Glo Fish Case Essay Example for Free

Glo Fish Case Essay The GloFish was the first genetically modified animal to become available as a pet. It is a natural Zebrafish which has had genetic information from bioluminescent jellyfish added to its DNA. It was originally produced to provide a warning system for pollution but with the addition of further colors its viability for the pet market became clear. It was introduced to the US market in December 2003 by Yorktown Technologies of Austin, Texas. 9 Grapple The grapple is a relatively new fruit which is a genetic cross between an apple and a grape. The fruit combines the size of the apple with the texture of an grape and the flavor of both parent fruits. The grapple was originally designed to provide a much higher vitamin-c dose per fruit for third world aid. The majority of the funding for the fruit came from UNICEF. 8 Graisin The graisin [giant raisin] is a variety of raisin which has been modified to grow to enormous proportions. The graisin was produced by the National Institute of Genetics in Japan due to the Japanese love of large fruit and the recent popularity of western foods such as raisins. The texture and taste is identical to that of its genetically normal parent and it is served raw or thinly sliced in a stir fry. 7 Rubber Cork Tree Cork trees have long been used for producing cork-stoppers for wine though some wine producers have also begun using plastic corks. Wine enthusiasts have not taken to the rubber corks and so, in order to appease the traditionalists and the cost-cutting wine makers, SABIC innovative plastics have developed a tree which is a cross between a rubber tree and a cork tree. The corks taken from the bark of this new tree look like real cork and have the same porous qualities, but has the permanence and flavorlessness of rubber. Ghislain de Mongolfier, current manager and great grandson of the founder of champagne producer Bollinger, said: â€Å"This new cork is the greatest thing to happen to wine since the invention of bubbles†. 6 Umbuku Lizard This creature is the only one on the list which was not designed for a practical reason, but merely to prove that it could be done. Genetic Engineers in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) managed to unlock a dormant â€Å"flying† strand in the DNA of the Umbuku lizard, a very small and rare lizard native to Africa. It is believed that the lizard is a descendent of the Pterodactyl, which lost its ability to fly some millions of years ago. To date only 6 of these flying Umbuku have been produced and they are kept seperate from the natural Umbuku due the risk of cross breeding. 5 Paper Tree The paper tree has been developed to reduce production costs and loss of tree life in the paper manufacturing industry. The recent explosion in popularity of recycled paper products lead a Swiss based company to develop a tree which grows square leaves that, when dried, are already usable as writing paper. In the image above we see a company employee holding a dried leaf beside the trunk of one of the many Paper Trees now grown by the company. 4 Dolion This is probably the most remarkable example of how far science is able to go with modern DNA and cross fertilization techniques; the dolion is a cross between a lion and a dog. In order to produce this incredible rare animal (only 3 dolions exist in laboratories – the photo above is of Rex, the first ever produced), individual strands of DNA from each creature must be combined and re-inserted in to a host egg. This is similar to theliger (lion/tiger crossbreed) with the exception that the liger is able to be produced without prior manipulation of the DNA of either breed of animal. 3 Tiny Piney The Tiny Piney is a miniature pine tree which is a mere 2cm tall when fully grown. It was originally developed to provide a fast growing source for pine-tree smell to be used in the fragrance industry but in very little time its usefulness in other areas became obvious. This tiny pine tree is now hugely popular as an edible plant in Papua New Guinea where it is dipped in a batter made from coconut milk and shellac beetle shells and deep fried. The Tiny Piney (official trademark) has a very subtle pine flavor which is enhanced by the coconut milk. The Tiny Piney is usually eaten as a dessert. 2 Fern Spider The fern spider is unique on this list as it is the only combined plant and animal. At the time of writing this is the only animal that has successfully been crossed with a plant. The spider is a cross between a common Italian Wolf spider (Lycosa tarantula) and the ponga fern (Cyathea dealbata). The purpose of this bizarre crossbreed was to study the survival rates of spiders with built in camouflage versus those without in a series of studies on Natural Selection at Massey University in New Zealand. The results of the study have not been published yet. 1 Lemurat With the growing wealth of China, many rich Chinese women are seeking alternative and exotic pets to show off their money. This has lead to a number of Chinese medical and scientific research companies to compete for this new income source by producing cross breed animals. The most successful (financially) so far has been the Lemur Cat. It is (as the name suggests) a cross between a lemur and a cat. It retains the soft fur of the cat and the coloring, but has the striped tail and yellow eyes commonly found on a lemur. It is more ferocious than the average cat but it is generally no more dangerous than a Chihuahua dog. The scientific name for this new breed is Prolos Fira. This is not an exhaustive list of genetically engineered animals like bovine with massive growth and milk or the alergy free cats and super salmons. Here are probably best examples of how far bio-science can go with DNA technology and genetic re-engineering. The fundamental unit to control different properties of an organism are millions of genes in its DNA. And it is possible to isolate every single gene. Thus any biological property that exists in any living thing in any living world could be brought into any other living thing even of any other world. 1. GloFish Source The GloFish is a patented brand of genetically modified (GM) fluorescent zebrafish with bright red, green, and orange fluorescent color. The original zebrafish from which the GloFish was developed measures three centimeters long and has gold and dark blue stripes. In 1999, Dr. Zhiyuan Gong and his colleagues at the National University of Singapore were working with a gene called green fluorescent protein (GFP), originally extracted from a jellyfish, that naturally produced bright green bioluminescence. They inserted the gene into a zebrafish embryo, allowing it to integrate into the zebrafish’s genome, which caused the fish to be brightly fluorescent under both natural white light and ultraviolet light. Their goal was to develop a fish that could detect pollution by selectively fluorescing in the presence of environmental toxins. It is the first genetically modified animal to become publicly available as a pet. 2. Vacanti Mouse Source The Vacanti mouse was a laboratory mouse that had what looked like a human ear grown on its back. The â€Å"ear† was actually an ear-shaped cartilage structure grown by seeding cow cartilage cells into a biodegradable ear-shaped mold. The earmouse, as it became known as, was created by Dr. Charles Vacanti, at the University of Massachusetts in 1995. Created to demonstrate a method of fabricating cartilage structures for transplantation into human patients, a resorbable polyester fabric was infiltrated with bovine cartilage cells and implanted under the skin of a hairless mouse. The mouse itself was a commonly used strain of immunocompromised mouse, preventing a transplant rejection 3. Sudden-Death Mosquito Source Oxitec which is a British bio-tech company, has created genetically modified mosquitoes, which are programmed for sudden, early death. Oxitec’s technology is a variation of a proven process called â€Å"sterile insect technique† It involves irradiating male insects, causing mutations that make them sterile. When released into the wild, they mate with females passing on lethal genes which either kills the female or at least kills the youngs in her so then she fails to reproduce . Scientists at this British bio tech company said they have evidence that their genetically modified mosquitoes can by this way for sure control the spread of dengue fever. 4. Dolly the Sheep Source Not so cool or disturbing enough but dolly would hit this list for sure since she was the first ever cloned animal which means that she was produced from a single microscopic cell from a single parent (who hadn’t mated of-course). Cloning techniques might be used widely now in some part of worlds for food but dolly remains remarkable in being the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell, using the process of nuclear transfer. Normally off-springs are a result of interaction of sex cells but in case of dolly’s birth, sex cells weren’t involved. She was cloned by Ian Wilmut, Keith Campbell and colleagues at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh in Scotland. She was born on 5 July 1996 and she lived until the age of six. She has been called â€Å"the world’s most famous sheep† by sources including BBC News and Scientific American. To good, dolly was fertile and produced 6 lambs in total. She died in 2003, living about half as long as a typica l sheep. She developed a lung disease common in older sheep. 