document_title: Age of consent reform

question_text: what is the age of concent in ga

question_tokens: what is the age of concent in ga

text: Age of consent reform

text: Initiatives to change the age of consent[edit]

text: There have been many initiatives to raise the age of consent. Gratian, a canon lawyer in the 12th century, stated that consent could not take place before 7 years of age. The English government eventually decided on age of 12 for women as their limitation.[1] At that time, the age was about 12 in most countries. Today it is usually set between 15 and 18.[2]

text: United Kingdom[edit]

text: In 1275, the age of consent in England was set at 12 (Westminster 1 statute), the first time an age of consent had been set in England.[3] However, in 1875 the Offence Against the Persons Act raised it to 13 in Great Britain and Ireland. The Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885 raised it to 16.[4][5] In 1917 a bill raising the age of consent in Great Britain and Ireland from 16 to 17 was defeated by only one vote.[6] In Northern Ireland in 1950 the legislature of Northern Ireland passed a law called Children and Young Persons Act in 1950 that raised the age of consent from 16 to 17.[7] The male homosexual age of consent in the United Kingdom was set at 21 in the Sexual Offences Act of 1967, lowered to 18 in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, and then finally lowered equally to 16 in England and Wales and Scotland in the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act of 2000.[8][9]

text: According to sociologist Matthew Waites, in the 1970s, a number of grassroots political actions took place in Britain in favor of lowering the age of consent, which he described as based on claims of children's rights, gay liberation, or as a way to avoid unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted infections.[10]

text: In May 1974, the Campaign for Homosexual Equality suggested a basic age of consent of 16, but 12 "in cases where a defendant could prove the existence of meaningful consent".[11][12] In September 1974, the Sexual Law Reform Society proposed lowering the age of consent to 14, with the requirement that below the age of 18 the burden of proof that consent for sexual activities between the parties existed would be the responsibility of the older participant.[13]

text: In 1976, the British political advocacy group the National Council for Civil Liberties (now known as Liberty) published a proposal advocating reducing the age of consent laws to 10 years of age, only when both individuals are younger than 14, with a close-in-age exemption of two years if one of the involved individuals is older than 14 but younger than 16.[14] The report was signed by Harriet Harman, who later went on to become a prominent figure in government and deputy leader of the Labour Party and the focus of media attention due to her affiliations with the NCCL.[15]

text: The Communist Party of Great Britain (Provisional Central Committee) lists abolition of age of consent laws among its immediate demands, with the added provision that there be alternate legal methods to protect children from sexual abuse.[16]

text: Russia[edit]

text: Russia in 1998 lowered the age of consent from 16 to 14,[17] but in 2002 raised the age of consent from 14 back to 16.[18][19][20] Since then penalties have also generally increased. Vladimir Putin said that a party advocating lowering the age of consent cannot be legally registered (hence, be a legal party) in Russia.[citation needed]

text: India[edit]

text: In January 2004, a Division bench of the Kerala's High Court in Southern India suggested that the age of consent should be raised from 16 to 18 in that state. Justice R. Basant said he considered "illogic(al)" that a legal system in which an age of 18 is used for other purposes – like the Indian Majority Act, the Contract Act, the Juvenile Justice Act, the Child Marriage Restraint Act and the Representation of People Act – has a different approach in the case of sexual consent.[21] The age of consent in India was raised from 16 to 18 in 2012.[22]

text: United States[edit]

text: Over the course of American history, the most commonly observed age of consent was 10 years. In 1880, 37 states had an age of consent of 10 years while 10 states kept an age of consent at 12, and Delaware maintained its age of consent at seven years, having lowered it from 10 in 1871.[23][24]

text: In the late-19th century, a "social purity movement" composed of Christian feminist reform groups began advocating a raise in the age of consent to 16, with the goal of raising it ultimately to 18, and by 1920 almost all states had raised their age of consent to 16 or 18.[25]

text: By the mid-1970s, there was widespread sympathy among homosexual activist groups for lowering the age of consent for all sexual activities (partially due to the disparate ages of consent for same-sex and opposite-sex sexual activity),[26] with many gay publications freely discussing lowering it for boys.[27] These tensions and antagonisms continued among activist circles until the 1980s; however, since the 1970s, gay liberationist groups promoting frontline advocacy against the age of consent were falling into decline.[26] A small number of voices continued into the 2000s among self-declared pedophiles on certain internet websites and chatrooms.[28]

text: Two final states legislating their ages of consent into the 15-18 range were Georgia and Hawaii, from 14, raised in 1995 and 2001, respectively.

text: Alabama[edit]

text: In Alabama in 2012 State Representative Mac McCutcheon sponsored a bill to raise the age of consent from 16 to 18 in the state legislature. The bill is still being discussed.[29]

text: Hawaii[edit]

text: In 2001, the legislature in Hawaii voted to raise the age of consent from 14 to 16.[30]

text: Georgia[edit]

text: In June 2005, a bill was proposed before the General Assembly of Georgia (USA) to raise the age of consent from 16 to 18.[31][32] The bill failed, however. The Georgia age of consent was 14 from the Progressive era until 1995, when a bill proposed by state Senator Steve Langford to make 16 the age of consent passed.[33] In 2006, following the infamous case of Genarlow Wilson (Wilson v. State), aggravated child molestation was reduced to a misdemeanor with a maximum of one year in prison if the offender was under 19, the victim was either 14 or 15 years old, and the offender is no more than 48 months older than the victim. (Georgia penal code, 16-6-4). Previously aggravated child molestation (at any age) carried 10–20 years imprisonment regardless of the age difference between the victim and offender.

text: Kentucky[edit]

text: In 2007 in Kentucky Representative JR Gray sponsored legislation in the state legislature that passed making it a felony for a teacher to have sex with a student under the age of 18. He also discussed the possibility of raising the age of consent from 16 to 18 but a bill was not produced for that.[34]

text: Missouri[edit]

text: In 2008 a bill was proposed in the Missouri legislature to raise the age of consent from 17 to 18. It was sponsored by Representative Stanley Cox.[35]

text: South Carolina[edit]

text: In South Carolina in 2007 a bill was proposed before the legislature to raise the age of consent from 16 to 18.[36] It did not succeed.

text: Wisconsin[edit]

text: Prior to 1981 Wisconsin had an exception to the law that allowed adults who were guilty of sex with minors 15 or older to use as a defense that the victim understood the nature of the sexual act, but there was a rebuttable presumption in Wisconsin that minors under the age of 18 were not capable of informed consent to sex, but as stated, this could be argued against by the defendant in the court of law if the minor was 15 years of age or older. In 1981 the age of consent was lowered from 18 to 16 in Wisconsin, but at the same time it was made an automatic felony to have sex with anyone under 16, informed consent for a 15-year-old was no longer a defense an adult defendant could use in court. In 1983 the age of consent in Wisconsin was raised from 16 to 18, under the new law sex with a minor 16 or older carried the lesser penalty of a class a misdemeanor. A marital exception was included in the law for an adult who was married to a minor 16 or older, but no close-in-age exception was.[37]

text: Canada[edit]

text: In June 2006, the Canadian government proposed a bill to raise the age of consent from 14 to 16 (in 1890, it was raised from 12 to 14), while creating a near-age exemption for sex between 14- to 15-year-olds and partners less than 5 years older, and keeping an existing near-age clause for sex between 12–13 year olds and partners less than 2 years older. The initiative also maintains a temporary exception for already existing marriages of minors 14 and 15 years old to adults, but forbids new marriages like these in the future.[38] The law took effect 1 May 2008.

text: Netherlands[edit]

text: Between 1990 and 2002, the Netherlands operated what was in effect an age of consent of 12, subject to qualifications.[39] The relevant law, passed in November, 1990, permitted sexual intercourse for young people between 12 and 16, but allowed a challenge by parents based on erosion of parental authority or child exploitation, which would be heard by a Council for the Protection of Children.[40] In 1979, the Dutch Pacifist Socialist Party supported an unsuccessful petition to lower the age of consent to 12.[41]

text: Peru[edit]

text: The age of consent in Peru was increased from 14 to 18 in 2006 as elections approached, but in 2007, Peru's new Congress voted to return the age to 14 regardless of gender and/or sexual orientation.[42] However, after strong public opposition, the law was raised back to 18 on June 27, 2007, by a vote of 74 to zero (22 abstentions).[43] It was returned to 14 in January 2013.[44]

text: France[edit]

text: In 1977 while a reform in the French penal code was under discussion in the parliament, a petition to decriminalize all consented relations between adults and minors below the age of fifteen was sent to Parliament but did not succeed in changing the law.[45] In 1978 the petition was discussed in a broadcast by radio France Culture in the program "Dialogues", with the transcript later published under the title Sexual Morality and the Law in a book by Michel Foucault. The participants, including Foucault, play-writer/actor Jean Danet and novelist/gay activist Guy Hocquenghem had all signed the petition.

text: Pedophile advocacy[edit]

text: Some pedophiles have called to abolish the age of consent to allow adults to have sex freely with prepubescent children, arguing they can consent.[46][47] Groups advocating pedophilia and the abolishment of age of consent laws include NAMBLA in the United States and Vereniging Martijn in the Netherlands. Several organisations in them have been involved with pro-pedophile activism in the past; only a few of these still exist today.

text: Close-in-age exemptions[edit]

text: In the United States, many states have adopted close-in-age exemptions. These laws, known as "Romeo and Juliet laws"[48] provide that a person can legally have consensual sex with a minor provided that he or she is not more than a given number of years older, generally four years or less.[49][50] Some Romeo and Juliet laws (such as the law in Michigan[51] and Florida[52]) do not make it legal for a person below the age of consent to have sex with a slightly older person, but may exempt the older partner from sex offender registration.

text: Romeo and Juliet laws were passed in 2007 in Connecticut and Indiana.[50] In Indiana, a change in the law decriminalizes consensual sex between adolescents if they are found by a court to be in a "dating relationship" with an age difference of four years or less[50] and other states have adopted other reforms. Michigan passed a Romeo and Juliet Law in 2011.[53]

text: These reforms have not been uncontroversial. In Texas, Governor Rick Perry vetoed Romeo and Juliet laws that had been passed by the legislature in 2009,[54] but signed one in 2011 to go into effect in September of that year.[55] A 2011 Romeo and Juliet bill failed to pass in the Illinois legislature.[56] In the State v. Limon case, Kansas's Romeo and Juliet law was found to be unconstitutional because it excluded same-sex sexual conduct.

