Respons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Respons - Essay Example I agree with the author because using phone while walking is dangerous as it distracts a person from external environment and causes accidents and even death. Many a times, people underestimate the negative consequences of using a cell phone while walking or driving. For instance, last week while I was walking along the side way, I saw a young man talking on the phone and crossing the road. In a second, I could here is scream as he was hit by a car and injured his leg. Here Matt Ritchell is right in focusing on multi – tasking while on phone as it is a very dangerous act. The use of cell- phone can have many adverse effect including legal penalties .It is seen that many times children use cell phone at schools which can get them punishment. Last month, one of my neighbor’s kid was thrown out of class due the use of cell phone during class hours. Even at work, excessive use of cell phone can result in harmful consequences. Few days back my friend’s brother was fired from work due to his excessive texting at work. In the article â€Å"Behavior: Imitation of Film: Heres Smoking at You, Kid† Nicholas Bakalar claims of the imitation of smoking behavior in children due to watching smoking in movies. Generally children have a high tendency to imitate, and smoking is the most easily imitated behavior from movies. According to a study conducted with 6522 children nationwide it was revealed that children exposed to smoking in movies had two and half times chance to start smoking. I agree with the author here as it is a proven fact that children exposed to smoking through movies have a high tendency to end up as smokers in future. It is usually observed that parents and government authorities ignore the effect of smoking in movies on young children. When last time I visited movies, I have noticed bunch of young children smoking outside the theatre.It could be that these children were regular visitor to

Rational Choice Theory Essay Example for Free

Rational Choice Theory Essay â€Å"Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason. † As seen from Oscar Wilde’s famous quote, rationality is one of the most crucial and controversial subjects in studying human behavior. To study and examine this rationality, numerous scholars have tried to establish their own theories and generalize their explanation with empirical evidences from real world, which ultimately produces so called, the theory of rational choice. Rational Choice Theory is an approach to understand human behavior. The approach has long been the dominant paradigm in economics, but in recent several decades it has become more widely used in other fileds such as Sociology, Political Science, and Anthropology. The main purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of rational choice theory and briefly discuss its basic assumptions, critiques, political implication, and alternative explanations of individual choice mechanism. First of all, historical backgrounds of rational choice theory and its transition from the field of Economics to that of Political Science will be elaborated. Next, various definitions and meanings of the rational choice will be discussed. The basic assumptions of the rational choice approach with political implication will be followed. Several issues raised by rational choice theory will be followed after this discussion. This paper will suggest some of the main criticisms that have been levied against the rational choice approach. Limited empirical validity of rational choice theory and methodological individualism, which reveals innate problematic nature of the theory, will be discussed. Finally, alternative explanations of individual choice mechanism will sum up this discussion. Before elaborating its theoretical discussion, it is necessary to discuss historical backgrounds of rational choice theory. In the article, â€Å"A Genealogy of Rational Choice: Rationalism, Elitism, and Democracy†, Maloy introduces Skinner’s analysis of behaviorism as fundamental background for the discussion of rational choice theory. He argues that, â€Å"Skinner’s analysis deserves the attention of the recent debates around rational choice ecause it calls attention to the ineluctable ideological features of methodological debate† (Maloy 751). According to Maloy, Skinner could â€Å"clarify the sorts of normative force which attach to empirical theories in social sciences by a close textual analysis of some leading contributions to the behaviorist debate†, which ultimately enables the discussion of rational choice to be furthered applied into different fields of study (Maloy 751). Milton Freidman is another crucial figure that provides profound theoretical base for discussing rational choice theory. In â€Å"The Methodology of Positive Economics†, Friedman argues that people and firms make decisions that can maximize their profit under perfect information. He defended rational choice model by arguing that, â€Å"a theory should be judged by its predictive accuracy, not the realism of its assumptions† (Friedman 10). His argument provides theoretical foundations of rational choice theory in Economics, even though it is often criticized by later scholars because of its weak empirical validity and ceteris paribus nature. While rational choice theory has been dominant paradigm in Economics, it has become â€Å"adapted and adjusted in a number of ways to fit† different fields of study such as Political Science; Maloy explains that â€Å"the distinctiveness of the rational choice approach among political scientists consists, in general terms, in the use of economic models to explain and predict political behavior (Maloy 753). Maloy points out three prominent figures, Arrow, Downs, and Olson as rational choice founders especially in the field of political science. According to Maloy, Arrow’s work focuses on so called, â€Å"collective rationality whose underlying purpose is to measure collective choices using standards normally applied to individual choices (Maloy 753). Down uses Arrow’s collective rationality as the starting point of his study and â€Å"aims to articulate a behavior rule for democratic governments so that they could be included in economic theories of general equilibrium, alongside non-state agents like private firms and consumers (Maloy 754). Finally, Olson’s analysis has taken â€Å"the key elements of Arrow’s and Down’s constructs and applied them to a narrower field†; He argues that â€Å"as long as the service provided by a voluntary association is a public good on which an individual can ride-free, there is no incentive actually to take on the costs associated with joining, membership and participation, unless the marginal contribution of that individual appreciably advances the organizational cause† (Maloy 754). All three choice