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The Barriers to Women’s
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The Barriers to Women’s Participation as Game Designers and Developers
Introduction
Across societies, there is the stereotype that women do not play video games. However, this is far from the truth. While the gaming industry continues to grow and with many women begin to play the games, there are still very few female developers in the industry with efforts to diversify the industry curtailed by wide online harassment. A 2014 report by the Entertainment Software Association showed that the average gamer in the US is 35 years old, with 74% of the gaming population being more than 18 years and women gamers above 18 years accounting for 33%. The question here is, if there are plenty of women playing video games, why are they shying away from been involved in their development. The purpose of this essay is to assess the barriers hindering women’s participation in the development of video games.
The Online Harassment of Women Developers
The discussion of women’s involvement in the design of video games began to heat up in 2014 following the intimidation against women that spoke up against inequality in the video game industry in what was branded as the “Gamergate controversy”. The controversy began with Zoe Quinn, a 27-year-old who started receiving anonymous hateful emails. The threats are believed to have as a result of a game that she had developed known as Depression Quest. Some people were convinced that she had been given positive reviews which she did not deserve. The critics also believed that the theme of the game was rather progressive and did not have the escapism found traditionally in the videos that had been developed before such as fighting and shooting. By August 201, the harassment had escalated. Her then-boyfriend came out and wrote a blog post saying that Quinn had entered a sexual relationship with a popular journalist in exchange for positive reporting and coverage which informed the positive reviews. The supporters of Gamergate opposed this and viewed it as the growing influence on social justice and ideologies of feminism in the video game industry. This led to a press that was feminist in nature; it segregated the audiences of the traditional gamers. Observers referred to Gamergate as a depiction of the long-running war of cultures against the efforts of increasing diversity in a male-dominated community that targeted candid women. With the 2014 Entertainment Software Association conducted annually showing almost equal participation of men (52%) and women (48%), Gamergate is beginning to notice the shifting cultural identity of gamers. With the risk of online harassment, many women shy away from taking up careers in the gaming industry because they do not want to become victims of sexual harassment.
The Education Gap
The underrepresentation of women in the development of games is also linked to the fact that there is a huge gap between women and men in education. Because of the stereotypes that put it that the technology sector is a boy’s world, girls are less likely to view themselves as working in any roles whether advertising or development. As such, women are less likely to take up a career in technology-related fields as they do not feel as if they belong in the sector. Further, although some often get a chance to attend college, without a doubt women and particularly women of color are not likely to select Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects such as computer science. Recent research reports that about 17% of men graduate with STEM degrees compared to 6.7% of women (Hancock, and Mary, 2018). This points out that men are twice likely to become a video game developer than a woman. The common reasons behind this huge education gap have been linked to the various assumptions regarding the inherent capabilities of men and women, continued discrimination against women, and the lack of role models in these STEM fields.
Domestic Responsibilities Gap
The domestic duty of women at the family level is another reason behind the low participation of women in the design and development of video games. This follows the notion that careers in STEM and particularly programming are time-consuming because it takes an intense amount of time to work on a video game to completion, that is, about 50-70 hours a week. Despite the progress made in sharing domestic responsibilities, women continue to bear a larger burden of responsibilities despite working similar hours with their male counterparts. On average, women spend twice their time carrying out domestic activities such as cleaning, cooking, and taking care of the children. They struggle to balance between career and family responsibilities. The situation is even more dire for women that work in companies with little value for the family institution. They are forced to make hard choices that impact their careers. To address this issue requires government buy-in through reforms on maternity leave. Moreso, it comes down to sharing of responsibilities. At times, women even end up losing their jobs because childcare is rather expensive.
