Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Football game Essay Example for Free

Football game Essay The crowd sat on the edge, waiting impatiently for the next pass, the next tackle. This intense game had both teams fighting for control of the ball, struggling to score the next touchdown. The crowd was alive with concentration, which was then immediately interrupted by deafening cheers as soon as their team scored. As a fan, football from my perspective has always been a phenomenal sport that creates an intense, fun, and lively social atmosphere. It gives a chance for friends and family to bond over cheering their team on, while jokingly trash talking others in a casual manner. At a particular Eagles vs. Cowboys game I attended last year, this experience is exactly what I received. The lights, the screams, and the smell of delicious food all served to create a fun event. The highlight of the night, however, was when quarterback Michael Vick got hit extremely hard in the back field. It should have been a late hit but no whistles were blown. The crowd was immediately silenced by the sudden knockout. No one had expected such a hard hit. We fans craned our neck desperately trying to get a better view of what was going on. I remember being completely in awe of the violent nature of football that was revealed to me that night. I was surprised to find that such a dangerous game was even being encouraged to play! But there was one thing that was undeniable for sure— that hit was one moment I would surely never forget. From that game on, I always continued to follow the events and highlights of football. The league put out a lot of new rules for the NFL, to ensure the safety of its players. One of these rules was that a defenseless player cannot be tackled. So for example, if a receiver goes up for the ball, he cannot be tackled in the air. Another rule is the helmet to helmet tackle. A defender is not allowed to make a hit on a player, making contact from his helmet to the defenders. This can result in a serious concussion, and for long time purposes, the players can develop brain damage. To also make the game safer, kickoffs are now issued on the 30 yard line opposed to the traditional 20 yard line. This makes the return possibility very low, because the kick usually ends up deep in the end zone. This new rule change enforced on the kickoffs also accounts of less injuries, because it is one less play being executed. Special rules for quarterbacks have also been placed. Quarterbacks are looked at as the captains of their team. They know the offense’s strengths and weaknesses the best so they can make the right calls in the right situation. These players cannot be injured whatsoever, because of their impact on the game. That is why new rules, such as late tackles, are being enforced on defenders that try to scare the quarterbacks. When the new rules first came out, I supported and respected the fact that they were concerned about the player’s safety. The scientific discoveries about head trauma and mental illness made sense to me, and protecting the players from it seemed like a great idea. Soon the rules were being strictly enforced in the pros. When my friend and I went to the Cowboys and Eagles game, one of the first things that happened was a foul called for hitting helmets with a player. I approved of the call, it seemed fair. But out of the corner of my eye, I saw my friend shaking his head and say under his breath, â€Å"Man, football just isn’t the same anymore. † I shrugged it off— it wasn’t my fault he wasn’t enjoying the game. But later that night, his words tossed around in my head. Something did seem different about that game. But what exactly did he mean by not being the same? This question led me to reminisce back to earlier that game, when Vick first got late hit in the back field. The one thing I was certain of was that the beauty of the sport was created by the suspense of the game.

Monday, January 20, 2020

Myths, Dreams and the Epic of Gilgamesh :: Epic of Gilgamesh Essays

The Epic of Gilgamesh, a masterpiece of world literature, is considered to be one of the oldest epics in the world. It is called an epic, but it is really a myth. In order to be able to understand a myth, it is necessary to have an historical point of view from two perspectives, so to speak, an outer and an inner one. The outer one concerns the necessity to understand the historical form in which the archetypes appear, the historical background to which the myth is related - in our case, the Babylonian culture and religion. The inner aspect concerns the essential problems of the time, with which that particular epoch struggled consciously, or in which it was unconsciously involved. Although this is primarily a scientific task, I believe that it is nevertheless a matter of immediate necessity for us to understand such documents humains in relation to our own life, for all the ages live in us, and we cannot really understand ourselves unless we know our spiritual roots. What particular age and what spiritual contents are evoked in us by the unconscious is, to a certain extent, a question of individual fate. Since Western culture is based to a great extent on Judaism and Christianity, Babylonian culture as one of their roots may be looked upon as of immediate psychological interest to us all. The archetypes live in their realm, beyond time and space. This builds the bridge of understanding between men of all ages, and makes it possible to realize that we ourselves with our essential problems are bound up in the continuity of the eternal problems of mankind, as they are mirrored in myths. But the form in which the archetypes appear, their garments so to speak, depends on the historical conditions: the symbols in which they appear change. In the human being these changes correspond to the development of human consciousness. Thus the myths, in my opinion, represent not only eternal archetypal events, but a certain level of the development of human consc iousness. During my work on this remarkably rich material this connection thrust itself more and more into my mind, so that I should like to define it as the basic idea, as the starting point of my attempt to explain this myth. It was only in 1872 that scholars first became aware of this myth, when the English Assyriologist George Smith made public "The Chaldean Account of the Deluge," as he titled his translation of the eleventh tablet of the epic.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Human Factor in Aviation Maintenance Essay

