The Role Of Patriarchy In Female Characters English Literature Essay

The Role Of Patriarchy In Female Characters English Literature Essay A similarity exists in both the authors writing which is in disagreement to the dominant culture and the standard societal ideas of their time. This is shown by the two modern works which I will be analyzing; Isabel Allendes The House of Spirits and A Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen which develop the conflict of gender roles in their works. Both authors use in my opinion an authentic female character(s) and that by the end despite the male domination are able to rebel against societal norm only to be viewed as the protagonist of the play or novel. Allendes novel recounts the story of Estaban Trueba, his wife and children. With the story spanning three generations is off of political corruption, feminine oppression and the movement from old to new. Allende examines and reveals the internal conflict of turmoil, oppression and torture of the female characters in particular. Women have generally been considered silent figures, submissive to the patriarchal powers that govern their society. Neither Allende nor Ibsen attempt to reproduce the culturally ordained silence; instead, both re inscribe female silence as a means for female empowerment which leads to their eventual freedom. The period, in which the novel was written, women were confined by traditional gender roles, with most women performing the work traditionally designated for women: marriage and family, or, if employed outside the home, teaching. Isabel Allende strongly believes that empowerment leads to the strength and freedom of a woman; and these views were shared by Henrik Ibsen as this concept echoes throughout their works. From the early sections of the novel, both Nivea and Clara are involved in the suffragette movement and this was not granted to women until 1949. Their participation in the Suffragette group would have been considered socially unacceptable as the right of voting would only be given to the male members, establishing from the very start that Chile is a patriarchal society. Allende tries to establish that empowerment comes through force of conviction, and uses Nivea as an example to show this. We see that women such as Nivea who have acted against societys norm by fighting for political rights go further than those women who accept their traditional role of subservience and remain staunch in their conservatism. They are shown to finish their days alone and mostly forgotten as is seen with Ferula and Nana. The portrayal of Nivea and her funeral which was attended by many is in direct contrast with that of Nana and Ferula. It is quoted that with Nana None of the many children she had raised with so much love attended her funeral.(P 17). Nana is said to have: been born to cradle other peoples children, wear their hand-me-down clothing, eat their left overs, live on borrowed happiness and grief, grow old beneath other peoples roofs die one day in her miserable little room in the far courtyard in a bed that did not belong to her, and be buried in a common grave in a public cemetery.(P 57) Allende uses Nana to sadly reflect on the women who meekly accept their defined role in society of the time. Allende does not only express empowerment through conviction but also through commercial enterprise as seen with Transito Soto. At the start of the novel Esteban lends her 50 pesos allowing her to seek out a career, but by the end of the novel the tide turns and the arrogant sexist Esteban comes to her to beg a favor. Again, by women taking chances and setting goals and dreams which society restricts them from having end up being successful. Allende shoots her views to the reader through her writing by using these female characters to represent Allendes own brand of feminism. Allende establishes early in her novel that when the family was warned of Claras nine-year silence and psychokinetic skills, Trueba considers the prolonged silencea virtue (88). Such a reading of muted female voice is constant in Latin American culture. However we see that the protagonists of the novel are all women who work in different and subtle ways to assert their rights breaking this silence in an assertive manner to get what they want and need in life. Still, . Clara, Blanca, and Alba remain the focus of the story, while Esteban, Pedro Tercero, and Miguel though the males and automatically assumed superiors of society enter the story only because they are the men those women love or marry. Though they are women and regarded as inferiors to society The House of the Spirits shows that this does not mean that men accomplish things and change things while women do not. On the contrary, the women in The House of the Spirits have a more long-lasting effect and create more drastic changes than any of the men do. This has been done by disapproved behavior such as Nivea and her movement or Transito and the prostitute business while the men lead revolutions that topple governments, those revolutions are themselves quickly toppled. Henrik Ibsens play A Dolls House chronicles the attempts of one woman to find freedom in a patriarchal society. The feminist issues in A Dolls House seem almost contemporary, although it was written more than a century ago. Like Allende Dolls House challenges these patriarchal views and shows the audience a fresh perspective on a womans life. Many women could relate to Noras situation and like Nora, they felt trapped in a dolls house by their husbands and their fathers; however, they believed that the rules of society prevented them from stepping out of the shadows of men. Through this play, Ibsen stresses the importance of womens individuality and like Allende Ibsen uses his characters of the play help to support his strong opinions. Noras initial characteristics are that of a bubbly, child-like wife who is strictly dependent on her husband. This subordinate role from which Nora progresses emphasizes the need for change in societys view of women. For Nora, her inferior, doll-like nature is a facade for a deeper passion for individuality that begins to surface during the play and eventually fully emerges in the ending. An example of this deep yearning for independence is shown when Nora tells her friend, Kristina Linde about earning her own money by doing copying. Nora explains, It was tremendous fun sitting [in her room] working and earning money