Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Factors Contributing Factors That Causes Obesity Among...

Childhood obesity is a major health issue that takes place when a child is beyond the average weight for his or her age and height (Mayo Clinic, 2014). According to Sameera and Amar childhood obesity is a major public health crisis nationally and internationally, which arises because of the differences in lifestyle consequences among different cultural people in New Zealand (2012). This abnormality can cause various health risks such as diabetes and heart disease (World Health Organisation, 2014). The purpose of this essay is to analyse 3 major contributing factors that causes obesity among children in New Zealand. This essay will commence by identifying the behavioural factor such as lack of physical activity for children furthermore, it will discuss environmental factors, for instance, media and portion sizes of fast food intake in New Zealand. Lastly this essay will discuss sociocultural factors regarding cultural family background and how socio-economic status affects the rising issue of childhood obesity. THESIS STATEMENT? The New Zealand Health Survey established that â€Å"1 in 9 children aged 2–14 years were obese (11%)†, in New Zealand (Ministry of Health, 2014). Weight loss can be achieved through regular exercise and interventions on nutrition. It can help protect an individual from being obese and reduce risks, complications and control health issues. For example, lowering sugar intakes to better aid diabetes, consume healthy foods for example more fruits andShow MoreRelatedFactors Contributing Factors That Causes Obesity Among Children Essay1364 Words   |  6 PagesWhat are the causes of obesity among children in New Zealand? Introduction Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition that occurs when a child is well above the normal weight for his or her age and height (Mayo Clinic, 2014). According to Sameera and Amar childhood obesity is a major public health crisis nationally and internationally, which arises because of the differences in lifestyle consequences among different cultural people in New Zealand (2012). This abnormality can cause various healthRead MoreChildhood Obesity And Its Effects On Children And Adolescents1427 Words   |  6 PagesLiterature Review Many children living in the world are well nourished and consume foods that contain sufficient amounts of protein, carbohydrate, fat and micronutrients in order to meet their nutritional requirements. However, there has been a downfall of recommended dietary standards considerably fallen short within children’s diets. Furthermore, an insignificant diet as well as physical inactivity, results in an energy imbalance and can lead to a major social issue of childhood obesity. The World HealthRead MoreRisk Factors for Stroke in Young Adults1635 Words   |  7 Pages Risk Factors for Stroke in Young Adults Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States (CDC para. 1), affecting more than 7 million Americans over the age of 20 and representing 3% of the population (Rogers et al. e68). Current estimates suggest close to 800,000 Americans will experience a stroke each year; however, symptoms related to strokes often go undiagnosed. The prevalence of undiagnosed strokes is estimated to be 17.8% of the population over the age of 45, but some minoritiesRead MoreThe Food And Beverage Industry1410 Words   |  6 Pagesspecialized in food that appeals to children alone. From the exciting music, vibrant colors, celebrity filled commercials and the prizes promised in every box of cereal, children have become one of the main targets of the food and beverage industry. For many years obesity among youths was over looked but now there is an epidemic of among school aged children in the United States. According to W.H.O. (World Health Organization 2013), there are over 42 million chil dren under the age of five overweightRead MoreEssay on Outline for Speech1256 Words   |  6 PagesInformative Speech Outline Title: Child Obesity, a â€Å"Growing† Concern Topic: Most Prevalent Causes of Obesity in the U.S. Specific Purpose: To educate the audience on the key causes of the increasing obesity rate in the U.S. among adults, but especially among youth. Thesis Statement: The main contributors to obesity among adults, but mostly among youth are environmental factors, lack of choosing nutritious meals, portion distortion and the factor that fuels all of these, advertising mediaRead MoreChildren And Type 2 Diabetes1533 Words   |  7 PagesChildren and Type 2 Diabetes Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been reported with increased frequency over the last twenty years in adolescents and children in the United States. As a result of T2DM glucose metabolism within the body of affected adolescents and children is severely compromised. Formerly known as adult onset and/or insulin resistant diabetes T2DM occurs due to the cell inability to properly use insulin which then results in lowered secretion of insulin as well as insulin resistanceRead MoreDefining Overweight And Obesity : Bmi Interpretation1475 Words   |  6 Pages†¢ Defining overweight and obesity – BMI interpretation is review. The Body Mass Index (BMI) formula is used to estimate the proportion of fat a person has based on their HEIGHT and WEIGHT. Adults with a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 