Saudi Arabian press during the occurrence of the events in Bahrain Dissertation

Saudi Arabian press during the occurrence of the events in Bahrain from 14th February to 16th March 2011 - Dissertation Example Content analysis, in relation to the Bahrain’s conflict, of the two leading Saudi Arabian newspapers namely, Alriyadh and Alyoum was carried out by employing a constructed week approach for the entire period of occurrence of these events. The results of this content analysis revealed that the coverage of the events in Bahrain by the Saudi Press was, to a great extent, dependent on the Saudi Press Agency as a result of the constraints imposed over the press in the kingdom by the Saudi Arabian information policy. The news related to the Bahraini events mostly appeared to be positive in tone and also, tended to support the agenda and interests of the government of Saudi Arabia linked to the political and democratic position of Bahrain that particularly involve the status of the shiahs in the country. The findings of the content analysis deduced that the Saudi press failed to play its ideal role in the coverage of the events in Bahrain since it was extensively monitored, regulariz ed and censored and thereby, was not completely free and trustworthy. Thus, it is recommended that the press regulations should not be imposed by an external body instead they should better come from the press itself.

Newspaper D1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Newspaper D1 - Assignment Example According to Yuan (2010), the Chinese and American employees are employing a range of strategies to address the conflicting dilemmas. The main issues faced are the differing business etiquettes, corporate culture and employment benefits. Some of the problems encountered by the workforce are integrating with the colleagues, compelling the implementation of one’s recommended solution, making decisions by power, dominating among the team members, avoiding discussion of issues, relationship dissolution and third-party process. Moreover, the Americans are willing to confront the conflict rather than the Chinese people who try to avoid them. In order to understand the conflict, it is better to apply the human psychology concept. The idea behind this framework is that each individual has to be understood so that the personal attributes are evident and it will allow the person to utilise his capabilities efficiently in resolving the conflict. Due to globalisation and strengthening of international business avenues, the intercultural business conflicts will have to be minimised so that the desired organisational objectives can be successfully

New Zealand Cultural Impacts on Health

New Zealand Cultural Impacts on Health Demographic distribution of populations In demographic distribution of populations, Primary Health Organisations are held in charge in New Zealand for the health of their registered populations. Primary Health Organisations brings services in a range of community settings in developing access, clearly taking account on inequalities of health and how these may best be condensed. Having a health population approach may involve promoting health beyond and above treating and diagnosing illnesses. It also involves a Primary Health Organisation to engage in promotion of health in the partnership with some other division or community organisations, and identifying such partnerships as important to improve health results and outcomes for its distributed population. Political values A nation’s politics replicates on the values and historical encounter of the public. It means a country’s values are essential part of its individuality and unique outlook. Each country has its own unique history, which is influencing people’s lives. Every nation is having its individual political institutions, and the way it works in practice is having a big deal to do with the prevalent habits, expectations and beliefs of that nation. People can acquire their political values; their political identification and identity through a bigger political community like for instance, a nation over and done with a process of political socialisation. For example; here in New Zealand, as somewhere else, most people obtain their political values from their family members. Primarily, most of the cases, they acquire it from their parents, schools, and even the media which includes the internet, television, films, books, and music also they get it from news sources, work place , peers, and unto their own individual unique experiences that impacts health viewpoints. Several health educators have tried to present a more organised approach with the process in which people attain their certain principles and beliefs. Although there is so much diversity in every society, every nation has unique sights, being shared by most of the people, about politics, government and even could impact to health. A country’s political values/culture changes from time to time. Therefore, its viewpoint towards health could vary as well. New Zealand’s political growth is being considered more by evolution rather than revolution (slowly changing than hasty change) and New Zealand’s political system is functioning without a written legitimate statement of policy direction and principle. This country’s political value does not replicate a constant. Nevertheless, some features of a country’s general political outlook continue to be more or less persistent, and occasionally it’s strengthening over the time. That is why the approach to its political values through health could also vary from time to time. Health planning and implementation should conduct a survey and further first before implementing it. Religious beliefs Some sides of religion beliefs affect measures of disease, illness and death (Levin 1994). There will be several possible causal pathways, it includes t behaviour, effects psychosocially, religious faith and rites, also a divine explanations which includes â€Å"miracles† (Levin 1994). Various religions deliberately proscribe or sanction certain manners like for example: relating to alcohol, diet and sexual behaviour. New Zealand comprises a lot of religious beliefs. Some of it doesn’t agree with blood transfusions (Jehovah’s witnesses –religious group), and for other native people prefer having alternative herbal medicines rather than the modern medicines we are using now a days. However, religious membership could provide social support and encourage social cohesiveness. Beliefs may well lead to a better sense of coherence, though it could both boost up self-confidence and as well as contribute increase to guilt, self-doubt and the worst depression. It i s also very important to respect every belief we have as it is a right of every individual. Health education always contributes a big role in every society. It includes health awareness, prevention and healthcare alternatives from what they believe in. Human values It is said that human values are nearly unified with human life. They are tangled through our everyday tasks. There is no human life that is possible without having values and every human being exists by a certain values. It is merely the percentage and mixture of positive and negative values in which it split up a decent human being from a not so decent human being. Human values are important in relation to health. If you do care yourself, it will just simply reflect in to your health and even to others surrounding you. Human values or ethics is being emphasized as well to healthcare providers as their approach to their patients and clients. Showing compassion, love and sympathy is still the best therapeutic and effective way than giving just a medication to an ill person. Ethnicity New Zealand’s ethnicity data is basing on the individual self-identification principle. It is believed that self-identification is one of the most practical ways in bringing together this information. Overall, ethnicity questions in this country are drawing high responses. Publics involve ethnicity not only through traditional affiliation, on the other hand also with such aspects as race, lineage, country of current residence and country of birth. The precise mixture of all of these effects is not discernible from all the data collected. Young people also have a tendency to to declare several ethnicities more frequently rather than older people. Ethnicity is intensely related by almost each measure of disease and health. Well it is one of the robust ethnic influences; ethnicity is time and again used as a alternative for â€Å"culture† but then this could lead to inappropriate assumptions about the outcome of traditional influences towards health. Traditions New Zealand tradition is mainly inherited after European  custom and British people, intertwined with the Maoris and Polynesian custom. One of the traditions of the New Zealanders just before it was influenced by British is smoking tobacco. It is still most predominant especially for Maoris now days compared to any other tribal group in New Zealand. Generally, 40.4% of MÄ ori adults were being identified as current smokers much twice the smoking rate of the non-MÄ ori people. Smoking tobacco is one of the main causes of preventable death for MÄ ori people in New Zealand roughly 700 MÄ ori died/dying each year with different kinds of smoking related diseases. Health education about what smoking may cause to our health will always play a vital part. Though increased price rate for the cigarette market helps, public information like anti cigarette smoking campaign with the help of the media should take place to reduce mortality and diseases rate related to smoking. Second hand smoke could cause diseases and worst could kill children and adult who does not smoke, exposure to smoke (tobacco) could increase the chance of a pregnant woman to have miscarriage (abortion), pregnancy problems like stillborn birth; etc. smoking kills, it is best for the government to impose strict implementation towards smoking policies. The public concepts of what health is People usually think that health is just the absence of disease; it means that if you are not feeling any unusual into your body, you are considered healthy. Health is more than mere absence of disease; thus far, most of us think through ourselves well-off if we have been out of danger of major health mischance. We may say â€Å"so far so good† by way of a sense of relief. The (WHO) World Health Organization states that health is a encouraging impression, give emphasis to social and personal resources, also physical, spiritual and mental capabilities. Through proper health education with the help of the some health organisations, healthcare professionals, media, government, we can change the public concepts towards health. However, as there are multiple definitions of health, there are also multiple definitions of health education. It depends on the need of the society. Education for health originates through people. It hopes to encourage them with whatever interests they might have to improve their living conditions. It contains an appraisal of what is recognised by a population about a illness/disease, an valuation of attitudes and habits of the people as they relay to occurrence and spread of the disease, and to the presentation of exact means to remedy perceived insufficiencies. Health education is the best way to promote the real concept of health in the society. The public concepts of what illness is There are some cases of public beliefs/concepts that the cause of illnesses among oneself is based on your