James Poniewozik, “Reality TV at 10: How It’s Changed Television †and Us” Essay

Reality programs can be divided into two large categories: competitions (such as American Idol) and voyeuristic events (such as Real Housewives). The reality television phenomenon is part of a larger societal shift in terms of privacy and self-expression. For a select few, reality shows have given them significant real-life opportunities. Reality programs contain qualities that can be labeled American. The best and worst of reality television shows contain aspirational and democratic qualities. They give the common man a chance in the spot light. They can also revolve around issues, such as job satisfaction and security, which are of topical concern to many Americans. Part 2: The experience of watching the video of the Susan Boyle’s first appearance on Britain’s Got Talent illustrates very clearly one of Steven Johnson’s arguments in his article â€Å"Watching TV Makes You Smarter†: â€Å"When we watch these shows, the part of our brain that monitors the emotional lives of the people around us – the part that tracks subtle shifts in intonation and gesture and facial expression – scrutinizes the action on the screen looking for clues. † We see very clearly Simon Cowell’s eye-rolling at :30, in response to Boyle’s announcement that she is 47 years old. After Boyle announces that her dream is to be a professional singer, there is a cut to a young woman in the audience who smirks and rolls her eyes. When Boyle remarks that she wants to be as successful as Elaine Page, there is another cut to the audience to show their disbelief. All of this occurs before Boyle even begins to sing. The audience and the judges, through their facial expressions, have clearly indicated that they believe Boyle to be delusional. As soon as Boyle opens her mouth, cameras focus on the judges’ wide eyes and the microphones pick up the audiences’ wild cheers. The commentator echoes the audiences’ initial impressions: â€Å"you didn’t expect that did you. † This sentiment is directly addressed by the judges in their commentary: Boyle is referred to as the â€Å"biggest surprise† in the show’s history. Cowell’s comments are filled with irony: he says that he knew as soon as he saw Boyle that he was in for something â€Å"extraordinary. † Watching this video at a later date is instructive. Now, there are very few people who do not know of Susan Boyle and her story. However, in looking at this video from her first appearance on the show, we know that her voice is going to be amazing. With all of the benefits of hindsight, we can observe closely the audience’s and judges’ first reactions to this middle-aged woman in need of a makeover (by the standards of reality television). We can engage our cognitive processes, as Johnson argues, in order to analyze more closely how we can be deceived by our first impressions of reality show personalities.

Presentation of Portnoy’s Complaint

Phillip Roth’s Portnoy’s Complaint is a part of a cultural movement of the 1960s, a raucous man’s story of his sexual obsessions, the plight of a son who has been dominated by his smothering mother and attempts to release his anxieties through masturbation. This story became famous overnight, receiving both wide acclaim and contempt. Roth is described as a product of the 1950s, the last decade in history when education, family values, high culture and high principles were still held in esteem—until demolished by the sexual and psychedelic revolution that followed. There are notable similarities between Portnoy and Roth himself, and the debate whether the novel is a thinly veiled autobiography still ensues among literary critics. A particular type of Jewish humor can be traced to the activities of Portnoy. Such humor, which features so prominently in the novel, has been effectively identified as a separate kind by Sigmund Freud, who wrote that Jewish jokes were usually directed inwards and characterized by profound self-criticism. The protagonist in Portnoy’s Complaint confesses that his entire life reminds of a Jewish joke, although it is not a joke. Thus, Alex Portnoy seems incapable of escaping any of the downsides of his cultural predicament. Immediately after the book was published, the novel quickly acquired a scandalous flavor, and Roth had to cope with a lot of newly acquired celebrity which he despised so much. This hymn to self-stimulation and liberation of repressed sexuality got reflected in both social sciences and popular culture of Roth’s era. Shades of Portnoy can be seen in Woody Allen’s films. Portnoy’s Complaint was attacked multiple times by the Jewish community for ridiculing their culture and heritage. Norman Podhoretz and Peter Shaw used their positions as editor and associate editor of the conservative Jewish journal, Commentary, to revile at Roth’s alleged hatred of Jewish history and identity. However, the most scathing vilification of the novel came in 1972 from Irving Howe in an essay titled â€Å"Philip Roth Reconsidered†, who accused the author of Portnoy’s Complaint of lack of taste, vulgarity and, above all, homeliness. Despite its central thematic preoccupations, which appear to be embattled Jewishness and masturbation, the novel’s popularity can be explained by the universalism of the issues author strives to explicate, such as the growth and decay of big cities, the difficulty of reconciling the sex urge and the love urge over time, and the painful need to outgrow one’s parents. While many literary influences can be traced in the novel, by far the greatest and the most important is that of Sigmund Freud. The views on Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis as expressed by Alex Portnoy are interestingly controversial: on the one hand, Freud is often alluded to as a source of wisdom; on the other hand, Portnoy seems to implicitly blame Freud for trivializing complex human relationships by his excessive and exclusive focus on sex. Essentially, the revolt against parental authority was very characteristic of the decade: the hippie culture, hitchhiking, and experiments with mind-altering substances were all manifestations of this revolt. Like many of his contemporaries, Alex struggles for his right to be bad, together with the entire generation that won the right to misbehave for their descendants. In this struggle, there were many obstacles Portnoy had to overcome, mostly of internal psychological nature, such as the fear of retribution, especially in the form of castration. It is necessary to note that Portnoy’s Complaint is a perfect illustration of the notion that literature cannot be fully understood without immersion into the cultural realities of the age when a certain work was created. Subtly autobiographic, the novel ought to be analyzed based on knowledge of Philip Roth’s own life and background. Although critics concur that there are notable differences between the loving and caring family Roth grew up in and oppressive and neurotic parents of Alex Portnoy, beyond reasonable doubt, Roth’s experiences with the mainstream American culture and the opposite sex have been reflected in the novel.

Why company should start saving on electricity

Why company should start saving on electricity Nowadays, electricity is a common utilities used everywhere especially on every company. There is numerous ways to save electricity especially on the company premise. Saving on electricity will give many good factors also beside that some negative factors. Paying bills will be more less compare to the previous as of result of the electricity saving. However, the electricity company will get impact for their annual profit because the revenue will be decreasing as a result of the less amount electricity bills by some company.Every company also will be able to minimize the maintenance cost from the electricity saving. This shows by fewer Jobs done by electrical devices such as air conditioner, office lamp and others. As an example, the company will do servicing or replacing filters Inside air conditioner at the longer gap time compare to the previous. On the other hand, the maintenance servicing company will get less work also less revenue because of the action. The company also will be gain higher profit as a result of the electricity saving.Generally, the electricity cost is among major cost of every company operations yearly. In addition, company will be able to pay more bonus and Increment to their respective staff. Unfortunately, the motivation for some staff will be decrease because of the easily company to pay high bonus and increment to their staff. Moreover, at the end of every year they Just wait for company to pay them bonus without them to produce higher productivity. Name: – Mood January Bin Bad Jaws sol 1630 Date: – 04/09/2014

Healthy eating in young people 13 to 19, Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Healthy eating in young people 13 to 19, - Essay Example Actually unhealthy eating patterns are associated with the leading causes of death due to coronary heart disease (CHD), cancer, stroke, and type-2 diabetes. Nutritional factors also are linked to osteoporosis, and are the major fundamental cause of bone fractures in postmenopausal women and elderly people. Various nutritional factors are included in correlation between nutrition and health. The main concern is that consumption of more saturated fat and less consumption of vegetables, fruits, and grain products that are high in vitamins and minerals, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, that are significant to good health (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2000). Healthy eating add to an overall sense of well-being, and is the basis in the prevention of various conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer, and asthma. Particularly for children and young people, healthy eating is important for the prevention of the above degenerative diseases, healthy growth and cognitive development. Eating habits cultivated during this period are likely to be continued into adulthood, emphasize the importance of encouraging healthy eating practice. It is recommend consumption of at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, reduced intakes of saturated fat and salt and increased consumption of complex carbohydrates. However, the average consumption of fruit and vegetables in the UK is only about three portions a day. Recent studies show that an alarming numbers of obese and overweight children and young people are on the rise. To tackle the ‘epidemic’ of obesity an effective health promotion policy is essential (Shepherd, et al. 2005). The food with nutritional value is one of the key factors influencing health. If people eat healthily, they can stay away from many preventable diseases and can live long. Many countries have started to promote healthier eating, and are concerned about the fast-food

Theoretical Approaches Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Theoretical Approaches - Essay Example In line with this, chaos theory suggests that a business organization is made up of different departments that are interconnected with one another and that each department is being managed by managers with different set of opinions and ideas (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2009, p. 128). On the other hand, complexity theory suggests that the internal system of a business organization is not only self-organizing but also evolving (Ferlie, 2007). Since chaos and complexity theories both recognize the importance of implementing organizational change and flexibility within the workforce (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2009; Ferlie, 2007; Grobman, 2005; Schriver, 2004, p. 456), it makes sense that this theory can strengthen the development of organizational culture. Similar to the theory of chaos and complexity, the theory of dialectical also strengthens organizational culture in the sense that it promotes â€Å"conflict resolution† (Chapin, 2008, p. 284). Autopoiesis mean â€Å"self production† (Sori, 2009, p. 22). Unlike the three other theories mentioned earlier, the theory of autopoiesis is more focused on the importance of retaining each employee’s self identity or retaining the existing organizational culture (Mavrinac, 2006). For this reason, the theory of autopoiesis weakens organizational culture in the sense that it actually slows down the process of implementing organizational change (Morgan, 1997, p.

