University Of Chicago. Obama Foundation Scholars Program 2018

University Of Chicago. Obama Foundation Scholars Program 2018 It was recently announced that the Obama Foundation Scholars Program will be launched in 2018. The interested candidates are invited to submit their applications in order to take part in the unique and innovative one-year experience. This new program at the Harris School of Public Policy is aimed at gathering emerging leaders in order to provide them with a quality education. The main idea of the program is to support the studying of talented young scholars and facilitate the global positive change that they can potentially bring to the world. The idea behind the program The Scholars Program gives an opportunity to receive an additional training, gain new skills and develop the extraordinary abilities of those who already help the community. It is important to support the young rising leaders in order to make positive changes in the society and in the world in general. As President Barack Obama put it, â€Å"This partnership will give young people from around the world who are already making a difference in their communities the opportunity to take their work to the next level†. Subjects The subjects covered will include economics, global conflicts and international development, to name a few. The main emphasis is on the fields the development of which can potentially facilitate solving complex global problems. How to apply Online application needs to be submitted.Unofficial transcripts may be required to be submitted through the electronic application process.Official transcripts will be required upon the admission of the enrolling students.Test scores need to be provided for the international students.A resume which includes your work experience as well as professional honors, community service activities and other relevant information.Three letters of recommendations are preferred to be sent through the electronic application. At least one reference must be from a previous professor who can describe your academic achievements.Two short essay responses need to be provided. You are supposed to tell about your current place of work and what impact you would want to make in the world. Timeline The program is supposed to be launched in the fall of 2018; however, the applications need to be submitted before April 17, 2018.The notifications of the admission will be received on May 31, 2018.The latest date when you can confirm the acceptance is July 1, 2018.The Harris Welcome Week will start on September 27, 2018.The classes will begin on October 1, 2018. If you feel that you are one of those who can greatly contribute to the positive change in your community and the world, make sure you apply on time. Perhaps, you are the one who is supposed to change the world for the better.

Dementia care Essays

Dementia care Essays Dementia care Essay Dementia care Essay The public outdoor universe is seldom conceived of as an appropriate scene for a individual with dementia’ : Critically discourse this statement with mention to your reading and pattern or caring experience. Use at least one instance survey or sketch of up to 350 words taken from your pattern or caring experience. This should back up your statement and illustrate either the chances and/or the challenges of accessing the out-of-doorss. Assignment to be: 2500 words Peoples with dementedness have the right to a dignified, healthy, safe, and friendly environment where they are treated as peers regardless their increasing age or decreasing capablenesss. ( Mitchell et el. , 2004 ) . They can still keep their abilities to get by independently throughout the early or mild phases of dementedness. They still have the desire to remain independent and have control over their ain lives. It is indispensable for people with dementedness to see regular mental and physical exercising to maintain their heads and organic structures active and to keep societal contact. If the streets in their vicinities are non designed to run into their demands they will be trapped in their places, because their antecedently safe and unafraid vicinity changed into a harmful and unsafe environment. There is an increasing demand better urban design through the Local Planning Authorities, as such urban contrivers should take in consideration the deduction of non merely normal agei ng but they should enable persons with assorted types of cognitive damages to keep their independency ( Burton A ; Mitchell, 2006 ) . Effectss and challenges of dementedness Physical, mental, and psychological alterations are due to the ageing procedure, and can embrace several little damages in hearing, vision, ability, mobility, and memory. These affect senior individual’s ability to populate in their milieus with easiness. This is even more hard for persons with dementedness because they have to get by with both the normal ripening effects and the challenges of dementedness that cause a menace to their personhood and consequence in the loss of individuality ( Burton A ; Mitchell, 2006, Chaudhury, 2008 ) . Dementia pose a figure of behavioral, personality, and cognitive alterations for illustration restlessness, agitation, depression, and anxiousness. There is a typical diminution in physical and mental abilities. They develop a typical manner of mobility in the signifier of an unsteady scuffling gait with a hunched position, ever looking down and as such they are non cognizant of their milieus. Dementia besides result in sensory damage which c an include hearing and vision. Colour agnosia is frequently intensified by dementedness, dark colorss and combinations thereof is hard to separate. There might besides be impaired depth perceptual experience, crisp color contrasts or forms on the land will be interpreted as stairss or holes, shiny or brooding surfaces looks slippery and moisture, buzzy designs or insistent lines will do giddiness and that can ensue in trips or falls. The mental diminution in dementedness is lasting and incurable, it might come on bit by bit and ensue in unpredictable physical impairment. During the mild to chair phases their short-run memory is really delicate and their long-run memory remains acute ( Burton A ; Mitchell, 2006 ) . Negative feelings The statement, The public outdoor universe is seldom conceived of as an appropriate scene for a individual with dementia’ said it all. There are presently over 750,000 people with dementedness in the UK and this is predicted to lift to about 870,000 by 2010 and over 1, 8 million by 2050 . ( Burton A ; Mitchell, 2006, p. 27 ) . But people with dementedness is disabled and disempowered by the unfriendly and insecure environment, it does non run into their cognitive damage demands, which is ignored. Accessibility for these persons have become a immense job, there is positive transmutations for normal disablements but non effectual plenty to take into consideration the different barriers for persons with dementedness and their alone damages. Burton and Mitchell ( 2006 ) found that persons with dementedness experience negative feelings that include fearfulness and anxiousness. This is due to the fright associated with their diminution in mobility and vision. Burton and Mitchell be sides indicated the complications and hazards presented by bing metropolis environments for case irregular pavement, hapless seating, no shelter, steep slopes, a deficiency of signposting, and bikes on pathwaies. The psychological and societal troubles are besides serious obstructions for illustration, hapless coach services, unavailability of local stores, inadequacy of lavatory services, and the possibility of acquiring lost. Changeless noise of heavy traffic flow disturbs the individual with dementia’s hearing and has an influence