Critically consider psychological explanations of love Essay Example for Free

Critically consider psychological explanations of love Essay There are three psychological theories of love, The Three Factor Theory of Romantic Love, Sternbergs Triangular Theory of Love and Romantic Love and Attachment. The three factor theory of romantic love suggested by Hatfield and Walster, recognises two types of love, passionate love and companionate love. Whilst passionate love can be seen as an intense physiological arousal which involves a longing for the other person, companionate love is more a feeling of affection towards those whom we feel deeply about. Hatfield and Walster propose a theory to explain passionate love based on three factors; physiological arousal, appropriate love object and cultural exposure. The authors see love as a label that is placed on someone that we are physiologically aroused by. Experiencing this arousal will cause a person to state it is because of love, since this is what our culture teaches us happens when we are in love. This theory receives support from research by Dutton and Aron. In this study, male participants were interviewed on a high or low suspension bridge, by an attractive female. The results supported the prediction that those males interviewed on a high bridge felt more sexual attraction to the woman, presumably because they experienced stronger physiological arousal. The males on the lower bridge felt less physical attraction, presumably because their physiological arousal was not as strong. It is possible that this theory could explain certain experiences such as love at first sight. However, since most people seem to fall in love gradually, this would suggest that for the majority of individuals, the label, love, comes first rather that the physiological arousal. The theory is also more applicable to western rather then eastern or collectivist cultures. Sternberg defines love as intimacy (sharing mutual understanding and emotional support), passion (involves physical attraction and sexual desire) and decision/commitment (involves the short-term decision that you love someone and a longer-term commitment to maintain that love). These three components of love can be combined in different ways to produce seven varieties of love; liking, infatuation, empty love, romantic love, compassionate love, fatuous love and consummate love. These seven types of love form a triangle. Consummate love being in the center as it is the strongest form of love since it involves all three components. Sternberg believes that people have two different types of triangle. The first is based on an individuals own theory of love and is formed in a cultural context from watching television, observing parents, reading books, including listening to fairy tales when young. The second triangle is based on the individuals current relationship. According to Sternberg when two triangles are similar, relationships tend to be more successful. The theory has practical applications it is possible to measure the components in the two parties and then analyse the differences in the types of love shown by each partner. It helps pinpoint areas where change and compromise may be necessary. However, the components are rather vague, especially commitment, and it is therefore difficult to judge the basis on which one person decides to love another. Hazan and Shaver proposed that romantic relationships are attachment relationships, and that individual differences in adult attachment style, mirror those found by psychologists who studied attachment styles such as Ainsworth. So rather than love being formed in a cultural context, Hazan and Shaver believe that love originates from a persons early relationship with a primary caregiver. This theory developed out of two earlier pieces of research by Ainsworth and Bowlby. Ainsworths strange situation and the observation that children have three different styles of attachment secure, insecure/anxious resistant and insecure/anxious avoidant. Bowlbys belief that the mothers behaviour towards the child creates an internal working model that leads the infant to expect the same in later relationships. According to Hazan and Shaver, later love relationships can be predicted from a childs attachment style. So therefore a secure child who had a positive image of a caring mother will have relationships in later life that are friendly, trusting and more enduring. A child classified as insecure/anxious resistant will have conflicting memories of the mother, both positive and rejecting, causing relationships in later life to consist of emotional highs and lows, with moments of jealousy and concerns whether their partners really love them. Insecure/anxious avoidant children will remember their mother as cold and rejecting and have relationships in later life where they fear being close to someone and believe love is not necessary for happiness nor is it long lasting. Hazan and Shavers research receives support from a number of studies in that there does seem to be a relationship between early attachment experiences and later attitudes and behaviour to love for example Feeny and Noller 1990. However the research has all been correlational in this area, so it cannot be claimed that early attachment causes later relationships behaviour. The relationship between the two could be caused by another factor. Kagon believes this other factor to be the temperament of the child. Infants are born with certain temperaments which determine the quality of their early relationships and these innate or genetic factors affect relationships throughout life. The three psychological theories of love provide partial explanations for this most intense of human emotion. Whilst Hatfield and Walster believe love to be a state of strong physiological arousal, Sternberg and Hazan and Shaver believe that love originates from a persons early relationships with a primary caregiver.

