Monday, September 30, 2019

Lead 200

November 19, 2012| Martin Luther King Jr. | Leader Assessment| | | Dawan Robinson Leadership 200 Dawan Robinson November 19, 2012 LEAD 200 Martin Luther King Jr. ’s Biography Martin Luther King Jr. was born January 15, 1929 and passed away April 4, 1968 in Atlanta, Georgia. He faced many challenges during the Civil Rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr. had been assaulted several times by people on the streets. He received hundreds of phone calls, and letters, which was threatening to kill him. During the movement Martin Luther King Jr. had been arrested more than twenty times.One of the most famous threats was made on Martin Luther King Jr. was on January 30th, 1956. A bomb was thrown into Martin Luther King Jr. ’s house, fortunately nobody was seriously injured. Almost everywhere he went he was harassed. In 1964 he was harassed by a group of black Muslims, they threw stones at him in the streets. On the other hand, in 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Chr istian Leadership Conference, which was a organization made to provide new leadership for the now growing civil rights movement. The ideals for this organization he got from Christianity and its effective methods came from Gandhi.From the time he was elected the president of Southern Christian Leadership until the time he passed he traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, going to speak wherever there was injustice, protest, and action. Also, in that time he wrote five books as well as a lot of articles. In these years, he led a big protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that grabbed the attention of the entire world, which gave what he called a union of sense of right and wrong. Martin Luther King Jr. ’s Impact Martin Luther King impacted everyone through a nonviolent protest.He showed love, faith, determination and fearless representation. He didn’t only fight for equal rights but what most people fail to realize is that he was fighting agai nst poverty by recommending that we stop the war in Vietnam and use all of that money to lift our economy so there would be a chance for young Americans of all colors and ages to capture the dream. My personal opinion I felt that when he started speaking out against the war in Vietnam his life was in serious danger. His idea to stop the war and use that money to pull people out of poverty scared the United States government.Martin Luther king demonstrates everything that is good in America. His actions showed that one man or woman can impact the country with a simple message of peace and love through a single nonviolent protest. I would say that Martin Luther King impacted America by teaching us that it’s wrong to discriminate against people. Also, that all people have the right to go to the same school, the same church, and the same restaurants. He fought for the right of his people to be considered equal with each race. What made him stand out to me is that he was a nonviol ent person.He didn't believe in using violence to reach his goal. Many decades later after Martin Luther King Jr. was gunned down on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tenn. , he is still viewed mainly as the black leader of a movement for black equality. Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered as an inspirational speaker, whose leadership came from speechmaking. Speeches like the ‘I Have a Dream' speech at the civil rights march in Washington in August 1963 stimulated people of all races. Martin Luther King Jr. ’s Leadership When people think of Martin Luther King Jr. , they think of a great leader.I think that Martin Luther King’s famous â€Å"I have a Dream† speech shows just what kind of leader he was. He was a man who was very effective at what he did. Martin Luther King Jr. was described by some as having a unique way of getting people to work together rather than fight. Most average leaders will only focus on results, and that would be all. Good leaders focus on the behaviors that will get the results and great leaders focus on the emotions that will drive these behaviors. When thinking of being a great leader you have to be a visionary and be sure to follow that vision.This was back at a time when African Americans had to sit on designated seats on the bus, until King dreamed that America would rise above color. The ability to dream and follow his vision is a powerful characteristic and history shows that some of the great leaders were even greater visionaries. If Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t dream of equal civic rights, we wouldn’t be living in a society where cultural differences are celebrated. Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader who had a lot of self-doubt, and who was aware of his own limitations and his weaknesses.Sometimes he was hesitant to take on the responsibilities that were put on him. For example, during the Montgomery bus boycott, he was worried about the threats to his family. He was more feared rather th an confident and secure in his leadership role. Martin Luther King Jr. ’s ability to deliver a public speech showed his strong leadership, in which that's how he got so many supporters. He was able to persuade thousands of people to believe what he believed in. People began to trust in him and to me that's the number one thing you need as a good leader, the trust of your followers.Nobody wants a modest leader when it comes to getting what they want. Determination and confidence is what made him a fearless leader, who jumped right into the problem and made people love him for his courage to stand up and take on the leadership role. It is recognized that Martin Luther King Jr. ’s leadership styles has proven him to be one of the greatest leaders. Almost in every big city in the United States there is a street or school named after him. This shows how greatly his achievements are misunderstood and most of them are found in black neighborhoods.Throughout this analysis I wi ll be discussing the different variety styles of leadership theories that Martin Luther King Jr. used. He used theories such as, path-goal theory, situational theory, and the servant leadership theory. Path-Goal Theory Defined In addition, when it comes to the path-goal theory it is described to be a leadership concept that the subordinates accept a leader's behavior only so far as they view it as causing an immediate or future benefit. Therefore, a leader's main function is to clear a path to the realization of the ubordinates' goals. They have to decide the behavior patterns that are most relevant in helping the subordinates get what they want. Path-goal theory is used by almost every successful leader. Martin Luther King used path-goal theory, which is designed to show how leaders can help subordinates along the path to their goals by choosing specific behaviors that are best fit to the subordinates needs and to the situation in which subordinates are working. Martin Luther King was a great leader because he was able to direct and motivate subordinates.In my opinion to be a good path-goal leader, a leader has to be focused on being instructive, supportive, participative, and achievement. The leader should be able to adapt and realize what motivates the subordinate. If a subordinate needs to have control on a project, the leader should be participative and provide involvement. On the other hand, if a subordinate has a need for involvement, the leader should be supportive and provide nurturance. The path-goal theory is important because it allows the leader to see what behaviors will affect the subordinate positively and negatively.This theory allows the leader to change their leadership style based on the subordinates’ personality. Martin Luther King wanted people to think differently. I believe that because he wanted people to think differently, helped him remove obstacles for subordinates. It challenged people to make a difference. Most leaders want ed people to do exactly what they’re told, but Martin Luther King wanted people to think outside the box and think differently. Martin Luther King also gave support for subordinates. He supported new ideas that the subordinates came up with and this also helped make things happen, like equality throughout the world.Situational Leadership Theory Defined When viewing the situational leadership theory, it describes this leadership style as belief that effective leadership requires flexibility in leadership styles depending on the situation. In other words, the leader has to adjust his style to fit the development level of the followers he is trying to influence. With situational leadership, it is up to the leader to change his style, not the follower to adapt to the leader’s style. This leadership style may change continually to meet the desires of others in the organization based on the situation. Martin Luther King Jr. s great with using situational leadership. When a d ecision is needed, an effective leader doesn’t just fall into one style, such as using transactional or transformational styles. There are different causes that affect situational decisions, which include the motivation and the ability of the followers. Which, this is affected by causes within the particular situation. With situational leadership, the relationship between the followers and the leader may be another factor that affects leader behavior as much as it does follower behavior in different situations. Martin Luther King Jr. s observation of his followers and the situation will have an affect on what they do rather than the truth of the situation. His perception of his self and other factors such as stress and mood will also change the leaders' behavior in different situations. I believe Martin Luther King follows the situational approach of leadership because he has the ability to adapt to the variety of followers and environments as well as opposing attitudes. I al so believe he was mostly using the coaching style. He was a very supportive person, but at the same time he directed people with his speeches on the direction people needed to go.When looking at the styles approach, I believe he was really relationship oriented. To me this means that he had a lot of concern for the people. When seeing the skills model, motivation was one of the keys to his individual attribute. He had the dream that inspired everybody. He was also great with problem-solving skills and social judgment skills. He was able to get all these people to work with him and follow him to pursue his dream. He was great at adapting to different situations when doing his speeches. He got the vibe from the audiences and adapted from them.He observed his followers and grabbed their attention by relating to the situation at hand, Servant Leadership Defined Servant leadership stresses the importance of the role a leader plays as the factor of the resources of a organization, and tea ches leaders to serve others while still achieving the goals that are set. A servant leader is a servant first, who has responsibility to be in the world, so he contributes to the well-being of people and the community. A servant leader looks to the desires of the people and asks his self how he can help them to solve problems and promote personal development.He puts his main focus on people, because only content and motivated people are able to reach their targets and to achieve the set expectations. Martin Luther King followed the servant leadership theory because he was a servant first who contributed to the well-being of people and the community. He had the ability to be inspired and also inspire his followers. To me Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most inspirational and influential leaders in recent history. He actually preached and practiced servant-leadership.During a time when fear and segregation took over his country, he picked forgiveness and compromise instead of ge tting revenge and retaliating. He was a representative of positive change, trying to heal a country that was in a bad situation and had people that showed prejudice, hatred, and discrimination. Martin Luther King took on a different approach than what others would do, instead of hating the people who disliked him; he chose to love them instead. He insisted Americans to stop judging and start understanding each other. Like most great leaders, he used his words to empower, heal, and reunite people.A lot can be learned in his â€Å"I have a dream† speech, when relating to servant leadership. I would say Martin Luther King used servant leadership because when he was faced with a problem, he looked for solutions that would benefit everyone, not just him. When something went wrong, he would take the blame. When things went well, he shared the credit with others. He told everyone the same story, even when it was difficult. He knew that he didn't have all the answers, so he looked fo r advice from others. He worked hard and inspired others to do the same as well. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a great example of a servant leader.His life shows the great power of servant leadership to totally change an entire nation. Conclusion In conclusion, Martin Luther King, Jr. accomplished many great things during his life. He has impacted my life deeply. If it were not for him, there would be lots of racism in my school. If this happened, there would be too much attention given to misbehaved students and not enough to my education. When I grow up I want to follow in his footsteps. Just like my hero Martin Luther King, I want to win a Nobel Prize. That would be my greatest accomplishment. Luckily, we had Martin Luther King, Jr. to put an end to racism.There is still some racism, but with Martin Luther King Jr. ‘s words in our heart, we can stop whatever racism there is left. Dr. Martin Luther King delivered the speech many wished they could have written and he inspired li ves others were not able to. He also changed the way of thinking of those who were unaware before his â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech. He definitely made a difference, and continues to inspire people, not only for standing up to everyone and anyone but because he fought through obstacles put in his way and never backing down, and always believing he would accomplish his goal until turning his dream into a reality.Work Cited * Donald T. Phillips. â€Å"Martin Luther King, Jr. On Leadership† Inspiration and Wisdom for Challenging Times. January 1999. New York, New York. * Keith, Kent M. â€Å"The Case for Servant Leadership† Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, 2008. Westfield, IN. * Huggins, Nathan Irvin. â€Å"The Journal of American History† Martin Luther King Jr. Charisma and Leadership. Vol. 74. No. 2. September 1987. Pp. 477-481. Mississippi Valley.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Affect of Fast Food