Lack of Role Models/Mentors
Another factor hindering women from taking part in the design and development of video games is the lack of role models. This is because there is a huge gap in the number of women leaders within the industry which rather discouraging. Furthermore, being a pioneer is hard because they find that they are the only women in the rooms which is daunting. Just like in the technical and scientific industries, women in the gaming industries encounter a lot of sexism which is even harder when you are the only woman in the room. Mentorship plays a critical role in increasing the uptake of STEM-related careers among minority groups. Professional mentors help in restoring confidence because, by virtue of being professionals in STEM, they assure young girls that look up to them that women too can excel in STEM. Unlike men, women go through many hurdles in their quest for having an established career. Listening to the advice of a woman who has ‘been there’done that’ vastly increases the ability of a woman to rise in their respective fields and to stay on course as success is possible. Additionally, multiple studies indicate that having a mentor significantly improves career opportunities as well as providing best practices for navigating career paths. If women do not have a person they can look up to and identify with, they tend to lose interest in the career. In so doing, gaming companies are also losing out on money and talent by not exercising diversity.
The Expectation Gap
Expectations play a critical role in informing the career path which both men and women take up in their careers. It is predominantly expected that video game designers will automatically be men and not women. Men hold more power and this leads to a self-perpetuated cycle. The notion that game developers are mostly men tends to have an impact on who gets hired in the business. Many people are wrongly convinced that women do not know much about games with some being convinced that they lack the necessary experience required for such an industry. Society through the process of socialization has taught us that women should be involved in the less risky and feminine careers such as in hospitality or teaching while men take up the more difficult careers such as the army, engineering among others. However, this is slowly changing over time with women coming out to prove that they are just as capable as their male counterparts. Notably, it is very common to come across men in bigger roles than the work they do. Further, men tend to benefit from people assuming they are capable. Recent studies show that men are given promotions based on their potential while women, of at all they get a promotion are judged on the basis of their previous accomplishments (Harvey, and Tamara, 495). In essence, men are promoted based on what they are yet to achieve. This brings inequality and disparity in the workforce. Further, men are more likely to get credit as a result of their achievements than women whose competence makes them unlikeable. As a result, women working in the gaming industry have no choice but to walk on the edge of a razor if they want to advance and rise across ranks at the workplace.
Conclusion
People believe that women do not play video games however this is far from the truth. The number of women involved in video games has been on the rise over the last few years. Notably, as recent as 2014, there was almost an equal number of women and men participating in video games. If the number of women is on the rise, it begs the question of why they are not as involved in the design and the development of video games. This is because they face some challenges when compared to their male counterparts. Women have lower educational qualifications because they rarely advance to college and the few that do, often do not take up STEM-related courses. They feel that the field is not for them because they have been told it is a boy’s world. Women also have to deal with sexual harassment. Women developers are bullied and sent threats and hateful emails to discourage them from entering and dominating the field. There are also gaps in expectations and domestic responsibilities which further limit women’s participation in the fields. Notably, the lack of role models and mentors in the video game fields also discourages young girls whose wish is to become a developer from joining the profession.
Works Cited
Hancock, Meg G., and Mary A. Hums. “A “leaky pipeline”?: Factors affecting the career development of senior-level female administrators in NCAA Division I athletic departments.” Sport Management Review 19.2 (2016): 198-210.
Harvey, Alison, and Tamara Shepherd. “When passion isn’t enough: gender, affect and credibility in digital games design.” International Journal of Cultural Studies 20.5 (2017): 492-508.
Introduction (22)
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Introduction
Greyhound Lines Incorporation commonly referred to as Greyhound, is a renowned intercity bus with operations in over 3800 destinations in various parts of Northern America. Worth noting, Greyhound is fully operational and competes with many intercity buses accompanies, private automobiles, and low-cost airlines. Leadership is critical in steering an organization towards achieving its business goals and objectives. For maximum effectiveness, companies should make deliberate efforts to equip workers with proper resources and incentives. This text demonstrates the missing aspects of leadership, the consequences of those missing elements, and the best cause of action that can be employed by Greyhound to manage the crisis.
