Thursday, September 19, 2019
Aspartame :: essays research papers
I have had friends who were having symptoms, had all kinds of tests and were taking all kinds of medications and when they stopped consuming Aspartame, the symptoms disappeared. Written by Lisa Zak Physician Credentialer University Pediatric Associates, Inc. Women & Children's Hospital of Buffalo: In October of 2001, a friend's sister started getting very sick. She had stomach spasms and she was having a hard time getting around. Walking was a major chore. It took everything she had just to get out of bed she was in so much pain. By March 2002, she had undergone several tissue and muscle biopsies and was on 24 various prescription medications. The doctors could not determine what was wrong with her. Because of her pain and sickness, she was sure she was dying. She put her house, bank accounts, life insurance, etc., in her oldest daughter's name, and made sure that her younger children were to be taken care of. She also wanted a last hoorah, so she planned a trip to FL (basically in a wheelchair) for March 22nd. On March 19th her brother called to ask how her most recent tests went, and she said they didn't find anything on the test, but they >>> believe she had MS. He recalled an E-mail article I might have sent to him and asked his sister if she drank diet pop? She told him that she did. As a matter of fact, she was getting ready to crack one open that moment. He told her not to open it, to stop drinking the diet pop, and then E-mailed her the aspartame articles sister called him within 32 hours after the phone conversation and told him she had stopped drinking the diet pop AND she could walk! The muscle spasms went away. She said she didn't feel 100% better, but she sure felt a lot better. She told him she was going to her doctor with this article and would call him when she got home. Well, she called, and said her doctor was amazed! He is going to call all of his MS patients to find out if they had consumed artificial sweeteners of any kind. In a nutshell, she was being poisoned by the Aspartame in the diet soda and literally dying a slow and miserable death. When she got to FL March 22nd, all she had to take was one pill, and that was a pill for the Aspartame poisoning. Aspartame :: essays research papers I have had friends who were having symptoms, had all kinds of tests and were taking all kinds of medications and when they stopped consuming Aspartame, the symptoms disappeared. Written by Lisa Zak Physician Credentialer University Pediatric Associates, Inc. Women & Children's Hospital of Buffalo: In October of 2001, a friend's sister started getting very sick. She had stomach spasms and she was having a hard time getting around. Walking was a major chore. It took everything she had just to get out of bed she was in so much pain. By March 2002, she had undergone several tissue and muscle biopsies and was on 24 various prescription medications. The doctors could not determine what was wrong with her. Because of her pain and sickness, she was sure she was dying. She put her house, bank accounts, life insurance, etc., in her oldest daughter's name, and made sure that her younger children were to be taken care of. She also wanted a last hoorah, so she planned a trip to FL (basically in a wheelchair) for March 22nd. On March 19th her brother called to ask how her most recent tests went, and she said they didn't find anything on the test, but they >>> believe she had MS. He recalled an E-mail article I might have sent to him and asked his sister if she drank diet pop? She told him that she did. As a matter of fact, she was getting ready to crack one open that moment. He told her not to open it, to stop drinking the diet pop, and then E-mailed her the aspartame articles sister called him within 32 hours after the phone conversation and told him she had stopped drinking the diet pop AND she could walk! The muscle spasms went away. She said she didn't feel 100% better, but she sure felt a lot better. She told him she was going to her doctor with this article and would call him when she got home. Well, she called, and said her doctor was amazed! He is going to call all of his MS patients to find out if they had consumed artificial sweeteners of any kind. In a nutshell, she was being poisoned by the Aspartame in the diet soda and literally dying a slow and miserable death. When she got to FL March 22nd, all she had to take was one pill, and that was a pill for the Aspartame poisoning.
