The Circular Economy Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Circular Economy - Coursework Example It plans to implement practices that will streamline its production process and reduce its energy flows. It wants to achieve a circular economic model by which it can recycle and reuse its manufactured products to minimise its resource utilization as well as cost. Developing manufacturing facilities that use less energy and reduces emission will create greater sustainability as well as reduce the impact on the environment. It aims at procuring the used products from its customers at an agreed price or by offering them discounts on their new purchase. This will not only help the garden tools manufacturing company to reuse various structural and functional parts in the assembly of new equipments but will also market its strategy successfully which is aimed at long term sustainability. The gardener’s job became much easier in the year 1830 when first mechanical land mower was invented (Jenkins, 2015). Now days most of the land mowers are either powered by electricity or gas. It turns blades that either cut like scissors or rotate like a propeller in order to chop the grass. The gas mowers have rotary plates that spin horizontally on a vertical crank shaft. In order to make the blade housing which is called the deck, a machine first applies a lubricating chemical to sheet steel that is coiled when it first comes to the factory (Bralla, 2007). The chemical helps flatten the steel so that it is easier to cut the steel. A press is then used to perforate the sheet every 60 cm. After the press separates the sheet and rounds it off the corners a robotic arm is used to move each segment on to a dock (Koren, 2010). The 500 tonne press then bends the steel like steel foil in between two loads in order to give the steel its basic shape. A robot then leaves the oily deck with the suction cups and then they are moved to another press. The new machine trims the excess around the decks edges. Then

Does the concept of authenticity have any value in the evaluation or Essay

Does the concept of authenticity have any value in the evaluation or appreciation of Japanese popular music If it does, what makes a work or musician authentic, or inauthentic Give examples and discuss - Essay Example Japan has embraced the music genre called pop since 1990s. On its emergence in Japan, pop music replaced the local â€Å"Kayokyoku† music in order to cater for international music demand. The Japanese pop music has diversified and now it is common in all parts of the country (Craig, 2000:13). One amusing fact about the Japanese pop music is that it is a hard alternative genre that combines both English and Japanese which are blended so well that they bring the authentic taste (Keller, 2008:6). The Japanese pop music has been formed and expanded by imported music from other cultures. The Japanese have assimilated music continually from countries like Korean and the Buddhism kingdom. The Japanese pop musicians had to immediately conform to carter for the American occupying forces. These musicians had first to interact in lengthy with American musician in order to learn the recording forms of pop music because the American character of pop music is regarded as contestable (Levins on, 2011:7). The Japanese pop industry had to locate itself in an aesthetic hierarchy that would reinforce asymmetries of power and cultural prestige. The Japanese had thus to embrace the Japan-US relationship by placing American artist at the apex as innovators and the Japanese maintained as imitators. The idea of authenticity in the Japanese pop music has taken root in the idea of western popular music. Although the Japanese music has become the heart of the music of the people, there is still the idea that it can only be authentically done by the westerners. The idea of authenticity in Japanese music has taken root in the blending of English and Japanese in lyrics. The Japanese artists write the whole composition purely in English simply to acquire authenticity (Sxornbrun, 2005: 18). Japanese people have a rough history of importing and

HMRT 2003 C Modern day Slavery and the Slave Trade Essay

HMRT 2003 C Modern day Slavery and the Slave Trade - Essay Example Speaking in a straight and expressive language, slaves can be considered as individuals who are not given any right to do what they want or to deicide for themselves. However slavery has found broad usage and it has also been associated with other relationships like marriage or any other forms of family relations, military service, debt relationships and many other forms of relationships which all entail coercion or force in some aspects. Therefore slavery can be defined as a status or a condition of a person over whom powers attaching to the rights of ownership are exercise. This means that a slave is controlled by another person who acts as a mater or the owner of that person. The only way that someone who is considered a slave can leave the master is through escape or straying. (Lewis, 2007) In all countries in the world, slavery is considered illegal and there have been many campaigns in the world all directed towards ending slavery of any forms. The UN conventions outlaw any form of slaves. However there is still some existence of slavery in the modern world which may be directly or indirectly practices. For example, there is direct practice of slavery in Myanmar and Sudan which have been shown to facilitate some institutions of slavery. Most of these has been expressed as unfree labour where someone is told that they are working off a debt but they cannot account for that debt. In other cases it ahs been low paying or less supervise employment. Most of these slaves cannot leave these condition unless through the use of force. (Anti-slavery, 2008) It has been shown that society which are characterised by poverty, population pressure, cultural and technology backwardness are more prone to exportation of slave trade. They are mostly exported to the developed nations where they are given promise of better life but once they reach there they end up living as slaves. In the modern practice of slavery, the rural people have been at the

The Legal Framework for Criminal Investigations and the Relationship Essay

The Legal Framework for Criminal Investigations and the Relationship with the Criminal Justice System - Essay Example This speaks itself about the importance of tough criminal investigation procedures. In order to collect reliable and secure evidence, the investigators must put in concrete efforts so that the person found guilty should be punished in accordance with law. Therefore, for a criminal prosecution to become successful, it is extremely important that the Crown Prosecution Services should provide solid and reliable evidence to the court of law to punish the culprits. â€Å"In a number of countries where democratic set up exists and where rule of law succeed, the burden of proof lies on the shoulder of the prosecution† (Conner et al 2008). The safeguards within the legal framework designed to protect people under criminal investigation Under the UK Law, those who are convicted by the lesser courts may file an appeal to higher court for the answer they are looking for. â€Å"The hierarchy of the courts starts from the magistrates / youth courts to the Crown Court, from the Crown Court to the Court of Appeal. However, in some exceptional cases further appeal is allowed to the Supreme Court only† (Cate 2008). Appeals to Courts that are higher up in jurisdiction are restricted to the point of law. If the right of appeal is obsessive for a convicted defendant, then he or she has the option to pursue to the administrative body known as Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). If there is malpractice found then this renders the conviction irrelevant and sums up to the miscarriage of justice. â€Å"There are two sorts of ‘wrongful convictions a) One where the defendant is convicted unfairly b) other where a lack of fair trial makes it difficult to determine whether the defendant is guilty or not† (Sanders and Young 2010). Conviction through unfair means is considered a miscarriage of justice that raises many suspicions. The CPS sometimes allows appeals against acquittal especially if there is an error found in the law. For example, a jury member can be rejected if they attempt to prosecute with certain kinds of evidence that the judge feels that the police lacked the required legal power to secure that evidence. In a few cases, when compelling evidences of guilt comes to surface, fresh cases against the earlier acquittals can be restarted. â€Å"An element of criminal justice, which is not taken into account, is criminal defense; as per the law of the land, anyone arrested and taken into custody by the police officials is entitled to receive free legal aid from an adviser, usually a qualified legal practitioner† (Sanders and Young 2010). Great Britain is known to set aside funds for free legal representation to its people in the ordinary courts and the Crown Court. The wealthy classes of people usually do not take the benefit of legal representation and normally pay their legal fees from their own resources. â€Å"The numbers of litigants have two options a) present themselves or b) engage a solicitor to plead the cases of the poor. This is done by the government which hires the services of solicitors for them at the government’s expenses† (Sanders and Young 2010). The operation of safeguards within the legal framework   Section 47 enquiries aim at to minimize the destruction on the personality of a child and to ensure that the families are treated in a respectable way by the agencies. The Children Social Care organizations should appraise the guardians responsible for the security of

