Human Indifference Essay

In the article â€Å"Americans are shopping while Iraq burns†, Bob Herbert implies that Americans are deeply absorbed in their own interests and are therefore apathetic to developments in Iraq, and by extension the developments in any other place where the United States is at war like in Afghanistan. On the contrary, renowned photojournalist James Natchwey is of the opinion that Americans would like to be informed of what really is happening so that they can act responsively. This must have been his conviction before embarking on his mission to film footage for the documentary â€Å"War Photographer†. A number of credible sources underline this apathetic stance adapted by many Americans regarding the suffering that emanates from wars waged by their nation in their name. This research paper aims to identify both their stances in detail with the aim of establishing which perspective is closer to the truth. It also pays a tribute to James Natchwey’s exemplary journalism. The State of the American Society Bob Herbert creates a reference for his argument on Thanksgiving Day here in the U. S. Shopping malls opened at midnight as Americans gleefully spend on the celebration. In the meantime, over 200 civilians had been killed by car bombs in the Iraqi city of Sadr. This is just one incident: a majority of Americans go about their business oblivious of the suffering Iraqi civilians endure on a daily basis or the fatalities American troops encounter at the battlefields. If indeed they were conscious of the repercussions of the war, we would be up in protest opposing these wars whose benefits to the American society cannot be ascertained. The apathy demonstrated by Americans may originate from the fact that very few Americans are concerned with the nation’s foreign policy. As Ole R. Holsti points out, there is â€Å"absence of sustained public attention to international issues† (Holsti 2004, 285). This is demonstrated in the circumstances that led to the invasion of Iraq: the Bush administration alleged without sufficient proof that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction (Smith 2005) and connected the Baghdad regime with the Al-Qaeda terrorist network, and the American public was ready to believe these charges in the pretext that Iraq really was a threat to national security (Holsti 2004). Media in the U. S. as made it hard for Americans to know what to believe in or what to value. There is insufficient coverage of the destructiveness of the war as media executives strive to make profits in an overly commercialized industry. The importance of news is diluted as news is â€Å"stripped of its credibility and the audience will have no ability to differentiate between the values of news and other forms of entertainment† (Dadge & Schechter 2006, 103). As Bob Herbert points out, most Americans have no personal stake in the Iraqi war and are consequently indifferent to its outcomes. A short survey reveals that very few citizens would be willing to join the military, no wonder most go about their business bearing indifference to the effects of the war on Iraqi civilians whose lives are shattered by war (Gott 2002) and U. S marines who die in the line of duty. The suggestion by Representative Charles Rangel that the Draft be reinstated implies that American politicians would be reluctant to approve of war if the possibility of their constituents being called into active service was real. With these facts out in the open, Herbert’s position is obviously more credible. Media apathy, domestic lack of interest in foreign policy and general disinterest have all contributed to the absence of a collective sacrifice and sharing of the burden of responsibility on the war. This is supported by the other sources cited in this paper. Public Opinion and American Foreign Policy is a comprehensive text describing in detail American foreign policy since September 11th. Why War: The Cultural Logic of Iraq, the Gulf War, and Suez is a thought-provoking text which pushes a reader beyond the periphery of conventional sociological thought. David Dadge and Danny Schechter’s book exposes the ease with which the American public is in most case willing to acknowledge intelligence reports without the desire to validate the background information. War Photographer James Natchwey demonstrates true heroism as he delves deep into some of the most dangerous and desolate spots on earth to bring pictures of what really goes on here to viewers. His work captivates audiences and instills empathy by relaying the destruction and heartbreak occasioned by conflict. He is an embodiment of courage, professional dedication and humanitarianism.

