Critical Thinking - Basic Concepts of Quantitative Reasoning; Research Paper - 1

Critical Thinking - Basic Concepts of Quantitative Reasoning; Hypothesis Formulation - Research Paper Example An individual suffering from mild traumatic brain injury may lose perception for a few seconds or minutes or may remain conscious throughout. Other mild traumatic brain injury symptoms include confusion, headache, lightheadedness, blurred vision, dizziness, ringing in the ears, fatigue, bad taste in the mouth, sleep pattern changes, mood or behavioral changes, nausea, slurred speech, temporary loss of memory, attention, concentration or thinking capacity (Cifu et al, 2010; Murdoch & Theodoros, 2001). On average, more or less 2 million traumatic brain injuries transpire per year, either as isolated cases or by the side of other injuries. Common symptoms of moderate and severe traumatic brain injuries are abnormal social behavior, deficits in social judgment, frequent loss of attention, processing speed and executive functioning. Anyone with signs of traumatic brain injury ought to receive immediate medical attention; based on the fact that traumatic brain injury is a health risk. As a starter, medical personnel try to stabilize a person with traumatic brain injury and focus on preventing additional injury since little can be done to correct the initial brain injury resulting from the trauma; this is regarded as an initial treatment for traumatic brain injury. The primary concerns include ensuring proper oxygen supply, ensuring adequate blood flow, and maintaining normal blood pressure. Imaging tests help in diagnosing a traumatic brain injury patient (High, 2005). Patients with m ild to modest traumatic brain injury undergo skull and neck X-rays to check for bone fractures or spinal irregularities. Moderately to severely injured patients have to undergo rehabilitation depending on individual symptoms. Such therapy programs include speech/language therapy, occupational therapy, physiatry, psychology/psychiatry, and social support (Murdoch & Theodoros,

The Difference between the Schools of United States of America and Essay

The Difference between the Schools of United States of America and Europe - Essay Example 2). Most private schools consist of 90% which offered at least elementary grades. Of the said percentage 61 % offered of elementary grades and the other 30% offer a combination of elementary and secondary grades. The remaining 9% offer only secondary level education. They emphasized a regular elementary and secondary program. For private school, a school year consists of 180 days and 6.7 hours. Most students were enrolled in the Catholic schools. There are 1000 schools located in different states and these are the California, Florida, Illnois, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. In each of these states there were 250,000 students enrolled in private schools (Broughman, 2006, p. 2). United States also offer free school. The aim of free school is to supply English education. The social condition of England and U.S. is rendered in an extreme condition of useless comparison. The countries are forced to join international competition. â€Å"Not withstanding the difference exists in the ci rcumstances of each country.† The principle has been borrowed in England and used as a foundation of Education System. The most popular school nowadays is English school even though it is exotic in England for being free. The American made a common school for free education which became popular and successful institution in the country (Adams, 1969, p.5). The education systems in Europe are rooted by traditions and features. Education is strengthened through economic, social, and cultural change which is needed by the policy makers, business leaders, and scholars to learn more about the characteristics of the education system. In European states there are several reasons for their growing interest. First, the enlargement of European Union (EU), the increasing relevance of international school and student assessment studies and finally the growing internalization of education and educational studies within the overall process of globalization (Horner, 2007, p. 1). In Europe, pu pils who are attending private primary schools seem to achieve higher level than those who attends in public school. The education system in Europe depends on the age that children start and compulsory education, the time children spent in school in these countries, the class size and the content of the countries curriculum and finally the use of examinations and testing the country (Euridice, 2001). The administration of education system in Europe that the Spanish Constitution gave a new decentralized state, they established a sharing of powers between the State administration and the Autonomous Communities. This decentralized system gives power to the State, Autonomous Communities, Local Authorities and eventually the school. The State has a power for a guaranteed standardization and unity for education. The education in Europe is compulsory for aged 6- 16 of years, which is divided into two educational levels. The first level is composed of the five stages, the first three for pr imary education and the other two for lower secondary level. In Europe to enter the Primary Education you must be 6 years old. For admission the factors to be examined include the family income to determine if they can pay enough for the finance needed. Other factors include catchment area, and siblings at the school. For the school days, there are 180 days at primary level and 175 days at secondary level, it is

Pet food recall Essay Example for Free

