of advertisin g in todays world marketing communicators require a good understanding of these responses and implications in order to be able to foresee the effectiveness of brand messages (Ducan,2002). Cultural diversity in the UK At present marketers supporting ethnic communities are building brand awareness by using central symbolisms to reach ethnic consumers (Holland and Gentery, 1999). The marketers tend to use the stereotypical image of the ethnic minorities as a base for their advertisements. The inevitable stereotypical portrayal of ethnic minorities in intercultural communications results in a wide range of emotional responses and attributes regarding the motifs of marketers (Holland and Ball, 1995). At the same time the negative responses feared as a result of stereotyping regardless of the intention, may be one of the reasons as to why marketers are slow to catch on the ethnic marketing practices (Burton, 2002), also the uncertainty of marketers in how to approach ethnic consumers (Gooding, 1998). From the literature already discussed shows that the advertisers have put quiet a lot of effort in studying the consumer psychology as a whole and in the past have proved to be helpful to the marketers, ho wever very little effort has been put in the past to study the diversity of the market in terms of ethnicity. One such study lead by Holland and Gentry (1999:67) suggested that irrespective of the degree of acculturation of an ethnic individual, they still tend to ‘ maintain expressive symbols of ethnicity and cultural traditions, whilst..adapting or renegotiating them to fit into present day society. The study of these attributes can open a new window of opportunity for the advertisers to reach out to such individuals at a more personal level. In this context the expression to be used goes beyond the symbolic expression, whereas ethnic individuals hand pick parts of their cultural past with the intention of adopting them to the present day society or in other words come up with a hybrid between the two cultures that they coexist in at the same time at more of a psychological level. The strength of ethnic identification is shown to have a significant effect on audience evaluation of advertisements (Greg, 1997), and in turn is more likely to influence the way the information in the advertisements is perceived and subsequently the implications it may have on marketing related decisions (Green, 1999). Donthu and Cherian (1992) discovered that the measure of ethnic identification may be of great significance to the consumer purchase behaviour. Whittler (1991) suggested that individuals with a high ethnic identification had strong cultural attitudes attached to them, therefore are more likely to be affected by the race or origin of the model. Green (1999) discovered in his study that African Americans were more probable to have a positive assessment of an advertisement featuring models from the same race. Advertisers in their attempts to market a product look for the target markets approval for that particular advertisement though when targeting ethnic minorities they should emphasise more on the use of cultural symbols that are closer to that of the target audiences (Holland and Gentry, 1999). Koslow et al. (1994) observed that using Spanish language in advertisements was linked to positive consumer perceptions towards the advertisers sensitivity towards the Hispanic culture. Therefore it could be said that strong ethnic identifiers are likely to trigger a stronger emotional response to the advertisements that depict some sort of cultural attributes (Holland and Gentry, 1999, Green, 1999). Greens (1999) research findings suggested that ‘the individuals feelings towards advertisements depend on the degree of identification with their ethnic group. The proposition of this study would be to the advertisers that there should be a great deal of emphasis on the media strategy which w ould imply that the main focus should be on their target audience rather than on the creative strategy i.e. the use of black/white models. Green (1999) suggested that advertising in the local publications was more effective in regards to national publications when advertising to an ethnic minority. It was also observed that the Asian markets responded better to the ethnic based advertisements irrespective of the type of media (Kinra, 1997). On the other hand the representation of ethnic actors has increased greatly in the media that there is now an over representation of the ethnic minorities in the media as compared to their proportion in the society (Taylor and Stern, 1997). Thi Psychologically Manipulative Advertising Strategies Psychologically Manipulative Advertising Strategies Introduction: This research is based on the psychological effects of advertising on the consumer. The controversial advertising campaigns are intended to provoke discussion of global issues, not to sell clothes. Today, any product is made of two things: a percentage of material and a percentage of image. And the part of the product that is made of image is getting bigger (Luciano Benetton)( Financial Times, 2001). Therefore advertising is getting more tricky and complicated. The picture has great importance to the content of the advertisement because it has the possibility to express feelings. Owing to this, it is very important to be sure that the picture expresses feelings that agree with the strategy of the sender. If not, there is a risk that the picture sends out a message that was not intended (Sidenbladh,E 2000). This not only kills the purpose of the advertisement but fails to impact the consumers mind, not to mention the waste of valuable advertising time and the costs attached to it. Ad vertising intends to influence people to think a particular way and to apply pressure for consumers to purchase a product. There is a level of understanding of this fact on the part of the consumer, but this does not mean that the people are able to fully control their own reactions. To persuade the receiver is the most important task of the picture. The receiver is meant to think along the line of thoughts that the sender intended to create. It is therefore believed that peoples self-understanding, behaviour and lifestyle would be affected. The picture is intended to remind people about their own and personal lifestyle and experiences. The fact is that we look at a picture in accordance with our own experiences. The consciousness only grasps a small part of all the sight impressions we actually receive. This is where peoples different associations and experiences enter the picture (Hansson et al., 1992). Many of these messages are certainly involuntary, usually coming from the atti tudes that are widespread in a society at a given time. These messages are intended to attract the viewer and to guide thier thinking on certain channel with the aim of selling the product and making the consumer believe that are getting the complete package that comprises of the product along with the image attached to it. This may be achieved by giving an impression of what that product may account for in their lives by exaggerating and impressing an image of a certain level of emotional importance that they link to the product. There are many different communication models that originate from the classical Stimuli-Organization-Response Model (Aaker et al., 1992; Fiske, 1994). As an example we have chosen Edfeldt (1992) because it stresses the influence of disturbance of the senders message. The sender should create an advertisement and formulate it in the best possible way, in order to sell the product intended. Already at this stage it might happen that the message changes owing to the simple reason that it is not always so easy to put your thoughts into words and pictures. The senders own thoughts have vital importance to how the advertisement will look and through which sender and channel it will be publicized. When the advertisement reaches the sender it will be changed and also be affected by this persons personal thought; later on it will also be adjusted and might again be changed in some ways, in order to fit the media channel, which is intended. After that the receiver, and hopefully also the consi gnee, will get the message and in this step it is their thoughts that decide how the advertisement shall be interpreted. Consequently, at every step there are disturbances, which make the process sometimes troublesome.