Information Security Policy Essay Example for Free

Information Security Policy Essay 1. Executive Summary Due in Week Nine: Write 3 to 4 paragraphs giving a bottom-line summary of the specific measureable goals and objectives of the security plan, which can be implemented to define optimal security architecture for the selected business scenario. The goal of this security policy is to lay out a basic plan for a secure information system to be used by Bloom Design Group. This policy will protect the company’s systems from threats that can come from humans and from natural disasters as well. The policy will also put into consideration the privacy, reputation, intellectual property and productivity of the Bloom Design Group. The continued operation of this company depends on being able to access and use resources within the organization and being able to remote access with security. Each persons role in the company will be considered and appropriate access will be given to ensure the efficient operation of the business, while not giving access to those who are not authorized. This policy will also help in the company’s adherence to any governmental regulations. Any disruptions of service or security related issues will be dealt with immediately by means of system software that is automated to handle certain threats. More serious issues will be dealt with by the IT staff whose responsibility it is to oversee the everyday operation of the information system. 2. Introduction Due in Week One: Give an overview of the company and the security goals to be achieved. 2.1. Company overview The Bloom Design Group is a company that offers interior design services to businesses and individuals around the world. There corporate office is located in New York with a secondary office in Los Angeles for handling operations on the West coast. They have a web site that offers their customers the ability to work up their designs online and then purchase them through a electronic order processing system. Also, the designers use secure logins and passwords to access the web site. A large number of the workforce work remotely possibly using tablets or ipads connected to secure VPNs or Virtual Private Networks. 2.2. Security policy overview Bloom Design group already provides secure logins and networks to their employees so they already have some type of system setup already. However, this does not mean it is a system that works efficiently. I think the appropriate security policy to implement for this project would be system specific. 2.3. Security policy goals As applies to your selected scenario, explain how the confidentiality, integrity, and availability principles of information security will be addressed by the information security policy. 2.3.1. Confidentiality The policy I plan to implement will help to protect information by reviewing how the company stores sensitive information such as employee and client records, trade secrets, and other sensitive data. 2.3.2. Integrity Since the company will be using passwords and secure logins the system will not be accessible to the public. So the primary focus should be on the employees. Authentication and verification can be done using a data log to keep records of employees activity while on the company’s VPN. Also, the use of a firewall will help with integrity as it will prevent employees from unknowingly accessing damaging websites. 2.3.3. Availability The policy I plan to use will help with back-up and recovery by the possible use of cloud storage or a central data storage center. Although they are already using secure logins for access control the whole system needs to be reviewed. This is to make sure only authorized personnel have access to sensitive areas. 3. Disaster Recovery Plan Due in Week Three: For your selected scenario, describe the key elements of the Disaster Recovery Plan to be used in case of a disaster and the plan for testing the DRP. 3.1. Risk Assessment 3.1.1. Critical business processes The mission-critical business systems and services that must be protected by this DRP are: Payroll, Human Resource Data, POS backup media, and Web Servers and their services. 3.1.2. Internal, external, and environmental risks Examples of internal risks that may affect business are unauthorized access  by individuals who are employed by the company, and those who aren’t employed by the company but still have access to individual store’s computer systems, applications, or areas where the servers and backup media are located. Other external and environmental risks include fire, floods, power outages, hardware failure, software glitches and failure, storms, and other acts of nature. 3.2. Disaster Recovery Strategy Most cases, having an alternative site (a hot site, or cold site depending on the disaster) would be the correct way of dealing with most disasters. With Bloom design group I think having a warm site facility would be the best option. Warm sites are cheaper than hot sites but require more effort. On the other hand, they are more expensive than cold-site facilities but less labor intensive and more likely to be effective in a disaster. Also, having a backup and retention site to work from, and recover from for the main servers and web services is a good idea. 3.3. Disaster Recovery Test Plan For each testing method listed, briefly describe each method and your rationale for why it will or will not be included in your DRP test plan. 3.3.1. Walk-throughs This test plan would be a great way for the key personnel to come together and formulate a plan of action in the event of an emergency. Due to Bloom Design group being spread across a large area it might require some video conferencing and traveling on the part of some employees. 3.3.2. Simulations I think this test plan is the most effective when compared to the others. Simulating an actual emergency is a great way for people to get used to operating in a critical time under pressure. This will show you where your people have their strengths and weaknesses when trying to recover from a disaster. 3.3.3. Checklists This passive type of testing would be a good system to implement on a weekly or monthly basis depending on the needs of the company. This will help in detecting problems before they become a major issue. 3.3.4. Parallel testing Since Bloom Design group is updating their security parameters and do not have an equal type of system already implemented parallel testing would not be appropriate for this security policy. 3.3.5. Full interruption I think this is another very effective way to test the system in the event of an emergency. However, to minimize inconveniences to the customers it would have to be done during off hours. 4. Physical Security Policy Due in Week Five: Outline the Physical Security Policy. Merkow and Breithaupt (2006) state, â€Å"an often overlooked connection between physical systems (computer hardware) and logical systems (the software that runs on it) is that, in order to protect logical systems, the hardware running them must be physically secure† (p.165). Describe the policies for securing the facilities and the policies of securing the information systems. Outline the controls needed for each category as relates to your selected scenario. These controls may include the following: Physical controls (such as perimeter security controls, badges, keys and combination locks, cameras, barricades, fencing, security dogs, lighting, and separating the workplace into functional areas) Technical controls (such as smart cards, audit trails or access logs, intrusion detection, alarm systems, and biometrics) Environmental or life-safety controls (such as power, fire detection and suppression, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) 4.1. Security of the building facilities 4.1.1. Physical entry controls At the two office locations (Los Angeles, New York) for Bloom Design Group I would use employee badges that double as an electronic key to access the building and other sensitive locations. This will work in conjunction with  an access control system that limits entrance/exit to the offices through one main entrance. There will be an employee entrance as well also to be accessed by an electronic badge. 