The Exchange Of Religion And Ideas - 1908 Words

The exchange of religion and ideas has been a common theme within the works that have been read. Many of the religious people studied mix their existing views of the world, which are often described as traditional â€Å"African† beliefs, with a mixture of the cosmology of Christianity, Islam, and other popularized, organized religion originating from across the world. Cosmological views held by different groups of people tend to vary, clash and change the way people go about their daily life. Paying respect to your ancestors is a common practice in Africa, including the Harare and Chitungwiza area. In both places, Masowe apostolics have taken many people by faith, and dictate a large part of their daily lives. These apostolics also firmly believe that the practice of â€Å"communicating† with your ancestors is a form of veneration, which goes against their Christian beliefs. The apostolics call for the cessation of this practice, however, Engelke speaks with some of the locals that carry out this practice who refuse. He describes: â€Å"Most apostolics would argue that holding rituals to communicate with one’s ancestors—as many Shona-speaking people do—amounts to the worship of false gods. You should not pray to your ancestors; pray only to God. As with several apostolic interpretations of â€Å"traditional† religious practice, this one is rejected by the people it is meant to describe... For many Shona-speaking people, as I have noted, ancestors are an integral part of social relationships,Show MoreRelatedThe Impact Of The Columbian Exchange On The New World1051 Words   |  5 Pagesthe discovery of the New World, a new era opened that would come to be known as the Columbian Exchange. With the transfer of plants, animals, culture, diseases, and ideas between Europe and the Americas, good came from the Columbian Exchange which became a possibility after Christopher Columbus set sail in 1492, giving him full credit for this duration. The plants associated with the Columbian Exchange affected the Old and New Worlds by providing success in agriculture as well as technological advancementsRead MoreThe Silk Road And Its Effect On Every Aspect Of People s Lives1615 Words   |  7 Pagesas well as religion, communication, and idea. The Chinese kept the process of creating the silk to themselves, using it to their own advantage in the trade world. The long process and a final product of a strong, soft, and smooth fabric made silk so valuable. Silk, although the most traded, was only one of a wide range of goods imported between Eastern and Western civilizations. Its importance lies not only in the traded merchandise and commodities but also in its development of new ideas, spread ofRead MoreFactors Affecting Cultural Exchange Through Civilizations during 1000 and 1400 A.D.1282 Words   |  6 PagesThrough analyzing the five given documents, factors affecting cultural exchange through civilizations during 1000 and 1400 A.D. are noticeably those which result in the bringing of new ideas to a different area, such as missionary work, commerce, war, and travels. As new religions sprouted throughout Europe on other expansive areas, missionaries were sent out to foreign lands. Document 1 comes from the viewpoint of a Roman Catholic missionary attempting to spread his faith by presenting a letterRead MoreReligion As A Foundation Of Morality Essay910 Words   |  4 Pagesof years, religion has been part of nearly all cultures. Starting as a rather barbaric force, religion swiftly diffused into nearly every culture across the globe. 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These two empires were different regarding changes in their religion as the Chinese Empire became a cosmopolitan society letting Buddhism penetrate their empire and the Byzantines continued through the thread of Christianity. Furthermore, these empires differed when looking the way of government each society implementedRead MoreThe Impact On The Industrial Revolution1114 Words   |  5 Pagestrade things in exchange for things. Next, in Afroeurasia, the Silk Road was a major trade route that stretched from southwest Asia to Turkmenistan. Foods, wine, riches, spices, medicine and ideas were traded on this trade route. Since the Silk Road was a trade route, all aspects of PERSIA apply to this. Political views, economical costs, religious ideas, different people of different social classes used this route, intellectual ideas were exchanged along with pottery, paintings, ideas, etc. which fallsRead MoreThe Development Of Exploration And The Industrial Revolution1168 Words   |  5 Pagesknown as the Moorish Crusades. After the Moorish Crusades, schools for exploration began to open in Europe. When the schools were created, more and more people became interested in traveling to other countries to expand their own economy, spread religion, and to win glory (Beck, Crowston, Davila, Ebrey, McKay and Wiesner- Hanks 461, 462). Explorers such as Columbus and Magellan revolutionized Europe. Columbus’s desire to spread Christianity to new lands causes him to discover a route from EuropeRead More British Identity and Literature Essay1312 Words   |  6 Pagesnot a simple concept and is complicated by the existence of many British colonies all over the world. The colonized people of the British colonies also have claims on Britishness. So what determines if an individual is British or not? Is it ones religion? Is it the way one speaks? Is it just the difference of skin color? Is it ones appearance and dress? Is it based on citizenship? Is it ones knowledge of social norms of England? The colonized people of British colonies defied many of those above

An Analysis of the New Woman Phenomenon Present in Bram...