Primary Factors that Affect Choice of Fast Food PRIMARY FACTORS THAT AFFECT CHOICE OF FAST FOOD AMONG INDIVIDUALS OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES AND DIFFERENTIATIONS IN HEALTH PERSPECTIVES RELATED TO CONSUMPTION OF FAST FOOD ABSTRACT The objective of this research is to identify the impact that culture has on the consumption of fast food and to compare the difference in buying behavior in different countries.Finally, this work will investigate the major factors that affect customer’s choice in fast food and to understand the relationship between food consumptions and health. This study has made a qualitative examination of fast food consumption among individuals of various nationalities and ethnicities in various countries specifically as related to consumption of fast food through an extensive review of literature in a study reported in interpretive and descriptive findings.Literature reviewed in this study is of an academic and peer-reviewed nature and published in journals, books, and professional literature and is of a recent nature. Globalization is greatly changing society and culture all around the globe in terms of consumer choices, lifestyle, individual preferences, socialization and custom and at the same time all of these factors are individualizing and changing specific aspects of marketing for fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and others.In short, understanding factors affecting consumer choices regarding fast food is a complex focus of research because many diverse and various factors must be taken into consideration in terms of fast food and indeed the non-foodness’ (Kwan, 1999) this study has found that non-food related factors affecting consumer choice of fast food establishments on a local and international basis include factors such as: (1) individual choice; (2) religious; (3) group preferences; (4) health-related factors; (5) location and availability of restaurant choices; (6) costs; (7) sociali zation; (8) time available for eating; (9) with whom they are eating the food; (10) whether the individual is a student in a college or university within the proximity of a fast food restaurant. OBJECTIVEThe objective of this research is to identify the impact that culture has on the consumption of fast food and to compare the difference in buying behavior in different countries. Finally, this work will investigate the major factors that affect customer’s choice in fast food and to understand the relationship between food consumptions and health. INTRODUCTION This study focuses on the factors that affect the choice of fast food by individuals in various countries throughout the world and specifically as related to buying behavior as related to consumptions of fast food and health perceptions among these individuals and different cultures. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDYMany studies have cited health-related affects from fast food consumption therefore this study has sought to investi gate the factors that affect the choice of fast food among different individuals in various countries throughout the world and the related health perceptions of these individuals as related to consumption of fast food. METHODOLOGY This study has made a qualitative examination of fast food consumption among individuals of various nationalities and ethnicities in various countries specifically as related to consumption of fast food through an extensive review of literature in a study reported in interpretive and descriptive findings. Literature reviewed in this study is of an academic and peer-reviewed nature and published in journals, books, and professional literature and is of a recent nature. INTRODUCTIONGlobalization is greatly changing society and culture all around the globe in terms of consumer choices, lifestyle, individual preferences, socialization and custom and at the same time all of these factors are individualizing and changing specific aspects of marketing for fast fo od restaurants such as McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and others. In short, understanding factors affecting consumer choices regarding fast food is a complex focus of research because many diverse and various factors must be taken into consideration in terms of fast food and indeed the non-foodness’ (Kwan, 1999) of fast food must be examined. ‘Non-foodness’ is a term coined in the work of Kwan (1999) which is a term used to refer to other reasons that fast food is chosen for consumption among consumers internationally. These factors will be specifically focused on in this study. RESEARCH QUESTIONS ) What different views are held among different cultures in countries throughout the world relating to consumption of fast food? 2) What are the health perspective differentials existing among individuals in various countries throughout the world related to fast food consumption? 3) What are the primary factors that affect the consumption of fast food by col lege-age students from various countries of the world? 4) Is consumption of fast food an addition to- or an extension of- cultural issues surrounding food consumption? 5) What non-food related factors affect consumer choice of fast food establishments internationally and locally? LITERATURE REVIEWThe work of Jiang (2006) entitled: â€Å"American Fast Food in Chinese Culture† states that the research reported is of a study that examined the affects of American fast food culture on Chinese eating habits and the perceptions that the Chinese population have on their general health statuses and the effects of American fast food on Chinese health. Factors listed in this study for consumption of fast food included: (1) Convenience; (2) Speed; (3) Clean and quiet environment; (4) Children being the reason for visiting fast food establishments. Included in reasons for visiting fast food establishments by the Chinese individuals interviewed by Jiang were the reasons stated as: (1) Clea nliness; and 2) Preference for the food. In the country of China Jiang (2006) states that places: â€Å"†¦such as McDonald’s and KFC represent the attainment of the desired urban Chinese life. They are places where small companies started by recent college graduates hold office meetings. They are popular dating spots among the young adults and quiet places to get away from the hustle and bustle of metropolitan life for the increasing population of white collar workers. The well lit, standardized and clean restaurants represent the antithesis of the traditional Chinese restaurant in which franchises are rare, busy meal time are always loud, and the older generations tend to prefer. (Jiang, 2006) Jiang relates that these fast food restaurants in China place an emphasis on the culture and social status which is reflected in â€Å"†¦the business strategies of the fast food companies in targeting the younger generation with weight loss salads, quiet environments and tr endy music. † (2006) The younger generation in China have different values than do their parents â€Å"†¦the standards for social status have changed as well. Changing standards which American fast food among other companies have been catering to include the creation of â€Å"†¦non-smoking, clean, professional franchises that make the younger generation feel comfortable and upscale.At McDonald’s for example, they are treated in the same manner as a successful businessman thirty years their senior. At Starbucks, the standardized menu allows them to have their favorite drink made the same way no matter which franchise they visit. At KFC, one can sit down to study without being bombarded by loud yells from smoking middle-aged men talking business over beer. Whereas previous generations favored personal attention, the new generation now favors personal comfort. In order to be successful, consequently, new businesses have to target the intra-generational cultures . † (Jiang, 2006) The work of Wai Yin Kwan entitled: â€Å"American Fast Food in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China† (1999) relates some very interesting facts.Kwan (1999) conducted a survey among Texas students from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. Findings of the survey include the following stated reasons why these individuals choose fast food: (1) Because it is â€Å"something new and different† – Kwan relates that â€Å"since hamburgers, pizzas, and french fries are not items found in the traditional Chinese diet, many first time customers went to the fast food places just to find out what the food and the entire fast food experience were like. † (1999) (2) American – Kwan relates that for some of these individuals the aspect of the individuals in this study because it provided them with a â€Å"change to participate in and associate themselves with the American culture. (1999) Kwan’s study revealed that because â€Å"people have differin g conceptions of what America is, the exact aspects of American culture that the consumers found appealing also differ. For the younger generation the American fast food/tee-shirt and jeans culture represents a lack of formal rules, casualness, and youth. For young adults who are involved or wish to be involved in the business world, American fast food represents the modern, global culture. † (1999) (3) Something special – Kwan relates that in the advent of the fast food chains â€Å"†¦their prices were relatively high compared to lower end, traditional eating establishments. The high prices prevented most people from going there on a regular basis, and therefore fast food was seen a special treat. (1999) (4) Tourist destination – Kwan relates findings that since fast food places are generally concentrated in the large urban areas â€Å"†¦and have not yet reached rural towns, many rural tourists who visit large urban cities in China make a special tri p to fast food places. Many tourists have their picture taken in front of the McDonald's sign or with the Ronald McDonald statue outside the restaurant to document their contact with an exotic culture. â€Å" (1999) (5) Location, location, location – Over a period-of-time, Kwan’s study notes that â€Å"†¦as the number of fast food outlets increased, the reasons why people go to fast food places changed. All the interviewees who have become accustomed to the presence of the fast food chains now cite the numerous locations as a major reason for going to fast food outlets.Some of the students said while they would never make a special trip to go to a fast food place, they sometimes ate fast food because they happened to walk by a fast food place when they were hungry. † (1999) Additionally, other than the number of fast food outlets, the locations were noted to play an integral role in the popularity of fast food among the students from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China as many of these outlets are located nearby schools and college campuses and students were stated to be prone to gather in these outlets in the late afternoon and early evening following classes. (6) The Toys! – McDonald’s was found to be popular among youth from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China because of the toys provided with the Happy Meal. Kwan states: â€Å"Recently the Happy Meal toys also attracted the attention of the adult market.The sales of Happy Meals at McDonald's in Hong Kong jumped 80% in 1998 after the introduction of the Snoopy doll, and jumped 10% in 1999 after the introduction of the Hello Kitty doll This increase in sales was driven by both kids and adults who bought and then resold the dolls at twenty times the original price. † (1999) (7) Friendly staff – According to Kwan another reason cited for the popularity of fast food was the friendly staff and atmosphere. Findings of the survey relate that quality of service varies at other high-end expensive and traditional restaurants â€Å"while the quality of service at traditional places varies greatly depending on the personality of the waiter, the students said that the cashiers at the fast food places are always smiling and polite. † (1999) (8) Cleanliness – Kwan relates the fact that Taiwanese and Chinese students â€Å"†¦were also impressed by the cleanliness of the fast food places.One reason for the cleanliness is the fact that unlike traditional restaurants where the customers leave all the dishes on the tables when they leave, the customers at the fast food places throw their own trash away. The students were also impressed by the fact that employees were constantly sweeping the floors and cleaning the windows. † (1999) The students from Hong Kong however, â€Å"†¦didn't express the view that the service and cleanliness of American fast food chains are superior to domestic eateries. † (1999) Kwan reports that in surv ey questions that focused entirely on fast food at McDonald’s the following findings were stated: (1) Friendly atmosphere – Kwan relates that the tops reasons for choosing McDonalds among the students from Taiwan and China included: (a) clean atmosphere; (b) friendly atmosphere. Secondary was the food itself. 