she says; It was almost like being a man (162) Such comments reveal Ibsens presentation of women to be positive; Nora enjoyed working because it empowered her, and whilst accepting the situations of the time, Ibsen portrays women as active, and struggling in an unequal system. The sheltered, feeble wife proves to be a resourceful masculine life-provider, in literally sav ing Torvalds life. In many instances Nora deceives her husband, even though Nora seeks to be independent, she uses her role of obedience to her advantage and does this by deceiving Torvald into thinking that she can do little on her own, she ensures that he never suspects her of forging her fathers name to borrow 800 cronen from Krogstad in order to save Torvalds life. When Krogstad threatens to expose the truth, Nora must use her craftiness to distract Torvald and sway him into letting Krogstad keep his job. She soon comes to realize the she must take the path that is right for her and no one else. She discovers that Torvald is not the man she thought him to be and that he knows nothing of who she really is. In her sudden awareness, she says to Torvald, you dont understand me. And Ive never understood you until tonight. They have lived as strangers to each other. Noras progression from a submissive housewife to an opinionated, independent woman represents the future progression of women in society. Torvalds role illustrates societys inaccurate perception of women. He sees her only as a one-sided character with little or no opinions of her own. As Nora comments, I came to have tastes as yoursor I pretended to. Noras father also contributes to her oppression. He used to tell [Nora] his opinion about everything, and so [she] had the same opinion. Torvald only continues the behavior that she had come to expect from her father. These male figures in Noras life not only limit her beliefs and actions, but also limit her happiness. Like Allende Ibsen uses Torvalds character, and discards the public view of man to expose a more realistic depiction of male superiority. Ibsen attempts in criminalizing the male protagonist; Torvald, his behavior becomes increasingly more erratic near the plays end, affirming an idealistic self-importance, believing that she has become wife and child to him. Moreover, Torvald exhibits considerable emotional disparity which one may stereotypically associate with women; he becomes angry at Nora for her deceptive act, yet once he appears to be in the clear, he deems his outburst to be a moment of anger. Just as Torvald undergoes an apparent transformation, so does Nora; she proclaims that her leaving Torvald and the children is necessary for her, a notion that is typically assumed by males (to consider ones interests first). To portray Nora as such may not be entirely positive, but it is certainly a contemporary, liberal representation. Overall, we see that Nora is now free from her obligations, and rejects Torvalds further assistance. Moreover, Nora the doll (one whose disposition never changes) now leaves her house, and is free to seek a fuller life as a human being, no longer a malleable doll under the control of her master. No women at the time would have dared to do what Nora has, and just like the characters in Allendes novel it is only by daring or committing actions socially unacceptable like Nora did or even as Nivea displayed that these women can truly feel empowered which leads to their freedom or gain of what they needed. Again Allende and Ibsen reverberates their thoughts through the characters and portray the males as the antagonists of the play which leads to the audience or readers to understand and sympathize with their views that their needs to be a change in the way society views women.

The Predatory Organism: Bdellovibrio

Identifying the genes and the proteins to be expressed by this organism during pore formation in the host cell will be of significance to bacteriology. The possible use of this information can be seen in the study done by Kadouri and O’toole. It was established in this report that B. bacteriovorus can be used as a control agent against certain biofilm communities. It was observed that biofilm populations of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas fluorescens were significantly reduced when exposed to B. bacteriovorus.Since biofilm formation is unnecessary and damaging in some instances, inhibition of its formation can be done through natural elimination of the biofilm organisms, and that is through the inoculation of B. bacteriovorus. Another possible application of this predatory organism is through its use as an anti-microbial therapeutic agent. It had been suggested by Hobley et al. that the introduction of this organism to a microbial-infected wound can lead to the reduction of p athogenic organisms in the site of inoculation.In this way, the use of antibiotics can be avoided and possible resistance of disease-causing organisms to the applied drug can be avoided. If the genes responsible for pore formation in the host cell will be identified, the organism can be manipulated to increase the genes’ expression. These can then be enhanced and controlled in accordance to the desired amount and time of expression. II. Aims This paper aims to propose a method on how to determine the necessary and significant enzymes involved in pore formation of the host cell by Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus H100.The specific aims are as follows: 1. Identify the genes of B. bacteriovorus H100 specifically expressed during pore formation in the host cell during the predatory life cycle phase of the organism using time course Microarray analysis. 2. Identify specific hydrolytic enzymes expressed by the identified genes of B. bacteriovorus H100 involved in pore formation on host c ell membrane. III. Background The discovery of Bdellovibrio by Stolp and Starr in 1962 opened the scientific world to the dawn of a new organism- a bacterium which preys on its own kind (12).This bacterium is a curved rod, Gram negative organism classified under the group of delta-proteobacteria. It is a motile bacterium; monotrichously flagellated; obligately aerobic; small in size (0. 3 ? m in width and 1-2 ? m in length); and is obligately predatory. Its genome consists of 3. 