(Andersson, S. 2004)Advertising agencies make use of their knowledge of psychology to come up with campaigns that will appeal to the consumers desires and needs. In an individual society its easier to victimise the masses with such kind of an advertisement campaign as compared to multicultural societies. Products like fairness creams are significantly advertised in the sub continent and the advertisements give an impression that people who are dark are less likely to succeed in life as compared to the ones with a lighter skin tone. One of the fair and lovely ads shows how a girl cannot get her dream job only because she is dark and after using this product she get it even without an interview. (Fair and lovely, 27 Feb. 2009) Viewing such an ad will impact the people who have a darker skin and in some cases put them in a complex about their appearance. This in turn will make the consumer believe that in order to live a better life they require the product. Contrary to that in countries with a predominant Caucasian population tanning lotions are publicised. These products are again publicised sticking with the same concept. The Coppertone Sun Lotion Commercial from 1989 shows a girl walking on the beach alone and lonely and at the sight of the tanning lotion she starts to fantasize of being really sexy and a male attention magnet. (Coppertone Sun Lotion Commercial 1989, 24 Feb. 2009). This kind of an advertising approach impresses that the product being advertised is not just a luxury cosmetic anymore for the consumer but a survival necessity. Such advertisement campaigns are not taken to be offensive in that particular region and in fact are spot on as these concepts originate from the complexes that originally exist in that particular society. This may also be considered as one of the approaches to this kind of advertising. When the advertisers are dealing with a society like the one in UK that has a mixture of all sorts of cultures using such an advertisement strategy becomes all the more complex and difficult. Some of the ideas might create interest in one particular group of people, while others may be unaffected or worse offended by it. In order to design such a advertising strategy the advertisers may have to have a fairly good knowledge of the way the people think in that particular community which is being targeted. This study will investigate effectiveness of such advertising campaigns as The message of the advertisements is basically to sell products and to be able to catch the receivers attention. Therefore it is important that the sender not only makes sure that the product in the advertisement is successful and is selling, but also is aware of and careful about the pictures many effects. The values that are spread and how they in turn affect the consumer are important for the future of the product ((Hà ¤gg et al., 1972) Literature review Impact of media and in particular visuals on a consumers mind Background Historically, television was assumed to be an excellent vehicle for presenting a message to a relatively captive mass audience (Secunda, 1988). Lead by a large body of research, advertisers often spend noteworthy sums attempting to ensure that certain segments see specific ads enough to prompt some response and spawn the biggest â€Å"bang for the buck† (Vakratsas and Ambler, 1999). There has been a lot of research done on the way consumers react and interpret advertisement. This research focuses on the audience as a whole and consumers as a general market. However there has been no research carried out that divides the consumers in regards to their ethnicity and subcultures and study how each of them react to the same kind of an advertisement. A targeted advertisement is more valuable with the targeted segment because ad characteristics such as actors, symbols, and themes are customized specifically to the characteristics of the targeted consumer segment. Previous research shows that consumers who are members of the group being targeted by an ad are more likely to take a positive interpretive attitude regarding the ad than are members of non-targeted groups (Grier and Brumbaugh, 1999). That is, targeted consumers are likely to create meanings that transmit through the advertisement positively to themselves. It is a common awareness among the managers of multinational companies that advertising plays a vital role in a building brand. Developing and upholding a sturdy brand in the fullest sense requires much more strategic thinking as brand tools suggest the conceiving of a promise of value for customers and then ensuring that the promise is kept. Building a powerful brand requires determining the substantial characteristics of the contributions that carry the brand name and the payback the customers get from those benefits and the psychological or emotional benefits of the products. This may be described as what â€Å"value† means to a typical loyal customer; and what, ultimately, is the crucial nature and character of the brand over time. A good brand image will result in an increase in the brand equity. Strong brand equity allows the companies to retain customers better, service their needs more effectively, and increase profits. (Rajagopal, 2006) Consumers often animate brands by donating them with personality traits, and marketers often create or highlight these perceptions by their brand positioning. Brand personality traits provide symbolic meaning or emotional value that can chip in to consumers image of the brand. Human personality traits are determined by multi-dimensional factors like the individuals behaviour, appearance, attitude and beliefs, and demographic characteristics. Based on the trait theory, (Batra et al. 1993) observed that there are five steady personality dimensions, also called the â€Å"Big Five† human personality dimensions. The â€Å"Big Five† human personality dimensions are Extroversion/introversion, Agreeableness, Consciousness, Emotional stability, and Culture. Based on these human personality dimensions, Aaker (1997) identifies the new â€Å"Big Five† dimensions related to brands. These are Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, Sophistication, and Ruggedness. This pattern suggests that these brand personality dimensions might operate in different ways or influence consumer preference for different reasons. Sincerity, excitement, and competence represent an innate part of human personality whereas sophistication and ruggedness tap dimensions of indivi dual desire. Hence, the following proposition has been considered as the customers identify brands that have similarity to their own personalities and represent closeness in terms of the psychographic and emotional attributes.