2) Cheap prices – Kwan relates that unlike China and Taiwan â€Å"†¦where the prices at McDonald's were higher than traditional food eateries, the prices at McDonald's in Hong Kong are cheaper than most other eateries. The low prices were very attractive to the young students who had a limited supply of money. † (1999) Kwan relates that among the students he surveyed that â€Å"none of the students I interviewed expressed a strong negative view of the American fast food chains. Also stated in the findings of the study conducted by Kwan (1999) is: â€Å"While there is a bias against American fast food, especially among the older generation, the bias isn't for reasons that American critics normally cite.Many of the students said that their parents never even wanted to try American fast food because of the fact that they didn't consider it real food. In their opinion a real meal consists of rice or noodles, some meat and vegetables, not â€Å"two slices of bread, a small piece of meat and some ketchup. †(Kwan, 1999) The students from Taiwan, China and Hong Kong, held the view that the more choices available to them all the better and as well nearly all of the students held the belief that â€Å"†¦of the students also shared the common belief that the introduction of American fast food companies was not a threat to their culture, because they believe that the Chinese people are too proud of their food culture to ever let fast food replace traditional food. † (Kwan, 1999)This study reports that among those students who enjoyed eating fast food it was viewed as â€Å"†¦more as alternative to their dail y diet, rather than being the main part of their diet. † (1999) Kwan relates that there was no expressed concern among Hong Kong and Taiwanese students â€Å"over the widespread presence of fast food back home, some of the students from China were bothered by the rapidly increasing presence of fast food in China. One student said while she readily accepts the presence of McDonald's in the urban cities, she is less supportive of the idea of McDonald's spreading into the rural areas. † (Kwan, 1999) Kwan humorously states: â€Å"Relax people, it's just capitalism! (1999) It is reported that the students surveyed held a belief that the fast food corporations are just â€Å"corporate behavior as a natural part of doing business†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1999) The students surveyed by Kwan did not have a negative image of American fast food companies and some even held the belief that local food culture has been improved by the introduction of the fast food restaurants. The reason sta ted for this is: â€Å"Previous to the introduction of fast food, not much attention was paid to the service and cleanliness of inexpensive, small scale eateries; good service and a clean environment were high priorities only in expensive, high scale restaurants.The students, who are old enough to compare the conditions of local eateries before and after the introduction of fast food, said that some local restaurants are trying to improve their service and cleanliness in response to the competition from the American fast food industry. † (1999) The study conducted by Kwan also reveals the situation that occurred in Hong Kong: â€Å"In 1974 the founders of Cafe Coral changed the eatery from a traditional style restaurant, to a self-service system that combined Chinese style food with Western style concepts of mass production, quality, service, cleanliness, and value. By 1999 Cafe de Coral had 112 fast food outlets in Hong Kong, second only to McDonald's 147 outlets.These dome stic fast food companies have taken what they have learned from Western fast food companies and created viable alternative for local consumers who want both the service, cleanliness, and low prices associated with Western fast food and the taste of traditional Chinese food. † (Kwan, 1999) Kwan relates that the rapid spread of American fast food in China â€Å"†¦China should not simply be seen as one-way process of foreign business imposing their product on local consumers. Consumers have as much affect on the way the product is perceived and used, as the corporations that market the product. † (1999) Adjustments have been noted in the menu offerings by the fast food restaurants in order to adapt to the tastes of the locality which includes offering of the Teriyaki burger by McDonald’s and the offerings of a seafood Pizza by Pizza Hut topped with shrimp and squid.Students in numbers have made note of the fact that the Spicy Chicken Wings at Kentucky Fried Chi cken (KFC) were greatly liked and Kwan states this is due to the fact that â€Å"Chinese people generally consider the wings, not the breast or the thigh, as the juiciest and best part of the chicken. † (1999) Another aspect of the attraction of fast food to consumers that differentiates American and Hong Kong customers is the time spent at a fast food establishment. American consumers are stated to spend, on the average, 11 minutes while the Hong Kong consumers reporting spending, on-the-average, 20-25 minutes at the fast food establishment. Kwan relates: â€Å"One student I interviewed said she and her friends would often go to McDonald's for a â€Å"quick† thirty minute meal before going somewhere else such as the movies. While for Americans the idea of spending thirty minutes eating fast ood seems to contradict the purpose of going to a â€Å"fast† food place, to Chinese consumers this behavior is quite normal. † (1999) Also stated among the findings of the study of Kwan is that the fast food establishment is a â€Å"place to hang out†¦a social gathering place for people, especially youths and college-age people. † (1999) The location of these establishments centrally located to schools, universities, and colleges and allowed those who frequented these fast food restaurants to hang out as long as they like, although the study reveals that other waiting customers did often apply pressure and hurry those with tables to eat and surrender the table and with other customers soon to follow to pressure those just having gained the table to give it up to them.Kwan specifically relates that one of the primary reasons for fast food restaurants becoming a chosen hangout is because â€Å"†¦there are no other food establishments that students and their friends could hang out. The owners of small, family-owned Chinese restaurants expect the customers to finish eating in a reasonable amount of time so that new customers can b e seated. The fancier restaurants, that are more accommodating to people who stay for longer periods, are too expensive for most youths. â€Å" (1999) The social aspect of fast food restaurants reflects that status of eating in socialization among these students. Kwan relates findings that eating, among the students surveyed â€Å"was considered a social activity to be shared with others.All of the students said that they would usually or almost always go out to the fast food places with someone else. Some students even said that they would never go out to eat alone. For some students the primary purpose of going to the fast food places was to hang out, not to eat. A few of the students said that they went to the fast food places, even though they didn't like the food, because their friends wanted to go. They would order a drink and maybe something small like fries or a dessert, and spend quite a while there just hanging out and talking with their friends. † (1999) Kwan note s the ‘Non-foodness of fast food† in that it has been assimilated into accepted local culture†¦Ã¢â‚¬  although this is certainly on a global scale, et this type of food is not viewed the same as traditional Chinese food in the Chinese culture. Chinese food is not only traditional in its content but in its cultural form as well the vast array of available dishes when eating in a Chinese restaurant is accompanied by a great and lengthy discussion as to the ‘quality’ of the food â€Å"†¦and urging others to eat more. † (Kwan, 1999) Furthermore, it is revealed in this study that Chinese fast food consumption is through â€Å"a simple routine of picking which number value meal they want. † (Kwan, 1999) One of the primary findings in this study is that â€Å"many people don’t expect to get full from fast food.Kwan states that students related: â€Å"†¦they would feel ripped off if they went to a traditional place and didn't g et full, the fact that they didn't get full from McDonald's never bothered them. A few of the students even commented on the fact that two or three hours after eating fast food, they would get hungry again. If they had eaten a real meal, meaning rice, meat, and vegetables, then they would be full for the rest of the night. † (1999) Kwan’s study notes that the reactions of the overseas students to fast food in America includes the findings that to these students interviewed from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong: â€Å"Chinese made American fast-food tastes better† accredited to the spices in China which are put in the burgers make them taste better than in America.Chinese students state that pizza is even better in China and stated in the survey: â€Å"Many of the overseas students said that they were disappointed the first time they ate pizza here in America because they were used to eating pizzas with five or six toppings back home. They thought it was a rip off tha t the pizzas in the U. S. usually only come with one topping. † (Kwan, 1999) Among the students interviewed Kwan states findings that â€Å"the ubiquitous nature of fast food is also another reason for their decreased interest in fast food. Since the allure of eating something â€Å"different†, something â€Å"American† is gone, the only reason left to go to the fast food places is the food itself. For most of the students I interviewed, the food just isn't enough of a reason to go to the fast food places. † (1999)Kwan concludes the study by stating: â€Å"The reasons consumers in China, McDonald's and Hong Kong go to fast food places is much more complex than the fact that â€Å"Chinese consumers are obsessed with all things American. † Their reasons for going to fast food places range from characteristics shared by consumers throughout the world, such as convenience, location and hunger, to reasons that based on specific cultural values, such as the view that eating is a social activity. Ironically the food itself only plays minor role in the popularity of fast food. The emphasis on going to a fast food place as a social activity, rather than a eating activity, offers a definition of the term â€Å"fast food† that is vastly different from the one created by the business executives. † (1999)The work entitled: â€Å"Fast Food: Faster Way to Ill Health† published in ‘The Hindu’ relates that while country has â€Å"the largest epidemic, in any nation, of malnourished people†¦Ã¢â‚¬  as well India â€Å"will soon be the largest epidemic of any national, of obese and diabetic people who will be prone to trouble with their kidneys, eyes, nervous systems, or other parts of the body. † (Balasubramanian, 2008) This is attributed to policies, or actually a lack of policies â€Å"of successive governments, central and state†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ((Balasubramanian, 2008) This report relates that fa st food or ‘junk food in India’ â€Å"does not come any faster than the traditional idli, vada, dosa, samosa, pakoda or chat in our shops and stalls; indeed it comes slower. † (Balasubramanian, 2008) The report relates a typical scene in India stating: â€Å"One report says that over 23 per cent of the children in Delhi are obese.One hopes that this estimate is not true; if it is, one shudders to think of the numbers in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata, Gurgaon and other nouveau riche cities with their fast pervading mall culture and fast food attractions. Here is a typical scene from one such mall in Hyderabad. It has a 4-movie multiplex theatre, surrounded by 40-odd fast food kiosks and 20-odd shops that sell clothing, perfumes and jewelry, music and video CDs and DVDs and the like. Not one of