85 mega base pairs. Most of these genes encode for enzymes involved in hydrolysis and flagella involved in host sensing (3). The best known species of Bdellovibrio is B. bacteriovorus, observed to prey on other Gram negative organisms such as Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Sphaerotilus natans and Pseudomonas fluorescens (1).The distribution of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is observed in diverse environments; therefore, it is considered to be an ubiquitous bacterium. It was associated in dry environment such as the soil; in wet locations such as brackish water, sewage, fresh water, pooled reservoirs and sea water; and in unique microbial niches such as biofilms (3). The life cycle of this bacterium consists of two stages. The first stage is the so-called free-swimming attack phase and the second stage is known as the intraperiplasmic replication phase. Figure 2 shows a graphical representation of these two stages.The life cycle of B. bacteriovorus takes about three hours to complete. For the initiation of the attack, the monotrichous flagellum is an important facet to consider. Movement is essential in finding the suitable host in the environment. The predatory organism moves towards a region with a high prey concentration. This process is meditated by chemotaxis. It can be seen from the illustration that a critical stage in the predation of B. bacteriovorus is the ability of the organism to penetrate its host bacterium. Upon contact with another Gram negative, B.bacteriovorus then forms a pore in the cell membrane of its host. Initial entrance of B. bacteriovorus is followed by the organism’s penetration of the periplasm. Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus then occupies the periplasmic space of the host cell (3). Without this phase, the other steps in the whole life cycle of the organism cannot be ensured to occur. Figure 3 and 4 shows an electronmicrograph of B. bacteriovorus attaching to a host cell. A specific strain of the bacterium, B. bacteriovorus HD100, was studied by Rendulic, et al. This strain of Bdellovibrio was found to have an unusually large genome.Though this bacterium preys on other Gram negative organisms, its genetic make-up did not comprise of any gene from its host. Furthermore, it was elucidated that the genes present in B. bacteriovorus HD100 are made up of gene families coding for enzymes such as hydrolases and transporters, important in the penetration and killing of the host. These genes also code for enzymes needed for uptake of complex mol ecules (6). One hurdle in studying the molecular characteristics of this organism is its host dependent nature. Without a suitable host, growth cannot be ensured, thus, elucidation of its genetic make-up may be difficult to achieve.Further studies using this bacterium revealed that Bdellovibrio can generate mutant cells that do not require host cells for growth and are therefore known as host independent (HI) strains. Despite this, they were able to retain the ability to grow on prey and hence are termed as facultative predators. For gene manipulation techniques, HI strains are usually used (8). Despite the fact that the complete genome of the organism was already sequenced, the specific genes coding for the needed enzymes to form pores in the host cell were still unidentified.With this lack of information, this study is formulated and designed. IV. Research Design and Methodology Culturing of B. bacteriovorus HD100 on prey dependent and prey independent set-ups: Predatory (HD) cult ures of B. bacteriovorus HD100 will be grown on E. coli in Ca2_-HEPES buffer at 30Â °C, with shaking at 200 rpm (8). Escherichia coli ML35 and E. coli W7-M5 (10) will be used as the prey throughout the experiments. Escherichia coli ML35 will be cultured in nutrient broth (Difco Laboratories), and E. coli W7-M5, a lysine and DAP auxotroph, will be cultured in nutrient broth supplemented with 0.2 mM lysine and 0. 1 mM DAP at 37Â °C with shaking at 200 rpm. Prey-independent HI strains will be plated on rich peptone-yeast extract (PY) medium (8). Synchronous cultures: Synchronous cultures will be used for performing various experiments as described below. Briefly, fresh bdellovibrios will be added to prey cells in HM buffer (3 mM N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid (HEPES)-1 mM CaCl. LQ. One mM of MgCl2 will be adjusted to pH 7. 6 using NaOH (10). The organisms will be grown until a final concentration of 1010 bdellovibrios per ml and 5 x 109 E.coli per ml is reached. For proper aeration, volumes will be kept to ? 20% of the flask’s volume and incubated at 30Â °C with shaking at 400 rpm. Synchronous cultures will be examined at intervals for attachment and penetration with a Nikon model L-Ke microscope (Nippon Kogaku Inc. ) equipped with phase-contrast optics and a Nikon model AF camera. Time course Microarray analysis. Time course Microarray analysis will be performed to identify the genes to be expressed during the entry phase, specifically during pore formation on the host cell membrane of B.bacterovorus H100. Microarray slides of B. bacteriovorus H100 will be ordered from Advanced Throughput, Inc Services. Total cellular RNA will be extracted from B. bacteriovorus H100 cells at entry phase using the RNeasy mid kit (Qiagen). The RNA of the organism will also be extracted during the other stages of infection. This will serve as a reference for comparison of the genes expressed and not expressed at the desired stage. Complementary DNA sy nthesis, fragmentation, labeling, hybridization, staining and washing will be performed according to the Affymetrix B.bacteriovorus H100 GeneChip array expression analysis protocol (Affymetrix). Briefly, cDNA will be synthesized from RNA using Superscript II (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. RNA will be removed by alkaline treatment and subsequent neutralization. Complementary DNA will be purified with QIAquick PCR purification columns (Qiagen). Purified cDNA will be fragmented by DNase I (Amersham) at 37Â °C for 10 min followed by end labeling with biotinddUTP, using an Enzo BioArray terminal labeling kit (Affymetrix), at 37Â °C for 60 min.Hybridization will be performed in an Affymetrix GeneChip hybridization Oven 640. Washing and staining will be performed using an Affymetrix Fluidics Station 400. Arrays will be scanned with an Agilent GeneArray Scanner G2500A. GeneChip scans will be initially analyzed using the Affymetrix Microarray Suite 5. 