on their concentration. Unexpected, loud sounds frequently frighten them. Another no-go’ installation is the traveling staircases in any public edifice, it hinders a individual with dementedness who suffers vision-impairment to judge the staircases distance and velocity. ( Blackman et al. 2010 ) Sketch The above findings support the lovingness experience in my pattern in that the public outdoor universe is non an appropriate scene for a individual with dementedness, they do see obstructions and challenges on a day-to-day footing when accessing the out-of-doorss as proven in my sketch: One of the occupants, Mr X, in my attention scene has been sing Schizophrenia for many old ages and he has besides diagnosed with Vascular Dementia. He was from the local country and really familiar with the vicinity and community and is good known by some of the locals. He had free entree in and out of the Care Home for many old ages but late we received a phone call from a local store that informed us that Mr X had lashed out towards one of their staff members who approached him to back up and steer him. At one phase Mr X entered a private belongings without consent. He besides developed some hurts on his lower legs and custodies and besides got on the incorrect public conveyance. It was non really pleasant to affect the constabulary to turn up Mr X and to steer him back to his ain place. After detecting Mr X’s alteration in behavior we determined that there was a impairment in his physical and mental operation, for illustration he could non retrieve where a lavatory installation was available and used the ally of the local store. He besides entered a private belongings because that was his old place. Due to the uneven paseos he besides tripped and fell, wounding his legs and custodies. Furthermore, Mr X could non read or understand the electronic screen at the coach halt doing him to utilize the incorrect public conveyance. We had to affect Mr X’s General Practitioner to reexamine his medical intervention and harmonizing to the statute law we had to remake his hazard appraisals. Out of experience and observation we are cognizant that a individual with dementia experience bad yearss and good yearss, and it can be debatable to stipulate at what stage their dementedness has developed. But Mr X still has the capacity to do his ain determinations and as such he decided to go on with his day-to-day visits to the local vicinity as normal. We understand and back up his determination, because this day-to-day modus operandi walk about’ was really critical to keep his self-respect, independency, and his quality of life. However, Mr X agreed to inform staff when he is go forthing the installation and when he can be expected back, following the internal place policy to maintain him safe and secure. Positive transmutations As mentioned above there was positive transmutations for normal disablements, the UK Disability Discrimination Act updated in 2005 affected a alteration in attitudes towards design for disablement in order to run into the demands of anyone with disablement. Accessibility has become the most of import job because of the increasing population of older persons and more positive attitudes towards disablement in general. Recently the mission for dementedness friendly communities received an sweetening from the Prime Minister’s Challenge on dementedness: a national challenge. In his challenge the Prime Minister highlighted three cardinal countries ( see Prime Minister’s Challenge, 2012, p.5 ) Driving betterments in wellness and attention. Making dementedness friendly communities that understand how to assist. Better research. Mitchell ( 2012 ) identified merely six undertakings that have addressed the dementia-friendly design of vicinities. That includes a three twelvemonth research undertaking, which was sponsored by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council ( EPSRC ) . Persons with dementedness and older people in the community were straight involved, through escorted walks around their ain vicinities and in depth interviews. During the research the vicinities were measured, mapped, and evaluated by utilizing a developed checklist of environmental characteristics. This research identified six cardinal design rules that are necessary and required to do the streets and vicinities more dementia friendly. The streets need to be safe, comfy, accessible, familiar, legible, and typical ( Burton A ; Mitchell, 2006 ) . Acquaintance The roads and out-of-door environments and characteristics should be recognizable and easy apprehensible by older persons, particularly for the individual with dementedness who experience confusion, spacial freak out, and memory troubles. Persons with dementedness do non recognize modernistic unfamiliar designs, they are used to traditional designs with the chief entryway confronting the street with normal singing doors and non go arounding or skiding doors. They besides fail to recognize modern designed street furniture, for illustration modern coach shelters, telephone boxes, or an automated Superloo’ ( Burton A ; Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el. , 2004 ) . To accomplish acquaintance in the outdoor environment the followers can be done. Long-established streets can be maintained, local manners, stuffs, and signifiers should be used for new developments, and any alterations should be incremental and on a minor-scale ( Burton A ; Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el. , 2004 ) . Discernability Legible roads refers to an easy to recognize web of waies and junctions with simple, obvious marks and noticeable, unmistakeable characteristics. Some persons with dementedness sub-consciously use assorted techniques to happen their manner. These include visualizing their path through mental maps, path planning by utilizing the same path every clip, and they can follow symbols that are realistic and clear. Most persons with dementedness find it hard to follow or understand the outdoor marks. A bunch of marks is really confusing and hard to read and understand. Peoples with dementia prefers straightforward, simple marks fixed to the wall. For illustration the station office mark is familiar and the coloring material is acceptable for people with color agnosia. Another technique they tend to utilize in order to happen their manner is familiar landmarks and environmental characteristics, such as the letterbox at the corner or a street cafe . It can go on that persons with dementedness g et lost at times, that is due to confusion, freak out, or distractions like sudden loud noise that causes a interruption in concentration ( Burton A ; Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el. , 2004 ) . To accomplish discernability in the out-of-door environment, streets should be laid out on an irregular grid form, staggered and this will let the connexion of paths that is easy to understand. Forked and T-junctions decrease the sum of paths and offer focal point points at the terminal of the roads ( Burton A ; Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el. , 2004 ) . Peculiarity Distinctive streets replicate the community’s character through the usage of a assortment of characteristics, colorss, signifiers and stuffs that provide the edifices and streets with their ain character and individuality. It is indispensable for people with dementedness to follow a path with a assortment of local manners, forms, sizes, and colour that will assist them keep concentration. They prefer a visit to the Parkss that presents them with mix activities such as adequate seating, verdure, and public art ( Burton A ; Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el. , 2004 ) . To accomplish peculiarity and to assist dementia people find