Journal articles on the topic 'Razor industry'

This paper follows the footsteps of five studies: the U.S. Men’s Shaving Cream, the U.S. Beer, the U.S. Shampoo, the U.S. Shredded/Grated Cheese, and the U.S. Refrigerated Orange Juice markets.Porter links high market share with cost leadership strategy which is based on the idea of competing on a price that is lower than that of the competition. However, customer-perceived quality—not low cost—should be the underpinning of competitive strategy, because it is far more vital to long-term competitive position and profitability than any other factor. So, a superior alternative is to offer better quality vs. the competition.In most consumer markets a business seeking market share leadership should try to serve the middle class by competing in the mid-price segment; and offering quality better than that of the competition: at a price somewhat higher, to signify an image of quality, and to ensure that the strategy is both profitable and sustainable in the long run. Quality, however, is a complex concept consumers generally find difficult to understand. So, they often use relative price, and a brand’s reputation as a symbol of quality.In 2008—and 2007—the Gillette brand dominated the U.S. Men’s Razor-Blade market like a colossus, with a 90%, and 78% share, respectively, in Blades and Razors in 2008. In 2008 sales for the U.S. were $111 million for Men’s Razors, and $591 million for Men’s Blades.We tested two hypotheses: (1) That a market leader is likely to compete in the mid-price segment, and (2) That the unit price of the market leader is likely to be somewhat higher than that of the nearest competition. Employing U.S. retail sales data for 2008 and 2007, we found that for both 2008 and 2007 the market leader in the Razor market was not a member of the mid-price segment, but the premium segment. Likewise, in the Blade market the leader was part of the premium segment, not the mid-price segment.Several arguments can be offered to explain this deviation: (1) Gillette had a virtual monopoly of the industry because it was pursuing “First to market” strategy of innovation and on-going improvement, (2) The technology of producing Razors and Blades has become more complex and consequently more expensive, (3) Producers are now offering many more new feature—and benefits--than ever before that further raise the cost of production, and (4) Many men regard shaving an important part of personal grooming which they regard an “affordable luxury”.Whereas Gillette had positioned itself as a premium brand in the past, it stepped up the ladder and placed Fusion Blades in the Super-premium segment in 2007 and 2008.We also found strong support for the idea, that relative price is a strategic variable.Finally, we discovered three strategic groups in the industry.

This paper follows the path of six studies: the U.S. Men’s Shaving Cream, the U.S. Beer, the U.S. Shampoo, the U.S. Shredded/Grated Cheese, the U.S. Refrigerated Orange Juice, and the U.S. Men’s Razor-Blade markets.Porter associates high market share with cost leadership strategy which is based on the idea of competing on a price that is lower than that of the competition. However, customer-perceived quality—not low cost—should be the foundation of competitive strategy, because it is far more vital to long-term competitive position and profitability than any other factor. So, a superior alternative is to offer better quality vs. the competition.In most consumer markets a business seeking market share leadership should try to serve the middle class by competing in the mid-price segment; and offering quality better than that of the competition: at a price somewhat higher, to signify an image of quality, and to ensure that the strategy is both profitable and sustainable in the long run. Quality, however, is a complex concept consumers generally find difficult to understand. So, they often use relative price, and a brand’s reputation as a symbol of quality.In 2008 sales in the U.S. were $83 million for the Women’s Razors, and $192 million for the Women’s Blades. In both markets there were two major players. In the Women’s Razors market P&G’s Gillette had a 58% market share, followed by Schick, a distant second, with a 31% share. Likewise, in the Women’s Blade market, Gillette had a 61% share, and Schick a 35% share.We tested two hypotheses: (1) That a market leader is likely to compete in the mid-price segment, and (2) That the unit price of the market leader is likely to be somewhat higher than that of the nearest competition. Employing U.S. retail sales data for 2008 and 2007, we found that for 2008 the market leader in the Women’s Razor market—Gillette Venus Embrace—was not a member of the mid-price segment, but the super-premium segment. Likewise, in the Women’s Blade market, the market leader—Gillette Venus Original (Note 1)—was part of the premium segment, not the mid-price segment.Several arguments can be offered to explain this deviation: (1) There is not much competition in this market with only two major players, (2) The technology of producing Razors and Blades has become more complex and consequently more expensive, (3) Producers are now offering many more new feature—and benefits—than ever before that further raise the cost of production, and (4) For many American women, having smooth armpits and legs is an important social norm they must observe for which they are willing to pay a premium price.Based on Gillette Fusion, the first men’s five-blade Razor, Gillette introduced Venus Embrace, a first five-blade Razor for women. Whereas Gillette had positioned itself as a premium brand in the past, it moved up the ladder and placed Venus Embrace in the super-premium segment in 2008.We also found strong support for the idea, that relative price is a strategic variable.Finally, we discovered three strategic groups in the industry.

Cutting operations using blades can arise in a number of industries, for example, food processing industry, in which cheese, fruit and vegetable, even meat, are involved. Certain questions will rise during these works, such as “why pressing-and-slicing cuts use less force than pressing-only cuts” and “how is the influence of the blade cutting-edge on force”. To answer these questions, this research developed a mathematical expression of the cutting stress tensor. Based on the analysis of the stress tensor on the contact surface, the influence of the blade edge-shape and slicing angle on the resultant cutting force were formulated and discussed. These formulations were further verified using experimental results by robotic cutting of potatoes. Through studying the change of the cutting force, the optimal slicing angle can be obtained in terms of maximum feeding distance and minimum cutting force. Based on the blade sharpness properties and the specific materials, the required cutting force can be predicted. These formulation and experimental results explained the basic theory of blade cutting fracture and further provided the support to optimize the cutting mechanism design and to develop the force control algorithms for the automation of blade cutting operations.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide results for a complete maintainability analysis utilizing data sets from a production system in a shaving blades division of a large high-tech razor manufacturer. Through the illustrated case study, the authors demonstrate how to spot improvement points for enhancing availability by carrying out an equipment effectiveness analysis. Design/methodology/approach Descriptive statistics of the repair data and the best fitness index parameters were computed. Repair data were collected from departmental logs, and a preliminary screening analysis was conducted to validate their usefulness for the indicated period of 11 months. Next, the maintainability and repair rate modes for all the machines of the production system were calculated. Maintainability and availability estimations for different time periods that took in account the overall system were obtained by trying out and selecting an optimum statistical model after considering of several popular distributions. Findings Out of the five considered machines in the system, two particular units received about half of the repairs (M2 and M3). The time to repair follows a loglogistic distribution and subsequently the mean time to repair is estimated at 25 minutes at the machine level. Repair time performance is approximated at 55 minutes if the availability of the system is to attain a 90 percent maintainability. Originality/value This study is anticipated to serve as an illuminating effort in conducting a complete maintainability analysis in the much advertised field of shavers, for which on the contrary so little has been published on operational availability and equipment effectiveness. The case study augments the available pool of sources where executing maintainability studies is highlighted usually under the direction of combined total quality management and total productive maintenance programs.

Genetically engineered mice (GEMs) that either overexpress (transgenic) or lack (gene-targeted, or “knock-out”) genes are used increasingly in industry to investigate molecular mechanisms of disease, to evaluate innovative therapeutic targets, and to screen agents for efficacy and/or toxicity. High throughput GEM construction in drug discovery and development (DDD) serves two main purposes: to test whether a given gene participates in a disease condition, or to determine the function(s) of a protein that is encoded by an expressed sequence tag (EST, an mRNA fragment for a previously uncharacterized protein). In some instances, pheno-types induced by such novel GEMs also may yield clues regarding potential target organs and toxic effects of potential therapeutic molecules. The battery of tests used in phenotypic analysis of GEMs varies between companies, but the goal is to define one or more easily measured endpoints that can be used to monitor the disease course—especially during in vivo treatment with novel drug candidates. In many DDD projects, overt phenotypes are subtle or absent even in GEMs in which high-level expression or total ablation of an engineered gene can be confirmed. This outcome presents a major quandary for biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms: given the significant expense and labor required to generate GEMs, what should be done with “negative” constructs? The 14th century philosophic al principle known as Occam's razor—that the simplest explanation for a phenomenon is likely the truth—provides a reasonable basis for pruning potential therapeutic molecules and targets. In the context of DDD, Occam's razor may be construed to mean that correctly engineered GEMs lacking obvious functional or structural phenotypes have none because the affected gene is not uniquely essential to normal homeostasis or disease progression. Thus, a “negative” GEM construct suggests that the gene under investigation encodes a ligand or target molecule without significant therapeutic potential. This interpretation indicates that, at least in a market-driven industrial setting, such “negative” projects should be pruned aggressively so that resources may be redirected to more promising DDD ventures.

The addition of natural fibers used as reinforcement has great appeal in the construction materials industry since natural fibers are cheaper, biodegradable, and easily available. In this work, we analyzed the feasibility of using the fibers of piassava, tucum palm, razor grass, and jute from the Amazon rainforest as reinforcement in mortars, exploiting the mechanical properties of compressive and flexural strength of samples with 1.5%, 3.0%, and 4.5% mass addition of the composite binder (50% Portland cement + 40% metakaolin + 10% fly ash). The mortars were reinforced with untreated (natural) and treated (hot water treatment, hornification, 8% NaOH solution, and hybridization) fibers, submitted to two types of curing (submerged in water, and inflated with CO2 in a pressurized autoclave) for 28 days. Mortars without fibers were used as a reference. For the durability study, the samples were submitted to 20 drying/wetting cycles. The fibers improved the flexural strength of the mortars and prevented the abrupt rupture of the samples, in contrast to the fragile behavior of the reference samples. The autoclave cure increased the compressive strength of the piassava and tucum palm samples with 4.5% of fibers.

The paper aims to generate systematically business model innovations in the field of electric mobility. It introduces a new framework, in which a business model denotes a value-focused concept with five value dimensions: value proposition, value communication, value creation, value delivery and value capture. The framework enables the classification of business model patterns, identified in the literature, according to five categories. The combination of patterns from different dimensions can lead to the systematic generation of business model innovations. But the number of business models that can result from pattern combinations can be overwhelming. Subsequently, the paper only evaluates the extent to which business model patterns that are not necessarily observed in the automotive sector can be useful for the field of electric mobility, and how they can be adapted to fit into the new context. We find that the transferability strongly depends on the actor's role in the system, if it is a manufacturer, supplier or service provider. More importantly, our analysis shows that some models such as product-to-service (e.g., car sharing service), already implemented in the automotive industry, will continue to be successful in the future because of their potential of increasing customer acceptance and technology diffusion. Many other business models — so far used in other sectors, but not in the automotive industry — may integrate the field of electric mobility. Razor and blades, own the undesirable concept, and leverage new influencers are all promising business models, if they can be fitted adequately to the new context induced by the new technology.