1 s oftware, from which PivotData tables will be exported. Raw data from the PivotData Tables will be analyzed in GeneSpring software version 6 (Silicon Genetics), using the parameters suggested by Silicon Genetics for analysis of Affymetrix Microarrays. Real-time PCR:Real-time PCR using the Applied Biosystems 7500 Real-time PCR system will be performed to confirm microarray results. RNA will be extracted from B. bacteriovorus H100 at initial phases of predatory life cycle up to entry phase as described above. RNA will be reverse transcribed into cDNA and simultaneously labelled using the iScript One-step RT-PCR kit with SYBR Green (Biorad). RT-PCR reactions will also be performed to amplify cDNA of housekeeping genes (identified from micro array studies) for normalization of fluorescence values. Identifying the specific hydrolytic enzymes of B.bacteriovorus which are involved in pore formation on host cell membrane. Many experiments showed that B. bacteriovorus H100 releases hydrolytic enzymes during predatory life cycle. According to Thomashow and Ritterberg, glycanases and lipopolysaccharideases are required for pore formation in the prey’s peptidoglycan and LPS layers respectively. The glycanase and/or peptidase could be responsible for weakening the peptidoglycan layer of the prey and thereby responsible for permitting conversion of the substrate cell to a spherical shape (10).Tudor et al. proposed another model for penetration. According to them peptidase is responsible for pore formation but not glycanase (11). Specific enzymes involved in pore formation are not known. The genes identified from the time course micro array technique will be mutated as described previously using suicide vector pSSK10. Resulting mutants will be complemented by using vector pMMB206 (8). Mutants will be analysed for the specific enzymes (using 2D-gel electrophoresis) and their actions on host cell i.e, as a glycanase, LPSase or peptidase will be observed by radio labellin g experiments (10). Wild-type B. bacteriovorus H100 and complemented strains will be used as controls. Radio labeling experiments: Escherichia. coli W7-M5, auxotroph for lysine and DAP and cannot metabolize glucosamine, will be radiolabelled as described previously (9,10). Peptide portion of E. coli W7-M5 peptidoglycan will be labelled with [3H] DAP and the lipopolysaccharides and glycan portions of the peptidoglycan will be labeled with [3H]glucosamine.Various mutants and wild-type strains will be tested for predation using this radiolabelled strain. Solubilisation of glucosamine and DAP from labelled prey peptidoglycan will be measured as described previously (11). Briefly, samples taken at intervals will be precipitated with an equal volume of cold 10% trichloroacetic acid for 30 min followed by centrifugation. Resulting supernatants will be assayed for soluble radioactivity in a scintillation counter (Rackbeta II). Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis: The hydrolytic enzymes rele ased by B.bacteriovorus H100 during its predatory life cycle will be analyzed by performing two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Sample preparation for 2D-gel electrophoresis: Escherichia coli ML35 cells will be challenged with B. bacteriovorus H100 wild-type as well as the mutant strain. Culture fluid will be drawn from synchronous cultures during attachment and entry phases of B. bacteriovorus H100. Culture fluid will be centrifuged to discard any cell debris. Proteins in the supernatant will be precipitated using cold acetone. The precipitated proteins will be separated by centrifugation.The precipitated pellet will be air dried and will be dissolved in rehydration solution (8M urea, 2% CHAPS {3-[3-cholamidopropyl)-dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate}, 18 mM DTT, 0. 5% IPG buffer pH range 4-7; Amersham Biosciences), plus a trace of bromophenol blue. Sample protein concentrations will be determined using the BCA protein assay (Pierce). Resulting protein pellet will be subjected to 2D-gel electrophoresis. 2D-gel electrophoresis: Two-dimensional (2-D) gel electrophoresis will be performed according to the method of O’Farrell.Proteins present in the pellet will be resolved on two-dimensional gels using the products and protocols of Amersham Pharmacia Biotech. In the first-dimension, proteins will be resolved by isoelectric focusing on a precast Immobiline DryStrip with a linear pH gradient. This will be followed by electrophoresis using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel on 12. 5% acrylamide gel. For analytical 2-D gel electrophoresis, 100 ? g of sample protein will be applied to the gels and the proteins will be stained with Pharmacia Biotech silver stain kit.For preparative two-dimensional protein gel electrophoresis, 500 ? g of the sample protein will be loaded on the gels and proteins will be visualized using Coomassie blue R-350 (Phast Gel BlueR; Amersham Pharmacia Biotech). Spot analysis will be carried out using PDQuest Image Analysis softw are (BioRad). Spots absent from the mutant sample gel will be manually excised from the wild-type B. bacteriovorus H100 sample gel for identification. Mass spectrometry and protein identification: Excised protein spots of interest will be destained, reduced, carboxymethylated, and digested with trypsin in situ.This will be done overnight with a temperature of 37Â °C as described (8). Gel digests will be centrifuged, and an aliquot of the supernatant will be taken for analysis using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Lists of peptide masses will be generated and searched against the NCBInr database using the Mascot protein identification system (Matrix Science; http://www. matrixscience. com). Sequences of proteins identified by Mascot will be analyzed for a predicted signal sequence using SignalP 3. 0 (http://www. cbs. dtu.dk/services/SignalP/). V. Conclusion The identification of genes responsible for the expression of hydr olytic enzymes of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is of significant importance. Since the organism preys on other bacteria, its special attributes must be thoroughly studied and appreciated for possible useful applications. As mentioned earlier, this predatory organism can be used as a control agent against biofilm, as well as pathogenic organisms. Through the use of natural agents to control destructive and disease-causing bacteria, the use of chemicals and antibiotics can be lessened or avoided.Since the rapid evolution of organisms towards resistance and tolerance to anti-microbial substances is becoming more widespread, an alternative approach to these problems can be useful in the world of bacteriology. Thus, the identification of these genes and hydrolytic enzymes is of utmost importance. The elucidation of this information can be used as a primary defence against harmful microbes if this knowledge will be taken advantage. A more effective predatory role can be performed by Bdellov ibrio bacteriovorus if the genes and the hydrolytic enzymes of the organism will be expressed efficiently and constitutively.

