Baking Informative

Claudia R Fernandez Informative Speech. Brent Campbell Title: Baking Specific Purpose: To inform audience that although baking requires skill, it can be done easily. Also want to inform audience of the main ingredients that are utilized in every baked good, as well as healthy and low fat alternatives for baking. 1. Introduction: A. Attention Material: I am going to be speaking about my personal interest with baking, when and why it started and developed. B. Tie to the Audience: Speaking about the most common ways of baking, and how I started doing that, then escalated it to the point of making my own recipes.C. Creditability Material: I have bakes for birthday parties, baby showers, get togethers, and almost every holiday you can think of. D. Preview: I will be sharing with you how to bake the easy way, the basics of baking ( Main Ingredients) which allow you to bake endless pastries, and how to bake healthy, and low in fat. 2. Body: A. Baking does require a lot of skill and patience . However companies have made it very easy for people to bake by just using a couple ingredients through the product essay writer no plagiarism of boxed/ pre packaged mixes.These companies include: * Duncan Hines * Betty Crocker * Pillsbury * Market Pantry * Great Value, along with various other generic name brands. To name a few, some pre- mixed packages include: * Cake Mix * Cookie Mix * Muffin Mix * Quick Bread * Corn Bread * Biscuits * Brownies B. When it comes to baking, the possibilities are endless, once you become familiar with the general basic ingredients needed for all baking. The basic main ingredients include: * Flour * Sugar * Eggs * Milk/Cream or Water * Oil/Shortening/Butter * Eggs And whichever flavor/extract you want to use. (Ex. Vanilla, Chocolate, Mint, Coffee, Almond etc. ) C. Not all baking has to be unhealthy, or fattening. In general baking does include a large fat content. However, there are many healthy/ low fat ingredients that can be substituted. Here is a list of healthy and/or low fat ingredients that you can utilize as substitutions. Instead of: Healthy Alternative: 1. Butter, Lard, Oil, Shortening Coconut Oil, Applesauce, Mashed Avocado 2.Milk, Cream Skim Milk, Almond Milk, Greek Yogurt 3. Eggs Egg Whites, Applesauce 4. Sugar Natural Vanilla Cane, Raw Brown Sugar 3. Conclusion A Final Review: So today I shared with you some useful information when it comes to baking: 1. I informed you of some products available to you that allow you to bake in an easy way. 2. I informed you of the main ingredients utilized when baking 3.I explained how baking can also be healthy, and low in fat. Tie back to the audience: Pictures of my Baking, and Demonstration: How To Create Your Own Custom Shape Cake. Works Cited: Food Timeline, About Cake Mixes. ( Online ) Available. http://www. foodtimeline. org/foodcakes. html Interview with Jessica Leung, April 4th 2013. Substitute Applesauce for Eggs When Baking for Healthier, Allergy-Free Cakes and Muff ins ( Online ) Available. http://lifehacker. com/5846387/substitute-applesauce-for-eggs-when-baking-for-healthier-allergy+free-cakes-and-muffins

Presentation Of Behaviorism And Social Learning Essay

Learning about how and why people and animals alike behave in a specific way has always been a topic of interest that spans even in the Olden Times, hence, Behaviorism came about.   It is a theory which takes learning as the result of the actions of the environment on the learner. ( Denis & Phillips, 2003, p.7 ).   Associated with this theory is the view of tabula rasa, where the mind has nothing and that all information our mind has is a result of the experiences we go through.   Under Behaviorism are the following types of learning: Classical Conditioning, which depicts the connection between stimulus and response. (Davis, 2002, p.166)   Imagine a new born baby who cried because it was slapped by the doctor on the buttocks. The slap on the buttocks was the stimulus, and crying was the response to that stimulus. Operant Conditioning deals more with the positive and negative outcomes of a response, simply put, positive and negative reinforcements.  Ã‚   For example: a child studies hard because every time that child gets high grades, a gift is given to that child.   The giving of the gift reinforces the child’s behavior to earn high grades for the long-term.   Another type of learning that falls under Behaviorism is the Social Learning Theory, which involves the observation of admirable things, which are thus, modeled or mirrored.   (Kafai, 2004, p.129). This learning theory can be summed up through these words: â€Å"Learning by Observation.† A child following the footsteps of an elder sibling who has been recognized due to excellent grades can be a good example of the Social Learning Theory in application.   The Self-Efficacy Theory, a theory that falls under the Social Learning Theory also plays an important role in psychology. It states that the person’s perception of what he or she can do or is capable of, makes that person choose actions that will pave the way for him/her reaching set goals.   Personality Development/Self-Confidence Books/Courses embody self-efficacy, as it is common knowledge that if you believe in yourself, more often than not, you succeed in a task. Behaviorism, I believe, can be used for self-understanding and self-improvement. References Davies, Martin. (2002). The Blackwell Companion to Social Work. Britain: Blackwell Publishing. Denis, Charles., & Phillips, Jonas F. Soltis. (2003). Perspectives on Learning.   New York: Teachers College Press. Kafai, Yasmin B. (2004). Embracing Diversity in the Learning Sciences. Yorkshire: Routledge.

Stakeholder and Governance Analysis Research Paper - 1

Stakeholder and Governance Analysis - Research Paper Example The role of main stakeholders of this project is really important. This is community development project that is aimed to facilitate and improve the living style of the poor people of the Bangladesh. The biggest stakeholder in this scenario is the Grameen Bank. The responsibility of this stakeholder is providing less interest rate for the poor people so that they feel easy to return the loan. Next, the government of Bangladesh needs to establish such policy that facilities the bank and as well as the general public for this project. The project manager has a very big responsibility in this project. First, we have to build the interest among the people regarding this project then we have to manage this project in such a way that it becomes easier to handle all aspects. Scope After a detailed analysis of this project, I have analyzed that this project is really helpful and effective for the rural communities of the Bangladesh. This project will add values to the lives of the poor people of the Bangladesh. Grameen Bank has taken a strong step for the betterment of the Bangladeshi people. As a result, this project will help to enhance the basic living facilities in the rural areas of the Bangladesh. In this report, I have presented and analyzed the main stakeholders of this project that is aimed at the better community development in Bangladesh. In this report, I have identified the main interested and effective parties that have influence or effect on this project regarding its execution.

WTO dispute settlement procedure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

WTO dispute settlement procedure - Essay Example The World Trade Organization’s dispute resolution system has been the subject of both self-praise and observer praise. Most of the praise revolves around its improvement of the previous dispute resolution system under the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs. The World Trade Organization claims that the changes implemented by the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement system strengthens the role that dispute resolution plays in success of the World Trade Organization’s multilateral trade regime.2 Much is made of the number of cases submitted to the dispute resolution process since its inception under the World Trade Organization. However, academics and non-government organizations, among others are not as convinced that the dispute settlement process is as successful as claimed and argue that the number of cases submitted for consultation does not represent a robust measure of success.3 This research study examines the World Trade Organization’s d ispute resolution process and determines that the number of cases alone do not reflect the success of the dispute resolution process. However, an examination of the complainants lodging complaints and the number of cases abandoned point to inherent weaknesses. This research study will explain those weaknesses and how they might be avoided by an improvement in the dispute resolution process. Introduction.... The idea is that the dispute settlement system ensures that WTO members are complying with their commitments under the WTO’s multilateral trade system.4 In 2009, the WTO had received more than 400 requests for consultation under its dispute resolution system.5 The success of the WTO’s dispute resolution system cannot be effectively measured by reference to the number of complaints lodged. It is necessary to determine the nature of the disputes, the member states lodging the disputes and the outcome of those disputes. For example, Schaffer and Melendez-Ortiz inform that a vast majority of the complaints are filed by developed countries and that while only 77 of the reported cases were filed by developing countries, the majority of those cases were filed by just two developing countries: Brazil and India. Moreover, to date, a number of African WTO members have never filed a complaint under the WTO’s dispute settlement system.6 The uneven representation in the WTOâ €™s dispute resolution system immediately draws attention to an inherent weakness rather than the success of the system. There are a number of explanations for this uneven representation. It could mean that the dispute resolution system is not well understood by developing countries. Or perhaps they lack the resources to proceed. Regardless of the explanation, there appears to be a weakness in the WTO dispute resolution system that deters its use by developing countries. In evaluating the success or lack thereof of the WTO’s dispute settlement process, this paper will examine this disparity in complaints lodged. Other factors will be examined, such as the number of

Critical Thinking And Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Critical Thinking And Decision Making - Essay Example Despite of such individualistic tendencies with leadership, there is always a safeguard that I implement wherein the welfare of the majority is prioritized. As leaders, we should serve the people and uphold their democratic interests and ensure their welfare. I concede to the fact that values change. I do see some problems with this because most leaders say that they have their leadership values that is geared for the common good yet when they have the power already, they have the tendency in most cases to neglect the people and pursue their personal. That change of value is actually detrimental to the public and deters the progression of the country or the constituents on right track. Values and critical thinking are related. The manner of thinking is the most crucial element in decision making. If the person loses his capacity to think critically and objectively, there is a strong that his leadership will fail and people will question his

Situational Leadership Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Situational Leadership - Assignment Example This model portrays leadership as to having two dimensions. They said that these dimensions were; leaders who were task oriented and leaders who were relationship oriented. The leaders who were relationship oriented laid more emphasis on their relationship with their followers. They tend to create a good working environment by enhancing good relations and follower appreciation. On the other hand is the task oriented leaders who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals or accomplish their professional duties. This meant they are solely determined to perform their tasks irrespective of their relations with the followers This model categorized follower maturity in to four levels. The levels were; the high maturity, moderate maturity which was subdivided into two and finally the low maturity. Each of these levels was characterized by the difference in ability and willingness of an individual. Prior to that, the model had relative comparison of the relationship behavior and the task behavior. This relative comparison gave rise to four quadrants. This model was expressed diagrammatically as illustrated below. In the leadership behavior model we have the four quadrants S1, S2, S3 and S4. (S1) represents low relation and high task leadership behavior. They said that this type of behavior is where the follower character is unable and unwilling and this requires maximum supervision of performance. He referred to this as telling style. The next quadrant (S2) represents a high task high relationship leadership behavior characterized by an unable but willing follower. The situation exhibited here is where the leader gives instruction but expects clarification from the follower. Hersey and Blanchard recommend this a selling style. Quadrant (S3) represents a leadership behavior characterized by high relation and low task which corresponds to unable but unwilling follower. They said that in this situation there ought to be participation. By participation

International Education Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International Education - Personal Statement Example As an educator, I would like to be a part of this movement of educational globalization and I am banking on the Institute of Education to significantly assist me through enlightenment and empowerment so that I may be able to take on the challenges of international education. Through the Educational Doctoral program at the Institute of Education, I hope to achieve professional development in three areas: First, with the Institute's strength in academic discipline and through the guidance of my mentors, I will be able to sharpen my professional ability for critical analysis, broaden my knowledge on educational theories in the fast changing international education arena, hone my academic leadership skills and build effective strategies to respond to challenges, issues and concerns of institutes, educators, students, and their families. Second, with research support from the Institute of Education, I would like to create a cooperative educational model that synergistically supports educational institutes and international students with specific application on the Elpis Project. I have witnessed tremendous growth in the international educational market especially, in the numbers of students joining exchange student programs.

