A research paper on the representation of the goddess Isis in Ancient Term

A research on the representation of the goddess Isis in Ancient Egypt from Old Kingdom to New Kingdom - Term Paper Example The people sought the support and benevolence of various gods and goddesses for peace, prosperity, love, war, fertility, health, protection, traveling and other fields and activities of life. For instance, Zeus is viewed as the mighty king of all gods and goddesses of ancient Greece, while Apollo is believed to be the god of the sun and music and Mars is the god of war, while Eurybia is the sea goddess. The same is applied to the Egyptian civilization of ancient times, where the people had developed faith in supernatural powers, and sought their help at every hour of need. Hence, the innate human instinct also forced the financially affluent and politically powerful Egyptians of ancient times to call for the divine support on domestic, personal, professional and collective matters. Somehow, the Egyptians lacked hegemony and cohesion in views and beliefs; which was partly because of the social, geographical and strategic division of the population, which did not accept the subjugation under one political authority and one single deity as well. â€Å"Egyptian mythology is of highly complex character, and cannot be considered apart from its racial and historical aspects. The Egyptians were, as a Hebrew prophet has declared, a "mingled people", and this view has been confirmed by recent ethnological research.† Consequently, they had developed belief in the multiplicity of gods and goddesses on the basis of clans and tribes on the one hand, and in the light of the traditions accredited to different deities on the other. (Mackenzie, 2002:2) The goddess Isis is also one among the long list of deities, which were worshipped by the ancient people of Egyptian peninsula with great religious fervor and enthusiasm. Being an extremely benevolent and compassionate goddess, she enjoys distinguished status in the ancient Egyptian mythology. Though the goddess maintained a universal status in the country, yet she got popularity and position in the southern regions of Egyp t, which was not only the center of social, political and economic activities, but also dominated the rest of the region. â€Å"Currently there is a strong indication that Southern or Upper Egypt had gained a cultural ascendancy over Northern or Lower Egypt by c.3500 BC. In archaeological terms this southern culture is described as Naqada II.† (Hart, 2005:3) Hence, southern Egyptians declared their peace and prosperity as the outcome of the special bounties of the goddess upon them, which also motivated the northern areas of the country to imitate their footprints in spiritualism and faith. Isis is regarded as the goddess of motherhood, feminism, civil liberty, magic and fertility, and is revered and adored for displaying sheer affection and motherly attitude towards the Egyptian subjects without exhibiting any prejudice and discrimination towards any specific group or stratum of society. Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt portrays Isis as the queen and mother of all the Eg yptians, which looked for bestowing maximum bounties and blessings upon the people to fill their life with countless joys in the form of abundance in food, children, pelf, possession and properties. â€Å"Isis had been a potent goddess as early as the third millennium B. C. She was the sister-wife of Osiris, with whom she mated in the womb of their mother, Nuit, the sky goddess.† (Mathews, 2001:25) Being the motherly deity, the goddess appears to be showering her unabated love on all and sundry, with special concentration of

Entire Course Essay Example for Free

Entire Course Essay PSY 103 Week 1 Origins of Psychology and Research Methods Worksheet PSY 103 Week 2 Learning Experience PSY 103 Week 3 Bipolar Disorder Outline PSY 103 Week 3 Remembering, Feeling, and Thinking Worksheet PSY 103 Week 4 Lifespan Development and Personality PSY 103 Week 5 Influences on Behavior and Psychological Disorders Presentation Your second year of college is the perfect time to join the SGA (Student Government Association). As a freshman, you will not have enough experience to make a difference as a member of the student government. Instead, spend your freshman year developing your political stance and figuring out how your schools government runs. In this document of PSY 103 Entire Course you will find the next files: PSY 103 Bipolar Disorder Outline.doc PSY 103 Bipolar Disorder.ppt PSY 103 Learning Experience paper week 2 Psychology class.doc PSY 103 Learning Experience-Z.doc PSY 103 Learning Experience.doc PSY 103 Lifespan Development and Personality.doc PSY 103 Origins of Psychology and Research Methods Worksheet.doc PSY 103 Remembering, Feeling, and Thinking Worksheet.doc Psychology General Psychology PSY 103 Week 1 Origins of Psychology and Research Methods Worksheet PSY 103 Week 2 Learning Experience PSY 103 Week 3 Bipolar Disorder Outline PSY 103 Week 3 Remembering, Feeling, and Thinking Worksheet To download this tutorial follow the link https://bitly.com/1oJK58F Your second year of college is the perfect time to join the SGA (Student Government Association). As a freshman, you will not have enough experience to make a difference as a member of the student government. Instead, spend your freshman year developing your political stance and figuring out how your schools government runs. Psychology General Psychology PSY 103 Week 1 Origins of Psychology and Research Methods Worksheet PSY 103 Week 2 Learning Experience PSY 103 Week 3 Bipolar Disorder Outline PSY 103 Week 3 Remembering, Feeling, and Thinking Worksheet PSY 103 Week 4 Lifespan Development and Personality PSY 103 Week 5 Influences on Behavior and Psychological Disorders Presentation

Norwegian Security Policy After The Cold War :: essays research papers

Norwegian Security Policy after the Cold War Despite widespread diplomatic discussion, and sentiment that the UN Security Council must be expanded in order to maintain its long-term legitimacy, no generally acceptable formula for expansion has emerged. Concerns for obtaining or retaining voting power, and for preserving a body structured so as to be able to take prompt and effective decisions, have prevented agreement. This article reviews various criteria for evaluating restructuring proposals, and suggests a formula that, while not fundamentally affecting the distribution of power on the Council, might satisfy many states' minimal requirements for an acceptable package of changes. The end of the Cold War between East and West has strengthened Norwegian security, which makes Norway no different from most other European countries. There are now more dimensions to security policy than there were when the overriding aim was deterrence by means of one's own and allied military forces. Cold War perceptions of military threat no longer exist. In Norway's particular case, however, it is possible to talk about a remaining strategic threat, when referring to Russian deployments in the far north. Such a threat is only a potential one and is not imminent today. Yet it has to be acknowledged that wars between nations and ethnic groups have hardly been abolished. As a result, it has become more difficult to identify the risk of armed aggression directed against Norway The risk would seem to reside in the escalation of a whole series of completely different political developments. For example, these eventualities could take the form of the emergence of a nationalistic dictatorship, or the development of ungovernable political chaos in formerly communist countries. Because of the existence of some very large arsenals and supplies of military equipment, it is important to judge the political aims of potential opponents. These can change over time, not least if they represent irrational and aggressive attitudes. The nuclear weapons of the great powers do not seem to have any deterrent effect on "violent ethnic cleansing", and the emergence of armed conflicts in different areas can be difficult to predict. But a country's security can also be subject to something that has become more topical after the Cold War: low level threats. These are related to some very different types of irregular national border transgressions, for example international crime and various forms of pollution. The Cold War's dominating concept, security by means of deterrence, is complemented by the concept of collective security. This harmonises well with the traditional Norwegian approach to security policy of combining deterrence with reassurance. The potential enemy is also a partner. A small country has no

