Marketing Mix Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing Mix Project - Essay Example Another important criterion that needs to be highlighted is that the target group has to be clearly examined. The price and the product provide some directions in recognizing the right audience. Choi, et al., (2014) defined marketing mix as the set of strategies that a company applies to promote and advertise its goods or services. It is the crux of marketing process. It has to be reviewed constantly to meet the changing requirements. The changes in the external environment and changes within the firm necessitate alterations in the mix. There are 4Ps which typically constitute a marketing mix. They are Place, Price, Promotion and Price. However, it has started including other Ps as well like positioning, people, packaging and politics. Nike, Inc. is a renowned designer and manufacturer of footwear, services, accessories, apparel and equipment. It is an American Multinational Corporation established in 1971. It was earlier founded by the name Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight (Gordon, 2012). Product mix is defined as the total variety of goods or services offered by the company. Nike Inc. provides a wide range of products like athletic footwear like running shoes, cleats and apparels that include jerseys, layered clothes, shorts, sports equipments for wide range of sports like baseball, tennis, ice hockey, soccer, cricket, basketball, golf, athletics, combat sports, cross training for men, women and children, etc (Huang & Sarigà ¶llà ¼, 2012). It also manufactures shoes for other outdoor sports and activities like cycling, volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading, auto racing, aquatic sports, etc. Apparels also include urban fashion clothing. The first line of shoes released by Nike, Inc. in 1987 was Nike Air Max. Air Huarache, an additional line of products, was introduced in 1992. The new lines of goods that are recently added are the Nike NYX, Nike 6.0 and Nike SB shoes especially designed for

Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig - Essay Example As a diversion from physical pain, the seduction from Molina's German movie provided them with considerable comfort, although it was implied that Molina's line "what about my movie It might help you forget the pain." regarded the entirety of the German movie and not merely its element of seduction. (Puig, 53) The seduction worked in the guise of a German movie being retold by Molina who happened to be a romantic escapist. It was clear in the play that Molina worked the exaggerated details of the heroine to fit his fantasies being that he identified with her thus he projected unto her the endowments that he wanted for himself. purpose of heightening the emotion of the film, it began to make sense, as the element of seduction did in a way overpower the propaganda being presented in the film because through the narration of Molina, the political issues on the Nazi and the Resistance dimmed in contrast to the love story and its morality about love and sacrifice. However, it was through Molina's fantastic escapism that Puig employed most his power of seduction as it was implied that escapism appears to be a more pain-free resort compared to political activism which stakes more sacrificed for so little change. As it can be seen how the events turned out, the characters met their ends when they pursued the path of political involvement as a way out of their prison cell.

Choosing the Right Cell Phone Essay Example for Free

Choosing the Right Cell Phone Essay Consumer Reports assert â€Å"cell phones are evolving to allow faster texting, Web surfing, GPS navigation, and social networking while keeping up with their day job—voice calling† (Consumer Reports, n.d.). When walking out the door this morning the average person picked up three things; a wallet or purse, their car keys, and their cell phone. The cell phone, though often taken for granted has become a form of life support to many. Before just rushing out to purchase the latest and greatest here is what consumers should know before purchasing their next cell phone. Take the time to prepare and review before going out to purchase a phone. Many often take the word of a salesman they do not even know to decide what is best for them or let a commercial convince them of what device and service they should choose. Picking the wrong cell phone and plan can cost a large amount of money. Everyone has probably made a purchase, and then gotten their next bill to find they were totally surprised. To begin the search for the perfect cell phone one should start with what type of phone he or she is looking for. Would a non-flip (candy bar style phone) or a traditional flip phone (clam shell) better suite their needs? Flip phones had been the choice for most throughout the years but candy bar phones are making a come back with touch screens such as Droids and iPhones. If the phone will be spending a lot of time in ones purse or pocket, one may want to consider a flip phone to avoid unnecessarily scratching the screen and random dialing. If one is looking for a PDA and fully functional QWERTY keypad then a candy bar phone would be the best choice. One should also decide if he or she prefers a touch screen, a standard keyboard, or a QWERTY keyboard when making the decision on they style of phone that is best for them. After deciding the style of phone next one should consider what technology they need in a phone. Do they need text, Internet, e-mail, GPS navigation, walkie-talkie, apps, international service, or just voice calling? There are so many options and possibilities that can make one feel overwhelmed during this process. This can be avoided by doing the proper research ahead of time. The fast pace of today makes email on the go a necessity for most. If needing e-mail one should not pick a phone that is not Internet ready, and may want to consider a full QWERTY keyboard for faster composing of e-mails. Another feature available is walkie-talkie if this is something that was of interest; he or she would want to make sure that is a feature the phone offers. The majority of phones can call out internationally, but if one needs to use the phone abroad he or she would want to check to make sure the phone is world compatible. If voice calling is all one needs it does not make much sense to buy a phone with all the extra bells and whistles. If apps are needed, one might choose an Android or an iPhone because these phones offer the largest selection of apps available. In figure 1.A, based on the latest and greatest technology out today, here is a list of the top three mobile phones. All three of these phones have full access to the Android Market, and are the same in price with a qualified upgrade or new customer pricing. Now that one has decided on the style of phone and what features are needed he or she will make one of the most important decisions in this process. Before deciding on a specific phone one must choose a network. In the past it was easier to choose a network/provider because only one company generally covered a certain area. Providers now have nation-wide networks, and the major companies Sprint, ATT, T-Mobile and Verizon cover almost all areas; making this decision a challenging one. When choosing the right service one should take advantage of the 30-day trial offers that most providers offer to new customers. With taking advantage of the trial one can use the phone in areas he or she would normally be in to make sure service is sufficient. This gives them the ability to make sure it will work in their home, office and see if there are any dead spots in their area. This will allow them to determine if this service provider will be beneficial for their needs before being held to a two and with some providers a three-year commitment. The 30-day trial also pertains to equipment, so if one is not happy with the phone he or she can take it back and try a different model. Say if they thought they could access Facebook, then during the trial realized the phone they have did not support web; it could be exchanged. Perhaps if camera was a big factor on deciding their phone, but when they take pictures they come out fuzzy and not clear; the 30-day trial gives them the freedom to change their mind. Once all these decisions have been made one must then choose his or her calling plan. When choosing a phone plan there are many factors to consider. How many minutes are very important. Chicago Tribune states â€Å"to figure how much talk time you will need, count the minutes you spend on your current phone in a typical month, then add 25 percent to 50 percent as a buffer to avoid hefty overage fees† (Choosing the right cell, 2007). Cell phone providers offer additional services for a set monthly cost. Without the correct information and consideration of what he or she may be using the phone for one could pay a per use fee for additional features he or she failed to have added. If text messaging is something that maybe used, it is far more cost effective to pay $15 per month; rather than $.20 per single text. With data there is also a pay per use charge of $.03 per kilobyte or a monthly data package ranging from $15 to $30. A data package is something that will be needed if one wants to use email, social networking, picture services, apps, and GPS navigation from the phone. Figure 2.A is a chart of some of the main things people are doing on their mobile phones. If the consumer plans to be using any of these features he or she would want to make sure they have the correct plan and features to avoid high bills.

