The Critically And Financially Successful Neorealist Film History Essay

The Critically And Financially Successful Neorealist Film History Essay The movies involved in this essay tell us two different stories during the War. Yet, they share one thing in common: they both happened in Italy. Roma, città   aperta means Rome, open city. This film was directed by Roberto Rossellini. The picture features Aldo Fabrizi, Anna Magnani and Marcello Pagliero. It is set in Rome during the Nazi occupation period. The film won several awards at different film festivals and was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. La vita à ¨ bella means life is beautiful. The film was directed by Roberto Benigni, who was also the actor of the hero, Guido Orefice, a Jewish Italian. It is set in the time of WWII and tells the story that lasts for several years. The film was cast at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, and went on to win the Grand Prize (festival-cannes.com). At the 71st Academy Awards, the film won awards for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score, and Best Foreign Language Film. Benigni won Best Actor for his role as the funny father. The film also received Academy Award nominations for Directing, Film Editing, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Picture (The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). First of all, some background information about WWII will be introduced; the part for Italy will be emphasized. The main part will argue on the representation of the period of time in WWII in both movies then contrast the difference in the ways of the representation. The essay will prove that the story in Roma, città   aperta took place in the year 1944 while the story in La vita à ¨ bella took place during the years of 1939-1945. The contrast of the two films argues that Roma, città   aperta is a movie that is realistic while La vita à ¨ bella tell the story in a tragedy-comic way. Some additional thought will be cast on the representation of history at the end of the article. Background and supporting facts This part mainly introduces some background information of WWII. Although the Empire of Japan which was one Fascism country at that time, was already at war with the Republic of China in 1937, (David P, Barrett. Lawrence N Shyu, 2001, p.6.) the War is generally said to have begun on 1  September 1939, with the invasion of Poland by Germany, and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by France and most of the countries of the British Empire and Commonwealth. Acutually, historians have different points of view towards the starting date of the war. Other dates for the beginning of war include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7  July 1937.( Roger Chickering, 2006, p. 64.) Sometimes the starting point is said to be the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935 (Hevrah Mizrahit Yisreelit,1965, p. 91.). British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of the Second World War as the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in August 1939(Antony Beevor, 2012, p. 10). The exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It has been suggested that the war ended at the armistice of 14  August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan (2  September 1945);However, in some European histories, it is said to be ended on 8  May 1945. For the purpose of argument, it is best that the history of WWII concerning the fact of Italy be introduced in this part. The belligerents were basically divided into two sides:Allies and Axis. The Axis comprised mainly of three nations: Germany, Japan, and Italy. In WWII, Kingdom of Italy was allied with Axis countries during 1940-1943. At that time, Italy was controlled mainly by National Fascist Party rule from 1922 to 1943 with Benito Mussolini as totalitarian leader. The fascists imposed totalitarian rule and crushed the political and intellectual opposition. The Fascist regime passed through several relatively distinct phases, says Payne. The first phase 1923-25 was nominally a continuation of the parliamentary system, albeit with a legally organized executive dictatorship. Then came the second phase, the construction of the Fascist dictatorship from 1925 to 1929. The third phase was 1929-34. The fourth phase, 1935-40, was characterized by an aggressive foreign policy, the invasion in Ethiopia, confrontations with the League of Nations sanctions, growing economic autarchy, and semi-Nazification. The war itself (1940-43) was actually the fifth phase, and the final stage was the Salo regime(1943-45) (Stanley G. Payne, 1996, p.212). The surrender of Kingdom of Italy in 1943 took place, after which the Nazi Germany invaded and controlled the northern and central Italy. The city of Rome was taken over by Germany army.This is closely related to the story in Roma, città   aperta. Another important set of events that is related to the story of La vita à ¨ bella is the Holocaust.The Holocaust was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, throughout Nazi-occupied territory(Donald L Niewyk, 2000, p.45). Extermination camps (or death camps) were built to systematically kill millions of victims mainly comprised of Jews by gassing and extreme work under starvation conditions. This genocide of the Jewish people was the Third Reichs Final Solution to the Jewish question.(Franà §ois Furet,1989,p.182) Arguments on the representation Given the background introduced above, we can discuss the representation of period of WWII in the two movies. Analysis of representation At the beginning of the movie Roma, città   aperta, the subtitles tell us about the source of the story: the tragic but moving story that happened during nine months of Nazi Germanys occupation of Italy in 1943. The story begins with the search for a hero named Giorgio Manfredi who was the head of the resistance force. The search by the Gestapo was in vain. After that the scene moves to an office of a German Gestapo. It should be noted that in this scene, there is a man who speaks German while the two men in the room are talking in Italian. This reflects the reality at that timethe city was controlled by both Italian and German authorities, i.e. it was open to foreign invaders. Other details in the film also reflect the reality. For example, this scene is directly shot in the real place. Similar scenes include the street and the old houses made of bricks. The emphasis on the details is the important feature of the film. The story line goes to a tragic part as the hero Giorgio and the priest Don Peitro who helped him were both captured by the Gestapo. Gestapo tried to use Pietros religious beliefs to convince him to betray his cause, Pietro answered that those who strive to help others is on the path of God regardless of their beliefs. They forced Pietro to watch Giorgio being tortured to death. When Don Pietro still refuses to tell Gastapo any useful information, he was executed. The death of the heroes