Does drug treatment reduce recidivism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Does drug treatment reduce recidivism - Essay Example Victim awareness, monetary penalties, and juvenile supervision interventions are rating poorly on their effectiveness (MacKenzie, 2006). Guts feelings help inform decisions about many things in life and experience helps sharpen gut feelings. The experience of community correctional officials enables them to infer about the effectiveness of certain aspects of correctional programs. Even so, there are elements about correctional programs that gut feelings cannot capture accurately and that need the input of research. Research provides scientific ways of testing the effectiveness and flaws of a correctional program (Craig et. al., 2013). An added advantage with research is that the findings can be replicated to test for their reliability, something that is difficult with gut feelings. Research uses empirical ways of generating knowledge whereas gut feelings use intuition. Overall, both research and gut feelings are important and community correctional officials should combine them in assessing the effectiveness of a program (White et. al., 2008). The inputs of the two should complement each

Career Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Career Plan - Essay Example These alterations have further attracted the focus of the career planners towards issues concerning the regular job hours, stress level on-the-job, remunerations, growth opportunities as well as versatility in the job responsibilities. Following the determination of these aspects on the basis of the academic skills, cognitive competencies and economic abilities of the candidate, the career path is selected (Fogg, Harrington and Harrington 21-30). Considering these issues, I wish to select my career option as a corporate lawyer. However, owing to the fact that the industrial contexts are rapidly changing which might alter the attributes which I had considered when selecting upon the career option of a corporate lawyer, I have decided the job role of a law professor as my second career option. This paper will therefore attempt to discuss upon my career choices and their attributes which should be taken into concern when developing myself as a prospective candidate for the intended job positions. The strong inspirations to influence me for considering about corporate lawyer as a career option have been my family and friends who knew people from a similar career. Even the friends who were associated with businesses advised me to take up the option as a worthy career choice after identifying my skills and hard-working nature. Contextually, after reviewing various articles and consulting with my professors along with the people whom my friends knew as corporate lawyers, I was able to understand that the job responsibilities in relation to this particular career is quite challenging. Undoubtedly, the sustenance as well as the legal viability of a corporate entity relies upon the shoulders and competitiveness of the lawyer which further determines the livelihood of many people. I also observed that corporate lawyers in today’s highly competitive scenario need to handle multiple deals at once, which further creates

Feasibility of Telehealth Essay Example for Free

Feasibility of Telehealth Essay Health is a vital aspect of life, which is why it is important to have an access to different health care services. The world’s population is rising radically every year; thus, the demand for quality health care services also increases. With the application of modern technology the health system has been able to accommodate this demand in many countries through the implementation of Telehealth. In Canada, accessibility and distribution of health care services is influenced by aspects like large landmass, population concentration and economy and (Sevean, et. al., 2008). The feasibility of Telehealth as an instrument for delivering health care services in Canada will be discussed in this paper, focusing on four key themes: service to rural areas, cost effectiveness, responsiveness and ease of access that will be tackled consecutively. The first paragraph after the introduction aims to give an overview on what and how Telehealth works in Canada. Central to the arguments presented in this paper is the pros of using Telehealth by means of telecommunication technologies as a substitute to the actual patient-to-health care provider interaction. Telehealth is defined by Health Canada (2000) as â€Å"the application of telecommunications and information technology to the delivery of health care and health-related services and information over large and small distances†. It is basically divided into two distinct parts: the technology being used and the persons (patient or health care provider) (Thede, 2001, para. 2). Telehealth according to Prinz, Cramer, and Englund uses four modes of telecommunication: voice-only or telephone, video images or exchange of information through digital pictures, and virtual contract or video conferencing (Background section, para. 4). Included in the Telehealth Ontario service is a contact number that you can Canadians can call 24 hours a day seven days a week. In consulting the health care provider through phone, once on the line, the health care provider, usually registered nurse, will asks the person on the other line to describe his or her health concern, the nurse will then evaluate the person’s condition and will help him or her to determine the best option available for him or her; whether to go see a doctor, admit himself or herself in an emergency room, the nurse can also advise self-care (Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care, 2009). Telehealth has already been incorporated in almost every medical field like Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Cardiology, Radiology and Oncology providing accuracy and more services to people. Telehealth aims to elevate the serviceability of health system by providing access for people who has a health concern anytime of any day anywhere. Telehealth provides better health service for people living in the rural areas. Canada has a large landmass with bodies of water surrounding it. The population is not equally distributed, most Canadians live in urban areas, and some smaller communities are located at rural areas and the Aboriginals mostly live in small isolated areas. In the study they conducted in 2008, Sevean, Dampier, Spadoni, Strickland and, Pilatzke found out that Canadians who live in smaller isolated community do not have an access to a quality health care because even though Canada has an excellent health services most of these health services centered on the urban areas and that is a lso why most health care professionals favor working on urban areas resulting to a shortage of health care professionals in the rural areas. In addition, specific services might only be available to large hospitals that are mostly located on big cities, forcing people in isolated communities to travel miles by land, water or air to get the medical help they need. Most road conditions in the rural areas are undeveloped increasing their inconvenience. Also, weather condition is also a great consideration in accessing health care, air and sea travel is usually cancelled during storms most roads are also inaccessible when there is a strong downpour of snow. Unavailability of help during emergencies results in fatality especially in the northern Aboriginal communities (Sevean et. al, 2008). By improving the access of health care for rural access it also decreases the mortality rate. Telehealth is designed to reduce the cost associated with the delivery of health care without compromising on the quality. Treatments and medications can be costly depending on the type and intervals plus the extra inconvenience associated with it such as travelling costs, hospital accommodations, stress, and physical limitations (Sevean et al., 2008). Included in the patient’s bill in the hospital is the room accommodation, the