Advertising to Children

Advertising to Children Introduction The goal of every business organisation is to maximise profits through the sale of products or services. To achieve this goal, most organisations employ different promotional mechanisms for their products, and most organisations have employed advertising as one of their major promotional tools.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Advertising to Children specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Advertising refers to a non-personal communication of information, which is normally well structured and composed. Such information is usually persuasive in nature and directed towards a given target group. Advertising assists customers to understand the price of a given product, its potential benefits as well as the place to find it (Cronin et al. 20010, pp. 30). Due to recent technological advancements, the electronic media has become a major means of advertising, e.g. television, radio and internet-based social networks (Kl etchemer 2004, pp. 42). This paper focuses on the various issues concerning advertising to children, including: firstly, the factors that have led to increased advertisement to children; second, the impact of advertising to children, including the positive and negative; thirdly, the regulation of children’s advertisements; fourthly, the considerations that marketers should have in children’s advertising. Factors that have led to increased advertisement to children Recently, the potential number of clients in the children market for advertising has increased. Research has shown that the American children’s market represents approximately $500 billion per year. This amount consists of about $200 billion that children spent on personal items such as snacks, soft drinks and entertainment (Roberts et al. 2005, pp. 17). The remaining portion is spent on buying other items that are essential to the whole family that the children influence their parents/ guardians to bu y. Since many organisations produce these products, which tend to have similar characteristics, they have to persuade customers to choose a particular product over the rest. Owing to this, advertising to children has become a major marketing strategy that different organisations employ. Advertising to children not only concerns them but their parents as well. The advertisement of some products to children is an indirect means of capturing the attention of their parents who are the buyers of the product in question (Kunkel 2001, pp. 102). This is a unique feature of the children’s market.Advertising Looking for essay on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, the children’s market is not the only market segment where the purchasers of the products are not necessarily consumers of the product it also applies to pets and gift receivers (Fletcher 2004). The main difference is that unlike pets , children are able to respond to such advertisements by vocalising their desires. On the other hand, gift receivers rarely respond to the adverts. By communicating their desires to their parents/guardians, children persuade the parents to purchase the products in the advertisements (Martin et al. 2006, pp. 601). This translates to an increase in sales for the producers, which is their ultimate goal. The children market undergoes many changes as the children (up to 12 years of age) undergo different developmental stages. With the transition to the next developmental stage, the preferences of children change: for example, children lose their desire in certain products. This is not only true for toys but also for clothes, foods and confectionery (Ajzen 2008, p. 528). Research has shown that from the age of five, children begin to express their product preferences in a stronger manner than they did previously. Therefore, marketers have to reach children in different developmental stage s in their childhood, leading to the development of advertisements geared towards the different sub-segments within the children’s market. The impact of advertising to children There is a positive impact of advertising to children for the wider society, as discussed by Arens et al. in the essay question. As mentioned above, advertising to children provides important information not only to the children but also to their parents, enabling both to understand the products that different producers offer. Additionally, most adverts contain information concerning the price of the product in question as well as the location where the buyers can purchase the product. With such information, both the children and their parents can make informed decisions about the product that best suits their needs (Cardona 2004, pp. 20). Therefore, advertising to children enables parents to save money and save the time that they would have spent searching for a given product or service. By making inf ormed decisions, the parent buyers are able to use their money in an effective manner. In effect, advertising to children is a price regulatory tool that prevents consumers from being exploited by producers and service providers. One of the major aspects that attract potential customers to a given product is the set price for the product. Consequently, producers embark on research to find out the price of their competitors in the market.