Will you marry me?

I chose an advertisement for a cell phone company, NOKIA. The type of this advertisement is drama. It uses a romantic situation in which a man proposes to a woman. Proposing is one of the most romantic situations in life. Although this situation is unrelated to cell phones, this company chose it to make a pleasant image so that the audience will buy this company’s cell phone. The music is also romantic. I like this ad because it has a surprising and happy ending. This advertisement appeals to any kind of market except lawyers for divorce. I think this advertisement is excellent. 
NOKIA Ad

Hiro

Food Market Potentials in Saudi Arabia

Food Market Potentials in Saudi Arabia

I was planning to go grocery shopping last weekend , so I went to the supermarket, grabbed a trolley, and began to venture. Moving from one aisle to another I browsed between racks which were piled with different items. Looking at some of the food products which I came across were Kellogg's corn flakes, Green Giant canned food, Philadelphia cream cheese, Activia diary products, and many other products seemed familiar. It was like if I were almost walking into a grocery store in Riyadh.

Also not far from where I live, just around the corner there's Uno Grill a famous restaurant for its menu, with almost the same dishes in their branch in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, TGIFriday's, Chili's and other famous fast food restaurant chains also available in Saudi Arabia. These are examples to show that the Saudi food market is open to foreign investment in different forms national and international trade either importing or through franchise.

The Saudi economy for the last decade has undergone major reforms.1 While witnessing an economic booming as a result of the increase of oil prices, and with the inflation that is affecting the global economy not to mention the overall increase of prices affecting the majority of consumers, the Saudi Riyal is pegged to U.S. Dollar at fixed exchange rate at $1 =  3.75 Riyals. This could be one of the reasons that wasn't exacerbated and kept steady yet growing annual demands.

Other means that have certainly aided in expanding the consumer base is the changing life style, the fast moving pace of our activities, the trend of moving to live in big metropolitan and urban cities migrating from rural areas. These factors played a major a role in altering our eating habits, although the awareness of the consumer created a flourishing market , and investors had to respond accordingly by supplying the need for the consumers constantly.

Bander Al-Aseeri

The interest in the Saudi food market is driven by a number of reasons. That's why it got the attention and attracted foreign investors who definitely saw the promising opportunities and sought to invest in this market. That was seen through The new encouraging regulations by the government on food trade and the reduction of taxes. However, the main reasons could be, first, the Saudi population is growing at 3% per year, which means demand will grow proportionately in addition huge supermarkets and malls that have food courts are being newly constructed. Second, the Saudi market imports $8 billion U.S. worth of food and beverages every year.2 Finally, the Saudi market is the biggest importer of food with a 66% of the annual Middle East imports. all the Middle East’s annual imports. 3

the Saudi food market posses huge investing potentials that is constantly growing. While the Saudi economy is not the biggest in Asia, It is considered one of the largest consuming market in the continent and the biggest in the middle east. The rate of consumption reaches it's peak during the pilgrimage (Hajj) season. These elements does show opportunities for a rising future of the Saudi food industry and the midst of the economic booming existing now that could definitely make it one of the growing markets in the world.

The "Science" of Money

Jieung Im
EAP 050
10/01/08

The “Science” of Money

People work for this, pray to get this, sometimes fight because of this. Can you guess what it is? It is money. In modern society, people cannot live a normal life without money. Even with the invention of the credit card, people want to get more. Although people like money, they may not know about how it is made.

Most people think bank notes are made of paper, but generally they are not. In the Republic of Korea, cotton is used to make currency. That is because cotton is an efficient material which is not easily torn. Clothes and money are similar in this aspect. Money made of cotton is darker than normal paper. In some other countries, they make money out of particular combination of plastic, called polymer. It is twice as expensive and four times as durable as cotton. Also, it can be made transparent on a small portion of the bill, which means that money made of polymer prevents counterfeiting. The biggest demerit is that ink can be erased at high temperatures. Nowadays, money made of polymer has an upward trend in many countries.

