Why is it important for the marketer to distinguish between customer Essay

Why is it important for the marketer to distinguish between customer acquisition, conversion, and retention when developing marketing strategies - Essay Example The dynamics of the three aspects are also very different, so telling them apart makes it easy for the marketer to develop an effective marketing strategy. Another important point is that all three concepts are methodical and systematic, meaning they have to be conducted in an orderly manner. Customer acquisition is always the first activity to be carried out, because customers cannot be acquired or retained if they do not exist. A marketer who can distinguish the three concepts is also more likely to understand that they must be conducted in an orderly fashion (Tracy 47). An ability to distinguish the three aspects gives the marketer the impetus to implement them effectively, and make the whole marketing strategy effective. Finally, distinguishing these concepts allows the marketer to identify possible mistakes made during the development of the marketing strategy. For example, if customer acquisition is not done effectively, the marketer can pinpoint the areas of weakness and develop appropriate measures to eliminate

Nielsen Nugget Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nielsen Nugget - Case Study Example Also, according to competitiveness, it has the lowest yet it constitutes of the large amount spent by consumers compared to other segments. Therefore more targets to this attitudinal group will help the company to take the advantage of the slight growth in the market. Based on the behavior of different consumer under different conditions, among those who use the Premium people type of coffee, the old singles and couples would be appropriate to target with promotions. This is because they compose of the largest population in the market and by attracting them to use premium people more sales will be realized and hence awesome beans would be able to take the advantage of the slight growth in the coffee market. Some of the promotion strategies that could be used in this demographic segment includes: better and enhanced packaging, better distribution strategies, direct marketing, advertising, publicity and sales promotion. This will ensure that the target demographic group has all the information regarding the product, hence they will consume more of it. These promotions will also make the product more competitive and hence the profitability of the product will be enhanced. The other demographic group to target with promotions would be young families because this comprises of the second largest consumers in the market, if most of them could turn to the use of the product, more profits would be realized. Know about the composition of the population and their income trends in the global market and how they affect marketers. This will help in selecting the best strategy of marketing and the channel of distribution of the product Premium people. It is important to consider and understand how the population growth is shifting in different areas and for different age groups. This will help the awesome bean company to plan for the future. It will also help to cope with competition as demand changes with a change in population. Distribution

Culture and Hipster Central Dogma Essay Example for Free

Culture and Hipster Central Dogma Essay Hipster is a subculture of young (15 25), urban middle class adults and older teenagers that appeared in the 1990s.The subculture is associated with non-mainstream lifestyle. They value independent thinking, progressive politics, creativity, intelligence and non-mainstream fashion sensibility. Most of them can be found living in the big cities like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. Also hipsterism is often intertwined with distinct fashion sensibilities .Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often be seen wearing vintage, tight jeans, old-school sneakers, and often thick rimmed glasses. Men and women hipsters have similar androgynous hair styles that include combinations of dirty shag cuts and asymmetric side-swept bangs. Such styles are the work of creative stylists at urban salons, and are usually not mainstream. Despite the misconception made ​​on the external image, hipsters tend to be well educated in sciences, which require certain creative analytical thinking abilities. This leads to the fact that they find themselves in creative works, such as music, art, and fashion industries. It is a myth that most hipsters are unemployed and live off of their parents trust funds. Hipsters shun mainstream, It is part of the hipster central dogma not to be influenced by mainstream advertising and media. This is tends to only promote ethnocentric ideals of beauty, the concepts of androgyny and feminism have influenced hipster culture, where hipster men are often as thin as the women they date. Women view the muscular, athletic and other male ideals as symbols of their oppression, sexism, and misogyny. Likewise, culturally-vapid sorority-type girls with fake blond hair, overly tanned skin, and Britney Spears tube-tops are not seen as attractive by cultured hipster males who instead see them as symbols of female insecurity, low self-esteem, and lack of cultural intelligence and independent thinking. Likewise, girls with fake blond hair and overly tanned skin are not seen as attractive by cultured hipster males who instead see them as symbols of female insecurity, low self-esteem, and lack of cultural intelligence and independent thinking. There are many interracial couples in hipster subculture because they are very racially open-minded. Although hipsters are conformists within their own subculture, in comparison to the much larger mainstream mass they are pioneers latest cultural trends and ideals. For example many bands have become successful and known to mainstream audiences only because hipsters first found and listened to them as early-adopters of new culture. Once certain concepts of fashion and music have reached mainstream audiences, hipsters move on to something new and improved. Once something from fashion and music have reached mainstream audiences, hipsters move on to something new. Because of the rise of various online photo-blog and social networking sites, insights into urban hipster culture is reaching sheltered suburban audiences at an exponential rate. Cultural norms have been deconstructed by hipster culture as a whole.

