Why Kedarnath Happened

A scientific analysis of the reasons for the disaster that struck Uttarakhand, particularly the temple town. THE primary trigger for the Uttarakhand disaster following the very heavy rain during June 16-18 was the extremely unusual behaviour of the monsoon this year over north India. The incessant, heavy rainfall over three days, perhaps accompanied by a few cloudburst-type events (which cannot be confirmed), resulted in flash floods and associated landslides. The devastation all round in their wake has been huge but the largest impact has been at the temple town of Kedarnath, which was in the midst of the annual pilgrimage season, with tens of thousands of people thronging the town and the downstream region along the Mandakini river . 1). Rainfall measurements for June 16 and 17 at the Dehradun station, of 220 millimetres and 370 mm respectively, indicate the severity of the rain during these days in the region. Haridwar received 107 mm and 218 mm of rainfall on the two days. Uttarkashi received 122 mm and 207 mm. While Mukteshwar (altitude over 2,000 metres) received 237 mm and 183 mm respectively on June 17 and 18, Nainital on the same days received 176 mm and 170 mm. Though rainfall over a 24-hour period in different parts of Uttarakhand has greatly exceeded these figures in the past (on many occasions above 450-500 mm and once even 900 mm at Rajpur near Dehradun), prolonged heavy rainfall for nearly three days over a large area is perhaps unprecedented, and the cumulative effect, compounded by geophysical, meteorological and environmental factors, may be the reason for the enormity of the disaster. More pertinently, these numbers do not give the actual quantitative picture of the very heavy rainfall in the higher reaches of the Himalayas (above 3,000 m) in Uttarakhand, where Kedarnath, Gangotri and Badrinath are located and where the impact has been most severe. This is because the rain gauge stations of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) are all located largely in the lower Himalayan reaches (below 2,000 m) and there are no stations in the higher reaches (above 3000 m). This is probably because snowfall data is regarded as more important than detailed rainfall data in these regions. As a result, there is no proper estimate of the rainfall in the affected regions. Unexpected advance What was peculiar about the monsoon this year? On June 14, the monsoon front was located over eastern India. In fact it was a trifle sluggish compared with the normal progress of the front (Map 1a). But within a day (Map 1b), the front advanced right across Uttar Pradesh and the western regions to cover the entire country by June 15, exactly a month ahead of its normal date of July 15. While the IMD had forecast a rapid advance with the announcement that the monsoon would strike Delhi before the normal scheduled date of June 30, its advance right across to the west just within a day was entirely unexpected. This has never happened in the past, according to M. Rajeevan, Adviser in the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). A system of westerly winds from the Arabian Sea had also been active during the same period and had covered Pakistan. It was a strong westerly system, and Rajeevan noted that it was similar to the system that stayed anchored over Pakistan in July 2010 and caused widespread flooding in Sindh, Punjab and Baluchistan. Of course, by July 2010 the south-west monsoon had covered entire India, but this time around the system had formed in June itself. It was the interaction between the well-formed low-pressure system of the south-west monsoon from east to west and the upper air westerly trough running from north-west Rajasthan to the east that resulted in the heavy rainfall over Uttarakhand. In fact, the westerly system dragged the monsoon trough, which was anchored over Rajasthan and central India until then, towards the north across Haryana. A monsoon trough facilitates the movement of rainfall-causing low-pressure systems along its path. Its rapid movement northwards enabled the low-pressure system that was in the eastern part of the country to quickly traverse and locate itself over north-west India. According to Rajeevan, while the phenomenon of the monsoon trough being dragged northwards by the advancing strong westerly trough is known to occur, the exact dynamics of interaction between the two systems is not well studied. Thus, as the press release of June 20 of the IMD noted, â€Å"North-west India became the zone of an unusual confluence of the two branches of the monsoon—the Arabian Sea branch and the Bay of Bengal branch. The geology and orography of [the Himalayan regions] of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh resulted in the unprecedented impact in these two States. † While the IMD had issued warnings of widespread severe rainfall in the region soon after the observation of the advancing monsoon systems, the scale of impact could not be anticipated. Geophysical dynamics The peculiarity of the monsoon apart, the other interesting question is what geophysical dynamics channelled the major part of devastation along the Kedarnath valley and downstream of Kedarnath on the Mandakini. The region around Kedarnath is known to geologists to be prone to landslides. This is also clear from an early 1882 Geological Survey of India photograph of Kedarnath (Picture 2), which shows that the temple site is located not far away from the snouts of two mountain glaciers. David Petley, an expert on landslides at the Department of Geography at Durham University, United Kingdom, has analysed the calamitous event at Kedarnath on the basis of images from the remote-sensing satellites of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the U. S. Landsat. He points out that the amount of debris and rubble below the glacier on the left side of the 1882 picture suggests that transportation of sediment and debris from the upper reaches was active even then, and adds that the steep slope that is visible would have aided rapid transportation. It should be borne in mind that the geology is still roughly the same (Picture 3). It is evident from the post-event images of Kedarnath town around the temple that the massive destruction was the result of largescale debris carried by the huge volume of water from the upper reaches above the town. One of the compounding factors was that the glacial regions above Kedarnath had received fresh and excess snowfall when heavy rainfall hit the region (Pictures 4a & b), according to scientists of the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of ISRO. Rainwater, with higher temperature, falling on the snow must have led to heavy snow melt and this runoff would have added to the rainwater runoff, resulting in a huge water flow that carried with it a huge debris flow, which struck the town with enormous ferocity. The snow cover has, in fact, increased in general subsequent to the extreme rainfall and flooding events (the satellite image on May 28/June 1 shows less snow cover). According to the NRSC scientists, the detailed dynamics of water flow due to snow melt caused by rain, particularly when snowfall is in excess, and the hydrology of it are not well understood. The NRSC recently released excellent high-resolution pre-flood and post-flood images of the Kedarnath region (Pictures 5a & 5b) taken by ISRO’s remote-sensing satellites Cartosat-2A and Resourcesat-2. The NRSC, on the basis of remote-sensing images from Resourcesat-2, has carried out an inventory of the landslides that occurred between Kedarnath and Sonprayag, a distance of approximately 20 km on the Mandakini. According to the preliminary report, the study identified a total of 192 landslides in this Himalayan stretch (Picture 6). Many landslides were triggered in the glacial regions in the mountains above Kedarnath. The large-scale debris flows from above were the result of these massive landslides. Double whammy Actually, for Kedarnath it was a double whammy. The massive damage caused to Kedarnath town can be seen clearly in the post-flood image. Just as there was an unusual confluence of two monsoon streams up in the atmosphere, in the mountainous terrain around Kedarnath, too, there was a coincidental reinforcing of two massive debris flows from above, one from the north-western side of the Kedarnath temple and the other from the north-eastern side. Petley has analysed these images to arrive at a plausible scenario as to what caused the massive onslaught on the town, virtually flattening it. This flow cascaded further and caused heavy damage downstream as well. The NRSC scientists, too, in their analysis, have come roughly to the same general conclusion. According to Petley, the two different but reinforcing events that caused the disaster were landslide-induced debris that came from the glaciated area in the north-east and a glacial-related flow that originated from the north-west glacier. From the images, one can distinctly identify the two flows. Petley, from his analysis of the images, the-cause -of-the-debris-flow-disaster-is-now -clear/), has inferred the following: 1. The flow from the north-east came down the margin of the glacier and spread out to strike the town. 2. The north-west flow descended from the other glacier to hit the town. 3. While a large part of the flow from the north-west passed the town on its west side, a part also struck it directly. On the basis of the pattern of overlay of sediments and their nature, Petley concludes that the flow from the north-west occurred after the one from the north-east. According to him, the debris flow from the north-east was triggered by a large, 75 m wide, landslide caused by heavy rainfall high on the mountains, which then came down the steep slope about 500 m, gathering the debris in its path. The flow was initially channelled into a narrow gully formed by the glacier and on exiting it the flow spread out in the floodplains before striking the town over a large area. The steepness of the slope would have given the debris enormous velocity when it struck the town. The total length traversed by this debris flow is estimated to be about 1,200 m. The event from the north-west was, however, quite different, points out Petley. The spot marked 1 in Picture 7 is a moraine, which had created a block for a basin to form, allowing the water to build up in it as a pool or a lake. This is what the local people call the Chorabari Tal, to which, in fact, pilgrims trek a few kilometres along the west side of the valley to have a dip. The Chorabari glacier has been retreating constantly in modern times, and according to D. P. Dobhal of the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, it has retreated about 300 m since 1960. The effect of the retreat is to leave a moraine that can allow lakes to form, which can then collapse,† pointed out Petley in an e-mail message to Frontline. â€Å"In Kedarnath, this is exactly what happened. I am not sure when the lake basin formed—it may not have been in modern times—but this is a dangerous situation. Of equal concern is the trend towards more intense rainfall, especially if this occurs early in the year (that is, during snowmelt),† Petley added. Wall of water Eyewitness accounts say a huge wall of water swept the Kedarnath town in a flash. The spot marked 2 shows that the moraine had been breached by the rapidly building up water because of heavy rainfall and the water overtopping the moraine wall. The breach led to the sudden release of the impounded water and resulted in a massive wall of water sweeping across the Kedarnath valley and the town and causing a huge flash flood. According to the NRSC scientists, this lake would have had a depth of about 15 m, and the event was not exactly a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF), which occurs when a dam or moraine wall is breached because of the sheer pressure exerted by the stagnant glacial water and ice that it encloses. This was a case of lake flooding because of excessive rainfall and consequent overtopping of the moraine wall, which eventually breached. The flow was so huge and forceful that it overtopped the moraine on the other side of the glacier as well, at the spot marked 3, resulting in three flows: one moving south-east to join the earlier debris flow from the north-east and enhancing it before turning southwards and striking the town. The third flow is a new channel that opened up, perhaps exploiting an existing old channel, because of the breach at spot 3. Heading down the slope towards the town at great velocity, it gathered sediment and debris en route and resulted in a muchwidened flow closer to Kedarnath. However, the bulk of the debris flow, as Picture 7 shows, moved southwards towards the town down the main channel on the south western side, which is the normal channel for glacial water flow. The spot marked 4 shows heavy erosion due to the flow in the area, suggesting that the flow must have carried a huge volume of water. According to Petley, this flow must have carried the many huge boulders and rocks seen in the post-flood image of the temple town. Closer to the town, the flow spread before striking. As a result, the debris and water flow moved to the east side of the town as well, engulfing the town from both sides. According to this picture supplied by Petley, which others too are in general agreement with, Kedarnath was first pounded by an earlier debris flow from the north-east, then a later pounding by the flow from the north-west. Petley suggests that the latter flow must have been more efficient because of the preceding events and also because it struck the town from both the west and the east simultaneously. The image also shows a dark patch just above Kedarnath on the north-eastern side (to the right of the spot marked 5) suggesting the formation of a new depression, which could have turned into a small-sized lake because of the heavy rainfall. It is also possible that water built up in this new depression, which would have been substantial, overtopped it and hit the town from the eastern side, enhancing the effect of the runoff and debris flow from the north-eastern side, an aspect that Petley has not considered. Downstream of Kedarnath, the flow remained contained within the channel. As a result, there was massive erosion of the banks of the Mandakini Further, smaller villages downstream were also severely damaged, and some of them, such as Rambara, were totally destroyed ). The damage caused to the Kedarnath region and downstream villages by the natural destruction resulting from unusual meteorological and geophysical processes was undoubtedly greatly enhanced because of the general environmental degradation caused by the massive and unregulated influx of pilgrims year after year, the haphazard development fuelled by tourist traffic, and the unplanned and poor construction of buildings and roads. Given the vulnerability of the region, the town itself has come up in a very dangerous location, points out Petley. Therefore, how much of the destruction in this event was actually man-made is a moot question. Besides the challenges of disaster management on such a massive scale, the Uttarakhand floods have also thrown up a lot of scientific challenges in the detailed understanding of monsoon dynamics as well as in the geophysical processes of landslides and large-scale debris flow and the heavy damage they can inflict on life, property and the ecology of a region.

