Soap Operas Essays - Social Realism, Soap Opera, EastEnders

Soap Operas Essays - Social Realism, Soap Opera, EastEnders Soap Operas What forms of pleasure can be found in viewing the continuous serial on TV? The continuous serial is more commonly known as the soap opera, and is peculiar in that each episode cannot be watched and understood on its own; the viewer must watch the episodes before and after to understand what is happening. According to Brown the soap opera has 8 typical characteristics (see appendix 1). Television is becoming an increasingly important part of society. We have more televisions in our homes, and on those televisions there are more soap operas for the viewing public e.g. EastEnders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Neighbours, Home and Away, Brookside, London Bridge, and HollyOaks. Individuals undoubtedly get a lot of pleasure from them, and although the soap opera is viewed as entertainment, there should be a cautious approach to this view, because television is an influential part of our society. In this essay I will look at the pleasures and the consequences. Escapism is one form of pleasure. The soap provides an outlet for an individual to escape the responsibilities of their own life. As soon as the familiar theme music begins the viewer is transported to another world, although Mike Clark poses the question (page 19) What sort of escape is it that constantly refers to the very issues that may be troubling the viewer?. Another pleasure of soap operas is the continuity of the characters and settings (Clark, page 19). The familiar settings give a sense of a stability and order to the viewer. Most people know the Rovers Return in Coronation Street or the Old Vic in EastEnders. The individual feels at home with a soap and its characters, of which there can be up to 40; all are old friends to the regular viewer. For the most part they do not set out to shock. Because the characters are ordinary and believable, Mike Clark states that the actors must be the same in their lives outside television. He tells us that: When Peter Adamson, who played Len Fairclough, was charged with sexually molesting a child and subsequently killed off from the program, his crime was not that, precisely (he was acquitted), but rather one of deviating from the unexceptional norms of Coronation Street and of the viewers at home. Seeing someone who had been publicly associated with such an offence, and thinking I wonder what really happened, would be disruptive of the kind of low-key realism attempted by the program, therefore out he had to go. Im not sure that this argument would hold true today. His book was published in 1987 and since then I think the public has become more tolerant, and apart from that, Coronation Street has become more controversial in its storyline; these days generally any publicity is good for a soap. This leads to another pleasure derived from the soap opera. The private lives of the actors, reported in the press and on the television, provide an infinite source of pleasure for the viewing public. In the Evening Standard (Tuesday 3rd March 1998) there were three separate articles about three different actors from EastEnders: Barbara Windsor, Paul Bradley, and Patsy Palmer. However, such public interest can create a problem for the actors, in the form of admirers and stalkers and the public still perceiving them as their on screen character. Empathy with the characters can reduce the viewers own problems as they realise that other people also suffer; another good reason to watch a soap. Biancas abortion storyline, in EastEnders, may have helped people in similar situations think about the relevant issues before making their own decision. Regular soap opera viewers who have followed a particular soap for years, according to Clark acquire an expertise and a fund of archival knowledge, which enable them to experience the programs more fully, and more enjoyably. So, they understand the personalities, strengths and weaknesses of the characters in the soap, and will often know exactly how a particular character would act in a particular situation. For them, this makes soaps more pleasurable. The romantic interest in the soap holds many viewers. Who will fall in love? Who will have an affair? Who will get married? At the time of writing, in Coronation Street the

