Matching Hypothesis Essay Example for Free

Matching Hypothesis Essay The Aims of this experiment was to see if there is a similarity between levels of physical appearance between couples. The method used in this experiment was very similar to that of Mursteins matching hypothesis, using 10photos of couples split in two so there was 10 males and 10females 20 participants were asked to rank the males in order of 1-10, and the rank the females in order of 1-10 without knowing which male was coupled with which female. The results of this method were recorded by means of Spearmans rank correlation. The Rho of this experiment was 0. 2727273, for the results to be statistically significant the Rho had to be equal to or greater than 0. 564. As this experiment was below this it was statistically infrequent and the null hypothesis was accepted. In conclusion the hypothesis of this experiment was rejected as results were statistically infrequent, this shows from the results that there is in fact no similarities in levels of physical appearance amongst couples in long term relationships. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder suggests that people are as attractive as a person sees them. So for instance a person may be seen as attractive to certain people but not attractive to others. How attractive people find each other forms the basis of my research Research has already been carried out on this area and different conclusions have been drawn upon, examples of these are; Goffman (1952) proposed the Matching Hypothesis, which stated that individuals were more likely to have long lasting relationships if they were of the same attractiveness as each other. The reasons why this is the case could be that, as human instinct is to reproduce, evolution will have conditioned one to form a relationship with an individual who is most likely to reproduce with them and, generally, this would be an individual of the same physical attractiveness. Many researchers have tested this theory: Walster (1966) used a computer dance as the basis for his research. He got 4 independent judges to rate the attractiveness of 752 students who signed up to this dating service. The students were then matched up at random with the only condition that a man wasnt matched up with a woman who was taller than him. Each person was then asked to rate their partner and it was found that the more attractive individuals were the best date that doesnt support the Matching Hypothesis. Walster Walster (1969) developed an experiment that was a follow up to this. The experiment allowed the participants to meet and interact beforehand, providing more ecological validity, and went on to support the Matching Hypothesis as the individuals preferred each other if they were of the same attractiveness. Murstein (1972) collected photographs of couples that were married or engaged and had participants rate each person in the photograph separately. His findings showed that generally the two people were rated as the same that, again, supports the Matching Hypothesis. The methodology of this research is used as a template for the research to be done for testing the hypothesis. There is also other research that suggests that people tend to be attracted to those with similar interests and personality traits. This research does not support the research that suggests people in long-term relationships are of similar levels of physical attractiveness. Kandel (1978) showed us that demographic behaviour has effects on relationships and that individuals tend to be more attracted to people who are similar to themselves (class, political views etc) but have certain qualities that the individual does not have, but could gain from (talents, admiration etc). Burgess Wallin (1958) found that there was a positive correlation between personality type and happiness of a marriage in a longitudinal study they carried out, but they also found that, in some circumstances, personalities would change in long-term relationships to match that of the other individual. Moreland Beach (1992) carried out a study with male workers that showed that, as they became more familiar with females they worked with, they also became more attracted to them, almost without noticing their physical attractiveness. This research shows that people tend to become more and more attracted to people as they get to know them better, but there is always the argument that the person would not approach the other person if they felt they were either far more attractive than themselves or if they viewed them as much less attractive. This then opens the question. Do people get together with people of the same levels of physical appearance as themselves? It is thought that all humans would go for the more attractive individual available but would be worried that this person would then accept a better offer and leave. Therefore people go for people on the same level as themselves. This is supported by (Walster and Walster, 1969). This aim of this study is to discover whether or not people in long-term relationships are of similar levels of physical appearance. My hypothesis suggests that people in long-term relationships will be of similar levels of physical appearance, reasons for choosing a directional hypothesis is that given the research conducted by Walster and Walster and Murstein it would suggest that there would be a positive correlation and my hypothesis would be correct.