5. See-Through Frog Source Dissecting animals for science has sparked controversies worldwide, even prompting some companies to create computer simulations as cruelty-free alternatives. For high school students everywhere, this revealing amphibian may be a cut above regular frogs. That’s because the see-through frog does not require dissection to see its organs, blood vessels, and eggs. You can see through the skin how organs grow, how cancer starts and develops. It’s a miracle of genetic engineering and surely a cool mutant gift to students. 6. Jake the Alligator Man Source Jake the Alligator Man is a half-man, half-alligator on display in apparently mummified condition at Marsh’s Free Museum, a tourist trap in Long Beach, Washington. He was discovered in Florida swamp in 1993. He was reported for his escape from captivity, killing of a Miami man, and giving birth. Residents fled the region’s beaches in fear of terrifying monsters lurking the sand dunes. Scientists are controversial about this creature. Some say its a missing link and some say it might be a distant ancestor of man. However some later theories claimed that it was an early secret genetically engineering project gone wrong and wild. Whatever Jake’s true origin be but he surely is a mutant. 7. Ruppy Source Ruppy (short for Ruby Puppy) is a cloned beagle from South Korea who glows red under ultraviolet light. Ruppy was created in 2009 by a group of scientists in South Korea, led by Byeong-Chun Lee. The dog was cloned using viral transfection of fibroblasts cells with a protein that expresses the red fluorescent gene. 8. Land Mines Detecting Plants Source Developed by Copenhagen firm Aresa Biodetection, these genetically modified plants can be handy when it comes to saving the world. Whenever flowers hit nitrogen dioxide (which leaches into the soil from buried land mines), the plant changes color to red. 9. Fuel Excreting Genetically Modified Bugs This isn’t made up nor it’s sci-fi, a researcher at silicon valley has found genetically modified bugs which eat agricultural waste and excrete diesel fuel. [via TimesOnline] 10. Enviropig Source A genetically engineered pig approved for limited production which produces 65 percent less phosphorous in animal waste thus very environmental friendly Enviro-Pig Already created the Enviro-Pig has been genetically engineered with edited DNA from a pig and genetic material from mice. The result is the Enviro-Pig, a pig that is able to break down phosphorus. Normally within a normal pigs biology phosphorus cant be broken down and it comes out in their feces. The feces is used as fertilizer for crops and eventually most of it runs off into streams and rivers. This is where the problems begin as the phosphorus drastically increases algae blooms and destroys habitats for fish. This is why the Enviro-Pig was engineered as very little phosphorus comes out in its feces. Although there is a great ethical and moral dilemma surrounding the creation of animals that dont exist I do think that within a controlled environment that the Enviro-Pig is one that people should consider breeding on a larger scale. There are currently talks to allow the Enviro-Pigs meat to be sold in supermarkets. Despite the picture Ive included (mostly for a laugh) consider that the enviro-Pig doesnt look much different than a normal pig and its meat would have all of the same nutrients and nutritional value as shown in extensive testing of the animal. COWS (with human genes) More recently in 2011 Chinese scientist have been breeding cows genetically engineered with genes from human beings to produce milk that would be the same as human breast milk. Would I support this? I must admit I am not quite sure as we are now mixing human with animal, I suppose where that line is ends is a little blurry on that one. GOATS (that produce silk in their milk?) As unusual as it is this is a reality. A company called Biosteel has genetically engineered goats to produce milk with strong spider web like silk proteins in their milk. These particles are used by the company to make bulletproof vests and anti-ballistic missile systems for military contracts. Glow in the dark pigs Source: Glow in the dark pigs PIGS (that glow in the dark!) In 2006 in Taiwan scientists used genetic material from a jelly fish and implanted it into pig embyros. The result? Pigs that glow bright green in the dark! During the daylight hours these pigs have a tinge of green on their skin, snout and teeth but as soon as night comes they are light very fat fireflies trotting around their pigpen. The pigs whole body including its internal organs and heart glow green. The Taiwan scientists have said that the pigs were created for stem cell research, but why do you need glowing pigs for that? It can be noted that south korean scientists have also created a florescent glowing red dog called Ruppy, which is short for Ruby Puppy. Apes (with human genes) Japanese scientists have implanted human genes into marmosets and are currently using the monkeys to work on a cure for huntingtons disease and strokes in humans. Again is it good to be putting human genetics into animals? Im not sure, as said earlier there has to be a line somewhere, but where? It should also be noted that for a very long time scientists have been replacing the genes in mice (known as knockout mice) to perform these types of tests for cancer, parkinsons and other such diseases.

The economic problem and how different groups attempt to solve it Essay Example for Free

The economic problem and how different groups attempt to solve it Essay The economic problem can be described as attempting to satisfy the unlimited and ever changing wants of the consumer with limited resources. As these wants can never be satisfied, all individuals, businesses and governments are faced with the choice of what to obtain with those resources. As each consumer groups wants and resources varies greatly, each deals with trying to solve the economic problem in a different way. The choices made by each individual are unique, depending on income, age, gender, living situations, education, voting, retirement and personal expectations. In order to deal with the economic problem, individuals must show preference for one good or service over another and be prepared to sacrifice many of the things that they desire. The individual must also plan how much of his/her income they will spend and how much they will save. This ratio can be difficult to establish and can change at any time. Each individual is faced with the economic problem many times daily, and will continue to be faced with the challenge of choices. Businesses too face the economic problem, but on a more complex level than the individual. A company must first decide what area of business that they will specialise in order to generate the most success. As businesses have limited resources they must focus these on a product or service that will hopefully generate a profit in order to continue operating. Once that is decided, the company must first price the product and then try to allocate its resources (land, labour, capital or enterprise) in order to maximise efficiency. In order to minimise costs, a company may have to choose between quality and quantity which can lead to difficult decisions purchasing equipment, employing/ paying reliable employees and obtaining supplies. Unlike the individual, a business must also contend with the problem of industrial relations, such as wages, contracts, managing employees and union agreements, creating more choices and intensifying the economic problem. The Government not only faces the economic problem itself, but can influence the choices of both individuals and businesses by placing taxes on some items (making them more expensive and generating revenue) or making some goods and services cheaper. Governments also have the power to restrict and  regulate economic behaviour by prohibiting some behaviours and enforcing fines. The choices a government makes in answer to the economic problem have large implications on the community they serve. A national Government for instance, may choose to concentrate on defence plans and forgo other areas such as education. Although this satisfies the immediate wants, in the future it may lead to low economic activity, affecting the entire nation. Governments often find this a problem when trying to be more popular with voters (the individual consumer). The Government has the largest influence on the economy; therefore careful consideration must take place when making choices in response to the economic problem. Although individuals, businesses and governments all come across the economic problem in different ways, the only way to deal with it is resource allocation: choosing what to spend the limited resources in order to gain maximum satisfaction. This is often organised as a budget, whether within a household or the Governments National Budget for the year. However this is only a way of dealing with the problem, it does not solve it. As the wants of consumers are unlimited and ever changing, they can never be satisfied with the limited resources of the consumer or group. A budget simply aims to make the best choices, taking the wants and resources into account.

