Opportunity Cost

Introduction Conventionally, human wants far exceed the available resources to satisfy them. Resources are always scarce in an economy and in order to satisfy human needs, it becomes imperative to make choices concerning which needs are to be satisfies first and the one’s to be deferred or forgone.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Opportunity Cost specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This brings in the concept of opportunity cost to show the value of the needs that need to be satisfied first and those that need to be postponed to a further date. This study will analyze the concept of opportunity cost and how individual consumers, firms, and governments utilize it to allocate scarce resources in the economy. Opportunity cost By definition, opportunity cost is simply the cost of foregone alternatives. It is the cost of the best alternative, which has been sacrificed in order to spend the available resources on a certain need. Individual consumers, firms and governments use this concept to ensure that the available resources are used efficiently. It measures the cost of what has been foregone in financial or monetary terms. According to Frederick, Novemsky, Wang, Dhar and Nowlis, consumers always face the issue of opportunity cost when making purchasing decision (553). For example, a student may be in need of two textbooks; business and economics text book which cost $20 each yet his/her parent gives him only $ 20 to buy the textbooks. Given this scenario, the students cannot afford to buy the two textbooks simultaneously since the amount of money s/he has can only purchase one textbook. The student therefore has to make a prioritized choice on which textbook to buy first and which one to defer to a future date. S/he has to apply the concept of scarcity and choice since s/he has more than one need to satisfy with just a few resources ($20). If s/he chooses to buy a business textbook, th e opportunity cost will be economics textbook, which s/he will do without for the time being. If s/he happens to buy economic textbook, the opportunity cost will be business textbook that s/he has to sacrifice in order to buy the economics textbook. Therefore, the student has no option other than to forego one of his/her needs in order to satisfy the other. The concept of opportunity cost also applies in government activities where government is faced with so many public needs yet the available resources to satisfy the needs are limited. For instance, a government may need to finance free university education and at the same to provide cheap and quality health care services.Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The government is required to finance these two public needs yet the funds to meet the two expenses simultaneously are not available. The government is therefore requ ired to postpone one of the needs in order to finance the other. Thus, opportunity cost will be the cost of the public needs that has to be postponed in order to satisfy the other. According to Devadoss and Wongun, firms also have limited factors of production, which need to be allocated efficiently to maximize the profit (729). From the above analyses, the concept of opportunity cost is very important when individual consumers, firms, and governments are making decision on how to allocate scarce resources at their disposal in order to fulfill their endless needs (Victoravich 85). Since production resources do not increase with increase in the number of needs that need to be satisfied, increased spending in one area means decreased spending in another area. This allocation of limited resources is well illustrated by production possibility curve that shows how limited resources are allocated to varying needs in the economy. Production possibility curve (PPC) Production possibility cu rve is a curve or a graph that shows how limited factors of production can be allocated between two commodities. The curve illustrates efficient production level of two commodities using a fixed factor of production. For example, governments can use PPC curve to know the most efficient way to allocate limited inputs (capital and labor) in the production of two types of commodities like maize and motor vehicles. PPC will show what will happen to the other commodity if the government increases production of one commodity (Dalal 958). For instance, if the government increases production of motor vehicle, the PPC will show what will happen to the production maize. Therefore, PPC will help the government to know the most efficient level of production. Conclusion The concept of opportunity cost is therefore very important while making microeconomic policies. Economic resources are always scarce and human needs are ever increasing such that, individual consumers, firms, and governments hav e no option but to make choices on how to allocate the available limited resources more efficiently. Policy makers have to sacrifice or forego some needs to fulfill the most pressing ones. Governments have to consider and prioritize all its public expenditures in order to ensure that the scarce resources are allocated in the most maximizing way to the economy. The same concept will also apply to all firms that need to allocate inputs in the most efficient way in order to maximize profits. Works Cited Dalal, Ardeshir. â€Å"The Production Possibility Frontier as a Maximum Value Function: Concavity and Non-increasing Returns to Scale.† Review of International Economics 14.5 (2006): 958-967.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Opportunity Cost specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Devadoss, Stephen, and Wongun, Song. â€Å"Factor Market Oligopsony and the Production Possibility Frontier.† Review of Intern ational Economics 11. 4 (2003): 729-744. Frederick, Shane, Novemsky, Nathan, Wang, Jing, Dhar, Ravi and Nowlis, Stephen. â€Å"Opportunity Cost Neglect.† Journal of Consumer Research 36.4 (2009): 553-561. Victoravich, Lisa Marie. â€Å"When Do Opportunity Costs Count? The Impact of Vagueness, Project Completion Stage, and Management Accounting.† Behavioral Research in Accounting, 22.1 (2010): 85-108. This term paper on Opportunity Cost was written and submitted by user Sebastian Berg to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Would You Use Marijuana Professor Ramos Blog