Review Of A Trip To The Moon Film Studies Essay

Review Of A Trip To The Moon Film Studies Essay Nowadays, cinema is significantly commercial and digitalised. However, the unique and often entertaining black and white films of the early twentieth century should not be forgotten. They should in fact be revered as films in their own right. A perfect example of early cinema at its peak is A Trip to the Moon (aka Le Voyage dans la Lune), which was directed by film pioneer George M li s in 1902. The majority of films from this period dealt with simple scenes of everyday life, such as the knocking down of a garden wall or the arrival of a train. However M li s made the transition from these early shorts to a more modern form of montage, which led A Trip to the Moon being regarded as a masterpiece of early cinema. The first scene of the film opens with a group of astronomers holding a meeting in order to discuss how to travel to the moon. The main astronomer, played by M li s, suggests that they build some type of capsule and fire themselves at the moon. After some argument, the scientists agree and build a cannon and a bullet-shaped capsule. They are launched at the moon via cannon by a group of showgirls and land comically in the eye of the moon. Once on the lunar surface, they meet the Selenites, the alien hostile inhabitants of the moon. One of M li s main inspirations for the film would be Jules Verne s novel From the Earth to the Moon, from which he got the idea of the projected capsule at the moon. The film also contains elements from H.G. Wells novel The First Men in the Moon, for example, the underground moon cave with gigantic mushrooms and the vulnerable inhabitants, the Selenites. M li s was a master of visual illusion due to him being a professional magician and a producer of theatre. He followed the lead of other nineteenth century stage magicians, such as Jean Robert-Houdin, by integrating the newest technology into his theatrical spectacles. With film, M li s embraced its theatrical possibilities and through experimentation, he made swift advances in special effects, film editing, intricate sets and costumes, and literary content. The set design of the various scenes is elaborate. The painted backdrops merge flawlessly with the constructed parts and props, creating settings with great depth. The set design, costumes, and anthropomorphic objects provide the film with a fantastical surreal appeal, which both attract and astonish audiences. M li s was one of the first filmmakers to make use of special effects, using a number of ingenious techniques to create illusions. Cinematic devices such as stop-motion photography and film splicing were used to give the illusion of objects vanishing or changing. Examples of these techniques can be seen in the Selenites disappearing into a puff of smoke when hit by the scientists and the approach of the capsule towards the moon. For the duration of the film, spectacle, burlesque, and even absurdity frequently dominate over scientific logic and realism. For instance, in the supposedly scientific scene of the launching of the capsule, the cannon is loaded by a troupe of showgirls dressed in a burlesque version of sailor suits (Gunning ). M li s openly acknowledged the dominance of special effects over the storyline in his films as he once wrote, As for the scenario, the story or tale, I considered it last I utilized it only as a pretext, a context for tricks or pleasing theatrical effects (Gunning ). A Trip to the Moon is not a forgotten gem of early cinematic history, but a film of energy, imagination, exploration, and humour that still pleasure audiences today. 2. A film review of Duck Soup (1933) The film Duck Soup, starring the Marx Brothers, is a funny satire with lively gags and some of the best physical comedy ever in cinema. Although it is nowadays regarded as a comic masterpiece, the film received poor reviews when it first came out in 1933, mainly for its satirising of politics and warmongering. Even to this day the Marx Brothers are greatly revered because of their masterful ability to treat their audience to riotous slapstick comedy, puns, deadpan one-liners, brief sight gags, and other subtler humour. All of the Marx Brothers comedy films were extensions of their vaudeville days. Duck Soup is a perfect example, where the visual gags that had previously worked so well on the stage are incorporated into the film. The 1933 film was directed by Leo McCarey. The film stars Groucho Marx, who plays Rufus Firefly, the new appointed president of the fictional nation of Freedonia. Firefly has a questioning attitude towards work ethic, which can be seen as he attempts to decrease work hours by shortening the length of lunch breaks for the workers. Rufus becomes infatuated with Mrs. Teasdale, but he is in competition for her hand with Ambassador Trentino of the neighbouring country of Sylvania. Rufus immediately insults the Sylvanian ambassador by slapping him across the face instead of shaking his hand. War is consequently declared between the two countries. However, the plot of the film is not of any real importance as it mainly serves as a chance for the brothers to make fun of dictators, government bureaucracy and the irrationality of reckless war. Duck Soup features the Marx Brothers at their very best. Both the continuous sequence of laughs and the satirical storyline are hilarious in their own right, but the film also provides the individual comedy sequences for the brothers, which are the real highlight of the film. The film contains some of their best material, providing a variety of comic settings and dialogue and some quite entertaining musical sequences. Some examples would be the mirror sequence, the telephone sequence, the peanut stall interchange, the riddles, and the final battle. The mirror sequence is by far the most entertaining scene in the film, where Harpo, and Chico, and Groucho are all dressed the same and they mimic each other s movements as if they re looking in a mirror at themselves. Another excellent example of Marx comedy is the peanut stand scene where Harpo and Chico have an altercation with a man who runs a lemonade stand next to Harpo s peanut stand. The film is a constant reel of comedy, from Groucho s entrance in the first scene to the bombing of the shelter in the final scene. Similar to other great comedies of the 1930s, Duck Soup does not require special effects or a completely logically storyline to attract an audience. Nowadays, Duck Soup is widely considered to be a stunning success of film comedy, and the Marx Brothers best film. CU4026: Introduction to Film Studies Film Review Assignment