Business Model Yum Brands

YUM! Inc Internal Analysis| The Strategic Management Process| REPORT NUMBER| 2| WEEK| 2| CBL GROUP AND SUB-GROUP| I3SHM Group A| DECLARATION 1. This work is composed by me / by us. 2. This work has not been accepted in any previous application for a degree or diploma, by me / by us or anyone else. 3. The work of which this is a record is done wholly by me / by us. 4. All verbatim extracts have been distinguished by quotation marks and the sources of my information have been specifically acknowledged. Signatures: Date:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Submitted in Partial Fulfilment for the Requirements of the degree Programme Bachelor of Business AdministrationNovember, 2012 Table of Contents Introduction3 Chapter 1: Business Model, Vision, Mission, Goals and Strategies3 Concept Definitions3 Yum! Inc Evaluation3 Yum! Inc Correlation Business Strategies and Current Business Model4 Chapter 2: Yum! Inc Financial Analysis6 Chapter 3: Weaknesses and/ or Competitive Liabilities8 Chapter 4: Internal Factor Analysis8 Reference List12 Introduction An internal organizational analysis aims to investigate a company`s business model, its mission, vision, goals, resources, competencies and undertaken strategies to compete on the market.It gives an overview of the organizations strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and consequently threats. By conducting a proper internal analysis a company can identify its competitive advantage over its competitors and use the outcomes to derive new scope of strategies and possibly effectively direct the organization on the long run. There are several major and crucial areas companies audit internally, that is to say organizations value chain, cultural web, business model, capabilities assessment.After conducting such analysis companies identify possible areas where immediate action is needed for improvement, its threshold capabilities, core competencies by which they gain competitive advantage. Essential ly, organizations can decide which resources and activities are of significant importance to the company and must be kept internally and which can be outsourced. Additionally, possible strategies for the future can be established. However, the internal analysis cannot solely be a ground for new strategies, an organization has to conduct an external analysis before forming its final strategies. (Johnson & Scoles, 2008).Chapter 1: Business Model, Vision, Mission, Goals and Strategies Concept Definitions Before analyzing Yum! Inc, several concepts have to be defined. Firstly, Business Model refers to all products, services and information an organization owns and how they flow between participating parties. Vision refers to what an organization aspires to become in the future. A Mission statement captures the emblematic purpose of an organization to conduct business in line with the values of it`s stakeholders. Organizational goals are general statements for aims and purposes whereas o bjectives are narrowed down to quantifiable results.Finally, organizational strategies are its long-term directions. (Johnson&Scoles,2008). Yum! Brands, Inc Evaluation Yum! Brands, Inc is a global operator of franchisees and licensees a chain restaurant brands like KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. The business model of Yum! Brands, Inc will be analyzed by the use of Canvas Model further in this chapter. According to the Annual Report (AR) 2011, the company`s Mission Statement is implied under its future-back vision statement: â€Å"Be The Defining Global Company that Feeds the World†. Moreover, it`s Vision Statement is: â€Å"Be the Best in The World at Building Great Restaurant Brands†.After a deeper analysis of the company, it has been identified that Yum! Brands, Inc has the following core business related long-term goals: † 1. Build leading brands in China in every significant category; 2. Drive aggressive international expansion and build strong brands everywh ere; 3. Dramatically improve U. S. brand positions, consistency in returns; 4. Drive industry leading, long-term shareholder and franchise value. (Yum, Annual Report, 2011). According to the Chief Sustainability Office ‘CSO’, Roger McClendon, Yum Brands want to establish and align global goals to improve the economy of restaurant.Yum Brands global enterprise goals for sustainability are: 1. Reduce global energy consumption by 10% by 2015 2. Reduce global water consumption by 10% by 2015 3. Develop 5 LEED certifiable restaurant standards across China, India, United States of America and Yum Restaurants International (YRI) business divisions by 2012 4. Elevate Yum packaging vision into actionable brand goals leveraging Yum packaging guidelines. (Source: www. yum. com/csr/environment) Next to that Yum! Brands, Inc has formed it`s values which direct the companies strategic actions, namely: 1. Believe in People; 2. Be Restaurant and Customer Maniacs; 3.Recognize; 3. Go for Breakthrough 4. Build Know How; 5. Take the Hill Teamwork Yum! Brands, Inc, further referred to as† the company† or â€Å" Yum† within this report has taken different strategies to achieve its main long-term goals. The strategies will be outlined in correlation with the business model. Yum! Brands, Inc Correlation Business Strategies and Current Business Model The CEO and Chairman of Yum! Brands, Inc shares the fairly simple business model of Yum. The main focus of the company is reducing company ownership in highly penetrated markets meanwhile increasing exposure in emerging and under-penetrated markets.Moreover, the largest fast food franchiser continues with its refranchising program in the States, aiming to retain 5% ownership of KFC and Pizza Hut. The business model of Yum! Brands, Inc is analyzed by the Canvas Business Model, (Oosterwalder, 2010) see fig. 1 Fig. 1 Canvass Business Model Yum! Brands, Inc has three main markets from which it generates revenues , namely the USA, China and Yum Internatianonal Restaurants. Within those markets, the company creates value for various sub markets by diversifying and customizing within the fast food market through different restaurant concepts.Moreover, the channels through which it reaches those markets are via own channels-direct, namely in-house sales, mobile ordering system for Pizza Hut in the States. This is rather costly activity for the company, however it has a high profit margins. Moreover, in 2011, Yum participated in an Annual World Hunger Relief campaign with the use of Christina Aguilera voice for good in the cause against hunger (www. fromhungertohope. com). This is an example of the Awareness Channel Phase as explained by Osterwalder, 2011. Christina Aguilera`s personality world recognition and the Campaign`s awareness to create awareness for the Yum! Brands, Inc.With regard to the customer relationship, the company serves its customers via personal service, self-service. The per sonal service is based on the fact that customers are being helped via the purchase process on the points of sales. In addition to that, in order to continue successful operations within the quick service restaurant sector, Yum has several key partners, subcontractors- franchisees and licensees through which the company exposes its products. Moreover, the company`s main supplier is Unified FoodService Co-op LLC, an American company which offers lowest store-delivered prices for restaurant products (Yum, Annual Report, 2011).Another key partner of Yum is McLane Company, Inc. distributor for concept-owned restaurants and for many of the franchisee and licensee restaurants. Finally, there is a Syndicated creditor, consisting of 24 banks which offers a financias support for the company- 1. 15 bln USD. International partners such as in Russia with Rostik`s KFC are also of significant importance to the company. In order to effectively, deliver its value proposition to customers, namely hi gh product quality, speed service, high quality ingredients, variety of unique products, competitive prices, consistent product quality, the company operates with few key resources.The company operates an effective distribution system- Yum! Brands, Inc owns their local, regional and also global distribution system. Additionally, the company owns, franchises and licenses, as a consequence, there are financial resources coming in within the company in form of royalty fees and sales. Another, key resource for the company are it`s restaurant concept Patents and Trademarks etc. KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell etc. Brand Power, standardized and formalized restaurant operations practices which give the company the ability to offer consistent service.Finally, the research & development centers and the overall diversified product portfolio are other key company resources. The key activity in which the company engages is sales of food within the quick service restaurants sector by franchising, lice nsing and owning own properties. This is related to the production of fast food. Finally, the main revenue generating streams are the three main markets from which the company derives it`s financial resources, the USA, China and the Yum International Restaurants and the offer of dine-in, dine-out, drive through and home delivery food via franchise, license agreements and own properties.The main strategy of Yum to succeed in the fast food market is by undertaking Cost Driven strategy. By delivering a customized service to the Chinese, American and International market the company targets at the average income market by offering relatively law priced products which fit into the budget of a wide market. Since, it does not necessarily focus on the value-proposition like exclusive products do but rather on cost-saving. Yum achieves this via economies of scale and economies of scope. To conclude, Yum operates with cost-driven cost structure.This business model can clearly be linked to the undertaken strategies by Yum. One of the company aims to enter emerging under-penetrated markets like China and increase leadership position and strengthen operational model. This has been achieved by the strategy of buying the Chinese Hot Pot concept restaurant Little Sheep Company and developing a tailored local quick service restaurant chain East Dawning. This actions fit into the company`s value proposition- food diversity, variety of products, speed service, tailored products as they all belong to the quick service restaurant category.Next to that, the strategy of East Dawning is to strategy is to offer tremendous variety and refresh menu 24% twice/year which also fits to company`s value proposition. In addition, the company owns their local, regional and global distribution system and this fits to their long term goal to expand internationally but also with their cost structures and cost-driven strategy. Moreover, the ownership of distribution system gives the company a stron g competitive advantage. Finally, these strategies fit into the company`s business model by segregating the market and still offering products on competitive prices.Internationally, the company took the strategy to enter Russian, Indian and African market. : In Russia acquisition of Rostiks- chicken company. Growth in Africa is represented by the opening of 656 stores in SA, entry in Zambia, Ghana, Kenya. In India the company entered the market with 101 restaurants in 2011. In total 900 restaurants were added in 2011 in the International Division. International Division`s Operating Profit grew with 12%. These strategies re in line with the business model for generating revenues via three main areas, the USA, China, and International Division.Moreover, all those strategies to expand are connected to the company`s key activity and also value proposition. Next to that, the company aimed at improving brand position in the States. One of the strategies to achive this was transforming Piz za Hut to â€Å"Pizza, Pasta and wings†. Moreover, Pizz Hut improved it`s service by â€Å" Heart of the Hut: program which also added value to the hospitality of the chain. Moreover, the KFC kicked off a nation-wide campaign with value menu – 3. 99 USD 2 peace meal, 2 side dishes and biscuit. This has been as a result of investment in operations, make it more contemporary.Additionally, Taco Bell introduced it`s – â€Å"First Meal† Strategy- launched breakfast in 800 restaurant- opening earlier than before at 9am and introducing theu Launche Doritos Lotos Taco, which became a huge success- famous Nacho Cheese Doritos. The above mentioned strategies, go in line Yum`s business model: value proposition- speed service, product quality; key partners- continue operations with franchisees and licensees; key activities- continue playing on the Quick Service Restaurant Market by the use of company`s key resources- rely on own patented brands, use the standardized operations to offer consistent service.Another, strategy Yum took in the USA was to increase operation audits in franchise field support which also was in accordance to their business model to offer quality products and consistent service. Another strategy to improve the USA brand position was to reduce company ownership of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell from 13% to 8% in the domestic market in order to increase franchise fees, reduce operating expenses and capital expenditures- cost-driven company.Last but not least, the company has decided to reduce Taco Bell Ownership from 23% to 16% over the next 2 years and sold Long John Silver`s A&W All American Restaurants in order to meet it`s last long-term goal, namely Drive Industry Leading, long term Shareholder & Franchise Value and retain 5% ownership of Pizza Hut and KFC. To conclude, according to the Yum Brands annual report 2011 (annual report 2011), the success of Yum Brands in executing these strategies has driven the organizations r eturn on invested capital over 22. 00% in top with the industry leaders. The organization generated over $2. 000. 000. 00,00 dollars cash from the operations in 2011. The company is lucky to have global opportunities to invest in for the future growth. Furthermore, the organization owns and operate the distribution system the restaurants in China. This strategy provides a significant competitive advantage. This way China will have an economy growth and achieve a population of 1. 300. 000. 000,00. Yum Brands will rapidly adding KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants, this way the organization will test the additional restaurants concepts. The concepts of KFC and Pizza Hut are (for example): ‘Pizza Hut – pizza delivery’ and East Dawning, which is Chinese food. Yum! Brands, Inc Annual Report, 2011). Chapter 2: Yum! Brands, Inc Financial Analysis In this chapter the financial performances of Yum are being analyzed. Within the first part of this chapter the balance sheet and t he income statement are being analyzed. This analysis is being conducted with the help of horizontal and vertical analysis. Within the second part of this chapter the key performance indicators will be analyzed and compared with industry averages. 2. 1. 1 Income statement The total revenue of Yum increased from $10. 836 million in 2009 to $12. 626 million in 2011. This is an increase of 16%. 6% of the total revenue is the income from restaurant sales and 14% is the income of franchise fees. The distribution of the revenue is more or less the same as previous years. From this it can be concluded that, although Yum is expanding their franchises, the most important form of revenue still comes from restaurant sales. Although the revenue increased with 16% from 2009 till 2011, also the total costs increased with 16%. The total costs represented 85% of the total revenue. This figure is more or less the same in 2009 and 2010. The largest cost account is the use of food and paper. This acco unt represents 29% of the total revenue.The food costs in the hospitality industry is on average 33% of the total revenue (Cote, 2006) Yum is doing quite well with managing their food costs. The salaries represent 19% of the total revenue. Considered that on average within the hospitality industry employee wages represent 33% of the total revenue, Yum is managing their employee costs very well. (Yum, 2010) (Yum, 2011) 2. 1. 2 Balance sheet The most noticeable when looking at the horizontal analysis of the balance sheet is the huge increase in the cash and cash equivalent account. The cash increased from $353 million in 2009 to $1198 million in 2011.This is an increase 239. 38% . In 2009 the cash account represented 4. 94% of the total assets, in 2011 this account represented 13. 56% of the total assets. The shareholder equity also increased significantly. The shareholder equity increased with 177%. This can be explained by the fact that Yum sold shares. Additionaly, the increase in cash of the company can be explained by the facts that they sold Long John Sylver A&W All American Food Restaurants. Furthermore the short-term borrowings increased significantly. From 2009 till 2010 this account increased with 1140,68%. However in 2011 this account is reduced slightly.In 2011 the increase in comparison with 2009 is 542%. In 2009 the short-term borrowings represented 0,83% of the total liabilities, in 2010 this was 8. 09% and in 2011 3. 62%. This can be explained by their pursuit of growth strategy- taking over of the Little Sheep Company, opening East Dawning Restaurant in China. The inventory has also increased with 223%. This can be explained by the fact that expansion results in more inventory. The cash and cash equivalents account do not only represent hard cash but it also represents funds which are temporary invested in short-term, high liquidity debt securities.The cash account increased because of the increase of the shareholders’ equity. The shareho lder equity increased with 177% because of the issuing new stock. Finally the retained earnings increased significantly. In 2009 this account was $996 million, in 2011 this was $2052 Million. That is an increase of 106%. In 2009 the retained earnings represented 13. 93% of the total liabilities, in 2010 it was 20. 65% and in 2011 the account represented 23. 23% of the total liabilities. Yum is saving money which originally was reserved as dividend payments.Yum is saving their money probably for investments and expansions otherwise the shareholders would not agree by the fact that they are not getting paid all their dividends. (Yum, 2010) (Yum, 2011) 2. 2 Ratio analysis Within this part several ratios of the past 3 years will be calculated and analyzed. Current ratio The current ratio measures the relation between the current assets and the current liabilities. Year| Current ratio| 2009| 0. 73| 2010| 0. 94| 2011| 0. 95| Table 1: Current ratio From the above given figures one can conc lude that Yum has a shortage of $0. 05 in 2011. However this does not means that Yum is financially unhealthy.In general the current ratio should be around 1. According to Schmidgall, 2006 different parties are interested in different current ratios. Creditors normally prefer a high current ratio as this insures that they are getting paid. Owners and stockholders generally prefer a lower current ratio. Stockholders are mainly interested in profits and according to them investments in most current assets are less productive than investments in noncurrent assets. (Schmidgall, 2006) (Yum, 2010) (Yum, 2011) Solvency The solvency ratio measures the relation between total assets and the total liabilities. Year. Solvency ratio. | 2009| 1. 18| 2010| 1. 25| 2011| 1. 28| Table 2: Solvency In 2009 Yum had a solvency ratio of 1,18. This means that for every dollar of debt they had $1,18 of assets. In 2010 they increased their solvency to $1,25 and in 2011 it increased to $1,28. It can be conclu ded that Yum is solvent, their assets exceed their debts. (Yum, 2010) (Yum, 2011) Profitability ‘Hospitality enterprises are often evaluated in terms of their ability to generate profits on sales’ (Schmidgall, 2006, p. 225) Year| Profit Margin Yum| Profit Margin McDonalds| 2009| 9. 88%| 20%| 2010| 10. 21%| 20. 54%| 2011| 10. 4%| 20. 37%| Table 3: Profit margin In 2011 Yum had a profit margin of 10,44%. This means that for every dollar of revenue the gain 10,44 cents of profit. The average profit margin of the whole restaurant industry is around 5%. Compared with the whole restaurant industry yum has a strong profit margin. However when a comparison is being made with a top competitor, yum has a weak profit margin. As can be seen in table 3, McDonalds has almost the double profit margin of yum. Thus from these figures it can be concluded that yum has a weak profit margin compared with their top competitor McDonalds. Yum, 2010) (Yum, 2011) (Yahoo finance, 2012) (Stock ana lysis) Return on Assets The ROA ratio measures the profitability of a company’s assets. Year| ROA Yum| ROA McDonalds| 2009| 15. 62%| 15,06%| 2010| 15. 30%| 15,47%| 2011| 15. 58%| 16. 68%| Table 4: Return on Assets Within the restaurant industry the average ROA lays around 8%. The ROA of Yum is around 15,5%. Compared with the total industry yum has a strong ROA. When the ROA of Yum is being compared with the ROA of McDonalds, the conclusion remains the same, Yum has a strong return on assets. Yahoo finance, 2012) (Yum, 2010) (Yum, 2011) (Stock analysis) To conclude it can be said that yum is a financially healthy company. Although the world wide credit crunch Yum is still able to increase their revenues. Comparison of the ratios with industry averages shows that Yum is doing well. Their debts do not exceed their assets. There is still room for an improvement of their profit margin. Compared with the industry average they have a strong profit margin however in comparison with t heir top competitor their profit margin is quite weak. Chapter 3: Weaknesses and/or Competitive Liabilities 1.Resources and Capabilities Evaluation 2. Evaluations of Factors Depriving Yum! Inc from Effective market Competition The evaluation of the resources and capabilities, and factors which might be preventing the corporation from competing effectively will be outlined with the help of a SWOT analysis. This technique will be used, because it gives the ability to present the resources and capabilities into strengths, and the factors which might be preventing the corporation from effective competence can be divided into weaknesses. However, since Threats and Opportunities part will be elaborated on in Weekly Report 3 Strengths| Weaknesses| Leading market position built on a portfolio of strong brands with high level of consumer acceptance * Different store concepts catering to a diverse customer base * Strong balance sheet and cash flows even in tough economic and macro environment * Leadership position in China and other emerging markets * Human Resource Policies- area coaches * Support by syndicated credit facility * Research & Development Centers * Ownership of distribution systems * | * Drop in performance within the domestic market * Lawsuits – Bad Publicity * Heavily dependent on Chinese geographic region * Internal brand competition * Higher loan interest rate than the LIBOR- London Interbank Offered Rate- 0. 25-1. 25% higher. * Brand Reputation dependent on Franchisees| Strengths With more than 37,000 outlets in 120 countries worldwide, Yum Brands, has earned the title of a leading global quick service restaurant corporation with high level of consumer acceptance and brand recognition. The corporation consist of three main brands, namely – KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. The big amount of units all over the world is a valuable resource, but this is not enough to guarantee a distinctive capability.With the effective interception of the sale s and marketing functional area, all those restaurants are promoted effectively and with heavy investments in brand promotion, the position of it, in the mind of the customers, has been changed to the point, that Yum Brands is recognized as one of the best global brands with a leading market position within the industry. The promotion effectiveness is present by the fact that KFC is the leader within US chicken QSR segment with 39% market share, which is 2 times higher than the results from its closest competitor on a national level. In addition to that Pizza Hut is also the leader in the US pizza QSR segment, with 15% market share. Last but not least Taco Bell is also the leader in the US Mexican QSR segment, with 50% market share.The sales and marketing functional area is not the only one responsible for this results. In addition to it the operations management team and all international and regional managers, are contributing to the constant delivery of high quality, which will g uarantee customer satisfaction and acceptance. From the fact that Yum Brands’ has a leading market position as a second main resource, two main capabilities can be derived as well – the ability of significant bargaining power and the capability to grow financially. Furthermore, the company's strong brand value, facilitates customer recall and allows Yum Brands to penetrate new markets as well as consolidate its presence in the existing ones.The second strength can be divided into one resource and one capability. The resource is that the brand has three different restaurant concepts and every one of them has a set of unique food products, which can be customized additionally on their own as well. For example KFC, offers fried and non-fried chicken-on-the-bone products, while international outlets offer menus, which include side items, which are in line with the local customer demands. Pizza Hut for example is specializing in the sale of ready-to-eat pizza products, but there are restaurants, which are also offering breadsticks, pasta, salads, sandwiches and pizza souses, which are also suited to the local markets.Taco Bell is a small exception, since it specializes only in Mexican-style food products, but the diversification comes from the fact that all products like tacos, burritos, gorditas, chalupas, quesadillas, salads, nachos and other related items can be customized on their own. This resource leads to the capability of having the opportunity to provide products, which will attract a large number of diverse market segments. Not only by differentiation of the products but also by the differentiation of the locations the three different concepts within Yum Brands can develop, operate, franchise and license an international chain of both traditional and non-traditional QSR restaurants.For example the traditional one’s offer dine-in, carryout and often, drive-thru or delivery services, while the non-traditional restaurants are typically l icensed outlets that include express units and kiosks with a limited menus and most of the time operate in locations, which are not traditional like malls, airports, gas stations, convenience stores, stadiums, amusement parks and colleges. The diversification of the company products into three different brands, which outlets are also positioned in relation to the profile of the different consumers they serve, Yum Brands is transforming its existing resources into a distinctive capability. Even though there are economic and macro- environmental difficulties in the world, Yum Brands is continuously growing. It’s financial performance is outstanding, since the company’s outlets have recorded net income of $1. billion and over $2 billion in cash from its operations, which is 0. 3 billion more in comparison to 2011. In addition to that there is a 14% increase in the Earnings Per Share, and 7% system sales growth. The company maintains its position of industry leader in USA with Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) of more than 20%, and in addition to that the company has also increased its number of restaurants with more than 1,561. This increase with more than 1,000 new restaurants is also continuous happening already 11 years. The stable growth of units gives the corporation a title among the other US competitors as the â€Å"number one retail developer of units outside the US†.The capability of delivering constant strong results, which contributes to the plans for growth, provide a significant competitive advantage and distinctive capability, despite the difficult economic situation. Building a leadership position in China and other developing markets, should be considered as a strength, since this will help the corporation to develop even stronger brand image around the world. In addition to that, if the food concepts continue to be popular within the market, this will generate constant profit and ability to grow even further. This strength is also in line with the already mentioned strategy of expansion of the business in emerging and low-penetrated markets. For example over half of the operating profit of the company is generated in China and 72 other emerging countries.The actual aim of the company is to reach 85% global sales in comparison with only 15% in their local market until 2015. Within China all brands are growing with more than 656 new restaurants. Their policy to have leading brands in every significant category also has led to the acquisition of Little Sheep- a leading casual dining concept in China. Except this developing market, 3 more markets are strategically targeted. In India the managers are implementing all key elements, which drove the enormous success in China. The efforts in the moment are concentrated on building a strong base of restaurants, which will generate significant part of their future profits.In the moment in India there are more than 220 KFCs and 170 Pizza Hut restaurants and Taco Be ll also has just entered the market in to develop the brand into their third international known brand. Russia is also considered to be one of the growing market potentials for Yum Brand. Within this market there is a severe competition with McDonalds, but the company still expects high profits and return on investment. In order to do that the company started to expand by re-branding Rostiks-KFC to stand alone as KFC, which will lead to more brand recognition and customer retention. The last market, in which Yum, is aiming to become a leader is Africa. This already has started by the building of 656 stores in South Africa during 2011, and the building of outlets also in countries like Zambia, Ghana and Kenya.The plan is also to enter 7 new countries by the end of 2012, which will cover in total 20 African countries. The resource of having so many outlets worldwide and creating a broad world coverage, will become a capability in future, because the company will be able to generate re venue from markets, which are not penetrated and posses customers with growing buying power. Finally, Yum! Brands, Inc slowly enters the African market by building of 656 stores in South Africa, also entering Zambia, Ghana and Kenya in 2011 and plan to enter 7 new countries in 2012, which sums the plan in total to have restaurants in about 20 African countries by the end of 2012.Overall, this clearly shows that the company has the capability of successful penetrating new markets by adapting to the local customs, political, social, economic and legal systems. The last strength of Yum is the consolidation within its human resource policies. This policies start with the corporate value – How We Win Together principles including the motto â€Å"We love celebrating the achievement of others and have lots of fun doing it! â€Å", is one of the main reasons for their culture to be full of positive energy, teamwork, and fun. This corporate value is also built around a â€Å"People Capability First† philosophy, which lays the groundwork for the way they work as a team, together, every day.Yum invests in their Human Resources and provides training guides have been developed in 11 different languages for over 37,000 Restaurant General Managers around the globe. (Yum! Brands Inc. , Annual Report, 2011) Moreover, the company assigns area coaches, every six restaurant is operated under the supervision of one coach. This is an evidence for the company`s capability of successfully investing in people and promoting employee development and support. Being financed by Syndicated Credit Facility, which consist of 24 banks (Yum! Brands, Inc Annual Report, 2011) gives the company a strong financial security by not being reliable on single creditor.Research& Development Centers, are resource which Yum can strategically utilize to develop new products. This is an explicit example of company`s capability to investigate markets and identify customer needs. Finally, the ownership of distribution channels, helps the company to effectively manage its costa by local, regional and global distribution centers, namely developing effective cost structures. Weaknesses In 2009 the restaurant industry in the US showed transaction declines in dinner occasions, because consumers chose to save money and eat at home. This had also a significant impact on both Pizza Hut and KFC concepts of Yum Brands. As a result, their U. S. usiness was clearly under-performing from 2009 till 2011, but the most significant numbers are present in 2011 with store sales decrease of 1% and profit decrease of 12% for all units within the US market. In order to cope with this problem the company is reducing its ownership in this highly-penetrated market and in December 2011, they have completed the sale of Long John Silver's and A&W All American Restaurants. To sum it up the competitive liability, which is outlined by this weakness, consists of the fact that there is a deficiency of f inancial resources Moreover, lawsuits can cause a negative publicity for the company. For example, beef quality lawsuit on Taco Bell projected the restaurant concept-chain in negative limelight In January 2011.The lawsuit claimed that Taco Bell food items are made with a substance known as ‘taco meat ‘filling', rather than beef. The lawsuit also contended that Taco Bell products only contain 36% ground beef, below the prescribed USDA standard of 40% to qualify as meat. An estimated $3 million to $4 million were spent for nationwide advertising campaign to fight with the negative publicity from the lawsuit. Moreover, the company heavily relies on the Chinese market, as it is the main revenue generator. In the case, of nation-wide catastrophe- decrease in disposable income, change of food related legislations, the company business will be affected negatively.The internal brand competition can lead to decrease of sales in some brands. Furthermore, compared to the average Yu m loans relatively expensive financial resources form banks as the interest rates it pays for its loans are 0. 25%-1. 25% higher than LIBOR. (Annual Report, 2011) Finally, Yum! Brands, Inc company reputation is heavily reliant on its franchisees and licensees. The damaged brand name definitely should be considered as competitive liability, first because of the deficiency in quality of the products and second because of the lack of important organizational assets, which has led to this situation. Chapter 4: Internal Factor AnalysisInternal Factor Analysis organizes the strengths and weaknesses of a company into factors and analyses how a company is reacting on those factors (Jones, 2010). The weight is assigned to each factor from 1. 0 most significant to 0. 0 unimportant. Secondly, rating is assigned from 1 to 5, taking into account the management`s reaction to each factor. And finally, the weighted score is calculated by multiplying column 2 to column 3. INTERNAL FACTORS| WEIGHT| R ATING| WEIGHTED SCORE| COMMENTS| STRENGTHS| | | | | Supported by Syndicated Credit Facility| 0. 02| 0. 5| 0. 01| Secure financing, less dependency on 1 bank| Strong balance Sheet and Cash Flows| 0. 02| 1| 0. 2| Healthy operations| | 0. 3| 0. 5| 0. 15| | Research and Development facilities in Shanghai (China division), Dallas (Pizza Hut, YRI), California( Taco Bell), Lousiville (KFC)| 0. 2| 0. 5| 0. 1| Advantage of examining markets, developing products| Distribution system ownership| 0. 02| 0. 5| 0. 01| Cost effectiveness| Membership in Unified FoodService Purchasing Co-Po| 0. 01| 0. 5| 0. 005| Cost effectiveness and purchase power| Effective Market Segmentation-| 0. 02| 0. 3| 0. 006| Reach more consumers, spread risks| Restaurant concepts, trademarks patents| 0. 01| 0. 2| 0. 002| Competitive advantage| Strong Global Brand Awareness| 0. 2| 0. 5| 0. | Strong recognized brands| Area Coaches work with 6-12 restaurants| 0. 2| 0. 5| 0. 1| | Part D: Finances 1. Cost Structures * Reduce la rge capital investments by franchising and licensing in more mature markets 2. Characteristics of Cost Structures 3. Revenue Streams * Royalty fees based on sales from franchisees and licensees * Company sales * 3 Major markets- the USA- , China and Yum Restaurants International Conclusion The report has been divided into four components in order to describe Yum! Brands Inc. , internal organizational analysis. Among others the first component identified the vision and mission. Yum! Brand, Inc. strives for Be the Best in The World at Building Great Restaurant Brands†. In addition, the vision of Yum! Brands, Inc. can be stated as: â€Å"Be The Defining Global Company that Feeds the World. † Therefore, offering speed, variety, and convenience and budget prices products is of high value in order to satisfy their customers’ needs. They want to be a company ‘with a huge heart’, taking the environment into consideration and look for recognition with one sys tem operational excellence as out foundation. Furthermore, this vision reflects to the fact Yum! Brands, Inc. is already a global operator of franchisees and possesses chain restaurants brands like KFC, Pizza Hut,Taco Bell, Little Sheep and East Dawning.Principally main markets for the brand are in USA, China, Africa, Europe and Asia; here they segment different groups. Effective marketing which Yum! Brands, Inc. uses, contributes to this growth of business. As well as aggressive international expansion supports Yum! Brands Inc. entered the market in Russia and India. With China as focus, Yum! Brand Inc. strives for building strong and leading brands everywhere. The acquisition of Little Sheep, which offers casual dining restaurants to China, generates leading brands in every appropriate category. East Dawnings has been build up to be the first restaurant with a quick food service In China. Second strategy is to aim for international expansion.In addition, the brand wants to expand the US brand position. Last, the goal to serve the long-term interests of shareholders will be supported b an executive compensation program. However, financially, looking at revenue streams of the brand, the total revenue of Yum! Brands Inc. showed an increase of revenue of 14% in 2011. 86% of the total revenue has been generated by restaurant sales, the remaining part was income of franchise fees. Though, the total costs increased equally with 16%. Notable is, the fact retained earnings showed quite an increase of 106%. There can be assumed here Yum! Brands Inc. lay aside a lot of cash in order to invest and expand in the future.All in all, there can be concluded Yum! Brands Inc. is a financially healthy company. Debts do not exceed assets and the company is still capable to increase revenue. They have a strong profit margin, though looking at competition there still lays a challenge. Bibliography Cote, R. (2006). Basic hotel and restaurant accounting: exercises in accounting (6th ed. ). Lansing, Mich. : Educational Institute, American Hotel & Lodging Association. Jones, G. R. , & Hill, C. W. (2010). Theory of strategic management: with cases (9th ed. ). Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning. Schmidgall, R. S. (2006). In Hospitality industry managerial accounting (pp. 201-242).Lansing: Educational institute American hotel & lodging Association. Stock analysis. (n. d. ). McDonalds . Retrieved 11 24, 2012, from Stock analysis: http://www. stock-analysis-on. net/NYSE/Company/McDonalds-Corp/Ratios/Profitability#Net-Profit-Margin Osterwalder, A. , Pigneur, Y. , & Clark, T. (2010). Business model generation: a handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Yahoo finance. (2012). McDonald's Corp. Retrieved 11 24, 2012, from Yahoo finance: http://finance. yahoo. com/q/is? s=MCD&annual Yum. (2010). Annual report 2010. Yum. Retrieved from: www. yum. com/csr/environment) Retrieved from: www. fromhungertohope. com