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Platoââ¬â¢s Portrayal of Socrates Essay -- Plato Socrates
Platoââ¬â¢s Portrayal of Socrates The portrayal of Socrates by his student Plato creates one of the most controversial characters of all time. There are few other personalities in history that have drawn criticism and praise from the furthest ends of each spectrum. Socrates has been called the inventor of reason and logic, and at the same time has been condemned as a corruptor and a flake. Perhaps he was all of these. Despite this disagreement, one is a certainty: Socrates had a very interesting and active sense of humor. In order to successfully demonstrate Socratesââ¬â¢ sense of humor, it is necessary to define a few terms. To begin, we must define ââ¬Å"comedyâ⬠as it was looked upon in the time of Socrates, Plato, and the Greek playwrights. Greek comedy comes in many different shades depending on both the author and the subject matter. There are two types of comedy that emerge as the most common when dealing with Socrates, slapstick and intellectual humor. Aristophanes uses the former as slapstick fart jokes and the like in Clouds. In an exchange with Socrates, Strepsiades exclaims, ââ¬Å"Yes, I revere you, much honored ones, and wish to fart in response.â⬠(Aristophanes, Clouds, 2931). On the other hand, Plato displays comedy as a more intellectual concept dealing quite a lot with puns and especially politics during Socratesââ¬â¢ trial. Socrates has been found guilty of impiety and corrupting the youth and the penalty of death has been suggested. Socrates uses his opport unity to suggest an alternative punishment and suggests ââ¬Å"to be given [my] meals in the Prytaneum2,â⬠(Plato, Apology of Socrates, 36d3). This ridiculous ââ¬Å"hubristic and boastfulâ⬠4 proposal can only be taken as comedy because having already been found guilty, Socrates... ...ophical Perspectives, Section 4: Sixth Handout.â⬠Sources Aristophanes. Clouds. Translated by Thomas G. West and Grace Starry West in Four Texts on Socrates. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998. Burkert, Walter. Greek Religion. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1985. Euripides. Bacchae. Translated by Paul Woodruff. Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 1998. Homer. The Iliad. Translated by Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1990. Plato. Apology of Socrates. Translated by Thomas G. West and Grace Starry West in Four Texts on Socrates. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998. Plato. Euthyphro. Translated by Thomas G. West and Grace Starry West in Four Texts on Socrates. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998. Sennet, Richard. Flesh and Stone, the Body and the City in Western Civilization. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1994.
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Employment Law Essay -- UK Employment Law
In order to discuss and analyse the above statement, in depth reference will be made to various documents which can in some circumstances relate to contracts of employment and whether those particular documents which are not contractual can be incorporated into a contract, creating legal enforceability for employers and employees. Firstly it must be established what exactly is a contract of employment. A contract of employment is an agreement between an employer and employee, forming the basis of an employment relationship; enforceable by law. Contracts of employment may be given orally or in writing: Employment Rights Act 1996 s 230(2) and commence immediately. Actual written contracts require an employee's signature and the signature of a company representative. Contracts of employment can involve both express and implied terms and can appear in many forms. The express terms, being those which both parties have agreed to, whether by signing a contractual document or acting in a particular way are seldom found in just one document. Terms are repeatedly found in an array of documents, whether they be from the actual formal contract, written statements or an employee handbook. The two latter documents are just some examples of prima facia non contractual documents. In reality very few employees have a formal written contract of employment , but to whom the act does apply: must receive a statement setting out the key particulars of their employment in writing within two months of commencing employment . Written statements are known as the Terms and Conditions of Employment: essentially evidence of the contract, providing clarity for both employee and employer but it is not the actual contract of employment per se. A written statem... ...ent of an employment contract. This is likely to be troublesome point for some time to come and likely to work on case by case basis. Works Cited Employment Rights Act 1996 s 230(2) (n1) s 1 Ian Smith and Aaron Bake, Smith and Woodââ¬â¢s Employment Law (10th edn Oxford University Press, Oxford 2010) 80 [1974] ICR 420 CA Smith and Baker (n3) 81 John Bowers, Bowers on Employment Law (6th edn, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2002) 39 [1972] 2 QB 455 Smith and Baker (n3) citing Lord Denning MR per (n7) [2006] EWCA Civ 1277, [2006] IRLR 961 Slade and 11 KBW, Tolleyââ¬â¢s Employment Handbook (24th edn, LexisNexis 2010) citing (n9) (n9) University of London External Programme ââ¬ËChapter2 The contract of employmentââ¬â¢ http://www.londoninternational.ac.uk/current_students/programme_resources/laws/subject_guides/labour_law/lablaw_ch2.pdf
