Radio B92: Unbiased Civil War Coverage by Serbia’s Own :: Free Essays Online

Radio B92: Unbiased Civil War Coverage by Serbia’s Own Fair and impartial reporting of the Balkan wars in the 1990s was a difficult and lone venture. Almost all of the international media had their own biases due to their countries’ part in the war (through NATO or their proximity to the conflict), their acceptance of parts of Serbian government propaganda, or simply their overly exaggerated partialities against the Serbians because of a common belief that all Serbians were entirely responsible for the war. It is also widely accepted that Bosnia and Serbia’s media, if not influenced or controlled by the government and Milosevic, struggled greatly to remain independent – if that. So, throughout the conflict in the 1990's, Radio B92 was the only independent audio news source. It served as the principal alternative to the government controlled media, especially for the former Yugoslavia, but also to the biased international press. According to Jasminka Udovicki and James Ridgeway, the editors of a book about the fall of Yugoslavia titled Burn This House: The Making and Unmaking of Yugoslavia: It took almost a century, from the emergence of the South Slavic unification movement in the early nineteenth century to the end of World War I, to create Yugoslavia. It took only a few years to destroy it [. . .] Visions of national liberation and modernization brought the South Slavs [. . .] together at last in 1919. Seventy years later, a retrograde, mythical, antimodern vision tore them apart (11). The fall of Yugoslavia was brought about by brutal military force, but the energy needed to utterly dismantle the country was supplied by the political ethno-kitsch (1). An idea emerging here, one expressed by many, is that Yugoslavia may have been alright, or at least far better off and not torn apart if it were not for Milosevic’s means of gaining political power. While these factions did have their differences, they had coexisted for thousands of years before WWI and Tito, the former leader, was able to keep them together. This idea of â€Å"ethno-kitsch† began around 1987, and involved a sort of new taste for an almost vulgar fascination with Serbian nationalism. According to Udovicki and Ridgweway, it, â€Å"was everywhere in Serbia.† At the root of this â€Å"ethno-kitsch† in the late 1980s was a progressively growing perception that Serbian people had been wronged and were hated – completely undeservedly – by other ethnic groups in Yugoslavia.

Is Coca Cola the Perfect Business? Essay

A. One of the most important skills to learn in managerial economics is the ability to identify a good business. Discuss at least four characteristics of a good business. Based on the article about Coca-Cola, there are five essential characteristics of a business for it to be considered as a â€Å"Good Business†. First, it should be appealing to both young and old alike. Second, it must have a distinct characteristic which cannot be easily imitated by others. Third, it must already made an impact to the market because it has already earned a large portion of market share. Fourth, profit margin and rates of return should be high. And Lastly, it must have a competitive advantage or economic moat. Appealing to both young and old alike. The product that the company sells / offers can be used or consumed by people of all ages. It must be enjoyed not only by selected markets rather it should be enjoyed by all. Distinct characteristic which cannot be easily imitated by others. The product that the company sells / offers must be unique and exceptional. It must safeguard it’s â€Å"secret ingredients†. So that it cannot be easily imitated by others. Large portion of market share. The product that the company sells / offers is used or consumed by a large portion of the market and must be preferred above other companies who are in the same line of business. A good business must able to deploy a lot of incremental capital at an above average rate of return for a long time. If a business is able to do that, it will in effect be helping its shareholders compound their money at a good rate of return and saving them the trouble of having to invest the extra dividends they would have received if the company didn’t reinvest in its operations. A durable competitive advantage or economic moat is what sets apart the good and great companies from the mediocre and downright lousy companies. A significant competitive advantage allows a company to earn better than average profits or maybe even excellent profits, and protects the company’s profits from competitors that want to get a piece of the action. A strong brand, being the low-cost producer, patents, and having a near monopoly over a certain market are some sources of competitive advantage. B. Identify and talk about at least four companies that you regard as having the characteristics listed here. Apple Company – This popular company is the brain behind gadgets like iPod, iPad, iPhone, and MacBooks. Their products are user-friendly and can easily be used by people both young and old. Also, Apple always sees to it that their products offer unique features which suit the people’s wants and needs enabling the people to patronize their products; thus in return, earning a large portion of market share compared to other competitors. SM Investments Corporation – This is composed group of companies: Retail, Mall Operations, Property, and Banking & Finance. RETAIL – SM is the Philippines’ most dominant player in retail with 193 stores nationwide. Of these, 46 are SM Department Stores; 37 are SM Supermarkets, 76 are SaveMore branches; and 34 are SM Hypermarkets. MALL OPERATIONS – SM is the Philippines’ largest shopping mall developer and operator with 46 malls nationwide. SM Prime also owns 4 malls in China’s second and third-tier cities, namely Xiamen, Jinjiang, Chengdu, and Suzhou. By the end of 2012, SM Prime will have a total of 46 malls in the Philippines and five in China with a combined GFA of 6.3 mn sqm. PROPERTY – SM’s property group is a fast emerging business with interests in residential, commercial, leisure and hotel development.SMDC is rapidly growing with 15 residential projects under its SM Residences and two projects under its M Place brand. BANKING & FINANCE – SM’s bank network is the largest in the Philippines with its 41% interest in BDO Unibank and 20% interest in China Banking Corp. In 2Q 2012, BDO became the country’s largest bank in terms of assets with 744 branches nationwide. Chinabank is the 8th largest with 307 branches nationwide. ABS-CBN – is a major Filipino commercial television network owned and operated by the Filipino media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corporation, a publicly traded company. It is the country’s leading television network with an advertising revenue amounted to 17.5 billion pesos for the fiscal year 2011 San Miguel Corporation – is Southeast Asia’s largest publicly listed food, beverage and packaging company with over 17,000 employees in over 100 major facilities throughout the Asia-Pacific region. San Miguel carries many brand names in the Philippine food and beverage industry, including San Miguel Pale Pilsen, Ginebra San Miguel, Monterey, Magnolia, and Purefoods. San Miguel Beer is one of the largest selling beers and among the top ten selling beer brands in the world. SMC manufacturing operations extend beyond its home market to Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Australia; and its products are exported to 60 markets around the world. C. Suppose you bought common stock in each of the four companies identifies here. Three years from now, how would you know if your analysis was correct? What would convince you that your analysis was wrong? Supposing I bought common stock in each of the four companies indentified above; three years from now, I would know that my analyses were correct by simply looking back and evaluating if the company still suffice the list of characteristics of a good business. I will be convinced that my analyses were wrong if it will not suffice even just one of the characteristics listed for it to be considered as a â€Å"good business†.