text: Some countries other than the United States also have Romeo and Juliet laws. Ireland's 2006 law has been contested because it treats girls differently from boys.[57][58]


document_title: America's Got Talent (season 12)

question_text: america's got talent who is in the finale

question_tokens: america 's got talent who is in the finale

root

text: America's Got Talent (season 12)

text: Season changes[edit]

text: On October 4, 2016, Simon Cowell signed a contract to remain as a judge through 2019.[10]

tag: p

text: Long-time host Nick Cannon announced, on February 13, 2017, that he would not return as host for the twelfth season, soon after he made disparaging remarks about NBC in his 2017 Showtime comedy special, Stand Up, Don't Shoot.[11] Cannon was still under contract to host, and NBC executives did not initially accept his resignation, but they ultimately searched for a new host.[12][13]

text: On March 12, 2017, NBC announced supermodel and host Tyra Banks as the host for Season 12.[3]

text: Preliminary auditions[edit]

text: The season had preliminary open call auditions in Chicago, Austin, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, San Diego, New York City, Charleston, Memphis, and Los Angeles.[14] As in years past, prospective contestants could also submit online auditions.

text: Judges' auditions were taped in March at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles. The premiere aired May 30, 2017.[citation needed]

text: Golden buzzer[edit]

text: The Golden Buzzer returned for its fourth consecutive season. Any act that received a golden buzzer during the preliminary auditions was sent directly to the live shows and did not compete in the Judge Cuts round. In the first episode of preliminary auditions, Mel B pressed the golden buzzer for 12-year-old singing ventriloquist Darci Lynne Farmer. In subsequent episodes, Simon Cowell pressed it for 29-year-old deaf singer Mandy Harvey, Howie Mandel chose 16-year-old former blind singer Christian Guardino, Tyra Banks pressed it for Light Balance dance crew, and Heidi Klum chose 13-year-old singer Angelina Green.[15]

text: Each Judge Cuts act that received a golden buzzer advanced to the live shows without any voting by the judges. During the Judge Cuts round, guest judges Chris Hardwick pressed his golden buzzer for 9-year old singer Angelica Hale, DJ Khaled pressed it for 21-year old singer-songwriter and guitarist Chase Goehring, Laverne Cox pressed it for 9-year old singer Celine Tam, and Seal pressed it for soul singer Johnny Manuel.[15]

text: Death of Brandon Rogers[edit]

text: On June 11, 2017, contestant Brandon Rogers died in an automobile accident. Rogers was an American physician who specialized in family medicine. Earlier in 2017, after seeing YouTube videos of Rogers singing, Boyz II Men invited him to sing with them as a guest in three of their Las Vegas shows. His successful AGT audition aired on July 11, 2017, in his memory.[16] He competed in the Judge Cuts round, but his performance in that round was not televised.[17]

text: Judge Cuts[edit]

text: The Judge Cuts round began on Tuesday, July 18, 2017. Like the previous season, one guest judge joined the judges' panel each show and was given one golden buzzer opportunity to send an act straight to the live shows. Twenty acts were shown each week and seven advanced, including the guest judge's golden buzzer choice. Guest judges were not given a red buzzer to use. Any act that received all four red buzzers was immediately eliminated from the competition. The four guest judges were Chris Hardwick, DJ Khaled, Laverne Cox, and Seal.

text: After the Judge Cuts, three wildcards were chosen from eliminated acts to perform in the live shows: Final Draft, Bello Nock and Oskar and Gaspar (who did not perform in the Judge Cuts round). All three of these acts were eliminated in the Quarterfinals.

text:
Key
 Buzzed
 Golden buzzer

  Advanced

  Quarterfinal Wildcard

  Eliminated

  Eliminated Immediately

  Advanced Immediately

tag: table

text: Week 1[edit]

text: Guest judge: Chris Hardwick

text: Date: July 18, 2017

text:
Act
Order
Performance type
Buzzes
Result

Cowell
Klum
Hardwick
Mel B
Mandel

Sara and Hero
1
Dog Act

Advanced

The Baker Family
2
Bluegrass Band

Eliminated

Mariachi Nuevo Santander
3
Mariachi Group

Eliminated

The Masqueraders
4
Vocal Group

Advanced

Eric Jennifer
5
Comedian

Eliminated

Harrison Greenbaum
6
Comedian

Eliminated

Dancing Pumpkin Man
7
Dancer

Eliminated

Tom London
8
Close-Up Magician

Eliminated

Eric Jones
9
Close-Up Magician

Advanced

Angelica Hale
10
Singer

Advanced Immediately

Danylo and Oskar
11
Acrobat Duo

Eliminated

Lera and Nika Tomanova
12
Aerial Duo

Eliminated

Yosein Chi
13
Hand Balancer

Eliminated

Darcy Callus
14
Singer And Keyboardist

Eliminated

Carlos De Antonis
15
Opera Singer

Eliminated

Canion Shijirbat
16
Digital Dancer

Eliminated

Just Jerk
17
Hip-Hop Dance Group

Advanced

Maw Kitty
18
Singer

Eliminated

The Singing Trump
19
Singing Trump Impersonator

Advanced

Demian Aditya
20
Escape Artist

Advanced

text: Week 2[edit]

text: Guest judge: DJ Khaled

text: Date: July 25, 2017

text: As of 2017, this is the only Judge Cuts episode in the show's history in which an act with at least one "X" buzzer was nevertheless promoted to the live shows. This was also the only Judge Cuts episode of the season in which an act received 4 red buzzers.

text:
Act
Order
Performance type
Buzzes
Result

Cowell
Klum
Khaled
Mel B
Mandel

Sammulous
1
Cabaret Singer

Eliminated

Steven Scott
2
Comedian

Eliminated

The Quiddlers
3
Novelty Puppet Group

Eliminated

Str8jacket
4
Dance Group

Eliminated

Solto & T Dot
5
Dance Duo

Eliminated

Junior and Emily
6
Salsa Dance Duo

Advanced

Jokgu and Aichan
7
Piano-Playing Chickens

Eliminated Immediately

Dakota Striplin
8
Singer and Guitarist

Eliminated

Chase Goehring
9
Singer and Guitarist

Advanced Immediately

Azeri Brothers
10
Danger Act

Eliminated

The Godfathers
11
Acrobat Group

Eliminated

Tulga
12
Strongman

Eliminated

Mirror Image
13
Vocal/Dance Duo

Advanced

Evie Clair
14
Singer

Advanced

Kyle Eschen
15
Magician

Eliminated

Xavier Mortimer
16
Digital Magician

Eliminated

Colin Cloud
17
Mentalist

Advanced

Pelican212
18
Family Band

Eliminated

Puddles Pity Party
19
Singing Clown

Advanced

Yoli Mayor
20
Singer

Advanced

text: Week 3[edit]

text: Guest judge: Laverne Cox

text: Date: August 1, 2017

text: This was the first Judge Cuts episode in which no acts received a red buzzer from any of the judges.

text:
Act
Order
Performance type
Buzzes
Result

Cowell
Klum
Cox
Mel B
Mandel

Oscar Hernandez
1
Dancer

Advanced

Tony and Jordan
2
Digital Magicians

Eliminated

The Naked Magicians
3
Magicians

Eliminated

Jeki Yoo
4
Magician

Eliminated

Herbie Russ
5
Singer And Saxophonist

Eliminated

Mike Yung
6
Singer

Advanced

5 Alive
7
Boy Band

Eliminated

Final Draft
8
R&B Vocal Group

Quarterfinal Wild Card

Brobots & Mandroidz
9
Hip-Hop Dance Group

Advanced

Marisa McKaye
10
Singer

Eliminated

Celine Tam
11
Singer

Advanced Immediately

Aileen George
12
Pole Dancer

Eliminated

Shemika Charles
13
Limbo Dancer

Eliminated

Jay Jay Phillips
14
Comedic Keyboardist

Eliminated

Diavolo
15
Acrobatic Dance Group

Advanced

Jonathan Rinny
16
Balancing Acrobat

Eliminated

Bello Nock
17
Comedic Daredevil

Quarterfinal Wild Card

Daniel Ferguson
18
Singing Impressionist

Eliminated

Preacher Lawson
19
Comedian

Advanced

Billy & Emily England
20
Extreme Rollerskating Duo

Advanced

text: Week 4[edit]

text: Guest judge: Seal

text: Date: August 8, 2017

text:
Act
Order
Performance type
Buzzes
Result

Cowell
Klum
Seal
Mel B
Mandel

Artyon & Paige
1
Dance Duo

Advanced

Britt Saasen
2
Singer

Eliminated

In The Stairwell
3
A Capella Group

Advanced

Will Tsai
4
Visualist

Eliminated

Henry Richardson
5
Magician

Eliminated

Elena and Sasha
6
Acrobatic Duo

Eliminated

Lost Legends
7
Dance Group

Eliminated

Nick Uhas
8
Scientist

Eliminated

Veronica Gonzalez
9
Foot Puppeteer

Eliminated

Sirqus Alfon
10
Comedy Trio

Eliminated

DaNell Daymon & Greater Works
11
Gospel Choir

Advanced

Pompeyo Family Dogs
12
Dog Act

Advanced

Johnny Manuel
13
Singer

Advanced Immediately

Maria Popazov
14
Hand Balancer / Contortionist

Eliminated

Maxim Popazov
15
Hand Balancer

Eliminated

German Cornejo Dance Company
16
Dance Group

Eliminated

The Honeybee-z Plus
17
Dance Group

Eliminated

Merrick Hanna
18
Dancer

Advanced

Kechi Okwuchi
19
Singer

Advanced

Brandon Rogers
N/A
Singer

Did Not Advance[note 1][17]

text: Jump up ^ Rogers competed in this round before he died, but his performance was omitted from the episode.

tag: ol

text: Quarterfinals[edit]

text: The quarterfinals were broadcast live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles starting on August 15, 2017. They featured the nine golden buzzer acts, the 24 other acts promoted during the Judge Cuts round, and three wildcard acts chosen by the producers and judges. Twelve acts performed each week, with results announced the on following nights; each week seven acts were sent through to the semifinals.[18] Puddles Pity Party and Mirror Image received an "X" in the Quarterfinals. Demian Aditya received "X's" by Mel B and Cowell in the second Quarterfinals.

text:
Key
 Buzzed

  Advanced

 Judges' Choice

  Won Judges' Choice

  Lost Judges' Choice

  Dunkin' Save

  Judges' Wildcard

text: Week 1 (August 15–16)[edit]

text: Guests: Grace VanderWaal, August 16[19]

text:
Act
Order
Performance Type
Buzzes and judges' choices
Result

Cowell
Klum
Mel B
Mandel

Christian Guardino
1
Singer

Dunkin' Save

Artyon & Paige
2
Dancing Duo

Eliminated

In The Stairwell
3
A Cappella Group

Advanced

The Singing Trump
4
Singing Donald Trump Impersonator

Eliminated

Angelica Hale
5
Singer

Advanced

Bello Nock
6
Comedic Daredevil

Eliminated

Just Jerk1
7
Hip-Hop Dance Group

Lost Judges' Choice

Puddles Pity Party
8
Singing Clown

Eliminated

Preacher Lawson
9
Comedian

Advanced

Yoli Mayor1
10
Singer

Won Judges' Choice

Billy & Emily England
11
Extreme Rollerskating Duo

Advanced

Darci Lynne Farmer
12
Singing Ventriloquist

Advanced

text: ^1 After the judges split evenly in the Judges' Choice, Yoli Mayor was announced to have received more of America's votes than Just Jerk, and she advanced to the semi-finals.

