Foods Connection Individual and Cultural Identity Essay

Sleep, sex, and food are the three most important aspect of a human life. Each of them represents resting, reproducing, and surviving – essential elements that form the foundation of human culture and society. The status of these elements always represents the social stature and cultural ideology, of the desire or dislike of people. Some standards are universal, while some are uniquely formed through generations of different cultural traditions. Food in this case might be the most simple and yet the hardest ideology of desire for anthropologists to catch. Its meaning is never as plain as a recipe of a cooking book, but always attached with the cultural and psychological ideology that is connected with individual and cultural identities.†¦show more content†¦Rozin used the example of food allergy in this case: people who are allergic toward shrimp may not prefer shrimp in their dinner, and yet like the taste of shrimp. When they are introducing to anti-allergic medicin e of shrimp, they now have this food option available and actively choose to eat (Rozin, P. 1987. P.186). In this case shrimp is regarded as a food type that represent dangerous, and when the danger of the food is removed, it will become edible again. Same theory can be found on the case of globefish easting. On the other hand, while the avoidance of food usually comes with rational reasons, Rozin believes that the liking of food is more complicated and difficult to find regular motivation. He used a typical example of chili pepper to explain the complexity of food liking: a food category that contains criteria of avoidance such as mouth pain and irritant spicy taste (1987. P.190). Indeed there are numbers of physical benefits of chili consuming, but the psychological motivation is more decisive in this case. With enough amount of exposure to chili, Rozin argued that the aversion of spicy taste will turn into a seeking of thrill, â€Å"in the same sense that the initial terror of a rollercoaster ride or parachute jumping is replaced by pleasure† (1987. P.191). On the other hand, the mouth pain caused by chili consumingShow MoreRelatedFood, In Itself, Is A Social Concept, A Perception Of An1721 Words   |  7 PagesFood, in itself, is a social concept, a perception of an idea that is constructed through cultural and social practice. Food is constructed through cultural practice, defined by its particular usage and representation among particular ethnic and cultural groups. Therefore, food’s significance is much more than simply satiating hunger. Take religious restrictions on pork, for example. What reason caused Islam’s belief in the pig as haram, considering it is eaten by the vast majority of the world?Read MoreThe Relationship Between Food, And Culture1433 Words   |  6 Pagesabout them. Their food choices of individuals and groups, can reveal their ideals, likes and dislikes. Food choices tell the stories of where people have travel led and who they have met along the way. You are what you eat, is a common phrase characterizing the idea of food and identity. Several questions that discuss the notion of using food as a cultural clue will be addressed, such as: What do food choices represent? How do food choices represent cultural identity? Is it important to recognize theRead MoreThis project examines the construction of subjectivity in Eleanor Antin’s Carving: A Traditional2700 Words   |  11 Pagesfeminine and food. Instead, it locates these practices as a site of complex and, at times, resistant subjectivities. At the heart of my reading is recent sociological and anthropological theories on food’s role in the construction and signification of the subject and its relationship to the social and cultural order. My reading also incorporates psychoanalytic theories addressing the formation of subjectivity through pre-libidinal encounters with sustenance. This breadth of theories is essential, as theRead MoreFood and Culture: a Cross Cul tural Look at Eating Habits5618 Words   |  23 PagesFood and Culture: A Cross Cultural Look at Eating Habits No matter where we are from, eating is one of the most personal experiences of life. Everyone finds enjoyment and comfort in eating foods associated with their early days and heritage, but personal sensations and perceptions on eating are merely a fraction of the global picture. Learning about other cultures, their values, and what they seek will enhance relationships between individuals throughout communities and the nation. Eating habitsRead MoreTrader Joes Internalization7066 Words   |  29 Pagescompetitive space with a unique fifth P: â€Å"culture† in more the traditional four P’s of marketing: product, place, price and promotion. While other retailers have developed internal organization cultures and internal management philosophy. For example, Whole Food’s â€Å"highest quality†, â€Å"least processed†, â€Å"natural preserved†, â€Å"self-managed teams†. Trader Joe’s became the only store where customers are integr al to creating the shopping experience. The shopping experience that is â€Å"innovative »,  «unique† and â€Å"interestingRead MoreProcessed Cheese and Kraft Foods30876 Words   |  124 Pagesemergent strategies. Many planned strategies are not implemented because of unpredicted changes in the environment (they are unrealized). Emergent strategies are the unplanned responses to unforeseen circumstances. They are autonomous action by individual managers deep within the organization, from serendipitous discoveries or events, or from an unplanned strategic shift by top-level managers in response to changed circumstances. They are not the product of formal top-down planning