My leadership capability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

My leadership capability - Essay Example One of these drives is the drive to bond, which refers to the organization’s promotion of a culture of collaboration and openness between leaders and subordinates. For one thing, openness is a characteristic that takes into account the uniqueness or diversity of the people involved in the activity. In addition, my strengths rely on the emphasis given to the members of the organization -- that is, the subordinates. In the normative paradigm, the role of the leader in a particular organization is to structure the activities and relationships (as cited in Ledlow & Coppola, 2001). As opposed to the power-centered leadership, my conception of a leader depends on the ability or skill to fulfill the needs or drives of his or her subordinates. This implies that to achieve the leader’s defined goal, he or she has to first meet the drives of the organization members; the objective of the organization is equatable to the objective (i.e., needs) of the people who comprise the organ ization. On the other hand, my weaknesses largely lie in the absence of transparency between leaders and subordinates.This implies that members of the organization are willing to compromise transparency or clarity of a sense of direction; trusting too much to the leader in particular and the organization in general, subordinates do not seek an understanding of the reasons for pursuing specific decision made by the organization or leader. In essence, it follows the paradigm of Rauch and Behling pertaining to the notion and praxis of leadership.... s noteworthy that Yukl’s paradigm of leadership emphasizes on the power (i.e., influence) of the leader rather than the trait of nurturing and supporting the abilities, skills, and inventiveness of his or her subordinates. Basically, the process of arriving at the leadership criteria or paradigm is done through the results, and eventually their analyses, in answering the Finding Potential Engage Questionnaire. Such questionnaire consists of five general categories and fourteen core areas of engagement and commitment. Of the elements that constitute the five broad categories are the job, the people, the transaction, the organization, and the environment. And of few examples for the core areas of engagement are ethical standards and job satisfaction. After filling up the said questionnaire, the outcomes are thoroughly analyzed in defining the term â€Å"leadership.† Moreover, the analyses focus more on two relevant types of scale marked in the Engage Questionnaire: very i mportant and important. The underlying reason why these two types of scale are chosen in determining the paradigm of leadership is because they signify on what is more important to the individual who is interpreting such term (i.e., leader); what is moderately or marginally important is not equally important or very important in defining a particular signifier. Yukl rightly contends that there are numerous definitions for the term â€Å"leadership† (as cited in Ledlow & Coppola, 2001). Amidst the many paradigms of the signifier â€Å"leader,† one has to decide on what specific definition he or she wants to assign for such signifier. Of course, choosing among the many and varied definitions essentially requires a theoretical framework. In this case, Schein’s paradigm is heavily employed in determining

The Promotional Role of Commercial Banks in Economic Development in Essay

The Promotional Role of Commercial Banks in Economic Development in Oman - Essay Example The paper tells that there has been favorable progress made towards developing economic well being of the people worldwide. However, there has not been a significant development realized in Oman in various fields. However, it has been realized that commercial banks can significantly boost the level of development in Oman. This can be realized through promoting its operations. This paper is set to explore the subject of promoting the role of commercial banks in the economic development of Oman. In this case, the paper is set to achieve various research objectives among them are finding out the role of commercial banks in developing the economy of Oman, and identifying the functions of commercial banks in Oman. With a view to realizing the objectives set above, the following research questions shall be of prime importance. First, what is the promotion role of commercial banks in developing Oman’s economy? Secondly, what are the advantages of commercial banks? Thirdly, what is th e relationship between commercial banks and the development of Oman’s economy? Last but not least what is the contribution of Oman’s banks in the development of the economy? Future Plans For a follow-up plan, a study shall be conducted and shall involve collecting of primary data. The collection of primary data will be done using a questionnaire. Both quantitative data and qualitative data will be collected from selected commercial banks. Questionnaires will be randomly administered to the chosen participants and will be carried out one by one. After this process, data shall be analyzed through coding first and then later through triangulation of the coded data. Descriptive techniques such as tables, charts, percentages, and charts will then be used to present the analyzed data. Secondary data will also be used in the analysis of the promotion role of commercial banks in economic development, and make a comparison with already conducted studies on the same topic. The f inal process shall involve discussing the findings. In this case, obtained results will be compared with given theories in the literature. This will give the researcher an insight concerning the contribution of commercial banks to Oman’s economy. Last but not least, recommendations shall about the study shall be

The Role of Culture, Rights, and Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Role of Culture, Rights, and Justice - Essay Example Nevertheless, it becomes clear that the requirement for the formation of government is a certain form of collective ideology or shared values, and the existence of such facilitates the formation of states in the local domain and its nonexistence prevents that same formation in the global arena. It is impossible to build a ‘world state’ if there is ‘no community willing and able to support it’ (Gienow-Hecht & Schumacher 2004, 28). Likewise, for liberal theorists, the international arena is distinguished by â€Å"competing codes, rival philosophical traditions, clashing conceptions of morality† (Gienow-Hecht & Schumacher 2004, 28), or â€Å"the absence of what might be called an international sense of community† (p. 28). At this point, culture is undoubtedly an essential part of the transformation of the international system. But for a long time, culture did not serve a clear function in international relations theories. Instead of exploring the interaction between cultures and the states of conflict, theories are rooted in another plane underneath culture, that is, the nature of human beings. The subject matter of human nature is characterised by homogeneity, not diversity as in the case of culture (Harrison 2004). In the meantime, for liberal theorists, moral codes for the behaviour of the political sphere of the international arena may be based on a theoretical state of nature; they could be described in relation to individuals’ natural rights (Brown et al. 2004). Hence, according to Wendt (1999).

Holistic and Comparing Is the Methods of Assessments Essay Example for Free

Holistic and Comparing Is the Methods of Assessments Essay Write a statement explaining how you plan assessment with learners including planning for holistic assessments and comparing assessment methods and adapting methods to meet individual needs As assessment or evaluation is a method of judging the performance of an individual learner, therefore a written record of targets should be written out so that a learner knows what is expected of them and by when it should be achieved. The assessment method should allow the opportunity for reflection as each area of development is completed. It is a valuable source of information which can be used to help learners take control of their learning. When I first go out to visit a learner within the care sector I first establish if they know what their course entails any previous learning they already have. A discussion on their job role is also import at this time. I then get the learner to participate in a learning styles diagnostic in order to establish how they learn best, so that when it comes to providing help and support within their qualification, I can ensure that I provide the information in a manner which best suits their learning needs. I would also get them to take a maths and English diagnostic if they need to do the key skills or functional skills part of the framework. By doing this I can again find out areas which need further development and areas which they are competent in. The information I have gathered here I would place onto their annex A ILP, stating how I would best support them with their learning, i.e.:- booklets or discussions on problem topics. My next step would then be to carry out a skill scan with them to find out which parts of the Diploma framework they participate in and how confident they are in carrying them out. By doing this we can ascertain what areas of the NVQ would be suited to a particular learner. This information would again be added to the learners Annex A ILP By placing all of this information onto the Annex A ILP I can then look at the best way of going about assessing for each criteria taking into account learners individual needs using the best assessment methods for each of the learners i.e.:- *Test *Observation *Past experiences *Knowledge evidence *Question and answers *Witness Testimony It is import to clarify with the learner a safe and valid process of assessment which both assessor and learner are happy with and ensures that it is a suitable method for providing the required evidence needed to hit the required target. By ensuring that a holistic approach to assessment takes place in the planning and collecting of evidence, we can ensure that a wider scope of the frame work can be covered. For example if I go into a care home to observe a personal care activity I may also find that other areas are also covered such as communication moving and handling etc. The assessment method is about assessing whether or not the learner is competent within their field of work, assessing them against the framework set out within the NVQ framework. This can be achieved through using arrange of assessment methods *Test *Observation *Past experiences *Knowledge evidence *Question and answers *Witness Testimony With the range and flexibility of assessment methods available to a learner it has the advantage of allowing assessments to be individualised to the needs of individual learners. It also allows assessment to be carried out in a way that is highly individualised to the needs of the candidate, assessor and the area of work being assessed.