6 Life Tips For Bloggers To Boost Their Personal Productivity

6 Life Tips For Bloggers To Boost Their Personal Productivity According to  s Better Blogger survey, their audiences biggest challenges are: 22% say it’s finding time to create content. 20% say it’s planning content. 16% say it’s creating really good content. 11% say it’s creating consistent content. 6% say it’s meeting blogging goals. 6% say it’s proving blogging success. 4% say it’s using new content formats. 4% say it’s relying on team members to get things done. It is interesting to note here that 7  out of the above  8 primary  challenges are things that can be achieved if consistently high personal productivity is introduced in the mix. Now I know its difficult to be productive all the time. Its not a switch that can wishfully be toggled on or off. As a blogger myself, these are problems that even I face and know how annoying they can get when they regularly stop me from achieving my goals. But I cant afford to give up and neither can you. Fortunately, science and professional experience over the year has done us a solid by coming up with proven productivity tips that can help any person become more efficient and consistent at their work. All it requires is some self control and discipline. With that in mind, here is a countdown to six  of the best life tips that will boost your personal productivity (oh, and Ive included some bonus life tips with each point so check them out, too)! 6 Life Tips That Will Help Every #Blogger Boost Their Personal #Productivity via @SujanDeswal6. Drop That Smartphone, Now It's interesting to know that director Christopher Nolan, who has helmed movies like Inception, Interstellar, and the Dark Knight Trilogy, does not own a smartphone because he feels that it distracts him. And research agrees with him. The smartphone stress emanates from the need to constantly check your phone for any notifications or messages that people might send you. The reason for such behavior is a social phenomena called the fear of missing out (FOMO). We fear that we might lose out on so many important social happenings and events and the company of friends around us. Since a smartphone  is the quickest way to get access to such information, we spend time obsessively checking every â€Å"bleep† or â€Å"tin tin†,  with  social media fueling the angst even more. It takes your mind 64 seconds to return to work after distractions. #bloggingProfessor Larry Rosen, from California State University, talks about a small experiment  he conducted  on this obsessiveness. He asked 100 of his students to install a custom app which would check how many times they unlocked their phones and the usage statistics, during their final exam week. What he found was  quite astonishing. Students unlocked the phone, on an average, 60 times a day for a total of 200 minutes. Which roughly translates to 3.3 minutes usage for three times an hour every day. Just enough time to check their social media (this, when they should be studying for the final exam). In fact, after checking an email, it takes your mind 64 seconds to get back to whatever it is you were doing earlier. Now since we’re all different, I’m not going to share generic pointers to help you not check your phone constantly. Instead I’ll share tactics that have worked for me and it would be swell if you shared some of yours in the comments, too. Here they are: I've uninstalled all social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. I now only have WhatsApp (with all notification sounds and popups disabled). I've made it a rule to never use my phone while driving. Luckily, in the last four months, I’ve just received two calls that actually deserved my immediate attention. When I’m working, I keep my phone on vibration mode (I guess we all do). I go on ‘no smartphone check’ marathons where I don’t check my phone for an hour, three to four times a day (this has helped me the most). I don’t keep my phone in my hands or at the desk. It’s always where I can't see it, which is mostly my pocket or my backpack. Takeaway: Your smartphones are making you more stressed and hence, more incompetent at your job. Practice rigorous discipline to beat this addiction. Bonus life tip:  Play more video games because they improve reflexes, reasoning, problem solving, memory, multi-tasking, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and a lot more. 5. Save Time By Automating Routine Tasks Tim Ferris, author of the highly successful blog fourhourworkweek.com  deems automation as one of the pillars of his ground-breaking book The 4-Hour WorkWeek. In it, he describes how his preferred  automation function is fulfilled by outsourcing. He outsources all non-work tasks to his virtual assistants who then get them done while Tim can concentrate on major work-related tasks. Automate or outsource repetitive tasks to improve your #PersonalProductivity.To add to the above- Randall Munroe, mathematician and creator of the webcomic XKCD- drew a cartoon which details how much time would you save if you learned how to automate routine work: So to lend some perspective from a blogger's point of view, find tools and processes that  enable automatic  completion of repetitive tasks so that you can get the time to concentrate on your actual work objectives: Send bulk emails with  GetResponse. Schedule content, blog posts, and social media  with . Automatically share updates and blogs with Buffer  and . Come up with ideas and topics in the beginning of every month with HubSpot Topic Generator  (use this along with 's Headline Analyzer to review and create better  headlines). Use Keyboard shortcuts. Brainscape, a  Web and Mobile  study platform, did an interesting calculation and found that a person  can save almost 8 complete days in an year if they didn't  have to switch one hand between a keyboard and a mouse. Create Google Alerts around topics that you care about  so that you're automatically notified about any new updates related to them. Personally, I  use Google Alerts to keep track of places where I've just been mentioned. I can then immediately head over to that community/comment/post and engage with the audience. Like above, there are hundreds of tools that you can use to automate boring grunt work. Not only will this save time, it will help you stay productive by keeping your mind free of the clutter. In fact, you can even save up to 10+ hours a week if such menial tasks were off your hands. Takeaway: Wherever possible, save time by using applications to automate repetitive tasks. Bonus Life Tip: Listening to music can make boring tasks enjoyable and increase on-task concentration. 