Function Of Print Media

Function Of Print Media Media refers to the groups that communicate information and news to all people. Media have divided into three types that are included print media, broadcast media and internet. Print media is the oldest media such as newspaper, magazines, journals, and other printed material. The printing media is responsible to reporting the latest and accurate news and information. Few type newspapers such as New Straight Times and The Star. After that, many types of magazine such as business, education, entertainment, travel, cate and fashion magazines. For example, Galaxie is an entertainment magazine and SME Entrepreneurship is a business magazine. They will have regular readers of print media. Broadcast media is the news is broadcast at radio and television. The main broadcast networks in Malaysia are RTM1, RTM2, RTM3, NTV7 and 8TV. Local news stations have large amount of audience because radio channel will report the local weather, traffic and events. Many people will listen to the radio cha nnel especially during morning and evening. Nowadays, the internet is the fastest transforming the news because every people know how to online and they will post the latest and updated news on the internet such as Facebook. Internet is a quickly way to transmission the news and information so internet will provide advantages toward various industries to promote their business. Besides that, weblogs also is a ways to transmitting the information through internet. Media is an important communication channel to disseminated education, business, news, entertainment, data and promotional message. 1.1 Function of print media 1.1.1 Education Industries Text book is a type of print media that is transmits the information to all students. Print media can help the intellectual and professional person to transmission their knowledge and experience to readers. Newspapers have provides the practice section for primary and secondary school students to do their revision such as News Straight Times. For example, tuition Centre is a type of education firm. Print media such as the newspaper and magazine have a loyal readership. This function can be very useful for advertisers and promote the courses of tuition centre. If you are targeting a specific geographical area, so you can advertiser the new tuition centre through print media. Magazine can promote the tuition centre through colourful pages and can show the beautiful picture of the tuition centre. Besides that, you also can control and plan the budget of the advertisement. For example, you can choose the size of advertisement space and choose the colour or black and white advertisement. In additional, flyer also can help promote the tuition centre. Flyer will cheaper than advertise through broadcast media because flyer will give to the target audience directly. If the information of flyer is detail so can prove to be a proper option. 1.1.2 Business Industries Newspapers contain a few of sections such as business section. In the business section will have some article are written by the people are successful in business. They can share their experience and knowledge to all readers. Besides that, print media can help the boutique or shopping complex to promote their products and inform the news of discount the price of their products to readers. Newspaper contains the job application section which will list the job specification and job description for job applicant. So the company can find the employees easily through newspaper. Magazines are a suitable option to promote the restaurant. For example, have some cate magazines that have shown to audience about the top ten cate in Ipoh. These will help the tourist easily to find the good restaurant and delicious foods at certain place. Readers will interest to the advertisement in magazine because of the better quality paper permits better colour reproduction. These will help the restaurant in crease their amount of customer. In additional, contain some business magazine such as Fortune and SME Entrepreneurship magazine. This magazine will mainly analysis on matters affecting the SMEs and Fortune magazine will covering local and international business in news, financial news, technology, companies, global economics and more. Print media will help to convey the useful and update business information to readers. 1.1.3 Entertainment Industries Every newspaper contains the entertainment section to readers. Entertainment section will show the list and time table of different programs are broadcast in different channels. Besides that, the summary of certain program also will show at the entertainment section so readers can choose the movie that you feel interest. Therefore, readers can save their time and watching television program follow the time table are show on newspaper. Besides that, the latest news of the artist and singer will write on the newspaper. The supporter of the artist and singer can pay close attention to their idol. In additional, newspaper or magazine also will promote and advertise some new songs, movies and games. The new movies in the cinema will show on the newspaper and magazine. Again, the summary of the new movies also will write on the magazine so readers can briefly understand about the movie. Besides that, have some games guidelines magazine that is show the news games and will explain about the content of the game. New movie are update in every month also will show on the magazine or newspaper. For example, Gempak is a comics magazine these will show and promote the news comics for readers. 1.2 Function of internet 1.2.1 Education Industries We can easily contact with friends or teachers through internet. Internet can help everyone to find out some information to solve their problem especially students. For example, college students can complete their college project easily through a small research on internet. Encyclopedia is the biggest source for searching information. The information in encyclopedia is the most effective informationà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s so students can get the accurate and update information to complete their projects. Besides that, we also can upgrade our knowledge through internet. In additional, there are lots of Online Learning Programs are available for people who are unable to attend classes or some courses. For example, e-learning has been carrying out at some college or school. College lectures can upload the new Moodle version on the internet and the students can download or view the latest Moodle version. E-learning will provide many advantages for student. Students can study at anywhere they have access to a computer and internet connection. Besides that, internet also can help the education industry such as college, university and tuition centre to promote their courses and show the success history of those industry through some colourful or sounding website or blog. These will help the education industry reduce their expenses to making flyer and can get a good effect through internet. 1.2.2 Business Industries Nowadays, many people will do the online business. Online business means that the company are doing business and earning a profit through internet. Business people must have creativity to create an attractive website and find innovation ways to leverage the internet for business purpose. Business people can create the business website to promote their products or company with some colourful pictures. Therefore, the entrepreneurs will easy to advertise and show the features of their products to every people through internet. They can save time and money because create the business website is free and no need to do face to face presentation with customers. Besides that, the business website is potential for reaching a wider audience compared with print media. For example, a restaurant has created a business website on internet so will attract many customers because of the beautiful and attractive pictures. After that, the company also can update their information of the products or com pany easily. The consumer can get the latest information through internet. In additional, latest and accurate business information or video about business can be uploading on internet and can search by anyone. Entrepreneur can record a video to promote and introduce their products and upload it on internet. Business person also can have a meeting with the partner at foreign country through internet. 