Cyclone Nargis in Burma: Aid Analysis

Cyclone Nargis in Burma: Aid Analysis Introduction On May 2nd 2008 a category 3 cyclone hit the Irrawaddy delta in Southern Myanmar. Nargis, as it was named, was the worst natural disaster in Myanmars recorded history (TCG 2008). It ended up claiming the lives of almost 140,000 people in addition to displacing a further 800,000. The United Nations reported that overall the cyclone had disrupted the lives of nearly 2.4 million people (Crisis Group 2008). The Myanmar government, or the State Protection and Democracy Council (SPDC), had neither the resources nor the experience to deal with such an event and as a result, assistance from the international community was needed (Selth 2008). The purpose of this paper is to examine the aid delivered to Myanmar by various international government and civil society groups. In an attempt to do so the paper looks at the at delivery of the aid in light of the influence of international politics, the domestic policies adopted by the SPDC, international funding issues, the effectiveness of the human rights system, and issues related culture, environment and gender. Influence of International Politics One of the factors that had a significant impact on the delivery of aid to the cyclone victims was the influence international politics on the decision making process. This section of the paper takes a look at the manner in which politics determined the course of the humanitarian operation in Myanmar. First of all, it is of importance to highlight the fact that for twenty years before Nargis struck the Irrawaddy delta, Myanmar had been deprived of international aid. The international community hoped that by enforcing sanctions and trade embargos they would be able to force the military regime out of political power and bring in a more democratic government. The devastating consequence of cyclone Nargis, however, made the international governments and non government organizations realize that they had to suspend those polices temporarily in an attempt to provide the much needed humanitarian aid to the victims. (Crisis Group 2008) Unfortunately, for several weeks the SPDC continued to hinder the international humanitarian operation. They insisted upon delivering aid themselves with as little help from overseas as possible. They blocked access to the affected region and refused to grant visas to international aid workers (Selth 2008). They also prevented French, UK and US aid vessels from entering Myanmar territory. Despite the fact that these ships were carrying supplies to feed and shelter the survivors, the junta feared that the humanitarian operation could be used as a pretense to overthrow their government. Consequently the aid vessels, which the SPDC viewed as warships, were left anchored in international waters for weeks awaiting permission to unload the much need supplies, before they went back. (Stover and Vinck 2008) This pattern of events prompted several European countries to view the SPDCs response to the disaster as a crime against humanity. They accused the SPDC of having had inadequate aid measures in place and its continued rejection of aid from abroad was considered to be a deliberate disregard for the citizens of Myanmar (Crisis Group 2008). Therefore, the French government, with the support of the British and US governments, requested the UN Security Council to authorize the Responsibility to Protect  doctrine for the purpose of delivering aid to the victims by force if necessary (Belanger and Horsey 2008). However, Chinese and Russian governments rejected the proposal based on the fact that the doctrine did not apply to natural disasters and as a result was not sanctioned by the Security Council (Selth 2008). Eventually signs of cooperation between the SPDC and the international community began to emerge. First there was a meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), where it was established that aid could be delivered to the region through ASEAN representatives. Next, at a meeting between UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Senior General Than Shwe in Naypyitaw it was agreed that the SPDC would allow international aid workers full access to the disaster sites. As an outcome of these two meetings the SPDC along with representative from the UN and ASEAN set up the Tripartite Core Group (TCG), as a means to coordinate the cooperative relief effort. (ALTSEAN 2008) Domestic Policies Even after granting visas to the aid workers, the SPDC implemented certain domestic policies that hindered the international relief effort. An example of such a deterring policy is the confinement of international aid workers to the immediate Yangon area. As a result of this policy, foreign staff members distributing relief materials and food donated by the international community could only work from Yangon region. They had to rely on the junta to distribute it outside the city borders. In addition, the junta also set up