My Philosophy of Education Summary

In most of today’s classrooms we the students are seated in rows of desks. We are forced to sit and listen to the teacher, be it in biology, math, English, and memorize line after line of information. We are â€Å"receptacles† to be â€Å"filled† by the teachers. We have attained â€Å"knowledge† as an absolute if we complete the course with a %100. As society is seeing today, students being given the stamp of approval aren’t really ready to enter today’s world. If you’re going to school to be a biologist, it isn’t just enough to know that water enters and exits the cell through a process called osmosis. You need to know why! You need to be able to see all of this information on a much broader scope than it has been presented to you. Students need to be taught to absorb this knowledge rather than to memorize it. The main problem of today’s educational system is that it most of the times does not teach how to think critica lly. I propose a system of education in which teachers are not just depositing information in students, in which students are not just passive observers in an active world and in which knowledge is not just an absolute. The first thing that needs to be done to achieve my system (philosophy) of education is to change the way teachers are teaching all together. How many times do students talking amongst themselves outside the classroom about how good their teachers are. They go to class and interact with one teacher, and are taught everything from that one teacher’s perspective. In order to give the students a much broader perspective, two or maybe even three teachers, depending on the subject, should be placed in a class room. Each teacher would then present the information to the class. The students would then have a much broader spectrum of information to learn from. I am not implying that these teachers should tag-team forcing information down the student’s throat, but take different approaches in helping them absorb the information through problem posing. The teachers are not placed in this system to stand high up on their pedestals throwing assignments at the students, but are to b e working hand in hand with them. They would be learning from the students almost as much as they would be teaching them. In an educational environment such as this one, the students should be able to stand in the teachers place and teach the teachers and their fellow students as well. The students are active participants here. They should be learning as much from their peers as their teachers, if not more. This system could create a lot more â€Å"work† for the students, but not as much of the â€Å"busy work† we receive, and tire of, today. For example, students could be asked to do reflective writings, in which they would share what they have learned in the lessons. Student lead discussions would also take up a large portion of the time in these classroom environments. What better test of one’s knowledge than being put in a position where you are required to teach your fellow student? After each session both the student and the teach will go home feeling not stuffed with information, but a new view on some things that they would ponder as they head out into the rest of their dail y routines. The basis of this system isn’t what the teachers are teaching, or what the students are learning. It is how we perceive this thing we call knowledge. In this world knowledge isn’t something tangible. It is not viewed as an absolute. Knowledge is an ongoing process that will never have a climax or an end. It is something that will continue to grow and change through the timeline of our people. Knowledge is not what the students are learning, or what the teachers are teaching. It is the process of self-discovery. A teacher could tell a student that when you mix chemical A and chemical B they make chemical C. That isn’t the knowledge. The student can then actually mix chemical A and chemical B and watch them make chemical C. That isn’t knowledge. Knowledge is that individual’s learning of how those to things interact and why when they mix they form chemical C. Knowledge is the process of education through self-discovery. This system I have shown you would change the way education is viewed in this world. If we had teachers that actually â€Å"taught†, and students that questioned the answers they were given, we’d be much better off as a whole. If we keep going the way we’re going†¦ where are all the creative minds going to be coming from in the next few years? If students continue saying that A + B = C, what are we going to do when the world poses us more complex problems that require ingenuity, creativity and drive to solve? We just need to understand that knowledge is not just some gold star, or trophy each of us can achieve, but a method of learning and understanding that our society needs t

Marketing sales and promotion - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 3133 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/10/10 Did you like this example? Executive Summary The promotional campaign on Echidna Walkabout Nature Tours is mainly purposed to create more awareness concerning the destination tours majorly targeting the Chinese markets together with the local domestic tourists. The region is well endowed with various beautiful sceneries which comprises of wild animals such as Koalas and Kangaroos, recreational facilities for surfing and mountain biking expeditions, misty waterfalls and pristine rainforests. The enterprise in line with its mission aims at achieving the following; provide quality and educational wildlife tours to the domestic and international guests, lead on Koala Conservation Days for locals which are conducted once in a month and also they engage in citizen science research conducted on wild Koalas, normally funded by the tours.   