Result of learning behavior test

This class has taught me a lot about myself as a learner and what works best for me when it comes to how I study. EXP 105 has given me the ability to know how I learn and what my strengths are in my learning process. It has shown me that not everyone learns the same way by just reading and responding. That everyone is learning behavior is as unique as one’s fingerprint. My learning behavior is Sequence – 27, Precision – 26, Technical Reasoning 26 Confluence -23, and I am ranked as a Dynamic Learner. My strengths are in my organization skills as well as my ability to be able to plan.In everything I do I lead by planning things out as well as being very organized with list and time schedules. These techniques work very well for me and the more I have learned about them the better I have become in strengthening my learning behavior. I have learned that my LCI not only tells me how I learn but also how I do my discussions and my assignments. I FIT all of my learning behaviors in to everything I do in studying, learning, writing, note taking, and even in tests. I follow a format every time and have become more aware of this the further along I have come in this class and in the assignments.It is almost as if I follow the same exact pattern every time I begin to read or write. I am continuously learning more and more about myself as an intentional learner and will continue to do so thru out my collage experience. In all my assignments, I always begin with making an outline of what I want to cover in my discussions. I make a list of all points that I want to cover and bring up in my papers. I also like to take extensive notes when I read each chapter so that I can always look back and refresh my memory on what I have read.It also makes for an excellent study guide. By learning how I learn it has made it easier to understand the best way for me to write my papers or study in general. As I just get started in my online education, this class has help ed me in how I approach each assignment. I started this journey because I am a single mother of two and want to better our lives. Going to school online gives me the ability to do my class work and studies around my children’s schedules. It enables me to be there to take care of my children, be there for their school and for them in general.It was very important to me that I wanted to go back to school and better myself and my family, but I did not want my children to be neglected or feel pushed aside, and also for me to be able to study and work at my pace. Ashford University has allowed me to do all of this. The faculty has been so wonderful and beyond helpful that I have not felt alone or lost during this new start in my life. I am grateful for this new chapter in my life and all the help from advisors and teachers that I have received and am looking forward to continuing my education with this university.

Global Warming Essay

This essay is based on Global warming and the cause and effect of it. â€Å"Global warming I define as an increase in the earth’s atmospheric and oceanic temperatures widely predicted to occur due to an increase in the greenhouse effect resulting especially from pollution. Increase in the global average surface temperature resulting from enhancement of the greenhouse effect, primarily by air pollution† (Merriam-Webster, 2013). In â€Å"2007 the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change forecasted that by 2100 global average surface temperatures would increase 3. 2–7. 2  °F (1. 8–4.  °C), depending on a range of scenarios for greenhouse gas emissions, and stated that it was now 90 percent certain that most of the warming observed over the previous half century could be attributed to greenhouse gas emissions produced by human activities (i. e. , industrial processes and transportation). Many scientists predict that such an increase in temperature would cause polar ice caps and mountain glaciers to melt rapidly, significantly raising the levels of coastal waters, and would produce new patterns and extremes of drought and rainfall, seriously disrupting food production in certain regions† (Wojtal-frankiewicz, 2012). Other scientists maintain that such predictions are overstated. The 1992 Earth Summit and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change attempted to address the issue of global warming, but in both cases the efforts were hindered by conflicting national economic agendas and disputes between developed and developing nations over the cost and consequences of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases† (Kitson, 2011). To begin, the evidence to this article in Wikipedia that show the originality s the use of departmental organization that show the cause of global warming. This organization is known as (UNFCCC), they highlighted some Global warming controversy. It also showed a pie chart which indicate that glaciers have been retreating since the early 1800s. In the 1950s measurements began that allow the monitoring of glacial mass balance, reported to the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). Moreover the bibliography was also stated to show where the inform ation was came from. Where some of it was from official people with a higher state of position. Information on this article was also picked from books and journals and a full bibliography was provided for it. Looking at this, it can be said that the information was neutral and not a made up one. In addition, the article also has detailed factual information that was the use of another pie chart that indicates the â€Å"Contribution of natural factors and human activities to radiative forcing of climate change. Radiative forcing values are for the year 2005, relative to the pre-industrial era (1750). The contribution of solar irradiance to radiative forcing is 5% the value of the combined radiative forcing due to increases in the atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide†. This stratices was formed in a project known as IPCC. The article seems to be neutral and unbiased due to the use of quotation and picture with a full proper bibliography. The article is similar to our text book as it has the similar format of writing. These are the use of table of content, title, subheading and bibliography. Thus, the information that was in the article was relevant to the topic that I chose. Moreover, some of the addition information that was it the article was the use of the diagrams to show the greenhouse effect. It shows Greenhouse effect schematic showing energy flows between space, the atmosphere, and earth’s surface. Energy exchanges are expressed in watts per square meter. The article also has used the different language that is for better understand to those who does not know much in English. Thus, the article could have used pie chart and line graph to show the increase in the sea level due to global warming. It also should have discussed a country that is mostly affected due to global warming. Final, Wikipedia is not a favourable web site due to some of its features that allow anyone to edit it anytime. The most dangerous feature is the edit button in it. Thus, the overall article was well structured with having least error in it. It was also simple and straight forward to make it user friendly. This was the use of table, pictures and number to add simplicity to the article. The article has some complex situations where it uses different language. So that people can read the article in their own language.