Hernan Cortes Hero or Villain

The Sun Cannot be covered by a Finger Hearing of the word hero brings to my mind a good looking man with some qualities of fair, equal, courage, brave, honest and a positive leader. This makes the opposite a villain a person who wishes wrong for someone or a person who creates evil. The event changes dramatically, a hero of the past may not be considered a hero in the present and versa. Hernando Cortes a hero for joining two worlds and conquering the most powerful civilization of America or Hernando Cortes a villain for making the Aztec Empire disappear.Hernando Cortez was an important symbol for the explorations, but killing people, ending the most powerful civilization in America and spreading diseases does not makes him a hero. With good strategy and few men Cortes defeated the Aztec Empire, first Montezuma II and then Cuauhtemoc. (5) Spreading disease â€Å"smallpox† to the Aztecs that then will spread the disease all over Mexico and making many people die. (2) Taking over a civilization that had his culture, language, religion and after doing all this finished with the entire Aztec Empire. (1) If you argue these reasons you get the results of a villain or in this case the result of Cortes. â€Å"For the people of Mexico, Cuauhtemoc is a hero as the Spanish are inhuman exploiters in their treatment of the indigenous population. † (3) Not only Mexicans believe that poor and cruel treatment for human beans is a crime. This is something that we were born and we immediately knew. Treating humans as slaves is shameful and this is exactly what Cortes did.Coming to a place that is not yours and saying that now is you place is one thing, but treating them bad so they would do what he order and killing them if they decided to oppose is another high level of evilness. (4) Cortes was ultimately responsible for the abuses suffered by indigenous and this contributes immensely to the â€Å"black legend† of conquest. (9) The black legend of the conque st was the abuse of the Spanish toward the Indigenous. Spanish began to take women and children for the Indians to serve and to use evil from them; they ate their meals that the Indians got from hard effort and work of everyday from them. 9) All of this where bad treatment towards the Aztecs that before the Spanish got to America was a civilization that was not bad treated by anyone. (6) This was the form they treated the Aztecs that would later lead to the evaporation of the Aztec Empire. The Spanish were starting to settle as well as the diseases.In 100 years 90 percent of the Indians population died and this was a problem that Cortes carried since his arrival. (11) Smallpox was undoubtedly the main villain, though not only, as the Spanish also introduced the mumps and measles, both responsible for many deaths. 17) There is no evidence that these infections exist in America before the arrival of the conquistadores. The disease was certainly bloodiest than the smallpox in sixteenth century in Europe. (11) It can be considerate that this disease was passed in the first try of Cortes trying to conquer the Aztecs in 1521. This being a fast disease that passed from person to person. (16) When Cortes entered the city in August, found that nearly half the population had died. In the course of six months there was hardly a single town without being infected. 11) It has been estimated that nearly half of the Aztec people died in the first epidemic. While Cortes was preparing more men and building ships for attacking the city, the Aztecs were dying by the disease that his men left the first time they enter the city. (8) This was a big extra help to make things much easier so Cortes could conquer the Aztec Empire. (11) Without really looking for extra help, help was falling from the sky towards Cortes; in this case he found out that he had killed a lot of men with one of his disease.In addition, can someone by considered a hero for something that he really did not plan ? After one eventually comes the other. Cortes did not only focus on killing the Aztecs he is still remembered for the battles of â€Å"La matanza de Cholula† and â€Å"La matanza del templo mayor†. Cortes needed men to help him finish the Aztec empire. â€Å"La matanza de Cholula† was an attack by military forces of the Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortes in his path to the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan in the year 1519. (12) According to writings of Cortes it was a preventing action because there was a rumor that there was going to be a possible ambush inside the city of Cholula. The result was the death of 5 000 or 6 000 Cholula, mostly unarmed civilians in a period not exceeding six hours. (12) The other battle â€Å"La matanza del templo mayor† also known as the night of tears was the night that Cortes lost half of his men trying to escape from the city of Tenochtitlan were also many Aztecs died; this was the 20 of May 1520. 13) The 27 of June 3 days bef ore the night of tears happened Montezuma was killed by his own people, this will lead to the first confusion; days later Cuauhtemoc will be the next leader of the Aztecs being recognized for a more aggressive leader. (14) Cuauhtemoc knowing that Cortes was trying to empower Tenochtitlan, he organized the army and people to defend the city, offered to remove the tributes to his vassals, fortified the plaza and destroyed the bridges.The Aztecs defended their positions for 75 days, until August 13, 1521. After the 75 days the city was impossible the leader tried to escape but they were capture by Spanish people. (14) Cuauhtemoc was then captured and was threatened to death if he did not said were the gold was. Cuauhtemoc remained imprisoned for 4 years. He was killed by the conquerors during the expedition of Cortes to Central America in 1525 and this was the end of a civilization that suffer since the arrival of the Spanish. 14) Getting to a conclusion, we analyze how Cortes treated, killed, fight. Cortes a villain for making bloody battle fields where he stepped. Clearly here is the definition of a villain. Spreading diseases, making people suffer, finishing the civilization only for the purpose of gold and his own benefits. A hero thinks of everyone not just on himself. Once again with good strategy and few men Cortes defeated the Aztec Empire, first Montezuma II and then Cuauhtemoc making this suffer much more.However spreading disease â€Å"smallpox† to the Aztecs that then will spread the disease all over Mexico and making many people die. This disease killed 90% of the Natives in 100 years. Taking over a civilization that had his culture, language, religion and after doing all this finished with the entire Aztec Empire. No one can be considered a hero by doing these evil things. Cortes proof to be a villain in almost every act, sometimes is not enough to be a brave men and courageous. You need to use this qualities for good not for bad treatment.

