Let 90s Nostalgia Rock Your Content Marketing

Let 90s Nostalgia Rock Your Content Marketing New research shows that we are more likely to spend money when were feeling nostalgic. According to the Journal of Consumer Research: Consumers that were asked to think about the past were willing to pay more for a set of products than consumers asked to think about new or future memories. Did that get your attention? Interesting results, but thats not all. Another study showed an increased willingness to give more money to others after recalling, reflecting, or writing about a nostalgic past life event. This got me thinking – how does this nostalgia effect influence your content marketing? Are readers more likely to share your content when they are feeling nostalgic? Will  they be more likely to convert? Will they be more likely to buy your product or service? The evidence seems to indicate that they  might. The first step to applying this to your content marketing is to understand what nostalgia is in the first place. What Is Nostalgia? Technically, the term  nostalgia  describes a  particular sentimentality towards  a former experience. In simpler terms, it is a positive reflection  of the past, and a powerful one at that. Nostalgia is generally  triggered by some sort of  cue  from the past. This  sentimentality is then  associated with  a period or place with happy personal memories. The term itself  was coined by a 17th-century medical student as a way to describe the anxieties displayed by  Swiss  mercenaries fighting away from home. In later years, as science has learned more about the phenomena, nostalgia  has been  widely considered  an independent and even positive emotion that people experience often. There are four commonly understood functions of nostalgia. They include, improve mood, increase social connectedness, enhance positive self-regard, and provide existential meaning. This is where things really start to get interesting for marketers. Improve Mood Nostalgia has often been found to increase one’s mood and heighten positive emotions. This reaction seems to stem from feelings of warmth or coping resulting from nostalgic reflections. In essence, the presence of nostalgic emotions give us a method for coping with things that could hinder our own happiness. This natural coping method instinctively seems to improve our mood and function. Increase Social Connectedness Interestingly, nostalgia also seems to increase our sense of social connectedness. This is a very important factor for the use of nostalgia in modern marketing. In essence, nostalgia is  triggered by a feeling of  loneliness, but counteracts such feelings with reflections of close relationships. Enhance Positive Self-Regard Nostalgia can also help us feel better about ourselves.  Researchers  found that subjects who thought of nostalgic memories showed more positive characteristics than those who thought of exciting future experiences. This research also revealed that a lack nostalgic experiences reflected a pattern of selfish and self-centered behavior. As nostalgic experiences were introduced, so was the positive  behavior. Provide Existential Meaning You may be surprised to learn that  nostalgia also helps increase one’s self-esteem and meaning in life. It does this by removing  threats to our well-being, and also by initiating a desire to deal with problems or stress.  Studies  have  found that nostalgia correlates positively with one’s sense of meaning in life. Nostalgia is a known way to boost peoples mood. It allows people to live (and re-live) something familiar,  something  they remember, a positive emotional experience. –  Gabriel Trionfi (Pinterests  user experience researcher) Nostalgia is a powerful neuropsychiatric force that  can frequently becoming a  driving force for our behavior.  Its effects can be seen in who we select to marry (we frequently marry spouses with characteristics reminiscent of those of our parents), and  our adoption of political affiliations (we may become  Democrats, Republicans, or even racists simply because our parents were). So, if it can effect these major life decisions, certainly it can also affect our purchasing and consuming behavior. And that is where nostalgia comes in for  a  content marketing pro life yourself. Examples Of  Nostalgia In Internet Marketing One of the best examples of nostalgia in internet culture is the popular photo-sharing service Instagram. These user-shared photos are soaked in nostalgia. Reminiscent of photos from old Polaroid cameras,  the photos  are frequently  wrapped in a white border. In addition, by allowing users to select from a variety of filters (including some with labels  like  1970), users are able to re-create the faded and worn appearance that is recognizable from  photos of the past. Instagram fosters a huge sense of nostalgia. Blogger David Yoon calls this fake nostalgia, and he certainly has a point – it is manufactured. But Instagrams features still do a great job of highlighting the power of nostalgia. In his piece, David points out that  our  digital photographs have lost the nostalgic feel because they did not age like more traditional photographs.   This is a good point, and it helps us understand the rise in popularity of tools like Instagram. While Instagrams nostalgia is purely manufactured, it is a harkening back to the good old days  of photography and obviously brings with it some powerful emotions. We have to wonder: would Instagram have been as popular without the throwback? Well never know, but the theory is certainly worth considering. One place we can see this theory come to light is with something called throwback Thursday, the  popular internet  practice of posting an old photo, thought, or idea on social media. Originally made popular on Instagram itself,  #TBT is now a practice that is used across the web as a way to reminisce and remember the past. It is nostalgia in action. In recent months, Facebook has also started feeding our nostalgic urges. This February, as it celebrated its  own  10 year anniversary, Facebook gave its  users the opportunity to watch a video of their history on Facebook. The short videos contained  Ã‚  15 or so of the  users  most-liked photos, statuses, and life events set to a catchy tune. While a  bit cheesy, these videos  are a great example of nostalgia in action, and reminder of the cultural significance of sites like Facebook. Other services like Timehop, have embraced the power of nostalgia in a similar way.  