Archimedes Was a Mathematician and Inventor of Ancient

Archimedes was so brilliant that he is still considered by most historians throughout time as one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. Archimedes was a mathematician and inventor of Ancient Greece born on 287 B. C. In Syracuse on the island of Sicily. His father was an astronomer named Aphid's. It is said that Archimedes was known to be a relative of Hirer II. Hirer was the king of Syracuse during the life of Archimedes. Throughout their lives they were very close friends. However besides his father's name and occupation and his relationship withHirer nothing else is really known about any other members of Archimedes family. At one point of Archimedes life it was his inventions that delayed the capture of Syracuse by the Romans. Archimedes remained in Syracuse for most of his life except when he went to school in Alexandria. Since Greeks loved to learn and be full of knowledge they would send their sons to schools to become wise Greek citizens. Archimedes had one of the best e ducations as a boy. When he was in his teens Archimedes traveled to Alexandria and went to one of the most famous schools of thematic that had been founded by Euclid.There he studied astronomy, geometry, algebra, trigonometry, astrology, geography, surveying, mechanics, and alchemy with many other brilliant minds of his time. Various subjects he studied when he was younger were poetry, politics, astronomy, mathematics, music, art, and military tactics. His professor was named Cocoon of Samos. Cocoon was a tremendous Influence in Archimedes' life. He taught Archimedes various things about science and life. Due to the fact he studied In Alexandria It became the biggest foundation on which he built his career as a scientist and mathematician.Archimedes had many eclectic Investigations, but he was mostly known for his discovery of the relation between the surface and volume of a sphere and Its circumscribing cylinder, for his formulation of a hydrostatic principle: Archimedes' principle , and for Inventing the Archimedes' screw (a device for raising water). One of Archimedes' few Principals states: an object immersed in a fluid experiences a buoyant force that is equal in magnitude to the force of gravity on the displaced fluid.Archimedes had other inventions up his sleeve some were the hydraulic screw – for raising water from a lower to a enlarger level, catapult, ten lever, ten compound pulley Ana ten During mirror which was a machine Archimedes invented used as war weapon; these machines especially helped in the defense against the Romans when they attacked under the command of Marcella. In mechanics Archimedes also discovered fundamental theorems having to do with the center of gravity of solids and plane figures. Now even in this modern era we still use Archimedes inventions in many ways.The water screw is Just one out of many inventions we use. The water screw is used for raising water using an encased screw that opens at both ends. The screw has to be set at an angle and as it turns, water fills air pockets and is transported upwards. Out of his other inventions he achieved during his life we also use the lever. Levers are basic tools, and many of the simple tools we use today, use levers in some way. For example; scissors, pliers, hammer claws, nutcrackers, and tongs. We still even use his mathematical discoveries. Due to his inventions he made life impeller for us today.Archimedes' legend is still alive to this day. I think Archimedes was a great mathematician and inventor who inspired many others to perfect his discoveries and to carve the way to ones made in the future. Those discoveries have affected our ways of living in a good way. I believe his legend would indeed be greater if more people knew what he was trying to accomplish and what good it would do for them. Even so, his ideas were rediscovered in the middle ages and, fortunately, they are being worked on like many other discoveries that have been add.

Testicular Cancer

Definition By Mayo Clinic staff Testicular cancer occurs in the testicles (testes), which are located inside the scrotum, a loose bag of skin underneath the penis. The testicles produce male sex hormones and sperm for reproduction. Compared with other types of cancer, testicular cancer is rare. But testicular cancer is the most common cancer in American males between the ages of 15 and 34. Testicular cancer is highly treatable, even when cancer has spread beyond the testicle. Depending on the type and stage of testicular cancer, you may receive one of several treatments, or a combination.Regular testicular self-examinations can help identify growths early, when the chance for successful treatment of testicular cancer is highest. Symptoms By Mayo Clinic staff Testicular lumps Living with cancer newsletter Subscribe to our Living with cancer newsletter to stay up to date on cancer topics. Signs and symptoms of testicular cancer include: ?A lump or enlargement in either testicle ?A feel ing of heaviness in the scrotum ?A dull ache in the abdomen or groin ?A sudden collection of fluid in the scrotum ?Pain or discomfort in a testicle or the scrotum ?Enlargement or tenderness of the breasts Unexplained fatigue or a general feeling of not being well Cancer usually affects only one testicle. When to see a doctor See your doctor if you detect any pain, swelling or lumps in your testicles or groin area, especially if these signs and symptoms last longer than two weeks. Make an appointment with your doctor even if a lump in your testicle isn't painful. Only a small percentage of testicular cancers are painful from the outset. CAUSES it’s not clear what causes testicular cancer in most cases. Doctors know that testicular cancer occurs when healthy cells in a testicle become altered.Healthy cells grow and divide in an orderly way to keep your body functioning normally. But sometimes some cells develop abnormalities, causing this growth to get out of control — t hese cancer cells continue dividing even when new cells aren't needed. The accumulating cells form a mass in the testicle. Nearly all testicular cancers begin in the germ cells — the cells in the testicles that produce immature sperm. What causes germ cells to become abnormal and develop into cancer isn't known. Risk factors By Mayo Clinic staff Living with cancer newsletter Subscribe to our Living with cancer newsletter to stay up to date on cancer topics.Factors that may increase your risk of testicular cancer include: ? An undescended testicle (cryptorchidism). The testes form in the abdominal area during fetal development and usually descend into the scrotum before birth. Men who have a testicle that never descended are at greater risk of testicular cancer than are men whose testicles descended normally. The risk remains even if the testicle has been surgically relocated to the scrotum. Still, the majority of men who develop testicular cancer don't have a history of undes cended testicles. ?Abnormal testicle development.Conditions that cause testicles to develop abnormally, such as Klinefelter's syndrome, may increase your risk of testicular cancer. ?Family history. If family members have had testicular cancer, you may have an increased risk. ?Age. Testicular cancer affects teens and younger men, particularly those between ages 15 and 34. However, it can occur at any age. ?Race. Testicular cancer is more common in white men than in black men. Preparing for your appointment By Mayo Clinic staff Living with cancer newsletter Subscribe to our Living with cancer newsletter to stay up to date on cancer topics.Who to see Make an appointment with your family doctor or a general practitioner if you find a mass on a testicle. If your doctor suspects you could have testicular cancer, you may be referred to a doctor who specializes in treating cancer (oncologist). How to prepare Because appointments can be brief, and because there's often a lot of ground to cov er, it's a good idea to be well prepared for your appointment. Try to: ? Be aware of any pre-appointment restrictions. At the time you make the appointment, be sure to ask if there's anything you need to do in advance, such as restrict your diet. Write down any symptoms you're experiencing, including any that may seem unrelated to the reason for which you scheduled the appointment. ?Write down key personal information, including any major stresses or recent life changes. ?Make a list of all medications, as well as any vitamins or supplements that you're taking. ?Take a family member or friend along, if possible. Sometimes it can be difficult to absorb all the information provided during an appointment. Someone who accompanies you may remember something that you missed or forgot. Questions to askYour time with your doctor is limited, so preparing a list of questions will help you make the most of your time together. List your questions from most important to least important in case t ime runs out. For testicular cancer, some basic questions to ask your doctor include: ? Do I have testicular cancer? ?What type of testicular cancer do I have? ?Can you explain my pathology report to me? Can I have a copy of my pathology report? ?What is the stage of my testicular cancer? ?What is the grade of my testicular cancer? ?Will I need any additional tests? ?What are my treatment options? What are the chances that treatment will cure my testicular cancer? ?What are the side effects and risks of each treatment option? ?Is there one treatment that you think is best for me? ?What would you recommend to a friend or family member in my situation? ?Should I see a specialist? What will that cost, and will my insurance cover it? ?If I would like a second opinion, can you recommend a specialist I should see? ?I'm concerned about my ability to have children in the future. What can I do before treatment to plan for the possibility of infertility? ?Are there any brochures or other prin ted material that I can take with me?What Web sites do you recommend? In addition to the questions that you've prepared to ask your doctor, don't hesitate to ask questions during your appointment at any time that you don't understand Most men discover testicular cancer themselves, either unintentionally or while doing a testicular self-examination to check for lumps. In other cases, your doctor may detect a lump during a routine physical exam. To determine whether a lump is testicular cancer, your doctor may recommend: ? Ultrasound. A testicular ultrasound test uses sound waves to create a picture of the scrotum and testicles.During an ultrasound you lie on your back with your legs spread. Your doctor then applies a clear gel to your scrotum. A hand-held probe is moved over your scrotum to make the ultrasound image. An ultrasound test can help your doctor determine the nature of any testicular lumps, such as if the lumps are solid or fluid filled. Ultrasound also tells your doctor w hether lumps are inside or outside of the testicle. Your doctor uses this information to determine whether a lump is likely to be testicular cancer. ?Blood tests. Your doctor may order tests to determine the levels of tumor markers in your blood.Tumor markers are substances that occur normally in your blood, but the levels of these substances may be elevated in certain situations, including testicular cancer. A high level of a tumor marker in your blood doesn't mean you have cancer, but it may help your doctor in determining your diagnosis. ?Surgery to remove a testicle (radical inguinal orchiectomy). If your doctor determines the lump on your testicle may be cancerous, he or she may recommend surgery to remove the testicle. Your testicle will be analyzed in a laboratory to determine if the lump is cancerous and, if so, what type of cancer.Determining the type of cancer Your doctor will have your extracted testicle analyzed to determine the type of testicular cancer. The type of tes ticular cancer you have determines your treatment and your prognosis. In general, there are two types of testicular cancer: ? Seminoma. Seminoma tumors occur in all age groups, but if an older man develops testicular cancer, it is more likely to be seminoma. Seminomas, in general, aren't as aggressive as nonseminomas and are particularly sensitive to radiation therapy. ?Nonseminoma. Nonseminoma tumors tend to develop earlier in life and grow and spread rapidly.Several different types of nonseminoma tumors exist, including choriocarcinoma, embryonal carcinoma, teratoma and yolk sac tumor. Nonseminomas are sensitive to radiation therapy, but not as sensitive as seminomas are. Chemotherapy is often very effective for nonseminomas, even if the cancer has spread. Sometimes both types of cancer are present in a tumor. In that case, the cancer is treated as though it is nonseminoma. Staging the cancer Once your doctor confirms your diagnosis, the next step is to determine the extent (stage ) of the cancer. To determine whether cancer has spread outside of your testicle, you may undergo: ?Computerized tomography (CT). CT scans take a series of X-ray images of your abdomen. Your doctor uses CT scans to look for signs of cancer in your abdominal lymph nodes. ?Blood tests. Blood tests to look for elevated tumor markers can help your doctor understand whether cancer likely remains in your body after your testicle is removed. After these tests, your testicular cancer is assigned a stage. The stage helps determine what treatments are best for you. The stages of testicular cancer are: ? Stage I. Cancer is limited to the testis. ?Stage II. Cancer has spread to the lymph nodes in the abdomen. ?Stage III.Cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Testicular cancer most commonly spreads to the lungs, liver, bones and brain. ?Treatments and drugs ?By Mayo Clinic staff ?Living with cancer newsletter ?Subscribe to our Living with cancer newsletter to stay up to date on cancer top ics. ? ?The options for treating your testicular cancer depend on several factors, including the type and stage of cancer, your overall health and your own preferences. Treatment options may include: ? Surgery Surgery to remove your testicle (radical inguinal orchiectomy) is the primary treatment for nearly all stages and types of testicular cancer.To remove your testicle, your surgeon makes an incision in your groin and extracts the entire testicle through the opening. A prosthetic, saline-filled testicle can be inserted if you choose. You'll receive anesthetics during surgery. All surgical procedures carry a risk of pain, bleeding and infection. ?You may also have surgery to remove the lymph nodes in your groin (retroperitoneal lymph node dissection). Sometimes this is done at the same time as surgery to remove your testicle. In other cases it can be done later. The lymph nodes are removed through a large incision in your abdomen.Your surgeon takes care to avoid severing nerves su rrounding the lymph nodes, but in some cases severing the nerves may be unavoidable. Severed nerves can cause difficulty with ejaculation, but won't prevent you from having an erection. ?In cases of early-stage testicular cancer, surgery may be the only treatment needed. Your doctor will give you a recommended schedule for follow-up appointments. At these appointments — typically every few months for the first few years and then less frequently after that — you'll undergo blood tests, CT scans and other procedures to check for signs that your cancer has returned.If you have a more advanced testicular cancer or if you're unable to adhere closely to the recommended follow-up schedule, your doctor may recommend other treatments after surgery. ?Radiation therapy Radiation therapy is a treatment option that's frequently used in people who have the seminoma type of testicular cancer. Radiation therapy is also used in certain situations in people who have the nonseminoma type of testicular cancer. Radiation therapy uses high-powered energy beams, such as X-rays, to kill cancer cells.During radiation therapy, you're positioned on a table and a large machine moves around you, aiming the energy beams at precise points on your body. Side effects may include fatigue, as well as skin redness and irritation in your abdominal and groin areas. You may experience infertility as a result of radiation therapy. However, as the treated area heals, you may regain your fertility. ?Chemotherapy Chemotherapy treatment uses drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy drugs travel throughout your body to kill cancer cells that may have migrated from the original tumor. Your doctor might recommend chemotherapy after surgery.Chemotherapy may be used before or after lymph node removal. Side effects of chemotherapy depend on the drugs being used. Ask your doctor what to expect. Common side effects include fatigue, nausea, hair loss, infertility and an increased risk of infection. There are medications and treatments available that reduce some of the side effects of chemotherapy. Prevention Living with cancer newsletter Subscribe to our Living with cancer newsletter to stay up to date on cancer topics. There's no sure way to prevent testicular cancer. Some doctors recommend regular testicle self-examinations to identify testicular cancer at its earliest stage.Not all doctors agree, though, so discuss testicular self-examination with your doctor if you're unsure about whether it's right for you. If you choose to do a testicular self-examination, a good time to examine your testicles is after a warm bath or shower. The heat from the water relaxes your scrotum, making it easier for you to find anything unusual. To do this examination, follow these steps: ?Stand in front of a mirror. Look for any swelling on the skin of the scrotum. ?Examine each testicle with both hands. Place the index and middle fingers under the testicle while placing your thumbs on the top. Gently roll the testicle between the thumbs and the fingers. Remember that the testicles are usually smooth, oval shaped and somewhat firm. It's normal for one testicle to be slightly larger than the other. Also, the cord leading upward from the top of the testicle (epididymis) is a normal part of the scrotum. By regularly performing this exam, you will become more familiar with your testicles and aware of any changes that might be of concern. ?If you find a lump, call your doctor as soon as possible. Testicular cancer is highly treatable, especially when identified early