Theories of Communication: Narrative Theory

In other words, language use in self-narratives accurately reflects human personality. According to communication theorist Walter Fisher, humans are natural storytellers (1978, 1984, and 1987). We continually weave discrete events and experiences together into coherent wholes that have all the features of stories; a plot: characters: action: a sequence of beginning, middle and end: and a climax. 1. 1. 1 Narrative Paradigm Narrative paradigm is a concept in communication theory and was developed by Walter Fisher. The concept is adopted from the oldest form of communication – story telling.He stated that all meaningful communication is in the form of storytelling. Calling his theory narrative paradigm, Fisher defined narration as â€Å"symbolic actions- words and/or deeds that have sequence and meaning for those who live, create or interpret them† (1987, p. 58). Fishers claimed that narrations abound in everyday life. You go to a mosque, church or temple, and a religious leader tells stories. Lawyers too tells stories when they give Jurors accounts of what happened and why and who is to blame (Burner, 2002).Peoples past experiences influence our need for communication and also base our behavior. Thus narrative paradigm is very helpful in analyzing the nature of human communication. 1. 1. 2 Good Reasoning In western cultures, rationality is considered extremely important. We are taught to evaluate the worth of ideas and arguments by Judging how much evidence is provided. Fisher thought the Western emphasis on â€Å"pure logic† and conventional rationality was excessive. He also thought that logic or strictly rational thinking do not always explain why we believe what we do.In his original statement about narrative theory, Fisher (1978) claimed that telling compelling story is more persuasive than cads of statistics, expert testimony, and logical deduction. People are basically story telling beings. We make decisions and form beliefs on the bas is of good reasons. We consider a good reason depends on history, culture, personal character and biography. Narrative rationality is evaluated by the coherence and fidelity of stories. Life is a set of stories: in choosing to accept some stories to reject others, we continuously re-create our lives and ourselves. 1. 1. Narrative Rationality, Coherence and Fidelity To answer reservations that the narrative paradigm provided no standards for judging the quality of various stories, Fisher presented the concept of narrative rationality. He claimed that not all stories are equally compelling : that is not all stories have the same power to gain our belief. We Judge stories on the basis of a distinctively narrative form of rationality, which Fisher saw as quite different from conventional criteria of rationality. Fisher identified two standards for assessing narrative rationality, which is coherence and fidelity.Coherence refers to formal features of story conceived as a discrete sequenc e of thought and or action in life or literature (any recorded or written form of discourse) e. It concerns the question of whether or not a story coheres or ‘hangs together' whether or not the story is free of contradictions. In a story, we examine how the story strings together, how probable the story seems, are the important details included, is it free from contradictions, how does it compare with other stories, and do characters behave/think consistently.How do you decide whether the story makes sense? Fisher suggested that we first ask whether a story has internal coherence. We Judge whether the storyteller has told us all of the important details so that the outcome is believable. The way we assess coherence is to compare a specific story we are told with other stories about the same or similar situations, events and so forth. Fisher's (1987) second standard for narrative rationality is fidelity, which is defined as â€Å"the extent to which a story resonates with list eners personal experience and beliefs†.According to narrative theorists, we find stories believable when they are act as we do or as we would like to see ourselves acting. Fisher's explains that the standard of fidelity involve Judging the values in narration. When we identify with a character, we regard her or his action as admirable, worthy, reasonable. When we accept a story as true and right, we Judge it to reflect the values in which we believes and the ways of the world as we have experienced them 2.Weakness of the theory There are 3 major weaknesses that are commonly being brought forth by other scholars and they are: I) Incomplete description I') Too broad iii) conservative bias Incomplete description: Most scholar are skeptical that the theory could comprehensively describe all forms of communication. One of the arguments are from Robert Roland(1989) that stated that not all form of communication are narrative and do not attempt to be. As an example, Robert highlighte d that science fictions and science fantasy stories do not attempt to make sense in term of most people's experience and value.He stated that the main purpose of science fictions and science fantasy is to challenge prevailing values, experience and ways of being in the world. In the perspective of communication, scholars have identify 2 types of communications that do not apply to the narrative theory. 1st, Kirkwood (1992) argues that Fisher's view of narrative had failed to explain how stories create new possibilities, new version of ourselves and social life. This is because like the story of Martin Luther King is out of the standard form of storyline among the people within that timeline in how they see themselves and how they are suppose to act. Andy, James Cheeseboard (Bibb) believes that the theory are unpractical to the extend that if it is true it could cause harmful social consequences. For an example, the narratives of injustice and the right to revenge that are very commo n in most stories. Thus we could infer that assuming that the narrative theory is true it would incite riots and killing, thus it seem that Fisher did to account the impact of stories in developing new vision or how it would instigate harm.Too broad: In establishing a communication theory, it is essential to create a distinguish it self from another. Thus when Fisher stated that all form of communication is a form of narrative thus he is simultaneously stating that everything and nothing in the same time. Such sweeping statement on the view of communication do not assist researchers, scholars and the general public to identify the important distinction among the myriad forms of communication.Conservative Bias: Finally the third weakness that one could identify is that the theory is very insensitively bias. In the context of evaluating theory, conservative is referred to the preservation of existing or established values and practices thus due to that, according to William Kirkwood ( 1992)Fisher's idea of good reasons give privilege to prevailing value and attitude and focus less on to the ways in which stories can promote positive changes in the human condition.This contradiction can be seen in one of the narrative rational criteria of fidelity. Whereby there are cases of when even if the stories that we here ‘resonates with the listeners personal experience and lives'(Fisher 1987) but in truth even if it is consistent with our experience we tend to find some stories to be more credible from one to another. As an example, a video entitled ‘A Man Falls down and Cries for Help Twice. The Second Time, My Jaw Drops. On the www. Purports. Mom shows a man wearing a hooded,pair of Jeans and a snowman lying down at a town square calling for help, but after 45 minutes there was no one that came to assist despite of the large crowd passing through. This shows that despite of the general experience of being sick, and the general believe of doing DOD no one was convinced that the guy was sick or need any form of assistance. In addition to that, Kirkwood argues that this standard of Judgment encourage us to say only what will square with the other's experience and to avoid challenging prevailing views, vale and the status quo in social life. . Strength of the theory There are 3 major strengths that are commonly being brought forth by other scholars and they are: I) Heuristic Value it) Parsimonious iii) Dynamism Heuristic Value: Narrative theory is viewed as an original work of study that has a high value of evolve as it has provoke new perspective of communication, the nature of reason and the bases of Judging rationality Narrative is considered to be a major approach to rhetorical criticism (Bureaucrat, 1995, p. 271).Within rhetorical studies, narrative has been theorized as a rhetorical paradigm, and has been used in the analysis of various case studies from the speeches of Ronald Reagan to the rhetoric of the American Civil Rights movem ent (Lewis, 1987; Sells, 2008). The concept of narration also has been said to compliment well with Aristotle ancient treatise on rhetoric, ND it redefined as a primary component of a speech. In a section discussing the organization of speeches, Aristotle (2007) conceives of the narrative as the part of the speech in which a speaker leads the audience â€Å"through the facts† of the speaker's subject or case (p. 38). The narrative section of the speech should vary according to the type of speech delivered. In an influential work, Fisher (1984) has argued that narrative is a fundamental paradigm of human communication. Under the narrative paradigm, human beings are defined by their roles as storytellers, and narrative is a constitutive part of human nature. According to Fisher (1984), rhetoric is â€Å"communicated ultimately as stories meant to give order to human experience† (p. 6).Furthermore, narrative can be conceived as an alternative to rationality as a way of un derstanding the world, and is more intuitive than reason because it does not need to be taught Fisher's narrative paradigm has since been critiqued and expanded upon (for more on the narrative paradigm, see also Fisher, 1985; Fisher, 1989). Parsimonious: Due to the simplistic nature of the theory that uses a limited number of concepts to explain communication, the theory had multiple applications in different fields.Narrative has been studied in fields such as: rhetoric, literary theory, philosophy, history (see for example: White, 1980), psychology, political communication, journalism, studies of folklore, persuasion theory, media studies rhetorical studies, and political communication. In communication, scholars have studied narrative's role in politics and their use in news media. For example, Bennett & Delano (1985) present a pessimistic view of political narrative, arguing that narratives transmitted through mass media act as barriers to solving social problems by casting polic y issues in simplistic, ideological terms (p. 8). For Bennett & Delano (1985), the power of narratives to label political participants as â€Å"heroes† or â€Å"villains† or â€Å"deserving† or â€Å"undeserving† create â€Å"public policies that are rationalized by the construction of social problems for which they become solutions† (p. 159). Other scholars have also examined the ways in which Journalists use narratives in the construction of news content (see for example: Lull, 2001, p. 11-26; Gangs, 1979, p. 78-115) Dynamism: The theory is very dynamic to the extend where it could evolve and compliment in any form or context in the view of life .Fisher had rebutted the idea of how his theory could and would maintain the status quo. In his critical article in 1987, Fisher stated human beings are wonderfully creative and imaginative beings. Thus he claims that we are able to invent and accepts new stories when they are better explained or offer a better direction for future living than the stories had heard and believed. This is proven in the case of Hill vs. Thomas. During and immediately after the court hearing, the national polls reported that a majority of those polled had thought that Thomas story to be more credible than the one told by Anita Hill.However, a year after the hearings, when the people thought more about it, the majority of that poll has shifted their votes toward Anita Hills account. This shows that given time to consider and weigh of both stories, people could come to believe one that initially they had found lack of credibility. This shift suggest that fidelity ,may not be fixed at a moment but may shift in response to additional experiences and or reflection. 4. Examples f the theory 4. An article about narrative theory http://www. Marketing's. Co. UK/trends/brand-storytelling-narrative-theory/ 4007279. Article The Marketing week has made a cover on application, effectiveness ND importance of The narra tive Theory in delivering an effective branding image building. In the article Jonathan Bacon stated that ‘Storytelling, or providing consistent and compelling content to build a picture of a company, is becoming more important as people scrutinize brands and businesses. A research done by Monopole; which was commissioned by brand storytelling agency Aesop; attempts to define storytelling according to 10 criteria, including whether brands â€Å"have a clear sense of purpose†, whether consumers are â€Å"intrigued to see what they'll do next† and whether those brands â€Å"create their own world†. More than 1,500 1-J adults were asked to rate 100 major brands against these criteria before Monopole used the responses to compile a 81st of the best storytelling brands. The following are the results of the research.Thus we could conclude that a good brand story is important and this is supported by Deed Woodcock, strategy director and co-founder of Aesop which believes that a transparent and famous goal is paramount too believable brand story as an example, he state that Apple's top ranking is the result of its almost evangelical commitment to creating technology that improves people's lives and the clarity with which it tells that story. â€Å"Its sense of mission manifests itself in everything it does: from the design of its products and stores to the simplicity of its advertising,† he says.Apple is currently running a campaign using long copy to explain the story behind its products. Woodcock commented that in the cases of utility firms, the ineffectiveness of their branding strategy is due to poor marketing or bad publicity. â€Å"Even though utilities could be said to have a noble mission, perhaps the story the consumer tends to hear is fat cat utility rips off defenseless consumers',† he says This is consistent to Fisher's theory which stated that fidelity and coherence are crucial in evaluating a story.Thus a bad publ icity would tainted the rationality of the theory, with even if it has good reasoning it is not consistent with how the general public perceive these utility companies. Given the central role that storytelling plays in developing a brand's identity, it is perhaps not surprising that the ranking is dominated by some of the world's biggest brands, with Apple topping the list and other brands such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Heinz featuring in the top 10. But the study also offers an interesting insight into perceptions towards different industries.For example, while retail, food and drink and FMC brands fare particularly well in the rankings, brands in the utilities, financial services and automotive sectors are considered less adept at storytelling. The highest ranking financial services brand (Visa) is 30th out of 100, while the best storytelling bank or building society (Nationwide) is only 53rd. The top storytelling brand in the utilities sector comes 55th (British Gas) and the b ottom four brands overall are all utilities, with Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) receiving the lowest ranking 4.Participation Observation & Interview SURVEY QUESTION ANALYSIS 4. 2. 1 Respondent background A survey was conducted on 21st of April 2014, at KILL cafe and the following are the backgrounds of our respondents. They are separated in two types of demographics which is local and international student of KILL. There are four local students which is consist of 2 Malay, 1 Chinese, 1 Indian ,and there are six international students which is consist of two Indonesian students and four from Arab countries (3 Sudanese, 1 Nigerian ). They are ages group are ranging from 18- 25 years old.The survey was conduct by a face to face interview. . 2. 2 The Finding Overall during our survey, there were one main question that was focused which is how does the general public of KILL student identify and rationalize a lie and it was found that 7 out of 10 respondent has given a response that i s consistent with Fisher Narrative Rationality Criterion. Which are Fidelity and Coherence. This can be seen throughout respondent 4-10 whereby when ask about being lied to all would have similar methodology of identifying a lie.Which are either through Fidelity Leg: There were lack of details that was told (lack of value in narration), She use the lying that I also use to tell people (personal experience) or Coherence [The story that the liar told me doesn't hang together (consist of contradiction). The flow of his story was not consisted with what I know (Inconsistence in sequence)] On the other hand, there are instances during our interviews that were not align with the Narrative Paradigm. [By looking at the pace of his speech (body language), He acted guilty (body language+ personal experience) He confess it by himself] 4. . 3 Summary It can be concluded that; in general, Fisher's Narrative Paradigm theory is applicable to the masses to KILL student but to a curtained extend. As what has been found via the analysis above there are a few findings that shows that there are some of the general student that do not Judge reason only from the sequence of a story and whether it make sense but they use other technicians like body language, analyzing body reaction, or some would Just tell the respondent that they had lied previously.Which to a certain extend derailed from the perspective that Fisher had brought forth which is communication is a form of narration â€Å"that all forms of human communication need to be seen fundamentally as stories-?symbolic interpretations f aspects of the world occurring in time and shaped by history, culture, and character;†( Human Communication As Narration: Toward a Philosophy of Reason, Value, and Action, Walter R. Fisher 1987) as for body language require a skill set and intuition rather than a layman interpretation off unconvincing story.Narrative theory by Walter Fisher is still applicable in this current society. Ther e are certain people who usually talks to themselves but most of them are talking to other people and that makes them involve in becoming the narrator or a storyteller. Secondly, we make decisions on the basis of good reasoning or logic. When we deciding things in our life, we tend to think logically rather than Just Jump into it. In order to make a good decision in life, people will think logically especially in making decision. Fisher's Narrative Paradigm is a very useful theory that explains one aspect of human nature.Fisher tells of how we are basically â€Å"storytelling animals† and how the receiver of the message Judges the credibility of the message due to its consistency or coherence. For example, when we feel sad and automatically our face will turn to something unpleasant. Suddenly there is someone notices the changes of our motions and he or she will automatically ask us about what happen and we explain it to them. The explanation done by us is what we call as nar rative and this is what Fisher trying to explain that human is a natural storyteller.Nowadays the theory is most prevalent in marketing. Marketing executives are actively seeking to fulfill these two criteria to make their brand more appealing towards their customers. Even though there are only two criteria stated by Fisher, there are more criteria a person would Judge a person narrative, especially in two way communication. Thus, even though Fisher succeed to capture on why human is a storytelling species, it does not explain fully on the traits that an individual would Judge others in real life.In conclusion, narrative theory is applicable in the current society and it is present in our everyday life. 6. Suggestion to improve the theory Our suggestions to improve this theory so that it is applicable in current society are to narrow down the scope of the theory. Two major criticism of narrative theory is it could not comprehensively describe all forms of communication and the broad ness of the theory. This problem can be avoided by narrowing down the scope of which narrative theory can cover.This meant that narrative theory needs to specify what type of communication it should represent. Another criticism faced by narrative theory is conservative bias. This criticism the nature of theory that conclude that human beings have a set of template on how they would respond to a specific conditions. Responding into this criticism, narrative theory needs to acknowledge that a person acceptance of a narrative can change overtime. This way, narrative theory can accommodate the flexible nature of human being.