Would You Use Marijuana People use marijuana all around the world, it can be used in many different ways. Marijuana can be ingested, inhaled and even used in rubs for pain relief. A ton of people use it for pain relief, anxiety or even help sleeping. It is used by all ages as well, a family in Georgia was concerned about there 15 year old son, so they let him try marijuana and it helped stop his seizures and it worked. They had to make the right choice for their son’s health, despite what would happen and georgia took their son away from them and thrown into a group home to suffer from seizures with no working medicine. How can people get healthy medicine for a reasonable price today? Secondly moving from pharmacies to medical marijuana and the benefits that may follow. Lastly how marijuana abuse may affect the world we live in today. At this time all medicinal marijuana shops are forced to clear there shelves of everything that isnt lab tested, they are trying to eliminate heavy metals, pesticides, and microorganisms, such as E. coli. As they work to permit all people above twenty one to be able to buy marijuana. States are now requiring testing for tetrahydrocannabinol better known as THC, the patients would like to know what they are using for both recreational and medicinal users. As companies are forced to lab test everything on the shelves, it now means the prices of the medicine is going to rise. Due to there being many different forms of medicinal marijuana there is marijuana plant form, edibles, tinctures, and vape cartridges it is going to take a fair amount of time to run each test. Due to concentrating cannabis to create oils, waxes and tinctures may concentrate pesticide residue which may end up in edibles or other forms of medicine. In denver one of the first states to legalize marijuana they require d food safety inspections on marijuana products and requires them to keep the edibles refrigerated at 41 degrees or less. The foods must be refrigerated and processed to avoid developing dangerous bacteria. Marijuana has been used for thousands of years for medical use, doctors not prescribing alot of cancer, HIV or positive for epilepsy, it now enables others to try it. There has been many different cases for all different ages trying marijuana, I mean my grandparents tried it for the first time after hearing all the benefits of it, helping sleep, relax when its that time and to focus more on what your trying to do. In this case, â€Å"My son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 6, a Grass Valley, Calif., woman who wished to remain anonymous told Sphere. He was hyperactive and had trouble in school, but we didnt want to put him on Ritalin. Too many side effects. When he got to high school, I suddenly noticed that hed calmed and could concentrate. I couldnt figure it out. Then he told me that hed started smoking pot.(anonymous woman). It was very beneficial to the boy because he finally found out what could help him sit still and relax. Although it is very helpful she wants to remain an onymous due to the fact she may get in trouble with the law. The decision was made from a pile of supporting evidence that the medical use of marijuana can be beneficial in many ways. Suzanne and Matthew out of Macon Ga, wanted to let there son try marijuana to prevent multiple seizures from happening daily, and they were concerned about his life. There desicion landed them getting multiple fines and even getting the boy taken from them. â€Å"For 71 days he was not having any seizures and was able to go ride his bike, go play, lift waits and be a kid. We were able to achieve that with david not medicated from Big Pharma, but david Medicated with marijuana.† (Mr. Brills) .   He states that the police would much rather battle the legality of the marijuana and not the well being of the 15 year old boy. There is a new form of medication for epilepsy and it contains a ingredient of cannobonal that is found in marijuana, and it helps treat two rare forms of epilepsy. It would be the first time cannabis is allowed in a derived prescription in the U.S and would not contain the THC to get you high. Mr. Brills states that it shouldnt be handed out to everyone with epilepsy but at least looked at and there is an alternative then only giving the patients one choice of medicine strictly from pharmacies. Marijuana can be used for many different reasons, since marijuana has been legalized in 2004, about 100,000 medical marijuana cards have been issued. Once it became legal everyone started to experiment and making tea, budder, and many other fancy tricks, when back then it was only used in blunts, water pipes and bongs. From early age to elderly age smoking marijuana you will sure start to feel the symptoms, troubles with breathing, lung inflammation, and cancer may appear over time. I feel a lot of people lack the proper knowledge of marijuana due to the fact they dont want to release the information until they must. They do not want people to know the research behind the medicine to be able to present it. Over heavy use of smoking it, it may cause lung inflammation, irritation and does lead to respiratory problems. It can also affect the immune system and most pot users smoke tobacco witch can cause cancer, due to marijuana still being in