Abstract In the aviation industry, human error is consider as a major factor in most aviation accidents. Maintenance tasks that are performed incorrectly or are overlooked by maintenance crew would cause human errors. Examples of human errors in maintenance are installation of incorrect parts, essential checks not being performed and failed to install wanted parts. Among all aviation-related threats, errors made by maintenance crew are more difficult to detect and have the potential to remain dormant, affecting the safe operation of aircraft for longer duration. Although maintenance crews are responsible for their actions, organization problems also contributed to the threat of maintenance errors. Since it is not possible to eliminate all maintenance errors, introducing safety management systems (SMS) to aviation organizations can help identify hazards and control risk. Human factors issues in aviation maintenance Maintenance tasks may be carried out in confined spaces, at heights, under burning heat or in freezing cold and worst of all, it is also physically demanding. Good communication, coordination, clerical and focusing skills are needed to perform well in this environment. Fault analysis and rectification have to be solved quickly in order to minimize turnaround time. In addition, there would be latent emotional stress on maintenance personnel whose work has been involved in aviation accidents. However unlike aircrafts, humans do not come with a set of instructional manuals that helps us to understand their performance and capabilities. Each and every individual varies in many ways, hence one will never know how one maintenance task attributed to errors. Aviation industries become aware of many unpredictable accidents coming from human errors due to different contributing factors (Refer to Figure 1 for a graphical illustration on human error vs contributing factors) (Takahiro S, Terry L, William D, 2008)  and have taken steps to implement preventive or control measures. Factors contributing to human errors in maintenance Statistics have shown that 80% of errors are contributed due to human errors while the remaining percentage is due to mechanical or other failures. (Refer to Figure 2 for a graphical illustration on human error contribution percentile) (â€Å"Strategic program plan,† 2007) There is also a breakdown showing which type of maintenance activities having higher rate of human errors. (Refer to Table1, Frequency of Human error vs Type of maintenance activity) (Goldman, 2002) The Pear Model Four important human factors of the Pear Model (Refer to Figure 5 for graphical illustration) are: People who do the job, environment in which they work, actions they perform and resources  necessary to complete the job. People Human factors program focus on people who perform the work and attend to physical,  physiological, psychological and psychosocial factors. Organization must focus on individuals,  their physical capabilities, mental state, cognitive size and circumstances that may affect their  interaction with others. Factors like each person ‘s size, age, eyesight, strength, endurance,  experience, motivation and certification standards must be taken into consideration before each  person is tasked to work. Sufficient breaks and rest periods must be catered  to ensure each  person is not overload. Organization should encourage more teamwork and communications  between colleagues so that work accomplished will be safe and efficient. Offering educational  programs on health and fitness can help encourage good health and help reduce sick leave.  Hence, a good human factors program will consider all the limitations of humans and designs the  job accordingly. Environment Physical workplace in the hanger/shop and organization environment are environments  that are focused on human factors program. Conditions like temperature, lighting, noise control,  cleanliness, humidity and workplace design are considered physical environment. Cooperation,  mutual respect, culture of the organization, communication, leadership, shared goals and shared  values are important factors in an excellent organizational environment. Actions The standard human factors approach to identify skills, knowledge and  attitudes to  perform each task in a given job is called Job Task Analysis (JTA). It helps to identify what  instructions, tools and other resources needed to perform each task. By following exactly to the  JTA, each worker will be properly trained and each workplace will also has the necessary  equipment and other resources to perform the job. Resources Resources are viewed from a broad angle, such as anything that is needed to get the job  accomplished. Resources that are tangible are test equipment, tools, lifts, computers and  technical manuals, and so forth. Amount of time given, level of communication among people of  different levels, the number and qualifications of staff to complete a job are considered resources  that are less tangible. The most important element under resources is to identify the need for  additional resources. Accidents linked to maintenance Japan Airlines Flight 123 In August 1985, Japan Airlines flight 123 claimed the lives of 520 people when it crashed into a mountain. It was bound for a short flight from Tokyo to Osaka but at the altitude of 24,000ft, the aircraft suddenly lost control due to the failure of the rear pressure bulkhead and caused the whole cabin to suffer a sudden decompression. The impact of the escaping air caused the separation of the vertical stabilizer, rudder, hydraulic lines and four pressurized hydraulic systems. Investigations revealed that the aircraft had encountered a tail strike incident a few years ago. The repair work done on the aft bulkhead did not comply with the OEM recommended procedure as two doubler plates instead of a single plate were used to do the splice. (Refer to Figure 3 for an illustration of the repair) Eastern Airlines Flight 855 On May 5, 1983, Eastern Airlines flight 855 was on a flight from Miami, U.S. to Nassau, Bahamas. The plane carried a total of 172 people. While making a descend, the low oil pressure warning indicator on the center engine lighted up. The flight crew shut-off the center engine and decided to return back to Miami with the remaining two engines. On the way back to Miami, the aircraft’s low oil pressure warning indicators for the remaining two engines lighted up followed by flamed out within minutes. Luckily the flight crew managed to re-start the center engine again after the aircraft descended from 13,000ft to 4,000ft