...Oprah, Obama, and the 2008 Democratic Primary Craig Garthwaite Department of Economics University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742 Vmail: 202-746-0990 Email: cgarthwaite@gmail.com Tim Moore Department of Economics University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742 Vmail: 301-442-1785 Email: moore@econ.umd.edu August 2008 Abstract Candidates in major political contests are commonly endorsed by other politicians, interest groups and celebrities. Prior to the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary, Barack Obama was endorsed by Oprah Winfrey, a celebrity with a proven track record of influencing her fans’ commercial decisions. In this paper, we use geographic differences in subscriptions to O! – The Oprah Magazine and the sale of books Winfrey recommended as part of Oprah's Book Club to assess whether her endorsement affected the Primary outcomes. We find her endorsement had a positive effect on the votes Obama received, increased the overall voter participation rate, and increased the number of contributions received by Obama. No connection is found between the measures of Oprah's influence and Obama's success in previous elections, nor with underlying local political preferences. Our results suggest that Winfrey’s endorsement was responsible for approximately 1,000,000 additional votes for Obama. JEL Classification Numbers: D7; D72 We are grateful to Bill Evans for his comments and guidance. We also would like to thank Kerwin Charles, Allan Drazen...
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...By any definition of the word, Oprah Winfrey is a leader, someone who has the influence and power to guide others. And when you look at the definition of charismatic – possessing an extraordinary ability to attract - there is no denying that Winfrey would transcend normal leadership to be categorized as a charismatic leader. Although she does lead groups of employees in her media empire, her leadership influence is primarily seen in her ability to influence viewers of The Oprah Winfrey Show and readers of ‘O’ magazine. In what is often called “The Oprah Effect”, when Oprah endorses an idea or product, everyone wants a piece of it. For example, when Oprah began her book club in 1996 whereby she selected a book for discussion on her show and encouraged her audience to read the book, she single-handedly bolstered the publishing industry and book sales (Hussain, 2007). We’re talking about the type of spike in sales that have never before been seen in history. She has been called the most influential person in the world. According to Wong (2006), you won’t see Oprah doing traditional endorsements such as getting paid to have her name associated with any certain brand of clothing or shoes, but rather Winfrey aims to share what she is passionate about with others. And if you happen to be in the business of selling something Oprah is passionate about, then you are in for a windfall. Her influence, however, goes beyond spiking retail sales. That is simply a fortunate by-product...
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...I am creating everything in this school that I would have wanted for myself- so the girls will have the absolute best that my imagination can offer” Leadership Academy and 7 Fountains I will now speak about the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. Oprah built this state-of-the-art academy to provide the girls with a place that inspired them to dream beyond what their life had previously shown them, to let them experience what the world has to offer. She also built the academy to change the way a culture feels about what women can do and to also make good her promise to Nelson Mandela in Dec 2000 that she would build his country a top notch boarding school for disadvantaged girls. However, public criticisms were levied at (1) at Oprah's extravagance and luxury in creating Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy. They labelled it as a “vanity project” as the school had cost over $40 million US dollars yet it educated only about 75 girls per cohort and had non-essential amenities such as a yoga studio and beauty salon. Many suggested Oprah's money could have been used to educate more students if those luxuries were spared and labelled her noble act as “elitist”. In response to the criticisms, our group would like to point out the fact that Oprah was not wrong to have a no expense spared philosophy on African girls. After all she was fighting for a worthy cause she believes in and it was her own money. It is great that she chose a project that is meaningful to...
