Imaging Informatics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7500 words

Imaging Informatics - Essay Example egrated with a number of clinical data systems such as the HIS and the RIS which is used in the medical images distribution all over the image centred bases and in electronic archiving (Samei, 2004). The flow of work in departments of radiology has been enhanced in the current age due to the PACS installation progressive development alongside significant reductions in the costs of healthcare which have in combination had positive impacts on the care of the sick (Samei, 2004). The proliferation of more technical features maybe sustainably enhanced, according to Lemke (2011), and since such features in order to meet the requirements of medical personnel and systems of healthcare need new avenues/ approaches, a number of obstacles may be experienced. Compared to other choices such as film, PACS installations though costly may in the long run lead to reduced expenditure. However, there is the necessity for medical services after evaluating the overall features that can assist in meeting all requirements to use the PACS that are appropriate in order to reduce the significance of the effect of the effectiveness of cost of medical institutions that welcome huge numbers of patients yearly (Robertson and Saveraid, 2008). Along the same vein, the proceeding deliberation focuses on PACS’ general and technical characteristics/ features according to two various manufacturers. Apart from discussing the PACS’ advantages and disadvantages, this analysis wi ll additionally delve into the similarities and differences of the PACS. In addition, the discussion offers recommendations concerning the most appropriate systems for different clinical situations. In general, the two main PACS looked at in this issue, which are the most relevant in this debate because of their presence and popularity in the markets such as in Saudi Arabia, are the Agfa IMPAX 6 and the Fujifilm’s Synapse (Samei et al, 2004). According to Agfa Healthcare (2012), Agfa has installed over 200 PACS in over

Critical Issues faced by the managers while they set a project where Assignment

Critical Issues faced by the managers while they set a project where the associated persons of the project are from different culture - Assignment Example The paper tells that when a company management wants to start a new project then they have to take many factors in account. History shows that the projects which have got success are very much lesser than the projects which have failure. There are many factors which are associated with the project. If a project gets success then it can generate some big amount of revenue but if it gets failed then the cost of the project would go in vain. The project only gets success if that manager of the firm has done a proper planning. At first the manager has to make sure that the project is financially viable that is by using the financial tools he has to make sure that the project would generate profit for the firm. Then the firm has to fix the location for the project and also the labour who will execute the planning into reality. Then there is the marketing and sales and distribution of the project about which also the managers should make a plan. The workers are a major part of the project. In the era of globalization persons of different cultures, different religions can be associated with the project. The project can also be a multinational project where the top management has to control the employees who are of different nationality. When a team of people based in different locations and they work in the same project then the team is known as the virtual team. The members of the virtual teams don’t meet but they work on the same project communicating by video conference, phone or e-mail on a regular basis. The virtual team concept has started since 1973 (Mihhailova and Piiriste, n.d., p.9). In a company where the project is done in the face to face team then there is fixed team membership, the team members are located in one place, they are 100% dedicated as they have to work in one project and the team has only one manager. But in the virtual team there is much difference from the face to face team. There are many advantages and disadvantages associated in the virtual team process. Modern communication process has open a new window of collaborative work where the knowledge can be shared by the members of the organization who are in different places and this would be ultimately effective for the organization as a whole (Kimball, 1997, p.1). Despite of its advantages virtual teams becomes more complex day by day as there are many challenges when the persons work in a virtual team. The virtual team has to face the language difficulties as the virtual team members are from different locations of the world; there is problem of time zone, absence of face to face contact, reporting to different part of the organization. Also there are problems of conflict management; problem of making decision above all there is the problem of cultural barriers. There are some issues regarding culture of the workers as it can be different. Some workers of the team may be aggressive and some other may be of not that type. So there can be a misunderstanding ar ising between the team and so mistrust. When the Americans like a fast response and they use a sparse and targeted prose when they used to communicate by an e-mail; the Japanese are not of that type. They are in the side of a careful and proper response, the idea of the sparse prose where is problem of grammar is measured as an incomplete message. So working in this cross cultural situations where people from different cultures are there the culturally based problems usually arise, so the company has to solve the problem consciously for effectively manage the situation. When there is mistrust

