Fast Food Marketing for Children

Fast Food Marketing for Children INTRODUCTION Overview and Background of the Topic Fast food came around after the after the Second World War and has come a long way since then. In the past it was a mere convenience provider and time saver, the easiest and fastest way to fill appetites, as the name suggests. It has now evolved into a premium luxury item. It is now very popular amongst all ages of people, especially children. Fast food Marketing is a necessity for Fast Food brands these days. Fast Food despite being a treat to the taste buds is hazardous to health and comes bearing a plethora of ailments. Therefore, it must essentially be advertised and marketed in order for businesses to make sales and be profitable. Fast food sales are increasing at a rapid pace mainly due to effective marketing strategy. Edwin Land rightfully said  Marketing is what you do when your product is no good which holds true in this case. Marketing camouflages the dangerous truth and sways the consumer into thinking that the temporary taste is worth more than the life-long disease. Marketers hence must undergo the pain of coming up with a successful marketing campaign using the various advertising methods to manipulate customers because this very art of creating an artificial need out of a want or a desire is what fast food marketers like Coca Cola do, for e.g. Food is askin for Coca-Cola, a thousand calories are finge r-lickin good by Kentucky Fried Chicken and the mounds of cheese that come with Im lovin it by McDonalds. Children are a very lucrative market for fast food brands because they are young and impressionable. Children are easier to target as they see color and sound and are wooed. This study will examine the various Fast Food Marketing Methods used; both above the line and below the line and explore their various impacts on childrens consumption of fast food. Importance of the Study Fast Food originated from the West particularly the U.S and spread throughout the world until it became a craze. It gained popularity in the East rapidly due to the ease of communication globally.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  The success of Fast Food chains relies heavily on their marketing and thus they vest everything in it. The scarce information that there is available suggests that children form a large proportion of the fast food target market and a major reason for their families consuming fast food too. Also as John Scully says, no great marketing decisions have ever been made on qualitative data, thus in order to aid fast food chains this substantially quantitative research must be conducted. A few examples of the marketing methods used are television commercials, billboards, print ads like posters, banners, flyers and standees, internet ads via websites, blogs and social forums and radio ads. The topic has a lot of scope considering the number of fast food chains that exist in todays t ime and the fact that more and more keep opening every day. Fast Food is an immensely successful business in Pakistan where majority comprises of foodies. Therefore the study has relevance to Pakistan as Fast Food businesses continuously use a variety of marketing strategies and advertising campaigns to sell their products and services and reap more profits. Research Question Very few people have endeavored to undertake such a research. However in order to under why marketing of fast food has the impact that it has on children and how fast food chains can take advantage of it, this topic needs to be addressed. Therefore the study aims to answer the following Research Question: What is the most effective fast food marketing method catered to children? LITERATURE REVIEW The literature review will set the context for and inform the study by examining previous research on this topic. The aim of the literature review is to evaluate the existing literature on the importance of fast food marketing to children in order to do an analysis of the advertisements being used to fulfill the purpose. Fran Lowry (2010) in a study for the assessment of total annual exposure to food advertising for 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007, television ratings data from Nielsen Media Research were used. Three different age groups of children were assessed using the data, i.e. 2 to 5 years, 6 to 11 years, and 12 to 17 years. Exposure to advertisements for beverages, sweets and fast food restaurants was also examined. In 2003, it was found that children aged 2 to 5 years, 6 to 11 years and 12 to 17 years were exposed to 13.3, 13.6 and 13.1 food advertisements per day on the average respectively. In all three age groups the exposure to beverage advertisements underwent a decrease from 27% to 30% with a lump sum fall in advertisements of sugar-sweetened beverages like fruit drinks and regular soft-drinks. Fast food advertisements most frequently targeted to all ages of children and seen most by children of 6 to 11 years were those of McDonalds. This showed targeted branding according to the authors. Bur ger King similarly also targeted mostly the 6- to 11-year-olds. Exposure to advertisements for Subway, Taco Bell, and KFC also rose among 2- to 5-year-olds and 6- to 11-year-olds, but advertisements seen by children in these age groups continued to be dominated by McDonalds and Burger King, according to the authors. The study also found that black children in all age groups in 2003, 2005, and 2007, saw more food advertisements per day when compared to white children. Also, the racial gap in exposure to food advertising grew between 2003 and 2007, particularly for fast food advertisements. By 2007, black children aged 2 to 5, 6 to 11, and 12 to 17 years saw 1.5, 1.4, and 1.6 times as many food advertisements per day, respectively, compared with white children of these ages and they also had more than double