Tennysons Ulysses and The Lotos Eaters Essay examples -- Poetry Tenny

Tennyson's "Ulysses" and "The Lotos Eaters" The great hero Odysseus has captivated readers throughout the ages. It is no surprise that the Victorian poet Tennyson not only read the Odyssey but wrote poetry about Odysseus as well. In the poems 'The Lotos Eaters' and 'Ulysses,' Tennyson remains true to the legends, but he infuses the characters with the ethos of his own day and his own experiences. 'The Lotos Eaters' recalls the Homeric legend that has Odysseus and his men passing through an island that grew magical fruit. Anyone who ate of the fruit would ?forget the way home? (Bk 1X, line 97). Odysseus sent three men to scout the land. They tasted the fruit and had to be dragged back to the ship protesting and crying, by Odysseus. No word is mentioned about why the sailors had to be dragged back to the ship, weeping. No word of what they wanted so badly to forget. Tennyson, in 'The Lotos Eaters,' fills us in on why he thinks the sailors were bone-tired and why they wanted rest. ?All things have rest and ripen towards the grave/ in silence; ripen, fall, and cease: / Give us long rest or death, dark death, or dreamful ease.? It serves as a parenthetic explanation to Homer?s legend. However, the specific nature of and reason for their weariness is Tennyson?s own creation. ?Why should we toil alone, / we only toil, who are the first of all things? while the ?flower ripens in its place, / ripens and fades, and falls, and hath no toil, fast-rooted in the fruitful soil?? The speaker rages against the human condition that has humans seek endlessly for the path to their fruition. It isn?t encrypted into their soul as it is in the soul of the fruit which blossoms and ripens without effort. For the... ...es of nature, and not his own soul. Both heroes are victorious through the powers of their intellect, but what they seek to overcome, and what they seek to understand, is vastly different. Though Homer wrote his epic over two thousand years ago, it still excites the modern reader; though Dante wrote his poetry nearly one thousand years ago, his language and sinful characterization are captivating; and though Tennyson wrote his poetry over one hundred years ago, its pain is fresh and was a precursor to the existential pain of the modern man. Works Cited: Tennyson, Alfred. "Ulysses." The Norton Introduction to Literature. Eds. Jerome Beaty and J. Paul Hunter. 7th ed. New York: Norton, 1998. 1139-41. Tennyson, Alfred, Lord. ?The Lotus Eaters.? The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000. 1208-1213.