text: Week 2 (August 22–23)[edit]

text: Guests: Circus 1903, August 23[20]

text:
Act
Order
Performance type
Buzzes and judges' choices
Result

Cowell
Klum
Mel B
Mandel

Brobots & Mandroidz
1
Hip-Hop Dance Group

Eliminated

Celine Tam
2
Singer

Advanced

Mirror Image
3
Vocal Dance Duo

Eliminated

Johnny Manuel
4
Singer

Advanced

Merrick Hanna
5
Dancer

Advanced

Eric Jones1
6
Close-up Magician

Won Judges' Choice

The Masqueraders1
7
Vocal Group

Lost Judges' Choice

Light Balance2
8
Light-Up Dance Group

Advanced

Evie Clair
9
Singer

Dunkin' Save

Demian Aditya3
10
Escape Artist

Eliminated

Pompeyo Family Dogs
11
Dog Act

Wild Card

Mandy Harvey
12
Singer-Songwriter/Ukulelist

Advanced

text: ^1 After the judges split evenly in the Judges' Choice, Eric Jones was announced to have received more of America's votes than The Masqueraders, and he advanced to the semi-finals.

text: ^2 Due to a technical issue, Light Balance's performance was based on their dress rehearsal.[21]

text: ^3 Another technical issue occurred when the sealed box Aditya was in didn't fall as planned.[22]

text: Week 3 (August 29–30)[edit]

text: Guests: Mat Franco, Piff the Magic Dragon, and Jon Dorenbos, August 30[23][24]

text:
Act
Order
Performance Type
Buzzes and judges' choices
Result

Cowell
Klum
Mel B
Mandel

DaNell Daymon & Greater Works
1
Gospel Choir

Won Judges' Choice

Junior and Emily Alabi
2
Salsa Dance Duo

Eliminated

Final Draft
3
Vocal Group

Eliminated

Oscar Hernandez
4
Dancer

Eliminated

Angelina Green
5
Singer

Lost Judges' Choice

Colin Cloud
6
Mentalist

Dunkin' Save

Mike Yung
7
Singer

Advanced

Oskar and Gaspar
8
Videomapping Act

Eliminated

Sara and Hero 1
9
Dog Act

Advanced

Chase Goehring
10
Singer-Songwriter/Guitarist

Advanced

Diavolo
11
Acrobatic Dance Group

Advanced

Kechi Okwuchi
12
Singer

Advanced

text: ^1 Sara added another dog named Loki in her act. Loki performed throughout the rest of the competition.

text: Semifinals[edit]

text: The live semifinals started on September 5, 2017. They featured the 21 acts voted to the semifinals, plus the judges' semifinal wildcard pick. Each week, eleven acts performed; five went through to the finals, and six were eliminated. No acts were buzzed.

text:
Key

  Advanced

 Judges' Choice

  Won Judges' Choice

  Lost Judges' Choice

  Dunkin' Save

text: Week 1 (September 5–6)[edit]

text: Guests: The Clairvoyants[25]

text:
Act
Order
Performance Description
Judges' choices
Result

Cowell
Klum
Mel B
Mandel

Yoli Mayor
1
Singer; performed "Say You Won't Let Go" by James Arthur

Eliminated

Eric Jones
2
Close-up magician: The judges are seated on the stage. A $2 bill in Eric's hand turns into 4 coins. Simon hands him a signed hundred-dollar bill in exchange for the 4 coins. He shakes the coins together between his palms, and one of the coins disappears. Eric gives Heidi the three coins, asks her to focus on one of them, and makes that coin disappear. Howie holds the two coins between his thumb and middle finger, and when he drops them, only one coin remains. Eric then places it onto Mel B's hand, teleports it to her shoulder, and that coin disappears as well. All four coins are found under Simon's 100-dollar bill, and Eric changes them into the $2 bill.

Lost Judges' Choice

DaNell Daymon & Greater Works1
3
Gospel choir; performed "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith

Eliminated

Preacher Lawson
4
Comedian; laments being single, explains why he broke up with his ex-girlfriend, Tyra, and worries about passing his big lips on to his future offspring. He ends with a joke about his reaction to his 4-year-old cousin calling him ugly.

Advanced

Johnny Manuel
5
Singer; performed an original song called "Blind Faith"

Eliminated

Billy and Emily England
6
Extreme rollerblading duo: rollerblades on a high platform in which Emily hangs on to Billy in several positions while they spin around. Billy then flings Emily off the edge of the platform into the jaws of animated dragons.

Eliminated

Evie Clair
7
Singer; performs "Yours" by Ella Henderson

Dunkin' Save

Sara & Hero
8
Dog act: Hero pretended to perform CPR on Sara before she "revives" and they play volleyball together. Guest performer Loki, Sara's younger dog, circles backwards around a standing Hero, who then gets on a skateboard and catches frisbees. Sara and Loki get on a surfboard, and then Hero jumps through a hoop before Sara jumps through the hoop with Hero. The act ends with Loki in Sara's arms.

Advanced

Chase Goehring1
9
Singer-songwriter/Guitarist; performed an original song called "What Is Love".

Won Judges' Choice

Darci Lynne Farmer
10
Singing ventriloquist's puppet, Edna Doorknocker, complains about being stuck in the elevator with The Singing Trump, while gushing about Simon. She then sings "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin to him, eventually cuddling a blushing Simon.

Advanced

Mike Yung1
11
Singer; performed "Don't Give Up on Me" by Solomon Burke

Eliminated

text: ^1 Chase Goehring, DaNell Daymon & Greater Works, and Mike Yung were not initially announced as performing on week one of semifinals.

text: Week 2 (September 12–13)[edit]

text:
Act
Order
Performance Description
Judges' choices
Result

Cowell
Klum
Mel B
Mandel

Celine Tam
1
Singer; performed "How Far I'll Go" from Moana.

Eliminated

Colin Cloud
2
Mentalist; printed thousands of tweets collected from the public, each listing a random celebrity, city and object, on cards (each containing a couple dozen of the tweets) distributed to the live audience members. Judges collected some of the cards from the audience at random. Mel B selected one card from these, and Heidi chose one tweet on the card at random, which contained a unique list: Ellen, Rome, cheese. Cloud demonstrated with prerecorded video snippets of himself and the judges that he had correctly predicted the list. A picture on stage, when flipped upside down, gave the same list in reverse order.

2

Lost Judges' Choice

Christian Guardino
3
Singer; performed "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye.

Eliminated

In the Stairwell
4
A Cappella Group; performed "Castle on the Hill" by Ed Sheeran

Eliminated

Merrick Hanna1
5
Dancer; performed robot-themed urban dance routine that involved some flying.

Eliminated

Mandy Harvey1
6
Singer; performed an original song, "Release Me", while translating the song into American Sign Language.

Advanced

Pompeyo Family Dogs
7
Dog Act; dogs of varying sizes, dressed as Arctic/Antarctic animals such as a polar bear and penguins, performed agility and acrobatic tricks including walking and handstanding on two legs, sometimes in size order, leaping through hoops and over humans, jumping rope with a human and climbing a ladder.

Eliminated

Diavolo
8
Acrobatic Dance Group; dancers rose into the air hanging artfully, or climbing on, and leaping from, various moving, transforming apparatuses, with a post-apocalyptic or futuristic theme.

2

Won Judges' Choice

Kechi Okwuchi
9
Singer; performed "Don't Worry About Me" by Frances.

Dunkin' Save

Light Balance
10
Light-Up Dance Group; urban dance employing darkness and chromatic lights on set and costumes with a video game effect.

Advanced

Angelica Hale
11
Singer; performed "Without You" by David Guetta

Advanced

text: ^1 Merrick Hanna and Mandy Harvey were switched to perform on Week 2 although they were on the Week 1 promo.

text: ^2 Klum's voting intention was not revealed.

text: Finals[edit]

text: The final performances took place on September 19, followed by the final results show on September 20, 2017. No acts were buzzed.

text:
Key

  Advanced to the top 5

  Top 10

text:
Act
Order
Performance Description
Result

Angelica Hale
1
Singer; performed "Symphony" by Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson.
Advanced

Chase Goehring
2
Singer-Songwriter/Guitarist; performed an original song called "Mirror".
Top 10

Sara and Hero
3
Dog Act; Hero freed Sara from a glass cube by pressing a button. Hero danced around Sara's legs before Loki ran out and performed alongside Hero. Hero balanced on Sara's feet and put his front legs in the air. Loki jumped over obstacles and ran through a tube, then Loki jumped rope, with Sara and Hero holding the ends. Hero jumped on his hind legs with Sara, then Sara made hoops with her hands for Loki to jump through. The act ended with Hero running up a ramp and jumping high through the air over a ball pit to grab a dangling bone.
Advanced

Diavolo
4
Dance/Acrobat Crew; Two acrobats danced around a door before opening it up to reveal acrobats dancing, jumping and sliding on ramps. They then transferred to a large rocking apparatus, climbing on and leaping off of it, and catching each other, with themes of fire and thunder in the background.
Top 10

Evie Clair
5
Singer; performed "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong.
Top 10

Preacher Lawson
6
Stand-Up Comedian; recalled an interaction on the street with a mostly naked man who proclaimed "Black Power" despite being white. He said the man asked to borrow $75, and noted that the man would definitely use it for drugs. He then performed an energetic physical bit, imitating the man by shaking and repeating the same phrase over and over. He ended by making a meta observation that while some audience members die laughing from this joke, others say, "How long is he gonna do this for?"
Top 10

Kechi Okwuchi
7
Singer; performed "Conqueror" by Estelle.
Top 10

Darci Lynne Farmer
8
Singing Ventriloquist; puppets Oscar and Petunia bickered over who should sing for the Finals. The two puppets then told Darci to keep her mouth closed while they both performed a version of "With a Little Help from My Friends" by The Beatles.
Advanced

Mandy Harvey
9
Singer-Songwriter/Ukeleleist; performed an original song called "This Time".
Advanced

Light Balance
10
Light-Up Dance Group; urban dance with chromatic lights. At the beginning, echoing the group's past performances, a dancer in a top hat sat on a chair (Preliminary auditions), followed by a werewolf (Quarterfinals) that seemingly tore one of the android dancers in half, although its top and bottom halves soon rejoined, and ended with a person resembling a video game character (Semifinals).
Advanced

text: Finale[edit]

text: Guest performers in the finale included Kelly Clarkson, Shania Twain, James Arthur, Derek Hough and Terry Fator.[8] Other celebrity appearances included Marlee Matlin.[26]

text: The following chart describes the acts, appearances and segments presented during the finale.

text:
Act(s)
Performance Description

Angelica Hale & Kechi Okwuchi
Singers; Guest performer Kelly Clarkson sang, with the two contestants, a trio of her song "Stronger".