( Rajagopal, 2006) This builds the grounds for the psychologically manipulative advertising strategies. Advertisers study carefully these attributes and try to link it to the consumer. Then base the advertisements to target these personality traits in people. The following discussions in the paper analyze the influence of advertising practices on the buying behaviour of consumers. The discussions in the paper are built around cognitive relationship between the consumer behaviour and communication. There do exist well thought out advertisement strategies that are carefully planned and call upon the values of a closely defined audience or a subculture. Over a period of time, some campaigns can transform the public perceptions, in turn increasing public awareness and changing general perceptions of issues previously overlooked (Rotfield, 2002). Some subjects that are commonly used as the bases of such sort of an advertising strategy are talked about in the following chapters. These form the basis of psychological manipulative advertising strategies and have an underlined meaning and an impact on the way the consumer not just sees the product but also triggers some emotions that they start to relate to it. Sexuality The upcoming and the new focus of advertiser in th fashion advertisement is the homosexual community. With approximately 22-30 million members (Dossi, 2006), or approximately 6-7 percent of American adults (Seckler, 2006), and a combined collective buying power of $641 billion in 2006, the USA gay and lesbian market is commonly considered the â€Å"Dream Market† (Packaged Facts, 2004). The average household income for gay/lesbian households is between $60,000 and $79,999, significantly higher than that of their heterosexual counterparts (GL Census, 2005). These figures portray the homosexual community as a substantial market. There for an attractive target for the advertisers and a potential consumer base for the brands. A recent study addressing this issue investigates heterosexual and homosexual responses to ads containing heterosexual, implicit homosexual and explicit homosexual imagery (Oakenfull and Greenlee, 2005, p. 429). The authors of the study find that the conventional straight audience is alienated by explicit gay and lesbian imagery, but not by implicit gay and lesbian imagery. They also find that the homosexual audience responds equally well to both implicit and explicit gay and lesbian imagery, and therefore suggested using implicit homosexual imagery to reach this audience and at the same instance avoid alienating or worse offending the larger heterosexual population that makes up a far greater percentage of the market. However, In this study the use of implicit versus explicit gay and lesbian imagery in this study did not represent a deviation in the degree of intimacy, and may have caused a level of inaccuracy in interpretation of the results. The ad that represented the implicit im agery used was an actual beer ad containing the symbolism of a pink triangle, a rainbow flag and the slogan, â€Å"Another one coming out†, this add does have a implicit under lying message to it but does not really have a level of intimacy attached to it that was meant to be studied, whereas the supposedly explicit imagery showed a kiss on the cheek or the forehead with either a lesbian or a gay male couple, both images were taken from clothing ads. Neither ad primarily contained explicit sexual contact, and could have portrayed to be a non-sexual relationship.( Dotson M.J, et al. 2009) Based on the findings of Dotson M.J it is suggested that If narrow targeting is possible, it is preferable to the use of crossover ads. If ones primary audience consists of straight males, one might not wish to use ads with any homosexual themes. There is perhaps wider freedom with a straight female audience who may be more tolerant of ambiguous homosexual imagery. If ones primary audience is gay and lesbian, evident depictions of primarily gay males and lesbians, especially androgynous depictions, are recommended. If management wishes to use crossover appeals in a publication that appeals to both gays and straights, ambiguous subtle approaches would appear to be most appropriate (Dotson M.J, et al. 2009). Gender Gender is one of another tools that can be used for this kind of an advertising approach and plays an important role in how ads are perceived. Both the gender of the audience as well as the gender of the models presented in the ads (Oakenfull and Greenlee, 2005) is of equal value. The relations between genders may have important implications for marketers. Advertisers often place the same advertisement in multiple media outlets, and rely on it communicate a specialized message to each audience (Penaloza, 1996). This could be a problem or a gamble both at the same time. It may be a problem as all the media might not be aiming to the same kind of a consumer in terms of background and mental and emotional levels, therefore the message may be interpreted differently by the variance in the market that is being targeted. It may be a gamble as the advertisers are trying to reach out to a wider demographic with the same advertisement this could be a hit or miss situation depending on the typ e advertisement and the consumer it is targeting. Advertisers usually use gender stereotypes and gender-linked traits (a collection of psychological characteristics and behaviours characterizing men and women) and gender roles activities differentially appropriate for men or women in advertisements (An.D and kim S. 2007). Usually gender role depictions of women as dependent and emotional have been criticized for perpetuating stereotypes and having adverse effects on a wide range of behaviours (Bretl and Cantor, 1988). Specifically, Jones (1991) summarized instances of subtle stereotyping in advertisements: †¢ functional ranking – the ability to depict men in executive roles and as more functional when collaborating with women; †¢ relative size – the inclination to depict men as taller and larger than women, except in the case when women are clearly superior in social status; †¢ reutilization of subordination – an surplus of images of women lying on floors and beds or as objects of mens mock assaults; †¢ the feminine touch – the tendency to show women cradling and caressing the surface of objects with their fingers; and †¢ Family – fathers depicted as physically distant from their families or as relating primarily to sons, and mothers depicted as relating primarily to daughters. (An.D and kim S. 2007) In the past content analysis has been used as a major research method to investigate gender roles portrayed in advertising (Cooper-Chen, 1995). Since, there has been such high levels of research in this particular area, its is not fair to provide a complete review in a few paragraphs (for articles based on the review , see Courtney and Whipple, 1983; Furnham and Mak, 1999. In the first study of this particular subject, Courtney and Lockeretz (1971) reported that US magazine advertisements depicted woman for having a place only in the household, and also did not consider them of a great value to make important decisions, and thus highly dependent on the opposite sex for that matter. In the next few decades, quite a few studies based on the subject (McArthur and Resko, 1975; Belkaoui and Belkaoui, 1976; Whipple and Courtney, 1985; Gilly, 1988; Bretl and Cantor, 1988; Mazzella et al., 1992; Kramer and Knupfer, 1997; Furnham and Mak, 1999; Furnham et al., 2000) also portrayed and examine d this depiction of woman in US magazine and television advertising. This research implied the status of woman and their role to be more of a passive nature, secondary to men, and thus dependent on men, and not capable of making important decisions, depicting their lack of brainpower and authority, younger, appealing, self-enhancing, and ornamental. Such stereotyping in the portrayal of women has continued into the mid-1990s although percentage of women shown as professionals and managers has made modest gains since the late 1950s (Cheng, 1997). The role of women was also brought forward as for being an attention grabber in advertisements, women were quiet often shown as objects of sex (Soley and Kurzbard, 1986; Ferguson et al., 1990; Klassen et al., 1993). While most researchers were mainly focusing and paying attention to the role of women, another research has observed the portrayal of men and women appearing in advertisements together (Wiles and Tjernlund, 1991; Klassen et al., 1993; Zotos and Lysonski, 1994) or male positioning solely (Wolheter and Lammers, 1980; Skelly and Lundstrom, 1981; Kolbe and Albanese, 1996). These studies generally implied that men are depicted in categorically dissimilar ways as authoritative, sovereign, professional, self-directed, outdoor, middle-aged, argumentative, practical, and pleasurable. Comparative studies showed that the difference in the portrayal of the two sexes was in the presentation (i.e. men were kept in the forground as the main focus as the women provided to be a back ground) of the type of products advertised (e.g. men