As a policy matter, should the government be able to restrict the sale Essay

As a policy matter, should the government be able to restrict the sale of video games with violent content, and if so, what rest - Essay Example The students were reported to have played the video game â€Å"Doom,† and were inspired by it. This led to heated debates between two opposing sides. While advocates argued in favor of a restriction in sales of violent video games, groups of opponents led by the game developers argued against such move. They explained that correlation between the violent video games and the acts of the two students were incidental and could not be used as a justification (IDEA, 2012). While proponents argued about a link between violence and increased watching of violent games, the opponents denied any link between violent behaviors and watching of violent videos. Therefore despite the efforts the government has undertaken to restrict violent video games, the government is not able to regulate them as required due to legal implications and high demand of such games in the market. In 2011, the Supreme Court struck down a ban on selling violent games to minors. The Supreme Court found the Califo rnian law that sought to restrict the sale of violent games to minors to be in contradiction with the free speech rights and was overturned. The judgment was overwhelming in a 7 to 2 decision and declared that the Californian statute against the sale of violent games was in serious violation of the rights protection under the First Amendment (Richey, 2011). The Californian State as the judges agreed had the right to protect children against harm by such violent games. However, the judges noted that such powers cannot be free floating to restrict all ideas to which children have possibilities of being exposed to (Richey, 2011). This was the first ruling on violent materials restriction, which was a huge setback to the California state in its bid to protect children against harm caused by such violent games. It implies that the government is not able to restrict or control such video games as required. The government has weak laws and statutes aimed at limiting such sale of violent ga mes to minors. In 1968 the Supreme Court upheld a New York statute that sought to restrict and ban any sale of nude and obscene materials to underage children. The court found that the government indeed had the right and the power to regulate and restrict sale of such sexual materials to children without violating the protection of free speech as stated under the First Amendment (Mcmahan 2013). However, the Supreme Court on the Californian case rejected any application of the same principles by arguing speech of violence is not obscene; thus the 1968 ruling could not be applied in the ban of violent materials. This revealed a serious anomaly under the First Amendment. As one of the 2 dissenting judges, Stephen Breyer noted, there was no sense of preventing a child from accessing a nude picture of a woman, while in the same violent games children are allowed to view such women and even go further to strangle them to death virtually (Mcmahan 2013) . The law in this case is contradicto ry and needs a more elaborate evaluation of the First Amendment to include violent materials under the same category with obscene materials to facilitate the government to use the, law in protecting children against such violent materials. Psychiatrists and research suggest that offering blanket blame to violent games would e missing the point behind violence in children, which would hugely impact on efforts by the government to restrict such games. Kathy Royer a clinical nurse specialist at 4Kid Help Center for Child Adolescent Psychiatry, Ohio

Master's level APA-style paper as prescribed herein Essay

Master's level APA-style paper as prescribed herein - Essay Example There is evidence, that in the interest of profit, the company has participated actively in compromising the conditions the workers must endure to produce product. While Nike has promoted its company and its brand as a representation of health, environmental awareness, and social conscious, there is a significant amount of evidence that suggests that the company has compromised this representation. Nike has a corporate website that is rich in content, supplying information regarding codes of operation and ethics to create an image of corporate and social responsibility. According to the website, the following is a statement of the code of ethics to which employees should adhere. There is also information about the way in which conflicts and violations of that code can be reported. Our code of ethics for employees is called Inside the Lines; it defines the standards of conduct we expect of all our employees. Every year, employees are required to verify that they have read and understand Inside the Lines. We operate a global toll-free Alertline for employees to report in confidence any suspected violations of the law or our code of ethics. Any reported concerns around accounting, auditing or internal control are communicated to the Audit Committee of the Board. We expect our suppliers to share our standards and to operate in a legal and ethical manner. While Inside the Lines covers the behavior of Nike employees, our Nike Code of Conduct covers contractors who manufacture Nike-branded products. It directs them to respect the rights of their employees, and to provide them with a safe and healthy work environment.(Nike Responsibility, 2009). In an examination of these statements, the truth of how the company has conducted its business and its relationships with workers will reveal an accurate picture of how these policies are

Employee Ownership and Effect on Attitude Essay

Employee Ownership and Effect on Attitude - Essay Example Majority believe that employees sharing ownership tend to be hard workers who subsequently pay more attention to the quality of the work that they deliver compared to their non-owner counterparts. Moreover, Keef (1998) further asserts that employ owners are also highly inclined to vote their shares for the interest of an organization. Klein (1987) also recognizes certain sociological effects of employee share ownership within an organization. He posits that allowing employees to some ownership of a company is a form of wealth distribution among workers and consequently enhance the wide and equitable distribution of the products of economic success. Consequently, this also serves to reduce possible management or labour-related conflicts. Some proponents of the employee ownership have also approached the issue from a political stance and have viewed the strategy as a symbol of economic democracy within an organization. Nevertheless, there have been a number of concerns that have been r aised by the opponents of employee ownership. Most have argued that by allowing employees to own a stake in an organization, they are likely to be exposed to unwarranted risks. In addition, there will also be a likelihood of an increase of management and labour-related conflicts. ... companies. Employee ownership can take place in a number of ways. The process is usually multidimensional in its approach. When talking about employee ownership, there are four major aspects that normally come in mind. To begin with, the first dimension of employee ownership is the determination of the percentage of workers who will actively participate in ownership of the firm. Another aspect to be taken into account when making decision pertaining to employee ownership is the percentage of ownership to be held by employees within an organization. Similarly, prior to allowing employees to have the legal ownership of a company’s shares, the rights and privileges employees will have as result of owning a stake in the company will also be determined. The rights and privileges held by the employees are usually determined by the manner in which the employees own the company’s shares (Trewhitt, 2000). Employees can assume either direct or indirect ownership of a company. In indirect ownership of a company, the employees own the company’s stocks through a workers trust, whereas for direct ownership, employees can willingly purchase or sale a company’s stocks. Kruse (2002) affirms that nearly 7.7% percent of all workers in the private sector in the U.S. own shares in their companies either directly or indirectly, a figure that translates to nearly 20 million workers. According to Vuaghan (1995) employee ownership may have a positive effect on behaviour and attitude of employees on the condition that such employees regard the value of their ownership as a means for greater income and job security. On the contrary, it may pose very little or no effect on their attitude and behaviour or even have a negative influence on the same if the

Rape Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Rape Culture - Essay Example This paper will look into the case of rape culture and try to find out how women have been denied justice against rapists in the society. It will try to show how rapists have been defended by the media and justice institutions. The descriptions of rape culture and the injustices against women in the society will be based on a movie called ‘The Accused’ which was released in the year 1988. Rape culture will always blame the victims of rape. The media and justice institutions will look at rape in a way that blames the victim to suggest that the victims were the cause of the happening of this act. In the movie, Sarah Tobias, the victim of a gang rape by three men, is accused by the defendant of being drunk during the night of the rape. He says that she was provocatively dressed and seduced one of the rapists. Her history of flirting with men is brought to this case to accuse her blame her behavior. It is with these accusations of Sarah’s clothing and her past history of flirting with men that the defendant uses to blame Sarah Tobias who is the central character in the movie. This shows how rape culture always tries to find as little as it can, small loop holes to blame the victim. The talks of how Sarah was raped in a crowded bar by three men. The three men raped her in turns and repeatedly on a pinball machine. As one was holding her pinning her down, the other continuously raped her. All this time a crowd of men were in the bar did not stop the three men from raping Sarah. Instead they went on to cheer these men to rape Sarah. She is taken to the hospital and meets her attorney who is the prosecutor of the case. The movie has its main setting in a court room. Although Sarah is continuously raped, even her attorney reluctantly defends her because of her history and how she was provocatively dressed. Rape culture always has a way to make the victims

Conference and Events Management Reflective report on log book entries Essay

Conference and Events Management Reflective report on log book entries - Essay Example Customer satisfaction is the key element in terms of event or conference management organizations. Restaurants and hotels can achieve huge success by satisfying the customers need with quality customer services. The organization has successfully implemented the customer relationship management process in the organization. After evaluating and analyzing all the issues and actions, it can state that effective customer satisfaction and high organizational ethics can make an organization successful within a hospitality industry. Introduction A logbook is a kind of book that helps to record the readings of an event. This is a reflective report of the conference and event management logbook entries. The logbook contains the records of several conferences and events in an event management organization. There are several elements those need to implement in order to make the conference or event successful. A logbook is necessary in event management activities. By the help of logbook, an emplo yee or a manger in an event management company can understand the significance of the procedures or strategies in previous events. Moreover, it helps to evaluate and analyze the action plans of several events. This evaluation and analysis help the managers or the employees to undertake better strategies for the future events and conferences. ... Moreover, the manager was informed about this booking in order to do the double check with the guests. After this, the booking of those persons got confirmed. On 3rd September, a guest from the office came to see the arrangement for the official party. He was shown and explained about the sections of the restaurant. After observing every section of the restaurant, the guest has decided that, they will sit in the section number 3 for the 5th September’s party. Finally the day comes. The employee has the shift till 3 pm. Therefore, the manager had asked the employee to make required arrangement and set up tables for 24 people before 3 pm. The employee has arranged another birthday party on 10th September. It was all about arranging a buffet for 35 guests. The employee had monitored and controlled every single aspect acting as the host of the party. The party has got a successful outcome. The guests had given positive feedback in terms of services and arrangements. The guests wer e satisfied by the customer service. The employee had arranged another birthday party on 19th October. It was a party of 28 people. A lady was celebrating her husband’s 30th birthday. Two other employees had co-operated him to arrange and monitor the party. The employee had to take care of the birthday cake. The lady wanted to serve it before the desert round. On the same day, the manager had asked the employee to check each and every aspect of the restaurant. The health officer had wanted to check the facilities of the restaurants on the health related issues. However, the employee had received a feedback on 20th October about the service and arrangement of the previous night’s birthday party. Analysis of the Results After evaluating