Pet food recall Essay A recent recall across the United States and Canada has pet owners in frenzy. More than 60 million cans and pouches of pet food have been recalled as they have been linked to 10 cat and 6 dog deaths recently. The manufacturer sells food under 95 different brands, including Wal-Mart, Iams, and Safeway. As of yet the specific ingredient linked to the pet deaths has not been determined. Speculation links the liver failure of the cats to a wheat gluten ingredient. The FDA said that wheat gluten itself would not cause liver failure, but if it was contaminated with metal or mold toxins it could cause liver damage. The chief executive of menu foods, Paul Henderson issued a statement saying, â€Å"Our hearts go out to all of the pet owners across Canada, the United States and Mexico for any losses they experience and certainly for the worry this incident may be causing† (â€Å"Company behind pet†, 2007). Pet owner’s expectations when buying pet food are to keep their pets happy, healthy, and well fed. Many of the products recalled were manufactured under the best pet food names in the industry. Pet owner Chris Wood says â€Å"We love our pets just like children. They are not careful enough with the ingredients they put in pet food. That’s scary† (Molina, 2007). Pet’s are companions that owner’s have a deep responsibility to care for. Implications caused by this recall include worry for one’s pet, having to find a new brand of food not manufactured by menu foods, and in the worse case scenario losing one’s pet to liver failure. The worry alone is taking time and energy from pet owners across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Pet owners are not only returning the recalled food but are taken precautions that cost a lot of money to ensure the safety and well-being of their pets. A veterinarian at the Animal Medical Center on the East Side of Manhattan, Dr. Ann Hohenhaus, said one cat died there over the weekend of kidney failure linked to the recalled food. Hohenhaus said the Animal Medical Center has tested 143 animals for renal failure since worried pet owners started taking their cats and dogs in for blood and urine tests on Saturday (March 18th, 2007)†(Mathews , 2007). Retailers are taking all measures to reassure pet owners. After the recall â€Å"PetSmart general manager Gary Brown said, ‘Everything on our shelves is 100 percent safe for your pet’(Molina, 2007). Petsmart is offering a full refund on all food purchased between December 3-March 6. A Long Island family whose two year old bull mastiff, Princess, died as a result of the recall are suing Menu Foods. Princess ate nothing but Nutro Foods all of her life and passed away from liver failure. The family is absolutely devastated by their loss. The family filed a lawsuit â€Å"Wednesday against Nutro and manufacturer Menu Foods. The lawsuit, filed in state Supreme Court in Nassau County, seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, said Bobbs attorney, Kenneth Mollins†(Mathews, 2007). Quite often consumers put much research and time into products they purchase. When a consumer makes a purchase they assumed the manufacturer is offering a product that will be satisfactory and meet standards. Menu foods did switch to a new supplier for wheat gluten. As of the March 6, 2007 issued recall Mend Foods has once again changed its wheat gluten supply and is once again stocking shelves with premium pet food. Menu Foods expects losses of 24-60 million dollars for this recall and lawsuits that will prevail as a result of the contaminated pet food.

Marketing Plan Of Coca Cola Company Marketing Essay

Marketing Plan Of Coca Cola Company Marketing Essay Introduction: Coca Colas path to nearly universal recognition as a consumer product began by means of a peddler of patent medicines in Atlanta, Georgia in the year 1886. This individual one John Stith Pemberton had an ingenious idea. Why sell 75 pennies or Pound medicine bottles? This was a marketing strategy limited to the sick. Why not sell a single serving for a nickel? In the Deep South of the U.S. everyone might afford 5 ¢ for a cold invigorating soft drink. The nickel Coke was born. At the time, no one might have predicted that it would be almost 1960 before the nickel Coke was finally gone. (Allen, 1994) Today, if one scans the economic literature on price rigidity, he/she will find documented cases on how a number of prices seem to be sticky for significant periods of time. For example, Bergen, 2002 examines data on magazine prices plus finds that their prices transform regarding every 3-6 years. Using the Bergen, 2002 transaction price data, Bergen, 2002 finds that, It is not unusual in a number of industries for prices to individual buyers to remain untransformed for several years Bergen, 2002 studies catalogue prices of 12 retail goods over a 35-year period plus reports that the average time flanked by price transforms is regarding fifteen months. Blinder, et al. (1998), presenting detailed survey evidence as of U.S. firms, concludes that the average lag of price adjustments following supply or demand transforms is 3 months. Bergen, 2002 studies apartment rental prices in the U.S. using the Annual Housing Survey data, plus finds that over the period of 1974-1981, flanked by 23 as well as 34 percent of the apartments had no transform in nominal rent as of one year to the next. The study by Bergen, 2002 examines the frequency of price transforms for 350 categories of goods as well as services covering regarding 70% of consumer spending in addition to documents frequent prices transforms, by means of half of prices lasting less than 4.3 months. (Bergen, 2002) On the other hand, the price