longer they stay at the hospital the more they have to pay. Through Telehealth, patients who underwent surgeries or had suffered illnesses have the option to check-out early and continue the recovery in their own homes; thus, lessening the costs of their hospitalization. As mentioned earlier, people who live in small isolated communities have to travel kilometers to miles in order for them to meet with their health practitioner on the cities to get medical attention or follow-up from post-recovery, through telehealth they are able to save on transportation, gas mileage and other extra expenses like parking fee. Moreover, Saqui et al, (2011) argued that telehealth consultation decreases morbidity, prevent unnecessary suboptimal costly treatment, patient transfers and travelling cost when a change in the diagnosis and treatment plan occur (Discussion Section, para. 2) Through videoconferencing, Telehealth are able to give immediate diagnosis for a patient who needs urgent care (Saqui et al., 2011). A lot of effort is involve before a patient co uld meet with his or her doctor such as making an appointment, sorting his or her schedule and so on and so forth. By the time the person with health concern meets with his or her doctor the illness might already aggravated; consequently, the health care system through Telehealth provides a quicker and more efficient way on determining the type and seriousness of the patients and illness without leaving the comfort of their homes. By contacting Telehealth as soon as a person notices some irregularities in the person’s normal body functions that indicates that he may or may not be ill, enable that person who called to act immediately preventing the illness from advancing any further or on the other hand be reassured that there’s nothing to worry about. Furthermore, Telehealth also made the monitoring on recovering patients at their homes faster, the registered nurse in-charge of monitoring the patient can guide the patient in his recovery process through a streaming media. Any concerns that may arise in the recovery process can be solved a lot quicker, the patient can leave a message or phoned and the health care provider will respond to it as soon as possible stating the fact that Telehealth service is available 24 hours a day. Moscovice and Rosenblalt (2000) that the quality of health care cannot be measured by the morbidity and mortality rates, but by the ability of the health care provider to recognize and respond to their patient immediately. One thing that proves that Telehealth is feasible in improving the delivery of health-care is its acceptability. Although Telehealth is designed mostly to cater the health care needs of people living in the rural areas and isolated communities, according to Health Canada, Telehealth service has been extended to the impoverished, the socially disadvantaged, ‘the institutionalized’ and the urban and suburban households has been added recently. The Telehealth system is tailored to improve enhance the access of the clients and their families to the health system in regards to their location, gender, age and condition. Prinz et. al, identify age as a barrier that create health discrepancy because of the limited access to health care, ‘home bound status’ and issues on transportation which is why in older patients, a branch of Telehealth called Telemonitoring is being used to provide an immediate respond in case of emergency, to allow them to stay at their homes, to lessen the risk for accidents and ‘to delay the institutionalization ( Pruski and Knops, 2005). This branch of telehealth has been proven to improve the elder’s quality of life, making the task of the caregiver easier, and lessen the elder’s admission to the hospital. The high acceptability of Telehealth comes from its ability to provide maximum support not only for the patients but also for their families. The clients feel secured because they are in a familiar environment where their families could assist them. Moreover, Telehealth has been proven to lessen the stress involve in the health care process especially for the patients with disabilities because of the reduced waiting time, omitting the need for transportation. In 2005, 100 % of the respondents in the Pediatric Surgical Telehealth Clinics survey conducted by Miller and Levesque indicated that they are satisfied in the service of Telehealth and would recommend it to others (Sevean et. al, 2008). Conclusion The four key themes of Telehealth discussed above: service to rural areas, cost effectiveness, responsiveness, and ease of access and acceptability, and the description on how Telehealth works illustrate its feasibility in delivering the health care the clients need and the advantages of using Telehealth versus the traditional way of patient-to-health care practitioners. Telehealth provides better health care services in the rural areas and isolated communities, it also lessen the cost of access to health care by decreasing the need to travel and other expenses, in addition Telehealth also provides an immediate feedback to the client or patient that is important during emergency, therefore decreases mortality and morbidity rate and lastly, it is designed for various ages, gender, disease to provide an ease of access and acceptability. Telehealth In conclusion is a more efficient way of delivering care to people through the use of various modern technologies; its feasibility has been proven. The health of future and current generations depends on the availability and efficient delivery of health care. References Office of Health and the Information Highway, Health Canada. (March 2000). Evaluating Telehealth ‘Solutions’ A Review and Synthesis of the Telehealth Evaluation Literature. Retrieved from: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hcs-sss/pubs/ehealth-esante/2000-tele- eval/index-eng.php Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care. (2009). Telehealth Program.-Ministry Program-Public Information. Retrieved from: http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/public/programs/telehealth/ Prinz, L., Cramer, M., Englund, A. (July-August 2008). Telehealth: A policy analysis for quality, impact on patient outcomes, and political feasibility. Nursing Outlook. 56(4), 152-158. Retrieved from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0029655408000456 Saqui O, Chang A, McGonigle S, Purdy B, Fairholm L, Baun M, Yeung M, Rossos P, Allard J. (2007). Telehealth videoconferencing: Improving home parental nutrition parent care to rural areas of Ontario, Canada. Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. 31(3), 234-239. Retrieved from: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17463150 Sevean P, Dampier S, Spadoni M, Strickland S, Pilatzke S. (2009). Patients and families experiences with video telehealth in rural/remote communities in Northern Canada. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 18(1), 2573-2579. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19694885 Thede, Linda Q. (2001). Overview and Summary: Telehealth: Promise Or Peril?†. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. 6(30). Retrieved from: www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume62001/No3Sept01/TelehealthOverview.aspx Vincent, C., Reinharz, D., Deaudelin, I., Garcieau, M. (2005).Why some Health Care Professionals Adopt Telemonitoring and Others Not?. In Pruski, A. Knops, H (Eds.). Assistive Technology: From Virtuality to Reality. Amsterdam, Netherlands: IOS Press

Social Learning Theory And Tv Children And Young People Essay