E-business Innovative Marketing Strategy

E-business Innovative Marketing Strategy Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Background The term E-business is todays popular form of business by using old business models with the interaction of technology and gaining the most out of customer value and profits which is the future way of doing business. In E-business as like bubbles are bursting there is constant threats about security, but e-business is increasing to a whole new level, and will most likely keep doing so in the near future. In the latest years Internet has proved as a very important marketing tool. By the use of the Internet the companies have developed relationships with the customers by using different systems in promotion and sales. So the inception of Internet has had effect on the way the individuals and organizations communicate around the world (Doole and Lowe, 2004). Briefly, in the last years marketing has gone online taking advantage of the market opportunities. The estimates regarding the amount of business conducted electronically vary widely, but it is clear electronic business and electronic commerce have gained tremendous momentum worldwide over the past decade. Much media attention was given to the dot-com boom, but has since waned following the dot-com bust and economic downturn of the early 2000s. Despite the dot-com bust, it is clear many successful electronic businesses will evolve and thrive for many years, e.g., eBay and Ocado. Nonetheless, E-business sector has become an increasingly competitive and dynamic business environment within the past decade. Consumers perceive firms having a web site as more customer-oriented, responsive, informative, high-tech, sophisticated, and likely to stay in business longer (Griffith et al., 1998). These discerning and demanding consumers have led many innovative organizations to look for appropriate marketing strategy on the internet marketplace with the aim of building better business position; on the one hand value into service offerings, satisfying and maintaining loyal customer and on the other hand effectively making strategic decisions thereby increasing the overall business performance. The ability to retain and lock-in customers in the face of competition is a major concern for online businesses, especially those that invest heavily in advertising and customer acquisition stares. However, creation of loyal and a satisfied customer base is an important determinant of marketing success. Research shows that loyal customers buy more of company’s product, they are cheaper to serve, less sensitive to price and brings in more customers by word of mouth (Reichheld, 1996). Therefore, developing, managing and maintaining loyal marketing relationship of the internet market place for instance is harmonious to how well you are marketing. Thus knowing how well you are marketing as a firm and making innovative marketing strategy to perform better in future which is required and inevitable in such a marketplace as the internet. Obviously, decision making is essential about organization strategy to determine the future direction (Johnson Scholes, 1997). The prime function of management is perhaps to make the right strategic decisions. According to Johnson Scholes, (1997) strategic or long-term decisions are concerned with an organizations overall objectives. Such corporate decisions include major capital investments, sources of finance, and product and market choices. Practically, the long-term directions are affected by strategic decisions of an organisation and are generally about attempting to complete some benefit for the company. Therefore, with the range of a company’s action are likely to be affected: Does (and should) the company focus on one area of action, or does it have many? The issue of range of action is fundamental to strategic performance (Johnson Scholes, 1997). In marketing strategy pricing is one of the most talked about but least understood of all the key marketing levers (DiCamillo 1996). Price is also the easiest of the marketing mix variables to manipulate and can be done so very quickly (Guiltinan and Paul 1985). The proliferation of e-commerce has already had a significant impact on how and where consumers shop. It also has the potential to make dramatic changes in the way goods are priced and how purchase decisions are made. In Internet shopping the cost (in both time and money) of comparison shopping is drastically decreased and price is a major element in purchase decision. A marketing manager strategically sets pricing to achieve the company’s objective. 1.2 Rationale In e-business innovative marketing strategy change over the life cycle of a firm (Miller and Friesen, 1984) the strategy systems emerge over time, in response to changes in strategic goals, the business environment and the size of the firm. However the question of which marketing strategy is required for achieving to a goal or an objective. In this sense what marketing e-strategy required for? Implicitly, related to the current study by evaluating marketing e-strategy one firm going to make their future crucial decisions to improve their firm’s more in online business. Needless to say, marketing strategies depend upon basis for decision making and reflect the customers needs as well as the firms simultaneously. Companies and researches reflects the customers satisfaction and needs by calculating price, feature, amount, cycle time, effectiveness, output etc., of the products, services, and procedure as long as ways to calculate those things have to be present (Tapinos et al, 20 05). What is new and has attracted little attention to some extent is to evaluate marketing e-strategy using decision- making variables and to see the impact on strategic decisions. This clearly shows those not only find the appropriate marketing e-strategy but in order to better control, understand, and improve what firms do and must do. In this research there are two different cases virtual company; one is basically auction store eBay and another grocery store Ocado. The main reason to select different category companies because both are doing e-business and through this research it’s going to be defining their marketing e-strategies and implementing in the market are approximately same. That’s why this study evaluates two different category virtual stores and compares their marketing e-strategies. Therefore this study goes beyond just required marketing strategy using the internet as a market place but is a bold attempt to evaluate e-strategy using decision making variables and to see the impact on strategic decisions. 1.3 Significant of the Research The marketing discipline has been showing to different changes and powerful challenges into the business stadium with the induction and dispersion of the online phenomenon. Constantly since this new multimedia surroundings of exchange appeared, many research have been performed about how it will influence the nature and prospect of marketing activities. This research is an attempt to categorize and summarize the literature about online marketing and enlighten the study routes that will contribute to the development of the discipline. In reality, most firms will need to plan marketing strategies for both traditional or place aspects of the business, and the fast developing electronic or space dimensions of the business (Rayport ; Sviokla, 1994). Both approaches need to be co-ordinated in a cost effective manner whilst providing the customer with an effective and integrated solution. Some research has reported that the early adopters of e-business show a trend towards cost reductions and administrative efficiencies from e-procurement and self service applications used by customers and employees. By contrast, more mature users focus on strategic advantage and generate this through an evolutionary model of organisational change (Ash and Burn, 2005). Researchers have also recognised the importance of the extension of e-commerce use to small and medium sized businesses in order to realise improvements in efficiency and effectiveness (Hauge et. al, 2004) Managers need to contemplate their strategic approach to the electronic business opportunity in terms of both internal and external considerations at a particular point in time. Based on recent research (Perrott, 2002), this paper proposes a tentative framework that will assist managers to determine their organisation’s strategic positioning in the electronic arena. 1.4 Aims Objectives Aim To identify what might be appropriate marketing strategies for this new era e-business. Objectives To review literature on current developments in online marketing strategies. Identify the e-strategies of the cases eBay and Ocado. Review the strengths weaknesses of e-strategies. Identify immediate competition and implications for the cases eBay and Ocado. How do customers react to the marketing e-strategies? 1.5 Purpose and Research Questions The purpose of this thesis is to define required innovative marketing strategy of virtual stores using decision-making associated variables sternly to evaluate the impact on strategic marketing decisions. There are many issues connected to this research problem, but we will only focus on certain aspects and a complete picture will therefore not be provided. The research questions we intend to answer are: RQ1. What are the objectives for online marketing? RQ2. How can the online product offer be described? RQ3. How can the online pricing strategy be described? RQ4. How is the Web site used as a communication, promotion medium, distribution and transaction medium? RQ5. What influential innovative marketing e-strategy evaluation variables or indicators are associated with strategic marketing decisions in the online marketplace? 