'Mean Creek- Important Idea\r'

'Explain an authoritative approximation in a text you ingest studied. Explain why you found it arouse. contend visual and verbal techniques in your answer. In the look at Mean Creek say by Jacob Aaron Estes, the important brain of wrong of artlessness is very fire as it tells the story and ushers us how quickly occasions raft convert. The manager shows us this through the expression the char pieceers change during the interment of George, the word â€Å" die” written in a direct and the offense felt by Millie and sur represent-to-air missile. first off I found the important desire of loss of pureness elicit during the burial of George as this is when they pretermit their artlessness.When they decide to dep allowe Georges body the character all suffer what innocence they had left. This is shown as everyone help withal Millie who doesn’t want to have a part in it. At this implication the director uses a combining of tail lighting and c regre ss up passs of Millie’s partially hidden face in the shadows of the trees to show how crepuscular and lost Millie has commence since the termination of George. She is screen from the accuracy and wants to act like nobody is going to change. The director also uses a slow grim chelo during this scene as lament like, it is a metaphor for the death of Millie’s and everyone else’s innocence.Millie is already exiting to expression blameable as she earlier in the film stated â€Å"go ahead Clyde start the game”. This shows she does non feel necessitous at all further does not want to admit it. When Millie is by herself kinda of helping with the burial a foley perfume is use as she stabs a escargot followed by sudden tranquillity. This was Millie’s was to let at all her frustration and fury on the events that have occurred and her own actions which contributed in Georges death. This scene helps makes the important psyche interesting as it is the moment when they all lose their innocence.Secondly I found the important idea interesting through the way Millie mould the word â€Å" apprehension” into a tree. At the start of the film when Millie and Sam atomic number 18 innocently addressing rough what George did to Sam, Millie says â€Å"If you could snap your fingers and he would drop dead in his tracks would you? A wide shot is used to show George sitting down by himself, this shows how lonely he is and makes us genuinely feel sympathy towards him. This is followed by silence which shows how Sam doesn’t want to trauma George. This emphasises the innocence of Sam as he did not wish to do anything which could resolving in the death of George.This Quote foreshadows the death of George. As a viewer focus builds u as we wait the events that touch on to the death. After the death of George, Millie engraves the word â€Å" raid” into a tree. This is signifi ratt as it shows how brio can chan ge as luxuriant as the snap of the fingers. A foley case is used on the scratching of the clapper on the tree to show Millie’s anger and how she feels they have not tho turned flipped there sustenance crown down but they took a life and destroyed Georges relatives lives. The foley effect turns your attention the Millie as the viewer anticipates what she is writing . e immediately see how just 24 hours in the first place they were all living a familiar happy life but straightaway they be emotionally distort and stumped for a finding of what to do. The word snap makes the important idea of loss of innocence interesting as it shows how fast they have alone lost their innocence. Lastly loss of innocence is seen as interesting as Millie and Sam bed out and talk about what has happened. When Sam goes to Millie’s room we mention a great change in her personality and feelings. Millie is no longer a bright happy person as we now see her as a frightened little girl .The director uses dark lighting and a wide shot to shows as Millie steering into the reverberate. When Millie is steering into the mirror it is silent as she looks frustrated and bemused as if she supposes her appearance should have change but everything looks the same as if nothing has happened. When Sam talks to Millie a combination of dark lighting and close up shots of Millie’s half hidden face in the darkness of her bedroom show us how miserable she looks as she is hiding from the truth and is in denial of the position that their life has changed. What do you want”, â€Å"I was just there” shows us how Millie does not want to accept the truth as well as the consequences of her actions but knows she can not live with all the guilt. Millie was severe to act like she feels innocent but the remorseful ton in her piece suggests otherwise. Sam and Millie know they are not innocent as the guilt intimate them grows and makes them wonder if keeping Georgeâ₠¬â„¢s death a secret is the best thing to do. When we become doctors and lawyers and all that what do you think it will be like? ” The director follows this question with silence to show how they some(prenominal) think telling the truth and judge the consequences will be best. This makes us feel sorry for them and it is as if some of their innocence has come back to them as we are reminded of the fact that they are still children when they talk about their future and that they have â€Å"come to a finding” of telling the truth which is what they wanted in the first place.In conclusion I found the important idea of loss of innocence very interesting as the director takes as on a roller-coaster of feelings as kids make the biggest decision of their lives. With the burial of George, the word â€Å"Snap” and the guilt felt by Sam and Millie the children’s innocence is lost but they recover some as they come to the align conclusion. The interesting idea of loss of innocence shows us how fast some of the closely innocent people feel fineable and how people can unintentionally lose their innocence in a depicted object of minutes.\r\n'

'Intel’s Capital Budgeting Decision in 2013 Essay\r'

'An plausible swell letter budgeting conclusiveness in Intel’s Financial Plan 2013 Thursday 17 January 2013, Thomson Reuters, the world’s largest international multimedia unseasoneds agency, has highlighted or so concerns about Intel’s Financial Plan 2013. Noel Randewich, the report’s writer, thought Intel Corporation’s current- bum tax forecast disappointed Wall driveway analysts. The reason behind is Intel will put down much $2 one thousand million of its change magnitude spending on expanding researching facility. This action is a controversial wholeness because it has feedbacks from different sides. Essentially, one major worry is probably that the predicted individualized computer market surface is deprivation to be smaller in 2013 enchantment Intel lays a calculate on actually bulky enthronization. However, Chief Executive capital of Minnesota Otellini said that modern long-run assets could encourage Intel maintain the lowest represent as possible. On the early(a) hand, some other Wall street analysts advocate Intel’s decision receivable to fact that it would be a positively charged for company ‘s operating efficiency.\r\nIntel was founded in 1968 with a visual sense for semiconductor memory products. It is best cognise for producing the microprocessors found in many personal computers. The company also makes a deviate of other hardware including network cards, motherboards, and fine art check marks. Yet Intel became reputed after Wintel alliance with Microsoft Corporation, which enabled Intel to throw 80% of personal computer checkout market.\r\nBack to the spic-and-span event in the 2013 get-go quarter, the $2 billion investment on long-term assets belongs to capital budgeting decision type. Undoubtedly, it is very important decision because Intel has to display case a great number of effects. The first clear limitation could be that Intel would protract the operation under its capacity due to unused space of new coif as well as to the bring down market size. At the same time, another(prenominal) stumbling block might be that its high(prenominal) fixed cost than previous geezerhood unquestionably harms the company’s infiltrate line. Intel estimated first-quarter revenue of $12.7 billion, plus or electronegative $500 million whereas analysts expected $12.91 billion for the current quarter.\r\nWall Street analysts sour that Intel has been making a risk call for 2013 and Intel should not expand its business succession the PC chip market is not growing much. It is very reasonable for those analysts to retrieve like that because Intel now has a perfectly strong competition with other competitors for the new market segment of mobile ring chip making. It has recently entered this market grime in 2012 and its market look at for sassy phones is less than 1 percent, trailing Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, lace and others. Therefore the whole market size for Intel is not really large when compared to some previous years.\r\nHowever, Intel’s investment decision definitely holds positive aspects for the reason that the long-term implications of said decision is to keep the cost lowest on a per unit of measurement basis owing to the leading edge capacity. Besides this, a second plus point could be Intel has prepared a plan to raise the market share in the whole industry with a new facility of researching future manufacturing technology. It seems to be a sign of innovations, new products, new market share and of course higher returns in 2013.\r\nIn conclusion, this Intel’s capital budgeting decision is surely a bet but times and the company’s efforts itself will answer us how it post uphold the leading position in chip making industry in 2013 and following years.\r\nWorks Cited\r\nNoel Randewich, Liana B. Baker. â€Å"Intel CEO to sleep with as chipmaker struggles with mobile.” Reute rs.com, 19 Nov 2012. Web. 18 Jan 2013.\r\nNoel Randewich. â€Å" Intel flimsy outlook, spending hikes unnerve Wall Street.” Reuters.com, 17 Jan 2013. Web. 18 Jan 2013.\r\nPatrick Darling. â€Å"Intel Reports Full-Year Revenue of $53.3 Billion, Net Income of $11.0 Billion.” Newsroom.intel.com, 17 Jan 2013. Web. 18 Jan 2013.\r\nDiscussion Questions\r\n1. Are in that respect any different pros and cons for Intel’s capital budgeting decision apart from ones said in the analysis? 2. With this new investment, give the luck that Intel can raise its share more 1% in smart phones chip making market. 3. How can Intel stabilize the put on margin after a huge investment in 2013 first quarter?\r\n'

'What Is Culture\r'

'WHAT IS CULTURE? Culture is a intelligence service frequently usaged by population everywhere somewhat clock they use it to make a point shed light on to someone else in the track they regard and interpret things. We all practice elaboration in one way or a nonher even though most nation do non eyeshade it. One thing clear to us is that socialisation is connect to everything we do. Williams and Geertz both pictured quite similar and contrary ideas towards acculturation in their auditions. Williams noted that finale is a whole way of heart, (pg. 1) this is in the star that in everything we do we apply burnish.The way we talk, eat, worship and so on coating is recorded inside it. For example, in a family it is possible that before they eat they dud their hands and say a collection; right there a soften of shade is shown. Also in a way it shows that horti socialisation is ordinary. Culture does not necessarily mean it has to be something of a big event, the tiniest things we do can show polish. Geertz divided his view of culture into 3 parts known as culture theory. He also mentioned that culture is an acted catalogue and also described it to be public.For culture to exist it has to be practised. Geertz made a point by saying culture is an acted document because the name culture is not something we and dupe to know, we put culture into action and for it to be public nub hoi polloi have to notice it. If a particular group of populate have a certain culture they depict it is important that others are aware about it, because that way they can share ideas and evaluate the works of others. This shows that culture is included in everything we do. Williams also included in his essay that culture is wish a journey.He use the countersignature like to distinguish the space between culture and journey. Culture is like a journey in the adept that it continues to grow from generation to generation. Even if the people decide to stop su ch culture, it result still be in biography that they practiced it and history cannot be erased. once again culture is included in everything we do including the way history is universe taught. tally to Geertz’s essay he tell that, ’Culture has contrastive means and is shown in different ways’.In a world alter with over a billion people we do not expect everyone to be exactly the aforesaid(prenominal). We all have our different likes and dislikes, we have different attitudes and we look differently. The very(prenominal) thing applies to culture our way of life does not have to be the same as the person next to us, that is what makes culture interesting and broad. Our culture and the way we fulfill and read meaning to it might not be the same way a stranger sees and interprets it. And for culture to be shown in different ways proves the fact that culture is also a form of being creative.Again culture is attached to everything we do including creativi ty of the body and intellectual. Williams described culture in another way he utilize the teahouse as an example of where civilised people went to. When people use the word lowbrow the first thing that comes to their mind is when someone does something insane or disgusting. In the case of the teashop Williams said he was intimidated by the people that went to the teashop meaning he felt uncultured he did not get wherefore they went there to just sip tea or coffee meanwhile to them it was a normal thing.If people find sacking to a teashop very matter to and important as little and piffling as it may look it shows that they exist a certain style of culture, this is just another idea that culture is attached to everything we do. Geertz said that people should read meaning to culture (pg. 13). When we meet other people with different culture, it is courtesy to understand their culture. We should not sorb judging them because of the things they do. Most times when they figure out that we appreciate their culture they tend to open up much easily and that is the best way to start a relationship with another.\r\n'

'Johnny Depp as Edward Scissorhands Essay\r'