mechanism. ThroughoutRead Morepaul hoang answers72561 Words   |  291 Pagesoften difficult to separate the two. Amoy Food acted unethically by misleading customers into believing that its products were free from MSG (i.e. by making false advertising claims). However, some might argue that the traces of MSG found in Amoy Food’s products were not deliberate; although this could raise issues of quality  © Paul Hoang and IBID Press    20 assurance. Amoy Food also acted illegally because of the potential health issues arising from its wrongdoing. Hong Kong also enforcesRead MoreExploring Corporate Strategy - Case164366 Words   |  658 Pagesbe the ‘blockbuster’. Like ‘killer applications’ in the software market, blockbuster drugs are genuine advances that achieve rapid, deep market penetration. Because of their superlative market performance, blockbusters determined the fortunes of individual companies. Glaxo went from being a small player at the beginning of the 1980s to a top-tier global company, on the strength of a single drug – Zantac for stomach ulcers. A blockbuster drug was typically a long-term therapy for a common disease that

Difference Between Personnel Management And Human Resource...

Unit 21 LO1: Understand the difference between personnel management and human resource management 1.1: Distinguish between personnel management and human resource management: Personnel management and Human Resource management (HRM) are two distinct types of management. Personnel management is a traditional approach which is not an executive management of people with in a business, but focuses on personnel administration, employee welfare and labour relations. Whereas Human Resource Management (HRM) is a more modern approach of managing people and their strengths with in a business by focusing on acquisition, development, motivation and maintenance of human resources (i.e. the employees, which are the most valuable resources) in the organisation in order to achieve a desirable output. A development in personnel management leads to human resource management. 1.2: Assess the function of the human resource management in contributing to organisational purposes: The human resource management (HRM) has many functions of contributing to organisational purpose. The HRM performs tasks such as: †¢ Shortlist and selection of employees to work for the organisation. †¢ Recruitment of new staff. †¢ Payroll administration of the hours worked and the according wage/salary to be given. †¢ Employee motivation by finding ways to increase an employee’s enthusiasm through reward systems. †¢ Reward management such as reward systems and finding ways of rewarding employees for their hard work. †¢Show MoreRelatedConcept and Origin of Human Resource Management1869 Words   |  7 Pagesinherent part of management, which is connected to an organizations human resource. It aims at maintaining better human relations in the organizations development, application, and evaluation of policies. This includes procedures and programs that relate to human resource to optimize their contribution in their quest for organizational goals. Concisely, human resource management deals with achieving better results with collaboration of people (Drucker, 2002). Personnel management is an integral butRead MoreThe Differences Between a Human Resource Manager and a Personal Manager1313 Words   |  5 PagesThe difference between human resources manager and personal manger The main difference between human resources management and personnel management is that personnel management is considered to be out dated or more of a traditional approach, whereas human resources management is the Morden approach of most organisations and that is because human resource tend to represent the new style of managing employees in an organisation. When it comes to comparing the two approaches, we find that personnel managementRead MoreHuman Resource Management Is No More Than ‘Old Wine in New Bottles’.966 Words   |  4 PagesHuman resource management is no more than ‘old wine in new bottles’. Discuss. ‘’HRM is regarded by some personnel managers as just a set of initials or old wine in new bottles. It could indeed be no more and no less than another name for PM ’’ ( Armstrong, 1987) First we have to understand the meaning of HRM, but attempts to define HRM precisely have resulted in confusion and contradiction rather than clarity [Price, 1997]. However, according to Storey (1989) Human resource management is a completelyRead MoreThe Importance Of A Good Human Resource Department1748 Words   |  7 PagesA good human resource department is essential to any successful businesses in today’s society. Before human resource managers were seen as people who deal with employee disputes and little more, now this is just one small part of their role to organisations. Human resource is a huge department for reasons as being a key planner in helping company’s employee performances. In this essay I will be exploring the different types of personnel management that is used, assessing the roles of human resourceRead MoreHrm, the Difference Between Hrm and Personel Management998 Words   |  4 Pages1-The difference between human resource management and personne l management. Human resource management and personnel management are a little bit the same. Personnel management is one of the parts of human resource management. Human resource management examines or looks after the wide abstract principle of human resource. It deals with organizational management, personnel administration, industrial management, manpower management, personnel training and development, and organizational developmentRead MoreHuman Resource Management ( Hrm )1562 