and many other plots in this movie are depicted in a close-to-real style. The purpose of this approach was to tell the truth of peoples suffering under the pressure of Nazi Germany with a very real sense. It looks like part of the actual history although the story and characters are claimed to be unreal. In the movie of La vita à ¨ bella, first of all we know that its the year 1939 and the location is Arezzo, in the central part of Italy. The story begins with a sense of humor in that the brake cant work and the car dramatically drove through a welcoming crowd which was meant to welcome the King of Italy. We can find that people in the crowd give a Roman salute (the gesture adopted by Fascists to express their commitment to the Party and respect for the head of the Party). This sends a signal that Italy was broadly influenced by Fascism. Another important scene in the movie takes place in a school where the Jewish hero Guido pretends to be the inspector from Rome. In the course of the so-called education about the superiority of German races, Guido makes some weird jokes. This is sarcasm of the racism point of view propagandized by Facists. However, this reflects the social reality at that time. At the wedding, there comes an interesting scene: the presentation of Ethiopian cake. Carried by four Ethiopian waiters, the giant cake with an artificial cream ostrich on it was presented to the guests. We should note that the colors of feathers of the tail of the ostrich and those above the waiters hats reflect the fact that Ethiopian was invaded occupied by Italy since white, red and green are the colors on Italys national flag. Several years after the hero and heroine were married; they had a child called Giosuà ¨. Before long, the book store of Guido was shut down due to the racism. Soon after that the Nazi came to capture Guido and his son since they are Jewish people. From this scene, we can find that the Nazi army has actually occupied Rome, indicating that this year is at least 1943.In the scene shown below, the sign reads No Jewish and dogs allowed, reflecting the wide spread anti-Jew atmosphere in Italy. Later in the story, Guido and his son had to live in the extermination camp. The environment was tough but Guido did not want to ruin his sons young mind so he told him a lie about a game, which may win his son a real tank if they succeed in the game. At the end of the story, Guido was killed by a soldier in the camp while his son escaped after hiding for the whole night. In the morning, a funny and inspiring piece of news came: the Allies reached the camp. Giosuà ¨ saw a real tank as he had wished. It should be the year of 1945 since in that year the Allies pushed forward in Italy. Contrast of the Representation Albeit the movie tells two different stories that happened in Italy, the approaches in representation are quite different. The main differences between the approaches of representation lie in two aspects. The first one is the style of telling the story. The second is the configuration of plots. The style of the movie Roma, città   aperta is called neorealism. It uses real places for some of the filming. The action by the characters and the setting of clothes of characters are close to real. The details of life of people reflect directly the true situation they were facing so that the documentary style presents the truth of suffering at that time. This is contrary to the Hollywood movies which were dramatic and idealistic at that time. In La vita à ¨ bella, the entire story is basically set in a relatively easy and entertaining atmosphere. The sense of humor is broadly spread throughout the plots. Although it employs some realistic style in representing the historical environment surrounding the main heroes and heroines, it mainly looks like a light fairy tale. The only tragic plots are presented near the end of the story where Guido was killed (it was even not directly depicted to the audience). However, the stressful and uneasy atmosphere was presented to the audience in Roma, città   aperta throughout the movie. The arrangement of plots was also very different. The story of Roma, città   aperta is mainly about the heroic resistance movement against the fascism while the story of La vita à ¨ bella concentrates on a group of small characters that lived in the era of WWII. The former ends in a total sadness while the latter generates a sense of hope and pity. While they share the two differences in the style of telling the story and the arrangement of plots, the two movies have a lot in common. They are both directed by Italians and represent the same spirit which is anti-fascism. Roma, città   aperta tries to encourage people to fight against fascism in the tragic fate of heroes, being unable to tell people how to fight. La vita à ¨ bella tells a sad story of a Jew reflecting the social reality of Holocaust and racism, the severely committed crime by fascism, while entertaining the audience with a good sense of humor. They both remind people of the truth of history in that very era. Conclusions As the argument above proves, the representation of historical periods in the two movies is in different styles while they have some features in common. The conclusion is that the first movie mentioned, Roma, città   aperta, tells us a story in 1943 during the Nazi Germany occupation in Italy while the second movie, La vita à ¨ bella, shares a story of a normal Jewish guy and his son in the Holocaust in Italy during WWII; The former one employs more realistic approach in the representation, a style which is called neorealism while the latter uses a good sense of humor in telling the story that is less realistic and more dramatic with some parts being indicative of the historical periods. It is with Rossellinis Roma, città   aperta that we find the first and only critically and financially successful neorealist film.(Ben Lawton, 1979, pp 8-23) The movie itself is a good example of neorealism. While the wave of neorealism faded gradually a few years after the movie was made, the documentary approach used in it was employed more often in some historical movies. The best example in recent years might be the Oscar-winning film Schindlers List directed by Steven Spielberg, the story about a Nazi party member and merchant Schindler who protected 1,100 Jews from the Holocaust. This movie can be deemed as neorealism style movie to some extent. In this movie, the story in the main body was depicted in black and white to create a stressful and miserable atmosphere to the audience. The documentary approach employed is adequate and impressive. One can see from the scenes the real misery of Jewish people in the special historical era. The movie is classical in almost every respect: its story, its background music, its actors and actresses, its technique of filming. Schindlers List is unprecedented yet deeply rooted in neorealism. In contrast, the movie La vita à ¨ bella is not really a great movie, but is also an excellent work of art.