Nowadays, utilization of biomass is considered to have the potential to solve many environmental problems and provide a source of renewable and environmentally-friendly energy. Research on green and low cost catalysts is needed for economical production of biodiesel. The goal of this work was to test potassium iodide (KI)-impregnated calcined razor clam shell as a heterogeneous catalyst for transesterification of Jatropha curcas oil in a microwave reactor. The effects of different preparation conditions on biodiesel yield were investigated and the structure of the catalyst was characterized. The raw material and the resulting solid catalyst were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method. The waste shell displays a typical layered architecture. The sample had the surface area 16.51 m2/g, pore diameter 22.18 nm and pore volume 0.14 cm3/g, and presented a uniform pore size. The highest fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield of 96.99% for potassium iodide-calcium oxide (KI-CaO) catalyst was obtained under the optimum condition (reaction time 5 min, microwave power 600 W, methanol/oil molar ratio 12:1, and catalyst dosage 3 wt%). It was showing potential applications of catalyst in biodiesel industry.

This paper follows the footsteps of eleven studies that have tried to analyze the competitive profile of U.S. consumer markets: Men’s Shaving Gel, Beer, Shampoo, Shredded/Grated Cheese, Refrigerated Orange Juice, Men’s Razor-Blades, Women’s Razor-Blades, Toothpaste, Canned Soup, Coffee, and Potato Chips.Porter associates high market share with cost leadership strategy which is based on the idea of competing on a price that is lower than that of the competition. However, customer-perceived quality—not low cost—should be the underpinning of competitive strategy, because it is far more vital to long-term competitive position and profitability than any other factor. So, a superior alternative is to offer better quality vs. the competition.In most consumer markets a business seeking market share leadership should try to serve the middle class by competing in the mid-price segment; and offering quality better than that of the competition: at a price somewhat higher to signify an image of quality, and to ensure that the strategy is both profitable and sustainable in the long run. Quality, however, is a complex concept consumers generally find difficult to understand. So, they often use relative price, and a brand’s reputation, as a symbol of quality.For 2008 we chose the Alkaline AA Battery because its sales were $667 million vs. $283 million for AAA. By the same token, we have focused our analysis on AA 4-pack because it was the most popular size with 2008 sales of $190 million.In 2008 the AA 4-pack Alkaline Battery market was quite competitive with 30 brands with sales over $25,000.Using Hierarchical Cluster Analysis, we tested two hypotheses: (1) That the market leader is likely to compete in the mid-price segment, and that (2) Its unit price is likely to be higher than that of the nearest competition.For 2008 the results supported Hypothesis I and II. Both the market leader Energizer, and the runner-up Duracell, were members of the mid-price segment. Moreover, the unit price of Energizer was higher than that for Duracell, as we have hypothesized.For 2007 the results did not support Hypothesis I, because Energizer found it to be a member of the premium segment, even though Duracell maintained its association with the mid-price segment. We found that relative price was a strategic variable, as hypothesized.We also discovered four strategic groups in the industry.

This paper follows the path of eight studies of U.S. markets: Men’s Shaving Cream, Beer, Shampoo, Shredded/Grated Cheese, Refrigerated Orange Juice, Men’s Razor-Blades, Women’s Razor-Blades, and Toothpaste.Porter associates high market share with cost leadership strategy which is based on the idea of competing on a price that is lower than that of the competition. However, customer-perceived quality—not low cost—should be the underpinning of competitive strategy, because it is far more vital to long-term competitive position and profitability than any other factor. So, a superior alternative is to offer better quality vs. the competition.In most consumer markets a business seeking market share leadership should try to serve the middle class by competing in the mid-price segment; and offering quality better than that of the competition: at a price somewhat higher, to signify an image of quality, and to ensure that the strategy is both profitable and sustainable in the long run. Quality, however, is a complex concept that consumers generally find hard to understand. So, they often use relative price, and a brand’s reputation, as a symbol of quality.In 2008 the U.S. retail sales for the Canned Soup market were $3.44 Billion. The market leader Campbell had a commanding share of 52.5%, followed by a far-distant second Progresso with a share of 17.8%. A notable feature of this market was the tremendous variety of soups, albeit many with minor variations, that equaled the unbelievable figure of 1011!We focused our attention on the two best-selling varieties of soup: (1) Chicken Broth canned, the market leader, with 11.1% market share, and (2) Chicken Noodle Soup canned, with a 7.4% share. Within each variety we chose the can-size range with the highest sales.Using Hierarchical Cluster Analysis, we tested Hypotheses I that a market leader is likely to compete in the mid-price segment. Employing U.S. retail sales data for 2008 and 2007, we found that for both Chicken Broth and Chicken Noodle Soup—for 2008 and 2007—the market leader Campbell was a member of the mid-price segment.For Hypothesis II we wanted to test the proposition that the unit price of the market leader would be somewhat higher than that of the nearest competition. For Chicken Broth we could not test this hypothesis because Progresso, the runner-up, could not be included in this analysis.However, for Chicken Noodle Soup the results did not support the hypothesis because Progresso happened not to be a part of the mid-price, but that of the premium segment.Finally, we discovered four strategic groups in the industry.

This paper follows the path of nine studies of U.S. consumer markets: Men’s Shaving Gel, Beer, Shampoo, Shredded/Grated Cheese, Refrigerated Orange Juice, Men’s Razor-Blades, Women’s Razor-Blades, Toothpaste, and Canned Soup.Porter associates high market share with cost leadership strategy which is based on the idea of competing on a price that is lower than that of the competition. However, customer-perceived quality—not low cost—should be the underpinning of competitive strategy, because it is far more vital to long-term competitive position and profitability than any other factor. So, a superior alternative is to offer better quality vs. the competition.In most consumer markets a business seeking market share leadership should try to serve the middle class by competing in the mid-price segment; and offering quality better than that of the competition: at a price somewhat higher, to signify an image of quality, and to ensure that the strategy is both profitable and sustainable in the long run. Quality, however, is a complex concept consumers generally find difficult to understand. So, they often use relative price, and a brand’s reputation, as a symbol of quality.In 2008 the U.S. retail sales for the Coffee market were $3.78 Billion. The market featured five varieties of coffee: Ground, Soluble (Instant), Whole Bean, Liquid, and Flavored. We have focused our analysis on Ground Coffee which had a 70% share in 2008.In 2008 the Ground Coffee market leader was the Folgers brand family with a market share of 21.8%, followed by the Maxwell House brand with 11.6%. The pack sizes varied from 1.3- to 52oz, with the 10-13 oz packs being the most popular. So, we have focused cluster analysis on this pack.The Ground Coffee market was highly competitive. In 2008 it had 450 brands.Using Hierarchical Cluster Analysis, we tested two hypotheses: (1) That the market leader is likely to compete in the mid-price segment, and that (2) Its unit price is likely to be higher than that of the nearest competition. Employing U.S. retail sales data—for both 2008 and 2007—we found that the results did not support our hypothesis that the market leader would be a member of the mid-price segment. Instead, the results show that both the market leader, the Folgers flagship brand—and the runner-up Maxwell House—were members of the economy segment, although Folgers’ unit price was higher than that of Maxwell House, as we have hypothesized.This implies that both Folgers and Maxwell House were following the cost leadership strategy based on lower price than better quality, and treated coffee as a commodity to gain market share. This is truly a stunning result! In all similar nine studies preceding this one, not a single market leader—or runner-up—competed in the economy segment! The spectacular success of Starbucks demonstrated in no uncertain terms that the consumers were no longer content to treat coffee as a run-of-the mill drink—but rather something special—that deserved to be relished, and for which they were willing to pay a premium price.Finally, we discovered five strategic groups in the industry.

Hemming is the last or one of the latest stage operations for the stamped parts. For this reason it has a critical importance on the performance and perceived quality of assembled vehicles. It is used to attach two sheet metal parts together or to improve appearance creating a smooth edge rather than a razor edge with burrs. However, designing the hemmed union is not always easy and is deeply influenced by the mechanical properties of the material of the bended part. Main problems for the automotive industry arise when bending aluminum alloys. Aluminum sheet is more difficult to hem due to its susceptibility to strain localization during the hemming process. This phenomenon produces cracking on the hemmed edge [1]. In order to avoid this problem and due to the limitations of conventional flanging and hemming technologies, the flange radii must be increased and a rope hem used (instead of the flat hem used with steels) when working with aluminum alloys. These changes on the design of the hem union give as a result a lower quality final product [2]. Dies and tools used for the hemming process are designed based on experience and on lengthy and costly die tryouts. Continuing with the development of new applications for the Electromagnetic Forming (EMF) technology, LABEIN-Tecnalia and Professor Glenn Daehn’s group from The Ohio State University carried out some first straight flat hemming experiments using the AA 6016 T4 aluminum alloy. The results obtained from these first trials are presented in this paper giving a first sight of the possibilities, advantages and disadvantages of using the Electromagnetic Forming technology for the hemming of aluminum sheet panels. Using a non-clouped FEM simulation method, the experimental results are compared to the ones obtained with the simulations. The future working line in developing this new application for the Electromagnetic Forming technology will be based on the results obtained by this study.

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh dari penggunaan e-sports sebagai alat pemasaran serta kepuasan pelanggan yang sebagai variabel terhadap brand loyalty kepada merek Razer Inc. Pada masa dimana bermain video games bukanlah sesuatu yang dinilai sebagai suatu kegiatan yang nihil atau sia – sia industri video games semakin berkembang dengan munculnya sisi kompetitif secara profesional yang disebut sebagai e-sports. Munculnya berbagai macam kesempatan di dalam industri besar ini mendorong berbagai perusahaan yang berkaitan dengan video games berdiri dan berkembang, tidak hanya perusahaan baru namun banyak perusahaan besar lainnya melakukan berbagai macam investasi di dalam ranah e-sports. Dalam penelitian ini yang menjadi objek penelitian adalah perusahaan gaming gear yaitu Razer Inc. Variabel independen dalam penelitian ini adalah e-sports marketing dan kepuasan pelanggan (x) dan variabel dependen dalam penelitian ini adalah brand loyalty (y). Berdasarkan penelitian yang didapatkan, ditemukan bahwa adanya pengaruh yang cukup signifikan pada variabel e-sports marketing dan kepuasan pelanggan terhadap brand loyalty dari merek Razer. Sisi yang perlu lebih dikembangkan adalah perluasan pengetahuan mengenai program Razer yang mendukung pemain profesional.