The Concept of Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Concept of Globalization - Essay Example The essay "The Concept of Globalization" talks about the globalization concept as a way of how the world is connected in all the sectors of human life, from technological, economical, political, socio-cultural and even environmental developments. All this a major contributing factor towards the presentation of a world democracy where there is a large market economy with ease of access for individuals around the world. Globalization nowadays is a very heated topic, both on the positive side and the negative side. Many are against globalization due to their belief in the sovereignty of a country with everything being centralized and many are for it as it is giving them a larger ground to play. Although debated as a capitalist concept, globalization is the need of the day with everyone some way or another involved in the process. Countries are always involved in doing trades, people are involved through the internet, and people immigrate for better work, processes like these make globalization a true fact and a reality that has contributed much towards the scope of International Relations. When the world talks about power, wealth, innovation and capitalism, America is the country they direct to. The concept of Globalization thus emerging from the U.S depicts that it is a new way of how the United States want to be perceived in the comity of nations. The power of globalization residing within the U.S, it then is much like a dictatorship towards a freely moving and changing concept.

Crisis Management unit 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Crisis Management unit 3 - Essay Example Their print ad defense was found in a full page ad that read â€Å"Thank You For Suing Us† followed by a 5 paragraph explanation of why the lawsuit was filed based upon misinformation. After the ad was a promise from the president of Taco Bell, Greg Creed that they would prosecute anyone who made or continued to make false claims about the fastfood chain's products (Morrisey, Brian â€Å"Taco Bell Response to Beef Lawsuit: Sarcasm†). The company also took to social media networks Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to help counter the negative publicity by having Creed videotape his statement explaining how Taco Bell uses their beef and how the product is created. A Twitter campaign in defense of Taco Bell was launched using #Beef and #TacoBell. (â€Å"'Thank You For Suing Us': Taco Bell Fights Beef Lawsuit with Full-Page Ads†). Due to the open disclosure strategy that the legal and publicity think tank of Taco Bell developed, the plaintiff(s), represented by Dee Mile s of the law firm of Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis, & Miles were forced to drop the suit in April 2011. While Taco Bell maintains that no deal was agreed upon prior to the lawsuit withdrawal, MIles claims that Taco Bell agreed to change the way they advertise and market their products (Stempel, Jonathan â€Å"Taco Bell Lawsuit Dropped After Dismissal by Plaintiff†). Other restaurants in the past have also faced image crushing lawsuits that were successfully controlled through proper crisis management. One of these cases involves the 2006 lawsuit faced by Rubio's Restaurants Inc. A regular client of the restaurant sued the company claiming that the restaurant was engaged in misleading advertising. The claim was that the restaurant substituted Langostino lobsters for the Maine lobster being used in their lobster tacos and burritos. The company came out of the lawsuit with minimal damage after providing restaurant clients in California, where the case was filed, with cus tomers coupons (â€Å"'Thank You For Suing Us': Taco Bell Fights Beef Lawsuit with Full-Page Ads†). What makes the crisis mitigation of this case different from the others is that the restaurant allowed a ruling to be handed down with the company agreeing to the settlement deal. While admitting guilt, the company also made amends for its admitted errors. Then there was also the case of Wendy's where a woman claimed to have found part of a finger in her chili. Wendy's eventually got the case against them dismissed due to evidence presented in relation to the heat at which the Chili is cooked and the fact that the finger found in the Chili served to the plaintiff, Anna Ayala, was raw. Ayala eventually dropped her lawsuit claiming emotional stress (â€Å"Fast Food Finger Finder Drops Lawsuit†). The plaintiff was instead sentenced to 9 years in prison after a police investigation revealed that she was a serial fast food law suit filer and that the finger found in her Chili was planted by Ayala herself. Wendy's won back their clients and cleaned up their tarnished image through careful and effective public relations campaigns (â€Å"'Thank You Fo