Comparison of Buying Behaviour: Own Brand and Label Food

Comparison of Buying Behaviour: Own Brand and Label Food CHAPTER ONE 1. INTRODUCTION In the UK, for nearly two thirds of consumers, own-label is an important reason to shop in a particular store. Value for money, availability and the breadth of products on offer are the key factors attracting customers to own label products. (Mintel Report, 2007). Own-label brands give consumers the opportunity to find something new at a supermarket, while branded is the same whichever store a consumer buys from. Consumers are increasingly careful about their grocery shop, using forward planning and budgeting to control the amount they spend. Shopping habits have become more price-focused with rising numbers of consumers looking for the lowest prices and special offers. Retail brands do not yet command the same degree of brand loyalty that the big brand names do, even though many consumers do agree that taste and quality are often on a par. (Mintel Report, 2008). According to Mintel report (2006) when it comes to choosing brands over own-label products, familiarity and trust are important criteria. Europe is the most developed region of the world for own label groceries and in Europe, own label is growing faster than manufacturers brands. Own-label brands and ranges can span all categories, something manufacturers brands cannot do. This presence builds trust and strengthens own-label branding. Retailers are able to suppress prices below competitors. The scale and flexibility of own-label production can also lead to a quick response to changing consumer needs and occasions. Consumer buying behaviour has remarkably influenced by the current credit crunch/recession. (Mintel Report, 2006) The UK is also experiencing a large increase in immigration. In October 2005, National Statistics reported that a record 582,000 people came to live in the UK from elsewhere in the world. It also predicted that the population might increase by up to 7.2 million over the next 25 years, with more than half the rise being attributed to immigration. This will boost overall demand for all retail goods. Own label or private brand can be hard to establish and costly to stock and promote. However, they also yield higher profit margins for the reseller. And they give resellers exclusive products that cannot be bought from competitors, resulting in greater store traffic and loyalty. (Mintel Report, 2006) The study is an investigation in to the current issues concerned with consumer buying behaviour for branded and own-label food. Consumer buying attitude has been greatly influenced by the current credit crunch and nine out of ten consumers thinking their financial situation has got worse over the last 12 months. (Mintel Report, 2008) This study will investigate the factors that influence buying behaviour of consumers shopping at an ALDI store. Factors such as price, quality of products, family size, culture, particular food product, financial background, gender and different age groups of consumers will be considered. Two thirds of consumers are looking out for deals/promotions, over half only buy what they need and just under a third go to discounters or cook from scratch more often. (Mintel Report, 2008). According to Foley (2008) ALDI is a rapidly grown discount supermarket and growing rapidly, pulling in thousands of new customers trying to save a few pounds on their weekly shop. ALDIs big boast is that it carries a limited range i.e. just over 1000 products (and only 15 brand names) compared with the 25,000 product lines in a supermarket such as Tesco, but buys in huge numbers and gets top quality. ALDI rigorously controls costs and their stores are all basic. There is no fancy flooring or fixtures. The lighting is definitely not designed to enhance the products. You dont take the shop home, only the food†. It is the same product but it doesnt cost more because of its decoration. In order to save money; over four in ten consumers buy more own-label value lines, buy own-label products more often or have switched to cheaper brands. (Foley, 2008). Individuals aged between 15-34 shows the greatest growth in the tendency to look for the lowest prices. Between 2006 and 2011, the number of people over 65 is projected to increase by 10.1%, increasing their proportion of the population as a whole from 21.6% to 23.4%. This obviously means that the proportion of the population who are retired, on fixed incomes, and, therefore, managing on tighter budgets will increase, this should maintain interest in lower-cost, own-brand goods. Furthermore this research will also focus on quality of branded and own-label food products from a consumer perspective. Assumptions that an own label is a cheap version of the manufacturer brand; is not evident. The gap in quality that was evident over a decade ago has been reduced in recent years. This is supported by Chaney, 2004 who concluded that every sale places the retailers highly valued name at risk and this has meant that there is increasingly little difference in the quality level of own brands compared to manufacturers brands. (Chaney, 2004). 1.1 Aims and Objectives 1.1.1 Aims The study aims to investigate consumer buying behaviour with regards to branded and own-label food products using ALDI as a case study. 1.1.2 Objectives 1. To carry out a literature review on consumer behaviour with regards to purchasing food and the current issues concerned with branded and own-label products. 2. By use of a case-study and questionnaire determine consumer behaviour with regards to branded and own label food products. 3. To compare and contrast the quality of own label and branded foods from a consumer perspective. 4. To analyze the primary data collected in the light of the secondary data in order to identify the key issues that influence consumer behaviour and the purchasing of own-label and branded food products. CHAPTER TWO 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction The aim of the literature review is to evaluate critically current data from research relevant to the aims and objectives of the project and evaluate the findings. 2.2 Evaluate critically the UK food retail market Seth and Randall (1999) stated that supermarkets across the developed world have been a key feature of the second half of the twentieth century, and the UK supermarket in its own right has, and in a world context, has been both important and distinctive. The UK is today often seen as the worlds most innovative retail market. Presentation and range, 06 goods including adventurous new chilled food and meal solutions are product fields that the rest of the world is still discovering; this has lead to researches such as, suggesting that it is difficult to fault UK sourcing energies or innovative drive. Next there is own-label. This plays an increasingly important and developmental role in this respect. They also mentioned that supermarkets activities have affected our lives and changed them as substantially as probably any other single influence. Supermarkets are universal, their customers drawn from all elements in society, from richest to poorest. It has been calculated that today the average British citizen will spend two years of their life or 3 percent of a normal waking life inside the doors of a supermarket. According to Embargo (1996), the average UK household spends over  £50 per week on food. Between us this amounts to 43 billion spent throughout the year. This is about 12 percent of total consumer expenditure, and a massive 85 per cent of this is spent in supermarkets. Embargo (1996) also stated that the British supermarkets are a 20th-century invention, offering the shopper unprecedented variety and convenience. From humble beginnings as a stall in Leeds or as West End Dairy, they have grown to dominate food retailing. Over 80 per cent of consumers regularly shop in supermarkets for food and basic household goods. According to Embargo (1996), one of the most significant trends in supermarket retailing is the growth in own-label sales relative to branded products. Own-label lines, sold under the supermarkets name, have become an effective way for the big stores to increase profits and build