Common jasmine (Jasminum officinalis L.) is an evergreen shrub that is native to the Middle and Far East. It is widely grown in Europe as an ornamental plant and in southeastern France for fragrance for the perfume industry. In March of 2008, a previously undescribed disease was observed on potted (6-month- to 3-year-old) common jasmine plants growing in open fields in a nursery of eastern Sicily, Italy. More than 20% of the plants showed disease symptoms. Diseased plants had small to large, brown or black lesions on stem. The lesions expanded rapidly, girdled the stem and caused blight of entire branches, and occasionally killed the plant. Abundant conidia and mycelia were detected on the surface of dead and dying stems under cool and humid conditions, which resulted in a moldy gray appearance. Botrytis cinerea Pers.:Fr. (1) was consistently isolated from affected tissues disinfected for 1 min in 1% NaOCl, rinsed in sterile water, and plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA). Colonies were at first white then became gray after 6 to 7 days when spores differentiated. White sclerotia developed after 8 to 9 days and turned black with age. Size of the conidia produced on 1-month-old culture ranged from 5.0 to 9.5 × 6.5 to 12.5 μm on the basis of 50 spore measurements. Sclerotia were spherical or irregular and ranged from 1.0 to 2.5 × 0.9 to 2.9 mm (average 1.7 × 1.8 mm). Stems of eight 6-month-old common jasmine plants were lightly wounded with a sterile razor and inoculated with 3-mm-diameter plugs of PDA from 10-day-old mycelial cultures, eight similar plants were inoculated with mycelium without wounding, and an equal number of noninoculated plants inoculated with only PDA plugs served as control. After inoculation, plants were enclosed in transparent plastic bags at 20 ± 2°C for 5 days. Stem lesions identical to the ones observed in the nursery were detected on all wounded and on two nonwounded fungus-inoculated plants within 5 to 7 days. Control plants remained healthy. B. cinerea was reisolated from typical lesions. The unusually cool and humid weather conditions recorded in Sicily are supposed to be highly conducive of disease outbreak. Although B. cinerea does not usually kill the plants, under these environmental conditions this disease can cause significant economic loss to ornamental nurseries. To our knowledge, this is the first report of B. cinerea causing stem blight on J. officinalis. Reference: (1) M. B. Ellis. Dematiaceous Hyphomycetes. CAB, Kew, Surrey, England, 1971.

During a pinewood nematode survey in 2011, a dead pitch pine (Pinus rigida) was found in Daejeon city, Korea. Samples were taken from several regions of the trunk and nematodes were extracted from the wood samples by a modified Baermann funnel method (1). Recovered nematodes were then cultured on Botrytis cinerea grown in potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium. Males and females (n = 10) were examined under an inverted light microscope. Morphologically, these nematodes were identified as Bursaphelenchus yongensis sharing the characters of the genus Bursaphelenchus including a large median bulb, offset cephalic region, a well-developed stylet with small basal knobs, female with vulva at 70% of body length, and males with terminal bursa. Females of B. yongensis were similar to B. muconatus and B. fraudulentus by presence of tail mucron, but they were differentiated by a smaller vulval flap. Males had spicules with small cucullus, pointed rostrum, and with strongly dorsally bent condylus. The identity of the nematode was confirmed through molecular diagnosis. DNA was extracted from each of 10 nematodes using commercial DNeasy kits (Qiagen, Valencia, CA) and the ITS regions were amplified with a primer set by PCR (Bio Rad, US/PTC-0220) (3,5). Amplified ITS DNA was cloned and sequenced, and the sequence data was deposited to GenBank (Accession No. KJ857070). The ITS sequence of Korean isolate (KJ857070) showed 99% similarity to that from Chinese isolate in GenBank (AM180513). ITS-RFLP patterns using five different restriction enzymes, RsaI, HaeIII, MspI, HinfI, and AluI, matched 100% with those previously reported for B. yongensis (2,4). Host pathogenicity tests were conducted from June to August on saplings of five native and introduced conifer species found in Korea (Abies sp., Larix leptolepsis, P. koraiensis, P. strobus, and P. thunbergii). All saplings were 5 to 6 years old and 15 saplings were inoculated for each species. B. yongensis was cultures on B. cinerea for 10 days at 25°C and the inoculum concentration was calibrated at 5,000 nematodes/50 μl sterile water. Nematodes were artificially inoculated by making a 1-cm-long incision into the stem using a sterile razor blade. B. yongensis was pathogenic on L. leptolepsis, causing wilt and death in all inoculated saplings; however, the nematode had no effect on P. thunbergii, P. koraiensis, Abies sp., or P. strobus. To our knowledge, this is the first report of B. yongensis in Korea. This nematode is a potential threat to L. leptolepsis; however, the role of B. yongensis in the mortality of P. rigida is uncertain at this time. References: (1) S. M. Ayoub. Plant Nematology in Agricultural Training Aid. Department of Food and Agriculture, Division of Plant Industry, Sacramento, CA, 1977. (2) W. Burgermeister et al. Nematology 11:649, 2009. (3) V. R. Ferris et al. Fund. Appl. Nematol. 16:177, 1993. (4) J. Gu et al. Russian J. Nematol. 14:91, 2006. (5) T. C. Vrain. J. Nematol. 25:361, 1993.

Abstract In the era of the industrial revolution 4.0, virtual communication tends to be preferred over face-to-face communication among teenagers. Virtual communication is usually carried out in virtual communities that share a hobby like online game players.interviews and observations method were used on data collection. Data presentation, categorization, and data reduction are carried out at the data analysis stage. Data triangulation is done to conclude. The findings of this study are the virtual communication all channels patterns apply in Depok Razer Gaming Community. Virtual communication often used about the selection of strategies in the online game Dota 2.Keywords: virtual communication, online game Abstrak Kalangan remaja cenderung lebih menyukai komunikasi virtual dibandingkan dengan komunikasi tatap muka pada era revolusi industri 4.0 saat ini. Komunitas virtual yang memiliki kesamaan hobi seperti para pemain game online biasanya melakukan komunikasi virtual. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mengidentifikasi pola komunikasi virtual dalam game online Defence of the Ancient–Dota 2 dalam Komunitas Razer Gaming Depok. Penelitian ini menggunakan. pendekatan deskriptif kualitatif . Pengumpulan data di lapangan menggunakan metode wawancara dan pengamatan. Pada tahapan analisis data peneliti melakukan penyajian data, pengkategorisasian, dan reduksi data. Peneliti melakukan triangulasi data yang ada untuk penarikan kesimpulan. Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa pola komunikasi virtual yang berlangsung di Komunitas Razer Gaming Depok adalah pola komunikasi semua saluran (all channel). Komunikasi virtual sering membahas tentang pemilihan strategi dalam game online Dota 2. Kata Kunci : komunikasi virtual, game online

The variety of current cosmetic procedures has increased the potential risks of adverse events and infections. In a nationwide cross-sectional study (2013–2015), we assessed the aspects of infection risk in cosmetic services. An anonymous voluntary questionnaire survey was conducted among 813 employees of cosmetic establishments in Poland. The establishments were selected from a register of service providers. The survey was conducted by employees of the State Sanitary Inspectorate during an audit, and the results showed that cosmetic providers were not fully prepared for risk assessment in terms of occupational exposure or infection transmission. The majority of the respondents (84%) reportedly washed the salon tools. Some establishments did not perform any decontamination (2%) or sterilization (~13%) procedures. Occupational punctures or lacerations occurred from needles, ampoules-syringes, or razors. Most respondents had attended professional training or studied medical textbooks. Approximately 1.7% of the respondents had not updated their knowledge, and 5% gained knowledge from unauthorized sources.The project’s results impacted a variety of innovations and improvements in the field of public health. The results were used to update the national education program (2012–2017); more attention has been directed toward effective education in infection prevention, general hygiene, and post-exposure procedures. Moreover, the study’s results were grounds for the introduction of legislative modifications in the field of epidemiological safety standards for cosmetic services in Poland.

Problem: Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) are products that are purchased and consumed frequently to satisfy continuous consumer demand. In a linear economy, FMCGs are typically offered as single-use and disposable products. Limitations in product design, insufficient collection systems, and inefficient recovery processes prevent high recycling rates. As a result, FMCGs often end up in landfill or the environment, contributing to waste accumulation, and pollution. Whilst recycling is the most common waste prevention strategy practiced by the industry, the process is limited to addressing only the final stage of the product life cycle, omitting the overproduction and consumption of materials typical of FMCGs. Instead, reuse is a strategy that is capable of extending the value of resources by slowing material flows. Novel reuse models that require the consumer to interact with durable primary packaging and products are emerging in the FMCG industry. However, the constituent elements and operation principles of such reuse models are not fully understood. The aim of this research is to develop a comprehensive characterisation of reuse models and to evaluate their potential to deliver environmental value. Method: Ninety-two reuse offerings were selected and analysed to identify their reuse system elements. The analysis led to the identification of a framework including five reuse models, which were also evaluated to establish their capability to deliver environmental value when compared to conventional single-use and disposable FMCGs. Results: Currently in the FMCG sector, reusable products are mostly durable packaging, such as bottles and containers for beverages, foods, personal and home care goods, and are infrequently durable products, such as personal and baby care goods, including razors and nappies. Three reuse models involve exclusive reuse, a behaviour by which a reusable product is used and kept by a single user throughout the product lifetime. In exclusive reuse models, users are provided with either a reusable product (model 1), a reusable product with preparation for reuse infrastructure (model 2), or access to preparation for reuse infrastructure (model 3). Two reuse models involve sequential reuse, a behaviour by which a reusable product is used by multiple users throughout the product lifetime and returned after each use to a provider. In sequential reuse models, users are provided with either a reusable product with preparation for reuse infrastructure and provider-operated recovery services (model 4), or a reusable product and provider-operated services for recovery and preparation for reuse (model 5). Whilst the five reuse models can operate standalone, some offerings were found to embed a multi-model approach. Both exclusive and sequential reuse models are capable of delivering environmental value by reducing the use of natural resources and retaining their value in the economy. In particular, sequential reuse models were found to have a greater capability to increase the share of recyclable resources by offering access to infrastructure for the closure of material loops. Conclusions: Consumers can currently access five reuse models and choose between exclusive and sequential reuse behaviours. When adopted in conjunction with recycling, reuse models can enable a more efficient consumption of FMCGs. Providing the infrastructure necessary to enable reuse and recycling is key to the successful and sustainable deployment of the reuse models.