Chase Goehring
Singer-Songwriter/Guitarist; Guest performer James Arthur sang a duet with Goehring of his song '"Say You Won't Let Go".

Sara and Hero
Dog Act; Instead of performing an act, Sara worked to train the Judges' dogs to perform several tricks.

Diavolo
Dance/Acrobat Crew; performed in a space-like setting with asteroids crashing into each other in the background and the dancers jumping off of a moon-like structure.

Evie Clair
Singer; Guest performer James Arthur performed a duet with Clair of her song "Okay Day".

Preacher Lawson
Comedian; Clips were shown of Lawson performing at the Laugh Factory with Judge Howie Mandel and Kevin Nealon.

Darci Lynne Farmer
Singing Ventriloquist; Guest performer Terry Fator, with his turtle puppet, Winston, joked around with Farmer and her bunny, Petunia. The two puppets then performed the comic song "Anything You Can Do".

Mandy Harvey
Singer-Songwriter/Ukeleleist; Guest performer Shania Twain sang a duet with Harvey of Twain's song "You're Still The One".

Light Balance
Light-Up Dance Group; Guest performer Derek Hough led the group in a dance routine similar to the group's preliminary auditions routine.

text:
Key

  1st place (Winner)

  2nd place (Runner-up)

  3rd place

  4th place

  5th place

text:
Act
Result

Darci Lynne Farmer
Winner

Angelica Hale
Runner-Up

Light Balance
3rd place

Mandy Harvey
4th place

Sara and Hero
5th place

text: Top 36 acts[edit]

text:
Key
     Winner
     Runner-up
     Third Place
     Top 5
     Finalist
     Semifinalist (lost judges' vote)
     Semifinalist (lost audience vote)
     Quarterfinalist (lost judges' vote)
     Quarterfinalist (lost audience vote)
 Golden buzzer (Auditions)
 Golden buzzer (Judge Cuts)
 Judges' wild card (quarterfinals)
 Judges' wild card (semifinals)

text:
Name of Act
Age(s)
Genre
Act
Hometown
Quarterfinal
Semifinal
Result

Darci Lynne Farmer
12
Comedy & Singing
Singing Ventriloquist
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1
1
Winner

Angelica Hale
9
Singing
Singer
Atlanta, Georgia
1
2
Runner-Up

Light Balance
22-36
Dance
Light-Up Dance Group
Ukraine
2
2
3rd Place

Mandy Harvey
29
Singing
Singer-Songwriter/Ukulelist
St. Cloud, Florida
2
2
4th Place

Sara and Hero
22 & 5
Animal
Dog Act
North Bay, Ontario, Canada
3
1
5th Place

Chase Goehring
21
Singing
Singer-Songwriter/Guitarist
Nolensville, Tennessee
3
1
Finalist (Won Judges' Vote)

Diavolo
21-39
Acrobatics
Acrobatic Dance Group
Los Angeles, California
3
2
Finalist (Won Judges' Vote)

Evie Clair
13
Singing
Singer
Florence, Arizona
2
1
Finalist (Won Dunkin' Save Vote)

Kechi Okwuchi
27
Singing
Singer
Houston, Texas
3
2
Finalist (Won Dunkin' Save Vote)

Preacher Lawson
25
Comedy
Stand-up Comedian
Memphis, Tennessee
1
1
Finalist (Won Audience Vote)

Colin Cloud
30
Magic
Mentalist
Edinburgh, Scotland
3
2
Semifinalist (Lost Judges' Vote)

Eric Jones
36
Magic
Close-up Magician
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2
1
Semifinalist (Lost Judges' Vote)

Billy & Emily England
30, 27
Danger
Extreme Rollerskating Duo
Las Vegas, Nevada
1
1
Eliminated

Celine Tam
9
Singing
Singer
Hong Kong
2
2
Eliminated

Christian Guardino
16
Singing
Singer
Patchogue, New York
1
2
Eliminated

DaNell Daymon & Greater Works
24-59
Singing
Gospel Choir
Various
3
1
Eliminated

In The Stairwell
18-22
Singing
A Cappella Group
Colorado Springs, Colorado
1
2
Eliminated

Johnny Manuel
32
Singing
Singer
Flint, Michigan
2
1
Eliminated

Merrick Hanna
12
Dance
Dancer
Encinitas, California
2
2
Eliminated

Mike Yung
56
Singing
Singer
New York, New York
3
1
Eliminated

Pompeyo Family Dogs
7-35
Animal
Dog Act
Sarasota, Florida
2
2
Eliminated

Yoli Mayor
21
Singing
Singer
Miami, Florida
1
1
Eliminated

Angelina Green
13
Singing
Singer
Miami, Florida
3
N/A
Quarterfinalist (lost judges' vote)

Just Jerk
18-27
Dance
Hip-Hop Dance Group
Seoul, South Korea
1
N/A
Quarterfinalist (lost judges' vote)

The Masqueraders
72-74
Singing
Vocal Group
Nashville, Tennessee
2
N/A
Quarterfinalist (lost judges' vote)

Artyon & Paige
9 & 8
Dance
Dancing Duo
Murrieta, California
1
N/A
Eliminated

Bello Nock
47
Danger
Comedic Daredevil
Sarasota, Florida
1
N/A
Eliminated

Brobots & Mandroidz
16-24
Dance
Hip-Hop Dance Group
Torrance, California
2
N/A
Eliminated

Demian Aditya
36
Magic
Escape Artist
Jakarta, Indonesia
2
N/A
Eliminated

Final Draft
22-26
Singing
Vocal Group
Atlanta, Georgia
3
N/A
Eliminated

Junior and Emily
31 & 27
Dance
Salsa Dance Duo
Los Angeles, California
3
N/A
Eliminated

Mirror Image
16
Singing & Dance
Vocal Dance Duo
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2
N/A
Eliminated

Oscar Hernandez
34
Dance
Dancer
Orange County, California
3
N/A
Eliminated

Oskar and Gaspar
Unknown
Variety
Videomapping Act
Unknown
3
N/A
Eliminated

Puddles Pity Party
52
Singing
Singing Clown
Atlanta, Georgia
1
N/A
Eliminated

The Singing Trump
56
Comedy & Singing
Singing Trump Impersonator
Palm Springs, California[27]
1
N/A
Eliminated

text: Ratings[edit]

text: U.S. Nielsen ratings[edit]

text:
Show
Episode title
First air date
Timeslot (EDT)
Rating
(18–49)
Share
(18–49)
Viewers
(millions)
Nightly
Rank
Weekly
Rank

1
Auditions Week 1
May 30, 2017
Tuesday
8:00 p.m.
2.7
11
12.32[28]
1
3[29]

2
Auditions Week 2
June 6, 2017
2.7
11
12.53[30]
1
3[31]

3
Auditions Week 3
June 13, 2017
2.6
11
12.70[32]
1
2[33]

4
Auditions Week 4
June 20, 2017
2.6
11
12.74[34]
1
1[35]

5
Auditions Week 5
June 27, 2017
2.5
10
12.36[36]
1
1[37]

6
Auditions Week 6
July 11, 2017
2.5
10
12.59[38]
1
1[39]

7
Judge Cuts 1
July 18, 2017
2.5
11
12.57[40]
1
1[41]

8
Judge Cuts 2
July 25, 2017
2.6
11
13.08[42]
1
1[43]

9
Judge Cuts 3
August 1, 2017
2.8
12
13.33[44]
1
1[45]

10
Judge Cuts 4
August 8, 2017
2.7
11
13.32[46]
1
1[47]

11
Quarterfinals, Week 1 (Performances)
August 15, 2017
2.8
11
13.44[48]
1
1[49]

12
Quarterfinals, Week 1 (Results)
August 16, 2017
Wednesday 8:00 p.m.
2.1
9
10.89[50]
1
2[49]

13
Quarterfinals, Week 2 (Performances)
August 22, 2017
Tuesday 8:00 p.m.
2.6
10
12.76[51]
1
1[52]

14
Quarterfinals, Week 2 (Results)
August 23, 2017
Wednesday 8:00 p.m.
2.0
9
10.84[53]
1
2[52]

15
Quarterfinals, Week 3 (Performances)
August 29, 2017
Tuesday 8:00 p.m.
2.6
11
13.13[54]
1
2[55]

16
Quarterfinals, Week 3 (Results)
August 30, 2017
Wednesday 8:00 p.m.
1.9
8
11.07[56]
1
3[55]

17
Semifinals, Week 1 (Performances)
September 5, 2017
Tuesday 8:00 p.m.
2.6
10
13.29[57]
1
3[58]

18
Semifinals, Week 1 (Results)
September 6, 2017
Wednesday 8:00 p.m.
2.1
8
11.99[59]
1
6[58]

19
Semifinals, Week 2 (Performances)
September 12, 2017
Tuesday 9:00 p.m.[note 1]
2.3
9
11.57[60]
1
3[61]

20
Semifinals, Week 2 (Results)
September 13, 2017
Wednesday 8:00 p.m.
2.1
8
11.59[62]
1
2[61]

21
The Finals
September 19, 2017
Tuesday 8:00 p.m.
3.0
12
14.70[63]
1
4[64]

22
Season Finale
September 20, 2017
Wednesday 8:00 p.m.
3.0
11
15.64[65]
1
2[64]

text: Jump up ^ This episode was delayed by one hour to follow Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Relief.

text: Specials[edit]

text:
Show
Episode title
First air date
Timeslot (EDT)
Rating
(18–49)
Share
(18–49)
Viewers
(millions)
Nightly
Rank
Weekly
Rank

S1
Best of Season 12 Auditions
July 13, 2017
Thursday 8:00 p.m.
1.3
6
7.10[66]
2
10[39]

