Impact Of Television On Sexual Behaviour Of Youths Media Essay

Impact Of Television On Sexual Behaviour Of Youths Media Essay INTRODUCTION Television, radio, films, newspapers, magazines, books, and other media are increasingly persuasive and influential in peoples lives around the world. New technologies such as the Internet, cell-phones and chat rooms, have changed the nature of the media experience in significant ways through the information they provide to users. The information obtained from mass media maybe constructive or detrimental and it is for that reason there is need to assess the impact it has on teenagers sexual behaviour by mainly focusing on televised programmes. Background of the Thesis Televised programmes do qualify as one of the convenient sexual educators in our culture but laden with contradictions. TVs accessibility and popular appeal make it an excellent instructor, offering a convenient way to learn about sex without embarrassment which usually arises between parents and their children when discussing sex related issues. While TVs sexual messages are not always explicit, they are abundant, and often provide information youth do not get elsewhere. Through its dialogue, characterisations, storylines, and themes, television presents adolescents with numerous verbal and visual examples of how dating, intimacy, relationships, and sex are handled. On the other hand, concern is often expressed that the messages TV sends about sexuality are limited, sometimes stereotypical, and potentially harmful. The concern is that the prevalence of sexual content on TV inadvertently overemphasizes the role of sex in male-female relationships. Of equal concern is the impression t hat television provides a one-dimensional picture of sexual relationships and sexual encounters are always spontaneous, romantic, and risk free. Thus, because of the prevalent yet limited nature of TVs sexual content, researchers and educators have become interested in/whether viewing of these portrayals is associated with distorted expectations, irresponsible sexual decision-making, and permissive sexual attitudes. Although the research in this area has been sparse in Kenya, research findings do associate amount of TV viewing with viewers sexual attitudes, expectations, and behaviour. First, greater TV exposure has been linked to viewers attitudes about sex and sexual relationships. Both heavy regular consumption of and experimental exposure to sexually-oriented genres, such as soap operas and music videos, have been related to expressing more liberal sexual attitudes, to being more accepting of sexual improprieties, and to more negative attitudes toward remaining a virgin. Together, these findings but not limited to, provide tentative evidence of a link between watching sexually-oriented programming and viewers own sexual attitudes, expectations, and behaviour. The effects of television consumption on teenagers behaviour regarding to sex are of increasing interest to educators, policy makers, program planners and the society as whole. The concern is that the extent to which frequent consumption of media with high levels of sexual content and low levels of portrayal of responsible sexual conduct is a pivotal influence on young peoples subsequent sexual behaviour, including the responsible use of protection from pregnancy and disease. Research done in United States has demonstrated that young people are heavy consumers of sexually- oriented media including TV, both broadcast and cable channels, videos, movies, magazines, and, more recently, the internet. The researcher acknowledges that the above mentioned relationship cannot be generalised across cultures especially Kenya and United States, however televised programmes do carry sexual content across board. Content analyses have also demonstrated that broadcast television contains a high, growing and increasingly explicit dose of sexual messages, and that a proportion of such messages display or model either restraint or contraceptive use. However, scientific evidence has not yet established a causal relationship between exposure to sexual content in the media and teenagers attitudes concerning sexuality and their own sexual behaviours. Therefore a detailed research that addresses the nature and magnitude of the role of television in teenagers decisions regarding sexual intercourse and protection from disease and unintended pregnancy might create data which could guide future policy making and programming, both in the government and in the media industries. Statement of the Problem The role of television as a sexual educator in our culture is perceived to be inappropriate. On the one hand, televisions accessibility and popular appeal as an excellent instructor, does offer a convenient way to learn about sex and sexual behaviours without embarrassment. While televisions sexual messages are not necessarily visually explicit (which can be either non-verbal or verbal cues), they often provide information that teenagers may not receive elsewhere. One dimension of involvement to be considered is viewing motivation, or viewers expected uses of television. People use and select media (television) to gratify specific needs, and that specific uses lead to differences in behaviour and outcomes. According to this construct, people exhibit varying levels of activity when using the media, differing in their selectivity, attention to, and involvement with the content viewed. However, while the expectation is that the effect of television content will therefore depend on ones level of active involvement. It is argued that facilitative activity, which includes selectivity, attention, and involvement, is more likely to enhance television effects on sexual behaviour, whereas inhibitory activity, which includes avoidance, distraction, and scepticism, should deter teenagers involvement in sexual activities. Focusing on the two dimensions of facilitative activity and inhibitory activity, the researcher seeks to determine to what extent televi sion viewing impact on teenagers sexual behaviour. Thesis Objectives In order to achieve the purpose of the study which is to determine the impact of television on the sexual behaviour of the youth by exploring aspects of television use that are associated with teens sexual behaviours and expectations, hence the research has based its objectives on: To investigate whether television content affects the sexual beliefs and behaviour of the youth To investigate what sexual content the youth pay attention to and how they interpret what the see and hear. To investigate whether television as a form of media can be used to promote responsible sexual behaviour Thesis Questions What sexual content do teenagers pay attention to, and how do they interpret what they see and hear? Do sexual media content affect teenagers sexual beliefs and behaviour? Can the mass media be used to promote responsible sexual behaviour among teenagers? Hypotheses The study will test the following hypotheses; Sexual behaviour among the youth is influenced by what they see on television. Television is appropriate channel to educate the youth on responsible sexual behaviours. Television has become a peer to the youth. Limitation of the Thesis For comparison reasons, the research is limited to researches done on the similar topic on argument impact of television on the sexual behaviour of youths. The study sample of teenagers between the age of 15 to 17 living in Starehe constituency may not give a fully representation of the each and every youth in the country. Its important to note that there no readily available research or documented information regarding to television viewing among teenagers in Kenya which would have added value to this research. The study is limited in collection of primary data specifically in interviews and questionnaires. The question of whether the respondents will accept appointments, attend, answer and return the questionnaires in good time is delimitation to the research. It is important to mention that not all respondents will be able to reply to the questionnaires adequately due to reasons beyond the researchers control, while some may have clerical errors. Concerted efforts will be ensured for better response and retrieval of important information from relevant sources. Motivation This study is important for Kenyan society, in understanding the impact of television on the sexual behaviours of youths. Furthermore, the information attained in this study could also help in understanding sexual decisions that are made by youths. As the country and the world as a whole are working towards combating the HIV and AIDS epidemic, it is imperative to try and understand the different aspects (peers, parents, television, as well as the media as a whole) that contribute to such decisions, particularly since statistics have highlighted that they are more vulnerable to being infected and are at the risk of experiencing teenage pregnancy. Thesis Structure The thesis will be segmented in chapters; the first chapter will concentrate on the sociological analysis of the topic whereby the study