without any power. After the aircraft landed safely at Miami airport with one engine, no live loss or injuries were claimed. The investigation board concluded the cause of the incident was due to all three magnetic chip detectors on the engines had been installed without O-rings (Refer to Figure 4 for an illustration of the Chip) causing oil to leak from the engines during flight. This accident could be avoided if the engineers involved were discipline and carried out the maintenance tasks professionally. British Airway Flight 5390 On 10 June 1990, British Airlines flight 5390 was on a flight from Birmingham, England to Malaga, Spain. Suddenly at about 17,300ft, the left windscreen on the captain’s side of the cockpit blew out from the cockpit. The captain was sucked out of his seat with half of his body hanging out of the plane and the other half resting on the flight controls. No lives were lost on this flight, but the captain suffered frostbite, bruising, and  fractures to his right arm, left thumb and right wrist while flight attendant who aided the captain suffered a dislocated shoulder, frostbitten face and some frostbite damage to his left eye. Investigators found that the maintenance manager who worked on the windscreen had used incorrect bolts during a windscreen repair. Other issues highlighted were failed to check tolerance specification of the bolts, staffing shortage during night shift, parts storage and involvement of supervisors in hands-on maintenance work. Safety Management Systems A safety management system (SMS) is a systematic way to managing safety, policies, procedures, accountabilities, and including the necessary organisational structures. The objective of a Safety Management System is to provide a structured management approach to control safety risks in operations. Therefore in order to have an effective safety management, the organisation’s specific structures and processes related to safety of operations must be taken into account. safety management requires planning, organising, communicating and providing direction. The first step of the SMS progession begins with setting the organisational safety policy. It lay outs the strategy for achieving acceptable levels of safety within the organisation and defines the principles upon which the SMS is built and operated. In order to mitigate and limit risk during operations in the designed processes, safety planning and execution of safety management procedures are needed. Only with these controls in place, quality management techniques then can be utilised to ensure the intended objectives are met by deployment of safety assurance and if fail, evaluation processes are needed to provide continuous montioring of operations and for identifying areas of safety improvement. Furthermore, SMS also provides the organisational framework to set up and encourage the development of a positive safety culture. Finally, the implentation of SMS provides the organisation’s management a structured set of tools to meet their respomsibilites for safety defined by the regulator. Conclusion Aviation industries have realized that it is not possible to entirely eliminate maintenance errors but to take an approach to identify, correct and minimize the consequences of those errors. And with the implementation of SMS, hazards could be identify and risks could be control. In conclusion, all these human factor studies help aviation industries to make continuous improvement and implementation of solutions to reduce maintenance errors. References Strategic program plan. (2007, August 01). Retrieved from http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/StrategicProgramPlan.pdf Takahiro Suzuki, Terry L. Von Thaden, William D. Geibel. (2008). Influence of time pressure on aircraft maintenance errors. Informally published manuscript, University of Illinois, Retrieved from http://www.aviation.illinois.edu/avimain/papers/research/pub_pdfs/miscconf/AAvPA_suzuki_final.pdf Micheal E. Maddox. (2007). Human factors. Daytona Beach, FL 32114: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Retrieved from http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/guide/chapter1.pdf LindaWerfelman. (2008, April). Working to the limit. AeroSafety World, 3(4), 14-18. Retrieved from http://flightsafety.org/aerosafety-world-magazine/past-issues/aerosafety-world-april-2008 Colin G. Drury. (2007). Establishing a human factors/ergonomics program. Daytona Beach, FL 32114: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Retrieved from http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/guide/chapter2.pdf Hobbs, A. Australian Transport Safety Bureau, (2008). An overview of human factors in aviation maintenance (AR-2008-055). Retrieved from Australian Transport Safety Bureau website: http://www.atsb.gov.au/media/27818/ar2008055.pdf SKYbrary. (2013, September 14). Safety Management System. Retrieved from http://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/Safety_Management_System James T. Burnette. (2007). Workplace safety. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University: Daytona Beach, FL 32114. Retrieved from http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/guide/chapter3.pdf Micheal E. Maddox. (2007). Shiftwork and scheduling. Daytona Beach, FL 32114: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Retrieved from Micheal E. Maddox. (2007). Facility design. Daytona Beach, FL 32114: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Retrieved from http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/guide/chapter5.pdf James Reason. (2007). Human error. Daytona Beach, FL 32114: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Retrieved from http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/guide/chapter14.pdf FAA. (2012). Human Factors. Retrieved from http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aircraft/media/AMT_Handbook_Addendum_Human_Factors.pdf Terrell N. Chandler. (2007). Training. Daytona Beach, FL 32114: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Retrieved from http:/ /libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/guide/chapter7.pdf Figure 1. Human error vs Contributing factors. (Takahiro S, Terry L, William D, 2008) Figure 2. Human error contribution percentile. (â€Å"Strategic program plan,† 2007) Table 1. Frequency of Human error vs Type of maintenance activity. (Goldman, 2002) Figure 3. Comparison of the correct and incorrect method of the doubler plate repair. (Hobbs, 2008) Figure 4. Location of O rings on magnetic chip detector. (Hobbs, 2008) Figure 5. The PEAR Model (FAA, 2012)