1.6 Scope and Limitations This research will show the continuing progress in digitization and networking that is manifested in the rapid spread of the internet, information about product attributes, marketing strategy and especially in pricing process – which has long been considered a concomitant part of any article placed on the market – is now distributed independently from the product itself. The growth in digitization has significantly increased a company’s freedom to both combine and diversify products, thereby enabling them to easily produce and offer a wide variety of product versions to their customers. Moreover, progress in networking has substantially increased the speed at which various product-related information can be distributed. At the same time, it has considerably expanded the range over which such information can be disseminated. This research identifies the major scope and content of the studies about Internet marketing and displays the current state of the discipline. It also enlightens the main avenues or niche routes for future research by clarifying under investigated or unsettled areas. The framework of this review can serve as a skeleton explaining the accumulated state of knowledge about Internet marketing and can be a useful starting point for studies aiming to expand the views about this area further. The current research has been limited and concentrated on required innovative marketing strategy up to company-level eBay and Ocado. The research is focused on evaluating virtual store marketing strategy for strategic decisions. Consequently, plethora of researchers have measured marketing strategy from diverse perspectives such as the financial perspective, process and supplier’s perspective, employee’s perspective innovation and development perspective. The current study mainly focuses on the customer’s perspective. The primary focus was on the online marketplace industry where the business model is emerging and fast spreading. Further the focal point will be on business to consumers (B2C). The companies studied involve UK firms providing service to UK users. The firms studied are eBay and Ocado. The study was limited to customers or users within London, city in UK. 1.7 Signposting of the Study Chapter One: Introduction In order to improve a product or services to satisfy a need of a customer, once have to be able to improve or change it to meet their needs. In order to improve or change it, there is the need to know what the customer desire or want. In order to know and understand it, once have to be required innovative marketing strategy in online market. This first chapter will present the background and rationale behind innovative marketing e-strategy especially in pricing and the impact on strategic decisions in the online marketplace. Further this section will present the issue regarding marketing e-strategy which will lead to the purpose of this study. Chapter Two: Literature Review This chapter provides relevant existing theories and models of marketing e-strategy specially pricing in the online market place as well as a model modified by the author. The working model builds upon the presented theories and is used as a foundation for the following analysis. Chapter Three: Research Methodology Strategy In this chapter, the research methodology strategy is presented. The research approach that has been adopted in order to answer the research questions and to meet the purpose is described and motivated. The research methods used in this work are as well described and discussed. Chapter Four: Empirical Analysis In this chapter the results of both the qualitative and quantitative research are presented. The results will follow the outline of the working model. A brief companies overview are also presented. Chapter Five: Analysis In this chapter the analysis and discussion of the empirical data will be presented. The analysis is assessed through the two major issues in the study along with the working model. Chapter Six: Conclusion This chapter includes the conclusions of the research as well as reflections for recommendations, a discussion of the limitations and suggestions for further studies. Chapter Two: Literature Review 2.1 Online Marketing Objectives Online marketing can be described as a system for selling products and services to target audiences who use the Internet and commercial online services by utilizing online tools and services in a strategic manner consistent with the company’s overall marketing program (Janal, 1997, p. 39). Before going online, the company needs to have a marketing plan that is consistent with the goals and objectives set by the company. It is necessary to decide what the company wants to accomplish by going online (Janal, 1997). Pitt, Berthon and Watson (1996) point out that the objectives for marketing through Web sites vary depending on the company, but that many organizations do not even have clear and quantified objectives for being present on the WWW. Companies must divert from the thinking that even a bad Web site is better than none at all, because without clear objectives it will be hard to make appropriate marketing strategy through the Web site’s effectiveness. The Web site can be characterized as something of a mix between personal selling and advertising and can move the customer through the six phases of the buying process: need recognition, information processing, develop specifications, search and evaluation, purchase and post-purchase evaluation. By attracting Internet surfers, establish contact with interested surfers, transform some of the interested surfers into interactive customers and keep these customers interactive, the Web site is acting as a mean to push the customer through the buying process. Converting surfers into customers can be considered a six-stage conversion process. The efficiency of the Web site in reaching the marketing communication objectives set for it, as well as in taking the surfer through the six stages of the conversion process, is shown in Table 2.1. (Pitt, Berthon Watson, 1996) Even though most companies wish their Web site to generate direct response orders and thereby set marketing communication objectives, there are many other objectives that can be achieved by marketing online (Mathiesen, 1995): Generate direct response orders. Increase brand awareness or corporate image. Gather information about customer preferences to help guide future product development. Improve customer service. Test consumer response to discounts or other special offers. Build a list of prospects for future promotions. Find business partners, dealers, or franchisees for company’s products. Recruit talent members, employees, subscribers, etc. Table 2.1: A Model of the Conversion Process on the Web *An overall average Web site efficiency index, which can be thought of as a summary of the entire process. Source: Adapted from Pitt, Berthon Watson, 1996, p. 8 According to Janal (1997), the Internet is the world’s most efficient marketing tool and helps companies disseminate sales and marketing messages, create one-to-one relationships, educate prospects and support existing customers on a worldwide scale. The Internet provides the possibility to deal with customers worldwide that have pre-selected a specific company. Firms can use the Internet to generate revenues by increasing sales to existing customers and by attracting new customers (Peterson, Balasubramanian Bronnenberg, 1997). The Internet is an important marketing tool because the market prefers the decentralized, open-access environment presented by the WWW for E-commerce (Hoffman Novak, 1996b). The Internet possesses unique features making it appropriate for creating close customer relationships (Honeycutt, Flaherty Benassi, 1998). Janal (1997) proposes that the flexible publishing platforms of the Internet and commercial online services gives the marketer the possibility to establish relationships with the consumers. The relationships are created through online sales, support and service. On the Internet, the customers and the company are interacting with each other and this gives a very intimate selling situation (Janal, 1997). However, no physical intimidation exists between buyer and seller and no middle parties may interrupt the communication process (Samli, Wills Herbig, 1997). Quelch and Klein (1996), as well as Sanden (1998) claim that the Internet is not constrained by either location or time. For the millions of individuals connected to the Internet, traditional limitations of time and distance no longer apply. The computer in Sweden or Hong Kong is just as close are the office next door. Messages can be sent to thousands of potential customers simultaneously with one keystroke (Cronin, 1994). Furthermore, the Web site is completely accessible, since it can be read 24 hours a day, 365 days per year (Samli, Wills Herbig, 1997). The Web site can be used to create customized sales presentations affecting several senses and appealing to logic and benefits. Consumers can pick the sales presentation and information they want (Janal, 1997). By using a variety of Internet resources, the company can create a customer-oriented environment while obtaining information about customers’ specific interests, responses to new product offerings and feedback on the company’s performance. Additionally, the Internet offers the possibility for online ordering and delivery. Customers logging on to the Internet can continue to receive enhanced support services through the network. (Cronin, 1994) The Internet provides quick feedback on the effectiveness of marketing activities, enabling performance-based marketing (Burke, 1997). Marketers can test both new product concepts and advertising copy over the Internet for instant feedback. In addition, the Internet permits new types of measurement tools, such as online surveys, bulletin boards, e-mail marketing lists, customer identification systems, advertising measurement and Web visitor tracking. (Quelch Klein, 1996) The fact that the Internet is neither time- nor location-bound can have a major impact on costs. Customers do much of the work that would normally be handled by office-clerks or human tellers (Sheth Sisodia, 1999). According to Sandà ©n (1998), the Internet increases the company’s efficiency. By publishing information on the WWW, the sales