of a serving of Coca-Cola did not adjust to supply or demand transforms for over 60 years, plus the nickel Coke did not entirely disappear as of U.S. markets until 1959 Over 70 years! The contrast is of an order of magnitude to say the least! Our goal in this paper is to study this unusual episode of price rigidity in detail as well as try to explain it. Understanding what appears to be one of the most long-lasting nominal price rigidity phenomena of the 20th century is valuable for several reasons. First, the Coca-Cola Business is one of the most successful in addition to documented producers of a consumer good in the world. Second, over most of the time period covered in this study, the soft drink industry was a non-negligible part of the U.S. economy. For example, as of 1945, the bottled non-alcoholic carbonated beverage industry had a nominal production value of  £579 million, or 0.26 percent of the  £222 billion Nominal GDP.4 The Coca-Cola Busine ss had a 50 percent plus market share of the industry, making its contribution alone economically significant, regarding 0.13 percent of the GDP. (Zbaracki, 2002) Marketing Strategy: Coca Colas spends loads on advertising however; the theme should be how to use it more effectively so the advertising program is simple.   Coca Colas should do direct mail, banner ads, and inserts, by means of inserts in the Register Guard likely to be the most successful of the campaigns.   Mission Coca Colas mission is to provide the customer the finest drinks as well as dining experience.   We exist to attract and maintain customers.   When we adhere to this maxim, everything else should fall into place.   The services should exceed the expectations of the customers.   Marketing Objectives Maintain positive, steady, growth each month. Generate maximum sales target each month. Experience an increase in novel customers who are turned into long-term customers. Realize a growth strategy of one store per year. Financial Objectives A double-digit growth rate for each future year. Reduce the overhead per store through disciplined growth. Continue to decrease the variable costs associated by means of food production. Target Marketing The souk can be segmented into two target populations: Individuals: sportsmen Families: during dinners as a popular fizzy drink, ceremonies and other family functions. Combining several key demographic factors, Coca Colas arrives at a profile of the primary customer as follows: Sophisticated markets all over the globe. Meant for all ages. All stores and supermarkets to keep the Coca Cola products on their shelves. Positioning Coca Colas should position itself as a reasonably priced, upscale, drink.   Consumers who appreciate high-quality fizzy drinks should recognize the value and unique offerings of Coca Colas drinks and its different promotions.   Coca Cola positioning should leverage their competitive edge: Product. The product should have the freshest ingredients including fizzy drinks, and might be smoothies and shakes can also be introduced.   The product should in addition be developed to enhance presentation, everything should be aesthetically pleasing. Service. Customer service should be the priority.   All employees should ensure that the customers are having the most pleasant delivery experience (by customer it is meant to mention the retailers and wholesalers).   All employees should go through an extensive training program and only experienced people should be hired. By offering a superior product, coupled by means of superior service, Coca Colas should excel relative to the competition. Strategy Pyramids The single objective is to position Coca Colas as the premier drinks , OR area, commanding a majority of the souk share inside five years.   The marketing strategy should seek to first create customer awareness regarding their services offered, develop that customer base, plus work toward building customer loyalty and referrals. The message that Coca Colas should seek to communicate is that Coca Colas offers the freshest, most creative, health conscious, reasonably priced, drinks.   This message should be communicated through a variety of methods.   The first should be direct mail.   The direct mail campaign should be a manner to communicate directly by means of the consumer.   Coca Colas should in addition employ  banner ads as well as inserts in the Register Guard.   This should be particularly effective for the reason that the Register Guard is a popular local paper that is consulted when people are looking for things to do in the global markets.   The last method for communicating Coca Colas message is through a grassroots PR campaign.   This campaign should leverage personal relationships by means of people on staff of the Register Guard to get a couple of articles written regarding Coca Colas.   One should be as of the trade point of view, talking regarding the opening of the restaurant and the people behind the venture.   This is likely to be run in the trade section.   The second article should be a food review that is what are the different foods a customer feels a fizzy drink is a must, this will help the company to make sure that its products and all the drinks range is available on such occasions which augments its sales;  In speaking by means of several dissimilar retailers plus restaurateurs, significant increases of traffic followed articles in the Register Guard.   