were used for technical products or women for the purpose of household products). Other researchers (Soley and Kurzbard, 1986; Bretl and Cantor, 1988; Ferguson et al., 1990; Klassen et al., 1993) observed that the advertisers had made some development in the ways both the genders are advertised, mainly in the depiction of women in a less domesticated way (e.g. regular representations of women in more professional and corporate ways) perhaps due to the increasing feminine movements along with â€Å"raising† of feminist consciousness (Ford and LaTour, 1993). In this observation the cases studied the impact that the consumer psychology had on the way advertisers approach their advertising campaigns. This also suggested that the advertisers dont just use advertising to make people believe in things but at times use underlying norms prevailing in the society to structure the advertising campaigns in order to relate to the audiences and reach out to them. Hence leaving an impact on the way they view things. Celebrity Another key aspect that advertisers especially in the fashion arena use to impact and attract the consumers attention is celebrities. From the work of Langmeyer and Shank (1994), we can define this assemble not only comprise objective beauty, but also non-physical beauty, such as sportsmanship, charm, grace, intelligence and credibility. A good-looking celebrity is more likely to be a more powerful foundation of a brands image due to the advantage of their celebrity standing and their physical attractiveness (Kamins, 1990). In research that has investigated physical attractiveness showed that physically attractive celebrities have a positive effect on the products and brands with which they are linked to. As an example, after thoroughly reviewing the literature, Joseph (1982) states that physically attractive celebrities have a positive effect on the way the product is perceived and looked upon. In another study Kahle and Homer (1985) discover that the celebritys attractiveness can i mprove the way the brand is remembered, what the brand promises and the attractiveness of a brand. In an even more current study, Till and Busler (1998) bring to a close that the use of an attractive representative for the brand has positive effects, on the attitude of the consumers targeted, towards the brand. One of the findings from these observations is that the attractive sources tend to attract more attention than other less attractive sources. Therefore they are able to communicate the meaning with more effectiveness. Building on from these findings, we can say that the more attractive the celebrity, the more the image of the endorsed product will benefit. An example of an advertising campaign where the attractiveness-image of a celebrity has been linked with the image of the brand and used as a psychologically impacting tool for the consumer is the Star Ambassador campaign by a renowned watchmaker Omega. This ad champagne features supermodel Cindy Crawford and Formula One racing driver Michael Schumacher. Crawfords who is renowned for her beauty, and Schumachers for his outstanding driving abilities makes them extremely eye-catching and very noticeable in their professions and beyond. These attributes make these celebrities ideal ambassadors for Omegas products (see Omega, 2004). Considering this it is safe to say that celebrity attractiveness has a positive relationship with brand image (seno.d, et al 2007). In a study carried out by Klaus et al. It suggested that, women in particular responded more positively and had a more favourable attitude towards, celebrities in the advertisements.(Klaus N et al, 2008). This research also showed that male and female consumers responded more favourably to adverts with female celebrities, with male participants providing a more favourable response than female participants, but finds only limited interaction effects, in terms of differences between male and female participants attitudes, evaluations, and responses, to adverts with male and female celebrities.(Klaus N et al, 2008) This research observed the impact of this manipulation approach in advertising on male and female consumers. Goldsmith et al. (2000) define celebrity standing in the context of advertising as the extent to which a celebrity is â€Å"perceived as possessing expertise relevant to the communication topic and can be trusted to give an objective opinion on the subject†. This shows that the careful selection of a celebrity to represent a product is crucial, as the celebrity has to have some level of relation to the way the product is preceded by the consumer. It could be in terms of the trust that the consumers hold with the celebrity or the authenticity and the sincerity of the opinion of that particular celebrity on the subject of that product. Expertise and trustworthiness are the most important aspects of celebrity credibility. When consumers evaluate these aspects of a particular celebrity, they echo on the soundness of the pronouncements made by that celebrity. There is a level of trust between the celebrity and the consumer. The trust being that the consumer believes in the credibility of what the celebrity is endorsing (e.g.Hovland et al., 1953). The more the consumer is in favour of these celebrity credibility constituents, the celebrity endorser in turn is seen to be a more convincing source for the representation of that information about the product and also as an authentic representation for that brand (e.g. Ohanian, 1990). After a careful study of the literature on this area, Goldsmith et al. (2000) conclude by saying that the assumed credibility of a particular celebrity has a positive impact, in respect to convincing consumers and influencing consumer attitudes, towards the products with which the celebrity is associated. One such example of a celebrity whose credibility coincides with that of a brands image is John Travolta (actor). He endorses the Australian airlines (Qantas). John Travolta as an individual has a passion for airplanes and aviation. He has a commercial pilot license and also owns a Boeing 707. Considering all this, John Travolta is therefore considered to be a convincing aviation expert. Therefore, the Australian airline (Qantas) values John Travolta as a celebrity endorser for their brand (Gotting, 2002). From what has been discussed above, it could be said that celebrity credibility has a positive relation to the image of the brand. As brand image has a positive relation to brand equity, It can be said that celebrity credibility has an indirect but yet a positive effect on brand equity (seno.d, et al 2007). This research emphasises and proves the importance of such kind of an advertising approach and its positive appeal to not only the brand image but also the brand e quity. Importance of consumer behaviour Consumer behaviour can be defined as ‘the study of the process involved when individuals or groups, select, purchase, use or dispose of products, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy needs and desires (Solomon et al., 2002). From a marketing perspective, an understanding of consumer behaviour can help marketers to come up with marketing strategies that successfully aim the group being targeted while fulfilling their business objectives. In order to come to a decision the consumer processes the information conveyed to them which in turn triggers a response including feelings and emotions. These messages, usually in form of images, ‘ either present and attractive personality for the product or indirectly suggest to the consumer that they can acquire a certain style by using a particular brand (Duncan, 2002). As an affect of the advertisements consumers relate products and brands to lifestyles or quality. The emotional experience is becoming a crucial part of advertisin g in todays world marketing communicators require a good understanding of these responses and implications in order to be able to foresee the effectiveness of brand messages (Ducan,2002). Cultural diversity in the UK At present marketers supporting ethnic communities are building brand