Cb Prepartions

Exam: 3hours, 19/50 =15. 2/40 (-31) Section A: MCQ (20m) Section B: Choose 2 from 3 Questions (15m each) 1. Describe the type of promotional message that would be most suitable for each of the following personality market segments: (a) highly dogmatic consumers, (b) inner-directed consumers, (c) consumers with high optimum stimulation levels, (d) consumers with a high need for cognition, and (e) consumers who are visualizers versus consumers who are verbalizers. Give an example of a promotional message for each segment.Social character traits have shown that inner and other-directed consumers may have different preferences in terms of promotional messages. Inner-directed people prefer advertisements that stress personal benefits while other-directed people seem to prefer advertisements that feature social acceptance. (a) HIGHLY DOGMATIC CUSTOMERS: It is a personality trait that measures the degree of rigidity (versus openness) that individuals display towards unfamiliar and towards i nformation that is contrary to their own established beliefs. Dogmatism: general tendency to be open or closed to new ideas and innovations.A person who is high in dogmatism approaches the unfamiliar defensively while the person who is low in dogmatism will rarely consider unfamiliar or opposing beliefs. * more receptive is Ads for new products or services that contains an appeal from the authoritative figure. Marketer uses celebrities and experts to their new product advertising for making it easier for the potentially reluctant customers. * Highly dogmatic consumers are likely to respond favorably to a new product when the advertising message is presented in an authoritarian manner (e. g. celebrity endorsement or expert testimonials). * prefer traditional or established products rather than innovative ones. close minded towards unfamiliar and untoward information that is contrary to their own established beliefs * approach such information with considerable discomfort and uncertai nty. promotional message most suitable would be endorsement or appeal from an authoritative figure. * New products need to be presented in an authoritative manner and that celebrities could be employed to reach dogmatic consumers who are more closed minded. For example: Colgate Dental Cream with Doctors and Experts endorsements. Anti-Polio Campaign featuring Amitabh and Sachin Tendulkar also useAuthoritative statements. The Cadbury’s brand took a beatng in sales after the worms were found in somepackets. Dogmatic Consumers stopped purchasing the Brand. Amitabh Bacchhanwas then used as Authority figure to reestablish Brand. b) Inner-directed consumers * tend to use their own values and standards in evaluating a new product * ads aimed at them should depict the attainment of personal achievement and satisfaction. ads that stress product features and benefits, which enable them to usetheir own values and standards in evaluating products * rely on their own inner values or standa rds in evaluating new products and are likely to be the consumer innovators. * other directed customers tend to look to others for guidance as to what is appropriate or what is inappropriate. * be prefer ads that stress product features and personal benefits ( enabling them to use their own values and standards in evaluating products whereas the other * For example: Surf Ad showing Shabana Azmi saving two buckets of water is an example of the same.The latest from Surf Excel is currently running on television. This is the ad where many people are seen walking with two buckets full of water. They then pour it into a large reservoir. At this point none other than Shabana Azmi informs you what a great thing thissaving of water is for the country and implores you to use Surf Excel. * manufacturer of cameras who advertises to inner-directed consumers should stress the ability to take better pictures and the resulting personal satisfaction. c) Consumers with a high optimum stimulation leve l * more open to risk-taking, more likely to be innovative have a greater willingness to take risks, try products with many novel features, and shop in new retail outlets. * likely to respond favorably to promotional messages stressing more rather than less risk, novelty,or excitement. * to seek purchase related information and to accept new retail facilities. * For example: The exciting and exotic Vacation Campaign of Malasia-Truly Asia is positioning of  Airways to sell the Asian Adventures. These enjoy thinking. They are responsive to that part of Ad that is rich in Information. The TATA-AIG Life insurance Ad showing Naseeruddin Shah giving informationthough Q&A will click for them. benefit of new product offering should not only consider functional features but also the risk, novelty and variety that the product offers. * place different promotional emphasis on particular age segments, as it may be worthwhile to reduce perceived risk for a market segment comprised primarily of older people, while it may not warrant it for a younger market segment. d) Consumers with a high need for cognition * ones who often crave or enjoy thinking. * responsive to ads that are rich in product-related information or description and are unresponsive to the auxiliary or contextual aspects of an advertisement. Need for cognition: stable individual difference in tendency to engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive activity. Individuals high in need for cognition enjoy thinking abstractly. * high-NFC individuals are likely to express more favorable ad attitudes, brand attitudes and purchase intention. * more likely to use message content as a basis for judgments * high NFC leads to the generation of inferences about omitted conclusions ), to less memory decay and greater resistance to counterarguments about products), and to longer processing and superior recall for brands and claims individuals who are high in need for cognition would be expected to be critical thinkers, and t o not necessarily accept arguments found in media or elsewhere on face value. * should be more difficult to persuade, a phenomenon that can be investigated several ways. * high-NFC individuals did so only when the signal was accompanied by a substantial price reduction. * process information presented in the media more thoroughly than those who do not enjoy thinking as much, able to retrieve from memory more information * individuals with higher