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...who seeks a profitable opportunity and takes the necessary risks to set up and operate a business” (Boone & Kurtz, 2011). There are several different types of entrepreneurs however profit oriented and socially responsible entrepreneurs will be analyzed. Oprah Winfrey, a profit oriented entrepreneur, in my opinion has transformed the culture with her media empire to become one the world’s most wealthy individuals to date. At the other end of the spectrum, Shazi Visram is a socially responsible entrepreneur that has transcended to the forefront of organic premium baby food. Both of these entrepreneurs have taken risks in order to reach and engage their audiences through their selective approaches to business. Profit Oriented Entrepreneur Oprah Winfrey is an entrepreneur, visionary, pioneer, television producer and philanthropist. She is the founder and CEO of Harpo Productions, Inc., which is a media outlet for her daytime talk show, movies, radio station, magazine and website. Her nationally acclaimed company provides a source of entertainment for millions of viewers in several different countries. “Oprah was the richest African American of the 20th century and the world’s only Black billionaire for three years running (Oprah Winfrey, 2011).” Oprah’s leadership is relayed through her charismatic personality, her commitment to education, her visionary ability to inspire, influence and persuade culture through her various media ventures. With her charismatic, empathetic and relatable...
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...The notion I'm going to deal with is the idea of myths and heroes. First of all, I'd like to give a short definition, so according to me a myth or a hero is a person who inpires others with his positive thoughts, values or goals. We get totaly influenced and attracted by their good qualities which motivate us to do something good to the society. We can learn good qualities like patriotism, bravery, courage, non violence, compassion, humility, kindness. I would like to illustrate this notion through the theme of Influence and Role Models. We may wonder how can the actions of icons of the past have consequences on people nowadays? In order to illustrate the fact that what they do influence us, our lives, our beliefs, our values My presentation will fall into 3 parts: First of all, I'll concentrate on how role models inspire us by their actions that move us to do the same, then I'll analyse how they encourage us to be the best that we can be before finally focusing on the fact that they are selfless and teach us how to be. Nowadays, a lot of successful people were seen as other’s model. Most of us looked up to someone. It is wildly acknowledged that, role models can influence our lives. They can play an important role in shaping our society. They are figures who seem to embody everything that we think is good, all of the ideal traits that we would like to be able to possess for ourselves, and the kind of life that we would one day want to live. For instance they can provide...
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...popular culture. Campaigning in this manner also removed some of the risks associated in dealing with generic media outlets and reached a national (and international) audience. Although a critic could dispute that this truly represents the “re-feudalism” or the Americanization (Habermus, S. 1990 as cited in McNair 2004) of politics perfectly, I will argue that this is not necessarily a bad thing. Obama gained a significant amount of voters between the ages of eighteen and twenty five which ultimately lead to his election success. Finally, I will briefly look at another type of celebrity politician, the celebrity who is not running for office or an elected representative, but a celebrity with a political opinion. I will look at the impact of Oprah Winfrey‟s endorsement of Obama throughout his campaign. 1 Firstly we need to look at the challenges facing a modern day politician, especially during the campaign trail. Perhaps the most influencing factor facing the modern day politician is the decay of traditional party members and the lack of voter loyalty (Stanyer, 2007). This has...
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...ones. A manager deals with the everyday tasks of the organization such as planning, organizing, and controlling but when you are a great leader you are able to make effective changes within the workplace. Leading involves setting an example, direction and also creating a visual of the goals that must be met. Management involves organizing the structure of the company, hiring good people to complete the work, and also monitoring events and activities. Leadership keeps employees motivated to overcome obstacles and focus on building the organization towards its potential future. The typical manager tends to focus on the daily activities and short-term profits. They usually do things as they come along. This is fine if your goal is just to manage, but if you are looking advance and reach long-term goals then you must focus on being a leader to your subordinates. (Bateman) To be a great leader and manager you cannot have one without the other. Managers must perform their tasks or else the organization can become ineffective and unorganized. Leadership on the other hand involves special processes that are distinguishable from basic management processes. Therefore, if one manager can master both roles effectively this can result in success.(Bateman) An example of a great leader is Mary Kay Ash. Ash shaped a flourishing cosmetics company by and for women by utilizing a nonstop sales power and original motivational sales...