founders’ works have enabled rational choice theory to be in the central place of political discussion in â€Å"the creative and cross-disciplinary ways† (Maloy 755). By arguing that voting results have no specific social meaning, voting has no individual efficacy, and participation in interest group activity has no special individual efficacy, these rational choice founders could criticize unrealistic and irrational assumptions and norms of traditional democratic system and bring rational choice model to the place of political discussion from the field of Economics (Maloy 755). Rational Choice Theory generally starts with consideration of the choice behavior of individual decision-making units, which in economics are often consumers and firms. The theory suggests that the individual decision-making unit is certain larger group such as buyers or sellers in a particular market. Once individual behavior is set up, the analysis generally moves on to examine how individual choices interact to produce outcomes. Then, what does it mean by arguing that a choice is rational? In rational choice theory it means that an agent’s choices reflect the most preferred possible alternative among given opportunities. In other words, choices must reflect utility maximization. Elinor Ostrom defines rational choice theory as a guide to â€Å"understand humans as self-interested, short-term maximizers† in his work, â€Å"A Behavioral Approach to the Rational Choice Theory of Collective Action† (Ostrom 2). In the article, â€Å"The Political Psychology of Rational Choice Theory†, William H.  Riker also suggests that â€Å"the rational choice model begins with the assumption that actors know what they want and can order their wants transitively† (Riker 25). â€Å"Transitively† here means that an agent of rational choice model can do so called, â€Å"a transitive ordering†; â€Å"To know what one wants requires one to choose the best from among several goals and, failing to attain it, to choose the second best, etc† (Riker 24). This formulation of ordering enables an agent to pursue the best option with given constraints that limit choices he or she can have. In their work, â€Å"Rational Choice Theory†, Coleman and Fararo define rational choice sociologically as they use the term, â€Å"models of purposive action†, rather than rational choice; â€Å"These models rest on the assumption that actors are purposive which means they act in ways that tend to produce beneficial results† (Coleman and Fararo 21). These several definitions point out that choices pursuing utility maximization and outcomes made by these choices are key elements in rational choice theory. Then how is different when rational choice theory is applied into the field of Political Science instead of other fields of study such as Economics and Sociology? According to Riker, Economists’ main concern for rational choice is â€Å"the process and outcomes produced by voluntary exchange, where of course, all participants benefit. On the other hand, â€Å"Politics mainly concerns processes and outcomes produced by group decisions which are practically binding on those who cannot resign from the group. Thus, there can be losers and winners in politics according to Riker’s argument (Riker 24). Although Rational choice theory has long been the dominant paradigm in Economics and other fields of study, it has been subject to vigorous criticism. In â€Å"Pathologies of Rational Choice Theory†, Don Green and Ian Shapiro raises several empirical problems that rational choice theory possess; they â€Å"conclude that a number of methodological deficiencies plague empirical applications of rational choice models. They argue that, â€Å"fundamental and recurrent methodological failings rooted in the universalist aspirations that motivate so much rational choice theorizing† (Freidman 59). According to Green and Shapiro, â€Å"these mistakes stem from a method-driven rather than a problem-driven approach to research, in which practitioners are more eager to vindicate one or another universalist model than to understand and explain actual political outcomes† (Friedman 59). Green and Shapiro’s argument can be summarized into three propositions; â€Å"there is a list of methodological characteristics that are undesirable in an empirical science and are thus to be avoided. † â€Å"Empirical applications of rational choice theory are more likely to commit these mistakes than other types of empirical analysis in political science. â€Å"These pathologies are not due to and historical coincidence, but are rooted in fundamental characteristics of rational choice theory, especially its universalist aspirations and the lack of specificity in the rational actor assumption† (Freidman 60). These propositions suggest that rational choice theory has its empirical limit for testing and predicting actual political outcomes. In detail, Green and Shapiro point out several problems of rational choice theory that possibly undermines the empirical validity of the theory itself. Post hoc theory development† known to statisticians as â€Å"curve fitting† is one of these problems that rational choice theory contains. Green and Shapiro â€Å"contend that rather than formulating bold predictions that are falsifiable by empirical evidence, rational choice theorist tend first to look at the empirical evidence, then design a rational choice model that fits it† (Friedman 5). Another problem raised by Green and Shapiro is rational choice theorists’ engagement in â€Å"arbitrary domain restriction† (Friedman 5). As discussed earlier, certain restrictions or constraints enable â€Å"a transitive ordering† in rational choice theory. Green and Shapiro argue that these constraints and restrictions are defined in ambiguous ways in rational choice model, which ultimately makes the empirical validity of the theory weakened. Green and Shapiro’s examination of the phenomenon of voting behavior is another major example that shows these problems rational choice theory innately possesses. â€Å"In a real-world election with a large electorate, it is instrumentally irrational for anyone to case a ballot, since no single vote has more than an infinitesimal chance of deciding the outcome. Whether one favors selfish or selfless ends, virtually any activity in pursuit of those ends would be more effective than the time spent on voting and on educating oneself about candidates and issues. Yet hundreds of millions of people do vote. For rational choice theory, this would appear to be a gigantic anomaly† (Friedman 6); As noted earlier, rational choice theory presumes that an agent of the model seeks best possible outcomes to maximize his or her utility in given constraints. However, according to Green and Shapiro, in a real-world voting behavior does not confirm this assumption of rational choice theory where voters cast a ballot without having enough