Analysis of the halal industry

Analysis of the halal industry The world Muslim population is growing to a total of 1.6 billion people. By 2025, Muslims are expected to account for 30% of the worlds population. As for halal products, there are about 1.5 billion consumers, This means that one out of every four human beings consumes halal products. At present, Southeast Asia and the Middle East are the two strong markets for halal products (Riaz, 1998). As at 2008, the Halal Industry has amounted to USD2.1 trillion. This is certainly an important market to tap into. The Halal industry which also includes Islamic finance is estimated to be worth between USD200 billion to USD500 billion annually, with an annual growth rate forecast of 12% to 15% for the next 10 years. Marketing efforts to supply certified halal products throughout the world are gaining momentum. Demands for Halal-certified products have increased exponentially not only because the Muslim consumer base is growing but also due to the fact that Halal products now appeal to a broader spectrum. Halal has become the new benchmark for safety and quality assurance. The growing appeal and benefits of this niche market is significant. Major non-Muslim countries like Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and the U.S. have already established their local production for the Halal market. The key driving factors for the projected growth of the Halal market are as follow: Growth in the Muslim population, the primary market for Halal food Rising incomes in primary markets for Halal food Increasing demand for safe, high quality food in primary markets Increasing demand for greater variety in primary markets Incidents of food marketed as Halal but failing to meet Halal requirements Development of the Asian Halal Market Asia has the largest Muslim population of any given region, but the population has modest per capita incomes, and hence lower total food consumption than other areas. For example, high population countries like India and Pakistan have relatively low consumer incomes and consequently exhibit lower per capita protein consumption. Despite lower income levels, this region has been at the forefront of capitalizing on the growing Halal market. Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Brunei, China and India have all taken steps to tap into the global Halal market. For instance, the Singapore food industry has also taken a number of steps towards becoming a Halal hub, including an advertising campaign in the Middle East. Malaysia has also designs on becoming an international Halal hub and its government has taken a number of measures to support that objective including the establishment of the Halal Development Corporation. Thailand has moved to become a recognized Halal centre of excellence in science and testing. Brunei is currently co-operating with Australian companies in order to combine its role in the Muslim world with Australias track record in safe, high quality food production. The Chinese Halal industry is growing and is expected to expand its role in the global market. At the moment, the key advantage of the Chinese Halal industry is access to cheap labor. China recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the European Commission (EC) and already has several EC-approved companies ready to export Halal products to European markets. Indian exporters are attempting to gain recognition through the achievement of HACCP, ISO and Halal certification. Halal Market in Singapore and the internationalization of Singapores Halal Services Majils Ugama Islam Singapura (Muis), which is also known as the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, is the Islamic authority in-charge of Muslim affairs in Singapore. Muis was established as a statutory board in 1968, when the Administration of Muslim Law Act (AMLA) came into effect. Muis is to advise the President of Singapore on all matters relating to Islam in Singapore. Among other things, Muis provides Halal Certification services. Muis is vested with the powers to act as the sole authority to administer and regulate Halal certification in Singapore. This is clearly stipulated in AMLA. By 2009, Muis certified more than 2,600 premises and has played an important role as the custodian of Halal food assurance for Singapores 15% Muslim population. Furthermore, the promising Halal food industry with the availability of many Halal-certified eating establishments has helped to foster social interaction between individuals from diverse racial, cultural and religious backgrounds. Halal Certification provides assurance to all Muslim consumers because it fulfills the Syariah law, which is a must for Muslims. To the non-Muslims, Halal products are quality products, simply due to the concept of halalan thoyyiban (Halal and wholesome) Introduction of Warees Halal As the Singapore Halal certification is well regarded and globally recognised, it has generated strong interests from companies, both in Singapore and beyond, planning to embark on the MUIS Halal Certification scheme and adopt the Singapore MUIS Halal Quality Management (HalMQ) system. Warees Halal, a division of MUIS subsidiary Warees Investments Pte Ltd, has been given the task of