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Advertising to Children specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Such information is essential in enabling the producers to tailor the price of a given product to be able to compete effectively in the market (Farache Keith 2010, pp. 238). On the other hand, consumers will also enjoy the provision of goods for a reduced price. To the producers and service producers, advertising to children leads to an increase in the organisation’s profits. By advertis ing their products, especially through the media, organisations are able to reach potential customers within a very short time. Many people may purchase the advertised product, leading to an increase of sales to the company, which in turn generates more profits for the company. Therefore, the comment by Arens et al. that advertising increases â€Å"productivity by both management and labour† also applies to children’s advertising. Despite the above-mentioned positive impact of advertising to children, it also has certain negative impacts to the society. According to American Academy of Pediatrics, most children watch television for around four hours a day (Terry 2009, pp. 380). Research has shown that within that period, children see more than 25,000 commercials a year. Most of these commercials advertise products that are harmful to the health of the consumer children (Cardona 2004, pp.20). For instance, they advertise high-sugar and high-fat foods or poorly nutritiou s snacks. Such adverts increase the consumption of unhealthy foods among children, which has led to the increased prevalence of overweight and obese children in those nations where advertising to children is practiced. Children who are overweight during their early stages of growth and development tend to become obese in their adulthood. For instance in Canada, between 1983 and 2001 the prevalence of obesity in children increased by 200-300% (Tjepkema 2006, pp.23).The healthcare costs that are associated with the disease, either directly or indirectly, are approximately $4 billion, which represents 2.2% of the entire healthcare expenditure of Canada (Prince, 2009, p.31). This phenomenon has also occurred in America where the prevalence of overweight and obese children has tripled over the last six years. Regulation of children advertisements A significant reason for the regulation of advertising to children is that children lack cognitive skills, especially those that are below eigh t years of age. Therefore, they are not able to perceive or understand the persuasive intent of the most advertisements. They are not able to draw the line between advertising and other editorial messages, which make them unduly susceptible to all forms of persuasion that come with adverts.Advertising Looking for essay on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More To curb the problems associated with consumption of unhealthy foods, most regulatory bodies have embarked on a strategy to deal with the advertisements that promote the consumption of such foods to children. As earlier mentioned, a large percentage of children advertisements seek to promote the consumption of unhealthy foods, such as sugarcoated cereals, high-fat products at fast food restaurants and confectionery. It is evident that the consumption of such products has had a direct impact on the development of weight disorders. Therefore, regulation of advertisements for children will lower the prevalence of such disorders, which in turn will reduce healthcare costs within any given population. Due to the above-mentioned concerns, several governments have constituted bodies to tackle the issue. Furthermore, some nations have completely abolished the practice of advertising to children for the well-being of society. A good example of such a country is Sweden, which has banned all fo rms of television advertisements targeting children below twelve years of age. The Swedish government considers children as a minority group that requires special care and protection. In the US, members of the Congress have passed bills that seek to protect children from the negative effects of faulty advertisements. The bills limit the time of children’s programming in the media and mandates the provision of educational programs. Additionally, the bills seek to restrict the time allocated to commercials in television. In the US, several bodies are concerned with the quality of the contents of children advertisements. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires that all advertisements, especially those that target children, must be substantiated by a reasonable basis. It calls for all marketers to expend their resources to ensure that all their advertisements comply with the government’s rules and regulations concerning advertising to children. The Children Advertising Review Unit (C.A.R.U) plays a pivotal role in monitoring advertisements to ensure that marketers comply with the set rules. It was founded in 1974, and its main objective is to enhance marketer’s responsibility in children’s advertising. It was established through a collaboration of the major advertising trade associations through the National Advertising Review Council (N.A.R.C). It has several duties among which are evaluating child-directed advertisements as well as monitoring all forms of promotional material in the media. Additionally, it advances the consistency, truth and accuracy of all forms of children’s advertisements. In its code, one of its recommendations is that marketers should not present advertisements in a manner that blurs the distinction between editorial content and advertising (Synder 2011, pp. 478). Synder argues that children are the most vulnerable group to misleading advertisements due to their immaturity and lack of the cognitive ski lls to evaluate the credibility of advertisements (2011). C.A.R.U also requires that everyone involved in the formulation of children’s advertisements ensure that the target group is able to understand the persuasive nature of the advert in question. Some of C.A.R.U’s guidelines cover the safety of the products, sales pressure, and the presentation of the product in the