For the reason that of this level of effectiveness and low/zero cost, Coca Colas should work hard to get press in the Register Guard. Marketing Mix Coca Colas marketing mix is comprised of these following approaches to pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion, and customer service. Pricing. Coca Colas pricing scheme is that the product cost is 45% of the total retail price. Distribution. Coca Colas food should be distributed through a take out  model where customers can call in their order plus come to the  restaurant to pick it up, come into any restaurant free coke campaign will enable the , place the take out  order as well as wait for it to be completed, or come in and dine at the restaurant. Advertising and Promotion. The most successful advertising should be  banner ads and inserts in the Register Guard as well as a PR campaign of  informational articles plus reviews  in addition inside the Register Guard. Customer Service. Obsessive customer attention is the mantra.   Coca Colas philosophy is that whatever needs to be done to make the customer happy have to occur, even at the expense of short-term profits.   In the long term, this investment should pay off by means of a fiercely loyal customer base that is extremely vocal to their friends by means of referrals. Marketing Research During the initial phases of the  marketing plan development, several focus groups were held to gain insight into a variety of patrons of drinks.   These focus groups provided useful insight into the decisions, as well as decision making processes, of consumers. An additional source of souk research that is dynamic is a feedback mechanism based on a suggestion card system.   The suggestion card system has several statements that patrons are asked to rate in terms of a given scale.   There are in addition several open ended questions that allow the customer to freely offer constructive criticism or praise.   Coca Colas should work hard to implement reasonable suggestions in order to improve their service offerings as well as show their commitment to the customer that their suggestions are valued. The last source of souk research is competitive analysis/appreciation.   Coca Colas should continually patronize local drinks for two reasons.   The first is for competitive analysis, providing Coca Colas by means of timely information regarding other drinks service offering.   The second reason is that local trade owners particularly drink owners, are often part of an informal fraternal organization where they support each others trade. Financials, Budgets, and Forecasts This section should offer a financial overview of Coca Colas as it relates to the marketing activities.   Coca Colas should address Break-even Analysis, sales forecasts, expense forecasts, and how those link to the marketing strategy. Break-even Analysis The Break-even Analysis indicates that  Ã‚ £40,000 should be needed in monthly revenue to reach the break-even point. Sales Forecast The first two months should be worn to get the company up and running.   By month three things should get busier.   Sales  should gradually increase by means of profitability being reached by the beginning of year two. Expense Forecast Marketing expenses are to be budgeted so that they are ramped up for months two through four plus then lower as well as plateau as of month five to month 10. Companys typically have increased trade in the fall.   This generally occurs for the reason that during the summer, when the weather is nice and it does not get dark until late, people tend to eat out less but due to hot weather drinks sell well.   As of months 10-12, the marketing costs should increase again. Controls The purpose of Coca Colas marketing plan is to serve as a guide  for the organization.     Implementation Milestones The following milestones identify the key marketing programs.   It is significant to accomplish each one on time, and on budget. Marketing Organization Kevin Lewis, the owner, is primarily responsible for marketing activities.   This is in addition to his other responsibilities, plus does depend on some outside resources for graphic design work, and creativity. Contingency Planning Difficulties and risks: Problems generating visibility. Overly aggressive as well as debilitating actions by competitors. An entry into the Eugene  souk  of an already existing,  company. Worst case risks might include: Determining that the trade cannot support itself on an ongoing basis. Having to liquidate equipment or intellectual property  to cover liabilities. The concept and product image of Coca Cola should attract 3 dissimilar customer profiles; The student further and further young people have developed healthy eating and fizzy drinking habits. Some in addition go through a health food phase while in college. The health conscious person of any age or sex this includes anyone on a restricted or prescribed diet or those who have committed to a healthy diet. Curious and open-minded if one tries it, one should like it. Through marketing, publicity, plus word-of-mouth, people should seek out a novel experience and learn that nutritious food can be tasty, fun, convenient, as well as inexpensive. The Competition There are over four dozen companies in the global markets that offer drinks at similar prices. Even though this presents an obvious challenge in terms of souk share, it in addition indicates the presence of a large, strong potential. The newest competitors have made their successful entry based on an innovative concept or novelty. Coca Cola should offer an innovative product in a familiar style at a competitive price. The aggressive plans of take-out and delivery should in addition give us an advantage to create a good souk share before the competition can adjust or similar concepts appear. Competitors Profile Competing by means of Coca Cola for the target souk are these categories of food providers: Independent table service