Customer Behavior in Fast Food Industry Essay Example for Free

Customer Behavior in Fast Food Industry Essay Recently a customer behaviour survey was undertaking among fast food giants like Hungry Jacksâ„ ¢, K.F.C.â„ ¢, Mc Donaldsâ„ ¢, and Pizza Hutâ„ ¢ Much has been written and said about cleanliness in restaurants. Every now and then people vindictively drool over a story about a restaurant not being up to health regulation standards. Customers complain about waitresses handling money and then serving food without washing their hands. Sometimes they take a glimpse into the kitchen and are horrified at the cooks personal hygiene. But how often are customers scrutinized for their filthy habits? Their nose picking antics and then a serve of pizza straight after, or a visit to the toilets without washing hands. How have customers been getting away with these unclean habits for so long in a society where cleanliness should be a priority? What shall restaurant managers do about these peculiar people who come and drag them through court because of food poisoning? Was it really the food or was it their grubby hands which fingered the food after they came from the toilet or from their habitation? Some Eastern customs have a sweet smelling, hot or cold finger bowl on the table. Often the food is not served until all have dipped their fingers in this, really, disinfectant solution. In aeroplanes, sometimes hot, disinfectant face washers are handed out before a meal is served. Maybe restaurant proprietors ought to take note and introduce something similar. Societys cleanliness has degraded over the years, people have become lazy, nonchalant about cleanliness and laugh when something is said about personal hygiene. Watch out sickness is on the rise! Germs are gaining in numbers, beware lest they consume you in your ignorance! Questionnaire Restaurant Proprietors Answered 1: Do customers wash their hands before they sit down and dine-in? No, not generally. Actually, I have never seen anybody do it yet. 2: Do adults make more mess than children? Yes, definitely. Its surprising, but they do. 3: What is the general behaviour of adults like? Ok I guess 4: Do they speak quietly, noisy or outright rudely and loud? Most people behave politely but when you have a group of teenagers they are often very noisy, rude and offensive to other customers as well as the staff. 5: Are adults more polite and friendly to staff than teenagers? A lot of teenagers are generally polite and friendly but some adults are more rude than teenagers. 6: Do customers have respect for the furniture, crockery, glassware etc? Yes, usually theyre pretty good. 7: Do they steal anything like salt and pepper shakers, cutlery etc? Theft is high with cutlery, desert bowls and anything smaller than the dinner plate. 8: Do most pay their bill without grumbling? Yes, they dont have much choice. Do they? 9: In places where you can eat as much as you like, are customers wasteful? Absolutely! The gross amount of waste is shocking. Â  With so much poverty and starvation in the world it is sometimes sad to see good food going to the dump. 10: Do customers touch food on self-serve salad bars and put it back? Children and teenagers are the worst offenders. Adults also have a habit of fingering foods and not consuming it. A bad habit if they havent washed their hands. 11: Would you like to see a better dress standard for customers that dine here? No, we would loose a lot of customers if we did. Were a family restaurant. People drop in and out all the time. 12: Do customers who use toilet facilities wash their hands after use? Cant really tell. I would like to think they do. 13: In what state do they leave the toilet facilities after using them? No worse than any other public toilet facility. 14: Does management get many complaints from customers? Occasionally, we try to sort out any loud gatherings before they get out of hand. Most people are satisfied with the quality and quantity of food we prepare every day.

Computational Chemistry for Drug Discovery

Computational Chemistry for Drug Discovery Computer Chemistry Computational chemistry is a branch of chemistry that uses computers to assist in solving chemical problems. It uses the results of theoretical chemistry, incorporated into efficient programs, to calculate the structures of molecules and solids. In theoritcal chemistry, chemists, physicist and mathematics develop algorithms and computer programs to predict atomic and molecular properties and reaction paths for chemical reactions. Computational chemists, in contrast, may simply apply existing computer programs and methodologies to specify chemical question. There are two different aspects to computational chemistry. Computational studies can be carried out in order to find a starting point for a laboratory synthesis, or to assist in understanding experimental data, such as the position and source of spectroscopic peaks. Computational studies can be used to predict the possibility of so far entirely unknown molecules or to explore reaction mechanisms that are not readily studied by experimental means. Computer-aided drug discovery/design methods have played a major role in the development of therapeutically important small molecules for over 2-3 decades [133]. Over the past couple of decades, many powerful standalone tools for computer-aided drug discovery have been developed [134]. In silico metabolism After adopting combinatorial chemistry and high throughput biological screening in the past couple of decades, the pharmaceutical industry generated a large collection of potent and selective compounds for numerous targets. However, to become an optimal drug, in addition to potency and selectivity, a compound must have appropriate ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excreation), safety and developability characteristics. Relaying solely on potency in the early stage of drug discovery can result in disproportionate attrition after clinical candidate selection contributing to the exorbitant costs of discovering and developing drugs. Only about one in ten of those diligently chosen, highly potent and selective candidates that enter development reach the market often due to inadequate ADME properties. Therefore, it is extremely important to consider the ADME characteristics of compounds earlier in the discovery process to wager bets on compounds that have a greater potential t o survive the development and clinical trail stage of drug development. Increasing the odds of success to one in five (instead of ten) would reduce the total cost of bringing a new therapeutic to the market by 33%. Experimental determination of ADME and pharmacokinetic (PK) characteristics is both expensive and time consuming, and is not practical for large numbers of compounds, especially when the pharmaceutical industry is under severe pressure to cut costs and improve efficiency. The Price tag to support various ongoing discovery projects in pharmaceutical company for synthesis and high throughput measurement of permeability, solubility, metabolic stability and acute toxicity can run into millions of dollars. Therefore, much attention is being focused on the application of in silico screens to reliability predict ADME attributes solely from molecular structure. In silico prediction of ADME properties will not only reduce cost and development cycle times by wisely directing resources to essential experimental testing, but also bring forward their consideration earlier at the lead generation stage when compounds are being synthesized and tested almost exclusively to meet pharmacological target potency levels. At the cost of experimental results indicated above, a mere 10-20 % reduction in high throughput experimental measurement of permeability, solubility, metabolic stability, acute toxicity through the use of in silico screens can lead to significant savings. Further, application of in silico screens offers an ideal ‘fail-early-fail-cheaply’ strategy for drug discovery because their application requires nothing more than inputting the basic structural information of a compoun d into a validation model. Metabolic Stability Measurement in Drug Discovery At most major pharmaceutical companies, metabolic stability assays are conducted at the first investigation into the metabolism of a compound. These in vitro assays generally utilize liver microsomes and/or hepatocytes to furnish important information about the rate and/or metabolism. In vitro metabolic studies are important in optimizing pharmacokinetic properties such as in vivo half life, maximum concentration and systemic exposure, because rapid metabolism is often a key factor contributing to poor exposure. The metabolic stability data is helpful for ranking molecules with respect to their ability to resist metabolism. Though high-throughput automated metabolic stability assay systems have been developed by the major pharmaceutical companies, screening a large number of compounds is still intensive. Thus, in silico prediction of metabolic stability can be used to rationalize experimental testing and have significant resources. Further, these models allow for prediction of metabolic stability for virtual libraries, thus bringing forwarded their consideration earlier to hit-to-lead stage. In silico Models for Metabolism Studies There are several types of in silico tools available for investigations into metabolism. These include knowledge based systems (metabolism databases) rules based or expert systems and quantity structure properties relationship (QSPR) and enzyme structure modeling systems. At its simplest, the partition coefficients, Log P (or its computed equivalent), of a drug in the n-octanol-water system has been shown to loosely correlate with the metabolic stability of a compound. As in silico calculations of Log P values have become readily available, they are being implemented in many of the current metabolism prediction packages. The earliest in silico metabolism tools were the metabolic reaction databases. In principle, these are databases with the published metabolic reactions and structure of parent compounds and their metabolites. Some of these allow creation of corporate metabolic databases as well. In most cases, these databases can be searched for specific biotransformation (by structure and substructure), biotransformation keywords, and by other user-defined fileds. The key advantage of this knowledge based in silico systems is that they include detailed metabolism findings and original references. Prediction of Metabolites The above mentioned knowledge based systems provided the groundwork for the development of rules based in silico predictors of metabolites, also called expert systems. Commercial rules based programs such as METEOR, META and MetabolExpert iteratively interrogate the chemical bonds of a molecule and apply programmed biotransformation rules in a predetermined hierarchy. As one can imagine, without means of terminating the metabolism tree a very large numbers of metabolites will be generated of predicted. Several of these programs allow the user to specify the number of levels of biotransformation or may use a LogP calculation to terminate the biotransformation process. Prediction of Sites of Metabolism The mechanism of oxidation by CYPs is though to be constant across all CUPS. One of the most important steps in the oxidation of drugs (by CYPs) is the ability of the perferyl oxy species (FeO+) to carry out a one-electron oxidation through the abstraction of hydrogen atoms. In silico packages such as Admensa, COMPACT and Metasite calculate the likehood of abstracting a hydrogen atom from all sites on a molecule, and then quantify which sites are most likely to be oxidized. The greatest advantage of these types of predictions is the ability to quantify the most likely major â€Å"hot spots† on the molecule. Prediction of Substrate Binding The ability of a molecule to properly dock on the active site of enzyme plays a major role in accurately determining the site(s) of metabolism on a molecule. Therefore, modeling of the P450 active sites has long been a goal for metabolism prediction. Some of the first attempts to model the active site of metabolizing enzymes used pharmacophore, site directed mutagenesis, and protein homology. Using homology models built from bacterial and mammalian P450s, in silico studies of docking potential substrates into the active site have been performed with mixed success. Now that the crystal structure for human CYP3A4, CYP2C9, CYP2C8 and CYP2A6 are available docking experiment with these models should more reliably predict the sites of metabolism on a molecule that the predictions form the homology models. Prediction of Metabolic Inhibition One of the causes of drug-drug interactions is the inhibition of metabolic pathways. Enzyme inhibition by a drug leads to a decrease in metabolism and intrinsic clearances, and an alteration in pharmacokinetics of a co-administered drug. Any knowledge around the potential of drug-drug interactions is useful for a quantitative assessment of the ability a new molecular entity to inhibit the metabolism of another drug. In silico methods to predict drug-drug interactions are mostly limited to competitive inhibitors because they rely primarily on the binding models in the used as templates with alignment and orientation of core structure in an active site. However, the quality of prediction depends on the structural similarity to the molecules that were used to build the model. Inhibitors of CYP2D6 and CYP2C9 have been predicted using the CoMFA method. For inhibitors of CYP3A4, CYP2C9 and CYP2D6, methods such as CATALYST and GRIND have been used to reduce the bias in the alignment of inhibitors. Prediction of Enzyme Induction The induction of drug metabolizing enzymes is an additional way in which co-administered drugs can affect the clearance and pharmacokinetics of a given drug. Induction or increased expression of the drug metabolizing enzymes leads to an increase in the rate of metabolism and ultimately, to increase intrinsic clearance. Therefore, enzyme induction leads to decreased drug exposure which may results in therapeutic failure. Most often, the induction of enzymes occurs through the activation of nuclear receptors such as the Arylhydrocarbon receptor (Ahr), the Pregnane X receptor (PXR) and the constitutive Androstane Receptor (ACR). The activation of nuclear receptors PXR and CAR are responsible for the induction of several drug metabolizing enzymes including CYP3A, UGT1A1, SULT1A and CYP2C9. On the other hand, induction of CYP1A, SULT1A1 and UGT1A1 has been associated with activation of AhR. Prediction of Metabolic Stability As mentioned above, metabolic stability influences both oral bioavailability and half life of a drug. There is good correlation between in vitro metabolic stability and in vivo clearance. Therefore, the assessment of metabolic stability of compounds is being demanded and earlier in discovery projects. To meet these needs, in silico models are commonly employed. As described above, many different in silico tools focused on studying different aspects of metabolism have been developed. In our experience, the choice of the in silico tool by a user should primarily be guided by the type of information and level of accuracy that is desired. It is imperative that the developers of these in silico tools continually refine and validate them to reliably predict and quantify the metabolic fate of drug in humans. On the other hand, the chemists, biologists and ADME scientist on project teams to evaluate and use the existing in silico tools and to challenge their developers to demand tools that will rationally and efficiently move the discovery projects forward. Metabol Expert Metabol Expert is an ideal program for a quick prediction of the metabolic fate of compound in the drug discovery process during the dispositional