advertisement. Additionally, C.A.R.U holds that while formulating children’s advertisements, the marketers should have regard to the best interest of all the parties involved. Therefore, the markets should carry out children advertisements with great care and expertise. Considerations that marketers should have in children’s advertisements Marketers should ensure that the advertisements are persuasive, just like adverts made for adults, while ensuring that they are operating within the set rules and regulations. They should understand the preferences of their audience, including both child ren and their parents. For instance, in advertising food products, children and parents have different preferences. Parents look for certain qualities in food products that include the nutritional composition of the foods whereas children seek foods that are tasty irrespective of their nutritive value. In other categories of products, parents look into the moral acceptability of the product as well as its safety to children. n contrast, children show more interest on the amount of fun they derive from using such products as well as the peer acceptability. According to Terry, marketers should never overlook the parents when formulating children’s advertisements since the parents are the sole decision makers in the family (2009). Marketers should also consider the media they intend to use when reaching their audience. For most children, the television is the main tool for accessing advertisements. Few children are aware of the presence of advertisements on other media, such as newspapers and magazines (Schor 2004). However, social networking sites and other electronic media have become an essential part of children’s lives, especially those brought up in the urban areas. Boys form a large proportion of the users of such media and most children consider advertisements as a form of entertainment. Therefore, marketers should employ the media that the target group enjoys most. For instance, boys between the ages of eight to 12 years can be reached through special adverts incorporated within their computer games. Considering the various groups of children that exist, marketers must capture their specific interests to ensure that they attain their advertising goal. It is essential for the marketers to get not only the level of childhood knowledge of the target group but also its level of sophistication. As children grow, several aspects change, including their taste and their vocabulary. Therefore, marketers should carry out research on the vocabulary th at a certain age group employs as well as the visual aspects of the media that they like most. This will enable them to tailor the advertisement in order to persuade the target group effectively. However, it is important to mention that this is one of the most costly and difficult issues for most marketers. Additionally, marketers should be careful to avoid any forms of misunderstanding with the children and their parents. Advertising ethics and social responsibility Advertisements have a profound impact on people’s perception of life thus the need for marketers to adhere to advertising ethics and assume their social responsibility: ‘the moral obligation of advertisers’ as stipulated by Arens et al. in the essay question. All advertisements should be truthful. Advertisers should not exaggerate the information about the attributes of a given product or service since exaggeration acts as a form of deception. Additionally, advertisements should not withhold certain facts about the product. Advertisements should seek to uphold human dignity. The techniques employed in advertisements should neither manipulate nor exploit any form of human weaknesses such as greed and lust among others especially within the vulnerable groups e.g. children. Most of children advertisements try to exploit suggestibility with the marketers hoping to make children to pressurize their parents to buy products that may be of no importance to them (Duff 2004). Such adverts offend not only the rights but also the dignity of the parents and children. They intrude upon the relationship between the children and their parents. They also manipulate the relationship to attain their own goals without any consideration of the negative effects that such might cause to the family. Advertisers ought to put into consideration their contribution to the social and ecological well-being of the society. They should not promote lavish lifestyles that promote the wasteful use of natural res ources. Advertising as a social process must follow all the norms in any given society. Advertisements should not expose pornography: should be decent. They should not encourage the materialism but should enhance both the cultural and economic development of the target group. Conclusion Advertising to children has unique features when compared to advertising to any other market segment. Firstly, the essay exampled the factors that have led to increased advertisement to children. Most children do not purchase the products being advertised; their parents do. Therefore, the marketers should have both the interests of the children and parents at heart; for example, children’s advertisements must be appealing and meaningful to parents. Secondly, the impact of advertising to children was discussed. The positive impact includes the ability of firms to reach important segments of the population and therefore increase sales, whilst the negative impact was that most advertisements prom ote products that are harmful to the health of consumer children. Thirdly, the regulation of children’s advertising was examined. As the most vulnerable group to faulty adverts, they are protected by law. Therefore, several bodies have taken the responsibility of