1.2.3 Entertainment Industries Playing online games are become a habit of mostly teenagers. Internet have many online games to entertain all people especially teenagers and kids. Besides that, songs and movies also can search on internet. We can free to download the song or movie through internet. Next, supporter of the artists or singer also can get the latest news of their idol. The latest news of the artists or singer can be uploading on the internet. Artists also can share their happiness or experience with their fans through internet. MV of the songs also can be post on certain website such as Youtube. Therefore, singers or artists can promote their songs and movies through internet. In additional, new movies are broadcast on cinema also can upload some trailors to advertise the movies. Therefore, moviegoers can understand the content of movies before watching at cinema. 1.3 Conclusion Media is a good ways to transmission the news and information. Functions of print media are transmission information, entertainment, doing advertising and persuasive. Nowadays, internet has become a basic need for mostly people. During technology changing day by day, we are not only collecting data from internet, we also shopping through internet. Internet was provide many advantages towards varies industry. I seem that print media is suitable for education and the internet is suitable for business and entertainment to transmit information. 2.0 Introduction of traffic congestion Traffic congestion means that a situation in which a place is crowded with vehicles. The vehicles were difficult to move around. The numbers of cars on the road are likely to increase so will worsening the problem of traffic congestion. Problem of traffic jams were always occurs especially on the expressways are a common sight. Nowadays, most families have at least two cars. Problem of traffic congestion was causes by government and driver. Besides that, traffic incidents, work zones, bad weather and special events also were cause the traffic congestion. According to the Department of Transportation, incidents account for 25% of traffic congestion, bad weather accounts for 15%, work zones account for 10% and special events is 5%. These is called non-recurring congestion. According to the DOT, 45% of traffic congestion is caused by recurring traffic issues. Recurring traffic congestion included insufficient capacity, unrestrained demand, and ineffective management of capacity. 2.1 The first view Problem of traffic congestion should by handle by government. Government should act to reduce the number of cars on the road. Government should set up some public transport for all people. Public transport should be developed such as bus, taxi, trains, LRT (Light Rail Transit), monorail and railway. Therefore, the number of private cars will be reducing because we can take the LRT when we needs going to somewhere. Government should set up some talks to all people. These talks are about the advantages of taking the public transport. Besides that, government also can encourage citizens reduce using the private cars because it should be more expensive and inconvenient to take a car out on the road. For example, road tax of the private cars will be expiring after one year. Government can upgrade the quality of the public transport and make its comfortable, affordable and safe to take. Therefore, many people will choose taking the public transport more than using private cars especially s tudents and workers. If the people will more likely to taking the public transport then the road capacity will increase and the problem of traffic congestion will be handling. For worker, use car pools are a good ways to reduce the traffic congestion at the office hours. Government can make some poster or advertisement talk about the advantages of car pools. Besides that, government can convince the citizens try to use car pools with colleagues or taking public transport. In additional, bad weather is cannot prevented by government but government can try to adjust the design and structure of the roads. Government can implement a plan to manage the roads and provide alternate routes can help the situation. Besides that, the government should increase the taxes of sale of vehicles and petrol. For example, some workers cannot afford to buy the vehicle of expensive so can reduce the amount of cars. After that, the government also can set the high-priced parking in city area and increase the toll fees. Improve the technology of traffic road also can reduce the traffic congestion. For example, government can set the time-based and sensor-based traffic light control system at four-way intersection. Besides that, government can use the advanced signals, traveler information and updates in real time and emergency evacuation management. Rather than waiting until there is an incident, government should improve technology to more proactive when it comes to traffic congestion. 2.2 The second view The second view of other people say that it is the responsibility of individuals to use cars less and public transport more to reduce the problem of traffic congestion. As a citizens, we must support and cooperation with the government. Commuters must be willing to change our behavior related to reduce using the private cars. Therefore, we should support the government policies and follow the new policies to use more public transport. If can reduce the number of private cars so can increase the road capacity. We can use the public transport such as bus and LRT to substitute for the private cars. For example, students can use car pool and going to shopping or tuition together. We should follow the policies and decision is making by government. Using public transport can help us to reduce the expenses of petrol, toll fees, parking fees, air pollution and can reduce the problem of traffic congestion. Therefore, it is essential that individual accept responsibility help government to red uce traffic congestion and support government initiatives. Besides that, the people also can ride bicycle to go to school or work. These also are an action to reduce the traffic congestion and air pollution. In additional, citizens also can walk to somewhere near the house. For example, we can walk to food market if the food market is near by our house. Therefore, we are no need to drive a car and can increase the road capacity. 2.3 My opinion Traffic congestion was affects every people at same point, it will caused us to be late for work or school. In conclusion, I seem that government is an important role to reduce the traffic congestion. Government should take action to reduce traffic congestion in large cities. Government should encourage all citizens to use the public transport more than private cars. Besides that, all the citizens also need to support the policies and decision are making by government. All people should take their responsible and cooperation with government to reduce the traffic congestion. Finally, government and all citizens should take action to reduce the problem of traffic congestion together. 2.4 Conclusion Traffic congestion means that the cities are crowded by the cars or transport. This problem are always occurs in large cities. Government should provide more public transport for citizens to reduce the number of private cars. Government can encourage all the citizens use the public transport and improve the quality of public transport to attract citizens use the public transport. This action can help to reduce the traffic congestion in large cities. Government also can set some campaigns to talk and explain about the advantages of reduce the traffic congestion and increase the road capacity. Besides that, other person will say that reduce the traffic congestion are the responsibility of individuals. As a citizen, we must cooperation with the government. We should support the policies are set up by government. The responsible of the people is use the public transport and reduces using the private cars to reduce the traffic congestion. After that, we also can walk or ride a bicycle go to somewhere are near our house.