Social Learning Theory And Tv Children And Young People Essay Children spend over 1,500 hours watching television in the course of a year; this amount of time spent in front of the television is significant when compared to the amount of hours a child spends in school, which is on average about 900 hours (Herr, 2007). Television impacts the lives of children in todays society with violence being the main message in the majority of shows. TV has become an ongoing controversial issue in which many researchers since the 1950s have conducted research studies. This paper will discuss Banduras social cognitive theory and research conducted within the last ten years in order to gain a better understanding of the effects of TV violence and children. Keywords: TV, violence, Bandura, social learning theory Introduction In todays ever evolving world of technology, television is at the top. While technology develops advancements and evolution, TV has maintained its popular presence. Postman (1985) states that television is our cultures way of knowing about itself and goes on to discuss how TV stages the world becomes the model for how the world is properly to be staged (p. 92). When the picture doesnt reflect reality, this is where issues arise. A child being brought up in this type of reality and never knowing life without a television makes them vulnerable to the negative effects of television. A childs cognitive development not being fully matured enough to understand violent messages that the media portrays becomes another issue that arises. Palmer, Hockett, and Dean (1983), found that for many children who watch TV programs geared for adults are not fully equipped emotionally or cognitively enough. Also it is to be noted that many of these children watch these types of program without adult supervision (p. 290). Difficulty to react emotionally to these types of TV messages is a lack of cognitive development (Potter, 2008, p. TV Violence 458). Potter (2008) further notes that until a child has developed certain knowledge structures, they will lack certain perspectives of how to view the world around them (p. 61). Television broadcasts many meaningful messages such as violence that not only entertains our children but has a huge impact on their lives. TVs popularity on violent programs has become an issue that many researchers have conducted research on since the 1950s. Gerbner states that being brought up around a violent culture develops aggressiveness, as well as, insecurity, anger, mistrust and desensitization in many (Stossel, 1997, p. 91). Many researchers attest that violent television viewing contributes to antisocial behaviors as well as other variable factors. Ongoing debates go on of whether long or short term effects of TV viewing occur, and children are the main focal group that needs special protection from the negative effects of violence on TV (Potter, 2008, p. 62). The TV generations of children are bleak bunch when compared to earlier generations of children who seemed to be more outgoing and playful (McLuhan Fiore, 1967, p. 126). Researchers today state that children who spend more time in front of the television are at a higher level of risk for developing antisocial effects. Just about every household in the United States has at least one television if not more, and with that said many children are being exposed to violent images and programs at a very young age. Flavell and Ross (1981) state that 4 to 6 year olds have little reflective understanding of their moral knowledge and have an intuitive moral competence that they answer questions about moral rules and in how they excuse their transgressions and react to the transgressions of others. (p. 288) The social learning theory was developed by Albert Bandura in 1977 and states that everyday individuals observe the actions of others in ways of being rewarded, ignored, or punished (p. 46). This theory is most relevant theory in criminology. Social learning can take place at age; however, research has shown that social learning is most important during childhood years. With this has come the influential debate on the effects of children and TV violence. Banduras most famous research was based on his Bobo doll experiment that demonstrated social learning theory in that children are more likely to be violent towards a life size doll after watching an adult be violent to the doll on TV. Theory Relevance Banduras social learning theory emphasizes the importance as well as the modeling behaviors, attitudes and emotional reactions of others. Bandura (1977) further notes that Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own action to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behaviors is learned by observation through modeling; from observing others individuals tend to form ideas of how new behaviors are performed (p.22). Social learning theory further explains behavioral patterns as having been learned through operant conditioning and observation. Social learning theory extends its details by examining human behaviors through interactions within cognitive, behavioral and environmental influences. Components of social learning theory are: Attention Retention Motor Reproduction Motivation The reason why I chose to discuss social learning theory is mainly because of my own research I conducted a few years ago. The results were comparable to many of the other research studies conducted. Further I chose to discuss the social learning theory because I find it fascinating how this ties into criminal justice and may be a factor in why criminals commit crime. It is possible that criminals who commit crime were exposed to negative activities and never were taught right from wrong, leading many of these offenders to commit crime. It is up to the policy-makers to limit the amount of exposure of violence in the media from young children. It has been notes that violence contributes to 61% of TV programs that children view. Children arent the only ones affected by TV violence, adults are exposed to the same amount of violence as well and most arent even aware of it. In most recent technology, parents can restrict certain television shows from their children, and most recent laws now state that television rates must be present to rate the material being shown (e.g. amount of sexual content or violence). It is up to the government to put restrictions on certain types of shows in order to help restrict young views such as children from watching, which in tale can lead these children into an increased life of crime, thinking it is ok do what they see on TV. It is also up to the government to reduce the amount of violence portrayed on TV. Research Support The following will discuss previous studies conducted on television violence and its impact on children. Gerbners research called The Cultural Indicators Project has been noted to be one of the most widely referenced content analysis dealing with TV violence. In 1976, Gerbner and Gross conducted research with the use of a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. Their research entailed television programming and its concepts of social reality through a violent profile; which is a set of indicators along with the aspects of the TV world and the concepts of reality that are developed by viewers. In 1995, the Cultural Indicators Project had viewed over 25 years worth of TV programs, their observations consisted of over 3000 programs and 35,000 types of characters from thematic to action heroes (Signorielli, Gerbner, Morgan, 1995). Gerbners study focused mainly on physical, obvious violence, which was the most consistent within the data measuring TV violence (Signorielli, et al., 1995). Other types of research conducted were from the Berkeley Media Studies Group, which focused on new stations that showed real life violence on TV. The Berkeley Media Studies Group focused their research on TV news stations and how they structure the public and policy issue on violence in children (Dorfman, Woodruff, Chavez, Wallack, 1997). Here, researchers conducted over 214 hours worth of local news media in California. The media collected in this study was 1,791 stories related to children, violence, or both. It is to be noted that the research study was done around Halloween in hopes of having a higher rate of news related stories involving children and violence, as well as, any story involving anyone younger than 24 involved in a gang. The results of this study showed that the most frequent topic discussed on the news was in fact violence related (Dorfman, et al., p. 