We Do Feet Essay Example

We Do Feet Essay We Do Feet is a specialist foot massage boutique aimed at offering its customers a chance to put their feet up, relax and be pampered, all at affordable prices. The warm, relaxing ambience of the boutiques is created through a combination of soothing music, calming aromas and serene natural surroundings. The company name and logo has been carefully considered, as this will become a major element for the branding of the boutiques and supplementary products. We will write a custom essay sample on We Do Feet specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on We Do Feet specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on We Do Feet specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer (This introduction will be on the leaflet.) Idea During the summer holidays I spent four weeks travelling Thailand with my family. There I noticed hundreds of foot reflexology shops full of European, American and Australian tourists. I had many foot massages myself when I was there and thoroughly enjoyed them. I thought to myself, what a great idea and opportunity it could be for me to open a chain of these in the UK, as I have never seen these before. But I knew I would have to act quickly to establish my business and brand first. Naturally the concept would have to be adapted to suit the UK lifestyle but the basic principle would be the same. Market research There are two main methods of market research: * Desk research/secondary research (uses data, or information, which already exists in printed form or computer files) * Primary research/field research (obtains original data or information, which did not exist before, from customers and other people) The primary data gained by field research is significant, because it is not available to any other businesses, unless they do their own research. Though, it is much more expensive than desk research and much more time consuming. When the information has been gathered, it has to be collated, and then analysed before any trends or information become evident. Secondary research is much easier and cheaper than primary research, because the data is already available and does not have to be gathered or analysed. But it is less valuable because it is often out of date and does not always cover the specific theme of study. This is mainly obtained using the Internet. For my coursework I believe it would be best to use a collaboration of the two types of market research available to me. With both types of market research I would almost definitely get the best indications to whether setting up a reflexology boutique would be successful. For my secondary research I used the Internet to find out where my competition was located, to do this I used the Yellow Pages web site (yell.com) to find out the name and addresses of the various treatment spas in postcode W1, as this is where I plan to open my first We Do Feet branch on Oxford Street. I used this information so I could visit my competitors and gather individual information about them. However I did not use secondary research to find out population counts as such, because Oxford Street, in Central London is swarmed with people throughout the year. This fact gives me no doubt that the business will be successful in this area. Competition There are many spa treatments that involve foot massage and reflexology. Even though there are already many, there is huge difference between these and mine. This means they are not direct competition as such but still include similar treatments. Because there is no walk in, float out concepts already, the spas are my closest competitors. My first chosen location of Oxford Street, is surrounded by many fitness and Spa treatment centres. I have done thorough research into the spas and have found many in this area. These include: Hypno 1st 305, Great Portland St Tel: 020 7255 1567 Champneys Piccadilly 21a, Piccadilly Tel: 020 7255 8000 Fitness First 15, Great Marlborough St Tel: 020 7287 8911 The Pilates Studio Ltd 116, Great Portland St Tel: 020 7636 2636 Alan Herdman Studios 17, Homer Row Tel: 020 7723 9953 Relax 65-67, Brewer St Tel: 020 7494 3333 Spa 2 88 ,Holles St Tel: 0207 409 0423 Location is very important for my business because if I was in an area, which already has many treatment centres there will be greater competition. I am going to geographically map these so you can see where your competitors are. I have done this in the appendix. When I visited my competitors I found you had to make an appointment sometimes days in advance. Then pay a high price of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½45-à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½60, which is the average for a similar treatment. This is a waste of time and money. The idea of We Do Feet is the opposite. Most people would love the idea of a relaxing foot massage and we are offering exactly that. But instead of booking you just show up on impulse, you dont have to spend an hour or two it only takes 20 minutes and then you (float out) and pay a à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10.50 treatment charge and any other purchases to the receptionist. Whilst not having the same concept as my competitors I will still use many of their better ideas. Whilst visiting them I noticed that many of them had aromatherapy burners to give off scents like lavender and lemon grass. This is an idea, which I am using also. They also had very serene surroundings using soothing music; I thought this was also appropriate. Selfridges Location Location of my competitors These are whom I consider as my competitors around Oxford Street. All of these competitors are in their own ways different, with varying prices, treatments and ambiences. I have rated these by using the process of brand mapping. This process can help describe a segment of the market, identify the product strengths and weaknesses, evaluate new concepts and identify your competition. I have prepared one to show this and rate where I will be on the map. Expensive Plain Environment Good Atmosphere Less Expensive KEY TO MAP Hypno 1st Yellow Champneys Piccadilly Orange Fitness First White The Pilates Studio Ltd Violet Alan Herdman Studios Green Relax Black Spa 2 Blue We Do Feet is the pink circle, which is the only company in the Southwest of the graph. This shows that we are different than the competitors. Hopefully the potential customers will recognise this and then take the quick, inexpensive, and most convenient experience, which is us. In order to understand how my foot massage concept could be best adapted for the UK I prepared a questionnaire, which would be primary research. From this I can rephrase and change certain questions to make my questionnaire work usefully and efficiently. My questionnaire will include Qualitative research. Qualitative research involves interviewing people to find out their views and opinions. Quantitative research involves carrying out numerical information. Qualitative research tends to be more time consuming and the answers are usually very individualistic. This is good to find out exactly what the demand could be but it is also bad in the sense it is far too time consuming and time is money. I wrote a questionnaire, which looked like this 1. Which Gender Are You? m f 2. What Is Your Age? 3. What Is Your Occupation? 4. What is your current income bracket per annum? 