customer loyalty. Own-brand options are available for the majority of foods, offering consumers a wider choice of goods than ever before. (Embargo, 1996) According to Verdict Research (UK Food Grocery Retailers 2009 (April, 2009), in 2008 food and grocery specialists defied wider retail market gloom, increasing their combined sales by 5.0% to  £124.1bn. Grocers performed especially well with sales ahead by 5.6% their strongest growth since 2001. Food price inflation has driven market growth. Higher energy costs, a series of crop failures and growing food demand from China pushed UK food grocery inflation up to 6.4%. Even price-keen grocers experienced their highest rate of inflation in 17 years at 4.7%. (Verdict Research, April 2009) According to verdict Research, April 2009) the credit crunch and subsequent recession, plus inflation have had a profound impact on consumer behaviour and the wider dynamics of grocery retailing. Price, or more specifically value, now sits firmly at the top of the consumer agenda. Customers are searching for the best prices and increasingly switching to own label or alternative brands. (Verdict Research, April 2009) According to Verdict research i.e. UK Retail Futures 2013 (April 2009), though food grocery will significantly outperform the wider retail market, the recession is resulting in an unprecedented change in consumer behaviour. The discounters are enjoying impressive growth, while the major grocers focus on enhancing value credentials, leading to what we believe will be long-lasting changes to the grocery market. Verdict believes two key drivers will inhibit growth in food grocery over the next five years. Firstly, with consumers more cautious and trading down, value growth will slow. Secondly, grocers will find it tougher to open new stores especially superstores, with space and volume growth easing as a consequence. (Verdict Research Retail futures, April 2009) Grocers are focusing more effort on developing their own-brand offers, either through lower prices or through the introduction of new ranges to build scale, increase choice, promote value credentials and boost margins. (Verdict Research Retail futures, April 2009) 2.3 Evaluate critically Factors that affect UK food retail market According to Kathawala (1989), quality may mean different things to different people, for instance, Juran defines quality as â€Å"fitness for use† while Crosby defines it as â€Å"conformance to requirements†. Their definitions imply a quality standard equated to that of satisfying the customers demand. Deming defines quality as â€Å"surpassing customers needs and expectations throughout the life of the product†. Feigenbaum indicated the ever-changing and elusive nature of quality when he defined it as â€Å"a moving target†. Kathawala (1989) mentioned, a comprehensive definition of quality would include all four aspects, â€Å"Conformance to requirements, surpassing customers needs and expectations throughout the life of the product, quality is a moving target, quality is fitness for use†. (Kathawala, 1989). Armstrong and Kotler (2007) stated that, quality has a direct impact on product or service performance; it is closely linked to customer value and satisfaction. He claimed, in the narrowest sense, quality can be defined as â€Å"freedom from defects†. But most customer-centered companies go beyond this narrow definition. Instead, they define quality in terms of creating customer value and satisfaction. According to Armstrong and kotler, (2007) The American Society for Quality defines quality as the characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied customer needs. Similarly, Siemens defines quality this way: â€Å"Quality is when our customer comes back and our products dont†. (Armstrong and Kotler, 2007). According to Solomon (1996), consumer satisfaction or dissatisfaction is determined by the overall feelings, or attitude, a person has about a product after it has been purchased. Solomon (1996) also mentioned that, product quality affects customer satisfaction, which in turn, results in increased profitability among firms who provide quality products. Consequently Quality is more than a marketing buzzword. Customers want quality and value. Especially because of foreign competition, claims of product quality have become strategically crucial to maintaining a competitive advantage. Consumers use a number of cues to infer quality, including brand name, price and even their own estimates of how much money has been put into a new products advertising campaign. Solomon (1996) mentioned that, one way to define quality is to establish uniform standards to which products from around the world must conform. This is the intent of the International Standards Organization. Seth and Randall (2000) stated that, the supermarkets know that they rely absolutely on their customers confidence in the safety of the food they buy. They work hard to deserve that confidence, and their record shows that they do. According to Smith (1997) â€Å"Quality is about listening to our customers and delivering more than they expect. Its about paying attention to the smallest details and getting it right first time, every time. Most important, quality is a continuous process that involves every employee. By making small improvements every day, we can make real progress and deliver increasingly higher levels of customer satisfaction. Quality allows us to measure and compare our performance against the best in class. It sets the standards for our support services and enables us to focus training and development on the most important areas†. According to Solomon (1996), â€Å"Perception is the process by which physical sensations, such as sights, sound, and smells, are selected, organized, and interpreted. The eventual interpretation of a stimulus allows it to be assigned meaning. A perceptual map is a widely used marketing tool that evaluates the relative standing of competing brands along relevant dimensions†. (Solomon, 1996) As a result consumers have a particular perception of a particular product, they expect and know what to expect from branded. Therefore the non-branded product must as far as possible meet these perceptions if it is to compete with the branded product. A cheaper product may compensate for some variation but the own brand product must be recognisable by the consumer. Almost every business has a trading name, from the smallest market trader to the largest multi-national corporation. Only a minority of those businesses however, have what could be classed as a ‘brand or a ‘brand name. Branding is a word commonly referred to by advertisers and marketing people. Armstrong and Kotler (2007) stated that, â€Å"a brand is a name or symbol that is commonly known to identify a company or its products and separate them from the competition†. They go on to say a well-known brand is generally regarded as one that people will recognise, often even if they do not know about the company or its products/services. These are usually the businesses name or the name of a product, although it can also include the name of a feature or style of a product. The overall ‘branding of a company or product can also stretch to a logo, symbol, or even design features (E.g.: Regularly used colours or layouts, such as red and white for Coca Cola.) that identify the company or its products/services. (Armstrong and Kotler, 2007). For example: The Nike brand name is known throughout the world, people can identify the name and logo even if they have never bought any of their products. However, not only is the company name a brand, but the logo (The ‘tick symbol) is also a strong piece of branding in its own right. The majority of people that are aware of the company can also identify it (or its products) from this symbol alone. The clothing and running shoe company Adidas is well known for using three stripes on its range of products. This design feature branding allows people to identify their products, even if the Adidas brand name and logo is not present. (Armstrong and Kotler, 2007). 