protecting the interests of children and their parents as far as advertisements are concerned, including the C.A.R.U and N.A.R.C. The essay dealt with the considerations marketers should have in children’s advertisements, including that they are persuasive, the media they intend to use and type of child they target. Finally, the essay detailed advertising ethics and the social responsibility of advertisers: Products should fulfill the advertisement claims and enhance the social and economic development of the community. Reference List Ajzen, I. 2008,â€Å"Consumer Attitudes and Behavior† in C Haugtredt, P Herr F Kardes (eds), Handbook of Consumer Psychology, Taylor Francis, New York. Cardona, M. 2004, â€Å"High School Paper Group to Take Adverts†, Advertising Age, Vol. 75 no.1, pp. 16-35. Cronin, J., Joseph, J., Fox, G. 2010, â€Å"The Implications of Third Party Customer Complaining for Advertising Efforts†, Journal of Advertising, Vol. 39 no. 2, pp. 21-33. Duff, R. 2004. â€Å"What Advertising Means to Children†, Young Consumers: Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers, Vol. 5 no. 2, pp. 12-56. Farache, F., Keith, J.P. 2010, â€Å"CSR Advertisements: A Legitimacy Tool?†, Corporate Communication: an International Journal, Vol 15 no. 3, pp.235-248. Fletcher, W. 2004. â€Å"The Challenge of Advertising to Children†, Young Consumers: Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers, Vol. 5 no. 2, pp. 11-15. Kletchemer, S.B. 2004, â€Å"Advertainment: The Evolution of Product Placement as a Mass Media Marketing Strategy†, Journal of Promotion Management, Vol 10 no. 2,pp. 37-54. Kunkel, D. 2001, â€Å"Children and Television Advertisingâ₠¬ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ in D Singer, J Singer (eds), Handbook of Children and Media, Thousand Oaks, California. Martin, C., Landon, J., Dalmeny, K. 2006,â€Å"Television Advertising and Children: Lessons from Policy Development†, Public Health Nutrition, Vol. 9 no. 5, pp. 596-605. Prince, S.A. 2009,â€Å"A Population Health Approach to Obesity in Canada-Putting the Problem Back to Context†,Trans-disciplinary Studies in Population Health Series, Vol.1 no.), pp. 22-40. Roberts, D., Foehr, U., Rideout, V. 2005, Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 year-olds, Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation, Menlo Park: California. Schor, J.B. 2004, Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture, Scribner, New York. Synder, W. 2011, â€Å"Making the Case for Enhanced Advertising Ethics†, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol 51 no. 3, pp. 477-483. Terry, O. 2009, â€Å"Advertising and Children: What do Kids Think?† Qualitative Market Research: An International J ournal, Vol 8 no. 2, pp. 371-384. Tjepkema, M. 2006, Adult Obesity. Health Reports, Vol.17 no.3, pp. 9-27.

Compare and contrast the key appeal factors of the world's top four Essay

Compare and contrast the key appeal factors of the world's top four receiving countries(arrivals 2005)namely France,Spain,USA,China - Essay Example In other words, to every country there holds its own specialty. People visit different countries for not only trade but to spend their vacations, to take out time to explore the world and its beauty. These migrations benefit the countries in a manner to hold up the foreign exchange along with the enhancement of business of their countries. Most of the countries show up their basic historical culture and tradition to keep it alive among the new generation and spreading it all over the world. It is being noticed that technology introduces a new change in every field of daily use. A person traveling of one's pleasure is known to be a tourist and the process or migrations tourist make till one returns back to the homeland is known to be tourism. Tourist is said to be a name to visitor who travels the t other country to visit it for the cause of business or his pleasure. According to Mathieson and Wall (1982), tourism is "the temporary movement of people to destinations outside their normal places of work and residence, the activities undertaken during their stay in those destinations and the facilities created to cater their needs."8 In simple words, Wall and Mathieson wants to say that visiting a place other than usual places like office, schools, relative homes; a place where person moves to accomplish his personal or business desires. Desires may be to attain mental relaxation from the fast track life or desires may to achieve more trading clients to enhance own assets. Studying more about tourist and tourism, Macintosh and Goeldner (1986) defines tourism i n words like, "the sum of phenomena and relationships arising from the interaction of tourists, business suppliers, host governments and host communities in the process of attracting and hosting these tourists and other visitors."8 This is simple and easy defining the same philosophy of tourism in mould of different words. KEY APPEAL FACTORS Traveling from one place to another was a big major time consuming issue. Its developments were simultaneously acting by the passage of time. On foot traveling was done before 1500A.D when stagecoach was invented. This is a carriage pulled by the horse. It in minority but yet being seen now a day and now it's the cheaper transportation to move from one place to another. Then in England in 1825, passenger-carrying railroads, i.e., trains are developed moving the research on the development of boats and ships which was first sailed in ocean in 1840. This transportation was usually used to move on the land across seven seas through oceans. Automobiles and now the most famous transportation is air travel. Traveling may be done for one or more of the following dimensions: Natural Resources Culture Ethnicity Entertainment Extreme Tourism, which includes adventurous activities. Traveling is just not the reason but a name to live a healthy stay at guest place and enjoy that happy tensionless mood which requires following facilities: Lodging Food & Beverages Support Services Infrastructure, services like communication, water for general use, electricity etc. These all facilities require for the following the visitor or tourist to be filled