are considered to be at a normal or healthy weight, adults with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 are considered to be overweight, and adults with a BMI of 30 or higher are considered obese. †¢ What challenges do people face in trying to lose weight, even when they know the healthRead MoreObesity And Its Effects On The Health Of Americans And People All Across The World1514 Words   |  7 Pages Obesity is a very serious threat to the health of Americans and people all across the world. A plethora of studies have been done to confirm the adverse effects of obesity on an individual s health. Obesity rates have been skyrocketing in the past 30 years. The year 2000 marked the first time in human history that the percentage of obesity in the human population rose over 50% (Obesity: A Cultural and Biocultural Perspective). Obesity, as well as childhood obesity, is more prevalent than everRead MoreChildhood Obesity Essay1712 Words   |  7 PagesChildhood obesity is an important issue because of the staggering proportions that this disease has reached in the past few years. Certain genetic factors paired with changing lifestyles and culture has produced kids (and adults) who are generally not as healthy as people were just a few decades ago. Widespread obesity has been the extreme result of these changes. I chose this topic because I have worked with children all of my life. I plan to continue my work with children in the futureRead MoreChildhood Obesity And Its Effects1551 Words   |  7 PagesChildhood obesity has become an epidemic in our nation. Currently, more than one in six American children is obese, which is three times the rate as that of the 1970s [1]. Obesity contributes significantly to cardiovascular disease, different types of cancers, as well as diabetes. About 70% of obese children/adolescents have at least one risk factor for heart disease, such as hyperlipidemia and hypertension, and almost 40% of obese youths have at least two additional risk factors. Increase in rates

Monday, December 16, 2019

The Effects of Media on Teenagers Free Essays

As a teen, I myself think it’s pretty safe to say that TV, as well as movies and other media, are some of our primary sources of information about sex and sexuality. Statistics estimate that the average teen will be exposed to around 15000 references to sex each year on TV. TV shows and movies make it seem normal for teenagers to have sex. We will write a custom essay sample on The Effects of Media on Teenagers or any similar topic only for you Order Now And let’s be honest, it probably is. But the fact of the matter is the media has a whole lot of influence over the way we perceive sexuality, and actually a great deal of it comes from the music industry, especially through music videos. You try to think of one song that’s been on MTV music channel, that hasn’t mentioned anything remotely to do with sex or a broken relationship. Now think of one music video you’ve watched on 4music channel that didn’t include one scrap of sexual imagery or expose and focus on a scantily clad female. Yeah, didn’t think you could. What’s worse is that a recent study of video games teenage boys regularly play found that the few female characters in those games are often highly sexualized—wearing tight revealing clothing and having unrealistically large breasts, and unnaturally disfiguring small waists. Is this distorting the way guys view real women? Well, sorry for the wakeup call boys, but you’re in for a shocking discovery. Another study of network television commercials found that nearly one in 4 commercials includes some type of sexual attractiveness as a base for the message. What is going on with the world? Are we so unimaginative we’ve resorted to sexual attraction as a method to persuade people to buy shampoo? Is this nation as gullible to believe that ‘when you buy this insanely expensive bottle of shampoo, you’ll automatically transform from your naught-over-average self into this booby-blonde bimbo who probably eats an average of 200 calories a day’ really? Why don’t we just change it from ‘Advertising Executives’ to freaking ‘Pornography Wholesale’ and be done with it?! Which brings me to another point. Young girls were quoted as saying that they would prefer to have cancer, lose both their parents, or live through a nuclear holocaust than be fat. You might be thinking, ‘Is this a joke? ’ I really wish it was. Because take it from someone who has grown up with only one parent, being fat is the least of your worries. And this problem isn’t limited to just girls, oh no. Because the amount of males with eating disorders has in fact doubled over the past decade. Sorry lads, but you’re not faultless. On the other hand, nobody is. Even the media can’t hide from you that basic fact – the new Rimmel girl, quite frankly, looks almost the double of a frogmouth catfish. Not that they don’t put up a good fight. Take one look at any middle-shelf magazine and you’ll see exactly what every single other woman in the country no doubt sees, – today’s airbrushed perception of the perfect beauty. The elementary trend in the media industry at present is to promote slim, almost unnaturally skinny women’s bodies, and sell it out as the only way to be accepted as beautiful. Women, especially young women, take one look at magazines, TV programmes, movies and other media products and accept this falsified version of