The article presents preliminary data of field studies of the Korolevo II Paleolithic site in Transcarpathia, concerning the clarification of stratigraphy and the chronology of the so-called layer 0 (Epigravettian) within the Upper Paleolithic of this site. At this site, one of the earliest transitional industries from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic with bifacial leaf points was found on the territory of Ukraine (cultural layer II). At the Korolevo II site, there is also a small collection of Upper Paleolithic artifacts (layer 0) primary determined as belonging to the Epigravettian technocomplex. At the same time, it was assumed that these artifacts were in a secondary position. As a result of the analysis of archival materials, there were some doubts about the position of the layer 0 not in situ. Korolevo II site is located on the northern outskirts of Veryatsa village of Vinogradiv district, Transcarpathian region, on the 20-meter terrace of the right bank of the Tisza River in the territory of the quarry approximal 500 m south-west from the Korolevo I site (fig. 1—3). The first Paleolithic artifacts at the location were collected in 1975. On a limited surface of the terrace 25—30 m wide from west to east, and approximately 35—40 m long from south to north, archeological investigations were carried out on three excavation areas (fig. 3). In the excavation II (12 m2) (1978, 1982), which was located on the northwestern slope of the terrace (fig. 3), the Middle and Upper Paleolithic artifacts were found in an unclear stratigraphic position. In the excavation I, which was located along the eastern wall of the terrace (fig. 3, 4), the research was conducted in 1979—1980 on an area of 144 m2. In this excavation, the main cultural layer II was recorded in the Udai loess between two paleosoils (Vitachiv / Priluky) (fig. 5: Б) and received the date 38000 ± 1500 BP. Collection of cultural layer II represents the so-called transitional blade industry from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic with bifacial leaf-shaped points and some traces of Middle Paleolithic in primary flaking and tool-kit. Under cultural layer II in the upper part of Priluki horizon, there were marked Middle Paleolithic artifacts similar to the layer III (Levallois technocomplex) of Korolevo I site (OIS 5a). It should be stressed that a major part of Pleistocene deposits over layer II at excavation I where reduced by quarry work. In test pit 5 (1982), later expanded as excavation III (1985), located between excavation I and excavation II three levels of stone finds were recorded. Based on the stratigraphical column of excavation I the sequence of archaeological layers in the excavation III was established as follows: layer II (first level), layer 0 (second level), layer II (third level) (table). The belonging of the artifacts from the first and third levels to the industry of layer II was determined mainly on the basis of the review of local volcanic raw materials — andesite. The limited collection of second level artifacts produced exclusively on imported raw materials that included backed microliths (fig. 13) were typologically attributed to the Epigravettian. At that time, the impression was that the layer 0 was moved by the natural geological way in ancient time after in situ layer II (third level), and later, as a result of man-made processes, covered by the artifacts of layer II again (first level). It seemed that the stratigraphic sequence on the excavation III was artificially disturbed as well. As a result of preliminary research data (2015—2017) at the excavation IIIa which covered distance around 5 m to the east to the area III (fig. 3), it became clear that stratigraphy on this site, with the exception of a small part of the cut off Holocene deposits, is not disturbed. Stratigraphic profile includes: 1.0—1.20 m — technogenic layer; 1.20—1.60 m — Bug climatolite (bg); 1.60—1.90 m — upper Vitachiv soil (vt3); 1.9—2.3 m — Udai climatolite (ud/vt2?); 2.3—2.5 m — the final stage of Pryluky soil formation (pl3); 2.5—3.0 m — paleosoil (pl1—kd?). On the basis of new excavation data and the analysis of the excavation III, it can be argued that there are five archaeological layers on this part of Korolevo II site: E, D, C, B, A (table). The two lower layers E and D may correlate with the corresponding cultural layers III and II of the excavation area I. Layer D may correlate with the third level of excavation III respectively. Middle Paleolithic artifacts of the cultural layer III of excavation I and layer E of excavation III/IIIa can be dated to the end of the last interglacial (OIS 5a) and relate to the Levallois technocomplex. The collection of layer D has indisputable features of affinity with the layer of II excavation I in the primary flaking and typology and belongs to the same transitional from MP to UP industry. Layer II and layer D are found in the same geological sediments — Udai climatolite (ud/vt2? / OIS 4/3?). The three upper layers (A, B, C) of the excavation IIIa have no analogues in the excavation I. The layer C is confidently fixed on the edge of the Vitychiv soil and the Udai climatolite (ud/vt2?) only in the excavation IIIa. The collection of layer C has the features of the Upper Paleolithic industry. The collection of the cultural layer B in the studied excavation area IIIa is insignificant, but the position of the artifacts in the lower part of the Vitachev paleosoil is quite stable. These materials unambiguously correspond to artifacts of the second level of excavation III, including the so-called layer 0 and together represent one archeological unit — cultural layer B. The layer A, which lies above the Vitachev paleosoil in Bug climatolite (bg) represents the Upper Palaeolithic industry still unknown in Transcarpathia. The layer A is traced both in the excavation IIIa and in the excavation III (first level). In this layer, a hearth with a tuff lining is found (fig. 6—8), which removes any questions about the signs of artifacts movement or its technogenic origin. In addition, there are no data allowing to associate the collection of layer A with cultural layer II of excavation I. Finally, based on the above facts, we can return to the question of the time and status of «Epigravettian technocomplex» of layer 0. The available data indicates that the layer B, which includes its part as layer 0, is found in situ and from the point of its geological position (vt3) can represent the typical Gravettian industry. Typological features of the collection do not deny this conclusion. At least presence of backed pieces together with bifacial points as it marked in the layer B (fig. 13) is more characteristic for Gravettian razer than Epigravettian collections. In common last excavations of Korolevo II open new perspective in investigations of Upper Paleolithic of the Transcarpathian region

Background: The purpose of this study was to look at infection control and sterilization procedures in relation to invasive services performed at Personal Service Establishments (PSEs) in British Columbia. The objective was to collect data on the opinions of regulation and infection control practices of persons currently working in the industries of: tattooing, micro-blading and permanent make-up. Method: Data was collected from a survey that was created and distributed online through Survey Monkey. A list of 261 personal service establishments throughout Vancouver Costal Health and Fraser Health were called and/or e-mailed and asked to participate in the online survey. Results and Analyses: Among the 261 PSEs contacted, 30 agreed to participate. They were asked about the regulation of their profession and their standard practices for infection control and sterilization. 3% of the respondent’s primary service was permanent make-up, 7% micro-blading, 7% piercing and 80% was tattooing. The majority of opinions on regulation were divided where 50% felt the industry was under regulated and 40% felt it was adequately regulated. 90% of the respondents agreed that formal training should be required before being allowed to tattoo and 43% of the respondents also agreed that the use of an autoclave should require certification. For infection control/sterilization procedures 100% of shops use one-time use (disposable) needles and ink caps, 80% use disposable tubes, 93% use cord and machine covers and 90% use disposable razors. 63% of the respondents do not use autoclaves because they use disposable items and therefore do not need to clean and sterilize re-usable equipment. The data compared in chi-squared analysis, age and formal training had a p-value of 0.01460 which indicates that there is an association between age and the belief that formal training should be required for those who practice tattooing. Those under 40 were more likely to indicate that formal training should be required. Conclusion: With a low response rate for micro-blading and permanent make-up it is not feasible to compare or contrast opinions and/or practices between the three services. The tattooing industry had the highest response rate and can be looked at in more detail. The information collected on tattooing could be used to develop a course to improve the safety of PSE’s. EHO knowledge in inspecting food service establishments is very high as a system has been put into place that ensures effective inspections. As well, the FOODSAFE program teaches safe practices to those who work in the kitchen. The growing popularity of PSEs now gives EHOs the opportunity to focus on creating safe work environments through the implementation of a training course and possibly altering the way inspections of each different PSE are conducted. Results of this study, along with other Canadian published data, should be considered when developing standardized training and education in the industry where invasive procedures are used.