road blocks preventing access to the affected areas in an attempt to further restrict the movements of international aid workers. (ALTSEAN 2008) Additionally the SPDC was cautious of the types of materials they allowed to be brought in as aid. They prevented aid agencies from delivering any materials that could be used by the survivors to gain access to outside world. As a result, the SPDC banned the import and use of communication equipments unless purchased from the government, at a price of $1,500 per phone. Each agency was allowed purchase a maximum of ten phones. Furthermore, the SPDC did not allow aid agencies to import vehicles or machinery from abroad either. An offer by the British government to provide the SPDC with equipment capable of unloading planes faster was turned down. As a result, because of these policies adopted by the SPDC, the delivery of aid was not only slow and delayed but huge quantities of relief supplies ended up in Yangon warehouses as confiscated items instead of being delivered to the victims. (ALTSEAN 2008) Another major criticism of SPDC domestic policies was the fact that they conducted the constitutional referendum despite the cyclone disaster. The purpose of the election was to legitimize the authority of the junta. As a result they went ahead with the elections amidst widespread disapproval. Even though, the junta postponed the referendum in the cyclone affected areas they went ahead with the elections the in other regions (Selth 2008). Consequently, the SPDC had to commit the limited resources it had to the referendum which diverted the much needed attention away from delivering aid to those affected by the cyclone. In addition the SPDC forcefully evicted many of the survivors from both government and unofficial shelters for the purpose of conducting the referendum. For example, the SPDC evicted around 90 people from a hall in Yangon so that the hall could be used as a polling station (Amnesty International 2008). Therefore, international politics combined with domestic policies ensured that the delivery of aid for the victims of Nargis was not an easy matter. To complicate things further the international community faced certain funding issues as well. The next section of the paper takes a closer look at those issues. International Funding Issues Aside from the onsite hindrances of delivering aid the international aid agencies had issues related to raising adequate funds. During the initial emergency response the World Food Program (WFP) estimated that the daily aid delivered to the victims was only one third of the required amount (ALTSEAN 2008). A year later half a million people are still without proper housing and 350,000 people require food donations from the World Food Program (Solomon 2009). The original Myanmar Cyclone Flash Appeal had requested for 187.3 million dollars for the rebuilding effort. However, after a more comprehensive assessment of the affected area and the victims a revised Flash Appeal requesting $481 million was launched (UN 2008). Unfortunately, during the emergency phase of the operation, international aid agencies were able to raise only 66 percent of that amount. Similarly, of the nearly $700 million required for the three years Post-Nargis Recovery and Preparedness Plan (PONREPP), initiated by the SPDC in association with ASEAN and the UN, only $100 million had been pledged by donor countries (Mungpi 2009). The lack of adequate funding drastically reduced the rate at which aid was being delivered to those in need. Despite the obvious need for additional funding, international aid agencies were unable to accumulate funding the way in which they did during the 2004 Asian Tsunami. One of the major reasons for this was the reluctance of governments to provide additional funding to military junta. They feared that their donations were being diverted away from the victims and were being used to strengthen the military regime instead. Such fears were reaffirmed by evidence of aid being stolen and redirected by the SPDC. For example, the first two WFP planes carrying food into Myanmar were seized by the government upon arrival. The WFP responded by suspending their flights to Myanmar, however, in light of the extent of the humanitarian crisis the WFP realized that they had to resume the flights and send aid irrespective of fact that it might get sized again. In addition there were reports of incidents where the victims being made to pay for the relief items. In some cases the government agents forced the survivors to vote Yes  in the referendum before giving them their aid supplies. Survivors were also reportedly given rotten, low quality food instead of the nutrition-rich biscuits that the international donors had sent. Instead, these items ended up being sold in the markets along with the rice and oil donated by international organizations. To counter these accusations SPDC issued a warning to take legal action against anyone caught stealing relief