Home Depot Employee Benefits Essay

The first case is against an employee Gunderson working at JMI agency owned by Brown Corporation. It is filed by Brown on account of the defendant’s violation of the employee agreement by joining a competing company after working there continuously for seven months and soliciting and servicing Brown’s customers and disclosing confidential information. The summary judgment was made in favor of the defendant because an employment of seven months is not enough under Illinois law to support the limiting agreement. (Findlaw, 2008) The second case is against an employee Robert M. Bono working at Chicago Transit Board who was discharged from his job on account of misconduct by calling a customer while working though his job duties did not require calling any customers. The call was personal and social in nature involving a sexual joke. The court affirmed the decision of Chicago Transit Board as being reasonable and appropriate. (Findlaw, 2008) Issues:Â  The issue being discussed in the first case is the claim by the parent company of breach of contract by the employee. But since the employment period of Gunderson was only seven months so according to Illinois law no charges can be made against him In the second case, the issue discussed is of an employee misbehaving with a customer on telephone and making personal use of the phone though he is not allowed to do so. Therefore, he dismissed by the company. Implications for Home Depot:Â  At Home Depot, each employee should be clearly told of his/her duties and the consequences of not acting accordingly. Secondly, the employee contract at Home Depot should specify clearly all the terms and conditions specially the time period after which he can be accused of the violation of the contract. Conclusion: Through the analysis of the above cases, I learned that minor mistakes by an employee can result into big troubles and court procedures. Therefore, one should remain cautious every time while working on his job.

Cosmetic Testing On Animals Essays - Animal Testing, Animal Rights

Cosmetic Testing On Animals Essays - Animal Testing, Animal Rights Cosmetic Testing on Animals Every year, millions of animals suffer and die in painful tests to determine the safety of cosmetics. Subezces such as eye shadow and soap are tested on rabbits, rats, guinea pigs, dogs, and other animals, despite the fact that the test results don?t help prevent or treat human illness or injury. Cosmetics are not required to be tested on animals and since non-animal alternatives exist, it?s hard to underezd why some companies still continue to conduct these tests. Cosmetic companies kill millions of animals every year to try to make a profit. According to the companies that perform these tests, they are done to establish the safety of a product and the ingredients. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which regulates cosmetic products, does not require animal testing. Some of the tests used on animals are eye irritancy tests, acute toxicity tests, and skin irritancy tests. In eye irritancy tests, a liquid, flake, granule, or powdered subezce is dropped into the eyes of a group of albino rabbits. The animals are often immobilized in stocks from which only their heads protrude. They usually receive no anesthesia during the tests. After placing the subezce into the rabbits eyes, lab technicians record the damage to the eye tissue at specific intervals over an average period of 72 hours. The tests sometimes last seven to eighteen days. Reactions to the subezces include swollen eyelids, ulceration, bleeding, swollen irises massive deterioration, and blindness. During the tests, rabbits eyelids are usually held open with clips, because of this, many animals try to break their necks as they try to escape. Acute toxicity tests, commonly called lethal dose or poisoning tests, determine the amount of a subezce that will kill a percentage, even up to one-hundred percent, of a group of test animals. In these tests, a subezce is forced by tube into the animals stomach or through holes cut in their throats. Experimenters observe the animals reactions which can include convulsions, labored breathing, malnutrition, skin eruptions, and bleeding from the eyes, nose, or mouth. The test was developed in 1927 and the testing continues until at least fifty percent of the animals die (usually takes 2-4 weeks). Like eye irritancy tests, lethal dose tests are unreliable and have too many variables to have a conezt result. Skin irritancy tests are conducted on rabbits, guinea pigs and other animals. The process involves placing chemicals on the animals raw, shaved skin and covering the skin with adhesive plaster. The animals are immobilized in restraining devices to prevent them from struggling. Meanwhile, laboratory workers apply the chemicals which burn into the animals skin. Alternatives to cosmetic testing are less expensive and generally more reliable to perform. Animals have different biological systems than humans therefore the tests can?t be as accurate as the current tests. Some alternatives include cell cultures, tissue cultures, corneas from eye banks, and sophisticated computer and mathematical models. Companies can also devise a formula using ingredients already proven safe by the Food and Drug Administration. Most cruelty-free companies use a combination of methods to ensure the safety of a product. Lobbying by animal welfare groups has resulted in federal, state, and local legislation severely restricting animal experimentation. For example, under the U.S. Animal welfare act, all animals used in biomedical research must be bought from vendors licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA inspects laboratories where animals are used and enforces federal laws regarding treatment and care of the animals. Biomedical scientists have also taken action to prevent the abuse of the animals, mostly because abused animals may not provide reliable data. The American Physiological Society, the National Institutes of Health, and many other scientific organizations have joined to lay down guidelines for the use and treatment of experimental animals. Now, there are also many universities with animal welfare committees. In the United States survey by the American Medical Association, it was found that 75 percent of Americans are against using animals in cosmetic testing. Hundreds of companies have responded by switching to animal-friendly test methods. To help put an end to animal testing, people can stop buying products that were tested on animals. You can also call and write to these companies,