5. Do You Know What Reflexology Is? y n 6. Have You Ever Experienced A Foot Massage? y n 7. If Available Would You Like One? y n 8. Would You Be Prepared To Pay à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10 for 20 mins? y n 9. Who Would You Prefer To Massage Your Feet? m f 10. If Drinks Were Offered During Your Massage Would You Like One? y n 11. Would You Be Interested In purchasing Some Foot Care Products? y n 12. Do You Live In London y n 13. What Magazines Do You Read Market Segment I went to the chosen location of Oxford Street and approached people who were in the market segment in which I am targeting. This is the part of the market in which groups of people with similar characteristics are linked and in this case the busy shoppers and businessmen and women in London. Most of these people in the market segment are of either social grade A, B or C1 that are the grades in which the socio-economic groupings are divided. By looking at the socio-economic groups you can see that most of the customers will be well off and would most likely be prepared to pay the price of ten pounds. Results / Analysis After two long days and 65 sets of results I headed home to analyse my results. I have found that the people that were shopping and walking through Oxford Street were mostly between the ages of 19 and 45. This gave me a very good indication of the particular market segment I am targeting. I already had a good idea of this however this was broader than I expected. I also calculated that 67% of these people were female. Looking at Question 3 I found that nearly more than half of these women were not working but were shopping. However most of the men I interviewed were working in London. Question 4 gave me an idea of the socio-economic group which I was targeting , they were of class A, B and C1. Surprisingly all of them had a good idea of what reflexology was, but sadly 54 percent of them had never experienced it. Question 7 was the most important, it indicated if the concept was to be successful or not. Not to my surprise they all loved the idea and would love to put their feet up for a relaxing break. 92 % of the people I approached were interested in having a foot massage and 8% hated the idea of their feet being touched. Question 8 was also very important because I was going to find out if they would be willing to pay my price, 82% of the people said that they would pay the ten pounds. Question 9 would be crucial for the employment of staff. Everyone bar six people wanted a female masseuse and the other six ticked both because they did not mind. Question 10 was answered by everyone as a yes, because they thought it would be nice to have a hot drink whilst having their treatment. The results of Question 11 showed that very few people were interested in supplementary products, however with more information and good marketing stragergys I believe that these products would sell. Question 12 asked whether the interviewed people were resident in London. I found that this was the case for 60% of the people. This tells me that there are a fair amount of tourists and they would most likely enjoy the luxury. Question 13 was important for the promotion of the company because I need to know which magazines to advertise in if I decide to advertise my service above the line of promotion. The results showed that 32% were the fashion magazines like FHM and GQ. 55% were the celebrity gossip magazines like Hello, OK and Heat. Other magazines mentioned were specilised such as sport, home ; garden and electronic magazines. Graphs To Show The Results In The Questionnaire Question 1: Gender Question 2: Age Because there were a wide variety of ages I can not plot them on the pie chart. Question 3: Occupation Question 4: Income per Annum Question 5: Reflexology (know what it is) Question 6: Ever experienced it? Question 7: Would they like it? Question 8: Price? Question 9: Male workers of female? Question 10: 100% of the people thought it would be nice to have a drink during the massage. Question 11: Supplementary products Question 12: Living in London Question 13: Magazines Marketing Mix The Marketing Mix is the combination of factors, which help the business sell a product Usually summarized as the 4Ps, which are Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Promotion Promotion is the communication between businesses and customers, making the customers aware that the product is for sale, telling or explaining to them what the product is and how the product will service their needs and persuading the customer to buy the product for the first time. I am considering this because if I want to sell my product, the public has to know about it. I am going to promote my business by advertising below the line of promotion. I will begin this by passing out leaflets to my potential customers on Oxford Street to tell them the details of the company and the services we provide. This is a coloured A4 leaflet. It may be found in my appendix. I am also launching a website on the worldwide web. This will be supplied by Millsites. I will be buying a basic website package consisting of homepage with two hyperlinks. I will also arrange a special promotion with Selfridges whereby a spend of over à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½500 in the shop will be rewarded with a complimentary We Do Feet treatment. Another promotion that I am planning is a benefit to regular customers. A loyalty card will be given after the first treatment and then stamped after each additional treatment. After five treatments the customer will be entitled to a free treatment. This promotional stragegy is also used by Cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Nero see appendix.I will not use media advertising as they are much more costly and as I am a business just starting up, it would be hard to budget this. My promotion strategies are simple, effective and do not exceed my budget. Premises and Location As a new business I felt it would be best to start with one small unit in a department store in London. This would enable me to fine tune my concept at a low start up cost. I chose Selfridges as my ideal location for a lease of space and approached them.with my cancept. I estimate that I will need enough space for 14 lazy-boy chairs, a water feature, a drinks area, a reception area, storage cupboards and 3 waiting room chairs. I have drawn a plan of how much space will be needed with my idea of the shops layout. Future expansion into more department stores would be ideal for further growth. Here there would be a constant stream of tired shoppers happy for an opportunity to re-energize themselves. For my shop design, I am going to use a natural modern look, with different woods and bamboo straws. This will enhance relaxation. The soothing background music will add to the tranquil atmosphere as will the sound of a water feature. The lights will be subtle and scented candles will be lit to encourage a relaxing atmosphere. Price Pricing is one of the 4Ps of the marketing mix. Businesses have to decide what price they will charge for their products, the higher the price is, the lower the demand for the product will be. I have decided to use penetration pricing because if I set an initial low price it will appeal to more customers. In the future I may decide to raise the prices depending on the demand. I have chosen this pricing strategy over all of the others because I want to make my product and price appealing to the customers whilst maintaining the luxurious image of the service when I launch my business. I have decided to charge each customer à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10.50, I have chosen this price because I do not want my customers just giving the reception a à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10 note or à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20 note because they may not have change, and if they have access to it, they may give the masseuse a tip of some sort. If my concept were similar to others. I would have used the technique of Competition based pricing which is when I would charge a price based on my competitors. My hot and cold beverages will be available to you while you are having your massage, in your chair. The menu will consist of the following drinks and prices. Tea à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1.20 Coffee à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2.00 