bad doings in your past life (karma) that is resulting to your illness in the present. Some said it is God’s punishment of your sins, and others say it is the effect of bad luck. Whatever perspective in life we may have, it is still important to know and to have knowledge about what illness are its causes, prevention and cure. The he importance the public put on health Public put on health is important now a day (21st century). Public healthcare shares similar general aims as the rest of the healthcare structure; which helps decreasing early death and reducing the effects of illness, injury and disability. Nonetheless, the key intent of public put on health is to uphold better and healthier residents. This is typical to a maintainable healthcare system, as well as it delivers social and economic benefits for the region, due to increased output. The concentration of public put on health is prevention than curing of illnesses/diseases. Public health speaks the health necessities of people as a whole as a substitute of individuals. Refining the health of the public frequently needs varying personal health behaviours.Health care workers work through high-risk society in an exertion in changing these behaviours. Though taking along when talking to change could takes time and involves a mixture of training/education, community improvement and healthy com munity policy. Public health organizations and professionals are practised at evaluating and examining population health problems, understanding evidence and examination to guide the improvement of health programs and policies, working with a range of partners in addressing public health issues. Public attitudes towards health and medical professionals The mass media is in the industry that affect on what and how public/people think towards health and medical professionals. However, people and or the public are able to neglect entirety they observe and see in the mass media because the scenes which are presented are not literally true. It might affect public’s viewpoint and it may lead to a good and or bad impression for the watchers and hearers. Based on my experience as a healthcare professional, most of the time I receive a good feedback from my clients. As they were seeking medical attention, they would think that nurses as one of their hope for their medical condition. Working with my profession, I felt respected and happy that somehow people would think nurses like me to be hardworking and compassionate individuals. I guess public attitudes towards health and a medical professional depends upon the previous experience a client encountered with a healthcare professional. Though media has a great contribution to the way they think, previous encounter and experiences still gives a big effect on it. It is always important to tell the public what a healthcare provider should do not only in words but also in deeds. A social and economic influence has a major effect on health and its causes of health disparities contain:education, income, occupation, employment, and racism. Central and even the local government policies must reduce the health disparities objectively and must be keep an eye on frequently at regional and national levels. The Public Health Association of New Zealand is very active involving in persuading public health policy. It provides information which includes boosting research, formulating strategies to an effective and practical public policy. Here are some policies they have been implementing to the public: Alcohol Every year, a problem related to alcohol causes approximately 700 deaths and decreasing $15 billion from the country’s economy. Because of this, the government folds over $300 million per year in alcohol removed taxes, and expend a small portion of this to reduce  problems from alcohol. Breastfeeding The Ministry of Health aims to increase full breastfeeding at the first trimester (three months) to 75% and also in increasing partial or full breastfeeding at second trimester (six months) to 70% to reduce neonatal abnormalities and even death. Rates of breastfeeding in New Zealand stayed still for some years though there is an obvious drop in breastfeeding rates starting the period of discharge from the hospital at six weeks. Increasing breastfeeding rates can give to the primary population health aims of the Health Strategy in New Zealand as follows: reducing obesity; improving nutrition; decreasing the rate of cancer; decreasing the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases; decreasing the incidence of diabetes; and improving oral health. Child health There is a distress about the apparently small value put on children and their care givers. After several reports and cries for intervention, there are still small good outcomes. The full effect of the decline and variations in policy is still clarifying. Succeeding debates with this concern, the New Zealand Public Health Association has recognised the need for intensive action to make the public backing up for children so strong that the government would just come to an agreement. There is a need to contribute a vulgar, solid â€Å"child health voice† together with the other organisations supporting for children. Conclusion Every culture forms our health as much as our genetic factor does. In such a way we describe ourselves culturally and traditionally by religious belief, sexual orientation, politics, age and so much more that affects what we will be doing for our health. A good professional healthcare provider identifies this by trying to learn about the various cultures of his/her clients. It is important to learn so much more and understand about the overall health views, beliefs and practices of a particular group and implementing and planning towards health will just follow.