The Understanding of Probability Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Understanding of Probability - Assignment Example Understanding uncertainty is part of human’s quest to gain much more confidence, particularly in a logical decision-making process. The uncertainty which means knowing just a little of what might probably happen triggers much wider and deeper understanding of the value of numbers among those concerned individuals who are trying to make certain decisions. For instance, computation of probabilities based on the actual random samples from an entire class or population can be viewed as much of a representation. This can be meaningful knowing the fact that drawing a sample from a certain population in which every entity has the equal chance of being drawn can be viewed reliably in explaining the entire sample. In this paper, I gave light on the value of probability which will fall to what Stein said, â€Å"I wonder what would be revealed if a scientific study were done on the numbers† (American Institute of Physics 1). In the same way, his realizations based on what he said, â€Å"Now I feel comforted by the power of mathematics† (Chang 2) had been emphasized based on the following articles: The baseball game is one of the most played games in the world. However, it is not just purely a game by design, but a rich area which paves the way to exploring more mathematical concepts and methods. Mathematical concepts and methods may vary depending on the level of information and data type. The two articles include the discussion of chance in which the baseball game will end up to the seventh series. Considering the assumption that the two teams have equal chances of winning, getting the value of probability of winning in the seventh game may sound not so complex. However, there are many factors to be considered to exactly model the probability of winning the baseball game in the seventh series. Considering that the two teams may not exactly have equal chances of winning due to the fact that the other team may just be exactly better.

Hephaestus Made Up Story Essay Example for Free

Hephaestus Made Up Story Essay â€Å"Where am I?† asked Hephaestus, confused and hurt. â€Å"Why you’re on Lemnos Island, you took quite a hit. I’m guessing you did something to make Zeus distraught, am I right?† said Thetis, a Nereid nymph. And suddenly Hephaestus remembered it all. Seeing his mother, Hera, all tied up and Zeus madder than ever. As he began to go through all the emotions again he carefully disdained all of the bad thoughts and put an indifferent face on; there was no reason to scare his new friend away. â€Å"Something like that,† he barely replied. â€Å"Well, I’m sure you’re very crippled. I shall take you to the Sintian Men; they will be responsible of you, for now. Okay, Hephaestus?† said Thetis. There was no response. â€Å"Poor kid,† mumbled Thetis as she took him to the Sintian Men. The following day Hephaestus woke up in an unfamiliar place, full of unfamiliar people. â€Å"Who are you? What do you want?† Hephaestus entreated. â€Å"We are the Sintian Men, we mean no harm. We’re here to help you.† said one of the men. And from that point on the Sintian Men and Hephaestus became very close good pals. Hephaestus soon started to become very well known around the island, and everyone wanted to meet him. He was a celebrity, crippled but famous. I never had this much attention, he thought. I practically know everyone here, like my own heaven. And then with a whim he saw Aerdna, for the first time. A million of questions rushed to his head: who is she? Where is she from? Has she always been here? I need to get to know her. Shy and formidable Hephaestus quickly retreated and went home. There he made a plan, with guile included. He decided to woo her. Hephaestus, the god that had the special gift of building fine arts, gently made a beautiful scallop shell. He planned to give it to Aerdna as a token of his love. She gladly accepted it, for she too had feelings for him. Now, at this time, Aphrodite was about to get thrown out of the heavens. â€Å"I can’t go! I’ll do anything!† she pleaded to Zeus. Zeus just laughed and replied, â€Å"You must marry the son of my wife: Hephaestus. He is located on Lemnos Island. But, good luck with that. For I see he has found himself another woman.† Hephaestus with another woman? I don’t believe so. This won’t do. She thought to herself. When I see it, I’ll believe it. So, Aphrodite made a trip to Lemnos Island and found out that what Zeus said was true. â€Å"I am appalled! I shall change all of this, I will keep my spot as the goddess of beauty if it’s the last thing I do!† yelled Aphrodite. Quickly and cleverly, Aphrodite made a plan. She would lure Aerdna into a cave and kill her right then and there. Then she will go to Hephaestus and demand his hand in marriage. But, as we all know, not everything always goes as planned. Aphrodite successfully lured her prey into the cave but as soon as Aerdna caught the gist of what was happening she tried to run away. In the end, Aerdna turned into the scallop shell Hephaestus gave her; which later on would become a sign of Aphrodite. Aphrodite and Hephaestus later then got married. Aphrodite remained being a goddess and Hephaestus never really figured out what happened with his one true love.