Sound Scripting - Word Stress and Intonation

Sound Scripting - Word Stress and Intonation Word stress and intonation within sentences is very important to correct English pronunciation. In Mark Powells book Presenting in English, there are sound scripting exercises which help learners become more expressive by taking sentence intonation skills to the next level. These examples use a method of bolding key content words and CAPITALIZING the most important words chosen for the best emotional impact. This starts off with a simple sentence paragraph that an intermediate student might use to practice and ends with a more advanced selection that is typical of a presentation. Paragraph 1 Our school is the best in town. The teachers are friendly, and very knowledgeable about English. Ive studied at the school for two years and my English is becoming very good. I hope you will visit our school and try an English class. Maybe we can become friends, too! Paragraph 1 With Sound Scripting Markup Our school is the BEST in town. The teachers are friendly, and VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE about English. Ive studied at the school for two years and my English is becoming VERY GOOD. I hope you will visit our school and try an English class. MAYBE we can become FRIENDS! Listen to Example Paragraph 2 In this day and age, facts, statistics, and other numbers are used to prove everything. Intuition, gut feelings and personal preferences are all out the door. Of course, there are some who are trying to battle this trend. Recently, Malcolm Gladwell wrote Blink, a best-seller which explores the usefulness of making split-second decisions based on intuition rather than careful consideration of all the facts and figures. In this book, Gladwell argues that initial impressions - or gut-feelings - are quite rational. However, that this split-second thinking process moves faster than what we usually associate with thinking. If you are one of these people - and there are many of us - Blink provides proof that youre actually quite a rational human being. Paragraph 2 With Sound Scripting Markup In this day and age, facts, statistics and other numbers are used to prove EVERYTHING. Intuition, gut feelings and personal preferences are all OUT THE DOOR. Of course, there ARE some who are trying to battle this trend. Recently, Malcolm Gladwell wrote BLINK, a best-seller which explores the USEFULNESS of making SPLIT-SECOND DECISIONS based on INTUITION rather than careful consideration of all the facts and figures. In his book, Gladwell argues that INITIAL IMPRESSIONS - or GUT-FEELINGS - are quite rational. However, that this split-second thinking process moves FASTER than what we usually associate with thinking. If YOU are one of these people - and there are MANY of us - Blink provides PROOF that youre actually quite a RATIONAL HUMAN BEING. Listen to Example You can  practice this type of exercise further with help from our lesson on using a focus word to help with English pronunciation in general.

Problems for Teachers That Hinder Their Effectiveness

Problems for Teachers That Hinder Their Effectiveness Problems that teachers face include handling student needs, lack of parental support, and even criticism from a public that can be largely unaware of their everyday lives. Addressing these problems and bringing awareness to the educational environment that our teachers and students face daily can help improve teacher retention, student success rates, and the overall quality of education in our schools. Balancing a Wide Range of Student Needs No matter what type of school youre talking about, teachers have to deal with a wide range of student needs, but public schools may struggle the most here. While private schools are able to select their students based on an application and assessment of the best fit for the school and community, public schools in the United States are required to take every student. While most educators would never want to change this fact, some teachers are faced with students who distract the rest of the classroom and add a significant challenge. Part of what makes teaching a challenging career is the diversity of the students. All students are unique in having their own background, needs, and learning styles. Teachers have to be prepared to work with all learning styles in every lesson, requiring more prep time and creativity. However, successfully working through this challenge can be an empowering experience for both students and teachers alike. Lack of Parental Support It can be incredibly frustrating for a teacher when parents don’t support their efforts to educate children. Ideally, a partnership exists between school and home, with both working in tandem to provide the best learning experience for students. However, when parents dont follow through with their responsibilities, it can often have a negative impact on the class. Research has proven that children whose parents make education a high priority and stay consistently involved may be more successful academically. Ensuring that students eat well, get enough sleep, study, complete their homework, and are prepared for the school day are just a few of the basic of the things that parents are expected to do for their children. While many of the best teachers go above and beyond to make up for a lack of parental support, a total team effort from the teachers, parents, and students is the ideal approach. Parents are the most powerful and consistent link between children and school since they are there throughout the child’s life while the teachers will change annually. When a child knows that education is essential and important, it makes a difference. Parents can also work to communicate effectively with the teacher and ensure that their child is successfully completing assignments. However, not every family has the ability to provide the necessary supervision and partnership, and some children are left to figure things out on their own. When faced with poverty, a lack a supervision, stressful and unstable home lives, and even parents who arent present, students have to overcome numerous hurdles to even make it school, never mind succeed. These challenges can lead to students failing and/or dropping out of school. Lack of Proper Funding School finance has a significant impact on teachers ability to maximize their effectiveness. When funding is low, class sizes often increase, which impacts instructional curriculum, supplemental curriculum, technology, and various instructional and extracurricular programs. Enrichment programs are cut, supply budgets are limited, and teachers have to get creative. Most teachers understand that this is completely out of their control, but it doesn’t make the situation any less frustrating. In public schools, finances are usually driven by each individual state’s budget and local property taxes, as well as federal funding and other sources, whereas private schools have private funding and often more flexibility in how it is spent. That means public school teachers are often more affected by lack of funding and are limited in how they can spend their money. In lean times, schools are often forced to make cuts that have a negative impact. Most teachers make do with the resources they are given or supplement with their own personal contributions. Overemphasis on Standardized Testing Not every student learns in the same way, and therefore not every student can accurately demonstrate mastery of educational topics and concepts in a similar fashion. As a result, standardized testing can be an ineffective method of assessment. While some teachers are completely against standardized testing, others tell you that they don’t have a problem with the standardized tests themselves but with how the results are interpreted and used. Most teachers say that you can’t get a true indicator of what any particular student is capable of on a single test on any particular day. Standardized tests arent just a pain for students, either; many school systems use the results to determine the effectiveness of the teachers themselves. This overemphasis has caused many teachers to shift their overall approach to teaching to a focus directly on these tests. This not only takes away from creativity and limits the scope of what is taught but can also quickly create teacher burnout and put excess pressure on the teachers to have their students perform well. Standardized testing brings with it other challenges as well. For example, many authorities outside of education only look at the tests bottom line, which hardly ever tell the whole story. Observers need to take much more into account than the overall score. Consider the example of two high school math teachers. One teaches in an affluent suburban school with lots of resources, and one teaches in an inner-city school with minimal resources. The teacher in the suburban school has 95% of her students score proficient, and the teacher in the inner-city school has 55% of his students score proficient. If only comparing overall scores, the teacher in the suburban school would appear to be the more effective teacher. However, a more in-depth look at the data reveals that only 10% of students in the suburban school had significant growth during the year while 70% of the students in the inner-city school had significant growth. So who is the better teacher? You can’t tell simply from standardized test scores, yet a large majority of decision-makers want to use test scores alone to judge both student and teacher performances. Poor Public Perception Weve all heard the old saying Those who can, do. Those who cant, teach. Unfortunately, a stigma is attached to teachers within the United States. In some countries, public school teachers are highly regarded and revered for the service that they provide. Today, teachers continue to be in the public spotlight because of their direct impact on the nation’s youth. Theres the added challenge that the media often focuses on negative stories dealing with teachers, which pulls attention away from their positive impact. The truth is that most teachers are dedicated educators who are in it for the right reasons and doing a solid job. Focusing on a good teacher’s best qualities can help teachers overcome their perceptions and find fulfillment in their profession. Educational Trends When it comes to learning, experts are always looking for the best tools and tactics for educating children. While many of these trends are actually strong and worthy of implementation, adoption of them within schools can be haphazard. Some believe that public education in the United States is broken, which often drives schools to look at ways to reform, sometimes too rapidly. Teachers can be faced with mandated changes in tools, curriculum, and best practices as administrators race to adopt the latest and greatest trends. However, these constant changes can lead to inconsistency and frustration, making teachers lives more difficult. Adequate training isnt always made available, and many teachers are left to fend for themselves to figure out how to implement whatever has been adopted. On the flip side, some schools are resistant to change, and teachers who are educated about learning trends may not receive funding or support to adopt them. This can lead to a lack of job satisfaction and teacher turnover, and it can hold students back from delving into a new way to learn that may actually help them achieve more.

Thin-Layer Chromatographic Analysis Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Thin-Layer Chromatographic Analysis - Lab Report Example 2) Aspirin has the ability to lower the possibility of cancer. According to a recent research, patients who use aspirin are 38% less affected by this disease. Also, using aspirin, it was possible to lower mortality from cancer by 15% and make metastasis less common (Clayden et al. 300). Undoubtedly, aspirin is highly versatile and can be used in multiple situations. But also it has side effects which must be considered before treatment with aspirin is undertaken. For example, aspirin lowers the possibility of formation of clotted blood in the body, which leads to lowering the risk of a stroke. Because of this aspirin cannot be used by people with tendencies to bleed. Also, aspirin cannot be used by pregnant women, because this drug increases the percentage of mortality of infants, stillbirths, prolongs pregnancy and promotes maternal bleeding. It is also important to note that children who recover from chicken pox or flu must never be treated with aspirin. As it is known, this drug significantly promotes Reye’s syndrome if given to children in the described conditions. In these cases, acetaminophren must be prescribed. On the diagram above a solvent that will be used in separation is placed inside a TLC vessel. Usually, no more than 1 cm thick is necessary. In order to prevent solvent evaporation, the vessel is closed with a lid. A TLC plate with two spots is placed inside the vessel. The first spot (Black) is a known compound; the second is unknown (White). Initially, both compounds start at the same level (a) and the solvent pushes both compounds up. Gradually, the plate becomes wet with the solvent. The plate should be removed once the solvent reaches the level (b), dried and placed under UV. If both spots travelled the same distance, then the compounds were identical; and they are different if the travel distances are different. Capillary force is a well-known force that moves the solvent up the TLC plate. During this movement the

Behaviour Management and Purposeful Learning Essay - 1

Behaviour Management and Purposeful Learning - Essay Example Behavior management is of considerable importance in the field of education. It is focused on developing the learning ability and increasing the productivity of a learner. Behavioral management is applied by teachers to increase workability of students and decreases disruption in the study environment. The techniques and principles employed in behavioral management are of consistent nature. It is very essential for teachers to establish a comfortable relationship with their students as behavioral management set a foundation for teachers to work on the students. According to McGrann,(2011)â€Å"If we focus on positive behaviors and build a trusting, respectful relationship with our students, we are ensuring a successful school year for our students and for ourselves†. In behavioral management as systematic approach is initialized to the aid the better learning of the students. Students can be only successful in their learning if they are trained under proper behavioral management techniques. Most of the teachers around the world make use of behavioral management techniques to empower the learning system of their students. Behavioral management also allows cultivating discipline, caring and consistency in the learning behavior of pupil. Different Psychological Perspective in Behavioral Management In behavioral management, different psychological theories are applied to control the behavioral pattern of the learners. The three main behavioral psychological theories which are considered here are as follows. I)Behaviorism Theory: According to behaviorism theory, it is believed that the learning potential of a learner is based on the conditioning he achieved. Conditioning is an aspect achieved thorough interaction with the external environment. In his article Cherry,(2011) writes that â€Å"According to behaviorism, behavior can be studied in a systematic and observable manner with no consideration of internal mental states†. The conditioning itself can be classified in to two category as classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is a technique in which natural stimulus is related to a response and later a natural stimulus is paired with a previously neutral stimulus. In the end the neutral stimulus comes to create respo nse without the assistance of natural stimulus. Whereas, operant conditioning is a process by which learning is achieved through rewards and punishments. In operant conditioning a connection is created between behavior and its consequence. Behaviorism relies upon observation and hence it is easier to quantify the learning outcome of the students and it also aids in collecting data when researches are conducted in class rooms. Behaviorism technique is extremely helpful when predicative changes are needed as to the harmful behavior of adults and children. However, critics claim that it is one – dimensional approach and it does not have the ability to influence the feelings and moods of the learner. It is also observed that behaviorism cannot be applied to learning process where punishments and reinforcement are not a part. Cognitive Theory Cognitive theory is a learning theory in which human behaviorism is explained with the help of understanding the processing of thoughts in h uman mind. According to this theory, it is believed that human being have logical nature and make choices according to his sensibility. Here human mind is compared to a computer as his information processing is

HIS 122 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

HIS 122 - Essay Example ïÆ' ¨ This book discusses the theology, history, and political theories surroundings the Declaration of Independence. Several published writings and letters of Franklin, Jefferson, and others are presented in the book. The interesting thing about the book is how it explored the idea that the men who fought for, authored, and amended the Declaration of Independence did not have establishing a Christian nation in mind. The author presented data showing that the values of the Orthodox Christian Church are all rejected by Thomas Jefferson. Also, it explores on the concept that equality, and not slavery, is the purpose of the Declaration. Dershowitz presented data supporting the idea that Jefferson rejects the concept of slavery and supports the â€Å"secular humanist† concept. It is controversial, challenging, and disturbing, because it requires readers to rethink their opinions regarding the Declaration ïÆ' ¨ Of all the books reviewed, this is considered the most interesting exploration on the different sides of diplomacy during the American Revolution. It provides an easy and interesting read, thus giving the book a wide array of target readers. It catches the interest even of a general reader, yet provides well-researched data that will also interest any historian. The diplomatic history of the American Revolution is presented in several angles, including America’s diplomatic ties with France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Russia, and Spain. ïÆ' ¨ Simple and straightforward, the book discusses a lot of unfinished businesses caused by the American Revolution. Mainly, there are two very interesting articles that provide a great eye-opener for any reader: â€Å"Two Republics in a Hostile World† by Jonathan Dull, and â€Å"The Ambiguities of Power† by J.R. Pole. The book, particularly these two articles, can be compared to the ideas presented in the book by Dershowitz --- it makes one rethink of their personal opinions on the

Recreation & Leisure Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Recreation & Leisure - Article Example In addition, with the rise of the cities and the encroaching cement fields, more Americans seem to desire escaping into the wilderness as a means of letting go, a trend in nearly complete opposition to the needs of their forebears, creating in this shift some troubling issues to overcome. As more sites of interest were discovered, such as the geysers and mudpots of Yellowstone, the national parks were established as a means of preserving the nation’s most breathtaking vistas and natural oddities for all Americans, current and future. With this viewpoint in mind and in keeping with the concepts of the earlier parks, these wildlife or open space parks were designed to cater to the visiting tourist with little regard to ecological concerns or potential human impact on the region and wildlife. â€Å"Current cultural landscapes are products of past perceptions of needs, reactions to conditions and decisions about ways of meeting demands – regardless of whether the landscape in question is urban, agricultural or a development center in a western national park.† Understanding how parks were first envisioned as well as how they developed into national open spaces for unstructured use begins to outline the problems managers face as they try to update a system that has been long neglected, but an understanding of just how the recreational uses of the public has changed is also necessary if today’s changes are to address probably future developments and needs.