Comparison six research methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Comparison six research methods - Essay Example Longitudinal studies as well as observational studies are generally used in those places where a lot of time is taken to finally extract useful information. Questionnaire surveys are used for getting quick responses and used for pilot studies as well as feedback processes. Focus groups and Delphi techniques generally use experts as their respondents. All of the above methods have their own benefits and disadvantages. Few limitations of these market research methods have also been discussed which can be further studied and reinvented to form better and more efficient research methods. Introduction Business research is described as an organized and systematic effort which aims to investigate a specific issue or problem which has been encountered during the work setting and requires solving (Seale, 2004). The first stage in a research process is the identification of the critical problem. Once the problem has been clearly defined, the next steps include gathering information, analyzing data and solving the problem by taking necessary steps and corrective measures. Research methods Research methods are of various categories depending on the requirements of the research. These methods use different approaches, tools and techniques for conducting a research. However, they can be divided into two broad categories. Quantitative methods are generally used during development research while participatory or qualitative research is used to get desirable outcomes. Even though these research methods are continuously used in various research questions and studies, yet they are continuously being developed as well as integrated in order to gain better results (Coffey & Aktinson, 1996). A thin line of difference exists between research methods and research methodology. While research methods talks about specific activities which are created to generate data, research methodology is about the understanding as well as attitude of the researcher towards the strategy and research w hich is chosen in order to answer the research questions. Implication and Discussion Longitudinal study is a type of correlation research involving repeated observations. This type of study can extend for many years and even decades. Here the same participants are studied for a particular period (Diggle, Heagerty, Liang & Zeger, 2002). It is generally used while studying clinical events such as, HIV patients and their diseases and immunity status, across various countries and over time (Frison & Pocock, 1992). It is used in individual studies where participants are studied and tracked (Hogan & Laird, 1997). It is also used in household panel studies where people are tracked and observed within their vicinity for collecting data. Longitudinal studies are high in terms of validity. Individuals usually fail to remember previous events and even if they are insisted, they might not remember the correct data. Longitudinal studies are particularly helpful in finding out long term variation s or changes. The estimates collected in this study are more efficient compared to cross-sectional studies (Donner & Klar, 1994). However, there are certain limitations associated with longitudinal studies. Gathering results during longitudinal study is very difficult as it is time taking and tedious. More often than not, participants drop out before completion of the survey. This process is known as subject attrition and is very

The Warrior Maiden Essay Example for Free

The Warrior Maiden Essay The Oneida tribe is a Native American people that belong to the Iroquois Confederacy, which settled originally in upstate New York. The name that the people give themselves is derived from Onayotekaono, meaning the People of the Upright Stone. The story of the Warrior Maiden is not necessarily specific to the Oneida tribe, but it is actually a rather common legend among the Native American peoples. However, the story is to be found in different versions that are, for their most part, dissimilar and adapted to the particular tradition of each tribe. The Southern tribes, such as the Hopi people who are based in Mexico, have an almost entirely different version of the Warrior Maiden story. The Oneida version of this legend offers a memorable and very beautiful example of a true heroine: the young maiden, named Aliquipiso saves the Oneidas from their rival tribe, the Mingos, through unsurpassed courage and self-sacrifice. The legend has a great significance for the history and the culture of the Iroquois and of the Oneida people especially. Thus, first of all, the story gives an example of a perfect heroine of the people, a maiden that was respected not only by those that knew her and saw her brave heart and her pure spirit, but also by all the following generations that remembered her name. Aliquipiso literally saves her people from dying of hunger, during a war with their most dangerous enemies, the Mingos. The legend is set evidently to a time before the arrival of the white colonizers. As the story has it, after a devastating invasion, the Oneida people found refuge from their enemies in the depths of the forests, in caves and desolate mountains where they were indeed protected but where they could die of hunger because of the lack of provisions. The only option for the tribe seemed to be either to perish in their hiding places by starving or to go out and get killed by their invaders. During the council, the young maiden named Aliquipiso came forward and told them that she herself is willing to sacrifice her life i n order to lure the Mingos up to where the Oneida people were hiding, and thus get them all killed and deliver her people. The warrior maiden acts according to her plan, and, in order to enhance her credibility in the eyes of the enemies, she even takes the fire torture that the latter submit her too, pretending to surrender in the end because of the unbearable pain. Her valor and her willingness to be  sacrificed for the safety of her people are so great that she lets herself be killed in the attack along with the enemy tribe, as it was inevitable. Thus, the warrior maiden stands out as an example of wisdom, courage, purity (as the fact that she was a maiden indicates), moral integrity and self-sacrifice in the name of her people. The young woman fits therefore a pattern common to most of the Native American legends: she represents strength combined with purity, as the title that is given to her also indicates. She is a maiden, therefore she is morally and spiritually intact, but at the same time, her modesty is combined with the absolute strength given by her limitless courage. These two essential qualities obviously hint at the heroic ideal according to the Oneida culture and tradition. Also, the warrior maiden is a model for her people and she represents national pride. Besides the notion of heroic ideal, the legend of the Warrior Maiden contains a very significant allusion to the very foundations of the Oneida culture. Thus, the very name of the tribe is derived, as already indicated, from the phrase People of the Upright Stone. The plot of the story becomes thus very symbolic: the enemies are destroyed with the help of the maiden that lures them to the secret and inaccessible hidings of the Oneidas, by crushing them with giant rocks fell from the mountain top. This particular means of destruction can be interpreted as a hint to the title that the tribe gives itself: the phrase upright stone has multiple interpretations, ranging from the idea of uprightness, justice and correctness, to that of unbeatable and crushing strength given by the moral force and purity of the members of the tribe: We are hiding on top of a high, sheer cliff. Above us, the mountain is covered with boulders and heavy sharp rocks. You warriors wait and watch here. I will go t o the Mingos and lead them to the spot at the foot of the cliff where they all can be crushed and destroyed.(Erdoes and Ortiz, 253)A third and even more significant connection between the legend of the Warrior Maiden and the traditional culture of the tribe is the fact that the Iroquois societies were, for their most part, matriarchies. Thus, for example, the council of the tribe was chosen by the clan mothers or matriarchs, the female leaders of the people. Moreover, the gendered division of the labors and attributions of each tribe member also hint at the strong tradition of the Oneida that gave a favored  place to women in society: Iroquois societies were strongly matrilineal: women controlled agricultural lands, the election of leaders and, to some extent, warfare [†¦] The gender-based division of labor made women responsible for agricultural work and housekeeping, while men hunted, fished, and traded, although there were also women traders. Government and warfare [†¦] were also male activities although the clan mothers heavily influenced decision-making. It is essential to note therefore that in the Iroquois society women had very important roles: besides the fact that they were wives, mothers and housekeepers they also controlled agricultural work, and to some extent, warfare. Women thus played an active part in society, as influential leaders. In this context, the legend is easier to interpret: the Oneida, as a people that honors women will be expected to give them a special place in their mythology. Thus, the warrior maiden takes here the place of a true leader of the people and a commander that orders the attack on the Mingos and thus, in a way, she plays the part of a man also: The Mingos crowded together in a dense mass with the girl in the center. Then Aliquipiso uttered a piercing cry: Oneidas! The enemies are here! Destroy them!(Erdoes and Ortiz, 253) The warrior maiden becomes a symbol of the brave women, as the story tells us: The Great Mystery changed Aliquipisos hair into woodbine, which the Oneidas call running hairs and which is a good medicine. From her body sprang honeysuckle, which to this day is known among her people as the blood of brave women.'(Erdoes and Ortiz, 253) The warrior maiden hair and body transform into woodbine and honeysuc kle respectively, both of which are considered to be medicinal plants that have a great healing power. As it is widely known, for most of the Native American cultures, the plants play a very important role in medicine but also in various types of religious rituals and invocations of the spirits. Moreover, the metamorphosis of the maiden into these plants is in concordance with the strong agricultural tradition of the Iroquois. The transformation of the maiden into these two plants also signals the status that the warrior maiden has inside the Oneida culture: she is much more than a heroine; she is a mythological figure, symbolizing the purity and the strength of the female. The maiden is also, like most of the legendary heroes, an embodiment of the divinity, the Great Spirit in this case, which speaks and acts through her as the members of the clan acknowledge: The  Great Spirit has blessed you, Aliquipiso, with courage and wisdom, he said. We, your people, will always remember you.(Erdoes and Ortiz, 253) The legendary figure of the maiden is thus a symbol, something for the future generations to remember with honor and to set as an example: The story of the girls courage and self-sacrifice was told and retold wherever Oneidas sat around their campfires, and will be handed down from grandparent to grandchild as long as there are Oneidas on this earth.(Erdoes and Ortiz, 253) She is at once the pure maiden, the matron, the chosen heroine inspired by the Great Spirit, and a courageous warrior. The fact that it is a woman who saves the whole people from perishing in the hands of the enemy tribe is very significant. Although women were not associated with physical strength or with skills on the battlefield, they are praised and honored for their spiritual qualities and their purity. This combination between purity and strength demonstrates that one of the most important characteristics of the Oneida culture is the belief that physical or mere heroic strength is not the greatest virtue. Perfection comes thus from the spirit or wisdom, paired with honor and courage and the devotion to noble causes. Thus, the warrior maiden is a symbol for many different virtues that put together form the perfect heroine. The legend itself tells very significant things about the Native Indian cultures in general and the Oneida culture in particular. The story offers at once hints to the heroic ideal of the Iroquois, to the cult of the female gender specific to some Native American peoples and to the metaphoric significance of the tribes name. The most important conclusion to be derived from the analysis of the story is therefore the fact that there is a tight connection between the legend and the values and ideals specific to the Oneidas. Other versions of the Warrior Maiden legend, such as the variant told by the Hopi tribe, also render the image of feminine modesty combined with spiritual strength. In the Hopi tradition, the maiden actually fights against the enemies of her people, because she is left alone at home with her mother, who at the time of the attack was just combing her hair. Once more, this feminine detail emphasizes the delicacy of the maiden, as well as her hidden strength. Thus, although the details of the plot differ, the main contention of both the Oneida and the Hopi versions of the legend is that strength can come from the spirit,  as well as from the body. The legend thus demonstrates the importance of the female cult for the Native Americans, to the extent that these people have created a mythology to explain female braveness. Works Cited: Erdoes, Richard and Alfonso Ortiz. American Indian Myths and Legends. New York: Pantheon Fairy Tales and Folklore Library, 1984. Oneida Culture. Indian Country Wisconsin. http://www.mpm.edu/wirp/ICW-57.htmlOneida Culture and Language. http://www.native-languages.org/oneida.htm