(Business Negotiation) Select any two countries or World regions (like Essay

(Business Negotiation) Select any two countries or World regions (like Asia, Europe, or North America) and using the academic li - Essay Example There is a significant contribution made by culture during international business organizations, and this has an influence on the transactions (Jiachu, Shifi & Li, 2000). Nevertheless, the paper will explore substantial factors that affect the business negotiations between America and China, which will be based on an evaluation of the cultural differences between these countries. CULTURE Interdependence between countries, people and businesses establishes the significance of national cultures. In fact, culture refers to a pattern of behaviors, norms, convictions, values, which are socially transmitted among the community members. Therefore, culture has a substantial influence on people’s thinking, communication and behaviors; thus, becoming a serious source of influence to the aspect of negotiations (Salacuse, 2004). Moreover, culture and nationality among different countries are not the same, while culture is distinct; thus, the paper will focus on the Chinese and American cu lture. There is an immense influence on Chinese culture by traditional philosophies such as Confucianism and Taoism. These philosophies focus on virtual like patience, harmony in relationships and instincts of survival (Faure, 1999). Americans have been identified by their individualism, though they are also known for their value for networking and information. WAYS CULTURE CAN AFFECT NEGOTIATIONS Negotiating Goal People of different culture have varying objectives of engaging in negotiation, there are those who focus on reaching a deal and singing a contract, while others perceive this as a commencement of a long-term association and this emanates to a contract. For instance, in China, there is a focus on creating an interpersonal relationship before establishment of a commercial transaction. In fact, these behaviors are attributed to values of Confucianism; thus, Chinese people have a conviction that a business relationship should be based on interpersonal relationship (Graham & L am, 2003). Establishment of interpersonal relationship is aimed at fostering a relationship attributed to trust during pre-negotiation stage in China. On the other hand, Americans are known to lay lot of emphasis on the signed contract, since numerous negotiators in America are lawyers (Demers, 2002). In fact, there is a virtue acquired by the law students from their schools, which entail engaging in a negotiation with an objective of acquiring a signed contract. Moreover, the Americans consider reaching at an agreement as the final stage of the negotiation; thus, they have a great adherence to the details. Furthermore, Americans have a tendency of rushing to the preliminary stage of a negotiation, which creates a high chance of misunderstandings, and it leads to adverse effects to the process of negotiation. Negotiating Attitude There are forms of attitudes attributed to parties engaging in a negotiation, which are a win-lose or win-win attitude. However, negotiators with a win-win attitude have a perception of a negotiation being a collaborative effort aimed at ensuring that parties have established a mutual beneficial arrangement (Bazerman, Curhan, Moore & Valley, 2000). However, negotiations with parties having a win-lose attitude are focused on ensuring that at the end of the negotiation one party has lost. Nevertheless, Americans and Chinese share a

Budget Information Problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Budget Information Problem - Essay Example Finally, the report wraps up with an analytical assessment of these budget information problems and suggests recommendations to address the budget information deficiencies. I as the accountant carried out a survey on the state of the budget information problem. The budget information problem is as a result of a company not being transparent enough to itself and the public or parties concerned. There is no accountability in the way the budget funds are used and in this case. The report will consider the effect of the availability of budget information to Metropolitan health care services company (Tyler, 2007, p. 146). In so doing, it is essential be familiar with nature and organizational structure of the Metropolitan health care services company. The report will establish the central issues in the budget information affecting Metropolitan health care services company. Besides, it suggests the available policy choices that it can employ in their budgeting processes. The company is expected to select a policy option that is in line with the goals in its budget financing. The report found that it was essential for the the company to have information on issues regarding the expenditure and revenue budget. Budget information is vital, and when it is unavailable, it could imply the lack of accountability and hence misappropriation of funds. Debt management information deficiency is also a constraint for the company’s budgetary processes. I observed that the approach taken by company concerning debt management is not appropriate in the budget stipulation. I hold the position that aims to reform the criteria and conditions that will enable the elimination of budget information problem at Metropolitan health care services comp any (Lindridge, 2011, p. 157). There are frequent typical problems that exist in the budgetary making process at Metropolitan health care services company. One of the fundamental problems is budget information concerning