War on Terrorism and Civil Liberties of US Citizens Essay

War on Terrorism and Civil Liberties of US Citizens - Essay Example Issues touching on the security of United States would always influence the lifestyle of the American people. The constitution of America entrenches human liberty that the American people ought to enjoy. Terror attack does not provide an opportunity for the Americans to enjoy the civil liberty, but create an environment that promote crime. The question on how to balance national security during wartime and human liberty is nagging. Former United States president was quoted saying that he believed in upholding the constitution and the laws of United States of America. He went a head to remind the public that United States was facing attack from good for nothing terrorist who wanted United States to crumple. It is an intricate issue since it involves the government machineries in establishing the cause and possible attacks that the United States of America may be facing. The government decision to handle matters of national security would not go without criticism, but the essence of wa r on terrorism would remain as a pressing issue to the Americans. This paper explores war on terrorism and civil liberties. The paper seeks to link the Oklahoma and 9/11 bombing to security threats in United States. Terrorism refers to a deliberate act of which instill terror or fear among the community in a bid to coerce the community to act in a designated manner. The intention behind terrorism attack is to coerce the government or the society to enact or adopt certain policies in the society. Largely terrorism activities in United States have had devastating effects to innocent citizens. Some people lost their relatives, property, psychological effects among others. Tracing terrorism activities in United States would lead to along list of events that the government security agencies have thwarted before affecting the society and events that have penetrated to affect the community. Research on terrorism indicates that planned terrorism attacks in United States of America involve g angs and people who seem to criticize the government (Kazin 82). Sometimes standoff between the security agents and the groups in the society would culminate into ugly incidences of terror. Report from the Federal Security agency indicates that Davidian cult was responsible for the 19th April 1993 explosion in Oklahoma claiming about 75 followers of the cult among other people. Many US citizens blamed the security agents for failing to protect the society against the explosion. The Davidian cult existed with a full knowledge of the federal security team. The standoff between the Davidian Cult members in Waco compound and the FBI was seen a failure of the security agents to stump out criminal gangs by some people. The anger felt by some people over the Waco building explosion led to the Oklahoma Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing. Timothy McVeigh believed that the FBI was able to contain normalcy before the explosion (Cassel 44). He decided to make a plot that led to the bombi ng of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building. McVeigh avenged the death of children and people who died in the Waco building by instigating a bomb attack which claimed more 168 lives. The mission of McVeigh was to let the responsible persons pay for their evils in the society. He believed that the FBI had been the chief reason behind the explosion. He conspired with Nichols and Michael Fortier to bomb the Murrah Building. The revenge mission of McVeigh drew criticism to the US government and the security system that the country embraced.

Marketing Management College Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing Management College - Assignment Example It has recently co-sponsored "The Kustom Jetty Surf Pro Junior" with prize moneyof $30,000AUD at Torquay, Fairhaven VIC from 8 January 2007to 14 January 2007. Clothing is one of basic human need and whole population is potential market for a clothing company. Though the company in question i.e. Jettysurf, presently doesn't have the capability in terms of presences as well as range of cloths, fulfilling the exact demand of all variety of customers, at every place. So it has to take up a portion of the total market for which it can provide its offerings with its current resources. Jettysurf is having around 20 stores which are mainly located in Southern and western part of Australia, and it has one website which is providing only information about Jettysurf, without any online ordering facility. Even if the website had an online order facility, customer would not have liked to order online, as for making a buying decision for cloths, customer normally likes to have a feel of cloth and fitting. This limits the total available market to population near the stores. Purchase of cloths can mainly be driven by various needs like replacement for torn or faded cloths, new cloths for some important occasion, change in anatomy like growing children or persons attending gym for slimming down and lastly just to be in latest fashion and to have some change. First reason can be more dominant for older people who would not like to change a cloth until it has been used fully. These are the people who have seen tough time in there life and are best described by Meredith Schewe and Karlovich (cited in Kotler 2003) as The Dispersion Cohort, The Word War II Cohort and The Post wart Cohort and are above 55 yrs age. This group can also have younger people also but relatively in less number. Purchase decision due to this reason sees a static demand of cloths throughout the year and this group sees cloth as means of covering up the body, though decently. Occasion based purchases are more concentrated during festive seasons or on personal events like birthdays, marriages or anniversaries and this group generally encompasses all age groups. Purchases done just for a change are normally seen in youth, Young at hearts or in one having low responsibility and having disposable income. Since cloths are being purchased for being in latest fashion (which also changes relatively rapidly), to accommodate physical changes or just to satisfy urge for shopping, purchase rate is high in this segment. Further, these impulsive or fashion driven purchase act is relatively seen more in females. This is somewhat true for occasion based purchases also. Census data of Australian Bureau of Statistics, as reproduced below, shows that more than fifty-five percent of Australians are between 15-55 years of age and around fifty percent of Australians are females. AGE Population of Australia % of total persons for Australia Age groups: 0-4 years 1,243,969 6.6% 5-14 years 2,668,506 14.2% 15-24 years 2,566,346 13.7% 25-54 years 8,159,808 43.5% 55-64 years 1,759,742 9.4% 65 years and over 2,370,878 12.6% Population of Australia % of total persons for Australia Males 9,270,466 49.4% Females 9,498,783 50.6% Jettysurf stores provide more of casual clothing and accessories which are

Bulimia Nervosa Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Bulimia Nervosa - Thesis Example People with bulimia nervosa are preoccupied by their body shape and weight. Their appreciation for food causes them to binge, but their guilt afterwards causes them to purge or turn to over exercising to make up for their binge. It is highly believed that bulimia nervosa contains psychopathological signs in its development processes in a person, meaning that mental illness and distress might play a role in the development of bulimia nervosa. Indeed, there is a correlation between people with bulimia nervosa and borderline personality disorder (Cooper, 2003). The characteristics of borderline personality bring about depression in people, as well as unstable self-image, identity, and behavior. The individual’s sense of self is also negatively affected. All of these aforementioned symptoms of borderline personality bring about negative emotions in regard to an individual’s self-image. They become uncomfortable being in their own skin, finding something wrong whenever they are presented with the opportunity. When a person develops a mental illness that causes them to reconsider their self-image and reevaluate their sense of self, other disorders can begin to be developed, especially those relating to their self-image. If an individual feels negatively about how they look, they tend to implement means that can make them feel better about themselves. Even if they remain unpleased about how they appear to themselves, they still feel better about the fact that they are at least trying to compensate for the damage that they believe they are doing to themselves. The symptoms that accompany bulimia nervosa are similar to those found in borderline personality disorder. The possibility of developing an eating disorder is also a symptom of borderline personality, displaying that the two disorders can go hand-in-hand with one another. Other mental illnesses that can be connected to bulimia nervosa are multiple personality disorder and

Situation Background Assessment Recommendation Assignment

Situation Background Assessment Recommendation - Assignment Example There are a number of them. But the best is SBAR (Situation Background Assessment Recommendation), according to most of the healthcare organizations for transfer of information in the correct manner. They are useful in communicating among medical staff, between doctor and patient between nurse and patient etc. The language is clear and simple and is applicable for both written and oral communication. The steps include stating the situation, the circumstances causing the situation, determining the problem and arriving at the best solution. The healthcare organization has their own procedures to fill up forms concerned with the patient's clinical history during the course of their treatment in the unit. That will give clear, concise information about the patient and the type of treatment he gets. However, the accuracy of the record is doubtful. At times the patient would not have given the proper information. It may so happen that the recording may not be proper or legible. Even so clinical record can be considered very valuable in most instances. During verbal communication, there is every chance of data being missed or misunderstood. The reason is that the doctors, nurses and other health personnel etc lack effective communication skill, though they may be good in their own field. The healthcare professionals including nurses have been educated to deal with patients in communic ation, but not among themselves or how to communicate during an emergency. Also, there are no rules for verbal communication, whether direct or through telephone. It is obvious that communication errors may have adverse effects on the patients. It is praiseworthy that various steps have been taken for the improvement of communication among the staff. These will ultimately result in the safety of the patients. According to Dr. Michael Leonard, MD, nurses' communication is descriptive. But that of the physicians is strictly to the point. He feels that SBAR model will nullify the differences in approach and style. It proposes how a nurse should communicate with a doctor. Adopting the SBAR tool has considerably improved patient's safety. It is valuable not only for communication between doctor and nurse but among a number of team members. Let us look at the following instance. One Mr. Joy took his wife to hospital. She had hysterectomy with bowel perforation. An overdose of medicines resulted in permanent brain damage. Joy had no idea about the SBAR tools. So because of his precarious and tense situation, Joy failed to inform the actual cause to the doctors. If he had communicated properly, he could have avoided the mental agony that he and his wife suffered. His wife would have got the correct treatment and would have been better placed. Even the doctor, who felt guilty for not successful in treating the wife would have been spared. Summary of Article This clearly shows how a little bit of care can prolong the life of the patient and enhance the happiness of his beloved ones. At the same time sheer neglect can endanger his life. The hospital staff should consider it their duty to contribute to the well being of the patients. There comes the importance of SBAR techniques. Conclusion It is