4.1.2. Security offices, rooms and facilities For the security offices I would implement biometric scanners due to the sensitive equipment inside. Other rooms and facilities of a sensitive nature will utilize electronic badges with a photo and name of the employee. 4.1.3. Isolated delivery and loading areas For these areas I would implement electronic key card access with the use of a CCTV system recording to a DVR. With a CCTV camera located on the driver door in the loading area the person responsible for deliveries will know when a delivery is being made and can observe he outside environment before opening the door. 4.2. Security of the information systems 4.2.1. Workplace protection For this part of the security policy I would utilize pre-employment screening and mandatory vacation time. This prevents people from hiding illegal activities while performing their duties. Also, I would setup privileged entity controls so operators and system administrators have special access to computing resources. 4.2.2. Unused ports and cabling For unused ports I would use a piece of security equipment that can be plugged into the unused port and can only be removed by someone with a special key. This will help prevent unauthorized access into the network. For unused cabling I would secure it in a secure storage room which can only be accessed by authorized personnel. If the above mentioned equipment isn’t available then the port should be removed. 4.2.3. Network/server equipment Being that this is some of the most critical equipment for business operations I would use biometric locks and scanners on any room that  contains this equipment. Also these rooms will be environmentally controlled with air conditioners and dehumidifiers to allow the equipment to operate at peak efficiency. 4.2.4. Equipment maintenance Since a lot of the equipment is spread across a large region I would utilize remote communication connections to troubleshoot issues. If the maintenance need is more severe than I would have a small centrally located facility that specializes in assessing and repairing malfunctioning equipment. 4.2.5. Security of laptops/roaming equipment For laptops and roaming equipment I would install all devices with a GPS tracker and encryption software to protect against unauthorized access. The equipment itself would be stored in a secure storage room with access being tightly controlled. 5. Access Control Policy Due in Week Seven: Outline the Access Control Policy. Describe how access control methodologies work to secure information systems 5.1. Authentication Authentication credentials permit the system to verify one’s identification credential. Authenticating yourself to a system tells it the information you have established to prove that you are who you say you are. Most often, this is a simple password that you set up when you receive the privilege to access a system. You may receive an assigned password initially with the requirement that you must reset it to something more personal—something that only you can remember. However, passwords are the easiest type of authentication to beat. Free and widely available programs are available on the Internet to break the security afforded by passwords on most of the commonly used systems. With two or three factors to authenticate, an information owner can gain confidence that users who access their systems are indeed authorized to access their systems. This is accomplished by adding more controls and/or devices to the password authentication process. Biometric scanning uses unique human characteristics to identify whether the person trying to gain access is authorized to enter or not. One common  approach to managing IDs and passwords is to create a password or PIN vault. These programs use secure methods to locally store IDs and passwords that are protected by a master password that unlocks the vault when it’s needed. 5.2. Access control strategy 5.2.1. Discretionary access control The discretionary access control system will be used for Bloom Design Group because this is the favored approach in the corporate environment and due to the wide area of operations this will allow several authorized users to have access to the system at any given time. The principle of least privilege is the predominant strategy to assure confidentiality. The objective is to give people the least amount of access to a system that is needed to perform the job they’re doing. The need-to-know dictates the privilege (authority) to perform a transaction or access a resource (system, data, and so forth). An information owner is one who maintains overall responsibility for the information within an information system. For the Bloom Design Group the information owner is going to be the corporate head of IT operations. 5.2.2. Mandatory access control In a system that uses mandatory access control (MAC; also called nondiscretionary access control), the system decides who gains access to information based on the concepts of subjects, objects, and labels, as defined below. Since the Bloom Design Group is spread out over such a large area I do not think this is the best choice for this scenario. MAC is better suited for military or governmental systems. 5.2.3. Role-based access control Role-based access control (RBAC) group’s users with a common access need. You can assign a role for a group of users who perform the same job functions and require similar access to resources. This would also be appropriate for this scenario because it will allow the information owner to easily assign access to certain groups such as designers, office personnel, customer service associates and so forth. 5.3. Remote access Remote Access Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) is a client/server protocol and software that enables remote access users to communicate with a central  server to authenticate dial-in users and authorize their access to the requested system or service. RADIUS allows a company to set up a policy that can be applied at a single administered network point. Having a central service also means that it’s easier to track usage for billing and for keeping network statistics. A virtual private network (VPN) is another common means for remote users to access corporate networks. With a VPN, a user connects to the Internet via his or her ISP and initiates a connection to the protected network (often using a RADIUS server), creating a private tunnel between the end points that prevents eavesdropping or data modification. 6. Network Security Policy Due in Week Nine: Outline the Network Security Policy. As each link in the chain of network protocols can be attacked, describe the policies covering security services for network access and network security control devices. 6.1. Data network overview Due to the large geographic distances between Bloom Design Group offices a WAN is going to be utilized. WAN covers a larger geographic area than a LAN (technically, a network that covers an area larger than a single building). A WAN can span the entire nation or even the globe using satellites. 6.2. Network security services 6.2.1. Authentication Access to documents can be restricted in one of two ways: by asking for a username and password or by the hostname of the browser being used. For Bloom Design Group employees will need to enter a user ID and password to access restricted documents and sites. 6.2.2. Access control Unlike authentication, which is security-based on the user’s identity, restricting access based on something other than identity is called â€Å"access control.† For Bloom Design group access control to physical locations will be done by controlled by electronic badges. More sensitive areas such as the server rooms will utilize biometric scanners. 6.2.3. Data confidentiality This service protects data against unauthorized disclosure and has two components: content confidentiality and message flow confidentiality. For Bloom Design group all messages transmitted and received through company offices will be encrypted to prevent the unauthorized viewing of sensitive company documents. 6.2.4. Data integrity The goal is to protect data from accidental or malicious modification whether during data transfer, data storage, or from an operation performed on it, and to preserve it for its intended use. For Bloom Design Group the only people who will be authorized to make changes or modifications will be the Head of the IT department and anyone else they deem necessary. 