2.4 Strengths and weaknesses of own-label food and drink. Table 1: Strengths and weaknesses of own-label food and drink, as stated by Mintel, (2006). According to Business Services (2009), the main benefit of branding is that customers are much more likely to remember a business. A strong brand name and logo/image helps to keep a company image in the mind of potential customers. If a business sells products that are often bought on impulse, a customer recognising a brand could mean the difference between no-sale and a sale. Even if the customer is not aware of selling of particular product, if they trust that brand, they are likely to trust unfamiliar products. If a customer is happy with your products or services, a brand helps to build customer loyalty across the business. For example Marks and Spencer is recognised by consumers as offering a specified standard of quality they therefore assume if they buy any food product from Marks and Spencer the product will be of the same quality standard. (Business Services, 2009). A strong brand will project an image of a large and established business to potential customers. People usually associate branding with larger businesses that have the money to spend on advertising and promotion. The creation of effective branding can make business appear to be much bigger than it really is. An image of size and establishment can be especially important when a customer wants reassurance that particular brand will still be around in a few years time. (Business Services, 2009). A strong brand projects an image of quality in the business; many people see the brand as a part of a product or service that helps to show its quality and value. According to Business Services (2009), if you show a person two identical products, only one of which is branded, they will almost always believe the branded item is higher quality. Over time the image of quality of an effective branding business will usually go up. Of course, branding cannot replace good quality, and bad publicity will damage a brand (and businesses image), especially if it continues over a long period of time. For example: The Sunny Delight drinks brand was one of the biggest in the UK just a year after its launch. However, constant bad publicity about the quality of the product has severely damaged the image of the brand, and sales have dropped for each of the past several years. (Business Services, 2009). A strong brand creates an image of an established business that has been around for long enough to become well known. A branded business is more likely to be seen as experienced in their products or services, and will generally be seen as more reliable and trustworthy than an unbranded business. Most people will believe that a business would be hesitant to put their brand name on something that was of poor quality. (Business Services, 2009). If a business has a strong brand, it allows you to link together several different products or ranges. A brand name can be used on every product or service a company sell, meaning that customers for one product will be more likely to buy another product of same brand. For Example: Sony sells televisions, music equipment, consoles, camcorders, DVD players, video players, and etc all under the Sony brand name. Creation of separate brand names for product ranges allowing people to see brand name, and then use the range brand name to work out what they wish to buy. For Example: Cadburys makes a range of confectionary under many different sub-brand names such as Dairy Milk, Boost, Flake, and Time Out. All of these are sold under the product brand, but all feature the Cadburys brand name on the packaging. (Business Services, 2009). A strong brand is memorable, but people still need to be exposed to it, this often requires a lot of advertising and PR over a long period of time, which can be very costly. There are also costs involved with the creating of a brand image or logo (Paying for a designer, printing new letterheads/business cards etc.), and although most of these are only one off costs, they are still relatively large for most small businesses. The exposure of a brand can be left to word of mouth, this will save money, but will also greatly slow down the exposure that the brand receives. (Armstrong and Kotler, 2007). One of the main problems with many branded businesses is that they lose their personal image. The ability to deal on a personal basis with customers is one of the biggest advantages small business have, and poorly designed branding could give customers the impression that a business is losing its personal touch. (Business Services, 2009). Every brand has a certain image to potential customers, and part of that image is about what products or services a company sell. If a company is known for selling just one product and want to sell another product, will that company be able to do so effectively? If a company sell computers, would that brand name be suitable for selling vacuum cleaners? If a brand is focused too strongly on one product, it can limit the ability to sell other products. (Armstrong and Kotler, 2007). The process of creating a brand will usually take a long period of time. As well as creating a brand and updating your signs and equipment (e.g. stationary, vehicles etc), it need to expose to potential customers. It is commonly shown that people need to see an advert at least three times before they absorb it, which means that a company will need to advertise and promote the brand for a considerable amount of time before it will become well known. (Business Services, 2009). The continuing development of own-label brands can be largely attributed to ownership concentration in the retailing industry by multiples such as Tesco, Sainsburys and Asda. The two leading supermarkets, Tesco and Sainsburys have exploited this branding strategy to the extent that 50 percent of their sales are their own-label products. The supermarkets are committing considerable finances to their own-labels to increase their penetration. (Chaney, 2004). In marketing own-label brands the retailers have several advantages over manufacturer brands. Own-label brands can access the prime shelves as this space is controlled by the retailer. Manufacturer brands generally have to pay for the privilege of displaying and merchandising their goods. Furthermore, retailers, unlike the manufacturers, have knowledge of competitors sales figures and promotions. (Chaney, 2004). 2.5 Evaluate literature that relating to consumer behaviour According to Colla (2003), discount food retailing has experienced considerable expansion over the last ten years and currently occupies an important position in the European retail industry. According to Shine et al (1997), Consumers have become increasingly interested in nutritional issues over recent years. This interest in nutrition is fuelled by a number of factors including lifestyle, ageing population, dietary and safety concerns. The consumer is influenced by various sources of information such as the family/household, social network, â€Å"popular media†, and government dietary guidelines Shine et al (1997) also stated that majority of consumers consider diet to be a very important component of their lifestyles and regard nutrition as a positive attribute of food products. Increasing consumer interest in nutrition has led to an increased interest in nutrition labelling. Nutrition labelling was found to have an impact on consumer purchase decisions. Of those consumers who read nutritional labels, 81 per cent use them in their evaluation of food products. According to Baltas (2001), Nutrition labelling of food products has received considerable attention in the marketing literature due to increasing consumer interest in health and diet issues. He also stated, nutrition labelling of food products is intended to enable informed consumer choices and stimulate the consumption and production of healthful products. The effectiveness of nutrition labelling depends also on the organisation and presentation of the information, implying the importance of regulatory issues. Baltas (2001) stated that in the UK, more than 80 percent of surveyed individuals claim that they look at labels and that label information affects their purchase decision. Most consumers also use information on nutrition labels the first time they purchase a product and this then