The use of RFID (radio frequency identification), also called “smart tags”, is on the rise in the retail industry. In short, RFID are tiny microchips using short range radio signals to emit information and can be used to tag goods, buildings, cars, pets, people etc. Unlike bar-code scanners, which must be held directly in front of the item being scanned, one of the benefits of RFID tags is that they can be scanned from a distance. It is expected that RFID will eventually replace the bar code and its use is likely to save companies like Wal-Mart, Procter & Gamble and Gillette millions of dollars as they can track every bottle of shampoo or packet of razor blades from the factory floor to the store shelf (Baard, “Lawmakers”). Most agree that using RFID to track goods from the point of manufacture to the location of sale in order to prevent goods being lost, stolen or handled inappropriately, is acceptable and not cause for privacy concerns. But as marketers often take every opportunity to learn more about consumers and their purchasing behaviours, some fear that tags embedded in clothing, membership cards, mobile phones etc. may be scanned inappropriately and used to target individuals with cleverly tailored marketing messages. In the effort to provide a more customised experience, business is at risk of becoming increasingly intrusive – something that will not be universally acceptable. But is it all bad? Privacy concerns aside, smart tags can add new functions as well as enable a whole range of innovative products and services when joined with other technologies. RFID beyond Traditional Value Chain Management Prada is often mentioned as an example of how RFID can be taken beyond the traditional value chain management. Prada has implemented some ground-breaking technology in their Manhattan (New York) store, all based around RFID. RF-receivers automatically detect and scan garments brought into the dressing room. Via a touch screen the customers view tips on how to mix and match, access information about available sizes, colours, fabrics and styles, and watch video clips of models wearing the very outfit they are trying on (Grassley, ”Prada’s”). Eventually customers will be able to create virtual closets and store information about what they have tried on or bought on their Prada Web account (”Prada’s”). Customers’ details, including notes made by sales assistants, e.g. preferences, can be stored automatically in customer cards, readable by sales assistants’ handhelds or at the cash register (”Prada’s”) – information that could be used by the assistant to spur further sales by suggesting for example: “Last time you were here, you bought a black skirt. We have a sweater that matches that skirt” (Batista). Another example is Precision Dynamics Corp (PDC), which developed an automatic identification wristband incorporating RFID technology. One application is the AgeBand which is used to verify the bearer’s age when purchasing alcohol. ID is checked when entering the venue and the customer receives a plastic wristband printed with personal details that cannot be removed without being damaged or destroyed (Swedberg). The embedded chip can be linked to a customer’s credit card number or a cash deposit to pay for purchases while on the premises. “It is also an easy way to collect statistics for marketing”, says PDC’s senior marketing communications specialist, Paula Maggio (qtd. in Swedberg). Although the RFID clearly provides benefits and new opportunities to business operations, there is an argument over whether consumers will ultimately gain or suffer when smart tags become more commonplace. Certainly it may be convenient to have smart hangers that project virtual clothes onto a customer’s reflection in the mirror so they can try on a range of outfits without having to remove their clothes, but the collection of personal information necessary to provide this convenience also raises complex privacy issues. Fear of Intrusive Marketing Hesseldahl believes that our homes, workplaces, shops, malls, cars, trains, planes and bicycles will all be environments that constantly notice who we are and what we are doing, and which – according to a detailed profile of our habits – will try to service us in ways we can hardly even imagine today (25). This may be helpful to us in many ways, but there are concerns that organisations will use RF-technology to connect product information to individuals in order to create personal profiles which can then be used for pin-pointed marketing purposes, or even for tracking individuals, without their knowledge or consent. A possible scenario is one where consumers are bombarded with intrusive advertising based on what they are wearing, what they are purchasing, their history of past purchases, demographics and more. “Kill Machines” Fearing that the technology will be abused, many privacy advocates suggest that RFID must only be used to keep track of goods in the supply chain and thus be deactivated as soon as they leave the store. For example, consumer organisations such as CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering), the American Civil Liberties Union, and Electronic Frontiers Australia, lobby for the obligatory deactivation of the tags at the point of purchase. But companies such as Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart would prefer to keep the tags active after checkout, rather than disabling them with so called “kill machines”, so they can match the unique codes emitted by RF-tags to shopper’s personal information (Baard “Watchdog”). They will want to use RF technology to support the sales process and to provide the consumer with new and better services than what is otherwise possible. And without doubt, if the tags are deactivated some genuinely helpful applications would be lost to the consumer, e.g. being able to call your refrigerator from the supermarket to check if you need milk or your washing machine alerting you if you have accidentally put a delicate garment in your white wash. Looking at the Bright Side Privacy concerns aside, RFID technology, in fact, has the potential to empower consumers as it will put more information about products at consumers’ fingertips. Consumers will for example be able to go into competing supermarkets and scan items with an RF-receiver embedded in their mobile phone, record prices, store and process the information to evaluate which store offers better value. The information can then be shared with other shoppers via the Internet, and suddenly we have a powerful “shopping bot” which transcends the online world. Consequently, RFID has the potential to make competition between retailers tougher than ever before and to benefit consumers through lower and more transparent pricing. In addition, RFID tags may also make possible faster and more accurate services, particularly in supermarkets. Shopping carts are mounted with computers which automatically register all items put into the cart and enable the customer to keep track of items, their prices and their total amount (Blau). RFID can also be used to find the location of items in the store and show more detailed information on a product (origin, use by date, content etc.) and as the customer passes through the checkout, all purchases are registered automatically in a matter of seconds. Privacy Protection In Australia, the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000, with its ten National Privacy Principles (NPP), has been highly criticised over the last few years as being much to open for interpretation and thus difficult to reinforce. In short, the NPP allows for marketers to use non-sensitive personal information for direct marketing purposes without seeking the individual’s consent if it is impracticable to do so (“Guidelines”). That is, as long as they make available a privacy policy explaining why the data is collected and who will have access, they ensure that the data is correct and up to date, protected from unauthorised access, and that individuals are given access to their data upon request (“Guidelines”). In 2003 the Spam Act was introduced in order to take a tougher stand on the escalating problem with massive amounts of unsolicited emails filling up inboxes, threatening the whole concept of the Internet and its many benefits. In essence, the Spam Act will not allow commercial electronic messages to be sent without the recipient’s prior consent or without a possibility to unsubscribe (“Spam”). In the same manner that the Spam Act was passed to regulate the collection of Internet users’ contact information, it may become necessary to regulate the collection and use of data obtained via RFID if the NPP are deemed inadequate. The difficulty will be to do so and at the same time safeguard many of the positive side-effects the technology may have for businesses and consumers. As argued by Roger Clarke, privacy has to be balanced against many other, often competing interests: “The privacy interest of one person may conflict with that of another person, or of a groups of people, or of an organisation, or of society as a whole. Hence: Privacy Protection is a process of finding appropriate balances between privacy and multiple competing interests.” It is therefore recommended that legislators and policy makers keep up with the development and undertake significant research into both sides before any legislation is passed so that the best interests of consumers and business are catered for. Can There Be a Win-Win Situation? Although business can expect some significant gains from the use of RFID, particularly through a more effective value chain management but also from more substantial and better quality business intelligence, consumers may in fact be the real winners as new and better business concepts, products and services are made available. Further, with the increased transparency in business, consumers can use the vast amounts of information available to find the best products and services, at the best price, and from the best provider. With the aid of smart software, such as search agents, it will be a rather effortless task and will provide consumers with a real advantage. But this assumes consumers are aware of the benefits and how they can be exploited, and have the means to do so – something that will require some skill, interest, money and time. Consumers will also have to give up some privacy in order to take full advantage of the new technology. For the industry, the main challenge will be communicating what these advantages are, as acceptance, adoption and thus also return on investment will depend upon it. For legislators and policy makers, the major dilemma will be to provide a regulatory framework that is flexible but distinct, and that will prevent abuse and at the same time enable positive outcomes for both business and consumers. A fine line that should be treaded wisely in order to create a future where everyone can gain from the benefits of using this technology. References Baard, Mark. “Lawmakers Alarmed by RFID Spying.” Wired News 26 Feb. 2004. 9 Mar. 2004 http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,62433,00.html>. Baard, Mark. ”Watchdog Push for RFID Laws.” Wired News 5 Apr. 2004. 6 Apr. 2004 http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,62922,00.html>. Batista, Elisa. ”What Your Clothes Say about You.” Wired News 12 Mar. 2003. 8 Mar. 2004 http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,58006,00.html>. Blau, John. ”Så fungerar det digitala snabbköpet.” PC för Alla 1 (2004). 8 Mar. 2004 http://www.idg.se/ArticlePages/200402/27/20040227165630_IDG. se760/20040227165630_IDG.se760.dbp.asp>. Clarke, Roger. Beyond the OECD Guidelines: Privacy Protection for the 21st Century. 4 Jan. 2000. 15 Mar. 2004 http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/DV/PP21C.html>. Grassley, Tanya. ”Retailers Outfit Stores with Tech.” Wired News 18 Dec. 2002. 8 Mar. 2004 http://www.wired.com/news/holidays/0,1882,56885,00.html>. “Guidelines to the National Privacy Principles.” The Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner 2001. 4 Apr. 2004 http://www.privacy.gov.au/publications/nppgl_01.html#sum>. Hessledahl, Peter. Den globale organisme. Copenhagen: Aschehoug, 2002. 24 Apr. 2004 http://www.global-organisme.dk/e-bog/den_globale_organisme.pdf>. ”Prada’s Smart Tags Too Clever?” Wired News 27 Oct. 2002. 9 Mar. 2004 http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,56042,00.html>. “Spam” DCITA 2004. 4 Apr. 2004 http://www2.dcita.gov.au/ie/trust/improving/spam>. Swedberg, Claire. ”Putting Drinks on the Cuff.” RFID Journal 15 Jun. 2004. 15 Jun. 2004 http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/987/1/1/>. Citation reference for this article MLA Style Melchior, Angelika. "Tag & Trace Marketing." M/C Journal 8.4 (2005). echo date('d M. Y'); ?> <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0508/03-melchior.php>. APA Style Melchior, A. (Aug. 2005) "Tag & Trace Marketing," M/C Journal, 8(4). Retrieved echo date('d M. Y'); ?> from <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0508/03-melchior.php>.