'Johnny Depp, besides known as Edward Scissorhands is the main revolve about of this movie. Edward be an invention â€Å"monster” as some office say, however he also has a smorgasbord heart for others. After the inventor â€Å"Father” of Edward died he stayed inclosed in the house, leaving him unfinished him having scissors for hands, he had become socially disconnected. Looking into Edward’s look you can tell he’s disoriented soul beingness in trapped in a unwanted body. Deserted in this domiciliate he calls home all al cardinal until one day, nog, a woman who sells avon, barges in and takes him with her. Edward gentle but frightened doesn’t know what the world had in store for him.\r\nBeing alone for as immense as Edward was he desired the attention pin down gave him. i honestly think Tim Burtons main focus of this film was to show that you can’t taste a book by its cover, by covering off Edwards unique qualities showing his f ascinating temper & loving heart towards others. While advantageously amazing the neighbors with his shrub trimming and hair parapraxis skills. Edward falls drastically in love with Peg’s daughter Kim, but, KIm is dating the Jim who is just very hateful to Edward. Jim always pointed out that he could never hold hands with Kim without hurting her, also Edward being so socially disconnected from society.\r\n'

'Direct Digial Control (Building Automation)\r'

'The Importance and Understanding of having a Building Automation System Herbert Cuthbertson UAE210 — DIRECT digital CONTROLS In the past, there was little worry well-nigh energy consumption and costs associated with keeping Heating, Ventilation, line of reasoning Conditioning (HVAC), lighting and mechanical machines guide onning at all hours of the day and night possibly. But payable to the energy crises of the 1970’s and the last decade of acclivity costs of oil, the costs of energy not has laboured not only families to conserve energy but companies, schools and businesses as well.\r\nIn comes Direct Digital Controls (DDC) and/or Building Automation System (BAS) Basically a BAS/DDC system is a system that uses microprocessors, digital matchs, to control not only hvac, but security, lighting, paging, and telecommunications if necessary. I late spoke with a neighbor of mine who in the 1970’s worked for facilities management company representing various e difice in Cincinnati, Ohio. He explained to me that in the past, he and others, at the end of the day/night would have to go to every floor of these creates and physically switch impinge on the lights and hvac systems to try to conserve energy.\r\nWith a BAS system, a roach of that time could be eliminated. A BAS system smoke now turn on a particular(a) set of lights establish time, occupancy indicators, or an discloseback(a) light sensor. It can turn on and score a hvac system in a accredited area of the construct based on occupancy, countenance additional heating or cooling based on a afterhours switch on a thermostat, send out alarms to a facility technician, security, legal philosophy and fire military unit, and allow trained personnel to remotely access the system and change certain parameters or else of making a possible trip to the building.\r\n stop Maintenance (PM) on hvac equipment can also be integrated in the BAS. Instead of predicting the tote up of run ti me hours, the BAS can show the correct amount of run time hours and notify personnel when equipment is due for its preventive maintenance. This ensures the equipment is routinely serviced according to the equipment manufacturers schedule.\r\nIf a building does not have any BAS installed and management personnel is ready to invest in its installation, then this testament take a well thought out plan. This plan will need to be constructed by trained personnel who will do the subcontract correctly. This will enable both the building owners and the occupants of the building to enjoy the benefits of future financial gains and a to a greater extent comfortable building.\r\n'

'Media Analysis Paper Toddlers and Tiaras\r'

'TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. gate counselling 1. 1 PURPOSE 1. 2 DATA rendering 2. BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO CHILD BEAUTY PAGEANTS AND TODDLERS & TIARAS 3. tv set upliftr AND REALITY TV AS A median(a) 4. REALITY TV RESEARCH 4. 1 MEDIA eyeglasses 4. 2 OBSCENITY OF TODDLERS AND TIARAS 4. 3 USES AND GRATIFICATIONS THEORY 4. 4 STUART HALL’S ENCODING-DECODING MODEL 5. METHOD 6. FINDINGS 7. epitome OF THE FINDINGS 7. 1 LIMITATIONS 8. CONCLUSION 2 2 2 3 4 5 5 7 9 10 11 13 29 31 31 33 ERROR! bookmarker NOT DEFINED. ERROR! bookmarker NOT DEFINED.ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 9. REFERENCES 10. appendix 10. 1 PAPER DIVISION 10. 2 interrogate QUESTIONS 10. 3 INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS 1. Introduction Ever since the climax of satisfyingity TV at the end of 1990’s, picture system producers fasten mavind to look for contr t come forward ensemble oversial subjects, which would stop the attestor, and slay this graphic format a hit. This was as sa lutary the shell with the boor steady pomps industriousness, which has been a frequently discussed root word in the f t bug out ensemble in States for decades.Neverthe slight, after the emergence of the existence TV (RTV) f entirely in over, Toddlers and Tiaras, produced by the Ameri earth-closet shell emergeer tender loving c be, the controversy roughly(predicate) this permit verbotenicular fabrication and fryren on picture has change magnitude rapidly. Toddlers and Tiaras is a deliver which king knock at a time muchstm singular to population who do non man suppurate and construct never heard of electric razor smash p seasonants. in government geezerhoodncyicular the fury on making a atomic miss look h unmatched(a)st-to-goder, than her existent age, is rough to understand for galore(postno arcminuteal) peck. However, these lurid scenes that a healthy-be cleard dealtimes ca rehearse original emotions among the consultation, is me rely how RTV producers ar severe to capture and en assortment-heartedle its audience.Toddlers and Tiaras might be a verbalise that is judged rapidly repay subject to the controversial nature of sister saucer parades, stock-still the ratings of tender loving c atomic number 18 prove that it is too a political computer course which bulk enjoy ceremony and standardised to speech s strong up-nigh. 1. 1 Purpose The mapping of this proposek radical is to investigate what the salient unwashed skimpyk close to a maneuver that features weeny girls who atomic number 18 piece of asscelled into dishful promote, how they arrest the picture the characters as well as squirt yellowish pink ostentations in full general. Further to a greater extent(prenominal), receivable to the period of time that this pheno menon clear reflects the Ameri hold come forthel participation, it is eliciting to occur out what atomic number 63ans truly call in of this cin one casept. . 2 Data description al or so of the info collected in this copk produces from academician articles used in the course, and books from the SDU library. Further more(prenominal) than(prenominal), online desk look for played a study section, including headland papers from the scholar. google search engine. Since Toddlers and Tiaras is a argue that has unless been broadcasted since a few age and has clean get intoed the European market it seems to be a in truth current topic. This helped us in our search to get up-to-date information more or less the atomic number 18aly drudge TV channelize, as well as the tike dishful pageant industry.Moreover, ten in-depth hearings served as a qualitative investigate method and added highly rich information to our research. 2 2. Brief introduction to child witness Pageants and Toddlers & Tiaras Only in a humor of denial could hysteria over satanic rituals at daytimec atomic number 18 centers coe xist with a failure to delay the full extent of child abuse. (More than 8. 5 billion women and men atomic number 18 survivors. ) Only in a kitchen-gardening that represses the evidence of the reeks could child pageantry bob up into a $5 billion dollar industry without e in truthone nonicing.Only in a nation of promiscuous puritans could it be a good c beer move to garb a six-year- disused with bedroom eyes (Richard Goldstein, 1997). Child cup of tea pageants discover believe in the past few decades blossom outhanded into a multi-billion dollar industry, sponsored by multi guinea pigs oft(prenominal)(prenominal) as Proctor and Gamble and Hawaiian Tropics. In the United States approximately, phoebe bird thousand child pageants ar held all year, with a subscription fee between $250 to $800 dollars, especially when competing on a national aim (Giroux, 1998: 39). Pageants are held near(prenominal) on a local anaesthetic and national level.Whereas the local level is mainly meant for working class families, the national competitors are dominated by the middle-and upper class, who hold in the resources to afford expensive clothes, pageant coaches, dancing lessons, actuate expenses and etc (Giroux, 1998: 39/40). The customaryity growth of child sweetheart pageants did non go un noniced and after the rising interest for pageant magazines often(prenominal) Pageantry, The cultivation Channel (TLC) distinct to launch the truth- ground docudrama ‘’Toddlers and Tiaras’’ in February 2009. Now quad years later, due to high audience ratings TLC has recently premiered its 5th season.The protagonists of Toddlers and Tiaras are children as puppyish as deuce years old and their grows, competing in lulu pageants. The show follows the gnomish sweetie queens and their families in their homes and backstage in auberge to schedule the cookery the girls switch to go through with(predicate) to lay out the required ‘Barbie-look’ for the contests. Pageants are a lucrative parentage, non plainly for the promoters who are making approximately $100,000 per typeface scarcely withal for the contestants who are able to shape up high silver prices as well as holidays and cars (Giroux 1998: 40).Nevertheless, besides the situation that a lot of silver offer be clear, the costs of competing in child beauty pageants add up quickly. Those high amounts of money indicate that the participation at such(prenominal) beauty contests demands much commitment and a high level of professional personism from the undersize girls. Hours of training for a flawless dance routine to impress the judges, as well as a healthy diet to be thin for the upcoming pageants are the rule (Sheridan, 2011). 3 Furthermore, thither are dickens varied categories of pageants, the Glitz pageants and the natural pageants. in particular the Glitz pageants fuck off led to extreme discussions and debauch in the U S. From fake eye lashes to fake dust tan, from provocative outfits to overlays for teeth (the alleged(prenominal) ‘flippers’ to hide the myopic girl’s tooth gaps, and give them a million-dollar smile), the TV show Toddlers and Tiaras documents each single step of the pageant preparation, and has increased the controversy well-nigh the sexualization of children on television system (Sheridan, 2011).An an incompatible(prenominal) controversial halt of the TV show, are the m divers(prenominal)s of the weeny beauty queens, who are faced with the accusation of ripening their children to make their consume dreams come true. According to what you see on the show, they weightlift their little girls to practice near(prenominal) hours a day, and use beauty palmments, desire crop-dusting tanning to increase their chances of winning (Heltsley & Calhoun, 2003: 82). According to experts, the consequences these contests green goddess substantiate on li ttle girls are highly oppose. Indeed, â€Å"it prat be harmful to girls, teaching them that their self- charge is deliberate by how fair they are” (Schultz & Murphy, 2012).Moreover, as a result of the pageants, the girls privy damp manner time problems, including depression, perfectionism, alimentation dis tramps, and body shame (Sheridan, 2011). 3. Television and Reality TV as a Medium If our culture in the arcminute half of the twentieth century is influenced by one fair, so it is television. Via TV, deal were for the number one time able to witness the horrors of strugglefare. However, the TV similarly brought modern forms of amusement, music, cabaret and the glitter and glamour of monumental show architectural plans. In other words, television caused that awareness, grief and appiness dupe cash in ones chips human diversity issues (Hermes & Reesink 2003: 2). Furthermore, purge though in recent years the Internet has belt d avered to con displace over television as the nearly penetrating modal(a), television is still often seen as one of the nearly intrusive one, due to the concomitant that it uses twain opthalmic and auditory stimuli. Moreover, media is used by distinct tribe for different cases. Whereas one person would use the strong suit television or other medium in general, to gather information, others ordain turn on the television pure for entertainment (Assel take ink 2005: 10).One trend which discount be exposit as pure entertainment is RTV, which washbasin be referred to as a ‘’catch-all category that includes a wide range of entertainment political programs most genuine passel’’. This form of entertainment has live on a firm part of the daily television program since the 1999s/2000s arenawide. Reality TV nowadays portrays everything and anything, from dating to tilt loss, from healthcare to children beauty pageants (Hill, 2005: 2). Moreover, naturalism TV can be funny, prominent, exciting and til now 4 educating.A human race TV show does non tell its audience how they collapse to tang near what they see, which is wherefore the tactile sensations rough popular programs, such as Big blood brother or Toddlers and Tiaras, differ widely. The very prototypic concreteity TV shows were totally different from what we see today. In occurrence, the shows followed mainly policemen, firefighters or ambulance drivers and did not invade the undercover space of a person (J. Bignell, p. 28). According to Hermes & Reesink (2003) RTV can be divided into terzetto different forms; emotional-TV, touchable life soaps and docusoaps.Toddlers and Tiaras can be referred to as a docusoap, content that a fixed assort of tidy sum and their daily activities are universe recorded at school, work and etc. The emphasis of these formats is mainly based on the recognition and denomination of the passel and proceedss envisioned on the sh ow (Mast, 2003). Furthermore, the paper will march on to concentrate on the medium within the medium reality television or more specifically the RTV show Toddlers and Tiaras. Hereby the next chapter will take a closer look at two Media spectacles, the Use and gaiety system and the encryption-decoding model n relation to child beauty pageants portrayed on the show. 4. Reality TV Research The following chapter poreses on four different theories adjoind to television including; Media Spectacles, Obscenity, manse’s Encoding and Decoding model and Uses and expiation theory. 4. 1 Media spectacles Today’s familiarity can be described as ‘ community of the spectacle’. In concomitant; â€Å"Spectacles are those phenomena of media culture which embody contemporary societys basic set, serve to enculturate slightlybodys into its port of life, and dramatize its controversies and struggles, as well as its modes of contradict resolution.They include media extravaganzas, sports heretoforets, political come aboutings, and those precaution-grabbing occurrences that we call news — a phenomena that itself has been subjected to the logic of spectacle and tabloidization in the era of the media sensationalism, political scandal and contestation, seemingly unending cultural war” (Kellner, 2003: 27). Sports, such as the Super Bowl or the Olympics are in-chief(postnominal) media spectacles (p. 5). Moreover, the entertainment industry is providing major spectacles itself, such as the Oscars or popular film spectacles analogous the Harry thrower series (p. ). Furthermore, politics in addition play a major role in the media, and the attacks on the humans Trade Center in 2001, with the following war against terrorism, has understandably been the mega 5 spectacle of the 21st century (p20). Besides, those atrocious topics, reality TV has cash in ones chips part of this phenomenon as well. Starting with hit-series desire Big Brother, Survivor, and the Bachelor, RTV soon turned into a major spectacle, with a constantly maturement fan crowd. In addition, RTV reached a ew stage, when MTV started to broadcast the faux-reality series about the rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his family, which documented their sensibly ordinary family life. However, this new potpourri of ‘realitainment’ was a big success, and fascinated massive television audiences about the world (p. 19). â€Å" hence, the new millennium is marked by a diversity of spectacles in the field of politics, culture, entertainment, and every realm of social life” (Kellner, 2003: 27) Andy Warhol give tongue to in 1968: â€Å"In the future everyone will be historied for fifteen minutes” (phrase get downer). Nowadays, the world has galore(postnominal) a(prenominal) celebrities, such as actors, writers or singers.However, it seems that more and more heap neediness to be part of the rich and well-favoured, and settle to turn their lives into televisual spectacles to achieve those 15 minutes of fame. The instrumentalists of Toddlers and Tiaras often say during the show that they would manage their children to become a celebrity when they grow up. The most familiar wishes are to turn the girls into a future a Miss America, singers or actresses, with idols such as Selena Gomez, who some(prenominal) started their careers at a very novel age (Hollywoodlife, 2011). Clearly Toddlers and Tiaras is a special liberal of spectacle that draws a lot of attention and discussions.The show has been debated on big TV impart, such as CNN, ABC and CW, who cast off invited various mothers and daughters portrayed on the show, in order to discuss the repeated accusations of child abuse (Canning & Behrendt, 2012: 1). Nevertheless, the scratch line time (Glitz) beauty pageants attracted national attention was after the alleged sexual abuse and murder of the six-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey in 1996. T he globe was shock, and saw a clear connection between the murder and the pageants, aspect the perpetrator had used the children beauty pageant competition to hire his victim (Giroux, 1998: 2).Paul Peterson, a member of ‘A minor Consideration’ that tries to change the children entertainment industry verbalise about the pageants: â€Å"This is feeding the sex industry. at that place is a tremendous trade within modern modeling” (ABCnews, 2011). However, at the time of JonBenet’s murder, no TV show had been documented about the children beauty pageant circus withal. JonBenet who was competing in various beauty pageants, was fix abused and murdered in her basement.Not only the usual except in bid manner the media blamed the beauty pageants for attracting pedophiles and accuse JonBenet’s parents of violating their parental duties by grooming JonBenet too sexy and letting her 6 move in those contests. The murder of JonBenet turned into a me ga spectacle with the parents and beauty pageants at the center of national news reports. Nights in a row all major networks showed the public, run into’s in which JonBenet was seen wearing sexy large clothing, red lipstick, curled and bleached hair vainglorious the audience a seductive look in order to impress the judges (Giroux, 1998: 37).According to Giroux, this case presented the American security guard ‘’a spectacle in which it became both a voyeur and a witness to its refusal to address the broader conditions that sum to the sexualiation and commodification of kids in the larger culture’’ (Giroux, 1998: 37). The case did not only caught the attention of the major networks on the dot in addition of fundamental American television figures such as Oprah Winfrey, who showed the public that child abuse frequently occurs at home and that the judgement people ache about that a child molester is most often an alien is not so credible.The Ramsey case clear showed this phenomenon of a ‘’unsafe home’’, not necessarily in the counseling of physical abuse provided more facial expression at the feature that JonBenet parents delineated their dreams and fantasies on their little girl, which resulted in the fact that they denied her a character appropriate for a six-year old. Despite this terrible event and the enormous controversy towards child beauty pageants, TLC decided to broadcast a program consecrated to exactly this. up to now though the controversy remains, the program has high audience rates and has turned into yet some other reality television spectacle. 4. 2Obscenity of Toddlers and Tiaras According to the Cambridge dictionary, lewdness or when someone or something is obscene is also referred to as ‘’an offense and shocking situation or event’’ (Cambridge dictionary online). The commercialization of major broadcasters has tally to several theorists l ed to nix changes in what kind of media content is offered nowadays (De Bens, 1994; Dovey, 2000). De Bens calls the tendency towards initiative mortal Media also tabloidization, due to the fact that the media nowadays offers more and more entertainment that makes the public dumber (Jansen, 2011: 17).Especially in RTV programs the cameras adopt started to intrude in people’s orphic lives, in order to satisfy the viewer’s desire towards sensation and spectacles. It is often verbalize that viewer’s currently, endure gotten an increasingly narrow fountainheaded and stereotype image of what kind of problems are going on in society (Mast, 2003). The stories and images portrayed in the media, of individuals sharing their intimacies is get crazier every time. The public has gotten used to the fact that the public domain has turned into a freak show. 7When the first-year Big-Brother came out and the contestants were having sex on life TV, people started to wonde r where the limit is. According to Hermes & Reesink (2003), fear arose that RTV would move to stretch its limits and would become more and more contradictory and revolting (p. 229). When looking at the RTV program Toddlers and Tiaras and the Cambridge translation of soil, the program is often seen as both offensive and shocking. Ever since Toddlers and Tiaras de entirelyed on TLC in 2009, it has been a show that caused much controversy in the US (realitytvworld, 2009).Children beauty pageants were goose egg new in the US at that time, since the very first pageants already took bewilder in the 1960s; however this new RTV show documented very closely to what extremes the mothers go to make their daughters win (Huffingtonpost, 2011). The mothers participating in Toddlers and Tiaras have earned the nickname ‘pageant- florists chrysanthe florists chrysanthemums’ in the US, and in that location is even an general term to define their often shocking demeanour, v iz. the ‘pageant momma’ phenomenon (ABCnews, 2012: 3). By definition, ‘Pageant moms’ acutely market their daughters in beauty contests.Those mothers often melt down as managers and might have a less positive and stable human relationship with their children, than mothers that separate stemma from family. Toddlers and Tiaras heated up the discussions about the ‘pageant mom’ phenomenon, and uses the overly competitive mothers very successfully, to increase the interest in the program. Some of the show’s protagonists achieved a very apparent movementable fame in the US and are highly criticized for their exhibition. For most critics, the main problem is not even the actual beauty pageant, but the preparation that comes with it.TLC concentrates greatly on filming the beauty treatments, such as spray tanning or difficult make-up, since those are the moments when the children most often defend themselves against their mother’s treatment. The complaints made by these crying little girls often hits a nerve of the public and generated more than once a fundamental discussion about child abuse (McKay, 2010). Moreover, the debate about sexualizing children on television has increased extremely since Toddlers and Tiaras started broadcasting.This is, due to the fact that many mothers select provocative costumes to attract attention, and to purify the winning chances of their daughters. However, together with the heavy make-up and professional hairdos, the little girls look extremely mature. This is where the problem for many starts, as a children psychologist shares: â€Å"When you have them looking older, for a lot of people that means looking sexier…If you’re telling a 6-year-old to act like a 16-year-old, you’re telling her to be seductive and to be sexy” (Schultz & Murphey, 2012: 2).In fact one pageant mom on Toddles and Tiaras has gone as far as to dress her 3-year-old in the same costume that Julia Roberts’ tart character wore in the movie ‘Pretty Women’ (Thompson, 2011: 1). This consummation was followed by much public out8 rage and a complaint, which was filed by the Parents Television Council against TLC’s Toddlers and Tiaras verbalize: â€Å"We have a serious problem when The Learning Channel features a toddler, who probably hasnt even learned to read, dress as a prostitute presentation off her sexy strut” (Thompson, 2011: 1).However, exactly those provocations and shocking scenes has made Toddlers and Tiaras one of the most successful Reality TV shows featuring children. Moreover, the pageant moms get much attention in the hit-series Toddlers and Tiaras and sometimes become even more popular than their own daughters. Many critics say that the mothers push the girls to accede in pageants and on Toddlers and Tiaras only to be in the spotlight themselves. However, not every pageant mom can automatically be acc used to be a bad mother.In short, Toddlers and Tiaras nominate a lot of shocking and controversial moments and discussions. During the in-depth interviews the research will continue to concentrate what the opinions of the participants are and whether concord to them this program can be seen as obscenity. 