Competitor Analysis of Dahlie Essay

Main Competitors Although Darlie has gained a large market share in the toothpaste market in Malaysia, it still faced the competition from other toothpaste companies in this industry. The two of the main competitors of Darlie in the market are Sensodyne and Colgate. As the world largest producer and manufacturer of toothpaste, Colgate becomes the greatest competitor of Darlie. Colgate has survived in this industry for such a long time and has established its influence among the customers. It has successfully making the customers to have brand loyalty toward Colgate. Besides that, Colgate has different types of toothpaste, which can satisfy different needs of the customers. This has fulfilled the needs and wants of the customers and directly competes with Darlie as the product range of Colgate and Darlie are quite similar. Nowadays, a lot of people are facing different types of teeth problems, such as sensitive teeth, gum disease and tooth decay. Therefore, they tend to buy the toothpaste which can he lp them to solve their teeth problems. Sensodyne is focusing on solving sensitive teeth problem and is recommended by dentist to be used. It has shaped the brand image of Sensodyne to become professional and high class toothpaste. Therefore, although Darlie also has their own sensitive teeth toothpaste, people still prefer Sensodyne as the look for the brand image. Therefore, Colgate and Sensodyne become two of the main competitors for Darlie in Malaysia toothpaste market. Comparison of Colgate and Its Competitors Darlie Colgate Sensodyne Market share in Malaysia In 2011, Darlie’s market share is 31%. In 2011, Colgate’s market share is 60%. In 2011, Sensodyne’s market share is 5%. Target customer Their target customers are those urban people who are above 18 years old, and pay attention to their oral health. The target customer is mothers with kids who make toothpaste buying decisions for the family and people who care for their oral health. The target customer is the adults from 20 to 60 years old who faced sensitive teeth problem. Promotion Using websites, advertisements and TV commercial to advertise. Having promotions in supermarket. Using website, advertisement, and TV commercial to advertise. Having some promotions by giving free gifts. Colgate School Program: give out free samples to kids and teach kids the way to brush teeth properly. Bright Smile, Bright Future program: promote the importance of oral health through education and prevention. Using websites, various advertisements and TV commercial to attract customers. Promotion through dentist and dental clinic. â€Å"Chill Test† in hypermarket. Price The price range of Colgate is between RM7.95 to RM10.60. The most expensive toothpaste is Colgate Sensitive Pro Relief. The cheapest toothpaste is the Colgate Regular tube. The price range of Sensodyne toothpaste is from RM9.90 to RM12.90. Product Having different range and types of toothpaste. For instance, fresh breath, whitening, sensitive teeth and enamel protection. Specializing in the preservation and treatment of oral hygiene. Create an array of 40 different patented toothpastes keeping Colgate competitive. Having 13 different classifications and varieties of Colgate toothpaste. Consists of different types of toothpaste, but mainly focuses on the sensitive teeth issue. Place Almost at all supermarket and mini market. Very convenience to buy it. Almost all super markets and pharmacies carry Colgate Toothpaste. Can sometimes be found in more prominent locations when on sale or launching new products into the market. Distributed indirectly. Available in all hypermarkets, supermarkets and pharmacies, Chinese medical halls and mini markets in Malaysia. Length of time in business Darlie started its business since 1933. It has taken 80 years in the toothpaste industry. Colgate-Palmolive started its business in 1806. It has taken 207 years in the toothpaste industry. GSK produced Sensodyne in 1961. It has taken 52 years in the toothpaste market. (Source from: Colgate, 2013 and Sensodyne, 2013)

A Thousand Acres – Summary

Major Works Study Form AP Question 3 Title: A Thousand AcresAuthor: Jane Smiley Biographical Information: Jane Smiley was born in Los Angeles, California and later moved to Missouri, where she went to school until college. She went to Art at Vassar College, and then traveled around Europe where she worked on an archeological dig. She returned to America and became a teacher. She had two daughters and a son. Author’s Style: The author’s style is used to display the mysterious and unsettling feeling in the novel.The book is told from the point of view of Ginny. The rape from the father keeps the tone of the book very disturbing and solemn because Jess and Rose want to keep their sister Caroline free of the problems they had to grow up dealing with. Plot Summary: The plot of this book completely parallels Shakespeare’s play â€Å"King Lear†. Larry Cook acts as the King of the novel, and he runs the farm. He has three daughters, Ginny, Rose, and Caroline. In t he beginning of the novel, Ginny thinks about the intersection and about the road overall where the farm was.Larry King wants love from his daughters to decide in how he should split up his farm. Ginny and Rose are sexually abused in the novel, but the youngest daughter, Caroline does not partake in this absurd scheme, and becomes a lawyer. She marries another lawyer and lives in Des Moines. Larry is respected by his neighbors and takes on the role of being the advisor but then retires for his children to fill his place. Caroline is cut out of the fathers will because he does not think that he is grateful for everything he has already given to her.Ginny and Rose have to take care of their father Larry, and deal with his rude behavior of drunk driving and wasting his money. Larry goes insane and one day runs out into a storm. The family has to go about their lives trying to cover up their family problems from the public, to make it seem like they are just another normal family. Larry curses Ginny with infertility. The storm in the novel displays the chaos of the family within the book, and the hope after the storm gives hope for the family. Larry goes to the farm of his friend Harold Clarke, where Harold’s son has just returned from a very long journey from.Pete ruins the farm equipment that Larry used, but instead of Larry being blinded, Harold is blinded. Caroline sues the farm, trying to say that they are not farming the right way, and Larry needs to run the farm again. Caroline ends up taking care of Larry as he goes crazy. Ty tries to save the farm from going into debt after Pete dies, but is unsuccessful when Ginny leaves in search of becoming a waitress. Then Rose takes over, but later dies from cancer in more debt than she began with. Ginny and Caroline end up having to sell the farm. Setting (describe each setting and its importance):The farm is the main setting of the novel, which parallels the kingdom of King Lear. Larry Cook owns the farm and raises his children on the land. Another setting in the book is the dump. It is where Ginny and Jess go to hang out, and later use it as a place to have sex. Symbols (describe how they contribute to the characterization, conflict, or thematic pre occupation) One of the biggest symbols of the novel is the dump. It is the place where Ginny and Jess have sex. Dumps in general are grimy and disgusting places, and the sex they had fell along the same lines.The foul act of having sex at the dump symbolizes that instead of having sex in a respectable place like a bed, the random objects in the dump hide their secrets. Another symbol is the white dresses. White dresses represent the innocence of the young girls, which is ironic because they are the opposite of pure. The storm represents the chaos in the novel, and arises during the conflict to parallel the chaos in her family life. Another symbol is the garden. After the storm, when she goes outside to look at her garden, she sees there is very little damage.This provides her with hope for the future, because she connected it to the way that if her precious garden can survive a storm, her family can get through their own storm. A final symbol is the farm, because is the kingdom of Larry Cook. It represents his own area that he owns the way King Lear had control over his own kingdom. Thematic Concerns: One of the main themes is that everything is not what it seems to be. Ginny, Rose, and Caroline all had to keep up the appearance with the farm that everything was normal in their family.In reality, everything was completely chaotic with their family life, but from the outside everything seemed fine. They wore white dresses when they went in public to give off the image that they were pure and clean girls, and kept up the farm so that it always looked neat. They have to try their best to hide their family problems, but ultimately Ginny cannot mask the chaos. Water is usually vital to life, but here the water makes Ginny unable to have a baby, and contributes to Rose’s cancer. Key Quotes: (Choose 3 with Page #) â€Å"While they were cooking, I went out to check my garden.Something that always has amazed me is the resilience of the plants. My tomato vines showed no ill effects from the onslaught of the storm weren’t even muddy, since I had made it a point to mulch them with old newspapers and grass clippings† (197. ) â€Å"Away from the farm, it was easier to think of how people went on from these sorts of troubles; it was easier to see a life as a sturdy rope with occasional knots in it† (248. ) â€Å"I told myself that I had to decide what I really wanted and settle for that- every course of action is a compromise, after all† (308).

Polar Bears

The different adaptations of the Polar Bears and Brown Bears Polar Bears: Polar bears mainly eat seals Paw pads with rough surfaces help stop the Polar Bears from slipping on the ice Polar Bears don't swim The polar bear's fat layer, which is three to four inches thick, not only protects it from the cold A polar bear is so well insulated that it experiences no heat loss. The bear's blubber layer can measure 4. 5 inches thick. Polar bears have excellent underwater vision. They can spot food up to 15 feet away.They have sharp claws and teeth to eat prey Their ears have small surface area compared to body, reduces heat loss Thick white fur for camouflage and insulation Long legs for running to catch prey Brown Bears: They have thick insulating coats and tend to be large which helps them to keep their body heat They hibernate during winter. They have sharp claws and teeth which help them attack their prey. Adult brown bears are powerful; much of their diet consists of nuts, berries, frui t, leaves and oots.Bears also eat other animals. Brown bears can be recognized by their most distinctive feature, their shoulder hump. The shoulder muscle helps the bears to dig up roots and tear apart logs to find food. These muscles are located in the ‘hump' of the brown bear. Brown bears can move rocks and logs and dig through hard soil and rocky ground using their long sharp claws when making their dens. They eat grass, fruit, insects, roots and bulbs of plants.