Words   |  7 PagesHuman resource management (HRM) is an important strategic and systematic approach that provides each company with the opportunity to create policies and practices, as well as to establish administrative forms (Pfeffer, 2007). According to Armstrong (2009) HRM is an approach that deals with ‘employment, development, and well-being of the people working in organizations’. However HRM has evolved significantly through the years due to the rapid social, economic, political and environmental changes.Read MoreThe Transition Of Personnel Management1425 Words   |  6 PagesINTRODUCTION: The transition of Personnel Management to Human Resource Management (HRM) which emerged on the scene in the late 1980s, produced a paradigm shift in the area of workforce management. In context of the above, Storey (1989:4) said, Whether to applauded or derided, the concept has come to represent one of the most controversial signifiers in managerial debate in the 1980s. Though the term HRM is not considered new in management literature but it gained significance and accepted in seriousRead MoreArgument of Hr1723 Words   |  7 Pagesbusiness management, HR is the core position. It is important for a wise leader to consider HR as the main part and power of the management. Because of the important role of HR, the human resources managers are demanded to have professional skills of HR. So the brief that â€Å"Anyone can do HR† is not right. At the same time, costs which must be controlled is just one of functions of the HR department. 2. Introduction Human resources management refers to a series of corporate human resources policiesRead MoreThe Roles and Resposibilies of the Line Mangers in Virgin Atlantics Human Resource Management998 Words   |  4 PagesLONDON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT NQF level 4: BTEC Higher National – H1 UNIT NO: 21 UNIT TITLE: Human Resource Management ASSIGNMENT NO: 1 ASSIGNMENT TITLE: Human Resource Management UNIT OUTCOMES COVERED: LO 1. Understand the difference between personnel management and human resource management LO 2. Understand how to recruit employees LO 3. Understand how to reward employees in order to motivate and retain them LO 4. Know the mechanisms for the cessation of employment Read MoreHistorical Development Of Personnel And Human Resource Management1107 Words   |  5 Pagesorganisation the human resource management department is very important. It is essential to keep employees happy for companies to achieve the maximum profits. This reports main aim is to cover the historical development of personnel and human resource management and how it has changed from the days of Robert Owen in the Victorian era to the 21st century. This report will also include definitions of personnel and human resource management along with their main functions. DEFINITION OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Code of Professional Conduct for Lawyers in Australia

Question: Discuss about the Code of Professional Conduct for Lawyers in Australia. Answer: Introduction The report aims at devising a series of interview questions which could help in understanding the impact of the ethical and professional behavior on the legal environment. The report also requires to conduct research of the professional body and the lawyers in Australia The report would be helping in understanding the issues associated with the legal aspects in the country. The main aim is to understand how they manage and police their codes in order to eradicate the issues. The interview is to be conducted on the basis of the questions being formulated. The conduction of interview would be helping in acquiring useful and relevant information related to the professional conduct in the legal profession as followed by the professional bodies and lawyers in Australia. Report on the research for the professional body Introduction Law Council of Australia is a professional body that regulates and governs the professional code of conduct and rules for the Australian legal profession, which is required to be followed in the law societies and bar associations of the states and territories across Australia (Curran et al, 2014). The report aims at devising a series of interview questions which could help in understanding the impact of the ethical and professional behavior on the legal environment. The face to face interview is conducted on the members of the body. The report requires to conduct research of the Law Council of Australia related to the law sector in Australia. This research would be helping in understanding the issues associated with the legal aspects in the country. The main aim is to understand how they manage and police their codes in order to eradicate the issues. The interview is to be conducted on the basis of the questions being formulated in order to get the useful and relevant information rel ated to the ethics in the profession as followed by the professional body in Australia. Interview questions 1: What are the issues faced by the body while working in the nursing sector? The Law Council of Australia has to constantly deal with the situations that compromise the rules and regulations in the law sector (Harris Hargovan, 2016). The regulatory body also needs to resolve the legal isssues in order to safeguard the obligations and ethical principles. Moreover, the body also needs to regulate the actions to be followed in the law sector and check if the professional conduct is implemented in every state and territory across Australia. The various issues which the council needs to solve is the aftermath of the inability of the lawyers to resolve the matters of their respective clients, intensive cases, dispute in the justice, and legal issues related toi the formal and informal management of situations. 