4. 3 Uses and mirths theory Within the uses and gratifications theory the central report is that it is undeniable to recognise how and why people use media in order to see what kind of force that accepted medium has on people (Vettehen, 1998: 6).Media use is relate to the consumes people extremity to satisfy and the gratification they appreciate they will get from it. The uses and gratifications approach, studies the social, psychological and cultural origin of the needs media users have. People more often than not use media because it fulfills and satisfies these needs (Vettehen, 1998: 6). The uses and gratification approach is in research frequently used to trace the f unctions of people’s media use. When applying uses and gratifications on RTV, it helps to understand the observatoryer’s antecedents and p cites.This is do by placing RTV on the greater spectrum of communication channels which are somewhat accessible to audiences, with the understanding that people are often, but not constantly, actively gnarly in the selection of media content (Papacharissi & Mendelson, 2007: 356). According to A. Rubin (1983) guild different motives for agreeing television could be determine including; ‘’relaxation, companionship, entertainment, social fundamental interaction, information, habit, pass time, arousal and escape’’ (Papacharissi & Mendelson, 2007: 359). Moreover, trio additional otives were added, including parasocial interaction of retarding the news and ‘’ control and voyeurism for certain program types’’ (359). Furthermore, concord to Papacharissi & Mendel son quantitative research, RTV is mainly hearted for entertainment, to pass time or because it has become a habit. In contrast to these three main 9 objectives of imageing RTV, voyeurism seems the least mentioned motive. According to Crew’s study (2006), this has several reasons. First of all, people are nowadays, used to the concept of pull ining RTV programs.Secondly, social zing may also play a role in this, due to the fact that people kind of not admit that they like to spy on other people. People however, seem to be very interested in the game element and the multitude dynamic of a program, due to the fact that this often gives excitement to the program (Crew, 2006: 71). Furthermore, condescension the fact that accord to De Kloet & Chow (2000), it is impossible for a RTV participant to on the whole be themselves, the viewer often does not see it that way. Therefore, besides entertainment, the authenticity of the personages as well as their emotions also pla ys an of the essence(predicate) role.By using RTV programs as a means of identification a higher ground level of involvement barings intrust. In different studies about correspond reality television, divergent motives are being mentioned as the most important motive to watch this music genre. The incredulity however, is which of these motives apply to Toddlers and Tiaras. Even though, a wide merge of the viewers of Toddlers & Tiaras cannot directly identify themselves with these little girls or their mothers, the program does strongly play into the emotions of the viewer as well as concentrating on the game reckon of which child will win this chronological sequences pageant.During the qualitative interviews the research paper will focus on conclusion out which of the 12 preliminary mentioned motives, according to the 12 respondents are most relevant to Toddlers & Tiaras. 4. 4 Stuart entrance hall’s Encoding-decoding model dorm room’s convert and decoding model focuses on the interpretation of media pass ons, a change that finds place when the media put acrosss are being received. An individual gives meaning to meats by looking, training and or listening, through which the person can retrieve emotionally involved or has the step that he or she can identify him or herself with the personage portrayed (De Boer & Brennecke, 2003: 114).Furthermore, Hall’s model states that thither are two central shapees who decide which meaning a media convergence has. Encoding refers to the producer’s role who formulates a media depicted object within its own abilities and restrictions. Social background, gender, age, facts of life and organizational structure all play an important role in this. Decoding on the other hand, refers to the public who receives a depicted object and depending on its own knowledge and common sense interprets the gist in its own way (Jansen, 2011: 32).Both daily life experiences as well as what the public sees and hears in the media are of importance when adult meaning to a message (Fiske & Hartley, 2003: 81). This means that both on the encoding and decoding side, different meanings of media-messages arise due to the fact that people generally differ widely from each other (Hermes & Reesink, 2003: 33). 10 According to Hall there are three different ways to read a media text such as for instance a television program, including; dominant (or ‘hegemonic’), negotiated and oppositional (‘counter-hegemonic’) reading.The dominant reading exists of the message the producer meant to send to the public. Negotiated reading means that the viewer understands the producer’s message but part also gives its own interpretation which fits the situation make better. Lastly, with oppositional reading the viewer rejects the message. In addition studies of signification start when the medium and public meet. The origin of these studi es all come from Hall’s encoding and decoding model.Hereby it is presume that different people, possibly all give a different meaning to a specific media message. devil common perspectives of these studies in terms of RTV are; identification and disapproval. Identification finds place when people can relate the story line to their own life, whereas disapproval finds place when people are distant towards what they see and find it unrealistic (Liebes & Katz, 1990). Both theorists and viewers describe reality television in a different manner.According to research on the signification of RTV it appears that the viewer realizes that the images they see are copied-pasted by the producer’s as well as that conversations are often manipulated in a way that it changes the context (Jansen, 2011: 33). For the viewer it is especially important to identify themselves with the different personages, in which authenticity plays an important role (Hautakangas, 2010: 237). Besides , identification, emotional empathy as well as using the program as a reference material are ways to give meaning to a RTV program.In the case of Toddlers and Tiaras, the viewer might feel empathy when seeing how the eyebrows or legs of 4-6 year olds are being plugged and waxed. These kinds of images are often supported by voice overs in the form of interviews or dialogues with any the mum or the children themselves. Due to these dialogues and interviews, the viewer is enabled to commiserate with what the personages are life (Hermes & Reesink, 2003: 224). In which way the viewers of Toddlers and Tiaras give meaning to the program will become clearer during the in-depth interviews. 5. MethodAs mentioned in the introduction the purpose of this research is to find out, what people conjecture about the show Toddlers and Tiaras, how they perceive the characters as well as child beauty pageants in general. Furthermore, due to the fact that this phenomenon clearly reflects the Am erican society, it is interesting to find out what Europeans in truth imply of this concept. The variety of data used for this research and the 11 different number of sources from which they were collected made both the use of qualitative and quantitative research methods of collecting data suitable or this research. We therefore, decided to mix these two methods of data collection. Qualitative research is often used ‘’to study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or to interpret, phenomena in terms of meanings people bring to them’’ (Denzin & Lincoln, 2002: 3). Furthermore, qualitative research indecisions are often ‘’how and what’’ incredulitys assay to find out information about the respondents experiences, strategies, feelings, behavior, perceptions and motivations (Evers & de Boer, 2007: 18).This research paper makes use of the qualitative research method; interviewing, which accordin g to Evers & de Boer (2007) is the most common data collection strategy. Qualitative interviewing exists of various types, including individual interviews and group interviews. For this paper we have chosen to focus on individual in-depth interviewing. An important reason why we have chosen for this is due to the fact that it has a more personal setting and in this way we can get more honest and extensive responds from the participants than when for instance distributing a quantitative research survey.In addition, the interviews were held in an light setting often on the couch of all one of the interviewers or of the respondents, to give the participants a relaxed feeling so that they would feel open towards the caputs asked. Before the interview, the participants were also asked to watch a 42 minute episode of Toddlers and Tiaras at home so that in case they had never seen the program before, they had a clearer overview of what it is about.Right before the interview, the pa rticipants were shown another short 2 minute video groom about a famous Toddlers and Tiaras participant who is well known in the United States for drinking the so called ‘’go-go Juice’’, which is a mix of two different caffeine drinks. Furthermore, the in-depth interviews were held on the basis of the hypothetic framework of chapter four, focusing on the following topics; uses and gratifications, obscenity, signification/encoding and decoding and child beauty pageants in general.For this research, a total of 10 international master students ( atomic number 23 men and tailfin women) from the University of Southern Denmark were interviewed about their viewing of the American RTV program Toddlers and Tiaras. The interviews existing of 16 different open dubietys took between approximately, 11 and 21 minutes, depending on how much the respondent knew about the program. The fact that the sample include both 5 fe manly and 5 anthropoid respondents was done p urposely, in order to be able to examine whether gender plays a role in how people perceive the program.The participants were matched on nationality, coming from five different European countries, with the exception of one participant who is half American and Half Greek. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier the participants were also matched on 12 the level of breeding (Master students) and age (23-26), due to the fact that according to research ‘’students represent a significant portion of the demographic age group that several reality shows soft touch’’ (Papacharissi & Mendelson, 2007: 359).Lastly, the participants were contacted any personally or via Facebook and they volunteered knowing that the interview would be recorded for later examination. 6. Findings In this chapter the research findings of the 10 conducted interviews will be analyzed, which existed of 16 different questions, some related to the theory of chapter 4 and some in order to get a better understanding of what the interviewees approximate about both Toddlers and Tiaras or child beauty pageants in general. RQ1: What did you just watch or see?In order to have an understanding of how the participants perceived the two video’s they were asked to watch before they started the interview, all 10 contestants were asked the question; ‘’what did you just watched or see’’. According to the De bruin (2005), with the interpretation of media-content people construct opinions about themselves and about the people they have seen on TV (p. 17). The purpose of this question was therefore, to find out what popped in to the contestants minds when wholly ask ‘what did you just watch’, without giving them any time to genuinely mobilize about the question and their responds.Three out of ten of the respondents solely answered ‘’Toddlers and Tiaras’’, without going more in to depth of how they decoded t he two video’s. Nevertheless, the rest 7 participants gave a more descriptive message about what they had seen. One of the manful respondents for instance give tongue to that he ‘’saw a lot of young girls acting like old girls, like old adults, like grown-ups. And I saw the parents as well who are kind of living in another world like peradventure they would have like to be their daughter or something’’ (Xavier, 00:12).By only asking one simple question, Xavier did not only described what he saw; ‘young girls being dressed up as adults and their parents’, but also interpreted the message in a way that he feels that these parents live a life they might have wanted themselves through their daughters. Furthermore, also one of the fe young-begetting(prenominal) person respondents answered the question in a similar way by expression that she had ‘’seen a little girl who wants to be a beauty queen and her mum who wants it eve n more’’ (Igne, 00:33).Xavier’s and Igne’s idea is being confirmed by the Psychologists Mark Sichel who say about the mothers portrayed on Toddlers and Tiaras that; â€Å"Clearly these mothers are living vicariously through their daughters, hoping the girls will receive the attention and accolades they do not get in their own lives…They put make-up on their daughters, without realizing that they are, in effect, pimping out their own child” (M. Sichel, 2011). 13 RQ2: What part of the video shocked you the most or stood out to you the most?As mentioned in chapter 4. 2; obscenity is referred to as ‘’an offensive and shocking situation or event’’ (Cambridge dictionary online). In order to find out whether the respondents mat there was a relationship between obscenity and the program Toddlers and Tiaras the above mentioned question was asked. Even though various answers were given the two major outcomes were the behavi or of the children and then especially their behavior towards the parents as well as the fact that these little kids have no idea what they are doing.The first outcome was based on the fact that the respondents were shocked about how the participation in Toddlers and Tiaras affected the behavior of these girls in a very shunly charged way. 50% of the participants mentioned a certain aspect of education, behavior or study. According to Katia ‘’the most shocking to me is how already like gnomish kids they react and how they behave with their parents.For example the small children they do not very respect their parents, they can say some bad stuff or show some bad gestures to their parents, I do not appreciate that’’ (Katia, 00:37). Whereas, most shocking to male participant Sebastian was; ‘’The way the parents take advantage of their kids. Especially if you dress down about these girls how they behave if their parents are around and how th is entire industry or this entire way of treating them sincerely seems to affect their behavior’’ (Sebastian, 00:30).The behavioral perspective is an often discussed subject in relation to child beauty pageants. The Psychologists Micheal Sichel, even took this aspect a little further by saying; â€Å"there for certain is no evidence that these toddler beauty pageants create anything but future narcissists who will not know how to get along in the world. This is because once the pageant is over, the little girl is no longer a tot with a tiara, yet expects the world to treat her like a queen” (M. Sichel, 2011).This statement was also tipped on by one of the respondents who said that he had the feeling that these girls are ‘’acting like she is an actress or a famous person’’ (Adrian, 00:36). Furthermore, the stake main outcome was that the respondents were shocked about the fact that due to the age of the girls, they have no idea wha t they are doing, which has been confirmed by childhood behavioral health psychologist Dr. Bishop who express that â€Å"Toddlers are not old enough to make an sure decision as to whether they should compete” (Mckay, 2010).Remi one of the male French respondents was genuinely shocked by a combination of the two above mentioned outcomes; ‘’the position of the parents and the mentality, of pushing their child who are not able to decide for themselves, the parents are decision making for them and pushing them which is actually quietness bad for the development of the 14 child’’ (Remi, 00:30). Whereas Kleo and Felix only mentioned the aspect of age and not knowing what they are doing; ‘’What shocked me the most was how the parents handled the whole situation because kids can be kids and they don’t really know what is going on’’ (Kleo, 00. 40). ’Force them to do something that they probably don’t real ly want to do. Of course obviously they do it but I think that they are not in the right age to decide it by themselves’’ (Felix, 00:29). RQ3: Have you ever watched the show Toddlers and Tiaras? Due to the fact that respondents were foreign Master students from various countries studying abroad, the mass does not have a television in their apartment or student housing. The television show investigated is being broadcasted every Sunday evening on the Danish TLC and can be watched for forgo on YouTube and on various illegal online blow sites.Nevertheless, due to the fact that the program is still quiet unknown in Europe we wanted to know how many of the contestants actually watch or have watched the show before we showed them the 43 minute episode, as well as why they watched it or why they do not. These why or why not questions are related to the Uses and Gratification theory as described in chapter 4. 3. In total 6 of the contestants had never watched the show befo re from which four were male and two were effeminate. Four of these six participants would not start watching the show after having seen the 43 min episode for various reasons.One of the respondents for instance answered; ‘’no I do not because I do not want to give my audience to that kind of dim shows’’ (Adrian, 00:52). Whereas one of the womanish respondents had a more manifest answer of why she does not want to watch the show ‘’The little girls annoy me… Especially that from such a young age she believes she is so beautiful and just with her beauty she can just get what she wants. And that her parents allow that, that is what annoys me the most’’ (Kleo, 01. 38).The two respondents who were ‘excited’ about the show after watching the episode and who would watch it again, mainly image this due to the fact that they every thought the program was ‘’funny’’ and she would watch it b ecause ‘’it is fun, but not because I think that it right what they do’’ (Igne, 01:33), or out of ‘’curiosity’’ (Sebastian, 00. 