The India we want
In United States there is a term called the ââ¬ËGreat American Dream'. Historian James Tortuous Adams defines it as ââ¬Ëlife should be richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to their ability or achievement. â⬠We for sure do not want to copy this term but according to me the ââ¬ËGreat Indian Dream' would be defined as ââ¬ËEveryone should be ranked according to ability, strive for innovation and invention, be happy and content but at the same time work for the progress of the country.India is a great country with a great potential. Its sheer massiveness has given it a big advantage in front of other countries that face a problem of human labor and area. It is truly said that ââ¬ËThe citizen is the true treasure of the country. ââ¬Ë If the power of these citizens is put to good use there is no doubt that India can overcome all the problems it faces. Yes, India faces a number of problems and yes many of the effects are seen on the comm on people who form the major population of the country. However, imagine if these common people only come together, what mind of change they can bring.A large population of India is in its youth years and I believe that if the youth of the country begin to think over the current issues, find solutions and lead other people we will very soon be able to see the perfect India we picture in our minds. We can live to see the next generation happy and contented, we can live to see the ââ¬Å"India we want! â⬠While everyone will have their personalized perception of a happy India, the generalized ideas are the same In the India of our dreams; we can clearly visualize a lace where there is no poverty and sorrow.Although this dream can be made true through a lot of hard work and dedication let us talk from a more realistic point of view. In the perfect India we would all want the name and fame we deserve. We all see that sons and daughters of famous, rich businessmen get all the luxuri es and fame Just because of their family background. A student who deserves his place in a good, reputed college might lose his seat to a less deserving but rich student. This needs to change and that will only happen when we change our mindsets.Accumulation of money is necessary but only to a certain limit. So in the India of our dreams we would definitely like to be Judged on the basis of our ability and not on our father's bank balance. When we talk about a perfect India we cannot forget our oldest enemy- corruption. Ask anyone about the one thing that has slowed down Indian's progress and you are mostly likely to hear corruption. We Indians have a bad habit of blaming others. It is the same with corruption. We have now become so habituated to blame corruption as the root cause of all the miseries in our lives.Although it is true that we have corrupt politicians, it is we who elect them. If we get the opportunity to study and keep ourselves updated with the politics or rather the Government's policies we can question them as well as reform unjust policies. Education will also form capable candidates for various Jobs. Education will help us question everything we have to blindly follow from the age old customs to the unnecessary paperwork. I believe that education and the values of a person are the only tools which can eradicate corruption.
Monday, September 16, 2019
Dan Brown’s Deception Point Review
Unless you live in a cave (Iââ¬â¢m not judging) then youââ¬â¢ve probably heard of Dan Brown. If you havenââ¬â¢t heard of Dan Brown then youââ¬â¢ve probably heard of ââ¬Å"The Da Vinci Codeâ⬠. If youââ¬â¢ve heard of neither then I suggest you watch less TV and stop collecting porn from the internet. (Iââ¬â¢m still not judging). I wonââ¬â¢t blog on about how fantastic the Da Vince Code is (it really is) or how mind-blowing the concepts where (they really were) or offer my thoughts on the validity of Dan Brownââ¬â¢s research for the book (not enough time in the day). Nope. This is about one of his earlier novels: Deception Point.If youââ¬â¢ve not read it, then stop reading this puerile obfuscation of the written language (thatââ¬â¢s this blog by the way) and go read it now. If you need a little tease (still not judging) then reads onâ⬠¦. (Please affect your best ââ¬Å"Deep Movie Trailer Voiceâ⬠). There are no direct spoilers here, but if you prefer not to know anything about this book, turn away now. Not looking at your computer screen now? Thatââ¬â¢s a bit silly. President Zach Herney is in trouble. Heââ¬â¢s taking a beating in the polls for the forthcoming