motion they cannot teach us the benefits of the product just yet. There is many things you should be informed on about marijuana the benefits of the medicine and the cons of it as well, due to there being so many fake companies selling contaminated things, even though they should be thrown out and burned. People nowadays are getting contaminated medicine and using it. Also how many people are no longer going to pharmacies and have completely switched up. They have known seen the piling evidence stating that marijuana is beneficial in many ways. Pharmacies dont help curtain things like seizures or epilepsy there is only one cure to that at this time, marijuana has helped in many cases from helping underage patients stunt there seizures and be able to live the everyday life. It would be great to regulate those who are in actual need of their medication. Today marijuana is used world wide so it would be nice to know the proper dosage, nowadays people go by who can roll the fattest or who can take the fattest hit, when you need to know how much your in haling/ingesting so you know your potential risk. People dont know the proper dosage on half of there meds used today and that is a big problem. People tend to abuse pot and sit around all day or get to high off the THC that they cannot move. Marijuana Annotated Bib Quinton, Sophie. â€Å"Testing for Tainted Marijuana Challenges States.†stateline.org, Dec,2017. SIRS Issues Researcher. People have really been moving on from the old tradition, a gold old joint will do. Now the want all sorts of different things that you can eat, put in your pocket and hit(cartridge).This really caught my attention due to all of the things that are happening right now, here in California. All contaminated products must be wiped clean from the shelves and not sold at all. Actually to be burned and all of the other product in the shop, cartridges, edibles,   any type of product that can be contaminated must be thrown out or burned. The prices that it cost to get your product is outrageous.    Quinton, Sophie. â€Å"Testing For Tainted Marijuana Challenges States.†stateline.org, 28 Dec, 2017 SIRS Issues Researcher. Pot is a really big benefit around the world from helping many people out with pain, anxiety and eating disorders and it also helps many people of all ages with seizures. It is used for cancer and helps nausea, it just needs to be clear of how much to consume for each person. Also, it creates money all around from there being 135,000 people employed in the marijuana business and generating 1.8 billion in income. At Least 300 million of that is going to state taxes. They are allowed to rent out buildings or buy them as well creating a lot of higher taxes to be payed and generating more money all around. It was classified as a schedule one drug it needs to be clear to the people that it is not as dangerous as people make it sound. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) wrote in its webpage Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know on drugabuse.gov (accessed Oct. 18, 2011): Does marijuana cause cancer, That hasnt been proven yet but it does cause lung irritation or increases the likelihood to throat respiratory problems like toxins. It also affects the immune system and most of the pot smokers do smoke tobacco which will cause cancer. If you repedely smoke it will lead to a cough or much worse like chest pain, phlegm and other problems. Pacula, Rosalie Liccardo, and Eric L. Sevigny. Marijuana liberalization policies: why we cant learn much from policy still in motion. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 33.1 (2014): 212-221. Due to marijuana still being in motion they cannot teach us the benefits of it, they only want us to know thee bad and think nothing of it. Now that it has been legalized for 17 years in california and legalized in many other locations now all around the world. They never wanted people to know the research behind it and to be able to present it. Although there are scientist studying the pros and the cons of it. They dont want to release the information until they must. A lack of information is making this report hard, i wonder what they do with the information they dont want us to see. Degenhardt, Louisa, and Wayne D. Hall. The adverse effects of cannabinoids: implications for use of medical marijuana. Canadian Medical Association Journal 178.13 (2008): 1685-1686. Marijuana has been used for thousands of years for medical purposes, if it is authorized by doctor alot of cancer, Hiv positive or epilepsy, people will give it a try. The decision was made on a pile of supporting evidence that the medical use of marijuana is beneficial in many ways. Over the years, prolonged marijuana smoking can cause troubles with breathing, lung inflammation and cancer may arise from the way of smoking. From childhood to elderly age smoking you will sure start to feel the symptoms. The use of cannabinoids have been approved for use in the united states, united kingdom, and in canada. Volkow, Nora D., et al. Adverse health effects of marijuana use. New England Journal of Medicine 370.23 (2014): 2219-2227. Marijuana can be consumed and made into a variety of different things. It can be brewed into tee, mixed into a food product, and smoked in many different forms as well. Once people found out it was legal the experimenting starting going. The most popular back in the day was inhaling the green buds that you put in your pipe, bong or blunt and hit it. Its goes to all ages, it is really up to the parent if they should let their kid try it. If the kid is having symptoms like seizures, ADHD and cant sit still in a classroom, maybe a edible or a hit of cannabis can help him concentrate and stay in class. What makes the food that can be consumed is the oil base that comes off of the flower.