S2
Road to Finals[67]
August 9, 2017
Wednesday 8:00 p.m.
1.3
6
7.01[68]
2
8[47]

text: Contestants who appeared on other seasons or shows[edit]

text:
Demian Aditya appeared as a guest performer on Indonesia's Got Talent.
German Cornejo & Gisela Galeassi ("German Cornejo Dance Company") appeared on and were the tango dancer winners of ¡Q'Viva! The Chosen in 2012, performing after the show in Las Vegas with ¡Q'Viva! The Chosen Live. They also were guest artists in Buenos Aires at the Dance Again World Tour by Jennifer Lopez.
Ezequiel Lopez ("German Cornejo Dance Company") appeared on and was one of the malambo dancer winners of ¡Q'Viva! The Chosen in 2012.
Canion Shijirbat appeared on and was the runner-up of Mongolia's Got Talent in 2016. He appeared on Asia's Got Talent a few months after America’s Got Talent and was given a Golden Buzzer by the hosts.
Nick Uhas was a houseguest on Big Brother 15 and was the second houseguest evicted from the house.
Merrick Hanna auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation. He made it into the top 40 at Dance Academy, but was eliminated before reaching the top 30.[69] He has also appeared as a lip sync battler on Nickelodeon's Lip Sync Battle Shorties and on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[70]
Artyon, half of the dancing duo Artyon and Paige, appeared as a lip sync battler on Nickelodeon's Lip Sync Battle Shorties.
Darci Lynne Farmer appeared on Little Big Shots in 2016 and on Little Big Shots (UK TV series) in 2017.
Billy and Emily England appeared on Britain's Got Talent (series 9) and reached the Semifinals. In 2008, Emily was the runner-up on Big Brother UK: Celebrity Hijack, competing under the name of "Emilia."
Tony and Jordan ("The French Twins") appeared on series 11 of La France a un incroyable talent(the French version of Got Talent) in 2016.
Chase Goehring appeared on The X Factor (U.S. season 3).
Christian Guardino appeared on Showtime at the Apollo in 2016.
Light Balance appeared on Britain's Got Talent (series 8) and reached the Semifinals.
Junior and Emily appeared on Season 3 of America's Got Talent, but were eliminated before the live shows.
Shemika Charles appeared on Season 6 of America's Got Talent, but was eliminated during Vegas week.
Celine Tam appeared on Little Big Shots in 2016 and Britain's Got Talent (series 10) but had to drop out due to a visa issue.
Vinny Grosso ("The Naked Magician") previously appeared on "Penn and Teller: Fool Us", performing the same routine as his AGT Audition, and successfully fooling the magic duo.
The Quiddlers participated in the third season and appeared on I Can Do That, performing with Ciara and Nicole Scherzinger during their time on the show.
Eric Jones previously appeared on "Penn and Teller: Fool us, and he was successful in fooling them. Kyle Eschen & Xavier Mortimer also appeared on Fool Us (Mortimer twice), but were unsuccessful in fooling Penn & Teller.
Xavier Mortimer auditioned in Season 10, but was eliminated at the judge cuts after receiving four buzzers.
Pelican 212 appeared on Little Big Shots in 2016.
Kyle Eschen appeared on Season 3, episode 2 of Penn & Teller: Fool Us, Masters of Illusion, and The World Magic Awards.
Colin Cloud appeared on Britain's Got Talent in 2012, but he did not make it through to the live semifinals. Cloud also appeared on Season 1 of Penn and Teller Fool Us. His trick didn't however fool Penn and Teller. At both BGT and Penn and Teller Fool Us he went under his real name Colin McLeod.

tag: ul


document_title: Zero-based budgeting

question_text: who gave the concept of zero based budgeting

text: Zero-based budgeting

text: Creator and Definition[edit]

text: As an accounting manager for Texas Instruments, Pete Pyhrr created zero-based budgeting. In an interview by People magazine, he stated that many line items were historically and traditionally budgeted regardless of the need for the item. Mr. Pyhrr was subsequently asked by Georgia governor Jimmy Carter to manage the Georgia budget process. Pyhrr authored "Zero Based Budgeting: A Practical Management Tool for Evaluating Expenses".[1]

text: According to Peter Sarant, former director of management analysis training for the United States Civil Service Commission, ZBB is "a technique which complements and links to existing planning, budgeting and review processes. It identifies alternative and efficient methods of utilizing limited resources. It is a flexible management approach which provides a credible rationale for reallocating resources by focusing on a systematic review and justification of the funding and performance levels of current programs."

text: Zero-based budgeting is a method of budgeting in which all expenses must be justified for each new period. Zero-based budgeting starts from a "zero base" and every function within an organization is analyzed for its needs and costs. Budgets are then built around what is needed for the upcoming period regardless of whether the budget is higher or lower than the previous one.

text: ZBB allows top-level strategic goals to be implemented into the budgeting process by tying them to specific functional areas of the organization. Costs can be first grouped, then measured against previous results and current expectations.

text: Misconceptions[edit]

text: There are five misconceptions about Zero-Based Budgeting that can make financial advisers shy away from using this type of budgeting.

text: 1. The idea that zero-based budgeting is just starting your budget from a zero sum.

text: The reality is that zero-based budgeting uses an approach that can facilitate cost viability, cost governance, and cost accountability. Using zero based budgeting correctly can lead to better cost management.

text: 2. Using zero-based budgeting is cutting a budget to ribbons.

text: The reality is that the amount of budget cutting depends on what the company/government body wants to do. This type of budget cutting also depends on the bodies top-down savings target.

text: 3. Zero-based budgeting can bog down a business and stop it from doing anything else.

text: The reality is that yes, introducing a new cost management culture within a new business/government body can take some time, it does not always have to create stops. Having a team to implement this type of change can help make the transition easier.

text: 4. Zero-based budgeting only focuses on Selling, General, and Administrative Costs (SG&A)

text: The reality is that this type of budgeting tool can be used in any type of cost. The main purposes of zero based budgeting is accountability, viability, aligned incentives, and a rigorous process and all of these can be important to any type of costs.

text: 5. Zero-based budgeting was not created for growth oriented companies.

text: The reality is that zero-based budgeting can be used at any company/government body whether it is being used for cost saving or growth. Zero-based budgeting is not a full slash and burn budgeting technique it can be used in situations to provide strong visibility within a body to create more success.[2]

text: Advantages[edit]

text:
Accuracy: This type of budgeting requires companies to look over every department to make sure they are getting the correct amount of money.
Efficiency: It helps judge actual need by focusing on current numbers instead of past budgets.
Reduction in wasteful spending: It can remove redundant spending by reexamining potentially unnecessary expenditures.
Coordination and Communication: It allows for better communication within departments by involving employees in decision-making and budget prioritization.

text: Disadvantages[edit]

text:
Bureaucracy: Creating ZBB within a company can take enormous amounts of time, effort, and analysis that would require extra staff. This could cause the process to be counter productive in cutting costs.
Corruption: In using ZBB, managers could attempt to skew numbers to make expenditures into vital activities, thus creating a "need" for them. This would cause companies to continue wasting money on things they don't need.
Intangible Justifications: This type of budgeting requires departments to justify their budget, which can be difficult on many levels. Departments such as advertising and marketing have to justify expenses they may or may not use in the next year due to the fluctuation of the market. This could cost them profits in the future due to not being able to justify a certain amount.
Managerial Time: ZBB comes at the cost of time and extra training for managers. This means extra time every year to do the budget, make adjustments, and receive the proper training to understand how to do ZBB.
Slower Response Time: Due to the amount of time and training is required to do ZBB, managerial staff could be less likely to revise the budget in response to a changing market. This means that it will take longer for a company to move money into departments that need it the most at the time. ZBB could potentially leave gaps in a company because the budget might not react to departments' sudden needs.

text: Use in Public and Private Sectors[edit]

text: Background[edit]

text: Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) in the public sector versus the private sector is a different process. "The use of ZBB in the private sector has been limited primarily to administrative overhead activities (i.e. administrative expenses needed to maintain the organization.:51 In the United States Zero-based budgeting was developed in 1969 at Texas Instrument Inc. Jimmy Carter, Governor of Georgia, was the first to adopt the process of zero-base into the government for the preparation of the fiscal of 1973 budget. Three years later, sponsored by the President and Congress the federal government for the first time implemented zero-base budgeting in The Government Economy and Spending Reform act of 1976.[5]

text: President Carter later required the adoption of ZBB by the federal government during the late 1970s. "Zero-Base Budgeting (ZBB) was an executive branch budget formulation process introduced into the federal government in 1977. Its main focus was on optimizing accomplishments available at alternative budgetary levels. Under ZBB agencies were expected to set priorities based on the program results that could be achieved at alternative spending levels, one of which was to be below current funding."[6]

text: For the most part in government, the main users of ZBB are the legislative, executive, and the agency. The legislative includes the congress, state legislature, and city council, and they require more summarization and focusing on public priorities and objectives. Agencies include the agency director and department managers and they require more detailed information and focus on program implementation and efficiency. Lastly, the executive includes the President, governors, mayor/city manager and they focus on the needs of the legislature and agency.[5] Although the legislative, the agency, and the executive have different focuses they all have to address two standard questions:

text:
Are the current activities efficient and effective?
Should current activities be eliminated or reduced to fund higher-priority new programs? Or to reduce the current budget?[5]

text: According to Peter Sarant, the former director of management analysis training for the US Civil Service Commission during the Carter ZBB implementation effort, "ZBB means 'different things to different people'." Some definitions imply that zero-based budgeting is the act of starting budgets from scratch or requiring each program or activity to be justified from the ground up. This is not true; the acronym ZBB is a misnomer. ZBB is a misnomer because in many large agencies a complete zero-base review of all program elements during one budget period is not feasible; it would result in excessive paperwork and be an almost impossible task if implemented."[7]:3 In many respects the "common misunderstanding" of ZBB noted above resembles a "sunset review" process more than a traditional public sector ZBB process.

text: Components of a public sector ZBB analysis[edit]

text: In an overview of zero-based budgeting, there are a total of three elements that make up the concept:

text:
Decision Unit Determination

This is the building process of the formulation of a budget structure.

Decision Package Formulation

When compiling and packaging a budget request, this mechanism is utilized.

Ranking

This process requires the most attention as it requires a company's manager(s) to prioritize out of a group of decision packages that are laid out to them.

text: In general there are three components that make up public sector ZBB:

text:
Identify three alternate funding levels for each decision unit (Traditionally, this has been a zero-base level, a current funding level and an enhanced service level.);
Determine the impact of these funding levels on program (decision unit) operations using program performance metrics; and
Rank the program "decision packages" for the three funding levels.

text: In many cases, program staffers were asked to look for alternative service delivery models that could deliver services more efficiently at lower funding level.

text: The US General Accounting Office (GAO) reviewed past performance budgeting initiatives in 1997 and found that ZBBs "main focus was on optimizing accomplishments available at alternative budgetary levels:

text: Set priorities based on the program results that could be achieved at alternative spending levels, one of which was to be below current funding.

text:
In developing budget forms, these were to be ranked against each other sequentially from the lowest level organizations up through the department and without reference to a past base.
In concept, ZBB sought a precise link between budgetary resources and program results."[6]:6

text: Further, "ZBB illustrated the usefulness of:

text:
Defining and presenting alternative funding levels; and
Expanded participation of program managers in the budget process."

text: The federal ZBB budgeting system had the following components: "Budget requests for each decision unit were to be prepared by their managers, who would (1) identify alternative approaches to achieving the unit's objectives, (2) identify several alternative funding levels, including a "minimum" level normally below current funding, (3) prepare "decision packages" according to a prescribed format for each unit, including budget and performance information, and (4) rank the decision packages against each other."[6]:6

text: ZBB was officially eliminated in federal budgeting on August 7, 1981. "Some participants in the budget process as well as other observers attributed certain program efficiencies, arising from the consideration of alternatives, to ZBB. Interestingly, ZBB established within federal budgeting a requirement to:

text:
Present alternative levels of funding; and
Link (them) to alternative results."[6]:6

text: This element of the ZBB budgeting process remained in effect through the Reagan, Bush and early Clinton administrations before being eliminated in 1994.