helping companies to attain certification. At the present moment, being the subsidiary of Muis, Warees Halal leverages on the existing Muis eHalal System to manage all aspects of the Halal Certification Process . Apart from this system Muis has engaged a third-party vendor Marshall Cavendish Business Information Pte Ltd, to manage its directory portal http:www.singaporehalaldirectory.com. Warees Halal is currently exploring new ways to improve and streamline their work processes and expand their reach to the global halal market. And one of initiatives is Current Business Model for Halal Global Market Currently, the major marketing channel for the Halal commodity suppliers and retailers is the commodity wholesale market. However, when the retailers make purchases in the wholesale market, the dominant suppliers may offer products that are not Halal certified. Besides, the retailers may be inconvenient to collect information on the price and other details of the Halal products. The current business model is the directory and business portal. The average online halal directory and business portal like the Singapore Halal Directory acts as a mere introductory service. Once the Buyers have identified products and suppliers of interest, both parties will have to move offline and continue using emails, faxes and myriads of spreadsheets that result in complexities, errors and added costs. According to the World Trade Organization the average international trade transaction involves: 20-30 different parties, 40 documents, 200 data elements (30 of which are repeated at least 30 times). The complexities of import-export add as much 15% administrative overhead to the actual cost of goods. In todays highly competitive global markets, Suppliers and their clients need to reduce and even eliminate inefficiencies that result in higher costs and possible loss of market share. Technological Challenges faced in this current model Standardisation and communication management between Warees Halal Staff and their clients Another challenge is the global outreach restriction due to geographical factors and limitation due to the current information technology infrastructure Emerging Business Models Economists said that the growth of Global Halal market is definitely depending on the participation of E-commerce and Halal E-marketplace. In fact, the regional Muslim countries like Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and Singapore are currently speeding up the promotion of Halal concept, which aims to integrate the Halal producers and marketers. Thus, the development of Halal E-marketplace is facing huge challenge, in the perspective of having qualified Halal certified food producers to join in the Halal E-marketplace as to ensure the safety, hygiene and fairness of the commodity trading. Some of the Halal E-marketplaces includes the daganghalal site from Malaysia, zabihah.com a site with an directory which is a Halal business yellow pages in UK. Besides these sites, some of the Government Halal E-marketplace which are only include the Australian Halal Food Directory and Singapore Halal Directory. Halal E-Commerce Leaders in the industry Zabihah.com (http://www.zabihah.com) Zabihah.com is the largest database of Halal restaurants and markets.Based in the USA, it was created in July of 1999. And till to this date, zabihah.com has become an indispensable resource for Muslim communities worldwide. DagangHalal.com (http://www.DagangHalal.com) DagangHalal.com, based in Malaysia is one of the B2B e-marketplaces featuring Halal products and services. It provides an online platform as well as other business sourcing channels for our merchants to reach out to a potential worldwide Muslim market of 1.8 billion consumers (estimated worth US$500bil to US$2 trillion global Halal trade value). HalalBusinessDirectory.com (http://HalalBusinessDirectory.com) The Halal Business Directory, a UK Based Website provides a free service to Halal Businesses enabling them to publicise their online presence, and a free service to the public to help locate local businesses. Both user friendly and search engine friendly, the Halal Business Directory also provides a business listing with contact details, products and services, and a link to selected businesses websites. Halalexchange (http://www.halalexchange.com) Halal Exchangeà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ is a joint venture project in UAE between Halal Exchange Inc. and RAK Investment Authority under the patronage of His Highness Prince Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah. Halal Exchange is a web-based enterprise solution for the challenges of Global Sourcing. Founded in January 2002, the mission focused exclusively on developing the standard template for the complex, costly and convoluted import export process. The proprietary eCatalogue-Transaction Engineà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ delivers immediate results in increase of business volume and higher profit margins. Halal Exchange is headquartered in Vancouver with offices in Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Dubai and San Francisco. Australian Halal Food Directory (http://www.halal.com.au/) Halal.com.au is Australias first comprehensive Halal dining guide. Our aim in launching this site is to give Muslim people around Australia a handy resource to find Halal restaurants, cafes and other eateries. Of course, we hope that this site can be of use to non-Muslims as well! Singapore Halal Directory (http://www.singaporehalaldirectory.com) (Waiting for info