Echidna Walkabout Nature Tours will utilize a growth-strategy approach to promote its tourism activities. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Marketing sales and promotion" essay for you Create order Additionally, the main target market will be international tourists from China and local tourists in the region. The main objective of the communication will be to create awareness to the potential customers concerning their products and services that are delivered. Great Ocean Road will form the basis competition as it also provides similar products to those of Echidna Nature Tours.   In order to realize these objectives, different forms of communication will be used comprising of both personal and non-personal forms of communication. A strategy in evaluating the promotional campaign will also be used in determining the success of the campaign. To sum up, budget will be drafted in estimating the costs to be incurred in the campaign so as to make it more successful. Introduction Background of the report This study is purposely made to come up with a complete promotional campaign report to be presented to the management team of the Echidna Walkabout Nature Tours. Through the use of industry and the relevant academic literature, this report will aim at determining a suitable promotional campaign for Echidna Walkabout Nature Tours which will include the target market for the campaign, communication objectives of the promotional campaign as well as the communication channels to be used. The report will finally conclude by evaluating the promotional campaign and drawing a brief budget of the campaign. Overview of the Echidna Walkabout Nature Tours Echidna Walkabout is a social enterprise established in Howe Parade, Port Melbourne VIC, in Australia with a mission to preserve Australian wildlife in the wild. The enterprise was founded in 1993 (Ulrik, 2017). Since then the enterprise has been providing an exceptional wildlife experience in the diversity hotspots of Australia. The enterprise main business is to receive tourists and help them to see the natural behavior of the preserved animals. The enterprise in line with its mission aims at achieving the following; provide quality and educational wildlife tours to the domestic and international guests, lead on Koala Conservation Days for locals which are conducted once in a month and also they engage in citizen science research conducted on wild Koalas, normally funded by the tours. The enterprise supports the culture of the surrounding community as well as engaging itself into a social corporate responsibility. It is also a discrimination free zone which offers equal employment opportunities to all members of the society irrespective of race, gender, sexual preference, religion or disability. The current staff in Echidna Walkabout Nature Tours is comprised of 9 women, 6 men, and 1 LGBT person, one indigenous and 4 people who are almost over 60 years of age (Ulrik, 2017). The team is very determined with relevant skills to drive the organization towards achieving its goals as well as improving the tours and business structure. The main source of income for Echidna Walkabout is tourism. The company mostly depends on domestic tourists with a few international visitations. However, last year the enterprise recorded the highest number of international visitors ranging to 300,000 (Federico 2012, 28). Australia coast is well known for its surf beaches, beautiful hinterland, and good restaurants hence becoming a major destination for European tourists who also walk in the interior parts to see wild animals and natural features.   Recently, it has been discovered that China tourists are also visiting Australia recreational places in large numbers. Due to such a change in the tourism market, this report will propose a promotional campaign that will aim at attracting more tourists to the Echidna Walkabout Nature Tours. Promotional Campaign Strategy Echidna Walkabout Nature Tours will utilize a growth-strategy approach to promote its tourism activities. This strategy will, therefore, incorporate use of advertisement tool in the promotion. Use of advertisements as the promotional tool will reach and persuade visitors to come to Echidna Walkabout Nature Tours instead of going to other tourism destinations and attraction centers. Use of public media and Networking to create public awareness will reinforce the main information and create a relevant brand image of the enterprise (Baker 2014, p234). Furthermore, more emphasize on online initiatives will bridge tourism gap. Promotion of the tourism product has a vital role to play in boosting the number of visitations, the lump sum of money spend per trip, as well as the overall tourism revenues through attractions, experiences, and infrastructure (Berger 2013, p85). Our aim is to concentrate our resources on the best opportunity so as to succeed in attracting customers from our compet itors. This can only be achieved through the creation of fully integrated programs and campaigns. Throughout our advertisement, we intend to focus on the use of social media and electronic advertisements (Men 2014, p256). The social media will play a major role in the promotion of our products through the use of our domestically run websites that will enable our potential customers to research our enterprise, reserves, and book for trips electronically. Lenhart 2007 (120) defined social networking as platforms where people with common interests come together. An example is the Facebook or Myspace (Men 2014, p267). It is easier and cheaper to advertise in social media since it does not involve location or time constraints. We shall post our beautiful sceneries, the wild animal and the design of our enterprise in a more appealing manner so as to position it in the minds of our customers. Target market Use of market segmentation will assist in identifying the distinct groups of consumers to target. The main aim of segmenting the tourism market will be to gain access to the homogeneous group of consumers so as to satisfy their desires, needs, and preferences in a more effective way (Federico 2012, 28). This will be more effective than dealing with the whole market as a mass marketing strategy could do. According to the recent literature review on tourism market segmentation studies, psychographic factors are the most often used to divide the tourism market followed by behavioral. Other variables used to divide the market are