Each country applies optional techniques to avoid counterfeiting according to the manufacturing cost, the amount of current money, and technical expertise. Korea is number three in scientific techniques of making currency. There are 21 techniques to make bills, but only 10 techniques are opened to the public. One of the popular ones is the watermark; it is that particular picture appearing when light shines through it. Its fundamental principle is a difference of thickness. Another technique is the hologram, which has different figures according to one’s view, preventing color reproductions. Although these techniques are expensive, many countries have introduced them to prevent counterfeiting.

When note-issuing banks make money, people think about which color is suitable. There are some specific qualifications in common use. For example, most color printers do not print yellowish green but yellow. Also, red gets faint and blue becomes dark using a color printer, so if people use yellowish green to issue money, counterfeiters cannot forge it. In other words, it is easy to prevent counterfeiting by not using particular techniques. That is why yellowish green is the major color in the won and U.S. dollars. The last step in making money is which ink people use. Ink used to make money emits an ultraviolet light. Therefore, it is useful to distinguish whether it is counterfeit or not. The most powerful ink is OVI ink, which changes color depending on one’s viewpoint.

People use paper money several times in a day. Currency hides secrets of scientific techniques, and it prevents people from counterfeiting. It is difficult to detect the forged notes with the naked eye. Using specific techniques, forged notes can be seen with ease. After these techniques are known , people can feel all the more keenly the science of money.

Norms and Values in Middle Eastern Culture

            A culture is a particular society at a particular time and place[1]. Although every society has its own culture, it may vary in each due the differences in their sets of values. Each culture is built on their own norms and values. These characteristics help differentiate each culture. Norms and values are essential because they help keep a culture in line. By keeping a culture in line, it is at the peak of its excellence.

A norm “is a standard that is required or regarded as normal”.[2] There are basic norms that are found in the Middle Eastern and other cultures. Norms, such as being courteous, respecting your elders, being responsible, obeying the law, are expected from every culture. These norms were set to prevent society from becoming chaotic. Laws or example, are “a body of rules and principles governing the affairs of a community and enforced by a political authority”.[3] If there were no laws, everyone would do what they please without taking into consideration any of the consequences. If laws were terminated, murderers would not be punished, vandalism would become a regular practice, and stealing would not be a crime. Laws are necessary to keep society in order as well as keep the people safe.

Values, on the other hand, “are beliefs of a person or social group in which they have an emotional investment”.[4] Unlike norms, values are subjective, meaning that they are unique to every individual. Still, the accepted set of values, ideals, goals and standards are part of the character of a culture. These derive over time and are modified with each generation. Some cultures or societies change faster than others, but there is a stability found in a common set of values.

In the Middle East, “Islam stresses the idea of a public morality, which is to be enforced collectively”.[5] In some areas, Islamic rules have affected certain cultural values. These are strict and extremely obligatory. For example; in Iraq, people must follow strict religious customs that are set for them, whereas in Bahrain, a more liberal culture, people do not practice these customs as intensely as Iraqis because of cultural differences. Bahrain, however, has plenty of Islamic customs that people accept and take on, one of them being the Islamic emphasis on specific acts of kindness. In a broad circle of relationships, the first obligation is to the immediate family – parents, spouse, and children – and then to other relatives, neighbors, friends and orphans and widows, the needy of the community, our fellow Muslims, all fellow human beings, and finally animals.

Although norms and values differ depending on each culture, many of these are shared within the Middle East. Without them, cultures and societies would suffer from the commotion and turmoil that occurs due to the lack of rules and morals. Although both norms and values change through time, norms are generally modified as generations pass, while most values remain the same and are practiced as they are in present day.

 Noor Al Moataz

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[1] http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=culture

[2] http://thefreedictionary.com/norm

[3] http://thefreedictionary.com/law

[4] http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=values

[5] http://www.crescentlife.com/articles/social%20issues/invisible_society.htm

The Effects of Advertising on Children

            Nowadays, advertising is ubiguitous. We cannot escape from it; we see it every minute, and it influences the way we consume in everyday life. However, the medium that has the most powerful effect on our consumption habits is television. Advertisements make adults buy things that they do not necessarily need, and it is even worse in the case of young children and teenagers. They are the perfect target for any advertising agency, and commereisls affect them in many different ways.