from Razali) Present Information Technology Infrastructure Future or Proposed Information Technology Infrastructure E-commerce and online business portal had been proved to be one of the best e-business solutions to penetrate the emerging market. However, not much e-commerce portal either by government or private sector that focuses on the Halal market has being seen in the Halal trade market. B2B Model, B2C Model E-marketplace is an electronic exchange marketplace where companies register as sellers or buyers to communicate and conduct business over the Internet. The E-marketplace has become an important electronic shopping environment that may evolve into a dominant force in Internet marketing. Most of the E-marketplaces with online stores are offering competing products. Featuring is associated with a price premium and it serves as a mechanism to mitigate competition among online stores. In essence, featuring facilitates a convenience-price trade-off. Those consumers who find that the cost of searching outweighs the benefit of a lower expected price shop at the featured store where the price is higher on average. The E-Commerce mechanism of the Halal E-marketplace can improve trading efficiency and lower the cost of collecting information as well as the purchase price. The E-marketplace can use a combination of pictures, literal description, and regulated classification to introduce the quality and details of the traded commodities. Hence, Halal E-marketplace is found to be an emerging e-marketplace for the global Halal industries since the early years. Contradicted to the conventional E-marketplace, one of the unique features of Halal E-Marketplace is that it requires all the Halal businesses and services to be provided and transacted online according to the Halal principles and Muslim values. This is to ensure the benefits of the Halal consumers from around the world. The unique features of the Halal E-Marketplace include: Only the Halal certified products and services can be exhibited and traded online Operated according to the Halal principles and Muslim values Cultivate the Islamic values of Hygiene, Sincerity, Fairness and Trustworthiness Promotes the right way of doing trading activities Economic Benefits of the Halal E-marketplace Halal industry businesses and services providers can be benefit from the Halal E-Marketplace. For example, Halal food producers representing each section in a supply-chain could join Halal e-marketplace to transfer information and purchase products. They may operate on a cost-recovery basis by an independent third party (such as an industry association) or be set up as a business offering, with a middle-person providing a value-added function such as transaction services. Services offered by Halal E-marketplaces include the business directory listings, electronic catalogues for online purchasing of goods and services and trading or transaction services. Halal E-marketplaces that are worth considering are those that interconnect with other marketplaces and allow low-cost connection to a firms financial accounting systems. The economic benefits of the Halal E-marketplace may include: Greater opportunities for the Halal suppliers and buyers to make new trading partnerships, either within their supply-chain or across supply-chains The potential to lower the costs of negotiating and making transactions with automation of standard business procedures The potential for more transparent pricing as Halal buyers and sellers take the opportunity to trade in a more open environment The opportunity to access value-added services such as inventory control and management of dispatch and distribution processes using electronic systems Product or Service Customer Analysis What are you selling? Whom are you selling it to? How do the products differ among competitors in the same business? Who are your primary customers? What do your customers think about your business strengths and weaknesses?

morality vs. reality :: essays research papers

Morality vs. Reality The story "Battle Royal" is the key in understanding and seeing the relationship between morality and reality. The characters in this story, namely the grandfather and his grandson, reveal to us their individuality, principles, morals, and ethics doing so they unfold a map that reveals their mental reality. Because their principals, morals and ethics reveal to us their mental reality, then their mental reality discloses the reality of the society in which they live in. The young boy’s journey toward the light (truth) is started a long time ago. However in the beginning he is unable to get on the right course, due to the wrong advice he is given by different people; he says it as "All my life I was looking for something, and every were that I turned someone tried to tell me what it was. I accepted their answers too, though they were often in contradiction" (448). Each time that he accepts their advice he is little by little pushed off the right track. It is not until he realizes that he is searching for himself, and instead of asking others questions, he needs to ask the questions to himself. Once he discovers whom to turn to, he begins a long and difficult journey in which he realizes that he is a unique person, he puts it as, "I am nobody but myself."(449). This means that he is unique and he is who he is, black. However before he comes to this enlightenment he discovers that he is an "invisible man"(449). He marks himself invisible because in the society in which a person is unheard and unseen by others is invisible. At that point the boy’s problem is clear. He is a black boy in a White men's world, in which he is not seen or heard. Yet he still does not know what to do about it, well at-least not until he hears his grandfather’s words to his father: Son, after I'm gone I want you to keep up a good fight. I never told you, but your life is a war and I have been a traitor all my born days, a spy in the enemy's country ever since I give up my gun back in the Reconstruction. Live with your head in the lion's mouth. I want you to overcome'em with yeses, undermine'em with grins, agree'em to death and destruction, let'em swoller you till they vomit or burst wide open Learn it to the younguns(449)