The gothic vampire classic Dracula, written by Bram Stoker, is one of the most well known novels of the nineteenth century. The story focuses on a vampire named Dracula who travels to England in search of new blood, but who eventually is found out and driven away by a group of newly minted vampire hunters. A major social change that was going on during the late nineteenth century, around the time of that this novel was being written, was the changing roles of women in British society which constituted as the â€Å"New Woman† movement and the novel seems to explore and worry about this subject extensively. These women wanted to be freed both politically and sexually, but much of the general population at the time found it unsettling (Dixon,†¦show more content†¦These aspects would suggest that she is â€Å"New Woman†, however Mina is very much sexually reticent which is against the sexually assertive nature that helps define the â€Å"New Woman† movement. While the â€Å"New Woman† movement did have some focus on the former aspects it was likely that the more outward sexuality present in the movement was what Stoker and many Victorians were worried about with the movement â€Å"Financial independence and personal fulfillment as alternatives to marriage and motherhood were not responsible for the New Woman’s becoming a symbol of all that’s challenging and dangerous in advanced thinking. The crucial factor was..sex† (Senf, 1982). While the well educated Mina does have several aspects of a â€Å"New Woman† she would not feel comfortable being associated with the movement as she is reluctant to display affection for her fiancà © and she consciously rejects the forwardness and sexual frankness of â€Å"New Woman† writers: Some of the ‘New Woman’ writers will some day start an idea that men and women should be allowed to sleep with each other before proposing or accepting. But I suppose the New Woman won’t condescend in future to accept; she will do the proposing herself. And a nice job she will think of it too! There’s some consolation in that. (chapter 7 or 8) Mina’s conscious rejection can also be thought of as Stokers thoughts on the subject, further pointing to the belief that Stoker was against the sexual openness in the movement, however Mina’sShow MoreRelatedEnglish Source Doc.7581 Words   |  31 PagesTitle: Dracula: Stoker s Response to the New Woman Author(s): Carol A. Senf Publication Details: Victorian Studies 26.1 (Autumn 1982): p33-49. Source: Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Jessica Bomarito and Russel Whitaker. Vol. 156. Detroit: Gale, 2006. From Literature Resource Center. Document Type: Critical essay Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 Gale, COPYRIGHT 2007 Gale, Cengage Learning Full Text:   [(essay date autumn 1982) In the following essay, Senf contends that, contrary

Marketing and Competitive Environment System †Assignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Marketing and Competitive Environment System. Answer: Introduction: The University of the Queensland is established in the year 1909 in Australia and is known as leading teaching and the research institution in the Australia. The University of the Queensland has earned a well-developed reputation which is being considered as the rapid growth education sector of the state. The state is depicted to be showing the rapid growth by the help of these sectors in the society which is a part very much helpful for the development of the education sectors. The consists of the quality regional campuses which have been developed for the purpose of delivering quality programs and also the growth of the country can be easily emulated by serving the best to the students. Thus the University of the Queensland can gain the excellent choice for the student since they can be able to assure and assist them with the best services as it is seen in the form of showing the well-established network (Appannaiah, Reddy, 2010). This is simply indicating the appropriate developm ent of the high-quality standards that had been well established by showing them the quality standards and also the advancement in the learning system can be easily identified in the form of the local, national and the international communities. Therefore the wide range of the tertiary level higher institutions is depicted to be engaged in the form of showing them the best quality programs to satisfy the needs of the students. The university of the Queensland is identified to be the one among the two listed non-profit enterprises. Its global ranking is identified to be 60th and is the top most university which is involved in offering education to the learners. Thus the education of the people is becoming a most important part, and also the University of the Queensland has gained around 90 Australian Awards for the purpose of providing teaching to the learners. This proves that the University of the Queensland is the top most university in Australia. Market summary and demand analysis The statistics of the expenditure made by the government in the education sector is provided in the form of the data which is being presented in the below graph. The analysis is being presented in the form of the accrual based accounting, and also the system of the GFS is also included which is known as the Government Finance Statistics. The expenditures that are included in this are identified to be the expenditures which are made for the teaching activities as per the needs demanded by the universities and the schools. The non-educational activities are not included in these expenditures and also the operations are surrounding the expenses made on the education sectors. Therefore the growth in the demand for the education is showing the increment of the expenses, and also the intra-sector transfers are also becoming higher (Du Plessis, Strydom, Jooste, 2012). Therefore the expenditures made by the government are showing the appropriate growth of the education sectors, and also the operations of the education on the tertiary education are depicted to be 36% whereas on primary, and the secondary education sectors are getting the 51.5 %. The remaining non-employee expenses are depicted to showing the non-educational expenses is getting the 48.5%. Therefore it can be easily judged that the investment of the government at an unprecedented rate is growing and also it is including the tertiary education market as it is being explained in the above points. The cheaper education in the Australia is a part increasing the demand which is creating the higher education in the country, and also the increment in the profit motive is showing the contribution to the demand growth in the education system as it is considered. PEST Analysis The environmental analysis is most important for making the strategies without proper analysis of current business environment of any business the strategies for that specific business cannot be made in a proper way. For the environment analysis, the PEST analysis is important and play a vital role in analysis the macro environment of the business such as it help in analysing the political factors of the business, along with the economic factors, social factors and technological factor of the business (Etzel, Walker, Stanton, 2007). With the effective analysis of these factors, the business prospects of the undertaken can be recognized along with its threat from the external factors. To analyze the macro environment of the University of Queensland, hence the PEST analysis of the tertiary education business in Australia has been performed below: Political: The Australian Government is very supportive of the education business and put great emphasis on framing effective policies and processes for the universities to provide useful support to the operation of the universities. Economic: The country Australia is one of the most stable economies in the world, and the economy is growing steadily. The higher education sector of this country, specifically, the education sectors dealing with international education provide huge contribution ($1 Billion) to the national economy. Social: Like other developed countries in Australia also perceived increasing demand for the higher education. Moreover, the federal government along with other governmental authorities also actively work in this matter and make supportive policies to manage the increasing demand for higher education. Technology: The use of advance technologies like multimedia, online courses, social media is widely used in the education system in this country. The teachers use these technologies to