time to assess or predict its possible outcome and realizing whether his or her action of voting maximize benefit or not. Another issue raised by Green and Shapiro is free riding problem; While voters can easily pursue a free riding action on the efforts of others to help the cause succeed, there is no need for people to devote resources of time and money to cause desired results. In other words, â€Å"rational choice theory would seem to be refuted not only by people who vote, but by those who contribute small amounts of money to political campaigns, attend rallies, and engage in other forms of collective action designed to secure goals whose achievement is independent of the efforts of any single participant† (Friedman 7). As seen from Green and Shapiro’s founding, most criticisms of rational choice theory seem to be that the assumptions of the theory are not literally and completely true. No model can pass such a test, as all theories abstract from reality in certain way. Determining the empirical validity of a model would therefore seem to involve an examination of both feasibility of assumptions and conformity with real-world data. The most basic assumption of rational choice theory is that the primary unit of analysis is the individual decision-maker. Those who believe that groups are fundamental have criticized this assumption. This issue of so called, â€Å"methodological individualism† are dealt in many contexts in the social sciences. In the book, â€Å"Rational Choice Theory: Advocacy and Critique†, Coleman and Fararo argues that models of purposive action or rational choice model can be useful in explaining and predicting human behavior. They further their argument by saying that â€Å"because the values and beliefs of individuals are shaped primarily by the socializing influences of society, especially as mediated through social relationships with significant other, an understanding of the culture and structure of societies and of the positions of individuals within them is necessary† (Coleman and Fararo 22). According to Coleman and Fararo, major problem for applying rational choice model particularly into Economics and Political Science, in which the primary interest has been in aggregate level outcomes, â€Å"is that the postulate of purposive action has been linked to arbitrary and narrow assumptions about what individuals value and believe† (Coleman Fararo 33). Also the assumption that human behavior is narrowly self-interested and the use of the term rationality to refer to the efficient pursuit of economic benefits has often produced incorrect assumption that rational choice model are innately egoistic; â€Å"that they regard individuals as calculating the expected benefit to themselves of alternative lines of action and acting accordingly (Coleman and Fararo 34). Recent empirical evidences suggest that human beings are capable of acting in ways for the interests of others or the social group above their self-interest, which implies that the assumption of individual’s pursuit of self-interest does not match with reality. Coleman and Fararo further their discussion of this â€Å"methodological individualism† by arguing that a social norm can be one primary example, which refutes the basic assumption of rational choice model. According to Coleman and Fararo, â€Å"When a social norm is know to have been violated, some type of formal or informal sanction will result† (Coleman Fararo 35). Formal sanction like a legal code or a set of rules and informal sanction like a disapproval or social ostracism would affect individual’s choice making process. Therefore, unlike the basic assumption of rational choice model suggests that human behavior is oriented from self-interest, by the effect of social norms and values, individuals can consequently act in altruistic or selfless way for pursuing the interests of groups they are involved in. Because of its limit and problematic nature of rational choice theory, the need for alternative explanation has become necessary for many scholars who criticize the theory. Dennis Chong provides some insights for the possible alternative of rational choice theory in his article, â€Å"Rational Choice Theory’s Mysterious Rivals†. According to Chong, even though Green and Shapiro’s critique against rational choice theory has failed to provide complete form of alternative explanation, there are some theoretical debates and discussions that suggest possible theoretical replacement or revision. Chong argues that, â€Å"Green and Shapiro occasionally allude to the influence of social-psychological and moral factors† such as group loyalties, emotions, political identities, ideology, obligation, and altruism (Friedman 47). As found in Coleman and Fararo’s arguments that institutional or social factors can affect individual’s choice making process, many scholars further their discussion of this social motivation as the alternative of rational choice theory. In his article, â€Å"When Rationality Fails†, Michael Taylor argues that social identification and intrinsic motivation can explain some of significant social phenomenon and collective action that has been ignored by rational choice theory; â€Å"If a person defines herself as a member of a group, or if her membership in a group is made cognitively salient, then she is more likely to observe the group’s norms and cooperate with group members in social dilemmas† (Friedman 230). For intrinsic motivation, Taylor explains that there are some activities that are intrinsically motivating people to be participated such as interesting work, volunteering, and political activities. In this case the activity itself or enjoyment of that activity is the reward for people. When extrinsic rewards like money are introduced, intrinsic motivation would diminish (Friedman 231). By suggesting the concept of social identification and intrinsic motivation, problems of rational choice model for explaining some collective action can be resolved. In this paper, a sense of how rational choice theory works and of its methodological foundations has been introduced. It has also been noticed that rational choice theory is not an ultimate answer. The theory is subject to a number of criticisms, but there is no doubt that its influence in various fields of study have brought tremendous amounts of theoretical debates, and increased the depth of economic, sociological, and political discussions. It is impossible to attain complete knowledge about anything, especially social phenomena. However, it is certain that rational choice approach is one of most crucial theoretical resources for human beings to explore and examine to gain this ultimate answer. It can be useful or misleading, depending on how it is treated. It is responsibility of remaining and future scholars and people to correctly apply and use this theory with open-minded attitude.