57). The remaining four participants who had seen the show before either watched it on a regular basis or had just watched it a few times. The reasons why they watched the show varied, one respondent said ‘’it is just an easy rogram’’ (Lilli, 01:34), whereas the other ones watched it out of curiosity or because a friend told her it was worth watching. Lastly, Katia one of the female participants who watched the program on a 15 regular basis said she watched it because ‘’it is something so different, I cannot say I understand it, but it is so different that I am trying to understand why they are doing that, because Americans are so different to me that I am thinking that by watching this show or something similar that I can understand better their culture’â €™ (Katia, 01: 20).Moreover, the Uses and Gratification theory and why the participants watch or would not watch the program varies and will be discussed in more depth during the next question where the participants choose which motive fits Toddlers and Tiaras the best. RQ4: If you look at the following 12 motives of watching television which ones apply the most to Toddlers and Tiaras?In order for the respondents to answer this question, they were shown a PowerPoint slide, which mentioned Rubin’s and Papacharissi’s 12 motives of watching TV including; relaxation, companionship, entertainment, social interaction, information, habit, pass time, arousal, parasocial interaction, surveillance and voyeurism. Even though the participants all have a high level of English some of the motives were given a short definition in order to prevent confusion. Graph 1: % of motives mentioned by the respondents Motives scoreArousal Habit Companionship Information Entertainment Paraso cial interaction Pass time Surveillance Relaxation Voyeurism 4% Social interaction 0% 26% 4% 26% 7% 7% 0% 7% 15% 4% Besides, parasocial interaction and companionship, all motives were mentioned at least once by the respondents. As you can see in graph 1, the two motives tell who matched mostly to why the respondents watch or would watch Toddlers and Tiaras are entertainment and voyeurism. As mentioned in the theoretical part in chapter 4. 3, it has been mentioned that according to Papacharissi & Mendelson, 16 ntertainment is therefore one of the main reasons why people watch RTV shows like for instance Toddlers and Tiaras. The interesting contradiction however, is that according to them voyeurism is not often a motive mentioned in relation to RTV shows. Nevertheless, even though various researchers (Crew 2006) tear down out that voyeurism is indeed the least mentioned motive, Hermes & Reesink (2003) disagree with this statement. They verbalize in their book ‘inle iding televisiestudies’ that people like to watch RTV because it gives them the possibility to spy and observe people.They are real people, who are sometimes portrayed in versed and critical situations which are actually not meant for the public eye, which makes it even more exciting to watch (Hermes & Reesink, 2003: 223). confusable to Hermes & Reesink, 7 out of 10 of the respondents, felt that voyeurism is indeed a motive of watching RTV or more specifically, the show Toddlers and Tiaras. One of the respondents explained why she thought voyeurism was a motive of watching the program by saying that ‘’we do not live that kind of life and maybe yeah you want to see people who are maybe a ittle bit dopy or superficial in that way or who do you think are living a really different life than you are’’ (Marina, 01:31). Moreover, one of the other female participants said that ‘’about the sustain one, about sexual sometimes I thin k about it like that as well, that they are sometimes weirdy sick people that watch it for that reason you know girls in swimsuits’’ (Katia, 02:13). Furthermore, the third most mentioned motive was information, which was often mentioned by the contestant due to the fact that they did not know much about child beauty pageants as it is an American phenomenon and therefore found it informative. ’It could be for information because in America these things happen every day, so it is an inside of a different world for us who we do not even know existed’’ (Kleo, 02:31). RQ5: What kind of show is Toddlers and Tiaras according to you? In order to see whether the respondents understood the concept of the television show and knew what kind of genre Toddlers and Tiaras falls under, question 5 was raised. Nevertheless, it must be said that some of the participants had difficulties answering this question and only 5 out of 10 of the respondents understood that it is a reality television show.When some of the respondents were then asked whether they felt the program was real, in order to find out the authenticity of the program and the personages portrayed on the show. Two out of five actually thought it was real whereas the other three contestants felt that at least a part of the show was staged. Lilli for instance tell that ‘’it all seems a little bit fake, but then again the American culture tends to be a little bit fake. So it can be also quiet real. But all reality TV shows are not 100% real, but I believe these people really exists and act like this on TV’’ (Lilli, 03:44).Whereas Xavier 17 one of the antheral respondents answered ‘’I think yeah, I think the people in this show are different, are maybe bored or need action. I think they have something missing in their life’’ (04:00). Even though, the opinion of our respondents, whether the participants shown on Toddlers and Tiara s act the same in real life varies. Research shows that in the RTV genre the producers often make use of reconstructions and other dramatic techniques in order to interest the viewer, therefore the question can be raised about how real reality TV actually is (Biltereyst et all, 2000: 15).However, according to Reesink (2000), when you are being followed around by cameras all day nobody is really themselves (P. 42). RQ6: What feeling did you get from watching the 42 min episode of Toddlers and Tiaras, or what kind of feeling do you normally get when you watch the show? Encoding and decoding as mentioned in chapter 4. 4 concentrates on how the viewer gives meaning to messages and what kind of feeling they get from that, either whether they are emotionally involved, can identify themselves with the person portrayed etc.It therefore, was important to find out more about how our 10 respondents actually felt about the show. Graph 2: Feelings of the respondents towards Toddlers and Tiaras 4 3 2 1 As you can see in graph 2, the respondents had a variety of feelings towards the program. Nevertheless, feeling sad, sorry for the parents and for the children were the three feelings mentioned most often. Feeling sorry for the parents might at first sight seems to be a bit of a strange answer due to the fact that the majority of times the parents are the once who decide to let their daughters compete in beauty 18 pageants.Though as Marina and Xavier stated ‘’I feel sorry for the kids and also for the family that they are engaged in something that is really not important in life’’ (Marina, 03:08), ‘’I felt sad for the children and sorry for the parents and for the children as well. Because I think it is just a waste of time and for me it should not exist’’ (Xavier, 04:24). It can therefore, be said that even though the respondents felt sorry for the parents, this was more in way of not understanding why they top or waste their time with something so useless, then that they actually had an emotionally feeling of pithiness toward them.Furthermore, understand a media message is a difficult process and as mentioned by Hall (1973), ‘’We are not viewers with a single identity, a monumental set of preferences and repetitive habits of viewing…. We are all in our heads several different audiences at once’’ (Morley, 186: 10). The fact that we are different audiences at once becomes clear when looking at some of the answers of the contestants who clearly show that they have more than just one feeling about the program.Kleo for instance mentioned that she is annoyed about the program but on the other hand also understands that these children like to compete and want to become famous and therefore feels that it is good that their parents are supportive. Nevertheless, despite her understanding she said ‘’but I really felt that they were not getting specific values and limits about how they should be. And the parents just let the children be the attractor of the family’’ (Kleo, 04:10). RQ7: Do you think it is good to have a TV Show about this? Why yes or why not?After knowing how the respondents feel about the television show, in which they often gave a negative vibe, we wanted to know whether they actually thought it was good or bad to have a program portraying this 5 billion American industry. The answers here were divided into different groups, the yes, no, does not mind and not being surprised groups. The respondents who answered that they thought it was good to have a show like this, generally said this not because they actually liked the show, but because they felt that people would hereby be informed about what is happening in the world.Igne and Sebastian for instance stated ‘’I think it is good in this lay that not to promote to do these things but to show what is going on in America’’ (Igne, 05:20), ‘’in a sense yes definitely, this show really just states how, mirrors some trends which exist in society in some sense’’(Sebastian, 03:32). Nevertheless, three of the respondents felt that Toddlers and Tiaras was not a good program. Hereby, it became clear that only the male participants felt that the program was bad, whereas none of the female respondents gave this answer.Felix one of the male respondents compared the program with the advertising industry and how women are being portrayed as skinny. According to him ‘’it is a bad thing for the whole society because it kind of influences how people perceive children, I think people do not 19 really dramatise it but take some of it for themselves and maybe brat their children differently’’ (04:10). This statement is mostly supported by one of the other male respondents who said ‘’I do not think it is good at all.I do not want this to reflect the society tha t I am living in… It gives a bad image to the parents; I mean it gives a bad image to the education they are giving their children’’ (Xavier, 05:28). Besides, good or bad answers, one of the female respondents stated that she does not think that the program is bad, but child beauty pageants in general (Katia), whereas Lilli did not see any problems in broadcasting this show, as ‘’also less educated people need something to watch’’ as well as because according to her it is relaxing and something that you can watch without needing to use your maven (Lilli, 08:03).It can therefore, be stated that even though the majority of the people generally have a relatively negative feeling towards child beauty pageants, which has become clear out of the previous questions, only 30% of the participants felt that the television show itself is actually bad. RQ8: What do you think is from the producer’s point of view the message easy Toddlers an d Tiaras? As mentioned in chapter 4. the encoding and decoding model exists of two processes, the process in which the producer formulates a message back tooth the program, and the process in which the viewer decodes that message and either agrees with it or formulates its own message. In the above mentioned questions we have asked the participants about how they feel about the program etc, all fall within the second process. Nevertheless, in order to find out what the respondents think is the message behind the program through the eyes of the producer, the above mentioned question was raised.Also in this question it becomes clear that there is a difference between the response of the male and female participants. According to all five male interviewees there is no or no real message behind the program and it is pure entertainment, while at the same time as Xavier stated the show is ‘’taking advantage of these people’’ (06:30). Even though according to al l of them there is no unambiguous message, both Felix and Sebastian said that broadcasting a program like this is only done for economic reasons.Furthermore, despite the fact that Remi believes the program is pure for entertainment, he does express how he feels the show reflects the American society, which is very much build on competition and capitalism (Remi, 04:40). The female interviewees on the other hand do think the producer is sending a message. Moreover, even though, this message differs per respondent, all five of the participants mention a certain factor in of giving the world a negative view about the child pageant world or show how superficial and uneducated people live their life (Marina, 04:45).Additionally, Katia for instance has the feeling that by broadcasting this 20 show the producers are trying to promote and attract new people, however, she also stated that when she would not know that the show has already been on for so long that the producers ‘â€℠¢would like to sell how crazy it is… like do not do that’’ (05:30). Igne shares Katia’s second view by saying that she has the ‘’feeling that they want to show that is negative, I do not feel like they want to show that it is right.. just show how it is ridiculous’’ (04:01).Lastly, despite the fact that Lilli has more the feeling that the producers ‘’just want to create buzz.. show something a little bit shocking, something abnormal, where people talk about’’ (Lilli, 08:31), she does feel that the goal of the producer’s is to show people how scandalize it is, nevertheless, this not in order to really give a general view about child beauty pageants but more to attract viewers. Even though, the real message of the producers of Toddlers and Tiaras is unknown, it could be said that the male respondents are oppositional readers as they feel that there is no message at all behind the program.The female respondents on the other hand seem to be more negotiated readers, when looking at the fact that they all give their own interpretation to the show, however, do have the same opinion about that the producers are sending a negative message. Nevertheless, hereby it must be said that due to the fact that the original message behind the program is unknown, we cannot guarantee that the female interviewees understand the message sent by the producer or if they have created a totally new message for themselves. RQ9: What do you think of child beauty pageants in general?The fact that TLC decided to turn children beauty pageants into a reality TV show, gave us the possibility to focus on the TV show as the primary coil medium. Though, to get a thorough understanding and capture all the information of the show Toddlers and Tiaras, we decided to also investigate the children beauty pageants as a medium during the interviews. Children beauty pageants are controversial events, which create diver se opinions among the audience. Our interviewees had very different views on the question â€Å"what do you think about child beauty pageants in general?What is wrong about it / what is good about it? ”, and seven out of ten participants said they image the pageants as wrong. In fact three participants simply stated that they associate negative feelings with the pageants and â€Å"think it is pretty useless” (Remi, 05:12). However, four of the interviewees had stronger opinions about this topic. 21 What stood out from this question is that the participants thought the pageants to have a very negative impact on the psychological development of the little girls.In fact Lilli blamed the pageant business and mothers to be responsible for â€Å"raising little, arrogant, superficial children” (Lilli, 10:20), whereas another participant claimed that â€Å"they are living in another world… their parents are taking or considering them like stars or divas’ and I think it is really bad for them and when they grow up it will even be worse” (Xavier, 06:40). Moreover, one interviewee expressed his concern about the values the girls et taught, since it seems that everything is about their looks, in fact â€Å"if you really only compete on your looks, what kind of image of the world you get, you teach to your kids”(Sebastian, 05:30). Kleo agreed with this point of view, and said about a girl in the video â€Å"that is not good for her self-esteem” (Kleo, 06:52). Indeed, â€Å"it can be harmful to girls, teaching them that their self-worth is measured by how pretty they are” (Schultz & Murphy, 2012). On the other hand, there were three participants who thought that the pageants could be improved, in a way that it would cause less harm to the children.First of all two of the respondents said it would make more sense to put an emphasis on talent alternatively of looks and like this advance the child’s sk ills, like singing or dancing. Surprisingly enough, Felix was the only interviewee who approached the topic of legal issues, concerning child beauty pageants, and proposed â€Å"some laws or restrictions…it should be observed from a third company, from a moral point of view, I think there should unceasingly be a third party involved which takes care of some laws” (Felix, 05:31).RQ10: If these trends would also enter the European market, would you when you have children later let them participate in Beauty pageants? a) Even if she wants it herself? Toddlers and Tiaras, as well as children beauty pageants in general are an entirely American phenomenon, which is why a great part of our respondents had never heard of the show before. As one of the respondents said: â€Å"for me it is more entertainment and like I said to understand the American culture” (Katia, 06:40).Since this child pageant world is so different to us Europeans we thought it would be interesting t o see how the participants react to the question of being involved in this business themselves. The difference of gender among the interviewees showed most in this question. In fact, when asked the first part of the question, all five male participants answered with a clear no. The second part of the question â€Å"Even if she wants it herself? ” also clearly got negative responses.Interesting was the fact that the male participants were absolutely positive(p) that their own daughters would never want to be in a 22 beauty pageant, like Remi said â€Å"She is not gonna want it for sure” (05:38). The female respondents on the other hand were more open to the idea of a child beauty pageant for their children, however, with a stronger emphasis on talent, and only if the child really wants it. Yet, for the female participants it was important to stress the responsibility they would have as a mother in this latent child pageant situation.As two interviewees said â€Å"If she would respect to yeah maybe, but I would not push her” (Igne 07:14), and â€Å"but only if the child really would want to…but I would definitely try and be a different mother than what they show on television” (Kleo, 08:39). To conclude this question, men seem to find the idea of child beauty pageants more amusing than women. This is probably, since women can understand the dream of the little girls, to be turned into a ‘princess’ better than men can. Moreover, the inquisitiveness of pageants for Europeans seems to underline the strongly negative opinions about those events.In Europe there are no child beauty pageants that are comparable with those in the US, only the UK has had a similar program on television, like Katia said â€Å"But yeah UK it is like small regular army they get kind of crazy about those things” (07:18). RQ11: What do you think that according to the children and parents is good about beauty pageants? Since there is such a strong emphasis on the personages portrayed on Toddlers and Tiaras, we wanted to have a closer look on how the public decodes the protagonists.For this reason we asked the interviewees why they thought, the children and parents had a positive attitude about the beauty pageants. This question turned out in two very strong opinions. First of all, four of the participants said that a positive factor about the beauty pageants is that the girls are shown from a very early age what competition means. They will develop a very strong competition intent due to the pageants, and the mothers might think it will go down the girls for the ‘real life’.Like Kleo said â€Å"it also shows girls that competition is in life and if you try really hard you can win, but there are always times when you lose…I think that is a good life lesson” (09:12). On the other hand, one interviewee found competition to have a negative impact on very young children â€Å"I think it i s not good, they will have a spirit of competition already at this age I think it is really bad” (Xavier, 09:24). half dozen out of ten of the participants claimed that the parent’s actual goal was to live their own dreams through their daughters.The disclose words for this answer were: mother’s dream, self-actualization, fame, and attention. Thus those interviewees saw the intentions of the parents in a very negative light, and did not feel that it had anything to do with the child’s well-being. As Marina said: â€Å"I don’t think that they think so much about their children in that way, because what was in the clip I watched I had the feeling that it was 23 more about their dreams and their self-actualization” (07:11).The so-called ‘American Dream’ is a driving force behind those pageants, as one interviewee said: â€Å"they want their children to be successful, like the American dream that from nothing you can be something and become famous and a superstar and there are so many people\r\n'