Ways to Discipline

There are many simple ways that parents can help encourage their child’s development from an early age. Learning how to effectively discipline your child is an important skill that all parents need to learn. â€Å"To get what we want in life, we have to do what we have never done.† (Derrick 25). Whether the parent is traditional, a stay home parent, or a fulltime worker, the most precious thing a parent can give his or her kids is their time. Here are some ways to discipline, educate, and spend quality time with your children. It is very important to educate your child to succeed. First of all, build up their confidence and ensure that they are happy children. Fuel their imagination by reading bedtime stories. Roy Derrick’s research found that children who are regularly told stories have a better vocabulary, have more idea of sentence structure, and sense of stories (126). Also, nurture their creative skills through play. Some activities can help; like building with plastic bricks, painting, or simply creating items can help a child to build up their confidence. Here are some ways to discipline your children. Avoid physical punishment; it can make your child more aggressive and angry. Also, remember to always give rewards and praise them for good behavior, that way they will know you are happy when they behave well. â€Å"Because of their size, children may be difficult to discipline properly† (Rourke 38). Most importantly, provide your child with a safe environment in which they feel secure and loved. Discipline means to teach and train children family values, right from wrong, to respect the rights of others, and how they are to behave or not behave. Discipline is a positive parenting skill that emphasizes nurturing, guidance, teaching and training that builds a child’s self-confidence and teaches self-control and behavior management. The better you are with discipline, the less you will have to punish (Lin 45) Try to spend some quality time with your kids. Most parents work all day and do not give their child the time they deserve. There are many easy ways to be there with them, like helping them with homework. Make it fun and interesting for them. Plan a picnic, kids love to be outdoor where there is food, games, and they enjoy spending time with family and friends. â€Å"Your children need your presence more than anything else†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Jackson 42). Growing a garden with your child is also interesting and different from other activities, but they will enjoy getting their hands dirty and being accompanied by you. In conclusion, spending quality time with your kids helps both the parent and child to be more open with one another. Also, educating your child to succeed from the early age, will be an advantage for them in the future. Last of all, to discipline your children with the correct manners, it is important for them and yourself as a parent. Remember to always be there for them when they need you, and you will be a great parent.

The Representation of Masculinity in One of the Die Hard Films Essay

The Representation of Masculinity in One of the Die Hard Films - Essay Example Thus, it has improved to be the mainstream Hollywood action films. Due to the action and excitement of its films, Bruce Willies has become a popular film star in action epics. This paper will focus on the masculinity of those ways of the representation of McClane, the persona in the Die Hard films; also this character, In particular, it would discuss using one of Die Hard series, Die Hard 2: Die Harder. In this film, the symbol of masculinity is the build of body. Bruce Willies as McClane has an athletic build. Compared with the first series of Die Hard, Die Hard 2 does not show a lot of his bodily physical beauty. There is some different approach for presenting the masculinity. Furthermore, his speaking style is marginal at best as a gentleman. It could be proved his manhood. The action films commonly present how the masculinity has been emphasized and displayed. Of course, Women do not get a fair shake in action movies, but it could be seen the shift of the femininity to focus on t he men in this film. Therefore, the masculinity does not mean the power of men, it is implied the women’s Mise en scene: Die Hard is an action movie full of a thrilling scene full of spectacular scenes produced with the latest visual special effects. It deals with a spectacle uses of technologies. For instance, it is used enormous scenes of the bombshell and the gun shooting. The camera effects in different scenes are extremely well taken for example the use of different lights to elongate and emphasize on certain scenes. The movie has also been digitized in nature. Disney was the first company to produce such a digital movie in the shape of Rescuers Down Under and the first digital matte painting for Die Hard 2 was done by ILM. In the scene where Willis is spewed out of the cockpit of the plane, the film contains an excessive amount of Blue Screen Composting as well. Die Hard is the story of a very tough and masculine cop who lives in New York and goes by the name of John Mc Clane. He goes to Los Angeles to visit his wife for the first time in order to convince her to get back to New York and live with him. He visits her office with a view to bringing her back where she is having a Christmas party with her friends but he soon sees that criminals take over that very building pretending to be political terrorists. The focus of the movie now shifts from McClane trying to win his wife back to having a mission to kill all the terrorists and save his wife. The terrorists threaten to kill all the people who were inside the building in order to procure the bonds which were stored in the vault of the company. Willis however, takes on a number of actions in order to outwit them all, show his true masculinity and kill the leader of the gang of criminals as well as the rest of them, while at the same time, winning his wife back. (Grant, Barry Keith.) The main character in the movie physically overpowers and overshadows the criminals through his extreme strength and force. This is a dramatic movie which shows the charisma which the male protagonist possesses having struggled in the earlier part of life. The movie in a way redeems the order of the lead character and the turn of events in which he shows machismo enables him to win his wife back as well.  