research phase. Metabol Expert is a unique tool for initial estimation of the structural formula of metabolites. Metabol Expert is a rule based system with open architecture, in other words, the chemists, metabolism researchers, drug disposition experts and environmental managers can understand, expand, modify or optimize the data on which the metabolic structural estimation relies. Commercialized by Compudrug in 1987, Metabol Expert is composed of a database, a knowledge base and several prediction tools. The basic biotransformation database contains 179 biotransformations, 112 of which are derived from Testa and Jenner, the others are based on frequently occurring metabolic pathways. The transformation knowledge-base is composed of if-then type rules. Each is composed of our components, the structure changed during the transformation, the new substructure formed, a list of substructure at least one of which must be present in the molecule for the biotransformation form occurring. These rules have been derived from the literature by experts and are input into the system by means of graphical tools. The system is open so that new rules can be added or existing ones modified or deleted. There are two types of predictions in Metabol Expert. In the first type, the system tries to match basic transformations automatically. There is a filter so that biotransformation sequences can be arrested after generation of a specified number of metabolites. Basic transformations are classified as phase I or phase II. In the event of a phase II metabolite being generated, the sequences are arrested and the metabolite is not included in the next level. If a transformation results in the generation of two metabolites, then both are passed into the next level. The second type of analysis is an extended prediction model in which metabolites generated from basic transformations is compared to a list of transformations in a learned tree for a given species and the analogues are then listed in order of similarity. The program then attempts to quantify predictions based in the information in the learned tree. MexAlert MexAlert was developed to be an ideal assistant for high-throughput screening. It is advantageous to consider metabolism still before synthesis of the compounds, in order to exclude unwanted metabolic pathways, leading, for example, to first pass effect or to formation of toxic intermediates. MexAlert predicts first pass metabolic pathways by quickly identifying sites on the molecule where Phase II metabolic transformations (in other words, conjugation) may occur. It is rule based system; the rules are selected from among the Phase II transformations in the animal knowledge base, and modified according to in vivo experimental example of first-pass effect pathways. In silico toxicity prediction Attrition during the drug development process is a serious economic problem for the pharmaceutical industry and it is often due to inappropriate ADME/Tox characteristics. IT has been estimated that 20-40% of the drug failure in investigational drug development phases are due to safety issues, not continuing multiple incidents of adverse effects of existing drugs. The early drug discovery process needs to address in parallel not only potency but also pharmacokinetics and toxicological properties. Van de Waterbeemd and his colleagues at Pfizer have called this approach ‘property-based design’, emphasizing the importance of the critical combinations of physical and structural properties that contribute to ‘druglikeness’. Ideally this process should begin early in discovery, using computational models to screen both virtual libraries and available compound collections to identify compounds with the desired properties (good potency, ADME and low toxicity). Often molecular size and lipophilicity have an important effect on all three properties. High biological activity is frequently associated with high LogP, but this may also raise the probability of high toxicity. In the 1990s, drug companies invested heavily in combinatorial chemistry and high-throughput screening (HTS) as a source of leads for new targets. Most screen actives turned out to be large and/or hydrophobic, clearly contraindicating to the principles of minimal hydrophobicity. The most visible outcome was not even that they were toxic (because most compounds did not advance that far in development), but that they were either insoluble or non-absorbable. This overshadowed any toxicological consideration in the early stages of drug discovery, bringing forward compounds solubility and permeability as the most urgent problems to address. In the late 1990s the concepts of drug-likeness and lead likeness emerged and simple rules were formulated e.g. â€Å"rule of 5† to warn chemists when compounds were well outside the property space normal for orally active drugs. These rules are now widely used in Virtual Screening to remove undesirable compounds from consideration prior to their synthesis or acquisition. In addition to simple property filters toxicological issues should also be considered because otherwise any specific hazardous sub structural effects are ignored. Some of the harshest reactivity effects are identified and removed using predefined alert substructures (e.g., acid halides) (sometimes called â€Å"garbage filters†). The problem is the most of such alert substructures are â€Å"chameleonic† in nature, i.e., they may not necessarily cause toxic effects depending on other functional groups and overall molecular structures (e.g., acid halides). To fix this, all chameleonic† substructures (from â€Å"garbage† filters and beyond) must be supplemented with class specific QSAR’s for different health effects, yielding toxicological expert systems. Such systems can be used in virtual screening along with â€Å"drug –likeness† filters to subdivide compounds into â€Å"safe†, â€Å"hazardous† and â€Å"Questionable†. Promising compounds need further toxicological evaluation, but this cannot be done by predicative methods alone due to multiple knowledge gaps in their training sets and limited numbers of considered toxicological end points. Sometimes further evaluation is done during lead optimization, when chemical structures are covalently modified and tested. At this stage various toxicological predictions are used to prioritize both compounds that are to be tested and in vitro methods can reliably predict drug’s effect on a whole animal system, yet Animal Tests are not usually done until drug development candidates are identified. By this time drug development cost can reach substantial levels, economic risks become considerable. Thus any predictive tools that help to identify adverse effects in animals prior to conducting such testes are highly desirable. If a known toxic pharmacophore is identified and closely related to the pharmacophore required for activity at the therapeutic target then series specific SAR is needed to aid design of molecules with an adequate separation between the therapeutic dose and the dose threshold for the toxic effect. Since it is essential to have an in vitro surrogate that can model the desired in vivo effect on a significant number of compounds. Some of the more important end points for which in vitro surrogates that can model the desired in vivo effect on a significant numbers of compounds. Some of the more important end points for which in vitro surrogates have been used are: QT prolongation in heart due to blockade of the hERG potassium channel, hepatotoxicity due to compounds that produce phospholipidosis and hepatotoxicity due to induction of CYP450 enzymes. To summarize, in drug design toxicity predictions can be useful for three purpose – virtual screeing, prioritization of compounds and in vitro tests, and prediction of health effects in whole animal systems. Although many toxicologists are understandably leave us with no choice but to make the attempt using available animal toxicity database.