them sells traditional Indian meals or snacks. And the mall, like 20 others in the city, is filled with thousands of youngsters who obviously have enough to spe nd. We did not have such scenes in India twenty years ago, but this mall and fast food culture is expanding explosively across India. This too is part of the globalization of India, a part that auses great concern about the health of its citizens. † (Balasubramanian, 2008) Balasubramanian reports a research conducted by the research firm ‘Synovate’ recently among thirteen countries on â€Å"food habits and health, particularly fast food culture and obesity. † (2008) Findings in the study reported by Balasubramanian (2008) state the â€Å"†¦the number one fast food nation in the world is the United Kingdom. About 45 per cent of the people there are fast food eaters, and say â€Å"I like the taste of fast food too much to give it up. † (Balasubramanian, 2008) Following a close second are Americans at 44% and Canadians in very close behind in third place consumption of fast food and 37%.Very different findings are stated for the French who reject fast food at a rate of 81% and Singaporeans who reject fast food at a rate of 71%. Balasubramanian notes that while â€Å"†¦these two countries too are globalized, developed nations, and yet their people reject fast food. † (Balasubramanian, 2008) Balasubramanian states that a paradox exists among the French in that there are so very few incidences of metabolic type disorders and diseases. This could well be the fact that only 30% of those in France are overweight while â€Å"less than 24 percent in Singapore†¦Ã¢â‚¬  are overweight. Those overweight in China are at approximately 18% and 15% of individuals were obese in India until 1980 when that rate climbed rapidly to 27%.Balasubramanian makes a comparison of fast food and traditional food in India and states: â€Å"A hamburger with toppings yields 300 calories (cal) and 10 grams (g) total fat. A slice of pepperoni pizza has 180 cal and 7 g fat. A 12-oz (340 ml) can of Coca Cola yields 155 cal, and a small porti on of McDonald’s French fries has 210 cal, and as much as 15g total fat (and the bad ones, the trans fats, form 4g of this amount). More often than not, these are eaten as snacks and not as meals, and thus add to the calorie and fat content- contributing to obesity and associated ill health. † (2008) Balasubramanian states that in comparison to Indian snacks nd ‘tiffin’ that these â€Å"†¦one midsize idli offers 70 cal and 0. grams fat, a sada dosa 140 cal and 5 grams fat (hence a set dosa or steamed dosa is better), and a samosa packs 370 cal and 18 grams fat (matching a pizza slice or a plate of fries). A glass of lassi (200 g) gives you 140 cal and 2 grams fat (only if it is not ‘malai dal ke’). In the list of fattening dishes of India, korma and biryani stand on top, while ‘tikka’ items cooked in dry oven are low fat. This comparison is not to say: â€Å"avoid burger and fries, and eat only idli vada,† but to reque st to use moderation and caution. † (Balasubramanian, 2008) In another report from the University of Austin Texas entitled: â€Å"Research Examines the Incorporation of Fast Food Culture† it is related that although McDonald’s the work of Dr. John Traphagan and Dr. L.Keith Brown which is published in the Journal of Ethnology (2002) which relates that fast food is among many and â€Å"†¦often is disparaged as imposing American culture upon unsuspecting global consumers, a new study shows that in Japan fast food restaurants may have positive cultural effects. † (2002) This study â€Å"†¦highlights examples of how McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken and other Westernized fast food restaurants provide an opportunity for Japanese families to interact with a sense of intimacy and conviviality that is not seen in more traditional Japanese fast food establishments. † (Traphagan, 2002) T Traphagan states in the findings of the study: â€Å"We becam e interested in fast food in Japan as a result of casual observations of people in restaurants.It seemed to us that the patterns of eating and interaction were different from what is often reported in the media and in various scholarship in relation to the role of McDonald's and other fast food venues in modern societies. We also were interested, in this age of globalization, in how the products of multinational corporations such as McDonald's fit into other, non-American cultures,† he said. â€Å"We were interested in how such global, or American, products are perceived in other cultures, how those products are consumed and used in other cultures, how they are adjusted or changed to fit with the local culture and what effect such things have on other cultures. † (2002)Through observation of the behavior of those eating in fast food restaurants the researchers were able to note differential eating patterns between Japanese and American consumers including findings of th e sharing of food among co-workers, friends, and members of family. Traphagan states: â€Å"It is very common for Japanese to have plates of common food in the center of the table, from which they take small portions. Intimacy is sometimes evident by the manner in which people use their chopsticks. If they turn the chopsticks around and take the food from the common plate with the back ends of the chopsticks, this indicates a degree of social distance. One would not do this with family members.The tendency of having common food in the center of the table holds in restaurants like McDonald's, where people usually dump all of the french fries onto a common tray in the center of the table and then draw from them as desired. † (2002) Fast food was also found in the study conducted by Traphagan to be differentiated in Japan from fast food in the United States in that Japanese fast food â€Å"†¦involves a range of options wider than the burgers and fries or fried chicken that typifies the American example, ramen, yakitori and sushi can all be fast food. In some ways, many aspects of Japanese cuisine are fast food in that they can be prepared, kept and eaten quickly — although by no means do Japanese always eat quickly. (2002) It is important to note the findings stated by Traphagan that the Japanese â€Å"†¦view foods like hamburgers and fries as snacks, rather than as a full meal. The lack of rice puts these foods into a somewhat different category from that typical in the U. S. † (Traphagan, 2002) Traphagan states findings that certain customs of the Japanese were â€Å"†¦sustained in fast food restaurants. One is that a woman in the group — the wife, mother or girlfriend — will go to the counter to place the order and pay, while the rest of the family is seated. In a society where family dinners are rare, the researchers found this time was used by the father to interact with his children, making a trip to McDon ald's an important family outing. † (Traphagan, 2000)The work of Douglas Kellner entitled: â€Å"Theorizing/Resisting McDonaldization: A Multiperspectivist Approach† (nd) states that no doubt exists that â€Å"McDonaldization is spreading as an international phenomenon. † This work states that in 1996 the Economists made note of the fact that McDonalds reported the intention to open approximately 32,000 new restaurants and that two-thirds of these would be located outside of the United States. It is stated that the analysis conducted by Ritzer while acknowledged McDonalds in terms of its ‘product, architecture, and atmosphere to local conditions†¦Ã¢â‚¬  fails to analyze the â€Å"meanings, social functions, and experiences†¦Ã¢â‚¬  that are experienced by customers as McDonald’s â€Å"generates a variety of local conditions. † (nd) It is noted that McDonald’s, just as any global artifact â€Å".. as very different meanings and functions in different regions and parts of the world, and a concrete analysis should interrogate local conditions in which consumers provide their own narratives of their site-specific and particular experiences to capture the variety and diversity of meanings of the McDonald’s effect. † (nd) Kellner states that he would argue for what I call a multiperspectivist social theory (Best and Kellner 1991 and 1997; Kellner 1995) to engage the phenomenon of McDonaldization and to provide a more contextual and multidimensional paradigm for analyzing the multiplicity of economic, socio-political, and cultural aspects of McDonaldization.This requires mobilizing the resources of both modern and postmodern theory, using both Marx and Weber, and Baudrillard and postmodern theory, as well as the resources of cultural studies and a critical multiculturalism, to theorize the full-range of the phenomenon of the global hybridization of McDonaldization, its cultural and ideological c onstruction, and its complex effects. McDonaldization is a many-sided phenomenon and the more perspectives that one can bring to its analysis and critique, the better grasp of the phenomenon one will have and the better one will be able to develop alternative readings and generate oppositional practices. † (nd)The work of Jack Marr and Alcinda Hatfield entitled: â€Å"Fast-Food Restaurants: Just What Eastern China’s Consumers Ordered† states that the growth of fast food restaurants in the country of China has â€Å"mushroomed† in both ‘number and diversity’. Specifically stated is that â€Å"as recently as 1993, Chinese consumers had few fast-food choices. Restaurant food was limited to five-star hotels, traditional Chinese restaurants and street-side wonton, pulled noodle and tea-egg vendors. † (2004) The favorite fast food in the country of China is Kentucky Fried Chicken who has combined a popular mid-priced menu, featuring fried chi cken, some of which is adapted to local tastes. Its modern atmosphere and marketing target Chinese children. (Marr and Hatfield, 2004) The primary competitor of Kentucky Fried Chicken in China is McDonalds with â€Å"sixteen of its current 120 restaurants in China are located in Shanghai. † (Marr and Hatfield, 2004) The work of Shiva Dindyal and Sanjay Dindyal entitled: â€Å"How Personal Factors, Including Culture and Ethnicity, Affect the Choices and Selection of Food We Make† published in the Internet Journal of Third World Medicine relates that the major cities in the world â€Å"are made up of diverse societies, consisting of a wide range of individuals from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Ethnicity refers to a social group, which shares certain distinctive features, such as language, culture physical appearance, religion, values and customs.Culture on the other hand refers to how we do and view things in our group. For example a shared set of values, assumptions, perceptions and conventions based on a shared history and language can make a certain group. In order for a society to function efficiently and smoothly these individuals must learn to integrate and coexist together. This will involve among other things, accepting and sampling different types of foods and even adjusting their diets. † (Dindyal and Dindyal, 2008) Dindyal and Dindyal relate that consumption of specific foods may be encouraged or discouraged among groups as well as the consumption of specific foods during certain life stages and under certain conditions.Religion is also stated to play a great role in food choice, selection and consumption in certain societies and cultures. Another personal factor affecting food choice and selection is â€Å"patterns of eating, which include for whom the food is being made. † (2008) Stated as an example is that in traditional eastern cultures â€Å"food tend to be prepared for a large number of people at regul ar times of the day. The opposite is true in western cultures, where food prepared less frequently during the day and often the same mea is eaten more than once during the day. † (Dindyal and Dindyal, 2008) Another personal factor affecting choice of foods is the individuals’ occupation which is a factor stated to â€Å"†¦directly influence the people’s social class. (Dindyal and Dindyal, 2008) Another factor is the â€Å"mood and individual personality† of the individual† as well as â€Å"geographical factors such as where people live and the range of shops situated near them†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Dindyal and Dindyal, 2008) A recent survey conducted among 975 girls and 13 boys relating to fast food reports that when asked â€Å"Do you enjoy eating fast food? † respondents replied as shown in the following chart. Figure 1 Do you enjoy eating fast food? [pic] Source: (Report on would you Like Fries with that? – Latest Survey Results, nd) When asked â€Å"How often to you eat fast food? † respondents in this survey revealed that they eat fast food between one and three times each week while the second largest group replied that they eat fast food between two and three times each month as shown in the following chart. Figure 2How often do you eat fast food? [pic] Source: (Report on would you Like Fries with that? – Latest Survey Results, nd) When respondents were asked the question of: â€Å"If you don’t eat fast food, why? † respondents were asked to reply by stating: (1) I don’t like it; (2) My family never goes out to eat; (3) There are no fast food restaurants near my house; (4) It is unhealthy; (5) I eat fast food so this question does not apply to me; (6) I am a vegetarian/vegan; (7) It costs too much; or (8) other, the respondents stated as shown in the following chart. Figure 3 If you don’t eat fast food, why? |whynoeat | |dntlike |41 |5. 