The Disability Representation In The Media

The Disability Representation In The Media My personal reasons for choosing this dissertation topic stem from an interest in how media representations shape the attitudes of wider society. I feel it is important to note that I am writing as a non-disabled student with the view that disability studies and research should not just be the interests of disabled people. Issues of inequality and social injustice need to be considered by all members of society, while ensuring that the views, definitions and experiences of the particular group remain central to the discussion. It has been made apparent that the voices of disabled people have been absent from discussion because of the assumption that they need others to speak them and decide on their needs (Barton, 1993). Dominant views of disability dictate that it is a personal problem of the individual, based on biological impairment. However, I strongly advocate a social model of disability which emphasises that oppression and discrimination by society is the cause of experiences of disability. I plan to make this my main approach in writing my dissertation. Barton (1996, pg. 5) describes disability studies within the field of Sociology as an emancipatory project and argues that the fundamental question we must ask ourselves is whether the sociological imagination contributes to the benefit of disabled people (original emphasis) I believe that any research which aims to illuminate the prejudices implicit in cultural representations of disability, are necessary pursuits and it is vital to seriously consider the reasoning behind research projects as well as the ultimate impact they are aimed to have on particular groups. There has been many publications regarding disability and media representation in recent times which highlights that disability, impairment and disabled people are being frequently misrepresented in the mass media. Research has also suggested that such media representations have an alarming affect on the attitudes of the public. This issue can be divided into three key areas, the use of disability stereotypes, the use of specific language and images of disability and the under-representation of people with impairments working within the mass media. Pressures from disabled activists and legislation such as the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2005 have brought this issue onto the agenda and worked to improve the rights of disabled people. An increasing awareness of the issues has resulted. However, the extent of this awareness is debatable as there is still much work to be done in tackling the negative and disempowering portrayals within the media and the current views of society. It is clear that the media has not made sufficient changes and therefore this issue remains extremely relevant. My aim is to explore the representations of disabled people to see whether any changes have been made. 1.3.3 Can Disability be represented positively? It is safe to say that the majority of media depictions of Disability and impairment are incorrect and exclude people with impairments from participation within media production. During my search for literature on the issue of disability and the media, I found that a substantial amount of studies were very critical of the media and focus only on negative stereotypical portrayals with an inclusion of recommendations for their demise. An example which I plan to use in my literature review chapter is Barnes (1992) disabling imagery and the media which ambitiously attempts to deal with all aspects of the media in misrepresenting disability. Despite such an extensive collection of studies in this area, there is very little literature which focuses on the representation of disability by disabled people themselves. It could be argued that there are not enough media sources which involve disabled people of which to analyse. However very recently I am pleasantly surprised to see that there ar e a few emerging. Notable examples include the Channel 4 mockumentary Cast Offs in which six characters with different impairments live together on an island. The show highlights many disability issues and challenges stereotypes of disability. Themes include sexuality, disabled identity and the exclusion of disabled actors and actresses from television (Wilde, 2009). Other media sources which feature disabled people include, Britains Missing Top Model and Dancing on Wheels. Although this is a step in the right direction, the inclusion of individuals with impairments on TV has been restricted mainly to reality TV which offers little insight into the lives of disabled people; instead they are centred on strength and achievement despite the individuals impairment rather than a celebration of disabled identities. The new American musical drama Glee has considered disability issues within its plot lines, this included the use of wheel chairs during a performance in order to educate the a ble-bodied performers on the importance of considering the needs of wheel chair user Artie and the difficulty in getting around the high school from his perspective because of the lack of ramps and accessible doors. Unfortunately however, the character of Artie is played by a non-wheel chair user and so any positive aspects of disability representation in the show are practically reversed by the exclusion of disabled actors and actresses from participating. 1.3.4 The Sun and Ouch! I wanted to choose two online sources for my study which were imposing in terms of disability representation and portrayal. Tabloid newspapers are notorious for depicting various groups inaccurately and producing sensationalised media in order to sell newspapers. The Sun is a daily tabloid newspaper which is among the highest in circulation in the world (The Newspaper Marketing Agency, 2010). The use of disablist language is common in tabloid newspapers and often in the broadsheets too. Reports regularly provide distorted representations of the experience of disability and focus on stereotypical assumptions (Barnes, 1991). This topic will be expanded further in chapter three. I chose The Sun because of its popularity in the UK and because tabloid news is a major source of information for the general public, I will be using articles from The Sun online website. After selecting a tabloid source for my study I began searching for an online source which involved the self-representation o f disabled people, I dismissed many websites because they were charity based, political in nature, or simply provided information and advice for disabled people without necessarily being based on the views and experiences of this group. Examples of websites I considered include Radar and Disability Now. I chose Ouch! because it is not centred on disability politics and aims to reflect the lives and experiences of disabled people (See Ouch! 2010, http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/about.shtml). The website consists of articles, blogs, podcasts as well as other features. The writers and contributors are not concerned with political correctness but seek to offer insights into the topics that are important to disabled people and those with a stakehold in disability such as family and friends. To ensure that representations and portrayals of disability are suitable, the Ouch! team are disabled themselves. My first impressions of the website and its content were that it is very humour based and do es not take itself too seriously. It is friendly, accessible and taps into the ordinary, everyday experiences of disability. This is why I decided it would be a suitable source for comparison with a more mainstream media source. 1.4 Structuring my Dissertation My dissertation will consist of six key sections. The first is my introduction which will outline the topic of study, along with my reasons for choosing it and my aims. Chapter two will historicise disability using the work of Barnes (1991, 1996, and 1997). Chapter three will discuss the existing literature which relates to my topic, this will include studies of media representation and disability, a discussion of the political models of disability and the key terms involved in the debate. In chapter four I will discuss my methods of research, including how I selected my sources and an examination of the strengths and weaknesses of my chosen method of content analysis. I will also consider any ethical implications of the study in this chapter. Chapter five will be my most important section, in this I will present and discuss my findings. The final chapter (chapter six) will be focused on my concluding the study. It will relate my findings to the objectives presented in the introducti on and the issues raised in my literature review. It will also include a reflection of my chosen methodology and a summary of the dissertation. 2.0 The History of Disability In order to understand the representations and societal perceptions of disability today, it is necessary to study a history of Disability. The attitudes and practices of the past have a vital influence on present day beliefs. Barnes (1997) argues that the lives of Disabled people in history have been overlooked in favour of an emphasis on medical perspectives and it is clear that many disabled people experience exclusion from mainstream society. This is evident in such areas as employment, in which 45% of disabled people of working age are excluded from. It has been found also that disabled people tend to have lower earnings, with disabled men earning on average  £1.50 less per hour than non-disabled men (Hyde, 2001). As a result, many disabled people live in poverty or are at risk of poverty. Discrimination can also be seen within the education system welfare, housing, leisure and environment and planning. The evidence that disabled people experience sever economic deprivation and social disadvantage is overwhelming and no longer in dispute, whether it be from the governments own commissioned research, from research institutes and academics or from disabled people themselves. (Oliver, 2003, pg. 312). Historically, people with impairments have long been oppressed and marginalised. Hostile treatment, pity and ignorance are common disabling experiences. Barnes (1997 and 1991) claims that perceptions of disability are rooted in ancient Greek and Roman history, he discusses how the cultures of the western world are based on the achievements of the ancient Greeks who built their existence on slavery. Greek society was extremely violent, male dominated and prone to war. They had a strong value for physical and mental strength and any weaknesses and flaws were not tolerated. Such a concern for perfection meant that the infanticide of sick and disabled children was very common. In Greek philosophy, the gods and goddesses were idealised representations of perfect humanity (Dutton cited in Barnes, 1997, pg 13). The only god who was physically imperfect was Hephaestus, this Greek God was rejected by his parents because of his grotesque appearance and labelled a cripple by his wife Aphrodite who committed adultery with a more aesthetically pleasing lover. This mythology is significant as it is a clear source of the links made between impairment and sexuality today as many of us assume that disabled people are unable or do not want to have a sex life. When the Romans conquered Greece and expanded their empire, the values of strength, individualism and able-bodiedness were inherited with it. The Romans also advocated the infanticide of weak children and ridiculed people who acquired impairment during their life course. Many roman games involved using individuals with impairment as comedy acts for the amusement of others. Although both the Greeks and Romans attempted to develop treatments for impairments, they were reserved mainly for those with power and wealth (Garland, 1995). Another foundation of our thoughts and beliefs of disability can be found in the western religions of Christianity and Judaism. Religion in ancient societies viewed disability as anti-religious and a reflection of sin or immoral behaviour. Barnes cites many references from religious texts which imply that impairment is a consequence of bad behaviour. For example, in Deuteronomy (27-27) it states that immorality will be punished by blindness. In contrast to Greek and roman society, the Jewish faith opposed infanticide and encouraged its members to care for the less fortunate this is also a feature of subsequent religions stemming from the Judaism, such as Islam and Christianity. People with impairments were accepted by the community, but as objects of neediness and charity. This was a key feature of Christianity. Consequently, they were viewed only in terms of their impairment and treated as incomplete human beings in need of sympathy (Barnes, 1997). During the Middle Ages disability was associated with evil and superstition and people with impairments were treated with extreme hostility. Children born with impairments were believed to of been sent by the devil as a result of parents involvement in witchcraft and other black arts. This association with evil was very strongly held in Britain during this time and was reflected in art and literature, Shakespeares Richard III is a good illustration of this, Richard is portrayed as physically and mentally deformed despite having no physical impairment. He is destined to only be successful as a villain which perpetuates the negative stereotype of impairment and evil. Just as in the ancient world, disabled people were ridiculed during the middle ages in many forms. Analyses of joke books from this time reveal that impairments such as insanity and idiocy were used as sources of humour. Many individuals with visible impairments were displayed as objects of entertainment (Barnes, 1997). The 18th and 19th century saw the transition from agricultural subsistence to factory production during the industrial revolution and urbanisation process. This brought with it a decline in religious authority and the growth of science and rationality. The development of utilitarian philosophy which emphasised the importance of pleasing the majority at the expense of minority groups created a new found value for individuality and progress. These developments provided justification for the beliefs and practices of the past and can be cited as a starting point for the disability issues which are visible today. These include the development and prioritisation of a medical model of Disability, in which the body and impairment are viewed in individualistic terms rather than social, cultural and political. The institutional prejudice and discrimination of people with impairments in everyday social life is a second issue of Disability theorists. The popularity of eugenic ideas during the mi d twentieth century and the murder of thousands of disabled people, as well as other oppressed minority groups during the second world war is another significant point in modern history and many scientists still advocate Social Darwinist ideals and view human imperfections (both physical and mental) as a societal threat, a threat that needs to be eradicated (Barnes, 1996). The rise of the disability movement in the 1960s saw the development of the Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation (UPIAS), the establishment of such organisations and the activism of disabled people resulted in a re-classification of disability as distinct from impairment and social in nature as opposed to medical (Barnes, 1997). Disability became defined as the disadvantages caused by social institutions and environments which effectively exclude people from participation (UPIAS, 1976). This was later adapted by other organisations such as the British Council of Disabled People (BCODP) and the Disabled Peoples International (DPI) (Barnes, 1997). Eventually, this new understanding of disability became known as the Social Model of Disability (Oliver, 1996a). Disability theory will be discussed further in my literature review (Chapter 3) with an analysis of both the medical and social models of Disability. 