Edinburghs Urban Structure

Edinburghs Urban Structure Edinburgh and its urban structure: About 8% of Scotland’s population resides in its capital city Edinburgh. In the recent years, Edinburgh has been seen to be a flourishing city with a perky labor and housing markets and a stable economic growth.[1] For working adults, it has an employment rate that is near the UK average of 74.7%.[2] The financial sector of Edinburgh is exceedingly developed and this has proven to be beneficial to its economy. Another factor that has given benefit to its economy is the fact that the government administration is concentrated in the city and recently the Scottish Parliament was established there. Moreover the Edinburgh Festival, in particular, attracts tourists from around the world. Despite these facts, there are some areas in the city which are poverty stricken that are condensed in council housing estates. However, comparatively this is on a small scale. An additional downside is that manual workers are facing declining opportunities. Important Statistics: The population of Edinburgh rose considerably by 7.1% to 444,624 between 1991 till 2001 and this growth rate is more than any other city in Scotland. It has a high proportion of young adults who are working (47%) and a low percentage of children that are dependent (16%).In 1991 a survey was conducted regarding the population which showed that 97.6% of the population was White which later decreased to 95.9%. Before this census it was noted that one sixth of households moved in Edinburgh and more than half of the population lived in flats or tenements. Out of three only one household had a single adult. In 2001 the economic activity rate was 67% and Glasgow was at 60% while then unemployment was at 4.3%. The jobs in Edinburgh are seen to move away from the manufacturing sector and in 2001 only 7.5% of the workforce was in the manufacturing sector. The professionals form about more than one sixth of the total working population and it was observed that about 12% of the working age popul ation was involved in full time studies. 12.3% of the people have no central heating in the houses and about 40% do not possess a car. The health problem is great with 39.8% informing that they have a long term illness. However this is still lower than Scotland and Lothian as a whole at 57.4% and 49.3% respectively[3] The Council’s Housing Needs Assessment 2000 showed that there is an overall similarity between Edinburgh and Scotland. The housing market has divided the population between areas. Pensioners are concentrated in the South West, North West and South East areas whereas lone parent households are mostly in the South East area only. The Central area houses a high proportion of single adult households (50%) and 54% of the population is between the age group 18 to 34 years. Younger adults are found to be in the Outer Central where 38% belongs to the age group of 18 to 34 years. The Waterfront area has a similar high proportion of people that belong to this age group. The city average of non-White people in Central area is at 6.1% as compared to 3.3%[4] The Edinburgh Economy Population According to the population estimate that has been conducted recently (2002), it is known that Edinburgh’s population has reached 448,000 and this has put Edinburgh up at second in the largest and fastest growing cities of Scotland. This increase of population was a rise by 3% since 1991 i.e. there was an increase of 12,000 residents in contrast to the total decline in the population of Scotland by 0.4%. This increase in growth in the population of Edinburgh was part of a growth trend there. Recent statistics (2003) show that 311,000 people are employed in different organizations and businesses. This figure represents the 14% of all employment in Scotland. Knowing the fact that Edinburgh accounts for a minor part of the whole population of Scotland at 8%, the city provides employment to people beyond its boundaries. Employment rate has been increasing in Edinburgh and especially in areas like Midlothian and West Lothian. Although the number of jobs increased in Midlothian and West Lothian was greater than in Edinburgh as a whole, the jobs at Edinburgh increased approximately by 30,000. In the last 20 years, Edinburgh has emerged out to become one of the most flourishing cities in the United Kingdom. It was observed in 2001 that the GDP in Edinburgh was over a third greater than the GDP of entire Scotland[5] . The same holds true for the average gross weekly earnings of employees working full-time. That figure is greater for the people in Edinburgh as compared to Scotland as a whole. According to an analysis made in April 2002, this was 112.6% of the Scottish rate thus being at  £480.60. Unemployment rates are low in Edinburgh being at 2.2% in 2002 (6,737 people), which was the lowest level and was greatly lower that the Scottish average[6]. Thus Edinburgh has high employment rates as compared to Scotland as a whole and in 2001 it was observed that the service sector gave most of the employment opportunities at 87.6% [7] of all the jobs in Edinburgh. Table 1 explains in detail the employment structure in the city as well as the region by the Industrial sector. Finance and business service sectors are of vital importance to local employment and this is seen to be evident as it has been acting like pillars of strength of the economy of the city and have been potentially growing within the national economy. Table 1 Employment structure, 2003 Edinburgh City Region Scotland Primary Production and construction 8% 12% 16% Distribution, hotels catering 22% 23% 24% Transport and communications 4% 5% 5% Business and finance 343% 28% 18% Public and other services 32% 32% 35% All Sectors 100% 100% 100% Employee jobs (000s) 312 433 2,299 Source: Annual Business Inquiry  ©crown copyright (NOMIS) The increase in the population of Edinburgh is not due to excess birthrates, although the number of births has been known to exceed the death rate, but the increase is mainly because of people migrating to the city. This shows the strength of the economy of the city. The study of the demographic trends in the housing market in Edinburgh is of significant importance. West Lothian and Midlothian have undergone a population increase while East Lothian and West Lothian have also been exposed to a high in-migration. Thus the population of the entire city has been increasing due to both the factors i.e. natural increase and in-migration. Recently conducted estimates (mid-2002) regarding the number of households in the city of Edinburgh show that there are 207,080 households. The period from 1991 till 2002 has witnessed and increase in the number of households that is three times greater than the actual increase in the population of Edinburgh. This holds to evidence as to the social and eco nomic changes that have caused in the formation of smaller households. Projected Population and Household Change, 2002-2016 Analysts have come to a conclusion that these trends would continue in the future. It is estimated that the population of Edinburgh will increase at a rate of 0.4% per year i.e. an increase of 54,700 residents. On the other hand, Scotland as a whole would experience a decline by 0.1% per annum. There are only 11 local authorities in Scotland that are expected an increase in population and Edinburgh is one of them. It is also estimated that the period stretching till 2016 will witness an increase in individual households in Edinburgh would be greater as compared to the population as a whole. Table 2 Population change, 1991-2002 1991 2002 change %change City of Edinburgh 436,320 448,080 11,760 3% East Lothian 84,440 90,750 6,310 7% Midlothian 79,530 80,500 970 1% West Lothian 145,040 159,960 14,920 10% City Region 745,330 779,290 33,960 5% Scotland 5,083,330 5,054,800 -28,530 -1% Source: GROS mid year estimates Table 3 Employment change by industry, 1998-2003 Edinburgh City Region Scotland Production and construction -33% -29% -22% Distribution, hotels catering 22% 27% 7% Transport and communications -7% 5% 7% Business and finance 34% 32% 24% Public and other services 8% 14% 19% All Sectors 11% 12% 6% Source: Annual business inquiry  ©crown copyright (NOMIS) Employment forecasts, 2003-2007 In Table 3 the rate of change in employment by sector in Edinburgh and its region is compared to Scotland. Finance and business services have been the fastest growing sector at the national level. This sector has been growing at a higher rate as compared to other areas in Scotland. The pattern as observed reflects the degree to which Edinburgh is a center for high level functions. The employment rate has increased greatly in the headquarters as compared to the branches spread out. Due to an increase in tourism spending and leisure, Edinburgh has greatly benefited from the increase in employments in Catering, Hotels and Distribution. However, in the ‘employment shedding’ manufacturing sectors, the city has relatively few jobs. There is an expected rise in the employment in Edinburgh by 4% over a period stretching from 2003 to 2007. This shows an increase of 13,000 jobs. Similar steady rates are expected in West Lothian and Midlothian. The pattern of growth however is expe cted to change from the recent past and the increase would mainly be in Distribution, Hotels, Catering and public services. Employment in business services and finance is forecasted to grow but at a relatively lower rate than what was observed in the past. Table 4 gives the data on average earning in Edinburgh. The data is recorded in terms of place of residence as well as place of work of the people in the survey. In 2003 the average earning of people in the city region was  £453 per week i.e.  £23,500 approximately in a year. Comparing this to Scotland, it was found that the average earning of the people in the city region was slightly greater. People who lived in Edinburgh city earned  £481 per week. This was at an increase of about 10% to the Scottish average. An important point to note is that these earnings are given at an average and ground realities show a great variation in the earnings of the residents of Edinburgh. For example, in 2003 it was observed that 10% of all the residents of Edinburgh earned  £220 or less per week as compared to the top 10% who earned more than  £828 per week. People whose workplaces were within Edinburgh were rated to be the second highest average earning in all of Scotland in 2003. These figures make it an obvious point to note that the higher paid jobs were filled in by the people who lived in Edinburgh while the lower ones were occupied by those outside the city commuting to work. The Census data exhibit that (in 2001) the net inflow of people commuting to work in Edinburgh from outside was around 60,000. Table 4 Average gross weekly earnings, 2003  £/week % of Scotland Work-basedresidence-based Work-based residence-based Edinburgh  £467  £481 107% 110% City Region  £454  £453 104% 104% Scotland  £437  £437 100% 100% Source: New Earnings Survey Unemployment rates in Edinburgh are lower as compared to the Scottish average. In 2004 it was recorded that the proportion of the population that were of the working age and were receiving Jobseeker’s Allowance was 2.2% as compared to the Scottish average of 2.7%. If a wider measure is adopted to study this deeply then striking differences are noted. Table 5 exhibits that the proportion of the working age population dependant or receiving state benefits of Edinburgh was much lower as compared to the rest of Scotland. However it is also interesting to note that the proportion of working age population in employment in Edinburgh was lower than the rest of Scotland. This difference is because of the large female population that are of working age but are neither working not claiming any benefits from the state. Table 5 Economic Activity and Benefits Edinburgh Scotland % of working age population unemployed, on Compulsory New Deal or 9.8 13.8 in receipt of incapacity/Disablement Benefits (2002) % of adults and children living in households in receipt of key income 11.8 15.0 benefits/credits (2002) % of working age adults in employment (2003) 66.7 76.6 Source: Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, 2004 An inclusive set of indicators of deprivation in small areas throughout Scotland is brought together in the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004 (SIMD04). Various dimensions of factors such as economic and social deprivation, including incomes, health, housing, accessibility, employment and health are included in the index. Information for each data zone in Scotland is collected and each area according to its level of deprivation is ranked. It is seen that Edinburgh has areas of high deprivation however the proportion of the population in these areas is much lower than the Scottish average. 20% of Edinburgh’s population would be living in data zones which would rank in the most deprived 20% in Scotland if Edinburgh had been under similar conditions as the rest of Scotland. As this is not so, only 13% of Edinburgh’s population is found to live in these areas that fall in the most deprived 20% in Scotland. Summary Edinburgh has been experiencing a growth in its population due to the growth in its economic sector. It is also seen that the incomes in Edinburgh are higher as compared to the rest of Scotland. The unemployment rate is lower and the percentage of people dependant on benefits from the state is also low in this city. This city has people traveling into it for work from other regions and thus can be considered as an employment center. Although the business and finance sectors would grow in the future, their rate of growth would be less. However increasing growth will be observed in distribution, hotels and catering due to increased tourism. The economy as a whole seems to be stable and will in the future generate more employment opportunities. Housing Supply and Demand Edinburgh’s housing system differs from the rest of Scotland and has some distinctive features to it. Private rending and owner occupation is high as compared to the Scottish average with a small rented sector. There are a higher proportion of flats as compared to the proportion of houses which is relatively low. Housing issues are complex in Edinburgh due to the fact that while the city is prosperous, there are areas of deprivation. Limited affordable housing with a high demand in housing, coupled with deprivation give rise to complex housing issues. Owner occupation It is seen that 69% of the homes are occupied by the owners out of which 40% are bought with a mortgage and 27% are owned outright. Moreover it is observed that owner occupation as a whole and houses that are owned outright are higher as compared to Scotland. The reason for the high percentage of outright ownership would be accounted for the in-migration of relatively wealthy people as compared to the in-migration in other cities of Scotland. Moreover the presence of people earning high income who would prefer not to purchase through mortgage could also account for this fact. Regardless of the existence of flats and small houses, the prices are high as compared to the rest of Scotland. The average price of a house in Edinburgh in the first half of 2004 was  £165,000. At  £354,000 were the prices for newly built properties in the Rural West part of Edinburgh. This was seen to be the highest mean price. Health needs It is important to use a variety of information to study and analyze the social issues and health needs in a city. High level ‘administrative’ data like that of the Census shows the operation of city partners within. Differences found in health amongst the various groups in a society are known as health inequalities. There are many inequalities in Scotland and JHIP aims to address these issues and eliminate inequalities which are caused by reasons that â€Å"are complex and interacting†[8]. Some of these factors include the physical factors like exposure to poor housing, socio-economic factors, behavioral factors (smoking or drinking) and psychological factors which would include exposure to adverse life events. These aspects are expressed clearly in the data on health provided in the Vision For Edinburgh monitoring reports, ‘Measuring Edinburgh’s Performance’ July 2002 and 2003[9]. One such factor is the low birth weight which is related to ma ny immediate and long-term health risks. In Edinburgh’s community planning process, this is regarded as the key health indicator. This factor is prevalent in areas of social disadvantages rather than in Edinburgh as a whole. In a period ranging from 1991 to 2000, it was seen that the number of teenage pregnancies, who gave birth to a child rather than aborting it, has been four times greater in the Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP) areas than in Edinburgh as a whole. Socio-economic factors, life circumstances, genetic factors, lifestyles and factors of place are some of the important factors which affect the death rate. In the same period from 1991 to 2000 the death rate for under 65’s in the SIP areas was higher as compared to the city as a whole. This gap widened more in the period ranging from 1997 to 2000. In 2001 the figures saw a reversal in the trend as there was a reduction in the death rate for under 65’s in SIP areas but the gap still exists. Self-harm and self-poisoning have also been at a high and in the period of 1991 to 2000, this occurred at a higher rate in the SIP areas as compared to Edinburgh as a whole. It should be noted that the occurrence of such events and the gap between the SIP areas and Edinburgh as a whole has been decreasing. The credit for this would be given to the establishment of the assessment unit at the Royal Infirmary which dedicates itself to reduce the number of repeat incidents of self-harm. I t should also be noted that health inequality is not solely linked to the existence of social disadvantage and poverty and it was seen that the flatted accommodation in Edinburgh adversely affected those with reduced mobility.[10] Homelessness applications in Scotland come from all the cities and Edinburgh ranks second in it. However this is about less than a third of the presentations recorded in Glasgow (Scottish Executive, 1999). Voluntary agencies are providing a range of services including hostels, and other facilities for the young people who are homeless and comparatively this is less extensive than the one present in Glasgow and the largest hostel in Edinburgh is Council with 70 bed spaces. The RSI has funded a ‘single access point’ for the homeless people but there is still a shortfall in hostel accommodation, emergency accommodation in particular. A change will come about though after the projects of RSI become functional fully. A ‘Homelessness Liaison Officer’ has been appointed by Lothian and Borders Police for Edinburgh. There was street culture in Edinburgh to a certain extent as well. However, homelessness services in Edinburgh have been enhanced significantly and impro vements are expected in the future. Conclusion: Edinburgh is a thoroughly urban city with all the usual urban problems including unemployment, homelessness and health inequalities. However concrete steps have been taken to counter these problems especially the problem of homelessness that has been afflicting the city’s economic resources. Serious steps need to be taken on city as well as regional level to introduce better housing facilities and to absorb more jobless people into city’s various business sectors. References Bailey, N., Turok, I. and Docherty, I. (1999) Edinburgh and Glasgow: Contrasts in Competitiveness and Cohesion. Glasgow: Department of Urban Studies, University of Glasgow Office for National Statistics (1999) Labour Force Survey Quarterly Supplement, November 1999. London: Office for National Statistics. A. OSullivan. (2002) Urban Economics. McGraw-Hill UK. Footnotes [1] Bailey et al, 1999 [2] ONS, 1999 [3] www.edinburgh.gov.uk -census 2001 information [4] Housing Needs Assessment 2000, The City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Homes, 2002. [5] Source Capital Review, issue 1 summer 2002 [6] Source Capital Review, issue 1 summer 2002 [7] Capital Review, issue 1 summer 2002. [8] McIntyre in â€Å"Social Justice – a Scotland Where Everyone Matters. Annual Report 2001†: Scottish Executive 2001 [9] â€Å"Measuring Edinburgh’s Performance†: Edinburgh Partnership, 2002 and 2003 [10] Figures reported in CEC Housing Needs Assessment 2000.