their manner in the outdoor environment it is of import to supply interesting and apprehensible topographic points, usage landmarks, and environmental characteristics. First, make usage of aesthetic characteristics such as H2O pumps, attractive gardens, hanging baskets, fountains, and trees. Second, utilize practical characteristics for illustration street furniture that includes familiar missive boxes, ruddy K6 telephone box, coach shelters, and safe public seating ( Burton A ; Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el. , 2004 ) . Handiness Accessibility provinces to which degree the local streets empower people with any physical, mental, or centripetal damage to make, enter, and walk to topographic points they wish to see. Older people, including people with dementedness are no longer able to drive on their ain or to utilize any public conveyance. Their trips are limited, due to their personal capablenesss, to local topographic points within walking distance for their places. With the diminution of their mobility they can non walk fast or far distances and they struggle to get by in crowded topographic points because they need adequate infinite on the paseos. Level alterations besides create barriers for frail people, likewise inclines or stairss are a challenge for people with mobility jobs ( Burton A ; Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el. , 2004 ) . To achieve handiness for frail people, they should sooner populate no more than 125m from the nearest station box or telephone with 2m broad tracts and no more than 500m from important services and installations. There should besides be public siting every 100m to 125m ( Burton A ; Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el. , 2004 ) . Comfort Comfort for older people and people sing lasting incapacity can include streets that allow them to see topographic points of their pick without any mental or physical agitation, it provides them with a welcoming and composure feeling ( Burton A ; Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el. , 2004 ) . To accomplish a comfy environment the streets must be designed in a manner that it is welcoming, quiet, unfastened, and accessible by supplying adequate public seating, shelter, and lavatories. The seating must sooner be a wooden place with arm and back remainders. Bus stops should supply shelter, with crystalline sides and level seats of non-slippery stuff that do non carry on cold or heat ( Burton A ; Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el. , 2004 ) . Safety Safety is a critical feature of a friendly environment for dementedness people, they have to be able to travel around without fright of tripping, falling, being run-over, or attacked. Safe streets will be well-lit, broad, field, degree, non-slippery, non-reflected, and smooth footways with stray bike lanes and in forepart of constructing come ining ways ( Blackman et al. , 2010, Burton A ; Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el. , 2004 ) The above rules outline the design guidelines to a more out-of-door friendly environment for people with dementedness. Burton and Mitchell ( 2006 ) besides provides 65 recommendations and by utilizing these it will back up the design and re-design of an easy to utilize and welcoming vicinity. To summarize, it is clear that people with dementedness, at least during their mild to chair phases, can still keep their ability to get by independently and any regular mental and physical exercising is indispensable to keep their self-respect, independency, and their quality of life as seen in the sketch. That is why it is so of import to us to guarantee that the out-of-door environment is accessible, unfastened, and safe for people with all phases of dementedness. If this can non be achieved the environment out at that place becomes a chilling and awful universe for people with dementedness. Although, the vicinity environment is non dementia friendly at present there is positive betterments and force per unit area from Government, through the Prime Minister’s Challenge on dementedness. Importantly, the research undertaking identified six rules of a dementedness friendly environment that can be used for future planning and executions. This will guarantee that all new developments that take these principals into consideration will be in line with suggested and prescribed regulations that cater for a safe and accessible environment for people with dementedness.

A Project Concept Note Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

A Project Concept Note - Coursework Example otive Innovation geared towards encouraging and recognizing the creation and development of new innovative products,technologies and ideas aimed at changing the face of the UK automotive industry. This concept note has been prepared for the automobile manufacturing companies stressing the importance of employing Knowledge Based Engineering systems with the aim of improving their fields of developmental methodologies through a shorter developmental time thus improving the quality of their systems(ARMSTRONG, 2001:24). The concept of Knowledge Based Engineering(KBE) is without doubt very broad.This is because in product development KBE becomes an important tool with the important function of capturing knowledge and enabling for its reuse.For example,a spreadsheet enables the recycling of knowledge by having the ability to effectively implement equations and/or rules.It is for this reason that this concept note lays emphasis on those tools of Knowledge Based Engineering that function as tools where knowledge is stored in different classes as objects such as Java,C++ and especially takes note of fact that in terms of product prototyping, KBE tools carry out an important role in congruence with geometry engine to effectively put into action the automatic generation of product concept.KBE functions to automate routine and time consuming tasks which thereby accord employees of companies more time to invest in new innovations and adequately find solutions.However,knowledge based system emanating from ar tificial intelligence(AI) captures expert knowledge and more often than not also generate creative solutions, for which it sometimes referred to as ‘expert system’.This paper notes that in the development of KBE systems,numerous methods exists but lays particular emphasis on MOKA as a suitable example that could be adopted by SMMT (The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders), as the development process revolves around capturing and formalizing knowledge which does

Explain in your own words the difference between the three paradigms Essay

Explain in your own words the difference between the three paradigms - Essay Example The interactive paradigm caters for relationships and interactions between different stakeholders in the nursing environment. In particular, this paradigm encompasses the interactions and relations between nurses and their patients or clients. On the same note, the paradigm integrates nursing systems into the interactive process. In other words, the interactive paradigm explores and explains how patients/clients relate with their nurses, as well as how these two parties fit into the larger nursing practice. Finally, the unitary process paradigm seeks to account for the entire nursing environment by bringing every party involved in nursing practices into a common pool of change units. This paradigm unites practitioners, patients/clients, and the nursing setting in a way that goes beyond common interactions and relations. This paradigm fits my nursing philosophy because it acknowledges the role of change in nursing practices. In this respect, practitioners, patients/clients, and the nursing environment unite to make nursing practices more effective and efficient. In the process, the outcome exhibits improved performance that benefits the entire field of