Cappuchino à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3.00 Mint Herbal Tea à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2.20 Hot Chocolate à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3.00 Evian Water à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1.50 Volvic Water à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1.50 Perrier Water à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1.60 Soft Drinks à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1.50 (Coke, Diet Coke, Lemonade, Tango) I have chosen these prices because I want the drinks on the menu to be more expensive because my set price for the foot massage is fairly cheap. This will be to increase the overall amount spent by the customer. Product My product is a service; the key to success in a service is to have good, well-trained staff. We do feet will have fourteen massage chairs in each location and so we will need at least sixteen masseurs. This accounts for any absence of staff . The staff will o do a basic reflexology course, which should last for roughly three weeks. This course takes place in a massage school in Central London. The company will pay for the course and during this three-week period they will not be getting paid. The trainees have to accept that if they do not pass the course they will not have the opportunity to work for We Do Feet. But the trainees can re-take the course again but not at the cost of the company. Other staff needed will include a receptionist. The receptionist will have to have had experience in customer relations and be very friendly and warm. They will also be responsible for serving refreshments. There will be a We Do Feet uniform that all of the workers will have to wear. This consists of white linen trousers and a white linen shirt with the company emblem on the left breas t pocket. Depending on how good the business is, in the future we will introduce a range of supplementary foot products, including creams, lotions, balms, aromatherapy oils, relaxation baths, anti-fungal solutions, exfoliation kits, pain relief gel, night renewal cream and athletes foot remedies etc. These products will all have the company name and logo. Marketing Mix Conclusion All of the four Ps included in the Marketing Mix contribute together to allow me to target my market. Some parts of the Marketing Mix are more important than others, I think that the most important factor is the Unique Selling Point, which is my concept. I also think the promotion is the next important because if no one knows about it, there will never be any customers. The position is extremely important because if the shop is in a bad location, or in a particularly rough area, most people wouldnt go out of their way to get a twenty minute massage. My business especially will need to be on a busy street because most of my customers will be coming from the street on impulse. Price is also something I need to consider because there are many strategies that I can use, I chose penetrating pricing. This is perfect for my service. Conclusions and Evaluation My secondary research showed me that there was no other specialist foot massage boutiques in England. This is good because I will be the only one at the start until people may see my idea and copy my concept. For my primary research I have done questionnaires and have approached my location and asked as many random people as I could, who were willing to give up some time to fill them in. 92% of the people I asked liked the idea and 82% of people were willing to pay the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10.50 for a treatment. I have designed my marketing mix well to suit my business idea, my service is very professional and relaxed and that is what people want. I am promoting the idea using the cheapest methods available, and the just stop site is ideal because it is the busiest shop in England and on the busiest street in London. I think that my business will be successful because looking at the questionnaire people loved the idea. If I was to start this coursework again I would like more time because I would like to do more primary research, and question people throughout the year to see when business would be most busy. This is one thing I regret the most, I did not do as much research as I could have and this was very important to finding out what will bring success into the business. I went to Oxford Street on a Wednesday and a Saturday so that got a weekly variation and to no surprise it was busier on the weekend. I would have liked to do a seasonal variation because it would give a better idea of when business is best, without doing this I can assume that in the summer and for Christmas shopping it would be very busy. I think that the most important thing about success is the USP of the product and the low price of my product. I think that this business idea is going to be easier than others because if I was to open up a new supermarket, I would be immediately be pushed out by the bigger ones already in the market with all of the customers, like Marks and Spencers and Tesco. If I could in the future I would like to open up a chain of these throughout London, Manchester, Bath and all of the other big cities. Naturally this will take years of hard work and effort.

The History and Domestication of Goats

The History and Domestication of Goats Goats (Capra hircus) were among the first domesticated animals, adapted from the wild bezoar ibex Capra aegargus in western Asia. Bezoar ibexes are native to the southern slopes of the Zagros and Taurus mountains, and evidence shows that the goat descendants spread globally, playing an important role in the advancement of Neolithic agricultural technology where they were taken. Beginning between 10,000-11,000 years ago, Neolithic farmers in the Near East starting keeping small herds of ibexes for their milk and meat, and for their dung for fuel, as well as for materials for clothing and building: hair, bone, skin, and sinew. Today over 300 breeds of goats exist on our planet, living on every continent except Antarctica and in a quite astonishing range of environments, from human tropical rain forests to dry hot desert regions and cold, hypoxic high altitude regions. Because of this variety, the domestication history was a bit obscure until the development of DNA research. Where Goats Originated Domestication in goats has been recognized archaeologically by the presence and abundance of the animal into regions that were well beyond western Asia, by perceived changes in their body size and shape (called morphology), by differences in demographic profiles in wild and domestic groups, and by stable isotope recognition of their dependence on year-round fodders. Archaeological data suggested two distinct places of domestication: the Euphrates river valley at Nevali Çori, Turkey (11,000 years ago [bp], and the Zagros Mountains of Iran at Ganj Dareh (10,000 bp). Other possible sites of domestication posed by archaeologists included the Indus Basin in Pakistan at (Mehrgarh, 9,000 bp), central Anatolia the southern Levant, and China. Divergent Goat Lineages Studies on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences (Luikart et al) indicate there are four highly divergent goat lineages today. Luikart and colleagues suggested that means either there were four domestication events, or there is a broad level of diversity that was always there in the bezoar ibex. A study by Gerbault and colleagues supported Luikarts findings, suggesting the extraordinary variety of genes in modern goats arose from one or more domestication events from the Zagros and Taurus mountains and the southern Levant, followed by interbreeding and continued development in other places. A study on the frequency of genetic haplotypes (basically gene variation packages) in goats by Nomura and colleagues suggests that it is