The Connection and Effect of the Media on the Economy Research Paper

The Connection and Effect of the Media on the Economy - Research Paper Example According to Biagi (2006), this theory posits that media could inject ideas into someone the ways liquids are injected through a needle and that these ideas were in direct causal relation to behavior. (256) This is demonstrated best in the shift of supply. Media is crucial in the changing tastes and fashions of the public and that this factor is fundamental in creating demands for certain products and services. For instance, the supermarket Sainsbury's was inundated with requests for specific ingredients for particular recipes being shown in the cooking shows by Delia Smith and Jamie Oliver, to the extent where stores ran out of food items that were previously only moderate sellers. (Dransfield 2004, 288) Media changes knowledge, attitude, the behavior and sentiment of consumers and these make it a powerful force in the movement of the market and the aggregate supply and the demand for products and services as revealed by the Sainsbury’s case. The argument in regard to the media’s impact on variables such as aggregate demand is demonstrated in the potency and efficacy of media advertising. Advertising and promotions placed on all media platforms have the power to reinforce the use of products and the choice of particular brands. A study cited by Martin, for example, found that advertising reinforces the demand for alcoholic beverages, specifically highlighting that the reinforcing effects account for 1 to 3 percent of the variability in drinking. (p. 220) Again, in the context of shaping perception and changing behaviors, the media can be directly responsible in regard to how inflation is viewed by the public. In a study conducted by the Glasgow Media Group, for example, it found that the news stories in the British media – those about union and management portrayals - is partly responsible for the errors in public perception on inflation.

Compare and contrast the characters of Tybalt and Mercutio Essay

Compare and contrast the characters of Tybalt and Mercutio - Essay Example In addition, they play key roles in precipitating the tragedy that befalls the lovers. However, even though Tybalt and Mercutio provide a foil for characters that are rather similar, their two characters represent almost two entirely different spheres of existence in terms of their essential natures. The most direct contrast of their characters comes in the tense interaction between Mercutio and Tybalt in Act 3 Scene 1 before Romeo arrives. Tybalt arrives and after Mercutio offers a witty quip, the Capulet immediately states his willingness to fight with swords instead of words (III,i,36-50). But Mercutio, the gifted artisan of language, stands his ground in an exchange with Tybalt and will not budge, even though this feud is now taking place in the public space. This difference in the two characters demeanours is the most noticeable throughout the play, given the instrumental role Tybalt’s sword will have on the plot structure—leading to Mercutio’s death and Romeo’s subsequent exile. But by mocking emotions and aspirations of other characters, Mercutio lightens the play with clever humour, contrasted with the almost infuriatingly solemnity of the malevolent Tybalt. And as a man with a more cynical perspective on human affairs, Mercutio allows the aud ience to see deeper through psychology. Tybalt, on the other hand, exemplifies simplicity and dimensionless action. In terms of a contrast, there remains also the issue of both characters’ worldviews and choices in the narrative structure of the tragedy. Mercutio, unlike other characters, refuses to blame an objective fate for the occurrences in the play, exemplified by such concepts as â€Å"star-cross’d lovers† (Prologue, 6). Instead, Mercutio lays the blame for the tragedy (in terms of events already taken place and those that will take place) on specific people rather than the hand of fate. In his view, the fault lays with the