becomes a source of new knowledge they can draw on in subsequent purchases. Baltas (2001) also stated nutritional attributes are, of course, only a subset of objective and perceived characteristics such as price, taste and brand name determining consumer preferences. Their relative importance for the determination of consumption patterns may vary not only over people, but also across product categories and purchase occasions. According to Mintel, (Food Packaging UK, 2008) the most important consideration for consumers is that the packaging to compost is not always realistic. Mintel also stated, Four in five shoppers agreed that the food inside was not accurately depicted on the packaging. Nearly as many confirmed that it was sometimes hard to tell how much food was inside the packaging. (Mintel, Food Packaging UK, 2008). Shoppers at discounters; Morrisons and the Co-op found it harder to tell the quantity of food from the packaging it looks as though these supermarkets could be more accurate in their own-label packaging. Consumers should be able to take a good look at the food item they are buying to get an idea what it looks like and how much it contains. (Mintel, Food Packaging UK, 2008). According to Mintel (2006), significant differences are evident between the attitudes of men and women towards food packaging. Almost two thirds of women, compared to just over half of men, say that labelling is important when deciding what to buy. Womens role as the key grocery purchaser in many households has removed the need for men to study labels more carefully when choosing what to buy. However, growth of one-person households is expected to bring mens attitudes towards packaging more in line with those of women, as an increasing number of men take responsibility for doing their grocery shopping. According to Mintel Report (Food Packaging, 2006), â€Å"Consumer attention on the environmental impact of packaging is set to continue, with further debate anticipated on the sustainability of different packaging systems and the environmental impact of reuse, recycling and incineration. Biodegradable plastics are already emerging and a gradual wider acceptance of the concept is expected, while the pressure to engineer improved performance whilst utilising less material resources will continue to exercise packaging manufacturers†. According to Montgomery (2008), a study by the Co-operative Bank revealed that more than a third of people surveyed are making cuts in their weekly shopping spend. â€Å"Were typically spending  £68.33 per adult on the weekly supermarket shop, compared with an average of  £89.88 in 2007†. Montgomery stated that, its no surprise that the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury, Waitrose and Asda are feeling the pinch. (Montgomery, 2008). She also explain that the two key items to have dropped off our shopping lists are flowers and magazines, while next on the hit list is bottled water, expensive handwash and CDs, followed by wine, teeth whitening products, fabric conditioner, unsliced bread and nail polish. (Montgomery, 2008). Emma Thomas, from the Co-operative Bank, commented: People are being more conservative in their spending and are finding that cutting back on luxury items can help make a difference. Developing a household budget is essential to keep spending in check and to identify ways costs can be trimmed. (Montgomery, 2008). â€Å"Thanks to the credit crunch, the budget supermarket chains, such as Cost-cutter, Aldi and Lidl, have been transformed from the haunt of cash-strapped students to the savvy housewifes favourite†. (Montgomery, 2008). Montgomery (2008) stated that, sales at Cost-cutter (budget supermarket) have grown by 6.2% so far this year. Lidl came out as the cheapest supermarket after a recent survey carried out by â€Å"Which?† magazine. Montgomery (2008) explains that in a price comparison of a typical shopping basket, the publication found that Aldi was 3% more expensive, while Tesco was 21% more expens

The Importance of Arts in Education

The Importance of Arts in Education To strive for excellence, schools ensure their provided education is impressive, compared to other independent school districts in the area, delivering the correct tools and necessities in education to prepare their students for the real world. Schools want students to choose from numerous amount of class options, programs and organizations their district provides. However, some hesitate keeping art programs such as band, theater, art, culinary, choir etc. in their district, simply because it will not be necessarily needed for their time in school when in fact, the arts, most specifically band, is proven to create a more affective impact on the brain than other arts improving cognitive development, verbal memory, mathematics, phonological awareness, reading development and other skills. Cognitive development is heavily proven when introduced to arts, resulting greater than those who are not artistically active. As a child, painting activities, drawing or dancing engage the brain to develop other complex ways of thinking when continued. How? They are natural forms of art. According to Author SousaThe arts are not just expressive and affective, they are deeply cognitive. They develop essential thinking toolspattern recognition and development; mental representations of what is observed or imagined; symbolic. This proves that something as simple as drawing, singing or dancing to a child, is more than increasing their mentality ability and developing different complex forms of thinking. Although the arts are often thought of as separate subjects, like chemistry or algebra, they really are a collection of skills and thought processes that transcend all areas of human engagement. (Sousa). Cognitive development plays a critical role in a childs future, leaving permanent ab ilities in and outside of school, keeping this gift through life because of effortless habits through childhood. Not only does musical training seek unique cognitive skills, musical training shares the same brain pathway process as mathematics therefore, is quite beneficial towards math. Music is closely connected to mathematics by ratios, proportions, music intervals, arithmetic progressions in music to geometric progressions in geometry, including the simplicity of counting one, two, three, four, in a measure. Researchers conducted a study that piano lessons would increase math scores, specifically focused on proportions and ratios which are difficult as an elementary student along with another group of student without piano lessons but with a computer software program. Four months after the study, the group of kids with musical training scored one-hundred sixteen percent higher on proportional mathematic skills than those without the musical training. According to Author Sousa, These findings are significant because proportional mathematics is not usually introduced until 5th or 6th grade an d because a grasp of proportional mathematics is essential to understanding science and mathematics at higher grade levels. Math is known as a complex core class and is a subject that society does not know that makes it a lot easier on kids who study music at a young age. Another study in California took in students with low socioeconomic skills who were not involved with music, take music lessons eighth through twelfth grade following a test that would determine if the involvement with music would benefit kids in the class. The results of the study shown the musical training increased their test scores in mathematics and scored significantly higher than those low socioeconomic students who were not involved in music. (Sousa). History and geography test scores were affected through the music lessons increasing by forty percent. Not only did the music lessons improve mathematic skills. But history and geography, which is beneficial for the other core classes in education. Music is greatly related to mathematics but yet, in addition can also have an advantage in reading development. Identical to the brains responsive connections between music and math, music comprehension picks up specifically reading skills, allowing the brain to recognize auditory memory