Two Women in Proverbs 9 Essay -- Religion Bible Proverbs 9 women Essay

Two Women in Proverbs 9 Proverbs has always been one of the most renowned and loved books of the Bible. According to the prologue, it was written â€Å"to teach shrewdness to the simple, knowledge and prudence to the young† (1.4), and to â€Å"let the wise also hear and gain in learning, and the discerning acquire skill† (1.5). It is primarily addressed to young men, as the author makes frequent references to â€Å"my son† throughout. The purpose of this book was to help prepare young men for leadership and life. A proverb, which serves the purpose of drawing a comparison between two forms of behavior to teach moral wisdom, explicitly fulfills its role in particularly chapter 9 of Proverbs. In light of this father-to-son instruction, the author uses the personification of two different types of women in order to illustrate the two corresponding paths of life: wisdom and folly. Although there are many striking similarities of both women in Proverbs 9, the subtle differences between the two didactically imparts life lessons to young men. The speaker begins the passage of Proverbs 9, by informing that the first similarity that Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly share is the possession of a house. The only apparent difference is that Lady Wisdom has built her own house: â€Å"Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars† (9.1). Lady Wisdom has not simply constructed her home, but it is given that her house is a large one, representing wealth. There is no reference to Lady Folly building her house—she sluggishly just â€Å"sits at the door of her house† (9.14). Metaphorically, the speaker of this passage is advising the young men to be hard-working, signifying the importance of diligence, which is a constant underlying thre... ...m will lead to life. The speaker is saying that it is well worth it to embark on the path of wisdom and to persevere through it for there is an unseen reward awaiting them. Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly are not mentioned in Proverbs 9 to be merely two contrasting women that the young men should be aware of when they look for a wife. Representing the two ways of life, Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly are used to bring awareness to the young men about the subtle differences between the respective routes of life. It is emphasized that every decision counts and that just one decision can mean the difference between life and death. Because the teacher knows that the young men are the ones who will ultimately make crucial decisions of their own, he uses this particular juxtaposition of Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly to prepare them for what challenges lie ahead for them.

Major League Baseball Salaries: How Much is Too Much? Essay -- Argumen

Major League Baseball Salaries: How Much is Too Much? Twenty-five million dollars made per year. Over one hundred fifty-four thousand dollars made per game. Over forty-seven thousand dollars earned per at bat. Sounds a little ridiculous, does it not? That is what current Texas Ranger shortstop Alex Rodriguez earns to play the game of baseball (azcentral.com). Baseball is a game that children have been playing in schoolyards and fields for the past one hundred years. It may not be a game anymore. On the Major League level it has become a business. This is where the problem starts. Others associated with baseball do not see any problem. All businesses are entitled to the best employees they can afford. If the owner wishes to pay larger salaries, then he/she is at liberty to do this because he/she is in charge of the operations of the business. Baseball is no different. If New York Yankees’ owner, George Steinbrenner, chooses to spend $125 million on players’ salaries each year, who will stop him? If Minnesota Twins’ owner, Carl Pohlad, decides to only spend $25 million on players’ salaries, who tells him to spend more? The answer of course is nobody, because baseball is a business. Each franchise is run by an individual owner who makes the business decisions. Compared to long ago, baseball has transformed from being the sport people have a passion for to an egotistical business of super-agents and ten million dollar players (azcentral.com). This essay will introduce the situation that Major League Baseball is in with regards to its players’ salaries. It will also describe how the salaries escalating at the rate they are is hurting the game overall by pushing the fans awa... ...ball itself. Works Cited Holahan, William L, Kroncke, Charles O. â€Å"A Pedagogical Note on Baseball Stadium Economics: ‘Show Me the Money!’ † Social Studies Jan/Feb 2003: 44-45 Rosenthal, Ken. â€Å"Look What Happened to the Big Boys.† Sporting News 14 Oct. 2002: 47-48 Stein, Lisa. â€Å"Let’s Play Hardball.† US News and World Report 15 Apr. 2002: 14 Twenty-five Highest Paid Major League Baseball Players. 12 May 2002. Arizona Republic. 25 March 2003 http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/ top25salaries2002.html Verducci, Tom. â€Å"Conspiracy Theory.† Sports Illustrated 10 Jan. 2003: 22 Wilson-Smith, Anthony. â€Å"The Unsporting Life.† MacLean’s 17 Feb. 2003: 4 Baseball Salaries Database. 11 November 2002. USA Today. 25 March 2003 http://asp.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/salaries/default.aspx Kurson, Ken. â€Å"The Baseball Fallacies.† Esquire April 2001: 110

“Good for the economy bad for the environment” Assessing the statement with two contrasting leisure activities

In June last year, the football world cup finals were held in Japan and Korea. What did this mean for Japan? Well the arrival of so many people from outside Japan presented many opportunities and also caused problems. Hosting the World Cup Finals gave Japan and Korea a superb opportunity to boost their tourism figures. At that moment, Japan was 36th on the global tourist list (based on the number of tourists who visit each year). The Japan National Tourist Organization felt that this didn't match the country's economy and population. Pictures of the two host countries were going to be on TV screens around the world for the duration of the tournament and both Japan and Korea hoped that this would boost their numbers for annual visitors. It was anticipated that around 365,000 spectators (Japan Times, July 26 2001) were going to travel to Japan from overseas to attend the tournament. Most of them were going to travel by air. An idea to ease congestion was that Tokyo's main international airport Narita was to have a new runway built, so that two planes would be able to take off simultaneously. Because the finals were going to be held in Japan and Korea, the number of flights between the two countries was going to increase. Spectators may have needed to get from one country to another as their team progressed through the tournament. The matches were being played in ten different cities all over Japan. So rail, road and air links between these cities had to be able to cope with an increase in traffic. The areas surrounding the stadiums also had to be able to cope with the huge number of people attending the games – over 40 000 for each. This meant that road access had to be improved, and in some cases, as in Shizuoka, a new railway station had to be built