In Ireland today, we eat more pigmeat per capita, approximately 32.4 kilograms, than any other meat, yet you very seldom if ever see a pig (C.S.O.). Fat and flavour are two words that are synonymous with pig meat, yet scientists have spent the last thirty years cross breeding to produce leaner, low-fat pigs. Today’s pig professionals prefer to use the term “pig finishing” as opposed to the more traditional “pig fattening” (Tuite). The pig evokes many themes in relation to cuisine. Charles Lamb (1775-1834), in his essay Dissertation upon Roast Pig, cites Confucius in attributing the accidental discovery of the art of roasting to the humble pig. The pig has been singled out by many cultures as a food to be avoided or even abhorred, and Harris (1997) illustrates the environmental effect this avoidance can have by contrasting the landscape of Christian Albania with that of Muslim Albania.This paper will focus on the pig in Irish cuisine and culture from ancient times to the present day. The inspiration for this paper comes from a folklore tale about how Saint Martin created the pig from a piece of fat. The story is one of a number recorded by Seán Ó Conaill, the famous Kerry storyteller and goes as follows:From St Martin’s fat they were made. He was travelling around, and one night he came to a house and yard. At that time there were only cattle; there were no pigs or piglets. He asked the man of the house if there was anything to eat the chaff and the grain. The man replied there were only the cattle. St Martin said it was a great pity to have that much chaff going to waste. At night when they were going to bed, he handed a piece of fat to the servant-girl and told her to put it under a tub, and not to look at it at all until he would give her the word next day. The girl did so, but she kept a bit of the fat and put it under a keeler to find out what it would be.When St Martin rose next day he asked her to go and lift up the tub. She lifted it up, and there under it were a sow and twelve piglets. It was a great wonder to them, as they had never before seen pig or piglet.The girl then went to the keeler and lifted it, and it was full of mice and rats! As soon as the keeler was lifted, they went running about the house searching for any hole that they could go into. When St Martin saw them, he pulled off one of his mittens and threw it at them and made a cat with that throw. And that is why the cat ever since goes after mice and rats (Ó Conaill).The place of the pig has long been established in Irish literature, and longer still in Irish topography. The word torc, a boar, like the word muc, a pig, is a common element of placenames, from Kanturk (boar’s head) in West Cork to Ros Muc (headland of pigs) in West Galway. The Irish pig had its place in literature well established long before George Orwell’s English pig, Major, headed the dictatorship in Animal Farm. It was a wild boar that killed the hero Diarmaid in the Fenian tale The Pursuit of Diarmaid and Gráinne, on top of Ben Bulben in County Sligo (Mac Con Iomaire). In Ancient and Medieval Ireland, wild boars were hunted with great fervour, and the prime cuts were reserved for the warrior classes, and certain other individuals. At a feast, a leg of pork was traditionally reserved for a king, a haunch for a queen, and a boar’s head for a charioteer. The champion warrior was given the best portion of meat (Curath Mhir or Champions’ Share), and fights often took place to decide who should receive it. Gantz (1981) describes how in the ninth century tale The story of Mac Dathó’s Pig, Cet mac Matach, got supremacy over the men of Ireland: “Moreover he flaunted his valour on high above the valour of the host, and took a knife in his hand and sat down beside the pig. “Let someone be found now among the men of Ireland”, said he, “to endure battle with me, or leave the pig for me to divide!”It did not take long before the wild pigs were domesticated. Whereas cattle might be kept for milk and sheep for wool, the only reason for pig rearing was as a source of food. Until the late medieval period, the “domesticated” pigs were fattened on woodland mast, the fruit of the beech, oak, chestnut and whitethorn, giving their flesh a delicious flavour. So important was this resource that it is acknowledged by an entry in the Annals of Clonmacnoise for the year 1038: “There was such an abundance of ackornes this yeare that it fattened the pigges [runts] of pigges” (Sexton 45). In another mythological tale, two pig keepers, one called ‘friuch’ after the boars bristle (pig keeper to the king of Munster) and the other called ‘rucht’ after its grunt (pig keeper to the king of Connacht), were such good friends that the one from the north would bring his pigs south when there was a mast of oak and beech nuts in Munster. If the mast fell in Connacht, the pig-keeper from the south would travel northward. Competitive jealousy sparked by troublemakers led to the pig keepers casting spells on each other’s herds to the effect that no matter what mast they ate they would not grow fat. Both pig keepers were practised in the pagan arts and could form themselves into any shape, and having been dismissed by their kings for the leanness of their pig herds due to the spells, they eventually formed themselves into the two famous bulls that feature in the Irish Epic The Táin (Kinsella).In the witty and satirical twelfth century text, The Vision of Mac Conglinne (Aisling Mhic Conglinne), many references are made to the various types of pig meat. Bacon, hams, sausages and puddings are often mentioned, and the gate to the fortress in the visionary land of plenty is described thus: “there was a gate of tallow to it, whereon was a bolt of sausage” (Jackson).Although pigs were always popular in Ireland, the emergence of the potato resulted in an increase in both human and pig populations. The Irish were the first Europeans to seriously consider the potato as a staple food. By 1663 it was widely accepted in Ireland as an important food plant and by 1770 it was known as the Irish Potato (Mac Con Iomaire and Gallagher). The potato transformed Ireland from an under populated island of one million in the 1590s to 8.2 million in 1840, making it the most densely populated country in Europe. Two centuries of genetic evolution resulted in potato yields growing from two tons per acre in 1670 to ten tons per acre in 1800. A constant supply of potato, which was not seen as a commercial crop, ensured that even the smallest holding could keep a few pigs on a potato-rich diet. Pat Tuite, an expert on pigs with Teagasc, the Irish Agricultural and Food Development Authority, reminded me that the potatoes were cooked for the pigs and that they also enjoyed whey, the by product of both butter and cheese making (Tuite). The agronomist, Arthur Young, while travelling through Ireland, commented in 1770 that in the town of Mitchelstown in County Cork “there seemed to be more pigs than human beings”. So plentiful were pigs at this time that on the eve of the Great Famine in 1841 the pig population was calculated to be 1,412,813 (Sexton 46). Some of the pigs were kept for home consumption but the rest were a valuable source of income and were shown great respect as the gentleman who paid the rent. Until the early twentieth century most Irish rural households kept some pigs.Pork was popular and was the main meat eaten at all feasts in the main houses; indeed a feast was considered incomplete without a whole roasted pig. In the poorer holdings, fresh pork was highly prized, as it was only available when a pig of their own was killed. Most of the pig was salted, placed in the brine barrel for a period or placed up the chimney for smoking.Certain superstitions were observed concerning the time of killing. Pigs were traditionally killed only in months that contained the letter “r”, since the heat of the summer months caused the meat to turn foul. In some counties it was believed that pigs should be killed under the full moon (Mahon 58). The main breed of pig from the medieval period was the Razor Back or Greyhound Pig, which was very efficient in converting organic waste into meat (Fitzgerald). The killing of the pig was an important ritual and a social occasion in rural Ireland, for it meant full and plenty for all. Neighbours, who came to help, brought a handful of salt for the curing, and when the work was done each would get a share of the puddings and the fresh pork. There were a number of days where it was traditional to kill a pig, the Michaelmas feast (29 September), Saint Martins Day (11 November) and St Patrick’s Day (17 March). Olive Sharkey gives a vivid description of the killing of the barrow pig in rural Ireland during the 1930s. A barrow pig is a male pig castrated before puberty:The local slaughterer (búistéir) a man experienced in the rustic art of pig killing, was approached to do the job, though some farmers killed their own pigs. When the búistéirarrived the whole family gathered round to watch the killing. His first job was to plunge the knife in the pig’s heart via the throat, using a special knife. The screeching during this performance was something awful, but the animal died instantly once the heart had been reached, usually to a round of applause from the onlookers. The animal was then draped across a pig-gib, a sort of bench, and had the fine hairs on its body scraped off. To make this a simple job the animal was immersed in hot water a number of times until the bristles were softened and easy to remove. If a few bristles were accidentally missed the bacon was known as ‘hairy bacon’!During the killing of the pig it was imperative to draw a good flow of blood to ensure good quality meat. This blood was collected in a bucket for the making of puddings. The carcass would then be hung from a hook in the shed with a basin under its head to catch the drip, and a potato was often placed in the pig’s mouth to aid the dripping process. After a few days the carcass would be dissected. Sharkey recalls that her father maintained that each pound weight in the pig’s head corresponded to a stone weight in the body. The body was washed and then each piece that was to be preserved was carefully salted and placed neatly in a barrel and hermetically sealed. It was customary in parts of the midlands to add brown sugar to the barrel at this stage, while in other areas juniper berries were placed in the fire when hanging the hams and flitches (sides of bacon), wrapped in brown paper, in the chimney for smoking (Sharkey 166). While the killing was predominantly men’s work, it was the women who took most responsibility for the curing and smoking. Puddings have always been popular in Irish cuisine. The pig’s intestines were washed well and soaked in a stream, and a mixture of onions, lard, spices, oatmeal and flour were mixed with the blood and the mixture was stuffed into the casing and boiled for about an hour, cooled and the puddings were divided amongst the neighbours.The pig was so palatable that the famous gastronomic writer Grimod de la Reyniere once claimed that the only piece you couldn’t eat was the “oink”. Sharkey remembers her father remarking that had they been able to catch the squeak they would have made tin whistles out of it! No part went to waste; the blood and offal were used, the trotters were known as crubeens (from crúb, hoof), and were boiled and eaten with cabbage. In Galway the knee joint was popular and known as the glúiníns (from glún, knee). The head was roasted whole or often boiled and pressed and prepared as Brawn. The chitterlings (small intestines) were meticulously prepared by continuous washing in cool water and the picking out of undigested food and faeces. Chitterlings were once a popular bar food in Dublin. Pig hair was used for paintbrushes and the bladder was occasionally inflated, using a goose quill, to be used as a football by the children. Meindertsma (2007) provides a pictorial review of the vast array of products derived from a single pig. These range from ammunition and porcelain to chewing gum.From around the mid-eighteenth century, commercial salting of pork and bacon grew rapidly in Ireland. 