Slang Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Slang - Essay Example One of these words that I came across recently among the college mates is fuut. In this journal article, I discuss the grammatical meaning if the word, its use among the students, its origin, as well as longevity. Definition and Grammatical Function Fuut, being a versatile word among the college vocabulary functions as a noun, a verb, as well as an adjective. The context with which the people use the word determines its grammatical function. In its contextual meaning, fuut is poor treatment of other people by a person, whom they used to share a close relationship or friendship together. As such, it could also apply to groups of people, where a group could treat another group badly. For instance when used in its plural status in a sentence, two rival groups could say â€Å"of late, the cheerleaders fuuts on the basketball team.† This means that the two groups initially were close, but due to some issues, fell apart. Subsequently, the cheerleaders now treat the basketball team b adly. As a noun, one could refer to another person, especially one who treats him/her badly as a fuut. In this context, John could say, â€Å"Mary is a fuut.† This means that Mary currently treats John badly, despite their having had a good relationship before falling out with each other. Negatively, it can also mean that the action if person lead to the occurrence of a problem. For instance, John could say, â€Å"Mary’s fuut is gives me a headache.† In order to belittle the rival, one could add â€Å"ie† to the noun to form-fuutie. This could also mean that the opponent disregard the other party’s behavior, to a point of him/her. For instance, John could say, â€Å"Mary is just a fuutie.† as such, he makes fun of her behavior, showing how lowly she reasons. Further, adding –â€Å"ie† changes the noun to an adjective. The basketball team could say, â€Å"The fuutie cheerleaders did not appear in our tournament.† In this form, fuutie describes a group of cheerleaders who treat a basketball team badly, despite their having needed their support. Finally, fuut could also mean a verb, which means the action of treating another person badly. An observer could say, â€Å"of late, Mary really fuuts on John.† This means that she currently treats him rather badly. Additionally, it could also act as a verb by adding-â€Å"ing† to mean the act of treating another badly. For instance, the basketball team could say, â€Å"the fuuting cheerleaders are unreasonable.† However, without the suffixes, â€Å"ing† and â€Å"ie†, the word could not function as a verb or an adjective. 2. Demographics for the Term Mostly, people or groups that previously had a close relationship but fell apart use fuut while describing each other. Of course, when two friends become enemies, there is loss of communication. The fact that they shared quite a lot, and knew each other well, would lead to hatre d and at times hostility. Open scorn is part of the behavior that these people exhibit towards each other. As such, the most likely groups of people to use this word are onetime close friends or lovers. Age in most cases determines the meaning of the word. For instance, is an adult person uses the word; it could have a very different meaning from when a teenager uses it. Additionally, it also has a different meaning when used by a kid. However, it is rare for the adults and the kids to use such a word. Innocently, a wife could tell his husband, â€Å"

Research based metaphorical poem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Research based metaphorical poem - Essay Example Like the hands of the child whose mother left him in darkness./ (lines 4-5). Here, I have related the emptiness of ocean with the despair of a child whose mother has left him alone and has departed him. The empty hands of the child mean that he has nothing left to him for hope. He has no hope of life, love, care, and shelter. He is desolate and deserted. Just like him, the ocean is empty and has no hope for any water coming in, which refers to the fact that the world is empty of loving people, and there is no hope for such people for good. The next metaphor that I have used in the poem is comparing a beautiful lady with love. The narrator states that he saw a beautiful dame right at the moment he was feeling thirsty, and to his surprise, she was carrying a pitcher that must contain water for him. She was coming toward him, inviting him to drink from the pitcher. The narrator ran to her, even when his feet were injured, but to his dismay, he was not able to walk fast. Still, he managed to reach her, and was shocked to see that the lady was no more a dame, she was love in disguise, ugly and uninviting. She jumped at him, and ate him up, which has a very deep meaning. The narrator, in fact, had met a beautiful lady, but he was so thirsty that he could not see clearly. This means that he found the love of his dreams, but he was so thirsty of love, that he could not recognize the real, ugly intentions of the woman. He fell in love with her, but when he found out her insincerity and dishonesty, it was too late. She had brok en his heart. The third metaphor is here: /The pitcher was empty, Like the hands of the child whose mother left him in darkness./ (lines 14-15), which means that the woman he had loved had nothing in her heart for him, and was dishonest. She ate him up, means that she broke his heart. The narrator says he is no more, which means that he is totally wrecked, and feels like dying. Hence, I have used metaphors at three different places as

Disucssion Board 5-1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Disucssion Board 5-1 - Assignment Example The leader must ensure getting substantial information about the members during the screening stage before the actual beginning of the group. For instance, a group leader of adolescent school students should identify with the dynamics of the members and demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the psychological issues concerning adolescents. As a leader of an adolescent group, I would consider songs as the opening exercise in the beginning of a group. I would ask the adolescent students to sing their favorite songs in whichever language they like. The reason for avoiding the use of specific language is to remove restrictions in the initial stages of meeting, which might work to derail effective group processes in the future. In addition, opening language for use in singing by individual members is to help everyone express his/her beliefs while demonstrating how they cherish certain cultures. The messages and tone of the songs considered favorite can also help members develop slight understanding of one another alongside appreciating differences as exhibited by different songs. Once members begin to appreciate differences and gain slight understanding of one another, they can start developing friendship and openness, which can help establish and build trust (Lerner, McLeod & Mikami, 2013) Another opening exercise may involve diving members into groups of three people and asking the different group to engage in games of counter pulling of ropes. This game is usually interesting and requires willingness and commitment to emerge winner as contestants need to use a lot of energy. To win, members of a group will require to coordinate and arrange themselves in the manner can ensure productivity. This act of coordinating and then reaching to agreement is an important tool for building trust as they have to talk and exchange ideas on how to win the game. Once members

Penal Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Penal Law - Essay Example First, a criminally implied act or intent has to be proven in order to be dignified as a crime. This is especially true in a case, such as the current one, when juveniles are involved (Hall & Merrill 1960, p.1). Penal theory is what defines an action of being intentionally criminal or whether it is just a horrible accident, resulting from reckless, and unabashed behavior. This type of negligent behavior though, is what normally leads to the cause of the victim getting hurt or killed, due to the other progressive factors involved (Hall & Merrill 1960, p.1). For example, according to the Criminal Law Handbook (2005), there is exploration into the view of 'Unintentional vs. Intentional Conduct'. In this debatable theory of Criminal Law, consideration is given to the possibility that perhaps the offender (which would be Ian) misperceived Fred's' intentions and reacted out of a judgment he made that was false. Therefore, because of the offenders' lack of perception, maybe he should not be charged with a crime at all because he made a mistake. Upon further theorizing, it is found this theory just might have worked for Ian except for the fact that his actions were premeditated and calculated; therefore he would not stand a chance in utilizing this cause and effect theory in a court of law. Often enough offenders' intentions in the crime are normally how they are handed down their punishment in the judici

Accounting and Society Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Accounting and Society - Research Paper Example Each business has its own industry and it has its own operational style. And, in each industry, various and numerous products and their diversified versions are available for the purpose of sale or for the purpose of subsequent processing. With the passage of time, and due to the boom and increase of diversity in the business world, it becomes more relevant and practical to introduce and implement new accounting theories and accounting standards for the purpose of harmonizing the business structure in the most appropriate and relevant structure. Thanks to this sort of thinking and approach, today, we have different specializations in the field of accounting than ever before. On the one hand, financial accounting serves the purposes and objectives of the external shareholders and stakeholders; on the other hand, management accounting helps internally; providing the best possible combination of accounting information that can be used for the purpose of making most appropriate and relev ant budget, cost, and management-related decisions. Financial accounting users prefer to see the aggregate performance of a company; for instance, they prefer to see whether the company has performed well in comparison with the financial statements of the previous year. And to what extent, the company has been successful in ensuring the achievement of its financial corporate goals and objectives. On the basis of comparative analysis, the shareholders decide and take their financial decisions. The users of financial information can be creditors, suppliers, shareholders, regulatory and government bodies and so on. It is the role of regulatory bodies like, International Accounting Standards Board, and other government bodies to ensure that whether a particular company has applied and complied with all the basic and fundamental regulations and standards. This compliance is necessary for companies and society as well. The compliance of standards ensures that the company understands the n eeds of all the relevant stakeholders and shareholders. Compliance of relevant accounting standards and legal requirements ensures shareholders that their financial investment is not at stake; rather, it is being used according to the relevant and applicable standards. In order to ensure that a company has fully or partially applied standards while preparing its annual or bi-annual financial statements, the public limited companies are required to publish their annual financial and non-financial information for the purpose of informing the general public. This explains the concept of free market, where the accounting and relevant

America Beyond The Color Line Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

America Beyond The Color Line - Essay Example The main idea is that falling in love can stand some attentions such as public housing, education, race, politics and social welfare. He also shows that racism is over as whites and blacks can work together as brothers and sisters and even intermarry. Through the numerous interviews, Louis Gates examined the future, past and present relationship of the black and white race. The American beyond Color Line illustrates how the African Americans struggled in order to fit in the community and how life had been changing from the past to the present and how life might be in the future by regarding the relationship between the whites and the blacks. Louis travelled to the major cities in U.S. in order to look at the role of black communities in several key sectors of the American society. In his interviews, Gates has folksy styles and friendly association with the interviewees. However, he also had various weaknesses. For instance, he was remarkably willing to release tough subjects after the brief exploration. He repeatedly presented his interview subject with a challenge, â€Å"let me play the devils advocate for a moment.† He then asks questions that might annoy the respondents. The film presents a situation of struggle among the races. It makes the audience feel the importance of social justice. From the interviews, the blacks illustrate their struggle and hopes of socializing as brothers and sisters. This can be seen from the dream of Martin Luther King. As Louis interviewed other interviewees, they explained that the Blacks and Whites were working together. Louis stated that the U.S. Army consisted of 26% blacks compared to the past where the Blacks were restricted from socializing with the Whites. Louis’ document mainly promotes diversity among the races. It illustrates how there was extreme racism in America but the situation changes with time. As he made his interviews,