Saturday, January 4, 2020

A Reflection in Sylvia Plaths Mirror - 1013 Words

A Reflection in Sylvia Plath’s Mirror Amanda L. Wilson Eng:125 Introduction to Literature Professor Lyndsey Lefebvre November 18, 2013 A Reflection in Sylvia Plath’s Mirror Sylvia Plath’s poem Mirror (1963) is evocative, provocative, and expressive. According to Clugston (2010) these are important components of poetry. Sylvia Plath’s first line is a projection of the mirror providing its introduction saying, â€Å"I am silver and exact†(Plath, 1963, line 1). The mirror is the protagonist who performs a dramatic monologue about the reflections it observes throughout the days and years of its life. The mirror’s identity awakens the reader to the identity of the woman which it sees, but the mirror not only sees the woman, it becomes†¦show more content†¦Freedman (1987) writes, â€Å"Both swallow immediately what they see and make it not merely theirs, but them. â€Å"Mirror,† in other words, by failing to be a mirror, becomes a mirror of metaphor, a precise reflection of what by definition does not precisely reflect† (1987, page 61). The above mentioned el ements including figurative language, personification and metaphor affected my response to the poem. The figurative language made it difficult to understand, and the metaphor and personification seemed to contradict one another even more, making it difficult to understand. The personification of the mirror made me focus on the judgment being passed on the woman in the mirror. This element also brings me back to the first paragraph of the poem saying â€Å"I am not cruel, only truthful† (Plath, 1963). The poem is, in my opinion, depressing. It shows the woman’s struggle with reality, denial, and self acceptance. In summation, Sylvia Plath’s â€Å"Mirror† takes its reader down a path of figurative language, identified by the mirror’s introduction. The work is written in a free flowing verse with no rhyme or rhythm easily discernible to the reader. Plath utilizes personification of an inanimate object being the subject, as well as, metaphors. Analysis of Plath’s â€Å"Mirror† is that the mirror itself is in denial. The metaphoric lake, being the mirror, does not merely reflect that which it sees, but is personified because it inevitably has to have a memory in order toShow MoreRelatedPoetry Explication of Sylvia Plath’s â€Å"Mirror†949 Words   |  4 PagesPoetry Explication of Sylvia Plath’s â€Å"Mirror† The first thing one can notice in Sylvia Plath’s poem â€Å"Mirror† (rpt. In Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson, Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 9th ed. [Boston: Wadsworth, 2006] 680) is that the speaker in the poem is the mirror and the woman in the poem is Sylvia Plath. As you read through the poem, the lake is relevant because of the famous mythological story of narcissus. He was extremely beautiful and one day while drinking from a lakeRead MoreEssay Sylvia Plaths Mirror810 Words   |  4 PagesSylvia Plaths Mirror Sylvia Plaths Mirror offers a unique perspective on the attitudes of aging. Mirror displays tremendous insight and objectivity into the natural human behavior of growing older. Plath is able to emphasize the loneliness, hope, despair, and insecurity that awaits us through mankinds incessant addiction with reflection. Mirror expresses the problems associated with aging through terse comparisons between reality and desire. PlathesRead MoreAnalysis of Sylvia Plaths Mirror1281 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Analysis of Sylvia Plath’s â€Å"Mirror† Sylvia Plath is known as the poet of confession. Her life is strongly connected to her works. She uses poetry as a way to confess her feelings, to express and release her pain in life. â€Å"Mirror† is one of her most famous poems. Sylvia Plath wrote the poem in 1961, just two years before her actual suicide. After suffering a miscarriage, she realized that she was pregnant again. She and her husband moved to a small town and their marriage began going worse. TheRead MoreSylvia Plath is an American Writer who Writes Confessional Poems about her Life1117 Words   |  4 PagesSylvia Plath is an American writer, commonly known for her poetry works. Her poetry can be categorized as â€Å"confessional poetry†, which are poems about the poet’s personal life. Her two most famous published collections of poems are The Colossus and Other Poemsand Ariel, but it was not until after Plath’s death that The Bell Jarwas published. The Bell Jar is considered a more perso nal and semi-autobiographical novel. Throughout Sylvia Plath’s lifetime, she suffered mentally since she was a littleRead MoreThe Figures Displayed in Sylvia Plaths Mirror887 Words   |  4 PagesThe Figures Displayed in Sylvia Plaths Mirror The speaker in Sylvia Plaths poem Mirror is the actual mirror itself, which has been owned by a now old woman (16) for quite some time. This woman has looked into her mirror every day for many years now. The mirror is very aware of her presence and its environment when she is not present. The author provides many details in order for the reader to grasp the mirrors view on its ever-day sights, but this would be an impossible task without theRead MoreThe Life Of Sylvia Path1212 Words   |  5 Pages Born and raised in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, she tolerated an unpleasant and depressing childhood. Sylvia Path was born on October 27,1932 to Aurelia Schobert Plath and Otto Emile Plath. Her father was an author and professor, who taught at Boston University. There was a significant age difference between Plath’s parents; her mother was twenty-one years younger to her father. â€Å"The couple met when her mother was attaining Master’s Degree in teaching and opted one of his father’s course†. â€Å"TheRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of Sylvia Plaths Mirror1075 Words   |  5 Pagesmonologues in movies. Poetry depicts the emotions nobody dares to talk about in public and shows how much a situations can impact you. These events create emotions into art. Sylvia Plath’s story and motive to write poems begins around the same time her father passes, an event that will impact her poetry deeply. A little after Plath’s eighth birthday her father dies from a case of diabetes that he ignores to treat. Plath published one of her first poems at the early age of eight in the children’s sectionRead MoreMirror by Sylvia Plath817 Words   |  3 PagesSylvia Plaths poem, Mirror,† represents the disturbed self of the woman, The mirror signifies the unsympathetic male view of a woman and what is socially expected of her: having a flawless beauty and perpetual youth. As the persona ages over the years, the mirror maliciously reflects the alterations in her appearance. Age becomes the persona’s flaw and inadequacy and consequently her foundation of anxiety and alarm. The mirror projects what is thought of the woman as she grows older. It claimsRead More Truth, Illusion, and Examination in Sylvia Plaths The Mirror656 Words   |  3 PagesIllusion, and Examination in Sylvia Plaths The Mirror  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Who would be so pretentious as to suggest that they were silver and exact, and that they have no preconceptions? Poet Sylvia Plath dares to meditate on the opposite wall in her poem The Mirror to reveal to her reader some of her own insecurities, the theme of this, and several other of her poems. The poet does some introspective exploration in both stanzas; the two carefully intended to mirror each other. It is her useRead More##xiety In Courage, Gwendolyn BrooksThe Explorer, And Frederick Douglass732 Words   |  3 Pagesor does it? In these four poems, there is a strong sense of social anxiety, and then the overcoming of that with courage. In Sylvia Plaths Mirror, Anne Sexton’s Courage, Gwendolyn Brooks’ The Explorer, and Robert Hayden’s Frederick Douglass there is a strongly shared theme. To start off is the theme of social anxiety in Sylvia Plath’s Mirror. This poem is about a mirror that spends most of it’s days reflecting the wall, but occasionally, it is the friend of a man or woman. One day, a woman comes