Heroism in Othello Essay -- Othello essays

Heroism in Othello  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Who are the true heroes in William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello? What is their perspective on making deep sacrifice for what they believe in? Let’s find the heroes and analyze their perspective on suffering voluntarily.    Helen Gardner in â€Å"Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune† considers Iago’s wife Emilia to be a true hero of the play because of her fearless outlook on death itself:    Emilia’s silence while her mistress lived is fully explicable in terms of her character. She shares with her husband the generalizing trick and is well used to domestic scenes. The jealous, she knows,    are not ever jealous for the cause But jealous for they are jealous.    If it was not the handkerchief it would be something else. Why disobey her husband and risk his fury? It would not do any good. This is what men are like. But Desdemona dead sweeps away all such generalities and all caution. At this sight, Emilia though ‘the world is a huge thing’ finds that there is a thing she will not do for it. By her heroic disregard for death she gives the only ‘proof’ there can be of Desdemona’s innocence: the testimony of faith. (145)    At the outset of the play Iago persuades the rejected suitor of Desdemona, Roderigo, to accompany him to the home of Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, in the middle of the night. Once there the two awaken the senator with loud shouts about his daughter’s elopement with Othello. In response to the noise and Iago’s vulgar descriptions of Desdemona’s involvement with the general, Brabantio arises from bed and, with Roderigo’s help, gathers a search party to go and find Desdemona. Once that Brabantio has located Othello, the general stands wit... ...lling her. She dies an unsung heroine of the play, giving her life for what she believes in, namely the innocence of her lady and the guilt of her husband. The abrupt change in her character toward the end of the play is a pleasant surprise.    Despondent Othello, grief-stricken by remorse for the tragic mistake he has made, acts heroically, following the example of Emilia. He stabs himself and dies on the bed next to the one he has wronged.    WORKS CITED    Gardner, Helen. â€Å"Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from â€Å"The Noble Moor.† British Academy Lectures, no. 9, 1955.    Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.   

Education System Comparison Between Usa and Latvia Essay

Introduction Everyone knows that in nowadays there are many possibilities and ways to learn, but in Latvia this is very topical theme right now. Many of the high school graduates want to learn abroad. And I do not think that this is good, because like about half of the students or people that go to learn abroad, never comes back to the native country. That is why I have chosen this topical theme. I am going to study educational systems in these countries. I am going to poll some of the 12th grade students about what are they thinking about learning in USA. I want to achieve that kind of position when a student reads my research project and especially the higher education in Latvia part he changes his mind and stays to learn here. My hypothesis for this Research Work is – the education systems in Latvia and in the USA are different and this is a reason why people in Latvia choose the USA for studies very often. The Aim of the Research Work is to compare the education systems in the USA and in Latvia and to find out middle school students opinion about studies in Latvia and in the USA. The main objectives of the Research Work are: †¢ To collect the information about educational system in Latvia †¢ To collect the information about educational system in the USA †¢ To make a questionnaire and analyze the results of middle school students opinion about studies in Latvia and in the USA Educational system in USA Education in the United States is provided mainly by government, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. School attendance is mandatory and nearly universal at the primary and secondary levels. At these levels, school curricula, funding, teaching, and other policies are set through locally elected school boards with jurisdiction over school districts. School districts are usually separate from other local jurisdictions, with independent officials and budgets. Educational standards and standardized testing decisions are usually made by state governments. The age for compulsory education vary by state, beginning at the age five to eight and ending at the age of fourteen to eighteen. A growing number of states are now requiring school attendance until the age of 18.[6] 1.1 Preschool There are no mandatory public prekindergarten or crà ¨che programs in the United States. The federal government funds the preschool program for children of low-income families, but most families are on their own with regard to finding a preschool or childcare. In the large cities, there are sometimes upper-class preschools catering to the children of the wealthy.[6] 1.2 Elementary and Secondary Education Schooling is compulsory for all children in the United States, but the age range for which school attendance is required varies from state to state. Most children begin elementary education with kindergarten (usually five to six years old) and finish secondary education with twelfth grade (usually eighteen years old). In some cases, pupils may be promoted beyond the next regular grade. Some states allow students to leave school at the age of 14–17 with parental permission, before finishing high school. Most parents send their children to either a public or private institution. According to government data, one-tenth of students are enrolled in private schools. Approximately 85% of students enter the public schools, largely because they are â€Å"free† (tax burdens by school districts vary from area to area). Most students attend school for around six hours per day, and usually anywhere from 175 to 185 days per year. Most schools have a summer break period for about two and half months from June through August. This break is much longer than in many other nations. Originally, â€Å"summer vacation,† as it is colloquially called, allowed students to participate in the harvest period during the summer. However, this remains largely by tradition.[6] Parents may also choose to educate their own children at home; 1.7% of children are educated in this manner. 1.2.1 Junior high school Junior high school is any school intermediate between elementary school and high school. It usually includes seventh and eighth grade, and sometimes sixth or ninth grade. In some locations, junior high school includes ninth grade only, allowing students to adjust to a high school environment. Middle school is often used instead of junior high school when demographic factors increase the number of younger students. At this time, students are given more independence as choosing their own classes. Usually, starting in ninth grade, grades become part of a student’s official transcript. Future employers or colleges may want to see steady improvement in grades and a good attendance record on the official transcript. Therefore, students are encouraged to take much more responsibility for their education.[6] 1.3 Higher education Post-secondary education in the United States is known as college or university and commonly consists of four years of study at an institution of higher learning. There are 4,352* colleges, universities, and junior colleges in the USA. Students traditionally apply to receive admission into college, with varying difficulties of entrance. Schools differ in their competitiveness and reputation; generally, the most prestigious schools are private, rather than public. Admissions criteria involve the rigor and grades earned in high school courses taken, class ranking, and standardized test. Most colleges also consider more subjective factors such as a commitment to extracurricular activities, a personal essay, and an interview. While numerical factors rarely ever are absolute required values, each college usually has a rough threshold below which admission is unlikely.