Total Knee Arthroplasty Essay Example for Free

Total Knee Arthroplasty Essay Etiology and Pathology   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The knee functions as a type of biological transmission whose purpose is to accept and transfer range of loads between and among the femur, patella, tibia, and fibula without causing structural or metabolic damage. Arthritic knees are like living transmissions with worn bearings that have limited capacity to safely accept and transmit forces. Arthritis of the knee can be restricted to a monoarticular clinical manifestation, or it may be a part of an oligo-or polyarticular disease. A careful anamnesis and clinical examination will allow the clinician to classify the clinical presentation of arthritis of the knee into disease groups such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis spondyloarthropathy, or miscellaneous arthritic diseases. Infectious arthritis presents typically as an (sub) acute inflammatory monoarthritic disease. Up to 90 % of infectious arthritis cases present as monoarthritis. The only exception is gonococcal arthritis, which presents more commonly as a migratory polyarthritis. If the condition is unrecognized, joint destruction will occur rapidly. In confronting the athlete who will undergo the operation it is important for me to discuss a working hypothesis and ultimately critical to arrive to the most likely diagnosis. The clinical history of the patient is to be well studied it is a demanding task and a lot of circumstantial evidence can evolve from a full history of the current problem , past medical conditions, and the family history. Kinds of Pain The nature of the pain that he might encounter and the reason he needs to undergo TKA belongs to â€Å"the basics†, whether it is mechanical, inflammatory, neuropathic, or poorly defined.   Mechanical pain occurs when the joint is used; walking becomes difficult and especially climbing stairs causes problems. On resting, there is less pain. Starting pain and stiffness are very characteristics of a more advanced mechanical pain pattern. Inflammatory pain typically presents at night. More specifically, the second part of the night become troublesome, and patients need to go out of bed and move. They experience morning stiffness for at least one hour, and this stiffness diminishes progressively as the pain begins to move. When pain is neuropathic in origin, a typical distribution pattern corresponding to the innervations’ is found. Psychosomatic pain has no typical presentation or distribution. Complaints are always more impressive than the clinical findings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consider asking the patient of how long the knee problem has existed, when pain and swelling have been present for less than 6 weeks, the problem is acute. Beyond 6 week’s duration, the term chronic is used and implies that spontaneous healing of the arthritis is unlikely.   It is also important to look for circumstantial evidence. Did the trauma occur just before the knee swelling began? Did the patient have an episode of fever such as angina, gastroenteritis, or arthritis? Does the patient have other clinical conditions that could be linked to the knee arthritis, such as skin problems (psoriasis, erythema nodosum), chronic diarrhea as seen inflammatory bowel disease, and eye problems such as uveitis or scleritis? In this setting a complete familial history can also add useful information. Advantages of Total Knee Arthroplasty Consistent reproducible results Correction of mechanical alignment Addressing all knee compartments Long term (greater than 90%) 10 year survivorship Drawbacks Postoperative pain which can endure for months Prolonged recovery sometimes inferior Patient satisfaction With extensive exposure required to align and implant the total knee arthroplasty, there is significant damage to the quadriceps muscle both in cutting into the musculature itself as well as damage with eversion of the patella and prolonged stretch to the quadriceps mechanisms intraoperatively. Muscle damage is permanent and can limit postoperative strength and/or function. Surgical Procedure   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Before the surgery is performed usually blood count, electrolytes, APTT and PT to measure blood clotting, chest X-rays, ECG, and blood cross matching for possible transfusion. Accurate X-rays of the knee are needed to measure the size of components which will be needed. Medications such as warfarin and aspirin will be stopped some days before surgery to reduce the amount of bleeding. The athlete may be admitted on the day of surgery if the pre-op work up is done in the pre-anesthetic clinic or may come into hospital one or more days before surgery. Recent improvements in technology have led to a confusing spectrum of choices for both the patient and surgeon in treating monocompartmental knee arthritis. The obvious need to get the surgery done right, there are now pressures to â€Å"do it quickly† and with a minimal scar and reduced disability time. The combination of patient’s demands and expectations with actual surgical possibilities may be challenging. To this end, a logical structuring of options is in this order: Osteotomies Unincompartmental knee arthroplasty Total knee arthroplasty The indications and more importantly, the contraindications of the surgical procedures often results in overlap of options that must be considered for any given clinical situation. The appropriateness of any of these procedures should be considered in light of their relative indications and problems. These include patient age, activity level, expected longevity of the procedure, reliability of the procedure to bring about the expected goal, and ease of revision in the event of failure. Of equal importance are the contraindications to the procedures including contracture, deformity, ligament contracture or insufficiency, and bone deficiency. The relative value of an osteotomy stands in inverse proportion to the patient’s age. Younger patient’s demands on an implant that will not stand the test of time, with failure due to wear or fixation failure. Considering that the patient is an athlete, athletic activities after the operation such as jumping and running are associated with surface loads in excess of the limits of the polyethylene.   The hazards of heavy or repetitive loading, deep knee bending and the lifting activities that accompany a variety of occupations and activities may loosen or damage prosthesis. Research Probability on Different methods on Knee Surgery Long term results of osteotomy show a gradual decline in function and recurrence of deformity. Hungerford et al reported that on ninety-two knees with a good or excellent rating after osteotomy at two years. At ten years only fifty-eight knees (61%) maintained this level 13. Parvizi et al reported on fifty-eight patients with a mean fifteen year follow up. There were only 55% good to excellent results. Twenty-six patients formed subsets that have been reviewed previously. At eight years, there were 73% good to excellent results, declining to 46% at eighteen years. Technical Problems   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Technical problems of total knee arthroplasty after closing wedge osteotomy include: difficulties in gaining exposure, bony deficiencies necessitating grafts or wedges, difficulties in attaining ligament balance, prolonged surgical time and increased blood loss. Lonner et al recommended reserving the procedure for young, active overweight patient only 15.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Justification for the procedure in high demand patients is more difficult. Bellemans and Co author have reported range of motion between 120 and 130 degrees with enhanced functional potential for activities of daily living including stair climbing and transfer function.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Osteotomy has some contraindications including: various deformities greater that 10 degrees, flexion contracture more than 20 degrees, limited range of motion, ligament insufficiency including the anterior cruciate, and patellofemoral (Kurtz, 2004). Unicompartmental arthroplasty shares similar contraindications. Surgical treatments include tissue repair approaches, arthroscopic lavage and debridement, osteotomy, and unicompartmental and total knee replacement. There is little or no evidence that surgical reconstruction of torn cruciate ligaments or the meniscus prevents the development of the knee OA. It remains to be seen whether cartilage repair procedures prevent or slow down knee OA. The combination of tissue repair, such as the repair of cartilage defects, with an osteotomy, performed on the right patient and by a trained surgeon. In the case of knees with advanced degenerative arthrosis which undergo joint replacement surgery, the principle of functional restoration may be more properly stated as maximization of the functional capacity of the knee. As effective as current joint replacement techniques are at achieving pain relief and often associated increases in muscle strength and control, knees that have had joint replacement surgery do not replicate the functional status of a healthy, uninjured, adult joint. After the joint replacement the patient should avoid in running marathons or play tackle football. The structure of the knee is complex, and its behavior can be unpredictable even in the most experienced hands. However, the task of replacing the bone surfaces and balancing the ligaments can be made manageable by following a logical plan based on correct alignment throughout the arc of flexion and ligament release based on the function of each ligament. Optimal knee function requires correct varus-valgus alignment in all positions of flexion. This requires reliable anatomical landmarks for alignment both in flexion and extension. The long axes of the femur and tibia and the anterior and posterior axis of the femur are highly reliable and provide the guidelines for establishing stable alignment of the joint surfaces by placing the tibia and patellar groove correctly in the median anterior-posterior plane trough the entire arc flexion.   Knowing their function and testing their tension provides the information necessary to release only the ligaments that are excessively tight, leaving those that are performing normally. Fractional release does not destabilize the knee, because other ligaments are retained, and because the peripheral attachments of the ligament to other soft tissue structures such as the peristeum or synovial capsular tissue allow the released ligament to continue to function. Ligament release does not cause instability. Failure to align the knee and release the tight ligaments, however, does not cause instability, unreliable function, and excessive wear. With this knowledge, good instruments, and sound implants, the surgeon can align, balance, and stabilize the knee even when severe bone destruction and ligament contracture are present. CT scanning is an accurate way of measuring the component malrotation. Assessment of the rotatory alignment of the femoral component and the axial rotational relationship of the femoral and tibial components is part of the Perth CT protocol which is used routinely in total knee replacement surgery. The athlete will have preoperative clinical investigation and a radiological examination with standardized coronal long leg stance X-ray and standard lateral X-rays, adapted from the technique. Intraoperative complications will be recorded. The radiological evaluation was repeated between the 6th and 12th postoperative weeks by an independent observer at each center. The athlete should perform straight leg raises by the first postoperative day, by the second postoperative day research shows that 90% of patients have straight leg rise which suggest s good control of the quadriceps mechanism. On the third postoperative day the athlete should be able to independently transfer from a bed to a chair and on fourth postoperative day the athlete is able to navigate up and down stairs with assistance, and the mean postoperative discharge is 2.8 days.   The athlete is discharged to physical therapy which he will perform on his own home. Athlete should be averaging 10 days on a walker, 1 week on a cane, and independent ambulation is averaging approximately 3.5 weeks.    Rehabilitation Protocol To have the ability to perform physical actions task, and activities related to self-care is improved: Care is coordinated with patient, family, and other professionals.   Case is managed throughout episode of care   Integumentary integrity is improved   Knowledge of behaviors that foster healthy habits its gained Placement needs are determined   Risk factors are reduced   Risk of secondary impairments is reduced   ROM is increased   Standing balance is improved, stress is decreased To achieve this outcome, the appropriate intervention for this patient is determined. This will include coordination, communication, and documentation.    Is there evidence of total contact? If the person has a pelite liner, total contact maybe checked by putting a little ball of play dough at the end of the socket, the patient stands and bears weight and the displacement of the play dough indicates the extent of total contact, Too little contact may cause may cause distal end skin problems and a stretching pain. Too much may cause excessive pressure at the end of the stump and pressure pain. Is suspension maintained when patient’s lifts leg off the floor? Check that there is no excessive movement of the prosthesis away from limb when weight is removed. On weight bearing, make a small pencil mark at the anterior socket brim or, if sleeve or shuttles locks suspension, place lightly at edge of socket. Too much movement between residual limb and socket creates abrasions and may lead to toe drag on swing. CONCLUSION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Joint replacement surgery is designed to expand the entire envelope of function of symptomatic arthritic knees as safely and predictably as possible. Properly utilized, total knee replacement surgery is capable of substantial increases in the functional capacity of a given arthritic joint, but it is not designed to restore the full physiological function of a normal, uninjured adult knee. Future developments in the therapeutic management of arthritic knees may eventually involve biological approaches that could result in further improvements in maximizing the post treatment envelope of function over what can be achieved with the current technique of using artificial components. By tracking the loss of osseous homeostasis in knees starting at a time prior to the development of overt radiography identifiable degenerative changes Most patients can easily readily grasp the concept of the envelope and therefore can have a better understanding of what function is to be expected postoperatively. By this method they can more readily understand the joint replacement surgery is not designed to restore a knee to full, normal physiological function. Patients have responsibilities, as well to do all they can ( by participating in pre- and post operative physical therapy, for example_ to maximize their envelope and, once3 this is achieved, to not exceed the functional capacity of the joint following surgery by avoiding activities associated with supraphysiological loading. Cited Literature Hungerford MW, Mont MA. 2000. Nonoperative treatment of knee arthritis. In Insall JN, Scott NA (ed.). The Knee. CV Mosby, NY. Robertsson O. 2000. Unicompartmental arthroplasty. Results in Sweden. Orthopade 2000; 29 Suppl 1:S6-8. Lonner JH, Hershman S, Mont M, Lotke PA, 2000.Total knee arthroplasty in patients 40   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  years of age and younger with osteoarthritis. Clinical Orthopedic pp. 380:85-90. Mont MA, Chang MJ, Sheldon MS, Lennon WC, Hungerford DS, 2002. Total knee arthroplasty in patients less than 50 years old. J Arthroplasty 17: pp. 338-343. Romanowski MR and Repici JA. 2002. Minimally invasive unicondylar arthroplasty. Eight year follow-up. J Knee Surgery 15: pp. 17-22. Parvizi J, Hanssen AD, Spangehl MJ, 2003.   Total knee arthroplasty following a prior proximal tibial osteotomy. A long-term study identifying risk factors for failure. J Bone Joint Surgery (In Press). Hungerford, D. S. Kenneth A., Krackow, Kenna R.V. 1994. Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Comprehensive Approach. Williams and Wilkins. Kurtz, S.M.   2004. The UHMPE Handbook Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene. Academic Press. Rodriguez, E. C. 2003. The Haemophilic Joints: New Perspective. Blackwell Publishing. Delloye, C. and Bannister, G. 2004. Impaction Bone Grafting in Revision Arthropplasty. Published Informa Health Care. Bono, J.V., Scott, R.D. 2005. Revision Total Knee Athroplasty. Springer. Dutton, M. 2004. Orthopedic Examination, Evaluation, and Intervention. Mc Graw Hill Professional. Sculco, T.P., Martucci, E.A., 2001. Knee Arthropplasty. Springer Publising. Moffat, M. Rosen, E. Rusnak-Smit S., 2006. Muscuskeletal Essentials: Applying the Physical Therapist. SLACK Incorporated. Callaghan, J.J., 2003. The Adult Knee. Contributor Harry E. Rubash. Lippincott Williams Wilkins.