Friday, December 27, 2019

German Expressions for Well-Wishes

What’s the right wording for a birthday card? What will you tell your friend before her performance? Below are several German expressions of well-wishing: Ich halte/drà ¼cke (dir) die Daumen. - I’ll cross my fingers (for you).Hals- und Beinbruch! - Good luck! Break a leg!(Ich wà ¼nsche) guten Appetit/gesegnete Mahlzeit. - (I hope you) enjoy your meal.Prost!/ Auf Ihr Wohl!/ Zum Wohl! - Cheers!/ To your health!Ich wà ¼nsche Ihnen gute Reise!/ Gute Reise! - Have a nice trip!Herzlichen Glà ¼ckwunsch! - Congratulations!Herzlichen Glà ¼ckwunsch zum Geburtstag! - Happy birthday!Gesundheit! - Bless you!Gute Besserung. - Get well soon.Alles Gute! - All the best! Best wishes!Viel Glà ¼ck! - Good luck!Viel Spaß/Vergnà ¼gen! - Have fun!

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Review of The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by...

Review of The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Bernard Haitink in 2009 The Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 was composed by Beethoven and was completed in 1808. It is also referred to as â€Å"Pastoral Symphony.† In 2009, Bernard Haitink conducted the performance of the symphony by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. From Haitink’s concert on Beethoven’s sixth symphony, I was expecting to see the original work of composer. The symphony has qualities of both the classical and romantic periods and illustrates composer’s radical ideas as well as highlighting his classical influences. Its programmatic nature is the main romantic feature though the dramatic dynamic changes, as well as the use of percussion and brass, are also†¦show more content†¦Programmatic symphonies occurred primarily in the late- Romantic and Classical period. The repetition of the different subjects is a feature is a programmatic symphony and, therefore, a romantic trait. For example, the ‘bird calls’ produced by the strings in bar 151 are programmatic. Haitink’s traversal of the ‘Pastoral’ is a fine achievement, established on tempi that strike the viewers. On the first movement, he takes it at a flowing, warm tempo. The Orchestra plays radiantly for him. The played symphony has a nice, firm bass line, revealingly enriched at intervals by the horns, and its attention to dynamics is meticulous throughout the whole symphony. The first movement ends in such a way that, the symphony can be heard as a wonderfully civilized and wise account of the performance. The second movement is designed beautifully. Once again the tempo is skillfully chosen. The woodwinds and the strings afford Haitink some fine playing and there are several lovely woodwind solos for the audience to enjoy. The third movement is lithe and light – this is a joyful and well-sprung dance. The subsequent storm is exciting, featuring some thrilling strikes on the timpani. The finale brings an excellent summary of the performance. In Haitink’s experienced hands, the symphony is serene, displaying an inner radiance and warmth. The style is demonstrative and completely natural. The pacing is perfect and the playing is glowing. Even though Haitink shapes