Genetically Modified Food Essay Example for Free

Genetically Modified Food Essay Genetically modified (GM) foods are ethically unacceptable. GM foods are food product derived in whole or part from a genetically modified organism by human intention. It is a special set of technologies that concerns the alteration, deletion, or addition of the genetic makeup of living organisms such as animals, plants, or bacteria. This is an important issue because GM foods have been dubbed as the Food of the Future and although studies have shown that genetically modified foods may bring about many benefits to mankind, we must also look into the ethical issues involved in producing such food before we even consider accepting it as the way of the future. First, we must understand that the word ethical is defined as having to do with ethics or morality; or of conforming to moral standards. There will be 3 parts to this essay. Firstly, I will be presenting and defending 2 arguments that support my stand. Following that, Ill take into consideration some common objections against my thesis. Lastly, I will summarize the main points in this essay before drawing to a conclusion. The essays argument takes the form of Modus Ponens: If GM is X, GM is unethical GM is X GM is unethical My main argument is that it is unethical to tamper with nature by mixing genes among the different species. By doing so, it may actually lead to a violation of natural organisms intrinsic values. There is a very delicate balance that links this world together and this is the balance that makes things work. GM foods might actually give rise to more complications such as the disturbance of natures food pyramid. For example, the pesticide produced in the crop may unintentionally harm other creatures while producing a benefit to others. The introduction of pest-resistant genes into crops could lead to the death of the pests and other animals causing an imbalance in the food chain that could possibly lead to the extinction of some species especially if they are only localized in one particular area. In Britain, a native farm bird, the Skylark, was indirectly affected by the introduction of GM sugar beets that were designed to resist herbicides. The result in planting this crop was that weeds were reduced substantially. However, since the birds rely on the seeds of this weed in autumn and winter, researchers expect that up to 80% of the Skylark population would have to find other means of finding food. Another issue brought up is that GM crops may also pose a health risk to native animals that eat the plants and may be poisoned by the built-in pesticides. Although others might also argue that the cutting down of trees to construct buildings might also be a way of tampering with nature, GM food not just tampers with physical nature but with the foundation of nature genes. Every organism, no matter how small, is made up of genes. These genes control the physical development and behavior of the organism and are passed down from parent to offspring. The word genes (comes from the Greek word genos meaning origin) actually defines natures origin and the production of GM food would mean to change the origin of nature. Furthermore, religious communities Christians, Hindus, Jews and Muslims Ââ€" also share such concerns regarding GM products. According to Bishop Jeff Davies from the SA Council of Churches, With genetic engineering, we are tampering with the structures of life that have taken millions of years to evolve and we have the arrogance to think that we can improve on them in 10 years to transfer a gene from one species into another. Different religious communities have different believes and one of them would be their food such as kosher and halal food. But with the introduction of animal genes into plants how will they define a tomato with a fish gene? This will also be a major concern to vegetarians. All in all, I believe that people should be happy with what nature has to give and not play God and try to control nature. It is unethical to sacrifice other creatures and meddle with the delicate balance of nature. Furthermore, there will be potential chain reactions that may be unstoppable. One other argument is how GM products can affect our health especially in the long run. The unpredictable changes in our food could lead to negative reactions that are not detected by research techniques until much later. A quick acceptance of GE foods without proper testing could show corporate profitability to be very influential but that would be too dangerous because there has been no adequate safety testing to ensure that using other organisms genes is going to have the same useful effects if inserted into a totally unrelated species. Furthermore, testing has only been done on a small scale currently and its hard to predict what will happen when its used on a wider ecology. In 1989, dozens of Americans died and several thousands were afflicted and impaired by a genetically altered version of the food supplement L-tryptophan. Studies have been done to show how viruses can mix with genes of other viruses to give rise to more deadly viruses. To mass market the use of GM food when it has not been properly tested for safety issues would mean that businesses are gaining at the expense of consumers health and is therefore ethically unacceptable. On the other hand, some organizations insist that GM technology is the solution to solving the problem of world hunger. However, I feel that it is simply a ploy of corporations and countries that are using the plight of the developing world as a marketing strategy to gain acceptance of GE foods. GM technology is not an economical method that can be easily implemented by most countries. In fact, genetic engineering techniques are currently being applied to crops important to the industrialized world and not on crops which the worlds hungry depend on. GM foods could actually reduce developed countries reliance on crops from developing countries, resulting in loss of trade and severe economic damage for them and intensifying their problem of poverty. This would mean that theres a conflict of interest. Furthermore, an important factor that Friends of the Earth has pointed out is that many people in the world are suffering from malnutrition and hunger because they cannot afford to buy food, not because it is unavailable. Therefore, even with GM food, people would still not be able to afford it or have it distributed appropriately. Most of the causes of hunger are found in global politics, rather than issues of agriculture and technology. As a result, a variety of groups and people are questioning the motives behind GM foods as the political causes of hunger appear to be ignored. An article from Food First observed that most innovations in agricultural biotechnology have been profit-driven rather than need-driven and it questions whether GE technology can really ensure food security, protect the environment and reduce poverty in the developing world or is it produced simply because its patentable and thus, profitable to businesses. In some cases, as reported by The Institute for Science, pesticide usage is actually increasing, and GE crop actually yield less than conventional crops. In this essay, I have come up with several valid reasons why Genetically Modified Foods are ethically unacceptable. GM foods tamper with the origin of nature which is the genes and there is inadequate safety testing to prove that GM food is safe for human consumption. Therefore, businesses are mass marketing GM food at the expense of consumers health and proclaiming that GM Food is the solution to world hunger when it might not be true. Although there might be potential and benefits in GE technology, there are still many unknown areas that might prove to be more harmful then beneficial. Furthermore, there are still too many important ethical issues that have been ignored and that reason by itself makes it ethically unacceptable.