The European Revolutions of 1848 Essay -- European History

The revolutions of 1848 were widespread and affected about 50 countries in Europe, considering the previously separate lands of Germany and Italy. These revolutions were extremely violent and costly. In terms of lives, tens of thousands were lost during battles with several thousand more being lost in executions. Over 100,000 individuals were jailed or exiled as well. While these individual countries had significant nationalistic grievances, such as anti-Austrian attitudes in Italy, anti-Russian and anti-Turkish opinions in Rumania, anti-Habsburg in Prague and Budapest, German patriotism divided German as did Polish patriotism in Poland; it was the political and economic struggle that were the prevailing catalysts for the revolutionary uprisings. There was widespread economic crisis in the European continent in the mid 19th century. Agricultural failures from 1845-1847 which resulted in increased food prices impeded the people’s ability to buy food. The people in Berlin were so angered over the cost of food that they rioted for four days. A third of the German population was on government relief by 1847, resulting in the number of Germans leaving for the United States in search of farmland to increase dramatically. In Prussian Silesia and Austrian Galicia over a quarter of a million people died as a result of starvation. Anger over the ancient regime of government and its political tyranny was viewed as the single most important cause of the numerous revolutions. Heightened political awareness due to the invention and extensive use of the printing press was instrumental in fostering political awareness of new ideas such as liberalism, nationalism and socialism. Additionally, many of the countries were aware of the succ... ... positive results of the uprisings were the spread of parliamentary governments, the allowance of manhood suffrage in France and briefly, in Austria, the elimination of lord owned and tenant farmed land in Central Europe, the beginnings of the German and Italian unification movements, and the establishment of Hungary as an equal partner with Austria under Hapsburg rule. Works Cited Western Civilization: A Brief History, Complete [Paperback] By Marvin Perry, Publisher: Wadsworth-Cengage Publishing; 7th edition 2010 pp 333-347 â€Å"Sparknotes† http://www.sparknotes.com/ Linked from â€Å"Sparknotes† The Revolutions of 1848 (1848) http://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/1871/section1.html â€Å"Fordham University† http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.asp Linked from â€Å"Fordham University† Encyclopedia of 1848 Revolutions http://www.ohio.edu/chastain/index.htm

Economic Recession in Ireland 2007-2012

â€Å"Ireland’s Great Recession. † The Irish Economy, 2007-2012. The title of this essay, â€Å"Ireland’s great recession,† refers to the Irish economy from 2007-2012. From my research into this essay, I found that the Irish economy of this period could be referred to as â€Å"The Great Depression. † There are parallel similarities to the Irish economy now as experienced in America in the 1920’s. This essay will examine what a recession is, why Ireland is in a recession, the effects and face of the recession, and my own personal views on the crisis.Not a day goes by when you don’t hear stories of â€Å"doom and gloom† in relation to Ireland’s economic state of affairs. Everybody you talk to has someone belonging to them or knows someone who has had to emigrate. Australia has replaced America as the land of hope and dreams, as thousands flock our shores in search of a better life. Within the country recession has not only resulted in mass emigration. Internally people are struggling to repay their mortgages because of the housing collapse. Wages have been cut and taxes have been increased. Disposable income for many a non-entity.Ireland was the first EU country to declare itself officially in recession in August 2008. We are the second EU country to have a structural adjustment programme imposed by the IMF/ECB/EU, known as ‘the Troika’. The turnaround of the Irish economy has been dramatic – from one with the highest levels of GDP and employment growth to among those with the highest unemployment, emigration and debt levels across the EU – in the space of just a few short years. The recession has affected everybody, young and old. We are in a time where we have to cut spending in order to meet our EU obligations.The financial crisis that sparked the recession and collapse of our banking system is the most serious problem that we face. The Calm before the Storm- The Celtic T iger Years(1995-2007) â€Å"The Celtic Tiger† was a term used to describe the boom years which our economy went through from around 1995-2007. UK economist Kevin Gardiner coined the term â€Å"Celtic Tiger†, comparing Ireland's unexpected economic take-off to the Asian tiger economies. Many believe the foundations of the Celtic Tiger were laid in the 1990’s in a Dublin pub called Nesbitts.It was here that politicians, economists and civil servants met to discuss future government policies. It was agreed that the government of the day should cut taxes, lower interest rates, reduce import duties which would encourage foreign investment. It was later referred to as the â€Å"Doheny & Nesbitt School of Economics. † Our generous corporation tax of 12. 