text: →Defining the government program zero-base:

text: As noted earlier, there is often considerable confusion over the meaning of zero-base budgeting. There is no evidence that public sector ZBB has ever included "building budgets from the bottom up" and "reviewing every invoice" as part of the analysis. In discussions of ZBB, there is often confusion between a ZBB process and a sunset review process. In a sunset review the entire function is eliminated unless evidence is provided of program effectiveness. This confusion ultimately leads to the question: what is a zero-base?

text: Sarant's definition of the zero-base based on the federal training experience is: "A minimum level is actually the grass roots funding level necessary to keep a program alive. Therefore, the minimal level is the "program or funding level below which it is not feasible to continue a program... because no constructive contribution can be made toward fulfilling its objective."[7]:73 Identifying this level of program funding has been subjective and problematic.

text: Consequently, "some states have selected arbitrary percentages to ensure that an amount smaller than last year's request in considered. They do this by stipulating that one alternative must be 50, 80, or 90 percent of last year's request."[8]:52 This equates to analyzing the impact on program operations of a 10, 20 or 50 percent reduction in funding as the "zero base" funding level.

text: Importance of performance measures[edit]

text: Performance measures are a key component of the ZBB process. At the core, ZBB requires quality measures that can be used to analyze the impact of alternative funding scenarios on program operations and outcomes. Without quality measures ZBB simply will not work because decision packages cannot be ranked. To perform a ZBB analysis "alternative decision packages are prepared and ranked, thus allowing marginal utility and comparative analysis."[8]:52

text: Traditionally, a ZBB analysis focused on three types of measures. "They (federal agency program staff) were to identify the key indicators to be used in measuring performance and results. These should be "measures of:

text:
effectiveness,
efficiency, and
workload for each decision unit.

text: Indirect or proxy indicators could be used if these systems did not exist or were under development."[6]:6

text: Impact on government operations[edit]

text: According to the GAO:

text: "Agencies believed that inadequate time had been allowed to implement the new initiative. The requirement to compress planning and budgeting functions within the time frames of the budget cycle had proven especially difficult, affecting program managers' ability to identify alternative approaches to accomplishing agency objectives. Some agency officials also believed that the performance information needed for ZBB analysis was lacking."[6]:50–51

text: According to the National Conference of State Legislatures:[9]

text: "In its original sense, ZBB meant that no past decisions are taken for granted. Every previous budget decision is up for review. Existing and proposed programs are on an equal footing, and the traditional state practice of altering almost all existing budget lines by small amounts every year or two would be swept away. No state government has ever found this feasible. Even Georgia, where Governor Jimmy Carter introduced ZBB to state budgeting in 1971, employed a much modified form.

text: State programs are not, in practice, amenable to such a radical annual re-examination. Statutes, obligations to local governments, requirements of the federal government, and other past decisions have many times created state funding commitments that are almost impossible to change very much in the short run. Education funding levels are determined in many states partly by state and federal judicial decisions and state constitutional provisions, as well as by statutes. Federal mandates require that state Medicaid funding meet a specific minimum level if Medicaid is to exist at all in a state. Federal law affects environmental program spending, and both state and federal courts help determine state spending on prisons. Much state spending, therefore, cannot usefully be subjected to the kind of fundamental re-examination that ZBB in its original form envisions.

text: To the extent that ZBB has encouraged governors and legislators to take a hard look at the impact of incremental changes in state spending, it produced a significant improvement in state budgeting. But in its classic form – begin all budget evaluations from zero – ZBB is as unworkable as it ever was."

text: Use in the Chinese Public Sector[edit]

text: The concept of ZBB was first introduced to China in the beginning of the 1990s and was primarily focused in the Hubei Province area of China. Just as the United States encountered many problems and failures with ZBB, China too ran into them as well. But even with the numerous amount of problems and failures along the way, they have gradually adjusted appropriately since then to become more effective on using ZBB as a budget reform. Western influence on budgeting was non-existent in China before 1993. It was during the 1990s that China began looking out for a new and modern form of budgeting for their country’s nationwide budget reform. They ended up settling on ZBB. A new policy was set in place to put ZBB into action, known as the DBR, or the Departmental Budgeting Reform. The DBR and ZBB were first implemented in the Hubei province of China. According to Jun Ma, a professor at the university of Nebraska, the beginning years of ZBB in Hubei were a bit rocky as the DBR had not yet been implemented into all the state departments in Hubei. Only a few departments implemented the budgeting system and the results of multiple departments using multiple budgeting systems were not good. It slowly became clear that using ZBB in a traditional sense would not work out. Officials in the Hubei province and the DBR began looking for ways to incorporate the best parts of ZBB and form a new budgeting system that would work for their needs. The result of this change was a Chinese-styled Target-Based Budgeting system. This form of budgeting required bureaucracies and agencies to submit a simple budget within a pre-set time limit. TBB, as a modified form of ZBB, has worked out moderately okay for the Chinese government in Hubei over the years, but many problems still face the budgeting system.

text: Some number of issues ranging from the absence of a unified budget and certain expenditures that are somehow exempt from the ZBB process, to the influence or effects of political factors have been widely noted.

text:
Absence of a Budget Unification- Though the Hubei Province has developed a thorough budget by combining expenditures and off-budget revenues into the budget, there yet remains certain types of expenses that are still under the control of certain individuals other than the government Finance Department. Because of this, the difficulty of prioritizing all the possible government programs becomes confusing.
Political Factor Influences- No matter what the term or whose term it is, political officials have always had a certain plan or change that they would like to implement that would greatly influence the prioritizing process of ZBB. Certain political officials could say they greatly support a certain program and would like the Finance Department to focus more money into that particular program whilst other political officials would think otherwise. Therefore, any real changes or improvements made will always face opposition unless you have a unified political support.
Expenditure exemptions- Ranging from operating and personnel expenses to central government policies that are unfunded that start after the budget year, these are just to name a few things that are excluded from the ZBB process. By not including a large portion of spending into the ZBB process, the effectiveness potential of these reforms becomes greatly reduced.

text: Two notable reforms to the ZBB process include having departments submit budget requests and the use of sunset legislation.

text:
Budget requests- These requests are to reflect (1) a cut of a certain percentage, (2) current level of spending, and (3) an increase of a certain percentage. This allows the opportunity of trading between departments of the funding of a lower priority of one department to a higher priority of another.
Sunset legislation- This process places a sense of urgency on certain programs implemented or that are currently being funded as that program shall be placed under review to determine efficiency & effectiveness ,and see whether the public or government really need this program. (Bunch) [10]

text: Use in Private Sector[edit]

text: 3G Capital has become successful using ZBB within their company. Their merger with Kraft Foods in 2015 no doubt helped in making its use successful. This use of ZBB might have continued the misconception that this budgeting style was only for businesses trying to lighten the load of a new company.[11] However, this merger did trigger the use of ZBB within the company and made Kraft Foods review and shave down things like cutting hundreds of management jobs, jettisoning corporate jets, to requiring employees to ask to make photocopies.[12]

text: Impact of ZBB on stockholders[edit]

text: The use of ZBB within 3G Capital has been profitable for stockholders. When 3G Capital quickly cut costs within Kraft, their stock prices increased 36% as a direct result. This type of budgeting enabled companies like Kraft to compete again on price with some of the leaner competition, that had previously undercut Kraft's prices. Zero-based budgeting helps more money to flow to stockholders than into unused departments, over-funded programs, and wasteful spending habits.[12]


document_title: The Great British Bake Off (series 5)

question_text: who went home on the great british bake off

text: The Great British Bake Off (series 5)

text: Bakers[edit]

text:
Baker[3]
Age
Occupation
Hometown
links

Chetna Makan
35
Fashion designer
Broadstairs, Kent
[4][5]

Claire Goodwin
31
Speech therapist
Ashton on Mersey, Trafford
[6][7]

Diana Beard
69
Women's Institute (WI) judge
Alkington, Shropshire
[8]

Enwezor Nzegwu
39
Business consultant
Portsmouth, Hampshire
[9]

Iain Watters
31
Construction engineer
London / Belfast
[10]

Jordan Cox
32
IT manager
Sneinton, Nottingham
[11][12]

Kate Henry
41
Furniture restorer
Brighton, East Sussex
[13]

Luis Troyano
42
Graphic designer
Poynton, Cheshire
[14][15]

Martha Collison
17
Student
Ascot, Berkshire
[16]

Nancy Birtwhistle
60
Retired practice manager
Barton-Upon-Humber, Lincolnshire
[17]

Norman Calder
66
Retired naval officer
Portknockie, Moray
[18]

Richard Burr
38
Builder
Mill Hill, London
[19][20]

text: Results summary[edit]

text:
Elimination chart

Baker
1
2
3
4
5[a]
6[b]
7
8
9
10

Nancy
SB

WINNER

Luis

SB

Runner up

Richard

SB

SB

SB
Runner up

Chetna

SB

OUT

Martha

OUT

Kate

SB

OUT

Norman

OUT

Diana

LEFT

Iain

OUT

Jordan

OUT

Enwezor

OUT

Claire
OUT

text: [a] Diana left the show after episode 4 due to illness. Her departure was announced at the start of episode 5. The night before episode 5 was scheduled to be taped, she suffered a head injury, resulting in an overnight stay in A&E and a loss of her senses of taste and smell that persisted.[21][22]

text: [b] Because the judges were unable to agree, no-one was eliminated this week.

text: Colour key:

text: Episodes[edit]

text: Episode 1: Cakes[edit]

text: For their first bake, the contestants were required to make a Swiss roll as their signature challenge in two and a half hours. For the technical bake, the baker were set the challenge of baking a cherry cake in two hours using Mary Berry's recipe. In the showstopper challenge, the bakers were given three and a half hours to bake their own choice of classic British cakes in miniature. The bakers needed to make 36 cakes of identical size, shape and texture.

text:
Baker

Signature(Swiss Roll)

Technical(Cherry Cake)

Showstopper(36 Classic Miniature British Cakes)

Chetna
Cardamom, Pistachio and Coffee Swiss Roll
3rd
Tiered Victoria Sponges with Lemon Curd and Raspberry Cream

Claire
Chocolatey Orangey Swirly Roll
8th
Mini Chocolate and Cherry Cakes

Diana
Mum's Sunday Tea Lemon Curd Swiss Roll
5th
Chocolate Ganache Surprises

Enwezor
Raspberry and Lemon Swiss Roll
9th
Coffee and Walnut Battenberg Squares

Iain
Apricot and Basil Swiss Roll with Mascarpone and White Chocolate Cream
4th
Lemon Drizzle Cakes with Mascarpone Filling, Drizzled Icing, and Candied Lemon

Jordan
Kawaii Frasier Swiss Roll
12th
Lemon Drizzle Cakes with Blueberry and Lemon Curd