geographic, socioeconomic, demographic and lifestyle variables (Andaleeb 2016, p234). Generally, the tourism industry is segmented geographically into domestic and international tourism. Therefore, our main target market will be the international visitors, especially from China. We shall also target the domestic tourists who may not be aware of the existence of Echidna Walkabout Nature Tours. Demographically the tourism market is segmented depending on age, gender, occupation and marital status. According to the study conducted by (Federico 2012, p28), those factors significantly differed among Chinese tourists with the young generation dominating the market. However, we will be targeting all gender as well as the entire age. Depending on occupation we shall not have a specific group. Depending on socioeconomic classes our recreation sites are designed for different classes. The low-income earners will still enjoy our products and services despite the depth of their pockets (Andaleeb 2016, p345). Destination marketing Organization (DMO) The campaign will focus on the DMO strategy that strives in establishing channels that guide the tourist in particular locations in the Australian country. The fliers that the firm designs majorly focus on the beautiful scenarios that will lure the tourist to visit. The list of the major parks and hotels inclusive of the packages and discounts will be at the disposal of the tourist to make a choice. Discounts will be given in the case of bookings of many clients at once. The main aim is geared in convincing the tourist of the most enjoyable places to visit that will have some breath taking environments. (Baker 2014). The promotional campaign will target the tastes of the kind of tourism the visitors want so to define a portfolio that will fit within their budget and preferences. The DMO center forms the guidance point where tourist can log online and search for the places they want to visit in Australia and easily book online for hotels, animal parks for reservation. DMO provide sand y beaches and hotels around for couples wanting honey moon privacy and even for the VIPs. Communication objectives The main objective of our promotional campaign will be to create awareness to our new customers concerning our products, services, and brands. We will aim at retaining our customers as well as attracting more visitors. Another communication objective will be to inspire, educate as well as inform our prospective visitors about the diversity of experience in the Echidna Walkabout Nature Tours. Our communication will also aim at educating our customers on how to enjoy our goods and services. This will manipulate their desire to have a taste of our products. Main Competitor Echidna tours experience competition from different tourism sectors in the country. One of the greatest competitors is the Great Ocean Road which is located on a 243 kilometers stretching road along the South Eastern part of Australia and also situated between two cities namely Allansford and Torquay.   It also stretches by approximately 420 kilometers on the Sothern border of Australia. Great Ocean Road is one of the major tourist attraction in Australia which has beautiful coastal drives and therefore attracts thousands of both local and international tourists from countries such as China on a yearly basis (Kerr 2013, p80). The region also has attractive misty waterfalls and pristine rainforests that form part of the beautiful sceneries in the region. It also associated with various leisure activities such as bushwalking, mountain biking expeditions, and surfing. The region is also a habitat of various wild animals such as kangaroos, koalas, and emus. With such beautiful scenerie s, Great Ocean Road experiences a high number of tourist visitation in the region creating high competition to the Echidna Walkabout Tours which also located in Australia. Communication Channels Based on this promotional campaign, Echidna tours will opt to use various forms of communication channels and this will comprise of both personal and non-personal forms of communication that will be applied during the period of the promotional campaign. Advertising is one of the forms of communication which will be enhanced mainly through social media, use of televisions, newspapers, and magazines. Additionally, the use of advertisement as a form of promotional campaign in reaching information to prospective customers about the Echidna Walkabout Nature tours will be mainly through the use of billboards and fliers that provide the pictorial view of the area. The presentations will be more appealing in order to attract more customers so as to realize high revenues (Berger 2013, p70). The best strategy to deploy to enhance personal communication will be through the creation of an online platform which operates on a 24 hours basis in ensuring that inquiries can be made by people interest ed at any time and providing them with the right information at the required time. The personal communication will be more flexible in ensuring that people receive the right services. The location of the still hand painted standard billboard will be in most of the roundabout as well as road highways that will target most of those who drive since a good percentage of the citizens own vehicles. Some of the billboards will also be situated in various town centers especially in the market areas as well as near most of the shopping centers. The expected time duration in ensuring that the process of the promotional campaign is well accomplished is approximated to be six months which will commence as from 1st March 2013 to 30th August 2013. The proper advertisement will be with the aim of increasing the revenue collected from the tourism sector which is normally expected to increase during high seasons such as the December holidays especially in the sector of domestic tourism.   