Terrorism: Causes, Effects and Prevention Strategies

Terrorism: Causes, Effects and Prevention Strategies In the last quarter of the century, there is a dramatic change in most of the terrorist activities, as they are well-planned, with a purpose to accomplish a precise identifiable and seemingly attainable political goal. In the past, most of the terrorist activities involved incidents like high-jacking an aircraft or the taking of a hostage following which certain demands were made. Their aim was usually to release their friends, or group leaders from prisons. Terrorism in the last few decades has taken a more violent and destructive turn, and quite often the demands are not made. Terrorism today is an act which is sudden, unprovoked, sheer brutal attack on innocent civilians killing several people in a crowded market or a gathering. Most of there terrorist attacks have had a political objective, which have now become rather diffused since the 9/11 attack. It now seems that the idea is to create fear and panic, and primarily to get publicity through the television news and print media According to several orthodox cultures, the terrorists resorted to this particular type of extremism as the only way for accomplishing political change. Also it appears to be interconnected to globalization and the increased impact of the United States and other Western countries. This has added to the resentments of the people of that part of the world. Thus it is the larger developments, changes in the international political structure, and expansion of globalization throughout the world that explains this trend in terrorism. The sixty years of suffering of the Palestinians and their unsuccessful efforts to get an independent state is one of the major reasons for the unrest in the Muslim World. The recent siege (412 Palestinian children perished between the 27th of December 2008 and the 18th of January 2009 as a result of the bombings and atrocities carried out by the Israeli Occupying Forces The end year of 2009 inevitably This markeds the First Year Memorial of Operation Cast Lead, when almost 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians were killed during the course of a brutal military operation carried out by Israeli authorities. Thousands more were wounded or displaced. 412 Palestinian children perished between the 27th of December 2008 and the 18th of January 2009. These children were killed as a result of the bombings and atrocities carried out by the Israeli Occupying Forces) affected the Palestinian social fabric completely. As the trauma grows with every violent incursion into Palestinian communities; hatred and tendency of revenge also increases among them. During the Gulf War, and more recently in Afghanistan, the terrorist groups often resort to psychological warfare because its the only tactic they have available to them. They dont have M-16s, and we have M-16s. They dont have the mighty military power that we have, and they only have access to things like kidnapping, says Haroun, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. (cited in Warner, 2005).1 In reality these terrorist attacks does not harm the enemy physically very much, as few people could be killed in an attack. But the repercussions are tremendous from the psychological point of view. Ordinary people viewing the terrorist attack in person or watching it on television, gets anxious, terrified, and often develop a sense of foreboding fear, which in turn may lead to demoralization in the entire society. Psychological Terror Whatever is their modus operandi, terrorists share very similar aims. Alexander and Klein (2006)[1] concisely identified the aims of terrorism as follows: To create pervasive fear, anxiety and panic To generate a collective and individual sense of helplessness, vulnerability and hopelessness To demonstratereveal the incompetenceineffectiveness and/or inabilityincapability of the authorities to provide security and protectionsafety against such opponents And provoke the establishment into errors or over-reactions which will disaffect the general public or specific influential bodies. The last point is essentially vital as observed by the widespread concerns as for example the shooting of an innocent man by the Metropolitan Police in London sometime ago (as a result of consequent to the wrong information that he was a suicide bomber); the incarceration of terrorist suspects in high security prisons of Guantanamo Bay and Belmarsh; and the introduction of repressive legislation. Moreno (2003)[2] has persuasively proven how easy it is in a democratic society to subordinate hard-earned civil liberties to the need to introduce counter-terrorist legislation. The terrorist attacks provide harsh reminders that in todays world, one does not know what news may come next on television or other news media. Particularly disturbing television images of horrific incidents can trigger the innate startle response no matter how close or far away from home the event happened. Historically, every military clash has led to psychological warfare in some form in one way or another as th e enemy aims to break the morale of their opponent. Due to progress in technology; the popularity of the internet; and increase of news coverage, the rules of engagement in this type of psychological battle have changed. Whether it is a substantial attack or a single dreadful act, the effects of psychological warfare are not restricted to the physical damage it produces. Instead, the intent of these attacks is to instillinstil a sense of fear that is much greater than the actual threat itself. According to Professor Richard Bulliet of Columbia University: There are various ways to have your impact. You can have your impact by the magnitude of what you do, by the symbolic character of target, or the horrific quality of what you do to a single person. Interestingly the way media covers the event in fact determines the effect on the people. For instance, according to Bulliet, the Iranian hostage predicament, in 1979, which though lasted for 444 days, was infact actually one of the most harmless of (word harmless) criticalthings events that occurredhappened in the Middle East in the last 25 years. All the U.S. hostages were released ultimately unscathed., butHowever this hostage event remains a psychological scarblemish for manyseveral Americans who watched powerlessly, each evenings newscast, they counted days the hostages were being held in custody. The terrorists often take advantage of images of a group of masked individuals coercing and intimidating exerting total power over their captives to sendconvey the message that the act is a collective demonstrationdisplay of the groups power rather than an individual criminal act. You dont have the notion that a certain person has taken a hostage. Its an image of group power, and the force becomes generalized rather than personalized. The randomness and the ubiquity of the threat give the impression of vastly greater capacities. (cited in Warner, 2005).[3] Remote Repercussions of Terrorist Attacks When a horrific event occurs, it is natural to feel disturbed, even if the act occurred thousands of miles away. The human reaction is to put oneself in the situation because as normal human beings, people have the capacity to empathize. And consequently these people may develop similar psychological symptoms. Witnessing an act of psychological terror can also disrupt our belief system, says Charles Figley, PhD, director of the Florida State University Traumatology Institute. (cited in Warner, 2005).[4] We walk around, psychologically, in a bubble, and that bubble represents our belief system and values. Most often we assume incorrectly that other people have the same values and social niceties as we do. When that is violated or challenged, the first response is usually an effort to protect our beliefs and, in other words, to deny that it actually happened. When A s soon as confronted with proof of terror, such as pictures of atrocities, Figley says there are a few different waysdifferent ways in which people typically react: They perceive perpetrators to be inhumane. Become fearful as they perceive they are living in a callous and unsafe world because the graph bar of inhumanityhumanity has been lowered even further. Believe that its only a fleeting incident which could be easily explained away or deconstructed by precise things that have taken place, such as if we hadnt done this, then that would not have happened. Its uncomfortable believing that the world is less safe, so we have to imagine or construct a scenario that will allow us to feel more safe again and resist change, says Figley. There is an interesting and strange symbiotic relationship between terrorism and the media. Bruce Hoffman, the director of the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, in his book Inside Terrorism has written a clear summary of some of the major historical trends in international terrorism. He makes careful distinctions between the motivations that drive political (or ethno-nationalist) terrorism and religious terrorism, and he explains also shows why the rise of religious terrorism, coupled with the increased availability of weapons of mass destruction, may foretellpredict an eraepoch of even greater violence. In the past, Hoffman argues, the main goal of the terrorist was not to kill and destroy, but to attract media attention to his cause in the hope of initiating reform. For the religious terrorist, however, violence is first and foremost a sacred act or divine duty executed in direct response to some theological demand or imperative religious terrorists see themselves not as components of a system worth preserving but as outsiders, seeking fundamental changes in the existing order. (Hoffman, 2006).[5] In this context Hoffman does not choose sides, he refers to in this framework, pointing to the bombings of the World Trade Center ,and Oklahoma City and the Tokyo,to the Sarin nerve gas attacks, in Tokyo in order to demonstrate that radicalsfundamentalists of any religious denomination are capable of extreme acts of terrorism. Terrorism is an aggressive-hostile action which is mainly intended to harm and terrify civilians, in order to promote a particular aim, or with an the idea, which may be social political or other. The terrorist attacks, are now gaining major importance than wars in the news headlines worldwide Terrorism and its Effects on Mental Health Whether its a massive attack or a single dreadfulhorrific act, the effects of psychological warfare are not restrictedlimited to the physical damage inflicted. Infact the primary objectivestead, the goal of these attacks is to inculcate a sense of fear whichthat is much greater than the actual threat itself. Therefore, the impact of psychological terror depends largely on how the acts are revealedpublicized and interpreted. Typical reactions to major trauma on the individuals and communities are well-documented but the literature on the individual reactions to terrorist incidents is scarce. Most of the reactions at the initial phase following trauma are normal reactions and only few individuals display florid psychopathology. (Alexander and Klein, 2006).[6] Normal individual reactions to a terrorist attack are: Emotional Reactions : shock, numbness, denial , fear, anxiety , helplessness, hopelessness. Cognitive dysfunctions as disorientation, confusion ,intrusive thoughts, images, memories ,hypervigilance (i.e. increased sense of risk),impaired concentration and memory. Changes in social interaction, like withdrawal ,irritability ,loss of trust and faith , avoidant behaviour (i.e. of any reminders of the event). Physical reactions as autonomic hyperarousal , ,loss of energy. insomnia Autonomic hyper-arousal, insomnia, loss of energy. Emotional shock, numbness, denial, fear, anxiety helplessness, hopelessness. Cognitive disorientation, confusion, intrusive thoughts, images, memories.Hyper-vigilance, impaired concentration and memory. Social withdrawal, irritability, loss of trust and faith, avoidant behaviour (i.e. of any reminders of the event). These normal reactions comprise most of the core symptoms of PTSD, i.e. intrusive experiences, hyper-arousal and avoidant behaviour, as defined in the ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders (ICD-10; WHO, 1992).[7] For a formal diagnosis of PTSD, such symptoms must be experienced for at least a few weeks. (The fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [DSM-IV] also necessitatesrequires that such symptoms mustto be present for one month. (American Psychiatric Association, 1994).[8] In addition the impact on individuals, terrorism has mass psychogenic impacts. Mass psychogenic illness has been defined as: The rapid spread of illness signs and symptoms affecting members of a cohesive group, originating from a nervous system disturbance involving excitation, loss or alteration of function whereby physical complaints that are exhibited unconsciously have no corresponding organic aetiology. (Bartholomew Wessely, 2002). [9] As regards community reactions, they may present with distinct features. Tyhurst provides a three phase model of community response. (Tyhurst, 1951).[10] In Phase I, most individuals are liable to be stunned, numbed or even in denial. Denial was the commonly reported reaction among the office staff of Capital Hill, Washington DC following the anthrax scare in 2001. It took some time for the affectees to realize they might have been exposed to a toxic substance. North et al., 2005).[11] Widespread panic is not a typical reaction (though widely depicted in disaster films, etc.). Approximately 10 per cent of victims are likely to panic, and this reaction is most likely when victims believe they are trapped and feel helpless. Durodie Wessely, 2002).[12] In the 1987 Kings Cross underground fire most passengers did not panic; on the contrary, they sought out the usual methods of entry and exit. (Donald Canter, 1992).[13] Similar personal reactions were observedgiven after the London terrorist incidents of July 2005. Hence the civil contingency planning clearly should not be based on ill-informed assumptions about human behaviour. Even in extreme situations human behaviour can be rational, altruistic, and even heroic. In Phase II which is the Recoil Phase, individuals seek to make sense of what has happened. They seek reunion with their common sources of support, e.g. families, friends and colleagues. Even makeshift groups may develop as individuals seek understanding and mutual support. During this period, the community develops a sense of order and control, and the concerned relief authorities can do a lot much to facilitate this step towards recovery.. Phase III, the Recovery Phase is characterized by alternating episodes of adjustment and relapse and there may be some obvious examples of resilience and positive outcomes. Further comprehensive research studies must be A lot of research still needs to be done in order to understand how communities cope with chronic exposure to threat and adversity, but Jones and his colleagues have reassessed the social effects of air raids in Great Britain during the Second World War. They indicate a high level of civilian resilience developed during that period. (Jones et al., 2004).