companies of similar range and price structure. Chain Commercial foodservice companies serving students directly. Competitive Strategy There are three major manners in which we should create an advantage over the competitors; product identity, quality, plus novelty high employee motivation and good sales attitude Innovative as well as aggressive service options. Marketing Plan Sales Strategy Souk Penetration Entry into the souk has to not be a problem. The store has high visibility by means of heavy foot traffic all day long. The local residents and students always support novel flavours plus the tourists do not have fixed preferences. In addition,  £10,000 has been budgeted for a pre-opening advertising and public relations campaign. Marketing Strategy Focusing on the unique aspect of the product theme (quality fizzy drinks) a mix of marketing vehicles should be created to convey the presence, the image, as well as the message. Print media local newspapers, magazines and student publications Broadcast media local programming and special interest shows Hotel guides, concierge relations, Chamber of Commerce brochures Direct mail subscriber lists, offices for delivery Misc. yellow pages, charity events A public relations firm has been retained to create special events and solicit print and broadcast coverage, especially at the start-up. The marketing effort should be split into 3 phases; 1) Opening An advanced notice (press packet) sent out by the PR firm to all media plus printed announcement ads in key places. Budget  £10,000 2) Ongoing A flexible campaign (using the above media), assessed regularly for effectiveness. Budget  £10,000 3) Point of sale A well-trained staff can increase the average check as well as enhancing the customers overall experience. Word-of-mouth referral is extremely significant in building a customer base. Future plans and Strategic Opportunities Catering to offices (even outside of the local area) might turn out to be a large part of gross sales. At that point sales agent would be hired to directly souk the products for daily delivery or catered functions. Operations Compensation Incentives Coca Cola should offer competitive wages and salaries to all employees by means of benefit packages available to key personnel only. Board of Directors An impressive board of directors should be assembled that represents some top professional as of the area. They should be a great asset to the development of the company. Consultants Professional Support Resources At the present, no outside consults have been retained, excepting the design department at Best Equipment. Management to be Added We are presently searching for a general manager plus executive chef. These key employees should be well chosen and given incentives for performance and growth. Ownership The stockholders should retain ownership by means of the possibility of offering stock to key employees if deemed appropriate. Long-Term Development Exit Plan Goals Coca Cola is an innovative concept that targets a novel, growing souk. We assume that the souk should respond, plus grow quickly in the next 5 years. The goals are to create a reputation of quality, consistency and security (safety of food) that should make us the leader of a novel style of dining. Strategies The marketing efforts should be concentrated on take-out and delivery, the areas of most promising growth. As the souk changes, novel products might be added to maintain sales. Risk Evaluation By means of any novel venture, there is risk involved. The success of the project hinges on the strength plus acceptance of a fairly novel souk. After year 1, we expect some copycat competition in the form of other independent units. Chain competition should be much later. Exit Plan Ideally, Coca Cola should expand to more units with increased supply of drinks in the next 10 years.

Newscasters :: essays research papers

Newscasters are a big part of who and what America is today. The newscasters have a lot of influence on what America does, and when they do it. Still, it is not something that happens overnight. It takes a lot of experience to become a newscaster to the public.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A newscaster will influence the public that will make or break a morning, afternoon, or evening. The weatherman will help people be prepared for the day ahead. While, the sportscaster tells which team won or lost and who got signed and let go. On-the-scene newscasters tell what is happening right then and there. Still, the anchors bring it all together by presenting the news at5am, 6am, 7am, noon, and 5pm. When they all come together America knows what is going on, which is what you want.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In order to inform America, a newscaster must have college experience as well as on-the-job experience. When an aspiring newscaster comes out of college, they don't become a newscaster immediately. Many become journalists or studies. Some may realize that they want something else and change jobs. Becoming a newscaster and informing the public, is something that takes experience and know-how. Anything can happen, and newscasters need to be prepared.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The pressure on newscasters is very intense. They need to report the truth and many want to change the view of newscasters. The media in general have the stereotype of being pushy, annoying, and untruthful. Reporting the truth is key. The journalists who research the information are under a tremendous amount of pressure to make sure the information is correct. This way, both America is happy, and then so are the newscasters.