Separate Peace Essay: Self-Examination in A Separate Peace :: Separate Peace Essays

Self-Examination A Separate Peace opens as Gene Forrester returns to Devon School, a New England prep school, about fifteen years after he was in attendance there. World War II had just begun then and he remembers the Summer Suicide Society--an organization founded by his best friend, Finny, which devotes itself to initiating members by having them jump from the tree into the river. Gene and Finny always had to take the first jump from the tree. As time goes on, Gene begins to resent Finny because of his athletic talents and on one occasion, he jounces the limb so that Finny will fall. Finny's leg is shattered, preventing him from playing any sports, but Finny refuses to believe that Gene could have done this, even though Gene confesses. When Finny returns to school, he wants to develop Gene into a good athlete for the 1944 Olympics. As one of the many examples of opposing elements contrasted with each other, Gene tells Finny that sports are not important because of the war, which Finny refuses to be lieve. A while later, some boys from the prep school take Gene and Finny to a big assembly room, where they want to clear up the matter of Finny's broken leg. Gene realizes that he is being put on trial, Finny refuses to answer any questions because he trusts his friend, Finny leaves the room agitated, slips on the stairs, and breaks the same leg again. At the hospital, Finny has a changed attitude and asks Gene why he pushed him out of the tree. Gene says the act was a blind impulse. Later that day, Finny dies when some Q~i~ bone marrow gets into his bloodstream. Looking back on the experience, Gene believes that he was never very interested in the war because he was waging his own personal war between the acceptance of the clearly defined prep school values and Finny's laid-back values. He had killed his enemy at school. Knowles' book focuses on the adolescent period of life. Adolescence is a very confusing time of life, primarily because a person fluctuates from wanting to be a child and being innocent to wanting to be an adult and questioning life. Knowles emphasizes that both worlds of adolescent and adult life share many similarities and overlap often--they are not separate entities. Even in the green, neatly kept paradise of Devon School, there existed some areas of uncontrolled wilderness.

Hospitality in Homers Odyssey :: Homer Odyssey Essays

Hospitality in Homer's Odyssey      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first four books of Homer’s Odyssey depict certain instances of hospitality which are filled with generosity.   One reason for the importance of this hospitality could have been a respect for foreigners, who were completely at the mercy of their hosts, especially when hosts had themselves been foreigners.   A second reason why hospitality may have been important was to see if the guest was disguised as an enemy.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Book 4, Homer tells how Telemakhos and Pallas Athena (disguised as Mentor) visited Menelaos in Sparta.   When Eteoneus, the King’s aide, asked whether he should welcome the guests, Menelaos replies, â€Å"before this, Eteoneus, you were never a fool †¦ we’ve both been entertained as guests before we came back home again †¦ so unharness the horses;   bring the strangers to the banquet.† (p. 33 Hull translation).   This comment illustrates the fact that Menelaos, as host, had had the experience as foreigner before, especially when he was at war and had encounters with both friends and foes in distant lands.   He empathizes with the position his guests are in, and Telemarkos and Athena were bathed and fed before they were questioned.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In book three, Telemarkos and Athena go to visit the wise Nestor in Pylos where they are welcomed and well-cared for.   In his wisdom, Nestor recognizes Athena for who she is, and offers up a holocaust to her the following morning (p. 30).   In embracing the company of foreigners and showing the proper hospitality, hosts both warded off the fury of gods visiting as disguised guests as is portrayed in the Odyssey, but in reality, it also may have been a way of making friends of enemies who came to scout the land.   The in-depth inquisitions after the guests were fed may have been not only innocent curiousity, but also a way to weed out ill-intentioned visitors.   This can be seen in Nestor’s wise inquiry, â€Å"Who are you, stranger? [Are you] recklessly roving the sea as pirates do while staking their lives and bringing ills to alien people?† (p. 23).   Hosts not only had to be prepared to entertain gods, but also protect themselves and th eir land.