4. Visualizing Success Is Actually Counterproductive We’ve all done it because we borrow some of that future "after completion of task satisfaction", for right now. This positive feeling in turn motivates us more to actually get the job done. However, science says otherwise. In their study â€Å"The motivating function of thinking about the future: Expectations versus fantasies†, researchers Oettingen and Mayer ran a group of tests around four scenarios to examine the effects of fantasizing a positive outcome on participants. They write: As positive expectations reflect past successes, they signal that investment in the future will pay off. Positive fantasies, to the contrary, lead people to mentally enjoy the desired future in the here and now, and thus curb investment and future success. This behavior stems psychologically from self-efficacy which refers to your  trust in yourself  capability to reach your  goal. So what's happening? Basically once you’ve visualized that next blog post or that next profitable venture, your mind experiences some of that satisfaction and then tells your body to cool down. Your mental state becomes lethargic (of the goal having been achieved) as opposed to vigilant (of the goal has yet to be achieved). In fact, sharing your goals with your friends makes it even  likelier that you’re going to give up- a  research study involving college students found that the participants’ commitment to complete goals wavered once they publicly shared it with their colleagues.   This happens because sharing goals triggers a â€Å"premature sense of of completeness†. Do you share your personal #blogging goals? Research says it's time to stop.'So now onwards the name of the game is to just â€Å"zip it†: Takeaway: Keep your goals to yourself. Expect a positive outcome but don’t visualize or fantasize about it. Actually make it happen. Bonus life tip: Eye strain? Flex every muscle in your face and then hold. Relax. Repeat for a few more minutes. This muscle relaxation technique is called ‘Tense and Release’. 3.  Don’t Stress Over 'Originality' The one problem that writers face regularly is how to come up with original hard hitting ideas and topics that will excite or astonish their users. Those who effortlessly get original ideas regularly are considered to be lucky or having a gift, but this could not be further than the truth. Bloggers who get new ideas don’t just get them because they’re lucky but because they are experienced. Ideas and news have surrounded us left and right, and these bloggers  just know how to connect different dots to make a completely new idea. Remember- nothing is original. In his critically acclaimed book ‘Steal Like An Artist’, author Austin Kleon opines that: What a good artist understands is that nothing comes from nowhere. All creative work builds on what came before. Nothing is completely original. In fact, Josh shared the following illustration to explain simply good theft versus bad theft: So if you’re not supposed to force yourself to be original all the time, then how do you come up with original ideas in the long run that hook readers to your content and provide new valuable insights in your niche? The answer is, you don’t. Originality is not a result of finding ideas  but connecting dots. Finding ideas stems from your knowledge of the field or subject that you write about. It is a result of theoretical learning but not practical application. Nothing is original. But you can  connect the dots with your own perspective. #bloggingConnecting dots, on the other hand, comes from experience in the field and seeing trends and things happen firsthand. The more you read and experience things, the greater you develop your ability to connect different things and build a new idea out of them (e.g. my comprehensive post on why you  need eye-tracking testing for your website). The core idea might not be original per se,* but how you present it is what makes it original. Blogger extraordinaire Maria Popova of BrainPickings.org sums it up best in her quote: The idea that in order for us to truly create and contribute to the world, we have to be able to connect countless dots, to cross-pollinate ideas from a wealth of disciplines, to combine and recombine these pieces and build new castles. Takeaway: Read more and read wide. The more you read, talk to new people or experience new things, the better you’ll become at connecting pieces of information together to spawn an original idea. Bonus Life Tip: You can remember lists of things more easily if you create a story or mental palace around them in your environment. 2. Stop Overanalyzing And Commit To A Decision It’s no secret that in any environment that you reside in, there is an information overload. Starting with unrestricted access to the Internet to  the number of same fruit juices, but  different brand options, at the local grocery mart. So many options and decisions eventually immobilize the brain’s capability to take the effort to stick to a single decision as a result of analysis paralysis. Now as a blogger, I can totally relate to this when you’re stuck between deciding which task to be given more importance. Should I finish that blog post due tomorrow evening? Should I send this week's email newsletter first? Should I set up and A/B test on the new landing page?  