Evidence Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Evidence - Research Paper Example While the $10 note serial number that was used by the undercover police officer had matched the one that the defendant was found possessing in his pocket after the drug was purchased, the discrepancy emanated from the description of the defendant by the â€Å"Eye† officer, who gave details such as the defendant being seen wearing a V-necked T-shirt, with a key on his chain and holding a ginger dale bottle (Weingarten, n.d.). The â€Å"Eye† officer further alleged to have seen the defendant from a distance of 50 to 60 feet, which in reality turned out to be 172 feet distance from the investigations that were later carried out (Weingarten, n.d.). Thus, it is the full disclosure of the evidence from the prosecution side, which allowed the defending side to realize the discrepancy and thus the consequent deceitfulness of the police officer. The purpose of broad disclosure is to help the defense and the prosecution side to prepare well for the case. Especially, broad disclos ure of the evidence held by the prosecution is required, to avoid surprises to the defense, during the trial (Ferdico, 72). Additionally, broad disclosure of evidence is necessary because; it is through the broad disclosure of the evidence, that any disparity and discrepancy can be identified, which then would serve to tell whether either side of the case is being genuine and truthful, or otherwise (Federal Judicial Center, 33). The broad disclosure is also essential, since it allows for the court to have both incriminating and exculpatory information, which then allows it to determine the guilt or otherwise of the defendant. Thus, it is through broad disclosure that a balanced case is enhanced, which then serves to identify the truth, and inform the necessary action by the courts. Various penalties have been set out for failing to give the broad disclosure of evidence, especially the exculpatory evidence, which could help the court determine that the defendant was not guilty, and t hus set him/her free. The first penalty is that; the court may order the party that did not make the necessary disclosure to do it at a specific time, place and manner (Gardner and Terry, 40). The court may also penalize the party that did not make the full disclosure, through allowing the opposing party some more time to go through the newly disclosed evidence, so that the party can prepare well for the trial. Thus, the party that failed to disclose evidence appropriately is punished through having the case being deferred to a later date (Keane and Paul, 63). Finally, the biggest and most punishing penalty that the party that failed to disclose appropriately might get is that, it may be prevented to use the evidence that it did not disclose to the opposing party in the case (Khan, 12). This means that; no matter how useful and convincing the evidence might be, the party will not take the advantage of such information to prove their case. However, there is some evidence that is exem pted from disclosure, which is provided under the exclusionary rule of evidence discovery. Under this rule, it is provided that; the work product of the government shall not be disclosed (Gardner and Terry, 44). This rule provides that any documents that have been made by the government in the course of the investigation or prosecution of the case shall remain confidential, and thus

Role and purpose of sponsorship

Role and purpose of sponsorship Sponsorship is defined as a cash and/or in-kind fee paid to a property (typically a sports, entertainment, non-profit event or organization) in return for access to the exploitable commercial potential associated with that property (International Events Group (IEG) Glossary, 2010). Sponsorship can be beneficial to companies for many reasons but the two main reasons for a firm to enter a sponsorship are: (1) to increase brand awareness, and (2) to establish, strengthen, or change brand image (Cornwell and Maignan 1998; Crowley 1991; Gwinner 1997; Gwinner and Eaton 1999; Marshall and Cook 1992; Meenaghan 1991; Meerabeau et al. 1991). Sponsorship is now one of the most significant parts of marketing mix and all marketers consider it a major factor of a successful marketing campaign. The most popular medium of sponsorship is sport sponsorship and accounts for more than half of all sponsorship spending in UK and US (Thwaites, 1995). In UK the estimated value of sponsorship market is  £871 million with sport sponsorship accounting for 51% of all sponsorship expenditures in 2005, broadcast following with 27% and arts with 14% (Mintel, 2006). It is important to label the difference between event sponsorship and event marketing. Event sponsorship involves payment from the sponsors side in contrast to event marketing which refers to staging of an event from a firm with or without paying a sponsorship fee (Close et al, 2006). Sponsorship is also different from patronage. In patronage the financial support is given without any expectation of returns in terms of advertising or publicity, in sponsorship the main reason of financial contribution is brand awareness (Bennett, 1999). According to Meenaghan (2001) sponsorship is more beneficial than advertising for two main reasons: Firstly, consumers can develop an intense emotional response toward sponsorship and this leads to higher levels of involvement in the event. Moreover, sponsorship is an indirect attempt to persuade consumers compared to advertising which is direct. Therefore, sponsorship can influence consumer on a subconscious level. A diagnostic measure, used to make decisions concerning sponsorship and advertising is public awareness of sponsorship (Tripodi et al, 2003). As Gwinner and Bennett (2008) mention a lot of research was conducted on the effects of sponsorship on brand awareness (Cornwell Coote 2005; Gwinner Swanson, 2003; Madrigal, 2000, 2001; Pham Johar, 2001; Rifon, Choi, Trimble, Li, 2004), thus, the most recent studies on sponsorship focused on other element in order to measure the effectiveness of the sponsored events. As the authors state recent studies focus on the consumer attitude toward sponsorship (McDaniel 1999; Speed Thompson, 2000; Stipp, 1998), (Dean, 2002; Gwinner Eaton, 1999; McDaniel 1999; Rifon et al., 2004; Rodgers, 2004; Szykman, Bloom, Blazing, 2004), goodwill (Meenaghan, 1991, 2001), fan involvement (Fisher Wakefield, 1998; Madrigal, 2001; Meenaghan, 2001; Schurr, Wittig, Ruble, Ellen, 1988; Wann Branscombe, 1993), image transfer (Gwinner, 1997; Gwinner Eaton, 1999), and behavioral intentions like purchase intent, positive word-of-mouth, and actual purchase behavior because of sponsorship (Madrigal, 2001; McDaniel, 1999). Sports sponsorship is the most studied type of sponsorship and the majority of studies had shown a positive influence of sponsorship on brand recall and recognition, image transfer and purchasing intentions (Kim and Choi, 2007). However, no research has conducted on how brand awareness, eventà ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢sponsor fit, attitude toward the sponsors, fan involvement and purchasing intention can be effective in a music festival surrounding. All the above studies mainly focus on sports events because sports sponsorship is more popular than others types of sponsorship (Mintel, 2009). According to BBC News the sales of albums dropped by 3.5% in 2009 to 128.9 million, this was the fifth year in a row that sales of album have fallen. On the other side, music digital downloading increased (BBC News, 2010). Therefore, the music industry should determine other methods in order to