Brave New World-A Sterile Society :: essays research papers

â€Å"Cleanliness is next to Fordliness†, was an attitude impressed upon the people of Aldous Huxley’s, Brave New World. A society free of disease and suffering was achieved through a technique of conditioning called hynopaedia. â€Å"Civilization is sterilization†, was a hynopaedic slogan used to achieve the ideal society. This idea was manifested through the anesthetizing people’s emotions, the sterilization of humans and the cleanliness of society. The Brave New World sterilized people of emotions through the elimination of families and the promotion of soma. To eliminate close bonds between two people promiscuity was advocated. This was achieved through hynopaedia during childhood. Through this technique intimate relationships between people were eliminated. People of Brave New World did not know what a family was. At the mention of the words mother and father, during a tour of the London Hatchery, the students became silent and many began to blush. Soma was another devise used by citizens of Brave New World to let them escape and forget their emotions. It was a tranquilizer widely used in Brave New World. It allowed people to go into a trance whenever they wanted to escape their surroundings. This was shown when Lenina Crowne and Bernard Marx were visiting the reservation. During the Warden’s speech to the couple, Lenina Crowne swallowed half a gramme of soma to escape the boredom of the Warden’s speech. The som a allowed her to seemingly be paying attention when in reality she wasn’t listening or thinking of anything. The attitude of civilization is sterilization was also achieved through the sterilization of the female population. Bokanovsky’s Process made it possible for the Brave New World to control the amount of fertile women in society. Even with the advancement of scientific technology human ovaries were still needed for the manufacturing of embryos. Fertile women were encouraged to undergo a hysterectomy. In return for selling their ovaries, women received six months pay. Around seventy percent of the women in Brave New World were infertile. These women were called freemartins. Freemartins were produced through injecting female embryos with a dose of a male sex-hormone. The society of Brave New World believed civilization should be composed of clean and robust people. The nurses in the Neo-Pavlovian Conditioning Rooms were described as, â€Å"trousered and jacketed in the regulation white viscose-linen uniform, their hair aseptically hidden under white caps.† This image expressed how everything was done in a systematic and sterile way.

Gay Marriage: Social Calamity or Long Overdue? Essay

Abstract There is growing attention to the issue of marriage equality for gay people in this country. As of the writing of this paper, 16 of the 50 states in the United States of America have legalized gay marriage, either by legislation or by popular vote (Wisniewski, 2013). The discourse regarding the issue becomes quite contentious largely because of non-secular ideology that has demonized the concept of homosexuality for many years. As a sociological issue, the conflict has become a divisive force for many, from political powers as far down to the family level. The constitution guarantees equal rights for all in this country; freedom of religion, speech, etc. yet appears to stall when equal rights for the gay community are involved. There has been significantly more popular support for the cause recently, but the stigma and prejudice continue to linger. Is this a moral debate or has an outdated ideology become so embraced by many that the battle has only just begun? Are Rights Really Equal? When asked if one believes in equal rights for all citizens, the typical, rote response is a resounding â€Å"Yes†. If the question becomes more specific as to include the right for homosexuals to marry, a hesitation follows. The concept of gay marriage is far deeper a societal problem for most because its roots lie in prejudicial perspectives that have permeated us for years. Before the fight for the right to marry, the gay community has long endured simply the right to exist openly without feeling pariah-like. The United States is not a theocracy, of this we are certain. However, there are many more religiously affiliated citizens than not. The First Amendment gives us freedom of religion, which should also include freedom from religion. The truth of the matter meets somewhere in between the two, especially when US currency bears â€Å"In God We Trust† boldly on its face. There are political leaders who continue to evoke the name of God in their speeches, even though  the fact is that our founding fathers were mostly non-theists and the motto on our money did not initiate until 1958 or so. But people continue to view homosexuality as a â€Å"sin†, therefore gay marriage is not an option. This issue has created a divide in this country, much like most other civil rights have. When slavery was abolished, it took