Missing Aspects
Successful organizations employ the use of vision, skills, incentives, resources, and an action plan. The four ingredients have to work hand in hand to ensure the success of the organization. Greyhound is failing in its mandate because it does not have the right tools to ensure it thrives as a company. To begin with, Greyhound does not have a clear vision about what it wants to achieve for its stakeholders including, clients, managers, drivers, team manager, and its executive team. For instance, the fact that the human resources team reported that the workers at the terminals did not have high-school qualifications begs the question of recruitment in the company. It points to the fact that there is a problem with the recruiting strategy meaning that they do not put important factors such as education as a basis for recruitments. This shows that they do not have a clear vision about what they wish to attain because if they did, they would have made a better and informed decision. Another loophole that points to lack of vision is that despite the warnings by managers that many low-income passengers were not in a position to used Trips, the executive made the rush decision to roll out the new system emphasizing that it would improve the quality of services. By disregarding the advice provided by experts they did not help the situation but rather increased it.
Greyhound also lacks resources as evidenced by the move to reduce operation costs by making massive cuts in the services, routes, and personnel. Although the move was critical and needed for migration from the use of hand-written receipt to computerization of everything including reservations, they should have first weighed other options such as increasing the number of fleets, employing more drivers, and expanding the routes. Further, they did not have a solid action plan in place evidenced by the back and forth and disagreements among managers. Additionally, the fact that executing the plans led to a nightmare shows that they did not do their due diligence before implementing the new systems. Had they been thorough in their work, they would have been better placed to point out the loopholes including the long customer cues, systems crashing, and dissatisfied clients. Moreover, Greyhound leadership failed to provide their employees particularly low-level employees such as drivers with incentives to motivate them in their work.
Consequences of the Missing Elements
A company that does not have a vision is built on confusion. Vision statements help describe the purpose of the company, what it aims to achieve, and what it strives for. The vision helps the company to focus on what is most rewarding to them which inspires them to come up with a viable strategy to help them attain their objectives. The fact that the company lacks a vision is evident in the poor decisions made by the company which exacerbates its problems. For example, since the company did not have a clear vision, they were not in a position to manage the crisis that followed. Additionally, lack of resources has the potential of paralyzing a company. This is because all company operations rely on resources. For instance, without buses, drivers, and finances, the company will be paralyzed. Greyhound should have looked for alternative means to ensure the business is running rather than making massive cuts in personnel and services. For instance, they could have looked for a financer or a partner to offer them a loan or invest in their business. Incentives are key in ensuring the staff members remain happy and motivated to carry out their duties. Lack of incentives places companies’ sustainability at risk and will only drive the stakeholders away. Greyhound should have employed incentives particularly for the drivers who have to deal with the tiresome work of handling clients. Further, they should have given their customers incentives to ensure they remain loyal. Lack of an action plan means that the company is often off to a false start. In such situations, the company lacks direction and is bound to poor business decisions that put the company at risk of collapse.
Recommendations
If I were a management consultant called upon to help fix the problem I would recommend thorough training and preparation to all employees on how to use the new system. This plays a critical role in ensuring that the staff members are well equipped and prepared to perform their duties under the new system. In this case, the terminal workers without high-school-level education will be better placed to function with the new system. I would also recommend that Greyhound should have a sit-down with the management to streamline communication issues as it would help them do reduce disagreements with other managers and senior executives who make the important decisions within the company.
Statue of Laocoon and His Sons
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The Statue of Laocoon and His Sons
Introduction
The statue of Laocoon and His Sons is a figurative Greek sculpture and Hellenistic art icon displayed in Museo Pio Clementino, Vatican Museums in Rome. Laocoon and His Sons is a marble copy of the sculpture made from bronze. According to Pliny the Elder (79 CE), a Roman writer, the sculpture is a depiction of Laocoon, a Trojan priest, and his twin sons, Thymbraeus and Antiphas being bitten by giant snakes. The sculpture was first revered and seen by the Pliny at the Titus Flavius palace between 39 and 81 CE. Pliny attributed Roman Emperor Titus who later ruled between 79 and 81 CE, to three Greek sculptors from Rhodes Island namely Polydorus, Hagesander, and Athenodoros. Notably, the attribution coincided with similar marbles that have a similar fragment inscription.