2: How do you manage and police their code? Law Council of Australia helps in developing a single and uniform set of rules which every state and territory in Australia need to follow (Campbell Lindsay, 2014). These set of rules governs the ethical and proifessional conduct of the lawyers practicing all over Australia. The rules are first released in the form of consultation drafts which the council carefully considers and decides on implementing the same in public. The most common legal issues requiring legal consent are the fraud or deception cases, negligence in the part of individuals, drug or alcohol abuse, conviction of a criminal offense and abusive behavior. 3: How do they communicate with the members? The Law Council of Australia comprises of the organization structure that is followed in the law profession. The board comprises of committees who are responsible for developing the rules and regulations related to the law sector. These set of rules governs the ethical and proifessional conduct of the lawyers practicing all over Australia. The rules are first released in the form of consultation drafts which the council carefully considers with the help of Professional Ethics Committee (Zander, 2015). The approval of the rules are then approved by the State Government for the state and territories in Australi to follow. 4: Legal ramifications if the code is breached? The Law Council of Australia is responsible for creating the Administrative disciplinary actions for the common people including lawyers who do not properly follow ethics in the working environment. This unethical conduct may lead to implicate strict actions under the Administrative law actions (Curran et al., 2014). If the board imposes a punishment on the lawyers, the disciplinary actions to be taken can be one or more of the following: Suspension of the license of the lawyers Revocation of the license Reprimand letter to be published in the reports of the board Admonishment letter in the file of the lawyers Fine imposition Probation for continuing the practice Conclusion The report deals in conducting research of the professional body related to the law sector in Australia in order to understand the issues related to the profession in the country. The regulatory bodies including Law Council of Australia are repsonsible for implicating the rules and regulations in the country such that to maintain the standards of the law practice. The interview is to be conducted on the basis of the questions being formulated in order to get the useful and relevant information related to the ethics in the profession as followed by the lawyers and law governing bodies in Australia. Report for the interview with a professional Introduction Lawyers are the professionals who are responsible for conducting the professional ethics and maintaining standards related to the law sector, within the working environment and in practice (Heineman et al, 2014). The main objective of the report is to devise a series of interview questions in order to understand how the ethics and professional behavior impacts on the real work life environment of the lawyers in Australia. The interview is conducted on the lawyers face to face. The report also requires conducting research of the nursing sector in Australia in order to understand the issues that the lawyers have to face in the country. The main aim is to understand how they manage their codes in order to eradicate the issues. The interview is to be conducted on the basis of the questions being formulated in order to get the useful and relevant information related to the ethics in the profession as followed by the lawyers in Australia. Interview questions 1: How aware are you of the codes as governed by your professional bodies? The lawyers are aware of the fact that their code of conduct in the practice is responsible for building and maintaining public trust in the profession. The lawyers are professionals and are aware of the undertaking attributes that are within their scope of practice. This awareness help the lawyers to gain knowledge about the ethics and professional code of conduct help them in maintaining the standards of their profession such that to bring credit upon the reputation of the same in the long run (Freedman, 2012). 2: What is the influence of the codes on their behavior? The impact of the professional code of conduct in the behavior of the lawyers is such that they maintain competence within their participation in the profession. This maintenance of competence within their profession helps them in maintaining and upgrading their skills and knowledge relevant to the practice in the professional settings (Pepper, 2015). 3: What can the consequences in their career if you breach either your professional bodys code or the organizations code/s? The Law Council of Australia is responsible for creating the Administrative disciplinary actions for the lawyers which if not properly followed in the working environment may lead to implicate strict actions under the Administrative law actions (Curran et al., 2014). The lawyers are aware of the fact that they being subjected to the following implications if they are found to breach certain rules or code of ethics: The lawyers are liable to be suspended and their licenses to be evocated Fine could be imposed on them They could be terminated from conducting the practice in the future Conclusion The report deals in conducting research on the practices related to the law sector in Australia in order to understand the issues related to the lawyers in the country. The report aims at understanding