possible there may have been a southeast Asian domestication event as well, but its also possible that during the transport to southeast Asia via the steppe region of central Asia, goat groups developed extreme bottlenecks, resulting in fewer variations. Goat Domestication Processes Makarewicz and Tuross looked at stable isotopes in goat and gazelle bones from two sites on either side of the Dead Sea in Israel: Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) site of Abu Ghosh and the Late PPNB site of Basta. They showed that gazelles (used as a control group) eaten by the occupants of the two sites maintained a consistently wild diet, but goats from the later Basta site had a significantly different diet than goats from the earlier site. The main difference in the oxygen and nitrogen stable isotopes of the goats suggests that Basta goats had access to plants that were from a wetter environment than that near where they were eaten. That was likely the result of either the goats being herded to a wetter environment during some part of the year  or that they were provisioned by fodder from those locations. That indicates that people were managing goats in so far as moving them from pasture to pasture and/or providing fodder by as early as 8000 cal BC; and that was likely part of a process that began earlier still, perhaps during the early PPNB (8500-8100 cal BC), coinciding with reliance on plant cultivars. Important Goat Sites Important archaeological sites with evidence for the initial process of goat domestication include Cayà ¶nà ¼, Turkey (8500-8000 BC), Tell Abu Hureyra, Syria (8000-7400 BC), Jericho, Israel (7500 BC), and Ain Ghazal, Jordan (7600-7500 BC). Sources Fernndez H, Hughes S, Vigne J-D, Helmer D, Hodgins G, Miquel C, Hnni C, Luikart G, and Taberlet P. 2006. Divergent mtDNA lineages of goats in an Early Neolithic site, far from the initial domestication areas. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(42):15375-15379.Gerbault P, Powell A, and Thomas MG. 2012. Evaluating demographic models for goat domestication using mtDNA sequences. Anthropozoologica 47(2):64-76.Luikart G, Gielly L, Excoffier L, Vigne J-D, Bouvet J, and Taberlet P. 2001. Multiple maternal origins and weak phylogeographic structure in domestic goats. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 98:5927-5932.Makarewicz C, and Tuross N. 2012. Finding Fodder and Tracking Transhumance: Isotopic Detection of Goat Domestication Processes in the Near East. Current Anthropology 53(4):495-505.Naderi S, Rezaei H-R, Pompanon F, Blum MGB, Negrini R, Naghash H-R, Balkiz Ãâ€", Mashkour M, Gaggiotti OE, Ajmone-Marsan P et al. 2008. The goat domestication process inferr ed from large-scale mitochondrial DNA analysis of wild and domestic individuals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105(46):17659-17664. Naderi S, Rezaei H-R, Taberlet P, Zundel S, Rafat S-A, Naghash H-R, El-Barody MAA, Ertugrul O, Pompanon F, and for the Econogene C. 2007. Large-Scale Mitochondrial DNA Analysis of the Domestic Goat Reveals Six Haplogroups with High Diversity. PLoS ONE 2(10):e1012.Nomura K, Yonezawa T, Mano S, Kawakami S, Shedlock AM, Hasegawa M, and Amano T. 2013. Domestication Process of the Goat Revealed by an Analysis of the Nearly Complete Mitochondrial Protein-Encoding Genes. PLoS ONE 8(8):e67775.Vahidi SMF, Tarang AR, Naqvi A-u-N, Falahati Anbaran M, Boettcher P, Joost S, Colli L, Garcia JF, and Ajmone-Marsan P. 2014. Investigation of the genetic diversity of domestic Capra hircus breeds reared within an early goat domestication area in Iran. Genetics Selection Evolution 46(1):27.Zeder MA. 2001. A Metrical Analysis of a Collection of Modern Goats (Capra hircus aegargus and C. h. hircus) from Iran and Iraq: Implications for the Study of Caprine Domestication. Journal of Archaeological Science 28 (1):61-79. Zeder MA, and Hesse B. 2000. The Initial Domestication of Goats (Capra hircus) in the Zagros Mountains 10,000 Years Ago.Science 287:2254-2257.

Future Trends of AviaitionEarospace Education Essay

Future Trends of AviaitionEarospace Education - Essay Example Now, however, there are factors that mitigate against this once-abundant pool of available talent, creating a need for more trained pilots to take to the skies. First, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the federal governing body for all commercial air flight, has a strict retirement rule. All pilots must leave the cockpit at the age of 60. While this has not yet created any dramatic shortages, writer Denver Beaulieu-Hains (2000) said that situation will change very soon. "Over the next 10 years, [the retirement] requirement may put a crunch on airline work forces, as baby boomers reach their golden years. And, with military cutbacks resulting in fewer trained pilots, the strain is hitting the industry from both ends of the runway." Beaulieu-Hains (2000) further stated that the baby-boomer pilots now approaching the retirement age represent fully one-third of the commercial aviation industry's pilot and mechanic work force. When they are forced to retire, the growing shortage will exacerbate considerably. To no one's surprise, the Professional Pilots Federation is trying to get the 60-and-out rule overturned. In April 2000, it petitioned the FAA for exemptions for 69 members of its organization, at the same time requesting strenuous testing - both physical and neuropsychological - to see if older pilots are indeed more likely to suffer from incapacitation than younger pilots (Beaulieu-Hains, 2000). (The age 60 retirement rule was set by the FAA in the 1950s, based on the belief that the ability to process and act on information slows as one gets older.) Stringent Qualifications Required Becoming a commercial pilot is not easy, even for someone who is fit physically and emotionally. All candidates for any cockpit flight position must meet strict FAA medical requirements and receive what the governing body calls an FAA Class 1 Medical Certificate. This assures the prospective employer that the person applying for a pilot's job is free from any physical or emotional conditions or disorders that would prevent him or her from performing the complex duties required of today's modern aircraft (Faa.org, 2001). And, the airlines themselves are no less strict. Anyone involved in an aircraft's flight, of course, has the lives of as many as 300 people in his or her hands. Particularly at the major airlines, standards not only meet FAA requirements, but usually exceed them. Southwest Airlines is a case in point. Before a candidate is even interviewed for a flight position, the airline requires the following: Resume, Airman Certificate (required by the FAA, as well), U.S. Type Rating on a B-737, the First Class Medical Certificate, ad at least three letters of recommendation. Those letters cannot be simply from friends or relatives; they must be from individuals who can attest to the pilot's flying skills, and who have observed them in flight over a sustained period of time (Southwest, 2000). As for flight experience, Southwest requires 2,500 total hours for jet aircraft or 1,500 hours for turbine aircraft. Beyond that, the airline also requires 1,000 hours as "pilot in command" on a turbine plane. The airline specifically excludes simulator, helicopter, and other non-turbine or jet aircraft and prefers candidates who have a four-year college degree (Southwest, 2000). Other airlines are not so stringent, especially smaller one,

The Psychological impacts of stalking on the victim and their families Dissertation