            Many studies show that young children under the age of eight are unable to understand television advertisements.[1] Children tend to believe and accept commercials as truthful and accurate messages. That is why they are the perfect target.  For example, I remember myself when I was little; I bought the NESQUIK chocolate milk because of the bunny. I believed it would come out of the box and be alive.

In 2000, the American Psychological Association (APA), found that advertising agencies spent an estimated twelve billion dollars per year, on advertising messages aimed at the youth market.[2] In addition, children on average watch more than 40,000 television commercials per year. With this number, we can imagine the indirect influence that can lead to unhealthy eating habits if they are shown sugary, unhealthy or fast food commercials, or the change in behaviors if shown video games and toy commercials.

It is difficult to reduce the effect of these ads on our children. The APA made some moves to make such ads restricted, especially those aimed at children aged eight and under who lack the ability to recognize the purpose of the ad content.[3] The lack of parental supervision these days is another concern. Parents should reduce the hours of watching TV to  two hours a day no more.[4] With the growing number of the children watching TV and accessing the Internet in their own bedrooms, there is no one to explain and clear the ads content, so they are able to distinguish commercial from noncommercial content.

Advertising has changed in the past decade. It has stepped up targeting  youngsters to increase selling products without thinking of children’s physical and mental health. With this huge power we should be aware of its influence on our children, and we should always supervise them and make sure the content of ads doesn’t harm them. 

MALAK ALTAIS

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[1]  http://www.apa.org/monitor/jun04/protecting.html

[2]  http://www.youngmedia.org.au/mediachildren/03_advertising.htm

[3] http://www.apa.org/releases/childrenads.html

[4] http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/pediatrics;95/2/295.pdf

The Effects of the Internet on Teenagers

The Internet has become increasingly a major part of our lives.It can be used at home, work, schools, and libraries and with wire less technology, surfing the web is everywhere. It estimated that 90% of the American teenagers use the Internet. These youngsters usually visit some websites to get homework done, post their profiles on my space, attend chat rooms, and send e-mails. This increase in using the Internet has made psychologists and parents concerned about its effect on teenagers. Research have found that it affects both their social skills and behaviors.[1]

It was found that males use the Internet more than females do. Most of the boys spent their time playing violent video games with other boys at home or online,or sometime alone. While the girls are more likely to spend their time on social interaction, even online by chatting and gossiping with their friends or doing online shopping.[2] Because of this, teenagers may become addicted to the Internet, and this will lead to depression and isolation from society.

If children spend most of their time online, it could make them more exposed to pornography. Some of public chat rooms were designed for sex talk, and by entering these rooms with different identities, children may come out of their shells and be open to topics about sex and ask questions that they may never ask their parents, sometimes exchanging links of porn movies and pictures. Pornography and sexual media can influence sexual violence, sexual attitudes, moral values, and sexual activity, among children and youth.[3]

The Internet if not used correctly, is a waste of time especially for youngsters. Instead of doing there homework and research it will effect their social skills and behaviors. Parents should always supervise children and teenagers in this. Reducing the number of hours of Internet usage to two per day, and placing the computer in a non-private room of the house, may decrease the negative impact on youth.

MALAK ALTAIS

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[1] http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/718369/what_effect_does_using_the_internet.html?cat=15

[2] http://www.cdmc.ucla.edu/downloads/Adolescent%20Internet%20usepdf.pdf

[3] http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/6883

L'AZURDE

This week, we learned that classical conditioning can be used in advertisements. This strategy is used to cause a change in the behavior or the feeling of the consumer toward the product that is being sold. For example, in the L'AZURDE commercial, this major jewelry company  associates a famous beautiful singer to their different designs of jewelry. In this advertisement, they show that despite her beauty and sex appeal she is unhappy, confused and nothing satisfies her. Something is missing to complete this beauty.  Then she figures out what is missing: jewelry.  In this one-minute scene, the theme is luxur; a short monolog is used, and the background music is one of her best songs of the year. In my opinion, this commercial is really powerful for L'AZURDE because of the song and the sexy- looking singer. Consumers will relate the company’s name to her, and they will increase the company’s sales by buying jewelry. Overall, it was a good commercial and I’m one of her fans.
L'AZURDE

Malak Altais