[2] *- January 2009. data from www.ed.gov Once admitted, students engage in undergraduate study, which consists of satisfying university and class requirements to achieve a bachelor’s degree in a field of concentration known as a major. The most common method consists of four years of study leading to a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), a Bachelor of Science (B.S.), or sometimes another bachelor’s degree such as Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.), Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.,) or Bachelor of Philosophy (B.Phil.) Five-Year Professional Architecture programs offer the Bachelor of Architecture Degree (B.Arch.) Professional degrees such as law, medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry, are offered as graduate study after earning at least three years of undergraduate schooling or after earning a bachelor’s degree depending on the program. These professional fields do not require a specific undergraduate major, though medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry have set prerequisite courses that must be taken before enrollment.[2] Some students choose to attend a community college for two years prior to further study at another college or university. In most states, community colleges are operated either by a division of the state university or by local special districts subject to guidance from a state agency. Community colleges may award Associate of Arts (AA) or Associate of Science (AS) degree after two years. Those seeking to continue their education may transfer to a four-year college or university. Some community colleges have automatic enrollment agreements with a local four-year college, where the community college provides the first two years of study and the university provides the remaining years of study, sometimes all on one campus. The community college awards the associate’s degree, and the university awards the bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Graduate study, conducted after obtaining an initial degree and sometimes after several years of professional work, leads to a more advanced degree such as a master’s degree, which could be a Master of Arts (MA), Master of Science (MS), Master of Business Administration (MBA), or other less common master’s degrees such as Master of Education (MEd), and Master of Fine Arts (MFA). After additional years of study and sometimes in conjunction with the completion of a master’s degree, students may earn a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or other doctoral degree, such as Doctor of Arts, Doctor of Education, Doctor of Theology, Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Pharmacy, Doctor of Physical Therapy, or Doctor of Jurisprudence. Some programs, such as medicine, have formal apprenticeship procedures post-graduation like residency and internship wh ich must be completed after graduation and before one is considered to be fully trained. Other professional programs like law and business have no formal apprenticeship requirements after graduation.[3] Entrance into graduate programs usually depends upon a student’s undergraduate academic performance or professional experience as well as their score on a standardized entrance exam. Many graduate and law schools do not require experience after earning a bachelor’s degree to enter their programs; however, business school candidates are usually required to gain a few years of professional work experience before applying. Only 8.9 % of students ever receive postgraduate degrees, and most, after obtaining their bachelor’s degree, proceed directly into the workforce.[7] 1.4 Basic Curricular Structure Generally, at the high school level, students take a broad variety of classes without special emphasis in any particular subject. Curricula vary widely in quality and rigidity. The following subjects are fairly universally required in the United States: †¢ Science (usually two years minimum, normally biology, chemistry and physics) †¢ Mathematics (usually two years minimum, normally including algebra, geometry, algebra II, and/or trigonometry) †¢ English (usually four years minimum, including literature, humanities, etc.) †¢ Social Science (usually three years minimum, including various history, government/economics courses) †¢ Physical education (at least one year) Many states require a â€Å"health† course in which students learn about anatomy, nutrition, first aid, sexuality, and birth control. Anti-drug use programs are also usually part of health courses. In many cases, however, options are provided for students to â€Å"test out† or perform independent study in order to complete this requirement. Foreign language and some form of art education are also a mandatory part of the curriculum in some schools.[6] 1.5 Extracurricular activities A major characteristic of American schools is the high priority given to sports, clubs and activities by the community, the parents, the schools and the students themselves. Extracurricular activities are educational activities not falling within the scope of the regular curriculum but under the supervision of the school. These activities can extend to large amounts of time outside the normal school day; home-schooled students, however, are not normally allowed to participate. Student participation in sports programs, drill teams, bands, and spirit groups can amount to hours of practices and performances. Most states have organizations which develop rules for competition between groups. These organizations are usually forced to implement time limits on hours practiced as a prerequisite for participation. Many schools also have non-varsity sports teams, however these are usually afforded less resources and attention. The idea of having sports teams associated with high schools is relatively unique to the United States in comparison with other countries. Sports programs and their related games, especially football and/or basketball, are major events for American students and for larger schools can be a major source of funds for school districts. High school athletic competitions often generate intense interest in the community. Inner city schools serving poor students are heavily scouted by college and even professional coaches, with national attention given to which colleges outstanding high school students choose to attend. State high school championship tournaments football and basketball attract high levels of public interest. In addition to sports, numerous non-athletic extracurricular activities are available in American schools, both public and private. Activities include musical groups, marching bands, student government, school newspapers, science fairs, debate teams, and clubs focused on an academic area or cultural interests.[5] 1.6 Electives Many high schools offer a wide variety of elective courses, although the availability of such courses depends upon each particular school’s financial resources and desired curriculum emphases. Common types of electives include: †¢ Visual arts (drawing, sculpture, painting, photography, film) †¢ Performing arts (drama, band, chorus, orchestra, dance) †¢ Technology education (woodworking, metalworking, automobile repair, robotics) †¢ Computers (word processing, programming, graphic design) †¢ Athletics (cross country, football, baseball, basketball, track and field, swimming, tennis, gymnastics, water polo, soccer, wrestling, cheerleading, volleyball, lacrosse, ice hockey, field hockey, boxing, skiing/snowboarding) †¢ Publishing (journalism/student newspaper, yearbook/annual, literary magazine) †¢ Foreign languages (Spanish, French are common; Chinese, Latin, Greek, German, Italian, Arabic, and Japanese are less common)[5] 1.7 Advanced Courses Many high schools provide Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. These are special forms of honours classes where the curriculum is more challenging and lessons more aggressively paced than standard courses. AP or IB courses are usually taken during the 11th or 12th grade of high school.