teach the students (Floyd, 2006). The PEST analysis makes it clear that the changes in education policy by the Australian government shall impact on the operation of the education institutes like the University of Queensland. The higher education business in Australia is hugely supported by the economic and social factors of this country. Besides, the technology improvement is also provided required efficiency to the education system. Hence, it can be stated that the entire factors analyzed in PEST analysis are favorable for the University of Queensland. The competitor analysis is one of the most important tasks for the formulation of effective strategies for a business organization. Moreover, for the University of Queensland, there are many competitors who are operating in the same field. There are universities like James Cook University, Griffith University and the University of Southern Queensland are competitors of the University of Queensland. Moreover, the universities provide exclusive offers to the international students. The Griffith University has five campuses for the international students, besides the university offer scholarship and job opportunities to the students (Jones, Silverstein, 2009). The main aim of this university is to provide excellent education experience to the students integrated with latest technologies and skilled teaching professional and become one of the best academic institutions is Australia. The James Cook University also offer various undergraduate and post graduate courses to the students. The James Cook University is also trying to become the best technological institute in Australia. These universities provide significant competition to the University of Queensland because the education industry in Australia is rapidly growing into the battlefield where there are stringent competitions. As the universities offer more useful and practical courses for the international students as well as offer discounts on course fees, scholarships, and employment opportunities that help the universities been attracting the large portions of the students from overseas. SWOT analysis The definition of the SWOT analysis can be easily defined by showing the expansion of the situational analysis which enables the University of the Queensland to determine its strengths, weaknesses, threats and the opportunities. The internal factors are determined to be showing the strengths and the weaknesses where as the external factors are determined to be showing the opportunities and the threats (Newbold, Carlson, Thorne, 2013). Strengths Offering a wide variety of courses Provides the skilled and the motivational teachers Excellent job opportunities are offered to the students Brilliant library collection is presented Weaknesses Fees of the University of the Queensland are a little bit high as it is being compared to the other competitors. Problematic situation is being faced by the student while accessing the online materials. Opportunities The increment of the demand for the international and domestic students in the Australia for the University of the Queensland. Offering diverse courses for the betterment of the students. Threats The new entrant threat can be easily determined in the market High range of the competitors can be seen locally (Pinnock, 2012). Therefore, the University of the Queensland is having numerous strengths with an increment of the demand for the education in the Australia. The development of the strategies must be made by the University of the Queensland to tackle the weaknesses and the threats. The value and the brand positioning of the University of the Queensland are dependent on the marketing techniques which are used for the betterment of the UQ Brand. The delivery of the brand in the form of various images can be easily made by illustrating the appropriate positioning of the aim and also by the help of various channels of marketing. The positioning of the aim is apart helpful for the establishment of the corporate customers as they are depicted to be varying in nature and also the appropriate elements can be easily managed by showing the visual presentation. This is simply categorized by showing the range of the tools of the techniques which is being made by the university community of the institution (Pinnock, 2010). Therefore the corporate identify guidelines must associate with the workings continued by the organization for the betterment of the structure and also the establishment of the company can be achieved by showing the expansion of the work. This enables the organization to fix its primary aim to target the customers and also the top position of the services can be easily made by establishing the attracting templates which can be easily imprinted in the minds of the stakeholders. This is simply explaining the positioning of the organization in the higher position in the market of Australia. Marketing aim and promotional objectives The key marketing aim of the University of Queensland is to attract more and more foreign students to the university and grow as a preferable university for the foreign students. To achieve the main aim of the university, the education institute has to recognize the need and demand of the market. Firstly, have to segment the international education market. After segmentation, the university has to target the potential students as per the course provided by the university. Then the university has to implement the effective positing strategy to place the course in the mind of the target students (Sen, 2008). The university has to make a good academic atmosphere for the international students. There are students from Asian countries like India, Pakistan, China coming to study in the Australian university. Hence the university has to take care of their culture, economic background to offer them required courses. The university has to provide discounts and rebate from the course fees to t he deprived students from the developing countries so that they can afford the course fees of the University of Queensland. Besides this, for the brilliant students, the university can offer exclusive scholarship and the job opportunities for the students also help in attracting the international students. Marketing mix strategies Product: The University of Queensland offers study in the following areas: agriculture, law, and economics, business, agribusiness, information technology, humanities, engineering architecture, planning, music, psychology and education. The University also offers other different courses to attract more students. The courses are prepared by the University for providing all types of education to the students. It provides unique experiences to the students along with increasing the skills and knowledge (Sheehan, 2011). The students can take admission in any of the courses by their abilities. The management team should also focus on providing courses in other fields also. Price: In the year 2017, the tuition fee of the university is around AUD $117,00 for the abroad students to study. The management can decrease the tuition fees to attract more students and increasing the revenues of the university. The tuition fees would be AUD $12,168 in the year 2018 for per semester. However, the University charges tuition fees by the course work programs. The students can pay the tuition fees in different ways. The students can also get a loan from their home country to covers some of the educational expenses. Place: The campus of the University of Queensland Australia is located at different locations such as Brisbane, Herston, Gatton and St Lucia. The University at different places provides a different course to the students. The University is operating its activities in a number of location. However, it would be beneficial for the University if the management team opens University in other locations. The University can use the resources of the country for expanding its operations. Promotions: The University of Queensland use its range of templates and website for the promotions. Fonts and brand colors are very much important as it helps to students to determine the brand name. Other promotional strategy and techniques should be used for attracting more students. The marketing team can promote the products of the University through different channels such as television, newspaper, radio and internet (Winer, Dhar, 2014). The University can use social media platform to attract more students because maximum youngsters use social media websites. The management team should also focus on these strategies to attract more students. In