Property Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Property Economics - Essay Example The homeowners who planned to sell the properties were unable to sell due to a massive fall in prices that led to â€Å"upside down" mortgage. Notably, the mortgages were greater than the property resulting in reduced incentive for homeowners. The graph below indicates the trends in housing sector prices (Sanders, 2008). The housing sector experienced the bubble leading to the eventual collapse of the subprime mortgage market. The subprime mortgages are provided to homeowners with below-average income (Christopher et al., 2008). With the trend in the housing sector, there was a need to engage in more subprime mortgages. Consequently, this led to mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures that caused the devaluation of the housing-related securities (Sanders, 2008). Therefore, there was the reduction in business investment and household spending. Notably, these experiences were dominant in regions with high household debt and highest housing price decline (Immergluck, 2011). The increase in interest rates resulted in global investors reducing their purchases of the mortgage-backed debt while the securities found it risky to continue with the lending (Sanders, 2008). Subsequently, the mortgage crisis was a major factor that worsened the effects of the Great Recession in America (Christopher et al., 2008) . Immergluck, D. (2011). The Local Wreckage of Global Capital: The Subprime Crisis, Federal Policy and High-Foreclosure Neighborhoods in the US. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research,

Nonverbal communication - observation studying Essay

Nonverbal communication - observation studying - Essay Example Moreover, a few of the women surrounding me were also observed to burst into tears due to the sudden outburst of emotion and happiness within the wedding ceremony. Additionally, I also observed that two of the attendees were having conversation from which the person who was having higher level of social status was becoming apparent. The main factor which was noticed was that a person who seemed to be having a lower social status was standing politely, listening carefully and nodding. Conversely, the person apparently having higher social status was quite comfortable to speak his mind. In terms of physical layout, the site seemed to be quite spacious and people were gathering in certain small groups as well as having conversation. This site has been selected in order to determine the variation different body movements and facial expressions of human beings epically at the time of being emotional. On the other hand, the 2nd observation site had been an extremely crowded Starbucks betwe en 8:20am to 10:00am. In accordance with the observation, it has been witnessed that different types of communication among people were taking place. The morning environment of Starbucks brought with it an abundance of mixed emotions and gestures during the process of communication. The environment was quite hurried where one of the women seemed to become quite weary after standing for a long time in the queue, which reflected in her body movement and gesture. There were certain other female guests at Starbucks who displayed a variation of gestures such as enjoyment, distraction driven nodding, formal posture and serious face and body movement. The site was quite cozy where a number of people were sitting close to each other. This site had been selected as it provided a very natural place of observation related to body movement and gesture as people were quite open in their body movements and emotions. B. DESCRIPTION OF THE INTERACTIONS OCCURRED IN BOTH THE OBSERVATIONS In relation to the 1st observation, it had been observed that there were emotionally driven communications and expressions made by the attendees in the wedding ceremony. As per the observation, three interactions have been explicitly discussed in the following section. Firstly, the interaction to be highlighted was of my Korean friend, whom I met in the wedding ceremony, but in quite a different outlook. There was a surprising change in dressing sense from the common attire and outlook she represents. In accordance with the physical expression made by her, it significantly seemed to incorporate major changes relating to her dress within the ceremony as she never used to wear white wedding dress and high-heeled black shoes. In terms of interactions driven out of surprise, a few women were gathering around her and were touching her dress as well arm. This unwanted attention of other women resulted in making my friend quite shy as she was observed to be blushing. Therefore, in this regard, it can be identified that her facial expression had changed because of the gestures and unanticipated expressions of the people surrounding her. The second interaction that has been identified in the

Economic Efficiency of Green Buildings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Economic Efficiency of Green Buildings - Essay Example We can get information about the environmental performance of CASBEE certified buildings by accessing their certification reports. Also, the cash flow information about some CASBEE buildings, which are owned by real estate investment trusts, is available in their respective financial reports. An analysis to segregate conventional and green buildings was first conducted on all properties held by the Japanese Real Estate Investment Trusts (J-REITs). The data for properties were collected based on the latest financial reports as of March 2011. It was found that out of total 1822 properties held by 35 REITs, 23 are CASBEE certified buildings (Table 1). For further analysis then, the 1799 in-CASBEE certified building was considered as conventional, the 23 CASBEE certified buildings were considered as â€Å"green buildings â€Å" for the purposes of this analysis. To determine economic performance, one can use the capitalization rate, calculated by dividing the net operating income by the appraisal value. The capitalization rate is the rate of return on investment, which is commonly used by investors to determine profitability. The first analysis was conducted in order to determine if there is a dissimilarity of capitalization rate between CASBEE certified buildings (green buildings) and non-certified buildings (conventional buildings). Table 2 represents basic statistical information such as sample size, mean, standard deviations, and standard error mean for both the dataset. The test statistic of the test of the difference between two population means depends on whether or not this hypothesis is rejected. Since this output, the result shows that p-value 0.052 > significance level 0.05, this hypothesis cannot be rejected. Therefore, we can conclude that the populations have equal variances. â€Å"Hypothesis Ho: the population means of the two groups are equal†.  Ã‚  

Economics, Goods and Services, Firms, Production, Supply and Demand Essay

Economics, Goods and Services, Firms, Production, Supply and Demand - Essay Example The essay shall focus on how goods and services’ supply and demand is influenced by consumers, how the changing needs and wants of consumer are met and how the different types of resources are used by firms for the production of goods and services. A market is a place where buyers and sellers meet in order to exchange goods and services. Market structure is comprised of buyers, sellers, buyer and seller entry barriers, size of the firm, product differentiation, market share and competition. With the above characteristics, one is able to determine where a particular firm is classified. Some examples of market structure are; Monopoly-here, companies are owned by the state, and other partner entry is not allowed. Oligopoly-here, the number of buyers is high than the number of sellers, thus competition is high. Monopolistic competition-here there is many buyers and many sellers for same products, different branding and very high competition. Perfect competition-an example is betwe en food bought in the stores and those from the market. The following are other market definitions: Economics is concerned with production, allocation and utilization of goods and services. Economics can be divided into; microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics deals with firms, buyers, and markets. Macroeconomics deals with growth, inflation and policies that affect economy (Wessels, 16, 2006). Consumers are those who benefit from goods and services. They are the users of produced products (Houghton, 20, 2009). Goods are useful items that are required and useful to individuals to satisfy their needs or wants. They can also be classified as tangible, since they can be touched unlike services, and can be stored for the future (Houghton, 15, 2009).  There are three types; inferior goods, which decrease in demand as consumer income increases; normal goods, which demand increase as consumer income increases; and luxury goods, which are non essential and are mostly considered an influence. Services are intangible, cannot be stored and are an activity that is done to an individual from another. Services are the other alternatives to goods. Services are done in order to provide help or as a profession (Houghton, 15, 2009).   Firms are organizations that deal with goods and services and their production to cater for the needs and wants of consumers. Firms can be businesses, corporations, or partnerships that have the main aim of producing goods and services for consumption (Rugraff & Hansen, 119, 2011). Production is the process of manufacturing goods from raw materials. Production is transforming raw materials that in their natural form do not have any benefits to consumers. After processing these raw materials, the products that come out can be used by consumers (Menger, Klein, Hayek, Dingwall & Hoselitz, 161, 2007). Supply is the distribution of goods and services to consumers. Supply is influenced by the demand for goods and services (Adil, 4, 2006).à ‚   Demand is the desire for a certain good or service by a consumer(s) who is willing to buy the good or service at a certain set price. Factors that influence demand are like price; of the good and other related goods (substitute), and also the price of the good and other goods (complementary) (Adil, 5, 2006).   Resources are the sources that products are extracted from. In economics, there are four main types of resources namely; land, labor, capital and entrepreneurship (Mankiw, 538, 2011).

Case Analysis Memo Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis Memo - Case Study Example The performance of employees is often found to be derailed by the threat of losing a job, but sometimes it may also prove as a driving force, for the employee to work hard and perform well for the survival. The status of the company mainly deals with it health, whether it has sufficient sources to balance the inputs and outputs, and does the company has enough revenue generation capacity to pay all the employees. Mistrust is another problem that was found prevalent among the employees of the company. The employees were often found complaining of problems with the pay bills and distribution of bonuses. They raised the issue of biasedness to be present among the ranks within the organization. The problem was of the transference. Employees were not aware of the proceedings that were carried out behind the scene, and the end of every month they found some discrepancy between what they expected to earn, and what they had actually earned. Another problem that was found closely associated with the level of mistrust among the employees was the absence of equality; rather the employees complained that there is unequal distribution of bonuses. Explicit rewards are those gains that can be measured. They are based on simple mathematics principles, where an individual is paid according to his or her performance. Further, a company can use an explicit reward scheme to motivate its employees, through setting clear bonuses, and defining the tasks. It is often observed that managers are too much occupied by traditional notions like presence and absence, they pay people for their regularity, but regularity is not always equal to productivity. The purpose of paying bonuses for regularity is to ensure the presence of individuals at the job site, and provide maximum output. However, employees may get regular but their productivity is found to be unsatisfactory. Giving autonomy to the employees can work in two ways it can work as a reward as well as motivator for better

