Abstract
This paper provides a critical analysis of Alfie Kohn's "No Contest: The Case Against Competition" including key concepts, critical analysis and implications for Total Quality Management (TQM) environments.

From the Paper
"Competition is an integral part of daily life in the United States; indeed it is so commonplace that most of us do not consider how pervasive competition has become ..."

Tags:No contest, case against competition, competition, TQM, total quality management, Kohn, Alfie Kohn, book review

Abstract
The paper asserts that the prize offered by the online site, Mobility Today, focuses on a more minor facet of the product base of Mobility Today and the way in which the winner was 'honored' was not an effective way of generating traffic and revenue for the site. The paper explains that contests are really a form of promotional communication between buyers and advertisers and are not merely a way of giving a nice, extra bonus to consumers. The paper then discusses why McDonald's Monopoly games contest was an effective contest.

From the Paper
"The online site Mobility Today sells mobile technology, and other forms of high-tech gear that is highly desirable to teens and twentysomethings who want the next new thing in computer printers, keyboards, GPS navigation devices and other high-tech accessories and gadgets. The online site must function in a highly online competitive environment where consumers have ample opportunities to shop for products from other vendors and to compare prices of the same product. To generate user interest and traffic Mobility Today recently hosted a 'Slingbox' Giveaway contest offering a Slingbox to the winner. A Slingbox is a device that enables a user to watch his or her home, cable television channels from his or her computer anywhere in the world."

Tags:revenue, advertising, promotion

Abstract
In this paper, the writer discusses that Marie is a prime candidate for winning this vehicle because of her work ethic, her family values, and of her never ending commitment to succeed in America. The writer points out that this great country afforded her the means to work hard and build a life for her children-all at her own self sacrifice and refusal to let her family down. Now, with her brothers and sisters needing help, she has even given up her home to help out.

Tags:car, contest, sample

Abstract
In this article, the writer argues that the "beauty pageant" is a culturally significant object of study given how it represents a site of conflicting readings of power, gender and race where cultural meaning is produced, resisted, and consumed. The writer discusses that, with particular reference to the Miss America pageant, from an anthropological perspective the cultural practice of the beauty pageant is revealing of important elements of the construction of gender, sexuality and race in our mass culture.

From the Paper
"The cultural practice known as the "beauty pageant" or "beauty contest" - originally an American concept - spread across the world during the twentieth century to become a global phenomenon. However, despite its global scope, this practice has been comparatively undocumented and largely dismissed as a serious subject of study by scholars. This essay will argue, however, that the "beauty pageant" is a ..."

Tags:art, meaning, culture

Abstract
The paper discusses the importance of the cultural practice of the beauty pageant, in particular the Miss America beauty contest. The paper discusses how although there has been scholarly aversion to studying the phenomenon, it is clear that this apparently frivolous cultural practice is enormously significant in shaping how sexuality, gender and race are shaped within the broader fabric of power relationships in our society. The paper also demonstrates how this cultural practice has spread across the world during the twentieth century to become a global phenomenon.

From the Paper
"The topic of "beauty" and, in particular, "beauty pageants" is a highly controversial one in contemporary academia. In the wake of late twentieth century feminism, scholars in the fields of sociology and anthropology "often see beauty contests as somehow trivial, frivolous, or vulgar" (Cohen 5). In large measure, this scholarly response reflects the widespread controversy over addressing the cultural construction of "beauty" in the modern context. While feminist critics have led the debate over the scholarly analysis of the construction of beauty, scholars in other fields have tended to avoid discussion of the issue and the cultural practice of beauty contests. As one critic observes of this scholarly aversion: "The failure to grant beauty pageants serious attention may reflect a reluctance to deal with beauty itself as a serious matter" (Cohen 6)."

Tags:culture, power, gender, race, feminism, male, domination

Abstract
The paper discusses that the nature of the representation of identity in visual culture is, it may be argued, dependent upon the characteristics of the media culture within which the identity is being represented. For example, the representation of identity within a medium that is integrated within the saturated mass media culture of our contemporary globalized world necessarily implies not simply the reflection of an identity but, in effect, its construction on a culture-wide scale. The paper explains that in other words, the range and penetrative depth of a visual medium within a culture impacts - to an extraordinary degree - the construction of an identity within that culture."

Tags:gender, women, art

Abstract
This paper describes the unfair contract terms the "American Idol" participants enter into when joining the show. It argues that the production company exploits its contestants and persuades prospective players not to enter such television programs.

From the Paper
"There is no doubt that "American Idol" has attracted the interest of viewers. The viewing figures for the final episode confirm the popularity of the show. The show is also based on viewer interaction, with viewers deciding the winner. It is important then, for viewers to understand what they are really voting for. If the winner is being unfairly exploited, as the article argues, then this should be known by the public. This information could allow for public opinion to alter the terms of the contract so that the contestants are treated fairly. If conflict of interest is also a problem, as the article claims, then action could be taken to prevent this occurring. Finally, with the popularity of the program, it is likely there will be future versions. It is important that future prospective contestants are aware of what they are entering into."