order to analysis market demand the BCG Matrix is a growth share matrix, considered as an effective tool that help in analysing the market growth rate as well as the market share of the existing products of the business organizations. In order to analysis the demand of the services and products of the University of Queensland, means demands of its courses the BCG matrix is functioning as most useful tool. It helps in understanding the portfolio optimization, market, plus efficient resource allocation. The University of Queensland has various different types of education programs including agriculture science to humanities, psychology, education and music. The university has to check the market demand in order to apply the product strategies for the institutions. In this matter the applications of BCG Matrix will be useful. As per the applications of BCG Matrix the portfolio of the University of Queensland has been segmented: The university has significant range of Agricultural study including agriculture, agribusiness, environmental science which have stable market and demand among the students. The market of these courses are stagnated and there is not any growth in the market but these perform steadily. The University of Queensland has high market share for these courses. These courses are considered as cash cow for the university. The University of Queensland has to retain the market share. The engineering, architecture, planning, and Information Technology (IT) courses are performing well as the market of the course growing as the demand of the course increasing. The market shares for this programs are high than the competitors. These engineering course are stars for the university and required investment. The business courses, along with economics and law course are showing minimum growth and performances in comparison to the rivals thus considered as question mark for the university. The university has to invest to develop the programs more competitive. Apart from this, the university has course like health, humanities, education, psychology, which have not any significant growth or the performances of the course are also poor within the international students. These programs have low market share as well as low growth rate. Hence, considered as the dog for the university. The university has to implement effective strategies such as closing the programs or develop in a new ways to attract students. The management team of the University of Queensland has taken certain steps to increase the efficiency and achieving competitive advantage in the market. The University is now focusing on providing more job opportunities to the students and also increasing the quality of education. The University welcome the members of the community to participate in conferences, lectures, festivals, sporting and cultural events. The students and staffs are encouraged to participate in competition and events. The focus is also on developing a partnership with government, philanthropists, government and industry that provides them wide opportunity to compete in the market. The staff member increases awareness among the students about advantages of establishing long-term relationship with the University of Queensland. It is facilitating the opportunity for the alumni to contribute to the success of the University (Wong, Radel, Ramsaran-Fowdar, 2011). Engaging with the global industry, government, univ ersity networks and consular to nurture and promote the international alumni. The management has taken significant steps for the development of the university and also ensure that the University provides a safe environment and wide opportunity to the students. To be competitive in the market, the students are provided with quality education and the staff members are provided with a friendly environment and adequate training for their development. The management team should also provide unique products and services to enhance their capabilities. In order to attain the competitive advantages from the market the University of Queensland has to apply a holistic marketing approach as well as integrated marketing activities will help in improving the marketing efficiency of the University. In this matter the relationship marketing is very effective, with the help of this relationship marketing strategies the university can offer special discounts to students who come with the reference of the other existing students. This support is developing the loyal customers base for the University of Queensland. The University of Queensland can develop a database of the students including the information about their families and relatives so that this database can help in future marketing for the university. Besides this, internal marketing strategies also effective, the university can offer different types of facilities for the existing students who will bring other students for enrolling with course in this university. Media and budget allocation The office of marketing and communications of the University of Queensland edit/produce and distribute daily media to promote the achievements of the university in the areas of discovery, engagement, and learning. The media representatives will be able to subscribe to the University of Queensland news online to receive the media releases through email on releases. If anyone wants to receive the media releases, then he or she have to update details or contact the office of marketing and communications. The communications staffs are interested in the ideas of other staff members of the university, and the press release is a useful resource for determining the achievements of the University (Sheehan, 2011). The main purpose for the preparation of the budgets is to ensure that the University of Queensland meets its obligations and developing guidelines and framework to prepare the annual report. The procedure is related to the top level of budgeting undertaken by the financial and business services and forecasting undertaken by institutes, central areas, and faculties. The annual budget is prepared to meet the current goals and objectives. The financial management is required for all the levels of the University. The budget is prepared in the legislative environment concerning the financial accountability act 2009, higher education support act 2003 and University of Queensland Act 1998. The university is operated and managed under the responsibility structure for the operational management. It is the responsibility of the top management to redistribute the budget and manage all the expenditures. The budget is prepared to meet the operational and strategic plans. Conclusion The analysis shows that the performance of the University of Queensland is increasing, but efforts should be made for future development. The management team should take adequate steps to increase the efficiency of the operations and providing quality education to the students. The University should diversify the course programs, and the staff members should be provided adequate training (Sen, 2008). The rules and regulations should be based on the development of the University and compete in the market. The management team should invest in the financial, human and physical resources. References Appannaiah, P., Reddy, D. (2010).Business Management. Himalaya Publishing House. Du Plessis, P., Strydom, J., Jooste, C. (2012).Marketing management. Cape Town: Juta. Etzel, M., Walker, B., Stanton, W. (2007).Marketing. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Floyd, D. (2006).Business studies. London: Letts. Jones, S., Silverstein, B. (2009).Business-to-business internet marketing. Gulf Breeze, FL: Maximum Press. Newbold, P., Carlson, W., Thorne, B. (2013).Statistics for business and economics. Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education. Pinnock, A. (2010).Business studies. Claremont [Cape Town]: The Answer. Pinnock, A. (2012).Business studies. Claremont [Cape Town]: The Answer. Ramachandra, K., Chandrashekara, B., Shivakumar, S. (2010).Marketing management. Mumbai [India]: Himalaya Pub. House. Sen, M. (2008).Business Management. New Delhi: Global Media Publications. Sheehan, B. (2011).Marketing management. Lausanne: AVA. The University of Queensland Australia,. (2016). UQ GUIDE 2016 (1st ed., pp. 1-54).Queensland. Retrieved from https://www.uq.edu.au/international- students/docs/INT_GUIDE2016_WEB.pdf Winer, R., Dhar, R. (2014).Marketing management. Harlow, Essex: Prentice Hall. Wong, H., Radel, K., Ramsaran-Fowdar, R. (2011).Building a marketing plan. [New York, N.Y.]: Business Expert Press.