presidential election. A stoic supporter of NASA, heââ¬â¢s backed and funded from tax payers money a string of expensive NASA blunders.His rival, the ruthless Senator Sedgewick Sexton, is riding a wave of unrest from the American people heââ¬â¢s stirred by condemning the billions of tax payers money thatââ¬â¢s been wasted on failed NASA projects and heââ¬â¢s all but guaranteed the presidency. As the situation gets even more desperate for the President, a new NASA satellite detects evidence of an astonishing object buried deep in the Arctic ice: a meteorite containing the fossilized remains of extra terrestrial life. The floundering space agency appears to have struck gold and will silence all their critics with their find.The President dispatches Senator Sextonââ¬â¢s daughter, NRO intelligence analyst Rachel to the Arctic to verify the find. Sheââ¬â¢s accompanied by a team of NASA and civilian experts, including the charismatic ââ¬Å"Amazing Seasâ⬠presenter Michael Tolland. Their every move is watched by the mysterious Delta Force taking orders from ââ¬Å"the controllerâ⬠. However, things start to unravel quickly when Rachel uncovers that the object isnââ¬â¢t all that it appears to be. A shocking discovery that will plunge the country into controversy. Before Rachel can make her findings known she realizes that her discovery puts her life, and the lives of others in danger.Fleeing for her life with Michael Tolland and Corky Marlinson ââ¬â a NASA scientist ââ¬â in the dangerous Arctic conditions they have only one hope for survival: to find out whoââ¬â¢s behind the deception. Back in Washington, the election grows closer and the stakes get higher. William Pickering, the NRO director is frustra ted with NASAââ¬â¢s regular security leaks which put their technological advances into the hands of the highest bidder. The NASA administrator, an ex-Pentagon man is fighting to keep NASA from being restructured as part of the governments intelligence community joining the FBI and the CIA.The President, taking advice from his sly senior advisor Marjorie Tench, prepares to tell the world of NASAââ¬â¢s discovery. Sounds good, doesnââ¬â¢t it? It is. Dan Brown has really done is research and although youââ¬â¢re entertained, you also learn a fair bit about the Arctic, meteorites and fossils. His technical detail is on par with Tom Clancy although itââ¬â¢s not as dry as some of Clancyââ¬â¢s work. His real flair is in involving the reader. This is a book that you wonââ¬â¢t want to put down. Now, go read it.
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Existential Psychology and Humanistic Approach: Use in Modern Perspective
Extistencail psychology & humanistic approach (personality) Use in modern perspective Focus on how it relates to happiness Difference: humanist + side of human Est related to sex and aggression. Which statement about Freudââ¬â¢s theory of personality is FALSE? The most important aspects of personally development are finished by age 6 The ego continues to develop as you grow The id is present at birth The ego must balance the demands of the id and super-ego The id is entirely unconscious. The ego is entirely conscious Difference: ego & super ego Ego: the eye since of self, intelligence ore rational Super ego: (over-eye) develop early on Demand of your culture, what your culture (good boy or girl) should or shouldnââ¬â¢t do. Ex: good person wonââ¬â¢t have sex In this defense mechanism, an individual acts in a manner opposite to their true desires or motives.Displacement You displace your anger on something or someone else Projection Instead of admitingit to yourself yo u accuse everyone else of it Reaction formation Regression Using a baby talk Denial Act as if something isnââ¬â¢t happening * Defense machanism do exist. Heââ¬â¢s probably wrong about ppl use it by unciounsious * There are many reasons that contribute to our attraction to others. One of the best predictors in selecting and developing interpersonal and romantic relationships is Mere exposure effect Is why proximity is such a good predictor Just seeing them wonââ¬â¢t influence it as much as the other one Personality characteristics Commonalities in parental behavior Physical proximity How close u live to each other They are there and you get to know them, b/c they live close to you What is familiar is more appealing then what isnââ¬â¢t Age Defense mechanisms are enated by The id The ego The super-egoBoth the ego and the super ego Both the id and the super-ego In _________love we experience feelings of euphoria, intimacy, and intense sexual attraction, in ________love, we e xperience affection, trust, and concern, for a partnerââ¬â¢s well-being. Passionate; companionate Companionate deals w/ oxitocen Passionate deals w/ dopamine (like w/ drugs) Research has consistently demonstrated five core components of personality. Which of the following is not one of the Big Five personality tratis? Agreeableness Extraversion + to neutral? Openness to experience Narcissism ââ¬â to neutral? B&CWhich of the big 5 is