The First and Second Amendment Essay Example for Free

The First and Second Amendment Essay When the Constitution was written, it was not the intent of the authors to assure human rights to its citizenry, it was written in order to set up a federal government that would allow the United States to be a self-governing entity, and to put in place a system of government that would serve the citizens of the country in the way that they saw fit. After the ratification of the Constitution in 1787, â€Å"people soon began to notice that it did not list many of the personal liberties (individual rights) that they had come to believe were theirs. (Cullop, 1999) At the behest of some states the first ten amendments were added to the Constitution that protected the personal rights of the citizens called the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment prevents Congress from implementing an official religion, offers the free exercise of religion, and allows freedom of speech in the public and the press without fear of legal retribution for what is said. It also allows citizens to assemble peaceably to protest government or its decisions and to petition the government to change things that the people do not agree with. On the surface this amendment appears to settle some problems, but as time has gone by there have been many interpretations of the words and many arguments as to the intentions of the authors when the amendment was written. Most people agree that freedom of the press is necessary for the dissemination of accurate and reliable information whether it is good, bad or otherwise. People just basically want all of the facts. One conflict that has come from the general wording of the First Amendment is how the press will handle the confidentiality of their sources when reporting. The authenticity of what the press presents depends on the guarantee that sources can be protected. Many people would not otherwise give information for fear of implications that would arise from giving that information. The amendment protects a citizen from punishment for what they have said, but it offers no protection for the privacy of providing information without revealing the source. Recently there have been many bills introduced at both the House and Senate level asking for this protection to be guaranteed by law. In 2005 a bill was introduced into both the House and the Senate that would establish a Federal shield law that would in essence protect the source of information used by the media to report a story. The argument is whether or not the first amendment should preclude the security of the nation. The legislators think that this would prevent the government from protecting America from terror by allowing potential terrorist or informants to escape questioning or observation. So far the issue has not passed through the legal avenues due to the potential for compromising national security. Another controversial issue that has risen from the First Amendment is the freedom of religion and the right to exercise religion. Again this comes from years of twisting and turning of words and arguments as to the intent of the framers. The issue stems from the interpretation of the wording â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion†. Some people say that this means that no laws will be made that respects any religion over another, while others argue that the intent of the framers was to prohibit the government from establishing laws that set up one religious point of view as the official religion such as they experienced in England. Regardless of what position people take, the Supreme Court has ruled that there shall be no law that respects one religion over another. This decision affirmed the idea of separation of church and state. In response to this ruling, it has become illegal to display the Ten Commandments in public buildings because this is considered the foundation on which Christianity and Judaism was founded. According to the Supreme Court this display violates the First Amendment rights of those citizens who are not Christians or Jews to have no official religion. Christians argue that while they believe that the Ten Commandments were given to the people by God as a way to self govern themselves according to His will, they also believe that these are good rules for anyone to follow regardless of their religious position and that by removing these laws of God from publicly owned property, it violates the Christians right to freedom of worship. The second amendment to the Constitution is commonly known as the right for citizens to keep and bear arms. Again the argument becomes what is written versus what was intended. The wording says that â€Å"the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed†. Taken literally this means that all American’s have the right to own and use firearms for whatever purpose they choose. When viewed from the intent of the authors, and inference from the context, it seems that this amendment was intended for the security of the land. This view aised many questions even among its supporters. It has been debated if this means that as long as you own a firearm for protection it is within the law, or does this mean that the government can not specify what kind of weapon and/or the uses of that weapon. This issue is at the forefront of the Assault Weapons Ban. Laws were passed to ban certain types of weapons that the government deemed as unnecessary or impractical for self defense. The opponents of this law argued that it was a violation of the literal interpretation of the amendment. The law passed into its â€Å"sunset† phase without being renewed making it legal to own weapons that were previously considered to be assault suited weapons. People who favor gun control believe that this has caused a serious risk to the security of the citizens, while people who are gun owners believe that it is their right by law to own these guns and that the ban was unconstitutional.