Your Professional Bio How to Decide What to Include

Your Professional Bio How to Decide What to Include By Barbra Sundquist, Guest Blogger How Ever Do You Choose? Probably the hardest part of writing a professional bio is deciding what to put in and what to leave out.   After all, a bio is supposed to be short.   But most of us have done lots of different things in our work careers. How do you decide what to focus on? Theres a simple answer: focus on whats going to be most relevant and impressive to your target reader. A Bio is Not a Resume. You dont have to list everything youve ever done. Just focus on the parts that are going to sell you to your reader. So How  Do  You   Sell Yourself  ?   Heres How I Did It: When I wrote my bio for  HowToWriteBio.com, I focused on my technical writing and business coaching background the information that shows I know what Im talking about when it comes to writing professional bios. Thats what you want to know about me in this context, right?   You dont really care that over the past 30 years I have also been a waitress, private eye, bank teller, piano teacher, landscaper, university instructor, management consultant and business coach (and yes, I have been all those things). I left out that history and focused on what would â€Å"sell† me to people thinking about purchasing one of my bio templates. This is what I came up with: Barbra Sundquist is an experienced technical writer and business coach with a gift for taking complex info and making it clear. Over the past 20 years, Barbra has interviewed over 2500 people in a wide range of jobs to create their job profiles. She brings this broad knowledge of different jobs to her work as a bio template writer. Stick to the Program! As you can see, I don’t mention all my previous jobs. I don’t even mention that I have a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in public administration. What I do include is the information that is relevant to my audience: 1) technical writer with 20 years experience (lets the reader know that I am an expert writer with many years of experience) 2) business coach (assures the reader that I understand business and what’s required for a good professional bio) 3) interviewer of  over 2500 people in a wide range of jobs (again, lets the reader know that I have lots of experience doing this exact thing) Targeted Advertising My bio is targeted toward people who are on my How To Write Bio website. They’re reading my bio because they’re deciding whether I sound like someone they would be willing to buy a bio template from. So I make sure to include only the information that answers that question. I don’t distract them with other information. A bio is a little advertisement for you.   Think about who will be reading your bio and what you want them to know about you.   Then advertise your best and most relevant features! About the author: Barbra Sundquist helps people communicate much more quickly and effectively on a broad range of subjects. Her most popular website is www.HowToWriteBio.com. Category:Bio WritingBy Brenda BernsteinAugust 16, 2009

Media as a Global Standardiser Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Media as a Global Standardiser - Assignment Example Thirdly, can a media holding private interests actually operate as a public sphere forum effectively?   The public sphere as a concept is most often associated with Jurgen Habermas, who conceptualized the idea in his book â€Å"The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere† (1962) – an inquiry into a category of bourgeois society. According to this work by Habermas, the public sphere in its most basic and ideal form is a realm or space where opinions particularly focusing on the needs of society are freely and openly exchanged between people without any restraints or external hinderances. (Habermas 1991: 176)This realm can also be a â€Å"virtual or imaginary community† (Soules: para 2) whose existence may not necessarily occur in any singular space. In today’s modern wold, where massive global communication networks spread their webs over the world, the current media scenario in all its forms and branches is the closest substitute to Habermasâ€⠄¢s ideal and the best implement towards working and achiving that goal. However, we must ask ourselves that how comfortably positioned is this role with a vehicle that is propelled, fuelled and controlled primarily by the private interests of media conglomerates, corporate sponsorship and state string pulling? The public sphere is a multifaceted entity possessing a number of interlinked functions. It is through the processes of dialogue and particularly through means of critical discussion and debate that opinions and attitudes are generated in the public sphere (Soules: para 2) and is a foundation for â€Å"emancipatory social thought† (Holub 1997: para 7). In an ideal state, the function of the public sphere is to act as a mediatory space between society and the state. It is the source of mass opinion which is required to legitimize and guide the state’s affairs (Soules: para 2), and challenge and legitimize governments and authority (Rutherford 2000: 18 ).   