the rate of increase in exposure to fast food advertisements. According to the study, exposure to television advertisements for fast food among children increased by as much as 20 .4% between 2003 and 2007, whereas advertisements for beverages and sweets declined, The results of the study was that many positive changes have occurred in childrens exposure to food advertising, consistent checking of this exposure as well as the nutritional analysis is required to further appraise self-regulatory pledges. Lisa Powell (2006 ) and her colleagues from the University of Illinois in Chicago write that there has been a rising trend in total energy intake derived from away-from-home, specifically fast food, outlets and also that excess fat and sugar intake and consumption of items such as sugar-sweetened beverages and fast food have been linked with higher energy intake and obesity. Television is a major advertising medium to reach children, and there is strong evidence that television advertising influences childrens dietary intake. Jennifer L. Harris et al. (2010) in the study answered the research question: Do these actions have a positive impact? Or, does the sheer volume of fast food marketing eclipse any of these industry initiatives? They base their analysis on the twelve restaurants; McDonalds, Burger King, Wendys, Taco Bell, Subway, Pizza Hut, KFC, Dominos, Dairy Queen, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks and So nic.They assess the marketing practices and strategies of all these and compare it with the industry in totality. The methods included analyzing the nutritional quality of restaurant menu items; analyzing data on media exposure and spending from syndicated sources (i.e., The Nielsen Company, Score Inc. and Arbitron Inc.)They studied three components of their marketing plans i.e. menu composition, external advertising and in-store marketing. The three criteria to identify marketing that were targeted to children, teens, and African American and Hispanic youth. Children were exposed to more than 1,200 traditi onal fast food ads per year and this strategy was used a lot by fast food restaurants to encourage potential customers to visit. Many fast food restaurants have expanded into newer forms of marketing that are relatively inexpensive and more difficult to give numerical value to. McDonalds and Burger King indulge in web-based marketing starts with children as young as 2 at Ronald.com, McWorld.com, HappyMeal.com, and ClubBK.com. KFC.com and Starbucks.com also appeared in the top 10 most frequently visited fast food websites in the study. Banner ads from these restaurants reached up to 70 million unique viewers every month. Social and viral media used by fast food restaurants has also increased largely. The use of mobile marketing by fast food restaurants has also begun but most restaurants placed banner ads on third-party mobile websites, eight have introduced downloadable iPhone applications, and a few have begun to conduct text message advertising to customers who opt-in to this feat ure. Fast food marketing is becoming omnipresent. These restaurants also purchased more than two-thirds of fast food radio and outdoor, there was little variation in their marketing messages and the products they promoted. Restaurants appeared to compete primarily by introducing new menu items and promoting the value of their foods. A few restaurants (Subway and Wendys) promoted their food quality. Banner advertising and social media marketing also predominantly emphasized special offers, and value/cheap and new/improved messages; and promoted new menu item introductions, dollar/value menus, and combo meals. Licensed characters were meant for children. Eight restaurants offered kids meals catered specifically to children, while four used external marketing to address children i.e. McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, and Dairy Queen . McDonalds and Burger King had maximum advertising targeted to children. Children viewed approximately one child-targeted ad per day for these two restauran ts (in addition to ads for other products not exclusively targeted to children). The McDonalds Research by Grier (1996) and colleagues demonstrated that higher exposure to fast food advertising by parents was associated with increased frequency of taking their children to these restaurants because the advertising influenced their beliefs about how often other parents took their children. The authors recommended that fast food restaurants build better standards for every item in child-targeted marketing that applies to every fast food restaurant and also in all of kids meals served. Shin Yi Chou et al. (2005) in the study shed light on the link between television fast food advertising and the consequent childhood obesity around the world especially in the United States. The aim of the paper is to utilize the 1979 Child-Young Adult National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to explore the effects of fast-food restaurant advertising on children and adolescents being overweight. The results showed that a ban on these advertisements would decrease the number of overweight children ages 3-11 in a fixed population and overweight adolescents ages 12 to 18 years by 10 and 12 percent respectively. The absence of tax deductibility of this kind of advertising would lead to lesser decreases of between 3 and 5 percent in these outcomes but would result in lower costs on children. The 1997 sample consisted of 8,984 respondents from 6,819 different households, ages 12 to 18 years. There were two sub-samples: one consisting of 6,748 respondents born between 1980 and 1984. The second comprising of 2,236 oversampled black and Hispanic respondents. A survey was conducted on them. Television watching time and advertising messages were found to be positively correlated. Results also reflected that the number