near the stadium. The more direct impact for so many people was litter, and waste disposal, with such a large increase in visitors into the two countries the amount of litter and waste disposal was also going to increase by a large amount. And what about hooliganism? One company, Yokohama Nisshin Fire & Marine Insurance Co. in Japan offered to sell insurance against hooliganism. This also was a major issue that the two countries faced. Japan and Korea world cup organizers had to prepare for hooliganism. The World Cup Safety Countermeasure Headquarters had compiled a database on known foreign hooligans to prevent them from entering Korea. It deployed squads of riot police at every stadium to promptly quell possible disturbances. At the same time, they had to seriously consider prohibiting sales of alcohol at the matches. What will be the economic effects of hosting the World Cup? Well it was also possible to turn a profit on the event? The far-reaching economic effects of hosting the World Cup can be largely divided into two – a direct and an indirect effect. Far Reaching Economic Effects of the World Cup Unit: US$ 100 million won, 1,000 persons Classification Details Expenditure volume Economic effects Value added Job creation Investment expenditures Construction of stadiums, surrounding roads 23,882 36,023 220 Consumption expenditure Ordinary expenditure by the organizing committee Tourism spending by foreigners 4,000 6, 825 17,334 130 Total 34,707 53,357 350 The direct effect covered the boosts to the economy created by the construction of infrastructure such as stadiums and the access roads, expenditures by the organizing committee to run the event and spending by foreign tourists. In a report, the Korea Development Institute (KDI) predicted that the event would create 350,000 jobs and raise industrial production by 11.48 trillion won ($8.82 billion). The income derived from spending by the 400,000 foreign visitors was estimated to reach 682.5 billion won ($525 million). In particular, it forecasted that it would create 5.34 trillion won ($4.10 billion) in value added, amounting to more than 1 percent of GDP in 2000 (517 trillion won, $397 billion). The report concludes that the overall value added created would surpass the total expenditure of 3.47 trillion won ($2.67 billion), resulting in a â€Å"surplus† of 1.87 trillion won ($1.44 billion). The indirect effect covered the benefits that became apparent in the post-event period. They were associated with improvements in the external images of the host country and its corporations and were measured through increases in exports and the volume of inbound foreign investment. It was no exaggeration to say that prime attraction of any government in hosting the World Cup is to maximize such intangible publicity effects. The contrasting leisure activity that I had chosen is skiing in the French Alps. Ski tourism has prospered and grew since the 1060's in the French Alps, and as a result, a large number of resorts have been developed to cope with the high demand. There has been a lot of heavy investment, which has been put into the expensive infrastructure, such as the creation and construction of new ski lifts, the creation of new ski runs, and the maintenance of the resort. But this continued growth of ski tourism in the Alps is having its turn of serious negative effects on the physical environment. The main negative effect on the mountain environment, caused by ski tourism and the resort, such as â€Å"Serre Chevalier† is that its starting to scar the landscape, and with deforestation occurring where ski runs are and have been created on the wooded mountain sides, it's resulting in the increase of run-off, erosion and the potential for environmental hazards, such as flooding to occur. The effects of the skiing industry on Mont Lozere can also be investigated. Heavy ski-traffic after good winter snow conditions leaves its mark on the landscape for many years. The ski tows on Mont Lozere operated for 85 days during the 1998/1999-ski season. The 1999/2000 Season was poor, with the ski tows only open for 5 days. Skiing on Mont Lozere is at best of times unpredictable! Since the 1960's, local and regional authorities have encouraged the development of downhill skiing in the Massif Central in an attempt to bring some of the economic benefits associated with this huge growth industry, to the area. Unfortunately, due to the rather unreliable snow conditions in the southern part of the Massif Central, not all the ski developments have become commercially successful. There are also many environmental issues associated with alpine skiing, such as gulling, deforestation and the positioning of unsightly ski tows in the core zone of the Cevennes National Park. Another case study would be â€Å"Ski Chalet du Mont Lozà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½re†. The on-piste and off-piste transects are used to assess the damage caused by skiing to the physical environment. The visual impact of the ski chalet and the resort infrastructure are assessed, and the attitudes of a cross section of people are included, for example those employed in the industry, tourists, and local people, to assess the impact of the skiing industry on the local economy. The Creation of Ski Resorts-The creation of such ski resorts, in scenic and un-spoilt environments, has placed great pressures on the physical landscape with large numbers of tourists using the mountain ski slopes each year, not always in ideal snow conditions, creating stresses on these unique alpine environments, due to tourism. Problems Created by Ski Tourism-Ski tourism creates many problems, such as increased traffic, problems with access, congestion and pollution. Increased numbers of people result in the need for more houses, hotels, and facilities to be constructed, causing problems with water demand, waste disposal and visual intrusion. Ski tourism has ecological impacts on the environment and physical landscape, with erosion of soils, depopulation of plant species and deforestation, leading to increased erosion and probability of hazards occurring. The Environmental Impacts-The environmental impacts of ski tourism in the ski resort of â€Å"Serre Chevalier† can be clearly seen. The scars that are created by ski runs are visible in all seasons. It does not just affect the aesthetic quality of the area, but more important are the resulting consequences. Such devastation of forest, in large paths and swoops, across the mountainsides, causes soil degradation, erosion, landslides and increased run-off leading to flooding. Deforestation and Erosion-Deforestation due to ski run development can cause an increase in erosion due to increased run-off. Deforestation in effect, removes the protection of the canopy and as a result, the soil underneath that was previously protected, is then susceptible to the effects of raindrop impact and increased amounts of run-off, which would have been previously stopped or delayed by the trees. As a result erosion takes hold and more importantly the rate and amount of run-off increases, causing potential hazards to occur such as flooding, especially in these high mountain areas, where sudden downpours of rain, with snow melt can cause surges of water to be sent down the tributaries over a very short period of time.