The questions are countless, and not to mention that I haven’t yet gotten to the domestic and personal decisions that you have to make which, arguably, might affect your life more seriously. To beat this conundrum, you have to practice to think less and do more. In a recent study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania, researchers found that fast learners don’t overthink. And why does this occur? Lead author of the study Danielle Bassett, replies: Sometimes your brain can actually get in the way when the information is actually already in your motor memory. If you stop thinking so hard, then you actually perform better. This is also the reason why children have a higher and faster learning rate because they don't possess the high level cognitive process that adults have. Which means that a child is incapable to overthink and is instead concentrating on quick information intake and its dissemination. Think less and do more. Analysis paralysis is stopping you from reaching your goals. #productivityIn an interview over at Barking Up The Wrong Tree, James Waters, ex Deputy Director of Scheduling at the White House and former NAVY Seal platoon commander reminisces: Wherever possible avoid paralysis by analysis. I think analysis and data are super important. No matter what organization you’re working in you’ve got to get things right and know the data that backs it up. But too many organizations get paralyzed because they analyze for too long and they haven’t developed the instincts to make decisions. They end up postponing things in favor of more and more analysis. That’s frustrating for everyone in the organization. Being able to make decisions when you know you have imperfect data is so critical. But how do you use this knowledge to commit to decisions? Further into his  post, author Eric Barker contacted Duke professor Dan Ariely, writer of Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions, to ask for his solution on taking critical decisions instantly. Dan advised that in such situations, the best thing is to look at the decision from an â€Å"outsider’s perspective†, in other words, â€Å"What would you do if you made the recommendation for another person?† This works because you give a recommendation dispassionately, minus your current emotional state. The decision in such a case is almost always a better one because we’re taking it from a distance. So the next time you find yourself taking more than a minute to decide which is a better header image for your new post, just take the plunge and move on to the next thing. Takeaway: Do not waste valuable working memory over analyzing decisions or options. Commit to a decision and then later on optimize, if the need arises. Bonus Life Tip: If you don’t overthink about the future, you will get better at everything. 1. Just Smile (To Yourself) Smile to yourself or even to others. I’m not saying you go out of your way to smile at everyone because people, on an average, can easily spot a fake smile. I’m not asking you to smile for or at someone. Think of it on the lines of a holistic approach. Smile generally when you’re listening to a song, or writing, or even while taking a bath. Radio and television writer Andy Rooney  put it eloquently when he said: If you smile when you are alone, then you really mean it. Speaking from personal experience, smiling is the single most effective and powerful tool in my mental inventory to boost my personal  productivity. Smiling  increases  confidence level and helps generate and maintain positive emotions. These positive emotions then have a trickle down effect on your work given that you’ll become more positive about reaching your goals and not stress so much even when things don’t go your way. Research has also shown that smiling can release endorphins (natural pain reliever) and even serotonin (natural antidepressant). Smiling is scientifically proven to increase your #PersonalProductivity. Here's how.It is interesting to note that doctors have proven and recommend that you should strive for a Duchenne smile rather than a fake â€Å"Say Cheese† smile. The former is controlled by the limbic system (emotional center of the brain, hence the smile is triggered by a genuine emotion) and the latter is controlled by the motor cortex (the smile is asymmetrical and fake). But sometimes, if the need arises, even faking a smile can lead to a better mood, lower your heart rate and facilitate faster cardiovascular stress recovery. Even Will Ferrell nailed it as an adorable elf with his viral quote: But I have trouble forcing a real smile! Well luckily, Marcia Purse from About Health, put together an amazing list just to help you smile. It involves: Jump on the bed Make faces at yourself in the mirror Bake cookies Dance Find a playground and swing on the swingset (I find this one wonderful) Look at your baby pictures Hug someone you love Take a walk in the sun- or the rain Watch cartoons you loved as a kid Imitate a celebrity- with exaggeration Visit a pet store Sing a happy song Blow bubbles and watch them (works for me every time) Watch children playing and laughing Eat a bit of your favorite junk food- slowly, savoring it Takeaway: Smiling is the single most powerful exercise you can do anywhere, anytime, and it will positively affect your mental and biophysical functions and increase your personal productivity. Bonus Life Tip: Exercise. It can uplift your mood for up to 12 hours afterwards. Finally, wrapping up with a tl;dr recap Drop  that smartphone. Now. Save time  by automating routine tasks. Visualizing  success is actually counterproductive. Don’t stress over 'originality'. Stop overanalyzing and commit to a  decision. Just smile (to yourself).