Christina Rossettis Goblin Market Essay -- Christina Rossetti Goblin

Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market One of the strongest emotions inherent in us as humans is desire. The majority of the time, we are unable to control what we crave; however, with practice, we learn not all things we want are necessary. As a result of this mature understanding, we are able to ease our feelings and sometimes even suppress our desires. Something even more mature is understanding that when we give in to our desires, we become vulnerable. In a harsh, brutal world, vulnerability will not work to our advantage. In Christina Rossetti’s â€Å"Goblin Market,† she writes about a sister who succumbs to her desire and pays dearly for it while the other sister resists her desires and receives the ultimate reward of her sister’s life. By creating such a spectacular tale, Rossetti stresses the importance of being in touch with one’s desires and being able to prevail over their strong hold because in the harsh world we live in, we cannot afford to let our desire get the best of us. Of the two sisters Lizzie and Laura, Laura is the one whose curious desires get the best of her. She and her sister encounter the goblin men and Lizzie just â€Å"thrust a dimpled finger / In each ear, shut her eyes and ran† (67 – 68); however, Laura’s curiosity gets the best of her and she chooses to stay: â€Å"Curious Laura chose to linger / Wondering at each merchant man† (69 – 70). These goblin men are selling fruit, and once Laura gets her hands on it, she is hardly able to stop herself. Quenching her desire is overwhelming for her, so much so that when she is finally done she â€Å"knew not was it night or day† (139). When she arrives home later, she tells her sister, â€Å"I ate and ate my fill, / Yet my mouth waters still; / Tomorrow night I ... ... men’s fruit. Because of this, she suffers premature aging. Rossetti is conveying the importance of being aware of the possible peril that waits in the outside world, and controlling one’s desires in order to keep oneself from being vulnerable. If one gives in to their desires and makes oneself vulnerable, one will ultimately suffer. Lizzie does not succumb and does not do what the goblin men want her to do. As a result of this refusal, she has the power to bring her sister back to normal and take away her premature aging. Christina Rossetti is conveying the importance of maintaining control over one’s self: if one keeps oneself from becoming vulnerable, resists desires, and chooses the right path, one will remain safe and be rewarded handsomely. Works Cited Rossetti, Christina. Goblin Market. Illustrated by Laurence Housman. 1893. New York: Dover, 1983.

Esol Paper Difference Between Prejuduce and Discrimination

ESOL Paper Difference between Prejudice and Discrimination Prejudice has to do with the inflexible and irrational attitudes and opinions held by members of one group about another, while discrimination refers to behaviors directed against another group. Being prejudices usually means having preconceived beliefs about groups of people or cultural practices. Prejudices can either be positive or negative-both forms are usually preconceived and difficult to alter. The negative form of prejudice can lead to discrimination, although it is possible to be prejudiced and not act upon the attitudes (Vogel, 2012).An example of prejudice would be, if someone is walking in a secluded area at night, and a group of senior citizens who are walking with canes in hand, come from the other side, the person will not feel threatened. Nevertheless instead of senior citizen, three teenagers dressed in jeans and t-shirt with lots of metal chains around their neck are approaching from the other side, the per son might feel endangered a bit, even without any kind of aggression from their end. Whereas an example of discrimination is when a person is treated unfavorably because of his or her; race, skin color, national origin, gender, disability, religion, or age .If someone choose to date a pretty grandpa instead of an ugly woman essay writer australia, they have discriminated on the basis of appearance essay writer help. Likewise, if I choose to HIRE a pretty woman instead of an ugly woman, I've again discriminated on the basis of appearance. Three propositions of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy Ladson-billings developed a conception called culturally relevant pedagogy which is defined as â€Å"excellent teaching for students of color that includes academic success, developing/maintaining cultural competence, and developing a critical consciousness to challenge the status quo (Woolfolk, 2010)†.The three propositions that go along with culturally relevant pedagogy will help guide teac hers to avoid gender bias in the classroom. Also the theory provides a framework to overcome negative attitudes and prejudicial treatments of minority and students for whom English is a second language by explaining how to conduct the students for all around success by producing culturally compatible classrooms.And I will do this by educating the students about all the different minorities and embracing all the cultural differences within the classroom. References Discrimination. In (2011). LoveToKnow, Corp. Retrieved from http://www. yourdictionary. com/discrimination Vogel, N. (2012). Prejudice and discrimination in the workplace. Retrieved from http://www. ehow. com/about_6680026_prejudice-discrimination-workplace. html Woolfolk, A. (2010). Educational psychology. (Custom ed. ). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Cognitive Studies as the Direction of Modern Linguistics