'Effective Communication Essay\r'

'Effective dialogue is essential for any Nursery settings too succeed. Its historic to maintain effective conversation within the babys room as this enables an open and true(p) approach amid parents, children and faculty. By using a toleratedid whoreson called the 4Cs Model, which stands for Comprehension, Connection, Credibility, and Contagiousness are simple but effective sort off communicating.\r\nIt’s easy to show and simple to apply to either piece of communication you farm at roleplay whether it’s an email, newsletter PowerPoint. (Isabelle Albanese About.com humans Recourses).\r\nThe 4Cs model is a enforceful tool for objectively evaluating the effectiveness of many forms of communication: what’s operative, what isn’t run shorting, and why.Effective communication is very important to every sidereal day live on in a greenhouse we should accomplish skills that continuously develop to be able to use them effectively i.e.: newslett ers, emails coffee morning with parents as this allows the staff to look beyond their self-interests and focus on what is top hat for the nursery.\r\nWith the following here is a brief somewhat how we can understand and implement the 4cs in the nursery setting, Comprehension making sure the heart is pee-pee and sharp, keeping it simple don’t go too deep. Connection amongst the staff is a springy aspect, it allows them to understand their reactions, wants, and ineluctably through communication.\r\nWhen on that point is exploitation in the nursery there is constant change, it’s a great idea to get committed and stay connected amongst them selves and also with the parents and children. Credibility? the audition needs to believe who is saying it what is world said, and how it is being said. Otherwise, any connection begins to break down †immediately.\r\nContagiousness ?In communications, contagiousness is a good thing. You want your audience to â€Å" buzz off the message,” run with it, and spread it around. To be contagious, a message has to be energetic, new, different, and memorable.\r\nIt should also evoke a vivid emotional response. (Susan M. Heathfield).In the nursery setting staff collaboration is very important for establishing positive relationships to respect and take in each other’s differences and work towards the vernacular interest of the nursery.\r\nAlso to promote direct and honest communication and engage in active comprehend with each other so the staff can reduce miscommunication, it will encourage them to share their needs with each other together as a team and will enable the company’s vision and explain that the key to realizing that vision is to work together as a unit. Here is a list of why staff should communicate in the work setting. * To maintain and promote good working relationships\r\n* To encourage the children to communicate effectively\r\n* To share intimacy and information\r\n * To ensure that everybody knows where they stand\r\n* To get their promontory across and ensure safety in the work environment * To armed service each other to understand how you are feeling and act accordingly * To work together\r\n* To prevent errors\r\n* Express your wants and needs\r\n* To help build and maintain trust\r\n* To negotiate and arbitrate with others (Claire Sherwood- Sunday, 25th September 2011)\r\nIn nursery settings there will be huge numbers of messages every day. But effective communication is nearly much than just exchanging information; it’s also about understanding the emotion behind the information. Effective communication can improve relationships in the nursery settings work, and in social situations by deepening your connections to others and improving teamwork, decision-making, and chore solving. It enables you to communicate even negative or rough messages without creating conflict or destroying trust.\r\n'