1312); with over 55% of the news stories shown were about children involved in violent acts and about 68% of the violence shown on the news worried children (p. 1314). In todays society, children dont know what it is like to not have a television or TV violence for that matter. Almost every household in the United States 99% has at least one TV in their household, whereas majority owns two or more (Herr, 2007). Bandura (2006) further states that more than half of households in the United States have three or more TVs (as cited in Potter, 2008, p. 5). The Kaiser Family Foundation (2010) conducted a study that found children ranging from ages 8 to 18 watch about 4  ½ hours of TV every day. It is also to be noted that this research found that 71% of these children had TVs in their bedrooms. With high saturation of TV programs, it is evident that there is also high presence of violent programming being watched by these young children. Further, Signorielli (2003) conducted analysis based on a 13 week television program that builds off of research from the Cultural Indicators Project. The results showed no change in level of violence from spring 1993 to fall 2001, where six of the television programs had violence (p. 53). In her study, Signorielli also found that the same amount of violence was being shown but within fewer characters in the TV programs. Therefore, violence on TV in the past 30 years has been found in 60% of TV programs, which breaks down to 4.5 acts per program (p. 54). Glascock (2008) also conducted analysis on children and TV violence, however Glascocks study was based on aggressive behavior (e.g. verbal, physical, and indirect acts of aggressiveness) and TV programs. With 6,599 aggressive acts analyzed, he found that TV programs air approximately 68 acts of aggression every hour (p. 274). Wilson, Smith, Potter, Kunkel, Linz, Colvin, and Donnerstein (2002) conducted a study on the nature as well as the extent of violence on television that mainly targeted children 12 years and younger (p. 5). Their results found that TV programs that targets children had more overall content of violence than non-children related TV shows (p. 29). Further, the results displayed over  ¾ of violent scenes in children shows had some type of humor, whereas  ¼ had aggression displayed in a humorous context (p. 22). With the results of this research Wilson, Colvin, and Smith (2002) wanted to further their research to offenders committing violence. With that said, they discovered that many of the violent offenders (89%) were adults, and children accounted for 4 to 7% based on age. When combined with the 2,500 hours of violent TV programs involved in this study, they discovered that younger offenders view TV violence once every hour and a half, were as adults are engaged 5 times an hour (p. 45). So the research result show that younger offender have a higher chance of being seen as attractive, having less punishment and are more involved in violence that have fewer end result to the victim (p. 53). Christakis and Zimmerman (2007) conducted a five-year observational, longitudinal study that discovered preschoolers; especially boys who view violence on TV do develop subsequent aggressive behavior (p. 996). Huesmann, Moise-Titus, Podolski, and Eron (2003) conducted a 15 year longitudinal study that found high significance in both young boys and girls in relations to aggressive behavior after watch violent TV programs. (p. 203). They note that child ranging in ages from 6 to 9 who watch violent programs on TV that displayed aggressive same-sex characters, and had perceptions of TV violence being real had higher rates of aggression as adults (p. 215). In 1960, a man named Leonard Eron surveyed every eight year old in Columbus County, New York. He stated I want to measure child-rearing practices as they relates to aggression. The parents asked such questions as: Had they read Dr. Spock? How often did their child watch TV? What was their childs favorite show? The results of this survey showed that the more aggressive children watched higher amounts of violent TV programs. However, did watching TV make these children more aggressive or were aggressive children watching violent TV programs? The U.S. Surgeon General formed a committee on TV and social behavior and asked Eron to survey the Columbia County children from 1960 (The Education Digest, October 1994). In 1971, Eron found about 500 of the now 19 year olds from the original sample of 875 children. The Correlation between viewing violence at age 8 and how aggressive the individual was at age 19 was higher than the correlation between watching violence at age 8 and behaving aggressively at age 8. Further, Eron once again was asked to further conduct his study in 1981, using 400 of the subjects being studied again, along with 80 of their offsprings (The Education Digest, October 1994). 30 year old men who had been the most aggressive when they were 8 had more arrests for drunk driving and violent crime and were more abusive to their spouses. Of the 600 subjects whose criminal records were reviewed; those who watched violent TV programs when they were 8 had been arrested more often for violent crimes and self reported fights when consuming alcohol. (The Education Digest, October 1994). In 1973, Tannis McBeth Williams studied children in a Canadian town before and after the town got TV; the results found that creativity dropped and that within two years after the town received the arrival of TV the rates of hitting, shoving, and biting among first and second graders had increased by 160%. Further studies discovered, 10 to 15 years after the TV was introduced, murder rates doubled (Newsweek, December, 1995). Bandura (1960) conducted a study on preschoolers and let them watch TV footage of a man hitting a bobo or clown doll. Afterwards, the children who saw the violent footage were more likely to mimic the same motions the adult did to the doll. Further studies have shown that these child also spontaneously would act out towards a man dressed as a clown as well, indicating that TV violence might spill easily into the real world. In another twist, a group of children saw a similar piece of footage of a man hitting a doll but being spanked for the actions. The children who watched this footage were less likely to attack the doll themselves (Newsweek, December, 1995). Discussion Current and past research has shown that many of the children who view violent content on TV at a young age do grow up to be violent. Banduras research with the Bobo doll clearly shows the effects of violence on children. In a study covering from 1982 to 1992, researchers found that for every 10 prime-time male characters who commit violence, 11 were victims. For every 10 female offenders, there were 17 female victims and for every 10 women of color given power, 22 were victimized (Newsweek, December 1995). Research also shows that 10% of violence comes from what we learn as children. Numerous years of research on this subject has proven that the more violence children are brought up around the more they think it is ok. It is also to be noted that this type of research establishes causation, which can determine cause and effect between variable. Not all research on this violence and children are accurate, not all children grow up to be violent offenders either. This is where most of the research becomes weak. There is no evidence or other factors that are tested to prove that TV violence is in fact the only contributor to offenders committing violent acts of crime. Much of these studies have been controlled type studies, and with this, controlled studies can be artificial, or done in a lab type setting which tends to eliminate real life effects on this type of study. It also should be noted that much of the research conducted on this subject have been done in previous years where exposure to TV violence was mild compared to current TV programs. Also, studies conducted in past years had fewer channels to choose from limiting the amount of available violent content. Studies suggest