Biography Of Tim Burton Film Studies Essay

Biography Of Tim Burton Film Studies Essay His first job for Disney was in The Fox and the Hound (1981). This first work was brief because the studies considered the artistic profile of Burton would fit more in the conceptual art of the Black Cauldron. The Burton designs and ideas for both films were not used to not be understood by Disney. After leaving work on the Disney movie Tim Burton began to develop more personal projects, including his first two shorts, (Vincent and Frankenweenie ) the quale they had very good acceptance by the critics and the public. Also began to write and illustrate a Christmas poem, which years later would charge life, Nightmare Before Christmas. Burton befriended Julie Hickson executive and manager of creative development of Disney, Tom Wilhite, amazed by his talent decided to finance his first short film Vincent to $ 60,000. It was during this time that Burton learned and specialization in the art of stop motion, for two months along with other entertainers Burton skilled in the art, Vincent created a black and white story, based on some stories of Edgar Allan Poe. To achieve this Tim Burton enlisted the help of his favorite actor Vincent Price who gave voice to the narration of the story. The play received numerous awards in Chicago and France, still not commercialized Disney ever. In 1984, Burton created his first non-animated short film, Frankenweenie it was based on Frankestain of James Whale, the play was a childs efforts to resurrect his dog Sparky hit by a car. For this short featured actors Burton Barret Oliver, David Stern and Shelly Duval. The film received a Saturn Award nomination. However, at the end of production Disney Tim Burton decided to dismiss, holding that the short was too scary for younger audiences. It was not until 1994 after the success of future work of Burton when he began selling. 1.2.4-The consolidation of Burton as director and producer. The big venture of Pee-wee: Despite the failed working with Disney, Burtons work began to have some spread and caught the attention of some producers. Griffin Dune including that offered Burton directing a comedy called After Hours in 1985, was finally Martin Scorssese in charge of directing this movie. That same year the actor Paul Rubens Burton offered to direct a film about his famous comic character Pee-wee Herman. This work was the first Tim Burton film as director and production was a success since its initial cost 7 million dollars, box office obtained profits of more than 40 million dollars. In that same movie Tim Burton Danny Elfman asked to compose the soundtrack of the same, and so begin a director-composer collaborations more consolidated in the history of cinema. Beetlejuice: In 1988, Tim Burton took the opportunity to direct his second film, Beetlejuice was a black comedy. The film told the story of a couple that after buying a nice house with a fatal traffic accident. After discovering his tragic end the couple, now ghosts trying to make out the new tenants of the house with the help of an eccentric bioexorcist Beetlejuice. This time the film featured in the cast, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Alec Bldwin, and Geena Davis. Received several awards including an Oscar for best makeup and box office earnings of 80 million dollars. Batman: A Burton was offered in 1989 the possibility of directing the first feature film from the Batman comic book character. The director accepted the job, provided they can choose the actors and film aesthetics. Burton and producers Warner Bros have been involved in numerous discussions of pre-production, as Burton wanted Michael Keaton as an actor who had worked with in Beetlejuice and the producers were thinking of a more muscular actor. Following the aesthetic of comic Burton finally got what he wanted, to use Keaton in the role of Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker, with the intention of attracting the public uninterested in superhero movies. The film was a success, and he got more than 400 million dollars, becoming the most successful movie of all time movies so far. Additional aesthetic mind chosen by Tim Burton for the city of Gotham City was adapted in the following comics. 1.2.5-The prodigious decade: Edward Scissorshands: In 1990, Burton wrote a new feature this would be interpreted by the idol of youth at the time that Johnny Depp would play the character of Edward, a being created by an eccentric scientist (Vincent Price, who play his last role before his death). Edward had human appearance but after the death of its creator was unfinished and had hands instead of one large scissors. Edward Scissorhands was filmed in Florida and is considered by many fans and critics of Burton as the best of his works, surely Edward Scissorhands is the work collected over the Burton aesthetic that makes a filmmaker unlike any other, either texture, color, character design or objects. Batman Returns: Although Warner Bros would not produce Edward Scissorhands, he was offered the opportunity to direct the sequel to Batman Returns, Burton accepted the condition of having full creative powers. For that film was Burton Michael Keaton again in the role of Batman, Danny DeVito in the role of the Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman. The film received a lot of criticism for being too dark and not very close to children. Still get a revenue of 160 million dollars, the Warner Bros. decided not to have the services of Tim Buton upon learning that he was preparing a new dry with an aesthetic similar to that of Batman Return. So Burton decided to start preparing a new project, this time returning to its roots as an animator. Nightmare Before Christmas: Tim Burton had planned to write and illustrate a childrens story, but in 1993 just changing that story in his next film. Nightmare Before Christmas, is his great work of animation. Directed by Henry Selick, the film tells the story of Jack Skeleton, the king of Halloween, who wants to understand Christmas, adapting their habits as monarch to carry out this holiday. The film was made using Stop Motion techniques and although there was an overwhelming success at the box office, is considered a cult film and one of the best musical film ever made it. Ed Wood: In 1994, Burton made one of his lesser known films, a narrative biography of Ed Wood, considered the worst filmmaker of all time. Burton pays homage to the director (played by Johnny Depp) which considers a direct influence, for its horror and fantasy in this film involved Martin Landau, Bill Murray and Lisa Marie. Although there was much less commercial success, helped the Burton film cogiera more fans and reopen the interest in the film Ed Wood. Batman Forever: Despite its intention to conduct the next part of Batman, Warner Bros. decided it would be the director Joel Schumacher with the intention of bringing the film to children and Tim Burton would make his work as a producer. This fact caused that Michael Keaton to resign his role as protagonist, and was hired Val Kimler in place. Tim Burton aesthetic differ in many aspects of the film which was contrary. The film generated $ 335 million and Warner, hired Schumacher to fourth, where Tim Burton no longer participate. Mars Attacks!: In 1996 Tim Burton returns to direct a feature film is trying to Mars Attacks! This film is a hybrid of science fiction films of the 50th and the total destruction of the 70th went unnoticed at the box office, surely the fact first 5 months after the Independent Day, made the film to be discredited by critics and public American, but had very good reviews abroad and won many admirers in marketing in VHS and DVD. Sleepy Hollow: In 1999 Tim Burton returned to his more eccentric and supernatural world, based on a story by Washington Irving, which tells the story of the Headless Horseman. Featuring a new interpretation of Johnny Depp in the role of Forensic and Christina Ricci in the role of Karina Van Tassel. The film won an Oscar for best art direction and two BAFTA awards in the categories of Best Production Design and Best Costume. 1.2.6-Year 2000. Planet of the Apes: After his breakup with his wife Lisa Marie, Burton conducted a remake of the 1968 film of Franklin Schaffner. The film was a success, earning 68 million dollars in the first week of release. Still, the film was widely panned by critics and fans of Burton, to get away entirely from its style and dark, nihilistic style of the first version. Despite finishing with an open ending does not seem to be any intention on the part of Burton to continue the saga. Big Fish: In 2003, Burton surprised everyone again with a custom Disney, Big Fish is a film away from the dark world of Burton but that recreates an imaginary fantasy world full of surprises. The film received four nominations for Golden Globe And for many fans is the most amazing film. In this film, Burton had the interpretation of Ewan McGregor and his new wife Helena Bonham Carter. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Johnny Depp again which seems to be their star player, Tim Burton made this film based on a story by Roald Dahl, the film was a blockbuster hit 207 million in the U.S. alone. Characterization, and the voice of Johnny Depp in the role of Willy Wonka, was recognized in many ways as a film icon and aesthetic. 9: Tim Burton produced this animated film in 2009, the film received much criticism, even that is considered a beautiful aesthetic work, but lack of narrative. It is the first animated film that Tim Burton does not opt for the technique of stop motion and computer-created in its entirety. Alice in Wonderland: It is the latest project of Tim Burton so far, this commission from Disney, will debut in early 2010, and was the first film in which the director has used the technique of 3D. Based on the acclaimed work of Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland. Was criticized by fans to move far from their darkest work I have incorporated many Disney items. 2. THE ART DIRECTION 2.1- Aspects work of Tim Burton. When talking about aspects of the work of Burton, one must be aware that is not a conventional director, his work is mostly very personal issues, issues which have been consolidated in the audience and created a large pool of supporters and fans. When one analyzes the work of Burton put on his work with his film biography, which is particularly relevant as an artist who often uses his life experience and the elements that shaped his sentimental education. Situation is examined within the context of the Hollywood industry and explores the aesthetic and thematic constants that make up its visual poetry. It addresses gender concerns, the notion of fantasy and Gothic-Expressionist tradition to understand the work of an author who re interprets the cultural tradition from the perspective of post-modern. Addresses the problems and contradictions posed by both the traditional concept of film genres as the auteur theory. It is shown that not only approaches are compatible, but can also become complementary approaches that contribute to the depth and richness of film debate. It talks about the particular generic reflection made by the filmmaker in his films, connecting with the characteristics of postmodern culture in which it is immersed. We can say that Burton has done what he wanted and how much more freedom the author has been most successful has been his work as staff is much much deeper and more spectacular. Burtons work, as well as its broad scope, it is more appropriate to consider more than a genre, a mode of art that various related forms emerge. Referred to the existing theories about the fantastic, the subversive potential and its psychoanalytic implications. It puts a special interest in his themes and myths, as they all are evoked in the Burton films. Also includes the work of the filmmaker as a continuation of a tradition Gothic Expressionism, a continuous movement whose spirit, aesthetic and vital position opposed to the rationalistic attitude of classicism. It takes a journey through the elements of a tradition that Burton has been collected mainly through its cinema events. Tim Burtons heir and successor of the romantic spirit, its atmosphere and features icon-phy, aesthetics of the uncanny, his macabre sense of humor, the denunciation of social hypocrisy and society that denies freedom and individual identity, its emphasis on subjectivity, intuition and the irrational. Tim Burton is a very detailed, very thorough in their staging, from design, photography and music composed by Danny Elfman become key elements of dramatic expression. We consider Edward Scissorshands and Nightmare before Christmas, as two of its films that include and represent all poetic and visual work of director. Since in these two films is the very essence of the author, personal visually despendedoras the full potential of California director. 