Women and Minorities in K-12 Leadership Research Proposal

Women and Minorities in K-12 Leadership - Research Proposal Example Minorities are also quite resilient, with a â€Å"never say die† spirit which helps them overcome many of the difficulties that they face in their lives and work. Both women and minorities are quite assertive and they know how to stand up for what is right. The K12 education system needs leaders who are resilient enough not to give in to the challenges that come with managing educational institutions. K12 leadership also needs people who are assertive; those who can ensure that the system runs in accordance with the law. The theoretical foundation of this project will be â€Å"A woman leader can be like the sea horse. She may wobble occasionally after being besieged by the lionfish, but she regains her momentum and remains determined and aloft and swims upright – upstream† (Byers-Pevitts, 2006). Byers-Pevitts means that women cannot be discouraged by any kind of difficulty that they might face. They know how to deal with these difficulties and come out even stronger. Carter (2008) and Page (2004) affirm that women are well suited to carry out more effective K12 leadership as compared to their male counterparts during conflicts. Some researchers have also found out that involving minorities in K12 leadership would help foster some sense of oneness and cultural understanding in an institution. Since the sample size will be a big one, I will use questionnaires since they are cheaper and quicker to administer. The questionnaires are also quite easy to quantify. The interviews will help me get more quality data. They will also help me gain rapport with the interviewees. I will also get an understanding of the respondent’s views from observing their behavior. The purpose of my research is to analyze how effective women and minorities can be in K12 leadership roles. I will use primary and secondary data to show that these two groups

Chinese restaurants and foods in the USA Research Paper

Chinese restaurants and foods in the USA - Research Paper Example Despite the fact that the Chinese restaurants were one of the founders of the food business in the state of California, it is important to note that there were only a few of them within the state. Most were American restaurants until in the last three decades of 19th century. There were only 14 Chinese restaurants in San Francisco by 1882 when the American congress passed the very first Chinese exclusion act. This was opposed to the over one hundred and seventy-five Chinese laundry stores that were distributed all over the town. One ought to note that it was as a result of the numerous Chinese exclusion laws that were passed between 1882 and 1904 that discouraged the expansion of the Chinese food business despite their spectacular cuisines. The disparity between the Chinese and the American eating culture was evident. It was for this reason that the Americans made rice look like the racial symbol of the Asian inferiority and beef as the American superiority. As a matter of fact, food became a racial ideology and the culture of eating rats in Chinese restaurants made the American doubtful of the hygiene in these restaurants. The Chinese culture of eating rats was perhaps the most stereotyped image in the 19th century. In 1897, a company that advertised a pest control product used an image of a Chinese man with his mouth open ready to eat a rat which was, as a matter of fact, a rodent. This was an illustration that the Chinese were perhaps the most effective in exterminating these rodents from the face of the earth.

Its midterm exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Its midterm exam - Essay Example rthless if both the responsibility and authority are not equal to each other as the person may not be able to complete his responsibility as he did not have enough authority to obtain resources. 6. When a manager’s span of control is wide, he has a lot of subordinates reporting to him as compared to managers who have a narrow span of control. In such cases a manager may experience loss of control. 7. Empowerment of employees leads to increased employee engagement in the decision making process and this allows employees to bring in new ideas; this even motivates the employees as they gain a sense of responsibility. Empowerment may be viewed in a negative manner by employees as they may think that manager is just offloading his burden on their shoulders. 9. Exploitative Authoritative and Benevolent Authoritative System are two close approaches of management that are similar to theory Y as these two approaches states that decisions are made at the top and delegated to the lower section of an organization. 14. The theory of Fredrick Taylor fails to attain the goal of long term productivity as this theory is based on top down management rule where the instructions are obtained from the top and in such management scenario change is very hard to take place. 15. Delegation of authority takes place when a manager assigns his responsibility and authority to a subordinate to carry out a particular responsibility (Goetsch 120). The advantage obtained from this is that it increases employee’s involvement, but the downside is that the manager is held responsible if the subordinate fails to carry out the responsibility. 18. Electronic communication decrease the lapse time that used to be caused to make appointments and one particular message can be sent to several individuals at the same time. Electronic communication lacks face to face contact, it can lead to misinterpretation of information and electronic communication even contains lack of privacy. 21. It is