[14] Similarly, law enforcement authorities have commented on the apparently low level of violence-related psychopathology reported in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Clinical data is still not enough to identify It is unclear, as to what are the protective factors in these circumstances. Extensive denial, social cohesiveness, a united front against a common enemy or some other as yet undetermined influences could be termed as protective factors. Mental Health Studies Mental health research studies are conducted worldwide to explore the effects of terrorism both on the individuals and the community. Whereas some emphasize the psycho-pathological effects of terror (Galea, Ahern, Resnick et al., 2002),[15] others focus on the human suffering, which is not identical to psychiatric morbidity (Wessely 2003),[16] and on community and cultural factors that enable people to endure the stressful event (Hobfoll, 2003).[17] This conflict between two distinct approaches (Wessely, 2003) ishas yet to be bridged. Any horrific event can affect people directly or indirectly even if they are not the targets. Hence the target of the interventions is not the individual victim only, but all the people more indirectly affected by the incidence. An impartial approach may be suitable. The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued guidelines for action during emergencies which seem to support such a stand (WHO, 2003).[18] Experiencing or witnessing a violent attack does not necessarily mean that the individual will inevitably develop psychiatric morbidity (Curran, and Miller, 2001).[19] After the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City, it was observed that: In the aftermath of terrorist attacks, many Americans regarded their distress as a normal reaction rather than a disorder needing [psychiatric] care. (Drus and Marcus, 2004).[20] Presently available data suggest that it takes more than the agent (e.g., threat to life) to lead to psychopathology. Indeed, the role of the environment is of significance, as a part of the epidemiological triangle that has been discarded by a greater focus on host-related factors (e.g., gender or age of the victim). ) A study on adults have recognized a group of factors, including religious beliefs, ideological commitment and social capital, that have protected communities which were highly exposed to terrorist attacks (like the loss of dear ones, physical injuries and property damage etc). Ideology and religion may be used as a healing power, but also as a weapon. This is especially true in the [Middle East] region. (Solomon, and Laufer (2005);[21] Shalev et al.; Shalev,[22] Tuval-Mashiach Hadar, 2004; Kaplan et al.; Kaplan,[23] Matar, Kamin, et al., 2005; Billig, Kohn, and Levav, 2004).[24] All the research data today gives hope that, by advancing research on the mental health effects of war-related activities will be conducive to the development of new techniques to counter the psycho-social aftermath of wars and other such traumatic events., Ppsychiatrists worldwide are joining the call by WHO member states to devise means to restore the psycho-pathological damage sustained by victimized populations. The World Psychiatric Association (WPA) has been active in the recent Gaza Massacre,by giving an official statement. (See Mario Maj. statement in Chapter 1V -Wars in the Muslim World1).[25] Nonetheless On the other hand, psychiatrists could play other roles even at the risk of raising idealistic initiatives which cynics might like to dismiss. There are several possibilities open for psychiatrists who, by the nature of their profession can, besides promoting health, support peace rather than war. Psychiatrists and other mental health professionals from countries in conflict could engage in alliance in a number of activities (e.g., teaching, exchange of experiences in program development and services, communication), while they are actively, tenaciously and continuously supported by WPA. Most importantly, psychiatrists must endeavour to make their societies even more ardently aware that in armed confrontations no one is a winner but that everyone is a victim. The model of collaboration in the Balkans, where mental health is a bridge to reconciliation within the framework of the Stability Pact, is a concrete example of what could be achieved when a unifying language is spoken, and when such an effort is reinforced by dedicated support from sources that are not part of the conflict. Terrorism is a paradox—a topicalcontemporary, high-profile subject with clear relevance to the real-world today relevance, yetNevertheless with limited authentic and desperate shortage of research data available es in the area. Therefield there is an urgent need to encourage the younger researchers to take a keen n interest in continuing maintaining research activities .y in the area. Psycho-Social Effects of Terrorism on the Muslim World While nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer, nothing is more difficult than to understand him. (Mikhailovich Dostovsky) The Muslim World has endured a succession of terrorist attacks in the last decade and faced the war against terrorism with endurance and resilience. The countries most affected were Iraq, Gaza, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and particularly the FATA region in Pakistan which has been labelled as the centre of terrorist training. Pakistan also became the first line of defense in this War on Terror. The most distressing aspect of this war is the amount of destruction, damage and killing of innocent civilians of these regions. Ironically the damage done following the declaration of this war is to a large extent much greater than the loss which resulted due to the actual terrorist incident of 9/11 in New York. The Muslims worldwide have confronted the worst degree of terrorism from the powers who claim to bring peace and justice in the world. It is logical and justifiable to control and battle against those who are involved in such degrading and inhumane acts of terrorism, however, some contemplation is necessary to remodel unreasonable and illogical methods or strategies chosen to fight this terrorism. The international media has been a major partner in this war against terrorism and played a key role in portraying religious extremism in Islam as the major cause of present-day terrorism. But this is untrue since Islam is primarily a religion of peace, love and harmony. Unfortunately, clerics who have limited knowledge of the teachings and values of the Islam have misguided some people for their vested interests. The misinterpretation of the teachings of Islam by irresponsible clerics has led to fanaticism. Islam is the most practical religion of the world. As narrated by Dr Muzammil H. Siddiqi:[26] The concept of human rights in Islam is based on two important principles: dignity of human beings and justice. Islam emphasizes that all human beings are honoured by Allah subhanahu wa taala. Allah wants all human beings to live in peace and harmony and for this reason He wants us to establish justice in this world. Without justice there is no dignity and without dignity and justice there cannot be any peace. There are several passages in the Holy Quran verifying the above narration: If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what God (Allah) hath revealed, they are (no better than) unbelievers. (Holy Quran 5:44). o ye who believe! Stand out firmly for God (Allah), as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next to piety: and fear God (Allah). For God (Allah) is well-acquainted with all that ye do. (Holy Quran 5:8). Human blood is sacred in any case and cannot be spilled without justification. Violating this rule is equivalent to killing all of humanity: if anyone slew a person — unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land — it would be as if he slew the whole people. (Quran 5:32). Hence the Holy Quran advocates that death of a single human being is a death of humanity. At present it is vital to understand that words terrorism and war against terrorism apparently seems to be propaganda against Islam and Muslims. Such perceptions against Islam and the Muslims have taken a toll on the social, psychological and emotional well-being of Muslims in different parts of the world. (Zafar, 2007).[27] Psycho-Social Impacts of Gaza Conflict: On 31 January 2008, the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP) organized a Conference on Effects of Siege on Life and Mental Health of Palestinians in Gaza Strip. Taysir Diab, Clinical Psychiatrist and Supervisor at GCMHP, talked about the mental impacts of the siege based on GCMHPs experience. He stated that there It is not one, but were a group of bio-psycho social factors that which caused mental illness. Diab of these factors under the siege on Gaza; and that the and its psychological, physical and social impacts of these factors were clinically identifiable. The siege, he said, had a direct effect on the appearance of new psychiatricmental cases and the relapse of old ones. There are personal differences on the physical and psychological levels; there are protective factors such as religion, patriotism, norms and values, as well as social support. All these factors along with others contributed in the protection of individuals. and the development of new mental illnesses in the Palestinian people. According to Diab, a vast majority of the Palestinian populations were suffering from symptoms of psychiatricmental disorders. He pointed out that the clients of GCMHPs Community Centers suffered from various psychological problems, including panic, insecurity feelings of insecurity, easily provoked aggressiveness, anger, easily provoked, psychosomatic disorders, depression, frustration, low morale, fear, poor concentration, lack of belonging or affiliation, lack of confidence in self and others, emotional numbness,numbness, and PTSD symptoms., various physical complaint, Oobsessiveon-Ccompulsive Disorders were common, and there was a definite rise in illness relapses.rise in illness relapses. Diab further mentioned that the siege affected the vulnerable groups, in particular children who suffer increasingly from fear, panic, and at times apathylack the feeling of risks, tendency of sadness and insecurity feelings of insecurity., as well as Bbed-wetting and stutteringstuttering, was also a common presentation. He also pointed that the siege affected the mental health professionals in term of increasing their mental stresspressures and state of frustration, avoidance, nervousness, and professional burn-out. Furthermore, Ahmad Abu Tawahina, Senior Clinical Psychologist and Director General of GCMHP, statedmentioned that the major aimplan behind the siege imposed by Israel wasis to implantinstil panic and fear among the Palestinians citizens. He said: We, as Palestinians, must never live a frustrating and despairing life and have to get rid of the negative impacts of siege since life goes on, and the professionals must exert all efforts in order to help people cope with the difficult situations. Twahina also stated that it was vital that Palestinians should not drown in terror and fear since most of the above mentioned symptoms are natural reactions to a madcrazy reality. He also addressed the concept of victimof victim psychology and commented on the importance of offering the mental services for people who suffer from frequent depressions, and increasing concerns. According to him the mental suffering affects everybody but at different levels, and that theere is depression, anxiety, tension, and despair is prevalent at the entirewhole community levels. In his work paper, . Samir Zaqout, a psychologist at GCMHP, discussedtalked about the social changes resulting from the siege. He statedadded that: the siege started in 1948 when Israeli Occupation practiced siege policy in an attempt to deny the Palestinians their identity: The siege is doubled as it is imposed by Israel and the international community since they didnt allow the Palestinians to practice their rights in a democratic way. Further, Zaqout pointed that the siege affected the Palestinian social fabric and domestic relations as hatred and tendency of revenge increased among the Palestinians. It also affected the moral values and accepting the other as well as increasing inter and intra familial disputes and conflicts. Summing up the proceedings of the Conference Eyad el Sarraj pointed to the significance of highlighting such statistics and showing the direct impacts of the siege on the citizens. He stressed on the importance of the accuracy and avoiding exaggeration in stating any statistics. Sarraj focused on the victim psychology. He said: Since we, as Palestinians, shouldnt adopt the role of victim, and exaggerate in blaming others and defaming ourselves. Our priority should be national reconciliation and unity and supporting the Palestinian resiliency so as to achieve our legitimate rights, endorsed by international conventions. Concluding the conference the mental health experts reiterated that it was crucial that the siege must end and professionals must undertake their roles in the field of education and mental health. This would be the first step in to bring some semblance of normality to the lives of the Gaza Community. This step was vital, in order to enable them to cope with negative consequences of the siege and minimize the resultant burdens. Moreover, it was agreed to work on the promotion of mental resilience programs for ending the siege and developing coping strategies to counter the negative mental health consequences. It was agreed that the Palestinian people are steadfast and live with dignity, and should not bend or despair and take matters positively and effectively in order to resist all schemes aiming at weakening Palestinian social fabric, and to achieve the Palestinian rights in freedom, independence and establishing the Palestinian state. Further, the attendants emphasized the importance of working, as specialists in various fields, on influencing the decision makers in the Palestinian society and acquaint them with the destructive impacts of the siege at all levels, especially the mental health of the future Palestinian generations. The physical and mental health needs of sufferers of Gaza are extremely challenging to address, particularly the psychological and emotional crises. During the last Israeli military strike in the period from December 2008 to January 2009, approximately 1380 Palestinians were killed, of whom 431 were children and 112 women. (United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) (2009). At least 5380 people were injured, including 1872 children and 800 women. In these improvised settings within health facilities such as maternity wards and operating theatres were transformed into trauma units. The consequences must be drastic in terms of maternal and child morbidity and mortality because 3500 deliveries were expected to have taken place during the twenty-three days of military operations. Findings from a recent UNFPA assessment indicate that, during that period there was an increased number of miscarriages in pregnant women (Shifa, Al Aqsa, Naser, Rafah), and an increased neonatal mortality in Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. (UNFPA, (2009). According to World Health Organization (WHO), only the rough estimates show that during the last Gaza crisis 25000 to 50000 people underwent severe mental stress and need some form of psychological intervention to address long-term effects. Women, separated children, elderly people, and people with prior physical or mental disabilities are at high risk of severe emotional distress than others. The restoration of normal socioeconomic conditions, secure living