Euthanasia Should Be A Legal Option Essay -- Euthanasia Essays

Euthanasia is a controversial subject, not only because there are many different moral dilemmas associated with it, but also in what constitutes its definition. At the extreme ends of disagreement, advocates say euthanasia, also known as physician aid in dying, is a good or merciful death. Opponents of euthanasia say it's a fancy word for murder. There are reasons that would make a person lean toward the side of euthanasia, and there are also reasons that would turn someone away from euthanasia. The arguments against euthanasia include the church's view on the topic of suicide. The arguments in favor of euthanasia include the patients wish to have dignity. However, regardless of the patients wishes, suicide is against the law. If a person has a living will, it would allow the doctors to lawfully end any life preserving treatment. Without a living will this cannot be done. The decision to allow a patient to end his or her life is clearly not an easy one. The courts feel that unless there is a living will to state what the patient would want to be done, the authorities must try to save the patient. The law does not require that everything must be done to keep a patient alive. Some people feel that keeping a patient alive against his or her wishes is not only cruel and inhumane, but it is also contrary to law and practic e. However, for centuries now, physicians in training have been taking the ?Hippocratic Oath?. This oath is taken from the Greek physician Hypocrites who lived thousands of years ago. The ?Hippocratic Oath? imposes on two duties: to prolong life, and relieve suffering. The problems come about because these two duties are often in conflict. The question most of the time is to decide when prol... ...y four hours a day, and I knew my illness was incurable, I would probably want to put an end to that suffering. I would not want my family and loved ones around see me suffer. Also, I would want to die with as much dignity as possible. But then again, I am not in that situation, so I am not positive that is what I would want to do, you just have to be in the situation to make the best possible decision. Bibliography: 1. Friedman,Emily. Ethics Issues For Health Care Professionals. Baskerville: American Hospital Publishing, 1986. 2. Maguire,Daniel. Death By Choice. Garden City: Doubleday & Company,1984. 3. Reich,Warren. Quality Of Life. New York: Paulist Press, 1990. 4. Brody,Baruch. Life And Death Decision Making. New York: Oxford University Press,1988. 5. Chapman,Carleton. Physicians,Law,& Ethics. New York: New York University Press,1984.

Crime Rates and Perceptions of Crime

Sociological Problem The public perception of crime is that it has increased whilst official statistics show that overall, crime has decreased over the years. In this ‘risk society’, a fear of victimisation has become part of our lifestyle and we are constantly reminded of the potential dangers of becoming victims of crime. The famous study by Stanley Cohen (Folk Devils and Moral Panics (1972)) is a prime example of how society is encouraged to worry about certain groups and use them as a scapegoat to blame society’s problems on.Sociologists are concerned with this topic as the fear of crime is becoming a bigger problem to tackle than crime itself. 1. 2 Research Question Why has the fear of crime increased when statistics indicate a fall in crime? What influences people’s perceptions of crime and to what extent do these perceptions impact on society? The central concern of my research is to discover the reasons behind the growing fear of crime and if there is a causal link between newspaper readership and perceptions of crime.As (Blackie 2009: 77) suggests, my research question is to understand, explain and evaluate the reasons behind this problem. This is a topic of interest to sociologists as media’s ‘construction of reality’ creates a distorted view of crime, with people more out of touch with the reality of crime than ever. 2. Data Selection The first table I have selected shows the sources most influential on the changes of perception of crime over the past few years (see Appendix 1), and the second table reflects the correlation between newspaper readership and perceptions of crime (see Appendix 2).I collected these tables from the Home Office’s British Crime Survey on (‘Perceptions of crime, engagement with the police, authorities dealing with anti social behaviour and community payback’ (Chaplin et al, 2011)). This information was gathered by a national face to face victimisation survey of people aged 16 and over from households in England and Wales where people were asked their experiences of crime. 3. Methodology The data I am analysing is quantitative data, since ‘it is not possible to become a social scientist without an understanding of statistics’ (Diamond and Jefferies, 2001: 1).It is also a form of secondary data analysis as the data I am looking at are derived from official statistics. When analysing table 3. 02 (see Appendix 2), I discovered a bivariate relationship between the type of newspaper read, and the public’s perception surrounding the amount of crime. There is a causal relationship here; depending on what newspaper you read your perception of crime is likely to differ. As (Bryman, A and Cramer, D 2000) note, it is important to establish the cause prior to the effect. An effect cannot come before a cause. In table 3. 