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...bullied physically and emotionally and these things lead them to fear other people which cause self-torture, self-pity and sometimes even suicide. But why aren’t they accepted in our society? Is it because they’re different—that they don’t belong to the norms because God only made men and women not gays and lesbians nor bisexuals and transgenders? But aren’t they human too so why can’t they be treated equally as how we, men and women, are treated? I know a lot of people who belongs to the third sex. Take for example one of my friends and former classmate in high school, Ronel, a fine-looking young man who is a part of the LGBT community. When I asked him what the reasons behind him being gay were, he answered that it had always been in him, that he had always thought of himself as a girl trapped in a boy’s body. The same goes with another friend and former classmate, Jonas, who despite having a strict father turned out to be gay which he said that it was the effect of him playing with girls when he was still very young. Hanging out with girls and other gays was also the reason why Mark and Christian, two of my friends since elementary, turned out to be bisexuals. On the other hand, I don’t know much about the Lesbians. But I do know some people like my Aunt who was influenced by my daddy and my two other uncles. According to her, she saw them as model-figures of who she wants to be—someone strong and courageous. I’ve also met one of the athletes in my former high school, Lira...
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...Individual case Write-up outline Background When Lance Armstrong was young, he always had incredible and unbelievable stamina in most physical demanding sports and activities. Outperforming his fellow classmates and sports mates he had great performance in swimming, running and especially in cycling. After several years of competing in triathlons, Lance decided to focus on the event that he performed the best, cycling. Through his success Armstrong suffered of testicular cancer and overcame it. This triumph in overcoming cancer and his ability to win so many cycling events made him a role model for many people. His superb abilities caused skeptics to raise claims that Armstrong was taking illegal substances that are banned from the sport. Countering these claims, Lance publicly states that he had never done any performance enhancing drugs in his athletic career. He would complain and even oppress anyone that thought he cheated in his competitions. Recently, Lance Armstrong decided to admit that most of those claims were true. These drugs enhanced most of his professional career. This changed the whole scenario of what his fans, sponsors and his own foundation LIVESTRONG though of Lance and now most of his titles have been removed from him. Theories of Motivation After analysis of the different motivational theories it is apparent that there are a similar trends between Armstrong’s actions and the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. During Armstrong’s competitive years it...
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...and power among the members of society, known as social inequality (Ferris & Stein, 211). Though this social inequality is very real and Americans have to face it every day, this bitter reality seems less unpleasant as the idea of the American Dream is brought up. The idea of the American Dream is something which the majority of Americans clings to and is able to seek hope within. It is an idea that says as long as one works hard enough and has enough passion, work ethic, and gusto that they, too, can achieve a higher status in society than the current one in which they reside. Americans often bring up a spectacular example of this so-called dream, Oprah Winfrey, highlighting the fact that she went from immense poverty to wealth, and if she can do it, then so can anybody else. However, what these hopeful, blindsided American fail to realize is that Oprah Winfrey is the exception, not the rule. To assume that the American Dream is within the grasp of each American pursuing it would mean that America runs as a meritocracy. A meritocracy is a system in which rewards are distributed based on merit (Ferris & Stein, 237). Although America has an open-class system, meaning that an individual has opportunity to move from one class to another (Ferris & Stein, 229), it is highly unlikely that a person will ascend (or descend) a great amount within the economic class structure. However, this social...
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...By Mashell Chapeyama Entrepreneurship education How the World Economic Forum aims to approach education The world economic Forum is a global organization that has a target of improving the welfare of all citizens of the world. According to this organization, entrepreneurship is a very important vehicle for achieving a better well-being of all people of the world. There are several ways in which the World Economic Forum wishes to achieve such a noble goal. One way it strives to achieve that is through some educational programs on the importance of entrepreneurship to the future generations of the world. Entrepreneurship is important for the well being of us all. So, the World economic Forum is initiating education on the importance of entrepreneurship and how to become successful business people. It wishes to be part of an international effort of encouraging entrepreneurship at all levels, from local, national, regional and global ones. World Economic Forum believes that through entrepreneurship the Millennium development goals will be achieved. The World Economic Forum aims to come up with ways to consolidate the existing education on entrepreneurship around the world. It wishes to uplift the practices that lead to better enterprising as well as assisting in the development of tools and methods of achieving better entrepreneurial skills, expertise and practices. This forum also aims at making sound and practical recommendations to governments, educational institutes and...