years to establish anti-segregation laws. Civil change takes time, historically, and gay marriage is no different. Protests continue either in support of or against gay marriage, at times becoming violent. Families become divided when a member openly announces his or her orientation and disapproval prevails, sometimes resulting in families disowning or ostracizing that offender from the family. Government has been forced to become involved, due to an outcry for the various rights that are bestowed upon a married member of this society. Rights to inheritance and to personal medical information and decision making are two examples of spousal rights. Monogamous homosexual couples are denied these rights, since without marriage, the rights fall to their closest relative. Functional Sociology and Gay Marriage Society has long viewed traditional marriage a fundamental and necessary building block. Marriage is the institution by which our population is regenerated and offspring are socialized then integrated as functioning members. Functional theorists might argue that if the paradigm is changed to include same sex couples, social decay may follow, as the family unit is unable to function if not in the traditional way. Single parent households have been faulted with producing children that score lower in school than those from the traditional, two parent family, as well as have higher rates of unacceptable social behavior, such as drug abuse or teenage pregnancy. Functionalists believe children benefit from each gender parent in a different way, therefore require both to be whole. (Tischler, 2011) Conflict Theory and Gay Marriage Conflict theory maintains that society functions when a more powerful or accepted sector exerts its will and exceeds at the expense of less powerful or accepted portions. (Tischler, 2011). Since homosexuality has been regarded taboo by the majority for so long, heterosexuals have maintained their position of acceptance and normalcy in the US. Vocational positions,  especially powerful ones such as political leaders, have historically been heterosexual. We have a â€Å"President† and a â€Å"First Lady†; expected heterosexuality. For the stigma to be removed, traditionally expected and understood ways of life would drastically change. Would traditional, heterosexual marriage decay in the process? The Future of Marriage Regardless of sociological theory, religious belief, and cultural expectation, the movement towards acceptance of gay marriage is gaining momentum and losing the attached stigma. Gay marriage is legal in 16 states (Wisniewski, 2013), and gay couples right to adoption has increased. Heterosexual divorce rates remain hovering at a 50% mark, and have been for many years prior to homosexual marriage. Society is resilient, proving itself over years of change. The ideal aspiration would be for both homosexual and heterosexual married couples to simply co-exist; neither having any real influence over the others’ success or demise. References Tischler, H.L. (2011) â€Å"Introduction to Sociology†. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781285396835/pages/55834839 Wisniewski, M (2013) Update 1-Illinois Governor Signs Same-Sex Marriage Into Law. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/20/usa-gaymarriage-illinois-idUSL2N0J524N20131120.

My Personal Narrative Is Texas - 1889 Words

The personal narrative is a literary work written from a specific person s life on a specific experience that had shaped the specific person s life in such a way that the person is fundamentally changed forever. My personal narrative encompasses the biggest change in my life, the move from my home state to the state of North Carolina. Whenever I tell someone that I used to live in Texas and I loved it there the first thing I always hear is â€Å"Really. I thought Texas was a garbage state†. What I usually tell them is that they are of course correct. Almost 90% of texas are tiny towns where some don t have electricity or running water, and even worse are the small cities full of illegal immigrants and rampant in crime. However like a massive desert of unpleasantness there is an oasis in the center that makes the trip through the desert all worth it. This oasis is Austin Texas, known as one of the top four best cities in the entirety of the United States. The city of Austin is a beautiful place and I can barely put into words the feelings I have about that city. Austin is a wonderful city and I was born in it; however, I was raised in a small town right next to austin called Cedar Park. In Cedar Park born and raised on the playground is where I spent most of my days like most kids even nowadays; however the parks in Cedar Park were not your ordinary park, these parks were huge and that s not just my child mind speaking. There were four parts to the park with each partShow MoreRelatedEssay988 Words   |  4 Pagesperfection. Each person’s narrative comes together—by the page, sentence, word, and punctuation. Our individual and collective