supplies. However, the threat never materialized, and as a result reports of stolen and missing aid continued to appear, which further discouraged international donors and caused additional funding issues for the aid agencies. (ALTSEAN 2008) The implementation of the human rights system According to an international system of human rights, in the event of a natural disaster, every individual has the right to be given protection from natural hazards, evacuate if necessary and be given access to adequate quantities of food, shelter, and medicine. It is the national authoritys responsibility to provide these services; however, in cases where the authority is either unable or unwilling to provide these services the international community has a humanitarian obligation to deliver the aid instead (Caritas 2008). It was this system of human rights that was used by the international community to aid the victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar. Facing numerous previously mentioned SPDC created obstacles the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on June 18 condemning the continued violation of the rights of the cyclone survivors. The resolution demanded that the SPDC allow aid workers immediate, full and unhindered access  to the Irrawaddy delta and stop forcing t he survivors to return to their cyclone affected village homes where access to emergency relief was inadequate. (Akimoto 2008) However, a year later international relief workers still find it difficult to get visas for Myanmar. Those that do get the in are only allowed a limited period of time to work in the Irrawaddy delta (Solomon 2009). Furthermore, since declaring the end of the rescue and relief phase of the cyclone Nargis response on 20 May 2008 the SPDC ordered increasing number of traumatized cyclone victims to return to their homes despite the fact that they no to access to food, shelter or other aid supplies in those villages (Amnesty International 2008). Therefore, even though it was through the human rights system that the international community was able to provide assistance to the survivors, the domestic policies adopted by the military junta greatly diminished the effectiveness of its application. Many of these domestic policies that hindered the delivery of aid to the victims of the cyclone resulted from certain cultural beliefs that the military junta has. The next section of the paper takes a look at some of these cultural issues that have made delivering aid difficult. Cultural Issues One of the major cultural issues that made the process of restoring the Irrawaddy delta immensely difficult is rooted in the isolationist principles of the military junta. Since the 1960s the government of Myanmar endorsed a self-reliance doctrine where they believed that their nation and citizens would do better if left on their own. Consequently they avoided accepting assistance from abroad even if caused more hardships (Belanger and Horsey 2008: 2). This belief was a major factor behind the initial denial of international assistance. This tradition of self reliance also resulted in the survivors being prematurely sent back to their cyclone devastated homes. Just after a month after the cyclone, the government declared that the survivors had to return to their villages and resume their way of living. According to the SPDC, cyclone victims would otherwise become too dependent on relief from international donors and not be productive enough to support themselves. In some cases, the government forcibly evicted people from their shelters and sent them back to their villages by the use of force. In Yangon, for example, the military reportedly threatened to shoot those that would not return to their villages. (Shwe 2008) Another major cultural issue within Myanmar stems from the fact it is a multi-ethnic country with several groups in conflict with one another. Even the delta region is home to a number of different ethnic groups with the Bamar being the dominant group in the region followed by the Karen and then the Rakhaing. As a result the international aid agencies had to ensure that no particular ethnic group was given preferential treatment or overlooked during the operation. Otherwise intergroup tensions worsened the already strained relations between the various ethnic groups. On the other hand aid through an equitable and non-sectarian delivery of aid the aid agencies were able to make different groups together. (TCG 2008) Environmental Issues Environmental issues also presented themselves as factors that needed to be considered by the aid agencies. Due to the damages caused by the cyclone the local environment in the Irrawaddy delta created severe health issues for the survivors. The contamination of the ponds and lakes, used by villagers as drinking water, with sea water and dead bodies spread dengue fever, diarrhea and dysentery across the region. Despite efforts by the government and international medical groups the damage done to