Media Analysis Paper Toddlers and Tiaras Essay Example

Media Analysis Paper Toddlers and Tiaras Essay TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 1. 1 PURPOSE 1. 2 DATA DESCRIPTION 2. BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO CHILD BEAUTY PAGEANTS AND TODDLERS TIARAS 3. TELEVISION AND REALITY TV AS A MEDIUM 4. REALITY TV RESEARCH 4. 1 MEDIA SPECTACLES 4. 2 OBSCENITY OF TODDLERS AND TIARAS 4. 3 USES AND GRATIFICATIONS THEORY 4. 4 STUART HALL’S ENCODING-DECODING MODEL 5. METHOD 6. FINDINGS 7. SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS 7. 1 LIMITATIONS 8. CONCLUSION 2 2 2 3 4 5 5 7 9 10 11 13 29 31 31 33 ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 9. REFERENCES 10. APPENDIX 10. 1 PAPER DIVISION 10. 2 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 10. 3 INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS 1. Introduction Ever since the advent of reality TV at the end of 1990’s, television producers started to look for controversial subjects, which would capture the viewer, and make this new format a hit. This was also the case with the child beauty pageants industry, which has been a frequently discussed topic in the United States for decades. Nevertheless, after the emergence of the Reality TV (RTV) show, Toddlers and Tiaras, produced by the American broadcaster TLC, the controversy about this particular industry and children on television has increased rapidly. Toddlers and Tiaras is a show which might seem strange to people who do not know and have never heard of child beauty pageants. Especially the emphasis on making a girl look older, than her actual age, is hard to understand for many people. However, these shocking scenes that often cause certain emotions among the audience, is exactly how RTV producers are trying to capture and interest its audience. We will write a custom essay sample on Media Analysis Paper Toddlers and Tiaras specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Media Analysis Paper Toddlers and Tiaras specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Media Analysis Paper Toddlers and Tiaras specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Toddlers and Tiaras might be a show that is judged rapidly due to the controversial nature of child beauty pageants, however the ratings of TLC prove that it is also a program which people enjoy watching and like to talk about. 1. 1 Purpose The purpose of this research paper is to investigate what people think about a show that features little girls who are turned into beauty queens, how they perceive the characters as well as child beauty pageants in general. Furthermore, due to the fact that this phenomenon clearly reflects the American society, it is interesting to find out what Europeans actually think of this concept. . 2 Data description Most of the data collected in this research comes from academic articles used in the course, and books from the SDU library. Furthermore, online desk research played a major role, including research papers from the scholar. google search engine. Since Toddlers and Tiaras is a show that has only been broadcasted since a few years and has just en tered the European market it seems to be a very current topic. This helped us in our research to find up-to-date information about the Reality TV show, as well as the child beauty pageant industry. Moreover, ten in-depth interviews served as a qualitative research method and added highly valuable information to our research. 2 2. Brief introduction to child beauty Pageants and Toddlers Tiaras Only in a climate of denial could hysteria over satanic rituals at daycare centers coexist with a failure to grasp the full extent of child abuse. (More than 8. 5 million women and men are survivors. ) Only in a culture that represses the evidence of the senses could child pageantry grow into a $5 billion dollar industry without anyone noticing. Only in a nation of promiscuous puritans could it be a good career move to equip a six-year-old with bedroom eyes (Richard Goldstein, 1997). Child beauty pageants have in the past few decades grown into a multi-billion dollar industry, sponsored by multinationals such as Proctor and Gamble and Hawaiian Tropics. In the United States approximately, five thousand child pageants are held every year, with a subscription fee between $250 to $800 dollars, especially when competing on a national level (Giroux, 1998: 39). Pageants are held both on a local and national level. Whereas the local level is mainly meant for working class families, the national competitions are dominated by the middle-and upper class, who have the resources to afford expensive clothes, pageant coaches, dance lessons, travel expenses and etc (Giroux, 1998: 39/40). The popularity growth of child beauty pageants did not go unnoticed and after the rising interest for pageant magazines such Pageantry, The Learning Channel (TLC) decided to launch the reality-based docudrama ‘’Toddlers and Tiaras’’ in February 2009. Now four years later, due to high audience ratings TLC has recently premiered its 5th season. The protagonists of Toddlers and Tiaras are children as young as two years old and their mothers, competing in beauty pageants. The show follows the little beauty queens and their families in their homes and backstage in order to document the preparation the girls have to go through to get the required ‘Barbie-look’ for the contests. Pageants are a lucrative business, not only for the promoters who are making approximately $100,000 per event but also for the contestants who are able to win high money prices as well as holidays and cars (Giroux 1998: 40). Nevertheless, besides the fact that a lot of money can be earned, the costs of competing in child beauty pageants add up quickly. Those high amounts of money indicate that the participation at such beauty contests demands much commitment and a high level of professionalism from the little girls. Hours of training for a flawless dance routine to impress the judges, as well as a healthy diet to be thin for the upcoming pageants are the rule (Sheridan, 2011). 3 Furthermore, there are two different categories of pageants, the Glitz pageants and the natural pageants. Especially the Glitz pageants have led to extreme discussions and outrage in the US. From fake eye lashes to fake spray tan, from provocative outfits to overlays for teeth (the so-called ‘flippers’ to hide the little girl’s tooth gaps, and give them a million-dollar smile), the TV show Toddlers and Tiaras documents every single step of the pageant preparation, and has increased the controversy about the sexualization of children on television (Sheridan, 2011). Another controversial point of the TV show, are the mothers of the little beauty queens, who are faced with the accusation of using their children to make their own dreams come true. According to what you see on the show, they push their little girls to practice several hours a day, and use beauty treatments, like spray tanning to increase their chances of winning (Heltsley Calhoun, 2003: 82). According to experts, the consequences these competitions can have on little girls are extremely negative. Indeed, â€Å"it can be harmful to girls, teaching them that their self-worth is measured by how pretty they are† (Schultz Murphy, 2012). Moreover, as a result of the pageants, the girls can develop lifetime problems, including depression, perfectionism, eating disorders, and body shame (Sheridan, 2011). 