2008 Occasional Papers - AUK

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Figure 1. ExperientialEntrepreneurship ModelActivities in the CurriculumCoursesStand aloneAcross functional areasAcross disciplinesKnowledgeSkillsAssessmentCourse feedbackPeer evaluationProjectsCo-Curricular ActivitiesSpeakersAttitudes&BehaviorRecognitionStudent AwardsSuccess in business plan competitionsStudent success in businessCo-curricular success41FacultyTeaching AwardsConference presentationsJournal ArticlesFundingCGADobsonSpeakers
42You Go Girl!Watching Oprah in KuwaitShaheed Mohammed and Mary QueenAbstractThis study examines motivations and perceptions amongKuwait viewers of the Oprah Winfrey Show. Usingfocus groups as the primary investigative tool, the studyprobes the processes by which viewers from a contextfar different than the target audience of the show adaptthe content to their own needs and lifestyles. Workingfrom an interpretivist approach, the authors attempt topresent explanations of the processes and devices thatreconcile the Oprah universe and the Kuwait reality inviewers’ minds. Analysis is presented from rhetorical andtraditional communications perspectives.Watching Oprah in KuwaitFew media enterprises have been as successful as OprahWinfrey’s talk show and its derivatives. The influenceof the program and the personality around which itrevolves is clear in the United States and in many westerncountries. The extent of this influence may be estimatedfrom television ratings data as well as various otherindicators such as the power of Oprah’s book club andthe popularity of related characters such as Dr. Phil. Thepresent paper investigates the spread of that influenceinto a vastly different social and cultural environment.Literature ReviewThe Oprah phenomenon.The Oprah Winfrey show is broadcast in 122 countries haswon 35 Emmy awards, and has run for 20 seasons (Woing-Ulrich, 2006). The financial success of Oprah Winfrey’smedia empire is measured in dollars and its various mediavehicles are tracked in Nielsen numbers and circulationfigures. Academics have also noticed the power of theOprah factor, for example, Moy, Xenos and Hess (2005)investigated inter alia, political candidates’ appearances onOprah and found that for audience members, watching theshow was associated with increased civic participation.Gersch (1999) investigated the Oprah Winfrey show witha focus on its relationship to class and mobility, using theshow as an example of a talk show in which:“…The host and guests usually serve as role models,implicitly--and sometimes explicitly--holding out thepromise of class mobility. In this context, moving up thesocial ladder is not tied to increased income but rather,once again, to morality and social values.” (p. 276).Gersch (1999) also pointed out that Oprah becomessomething of a personal friend to her viewers. This isknown as parasocial interaction, a point to which we willreturn presently.Peck (1994) analyzed the role of Oprah Winfrey’s talkshow (and Oprah herself) in addressing issues of race inthe United States concluding in part that “…The liberal,therapeutic and religious discourses in the series containutopian sentiments in their quest to find meaningfulbridges across social differences.” (p. 119). Accordingto Peck (1994) Winfrey herself has been described as “acomforting, nonthreatening bridge between black andwhite cultures.” (p. 91).Popular interpretations of Oprah’s influence can be moreextreme, often even taking on religious tones. Walker(2004) writing in the New York Times described theeffects of products and services being “anointed” byOprah. Wong-Ulrich (2006) noted the impact of whatshe termed the Oprah “blessing,” that can mean thedifference between spectacular commercial success anddismal failure. One estimate even suggested that OprahWinfrey influences 20 to 25 percent of all purchases inthe United States (Silverstein and Butman, 2006). Onewebsite that hosts online petitions listed 2184 signaturesrecommending Oprah for the Nobel Peace Prize (www.ipetitions.com, 2007).Not all estimations of the show’s effects are positive, ofcourse, as Abt and Seesholtz (1994) include the OprahWinfrey show in their indictment of the talk show culturein general:“Phil, Sally and Oprah always know best. They take theroles of caring parents, understanding friend, knowingtherapist. They may not have professional credentials togive advice, but they do so freely. Of course, they probablymake considerably more than therapists who still bother toget professional training credentials and licenses.” p. 187.The plethora of concerns and commentaries about OprahWinfrey and her talk show as well as the increasing reach of theglobal television market deem it unsurprising that the impact ofthe show should spread beyond the shores of the United States.What may be surprising, however, is the extent to which Oprahhas taken root in other cultures – particularly in the presentcase, a culture that has often been portrayed as being not onlyvastly different but also as actively hostile to Western influence.