Portrayal Of Modern Women Media Essay

Portrayal Of Modern Women Media Essay Introduction Women may often be at a loss as to their real role in society is. A working mother may play dual roles which are conflicting, that of being a nurturing home-maker to her family, ensuring that the husband and children are well-taken care of while the house is kept spic and span and running smoothly. At the same time, she is a career woman who is expected to be driven, ambitious, hard-worker and committed to the success of the company she works for. On top of that, women are also expected to look their best to the outside world and be alluring sexual beings in the bedroom. Because of the many roles women play, they often seek advise from various sources. One source that they may find consistently reliable are womens magazines because these depict articles set in the modern times, and assumed to promote modern values. At a time when information is so much easier to acquire from various media sources including television, radio and the internet, concrete reading materials are still conveniently available and preferred by many readers (Stevens, Maclaran Catteral, 2007). It would be interesting to explore how contemporary magazines depict women and what priorities they should have in life. Although contemporary womens magazines such as Glamour and Cosmopolitan claim to empower modern women to be more assertive and independent in achieving gender equality, the message sent out from their content (emphasis on the importance of womens beauty and their success in relationships) seem to endorse traditional femininity ideologies, which put women in a role subservient to men in a patriarchal society. Since magazines may have a great influence on how women think, it is crucial to understand the subliminal and overt messages such media format feeds them. The research question that will be explored in this paper is: How are women portrayed in contemporary womens magazines and what messages are conveyed to them? The significance of finding answers to this question will provide enlightenment on how society views women, how women view themselves and how such views guide their value formation, attitude and behaviors. Theoretical Framework This paper is guided by the Sexual Script Theory by Gagnon Simon (1973) and the Objectification Theory by Frederickson Roberts (1997). Scripting theory is premised on the concept that individuals have subjective understandings that determine their choices and qualitative experiences. Sexual Script Theory, specifically focus on the subjective understanding of a person about his or her sexuality that determine his or her sexual actions and experiences related to sex. Scripts are cognitive devices used to guide people in their behaviors. Sometimes, such behaviors are self-fulfilling prophecies to support the scripts upheld by the person. For example, if ones sexual script is to be desirable in order to be liked as a person, then that individual will exert all efforts to look attractive and behave in a seductive manner. Similarly, and to more specifically illustrate the Sexual Scripting theory, the Objectification theory explains how females internalize an observers view to be the prim ary view of her physical self. This means that if a woman gets accustomed to being seen as an object of desire, she becomes socialized to treat herself as such and behaves accordingly (Frederickson Roberts, 1997). Vulnerable to judgment of society, women vigilantly monitor themselves with the knowledge that being positively viewed by others means more opportunities. Studies have shown that how a womans body appears to others can determine her life experiences. Physical attractiveness seem to matter more to females than to males. Women deemed unattractive by their co workers are described more negatively and given less regard than comparatively unattractive men (Bar-Tar Saxe, 1976; Cash, Gillen Burns, 1977; Wallston OLeary, 1981). Physical attractiveness is more highly correlated with popularity, dating experience and marriage opportunities for women than for men (Berscheid, Dion, Walster Walster, 1971; Margolin White, 1987) With regards to the research question at hand, Sexual Scripting Theory and Objectification Theory are appropriate to analyze how magazines portray women because it is assumed that the advertisements and articles of contemporary womens magazines seem to influence women with the idea that they need to use their sexual attractiveness to advance their state. Literature Review Womens magazines enjoy a wide readership for various reasons. Aside from escapism (Geraghty, 1997, 1998) from the daily grind, readers may be hooked on them as they provide temporary solutions to social and personal conflicts (McMahon, 1990). Women find an array of interesting topics in womens magazines. Stevens, Maclaran Catrall (2007) compare different kinds of womens magazines and find that in general, there are magazines that primarily offer fashion and fitness advice (e.g. Vogue, InStyle, Self, Shape); magazines geared toward an older adult female audience (Womans World, womans Day, Good Housekeeping); teen-focused contemporary womens magazines (Seventeen, Teen, YM); and adult-focused contemporary womens magazines (Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Marie Claire, Cleo). In terms of content, contemporary womens magazines are known to uphold traditional femininity ideologies perpetuating ones looks as the measure to judge a womans worth. These magazines likewise encourage women to subordinat e their own interests so they can preserve their relationships with others (Ferguson, 1983; McCracken, 1993; McRobbie, 2000; Peirce, 1993; Sonnet Whelehan, 1995). Duffy Gotcher (1996) also found that 78% of magazine covers highlighted body appearance and over 60% advertised diets, exercise or cosmetic surgery. Aside from these topics, magazines also addressed issues about establishing and maintaining heterosexual dating relationships and somehow put across the message to young women that it should be a priority in their lives, overshadowing their education, careers or participation in social and community service, athletics or politics (Duffy Gotcher, 1996; Evans et al, 1991). More liberated magazines offer explicit sexual advice to women to keep their men happy. Over the past three decades, contemporary womens magazines have significantly increased their sexual content, offering frank advice about sex and relationships (Kim Ward, 2004). The message it sends across is prizing sexually assertive women. Thus, it gives the readers instructions on aggressive ways to attract men and to be able to fulfill their own sexual desires (Durham, 1996). However, Menard Kleinplatz (2008) comment that in the magazines, although there is a strong emphasis for female readers to be sexually active and be in the service of men (Durham, 1996), they are cautioned not to be too overtly sexual. They are encouraged to dress and interact with men in a way that promotes sexual desirability but are discouraged from showing desire themselves (Durham 1996, 1998; Garner et al. 1998). These magazines, then, can be seen as part of a cultural apparatus that purports to assist women to be heterosexually attractive, to be coy, alluring, sexy, and flirtatious, in order to find true love and to catch a man, and then to maintain his interest (Overall, 1999, p. 298). On the other hand, mens sexuality is promoted to be aggressive, animalistic, insatiable, urgent and uncontrollable (Firminger 2006; Garner et al. 1998; Ward 2003). Cosmopolitan magazine is known for being racy, intended for the fun, fearless female (Streitmatter, 2004). Sexual agency and desire is highly promoted to young women. Likewise, the stereotypical male sexual role is described as being primarily sexual and out of control. In Cosmopolitan, much of womens sexual agency and aggressiveness happens within the context of a relationship (Durham, 1996). Walsh-Childers et al. (2002) commented that in some adult-focused magazines, sex is presented as a fun, casual and risk-free activity. A noticeable lack of emphasis on sexual health, contraceptives and STD prevention is observed (Kim Ward, 2004). The promotion of sex as something to keep a man interested in a woman and make him stay in the relationship has been observed as a prevailing theme of some womens magazines. Farvid Braun (2006) contend that the ability of a woman to perform great sex not only fulfills her mans sexual needs but also her own relational needs as well. Since a man is portrayed to want great sex and encounter it with a woman who enjoys it as much, then it would leave a lasting impression that makes the man crave for the woman more. The message conveyed from this, though, is that a memorable sexual performance of a woman is depicted as more important than her personality in terms of keeping a man interested. Farvid Braun (2006) note another message that may be taken from magazine articles about sex. While men can enjoy sex anytime they want, women need to exert more effort in pleasing them as a way of besting other women that their men have had sex with before, or with potential sex partners. This implie s that sex is used as a deterrent against infidelity. Indirectly, it also says that since men have strong sexual drives, that they are potential cheaters (Farvid Braun, 2006). That is why women should gain expertise in the sexual pleasing of their men so that they will not find a need to stray. On the other hand, women are not characterized as having strong sex drives and if they cheat, it is pictured in more severe ways, within more elaborate and negative scenarios. Womens infidelity is more condemnable and less forgivable than mens infidelity. Blame is assigned to the woman and is not likely caused by sexual or relational shortcomings of the partner she cheated. Another gender difference in infidelity is that women are seen as victims of their male partners cheating, but men are seen as seekers of revenge for being cheated on by a female partner (Farvid Braun, 2006). Cheating is still considered always wrong despite the seemingly loose morals propagated in the magazines and mono gamous heterosexual relationships are promoted as central to the identity and well-being of women (Farvid Braun, 2006). Ideologies conveyed by contemporary womens magazines are considered manipulative in the sense that the messages projected regarding the nature of femininity points to legitimizing and naturalizing patriarchal domination (Gough-Yates, 2003). Being limited in scope, primarily about beauty, fashion and advise on getting a man, it communicates to its readers the idea that a man is the main route to a womans happiness and that if women are good enough, the right man will come along and sweep them off their feet-ideally into wedded bliss (Gauntlett, 2002, p. 190). When women are regularly bombarded with this idea, eventually, they adopt such ideology in their lives even without consciously considering the implications such as finding their own fulfillment in their own strengths as women are not regarded as priorities in these magazines. They would develop tendencies to search for and depend on men as their source of happiness and fulfillment. Another perspective is that womens magazines distribute a cult of femininity (Ferguson, 1983, p. 5), advocating ways to be more feminine and promoting a particular ideology catering to patriarchal norms. McCracken (1993) commented that women discover that their inadequacies are sustained by the fear of lacking beauty, fashion sense and self-confidence when they read glossy womens magazines. Womens bodies have been used to sell several advertised products. Walsh-Childers (1996) observed that photos of women in advertising usually focused the readers eye on womens body parts such as the breasts. Soley and Kurzbad (1986) also observed that more and more sexual content became manifest since the mid-1980s as female nudity and erotic content became commonplace in contemporary U.S. advertising. Ms. Magazine published advertisements that increasingly portrayed women as sex objects in its first 15 years of publication. After it no longer ran such ads, Ms. Magazine upheld a position that explicitly embraced feminist orientation and spurned advertisements which were insulting to women. Ms. magazine established itself as an institutional prototype for the appropriate conduct of advertising to women (Ferguson et al., 1990, p. 41). Still, with this supposed precedent of championing for women in advertising, there persist ads depicting women as sex objects (Krassas, Blaukamp Wesselin k, 2001). Krassas, Blaukamp Wesselink (2001) conclude that womens magazines communicate a paradoxical perspective of female sexuality in that women are encouraged to shed their traditional roles and become more independent while they are pressured to find and sexually satisfy a man. Womens bodies are considered commodities and their independence allows them to use such commodities to their advantage and to maximize their market value (Goldman, Heath Smith, 1991). Krassas, Blaukamp Wesselink (2001) also note that Cosmopolitan magazine may be the first to recognize women as sexual, at the same time, they are primarily sexual objects whose desire is fulfilled by allowing themselves to be treated as commodities that are sexually available to men and designed to attract men. Methods The choice of studying Cosmopolitan magazine was determined by it being the top-selling womens magazine in the world (Worlds Longest-running and Most Popular Periodicals, 2009). Having 58 international editions and translated into 34 languages, the magazine is distributed in more than a hundred countries. With this position comes the power to reach such a wide readership. Data Gathering The researcher will be reading and taking notes from 3 issues of Cosmopolitan Magazine, specifically the June, July and August 2010 issues which are the ones available to the researcher. Researcher will note down the titles as well as the content of each article as well as the advertisements promoted by the magazine. White and Marsh (2006) contend that a good coding scheme has categories or levels that are exhaustive, that is, all relevant aspects of the construct are represented (p. 32). For this study, categories or themes of articles in the magazines will serve as codes such as articles with sexual content, relationships or body issues. To determine the amount of the content per category or theme in each magazine issue, the percentage of content will be computed by counting all the titles (for cover page) and articles (including sidebars) written for the issue and getting the percentage of the content listed in each category against the total content of each issue for both cover page and inside articles. Analysis Discussion According to White Marsh (2006), after coding, data should be summarized so that they could be understood easily and are applicable to the hypotheses or research questions. Then, the researcher relates the data to other situations or studies so findings are put into perspective. In this case, the data shall be related to information in the review of literature that is most relevant to it. Results The dominance of the category of sexual content in the cover pages of the magazines obviously used sex as a selling point. These titles were made to catch the attention of potential buyers who include women in need of advise to boost their sex lives as well as men who may be curious as to what the articles reveal. Titles such as 75 Sex Tips From Guys: Sizzling, Sinful and Surprising Things Theyre Craving Now (June 2010 issue); 99 New Sex Facts: Every Forbidden, Fascinating Detail You Want To Know.. and only Cosmo will tell you (July 2010 issue) and Naughty, Naughty Sex Poll: Its Official: We Got 2,000 Men to Reveal, Do this not That in bed (August 2010) practically scream for attention as it is given the boldest print. Also, words such as Sex, Sexy and Hot jump out of the page as they are highlighted in the cover that eyes will automatically be drawn to the bright and bold titles. Other categories of content fought for attention with catchy titles such as Look So Sexy (June 2010), Th e Sexy Secrets to Making Smart Decisions (July 2010) and Together Forever? How to Still Flirt With Him (August 2010). Even with these titles, a hint of sex is still present. The thick issues of the magazine are filled with crisp, glossy pages, rich with various content. However, the volume of sexual content promised in the inside pages may disappoint readers, as the percentages do not hold in the articles printed within the issues. The articles spread into more than one page, so in terms of quality, the anticipated richness of sexual content was justified. The articles were graphic in language and mostly instructional such as giving actual directions on how to achieve better orgasms or identifying highly sensitive body spots that provide the most pleasure. It would not be difficult to imagine what the authors were referring to because the articles were replete with real-life examples. Readers would learn that the recommended sexual techniques would be very pleasurable, and may want to try it out themselves. Mostly, the articles taught readers how to please men in bed. This is consistent with the contentions of Farvid Braun that women should learn to be great in bed in order to keep their men fulfilled and content with just having them. The content category on Fashion and Beauty dominated the inside pages of the magazines. It showcased the latest trends and products, as worn and used by popular celebrities. Clearly, the magazine has become a marketing tool for the fashion and beauty products, luring women readers to buy them for themselves so they will also be considered hot, cool, trendy or hip supposedly descriptions of women who are fashionable and sophisticated. Aside from being viewed as a marketing tool, the magazines emphasis on women being fashionable and beautiful sells an ideology that that is how women should be in order to feel fulfilled as a person and to be able to attract men. The advertisers of the magazine prey on womens insecurities and their intense need to be accepted, admired and loved. Using very attractive models does not only create more insecurity about readers looks but also a more passionate desire to achieve the models look by purchasing the cosmetics she used to look that attractive. Discussion and Conclusion The theories and scholarly observations in the literature review seem to be consistent with what is actually published in womens magazines. Sexual scripting of women being objects of desire as well as sex objects playing the stereotype of existing for the pleasure of men reverberate in the magazines even if these took pride in empowering women to be fun, fearless females. However, it admits that women have sexual needs themselves that they should not be ashamed to fulfill. The Objectification theory is validated by the advertisements and articles of women wanting to look good for their men so that they will not be replaced by younger, sexier and more beautiful women. The 3 magazine issues reviewed do not totally reflect Durhams (1996, 1998) and Garner et al.s (1998) comment that women are encouraged to dress and interact with men that promotes their sexual desirability but are discouraged from showing desire themselves. Women being overtly sexual towards men is actually supported in the issues studied. This is because the authors have done thorough research on what men really want in sex, and one finding is that they are aroused by women making sexual advances towards them. The articles in the magazine merely report what men want to inform women on what to do to please them. It is apparent that male ego is supposed to be massaged and nurtured by women, living in a patriarchal society. Both Sexual scripting and Objectification theories are thus proven i n this case. The portrayal of women in the magazines (article pictures and advertisements) reflects women as eye-candy or a prize to be won by the most deserving man. The photographs show mostly Caucasian women gazing into the camera, and giving the image that they are communicating with the readers with their eyes or smile to buy whatever product, idea or ideology they are selling. The use of very attractive models instills in readers an ideal of beauty to emulate. Such beauty is enhanced by cosmetics and fashionable clothes and shoes. Although known for covering much ground on sex, it was initially surprising that the percentage of titles of sex-related articles was not as high as expected. However, upon further scrutiny, the articles were replete with detail and length. The magazine was also found by this study to cover topics about men, relationships and self-improvement. Readers who may be constrained in seeking information about these topics elsewhere may find comfort in the fact that Cosmopolitan provides honest advise in the viewpoint of experts of the topics. For instance, many topics on men were discussed by men themselves! Cosmopolitan has its own formula for success. Being known for a magazine that unashamedly promotes sex for unmarried women, it titillates the curiosity of most women, even those who pride themselves of upholding the strictest of morals. Cosmopolitan cover pages use the most popular and attractive woman whom the world adores for the moment. Add to this celebrity cover girl, catchy titles of articles, mostly racy and intriguing, and the magazine sells well. Being sold is the first step in spreading the ideologies constructed in the magazine and conveying it to its readers. Being the best-selling womens magazine in the world, it is presumed that Cosmopolitan magazine has already been successful in imbedding to its millions of readers the ideologies it wants to convey.