3.0 Literature Review 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Disability and Impairment: Key terms in the debate Disability is difficult to conceptualise because of its multi-dimensional and complex nature. The term can be used in many different contexts and from different perspectives which means there is little consensus on its definition (Altman, 2001). Classifications associated with a medical model of disability are based on a distinction between impairment disability and handicap impairment is defined as functional limitations to do with the body, disability is when an individual cannot function normally because if this impairment, and handicap refers to an inability to participate in social life (Oliver, 1990). The main problem with such classifications is that the individual impairment is considered to be the most important factor and reinforces an individual definition in which functional limitations predominate. Thus, disability is viewed in terms of an individuals personal inability to function (Barton, 1993 pg. 237). This model has had a powerful influence in shaping not just social policy, but societal attitudes and behavior. In reality, many disabled people have rejected this understanding of disability. Instead disability refers to failures in the structural environment to meet the needs of all individuals. The Disabled Peoples International (1981) put forward the following definition which better fits the views of disabled people. Impairment is the functional limitation within the individual caused by physical, mental or sensory impairment. Disability is the loss or limitation of opportunities to take part in the normal life of the community on an equal level with others due to physical and social barriers. In relation to my content analysis research, I will be looking to identify how disability is conceptualised and the type of language used both in The Sun and Ouch! 3.3 The Language of Disability The first and most important thing to remember about discussions of language and disability is that they arise because disabled people experience discrimination daily and are denied the same rights and opportunities as the rest of the population. Apart from the fact that words can be deeply hurtful to disabled individuals, they have power and are used extensively to justify oppression (Barnes, 1993, pg 8). The power of language is a significant topic of discussion in the area of disability studies. While we assume that the primary purpose of language is to aid communication, Oliver (1994, pg. 4) argues that it is also about politics, domination and control and I am inclined to agree. The development of language is not based on consensus of meaning but rather through the ability of some groups to force their meaning and understanding of others. This form of cultural domination is visible in many forms, the imposition of the spoken word on deaf people and sexist language directed at women are both suitable examples (Oliver, 1989, pg.1). The misconceptions that society has of disability are caused as well reinforced by the use of disablist language. Many of the abusive terms directed at disabled people are well circulated and familiar to most of the population. moron cripple spastic idiot mong dwarf midget lunatic the list is endless (Clark and Marsh, 2002). This kind of terminology has t he power to promote prejudice and discrimination against disabled people. As mentioned in the previous section (3.2) the DPI re-defined impairment and disability in line with the reality that disability is rooted in social injustice. This means that the language used by both the media and wider society ought to reflect a social model of disability in which society discriminates against those who do not conform to the ideals of an able-bodied society. Disablist language such as the disabled or people with disabilities are unacceptable yet commonly used by the press and the population generally. Individuals do not have disabilities, they have impairments. Phrases such as the disabled objectify the individual and impose a particular label on their identity which is based solely on their impairment. Disabled people as opposed to people with disabilities is more appropriate as it implies that the disability belongs to society, whereas the latter makes it the property of the person (Barne s, 1991 and 1992). Within the British press, the aforementioned terms, particularly cripple and handicap are used regularly. This is usually within a sentimental and patronising context. For example stories in which disabled individuals display bravery despite of their disability or handicap or instances where individuals have made personal scarifies to help a disabled individual or group. These generally involve the use of emotive language, such as wheelchair bound afflicted sufferer victim and so on (Barnes, 1991). To summarise, much of the language that is used in discussions of disability are based on an individualistic/medical understanding of the nature of disability. They are not developed from the experiences of disabled people, but rather from the perceptions of others. While conducting my study I will be interested to see which kinds of terminology and language are used in the newspaper articles from my sample. 3.4 Disability Theory: the Medical model and the Social model The medical model of disability has formed the basis of commonsense assumptions and beliefs about the nature of disability. This perspective focuses on the individual and his or her impairment. It imposes a presumption of biological or physiological inferiority upon disabled persons (Hahn, 1985). Medical views attribute physical and intellectual impairments as constituting disability, while denying its social and political nature. Oliver (1983 and 1996a) prefers the term individual model and argues that medicalisation is one element of this, along with psychological aspects. Medical accounts amount to a personal tragedy theory of disability (Oliver, 1990 and Finkelstein, 1980) in which disability simply happens to individuals and is personal to them, it implies that any difficulties are a direct result of impairments (Finkelstein, 1993) this forms the basis of everyday beliefs. In terms of rehabilitation, emphasis has been placed on functional limitations of an individual and attempt s to find ways of preventing, curing or (failing these) caring for disabled people (Marks cited in Williams, 2001 pg 125). As mentioned throughout this dissertation, this way of understanding disability has been heavily criticised by disabled people and disability has been re-conceptualised as a social and political problem through the work of disabled groups in the 1960s (Barnes, 1997). Disability theory has roughly been divided into American and British contributions. I will briefly outline the work of American sociologists, however I am more concerned with the work of British authors as it better relates to my dissertation and its theoretical standpoint. American writers during the 1960s challenged the idea that individual medical conditions or impairments were the cause of disability. Goffman (1963) discuses the role of stigma in spoiling (pg. 15) a persons social identity, one of the forms of stigma he identifies derives from physical abnormalities. He also identifies that disability is socially constructed and concludes that the attitudes of professional contributes to experiences of disability. St one (cited in Barnes, 1997) argues that the social construction of disability is based on the power of the sate in restricting welfare to those who require it. The importance of work and production in industrialised society has meant that those who are unable to participate are in need of assistance from the state, who along with medical professionals, are able to define disability as an individual problem and determine the level of access to welfare and other state services. Other writers, notably Albrecht (cited in Barnes, 1997) point out that disability has been controlled and transformed into commercial enterprise (pg. 6) he claims that societies produce different forms of illness, impairment and disability. The ways in which these are interpreted is dependent on economic factors he argues. American functionalist/interactionist accounts of disability are derivative of Parsonian ideas and focus on the role of being sick which is expected of disabled people and considered to be a form of deviance (Oliver, 1996b). The liberal values that exist in an industrial (and post- industrial) society place importance on personal responsibility and a strong work ethic, deviancy is created when an individual is unable to conform to these ideals. Writers have also argued that people with impairments are dependent on medical professionals who assist in the psychological accommodation of a disabled identity (pg. 21) and provide rehabilitation. The main criticisms made of the American tradition are that they over look the significance of social and economic factors central to experiences of disability. They also fail to take into account the perspectives of disabled people themselves, both these points form the main focus of British writers which I will turn to next. British theorists have been much more critical in their assessments of disability and have explicitly expressed their arguments about the oppression, prejudice and discrimination that many disabled people encounter on a routine basis. A number of writers have approached disability in society through a materialist or Marxist analysis, focusing on economic and political factors. Others have highlighted the importance of the subjective experiences of disability and the role of culture. References have been made to the importance of gender, ethnicity, class, sexuality and other social factors which shape individual understandings of disability (Barnes, 1997). Theorists who use a materialist framework claim that oppression is caused by economic structures. The lives of disabled people have little value in a capitalist society as they are deemed unable to contribute to economic and social life (Riddell, 1996). Finkelstein (1980) identifies three phases in history with regard to societal re action to impairment . In the first, pre-industrial phase people with impairments were not excluded from economic life and the notion of disability did not exist. This was because work was subsistence based and aimed at providing basic food and amenities for survival. Communities needed all the labour they could get from its members (Barnes and Mercer, 2003). The second phase was that of industrial capitalism during the 19th century, both Oliver (1990) and Finkelstein (1980) argue that during this time Disability developed along side capitalist production and free market enterprise. The rise of factory production and the intense levels of speed and control involved meant that disabled workers were not welcome in the work place. Processes of urbanisation created fragmented communities and weakened family networks. The growth of towns and cities to house the work force were geographically and structurally inadequate for disabled people and contributed to their segregation from wider s ociety and the introduction of residential institutions (Barnes and Mercer, 2003). For Finkelstein, it was at this point that people with impairments became a distinctly oppressed group, he argues that in phase the use of technology and the activism of disabled people will end oppression and disability will cease to be viewed in individualistic or medical terms (Barnes, 1997). Perhaps the growth of the internet and websites like BBC Ouch! mark the beginning of this phase. Oliver (1990) also discusses capitalism and disability, he applies Marxist ideas about the power of ideology to argue that the values which form the basis of social practice and culture conceptualised disability as a personal tragedy and aided the development of the individual model. Critics of Finkelstein and Olivers materialist analyses of disability argue that they over look the individual experiences of disability, rather than treat disabled people as a homogenous group. The social model needs to be reconceptualised with this in mind and from a postmodernist perspective which recognises diversity (Shakespeare, 1994, Morris, 1991, Crow, 1992). These writers discuss the prejudiced attitudes towards disabled people through culture, as material explanations fall short in explaining why discrimination exists and how disablist culture produces it. *incomplete* 3.5 Media representation of Disability and effects on the audience The stereotypical portrayal of disabled people within popular culture is one of the most significant factors contributing to the discrimination of disabled people. Hunt (1966) argues that disabled people represent an other in society and pose a threat to the able-bodied values entrenched in its structure. He describes this threat as being divided into five forms, as unfortunate, useless, different, oppressed and sick (pg. 146). Disabled people are considered unfortunate because of the belief that they are unable to lead a full life. They are useless because they cannot contribute economically, different because they do not conform to normal expectations of a human being and marked out as members of a minority group (pg. 150). Finally, they are oppressed and sick because they do not fit in, for the able-bodied, normal world we are representations of many of the things they most fear- tragedy, loss, dark and the unknown contact with us throws up in peoples faces the fact of sickness an d death in the world (pg. 155-156). Hunts arguments about the way disability is understood in western culture are applicable today in studying the misconceptions which are reproduced by the media. As discussed in Chapter Two, such misconceptions stem from the beliefs and practices of the past and have become firmly ingrained within society. Disablist attitudes become normalised through a process of social learning (Barnes, 1991) however, the extent and nature of this process is open to debate and many argue that there is no real way of knowing how he media influences perception. There have been many studies which have investigated the cultural portrayals of disability, some examples follow. 3.5.1 Disabling imagery and the media by Colin Barnes. The focus of this study is the portrayal of disabled people in the media and its stereotypical nature. Using secondary data from the content analysis studies of various organizations, Barnes (1992) identifies several stereotypes of disabled people produced within the media. These are: the disabled person as pitiable and pathetic as an object of violence as sinister and evil as atmosphere or curio as super cripple as an object of ridicule as their own worst enemy as a burden as sexually abnormal , as incapable of participating in community life and as normal (Barnes, 1992, pg 3). Rather than focus on particular aspects of the media, Barnes chose to study all aspects of the media, including the press, radio, television, books and so on. He argues that media depictions of disability contribute to experiences of discrimination in a significant way. He goes on to reiterate that the poverty experienced by disabled people cannot be explained by the traditional model which suggests individua l physical or intellectual limitations to be the root cause. It is caused by reactive environments and disabling barriers. Thus disability refers to a complex system of social constraints imposed on disabled people by a highly discriminatory society (Barnes, 1992, pg. 5). As mentioned in Chapter T7wo, stereotypical assumptions about disability stem from the beliefs and practices of earlier times, they are embedded in the very structure of society and are expressed in all institutions- ed