NFC, who are assumed to process information more extensively, would be expected to generate more thoughts. counterarguing and source derogations are prevalent in advertising and that support arguments are critical if persuasive messages are to have a chance of acceptance * high-NFC would be expected to engage in a wide range of media consumption activities, and would not necessarily be expected to differentiate between sources of information, such as news, advertising or entertainment. All would be stimulating. high NFC individuals are more likely to closely scrutinize the arguments contained in any message, campaign strategists must make sure that arguments are strong in order to cope with the higher resistance to messages by this group * appear to be the ones already predisposed to watch or listen to issue, image or financial advertising featuring long copy. The challenge for strategists thus is to enhance the already high motivation of high-NFC indivduals, by highlighting the relevance of messages, and to enhance the ability and opportunities to process such messages. Example: (e) consumers who are visualizers versus consumers who are verbalizers. * Verbal aggressiveness: tendency to insult and attack others' self-concepts to achieve one's objectives in an argument. * Visualisers (i. e. , consumers who prefer visual information, products that stress the visual) * Morning Dew Ad where there is a race with a Cheetah is a visual treat * detailed descriptions and explanations in targeting verbalizers (i. e. , consumers who prefer written and verbal product information). ‘Do the Dew†Verbalizers prefer verbal dimensions to the promotional message. * The Oye Bubbly Jingle of Pepsi is a Verbal treat to the ear, though it conveys nothing much about the product. 2. A marketer of health foods is attempting to segment a certain market on the basis of consumer self-image. Describe the four types of consumer self-image and discuss which segment would be most effective to target for health foods. In Self-concept theory personality is exemplified by the kinds of things with which people surround themselves.The self-concept has shown to be multi-dimensional and encompasses the way a person actually is, the way individuals see themselves, the way a person would like to be, and the way in which individuals think others perceive them. Theories of self-concept have generally focused on two areas in marketing research. In the one, self concept has been applied to the discrepancy between the self and the ideal self as a measure of personal dissatisfaction. In this instance, product use has been related to items that deal specifically with self enhancement.Consumers have four types of image. 1. Actual self image-how consumers in fact see themselves. In Everyday house hold products, they see themselves in Reality. For example,Washing powders Ads would be realistic. Nirma Powder focuses on Housewives ability to get more for less money. 2. Ideal self Image-how consumers would like to see themselves. In case of Fantasy Products, consumers desire to see themselves perfect, as in case of  Women, Fairness or looking Pretty is high on desire list. The fair and Lovely campaign for fairness cream sells this dream. . Social Self Image-how consumers feel others see them. Here there is an inherent fear factor also involved as to how they are being perceived by others. For example Products which position themselves on social front, showing appropriate behaviour at parties etc appeal here. 4. Id eal Social Self image-how consumers would like others to see them. For Example, Aashirwad ready to cook products and Sambhar Masala Product campaign show the desire of Wives to be seen as a great cook by others.However, since they are working or busy, they do not have time to cook themselves. That is when the Brandcomes to rescue. And finally they are seen as Ideal Wives. There are two more categories of Self-image: Expected Self image-how consumers expect to see themselves at some specified futuretime. The ABKING PRO Ad for machine to slim down people hypes this expectation of  individuals that they will slim down and look good in Future. 5. expected self-image (e. g. , how consumers expect to see themselves at some specified future time) . ought-to self (e. g. , consists of traits or characteristics that an individual believes it is his or her duty or obligation to possess). Ought to self image-traits consumer thinks he ought to have. The Ashrwad readymeal Adis a hit for the wiv es feel that good cooking is a trait they ought to have. The expected self-image is somewhere between the actual and ideal self-images. It is somewhat like a future-oriented combination of â€Å"what is† (the actual self-image) and what consumers would like â€Å"to be† (the ideal self-image).Moreover, because the expected self-image provides consumers with a realistic â€Å"opportunity† to change the â€Å"self,† it is likely to be more valuable to marketers than the actual or ideal self-image as a guide for designing and promoting products. In targeting consumers of health foods, the marketer can use the expected self-image to attract consumers who would like to enhance the quality of their lifestyles through better nutrition, and ideal social self-image to appeal to consumers who are likely to adopt health foods due to peer influence and pressure. Advertisers focus on components that make people feel better about themselves.Many decisions based on look ing glass and ideal self–ie. Aspiring to group not yet reached–image appeal Psychographic info enhances demographic info– people individuals 3. How can Toshiba use the diffusion of innovations framework to develop promotional, pricing, and distribution strategies for its computer notebooks targeted to the following adopter categories? a. Innovators b. Early adopters c. Early majority d. Late majority e. Laggards * In term of the nature, there are five major types of innovations: novelty, competence shifting, complexity, robust design and continuous improvement.While in term of the extent of change, innovations can be divided into incremental, radical and transformational models. Innovation deals with the change related to product, service and process, and the innovation management involve people, product, process and technology† * diffusion is defined as a process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members o f a social system * innovation as