01 (see Appendix 1) there is a dependent variable and an independent variable.The dependent variable is the pub lic’s perception of crime and the independent variable is the type of source they hear it from. From analysing the variables within the tables I have come up with a hypothesis that media representations of crime can influence people’s view of crime. What I want to discover is if this amplifies people’s fear of crime. Firstly, I will be using formal content analysis to measure the amount of space devoted to crime and the types of crime covered in newspapers. I will then use thematic analysis to look for themes which underlie the content.My third and final analysis will be textual analysis where I will be closely examining the text used in newspapers to see how it encourages a particular reading and creates an impression. Some of the advantages of using secondary data analysis include firstly it is more structured and standardised which gives us more reliable and repeatable results. It allows us to study larger numbers which gives results that are more representat ive of a population. As it is a detached and objective method, the researcher merely manipulates the variables and records the results.Their subjective feelings have no effect on the outcome of the experiment. If subjectivity becomes involved it could interfere with the outcome. In the British Crime Survey they used interviews to find out people’s views. This made the results easy to quantify especially when answers are pre coded. This also makes them suitable for hypothesis testing. However, there are also disadvantages to using quantitative data. As we are analysing from a secondary source, there is a lack of familiarity with the data which may cause confusion with the data presented.It does not allow the researcher to be personally involved, thus they produce a more superficial understanding. The British Crime Survey 2010/11 gives us an overall view of the statistics involved; however it does not give a deeper understanding and a more valid picture of the other factors tha t may be relevant. The results of quantitative data are limited as it produces numerical descriptions as opposed to a detailed narrative which gives us a less detailed account of the public’s perception on crime. 4. Analysis The world appears to have become a dangerous place to live, there is a ‘fear of crime’ and a ‘fortress mentality’.The increased sense of insecurity makes many unable to deal reasonably with the problem of crime. One of the reasons crime has decreased is the privatisation of public space in recent years. CCTV are used to control how people access these public areas. The police have also become confined to certain parts of towns and cities due to ‘tipping’ which allows them to keep a watchful eye on a specific area. Baldwin and Bottoms (1976) looked at the process of ‘tipping’, which is when councils put all antisocial together in the same place.This leads to concentration of crime in a given area, which c an also have the opposite effect of creating more crime. The process of tipping is similar to the broken window theory of Wilson and Kelling (1982). It’s a zero tolerance where there is no acceptance even of the smallest crimes. This will not allow them to grow into bigger problems. The media devotes a great deal of time and coverage to crime and deviance. They are accused of giving a distorted image of crime, criminals and policing. There are studies that indicate that the proportion of news devoted to crime has increased over the past 50 years.An example is a study that found the proportion of space given to crime reports in the Daily Mirror and the Times from 1945 to 1991 increased from 8% to 21% (Reiner et al. , 2000). The coverage of violent and sexual crimes is significantly greater than their incidence as measured by official statistics, victim studies and self report studies. Homicide accounts for one third of all crime news. William and Dickinson’s (1993) stud y of 10 national newspapers in 1989 found 64. 5% of crime stories were about violence against a person, whereas the British Crime Survey only showed 6% of crimes reported by victims in 1989 about violence.The amount of violent and sexual crimes tended to be more frequent the more ‘down market’ the newspaper. Although murder stories attract much of the public eye, it only accounts for 600 or 700 offences a year, with most of these being domestic violence. Table 3. 03 (see appendix 2) shows the difference between tabloid newspapers and broadsheet newspapers and people’s perception of crime. 81% of people who read ‘popular’ newspapers believed crime had increased, in comparison to 59% of people who read ‘broadsheet’ newspapers.This shows how the type of newspaper affects people’s view of crime and how the media want certain groups to worry about crime more than others. If the working class are living in fear of crime, they are less l ikely to rise and revolt, as they are too busy fearing the ‘vicious’ streets. Crime news focuses on the actual incident of the crime rather than the causes. However broadsheets such as the Guardian are more likely to contain an analysis of the causes of crime (Carrabine et al. , 2002). Tabloid readers are mostly working class as they tend to prefer the cheaper and less intellectual types of newspapers.(Simmons and Dodd, 2003) discovered tabloid readers are twice as likely to be ‘very worried’ about burglary, mugging, physical attack and rape. An important fact is that the victims of crime are mostly the poor, working class and ethnic deprived groups. Much crime is done by the working class on the working class. Ironically, the media shows victims being mainly women, white people and high status individuals. This shows how the media are manipulating our view of crime, making us believe the working class are committing the crimes whilst the privileged are suf fering from the crimes.However, there is another view. The British Crime Survey found that people who live in inner-city areas and council estates are particularly concerned about crime, particularly violent crime. These are the areas where most working class people live and the areas where violent crime is more likely to happen. Tabloid newspapers may merely be reflecting their