awareness by using central symbolisms to reach ethnic consumers (Holland and Gentery, 1999). The marketers tend to use the stereotypical image of the ethnic minorities as a base for their advertisements. The inevitable stereotypical portrayal of ethnic minorities in intercultural communications results in a wide range of emotional responses and attributes regarding the motifs of marketers (Holland and Ball, 1995). At the same time the negative responses feared as a result of stereotyping regardless of the intention, may be one of the reasons as to why marketers are slow to catch on the ethnic marketing practices (Burton, 2002), also the uncertainty of marketers in how to approach ethnic consumers (Gooding, 1998). From the literature already discussed shows that the advertisers have put quiet a lot of effort in studying the consumer psychology as a whole and in the past have proved to be helpful to the marketers, ho wever very little effort has been put in the past to study the diversity of the market in terms of ethnicity. One such study lead by Holland and Gentry (1999:67) suggested that irrespective of the degree of acculturation of an ethnic individual, they still tend to ‘ maintain expressive symbols of ethnicity and cultural traditions, whilst..adapting or renegotiating them to fit into present day society. The study of these attributes can open a new window of opportunity for the advertisers to reach out to such individuals at a more personal level. In this context the expression to be used goes beyond the symbolic expression, whereas ethnic individuals hand pick parts of their cultural past with the intention of adopting them to the present day society or in other words come up with a hybrid between the two cultures that they coexist in at the same time at more of a psychological level. The strength of ethnic identification is shown to have a significant effect on audience evaluation of advertisements (Greg, 1997), and in turn is more likely to influence the way the information in the advertisements is perceived and subsequently the implications it may have on marketing related decisions (Green, 1999). Donthu and Cherian (1992) discovered that the measure of ethnic identification may be of great significance to the consumer purchase behaviour. Whittler (1991) suggested that individuals with a high ethnic identification had strong cultural attitudes attached to them, therefore are more likely to be affected by the race or origin of the model. Green (1999) discovered in his study that African Americans were more probable to have a positive assessment of an advertisement featuring models from the same race. Advertisers in their attempts to market a product look for the target markets approval for that particular advertisement though when targeting ethnic minorities they should emphasise more on the use of cultural symbols that are closer to that of the target audiences (Holland and Gentry, 1999). Koslow et al. (1994) observed that using Spanish language in advertisements was linked to positive consumer perceptions towards the advertisers sensitivity towards the Hispanic culture. Therefore it could be said that strong ethnic identifiers are likely to trigger a stronger emotional response to the advertisements that depict some sort of cultural attributes (Holland and Gentry, 1999, Green, 1999). Greens (1999) research findings suggested that ‘the individuals feelings towards advertisements depend on the degree of identification with their ethnic group. The proposition of this study would be to the advertisers that there should be a great deal of emphasis on the media strategy which w ould imply that the main focus should be on their target audience rather than on the creative strategy i.e. the use of black/white models. Green (1999) suggested that advertising in the local publications was more effective in regards to national publications when advertising to an ethnic minority. It was also observed that the Asian markets responded better to the ethnic based advertisements irrespective of the type of media (Kinra, 1997). On the other hand the representation of ethnic actors has increased greatly in the media that there is now an over representation of the ethnic minorities in the media as compared to their proportion in the society (Taylor and Stern, 1997). Thi

Nuclear Energy Essay example -- essays research papers

Nuclear Energy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nuclear energy-This is energy that binds together components of an atomic nucleus. This is made by the process of nuclear fission. Nuclear fission is produced when an atomic atom is split. The way nuclear pore is made is in a nuclear reactor, this is most likely located in a nuclear power plant. the fission that is produced is when a heavy element splits in half or is halved into two smaller nuclei, the power of the fission is located by the rate of the splitting of the nuclei at once which causes watts of electricity to be forced into the energy type.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Energy that is released by the nuclear fission matches almost completely to that of the properties of kinetic fission particles, only that the properties of the nuclear energies nucleus are radioactive. These radioactive nucleuses can be contained and used as fuel for the power. Most of this power is fueled by uranium isotopes. These isotopes are highly radioactive. The isotope catches the fast moving neutrons created by the splitting atoms, it repels the slower moving protons and electrons, then gathers the neutrons and pulls them inward. While all these atoms are flying about they smash together then split many of many times, this is when the reactor grabs and pulls in the frictional energy to be processed into electrical watts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This usually causes heat or thermal energy, this must be removed by some kind of a coolant. Most power plants use water or another type of liquid based formula. these coolants are always base related, never acidic. Very few use gas related coolants in there reactors, these are known as thermal reactor based power plants. Another nuclear reactor type is a type that runs off of uranium oxide, the uranium oxide is a gas form of the solid uranium. These fuels which cause the radioactive particles usually are always highly radioactive themselves. Because of this all the power plants take high safety standards and use special shields to prevent leakage. Usually the leakage can cause nuclear contamination. This means they must take high safety standards.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After nuclear fission has occurred many of the thermal neutrons are moving at thermal neutrons are moving at thermal velocities which are harder to be absorbed, so they rely on constructional details. Usu... ...afety was renewed following an accident at a facility in the Soviet Union in April 1986. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which is located 80 miles northwest of Kiev in Ukraine suffered a castrophic meltdown of its nuclear fuel. A radioactive cloud spread from the plant over most of Europe, this contaminated a very large amount of crops, and livestock. Lesser amounts of this radiation showed up.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  These are some reasons why people and the community are very cautious against nuclear power, I hope that this report can better inform people on this issue, even though nuclear energy is the cleanest, and supposedly the safest I still lay undecided. Here are some pictures on the topic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nuclear energy-This is energy that binds together components of an atomic nucleus. This is made by the process of nuclear fission. Nuclear fission is produced when an atomic atom is split. The way nuclear pore is made is in a nuclear reactor, this is most likely located in a nuclear power plant. the fission that is produced is when a heavy element splits in half or is halved into two smaller nuclei, the power of the fission is located by the rate.

