by Herman Bailey | Jun 18, 2023 | Essays |
Introduction
During the World War 1, about 10 million soldiers and 7 million civilians lost their lives (Poetry Foundation 1). The aftermath of the war and its horrors made the poets, film actors and writers to respond in new ways to the losses and the brutalities. The World War I poets set about shattering long-standing war myths – its honor, glory, camaraderie and so on. The poets did not write in praise of the heroes, nor about their lands, deed, power, dominion, majesty, might, honor, or glory except war, that the pity of war. The poems before World War 1 praised old virtues of glory, heroism, duty and honor while the after war poems debunked from these myths. The poems after 1915 were skeptical to these lofty abstractions and had moral elusiveness through bitter irony and realism. These war myths will be discussed as well as how the poets tried to debunk them (Poetry Foundation 1). Also, consideration to what extent the War poets were successful and whether people still believe in some of these myths will be examined. Through depictions of the horrific battle in poetry, the later poems after World War 1 mark a significant shift in how we view sacrifice and war.
There have been many long-standing war myths for a very long time such as glory, heroism, duty, camaraderie and honor. Packer pointed out that in 1914, the ancient verities of glory and honor were still standing when the soldier-poets of England matched off to France to fight (para 1). Many of the poets who fought in the trenches died in war while still believing in the war myths or still tied to the 19th-century conventions while trying to express the industrial warfare’s unprecedented horror.
The war myths were widespread as cited by Packer, who pointed out a story in a newspaper of a London man who committed suicide because he was concerned that he might not be recruited in the Great War service. Similarly, Packer highlighted the story of Tim O’Brien, an opponent of Vietnam War, who was a liberal supporter to McCarthy Eugene, who lives in Minnesota town and was aged twenty-one years. Tim O’Brien submitted voluntarily to the United States Army for induction. He could not bring himself to go against the odd balance between the people he knew, the order he knew and his own private world. In his Vietnam memoir of 1973, Tim O’Brien wrote that if he died in the combat zone, it was not that he valued the order, but also he feared its other side. That is the inevitable censure, chaos, and the embarrassment. This shows how Tim O’Brien feared dishonor after the Great War (para 2).
Parker also highlighted the story of Brian Turner and what led him to volunteer for United States army, and to go ahead to war in Iraq as the team leader of infantry. Turner stated that he joined the infantry by signing the papers because, at one point in the life of a hero, he is supposed to say “I swear.” He further stated that he swore those words because he would have been ashamed in the future years he could not have done that, even if anyone he cares most ever given thought about it, or even if it did not make sense. This shows how Turner believed in the war myths of being a hero by joining the military and going to war (Para 3).
The Week defined poetry as the spontaneous overflow of the feelings that are powerful. There is no human experience area that has generated a large, powerful feelings like war (para 1). These powerful feelings include hatred, humiliation and exhilaration, fear and hope not only for the war profiteers but also to the generals and the enemy. Similarly, love feelings were generated for the children and women left behind, for the fellow soldiers, for the cause and the country too (The Week 1). The poets tried to debunk these myths in several ways as illustrated by different poems and poets.
The poem of “To His Love,” by Ivor Gurney does not praise the common themes in a war like the heroes, their lands, deed, power, dominion, majesty, might, honor, or glory. The poem “To His Love” by Gurney begins as an elegy lamenting the demise of a comrade and a friend who has fallen. The poems take a monolog form where the poet speaks to the girlfriend or the fiancé of the fallen soldier. He mourns and have regret that neither he nor the fiancé will ever have the pleasure of getting company of the dead soldier again.
The title of the poem, “To His Love “is addressed to the fiancée of the fallen soldier. The poem does not follow the traditional praises of heroes, but the narrator is mourning
The poem begins with a sad and blunt loss statement where the poet explains that a man who was loved passed away. Their plans they had with the deceased are not meaningless. Moreover, they will never meander around the hills in England.
“He’s gone, and all our plans
Are useless indeed.
We’ll walk no more on Cotswolds”
In the second stanza, Gurney contrast between the beautiful scene that is peaceful and horror in the war when he was a soldier. He is not praising gallant fighting in the war but instead praises the peaceful scenery.
“His body that was so quick
Is not as you
Knew it, on Severn River
Under the blue
Driving our small boat through.”
In the fourth stanza, the audience is lulled to believe that “Cover him, cover him soon” shows a burial to the dead soldier that is honorable or out of the intense love for a comrade soldier. However, the truth is that the dead body is not even recognizable, and there is desperation to hide the corpse that is shredded. Gurney, in fact, described the body as “red wet/ Thing.” The author is hopeful that someday he will able to forget the bloody, shredded body vision. Memory repression is the hope of the author when stated that “Thing I must somehow forget.”
In summary, the poem “To His Love,” by Ivor Gurney shows how it debunked form long standing war myths by describing the narrator’s profound sense of loss. The violence of the war transformed the body of his friend. He is of the opinion that the death of his friend was noble, but the vision of the disfigured he sees in his memory should cover in “violets of pride.” However, in the end, the narrator is struggling to banish the picture of the body from his thoughts.
Just like in the poem of “To His Love,” the poem of “On passing the new Menin Gate” by Siegfried Sassoon also does not praise the common themes in a war like the heroes, their lands, deed, power, dominion, majesty, might, honor, or glory. To tone of the poet in the poem of “On passing the new Menin Gate” is one of contempt and disgust. Sassoon wrote the poem to the civilians around the globe who have an interest in World War 1. The poet begins by accusing the civilians and the reader by questioning immediately and directly
Who will remember, passing through this Gate,
The unheroic Dead who fed the guns?
This beginning accuses the civilians and the reader of neglecting of honoring “the dead” properly. The poet is mourning because there is no one to “absolve” the men. That is they cannot be offered Cristian burial that is proper because they went missing
Sassoon suggests that the gate of the “Sepulchre of crime” degrades the men who went missing, whose memory has been reduced to what he called “nameless names.” That is, there are several names on the gate that individuality of a dead soldier is erased and the list of names become meaningless.
Similar, the author debunks the common myths in the war of praising the heroes of soldiers by stating that the gate is criminal. This is because of the hypocrisy being practiced by the authorities who erected it. “Their name liveth for evermore’ the Gateway claims.” The intentional use of “claim” in the poem shows that the gate is representing a false mourning and honor. This is further contrasted by the dead’s imagery that “”struggled in the slime” and “endured that sullen swamp.”
Given that Sassoon wrote the poem after the war, it shows the scars that were left by the soldiers who survived the war, who felt, that their sacrifices went unrecognized and unpaid.
Another poem that debunked the long held war myths was “The Rear-guard” by Siegfried Sassoon. This poem described an event during the Arras battle in 1917 where the narrator gives a description of a soldier who is desperately trying to make an escape from the underground tunnels that are polluted. The senses of the soldier have been compromised, and he is trying to get some air of the night on the battlefield. The poem brings out the real sense of terror and horror and does not embrace the traditional war myths such as glory, heroism, duty, camaraderie and honor (Sassoon 1).
The poem does not bring the wars rosy picture on the western front. The poet joined the British army out of an intense sense of patriotism at the beginning of World War 1. Through this poem, the reader gets to know that the romantic notion of war is not real since it reflects the war’s harsh realities that have been covered by the propaganda or war. The theme of the poem being brought out is the humanity ignorance resulted in great suffering, which is a tragedy.
The first stanza of the poem describes the “patching glare” that indicates light but also shows the tunnels foulness with the description of “unwholesome air.” The unwholesome air most likely is describing the smell of decomposing dead bodies of gas attack (Sassoon 1). In the second stanza, the narrator describes the old luxuries and comfort such as the mattress from the bed, the smashed mirror. It is evident that in the tunnels men were living. “Rosy gloom” also stood out in the poem sine they are opposite each other. Rosy suggest rose color that shows hope or a promising future while gloom suggests darkness, dejection, hopelessness or lowness in spirit. This shows the soldiers feeling; trying to be hopeful but war showing hopelessness. Similarly, it describes the gloomy dark tunnels interrupted by the flashlights of the soldier that create rosiness (Sassoon 1).