a human being, and distressingly of all, believe in it. These images are distinguished in the mind of young women as being a role model to follow, and aspire to be like. Unfortunately girls, attaining this emaciated look doesn’t come naturally (unless you’ve been blessed with an insanely high metabolism – for which, I am extremely resentful), and inevitably leads to exercising some form of diet, excessive amounts of exercise or aberrant eating behaviours. In actual fact, the number of people with some form of eating disorder is triple the amount of people with AIDS. Two in five women have admitted that they were unhappy with their bodies, which means 40% of you reading this know exactly what I’m talking about. The media does affect us, and there isn’t much we can do about that. What you can do, is stop comparing yourself to the cover models – because they’re not real women. Beauty is natural, not airbrushed, and natural is how you are in yourself – not how you adapt yourself around an image’s expectations. How to cite The Effects of Media on Teenagers, Papers

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Marketing of Starbucks in Global Economy

Question: Discuss about the Marketing of Starbucks in Global Economy. Answer: Introduction This report is related to the strategic marketing plan of a company for next three years. For the discussion, the famous company Starbuck Corporation has taken. It is well known that Starbucks is operating at global level. Starbucks is well-settled Washington-based Company which is famous for its good taste of coffee. It is one of the fastest growing companies in the United States. The company has started operating in 1992 and over ten years company has set new revenues with the growth rate of 20%. This report considers the competitive position of Starbucks and defines three year marketing strategy for the company. Along with this, competitive advantage, current position, future desired position and about the advantages which can be achieved by the Starbucks to get desired position in the market (Aiello Dickinson, 2014). During the past year, the stock of Starbucks has declined in terms of value. Now, Starbucks is improving its financial position by store sale. Primary strategy of S tarbucks is to expand its higher as compared to the competitors. Although Starbucks has faced many difficulties due to many factors these challenges i.e. financial downturn in US which affected the business of Starbucks. After the crisis, company has added total estimated 338 million to the UK economy. Based on the current research, total consumption of coffee in world is 2.25 billion. There is about 22.1 gallon of coffee per capita consumption in US in which 4% of sales is helpful to get higher rates for Starbucks. It is expected that Starbucks will be largest coffee chain in 2020 (Latif et al, 2014). Where are we now From the analysis of the surroundings of Starbucks, it is clear that for Starbucks, technological, environmental and sociological factors are favorable and on the other hand, economic, legal and political factors are unfavorable for the Starbucks (Gupta, Sahi Chahal, 2013). In terms of competitive advantage, the company has major threats i.e. legal issues, and threats of new entry etc. But, Starbucks has strong competitive advantage among the customers. Competitive advantage can be achieved by doing something better and innovative as compared to the competitors. If the number of small advantage can be combined than company can be able to achieve competitive advantage in the industry (Baines, Fill Page, 2011). Competitive advantage is important or necessary to develop and impellent the winning strategy and to achieve growth and profits. Starbucks is doing different practices as compared to the competitors (Khan, 2010). Starbucks has strong brand name among the customers. Brand name can be described as the specific term, name, symbol, sign, design, which is used to differentiate itself from its competitors. The green and white logo of Starbucks is the symbol of high brand awareness among the customers. Most of the international tourists have visited in the Starbucks by identifying its logo in another country. Company has positive brand image which impact the decision making process of the customers and build customer loyalty to the Starbucks (Geereddy, 2015). Product and service standardization: Quality of the product can be described as the perception of the customers by the degree of excellence of the characteristics. Quality is the main factor in the relationship marketing which impact the customers satisfaction (Cadogan, 2012). There is loyalty reward program offered by the Starbucks which improves the purchasing behavior of customers towards the products. Starbucks is doing well in brand building. Having good taste of coffee, Starbucks provides different type of experience to the customers. Starbucks is famous as third place where people can meet with friends and business partners. This is the position which improves the sales of the company (Boychenko, 2012). Starbucks is well known as the innovator having good management of innovation for the high sales and success in the market. The aim of Starbucks is to provide good taste of various coffee brands in one store. The company has ability to do new innovations in the products which is considerable in the competitive strength. Starbucks has adopted the changing