Habe rmas traces the origin and in a way proper concretization and emergence of an entity resembling the public sphere in 18th century emerging from the growth of coffee houses, the emergence of literary societies, and the expansion and rise of print media. As part of their efforts to keep the state under its reins, the parliaments and other agencies of representation based governments have sought to manage this public sphere (Soules: para 4). Habermas also acknowledges that there are precedents to public culture and traces their roots to the ancient Greeks. He mentions how in the discussion among its citizens, citizens interacted as equal and only through this interaction without restraints was it that that which existed in the public sphere become apparent, and in entering into the public sphere, by the core nature of the sphere as inclusive of all, become apparent to all (Habermas 1991: 4). He has however been criticized for idealizing the rational discussions of the 18th century bour geois ignoring â€Å"‘the extent to which its institutions were founded on sectionalism, (and) exclusiveness.’† (Eley 1992: 321 in Crossley 2004: 11). Habermas' idea of the public sphere refers to a realm between the state and civil society where decisions were publicly reached through rational discourse. He identifies the English press in the nineteenth century as the prime of the public sphere, in which a multitude of ideas were aired free from contextual

AICP Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

AICP - Research Paper Example An organization like American Society of CPAs relies so much on internal auditors. Such auditors need to apply and uphold the ethical principles such as integrity to give a basis on reliance on their judgment. Secondly, they need to observe objectivity that makes them not to be led by their interest but the truth. Confidentiality and competency are another lot that need to be observed. The most important aspect of ethical principles is their consistency maintenance, implementation, and determination of their effectiveness to an institution such as American Society of CPAs (Braxton, 2012). The maintenance of ethical code of professional conduct is the most important in making sense of the codes to the institution. The maintenance is due to ever changing conducts of the professionals working to an institution. It ensures that the most current code of ethics is consistent with demand of the institution. To fulfill the maintenance of code of ethics, surveillance need to be done continuously on the auditors behavior to note on any aspect that may compromise the professionalism of auditing. An institution like American Society of CPAs need to update the code of ethics now and then as the demand arises (Cascarino, 2007). According to Braxton (2012), the presence of sound code of ethics in any institution without implementation is as good as not having one. In that light, the implementation now brings the essence of the code of ethics. The implementation comes with changes that the code of ethics is made to fulfill. For an organization such as American society of CPAs to implement the code of ethics, it has to come up with institutional policies that will safe guide the interest of the code of ethics. If any auditor goes against the policy of observing the code of ethic then disciplinary action should be taken. It is only through institutionalization of policies that will ensure the code of ethics is

Pulse :: Movies Entertainment Media Essays

Pulse Pulse is superficially many movies. It is a 2001 vehicle for director Kiyoshi Kurosawa to gain international reputation. It is a teen horror movie. It is a ghost story. How one reads this movie determines, to a large extent, what one sees in it. And while this means we cannot hope to discover one already present Truth waiting for us in the ebbs and flows image and sound that comprise the film, we can still interpret film and give contesting interpretations over the facts and implications of every frame and every sweeping plot summary. To offer one such plot synopsis now, the movie is â€Å"basically† about two separate groups of young Japanese men and women coming into contact, through information technology and forbidden rooms, with ghosts whose mysterious effects remove the population of the planet and drive the only survivors the film shows onto a ship headed to Latin America. One group, of whom only one survives, works in a greenhouse and happens upon the ghosts thr ough a computer wizard friend, who immediately kills himself. The other pair are at the University and come upon ghosts both through computer-illiterate Kawashima and through a graduate student who makes a â€Å"miniature model of our world†. I will consider Noà «l Carroll’s cognitive psychological model of horror film, and then Steven Shaviro’s theory of The Cinematic Body, offering, between the two, a path of interpretation of the film in details and broader theme. First I will try to imagine Pulse within the model of cognitive psychology suggested by Noà «l Carroll. The movie, as horror film, is a narrative of curiosity. This can take place in a scientific model of observation, hypothesis formation, testing the hypothesis, and confrontation. However, it could potentially take place in any particular expression of curiosity (e.g. surrealist, playful, theological or paranoiac), in any (sub/counter)culture, indeed multiple curiosities should be possible all at once. This explains Pulse a bit like the graduate student: the (scary) problem is mysterious, so we (audience/some narrative force) can and will investigate in order to deal with â€Å"the problem†, and satisfy our desire to know. The theory addresses itself to watchers of horror films, but depends on the unfolding of a narrative of discovery. At other levels than the sweeping plot of the entire film, the theory offers more insights.