The Transmission Model Of Communications

The Transmission Model Of Communications Most professionals need a few theories to back up their thinking and also to help give substance to their recommendations. A few theories and models give us a concrete and rational foundation for decision-making. These are especially helpful when thinking about how to tackle an issue and how to work out what is going on. They are useful too when devising plans and writing communications strategies, explaining concepts to colleagues and clients or giving focus when we need direction. These are my ten top theories, the ones I have found most useful in over thirty years as a practitioner, consultant and lecturer. Theory One Shannon and Weaver the transmission model of communications One of the oldest and simplest theories about communications came from Shannon and Weaver (1949). But Shannon and Weaver were not PR professionals; they worked for Bell Telephone Labs in the USA. Shannon and Weaver were focused on issues about accuracy and efficiency in telephony. Their model is both simple to understand and generally applicable and this originally made it attractive to not only people working in PR and communications but also academics who have since developed more sophisticated models and theories to explain the process of human and organisational communications. Shannon and Weavers original model often called the transmission model consisted of five sequential elements: An information source, that produces a message. A transmitter, that encodes the message into signals A channel, that carries the signals, which have been adapted to allow transmission A receiver, that decodes the message from the signal A destination, where the message arrives. They also included a sixth element, noise, defined as any interference with the message travelling along the channel that could change or impair the signal and so change the original message into something different from that intended. This transmission model, which has been around for a long time, is somewhat simplistic. But it does serve as a reminder to practitioners about the basic processes involved in communications and in PR. Its also the basis for social scientist and guru on propaganda Harold Lasswells explanation of communications as being Who says What to Whom in What Channel with What Effect Shannon and Weaver argued that there are three problems when thinking about communications: The technical problem: how accurately can the message be transmitted? The semantic problem: how precisely is the meaning conveyed? The effectiveness problem: how effectively does the received meaning affect behaviour? They assumed that sorting out the technical problems would largely solve the semantic and effectiveness problems (and that really is simplistic). You can see that there are a few problems with this model. It is linear and one-way there is no engagement with the receiver. The sender is called the information source it is not a complex sender. The receiver appears to be a passive and accepting, a simple and willing absorber of information, hardly a critical interpreter of what he or she is exposed to. There is no way to assess whether the receiver has accurately picked up the message and then believed it or acted upon it. There is no consideration of the context of meaning (is this teacher to parent, politician to floating voter?). Nor to when in terms of time the communication takes place. But then again this theory was devised by and for telecommunications engineers. Consequently this simple model cannot reflect the complex psychology of the human being or the physiology of the human brain. Nor does it accommodate the existing relationships between sender and receiver, or the infinite ways a message can be encoded in term s of words and pictures. Also it does not allow for the unique characteristics of the multiple channels that could be use d to get the message across and that affect how a message will be seen and interpreted. So theor y one is a useful start point. Theory Two James Carey transportation/communications links http://wyolife.com/Thank%20US/morse%20telegraph.jpg Invention and technology have a huge part to play in the development of corporate communications. James Carey was an American academic and journalism specialist. In his book Communication As Culture (1989) Carey discussed the development of the telegraph and its understated role in future developments in communication. The non-electric telegraph was invented by Claude Chappe in 1794 and was a visual system using semaphore, a flag-based alphabet, and depending on a line of sight for communication. The optical telegraph was subsequently replaced by the electric telegraph, the invention of Samuel Morse. Morse proved that signals could be transmitted by wire and, to facilitate this developed the Morse Code. The first news dispatched by electric telegraph was in May 1844. The death knell for the electric telegraph came with the invention of the telephone in 1877. So before the nineteenth century the movement of information was more or less the same as the transport of goods or people and both were described as communication. Before the telegraph (and the telephone) most decisions particularly business and political decisions were made face to face. Carey argued that the telegraph permitted for the first time the effective separation of communication from transportation. So after the telegraph, as soon as messages could travel faster than the people, horses or trains that delivered them, everything changed, in terms of how humans communicated across distances and over time. Geography became irrelevant, enabling communities to move away from the local, towards the national, and international or global. The telegraph allowed people from one side of the world to communicate almost instantaneously with someone on the other side of the world. How quaint this seems in todays digital world but this helps us look at the origins of modern communication. Because this shows to some extent where plain English came from. The short brief telegraph demanded a prose style that Carey noted was more à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦lean and unadorned. Think of a tweetà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. So all those years ago it was the simple old telegraph that first called for the plainest of writing and, as a knock-on effect, changed the way news was written. At the same time style became more objective because these words would be read by individuals of many different beliefs and opinions, from many different communities, regions and countries. Technological advances continue to have a huge impact on how we practice communications on what messages work, on how we encode our message, on what channels to use so that the receiver sees and hears it accurately and so on. The meaning of the message comes from the process listeners, readers and/or viewers go through when they make sense of what they see, hear and feel. Meaning is not extracted from but constructed by the message. Its clear that, while we dont need to be technician, everyone working in the field of communications must keep abreast of developments in technology because you can bet your bottom dollar they will have an impact of professional communications practice. Theory Three Grunig and Hunts Four Models for Public Relations Managing Public Relations written by Grunig and Hunt (1984) highlighted four models for how organizations can chose to practice public relations. The four models developed more or less chronologically through the twentieth century. This is the most often cited theory of public relations and these theories are still relevant, taught as part of graduate, post-graduate and vocational qualifications across the UK and overseas. The Four Models Press agent model one way communication where an organization tells an audience what it wants it to believe. Little or no research to determine audiences needs interests or inclinations to agree with the organisations objectives. This is the simple, original, historic model for PR with the focus on getting favourable coverage (ie publicity) for your organization, cause, celebrity, brand via the media. One -way transfer of information No feedback Little or no research Information is not always accurate all publicity is good publicity Public information model a journalists approach to public relations, offers truthful accurate information about an organisation leaving our damaging or harmful information. This model developed pretty much as a reaction to attacks on large corporations and government agencies by investigative journalists. The leaders of these institutions needed more than simple propaganda peddled by press agents to counter the attacks on them in the media. So they hired their own journalists to act as public relations practitioners, and press handouts were written and distributed to give their point of view and explain actions. This is also the model where essential information is provided to the people and persuasion or attitude change is not essential. Examples might be letting people know about the weather, about road traffic, or internally about new appointments and soon. The approach is very much lets get the facts out. One way transfer of information Some evaluation on effectiveness Little or no research about the audience(s) Used most often by government Truthful and accurate Two-way asymmetrical model emphasises a change in attitudes or behaviours in the audience only in accordance with the objectives and goals of the organisation. Persuasive communication really has its origins here. In 1917 during World War 1 US President Woodrow Wilson set up The Creel Committee (AKA CPI Committee on Public Information). Committee members included the so-called founder of modern public relations practice, social scientist Edward Bernays. Communications took a more scientific approach that made the practice two-way with practitioners both seeking information from and giving information to publics. Theories introduced by Bernays were those of propaganda, persuasion, and the engineering of consent. This model is clearly at work when attempts are made to influence publics to adopt a preferred point of view or behaviour. Research provides input into the process (for example research into why people buy a new car help manufacturers create motivating relevant messages). Scientific persuasion Two-way transfer of information Research done to persuade audience(s) Messages created to persuade Model slanted in favour of organization The two-way symmetrical model uses research to better understand the audience and to resolve disputes. Each party the sender and receiver is willing to alter messages and even behaviours to accommodate the others needs. The two-way symmetrical model makes use of research and other forms of two-way communication. Unlike the two-way asymmetrical model, however, it uses research to facilitate understanding and communication rather than to identify messages most likely to motivate or persuade publics. A good example might be management and workforce in a consultation process enabling a change of policies and practices resulting in higher productivity and better pay and conditions. This model includes ideas and principles like telling the truth, interpreting the client and public to one another and management understanding the viewpoints of employees and neighbours as well as employees and neighbours understanding the viewpoints of management. It is perhaps a communications ideal as many organisations are unwilling to go all the way and engage so fully with audiences as they wish to retain the concept of control. It could be argued that modern technology and digital communications is forcing even the most reluctant organisation to have to consider this model seriously to maintain a competitive or an ethical position that enhances reputation. Behaviour change on both sides Research done to understand, not manipulate, the audience Strategies include consultation, bargaining, negotiation , discussion, compromise Best model of communication? http://tidforlivet.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/tabell.png https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlHKde7vAQ8rY2W_Qpz2tpFVtq49V2z_KRKH3vX-K-2BGi7RwDstP6vohLbs4nAifuzzucibTNeftf8WC7bn0t1jfMVFWzmJvuFwrfW9RFtUju_jJPjqDA6iM9WGrEgYa2wK89ksSQDE/s400/Ethical_Influence.png http://www.derekchristensen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/cialdini-influence-chart.png Theory Four Robert Cialdini and Influence Arguably one of the key tasks of corporate communications is to influence others to comply with what you want; which may be to understand an issue, engage in debate, prefer or like or support your point of view, or behave a different way. Robert Cialdini, Regents Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University has made influence his lifes work. Having observed extensively how influence works by studying compliance professionals (people skilled in getting others to do what they want them to do salespeople, fundraisers, recruiters, advertisers and so on) he published, in 1984, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. I was given this book when I worked in the advertising industry and I go back to these ideas time and time again. Cialdini arrived at what he called his six weapons of influence and we can see these six principles at work in many successful PR and communications programmes. But do take care influence in the wrong hands becomes manipulation. There are many examples when this thinking has been used for evil ends. Use these strategies for good, not to persuade people to do things that are wrong. Examine your conscience and apply this thinking ethically 1. Reciprocity People generally aim to return a compliment. They invite people to come to dinner having been invited themselves; they pay back debts; they treat others as they are treated. Its youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. This leads us to feel obliged to offer concessions or discounts to others if they have offered them to us first because we feel uncomfortable if we feel indebted to them. For example youll giving money to a fundraiser who has given you a little badge or sticker; a free tasting of a new food product in-store may make you buy a pack; you might decide to buy more from a supplier if they have offered you preferential terms first. You can sometimes use this principle by simply reminding the other person of how you have helped them in the past. Key thing is to give a service, information or a concession. Your target will then be primed to return the favour. To use reciprocity ethically to influence others, identify objectives, and consider wha t you want the target to do. You can then identify what you can give to them in return. 2. Commitment and Consistency Once weve committed to something, were then more inclined to go through with it because, says Cialdini, we human beings have an innate desire to be consistent. For example people who sign a petition supporting a new community facility are more likely to donate money to that cause when asked later. Get peoples commitment early on, either verbally or in writing. For example, if the communications programme is building support for the building of a new supermarket, communicate early on with stakeholders, and take their comments and views into account. 