1820 saw Henry Denny begin operation in Waterford where he both developed and patented several production techniques for bacon. Bacon curing became a very important industry in Munster culminating in the setting up of four large factories. Irish bacon was the brand leader and the Irish companies exported their expertise. Denny set up a plant in Denmark in 1894 and introduced the Irish techniques to the Danish industry, while O’Mara’s set up bacon curing facilities in Russia in 1891 (Cowan and Sexton). Ireland developed an extensive export trade in bacon to England, and hams were delivered to markets in Paris, India, North and South America. The “sandwich method” of curing, or “dry cure”, was used up until 1862 when the method of injecting strong brine into the meat by means of a pickling pump was adopted by Irish bacon-curers. 1887 saw the formation of the Bacon Curers’ Pig Improvement Association and they managed to introduce a new breed, the Large White Ulster into most regions by the turn of the century. This breed was suitable for the production of “Wiltshire” bacon. Cork, Waterford Dublin and Belfast were important centres for bacon but it was Limerick that dominated the industry and a Department of Agriculture document from 1902 suggests that the famous “Limerick cure” may have originated by chance:1880 […] Limerick producers were short of money […] they produced what was considered meat in a half-cured condition. The unintentional cure proved extremely popular and others followed suit. By the turn of the century the mild cure procedure was brought to such perfection that meat could [… be] sent to tropical climates for consumption within a reasonable time (Cowan and Sexton).Failure to modernise led to the decline of bacon production in Limerick in the 1960s and all four factories closed down. The Irish pig market was protected prior to joining the European Union. There were no imports, and exports were subsidised by the Pigs and Bacon Commission. The Department of Agriculture started pig testing in the early 1960s and imported breeds from the United Kingdom and Scandinavia. The two main breeds were Large White and Landrace. Most farms kept pigs before joining the EU but after 1972, farmers were encouraged to rationalise and specialise. Grants were made available for facilities that would keep 3,000 pigs and these grants kick started the development of large units.Pig keeping and production were not only rural occupations; Irish towns and cities also had their fair share. Pigs could easily be kept on swill from hotels, restaurants, not to mention the by-product and leftovers of the brewing and baking industries. Ed Hick, a fourth generation pork butcher from south County Dublin, recalls buying pigs from a local coal man and bus driver and other locals for whom it was a tradition to keep pigs on the side. They would keep some six or eight pigs at a time and feed them on swill collected locally. Legislation concerning the feeding of swill introduced in 1985 (S.I.153) and an amendment in 1987 (S.I.133) required all swill to be heat-treated and resulted in most small operators going out of business. Other EU directives led to the shutting down of thousands of slaughterhouses across Europe. Small producers like Hick who slaughtered at most 25 pigs a week in their family slaughterhouse, states that it was not any one rule but a series of them that forced them to close. It was not uncommon for three inspectors, a veterinarian, a meat inspector and a hygiene inspector, to supervise himself and his brother at work. Ed Hick describes the situation thus; “if we had taken them on in a game of football, we would have lost! We were seen as a huge waste of veterinary time and manpower”.Sausages and rashers have long been popular in Dublin and are the main ingredients in the city’s most famous dish “Dublin Coddle.” Coddle is similar to an Irish stew except that it uses pork rashers and sausage instead of lamb. It was, traditionally, a Saturday night dish when the men came home from the public houses. Terry Fagan has a book on Dublin Folklore called Monto: Murder, Madams and Black Coddle. The black coddle resulted from soot falling down the chimney into the cauldron. James Joyce describes Denny’s sausages with relish in Ulysses, and like many other Irish emigrants, he would welcome visitors from home only if they brought Irish sausages and Irish whiskey with them. Even today, every family has its favourite brand of sausages: Byrne’s, Olhausens, Granby’s, Hafner’s, Denny’s Gold Medal, Kearns and Superquinn are among the most popular. Ironically the same James Joyce, who put Dublin pork kidneys on the world table in Ulysses, was later to call his native Ireland “the old sow that eats her own farrow” (184-5).The last thirty years have seen a concerted effort to breed pigs that have less fat content and leaner meat. There are no pure breeds of Landrace or Large White in production today for they have been crossbred for litter size, fat content and leanness (Tuite). Many experts feel that they have become too lean, to the detriment of flavour and that the meat can tend to split when cooked. Pig production is now a complicated science and tighter margins have led to only large-scale operations being financially viable (Whittemore). The average size of herd has grown from 29 animals in 1973, to 846 animals in 1997, and the highest numbers are found in counties Cork and Cavan (Lafferty et al.). The main players in today’s pig production/processing are the large Irish Agribusiness Multinationals Glanbia, Kerry Foods and Dairygold. Tuite (2002) expressed worries among the industry that there may be no pig production in Ireland in twenty years time, with production moving to Eastern Europe where feed and labour are cheaper. When it comes to traceability, in the light of the Foot and Mouth, BSE and Dioxin scares, many feel that things were much better in the old days, when butchers like Ed Hick slaughtered animals that were reared locally and then sold them back to local consumers. Hick has recently killed pigs for friends who have begun keeping them for home consumption. This slaughtering remains legal as long as the meat is not offered for sale.Although bacon and cabbage, and the full Irish breakfast with rashers, sausages and puddings, are considered to be some of Ireland’s most well known traditional dishes, there has been a growth in modern interpretations of traditional pork and bacon dishes in the repertoires of the seemingly ever growing number of talented Irish chefs. Michael Clifford popularised Clonakilty Black Pudding as a starter in his Cork restaurant Clifford’s in the late 1980s, and its use has become widespread since, as a starter or main course often partnered with either caramelised apples or red onion marmalade. Crubeens (pigs trotters) have been modernised “a la Pierre Kaufman” by a number of Irish chefs, who bone them out and stuff them with sweetbreads. Kevin Thornton, the first Irish chef to be awarded two Michelin stars, has roasted suckling pig as one of his signature dishes. Richard Corrigan is keeping the Irish flag flying in London in his Michelin starred Soho restaurant, Lindsay House, where traditional pork and bacon dishes from his childhood are creatively re-interpreted with simplicity and taste.Pork, ham and bacon are, without doubt, the most traditional of all Irish foods, featuring in the diet since prehistoric times. Although these meats remain the most consumed per capita in post “Celtic Tiger” Ireland, there are a number of threats facing the country’s pig industry. Large-scale indoor production necessitates the use of antibiotics. European legislation and economic factors have contributed in the demise of the traditional art of pork butchery. Scientific advancements have resulted in leaner low-fat pigs, many argue, to the detriment of flavour. Alas, all is not lost. There is a growth in consumer demand for quality local food, and some producers like J. Hick & Sons, and Prue & David Rudd and Family are leading the way. The Rudds process and distribute branded antibiotic-free pig related products with the mission of “re-inventing the tastes of bygone days with the quality of modern day standards”. Few could argue with the late Irish writer John B. Keane (72): “When this kind of bacon is boiling with its old colleague, white cabbage, there is a gurgle from the pot that would tear the heart out of any hungry man”.ReferencesCowan, Cathal and Regina Sexton. Ireland's Traditional Foods: An Exploration of Irish Local & Typical Foods & Drinks. Dublin: Teagasc, 1997.C.S.O. Central Statistics Office. Figures on per capita meat consumption for 2009, 2010. Ireland. http://www.cso.ie.Fitzgerald, Oisin. "The Irish 'Greyhound' Pig: an extinct indigenous breed of Pig." History Ireland13.4 (2005): 20-23.Gantz, Jeffrey Early Irish Myths and Sagas. New York: Penguin, 1981.Harris, Marvin. "The Abominable Pig." Food and Culture: A Reader. Eds. Carole Counihan and Penny Van Esterik. New York: Routledge, 1997. 67-79.Hick, Edward. Personal Communication with master butcher Ed Hick. 15 Apr. 2002.Hick, Edward. Personal Communication concerning pig killing. 5 Sep. 2010.Jackson, K. H. Ed. Aislinge Meic Con Glinne, Dublin: Institute of Advanced Studies, 1990.Joyce, James. The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, London: Granada, 1977.Keane, John B. Strong Tea. Cork: Mercier Press, 1963.Kinsella, Thomas. The Táin. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1970.Lafferty, S., Commins, P. and Walsh, J. A. Irish Agriculture in Transition: A Census Atlas of Agriculture in the Republic of Ireland. Dublin: Teagasc, 1999.Mac Con Iomaire, Liam. Ireland of the Proverb. Dublin: Town House, 1988.Mac Con Iomaire, Máirtín and Pádraic Óg Gallagher. "The Potato in Irish Cuisine and Culture."Journal of Culinary Science and Technology 7.2-3 (2009): 1-16.Mahon, Bríd. Land of Milk and Honey: The Story of Traditional Irish Food and Drink. Cork:Mercier, 1998.Meindertsma, Christien. PIG 05049 2007. 10 Aug. 2010 http://www.christienmeindertsma.com.Ó Conaill, Seán. Seán Ó Conaill's Book. Bailie Átha Cliath: Bhéaloideas Éireann, 1981.Sexton, Regina. A Little History of Irish Food. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, 1998.Sharkey, Olive. Old Days Old Ways: An Illustrated Folk History of Ireland. Dublin: The O'Brien Press, 1985.S.I. 153, 1985 (Irish Legislation) http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1985/en/si/0153.htmlS.I. 133, 1987 (Irish Legislation) http://www.irishstatuebook.ie/1987/en/si/0133.htmlTuite, Pat. Personal Communication with Pat Tuite, Chief Pig Advisor, Teagasc. 3 May 2002.Whittemore, Colin T. and Ilias Kyriazakis. Whitmore's Science and Practice of Pig Production 3rdEdition. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2006.