Perception and/or Reception of the Naked Child and Teenage Body in Art and the Media

Introduction and Research Question: The topic, which, we will research, is the perception and/or reception of the naked child and teenage body in art and the media. The hypothesis that we have concluded is that ‘children and teenagers posing nude for art or in the media is seen as the cause for over-sexualization in children and teenagers’. The naked body has been a topic of art and seen in the media as an ongoing issue. Child and teenage nudity has been featured in art from the 14th and 15th century, as well as in renaissance art, controversially through Bill Henson’s photography and in modern fashion shoots featuring teenage celebrities such as Miley Cyrus. This research proposal will aim to find the viewpoint of University students when shown images of teenage nudity in art and the media. This issue is an important research topic as opinions have varied in society about the impact and appropriateness of teenagers featuring in these public platforms and whether this is a cause of over-sexualisation. The effect of this issue will rely on the individual opinions in society of the definition of art. The main people being affected by this issue are the teenage population who have access to any media forms and art. The artists, such as Bill Henson are also affected as they are accused of producing inappropriate art even though they are trying to portray youth. This topic interests a large percentage of the population including teenagers, parents, media viewers and media producers. To carry out this research a focus group will be held involving undergraduate Mass Communications and Media students from Murdoch University. The opinions, beliefs and attitudes will be gathered concerning the chosen topic to then be able to compile a research report based on the findings of the focus group. Literature Review: Child and adolescent nudity has taken commonplace in art throughout history, from Renaissance paintings and sculptures to religious masterpieces. As time has gone on and technology has advanced these depictions of child and teen nudity have changed, and are often frowned upon in today’s society; today photographs, artworks and media of teenagers and children naked are often challenged as being sexualized or pornographic and nudity has become a highly controversial area with regards to children. For centuries naked children have been depicted in religious painting and scenes in the forms of cherubs, which are usually naked, posed winged toddlers. In the 14th and 15th centuries these biblical children were not seen as ‘real’ children but as symbolic religious representations of children, and this distinction was very clear. In these depictions, presenting children nude was usually seen as presenting them in the form that God had made them and was done to highlight their purity. But with the development of realism and photography this line has now become blurred. Due to the realism of photography it has lead people to believe that it is ‘real’, and as a result there is confusion between iconic symbolic children, and the general child. Gittins 1998, 119) During the Italian Renaissance era nude boys were often featured in paintings, especially in those with biblical themes. However, centuries later many artists began to depict paintings of nude children that carried no religious reference or context. For instance, Henry Scott Tuke painted nude adolescent boys doing everyday activities and although these paintings were not overly erotic and showed no genitalia they were a step away from the traditional biblical naked children. Johnson 2005, 102-104) Just a century after Tuke started depicting nude children in everyday activities professional photographers presented photographic exhibitions and books of posed naked children and adolescents. When Bill Henson’s exhibition opened on the 22nd of May 2008 many articles were written expressing the controversy and public opinions of the featured child nudity. An article written by David L. Isaacs and Thomas G. Isaacs titled â€Å"Is child nudity in art ever pornographic† was published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. This article discusses the important debate on censorship, which followed Bill Henson’s exhibition. This debate between the two authors resulted in the view that censorship laws regarding the depiction of children in art are needed to stop the exploitation of children. Yet a strong belief was evident that censorship is not needed to protect the public from being corrupted by viewing pornographic material. The knowledge and opinions of a pediatrician enables a professional opinion, which reflects the concern for childrens wellbeing. The opinion of a Fine Arts Honours graduate provides the knowledge of what art is and what role it plays within society. The focus group planned will effectively explore University students views on censorship. This literature provides an interesting debate, which our focus group will aim to further with a sample of students to give a broader opinion than what is present in this journal article. The month following Bill Henson’s controversial exhibition, June 2008, an Australian Government Standing Committee on Environment, Communications and the Arts released a report titled Sexualisation of Children in the Contemporary Media. This