the local environment, continued to create serious health concerns for the survivors. (Shwe 2008) Aside from causing physical harm, environmental damages placed a severe strain on the economic wellbeing of an already impoverished society. The fact that the majority of the victims of Nargis belonged to rural societies they relied on agriculture as their main source of income. In addition the delta region also produced a major portion of the countries of food supply. Therefore, the destruction of the agricultural sector meant that not only were the residents of the Irrawaddy to suffer severe economic hardships, but the entire country would have food shortages for several years unless the aid agencies addressed the issue. Therefore, the rehabilitation of the region, expected to cost $11 billion, remains a top priority for aid agencies (TCG 2008) A third environment related issue is associated with the loss of the mangrove forests in the region. The spread of shrimp farms and rice paddies for over a period of ten years resulted in the loss of significant portion of the mangrove covering. The presence of the mangrove forest would have reduced the extent of the damage caused by Nargis (TCG 2008). Consequently the IUCN suggested that once the emergency aid had been provided, the government and other organizations needed to restore the mangrove forest and other coastal ecosystem in order to avoid future devastations caused by cyclones. (IUCN 2008) Gender Issues According to a report published by the TCG, 61 percent of those that died in the cyclone were women, with the number being even higher in certain villages. Furthermore, the majority of the women that died were aged between the 18-60 years, the age group that is the most the productive and reproductive. Therefore, the cyclone created a gender imbalance in the delta region which in turn created several issues for the aid agencies (TCG 2008). This section of the paper takes a look at some of the gender issues created by Nargis, particularly the ones related to division of labor, migration of women into cities and the overall difference in needs of men and women in the aftermath of a natural disaster. First of all Nargis caused a shift in the division of labor among men and women. The death of the female members of the household meant that the men had to take on responsibilities that were traditionally reserved for women, such as cooking and childcare. Similarly, in families where the men died women had to take on the responsibility of earning money in addition to their previous roles. As a result it created additional burden for the widows and widowers and prevented them from performing other duties and as such had to be treated as among the most vulnerable groups in the community (TCG 2009) Another gender related issue created by the cyclone involves women migrating from the rural sectors to the urban regions. The devastation to the region that Nargis caused left unmarried women with very limited opportunities to earn a living. As a result many were prompted to leave their villages and look for work in the city. Once in the city, these women, with no experience of life outside their village, became easy targets for exploitation, forced labor, prostitution and trafficking. (TCG 2008) Finally aid agencies had to implement different aid mechanisms for the men and women of the delta region who experienced the natural disaster in different ways and as such needed to be looked upon as separate interest groups with specific needs, limitations and abilities. Due to cultural and social restrictions women, comparatively, have fewer opportunities to improve their conditions on their own. As a result the aid agencies, helping women recover, needed to provide services that allowed women to improve their ability to participate in activities and decision making processes. (TCG 2008) Conclusion Therefore, it can be seen from this paper that the delivery of aid to a country devastated by a natural disaster requires the consideration of a variety of factors. In the case of Nargis wrecking the Irrawaddy delta in Myanmar, the international community had to deal with a military government intent on hindering the aid effort. After having convinced the SPDC to let international aid workers enter Myanmar the aid agencies faced additional difficulties due to the domestic policies. Moreover, with the junta diverting and stealing aid the availability of international funds became an issue as well. Despite, having had used the international system of human rights to initiate the delivery of aid to the affected groups, the overall international response was not as effective in preventing the violation of the survivors human rights. Cultural, environmental and gender issues inside the Irrawaddy delta complicated matters further; illustrating the complexity of the delivering aid to an isolated developing country struggling to cope with a natural disaster. Reference Akimoto, Y. (2008) Post Nargis