The Laocoon and His Sons statue was first discovered in January 1506 buried underneath the vineyard of Felice de’ Fredis in Rome. The exaction was attended by Michelangelo an expert in this field and famous sculptor during the renaissance. Pope Julius II, who was a lover of art, ordered the sculpture to be taken to the Vatican, upon which it was installed in the garden at Belvedere Court. Given a comment by Pliny that the sculpture was superior to all bronze and painting works, the statue had an immense impact on Italian Renaissance art and particularly the Renaissance sculptors. The Laocoon and His Sons sculpture ended up becoming one of the most copied, revered, and studied works of ancient art to ever be displayed (Cummins, 215). It outshined famous Vatican Museum treasures such as Apollonius Belvedere Torso existing in the 1sts and 2nd BCE century and Leocahres’s Beverdere Apollo exiting 330 BCE. Since it was discovered in 1506, there have been attempts to make copies of it including the Baccio Bandinelli who created a bronze version of it. Additionally, Francesco Primaticcio made a bronze casting for King Francis I and is now located in Louvre, Paris. Other copies are also found at the Archeological museum of Odessa and the Grand Palace of Saint John at Rhodes. Because of its enduring fame, in 1799, the statue was removed from the Vatican and installed in Louvre to serve as an exemplar of Neo-classical art. In 1816, it was returned to the Vatican by British authorities after Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo. In 1957, fragments from four marble groups portraying scenes from Homer’s poem, Odessey, were retrieved at Sperlonga. The discovery site used to be an ancient banquet hall which was formerly used by Emperor Tiberius who ruled between 14-37 CE. One of these fragments is stylistically similar to the Laocoon and His Sons statue. The statue’s right arm which was found missing from the original 1506 discovery was discovered unexpectedly in 1906 in a builder’s home by archeologist Ludwig Pollak in Rome. He believed it was the lost arm and donated it to the Vatican museum where it stayed for 50 years. In 1960, it was verified as the missing arm as it resembled the new arm that had been attached.
Display of the Laocoon and His Sons Statue
The piece is displayed at the Octagonal Court of Museo Clementino Museum located in the Vatican. On the display, one sees a life-size piece comprising of seven unique and different blocks of marble that show Laocoon alongside his two sons Thymbraeus and Antiphantes. The three are surrounded by two giant sea serpents. Laocoon is sitting on an altar and the sculpture depicts him as a rather masculine man. He is struggling to strain his muscles as he tries to free himself from the serpent. His oldest son appears as if he is almost breaking free for the snakes with his eyes looking towards his father’s and brother’s direction. Laocoon and his younger son are in trouble and the expressions on their faces are an indication of their struggle. The younger son cast a final glance at his father but he is nearly dead. Notably, the sculptures show that the serpents try to kill Laocoon and his sons by biting and constricting them. They have coiled themselves around their bodies to appoint where they cannot move. Laocoon’s left hand is next to the serpent’s head. From the display one also notices that some parts are missing including a significant part of the serpent’s body and Laocoon’s right hand. Additionally, a section of the younger son’s right arm and the older son’s right hand are missing.
Technique
According to Pliny, the Laocoon and His Sons sculpture is an original piece. Further, Pliny asserts that the sculpture was made using the carving technique from marble. This is even though the sculpture comprises seven interlocking pieces. De consilli sententia is a phrase that was regarded to referring to the commission and not the method of working used by the artists. The names of Polydorus, Agesander, and Athenodoros, were inscribed on one of the sculptures found at Sperlonga pointing that the three masters were not the same people (Rose, et. al 36). Worth noting, the Hellenistic style used to develop the statue indicates the emotional nature of the artists that made it. The artists employed a technique of freely spacing the three main figures of the piece a clear indication of the free-flowing passion. The Greek culture explores lots of themes in ancient Greek culture such as pain and misery. Notably, the artists show Laocoon with his eyes wide open and his face is wrinkled which is a clear indication of agony. The entire piece is not free from pain and agony and one is captivated by the technique applied by the artiste to capture the audience’s attention. It is stunning how Laocoon’s head I bent on one side and his eyes are looking towards the sky with his mouth open, and eyebrows furrowed to produce a baroque effect.