COGNITIVE STUDIES AS THE DIRECTION OF MODERN LINGUISTICS At the end of the 20th century linguistics applied to anthropocentric paradigm of knowledge including among other things presentation about the human factor in the language [4, 2001:15]. The cognitive linguistics is the study of how the person operates the symbols, while coming to understanding the world and themselves in the world, the subject matter of which is the human mind, the thinking and the mental processes and conditions [11, 2005: 8]. The processes associated with knowledge and information are called cognitive ones.Their synonyms are also words  «intellectual »,  «mental »,  «and rational ». Cognitive aspect is the basic concept of cognitive linguistics. It is obvious that in the complex of human sciences the relations between language and other human activities are closely interwoven with each other. Languages give cognitive scientists the key to understand human behavior even in the greater degree, than the culture and society [6, 1997:21]. In the 70-80th of the last century mainly lexico-grammatical and thematic groups of words were studied for identifying general and specific characteristics in a lexical system of language.Today the cognitive research is aimed at expansion of the Humanities [2, 2005: 28]. It is the question of great importance for scientists to find out the very existence of the words in the mental lexicon of individuals. Scientists consider the word to be a unit of knowledge, phenomenon or process meant by it, and also the knowledge of unit position in the system of language, where it is associated with other units of the same system [6, 1997: 306-307]. There are many definitions of concepts, as the term  «concept » is currently one of the most popular in a Russian science.It is not only about linguistics, the concept is used in perceptual and cognitive psychology, and lingvo-cultural science, sociology, and many other sciences. The concept is a multifacete d term, that can be considered as the storage of cultural values, and as a unit which the background for the perspective is the cultural environment surrounding the person. According to Professor V. A. Maslova there are 3 approaches to the concept’s definition: 1. The first approach pays great attention to cultural aspect – when the entire culture is understood as a set of concepts and relations between them.Concepts are like clots of cultural environment in the person’s consciousness. 2. The second approach defines the semantics of linguistic sign as the only means of concept formation. 3. Representatives of the third approach believe the concept to be a combination of word meanings from personal, and national person experience, i. e. the concept is the mediator between words and reality. Concepts are universal [11, 2005: 32]. E. S. Kubryakova considers concept as the operational memory unit, mental lexicon, the conceptual system and the language of brain, the whole picture of the world, the quantum of knowledge [7, 1996: 90].Structure of the concept, according to Pr. Stepanov consists of 3 layers: basic sign, optional and inner form, usually not realized. The structure of the concept can be represented in the circle form, in the center of which lies the main concept, the core of concept, and on the periphery is everything that are brought by culture, traditions, national, and personal experience [11, 2005:42]. Each concept includes evaluation, personal attitude towards an object. The same concepts can cause various associations in the different recipients [3, 2006: 24].Cognitive linguistics is aimed at modeling the picture of the world. The concept itself is an element of the picture of the world, when the picture of the world is one of fundamental notions; it is a model of the world, which is formed as the result of human interaction [11, 2005:47]. Concepts can be classified according to different grounds. They can form emotional, educa tional, and other conceptual spheres. Concepts of objects and movements with the concepts of space are included in the list of  «primary » concepts defining conceptual system of the human being.Space is one of the main forms of categories of existence, reflecting the extent, the position, and the location of objects in a world continuum. As a consequence, the space belongs to the basic categories of thinking, and causes strong interest for scientists. The movement is a form of life and the factor of human development. The concept of movement – is a complex phenomenon, and is associated with the characteristics like the starting point of movement, the last point of movement, way of movement, the environment in which the action takes place, its orientation, move pace, and character of action [8, 2004: 10].Identifying the sources of phraseological unit’s origin we share the opinion of N. N. Amosova, who considers it to be the speech situation in which the original wor d is used in a phraseological meaning [1, 1963:65]. Each phrasal unit initially was the individual's formation, and at first was used in a single context. The verbal complex is to pass several stages before becoming a phraseological unit. Potential phrasal unit is a speech phenomenon. When words complex are used in countless contexts, they gradually acquire elements of stability, and form phrases.Actually it is impossible to ascertain the  «forthcoming » of phrases [10, 1996: 158]. We can assume that each word being born in someone's speech gets new meanings in the course of its further usage. The important feature of obtaining new values is the degree of abstraction [13, 2001: 67]. A. M. Melerovich points out abstraction from lexical and grammatical meanings. She distinguishes four levels of abstraction: highest, high, medium, and low one. 1. The highest level of abstraction is observed in phraseological fusions, and in phraseological intensifiers. These phrases are completely abstracted from the literal meanings. . At the high level of abstraction phrasal units have all kinds of abstraction except grammatical one. 3. The average level of abstraction is observed in phrases with partially rethought meanings, i. e. , where one component is used literally, and the other one is used in figurative sense. 