05 | famnoeat |51 |6. 28 | |n offrest |13 |1. 6 | |unhealth |126 |15. 52 | |eatff |550 |67. 73 | |Vegetarian |17 |2. 09 | |toomuch$ |6 |0. 74 | |other |8 |0. 99 | Source: (Report on would you Like Fries with that? – Latest Survey Results, nd) When respondents in the survey were polled in relation to what their favorite type of fast food was choices provided included burgers, pizza, Chinese food, chicken, tacos, salad, soup, breakfast, hotdogs, chicken, fish and chips, nachos, french fries, subway, pasta, sweets, and none.The respondents stated preferences for fast food type as shown in the following chart. Figure 4 What is your favorite type of fast food? [pic] Source: (Report on would you Like Fries with that? – Latest Survey Results, nd) When respondents were asked if they had a favorite fast food restaurant among the choices of McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, KFC, Jack in the Box, Arby’s, Jollibee, Subway, Pizza Hut, In and Out, Panda express, Long John Silvers, Tim Hortons, Dairy Queen, Checkers, or some random fast food place the replies stated were those as follows with McDonalds in the lead: Figure 5 Do you have a favorite restaurant? [pic]Source: (Report on would you Like Fries with that? – Latest Survey Results, nd) When respondents in the survey were polled as to whom they usually went to fast food restaurants with the choices stated as parents/family, brother/sisters, friend, by myself, coach/team, grndrent, don’t eat, boyfriend/girlfriend, coworkers, or other, the replies given by respondents are shown in the following table. Figure 6 Who do you usually go to fast food with? Count Percent |whoeat | | | | parents/fam |526 |54. 73 | |brosis |63 |6. 56 | |friends |272 |28. 3 | bymylf |14 |1. 46 | |coach/team |1 |0. 1 | |grndrent |20 |2. 08 | |donteat |48 |4. 99 | |bf/gf |7 |0. 73 | |coworkers |5 |0. 52 | |other |5 |0. 52 | Source: (Report on would you Like Fries with that? – Latest Survey Results, nd) When respon dents were asked â€Å"What do you enjoy most about fast food? † respondents stated the tastes as being the number one enjoyment with the second and third most stated reply being the ‘fast’ and ‘cheap’ nature of the fast food as what is most enjoyed about fast food.All results are shown in the following chart. Figure 7 What do you enjoy most about fast food? [pic] Source: (Report on would you Like Fries with that? – Latest Survey Results, nd) When respondents were polled concerning what they liked the ‘least’ about fast food, respondents replied as shown in the following chart. Figure 8 What do you like the least about fast food? [pic] Source: (Report on would you Like Fries with that? – Latest Survey Results, nd) When respondents were polled as to their perceptions of fast food in terms of health the respondents gave the following replied stated in percentages concerning their view of fast food was that is it ‘unheal thy’.Only 104 disagreed with this statement and only 12 strongly disagreed. The overwhelming majority of respondents stated an agreement that fast food is not healthy. Figure 9 Fast Food is Unhealthy [pic] Source: (Report on would you Like Fries with that? – Latest Survey Results, nd) When respondents were asked â€Å"If you eat at a fast food restaurant, what is your main reason? † respondents stated reasons as shown in the following chart with liking the tastes of fast food and because their parents eat fast food as primary reasons for eating at fast food restaurants. Figure 10 If you eat at a fast food restaurant, what is your main reason? [pic] Source: (Report on would you Like Fries with that? Latest Survey Results, nd) Finally, this study asked respondents in this study the question of whether: ‘If you were forced to choose between cooking at home or eating fast food for the rest of your life, which would you choose? † Respondents overwhelmingl y stated that they would choose to cook the rest of their life if forced to make a choice at the rate of approximately 82%. The study of Marsh, Fanning and Stiegert (2003) entitled: â€Å"Socioeconomic Determinants of Fast Food Consumption† states that: â€Å"Fast food consumption has increased dramatically over the past three decades in U. S. , accounting for nearly 35. 5% of total away-from-home expenditures in 1999. It is interesting to note the findings of this study which states: â€Å"Lin, Lucier, Allhouse, and Kantor examined the influence of fast food growth on frozen potato consumption. They report that on any given day that 13% of consumers eat french fries with fast food establishments accounting for 67% of the french fry market. They also report that french fry consumption varies by age, region, urbanization, race, and ethnicity, but independent of income. † (Marsh, Fanning and Steigert, 2003) Also stated in the findings of this study is: â€Å"Important regional and socio-demographic factors emerged. Consumers in the South and Midwest were most likely to consume fast food.In terms of gender, males were more likely to consume fast food than were females. Individuals were more likely to consume fast food until they reached 20-30 years of age at which point the likelihood that they consume fast food decreases throughout their life. Larger households (especially those with more than four persons) were less likely to consume fast food. Although the impact of income on the likelihood of consuming fast food was statistically significant, it was very inelastic. The likelihood of consuming fast food was much more sensitive to age relative to household size and least sensitive to income. † (Marsh, Fanning and Steigert, 2003) SUMMARY OF THE LITERATURE REVIEWEDThe findings of the present study acknowledge first that fast food consumption is global in nature stretching from India, to China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, to the United Stat es, fast food and fast food restaurants are relevant to a great majority of the world’s consumers. This study has found that fast food restaurants located near schools, colleges, and universities, are frequented regularly by students and that places such as McDonald’s represent more than food consumption because these places are also places of socialization for college students and other young people where these individuals study and ‘hang-out’ with their peers. The largest majority of individuals who eat fast food have been found in this study to e completely aware that fast food is unhealthy however, this study has found that fast food is not considered by most individuals to be ‘real food’ and that fast food such as McDonalds is acknowledge as less nutritional, less healthy and less filling than what is considered to constitute ‘real food’ cooked at home. FINDINGS OF THE STUDY This study has posed the questions of: (1)What diff erent views are held among different cultures in countries throughout the world relating to consumption of fast food? ; (2) What are the health perspective differentials existing among individuals in various countries throughout the world related to fast food consumption? (3) What are the primary factors that affect the consumption of fast food by college-age students from various countries of the world? ; (4) Is consumption of fast food an addition to- or an extension of- cultural issues surrounding food consumption? ; and (5) What non-food related factors affect consumer choice of fast food establishments internationally and locally? This study has found that consumption of fast food is viewed pretty much the same across cultures, race, and ethnicity in various countries as most individuals acknowledge fast food to be generally snack type food and not really to be considered a meal such as ‘real food’ cooked at home.Fast food, when contrasted to real cooked food would be cast aside if individuals had to make a life-choice of the type of food they preferred to consume. This study has also found that the largest majority of those who eat fast food acknowledge that fast food is unhealthy to consume on a regular basis. The primary factors influencing college-age students in their consumption of fast food are factors of socialization and availability of fast food restaurants near schools, universities and campuses. Fast food consumption has been found by this study to be both in addition to as well as an extension of cultural issues and customs surrounding food consumption.Finally, this study has found that non-food related factors affecting consumer choice of fast food establishments on a local and international basis include factors such as: (1) individual choice; (2) religious; (3) group preferences; (4) health-related factors; (5) location and availability of restaurant choices; (6) costs; (7) socialization; (8) time available for eating; (9) wit h whom they are eating the food; (10) whether the individual is a student in a college or university within the proximity of a fast food restaurant. CONCLUSIONS Having reviewed an extensive amount of literature in the subject area of factors affecting consumers in the consumption of fast food this study concludes that the factors that affect fast food consumption among consumers are great in number in all countries in which fast food in consumed. Non-food related factors are just as great in the influence of fast food consumption as are food-related matters such as taste and nutritional value of the food being consumed.However, traditional restaurant dining is greatly preferred among older consumers and among more discerning younger consumers although this does not greatly impact younger consumers in terms of reducing their consumption of fast food or increasing their consumption of more traditional restaurant dining food items. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH Future research wi ll likely undertake studies of a longitudinal nature relating to factors affecting food consumption differences among different nationalities and ethnicities and as well will focus specifically on tracking the consumer patterns of individuals that follow those individuals over many years and life health-related transitions in gaining a complete understanding of the primary health-related factors that affect fast food consumption patterns among individuals of different nationalities and ethnicities.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Rhetorical Analysis - Essay Example Swift launches attack on the irresponsibility of the Ireland‘s lawmakers, the presence of the well-being in the society, dictatorship of the Englishmen and the desperation in which he sees the Irish people living in. He also puts across the Irish peoples reluctance and inability to stand on themselves. The work shows that the state, English and the Irish people are responsible for the misery state of the country. Political failure was all over the nation during the Swift time hence leading to several works written to criticize the political leadership. Their objectives were to pressurize them to provide solutions to economic problems, poverty and misuse of the poors children for the gain of the rich. The author protests bitterly on the inability of political leadership and attacks the introduction of several reformers towards economic changes. In conclusion, the main challenge to Swifts work is to get the public attention whose indifference was well focused. He puts his point negatively, to bring out the themes of morality, political incapacity and poverty which should be

Friday, September 27, 2019

Relationship between job satisfaction and individual performance Essay