Billy Collins: A Great American Poet Essay examples -- Poetry Analysis

â€Å"I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the light like a color slide or press an ear against its hive†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (3); so begins a poem titled â€Å"Introduction To Poetry† by Billy Collins. â€Å"Introduction To Poetry† is, in fact, the introduction to a collection of poetry called Poetry 180, a program started by Collins during his time as poet laureate for the United States. The aim of this program is to get people, especially teenagers, interested in or reconnected with poetry. Collins selected an assortment of poems that are just fun to read and not meant to be discussed; he says in the forward to the collection, â€Å"High school is the focus of my program because all too often it is the place where poetry goes to die† (xvii). Collins was honored with the title of poet laureate in 2001 because of his own outstanding poetry. Billy Collins is considered by some to be the greatest American poet since Robert Frost because he connects with his read ers, he makes the mysterious ordinary, and he portrays the ordinary as mysterious. Billy Collins has been called â€Å"accessible without being [mundane]† (Pool, par.1). Collins is relatable because he takes situations that most people have been through and puts them into words that are at the same time comic and thought provoking. (Collins once said, â€Å"The perfect poem for me to write would be a poem in which the reader couldn’t tell at any point whether the poem was serious or humorous†). In the poem â€Å"Forgetfulness†, Collins describes the frantic feeling that comes when a fact floats out of the brain. The person experiencing this tragic but everyday occurrence struggles to bring it back, but â€Å"the memories [the person] used to harbor decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain, to a little... ...riousness of this 10-year-old dealing with morality for the first time.† Words, objects, and events take on a deeper meaning through Billy Collins. Collins’ poems aren’t preachy or meant to teach a lesson; their purpose is to help readers be exposed to different ways of seeing things. Collins seems to go through life with his head slightly tilted; he finds amusement in both the ordinary and mysterious, and has a gift for being able to portray his insights in a way readers find accessible and often witty. Nothing is too lofty or insignificant for Collins to write about; he once said, â€Å"I think my work has to do with a sense that we are attempting, all the time, to create a logical, rational path through the day. To the left and right there are an amazing set of distractions that we usually can’t afford to follow. But the poet is willing to stop anywhere.†

Behaviorism Theory Essay -- Psychology, Watson, Skinne, Locke

A learning, or behavioral theory, in terms of human development, follows the view that the focus of psychology should be behavior, the way we act. A behaviorist places value on attributes that one can see and therefore study, as opposed to the invisible attributes, such as thinking, feeling, and other brain activity that occurs without one even knowing (Craig & Dunn, 2010, p. 14). There are three important modern behavior or learning theorists: Ivan Pavlov, John Watson, and B. F. Skinner. However, as stated by William Crain John Locke was the â€Å"Father of environmentalism and learning theory†, although Ivan Pavlov and B.F. Skinner were his â€Å"heirs† (Crain, 2011 p.3). To some, the behaviorist theories may seem limiting or incomprehensive, but one can see that all of the major theories play a role in our understanding of development. British philosopher John Locke developed theories in late seventeenth century that a child has no built-in beliefs or understanding of concepts until the child has experienced these things for themselves. He asserted in his writing that through observation of children’s behavior, children are like an empty, unfurnished room that one can select the furnishings for, especially in early years when children are most susceptible to suggestion and input (Crain, 2011). Locke believed that environment was a critical factor in development, but also saw that the way one gives a child input affects behavior as well. Crain, (2011) noted that Locke felt that a child’s good health was important to facilitate, and that beyond that, adults should help reinforce children’s behavior through reward and punishment. More than two hundred years later, B.F. Skinner saw the importance of reward and punishment as he studied oper... ...tson’s later innovations was to remove or de-condition fears, by very slowly introducing the feared object in a slow, incremental, and safe manner until the object no longer evokes a fearful response (Crain, 2011). All of these behavioral/learning theorists have made huge progress in understanding the psychology of human development through a rigid set of principles, through research, observation, and behavior modification experiments. One may be put off by the unyielding denial of cognitive processes in behavior and the relationship to development. To be sure, many theories and theorists have made progress in bridging the gap between behavior and environment only theories, and cognitive theories. One should not lose sight that all of these major theorists have made valuable contributions to our views of human development, including these unwavering behaviorists.