Analysis: The other side of the Story  [http://www.dhf.uu.se/pdffiler/burma_post_nargi_analysis.pdf] ALTSEAN (2008) SPDC turns disaster into catastrophe [http://www.altsean.org/Docs/PDF%20Format/Thematic%20Briefers/SPDC%20turns%20disaster%20into%20catastrophe.pdf] Amnesty International (2008) Myanmar Briefing: Human rights concerns a month after Cyclone Nargis [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA16/013/2008/en/8592e938-32e5-11dd-863f-e9cd398f74da/asa160132008eng.html] Belanger, J. and R. Horsey (2008), Negotiating humanitarian access to cyclone-affected areas of Myanmar: a review  Humanitarian Exchange 41 Caritas Australia (2008) Burma Cyclone Nargis Humanitarian analysis [http://www.caritas.org.au/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Caritas_policy_documents_PDFsTemplate=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfmContentID=4006] Crisis Group (2008) Burma/Myanmar After Nargis: Time to Normalize relations  Asia Report 161 IUCN (2008) Restoring natural habitats in Myanmar a reconstruction priority  IUCN Press release May 23, 2008, Geneva [http://www.ddrn.dk/filer/forum/File/IUCN_Myanmar_press_statement.pdf] Mungpi (2009) Global support for cyclone victims not sufficient: UN  Mizzima [http://www.mizzima.com/nargis-impact/one-year-after-nargis/2063-global-support-for-cyclone-victims-not-sufficient-un.html] Selth, A. (2008) ËÅ"Burma and the Threat of Invasion: Regime Fantasy or Strategic Reality?, Griffith Asia Institutes Regional Outlook Paper 17 Shwe, K. (2008) An Alternative Assessment of the Humanitarian Assistance in the Irrawaddy Delta Situation after 60 days [http://www.cohre.org/store/attachments/Cyclone%20Nargis%20-%20Alternative%20assessment.pdf] Solomon (2009) A year on, Nargis victims still lack adequate support  Mizzima [http://www.mizzima.com/nargis-impact/one-year-after-nargis/2042-a-year-on-nargis-victims-still-lack-adequate-support.html] Stover, E. and P. Vinck (2008) Cyclone Nargis and the Politics of Relief and Reconstruction Aid in Burma (Myanmar)  JAMA 30(6): 729-731 TCG (2008) Post-Nargis Joint Assessment  [http://www.aseansec.org/21765.pdf] TCG (2009) Post-Nargis Social Impacts Monitoring  [http://www.aseansec.org/CN-SocialImpactMonitoring-November08.pdf] UN (2008) Myanmar Revised Appeal: Cyclone Nargis Response Plan Consolidated Appeal  [http://ochadms.unog.ch/quickplace/cap/main.nsf/h_Index/Revision_2008_Myanmar_FA/$FILE/Revision_2008_Myanmar_FA_VOL1_SCREEN.pdf?OpenElement]

Extramarital Affairs And Marriage :: essays research papers

Do extramarital affairs help or destroy a marriage? A lot of people say that having such affairs helped them solve the problems they had with their spouses, while other people’s marriages are destroyed by them. Do partners feel more comfortable in relationships outside their marriage and what could be the cause of that? Studies conducted by Pittman, who argues that unfaithfulness is not normal or acceptable, have shown that first-time divorce occurs in the wake of an affair; yet its also Pittman that states that ’a crisis of infidelity can reawaken a petrified marriage and therapy can save the adulterous marriage’, something in total contradiction with our traditional culture. Which should we believe than? Studies by Atwater lead us to believe that the second possibility should be seriously considered; in interviewing women engaged in extramarital affairs, she found that over half of them had improved their relationships with their husbands as a result of the affair. The fact that their needs were being met outside the marriage caused a change in their behavior in the marriage, as one woman reported: â€Å"Since I have this second relationship on-going, I have been able to draw my husband out more and get him to talk more... and to be more open in expressing my feelings with him.... I am slowly but surely trying to bring our relationship up to a level that meets more of my needs.† The expressive area seems to be the most troubled one in these marriages, as the unfaithful wives sustained. According to Atwater, extramarital relationships occur because â€Å"we are unrealistic about love and the ability of our spouse to satisfy all our sexual needs†. She concludes that there are five completely untrue myths that contribute to our faith in sexual exclusivity: one person will supply all of another’s emotional, social, and sexual needs people grow to love each other more through the years sexual exclusivity comes easily and naturally husbands and wives should be best friends extramarital affairs will destroy a marriage But lets examine this situation from the men’s point of view as well. Women and men have different expectations in extramarital relationships and while women report that their affairs are less for sexual fulfillment and more for emotional support and companionship, the most frequent reason men give for being unfaithful is either sexual rejection by their wives or the boredom of having repeated sex with the same person.