5% enticed foreign investment into the country. The fact that Ireland was a member of the European Union since 1973 helped enormously. The EU pumped vast amounts of money into infrastructure and grants especially in the agricultural sector.It meant a single currency and free trade within the EU. Ireland had an open economy where trade was promoted and thrived, especially in the area of exports. Ireland has a workforce that is highly educated and attracted further investment especially from high-tech and pharmaceutical industries. As the economy started to grow so did immigration into the country, as there was lots of work particularly in the construction industry. There was a surge in demand for housing and as a result this triggered the housing boom. Banks were encouraging customers to borrow as there were low interest rates.Property prices began to rise and many people sought property as a form of investment not just as a home. Property developers became millionaires over night as a result of the property boom. People in Ireland began living lavish lifestyles and in a lot of cases had lost the run of themselves. Collapse of the World Financial Market On the 15th of September, 2008 Lehman Brothers, one of America Largest Investment Banks in the USA, declared itself bankrupt. Major panic broke out on the inter-bank loan market as a result.As share prices declined, many large and well established investment and commercial banks in the United States and Europe suffered huge losses and even faced bankruptcy, resulting in massive financial assistance. Ireland is a very small fish in a big pond. Ireland is an open economy and our banks, like our businesses, trade with other banks. Irish Banks borrowed huge sums of money on credit from foreign banks. Our main source of repayment was taxes through our construction industry. What resulted was a domino effect; when one major bank fell the others in turn throughout America and the EU started to fall.Governments stepped in pumping billions into their banks to save them. The collapse of the world financial markets triggered the recession but some countries suffered a lot worse than others. Ireland is one of those countries, becau se Ireland borrowed beyond their means but mainly to support the purchase of private property. Recessionary Times A recession is a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced, generally identified by a fall in GDP in two successive quarters: (oxford Dictionary) GDP is made up of private consumption, government spending, investments and exports-imports.A recession is typically accompanied by a drop in the stock market, an increase in unemployment, and a decline in the housing market. It is also a term that people refer to when there is on-going hardships that people face in their daily lives. In recessionary times people have little disposable income and money is more often spent on necessity items like food and clothing, whereas luxury goods are beyond reach for many. Banks The crash of our banking system was the biggest cause of our country going into recession. Our banks lent recklessly when times were good.Loans were given to people without consideration. People within the banking system were paid bonuses the more they lent. Most people seeking these loans did not meet international regulations. The banks misguided thousands of ordinary people by giving these loans for enormous amounts, knowing that they realistically could not afford repayments. During the Celtic Tiger period of growth, capital to finance Ireland’s boom was raised in the interbank market, typically on a three-month basis, but with repayment not expected until two or three years later.When Irish property values went into decline and the freezing-up of the world's interbank market in 2007, it was certain by the start of 2008 that the Irish banking system would have great difficulty in financing its day-to-day operations. This trading difficulty, and inadequate supervision by the regulatory body, led to a series of government interventions, starting with a Bank guarantee in September 2008. It is nearly four years since the fateful night o f September 29th/30th 2008 when the Irish government guaranteed the key financial liabilities of our biggest banks.That decision has dominated national politics since then. For the economic and political consequences of that decision are immense. Since 2008, Irish taxpayers have invested â‚ ¬64. 