2.2-Influences: As an author, Tim Burton has had his artistic influences, both film, and painting. In this section we review their main influences, and the basic characteristics of his style. Any person who enters into the imagination of Tim Burton will realize that this is not a conventional writer, with a very personal style, and all his movies are some characteristics or aesthetic and narrative patterns. 2.2.1-Pictorial influences: We can find some reminiscences to German expressionism, particularly in some perspectives, altering the scenery, the kind of light and shadow and also on the themes of his films. Some authors of the movement, as Grosz or Otto Dix. Burton is also influences the Polish poster from the mid-twentieth century. The author surreal expressionism, Paul Klee tube also great significance in the beginning of the film director, especially in making puppets for his early films like Vincent or Nightmare Before Christmas. 2.2.2-Literary Influences: Without doubt the main literary influence of Tim Burton comes from Edgar Allan Poe, American writer, is considered one of the pioneers of the short story, and the father of the renovation of the Gothic, with their tales of terror. Unlike other authors such as Roger Corman, Burton has not shot any film based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe, but it has done with other authors like Washington Irving (Sleppy Hollow), Lewis Carroll (Alice in the wonders) (Sweeney Todd) based on the musical by Stephen Sondheim or (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) by Roald Dahl and others. 2.2.3-Cinematic influences: Roger Corman is without doubt the great influence of Burton, his films of series B, Burton served as inspiration for many other directors. Roger Corman became famous in the 60s, go to the movies by Edgar Allan Poe stories and mixing genres of science fiction, horror and the occult in low-budget films, using actors low popularity as Boris Karloff or Bela Lugosi , or with actors little known at the time as Peter Fonda Jack Nicholson or Robert De Niro. Most Corman films were performed by Vincent Price, favorite actor and close friend of Burton used frequently at the beginning of this director. See Frankenweenie, or Edward Scissorhands. Princes last film before his death in 1993. Cormans influence is mainly reflected in films like Ed Wood and Mars Attacks. In Ed Wood, Tim Burton pays homage to another series B director, Ed Wood as the worst filmmaker of all time. 2.3-Technic recourses. 2.3.1-Stop Motion. Tim Burton is without doubt one of the most renowned film directors by the use of unconventional techniques for recording of his films, one of these techniques is the Stop Motion animation technique is to generate motion by displaying static objects photographs or successive frames at a given speed, creating the illusion of movement. This incredible technique began with Ladislaw Starewicz with the short film The Cameramans Revenge in which dead insects used to tell the story of a family destroyed by infidelity. Usually use 29 frames per second, which generate the illusion of movement giving the films made with this technique a realism as close to a conventional film. This fascinating technique requires time and patience for the detailed movements of the actors to others in an acceptable knowledge of photography, so Tim Burton has always surrounded by great directors of photography, in the case of Pete Kozachik, manager the technical section in such films as The Nightmare Before Christmas or Corpse Bride. We consider that Tim Burton is one of the artists who have promoted this technique in the last two decades, and why not say is who re-discovered this technique in the new public disuse in the 90s. Due to its popularity as a director and artist has made the genre of Stop Motion animation is made a place in the film industry. Burton himself has been linked in other photographic animation projects, some of them as a producer and some others as a collaborator. This is the case of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Burtons own work, but under the direction of Henry Selick, director also of other projects under the signature of Tim Burton, and James and the Giant Peach or coral. In the future, Burton is expected to redo any work using the technique of stop motion, some rumors say they may be Dear Dead Days, Charles Addams work he did in 1937 and subsequently came to TV screens under the title Addams Family in 1964. The work of Charles Addams is surely close to the Burton films especially recalling works such as The Nightmare Before Christmas Sweeny Todd or obscure pieces, with touches of macabre humor. 2.3.2-3D Animation. Tim Burton not only traditional techniques used for the filming of his animated films, however it was not until 2009, when the California director dared with a 100% digital. 9 was the title of his first work in 3D, which was a box office bomb, and certainly his least known works, the universe of apocalyptic 9 was directed by Shane Acker and produced and supervised by Burton. This first experience will not cower and Burton in 2010, premiere Alice in Wonderland, based on Lewis Carrolls books Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass, directed by Tim Burton, and produced Disney Pictures The film was a box office hit but was severely challenged by critics and fans. In interviews after the release, Burton says the 3D technique is perfect for his latest film and claims to build his next film (a remake of Frankenweenie gilt work) thinking about the qual this technology brings extra realism to the viewer, However, he admits that is not going to go crazy and will not abandon the classic film format. 3-TIM BURTONS FILM ANALYSIS I chose Edward Scissorhands and Big Fish are two of the films in my opinion more representative of the work of Burton, the first of its popularity and to represent and act out all the poetic and visual narrative that represents the California director. The second has been chosen as the authors lesser-known films by the general public, and to have markedly different aesthetic in Edward Scissorhands, Big Fish still well preserved and fantastic narrative structure that characterizes the work of Tim Burton . Another of the facts that I have been decanted from Big Fish have been the thirteen years between a film and the other, and appreciate the evolution of cinema as well as an analysis of the time they were shot, the motives that pushed Burton to record these movies and what messages the author tries to convey to the viewer in each of them. 3.1-Edward Scissorhands Synopsis: The film begins with a colloquial conversation between an elderly woman and her granddaughter, which viewed from the window as snow falls and, curious, asks her grandmother the reason it snows. So, she begins her story His story begins when a makeup saleswoman named Peg, enters a house to sell beauty products. On entering the place is with Edward, a young man who was created from a robot and was not finished after the death of its creator, running with scissors instead of hands. Touched by his kindness and innocence decided to take him home. No one in her family (her husband Bill and son Kevin) seem uncomfortable with the presence of Edward and even the neighbors are interested in the mysterious guest Peg. However, to get Kims eldest daughter, Peg, it triggers a series of problems because it does feel uncomfortable with Edward at home. Edward falls in love with her. Edward Scissorhands Technical Data: Production year: 1990 Country: United States Director: Tim Burton Production: Twentieth Century Fox Producers: Tim Burton and Denise Di Novi Executive Producer: Richard Hashimoto Associate Producer: Caroline Thompson Argument: Tim Burton and Caroline Thompson Writer: Caroline Thompson Music: Danny Elfman Director of Photography: Stefan Czapsky Art Director: Tom Duffield Scenery: Rich Heinrichs (design) and Cheryl Carasik (decoration) Costume Design: Colleen Atwood Editing: Richard Halsey Hair Design: Yolanda Toussieng Makeup: Stan Winston Special effects supervisor: Michael Wood Duration: 107 minutes Starring: Johnny Depp: Edward Winona Ryder Kim Boggs Dianne Wiest: Peg Boggs Vincent Price: Inventor Anthony Michael Hall: Jim Kathy Baker: Joyce Monroe Robert Oliveri: Kevin Boggs Conchata Ferrell: Helen Alan Arkin: Bill Boggs Caroline Aaron: Marge O-Lan Jones: Esmeralda Dick Anthony Williams Officer Allen ÂÂ   3.2-Big Fish Synopsis: Edward Bloom is a man who recounts moments of her life by adding great features. When it does at the wedding of his son Will, it stops talking for years. Will work as a journalist in Paris when his fathers health worsens, Will returns with his wife Josephine to Alabama. On the plane, Will tells one story of her father, she knew a witch who showed him how he would die by looking through his glass eye. Throughout the film, Edward has some stories to tell of moments of his life. For example, explains that as a child, he spent three years in bed due to its rapid growth. After this, he becomes a successful athlete, but I think the town where he lives is too small for their ambitions. After meeting Karl, a misunderstood giant, began a journey with him. Edward goes through a haunted forest and reaches a village where she meets a poet called Norther Winslow. Before leaving the village, he promises to Jenny, a girl he met, he would return someday. Big Fish Technical Data: Production year: 2003 Country: United States Director: Tim Burton Production: Columbia Pictures Producers: Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks Executive Producer: Arne Schmidt Associate Producer: Katterli Framentelder Plot: Daniel Wallace Writer: John August Music: Danny Elfman Director of photography: Philippe Rousselot Art Direction: Roy Barnes, Robert Fechtmen Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh Costume Design: Colleen Atwood Editing: Chris Chamia Hair Design: Coni Address Makeup: Gloria Belz Special Effects Supervisor: Eric Allard Length: 125 minutes Starring: Ewan McGregor: Young Ed Bloom Albert Finney: Senior Ed Bloom Jessica Lange: Senior Sandra Bloom Alison Lohman: Young Sandra Bloom Billy Crudup: Will Bloom Steve Buscemi: Norther Winslow Danny DeVito: Amos Calloway Helena Bonham Carter: Jenny Young, Jenny Senior, The Witch Matthew McGrory, Karl the Giant