Analysisng the Print Media Coverage of Birtish Football Players Essay

Analysing the print media coverage of professional football players: British magazines and newspaper coverage of female players and officials in the women’s super league and females in football. Introduction The following research analyses coverage of women’s football and women involved in football in both nationally and locally distributed magazines and newspapers. The focus of the research looks at how the journalists refer and describe the women’s performance through interviews, writer’s columns and match reports, it is a long term study looking at data from October 1995 until the present day. With the recent introduction of a women’s super league and the existing premier league, most of the data revolves around these leagues, although there are also interviews with officials involved in overseeing the men’s game. The investigation found an extremely unequal balance in coverage between men and women’s sport, particularly football. When it was featured in a more general audience magazine such as Four Four Two or You magazine, there was often reference to the women’s appearance, partners and family life, as well as the man’s game. Alternatively in match reports featured in team specific publications such as programmes and fanzines there was much fewer references to the male game and a greater focus on skill and performance. Methodology Data collection The magazines and newspaper articles collected came from widely circulated publications including the Liverpool football club magazine, Four Four Two magazine and You magazine a supplement publication from the Mail on Sunday. The audience for these magazines are generic and not aimed particularly at one gender, although that is not to say both genders are equally likely to read it. The sport specific magazines are mainly focused on men’s football and representatively more men take an interest in football and are likely to buy the magazine. However it does feature articles about women’s sport. With the recent introduction of the women’s super league the focus of much of the in the more contemporary articles has been on this, however there are articles from 1995 until the present day. Sampling The data was chosen from a selection of publications that had been collected from 1995 until 2011, the articles that featured women’s football were found and the ones that had sufficient information about the team and the games they were involved in rather than just mentioned or the fixtures were used. The articles predominantly contained Liverpool ladies, although England, Everton and Chelsea teams were looked at along with an interview with a female official. The limitations of the sample are that most of the coverage comes from Liverpool’s match day programme and given the late start of the women’s season there has only been recent coverage of the current season. Also there are only relatively few articles in the publications and the collection was not exhaustive so some articles may have been missing from the archive, particularly away games and several months issues of Four Four Two. Data analysis After the data was collected it was read over and a content analysis was carried out, looking at lexis choices, tone and attitude of the writer towards the female athletes and officials. Points of interest and themes were highlighted in the articles, particularly the address of the female athletes, reference to the men’s game, and any sexual references. In articles containing interviews the questions put to the footballers were looked at for interviewer bias looking at any agenda the writer may have for presenting the woman’s game. The articles are in the appendices. Analysis Looking at the names of the teams involved in women’s premier league and super league is perhaps the most obvious form of subjugation within football. Names such as ‘Millwall Lionesses’, ‘Doncaster Rover Belles’ (LFC programme 11th April) and ‘Leeds City Vixens’ are part of the women’s football league even the national team are known as the ‘three Lionesses’ (You magazine 11th March) or the Australian national team ‘the Matildas’ (Four Four Two Oct 07). Other teams who just have the names of male football team names such as Everton are known ‘Everton ladies’, the name of the teams, although some may just be nicknames rather than official league names, put women in a lower position than men. Given that the game of football is not naturally gendered, it is not a male game, the idea that there is a need to differentiate they are female teams is quite surprising. In articles such as the Echo article from the 21st April, there is only an initial reference to gender in the headline ‘Dowie rescues a point for dominant ladies’ to prevent any confusion with the male team but throughout the rest of the interview, it is unbiased and simply refers to the players