In the third stanza, the soldier trips which shows that he is still not aware of his surroundings. The soldier is also described as an envying comrade who is sleeping. He asks where he could get the headquarters, but he does not get a reply. Out of frustration, he yells to show his annoyance. “For days he’d had no sleep,” in the parentheses shows the soldiers envy of the man sleeping and his impatience (Sassoon 1). He was impatient because the sleeping man could not answer him and envious because for many days he has not been able to sleep.
In the fourth stanza, the soldier realizes that he is ignorant for asking help from a dead man to guide him through the tunnels that are stinking. The poem depicts the terror of war as the stanza shows that the poet has no one to turn to. Finally, in the last stanza, the soldier realizes that he has to make an escape on his own. The poem has debunked from the war myths of praising heroes to bring out the terror in war (Sassoon 1).
It is believed that to a large extent, the war poets were successful in debunking the popularly held beliefs and myths of war. Many writers and poet post the Iraq and Afghanistan wars also come out to debunk the commonly held war myths. For instance, Parker highlighted the case of Kevin Powers who joined the army with a belief that it will make him a man (para 3). Many soldier-writers who came out to write their post-war stories after navigating through several clichés. Their central theme is the horror of war because war starts in illusions ends in tears and blood. The soldiers go to war for the cause of their country and wind up battling for one another. As Sassoon stated, soldiers are dreamers because no soldier returns home the same person from war. War has no truth, just the experience of each soldier. Also, it opens a gap that is unbridgeable between the civilians and soldiers (para 4).
However, it is evident that people still believe in these myths because many young people continue joining the military to be heroes, because they are patriotic to their country, because of honor, their lands, deed, power, dominion, majesty, might, honor, or glory. However, after the war, many soldiers face horror and come to the realization that the patriotic propaganda was just war myths.
Work cited
Poetry Foundation,. ‘The Poetry Of World War I By The Editors’. Poetryfoundation.org. N.p., 2015. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.< http://www.poetryfoundation.org/article/248460>
The Week,. ‘Twelve Great First World War Poems’. The Week UK. N.p., 2015. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.< http://www.theweek.co.uk/arts-life/59798/twelve-great-first-world-war-poems>
Maxwell, Glyn. ‘Ivor Gurney’S “To His Love”’. The Paris Review. N.p., 2015. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.< www.theparisreview.org/blog/2013/11/11/glyn-maxwell-on-to-his-love/ >
Packer, George. ‘Home Fires – The New Yorker’. The New Yorker. N.p., 2014. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.< http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/04/07/home-fires-2 >
Sassoon, Siegfried. ‘The Rear-Guard By Siegfried Sassoon : The Poetry Foundation’. Poetryfoundation.org. N.p., 2015. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.< http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/248320>
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
by Herman Bailey | Jun 17, 2023 | Essays |
Critical thinking is an independent way of thinking which takes into account various factor or elements of the matter in question. Decisions made under critical thinking undergo the full processes of evaluating causes and implications of any matter before arriving at any decision. Critical thinking is reflective mode of reasoning aimed at deciding on what to believe and what not to believe in. It is a process, which involves conceptualizing, analyzing, applying and synthesizing information available hence making a sound deduction based on facts. Critical thinking is a mode of reasoning which all learning institutions and organizations around the globe are expected to embrace.
Using critical thinking skills has enhanced quality decision-making for a variety of reasons. Firstly, critical thinking have allowed me to accurately put together my problems that necessitates making a decision, and in doing so, I have been able to gather up significant data that is useful towards problem solving. With the problem clearly defined and relevant data on the same available for assessment, I am always able to reason intelligently and creatively to come up with the best quality decision as per the occasion.
Critical thinking allowed me to arrive at decisions impacts majorly on my life and those of people close to me. Critical thinking therefore, requires one to distinguish the premises upon which his/her predispositions lie. This level of thinking is achieved in the lineage of education where one advances thus intensifying the much information he/she has. Dr. Martin Luther King reflects this in his quote “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education” (King, Luker & Harlan, 1992). This enables one to unmask the errors of prejudice, withdraw emotional thinking and hence exercise intellectual habitual.
The learning environment is considered one of major beneficiaries of critical or areas where it is largely applied. This because all the information or knowledge passed to students of any level require high levels of evaluation to ascertain what is wrong or right. In any learning process, students are involved in arguments, which are expected to constructive enough to attain the intended purpose of such arguments.
Some of the fundamental critical thinking skills that are taught to learners in the early stage of education include the reading, writing and speaking skills. As the learner advances from the basic primary stage of education to the secondary and tertiary levels, the academic skills that they are expected to master are become more intricate in nature. In my study, I have had to muster several academic skills to ensure my success. Some of the most significant include academic thinking, creativity, media literacy and oral presentation. More often than not, some of these fundamental skills are not taught at higher levels of education since most tutors assume that learners have already acquired them in the earlier stages of learning. It is therefore up to the learner to find out their weak points and work towards improving them. My weaknesses include being egocentric, self-interested thinking, self-serving biasness, socio-centrism, and confirmation biasness.
I plan to move out of my current stage of development in critical thinking by eliminating the barriers. I will have to deal with the egocentrism, which is tendency to perceive reality as revolving around oneself. I normally tend to concentrate on my own interests and think that my values and ideas are superior to those held by other people. Another barrier to critical thinking that I have to eliminate is self-interested thinking that entails supporting conclusions because they fit into my interests. Self-serving bias is also another barrier to critical thinking, and it refers to tendency to overrate oneself. This is brought by the fact that I normally think that I am above average. Another barrier to critical thinking that I will deal with is confirmation bias, which refers to the practice of bending evidence in order to fit one’s beliefs. Socio-centrism is another barrier to critical thinking, and it made me to focus excessively on the group.
Reference
King, M. L., Luker, R. E., & Harlan, L. R. (1992). The papers of Martin Luther King, Jr: January 1929 – June 1951 / vol. ed. Ralph E. Luker, Penny A. Russell; advisory ed. Louis R. Harlan. Berkeley: University of California Press.
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
by Herman Bailey | Jun 17, 2023 | Essays |
Introduction
According to Jaffe (2005), advertising is the art of creating awareness of or spreading about business in the consumers’ minds. In most instances, advertising is mainly to create awareness, but it can also solicit the sale of a product or service eventually. Traditional advertising incorporates billboards, newspapers, radios, and magazines. Social media marketing and traditional advertising are effective tools for marketing. According to Tuten & Solomon (2013), social media is the technology connecting people through chat or sharing something. Some examples of social networks include Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, among others, and they create platforms where social interactions occur, that is, discovering and sharing. Evans (2008) defined social media marketing as using technology to build relationships, attract new customers, and drive repeat businesses by sharing with friends or through friends. Social media marketing is simply word of mouth powered by technology and is also a great way of attracting new customers and driving new customers. The essay will discuss social media marketing compared to traditional advertising.
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Traditional advertising tries to find and convert new prospects into customers, while social media marketing values existing customers as the best assets.