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Integrated Marketing Communication Program †Free Sample & Example

Question: Discuss about the Integrated Marketing Communication Program. Answer: Introduction: Over the past few decades, Apple has been dominating the world through its effective innovation in technology. Steve Jobs, Wozniak and Ronald Wayne established the particular organizations on 1st April 1976 (Apple.com. 2016). By analyzing the integrated marketing process of Apple, it can be assessed that the company focuses on delivering high quality product to the customers for enhancing their brand value in the market. One of the major products of the company is I-phone, which indeed facilitates the organization to retain their brand position across the global market (Parente and Strausbaugh-Hutchinson 2014). The CEO of the company has discussed that they are focusing on satisfying the personal consumer demand. However, they are less interested in fulfilling the demographic requirements. On the other hand, the management of the organization has already discussed that they have been trying to improve the performance and stability of the existing product rather than introducing new f eatures of the products. In this context, the integrated marketing plan for I-phone has been provided. The current market situation of the organization has been provided along with the integrated marketing communication objectives. On the other hand, the establishment of the promotional budget has been highlighted in the particular research assignment. The organization needs to implement the effective monitoring process after including the integrated communication program in the business. Hence, the monitoring system of the business has also been highlighted in the assignment. Current market situation: By analyzing the current market situation, it can be assessed that the organizations have been focusing on different aspects of the business including political situation, economic situation, and socio-culture situation, technological situation, competition situation, environmental situation and sales situation (Cornelissen 2014). The company has introduced a new line of successfully marketed i-phone. I-phone has several features including mobile phone, music player, portable computing, small and personal organizer. By analyzing the current market share of Apple, it can be assessed that the organizations had faced challenges in earlier years for retaining their market share. The competitors of i-phone are blackberry, windows, and android. During 2006 to 2008, Blackberry had high market share, and it was dominating over i-phone (Blakeman 2014). However, the organization had focused on their marketing planning for enhancing the business opportunities in an effective manner. Although the organization has several competitors in the market, it only focuses on targeting in enhancing their product quality rather introducing new products within a short timeframe. Figure 1: Current market share of Blackberry, Palm and Apple (Source: Newman 2014) By analyzing the below diagram, it can be assessed that the particular product has been successfully retaining its market share. The latest I-phone 6 model continues to be the most popular handset among the apple users. The I-Phone 6 has captured the market share of 30% (Kim and Ko 2012). However, I-phone users have been facing issues in using some of the popular mobile application. Figure 2: Current I-Phone device Market share (Source: Burgess 2012) In recent years, Android is the biggest competitor of Apple operating system. The prime focus of Google Android is to capture highest market share within a short span of time. By analyzing the both market share, it can be assessed that the Android has successfully increased its market share to 50%, whereas apples market share is below 30% after the completion of third quarter (De Mooij 2013). Although the management has discussed that they are trying to focus on their pricing policy so that they could engage more customers in the business, they are rather busy in delivering the enhanced quality products to the customers. Consequently, their product cost increases. Figure 3: Market shares of Android and iOS (Source: Dobyns 2012) Integrated marketing communication objectives: The prime marketing objective of the company is to deliver the excellent quality products to the customers across the globe. They are less interested in fulfilling demographic needs. According to the management of the organization, the target customers of the organization are teenagers, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, etc (Kotler et al. 2015). Apple focuses on satisfying the existing customers demands by providing high-class products and services. The i-Phone targets the customers, who need flawless services and have adequate interest to spend high investment for obtaining that particular service. Most of the corporate clients have been utilizing the particular products due to its flawless performance. Currently, the market segment for a smartphone is very small compared to the general phone market. The smartphone market has been dominated by few companies including Samsung, Apple, Sony, etc (Strauss 2016). There is a huge competition in the budget range devices. Samsung often a cquires higher market share than the Apple due to using the worlds most popular operating system named as Android. However, the organization has been trying to improve their pricing strategy, as they are aware of the fact that the smartphone market will robustly increase within few years due to lower prices and higher power (Alon and Eugene 2012). The marketing communication is based on different promotional activities including digital media, printing media, social media and other online platforms. Without involving the promotional activity, marketing communication would not be completed in an effective manner. Over the past few years, the organization has been focusing on targeting the corporate clients for enhancing the sales activities within a short timeframe. By analyzing the promotional activity of the organization, it can be assessed that the organization has been standing by their decision to produce groundbreaking products for its premium customers (Romero 2012). The organization has set a proper brand image in both domestic and international market. The management has clearly discussed that the organization will be producing premium products at premium prices. However, this business attitude has also facilitated them in upholding large market share and high-profit margins. Besides, another communication objective of the organization is to