increase its profits. Music festivals and concerts are becoming a major source of income for artists and generally the music industry (Campaign, 2008). This is a great opportunity for brands to sponsor music event. According to Mintel (2008) the total number of concert goers is forecast to continue rising to 2013, but at a much slower rate that over the last five years: just under 25 million people are forecast to attend a concert in one of the major categories in 2013, compared with an estimated 23 million in 2008 and 17 million in 2003. Furthermore, a research commissioned from Target Media (executed from Eyebal) shows that many different sectors choose to associate with music festivals, but those with the most potential for success are alcoholic drinks, with 75% of festival goers spotting booze ads at festivals and 77% believing alcohol brand advertising would work best at festivals. Fashion brand advertising has been spotted by 36% of those attending festivals and 41% believe this kind of advertising would work best in a festival environment. (cited in Roberts,2009). According to a research made on sponsorship of music festivals, brand sponsorship has an impact on brand recall, awareness and attitude towards the brand (Rowley and Williams, 2008). Although sponsorship of music festival from alcoholic drinks looks very promising as a marketing communication tool health issues can impede this process. According to Campaign (2009) the governments health committee will recommend changes to advertising codes to prevent alcohol companies sponsoring music or sports events if a proportion of the audience would be too young to buy alcohol. On the other hand, a research made from The Cardiff Business School, published by the International Journal of Sports Marketing Sponsorship, found that there are no significant statistical correlations between sports sponsorship awareness and attitudes to alcohol use among underage drinkers. (cited in Parson,2010). This study aims to provide a better understanding of brand sponsorship on music events. The main purpose of the research is to investigate how sponsorship in music festivals can influence the beliefs and attitudes of the participants. Through the analysis of the impact of music sponsorship on consumers perception of brands it will be easier for firms to target their customers more efficiently. Music concerts and festivals that use alcoholic drinks as sponsors will be investigated in order to examine the behavior of the consumers. The research will focus on alcoholic drinks (Tuborg beer) because alcohol brands are the most common sponsors of music events. The objectives of this research are: Examine the levels of brand awareness in music festivals Investigate the level of fan involvement of music festival participants Determine the congruence between music festivals and alcoholic drinks as perceived from the consumers Examine the attitude of participants toward the sponsors of music festivals Investigate if attitude towards the sponsor, fan involvement and sponsor / event fit influence the buying intentions of music event participants The first chapter will provide the academic background of sponsorship especially in sports events because most previous studies are related to sports. However, the variables that were used from previous researchers in order to measure different aspects of sponsorship effectiveness will be adapted to our study on music events. Variables such as brand awareness, fan involvement, sponsor and event congruence, attitude towards the sponsor and purchasing intention will be explained at this stage of the research. Every variable will be defined and the results from previous studies will be presented. In this way, we will determine our objectives and define the measurement that will be used throughout the report. In the second chapter the methodology will be presented. Due to the scope of our research and based on previous studies only quantitative research will be conducted. The collection of the data will be based on questionnaires. Questionnaires will be distributed in a popular music festival (Latitude Festival 2010) in order to test the impact of sponsorship in music events. Research instruments and data collection method will be part of this chapter as well as the way that our survey was conducted. In the next chapter, the results of the entire research will be presented. SPSS will be used in order to analyze the collected data and to evaluate the level of significance of our results. Descriptive statistics as well as correlation and regression analysis will be conducted in order to check the validity of our results. Tables and graphs will also be concluded in this part of the study. In the last chapter, the conclusions will be drawn and compared to the results of previous studies. The conclusions will be used as a guide in order to advise marketing managers in their future marketing campaigns. Limitation of the study as well as ideas for future research will be concluded in this part. Brand awareness This study will investigate how sponsorship in music festivals can influence the beliefs and attitudes of the participants; hence all types of branding should be defined. Brands can influence consumers in many different ways. According to De Chernatony and McDonald (2003) brand awareness reflects the salience of a brand and facilitates consumers abilities to identify the brand with a specific product category. Brand awareness consists of brand recognition and brand recall (Keller, 1993, Keller 2001). Recall is the ability to name (typically unprompted) the brands involved in a given sponsorship. On the other hand, Brand recognition develops the notion of knowledge by adding the ability to recognize the product category of the brands involved (Smith, 2004). For instance everybody knows that AIG is the sponsor of Manchester United but fewer people recognize that AIG is an insurance company. In addition, brand image reflects the consumers perception of a brands characteristics and can be gauged by associations they hold in their memory (De Chernatony and McDonald, 2003). According to Keller (2001) positive perception of the brand is likely to affect the cognitive (eg brand recognition, awareness and recall), affective (eg liking or preference for the brand) and conative (eg intention to buy, brand purchase and loyalty) dimensions of consumer behavior and create strong brands which yield marketing advantages, such as lower vulnerability to competitive actions or market crises, the ability to earn higher margins and increased marketing communication effectiveness. In addition, Gà ¼Ãƒ §là ¼ Sà ¶zer and Vardar support this statement on their journal. According to the authors the positive effect of sponsorship is mainly on the cognitive dimensions of brand equity. Cognitive dimensions of brand equity, which are brand awareness and perceived quality, represent lower levels of consumer-brand relations. The main reason for brands to sponsor events is increased brand awareness and improved brand image (Gwinner and Eaton, 1999). Moreover, sponsorship is the main medium for art festivals to raise money (Hume et al., 2007). According to Alexandris et al (2008) potential sponsors who target events with young and more educated spectators might have an easier task in sponsorship promotion and in achieving sponsorship objectives, than sponsors who target events with older and less educated spectators, who are probably less informed about sponsorship issues. These spectators need more focused marketing approaches in sponsorship promotion, if awareness is to be achieved. Therefore, sponsorship of music festivals can be more effective on reaching the sponsorship objectives due to the target audience of music festivals. The audience of