Drama at the Farm: A Canadian Survival Story Essay

Canadian Writer Margaret Atwood would argue that every country in the world has a single unifying and informing symbol, to act as a belief system that keeps everyone together and working for common ends. These unifying symbols manifest in the literature produce by authors and literary thinkers; whether or not it is done consciously or subconsciously. According to Atwood, in the United States â€Å"Frontier† is the unifying symbol, the exploration of new land, the west and independence from imperial powers. In the United Kingdom the â€Å"Island† is a distinct symbol of common national sentiments, the idea of the central island nation controlling its lands and wealth from behind the safety of its metaphorical walls; this symbol is perfectly represented by the medieval castles and fortresses of that nation. With these examples in mind Atwood states that the unifying symbol for Canadian Lifestyle, and consequently literature, is â€Å"Survival†. As a result of the Canada’s geographical shape, its vast landmass and bitter climate, as well as the nation’s origins as subordinate to imperial rule, Survival becomes the common thread which bonds the lives thought and experiences of all Canadians. It is more real to us than the frontier or the island. In her essay, † Survival : A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature†, Atwood goes into great detail about this idea of survival and victimization, she outlines her four victim positions with the intention of increasing understanding of Canadian literature, and how these guidelines apply to anyone, Canadian or otherwise. In â€Å"The Watcher†, by Guy Vanderhaeghe, Atwood’s concepts can be used to identify and understand the position of Vanderhaeghe’s main character, Charlie Bradley, as well as increase understanding of Vanderhaeghe’s work as a piece of distinctly Canadian fictional Literature. Atwood’s four victim positions can be used to understand characters from Canadian fiction from the distinctly Canadian point of view, survival. The hero of most Canadian fiction is the survivor, the main character or protagonist survives where the other characters do not, or they survive one ordeal only to succumb to something else, â€Å"The survivor has no triumph or victory but the fact of his survival; he has little after his ordeal that he  did not have before, except gratitude for having escaped with his life.†(Atwood 33). The Canadian protagonist or survivor doesn’t portray the myth that they can beat adversity to better themselves or their situation, rather they are no better of than before their ordeal, or maybe worse, by are fortunate to have escaped with their lives. The survivor is therefore inherently and unavoidably a victim in one form or another, and Atwood’s position can be use to identify and grasp a greater understanding of the survivo r character, his actions, thoughts, and decisions. To understand Charlie Bradley one must first understand the four basic victim positions. A person of the first victim position is in denial of the fact that they are the victim, usual their slightly elevated status above their peers makes them feel that anyone can succeed if they wanted to and those that don’t are just lazy. A person from the second victim position acknowledges their victimization but resigns to it because of feelings that it is the result of uncontrollable exterior forces such as fate, they feel their position as a victim is inevitable and cannot be changed. Individuals of the third position acknowledge their victimization but refuse to accept the role is inevitable as in position two. However a person in position three doesn’t use their frustration at their victimization in a creative manner, they don’t use their energy to change their position they just loath themselves and are jealous of those who are not victims. A person in position four is what Atwood calls â€Å"a creative non victim† (Atwood 38). For these individuals victimization is not a reality, they use their energy to rise above the existence of victimization and are positively creative with their situation. Vanderhaeghe’s main character from his short story, â€Å"The Watcher†, Charlie Bradley fits perfectly into Atwood’s definition of the second victim position. Charlie Acknowledges his victimization but feels there is nothing he can do about it. Evidence of Charlie’s position can be found numerous times throughout the text. From the very first sentence of Vanderhaeghe’s story one can cast type Charlie. He says, â€Å"I suppose it was having a bad chest that turned me into an observer, a watcher, at an early age.† (Vanderhaeghe 207). From this statement you already know that Charlie blames his situation as being an observer on his bad chest, an uncontrollable external for, he cannot control his sickness and so resigns to be a victim of it. The rest of the story centers around Charlie’s talent for observing events but never participating, the situation he deals with when he is shipped of to his grandmas farm and forced to deals with his mentally unstable aunt and her freeloading boyfriend Thompson. Charlie fancies himself a spy observing the details and doing nothing. More evidence of his position comes from thoughts on his aunt’s situation, Charlie says, â€Å"†¦ Evelyn, was evidence enough of how firmly bound we all are to the wretched wheel of life and its stumbling desires.† (Vanderhaeghe 221). Again resigning everything to the whims of fate. Charlie’s true position as the surviving victim comes at the end of the story when he is forced into the game, no longer a watcher, and must chose between taking the side of his Grandma or that of Thompson in identifying the assailants, who identity he does know to be the Ogden Brothers hired by his Grandma to beat up Thompson. â€Å"And now he is asking me to save him, to take a risk, when I was more completely in her clutches than he would ever be. He forgot I was a child. I depended on her.† (Vanderhaeghe 239). Charlie admits to withholding the truth to save himself, even if it meant hurting Thompson. Charlie is the survivor, he is the victim of circumstance be he has the foresight to save himself even if it isn’t the right thing to do. Canadian short stories are full of survivors, the characters created by Vanderhaeghe as well as those of many authors face different challenges than the characters of literature from other nations. Canada is a nation of survivors, if only just barely. Margaret Atwood is one Canadian writer who fully understands this survivor position and the levels of victimization that come along with it. Canadian heroes are the ones who face adversity to gain something, but those who are pounded by the outside world and are just able to have on to their lives. This situation, at least metaphorically, will be familiar to all Canadians and the great cross section of writers from various cultural backgrounds. Their diversity only reinforcing the notion that this country, the land changes you, give us all something in common, that unifying symbol that Atwood praises as the center of everything  Canadian. Survival. As Atwood aptly puts it, â€Å"A writer’s job is not to tell a society how it ought to live but how it does live.†(Atwood 42) Works Cited: Atwood, Margaret. â€Å"Survival.† Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature. Toronto: Anansi, 1972. 25-43. Vanderhaeghe, Guy. â€Å"The Watcher.† Man Descending. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1982.