Provenience, Provenance, Lets Call the Whole Thing Off

Provenience, Provenance, Lets Call the Whole Thing Off Provenience and provenance are two words that have similar meanings and similar etymologies according to Merriam Websters dictionary  but have very different meanings as they are used by scholars working in the fields of archaeology  and art history. Provenance, according to the online version of Merriam Websters dictionary, means the history of ownership of a valued object and it is the oldest (or parent) of the two words. Provenance is derived from the French word provenir, meaning to come forth, and it has been in use in English since the 1780s.Provenience, according to the same source, is the younger (or child) of the two forms. It is a synonym for provenance, and it also derives from the French word provenir and it has been in use in English since the 1880s. However, amongst art historians and archaeologists, these two words are not synonyms, in fact, there is a nuanced meaning to each in our scholarly writings and discussions.   Artifact Context This discussion arises out of the interest of scholars and academics in verifying the authenticity (and thus value, whether monetary or scholarly) of an artifact or a piece of art. What art historians use to determine an objects authenticity is the chain of ownership: they typically know or can work out the likely maker, but who owned it first, and how did that painting or sculpture make its way to the present owner? If theres a gap in that chain during which time they dont know who owned a particular object for a decade or century, there is a possibility that the object was forged. Archaeologists, on the other hand, dont care who owned an object- they are more interested in the context of an object within the community of its (mostly original) users. For an archaeologist to maintain that an object has meaning and intrinsic value, she needs to know how it was used, what archaeological site it came from, and where it was deposited within that site. The context of the artifact is important information about an object, context which is often lost when an artifact is bought by a collector and passed down from hand to hand. Fighting Words These can be fighting words between these two groups of scholars. An art historian sees merit in a Minoan sculpture fragment in a museum no matter where it came from, they just want to know if its real; an archaeologist feels its just another Minoan sculpture unless they know it was found in a trash deposit in the back of a shrine at Knossos. So, we need two words. One to clarify the chain of ownership for art historians, and one to clarify the context of an object for archaeologists. Provenance: The detailed history of where an artifact has been since its creation.Provenience: The precise location where an artifact or archaeological sample was recovered archaeologically. An Example by Way of an Explanation Let us consider the meaning of a silver denarius, one of an estimated 22.5 million Roman coins minted for Julius Caesar between 49-45 BC. The provenance of that coin could include its creation in the mint in Italy, its loss in a shipwreck in the Adriatic sea, its recovery by shell divers, its purchase first by an antiquities dealer, then by a tourist who left it to her son who eventually sold it to the museum. The denariuss authenticity is established (in part) by its chain of ownership from the shipwreck. To an archaeologist, however, that denarius is one of millions of coins minted for Caesar and not very interesting, unless we know that the coin was found in the wreck of the Iulia Felix, a small cargo ship wrecked in the Adriatic while it  participated in the international glass trade of the third century AD. The Loss of Provenience When archaeologists lament the loss of provenience from a looted art object, what we really mean is that part of the provenance has been lost- we are interested in why  a Roman coin turned up in a shipwreck 400 years after it was made; while art historians dont really care, since they can generally figure out what mint a coin came from by the information stamped on its surface. Its a Roman coin, what else do we need to know? says an art historian; The shipping trade in the Mediterranean region during late Roman times says an archaeologist. It all comes down to a question of context. Because provenance for an art historian is important to establish ownership, but provenience is interesting to an archaeologist to establish meaning. In 2006, reader Eric P elegantly nailed the difference with a pair of apt metaphors: Provenience is an artifacts birthplace, while Provenance is an artifacts resume.