1 billion into our banks. In addition to that direct investment, we have also indirectly invested a further â‚ ¬6 billion through NAMA (National Account Management Agency). That was the estimate given by the Controller and Auditor General, in May this year. He reported that NAMA had paid Irish banks â‚ ¬32 billion for loans that were, in fact, worth only â‚ ¬26 billion. In total then, we have already pumped â‚ ¬70. billion into our ailing banks. That’s the equivalent of â‚ ¬46,700 for every person working full-time. It’s a second mortgage that we didn’t want and can barely afford. And we mightn’t be finished yet in terms of how much money we have to pump into the banks. As of December last, the balance sheets of the three main Irish banks (AIB, Bank of Ireland and Irish Life & Permanent) showed a book value of their loans of â‚ ¬218 billion. But the banks’ own aggregate estimate of the fair value of those loans was only â‚ ¬181 billion, some â‚ ¬37 billion below their balance sheet carrying value.That suggests further heavy loan losses to come. Construction Industry During the boom years, demand for housing increased. It increased as a result of many factors: population growth, investments, tax breaks and low interest rates. As a result of this demand there was a rapid growth in housing and house prices began to soar. â€Å"The TSB/ESRI Index reveals that national prices increased at an average pace of almost 15% per annum between the years of 1997-2006, resulting in a cumulative increase of 240% over this period. † (class notes) Ireland tried to grow its economy inward through construction.It did so but there was too much emphasis put on construction. There was far too many people employed in the construction sector and there was an over reliance on construction industry alone to grow our economy. â€Å"Around 330,000 jobs have been lost since employment peaked in 2007, with the construction industry accounting for more than half of this total. † (class notes) Inflation of Egos Whether you are a banker, builder or bus driver it seemed that everyone had a second car and second home during the Celtic Tiger years.Having a little place in the sun seemed the norm. However thunder storms have emerged since the recession. People were running up massive debts in a society gone mad. People were borrowing beyond their means with banks only too happy to oblige. While people must be responsible for the choices they make, perhaps the banks, the so called experts in finance should have been more responsible. Everybody jumped on the band wagon; some builders built houses too quickly, c heaply and not following safety regulations. Priory Hall) Tradesmen were demanding and receiving vast sums of money for their work. According to Ronan Lyons an Economist in Oxford University, a recession becomes a depression when you have a fall in GDP by more than 10%. He has compared both job losses in the USA in the 1920’s to that of Ireland now. The results are striking. As the graph below shows, Ireland’s situation closely resembles the Great Depression. (Lyons ,2012) Irish GDP has fallen recording a peak to trough fall of 12. 4% (Class Notes) ConclusionAs I said earlier Ireland is a small fish in a big pond. The majority of people like to point the finger at the last government as I would, but not as strongly as others. Our last Government had a part to play. However there was a world-wide recession and we would have suffered economically as a result as every country has within the EU. I believe however that our last government could have done some of the followi ng; regulate the banks so they would not lend recklessly, re invests elsewhere in the economy for growth when times were good.There was an over reliance on construction to feed the economy. They could have increased interest rates to bring down inflation therefore slowing the economy. The government could have closed Anglo Irish Bank- Anglo is mainly a commercial bank with little customers in Ireland. This would have saved Irish taxpayers in the region of 30 billion euros. Our current government promised not to make the same mistakes of our previous government in their pre-election manifestos.They now tell us they are locked by the terms of the EU/IMF bailout. Can our government not re-negotiate a deal? Can they not tell Europe that further cuts cannot be put in place if we are to see growth in our economy in the long term? Germany only in the last couple of years repaid there debt after the Second World War. Ireland unlike many of its European counterparts is meeting the terms of t he agreement. We keep hearing how good a nation we are and that we are a success story, and the measures that we are taking in reducing debt.We are receiving a pat on the back from our German friends, but is this a pat on the back, or a further shove into the quick sand that we are already standing in? Is it a sign of success that young Irish people are emigrating, that the dole queues are getting longer? It is a success that the people of Ireland will be in debt for years to come? Recently Enda Kenny was on the cover of Time magazine under the caption â€Å"Celtic Comeback†. Great people like Einstein have also graced the cover of this famous magazine. So too has BART SIMPSON†¦

Luxury and the Montblanc brand Essay