will look at the problem, its root-cause and what has been done by other researchers on teenagers sexual attitudes and behaviour regarding to what they watch on televised media. In this particular chapter the study will look at various communication and psychological development theories which tend to explain teenage sexuality. The subsequent chapter or segmentation of this study will document the research methodology in collecting primary data, sampling of respondents, data collection and analysis. The study uses descriptive survey research design whereby the researcher will describe a scenario to a respondent who will then give in-depth response on the same. The research population is drawn from teenagers of age 15-17 years old whereby stratified sampling will be applied to select the respondents. The final chapter deals with elaboration of the communication strategies available such as injection theory and agenda setting theory followed by the justification of the communication theories through the research findings and details on the implementation of the proposed thesis. It will end with general conclusion based on the findings expressed from data analysis and discussed literature in view of thesis objectives. CHAPTER ONE Introduction This chapter deals with literature concerning previous studies relating directly and indirectly to the influence of television on adolescent girls sexual attitudes and behaviour. Furthermore, this chapter furnishes a detailed description of how different researchers view the underlying assumption of this study together with a consideration of the different methodologies employed to conduct the various studies which have resulted in similar conclusions. This chapter further describes how television has influenced other aspects of adolescent life and behaviour. Although the study solely focuses on the impact of television, the study also describes mass media in order to broaden the perspective regarding media influence among adolescents. In addition, the researcher indicates how television influences other behaviours other than sexual. The reason of including other manifesting behaviours is to illustrate that if television is able to influence teenagers in this manner, it may also influence their sexual attitudes and behaviour. Teenagers and Sexuality Teenagers undergo adolescence which is viewed as a time of adjustment and is often characterised by turmoil resulting from issues regarding identity and sexual identity and orientation. A key period of sexual exploration and development occurs during adolescence. During this time, individuals begin to consider which sexual behaviours are enjoyable, moral, and appropriate for their age group. Many adolescents become sexually active during this period. Sexuality is a developmental milestone among teenagers with which each generation struggles. Sexuality encompasses behavioural components with boundaries of sexual activity moving in an increasingly permissive direction. Perceptions appear to be constant through the ages while only the circumstances change. An emphasis on individual freedom and rights-driven culture in societies may be influential in this apparent permissiveness. A number of factors which include media and the internet, urbanization, electronic communication, peer influences and the breakdown of traditional parental and community structures also play a part. Therefore, we look at these factors in more detail. Factors Influencing Sexual Behaviour There are many factors that contribute to and influence sexual behaviours among adolescents. Family structure, age, gender, parenting styles, and type of parental communication have all been pointed out as factors that influence teenagers behaviour. However, family structure has been of particular interest to most researchers as more adolescents are being exposed to family disruption and are moving away from traditional lifestyles. The positive or negative impact of these changes on adolescents may also influence their sexual behaviour. Teenage sexual attitudes and behaviours are also influenced by: Biological and psychological factors within an individual this refers to age, level of maturity and gender Close relationships in family and peer groups refers to the people with whom a teenager enjoys near, close or intimate relationships. Socio-cultural contexts such as race, religion, school and the media refers to the kind of environment from which a teenager come from, their belief systems, the kind of education, as well as the kind of media (television, print media, internet, radio), to which they have been exposed. Consequently this research aims at determining television as an influencing factor on the sexual behaviour of teenagers in Starehe constituency. One potential but largely unexplored factor that may contribute to sexual behaviours among adolescents is exposure to sexual content in the mass media. The average youth spends one third of each day exposed to media, and the majority of that exposure occurs outside of parental oversight. Although mass media have been shown to have an influence on a broad range of behaviours and attitudes including violence, eating disorders, tobacco and alcohol use, surprisingly few studies have examined the effects of mass media on adolescent sexual attitudes and behaviours. Theoretical Perspectives: Attitudes and Behaviours The potential for mass media to influence behaviour has been supported through a number of different psychosocial theories, hypotheses, and models. Although there is considerable variation in theoretical mechanisms by which media might affect adolescents sexual attitudes and behaviours, most posit that sexually related message content and behaviour act over time as stimuli to change consumer psychological, physiologic, and behavioural function. The study thus analyses two theories namely Social-Learning Theory and Cultivation theory to relate the sexual behaviours among teenagers. Social-Learning Theory Banduras social-learning theory provides ample evidence that even when children and adults have not actually performed a behaviour, they can learn by imitation. Bandura identifies three main processes involved in learning: direct experience, indirect or vicarious experience from observing others (modelling), and the storing and processing of complex information through cognitive operations. This theory suggests that behaviours are learned and that they are influenced by social context: Television is seen as an increasingly influential agent of socialization that produces its effects through childrens propensity to learn by imitation. The premise of Social learning theory is that it focuses on viewers personal connections with the portrayals via identification and perceived relevance to the self. The dimensions here emphasize on television characters as models of behaviour. The hypothesis proposes that specific critical portrayals may exert a stronger force on impression-formation and image-building than might the sheer frequency of television characters and behaviours viewed. This notion emphasizes the power of individual performances to affect viewers, most likely portrayals that speak to the viewer in some way. Banduras theory predicts that teenagers will imitate or model what they see on television when those television personalities are rewarded or are not punished for their behaviour, and are perceived as attractive, powerful, and similar. Indeed, evidence suggests that perceiving TV figures as sexual role models is associated with more permissive sexual attitudes, more extensive sexual experience, and great er dissatisfaction with ones sexual status and sexual experiences. Thus, it is expected here that the contributions of TVs sexual content will be stronger among teenagers who more closely identify or connect with the portrayals of television personalities. In light of the aforesaid, the most common examples of social learning situations are television commercials, movies and music videos. Sexual content displayed in these programmes may suggest that certain sexual behaviour renders teenage boys and girls more attractive and admirable. The theory further indicates that human sexual behaviour is governed mainly by social conditioning, rather than endocrinal stimulation. Sexual modelling presented on television teaches affectionate techniques, reduces sexual inhibition, alters sexual attitudes, and shapes sexual behaviours by conveying norms: for instance, which behaviours are socially acceptable and which are not. Cultivation Theory Cultivation theory posits that heavy exposure to mass media creates and cultivates attitudes more consistent with a media-directed version of reality than with reality itself. Up to this point, the dominant theoretical model supporting this research has been the cultivation theory. The cultivation theory (Gerbner, Gross, Signorielli, 1994), proposes that televisions consistent images and portrayals construct a specific portrait of reality, and as viewers watch more and more television, they gradually come to cultivate or adopt attitudes and expectations about the world that coincide with this