Whats Power Worth? :: essays research papers fc

What’s Power Worth?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When we think about air pollution and its sources we generally call to mind the things we see and smell daily. We recall the stench of diesel fumes, the plumes of automobile exhaust, or maybe the belching smoke from factories. Instead of these common culprits, maybe we should instead think about the light switch, the computer, the television, or maybe our air conditioners. We use these items everyday without a thought to the possible ramifications. These familiar household items contribute more to air pollution in our community than all of the aforementioned polluters combined. Their use requires electricity and that electricity is provided by power plants.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Electricity producing power plants are the largest source of air pollution nationwide (Izaak). More than half of the nation’s power plants produce their electricity by burning coal. These coal-fired plants in particular are responsible for the majority of the most dangerous pollutants emitted by the electric power industry. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), coal-fired plants generate, â€Å"96 percent of sulfur dioxide emissions, 93 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions, 88 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, and 99 percent of the mercury emissions† emitted by the entire power industry (sierraclub).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The power industry’s emissions result in ozone smog, reduced visibility conditions, and acid rain. Additionally, their released mercury is toxic and is absorbed by humans through the consumption of fish. â€Å"More than 70 percent of fish advisories issued [are] for mercury contamination† (sierra club). Mercury can have devastating health consequences for children and women of childbearing age. According to the American Lung Association, â€Å"Children are the most susceptible to the detrimental effects posed by air pollutants [†¦]. In Virginia, 1,256,936 children live within 30 miles of a power plant† (Clear). These close-in areas feel the greatest health impacts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The environmental and human health hazards produced by coal-fired power plants are not a new revelation. The Government recognized decades ago the serious impact of all fossil fuel burning industries. Finally, in 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency was formed. Later that same year Congress passed the Clean Air Act with the intention of significantly reducing airborne pollutants. According to Federal officials, in the past 35 years â€Å"emissions of pollutants have dropped 51 percent nationwide† (Springston). Unfortunately, when the Clean Air Act was created, a loophole was included that â€Å"grand fathered† the electric industry. Pre-existing plants were exempted because Congress believed that their useful life was only 30 to 40 years.

Bamboozled movies

Bamboozled is one of the funniest and interesting satirical black movies that had been released, during the first quarter of the 20th century in theatres round the United States. In the year 2000, the movie Bamboozled had made its public appearance, under the limited release by New Line Cinema, during the fall of the same year. Essentially, the satirical movie bamboozled is about the modern minstrel television show, on which feature black actors and actresses wearing blackface makeup.In addition to this, the movie Bamboozled tells about an opposing argument, straightforward to the broad success of the minstrel show in television, despite the on going campaign to fight racism in the United States. Technically, the word Bamboozle means to purposely puzzled, hoax or mislead. (Holden, p. 1) Shelton Jackson Lee or better known as the movie director â€Å"Spike Lee† is the main person behind the creation of the great black American movie, Bamboozled.As a multitalented film director, producer and actor as he is, Spike Lee single handedly authored and directs the satirical movie Bamboozled, during the fall of 2000. Born on March 20, 1975, the African American Spike Lee is an Emmy and Academy award winner, on which he as well receives various nominations for best American film director, writer, actor and producer. Technically, Director Spike Lee's movies have something to do with race relations: the media’s role in modern or contemporary life: poverty and urban crime: and political controversies or issues.For the movie Bamboozled, director Spike Lee depicts his counter argument over the broad success of minstrel show in television, despite of the fact that the program has racial discrimination on its content. (IMDb. com, Inc. ) In a sense, director Spike Lee was known for his movies that deal with different controversial political and social matter, and his profound thinking to tackle and represent critical issues of the United States society.And also, apa rt from being a movie director, writer and producer, Spike Lee teaches for the college student at Columbia University and New York University for the film production subject. In addition to this, director Spike Lee also work for his own production company, â€Å"40 acres & A mule Filmworks†, on which he produce 35 films already that started way back 1983, including his controversial movie of Bamboozled. (IMDb. com, Inc. ) As an overview, the movie Bamboozled was specifically designed to be humorous, on which the film feature all of its characters in blackface, in all of their performance.In principle, the movie is