Relationship between job satisfaction and individual performance - Essay Example Admittedly, the relation between job satisfaction and productivity is a matter that is difficult to verify because there are a large number of factors that influence the level of job satisfaction. Some of these factors are not changeable and personal in nature, while some are job related, and some are controlled by the management or employer. So, it is not possible to control all these factors in a single empirical study. Hence, as Mudor and Tooksoon (2011) point out, no study is able to conclusively prove that job satisfaction leads to better performance as no study can prove that it conclusively controlled all factors leading to job satisfaction. However, there are people like Caird (cited in Hall;Jones, 2008) who believe that it is impossible to expect quality output from workers in environments where workers are stressed out, and forced to compete for benefits. At this juncture, it seems useful to analyze the various factors that influence the level of job satisfaction. Some fact ors, which are personal in nature, are sex, number of department, time on job, level and range of intelligence, level of education, age, attitude, and other traits of personality. The factors that are inherent in job are type of work, skill required for the work, occupational status, size of the plant, and geography. Some other factors which are usually controlled by the employer are salary, fringe benefits, co-workers, downward communication, working conditions, responsibility, supervision, wages, and opportunities for advancement. From the long list, it becomes evident that no empirical study is ever likely to claim to have proved the relation. Despite the still existing confusion regarding job satisfaction and productivity, the Science Daily dated 20 July 2011 reports that the workers who approach their work with energy, dedication and care are more open to accepting new information and are more productive. In addition, the article points out that if resources are available to ma ke the employees do their job with enthusiasm and joy, they tend to focus and work hard (â€Å"Work Engagement†). The most common reasons put forward by those who believe job satisfaction is positively linked to productivity are as follows. Firstly, everyone wants to keep what is valuable. In other words, if they find something valuable in their work or workplace, they tend to retain it. The second point is that everyone wants to destroy what hurts them. Admittedly, one who is forced to work harder and harder may try to rebel, one who does not enjoy the workplace environment may try to take leaves, and one who is not satisfied with the remuneration may not be that careful about the quality of the product or service. Yet another claim in this direction is that creativity works only in minds which are peaceful. One who is worried about a lot of job related issues may not be able to think constructively or to come up with novel ideas. There are more general arguments in this dir ection. For example, it is claimed that no one will quit if the work is fun for them, and that only happiness can bring the best out of people. Evidently, in service-intensive fields like hospitality, mere commonsense is enough to perceive that the employees who are aggrieved and dissatisfied are highly prone to forgetting the tenets of hospitality. However, in order to substantiate or negate this claim, it is necessary to look into the studies by scholars. Nna (2011) conducted a study among

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Operation Management Particularies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Operation Management Particularies - Essay Example While solving the problem you should remember that the main purpose of each entrepreneur is to minimize costs and to maximize benefits. In this case its evident that mathematic methods should be applied. The economist usually use linear programming Linear programming is an important field of optimization for several reasons. Many practical problems in operations research can be expressed as linear programming problems. Certain special cases of linear programming, such as network flow problems and multicommodity flow problems are considered important enough to have generated much research on specialized algorithms for their solution. A number of algorithms for other types of optimization problems work by solving LP problems as sub-problems. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_ programming). To use the method you problem should be equated in the form of mathematic So linear function is c1x1+ c2x2+ c3x3 min. c1- number of loaders c2-number of tracks c3- every loader's salary. X1- number of parts loaded by each employee x2- truck tonnage x3- number of loaders. Restrictions are x1,x2, x3 c1.c2 c3 0. a11x1+a12x2+a13x36 a21x1+ a22x2 +a23x312 Forfeit is the return of property someone belonging or in return for a bad happening as part of a contractual or legal transgression (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forfeit). ... c1- number of loaders c2-number of tracks c3- every loader's salary. X1- number of parts loaded by each employee x2- truck tonnage x3- number of loaders. Restrictions are x1,x2, x3 c1.c2 c3 0. a11x1+a12x2+a13x36 a21x1+ a22x2 +a23x312 Than the problem is expressed in the form of matrix and solved by means of simplex method. Q2 In case of the trucks breaking down the manufacturer is able to demand a forfeit. According to the civil law debtor is obligated to compensate losses caused by the debtor's failure. Forfeit is the return of property someone belonging or in return for a bad happening as part of a contractual or legal transgression (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forfeit). Usually it is only done in the most extreme circumstances, in which the forfeiting party believes there is simply no way to continue under the present circumstances It may be counted as utilization of the parts by the manufacturer multiplied by hours of stoppage. Q3 There are some ways to ensure that the manufacturer doesn't run of the parts. First you can provide more parts than it is required and the manufacturers could stock it in their warehouse. Second it could be solved by insurances. The main principles of insurance are 1. there must be a larger number of similar objects so the financial outcome of insuring the pool of exposures is predictable. Therefore they can calculate a "fair" premium. 2. the losses have to be accidental and unintentional from the point of view of the insured. 3. the losses must be measurable, identifiable in location, time, and be definite. They also want the losses to cause economic hardship. That is, so the insured has an incentive to protect and preserve the property to minimize the probabilty that the losses occur. 4. the loss

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Management Theory - Henri Fayol Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Management Theory - Henri Fayol - Research Paper Example For the effective performance of an organization, it would be critical to know in advance what needs to be done, the activities to undertake to do what is to be done and also when these activities are to be done. Thus, planning essentially entails the what, how and when with regards to performance (Pryor & Taneja, 2010). It encompasses the determination of both short and long-term objectives; development of strategies and actions aimed at the achievement of the set objectives; and formulation of rules, policies, and procedures to be adopted during the implementation of plans and strategies (Raju & Parthasarathy, 2009). Planning does not necessarily have to be deliberate or systematic. The second management function, referred to as organising by Fayol, involves identifying activities needed to achieve organisational objectives and implementing the plans; grouping activities to come up with self-contained jobs; assigning jobs to employees; delegating authority to promote execution of tasks and commanding the required resources; and establishing interrelated coordinating relationships (Lunenburg & Ornstein, 2012). Therefore, organizing basically involves the combination and integration of physical, financial and human resources in a productive fashion for the achievement of the organizational goals. This yields an organizational structure comprising of organizational positions, associated responsibilities and tasks and an interrelation of authorities and roles. Commanding refers to maintaining activity among personnel. Fayol uses this terminology as a function of management to describe direction, leadership, and supervision (McNamara, 2009). It thus encompasses leadership and the aim of setting the organization in motion.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Reaction paper 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reaction paper 2 - Essay Example In the letter, King attempts to convince the ministers of the rationality of his actions and points out why they are necessary if natural ‘human goodness’ and morality were to be given a chance. Arguing that everyone, white and black, possessed natural ‘human goodness’, King points out that most white people, particularly in the north, had not heard or were perhaps not noticed the desperate condition of the black people of the South following the Emancipation Proclamation. Although they were free, they had to try to support themselves in a world that legally segregated them from the means of doing this. Only by forcing attention on the issues, through non-violent protest, would the black people be able to gain the attention of the white people and still illustrate that there was no justification for this oppression. Only by appealing to white people, who held all the power, could change be forced through the political process. Adhering to St. Augustine’s contention that â€Å"an unjust law is no law at all†, King insisted that non-violent protests such as those he was organizing were not breaking the law but were instead adhering to a higher moral and ethical law. The segregation laws were directly counter to the Supreme Court ruling regarding equality to people of color because they were applied only to black people. He argued that to break an unjust and immoral law is thus acting in a moral and just manner for the good of the community, especially if this can be completed in a peaceful, kindly manner. This, he argued, was a necessary action because the tension in the black community was continuing to build and would soon rage out of control into violent action. Peaceful protest provided both the necessary outlet for these emotions as well as brought positive attention to the plight of his community. At the end of his letter, King criticizes the church leaders

Monday, September 23, 2019

Explication paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Explication paper - Essay Example If the two resemble each other in the world’s image, he makes us undeniably reminisce of John Wyndham. It is constantly tricky to evaluate an amalgamation of anything as compared to a solitary unit, but inside its sparingly defined surrounding The Fat Man possesses a superseding style that connects the tales together. (It is probable that what proposed the relation with Magritte to the editors). This tale option is the center on character associations as a macrocosm of the broader surrounding, as compared to associations as an ingredient to it. The expression macrocosm is perceived to be the precise depiction of the broader proceedings as reflections of the parameters than it is to depict or explain those parameters as reflection s of the novel communal and ecological landscape. In addition, since the attention on character is so close up, obtrusive, the peripheral world has gone out of attraction. Carla and Paul are not bulged to provide an affectionate concern to a plot centering on the likelihood of genetic modification, they are the consequence of that likelihood being an acknowledged section of the community. It is evident that Mort and Lily are not focusing on the menace of the ecological devastation, the consequence of lax quarantine decrees in the space travel period. Both parties could not care a little less and the actual harm of the narrative is the harm to their association and not the globe’s ecology. In multiple manners, Carey has a technique to narrate that is more evocative of Wyndham who was extensively explained by Aldiss Brian that he was the spreader of the â€Å"cosy catastrophe†. In Carey’s individual cosy upheaval, his personal domestic dreams, the situation of the novel world of the prospects is depicted in brief brushstrokes on the perimeter of the canvas. In this novel, Alexander Finch might internally bar against the novel political array. He and his associate housemates might fantasize on blasting down the statue of

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Religion - Essay Example Perceptive on theism, philosophy, spirituality, and other beliefs are similar and dissimilar from what one considers of ‘religion’, can assist a lot in understanding the religion. Few points out where the outer borders of religion exist, whereas some assist to identify with what religion essentially comprises. This essay undertakes comparisons between the Jewish Religion and the Catholic Christian religion. Judaism is based on the principles and ethics incarnated in the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud and is a religion of jews. Even though Judaism has rarly been monolithic in practice, it has always been monotheistic in theology. Its central authority is not fixed in a person or group, but in sacred texts and traditions. Judaism adhered to a number of religious principles, the most significant of which is the faith in a single, omniscient, omnipotent, benevolent, supreme God, who created the universe and continues to administer it. It is the traditional Jewish belief that the God who created the world made a promise with the Israelites, and disclosed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of the Torah, and the Jewish people are the descendants of the Israelites. The practice of Judaism turns around study and the complying of Gods laws and commandments as written in the Torah and set forth in the Talmud. Judaism is the 11th largest religious group in the world (Wikipe dia). According to Catholic belief, God, boundless and holy in himself, in a plan of total kindness generously created man to make him share in his own sacred life. Because of this, always and in every place, God get closer to man. He asks man to look for him, to know him, to love him with full of his heart and strength. He welcomes all men, scattered and alienated because of sin, into the unity of his Church. For accomplishing this goal, God sent his only Son as Redeemer and Savior of mankind. Through him and in the Holy Spirit, he asks men to turn

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Case Study on Adolescent Sexual Abuse Essay Example for Free