portrait. Although this model has typically been employed to explain the impact of TV violence, it has been applied successfully to the cultivation of attitudes about gender roles, politics and marriage. Accordingly, if content analyses indicate that sex on TV is glamorous, prevalent, recreational, and relatively risk free, the cultivation model predicts that frequent teenage television viewers will be more inclined than sporadic viewers to hold and accept this perspective of sexuality. Media portrayals and messages might affect the behaviour of teenagers over time by enabling them to acquire new attitudes and behaviours or by changing the likelihood that they will perform new or previously learned responses. However, while the results reported thus far are provocative and informative, and do support the premises of this model, they offer a limited analysis of televisions role in the sexual socialization process. It is argued here that viewing amounts should be seen as only one avenue through which TV exposure might affect teenagers. Indeed, the processes by which television viewing shapes viewers attitudes and expectations are varied and complex, with several factors contributing at the same time. Therefore, to better examine contributions of television exposure, other dimensions of viewing need to be considered. In particular, a key element missing has been the role of viewer involvement. The study believes that teenagers perceptions of the portrayals and their connections with the material are likely to be critical factors in the socialization process. Drawing on the premises of several theoretical perspectives, I have outlined four aspects of viewer involvement which I believe may play an important role. It is my argument that teenagers who feel more connected with the material and who are more involved in the viewing experience will be most affected by it. To contextualize the Cultivation theory, the study discusses viewing motivation, active viewing and perceived depiction. Viewing Motivation One dimension of cultivation theory involvement to be considered is viewing motivation, or teenagers expected uses of television. Gratifications concepts contend that people use and select media to gratify specific needs, and that specific uses lead to differences in viewing behaviour and outcomes. While some viewing is believed to be more ritualized, in which a television is used to fill time, escape, or provide company, other television use is more instrumental, in which viewing is purposeful and goal-directed, perhaps driven by information-or arousal-seeking. In relation to the study, we focus on instrumental motives, more specifically on viewing TV to learn about the sex. The expectation is that the effects of TVs sexual content will be stronger among teenagers who are intentionally using TV to learn about sexual behaviour. Active Viewing A second dimension of Cultivation theory focuses on the level of active viewing. According to this construct, teenagers exhibit varying levels of activity when using the television, differing in their selectivity, attention to, and involvement with the content viewed. However, while the expectation is that the effect of TV content will therefore depend on ones level of active involvement, the direction of this effect is unclear. The suggestions are that active teenage viewers are more affected by televisions messages; others indicate that passive teenager viewers are most vulnerable. In reconciling this debate, a current perspective suggests that different ways of being active contribute to different outcomes. It is argued that facilitative activity, which includes selectivity, attention, and involvement, is more likely to enhance television effects, whereas inhibitory activity, which includes avoidance, distraction, and scepticism, should deter them. Focusing here on facilitative ac tivity only, the expectations are that the socializing effects of TVs sexual content will be stronger among teenage viewers who tend to engage in more facilitative activity. Perceived Depiction A third dimension of involvement considers the perceived realism of the portrayals. Although most television programs are fictional, there are many aspects of the portrayals (such as the clothing, physical settings, dialogue, and situations) that closely resemble those in real life. Consequently, most notions predict that televisions impact will increase the more realistic its content is perceived to be. Evidence supports this premise, with cultivation effects appearing to work stronger for those who view the portrayals as realistic. Thus, it is expected that the socializing effect of televisions sexual content will be stronger among teenage viewers who perceive its portrayals as more realistic. Influence of Television on Teens Television has proven to exert a large influence on peoples attitudes and behaviour. It has been found to reflect and possibly shape the attitudes, values, and behaviours of young people. According to them, this medium has become so influential that it serves as a teacher, often providing a common source of information to young people. The role of media in teenagers lives has raised concerns in many respects, such as violence, sexuality and body dissatisfaction. Although numerous studies have demonstrated the effects of media on various behaviours, including violence and aggression, social stereotyping, and pro-social behaviours, the systematic process of examining sexual content on television and its impact on adolescent sexual behaviours is in its infancy. Studies have demonstrated clearly that sexual content is pervasive in TV programming, movies, music videos, and magazines; however, much less is known about sexual content on the radio (including remarks by presenters) and the sexual content of video and computer games. It is surprising that only a few studies have assessed the sexual content of the television, and none have specifically examined this content in relation to teenager exposure. This is particularly troublesome given that what little evidence there is indicates that the television programmes may contain the most sexually explicit content. Studies on the effects of television on teenagers sexual behaviour have found that prime-time programmes and music videos, focusing on sex outside marriage, promote more justifiable attitudes about premarital sex. Two cross-sectional surveys have linked frequent exposure to sexual television content and transition to sexual intercourse. However, because time order was not clear in these studies, Ward and Friedman further state that it is credible to conclude that teenagers who were having sexual intercourse were also those most interested in sexual content in the media, rather than that exposure to sexual media was accelerating the initiation of their sexual activity. The single longitudinal study on this topic found that adolescents (12-17 years old) who watched television shows with more sexual content were more likely than those who viewed fewer shows with sexual content to have engaged in more advanced sexual behaviour, as well as sexual intercourse, up to one year later. Larson is of the opinion that the exposure to portrayals of sex may affect adolescents in developing beliefs about cultural norms as well. He states that television may create the illusion that sex is more central to daily life than it truly is and may promote sexual initiation as a result, a process known as media cultivation. Exposure to the social models provided by television may also alter beliefs about the likely outcome of engaging in sexual activity. Social learning theory predicts that teens who see characters having casual sex without experiencing negative consequences will be more likely to adopt the behaviours portrayed. Although televised sexual portrayals can theoretically inhibit sexual activity when they include depictions of sexual risks (such as the possibility of contracting an STI or becoming pregnant), abstinence, or the need for sexual safety, this type of depiction occurs in only negligibly of shows with sexual content. As a result, sexual content on television is far more likely to influence sexual behaviour among teenagers than discourage it. Teenage Sexual Behaviour in Kenya It has been documented that modernisation increases opportunities for sexual encounters and provides new models for sexual behaviour. The results suggest that modernisation favour transgression of the more restrictive traditions that existed decades. The scenario in Kenya regarding to teenage sexuality, little has been done to study the trends on the issue. Some of the close related studies done have mainly focused on sex education and reproductive health among adolescents. Problems related to sexuality and related behaviours seem to play a central role in the lives of many teenagers. In many parts of Kenya sexual debut begins early and in the absence of information and services. They state 7 out of 10 young people in Kenya have had sex before the age of 19. This high level of sexual activity is associated with risks such as HIV/AIDS, pregnancy, unsafe abortion, economic