Leadership And Teamwork In Action

Leadership And Teamwork In Action When reflecting on the practical team event, based in the Llandysul Paddlers and Canoe centre on the first and second of November, many examples of teamwork and leadership were shown by the group members. When faced with some of the tasks and problems that the occurred during the event, different members of the team displayed various characteristics that showed them to be team workers or team leaders, and sometimes even both. The following report reflects on some points raised during the event, and aims to show examples of leadership and teamwork in action. The report also discusses various topics which include, but are not limited to, how the team developed over the weekend, what leadership skills and strategies were covered by the event and how leadership skills were developed and influenced by the event. Other topics which are relevant to the subject matter with also be discussed and critically analysed. 2.0 Methodology The research methodology used for the basis of this report is mainly first hand account of a weekend attended by myself and the other people in my lecture group. I will use first hand experiences from this weekend, along with academic theory and relevant examples. 3.0 Main Body Colin Powell once stated that leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible. This statement reflects on the fact that good leadership is a skill that you are not born with, but something that needs to be developed. To become a good leader, your skills must be developed through a process of training, education and experience. The practical team event on the 1st and 2nd of November was an experience which proved to be a valuable insight into the roles of a person in a position of leadership, and showed many examples of teamwork in action. From the outset of the weekend, it was clear by the way in which it was proposed, that it would be a very team orientated event. Our group met on the morning of the 1st of November, and we were gathered onto busses and taken to the Llandysul Paddlers and Canoe Centre, Carmarthenshire. When we entered the centre, we were greeted by all the centre staff, and introduced to them all. This appeared to be done in a very informal way, though it served a purpose. Not only to introduce the team leaders to all of the group members, but also to re-enforce the sense of team atmosphere in the centre. The leader of the staff team, and the manager of the centre Gareth Bryant, first introduced himself, then the other staff members. It was also done to address the question of who was the leader of the staff team. It was only after introducing everyone that our teams were selected. To encourage people to integrate with people outside of their friendship circles, and to make new friends, it was not left to the team members to choose which team they would like to be in. As expected, when everyone entered the centre, and took a seat, people sat in their friendship groups with people that they knew and trusted. In an attempt to break this barrier of friendship, Gareth selected the groups at random. This ensured that the teams were well mixed with a wide variety of team members of various sex and backgrounds. To encourage team dynamics, after our teams had been chosen for us, we were shown to our sleeping quarters, and it was implied that each team should stick together over the course of the weekend very closely. In this environment, where dangerous activities are taking place, it is more important than ever to have a fully functioning and well selected team. Teams can achieve brilliant things if they are well functioning and work well together. This is mainly because of the team sense of purpose, where everyone is aiming to achieve one single outcome. According to the work of Dr. Meredith Belbin (Management Teams Why they succeed and fail, 1981) members of a group or team can have many roles associated with each of them that allows for a smooth running group that works well. Belbin defines a team role as A tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way. These behavioural tendencies facilitate the progress of a team, because of the way people with different roles work with each other. The members of a team know their place in the team, and can benefit the team as a whole by helping to work towards the objectives set. Belbins research concluded that there are nine team roles, within a well functioning team, and each of these roles must be played by at least one team member. This does of course not mean that each member is limited to one role, or that a team should have nine members to work well. It simply means that if each of these roles is present within a team, the team will work to a much higher standard overall. After working through some team exercises with some of my team members, it was clear to me that some of what Belbins research suggested was indeed the case. It soon became apparent to some extent that members of the team were showing characteristics in line with those suggested by the research. Some members of the team were happy to just be a team worker, and simply do what is needed of them. Other team members were constantly coming up with new ideas, and new ways to tackle problems. These are known as Planters because they are creative and imaginative and keep arriving at ideas to face problems. During many of the exercises, I was quite disappointed to find that I displayed a lot of the characteristics of a monitor evaluator. Although this, as all the other roles, is an important one, it did mean that I simply got on with the job in hand, and lacked the drive to inspire others. This is probably due to my lack of confidence with my own ideas, as sometimes I do not raise ideas as I think that other people will not agree with them. I did notice this lack of confidence becoming much less of a problem as the event progressed, however. I did occasionally get given the opportunity to become a co-ordinator, when I was given leadership roles, but I will discuss that in more detail later on. The way in which the teams were selected for this exercise also meant that friends were placed in opposite teams that would occasionally have the chance to compete with each other. Competition is very important for teams to work well because a lot of people thrive on the thrill of competition, and generally love to compete. At the very least, this is due to the fact that people love to take part in an activity with a purpose, but more often than not, people compete for the thrill of winning. Admittedly, a lot of people stick to the ideal that its not the winning, but the taking part that counts. In this case, there are many examples of competition to help progress the teams. One such example occurred in the form of a race. The team building exercise showed many different examples of competition, but the biggest one was the plank walking exercise. The team was split into two groups by the instructor, and each team was given two planks of wood with pieces of rope attached. It was the job of each team to stand on the wood, whilst holding the rope and attempt to collectively walk the wood to the finish line. This task sounded simple, but was unfortunately full of difficulties. Our team was one of the worst performing in this task, not only because of a flawed system, but also because of bad communication within the team. Jennifer, one of our team members, elected herself immediately as the leader of our team, and started trying to devise a system as to how we could complete the task. Unfortunately, going back to Belbins theory, we had two other plant members of the team, each with different ideas. In the end, our system became too complicated, and while we were still discussing how we were going to attempt the task, the other team was completing its trial run. Katzenbach and Smith commented on teams in their book (The Wisdom of Teams, 1998) stating that a team is a small numbers of people with complimentary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and common approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. Teams are designed to maximise output, and encourage continuous improvement. In our example, this was certainly not the case. Due to conflicting personalities and ideas in the team, it took us far too long to bring what ideas we had into practice, and we were left behind in the race. This was partially due to the fact that the other team members may not have wanted to elect Jennifer as the leader and they disliked the fact that she took and otherwise positive step in using her own initiative to elect herself as one. I also believe that this exercise was a good example of the Ringlemann Effect in action. This is because moving the wood was a joint effort, but it became increasingly more and more difficult to move as time went on. I suggest that this was because people were slacking and loafing and not putting their full effort in. The stages of our group development were in fact closely matched to Tuckmans four stages of group development model. The forming stage was short lived, our group like all the others was formed early in the exercise at the centre. During this stage, there were few problems or conflicts within the group, as everyone was in high spirits. The first exercise that our group embarked upon was the Kayaking, which although we were in high spirits, people argued over equipment and small items very quickly. These arguments could most likely be attributed to the cold and wet weather. By our final exercise, the rock climbing, we seemed to have reached the third stage of the Tuckman model of norming. Our group was more established by this point and responsibilities were clear and well formed. Everyone was more open to suggestion and less likely to criticise. People were also less resistant to new ideas. The rock climbing was a good example personally of how peer pressure in groups works. I had been rock climbing before and had not enjoyed the experience. On this attempt, when it was my turn to face the rock, I had started to climb when a rock moved as I grabbed it, which knocked my confidence. I had decided to climb down from the rock by this point. When I saw everyone else scaling the same rock face later on, I felt that I should not have been so quick to give up. When it was my turn to attempt the abseiling, I attempted it with no fuss or problems at all. I even found myself encouraging other group members and comforting Simon by telling him how strong the ropes actually are. I feel personally that the rock climbing was the best experience for me, even if it was not the most successful in terms of results. I feel that I did well to overcome my initial fears in attempting it again. This was, in part, due to the advice and support of other team members, and of course group peer pressure. As I mentioned previously, teamwork is extremely important in tasks like this teambuilding weekend. This is not just due to reasons of morale, but also because of synergy. This basically means the interaction of two or more agents, so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effect. Simply put 1 + 1 = 3, because the effect on teamwork on a task improves output and efficiency greatly and in a very positive way. The leader of a team is described as a person who influences others so that they may accomplish an objective. This is quite a broad definition, though it applies just as well to most examples of teams in a team working environment or situation. If someone elects themselves as the head of a team, or their superior elects them as the leader, this does not automatically make them a leader. It simply makes them the person who is in charge. To be effective leaders you must make people want to achieve the goals that you set them, not because they are forced to accomplish or complete them. Bass (1989) theory of leadership explains that there are three ways to define how people become leaders or develop into a leadership role. In the case of examples of leadership from the team building exercise, it was always the case that there was a leader involved, simply because of the dangerous nature of the activities that we were doing. The instructor of each activity was normally the leader, as they had been told to do so by their manager, and it was their job. However, sometimes as the tasks involved allowed, the instructor stepped down and elected a different leader for the task. For the kayaking task, after we had some basic training on the water, the instructor stepped down to allow a different activity to take place. In this example, it was myself that was elected as the leader of the group. It was my task to transport a member of the group, who was pretending to be injured, across the lake. The severity of the situation was important and very high, because I was told that the injured party had hyperthermia setting in, and their condition would deteriorate rapidly if help was not found. As Bass describes in his transformational leadership theory, awareness of the importance of the task motivates people. This was certainly true in this case, because if there was no time limit, people would not be rushed to complete the task. Bass describes charisma as an important factor in leadership as charisma evokes strong emotions with the leaders followers. Being elected as the leader of the kayak task was not easy. The instructor advised me as to what equipment I was allowed to use and that everyone must reach the other side of the lake quickly and safely. When you are elected as a leader, especially in a crisis, it is often hard to decide which tasks to approach first. Bass talks about this in his Great events theory where he mentions that sometimes a crisis or event can cause someone to be elected as a leader, which was exactly what occurred in this situation. In my situation as leader for this task, I initially found it very difficult to effectively allocate resources, as I initially found myself focussing too much on certain aspects. The instructor was quick to step in and point out on a couple of occasions that I had team members who were sitting around, doing nothing. It was only later in the process that I began to effectively keep everyone in the team informed of the situation and to use the full capabilities of the group. One of the other important principles of leadership was that I needed to follow was to ensure that all tasks were understood and supervised until they were completed. This is important because some of the members of the group were not well informed at all times, so they simply sat around while others attempted to do the task around them. During this task, I definitely found that there was a communication barrier between myself and some of the Chinese speaking group members. This was usually just a language barrier. This was soon avoided when I managed to convince them of the severity of the task, and the speed needed to complete it. Trust was also an important factor in the exercise. The injured party was not allowed to move at all, or help her team mates in any way. Because of this, the injured team member had to be carried into a kayak and across the lake while being completely immobile. This must have been a hard task because putting all of your trust in the hands of people you hardly know, especially when there is water involved, is no small accomplishment. Communication is one of the key aspects of leadership. As I have previously mentioned, language can be a barrier, but communication of all aspects is important. Especially during the exercise when I found myself in a leadership role, I realised it was very important for your team as a whole to keep them informed of developments and even simply what you require them to do. It is often easy, especially when discussing ways to complete a task for team members to either not give any input at all, or to simply go along with the general consensus and not say anything. I feel that if I have learned anything about communication in this leadership weekend, it would be that is important to raise your own views, and to listen to the views of others, and take their comments and criticisms on board. 4.0 Conclusions Leadership is the art of influencing people accomplish tasks and objectives. Leadership is not something that you are born with, however you are born with certain traits which make some people more suitable for leadership roles than others. Leadership skills must be developed through time. Teamwork can be a very important tool that helps develop and accomplish tasks. There are many different types of people who make up a team, but too many people with new ideas can make the situation become argumentative. Over the course of the management weekend, some people showed themselves to be more suited to leadership than others, or more suited to teamwork than others. However, the duration of the weekend was short. Some suggested that it should have been over a longer period, even as long as a week. This would have given us more chance to develop theory associated with teamwork and leadership, however, time and financial concerns would limit this greatly. Overall the weekend was an excellent opportunity to see management, leadership and teamwork in action, and was a very valuable experience overall.