6 steps HR can take that will make employees motivated and happy

6 steps HR can take that will make employees motivated and happy Employee morale and motivation can be a tricky thing. Happy employees are usually far more productive than unhappy employees. But with a diverse range of people in your organization, how do you maximize those factors for as many people as possible? After all, people are motivated by different things. Let’s look at some best practices to get the good motivation flowing.Offer solid benefits packages.Make sure that employee compensation is at least in line with what others in your industry are offering. If people see that your rival, Company B, is offering a similar salary but has medical, dental, and vision insurance while you just have medical, you risk disgruntlement and turnover.Remember that employees are not a faceless mass.They’re individuals, so they should be treated like individuals. Make an effort to get to know the people in your company- not just the executives, or the department heads, or the people who come into your office for help on an issue. Something as simple as learning everyone’s name can help them feel more at home. This can be difficult if you work in a large, corporate environment, but the effort you put into greeting people individually will pay dividends when it comes to employee satisfaction.Getting to know your employees also helps you refine your practices in real time as you get to know people better, what their challenges and priorities are at work, what they value, etc.Remind employees that they have a stake in the company’s performance.If your company offers stock options or profit sharing, that’s a direct way to involve employees; but if even if your company doesn’t offer those things, there are ways to engage employees. Regularly sending out announcements about how the company is doing and emphasizing how employee contributions are driving success can help create a feeling of productive teamwork.hbspt.cta.load(2785852, '9e52c197-5b5b-45e6-af34-d56403f973c5', {});Set realistic goals.When setting employee goals, make sure they’re both meaningful (specific) and achievable (realistic). Goals that are too vague or too far outside of the realm of possibility will likely fall by the wayside. Specific, actionable goals (preferably with milestones set against them) improve motivation by offering smaller, trackable successes along the way.Reward good performance.Nothing is quite as demoralizing as doing a great job and then feeling like no one cares. Providing recognition (with tangible awards) or performance incentives can help nurture employees to reach for successful outcomes. We’re human. We like rewards- it’s the part of the brain that reveled in getting star stickers in elementary school or getting a treat for good behavior. We may not need a cookie, per se, but a token to acknowledge hard work and success is always appreciated.Make sure employees have the resources they need to do well.This may seem like a no-brainer- after all, aren’t you their resource?- but people are motivated and more productive when they feel like they have all the tools they need to do a job. Comprehensive training, educational opportunities, leadership seminars†¦these are all tools that can help employees feel better prepared to do their jobs and grow their careers at your company.

Art Management ,Collector management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Art Management ,Collector management - Essay Example First of all, the site will incorporate smart points where consumers will get loyalty points from which they can redeem them. For example if a consumer buys a piece of art through the website then the more they spend the more they get loyalty points. For every 100 dollars a consumers spends through the site they will get one loyalty point hence the more a consumer uses the site to buy art the more the accumulate loyalty points. These loyalty points can be redeemed in order for a consumer to enjoy a discount, a gift hamper or specific fine art for free depending on the amount of points a consumer has. For instance, a twenty percent discount can be given by redeeming 10 points. For some fine arts one can get them at no cost at all by redeeming one hundred loyalty points. This is systems will encourage consumers to use the site since currently no online auctioning site for fine art offers loyalty points to its consumers. JFlora.com will use social networking to ensure that its customers are always up to date with any new work of art that is for sale. This is another aspect of the website that currently no online auctioning website for fine art is using. The use of social networking marketing has proved to be cheap, convenient, and reliable since it has worked for other companies in other industries. Social marketing will be incorporated into the website in that once a customer registers in the website then they will be able to get information about art galleries, art events, and art products on sale making it easy for them to know what and when to buy. For instance, if a painting has been posted to be on sale on the website, then customers do not have to wait until they log in into the website. They can simply place their bids using social networks such as twitter and face book then if they are the highest bidder they will be contacted by personnel from the website informing them on their successful bidding. This is when they will be prompted to log into their acc ount where they will choose the method of payment they see fit. Jflora.com will also be conspicuous from other online auctioning websites for fine art such as paddle8 and VIP Art in its wide list of payment option. Normally such auctioning sites usually offer a limited range of paying options which are credit and debit card. However, J Flora has come up with a system where a customer can pay for the items purchased using Bank transfer, Credit card, internet currencies, wire transfers, mobile money, and personal cheques. This wide variety of payment options will be made available by the website through a system where, instead of the customers paying directly to the owner of the painting, he/she will pay to the company where the company will release the item to the buyer once they have received proof of payment. This means even if the customer pays for a painting using a personal cheque, the company will release the item to the buyer as long as a copy of the personal cheque is receive d by the company meaning that the buyer does not have to wait until the cheque matures. The J Flora company will incorporate security measures not being used by other websites to ensure that customer information is treated with a lot of privacy ensuring that they do not lose their money to identity thieves or fraudsters which has been the case in online buying and selling. In fact, quite a number of consumers

Managing a project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing a project - Assignment Example Though, sometime negligence in effective handling and controlling the project tasks lead to failure of the overall project. The same thing happens to the construction project for the restoration of the Arbours and Avery in the lost Elizabethan Knott Garden at Kenilworth Castle. This happened due to the costly material, difficult to source materials, as well as use of less specialist technicians to carry out their work. This project is part of an ambitious 2.5 million restoration project by English Heritage. However, to make this project successful MD of the construction company has contracted our team to develop and manage this project. In this case the present report will offer a detailed analysis of the development and implementation of the new planning and handling strategy for the corporate for the successful completion of the project. English Heritage has initiated a project to restore the Arbours and Avery in the lost Elizabethan Knott Garden at Kenilworth Castle with the budget of 2.5 million restoration project. However, immediately after the beginning of the project problems and difficulties have appeared in effective handling and management of the project. The main problems appeared are the technical problem through the Arbour’s complex construction whereby the unusual architect’s specification has proven to be flawed. The project stopped due to the failure to meet the quality and health as well as safety standards set. Here we also view problems of hidden costs prompting individuals to look for shortcuts that are not being captured by the project tracking, means there is no visibility of actions. Therefore the overall project has turned out to be a mess in case of its development. After viewing all potential problems in effective handling and managing the project, we are going to propose new project management initiatives and planning tasks to effectively manage this project.