hardship and school dropout. Currently 5 in 10 girls in Kenya have begun childbearing before age 20 years. In most communities in Kenya, adolescents are faced with many of the same problems and violations of rights that may lead to sexual abuse. In their report, they have identified some reasons to explain this situation; the break down in traditional family systems in both urban and rural areas, influence of the mass media and modernisation as well as the lack of access to information and services are just some of the factors. In some cases they have pointed out that there is poor packaging of information for teens consumption hence having a negative impact on their sexual behaviours. In compounding this, it illustrates that not only do teenagers lack the right information and skills they need to make sound, healthy choices, but they are at particularly high risk of serious, long-term consequences of poor decision-making about sexual activity regarding to STIs, sexual abuse and early parenting. Narrowing it down to area of study, Kenya boosts over five national television stations and cable television. These stations broadcast various programmes featuring music videos, films, educative programmes, soap operas, all these shows run under various themes which may or may not have sexual connotations. Due to limited dedication to sex education among teens, the outcome is that these teens will rely on their own judgement or peer advice to make decisions regarding to sex. Thesis Critique Based on this review, the study identified many gaps in our knowledge of the sexual content of various television especially Kenya, the amount of exposure to it by adolescents, and the impact of this exposure. Moreover, there is a noticeable scarcity of well-conducted, scientifically rigorous studies that examine the impact of sexual content in the television media on sexual behaviours among adolescents, and there are no studies that have longitudinally examined the cumulative effects of sexual content in different types of media. It is critical that longitudinal research be conducted, and within the multilevel context of child development: that is to say, different groups of adolescents (defined by age, geographic location, tribe, domestic situation, and other variables) have different media diets, and identical diets may have differing effects depending on a number of factors. Based on this review, future studies should survey parents to assess the effectiveness of parental involvement, communication, supervision, and monitoring of media sexual content in the media in influencing the sexual attitudes and behaviours of teenagers. Also there is a need to evaluate adolescent and parent media-literacy education to determine best-practice interventions and their impact on youth viewing choices, interpretation of content, and sexual attitudes and behaviours: Intervention studies are needed to examine whether current media-literacy education has an impact on adolescent sexual attitudes, decision-making, and behaviours and how such programs may be improved to best protect teens. Throughout the study, there no are tangible researches in relation to teen sexual behaviours done which has taken into account early initiation of sexual intercourse, number of sexual partners, other sexual behaviours such as oral sex, dating violence among teenagers. Conclusively, this study categorically urges that there is need to address potential mediating variables such as puberty, peer factors, society and family factors (e.g., parental supervision and monitoring of media use); only in such ways can we determine the effects of television on adolescent sexual attitudes and behaviours. Conclusion This chapter has focused on discussing the theoretical framework that underlines this study. A review of social learning theory and cultivation theory with the main emphasis placed on cultivation theory. The importance of observing modelling behaviour, attitudes and viewing motivations of teenagers is addressed, as is the fundamental assumption of social learning theory and cultivation theory. The modelling process, factors influencing observa

Changing Role of Women in Archie Comics Essay -- Changing Gender Norms

Plan of Investigation The purpose of the essay is to answer the question: How has Archie Comics reflected changing gender norms in the United States of America from World War II to the present of women in contemporary American society, in its eventual challenge of the position of men as the dominant sex, and in its inclusion of previously marginalized sexual orientations? As entertainment primarily targeted to middle-class America, Archie is a helpful avenue by which to understand acceptable views. This paper will present gender roles portrayed in Archie Comics in three different time frames: the Forties, the Sixties, and the new millennium. It will analyze the establishment of traditional gender roles set forth in the earliest Archie Comic strips. Next it will critique the ways in which it responded to the challenges to these traditional norms and assess whether the comic incorporated these challenges or rebuffed them. Finally, this paper will evaluate the role of modern-day Archie Comics as a vanguard i n the new discussion of gender roles and sexual orientation in America. For the purpose of analysis, issues of Archie representative of the era will be examined in conjunction with larger historical developments. These include: the sexual revolution of the 1960s, the post-feminist world following the 1970s, and the rise of LGBT acceptance. Often changes in social norms move at a glacial pace. Particularly difficult in assessing social norms is the definition of what is normative to begin with. For that reason, most historians will look at what artifacts and documents signify popular culture. While these artifacts and documents may reveal what norms existed at a given time, tracking changes in norms relies upon the existence o... ...ItemClick=true&searchText=helen&searchText=mayer&searchText=hacker&searchText=WOMEN&searchText=AS&searchText=A&searchText=MINORITY&searchText=GROUP&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dhelen%2Bmayer%2Bhacker%2BWOMEN%2BAS%2BA%2BMINORITY%2BGROUP%26amp%3Bprq%3Dhelen%2Bmayer%2Bhacker%26amp%3Bhp%3D25%26amp%3Bacc%3Don%26amp%3Bwc%3Don%26amp%3Bfc%3Doff%26amp%3Bso%3Drel%26amp%3Bracc%3Doff. Paul Kupperberg. â€Å"Life With Archie #16.† In Archie The Married Life, 3:23–24, 2012. ———. â€Å"Life With Archie #20.† In Archie The Married Life, 4:20, 2012. ———. â€Å"Life With Archie #22.† In Archie The Married Life, 4:9, 2012. ———. â€Å"Life With Archie #23.† In Archie The Married Life, 4:20, 2012. Universe, Funding. â€Å"Archie Comics Publications, Inc. History.† History Of Archie Comics, n.d. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/archie-comics-publications-inc-history/. â€Æ'

A look a Pratical Magic :: essays research papers

Practical Magic was released October 16, 1998. The story is about two sisters who break a curse that had been placed on their family for over 200 years, by their ancestor Maria. Throughout the movie the theme is magic. Practical Magic helps to break the false images placed on witches and magic throughout time, but at times, the movie, still upholds some of the negative views of witches. There are many stereotypes that are set upon modern witchcraft and magic in today’s society that Hollywood has helped to maintain. In society there are people that are the selected voice of the general public in critiquing movies. I will be looking at Practical Magic’s use of magic to see how they break or perpetuate the following stereotypes: physical appearance of a witch, the witch as an outcast, and the types of magic and how they were shown throughout the movie. When looking at the main characters: Sally, Gillian, Jet and Frances, the viewer will see different physical appearances of how Hollywood views the possible appearance of a witch A witch throughout history is usually a hag, old, poor, handicapped, or ugly (Guiley 371). In the movie, the Owens women are what most people would consider quite beautiful. They are just like normal people with the exception of the fact that they have a gift. The aunts: Jet and Frances in the movie would be considered to follow the typical stereotype of a witch that is old but even though they are typical old woman that lives on the outskirts of town they break the stereotypical medieval image of a witch being ugly and a hag but they also perpetuate other stereotypes by dressing in lavish 19th century clothing. Their style screams â€Å"I’m different†. The aunts seem to be aging quite well. They appear to look young for their age. In one scene, when the detective goes in to town to ask about t he Owens’ sisters, he gets an ear full about how the aunts don’t age. Many in the town believe this is due to the fact that they are witches. There is one more image of a witch portrayed in history. This image is from the other end of the spectrum. Instead of being a hag or ugly, she is beautiful and a seductive woman. Sally destroys the image of both of the stereotypes of what a witch looks like.