of hours of messages seen on television has a long impact on both children and adolescents. It could also be seen that fast food restaurant advertising has a larger effect on the Body Mass Index of adolescents than on children, despite children being expose longer to fast-food restaurant advertising due to longer television viewing time. In totality the results showed a direct lasting effect of exposure to fast-food restaurant advertising on the body mass index for children. Lesser impact on the probability of being overweight is less important. Thomas N.Robinson et al. (2007) in his experimental study on fast food branding aimed to explore how cumulative real-world marketing and brand exposures influence young children by means of testing the effects of branding on taste preferences through extensively marketed sources. The sample comprised of sixty- three children from low-income preschools, whose average age was 3.5 to 5.4 years. They had to taste 5 identical food items with beverages in matching McDonalds packaging but were actually not branded and to compare the taste of each. A summary total taste preference score (ranging from -1 for the unbranded samples to 0 for no preference and +1 for McDonalds branded samples) was used to test the null hypothesis that children would express no preference. The results of the study showed that average total taste preference score across all foods and beverages compared was 0.37  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ±Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  0.45 (median, 0.20; inter-quartile range, 0.00-0.80) and much more than zero (P Sharon Beder (1998) in her study aims to examine four aspects of marketing to children i.e. the development of a consumer, forms of marketing, advertising on the Internet and concerns. Advertising takes advantage of individual insecurities, creates artificial needs and offers quality solutions. It leads to consumption. Children specifically are the target. In Australia, an average $31.60 is spent weekly by children below18 have and they control above 70 per cent of their parents fast food purchases. Children and teenagers between the ages of 10 and 17 spend n the US there are over 57 million school age children and teenagers who spend about $100 billion yearly of personal and family money on sweets, food and drinks. Brandweek magazine pointed out that even in China where children save most of the little income they get and their total spending amounts to $2.6 billion yearly, second only to the US. Brandweek cited a survey showing McDonalds was the favorite fast food worldwide and Cok e was the favorite drink. It argued:If it is possible to create global preferences with food productswhere obstacles like differences in local cuisine and culture existtranscending cultural boundaries with toys, clothing and entertainment products should be considerably easier. Television ads account for almost 70% of the total amount spent on advertising to children in the US. Total advertising expenditure accounts for almost 15% of the total budget for marketing to children. A new trend in advertising is the internet. The authors question the ability of the young to understand advertising and its purpose and not be impressioned by it. The study thus emphasizes Fast food marketing and how it is a vast industry. Mary Story and Simone French (2004) in a study aimed to appraise the food advertising and marketing channels used to target children and adolescents in the US, the effect of food advertising on eating habits, and current policies. The youth is a major profitable target market for food and beverage industries. Consequently children and adolescents are now marketed to extensively. Food marketers are interested in youth as consumers because of their spending power, their purchasing influence, and as future adult consumers. Multiple techniques and channels are used to reach youth, beginning when they are toddlers, to foster brand-building and influence food product purchase behavior. These food marketing channels include television advertising, in-school marketing, product placements, kids clubs, the Internet, toys and products with brand logos, and youth-targeted promotions, such as cross-selling and tie-ins. wide range of food advertising techniques and channels are used to reach child ren and adolescents to foster brand awareness to encourage product sales. Marketing channels include television advertising, in-school marketing, product placements, kids clubs, the Internet, toys and products with brand logos, and youth-targeted promotions. Experimental studies continuously showed that children exposed to food advertising prefer advertised food products more often than those not exposed to such ads. Studies with children under age 11 have found strong links between television watching time by children and number of childrens requests to parents for those foods, and availability of those foods in their homes. African American and Hispanic children watch more television when compared to white children and so viewed more food ads. Various studies have established that children under 8 years of age are developmentally unable to understand the purpose of advertisements and consider advertising claims as factual. V. Henderson and B. Kelly (2005) in their study documented the sorts of foods advertised nutritional claims made whilst advertising on African American television as well as the general market. The sample comprised of 553 advertisements that were analyzed for their content during 101.5 prime-time Television hours. This resulted in classification of advertisements according to fast food restaurant, sit-down restaurant, packaged food), specific food type, and the presence of a weight-related nutritional claim.T and Chi-square tests were used to make comparisons. The results showed that more advertisements were aired on the African-American Television than on general market. These were mostly for fast food, fizzy drinks, candy, meat, and were rarely for cornflakes, grains and pasta or fruits, vegetables, desserts or liquor. People framing policies need to have a greater awareness of the prevailing advertisements for food and their possible effect on behavior as well as knowledge and thu s should seriously work with manufacturers of food to pave way for the creation and promotion of healthy food according to the authors. Hill, J. M. and Radimer, K. L. (1998) in a study examined food advertisements aired on Australian television during programs for children below 10 years of age. Kinds of foods that were promoted linked messages and the impression of food and eating habits in comparison to current dietary recommendations. 