6.2.5. Nonrepudiation A service guaranteeing that the sender of a message cannot deny having sent the message and the receiver cannot deny having received the message. I do not think this will be necessary for Bloom Design group. However, if it does then the proper modifications can always be made. 6.2.6. Logging and monitoring These services allow IS specialists to observe system activity during and after the fact by using monitoring and logging tools. These include operating system logs, server records, application log errors, warnings, and observation of network, switch and router traffic between network segments. I do not think this will be necessary for Bloom Design Group as a whole. However, it will be utilized for any programs having to do with the servers due to its sensitive business content. 6.3. Firewall system Outline the roles of the following network security control devices and how these basic security infrastructures are used to protect the company’s network against malicious activity. Provide a description of each type of firewall system and how it is used to protect the network. Include how the firewall system is or is not applicable to the company’s network configuration in your selected scenario. 6.3.1. Packet-filtering router firewall system The most common Internet firewall system consists of nothing more than a packet-filtering router deployed between the private network and the Internet. A packet-filtering router performs the typical routing functions of forwarding traffic between networks as well as using packet-filtering rules to permit or deny traffic. 6.3.2. Screened host firewall system The second firewall example employs both a packet-filtering router and a bastion host. This firewall system provides higher levels of security than the previous example because it implements both Network-Layer security (packet-filtering) and Application-Layer security (proxy services). Also, an intruder has to penetrate two separate systems before the security of the private network can be compromised. This will be the option chosen for Bloom Design Group based on needs and cost. Since Bloom Design group is not a governmental or military related company then it doesn’t require the most elaborate form of firewall protection. 6.3.3. Screened-Subnet firewall system The final firewall example employs two packet-filtering routers and a bastion host. This firewall system creates the most secure firewall system, as it supports both Network-Layer and Application-Layer security while defining a â€Å"demilitarized zone† (DMZ) network. 7. References Cite all your references by adding the pertinent information to this section by following this example. American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. Information Security: Principles and Practices, by Mark S. Merkow, CISSP, CISM and Jim Breithaupt.

FedEx, its business environment and who they are

FedEx, its business environment and who they are Introduction FedEx, originally known as FDX Corporation is a logistics services company who pioneered the modern air/ground express industry in 1971. The founder of FedEx is Frederick W. Smith and it is based in the United Stated with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. The name FedEx is a short form  of the name of the companys original air division,  Federal Express, which was used from year 1973 until year 2000. (Wikipedia, 2010)   Under the respected FedEx brand name, FedEx is offering integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively. There are FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, FedEx Office, FedEx Custom Critical, FedEx Trade Networks, FedEx Supply Chain and FedEx Services. With more than 290,000 employees, FedEx currently serves more than 200 countries which include in the Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Latin America and North America. (About FedEx, 2010) FedExs mission is to produce the superior financial returns for shareholders by providing high value-added supply chain, transportation, business and related information services through focused operating companies. Then FedEx has made a promise that customer requirements will be met in the maximum quality manner appropriate to each market segment served. Besides, FedEx will attempt to develop mutually rewarding relationships with its employees, partners and suppliers. (About FedEx: Mission Statement, 2010) FedEx and its business environment Technological environment Technology plays a very important role in delivery of the FedEx service. FedEx is setting the efficiency industry standard and customer service by using technology advanced and FedEx was do extremely well in anticipating and projecting demands of an environment that would depend and thrive on information. FedEx was the first to integrate wireless technology more than two decade ago and continues to develop and lead the industries in developing innovative wireless solutions. Hence, FedEx has developed an information systems network that enables customers and support personal to have wireless access anytime and anywhere. Then, FedEx implemented e-business application to improve the level of customer satisfaction as well as their overall transactions with the clients. The e-business system included a web or call centre service where the company can easily be informed of the status of the packages delivered. (About FedEx: FedEx Attributes Success to People-first Philosophy, 2010) Competitive environment There are two main competitors for FedEx which are DHL and UPS. UPS or United Parcel Service Inc. is the worlds largest  package delivery  company which headquartered in  Sandy Springs, Georgia,  United States. UPS delivers more than 15 million packages  a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. UPS is well known for its  brown  trucks, internally known as package cars and UPS also operates its own airline based in Louisville, Kentucky where its World port air hub is also located. (Wikipedia: United Parcel Service, 2010) DHL Express  is a  division  of  Deutsche Post DHL  providing international  express mail  services which originally founded in 1969 and expanded its service throughout the world by the late 1970s. DHL expanded its services to countries that could not be served by any other delivery service, including the Eastern Bloc, Vietnam and the Peoples Republic of China. (Wikipedia: DHL Express, 2010) Cultural environment FedEx is more emphasized on a people-first philosophy, where respect for all people is a fundamental value and everyday business practice within the company. FedEx Corporation strives to create an environment where people can contribute and grow, and where the values of diversity are woven through the organization. Chapter 4: The Analysis of Customer Touch Points Types of customer touch points There are 3 types of customer touch points which are pre-purchase stage, purchase stage and post purchase stage. There are different ways and strategy that a company uses to set up these touch point with the customer in order to build a relationship. FedEx is also one of the companies that practice this customer touch point strategy. First customer touch point will be the pre-purchase stage which consists of 3 customer touch point method. The first one will be manageable communication tools such as advertising, public relations, point of sales materials, sponsorship and etc. FedEx have established many customer touch point in this area by using integrated marketing communication tools to build up relationship with the customer. Example: FedEx uses advertising tool to introduce the company and promote it product which is the delivery service that they provide are the best to the customer; Public relations tool is also in use where by FedEx held some press conferences or road shows to explain and demonstrate how well is their delivery service to the public customer; FedEx also having some sponsorship to quite a few major events around the world like Olympics, World cup and so on. Second are the non-manageable communication tools such as word of mouth, search engine, news cover and etc. Since these are non-manageable communication tools, FedEx cant control these tools but the only to create positive image is by producing good quality delivery service to the customer and satisfy them so that the customer will help spread some good word of mouth or even have a chance to get on some news cover page. Third are the company representatives such as salesperson, email, and recipient. If a customer wants to deliver a package by using FedEx service, they will need to encounter their salesperson, counter recipient or email to FedEx. Next , the second customer touch point will be the purchase stage which means that the customer making the purchase while come in contact with the company itself. Customer can purchase FedEx service by their e-commerce site, outlet store and confirm their purchasing