associated w/ school and work success? (along w/ predicting IQ) Consciousness What do obedience to authority and a tendency to reciprocate otherââ¬â¢s favors have in common? Norms (unwritten standards for behavior or how ppl will react to one other) Differ from culture to culture No one is going to sit u down & tell you Ex: you will obey an officer (or ppl in position of authority) When your friend does really well on a test, he says itââ¬â¢s b/c he is smart. If he fails, he says itââ¬â¢s b/c the test was really hard. This is an e x of which of the following? Extraversion Denial SublimationSelf-serving bias We have a general good look of our self Look at outside reason why we didnââ¬â¢t do so well. repression The tendency for ppl to engage in ____________ explains why some ppl prefer negative evaluation over positive ones and also seek mate who view them poorly. Self-verification Get info from ppl around us Deosnââ¬â¢t change a lot over time We seek ppl out who confirm w/ our own thoughts Self denial Self actualization Self serving bias Self report * * _____________ persuasion is a type of persuasion that involves a chang in attitudes or beliefs that is brought about by appeals to habit or emotion.Systematic Heuristic Habbits & emotion Happy, joy Non-systematic Logic & reason (opposite of heuristic) Ppl take their time (ppl are spending a lot of $) Inferential Residual The Lexical Hypothsis suggested that: Language will have many words for very important personality traits. Language will have fe w words for the very important personality traits Some cultures do not believe in the idea of stable personality traits. Some cultures do believe in the idea of stable personality traits. Which of the following statements about personality traits is NOT true?Traits allow us to predict behavior in specific situations. Only over time, not in situations Intelligence is not a personalilty trait According to the ___________ ppl aggress when their goals are thwarted. Pleasure principle Frustration-agression Drive principle Motivation principle Aggression-motivation hypothesis As cover in class the humanistic perspective on personality and motivation suggests that there are 3 b Automomy relatedness Competence Dominance Milgrams famous obedience study reveals that about ______% of participants delivered the max level of shock. 15% 25% 50% 65% 95% top sooner if they had to touch the learner being closer to the learner personality traits matter too often ppl who didnââ¬â¢t car about what p pl thought about them being taught by parents/ even if you are told to do something it wasnââ¬â¢t ok to hurt some one ppl who had a strong need to be approved of they were more likely to continue Researches have discovered a gene associated w/ serotonin availability in th frontal love. This gen is also related to the personality trait of neuroticism The Zimbardo prison study has been cited as an example that: negative situation pressures often outweigh personality traits.When ppl in angry mobs, they may not be awar of their own standards of behavior. This may be due to: Reciprocal altruism Altruism Diffusion of responsibility Doesnââ¬â¢t have to do w/ being aware of yourself This is in the ex of who is going to come forth to do the work When someone needs help & it isnââ¬â¢t clear if itââ¬â¢s a emergency When there is a crowd &ppl act like itââ¬â¢s fine then u assume itââ¬â¢s fine too When u are by yourself, u donââ¬â¢t have reference of others so u r mo re likely to help Deindividuation Group polarizationIn _________ an individualââ¬â¢s experience of the environment is shaped y unintentional effects of their personality on others. Situation selection Manipulation When we do it intension to manipulate others to get what we want Evocation Unintentional effect ppl respond to b/c of ur personality Passive correlation Spent a lot of ppl who have the same gene as you so itââ¬â¢s hard to pull apart Self-serving bias In John Gottmanââ¬â¢s research on predictors of divorce, couples who remained married showed a ratio of ____ positive interactons for every _____negative interactions 5;1 1;5 2;1 1;2 1;1 *
Saturday, September 14, 2019
Exploiting the Network: Synergy, Product Placement
The media industries have a suggestive and coercive power on society, embodied within the artifacts, images, and brands we consume. As these industries diversify, so do the products and the avenues in which they are offered. Synergy allows corporations the power to maximize advertising through a variety of cross-market promotional mechanisms, proliferating their products or logos exponentially. Initially, this essay requires an explanation of the use of synergy and cross-market advertising. Subsequently, I will illustrate how television shows such as Nickelodeonââ¬â¢s SpongeBob SquarePants and MTVââ¬â¢s The Osbournes and Total Live Request (TRL), use the vast internal synergistic network of their parent company Viacom. Such programming appears to exploit its viewer-ship through commodification ââ¬â product placement, branding, and celebrity