“Perhaps the only thing more counterfeit than Australian Idol co-host/FM radio jock Kyle Sandilands’s carotene tan is the myth of his significance.” So wrote Helen Razer in 2007 of radio host Kyle Sandilands in a piece entitled Kyle Sandilands, you are a big fake fake. In the years since Razer’s commentary, commentators and radio listeners have continued to question the legitimacy of Sandilands’s performance as a radio host, while his supporters have defended him on the basis that this performance is authentic (Wynn). References to him as “shock jock,” a term frequently associated with talkback radio, suggest Sandilands’s approach to performance is one of intended confrontation. However, the genre of radio to which his performance is associated is not talkback. It is chat-based programming, which relies on three tenets: orientation to the personal, use of wit, and risk of transgression. This paper examines the question: To what extent is Kyle Sandilands’s performance of authenticity oriented to the genre format? This paper argues that the overall success of Sandilands is supported by his mastery of the chat-based genre. The Radio Host, “Authenticity”, and PerformanceKyle Sandilands has been one of Australia’s most prominent and controversial radio hosts since the 1990s. In 2014, Sandilands was one half of Australia’s most successful breakfast team, hosting the nationally syndicated Kyle and Jackie O Show with fellow presenter Jacqueline Henderson on Kiis 1065 (Galvin, Top Radio). Sandilands’s persona has received significant attention within the mediasphere (Galvin, Kiss; Razer). Commentators argue that he is often “putting it on” or being overly dramatic in order to attract ratings. The following interaction is an example of on-air talk involving Sandilands (“Ronan Keating and Kyle Sandilands Fight On-Air”). Here, Sandilands and his co-host Jackie O are talking with singer Ronan Keating who is with them in the studio. Jackie plays Ronan a recording in which Sandilands makes fun of Keating:Kyle: ((On recorded playback)) Oh god. I don’t want to look like Ronan Keating, you two foot dwarf.((pause))Ronan K: ((laughs)) Right (.) I don’t know how to take that.Kyle: Well I’m glad it ended there because I think it went on and on didn’t it? ((Looks at Jackie O))Jackie O: I was being kind. ((Looks at Ronan)). He went on and on.Kyle: That says something about…Ronan: Play it, play it [let me hear it]Kyle: [no no] I don’t have the rest. I don’t have the rest of [it]Ronan: [No] you do. Kyle: No I don’t have it on me. It would be here somewhere.Jackie O: [Ok this…]Ronan: You go on like you’re my friend, you know you text me, you say you love me and are playing all these songs and then on radio you rip the crap out of me.Kyle: I was just joking. I think I said something like his little white arms hanging out of his singlet…and something like that.Jackie O: OK this is getting awkward and going on. I thought you guys would have a laugh, and…Kyle: [It’s tongue in cheek]Ronan: [That’s’ not cool man]. That’s not cool. Look I popped in to see you guys. I’m going to New Zealand, and I’ve got one night here (.) I’ve got one day in Sydney and that’s the crap that you’re dealing me.((silence from all))Kyle: ((Looking at Jackie)) Good one Jackie. ((Looking at Ronan)) That’s not crap. That’s just radio banter. This segment illustrates that Sandilands recognises talk as performance when he defends his criticism of Keating as “just radio banter”, inferring that his comments are not real because they are performed for radio. The argument between Keating and Sandilands, reported in media outlets such as The Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph the following day, was significant because the two had been friends, something referred to a few minutes later by Keating:Ronan: You’ve changed, man. You’ve changed. I come back and you’re on a new station and all this and that. But you’ve changed…I knew you when you were a nice guy.This segment may or may not have been staged to illicit publicity, and it is one of many possible examples that could have been selected that involve an altercation between Sandilands and a guest. Its inclusion in this paper is to illustrate orientation by co-participants, including Sandilands, to a “real self” (one that has changed) and performance (talk for radio) as an example of talk.If one is to be a fake, as Helen Razer suggested of Kyle Sandilands, one needs to be measured against that which is authentic. Authenticity is not a static concept and accordingly, can be difficult to define. Are we talking about being authentic (real) or being sincere (honest), and what really is the difference? This is an important point, because I suspect we sometimes confuse or blur the lines between these two concepts when considering authenticity and performance in media contexts. Erickson examines the difference between sincerity and authenticity, arguing “authenticity is a self-referential concept; unlike sincerity, it does not explicitly include any reference to others,” while sincerity reflects congruity between what one says and how one feels (123). Authenticity is more relevant than sincerity within the cultural space because it is self-referential: it is about “one’s relationship to oneself,” whereby actors “exist by the laws of one’s own being” (Erickson 124).Authenticity and performance by radio hosts has been central to broadcast talk analysis since the 1980s (Tolson, Televised; Tolson, ‘Authentic’ Talk; Tolson, New Authenticity; Scannell; Shingler and Wieringa; Montgomery; Crisell; Tolson, ‘Being Yourself’). The practice of “performing authenticity” by program hosts is, therefore, well-established and consistent with broadcast talk as a discursive genre generally. Sociologist Erving Goffman specifically considered performativity in radio talk in his work, and his consideration of theatrical performance written early in his career provides a good starting point for discussion. Performance, Goffman argued, “may be defined as all the activity of a given participant on a given occasion which serves to influence in any way any of the other participants” (8). In performing, actors play a part or present a routine in such a way that the audience believes the character (Goffman).This presents an interesting dilemma for radio hosts, who act as facilitators between the institution (program) and the audience. Hosts talk—or interact—with their co-hosts and listeners. This talk is a performance for an overhearing audience, achieved (or performed) by facilitating interpersonal talk between two or three people. This talk is conversational, and requires the host to play on “interpersonality”—creating the sense of a close personal relationship with audience members by talking to “anyone as someone” (Scannell). A host is required to embody the character of the radio station, represent listeners (Shingler and Wieringa), and perform in a way that appears natural through conversational talk, all at the same time. A host also needs to display personality, possibly the most critical element in the success of a program.Authenticity, Shock-Value, and Radio GenreThe radio economy revolves around the personality of a celebrity host, and audiences expect celebrity hosts to which they listen to be playing a role despite appearing to be authentic (Stiernstedt). At the same time, radio hosts are aware of the “performed nature of the displayed self” (215). The audience familiar with a host or hosts expect some inconsistency in this playing of role: “The uncertainty such performances generate among the audience is intentional, and the motive of the producers is that it will encourage audiences to find ‘evidence’ of what ‘really happened’ on other media platforms” (Stiernstedt). There is much evidence of this in the mediasphere generally, with commentary on Sandilands and other “shock jocks” often featuring in entertainment and media sections of the general press. This coverage is often focused on examining hosts’ true personality in a “what’s behind the person” type of story (Overington; Bearup; Masters). Most research into host performance on radio has been conducted within the genre of talkback radio, and the celebrity talkback “shock jock” features in the literature on talkback (Turner; Douglas; Appleton; Salter; Ward). Successful radio hosts within this genre have fostered dramatic, often polarising, and quick-witted personas to attract listeners. Susan Douglas, in an article reflecting on the male hysteric shock jock that emerged in the US during the 1980s, argued that the talk format emerged to be inflammatory: “Talk radio didn’t require stereo or FM fidelity. It was unpredictable. It was incendiary. And it was participatory.” The term “shock jock” is now routinely used to describe talk-based hosts who are deliberately inflammatory, and the term has been used to describe Kyle Sandilands.Authenticity has previously been considered in Australian talkback radio, where there is a recognised “grey area between news presentation and entertainment” (Barnard 161). In Australia, the “Cash for Comment” episode involving radio talkback hosts John Laws and Alan Jones specifically exposed radio as entertainment (Turner; Flew). Laws and Jones were exposed as having commercial relationships that influenced the manner in which they dealt with political topics. That is, the hosts presented their opinions on specific topics as being authentic, but their opinions were exposed as being influenced by commercial arrangements. The debate that surrounded the issue and expectations associated with being a commercial radio host revealed that their performance was measured against a set of public standards (ie. a journalist’s code of ethics) to which the hosts did not subscribe. For example, John Laws argued that he wasn’t really a journalist, and therefore, could not be held to the same ethical standard as would be the case if he was. This is an example of hosts being authentic within the “laws of their own being;” that is, they were commercial radio hosts and were being true to themselves in that capacity.“Cash for Comment” therefore highlighted that radio presenters do not generally work to any specific set of professional codes. Rather, in Australia, they work to more general sector-based codes, such as the commercial and community broadcasting codes of practice set by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. These codes are quite generic and give no specific direction as to the role of radio presenters. Professor Graeme Turner argued at the time that the debate about “Cash for Comment” was important because the hosts were engaging in public discussion about policy, often interviewing politicians, a role normally associated with journalists. There was limited fall-out for Laws and Jones, but changes were made to disclosure requirements for commercial radio. There have been a number of attempts since to discipline radio hosts who seemingly fail to meet community and sector standards. These attempts have appeared tokenistic and there remains acceptance that talkback radio hosts should be opinionated, controversial, and potentially inflammatory. Research also tells us that callers within this genre are aware of the rules of interaction (O'Sullivan). However, it is important to understand that not all talk-based programming is talkback.The Case of Sandilands and Adherence to GenreAlthough he is often referred to as a “shock-jock”, Kyle Sandilands is not a talkback radio host. He is the host on a chat-based radio program, and the difference in genre is important. Chat-based programming is a speech genre based on wit, orientation to the personal, and the risk of transgression. Chat-based programming was originally theorised in relation to television by Andrew Tolson (Televised), but more recently, it has been applied it to breakfast programs on commercial radio (Ames, Community). Talkback segments are incorporated into chat-based programming, but overall, the type of talk and the basis of interaction throughout the show is very different. In chat-based programming, hosts work to foster and maintain a sense of listening community by taking on different roles—being a friend, host, counsellor, entertainer—depending on the type of talk being engaged with at the time (Ames, Host/Host). Like all forms of broadcast programming, chat-based radio is driven by the need to entertain, but the orientation to the personal and risk of transgression alter the way in which “being real” or “true to oneself” (and therefore authentic) is performed. For example, chat-based hosts orient to callers in a way that prioritises sociability (Ames, Community), which is in contrast to studies on talkback interaction that reveal an orientation to conflict (Hutchby). The key point here is that talk on chat-based programming is different to the talk that occurs on talkback.Kyle Sandilands’s ability and desire to outrage has possibly always been part of his on-air persona. He has made a staff member masturbate live, questioned a 14-year-old about her sexual experiences, called a journalist a “fat slag”, and insulted members of the radio industry and listening public. In an interview with Andrew Denton, Sandilands categorised himself as a fellow victim. He talked of his difficulties as a teenager and largely justified his on-air behaviour by saying he did not think of the consequences of his actions in the heat of the live moment:I just didn’t even think about that. Back in those days I would only think about what I thought was funny and entertaining and it wasn’t until reflection once it had gone to air then everyone flipped out and everyone started saying you know, oh this could have gone horribly wrong. (Sandilands)Sandilands’s self-categorisation actually meets the description of being a radio presenter, described by Stephen Barnard in Studying Radio, one of the early “how to be a radio presenter” texts released in the UK in 2000:Unlike music presenters, phone-in presenters do not work within the comforting disciplines of a prescribed format but are hired for their ability to think on their feet. Phone-in presenters have as much or as little leeway as station heads allow them, leading to widely diverging approaches and a continual testing of the limits of tolerance. (Barnard 161)Sandilands made specific reference to this in his interview with Denton, when he referred to tension between his practice and what station management wanted:I like to cut the rubbish out of what everyone else thinks people want. So radio to me in Sydney was for example very boring. It was you know someone in another room would write out a joke, then someone would execute it and then you would hit the button and everyone would laugh and I just thought you know to me this isn’t, this isn’t real. I want to deal with real life stuff. The real life dramas that are going on in people's lives and a lot of the times radio station management will hate that cause they say no one wants to go to work in the morning and hear a woman crying her eyes out cause her husband’s cheated on her. But I do. I, I’d like to hear it. (Sandilands)Sandilands’s defence for his actions is based on wanting to be real and deal with “real” issues:this is the real society that we live in so you know I don’t and my interest is to let everyone know you know that yes, sometimes men do cheat; sometimes women cheat, sometimes kids are bad; sometimes kids get expelled. Sometimes a girl’s addicted to ice. (Sandilands)In one sense, his practice is consistent with what is expected of a radio host, but he pushes the limits when it comes to transgression. I would argue that this is part of the game, and it is one of the reasons people listen and engage with this particular format. However, what it is to be transgressive is very locally specific. What might be offensive to one person might not be to someone else. Humour is culturally specific, and while we don’t know whether listeners are laughing, the popularity of Kyle and Jackie O as a radio host team suggests that there is some attraction to their style—Sandilands’s antics included.The relationship between Sandilands and his audience and co-host is important to this discussion. Close analysis of anyKyle and Jackie O transcript can be revealing because it often highlights Sandilands’s overall deference and a self-effacing approach to his listeners. He makes excuses, and acknowledges he is wrong in a way that almost sets himself up as a “punching bag” for his co-host and listeners. He isdoing “being real.” We can see this in the interaction at the beginning of this paper, whereby his excuse was that the talk was “just radio banter.” The interaction between Sandilands and his co-host, and their listeners, serves to define the listening community of which they are a part (Ames, Host/Host). This community can be seen as “extraordinary”—based on “privatized isolation” that is a prerequisite for membership:The sense of universality of this condition, reflected in the lyrics of the music, the chatter of the DJs and the similarity of the concerns expressed by callers on phone-ins, ensures that solitary listening grants radio listeners membership to a unique type of club: a club where the members never meet or communicate directly. The club, of course, has its rules, its rituals, its codes of conduct and its abiding principles, beliefs and values. Club membership entails conformity to a consensual view. (Shingler and Wieringa 128)If you are not a listener of a particular listening community, then you’re not privy to those rules and rituals. The problem for Sandilands is that what is acceptable to his listening community can also be overheard by others. To his club, he might be acceptable—they know him for who he really is. As a host operating in chat-based formatting which relies on the possibility for transgression as a principle, he is expected to push boundaries as a performer. His persona is accepted by the station’s listeners who tune in every evening/afternoon (or whenever the program is broadcast across the network). His views and approach might be controversial, but they are normalised within the confines of the listening community:Radio presenters therefore do not construct a consensual view and impose it on their listeners. What they do is present what they perceive to be the views shared by the station and the listening community in general, and then make it as easy as possible for individual listeners to comply with these views (despite whatever specific reservations they may have). (Shingler and Wieringa 130)But to those who are not members of the listening community, his actions might be untenable. They do not hear the times when Sandilands takes on the role of “deviant host”, a host who will become an ally with a listener in a discussion if there is disagreement in talk which is a feature of this type of programming (Ames, Community). In picking out single elements of Sandilands’s awfulness, as happens when he oversteps the boundaries (and thus transgresses), there is potential to lose the sense of context that makes Sandilands acceptable to his program’s listeners. What we don’t hear, in the debates about whether his behaviour is or isn’t acceptable within the mediasphere, are the snippets of conversation where he demonstrates empathy, or is admonished by or defers to his co-host. The only time a non-listener hears about Kyle Sandilands is when he oversteps the boundary and his actions are questioned within the wider mediasphere. These questions are based on a broader sense of moral order than the moral order specifically applicable to the Kyle and Jackie O program.The debate about a listening community’s moral order that accepts Sandilands’s antics as normal is not one for this paper; the purpose of the paper is to explain the success of Sandilands’s approach in an environment where questions are raised about why he remains successful. Here we return to discussions of authenticity. Sandilands’s performance orients to being “real” in accordance with the “laws of one’s own being” (Erickson 124). The laws in this case are set by the genre being chat-based radio programming, and the moral order created within the program of which is a co-host.ConclusionRadio hosts have always “performed authenticity” as part of their role as a link between an audience and a station. Most research into the performance of radio hosts has been conducted within the talkback genre. Talkback is different, however, to chat-based programming which is increasingly popular, and the chat-based format in Australia is currently dominated by the host team known as Kyle and Jackie O. Kyle Sandilands’s performance is based on “being real”, and this is encouraged and suited to chat-based programming’s orientation to the personal, reliance on wit and humour, and the risk of transgression. While he is controversial, Sandliands’s style is an ideal fit for the genre, and his ability to perform to meet the genre provides some explanation for his success.ReferencesAmes, Kate. “Community Membership When ‘Telling Stories’ in Radio Talk: A Regional Case Study.” PhD Thesis. 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