239 advertisements were appraised, of which 25% were for fast food restaurants and 22% for chocolate. Of the main foods advertised, 11% were for cereal products, 8% for fruit and only 1% for vegetables. Main tactics used by advertisers to sell foods were give-aways (20%), taste (16%) and fun (14%). On the contrary, advertisements for breakfast cereals often used nutritional claims and often contained messages that were in line with current dietary guidelines for Australians. Generally, the complete dietary picture shown to children through advertisements was said to be poorly balanced and only included a narrow range of foods. Michele Roberts and Simone Pettigrew (2007) studied behaviors modeled in food advertising are influencing childrens diets. They conducted a food advertising audit targeted to children find out aspects that affect childrens food socialization. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to provide (1) descriptive statistics of incidence and (2) a thematic analysis of messages contained in a sample of food advertisements screened in Perth, Australia, during childrens morning television programming. In 28.5 hours of childrens television programs, 950 advertisements were broadcasts, 212 of which were for food. The Qualitative aspect observable in the ads were the existence of grazing, the denigration of main foods, exaggerated health claims and the implied ability of specific foods to emphasize popularity, functionality and mood. The most popular advertising appeal was fantasy, present in 57% of the campaigns. The outcomes of the study are of interest to many stakeholders, including the food and advertising industries, policy makers, child health advocates and academic researchers. Driven by concerns about childhood obesity, there is escalating demand for responsible food advertising to children (McDonald 2003). According to the authors advertisers must respond to these issues. Kay M. Hammond et al. (2008) aimed to expose internationally, the balance of television advertising for healthy and less-healthy foods to which children and adolescents are exposed. The sample comprised 9-17 year old New Zealanders to explore the extent to which they were exposed to advertising for a variety of food groups over a year and compared New Zealand rates of advertising with a 13-country study. The method used was People meter data collected over three months May and September 1995 and February 1996 and food advertising from a sample week of television during hours when children were likely to be watching were also examined. The Comparison was made with a similar 1989 South Australian study and an international study covering 13 countries.The results showed that the exposure estimated for a year and the opportunities for exposure in the sample week were maximum for sweet snacks, drinks, fast food/takeaways and breakfast cereals. There were very low levels for fruit, vegeta bles, and meat/fish/ eggs and water was not advertised in any sample month. Comparisons with the 13-country study showed New Zealand had the third-highest rate of food advertising, the highest rate of confectionery and drinks advertising, and the second-highest rate of restaurant advertising which included fast food restaurants.To conclude the authors suggest that the immediate trends in food advertising create a difference in interest between public health and commercial interests. Regulation of food advertising may be required to solve this problem. METHODOLOGY Research Type I will be conducting Primary/Field or Quantitative Research, gathering first hand data from my sample population about how the fast food marketing methods used by marketers influence their children or children around them. I will later be quantifying the results. Data Type and Research Period The study is based on peoples perceptions and how they feel they are influenced by advertisements and how these fast food marketing methods are a major contributing factor in their childrens consumption of fast food. Therefore Primary or Field Research which is basically quantitative in nature is more suitable. Sources of Data The sources will be questionnaire surveys and focus groups targeted to the sample population. Operational Definitions Dependant Variable: Fast Food Consumption This variable addresses the Fast Food Purchases by consumers. It is the result of Fast Food advertising and the ultimate motive of Fast Food sellers. It basically deals with fast food sales. Therefore it is the consequence of Fast Food Marketing through various mediums. Independent Variables Television Advertisements: This variable is an integral means of marketing Fast Food to consumers considering its reach and ease of access in todays time. The more people watch Television and are exposed to advertisements of fast food, the more they consume fast food. It thus has a positive relation with fast food consumption. Billboards: This variable sheds light on yet another Fast Food Marketing medium. It is a physical medium for people to be exposed to frequently. It has a positive relation with fast food