Page 2 and 3: About AUK Occasional Papers:The AUK
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Page 6 and 7: The Impact of a Glass Ceilingon Wom
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Page 10 and 11: consider other factors such as the
Page 12 and 13: academically unprepared…you must
Page 14 and 15: EmotionalSignificant variations in
Page 16 and 17: Advising and OrientationOther impor
Page 18 and 19: etention. However, in addition, the
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Page 22 and 23: the event was encoded in parallel a
Page 24 and 25: Public Health Impacts of Iraq’s 1
Page 26 and 27: college work and have inadequate pr
Page 28 and 29: memorization and repetition. This a
Page 30 and 31: other in the pursuit of higher grad
Page 32 and 33: for quality assurance, an organizat
Page 34 and 35: RethinkingEntrepreneurship:Integrat
Page 36 and 37: This type of training leads to enha
Page 38 and 39: In short, Mount Allison students ha
Page 40 and 41: Joplin, L. (1995). On defining expe
Page 44 and 45: Kuwait - satellite television, cult
Page 46 and 47: ReferencesAbt, V. & Seesholtz, M. (
Page 48 and 49: interest in continuing to manipulat
Page 50 and 51: Though corruption poses fundamental
Page 52 and 53: A Cross-Cultural Modelof Innovation
Page 54 and 55: were conceived as associations of c
Page 56: others. In this case, confident pos
Page 59 and 60: 58REFERENCESAmason, A. (1996) ‘Di
Page 61 and 62: Shelton, C. and Darling, J. (2004)
Page 63 and 64: 62• recycle natural resources use
Page 65 and 66: 64Table Kuwait Fact Profile on Tran
Page 67 and 68: Table Transportation and Associated
Page 69 and 70: 68• Third, each mode of transport
Page 71 and 72: 70• Prepare a Bank Group transpor
Page 73 and 74: 7219. Stratford,A. (1974). Airports
Page 75 and 76: 74may be developed in a safe and or
Page 77 and 78: 28. Tables - 1 Environmental Manage
Page 79 and 80: 6) EnvironmentalAwarenessNo baselin
Page 81 and 82: 80Iran, the US, and HighlyEnriched
Page 83 and 84: 82since the 1951 nationalization of
Page 85 and 86: 8450% of the population is astonish
Page 87 and 88: 86The US also approved the Shah’s
Page 89 and 90: 88George W. Bush’s State of the U
Page 91 and 92: 90when Iran could not keep up with
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92rich states, the decrease of natu
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94indigenous training. Specifically
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96It is important to note that Russ
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Table 1: Nuclear Powered States and
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100Foucault, Michel. “What are th
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102Ramazani, Rouhollah K. “Iran
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104My SCORE, OurMATCH: CommunityPar
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106with a mate while he does mechan
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108dimensions of life including for
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correlated to the commitment and on
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REFERENCESBryce, J, Frigo, T, McKen
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GDP $21,300, GDP growth rate 6.8%,
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• Less than half of the people su
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118TABLE 4: # 1 Gulf Country in Eco
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120• More men than women indicate
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TABLE 8: Why? X GenderGENDERMALE FE
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TABLE 11: Success in improving Livi
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TABLE 14: Success in preserving Cul
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• Gender wise, more men felt that
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TABLE 18: How foreign workers are t
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• In terms of the preference of e
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TABLE 24: Should Oil be the Basis f
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F i gur e 18: S hould K uwa it J oi
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13811. What do you think about the
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140Conditions of Kuwaiti Dependence
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1422) if the alien has no means of
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144offered Mubarak recognition as a
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146labor regulations and enforcemen
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148intensifying suspicion and hosti
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150Commission on Freedom of the Pre
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Even the viceroy of India, Lord Cur
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Christine PiconeAustralian College
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2008 Occasional Papers - AUK

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