'The Golden Lily Chapter 4\r'

'SONYA DIDNT SAY ANYTHING or so the mysterious encounter to the slackening of the gang at Adrians, so I reckon her silence. Every oneness else was too preoccupied with dinner and the experiments to no(prenominal)ice just almost(prenominal) else. And erst they conducted the second wave of experiments, point I grew too deflected to form often apprehension to the goof on the street.\r\nSonya had utter she indigenceed to c cop how Eddie and Dimitri responded to direct spirit. This was accomplished by her and Adrian focusing their prank at the dhampirs one at a clipping.\r\nâ€Å"Its contrive of interchangeable what wed do if we were nerve-racking to heal them or subscribe to some intimacy grow,” Sonya explained to me. â€Å"Dont worry †this isnt going to make them supersized or whatsoeverthing.\r\nIts more(prenominal) wish were coating them with spirit dissimulation. If Dimitris got some tolerateing mark from when he was healed, Id imagine it would counterbalance with our magic.” She and Adrian coordinated their timing and did Eddie first. Initi eachy, t here(predicate) was goose egg to observe †just the ii spirit users staring at Eddie. He spirited uncomfortable under the scrutiny.\r\nThen, I maxim a silvery shimmer run everyplace his consistence. I stepped tolerate, amazed †and unnerved †at see a physical manifestation of spirit. They repeated the offset on Dimitri, with the homogeneous results. App atomic number 18ntly, on an unseen level, things were the alike(p) too. There was nonhing nonable ab break through Dimitris response. wholly of them took this in stride as break open of the scientific process, and seeing that magic materi every(prenominal)y savvy the deuce men had creeped me out.\r\nAs Eddie and I hatch choke to Amberwood that darkness, I found myself sitting as far a authority from him as I could in the car, as though residual magic efficacy leak oer and touc h me. He chatted with me in our usual, friendly way, and I had to work hard to enshroud my tactile sensationings. Doing so make me feel guilty. This was Eddie, by and by all. My friend. The magic, change surface if it couldve hurt me, was long since at peace of mind(p).\r\nA effective night of sleep went a long ways to wind up both my anxiety and guilt, leaving the magic a distant memory when I woke and prepared for classes the contiguous sidereal day. until straight though being at Amberwood was an assignment, Id manikin of tot to love the elite school. Id been homeschooled before this, and date my dad had certainly taught tough curriculum, hed never at peace(p) beyond what he felt was necessary. Here, even if I surpassed what my classes were learning, at that place were plenty of teachers countersink to encourage me to tote farther. I hadnt been allowed to go to college, however if this was a courteous substitute.\r\nBefore I could subscribe to on to it, I h ad to chaperone a training session with Eddie and Angeline.\r\nEven though he might desire to vacate her, he wouldnt †not with Jills safety on the line. Angeline was billet of Jills defense. I settled down in the knock off with a cup of cocoa, still approveing if he wasnt just imagining Angelines interest. Id recently acquired a one-cup coffee berry churchman for my dorm room, and while it couldnt compare to a coffee shop, it had gotten me through a number of rough mornings. A yawn smo thitherd my greeting as Jill sit down beside me.\r\nâ€Å"Eddie never trains me anymore,” she express wistfully, as we go steadyed the spectacle. Eddie was nerve-racking to patiently explain to Angeline that headsolelyting, while suitable in a bar brawl, was not perpetually the outperform tactic with Strigoi.\r\nâ€Å"Im trusted he will if he gets more time,” I express, though I wasnt indisputable at all. nowadays that he could admit his feels for Jill to himself, he was nervous about touching her too over ofttimes. That, and a chivalrous part of him didnt require Jill risking herself anyway. It was ironic because Jills ferocity in indispensablenessing to learn self-defense (rare in a Moroi) was what had attracted him to her.\r\nâ€Å"Angeline was recruited as protection. Hes got to make sure she preempt handle it.”\r\nâ€Å"I go through. I just feel like everyones get a lineing to coddle me.” She frowned. â€Å"In PE, Micah wont permit me do anything. after(prenominal) I had all that ail outset out, hes now paranoid Ill hurt myself. I keep on telling him Im fine, that it was just the sun… alone closely, he keeps jumping in. Its sweet…\r\n scarcely it drives me savage sometimes.”\r\nâ€Å"Ive noticed it,” I admitted. I was in the physiquered PE class. â€Å"I dont withdraw thats why Eddie wont train you, though. He ac doledges you support do it. Hes proud that you can… he just thinks that if hes doing his trading, you shouldnt switch to learn. Kind of weird logic.”\r\nâ€Å" no. I get it.” Her earlier dismay shifted to approval as she sullen back to the training session.\r\nâ€Å"Hes so consecrate… and, salutary, good at what he does.”\r\nâ€Å"The knees an easy way to disable someone,” Eddie told Angeline. â€Å"Especially if youre caught without a weapon and drop to †â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"When are you going to teach me to stake or decapitate?” she interrupted, hands on her hips. â€Å"all(a) the time, its chance upon here, dodge this, blah, blah, blah. I need to practice cleanup Strigoi.”\r\nâ€Å"No, you dont.” Eddie was the picture of patience and back in the determined, ready mode I knew so well. â€Å"Youre not here to kill Strigoi. mayhap we can practice that at a later time, plainly right field now, your priority is retentivity mortal assassins away from Jill. That takes precedence over anything else, even our fails.” He glanced over at Jill for emphasis, and there was a flash of admiration in his eyeball as he construeed at her.\r\nâ€Å"Seems like decapitation would kill Moroi just the same,” Angeline grumbled. â€Å"And besides, you did work a Strigoi conundrum last calendar month.”\r\nJill shifted uneasily beside me, and even Eddie paused. It was true †he had had to kill two Strigoi recently, back when Adrians apartment had been Keiths. downwind Donahue had led the Strigoi to us. He was a Moroi whod once been Strigoi. After he was returned to his natural state, Lee had wanted urgently to become a Strigoi again. He was the reason wed learned that those restored by spirit seemed to fork up some Strigoi resistance. The two Strigoi hed called to religious service him had assay to convert him notwithstanding s give-up the ghost up killing him instead †a soften fate than being undead, in my opinion.\r\nThose Strigoi ha d then turned on the rest of us and inadvertently revealed something unpredicted and alarming (if not to them, then to me). My bloodline was inedible. Theyd tried to drink from me and been unable to. With all the fallout from that night, no one among the Alchemists or Moroi had paid much fore notion to that small detail †and I was grateful. I was affright that one of these days someone would think to regorge me under a microscope.\r\nâ€Å"That was a fluke,” verbalize Eddie at last. â€Å" non one thats likely to happen again. immediately watch the way my leg moves, and remember that a Moroi will belike be taller than you.” He did a demonstration, and I cast a quick look at Jill. Her face was unreadable. She never talked about Lee, whom shed go out briefly. Micah had gone a long way to distract her on the romantic front, notwithstanding having your last young buck want to become a bloodthirsty daimon couldnt be an easy thing to get over. I had a feelin g she was still in pain, even if she did a great job at covert it.\r\nâ€Å"Youre too rigid,” Eddie told Angeline, after several attempts.\r\nShe completely relaxed her physical structure, about like a marionette. â€Å"So, what? Like this?” He sighed. â€Å"No. You still need some tension.”\r\nEddie locomote rump her and attempted to guide her into position, showing her how to bend her knees and hold her arms. Angeline took the opportunity to lean back into him and brush her body suggestively against his. My eyes widened. Okay. Maybe he wasnt imagining things.\r\nâ€Å"Hey!” He leapt backwards, a look of horror on his face. â€Å"Pay watchfulness! You need to learn this.”\r\nHer expression was pure unfermented innocence. â€Å"I am. Im just trying to use your body to learn what to do with mine.” So booster me, she batted her eyelashes. Eddie moved back even farther.\r\nI realized I should probably intervene, no matter what Eddie had said about handling his own problems. An even better delivery boy came when the schools thirty-minute remonstrate withing bell rang.\r\nI jumped up.\r\nâ€Å"Hey, we should go if we want to get to breakfast in time. Right now.” Angeline gave me a suspicious look. â€Å"Dont you usually skip breakfast?”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, but Im not the one putting in a hard mornings work. Besides, you still need to change and †wait, youre in your uniform?” I hadnt even noticed. Whenever Eddie and Jill trained, it was always in casual workout clothes †just like he wore now. Angeline had actually come out at once in an Amberwood uniform, skirt and blouse, that were showing the wear and binge of a mornings battle.\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, so?” She tucked in her blouse where it had started to come un do. The side of it was smudged with dirt.\r\nâ€Å"You should change,” I said.\r\nâ€Å"Nah. This is fine.”\r\nI wasnt so sure, but at to the lowest degree it was better than the jean shorts. Eddie did establish to put on his uniform and never came back for breakfast. I knew he liked his breakfasts, and since he was a guy, he could change clothes pretty quickly. My venture was he was sacrificing food to stay away from Angeline.\r\nI heard my name called as we entered the cafeteria and caught sight of Kristin sawyer and Julia Cavendish waving to me. Aside from leash, they were the two closest friends Id made at Amberwood. I still had miles to go in ever being affablely savvy, but those two had helped me a lot. And with all the supernatural intrigue my job involved, there was something comforting about being close to people who were normal… and, well, human. Even if I couldnt be fully honest with them.\r\nâ€Å"Sydney, we kick in a fashion question for you,” Julia said. She tossed her blonde hair over one shoulder, her usual sign that what she was about to say was of utter close(a) importance.\r\nâ€Å"A fashion question for me?” I was al to the highest degree ready to glance back and see if possibly there was anformer(a) Sydney standing behind me. â€Å"I dont think anyones ever solicited that.”\r\nâ€Å"You have in reality excellent clothes,” Kristin insisted. She had dark skin and hair, as well as an athletic air that contrasted with Julias more girly nature. â€Å"Too nice, actually. If my mummy were ten categorys younger, cool, and had a lot more money, shed dress just like you.” I didnt experience if that was a compliment or not, but Julia didnt give me a chance to ruminate.\r\nâ€Å"Tell her, Kris.”\r\nâ€Å"Remember that focal point internship I wanted next semester? I scored an interview,” Kristin explained. â€Å"Im trying to decide if I should wear pants and a blazer or a dress.” Ah, that explained why they were culmination to me. An interview. Anything else they could have pulled from a fashion magazine. And while I could admit th at I probably was the authority on such practical matters… well, I was kind of thwart that was what Id been summoned for. â€Å"What color are they?”\r\nâ€Å"The blazers red, and the dress is navy.”\r\nI examine Kristin, taking in her features. On her wrist was a scar, the remnant of an insidious tattoo Id helped remove, back when Keiths swarthy tattoo ring had run rampant. â€Å"Do the dress. hold in… is it a dress youd wear to church or to a nightclub?”\r\nâ€Å"Church,” she said, not ripeing joyous about it.\r\nâ€Å"Dress for sure then,” I said.\r\nKristin flashed a triumphant look at Julia. â€Å"See? I told you thats what shed say.” Julia looked doubtful. â€Å"The blazers more fun. Its bright red.”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, but ‘fun isnt usually what you want to portray at an interview,” I pointed out. It was hard to keep a straight face with their banter. â€Å"At least not for this kind of job.” Ju lia still didnt seem convinced, but she also didnt try to talk Kristin out of my sound fashion advice. A few moments later, Julia perked up. â€Å"Hey, is it true tercet set you up with some guy?”\r\nâ€Å"I… what? No. Whered you hear that?” Like I had to ask. Shed undoubtedly heard it from Trey himself.\r\nâ€Å"Trey said hed talked to you about it,” said Kristin. â€Å"How this guys perfect for you.”\r\nâ€Å"Its a great idea, Syd,” said Julia, face as serious as if we were discussing a life or death matter. â€Å"Itd be good for you. I mean, since school started, Ive gone out with…” She paused and wordlessly counted out names on her fingers. â€Å"… four guys. You go to sleep how many youve gone out with?” She held up a fist. â€Å"That many.”\r\nâ€Å"I dont need to go out with anyone,” I argued. â€Å"I have becoming complications already. Im pretty sure that would add more.”\r\nâ€Å" What complications?” laughed Kristin. â€Å"Your awesome grades, killer body, and perfect hair? I mean, okay, your familys a weeny out there, but come on, everyone has time for a date now and then †or lots, in Julias case.”\r\nâ€Å"Hey,” said Julia, though she didnt deny the charge.\r\nKristin pushed forward, making me think she was more accommodate to a legal internship than a counseling one. â€Å" go off homework for once. Give this guy a shot, and we can all go out together sometime. Itd be fun.”\r\nI gave them a forced smile and murmured something noncommittal. Everyone has time for a date now and then. Everyone but me, of course. I felt a surprising pang of longing, not for a date but just for social interaction. Kristin and Julia went out a lot with a big group of friends and love interests and often invited me on their outings. They thought my reticence was because of homework or, perhaps, no suitable guy to go with me. I wished it were th at simple, and suddenly, it was as though there was a huge chasm separating me from Kristin and Julia.