Promising to be a time capsule of you, Timehop allows users to see their  photos and updates from an  exact day in history (usually a year prior). Timehop promises to help you celebrate the best moments of the past with your friends. Nostalgia much? Traditional brands have been long-aware of the power of nostalgia. Recently, General Mills  went retro with several of their major cereal brands, a practice already proven to be popular by other brands like Pepsi and Mountain Dew with their throwback product line.  Krafts Macaroni Cheese line also introduced a bit of 90s nostalgia recently by bringing their product, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Vanilla Ice to the same stage. The results were fairly, nostalgic, to say the least. So, nostalgia is not necessarily a new marketing tactic, but in content marketing, I think it is often left unexplored. Can it work? Thats the question we need to ask ourselves now. How To Take Advantage of Nostalgia In Content Marketing Before we get too far, we need to set some ground rules. The folks over at Scripted have cleverly identified three conditions that should be met  before  we try to  use nostalgia in our content marketing. They are: We  must consider our  target market’s age range in order to choose a time era that demographic can identify with. We  have to choose an event, style, etc. that invokes positive memories and a sense of trust. The chosen era or event should invoke the emotions that we want  people to associate with our  brand. In other words, dont go harkening back to the roaring twenties (and expect a nostalgic reaction) if your audience is primarily comprised of skater-kids that were popping zits in the 90s. Take for example Krafts placement of Vanilla Ice and the  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. These are both throwbacks to my early days as youth. I clearly remember being in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fan club and I  know for sure that I owned a Vanilla Ice cassette tape at some point. These are both fond memories now that I am in my 30s. Not only that, but I am also the parent of three small children. I am a prime target for Kraft Macaroni Cheese. Well played Kraft, well played. If you dont  align your marketing and your audience properly, you are fighting an uphill battle already. Nostalgia only works if it is actually nostalgic for your readers. So,  if you dont know the demographic of your readers, you can do some digging in Google Analytics, or complete this short exercise that will help you identify your audience. Nostalgia only works in #contentmarketing if your content is  actually nostalgic for your readers.5 Ways To Apply Nostalgia To Our Content Marketing So you may be thinking that  this nostalgia thing sounds great, but I havent really provided any conclusive methods for introducing it to your content marketing. I am glad you brought it up. While this is by no means a conclusive list, here are 5 quick ideas that Ive found for applying nostalgia to  content marketing. #1: Weave Nostalgic  References  Into Your Content Through Storytelling One of the easiest ways to incorporate the effects of nostalgia is through the art of storytelling and reference. Our own content creator, Julie Neidlinger, wrote a post a few years back bringing together the art of content marketing and the beloved mix tape of the 80s. In this type of post, the nostalgic reference is merely an element used to engage the reader in the work. It is simple and effective. #2: Add Nostalgic Reminders To Your Visual Elements In many cases, nostalgic elements can be incorporated into the design of page elements, like they were on this post about audience fragmentation from just a few weeks ago. The visual elements on the page harken to a time and idea past, reflecting and fostering a feeling of nostalgia. #3: Interact With Your Audience In A Nostalgic Way Whenever someone becomes a new paying customer of , we love to thank them with a physical notebook that they can use to jot down blog ideas when they are on the go. is a digital product  so this  is somewhat counterintuitive, but it has proven to be a great program. It encourages us and our users to think about the days of old when we used to write thing in places other than the computer. #4: Create Content That Allows Readers To Experience Greater Nostalgia Love them or hate them, Buzzfeed has garnered a great deal of attention by actually allowing us to interact with their own sense of nostalgia. On their site, you will find dozens of (basically meaningless) quizzes that allow us to discover which 90s soundtrack we are, or which Friends character we should hide in our basement. These may be silly, but they are also popular and are shared like crazy on Facebook. â€Å"The quiz is kind of like the broken-down-to-its-core of what BuzzFeed is,† Summer Anne Burton, Buzzfeed’s managing editorial director and the head of its quiz initiative, told Nieman Lab. â€Å"It gives someone something that they can relate to well enough that they can share it with others.† Buzzfeed built a custom template so that its staffers and its community contributors can easily create these identity-focused questionnaires. (source: The Atlantic) #5: Throwback For A day Microsoft has done an excellent job of using throwback nostalgia to improve its brand and reputation. After taking a beating for years with an error-ridden browser, their marketing team began using nostalgia (ironically) to make amends with the web developers that they have offended along the way – even going as far as releasing a throwback version of their website, an idea that will never get old for a generation of web developers who grew up using tables and font tags on this new thing called the world wide web. The Effects Of Nostalgia In Content Marketing Perhaps Don Draper said it best. Nostalgia is powerful, but delicate. Used correctly, though, it can help us accomplish many things – including better content marketing. Teddy told me that in Greek nostalgia literally means, the pain from an old wound. Its a twinge, in your heart. Far more powerful then memory alone. This device isnt a spaceship, its a time machine. It goes backwards, forwards. It takes us to a place, where we ache to go again. Its not called The Wheel. Its called The Carousel. It lets us travel in a way a child travels. Round and round, and then back home again. To a place where we know we are loved. Don Draper   Nostalgia can make users more likely to share. #ContentMarketingJust take a look at Buzzfeeds quiz page, which  now contains  some of the most shared and most  nostalgic  content on an already popular site. Nostalgia can make users more likely to convert. #ContentMarketingIf nostalgia makes visitors more likely to buy, then it is fair to assume that it would also make them more likely to convert as an inbound lead. Maybe its time to incorporate some nostalgia into your inbound process.