endorsements. Synergy: The True Meaning of Cross-Market Advertising ââ¬Å"We are reaching a position where the challenge for the 1990s should be to seek a greater understanding of the best ways, creatively, to exploit the potential for media synergyâ⬠(Confer, 10) The concept of synergy is not new, however evidence suggests it has only been fully realized and exploited over the last decade. Synergy is created through the integration or combination of different but complimentary business interests, each feeding off the other. Ultimately, large corporations or conglomerates are diversifying their market interests rather than specializing. This diversification benefits the company by offering a new strata of opportunities thereby complimenting its existing functionality. An example of this is a movie production company allying or buying out a major video game provider. The synergy created from such a merger allows for a film and a video game to use the same characters, story line or premise. Synergy works for two reasons. Primarily, synergy is an engine that provides cross-marketing and cross-selling opportunities, which would allow for greater sales, exceeding what would be possible from each division separately. (Hesmondhalgh, 141). Secondly, corporations also ââ¬Å"plan and design texts, in order to encourage subsidiary spin-off textsâ⬠(Hesmondhalgh, 239). Even if these texts or preplanned products are not of great quality or a commercial success, they will still sell thus generating profit. This is because there is a pre-existing, underlying product network that has already been established through the fan base. If synergy can be classified as the ââ¬Å"the ability to keep cash flows inside a corporate familyâ⬠(Klein, 148), through its internal use of cross-market production, promotion, and sales; Sumner Redstoneââ¬â¢s Viacom is a perfect example of synergy at work. The Viacom Empire has tapped into many markets throughout the entertainment and media industry. Viacomââ¬â¢s major subsidiaries include: Nickelodeon ââ¬â childrenââ¬â¢s cartoon network; MTV ââ¬â music network; NBC ââ¬â television network; and Paramount ââ¬â movie production company, which also runs numerous theme parks all over North America. Klein, 2000, comments on this phenomenon as ââ¬Å"synergy nirvanaâ⬠(160). According to Klein, ââ¬Ësynergy nirvanaââ¬â¢ is attained when a conglomerate works internally to ââ¬Å"successfullyâ⬠¦churn out related versions of the same product, like molded Play-Doh, into different shapes: toys, books, theme parks, magazines, television specials, movies, candies, CDs, CD-ROMs, superstores, comics, and mega-musicalsâ⬠(161). Basically, ââ¬Ësynergy nirvanaââ¬â¢ is the proliferation of standardized products in different packaging, through a preexisting framework of cross-market advertising; which is done on a vast scale through the exploitation of many different mediums and industries in the name of profit. ââ¬ËSynergyââ¬â¢ is Viacomââ¬â¢s number one marketing tool for it allows them to link the vastness of their empire together, into a culmination, dissemination and consumption of products, images, ideals, and brands. Furthermore, ââ¬Ësynergyââ¬â¢ in programming, such as SpongeBob SquarePants and The Osbournes, has evident implications for the viewer-ship. SpongeBob SquarePants: The Future of Product Placement ââ¬Å"Nickelodeon has more children between the ages of two to eleven watching than the four major networks combinedâ⬠¦ This is significant in the competition for the childrenââ¬â¢s advertising market, which averages about $500 million a yearâ⬠(Roman, 223). SpongeBob SquarePants is a lovable, animated sea sponge that manages to find himself in undersea trouble during every episode. The ââ¬Å"cartoonâ⬠(Mittell, 18) runs every ââ¬Å"Saturday morningâ⬠(Mittell, 18) on Nickelodeon and is syndicated to most major television networks due to its incredible popularity among children viewers. What started out in 1999, as a comical concept for a childrenââ¬â¢s television program, has grown seemingly overnight into a ââ¬Ëjuggernautââ¬â¢. Nickelodeon cannot only boast that it is ââ¬Å"the number one rated program among children 2-11â⬠, but according to Nielson ratings, ââ¬Å"53. 7 million viewers tune into the show each monthâ⬠¦including 22. 1 million kids 2-11, [and] 12. 