Characteristics of the breakfast cereal industry Essay

Brand History Breakfast cereals are not a homogenous product. The ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry may be characterized by relatively low economies of scale and relatively low levels of technology. In other words, the entry into this industry is easy. Between the 1950s and the 1970s there was no entry of new firms in the industry even though all the incumbent firms such as Kellogg, General Mills, General Foods and Quaker Oats, made significant profits. Later however, there was the entry of new low-end companies in the markets and the number of brands sold by these firms also increased substantially from 25 to more than 80, and this number is still on a rise (Cabral, 2000, p. 265-266). Pricing trends For decades the breakfast cereal market was one of the most profitable in the United States. The industry had a consolidated structure dominated by Kellogg, General Mills and Kraft Foods with its Post brand. Strong brand loyalty, coupled with control over the allocation of supermarket shelf space, helped to limit the potential for new entry. Meanwhile the steady demand growth of around 3% per annum kept the industry revenues expanding. Also Kellogg, which accounted for over 40 percent of the market share, acted as the price leader in the industry for years in the industry. Every year Kellogg increased cereal prices, its rivals followed and industry profits too remained high. However, this favorable structure started to change in the early 1990s when the growth in demand slowed and then stagnated as the lifestyle and hence food patterns changed and the market saw the rise of powerful discounters such as Wal-Mart that started promoting their own brand of cereal. As sales of cheaper store-brand cereals began to take-ff, supermarkets no longer were as dependent on brand names to bring in traffic and hence they started to demand lower prices from the branded cereal manufacturers. Initially, the branded cereal manufacturers tried to hold against these adverse trends. However, in 1996 Kraft which was then owned by Philip Morris aggressively cut prices by 20 % for its Post brand in am attempt to gain market share. Kellogg son followed with a 19 percent price cut on two-third of its brands and General Mills quickly did the same. However, this too did not change the consumption pattern the growth rates of which remained flat and revenues then started going down for all the branded cereals (Hill, Jones, 2009, p. 52). The trend continued in 2000s also and the situation worsened with the private-label sales continuing to make inroads, gaining over 10 percent of the market. To top it all off, the sales of breakfast cereals started to contract at 1 percent per annum and the period between 1998-2001 saw the market leader Kellogg sliding down to the 2nd position for the first time in its history since its inception in 1906, by General Mills that continued to launch expensive price and promotion campaigns. To cover the rising cost General Mills raised prices in 2001 and competitors soon followed the trend. However, both Kellogg and General Mills tried to move further away from price competition in the industry by diversifying and focusing on brand extensions such as Special K on the behalf of Kellogg and new varieties of Cheerios. Special K was instrumental and helping Kellogg recapturing its market leadership position from General Mills and this renewed focus on non-price competition halted years of damaging price warfare (Hill, Jones, 2009, p. 52). Target markets The breakfast cereal industry targets several diverse markets but focuses upon two large ones namely the baby boomers and their children. Since a high proportion of the baby boomers are highly educated, health appeals are paramount. Thus many brands have placed emphasis on various types of oat-bran cereal. The other sizeable market, targeted to children is also