composed by set of talented African American black artists, from different fields and expertise. Moreover, most of the black icons that appear in the movie as themselves are protesting for the television series, on which they firmly believe, was discriminating in content. In a sense, movie Bamboozled is a film, which various black artists from different profession i n the United States, gathers together and appear in the movie as their selves to show their unified thoughts as black Americans to fight the issue of racial discrimination.In a technical manner, script for the movie Bamboozled was specifically written by Spike Lee to depict how rant and grief the media’s depictions of black American people. (HBS Entertainment, Inc. ) In a brief review on the storyline, the movie Bamboozled tells the narrative of the successful television program, on which the content of the show is depiction of racial discrimination that straightforwardly pertains to the niggers or the black African American.Considered as one of the socially relevant movie, the film Bamboozled by director Spike Lee gives a clear picture of racial discrimination between the black people and white American people. Nevertheless, the movie sends a concrete message to entire American society that as a democratic country, every citizen of the state must have an equal treatment, reg ardless if he or she is a black African American or white people.In a sense, the movie tells how exactly and truly depicts the African black American in most of the successful television show in the United States. Technically, the Bamboozled minstrel show was an American form of entertainment, on which consists of various way form of amusement that are – comic skirts, artistic acts, dancing and music that is normally performed by white American people wearing â€Å"blackface† makeup, as their primary role of entertaining the audience and as the focal point of the entire content of the program.In deeper understanding, the minstrel television show, though entertaining in its nature, the entire content is arguably discriminating, on which the social right of black African American, as the blacks were represented in the shows content in a mocking and disrespecting way of entertainment. Totally, the Bamboozled movie is a firm citation of the determination and the unificatio n of black African American community to fight for their right of fairness as well as equality in the entire American society.Nevertheless, the movies theme is humorous comedy yet was strong way to send a meaningful message for the people of the entire United States. In addition to this, melodrama is another theme of the movie, on which the latter part of the movie depicts heart warming scene. Nevertheless, the movie bamboozled depicts the augmentation of racial discrimination in the Unite State that had been the long time dilemma by most of the black African American.In the movie, the film director Spike Lee uses his profound yet argumentative thought to tackle the controversial issue of media’s discriminating representation of the black African American, in most of the widely accepted and successful television shows in the country. With the exact and proper review of the entire structure of the movie, the film Bamboozled is definitely one of the movies that have social rele vance, on which sends concrete message that is definitely essential to resolve the specific issue of racial disparity.Moreover, the film Bamboozled has its cultural and historical context in its storyline. In the movie, there many scenes to cite for its cultural context, one of those is the depiction of director Lee on the association of all the black people to fight together for their unified goal of racial equality in television programs, as equivalent to the entire American society. The movies cultural context can definitely cited in the film’s socially meaningful message that every American deserves an equal share of treatment in every way, regardless if he or she is a black African American or white native American.Nevertheless, the cultural context of the movie is visibly evident in the entire storyline of the film, on which I gives a clear and fair picture of racial disparity in the American society. The historical context of the movie, on the other hand, is visible on the use or essence of the minstrel show. As a form of entertainment, minstrel show is one of the ancient ways of entertainment that had occurred after the American Civil.With the use of blackface as the primary way of amusement, the historical context of the movie is visibly clear, on which blackface was already use as a form of entertainment in the history racial discrimination in the American society. (NPR. org) In the end, the Bamboozled is one of the socially, culturally and historically relevant movies that fairly tackles the racial disparity issue in America and gives an essential message over the entire society. Nevertheless, this Bamboozled movie of director Spike Lee is a powerful representation of unified black African American society to fight the issue of racial disparity.References S. Holden (2000), Bamboozled (2000): Retrieved May 22, 2008 from http://movies. nytimes. com/movie/review? _r=2&res=9C01E2D9163CF935A35753C1A9669C8B63&oref=slogin IMDb. com, Inc. (2008), Bio graphy for Spike Lee: Retrieved May 22, 2008 from http://www. imdb. com/name/nm0000490/bio HBS Entertainment, Inc. (2008), Bamboozled: Retrieved May 22, 2008 from http://efilmcritic. com/review. php? movie=4502 NPR. org (2008), The Legacy of Blackface: Retrieved May 22, 2008 from http://www. npr. org/templates/story/story. php? storyId=1919122