7 million between 9-14â⬠(Olson, blogcritics. rg). With such commercial success and an immense viewer ship, Nickelodeonââ¬â¢s SpongeBob SquarePants uses synergistic principals of massive product placement to have free rein and ââ¬Ëseep into every poreââ¬â¢ of consumer culture. SpongeBob employs Viacomââ¬â¢s cross platform synergies to network and gain access to most childrenââ¬â¢s homes. The motivation is a given when children between the ages of 2 ââ¬â 11 are not only watching between 24 ââ¬â 28 hours of television a week (Roman, 74), but are ââ¬Å"responsible for either spending or influencing the spending of $100 billion annuallyâ⬠(Roman, 74). This is clearly an influential and lucrative market. SpongeBob SquarePants should be the archetype for synergistic corporate product placement. With SpongeBobââ¬â¢s insurgence into popular culture, there have been similar synergistic trends of product placement. Support for this notion is found through looking back to 2004, days before the premier of the SpongeBob SquarePants movie in New York. Paramount, another Viacom subsidiary, launched a brand new SpongeBob SquarePants amusement park theme ride to coincide with the movie launch. Additionally, Burger King (also owned by Viacom), released a SpongeBob SquarePants value meal that comes with SpongeBob SquarePants plastic figurines from the movie ââ¬â ââ¬Ëcollect all 42. ââ¬â¢ Nickelodeon, the Viacom subsidiary that operates SpongeBob must not be ignored. Nickelodeon aired a 24-hour SpongeBob SquarePants Marathon that hyped up kids for the movie and forced unsuspecting parents to shell out $12 a ticket. Furthermore, during the Marathonââ¬â¢s commercial breaks, SpongeBob advised the viewers to eat SpongeBob value meals, collect all 67 figurines, and go to Paramount Theme Parks to try his new ride. SpongeBob has saturated the market with his yellow sponginess, which must be overpowering to any parent; he can be found everywhere, in every nuance of daily life. Since the movie, product placements and cross-promotional marketing have skyrocketed. SpongeBob now has a line of clothing, DVD box sets, bed linens, and bowling balls with a real tenpin set. Of course a 5 year old needs a bowling ball and set of bowling pins with SpongeBob SquarePants on them ââ¬â SpongeBob said so! MTV: Branding a Nation ââ¬Å"MTV is associated with the forces of freedom and democracy around the world. When the Berlin Wall came down, there were East German guards holding MTV umbrellasâ⬠ââ¬â Sumner Redstone, CEO of Viacom MTV is known for hosting different music video programs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In 1998, MTV was watched in ââ¬Å"273. 5 million household worldwideâ⬠(Klein, 120), where it was reported, ââ¬Å"85% of them watched everydayâ⬠(Klein, 120). The station offers a host television shows, including TRL and The Osbournes, that entrance its youthful audience through flashy music videos and the celebrities portrayed. MTVââ¬â¢s popularity, since its inception in the early 1980s, is as a self-perpetuating ââ¬Å"fully branded media integrationâ⬠(Klein, 44). Klein, 2000, writes: From the beginning, MTV has not been just a marketing machine for products it advertises around the clock; it has also been a twenty-four-hour advertisement for MTV itselfâ⬠¦[where] viewers didnââ¬â¢t watch individual shows, they simply watched MTVâ⬠¦Advertisers didnââ¬â¢t want to just advertise on MTV, they wanted to co-brand with the station (44). Today, advertiser branding can be seen throughout MTV. As MTV endeavors to diversify in a changing market place, video shows like TRL are coupled with reality-based television shows intimately linked to ââ¬Ëcelerityââ¬â¢ including The Anna Nichol Smith Show or The Osbournesââ¬â¢. Beyond these shows lack of merit, their entire function is product branding and celebrity endorsements. Even though The Osbournesââ¬â¢ are a revival to the ââ¬Å"original early 1950s format of the American sitcomâ⬠(Gillan, 55), I cannot fathom that product branding, product placement, and celebrity endorsements were as prevalent on national television in the 1950s as they are in modern programming. Within the first ten minutes of the show, the audience can blatantly see a mansion full of expensive electronics, furniture, and cars ââ¬â at a closer look, the brand names facing the camera and are a part of the Viacom conglomerate in a myriad of ways. All The Osbournes offer the predominately teen audience (other than a few less brain cells) is copious amounts of product branding though celebrity endorsement. Product branding on MTV is a big issue. Much like the red carpet on Oscar night, where the predominant question on everyoneââ¬â¢s lips is ââ¬Ëwho are you wearing? ââ¬â¢ MTV offers its audience the same intellectual stimulation, especially when all that its audience sees are ââ¬Ëhella-coolââ¬â¢ rock stars and all the ââ¬Ëblingââ¬â¢ they wear throughout their music videos, interviews, and award ceremonies. No wonder the Y generation is all about over consumption and bad taste. As we have entered the 21st Century, multi-media conglomerates have risen to great power in our society. They offer the consumer the media and entertainment that they desire. However through internal synergistic networks, these companies, such as Viacom, can link the lucrative childrenââ¬â¢s market or the 24-hour advertising nature of MTV, to all other aspects of their company. As consumers, we neglect what these companies are telling us to do ââ¬â to consume ââ¬â in order to watch our favourite programs. We refuse to witness how the realities of consumerism, and sickening nature that these corporations control the very artifacts and images that we relate to and enjoy for their own personal profit.
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