Strategic Performance Measurement Systems (SPMs) Essay -- Performance

Table Of Contents  · Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..1  · Balanced Scorecard System (BSC)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.1-2  · Implementation of Balanced Scorecard in SMEs†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.3 Strategy Destination†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.3 Perspectives†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..3-4 Measures †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5-6  · Challenges faced and possible recommendations for overcoming it†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7-8  · Limitations of BSC†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.8-10  · Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.......10  · References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.10-12 2 | P a g e Introduction The progression of the Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) has been recognized for the success of widespread development purposes which includes poverty mitigation, advancement of democratic societies and economic development. (Henriques n.d). For sustainable and completive environment it is necessary for organizations to measure the how the organizations function.. The introduction of Strategic Performance Measurement Systems (SPMs) has been identified as the effective strategy implementation which measures past actions effectively through investigation and analysis of appropriate data which translates into a diverse pattern of strategic decisions. Traditional organization performance measurement systems analyses the financial aspect. Due to globalisation, competition has increased both in the local and international markets. This gives a clear view of organizational capacity in today’s business markets. Besides in order to succeed in this dynamic environment, it is essential for companies to associate with SPMs to the organisational strategy. Organizations must monitor whether customer satisfaction is met and whether the cost is under control. SPMS improves development but creates a significant ri... ...bi d/117/Default.aspx 12 | P a g e Senge P (1990). ‘The Fifth Discipline’, Doubleday Currency, US Senge P, Roberts C, Ross R, Smith B, Roth G, Kleiner A (1999). ‘The Dance of Change; Challenges of Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations’, Nicholas Brealey Publishing Ltd., UK Kotter J (1996). ‘Leading Change’, Harvard Business School Press, US Henrik, V. Andersen, G. Michael, S. 2000. The Balanced Scorecard vs. The EFQM business excellent model. Which is better strategic management tool?. 2GC limited. pp 1-16. Wu, C., Zhao, J., Xia, L. & Zhu, Z. 2008, "Impact of Internal Factors on Information Technology Adoption: An Empirical Investigation of Chinese Firms", Tsinghua Science & Technology, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 318-322. Yuen, C.Y.T. (2002), "Marketing in SME's", Warwick Manufacturing Group, University of Warwick, Coventry, MSc dissertation, .

Origins of The Beauty Myth :: Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth

Naomi Wolf's "The Beauty Myth," discusses the impact of our male-dominated society upon women. Wolf argues that women's most significant problems associated with societal pressures are a "fairly recent invention," dating back to the 1970s (6). She explains that women have "breached the power structure" by acquiring rights equal to men in areas such as, education, professional careers, and voting. As a result, Wolf suggests that the "beauty myth" is the "last one remaining of the old feminine ideologies that still has the power to control those women" (3). Considering that the beauty myth is women's last battle, the struggle is increasingly more difficult. Wolf claims that women are currently experiencing "a violent backlash against feminism," noting the recent rise in eating disorders, cosmetic surgery, and objectification of women's bodies (3,2). While Wolf accurately defines the beauty myth, she incorrectly states that eating disorders, cosmetic surgery, and pornography are recent issues, resulting from an intentional "backlash" against women's rights. Wolf utilizes the term "the beauty myth" to demonstrate that the interpretation of beauty is a creation of society, intended to keep women trapped inside their bodies. Wolf claims that the beauty myth "is not about women at all." She explains, "it is about men's institutions and institutional power" (5). In addition, she claims that women have recently obtained numerous rights, which now threaten "to destabilize the institutions on which a male-dominated culture has depended." She continues to explain that "a collective panic reaction [†¦] has forced a demand for counter images" (8). Clearly, society as a whole does create pressure on women to act in a certain manner. However, Wolf's implication that it is an intentional, organized effort to keep women oppressed is one-sided and extreme. While Wolf fails to conclusively prove that the beauty myth is an organized group effort, she is certainly correct in her explanation of the symptoms associated with the beauty myth: There is a secret "underlife" poisoning our freedom; infused with notions of beauty, it is a dark vein of self-hatred, physical obsessions, terror of aging, and dread of lost control. (3) According to Laura Shapiro, a notable researcher on eating disorders, the medical condition of anorexia consists of several elements. By definition, anorexia nervosa is a condition characterized by intense fear of gaining weight or becoming obese, as well as a distorted body image, and a feeling of loss of control (Shapiro 69). Origins of The Beauty Myth :: Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth Naomi Wolf's "The Beauty Myth," discusses the impact of our male-dominated society upon women. Wolf argues that women's most significant problems associated with societal pressures are a "fairly recent invention," dating back to the 1970s (6). She explains that women have "breached the power structure" by acquiring rights equal to men in areas such as, education, professional careers, and voting. As a result, Wolf suggests that the "beauty myth" is the "last one remaining of the old feminine ideologies that still has the power to control those women" (3). Considering that the beauty myth is women's last battle, the struggle is increasingly more difficult. Wolf claims that women are currently experiencing "a violent backlash against feminism," noting the recent rise in eating disorders, cosmetic surgery, and objectification of women's bodies (3,2). While Wolf accurately defines the beauty myth, she incorrectly states that eating disorders, cosmetic surgery, and pornography are recent issues, resulting from an intentional "backlash" against women's rights. Wolf utilizes the term "the beauty myth" to demonstrate that the interpretation of beauty is a creation of society, intended to keep women trapped inside their bodies. Wolf claims that the beauty myth "is not about women at all." She explains, "it is about men's institutions and institutional power" (5). In addition, she claims that women have recently obtained numerous rights, which now threaten "to destabilize the institutions on which a male-dominated culture has depended." She continues to explain that "a collective panic reaction [†¦] has forced a demand for counter images" (8). Clearly, society as a whole does create pressure on women to act in a certain manner. However, Wolf's implication that it is an intentional, organized effort to keep women oppressed is one-sided and extreme. While Wolf fails to conclusively prove that the beauty myth is an organized group effort, she is certainly correct in her explanation of the symptoms associated with the beauty myth: There is a secret "underlife" poisoning our freedom; infused with notions of beauty, it is a dark vein of self-hatred, physical obsessions, terror of aging, and dread of lost control. (3) According to Laura Shapiro, a notable researcher on eating disorders, the medical condition of anorexia consists of several elements. By definition, anorexia nervosa is a condition characterized by intense fear of gaining weight or becoming obese, as well as a distorted body image, and a feeling of loss of control (Shapiro 69).