Process of Socialization Essay

Socialization is the process by which children and adults learn from others. We begin learning from others during the early days of life; and most people continue their social learning all through life (unless some mental or physical disability slows or stops the learning process). Sometimes the learning is fun, as when we learn a new sport, art or musical technique from a friend we like. At other times, social learning is painful, as when we learn not to drive too fast by receiving a large fine for speeding. Natural socialization occurs when infants and youngsters explore, play and discover the social world around them. Planned socialization occurs when other people take actions designed to teach or train others — from infancy on. Natural socialization is easily seen when looking at the young of almost any mammalian species (and some birds). Planned socialization is mostly a human phenomenon; and all through history, people have been making plans for teaching or training others. Both natural and planned socialization can have good and bad features: It is wise to learn the best features of both natural and planned socialization and weave them into our lives. Positive socialization is the type of social learning that is based on pleasurable and exciting experiences. We tend to like the people who fill our social learning processes with positive motivation, loving care, and rewarding opportunities. Negative socialization occurs when others use punishment, harsh criticisms or anger to try to â€Å"teach us a lesson;† and often we come to dislike both negative socialization and the people who impose it on us. There are all types of mixes of positive and negative socialization; and the more positive social learning experiences we have, the happier we tend to be,especially if we learn useful information that helps us cope well with the challenges of life. A high ratio of negative to positive socialization can make a person unhappy, defeated or pessimistic about life. Some people will defend negative socialization, since painful training can prepare people to be ready to fight and die in battle, put themselves at great risk in order to save others, endure torture and hardship. This is true; but many people receive far more negative socialization than they need, and hopefully fewer and fewer people will need to be trained for battle, torture and hardship. Functions of Different Social Processes 1.Cooperation- The most favored of all the social pocesses, promotes solidarity and cohesion. I.primary cooperation exist when individulas share the task and rewards with all the members, when the sharing itself becomes both the ends and the means. II.Secondary Cooperation is mere formal type of cooperation existing in modern societies and formal groups. 2.Conflict and cooperation- there are generally considered destructive forces, especially the conflict process but both also fulfill certain function in our society or else the process will oersist competition for one encourages people to exert their best. It stimulates individuals to improve their skills and evidence their knowledge. 3. Differentiation- As individuals they carry with their status or positions in the social system. The status determines the role play in the social situation. As society become more and more complex, roles and function of members in the social system becomes more and more specialized. Differentition role may depend in such factors as sex, age, wealth accumulated and others. References: http://www.soc.ucsb.edu/faculty/baldwin/classes/soc142/scznDEF.html Reporter: Danilo L. Sorio Jr.