In traditional marketing, marketers use different techniques to attract new customers to the business to buy goods and services. For instance, traditional marketing methods such as application posters and banners to advertise a product to prospecting customers are designed to channel new customers to a business rather than keeping the customers. A potential customer will read the poster and get directed to the business premises for goods and services (Egendorf, 2006). However, there are mechanisms for retaining customers or reminding them to come back or refer friends. Rapid technological advancement has changed how people are influenced and how marketers influence people. Evans (2010) described it as less than doing the same things but using new techniques and tools. Marketing is the business of selling and promoting products and services (Silverberg et al., 1998). In traditional marketing, marketers spend their limited time and resources trying to find and convert new prospects. D.E. Visuals et al. (2011) indicated that keeping the customers hard-earned in traditional marketing was often an afterthought. This is because, until recently, there was little marketers could do to keep their existing customers. Historically, the best the marketers could do after converting a prospect into a customer was to provide a great experience to the customer with the hope that the customer will return to purchase more of the goods, in addition to bringing their friends along. However, advancements in technology brought about social media, which changed how marketing and advertising are done.
According to Zarrella (2010), social media marketing is all about recognizing existing customers as a business’s best assets. In social media marketing, for example, the use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter, a business will market or advertise its products online, attracting and retaining customers through a subscription to the company’s email or by liking their Facebook fan page. By retaining their customers, the business can communicate with their clients with new products and deals every time they are posted online on their social media platforms. This shows how in social media marketing, customers are the business’s best assets. With the application of technology in marketing, how consumer behaviors are influenced has been enabled both after and before the sale. With easy-to-use and low-cost tools like social media and email, businesses no longer need not worry that a customers will come back or even come along with their friends. This is because it is now possible for a business to reach out to their existing customers either through social media or even email to remind them to come back. Falls & Deckers (2012) asserted that social media marketing is as easy as clicking the like, share, or tweet buttons.
In summary, a successful business understands that marketing does not just end after the sale but instead begins after the first sale.
Social media marketing is aggressive in marketing, while traditional advertising is a wiser strategy in marketing.
According to Funk (2013), a growing majority of companies that deal with consumer goods and services have an increasing shift in spending on social media marketing away from the traditional advertising methods such as outdoor, print, radio, and television. The proliferation of the social media marketing alternatives such as mobile, YouTube, apps, search engines, and online advertising is attracting money that was traditionally budgeted on traditional advertising. According to Zimmerman & Ng (2013), social media marketing is very aggressive because they grab headlines and attract potential clients like moths to a flame. Social marketing adverts are everywhere on the internet with the huge traffic of people who surf the internet, and they tend to catch the attention of the internet users. Moreover, most marketers who use social media marketing design online adverts with very catchy phrases, blinking pop-ups, and other ways to attract people to their websites. However, Barefoot & Szabo (2010) pointed out that social media marketing operates under the same rules as traditional advertising. For instance, the techniques for television testing can also be applied to commercials posted on social media platforms, regardless of where they will be aired. Similarly, the static banner ads and social media posts are similar to the print ads used in traditional advertising and can be evaluated.
Mastery of the traditional media form of advertising by companies, especially the outdoor, radio, and television, is a far wiser strategy than social media advertising. Over the past recent years, Zyman & Brott (2002) noted that traditional advertising has been suffering from a trend toward social media promotional expenditures consuming the marketing budget’s larger share. Many companies that deal in consumer goods are spending less on advertising with the hope that one advert on social media platforms may go viral and accomplish their company advertising miracles on a very low budget. Cappo (2003) argued that the decline in traditional advertising by most companies had created an opportunity for companies that can appreciate traditional advertising power. As much as social media advertising is very aggressive, Williams, Lee & Haugtvedt (2004) believe they can be part of a good media mix but still play second fiddle to the traditional media. This is because mastery of the traditional media, mainly outdoor, radio, and television advertising, is a far wider strategy because it repeats a message over and over to the consumer until it becomes part of the consumer’s mind in making decisions on the purchase of goods. For instance, in television advertising, there is a combination of sound, color, and motion in an advert which has a great impact and creates awareness widely and swiftly. Moreover, it is more effective and wise if the higher share of goods were tested amongst the consumers before being aired.
Both social media marketing and traditional advertising complement each other and should be applied together for a greater impact and effectiveness. Traditional advertising relies on one-way communication, while social media marketing relies on two-way communication.
According to Jaffe (2005), traditional media heavily relied on a one-to-many paradigm; that is, a band or a company creates a message and then transmits the message to the masses through signage, radio, print, or broadcast. For example, a company creates an advert that is aired in broadcasts, such as a detergent that will make the clothes brighter or a toothpaste that will make the teeth whiter. The assumption is that the company making advertisement design truthful and correct, and the consumer watching the advert is to believe the brand message. This is a one-way communication system that does not work to promote word of mouth or create engagement. The consumer has no platform to ask questions, enquire more about the products, or give feedback or comments. Egendorf (2006) asserted that these are the hallmarks that social media marketing capitalizes on since they can engage and interact with the company, unlike lies and propaganda in traditional advertising. In traditional advertising, the generic message in the advert shows that the company does not care about the consumers since it does not give them a way of talking back to the company. The consumers are meant to be passive consumers of the message, which does not provide a strong motivation to do something, let alone buy the brand. Given that the consumer cannot talk back, the company never learned if the consumer would love the brand if it only came in a different color, smaller or larger size, had more features, or was simpler. Therefore, the brands marketed using traditional advertising are likely to fail because they do not understand or know what the consumer wanted and did not provide it (Silverberg et al., 1998).
On the other hand, social media provides consumers with a platform to engage the company and talk back, which is two-way communication. For example, a company advertises its product line on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other social media platforms. Consumers can question the features, prices, sizes, colors, and many more. Tuten & Solomon (2013) stated that the company, rather than getting the brand messages, will be able to get recommendations from friends and consumers in the form of recommended posts and re-shares, which de-commercializes the messages of the brand. According to Evans (2008), social media create a word-of-mouth form of advertising by encouraging re-shares which amplify a brand message and increase reach. Compared to traditional brand messages, word of mouth is more powerful since 92% of consumers tend to believe more word of mouth.
One-way communication in traditional advertising makes the brand right before the eyes of the consumer. Still, two-way communication in social media marketing is perfect for reaching a larger market.
Pros of Facebook, a social media tool
Facebook, one of the tools used in social media advertising, has many advantages compared to other traditional advertising tools such as billboards, newspapers, radio, and magazines. To begin, Facebook is free for a business to set up by simply creating an account. According to Evans (2010), the real costs a company will incur are the resources and time they need in creating their companies social media policies and online management strategy of reputation, finding and updating exciting and fresh content, setting up the sites, monitoring and updating the account regularly as well as promoting it to find new and potential customers to the business. There is also the ability of one-on-one interactions on Facebook as a tool for social media marketing. This is because Facebook allows companies to chat or dialogue with their clients and potential clients in a manner that some traditional advertising tools cannot. Zarrella (2010) stated that the conversational nature of Facebook as a social media marketing tool allows businesses to breathe life into their brands and connect to their customers one–on–one. The business will be able to respond to people’s feedback and comments and post on time. According to Falls & Deckers (2012), Facebook, by its very nature as a tool for social media marketing, can be useful in driving prequalified traffic to a company’s website. Therefore, the people who follow the company’s social pages indicate that they are interested in the company. Therefore, the company, through its Facebook fan page, should entice people to visit its website by running exclusive promotions and posting new productions on its Facebook fan page. Another advantage of Facebook, a social media marketing tool, is that it is flexible with its campaigns. This is possible by adding or deleting promotions or making changes to the campaigns via the sites for networking at a moment’s notice with minimal time required for setup. This is impossible with traditional advertising tools such as television, radio, and print, and the business has limitations on the changes it can make without incurring extra costs (Funk, 2013). Lastly, Facebook can measure the results. The company can evaluate its Facebook campaigns through the network analytic software called Facebook insights. The company will be able to use its Facebook fan page metrics, such as the number of people who clicked or even shared their links with their communities. Moreover, we can also see the network which referred the highest traffic to their websites (Zimmerman & Ng, 2013). Barefoot & Szabo (2010) asserted that the success of traditional advertisement tools such as billboards, and radios may be harder to measure.