Frozen yogurt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Frozen yogurt - Essay Example It has limited flavor as such it does not appeal to the taste-buds. Another brand of yogurt that I tried was Scream frozen yogurt. There is nothing to scream about it, its design is cute, easy to find and park (as such no wastage of time), but its main drawback is that it is not organic. Topping selection is also limited. As for Bango Frozen yogurt, it has low calories, and the free wifi service in an inconvenient location will not serve my purpose apart from the important disadvantage that the yogurt is not tasty. Frozen yogurt is my food. I am willing to skip my dinner and eat yogurt to my heart’s content. It is nutritious and easy to digest and it helps to keep my body fit and fine. With the addition of artificial flavors, the original flavor of yogurt is lost. As such, I like flavor-free yogurt. The original sweet-sour flavor of yogurt appeals to me. I like frozen yogurt for its quality and appearance. Majority of my friends like frozen yogurt and I would like to go by their choice. We friends go for social gatherings and after the school hours we reach out to Panda Yo outlet to enjoy eating yogurt. Eating it in the company of the classmates/friends, gives great satisfaction. Even though I like natural yogurt normally, I often choose some mild flavors and of them I like strawberry the best. But I make it a point to experiment with different flavors, when I decide to go for flavored

Poor nutrition; food poverty; food deserts in Nigeria Essay

Poor nutrition; food poverty; food deserts in Nigeria - Essay Example Just like the rest of the world, most African countries suffer from poor nutrition, food poverty, and food deserts. In West Africa, Nigeria turns out to be one of the most affected countries, and such conditions mostly trickles down to pregnant women. While the role of proper nutrition and food security in pregnant women in African needs efficient management, it is also essential to apply concepts of food economics in the management of the outlined issues (Yamin & Norheim, 2014). This report will aim to analyse poor nutrition issues in pregnant women living in Africa, while relating to specific countries, as well as the influence these issues have on health promotion. Furthermore, the report will examine questions concerned with the control of prevalent diseases in pregnant women. One of the main issues affecting Sub-Saharan Africa in terms of poor nutrition is the rise of migration patterns in recent years, especially to the Western world. Currently, among all African countries, Nigeria takes the lead in representing the continent, claiming the most predominant immigrant residents in a number of first world nations (Shrimpton, 2006). On the other hand, if at all there are any impacts of immigration on their nutritional status and the results of pregnancy of women in their native countries, many studies have not captured such data comprehensively. Thus, it is currently unidentified, to some extent, about the dietary insufficiencies as well as pregnancy complications not only in Nigeria, but also in the entire Sub-Saharan Africa. These discrepancies have led to unexploited opportunities focused on the most suitable antenatal care aimed towards the reversing the likely high risks in different groups of women during pregnancy. According to Shrimpton (2006), poor nutrition in pregnancy among Sub-Saharan women, with in-depth focus on Nigeria, leads to the most common

Project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Project - Assignment Example dging, clearing up bushes, aiding in forest fires’ management, digging up trenches and holes, soil grading by landscapers, mining, and for lifting heavy material. Excavators are such useful machines used to make work easy for human activity. They are used mainly to do the hard jobs in the construction field, which are impossible for human beings and other excavating machines. Therefore, this implies that the material used should be strong and tough enough, to resist the stresses introduced on the dipper and boom while the excavator is at work (Degarmo, Black and Kohser). Otherwise, the excavator may not serve its purpose effectively if weak materials were chosen for fabrication purposes. Another main factor of consideration in the material choice for the excavator fabrication is the cost implication. The material should be cheaply available yet strong and tough enough. The low cost of material will ensure that the excavator is availed for use at affordable prices. However, this notwithstanding, the cost implications of the material should not limit the fabrication process. If at all cheap materials are not available, an alternative strong and tough material ought to be used, even if they are expensive. Nevertheless, this should come as a last resort for the design team. Having stated the preliminary factors of consideration in the material choice as above, suitable material of choice for the fabrication of the boom and dipper of the excavator is mild steel. Steel is known for its high strength, and 2% carbon content in mild steel improves its toughness. Therefore, in comparison with cast iron, mild steel is tougher and stronger, making it more adaptable to hardy conditions like those, which an excavator is exposed to in the course of its use. Mild steel can withstand high stress, and that is why it is preferable. In addition to that, mild still is relatively cheap and easily available. It is one of the commonest metals, which can be found easily across

Breakfast cereal market Global trends Essay Example for Free