highlight the fact that the particular organization will be focusing on their future innovative technology (Kilambi, Laroche and Richard 2013). The marketing team of the organization has agreed with the fact that they are unable to enhance the sales margin in the Asian market due to low promotional activities. Hence, Apple has been trying to implement several strategic approaches for improving the business opportunities in the Asian market. Establishment and allocation of the promotional budget: By analyzing the annual report of the organization, it can be assessed that the company has increased its advertisement or the promotional budget since 2009. In the fiscal year 2012, the promotional budget hitting $1 billion. Over the past few years, the organization has been trying to improve its promotional activity for enhancing the sales revenues in the business. In the recent years, the organization has been facing tough competition from its rival, Samsung. Since 2009, the organization has been trying to enhance its promotion through engaging different marketing platforms. By analyzing the annual report, it can be identified that the company spent approximately $501 million in 2009, whereas the organization had spent $1 billion dollars in 2012 (Shimp and Andrews 2012). Hence, it clearly indicates the fact that the organization has been eagerly trying to improve its sales through making effective promotional activities. It has been reported that the prime reason for enhancing the promotional budget is the advertisement cost of I-Phone. During 2007 to 2010, Apples promotional budget had risen to $467 million due to the advertisement of I-Phone and I-Pad (Mackert 2012). The advertisements of the product are created by the ad agency TBWA or Media Arts Lab. The proportion of expenses including general and admin costs have declined to 6% of revenue in 2012, from 7% in 2011, as the sales of I-Phone has been exorbitant (Jankovic 2012). The advertising budget indicates the subset of the larger sales budget. In the fiscal year 2010, Apple increased the promotional activities in an effective manner. However, the companys revenues growth was dropped from its overall ratio of its earning which spends on the advertising purposes. The company had reported that they spent nearly $691 million dollars on advertising in the year when both iPad and iPhone 4 were launched (Persuit 2013). The management has discussed that they have been trying to improve their business effectiveness through their promotional activities. If we analysis the below diagram, it can be assessed that the company has been increasing their promotional budget since 2007. It clearly indicates that the sales revenues of the company have been increasing every year. In 2012, the advertisement budget of the company went to the highest margin. Through the engagement of the effective promotional budget, the organization has been trying to spread their product in formation across the globe. However, the organization has been focusing on advertising its products to the Asian countries where the sales margin has decreased. For enhancing the sales margin on that particular area, the particular organization has included several strategic approaches in the business. Figure 4: Apple Ad Budget by Year (Source: Schivinski and Dabrowski 2016) Although the organization has increased its sales promotion in recent years, it is unable to compete with other competitors in advertising budget. By analyzing the below chart, it can be assessed that Microsoft and Dell have spent more financial resources on the advertising. For instance, in the financial year 2009, Microsoft spent $1.4 billion, whereas Dell spent $811 million on advertising purpose (Strauss 2016). Hence, it can be assessed that Apple should have been focused on their promotional activities to improve their sales revenue. Ad expenses % of revenue Microsoft $1.4 billion 2.1% Dell $811 million 1.30% Apple $501 million 1.37% RIM (BlackBerry) $337 million 3.60% Figure 5: Revenue analysis (Source: Dobyns 2012) Development of the integrated marketing communication program: Advertising: The particular organization promotes their products through engaging a particular series promotional activity. The advertisement of the organization includes several marketing tools including SEO, PPC, offline promotion, online promotion, social media promotion, digital marketing, printing media and direct promotion, etc. Apple has shown their tremendous promotional planning, as the mobile operators mostly conduct the advertisements of I-Phone product. Different network operators do some I-phone ads for enhancing their product selling. The prime competitor of the organization is Samsung, who is indeed dominating the mobile market. Although Apple does not use the Android OS, they have been trying to beat the selling performance of Samsung. As discussed earlier that the advertising of the I-Phone depends on some factors including demographics, target marketing, etc. Apple mainly targets a group of people in the society such as a corporate person, students, teenagers, business owners, e tc. according to a market survey, 25% of all i-phone users belong to the under 25 age group, whereas 46% are under the age of 35 (Cornelissen 2014). Hence, it clearly indicates that most of the I-phone users belong to the young age group. Although the organization has been focusing on advertising tools including social media, printing media, digital media, it also has included the direct promotional activities. For instance, Apple employs the iAds program for placing the advertisement directly in I-Phone application. With the involvement of this particular service, the organization could conduct the mobile advertising. Besides iAds, the business has also included additional options for conducting the advertisement on the mobile device. Digital marketing: The digital marketing is one of the important business tools that facilitate the organization in enhancing the business opportunities in an effective manner. Without involving the digital marketing tools, Apple would not be able to improve the sales revenues of the business. Digital marketing activities include several tools such as search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, search engine marketing (SEM), content automation, e-commerce marketing, social media optimization, display marketing, etc (Blakeman 2014). However, the particular organizations involve some selected marketing tools for improving the business opportunities in an effective manner. One of the important tools of the digital marketing is social media. Nowadays, the social media facilitates the organizations in