The essay acknowledges that Facebook as a tool and a platform for social media marketing has considerable benefits to a brand or a company. However, this section of the essay refutes the assertions that Facebook, as a tool in social media, has many advantages compared to any other traditional advertising tools such as billboards, newspapers, radio, and magazines. To begin, Facebook is currently having rising public struggles with its algorithm for its news feed and marketing approach. May companies with their brands find that subscribers who signed up for their regular updates do not get or see the updates (Tuten & Solomon, 2013). Moreover, Facebook is closely moving to pay only platform for marketing. Therefore, the days are numbered if it is a company that enjoys a free Facebook platform to access its broad fan base (Evans, 2008). According to Evans (2010), the Facebook platform is time-consuming, especially for business owners. The problem is that when the business owners do not do it properly, all their marketing efforts and time will be useless. Lastly, Zarrella (2010) argued that Facebook also generates negative users by attracting all sorts of people, including malicious and negative ones. They include trolls, scammers, and spammers with intentions to harm the business’s reputation through negative comments against a brand.
As much as Facebook is a good platform for social marketing from its large base of fans, it can be detrimental to a business or business when negative comments or posts go viral.
Conclusion
In conclusion, social media marketing and traditional advertising are effective marketing mediums that boost a brand, increase sales, and create a large clientele base. The essay compared and contrasted social media marketing and traditional advertising. The essay found that Traditional advertising tries to find and convert new prospects into customers while social media marketing values its existing customers as the best assets. Social media marketing in marketing is more aggressive, while traditional advertising is a wiser strategy to employ marketing. Moreover, Traditional advertising relies on one-way communication while social media marketing relies on two-way communication. The essay further discussed the pros of Facebook as a tool in social media marketing and refuted the argument with a counterargument. Overall, social media marketing and traditional marketing have both advantages and disadvantages. However, all are viable and effective in marketing a brand.
References
Barefoot, D., & Szabo, J. (2010). Friends with benefits: A social media marketing handbook. San Francisco, Calif: No Starch Press.
Cappo, J. (2003). The future of advertising: New media, new clients, new consumers in the post-television age. Chicago, Ill: McGraw-Hill.
D.E. Visuals (Firm), Films for the Humanities & Sciences (Firm), & Films Media Group. (2011). Traditional Print and Online Advertising. New York, N.Y: Films Media Group.
Egendorf, L. K. (2006). Advertising. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press.
Evans, D. (2008). Social media marketing: An hour a day. Indianapolis, Ind: Wiley.
Evans, L. (2010). Social media marketing: Strategies for Engaging in Facebook, Twitter & other social media. Indianapolis, Ind: Que.
Falls, J., & Deckers, E. (2012). No bullshit social media: The all-business, no-hype guide to social media marketing. Indianapolis, Ind: Que.
Funk, T. (2013). Advanced social media marketing: How to lead, launch and manage a successful social media program. New York: Apress.
Jaffe, J. (2005). Life after the 30-second spot: Energize your brand with a bold mix of alternatives to traditional advertising. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.
Silverberg, B. R., United States., National Research Council (U.S.)., Transit Development Corporation., & Transit Cooperative Research Program. (1998). Transit advertising revenue: Traditional and new sources and structures. Washington, D.C: National Academy Press.
Tuten, T. L., & Solomon, M. R. (2013). Social media marketing. Boston: Pearson.
Williams, J. D., Lee, W.-N., & Haugtvedt, C. P. (2004). Diversity in Advertising: Broadening the scope of research directions. Mahwah, N.J: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Zarrella, D. (2010). The social media marketing book. Beijing: O’Reilly.
Zimmerman, J., & Ng, D. (2013). Social media marketing all-in-one for dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Zyman, S., & Brott, A. A. (2002). The end of advertising as we know it. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
by Herman Bailey | Jun 17, 2023 | Essays |
The tourist or the visitors to the Olympics create the most important economic benefit to the hosting cities of the Olympics. Unlike infrastructure investments, tourism expenditure is not centrally controlled or recorded. This makes it difficult to do an assessment o its contribution to the economy of the host country. To better understands the economic contribution to the host country by Olympic tourism, answers need to be found for the question of how much, who, and when? The pre-Olympic tourism is dominated typically by visits linked directly with the event preparation. The event time tourism consists of officials, athletes, spectators, media representatives, and volunteers. On the other hand, post-Olympic tourism comes from two significant sources; that is private leisure tourism that is prompted by games and others such as incentives, meetings, events, and conventions.
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Initially, the tourism industry of the United Kingdom appeared to be contributing significantly to the country’s economic bounce. The data released by the Office for National Statistics suggested that the country has recorded a big increase of foreign visitors coming to the United Kingdom since London city hosted the 2012 London Olympics. Spilsbury (2011p.447) indicated that statistics showed that in 2013, the first seven months the number of foreign visitors increased by 4% compared to 2012 in the same period, and spending also increased by 12%. Similarly, foreign visitors in 2013 July spent 30% more compared to 2012 July (New Zealand 2013p.61).
Nationwide attractions and hotels said that their industry was benefiting from the boost in tourist trade that was unexpected. () highlighted some data produced by the STRGlobal that showed that occupancy of hotels rose in almost every region of the united kingdom in the first half of the year 2013.in particular, London has s in a high upsurge in foreign visitors since the end of the Olympics. The hotel occupancy rose by 7% points to 89% in 2013 June compared to the year before.
Bardgett (2013p.57) noted that the government was quick in attributing the boom in tourism to the 2012 Olympics to justify the $14.3 billion spent in organizing and staging the event. Hunter (2012p.229) pointed out some truth in it because most of the visits came from countries that are keen on the Olympics. For instance, there was an increase in Latin America by 24%, China by 11%, as compared to a 4% decrease from north America, and a 1% increase from Europe (Fussey 2014p.291).
The net tourism impact on output depends on how much money the foreign tourists spent and what also the British spend abroad. Although high amounts are being spent in the United Kingdom by foreign tourists, the Britons have increased their expenditure while on foreign holidays by the same amount. By 2013, the gap between what the British earns and spends on tourism has remained the same since 2011(Girginov 2012). Despite the increase of the cash of tourists from 2012, the tourism deficit is still higher compared to during the Olympics.
Economic effects of tourism: 2012 London Olympics analysis
According to (), the industry of tourism generates significant economic benefits to the host country. In an analysis of the economic effects of the 2012 London Olympics, both positive and negative economic effects will be analyzed.
Negative economic effects of tourism in 2012 London Olympics
Boyle (2012p.77) indicated that as much as the 2012 London Olympics was being hailed as a logistical and sporting success, the economic impacts were far less certain. For instance, World Tourism Organization (2014p.17) pointed out that some tourist attractions, hotels, and businesses in London city reported that actually, businesses fell when the games were on. However, different independent analysts reported that the economy of the United Kingdom, in general, was looking for long-term economic impacts.
Hosting of the Olympics is usually seen as a giant economic boom for the hosting city and the country at large. That is the tourists and the giant new facilities for sports and therefore different cities lobby very hard for them to be picked. However, depth analysis of historical records of the actual economic impacts of the Olympics to their hosting countries and regions has shown mixed results. Therefore, Girginov (2012) stated that there are tangible reasons to believe that the benefits London city got from hosting the Olympics will be short-lived. Well, so what is the source of worry? Well, Oxlade et al (2014p.384) indicated that hosting the Olympics is a very costly exercise. For instance, the infrastructures that are existing need to be upgraded, more new sporting facilities need to be built, the security needs to be beefed up and therefore, in the long run, it invariably ends up very costly, and even much more than what was expected. An example was the 2008 Beijing Olympics which was budgeted to cost $1.6 billion but the government of china ended up spending almost $40 billion (Wallechinsky & Lucky 2012p.85). Similarly, the 2004 Athens Olympics was expected to cost $1.6 billion but in the end, it spends almost ten times the budgeted cost, and further contributing to the current debt crisis of Greece (Weed 2013p.129). Furthermore, most f the sports facilities in Athens that were built for the games are already falling apart because they are being underused. According to Tzanelli 2013p.396), London was not expected to go over their budget extremely, although Olympics are always pricier than the $5billion originally promised by the government. The estimated cost for the 2012 Olympics from the public accounts committee was $17billion (Gammon & Ramshaw 2013p.48).