preferences and taste of customers. Flexibility is the part of success of Starbucks. So, the company has introduced almond milk in stores and non-dairy alternatives such as soy milk and coconut milk. According to a research, there are 49% of consumers who consume non-dairy milk products. So, it is estimated that sales of dairy milk will decrease by 11% by 2020. So, Starbucks is focusing on non-dairy milk products (Marchi, Maria and Micelli, 2012). With the tasty coffee, Starbucks is social conscious as compared to the other companies. It is the proof that how the company treats with the employees. This is the reason, the company has low attrition rate. In America, Starbucks has announced a program related to economic development for the low medium income communities. According to Starbucks, it is the job opportunity for many people to grow the business (Bose, 2012). Where do we want to be Starbucks is continuously delivering high financial performance. Customers experience different types of coffee and good environment in the stores of Starbucks. Company has strong position in the market. Now, Starbucks want to gain some more positions with new strategies. In upcoming years, Starbucks has some new goals for upcoming years. In the year of growth and profitability, Starbucks is now planning to get higher standards in the coffee industry. The strategy of Starbucks is to develop its core competencies to add more values in the products and establish the image of the company as luxury and stylishness for the customers. According to Hamel (1990), core competencies can be defined as the collective learning of the organization to coordinate different production skills and implement various streams of the technologies. The core competencies of the Starbucks can be seen in its capability, superb market strategies, operational efficiency, human resource management and management capabilities (Lapersonne, 2013). Further, another strategy of Starbucks is to maintain the competitive advantage by cost leadership, focus and differentiation. Cost leadership includes the strategy in terms of producing low-cost with high quality products. It also includes reducing operational cost in all area of operations. With this, strategy of Starbucks is to adopt differentiation of the products. By differentiation strategy, customers perceive the products to be unique and value added. Starbucks has the strategy to reduce the cost of the products for the growth and profit. The aim of the company is to expand the stores effectively. Basically, strategy is to focus on cost efficiency. To reduce the cost, there is one way i.e. specialize and focus on the core marketing of the coffee. Further, long term strategy of Starbucks is to build and retain the customer loyalty in the market (Hooley, Piercy Nicoulaud, 2012). Along with this, next objective of the Starbucks is to look good location for its stores. This strategy of Starbucks is based on traffic pattern and demographic criteria. Company is willing to open the outlets based on the plan and criteria i.e. weather condition, customers behavior, taste and preferences. The long term objective of Starbucks is to provide convenient place for the overworked people in every country. The management team of the company is focusing on more efforts. Image building is the core objective of the company by creating a revolution in the business world (Seaford, Culp Brooks, 2012). Starbucks is planning to invest heavily in improving and creating brand image of the company as comfortable coffeehouse where consumers can enjoy luxurious moment away from stressful environment of the workplace. From starting, Starbucks has become recognized company in the coffee industry which is providing immersive coffee experience to the customers. The aim of the company is to provide Starbucks Experience across the world. By achieving this objective, the plan of the company is to provide roaster experience to the entire world (Lynn et al, 2011). In current time, marketing is more dependent on the technologies. Starbucks is also trying to adopt new technologies for the suitability of the customers. The objective of the company is to improve the customers base by social media and online marketing. Now, Starbucks is offering largest and most robust mobile ecosystem as compared to other companies in the coffee industry. Company is planning to improve its mobile app and by mobile app, customers are able to order their desired products by call or message (Fitzgerald, 2013). How will we get there This is the final section of the report which provides the plans related to the strategies to make Starbucks successful. In this section, plans will be explored to execute the strategy and to achieve objectives. On the basis of these plans, the marketing mix of the Starbucks is helpful for future success. Marketing mix of a company can be described as combination of principles purpose the creation of demand for the product and service of the company (Cravens Piercy, 2013). Marketing mix of Starbucks is as follows: Product- Product is the most important factor of any company. By the product-mix, Starbucks has become more competitive against its competitors. The products of Starbucks include hot chocolate, brewed coffee, teas, and espresso. Along with this, Starbucks offers blended beverages to target non-coffee drinkers including juice, oatmeal, salads, sandwiches, muffins, cakes, and