Tags:tv, fame, famous, contestant, show, entertainment, viewer, interaction

Abstract
This paper examines how the shipping industry is not homogeneous, but consists of several discrete sectors, each of which operates in different commercial and regulatory regimes, whose needs serve different types of purpose-built vessels. The three main sectors are passenger shipping service, liner cargo services and bulk cargo-carrying services. It provides an analysis of bulk shipping and liner shipper sectors through the comparison of their characteristics, discussing their contestability in transportation market. A recommendation for improving both sectors contestability is also given.

From the Paper
"Since bulk ships usually are designed for particular types of cargoes, they are unsuitable for other commodities. This is quite different from the liner sector, where all kinds of containerised cargoes can be carried on cellular container ships. This causes those containerisable cargoes to be diverted to be transported by liner shipping instead of bulk shipping because of the great efficiency in port of the cellular system and its inter-modal capability. This has given such a competitive advantage that it will in due course dominate the whole sector, leaving only a small volume of physically non- containerable cargo for residual services."

Tags:cargo, container, handling, modal, multi, sector, transport, voyage

Abstract
The paper discusses the exclusion of women from the symbolic representation of the Australian national identity conveyed by a typically masculine drinking culture. The paper also discusses how women were always present as workers in the pub, which seemed representative of their exploitation, but this work also provided women with a form of economic independence and feminine empowerment. The paper then describes how women had to fight for their presence in the pub as customers. The paper shows how far from being a space in which women were absent, the pub presents itself as a site of contested gender relations where gender codes were constantly negotiated across the century.

From the Paper
"Throughout the twentieth century emerged a typically Australian drinking culture shaped by the licensing laws implemented during the early years of the century. The powerful temperance movement's and religious leaders' reaction against modernity led them to focus on campaigns against public drinking (Kirkby and Luckins 2006, p.78). The Housewives Associations and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, in particular, concentrated on the issue of prohibition (Smart 1998, p. 215). During the Great War, wartime patriotism added to the general mood of temperance and resulted in introducing the 'six o'clock' or 'early closing' of pubs and hotels in all states except Western Australia and Queensland (Luckins 2007, p.08.2). It was considered a temporary measure, to be tolerated until the end of the war; however it became permanent in 1919 (Luckins 2008, p.297). The general impression was that it was the 'wowsers' (Dunstan 1968), or even women - who were prominent in temperance organisations - who caused the emergence of a new, 'uncivilised' mode of drinking: the 'six o'clock swill' (Luckins 2007, p.08.2). Indeed, although patrons and publicans resisted the new regulations through after hours trading and sly-grogging (Luckins 2008, p.296), for the law-abiding, drinking in pubs became something to do on the way home from work - at the time of the day when women were preparing dinner and bathing children. This resulted in the emergence of the 'six o'clock swill', when men rushed into the public bar to gulp down as many beers as possible before closing, marking the cessation of the pub as a place for entertainment and its emergence as 'a segregated place for drinking, in both the popular imagination and in actuality' (Kirkby and Luckins 2006, p.79). The major consequence of early closing was to turn 'the public bar, where men drank with other men during the rush period between five and six pm, into the focus of the pub business and consequent representations of Australian public drinking culture' (Kirkby and Luckins 2006, p.78). By the time early closing came to an end - between 1955 and 1967 depending on the state - 'six o'clock swill' had become in popular imaginary a 'crude characterisation of an Australian way of drinking' (Luckins 2007, p.08.12) - from which women were excluded."

Tags:feminism, empowerment, masculinity, alcohol, drinking, workers, customers

Abstract
The paper compares how James Axtell and William Cronon analyze in their respective works, "The Invasion Within: The Contest of Cultures in Colonial North America" and "Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists and the Ecology of New England", the essential aspects of the first interaction between the Native-American peoples of North America and the Europeans that colonized them. The paper explains that both authors aim to analyze the way in which this first contact between the Natives and their colonizers influenced the future development of America as a nation. The paper shows how Axtell focuses on the spiritual history of the two nations, while Cronon concentrates on the outer, external aspects of the meeting between the Natives and the colonizers. The paper posits that although the two authors manage their argumentation very well and make very interesting points about the history of the colonization, Cronon's book seems more remarkable in terms of argumentation and originality.

From the Paper
"Axtell's book, as its title indicates, focuses on the way in which the three main ethnicities, the Native Indians, the English and the French attempted a mutual conversion, each struggling to impose its cultural identity over the identity of the other. Axtell thus advocates that ethnohistory is the best instrument for the examination of the confluence between the three cultures, Indian, English and French. He focuses therefore on the way in which each of the three nations perceived the others, and how they struggled to impose their own views over the others. "

Tags:Native, Indians, English, French, identity, culture