3. Social Proof This principle relies on peoples sense of safety in numbers because people tend to follow similar others. For example, were more likely put some money into a dish for staff tips if theres money already in that dish, well buy a product if lots of others have done so and provide testimonials that its good and and were more likely to support a policy if support seems high already. The assumption is that if lots of other people are doing something, then it must be OK, safe to do, good, right to do too. Were more likely to be influenced if we feel uncertain and, another key factor, is whether those people already behaving a certain way are like us in terms of lifetsage and lifestyle. Internally you could use social proof when trying to get support for a new project by getting the support from influential people in your organisation whose opinions others respect. And if you are selling a product, say how many people use it and get them to recommend it on social networking sites. 4 Liking Were more likely to be influenced by people we like. And people are more likely to buy from people like themselves, from friends, and from people they know and respect. Likability comes in many forms people might be similar or familiar to us, they might give us compliments, or we may just simply trust them.. Put in the time and effort needed to build trust and rapport with clients and people you work with, and behave with consistency. Develop your emptional intelligence together with active listening skils. But dont try too hard to be liked by others people can always spot a phoney. Companies that use sales agents from within the community employ the liking principle extensively and with huge success. 5. Authority We feel a sense of duty or obligation to people in positions of authority. This is why advertisers of pharmaceutical products employ doctors to front their campaigns, and why most of us will do most things that our manager requests. Job titles, uniforms, and even accessories like cars or gadgets can lend an air of authority, and can persuade us to accept what these people say. 6. Scarcity This principle says that things are more attractive when their availability is limited, or when we stand to lose the opportunity to acquire them on favorable terms. For instance, we might buy something immediately if were told that its the last one, or that a special offer will soon expire. Authority Here you can use both your own authority, and the authority of others, as influencers. When you use your own authority, be careful not to use it negatively. Our article onFrench and Ravens Five Forms of Power has more on different sources of power, and explains how you can use power and authority positively. To use authority, get support from influential and powerful people, and ask for their help in backing the idea. (Use Influence Maps to help you network with people who can help.) If youre marketing a product or service, highlight well-known and respected customers, use comments from industry experts, and talk about impressive research or statistics. Things like well-produced brochures, professional presentations, impressive offices, and smart clothing can also lend authority. Scarcity With this principle, people need to know that theyre missing out if they dont act quickly. If youre selling a product, limit the availability of stock, set a closing date for the offer, or create special editions of products. This principle can be trickier to apply within your organization if youre trying to influence others to support your ideas or projects. You can, however, use urgency to get support for your ideas. For example, you can highlight the possible urgent consequences of the problem that your idea helps to solve. http://www.mindtools.com/images/box/top460grey.png Tip: Remember that these are just six ways that you can influence others. Use these principles alongside other tools such as the Rhetorical Triangle, Monroes Motivated Sequence, Win-Win Negotiation, the Persuasion Tools Model, and the Minority Influence Strategy. You can also use Stakeholder Analysis and Management to build support for your ideas and projects. http://www.mindtools.com/images/box/bottom460grey.png Resisting Influence You can also use this tool when others are trying to influence you. In these situations, bear the following points in mind: Before accepting a free gift or a discounted service, or before agreeing to hear confidential information, ask yourself whether youre going to feel obliged to give the same or more in return. Should you decline, so that you dont feel indebted? Before agreeing to a course of action, even at a very preliminary level, think about the consequences of your decision. Will you feel so invested in this new course of action that you wont want to change your mind? Though everyone else is pursuing a particular route or buying a product, it may not be right for you. Avoid falling victim to the herd mentality. You might decide that its best to go against the trend. When you feel tempted to buy a product or sign up for a service, ask yourself whether youve fallen under the spell of a particularly likable salesperson. Is the salesperson similar to you, familiar to you, or extremely complimentary? Carefully note your reaction to authority figures. Has the person youre negotiating with triggered your respect for authority? Are you making your choice because you want to, or are you swayed by an expert opinion? And does this person genuinely have the authority he is implying, or is he merely using the symbols of that authority? Before you fall for a sales pitch claiming that a product is running out of stock or that a discount deal is soon to expire, think again. Do you really want or need the product now, or has its lack of availability caught your attention? http://www.mindtools.com/images/box/top460grey.png Key Points The Six Principles of Influence were created by Robert Cialdini, and published in his 1984 book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. The principles are: reciprocity, commitment, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity. You can use the six principles whenever you want to influence or persuade others. However, its also useful to use them with other tools. And, by knowing about the principles, you can become resistant to people who try to use them to manipulate you. You also need to make sure that you dont misuse these principles avoid using them to deceive or mislead people, and make sure that you use them for peoples good, rather than to disadvantage them. Theory Five Patrick Jackson and others the people change ladder Patrick Jackson was a public relations practitioner working in the US he and others considered the steps communicators has to go though in order to effect behaviour change Build awareness eg publicity, advertising, face to face communications Develop a latent readiness an inclination to make change during which opinions begin to form Trigger a desire to change via a natural or planned event Utilise an intermediate behaviour during which an individual begins to investigate new behaviours Changing behaviours and adopting the new behaviour Theory Six Mendelsohns Three Assumptions for Success Mendelsohn (1973) believed campaigns often failed because campaign designers overpromised, assumed the public would automatically receive and enthusiastically accept their messages, and blanketed the public with messages not properly targeted and likely to be ignored or misinterpreted. His Three Assumptions are still a touchstone for communications planning 1.Target your messages 2. Assume your target public is uninterested in your messages. 3. Set reasonable, midrange goals and objectives. Theory Seven Hierarchy of effects theory of persuasion This is a sequential representation of how advertising in particular influences a consumers decision to purchase or not a product or service. The hierarchy-of-effects theory is used to set up a structured series of message objectives with the aim of building on each successive step until the sale is achieved. Although this model is often used to plan advertising campaign it is a useful one to look at in relation to PR campaigns as often these too require a stepped approach. This thinking informs AMECs communications objectives funnel (see section on measurement and evaluation) Step 1 Exposure. Some PR programmes get no further than this just putting the message out. But just placing a message in an environment cannot guarantee it is seen or acknowledged. Step 2 Attention Even paid-for placed advertising will fail if the audience is not paying attention. A PR message must be capable of attracting attention and cutting through the noise of daily life. Complex messages have to capture even higher levels of attention, especially with attention spans diminishing as they are. Creativity, presentation and encoding are key elements at this stage. Carefully selected culturally specific and acceptable multi-sensory PR and communications techniques, using symbols, colours and music, are used to grab peoples attention and wake them up. Some aspects of attention are controlled by the potential receiver and some are involuntary responses to sensory cues. A sudden noise, for example, can get someones attention (essentially a human response mechanism to ensure quick responses to danger.) Conversely something amusing will draw attention because the receiver enjoys seeing it. Advertising practitioners may use physiological triggers like fast cut video to get and retain attention. But this is exhausting process requiring high levels of mental processing. So sometimes even though attention is gained, the desired message is lost in term sof being able to remember wht that was all about. Step 3 Involvement/Engagement Although research indicates people pay attention to sudden changes in sounds or visual effects, its true too that they stop paying attention if a message seems irrelevant, uninteresting, or distasteful. Messages that are relevant keep people interested and make them primed to absorb the information. This is essentially saying that communications needs to answer the question Whats in it for me? Once that is demonstrated, techniques like storytelling, examples and case histories and the use of novel content keeps the receiver engaged and interested. Step 4 Comprehension Keeping the receivers attention does not ensure he or she will understand the message. Step 5 Skill acquisition (learning how). Well-intentioned people may be unable to follow through on an idea if they lack the skills to do so. Potential voters without transportation to the polls will not vote; intended nonsmokers will not quit smoking without social support; interested restaurant patrons will not come if they cannot afford it; parents interested in a civic betterment program will not attend a meeting if they do not have child care. An effective campaign anticipates the target publics needs to provide the help they require. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), for example, found, through a Burke Marketing survey, that many people had a passive attitude about fire, many believed they had much more time to escape than they really do, and only 16% had developed and practiced a home fire escape plan. As a result, NFPAs 1998 Fire Safety Week promotion focused on teaching students about fire escape planning and practice, with incentives to encourage them to part icipate in a documented practice drill with their families. Although the Silver Anvil Award-winning campaign generated an enormous amount of publicity, the most dramatic result was that at least 25 lives were saved as a direct result of the families participation in the promotion. Step6 Persuasion (attitude change). Although McGuire listed this step following skills acquisition, attitude change often precedes skill development. People who lack the skills to follow through on an idea may tune out the details, figuring it is not relevant for them. Attitude change is another of the necessary but often insufficient steps in the persuasion process. Sometimes, however, attitude change is all that is necessary, particularly if the goal of a campaign is to increase a publics satisfaction with an organization in order to avoid negative consequences such as lawsuits, strikes, or boycotts. Usually, however, a campaign has an outcome behavior in mind. In that case, remember that people often have attitudes inconsistent with their behaviors. Many smokers believe smoking is a bad thing but still smoke. Many nonvoters say voting is important and they intend to vote, but they still fail to show up on election day. Step 7 Storing the new position in memory emory storage. This step is important because people receive multiple messages from multiple sources all day, every day. For them to act on your message, they need to remember it when the appropriate time comes to buy a ticket, make a telephone call, fill out a form, or attend an event. They need to be able to store the important information about your message in their memory, which may not be easy if other messages received simultaneously demand their attention. Key elements of messages, therefore, need to be communicated in ways that make them stand out for easy memorization. Step 8. Information retrieval. Simply storing information does not ensure that it will be retrieved at the appropriate time. People might remember your special event on the correct day but forget the location. Reminders or memory devices such as slogans, jingles, and refrigerator magnets can help. Step 9. Motivation (decision). This is an important step that many campaign designers forget in their own enthusiasm for their campaign goals.Remember Mendelsohns (1973) admonition that people may not be interested in the campaign? They need reasons to follow through. The benefits need to outweigh the costs. In addition, the benefits must seem realistic and should be easily obtained. The more effort required on the part of the message recipients the less likely it is that they will make that effort. If the message recipients believe a proposed behavior is easy, will have major personal benefits, or is critically important, they are more likely to act. The challenge for the program planner is to discover what will motivate the target audience successfully, an issue addressed later in this chapter. Elgin DDB of Seattle, when asked to help reduce Puget Sound curbside disposal of grass clippings by 5%, realized motivation would be an important focus. Focus groups and phone surveys indica ted that the target group, male homeowners aged 25 to 65, had an interest in grass-cycling but needed the proper tools to make it easy and practical. As a result, they arranged to recycle consumers old polluting gas mowers for free at a special event and sell Torro and Ryobi mulch mowers at below the normal retail price, with an additional rebate. With a goal of selling 3,000 mowers, they sold 5,000. They hoped to remove 1,500 gas mowers from the market and ended up recycling approximately 2,600. And, as for their original goal of reducing curbside disposal of grass clippings by 5%? They more than tripled the target amount, reducing grass clippings by 17%, winning a 1999 Silver Anvil Award. 10. Behavior. Success often is measured in terms of behaviors such as sales or attendance figures. Marketing experts, however, know that getting someones business once does not guarantee long-term success. One study (Building Customer, 1996) found that keeping customers loyal can boost profits up to 80%. As a result, the program planner needs to do everything possible to ensure that behavior attempts