concern with crime rather than shaping it. As Crawford et al. , (1990) says, ‘in inner city areas, mass media coverage of crime tends to reinforce what people already know. ’ From looking at table 3.01 (see Appendix 1) it shows the major sources that influence people’s perceptions of crime is news programmes on TV/radio, local newspaper and tabloid newspapers. Different sources of information affected the different perceptions of crime. The people who thought crime had increased nationally were most likely to find out about crime through TV programmes or radio (62%), local newspapers (35% ) or tabloid newspapers (35%) as their source of information. Both tables are ordinal data as the events are ‘placed in ordered categories along a single dimension’ (Fowler Jr., 2004).The main sources of crime news derive from the police and courts. However, it is important to note that the way the statistics were collected may affect the data. There is a dark figure of crime that does not get reported and that the police consider not worthy to be recorded. Not all crimes are reported and the police record an even smaller proportion of property crime. The official crime index excludes for offences ranging from drunk driving to white collar violations. Marxists believe capitalism exploits the working class and this gives rise to crime.Capitalism encourages the middle class to be greedy and self interested. This sometimes leads to corporate and white collar crime however this is not the media’s main focus. Marxists also argue street crime is disproportionally prose cuted, that the poor commit compared to the white collar crime that the middle class commit. Stuart Hall’s (Policing The Crisis (1978)) study applied a fully social theory of deviance to the study of mugging. Hall’s study shows how the media will focus on a particular minority and create a moral panic, often to cover another problem.The myth of the black mugger served as a scapegoat to distract attention away from the real causes of problem such as unemployment. The black mugger came to symbolise the disintegration of the social order. This is also apparent in today’s society as we are encouraged to fear the ‘hoody’ youth and believe the majority of them carry a knife. Journalists are dependent on official sources for their information. These sources have become primary definers – they define what counts as crime, what counts as justice and what they believe to be significant.In doing so, they reflect the concerns of the powerful – the agents of social control and the state (Hall et al. , 1978). The British Crime Survey includes questions about perceptions of crime and the concerns. It also asks questions about newspaper readership. Findings from the surveys from 2001 to 2003 show that over the three years, a growing proportion of respondents thought that the national crime rate had risen ‘a lot’ (25% in 2001, 30% in 2001/02 and 38% in 2002/03). In comparison, the British Crime Survey indicated a steady fall in crime over these years.The 2002/03 survey shows that 43% of those who read a tabloid newspaper believed the crime rate had increased ‘a lot’ compared to 26% of broadsheet readers (Simmons and Dodd, 2003). The news media tend to portray a positive picture of the Criminal Justice System. Things such as the success and justice of the police are often exaggerated. There are some stories of the corruption of the police however this is presented as an individual’s failings, rathe r than the Criminal Justice System (Chibnall, 1977). The legitimacy of the Criminal Justice System is protected.This underlies many news reports on crimes. The mean ‘is the average of the distribution of the variable’ (Seale C 2004: 327). The most common expression for the mean of a statistical distribution with a variable is the average of all the terms. In order to discover the mean, you simply add up the values of all the terms and then divide by the number of terms. There are other expressions however these forms are hardly used in statistics. ‘The median is the number positioned in the middle of a distribution, below which half the values fall’ (Seal C 2004: 328) The median for table 3.01 (see appendix 1) is Broadsheet newspapers at 20% . The mean for table 3. 03 (see appendix 2) for the tabloid newspapers are The Daily Mail and The Daily Star both at 81% saying crime has increased. The median for the broadsheet newspapers are The Times and The Financi al Times at 60% and 50%. The mode is defined as ‘being the most frequently occurring value in a distribution’ (Seal C 2004:328). The mode for table 3. 01 (see appendix 1) this is the variable that occurs most often. The variable that occurred most often in both tables was the newspapers and more specifically tabloid newspapers.5. ConclusionIn conclusion, the tables and data provided have proved there is an obvious causal relationship between newspaper readership and perceptions of crime. It has effected society as we have almost become reliant on sources of secondary data such as newspapers to feed us with knowledge of crime, which has created a distorted view. We become sucked into the manipulation of the media and believe what we read to be fact, even if we do know at the back of our minds it is an exaggerated version of the truth.Crime has always been a staple ingredient of human’s fascination and it will always make headlines. The main influence of peopleâ₠¬â„¢s perception of crime comes from the media. The media has a huge part to play in shaping the way we think and hear about things, therefore they are also able to manipulate our view, but ultimately it is our choice to believe it or not. For Durkheim (1893) ‘Crime is normal and an integral part of all healthy society. ’ It is also important to realise that we do need crime in society as it affirms our cultural values and norms and promotes social unity.