â€Å"an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as â€Å"new† by an individual or other unit of adoption. * company will usually sell the hardware at a relatively lower price to capture a share of the market, and then charge relatively higher prices for the software to maximize profitability * Based upon the time variable, individuals seeking new innovations are placed into adopter categories, according to the rate of adoption. Rate of adoption is the â€Å"relative speed with which an innovation is adopted by members of a social system. † * the rate of adoption is the relative speed in which members of society adopt an innovation. It is usually measured as the number of people who adopt an innovation within a specified time-line. Some companies have a defensive strategy and aim to follow the leader. Such companies hope to profit from the mistakes of the first-to-market company by devising incremental design and performance impro vements and cost reductions compared with the original product. In addition they hope to exploit the new market that has started to grow, so timing is important. * But it was the major Japanese companies (such as Sony, JVC, Toshiba) that captured a large share of the mass market through reducing the cost of these devices and improving their performance. (a) Innovators: Venturesome [1st group to adopt]Rogers describes innovators as obsessed with being venturesome. They have an interest in new ideas and innovation and have generally very cosmopolitan type social relationships. Innovators generally have communication patterns and friendships among a certain clique of innovators even though their geographic distance between each other may be very significant. Innovators must be very financially secure in order to absorb a possible loss from an innovation that doesn’t turn into fruition. Likewise, an innovator must have a sound educational background, in order to comprehend a comp lex technical terminology.Furthermore, an innovator must be able to cope with a degree of uncertainty whether the innovation will be adopted by society. Ultimately, Rogers believes the innovator takes risks in being the gatekeeper of innovations, but if the innovation is adopted the rewards are high. Early Adopters: Respect [2nd group to adopt] more integrated in the local society than the innovator. Where an innovator is considered a cosmopolite, an early adopter is a localite. Early adopters have the greatest degree of leadership in most localities. Most potential adopters look to the early adopter for advice and information regarding an innovation.Generally, early adopters are respected and considered successful by their peers. The early adopter is the main group that decreases uncertainty of an innovation by adopting it, and then communicating with potential adopters about the idea. Early Majority: Deliberate [3rd group to adopt] Rogers suggest that the early majority group adop ts new innovations just before the average member of society. Members of the early majority frequently interact with people in their society, but usually do not hold key positions of leadership. The early majority is the largest group and make up approximately one-third of members in a society.The early majority follows with deliberate willingness to adopt an idea, but are rarely leaders. Late Majority: Skeptical [4th group to adopt] Rogers states that the members of the late majority adopt innovations just after the average member of society. The late majority also makes up approximately one-third of members in a social system. Members of the late majority are cautious and skeptical about new innovations. Most of the uncertainty surrounding an innovation must be removed before the late majority will adopt the new idea. Laggards: Traditional [last group to adopt]Laggards are the last group in society to adopt a new idea. Generally, they possess almost no positions of leadership with in their community. Laggards’ point of reference is the past, they are very cautious and only make decisions based on what has already been done. Usually, laggards’ educational and financial resources are limited, forcing them to be completely certain the innovation will not fail before they adopt. These are the traditional categories of society members with respect to the adoption of new ideas and innovations. The diffusion of innovations follows a common life cycle. 82 However, the period over which this trend occurs varies greatly due to a number of factors. 183 By the end of the 20th century many of the following innovations were adopted by society at a much greater rate. 184 For example, the PC, Internet, and cell phone, which are all relatively new products, have steeper gradients when compared to automobiles, electricity and traditional telephones. Price is one of the most important factors involved in adoption of consumer products. This pricing policy pattern c an be used to predict the rate of adoption of new innovations.When it comes to consumers’ rate of adoption to innovations, new technologies succeed at a faster rate than replacement technologies. An early adopting individual may decide to adopt in anticipation that the innovation’s rate of adoption will take off in the near future when others adopt, although past diffusion research suggest that most individuals do not adopt an innovation until after learning of their peers’ successful experiences. † The diffusion of an innovation among the consumers can usually be presented by an s-shaped curve.On a frequency basis the adoption over time will normally follow a bell-shaped curve, but when plotted on a cumulative basis the adoption will form an scurve. 