Funding Opportunities for Small Businesses Essay

Analyze funding opportunities for small businesses, including the role of the Small Business Administration (SBA). Then, evaluate the effectiveness of these funding opportunities in light of the current economy. In this time of economic challenges, suggest two ways that the SBA might be of assistance to your small business. Explain how you would request this assistance. Small businesses are leaders in innovation and drivers of the economy. Small businesses hold more patents than all of the nation’s universities and largest corporations combined, and create two thirds of all private sector jobs, employing half of all working Americans. The Federal government is the largest buyer in the world, spending over $500 billion each year. For the Federal government, contracting with small businesses is common sense. Small businesses get the revenue they need to create jobs and drive the economy forward, and federal agencies get the creativity, innovation, and technical expertise of small businesses to help accomplish their mission. When small businesses are excluded from federal contracts, the Federal government, American taxpayers and the nation’s economy lose out. Over 30 years ago, Congress set a goal of having a certain portion of all federal contracting dollars go to small businesses and established sub-goals for small businesses owned by women, socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and service-disabled veterans of the Armed Forces, and for small businesses in Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones). The current government-wide goal for small businesses’ share of contracting dollars is 23%. Every year since 2006, the Federal government has missed the 23% small business goal and all but one of the sub-goals; the 2009 shortfall was greater than $4 billion. Removing barriers to federal contracting and increasing access for small businesses will go a long way in closing this gap. Over the past 18 months, the Federal government has taken important steps to increase opportunities for small businesses, from creating new online training for small businesses to issuing a proposed rule to create set-asides for women-owned small businesses in industries in which women are underrepresented. Last summer, the Department of Commerce and the Small Business Administration (SBA) co-led a government-wide effort that involved over 300 matchmaking and training events across the country to ensure American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) contracts were awarded to a broad array of small businesses. With over 31% of Recovery Act contracting dollars going to small businesses, this initiative 2 Report on Small Business Federal Contracting Opportunities proved that, with committed leadership and the right tools, the government has the ability to meet – and exceed – the 23% small business contracting goal. Stronger rules. Insufficient guidance and gaps in current policy hamper the use of tools that provide contracting opportunities for small businesses. The Task Force recommends actions to strengthen and update policies where they are weak or outdated and develop policies where they are lacking. A better equipped, more informed and more accountable acquisition workforce. A lack of knowledge and agency accountability inhibits the government’s ability to meet and exceed small business procurement goals on an ongoing basis. The Task Force recommends increasing the knowledge base and efficiency level of the procurement workforce and providing appropriate incentives and accountability for agencies to meet small business goals. Improved outreach and better use of technology and data. The current data systems in the federal acquisition environment are cumbersome and not user friendly for many small businesses, especially for those who are new to the systems and trying to â€Å"get the ir foot in the door.† The Task Force recommends a one-stop shop for easier access to procurement information, as well as greater focus on the accuracy of procurement data. In the following report, the Task Force outlines the key recommendations and actions needed to meet these priority objectives. The Task Force will report to the President by December 30, 2010, on progress in the implementation of the recommendations in this report. SBA, Commerce, OMB, and the other members of the Task Force are committed to increasing opportunities for small businesses. Small businesses, including businesses owned by women, socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and service-disabled veterans of our Armed Forces, must be able to participate in the Nation’s economic recovery. They must be able to compete effectively for federal contracts so our agencies, taxpayers, and the broader economy can reap the full benefit of their talents and services. 3 Report on Small Business Federal Contracting Opportunit ies REPORT INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON FEDERAL CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES Small businesses are leaders in innovation and the drivers of the economy– holding more patents than all of America’s universities and largest corporations combined, creating two thirds of all private sector jobs and employing half of all working Americans. The Federal government is the largest buyer in the world, spending over $500 billion each year. For the Federal government, contracting with small businesses is common sense. Small businesses get the revenue they need to create jobs and drive the economy forward, and federal agencies get the creativity, innovation, and technical expertise of small businesses to help accomplish their mission. When small businesses are excluded from federal contracts, agencies, small businesses, taxpayers and the broader economy lose out. For more than half a century, it has been the policy of the Federal government to provide â€Å"maximum practicable opportunity† for small businesses to participate in federal contracts. To achieve this objective, Congress established an aspirational goal in 1978 for the percentage of annual prime contract spending that should be awarded to small businesses each year. Congress later set the government-wide goal at 23% and created a set of sub-goals to support the participation of special segments of the small business community: small disadvantaged businesses (5%), women-owned small businesses (5%), service-disabled-veteran-owned small businesses (3%), and small businesses in Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones) (3%). These goals help ensure that a diverse set of small businesses share in the jobs and opportunities created by federal contracting. Since 2006, the Federal government has missed the 23% small business contracting goal and all but one of the sub-goals; the 2009 shortfall for the small business goal was more than $4 billion. This gap must be closed. The barriers to entry for small businesses are numerous: weak policies and rules that limit the effectiveness of tools that are supposed to facilitate contracting opportunities; inadequate workforce training to help contracting officers, small business advocates, and program offices understand how to successfully use contracting tools; and a lack of coordination among and accessibility to agency training and outreach events designed to help small businesses navigate the contracting system. Action must be taken to remove these barriers and ensure small businesses get access to federal contracts. A number of important steps have been taken or are underway to remove barriers and open more doors for small businesses in the federal marketplace. †¢ Later this year, the Small Business Administration (SBA) will implement a new rule on contracting with women-owned small businesses. For the first time, contracting officers will have a tool to set aside contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses in 4 Report on Small Business Federal Contracting Opportunities industries where women are under-represented. This is a critical step toward increasing opportunities for women-owned small businesses. †¢ This year SBA conducted the first comprehensive review of regulations in ten years governing its 8(a) business development program for disadvantaged small businesses to ensure the program’s effectiveness and increase 8(a) firms’ capacity to obtain contracts. †¢ A series of new online training courses have been rolled out (www.sba.gov/training) to walk small business owners through the steps involved in becoming a government contractor. These tools help small businesses navigate the process. †¢ SBA is conducting a comprehensive review of its size standards for small businesses – the first in 25 years – to ensure they accurately reflect the state of each industry. †¢ SBA is working actively to identify and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in its business programs through a strengthened certification, eligibility and enforcement process.

A Summary of UN Handbook on Gender Training

In the topic, WHY GENDER MATTERS, METHOLOGY, the proper approaches to Peace Support Operations is captured clearly. Any personnel engaged in Peace Support Operations should be at home with them in order to achieve an effective result.There is a strong need for the personnel to understand the interconnecting strands that underlines the military, political, economic and social life of the community of the operations in order to improve relation with members.   Understanding that communities consist of different people with different needs and priorities will help the personnel to improve on the planning of responses thus facilitating overall achievement of mission target. In all,   an increased level of sustainable peace should be the target.Furthermore, the FOUR CASE STUDIES open up vistas on the need for enlightenment. The Iraq case study shows that in order to save life, there is the need to recognise women's roles and responsibilities in a crisis situation. Men alone could not have been assigned to distribute food items.Also the rights of the community of operations should be protected as seen in the Cambodian case study. Peacekeeping missions should avoid creating negative atmosphere in the host communities by laying down clear policies and practices based on respect for human rights. Similarly, for effective conditions for peace and stability to be created, no organisation should be overlooked. For instance, after 28 yrs of violence and ethnic conflict, Sudanese women came together to stop the violence through a peace conference which is a non-violent approach to inter-tribal conflict.This shows the fact that women's organisations are also key to establishing peace and should not be overlooked. The fourth case study throws more light on enhancing the people's ability to deal with crisis and rebuilding society. It goes further to state that women and men feel and participate in conflict differently.Their experiences have a role to play in post war era. F or instance in Colombia, many rural communities had a lot of examples wherein women were restricted to the houses, men did all the running around. The implication   is that in the case of eventual displacement to urban areas, the women survived more with their skills than men. The women turned their domestic skills into jobs.Note that during crises or wars, gender perspective must be applied to the Peace Support Operations. There is the need to understand what gender perspective does and does not involve in such Peace Support Operations. While women should not be focused on exclusively, there is need to look at the inequalities and differences between women and men. That will enable resources, which focus on women's peculiar needs, to be mapped out. Also the operation does not concern itself with treating women only as a vulnerable group.There is the need to note that any of the genders can be harmed. However, women need not be reduced to victims. Peacekeeping must consider the in equalities and differences between women and men thereby structuring resources to that effect. This will enable an easy check on overall impact of the intervention strategies.Again, the PSO should note that men and women differ in their thinking   and should not focus only on employment equity issues within organisations rather should recognises that equal opportunities for women within organisations is only one aspect of a concern for gender equality. A criticism to this is that there is no clear way of measuring the amount of attention given to women. It may be over done.In FILLING THE GAPS: A VIRTUAL DISCUSSION ON GENDER, PEACE AND SECURITY RESEARCH, ten key recommendations were made by   90 academics and research professional drawn from across various fields in Oct 2008, The dialogued for three weeks.Their recommendations bothered basically on identifying gaps in gender, peace and security research and efforts to fill up such lacunae through effective research methods and to ols. However, the group should clearly understand that there is often a wide gap between theories or research and practical life situations. While life is larger than logic, all efforts are always geared towards bridging that.There is a link between feminism, militarism and human right. It could be extrapolated from the laid out facts in the four treated topics. While every human being deserves his/her fundamental human rights and privileges, that of the women folk should not be viewed from any less spectrum at all. Military officials, who are often peacekeepers in conflict zones, should learn to uphold the human rights of member of their host communities with an eye not to look down on women in any bit.Cases have shown where women are receiving inhuman or less treatment from them.   Designed peace and reconstruction programmes must show that women are not just mere entities but participants in such communities.