[6] 1.8 Home Schooling There was 1,3 million children that were home schooled in 2008, up 74% from 1999 when the US Department of Education first started keeping statistics. This was 2.9% of all children. Parents select moral or religious reasons for home schooling their children.[1] 1.9 School grades As you can see in the table (Table N.1), in the U.S. the first year of compulsory schooling begins with children at the age of five or six. Children are then placed in year groups known as grades, beginning with first grade and culminating in twelfth grade. Typical ages and grade groupings in public and private schools may be found through the U.S. Department of Education. Many different variations exist across the country.[2] For more foreseen scheme of education in USA see Appendix N.1. 1.10 Grading scale In schools in the United States children are continually assessed throughout the school year by their teachers, and report cards are issued to parents at varying intervals. Generally the scores for individual assignments and tests are recorded for each student in a grade book, along with the maximum number of points for each assignment. At any time, the total number of points for a student when divided by the total number of possible points produces a percent grade which can be translated to a letter grade. Letter grades are often used on report cards at the end of a marking period, although the current grade may be available at other times. Although grading scales usually differ from school to school, the grade scale which seems to be most common is as follows. The grading is based on a scale of 0-100 or a percentile. Note that in some jurisdictions the â€Å"D† grade (or that below 70) is considered a failing grade. In other jurisdictions a â€Å"D† grade is considere d passing in certain classes, and failing in others. If you need a concept of grading scale, see Table N.2.[6] Table N.2 Example grading scale in USA |E,N,U or F |D |C |B |A | | |- | |+ |- | |arodpamatskola |vocational basic school |9-year education may be |2 |no | | | |incomplete | | | |arodvidusskola |vocational secondary school|9-year education |3 |no | |arodgimnazija |vocational gymnasium |9-year education |4 |yes | |arodskola |vocational school |general secondary education |1-2 |no | | |(postsecondary) | | | | As it is seen from table (Table N.4), just one type of vocational schools – four year vocational gymnasium – concurrently to vocational training provide general secondary education and, consequently, access to higher education.[10] 2.8 Access to Higher Education In principle, access to higher education is general for all holders of general secondary education certificates. However, the institutions of higher education are free to determine which of the elective subjects must have been taken by the applicant at the secondary school in order to become eligible for admission to a chosen program. There are no fixed all-Latvian rules determining the admission system and it may differ between different institutions and even between different faculties of the same institution of higher education. The main forms of admission procedure may be as follows: †¢ 1 to 4 competitive entrance examinations; †¢ a competition of diplomas plus an interview by the Admission board, which may include general questions in subjects important to the chosen specialty; †¢ just a competition of diplomas (usually judging by the marks in subjects important to the chosen program and/or average mark in the secondary school certificate); †¢ knowledge of Latvian language is evaluated in these cases when the applicant has not had Latvian as the language of instruction in secondary school. An admission board consisting of staff members is formed in all higher educational institutions to carry out admission procedures in accordance with conditions announced at least 5 months before.[9] 2.9 Higher Education 2.9.1 Academic higher education (AkadÄ“miskÄ  augstÄ kÄ  izglÄ «tÄ «ba) is understood as a general higher education based upon fundamental and/or applied science. Academic education can be (and in most cases is) divided into two stages. A student has to perform a thesis of a Research Work at the end of each stage. I. First degree An academic degree and a Bachelor diploma (Bakalaura grÄ ds) can be awarded after successive completion of the first stage. Bachelor degree is an intermediate degree and can be treated as a completed higher education only in these cases when duration of program is 4+ years. However, part of the students leave universities having a bachelor`s degree and find their gap in the labor market. II. Second degree Academic master degree (MaÄ £istra grÄ ds) and the appropriate diploma is awarded after the second stage of academic education and should be treated as a complete university-type higher education. Master degree or a degree equivalent to it (e.g. medical studies are of a level of master`s degree but name of master`s degree is not applicable) can be awarded after total duration of 5-7 years of university studies. Master degree (or equivalent) is required for admission to doctoral studies. III. Higher degrees There are two of doctoral degrees in Latvia Degree of Ph.D. (Doktora grÄ ds) Holders of master`s degree are eligible for doctoral studies and the holders of Ph.D. is expected to be achieved in a 3-4 year period of full-time doctoral studies after a public defense of doctoral thesis. After defense of habilitation thesis you are awarded with a degree of habilitated doctor (habilitÄ“ts doktors). Doctoral degrees are awarded by specialized councils: †¢ promotion council (promocijas padome) – awarding the degree doktors only †¢ habilitation council (habilitÄ cijas padome) – awarding both doctoral degrees. The regulations for awarding of doctoral degrees are set and the promotion and habilitation councils are appointed by Latvian Science Council (Latvijas ZinÄ tnes Padome). 2.9.2 Higher professional education (ProfesionÄ la augstakÄ  izglÄ «tÄ «ba) is a higher education based upon applied science. It provides knowledge and skills for professional activities. Acquirement of the programs of professional studies can take place independently of academic studies, concurrently to or after them. Non-university type higher education institutions offer higher professional education programs leading directly to professional qualifications. To be treated as a completed higher education, the duration of professional studies has to be not less than 4 years. University-type higher education institutions may offer 1-2 year programs leading to professional qualification after achieving bachelor degree (bakalaurs).[8]

How America’s Social Structure Causes Deviance