The Psychological impacts of stalking on the victim and their families - Dissertation Example It includes behaviour like following the person, waiting and watching the person’s home, workplace or other places, unwanted direct or indirect communication with the person. Other than this, being stared by another person or messages left on social networking sites can also build the feeling of being stalked (NSW Police Force, 2008). Stalking causes the victims to fear their own safety or the safety of those people who are close to them. Stalking can be targeted towards a single person, their friends, family or even their co-workers as well. Some of the stalking crimes include other crimes such as assault, criminal damage, criminal trespass, attempt to murder etc. In this paper, the statistics and the psychological impact of the stalking is discussed on the victims and their families. Statistics It is found that in Germany that almost 12% of the respondents have been stalked. This rate has shown a significant rise amongst women (17 %), than men (4 %). If we see the ratio of v ictims, 87% of the stalking victims were women while 86 % of the men were stalkers (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2010). The general trend of the study shows that all the female victims, 91%, were stalked by a man. However, in case of the male victims, the proportion of male and female stalkers was equal (44 %). These results indicate that in male, same–gender stalking is a significant problem. In women only 14 % of such cases have come to notice (Pathe & Mullen, 1997) As a psychological impact, the victims also experience changes in lifestyle. As a psychological symptom, 56 % of the victims have reported agitation. The percentage of experiencing anxiety is 44%; while around 41% of the victims experience sleep disturbance. Whereas 35% feels nausea and 28% encounter depression (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2010). Another study conducted in Australia shows that stalking shows adverse effect on the victim. 83 % of the victim suffered from anxiety, 74 % has experienced sleep ing disorder and the percentage of fatigue is 53 %. The people who have suffered from appetite disturbance and suicidal thoughts were 45 % and 24 % respectively. Moreover, 40 % people have also suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and 18 % experience actual or threatened physical harm. Other than this, many of the victim has complained about the headaches, indigestion, and nausea however the percentage is not significant (Pathe, 1997). Psychological impact Among the known way of intimidation, the most common method is loitering nearby and unwanted telephone calls. It is also noted that the victims also ran a risk of being physically injured. Few of the cases experience assaults involving physical restraint, or hitting or beating with objects. Other than this, the victims of stalkers experience sexual assaults as well (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2010). Living with stalking can be extremely frightening and can have a profound impact on the lives of the family. In case, the mal e member of the family is stalked, the effects on women’s life get adverse. For men, the reason behind stalking women is to have or maintain control and power over the women, or maybe her friends, family or children (End Stalking in America, 2011). The wife of the stalker may feel isolated or alone. In case the stalker is

Aspects of Health and Health Promotion

Aspects of Health and Health Promotion 1) Exercise, in addition to promoting a general feeling of physical well being and aiding weight loss, actually confers protection against disease. Exercise decreases the incidence of coronary heart disease (Powell, 1987). The exercise, to be effective for cardiac protection, needs to be sufficient to increase the cardiac output for some fifteen minutes, and it needs to be taken on a regular basis two or three times a week. Exercise is generally good for health and there are numerous documented health benefits (RCP, 1991). A Mediterranean diet is one which is rich in vegetables, fruit, fish and cereals as well as being accompanied by a small intake of red wine. The amount of red meat is fairly modest as also is the dairy intake. There is evidence that such a diet taken by older people actually prolongs their survival (Trichopoulou, 2005). This study was carried out as a part of the wider EPIC study which investigates the effects of lifestyle on cancer and on other chronic diseases (Riboli, 2002). 2) Obesity is an increasing public health issue in the UK today since an increasing proportion of the population is becoming overweight. Obesity is defined objectively as a body mass index of 30 or more kg/m2. The body mass index is calculated as the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in metres. As the body mass index rises so the risk of type 2 diabetes also increases (Colditz, 1990). Type 2 diabetes is a major health problem in that it predisposes an individual to a variety of illnesses particularly coronary heart disease. Additionally an increased proportion of saturated fat in the diet is linearly associated with the development of type 2 diabetes (Krentz, 2001) and so it is not just a high body mass index but other aspects of the diet itself which predispose to ill health. Smoking is strongly associated with lung cancer and actual mortality from lung cancer in addition to increased incidence and mortality from other cancers (Doll, 1994). The amount of cigarettes smoked correlates with the degree of risk (Doll, 1994). Smoking also increases mortality from coronary artery disease and stroke (Doll, 1994). Of people who smoke regularly one half will die of a smoking related disorder (Doll, 1994). In evaluating the effects of smoking the Health Education Authority (HEA) (1991) reports that smoking kills 110 000 people each year in the UK. This means that smoking causes one in every six deaths. The HEA (1991) reports that 225 000 hospital admissions annually are due to smoking. 3) When evaluating an individual’s or even one’s own lifestyle, with regard to health, areas of behaviour that could be improved can be further evaluated. For instance there is the danger aspect of the lifestyle for example with abuse of drugs. Such a lifestyle of drug addiction is very likely to be associated with much health morbidity and social disadvantage and in addition a high likelihood of drug related death. Other aspects of an unhealthy lifestyle to consider are the ease with which a change can be made to the specific factor. For instance there might not be the financial means to move from a polluted inner city home or to join an expensive gym. Priority setting should take account of the danger aspect and changes in these life style aspects should be enacted without delay. Stopping smoking radically reduces the risk of developing lung cancer and stopping smoking before middle age avoids 90 per cent of the smoking related health risks (Peto, 2000). Stopping smoking improves the individual’s general quality of life with fewer reports of illness (Parrott 2004). If will power cannot overcome the addiction to nicotine then nicotine replacement medication can be given in a variety of ways and is likely to prove beneficial in breaking the habit (Parrott, 2004). Losing excess weight will improve health. This has been evaluated by Chambers (2002) as a ten per cent body weight loss in an obese person being associated with more than a 30 per cent reduction in risk of diabetic related death. It is also associated with a decrease in blood pressure and a decrease in triglyceride and harmful cholesterol. There is a corresponding increase in the beneficial high density lipoprotein within the blood. 