3. Television and Reality TV as a Medium If our culture in the second half of the twentieth century is influenced by one medium, then it is television. Via TV, people were for the first time able to witness the horrors of warfare. However, the TV also brought new forms of amusement, music, cabaret and the glitter and glamour of big show programs. In other words, television caused that awareness, grief and appiness have become public issues (Hermes Reesink 2003: 2). Furthermore, even though in recent years the Internet has started to take over television as the most penetrating medium, television is still often seen as one of the most intrusive one, due to the fact that it uses both visual and auditory stimuli. Moreover, media is used by different people for different reasons. Whereas one person would use the medium te levision or another medium in general, to gather information, others will turn on the television pure for entertainment (Asseldonk 2005: 10). One trend which can be described as pure entertainment is RTV, which can be referred to as a ‘’catch-all category that includes a wide range of entertainment programs about real people’’. This form of entertainment has become a firm part of the daily television programing since the 1999s/2000s worldwide. Reality TV nowadays portrays everything and anything, from dating to weight loss, from healthcare to children beauty pageants (Hill, 2005: 2). Moreover, reality TV can be funny, dramatic, exciting and even 4 educating. A reality TV show does not tell its audience how they have to feel about what they see, which is why the opinions about popular programs, such as Big Brother or Toddlers and Tiaras, differ widely. The very first reality TV shows were totally different from what we see today. In fact, the shows followed mainly policemen, firefighters or ambulance drivers and did not invade the private space of a person (J. Bignell, p. 28). According to Hermes Reesink (2003) RTV can be divided into three different forms; emotional-TV, real life soaps and docusoaps. Toddlers and Tiaras can be referred to as a docusoap, meaning that a fixed group of people and their daily activities are being recorded at school, work and etc. The emphasis of these formats is mainly based on the recognition and identification of the people and events portrayed on the show (Mast, 2003). Furthermore, the paper will continue to concentrate on the medium within the medium reality television or more specifically the RTV show Toddlers and Tiaras. Hereby the next chapter will take a closer look at both Media spectacles, the Use and Gratification theory and the encoding-decoding model n relation to child beauty pageants portrayed on the show. 4. Reality TV Research The following chapter focusses on four different theories related to television including; Media Spectacles, Obscenity, Hall’s Encoding and Decoding model and Uses and Gratification theory. 4. 1 Media spectacles Today’s society can be described as ‘society of the spectacle’. In fact; â€Å"Spectacles are those phenomena of media culture which embody contemporary societys basic values, serve to enculturate individuals into its way of life, and dramatize its controversies and struggles, as well as its modes of conflict resolution. They include media extravaganzas, sports events, political happenings, and those attention-grabbing occurrences that we call news a phenomena that itself has been subjected to the logic of spectacle and tabloidization in the era of the media sensationalism, political scandal and contestation, seemingly unending cultural war† (Kellner, 2003: 27). Sports, such as the Super Bowl or the Olympics are important media spectacles (p. 5). Moreover, the entertainment industry is providing major spectacles itself, such as the Oscars or popular film spectacles like the Harry Potter series (p. ). Furthermore, politics also play a major role in the media, and the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, with the following war against terrorism, has clearly been the mega 5 spectacle of the 21st century (p20). Besides, those serious topics, reality TV has become part of this phenomenon as well. Starting with hit-series like Big Brother, Survivor, and the Bachelor, RTV soon turned into a maj or spectacle, with a constantly growing fan crowd. In addition, RTV reached a ew stage, when MTV started to broadcast the faux-reality series about the rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his family, which documented their somewhat ordinary family life. However, this new kind of ‘realitainment’ was a huge success, and fascinated massive television audiences around the world (p. 19). â€Å"Thus, the new millennium is marked by a diversity of spectacles in the field of politics, culture, entertainment, and every realm of social life† (Kellner, 2003: 27) Andy Warhol said in 1968: â€Å"In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes† (phrasefinder). Nowadays, the world has many celebrities, such as actors, writers or singers. However, it seems that more and more people want to be part of the rich and beautiful, and decide to turn their lives into televisual spectacles to achieve those 15 minutes of fame. The participants of Toddlers and Tiaras often say during the show that they would like their children to become a celebrity when they grow up. The most common wishes are to turn the girls into a future a Miss America, singers or actresses, with idols such as Selena Gomez, who both started their careers at a very young age (Hollywoodlife, 2011). Clearly Toddlers and Tiaras is a special kind of spectacle that draws a lot of attention and discussions. The show has been debated on big TV channels, such as CNN, ABC and CW, who have invited various mothers and daughters portrayed on the show, in order to discuss the repeated accusations of child abuse (Canning Behrendt, 2012: 1). Nevertheless, the first time (Glitz) beauty pageants attracted national attention was after the alleged sexual abuse and murder of the six-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey in 1996. The public was shocked, and saw a clear connection between the murder and the pageants, saying the perpetrator had used the children beauty pageant competition to choose his victim (Giroux, 1998: 2). Paul Peterson, a member of ‘A minor Consideration’ that tries to change the children entertainment industry said about the pageants: â€Å"This is feeding the sex industry. There is a tremendous trade within juvenile modeling† (ABCnews, 2011). However, at the time of JonBenet’s murder, no TV show had been documented about the children beauty pageant circus yet. JonBenet who was competing in various beauty pageants, was found abused and murdered in her basement. Not only the public but also the media blamed the beauty pageants for attracting pedophiles and accused JonBenet’s parents of violating their parental duties by dressing JonBenet too sexy and letting her 6 participate in those contests. The murder of JonBenet turned into a mega spectacle with the parents and beauty pageants at the center of national news reports. Nights in a row all major networks showed the public, video’s in which JonBenet was seen wearing sexy adult clothing, red lipstick, curled and bleached hair giving the audience a seductive look in order to impress the judges (Giroux, 1998: 37). According to Giroux, this case presented the American viewer ‘’a spectacle in which it became both a voyeur and a witness to its refusal to address the broader conditions that contribute to the sexualiation and commodification of kids in the larger culture’’ (Giroux, 1998: 37). The case did not only caught the attention of the major networks but also of important American television figures such as Oprah Winfrey, who showed the public that child abuse frequently occurs at home and that the idea people have about that a child molester is most often an outsider is not so credible. The Ramsey case clearly showed this phenomenon of a ‘’unsafe home’’, not necessarily in the way of physical abuse but more looking at the fact that JonBenet parents forced their dreams and fantasies on their little girl, which resulted in the fact that they denied her a personality appropriate for a six-year old. Despite this terrible event and the enormous controversy towards child beauty pageants, TLC decided to broadcast a program dedicated to exactly this. Even though the controversy remains, the program has high audience rates and has turned into yet another reality television spectacle. 