The Wounded Knee Massacre

The Wounded Knee Massacre   The massacre of hundreds of Native Americans at Wounded Knee in South Dakota on December 29, 1890, marked a particularly tragic milestone American history. The killing of mostly unarmed men, women, and children, was the last major encounter between the Sioux and U.S. Army troops, and it could be viewed as the end of the Plains Wars. The violence at Wounded Knee was rooted in the federal governments reaction to the ghost dance movement, in which a religious ritual centered around dancing became a potent symbol of defiance to white rule. As the ghost dance spread to Indian reservations throughout the West, the federal government began to regard it as a major threat and sought to suppress it. The tensions between white and Indians greatly increased, especially as federal authorities began to fear that the legendary Sioux medicine man Sitting Bull was about to become involved in the ghost dance movement. When Sitting Bull was killed while being arrested on December 15, 1890, the Sioux in South Dakota became fearful. Overshadowing the events of late 1890 were decades of conflicts between whites and Indians in the West. But one event, the massacre at the Little Bighorn of Col. George Armstrong Custer and his troops in June 1876 resonated most deeply. The Sioux in 1890 suspected that commanders in the U.S. Army felt a need to avenge Custer. And that made the Sioux especially suspicious of actions taken by soldiers who came to confront them over the ghost dance movement. Against that backdrop of mistrust, the eventual massacre at Wounded Knee arose out of a series of misunderstandings. On the morning of the massacre, it was unclear who fired the first shot. But once the shooting began, the U.S. Army troops cut down unarmed Indians with no restraint. Even artillery shells were fired at Sioux women and children who were seeking safety and running from the soldiers. In the aftermath of the massacre, the Army commander on the scene, Col. James Forsyth, was relieved of his command. However, an Army inquiry cleared him within two months, and he was restored to his command. The massacre, and the forcible rounding up of Indians following it, crushed any resistance to white rule in the West. Any hope the Sioux or other tribes had of being able to restore their way of life was obliterated. And life on the detested reservations became the plight of the American Indian. The Wounded Knee massacre faded into history. However, a book published in 1971, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, became a surprise best seller and brought the name of the massacre back to public awareness. The book by Dee Brown, a narrative history of the West told from the Indian point of view, struck a chord in America at a time of national skepticism and is widely considered a classic. And Wounded Knee came back in the news in 1973, when American Indian activists, as an act of civil disobedience, took over the site in a standoff with federal agents. Roots of the Conflict The ultimate confrontation at Wounded Knee was rooted in the movement of the 1880s to force Indians in the West onto government reservations. Following the defeat of Custer, the U.S. military was fixated on defeating any Indian resistance to forced resettlement. Sitting Bull, one of the most respected Sioux leaders, led a band of followers across the international border into Canada. The British government of Queen Victoria allowed them to live there and did not persecute them in any way. Yet conditions were very difficult, and Sitting Bull and his people eventually returned to South Dakota. In the 1880s, Buffalo Bill Cody, whose exploits in the West had become famous through dime novels, recruited Sitting Bull to join his famous Wild West Show. The show traveled extensively, and Sitting Bull was a huge attraction. After a few years of enjoying fame in the white world, Sitting Bull returned to South Dakota and life on a reservation. He was regarded with considerable respect by the Sioux. The Ghost Dance The ghost dance movement began with a member of the Paiute tribe in Nevada. Wovoka, who claimed to have religious visions, began preaching after recovering from a serious illness in early 1889. He claimed that God had revealed to him that a new age was about to dawn on earth. According to Wovoka’s prophecies, game which had been hunted to extinction would return, and Indians would restore their culture, which had been essentially destroyed during the decades of conflict with white settlers and soldiers. Part of Wovoka’s teaching involved the practice of ritual dancing. Based on older round dances performed by Indians, the ghost dance had some special characteristics. It was generally performed over a series of days. And special attire, which became known as ghost dance shirts, would be worn. It was believed that those wearing the ghost dance would be protected against harm, including bullets fired by U.S. Army soldiers. As the ghost dance spread throughout western Indian reservations, officials in the federal government became alarmed. Some white Americans argued that the ghost dance was essentially harmless and was a legitimate exercise of religious freedom. Others in the government saw malicious intent behind the ghost dancing. The practice was seen as a way to energize Indians to resist white rule. And by late 1890 the authorities in Washington began giving orders for the U.S. Army to be ready to take action to suppress the ghost dance. Sitting Bull Targeted In 1890 Sitting Bull was living, along with a few hundred other Hunkpapa Sioux, at the Standing Rock reservation in South Dakota. He had spent time in a military prison, and had also toured with Buffalo Bill, but he seemed to have settled down as a farmer. Still, he always seemed in rebellion to the rules of the reservation and was perceived by some white administrators as a potential source of trouble. The U.S. Army began sending troops into South Dakota in November 1890, planning to suppress the ghost dance and the rebellious movement it seemed to represent. The man in charge of the Army in the area, General Nelson Miles, came up with a plan to get Sitting Bull to surrender peacefully, at which point he could be sent back to prison. Miles wanted Buffalo Bill Cody to approach Sitting Bull and essentially lure him into surrendering. Cody apparently traveled to South Dakota, but the plan fell apart and Cody left and returned to Chicago. Army officers decided to use Indians who were working as policemen on the reservation to arrest Sitting Bull. A detachment of 43 tribal police officers arrived at Sitting Bull’s log cabin on the morning of December 15, 1890. Sitting Bull agreed to go with the officers, but some of his followers, who were generally described as ghost dancers, tried to intervene. An Indian shot the commander of the police, who raised his own weapon to return fire and accidentally wounded Sitting Bull. In the confusion, Sitting Bull was then fatally shot by another officer. The outbreak of gunfire brought a charge by a detachment of soldiers who had been positioned nearby in case of trouble. Witnesses to the violent incident recalled a peculiar spectacle: a show horse which had been presented to Sitting Bull years earlier by Buffalo Bill heard the gunfire and must have thought it was back in the Wild West Show. The horse began performing intricate dance moves as the violent scene unfolded. The Massacre The killing of Sitting Bull was national news. The New York Times, on December 16, 1890, published a story at the top of the front page headlined â€Å"The Last of Sitting Bull.