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...does not mean that any one taxpayer’s tax liability remains the same. Since this liability depends upon the circumstances involved, one taxpayer’s increased tax liability could be another’s tax saving. Revenue-neutral tax reform does not reduce deficits, but at least it does not aggravate the problem. 2. (LO 2) Economic, social, equity, and political factors play a significant role in the formulation of tax laws. Furthermore, the IRS and the courts have had impacts on the evolution of tax laws. For example, control of the economy has been an important economic consideration in passing a number of laws (e.g., rapid depreciation, changes in tax rates). 3. (LO 2) The tax law encourages technological progress by allowing immediate (or accelerated) deductions and tax credits for research and development expenditures. 4. (LO 2) Saving leads to capital formation and thus makes funds available to finance home construction and industrial expansion. For example, the tax laws provide incentives to encourage savings by giving private retirement plans preferential treatment. 5. (LO 2) a. Section 1244 allows ordinary loss treatment on the worthlessness of small business corporation stock. Since such stock normally would be a capital asset, the operation of § 1244 converts a less desirable capital loss into a more attractive ordinary loss. Such tax treatment was designed to aid small businesses in raising needed capital through the issuance of stock. b. ...
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...repeatedly been stereotyped and victimized through the use of degrading images in contemporary media. The origins of these images can be found in the racist ideologies of the African slave woman created by White Euro-American slave owners. The images of black women in American media have directly affected how black women and other people in society define black womanhood. This influence directly shows how people utilize fictitious and stereotypical images from the media in trying to understand the stereotyped group and their behavior. C. Delores Tucker, Black feminist and politician, is an example of a black woman who fought against the images portrayed in the media because she saw the negative effects such images had on the black community and the American society in general. By identifying the images of black women in the media, it is easy to see how the stereotypes manipulate and effect how black women are...
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...instructor, America’s everywoman, phenomenal poet, inspiring speaker: there is an unlimited list of how to describe Maya Angelou. Those who knew Angelou knew her for her most popular memoir, or her poetry, or her talent for public speaking. Few knew her for her dancing career and less popular autobiographies, and even fewer knew how much she influenced people around the world. Knocked down by rape, racism, and sexism, Maya was able to not only stand right back up, but she also helped others who were struggling stand up with her. Her words of strength were not only popular and enjoyable, but the messages they held truly affected people and changed the way they saw the world. Through writing and voice, Angelou was able to have an everlasting effect on people, worldwide....
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...Consumer Traits and Behavior Paper David Spears PSY/322 February 1, 2015 Dr. Steve Verrone Consumer Traits and Behavior Paper Psychological and social processes have an effect on the influence of the consumer. Some believe that the answer lies within the relationship between consumer traits and behaviors, and that these attributes are contributed to the consumer’s social and cultural setting. The goal of this paper is to analyze the question of why consumers view marketing messages differently, and to explain this reason by examining the effect that psychological and social processes have on consumer influence and the different traits and behaviors that consumers acquire through their social and cultural settings. Identify at least three psychological processes and three social processes that may influence consumer behavior. Marketer’s jobs are to understand the influences and buying methods of consumers to help enhance companies and their products. The first research process that marketers look into is psychological processes, in the process there are three main categories that are important to business’s these are the motivations of consumers, the perception of consumer’s and the belief and attitudes consumers have towards products and services. Motivation is important because this helps determine why the consumer is buying what they buy. A consumer’s motivation can be the need for a product, whether it is for a convenience of life style, prestige, self-interest...
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