a high correlation between exposure to TV violence and violent behavior. Results of studies should be used to educate the public, parents, children, and programmers. Further, making suggestions on what can be utilized from parents, and criminologist may also help understand better the correlation between the two. Awareness on TV violence needs to be utilized in order to see who is at higher risks of violence. With the use of TV ratings on shows, parents are able to decide what shows there children are allowed to watch and in return reduce the amount of violence young children watch, reducing the effects of young children committing crime. Summary and Conclusions In todays society not many individuals can say they can pass the day without engaging in some sort of use of the television; whether it is used for entertainment or background noise. Signorielli (2006) notes that the television is the most all-encompassing mass medium in the United States and with this Postman (1992) stresses the need for American culture to change its concepts on reality expressed through TV (p. 19). Banduras (1986) social learning theory discussed that individuals are not driven by the inner forces nor are automatically shaped and controlled by external stimuli. However, he further states that human functioning is utilized in a way of modeling a triadic reciprocality, where behavior, personal and cognitive factors as well as environment interact with one another and are the determinates of one another (p. 18). Limitations of the studies discussed throughout this paper have demonstrated both past and present research and has been noted that it is impossible to control the factors such as environment, cognitive, and personal factors. With limitations within the data sets it is to be known that any analysis used from this data can be flawed. Further research needs to include factors such as social class, family communications and issues, parental monitoring, aggression within the family, viewing habits of television from both parents and children and many more. Recommendations for Further Study As television, programming, and audience evolves, research that is conducted also needs to evolve, as well as the types of questions being asked. For example, content analysis cannot focus mainly on certain prime-time TV shows on cable, for there are many more different types and channels on satellite, digital video recording (DVR) as well as live streaming off the internet, which have all changed the individuals viewing habits. With the popularity of news programs and reality shows Glascock (2008) states these types of programs need to be added to the analysis as well. Music television, advertising, public broadcast and even sports have been forgotten as well within this research. It is also to be noted that very little attention has been put on violent vs. nonviolent content on TV. Another factor that is an important variable for this research is how nonviolent programs affect and assist in better understand modeling behaviors in children. Much of Banduras evidence from his social learning theory is highly supported those individuals who view and enjoy TV more than others tend to like or relate to certain characters. Therefore, when these individuals see their character that they relate to act out with use of violence, that individual becomes excepting to that type of violence, leading them to have higher risks of committing crimes themselves. Research studies from the year 2000 to the present need to be investigated and address future research with questions such as: What types of progress and/or new conclusions can be used to identify certain effects that impact children who view violence on television? Has any new understandings or developments emerged within the last ten years that relate to TV violence and aggressive behavior in children and adults? However, many media effects researchers have began to look into studies on prevention and interventions. These types of studies use the social learning approach used in TV violence research and are examining process of comprehension, interpretation, and evaluating types of aggressive acts. Murray (2008) suggests that further researcher needs to involve neurological correlations of viewing TV violence (p. 1223). Many researchers are beginning to worry about addictions and dependency on TV. Researchers such as Anderson, Berkowitz, Donnerstein, Huesmann, Johnson, Linz, Malamuth, Wartella (2003) suggest that more parental monitoring as well as better guidance need to be put in place. Walma van der Molen (2004) go further to discuss the important of families, schools, and children doctors in helping to promote awareness on TV violence and its effects to children, more so on topics of real life violence and its effects (p. 1771). It is to be noted that no one kid is immune to the effects of TV violence, many children who are exposed to violent TV at a young age are at higher risk of committing crimes as young adults as well as adults. Further evidence has shown that any child from any family, city or any other type of background has the risk of learning and behaving more aggressively when exposed to violence on TV. Conclusions Almost everything on television can now be categorized as reality yet all of it is seen as entertainment. With the television making its presence in homes long ago, it has since moved its way into where we work, our schools, on our phones and even in our cars. Leading more of todays children demanding more time spent watching it. Much of the research in this paper supports the notion that constant viewing of violence on TV leads to more acceptance aggression and violent behaviors. Banduras social learning theory further discusses that if individuals have a strong link to a certain character and the character receives rewards, punishments or uses violence, the individual is more likely to act like the character and display the same type of behavior (Nabi Clark, 2008, p. 407). Research has shown time and time again that the lack of punishments and remorse that is displayed leads to a false reality and decreased sensitivity; leading more children to think it is ok to be aggressive and commit crimes and with no guidance from parents children will grow up to think this type of behavior is ok, which will lead many of children to grow up and end up in jail (Caputo, 1993; American Association of Pediatrics Committee on Communications, 1995; Signorielli, Gerbner, Morgan, 1995; Federman, 1996-1998; Peters Blumberg, 2002; Wilson, Colvin Smith, 2002; Potter, 2008; Richmond Wilson, 2008). Decrease sensitivity is desensitization. Many children model and react the same way they see things on TV, leading many children to grow up being insensitive, lazy, and having a lack of concern in emotional situations and these types of attitudes are seen in many of the criminals today. Desensitization can range differently for many individuals, however, the results are the both negative; for an individual will have a decreased amount of emotional reactions from the violent views or will have no regards to the consequences of violent acts they commit. 5,958 young children ages 10 to 24 were murdered in 2006 from gunfire, this is on average a total of 16 children being murdered every day (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009). These murder rates are higher than children deaths due to cancer, AIDS/HIV, asthma, influenza, and pneumonia combined (Childrens Defense Fund, 2004, as cited by AAFP.org, 2010). With no proof leading to the reasons why children use guns and kill can only lead to possibilities that violence on TV is in fact a key factor. With many young children in todays society growing up having more antisocial behaviors leads many to believe that the majority of these children will in fact grow up and become criminals or will commit more crimes as a young adult. When paired with the amount of time children are exposed to violence on TV it is easy to see the correlation linked to antisocial behaviors which leads many individuals to commit crime.