highly developed. Various brands have successfully used sports personality and trade characters such as Tony the Tiger to attract the children towards their products and retain brand loyalty. The breakfast cereal industry has been adept at target market segmentation and promoting favorable brand images. The strategy of the overall industry especially Kellogg, the market leader, has been to provide a comprehensive assortment for the retailers targeting specific market segments (Michman, Mazze, 1999, p. 109-111) Competition Breakfast cereal industry faces competition from hand-held breakfast products such as bagels, muffins, doughnuts etc. These have in fact led to a decrease in the growth of the breakfast cereal industry. The industry also faces competition from frozen waffles, pancakes, and French toast brands which have proved to be a concern both in the past and the present. Many analysts consider that the competition is due to the change in dietary habits, though some also say that this has been due to th increase in cereal prices for the branded segment (Michman, Mazze, 1999, p. 112-113). Advertisements and Promotional activities From the time of WH Kellogg, the breakfast cereal industry has been dependent on marketing strategies and expensive promotions. In fact in 1909 itself the advertisement budget of Kellogg had reached 1 million per annum. Needless to say this is a major problem in the industry which has become price sensitive in present times. This activity has led to a decrease in profits and considering that the market share has not increased since the 1990s, this has become even more of a problem. There were also many insufficiencies generated by coupons and in-store promotions. For instance, more than 95 percent of the cereal coupons were thrown away and not redeemed and approximately half of the promotional expenditures did not reach the consumers in the form of lower prices. Because of these inefficiencies, as well as congressional investigations and competitive treats, the breakfast cereal industry has moved to lower prices. As the returns earned by the cereal manufacturers exceed most other grocery products, there is fierce competition among manufacturers (Michman, Mazze, 1999, p. 113-114). Factors contributing to success and failure There are a combination of variables that contribute to the successes and failure of the breakfast cereal industry. These variables and strategies include innovation, target-market segmentation, image, physical environment resources, and human resources. Such factors must be combined in various degrees for success. The breakfast cereal industry has shown innovation in product and packaging strategies. In addition to this, breakfast snack bars are a new innovation. The image of the breakfast cereal industry has been positive enough to withstand the assault of private-label brand sot a large extent. Also cereal manufacturers with their successful track records and huge advertisement budgets do not have much difficulty in convincing retailers to give their new product introduction a chance. In 1970s, Kellogg designed shelf space allocation programs for supermarkets. Sophisticated computers and programs developed by members of the breakfast cereal industry now help to allocate shelf space according to turnover. The breakfast cereal industry has also been successful in designing packaging for shipping and for display purposes. To sell their product brands and retain the company brand value, the breakfast cereal manufacturers have developed the strategy that links the brand name to the company name instead to identifying brand products by their individual brand names. For instance, Kellogg’s Rice Krispies and Special K, as well as General Mills’ Total Raisin Bran and Total Corn Flakes use this strategy. To fend off private brand competition by offering product line depth and high brand identification (Michman, Mazze, 1999, p. 114-115).