Medication vs. Natural Treatment for ADHD Essay

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (also known as ADHD) is an increasing struggle among children in today’s society that affects them at home, in their social lives and academically. Many people think that all-natural treatments are the only way to help children who struggle with ADHD; however, despite the controversy over using medication with possible side effects, Adderall can be a helpful tool in the battle against ADHD. ADHD is a chronic neurological condition that affects millions of children and can often carry into adulthood. Signs and symptoms of ADHD may include trouble staying focused, trouble listening, difficulty completing tasks, fidgets and squirms and tends to be forgetful. Clearly, having these symptoms can make it difficult for a child to succeed in school and in other activities as well. (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2011) Many people believe that medication will affect a child negatively but medications are used every day to help with medical issues. For instance, if your child had diabetes would you hesitate to treat the disease with medication? Obviously, parents would do what was needed to help their child overcome this disease. In the same way, we need to be open to the idea of using medication to treat ADHD. There are many treatments available to help in the battle against ADHD. Medication is a controversial subject when it comes to treating any disorder; however, when medicine is used under a doctor’s supervision and distributed correctly, it can have a positive effect on the problem. When medication is taken, it enters the bloodstream and the key ingredients begin to stimulate the brains production of norepinephrine and dopamine which improves a person’s concentration and alertness. People with ADHD also tend to suffer from high blood pressure and rapid heartbeat but when medication is taken, it can help to get these problems under control and return the person’s system back to a normal state. (Nall) Another method of treatment that is widely used is natural treatment such as dieting and counseling. Some people may see positive results with Natural Treatments but for some children, medication is the only way to get their symptoms under control. Some experts believe that ADHD can be caused by food allergies and that by using the elimination diet, you can locate the allergy and treat the symptoms. In an elimination diet, you remove foods one at a time that your doctor believes may be causing the symptoms. Gradually, you begin re-introducing these foods back into your diet and when your symptoms return, then a diagnosis can be confirmed. (â€Å"Elimination diet and,† 2011) There has also been much thought put into the effect that processed sugar has on ADHD and research shows that it can have an effect on children’s activity levels. Nutritionists suggest that adding high fiber foods such as berries and other fruits, whole grains and oatmeal to your child’s diet that it can help manage their glucose levels and aid in the treatment of ADHD. These diets may be useful in the battle against ADHD but you can’t guarantee that this will help with the symptoms. There are so many processed foods available in the market today that it is very hard to keep sugar and other processed ingredients out of your diet. In order to follow through on the diet, one must make their child’s food and snacks and keep up on a very strict regime to make sure that they do not consume the â€Å"culprit† foods. Not every person can keep up on a diet to this extreme and that is when medication is available to help keep the symptoms under control. Counseling such as behavioral training can be an effective treatment for ADHD. Also available is learning behavior management that can be an essential part of any ADHD treatment. There are three levels of ADHD behavioral training that they focus on: * Parent training * Classroom behavior modification * Special education placement Although behavioral training management can be effective, according to WebMD, most experts agree that combining behavior management along with medication treatment can be the most effective treatment plan. One medication that has been used to treat ADHD is Adderall (Dextroamphetamine-amphetamine). Adderall was approved for treatment by the FDA in 1996 and has become a very popular choice in treatment. Adderall is considered a stimulant medication and according to The Mayo Clinic it appears to boost and balance levels of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. Adderall helps to improve symptoms such as attention problems, impulsivity and hyperactivity. (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2011) Adderall has many possible side effects that can cause concern, but if under a doctor’s supervision it is considered a safe treatment. (Monson & Schoenstadt, 2008) When taking treatments into consideration, one must figure out if the side effects of the medicine are a small price to pay to conquer the annoying and life interrupting symptoms of ADHD. There are many benefits to both methods of treatment. When using the natural methods such as diet and counseling, you do not have the possibility of side effects like you do with the medication but for more severe forms of ADHD, you do not see as high of an improvement rate. Although there are the chances of side effects when taking Adderall, it does have more of a calming effect on the patient. The benefits of using Adderall include being able to focus, sit still, complete schoolwork and help in many other areas that ADHD affects. I know that with my own personal experience as we have walked through the battle of ADHD with my son, it is difficult to find the correct treatment plan that needs to be followed. We tried diets and counseling but could not seem to get a grasp on his symptoms. After being against medication for such a long time, we finally sat down with our pediatrician and explored all options available to us. Our pediatrician explained to us that when people have cancer, they need treatments of chemotherapy and or radiation to kill the disease. In my opinion, Adderall is the â€Å"chemotherapy and radiation† for ADHD. We tried for many years to help our son succeed in school and it wasn’t until we started his treatment of Adderall twice a day that we started to see improvement. Adderall is not an â€Å"instant† fix but given time, it is effective. Our son is now going into high school and not only does he have passing grades, but we no longer get calls from the teachers because he is unable to sit still and pay attention. Anytime medications are used in treatment plans, there is always a possibility of side effects. By going about treatment with medication in the proper manner and following your doctor’s advice, Adderall and other medications can be a very useful tool in gaining control of your child’s ADHD. I do believe that natural treatments are always the best option and should be considered first, but when these treatments do not help solve the issue then you need to consider other options. When your child suffers from ADHD and it affects all areas of their lives, you need to be open to whatever options are available to help you get the situation under control. By using Adderall and natural treatments such as diet and counseling together, you can get control back of your child’s behavior and see many benefits in the home, social setting and school settings. References (2011). amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, adderall. Retrieved from http://www.medicinenet.com/amphetamine_and_dextroamphetamine/article.htm Elimination diet and food challenge test for diagnosing allergies. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/allergies/allergies-elimination-diet Mayo Clinic Staff. (2011, Feburary 10). Mayo clinic. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/adhd/DS00275 Monson, K., & Schoenstadt, A. (2008, July 10). emedtv.com. Retrieved from http://adhd.emedtv.com/adderall/adderall.html Nall, R. (n.d.). ehow.com. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5406378_adderall-work-add_.html