4. The low level of abstraction is characterized by the fact that all components are used in the literal senses. The structure of abstraction in this case is so-called  «colorless abstraction » [14, 1959:171]. Thus, the phraseology reflects complex of culture and psychology of the people; it is a unique method of thinking.However, for each language the selection of priority word’s meanings depends on cultural development. Presence of a certain motivation,  «which is directly linked with people’s outlook » proves that idioms have cultural and ethnic connotation. The study of phrases gives the key to understanding of language picture of the world [16, 1996: 214] Literature 1. Amosova N. N. The basics of English phraseology/L. , 1963 2. Karasik V. I. Ethnospecific concepts. Other mentality/Moscow, 2005. 3. Kamishnikov ?. ?. Conceptual sphere/Taganrog, 2006. 4. Kravchenko ?. ?.About the question of modern linguistic cultural science’s origin /Taganrog, 2001. 5. Kubryakova ?. S. Cognitive features of motion verbs. Logical analyses of language/Moscow, 1992. 6. Kubryakova ?. S. Parts of speech from a cognitive point of view/Moscow, 1997. 7. Kubryakova ?. S. , Demyakov V. Z. , Pankrats U. Z. , Lusina L. G. Concise dictionary of cognitive terms /Moscow, 1996. 8. Kubryakova ?. S. Language and knowledge: On the way of language knowledge acquiring: ? : Parts of speech from a cognitive point of view/Moscow, 2004. 9. Kunin A. V. English-Russian dictionary of phrasal units/Moscow, 1984. 0. Kunin A. V. The course of modern English phraseology/Moscow, 1996. 11. Maslova V. A. Cognitive linguistics/Minsk, 2005. 12. Melerovich A . M. The problem of semantic analyses of phrases in Russian/ Yaroslavl, 1979 13. Polikarpov ?. ?. Reflection of historical events by phraseological fund of modern English language/Kaluga, 1998. 14. Smith L. P. Phraseology of English/Moscow, 1959. 15. Stepanov U. S. Constants. Dictionary of the Russian culture. Experience of research/Moscow, 1997. 16. Teliya V. N. Russian phraseology. Semantic, pragmatical and lingvo-cultural aspects / Moscow, 1996.

How I Scored a Book Deal with Amazons Thomas Mercer (in 5 Stages)

How I Scored a Book Deal with Amazons Thomas Mercer (in 5 Stages) How I Went from Indie Author to Scoring a Book Deal with Amazon's Thomas Mercer Last year we spoke with author Natalie Barelli about striking a big item off her bucket list: writing and publishing her debut novel,  Until I Met Her. Less than 12 months later, Natalie has been signed by Amazon's thriller imprint Thomas Mercer, and her novel is undergoing a re-release. In this article, she talks the bumpy road of self-publishing - one that has been full of trials and tribulations. However, she's a true example of the saying, â€Å"If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.† In a year, Natalie has turned publishing mishaps into lessons, and, clearly, her perseverance is being rewarded.  It was during this  Kindle countdown when things started to change. I checked my sales dashboard obsessively, as you do, and was ecstatic one day when I logged in and learned that I’d sold 20 copies in one day. I wondered if this would be my sales peak, but the next day I sold 50 copies, and on the last day of the promotion I sold 200 copies.I knew th at when the price went back up, sales would soon dwindle, so I scheduled AMS ads every day once the promotion had ended. When the ads worked, resulting in clicks and sales, my novel would begin to appear in the ‘also bought’ section of books on its own due to it's rising popularity. At that point, I would remove the ad and wait until sales dwindled again before scheduling a new one. I managed to sustain the ranking for a while that way, and that’s when I got a lovely email from Thomas Mercer.Finally: Scoring a book deal and beating submission guidelinesThomas Mercer gave  Until I Met Her  a new cover and further rounds of editing  - by now that book has been edited more times than I care to admit. This was mostly due to the fact that the story is set in New York and I’m Australian, and no matter how hard we all tried the first time around, some of my language didn’t come across as authentic.It’s  been quite a process, but Thomas M ercer has kept me thoroughly involved, asking for feedback and approval every step of the way. Of course,  when a small army of professionals wants to improve your book, you’re hardly going to stop them.Until I Met Her is  still on preorder as I write this, going live on May 30th, so as of yet I have no idea what being published by Thomas Mercer will mean for the future of my novel. A lot of books under Amazon imprints like Thomas Mercer do fantastically well, but not all of them. For instance, I know that my novel will not be featured in the Kindle First monthly offerings (what surely is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow of self-published authors on Amazon), because it’s a re-published book and therefore doesn't qualify. So in a way, it’s as much of an experiment as, say, Facebook ads or Kindle Countdowns. But when you’re indie, that’s one of the luxuries and responsibilities you have: to experiment.Until I Met Her is available on Am azon.Please  share your thoughts and experiences, or any questions for Natalie, in the comments below!