A personal military experience or Any personal experience Essay

A personal military experience or Any personal experience - Essay Example the neighborhood and I was always the commander of my group, the military was not just a dream but a lifestyle which reflected in my daily activities. Dad has always wanted me to take over from him and become a good doctor, he bought medical toys like ambulances, syringes and first aid boxes but I used them in my military games with other kids which we called â€Å"war start†. It will really break dad’s heart if he gets to know that medicine is not my thing, he did everything to make sure I become a doctor. My mind was a whirlwind, thoughts flinging themselves across the barren wasteland of my brain, how will dad feel if I get to tell him this? I pondered, will he stop fending for me? Will he love me less? I was totally imprisoned in my thoughts and the earlier I burst the bubble and break free the better it will be for me, after all dad always told me it’s better to be honest and bear the consequences than to be dishonest and reap from falsehood. I didn’t want to go to mum because she will summon a UN meeting with dad and such doesn’t usually end well. There must be an exit I said to myself, I logged in my facebook page and took a glance at my friend-list, I was astonished when I saw Martin in a military uniform on his profile picture and without hesitating I sent him a mail in which I explained my situation. Martin was once my neighbor for four years; he was a shy isolated gentleman who liked playing with girls and barbie toys, we made fun of him and always called him â€Å"cheerleader† who knew he would man up? I felt disappointed in self and with some understandable jealously sprinkled around my frustration.   I had a volcano of feelings and experiences bottled up inside me which was ready to let erupt but a sound popped up- it was Martins reply and it reads â€Å"Hey Man, calm down I assure you that everything will turn out well if only you will make up your mind and challenge yourself. My parents and almost everyone I knew objected my decision to

Reflective Log in Social Work Practice (FOUR Reflective Logs 750 Words Essay

Reflective Log in Social Work Practice (FOUR Reflective Logs 750 Words Each) - Essay Example Through my own prerogative, I was able to develop, implement and introduce troubleshooting strategies that made my friend re-consider taking an abortion. These strategies can also be used in other case scenarios. I realised the value and need to equip myself with technical information and methodologies in handling more complex tasks like teenage pregnancy. Young people like me should be aware of such social work concepts to be able to analyse these social problems with young people who are experiencing such concern. I should have approached her boyfriend in a more informal way rather than in an accusing manner, especially in the idea of having an abortion. Being the father of the unborn child, he should be man enough to face his responsibilities. He should have been more supportive in this critical moment of her life. I would call my friend’s parents, who are working abroad, and inform them of their daughter’s current situation. It is possible that my friend is somehow not getting the attention that she needed from her parents so instead relied on the presence of her boyfriend and friends. Although she has friends and guardians to support her, my friend would still need the support of her parents that would assure her that despite what happened they still love and would take care of her and her unborn child. There is a need to have a community-based institution or â€Å"teenage clinic† that could handle the growing need number of local teenage pregnancy. A school nurse, health visitor or youth worker might be able to help give ideas for setting up the clinic. Young people like me should be encouraged and involved in this kind of social work endeavour. There is a need to increase the youth’s awareness on teenage pregnancy. Schools, healthcare institutions and the local government should educate adolescents the effects of teenage pregnancy, means to which it can be avoided and how this issue can be disseminated. Five years ago, my neighbourhood

A personal military experience or Any personal experience Essay

A personal military experience or Any personal experience - Essay Example the neighborhood and I was always the commander of my group, the military was not just a dream but a lifestyle which reflected in my daily activities. Dad has always wanted me to take over from him and become a good doctor, he bought medical toys like ambulances, syringes and first aid boxes but I used them in my military games with other kids which we called â€Å"war start†. It will really break dad’s heart if he gets to know that medicine is not my thing, he did everything to make sure I become a doctor. My mind was a whirlwind, thoughts flinging themselves across the barren wasteland of my brain, how will dad feel if I get to tell him this? I pondered, will he stop fending for me? Will he love me less? I was totally imprisoned in my thoughts and the earlier I burst the bubble and break free the better it will be for me, after all dad always told me it’s better to be honest and bear the consequences than to be dishonest and reap from falsehood. I didn’t want to go to mum because she will summon a UN meeting with dad and such doesn’t usually end well. There must be an exit I said to myself, I logged in my facebook page and took a glance at my friend-list, I was astonished when I saw Martin in a military uniform on his profile picture and without hesitating I sent him a mail in which I explained my situation. Martin was once my neighbor for four years; he was a shy isolated gentleman who liked playing with girls and barbie toys, we made fun of him and always called him â€Å"cheerleader† who knew he would man up? I felt disappointed in self and with some understandable jealously sprinkled around my frustration.   I had a volcano of feelings and experiences bottled up inside me which was ready to let erupt but a sound popped up- it was Martins reply and it reads â€Å"Hey Man, calm down I assure you that everything will turn out well if only you will make up your mind and challenge yourself. My parents and almost everyone I knew objected my decision to

Technology Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Technology Philosophy - Essay Example Varying the use of available instructional technology materials will keep the students expectant in every lesson. This gives inspiration to both teachers and students as well. For the teachers, there is the challenge to create new and exciting presentations and for the teachers, there is the continuous wondering not only on the concepts to be learned but on how these concepts are presented. The way these are presented is important because it paves the way for their clear understanding of the topics. The use of technology in the teaching-learning process should not be used as a tool in presenting the lessons like using the MS PowerPoint presentations to show the ideas and concepts or the use of transparencies to project the outline of the discussion or the content of the lecture. These should be part of the learning activities also where the students are enabled to understand these technologies and enabled to use these because in a way, creativity and technical skills are also developed. These can also be used as aid in learning concepts also like the use of computer games to teach the concept and activity of inference, hypothesis and prediction. My approach toward my educational philosophy with regard to technology was inductively developed. I looked at what I believe in with regard to the teaching-learning process and attached to these what I believe should be the role of technology. Later on, I looked into existing educational philosophies, and identified from there, which among these best fit my philosophy. As I have identified, these are as follows: John Dewey’s experiential philosophy, Dr. Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory, and John Mc Peck’s teaching critical thinking. Dewey’s philosophy involves the use of experience in teaching like in teaching addition and subtraction of numbers for example, instead of teaching the

Cancun Highlights Essay Example for Free

Cancun Highlights Essay Beaches Naturally, the beaches are the biggest draw in Cancun with their soft, white sand and brilliant turquoise-blue water. Cancuns Hotel Zone is really just one long beach separated from the mainland by a system of lagoons. The dazzling white sand of Cancuns beaches is light in weight and cool underfoot even in the blazing sun. Thats because it is composed not of silica but rather of microscopic plankton fossils called disco-aster. Cenotes It is estimated that there are more than 6000, although only 2400 are registered. All the fresh water rivers are underground. Being porous, caverns and caves formed where the fresh water collects the cenotes or water sinkholes. The water that gathers in these subterranean cenotes is a crystal clear turquoise color with a very pleasant temperature of 78 ° F (25.5 º C). The stalactites and stalagmites that form inside the cenotes are true natural works of art. In many, holes in the ceiling allow the sunlight to filter into the cenotes, giving the scene a magical feeling. The cenotes of Yucatà ¡n are a natural treasure that should be seen by all, keeping in mind that they should be protected so that man does not destroy in a few days what nature took millions of years to create. Adventure Parks Xplor is a unique underground world, with 7 amazing circuits that invite you to rediscover your emotions and senses within nature. Dare to ride our 13 zip lines among the Caribbean’s lively nature and enjoy refreshing water landings and amazing suspension bridges; take a trip through the jungle on unstoppable amphibious vehicles, explore an underground paradise where you can swim surrounded by amazing stalactites and stalagmites, discover a matchless raft route across stunning subterranean caverns while paddling with your own hands, and to complete your feat, a nutritious and light buffet, that will recharge your energy. Hidden worlds Hidden Worlds is the Yucatan Peninsulas best known location for exploring the fascinating world of cenotes. Its system of underground caverns and waterways lay hidden within dense tropical foliage over many centuries. Experience the Jungle! This is not a Disneyland tour, it is truly in the Mayan Jungle. Tours take off at Hidden Worlds Every hour. You will Skycycle, Jungle Zipline, Rappel into a cenote, Splash down Zipline, Ride the Avatar (a roller coaster Zipline) and Snorkel through the most famous underground cave system in the world. Nature Parks Xcaret It was opened in December 1990 as eco-archeological parkwhere visitors from all over the world can enjoy the splendor of Mexico’s biodiversity and cultural heritage. Due to its great success the park has been preserved with an environmental management system. Xcaret park * Under ground Rivers * Beach, Lagoon and pools * Tropic Jungle Trail * Main plaza * House of whispers * Rotating Scenic Tower Attractions * Butterfly Pavilion Butterfly Pavillion * Regional Wildlife * Breeding Farm * Coral Reeff Aquarium * Living Museum of Ochirds and Mushroom Farm. Most Important Accommodations Resorts and hotels The world class all-inclusive resorts in Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and the Riviera Maya offer a variety of activities, entertainment, and cuisine, all for one price. No hidden costs. You pay for your all-inclusive accommodations, airfare, and transfers, and you dont have to worry about carrying your wallet around with you everywhere you go, and you dont have to budget once you get there. Its economical, and makes for a worry free vacation. Even taxes and tips are included in the rates. Cancun Tower A unique architectural concept where each condominium has absolute privacy and large facades, having a spectacular and incomparable view of Cancun city, the hotel zone, the spectacular golf course and the beautiful Caribbean Sea. One of Cancun Towersapos; most exclusive characteristics is that all the 3 bedroom units have direct elevator service to each condominium, one of few developments that offers the privacy you need. Restaurants and Night-Clubs Mexican Food. La Parrilla Is the most traditional restaurant in Cancun, recognized for its fine Mexican food. Since 1975, La Parrilla has rescued the dishes and traditional recipes, which combines with art, tequila and mariachi music, bringing the guest a unique Mexican experience. This Mexican Restaurant is a typical family restaurant, full of color and folklore. Party atmosphere and decor with arches, fountains and balconies are reminiscent of the old Mexican haciendas. The casual ambient, friendly and cheerful harmony with the very Mexican mariachi. 35 years of exquisite taste, tradition and Mexican music. Non-Mexican Food. Chocolate City Chocolate City is a family restaurant with a capacity of 210; it operates as a FAMILY RESTAURANT FUN BAR and offers its customers delicious delights, as well as exciting entertainment. Upon entering, guests can enjoy a spectacular chocolate fountain that holds up to 1000 kilograms of liquid chocolate that falls from one plate to another. Night-Clubs Coco Bongo With it ´s 1,800 people capacity is located in the heart of the bustling hotel zone, the mutli-level seating and nightly Rock and Roll and Salsa bands make coco bongo the most exciting and unique club. Combine all this with Coco Bongo’s extraordinary musical mix. Get ready for flying acrobats, bar top conga lines, movie clips projected on to high tech video screens, live bands; and more shows that you can imagine. History and Culture Coba The archaeological site of Coba has increasingly become more visited by national and international tourism. One of the main attraction to visitors of Coba is the Ancient Pyramid which unlike Chichen Itzas Kukulkan Pyramid, is still open for the public to climb its 120 steps up to the top of the site. Additional to this, Coba has several Tour operators with excursions available to this site from almost any point within the closest and top Touristic destinations of Cancun and its Riviera Maya. Tulum Tulum is a beautiful village on the south end of the Rivera Maya that enjoys a deep rooted history in the important culture of the ancient Mayan people. In recent years,Tulum has flourished in trades that stem directly from the skills utilized by the ancestors of the area. To appreciate the history and making of Tulum, one must understand the history of the Mayan people. Chichen-Itza it is one of the more impressive pyramids in the world With the popularity of Cancun and vicinity for both tourists, and cruise ships, well, there are only so many places to go, and Chichen Itza is on the top of the list. This place is known for the vast history of the Maya, their advanced mathematical knowledge, their incredible understanding of the solar system.