process can be improved and thus, the productivity rises considerably. In addition, the time spent to process orders is lowered dramatically. Less errors and facilitated processing has led to substantial time-savings. The automation of various administrative tasks is another reason for the increased efficiency and the possibility to serve a vast amount of customers effectively (Sheth Sisodia, 1999). Administration costs related to paper-based processes such as postage, printing, and handling, will be reduced. (ibm.com) The WWW is the least expensive printing press and offers the seller an unlimited amount of space to describe and demonstrate the product range. Add to this the low rent compared to storefront, and it is clear that selling online means low cost of entry (Hoffman Novak, 1996; Janal, 1997). Jà ¤ger and Winberg (1996) underline the cost-effectiveness of the WWW by claiming that the costs are independent of the number of people exposed to the message, as well as how much information that is to be presented. They compare the WWW to a printed catalogue, where the costs are very much depending on these factors. It is proposed that performing direct marketing through the Internet may be one-fourth less costly than through traditional channels. The great segmentation possibilities and the low cost for creating differentiated messages on the WWW are also mentioned. As a conclusion, Jà ¤ger and Winberg (1996) point out that the cost-effectiveness for presenting messages on the WWW is dependin g on whether the target group is on the Web. The success of the campaign in relation to the costs of executing it must also be considered in order to evaluate the cost-effectiveness. By marketing online, the company gains competitive advantages compared to companies who are not online. The Internet also reduces the issues of company size, since consumers only care that they find the product needed at the right price. (Janal, 1997; Sandà ©n, 1998; Sheth Sisodia, 1999) 2.2 The Online Product Offer According to Brà ¤nnback (1997), the focus in marketing automatically changes from physical to informational when uses the Internet. In the traditional marketplace, the idea of the product is physical or tangible and occasionally accompanied by intangible features or services. On the Web site, a picture or description of its features will replace the physical product, and thus, the product becomes informational rather than tangible. Not all products are suitable for online marketing. Peterson, Balasubramanian Bronnenberg (1997) categorize products and services along three dimensions that are relevant when discussing the product’s suitability for online marketing. The dimensions are: value proposition, degree of differentiation, and cost and frequency of purchase. Concerning the first dimension, goods can either be low-cost, frequently purchased goods, or high-cost, infrequently purchased goods. The product is more likely to fit internet-based marketing if it is infrequently purchased and expensive. Goods can be classified along the second dimension according to whether they are tangible and physical, or intangible and service related. Online marketing is particularly well suited for certain types of intangible or service related goods. The third dimension reflects to what extent the product is differentiable or not. The Internet is an effective segmentation tool when it comes to products or services that can be subject to differentiation. Peterson, Balasubramanian and Bronnenberg (1997) illustrate the product and service classification grid presented below. (Table 2.2) Table 2.2: Product and Service Classification Grid Low outlay, frequently purchased goods Value proposition

Teens Essay -- essays research papers fc

In order insure America’s future, a national problem needs to addressed. Is America’s youth being educated in regards to preventing teenage pregnancy? Did you know that approximately every two minutes, a teenage girl in the United States gives birth (Guernsey 6)? While this fact may be sad and startling to most people, it is indeed the truth. Over the past few decades, the problem of teen pregnancy has grown considerably in this country. However, the most extensive dilemma regarding the issue of adolescent pregnancy is the incredibly important question of prevention. Preventing teen pregnancy includes such solutions as the availability of birth control, sexual education among children and adolescents, and a greater sense of support for pregnant teens. However, before society can begin to successfully prevent pregnancies among teenage girls, the underlying causes and facts about the dilemma must first be exposed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eighty-five percent of the teenage girls who become pregnant every year do not plan their pregnancies; an alarming fifteen- percent of these pregnancies is, in fact, intentional (Ayer 107). Some girls are under the false pretenses that having a baby will provide them with a certain amount of love that is currently missing in their lives. Many also believe that with this new life they have helped create will come a renewed sense of hope (107). These incentives reflect emotional problems that will not be solved by becoming pregnant, but will only get worse. In addition, a considerable amount of girls become pregnant as a secret plan to hold on to their boyfriends (Guernsey 37). They assume that by giving birth to their boyfriends’ babies, he will stick around longer and the relationship will improve as a result. However, the reality is that if a relationship is not strong enough to survive on its own, the presence of a baby will simply make it much more diffi cult.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are several myths surrounding teen and adolescent pregnancy. Many of these myths are misunderstandings that many teenagers have, regarding sexual activity and pregnancy. A common deception among teens is that it is impossible to impregnate someone, or become pregnant the first time they have sex. Not only is this extremely false, it just so happens that approximately one out of twenty girls becomes pregnant the first time s... ...as moral and emotional dilemmas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By targeting males, many believe that the rate of teen pregnancy will drop considerably. Those involved with the prevention of teenage pregnancy are optimistic that the rate in pregnancy will decrease among teenagers. This is a battle being fought not only by teenage parents, but also by society as a whole. It is important that all children are educated thoroughly about teen pregnancy and then they can therefore make proper decisions regarding this issue. With the growing concern for teenage mothers and their babies, it appears that people have finally begun to take note of the problem and are doing what they can, in their own way, to further prevent pregnancies among teenagers. Reaching to America’s teen in regards to the prevention of pregnancies will is one means of in suring America’s future.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Works Cited Everything You Need To Know about Teen Fatherhood. Ayer, Eleanor H. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 1993. Bell, Alison. â€Å"Pregnant on Purpose.† Teen August 1997: 106-108. Guernsey, JoAnn Bren. The Facts about Teen Pregnancy. New York: Crestwood House, 1989. Harris, Yvette R.

Reason for the Weak Essay -- Informative, Blind Faith, God

The concept of blind faith is often difficult for rational people to comprehend. Rational people believe that every aspect of life must be able to be explained with logic. However, rationalism and faith often come in conflict with each other, creating an exceptional strife in the minds of those unable to accept that which cannot be viewed. In such divergence, the concept of nihilism is often planted into the mind of those who are incapable of acknowledging human nature and the spiritual and natural laws of life. Nihilism, the rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless can lead to chaos and suffering of a society. With Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky portrays that Russian nihilism, a philosophy based on extreme rationalism, will never successfully exist because it inherently contradicts human emotions, through the relentless examination of Raskolnikov’s experiences in a Marxist society. In his own personal philosophy, Raskolnikov’s alienation from society leads him to believe that he is superior to all, such isolation impelling him to form single sided concepts about society. Initially Raskolnikov attempts to hide himself from encountering others in the world around him, â€Å"Raskolnikov was not used to crowds†¦he avoided society of every sort, more especially of late† (Dostoevsky 9). His close mindedness shuts himself off from interacting socially, but more importantly, intellectually with others, ultimately leads to forming beliefs based solely upon personal biases. His precepts on life fail to recognize the larger picture of his surroundings and the importance he plays in others’ life, bringing him to believe that life is meaningless. Raskolnikov is a dark character, extre... ...v, a common man, could represent the ideals of Dostoevsky, that nihilism cannot exist in society. From the experiences of Raskolnikov it is certain that Russian nihilism contradicts human emotions and thus will never succeed. Using a Marxist critical approach, it can be shown that Dostoevsky attempts to stop nihilism from becoming a part of Russian culture by showing emotions and actions within such rational thinkers as Raskolnikov. Through Raskolnikov, Dostoevsky shows that people cannot be entirely rational because nihilism does not account for feelings or emotions. To think in a purely rational manner is to think only with logic. Morals, emotions, and feelings do not coexist with the purely rational thought associated with nihilism. In the end, Dostoevsky shows that human emotions cannot be ignored and rationalism along with faith are a necessity for mankind.