† The sub-headlines said he had been killed while resisting arrest. In South Dakota, the death of Sitting Bull stoked fear and distrust. Hundreds of his followers departed the Hunkpapa Sioux camps and began to scatter. One band, led by the chief Big Foot, began traveling to meet up with one of the old chiefs of the Sioux, Red Cloud. It was hoped Red Cloud should protect them from the soldiers. As the group, a few hundred men, women, and children, moved through the harsh winter conditions, Big Foot became quite ill. On December 28, 1890, Big Foot and his people were intercepted by cavalry troopers. An officer in the Seventh Cavalry, Major Samuel Whitside, met with Big Foot under a flag of truce. Whitside assured Big Foot his people would not be harmed. And he made arrangements for Big Foot to travel in an Army wagon, as he was suffering from pneumonia. The cavalry was going to escort the Indians with Big Foot to a reservation. That night the Indians set up camp, and the soldiers set up their bivouacs nearby. At some point in the evening another cavalry force, commanded by Col. James Forsyth, arrived on the scene. The new group of soldiers were accompanied by an artillery unit. On the morning of December 29, 1890, the U.S. Army troops told the Indians to gather in a group. They were ordered to surrender their weapons. The Indians stacked up their guns, but the soldiers suspected they were hiding more weapons. Soldiers began searching the Sioux tepees. Two rifles were found, one of which belonged to an Indian named Black Coyote, who was probably deaf. Black Coyote refused to give up his Winchester, and in a confrontation with him a shot was fired. The situation quickly accelerated as soldiers began shooting at the Indians. Some of the male Indians drew knives and faced the soldiers, believing that the ghost dance shirts they were wearing would protect them from bullets. They were shot down. As Indians, including many women and children, tried to flee, the soldiers continued firing. Several artillery pieces, which had been positioned on a nearby hill, began to rake the fleeing Indians. The shells and shrapnel killed and wounded scores of people. The entire massacre lasted for less than an hour. It was estimated that about 300 to 350 Indians were killed. Casualties among the cavalry amounted to 25 dead and 34 wounded. It was believed most of the killed and wounded among the U.S. Army troops had been caused by friendly fire. Wounded Indians were taken on wagons to the Pine Ridge reservation, where Dr. Charles Eastman, who had been born a Sioux and educated at schools in the East, sought to treat them. Within days, Eastman traveled with a group to the massacre site to search for survivors. They did find some Indians who were miraculously still alive. But they also discovered hundreds of frozen corpses, some as many as two miles away. Most of the bodies were gathered by soldiers and buried in a mass grave. Reaction to the Massacre In the East, the massacre at Wounded Knee was portrayed as a battle between â€Å"hostiles† and soldiers. Stories on the front page of the New York Times in the final days of 1890 gave the Army version of events. Though the number of people killed, and the fact that many were women and children, created interest in official circles. Accounts told by Indian witnesses were reported and appeared in newspapers. On February 12, 1890, an article in the New York Times was headlined â€Å"Indians Tell Their Story.† The sub-headline read, â€Å"A Pathetic Recital of the Killing of Women and Children.† The article gave witness accounts, and ended with a chilling anecdote. According to a minister at one of the churches at the Pine Ridge reservation, one of the Army scouts told him he had heard an officer say, after the massacre, â€Å"Now we have avenged Custer’s death.† The Army launched an investigation of what happened, and Col. Forsyth was relieved of his command. But he was quickly cleared. A story in the New York Times on February 13, 1891, was headlined â€Å"Col. Forsyth Exonerated.† The sub-headlines read â€Å"His Action at Wounded Knee Justified† and â€Å"The Colonel Restored to Command of His Gallant Regiment.† Legacy of Wounded Knee After the massacre at Wounded Knee, the Sioux came to accept that resistance to white rule was futile. The Indians came to live on the reservations. The massacre itself faded into history. However, in the early 1970s, the name of Wounded Knee came to take on resonance, largely due to Dee Brown’s book. A native American resistance movement put a new focus on the massacre as a symbol of broken promises and betrayals by white America.

Concept of Equality and Social Equity Assignment

Concept of Equality and Social Equity - Assignment Example These are important issues which are backed by the international government, NGOs and international agencies across the world. Â  Fleurbaey (2008) asserts that political philosophy and normative economics highlight egalitarian justice that defines social justice in terms of distributive compensation based on responsibility and talent. This is inherently linked to inequity across society but promotes social equity based on a hierarchy of roles within the work environment. This is an important perspective that is visible in the compensation package of the employees. The roles and responsibilities of the public administrators become pertinent issues which require stringent mechanisms of promoting social equity across gender, race, culture, and class. The concepts of equity and equitable distribution of resources based on social equity within and outside public administration, therefore, have emerged as key issues in the current environment of rapid globalization and multicultural societies across the globe. Â  Public policies are essential ingredients of administrative processes that address the issues of public concern and civil liberties. The key objective of the public policy is to enhance social equity that impacts the quality of life and promotes equality across people. In recent times, public administration in American political system has raised critical issue of public liberty. McKelvey (2011) says the civil liberty of people is compromised as the due processes for targeted killing are obscure with unclear law and protocols. Indeed, while the threat of terrorism is real, unsubstantiated accusations of target killing of Americans is not only unwarranted but is also indicative of power play of administration that endangers the freedom of citizens.