The direct income to a country or a region from tourism is the amount of expenditure from the tourists that remains locally after profits, taxes, and wages are paid and after purchasing the imports (Great Britain 2012p.28). The subtracted amounts are referred to as the leakage. In most of the all-inclusive package tours, about 80% of the expenditures of the travelers go to the hotels, airlines, and other international companies, and not the local workers and businesses. Additionally, significant amounts of income that have been retained actually at the level of destination can again leave through the leakage. From the study on the 2012 London Olympics, it is estimated that about 40% of all the money spent by the tourists during the games ended up leaving United Kingdom (Perryman 2012p.91).
Poynter & Macrury (2013p.184) elaborated that there were two major ways in which leakage takes place. The import leakage occurs when the tourists demand certain equipment standard, foods, and other necessitated products that the host country could not provide especially foods and drinks, construction equipment among others. Therefore, these products must be imported since the local products are not up to the tourists or hotels standards or even the country does not have supply. Therefore, Horne & Whannel (2012p.592) noted that much of the income gotten from expenditures of tourism again leaves the country to pay for the imports. During the London Olympics, United Kingdom imported some of the goods used in the construction of new sporting facilities to meet the required standards. Similarly, most of the hotels that targeted different cultures from Asia, Africa, and Latin America had to import some of the food ingredients to satisfy their clientele. This indicated an import leakage that is a negative impact on tourism. Through export leakage, a country uses capital in the construction of infrastructures and facilities. Although most of the construction work was done by the local British firms, few international construction firms that participated in the construction of the sporting facilities during the 2012 London Olympics took their profits back home to their home countries.
The cost of infrastructures is another area that forms a negative effect of tourism. Kenyon & Bodet (2014p.223) indicated that the development of tourism can cost the local taxpayers and the local government a significant amount of money. For instance, the developers may want the government to improve the roads, airports, and other needed infrastructures, and if possible provide other financial advantages and tax breaks, which are very costly to the government. Euromonitor International (2012p.446) pointed out that that the public resources spent on infrastructures subsidized or even tax breaks, may reduce the investments of the government in other crucial areas such as health and education. According to, Maennig & Zimbalist (2012p.310), it is estimated that the government of the united kingdom spent a total of £11.9 billion in the construction of game-related facilities between the years 2005 and 2017.
Another negative economic effect of tourism is an increase the in prices of goods and services. The increasing demand for basic goods and services from tourists often results in hikes in prices that affect negatively the residents whose income does not proportionately increase. Similarly, tourism development and the rise in demand for real estate may increase dramatically the land values and building costs. This makes it even more difficult for the local population to meet their daily basic needs. Humphreys, a sports economist noted that “once the games are over and leave a town, often there is not much to celebrate.” Even the hotels in London which expected massive profits from the floods of tourists loaded with money did not do work as expected. For instance, Spilsbury (2011p.93) noted that after the hotels raised their rates in anticipation of the influx of visitors, they still had problems filling their rooms. During the games, roughly a third of their hotel rooms were yet to be booked. Moreover, some potential tourists stayed away from London deliberately to avoid the hassles of the Olympics that accompany invariably the games (New Zealand 2013p.27). The expectations of the United Kingdom world travel and tourism council was that the total spending of the tourists in the United Kingdom this year alone will be a little bit higher compared to the previous years.
Jobs problems for the seasonal workers who work in the tourism industry include job and income insecurity, and no employment guarantee from the seasons. Because of the low tourists’ number during the 2012 London Olympics, there was high job and income insecurity for many workers including the people in the transport industry. Organizing and throwing a party that is of Olympic size cost the United Kingdom about 15million dollars (Bardgett 2013p.176). However, the spectators flocked to the Olympic park, east of London leaving central London to be quiet than normal. Hunter (2012p.682) observed that the restaurants were some of the businesses that reported lower takings at the time of the year than normal. One tourism trade association that surveyed its members found that the games of the 2012 London Olympics had negative economic impacts all over the United Kingdom. However, during the period of difficult recession, the officials of the United Kingdom still insisted that the London Olympics games were worth it (Fussey 2014).
From the advertisement of the 2012 London Olympics, the entire globe eagerly waited for the games and focused their eyes on the upcoming international event. One would think that the games were a big fundraising event for London city. However, instead of the event luring money to London from the tourists, it did actually drive away from the usual spenders in the city and even decreased tourism significantly and drastically reduced revenue for the local businesses in the city (Girginov 2012p.160). Boyle (2012p.278) stated that London city was not able to recoup immediately the costs spend in preparation for the Olympic Games.
According to World Tourism Organization (2014p.33), London city usually sees approximately 300,000 foreign tourists and 800,000 domestic tourists daily during August. However, during the time of the Olympics, the number of tourists drastically went down. Girginov (2012p. 58) even noted the quote of Tom Jenkins, the chief executive of European tour operators association to AFP, “these people have been implicitly been told to stay away and that’s what they have done. The current numbers are down dramatically. How far down will further be determined by low long London transport maintains the campaign of ‘Do not come to London city’”
On a survey done before the games by TripAdvisor company, Out of the 2500 owner of hotels in London surveyed, 58% said that the 2012 Olympic games would have no impact at all on businesses, while 35% thought that they will see either long term or short term positive effects (Oxlade et al 2014p.103).
The industry of transport also did have a more severe take on London city hosting the games because their businesses suffered already. Wallechinsky & Lucky (2012p.339) indicated the quote of the general secretary of Licensed taxi Drivers Association, Steve McNamara to the AFP, “our businesses have dropped by about 20% to 40% depending on the time of the day. In normal cases, 90% of our clients are always London residents but they have all left the city but there is no replacement by the tourists. I do not understand where all the tourists are, or how they are getting their way through the city, but London is now like a ghost town.” Not only the decline in tourists hit the city of London revenue, the city was already in debt due to the high costs of hosting the Olympics from the bidding stage
Positive economic effects of tourism in 2012 London Olympics
According to Weed (2013p.109), tourism creates jobs for the local people both through direct people within the industry of tourism and indirectly in other sectors such as transportation and retail (Tzanelli 2013p.481). The rapid expansion of international tourism according to Gammon & Ramshaw (2013p.229), has led to massive employment creation. For instance, the sector of hotel accommodation alone in 1995 provided about 11.3 million employments globally. Tourism can create jobs directly through restaurants, hotels, nightclubs, souvenir shops, and taxis. Similarly, it can generate jobs indirectly through goods and services supply by the businesses that are related to tourism. When these people again spend their income on services and goods locally, it leads to a multiplier effect, which creates more jobs. Great Britain (2012) stated that the industry of tourism also provides opportunities for small-scale business enterprises which generated extra tax revenues for the government which can be used in housing, schools, and hospitals. According to Perryman, M. (2012p.26), the expenditure of LOCOG to stage the 2012 London Olympics was estimated to generate a total contribution of £1 billion to the GDP of the United Kingdom. This contribution consists of £497 million from LOCOG spending directly, with a multiplier effect in the supply chain, and through consumer spending of staffs supporting another contribution of £547 million elsewhere in the economy. According to Poynter & Macrury (2013p.501), the total spends to stage the 2012 London Olympics is estimated to support an equivalent of 26,000 employment years. The total number of employed people will be greater significantly as some of the jobs were temporary during and was during the 2012 games. Horne & Whannel (2012p.467) observed that small firms were also successful in winning the contracts of LOCOG. Analysis of the LOCOG’S United Kingdom contractors by size suggested that 28% were large firms and 72% were SMEs.