ready-to-eat pastries to satisfy the customers. The products of the Starbucks can be divided into two catagories i.e. standardize or differentiate. Starbucks always use standardization in the products. Starbucks changes its products catalogue based on the demands of the customers in various countries (Forbes, 2013). Price- To differentiate the company from the competitors, Starbucks uses main factor of premium price. So, the prices of products in the Starbucks are slightly higher as compared to the competitors. Customers are ready to spend money for high quality services and products so they consider the products of Starbucks. But in some cases, company has dropped its prices. For example, in Japan, company has dropped the prices from 230 yen to 190 yen as coffee industry in Japan has deflation prices and tough competition so it is the big challenge for Starbucks to keep the customers loyal in such kind of situation (Dawson, 2013). Place- Key factor in the place-mix of Starbucks is its stores which can be found in any surrounding. Starbucks provides better environment to the customers to enjoy their reading, free Wi-Fi, meeting and listening the music. On the basis of demand, Starbucks is able to keep its competitive position by managing grown crowd of the customers and proving good services in the stores. Along with this, Starbucks is implementing entry mode strategies including licensing, wholly-owned subsidiaries and joint ventures (Forbes, 2016). Promotion- Promotion can be described as the marketing activities to encourage the actions of customers to buy the product in order to achieve the target market sale. Starbucks has lower advertisement cost than its competitors such as Subway, KFC and McDonalds. Starbucks has sixth position in the market share in terms of advertisement cost and it is spending less on the media advertisements. Starbucks has its own way to maintain strong relationship with the customers i.e. Starbucks cards, internet, social network and so on. Along with this, information technology plays an important role in the strategy of Starbucks by website, My Starbucks idea, Starbucks Gossip, Newsroom, Starbucks melody and Starbucks homepage in every country (Dibb et al, 2012). Conclusion From the above analysis, it has observed that Starbucks has strong position in the coffee industry. It is clear that after the crisis in US economy, Starbucks has adopted new strategies to get high share prices in the market. From the situation analysis, it is observed that technological, environmental and sociological factors are favorable and on the other hand, economic, legal and political factors are unfavorable for the Starbucks. Further, there are some strategies of Starbucks for next three years i.e. to maintain the competitive advantage by cost leadership, focus and differentiation, to look good location for its stores and to adopt new technologies for the suitability of the customers. To achieve the strategic objectives, Starbucks is implementing effective marketing mix strategies in its business operations. References Khan, S. (2010). Starbucks International Marketing Strategy. Retrieved on 25th April 2017 from https://www.slideshare.net/sk_prince/starbucks-international-marketing-strategy-3900413 Baines, P., Fill, C. Page, K. (2011). Marketing. (2nd). New York: Oxford University Press Boychenko, M. (2012). It's Not Just Coffee, It's Starbucks. Retrieved on 25th April 2017 from https://thecoffeeteam.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/3-more-ps.html Cadogan, J. W. (2012). International marketing, strategic orientations and business success: International Marketing Review, 29(4), 340-348 Bose, T. (2012). Market Segmentation and Customer Focus Strategies and Their Contribution towards Effective Value Chain Management: International Journal of Marketing Studies. 4(3). 113-121 Cravens, D., Piercy, N. (2013). Strategic Marketing. (10th). Singapore: McGraw-Hill Dawson, T. (2013). How Starbucks Uses Pricing Strategy for Profit Maximization. Retrieved on 25th April 2017 from https://www.priceintelligently.com/blog/bid/184451/How-Starbucks-Uses-Pricing-Strategy-for-Profit-Maximization Dibb, S., Simkin, L., Pride, W. Ferrell, O. (2012). Marketing Concepts Strategies. (6th). Hampshire: Cenage Learning EMEA Fitzgerald, M. (2013). How Starbucks has gone digital: MIT Sloan Management Review, 54(4), 1-8. Forbes. (2013). Starbucks And McDonald's Winning Strategy. Forbes. Retrieved on 25th April 2017 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2013/04/25/starbucks-and-mcdonalds-winning-strategy/ Forbes. (2016). Let's Look At Starbucks' Growth Strategy. Retrieved on 25th April 2017 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2016/09/19/lets-look-at-starbucks-growth-strategy/#7c1724f33d71 Kotler, P., Keller, K., Brady, M., Goodman, M., Hansen, T. (2012). Marketing Management. (2nd). Essex: Pearson Education Ltd Gupta, M., Sahi, G., Chahal, H. (2013). Improving market orientation: the theory of constraints-based framework: Journal of Strategic Marketing. 21(4). 305-322. Geereddy, N. (2015). Strategic Analysis Of Starbucks Corporation. Harvard. Retrieved from https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/nithingeereddy/files/starbucks_case_analysis.pdf Latif, M., Qurat-ul-ain, H., Gulzar, H., Bukhari, S. R., Sameen, S. N. (2014). Starbucks sustained during economic crisis: International Journal of Accounting and Financial Reporting. 