Lab report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lab report - Essay Example The method of tensile testing is conducted by a ‘tensile testor’ in which the test specimen is clamped and loaded and subjected to a tensile force until the point of failure. ‘Stress-strain curves are an extremely important graphical measure of a material’s mechanical properties’ (Roylance, 2001). Stress is defined as the force of resistance offered against the deformation and Strain is defined as the ratio of the change in length to the original length of the member (Ramamrutham, 2003). The stress-strain curve for the specimen is an important method of characterizing the behavior of the material and adjudging its suitability as a material for any function. Almost all the materials, obey Hooke’s law in the early portion of the curve i.e. at low strain which states that stress is proportional to strain with the constant of proportionality being the Young’s modulus, E: Stress = Strain ? Young’s Modulus. As the strain increases, the linear proportionality comes to an end at a point termed as the proportional limit and marks the beginning of the plastic phase rearrangement of the specimen. Plasticity requires molecular mobility and materials lacking this mobility are usually brittle rather than ductile. â€Å"Polymeric materials behave both as viscous fluids as well as elastic solids. They are viscoelastic materials† (Koustos, 2002). The stress-strain curve of a polymer is different from those of other materials. The critical point in the stress-strain curve is the yield point beyond which the material enters the plastic deformation state. Experimentation The experiment was conducted to obtain the stress-strain curve of polymer samples and study their behavior under the application of tensile force. For this test, polymer samples were loaded and clamped in the tensile testing machine. The tensile testing machine that was used was Instron 1026. The tensile testing machine pulls the sample from both ends an d measures the force required to pull the specimen apart and how much the sample stretches before breaking. The testing was done on four different specimens: PE (polyethylene – from a shopping bag), PP (polypropylene – from plastic folder), Rubber (natural rubber – from a rubber band) and Acetate (cellulose acetate – from an overhead transparency). The specimens were obtained by cutting the polymer samples into appropriate lengths. The thickness and width of the samples were measured before stretching each one of them and putting them in the tensile tester. The dimensions of the specimens are taken with the aid of calipers for precision. Results and Discussion The stress-strain curves for the various test specimens are as follows: Figure 1: Stress-Strain Curve of Rubber (Poly-Isoprene) Figure 2: Stress-Strain Curve of Acetate (Cellulose Acetate) Figure 3: Stress-Strain Curve of PE (Polyethylene) Figure 4: Stress-Strain Curve of PP (Polypropylene) S. no. T est name Tensile Strength (MPa) Elongation at failure 1 PE 11.1 26% 2 PP 23.5 738% 3 Rubber 4.1 575% 4 Acetate 1 181.9 131% 5 Acetate 2 297.3 114% 6 Acetate 3 166.9 93% It can be observed from the graphs that the stress-strain curve of acetate was obtained thrice. The possible explanation for this can be that cellulose acetate exhibits different tensile strengths at different states – dry, wet & after being boiled (Stadlinger). The difference in

Positivism and study of society

Positivism and study of society Positivism was named by Auguste Comte in 19th century, which was influenced by early empiricism of Enlightenment- with achieve the targets which include make objective knowledge and formulate the universal laws. The Rationalism also contributed positivism to improve the human conditions but not God (Smith, 2003, p76). Positivism has three development stages after it was mentioned- the early positivism, the logical positivism and standard positivism (Smith, 2003, p77). This essay will discuss the early positivism and logical positivism. As a branch of empiricism, the broader sense of positivism is the true knowledge which should be based on sense experiences, and only can be advanced by observation and experiment, avoided all metaphysical or speculation (Urmson, 1960). Another definition in this essay which should be introduced is the contributions of positivism. In this essay, contribution means the positivism how to create knowledge than before but not only focus on any positivistï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½s theory or the contributions in any specific subject. Positivism affected the studies of society since early 19th century to now although some people point out positivism is not fitting for the development of society nowadays (Smith, 2003, p76). In this essay, the contributions of positivism are how the positivism creates knowledge. The methodology of positivism was complete the theory of empiricism in Enlightenment. Based on positivism methodology, the closed system was implemented in study of society by Positivists. The critical evaluation of these contributions will be stated in every section. This essay will also state using modern sight to review the contributions of positivism. Early positivism contributed to create a framework of research method and the basic principles of positivism. After early positivism, ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Vienna Circleï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½ developed the thoughts and created logical positivism. Positivists followed the same thought to find truth out no matter which stage of positivism. All of them had contributions in history. As mentioned above, positivism is a branch of empiricism. Comparing with empiricism in Enlightenment, the biggest contribution of positivism is complete the methodology on empiricism and lead the positivism nearly regard to scientific spirit today (Heidegren, 2006, p92). Through this methodology, new scientific methods will be completed and applied on social science. The ontology of positivism methodology is the world is external and objective, and the observers should be independent and be neutral in the researches (Smith, 2003). Under this situation, the epistemology of positivism is building hypothesises and then to find the relationships between limited facts in social phenomena, and formulate universal laws at last (Smith, 2003). Be ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½neutralï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½ and ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½objectiveï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½ were positivists insert in the positivism methodology and affect the whole society. Take an instance for the contribution of ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½neutralï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½ and ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½objectiveï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½ in positivism is the positivist approach in