Case Study on Adolescent Sexual Abuse Essay Elias is a five year old Mexican American male who has recently been referred to the community counseling center due to the exposure of sexual abuse by his stepfather. Elias was a client of this community center approximately 18 months earlier. Elias had been referred for poor impulse control and hyperactivity. At that time he was diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). He also met with the agency psychiatrist who had prescribed Elias Focalin. His cased was closed after only a few sessions due to the family’s inconsistency and withdrawal from services. At this point in time Elias has been attending his sessions with his mother and baby brother. Stepfather’s whereabouts are unknown and he has not had any contact with the family since the abuse was exposed. Elias has returned to taking Focalin, since he failed to continue taking his medication after withdrawing from services. However, there have been no changes noted in his behavior since he has begun to take the medication. The psychiatrist believes that this may be due to the low dosage he has prescribed Elias and because of such, the psychiatrist has opted to slowly increase the dosage and closely monitor any changes. The clinician notes that Elias is extremely hyperactive and exhibits minimal impulse control. Other than his high levels of restlessness, Elias shows no observable signs or symptoms of reaction to the sexual abuse. When clinician has attempted to process with Elias about the abuse or his feelings about the abuse, Elias has changed the subject or ignored the clinician all together. Mother states that she has noticed no changes in his behavior since the abuse was discovered. Practice Effectiveness Questions  The special population in discussion is children, the social problems in focus are sexual abuse and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which leads the target client group to be children who have experienced sexual abuse and have been diagnosed with ADHD. Our client is Elias who is a child, who has experienced sexual abuse and is diagnosed with ADHD. For the purposes of this discussion our practice effectiveness questions are: 1) What are effective interventions for children who have been sexually abused? and 2) What are effective interventions for children who have been diagnosed with ADHD? Search Description Procedures The databases utilized for this search were: Google Scholar, Social Work Abstracts, Child Welfare Information Gateway, Academic Search Complete, Professional Development Collection, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, SocINDEX with Full Text Sociological Collection, Academic Search Premier, and JSTOR. It was also helpful to review the journal entitled Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment for relevant articles. While searching the aforementioned databases, the following keywords were utilized: ‘sexual abuse and ADHD’, ‘sexual abuse and interventions’, sexual abuse and co-morbidity’, ‘ADHD and co-morbidity’, ‘children and sexual abuse’, ‘sexual abuse and interventions. ’ All articles selected were peer reviewed, found in scholarly journals, and published within the last ten years. In searching for relevant articles regarding treatment of sexual abuse, most articles addressed interventions designed to treat perpetrators of child sexual abuse; a few articles were uncovered that discussed treating adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Fewer still were articles that identified interventions for children who are recent or current victims of sexual abuse. In order to find information relevant to our target client group, we began pulling sources from reference pages of relevant articles which provided more focused research relevant to treatment of children who have experienced sexual abuse. Results The result of our exhaustive search of available literature led us to identify eight articles to focus on. Out of these articles, four dealt specifically with children who have experienced sexual abuse, two focused on abuse of children which included physical abuse along with sexual abuse, two were focused primarily on ADHD, four focused on co-morbidity of either post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or ADHD and sexual abuse, and four specifically discussed treatments and interventions. Half of the selected articles were literature reviews while the remaining four were reporting from the standpoint of a primary source on research studies of treatments and interventions. The research studies varied in their sampling and control or comparison groups; only two studies were able to utilize a true experimental design with random assignment of study participants to control and experimental groups. The literature reviews provided an extensive overview of relevant studies and interventions from a secondary source standpoint. The eight identified sources provided an assortment of research-based perspectives as well as a sampling of evidence based on authority by those who reviewed the literature and discussed their findings in literature reviews. Research Findings Description of Articles In the article Sexually Abused Children Suffering from PTSD: Assessment and Treatment Strategies by David Heyne, Neville J. King, Paul Mullen, Nicole Myerson, Thomas H. Ollendick, Stephanie Rollings, and Bruce T. Tonge states that sexual abuse of children is a major societal problem because of its high prevalence and devastating impact on the victimized child. Children who have been sexually abused often demonstrate anxiety, depressive moods, improper sexual behaviors, nightmares, social withdrawal, sleep difficulties, anger, shame/guilt and school problems. The authors did diagnostic interviewing with their participants. The authors interviewed thirty six children and sixty nine percent were primarily diagnosed with PTSD. Within the thirty six children four of the children with full PTSD had no other diagnoses. Nine had one co morbid diagnoses, ten had two co morbid diagnoses, and two had three co morbid diagnoses. PTSD is not always prevalent and at times other emotional and behavioral problems are prevalent. In fact, many studies confirm that on clinical evaluation a large proportion of sexually abused children meet diagnostic criteria for PTSD (Heyne, at el. , 2003). This particular article showed that often there are other diagnoses that go along with PTSD but in an article by Peggy T. Ackerman, Roscoe A. Dykman, Jerry G. Jones, W. Brian McPherson, and Joseph E. O. Newton, did research on groups that have been affected sexual, physically abused, or both. The article Prevalence of PTSD and Other Psychiatric Diagnosis in Three Groups of Abused Children (Sexual, Physical, and Both) was a study done with children that are sexually and or physically abused. Fortunately, many children who are victims of horrifying events do not develop PTSD or other psychiatric disorders (Ackerman at el. 1998). Very little is known as to why some victimized children do and others do not develop psychiatric disorders. Even such basic variables as gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, intelligence, and age at time of trauma, have been inadequately studied. They were in a large children’s hospital in which sexual and or physically abused children were referred. The groups were divided into three, sexually and physically abused and both. Through the finding there were more boys who were physically abused and girls who were sexually abused. Anxiety and behavior disorders were more frequent than mood disorders. In concordance with clinical observation, abused boys, regardless of type abuse, had higher rates of behavioral disorders and abused girls had higher rates of two internalizing disorders: separation anxiety (caregiver reports) and phobic disorder (child report) (Ackerman at el. , 1998). Studies show most clearly that children who have been jointly physically and sexually abused are at greatest risk for psychiatric disturbance. There are many different treatment interventions one can go through to minimize PTSD and attention deficient disorders. Maryka Biaggio, Darlene Staffelbach, Dan Weinstein wrote the article ADHD and PTSD: Differential Diagnosis in Childhood Sexual Abuse which shows different interventions used for victimized children. Treatment interventions for ADHD children predominantly consist of behavior management, social skills training, and stimulant or other medication. Treatment interventions for children with PTSD generally consist of management and alleviation of emotional distress using play, psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral therapy modalities (Biaggio at el. 2000). Relaxation techniques and hypnosis have also been effective in treatment of PTSD in children. Misdiagnosis may lead clinicians to use inappropriate interventions for PTSD. Side effects experienced by ADHD children on stimulant medication may include difficulty falling asleep, lack of appetite, irritability, headaches, stomachaches, nausea, dizziness, tachycardia, muscle tics or twitches, slowed physical growth, and skin rashes (Biaggio at el. , 2000). Another undesired onsequence of ADHD misdiagnosis in SAC (sexual abused children) is the failure to address and treat the trauma symptoms of children who actually have PTSD. Given the risk of wrongly prescribing, untreated trauma, and negative impact on self-esteem for children misdiagnosed with ADHD, it is unfortunate little attention has been given to this issue (Biaggio at el. , 2000). Increased attention to clinical decision-making in the differential diagnosis of ADHD and PTSD may lead to more appropriate, beneficial, and timely interventions. Darcie) Allison M. Briscoe-Smith and Stephen P. Henshaw’s article entitled: Linkages between child abuse and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in girls: Behavioral and social correlates, was an excellent source to explore the relationship of sexual abuse and ADHD and begin to discuss the co-morbidity of these events for children. The article described a research study carried out with a sample of 228 females at a summer camp for girls with ADHD over a three year span. Each year cohort groups were created to identify the prevalence of abuse among girls diagnosed with ADHD and those who had not received a diagnosis of ADHD. Out of the twenty-four identified cases of abuse histories, twenty of these girls were diagnosed with ADHD, and of those abuse histories ten were sexual in nature which is much higher than any other form of maltreatment documented by the researchers. All girls who had abuse histories had a co-morbid diagnosis of Oppositional Defiance Disorder. The study found that girls with both ADHD and abuse histories were more likely to display externalizing behaviors and be negatively received by their peers. The study also analyzed the relationship between the prevalence of an abuse history and the rejection from peers and found aggression to partially mediate that relationship. The authors concluded that girls with ADHD were at increased risk of having abuse histories and questioned the accurate diagnosis of ADHD. It was suggested that the girls who had histories of abuse may more accurately be diagnosed with PTSD and/or share a co-morbid diagnosis with PTSD. Judith A. Cohen and Anthony P. Mannarino conducted a research study comparing two interventions to treat children who have been sexually abused; their findings were published in the article entitled: Interventions for Sexually Abused Children: Initial Treatment Outcome Findings. This article was one of few that specifically addressed interventions for children with the focus being treatment of sexual abuse. The sample consisted of 49 children between the ages of 7 and 14 who were randomly assigned to either sexual abuse specific cognitive behavioral therapy (SAS-CBT) or nondirective supportive therapy (NST) for a twelve week duration. The study found that children in the SAS-CBT group improved significantly in social competence and in the reduction of feelings of depression. Also, substantially higher percentages of children involved in SAS-CBT experienced what is considered clinically significant improvements. In regards to deterioration while in therapy, higher rates were found in children who received NST. For the safety of the other children in the groups, children who were consistently displaying repetitive extreme sexually inappropriate behaviors were removed from treatment groups; seven NST participants were removed from the study as compared to two children participating in SAS-CBT. Parental satisfaction with treatment was high in both treatment groups which either treatment modality. The clinical impressions of the authors conclude that sexual abuse specific cognitive behavioral therapy is superior to nondirective supportive therapy in the reduction of depressive symptoms. SAS-CBT was also favored due to the benefit of including parents in treatment (NST did not formally include parents). The authors also concluded that there is value and importance in providing a directive therapy technique in dealing with the effects of trauma caused by sexual abuse. Assessment of Evidence Implications of Evidence Interventions for sexual abused victim’s trauma may include based cognitive behavioral therapy, play therapy, parental involvement- parent training, behavioral therapy, coping skills training, psycho-education, and prevention awareness. PTSD interventions may include trauma based cognitive behavioral therapy, and play therapy. Attention deficit disorder can also be treated with behavioral management techniques, medication, social skills training, play therapy, parent training, behavioral classroom interventions and summer treatment programs. Many sexually abused children have other diagnosis along with PTSD and several possible co-morbid diagnosis are more than likely behavioral, but often can be confused with PTSD. When looking at interventions and treatments clinicians need to look at the client’s cultural background so that way we do not intrude on their lives.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Impact of the 17th Amendment