The Rapid Change Of Information Technology

The Rapid Change Of Information Technology With the rapid change of information technology in twentieth century, internet has become a catalyst for the way people in the world to communicate and sharing or access information speedily. Many businesses also adopted the internet as a means of trading or improving internal processes and more importantly, engage and build relationships with customers. In this paper, the author will analyst the competitive environment and resources for one of the market leading electrical appliances chain stores in Malaysia and propose a information systems strategy plans which suits the company best. 1.2 Companys profile SenHeng Electric (KL) Sdn. Bhd is one of the well known household electrical retailers among few names in the annals of Malaysian retailing business. Founded in 1989 by Lim brother, K.H., K.C., and K.Y., the company has started its business from a tiny consumer electronics half shop set up with stocks worth less than RM30,000.00 to one the largest electrical chain store in Malaysia. Currently, SenHeng has more than 100 stores spread throughout nationwide with 10 distribution centre located in Selangor, Johor, Perak, Terengganu, Penang, Malacca, Sabah and Sarawak. This has assured its customers to enjoy consistent and punctual delivery of all purchased items. 1.3 PESTEL Political Economic Transformation Programme The Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) embraced by Malaysia government in year 2010 is a comprehensive effort to transform Malaysia into a high-income nation by year 2020. It targeted to lift Malaysias gross national income (GNI) per capita from USD6,700.00 or RM23,700 in 2009 to more than USD15,000 or RM48,000 in year 2020. Specific attention has been paid to raise the incomes of the bottom 40 percent of households, with a target of increasing the monthly mean income of this group from RM1,440 in 2009 to RM2,300 in 2015. The prospect of Malaysian retail industries like SenHeng Electric is expected to be positive as consumer spending power will eventually boost by the plan. According to Ecmlibra investment research, total retail sales are forecast to increase by 34 percent to RM123.5bn in 2014 from RM92.3bn in 2010. (http://www.ecmmoney.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2010/09/Strategy_100922_A-challenging-road-ahead.pdf) Economic performance Retailer profits have a correlation with the country overall economic performance. After the global economy downturn in 2009, the Malaysian economy experienced a strong resumption of growth in 2010. The growth was driven by robust domestic demand, with strong expansion in private sector activity. For the year as a whole, the overall aggregate domestic demand expanded strongly by 6.3 percent from -0.5 percent in 2009. It was reflected in the strong performance of major consumption indicators such as passenger car sales, retail sales and imports of consumption goods. (http://www.bnm.gov.my/view.php?dbIndex=0website_id=1id=819). According to Bank Negara Malaysia annual report 2010, the Malaysian economy is projected to grow by 5 percent to 6 percent this year. However, inflation hikes which caused by rising prices of food and energy in Malaysia continuous to worry the nation and will likely to affect consumer spending behaviors and trim down purchasing power in household electrical appl iances. Social Consumer Buying Behavior The growing population in Malaysia and steady rise in household disposable income in recent year has permitted them to spend more on luxury goods outpaced on basic items like food. High profile international retailers and the global mass media have also played a hand in shaping consumer buying behavior to chase after high end electrical appliances. This is predominantly true for young and large working-age populations often looking up for better lifestyle are more willing to spend more on high tech home appliances which can save their time from doing home work. Greater access to credit allowed individuals to fund discretionary spending and sometimes squander more than what they have earned. According to Bank Negara Malaysia annual report 2010, in the period between 2000 and 2009, household debt grew at an annual rate of 13.5 percent. (http://www.bnm.gov.my/index.php?ch=109pg=333ac=81yr=2010) Technology Technological innovations encouraged consumer spending in areas like internet services, mobile communication equipment, cable television services and audio visual equipments. The advent of mobile technology is impacting the way retail businesses operate today compared to a decade ago. Urban consumers who armed with smart phones are getting smarter every day. They are able to access information on products, prices and stores anywhere at any time. They can compare price for the same product offered by different retailer shop easily. Retail businesses are able to reach out to their customers instantaneously with tailored information and product offers via mobile broadcasting. 1.3.5 Environmental Global Warming Global warming and climate change continues to be threatening humanity today. The impact of global warming is already being seen around the world. With the world as a whole is pumping out more and more carbon dioxide (CO2) every year, the IPCC has concluded that global temperatures will likely to rise by 1.2 to 6.5 degrees C by end of the century. The increase individual awareness of global warming issue, consumer tend to favor for home appliances which are more eco-friendly, energy saving and with minimal impact on the current environment. (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/9/29/nation/19028575sec=nation) Legal New Credit Card Rules Bank Negara Malaysia has recently announced new measures on credit card application by rising minimum annual income requirements for credit card eligibility from RM18,000 per annum to RM24,000 per annum. Cardholders can only hold credit cards from a maximum of two issuers. For existing cardholders whose outstanding balance which exceeds the maximum credit limit, a grace period of two years given to them to meet the new requirement. The new guidelines are to address concerns over rising household debt in the recent year. (http://www.theasianbanker.com/press-releases/6368). However, with the limited access to credit, the move will trim down the purchasing power of the lower income group and affect the buyer shopping behaviors which ultimately affect retailers business. 1.4 Strength of the Company 1.4.1 Supply Chain Management SenHeng Electric has installed a comprehensive supply chain management system into the day to day operations of its business. This system allows the company to gauge and manage product flow seamlessly. Furthermore, it allows the company to continuously maintain optimum stock of goods within all their outlets. This will ultimately reduces excessive cost on overstocking and eliminate low supply upon consumers demand is rise. The system was designed in the way of centralized order that liked online directly to its suppliers. 1.4.2 Branding Given the long history of the company in household electrical appliances business, SenHeng electrical is a well known branding in Malaysia. The company continues to execute its brand building strategies by creating more streamlined look and feel for all its branches. This new identity spans across the board, its marketing brochures, posters as well as uniform for its employees. With the companys trademark green, these stores are brighter that the usual electrical store. This exercise has given SenHeng electrical a friendlier image and enabled the company to provide more professional service to its customers. Loyalty Card The company has implemented PlusOne loyalty card, a unique plan to reward its customers. The card members of PlusOne are allowed to enjoy extra thirteen months of product warranty as well as thirty percent off on all service or repairing labor costs. In additional to that, those products that purchased by card members will be delivered to their doorstep with no charge. Every purchased item is rewarded with specific points to its member card and these points will be used to redeem for other goods. Fixed price policy and flexible payment scheme To standardize the service standard and eliminate poor experiences by customer in the companys outlet throughout the nation, the company has implemented a fixed price policy and the product offered by its outlets carried the same price. The company has partnership with more than ten major banks for flexible payment methods where customers are allowed to make payment via cash or credit and opt for their preferred installment plan with interest free. Varieties of products To provide conveniences for its consumers and enhancing their shopping experience, the company has offered varieties of electrical products for different brands. It covers home appliances, digital imaging, computer, audio video, office automation and those electrical appliances from bedroom to kitchen. Product testing and demo facilities are provided to its consumers to learn on the products prior to purchase. 2.0 Weaknesses of the Company Consumer is the kind in todays market. In order to retain existing customer and convert them into loyal customer, the company needs to listen and understand their consumer needs. Despite SenHengs effort in providing training to improve the service standard of its employees, however, it is still difficult to manage the service quality standard for all its outlets due to the large number of the outlets spread throughout the nation. Customers feedback is therefore important to the company to gauge the service standard of respective outlet and put in appropriate preventive measure which SenHeng needs to focus on it. Opportunity E-Commerce According to euromoney latest statistic, the internet users in Malaysia have continues to grow from 14 million in 2007 to 17 million in 2011. E-commerce served one of the most popular tools for many organizations to tackle the fierce competition in the market. It will untapped the potential business market segment and increase the sales of their products in a cost effective manners. With the emerge popularity of smart phones, M-commerce becomes another potential channel for business to promote their products or promotion effectively. 