4(1). 307-321 Lynn, David J, C.R.E., Wang, T., Mehlum, C. (2011). Investing in emerging markets: China, india and brazil: Real Estate Issues. 36(2). 21-26. Hooley, G., Piercy, N., Nicoulaud, B. (2012). Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning. (5th). Essex: Pearson Education Seaford, B. C., Culp, R. C., Brooks, B. W. (2012). Starbucks: Maintaining a clear position: Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies. 18(4). 39-57 Marchi, V., Maria, E. and Micelli, S. (2012). Environmental Strategies, Upgrading and Competitive Advantage in Global Value Chains. 22(1), pp.62-72. Lapersonne, A. (2013). Managing Multiple Sources of Competitive Advantage in a Complex Competitive Environment. FSRJ. 5(2). pp.221-251. Aiello, G. and Dickinson, G. (2014). Beyond authenticity: a visual-material analysis of locality in the global redesign of Starbucks stores: Visual Communication. 13(3). pp.303-321

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Instant Global Radio, Or Web Radio, Is The Latest Manifestation Of The

Instant global radio, or Web radio, is the latest manifestation of the Internet's multimedia successor, the World Wide Web. Improved technology and content are turning Web radio into a mass medium. (Hickman 30) The Web radio concept is mainly underlined by the concept of Webcasting, or broadcasting station content over the Internet. Online users who visit the Web pages of Webcasting stations can find archived and live audio covering news, business, sports, and many different types of music. (Thomas 38) Although the most prominent reason for the increase in Web radio activity is advancement in related technology, there are multiple other reasons. The key has been the development of software that allows a digital recording stored on a computer to be transmitted over the Internet and played instantly and continuously as it is received by the listener's computer. (Your Very Own 516) This technique is known as streaming, and was pioneered by RealNetworks. In the streaming process, the digitized clips are sent over the Internet as a stream of compressed data packets. (O'Malley 64) Free audio-player software that works with Web browsers then decompresses and assembles these packets at the user's computer and automatically plays them back as they are received. Streaming systems typically use a buffering system that stores an extra few seconds worth of data to prevent Internet "hiccups" from disrupting the steady flow of audio ? not unlike the shock-protection systems on portable compact disc players. (O'Malley 64) As reported in 1995, listening to broadcasts on your computer is akin to dialing in a tinny transistor radio on the fringes of reception area ? even with hotshot multimedia speakers. (Silverthorne A1) Advancements have made it so Web-based audio now offers near-CD quality, even over a modem of average speed. (Hickman 30) The broadcast quality depends largely on the amount of traffic on the Internet. (Your Very Own 516) Sites will have varying degrees of quality, and the only way to ensure pure transmission is a fast connection from a fast site. On September 5, 1995, the first broadcast of a Major League Baseball game was made over the Internet on ESPN's Web site. The next week, ABC Radio Net became the first organization to provide live Internet newscasts, with coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial. (Silverthorne A1) These early firsts by big-name network stations sparked the initial interest in Web radio, and the networks have been the biggest contributors towards the widening spectrum of quality content, as well as setting professional standards for content. In Spring of 1998, ABC Radio Network signed a deal with Real Networks to broadcast all 27 of ABC's radio stations on the Web. (Hickman 30) Despite network advancement, the sheer number of Internet-only Webcasters has helped to ensure better content, wider variety, and more Web radio usage. (Thomas 39) Where before there were difficulties with waveband congestion, access to unlimited space for Webcasters has become available through the Internet to virtually anyone, and p ositions even small alternative stations with potential to thrive alongside mainstream powerhouses. (Internet Radio 1) The biggest fans of Web radio include people who have moved away from an area and like to tune in an Internet site to check the news or sports from their previous home town. Web radio also is popular with people who have exotic musical tastes and want to sample sounds that aren't available from traditional broadcasters in their area. In addition, some people like to listen to commentary, or comedy programs playing in the background as they surf other sites. (Thomas 41) Web radio, unlike the old sort, is interactive. Screens can supplement radio sound with song titles, liner notes and banner advertisements. Listeners can chat to each other, rate songs or click on a banner ad to buy a disc of the music they've just heard ? all while listening to the radio. (Internet Radio 1) Many music Webcasters get payment for generating these types of music sales. Audio ads as normally run by traditional commercial stations can take up ten to fifteen minutes per hour. Audio ads on the Web usually take up a mere three minutes. This lost advertising is made up in the visual portion of the Website, and the broadcast itself suffers from little