rock/indie festivals is mainly male between 16-34 and their social status is ABC1 (Mintel, 2008). The first stage of sponsorship benefits is awareness, without it, the sponsors cannot meet their subsequent objectives such as image enhancement, positive behavioral intentions and increased sales (Crompton, 2004). The actual use of the product in the sponsorship event is of major importance for the awareness of both the product and the brand. In events that sponsors provided a specific souvenir item and allowed product sampling the recall and recognition levels of the sponsor were higher (Miloch and Lambrecht, 2006). The mean recognition rates for these sponsors were twice as high compared to those sponsors that did not activate their sponsorships (Miloch and Lambrecht, 2006). It is also interesting enough that the recall levels change during the event. Before and during the event the recall levels of the sponsor are relatively high but after the event they fall again in the initial levels, the communication effort of the sponsor is what determines the effectiveness and the duration of the sponsorship awareness (Walliser, 2003). Moreover, Grohs et al (2004) support that people who are aware of the sponsor before the event, they are more aware after it. Brand equity of sponsor plays a major role in the fit that consumers perceive between the sponsor and the event. Even if the events sponsored are identical, high brand equity sponsors are perceived more congruent than low brand equity ones (Roy and Cornwell, 2003). Higher recall and recognition levels can be achieved when people are interested on the event (Miloch and Lambrecht, 2006). This means that when the participants are more involved with the event higher brand awareness can be achieved for the sponsor. According to the results from a survey conducted from Vale et al (2009) the level of investment is related to the level of awareness. Consequently, the sponsors that invest more in the sponsorship were more evoked. The results also suggest that sponsorship when considered in isolation from other complementary communicative policies positively affects the awareness of the sponsoring brands through exposure (Vale et al, 2009). The relationship between exposure and recall is generally positive and not an inverted U as many researchers supposed (Zajonc, 1968 ; Bennett, 1999). Therefore, a repeated exposure to stimuli (e.g. the logo of the sponsor) will lead to a more favorable opinion towards the stimulus (Bennett, 1999). If the spectator frequently visits the area of sponsorship (e.g. a football stadium) it is more likely to be aware of the sponsors perimeter posters (Bennett, 1999). However, consumers get confused about the official sponsor of the event (Grohs, 2004). Ambush marketing can be the reason for the misunderstanding of the official sponsor. It is common in sponsored events brands that are not the official sponsor and do not have a direct connection to the event to try to exploit the commercial opportunities that appear (Burton and Chadwick, 2009). In order to predict sponsor recall many parameters of sponsorship should be determined. According to Grohs et al (2004) sponsor-property fit, event in volvement and exposure are the main factors to be considered. According to the research of Boshoff and Gerber (2007) both brand recall and brand recognition of the sponsor of the event increased significantly but brand recall and brand recognition of non sponsor did not increase at all. Therefore, sponsorship has a positive direct impact on brand awareness of the sponsor. Although, field-sponsorship stimuli as well as television-sponsorship stimuli are effective as far as memorization is concerned, they are not equally effective (Lardinoit and Derbaix, 2001). According to the research of Lardinoit and Derbaix (2001) television-sponsorship stimuli influence both unaided recall and recognition; on the other hand, field sponsorship can lead to a superficial memory trace in the mind of the consumer. Fan Involvement According to Meenaghan (2001) fan involvement refers specifically to the extent to which consumers identify with, and are motivated by, their engagement and affiliation with particular leisure activities. Enduring involvement corresponds to a kind of genuine enthusiasm, a strong and solid interest that comes from the relevance of an object or subject for the individual ( Lardinoit and Derbaix,2001). On the other hand, team identification is spectators perceived connectedness to a team and its performance and represents the final mechanism of fan attachment (Smith et al, 2008). Consequently, fan involvement is used to measure the attachment of an individual towards a social or leisure activity and team identification to measure attachment towards a team. Individual that are more involved towards an activity, they are capable to comprehend the values of the event and to associate these values to the sponsor of the event (Meenaghan, 2001). Fans who attend football matches in order to support their team they share the same norms and images with other fans and their involvement to the whole event generates positive feeling towards the group of fans (Bennett, 1999). According to Lardinoit and Derbaix (2001) it is of major importance for the success of sponsorship to reach high levels of involvement because involvement attracts the consumers to watch the sponsored event, for longer periods of time and more frequently. The authors also mention that involvement leads to extensive exposure to the sponsors message. Purchasing intention can also change when the attendant is highly involved in the activity (Meenaghan, 2001). Fan involvement has an impact on brand awareness and brand image of the sponsor. As Pitts and Slattery (2004) state highly committed viewers and individuals who are more aware of the event it is more likely to recognize the sponsor compared to less committed spectators. This also supported from the research of Lascu et al (1995) which was based on golf fans. According to the finding high involved golf fan were more likely to remember the name of the sponsor. In addition, the greater the interest of the participant for the event, the greater the sympathy toward the sponsor and this lead to more positive image for the sponsor (Alexandris et al, 2007; DAstous and Bitz, 1995). This is also supported from Close et al (2006) survey: An event attendee who is more active in the area of the event (e.g., sports) is more likely to appreciate a sponsors community involvement. According to Alexandris et al (2007) highly involved attendants of basketball were more likely to engage in positive word -of-mouth. According to Wann Branscombe, (1995) an individual can feel more secure and strengthen its self esteem by belonging to a group. They also mention that a person emphasize on the positive aspects of the group and try to avoid any negative associations. The above behavior strengthens their identity as team members (Madrigal, 2001). Loyal and dedicated fans of a team or an event (as described from the research) were much more likely to purchase or consider purchasing from sponsors of the event than those who were not as avid supporters of the team or the event (Dees et al, 2008; Fisher and Wakefield, 1998; Madrigal 2000; Schurr et al, 1988; Smith et al, 2008; Wann and Branscombe, 1993). Moreover, highly identified sports fans are also more likely to be aware of the sponsor and to form a positive attitude (Gwinner and Swanson, 2003; Madrigal,2001). Highly identified fans also attend games (Fisher Wakefield, 1998; Schurr et al, 1988, Smith et al, 2008), spend more on tickets and products , and remain loyal (Smith et al, 2008). The development of an emotional relationship between the consumer and the social activity can also be a result