Ethical Issues of Advertising to Children

Ethical Issues of Advertising to Children Ethical Dilemma, Practices and Implications of Children Advertising Creating outstanding products and programs to win marketplace is not an easy job. Specialists in marketing have to develop comprehensive research plans, carry out market researches, analyse the data collected and finally come up with marketing plans that target specific consumer segments. Finding out about human psychology, their preferences, choices and appeals are not only difficult but at times disappointingly inaccurate. Yet marketers today consider themselves experts in such endeavours, and are capable of achieving the almost impossible marketing objectives.   As if these aspects of marketing are not difficult enough, in modern-day marketing field there is a niche in which the marketers have to deal with children. The most difficult task is perhaps the determination of the choices and preferences of these fickle individuals who are still developing, absorbing the environment and learning to become like their adult counterparts. The task of marketing to children is not only daunting but also critical for many businesses such as Nike, Microsoft, Johnson Johnson, Disney, Pepsi, Sega,Kellogs and Mattel to name a few. These companies go through extensive research and consultancy to get to the untapped market of child consumers. One such example is evident in Dan S. Cuff and Robert H. Reiner’s (1998) Youth Market Systems.  According to the authors the development of outstanding products and programs to win childrens marketplace is entirely different from the rest of the market segments. For this purpose they invent a marketing process called Youth Market Systems. The System ensures marketers consider all aspects of marketing to children or teens for any category of goods or services that companies want to sell. There Isa great need for a system of analysis and interpretation as the authors feel that information pertaining to cognitive, emotional and social needs of age groups could transform the programs or product features that target them. Cuff and Reiner’s (1998) strategy merely opens window to the world of advertising to children. As one investigates the categories of products and services that are available to young children, one also tend to develop the consistent belief that children are a separate kind of consumer group and must be treated differently, from advertising to the designing of products. All these efforts no doubt are valid and justified in their own place and position, however a niggling thought crosses the mind when one observes the various approaches and efforts that marketers adopt to reach out to the vulnerable youth consumer segment. There are reasons for these tactics. Cuff and Rehire record approximately $1 billion annual gross revenue for Mattel Incorporated that sells Barbie’s. There are others such as Garfield, He-Man, Cabbage Patch Kids, Power Rangers, LEGO, GI Joes and a myriad of upcoming products invading the market with the sole purpose to tap on these young consumers who are bound by childish emotions and penchant for toys and games. Schemes and strategies are being devised to win over these young consumers for high stakes amounting to billions of pounds. What is more, advertising and marketing to children does not only involve the youngsters but their parents also. For example the Youth Market System identifies parents, grandparents and other close family members as the most influential on children’s purchasing decision. Exploring this group is critical because they are the ones who have control over the wallet and it is on them that children are dependent. The complexity in children marketing therefore lies in attracting both the youngsters and appealing to the parents. A winning formula must be developed to attract both the parents and children. The complexity of this formula makes success rate low which induces marketers to resort to all kinds of schemes and strategies to achieve their desired target, including crossing the line of ethics especially in the field of advertising of children related products (Cuff and Rehire 1998). Scholars and parents alike feel that there are no avenues that advertisers and businesses will not exploit to reach to the young consumers. Exploitations through mental, moral and physical developments of children are common. The strategies to target children involve creation of wants to satisfy the impulse rather than actual needs. For example consoles such as Mattels Hot Wheels, and Barbie’s fashion collections are not really required by children but wants created by advertisers and marketing campaigns. Long term needs satisfaction has been replaced by short term needs. They are not the only ones exploited. Their parents are also plagued with different kinds of created needs for their children such as the wellbeing; status symbol; and their selfish need to have their child preoccupied with the multitude of products and free them from child responsibilities. Statement of the Problem These aspects portray not only the ugly but also the unethical sides of the world of advertising. How true are these aspects and to what extent do advertisers reach to capture their target consumers? Do they cross the borders of ethics or not to maximise gains from vulnerable consumer market? And what, if anything, should be done to control and ultimately restrict the freedom of advertising aimed at children are some of the areas that the following research will endeavour to enumerate. Literature Review Children have become the key target for many advertisers. Children are vulnerable, easy to exploit consumers and they perceive things as advertisers want them to perceive, or so many of us believe. Despite the fact that children are nowadays smart and knowledgeable of the marketplace nevertheless for many marketers they are relatively easy to target due to the sheer size of the childrens consumer market. Advertisers thrive by earning billions of pounds with the backing and funding of the profit seeking organizations that hire them. These companies are not only producing goods that appeal to the children but they are also exploiting their parents. The dual targeting approach makes this market segment attractive as well as representative of high yield for investment. For example in many regions of the world including the US, Europe and Japan, companies are investing billions so that they can capture and tap the youth market segment but at the same time they are also reaping billions in return. Advertisers and marketers are entrusted with the task to achieve sales targets by generating desired actions from the segment. The wide appeal has motivated many professionals to enter and adopt whatever means and measures to achieve their targets. Ethical implications surpasses but few in the field of advertising that target children. For these reasons the authority, lobbyists and parents are demonstrating their concerns regarding the impact of media and advertising on children. The following literature review will first outline why and how children are targeted, followed by a review of the kind of ethical implications advertising and the media has on children. This will be followed by an exploration of the measures that are being taken to counteract the problem, if any. Children Advertising Advertising to children has not been an issue until recently with the boom of the media. More and more parents are concerned about the legal controls that the authority levy on advertising criteria as most are concerned about the kind of tactics advertisers are using to influence children for the sake of maximizing their profits. For example Begot and Dottie (2004) note that pornography, cigarette and tobacco related, alcohol and other products prohibited for children are being promoted on television freely without restriction. Advertisement messages for these adult related products are tailored for adult consumption but due to the appeal of mass viewership and the higher profits, the advertisements are aired during children television primetime. As a result the advertisements expose children to contents that are not meant for them. Had that been the only case then the issue of advertisement would not have been so controversial. Research suggest that children between the ages of 6 and 14 years old watch about 25 hours of television per week in the US and they are exposed to 20,000 commercials in a  year (Moore and Lutz 2000).Children at this age are vulnerable because they are developing a sense to comprehend and evaluate messages in the environment. Stimulated messages on television not only have a harmful impact but they are also detrimental in persuading children to develop wants for products that are not meant for them. According to Moore and Lutz (2000) Beyond advertisements, children gain marketplace information from the products they encounter, advice from friends and relatives, and their own consumption experiences. Through consumption, children learn what products are good and bad, whether advertising claims are truthful, what brands they prefer, and even products that convey social meanings apart from their functional properties. For children the experiences that heighten their importance in their social circle and the adult world have the most meaning. They do not have the ability to counteract or check on the viability or the authenticity of the message initially when they are young as they are dependent on adults for explanatory information accessible only through print media. By the time children grow to the teenage level the functionality of literacy diminishes tube replaced by their desire and need to fit in their social life. Without consideration for product usefulness or content, children develop wants for products beyond their pockets and reach. Similarly, children are also exposed to advertisements for fashion products that are actually designed for adult consumers but they are often condensed to tailor to the younger audience with the purpose to include the young consumers in the marketing campaigns. For this reason children develop receptivity for fashion products without the required information for decision making.  Moore and Lutz (2000) recognize the importance of childrens advertising and its impact on young audience by revealing that children are receptive to advertising demonstrated in experiments of relation between ads and products. They write: Research investigating childrens receptivity to television advertising has studied what children understand, under what circumstances they are persuaded, and how their responses evolve as they mature (e.g. Macklin 1987; Redder 1981). Drawing extensively on information processing and stage models, researchers have gained substantial insight into the development of childrens cognitive skills and their deployment during ad processing. (Moore and Lutz 2000) Their research indicates that children are at a stage where they are developing cognitive abilities. Advertisers vie on this susceptible developmental stage by targeting the limited processors of children that have not yet acquired efficient information processing strategies, a fact that may be reflected in their inability to distinguish between central and peripheral content in message learning. (Moore and Lutz2000). They further this idea by writing that at the stage of ages 8and 12 children are susceptible to information that are stimulated and that target the vulnerability of the strategic processors.   Because at this age group children tend to spontaneously employ efficient information storage and retrieval strategies. They organize and retrieve information based on available information and stimulus. Unless their knowledge of advertising is expressly activated by such acute, these children tend not to think critically or generate counterarguments spontaneously. They may also neglect to differentiate between central and peripheral content when learning new information. When there is an appropriate cue in their environment, however, they are likely to retrieve and use relevant information. (Moore and Lutz2000). Therefore children may develop recognition mechanism on how advertising should be viewed but that is dependent on external factors like parental guide, government policies or other mediating channels. Evidence suggests that there is substantial amount of influence on this age group when they are not guided in the preliminary stages in understanding the intent of advertisements. Research reveals that significant guidelines must be levied before children rationale and deliberate on the content of advertisements shown on television. â€Å"Advertising is thus implicitly accorded substantial power to shape children’s thinking until they acquire sufficient cognitive and attitudinal defences. (Moore and Lutz 2000). Other than the cognitive development impressions on children, advertising also influence them to take actions. In a study by Smithland Wynyard (1982) on consumer behaviour and response towards product trials offer through advertisements suggests that because consumers know that advertisers wish to present their brands in a favourable light, they react to ads by partially discounting claims and forming tentatively held brand beliefs and attitudes. In contrast when consumers have direct usage experience, they form stronger, more confidently held brand beliefs and attitudes. This phenomenon has been observed in a number of studies with adults and may be consistent with the case of children. The same expectations is held with regard to children advertising as researchers are of the opinion that with age, the capacity to form brand opinions tend to be more among older children. For example children of age groups 10 and 12, and 12 and 14year olds tend to tell the truth and more likely to be sceptical towards the institution of advertising rather than blindly accept advertisement claims. According to Michel Begot and Barbara Dottie (2004) children advertising are dynamic and highly appealing. The authors are of the opinion that children are the key target for advertisers because brand preferences in this age group remain unchanged for a long time. Children remain loyal to the brands they are used to yet at the same time they have growing pockets to afford more expensive items as they grow older. The above aspects indicate that children though are smart and knowledgeable to sceptically evaluate and experiment with products through advertisement claims they are also aware of the fact that these advertisers claim may not be true. At this point it is arguable to note that some school of thoughts separate the vulnerable youngsters from the smart young consumers who have the cognitive ability to critically examine the advertisement claims and disregard them if not proven true. According to Robertson and Resister (1974) if ads present information different from a childs actual experience, confusion may result and trust in advertising may be determined. Conversely, others suggest that until children actually experience discrepancies between products as advertised and as consumed, they are unable to fully comprehend advertisings persuasive intent. For this reason Moore and Lutz (2000) claim that advertising use frames for product trials known as transformational advertising in which adult consumers are drawn towards the products prior to advertising exposures by asking them to participate in the process of experimenting and interacting with the product with the view to interpret, evaluate and subsequently form their experience impressions. The expectancy or discrepancy frame sets are formed for comparison of later product trials which help in determining discrepancies or consistencies of product qualities. Mooreland Lutz (2000) present the testing paradigm to show that rational consumers are clever in testing advertising claims of product performances. Testing paradigm enable them the opportunity