2.0 Porter five forces 2.1 Threat of new entrants Currently there are large numbers of small or medium size companies in Malaysian electrical retailing market. Not to include large departmental stores like Giant or Tesco. Thus, the profit margin is rather tiny due to the stiff competition in the market. With the maturity level for electrical retailing business, its very unlikely that new entrants would step in without a new business models. However, in view of the rising internet penetration, online shopping may be the novel trend in Malaysia. With the increase trend for consumer to shop online, online retailer may be one of the threats which will potentially slide off the market share of SenHeng. (http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/4/11/business/3620542sec=business) 2.2 Threat supplier bargaining power As there are large numbers of suppliers in the electrical appliances market, thus the bargaining power of supplier is minimal. Furthermore, SenHeng Eletric has established a long history of relationship with its various suppliers. With its well established branding in Malaysian household home appliances and large market share in this retail business segment, supplier would find it difficulty to get the similar buyers like SenHeng Electric to cross selling their products. 2.3 Threat buyer bargaining power In electrical retailing business, prices are sensitive to consumer. The consumer is always looks for the better price for electrical products. As the competition in this industry is stiff, small retailers often offered lower price to sell out the goods during bad season. The selling prices sometime dont even sufficient to cover their delivery cost. Furthermore, easy access to information through internet allows consumer to compare price and products against the companys competitors. Although SenHeng Electric has established a fixed price policy to its outlets to eliminate price bargaining. However, to offer a fair price to its consumer still deems to be the main concern to stay competitive. The company has since 2002 implemented a centralized order management system to manage its stock inventory level which helps the company to reduce its inventory cost. 2.4 Threats of substitutes As most of the competitors in this industry are selling finished products with similar brands of household electrical appliances in the market, thus at a glance, selling price becomes the key consideration factor for consumer to decide where they spend. However, some consumers do take consideration of other aspect like after sales service, product testing, repair service and etc. 2.5 Rivalry among competitor Although SenHeng Electric is one of the largest electrical chain stores in Malaysia, the company still facing stiff competition from its competitor HLK (Chain-Store) Sdn Bhd whom continues to slide the market share of SenHeng Electric. To avoid cutthroat pricing competition and sustain its market present, service differentiation is one of the key areas for the company work on. 3.0 Strategy implication Determined market segmentation is vitally important in every business. Through identify who the actual and potential customers are, the company would able to determine how to position themselves into that specific market segment. Michael Porter has pointed out that combining a market segmentation strategy with a product differentiation strategy is an effective way of matching the firms product strategy (supply side) to the characteristic of the target market segments (demand side). Below table illustrated Porters generic strategies which differentiated into three dimensions (level of differentiation, relative product cost, and scope of target market). The traditional electrical retailing business like Senheng electric and other similar competitors are usually focus on middle income group consumer with age range from 30 to 50 years old. The approach has limit the expansion of the company as there are many of its competitors out there in the market are chasing the same group of consumers. To stay competitive, SenHeng Electric is in need to differentiate themselves from its competitors by improving its services and enhancing customers experiences towards its outlet. Understand its consumers by collecting feedback from them would in turn help the company to look into those areas where they need further improvement. With the economic growth in last two decades and Malaysian government effort in building higher education infrastructure in the country, there are increasing number of young working adults whose earned higher salary income in recent year. Moreover, rising demand in home electrical appliances is foreseeable with the My First Home Scheme launched by Malaysia Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak recently which has enabled young adults to buy houses costing between one hundred thousand ringgit and 220,000 ringgit with a repayment period of up to thirty years. This is a potential lucrative market segment which SenHeng should untapped into it. As online shopping is becoming popular in Malaysia, E-commerce is an alternate channel for the company to reach out consumer in different market segment. E-commerce eliminates the traditional purchase approach which is time consuming and labor intensive. It helps the company to reduce cost of purchasing transactions and speed delivery. Customers can reach a company via internet for twenty four hours which increase the business competitiveness. This will helps the company to relieve their sales person to take up other important task. Furthermore, it enables the company to collect consumer buying behavior or pattern as all sales orders for individual buyers are traceable. The company can use the data to strategize the marketing or promotion approach accurately. 4.0 Plan/Recommendations In view of the above, the author proposes to enhance the current webpage of SenHeng Electric by engaging its vendor Webz Design and Solution Sdn Bhd. 4.1 Business proposal plan and objectives Below consists of the webpage enhancement needs for the company: To setup a user friendly e-commerce website which inducing internet users to purchase the companys products and services online. To utilize the webpage for marketing and promotion activities run by the company. To increase the professional looks of the company and brand awareness to its potential consumers in the market. To enable online order status checking for the company and its consumer. To conduct consumer survey and served as a channel for consumer to escalate feedback/complaint for its products and services. Objectives: To provide alternate channel where consumers are allowed to place their order anywhere anytime. Customers can trace their order online easily without calling the outlets for assistance. To untapped young adults market where online shopping becoming a common trend in the market. To improve its services through collecting complaint/feedback from its clients. To increase its sales volume by 20 percent from second years onwards after the webpage enhancement. To achieve economic scales of assigning other tasks to its sales people. 4.4 Projected Incremental in Sales Volume 4.5 Business Assumption 4.5.1 Sales volume Assumption make that progressive incremental in sales order which will generate yearly gross revenue of RM100,000.00 starting from the second consecutive year onwards after e-commerce website launched. 4.5.2 Headcount Impact Sales department Assumption makes that no requirement for additional sales staff as customer will perform self online visit to evaluate the products nature and price offered. 5.0 Conclusion In conclusion, consumer buying trends and pattern will undergo significant changes over the next five to ten years. Shopping centers and the entire retail industry will be affected immensely by the increasing number of online shopper. With the broader accessibility of internet and high speed broadband implemented throughout Malaysian nation, embrace in e-commerce is certainly a right business strategy move for traditional retailer in Malaysia. In authors view, online retailing business is foresee to have positive growth continuously in the next fifteen years. Adopting service differentiation approach will eventually help the company to stay competitive and position themselves in better aspect to avoid price war situation. See appendix 1 (http://www.euromonitor.com/malaysia/country-factfile).

Philosophy of Teaching Statement :: Education Teachers Careers Essays

Philosophy of Teaching Statement Education is one of the best professions to venture into. I believe a teacher should be a role model, should believe in their students, and try to help their students in any way they can. I feel that a teacher is one of the most important people in a child's life. A teacher is someone who loves and cares for her students. There are different natures of students. The first kinds of students are the ones who enjoy going to school and learning. These students are the most pleasurable to teach because they are willing to learn and it is very easy to deal with them. The second type of students are the ones who want to learn, but may not understand the concepts of the subjects you teach. I feel that if you can reach these students you have really touched a child's life. The third kind of student is the type that does not care if they learn or not. My heart aches when I see this happen. A teacher should try to assist this type of student as much as they can. The reason these students do not want to learn may be because they are making a cry for help. The purpose of public education is to give a child a better future. Without common knowledge people could not function in today's society. Why is education important? One wonders when they are in school why they must learn some of the materials that they do. The reason why we must learn is to stay ahead of others. If we do not learn then we may as well give up on being as smart as or smarter than others. As a country we have got to keep up with other countries, or we will see the demise of our homeland. As a teacher I hope to accomplish many things. A teacher is a person who should touch lives. If I can touch a person's life in some certain way it will make a difference in my life.