of an effective sponsorship (Meenaghan, 2001). It is interesting, that fan involvement did not have the same impact as other variables as attitude toward the sponsor and goodwill. According to Dees et al (2008) attitude toward sponsor and goodwill have greater impact than fan involvement on purchasing intentions. In order to understand the behavior of attendants of performing arts it is very useful to determine the relationship between subscription and involvement and the relationship between the quality of the event and the purchasing intentions of the attendants (Hume et al, 2007). Sponsor and event fit It is of major importance for the success of an event the consumer perception of congruence between the event and the sponsor, accordingly sponsor brands need to be close to the event participants and try to communicate with them during the event( Gà ¼Ãƒ §là ¼ Sà ¶zer and Vardar, 2009). In image sponsoring, the sponsoring company attempts to identify itself or one or more of its products with the positive images of the event held by the events consumers (spectators, viewers) (Ferrand and Pages, 1996). Therefore, the sponsor should consider how the image of its brand can be congruent to the image of the event. Gwinner and Eaton (1999) in their study about sponsorship and image transfer found that if consumers perceive similarities between the event and the sponsors brand the image transfer was enhanced. This statement was also supported from a latter research made from Gwinner et al (2009) on team identification and event sponsorship. Speed and Thomson research (2000) found that a good fit between event and sponsor can have a positive influence on attitude toward the sponsor and in the intention of using the sponsors product. An example of good category-level fit would be a sports clothing company sponsoring tennis. If there is category-fit consumers next consider fit at the level of the brand, Adidas, for example is a global sportswear brand that would fit with a top-level tennis brand such as Wimbledon(Gwinner and Eaton, 2009). In order to determine the influence of sponsorship we should take into account similarities. There two types of similarities according to Gwinner (1997): Functional similarity occurs when the participants of an event use the product of the sponsor and image related similarity occurs when the image of brand and event are interrelated. An example of the above theory is given by Donald and Cornwell (2003), Mountain Dew has successfully developed brand associations of over the edge and extreme by sponsoring sports such as skateboarding and snowboarding that have similar associations attached to them. Brand knowledge is also a factor that it should be considered when we evaluate sponsorship techniques. High levels of brand knowledge can lead to brand cohesiveness and make the individual able to find a fit between the brand and the event (Gwinner and Bennett, 2008). If the participant of an event is aware of the sponsoring brand (brand knowledge) he can easier conceptualize the similarity between the brand and the event. In addition, it is crucial to take into consideration sponsor-property fit, event involvement and exposure when we want to predict sponsor recall (Grohs et al, 2004). According to Becker-Olsen and Simmons (2002) participant who are exposed to sponsorships with low fit generated less favorable thoughts, formed a less favorable attitude toward the sponsorship, saw the firms positioning as less clear, and engendered less favorable affective and behavioral responses to the firm. If there is a relationship between the product and the event consumers can easier recognize the sponsoring brand than if there is no relationship (Pham Johar, 2001). Therefore, it is more effective in awareness terms if a guitar manufacturer sponsor a music event than a sport event. There is a connection gap (lack of congruence) between the event and the sponsor if the event is over commercialized (Gwinner and Bennett, 2008). According to the authors this is due to the feeling of exploitation that that participant develops toward over commercialized brands. This is also supported from Speed and Thomson (2000) who state that the positive association found between perceived sincerity and response to sponsorship suggests that consumers do not perceive sponsorship to be just another form of commercial activity but are sensitive to the potential philanthropic dimension that a sponsorship may have The way the congruence or fit between the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli is perceived from the individuals influence the conditioned response (Speed and Thomson, 2000). The consumer response is stronger when there is a fit between the sponsor and the sponsored event (Crinmiins and Horn 1996; Otker and Hayes 1987; Speed and Thomson, 2000; Stipp and Schiavone 1996;). Therefore, the fit between the sponsor and the sponsored event is of major importance for the success of event. In addition, the combination of personal liking from the consumers side and a good fit between the event and the sponsor will lead to a more positive respond toward the sponsor of the event (Speed and Thomson, 2000). According to Roy (2000) student that perceived that there was a high level of congruence between the brand and the sport event transfer this positive association to the corporate image of sponsor. He also mentions that the attitude of the students toward the sponsor; due to the fit between brand/event, was also positive. Positive cognitive and affective responses from the consumer are the result of fit between the event and the sponsor (Koo et al, 2006). Fit is also important in order for the brand to reach its target market and instigate the affective associations (McDaniel, 1999) Attitude towards the sponsor One of the major objectives of sponsorship is the development of positive attitude and feeling toward the sponsor of the event (Gwinner Swanson, 2003; Harvey, 2001). According to Lee and Sandler (2007) the effectiveness of sponsorship in terms of reaching the desired objectives is related to the different attitudes that consumer have towards different events. Attitude is a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor (Eagly and Chaiken, 1993). Therefore, the attitude toward the sponsor can be either positive or negative. The positive attitude toward the sponsor can be the result of favorable beliefs about the benefits of corporate sponsorship (Madrigal, 2001). If the corporate sponsorship is perceived as important from people their attitude is more positive toward the sponsor of the event (Madrigal, 2001). According to Mason (2005) attitudes are comprised of enduring cognitive (beliefs), affective (evaluative emotional attachments) and behavior tendencies towards an object . He also mentions that sponsorship influence the affective components of attitude and generate positive link between the event and the sponsors brand. Attitude toward an object is based on the beliefs that the individual has about that object and the behavioral intentions toward the object are determined from the attitude of the individual (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). Therefore, attitude toward the brand is a relatively enduring, unidimensional summary evaluation of the brand that presumably energizes behavior (Spears and Singh, 2004). It is interesting enough that even when the sponsorship awareness of the sponsored event is low, spectators of the event developed positive attitude toward sponsorship in general (Alexandris et al, 2008). According to Alexandris et al (2008) the sponsorship campaign should not over commercialize the event in order to maintain the positive feelings of the participants toward the sponsor. As already mention over commercialization has also