order through fax or email that is very convenient for the customers. FedEx sells delivery services, so the main touch point from FedEx to the customer are the companys delivery truck, driver, delivery note and their employee. Customer can purchase the delivery service through FedEx website or directly through FedEx outlet and each parcel is attach with a location device that the customer can log on to FedEx tracking internet service to check whether the customer parcel is delivered successfully. The last customer touch point will be the post purchase stage where the company provides some after sales service to customer to ensure that the trading process is a satisfying experience for the customer. FedEx provides fine after sales service to the customer by providing complaint forms and calls to ensure that the customer that receives their delivery package will be in good shape and to improve on their service quality to ensure every delivery is up to the customer expectation. FedEx will also ensure the package will be delivered on time to the customer and the package will be in one good piece. If the package is damaged, lost or didnt received on time, customer can file a complaint to FedEx and FedEx will attain to the complaints. Track the experience along the touch points The objective is to track the experience at various customer touch points to develop an understanding of the customer thoughts and learn how the customer experience can be enriched. From above we know that there are 3 stages and each stage provides various touch points. The company need to track down the customer experience in each touch points to find out what information that the customer needs and what actual experience that they desire. The company can track the customer experience through the customer decision making process which consists of 5 stages: Need recognition, information search, and evaluation of alternative, purchase and post purchase. These 5 stages are categorized under the 3 type of customer touch point to help in tracking the customer experience. The first three: need recognition, information search and evaluation of alternative are fall under the Pre-purchase stage, while the other two falls under their respective stage. First, how FedEx gain need recognition from the customer? The answer is by advertising through the mass media like television, radio, internet and etc. By doing all these, customer will soon aware of FedEx and its delivery service. Next, after the customer needs recognition start, they will try to search for information about FedEx delivery services through word of mouth, internet search engine, counter recipient and etc. After the information search is done, customers will start evaluating FedEx delivery service and compare it against FedEx competitors such as UPS and DHL. The fourth stage will be the purchase stage where the customer purchases FedEx delivery service through internet, phone, retail outlet and etc. The package will be delivered after the confirmation of purchase based on how the customer chooses to be delivered. Once the package is delivered to the customer, post purchase stage starts. Customer will either feel satisfy or file up complaint to FedEx while FedEx need t o provide after sales service to ensure the satisfaction of the customer. Service Failure Reliability is very critical in service to every company but in all service contexts, service failure is inevitable because mistake or errors will always occur, nothing is perfect, what the company can do is to minimize the service failure. Especially for FedEx, a service company that sells mainly on their delivery service to the customer must up hold their service quality even though FedEx also will face service failure problems. Service failure occurs when the company service performance that falls below a customers expectations in such a way that leads and result into customer dissatisfaction. FedEx also occur service failure which create dissatisfaction to the customers. One of the cases is FedEx and its child company FedEx Ground having system differentiation, means that these two are two separate companies where FedEx cant manage or solve the problems or issues that occurs in the child company FedEx Ground. There are customers that facing some service problem with FedEx Ground because of their parcel wasnt delivered on time and somehow the parcel was found missing, the customers call up FedEx and ask for a solution but the FedEx staff just giving empty promises because FedEx cant interfere in FedEx Ground businesses although they are parent and child company relationship. When there is service failure, the company needs to think of a way, a strategy to response to it, to solve the problem, this is where service recovery happens. Service recovery refers to the actions that are taken by a firm in response to a service failure. FedEx provides money back guarantee service to the customer whenever there is a service failure occur, by doing this, FedEx hope to ensure customer will not feel dissatisfy with FedEx and continue using their service without spreading bad word of mouth that will result in negative image. FedEx also will attend to a customer complaint immediately to help the customer to solve his problem as soon as possible to maintain the customer satisfaction. Dissatisfied Consumer Behavior According to the Retail Customer Dissatisfaction Study 2006 by the Verde Group found out that 48% of the respondents reported that they will avoid a store because of someone elses negative experience, and for those who encountered problems, 33% said that they would definitely not or probably not return to the same company for their product and service. This shows that word of mouth can create a huge impact and influence on the company negative image; this can be referring as the exponential power of storytelling, as people tell the story of their bad experience with the company, the negativity is established and will grow eventually. There are some customers that encountered bad services with FedEx and this resulted in some serious issues. These dissatisfied customer wrote a post on their blogs or forums to express their feeling by telling the story that how they are treated by FedEx delivery services and they are also felt angry towards the attitude of FedEx customer service that do esnt treat them as important customer, so in the end they decided to change to purchasing FedEx competitor services like UPS or DHL. Service Guarantees What is guarantee? From Websters Dictionary, guarantee equals to an assurance of the fulfillment of a condition make by one individual to another individual. In the business context, a guarantee is a pledge or assurance that a product or service offered by a firm will perform as promised and, if not, then some form of reparation will be undertaken by the firm to the customers. Example: for tangible products, a guarantee is often done in the form of warranty. FedEx always stress out that their delivery service will be on time and they are confident and sure about this statement, but incident do happens, thats why FedEx offers service guarantee too to gain the customer confidence and belief in their delivery service. FedEx offers money back guarantee service to the customer if the package that they delivered didnt arrived to the destination within the promised time, customer can either request for a refund or transfer the money for the delivery service charges but under some terms and conditions. Chapter 9: The Hybrid Interface There are two types of hybrid interface which are people-led hybrid interface and machine-led hybrid interface. People-led hybrid interface People-led hybrid interface defined as an interface where interaction between human being and machine occurs in which people operate in the foreground and are supported by the machine (Rayport,2005). The interaction between human being with a machine can enhance the effectiveness or increase and productivity in the daily operation. The peoples who operates in the foreground and are supported by the machine needs to have the knowledge to manage and evaluate the state of the machine. For example, the people led interface incur when the FedEx driver driving the courier van to deliver goods and services to their ultimate customers. Hence, the interaction between the FedEx driver and the customers caused the FedEx driver to accomplish the task of delivering goods and services on time with enabling by the machine FedEx provide and deliver on time services to their customer in order to maintain the long term profitable relationship and develop the customer loyalty towards its company. Hence, FedEx has developed the innovation of the technology to support their daily operation. FedEx set up COSMO (Customer Operations Service Master On-line System) to monitor each stage of their delivery cycle. COSMO