Is Britain becoming too diverse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Is Britain becoming too diverse - Essay Example Multi Cultural Britain – Land of Immigrants VIII. Conclusion IX. Work Cited. Introduction The greater cause of concern in Britain these days has been the ever increasing diversity. This can be sense from the range of ways through which people might experience a unique group of identity; this includes gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and age. Any countries’ ethnic and racial differences are very much significant for its political position. Considering these variations this paper has been written to focus on the diversity that exists in British society and how Britain is approaching the phase of too much diversity. The ever increasing number of people from different ethnic and racial backgrounds and countries was among most significant a change occurring in Britain from 1950’s to until now, as it stands today claiming the title of the world in one city. When describing London in his work Mayor Ken Livingstone says that London is as if à ¢â‚¬Ëœone sees the world being gathered in just one city, living harmoniously, setting example for all’ (in Freedland 2005). ... eral The condition of being or having composed of different sets of elements: that is variety; especially: the inclusion of various types of people (as of people of different cultures or races) in organization or group programs that intend to promote diversity in several schools. It can even be defined as an instance of being composed of different sets of qualities or elements: a moment of being diverse (diversity in opinion). Diversity (politics) If we look at in the political arena, we may find that the term diversity (or the word diverse) is used to primarily describe political entities (student bodies, neighborhoods, etc) with several members having identifiable differences in their lifestyles or backgrounds. The term covers differences in age, gender, religion, racial or ethnic classifications, philosophy, socioeconomic background, genetic attributes, behavior, intelligence, mental health, physical health, sexual orientation, physical abilities, , gender identity, attractiveness , or other identifying features. For measuring human diversity, one may makes use of a diversity index that measures the probability of any two residents, randomly chosen, would have different ethnicities. If all the residents are from the same ethnic group then the diversity is zero. If half of the residents are from one group and half are from another it's then 50. (Diversity Index) Ideology Political creeds that support the idea that diversity is desirable and valuable hold that promoting and recognizing these diverse cultures may help communication among people of different lifestyles and backgrounds, resulting in greater understanding, knowledge, and peaceful coexistence. For instance, "Respect for Diversity" is one of those six principles from Global Greens Charter, a a public

Privacy and Confidentiality in the Electronic Medical Record Research Paper

Privacy and Confidentiality in the Electronic Medical Record - Research Paper Example However, the implementation of ERM is hindered by patient concerns over their privacy and confidentiality of their information and data. The present IT solutions have failed to satisfy the patients’ privacy and trust issues in the medical records. This research looks at the privacy and confidentiality issues in Electronic Medical Records. Table of Contents Acknowledgement 2 Abstract 3 1Introduction 5 1.1 Background Information 5 1.2 Problem statement 6 2 Linking the existing Medical Records 7 3Electronic Medical Records 7 4 Benefits of EMR 8 5 Electronic Medical Record Privacy and Trust 9 6 EMR Privacy 10 7EMR Trust 11 8Preventing the privacy-violating Inferences in the EMR 12 9 Conclusion 13 10References 14 Baatarjav, R. (2010). Privacy management for EMR. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Information Systems Security, Hyderabad, India, 16-20, volume 5352 14 1 Introduction The use of electronic medical record keeping has resulted to increased interest in eval uation of the past records of the patient aimed at improving healthcare delivery. Such research has been using the patient data but then the issues of confidentiality and trust seem to be an issue that has not yet been handled in the studies. It is true that EMS is now a new evolution in the healthcare sector. The use of EMS gives several benefits to the patients, to the public health system and the government (Mark, 2003). There has been an increased use of EMS over the world, but further use and implementation of the concerns affected this project on privacy, trust and confidentiality issues. It is true that the present IT solutions have failed to ensure patient security and their privacy desires, and ensure that the medical data can be trusted. This study looks at the privacy and confidentiality issues in the electronic medical record. This study will cover the most important issue in electronic medical records, the issues of privacy and confidentiality of personal health informa tion. To this date, it is known that the increased development of information technologies has resulted to certain changes in the healthcare system medical records (George, 2010). 1.1 Background Information Personal information is a valuable entity in a person's life, and its value has been increasing tremendously. The individuals who are to be in control of their information value the source of such personal information and value the control of the personal details since such details make one to be uniquely identified. The user's personal information also gives evidence of the value of such information through increased knowledge (Enhydra, 2011). The healthcare information is one of the most sensitive information of a human being that should not be easily disclosed to a third party. This is because such information contains an individual's intimate details and their health conditions that would result to stigmatization if it is disclosed. Such information cans be described as an in dividual's â€Å"biographical core of personal information† (Bell, 2005). Tremendous studies have shown that the value of human personal health information can be seen at the time of interaction of the patients with their healthcare providers. Day in day out, thousands of patients share their personal information with their health care providers for diagnosis, care and treatment. Such information is usually collected and stored by other health care prov