Reversals :: essays papers

Reversals "Youth is wasted on the young." And "if I only knew then what I know now!" In my teen years I couldn't be bothered with trying to understand those cryptic phrases; didn't I already know everything I needed to know? I never dreamed that the decisions I made in my relatively youthful years would have such an impact on my future. I always felt that I would never look back upon my life and say "I wish I had taken more time in considering my choices." But I have found myself doing just that. If I were able to rewrite history, I would pick a different career when I reenlisted in the Army, I would seek out opportunities to enhance my future job options, and finally, I would have done better while in high school. To begin with, it's understandable that I wouldn't know what I was getting into when I first enlisted into the Army. But when the time came for me to reenlist, I knew to research my options better than what I really did. Instead of choosing a new career in the Medic Corps like I knew I should, I elected to keep the same job. Given a second chance, I would choose to be an X-ray Specialist. After I graduated my class, I would take the Florida State certification exam so I could become licensed to work in Florida; by the time I completed my second enlistment, I would have developed very marketable job experience. Secondly, I would have gone to college more while I was in the service. As I've just begun the long walk toward my goal of a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice, I can't help but kick myself for not starting sooner. The military pays for seventy-five percent of a college course; after paying my tuition last term, I realized just what a great deal that really was. I also would have taken all the medical correspondence courses that the Army offers. While the courses aren't of much practical use, the points earned for the completion of each course helps greatly when trying to get promoted to Sargent. Instead of just coasting, waiting for opportunity to come knocking, I would go out and tackle that elusive rascal by the ankles. Finally, if I could do it again, I would do better in high school. As a teenager, I was tired of school; I felt I already knew everything I needed to know to carry with my life.

Structural Rationalism

In the advent of industrialization which is marked by the affordability and mass production of construction of materials like iron steel and glass, an architectural school of thought emerged known as structural rationalism which emphasized the important and distinctive role of structural efficiency in the form of buildings including space requirements and architectural design.This philosophy was promoted by French architect Eugà ¨ne Viollet-le-Duc whose theories were specifically written in his book, Discourses on Architecture (Frampton).     Viollet-le-Duc adhered to the restoration to the localized style of building vis a vis the ‘abstract’ international style conspicuous during his time.Belgian architect Victor Horta is one of the pioneering advocates of this architectural philosophy which he exemplified in the design of the Tassel Hotel in Brussels in 1892.The design featured exposed decorative iron balustrades shaped as a plant filament combined with local axia l plans that resulted to a simple yet striking decorative work of art. Interior architecture involved rooms with irregular shapes blended with decorative painting and furniture.The masterpiece of Horta marked the commencement of the Art Nouveau movement which was perpetuated and advanced by Hector Guimard, a French architect and furniture designer.   (Pile) While maintaining highly decorative curved line that usually follows a floral pattern, Guimard highlighted indigenousness of design that conformed to function and climate and even patriotism.Guimard’s most famous designs are the entrances of the metro subway stations in Paris that featured metal cast in curvilinear flowerlike lines meticulously designed in detail.By the early 20th century, Dutch architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage adhered to a return to the conservative objectives of true constructive rationalism that stressed simplicity of form and clarity of structure.He underscored the notion that the structure itself fu nctions in the creation of space which reduce the need for decorative structures.   This idea was embodied in the design of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange of 1903 and initiated the emergence for modernism.BIBLIOGRAPHYFrampton, Kenneth. Modern Architecture: A Critical History. Oxford University Press, 1980Pile, John F. A history of interior design. Laurence King Publishing, 2005

John Proctor and comment Essay

The first opening scene is of some girls in the woods using magical rites to get the man of their dreams. The girls are mentioning the names of men they want and throwing what looks like herbs into a cauldron one girl gives a chicken to a black girl called Tituba who is at the side of the cauldron, and at this point she looks like the leader in these magical rites. The girls all shout at Tituba to make a spell to make the boys fall in love with them. One girl asks Abigail who she likes and another replies ‘John Proctor’ and then Abigail whispers something to Tituba who doesn’t seem to like what is being asked of her. Abigail then grabs the chicken from Tituba and throws it on the floor and then puts the blood of the chicken on her mouth. The girls are suddenly alerted to a man spying on them he even sees one of the girls naked they become hysterical and the next day we find that two of the younger girls have gone into a trance-like state probably because they were frightened of the consequences of their actions. The watcher’s daughter Betty Parriss was one of the girls in a trance. The watcher was none other than Reverend Samuel Parriss who is also the uncle of Abigail Williams. Reverend Parriss is terrified by what he has seen. He is quite hysterical as he knows that if a witch was to live within his own home the fingers of the village of Salem would point towards him and his days in the Church would be over, but even worse they could hang him. The Reverend questions Abigail in Betty’s bedroom, whilst she is in the trance like state,on what he has witnessed in the woods and he warns her that his whole life depends upon her answering ‘truthfully’. He knows he has many enemies in the village and needs Abigail to tell him the ‘truth’. This would of course be the truth that he wished to hear and it appears from his hysteria that he wants anything but the truth. At this point Abigail actually answers quite truthfully and tries to explain to her Uncle that they were only messing about by saying ‘it were sport, uncle. ‘