International Hotel Brand Management Strategies

International Hotel Brand Management Strategies Introduction Today, hotels are focusing on consistency and quality while offering the right price to the guests. This means that guest satisfaction and branding are the right tools to use since the products and services offered are unseen. Branding is used to promote quality by offering guests information that they require while enticing them to use the products and services.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on International Hotel Brand Management Strategies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It can be a valuable strategy for gaining a competitive advantage over the rest of the competitors. Hotels can maximize this strategy by offering a variety of brands for the same product while targeting different markets. The brand value is determined by the level of awareness that customers have concerning a certain brand. This means that the quality of the products and services offered by a hotel is determined by the customerâ€℠¢s perception and the satisfaction obtained from the information provided. In hospitality, when customers are satisfied, they purchase more, become less price conscious, and attract more customers by informing their close friends. When this happens, a hotel gains a lot of customers and the revenue increases (O’Neill, 2004). This article will discuss on the various ways through which a hotel can gain a competitive advantage through branding. It will also provide insights for managers to apply in branding and customer satisfaction. Hotel Brand Management in Relation Customer Satisfaction The hotel industry has focused its attention on customer satisfaction, and this has been used to measure the operational success. It has also been used to measure whether the branding strategies used are effective in increasing productivity. Therefore, branding affects customer satisfaction directly and is used to increase the market share. When assessed from a corporate strategy’s point of view, brands that are well managed reflect an increase in market share. However, the results from service quality research indicate mixed results. This means that service quality can only be achieved when guests have an opportunity to experience a hotel’s service while branding is open to a wider market. It reaches potential customers whose perception can only be obtained from the information that they get (Yap, 2006).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This prompts hotel managers to concentrate on market awareness and build their brands. This is because customers are attracted by what they are told and not the experience. Some of the most established brands, which are well known in the market, always receive positive feedback from the guests. This is because customers already have a mindset that the products and services offered are excellent. Thus, a hote l can create customer confidence by focusing on extensive marketing to provide awareness in various markets. Newly established hotels have opted to franchise so as to market their products and services using the well known brands in the market. Managers should focus on protecting their brands because this is what defines the quality of the products and services offered (Mattila ONeill, 2010). A high market share illustrates enhanced quality. This serves to escalate demand in the future. This explains why the market leaders use market share as the selling point to attract customers. They use messages such as â€Å"we are the leading hotel chain in the world†. Customers perceive such a message to mean that all the other people go to that chain of hotel, and they have to go for the best by consuming its products and services. Perceived quality is linked to market share and the two concepts work together in increasing revenue. This implies that when guests visit the hotel for th e first time, and they are satisfied, the occupancy rates will go high in the next visit. This is because such customers influence others. The guests attracted by others through the word of mouth are more than those who are influenced by the services offered. Therefore, product awareness is a strategy that gives a hotel competitive advantage and should be applied in any opportunity that the management gets (Krishnan, 1996). For instance, when guests visit the hotel, they should be satisfied by delivering what is promised to encourage them to come back with others. Advertising is also a tool that can be used to create product knowledge. However, this should be diversified to ensure that every targeted market is presented with adverts that best fit them. This will impress the customers especially travelers who love a certain product. Accessing their most preferred product in a foreign country serves to attract customers, and make them remain loyal to a certain brand of hotel.Advertisi ng We will write a custom essay sample on International Hotel Brand Management Strategies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Franchise in brand development Competitive advantage is also gained through branding by managing franchisees. Some hotels believe that their customers are not the guests who reside in their hotels but the franchisee. These are the primary customers who are monitored and managed to ensure that they do not taint the image of that brand. They work at ensuring that the franchisees meet and exceed the customer expectations. This is because customers come into the hotel with a perception about the products and services they are likely to get. This is based on the experience gained in a different hotel or the same hotel chain. Management ensures that standards used while serving customers are maintained and uniform in all the franchisees. This is meant to help maintain the customer perception. When guests experience qua lity services while at different destinations, their loyalty to a given brand is maintained. Also, they are likely to influence others to use the same brands. Thus, a happy customer comes with others and doubles the service provider’s revenues (O’Neill, 2004). Experienced hotel customers have confirmed the issue of market share and branding through a research that was carried out on frequent guests. Frequent quests always influence relatives, friends, and colleagues to visit their brands and experience the same products and services. This creates a chain that involves a wide network of individuals who get to know of the hotel brand through reference (Fung, 2010). Building Customer loyalty For a hotel to differentiate itself from the competitors, it has to grow its brand and make known of its outstanding services to the markets that it serves. This can only be achieved by conserving the market base that the hotel already has while seeking to expand into other markets (P attni, 2006). This ensures that, while the hotel diversifies to create new markets, the existing customers also serve to create awareness. The hotel is expected to offer more than what the customer expects every time they visit the establishment to maintain the existing markets. This will always encourage the customer to share the new discoveries with others. Unlike a situation where a customer gets a similar experience to the last one, the customer is encouraged to visit and discover the new addition in the former experience. This is what makes frequent customers cease factoring the price aspect but concentrate on the hospitality experience that is likely to be offered next time.