Civilian in Space

I can only imagine what it would be like traveling to space. It is not something I sit around and think about doing. Those who had the pleasures of going to space, like the astronauts, are those who had been preparing for such a career. This does not make me want to go to space, going to space Is like dying and going to the other side, you just do not know what to expect. Science tells us that space Is like a never ending hole. This sounds a little creepy, but space really Is not all that scary, It Is quite amazing actually.Science tells us that space Is a galaxy with many stars, planets, and rocks. However, I am against civilians In space because clansman are Inexperienced and the cost can become extremely high. If It takes astronauts years to train In order to travel to space, what chances do a Cleveland has? The story, â€Å"Clansman In Space,† states, â€Å"Traveling beyond Earth has been a privilege for a select few, namely, astronauts. † Civilians must be more qua lified than the average astronaut. They must understand the dynamics and velocity of space.In case of an emergency, would a civilian know what to do? The story â€Å"Civilians in Space† gives many fascinating examples like: it is an â€Å"Amazing Experience,† and â€Å"The view of Earth and the stars must be spectacular, and the experience of living in zero gravity would be fascinating. † Equally important to training is the cost of civilians traveling to space. The cost to traveling back and forth to space ranges in the billions, according to the story, â€Å"Civilians in Space. † This money comes from â€Å"Corporate Sponsorship.When civilians lack the knowledge, danger is expected, the story states, â€Å"There are many unknown risks involved. † Then there is the matter of insurance. Car insurance here, on earth, is extremely high; can you imagine the cost of insurance to go to space. In the story, â€Å"Civilians in Space† it states â⠂¬Å"Companies that specialize in manufacturing travel, marketing, insurance, law, and finance would all have to be involved. † The most important point in the story that expresses a major point of view is how Problems like poverty and disease† should be a priority over taking me into space.All in all, space traveling should be left to the experts. Traveling in space is ministering. However, it is not like going to the mall, Movie Theater, out to dinner, or to Disney World. It is not all about the basic that fascinates civilians to want to travel to space, but about trained experts that can cope with any surprises at any given moment. Civilian in Space By abominating make me want to go to space, going to space is like dying and going to the other side, o Just do not know what to expect.Science tells us that space is like a never ending hole. This sounds a little creepy, but space really is not all that scary, it is quite amazing actually. Science tells us that space is a galaxy with many stars, planets, and rocks. However, I am against civilians in space because civilians are inexperienced and the cost can become extremely high. If it takes astronauts years to train in order to travel to space, what chances do a civilian has? The story, â€Å"Civilians in Space,†

Correlational Research

Correlational Research The primary goal of correlation research is to describe and evaluate the relationships and associations between the variables. In particular, the study seeks to prove the connection between the variables and analyze the main characteristics and nature of this connection (Gravetter Forzano, 2011).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Correlational Research specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In addition, it should be noted that correlational approach to the research does not imply explaining the connection and does not relate the goal of manipulating and controlling the identified variables. In most of cases, correlational research includes at least two measurements according to each the variables should be examined. By convention, the results are received while analyzing one individual, or one specific group of individuals. While analyzing the study, I paid attention to such variable as age of respondents (Rivara et al., 20 11). Another variable I have chosen from the workplace, which is job preferences. I have found that job preferences and attitude to performing specific duties differ with age. Hence, older and more experienced workers are interested in development bonus schemes whereas younger workers are focused on future perspective of professional growth. Judging from the chosen variables, age category should be taken into consideration while analyzing other aspects in the workplace because they can influence performance, employed atmosphere, and overall assessment of employees’ relations. While analyzing the results of the research, it should be stressed that using two variables together is important for drawing the parallels between specific thematic nodes of a research. While considering the chosen variable, age characteristics have greater connection to many other issues in the workplace. For example, younger employees are more concerned with future perspectives whereas older workers c onsider social packages and bonus schemes. 1st Interactive Response Cherry, your response about the workplace application of the correlational research is exhaustive. You have successfully managed to present all aspects of positive influence of establishing connections between two variables. More importantly, your study analysis has revealed practical implications and empirical value of using correlational strategies. Finally, you have effectively drawn the parallels between correlational research and its contribution to statistical analysis, which is of a special value for the given analysis.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More 2nd Interactive Response Julius, I have carefully considered the two variable chosen by you, which are job completion rate and tenure. They completely differ from my measurements, which involve age and job preferences (responses) establishing r elations between each other. On the one hand, the variables provide a different view on the role of different aspects influences employees’ preferences and career perspectives. Specifically, I am more focused on personal incentives of an employee to work whereas you are more concerned with external factors influencing job satisfaction. However, the similarities between the variable exist in terms of its strong correlation between each other. References Gravetter, F., Forzano, L-A., B. (2011). Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences. US: Cengage Learning. Rivara, F. P., Koepsell, T. D., Wang, J., et al. (2011, June) Comparison of Telephone with World Wide Web-Based Responses by Parents and Teens to a Follow-Up Survey after Injury. Health Services Research. 46(3), 964-981.