Inequality of Wealth and Income Distribution in America Essay -- essay

Inequality of Wealth and Income Distribution in America Every American dreams of finding a job that pays well enough so that they may comfortably take care of their loved ones and themselves for years to come. Most Americans hope to find some way to make a living that they enjoy, something that they view as productive. Unfortunately, many do not have this luxury. In our society, a good portion of the population is forced to hold the base of our country in place while hardly being redeemed for their time and effort, and thus the problem of income inequality. Numbers of these people live from paycheck to paycheck, barely getting by, not because they manage their money poorly, but because the value of their time at work is negligible. Some may even sacrifice happiness at work to find a job that pays better simply because they cannot make ends meet at their current job. Some people sacrifice their sanity and eventually their life just to keep from going under financially. Segregation in income distribution is another cause of these proble ms, such as that with women or African-Americans who make less than other classes comparatively. In contrast, actors and actresses make millions in the entertainment industry, an industry that grosses hundreds of millions of dollars a year creating what adds up to be the same kind of entertainment most people could get out of watching their children play sports or sing in a choir. The question then is how to find the value of work and time in our society and what should determine income. Positive reasons for income inequality are hard to find. One reason is the incentives there are to achieving higher status of income. You are regarded as successful in the eyes of your peers, and if you financial security is achieved, your life can be a lot less stressful. It is the pursuit of these incentives, this kind of greed, which keeps the economy running strongly. People work hard if they will be rewarded for it, so they pursue a higher education to get better jobs, to create a business, and we all benefit from that. An article, The Truth About Income Inequality by John H. Hinderaker and Scott W. Johnson, which is based completely on statistics from the government, proves that income has not fallen for Americans. In fact, the distribution of income is no worse than it has ever been, and certainly better than when the count... ... If everyone in this nation were aware of the influence that income inequality has on the people’s lives, many would be surprised and outraged. While the incentive’s and rewards of higher income are what fuels the economy, and what raises our standard of living, reaching that level of income has been difficult in the past and seems to be getting worse. Income inequality has been on the rise since the 1960’s, according to the graph of the Gini index, a statistical index of (in)equality. Those incentives of higher income are becoming scarce and costly, and many people think it isn’t worth the work to reach it. The larger the gap between the social classes, the more prominent social classification becomes, and the more we, as citizens and human beings, should be prepared to make a stand for the basic right of standard of living that was initiated by our independence. Works Cited The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap (Fall 2014) http://www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/ John H. Hinderaker and Scott W. Johnson, â€Å"The Truth About Income Inequality† http://www.americanexperiment.org/publications/reports/the-truth-about-income-inequality

An Ethical Dilemna Essay -- GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

An Ethical Dilemna After three years with the company, Sandy was promoted to assistant plant manager. This was a big step for Unity Welding and Construction, as well as for the industry; Sandy was one of only a handful of women who had broken through the â€Å"glass ceiling† and made their way into management. She had proved to the men around her that she deserved the job, and she was now being toasted by assistant managers from other plants across the country John, her boss, had been her advocate with the company. He had personally lobbied upper management in her behalf. Unity Welding and Construction is a national firm with twenty fabrication plants, primarily in the South. The company does contract work for other companies that require welding or fabrication of metals into items used in the construction of aircraft, ships, bridges, and component parts for consumer durables. Each plant caters to specific industries. Sandy’s plant produces parts primarily for the automotive industry and is located in Arizona. Arizona is perfect for Sandy because of her acute asthma problems. As a teenager, she once visited relatives in Atlanta and had to be hospitalized because of her reactions to the different plants and foliage. Sandy’s doctor told her at the time that she would have fewer problems with her asthma if she resided in one of the arid regions of the United States. Six months had passed since Sandy’s promotion, and her first performance rating from John was excellent. John told her that if she continued this type of performance, she would probably be a plant manager in three to six years. Sandy developed some innovative ways to increase productivity during her six months on the job. For example, she successfully implemented a â€Å"team concept,† which gave responsibility for certain projects to the workers on the plant floor. She offered incentives if they could decrease job times and increase profitability. John gave Sandy his full support, and the pro-gram was working well. Worker salaries on these special projects jumped from an average of $15 per hour to $24 per hour, yet the company’s bottom line continued to improve. Workers in the plant began competing to get on special projects. With the increasing competition, Sandy noticed that the workers were starting to cut corners. Minor worker injuries began to increase, and Sandy was concerned about how... ...or. Sandy cannot modify the quality control statistics even if it means she will loose her job, and she cannot overlook the workers disposing of toxic waste improperly. Even if this means that she will be one of many, loosing their jobs. As a Rule Utilitarian Sandy cannot forget about OSHA or the EPA. She will tell John that she cannot change the information on company documents because it is unethical. Sandy will do what is morally right, even if it means she will lose her job and her health insurance along with many other employees. Looking at these various outcomes from just one dilemma shows how differently a situation can turn out because of someone’s ethical and moral philosophies. We all must make ethical decisions, and some decisions are much harder to decide then others because of what is at stake. By looking at these different philosophies, I was not trying to judge or decide what is morally right or morally wrong, instead I was just trying to bring to light how a decision can have an effect on everyone around them. Bibliography: Farrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (1997). Business Ethics Ethical Decision Making and Cases. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company

Efeectiveness of Loyalty Programs in Big Bazaar