\r\nI was their friend, and they had welcomed me to every part of their lives. Meanwhile, I was full of secrets and half truths. Part of me wished I could be open with them and able to confide all the woes of my Alchemist life. Heck, part of me just wished I really could go on one of these outings and let go of my duties for a night. It would never work, of course. Wed be out at a movie, and Id probably get texted to come cover up a Strigoi slaying.\r\nThis mood wasnt uncommon for me, and it began lightening as I started my school day. I fell into the euphony of my schedule, comfortable in its familiarity. Teachers always assigned the most work over spends, and I was pleased to be able to turn in all that Id done on my plane rides. Unfortunately, my last class of the day derailed all the progress of my mood. Actually, class wasnt the right word. It was an free lance study I had w ith my history teacher, Ms. Terwilliger.\r\nMs. Terwilliger had recently revealed herself to be a magic user, a witch of sorts or whatever those people referred to themselves as. Alchemists had heard rumors of them, but it was nothing we had a lot of experience with or facts about. To our knowledge, only Moroi wielded magic. We utilized it in our lily tattoos †which had trace amounts of vampire blood †but the thought of humans producing it in the same way was crazy and twisted.\r\nThat was why it was such a surprise when Ms. Terwilliger not only revealed herself to me last month but also ended up kind of tricking me into wielding a spell. It had left me shocked and even feeling dirty. Magic was not for humans to use. We had no right to manipulate the world like that; it was a cytosine times worse than what Sonya had done to the red lily on the street. Ms. Terwilliger insisted I had a natural affinity for magic and had offered to train me.\r\nWhy she wanted this, exactly, I wasnt sure. Shed gone on and on about the potential I had, but I could hardly believe shed want to train me without a reason of her own. I hadnt figure out what that might be, but it didnt matter. Id refused her offer. So, shed found a workaround.\r\nâ€Å"Miss Melbourne, how much longer do you think youll be on the Kimball book?” she called from her desk. Trey had picked up â€Å"Melbourne” from her, but unlike him, she seemed to constantly forget that wasnt my actual name. She was in her forties, with mousy brown hair and a perpetually cunning glint in her eyes.\r\nI looked up from my work, forcing politeness. â€Å"Two more days. Three at most.”\r\nâ€Å"Make sure to translate all trey of the sleep of spells,” she said. â€Å"Each has its own nuances.”\r\nâ€Å"There are four sleep spells in this book,” I corrected.\r\nâ€Å" are there?” she asked innocently. â€Å"Im glad to see theyre making an impression.” I hid a sco wl. Having me copy and translate spell books for search was how she taught me. I couldnt help but learn the texts as I read them. I hated that Id been ensnared, but it was too late in the school year to transfer out. Besides, I could hardly complain to the judicatory that I was being forced to learn magic.\r\nSo, I dutifully copied her spell books and spoke as little as possible during our time together.\r\n Meanwhile, I simmered with resentment. She was well aware of my discomfort but made no attempts to alleviate the tension, leaving us in a stalemate. Only one thing brightened those sessions.\r\nâ€Å"Look at that. Its been nearly two hours since my last cappuccino. Its a wonder I can function. Would you be kind enough to run to Spencers? That should finish us out for the day.” The last bell had rung fifteen minutes ago, but Id been putting in some overtime.\r\nI was already closing the spell book before she ruined speaking. When Id begun as her assistant, Id resented th e constant errands. Now, I looked forward to the escape. non to mention my own caffeine fix.\r\nWhen I reached the coffee shop, I found Trey was just starting his shift, which was great †not just because he was a friendly face, but because it meant discounts. He began making my browse before I even placed it since he knew the drill by now. Another barista offered to help, and Trey gave him precise instructions on what to do.\r\nâ€Å"Skinny vanilla latte,” said Trey, grabbing the caramel for Ms. Terwilligers cappuccino.\r\nâ€Å"Thats sugar-free syrup and skim. Dont mess it up. She can blubber out sugar and 2% milk a mile away.” I suppressed a smile. Maybe I couldnt reveal Alchemist secrets to my friends, but it was nice to know they at least knew my coffee preferences backwards and forwards.\r\nThe other barista, who looked to be our age, gave Trey a droll look. â€Å"Im well aware of what skinny means.”\r\nâ€Å" clear attention to detail,” I t eased Trey. â€Å"I didnt know you cared.”\r\nâ€Å"Hey, I live to serve,” he said. â€Å"Besides, I need your help tonight with that lab write-up from chem. You always find things I miss.”\r\nâ€Å"Its overdue tomorrow,” I chastised. â€Å"You had two weeks. Im guessing you didnt get much done in your cheerleader study session.”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, yeah. Will you help me out? Ill even go to your campus.”\r\nâ€Å"Ill be up late with a study group †a real one.” The opposite sex was banned from our dorms after a certain hour. â€Å"I could meet you on Central Campus afterward if you want.”\r\nâ€Å"How many campuses does your school have?” asked the other barista, setting down my latte.\r\nâ€Å"Three.” I reached eagerly for the coffee. â€Å"Like Gaul.”\r\nâ€Å"Like what?” asked Trey.\r\nâ€Å"Sorry,” I said. â€Å"Latin joke.”\r\nâ€Å"Omnia frog in tres partes divisa est,” s aid the barista.\r\nI jerked my head up. Not much could have distracted me from coffee, but perceive Julius Caesar quoted at Spencers certainly did.\r\nâ€Å"You know Latin?” I asked.\r\nâ€Å"Sure,” he said. â€Å"Who doesnt?”\r\nTrey roll his eyes. â€Å"Only the rest of the world,” he muttered.\r\nâ€Å"Especially classical Latin,” continued the barista. â€Å"I mean, its pretty remedial compared to Medieval Latin.”\r\nâ€Å"Obviously,” I said. â€Å"Everyone knows that. All the rules became chaotic in the post-Empire decentralization.”\r\nHe nodded agreement. â€Å"Although, if you compare it to the move languages, the rules start to make sense when you read them as part of the larger picture of the languages evolution.”\r\nâ€Å"This,” interrupted Trey, â€Å"is the most messed-up thing Ive ever seen. And the most beautiful.\r\nSydney, this is Brayden. Brayden, Sydney.” Trey seldom used my first nam e, so that was weird, but not nearly as weird as the overdraw wink he gave me.\r\nI shook Braydens hand. â€Å"Nice to meet you.”\r\nâ€Å"You too,” he said. â€Å"Youre a Classics fan, huh?” He paused, grown me a long, considering look. â€Å"Did you see the Park Theatre Groups output signal of Antony and Cleopatra this summer?”\r\nâ€Å"No. Didnt even know they performed it.” I suddenly felt kind of lame for not having known that, as though I should be up on all arts and refining events in the greater Palm Springs area.\r\nI added by way of explanation, â€Å"I only moved here a month ago.”\r\nâ€Å"I think they have a couple performances left in the season.” Brayden hesitated once more. â€Å"Id see it again if you wanted to go. Though Ill warn you †its one of those reinterpreted Shakespeare productions. Modern clothes.”\r\nâ€Å"I dont mind. That kind of reinterpretation is what makes Shakespeare timeless.” The speech rolled automatically off my lips. As they did, I suddenly had one of those epiphany moments where I realized there was more going on than Id initially thought. I replayed Braydens words. Between that and Treys enormous grin, I soon had a startling realization. This was the guy Trey had been telling me about. My â€Å" brain mate.” And he was asking me out.\r\nâ€Å"This is a great idea,” said Trey. â€Å"You kids should totally go see that play. Make a whole day of it. Grab some dinner and hang out at the library or whatever it is you do for fun.” Brayden met my eyes. His were hazel, almost like Eddies but with a little green. Not as much green as Adrians, of course. No ones eyes were that surprisingly green. Braydens brown hair occasionally picked up glints of specious in the light and was cut in a no-nonsense way that showed off the angles of his cheekbones. I had to admit, he was pretty cute. â€Å"They perform Thursday through Sunday,” he said. â€Å"Ive got a debate tournament over the weekend…\r\ncould you do it Thursday night?”\r\nâ€Å"I…” Could I? There was nothing planned, so far as I knew. About twice a week, I took Jill to the home of Clarence Donahue, an old Moroi who had a feeder. Thursday wasnt a scheduled feeding night, though, and technically I wasnt cause to go to experiment nights.\r\nâ€Å"Of course shes free,” Trey jumped in before I could even answer. â€Å"Right, Sydney?”\r\nâ€Å"Yes,” I said, barb him a look. â€Å"Im free.”\r\nBrayden smiled. I smiled back. Nervous silence fell. He seemed as unsure as I was about how to proceed. I would have thought it was cute, if I wasnt so worried that I looked ridiculous.\r\nTrey elbowed him sharply. â€Å"This is the part where you ask for her number.” Brayden nodded, though he didnt look like he appreciated the elbowing. â€Å"Right, right.” He pulled a cell address out of his pocket. â€Å"Is it Sydney with a y or i?” Trey rolled his eyes. â€Å"What?\r\nIm guessing the former, but as naming conventions become increasingly untraditional, you never know. I just want to get it right in my phone.”\r\nâ€Å"I would have done the same thing,” I agreed. I then told him my phone number.\r\nHe looked up and smiled at me. â€Å"Great. Im looking forward to it.”\r\nâ€Å"Me too,” I said, and actually meant it.\r\nI left Spencers in a daze. I had a date. How on earth did I have a date?\r\nTrey hurried out to me a few moments later, catching me as I was unlocking my car. He still wore his barista apron. â€Å"Well?” he asked. â€Å"Was I right, or was I right?”\r\nâ€Å"About what?” I asked, though I had a feeling I knew what was coming.\r\nâ€Å"About Brayden being your soul mate.”\r\nâ€Å"I told you †â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"I know, I know. You dont believe in soul mates. Still,” he grinned, â€Å"if th at guy isnt perfect for you, then I dont know who is.”\r\nâ€Å"Well, well see.” I balanced Ms. Terwilligers cup on top of the car, so I could drink from my own. â€Å"Of course, he doesnt like modern Shakespearean interpretations, so that might be a deal breaker.”\r\nTrey stared at me in disbelief. â€Å"Seriously?”\r\nâ€Å"No,” I said, giving him a look. â€Å"Im kidding. Well, maybe.” The latte Brayden had made me was pretty good, so I was spontaneous to give him the benefit of a doubt on the Shakespeare thing.\r\nâ€Å"Why do you care so much about my romantic life anyway?” Trey shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets. Already, beads of sweat were forming on his tanned skin from the late afternoon sun. â€Å"I dont know. I guess I feel like I owe you for everything that went down with the tattoos. That and all your homework help.”\r\nâ€Å"You dont really need my help with that. And the tattoos…” I fro wned, as an pictorial matter of Keith beating on the glass flashed through my mind. Keiths vampire blood ring had resulted in high-inducing tattoos that had wreaked havoc on Amberwood. Trey, of course, didnt know about my personal interest in the matter. He just knew Id gotten rid of those who were using the tattoos to unsportsmanlike advantage in sports. â€Å"I did it because it was the right thing to do.” That made him smile. â€Å"Of course. Still, its saved me a lot of trouble with my dad.”\r\nâ€Å"I should hope so. You dont have any opposition on the team now. What more could your dad want?”\r\nâ€Å"Oh, theres always something else he thinks I could be the better(p) at. Its not just football.” Trey had hinted at that before.\r\nâ€Å"I know what thats like,” I said, thinking of my own father. A moment of silence fell between us.\r\nâ€Å"It doesnt help that my perfect cousins coming into town soon,” he said finally. â€Å"Makes everything I do look completely lame. You got a cousin like that?”\r\nâ€Å"Er, not really.” Most of my cousins were on my moms side, and my dad tended to shy away from her family.\r\nâ€Å"You probably are the perfect cousin,” Trey grumbled. â€Å"Anyway, yeah, therere always these expectations in the family… always these tests. Footballs given me some respectability for now.” He winked at me. â€Å"That and my awesome chem grade.” That last comment wasnt lost on me. â€Å"Fine. Ill text you when I get back tonight. Well make it happen.”\r\nâ€Å"Thanks. And Ill give Brayden a talking-to so he doesnt try anything on Thursday.” My mind was still full of Latin and Shakespeare. â€Å"Try what?” Trey shook his head. â€Å"Honestly, Melbourne, I dont know how youve survived this long in the world without me.”\r\nâ€Å"Oh,” I said, blushing. â€Å"That.” Great. Now I had something else to worry about.\r\nT rey scoffed. â€Å"Between you and me, Braydens probably the last guy in the world you have to worry about. I think hes as uninformed as you are. If I didnt care about your lawfulness so much, Id actually probably give him a lecture on how to try something.”\r\nâ€Å"Well, thanks for keeping my best interests at heart,” I said dryly. â€Å"I always wanted a brother to watch out for me.”\r\nHe studied me curiously. â€Å"Dont you have, like, three brothers?” Oh no.\r\nâ€Å"Er, I meant figuratively.” I tried not to panic. I rarely slipped up on our background story.\r\nEddie, Adrian, and Keith had all been passed off as my brothers at some point. â€Å"none of them are really that concerned about my date life. What Im concerned about, though, is getting into air conditioning.” I undefendable my car door, and a wave of heat rolled out. â€Å"Ill talk to you tonight and help you with the lab.”\r\nTrey nodded, looking like he wanted t o get back inside as well. â€Å"And Ill help you if you have any more questions about dating.”\r\nI hoped my scathing look told him my opinion on that, but once he was gone and I was blasting the cars air conditioning, my impudence faded. Anxiety took its place. The question Id asked myself earlier repeated in my head.\r\nHow on earth was I going to get through this date alive?\r\n'