as members of the team, with references such as ‘the Toffees’ or simply just ‘Everton’. In other magazines such as LFC weekly from the 12th April when talking about the start of the new season in women’s football, the writer refers to the teams gender 60 times, 24 references to ‘ladies’ and ‘women’ 33 times. If the gender had been stated at the beginning of the article then there would be little reason to continue referencing the gender repeatedly throughout. The Everton programme from 11th December 2004 (LFC VS EFC) the women’s team is referred to as ‘the Girls in Blue’, the word girls is usually used to describe a young female which conjures up ideas of inexperience and immaturity. However in this instance it does not appear that is the writers intention to imply the women are any less than the best, after all Everton are one of the consistently best performing women’s team and it is in fact the only reference in the article about gender. It is more likely in this case, just a play on words adapting the slang reference to police as the boys in blue, McLoughlin (2000) looked at how magazines the writers expectations of women come through the text about what is accepted behaviour for women to do, football is still fairly off limits to women. Ultimately this will have some power over the reader who may feel pressure to conform to norms in the media. Throughout almost all of the articles the female players are referred to as ladies, although the competitions are the women’s super league and women’s premier league when the specific teams are mentioned they are called the ‘ladies’ for example ‘Liverpool ladies’ (LFC programme 10th Jan 98). This is an example of asymmetry not purely because of the use of diminutive ladies but also the need to differentiate from the male game. It would seem that it is normalising football as a male game as Liverpool men or any other team would not be referred to as Liverpool gentlemen, Janet Holmes also looked at the loaded meanings of the word ladies in her 2000 study. Gentlemen is the antonym of ladies which conjures up the images of gallantry and traditional ideas of gender, male ootball players would never be referred to as this as these are not the images that are desired for playing football, there will be evidence of respect and sportsmanship but it is a competition and a contact sport that has some level of controlled aggression and fierce competitiveness. Yet the women are referred to as ladies, this conjures up images of a reserved, gentle fairer sex, however they are just as capable of playing a hard tactile game. Therefore the programme from October 1995 ‘ladies fight back’, title is almost an oxymoron as ladies and fighting are not compatible images. While a feminist may take offence at the reference to women’s football as ladies, given the context it would seem that writers are not trying to demean women by using it and it would appear the women they are referring to are happy to be known as that, or surely by now the strong women in the game would have done something to have this changed. Later in the same programme the divide is further noted when the journalist writes ‘first-ever women’s derby match to be played at our famous stadium’, it is a common feature that youth teams play big games at Anfield even testimonials with male celebrities, yet it is made to be an honour at the thought of a women’s game occurring there, what is made worse is the description of the ground ‘our famous stadium’, this gives the impression it is solely for the men’s team, the fan’s, the writer, almost everyone except the women’s team, who should feel privileged to play at the ground. Messner and Duncan (1993) believe that sport media are wary of changing the coverage of women’s sport as it would challenge the male hegemony, this is also supported by Hardin, Lynn and Walsdorf (2005) and Curry, Arriagada and Cornwell (2002). With the recognition of women’s football by FIFA only happening in 1991 according to the October 2007 Four Four Two interview with the England team, the female game is still very much emerging. However women have been playing football and taking part in sport for centuries. By highlighting this is only ‘the second world cup England have qualified for’. He is raising the issue that the sport was only recently recognised yet taking away from the women’s achievements by bringing up the point that they hadn’t qualified many times before. As it is stated further in the magazine they have to balance ‘having full time jobs and preparing for the biggest tournament of your lives’, it is hardly surprising that they do not qualify as often as the men do as most of the players must remain amateur and the two games annot realistically be compared. The emergence of sports such as football has derived from local games that took part in villages as looked at in work by Reiley (2005) and Gerhadt (1993); mob games where two neighbouring villages would compete to get an object over the boundary into their village in order to win the game. These were very violent and thought of as no place for ladies to be, as the governing bodies developed from the public school systems like Rugby and Eton where the boys would take the village games and refine them, it was still very much a boys world as at that time girls schools would not have encouraged these type of games. It was once thought that if women took part in sport it would impact on their child baring abilities. Eventually women were introduced to non contact sports such as tennis but it took many more years before they