criminology. Before the positivism, criminal suspects could prove their own criminal behaviours and this lead some criminal suspects were suffering and had to admit the behaviours which were not existed. However, positivists thought this was not humanistic and criminal suspects should be avoid from evidences, that means the criminal suspects cannot prove their own criminal behaviours (Simon, 2006). However, the contribution of ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½neutralï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½ and ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½objectiveï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½ has been questioned. For example, legal positivism has begun to be questioned in recent years. Priel pointed out ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Legal positivism is the thesis that one does not need to rely on evaluative considerations in order to identify what the law isï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½ in his essay (2006). He had the question about the validity and content of legal positivism (Priel, 2006). Based on the positivism methodology, early positivists completed the scientific methods. As a representative of philosophers in Enlightenment, Bacon created ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½science of methodï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½, there were three steps in the scientific method. First, making observations and repeat the observations, which were based on experiments. Secondly, classify the observations. Finally, formulating the observations to laws through inductive reasoning (Porter, 2007, p21-22). Comte and Durkheim inherited the scientific method and completed this scientific method to six steps, 1) make an observation, 2) suggest a question, 3) formulate a hypothesis and except outline, 4) testing the hypothesis through experiment method, 5) to analyse the data and 6) formulate a universal law (Cohen el al, 2007). Positivism completed the procedure of scientific method, inserted ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½hypothesisï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½ and ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½experimentï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½. ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Hypothesisï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½ in scientific method was the speculations of relationships between factors- the causes and effects (Cohen el al, 2007). The ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½experimentï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½ means to make a test in a controlled artificial environment which had small number of variables, this system was named closed system and which will be discussed later (Smith, 2003). Hypothesis is not only the speculation of the research, but also the key of the research. Positivists mentioned this notion of hypothesis and lead the scientific method to become complete and more validity. Basically, the research is built on hypothesis, no matter in natural science or social science. For example, scientific method is applied in natural science such as biology, chemistry, physics, and other else. In social science, scientific method is also applied widely, such as economy, legal system, psychology and other subjects. Figure 1 is a good example to show the hypothesis has became one of the most important links in economic study. Applying the closed system in social science is another contribution of the early positivism, as the notion of ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½experimentï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½ which is mentioned above. Before the positivism, people only applied scientific method in natural science. Comte and Durkheim believe the social science is similar as natural science and closed system can be applied and the truth and law in social science will be found. This thought provided a model for studying the social science and made people create more knowledge about the society. There are three closures in the closed system- experimental closure, theoretical closure, and statistical closure. Experimental closure is through the experiment methods in an artificial environment to get an empirical purpose (Smith, 2003). This kind of closure is usually applied in psychology and other similar subjects. Theoretical closure is usually building theory models to analyse the relationships between variables (Smith, 2003). Theoretical closure has been applied in economy widely. For example, economists anticipate the trend of national economy through the theory models. The last closure is statistical closure which means finding relationships between different variables through quantitative measurable data sets (Smith, 2003). This closure is used in economy, psychology, political science and other subjects widely. For example, customer satisfaction investigation, examination of electoral results and so on. Early positivists let people study and understand society better through applied scientific method and closed system in study of social science and tried to obtain definite objective knowledge. However, some disadvantages are existed when positivists applying scientific method and closed system in study of social science. There are too many other unpredictable variables exist outside of the boundary of closed system which can affect the results (Smith, 2003). In addition, some social variables cannot be measurable such as beliefs and scientific method maybe not suitable for this situation (Bryman Bell, 2007). Logical positivism is a development of early positivism and appeared in early 1920s (Smith, 2003). A group of philosophers who had informal discussions at the University of Vienna and they were named ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Vienna Circleï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½ (Smith, 2003). The logical positivism was promoted by ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Vienna Circleï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½, the centre of the logical positivism was still avoid any kind of metaphysics and speculative attempts (Smith, 2003). According to Ganguly (1967), logical positivism is a kind of the empiricism which with a premise that the objects can be verifiable empirically and meaningful. Comparing with early positivism, logical positivism has ambition to all knowledge which cannot be verified (Smith, 2003). One of the contributions of logical positivism is the meaning of the theory should be communicable. Logical positivists proposed achieve this target through synthetic and analytic statement (Ganguly, 1967). Ayer was a famous positivist who contributed much in logical positivism, and he pointed out that the language which was used in science should simple, clear and free from mystification (Ganguly, 1967). Smith pointed out that this proposal ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½led many to refer to this new approach as the ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½linguistic turnï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½ in the philosophy of the social sciences.ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½ (2003) Another contribution of logical positivism is logical positivists provide verifiability principle. Combining with induction in logical positivism, logical positivists believed the real value-free could be achieved (Ganguly, 1967). Before the logical positivism, researches were based on designersï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½ purposes, therefore, the researches would be disturbed by designersï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½ opinions although they tried to avoid that. For example, in some marketing satisfaction investigations, the questionnaire will bring researchers subjective and leading the answers. Some theories such as physics theories which cannot be experiment directly should be proved by logic methods. Logical positivists tried to make absolute objective topic and find the real objective truth. Their strict method and serious scientific spirit lead people to treat natural and social sciences carefully, and the real truth can be found without any subjective. However, some experts pointed out there are problems on logical positivism. First, the language requirement of logical positivism makes people confuse about the truth. Indeed, it is hard to translate the language because this doctrine defined the language so exactly (Ritchie, 2009). Secondly, the logical positivists mentioned the knowledge should be verifiable and logical, however, some theories is hard to be proved but people cannot say that is metaphysics (Ritchie, 2009). Positivism contributed so much in history and still influencing the philosophies and study of natural and social sciences today. Positivists provided useful framework in its period and helped people to collect knowledge. Positivism is an ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½extremeï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½ philosophy which oppose to interpretivism, however, it is the time to combine them together to develop new framework for study of society (Ricciardi, 2009). As mentioned above, some weaknesses are existed when positivists applied scientific method and closed system in social sciences and obtained the knowledge, such as some hide variables are ignored by closed system when studying social sciences. Under this situation, the validity of the research will be questioned and it is not follow the principles of positivism. Therefore, new framework or new philosophy should be created to solve this problem and replace the positivism. To sum up, positivism was mentioned in early 19th century, Comte and Durkhaim were the founders of the positivism. The purpose of positivism is finding the absolute objective true knowledge, different stage of positivism followed this thought and tried best to avoid metaphysics and subjective. Early positivists who were influenced by empiricism in Enlightenment and completed the positivism methodology, new completed scientific method was created based on this situation. Early positivists developed the closed system and enhance the development of sciences as well. Furthermore, early positivists applied scientific method and closed system in study of society, this helped people to understand the world better in that period, although some disadvantages were exist, such as some variables in society were ignored. Vienna Circle developed the thoughts and methods in early positivism and created logical positivism. They applied more strict principles to find the objective truth. The most imp ortant contributions of logical positivism were using exactly accurate language to describe the theories and verifiable principle. These lead the sciences to be objective and more accurate. However, the weaknesses are still in logical positivism, for example, using exactly language will bring the barriers in communication in different languages. As the development of philosophy and sciences, positivism emerge more and more weakness and will be replaced by other new philosophies. Positivism has depth influence in history and the contributions cannot be eliminated. Bibliography Bryman, A. Bell, E. (2007) Business research methods, published by Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2nd Ed, 2007 Cohen, L., Manion, L. Morrison, K. (2007) The Scientific Method, Research methods in education, published by Routledge, New York, in 2007 Ganguly, S. (1967) Logical positivism- as a theory of meaning, published by Allied Publishers Private Limited, India, in 1967 Heidegren, CG (2006) Positivism before Logical Positivism in Nordic Philosophy, The Vienna Circle in the Nordic Countries, published by Springer, published in 2006 Porter, D. (2007) Baconï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½s Method and Coleridgeï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½s Empiricism, Knowledge broken: Empiricist method and the forms of Romanticism, Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, published in 2007 Priel, D. (2006) TROUBLE FOR LEGAL POSITIVISM?, Legal Theory, Published by Cambridge University Press, published in 12/2006, p225-263 Ricciardi, F. (2009) Epistemology of Information Systems: Time for Something New? Positivism, Interpretivism, and Beyond, Information Systems: People, Organizations, Institutions, and Technologies, published on 03/10/2009 Ritchie, A. (2009) Errors of Logical Positivism, Philosophy, Vol: 12 Issue: 45, published in 02/2009 Simon, J (2006) Positively Punitive: How the Inventor of Scientific Criminology Who Died at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Continues to Haunt American Crime Control at the Beginning of the Twenty-First, Texas Law Review, Vol: 84, Issue: 7, published in 06/2006, [accessed on 09/03/2010] Smith, M. (2003) Social science in question, edited, designed, and typeset by The Open University, published in 1998, reprinted 2002 and 2003 Urmson, O. (1960) The concise encyclopedia of western philosophy and philosophers, Urmson, O. edited, publisher: HUTCHINSON CO. London

Effective inroduction Essay