Free Essays on Why War

Why we shouldn't go to war with Iraq By With the publication of a report in last week's New York Times about the Bush administration's plans for the invasion of Iraq, it seems that war with that country is fairly certain. Previous rhetoric from the president or one or another of his surrogates could always be explained as some kind of politically driven chest-thumping, but it's hard to see the political advantage of the kind of secret and detailed war plan the Times disclosed. The details in fact sound pretty ferocious. "The document envisions tens of thousands of marines and soldiers probably invading from Kuwait. Hundreds of warplanes based in as many as eight countries, possibly including Turkey and Qatar, would unleash a huge air assault against thousands of targets, including airfields, roadways and fiber-optics communications sites." The Times' description makes it sound like the biggest war flick since The Sands of Iwo Jima. Indeed, it sounds bigger and far more violent than anything the United States has carried out since at least the "liberation" of Kuwait (i.e., the restoration of the despotic emirate that the Iraqi armed conquest had toppled) and perhaps since well before that. What the document discloses is not a "police action," and not a "rescue mission"; this is full-scale war. Since the American Republic has now evolved to the point ... Free Essays on Why War Free Essays on Why War Why we shouldn't go to war with Iraq By With the publication of a report in last week's New York Times about the Bush administration's plans for the invasion of Iraq, it seems that war with that country is fairly certain. Previous rhetoric from the president or one or another of his surrogates could always be explained as some kind of politically driven chest-thumping, but it's hard to see the political advantage of the kind of secret and detailed war plan the Times disclosed. The details in fact sound pretty ferocious. "The document envisions tens of thousands of marines and soldiers probably invading from Kuwait. Hundreds of warplanes based in as many as eight countries, possibly including Turkey and Qatar, would unleash a huge air assault against thousands of targets, including airfields, roadways and fiber-optics communications sites." The Times' description makes it sound like the biggest war flick since The Sands of Iwo Jima. Indeed, it sounds bigger and far more violent than anything the United States has carried out since at least the "liberation" of Kuwait (i.e., the restoration of the despotic emirate that the Iraqi armed conquest had toppled) and perhaps since well before that. What the document discloses is not a "police action," and not a "rescue mission"; this is full-scale war. Since the American Republic has now evolved to the point ... Free Essays on Why War Why War What happens to the aggressive instinct when people unite to form a lawful society they still do violent things but they think it is right because the community backs it. I believe that they still act in violence but they do it through the community so they believe it is not wrong. What it is controlled violence thought the community and nothing else. It is just having the hole community making the dictions in steed of one person , but they are still acting in violence they just have the backing of a majority of the community this is what I believe that they are saying in there letters. People still have the same instinct for violence they just do not believe it is right for one person to act on it the majority of the community has to believe they did something wrong, and must be punished for it. Basically a jury trial were twelve of your peers decide if you are guilty or not and decide how violent your punishment will be. Like I said it is just the community acting in violence instead of one person. They will punish one person for being violent, but if the whole community backs the act it is ok at least that’s what we think. I think that if it is the whole community backing it or just one person acting out of rage it is wrong to act out in violence period. But even I act out in violence it is a instinct we can’t break it is necessary for are survival for the human race. I don’t think we could ever live without violence we are not even capable of the thought. I mean sit down and think about it you can’t even picture it you may think you can, but if you look deeper in your thoughts about it even in your perfect society in your mind some were there is some act of violence. This is my opinion you may have a different one and I would like to here it. The aggressive instinct stays there it is just the way we have been raised that we do not think it is wrong to act out in mild violence or in murder if the community is bac...

Art for Arts Sake

A study of John Ruskin and Oscar Wilde’s Views on Art In the late nineteenth century a movement known as â€Å"Art for Art’s Sake† occurred, which consists of the appreciation of art for what it truly is; just art. At that time many critics tried to find moral and intellectual meanings within works of art. Many artists united to defend art, two authors who defend the concept of art are John Ruskin and Oscar Wilde. In his work From The Stones of Venice, John Ruskin exults and admires gothic architecture because its gives the artist the freedom of creativity and self-expression. In his preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde alike Ruskin defends the concept that art is â€Å"useless† and that it must be admired for what it is, which is just simply art. The following goes into more detail on the ideas Ruskin and Wilde have on art. In From the Stones of Venice [The Savageness of Gothic Architecture], John Ruskin presents his fondness for Gothic architecture because of the freedom it gives to man, he also points out that he finds southern Europe more appealing than Northern Europe because it is darker. In the following, Ruskin presents the system of architectural ornaments; in which he particularly prefers revolutionary ornaments because there is no difference between the architect and the workers and so they are all equal. The following passage presents each system: The systems of architectural ornament, properly so called, might be divided into three:1. Servile ornament, in which the execution or power of the inferior workman is entirely subjected to the intellect of the higher; 2. Constitutional ornament, in which the executive inferior power is, to a certain point, emancipated and independent, having a will of its own, yet confessing its inferiority and rendering obedience to higher powers; and 3. Revolutionary ornament, in which no executive inferiority is admitted at all. (Ruskin, 1326) John Ruskin goes on to elaborate his favoritism of imperfection. For Ruskin something that is perfect does not mean that is good and that the search for perfection is weakness and that passion for perfection will lead to the slavery of the mind. Ruskin believes that mental slavery is far worse than physical slavery; for Ruskin gothic ornaments such as gargoyles and goblins are signs of liberty and gives the worker a certain level of independence. Ruskin elaborates â€Å"accurately speaking, no good work whatever can be perfect and the demand for perfection is always a sign of a misunderstanding of the ends of art† (Ruskin, 1333). For him, imperfection is far more superior to the quest of perfection. In the eyes or Ruskin, art must be imperfect and it must be noble; he points out â€Å"A most important truth, that no architecture can be truly noble which is not imperfect† (Ruskin, 1333). His reasons for loving imperfection, is because nothing in nature or in life is perfect and so art must reflect that. John Ruskin ends his work by expressing his thoughts on art in the following passage â€Å"Accept this then, for a universal law, that neither architecture nor any other noble work of man can be good unless it be imperfect†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Ruskin, 1334). In Preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde alike Ruskin defends art for what it is. Wilde commences by pointing or that â€Å"The artist is a creator of beautiful things†¦. Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming† (Wilde, 1697). Wilde embodies the â€Å"Art for Art sake† movement with this passage because he elaborates that artist create beautiful things for the enjoyment and that those who try to find a more intellectual meaning behind it are corrupt. Wilde goes on to defend imperfection just as John Ruskin, he presents his thoughts of morality and imperfection in the following â€Å" The moral life of man forms part of the subject matter of the artist, but the morality of art consists in the perfect use of an imperfect medium†(Wilde, 1698). In this passage, Wilde points out that morality and art are two separate things and they both form a part of the life of the artist; there is no connection between art and moral. Oscar Wilde believes that the artificial is better than nature because unlike nature that changes and withers, art captures a moment and preserves it. For him, the form is only important and the content does not matter. The most important part of his work is at the very end in which Wilde elaborates the following â€Å"The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is quite useless† (Wilde, 1698). Oscar Wilde does not literally mean that art is useless but rather that art is made for admiration and so it must be enjoyed for what it is and not be used to find a deeper meaning. John Ruskin and Oscar Wilde embody the â€Å"Art for Art’s sake† movement because they enjoy art for what it is, which is simply art. They both rejected the concept that art has to be studied because it holds a deeper moral lesson. For them, true beauty lies in the imperfection, because in life nothing is truly perfect. Wilde and Ruskin believe that art is a form of liberation and freedom; for them art is created to be admired and enjoyed.