consumption as the more billboards people see the greater will be their fast food consumption. Internet Advertisements: This variable appraises a combination of official websites as well as social website mediums like Facebook and Twitter used by Fast Food marketers to reach consumers. The greater the amount of fast food advertisements people are exposed to on the internet, the more they will purchase or consume fast food, thus it denotes a positive relation between the dependant and the independent variable. Print Advertisements: This variable comprises of the various print mediums like the newspapers, posters, flyers and banners that fast food marketers use to advertise the fast food to consumers. Naturally the more peoples exposure to these is the more they end up consuming fast food, indicating a positive relation. Radio: This variable emphasizes the use of broadcasting to market fast food to consumers. It is a cheap means to reach more people. The frequency of advertisements on the radio is usually more due to the low cost. Therefore people are exposed to more fast food advertisements and thus consume more of it and this also has a positive relation with the dependent variable. Population, Working population and planned sample The target population for the research will be people living in Lahore who have children of ages 3 to 17 years, in their families who consume fast food. The working population will be targeted specifically. The planned sample will include people ranging between the ages of 20-40 years, including working adult males and females from Lahore who have kids and as well as working youngsters or students with younger siblings who consume fast food. Research hypothesis Ho-Frequent exposure to Fast Food marketing methods leads to increased Fast Food Consumption by children H1-Television is the most influential Fast Food Marketing Method for children H2-Billboards are very appealing to children and lead to frequent fast food consumption H3-Print advertisement doesnt influence childrens purchase of Fast Food so much H4-Internet is not a very effective medium for Fast Food marketing to children H5-Radio is not a very effective medium of Fast Food marketing to children Techniques Cross-Tabulation was done due to using the statistics from the questionnaire surveys. Data analysis A cross-tabulation was done using the SPSS software 17.0 and frequency charts were also made. Data interpretation After gathering first-hand information from the sample population, the data was quantified and the statistics were used to make cross-tabulations and frequency charts. The results were then analyzed using tables and charts results. RESULTS Demographics The primary research for the study comprised of questionnaire surveys that were floated amongst 50 respondents, both married and unmarried, falling in the age bracket of 20 to 40 years. 25 of the respondents were male and 25 female in order to eliminate gender bias. The people with children were targeted to find out more about their childrens fast food consumption resulting from advertising exposure. The working population was targeted to specifically because they have a need for fast food. This was done with the purpose of finding out the most effective method of fast food marketing that results in consumption of fast food by children in Lahore. Most of the married respondents were bankers, doctors, engineers and teachers who had children, whilst the unmarried respondents were mostly students at the Lahore School of Economics and had younger siblings between the ages of 3 to 17 years, who consume fast food. The target population for the research will be people living in Lahore who h ave children in their families who consume fast food. 75% fell in the age group of 20 to 29 years, whereas the remaining 25% were aged between 30 to 40 years. Most of these individuals belonged to the upper and upper middle class with lump sum pocket monies or household incomes, and had exposure to all sorts of fast food advertisements. A majority fell in the 30,000-40,000 income range. The five independent variables were separately analyzed to determine their impact on the dependant variable. The results have been analyzed below. Independent Variable: Television Ads Ho-Frequent exposure to Fast Food marketing methods leads to increased Fast Food Consumption by children H1-Television is the most influential Fast Food Marketing Method for children TVADSQ1a Frequency Percent Valid Percent Valid 1.00 21 42.0 42.0 2.00 25 50.0 50.0 3.00 2 4.0 4.0 4.00 1 2.0 2.0 5.00 1 2.0 2.0 Total 50 100.0 100.0 The above table shows the frequencies of responses when people were asked whether they thought images of food were an important element of a fast food advertisement. It can be seen that 21 people out of 50 i.e. 42% strongly agreed that images of food are important to children. 25 respondents or 50% also agreed with this.2 people or 4% remained neutral. 1 out of 50 respondents or 2% disagreed while another 2% also strongly disagreed with the statement. TVADSQ1b Frequency Percent Valid Percent Valid 1.00 11 22.0 22.0 2.00 25 50.0 50.0 3.00 13 26.0 26.0 4.00 1 2.0 2.0 Total 50 100.0 100.0 The table illustrates the frequencies of the responses for the importance that a catchy slogan holds for children in a fast food television commercial.11 out of 50 respondents i.e. 22% strongly agreed that a catchy slogan is very important to children whilst 50% also agreed with this.26% remained neutral about it and 2% disagreed and didnt think that a catchy slogan is important to children. TVADSQ1c Frequency Percent Valid Percent Valid 1.00 14 28.0 28.0 2.00 17 34.0 34.0 3.00 13 26.0 26.0 4.00 6 12.0 12.0 Total 50 100.0 100.0 As per the above frequencies 14 out of 50 respondents i.e. a celebrity endorser was very important to children according to 28% or 14 out of 50 respondents and 34% also thought the same.26% were neutral about it and 12% disagreed. TVADSQ1d Frequency Percent Valid Percent Valid 1.00 15 30.0 30.0 2.00 23 46.0 46.0 3.00 10 20.0 20.0 4.00 2 4.0 4.0 Total 50 100.0 100.0 The frequency table shows that the jingle was very important to children according to 30% of the respondents who strongly agreed along with the 46% majority who agreed with this. 20% remained neutral to it and only 4% disagreed. TVADSQ1e Frequency Percent Valid Percent Valid 1.00 3 6.0 6.0 2.00 9 18.0 18.0 3.00 11 22.0 22.0 4.00 19 38.0 38.0 5.00 8 16.0 16.0 Total 50 100.0 100.0 According to the above table, the frequencies of responses showed that 6% of the respondents strongly agreed that price matters to children in a fast food television commercial and 18% also agreed.22% remained neutral about it. However 38% and 16% disagreed and strongly disagreed respectively that children do