is a computerized packaged tracking system that allows the FedEx employees to key in the information needed by several ways (Technology innovation at FedEx, 2010). For example, FedEx customer service representatives key in the necessary information into COSMO by computer terminals to reach their customers, this mean that FedEx has apply the people-led hybrid interface where the customer service representative (human being) is enable by the COSMO (machine) to reach the customers. Besides, FedEx always giving supports and encourage their employees in order to allow them to be more innovative in the working environment and more confident in decision making process by providing quality results. FedEx is providing their employees to use the high technology hand-held tracker and the digitally assistant dispatch system (DADS). The hand-held tracker is used to records the information throughout the day and allow the couriers to scan the bar code on every waybill at each stage of delivery process. It helps to retain and transmit the information of the package such types of service required, destination and routing instruction as well as provide guidance to the couriers by a series of performance measurement. While, DADS is a small digitally assisted dispatch computer system that found in all couriers van to enable the couriers to administer their time and routes with high efficiency (Technology innovation at FedEx, 2010). For example, when the couriers return to the van, the information acquire is then downloaded from the hand-held trackers to the DADS in order to update the package location in the COSMO system. By using this type of people-led hybrid interface, it provides the customers a convenient ways to find out the time and location of their package. Hence, FedEx able to maintain positive control over its shipments and enhance their customer satisfaction by constant tracking with the interaction of the human and machine. Furthermore, FedEx develop its innovation technology by setting up the Command and Control system in their operation. Command and Control is the satellite to ground-level operation system which based at the Memphis SuperHub (Technology innovation at FedEx, 2010). FedEx used this system to act as a weather management tool and to check the traffic information in order to enable the FedEx Company deliver the package in any weather condition with the fastest and safest manner. For example, FedEx connect to over 750 customer service workstations, over 500 aircraft and traffic hubs around the world to ensure the coordination of inbound and outbound aircraft and thousands of delivery vehicles are in smooth condition and enable their employees to deliver the package on time to their customer to achieve customer satisfaction. Each types of hybrid interface used by FedEx Company have the benefits that improve the companys daily operation. People-led interface helps the front line employees of the FedEx to increase their work productivity and enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of their work. For example, with the high technology hand-held tracker, it helps the couriers to records and retains the information by scanning the bar code of the waybill in every stage of delivery process. Thus, it helps to increase the productivity and the efficiency of the work of front line employees. Besides, the people led machine interface helps FedEx to maintain their positive control over every single step of it shipment process to deliver the goods and services to the customers. It is because, when the couriers return to the van, the information is downloaded from its hand- held tracker to the DADS and immediately updated the package location in the COSMO system. Hence, it enables their customers to check their shipment status, delivery time and etc to provide 100% customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the interaction between human and machine interface enables FedEx to deliver goods and services to their customers with the fastest and safest route in any weather with the implementation of Command and Control system. FedEx using the NASA weather data and artificial intelligent to help the company selects the fastest, safest and most cost- effective way to deliver goods and services to the ultimate customer. The command and control system help FedEx to increase per capita output of their frontline employees and thus increase the quality of their interaction with customers. Machine-led hybrid interface Many business organizations have deployed the use of machine-led interface in their daily operation nowadays. Machine-led hybrid interface is defined as the interaction between the machine and human, where machines operate in the foreground and are supported by people (Rayport, 2005). It requires an output to ensure that the machine will always keep the user up to date in the progression of commands or execute commands in physical space. FedEx has set up 45 call centers in global to handle over 500,000 telephone calls from their customers around the world per day. FedExs call centre is a machine led hybrid interfaces that enable the machine (telephone) to be supported by the people (call centre representatives). It used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone and is operate by the company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. By setting up the call center, it allow the customers who prefer more personal touch than using high technology device and customers who need more in depth explanation and information about the shipping process to call and speak with the call centre representative regarding their problems. FedEx has developed its operation through online by creating their own company website and embedding the FedExs live chat into their official website. Through the companys web page, FedEx can connect with their customers and get their involvement into the chat room to engage the positive relationship between the company and their customers. When the customers need any further assistance or have any enquiries regarding their shipment status, they can use the Chat with FedEx function by fill in their personal details to start the chat session. Thus, the FedExs employees will reply the customer through this interactive chat medium immediately. Hence, with the interaction between FedExs live chat (machine) with the supported of the employees (human being), it helps the FedEx to improve their business operation to be more efficient and easily to get into the involvement with their customers internal process as well as enhance the customers relationship. The machine-led hybrid interface brings some benefits to FedEx such as cost saving and higher productivity. FedEx website allows the customers to track their shipment information or the status of the package based on the package number without calling to the service centre. Thus it helps FedExs service centre to operate more efficient and able to handle more than 100,000 tracking enquiries daily. Furthermore, the capability of the FedExs live chat was successfully helps the FedEx to saving up the investment cost of setting up more call centre. The machine-led hybrid interface leverage the human talents by distributing their personalities or the emotional intelligent in scalable way. Human being is excelling in conveying empathy and handling the exception; hence with the support of the frontline machine, it helps to increase the employees productivity by channeling their work more efficiently. For example, when the customers call to the service centre, the system will deliver the customer to the service provider via phone line. After that, the customer service representative will answer the call and handling the problem or enquiries from the customers and try to satisfy their needs and wants in a polite manner. Chapter 10: Delivering the Integrated Customer Experience Integration within Implementation Domains There are three types implementation domains: brand experience, interface and innovations. The brand experience it can help the organization build reputation and get awareness in connections with customers. It included company or brand name, logo, advertisement, and web design.