| 2011| | MARKETING OF SERVICES TERM PAPER PRADEEP KUMAR. N(M100002MS) | [EFFECTIVENESS OF LOYALTY PROGRAMS IN BIG BAZAAR]| | Contents page no 1. About the company 03 2. Significant features of big bazaar 04 3. Promotion techniques 04 4. Sales Promotion techniques 05 5. Loyalty programs 06 6. Customer experience 08 7. Research objective 09 8. Research methodology 09 9. Hypothesis and testing 10 10. Sampling plan 10 11. Findings 11 12. Conclusion 12 ABOUT THE COMPANY Big Bazaar is a chain of hypermarket in India. Currently, there are 210 stores across 80 cities and towns in India. Big Bazaar is designed as an agglomeration of bazaars or Indian markets with clusters offering a wide range of merchandise including fashion and apparels, food products, general merchandise, furniture, electronics, books, fast food and leisure and entertainment sections. Big Bazaar is part of Future Group, which also owns the Central Hypermarket, and is owned through a wholly owned subsidiary of Pantaloon Retail India Limited that is listed on Indian stock exchanges. Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited, is India’s leading retailer that operates multiple retail formats in both the value and lifestyle segment of the Indian consumer market. Headquartered in Mumbai (Bombay), the company operates over 10 million square feet of retail space, has over 1000 stores across 61 cities in India and employs over 30,000 people. The company’s leading formats include Pantaloons, a chain of fashion outlets, Big Bazaar, a uniquely Indian hypermarket chain, Food Bazaar, a supermarket chain, blends the look, touch and feel of Indian bazaars with aspects of modern retail like choice, convenience and quality and Central, a chain of seamless destination malls. Some of its other formats include, Depot,Shoe Factory, Brand Factory, Blue Sky, Fashion Station, aLL, Top 10, mBazaar and Star and Sitara. The company also operates an online portal, futurebazaar. com. A subsidiary company, Home Solutions Retail (India) Limited, operates Home Town, a large-format home solutions store, Collection i, selling home furniture products and E-Zone focused on catering to the consumer electronics segment. Pantaloon Retail was recently awarded the International Retailer of the Year by the US based National Retail Federation (NRF) and the Emerging Market Retailer of the Year 2007 at the World Retail Congress held in Barcelona. Pantaloon Retail is the flagship company of Future Group, a business group catering to the entire Indian consumption space. Pantaloon is not just an organization – it is an institution, a centre of learning & development. Over the years, the company has accelerated growth through its ability to lead change. A number of its pioneering concepts have now emerged as industry standards. For instance, the company integrated backwards into garment manufacturing even as it expanded its retail presence at the front end, well before any other Indian retail company attempted this. It was the first to introduce the concept of the retail departmental store for the entire family through Pantaloons in 1997. The company was the first to launch a hypermarket in India with Big Bazaar, a large discount store that it commissioned in Kolkata in October 2001. And the company introduced the country to the Food Bazaar, a unique ‘bazaar' within a hypermarket, which was launched in July 2002 in Mumbai. Embracing our leadership value, the company launched aLL in July 2005 in Mumbai, making us the first retailer in India to open a fashion store for plus size men and women. STRIKING FEATURES OF BIG BAZAAR * Food bazaar. Electronic bazaar. * Furniture bazaar. * FutureBazaar. com * Amusement zone. * Telecalling services PROMOTION TECHNIQUES * Big Bazaar – Isse sasta aur accha kahin nahi :- Big Bazaar has adopted value pricing in which they win loyal customers by charging a fairly low price for a high – quality offering. * Wednesday Bazaar – Hafte ka sabse sasta din :- In January 2007, Big Bazaar introduced a Wednesday Bazaar concept called â€Å"Hafte Ka Sabse Sasta Din† with the aim to give homemakers the power to save the most on this day of the week. Sabse Saste Teen Din (Big days) :- In 2006 they started a new shopping festival, i. e. Sabse Saste Teen Din on 24, 25 and 26th of January. Big bazaar throwed up to 65% of on each & every products in the store for three days. * Big Bazaar announced The Great Exchange Offer with a â€Å"Bring anything old and take anything new† concept which started from the 16th of Feb 2008 at the Landmark store. SALES PROMOTION TECHNIQUES The various promotional schemes undertaken by big bazaar are as follows: * The punch line of Big Bazaar says â€Å"IS SE SASTA AUR ACCHA KAHI NAHI†. This line gives the feeling that Big Bazaar gives merchandise which is cheapest in the market or in other words the value for money which a customer will be getting here will be more than anywhere else. * Wednesday is the cheapest day. This is done to divert some of the crowd coming on weekends to a relatively free day. Big bazaar advertises Wednesdays as the cheapest day in all the leading dailies across the capital. This offer targets housewives and encourages them to purchase groceries and vegetables because no one purchases vegetables on a weekly basis, they purchase it at least two times a week. * Big Bazaar has announced a unique exchange offer `Bring anything old and take anything new’. Under the exchange offer, old garments, utensils, furniture, plastic ware, newspapers or just about anything will be weighed and valued and customers will be given exchange coupons. There is also a direct exchange on mobile and electronic goods during the period with attractive discounts on new purchases. * Big Bazaar’s `The Great Exchange Offer’ has mobilized more than two lakh families to actually carry the junk of the house and offload it at the nearest Big Bazaar. Retail analysts say that generally February and March are dull months for consumer buying in the country and therefore this kind of a promotion campaign is needed to boost sales during the period. PANTALOON group’s hypermarkett chain, Big Bazaar, celebrated Republic Day as the Maha Savings Day, when shoppers at Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar outlets across the country, were offered merchandise at rock bottom prices. * The Maha Savings Day saw shoppers got deals they have never seen or heard before. The offers spread across categories from electronics to utensils, from apparel to furniture and also food. For example pressure cooker for Rs 299, two Ruf n Tuf Jeans for Rs 499, and a M otorola C115 for Rs 1,399. Big Bazaar usually runs a full page advertisement on Saturdays and Sundays in all the leading dailies communicating various offers. This is done to attract crowds on weekends because most of the people usually shop during weekends. * Pantaloons retail India limited provides Green card, this Green Card is passport to a whole new world of exclusive benefits and privileges. These includes: * Instant discounts for every time you shop at Pantaloons. * Exclusive shopping days to get hold of latest merchandise. Regular updates on collections and promos via catalogues, sms and email. * Special invites to the most happening events. * Extended exchange periods and complimentary drops for alterations. * Exclusive billing counters and much more. * Big