Operations Management at HOLLY FARM Essay

1. Introduction This consultancy report is prepared for Holly Farm in order to improve its future business. In the second part of this report; ‘Evaluation of Current Operations and Gillian’s Business Strategy’ and ‘Conclusion’, Holly Farm’s operations will be critically evaluated in the aspect of current and future potential capacity constraints and any other operational problems. Also, I will discuss the feasibility of Gillian Giles’ strategy for the business there. In the last part; ‘Recommendations and Action Plan’, I will show a recommended alternative strategy for the business and several solutions for alleviating its constraints. 2. Evaluation of Current Operations and Gillian’s Business Strategy 2.1 Gillian’s Aims and Objectives 2.1.1 Sales Forecast According to Gillian’s forecasts, while there will be an increase in farm shop sales by 50%, there will be a decline in retail shops sales by 13.3% in 2004 (Table 1). However, these forecasts are unlikely to come true. Firstly, its retail shops sales has increased by 75% on average of each year, and its farm shop sales has increased by 28% on average each year for the latest five years. It may be unreasonable that she dramatically changes these recent growth trends on her forecast without any factors that could impact on both channels. Secondly, since the ice cream market in the UK is mature and stable (Table 2), sudden changes of previous trend hardly happen excepting entering strong new players into the region, spoiling the farm’s reputation hugely and investing tremendously on the marketing for its farm shop. Moreover, in terms of Holly Farm’s managing on its farm visitors, this sudden change of the number of visitors could lead to collapses of its operations. These reasons discussed above clearly show that Gillian’s demand forecast is not reliable. Hence, they have to forecast in the other way. 2.1.2 Line Extension Gillian wishes to increase the number of ice cream flavours from four to ten. However, this line extension can cause the following problems. First of all, many products of relatively lower demand items would be abolished due to their expiration dates. In 1999, the Ice Cream Alliance published the date of top ten ice cream flavour in the UK in 1998 (Table 3). I can assume that, when Holly Farm produced all of these ten items, the share of each item in their products would be the same as the market shares of each flavour ice cream in the whole market. The items that total demands are less than 1,516 litres per annum, hence below the fourth position, should not be produced because it is obvious that the items would be abolished due to their expiration dates (Table 4, Calculation 1). Moreover, in the case of retail sales, the minimum annual demand for each item is 3,035 litres (Calculation 1). Secondly, also major of the raw materials would be thrown away before they are used. Since the periods that are needed raw materials to be completed to use are longer than maximum storage times allowed, even strawberry flavour for strawberry; 2nd item and chocolate flavour for chocolate; 3rd item could be abolished before being completed to use. Much more could raisins for rum and raisin; 5th, lemon sorbet for lemon sorbet; 8th, banana flavour for banana; 9th and tropical fruits for tropical fruits; 10th be (Table 5). Finally, the line extension would result in higher cost through frequent changing items and smaller amount of production than maximum production in most items. For example, when the different item from before one is produced, the production line should be carefully cleaned up beforehand in order to avoid producing different colour or flavouring ice creams from their original specifications. In fact, it takes one hour to clean the ice cream making machine between flavours in Holly Farm. This careful clean-up tends to cause higher cost and lower productivity. Furthermore, smaller amount of production will lead to higher fixed cost per production unit and, as a result, will result in higher total cost. 2.2 Capacity Constraints 2.2.1 Production Line Although it is clear that Holly Farm has a crucial capacity constraint on its production line, Gillian has hesitated to tackle this problem, as a result, has abandoned the growth strategy in spite of the recent sustainable growth trend of its annual revenue. In order to proceed the growth strategy, she should try to solve the problem. For instance, she should negotiate with its employees for the expansion of working days in a week from 4 days to 5, 6 or 7 days in the busy period. While Holly Farm groped about the probability of producing the different volumes of packages of ice cream for responding special orders for the local catering trade, I would recommend that they stop attempting to do this. Wasting a lot of ice cream, taking 2 or 3 hours to set the dispenser up and being demanded low justify my statement enough. If they continued this trial, more serious capacity constraints would be caused. 2.2.2 Milking Parlour According to this case, the number of visitors who want to see the milking parlour on a busy day in2003 was 206. However, the capacity of the gallery for watching milking parlour is 200 visitors per day (Calculation 2). It could be said that they are about going over the capacity in 2003. Moreover, Gillian wishes to increase the number of farm visitors in 2004 by 50%. The problem would grow in 2004. The problem in milking parlour is not ignorable. 33% of total revenue of Holly Farm, including paying visitor sales; 11% and entrance fee; 22%, is provided from farm visitors, and 27% of total revenue of the farm is related to its milking parlour (Table 6). This incident clearly shows that if the milking parlour made visitors dissatisfied, the revenue of the farm would decline seriously. Therefore, without any solution for the capacity constraint related to milking parlour, the farm would neither be successful nor survive in the near future. Apart from the capacity constraints, the milking parlour has queuing problems. This case mentioned that about 100 people visited the gallery from 4 pm to 5 pm on a busy day. Then I have already mentioned above that 206 people visited the gallery on a busy day (Calculation 2). Thus about half of the visitors arrived there within only one hour. As a result, a queue is made before starting the milking parlour and is not solved the queue for a while. The queuing problem easily leads to customer dissatisfactions and could result in serious decline in its total revenue as I warned above. 2.2.3 Distribution According to this case, Gillian delivers ice cream to retail customers by the delivery van once a week, and the delivery van has a capacity of 500 litres of ice cream and does not have a freezer. While the average maximum temperature in the warmest month in the UK from 1971 to 2000 was less than 20 degree centigrade (Met Office, 2003), the temperature on the van could be much than 30 degree centigrade. Moreover, attempting to deliver all ice cream for that week at once tends to lead to longer duration of delivery. As a result, melting ice cream would be accelerated. It means that these facts cause over half of corporate customer complains in 2003, which regard melting ice cream. This problem may be one major reason why Gillian forecasted that retail sales in 2004 decrease by 13.3 %. However, it is more reasonable to tackle and solve the problem in order to meet market demand than to forecast wrong in order to avoid the problem. 2.3 Other Problems 2.3.1 Raw Material Stock Control This case mentioned that Holly Farm has currently ordered raw materials on an ad hoc basis when an operative feels that the materials are required. While  it maybe true that the quantities of the raw materials the farm uses are so small that the farm hardly has any other better ways to control them properly than one an ad hoc basis, their way to deal with stocks is obviously unsuitable because companies are to have raw material stocks in order mainly to have a buffer for productions, response to unexpected larger or smaller demands and take advantage of price discounts on large order. In fact, they have had several experiences unwanted stocks and short stocks of materials and flavour. The former led to unnecessary cash outs, the later caused disruption, rescheduling of productions and re-timing of maintenance periods (Waters, 2002). 