Kate
Red Velvet and White Chocolate Swiss Roll
6th
Mini Tiered Victoria Sponges

Luis
Spanish Swiss Roll
7th
Raspberry and Lemon Genoise Slices with Lemon Drizzles

Martha
Tiramisu Swiss Roll
2nd
Mini Lemon and Thyme Drizzle Cakes

Nancy
Coffee and Hazelnut Swiss Roll
1st
Jaffa Orange Cakes

Norman
Black Forest Swiss Roll
11th
Almond and Raspberry Mini Cakes

Richard
Pistachio and Strawberry Swiss Roll
10th
Miniature Coffee & Walnut Cakes

text: Episode 2: Biscuits[edit]

text: In this episode, the bakers were challenged with creating biscuits. Firstly, in the signature, they had two hours to bake 36 savoury biscuits. In the technical challenge, they had one and a quarter hours with Mary Berry's recipe for 18 florentines, which the bakers found difficult. In the final challenge, the bakers had four hours to make some kind of 3D biscuit scene. Though Berry stressed that everything must be home-made, Enwezor chose to bring some fondant he admitted to not baking himself, contributing to his dismissal. The event was discussed on various websites and was deemed disrespectful.

text:
Baker

Signature(36 Savoury Biscuits)

Technical(18 Florentines)

Showstopper(3D Biscuit Scene)

Chetna
Fenugreek and Carom Crackers
8th
Day On The Beach

Diana
Parmesan Triangles
7th
Express, First Class

Enwezor
Pumpkin and Sunflower Savoury Biscuits
9th
Space Adventure Moon Scene

Iain
Za'atar and Fig Biscuits
11th
Wild West Scene

Jordan
Sourdough, Parmesan and Chilli Biscuits
6th
Monster Attack

Kate
Parmesan and Apple Biscuits
4th
Tea Time

Luis
Black Olive and Rosemary Biscuits with Caramelised Onion Glaze
3rd
George Versus The Dragon

Martha
Caramelised Onion and Goat's Cheese Sandwich Biscuits
5th
Ski Village Scene

Nancy
Fennel and Rye Thins
2nd
Hansel and Gretel Scene

Norman
Farthing Biscuits
10th
Zulu Boats at Dawn

Richard
Rosemary Seeded Crackers
1st
Pirates!

text: Episode 3: Bread[edit]

text: In bread week, the bakers firstly had to make twelve rye bread rolls in three and a half hours. In the technical challenge, they were given three hours to make four ciabatta loaves using Paul's recipe, with the advice from Paul that they should be patient. In the showstopper, the bakers were required to make a bread centrepiece in four hours. The centrepiece should be a filled-loaf that is spectacular and tasty, and would be judged on its appearance, design and crust, and should be well-baked on the inside.

text:
Baker

Signature
(12 Rye Bread Rolls)

Technical
(4 Ciabattas)

Showstopper
(Filled Centrepiece Loaf)

Chetna
Onion and Pine Nut Rolls
8th
Rolled and Filled Twin Loaf

Diana
Rustic Picnic Rolls
7th
Sharing Savoury Pinwheel

Iain
Cranberry and Walnut Rye Bread Rolls
9th
Moroccan Plaited with a Bessara Dip

Jordan
Rye and Spelt Bread Rolls
10th
Strawberry Raspberry Cheesecake Brioche

Kate
Orange and Cardamom Rye Bread Knots
1st
Prosciutto, Olive and Coriander Bread

Luis
Opposites Attract Rolls
2nd
Roscón de Reyes

Martha
Date and Walnut Rye Rolls
3rd
Stuffed Sunflower Loaf

Nancy
Cider and Walnut Crusty Rolls
5th
'Full English' Stromboli

Norman
Rye Bread Rolls
4th
Chicken and Roasted Vegetable Picnic Loaf

Richard
Rye and Cranberry Rolls
6th
Pesto Pinwheel

text: Episode 4: Desserts[edit]

text: For the signature bake, the judges gave the bakers two hours to make eight self-saucing puddings, meaning the sauce should come from the bake itself. The bakers may choose to make either a fondant or a sponge which creates its own sauce at the bottom. In the technical, they had to bake Mary's own tiramisu cake recipe in two and a half hours. In the showstopper, they had four and a half hours to make baked Alaskas. Many of the bakers struggled to make baked Alaskas, as it was the hottest day of the year so far, and two of five refrigerators had broken, resulting in a struggle among the contestants for enough freezer space.[23] What was to follow is often referred as "BinGate": Diana took Iain's ice cream and sponge cake assembly out of the freezer to make room for hers, mistakenly leaving it out on a counter in the hot tent. When Iain found it, the ice cream had melted and, frustrated, he threw the sponge cake and melted ice cream in the dustbin. (It was later claimed by producers that the dessert was only out for one minute.) Paul and Mary chastised him for this decision, explaining that they would rather have judged sample pieces of each baked Alaska component or even a melted final product than nothing at all. Upon Iain's elimination, it was explained that his decision to present Paul and Mary with nothing to judge in the showstopper was directly responsible for his elimination. Viewers of the show were outraged and objected fiercely to the perceived injustice on Twitter, attacking Diana.[23] Iain spoke out against these online attacks,[23] but Diana did not return to the show, claiming that the editing had distorted the truth, "stitching [her] up," and suffering an injury that disabled her sense of taste and smell.[24]

text:
Baker

Signature(8 Self-Saucing Puddings)

Technical(Tiramisu Cake)

Showstopper(Baked Alaska)

Chetna
Rhubarb, Strawberry and Orange Puddings
3rd
Mango, Raspberry and Coconut Baked Alaska

Diana
Orange and Lemon Curd Pots
9th
Raspberry Ripple Alaska Swan

Iain
Chocolate, Lime and Raspberry Fondants
6th
Chocolate, Black Sesame Seed and Coffee Caramel Baked Alaska (not presented)

Kate
Chocolate and Salted Caramel Molten Puddings
7th
Pistachio, Raspberry and Chocolate Baked Alaska

Luis
Pears in Puddings
2nd
Bakewell Alaska

Martha
Peanut Butter Chocolate Fondants
1st
Key Lime Baked Alaska

Nancy
Pistachio Puddings with Chocolate Sauce
4th
Summer Pudding Alaska

Norman
Mini Sticky Toffee Puddings
8th
Baked Alaska with Strawberry Surprise

Richard
Black Forest Chocolate Fondants
5th
Tiramisu Baked Alaska

text: Episode 5: Pies and Tarts[edit]

text: Before the round began, it was announced that Diana had to withdraw from the competition due to the Controversy last week & health reasons – she had lost her sense of taste and smell in a fall.[25] For signature challenge, the bakers were set the task of a family-sized custard tart in two and half hour. The tart should have a crispy base and silky custard. The technical challenge is set using one of Paul's recipes, and the bakers were required to make six mini pear pies, which are poached pears surrounded by rough puff pastry, to be completed in two hours. In the showstopper, the bakers were tasked with making tiered pies in four and half hours. The pies needed to be able to support themselves, and should have at least three tiers and share a common theme.

text:
Baker

Signature(Custard Tart)

Technical(Mini Pear Pies)

Showstopper(Three-Tiered Pie)

Chetna
Rice Custard Tart with Mangoes and Raspberries
2nd
Fusion Tiered Pies

Kate
Rhubarb and Custard Tart
3rd
Rhubarb, Prune and Apple Pies

Luis
Tropical Manchester Tart
6th
Four Fruity Seasons Tower

Martha
Pistachio, Apricot and Honey Custard Tart
1st
Three Little Pigs Pie

Nancy
Chocolate Crusted Passion Fruit Tart
4th
Trio of Apple Pies

Norman
Tarte au Citron
5th
Pieful Tower

Richard
Fig and Orange Tart
7th
Three Course Autumn Pie Feast

text: Episode 6: European Cakes[edit]

text: For the signature bake, the challenge was to bake a cake inspired by a European cake, but the cake must be leavened with yeast. The bakers were given three hours for the challenge. The technical challenge was set using one of Mary's recipes for a Swedish Princess cake (Prinsesstårta). The recipe is the most complicated yet, requiring 26 separate ingredients with 14 stages, and to be completed in two and a quarter hours. For the showstopper challenge, the bakers were required to make a contemporary version of the Hungarian Dobos torte in five hours. The cake should have at least two tiers, with particular emphasis on caramel sugar work on the cake. No one was eliminated this week as the judges could not agree on the worst-performing baker, stating it was between Richard and Kate. As Diana left the show before the previous week's contest due to illness, it was possible not to eliminate anyone.

text:
Baker

Signature(Yeast-Leavened Cake)

Technical(Prinsesstårta)

Showstopper(Dobos Torte)

Chetna
Orange Savarin with Cinnamon Cream
2nd
Almond Liqueur Dobos Torte with Chocolate Caramel Buttercream

Kate
Pecan, Chocolate and Sour Cherry Yeast Cake
6th
Trio of Dobos Tortes

Luis
Apple and Cinnamon Kugelhopf with Honeyed Apples
3rd
The Cage on the Rocky Hill

Martha
Dark Chocolate and Almond Liqueur Savarin
4th
Chess-Themed Chocolate and Salted Caramel Dobos Torte

Nancy
Rum Punch Savarin with Coconut Cream and Tropical Fruits
1st
Chocolate and Caramel Dobos Torte

Richard
Fruity Guglhupf with an Orange Glaze
5th
Sugar Forest Dobos Torte

text: Episode 7: Pastries[edit]

text: In their first task, the bakers were set the challenge of making twelve savoury pastry parcels, to be completed in an hour and three quarters. The parcels can be of any type of pastries, but should be uniform in size, well-filled, perfectly cooked and well-sealed to prevent leaks. The technical bake was one that for the first time none of the bakers had heard of, the Breton pastry kouign-amann, using one of Paul's recipes. The bakers should make twelve identical kouign-amanns in three and a half hours. For the final challenge, the bakers were required to make 24 Éclairs of two different flavours (12 of each) in four hours. The éclairs should be made of choux pastry and éclair-shaped, otherwise the bakers were free to do as they wished to produce a showstopper.

text:
Baker

Signature(12 Savoury Parcels)

Technical(Kouign-Amann)

Showstopper(24 Éclairs)

Chetna
Crispy Lentil Kachori
6th
Chocolate and Mango & Lemon Meringue Éclairs

Kate
Spinach and Paneer Spicy Samosa
4th
Neapolitan & Lemon Meringue Éclairs

Luis
Childhood Empanadas
5th
Stars and Stripes Éclairs
(Blueberry Cheesecake & Peanut Butter and Jelly Éclairs)

Martha
Mini Beef Wellingtons
3rd
Rhubarb and Custard & Maple Syrup and Bacon Éclairs

Nancy
Spicy Duck Pasties
2nd
Smoked Salmon and Horseradish & Raspberry Ripple Éclairs