This essay will be assessing how this section forms an effective introduction to the play. Firstly Miller sets the scene. He begins with describing ‘the backyard of the Keller home, in the outskirts of an American town. ‘ (pg 3) Automatically from this we gather that the play is an American drama. Evidently if you had read previous playwrights by Miller or know his Nationality you would have all ready established the fact of an American play. If not then with-in the first line you are well informed. Next he states the particular time of year in which the play is set â€Å"august of our era† (pg 3) this suggests the weather would be â€Å"beautiful? Not a cloud† (pg 4). It also even goes into further detail informing you of the date and time â€Å"early Sunday morning† (pg 3) He then progresses into describing the house and garden here we can already begin to guess the state, and class of the family. â€Å"The house is two stories high, and has seven rooms† (pg 3. ) He then describes the arrangement of the garden. â€Å"Garden chairs and a table are scattered around† (pg 3) this is very affective as we can imagine a clear picture of where the main conversations and drama will take place. The atmosphere is very cheerful and friendly and suggests that the Keller’s are a popular family. This contrasts later on in the play, when we find out they dint always used to be a popular family due to Joe’s jail incident, and the fact that the neighbour thought he was a ‘murderer. ‘ Also the biggest contrast would be at the end of the play when the tension wouldn’t be calm anymore, instead it is full of resentment by Chris towards Joe, full of guilt on Joe’s behalf, and finally after Joe’s suicide the mood it is upsetting and dramatic. The characters are then introduced; Joe, Chris, and the neighbours. Joe’s character’s first impression is under educated. â€Å"To see what people want you know? † (pg 4/5), and from the stage directions at the beginning of act one: â€Å".. terrible concentration of the uneducated man†(page 3. ) also He asks Dr Bayliss if Frank is: â€Å"Talking sense†(pg 6) this suggests he don’t understand him, This shows us he doesn’t understand people’s ideas, and has a very narrow view of people’s jobs and lively-hoods â€Å"wanted old dictionaries†¦ what’s a man going to do with an old dictionary? † (pg 5) This links into him being very money motivated and materialistic. He cares about money a great deal and values everything by it’s monetary value: â€Å"You mean he’ll make a living out of that? â€Å"(pg 5.) Also we know Joe is very proud and takes good care of his business, this is proven when Miller sets the scene talks about the house â€Å"cost fifteen thousand in the early twenties when it was built† (introduction pg 2) this suggests the house is only about 28-30 years old, as it was built in the twenties, and this play was written around two years of WWII ending in 1945. Meaning Keller has bought this house, and is able to provide and support his family indicating he is a good at his job, and a wealthy business man this is backed up later in the book when he talks to Kate about how he was â€Å"put out† (pg 72) at ten and made to earn for a living. Overall Joe has come from a poorer background, and has managed to work himself up the social ladder. He is not just a serious business man, he is kind and friendly, popular with Bert a young boy he often plays detective games with. Chris is Joe’s son who is introduced on page 9. Together Joe and Chris have a conversation where Ann (Chris’s wife to be as we find out later on in the play) people describe her as a â€Å"beautiful girl† she is seen as mysterious, which draws in the audience. Also Kate (Joe’s wife and Chris’s mother) who is seen as optimistic and living in hope are referred to, however at the start of Act Three there is a contrast between Kate’s idealism and Jim’s practicality. â€Å"you’re so childish Jim† showing she thinks he nai ve and immature. This starts the build up of tension in Act Three. Miller describes Chris as a â€Å"man capable of immense affection and loyalty† (pg 9 stage directions) Before the character even speaks the audience already gets a feel that Chris is going to be the ‘good-guy’ in the play. The other characters introduced are Dr Jim Bayliss our first impression of Jim is that he cynical and realistic when talking to Keller about the rain he says he doesn’t believe in the papers â€Å"then it cant† (pg 4) Hr is critical and sarcastic of the weather. Jim is very against his son being a doctor â€Å"over my dead body† (pg 6) this shows he doesn’t enjoy his profession and we find out later that he had tried to follow his ambition helping humanity, but he couldn’t afford to provide for his family. â€Å"I would love to help humanity on a Warner Brother’s salary† (pg 7) Again another person who is realistic about money, already we get an impression that one of the themes of the play is money and materialism. This also parallels Joes actions, both men have had to compromise their occupation, and had to do things they regret to earn a living. However there is a huge contrast at the start of Act Three. Jim realizes moneys not everything â€Å"money. Money-money-money-money, you say it long enough it doesn’t’ mean anything† (pg 69) This is a sub-plot in the play. But could this need for money all be down to his wife sue? Sue comes in just as Jim talks about â€Å"not a damn thing to look at in the neighbour hood† (pg 7) an awkward moment to introduce a new character but miller purposely picked this so automatically we can get an idea of Sue and Jim’s uneasy relationship. Sue comes across as jealous â€Å"she enjoys it more when you tell her to lay down† (pg 7) implying one of her husbands clients fancies him. Her jealously is seen more stronger later on in the play when she speaks to Ann about trying to convince Chris in moving away, she can be quite harsh and nasty. She is very money obsessed. This is effectual.

Red Bull Situational Analysis - 769 Words

Red Bull is a privately owned company, producing and distributing the Red Bull energy drink to more than 165 countries worldwide. The company was founded by Dietrich Mateschitz in Austria in 1984 and launched Red Bull onto the Austrian market in 1987. Since then more than 35 billion cans of Red Bull have been consumed. Red Bull employs over 8,900 people throughout the world, its corporate headquarters are located in Fuschi am See, Austria. (N/A, 2012). This report focuses specifically on the New Zealand distribution and marketing of this product. Red Bull New Zealand Ltd. is the local unit of the international giant that is Red Bull. In 2010 Kiwi’s bought $30.3 million of Red Bull, this was up 7.5% from the previous year. In the†¦show more content†¦(Underhill, 2011). Red Bull as a product has many strengths, which increase buyer demand. Buyers feel the physical need to buy Red Bull such as when they are feeling sleepy behind the wheel of a car. Socially people feel the need buy Red Bull because of the many extreme sports red bull associates itself with. Red Bull receives a lot of publicity throughout the media, mainly to do with health issues. This causes controversy over the drink, and is considered a weakness. The media often report that Red Bull is unhealthy and damages your body. The media often targets parents, telling them that it is harmful for teenagers and children. This being Red Bulls target market has a very negative impact on the company. Potentially there are some future threats for Red Bull. Generation Y, their target market will before long grow older. This raises some concerning questions. Will generation Y still buy Red Bull when they have out grown Red Bulls target market? Will Red Bull be able to develop marketing strategies that will persuade the upcoming generation? Or will they find something else? 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