9 The s-curve reflects the acceleration of the adoption. At the early stage the curve is rising slowly meaning relatively few adopters pr. time-period (x-axis). At about the middle of the adoption period the a cceleration peaks and then fades as the percentage of adopters goes up. This course of events is typical for the adoption of new technologies. The logic behind this diffusion lies in the actual number of adopters.The early adopters will be a majority compared to the people who have not yet adopted the technology and therefore there are less people to preach the virtues of the new technology to potential adopters. At the point where the adoption process reaches 50 % the number of adopters equals the number of potential adopters, by definition, thus providing maximal acceleration of the adoption. In the last period, adopters outnumber the people who has not yet adopted, and there will be less people to convince to adopt the technology – slowing down the acceleration of the adoption process.The adopters are often divided into adoption groups. These groups are usually formed on the basis of innovativeness, meaning to which degree each individual is willing adopt new technologies, relative to other members of the social system. From this measure individuals can be placed into groups containing a certain range of innovativeness. The distribution is based on a mean and to which degree individuals’ deviate from the mean (standard deviation). Innovators are the first group of adopters and can be associated with the word venturesome.The individuals representing this group are adventurous and often related to entrepreneurial environments. The innovators run the risk that the innovation does not catch on, and thus subject themselves to a potential loss they must be prepared to absorb. Therefore innovators have to live with the uncertainty about the potentials of the technology, which can be viewed upon as the price to pay for being pioneers in a new field – catalyzing the diffusion of new technologies.The early adopters are ready to adopt a new technology when they observe that other individuals has started adopting, and sees the potential for being s ome of the first adopters of a new and promising technology. These individuals are often a more integrated part of the local society than the innovators, and their adoptions are crucial for the technology to take off and get hold of the broad public. For the early adopters the uncertainties about the merits of the new technology are strongly diminished, and can therefore adopt the new technology without running the risk of buying a young and untested technology.This group accounts for about one third of the total number of adopters, and provide the link between the progressive early adopters and the more skeptical later adopters. In the latter half of the spectrum the late majority also represent about a third of the adopters. This group is skeptical to new innovations, and is not willing to adopt, until a lot of other people have adopted before them ensuring the success of the technology and possibly massive network effects. The last 16 % of the adopters, the laggards, often focus on traditional values and base their decisions on past events.They are suspicious of any new inventions to change the way life are traditionally lived, and must be 100 % certain that the technology will prevail before they are willing to adopt. From a consumers’ point of view it is essential to think about the decisions of future adopters when choosing what technology to go with. The decisions of previous adopters are on the other hand a know factor and plays a role for the decision also. So does the structure of the market, i. e. which technologies are available at the time of adoption, compared to potential superior technologies that could be available in the future.Recent findings indicate that there is a lack of willingness to wait by the early adopters. 11 This high priority of being among the very first users of a new technology is said to inflict negative externalities on the later adopters. These later adopters can be forced to adopt an inferior technology to make sur e that they are compatible with the technologies of the early adopters, or they might be forced to give up compatibility to get a superior technology. That said the diffusion of new technologies is often strongly dependent on the choices of the early adopters.

The Forever Changing Events of the 1950’s -1990’s

The Forever changing Events of the 1950’s -1990’s Throughout the last fifty years there are many events that significantly shaped who we are today and changed America’s future greatly. Throughout these decades the American experience has greatly varied. There were several wars such as the Cold War, Vietnam War, and the Gulf War all which took its own toll on the American people and their economy. The civil rights movement, protest, and demonstrations throughout the decades were validated by the impact they left. Through the various presidents we witnessed many scandals and terminologies that remain and affect America today. McCarthyism, Cold War Ideology, Eisenhower’s politics, The New Frontier, and Reaganomics will stick with the American people forever. These are chain of events that constantly shaped our country for what it is today. This paper will hit on a few of these events that had the most powerful effects on the American People and the economy. McCarthyism/ â€Å"The Red Scare† of The1950’s Cold War ideology crystallized after the end of World War II. After World WarII, Americans began to be very afraid of communists taking over the United States. American referred to communist as â€Å"reds† this symbolized the communist as worse than urderers. At one point during World War II the United States had an alliance with Russia and Britain; however that alliance ended as America began to rebuild and Europe continued to struggle. A power struggle known as the Cold War began between the United States and Russia creating more fear in the American people of communism. Americ ans became more and more suspicious of the Soviets; Americans thought being associated with the communist were as bad as being one yourself. The fear and concern p. 2 The Forever changing Events of the 1950’s -1990’s rose amongst the Americans fro communism which caused mass suspicion. The Truman doctrine was put into place by President Truman. The doctrine enforced loyalty against communism. Many were being accused of being connected to communism or communist with no real evidence, in that came the Red Scare. The Red Scare or McCarthyism Era is a termed used to describe anti-communism era of the 50’s which was named after Joseph McCarthy. He was a former U. S. Senator who used the public’s fears against communism to gain political standing. He claimed to have a list of suspected communists. He accused many in and out of governmental positions of being communist or having commingled ith communist. There was and is no real evidence to base his claims. This caused a great deal of miss trust for the American people and the government and caused a great deal of social issues. The senate held hearings and along with McCarthy and the HAUC many were black