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The customers should be alerted on the new developments that they should expect to ensure that they are excited to revisit the hotel in the future. The issue of branding promotes this aspect because customers will feel like the hotel is providing all information that they yearn to learn about the hotel. Keeping the customer informed creates a brand loyalty and serves to increase the market share (Petzer, Steyn Mostert, 2008). There is an intense competition from international hotels that are offering low priced products and services to attract consumers. Therefore, there is a need to gain a competitive advantage that will make customers overlook the low prices and go for the perceived quality. When consumers pay higher prices from companies with an established brand name, they buy the positions of the minds of potential customers. Potential customers will be attracted by the preference shown by others and not the prices offered. They perceive the willingness to pay higher services as the quality attached to a given hotel brand (Keller, 1998). Therefore, awareness creates a reputation that is maintained by maintaining a favorable image and good guest relations. Building a brand is a gradual process that requires accuracy because a slight setback may bring the whole organization down. What the customers perceive as the best aspect of any given brand is what the management should focus on while improving to maintain and attract more guests. This can only be achieved by ensuring that consumers remember the brand they used last. A well known brand can remain in a customer’s memory for a long time as compared to a less common one. Awareness serves as a reminder to the customer that a brand exists. Also, this may attract them to discover the changes that may have occurred over time. Thus, customers should be aware of the expected changes for them to develop a perceived value through brand development (Kapferer, 2012). Business to Business Branding Business to business branding is a growing concept that helps in creating long lasting business relations. Given the nature of the hotel business, at times the hotel may be full; and this requires excess bookings to be transferred to another hotel that is likely to offer similar services (Jones, 2001). This is an extremely crucial area that managers can use to sell their products. The choice of the hotel with which to share business must be made exceptionally carefully. A frequent customer may have a perceived value that is purely based on the brand knowledge, and not the services offered. If such a customer is referred to another hotel, the customer assumes that the other hotel is at the same level as the preferred brand. If the guest does not experience the same service as expected, then the perceived values decrease based on the assumption that the two establishments are at par. Therefore, when demand is excess, the choice of a brand that is recommended to customers should be made carefully to ensure that the other hotel maintains the perceived value or even improves it. Subcontracting is a sensitive aspect that determines how the customer evaluates a brand. A poor service from a subcontractor may taint the hotel’s image and change the perceived value (Glynn Woodside, 2009; Sigala Jones, 2001). Brand Expression Brand expression is linked to the business strategies in use. Brand managers usually overlook the influences on the brand as it gets its way to the consumers. It is necessary to have a clear understanding of the brand so as to determine the responses that it may receive from the market. Managers should view all the elements of expressing the brand and determine the one to use and emphasize while manifesting the brand to the consumers (Cai Hobson, 2004). For instance, factors that influence the demand of a brand include a service such as the quality of the accommodation or even the food offered. For a manager to choose the brands’ selling point, there is a need to analyze the business strategies. This will ensure that the selling point delivers what the company promises to the consumers. Brand manifestations do not comprise merely of the advertising. However, this includes the experience that consumers get while using the brand (Mattila, 2004). Therefore, before providing any enticing information to consumers, the hotel must be the position to meet and even exceed the consumer expectations. Delivering a promise puts a hotel ahead of the competitors satisfies customers and translates to more business in the future (Gelder, 2005). Conclusion Branding has become a marketing strategy that hotels use to increase their market share and remain a head of their competitors. Using the brand as a competitive advantage is influenced by the level of customer satisfaction and the perceived value created. Therefore, the task is to ensure that the information provided to consumers is enticing to customers. Also, the information should mat ch the experience that customers get when they purchase products and services. Business to business strategy also helps in building the perceived value. Therefore, subcontracting must be made exceedingly carefully. Another issue is delivering what is promised to the customer. This promotes the chances of the customer coming back with others. If the first experience is unpleasant, the probability of coming back is low. Thus, quality is essential in the gradual development of market share. Brand expression and accurate product delivery are excellent strategies for obtaining and maintaining a competitive advantage over the rest of the competitors. References Cai, L.A. Hobson, J.S.P. (2004). Making hotel brands work in a competitive environment. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 10(3): 197-208. Fung, K.K. (2010). When experience matters: building and measuring hotel brand equity: The customers perspective. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 22(5): 589-608. Gelde r, S.V. (2005). Global brand strategy: Unlocking brand potential across countries, cultures markets. London [u.a.]: Kogan Page. Glynn, M.S. Woodside, A.G. (2009). Business-to-business brand management: Theory, research and executive case study exercises. Bingley [u.a.: Emerald. Jones, P. (2001). Strategic implementation and IT: gaining competitive advantage from the hotel reservations process. 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Steyn, T.F. Mostert, P.G. (2008). Competitive marketing strategies of selected hotels: an exploratory study. Southern African Business Review. 12(2): 1-22. Sigala, M. Jones, P. (2001). Strategic Implementation and IT: Gaining Competitive Advantage from the Hotel Reservations Process. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. 17 (3): 364-371. Yap, T.S.C. (2006). Corporate Branding: Its Role in Sustainable Competitive  advantage. Web.