Art Style
The Laocoon and His Sons style used the renaissance style of art. Renaissance sculptures and paintings were produced in the 14th, 15th, and 16th century in Europe and they combined influences of increased nature awareness, an individualistic perspective about human beings, and a revival of classical learning (Stoenescu, 166). Further, the artists of the renaissance period including Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo made art that was not only complex but also realistic. As evidenced in the sculpture of Laocoon and His Sons, the piece is straightforward and complex in equal measure. One can tell that the sculpture comprises three people and two giants snakes. One is however left wondering who these individuals were and how they found themselves in such a situation. The sculpture leaves a person wanting to know more about the story behind it. Renaissance was the period that immediately followed the Middle Ages which saw great interest revival in values and classical learning in Ancient Rome and Greece, In essence, renaissance art sought to capture the individual experience and the mystery and beauty of the natural world.
Art Elements
The sculpture of Laocoon and His Sons employs various elements that are evident from the piece. As regards lines, the sculpture observes the Law of Continuity, which helps create movement and unity. Although the lines are imagined, they seem to incorporate skillfully with the sculpture and marry well with the rhythm and movement; factors vital to bringing any masterpiece to life. The sculpture does seem to take any definite shape and this is clear from the fact the sculpture cannot be divided into two symmetric halves. Using the Root Phi armature to analyze it, we see how the sculptors organized and designed the masterpiece. Laocoon’s left leg is diagonal making precedence as the main diagonal frame of the piece. It goes from the lower right corner to the upper left side. As regards space, the Statue was 8 feet tall and was made by interlocking seven different marble pieces. Its dimensions were 208cm by 163cm by 112cm. The piece remains invaluable. To date, the marble sculpture remains at the Vatican. In Hellenistic true fashion, its value is in showcasing the realistic depiction of movement. In terms of color, the Laocoon and His Sons were made out of bronze which has a metallic brown color. The texture can be described as less brittle and much harder than that of copper.
Principles of Design
The sculpture of Laocoon and His Sons employs various design elements. Believe it or not, the sculptors who made this incredible piece employed design to come up with the masterpiece. Just like most brilliant ideas, they began with a sketch which they used to develop a dynamic symmetry grid which they used in developing the rest of the masterpiece. Additionally, repetition and rhythm are also evident; when the root phi rectangle diagonals are repeated, a hidden rhythm can be seen throughout the sculpture. When the sculpture is locked into a grid, the main proportion of the sculpture is visible. Emphasis is on Laocoon as he is physique is bigger compared to his sons’. There are many coincidences which help create movement as well as harmony from the top to bottom and side to side.
Conclusion
An analysis of the sculpture of Laocoon and His Sons presented new aspects and ideas about the sculpture which were not obvious. The knowledge regarding the principles of design and elements of art was not as clear but after an in-depth analysis, they became vivid. For instance, it is hard to imagine that art can employ designs such as rhythm, movements, harmony, and balance as they are mostly associated with other forms of art such as music. However, after carrying out this research, it emerged too that sculptures too have such elements. The initial interpretation which I had regarding the sculpture has not changed however, the analysis has provided an in-depth interpretation regarding the myth behind the sculpture which is impossible to tell at the first glance.
In general, I can describe my experience while carrying out this research as exciting and fulfilling. I learned a lot of new information which otherwise I would never have known. Before today, I never knew about the existence of the Laocoon and His Sons sculpture. At first sight, I did not know the story behind the sculpture; I did not even know that the three individuals were a father and his two sons. I was curious to know what happened to these individuals who appeared to have died such a painful death. I excepted that probably, they were prisoners being punished for a mistake. However, upon finishing the analysis, I learned that the Laocoon and His Sons is among the most revered and imitated sculptures in art history and that many sculptors used to develop other sculptures which exist today.
Works Cited
Cummins, Thomas BF. “Toward a New World’s Laocoön: Thoughts on Seeing Aztec Sculpture through Spanish Eyes.” Altera Roma: Art and Empire from Mérida to Mexico, edited by John MD Pohl and Claire L. Lyons (2016): 215-255.
Rose, Herbert Jennings, and Karim Arafat. “Laocoön.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics. 2016.
Stoenescu, Livia. “Pictorial allegory in El Greco’s Laocoön of Toledo.” Res: Anthropology and aesthetics 67.1 (2017): 164-176.