a negative impact on the consumers perception of event/sponsor fit (Gwinner and Bennett, 2008). According to the authors this is due to the feeling of exploitation that that participant develops toward over commercialized brands. Attitude toward the sponsor is important in order to predict the purchasing intention of attendants (Alexandris et al, 2007; Lee et al, 1997; Speed and Thomson, 2000). In addition, sport activity involvement, and beliefs about sponsorship play an important role on the prediction of sponsorship outcomes such as image, word of mouth, and purchase intentions (Alexandris et al, 2007). Positive attitudes toward a sponsor have further been positively associated with favorable perceptions and intentions to purchase a sponsors product (Speed and Thompson, 2000). Brand image of the sponsor can also be improved from repeat attendance of the event (Lacey et al, 2007). Purchasing intention Purchase intentions are an individuals conscious plan to make an effort to purchase a brand » (Spears Singh, 2004). Consumers purchase intention is based on two main influences: first, a positive attitude towards the brand; and second, brand familiarity, which is obtained from brand exposure and prior use (Pope and Voges, 2000). The enhanced company and brand awareness that sponsorship can cause is only a part of its effectiveness. According to Smith et al (2008) sponsorship can also create the desirability to the attendants of the event to buy the sponsored products. This is also supported from previous researches on consumer purchasing intentions (Faircloth, Capella and Alford, 2001; Koo et al 2006; Lee et al., 1997; Madrigal, 2001; Meenaghan, 2001; Terry and Hogg, 1996). It is also interesting that congruency between sponsor and event is influenced from brand equity. As Roy and Cornwell (2003) mentioned sponsors with high brand equity sponsors are perceived from participants of the events as more congruent than those with low brand equity. The link between personal attitude toward an object and the actual behavior is called behavioral intention (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). Therefore, when we want to predict the influence of sponsorship, attitude toward the sponsor is of major importance. Speed and Thomson (2000) state that positive attitudes toward the sponsor can motivate the participant to purchase the sponsors product. This occurs because generally consumers positive attitude towards the brand will lead to purchase intention before the actual purchase of the brand (Spears and Singh, 2004). However, celebrity advertisement may not be as effective as sponsorship. According to the experimental study of Tripp et al (1994) when celebrity advertisement increases the intention of consumer to purchase the product decreases. Three variables that lead to higher purchase intentions according to Smith et al (2004) are: Team support Sponsor receptiveness (openness to further information, interest in learning more about the sponsor and knowledge of the sponsors business) Sponsor integrity (is a composite measure of respondents views about the relationship between the sponsor and the sponsored sporting team) Some interesting finding from the research of Smith et al (2004) is that the purchase intentions are positively influenced from sponsorship if the participants are passionate supporters of the sport team or the event. In support to the above statement, Spears and Singh (2004) mention that avid supporters (loyal and dedicated fans) and those who hold positive views of the corporate sponsors its more likely to buy the sponsors product than non fans. On the contrary, the frequent match attendance did not have an impact on purchase intentions (Smith et al, 2004). According to Dees et al (2008) the pleasant atmosphere of an event is what influences the consumer to purchase the product of the sponsor. During the event the marketing message is introduced to the consumer. Therefore, the consumer will buy the product of the sponsor in order to experience the same feeling that he had during the event. According to the research conducted from MacDonald and Sharp (2000) on consume

Thomas Hardy Essay -- essays research papers

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy, written by Trevor Johnson, is the detailed journey through the life of one of England’s greatest writers. This biography describes some of the major details of his life such as his family, his education, and his major works. Thomas Hardy was born in 1840 at the Village of Upper Bochampton. He was the child of a country stonemason. Hardy was the third Thomas of his family. His mother’s maiden name was Jemima Hand and she and her husband led Hardy to have an unusually happy childhood. His early years were a seed-bed to his later creative development. His mother knew what real poverty was when she was young because she lost her father. Hardy said ‘ she read every book she could lay her hands on’ and she grew up to be a woman of ability, judgment, and ‘ an energy that might have carried her to incalculable issues!’ Many thought she was the dominant influence in Hardy’s life but his father was a man of character also. Even though he didn’t ‘ possess the art of enriching himself by business,’ he was a fine craftsman, and a lover of music. Hardy’s family was never poor and he summed up his happy childhood in a tiny lyric: She sat here in her chair, smiling into the fire; He who played stood there, 2 Bowing it higher and higher. Childlike, I danced in a dream; Blessings emblazoned that day; Everything glowed with a gleam; Yet we were looking away! As a young child, Hardy mastered the violin learning over 100 tunes. He also sang in the Stansford Church every Sunday. It seems to be that Hardy and his parents had a good relationship. In 1867 Hardy met Tryphena Sparks who was 16 and a daughter to a family related to his. She was intelligent and made her living as a teacher. She bore a child in 1868 and Hardy fell deeply in love with her. But in 1872 she broke his heart by returning her engagement ring. She then remarried and had two more children before dying in 1890. Tryphena had a great influence on his writing. On March 7, 1870 Hardy took an architectural trip to a church named St. Juliot. He stayed at the rectory and met the rector’s sister-in-law, Emma Lavinia Gifford. She was younger and attractive, and they walked hand in hand through the countryside. They fell half in love and Hardy made many trips back to St. Juliot. In 1874 they were married and proceeded to wander about Europe until they settled in S... ... as the greatest English author of his time. He received an Order of Merit and many doctorates from universities. His achievements stemmed further from writing by receiving two architectural awards. He was even popular enough to get pestered by nosy neighbors. His relationships with other writers were few but important. When he was with Florence Ellen Dugdale, his home was a pilgrimage to young writers like, Edmund Blunden, Robert Graves, T.E. Lawrence,, and Siegfried Sassoon. But perhaps the greatest honor he ever received was when he died. His ashes were scattered in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abby next to the great Charles Dickens. Thomas Hardy by Trevor Johnson is a well written, thorough, and easy to follow biography. Leaving out only ancestry and condemnation, it provided a lot of information on major topics. This book is a good description of Hardy and it is a good research reference. By reading this and The Mayor of Casterbridge it is easy to tie together Hardy’s life and Michael Henchard’s. It is clear that Hardy knew of lost love and experienced the surrounding hardships. Thomas Hardy is a good writer and by Trevor Johnson’s description, he led a good life.