enhancing the sales advertisement in an effective manner. Although Apple has been spending a huge amount of financial resources on advertising, social media engagement indeed facilitates them in promoting their products to the large demographic areas as well as in the foreign market. The advertising strategy of i-phone depends on different factors including demographics, devices, iAds, and advertising with Apps. Nowadays, the social media applications like FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram have been facilitating the particular organization in expanding the business promotion in an effectual manner (Kim and Ko 2012). On the other hand, Apple has been focusing on advertising their products to those regions where the sales revenue had decreased. With the involvement of the FaceBook promotional activity, the organization would be able to provide products related inf ormation to the customers. Besides, the organization could obtain feedbacks about their existing products through their Facebook promotional page. On the other hand, the Twitter also facilitates the organization to provide the adequate information about the launching date of the products. Moreover, the customer could submit their query on the social media. Hence, it would facilitate them in enhancing the business promotion in an effectual manner. Explanation of the monitoring process: For monitoring the sales performance of the business, the particular organization has applied different strategies. Without monitoring the business process, the organization would not be able to identify the key development areas in the commerce. For measuring the sales performance, the organization needs to consider some factors including the establishment of achieving goals, measure retention business, review up selling figures, and survey customer experiences. The prime objective of the organization is to deliver premium quality device at a premium price. The organization has been focusing on accumulating the feedbacks from the customer so that they could understand the key issues facing the existing consumers. On the other hand, the feedback accumulation process not only facilitates the organization in identifying the key development areas but also contributes in obtaining suggestion from their loyal customers (Burgess 2012). Apple sales their I-phone device through several platforms, including e-commerce sites, offline sales, store sales, etc. Hence, the organization accumulates the sales information from each platform quarterly. It would facilitate them in understanding the progress of the business, and it highlights the current market situation. The control program centralized on their product quality. The particular organization ensures that they would not compromise with the product quality for enhancing the sales revenues across the globe. According to the management, the highest priority of the organization is to control the product quality and enhance the stability of the existing device rather than introducing new devices frequently. The particular organization involves those suppliers into their control program, who meet the highest standards for all goods and services (Dobyns 2012). By providing rigorous quality assurance, Apple has been successfully upholding the brand reputation on the global platform. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the integrated market communication program has been facilitating Apple to enhance their sales performance gradually. Over the past few years, the organization has been improving their advertising activities in an effective manner. In this context, it has been discussed that how the particular organization has increased their advertisement budget in recent years for obtaining high sales revenues from the domestic and international market. Besides, the current market situation of the I-Phone devices has been discussed in this assignment. Moreover, the allocation of the promotional budget has been discussed which would facilitate in understanding the marketing communication objectives of Apple. Hence, the particular assignment would facilitate in identifying the current marketing position of the organization in an effectual manner. References Alon, I. and Eugene, J., 2012.Global marketing. Mcgraw Hill Higher Educat. Apple.com. (2016).Apple Info - Apple. [online] Available at: https://www.apple.com/about/ [Accessed 14 Sep. 2016]. Blakeman, R., 2014.Integrated marketing communication: creative strategy from idea to implementation. Rowman Littlefield. Burgess, J., 2012.The iPhone moment, the Apple brand and the creative consumer: From hackability and usability to cultural generativity(pp. 28-42). Routledge. Cornelissen, J., 2014.Corporate communication: A guide to theory and practice. Sage. De Mooij, M., 2013.Global marketing and advertising: Understanding cultural paradoxes. Sage Publications. Dobyns, D.H., 2012.Techniques For Wireless Communication Of Proximity Based Marketing. U.S. Patent Application 13/198,550. Jankovic, M., 2012. Integrated Marketing Communications and Brand Identity Development.Management (1820-0222), (63). Kilambi, A., Laroche, M. and Richard, M.O., 2013. Constitutive marketing: Towards understanding brand community formation.International Journal of Advertising,32(1), pp.45-64. Kim, A.J. and Ko, E., 2012. Do social media marketing activities enhance customer equity? An empirical study of luxury fashion brand.Journal of Business Research,65(10), pp.1480-1486. Kotler, P., Burton, S., Deans, K., Brown, L. and Armstrong, G., 2015.Marketing. Pearson Higher Education AU. Mackert, M., 2012. Account planning: applying an advertising discipline to health communication and social marketing.Health marketing quarterly,29(3), pp.270-282. Newman, N., 2014. Apple iBeacon technology briefing.Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice,15(3), pp.222-225. Parente, D. and Strausbaugh-Hutchinson, K., 2014.Advertising campaign strategy: A guide to marketing communication plans. Cengage Learning. Persuit, J.M., 2013.Social Media and Integrated Marketing Communication: A Rhetorical Approach. Lexington Books. Romero, N., 2012. Social reading and the creation of customer loyalty clubs or communities to improve communication with our users and reduce costs in marketing and advertising.The Bottom Line,25(2), pp.63-67. Schivinski, B. and Dabrowski, D., 2016. The effect of social media communication on consumer perceptions of brands.Journal of Marketing Communications,22(2), pp.189-214. Shimp, T.A. and Andrews, J.C., 2012.Advertising promotion and other aspects of integrated marketing communications. Cengage Learning. Strauss, J., 2016.E-marketing. Routledge.