The placement of the billboard should also be done at Broome International Airport which is a strategic point especially for the international tourists from China alighting in the region (Berge r, 2013, p74). The advertisement will also be made through daily newspapers of the country to ensure that the information is widespread to a large number of population. The publication of such newspapers having different advertisement representing the various tourist sites and animals such as the Kangaroos found in the region provides a broad geographical view of the region, especially to the local and international tourists. Therefore advertising various geographic features and wild life in the Brisbane newspapers will provide tourists with a broader view of the Echidna nature walk tours. The publication of various recreational facilities will also create a positive impression towards the tourists and increase their desire to visit the region. In addition, the use of the digital online system in communication is cost effective and enhances personal communication among various stakeholders (Men, 2014, p267). Campaign Evaluation In order to make an evaluation of the promotional campaign, various factors will be put into consideration. The success of the campaign will be evaluated based on the number of visitation to the Echidna by both the local and international tourists from China who form the basis of the target market. Additionally, increased usage of the social media activities will also be used where the tourists capture various animals and geographic features by photographs and posting such photos on the social media as a way of appreciating their traveling visit to the region. The statistical data will be used to measure the increase in the number of tourists in the year 2013 as compared to the previous year 2012 in which the strategy of promotional campaign was not used in attracting more tourists. The basis in which the data will be collected will originate from the Information Centre used in recording the number of tourist visitations within the region (Federico 2012, p24). Through such comparison s based on the data provided for various years, it is, therefore, possible to determine the percentage in which the number of tourist visitation decreased or increased within the particular period of study. Based on the statistical information provided, it enables someone to determine whether the geographic location has been strategically placed with respect to the target market so as to attract more tourists. The measurement of the effective awareness of the campaign will also depend on the success of the increased number of the local domestic tourists from the region together with other international tourists from countries such as China. The measurement of the success on the use of the online platform as a form of communication will depend on the higher number of the tourists who inquire or are directed on various issues concerning the region. When it is approximated that more than 15000 people used the platform as a way of communication in making inquiries, then it signifies that the promotional campaign was successful (Federico, 2012, p28). In addition, measurement and monitoring of the results obtained from the campaign through the use of advertising method depending on the number of billboards placed in various strategic locations as well as the number of newspapers bought by the local people with regard to the number of people visiting the region will be used in calculating return of investments used in the campaign (Baker, 2014, p56). Therefore, these form the basis of the success of the promotional campaign. Promotional Budget Estimation For the success of the promotional campaign, it is prudent to develop an advertising budget. The total budget estimation for the whole campaign is approximately 150,300 AUS dollars inclusive of all the advertising materials that will be used. However, being that the campaign will last for six months, the budgeted costs of operations will, therefore, be 50,000 AUS dollars. The newspapers that cover the advertisement of the region will be produced after every three weeks which will cost 150 AUS dollars per page used (Lee 2013, p1). Therefore, the total budgeted cost of producing the advertisement through the newspaper is approximated at 300 AUS dollars for the whole six months. The budgeted cost that will be incurred in the purchase of the machines required to provide an online platform for communication will be approximated to be 20,000 AUS dollars which will be inclusive of the training expenses on the employees who might require some training skills on how to manage and operate the new machines. Additionally, there will be budgeted cost of maintaining the machines at approximately 80,000 AUS dollars. The KPI indicators The indication for success will depend on the number of tourists that flock in the company website that materializes on the day of booking. The set standards of the guest that gives positive feedback on the treatment they received indicate either positive or negative thought shapes the operations of the tour guide. Engaging stakeholders in the industry aids in the creation of a robust cohesion of employees and the guest rapport relation that eventually translates to the booming of the business. Conclusion Tourism is a complex phenomenon existing in our times, is a lived experience of life by the tourist destination visitors as well as the domestic residents. Tourism relies on the communication results, intensive inter-human relationship and the collaboration between public and private sectors of the economy. Being a service, it is difficult to standardize and highly perishable hence frequent promotions are needed to keep it going. In connection to that, so as to market our enterprise we intend to use a growth-strategy approach to promote our tourism activities. The strategy will make use of advertisements as the promotional tool so as to reach and persuade visitors to come to Echidna Walkabout Nature Tours instead of going to other tourism destinations and attraction centers. Since our target market will be mainly the international visitors we have decided to use mass media and networking so as to reach more tourists from all over the world. Our main communication objective will be to create more awareness to the potential customers concerning our products and services as well as educating them. To recap, one of the main competitors to Echidna is Great Ocean Road which also attracts a large number of tourists yearly due to its beautiful sceneries. Different channels of communication will be deployed in ensuring that information reaches a large number of people and this is mainly through advertisement and personal communication through an online platform. Therefore the evaluation of the promotional campaign will be done based on the number of tourists visitation in the region and thus a budget estimate will be essential in approximating the cost to be incurred in the campaign.