The foreign exchange earnings are also another positive effect of tourism. Expenditures of the tourists generate income to the hosting country and economy, and this can stimulate the necessary investment to finance growth in other sectors of the economy (Kenyon & Bodet 2014p.69). Some countries desire to accelerate economic growth by requiring their visitors to bring in a certain required amount of foreign currency for every day they stay. Euromonitor International (2012) asserted that an important indicator of the international tourism role is its foreign exchange earnings generation. Data reveals that the United Kingdom saw a 5% fall in numbers of visitors year-on-year during the august 2012 games. The regular tourists of London stayed away and were replaced by the ticket-holding Olympic visitors, majorly from the United Kingdom, who spend much of their time at the venues of games watching the actions of Olympic. However, Moennig & Zimbalist (2012p.361) indicated that these victors motivated by the Olympics spent more and United Kingdom realized a 9% increase in overseas spending of the visitors during the period.
Another positive economic impact of tourism is the stimulation of investment in infrastructure. Spilsbury (2011p.310) argued that tourism can induce private investors, national or state governments to improve infrastructures such as better sewage systems and water, electricity, roads, public transport networks, and telephone. This can improve the life quality of the residents in addition to facilitating tourism. New Zealand (2013p.19) pointed out that TFL invested about £6.5 billion in upgrading the infrastructures of transport, and concentrated on making sure that the holders of tickets get to their venues. Moreover, Tube during the games transported over 101 million passengers, and this includes the most ever transported on a single day, that is 4.52 million. This was an increase of 28% on the normal levels (Bardgett 2013p.358). The tube continues to operate more reliably and carry more visitors and Londoners than any time before in its entire history. Moreover, there are other new physical projects of the legacy that were constructed because of the games. For instance, Hunter (2012p.300) mentioned the queen Elizabeth Olympic park which hosted two events to mark the Olympic Games anniversary. Those were the Sainsbury Anniversary Games, and the Open East Festival, similarly, the venue has hosted musical festivals and events such as Ride London, Hard Rock Calling and Wireless, cycling events of mass participation, cultural events, The Orbit. Other scheduled sporting activities include the world’s athletic championships to be held in 2017 and the 2015 rugby world cup.
The contribution of tourism to the local economies is another positive economic impact of tourism. Because the environment is a primary element of the assets of the tourism industry, revenues of tourism are often used in measuring the economic value of the areas protected. Fussey (2014p.109) pointed out that other local revenues are not easy to quantify since not all expenditures of the tourists are registered formally. Money is also gotten from tourism through informal employments such as rickshaw drivers, informal guides, and street vendors among others. The positive side of informal employment according to Girginov (2012p.56) is that money gets returned to the local economy of the areas, and therefore has a significant multiplier effect because it is spent repeatedly. During the London Olympics, local revenues got into the local economy of London and resulted in a multiplier effect in the area. Moreover, many people benefitted informally as informal tour guides, taxi operators, street vendors among others.
The Tourism Alliance, which is an umbrella union that represents about 200,000 business in the united kingdom have a belief that sports tourism during the 2012 Olympic games largely replaced the normal business travel and leisure that is always the order of the day during that particular period of the year. Boyle (2012p.595) described it as a substitution effect. Furthermore, the forecast of Tourism Alliance during that time was that there would be a decrease by 5% in the usual visitor traffic that would lead to a decrease in the expenditure of tourism of £1.1 billion. Furthermore, a decrease of 5% in the United Kingdom domestic visitors would reduce the expenditure of tourism further by £1.35 billion (World Tourism Organization 2014p.68).
The concerns of a likelihood of revenue fall because of the substitution effect was also echoed by the Tourism Management Institute, and the Tourism South East, which both relayed their fears that the tourists might be scared of traveling to London during the period of games because of the general perceptions of overpriced hotels, and overcrowding in London. Girginov (2012p.31) asserted that positive effects forecast on the British tourism are much more positive compared to the game-time forecasts, with the estimate of DCMS indicating that 80% of economic benefits of legacy derived from hosting Olympic games are gained through post games tourism increases. This is attributed partly to the significant international exposure of the media to London because of their position as hosts of the Olympic Games. However, Oxlade et al (2014p.113) noted that the Tourism Alliance believed that such goals of legacy will not be realized unless the preparation of the DCMS was done to invest in media support and adequate marketing for the tourism industry of the British
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
by Herman Bailey | Jun 17, 2023 | Essays |
Executive summary
The essay discusses the background information about India and elaborates on her demographic information, economic status, legal systems, and political status. Furthermore, some reasons India is suitable for investing have been discussed. Furthermore, the essay has reviewed the political economy of India, which is the legal, economic and political systems, and critically discussed India’s attractiveness for foreign direct investment. Political economy has analyzed the benefits, risks, and costs of the legal, economic and political systems before giving some recommendations.
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Introduction
India is situated in Asia and is the seventh largest country globally by area. Moreover, India has more than 1.2 billion people, making it the second most populous country. The economy of India is ranked at eleventh largest globally by nominal GDP (Demography of India: Part 1, 1998). Furthermore, by purchasing power parity, it is the third largest. Indian society is a multi ethic, multi-lingual, and pluralist. The Indian republic is governed by federal constitution under a parliamentary system of 28 states (MacDonald, 2009). India is a good investment site because of its economy’s maximum benefits, minimal costs, and risks. Furthermore, the country balances its political, economic, and legal factors well, making it conducive for business. The essay will analyze the political economy of India by comparing the political, legal, and economic systems of India. Moreover, it will give recommendations and finally conclude with a
critical discussion of factors that make India attractive for foreign direct investment.
Political Economy Analysis
Political economy is how economic methods and theory influence political ideology. It is the interplay between politics, law, and economics and how different institutions develop in different economic and social systems, such as communism, socialism, and capitalism (Mill & Ashley, 2005). Furthermore, it analyzes how public policies are created and implemented. Walker (2008) pointed out that since different groups and individuals have different interests in how an economy or a country should be developed, political economy covers a broad spectrum of competing interests. Moreover, it involves application of game theory, since competing groups for power and finite resources must decide the course of action will produce the most beneficial outcome.
The significance of using political economy in analyzing India is to evaluate the worthiness of India as an investment destination for international businesses and investors.
2.1 Political System
Benefits
Citizens of India are often mobilized in social groups; that are religion, community or caste, during election times to give them collective electoral power (Lee-Warner, 2006). Moreover, until now, subordinate social groups have emerged to be politically relevant at the state level. This is a welcomed expansion of political democracy and equality in India.
Risks
The Indian society is heterogeneous, leading to religious action” problems. This hampers decisions and actions that need to be taken collectively. Furthermore, the proliferation of regional and small parties in the coalition government have meant catering for particularistic demands; this overrides coordination of the long-term goals in the country (Guha & Raghuraman, 2007). Additionally, vital economic issues in India do not get salience in the mobilization of the electorate, which poses a risk.
Costs
According to Vidyarthi (1997), it is difficult and costly in India to agree on a goal, coordinate, and get actions done to achieve a goal because the population is heterogeneous. Moreover, it is costly to the country when specific leaders perceived to uphold the dignity of a marginalized caste group may be reelected even if their policies negatively affect the country.
2.2 Economic System
Benefits
One benefit of India’s economic system is that business people, professionals, and salary earners constitute the heads of approximately 22% of households (McClellan, 2010). This is a significant percentage that drives the Indian economy. Furthermore, according to Ghosh (2013), the economy of India is liberated, but the government controls assets, production, and employment in most non-agricultural organized sectors.