how they manage and follow the professional codes in order to eradicate the issues. There are certain legal aspects and standards which the lawyers should be aware of such that to provide standard services in the future. The interview is to be conducted on the basis of the questions being formulated in order to get the useful and relevant information related to the ethics in the profession as followed by the lawyers in Australia. Reflections on the similarities and differences in expectations Similarities From the analysis of the interview being conducted on the professional body and the individual lawyers working in the sector, it can be evident that code of professional conduct and ethics is the major link between both the parties which the parties abide by, while operating in the working environment. There are certain rules which both the parties need to implement in order to get quality outcomes of the law profession. Both the parties give same adherence to the codes and conduct that is required to be maintained in the working environment. Moreover, the maintenance of competence includes the participation in the education related to the ongoing profession such that to maintain and upgrade appropriate skills and knowledge associated with the law practices. Besides, they are also aware of the undertaking activities, scope of practice, knowledge, competency, and lawful authority related to the current practice. Differences The major difference between the board and the lawyers is that the Law Council of Australia helps in governing the policies, rules and regulations which the lawyers are required to implement in their practices. However, it should be noted that the policies, rules and regulations are also applicable to the board members and are liable to legal actions if any of them are found to breach the professional code of conduct and ethics within the working environment that could compensate with the legal standards. Reflections on the analysis From the analysis of the interview, it could be evident that the Code of Professional conduct for lawyers is a set of standards which is required to be followed in the law societies and bar associations of the states and territories across Australia. The code helps in governing the law profession which is expected to implement standard practice in a professional manner. Lawyers have the responsibility to impart legal aspects the individual society such that to convey justice to the needs of the community, individual groups and profession. On the other hand, there are regulatory bodies that are responsible for the development and implications of the policies, rules and regulations for the lawyers to abide by the same. The policies and procedures as implemented by the regulatory bodies help in improving the effectiveness of the accreditation, assessment and monitoring of the practices and programs related to the legal aspects in the society and community. Conclusion The report also requires conducting research of the professional body and the lawyers in Australia in order to understand the issues related to the profession bodies and the lawyers in the country. The main objective of the report is to understand how they manage and police their codes in order to eradicate the issues. The report helps in devising a series of interview questions for the lawyers and the professional bodies related to the sector in order to understand how the ethics and professional behavior impacts on the real work life environment of the law profession. The report then, helps in analyzing the similarities and differences from the outcome of the interview of both the lawyers and the professional bodies related to the sector. The interview is to be conducted on the basis of the questions being formulated in order to get the useful and relevant information related to the ethics in the profession as followed by the professional bodies and lawyers in Australia. References Campbell, S., Lindsay, K. (2014). Lawyers of the future: Creating aspirations, forging connections and facilitating professional links in rural and regional contexts.International Journal of Rural Law and Policy, (2). Curran, L., Dickson, J., Noone, M. A. (2014). Pushing The Boundaries or Preserving the Status Quo? Designing Clinical Programs to Teach Law Students a Deep Understanding of Ethical Practice.International Journal of Clinical Legal Education,8, 104-122. Freedman, M. H. (2012). A Critique of Philosophizing About Lawyers Ethics.Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics,25(89), 11-07. Harris, J., Hargovan, A. (2016). Chartered secretary: Productivity Commission safe harbour proposal for insolvent trading.Governance Directions,68(1), 9. Heineman Jr, B. W., Lee, W. F., Wilkins, D. B. (2014). Lawyers as Professionals and as Citizens: Key Roles and Responsibilities in the 21st Century. Pepper, S. L. (2015). Three Dichotomies in Lawyers' Ethics (with Particular Attention to the Corporation as Client).Geo. J. Legal Ethics,28, 1069. Zander, M., 2015.The law-making process. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Critical Analysis of Women’s Representation free essay sample

