PR Firms and their Mission

Looking at how public relations practitioners advertise their services, they do not primarily seem to be followers of the "social engineering" approach. Burson-Marsteller, the worlds leading PR agency, for example sells itself as a specialist in "... public affairs, government relations, crisis communication, investor relations, environmental issues and marketing communications ... experienced at orchestrating effective campaigns, which motivate the right behaviors.". Porter Novelli, third largest international PR company, somewhat more aggressive promises, that their marketing-based public relations "... penetrate the consumer psyche - where - your target audiences work, learn, play or shop, through everything they read, hear and see.". While Porter Novelli seems to be specialized in psychological warfare, Fleishman-Hillard highlights its know-how and experience in government relations programs. "We have handled some of the nation's most challenging public policy issues, including issues affecting the environment, from clean air to agricultural chemicals; aviation safety; regressive taxes; international trade; and human rights.". To handle those difficult tasks, Fleishman-Hillard maintains "... an effective, professional lobbying team that includes registered lobbyists recruited from the Senate and the House."

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Examples of Mainly Corporate Funded Think Tanks: Manhattan Institute

The Manhattan Institute, founded by William Casey, who later became President Reagan's CIA director, besides subsidies from a number of large conservative foundations has gained funding from such corporate sources as: The Chase Manhattan Bank, Citicorp, Time Warner, Procter & Gamble and State Farm Insurance, as well as the Lilly Endowment and philantropic arms of American Express, Bristol-Myers Squibb, CIGNA and Merrill Lynch. Boosted by major firms, the Manhattan Institute budget reached US$ 5 million a year by the early 1990s.

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Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is concerned with the simulation of human thinking and emotions in information technology. AI develops "intelligent systems" capable, for example, of learning and logical deduction. AI systems are used for creatively handling large amounts of data (as in data mining), as well as in natural speech processing and image recognition. AI is also used as to support decision taking in highly complex environments.
Yahoo AI sites: http://dir.yahoo.com/Science/Computer_Science/Artificial_Intelligence/
MIT AI lab: http://www.ai.mit.edu/


http://dir.yahoo.com/Science/Computer_Science...
http://www.ai.mit.edu/
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General Motors

American corporation that was the world's largest automotive manufacturer and perhaps the largest industrial corporation throughout most of the 20th century. It was founded in 1908 to consolidate several motorcar companies and today operates manufacturing and assembly plants and distribution centers throughout the United States and Canada and many other countries. Its major products include automobiles and trucks, a wide range of automotive components, engines, and defense and aerospace material. In 1996 it sold Electronic Data Systems, and in 1997 it sold the defense units of its Hughes Electronics subsidiary to the Raytheon Company, thus leaving the computer-services and defense-aerospace fields in order to concentrate on its automotive businesses. The company's headquarters are in Detroit, Michigan.

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