Windows 95 The O/s Of The Future :: essays research papers

Windows 95 the O/S of the Future The way of the computing world is changing at a neck breaking pace. People are looking for computers to be easy to use, and to make life easier for them. The computer manufactures and software developers have started to tailor computers and programs to fit the needs of the new â€Å"computer age†. Graphical Interface Software (GUI) began to make computing easier and people who never dreamed of owning computers began to buy them. Macintosh was one of the first GUI computers to hit the market, but it was not IBM compatible, so it did not take over the mainstream of the computer industry. Since most computers where being make to fit the IBM compatible standards, Microsoft saw the need to replace DOS (Disk Operating System) with something easier to use. That is when they developed Windows, which covered the difficult to use DOS with a new face that made computing easier. The first Windows was a start in the right direction. In an effort to make computing meet the needs of the public, Microsoft developed Windows 95. Windows 95 has the appearance of being a completely user friendly operating system and it pretty much is as far as the average user is concerned. The compatibility with most hardware makes it easy for someone to upgrade their computer. The desktop is designed so the user has point and click access to all their open and closed programs. Utilizing the 32 bit programing it was written with, users are able to work with more than one program at a time and move information between programs. This gives the user the freedom they need to begin to explore the world of computing without having to learn all the â€Å" computer stuff†. Today everyone wants the fastest computer with the best monitor and fastest modem this was an interrupt address nightmare until Windows 95 was developed. People didn't know what jumpers needed to go where to make their hardware work. Or why their CDROM wouldn't work since they changed their sound board. Most hardware periphials have all the configurations built into a chip that communicates with Windows 95 to find out where it needs to put itself in the address map. This allows users to have fancy big screen monitors and connect to the Internet with high speed modems. They can also put in faster video cards that use all the nice Windows 95 features, thus making their computing less complicated Windows 95 is set up with novice users in mind. As with Windows 3.x, it has boxes that open up with the program inside called windows.

Eagle Boys Pizza Report Essay

Founded by a young baker in his mum’s garage in 1987, Eagle Boys now operates more than 335 stores throughout all states of Australia. It is one hundred per cent Australian owned and operated and delivers pizzas to hungry families across Australia – from metropolitan inner city areas to small remote towns. With over 8,000 team members nationally, Eagle Boys makes just under 18 million pizzas a year and generates an annual turnover of more than $200 million. Focused on delivering real taste, real size and real value to pizza lovers across Australia, Eagle Boys is customer-focused and continually examines ways to improve its customer satisfaction and service. Eagle Boys ensures pizza lovers across Australia receive tasty meals and exceptional service every time by training its franchises to commit 110% to customers’ satisfaction. Explanation of its legal structure Eagle Boys pizza is a Proprietary company, meaning that it is private. The shareholders of Eagle Boys Pizza Pty Ltd, have limited liability protection, which means that the most money they can lose is the amount they paid for their shares. Eagle Boys began as a family business, as it was founded by Tom Potter and his mum in 1989. It is an incorporated business, meaning that the business is a separate legal entity from the owners. This allowed the business to be sold and still be operated, in 2007 to Todd Clayton who is now the CEO and managing director of Eagle Boys Pizza. The fact that it is a separate legal entity, allows the company to sue, be sued, buy or sell property and also have perpetual succession. Identification of the current stage of the business life cycle the business is currently in and give reasons for your views Eagle Boys pizza is currently at the maturity stage of the business cycle. Its goal is to maintain profits at pre-existing levels. Recently, in February 2011, Eagle Boys responded to the growing sophistication of Australians’ pizza palate by unveiling its new Gourmet Pizza Range featuring ingredients such as, Roasted Potato, Salmon Steaks and Tandoori Chicken. Eagle Boys is also the only Australian pizza maker to offer Ready 2 Go! â„ ¢, which allows customers to get their hands on some of their favourite pizzas without phoning beforehand or waiting between 5. 30pm and 8pm daily. Since Eagle Boys was purchased by private equity firm NBC Capital and the current executive team in 2007, Network store numbers have grown by 63% which is the highest period of growth in the company’s 24-year history. Eagle Boys saw sales grow 15. 4% during the 12 months up to June 2010, bringing total sales growth during the past three years to 43. 2%. The company expects the strong double digit growth to continue with the opening of additional stores and the launch of new products. Identification of one business law and one regulatory body in relation to this business – explain how this business complies An example of a business law of the Eagle Boys pizza is a privacy law. Eagle Boys is subject to Privacy Legislation, including the National Privacy Principles (â€Å"NPPs†) under the Privacy Act 1988, The Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act (1988) and contractual requirements relating to Privacy pursuant to a number of State and Territory Government Licence Agreements. Eagle Boys Pizza complies with this law by collecting information by either specifying or letting the reason be apparent at the time the information is collected. It is not Eagle Boys’ general practice to collect sensitive information and they will only collect sensitive information with the persons consent. A regulatory body that Eagle Boys Pizza complies with is the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Eagle Boys applied for notification of conduct whereby it would grant franchises on condition that franchisees acquire goods and services from specified suppliers. That notification was lodged on 13 August 2009 and allowed to stand on 21 September 2009. Eagle Boys complies by ensuring product safety and liability and does not provide any false or misleading advertising. Identification of two significant challenges for management in the business life cycle – one challenge management has faced prior to 2011 and one they will face in the future (ensure you state which stage of the life cycle the business experienced /will experience this challenge). A significant challenge that Eagle Boys pizza management has faced prior to 2011 is responding to the growing amount of different pizza businesses, in competition with Eagle Boys, and the need to introduce new ranges and varieties of products to satisfy the needs of consumers. They had been challenged to introduce new products such as gourmet pizzas, desserts, and sides such as pastas, chicken wings, garlic bread etc. This challenge was experienced during the growth stage of the business cycle. A significant challenge that Eagle Boys pizza management will face in the future is decline, in the Recession stage of the business life cycle. As the business would have been running for a while now, it will have become a high-risk business. Products may become obsolete, leaving the business with unsold stock. Another factor influencing decline is well qualified employees beginning to leave and seek better job opportunities. Due to the ongoing introduction of new businesses in the same field, Eagle Boys will be affected by consumers no longer buying the businesses products, resulting in a large dent in the cash flow. Consequently, profits will also decline. Identification of the business environmental influences, both internal and external, that have impacted upon this business Internal environmental influences that have impacted Eagle Boys Pizza include product influences such as the range of menus that it provides as well as services provided. E. g. Delivery services. Location influences also have a large effect on the business. The location of franchises is vital as a prime location means the business will attract higher numbers of customers as it is convenient and visible. The proximity to customers, suppliers and support services is also essential in determining the location of the business. Another internal influence is resources. Employees, being the main asset to the business are an extremely important resource. Other important resources include cooking and servicing equipment and machinery as well as raw materials that allow the business to create and sell their products. Management influences control the workers and help to provide a more organised structure and easy way of communication and co-operation. External environmental influences that have impacted Eagle Boys Pizza include Legal influences such as increasing legal obligations and business requirements. Political and institutional influences include taxation, employee superannuation, approval of new development and alteration applications. These influences have a strong impact on how and where the business is run. Another external influence is financial influences. Financial influences create changes in the financial market which can cause risk for the business. Geographical influences heavily impact the opportunities for the business. Demographic factors such as population, age, and income control the popularity of the business. Explanation and critical analyses of how management has responded to the above range of challenges and influences The first Eagle Boys Pizza opened in Albury, New South Wales. Eagle Boys advertised their products as semi-gourmet pizzas that quite unique to the larger chains, yet cheaper due to the high production output. This successful idea caught on, and the first store in Albury was quickly creating a generous profit. Within less than a year, Eagle Boys opened up two more stores in the neighbouring cities of Wagga Wagga and Dubbo. As the company sustained its growth, it put a lot of energy into researching ways to meet consumer demands in different regions. With stores opening up in rural, suburban and urban areas throughout Australia, the company became very popular due to operating in areas that other large fast food businesses would often ignore. One particularly successful store model was the development of a drive-thru pizza store in 1999, a concept which was unheard of at the time. Australia’s first drive-thru pizza store demonstrated to be immensely popular, as it was easy and convenient. Expanding on this quick pizza delivery system, the company launched the Eagle Boys Pizza Express Store shortly after, which was designed to provide quick service pizza out of a small location in highly populated foot traffic areas. This express system proved to be very popular, and new locations started to spring up at airports, shopping malls and pedestrian malls around the country. Many locations were now generating up to forty precent of their sales. As the company started to experience increased competition, it had to do something to differentiate its express pizza service from other companies offering similar products. Eagle Boys eventually developed a popular offshoot menu for Eagle Express stores: â€Å"Ready, Fresh Go! † in 2008. This idea meant that while it is an express delivery system, the pizzas are made fresh and held in specially-designed slow-cook ovens that ensure their freshness. The company’s dedication to research and response to consumer trends and the development of new, quality products quality concluded in the largest reformation of the Eagle Boys menu in its history. Launched in early 2010, the new menu featured a variety of new items. Apart from new pizzas, new items such as a chocolate fudge mousse dessert, pasta dishes, additional side dishes and drinks were introduced. Customers have responded with a resounding satisfaction, and throughout 2010 Eagle Boys enjoyed one of its biggest increases in sales in company history. Eagle Boys continues to develop new and accessible ways to respond to challenges and internal and external influences. Creating innovative and unique products is what has propelled the company to success, and it continues to be a mainstay of Eagle Boys’ activities today.