Through the interpretation of texts, and subsequent creation of social reality, mediated representations are often seen to be presented within the certain of ideological discourses that reflect the existing power structures. The main objective of this paper is to analyze television commercials with an emphasis on gender roles to decode the main elements of a dominant discourse (preferred readings) and representation mechanisms; and the elements relationships with ideology, hegemony and power relations in reproducing a dominant discourse. Grounded in an interdisciplinary theoretical framework of cultural studies and critical studies perspectives, the two-layer analysis is used in this paper – a semiotic and critical discourse analysis of television commercials with an emphasize on gender roles and ideology. The results demonstrate that the TV advertisements selected in this paper represent dominant gender relations and reproduce traditional values. Furthermore, these representations illustrate a contradiction between society and media in gender roles. Keywords TV advertisements. Representation of women. Gender roles. Critical discourse analysis. Ideology. 1 Ali Hajimohammadi PhD Candidate, Cultural and Media Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran, PO Box 773/14395, Jalal Al e Ahmad AVE, Tehran, Iran. e-mail: [emailprotected] com Published Online: 15 January 2011 108 Introduction The research is placed within the cultural studies perspective that assumes an intertwined relationship between the production and reproduction of symbolic meanings and actualized meanings. From a cultural studies perspective, the study of womens representation in mainstream television advertisements with emphasize on gender roles is embraced. Media has an important role in representation of different groups in a society, but television, as the most popular medium, plays a significant role in representing and shaping attitudes. Advertising, as one of the television genres, is a prominent discourse type in virtually all contemporary societies (Cook, 2005). In addition to information regarding services and products, it constructs a secondary discourse about society and power relations. Gender relations are one of the secondary discourses that advertisements construct. The image of woman and man in media, particularly in television, is essential for the understanding of social practices, social interactions and ideology. Therefore, advertising has an important role in the representation of gender in a society. Advertising, as a powerful force, often reflects and enhances the social ideologies that it selectively endorses. At the same time, advertising is a cultural environment challenged by ideological discourses in the society and is constantly evolving in response to the shifting power relations between social groups. In addition, advertising considered as a cultural form and discourse is a site in which different subjectivities struggle to impose or challenge, to confirm, negotiate or displace definitions and identities† (Gledhill, 1988, p. 72). On the other hand, representations are directly associated with collective meanings, power relations, status hierarchies, resistance, alliances or conflicts that may exist in the public sphere. Thus, it is a common belief among scholars that the representation of gender relations actually reflects the social, cultural, political and economic values of the society (Dines Humez, 1994; Gauntlett, 2002). Recent studies in relevant literature have illustrated that the present systems of mass communication express to a considerable extent gender representations of the dominant Published Online: 15 January 2011 09 patriarchal ideology (Brunsdon, 2000; Shattuc, 1997). Accordingly, television programs mirror dominant gender relations and patriarchal values that still remain in post-modern societies (Van Dijk, 1993). Representation of women in the media, especially television, is an important issue in social communication and cultural studies, since media has an important role in communities. Media typically carries dominant values, cultural elements, and dominant ideology in any society. In Iran, despite changes in the representation of women in television, dominant discourse in advertising is evident, thus challenging the dominant regimes of representation should be considered. Utilizing a critical approach, the mainstream television commercials represent women and gender roles is going to be investigated. This study also aims to explore the intersections of gender and ideology that are embedded in television advertising. Research Approach Cultural studies have linked communication, consumption and cultural transformation to identity through the analysis of both media texts and living experiences (Muhammad, 2003). In terms of method, the cultural studies perspective raises questions that emphasize qualitative and interdisciplinary modes of investigation. In this paper, critical discourse analysis is used as a linguistic tool in cultural studies. According to the purpose of this study, the following research questions serve as the guidelines for analyzing the advertisements: How are women represented in television commercials? What are the common mechanisms in presenting female characters in television How do television commercials conceptualize women in relation to the dominant What are the socio-cultural mechanisms and ideologies that play a role in How does the dominant discourse become naturalized in television commercials? commercials? male culture and for what reason? shaping these representations? To answer these research questions, a qualitative analysis method is used. A ajor criticism against quantitative research on the evaluation of gender roles focuses on this aspect that statistical content analysis usually describe the visual elements of audiovisuals, easily recognizable and clearly measurable factors but do not provide an in-depth reasoning about the hidden ideologies and the social interaction of the production procedures (Norenee, 1977). Furthermore, quantitative analyses usually do not investigate advertising as an intermediary system between economy, culture and society (Pazarzi Tsangaris, 2008). In this