Mathildes Inability to Accept Destiny in Guy de Maupassants The Neckl

Mathilde's Inability to Accept Destiny in Guy de Maupassant's The Necklace Many people born into the middle to lower class of society come to accept their lot in life and make the best of it, Mathilde, the main character in Guy de Maupassant's short story, 'The Necklace', is not one of these people. Mathilde felt that she was attractive and that fate must have made a mistake in birthing her into a family that could not provide a suitable dowry for a proper marriage. This situation left her with no choice but to marry Mr. Loisel, a minor clerk. Although many would think that Mathilde would have come to accept her lot in life, she never did; as time passed she dreamed more about the things she lacked, became more discontent with the things that she did have, and she even became manipulative and inconsiderate towards her husband.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a child Mathilde lived a simple life with her family of clerks and copyists, and as a wife she lived a simple life with her husband, thus Mathilde?s excuse for her insatiable craving for expensive and luxurious things was destiny. ?She was one of those pretty and charming women, born, as if by error of destiny, into a family of clerks and copyists? (paragraph 1). Mathilde dreamed about ?large, silent anterooms, decorated with oriental tapestries and lighted by high bronze floor lamps, elegant valets in short culottes dozing in armchairs under forced-air heaters. She dreamed about large drawing rooms draped in expensive silks, with fine end tables on which where placed knickknacks of inestimable value, and she dreamed of dainty private rooms designed for tà ªte-à  -tà ªtes? (paragraph 3). A glamorous house was not all that Mathilde dreamed about, ?she dreamed of expensive banquets with shining place settings, and wall hangings portraying ancient heroes and ex otic birds in an enchanted forest. She imagined a gourmet prepared main course carried on the most beautiful dishes, and whispered gallantries which she would hear with a smile as she dined on the pink meat of a trout or the wing of a quail? (paragraph 4).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Mathilde was not busy daydreaming about the things that were lacking in her life, she was busy complaining about the things that she did possess. Mathilde never once considered that she was fortunate because she owned furniture, she considered herself unfortunate because the furnishings that she did own wer... ...obligations, did business with finance companies and the whole tribe of loan sharks. He compromised himself for the reminder of his days, risked his signature without knowing if he?d be able to honor it? (paragraph 94). Thanks to Mathilde and her desire to save face and not seem irresponsible to her friend, Mrs. Forrestier she and Mr. Loisel were forced into a true life of poverty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After going through such hardship and trial, such as heavy house work, dirty kitchen jobs, hand-washing the laundry, taking the garbage out, carrying water up the stairs, haggling and defending each penny (paragraph 99) Mathilde still did not learn her lesson. She did not learn to be satisfied with what she had and be grateful; proof of this is evident when she says that ?sometimes when her husband is at work. She sits down near the window, and dream of that evening so long ago, of that party, where she had been so beautiful and admired? (paragraph 103). One has to wonder what it would take for Mathilde to realize that maybe her destiny was not to be rich, envied and sought after as she so often dreamed, maybe her destiny has been fulfilled, and she?d exactly where she?s supposed to be in life.

Drama and Theatre studies – practical- coursework

In my AS theatre studies course we have studied, Antigone a Greek tragedy by Sophocles and, Yerma by Federico Garcia Lorca which is a Spanish play based in the countryside of Andalusia. Both plays have their main characters female and both surround around the â€Å"injustice† they have been through the main reason being men and the patriarchy society they're in. So from both the plays we've studied we get a feeling of a â€Å"battle between the sexes† they both create the idea of women â€Å"fighting back†. This was our group's first inspiration for our devised piece we decided to base our play around the treatment of women and the unity of women coming together to fight against men, because of the unfairness towards women. This idea of all women against their men gave me the idea of a scene from the production of Chicago the musical, where all these women are together in jail for having killed their husbands/boyfriends in a variety of ways and they all sing of how â€Å"He had it coming†, making it the men's fault. I thought this idea of fighting back but then justifying it because these men are â€Å"cruel† and so deserve punishment, this could also be used in our play. This scene is a musical scene they are all singing and dancing, it's also quite creative in that it starts off with simple sounds that each woman makes to represent her â€Å"story† for example one woman keeps repeating the word â€Å"pop† you later find out when she explains her story (in song) that her man kept making that pop sound with his gum and that's what irritated her into shooting him dead! When each woman says their word (or sound) it goes around again from the beginning and they kept repeating it over and over and faster each time that it started to make a beat and that's when the song started. This influenced us into doing many things for our play such as having an unrealistic scene where we could have music and dancing and also if we had the female characters that have had the injustice done to them if they each had one word to describe them and then like in Chicago have them repeat it in a climax of a scene. In Chicago they all come together and dance in unison etc†¦ o we began to think of having those individual stories of each woman but then in the big climax having them come together to get revenge in â€Å"unison†. Therefore the basic plot that we gathered for our devised piece is that there are a number a woman who have been treated unfairly or unequally by men they are in a relationship and so they all get their ‘vengeance' by coming togethe r and punishing them all in an extremely unrealistic way. The group came up with ideas of using something like â€Å"voodoo† or magic to be their fight back. Because when we thought of â€Å"powerful† â€Å"evil† women it made us think of â€Å"witches† and that casting a spell could be their way of getting men back! Research Chicago- Item 1 (enclosed) In this scene of Chicago these women are in jail they all sing about how they killed their husbands and blame them for their death. The imagery of all these women uniting as one and dancing in unison, that'd be useful for our play, instead of keeping the women as individuals even though they all have different stories and are different people, make them come together, become one and fight back. Also it shows the feisty sexy side to women shows them to be strong not just sweet and caring as they are stereotyped to be, so we need to portray this. It's almost like saying every woman has a tigress in them and you push her then it will be unleashed and she will fight back! Arab men and domestic violence- Item 2 (enclosed) From this article you can see the main reason these Arab men were abusive to their wives was because of their patriarchal society. This I feel is down to insecurities of when they are not feeling like they are in â€Å"power†. But these statistics show that they are â€Å"against† it, it's almost like they don't realise what they're doing, and some blame their wives for them doing it. This helps me to understand my character because I know that he uses certain mechanisms to save himself from blame and feeling guilty. I'll use this in my acting, id be trying to make excuses and to justify my reasons for beating my wife. True story domestic violence Tanya Grey- Item 3 (enclosed) This could be put into both my character and Priya's, because we can use examples of things that had happened in this story of abuse and put it into our story. For example one scene in our play when the husband comes home and the wife is terrified just hearing his footsteps; this was real and had happened to this woman in the article. From this we made our stylised version of it, the footsteps and other actions are exemplified by a thudding sound that will be made by one of the actors off stage, and as he gets closer a heart beat rhythm starts showing how scared she is. And also in one scene the husband suspects his wife is waiting for another man (cheating) because she's got candles and is relaxing, this again comes from the real life story of this couple where she was relaxing and having a bath and he accuses her of waiting for a man. The reasons for them doing things can also be put into how we see our characters and then this will help us to understand them and so be able to â€Å"be† them (Stanislavsky's magic IF), for example his reasoning is jealousy wanting to have power and she stays with him at first because she finds this strength and power attractive, before she realises that he's actually dangerous! Stanislavsky's Emotion Memory- Item 4 (enclosed) When trying to be and feel like our characters we have to literally feel what they are feeling to be able to act to the best potential, this theory of Stanislavsky's allows an actor to do this by bringing similar personal feelings of the actors into their acting. So for example when Priya is acting extremely scared she had to remember a memory of when she felt really scared and then put all those gestures facial expressions etc into the acting. This of course is quite difficult because you're not in that situation; you need a lot of focus and determination to carry it off well. This could help me also in scenes where I have to be aggressive and angry if I jus think of the last time I was very angry and imagine being my character and what I'd do in that situation. Feminism/Ann Oakley- Item 5 (enclosed) Our play in a way represents feminism, women fighting against men! Ann Oakley is one of the main feminist writers, these quotes show her views on why men are the way they are (patriarchal society). Again I can use this to understand the thought paths of my male character; she believes they are violent because they see at as â€Å"masculine† because that's how men are presented in their society. So my character may feel like it's his â€Å"duty† because he is male to put everything in â€Å"order† (by forceful means). Again these are his reasoning for doing the abuse. I could mention these kinds of reasons in my monologue. Theory of why men abuse- Item 6 (enclosed) Again this gives the familiar reason that men abuse because they want power, but it also explains why women tend to stay with their abusive partners, which is because some women may be very dependant on their husbands, financially and if they have children she feels she can't be able to give them what they need. Also another reason not mentioned is that women that are in love with their partners just don't want to leave them because they love them and expect them to change one day. Priya's character will also need excuses for why she is with him and they'd be dependency and love. She can portray it in her acting by trying please him, not getting him angry, always doing as he says etc†¦ Health and safety 1. Stacked chairs There are many chairs that are stacked in corners it could be dangerous if they were to fall on to someone it could injure them so we made sure to keep them away from us whilst acting. There are also some chairs with attached desks which are quite heavy and some aren't extremely stable. So again we need to make sure they aren't in our way when acting. 2. Board on wheels This board can be pushed on to someone's foot or may fall on someone so is also dangerous to us so we keep it away from us. 3. Floor slippery If we have slippery shoes the floor is also quite smooth so it may be easy for us to slip and hurt ourselves. 4. Lights If the lights are a bit wobbly they might possibly fall on someone, so we made sure they were fixed on securely. They made sure they had safety chains so that even if they fall they don't fall to the ground and so don't hurt someone or get damaged 5. Trailing wires: there are wires on the floor that can easily be tripped over, we made sure they were pinned to the sides of the wall and don't come anyway near our acting space (stage). Shoes: They can be a problem if they are high heels or platforms if some were to accidentally trod on some one it could hurt them quite badly. Rope scene: This is when the women are strangling the men with ropes, we had to use a technique that our drama teacher taught us of the person who was being strangled would actually be the one in control of what happens not the other person, so the other person is holding onto the victim whilst they are moving around and acting as if they're being strangled. Abuse scene: There is a part where I am supposed to have slapped Priya but instead we make a noise and my hand doesn't touch her face she just moves like I had hit her. Helia's necklace: There is a scene where Helia's character pulls off her necklace and drops it on the floor, this could be risky if the beads were to fall off and they scattered because someone could slip on them. So she will pull them and drop them gently but looking like she's doing it with more force. Development of the play and my role When we had decided on the ideas of what we want in our play, using different ideas from some of the plays we've studied, as a group we all sat and discussed the next step which was the actual story-line of our play. This came quite easy for us as our main inspiration was about the oppression of women and how they are â€Å"mistreated† by men in a patriarchal society (mainly based on Yerma and Antigone). And we knew our climax has got to be about the anger and revenge of women, when we were talking about this I mentioned the jail scene in Chicago the musical where all the women were bitter and vengeful of their men, they had all murdered their husbands and were proud of it, they justify why they did it, from this we thought of the play being about proving the point or justifying how women are treated badly by men. So this brought us to the idea of having one man that had used a number of women and so is cheating and lying and not valuing their relationships but then these women figure it out and join together to get their own back. Finally after deciding on this idea we started trying out a scene we realised many lessons were being wasted by us just talking and thinking about what to do rather than trying out things to see if it works or not. The group were too focused on figuring out what or how these women will get their â€Å"own back†, we came to the conclusion that the only way to do this was to have it as an unrealistic scene. I started to think of how we could do this and I remembered a scene from my favourite TV show Friends where the three main female characters wanted to get rid of everything of their ex's and phoebe the gypsy type character told them to throw everything that's theirs or they gave them into a fire and that's a remedy of letting go of their man. I liked the symbolism in the idea of the fire and their personal items representing them, when I told this to the group we then came out with the idea of making the â€Å"come back† a fire â€Å"voodoo† scene! This way we could represent the women's anger and frustration in a strange way as if it's driven them insane and they just need to let it all out and this is their way. And the good thing about theatre is we can show this in a stylised performance and make it completely out of the ordinary. The â€Å"revenge voodoo† scene was the first scene we tried out, Dee volunteered to be the guy, the rest of us were then to be the angry women, Dee was defiantly on the ball that lesson I think she worked better when actually physically doing work she came up with the idea of having the guy wrapped in rope and each women had a piece of it in their hand and they were all tugging at him so that he was moving in different directions, and she also thought of a rock song that was appropriate for this scene. But then when trying to move on from there we realised it was far too complicated to do the individual stories of each women with that one guy because there were simply too many women, that's when we thought of having three couples and this left out an actor (Beatrix) we thought of just having her as a mystical character, a devil like creature that likes to stir things and will be in the background of most scenes but invisible to everyone and the final voodoo scene will have been planned by her, she had brought the women together and put it into their heads to do the voodoo ritual. We started talking a lot about the voodoo scene we wanted dancing and light effects etc†¦ But we were wasting a lot of time just discussing minor details that can be dealt with later on so we all decided to just spilt into our couples and work separately on our individual stories and scenes, which would come before the voodoo scene, then near the end of the lesson we'd come together and tell each other what we'd done. In my couple I am the man and Priya my wife, we discussed reasons for how and why this relationship broke down it had to be of course the husband's fault and so a reason to why she's against men and wants revenge, when thinking of a patriarchy society and the problems with this I immediately thought of how man like to claim â€Å"ownership† over women and I remembered this film I had watched called â€Å"Enough† and it was about this man who was so obsessed with being in control he beat his wife just to make him feel like he had power over her. I told Priya about my idea of using domestic violence as the story of what happened between our couple, at first she wasn't so sure, she said it'd be difficult to portray someone beating someone and it may turn out to be too much like a â€Å"soap opera†. But I tried to convince her we could make it work so she agreed to give it a go. When discussing with the other groups we then had our three reasons why these women are angry with their men, ours was he abused his wife, Dee and Ema had decided Ema was to be a young 14 year old girl that was raped by Dee a 22 year old man, Helia and Elizabeth got their idea from Yerma, Elizabeth was the husband in this relationship and Helia the wife, she was desperate, almost obsessed with wanting a child but Elizabeth's character isn't