Transnational Networks of Support for the Zapatista Rebellion :: Zapatista Rebellion Globalization Essays

Transnational Networks of Support for the Zapatista Rebellion Globalization, the term used to describe the dominant framework of international relations following the cold war, is affecting many aspects of politics and social experience. This is seen in the Zapatista rebellion and movement in Chiapas, Mexico that has benefited from globalization and transnational support. This paper examines the relationship of transnationalism and social movements with the Zapatistas as a case study. In particular, this paper argues that the Zapatistas are part of the anti-globalization cycle of protest. As a result, they have used the master frame of this cycle of protest and aligned that frame in light of their particular situation. Because this frame was resonant with transnational activists a network of support was formed, which pressures the government from above, increasing the chances of success of a movement. The paper concludes by examining the implications of the Zapatistas for social movement research, with particular regard for Tarrowâ €™s â€Å"strong thesis† about movements in a transnational era While the roots of the Zapatista movement stretch well back, the rebellion entered the public’s consciousness on 1 January 1994 when several thousand indigenous Mexicans, mostly Mayans, wearing ski-masks and carrying antiquated rifles and wooden sticks briefly seized several major urban centres in Chiapas, Mexico before withdrawing under pressure from the Mexican military. A cease-fire was declared on 12 January and since then the two sides have not directly fought one another. Since the cessation of hostilities, the rebellion has essentially transformed into a social movement.[1] The transformation was capped by a march on Mexico City March 2001 in which a caravan of Zapatistas, protected by the Mexican government, moved from Chiapas throughout Mexico to a climax in the zocalo in Mexico City. Subcomandante Marcos, the spokesman and de facto leader of the movement, addressed a huge rally and other comandantes addressed the Mexican Congress. Many observers compared this moment to Martin Luther King’s â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech during the American civil rights movement. (Klein 2001) Since the beginning of this movement/rebellion, the Zapatistas have demonstrated a unique ability to attract support from activists outside of Mexico. I refer to this support as transnational because it is rooted in no particular territory and spans much of the developed world.

The Classroom: An Intellectual Community :: Education Teaching Essays

The Classroom: An Intellectual Community -Perhaps I should have become a professor of Literature rather than a teacher, but for me that would be taking the easy way out. Literature promotes the discussion of ideas, something which most other subjects to do not. So, I want to take those aspects of the college classroom which have most affected my learning process and apply them at a high school level. I believe that the healthiest classroom situation comes not from a philosophy of teaching, but a philosophy of learning. To apply a philosophy to the teaching to literature, then, will be a gradual process for me as I spend more and more time in the classroom. What I do know thus far is that engaging students is crucial—they must be actively listening as well as participating. There needs to be a balance between listening and discussing. Because literature can be so subjective, it is important that I create an environment in which the student feels comfortable with forming and expressing his or her own observations and conclusion, not merely saying what they think I want to hear. If I can accomplish making this type of an environment for learning, I believe that students will be able to learn about an array of ideas about ideas, other people, and themselves. Conflict is essential: both within the classroom and within the subject. Not only do I want to facilitate honest discussion of texts and ideas, but I want to be able to present those conflicts that we may find in the texts themselves. Through these discussions, I hope to encourage my literature and composition students to think of themselves as producers and transmitters of culture rather than as just consumers. They get to have and express their own ideas as well as have their own opinions about someone else’s. This is what reading and writing are about, and as a teacher I feel it is important to teach this by example. I will need to throw myself out there as well, even if that means addressing those subjects which I may feel uncomfortable with. In an attempt to keep students actively involved, I may turn to the internet as a source of learning. In my own experience here at college I had a professor who required us to keep up discussions via the internet. She had a discussion board where students could tell of their interpretations and findings within our readings.