in a very intricate and extraordinary way. Researchers suggest this relationship results because both music and written language involve similar decoding and comprehension reading processes(Sousa). Students reading fluency is finer when in constant musical training. The abilities of better reading development through art is an advantage in the classroom increasing test scores, and comprehensions compared to other kids who dont study music. With reading being another complex core class, it will ease students who suffer from reading difficulty in their future, especially since reading is an everyday action for every movement in our body through thought processes during the day. The arts assist many acts we do that we do not think of and expand our abilities as human beings to do certain activities with our brain others cannot. The arts create and benefit other skills that will determine how we perform in school to our education, followed by a project by the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Justice Department called the YouthARTS Development project. The program established young adults involved in art programs increased cooperation with others, optimistic viewpoints towards school, self esteem along with other positive feedback that will greatly benefit through the students school years. the arts teach students how to learn from mistakes and press ahead, how to commit and follow through.(Arts and Smarts). This proves the arts make useful tools and potential standards for students who will manage challenges and problems well, considering how difficult the task may be which will not only be useful in school, but in the real world. Fine arts are a ble to reduce dropout rates, create a sustainable and well-balanced individual increasing socioeconomic skills, and have a good sense of leadership. (According to Jessica Hoffman Davis from Harvard Graduate School of Education from Arts and Smarts)We have been so driven to measure the impact of the arts in education that we began to forget that their strength lies beyond the measurable . The statement made by Davis, proves we underestimate what the arts can really do what they can create within students apart of it. The arts do not make one smarter, but they can discover unlimited pathways of what a brain could really do when introduced to the studies of music. Parents want their kids to turn out to be well balanced adults, but would be impossible without the engagement of both left and right sides of the brain, therefore, will require introduction to the Arts. The education system lies pressure in the four common core classes, without any consideration of the Arts, simply because learning how to play a trumpet is irrelevant to interest in the medical field or dancing and singing will not require you to be a lawyer. School districts need to be more aware of the potential their students could have through the arts if they take the time and learn about how important and relevant arts are with education . The brain awaits undiscovered passage ways and skills,as the importance of arts are waiting to make a difference in education References Bryant, Bob. The Importance of Fine Arts. Katy Independent School District. Bob Bryant, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 17 Evans, Karen. Arts and Smarts. Greater Good, Karin Evans, 1 Dec. 2008, greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/arts_smarts Rodale, Ardath. Education: the human touch. Prevention, Oct. 2003, p. 180. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPSsw=wu=j020902v=2.1id=GALE%7CA108882595it=rasid=e9345db4ee24c3da8cbe281ea9b36868. Sousa, David A. How the arts develop the young brain: neuroscience research is revealing the impressive impact of arts instruction on students cognitive, social and emotional development. School Administrator, Dec. 2006, p. 26+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPSsw=wu=j020902v=2.1id=GALE%7CA156417562it=rasid=eb6b505e4a2204d78a0d342d22a3eda2.

Writing Style is Important Essay -- Writing Style Styles Essays

Writing Style is Important Contrary to popular conceptions of the term ‘style’, I have found that in the context of this class, as well as in the context of the books â€Å"Style Toward Clarity and Grace† by Joseph M. Williams and â€Å"The Elements of Style† by Strunk and White, that ‘style’ is not style in the sense that it is the way I write (in such as way as ‘everyone has their own unique style’). Style encompasses many elements to writing a cohesive, clear paper. However, I feel that in order to write a clear cohesive essay or paper, I must write in my own way, a way that I am familiar with. This may seem like it goes against something that would be in â€Å"The Elements of Style,† but it is not. Strunk and White clearly say in their book, â€Å"Write in a way that comes naturally.† (Strunk and White, 70). Even though Strunk and White say to write naturally, they contradict themselves later in the book. â€Å"Prefer the standard to the offbeat.† (Strunk and White, 81) is rather contradictory because I feel that if someone is going to write in a way that comes naturally, it can be offbeat, it can be different, and it can still be understood. Also, imaginative writing or experimental writing can help and create a better writer. Ravi’s Blog also addresses this issue, â€Å"It is much easier for me to be given a topic and write a formal essay on it than to push my writing outside conventional forms and really try something new. In order to succeed in the professional world, a writer needs to have a proficient command of standard English, but in order to explore ourselves and our relationships to one another, writers must find ways to break the mold.† (ravieng328.blogspot.com, October 7th entry). I think Ravi, as ment... ...at a lot of those rules are relative. That is to say my idea of wordy and breezy would be completely different then that of someone who will be reading this. I used to refer to my ‘style’ as the way I would write and the way my writing would be read personally. Now, after reading these books, I can see that there is more to style than just my own personality coming out in the writing. I can still have style, but I also need a different kind of style. I need the kind of style that is standard and recognized so that I will be more cohesive, more clear and write a better academically constructed paper. Works Cited http://ravieng328.blogspot.com Williams, Joseph M. Style Toward Clarity and Grace Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1990. Strunk, William and White, E.B. The Elements of Style: Fourth Edition Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2000, 1979.

Hockey vs. Football Essay -- Sports Compare Contrast Hockey Football E

Hockey vs. Football Football and hockey are two sports, which are similar in objective, but very different in their rules and guidelines. In each of these major sports there are rules and guidelines that the players must follow. The topics that will be covered are the weight differences between the players in football and hockey, the use of Creatine Monohydrate, and last the equipment restrictions. This first paragraph will discuss the weight difference between the players in the NFL (football) and the NHL (hockey). Although there is no written rule as to how much a player can weigh in either of the sports, there is the unwritten rule that the players and coaches follow. The average hockey player weighs about 185 pounds. The average weight of a full NHL hockey team consisting of 24 players is about 4,500 lbs. Coaches in the NHL do not want their players too weigh more than 200 though because as Mike Milbury the coach of the New York Islanders put it â€Å" when a player is as big as a football player (approx. 250 lbs.). It is harder for a player to move quickly and elude an upcoming check†. In the NFL, it is the opposite of the NHL. The coaches don’t want their players too weigh less than 200 pounds. The Punter/Kicker is the only position that it doesn’t really matter what the weight of player is. On average the weight of a NFL player is 250 lbs. The averag e team consisting of 48 players weighs about 12,000 lbs. This paragraph talks about a very controversial substanc...