to evaluate and form opinions. Children, on the other hand do not have the same reaction or taste for distinguishing discrepancy in the same manner. On the other hand Ziegler (1996) believes that advertising and product trials have different effects on childrens capacity to integrate multiple sources of information for consideration. Young children tend to engage in one-dimensional thinking pattern and rely on multiple dimensions for a given task. Integration is imperative for children because they are dependent on this integration processing of information for forming perceptual domains and consumer behaviour. When younger children are presented with information it is encoded and stored in the recesses of the mind, and whenever needed retrieve it for evaluation. Information integration is basically combining new information presented in the media with the old information, and comparing the two. Disparate media information result in discrepancy inexperience. This in turn results in loss of trust in advertisement messages. Not all children however are wise enough to discriminate information. Moore and Lutz (2000) believe that age differences differentiate expectations and credibility of advertising. They write Younger children have been found to hold more positive attitudes about advertising, to be more likely to believe its claims, and to be less likely to understand its essential purpose. Thus, among younger children advertisings credibility is not likely to arise as a concern, and they are likely to perceive both advertising and a product trial experience as believable sources of information. (Moore and Lutz2000). Clearly, this statement identifies with the fact that younger children are more susceptible to advertising and they are prone to take actions without critical evaluation. For older children advertisers may not integrate strong expectations about a brand and instead focus on the stronger results to generate confidence in product usage (Fazio1986). Alternatively there are groups of advertisers who vie on the physical habits of children. For example one of the most invidious techniques is to use junk food in advertising for children. The use of celebrities to endorse these foods without any consideration for balanced diet or fitness is common in the industry. In the UK the BBC which is funded by licence and tax payers, received around 32 million pounds in 2001for franchising its Tweenies’ characters to McDonalds the Food Commission found that the Tweenies’ products were high in junk elements. Despite this fact the UK government continues to allow brands such as Cadburys to market its products and launch campaigns that have negative effects on the physical health of children. These efforts are designed to generate more profits and not the public interest. They are aware of the fact that the lack of exercise coupled with high calorie food result in obesity and other related diseases in children. The rate of obesity has doubled in the past 10 years from 8.5percent to 15 present among children under 16 years (The Lancet 2003).Yet advertisements continue to infiltrate the media and other channels with the objective to vie on children. Advertising Strategies Children have long been recognized as the target market for many companies due to its economic potential. Recent estimates by Moore(2004) indicate that children and associated markets account for 24billion dollars of direct spending and it has an additional 500 billion dollars influence over family purchases. Children are considered to be potential gold mines for campaigners and advertisers alike. Television channels and the print media as well as companies are constantly engaged in complex product placements, sales promotions, packaging design, public relations, and in-school marketing activities with the view to reach out to children and their parents. Given the time children spend in front of the television, on the Internet and media gadgets, marketers realize that children form a huge consumer base for â€Å"toys, breakfast cereals, candy and snacks etc. For this purpose there are more and more commercials on television to induce buying preference and action. TV commercials especially are being developed to induce children to purchase and participate in programs promoting cars, fashion, cell phones and other such adult related products. According to Moore (2004) At the root of the childrens advertising debate is the question of childrens unique vulnerabilities. Concerns about young children range from their inability to resist specific selling efforts to a fear that without benefit of well-developed critical thinking skills they may learn undesirable social values such as materialism†(Macklin, 1986 qt. Moore 2004). Her view is also affirmed by Cuff Andrei her (1998) who indicate through their study that children are susceptible to advertisements because of the extensive measures and strategies adopted by the advertisers. Their study reveals that marketers devise winning formulas to gain the confidence of children by sending out messages that winning children are those who are associated with certain brands. These may be Barbie, He-Man, Teletubbies or Spider-Man. Identification and association are the keys to the winning formula. The success rate of the winning formula depends on how deep an impact the product or brand has through the advertisements. These are developed based on the knowledge of the development of the mind of the growing consumers. The product leverage mix is formed based on qualities that are demanded by children such as characteristics of aero, power of a character and/or qualities of the product. The product leverage matrix is a comprehensive model formed for analysing the needs and wants of the young consumers and a guide to allow marketers to have look at the bigger picture. Once the matrix is determined the medium, concept, content, context, process, characters or personality, and attitude or style are established. Elements to be noted include: What is the psychological point of view of the target audience? What are the visual and verbal contents that will be used for the product? How marketers will form the context of the advertisements for the target audience and the kind of processes that will be involved to create an interface for interaction with the potential consumers? Character association or the use of personality to denote product quality is also common in the designing of the matrix etc. (Cuff and Rehire 1998). The marketers are also aware that young children are intelligent individuals who exercise their developing cognitive abilities by associating qualities with certain images. For example Bugs Bunny is clever rabbit or Kellogg’s Pop Tarts are fruity flavoured etc. They are able to associate as well as distinguish between products and characteristics of the products. Identifying the points of difference from the children’s perspectives is critical but not impossible. Acuffand Rehire (1998) also note that these are assumptions that adults make regarding the preferences of children such as teens wanting more energy; identifying with hero athletes; wanting great taste or new product names. Yet at the same time they also warn the marketers that: more often than not these assumptions are left unexamined as to veracity and strength. Its an important practice to check assumptions: check what the leverage actually is, and its relative power versus what has been assumed. More often than not, adults make erroneous assumptions about what kids perceive to be important and powerful because adults are looking at their product or program through adult eyes. It is critical to get at the actual leverage rather than the assumed leverage. With the above hypothetical Enerjuice example in mind, adults may be surprised when testing directly with kids focus groups reveals that the new products blue colour is its most powerful point of leverage and that the majority of kids tested dislike the new name. (Cuff and Rehire 1998). The basic premise in such a condition is that marketers need to ensure they give promises and fulfil them too thereby gaining competitive advantage. This kind of positioning helps them to organize and categorize products in the mind of the targeted consumers. In the end however, the marketers must realize that it is the bigger picture that needs to be satisfied that is product leverage matrix. At the centre of the matrix are the crucial elements that should not be neglected such as gender, stage, age, structure, dimension, style and past experience. The consumers are at the end of this list and are the most powerful deciding factor that can make or break their products. They conclude that Successful products and programs are those that satisfy their needs and wants in the short term (impulse) or in the long term. While a colourful and involving Tricks cereal package with a maze on the back provides for short-term needs satisfaction, Mattels Hot Wheel scars year after year continue to provide young boys with something they need and want small, easily manipulability, colourful minibars that are fun and involving to play cars with (Vroom! Vroom!) And to accumulate and collect. (Cuff and Rehire 1998). Ethical Implications Children advertising have attracted legal, scholars and parental attention. Proponents of the children targeted marketing and advertising argue that the financial backing that children programs are getting derive from sponsors who make programs on television possible. Advertising to children are therefore motivated by profitability. Furthermore they also argue that these sponsors target a separate niche market of children of age group 12 and 14. Advertising provides them with product information and does not really provide stimulus as children in this age group are more like adults with their specific ideologies, attitudes and behaviours where preferences of products and services are concerned. They have been exposed to persuasive messages for a long time and can distinguish persuasive messages from empowering ones. Thus they are product and advertising savvy. On the other hand opponents such as parents and consumer protection groups argue that advertising directed at children are not only unethical but they are also manipulative stimulants that promote consumerism in children from a very young age. Advertisements create wants and poor nutritional habits that induce children to pester parents for products that are harmful for them (Berger 1999). Their opinions have been affirmed by Cuff and Rehire (1997) who suggest that preschool children at two and three years old tend to identify with frequently seen images and therefore would be attracted towards spokes-character in advertising and marketing. The desire to see these characters and related products they see on television, packaging and promotions induce demand for the same among children. According to DelVecchio (1998, p. 225), The objective is to select an effective piece of advertising that will break through clutter, communicate the name of the brand, its key feature and benefit, and do so in a cool way that will elicit a childs request. Those advertisers are successful who successfully use innovation, meticulous marketing, planning and massive exposures in their key characters according to Schneider (1989). The ethical dilemma enters the scenario when one refers to the degree and extent of the use of stimuli. Research indicates that spokes-characters use role play and features that would relate animated with human characters and thereby influence childrens attitudes(Cheat et al 1992). The issues surrounding the use of advertising characters to children stem from the fact that the characters are commoditized without consideration for its impact on the children. Without regulations, advertisers tend to deviate from the conventional use of these characters. They treat children and adult related products alike. That is perhaps the reason why Cross (2002) indicates that there has been a rise in restrictions on tobacco advertising during the 1990sto curb tobacco companies from targeting children by the use of spokes-characters in their advertising and marketing campaigns. In this context advertisements have a deep ethical impact on the cognitive and development of growing children and the authority needs to recognize this fact. According to Redder (1981) children are vulnerable and fail to utilize cognitive plans for storing and retrieving information. The categorization of processing deficiencies stem from the childs inability to use the actual strategies and aids for storing information in the memory. Limited processing capabilities in young age group especially induce children to learn through memorization and are not capable of using tools for separating, segregating and processing information according to utility. Instead they use information incidentally. Television uses fast pace visual graphics and audio-visual medium to influence pre-schoolers and around that age group. The effects become consistent when children are regularly exposed to these audio-visual images so that they become imprinted on the minds of the young children (Alit et al 1980).Animation and other stimulus have double impact on the information processors of children. As children become receptive to advertisements or images that are regularly shown they come to recognize it in their daily experiences. Once the images are imprinted in the targeted group’s mind it is easy to generate brand recognition through triggering keys which may be in the form of visual or audio effects. Spokes-characters such cartoon characters have this essential effects on the children. Studies have found that young children often discriminate between products on simple heuristic of whether one particular quality (which may include brand name or character) is present or not (Rust and Hyatt 1991 qt.Neeley and Schumann 2004). Another aspect of advertisements is that children tend to associate with the characters and brand that they prefer. Instilling a brand in children’s minds is easy when spokes-characters are used to define the qualities of the products. For example in Ban’s (1996) study four and five year olds proved to be receptive to product characteristics by inferring spokes-characters. Bah gives the example of cereal boxes. Boxes with cartoons are associated with sugary and sweet cereal meant â€Å"for kids while those that do not have cartoons are bland and not sweet, and are meant for adults. This logic for cereal preferences and choices indicate that advertisements with their logos, characters and cartoons all have a great impact on the minds of young children in this age group. While Ban’s example seem harmless whereby advertisers are merely using the characteristics and qualities of products to appeal to the young consumers, Fischer et all’s (1991) example raises ethical dilemma. In their study the researchers asked children ages three to six to identify logo brands with the appropriate product. They observe that children tend to associate the Old Joe character with cigarettes. This association has been developed through the inference of the Camel advertisements that uses Old Joe a cartoon character for brand personalization. Hence, the researchers conclude that regardless of the intentions of advertisers and marketers, the effects of advertising on children are inevitable. Yet there are arguments against this view by psychologists such sapient (1929). This group of individuals are of the view that preoperational children between ages two and seven do not really process information logically or abstractly. They rely on processing strategies such as â€Å"transductive† to connect between thoughts and reasoning and therefore not susceptible to the underlying qualities. They may understand simple expressions of but have difficulty in associating it with product differentiation. Consequently Neely and Schumann (2004) write: While research findings show that young childr Ethical Issues of Advertising to Children Ethical Issues of Advertising to Children Ethical Dilemma, Practices and Implications of Children Advertising Creating outstanding products and programs to win marketplace is not an easy job. Specialists in marketing have to develop comprehensive research plans, carry out market researches, analyse the data collected and finally come up with marketing plans that target specific consumer segments. Finding out about human psychology, their preferences, choices and appeals are not only difficult but at times disappointingly inaccurate. Yet marketers today consider themselves experts in such endeavours, and are capable of achieving the almost impossible marketing objectives.   