MOSTLY MARK

Friday

05Feb2010

Continuous Economic Growth

Friday, February 5, 2010 at 11:35AM

This is a good example of how to communicate a complex message in very simple terms.

Mark Haines |

Premier Campbell in Copenhagen

Monday, December 14, 2009 at 2:23PM

Mark Haines |

Copenhagen 09 is right around the corner. The first decade of the new millennium wasn't exactly the smoothest ride ever. We started off pretty badly and have gone down many bad roads in response to our fears, selfishness, and xenophobia. Copenhagen 09 is our opportunity to give the world something to remember this decade by. Let's stand up together and tell our leaders the action that we really want. Let's make this the defining moment of this decade. Let's take a stand.

Mark Haines |

What is the problem with Minority Governments?

Saturday, October 3, 2009 at 2:23PM

During the last BC election, we held a referendum on an alternative electoral system. This referendum did not succeed. One of the most common reasons people voted "No" is because they percieved that it would lead to more minority governments and government wouldn't get anything done.

At the Federal level, we seem to continue to have election after election even though the chances of getting a majority government are so difficult. Michael Ignatieff recently said that he can no longer support the Conservative minority because his "heart of hearts" won't let him. Can I join with the sane masses and cry "bullshit!". The only reason he isn't supporting the government is because he percieves this to be a good time to make his move to sieze power. There is no policy reason, there is no legislative reason. Countries around the world like New Zealand, Ireland, and Great Britian continually demonstrate that they can get things done with minority governments. Why can't we?

I wonder how many Canadians realize what it means for a Prime Minister to have a majority government. In the States, it is very rare when one party controls all three houses (The Senate, The White House, and Congress). In Canada, our Head of State is symbolic and The Senate doesn't have any real power. Under a majority government situation, the Prime Minister has very little oversight over what he or she can or cannot do. As such, a minority government is our best bet to ensure checks and balances are placed upon our decision makers. In a minority government, parties are forced to work together, and thus, the decisions that are made are more balanced (when else would the NDP and Conservatives work together?).

Ignatieff is doing a terrible job working with other parties. As such, he is demonstrating that the motivation behind his decisions is completely guided by his own self interest and the interest of his party. Canada does not need a leader like that. Canada needs a leader who will work for Canadians regardless of the type of government we end up with. I wonder if someone like that will stand up soon?

Mark Haines |

2 Comments |

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Federal Liberals in

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Politics

Wednesday

30Sep2009

How to Choose a Priority Segment for Environmental Outreach

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 5:25PM

The TARPARE model for prioritizing segments of your target audience has been widely used in the field of health social marketing for some time (Donovan, 1999). While the criteria for environmental outreach is slightly different, the principle is the same. Essentially, you want to find a segment of your audience that is the best use of limited resources and will help you to influence other segments. This allows you to direct your resources towards the people what will give you the best return on your investment. For environmental outreach, let’s use the acronym TIPAR.

Initial	Criteria	Description
T	Total number of people in the segment	Segments encompassing larger groups of individuals are more attractive.
I	Influence	Segments that have influence upon other segments should be given priority since they are social leaders.
P	Persuadable	A segment that is easily persuadable to change should be given a higher priority as it will take fewer resources to establish the behaviour change.
A	Accessible	Segments that are easier to reach are more attractive as less work and fewer resources will be needed to make an impact.
R	Resources required	The fewer resources required to meet the needs of the segment, the greater the expected return on investment.

Apply the TARPARE model to your segment. Give each segment a score between 1 and 10 for each TARPARE criteria. Add up your scores to see the rank of your audience segments.

Example:

Environmental Problem: Over Fishing