respect, a qualitative study is conducted – a textual analysis that studies all the elements in which femininity is conceived, constructed and projected in society through three TV commercials. Textual analysis has been widely used within the cultural studies to uncover the preferred meanings encoded in a text. Specifically, this textual analysis is intended to show how ideology and meanings are accepted and conceptualized by TV commercials to define a woman (or man) in mediated culture. This is especially true in the analysis of TV advertising because textual analysis often deals with a relative smaller number of texts, but seeks to get into the beneath of the surface, the denotative meanings, to examine more implicit, connotative, and symbolic meanings, through the researcher? s interpretation rather than systematic measuring. By uncovering the connotative meanings and the deeper social and marketing ideologies shaping these images and messages, one can reach to this understanding of how women are being represented and gender roles constructed and ideology enacted in advertisement. The critical discourse analysis not only concentrates on visual issues and constructing meanings, but it also focuses on the question of how these meanings reflect or support the dominant patriarchal ideology and naturalization of dominant discourse in the society. As mentioned earlier, commercial advertisements are cultural phenomena in the society. Different methods are used to study cultural phenomena, but cultural studies Published Online: 15 January 2011 111 like other qualitative forms of sociological inquiry, inevitably emphasize on â€Å"circle of meaning† which is inspired by Derrida (1979) and Laclau and Moufee (1985). For these thinkers, nothing exists outside of discourse; and race, gender, nationality and class are discursive. Consequently, â€Å"semiotic approach cannot explore their strategies. In semiotic approach, representation was understood on the basis of the ways words functioned as signs within language, but in a culture, meaning often depends on longer units of analysis – narratives, statements, group of images, the whole discourses which have acquired widespread authority. Therefore â€Å"semiotics seemed to confine the processes of representation to the language and to treat it as a closed, rather static system† (Hall, 2003, p. 2). It is the fundamental basic of development from semiotics to metatextual analysis. Subsequent developments became more concerned with representation as a source of production of social knowledge and power relation that led to critical discourse analysis and its different approaches. Considering the main vocabulary and purpose of critical discourse analysis (Van Dijk, 2003) and the formations of cultural studies (Barker, 2003), it can be concluded that gender and representation are the main areas of critical discourse analysis and cultural studies. In other words, they are the shared subject of many researches in these fields. Since approaches of critical discourse analysis are complicated and numerous, and cultural fields also involve a vast part of the community, explaining the interaction between methods of discourse analysis and cultural studies in a brief article like this is not possible. Therefore, the focus is going to be on a certain approach of critical discourse analysis to achieve a clear and perfect vision of cultural phenomena. As mentioned above, the analysis of representation should go beyond the semiotic approach to provide a more complete analysis. The analysis of gender representation has to go beyond semiotics approach and utilize a discourse approach. Laclau and Mufee? s (1985) approach is the appropriate theoretical framework of analyzing text for the whole discourses embedded in advertising about gender roles and its discourses. Published Online: 15 January 2011 112 Explanation of the theoretical principles of Laclau and Mouffe? s (1985) theory and utilizing it as the method of analysis is not impossible here. This theory is primarily based on Foucauldian interpretation and manifesto of macro semantic system. It helps researchers to identify discursive distinction and antagonism among discourses and floating signifiers to determine what discourses they produce and which discourses are highlighted or marginalized. Questions like whether it also demonstrates the interaction of them over the definition of signifiers, or how television advertisements, according to this theory, reinforce and reproduce the dominant discourse and dominant patriarchal system. Hence, the two-layer analysis is used in this paper – a semiotics and critical discourse analysis of television commercials. Grounded in an interdisciplinary theoretical framework of cultural studies and critical studies perspectives, the present research can contribute to the current understanding of how TV commercials represent women and how the dominant male discourse becomes naturalized. The common advertising strategies targeting gender roles are examined to illuminate how gender roles are encoded in TV advertising texts, how woman is defined through consumption ideologies, and how advertising constructs subjective positions. Therefore, a detailed analysis of advertising representations of women and the preferred meanings in advertising are presented. Sampling The main sampling method in this paper is purposive sampling, the most common sampling method in qualitative research (Creswell, 2007). The purposive sampling approach is used when samples are chosen because they have particular features of characteristics that will enable detailed exploration and understanding of the central questions that the researcher intends to study,