As if these aspects of marketing are not difficult enough, in modern-day marketing field there is a niche in which the marketers have to deal with children. The most difficult task is perhaps the determination of the choices and preferences of these fickle individuals who are still developing, absorbing the environment and learning to become like their adult counterparts. The task of marketing to children is not only daunting but also critical for many businesses such as Nike, Microsoft, Johnson Johnson, Disney, Pepsi, Sega,Kellogs and Mattel to name a few. These companies go through extensive research and consultancy to get to the untapped market of child consumers. One such example is evident in Dan S. Cuff and Robert H. Reiner’s (1998) Youth Market Systems.  According to the authors the development of outstanding products and programs to win childrens marketplace is entirely different from the rest of the market segments. For this purpose they invent a marketing process called Youth Market Systems. The System ensures marketers consider all aspects of marketing to children or teens for any category of goods or services that companies want to sell. There Isa great need for a system of analysis and interpretation as the authors feel that information pertaining to cognitive, emotional and social needs of age groups could transform the programs or product features that target them. Cuff and Reiner’s (1998) strategy merely opens window to the world of advertising to children. As one investigates the categories of products and services that are available to young children, one also tend to develop the consistent belief that children are a separate kind of consumer group and must be treated differently, from advertising to the designing of products. All these efforts no doubt are valid and justified in their own place and position, however a niggling thought crosses the mind when one observes the various approaches and efforts that marketers adopt to reach out to the vulnerable youth consumer segment. There are reasons for these tactics. Cuff and Rehire record approximately $1 billion annual gross revenue for Mattel Incorporated that sells Barbie’s. There are others such as Garfield, He-Man, Cabbage Patch Kids, Power Rangers, LEGO, GI Joes and a myriad of upcoming products invading the market with the sole purpose to tap on these young consumers who are bound by childish emotions and penchant for toys and games. Schemes and strategies are being devised to win over these young consumers for high stakes amounting to billions of pounds. What is more, advertising and marketing to children does not only involve the youngsters but their parents also. For example the Youth Market System identifies parents, grandparents and other close family members as the most influential on children’s purchasing decision. Exploring this group is critical because they are the ones who have control over the wallet and it is on them that children are dependent. The complexity in children marketing therefore lies in attracting both the youngsters and appealing to the parents. A winning formula must be developed to attract both the parents and children. The complexity of this formula makes success rate low which induces marketers to resort to all kinds of schemes and strategies to achieve their desired target, including crossing the line of ethics especially in the field of advertising of children related products (Cuff and Rehire 1998). Scholars and parents alike feel that there are no avenues that advertisers and businesses will not exploit to reach to the young consumers. Exploitations through mental, moral and physical developments of children are common. The strategies to target children involve creation of wants to satisfy the impulse rather than actual needs. For example consoles such as Mattels Hot Wheels, and Barbie’s fashion collections are not really required by children but wants created by advertisers and marketing campaigns. Long term needs satisfaction has been replaced by short term needs. They are not the only ones exploited. Their parents are also plagued with different kinds of created needs for their children such as the wellbeing; status symbol; and their selfish need to have their child preoccupied with the multitude of products and free them from child responsibilities. Statement of the Problem These aspects portray not only the ugly but also the unethical sides of the world of advertising. How true are these aspects and to what extent do advertisers reach to capture their target consumers? Do they cross the borders of ethics or not to maximise gains from vulnerable consumer market? And what, if anything, should be done to control and ultimately restrict the freedom of advertising aimed at children are some of the areas that the following research will endeavour to enumerate. Literature Review Children have become the key target for many advertisers. Children are vulnerable, easy to exploit consumers and they perceive things as advertisers want them to perceive, or so many of us believe. Despite the fact that children are nowadays smart and knowledgeable of the marketplace nevertheless for many marketers they are relatively easy to target due to the sheer size of the childrens consumer market. Advertisers thrive by earning billions of pounds with the backing and funding of the profit seeking organizations that hire them. These companies are not only producing goods that appeal to the children but they are also exploiting their parents. The dual targeting approach makes this market segment attractive as well as representative of high yield for investment. For example in many regions of the world including the US, Europe and Japan, companies are investing billions so that they can capture and tap the youth market segment but at the same time they are also reaping billions in return. Advertisers and marketers are entrusted with the task to achieve sales targets by generating desired actions from the segment. The wide appeal has motivated many professionals to enter and adopt whatever means and measures to achieve their targets. Ethical implications surpasses but few in the field of advertising that target children. For these reasons the authority, lobbyists and parents are demonstrating their concerns regarding the impact of media and advertising on children. The following literature review will first outline why and how children are targeted, followed by a review of the kind of ethical implications advertising and the media has on children. This will be followed by an exploration of the measures that are being taken to counteract the problem, if any. Children Advertising Advertising to children has not been an issue until recently with the boom of the media. More and more parents are concerned about the legal controls that the authority levy on advertising criteria as most are concerned about the kind of tactics advertisers are using to influence children for the sake of maximizing their profits. For example Begot and Dottie (2004) note that pornography, cigarette and tobacco related, alcohol and other products prohibited for children are being promoted on television freely without restriction. Advertisement messages for these adult related products are tailored for adult consumption but due to the appeal of mass viewership and the higher profits, the advertisements are aired during children television primetime. As a result the advertisements expose children to contents that are not meant for them. Had that been the only case then the issue of advertisement would not have been so controversial. Research suggest that children between the ages of 6 and 14 years old watch about 25 hours of television per week in the US and they are exposed to 20,000 commercials in a  year (Moore and Lutz 2000).Children at this age are vulnerable because they are developing a sense to comprehend and evaluate messages in the environment. Stimulated messages on television not only have a harmful impact but they are also detrimental in persuading children to develop wants for products that are not meant for them. According to Moore and Lutz (2000) Beyond advertisements, children gain marketplace information from the products they encounter, advice from friends and relatives, and their own consumption experiences. Through consumption, children learn what products are good and bad, whether advertising claims are truthful, what brands they prefer, and even products that convey social meanings apart from their functional properties. For children the experiences that heighten their importance in their social circle and the adult world have the most meaning. They do not have the ability to counteract or check on the viability or the authenticity of the message initially when they are young as they are dependent on adults for explanatory information accessible only through print media. By the time children grow to the teenage level the functionality of literacy diminishes tube replaced by their desire and need to fit in their social life. Without consideration for product usefulness or content, children develop wants for products beyond their pockets and reach. Similarly, children are also exposed to advertisements for fashion products that are actually designed for adult consumers but they are often condensed to tailor to the younger audience with the purpose to include the young consumers in the marketing campaigns. For this reason children develop receptivity for fashion products without the required information for decision making.  Moore and Lutz (2000) recognize the importance of childrens advertising and its impact on young audience by revealing that children are receptive to advertising demonstrated in experiments of relation between ads and products. They write: Research investigating childrens receptivity to television advertising has studied what children understand, under what circumstances they are persuaded, and how their responses evolve as they mature (e.g. Macklin 1987; Redder 1981). Drawing extensively on information processing and stage models, researchers have gained substantial insight into the development of childrens cognitive skills and their deployment during ad processing. (Moore and Lutz 2000) Their research indicates that children are at a stage where they are developing cognitive abilities. Advertisers vie on this susceptible developmental stage by targeting the limited processors of children that have not yet acquired efficient information processing strategies, a fact that may be reflected in their inability to distinguish between central and peripheral content in message learning. (Moore and Lutz2000). They further this idea by writing that at the stage of ages 8and 12 children are susceptible to information that are stimulated and that target the vulnerability of the strategic processors.   Because at this age group children tend to spontaneously employ efficient information storage and retrieval strategies. They organize and retrieve information based on available information and stimulus. Unless their knowledge of advertising is expressly activated by such acute, these children tend not to think critically or generate counterarguments spontaneously. They may also neglect to differentiate between central and peripheral content when learning new information. When there is an appropriate cue in their environment, however, they are likely to retrieve and use relevant information. (Moore and Lutz2000). Therefore children may develop recognition mechanism on how advertising should be viewed but that is dependent on external factors like parental guide, government policies or other mediating channels. Evidence suggests that there is substantial amount of influence on this age group when they are not guided in the preliminary stages in understanding the intent of advertisements. Research reveals that significant guidelines must be levied before children rationale and deliberate on the content of advertisements shown on television. â€Å"Advertising is thus implicitly accorded substantial power to shape children’s thinking until they acquire sufficient cognitive and attitudinal defences. (Moore and Lutz 2000). Other than the cognitive development impressions on children, advertising also influence them to take actions. In a study by Smithland Wynyard (1982) on consumer behaviour and response towards product trials offer through advertisements suggests that because consumers know that advertisers wish to present their brands in a favourable light, they react to ads by partially discounting claims and forming tentatively held brand beliefs and attitudes. In contrast when consumers have direct usage experience, they form stronger, more confidently held brand beliefs and attitudes. This phenomenon has been observed in a number of studies with adults and may be consistent with the case of children. The same expectations is held with regard to children advertising as researchers are of the opinion that with age, the capacity to form brand opinions tend to be more among older children. For example children of age groups 10 and 12, and 12 and 14year olds tend to tell the truth and more likely to be sceptical towards the institution of advertising rather than blindly accept advertisement claims. According to Michel Begot and Barbara Dottie (2004) children advertising are dynamic and highly appealing. The authors are of the opinion that children are the key target for advertisers because brand preferences in this age group remain unchanged for a long time. Children remain loyal to the brands they are used to yet at the same time they have growing pockets to afford more expensive items as they grow older. The above aspects indicate that children though are smart and knowledgeable to sceptically evaluate and experiment with products through advertisement claims they are also aware of the fact that these advertisers claim may not be true. At this point it is arguable to note that some school of thoughts separate the vulnerable youngsters from the smart young consumers who have the cognitive ability to critically examine the advertisement claims and disregard them if not proven true. According to Robertson and Resister (1974) if ads present information different from a childs actual experience, confusion may result and trust in advertising may be determined. Conversely, others suggest that until children actually experience discrepancies between products as advertised and as consumed, they are unable to fully comprehend advertisings persuasive intent. For this reason Moore and Lutz (2000) claim that advertising use frames for product trials known as transformational advertising in which adult consumers are drawn towards the products prior to advertising exposures by asking them to participate in the process of experimenting and interacting with the product with the view to interpret, evaluate and subsequently form their experience impressions. The expectancy or discrepancy frame sets are formed for comparison of later product trials which help in determining discrepancies or consistencies of product qualities. Mooreland Lutz (2000) present the testing paradigm to show that rational consumers are clever in testing advertising claims of product performances. Testing paradigm enable them the opportunity