( Rayport, F.J. Jawoski, J.B. 2005) -Brand Experience FedEx shows a global brand the fastest route to worldwide. In year 2009, FedEx has been honored as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in the United States. FedEx also has been ranked in Fortunes magazine as Global Most Admired Companies . -Logo FedEx has its own Corporation logos; each of it has its own version of the wordmark used for identification and branding. The FedEx name is incorporated as a simple distinct text-only typographic treatment to create a clear, visually memorable identity. For FedEx logo, the Fed is in purple and the Ex is in a grey for the overall corporation use. While, for the original FedEx logo had the Ex in orange. The FedEx wordmark is actually a notable hidden right-pointing arrow between the E and the X, which to emphasize the arrow shape. The concept of an arrow is to be promoted as a symbol for the speed and precision positioning, both FedEx communicative attributes. (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) Website has become a dominant technology. FedEx has its home page shipping resources source for everyone, so that customer could find out the information that the delivery services offer in their own region. FedEx website has created a quality website with full useful guidance and tools. In addition, a successful website should be able to lead the customers to take action. Such as, FedEx also allow the users to download FedEx Welcome Kit, so that it could help them optimize their shipping and manage account efficiently. -Interface Interface refers to the dynamic exchange of information in service that occurs between the company and the customers. Interactions with sales people face-to face, phone call, online chatting. ( Rayport, F.J. Jawoski, J.B. 2005) FedEx main focus is on customer service, so they will always have interaction with customers. If customer encounter any problems and make complaints they can even get to the customer support centre, faces-to- face interactions with FedEx staffs. The front office will handle the customer procurement and complaints. While, if customer have feedback or comments, they could email FedEx by select the appropriate service in order for a customer support representative to assist customers inquiry. -Innovations Innovations are a change in the product or services for adding something new that added features and benefits. The changes must increase product value, customer value, or producer value. The information about the package is just as important as the package itself. (Fred Smith, 1978). Today, FedEx provides customers access to real time information which has enabled new supply chain models and efficiencies. FedEx focus and improve built upon innovation and it continues to be an integral part of the FedEx culture and business strategy. The FedEx Innovation labs is an information technology project designed to create an atmosphere of collaborative thinking around critical technologies such as advanced optics for scanning, robotics, pervasive computing, biometrics, video object recognition etc.  The Labs house a research and development team tasked with looking at future technologies that have a 3-5 years production roadmap.   Integration across Implementation Domains Integration across implementation domains is more complex. It requires training program and expertise to create trustworthiness for customers. The Jobs at FedEx requires higher level of knowledge, experience, capabilities, and educated. FedEx need employs people with literature degrees, though FedEx might also need people holding with higher qualifications with MBAs. In addition, FedEx couriers receive roughly 50 hours of training per year. In order to maintain high quality service levels, training to be conducted by training professionals who understand the technicalities of the express transportation business. The courses from supply chain planning and logistics management to training on specific software programs, quality management and marketing sales. Linkages between the interface innovation To create linkages between the interface and innovation, the company must provide experiential encounters that are referred as dynamic, interactive, and innovative. ( Rayport, F.J. Jawoski, J.B. 2005). FedEx created corporate sponsorship and events. Beginning in 2007, FedEx became the title sponsor of the FedEx Cup, a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. FedEx is spent an estimated $44 million a year to sponsor the FedEx Cup, a full season of PGA Tour events culminating with a four-tournament playoff series to determine the top mens golfer, also Golf Digest reports. FedEx is trying to reach executives and other corporate decision makers. The PGA Tour has all the professional golfers from worldwide and its events are broadcast worldwide, and its appealed to FedEx. It is because FedEx is a global company; they needed to communicate to customers on global stage. FedEx is recognized by executives and consumers, by sponsoring such huge amount of cost and long run event it make sense bec ause it provides wide and extended exposure. So, this communications can provide new personalized experiential encounters between FedEx and the customers. Integrated marketing Integrated marketing is the process for managing customer relationships that drive brand value. In FedEx, within the marketing department activities are centered on customer segments. Each segment is staffed by a cross-functional team composed of manager, marketer, analyst, agency account executive, and may be a representative from the agency-managed fulfillment house. These cross-functional teams meet as frequently as necessary. E-mail has greatly facilitated this integration. All marketing vendors are connected to FedEx and to each other through the FedEx corporate e-mail system. The marketing communication can provide information to prospective customers. It can let the customers know about the service options available, cost, specific features, functions, and service benefits. FedEx has own customer information services department. It offering a customer service toll-free telephone line for customer questions. It is operated by an automated operator then will prompt the user to a live agent for uses of tracking, claims, scheduling pick-ups, locations, ordering supplies, setting up FedEx accounts, billing etc. However, the customers can get information in FedEx website which is http://www.fedex.com/my/ .One of the roles of marketing communication is persuade target customers that service offers best solution to meet their needs and build relationship with them. The company added on a facility on the official website for consumers to be able to track their packages from the Internet. Marketing at FedEx has two IT work teams supporting its efforts. The teams a re physically located within the marketing building and report to both the IT and marketing organizations. FedEx  marketing mix  strategy  affected the  retention rate  prevailing within the industry.   Marketing communication can also help maintain relationships with existing customers. It requires comprehensive, up-to-date customer database and ability to make use of this in a personalized way. FedEx marketing database contains a complete picture of all the companys customers worldwide, and their FedEx transactions. So, they can turn customer data into customer knowledge, to satisfy the customers needs. e) Marketing communications mix -Personal communications FedEx become a well known company through word of mouth. What really has established a good repute for FedEx is the consistence in providing good quality services  to its consumers. So, the customers will spread the positive words of FedEx to others. FedEx provides excellent  customer care  in this  service-based industry, this enhance an emotional connection between FedEx and its customers. -Advertising Advertising  is a form of  communication  intended to  persuade  an audience to purchase or take some action upon products, ideals, or services. FedEx has the TV commercial video ads. The advertising campaign launched to reflect on the new feature provided by FedEx also identified the expanded international capability of the company, appealing to a  global audience  to try FedEx services.  One of the best known ad campaigns is We Live to Deliver. This creates a huge impact for the company. One of the package deliveries giants biggest web campaigns, which running on You

Cult Media Is Defined By Leading Media Essay