It is generally acknowledged that western consumption of luxury in the 1980s and 1990s was motivated primarily by status-seeking and appearance. This means that social status associated with a brand is an important factor in conspicuous consumption. The baby boom generation luxury consumer has a passion for self-indulgence while maintaining an iconoclastic world view, which is transforming the luxury market from its ‘ old ’ conspicuous consumption model to a totally new, individualistic type of luxury consumer one driven by new needs and desires for experiences ’ . The expression of ‘today’s luxury’ is about a celebration of personal creativity, expressiveness, intelligence, fluidity, and above all, meaning. LUXURY AND POSTMODERNISM Recent arguments have been sounded that aspects of contemporary luxury consumption have reflected the phenomenon of postmodernism. Postmodernity means very different things to many different people’. Postmodernism is essentially a western philosophy that ‘refers to a break in thinking away from the modern, functional and rational’. In terms of experiential marketing, two aspects of the postmodern discourse are most relevant: hyper-reality and image. Hyper-reality refers to ‘the blurring of distinction between the real and the unreal, in which the prefix ‘hyper’ signifies more real than real. When the real that is the environment, is no longer a given, but is reproduced by a simulated environment, it does not become unreal, but realer than real’. The example of Bollywood to illustrate the so-called ‘Disneyfication’ of reality within the context of contemporary Indian society: ‘Bollywood captures not only the imagination in the form of song, music and dance but fairy tale settings, romantic melodrama and heroic storylines immerse the viewer in ‘simulated reality’. Traditional marketing was developed in response to the industrial age, not the information, branding and communications revolution we are facing today. In a new age, with new consumers, we need to shift away from a features- and-benefits approach, as advocated by traditional approaches to consumer experiences. One such approach is experiential marketing, an approach that in contrast to the rational features-and-benefits view of consumers takes a more postmodern orientation, and views them as emotional beings concerned with achieving pleasurable experiences. EXPERIENTIAL LUXURY MARKETING When a person buys a service, he purchases a set of intangible activities carried out on his behalf. But when he buys an experience, he pays to spend time enjoying a series of memorable events that a company stages to engage him in a personal way. Experiential marketing is thus about taking the essence of a product and amplifying it into a set of tangible, physical and interactive experiences that reinforce the offer. Experiential marketing essentially describes marketing initiatives that give consumers in-depth, tangible experiences in order to provide them with sufficient information to make a purchase decision. It is clear that the fact that many luxury goods are almost always experiential puts luxury marketers in a unique position to apply the principles of experiential marketing to their activities. Dimensions of the luxury experience The term ‘involvement’ refers to the level of inter-activity between the supplier and the customer. Increased levels of involvement fundamentally change the way in which services are experienced, that is, suppliers no longer create an experience and pass it to the customer; instead, the supplier and customer are interactively co-creating the experience. The term ‘intensity’ refers to the perception of the strength of feeling towards the interaction. The four experiential zones are not intended to be mutually exclusive; the richness of an experience is, however, a function of the degree to which all four zones are incorporated. Those experiences we think of as Entertainment, such as fashion shows at designer boutiques and upmarket department stores, usually involve a low degree of customer involvement and intensiveness. Activities in the Educational zone involve those where participants are more actively involved, but the level of intensiveness is still low. In this zone, participants acquire new skills or increase those they already have. Many luxury goods offerings include educational dimensions. For example, cruise ships often employ well-known authorities to provide semi-formal lectures about their itineraries – a concept commonly referred to as ‘edutainment’. Escapist activities are those that involve a high degree of both involvement and intensiveness, and are clearly a central feature of much of luxury consumption. This is clearly evident within the luxury tourism and hospitality sector, characterised by the growth of specialised holiday offerings. The launch of the Royal Tented Taj Spa (Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces) at the Rambagh Palace in Jaipur (India) recreates the mobile palaces used by the Mughal emperors of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with chandeliers, royal pennants and Indian love swings. When the element of activity is reduced to a more passive involvement in nature, the event becomes Aesthetic. A high degree of intensiveness is clearly evident within this activity, but has little effect on its environment such as admiring the architectural or interior design of designer boutiques. The six-storey glass crystal design of the Prada store in Tokyo conceptualised by the architects Herzog and de Meuron has become a showcase for unconventional contemporary architecture.