Atwater V. The City of Lago Vista :: essays research papers

Atwater V. The City of Lago Vista   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Texas it’s illegal to drive or have any other passengers in the car seatbelt less, mainly children riding in the front seat. Mrs. Atwater was driving in Lago Vista, Texas with her children in the front seat and nobody wearing a seatbelt. A Lago Vista police officer observed the seatbelt violations and pulled her over. After that he verbally berated her, handcuffed her, put her in the squad car, and drove her to the police station, where she was searched extensively. Officers then rook her mug shot and put her in a jail cell for an hour before she was taken to a magistrate and released on bond. She was charged with the seatbelt violations with some other charges as well. She pleaded no contest to the seatbelt misdemeanors and paid a $50 fine. Atwater and her husband filed suit under 42 U.S.C SS 1983 alleging, inter alia, that the actions of respondents had violated her Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizure.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They should have never arrested her to begin with, although the whole seatbelt violation law is good it shouldn’t be used with excessive force as it was in this case. A fine is very suitable because it’s a reminder if you ever get one because you’ll surely wear one after the fine. The main reason it happened to begin with is because it was in a small town and the police officer was either bored or wanted the general public to know that he’s cracking down on the seatbelt violation law.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There’s not much relation to class with this case unfortunately.

Essay --

Executive Summary Over the past 30 years Wal-Mart has grown into the world leader in retail and supply chain management. However, the company has faced and continues to face challenges with its stakeholders and other parties who are very critical of their business practices and ethics. Wal-Mart has established a reputation of squeezing the little guy to acquire the lowest possible price for the most earnings at the expense of some of its stakeholders as addressed in the 2005 documentary Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price by director Robert Greenwald. Various parties including community groups, religious organizations, grassroots organizations, environmental groups and Wal-Mart customers as well as current and former associates have accused Wal-Mart of engaging in unethical business practices for the Every Day Low Price (EDLP) strategy. Wal-Mart’s stakeholder issues involve racial and gender discrimination, treatment of product suppliers, product sourcing, child labor, environmental practices and the use of government subsidies. This paper will discuss some of those issues and address some solutions Wal-Mart has implement and should implement to increase their competitive advantage and enhance their reputation by taking a proactive approach to Cooperate Social Responsibility. Brief History and Business model Walmart is an American multinational retail corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. According to the Fortune Global 500 list in 2013, Walmart is the world's second largest public corporation, the world’s largest retailer, largest grocery retailer in the United States and the biggest private employer in the world with over 1.7 million worldwide. The company was founded by Sa... ..., their new CEO Mike Duke has stressed a change in the way business is done to change the negative perceptions of the company. The wages are still low and problems still exits but the recent creation of a Senior Director for Stakeholder Engagement and their new mantra â€Å"Save money, Live better† highlight their new emphasis on shared value and CSR. They have added several components to their business such as: †¢ Environmental Sustainability †¢ Increases in US manufacturing †¢ Woman’s Economic Empowerment domestic and international †¢ Hunger and Nutrition †¢ Diversity and Inclusion †¢ Veterans and Military Families †¢ Ethical Sourcing Wal-Mart is too large to fade into the night, but companies must adapt to the ever changing global changes technology and globalization bring. People have become more aware of their choices and Wal-Mart must adjust or people will shop elsewhere.