The Rise in Penal Populism | Dissertation

The Rise in Penal Populism | Dissertation Abstract Since the mid-1970s onward, the vast majority of Western countries have experienced a significant plus continual rise in their incarceration rates, leading to the problem of overcrowded prisons. We examine the extent to which the ‘incarceration boom’ of many modern societies can be attributed to the phenomenon of penal populism. Specifically, we argue that some short-lived actual crime waves during the late 1970s and 1980s may have initially generated a small amount of rational penal populist sentiment among the public, it is the strong divisions within the increasingly heterogeneous public (both politically and ethnically), the central government, and the popular media industry of many democratic developed nations which have ultimately sustained the growth of both penal populism and prison population numbers. Furthermore, we focus on the types of crime that are most commonly targeted by strong penal populist sentiments in the public and criminal justice system, and suggest that all such categories of crime can be fundamentally linked to the cultural ‘purification’ of children which has taken place in virtually all Western societies during the latter half of the twentieth century. Finally, we consider the limitations of penal populism, referring to those few post-industrial states where such populist punitiveness has been largely resisted, and postulate what the end-stage consequences of a penal populist movement spanning over the past three decades are likely to be. 1. Introduction The term ‘penal populism’ denotes a punitive phenomenon that has become characteristic of many modern industrial societies, especially within Western liberal democracies since the late twentieth century onward, whereby anti-crime political pressure groups, talk-back radio hosts, victim’s rights activists or lobbyists, and others who claim to represent the ‘ordinary public’ have increasingly demanded of their governments that harsher policies and punishments be enforced by the relevant organs of the criminal justice system (e.g. law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, legislators, etc.) in order to combat the perceived rise in serious crime rates (Pratt, 2006). One direct consequence of the increasingly severe ‘tough on crime’ measures – such as ‘Life means Life’, ‘Three Strikes’, and ‘Zero Tolerance’ policies – exercised in many economically advanced countries from the mid-1970s onward has been an unprecedented rapid rise in the incarceration rates of these respective nations, leading to the problem of overcrowded prisons. The United States epitomises the tempo of the modern change in national imprisonment rates, and currently has the worst problem of prison overcrowding on a global scale. Indeed, ‘American incarceration numbers [have] increased fivefold between 1973 and 1997’(Caplow and Simon, 1999, p63). More recently, ‘in 2004 the United States surpassed Russia in incarceration rates to become the world leader. With 2.2 million individuals inside (assuming a U.S. population of 290 million in 2004, that is an incarceration rate of approximately 759 adults in prison per 100,000 residents of the United States) and upwards of 7 million individuals either on parole, probation or awaiting trial, 1 in every 33 people in the U.S. is currently under state control and the number is growing’(State-Wide Harm Reduction Coalition, 2005). Clearly, an interpretation of the widespread incarceration rise must be able to accurately explain its rapidity, extent, and endurance on a global scale. There are two principal explanations for why such a large number of developed countries have experienced an ‘incarceration boom’ over the past three decades. Both theoretical models assert that it is changes in penal policies plus sentencing practices, rather than simply significant increases in crime rates alone, which are the primary factor responsible for driving prison population growth, but there is considerable disparity between the two theories about the causes of penal policy changes. One ‘crime wave’ hypothesis posits that actual rising crime rates in many Western countries, including the vast expansion of drug crime during the late twentieth century, have resulted in a greater rational public demand for the criminal justice system to take more severe punitive measures against convicted dangerous criminals (i.e. those offenders who pose the highest threat to public safety and social order; the criminal offenders most commonly targeted by penal populism in modern societies shall be considered in detail below), such as a more frequent use of incarceration with longer custodial sentences. In contrast, the second ‘political opportunism’ hypothesis suggests that many majority government parties have intentionally overstated the size and severity of the national crime problem in order to heighten public fears or instil ‘moral panic’ over perceived (as opposed to actual) rising crime rates, which are merely a political artefact, and subsequently utilise harsher crime control policies to win electoral favour (Caplow and Simon, 1999). Importantly, irrespective of which mechanism has in actual fact been operating across numerous advanced industrial states, and has led to the observed excessive growth in prison population sizes, both explanatory models can clearly be regarded as strongly related to the presence of penal populism. The critical difference between the two theories is whether the main original source of those penal populist sentiments can be accurately considered to be the public or the state, or both. According to the first model, which may be described as the public-induced penal populism hypothesis, it has been the persistent public demand for the government to impose harsher punitive measures on convicted criminals which has primarily caused the fast-paced escalation of incarceration numbers in many modern nations. In other words, the criminal justice systems in these countries have largely been exercising a regime of penal excess because constant pressure from a large sector of the public (in response to an actual rise in crime rates) has compelled them to do so. In comparison, the second model, which we may refer to as the state-induced penal populism hypothesis, postulates that within many Western countries the government parties in power have often created and sustained an artificial appearance of rising crime rates in order to instil widespread public anxiety. Subsequently, the majority government (and individual politicians) can be observed by the public to be apparently controlling the perceived illusory crime problem, such as through adopting and enforcing ‘tough on crime’ measures, and thereby attain public popularity to secure their party’s (or their own) success in the next general election. The second model further suggests that the government is not the only state institution in developed nations which benefits from overstating the scale of the dangerous crime threat, but that there are also large rewards for popular media outlets or news companies willing to do so. It is argued by many criminologists that within almost all democratic Western countries, the central government and the popular media, which are both fragmented into multiple competing party’s or companies, are highly dependent on addressing and reporting criminal activity that specifically victimises ‘ordinary people’ in order to retain electoral votes and public ratings, respectively. Hence, the state-induced penal populism hypothesis proposes that politicians and media outlets lead rather than merely follow or passively represent the public opinion: the public only supports or appears to ‘demand’ the government’s harsher punitive policy strategies because the same national government and popular media industry (as two powerful state institutions) have manufactured a compelling false image of prevalent serious crime which has instilled strong penal populist sentiments in a large proportion of that public. The central aim of the following examination is to determine which of these two distinctive theoretical positions is most likely to be correct. It is of course possible that the public-induced penal populism mechanism primarily operates in one developed nation, while in another Western country it may be the state-driven penal populism process that is predominant. However, to the extent that the relatively recent phenomenon of globalisation has resulted in many common economic, social, political, and cultural practices being widely adopted by a number of modern industrial states, one may plausibly expect a similar (if not identical) mechanism of generating penal populism to be present in the developed nations affected by prison population growth, especially with regard to the United States and Western Europe. At the outset, we may hypothesise that although some short-lived real increases in Western crime rates during the late 1970s and 1980s may have initially triggered some rational penal populist sentiments among the public of these modern societies, it has been the combined interaction of both political opportunism and media opportunism which has acted as a powerful vehicle in numerous modern societies for distorting the public’s common view of the national crime problem, and ultimately for sustaining the growth of both penal populism plus prison populations, regardless of how those crime rates may have subsequently changed (and in most developed countries they have steadily declined). One fundamental feature of the modern incarceration surge over the past three decades that is observed in virtually all countries affected by rapid prison growth is the significant proportion of these prison populations that has become comprised of racial minorities, including both of resident ethnic groups and of non-citizen illegal immigrants. As one study (O’Donnell, 2004, p262) remarks, ‘one factor that accounts for rising prison populations across Europe is the incarceration of ‘foreigners’. It is likely that prison accommodation in the Republic of Ireland will be used to hold growing numbers of failed asylum seekers, at least pending deportation. It is also inevitable that the composition of the prison population will change as members of minority groups begin to appear before the courts on criminal charges’. In terms of the racial minorities imprisonment trend in the United States, Caplow and Simon (1999, p66) assert that ‘it is undeniable that the incarcerated population is disproportionately composed of minorities (especially African Americans and Hispanics), and that the disproportion has increased during the period of rising imprisonmentThe period of rapid growth in incarceration rates has seen a significant increase in the proportion of minorities in the inmate population, especially among drug offenders, the fastest growing segment of that [prison] population’. As is the case with most Western European countries, the United States prison sector has also experienced a mass round up of illegal immigrants or non-citizens during the last three decades, who in 2003 made up 40% of federal prisoners (State-Wide Harm Reduction Coalition, 2005). Ultimately, therefore, it is apparent that the incarceration boom in many developed countries has primarily affected various racial minority populations present within these nations. It is the cumulative incarceration of racial minorities that is significantly responsible for the prison overcrowding problem commonly observed. Thus, one crucial question that we must address in the following study is what has caused (and continues to cause) the increased imprisonment of racial minority populations, relative to the incarceration rate of the racial majority host population (typically white), within the modern industrial societies affected by prison overcrowding? Specifically, we shall seek to determine whether pervasive ‘penal racism’, indicated by a greater tendency in developed nations for both the law enforcement system to arrest and subsequently for the criminal justice system to imprison ethnic or non-white defendants compared with white ones who have committed the same offence, is sufficient to explain the large racial differentials observed in incarceration rates, or not. The methodology of the following study consists entirely of literature-based research and analysis. 2. The Origins of Penal Populism: Real Crime Waves versus Political and Media Opportunism It is widely acknowledged that the prevalent public sentiment in many developed countries to ‘get tough’ with criminals has played a central role in catalysing the incarceration surge which has occurred in these nations since the mid-1970s onward, an influential social movement that is referred to as penal populism. Furthermore, whether one regards the source of that penal populism as stemming from a rational public response to actual rising crime rates or, conversely, as triggered by public exposure to political and media manipulation, the measured strength of the public’s demand on their respective democratic governments to impose harsher punitive measures on convicted criminals has remained consistently high over the thirty year period of vast growth in incarceration numbers. For example, with regard to the United States, one study notes that the time series of public responses to the survey question of whether courts are too lenient has remained highly stable since 1972 (Caplow and Simon, 1999). The significant temporal correlation in many modern industrial states between the onset of strong public desire since around the mid-1970s for more stringent crime policies and the period of rapid prison population growth is a clear indication of the vital part that penal populist sentiments have played in causing prison overcrowding. One may plausibly argue that the strong growth of penal populist sentiments in most advanced industrial societies over the past three decades has been initially generated by temporary real increases in crime (including the rapid expansion of a drug-crime economy during the 1980s) and sustained by an increased reliance of governments on implementing harsher crime control measures (rather than more effective social welfare policies) to gain public support plus secure electoral favour. Accordingly, we intend to demonstrate that penal populism in developed nations is a product of both short-lived actual crime waves and manipulative political opportunism. Indeed, one would theoretically expect the two factors operating in conjunction to result in a significantly larger escalation in incarceration rates (as is in fact observed) than would occur if only one of these forces was present in isolation. As one study has observed, ‘tough on crime’ policies produce prison population increases only to the degree that offenders are available to be imprisoned (Zimring and Hawkins, 1991). Conversely, an increase in crime rates would also not produce a corresponding increase in imprisonment rates unless some suitably punitive crime control measures were in place. During the last thirty years there has also certainly occurred in many Western countries a greater dependence of competing popular media companies, both television and the press, on selectively reporting dangerous (i.e. worse than normal) crime on an almost daily basis, simply in order to maintain or increase viewer and reader ratings. By portraying the national crime problem as more severe and more prevalent than in reality, individual popular media outlets (e.g. tabloid newspapers) in developed nations have become more appealing to public viewers than their quality media counterparts (e.g. broadsheet newspapers) who often object to distorting or manipulating the reporting of crime news. Since the late twentieth century onward, crime news has become a fundamental component of the public’s staple diet. As Pratt (2007, p68) suggests, ‘the reporting of crime is inherently able to shock [and] entertain, sustaining public appeal and interest, selling newspapers and increasing television audiences. Furthermore, the way in which crime is used to achieve these ends is by selective rather than comprehensive reportingHowever, it is not only that crime reporting has quantitatively increased; there have also been qualitative changes in its reporting: it is prone to focus more extensively on violent and sexual crime than in the pastThese qualitative and quantitative changes in crime reporting can be attributed to the growing diversity of news sources and media outletsAs a consequence, both television and the press have to be much more competitive than used to be the case. Their programmes have to be packaged in such a way that they become more attractive to viewers than those of their rivals and competitors’. Evidently, given that it is typically the most popular newspapers (such as the tabloid press in Britain) which feature the greatest number and severity of crime stories, it means that the most common representations of crime, portrayed in ‘the form of randomised, unpredictable and violent attacks inevitably committed by strangers on ‘ordinary people’, reach the greatest audience’(Pratt, 2007, p70). Thus, it is clear that within modern society the potential benefits to popular media outlets from inaccurately amplifying the danger plus scale of national crime in the public’s perception are equally as large as the rewards for politicians willing to do so. With regard to addressing the (largely fabricated) immediacy of the criminal activity problem, therefore, media opportunism and political opportunism are proximately linked in virtually all post-industrial countries where penal populist currents are strongly established. As well as magnifying the size of the dangerous crime problem, the popular media in many Western countries further continually seeks to undermine the current sentencing practices of the criminal justice system, regardless of how harsh they have become over the past three decades. In the same way that the crime stories reported by the popular media are scarcely representative of the actual nature of everyday crime within developed nations, the court stories followed are rarely illustrative of everyday sentencing practices. According to Pratt (2007), that media misrepresentation then reinforces the common public opinion that courts are too lenient, even though they have become significantly more punitive, in addition to fuelling the widely held public sentiment that the crime rate is constantly escalating when recent statistics indicate that crime is in fact steadily declining in most modern societies. Thus, in its reporting style, crime analysis by the Western popular media has become ‘personalised’ rather than ‘statisticalised’, since: 1) it prioritises the experiences of ordinary people (especially crime victims) over expert opinions 2) News reports are more prone to focus on the occasional failings of criminal justice officials as opposed to their many successes. Indeed, in the vast majority of modern societies, the ‘citation of criminal statistics has become a code for softness on crime and callousness towards its victims’(Pratt, 2007, p88), which simply provides the popular media with further scope to legitimately overstate the scale and severity of everyday crime in developed states. For these reasons, the media outlets in many Western countries have played a significant role in facilitating the continual growth of penal populist sentiments among the public. 