bazaar in association with ICICI banks has launched loyalty cards for the customers. They are: * ICICI Bank Big Bazaar Silver Credit Card : It gives you the benefits of regular cards and additional features to make your shopping not only enjoyable but also a way to save more with Big Bazaar. ICICI Bank Big Bazaar Gold Credit Card :The card brings to you more reasons to save and earn rewards on its usage. It gives you all the benefits of regular cards and additional features to make your shopping not only enjoyable but also a way to save more with Big Bazaar. * Shakti Card Shakti is a credit card for housewives. You need not submit income proof. Simply show your Big Bazaar bill of more than Rs. 500 and a lifestyle proof like club membership card, health club card etc. And get your ‘Shakti’. You can use Shakti at all the Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar outlets * T24 In June 2010, Future Group in partnership with TTSL rolled out a mobile service called T24 for its customers. As part of the offer, customers were rewarded with free talk time for every purchase above Rs. 500 made at Future Group shopping outlets across all formats and locations. LOYALTY PROGRAMS * Big bazaar in association with ICICI banks has launched loyalty cards for the customers. They are: * ICICI Bank Big Bazaar Silver Credit Card : It gives you the benefits of regular cards and additional features to make your shopping not only enjoyable but also a way to save more with Big Bazaar. * ICICI Bank Big Bazaar Gold Credit Card :The card brings to you more reasons to save and earn rewards on its usage. It gives you all the benefits of regular cards and additional features to make your shopping not only enjoyable but also a way to save more with Big Bazaar. * Shakti Card Shakti is a credit card for housewives. You need not submit income proof. Simply show your Big Bazaar bill of more than Rs. 500 and a lifestyle proof like club membership card, health club card etc. And get your ‘Shakti’. You can use Shakti at all the Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar outlets * T24 In June 2010, Future Group in partnership with TTSL rolled out a mobile service called T24 for its customers. As part of the offer, customers were rewarded with free talk time for every purchase above Rs. 500 made at Future Group shopping outlets across all formats and locations. CUSTOMERS EXPERIENCE The customer experience among the big bazaar customers is comprised of the following Components: POPULATING THE CUSTOMER PROFILE: To create the Ideal Customer Experience, Big Bazaar populates the Customer Profile with the relevant information . the customers who are having very similar buying patterns in the big bazaar are populated and an analysis is done so as to find the preferences of the products of these groups, including various promotion strategies and offers. DELIVERING AND RECEIVING VALUE AT EACH CUSTOMER INTERACTION: Big Bazaar views each interaction as a golden opportunity to deliver value through its products, services, and processes, as well as to receive valuable information from the Customer in the form of feedback. CUSTOMIZING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: By understanding an individual’s needs, it creates the Ideal Customer Experience by Customizing the products, services, and processes to meet the Needs of the individual customer RESEARCH OBJECTIVE * The objective of the research is to find the effectiveness of loyalty programs in BIG BAZAAR ,i. e whether loyalty programs attract customer attention or not in todays competetive scenario . * To find out the increase in customer loyalty by measuring various factors. * To find out customer’s reactions to various loyalty programs and change in their purchase decision due to these programs. To analyze customer’s expectations from retail format like convenience store in terms of offering of loyalty programs. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research problems:- consumer’s reactions and expectation from loyalty programs of convenience store format, Big Bazaar. †¢ Research methodology: Exploratory method †¢ Descriptive research: is a type of research conducted when we have to find out the frequency with which Something occurs. This research is guided by initial hypothesis. HYPOTHESIS AND TESTING Hypothesis testing for this report has evolved around formulating a null hypothesis and an alternative hypothesis as regards to the percentage of population availing the loyalty programs H(o) Null Hypothesis :Mostly 70% of the population would be Availing the loyalty programs carried out by Big bazaar. H(T) Alternative Hypothesis:- Less than 70% of the population Would be availing the loyalty programs carried out by Big Bazaar. At 5% level of significance I tested the above mentioned hypothesis as per the results obtained. The Chi-Square test has been taken up as the selection criteria for the above mentioned data. The Chi-Square test which shows the magnitude of discrepancy between observed and expected frequency can be expressed symbolically as X2= Summation of (O-E)2 E Where, O= Observed set of frequencies E= Expected set of frequencies SAMPLING PLAN I selected a sample size of 51 ,I gave a questionnaire and interviewed the samples in the OLD MADRAS BIG BAZAAR in BANGALORE Questionnaire Sample Methods| Random Simple Sampling| Sample size| 51| Primary data| Questionnaire| Interview Sample Units| sampling unit is Noida area. | Source of data| through primary sources| Market survey & area| | Sampling size| 51| FINDINGS * Big Bazaar has been preferred by most of the Households frequently and they use to purchase daily Requirement material from there. While still 15% of People don’t prefer to buy daily requirement items from Organized formats. The data predicts that customers at nearby locations of Big Bazaar prefer to go to there often but it is not a destination for customers every time. * 35% go there oftenly * 30% go there occasionally * 15% go everytime * 20% people go there sometimes * The ratio of customers using loyalty programs floats between 60%-62%. Educated people are giving more Attention to the loyalty card due to the awareness of its future benefits monetarily as well as in getting right information of the production. Most of the custo mers feel satisfied from the loyalty program offerings of Big Bazaar so it has been successful in fulfilling customer’s expectations. While 25% of customers still want to get some more benefits in return of their loyalty to the store. * Customers feel 55% motivated to shop from Big Bazaar due to their loyalty programs. Conclusion In my calculations: The calculated value of is more than the table value. So, the hypothesis is REJECTED i. e. less than 70% of the population is only availing the loyalty program carried out by Big Bazaar. There are maximum customers who are satisfied with the merchandising of the store and they find every product of brand in each category and shelf according to their choices. They are having some complains regarding the future cards. * Customers wait for discount loyalties provided by them but not too much. * Customers are not aware of the benefits of the card. * Many of the customers are not even using any of the loyalty Program. * Store has been a big flop at online shopping centre as people want to touch and select their items before purchase