listed. McCarthyism had a major hand in the change in feelings America had about both politics and socie ty. The Civil Rights Movements of the 1960’s In the 1960’s racial challenges was discouraging and overtaking the society. The African Americans bore the antagonistic reaction to the economy and were racially segregated in every way from society. Their civil rights were violated and were not part of the national agenda for change. The African American race was usually referred to as â€Å"Negro† or â€Å"Colored. † The Civil rights of the 1960’s came with a high price. In spite of The Declaration of Independence which states â€Å"All men are created equal† the injustice that the African Americans endured was one that wasn’t easily spoken out about. There were risk that took place in standing up for their right, many gave everything they had p. The Forever changing Events of the 1950’s -1990’s and lost everything, if not their lives. They endured and stayed committed to change this injustice. In effort to build a coalition for racial equality many of races and creed gave up their place in society and thousands lost their lives. There were strong black men and women that played key figures in the Civil rights movement they were Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Emm ett Till, and Dorothy Height. In 1967 The Detroit Riot took place because police raided a local illegal drinking hole for African Americans. In The 1963 March on Washington there was an estimated 250,000 people who gathered for a peaceful demonstration to promote Civil Rights and economic equality for African Americans. This is where Dr. Martin Luther King gave his famous â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech took place. During the civil rights movement many demonstrations, protest, and riots took place and was successful in the coalition for racial equality. The Watergate Scandal of 1970’s The 60’s were full of chaos many thought that the chaos of the war and the social changes made would carry on into the 70’s. The Vietnam War continued to divide the ountry. It was at war that many contested and by the early 70’s many of the American people views were begining to change. Daniel Ellsberg turned over secret Pentagon reports to new paper. President Nixon could not stop the publications of these pentagon papers and it infuriated him. President Nixon had a group who were called the â€Å"Plumbersâ €  because they fixed the leaks in The Whitehouse. They set out to discredit Ellsberg and with a job well done they were assigned a new job. They were in charge of derailing the democratic ticket. The Plumbers broke into the Democratic National . 4 The Forever changing Events of the 1950’s -1990’s Committee and bugged the office. A security guard spotted the men and called the police. The Plumbers were apprehended. All of this was going on while President Nixon was seeking his second term as President. President Nixon was re-elected by a landslide. As the time passed and the break in was investigated it was traced back to the officials of the CREEP, which was the committee to re-elect the president. President Nixon denied any involvement to the break ins. The president was forced to turn recordings which directly ndicated him and that he tried to cover the entire thing up. The break in’s became known as the Watergate Scandal. Watergate was known for the fall of President Richard Nixon. In 1974 the courts named President Nixon as a co-conspirator in the obstruction of justice over the Watergate matter scandal. President Nixon feared impeachment and on August 8, 1974 he announced his resignation. 1980’s Reaganomics In the 1980 Ronald Reagan was elected president during what was considered the worst recession since the great deppression . He came in with a plan to fix the deficit introducing The Economic Recovery Act. This plan would restore the economy over and within the next three years. President Reagan truly believed that economy needed awakening. In the Economic Recovery Act the income bracket would receive a twenty five percent tax cut, breaking down to five percent the first year and ten percent the next two years. Many American felt as though the president was favoring the upper class by cutting the top rated tax by twenty percent yearly. Through the recovery act wealthy people could grow more wealth and create more business’s therefore stimulating the economy. By creating more business’s it would in turn create more jobs and drive the p. 5 The Forever changing Events of the 1950’s -1990’s prices down. Reagan's Economy Recovery Act was passed on July 29, 1981 it did boost the economy but failed at repairing the deficit. Unemployment and poverty was on the rise, the president had taken a huge chance with the tax cut, and it was the largest tax cut ever. His theory was based on supply-side economics. Today we know it as â€Å"Reaganomics† Unfortunately President Reagan did not understand that in order for the tax cut to work spending would have to be cut. Budgets were cut but do to the high amount President Reagan spent on military issues the budget did not balance out. Reagan's Economy Recovery Act affected Americans in many ways good and bad. The people who benefited most from the tax cut were the wealthy. They seemed to becoming wealthier. The Lower income/poverty Americans had more trouble getting ahead. It is all depending on what side of the economy you were on to say if â€Å"reaganomics† worked or not. 90’s The Gulf War After serving as Vice President under President Ronald Reagan, President George W. Bush became president in 1988. President Bush faced a world that was drasticly changing, after forty years the cold war had come to an end,The Berlin wall came down, and the communist empire was no longer. The hardest challenge President Bush was to face was when Iraq invaded Kuwait. On August 2, 1990 Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait one of the major oil producing countries in the Middle East. He was also threatining to move into Saudi Arabia. Americans were in fear because without receiving oil from Kuwait the prices would sky rocket. Iraq’s invasion came about after p. 6 The Forever changing Events of the 1950’s -1990’s Kuwait lowered the world price for oil production by increasing it’s own oil production. Iraq was in debt to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and with low world prices on oil production Iraq would