4. 2 Obscenity of Toddlers and Tiaras According to the Cambridge dictionary, obscenity or when someone or something is obscene is also referred to as ‘’an offensive and shocking situation or event’’ (Cambridge dictionary online). The commercialization of major broadcasters has according to several theorists led to negative changes in what kind of media content is offered nowadays (De Bens, 1994; Dovey, 2000). De Bens calls the tendency towards First Person Media also tabloidization, due to the fact that the media nowadays offers more and more entertainment that makes the public dumber (Jansen, 2011: 17). Especially in RTV programs the cameras have started to intrude in people’s private lives, in order to satisfy the viewer’s desire towards sensation and spectacles. It is often said that viewer’s currently, have gotten an increasingly narrowminded and stereotype image of what kind of problems are going on in society (Mast, 2003). The stories and images portrayed in the media, of individuals sharing their intimacies is getting crazier every time. The public has gotten used to the fact that the public domain has turned into a freak show. 7 When the first Big-Brother came out and the contestants were having sex on life TV, people started to wonder where the limit is. According to Hermes Reesink (2003), fear arose that RTV would continue to stretch its limits and would become more and more inappropriate and revolting (p. 229). When looking at the RTV program Toddlers and Tiaras and the Cambridge definition of obscenity, the program is often seen as both offensive and shocking. Ever since Toddlers and Tiaras debuted on TLC in 2009, it has been a show that caused much controversy in the US (realitytvworld, 2009). Children beauty pageants were nothing new in the US at that time, since the very first pageants already took place in the 1960s; however this new RTV show documented very closely to what extremes the mothers go to make their daughters win (Huffingtonpost, 2011). The mothers participating in Toddlers and Tiaras have earned the nickname ‘pageant-moms’ in the US, and there is even an overall term to define their often shocking behavior, namely the ‘pageant mom’ phenomenon (ABCnews, 2012: 3). By definition, ‘Pageant moms’ aggressively market their daughters in beauty contests. Those mothers often function as managers and might have a less positive and stable relationship with their children, than mothers that separate business from family. Toddlers and Tiaras heated up the discussions about the ‘pageant mom’ phenomenon, and uses the overly competitive mothers very successfully, to increase the interest in the program. Some of the show’s protagonists achieved a very questionable fame in the US and are highly criticized for their behavior. For most critics, the main problem is not even the actual beauty pageant, but the preparation that comes with it. TLC concentrates greatly on filming the beauty treatments, such as spray tanning or heavy make-up, since those are the moments when the children most often defend themselves against their mother’s treatment. The complaints made by these crying little girls often hits a nerve of the public and generated more than once a fundamental discussion about child abuse (McKay, 2010). Moreover, the debate about sexualizing children on television has increased extremely since Toddlers and Tiaras started broadcasting. This is, due to the fact that many mothers select provocative costumes to attract attention, and to improve the winning chances of their daughters. However, together with the heavy make-up and professional hairdos, the little girls look extremely mature. This is where the problem for many starts, as a children psychologist shares: â€Å"When you have them looking older, for a lot of people that means looking sexier†¦If you’re telling a 6-year-old to act like a 16-year-old, you’re telling her to be seductive and to be sexy† (Schultz Murphey, 2012: 2). In fact one pageant mom on Toddles and Tiaras has gone as far as to dress her 3-year-old in the same costume that Julia Roberts’ prostitute character wore in the movie ‘Pretty Women’ (Thompson, 2011: 1). This performance was followed by much public out8 rage and a complaint, which was filed by the Parents Television Council against TLC’s Toddlers and Tiaras saying: â€Å"We have a serious problem when The Learning Channel features a toddler, who probably hasnt even learned to read, dressed as a prostitute showing off her sexy strut† (Thompson, 2011: 1). However, exactly those provocations and shocking scenes has made Toddlers and Tiaras one of the most successful Reality TV shows featuring children. Moreover, the pageant moms get much attention in the hit-series Toddlers and Tiaras and sometimes become even more popular than their own daughters. Many critics say that the mothers push the girls to participate in pageants and on Toddlers and Tiaras only to be in the spotlight themselves. However, not every pageant mom can automatically be accused to be a bad mother. In short, Toddlers and Tiaras create a lot of shocking and controversial moments and discussions. During the in-depth interviews the research will continue to concentrate what the opinions of the participants are and whether according to them this program can be seen as obscenity. 4. 3 Uses and gratifications theory Within the uses and gratifications theory the central idea is that it is necessary to know how and why people use media in order to see what kind of force that certain medium has on people (Vettehen, 1998: 6). Media use is linked to the needs people want to satisfy and the gratification they think they will get from it. The uses and gratifications approach, studies the social, psychological and cultural origin of the needs media users have. People generally use media because it fulfills and satisfies these needs (Vettehen, 1998: 6). The uses and gratification approach is in research frequently used to trace the functions of people’s media use. When applying uses and gratifications on RTV, it helps to understand the watcher’s motives and preferences. This is done by placing RTV on the greater spectrum of communication channels which are somewhat accessible to audiences, with the understanding that people are often, but not constantly, actively involved in the selection of media content (Papacharissi Mendelson, 2007: 356). According to A. Rubin (1983) nine different motives for watching television could be identified including; ‘’relaxation, companionship, entertainment, social interaction, information, habit, pass time, arousal and escape’’ (Papacharissi Mendelson, 2007: 359). Moreover, three additional otives were added, including parasocial interaction of watching the news and ‘’surveillance and voyeurism for certain program types’’ (359). Furthermore, according to Papacharissi Mendelson quantitative research, RTV is mainly watched for entertainment, to pass time or because it has become a habit. In contrast to these three main 9 objectives of watching RTV, voyeurism seem s the least mentioned motive. According to Crew’s study (2006), this has several reasons. First of all, people are nowadays, used to the concept of watching RTV programs. Secondly, social desirability may also play a role in this, due to the fact that people rather not admit that they like to spy on other people. People however, seem to be very interested in the game element and the group dynamic of a program, due to the fact that this often gives excitement to the program (Crew, 2006: 71). Furthermore, despite the fact that according to De Kloet Chow (2000), it is impossible for a RTV participant to completely be themselves, the viewer often does not see it that way. Therefore, besides entertainment, the authenticity of the personages as well as their emotions also plays an important role. By using RTV programs as a means of identification a higher degree of involvement finds place. In different studies about watching reality television, divergent motives are being mentioned as the most important motive to watch this genre. The question however, is which of these motives apply to Toddlers and Tiaras. Even though, a wide variety of the viewers of Toddlers Tiaras cannot directly identify themselves with these little girls or their mothers, the program does strongly play into the emotions of the viewer as well as concentrating on the game factor of which child will win this episodes pageant. During the qualitative interviews the research paper will focus on finding out which of the 12 earlier mentioned motives, according to the 12 respondents are most relevant to Toddlers Tiaras. 