Tarantella Poetry Commentary

The poem Tarantella is structured into two stanzas. The stanzas are unequal in length as the first stanza is longer than the second. The poem also consists of a chorus which is repeated 3 times. The chorus in the poem is â€Å"Do you remember an Inn? Miranda? Do you remember an Inn? †. Tarantella is about the memories of a specific Inn; â€Å"Do you remember an Inn, Miranda? †. The poem is set during war which is shown by the imagery used. The poem describes the bad experience of staying at an inn during war because of the â€Å"straw for a bedding† and the â€Å"wine that tasted of tar†. The tone of the poem is energetic which is created by the quick speed of the rhythm. The irregular lines of the poem are long or short which helps to create the quick speed. . The short lines also contribute towards the speed. In the poem, â€Å"And the cheers and the jeers of the young muleteers† is repeated as part of the technique used. Other techniques used in the poem include couplets and onomatopoeia. The poem has a fast rhythm. The effect this creates is an upbeat and energetic tone. The rhythm is created by the flow of the poem and the rhyming of the different lengths of lines. Tarantella can also be danced to as it is also a lively folk dance in 6/8 time. There are theories about the dance and one of those is that the dance is a cure for spider bites. Another theory is that when one is bitten by a spider, the victim would have the urge to dance uncontrollably. The poem rhymes irregularly in couplets or sometimes in the lines. An example of the poem rhyming in lines is â€Å"the fleas that tease in the High Pyrenees. As Tarantella is a dance, the music of the dance also goes along with the poem. Tarantella has two metaphors which help set the imagery. The last stanza shows that the poem is set during war. This is shown by the two metaphors that are in the last stanza. The metaphor â€Å"Aragon a torrent at the door† shows that Aragon is â€Å"at the door† and ready for war. The other metaphor â€Å"Waterfall like Doom† is about the bombs th at are falling, and flowing like a waterfall creating a â€Å"boom†. In the poem â€Å"the feet of the dead to the ground† describes the victims of the war. The victim’s feet are on the ground meaning that they have fallen and died. The poem is alerting people that are going to experience war, about how it feels. This is shown by some of the negativity about the experience, as well as some of the good memories of it. Some examples include, â€Å"Straw for a bedding†, â€Å"wine that tasted of tar† â€Å"cheers and jeers†. The person that would be alerting people would have experienced war themselves.

Project Closures Essay

Everything with a beginning must have an end and a project is not quite complete until the closing stage is considered successful. (Sanghera, P.2009 p.223) Scenario one: Closing a project that has met its objective This scenario delights the project manager and his or her team as it is the ideal end to any project. It involves closing all activities related to the project both the within and without. Here the project manager (PM) meets with the stakeholders to gain their final approval of the project, ascertain that the deliverable meets the completion standards, conclude contract arrangements with vendors, transfer responsibility of project output to other people, release people and other resources, and document lessons learned. (Sunny & Baker pp330-331). Scenario two: Closing a project that was terminated early In this scenario a project can be terminated for a number of reasons. From the discussion question we saw that a project can be adjudged to have failed, if it cannot meet up objective, expected to fail or are no longer in line with the objective of the company can be terminated. Bommer & Pease, 1991further provided reasons like paucity of funding, technological obsolescence, changes in consumer trends, mergers and acquisitions loss of the champion and negative cost/benefit ratio. However whatever might have being the underlying cause of the termination of a project, it is still very important that the project is closed formally. In that regard, there is no difference between closing a project that has met its objectives and a project that was terminated early in its life. Both scenarios must undergo the close project process and the close procurement process. But the following differences can be observed: (1)In the first scenario there is a tangible project deliverable that can be transferred to other people, it may serve as inputs to another project. While in the second scenario there may be no tangible deliverable. (2) The emotional currents observed in both scenarios are quite different, in the first scenario the PM and everyone associated with the project are elated and feels fulfilled, leading to more latent energy for future projects and commitment to the organisation. In the second case, negative emotions may be generated which can be counterproductive to future projects and the organisation. This situation can arise when senior management arbitrarily cancels a project without carrying the team along. Administrative closure This is the process of formally bringing to an end all project activities. It relates to the closing process group and the integration management knowledge area. (Sanghera 2010 p377) The accepted project deliverable after its verification is compared with the project management plan and other closure guidelines and procedures before it is handed over to the customer. This action is necessary for both scenarios one and two. Contract closure This occurs when the terms of the contract have been reached or when there is a termination before the terms can be reached. The latter case usually involves compensation. In multi-phased projects contract closure can occur more than once while administrative closure occurs only once. The acceptance of the deliverable takes place during the administrative closure. Conclusion Administrative closure and contract closure both occur in closing a project that has met its objective and one that is terminated early. In the latter case care should be taken to carry the team members along in the process of project termination in order to boost their morale and productivity for future projects.