4) Naidoo (2000) describes five health promotion methods. Although they have some overlap they each have a different emphasis. The medical method is largely a preventative one. The educational method improves people’s knowledge whilst the behavioural approach concentrates on altering patterns of behaviour so that the individual learns by doing. Empowerment encourages ownership of problems and self determination to do something about them. The social change is important to create an environment which fosters healthy choices. To assist the smoker in giving up it is the educational and behavioural approaches that are the most appropriate. However the social aspect whereby smoking has become less acceptable also plays an important role. Additionally the legislation making it much more difficult to smoke in public places and the heavy taxation on tobacco also goes some way towards discouraging the habit. The same three methods are important in achieving weight loss in obese people. The behavioural approach also involves some aspect of education and so any evaluation of the effects that are solely due to the behavioural approach are difficult. The educational method of health promotion can be broken down further into the three areas of understanding, attitudes and skills (Naidoo, 2000). The effects of the education approach itself are relatively easy to evaluate by studying the patient’s knowledge before and after an educational intervention. 5) Information leaflets are available at general practitioner’s surgeries and within hospitals giving information about smoking cessations and how to get help with pharmacological agents when necessary. The suitability will vary according to the patient’s needs and attitude at the time of seeing the leaflet. A particularly useful approach is where, as is the case with cigarette smoking, there is health promotion material in a variety of formats for instance also including a website. Advice and information on the advisability or being an appropriate weight for one’s height is also available in a number of formats. When evaluating material on an internet site it is important for the source to be acknowledged and for the site to be continually kept up to date (Ewles, 2004). The Government generated slogan â€Å"eat five a day† is designed to reinforce the message that eating fruit and vegetables in the diet is advantageous for health and it promotes a higher intake of these foods. It is a short catchy message which has been widely disseminated in a number of formats. It has reached a very wide audience and is likely to be increasing peoples’ intake of fruit and vegetables. The message is short and confined to increased intake of particular foods but does not encompass within its message that these foods should be eaten instead of high fat or high sugar content foods. If the message had incorporated a slogan about food substitution it might have had more effect on obesity. 6) Fear can be a motivator for instance the knowledge that drink driving is a strict liability offence and will result in the removal of the individual’s driving licence and resulting major inconvenience and also social stigma. Shock can be a motivating factor for instance the television advertisements in the drink driving campaigns leading up to Christmas are often designed to present the message in an emotive way to really bring home to the individual the grief that drink driving can bring about. The health belief model (Naidoo, 2000) suggests that people need to have a trigger or an event in order to change their behaviour. The theory of reasoned action (Ajzen, 1980) encompasses the individual actually weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of changing together with a desire to conform to what every one else is doing. The conformity aspect is particularly important within this theory. The social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) involves outcome expectations and belief in the ability to make the change. This is particularly pertinent to the decision by an obese person to lose weight. 7) To maintain the change the health promotion messages need to be kept up and be consistent. A change in the behaviour of others coupled with changes in social attitudes (for instance in giving up smoking) may be helpful.The messages about not smoking from advertising and messages for instance in soap operas by actors refusing cigarettes will still have an effect on the individual who has given up smoking. It is likely that such messages as well as being noticed by the ex-smoker will have particular meaning for them and act as continual motivators to their healthier lifestyle. Once a change in behaviour has come about, for instance eating a better diet or not smoking, the health benefits of actually feeling better and more attractive may be motivators to maintaining the improved behaviour. These motivating factors may constitute a resistance to change as behaviour becomes set in the new way (Lewin 1951). References Ajzen I Fishbein M 1980 Understanding attitudes and predicting social behaviour. Prentice Hall. Bandura A 1977 Social learning theory. Prentice Hall. Chambers R Wakley G 2002 Obesity and overweight matters in primary care. Radcliffe. Oxford Colditz GA Willett WC Stampfer MJ et al 1990 American Journal of Epidemiology 132 501-13. Doll R Peto R Wheatley R 1994 Mortality in relation to smoking: 40 years observation on male British doctors. British Medical Journal 309 901-11 Ewles l Simnett 2004 Promoting health a practical guide 5th edition Bailliere Tindall London Health Education Authority (1991) The smoking epidemic: counting the cost in England and Wales. HEA. London Krentz AJ Bailey CJ 2001 Type 2 diabetes in practice. Royal Society of Medicine Press London. Lewin K 1951 Field theory in social science; selected theoretical papers. Harper and Row New York Naidoo J Wills J 2000 Health promotion foundations for practice 2nd edition Bailliere Tindall London Parrott S Godfrey C 2004 ABC of smoking cessation. British Medical Journal 328 947-9 Peto R Darby S Doe H 2000 Smoking, smoking cessation, and lung cancer in the UK since 1950: combination of national statistics with two case control studies. British Medical Journal 321 323-9 Powell KE Thompson PD Caspersen CJ et al 1987 Physical activity and the incidence of CHD. Annual review of Public Health 8 253-87. RCP (Royal College of Physicians) 1991 medical aspects of exercise: benefits and risks. Journal of the Royal College of Physicians. 25 193-6. Riboli E Hunt KJ Slimani N 2002 European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition (EPIC) study populations and data collection. Public Health Nutr 1113-24 Trichopoulou A Orfanos P Norat T et al 2005 modified Mediterranean diet and survival: EPIC-elderly prospective cohort study BMJ 330 991

The Soul Taker

It was a dreary night of November and I was on my way back from camp. On the long journey home my friends told each other scary stories based on a myth that Miss Maiden told us the previous evening. It was a warm evening at camp, Miss Maiden and Mrs Jane were roasting marshmallows as the girls played clap games and the boys swooped Poke-mon cards, I sat there silently bringing back to mind a dream that I had about the woods next to the camp on Friday the 13th †¦ It was about a ashy castle on top of a uneven hill, it was burnt down because of all the evil spirits that was said to be lurking in vengeances for anyone who try to claim the castle. When I entered the castle on my left was a room; I struggled to open the door, a repulsive smell made my skin cells repel. the brown tarnished door I woke up. Damn! I sat there daydreaming trying to remember what I saw in the room but it didn't seem to work. Was it because I was hungry and drooling over those soft marshmallows? I think I might take a break and after eating it might sort out my ‘amnesia'. We sat in a circle around the fire eating the hot marshmallows on sticks; Miss Maiden began telling a scary myth, I didn't see the point, she might as well read a fairytale because they were never scary! I didn't pay much attention to her until she said†¦ ‘a rigidly hill were a castle stands ‘ I suddenly stop gulping down my marshmallows and looked at Miss Maiden, Her eyes were luminously shining as the moon light reflected off her pupils, she looks around at us slowly purposely catching eye connections. She then sharply points to the woods