Government document stated that the inappropriate sexualisation of children in Australia is an increasing concern. It acknowledged the complexity of defining clear boundaries and accepted that it is a significant cultural challenge. The research planned by our team will respond to the lack of research, which was acknowledge in the Government report, on the effect of child sexualisation in the Media by providing a current viewpoint of University students. University students will be able to express the viewpoints, which for ethical reasons cannot be acquired from minors. Since 2008 many photos of Miley Cyrus some intended and some not have surfaced on the Internet. Numerous articles of the Disney star who plays â€Å"Hanna Montanna† have appeared. In the June issue of Vanity Fair 2008 a photo of Miley topless, clutching a silk bed sheet to her chest, with only her bare back exposed featured. Factors of these photos lead to controversy, even though it was an artistic piece and she was predominately covered. The article titled â€Å"Miley Cyrus’ embarrassing photo shoot† written by Courtney Hazlett discusses how It didn’t take long for Miley Cyrus fans (and their parents) to become outraged over racy photos of the 15-year-old that appear in the June issue of Vanity Fair. â€Å" Miley has commented in the article produced by the MSN Entertainment that â€Å"I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be ‘artistic' and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed†¦ I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about. â€Å" There has been an increase with teenagers taking part in these â€Å"artistic† photo shoots but is it really art? Many reviewers argue that this is not, and that the teenagers are being taken advantage of by their parents making these decisions for them. Also stating that later on in life these photos could have a bad effect them. Psychologists are saying that it may bring on the over sexualisation of teenagers, by not giving them the opportunity to go through their teenage years naturally and mature with age not acting older than they are with sexual expectations that they are not ready for. (American Psychological Association). With the availability of the internet other personal photos of Miley were released where she is showing her green bra and also her stomach is out as she is wearing a midriff laying on a boy does this have a link to the Vanity Fair shoot and is it a result of the medias pressure taking a toll on her personal life as her parents where not happy with the nude shot. In Disney’s release of its own statement about the Vanity Fair story, the Disney Channel, which broadcasts Cyrus's series Hannah Montana, said: â€Å"Unfortunately, as the article suggests, a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines. However in the Vanity Fair issue â€Å"Miley knows best† Miley comments that the pose was Annie Leibovitz’s idea. The topless but demure portrait accompanying this article could be seen as another baby step, toward a more mature profile. â€Å"I think it’s really artsy,† Cyrus says. â€Å"It wasn’t in a s kanky way. And you can’t say no to Annie. She’s so cute. She gets this puppy-dog look and you’re like, O. K. † Leibowitz has chimed in, too, saying that it was never her intent to portray Cyrus in any negative light. â€Å"I’m sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted,† Leibovitz said in a statement released by Vanity Fair. The photograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little makeup, and I think it is very beautiful. † (â€Å"Miley Cyrus’ embarrassing photo shoot† The Scoop 2008) Research Method: The research method of focus group interviewing has been assigned. This method entails qualitative research. The aim is to find out the opinions and attitudes of the interviewees, who are selected as a purposive sample of the target market. The focus group interviewees are lead with open-ended questions that will be asked through out the discussion. A focus group includes a role of a moderator and a researcher. The moderator conducts the focus group serving as discussion leader to the other members. The moderator is briefed by the researcher and provided with a moderators â€Å"discussion guide. † The role of the researcher involves many preparatory and other activities including, obtaining ethics and clearance of the project, finding suitable group members, they deal with all booking and hiring of the venues and moderator, they tape all audio/ visual recordings, analysis the data and prepare the summary report of findings. This process of interviewing and gathering research is a valuable way of collecting data, because it is a direct way of finding answers to specific questions, which may not be obtainable through other research methods. A structured interview is especially good when discussing controversial sensitive issues, such as the issue we are focusing on in our research question. From our group interview we are hoping to gain information and people’s views of teenage and child representation in art and the media today, and whether they think children are being sexualized or it is the natural and reasonable extension of art. Each person in our group focused on a specific area of our research question. Chelsea looked at the history of naked children and teens in art and the media. Millie focused on nudity and the