Breakfast cereal market Global trends Essay Product segmentation The breakfast cereal market consists of two types of products: breakfast cereal and ready-to-eat breakfast cereals. For the year 2008, the ready-to-eat cereals dominated the market with about 88. 1% of the market share while hot cereals accounted for the remaining 11. 9% of the market. The corresponding figure for the year 2006 was 91% for ready-to-eat cereals (Marketline, 2009, p. 4). Following is the convenience market segment information for the breakfast cereal information. Fig – 1Consumer Market Segment Information (Costcutter, 2008, p.2) Following are the global market share of each of the following product segment. Fig – 2Market share by different product segments (Costcutter, 2008, p. 2) Market Value The global market for the breakfast cereal industry had a value of $ 22,209 billion which meant a growth rate percentage of 2. 9% from the last year. The compound annual growth rate for the last five years i. e. from 2004-2008 was also 2. 9%. The largest geographical market for the breakfast cereal industry is America which accounts for 63. 2% of the total market value (Marketline, 2009, p. 4). The complete market growth is mostly as a result of growth in premium products rather than the overall volume. As mentioned earlier the target market for breakfast cereal as baby boomers and children. Of this the children’s market accounts for as much as 42% f the entire ready-to-eat breakfast cereal market. The biggest selling children’s brand for ready-to-eat breakfast cereal is Coco Pops. This brand alone was responsible for as much as 43 million pounds of the total 501. 9 million pounds of sales in UK in the year 2007. This is astonishing because the market has been rife with warnings from food associations regarding salt and sugar content in breakfast cereals (Muddy Cook, 2008, p. 2). In terms of value, the industry has growth by 15. 7% between 2004 and 2008 with the figures being particularly strong for the year 2007. The figure below shows the trends for global breakfast cereal trade by value. Fig – 3Global Breakfast cereal trade, by value in US $ billions (USDA, 2005, p. 5) In addition to this, the figure below shows the increase in global export market for breakfast cereal. As can be seen an increase in the rise of both private label as well as foreign competition has hampered in the increase of US share in the exports. Fig – 4 Global export market for breakfast cereal (USDA, 2005, p. 6) United States is the third largest importer of breakfast cereal. This fact is also a cause of concern for the domestic manufacturers who contribute for the maximum market sales in the world. The import value is shown in the figure below according to which the market showed an increase of 30% over the 1998 figure. Canada and France remained the top importers followed by United States. The countries following this were United Kingdom with an import value of $126 million and Germany with an import value of $114 million. Fig – 5 Top global import markets for breakfast cereals (USDA, 2005, p. 8) The breakfast cereal market desperately needs new markets. The figure below shows the requirements for a few such markets. Fig – 6 Import demand for Breakfast cereal in select markets (USDA, 2005, p. 17) Market Volume The global market volume for the breakfast cereal industry was 3,536. 8 million Kg which was a rise of 2. 2% over the last year. The compound annual growth rate for the last five years i. e. from 2004-2008 was also 2. 2%. This figure is expected to reach a value of 3914. 1 million Kg in the year 2013 which would mean an increase in volume by about 10. 7% since 2008 (Marketline, 2009, p. 4). The figure below shows the trends for global breakfast cereal trade by volume. Fig – 7 Global Breakfast cereal trade, by volume (USDA, 2005, p. 6) Distribution The main distribution channels for the breakfast cereal industry are the supermarkets/ hypermarkets that account for 79% of the market’s value distributed. This is followed by independent retailers who account for 8. 4% of the market’s value distributed (Marketline, 2009, p. 4). Competitive environment The figure below shows the percentage share of the major breakfast cereal companies by volume for the year 2007. As can been seen from the figure, Kellogg dominates the market with 36. 4 % of the market share. Another interesting aspect is that the industry is entirely dominated by branded products with the three largest companies i. e. Kellogg, General Mills and Kraft Foods, accounting for 63. 3% of the total market value by volume (Marketline, 2009, p.4). In fact the top 20 brands in breakfast cereal market account for as much as 70% of the total sales. The household penetration of cereals is as much as 97%. Fig – 8 % share by volume of global breakfast cereal markets (Marketline, 2009, p. 4) In addition to these three companies some other popular companies of breakfast cereal are Quaker, Nabisco, Sunshine, Kashi, Health Valley, Malt-o-Meal, Mckee, Ralston, Unilever, Frito-Lay in North America, Cargill Inc. Tyson Foods, mars Inc. ConAgra foods Inc. , Weetabix and Cereal Partners (an alliance between Nestle and General Mills). Entry Deterrents The size f the breakfast cereal industry as per both the profits as well as the volume is immense as can be seen from the statistics above. The growth rate of the industry too has been fairly decent. The industry has been in existence for about 100 years, however save for the early entrants and the entry of the private-labeled brands, the industry has been relatively clutter free. In fact according to the marker share figures also it can be seen that not many companies could afford to enter the industry and make any significant impact. This is a rather unusual situation and the reason for the market deterrents can be seen from in the figure below. Fig – 9 Factors influencing the likelihood of new entrants in the Global Breakfast cereals market (Marketline, 2009, p. 3) Looking at the figure it becomes clear that the market entry is favorable for those companies who wish to diversify their operations in the breakfast cereal market. While the entry can definitely be made by an entirely new company it may encounter problems.