Impact of the 17th Amendment The Seventeenth Amendment, Senate Ideology, and the Growth of Government Danko Tarabar Abstract The 17th Amendment disturbed the existing electoral system in the United States by requiring direct elections for state Senators. Scholars have argued this made the Senate more populist and contributed to the growth of government in the US post-1913. We employ econometric tools to investigate whether the time series of mean ideology of Senate and its winning policies experienced a structural change around the time of the enactment. We find no compelling evidence of a structural break at that time but do find evidence for a change in the mid-to-late 1890s. Keywords: Seventeenth Amendment, structural break, Senate ideology JEL codes: D72, H19 Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank Edward J. Lopez and participants at the 2012 Southern Economic Association meetings in New Orleans for helpful comments and suggestions. The Seventeenth Amendment, Senate Ideology,  and the Growth of Government 1. Introduction The 17th Amendment to the US Constitution established that Senators were to be directly elected by popular vote rather than appointed by state legislatures. The amendment ended a generation of state-by-state battles attempting to bring Senate elections under popular control. Although its 1913 passage is regarded by historians as enhancing democratic accountability, Zywicki (1994) argues that the amendment helped erode federalism and the separation of power. As Senator fidelity moved towards the electorate and away from protecting states’ interests, the Senate became as populist as the House, thus paving the way for government growth. In making this argument, Zywicki is attempting to contribute to one of the biggest questions in public economics: the dramatic increase in government in the United States during the 20th Century (Higgs, 1987; Husted and Kenny, 1997; Lott and Kenny, 1998; Holcombe, 1999). This paper empirically investigates whether the Senate experienced an ideology shift as the result of the change in political allegiance. If the interests of state legislatures and the median voters sufficiently differed, we expect to find evidence of a structural change in Senator and winning policy outcomes on roll calls at or near the time of adoption of the 17th Amendment. We examine this hypothesis by subjecting the time series of Senator and winning policy ideology to a battery of structural break tests. The evidence presented here suggest that a break most likely occurred during the 54th Congress (1895-1897), suggesting that the 17th Amendment merely codified what had already occurred through other means. 2. Data The most widely used measure of Congress ideology today are the NOMINATE scores, developed by Poole and Rosenthal in the 1980s (Poole and Rosenthal, 1997). The scores map House and Senate ideology outcomes onto a continuum, where negative scores denote liberal and positive denote conservative values (also analogous to greater or less government intervention in the economy). Zero implies centrist leanings, whereas score magnitudes reflect relative ideology strength. Each chamber since 1789 receives a mean score for legislators and winning policy outcomes, allowing for an overall assessment of ideology with respect to legislator behavior and the nature of enacted policies. We employ the DW-NOMINATE (dynamic, weighted) score subtype, estimated using normally distributed errors. The entire series contains 112 biennial observations, one for each Congress. The DW scores are comparable between Congresses, but comparisons only make sense within one of the three stable two-party periods in US history. We focus on the most recent such period, the Democratic-Republican (46th-112th Congress), since the formal adoption of the 17th Amendment occurred during the 63rd Congress (1913-1915). The operational database thus contains 67 observations ranging from 1879 to 2013 (Fig. 1). We exploit this dataset to search for structural changes in the series of mean Senator ideology and mean winning policy coordinates. 3. Methodology Structural change implies a sudden shift in any or all of the model parameters that control for the series mean and variance. In the current context, a structural break in either series would be indicative of mean â€Å"jumps† in chamber or winning policy ideology, whereas a break in variance implies a volatility shift not unlike, for instance, the Great Moderation. If the 17th Amendment instigated higher growth of federal government, one should observe a structural break in ideology in the 63rd Congress, presumably to the ideological left. While a visual inspection offers little in terms of inference, the diagnostics indicate that the mean chamber ideology is lower (-0.056 versus +0.01), and SD is approximately two times larger pre-Amendment. For mean winning outcomes, the average is higher pre-Amendment (0.037 versus -0.07), and the sample SD is exactly halved afterwards. We let both series evolve according to an AR(1) data generating process with drift and a deterministic linear trend: (1) where are serially uncorrelated errors and lag number is determined by Akaike and Schwarz Bayesian Info criteria. The structural change in series mean comes from breaks in drift, trend and autoregressiveparameters, while series’ volatility is largely dependent on error variance if is small. We estimate equation (1) using OLS. The econometrics of structural change underwent significant development in recent decades. The classic Chow (1960) test treats the breakdate as exogenous and a priori known. However, the current standard practice is to let the breakdate be an estimable endogenous parameter (Hansen, 2001). Quandt (1960) proposed taking the highest in the sequence of Chow F-statistics across all possible dates as the breakpoint, but the critical value asymptotic distribution for such a test was not available until Andrews (1993). Andrews’ now-conventional approach to testing for structural break rests on the â€Å"sup† methodology, in which the maximal significant F- (supF) or Wald-statistic (supW) across all observations is the most likely breakdate. Andrews and Ploberger (1994) further consider the averages and exponents of these test statistics. We use the supW-statistic, which has the advantage over supF in that it allows for residual heteroskedasticity. All statistically significant supW-statistics represent possible breakdates, but only that which minimizes the model sum of squared errors (SSE) is the most probable candidate (Hansen, 2001). In testing for and dating structural breaks in the series’ variances, the same methodology follows for equation (2): (2). Finally, the existence of breakpoints could erroneously lead to the conclusion that the series is nonstationary. We then use the Zivot-Andrews (ZA) (1992) test to distinguish between structural break and random walk disturbances. Conventional unit root tests tend to under-reject the null of nonstationarity in the presence of a break, while the ZA procedure allows for existence of one endogenously determined structural break in trend or intercept in testing unit root. Since neither series seem to be trending, we allow for an intercept break only, within 10% trimmed data. Some caveats are in order. First, the power of structural break tests is lower in smaller samples. Although a test statistic modification is possible, it is computationally costly (Antoshin et al., 2008). Second, the Quandt-Andrews procedure assumes regressor stationarity. As a solution for nonstationary regressors, Hansen (2000) proposes a â€Å"fixed regressor bootstrap.† Third, small sample size makes it impractical to search for multiple breaks simultaneously, even though an event such as women’s suffrage would make for a plausible structural break from public choice theory standpoint. Lastly, we recognize that structural break test results may be sensitive to model specification. 4. Results Table 1 summarizes our findings. In the case of mean Senate ideology, none of the supW-statistics, in any form (level, average and exponential), are significant at usual levels within 5, 10 and 15% trimmed data, so we find no evidence of a structural break. We also find no significant variance shifts. The ZA test rejects nonstationarity in favor of an intercept break in the 54th Congress (1895-1897). Although this date comes closest to the breakdate in the Quandt-Andrews procedure, it remains statistically insignificant. For the mean of winning policy ideology, the maximal significant supW-statistic also falls in the 54th Congress. Plotting the SSE from equation (1) over time, we observe the global minimum to fall in the 64th Congress (1915-1917). The ZA test allowing for an intercept break rejects nonstationarity at the 3% level, and also gives the breakdate as in the 54th Congress. Turning to variance shifts of mean winning ideology and repeating the same procedures on equation (2), we reject the null of no breakpoint at 4% level within 5, 10 and 15% trimmed data, with the maximal statistic during the 54th Congress. The SSE for variance breakdate (from equation (2)) exhibits multiple sharp drops indicative of a breakdate, with a global minimum in the 97th Congress (1981-1983). Overall, the evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the most probable breakpoint for mean and variance of winning policy ideology, as well as some evidence for chamber mean ideology, occurred between 1895 and 1897, in the 54th Congress. 5. Conclusion In his analysis of the political economy origins of the 17th Amendment, Zywicki (1994) notes that it was in the 1880s where dissatisfaction with the indirect system began to escalate. During this period, many states began to employ extra-constitutional means to move towards popular election of Senators (Riker, 1955). These approaches – public canvass and pledged state legislators –allowed for direct public participations in Senate elections. Our results provide some evidence that these approaches or other contemporary changes led to a change in ideology of the mean Senator, not the passage of the 17th Amendment. This finding suggests that while much the growth of in government occurred during the 20th century, the underlying ideological and institutional changes likely began in the Civil War and its aftermath (Higgs, 1997; Holcombe, 1999). References Andrews, D. W. K. (1993) Tests for parameter instability and structural change with unknown change point, Econometrica, 61, 821-856. Andrews, D. W. K. and Ploberger W. (1994) Optimal tests when the nuisance parameter is present only under the alternative, Econometrica, 62, 1383-414. Antoshin, S., Berg, A. and Souto, M. (2008) Testing for structural breaks in small samples, The International Monetary Fund, Working Paper Series No. 08/75 Chow, G. C. (1960) Tests of equality between sets of coefficients in two linear regressions, Econometrica, 28, 591-605. Hansen, B. E. (2000) Testing for structural change in conditional models, Journal of Econometrics, 97, 93-115. Hansen, B. E. (2001) The new econometrics of structural change: dating breaks in U.S. labor productivity, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 15, 117-128. Higgs, R. (1987) Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government, Oxford University Press, New York. Holcombe, R. (1999) Veterans Interests and the transition to government: 1870-1915, Public Choice, 99, 311-326. Husted, T. and Kenny, L. (1998) How dramatically did women’s suffrage change the size and scope of government? Journal of Political Economy, 107, 1163-98. Poole, K. and Rosenthal, H. (1997) Congress: A Political-Economic History of Roll Call Voting, 1st edn, Oxford University Press, New York. Quandt, R. (1960) Tests of the hypothesis that a linear regression obeys two separate regimes, Journal of the American Statistical Association, 55, 324-330. Riker, W. (1955) The Senate and American federalism, American Political Science Review, 49, 452-469. Zivot, E. and Andrews, D.W.K. (1992) Further evidence on the Great Crash, the oil price shock, and the unit-root hypothesis, Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, 10, 251-270. Zywicki, T. J. (1994) Senators and special interests: a public choice analysis of the Seventeenth Amendment, Oregon Law Review, 73, 1007-55. Fig 1. Mean Senate and winning policy ideology over time Source: http://voteview.com/pmeans.htm Notes: Vertical line denotes the 17th Amendment adoption 1 [† ] Corresponding author.