The strategy of The Body Shop

â€Å"Business people have got to be the instigators of change. They have the money and the power to make a difference. A company that makes a profit from society has a responsibility to return something to that society.† 1 (Roddick, 1991) This statement, by Anita Roddick OBE, founder of ‘The Body Shop', demonstrates the strong ethical dimension of the company's way of doing business. She opened her first shop in Brighton on March 26th 1976 selling 25 varieties of 100-percent natural skin and hair care products inspired by cultural knowledge from around the world. The company has expanded dramatically since its origins and now has over 1900 stores worldwide. Despite its rapid growth, the strong beliefs and values existent in 1976 remain deeply embedded within the organisational culture. Throughout this writing I will discuss these beliefs and values in the context of corporate strategy and decision-making, and demonstrate how it relates to theoretical frameworks within the corporate strategy field. I will analyse The Body Shop's strategies using these theoretical models, and compare and contrast the models themselves. The strategy of The Body Shop in comparison to other businesses within the cosmetics and toiletries industry was unconventional. Their rapid growth, achieved mainly through franchising, was primarily due to the ‘green' nature of the organisation, prioritising ethical practice over making profits. â€Å"Ever since she started The Body Shop in 1976, Roddick had made a habit of going against the tide of the industry's established business practices.† 2 (Mintzberg, Quinn, Ghoshal, 1991: 447) This quotation reinforces the notion of The Body Shop's alternative approach to strategy. Unlike other companies within the industry, they didn't make miraculous claims for their products; they allowed labels with detailed lists of the ingredients and properties of products to tell customers about each good. This links in with the fact that a major component of The Body Shop's strategy was that they never engaged in any advertising. Throughout history and in contemporary advertising, organisations within the health and beauty sector have constantly bombarded the public with claims and promises associated with their products through the use of adverts and promotions. â€Å"The cosmetics industry makes its money through packaging and advertising, which together are 85 per cent of its costs.† 3 (Mintzberg, Quinn, Ghoshal, 1991: 453) This is a cost that The Body Shop's strategy enabled them to avoid. The business was started with just a $6000 bank loan, and so it wasn't possible to engage in expensive advertising campaigns, moreover, it was against the values of the organisation, who preferred to rely on word-of-mouth and publicity to secure sales. It is said that the initial success of the first store was a lot to do with the curiosity and publicity acquired through a local newspaper article illustrating the fact that it was called â€Å"The Body Shop† and was located close to a funeral parlour. Their strategy exploits the fact that they are a socially responsible organisation, meaning that customers buy their products knowing that nothing has been artificially manufactured and are produced with 100 percent natural ingredients. This unique selling point, together with their prominent beliefs and values, has the affect of providing The Body Shop with a competitive advantage over other firms in the industry. This will be developed in more depth later in the writing. The Body Shop's strong social message is reflected in every aspect of their mission statement. From dedicating the business to the pursuit of social and environmental change, to meaningfully contributing to local, national and international communities in which they trade.4 â€Å"The company is significantly involved in local communities and is prepared to get political and talk about big issues in countries where it does business. No company in the world campaigns at the level we do, or turns their shops into action stations, or challenges the role of business like we do.† 5 (Roddick, 2002) Throughout history The Body Shop has rapidly expanded geographically as well as in terms of their sales and product portfolio, however, in the late 1990s their performance began to suffer. As a result, February 2000 saw fundamental changes to the organisation and management, including substantial changes to the board of directors, and the outsourcing of manufacturing to a company named ‘Creative Outsourcing Solutions International Limited'. Anita and Gordon Roddick became non-executive directors and there were five new appointments to the board, including a new CEO. Despite these changes The Body Shop's performance failed to be rejuvenated, which forced them into more drastic changes. â€Å"In the most recent annual report, Peter Saunders (CEO) commented that the group's objective now was to apply a strategy to drive performance across the global business†¦The single most important priority, he added, was to improve comparable sales performance across stores through effective new product launches.† 6 (‘Mintel', 2003: 137) These new objectives seem to have the effect of diluting the self-proclaimed visions and primary concerns of The Body Shop. It could be said that the current management have somewhat contradicted Anita Roddick's earlier philosophies. â€Å"Too many businesses have gotten distracted with management structures and†¦making money.† 7 (Roddick, 1991) One of the main underlying reasons why they have encountered their current problems is because many companies within the health and beauty industry have noted the success of The Body Shop and are responding to the ever-increasing ‘green consumer' themselves through the release of their own versions of ‘all-natural' products. Examples being ‘Està ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½e Lauder Origins', ‘Revlon New Age Naturals', and ‘Clairol Herbal Essences'. Competition erodes profit, and, as a result of the increase in competition, The Body Shop have lost their competitive advantage of being able to supply what others cannot. The strategies of The Body Shop can be analysed using several theoretical models from within the strategy discipline. Situation analysis can be used to determine what advantages BS have, or have had, over their competitors, and can illustrate how The Body Shop was so successful for many years. This theory, termed by Mintzberg as the ‘Design School', was based upon work by Professor Kenneth Andrews and addresses, amongst others, the view that: â€Å"Strategy is concerned with identifying opportunities in the enterprise's external environment which it is better qualified to exploit than its competitors.† 8 (Lilley, 2003) The current situation of The Body Shop was analysed by Mintel and appears in their February 2003 publication on health and beauty retailing in the UK. STRENGTHS * Strong worldwide coverage helps to spread corporate risk. * Well known and well respected global brand. * Franchising has enabled the company to grow at lower cost and lower risk. * Still has strong ethical and environmental credentials. WEAKNESSES * Mature business, with declining like-for-like sales. * Appears to lack the inspiration to re-invent itself. * Vulnerable to imitators. * Franchising reduces level of corporate control. * Rapidly rising rental costs in the UK. * Limited growth opportunities in terms of new geographical regions. OPPORTUNITIES * Still potential to enter new markets in Europe especially Central/Eastern Europe and other parts of the world. * Implementation of strategy to control costs and working capital in order to improve profitability and cash generation. * Development of more pharmacy concessions in Ireland and possibly other markets. * Further development of e-commerce and other non-store channels. THREATS * Strong competition from other innovative and environmentally friendly health and beauty retailers. * Great competition from discounters and grocers' health and beauty offer. * Recent new product launches have yet to produce a positive impact on sales densities. * Continued lack of like-for-like sales growth threatens profitability and the group's scope to expand physically. ‘Figure 1': SWOT Analysis of The Body Shop International Plc. 9 (Mintel, 2003: 144) The above analysis was compiled after The Body Shop's decline in performance – it is clear that all the threats from the external environment are modern occurrences that wouldn't have been an issue during their period of rapid growth in the 1980s. Throughout this time they effectively maintained a portfolio of differentiated products and, perhaps more prominently, a unique and differentiated brand image, which enabled The Body Shop to compete and be successful. â€Å"Product differentiation means that established firms have brand identification and customer loyalties, which stem from product differences, or simply being first into the industry.† 10 (Porter, 1980: 9) The environmentally friendly and ethical practices that The Body Shop claim they dedicate their business to could be described as their core competence within the industry. Even to this date Anita Roddick and the organisation actively campaign in issues such as animal testing, human rights, and protecting our planet. No other business within the health and beauty industry is as heavily associated with ethical and environmental practices as The Body Shop. The core competence of an organisation characterises its whole range, take for example, Sony's ability to miniaturise electronics or Aston Martin's competence in producing flawless motorcars. It is clear to see that The Body Shop's core competence is not only reflected throughout their product range, but is evident throughout all their business activities, from their minimal use of product packaging, to the layout of stores. â€Å"Core competencies and market-led strategy are nowadays the only pathways toward success.† 11 (Sophocleous, 2003) The strategy that The Body Shop employed can be analysed with another useful framework in the field of strategy, namely â€Å"The Five Competitive Forces that Determine Industry Profitability† by Michael E. Porter. This cannot be applied directly to The Body Shop, but can be used to analyse the external environment in which they operated in the past, and how it changed in the late 90s. ‘Figure 2†²: Forces driving industry competition. 12 (Porter, 1980: 4) The main principle behind this model is that the profitability of an organisation is determined by the collective strength of the five forces; in other words, the industry structure directly affects industry profitability. The Body Shop initially operated within a niche market where there were no real competitors offering the same products nor backing the same principles that they were. The threat of substitutes was minimal because if customers wanted all-natural products they would almost certainly have had to buy them from The Body Shop. In relation to the threat of new entrants, initially there was nothing stopping rival firms from competing within the all-natural cosmetics and toiletries sector, however, no other companies actively engaged in the ethical and environmental practices to the extent that The Body Shop did. The barriers to market entry increased in relation to the amount of stores opened by The Body Shop, and during their period of rapid growth, their power within the niche market could have been regarded almost as monopolistic. However, customers who preferred to buy all-natural products but didn't regard it as being entirely necessary could easily have turned to other companies' products within the wider industry, that didn't exercise such dominant views on ethical and environmental issues. The low threat of ‘all-natural' substitution that existed in the earlier stages of The Body Shop, coupled with the fact that the arrival of new entrants was particularly low, provided them with the opportunity to control the prices they charged for their products. The argument becomes more complex when trying to categorise The Body Shop into a particular market. They could be regarded as operating completely within their own sector, but can also be viewed as just another cosmetics company with the advantage of having a differentiated product range and image. â€Å"Differentiation, if achieved, is a viable strategy for earning above-average returns in an industry because it creates a defensible position for coping with the five competitive forces.† 13 (Porter, 1980: 38) To justify this quotation in relation to The Body Shop we must consider them to be in the wider cosmetics industry, which has a high level of competitors. Their differentiation led to customers' increased loyalty in The Body Shop brand, which resulted in a lower sensitivity in price. This had the effect of protecting the company from competition and rivalry. However, as time progressed, other companies intentionally sought to compete directly in the field of environmentally friendly products. The Body Shop was able to gain an advantage over competitors by not utilising traditional distribution channels – for many years they only sold their products through their own shops. This reduced the threat of new direct competition from other companies, as the level of investment required by a new entrant would be extortionate considering they would have to open an abundance of specialist shops. However, to overcome these problems the new competitors emerged using traditional distribution channels, such as through supermarkets and department stores. â€Å"The strength of the five forces varies from industry to industry, and can change as an industry evolves.† 14 (Porter, 1985: 4) The above statement from Porter's work in 1985 is related to the case of the cosmetics and toiletries industry in that the emergence of greater competition in the 90s meant that the strength of the competitive rivalry aspect of the five forces within the industry increased. In addition, customers now have the ability to simply pick and choose alternative brands' all-natural products in confidence – an increase in the threat of substitution. Through the use of Porter's five forces model we can see that the changes in the strength of the forces within the cosmetics and toiletries market have accounted for the recent decline in performance of The Body Shop. In the early days of the company, the threat of like-for-like substitutes and the associated power of customers were relatively low in comparison to the modern day situation. Competitors have increasingly matched the core competences of The Body Shop, and, as a result, the significant competitive advantage that they once had has been reduced. â€Å"Competition in an industry goes well beyond the established players. Customers, suppliers, substitutes, and all potential entrants are all ‘competitors' to firms in an industry.† 15 (Porter, 1980: 6) This quotation by Porter reveals that the five forces model has limitations with regard to The Body Shop case. The Body Shop do not regard their suppliers as competitors; in fact they want to actually financially support their suppliers. This is evident from their mission statement in their aim of balancing the financial and human needs of their suppliers. These more esoteric aspects of The Body Shop's strategy, termed by Anita Roddick as them doing ‘business as unusual', highlights another main drawback of the five forces model, in that it is geared around profit being the primary concern of an organisation and doesn't provide any flexibility or scope for change. The Body Shop's early successes can be partly attributed to the strong customer base they secured due to the general movement in society towards being more environmentally and ethically aware. The framework doesn't deal effectively with this idea of customer preference or changes in trends, nor does it cope with the notion that customers were gained through the fact that they appreciated, and could relate to, the values and beliefs of The Body Shop and their efforts to pursue social and environmental change, and not just because of factors relating to price. On the other hand, the SWOT analysis model is useful for clearly displaying the advantages of an organisation in relation to the market within which it operates, together with the negative aspects of the internal organisation and external environment. As with all theories, however, there are a number of limitations associated with it. All of a business's strengths do not necessarily directly contribute towards providing a competitive advantage, SWOT analysis also has the tendency to take a single dimension of a firm's strategy over-emphasise it. It is difficult to prove which strengths are likely to provide the most benefit to an organisation, and also determine which opportunity should be given more attention to shape the overall strategy of the business in question. The findings of SWOT analysis are greatly shaped by the opinions and perceptions of managers or analysts, meaning that they can be regarded as subjective in nature as opposed to the, perhaps initial appearance of being objective and rationally constructed. â€Å"What we are dealing with here is not the organisation or environment ‘in itself', rather we are attempting to extract and combine the perceptions of these entities that exist in the minds of managers.† 16 (Lilley, 2003) In conclusion, after analysing the strategy of The Body Shop using frameworks from the strategy discipline, it is apparent that SWOT analysis deals well with the unique aspects of The Body Shop's strategy. Although the analysis of The Body Shop's situation is greatly dependent upon personal judgement, their strengths shown in figure 1 give an accurate account of the 25-year success story, which was primarily based upon The Body Shop's core competence in displaying continuous proactive dedication towards ethical and environmentally friendly practices, together with their prime high street and inner-city shop locations, and famous and respected global brand. The reasons for their decline in performance during the late 90s are clearly displayed in the ‘threats' category of the analysis, prominently highlighting the emergence of increased competition from other companies operating within the health and beauty industry, who are reaching consumers through traditional distribution channels and via supermarkets. Michael Porter's model of the five competitive forces is valuable in that it offers a simple, structured analysis of the industry, but is limited in the sense that it's unable to satisfactorily consider the dynamics of markets, for example, the movement of consumer preferences towards environmentally friendly products. It can provide a helpful starting point for further analysis, but simplified versions alone can prove inadequate. It provides an account of how conventional, profit-maximising firms are affected by the structure and occurrences of the external environment, and how those firms can work towards shaping and exploiting the environment to their advantages, but fails to comprehensively account for the successes of unorthodox firms like The Body Shop, who do not, at least in their own claims, follow the usual route of or towards profit maximisation.