4. 4 Stuart Hall’s Encoding-decoding model Hall’s encoding and decoding model focuses on the interpretation of media messages, a process that finds place when the media messages are being received. An individual gives meaning to messages by looking, reading and or listening, through which the person can feel emotionally involved or has the feeling that he or she can identify him or herself with the personage portrayed (De Boer Brennecke, 2003: 114). Furthermore, Hall’s model states that there are two central processes who decide which meaning a media product has. Encoding refers to the producer’s role who formulates a media message within its own abilities and restrictions. Social background, gender, age, education and organizational structure all play an important role in this. Decoding on the other hand, refers to the public who receives a message and depending on its own knowledge and common sense interprets the message in its own way (Jansen, 2011: 32). Both daily life experiences as well as what the public sees and hears in the media are of importance when giving meaning to a message (Fiske Hartley, 2003: 81). This means that both on the encoding and decoding side, different meanings of media-messages arise due to the fact that people generally differ widely from each other (Hermes Reesink, 2003: 33). 10 According to Hall there are three different ways to read a media text such as for instance a television program, including; dominant (or ‘hegemonic’), negotiated and oppositional (‘counter-hegemonic’) reading. The dominant reading exists of the message the producer meant to send to the public. Negotiated reading means that the viewer understands the producer’s message but partly also gives its own interpretation which fits the situation better. Lastly, with oppositional reading the viewer rejects the message. In addition studies of signification start when the medium and public meet. The origin of these studies all come from Hall’s encoding and decoding model. Hereby it is assumed that different people, possibly all give a different meaning to a specific media message. Two common perspectives of these studies in terms of RTV are; identification and disapproval. Identification finds place when people can relate the story line to their own life, whereas disapproval finds place when people are distant towards what they see and find it unrealistic (Liebes Katz, 1990). Both theorists and viewers describe reality television in a different manner. According to research on the signification of RTV it appears that the viewer realizes that the images they see are copied-pasted by the producer’s as well as that conversations are often manipulated in a way that it changes the context (Jansen, 2011: 33). For the viewer it is especially important to identify themselves with the different personages, in which authenticity plays an important role (Hautakangas, 2010: 237). Besides, identification, emotional empathy as well as using the program as a reference framework are ways to give meaning to a RTV program. In the case of Toddlers and Tiaras, the viewer might feel empathy when seeing how the eyebrows or legs of 4-6 year olds are being plugged and waxed. These kinds of images are often supported by voice overs in the form of interviews or dialogues with either the mum or the children themselves. Due to these dialogues and interviews, the viewer is enabled to empathize with what the personages are feeling (Hermes Reesink, 2003: 224). In which way the viewers of Toddlers and Tiaras give meaning to the program will become clearer during the in-depth interviews. 5. Method As mentioned in the introduction the purpose of this research is to find out, what people think about the show Toddlers and Tiaras, how they perceive the characters as well as child beauty pageants in general. Furthermore, due to the fact that this phenomenon clearly reflects the American society, it is interesting to find out what Europeans actually think of this concept. The variety of data used for this research and the 11 diverse number of sources from which they were collected made both the use of qualitative and quantitative research methods of collecting data suitable or this research. We therefore, decided to mix these two methods of data collection. Qualitative research is often used ‘’to study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or to interpret, phenomena in terms of meanings people bring to them’’ (Denzin Lincoln, 2002: 3). Furthermore, qualitative research questions are often ‘’how and what’â€℠¢ questions trying to find out information about the respondents experiences, strategies, feelings, behavior, perceptions and motivations (Evers de Boer, 2007: 18). This research paper makes use of the qualitative research method; interviewing, which according to Evers de Boer (2007) is the most common data collection strategy. Qualitative interviewing exists of various types, including individual interviews and group interviews. For this paper we have chosen to focus on individual in-depth interviewing. An important reason why we have chosen for this is due to the fact that it has a more personal setting and in this way we can get more honest and extensive responds from the participants than when for instance distributing a quantitative research survey. In addition, the interviews were held in an informal setting often on the couch of either one of the interviewers or of the respondents, to give the participants a relaxed feeling so that they would feel open towards the questions asked. Before the interview, the participants were also asked to watch a 42 minute episode of Toddlers and Tiaras at home so that in case they had never seen the program before, they had a clearer overview of what it is about. Right before the interview, the participants were shown another short 2 minute video clip about a famous Toddlers and Tiaras participant who is well known in the United States for drinking the so called ‘’go-go Juice’’, which is a mix of two different caffeine drinks. Furthermore, the in-depth interviews were held on the basis of the theoretical framework of chapter four, focusing on the following topics; uses and gratifications, obscenity, signification/encoding and decoding and child beauty pageants in general. For this research, a total of 10 international master students (five men and five women) from the University of Southern Denmark were interviewed about their viewing of the American RTV program Toddlers and Tiaras. The interviews existing of 16 different open questions took between approximately, 11 and 21 minutes, depending on how much the respondent knew about the program. The fact that the sample included both 5 female and 5 male respondents was done purposely, in order to be able to examine whether gender plays a role in how people perceive the program.