behind us making us all jump in fear. There was nothing behind us Miss Maiden and Mrs Jane started to laugh, I was furious I dropped my marshmallows on the floor, Mrs Jane told us to settle down to continue the story. She explained about a young girl called marline whose parents died when she was at the age of 12 and left there family house in her name. Her auntie moved in shortly after the death of her parents. In those times the deceased were buried in their own home. Her auntie treated her like a slave and said over and over again that the house belongs to her. When Marline was 17 her auntie decided to sell the property to a young couple. Mr and Mrs Vale. They were planning to destroy the house and build a bungalow on top of the hillside as it had the most beautiful sights in the whole town. When her auntie told her about it Marline was outraged she stood up to her auntie referring to her parents will of the house. Her auntie responded showing her authority over her. Marline ran to her room crying thinking of many evil ways to stop the couple from buying the house. Then it suddenly came across to her†¦ She knew what she had to do. Marlines auntie cried out to her to get her a glass of ginger beer. Marline runs to the kitchen and gets a glass out the left cabinet on the wall. She looks around her to see if any one was there she then opened a bottle with the caution skull sign on it and poured it into the glass. She opened the bottle of ginger beer and poured it right up to the brim of the glass, bubbles foamed up and out. Marline ran to the sink grabbed a napkin and quickly wiped up the ginger beer. She goes to the room which was on the left side of the kitchen and gave her auntie the glass with a devilish smile on her face. Her auntie drank it breathing hard collapsed and died. Marline ran to catch her before she dropped on the floor because she knew that the weight of dead people are double there size. She lays her flat on the couch and covers her with a white lace. She calls someone and says her auntie dead. She then runs up to the 4th floor leaving the phone unhooked and hides in a secret closet trying not to breathe too hard. The door bell rang continuously then she heard a loud noise and voices became crystal clear. She looked through the little gaps between the closest and saw the police searching up and down to see if anyone was in. The noise all of a sudden stopped and the door shut she came out the closet and looked out the window discreetly she saw men put her auntie behind a carriage. Marline couldn't handle it she went into her mothers and fathers old room and took her fathers razor and slit her wrists, she vowed that no one would ever step foot into her property again. As Miss Maiden told us the myth I could feel myself turning dusky pale and barley white shivering next to the fire. Mrs Jane asked me if I was alright. I just stared at her like there was something on her face. She covered me with a blanket and patted me on top of my head. All that was running through my head was my dream†¦ I said to myself I am going to find that castle! But I didn't have a chance to I fell asleep and when I woke up it was afternoon and we were in a rush to pack our stuff to be on the coach promptly for 7pm. As I sat there leaning against the window sulking, . It was a full moon tonight, I looked up and the luminous moon was as bright as ever. Under the moon was a foggy mist and in that mist was like a shadow of some kind of triangle. I squinted my eyes to see if I could make out what it was. CASTLE! I shouted. Everyone immediately looked out the window. Mrs Jane looked above her glasses and told me to keep it quite, I smiled. When I get home that night I will come back and go to the castle. I couldn't wait. It was now 8:30 pm and we finally reached school, when I got out the coach it was lashing with rain and striking with thunder, I took my little hand luggage and put my coat over my head squinting my eyes to see if I could spot mummy's new black car.

Mathematical Theory of Communication on Art

Shannon and Weaver’s Mathematical Theory of Communication is probably the most influential of all communication models; and has been used as a guide from which many contemporary communication theories have emerged. The theory’s large influence on communication studies has also led some to claim that the theory is widely applicable to human communication. In this essay, I will be analyzing how artworks are used to communicate messages and ideas to the general audience with the use of this theory. For the first part, I will briefly introduce the theory as a general entity. I will follow with my analysis.The Mathematical Theory of Communication The Mathematical Theory of Communication, hereinafter be referred to as the Mathematical Model, consists of several elements. The first five elements namely, Information Source, Transmitter, Channel, Receiver and Destination are all connected in a linear fashion. The sixth element, Noise Source, is connected to the Channel. The mode l is illustrated below (Figure 1). Figure 1: Mathematical Theory of Communication The Information Source is what produces the message. A Transmitter encodes the message into a signal and is passed through a Channel.The Receiver then decodes a message from the signal and is passed to the Destination. Noise Source is anything added to the signal that is not intended by the Information Source and distorts the message. Using this model, there are many ways an artwork can communicate a message. The first instance is when an artwork is both the Information Source and Transmitter and the audience the Destination and Receiver. In the second instance the artist is the Information Source, the artwork the Channel and the audience, again, the Destination.The third instance is when an arts manager is placed into the equation. The Artwork and Audience The first instance is probably the ‘cleanest’ of the three ways proposed, involving two parties, the artwork and the audience. A paint ing hung on the wall at a gallery catches the eye of an audience member. The audience member proceeds to stand in front of the painting and attempts to analyze the painting’s message or perhaps just marvel at its brilliance. In this case, the simplistic Mathematical Model can then be further simplified to just include just the Information Source, Noise and Destination.Noise in this scenario may include the inappropriate lighting in the gallery, noisy children running around in the gallery or even the way the painting is presented. All of the above would diminish the audience’s ability to interpret the artwork’s message. The underlying assumption here is that the artist has completely divorced himself from the artwork and does not care how the audience interprets his art. However some artist do care about the message being send across. The Artist The second instance brings in the ‘third’ party, the artist.Here the artist is the Information Source and Transmitter who uses his artwork to communicate ideas. This artwork becomes the Channel of communication. Now Noise has the potential to disturb the message at two points, one between the Transmitter to the Channel, and the other from Channel to Receiver. The shape of Mathematical Model thus becomes slightly irrelevant, although the linearity of the model stays in contact. Noise can happens in the first point when the artist is unable to materialize fully his concepts. This could be due to the lack of funds or the inability to acquire certain materials the artist hopes to use.The message is then compromised. The second point occurs when the audience is unable to interpret correctly what the artist is trying to convey. There are many communication theories that elaborate on this, however for the purposes of this essay I will elaborate on ‘preconceived notion’ and ‘ideological differences’. Preconceived notions could come in many forms, for instance