began to play more aggressive sports. Many of the male teams that are in existence today such as Everton and Arsenal were developed from churches and factories for social reasons around the time of the industrial revolution, there is evidence of women’s teams developing slightly later during the times of war as the men went to fight and women were left behind to run industries, at the same time they started up their own teams, however it is only within the last 20 years that FIFA recognised the women in the sport. With the introduction of many modern women’s football leagues and competitions and the use of female officials in the male game, it would appear that women’s teams are receiving a much greater coverage in the media. In mainstream football magazines such as Four Four Two and LFC magazine women’s football has featured over the last 16 years, however it appears only now that it has become somewhat of a regular feature. While the men’s team, the reserve and youth teams have always had a weekly place in the Liverpool programme, with its own section women’s sport seemed confined to the occasional feature in the ‘community’ section. Stories from 1995 until more recently have covered the occasional trivial story such as the women’s team working with a school tournament shown in the October 1995 ‘girls shoot it out’ extract. Little emphasis was put on the team’s performance, rather the feeling that by covering this story Liverpool are showing what a caring club they are. Other features within the community section have been the clubs charity work internationally and with children with disabilities, by clumping the women’s team in with these stories it suggests that they are not on the same level as the men’s game and it is almost a privilege to be featured along with the ‘main team’, that the coverage of the women’s game is almost charitable. While some may argue that the programme is reporting on the events of the men’s first team and this may be why the women do not feature frequently, then surely the features of the reserves and youth team games should be only covered occasionally. Slowly this does appear to be changing, although the women’s leagues only start the season after the male counterparts, in the hope that the male game does not over shadow the women’s game, women’s football has featured in the recent Liverpool programme every home game recently and it has also moved from being covered in the community section to the ‘news’ (see Liverpool vs. Manchester city April 2011). However when it does feature in the publications however it is rarely a full page, often less than a quarter of a page as in the Liverpool programme (October 2008 LFC vs. Portsmouth) within a 82 page magazine, although the LFC weekly featured a 4 page article in a 50 page magazine. It would appear female footballers are finally gaining more acceptance in the media. Sexualisation of females within men’s magazines such as nuts and zoo is a common feature, the main reader of football specific magazines are men, so it may be expected that women are also portrayed as sexual objects in them. However this does not appear to be the case for much of the features found in the media, although there are still some examples of it. The interview with the England team in Four Four Two from 2007 talks to the women about their chances in the world cup, the interview asks questions such as ‘the Australian women’s team ‘the matildas’ posed nude for a calendar. Would you ever consider doing likewise? , another example of this is the interview in you magazine when the writer refers to the team as ‘the group of leggy and enviably toned young women’, women may be viewed as sexual objects in some of the male dominated readership magazines as a way of gender commodifcation an idea supported by work by Whannel (2000), a way of conforming to male ideals that in buying the magazine about football and sexualised women they are becoming more manly, that it ok to view women as objects men are the dominant gender, magazines and the media have some part to pl ay in the socialisation of today’s youth according to Wilemsen (1998), he even believes magazines widen the gap and differences between the genders. It is good then that the female athletes and officials are being covered about their roles in the mass media, but there is still some way to go to completely remove the gender stereotypes and bias. Although saying that, there are many interviews featured in magazines with male sports stars that objectify images of them and pass judgement on their physique, for some this may seem a positive move that women have the same powers over men but it may be better to feature women in the female magazines that other women can look up to and aspire to be like. It would also appear that coverage in a magazine that is aimed more at women but a more generic audience, You a supplement with The Mail, recently did a feature of the England team also discussing their chances at the world cup. Throughout the interview with the individual players they were given a small character description such as ‘the captain’ or ‘the veteran’ which are acceptable as they describe their role and dedication to the sport, however others were described as the ‘young mum’ or ‘the Beyonce fan’, while this style of reporting may be to normalise the girls and create a bond between the player and the reader who may have similar attributes, it also implies that they are doing something out of the ordinary and taking away from the girls sporting achievements by feminising and trivialising them.