experiences are all a part of the reality we ascribe to ourselves and the world, and like with any draft, parts of it may be scrapped for something new. With my career, I plan to answer two questions: 1) How can people learn more about their personal world and other people in a creative, engaging way? 2) How can one utilize and alter the multifaceted narratives that make up theirRead More I Hate Narrative Essays1154 Words   |  5 Pagesdue in a scant 4 hours and I had all week to do it. The radio had stopped working because my brother got on the Internet and thus cut off my connection. That was the least of my problems working on this paper. I got it done, though. My life changed with one trip of a teacher to the chalkboard and one phrase, narrative essay. God, I hate narrative essays. My day was going well. I devoured a big breakfast, my brother, for once, got out of the shower quick, and no major assignment was pending. LifeRead MoreFilm Analysis: Slacker 19911188 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Slacker† (1991) is an independent film by director â€Å"Richard Linklater†. Its a character-based fiction, structured with many individual scenes forming a feature film without an apparent narrative. The film is portraying bits of everyday life of several eccentric people in Austin, Texas. The film is built up in a way that every scene presents new characters, and after the scene is over you will never see the same characters again. The camera floats from scene to scene by following differentRead MoreHow Social Media Shapes Musical Identities959 Words   |  4 Pagesdocumentary will follow about four subjects five, including a few appearances of myself. It will follow two drummers I know through online interactions such as Facebook specifically the Mike’s Lessons family page. Alex Fort a college student from Austin Texas and Jason Robertson a former jazz drummer from the navy and drum instructor from Louisiana. On top of those two the documentary will also follow Kurt Roembke a musician from Fort Wayne who graduated from IPFW with two music degrees. Each subject hasRead MoreBeloved : A Reconstruction Of Our Past1705 Words   |  7 PagesOsagie discusses Morrison’s narrative as a product in â€Å"historical mythmaking† in her review Is Morrison Also Among the Prophets?: â€Å"Psychoanalytic† Strategies in Beloved. She incorporates Du Bois’s idea of â€Å"double consciousness†, the divided identity of African Americans as the way they see themselves and the way society sees them, as a strategy Morrison incorporates to re-narrate the history of slavery (Osagie). Through this double consciousness, Morrison creates a new narrative of what slavery means toRead MoreMy Community Outreach Program For The Northeast Texas Public Health District1331 Words   |  6 PagesA. Introduction: My intention with this narrative is to show that with my extensive experiences in both personal and professional situations it show its equivalency for to the credits applied. This will be demonstrated by extensive background in fulltime ministry, right up to my present job with the Northeast Texas public Health District. Everything I have done right up until this time in my life has been involved with community outreach programs. I have multiple certificates and artifacts thatRead MoreHow Language Can Create Different Types Of Meaning980 Words   |  4 PagesSystematic Functional Linguistics (Derewianka, 2011, p.3). Text one called Ocelot, is an information report as it follows the structure of giving a general statement about the subject and expanding with a description. The genre of text two, is a narrative recount displaying the distinct structure: orientation, complication and resolution, with a coda to end (Humphrey, Droga, Feez, 2012, p.195). The texts are both written by chi ldren in stage three (years 5-6), as there is an evident higher order thinkingRead MoreOn Dumpster Diving by Las Eighner Essay1116 Words   |  5 Pagesfood, knowing the dumpsters of the given areas and always ask, â€Å"Why was this discarded?† (Eighner 714). Eighner was born Laurence Vail Eighner in Corpus Christi, Texas, on November 25, 1948. When Eighner became homeless in 1988 after leaving a job he had been with for ten years as an attendant at a state hospital in Austin, Texas. â€Å"For three years he traveled back and forth between Austin and Los Angeles with his dog Lizbeth, earning what money he could from writing stories for magazines†(EighnerRead MoreAdvantages And Disadvantages Of Social Media1280 Words   |  6 PagesSocial Media Brenton Adams HUM/186 08/28/2017 Allyson Wells Social Media We have all seen how friends, family, acquaintances and more talk to each other through social media platforms; often with personal disregard and by providing misinformation. Similarly, we have also seen rotating â€Å"news† articles and other tidbits of information being passed around, though how much is accurate? Being able to have information rapidly available can be beneficial, though distinguishing fact from fiction