Filmmaking Process

The filmmaking process is an extremely important, long, and complicated process. It usually takes between several months and several years. A film always starts with an original story idea, then a screenplay gets written, and then they shoot it. After that they edit the film and direct it. Then they distribute the film to its intended audience. There are also many people involved in the filmmaking process, from the directors to the cast, to the stage crew. The first step is coming up with the concept of the film, which is the idea. It could be an original story, or a remake. It could be part of a series. It could also come from a book or a play. Then they have to make an outline which describes the dramatic structure in each scene, called a step outline. This tells who will be where, what’s going to be said, and pretty much everything that happens in the film. They also set up all the scenes in the correct order. Then they make a twenty five to thirty five page paper describing the characters of the story and the mood. This is called a treatment. It contains stage direction and a little dialogue. It also has pictures so they have something to look at showing what the movies are going to do. This is the first step of the filmmaking process and really helps when it comes time to develop the screenplay. After this they start the screenplay. Writing the screenplay can take several months. They usually have to rewrite to improve things the dialogue, dramatization, characthers, structure, style, and to make it more clear. They develop screenplays in which the investers and other interested parties assess a process called script coverage. They have a film distributor look at it, and depending on how promising it looks, they guess how much financial help the film needs and how much it will get. Then they figure out the genre of the film, the target audience, success of films that were similar, and the success of the actors, actresses, and directors in previous films. These factors show how much the film will appeal to the target audience. Then they come together and form a film pitch. If the film pitch goes through and is successful, then they have financial backing to make the film. Then they make up contracts for everyone involved. At this time, only the second step, they’ve already developed their marketing strategy, which is how they advertise the film. They also have their target audience. Next is pre-production. During this stage every part of the filmmaking process is designed and planned out. The production is also storyboarded, in which the visual helps the concept artist and the illustrators. Then they have to make up a production budget. This is how much they plan on spending, and it includes insurance in case there is an accident. Then they start hiring their crew. The amount of people varies. If it is an important movie, like a Harry Potter movie, it would have over one hundred people. If it was a smaller film it could include just eight or nine people. The first member of the crew is the director. The director is responsible for all the creative decisions and story telling, as well as the acting. The director yells out action and cut. After the director there is an assistant director, who manages the logistics of the film, including the shooting schedule. There is also a casting director who auditions actors for the characters, deciding who embodies which character best. The photography director supervises the photography during the film. The audiography director makes sure all the sound in the film is correct. The location manager takes care of where the film is located. Although most parts are shot in a studio, there are some things that need to be shot off location. There is also a composer who decides when music should play, how loudly, and what to play. The production designer takes care of the visual conception of the film while the art director manages the building of the set and props. The costume designer creates the clothing for the actors and actresses, and usually ends up having to work closely with them. There is also a hair and makeup designer, who styles each of the actors, making sure they look the same each time. There is also a choreagorapher. As is usual for a choreagorapher they create dances and fight scenes, as well as regular movements. After all of these people are hired they are ready for production. The next part is production. Production is the most grueling part of filmmaking. The cast and crew can frequently spend 12 or more hours on the set, filming only three or four pages of script, often in very uncomfortable ocations. This goes on for days, weeks, months with the same schedule day after day, review dailies (the footage shot yesterday), shoot today’s footage, prepare for tomorrow’s filming. For many people though, this is the most exhilarating part of production and this is indeed where â€Å"the magic happens. † Yet to some people it sometimes seems strange that a movie that will eventually only occupy two hours onscreen could take months to film. However, it does, and here’s just a few of the reason why. The first reason is lighting. One of the single most important elements to a film’s visual appearance is lighting. However perfect lighting does not exist and takes time to create. Lighting must be made consistent (or inconsistent depending) and mood-enhancing, yet remain unobtrusive. It takes a great deal of planning and then man-hours by electricians and their assistants to create a light set-up for even a small set. The next reason is location. Sometimes it is possible to film an entire movie on a sound stage, however, more than likely it requires some traveling. Since science has yet to create a teleportation device and all the magicians who know how to do it won’t reveal their secrets unless televised on broadcast television, it can take huge amounts of time to transport the cast and crew to even one location per day. There are probably close to 100 people involved in a major film, excluding crowd scene extras and so on, as well as literally tons of equipment to go along with them. Another reason is weather. Mother Nature doesn’t really care about Hollywood and can quite frequently hamper production. Usually it is no more than a rain storm that stops production for a day or two, or a heat wave that causes shorter work days. But sometimes weather can be extremely costly. Such was the case of Kevin Costner’s Waterworld that saw entire sets destroyed and sunk by sea storms that not only seriously delayed the production, but also pushed the budget sky-high. Previously I mentioned that lighting is one of the most important elements in a movie. In addition to lighting, and of course the actors, cinemotography is the key element in a film’s visual appearance. Though it takes years of either schooling or job experience to truly learn how to film well, there are a few basic pointers that anyone with a camera and eye towards making something better than a jerky home movie should know (because seriously, those â€Å"How to Film† videos they hand out now when you buy a camcorder are really just a twenty minutes session in which they try to sell you all the accessories). After production there is post-production, which is basically editing. Post-Production involves every step after primary filming, editing and corrections, and reshoots. The process of reshooting is simple enough in concept (though perhaps not in actual process) that we can skip that one which leaves editing and corrections. Editing serves two purposes. First, the logistics of production often make it impossible to film in sequence. And even in the extremely rare case where a story is filmed in order, there are still numerous takes and unnecessary footage between the good shots. Thus, editing serves to eliminate this unwanted footage and to place the events in a coherent order. Second, even simple actions take up a great deal of time on film. For example imagine a sequence of a person getting dressed. In real life this process takes about five minutes. Five minutes in the course of the human life is insignificant, but five minutes in the course of a two hour movie is a horrendous amount of time to spend on meaningless action. If that same person pulled clothes out of a closet and in the next shot walked into the kitchen, the obvious conclusion the audience will make is said person got dressed. Thus editing can serve to eliminate tedious and unnecessary footage so that the audience may focus on the story. Editing can also serve to create. The human eye, when viewing a scene does not remain stationary. Watch two people talking, your eye will jump from person to person to watch