2.3.2 Inventory control of final products Holly Farm did not control its stock level of final product in 2003. As a consequence, a short stock occurred at the end of September (Figure 1). Short stock of final products is more serious than one of raw materials. While it directly causes retailers’ loss from their sales, its indirect effects are more widespread, including lost goodwill, loss of reputation and loss of potential future sales (Waters, 2002). Moreover, from January to February, there was a minus cash flow caused by overstock, hence, by overproduction (Figure 1). If the farm had not retained enough cash to supplement this negative cash flow, they would have had to raise money. However, potential cash suppliers such as banks, building societies and individual investors would not be willing to lend or give money to the farm because of the farm’s mismanagement of cash. 3. Conclusion As I discussed above, Holly farm has many problems in its operations. These problems seem to be appearing through its current remarkable growth. Holly Farm is at a turning point. Should they grow with huge investment? Should they cover up their problems with sacrificing their bright future? In the next part of this report, I will give several suggestions to their problems. 4. Recommendations and Action Plan 4.1 Business Aims and Objectives 4.1.1 Sales Forecast Since Gillian understands Holly Farm has a number of capacity constraints, she seemed to decide not to take the growth strategy but to take the profit focusing strategy, which is feasible by expanding the share of its farm shop sales in its total revenue only on the assumption that it is possible to increase in the number of its farm visitors and to accept all of the visitors. Nevertheless, neither a significant rise in the number of the farm visitors is probable, nor ignoring growth opportunities for its retail sales is reasonable. Therefore, I would like to propose to adopt the growth strategy to Holly Farm with several solutions to capacity constraints. By linear regression (Waters, 2002), the annual sales of retail shops, the farm shop and total are calculated at 93.0, 32.5 and 125.5 thousands pound, respectively (Table 1, Figure 2). In this case, both correlation coefficients of retail shop sales and farm shop sales are above 0.9500. Thus these forecasts can be said to be reliable in terms of the linear regression. However, when Holly Farm adopts this forecast, they have to mention the following things. First, the forecast by linear regression is based only on historical data. Thus it is assumed that the future trend is referred to the past one. Then, because the trend is recognised as linear one without any particular reason, if the trend were based on the different pattern such as logarithmic, exponential and moving average, the forecast could become failure. Furthermore, the forecast does not include any expertise. Therefore, it could be a vulnerable argument in terms of environmental changes. In any case, due to the risk of the forecast’s failure and the huge impact of the sales forecast on the following plan, I strongly recommend that Holly Farm and its consultants again discuss on the sales forecast of 2004 before proceeding the plan. 4.1.2 Line Extension As a result of the discussion in the section 2.1.2, I recommend Holly Farm not to expand its production line from four items in 2003 to ten items in 2004. All of the problems I mentioned, which are related to the expiration dates of final products and raw materials, can cause unexpected cost up. Besides the discussion above, the argument over whether or not they should decrease the number of items from four is also controversial because the demand of the other items than top one is still so low that keeping these items is hardly justified. However, I propose Holly Farm to keep the number of items four based on the following discussions. First, while it is no problem for Holly Farm to have only one item if they did business only on their farm shop, in order to expand their sales on retail channels, keeping several items is inevitable for the marketing reasons. Second, even when they sale ice cream on their farm shop, only one item may not be attractive for their customers. Finally, in terms of accountability of companies, it is difficult to explain why they abolished the items to their customers unless they prove keeping the items that they stopped selling is harmful for the business. By keeping the number of items at four, Holly Farm can keep the stock level of final products of each item more than 1,516 litre per annum (Table 7). Although the problems over raw materials’ stock level still remain, the solution for these items will be discussed in section4.3.1. 4.2 Capacity Constraints 4.2.1 Production Line The process line of ice cream in Holly Farm consists of batch processes, an industrial manufacturing method in which several separate serial and, or parallel operations are carried out to produce a product, in contrast to continuous process (Williams et al, 2001). Hence, the capacity of the line is limited by the one of the bottle neck process. In this case, the bottle neck process is the ageing process, a continuous freezing process in the ice  cream machine, and one batch capacity of the process is 350 litres. Moreover, the process takes 8 hours. In order to increase in the capacity, they have to make the machine bigger or to shorten the time. Nevertheless, since it is hard for Holly Farm to make any big investment, they do not have any other way than one to give up to improving capacity of the process line in a short-term. As the alternatives to increase in the annual production, there are contract-out and extension of operation days from 4 days per week to 5, 6 or 7 days per week. Because of Holly Farm’s difficulties in disclosure of its own original recipes to the counterpart due to its conservative corporate culture, the risk of rise in total cost and capacity constraints of whole ice cream manufacturers in the busy time, it would be hard for Holly Farm to contract out its ice cream production. Therefore, I propose extensions of operation days as solution for capacity constraints of the production line. 4.2.2 Milking Parlour I propose the following three solutions for the capacity constraint and queuing problems in the milking parlour. Firstly, abolishment of explanatory tape through headphones would be effective. It is obvious that the tape makes a bottle neck of a series of processes in the gallery. By replacing the tape through headphones to one not through headphone but merely broadcasted in the gallery and waiting room (Figure 3), service time per visitor would be shortened, and the capacity of the gallery could be improved. Secondly, arrangement of visiting time to the gallery would alleviate its queuing problem. For example, the farm divided the duration of the milking parlour into five; 4.30 pm – 5.00pm, 5.00pm – 5.30 pm, 5.30pm – 6.00 pm, 6.00 pm – 6.30 pm, 6.30 pm – 7.00 pm. When visitors enter to the farm, it allocates them into each time block. While there are vacancies in the time block visitors want, it is good idea that visitors choose which block they are in. Finally, queuing entertainments are effective to allay customer dissatisfactions. For instance, while visitors are in a queue, the scene of milking parlour will be broadcasted on a TV screen of the waiting room. This solution can be expected to make service time shorter at the same time to make customer dissatisfactions reduced. 4.2.3 Distribution In order to carry out growth strategy I proposed in section 4.1.1, solving problems in distribution is essential because bigger burden on distribution is inevitable for the strategy. Hence, I recommend that Holly Farm uses a delivery van equipped with a freezer of about 1,000 litres and replaces old one by it. I assume that the farm rent a VW LT35 Chiller / Freezer Van from a rental company (Figure 4). The monthly rent of the van should be considered  £1,911 as a variable cost. 4.3 Other Problems 4.3.1 Raw Material Stock Control I propose that minimum order quantities of strawberry and chocolate flavour decrease from current 1,000 ml to 400 ml, because the farm could not complete using them within their maximum storage time allowed in 2004(Table 8). While the reorder costs for these items will be charged three times as much as usual ones, the cost of the raw material that will be abolished, hence, abolishment cost can be eliminated. Even though the cost down will be almost offset by reorder charges, this action would be essential in aspect of green issues. Since Holly Farm has used relatively large amount of milk powder, box and cardboard, I recommend these raw material orders at the economic order quantities (Waters, 2002). When they assume that the farm attempted to order these raw materials at minimum order quantities in 2004, the cost down is expected to be more than 2,000 pound per annum (Table 9). In terms of the time to place orders, I propose the reorders of raw materials based on the reorder level (Waters, 2002). When calculating the reorder levels of each items, I assumed that demands can be equally divided into each day. The reorder levels of raw materials are shown in Table 10. This control method is not considered any uncertainties about consumption of raw materials, in other words, production schedule of ice cream. However, since the farm has not taken any flexible scheduling method for its production; Just-in-Time, MRP, MRPII (Waters, 2002) and so on, it is thought that there is no problem. 