Discussing incentives to conserve marine biodiversity conservation Essay

Discussing incentives to conserve marine biodiversity conservation within the framework of impure public goods - Essay Example It is important to note that their benefits can be affected when the government decides not to offer the conservation. (Maxwell) Ordinarilly, an externality is the effect of an economic activity felt by those not directly involved in the economic activity. Positive externalities are often described as spillover effects to suggest their effects are felt by consumers who were not directly intended by their producers. The impure public goods such marine biodiversity and other environmental amenities are not to be supplied privately because the provider cannot capture the benefits and therefore no one can be excluded, so free riding is possible. Clearly, some aspects of marine bear the characteristics of a public good. Marine contributes to global biodiversity and enhances the well being of the majority of people. (Bulte) Ordinarily, no one has the appropriate incentive to provide marine habitat or otherwise protect marine as they cannot capture the full benefits from the needed investments. Market failure occurs because the amount of a public good is underprovided, and thus marginal social benefits exceed marginal social costs. In this case, more of the public good should be provided, but it is forthcoming only if society subsidizes a private supplier, or provides it publicly. (Bulte) On the other hand, negative externalities that include the government regulations impose costs on society that extend beyond the cost of production as originally intended by the producer. A producer of a negative externality who does not have to worry about its full cost is likely to produce an excessive harmful amount of the product.Ordinarilly, regulations and fines may deter the production of negative externalities. But the effects of regulation may be limited under conditions such as where negative externalities are so pervasive they encourage free riding attitudes, where negative externalities are so pervasive their producers could

3107 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

3107 - Term Paper Example Good infrastructure is between nations have also encouraged international trade. The infrastructures such as those that enhance transport and communication have been regarded as the core determinants of a country development and therefore different nations have invested in them to encourage investors. The forces of demand and supply are the main drive for the international trade. Countries do have special products and services that they do produce in bulkiness and at low cost (Lecture notes chapter 1). These qualities gives the country the power to have a market share in the world market where the sell their commodities. The benefit accrued from the global trade is that the country can get access of the surplus produce and can fill in the deficit of commodities that is unable to produce at a cheaper cost. Development of the information and communication technology across the globe is also a boost to the international trade as people from different regions of the world can do business regardless of the geographical distances. The increase in trade between two or more countries has also been affected by the international production. Countries have been moving their units of production to countries other countries as seen by the U.S.A firms shifting to China. The reasons for international production are mainly for cost reduction. Firms may move their industries to other countries where the main raw materials are readily available. Setting an industries in the base where raw materials are readily available helps the industry to cut the cost of production by cutting out the cost related to the transportation of the raw materials to the production site. Industries are also shifting to countries where the labor cost is cheap. Most of the international firms from the west are setting up industries in the third world countries where the labor cost is cheap. Cheap labor leads to low production cost and therefore the investors finds advantage of setting up firms in

Biomimicry Architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Biomimicry Architecture - Essay Example From the essay it is clear that the increased demand for energy efficient buildings materials has necessitated need to turn to nature for solutions. It is undeniable architects, designers, and engineers are developing biomimicry architecture walls or skins through the same mechanism as the skins of various natural creatures and features to maintain and reduce energy wastage.   Nature provides the best source of ideas in architecture by enabling architects to develop skins that are ecologically friendly due to their unlimited advantages. Nature has many forms that can be referred to by architects to develop structures that are unique and efficient. Moreover, nature provides a solution to the energy problem that has been a major challenge in the construction industry for a long time. It has provided ideas on how the buildings can reduce energy usage and some of the importance of mimicking nature in reducing energy use in the following ways.According to the report findings the imitati on of natural structures provides an opportunity for the use of low energy sources, thus facilitating use of renewable sources. Most of the nature mimicking buildings are powered by solar energy, which is a renewable and eco-friendly source of energy to reduce the consumption of the electricity.  A good example of such a building is the All Season Tent Tower that has been constructed to imitate a volcano.