Although many people know that deviancy is apparent in American society, few realize that it is society itself that causes deviancy. Our social structure exerts numerous pressures among people in our society to engage in non-conforming and deviant behavior to achieve the American dream. American society does this by emphasizing certain success goals, and not emphasizing the correct means to achieve these goals. In addition, deviancy is reinforced in numerous elements of American social structure through culturally defined goals, institutionalized means, societal reactions, and various forms of sanctions. Further, American society has a strong emphasis on wealth and an unreasonable demand for success. Therefore, Americans are lead to forms of innovation, deviancy, and live in a state of anomie. First, we must examine the definitions of deviance and norms. Henry defines deviance as a person who goes against the standards, expectations, and norms of their society (lecture). Further, deviancy is thought of as a personal attribute or behavior that results in social disapproval from others, or behavior that breaks the rules and norms for that society(Social Deviance 5). Norms are rules of conduct, and each norm is a statement of desirable or undesirable behavior. Examples of desirable and undesirable states of being are messages like â€Å"don’t be too fat† and â€Å"don’t be too thin† (Social Deviance 5). In addition, norms are the shared expectations and evaluations of behavior or being that the majority of society’s members agree upon. Meier states that expectations refer to how people will act or be, and evaluations are how people should act or be (Social Deviance 5). These expectations and evaluations further reinforce the standards and expectations of our society. Some sociologists previously believed that deviance was caused by biology. Sociologists once believed that deviant people were â€Å"born bad†, and that heredity, genes, and a persons body chemistry were all common denominators in deviant people. Merton contradicts this theory by noting that: With the more recent advancement of social science, this set of conceptions has undergone basic modification. For one thing, it no longer appears so obvious that man is set against society in an unceasing war between biological impulse and social restraint. For another, sociological perspectives have increasingly entered into the analysis of behavior deviating from prescribed patterns of conduct. For whatever role the biological impulses, there still remains the further question of why it is that the frequency of deviant behavior varies within different social structure and how it happens that the deviations have different shapes and pattern in different social structures. (230) Now sociologists, such as Robert K. Merton, have new insight into the theory that deviancy is caused by the society in which we live, not biology or body chemistry. This theory of deviance is also backed up by the belief that American society leads an individual to want the American dream, but does not afford them with the means to achieve them (Fanning). As members of a society obsessed with television and media, we have pressures that reinforce the popular belief that material possessions and wealth are extremely important in American society. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that if we can locate certain groups subject to the pressures of achieving the American dream, we should expect to find high rates of deviancy in its members. In addition, some social classes do not have equal opportunity to achieve goals. Due to discrimination, members of lower classes, and certain racial and ethnic minorities, all suffer from blocked opportunities. The stress and strain that results from blocked opportunities causes the individual to question the legitimacy of traditional and institutionalized means (Fanning). In effect, these members of society begin to think of other, often illegal, ways to succeed. Furthermore, when this occurs, respect for the traditionally accepted means of achieving goals crumble, norms weaken, and society is no longer able to regulate the methods its members use to obtain success. Therefore, high crime among lower classes can be attributed to the stresses caused by American society. If a person is born into a poor family, they might be forced to work while going to high school, and may not be able to focus on school work, like other classmates. Therefore, due to life chances, they might not have the opportunity to go to college due to bad grades or unaffordability. While constantly struggling to make ends meet, they decide to commit a crime to be able to have material possessions, since they believe that they will never be able to save up to buy anything through traditional work. This new social theory states that deviancy is people simply responding normally to the social situation in which they are in. Furthermore, Merton states that â€Å"some social structures exert definite pressures upon certain persons in the society to engage in nonconforming, rather than conforming conduct† (230). In addition, deviance varies culture to culture. What we consider to be deviant is different than what other societies consider deviant. Deviant definitions also change rapidly. American society used to think that women who wore short skirts, or smoked cigarettes were deviant. Now, the same acts are not considered to still be deviant. In addition, Merton notes that â€Å"some social structures exert a definite pressure upon certain persons in society† (230). American society is a perfect example of a society that exerts unreasonable pressures, and therefore leads some of its members to deviant behavior. This social theory is proven further by Merton’s theory of social structure. In American society, Merton believes that there are two elements of social structure; culturally defined goals, and institutionalized means. Culturally defined goals are integrated into society, involving various degrees of value and significance. Culturally defined goals are what society thinks its members should strive for, such as financial success. Institutionalized means are the regulations and norms that are the acceptable way of achieving the culturally defined goal (234). An example of a culturally defined goal is a good education, and a good job. Our society gives a strong social reaction to those who deviate its norms. Societal reactions embrace the ways in which society responds to the individuals, their acts, or suspected deviance. Forms of societal reactions are sanctions and formal sanctions. Sanctions are â€Å"punishments usually designed to control suspect or actual deviance† (Social Deviance 5). Formal sanctions are the punishments administered by the state or other form of legal authority. Examples of formal sanction are fines or imprisonment. Most often these formal sanctions have a negative stigma attached to them. Furthermore, sanctions are the ultimate measuring rod for identifying deviancy and deviant acts. An example would be a person given the formal sanction of a prison sentence being labeled a â€Å"ex-con†. Informal sanctions are sanctions from less official sources, such as family, peers and friends. Examples of informal sanctions are ridicule, peer disapproval, and criticism (Social Deviance 5). The next point to discuss is the common types of deviance that result from the pressures that American society puts on its members. Merton says that members of American society are sometimes forced to innovate to reach the goals society prescribes for them. First, goals are internalized and thought of as important, such as wanting a nice car, money, and a home. These people conform to the expectations society gives them, and therefore try to achieve the goals. The person who wants a car to be accepted in society, so they conform by going to college to get a good job, to be able to buy the car. The problem occurs when members want these things, but may not have access to them. Thus, this leads persons to have to innovate to achieve these goals (Merton 233). An innovator may be a person who is unable or unwilling to go to college to get a god job, so they rob a bank to be able to buy the home and car, and therefore can fit in to societies material demands. Deviancy is also caused by the numerous contradictions and variations American society has on what avenues are thought of as acceptable ways of achieving the goals. In addition, our society also has many double standards about what is seen as acceptable. Some cheat the system, but may be thought of as being crafty, or smart. On the other hand, some equally dishonest acts have punishments, and are looked down upon by members of our society. An example of this is when a business owner price fixes. Even thought the business owner is being exploitative, he is thought of as a business genius, and intelligent. People who cheat on their taxes, or get paid under the table are dishonest and using morally wrong ways of attaining money. However, these