to evaluate and form opinions. Children, on the other hand do not have the same reaction or taste for distinguishing discrepancy in the same manner. On the other hand Ziegler (1996) believes that advertising and product trials have different effects on childrens capacity to integrate multiple sources of information for consideration. Young children tend to engage in one-dimensional thinking pattern and rely on multiple dimensions for a given task. Integration is imperative for children because they are dependent on this integration processing of information for forming perceptual domains and consumer behaviour. When younger children are presented with information it is encoded and stored in the recesses of the mind, and whenever needed retrieve it for evaluation. Information integration is basically combining new information presented in the media with the old information, and comparing the two. Disparate media information result in discrepancy inexperience. This in turn results in loss of trust in advertisement messages. Not all children however are wise enough to discriminate information. Moore and Lutz (2000) believe that age differences differentiate expectations and credibility of advertising. They write Younger children have been found to hold more positive attitudes about advertising, to be more likely to believe its claims, and to be less likely to understand its essential purpose. Thus, among younger children advertisings credibility is not likely to arise as a concern, and they are likely to perceive both advertising and a product trial experience as believable sources of information. (Moore and Lutz2000). Clearly, this statement identifies with the fact that younger children are more susceptible to advertising and they are prone to take actions without critical evaluation. For older children advertisers may not integrate strong expectations about a brand and instead focus on the stronger results to generate confidence in product usage (Fazio1986). Alternatively there are groups of advertisers who vie on the physical habits of children. For example one of the most invidious techniques is to use junk food in advertising for children. The use of celebrities to endorse these foods without any consideration for balanced diet or fitness is common in the industry. In the UK the BBC which is funded by licence and tax payers, received around 32 million pounds in 2001for franchising its Tweenies’ characters to McDonalds the Food Commission found that the Tweenies’ products were high in junk elements. Despite this fact the UK government continues to allow brands such as Cadburys to market its products and launch campaigns that have negative effects on the physical health of children. These efforts are designed to generate more profits and not the public interest. They are aware of the fact that the lack of exercise coupled with high calorie food result in obesity and other related diseases in children. The rate of obesity has doubled in the past 10 years from 8.5percent to 15 present among children under 16 years (The Lancet 2003).Yet advertisements continue to infiltrate the media and other channels with the objective to vie on children. Advertising Strategies Children have long been recognized as the target market for many companies due to its economic potential. Recent estimates by Moore(2004) indicate that children and associated markets account for 24billion dollars of direct spending and it has an additional 500 billion dollars influence over family purchases. Children are considered to be potential gold mines for campaigners and advertisers alike. Television channels and the print media as well as companies are constantly engaged in complex product placements, sales promotions, packaging design, public relations, and in-school marketing activities with the view to reach out to children and their parents. Given the time children spend in front of the television, on the Internet and media gadgets, marketers realize that children form a huge consumer base for â€Å"toys, breakfast cereals, candy and snacks etc. For this purpose there are more and more commercials on television to induce buying preference and action. TV commercials especially are being developed to induce children to purchase and participate in programs promoting cars, fashion, cell phones and other such adult related products. According to Moore (2004) At the root of the childrens advertising debate is the question of childrens unique vulnerabilities. Concerns about young children range from their inability to resist specific selling efforts to a fear that without benefit of well-developed critical thinking skills they may learn undesirable social values such as materialism†(Macklin, 1986 qt. Moore 2004). Her view is also affirmed by Cuff Andrei her (1998) who indicate through their study that children are susceptible to advertisements because of the extensive measures and strategies adopted by the advertisers. Their study reveals that marketers devise winning formulas to gain the confidence of children by sending out messages that winning children are those who are associated with certain brands. These may be Barbie, He-Man, Teletubbies or Spider-Man. Identification and association are the keys to the winning formula. The success rate of the winning formula depends on how deep an impact the product or brand has through the advertisements. These are developed based on the knowledge of the development of the mind of the growing consumers. The product leverage mix is formed based on qualities that are demanded by children such as characteristics of aero, power of a character and/or qualities of the product. The product leverage matrix is a comprehensive model formed for analysing the needs and wants of the young consumers and a guide to allow marketers to have look at the bigger picture. Once the matrix is determined the medium, concept, content, context, process, characters or personality, and attitude or style are established. Elements to be noted include: What is the psychological point of view of the target audience? What are the visual and verbal contents that will be used for the product? How marketers will form the context of the advertisements for the target audience and the kind of processes that will be involved to create an interface for interaction with the potential consumers? Character association or the use of personality to denote product quality is also common in the designing of the matrix etc. (Cuff and Rehire 1998). The marketers are also aware that young children are intelligent individuals who exercise their developing cognitive abilities by associating qualities with certain images. For example Bugs Bunny is clever rabbit or Kellogg’s Pop Tarts are fruity flavoured etc. They are able to associate as well as distinguish between products and characteristics of the products. Identifying the points of difference from the children’s perspectives is critical but not impossible. Acuffand Rehire (1998) also note that these are assumptions that adults make regarding the preferences of children such as teens wanting more energy; identifying with hero athletes; wanting great taste or new product names. Yet at the same time they also warn the marketers that: more often than not these assumptions are left unexamined as to veracity and strength. Its an important practice to check assumptions: check what the leverage actually is, and its relative power versus what has been assumed. More often than not, adults make erroneous assumptions about what kids perceive to be important and powerful because adults are looking at their product or program through adult eyes. It is critical to get at the actual leverage rather than the assumed leverage. With the above hypothetical Enerjuice example in mind, adults may be surprised when testing directly with kids focus groups reveals that the new products blue colour is its most powerful point of leverage and that the majority of kids tested dislike the new name. (Cuff and Rehire 1998). The basic premise in such a condition is that marketers need to ensure they give promises and fulfil them too thereby gaining competitive advantage. This kind of positioning helps them to organize and categorize products in the mind of the targeted consumers. In the end however, the marketers must realize that it is the bigger picture that needs to be satisfied that is product leverage matrix. At the centre of the matrix are the crucial elements that should not be neglected such as gender, stage, age, structure, dimension, style and past experience. The consumers are at the end of this list and are the most powerful deciding factor that can make or break their products. They conclude that Successful products and programs are those that satisfy their needs and wants in the short term (impulse) or in the long term. While a colourful and involving Tricks cereal package with a maze on the back provides for short-term needs satisfaction, Mattels Hot Wheel scars year after year continue to provide young boys with something they need and want small, easily manipulability, colourful minibars that are fun and involving to play cars with (Vroom! Vroom!) And to accumulate and collect. (Cuff and Rehire 1998). Ethical Implications Children advertising have attracted legal, scholars and parental attention. Proponents of the children targeted marketing and advertising argue that the financial backing that children programs are getting derive from sponsors who make programs on television possible. Advertising to children are therefore motivated by profitability. Furthermore they also argue that these sponsors target a separate niche market of children of age group 12 and 14. Advertising provides them with product information and does not really provide stimulus as children in this age group are more like adults with their specific ideologies, attitudes and behaviours where preferences of products and services are concerned. They have been exposed to persuasive messages for a long time and can distinguish persuasive messages from empowering ones. Thus they are product and advertising savvy. On the other hand opponents such as parents and consumer protection groups argue that advertising directed at children are not only unethical but they are also manipulative stimulants that promote consumerism in children from a very young age. Advertisements create wants and poor nutritional habits that induce children to pester parents for products that are harmful for them (Berger 1999). Their opinions have been affirmed by Cuff and Rehire (1997) who suggest that preschool children at two and three years old tend to identify with frequently seen images and therefore would be attracted towards spokes-character in advertising and marketing. The desire to see these characters and related products they see on television, packaging and promotions induce demand for the same among children. According to DelVecchio (1998, p. 225), The objective is to select an effective piece of advertising that will break through clutter, communicate the name of the brand, its key feature and benefit, and do so in a cool way that will elicit a childs request. Those advertisers are successful who successfully use innovation, meticulous marketing, planning and massive exposures in their key characters according to Schneider (1989). The ethical dilemma enters the scenario when one refers to the degree and extent of the use of stimuli. Research indicates that spokes-characters use role play and features that would relate animated with human characters and thereby influence childrens attitudes(Cheat et al 1992). The issues surrounding the use of advertising characters to children stem from the fact that the characters are commoditized without consideration for its impact on the children. Without regulations, advertisers tend to deviate from the conventional use of these characters. They treat children and adult related products alike. That is perhaps the reason why Cross (2002) indicates that there has been a rise in restrictions on tobacco advertising during the 1990sto curb tobacco companies from targeting children by the use of spokes-characters in their advertising and marketing campaigns. In this context advertisements have a deep ethical impact on the cognitive and development of growing children and the authority needs to recognize this fact. According to Redder (1981) children are vulnerable and fail to utilize cognitive plans for storing and retrieving information. The categorization of processing deficiencies stem from the childs inability to use the actual strategies and aids for storing information in the memory. Limited processing capabilities in young age group especially induce children to learn through memorization and are not capable of using tools for separating, segregating and processing information according to utility. Instead they use information incidentally. Television uses fast pace visual graphics and audio-visual medium to influence pre-schoolers and around that age group. The effects become consistent when children are regularly exposed to these audio-visual images so that they become imprinted on the minds of the young children (Alit et al 1980).Animation and other stimulus have double impact on the information processors of children. As children become receptive to advertisements or images that are regularly shown they come to recognize it in their daily experiences. Once the images are imprinted in the targeted group’s mind it is easy to generate brand recognition through triggering keys which may be in the form of visual or audio effects. Spokes-characters such cartoon characters have this essential effects on the children. Studies have found that young children often discriminate between products on simple heuristic of whether one particular quality (which may include brand name or character) is present or not (Rust and Hyatt 1991 qt.Neeley and Schumann 2004). Another aspect of advertisements is that children tend to associate with the characters and brand that they prefer. Instilling a brand in children’s minds is easy when spokes-characters are used to define the qualities of the products. For example in Ban’s (1996) study four and five year olds proved to be receptive to product characteristics by inferring spokes-characters. Bah gives the example of cereal boxes. Boxes with cartoons are associated with sugary and sweet cereal meant â€Å"for kids while those that do not have cartoons are bland and not sweet, and are meant for adults. This logic for cereal preferences and choices indicate that advertisements with their logos, characters and cartoons all have a great impact on the minds of young children in this age group. While Ban’s example seem harmless whereby advertisers are merely using the characteristics and qualities of products to appeal to the young consumers, Fischer et all’s (1991) example raises ethical dilemma. In their study the researchers asked children ages three to six to identify logo brands with the appropriate product. They observe that children tend to associate the Old Joe character with cigarettes. This association has been developed through the inference of the Camel advertisements that uses Old Joe a cartoon character for brand personalization. Hence, the researchers conclude that regardless of the intentions of advertisers and marketers, the effects of advertising on children are inevitable. Yet there are arguments against this view by psychologists such sapient (1929). This group of individuals are of the view that preoperational children between ages two and seven do not really process information logically or abstractly. They rely on processing strategies such as â€Å"transductive† to connect between thoughts and reasoning and therefore not susceptible to the underlying qualities. They may understand simple expressions of but have difficulty in associating it with product differentiation. Consequently Neely and Schumann (2004) write: While research findings show that young childr