when one first views Damien Hirst’s The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, one might assume the glass tank was an thoughtless choice when in actuality there was a certain artistic element to it.Yet such a misunderstanding does not affect the overall message of Hirst’s work. However an ideological difference, could affect greatly the message intended. The list of ideological differences is endless, but one of the most prominent ideological different that still persists in this century is religion. To one the Balinese Dances may have religious significance however to another who is a non-believer, such dances might just be a work of art with culture as the theme. In addition, the masks used in such dances might become a sacred object but to another it might be nothing more than a work of art.The time and purpose of an artwork might also create disparity in the understanding of the message. During the 16th century, the art was used to propaganda the Ch ristian faith, which was competing for the spiritual allegiance of masses with the other religious fractions in Europe. Now however, an art lover would just be inspired at the sheer brilliance of the artwork, eliminating the evangelical purpose. Arts Manager The third instance introduces a ‘fourth’ party to the equation, the arts manager. Communicating art, as illustrated above, is no easy task.One might need to transcend boundaries and ideologies in order to fully understand the message of the artwork. The arts manager can be placed in numerous positions in the Mathematical Model. In one instance the arts manager might elongate the communication chain. The artist (Information Source) might communicate to the Arts Manager (Receiver). The Arts Manager, now the Information Source, will then communicate to the Audience who becomes the second Receiver. This elongated chain would then create more opportunities for Noise to develop. The arts manager may also assume the role o f the Channel.Here the artist or artwork will be the information source. In this model, if related back to the original Mathematical Model implies that the arts manager (Channel) is the sole producer of Noise, if any. Conclusion Ultimately when communicating, the ideal circumstance would arise if the message to be conveyed is transmitted and understood in its entirety. Thus is it the job of an arts manager to reduce Noise so that the artist is able to convey his message? Or is it the artist job to better his craft if he wants to convey the message? With that said, is Noise necessarily always negative?What if the Noise was intended? In the experimental exhibitions entitled Not Against Interpretation, the Singapore Art Museum decided to challenge the concept of interpretation by allowing several curators to interpret the same artworks to the audience. The audience can then decide which interpretation to accept. The philosophy behind this is to exploit the ‘openness’ of co ntemporary art and also provide an opportunity to engage with people from varied backgrounds. Bibliography Agata, T. & Okada, T. â€Å"How does information about creative process affect audience appreciation of artwork? Proceedings of the Twenty-eighth Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (2006): 949-954. Print Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin, 2008. Print. Dannatt, Adrian. † Life’s Like This Then It Stops† Flash Art. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. . Elsen, Albert E. Purpose of Art An Introduction to the History and Appreciation of Art Fourth Edition. USA; Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. , 1981. Fiske, John. Introduction to Communication Studies. London: Routledge, 1990. Print. Introduction to Bali: Art Ritual Performance. Dir.Deborah Clearwaters. Asian Art Museum’s Education and Public Programs, 2011. Film. Newton, Eric. â€Å"Art as Communication. † British Journal of Aesthetics 1. 2 (1961): 71-85. Print. Pang, Ruben. Personal intervi ew. 5 April. 2012. Roszak, Theodore. The Cult of Information: The Folklore of Computers and the True Art of Thinking. New York: Pantheon, 1986. Print. Shannon, Claude E. and Warren Weaver. â€Å"The Mathematical Theory of Communication. † Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1949. Tinggal, Zainal Abiddin. The Dances of ASEAN. Brunei Darussalam: ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information, 1998. Print. ——————————————- [ 1 ]. John Fiske, â€Å"Introduction to Communication Studies† (1990) Pg 6. [ 2 ]. Ibid. [ 3 ]. The essay revolves around the assumption that artists use art as a communicative device to express emotions and ideas. Eric Newton further elaborates this idea in his paper †Art as Communication†. [ 4 ]. To better illustrate the Mathematical Model assume a telephone conversation. In such a case the Channel is the wire and the signal is the ele ctrical wire in it. The telephone handsets are the Transmitter and Receiver, and the people using those handsets are the Information Source and Destination.Noise Source in this instance could be distortion of sound in the telephone wire due to various reasons. [ 5 ]. Many critics have condemned Shannon and Weaver’s theory to be overly simplicity. One such critic, Theodore Roszak, agues in his book â€Å"The Cult of Information† that the model has no mechanism for distinguishing important ideas from pure non-sense. [ 6 ]. Although the article â€Å"How does Information about Creative Process Affect Audience Appreciation of Artwork? † does not provide conclusive findings, the study conducted does however provide relevant insight with regards to forming curatorial concepts. 7 ]. In the interview conducted on 5th April 2012, Ruben Pang, a local painter, reveals that he prefers that his artworks connect with the audience on their own accord. And in his analogy  "Much to the same degree as a love song with generic lyrics. The audience likes the song because they are deluded that it relates to them when in actual fact the love song might be about a particular girl. However when the audience finds out that the love song is indeed about a particular girl, the lost interest in the song. † [ 8 ]. The Propeller Group, a team made of three video artists, made a video entitled ‘Uh! to communicate the ideas of freedom of expression in present day Vietnam. For an online interview with the Propeller Group please refer to http://is. asia-city. com/events/article/60-seconds-propeller-group. [ 9 ]. After publishing the original theory in the The Bell System Technical Journal, Shannon and Weaver became that Noise could happen at other points besides the Channel. Another theory, the Information Theory was thus conceived. [ 10 ]. In an interview with Adrian Dannatt, Hirst mentions his infatuation with glass and thus the continuous use of glass i n many of his other works. 11 ]. The Balinese dances were usually performed in temples for scared rituals to local deities associated with nature and ancestry. However in recent years, due to globalization and ASEAN’s push for cultural development and education, such dances have travelled around the world. (Introduction to Bali: Art Ritual Performances, 2011)(Tinggal, 1998) [ 12 ]. The Balinese believe the masks, when carved properly and are consecrated, becomes a vessel for a deity. In turn, the mask becomes a protective guardian and powerful sacred force when worn during a dance. Introduction to Bali: Art Ritual Performances, 2011)(Tinggal, 1998) [ 13 ]. Albert E. Elsen â€Å"Purpose of Art: An Introduction to the History and Appreciation of Art† (1981). [ 14 ]. Not Against Interpretation is an experimental platform to nurture an appreciation for contemporary art. The first artwork to be presented under this series is A Flog of Birdies by Singaporean artists Jason Li m and Vincent Leow. The work was an artistic collaboration between them as part of UTOPIA (United Together to Organise and Produce Interesting Art).