never be able to pay off their debt. President Bush called upon the United Nations and operation Desert storm began. America sent 40,000 troops and 118,000 troops from allied nations. The United nations also sent a quarter of a million soilders to Saudi Arabia also known as Operation Dessert Shield. These troops were mostly Americans and sent to protect Saudi Arabia. Suddam Hussien had been highly trained in chemical war fare and was makin and testing chemical warfare wweapns of mass destruction. Suddam was testing these weapons on his own people and the American troops found and destroyed these weapons. Operation Desert Storm eventually conquard Iraq’s million-man army. The war lasted exactly 100 hours and 40,000 troops were involved. Many of the soilders came home with what they call Gulf War Syndrome. Democrats protested the war, however it was needed and The President called on all to help. Ultimately Suddam was left in power and refused to allow the United Nations to conduct any and all inspections for chemical weapons of mass destructions. Suddam began harboring terrorist and providing training for them. With his own little terrorist army and a safe place to train the could prepare for retaliation. If you look back on these events from the 1950’s – 1990’s you will see how they shaped America as we know it today. All of these events had a dramatic impact on Americans, and our society socially, economically and politically. We are still very much affected by these and many p. 7 The Forever changing Events of the 1950’s -1990’s other events of these decades. As we go through our own eras and decades much of it seems to be the same, in many ways. Presently we ourselves are going through much of the same obstacles, war, recession, civil rights, unemployment and poverty. We will continue to face these things as we continue to grow as a country. In ten years I believe there will still be the same things effecting America for it seems that history just repeats itself. References Page 1950’s McCarthyism/ â€Å"The Red Scare† was retrieved April 20, 2010 from http://www. eisenhower. utexas. edu/Research/Digital_Documents/McCarthy/Mccarthydocuments. html (2002 )Written by Barbara Mack – Pagewise retrieved from http://www. essortment. com/all/mccarthyismred_rmfw. htm 1960 African American Civil Rights movements of the 1960’s Written by Toonari and retrieved on April 20, 2010 from http://www. africanaonline. com/civil_rights. tm African American Civil Rights movements of the 1960’s retrieved on April 20, 2010 from http://www. pbs. org/wnet/aaworld/timeline/civil_01. html 1970’s The Watergate Scandal (2002) Written by Noell Wolfgram Evans retrieved on April 22, 2010 from http://www. essortment. com/all/watergatescand_reji. htm (2010) The Washington Post Company retrieved on April 22, 2010 f rom http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-srv/politics/special/watergate/ 1980 Reaganomics (April 1996), Christopher Frenze Chief Economist to the Vice-Chairman retrieved on April 22, 2010 from http://www. house. ov/jec/fiscal/tx-grwth/reagtxct/reagtxct. htm (1979-89)Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. â€Å"Chronology of Ronald Reagan’s Presidency, 1979-89. † retrieved on April 22, 2010 from http://www. reagan. utexas. edu/archives/reference/preschrono. html (accessed 18 May 2005) 1990’s President Bush and the Gulf war was retrieved on April 21, 2010 from http://www. whitehouse. gov/about/presidents/georgehwbush (January 17, 2001) A National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book Edited by Jeffrey T. Richelson retrieved on April 22, 2010 from http://www. gwu. edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB39/

The True Cause Of Violent Behaviors - 1613 Words

The True Cause of Violent Behaviors in Today s Society There are volumes of media that are starting to harm the world in which we live. They have been linked to fourteen mass murders (Fletcher). Nine out of the top ten selling games have been labeled as violent and 42% of adolescents play them (â€Å"Children and Video Games†). These violent video games are a major problem in the United States and across the globe. Violent video games have a direct correlation with negative behaviors because they increase anger and aggression in young people, decrease prosocial behavior, and have unfavorable effects on a teens daily life. Violent video games increase violent behaviors: anger and aggression in teenagers. Adolescents’ relationships with others†¦show more content†¦If people are viewing the world as a hostile and violent place then they are not able to grow and develop relationships with others in their lives. They are gaining beliefs that their life outside of violent video games wants them to fail, and that society is unable to understand their way of life. Violent video games are destroying the possibility of relationships between people. 90% of video games portray violence. â€Å"Our brain sometimes doesn’t distinguish between what is real and what we see on TV† (Barclay). This is a scary realization because it shows that what we watch and play on TV can have a very harmful effect on our lives. Our brain is sometimes unable to recognize what is real and what is not, which in turn will not be able to help determine when a violent situation is occurring and when one is not . Violent video games do not promote prosocial behavior between humans. Violent video games have contributed to fatal actions. â€Å"Mika Brzezinski said, ‘It’s kind of hard not to make a connection [between games and the Navy Yard Shooting] when you hear [the shooter’s] friend saying that he would watch on a life size screen these violent video games for hours and hours and hours and hours and hours’† (Kain). Violent video games are being linked to many of the mass shootings around the United States, specifically the Washington Navy Yard shooting. Instead of helping each other some violent video game players are turning to guns and weapons, which isShow MoreRelatedSociety’s Most Recent Scapegoat: Video Gaming1637 Words   |  7 Pages Rebellious, violent behavior in youth is often treated simplistically – whether Elvis Presley’s latest hits, the programs airing on Saturday night television, or the newest film playing in theaters were popular amongst children and young adults, the blame for unfavorable behavior has always had its scapegoat. 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