speech or gauge reaction. You’ll find it extremely difficult to watch both at the same time and you could end up cross-eyed. Editing also serves to mimic this action of selective viewing. When a conversation between two people is put on film, it is filmed (usually) by switching back and forth between the characters to again, watch speech or gauge reaction. The natural switching back and forth is unobtrusive because in reality, you do it all the time. Thus editing serves to place shots into a coherent storyline, eliminate unnecessary footage, and create better flow. Other examples of techniques in which the editing serves more interesting purposes are parallel editing and montage. Parallel editing is a technique in which two separate scenes are shown to take place at the same time. To do this, the editor cuts the two scenes together switching from one to the other. This is often used in scenes where the character is racing against time, such as the bomb’s clock counting down as the character tries to get out of the building. A montage sequence is another technique in which extremely short shots are edited together in quick succession to create general emotion. Editing is not the entirety of post-production however. Once the picture is edited into its final narrative form, there are hundreds of tiny elements that need to be tweaked. Occasionally, different light schemes will produce different colors between shots, the differences are always slight, however, they need to be corrected to create continuity between shots. This process is called color-correction. Titles and credits, a key part to any movie, are also designed and added. Also at this stage any computer generated effects are added to footage, though in truth this will happen before the scene is edited. While these visual components are polished, the audio portions of the film are tweaked elsewhere. Very rarely are the audio components you hear in the theater the sounds recorded during footage. Audio is recorded onto a separate track, which is kept in time with the footage via a sync machine (this is so your movie doesn’t end up looking like a cheap dubbing job). The microphones used to record the actors voices are extremely precise in their range, they pick up sound only from the air immediately in front of the actor. This keeps the voice quality as high possible. Later on, background is added in when it can be adjusted to suitable levels. So if two characters are walking amidst a midnight orchard replete with singing nightbirds, the dialogue is really the only noise recorded at the time. The other noises, the crickets, nightbirds and the wind, are either recorded at the same location or elsewhere and then added in so that the night wildlife only adds to the mood of the scene, rather than drowning out the speech of the characters. The final steps are distribution and release. They either sell the movie to a company who will release it in cinemas, or to one who will make it go out on DVD. They create movie trailers, posters, and other things to advertise the upcomoing film. The night the film is realeased it is celebrated with a launch party, and then if it is in cinemas, it will get released on DVD a few months later. In the end the distribution and production companies split the profit. As you can see, filmmaking is a very complicated process.

A look into Brave New World Essay

Many times there is an underlying topic to a novel and what it truly means. For Brave New World, there are many underlying ideas as to the makeup of Aldous Huxley’s novel. For example, themes like science, sex, power, freedom and confinement, drugs and alcohol, society and class, and dissatisfaction as different themes that Huxley produces in the novel. Also there could be many symbols in the novel including, bottles and Ford. Not only are these themes and symbols throughout the novel, but there also could be a direct tie to Brave New World with Freud. Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World is about a futuristic society where humans are made from bottles that go through a brainwashing after their growth in a bottle. Each citizen is instructed to serve the community, they are there to be consumers and workers and to do their job. The bottles are placed in a caste, and according to each caste is how they are to grow up and become a part of society. For example, the Alphas are one of a kind; they are smart, tall and muscular. Contrasting, the Epsilons are grown in batches of 100 identical dumb, ugly and short humans. In order to keep the five castes separate, all but the Alphas are given harmful substances to keep them â€Å"stupid.† In the novel, Mustapha Mond states â€Å"The optimum population†¦ Is modeled on the iceberg- eight-ninths below the water line, one-ninth above (Huxley, 223)† Mond claims that those under the water line are actually happier than those above it, another reason being that those in the upper castes are more seen and are the face of the society whereas those in the lower casts are of non-importance. In both Brave New World and in Freud’s studies, there is a lot of focus on the sexual aspect of human life. In Brad Buchanan’s article â€Å"Oedipus in Dystopia: Freud and Lawrence in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World† Buchanan claims that throughout Huxley’s life, he often rejected Freud and his ideas, however, the tone of Brave New World speaks otherwise (Buchanan, 75). Freud studies the psychosexual stages throughout a child’s life; this idea relates to the life that Huxley portrays in his novel. In Brave New World, sex is a major focus in the community’s day-to-day activities, no one gets married, and everyone can â€Å"have† everyone. There are no direct ties to each other, and there is no problem of over population because of all the babies being made in bottles on the assembly line. This creates a power in the makers’ ability, because the babies are made to their specification. Power is another theme in Brave New World. In the novel, the citizens are brainwashed to be happy with the laws and not to â€Å"fight the man† when it comes to changing the laws because they have been programmed to love the laws and their entirety. This power is bolstered by the endless supply of drugs, the ability to be promiscus, the denial of history or future as any alternative to the present, and with the brainwashing at a young age. This is directly influenced by the freedom and confinement theme within the novel. Citizens are always in a state of imprisonment, but because they have been conditioned to love their servitude, no one seems to have any problems with it. This also creates the theme of dissatisfaction. This society leaves something to be wanted, mostly individuality, passion and love because individuals have been programed to be happy, those who do feel this dissatisfaction are confused by it and completely unsure of how to act. Most of the individuals that are experiencing dissatisfaction are often turned to drugs. In Brave New World, soma is used quite frequently throughout the novel. Soma is described as the perfect drug; for example, it has all of the benefits (calming, surrealistic and 10-hour long highs) without all of the negatives (no guilt or hangovers). Like the early brainwashing, the citizens are also conditioned to love this drug, and they use it to escape any momentary bouts of dissastification. Along with the many themes throughout the novel, there are also many symbols that correlate with them. One symbol is the bottle, if taken in a way that we see these bottles today, this could be an extreme designer baby technique. This symbol of the bottle could be that if designer babies become even larger than they already are, that an entire society will be completely made up of these â€Å"designer babies†. Ford as a symbol in the novel reveals the new world’s value system. Henry Ford is famous for the perfection of mass production and the assembly line. In the new world, humans are mass-produced and grown with the help of the assembly line. With Ford as the new world’s deity, efficiency, production, and consumerism are the most important values whereas with a more traditional deity, morality, compassion and piety are the most important values. Even though, the new world may seem like a place of happiness and carefree living, it is warped beyond all being. There are many themes in the novel with a symbol that could correlate to the true meaning of what the novel means. Works Cited Buchanan, Brad â€Å"Oedipus in Dystopia: Freud and Lawrence in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World† Journal of Modern Literature. 25.3/4. (2002) 75-89. Print Huxley, Aldous Brave New World. New York: 1946. Print.