Risks
One of India’s economic system risks is unequal wealth distribution. The regional governments are also increasingly becoming fiscal dependent on the central government (Banerjee, 2004). The increased regional competition and economic liberalization have increased the disparity between backward and economically advanced states
Costs
Poor infrastructure has hindered economic growth in India, which is costly to the Indian economy. Moreover, substantial investment in public infrastructure takes a long time to fructify (Singh et al., 1998). Another cost to the economic system of India is that some regional governments cater to different particularistic demands from different parties. This makes them to be near fiscal bankrupt (Ghosh, 2013).
2.3 Legal System
Benefits
One of the benefits of legal systems in India is the fragmentation of the states gives the central state more autonomy. The state, over the years, has accumulated great power in direct regulation and ownership of the economy. Moreover, India has been powerful in its interventionist and regulatory role (Bhansali, 1992).
Another benefit is the decentralization and federalism of the resources, which has made the government more responsive to the needs of the locals. Moreover, the 73rd and the subsequent 74th amendment of the constitution in the early 1990s gave some potency to the decentralization movement below the state level, up to the gram panchayats (Pandey, 1993)
Risks
One potential risk of the legal systems in India is the astute political leadership of the country which can play off the groups against each other and earn special privileges and powers. Moreover, there are tradeoffs between accountability and credibility in state affairs which is risky
Costs
The fragmentation of different groups in India, with each group pulling in a different legal system, is the country’s policies are buffeted around, which forms are halted and hesitated (Bhansali, 1992). This is costly to the country. Moreover, inequality and heterogeneity in India have made it difficult and costly to coordinate long-term policies.
Major Indian states are large and the governments are distant from the local people. Furthermore, few administrative functions and fewer independent finance sources have been decentralized to the local governments, making the legal systems costly.
Recommendations
- The state government should reorient its functions from control and ownership of business enterprises towards more on basic social services, education and health for the poor.
- As much as the state is the major financier of these services, it should contract private-public partnerships or the private sectors to provide some services. It should not be managed bureaucratically.
- Political awareness and land reforms in the states should be enhanced to prevent oligarchic local elites capture and control of the local governments.
- The regional governments should also be more responsible fiscally and accountable at the panchayat level. This will deepen democracy, weaken local oligarchy powers, expand education, and devolve finances.
- Regular auditing and making media and local NGO’s as local governments watchdogs will also eradicate corruption
Conclusion
India is attractive and is a good investment and market site. The overall attractiveness of India as a direct foreign investment is because of its three key pillars; the country’s benefits, costs, and risks. The country’s overall attractiveness as a potential investment or market size for an international business largely depends on how the country balances the benefits, risks, and costs associated with doing business in that particular country (Rajan, 2009).
Kobayashi-Hillary (2005) indicated that the long term monetary benefits of the international businesses in doing business in India make the country attractive. This is because of her large market size, her purchasing power which reflected the wealth of the consumers, and the future consumer’s wealth.
Cost-wise, several legal, economic and political factors determine the running costs of doing business in India. India is politically stable, has a vibrant and improving economy, and has infrastructures and other supporting businesses. This makes India attractive as an investment destination cost-wise. For the legal factors, India has local regulations and laws that liberalize the market. Businesses have no strict standards to protect intellectual property rights (Nagesh et al., 1998).
Risk-wise, India has stable political, legal, and economic factors that minimize business risks. According to Acharya (1998), minimal political forces can cause drastic changes in the country’s business environment and adversely affect the profits of international investors. Furthermore, India has a growing business environment that cannot hurt the goals and profits of an international business enterprise. The legal factors are also stable to protect firms from stealing intellectual property rights and breaking of contracts.
References
Acharya, S. (1998). Investing in India. Basingstoke: Macmillan Business.
Regional political parties in India. Delhi: B.R. Pub. Corp. Banerjee, K. (2004).
Bhansali, S. R. (1992). The legal system in India. Jaipur, India: University Book House.
Demography of India: Part 1. (1998). New Delhi: Library of Congress Office.
Ghosh, M. (2013). Liberalization, growth and regional disparities in India. New Delhi: Springer India.
Guha, T. P2007). Divided, we stand India in a time of coalitions. Los Banerjee, K. (2004). Angeles: SAGE Publications.
Kobayashi-Hillary, M. (2005). Outsourcing to India: The Offshore Advantage. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
Lee-Warner, W. (2006). The citizen of India. London: Macmillan.
MacDonald, J. R. (2009). The government of India. New York: Huebsch.
McClellan, G. S. (2010). India. New York: Wilson.
Mill, J. S., & Ashley, W. J. (2005). Principles of political economy: With some of their applications to social philosophy. New York: A. M. Kelley, bookseller.
Nagesh, K., & Centre for International Management and Development Antwerp. (1998). Liberalization and changing patterns of foreign direct investment: Has India’s relative attractiveness as a host of FDI improved? Antwerp: CIMDA, University of Antwerp.
Pandey, J. N. (1993). Constitutional law of India: Incorporating the Panchayati Raj and Nagarpalika Constitution 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts, 1992. Allahabad: Central Law Agency.
Rajan, R. S. (2009). Monetary, investment, and trade issues in India. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Singh, K. P., & National Institute of Management Technology. (1998). Infrastructure in India. Ghaziabad: National Institute of Management Technology in association with Excel Books, New Delhi.
Vidyarthi, L. P., & All India Seminar on Tribal and Rural Leadership in India. (1997). Leadership in India. Bombay: Asia Pub. House.
Walker, F. A. (2008). Political economy. New York: Henry Holt and Co.
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
by Herman Bailey | Jun 16, 2023 | Essays |
Introduction
Diabetes is one of the chronic diseases that results either when there is the production of less insulin by the pancreas or when the insulin produced cannot be effectively used by the body. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body ineffectively uses insulin. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2013), diabetes type 2 is composed of 90 %of diabetic people worldwide and is mostly a result of physical inactivity and excess body weight. The disease was only occurring in adults until recently in children (American Diabetes Association 2012). The paper will use the case study in the application of the chosen policies in the design of cooking class intervention of diabetes type 2.furthermore, it will critically discuss the Caplan and Holand (1990) – traditional and humanist perspectives model of health promotion. Lastly, the paper will discuss the intervention of the cooking class evaluation.
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Cooking class intervention in diabetes type 2
Why and where the intervention was taken
I chose cooking class intervention in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes. The main objectives of choosing cooking classes are to provide knowledge to the patients about healthier food choices and to develop skills about healthy cooking. Many reasons supported the decision to choose the cooking class intervention on type 2 diabetic patients. According to NICE (2009), one of the best approaches to diabetic care is nutrition therapy. Furthermore, diabetic people like Sally Pust in the case study have difficulty reaching the recommended cholesterol and HbA1c levels (Waltz & Strickland 2010). Lastly, ADA (2012) points out that weight loss is linked with good effects for diabetic people. The intervention program was done in a nearby community center.
Target Audience
The intervention program was directed exclusively to people age 40-65 years who are ailing from diabetes. The reason for choosing the audience is that almost all diabetic women aged between 45-65 years have diabetes type 2 (CDC 2001). Moreover, Williamson (2013) observed that adults over 40 years are always diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Just like Sally Pust, this age range has a high probability of developing diabetes type 2.
Model of health promotion
Caplan and Holand (1990) – traditional and humanist perspectives
The model of the Traditional and humanist perspective developed by Caplan and Holand (1990) has been chosen to be used in this health promotion. The model is made of two cardinals. The first one outlines the theories of knowledge and how new health theories are created and the other axis looks into the society and the different influences that may affect health. Therefore, the model of traditional and humanistic perspective is made of four quadrants called radical structuralism or humanists, traditional or humanist health-related (Caplan and Holand 1990).