Richard
Minted Lamb Pasties
1st
Stair of Éclairs
(Lavender and Blueberry & Rose and Raspberry Éclairs)

text: Episode 8: Advanced Dough[edit]

text: For the signature bake, they were given the challenge of making sweet fruit loaves that must be free form. They had two and a half hours for the bake which is challenging as the bakers were required to use enriched dough which takes longer to proof. In the technical, they had two and a half hours to make a povitica, which Chetna had made for her signature loaf. This technical challenge was particularly hard for most of the bakers, many of whose loafs were raw inside and deemed unsafe to eat. Doughnuts were set as the challenge in the final task, and the bakers were required to make eighteen each of two different sorts, to be completed in four hours.

text:
Baker

Signature(Fruit Loaf)

Technical(Povitica)

Showstopper(36 Doughnuts)

Chetna
Date and Walnut Swirl Bread
1st
Chocolate Mousse Filled DoughnutsBraided Doughnuts

Luis
Black Forest Cherry Tree
2nd
Cocktail Doughnuts
(Mudslide & Raspberry Mojito)

Martha
Spiced Plum Iced Bread Swirl
5th
Glazed Lemon & Poppy Seed DoughnutsChocolate & Passion Fruit Doughnuts

Nancy
Lincolnshire Plum Braid
3rd
Doughnut Family Tree
(Limoncello and Almond & Milk Chocolate and Orange)

Richard
Fruit Swedish Tea Ring
4th
Rhubarb and Custard and Toffee Apple Doughnuts

text: Episode 9: Pâtisserie (Semi-Final)[edit]

text: For the signature challenge, the bakers had to make baklava, with a time limit of three and a half hours to complete the challenge. There had to be two different types of baklava, and twenty-four portions in total. For the technical challenge, the bakers had to make a schichttorte, and had two hours to complete it. There had to be twenty layers in their schichttorte, and was one of Paul's recipes. For the showstopper challenge, the bakers had to make entremets, very small and fine cakes put in a window of a French pâtisserie. They had to make two different types of entremets, twelve of each, and had five hours to complete the challenge.

text:
Baker

Signature(24 Baklava)

Technical(Schichttorte)

Showstopper(24 Entremets)

Chetna
Chocolate Orange Baklava Masala Chai Baklava
4th
Chocolate, Orange & Nut EntremetsCappuccino Entremets

Luis
Indian Rose BaklavaHalwa Baklava Rolls
1st
Chocolate Mousse & Cherry EntremetsPomegranate, Fig & Pistachio Sponges

Nancy
Coffee and Chocolate BaklavaBreakfast Baklava
3rd
Raspberry NonnettesLime and Passion Fruit Entremets

Richard
Rose and Pistachio BaklavaWalnut and Almond Baklava
2nd
Hazelnut Mocha EntremetsPink Grapefruit Entremets

text: Episode 10: Final[edit]

text: In the final signature challenge, the bakers had to make Viennoiserie in three and a half hours. They had to make two different types of the pastry. In the technical, the judges decided to bring things "back to basics" by asking the bakers to bake 12 Victoria Sandwiches, Tartes au citron and Scones. The challenge, however, was that they had only two hours to make this and only three instructions. The final Showstopper was a Pièce Montée. The bakers were given five hours to make this, and the judges said it must be in some self-standing structure.

text:
Baker

Signature(Viennoiserie)

Technical( 12 Mini Victoria Sandwiches, 12 Mini Tarte au Citron, 12 Mini Scones)

Showstopper(Pièce Montée)

Luis
Apple, Walnut, Raisin and Cheshire Cheese ChaussonsPain au Chocolat Blanc with Raspberries and Cream Cheese
2nd
Village in Chocolate

Nancy
Apple and Lemon KitesRaspberry and Almond Croissants
1st
Red Windmill

Richard
Pear Pain au ChocolatPain Au Lait
3rd
Mill on the Hill

text: Masterclasses[edit]

text: Mary and Paul demonstrated how to bake the technical challenges that they set for the bakers as well as their own favorite recipes for some of the other challenges set in the series. They also gave some tips on baking techniques. The Masterclasses episodes were shown on BBC2.

text: Episode 1[edit]

text:
Bake 1
Bake 2
Bake 3

Mary
Cherry Cake
Florentines
Miniature Coffee and Walnut Cakes

Paul
Blackcurrant and LiquoriceSwiss Roll
Savoury Biscuits
N/A

text: Episode 2[edit]

text:
Bake 1
Bake 2
Bake 3

Mary
Tiramisu Cake
Neapolitan Baked Alaska
N/A

Paul
Ciabatta
Roquefort and Walnut Loaf
Chocolate Volcanoes

text: Episode 3[edit]

text:
Bake 1
Bake 2
Bake 3

Mary
Chocolate and Orange Tart
Prinsesstårta
Almond Praline and Caramel-Coated Hazelnut Dobos Torte

Paul
Mini Sausage Plaits
Kouign-Amann
N/A

text: Episode 4[edit]

text:
Bake 1
Bake 2
Bake 3

Mary
Lemon and Raspberry Éclairs
Double Chocolate Mousse Entremets
N/A

Paul
Chocolate and Cherry Loaf
Povitica
Chocolate and Raspberry Doughnuts

text: Christmas Special[edit]

text:
Bake 1
Bake 2
Bake 3

Mary
White Chocolate & Ginger Cheesecake
Genoa Cake
Almond Galette

Paul
St. Lucia Buns
Mincemeat & Marzipan Couronne
Kransekake

text: Controversy[edit]

text: "Bingate"[edit]

text: In the fourth episode of the series, there was controversy over the events that preceded the elimination of contestant Iain Watters. During the final showstopper round contestants were tasked with producing a baked Alaska. Iain's ice cream was shown as having not set, and in a show of frustration he threw his bake in the bin. The editing of the show suggested that another contestant, Diana Beard, had caused the failure by removing the ice cream from a freezer for her own ice cream, and the perceived "sabotage" resulted in a furore on social media networks.[26] More than 800 complaints were lodged with the BBC, and some complained to the communication watchdog Ofcom.[27] Some members of the cast however posted comments in support of Diana,[28] and a BBC spokesman later issued a statement:[29]

text: As shown in the episode, Iain became the fourth baker to leave the tent because he didn't present Paul and Mary with anything to judge in the showstopper challenge and both judges were very clear about the reasoning behind the decision.

text:
Due to the extreme temperature in the tent that day, many of the bakers struggled to get their ice cream to set as seen in the episode.
Diana removing Iain's ice cream from the freezer for less than a minute was in no way responsible for Iain's departure.

text: The claim that it was only left out for a short time however was challenged by Iain Watters, saying that it was left long enough to ruin the dessert.[30] Fellow contestant Jordan Cox criticized the show's production, claiming the freezers were not very good in quality, and were chosen on aesthetic quality only.[31] Diana Beard left the show before the next episode was filmed due to illness.[32][33]

text: Beard later gave an interview to BBC Radio Shropshire, saying: "I'm disappointed with the way it's been portrayed. I've been stitched up, haven't I? We were 12 amateur bakers, [there's] no prize money involved. Why would I sabotage Iain's Baked Alaska? This has made it look like some cutthroat competition. I think someone's culpable for the editing, really." She also said that Iain's ice cream had been out of the freezer for no more than 40 seconds and that her conscience was intact.[34]

text: Innuendo[edit]

text: A number of viewers complained to the BBC feedback show Points of View in the fifth series about the "constant smutty remarks" from the presenters Mel and Sue.[35][36] This series was seen as having more innuendos than previous one; some reviewers noted the "extra pinch of saucy spice" and "the increasingly filthy-minded hosts Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins",[37][38][39] and a columnist for the Daily Mail argued that the "smutty" innuendos made the show no longer fit for family entertainment.[40] Series 3 winner John Whaite, however, argued that innuendo is part of what made the show a success,[41] while Paul Hollywood described the innuendos as banter in the spirit of the Carry On films and is a part of British culture,[42] a view shared by others.[43][44]

text: Post-show career[edit]

text: Richard Burr's book on baking, BIY: Bake it Yourself, was released on 16 August 2015.[45]

text: Luis Troyano also wrote a book, Bake It Great, released on 20 August 2015.[46]

text: Chetna Makan has written a baking book The Cardamom Trail, released on 21 March 2016, as well as a cookbook Chai, Chaat & Chutney: A Street Food Journey Through India, published on 6 July 2017.[47][48]

text: Martha Collison has written two baking books, Twist, released on 14 July 2016, and Crave, published 13 July 2017 with Harper Collins. She also has a weekly column with Waitrose and is a charity ambassador for Tearfund.[49]

text: Ratings[edit]

text: The series started with its highest ratings for its opening episode after its move to BBC One, with over 7 million tuning in according to overnight figures.[50] This is adjusted to 8.5 million for its 7-day final viewing figure, making this its second most-watched episode after previous year's final.[51] In the fourth episode, 8.1 million watched the original broadcast,[52] but the "bingate" controversy gained the show a further 2 million viewers on the BBC iPlayer catch-up service, giving the show the biggest ever audience with 10.248 million viewers for the episode.[53][54] The final of the show gained an overnight viewing figure of 12.29 million,[55] and a consolidated average figure of 13.5 million, the highest viewing figure for a non-sporting event of the year on UK TV, after 2014 FIFA World Cup's England vs Uruguay match.[56] Series 5 had an average of viewing figure of 10.1 million.[57]

text: Official episode viewing figures are from BARB.[58]

text:
Episodeno.
Airdate
Viewers(millions)
BBC Oneweekly ranking
Weekly rankingall channels[59]

1
6 August 2014 (2014-08-06)
8.51
1
1

2
13 August 2014 (2014-08-13)
8.79
1
1

3
20 August 2014 (2014-08-20)
9.28
1
1

4
27 August 2014 (2014-08-27)
10.25
1
2

5
3 September 2014 (2014-09-03)
9.95
1
2

6
10 September 2014 (2014-09-10)
10.13
1
2

7
17 September 2014 (2014-09-17)
10.28
1
2

8
24 September 2014 (2014-09-24)
9.023
2
4

9
1 October 2014 (2014-10-01)
10.67
1
1

10
8 October 2014 (2014-10-08)
13.51
1
1

text: ^Note 3  The programme was rescheduled to BBC Two in Scotland due to a football game.

text: Specials[edit]

text:
Episodeno.
Airdate
Viewers(millions)
BBC Twoweekly ranking

The Great British Bake Off Masterclass

1
9 October 2014 (2014-10-09)
1.99
12

2
10 October 2014 (2014-10-10)
1.53
24

3
15 October 2014 (2014-10-15)
2.16
7

4
16 October 2014 (2014-10-16)
1.42
23

The Great British Bake Off, Class of 2013

12 October 2014 (2014-10-12)
N/A
N/A

The Great British Bake Off, Christmas Masterclass

16 December 2014 (2014-12-16)
3.03
5