Advertising Statement Essay

Rosser Reeves was the one who invented the term â€Å"USP†. The Unique selling proposition is sometimes referred to as â€Å"product difference.† In rare cases, some products or services have a unique and impressive proposition/benefit. A unique selling proposition is the ultimate proposition because its one that no other competitor can claim. It has to be something that you could also sell from. The concept of a unique selling proposition, or USP, is based on a benefit statement that is both unique to the product and important to the user. The heart of a USP is a proposition, which is a promise that states a specific and unique benefit you will get from using the product. If the product has a special formula, design, or feature, particularly if protected by a patent or copyright, then you are assured that it is truly unique. This is why a USP is frequently marked by the use of an â€Å"only† statement, either outright or implied. There are various methods that c an be used to find a USP as it is demonstrated in advertising strategies and ideas. Strategy in Advertising In advertising, â€Å"strategy† refers to the overall marketing or selling approach. It is the thinking behind the concept/idea. (The thinking behind the thinking, if you like.) Decisions about selling premises are central to the overall advertising strategy. The strategy (or strategic thought) can come from a proposition/benefit of the product, how it used, the market background, the choice of target audience, or any combination thereof. Every strategy should have an element of distinction ( small or large ) from the competition’s strategies, as should the proceeding concept and campaign. All strategies should be written in the form of a strategy statement, also known as â€Å"creative brief†. However, there are several questions we should seek to answer to cover the area of strategic analysis. Competitor, best prospects, and what buying appeals have the greatest leverage. At the corporate level what takes place in the advertising department would be seen as tac tical whilst in the advertising department this would be seen as strategic. * Corporate strategies are concerned with the major functions of the company, and cover finance, human resource management, production, administration, and marketing. * Marketing strategies are concerned with ANSOFF’s matrix and the marketing mix. * Promotional strategies are concerned with the promotional mix options (advertising, sales promotions, PR, publicity, selling, sponsorship, exhibitions). Effective Advertising Advertising that is effective creates the message that best expresses the product-prospect relationship. In addition, the message has to be intrusive enough to battle through the clutter in the contemporary media marketplace. To reach the effectiveness in advertising, a creative strategy should be involved in the process. It has to sell the product effectively by promoting them through smart and well designed advertisement. Creative Brief When forming a strategy from which to create ideas, it needs to be written down in a black and white. This helps to focus and steer the formation of ideas from the onset. When people suggest that an idea is â€Å"off strategy,† they mean that it doesn’t relate back to the defined strategy, and will therefore be much harder to sell the idea to the client. By having a strategy statement at hand, you can keep referring back to it whilst generating ideas from that strategy. It is very hard, even if you are an experienced creative, to produce a great campaign idea (or even a single one shot) without a solid, tight strategy. In short, the better you are briefed, the easier your job will be. A poorly defined, vogue, â€Å"wooly† brief is no use to a creative person, nor is highly specific one that restricts the number of ideas. Below are the basic examples of the headings in a creative brief, * Client * Product/service * Product and market background (supposition) * Competition * Business/Advertising Objective (problem to solve) * Media * Target market/Group/Audience * Proposition/Promise/Benefit * Proposition Support Points * Tone of Voice * â€Å"Mandatories† (Inclusions/Exclusions) Media in Advertising The choice of media depends upon the type of product or service being advertised, the target market, and the client’s budget. Each campaign can be in one form of media, or multiple forms. Traditional advertising media includes print, TV, and radio. Non-traditional includes ambient and guerrilla concepts. In addition, there is direct media, and interactive media. In the UK, each type of media is defined by its relation to a hypothetical â€Å"line† that divides the two. Traditional media is â€Å"above the line,† whereas direct marketing and interactive advertising is â€Å"below the line.† Companies that produce work in all the forms are referred to as â€Å"through the line† agencies, or â€Å"full service.† Other divisions within advertising include sales promotion, and business-to-business. Whereas business-to-consumer advertising, once the skill is developed, the same creative process can easily be applied to these other forms of media an d advertising. Positioning All products and companies, as seen by the customer, occupy some kind of ‘position’ in the market whether they intend it or not. This might be, for example, high price-high value, low price-low value, high price-low value, good company-not-so-good company and so on, when compared with comparable competing products and competing organizations. Most modern organizations now attempt to actively influence this position in the market by matching product and corporate benefits with the needs of clearly identified segments. The managers have performed professionally, be integrated to match the identified needs of the target market. Positioning is how the marketer wants the consumer to view its product relative to the competition. Although product differentiation plays a role in creating a product position, product differences account for only part of a product’s position. A positioning strategy also includes the manner in which a product’s factors are combined, ho w they communicated, and who communicates them. The size (and value) of the advertising corporate and brand positioning is crucial to the well-being of any company and so should be left to the agency professional. Copywriting Copywriting is an essential part of the design communication mix, and those of us who do it for a living will tell you that crafting massages and telling stories is a rewarding mental process, even in the business context. You’ll find that being able to generate a response from your audience is a valuable and highly sought-after skill. Copy (or text, or words) used in design is a very particular type of creative writing that requires the inspiration of an artist and the control of a craftsman or craftswoman. In comparison to the rails on which the copywriter runs, the novelist or poet has no limitations. Poetry and storytelling are flights of the imagination, with no client or news editor to bear in mind. Whether the personality of the writer shines through directly or indirectly, this is the purest creative writing – it can take off in any direction, be as fictional as it wants to be, and go wherever it pleases. Writing copy, however, is all about sticking to brief, while paying homage to the creativity and style of the poet and storyteller. Journalists and copywriters are commercial writers, but the essence of the role is completely different. In most cases journalist have to create the story from the scratch, usually by following leads. They will have to research the facts to get to the heart of the matter, discover the different viewpoints and opinions, and bring this material together accurately and coherently. Articles are often written to a tightly defined structure, while features can allow more room for individual expression and the interweaving of the writer’s viewpoint. The message has to be factually correct, balanced, and fair, but the writer is allowed to take a stance, which could reflect that of the newspaper or, in the case of regular column, the writer’s opinion. Copywriting borrows from all other fields of writing in its quest for creative expression, but ther e is no room for your personality in the copy that you write; you are simply a scribe, a hired mouthpiece for your client, and it is the brand’s voice that must come through, loudly and clearly.