interested. In the prison scene of Chicago (mentioned in â€Å"inspirations† and â€Å"research†) they all chant one word which describes their story of what happened between them and their men (why they killed them). This made us think of giving a word to each woman and then in some of their scenes everyone else could whisper that word at certain times. Priya is â€Å"Abuse†, Helia is â€Å"Obsession† and Ema is â€Å"Innocence† these words all have an â€Å"S† sound quality which I think gives it more of an impact and gives it a mysterious atmosphere. Being a Muslim I wear a headscarf and I thought I could use this with the character, because I am a man I could put the scarf in a way that it represents a turban and so obviously this helped me to shape the character, because wearing a turban he could be an Asian, Persian or Arab, but being part Arab myself I thought I'd probably find it easier to be something that I knew about. Being an Arab man then made me consider putting on an accent, to make it a little more interesting and then I thought of a background story between me and Priya just by knowing my character a little more. I thought that since I was being an Arab and Priya being English this would of course be a big culture clash, and being part English and part Egyptian myself I also knew about having a culture clash, and then this could be the reasons for him being insecure about their relationship and then leading to trying to control her by physical means. In the English culture it's much more normal for women to socialise freely with men but Arabs do believe in socialising with both sexes but aren't as lenient, They feel women should be protected and are seen as precious and need not always be on show for men to look at, so in the culture it's normal to have segregated gatherings. But if Priya's character isn't of course accustomed to this she will find it normal to talk to guys in the same way she talks to girls but to him in his culture when a girl is very chatty to a boy their immediate thought is she fancies him and if he is an insecure controlling type of character this will irritate him and make him feel even more insecure and then he will feel he has to stop her. This is what I will use as my purpose for beating her. Acting as my character is quite difficult for me because I'm extremely feminine in the way I walk, talk, my gestures etc†¦ nd being a man everything needs to be changed, I tried watching men in the street just to see how they hold themselves and move when they walk. But because I'm quite slim and small it's hard to move like someone that has broader shoulders and a larger physique. I also find it difficult to put myself in a man's shoes but using the techniques of Stanislavsky I try to understand my character in order for me to be him, everything he does should be for a reason (action for a purpose). For example my gestures aren't to be as extended and flowing as I would usually do them being female they should be more strong and firm but then by him being Arab also gives him certain hand gestures more than a usual European man would do. Even though I imagine him to be insecure inside, he is the type of character that would never tell anyone that he is insecure or upset, instead he would put on a stern face and hold it all in and also instead of ever blaming himself or seeing his mistakes he only acknowledges other people's, so everything is someone else's fault not his! Only by understanding how my character is and how his mind works did I find it easier to act as him. When acting out all our scenes that the couples had done separately, we realised that our scenes were far too realistic and life like which isn't what we all initially intended so we came together and discussed what sort of scenes we want and that they should be done in a similar format etc†¦ We then came up with the idea of having three scenes in every couples section, scenes that are all of different type one realistic, one non- naturalistic and one documentary. It would just give the play more of a spice because there is quite a constant tone through out, which can be quite dull, so by seeing things from different perspectives we thought would make it more interesting. The realistic would obviously be what happened in their every life then the non naturalistic is their thoughts, their dreams, what happened but done in exaggerated dream-like way etc†¦ The documentary scene we originally thought of getting a voice of a man played by tape or CD reading out a news report but then we realised Beatrix needed more lines and so gave her the role of reading the reports, she would read statistics on domestic violence, rape and infertile men. And we thought of using Visual aids to make it a little more interesting so having that information on a screen behind Whilst we were talking about visual aid we thought of the voodoo scene having a fire and to imitate the fire we could have an image of fire on the back screen during that scene. The first scene that me and Priya did which was me coming home and accusing her of waiting for another man and that's the build up of me abusing her, this idea I got from a true story of domestic violence (research). This was what we thought was too realistic and boring but we kept it because when we decided to have the three different types of scenes it balanced it out so seemed ok. We were going to start with the realistic scene but from that research I had done, the true story, I got another idea that we could do. The woman hears her husband coming home and just by hearing his footsteps gets extremely scared and by making this an unrealistic scene it can be very effective. Making the sounds of his footsteps and everything he does as loud exaggerated thuds, and as I get closer to Priya the thudding then starts to sound like heartbeats getting faster and faster and I put my hand on her shoulder and there's one last loud thud, I've arrived! We wanted to put this before the realistic scene of our argument but the group had a problem with this because Priya and I had actually already got an unrealistic scene and this would mean we have one more than the other couples. But I really didn't want to let this idea go I felt it would be very good to show the wife's fear of her husband. And so after some convincing I won my case, under the condition we try and merge this scene with the realistic one. Final Evaluation When we watched ourselves on tape acting our piece, there were many good points I found but also things I felt needed to be improved. Most of our gestures the women's and the men's I thought were very good and to the point (action for a purpose). Although I found I needed to change my posture at points, my body language needs to be a lot more masculine! Beatrix also needs to get more involved in her character so that she can do more gestures and facial expressions correct to the type of character she is. She is being a little cheeky and doing some gestures to portray that but we felt there needed to be more so that the audience has some understanding of what Beatrix is. Our tones of voice (men and women) were good and were believable but we need to slow down our pace and take our time when saying our lines. Our stylised techniques such as the toy box scene of when Helia's character dreams of having a baby and we are all the toy dolls that dance around her, this looked really creative. We need to make sure all of us keep those scary toy smiles on so it's even more affective. In most of our scenes we just need to make them run a little more smoothly and there were some incidences where people didn't know what scene was coming up and the other actors would hint at something for them to remember. This is important that we all help each other out if someone gets confused or forget their lines if we feel out the gap and improvise with it which I ended up doing on the tap because Priya had forgotten one of her lines so I said her line but in a different way so that I was asking it to her in a question and she could just agree to it. The most important section we need to work on is our ending which isn't complete because we need music and need to figure out the choreography etc†¦ I think it'd be useful to also make a clear definition when it has changed from stylised to realistic to documentary because we are just going from one to the next which makes it seem a bit scruffy perhaps if for example we had a news report tune before the documentary starts to give it a bit of an introduction. And in the stylised we could all say the words in cannon of the woman that is in the scene (e. g. innocence) repeatedly to give it that creepy atmosphere and making sure the audience know it isn't realistic. Overall the play came along very well, we all listened to each other and took on ideas and decided everything as a group so that we were all in agreement, we really worked together like a team, which I think pays off in our work. Everyone participated in what they thought of the scenes, lighting, music etc and all the actors had a great deal of respect for each other which made it easier to act side by side and help each other out. There may have been some weaker actors that came late and didn't give as much input into the piece and there were the stronger actors that held the play together, but everyone deserves credit for the amount of work put into the acting of our play.