lawbreakers are not criticized, looked down upon, or thought of as criminals. An example of this double standard is when we find an illegal act with the absence of social disapproval. Without social disapproval, an illegal act is not considered to be truly deviant (Fanning). An everyday occurrence of this discrepancy is when someone is caught speeding. The act of speeding is illegal and punished with formal sanctions, such as fines, tickets, or license suspension, but is accepted in our society. We have police officers that are paid to regulate the highways, but no negative stigma attached to the act of speeding, or the punishment given by legal authority. The demand for success in American society is overwhelming. Success has become constructed as â€Å"winning the game† rather than â€Å"winning under the rules of the game. Through the same process, tension generated by the desire to win in a poker game is relieved by a successful dealing one’s self four aces, or when shuffling the cards in a game of solitaire. Merton states that â€Å"cultural (or idiosyncratic) exaggeration of the success – goals leads men to withdraw emotional support from the rules† (232-233). On the other hand, a person who robs a bank to attain money is labeled a criminal, and given punishments. People who mug, rob, and burglarize are feared and hated in our society, but cheaters, plagiarizers, and perjurers are not. These double standards create confusion, and lead members of our society to feel as if they are without guidance or clear morals. The next argument proving how American society causes deviance is due to American society putting too much emphasis on goals, and not enough value attached the correct means to achieve these goals. Merton states that â€Å"American culture continues to be characterized by a heavy emphasis on wealth as a basic symbol of success, without a corresponding emphasis upon the legitimate avenues on which to march toward this goal† (Social Structure 235). Due to this lack of clear guidance, strong social pressure to achieve, and inadequate ways to achieve the pressures society inflicts causes members to be deviant to attain acceptable status in our society. Merton further emphasizes that: Of the types of societies that result from independent variations of cultural goals and institutionalized means, we shall primarily be concerned with the first – a society in which there is an exceptionally strong emphasis upon specific goals without corresponding emphasis upon institutional procedures. No society lacks norms governing conduct. But societies do differ in the degree in which the folkways, mores, and institutional controls are effectively integrated with the goals which stand high in the hierarchy if cultural values. The culture may be such as to lead individuals to center their emotional convictions upon the complex of culturally acclaimed ends, with far less emotional support for the prescribed methods of reaching out to these ends. As this process continues, the society becomes unstable and there develops what Durkheim called â€Å"anomie,† or normlessness. Anomie is caused by a society without clear norms, such as American society. Being without institutionalized structure, expectations, and regulations, leads people to become disorientated. Capitalist societies, such as America, are perfect examples of anomic societies. Through ruthless competition and lack of morals and values, capitalists strive for money. Therefore, our social order becomes upset and people lose their way in pursuit of wealth without real regulation. In addition, money in our society is thought of as more important than honesty, morals, family, and happiness. As Merton states â€Å"in some large measure, money has been consecrated as a value in itself, over and above its expenditure for articles of consumption and or its use for enhancement of power. â€Å"Money† is a peculiarly well adapted to become a symbol of prestige† (233). Money can buy class, power and status, all of which are highly regarded in American society. Simmel emphasizes that money is highly abstract and impersonal. However acquired, fraudulently or institutionally, money can be used to purchase the same goods and services (Illuminating Social Life 84). Therefore, it doesn’t really matter how one gets money; it just matters that one has money. The next argument as to why American society leads its members to be deviant is because our society puts a tremendous emphasis on wealth and success. Merton states that the United States has three cultural axioms. The first axiom is that everyone should strive for the American dream, which are wealth, success and independence. The second axiom states that present failure is only a slight setback; third, the only real failure is personal failure, and the withdrawal of ambition (235). This social structure puts tremendous amounts of pressure on all individuals in American society. Our society looks down upon members who do not have wealth or success. Furthermore, there is a negative attitude towards people who do not wish to achieve the â€Å"American Dream. † Some members of our society are satisfied with what they have, and do not strive for raises, promotions, or anything greater. These people are thought of as lazy, lacking ambition and work ethic, and put down in our society for simply being content with what they have. In conclusion, many people think that money will solve all of their problems, and give them happiness. On the contrary, many wealthy people are miserable, and their money has created numerous problems for them. Merton notes that when he was an observer of a community in which the common annual was in the six figures. He witnessed one victim of the American Dream saying, â€Å"in this town, I’m snubbed socially because I only get a thousand a week. That hurts† (233). Competition among neighbors, community, co-workers, and club members is overwhelming. Even after achieving monetary success, it seems as is there is no stopping point to the amount of money some strive for. Merton states that â€Å"in the American Dream there is no final stopping point. The measure of â€Å"monetary success† is conveniently indefinite and relative† (232). No matter how much money one has, it is never enough. No one can be â€Å"too rich† in America. Durkheim states that â€Å"to pursue a goal that is unattainable is to condemn ones self to a state of perpetual unhappiness. Our passions must first be limited by a moral force† (Suicide 229). Since we put pressure on ourselves to reach unattainable goals, we are therefore always dissatisfied with our lives. These social pressures that are reinforced in almost every aspect of American society can further explain deviance. Merton states that: To say that the goal of monetary success is entrenched in American culture is to say that Americans are bombarded on every side by precepts which affirm the right or, often, the duty of retaining the goal even in the face of repeated frustration. Prestigeful representatives of the society reinforce the cultural emphasis. The family, the school, and the workplace- the major agencies shaping the personality structure and goal formation of America- join to provide the intensive discipline required if an individual is to retain intact a goal that remains elusively beyond reach. (233) One of the major agencies that shape young Americans morals and values is our education system. Our education system places great emphasis on grades, test scores, and grade point averages. It seems that achieving these things is more important than really learning and retaining information. Therefore, this leads to cheating on tests, bribing professors, and altering transcripts, and all of which are forms of dishonesty and deviance. Durkheim believes that once our society brings back morals and values we will begin to establish more acceptable and reinforced ways of achieving goals (Anomie 79). We must set achievable goals for ourselves and put more emphasis on attaining happiness, not monetary success.