According to Slon et al (2009), the model applies an educational approach with the main aim of knowledge and education provision to make people make informed decisions on their health. Furthermore, its humanist approach is relevant to the educational approach which makes people maximize their skills and knowledge and make healthy lifestyle choices (Piper 2009).
NHS (2011) observes that the model covers a comprehensive health promotion as it analyses significant issues that are related to health promotion. Also, it has ideological and epistemological assumptions that explain societal beliefs and health practice
Approaches to health promotion
Naidoo and Wills (2009) explain the behavior change approach and educational approach as intervention mechanisms for diabetic patients.
Behavior change approach to type 2 diabetic patients
This approach was chosen because of its relevance to the objective of the intervention in the development of healthy cooking skills.
1.1 Aims and assumptions of Behavior change approach
According to Hayes (2009), the main aims and assumptions of the behavior change approach include the following:
- It encourages people to adopt behaviors which are healthy to improve health such as cooking skills
- It perceives health as individual properties
- Individuals choosing to change lifestyles, they can make significant improvements to their health. For instance, if sally chooses to change from taking junk foods and cook healthy food at home.
- It is the responsibility of the people to take action and care for themselves
- The approach involves attitude change followed by behavior change.
1.2 Methods
One of the methods that can be used in behavior change to the diabetic people is Campaigns aimed at persuading people to stop smoking, drinking, adopting healthy cooked food, and exercising regularly (Focus on Food 2012). It is always targeted towards individuals. Furthermore, Diabetes UK (2012) suggests that for many patients to be reached, other media forms such as mass media can be used.
According to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (2009), changing of health-related behaviors of type 2 diabetic people involves:
- Assisting them to understand the long, medium, and short term health-related behavior consequences
- Assisting them to feel positive about the value and benefits of changing their behaviors and health-enhancing behaviors.
- Recognizing how the relationships and social contexts of people may affect their behavior.
- Assisting people to plan their changes in easy and sustainable steps terms over time.
- Finding and planning for possibilities that might undermine changes they are trying to make, and organizing unique “if-then” strategies to cope and to maintain behavior changes.
1.3 limitations
However, the approach has its own limitations. Warwick-Booth (2012) explains some of the complex decisions to make are related to health. For instance, from the case study, Sally Pust has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes that required her to take medicine regularly, commence a low fat and carbohydrate diet in addition to some physical activities. However, deciding between her family, job, and health seems to be complex for her to make. Therefore, along the way, she gets discouraged because of her, there is no free time to eat healthy food that is recommended or even to exercise.
Another limitation of the behavior change approach is that it depends on the readiness of a person to take action (Thomas 2013). Even after being diagnosed with diabetes type 2, she still has a problem in taking an action to start exercising and eat healthy food. However, after getting the education from the diabetic support group, she changed in the long run.
Naidoo and Wills (2009) suggest that the complex relationship between environmental and social factors and behavior of the individual pose as another limitation to the approach. This comes out clearly when she has inadequate eating time and therefore during her short breaks, she takes chocolate and biscuits. Additionally, she rarely has regular lunch because of a lack of available time to prepare meals. She also eats snacks and fast foods frequently on her way to work. All these hinder her from taking healthy food. Therefore, change of behavior is hindered by the environmental conditions existing in her workplace. Besides, her job is stressful, tiring, and monotonous but cannot change because she dropped out of school early with no good qualifications.
Behavior sometimes can be a response to the living conditions of a person which may be beyond the control of the individual (Gellman & Turner 2013). Sally is a divorcee with four young children and her ex-husband does not support her. Furthermore, her mother is diabetic and obese, her father hypertensive and her grandmother who died the previous year from acute myocardial infarction had diabetes for thirty years. This shows the living conditions beyond Sally’s control and they are overwhelming her.
Educational approach
This approach was also chosen because it is related to the objective of knowledge provision on healthier food choices in the intervention.
2.1 Aims and values of educational approach
According to Amdam (2011), the aims and values of the educational approach include the following:
- To enable people to make choices that are informed about their health behavior by providing information and knowledge and developing the necessary skills. This will give the patients the necessary skills for identifying the recommended healthy foods because they will be knowledgeable.
- Does not try to motivate or persuade a one direction change
- The outcome is the voluntary choice of the client which may be totally different from the one the health promoter prefers.
2.2 Assumptions and limitations of educational approach
The educational approach assumes that an increase in knowledge will lead to attitude change and finally change of behavior (Shumaker 2009). This comes out clearly when sally joins the diabetes support group with her community. Her knowledge increased and her attitude also changed after spending some time with the diabetic support group. This helped her very much in adapting to treatment challenges and in choosing the type of healthy food she is supposed to eat in addition to doing physical activity. For instance, she decided to alight from the bus some two bus stops before on her way back home to walk for 30 minutes daily.
On the other hand, the limitations of educational behavior are that the voluntary change of behavior may be restricted by economic and social factors. Additionally, health-related decisions are very complex (Hayes 2009).
Learning aspects in educational approach
Cognitive aspect –information provision on health-related behaviors effects and causes of especially on type 2 diabetes. These may consist of one on one advice, leaflet and booklet provision, and the visual display. These can create additional information and help in changing the attitude of the patient. (Thomas 2013).
Affective aspect– clients are provided with explorative opportunities and even share their attitudes and their feelings. These may take the form of group discussions, one to one counseling. This has proven helpful to Sally who is diabetic when she joined the diabetic support group (Warwick-Booth 2012). By being counseled and attending the group discussions, her knowledge of exercising and choosing healthy foods increased.
Behavioral aspect– clients are assisted in the development of decision-making skills that are important for living a healthy lifestyle. These include circumstances of real-life exploration situations and role play. For instance how one should react or behave when offered a cigarette, drink, or drugs (Naidoo and Wills 2009).
Evaluation
Evaluation is always done on a program to test its effectiveness. This is important in the identification of areas to be improved during the execution of the program (Jackson & Furnham 2010). An evaluation of the cooking class intervention, an open and closed questionnaire with relevant questions was distributed to each participant before and after the program to fill in.
The questionnaires were used in the evaluation of the intervention because it is useful in measuring the opinions, attitudes, and motives of people with different behaviors and to measure the behaviors of the past to be used in future action predictions (Morrow 2011). Furthermore, questionnaires are the most suitable because they are cost-effective, less likely to alter the participant’s behavior, are adaptable to the surrounding, are simple to complete by the respondents with complete anonymity, and lastly reliable and valid (Jackson & Furnham 2010). However, Morrow (2011) adds that a questionnaire designed for a specific intervention must examine certain factors of duration, complexity, respondent’s intellectual capacity, age groups, the activity being surveyed, and the participant’s financial constraints.
One of the importance of closed questionnaires as observed by Jackson & Furnham (2010) is that the respondents are kept to the topic in addition to easy analysis of the responses. However, the respondents are subjected to giving simple answers. This is contrary to open questionnaires where the respondents have the freedom to express themselves in detail but greater efforts, thinking, and time are required (Morrow 2011).
The questionnaires used in the evaluations also have limitations. Some of the questions in the questionnaires have pre-coded nature that deters the respondents or makes respondents’ misinterpret the question asked (Jackson & Furnham, 2010). Moreover, it can create bias in the evaluation of the results by imposing answer structures that portray the reflection of the researcher’s reasoning and not the respondent. Morrow (2011) points out that truth in the answers cannot also be tested evasiveness and reluctance of the respondents cannot be reflected.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a cooking class can be a good intervention for diabetic people as it enhances the taking of healthy food. Furthermore, educational and behavioral change approaches steer a person to the right healthy path.
Bibliography
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