sexualisation of children and teenagers in art today, using bill Henson as an example. Whilst Deanna looked at the sexualisation of teenagers in today’s media, focusing on the Miley Cyrus vogue photo shoot. Focus Group Draft Questions: Has society’s view on nudity drastically changed in the last century? Do you think one of the major reasons for these different views are the advances in technology eg mass communication, photography) Is society as a whole more sexualized than it was several centuries ago? Do you think Renaissance art was completely asexual as critics say it is, or do you think that perhaps even then there was a sexual element to the depiction of naked children? Is there any context in which you believe it is appropriate today to depict naked children? What do you define as being art? What do you define as being pornographic material? Showing a Bill Henson photograph of a young nude girl) In your personal reaction do you consider this photograph to be artistic or pornographic? And why? Do you believe parental consent should allow 12-13 year old to participate in nude photography? Do you believe that the children in these photographs will be affected by this experience in the future? Why or why not? Do you think that this photo of Miley is provocative or artistic? As Mi ley Cyrus is a child role model/ celebrity do you think it is a good idea for photos like this to be taking or do you think it sets a bad example for the younger children that admire her so much? When this photo shoot was taken Miley was 15 years of age do you think this photo is age appropriate for her? Do you think that the media has placed pressure on Miley to produce a photo like this at her age? When looking at this photo what age do you think Miley looks and what do you feel that the photo is portraying? References: American Psychological Association, Report of the APA Task Force. Sexualization of Girls, 2007 (accessed August 28, 2010) D, Isaacs, T, Isaacs. 2010. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. Is child nudity in art ever pornographic? Blackwell Publishing Inc. www. scopus. com. prospero. murdoch. edu. au (accessed August 28, 2010) Grittins, Diana. 1998. The Child in Question. London: Macmillan Press LTD Johnson, Geraldine A. 2005. Renaissance Art: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press Standing Committee on Environment, Communications and the Arts. Sexualisation of children in the contemporary media, Commonwealth of Australia 2008 published June 2008. (accessed August 28, 2010) Annotated Bibliography: American Psychological Association, Report of the APA Task Force. Sexualization of Girls, 2007 This report was written by a task force which was created in the response to journalists, child advocacy organisations, parents and psychologists who have argued that the sexualisation of girls is a broad issue in society and that it is an increasing problem which harms girls. This report gave an overview of psychological theory to assist in the understanding of the psychological harms of the over sexualisation of young girls and teenagers. It defines sexualisation and gives examples of it appearing in society. D, Isaacs, T, Isaacs. 2010. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. Is child nudity in art ever pornographic? Blackwell Publishing Inc. www. scopus. com. prospero. murdoch. edu. au This article written by David L. Isaacs and Thomas G. Isaacs titled â€Å"Is child nudity in art ever pornographic† was published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. This article discusses the important debate on censorship, which followed Bill Henson’s exhibition. This debate between the two authors resulted in the view that censorship laws regarding the depiction of children in art are needed to stop the exploitation of children. Yet a strong belief was evident that censorship is not needed to protect the public from being corrupted by viewing pornographic material. Grittins, Diana. 1998. The Child in Question. London: Macmillan Press LTD This Book Focuses on children and their place in the past and in today’s society. The book focuses on the innocence of children and how that innocence has changed over time. It also explores the rights that adults hold over children and other theories that society has of children. Johnson, Geraldine A. 2005. Renaissance Art: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press This Book focuses on Renaissance art and the part it played in European art. It does focus on particular areas of Renaissance art such as the techniques used and how stories were told through the art. The book draws on many famous Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Standing Committee on Environment, Communications and the Arts. Sexualisation of children in the contemporary media, Commonwealth of Australia 2008 published June 2008. The Australian Government Standing Committee on Environment, Communications and the Arts developed this report, titled Sexualisation of Children in the Contemporary Media. The report acknowledged the issue of the sexualisation of children in the media and the complexities of defining clear boundaries. This report has enabled us to acquire a Government perspective on the issue. The research carried out in this report outlined professional opinions of psychologists, pediatricians as well as the viewpoint of Australian parents.