Breast Cancer Walk

The walk It was a cold raining Saturday in October. Driving by all you can see is pink. Pink everything; Pink hair, pink shoes, pink socks, pink on people’s faces, pink on dogs. Everywhere you look you saw pink. You have to get there early if you want a good parking space. We got there about 8:30 the event didn’t start until 9. When you first get there you don’t know what to expect. At first there was not a lot of people there, I don’t know if it was because we were early or if it was because of the rain. But once it started to slow down on the rain more and more people started to come.When you walk in you walk through the arch of pink and white balloons. You see all the sponsors’ tables all around. They are there to give you information and for you to also buy things that are related to the cause, all the money goes right back to the society. As we stand outside waiting for the actives to begin it’s started to rain. You see everyone running to get under the gazebo to try and stay dry. Everyone is crowned in this little area, when you’re in that small of a place you get to meet people and learn things about them.Everyone there is for one reason because someone important to them has battled this battle and has either survived or lost their life to it. After the rain stops, the event really begins to start. They start the music and everyone is dancing. They have their special dance group that comes every year and does a few dance numbers. The dictator of the cancer society asks for all the survivors to come up on stage so everyone can show their support to them. After a few stories and a few more dance number the walk begins. We make a tunnel for the survivors to walk through as they walk to the pink and white balloon arch.They are the first to walk through once the walk begins, because after all we are there for them. As we walk you see sign all over giving you information about the disease and what companies have helped with the event. They have police directing traffic, because there are so many people we all could not make it through without someone getting hit or cars not letting us through. It is so funny when you see all of the walkers walking it look like a sea of pink. The stories that were told were very touching from the survivors. I interviewed Shirley, (my grandmother) who has been cancer free for four years.And they story she told me makes me cry but yet grateful at the same time. She was told on her birthday that she had breast cancer. She told the doctor, â€Å"This is not the type of present I wanted for my birthday†. But I can remember her crying a lot and our family crying a lot because we were uneducated on the cancer and the risk. We tried to stay strong for my grandma and helped anyway possible. My aunts used to call my grandma smurf because of the kemo made her skin turn blue. I asked my grandma had did she feel when she first found out, she said that she was mor e surprised than anything.Seeing how strong my grandma was during this time and all the support she needed and had made me realized that not everyone has this type of support. The cancer society was started in the 1950s due to researchers trying to learn more about cancer and, to educate the public on the risks and the sign to look out for. They cancer society still to this day is doing more, and more research to find cures for all different types of cancer. The cancer society provides both support and information to those who want and need it. There are lots of businesses who sponsor this walk.Kim, from Stryker said that her company sponsors this walk every year. And she has had four people in her life that have battled and still are battling this disease. But recently her mom passed away due to it. My mom and I started this walk 4 years ago when my grandma was diagnosed with this cancer in June 2008. Dennis, (who is a first time walker) said that he didn’t really know what to expect he thought that it was just going to be a group of people walking. He didn’t expect there to be dancing or face painting for the kids.My mom and I knew what to expect we come every year, but it seems no matter how many years we have come it still is just as great as the first time. Beckie, (My mom) says the reason why she comes back year after year to show support for those who have no support at home. To show that there are still good caring people out in this world. That no matter what you do have people who support you. There are many ways people can help and get involved with the cancer society and the things that they stand for. People can go to the cancer society’s office which is off Milham road in portage.They can go online and do research on how to help in their community. People can volunteer to walk for the cancer society. People can volunteer to drive patients to and from appointments if they can’t get a ride. They can go keep someone compa ny for a few hours. They don’t want money spent on them they just want someone to be there to talk to them so they don’t feel alone. The cancer society does not just do breast cancer walks they have this walk called â€Å"relay for life†. That walk celebrates all type of cancer survivors and raises awareness and the different types of cancer that effect people.Crystal Perish, the dictator of the cancer society says â€Å"the goals and values of the cancer society are to raise awareness for all cancers. So show people that there is support out there for them. † Also â€Å"to show the value of life is important. † Even though my grandma has been cancer free for 4 years she still fights that fight right along with all the other cancer survivors. Did you know that you are not a cancer survivor until you have been cancer free for five years? I think that is crazy, if you have survived it for a few months or many years you are a survivor to me.Not many p eople get through the first few months. To see how hard it is on you and your family and how much it takes out of you, I believe you are a survivor no matter how long you are cancer free. I have more respect for the survivors and their families because I have seen the struggles and the hardship. Find them to be standing up there speaking and some being cancer free for six plus years that is amazing. It does my heart good to look around while they are talking and see all the people most strangers to the survivors but to show support for them is awesome.At the end of the walk you can hear people cheering you on because you finished the walk and you helped support in such a little way. You see everyone who started the walk at the end. They give thanks to everyone for joining for yet another successful walk this year. You can stay for snacks and drinks if you want. They have a live band every year at the end of the walk for those who want to stay and celebrate more. Over all it is a gre at experience that I think everyone would enjoy to go to.