Cult Media Is Defined By Leading Media Essay The term cult media is defined by leading cult media theorists, Sara Gwenllian-Jones and Roberta Pearson to mean any text that is considered off-beat or edgy, that draws a niche audience, that has a nostalgia appeal, that is considered emblematic of a particular subculture, or that is considered hip (ix). For over a century, cult media in the form of films have played an important role in our lives, entertaining us, often provoking conversation and debate. Joining films in the cult media stakes was the rise of television in the 1950s which added to the spread of cult media. A pivotal moment in cult media was the release of the film, The Rocky Horror Picture Show in 1975. This film changed the publics perception of cult media and how people related to it. Since then the internet and online social media have completely changed the way cult media has evolved and been received. My thesis statement is that eventhough there have been significant changes that have impacted on the production, distribution and reception of cult media since that pivotal moment of Rocky Horror it still remains extremely popular. This is because it often deviates from accepted societal norms. It touches on religion, sex, politics, ethnic backgrounds and other topics that many people regard as controversial (Hills 21). These themes are all still today what Gwenllian-Jones and Pearson term off-beat and edgy. They allow cult media to transcend significant changes and generations and are the reason why cult media continues to grow in popularity (Jancovich, et al; Mathijs and Mendik; Stadler and McWilliam). Three significant changes that have impacted on the production, distribution and reception of films, television, and other new and emerging media was firstly the internet, secondly technological changes such as digitalisation (the shift to digital cinema) and thirdly, the rise of the cult media audience and the incredible rise in the fanatical devotion to cult media texts (FANDOM) and the user-revolution of alternative films and TV shows cult media attracts a particular kind of devotional investment and fetishisation (Hills 511). The first change was the internet which has certainly changed the way cult media is viewed. Especially since the introduction in 2006-2007 of higher download speeds on broadband internet. People can now view and download films and TV shows through peer to peer file sharing, streamed from video tape and DVD via sites like YouTube, bitTorrent and DixXCrawler. This has expanded the opportunities for potential audiences to gain access to films which already have a cult reputation, as well as to discover and create new cult reputations. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, for example, it tended to be the case that cult reputations were forged within major metropolitan areas: it was in such areas that repertory theaters, for example, could be found. For those who did not have easy access to such areas the chances of finding films outside of the mainstream was very difficult (Klinger; Telotte; Tryon). Now, however, with abundant information freely available on the Web, as well as the huge number of films released on DVD and available over the Internet, many more people can gain access to a range of different cult titles wherever they are geographically located. This may make it increasingly likely that cult reputations are forged outside of a theatrical release. With the internet FANDOM and other devotees can more easily access the works of current leading independent filmmakers like Jim Jarmusch, Wes Anderson, Lynne Ramsay and Victor Nunez. The second change was the introduction of different and multiple distribution streams which allow for more cult media to exist. Emerging technologies that facilitate the production, distribution and promotion of small, offbeat films. Traditional distribution models have been challenged by new media entrepreneurs and independent film makers, user-generated videos, film blogs, mash-ups, downloads, and other expanding social networks like Facebook (Klinger 13; Lavery). With a video or digital camera, a computer, editing software and an internet connection, anyone can make and upload a film of virtually any length to a personal Web site or a searchable public domain such as YouTube. There has been continuing convergence between film and TV because of the advances in digital technology. Image and sound quality and even viewing contexts and audience experiences are moving closer together in many instances with digitalisation having a significant impact on all screen media (Hartley; Klinger ; Stadler and McWilliam). New distribution models firstly video, then DVD, then high speed internet download have given an extra lease of life to old horror and cringe-worth B-films that might otherwise have languished in obscurity. It is Hollywoods version of the long tail where the web fuels endless small cults that add up to a massive audience (Lavery, 20). Thirdly, there has been a dramatic shift from viewing in a picture theatre to viewing in small, private groups in a hall or function room or at home alone. Devotees do not have to go to the cinema anymore. This shift has significant ramifications for cult viewership. There is the loss of sharing the particular cult media with others in a cinema. Now it has been replaced by online chat rooms and Facebook sites (Scone; Stadler and McWilliam). Its hard to imagine the Rocky Horror  cult developing the way it did with its outlandish costumes, spirited shout-outs and dancing in the aisles in the absence of communal showings in a theatre (Lavery; Telotte). Home consumption of the cult film or cult film-in-embryo may allow for the proliferation of interpretations in the absence of the disciplining presence of other cultists. What is diminished are possibilities for engaged spectatorship a kind of creative and communal participation in the life-world of the cult film (Hills, 41). Now, with the rise of digital cinema, audiences often encounter films outside the theater and even outside the home on their way to work or at the beach. The cult media audience can now utilise all manner of ways to access films and TV shows. The FANDOM audience has become interactive as social media allows for DIY (do-it-yourself) film criticism and analysis. Film blogging is a very important aspect of the production, distribution and reception of cult media. Devoted fans are continuing in greater numbers to use DIY production activities such as uploading reviews and videos. This is spurring on participation in alternative cult media (Caldwell; Hills; Lavery). Finally, there is the continuing convergence between cult film and cult television. Cult media experts Professors Ernest Matijs and Xavier Mendik argue that the fanatical devotion by fans to film franchises like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and, Pirates of the Caribbean have made them both mainstream and cult classics. As Doctor Jane Stadler and Kelly McWilliam contend the label cult media covers such a broad territory that it cannot be distinguished as a clear category or genre (274). To be a  cult  film, it must have a particular kind of audience who display a particular kind of behavior; behavior which is often  ritualistic.  The Rocky Horror Picture Show  is the archetypal example of a film which, regardless of any esthetic or formal filmic features it may display, developed a dedicated audience following, who would go to tremendous lengths to attend a screening of their worshipped film (Klinger; Mathijs and Sexton). It can be argued that Rocky Horror was the first cros s-over film that spanned the gap between cult and mainstream. With Rocky Horror and a successful shock TV show such as Dexter there is not always a clear difference between cult media and mainstream media. Dexter has an extremely dark side to it and covers controversial topics such as incest and serial killers. In the same vein as Rocky Horror, Dexter can also be regarded as cult media. Going back to what Gwenllian-Jones and Pearson said it is offbeatand it is edgy. It may not have the call and response of Rocky Horror or its music and costumes and dancing in the aisles of the theatre. It is a different genre within cult media with Rocky Horror being a dark musical fantasy and Dexter being a horrific comedy. One of the main differences that distinguishes cult television like Dexter from cult film like Rocky Horror is seriality, where a show like Dexter can develop characters and story lines over many hours (Gwenllian-Jones and Pearson; Klinger). The show has now run for over 70 epis odes and is into season 7 compared to the 100 minutes of Rocky Horror. In summary, even though there have been significant changes to the production, distribution and reception of cult media and despite cultists perceptions that their offbeat and edgy object choices have become too accessible to mass-market audiences, cult media has grown in popularity. It has become more culturally diffuse, especially over the past decade, earning not only a place as a popular marketing term, but also blurring with mainstream entertainment like Hollywoods cult blockbusters like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean  (Klinger; Mathijs and Sexton; Peary; Stadler and McWilliam). As leading media expert Professor Barbara Klinger has observed, the gradual transition of cult media as a result of constant, on-going changes from public, social rituals at cinemas to private, individualistic collectorship in the home viewing environment has popularised cultish activity such as repeated screenings, reciting dialogue, and other viewing rituals. This has all resulted in taking cult media beyond marginal subcultures and allowing it to become more connected to countless types of media and an ever-increasing world-wide fan base.