3. The Transient Growth of a Drug-Crime Economy in Developed Countries It is highly pertinent that the vast expansion in drug crime within many Western nations during the late 1970s and 1980s coincided precisely with the onset of rapidly escalating incarceration rates in these same countries. As is asserted, ‘the growth in nondrug crime has simply not been sufficient to sustain the rapid growth of imprisonment. By the 1970s there was already an active culture of drug use and networks of drug importation/sales in the United States, but their economic importance increased in the 1980s due to new products and distribution strategies, especially for ‘crack’ cocaine. That transformation in the marketing of illegal drugs coincided with political decisions to intensify the punishments for drug crimes. The result was an enlargement of the population available for criminal justice processing’(Caplow and Simon, 1999, p71). It is crucial to acknowledge, therefore, that in any modern industrial society there is not a rudimentary causal link between a greater public desire for severity in criminal sanctions and a sustained growth in incarceration numbers; other conditions must be present. Specifically, ‘a key condition is a large pool of offenders available to be imprisoned’(Caplow and Simon, 1999, p93). Although there had also been documented transient increases in the number of offenders committing nondrug crimes such as violent crime, property crime (larceny), and sex crime in modern societies during the 1980s, these numbers tended to fluctuate in cycles over time, and could not account for the continual rise in incarceration rates observed. In contrast, the number of drug crime offences had remained consistently high throughout the 1980s in virtually all developed countries that have experienced an incarceration boom. However, in most Western nations the total drug crime rate then started to steadily decline during the 1990s largely due to the much harsher punishments being imposed on drug crime offenders (both petty and serious) by the criminal justice systems in these states. One valid explanation for the persistently high rate of drug crime during the 1980s is the ‘economic base’ principle. Specifically, while the average monetary yield of larceny, violence and sex offences is very low, drug crime represents one of the only categories of felony where the potential financial returns are extremely high, and that provides a strong economic incentive for individuals living in poverty. Hence, drug smuggling and trafficking are the only illegal activities capable of providing a solid economic base for a large criminal population in modern society. The initial cost of goods is low and law enforcement efforts sustain high retail prices, thereby ensuring large profit margins (Reuter and Kleiman, 1986). Since the 1980s, drug crime has certainly been targeted by penal populist sentiments in many Western countries affected by a public expectation for greater punitiveness, largely irrespective of how the drug crime rate has subsequently changed in these developed nations, but it is evidently not the only category of felony that has become a common target of penal populism. Sex offences (especially against children), violent or abusive crimes (once again, even more so when the victims are children), and youth crime are three other important types of crime that in late modern capitalist states have characteristically become subjected to a public desire for penal excess. We shall examine in detail at a later stage below what these specific four categories of crime have in common and why they are such typical targets of penal populist sentiments in developed liberal societies. 4. The Increased Dependence of Governments on Crime Control as a Source of Popular Credibility The rapid proliferation of drug crime in many Western countries during the late 1970s and 1980s was accompanied by a great loss of public confidence in the social welfare programs implemented in these same nations. As Pratt (2007, p95) asserts, ‘the visible presence of drug addicts in these countries had become a symbol of misplaced welfarism and tolerance, now believed to be corroding their economic and social fabrics’. Furthermore, the short-lived growth of general crime waves in many modern societies during the late twentieth century led to a significant decline of public assurance in the competence of their respective governments to control the state. As one study remarks, ‘the international crime waves of the 1960s and 1970s helped diminish the prestige of national governments all over the industrial world, by calling into question their capacity to maintain social order. The increase of crime rates at a time of increasing government efforts to help the poor undermined many of the traditional arguments for welfare, and helped confirm the view of many conservatives that efforts to help the poor only made circumstances worse by eliminating incentives for self improvement’(Caplow and Simon, 1999, p88). It is difficult to determine whether the crime wave was caused by expansions in welfare programs or merely coincided with them. The main point is that in addition to the direct relationship between high rates of crime and demands for punitive governmental responses, the crime wave may have indirectly diminished the prestige of and public demand for welfare-oriented government (Caplow and Simon, 1999). Thus, it is argued that during the 1980s many Western governments shifted the priority of their domestic agendas away from welfare policies toward crime control policies. Initially, it was most often right wing conservative politicians that promoted ‘tough on crime’ punitive measures, making crime a political issue and gaining public support. However, Lappi-Seppà ¤là ¤ (2002, p92) suggests that mainstream opposition (i.e. left wing) parties are then forced into advocating punitive policies as well, because although these left wing parties want to ‘distance themselves from the populist programmes of the right wing movements, there is one area where they do not like to disagree – the requirement of being ‘tough on crime’. No party seems to be willing to accuse another of exaggeration when it comes to measures against criminality. Being ‘soft on crime’ is an accusation that no [governmental party] wants to accept. And it is that fear of being softer than one’s political opponents which tends to drive politicians, in the end, to the extremes of penal excess’. It is plausible to argue, therefore, that constant competition between opposing governmental factions for public favour in liberal democracies has created an ‘punitive arms race’ of political opportunism, whereby each party is compelled to promote plus (when in power) implement increasingly more radical punitive policies – irrespective of the actual level of crime that the country is experiencing – in order to avoid appearing weak on crime and consequently losing valuable electoral votes to their political opponents who are prepared to be more severe on criminals. Clearly, such an opportunistic punitive arms race occurring within the governments of developed nations would lead to an exponential increase in the prison population numbers of these countries, and ultimately to prison overcrowding. That political mechanism may at least partly explain why so many Western countries which have experienced a large decrease in crime rates since the mid-1990s and into the early twenty-first century have still reported a rising prison population. For example, Pratt (2006, p1) observes that since 1999 Labour led coalition governments in New Zealand have strongly adhered to Britain’s New Labour ‘approach to crime and punishment, even using the famous phrase ‘tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’ in its election manifestoes of 2002 and 2005. As a consequence, while [New Zealand’s] recorded crime rate has dropped by 25% in the last ten years, its imprisonment rate has increased to 189 per 100,000, one of the highest of Western countries’. Yet it is not only the divisions (i.e. in terms of competing parties) within Western democratic governments that have catalysed the increased political focus on crime control, but also the growing number of divisions among the public itself. Indeed, modern society in many developed nations (such as the United Kingdom and the United States) has become increasingly heterogeneous since the late twentieth century, and consequently the number of bases of division within these societies has expanded. For example, the members of a diverse post-industrial society are not only partitioned along the traditional parameter of social class, but are also strongly divided by a number of dichotomous value-based issues that are characteristic of ‘post-materialist’ politics such as abortion, gay rights, animal rights (e.g. fox hunting), mass immigration, school prayer, and capital punishment where it still exists (Caplow and Simon, 1999). These value- or identity-based issues are intensely contested over in modern societies by well-organised pressure groups on either side of the bipolar political spectrum. These issues are bipolar or dichotomous in the sense that they are non-negotiable with no ‘middle ground’; one either supports abortion rights or one opposes them. Hence, public division on these post-materialist issues is inevitable. One important consequence of the heterogeneous publics of Western countries becoming divided by such a multitude of value conflicts during the 1970s onward is that government parties had difficulty finding any issues to build successful election campaigns on that would appeal to a vast majority of the public. Harsher crime control appeared to be a clear choice as a singular issue that large sections of the modern public are united in consensus on. As is stated, ‘Unlike most values issues on the left or right, crime control seems to cut across the political spectrumPoliticians seeking to build viable majorities inevitably turn to the few issues that can bring people together in the new political landscapeThat is why election campaigns continue to focus on crime and punishment issues even when opposing candidates agree in their support of punitive anticrime measures. Faced with voters who split on so many issues and who are profoundly sceptical about the ability of government to improve their lives through welfare-oriented interventions, the mode of governing that commands the broadest support – punitiveness toward criminal offenders – is understandably [valued by governments]’(Caplow and Simon, 1999, p83). Ultimately, therefore, while short-lived actual increases in crime rates during the late 1970s and 1980s may have initially triggered the rise in imprisonment rates in a number of developed countries, political opportunism (in the sense of governments capitalising on populist punitiveness) has arguably sustained the incarceration boom in virtually all Western nations affected by prison overcrowding, regardless of how those crime rates may have subsequently changed. 5. The Target Crimes of Penal Populism There is a high degree of uniformity across all Western nations that have experienced an incarceration surge over the past three decades in the types of crime that are most commonly subjected to strong public demand for harsh punitive sanctions. Generally, the four most frequent felony targets of penal populism are: Drug crime; Sex offences, especially when the victims are children; Child abuse (physical, sexual, or psychological), and; Youth crime. Correspondingly, these have also been some of the fastest growing segments of prison and boot camp populations in many developed countries during recent years. One fundamental property that the above four categories of crime have in common is that children are extremely vulnerable to the effects of all of them. We may validly question why children have come to occupy such a central place in the penal populist sentiments of modern industrial societies. Pratt (2007, p96) remarks that ‘crime control policy driven by penal populism targets ‘others’, not ordinary, ‘normal’ peopleGiven the nature of populism, we should expect that crime control policy will gravitate towards easy and familiar targets, for whom there is likely to be the least public sympathy, the most social distance and the fewest authoritative voices (if any) to speak on their behalf: tho Effects of Watching Soap Operas | Research Effects of Watching Soap Operas | Research Shaping Minds: The Soap Opera and the Power of Representation Abstract In this thesis I aim to identify what the younger British public find engaging about Soap Operas, and to identify some of the processes at work during viewing, which might alter or enhance the ways in which we see the world. Focusing specifically on the relationship between popular media and the attitudes of young people towards sex and social class, research addresses the power of media representation, the use of role models, and how popular media encourages the viewer to make social distinctions and reinforces our ideas of classification. My research examines the influence of popular programmes, such as Sex and the City, and Australian and British Soap Operas, and throughout the thesis I refer to the theoretical approaches of Bourdieu and Michel Foucault, where I discuss the paradoxes latent in both the logic and language that people generally perceive to be stable and fundamental to social order. I also consider systems of classification and how the act of perceiving the validity and existence of such distinctions creates them. Conclusions drawn suggest that people consider soap viewing to be more dangerous in hindsight, whereas younger people do not recognise, or are less willing to recognise the inherent influences of soap story lines. Research does conclude that most people do consider soap operas to present an unrealistic portrayal of family life and relationships. Introduction Before the seventies a relatively small and largely irrelevant body of research existed that was solely based around soap operas, and it was only at that point when soaps began to assume a position as a topic of interest (LaGuardia 1974, 1977; Stedman 1971; Weibel 1977. In Blumenthal, p.43), as well as an area worthy of academic research (Katzman 1972; McAdown 1974; Newcomb 1974. Ibid). As Blumenthal openly writes ‘there were those who simply were against them, or found them silly.’ (Blumenthal, p.43). The context for this research formed out of a perceived gap in current research topics between the effects of media on children and adults, with relatively few projects being based solely upon teenagers and young people. As noted by Hawk et al (2006) much public and scientific concern has been expressed regarding the influence of sex in the mainstream media on childrens sexual development, such as Greenfield, 2004. However, fewer studies have studied in depth the relations hips between adolescents viewing of sexual content in the media and their own sexual behaviours and attitudes, and of those studies which do exist many are subject to severe limitations such as small samples, and narrow focus on a single type of sexual outcome, such as incidence of intercourse (Peterson et al., 1991. In Hawk et al, 2006: 352). An important consideration for the topic of this research also rested upon the observance that it is less common for research into sexual attitudes to be combined with attitudes towards social class; the decision to marry these two topics derived from the consideration that British soap operas more often represent the working class, whereas Australian soap operas mostly refer to middle class families. It was therefore an interesting research proposition to consider whether attitudes towards sex and class are being shaped by the type of target audience that these programmes are being aimed at. Although the present study does not focus on the ex tent to which women only are influenced by viewing soap operas, it does recognise that a large body of research exists on women and soap operas, and that more useful responses might be given by women respondents. Methodology In considering the methodology for this project it was decided that in order to achieve a more comprehensive collection of data with specific personal reactions to media that primary data in the forms of questionnaires and interviews should be used, rather than basing the thesis purely on secondary textual and resource analyses. As some critics suggest, textual analysis cannot always enlighten us as to what goes on in the minds of viewers and often relies upon inference and speculation (Dow, 1996). Secondary materials used for this project also include journals, articles, and books which have attempted to define the relationship between viewers and popular media. Results and findings are discussed using the research of theorists such as Adorno and Fiske; this was decided in order to encompass opinions which span a broad spectrum of relevant ideas, and are useful for how they illustrate the contrasts present in media research. Participants Participants who filled in only questionnaires were obtained by contacting high schools and middle schools, mostly in urban areas, that agreed to participate in data collection. Fifteen schools (who had their own colleges for 17-19 year olds) were initially randomly selected and contacted, 10 of which agreed to participate. As this project did not aim to highlight how attitudes might vary between age and race the identity and nationalities of respondents were not obtained. This was also decided upon because the ‘blind’ questionnaire offered school pupils more scope to provide false answers, especially concerning age and gender. In total there were 200 pupil responses with ages ranging from 12 to 18. As part of gathering primary data slightly different form of questionnaire (see Appendix Two) was presented to a random selection of young adults. This sample was achieved by approaching people on the street in a local town during rush hour. The only criteria that the second lot of respondents had to meet was that they were aged 30 or under this was to ensure that recall of their watching soap operas during their teens would be more likely to be more accurate. Furthermore, this age limit was necessary considering the ages of the programmes themselves, many of which have been running approximately 20 years or less. In the random sample interview it was possible to make a note of gendered responses Questionnaire and Interview Design In the interviewing techniques selected for this project it was decided to use a combination of single and multiple choice options and include questions which encouraged respondents to give subjective views and opinions. Contact with sexual and class content in the mainstream media, as represented through the viewing of soap operas and popular programmes, was measured by asking respondents on a four point scale the degree to which they felt that their favourite programme had influenced their ideas concerning these issues. In order to account for the differences in age between the two sets of respondents it was decided that when questioning the elder set that questions should include a retrospective option. For example, when questioning people about the influence of soaps on their opinions the question would read: â€Å"Would you say that watching this programme has or might have done so in the past altered your understanding of sexual relationships?† Chapter One:  Literature Review The Meaning and Origins of Popular Culture Over the last few decades culture has become frequently used to denote changing tastes and popularity in appreciation of interests such as music, art, theatre. As noted by Peter Goodall the word ’culture’ is consistently made use of by journalists and politicians, and especially by people studying within the Humanities (Goodall, 1995). The same author also notes that the word ’culture’ has become an ‘increasingly empty term [†¦] more frequently it is used, the more regularly it seems to need another word to prop it up and define its field of reference.’ (Goodall, 1995: xii). Take, for example, the term ‘police culture’, says Goodall, and the term ‘welfare culture’: does the word promise to mean more because these areas of society actually have little in common with one another? In both contexts the word ‘promises much [..] but delivers little; it poses as a noun but it is really an adjective’ where c ulture means little more than ‘group behaviour, practice or shared assumptions.’ (Ibid). The phenomenon of popular culture and the ease with which it has spread across the Western world, owes much to the existence of television, radio, and, more recently, the Internet. It was the Queens Coronation that begun the television age, with half the adult population watching the ceremony on TV sets; and most of these people not owning their own television at the time (Karwowski: 2002: 281). Statistics show that in 1951, the only available BBC channel had just 600,000 viewers, and that by the end of the century, watching TV was the most popular leisure activity with 94 per cent of homes having at least one colour TV and 66 per cent a video cassette recorder (Ibid). Karwowski highlights the following televised programmes as being central to the historical analysis of popular culture: the Queens Coronation The Goon Show from June 1952 to January 1960, described as ‘a surreal form of humour that lampooned all forms of pomposity and hypocrisy.’ (Karwowski: 2002: 281). Situation comedies such as Till Death Us Do Part 60s TV comedies, such as That Was The Week That Was and Monty Pythons Flying Circus Independent TV (ITV) began broadcasting in 1955. The number of TV channels grew to three with the start-up of BBC 2 in 1964, to four with Channel 4 in 1982, and five with Channel 5 in 1997, while colour TV was available from 1968. British Costume Drama, portraying English novelists such as Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Evelyn Waugh Educational documentaries such as Sir Kenneth Clarks Civilisation (1969), Dr Jacob Bronowskis The Ascent of Man (1973) and Sir David Attenboroughs Life on Earth (1979) Walking with Dinosaurs Childrens programmes, such as Moles Christmas and the BBCs Teletubbies to more than 125. Quiz programmes such as the BBCs Quiz shows, such as The Weakest Link, and detective series such as Inspector Morse, currently being seen in 211 countries. However, KarwowskI observes that ‘all these genres become mere niche markets when compared to the soap opera, which has around a third of the nation addicted to its multifarious expressions.’ (2005: 282). In the UK, the most popular soap is Coronation Street, longest running since 1960, is as popular in Canada and New Zealand, with the Coronation Street web site having more hits from Canada than anywhere else. (Ibid). What we see in soap operas is often designed to provoke an empathic response in the mind of the viewer. Soap viewing can offer very contrasting experiences sometimes alienating or even shocking the viewer, and other times offering emotional support and guidance concerning difficult issues. It is perhaps this ‘mixed bag’ effect of soap viewing when a person is never sure what content will shape their viewing experience that make soap viewing so popular. Media theory questions how knowledge is received and understood by the audience. Charlotte Brunsdon once said that the pursuit of the audience can be characterized as a search for authenticity, for an anchoring moment in a sea of signification (1990, p.68). The interpretations of the complex relationship between the viewer and the viewed have been controversial and often, contrasting; for example, Theodor Adorno believed that the influence held over the public by mass media was potentially harmful and brainwashing, wher eas John Fiske wrote that work should focus on viewers’ interpretation of what they saw that the viewer had autonomy over the extent to which they would absorb and articulate the information presented (Gauntlett, 2002). Fiske also used the term ‘polysemy’ to refer to the potential for audiences to decode texts in varying ways (Fiske, 1986). Dow presents her idea that the viewer has almost complete autonomy over how they interpret what they see, saying that: â€Å"The most powerful claim of audience studies has been that real viewers often resist the dominant messages of television and interpret programming in ways that suit their own interests [..] Intentional or not, such judgments cast the differences between approaches within the framework of a zero-sum game in which only one party can be right, making the other automatically wrong.† (Dow, 1996: 2) Dow also suggest that it is not possible to completely disassociate oneself from the object of criticism because of the cultural and social interests which are shared by both the critic and the creator of the media in question. Furthermore, criticism becomes less about discovering meaning in texts and becomes more of a performative activity that is about creating meaning. Sex and Identity Part of the idea for this project was born out of the premise that there exists a strong link between ideas about sexual relationships and a young person’s sense of identity. It is an aim of this project to explore the degree to which hindsight might affect a person’s belief as to whether they have been influenced by what they have seen on soaps. Research has been conducted into the damaging nature of representation in popular media especially into the use of models or ‘ideal’ body types; what Virginia Blum calls the ‘yardstick’ of the ‘Other Woman’ against which women measures their imperfections. For the ‘twenty-first century Western woman,’ says Blum, ‘who is always evaluating her appearance (intimately bound up with her identity) in relation to some standard that must be Other in order to function as a standard’ (Blum, 2005: 27). Gauntlett cites research findings on women in prime time TV in the early nineties as being ‘young, single, independent, and free from family and work place pressures’ (Elasmar, Hasegawa and Brain, 1999:33. In Gauntlett: 2002, 59). Gauntlett goes on to suggests that the 1990’s saw the use of inoffensive models of masculinity and femininity, which were generally acceptable to the majority of the public, and that this reflected producers’ beliefs that they no longer needed to challenge gender representations (Ibid). In the case of the sitcom Friends the use of male and female models of represnetation were equal. As Gauntlett explains: â€Å"The three men (Ross, Chandler and Joey) fit easily within conventional models of masculinity, but are given some characteristics of sensitivity and gentleness, and male-bonding, to make things slightly refreshing. Similarly, the three women (Rachel, Monica and Phoebe) are clearly feminine, whilst being sufficiently intelligent and non-housewifey to seem like acceptable characters for the 1990s. The six were also, of course, originally all characters with a good set of both male and female friendships i.e. each other and the friendship circle was a refreshing modern replacement for the traditional family. (It was not long, of course, before they spoilt that by having Ross and Rachel, then more implausibly Monica and Chandler fall in love.)† (Gauntlett, p.59) In most soaps there exists a core set of characters who form the firm basis of the on-screen reality. If these core characters were to change too often then the soap loses credibility, and becomes an unreal parallel of the world that it is trying to represent. It is important that themes such as sex and class are presented in a coherent and consistent way. As Gauntlett’s comment on Friends suggests this is sometimes not the case as the idea of quasi family is ‘quashed’ by the sexual dynamics within the group, thus complicating the original idea. The Concept of Transformation It is a premise of this project that women might be more likely to have experienced closer identification with soaps than men. Although it was beyond the scope of this project to direct an in-depth inquiry into this premise, the questionnaire nevertheless attempted to explore whether there was a gender divide, although this attempt was limited due to the size of the questionnaire. As academic and soap viewer, Danielle Blumenthal, is quoted as saying: Soap operas . . . a connection with other women, beloved to me: my mother, grandmother, aunt, sister . . . a steady stream of modern folktales that symbolically link us together. Memories abound: racing off the schoolbus to catch the last ten minutes of General Hospital; laughing with Grandma over the plotline antics of Days of Our Lives; worrying over the lives of characters I cared about; endless feverish conversations with girlfriends, sister, aunt over who should do what, how, and with whom. (Blumenthal, 1997: 3) In her publication on feminist perspectives and soap operas, Blumenthal refers to soap opera viewing as a ‘specific cultural activity’ questioning how much the activity is an ‘empowering practiceor, praxisfor women to engage in.’ (Ibid, p.4). The term praxis, Marxist criticism has been defined as meaning conscious physical labor directed toward transforming the material world so it will satisfy human needs (Rothman 1989:170. In Blumenthal, 1997:3). Blumenthal extends this interpretation to mean not only physical, but also mental labour, ‘which transforms images and experience to meet human needs.’ (Ibid). The concept can also be interpreted as a belief that ‘social objects do not simply exist out there in space, but are mediated through a continual process of interpretation and construction by the subjective and socially oriented mind.’ (Ibid). ‘Girl Power,’ and themes which identify the strengths in women’s att itudes are not limited to the sitcom or the soap opera, in fact they occur, to some degree, within just about every form of visual media and are mediated by the minds of the programmes creators to be received by the viewing public. The concept of transformation is prevalent in most media where women use their new image to take control of their lives and turn around situations. For example, Barbra Streisands 1996 film, The Mirror Has Two Faces, uses the idea of a before and after to provide tension and contrast within the film. In this film, the character Rose is transformed by losing weight and dying her hair this secures the physical adoration of her husband who married her for her ‘inner self.’ While the film encourages viewers to identify with Barbara Streisand it also reinforces the ideal of transformation, where the heroine does not settle for less, but dares to achieve more. Rachel Moseley, in her publication on feminist cultural perspectives, fashion, and media, observes that within these Cinderella stories there exists a ‘moment of increased visibility which provides a space for both the visual pleasure offered showcasing of the transformation, but also for the articulation of the a nxiety and emotional resonance of ’coming out’ in relation to class, as well as gender.’ (Moseley, 2002: p.40). In British and Australian soaps the concept of transformation is readily embraced not least within the lives of individual characters, but within each episode itself so as to create a mini section of a greater storyline. The world of the soap opera is fluid and dynamic it moves along at a much faster rate than reality off-screen, with new ideas and events constituting change on many levels. Blumenthal’s ideas concerning the ‘transformation’ of images is particularly useful here as it might help to explain how the serial relationships of soap characters are interpreted by the viewer. In soaps, it is often the case that characters who are not married engage in a string of successive relationships, which sets an unreal precedent to viewers, especially younger viewers. Media critic Mary-Lou Galician, in her publication Sex, Love Rom ance in the Mass Media lists twelve false premises which are regularly promoted within, and associated with, mass media; all of which she defines as ‘myths and stereotypes’ (2004: p.x): â€Å"Your perfect partner is cosmically predestined, so nothing/nobody can ultimately separate you. Theres such a thing as â€Å"love at first sight. † Your true soul mate should KNOW what youre thinking or feeling without your having to tell. If your partner is truly meant for you, sex is easy and wonderful. To attract and keep a man, a woman should look like a model or a centerfold. The man should NOT be shorter, weaker, younger, poorer, or less successful than the woman. The love of a good and faithful true woman can change a man from a â€Å"beast† into a â€Å"prince. † Bickering and fighting a lot mean that a man and a woman really love each other passionately. All you really need is love, so it doesnt matter if you and your lover have very different values. The right mate â€Å"completes you† — filling your needs and making your dreams come true. In real life, actors and actresses are often very much like the romantic characters they portray. Since mass media portrayals of romance arent â€Å"real, † they dont really affect you.† (2004: ix) Many social critics and relationship therapists have blamed the mass media for brainwashing viewers with portrayals of unrealistic love that are ‘unattainable as a goal and unhealthy as a model and, thereby, contributing to the construction of these unrealistic expectations’ (Dyer, 1976; Fromm, 1956; Johnson, 1983; Norwood, 1985; Peele, 1975;Russianoff, 1981; Shapiro Kroeger, 1991; Shostrom Kavanaugh, 1971. In Galician, 2004: p.13.). Certainly, many soap operas under discussion in this thesis are guilty of this phenomenon, and are suggestive of the idea that it is unfashionable or abnormal to be single. For example, as Glass writes: â€Å"Who can take seriously a character saying, as one does in the televised version of Candace Bushnells column, Were not dating. Its a fuck thing? Or, Ive been fucked every way you can be fucked? These characters are not serious, not even interesting, certainly not funny. With that type of woman, romance, with its necessary belief in an ideal, is impossible. [..] Bushnells women cavort aimlessly in New York, trying different sex games to see which they can win. When they lose, they move on. There is no reflection, no despair, no consequence of any action. The tragedy is that nothing in their lives is tragic.† (Glass, 1999: 14) This sort of promotion of casual sex could be potentially damaging to younger people, who are in the earlier stages of forming opinions about themselves and the world, as it could encourage them to find partners before they are comfortable to do so. Furthermore, in a school environment, where children are exposed to the same sorts of mass media, these ideas are discussed and reinforced within a social reality that is far different from the reality on-screen. As author of Sex and the City, Candace Bushnell, said of her creation: No one has breakfast at Tiffanys, and no one has affairs to remember instead, we have breakfast at 7 am and affairs we try to forget as quickly as possible. How did we get into this mess? (cf Glass, 1999: 14) During its popularity SATC was responsible for liberating the ideas of many women, and even their male partners, who watched it. The character of Samantha, played by Kim Cattrall, has been highlighted as an importnat portrayal of a sexually assertive woman in her forties. As Cattrall once said in an interview, ‘I don’t think there’s ever been a woman who has expressed so much sexual joy [on television] without her being punished. I never tire of women coming up and saying, â€Å"You’ve affected my life†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Williams, 2002. Found in Gauntlett, 2002, p.61). Unfortunately the themes of casual sex is unsustainable and will not hold viewer’s attentions for as long as say, family dramas, which can be played out over a much longer period of time and have far more complex dynamics. Thus, the heyday of SATC is over, while Emmerdale continues. As suggested by Goldenberg et al the themes of sex is both intriguing and disturbing: â€Å"Despite its potential for immense physical pleasure and the crucial role that it plays in propagating the species, sex nevertheless is sometimes a source of anxiety, shame, and disgust for humans, and is always subject to cultural norms and social regulation. [..]We argue that sex is threatening because it makes us acutely aware of our sheer physical and animal nature. Although others (e.g., Freud, 1930/1961) have also suggested that human beings are threatened by their creatureliness, following Rank (1930/1998) and Becker (1973), we suggest that this motivation is rooted in a more basic human need to deny mortality.† (Goldenberg et al, 2002: p.310) Indeed, there is nothing safe about the themes of sex in soaps it is an unpredictable world, where things are more likely to go wrong, in comparison to the world of family life, where there are obvious boundaries and limits within which to localise behaviour. In terms of class, which is the other distinction that this project is addressing, the idea that most soaps represent a particular group of people from a particular area, means that they represent the social structure of that particular area. In turn, this means that most soaps are unable to present a cross section of society from any area wider than that which it chiefly represents, and often only manages to represent the lives of either working class or middle class people. Soaps which concentrate on more elitist tastes or narrower, more inaccessible stratas of society do not often gain such a high level of popularity. This can be seen in the case of Eldorado, a soap set in Spain about the lives of British expats, that lasted only a year before being axed. A different approach to the soap opera came alon gin 1997 with the airing of Family Affairs, a soap that focused on one family. The description of the soap read as follows: â€Å"The biggest, and riskiest, decision they made was to break away from the communal concept that underpins other soaps, whether it is the village (Emmerdale), the close (Brookside), the square (EastEnders), or the local streets and pub (Coronation Street). Family Affairs will centre on one family, and examine in intimate detail the struggles and tensions within the four walls of the Hart household. The other difference between this soap and its rivals will be that Family Affairs will not be geographically characterised. It is set in a neutral town, and will lack the northern atmosphere that permeates Corrie or Brookside. Class differences within the family will play a big part. The personal experience of Young and Hollingworth influenced them to base the soap around a family that had an ex-miner at its head (Hollingworths grandfather was a miner), whose son had become a self-employed builder, and whose four grandchildren were variously a trainee lawyer, an entrepreneur, a shop a ssistant and a schoolboy.† (McDonald, 1997: 1) This soap underwent a complete change in setting and in characters, before it was axed after only seven years. These example show that there is not enough of a market for specialised soaps which dare to do something a little different. It appears that it is the grittiness of urban landscapes or the character of places which people enjoying watching the most. Furthermore, it is interesting how similar themes such as teenage pregnancy, underage relationships, and people seeking to break the boundaries of their family’s class can all assume a different meaning, or at least be interpreted differently, according to the different locations and environments in which they are set. Mass Media and the Body Gauntlett observes a similarity between the malleability of the self and the late modern attitudes to the body: â€Å"No longer do we feel that the body is a more or less disappointing ‘given’ instead, the body is the outer expression of our self, to be improved and worked upon; the body has, in the words of Giddens, become ‘reflexively mobilized’ thrown into the expanding sphere of personal attributes which we are required to think about and control.† (In Gauntlett, p.104). Perhaps one of the greatest power centres behind both of these arguments is Hollywood, which in its history has seen the changing representation of women, and more recently, the increasing number of women, and men, who have surgery to preserve the image of their youth. These ideal images of women are not always positively received. For example, speaking in 1973, Marjorie Rosen commented that ‘the Cinema Woman is a Popcorn Venus, a delectable but insubstantial hybrid of cultural distortions’ (1973:10), and upon the changing representation of women Rosen observed the presence o f rebellious natured commentaries against working women in the 1940s and 1950s, and against female sexual emancipation in the 1960s and 1970s. Whereas women have been consistently promoted as ‘sex objects’ in varying styles throughout Hollywood’s history (Rosen, In Gauntlett, 2002). It would be an interesting line of enquiry to explore the degree to which feminist literature can help to explain the presence of the perceived gender gap in the process of idolisation and representation, and the influence of these processes on ideas concerning sex and sexuality. Some critics suggest that popular media have over-simplified debates which are essentially feminist in nature, and, in some cases, wrongly consider the feminist movement retrospectively, encouraging viewers to do the same. For example, in her article exploring the different definitions of third-wave feminism emerging in the U.S, Amanda Lotz comments that ‘simplistic popular media constructions of third -wave feminism’ are misleading to feminists, and that study of the ‘third-wave feminist ideas may be understood as distinctive of new social movement organization.’ (Lotz: 2003, p.3 ). Other critics pay close attention to the different psychological constitutions of women what Jane Gerhard terms ‘ideas about the distinctive psychological reality of women’ especially concerning our definition of post feminism, which makes a significant contribution to the re-assessment of heterosexual power relations. (2005: 41). With proponents of equality still battling with what Susan Faludi refers to as lackadaisical nature of post-feminism and the unfair ’backlash’ against the feminist movement itself (1992) the idea of feminism and soap opera viewing is topical and extensive, and, unfortunately, beyond the scope of this thesis to explore. Foucault Foucault’s work is useful in the discussion of soap operas and the effects of viewing popular television as it comments on the damaging nature of ‘normalization.’ Foucault argues that there is no such thing as a singular fixed meaning, and that meaning is understood on many levels most often through the historical, retrospective interpretation of rational and reasonable behaviour (Danaher et al, 2000). For example, he suggests that the nineteenth century witnessed a preoccupation with correctness where all things ‘wrong’ had to be ‘righted’ in some way in order to fit into a box of classification. This phenomenon has had long-lasting effects on Western culture to the extent where ‘norms’ have been established, and exceptions to these norms ‘cured’ or corrected. In the discussion of class and attitudes towards sex we might consider how the media has portrayed the image of the ideal woman or man. The difference between the historical normalisation of beauty to contemporary is that such images have been popularised through the media on an increasingly global and interpersonal scale. With the advancement of technology, advertising reaches people even within the private space of their own homes through television, radio, and the Internet. This is all the more dang