4.3.2 Inventory control of final products In the farm, production of ice cream has been carrying out based on a fixed schedule. Thus it is crucial to hedge the risk regarding uncertainties of future demands. Therefore, I propose the final product stock control based on the safety stock level considered standard deviation as future uncertainties (Waters, 2002). Since the uncertainties in each month are different, the levels should be varied (Table 11). I assume that the main factor that affects to ice cream demand is weather including temperature. Thus the safety stock levels of each month are calculated by standard deviations of five months including before and after each two months. This method is not as safe as periodic review approach is. However, the approach can be reasonable because the risk of unexpected change of demand was controlled below 5%. 4.4 Aggregate Planning Based on sales forecast of each month (Table 12), I made an aggregate plan for Holly Farm in 2004 (Table 13). In order to meet all forecast demand without any big investment in its production line and to eliminate unnecessary stocks, I recommend them to take the policy of chase demand production (Waters, 2002) (Figure 5). While this is not only the best policy but also only one policy for the farm at the present time due to its capacity constraints, they have to operate carefully because it can be very  difficult to organise. By taking this policy, they can keep the stock level relatively low (Figure 6). 4.5 Cash Flow Analysis Basing on an assumption that Holly Farm has to pay 50% more money for overtime works of part-time workers than usual ones, I analysed cash flow of the farm ( Figure 5 Demand and Production in 2004 Figure 6 Stock Level Control Table 14). 14% of the total cash out,  £9,958/anum out of  £91,158/anum, will be spent for extra payment for overtime in 2004. Hence, the farm should start considering expanding the capacity its production line when the sales forecast comes true. Compared with the actual cash flow in 2003 and the cash flow forecast based on Gillian’s plan in 2004, the cash flow in 2004 will be relatively allocated among each month equally. Especially, even between January and May, there will be few negative cash flows ( Figure 7). The farm’s credit during the term can be improved. In terms of cash flow during the year, although the cash flow on my proposal is less than one on Gillian’s plan, the cash position will be better than one in 2003. 4.6 Break Even Analysis The profitability on my plan is not improved from 2003 result due to an increase in the percentage of the variable cost in the annual revenue. The main reason for the decreased profitability is the serious increase in extra payment for overtimes. While the break even point on my plan drops from 2003 result, the reason is a remarkable increase in total revenue in 2004. The margin of safety to unexpected decrease in total sales would be improved. The break even point on my plan is higher than one based on Gillian’s  optimistic plan. The reason is that Gillian assumed that they can increase farm shop sales with a  £1 margin per litre of ice cream and  £2 entrance fees (Table 15, Figure 8). However, as I mentioned in section 4.1.1, her forecast is unreliable. Therefore, the farm should withstand against the unprofitability in 2004 and should keep its growth strategy. Euromonitor plc. (2003) Euromonitor market research: Ice cream in the United Kingdom. London. Met Office (2003) UK Climate and Weather Statistics: 1971 – 2000 Averages [Online]. Available from: http://www.met-office.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19712000/areal/uk.html [Accessed 27th December 2003]. Office for National Statistic (2003) New Earnings Survey 2003 [Online]. Available from: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=5749 [Accessed 29th December 2003]. SMV Commercials of Yeovil (2003) SMV Commercials website: Vehicle rental [Online]. Available from: http://www.smvcommercials.co.uk/code/vehiclerental.asp?vehicle=13 [Accessed 28th December 2003]. Waters, D. (2002) Operations Management: Producing Goods and Services. 2nd edition. London, Prentice Hall. Williams, T. and Rathwell, G. (2001) Glossary: Enterprise Integration and Communications Systems [Online]. Last updated on 29th May 2001. Available from: http://www.pera.net/Tools/Glossary/Enterprise_Integration/Glossary_B.html [Accessed 27th December 2003].

Racial Profiling on Drug Warfare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Racial Profiling on Drug Warfare - Essay Example However, one can recognize the modest changes in white racist domination in the United States without downplaying the strong relationship between being black and being a target of serious racial discrimination. In one way or another, all black Americans and Caucasians continue to suffer discrimination because white domination of black Americans and other people of color remains a major organizing principle for group life in the United States. According to statistical results "Although African Americans comprise only 12.2 percent of the population and 13 percent of drug users, they make up 38 percent of those arrested for drug offenses and 59 percent of those convicted of drug offenses causing critics to call the war on drugs the "New Jim Crow" (Race and the Drug War n.d.). The racial hierarchy is supported by a range of dominant-group prejudices and stereotypes, yet it is perpetuated most centrally by the discrimination carried out by many whites on a recurring basis. Age-old pattern s of racial inequality-of unjust enrichment and unjust impoverishment-are reproduced by the daily routines of antiblack discrimination. For instance, "During the height of the war on drugs, from 1986 to 1991, the number of white drug offenders in state prisons increased by 110 percent. The number of black drug offenders grew by 465 percent" (Shaw 2000). Police pays a special attention to African-Americans and Caucasians because of ethical differences and stereotypes. It should be no surprise then, that African Americans are often depicted as criminals in mass media. Crime in America is often portrayed in blackface, seemingly suggesting not only that African Americans and Caucasians are likely to be involved in crime, but that they are responsible for most of the crime in America today. "Racial profiling is the law enforcement practice of substituting skin color for evidence as grounds for suspicion" (Race and the Drug War n.d.). Contemporary patterns of discrimination are grounded in the benefits that whites have historically secured. All forms of racial discrimination transmit the legacy of the past, that of slavery and legal segregation. Today discriminatory practices reproduce and reinforce the unjust impoverishment and enrichment of the past. Discrimination also reflects and perpetuates the age-old racist ideology, with its asso ciated array of anti-black images and attitudes. When blacks and Caucasians encounter whites in a broad array of contemporary settings, they often meet negative beliefs about their abilities, values, and orientations. Racial barriers persist today because a substantial majority of whites harbor anti-black sentiments, images, and beliefs and because a large minority are very negative in their perspectives. When most whites interact with black Americans at work, in restaurants, on the street, at school, or in the media they tend to think about the latter, either consciously or unconsciously, in terms of racist stereotypes inherited from the past and constantly reiterated and reinforced in the present (Daum 65). Police may actively persecute blacks, or they may engage in an array of avoidance behaviors.