Changing Face of Indian Press Essay

A study of Indian history from 16th to 20th centuries will indicate that the transition from feudalism to modern society has been slow and incomplete despite the occasional turbulence, turmoil, wars, social reforms, and intellectual ferment. It was during the mid-19th century (First War of Independence) and the 20th century freedom movement that the Indian newspapers played a powerful and prominent role in questioning the forces of authority, social prejudices and the suppression of personal liberty. During the late 19th and early 20th century, attempts to propagate the ideas of liberty, equality, fraternity, and freedom were made by political and social leaders. The journals started by them played a historical role in questioning old ideas and practices like casteism, communalism, superstitions, educational backwardness and women’s oppression. Modern rational and scientific ideas, secularism, tolerance, and economic empowerment of the people were propagated in the writings of national leaders. The newspapers, particularly, served in conscientizing literate and educated people about the need for social reforms and political independence. Until 1950, the newspapers no doubt, served in inspiring people of the country towards a change in their thinking about social transformation, economic empowerment and the establishment of a strong foundation for democracy. But in recent decades, a decline in the functioning of the press/media has set in. This paper attempts to present a glimpse of events through which the all types of media have passed. Reference is also made to the recent technological changes in our media world and the serious ethical questions they have raised about media’s performance. Introduction Authentic and available sources describe the birth of Indian journalism in 1780 with Hicky’s Gazette (James August Hicky) which was largely aimed at criticizing the officials of the British government’s East India Company. (Malhotra: 2008). The history of Indian journalism is about 231 years of struggle for existence, propagation of free speech and ideas of people, and evolving democratic values of the nation. Media practitioners and historians view the growth of Indian journalism in a number of ways. Some feel the history of pre-independence journalism was based on the people’s struggle for freedom and socio-political development in the country. Others feel that the journalism of those days was not value-based with any ideology and that more than political freedom or nation building or informing and educating people, the press was aimed to perpetuate the British system of political rule and governance. From the period of British India to the present free, liberalized and globalised India on the path of privatization, print and electronic journalism has passed through many phases of ups and downs, which have not yet ended. The most prominent change is that journalism once regarded as a mission has now changed into a business or trade, a vocation like any other where commercialization has crept in. Journalists are no longer fighters for the rights of people; they are just mercenary writers, most of them canvassers for their employers. The stature of the ‘fourth estate’ (press/media) is now transformed into a trade with its own hierarchies and remuneration-based value systems; social commitment of the past is no longer an asset for a journalist or media professional. In the current situation, the press or the media in general are operated by businessmen for business goals, occasionally pleading for justice for the poor, but most of them ignoring the immense problems faced by the majority of the population. Are the media already on the path to become huge conglomerates all repeating the same types of news and creating a false reality? Does the motive of making huge profits through advertising, ‘paid news’ and ‘private treaties’ dominating the media world today? Have we, as a nation, lost our social concern and ethical values? Why is there so much talk about corruption among the people in private conversation but not in the columns of the newspapers or in the broadcast and telecast media? Have the media become business establishments with commercial dealings with both the government and private houses, not necessarily confined to this country, but ready to do business with similar institutions in any part of the globe? Is it the result of globalization? Do the media have special responsibilities to their own nation? How do the media behave in chain ownership, cross-media ownership, or any other type of ownership? What will be the result of that behaviour on the contents of the media products? Are the newspapers, radio, television, etc. to be treated as products generating huge profits for the investors who have an axe to grind? Are they justified in following practices particularly suitable to amass wealth in the hands of entrepreneurs who consider the media as a tool for enhancing their private and personal fiefdom and profit motives, rather than utilizing the columns and the visuals for helping government and non-government agencies in solving the burning problems facing the nation—economic backwardness of the majority, poverty, illiteracy and ill-health of almost 80 per cent of our 120 crores of people, illiteracy of almost half of our population, atrocities against the poor, socially weak and marginalized people, especially in the rural areas and discriminations and violations of human rights, including gender injustices? Rapid developments in technology in the last two decades have gradually transformed the media scenario and the image of journalism and journalists. The old days are gone for good—when journalists used pencils, notebooks and shorthand! But the scribes of old had plenty of concern for the poor. Quite often, today’s media people are using the electronic equipment in news gathering, recording, transmission and compilation of information—and that is a commendable and worthy practice. But there are ethical questions about the use of hidden cameras and pocket tape-recorders and surreptitious recording of events and personalities in such a manner that they are presented in a manner predesigned by the media worker in order to trap the interviewee or present the event to enhance the monetary gains of the unconscionable reporters, editors, publishers or proprietors. The Changing Scenario  Development in technology combined with growth in the number of newspaper readers resulting from the rising trend in literacy have led to the unprecedented growth in the number of newspapers and magazines and in their circulations. During 2011, seven out of the top ten English newspapers registered a growth in readership; five out of the top ten Hindi newspapers have shown a steady increase during the same period. Both Dainik Jagran and Dainik Bhaskar continue to lead the Hindi dailies with an all India readership of 164. 58 lakhs and 148. 79 lakhs, respectively (RNI 2011). Even daily circulation of some other Indian language newspapers is enviable when compared to newspaper growth globally. While circulation and readership increased, print advertisement has not lagged behind. Earlier, the English newspapers had almost 85 per cent of the advertisement revenue. Today, the figures have changed; the Indian language newspapers have started approaching towards an equal share of advertisement revenue with their English counterparts. Readers are now having options of wide variety to choose publications of their choice because of information available in the Internet. All the technological developments are not fully understood and there are still misconceptions among advertisers. (Singhvi: 2006) Advertisers in India are still looking at quantity rather than quality readership. Newspaper producers have taken the line that they can virtually give their ‘product’ free of charge or at nominal price, a small fraction of the actual cost. But once you have the big numbers, lots of advertising will come to you because the advertisers naturally gravitate towards big numbers. But is serving the advertisers the main goal of journalism? In a world of increasing globalization, the media have great potential. They can reach important information to their users, even in remote corners of the globe where it was really difficult to reach in the past. One of the most creditable achievements of the Indian press during the 1980s and 1990s was the spectacular growth in the regional press. Many factors contributed to this growth, the most important of which was the political alliance among regional parties in the formation of governments at the central and state levels. The trends set-up by Eenadu in Andhra Pradesh, Malayala Monorama in Kerala were highly remarkable. Among other factors the rise of literacy, better transportation, aggressive marketing strategies and increasing awareness among the masses about participation in political process contributed a lot in the changing scenario of print media in the country. The creation of the Panchyati Raj system at grassroots level has propagated the views of common people in creation of more stabilized democratic governance through free flow of information in regional and local press. Now over two-thirds of the regional press readers belong to small towns and rural areas. The innovation and changes in technology are re-defining the survival, growth and development of the Indian print media. Present day newspaper readers are not satisfied with the traditional way of news presentation, editorial inputs but something extra insight into what others have not reported. Pandey says that when she took over the editorship of the Delhi edition of Hindustan (a Hindi daily) it had a circulation of some 64,000 copies but just after two years the circulation grew to 4,25,000 copies. The reason for this increase was that ‘even earlier the paper had readers, but we could not reach them,’ says Pandey. ‘It is the same paper, the same printing press and the same staff even today. All that we have done is to pay more attention to the way in which news is coming in and the way in which it is collected. We take the opinion of the people and have discussions with them. ’ (Pandey: 2006) While technology increased the economic prosperity of the Indian press, there has been a perceptible and pernicious decline in standards. Sensationalism, trivialization and titillation are becoming the order of the day. Investigative journalism as sting operation has opened a new chapter which made the press to acquire a more powerful position and helped it to enhance the image of the press as a watchdog of the society. Unfortunately, investigative journalism has often been misused to settle personal scores or to tarnish the image or blackmail individuals. This aspect of the modern highly technologized press deserves a careful scrutiny for taking appropriate remedial measures. Conclusion The time has come to examine and evaluate the ethical aspects of our current media performance and personnel. How to challenge and shape the print media in the growing technologically competitive and globalized environment giving the utmost importance to the values of Indian society, tradition, culture and human rights and economic development issues. The press in India has always been at the forefront of national progress. The media institutions and professionals/journalists must be very sensitive to the country’s multi-lingual, multi-ethnic and socio-religious and plural status. They should always do such act in such a way that shapes and maintains equilibrium and tranquillity in society. Editors and owners of the media industry must pay attention to proper self-regulation that would ensure accountability, and lessen its dependence on advertising and marketing strategies, and the increasing commoditization of news. Newspaper owners and broadcast media managers must recognize that news is not a product. They must ensure that increase in readership or viewership is not attained at the cost of credibility. The undesirable and unethical practice of ‘paid news’ and ‘private treaties’ must end unconditionally. Journalists must have the right to express what they believe to be true, just and fair; this is not a right that should be compromised by profit-motives or commercial interests of an individual or organization. For this to happen, media workers have to assert their own economic independence, affinity for truth and above all their self-esteem