School Prayer & the US Constitution Essay Example for Free

School Prayer the US Constitution Essay Prelude There was a lot of happening in 1960’s, or so it seems. The lawyers, the clerics, the socialists, the politicians, the religious activists and the common public; they all appeared to have something critical, urgent and spat on their agenda; rather exceedingly controversial and notorious matter; the Prayer in Schools. Court prohibits Prayer in Schools Originally, the Warren Court of the 1960s declared prayer in public schools unconstitutional. By examining St. Louis Post-Dispatch, we can cover the story that Court ruled out Prayer in Schools emphasizing state is faithful to an arrangement of a neutral stance. The Supreme Court held June 17, 1963 wrap up that Bible reading and recitation of the Lord’s Prayer as exercises in public schools is unconstitutional. The decision came on the last day of the courts 1962-63 term. It proclaimed adjournment until October. The vote was 8 to 1, with Justice Tom C. Clark writing the majority opinion and Justice Potter Stewart delivering the balk. Justice William Joseph Brennan Jr. wrote a long agreement in the mainstream outlook as did Justices Arthur J. Goldberg and Justice John Marshall Harlan. The court ruled on two appeals openly concerning attacks on such daily prayer and Bible readings at opening exercises in public schools in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Conversely, the decision had a far- reaching effect on such practices in public schools across the land. The officially permitted inquiry concerned with the cases was whether such school recitals abuse the free exercise clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which says, â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.† Justice Clark declared that both the Maryland and Pennsylvania cases could be disposed of in the equivalent belief because they heaved the similar fundamental pronouncement under vaguely dissimilar realistic circumstances. Clark said in the light of the history of the First Amendment and of the cases inferring and affecting its necessities, jury hold that the practices at issue and the laws requiring them are unconstitutional under the establishment clause, under the Fourteenth Amendment of US Constitution. In an earlier case, the court decided June 25, 1962, that the use in New York public schools of a nondenominational prayer which had been composed by state officials violated the First Amendment. The verdict in the New York case was 6 to 1, with Justice Stewart the lone dissenter. Justice Hugo Black was the author of the majority opinion. Justice Felix Frankfurter was ill at the time and did not participate. He later resigned and was succeeded by Justice Arthur Goldberg. Justice Byron R. White, new on the court, did not participate because he did not hear the arguments that preceded the ruling. Justice Clark wrote in 1963 decision that the place of religion in our society is an exalted one, achieved through a long tradition of reliance on the home, the church and the inviolable citadel of the individual heart and mind. In the relationship between man and religion, the state is firmly committed to a position of neutrality. Though the application of that rule requires interpretation of a delicate sort, the rule itself is clearly and concisely stated in the words of the First Amendment. In his dissent, Justice Stewart declared it was a â€Å"fallacious oversimplification† to observe supplies of the First Amendment as launching a single constitutional standard of â€Å"separation of church and state† which can be useful perfunctorily in every case to outline the requisite limitations between government and religion. He err in the first place if they do not recognize, as a matter of history and a matter of the imperatives of the free society, that religion and government must necessarily cooperate in innumerable customs. Although, the previous court decisions have made clear that there is no constitutional bar to use of government property for religious purposes, he said that previous cour t decisions relating to the public schools systems were inadequate to religious instruction or proselytizing actions of religious sects by chucking the weight of secular authority in the wake of the broadcasting the religious doctrine. He saw no danger to the government or religion in the exercises involved in the Maryland and Pennsylvania cases because they involved only a reading of the Bible single handed by remarks which otherwise constitute instruction. He felt the records of the Maryland and Pennsylvania cases were so essentially scarce as to make impossible an informed or accountable resolve of the constitutional issues offered. He didn’t agree that on the records they can say that the establishment clause has necessarily been violated. He favored sending both the Maryland and Pennsylvania cases back to the lower courts for taking of additional evidence. In the Maryland case, Mrs. Madalyn E. Murray and her 16-year-old son, identifying themselves as atheists, attacked constitutionality of a Baltimore city school board regulation. The regulation called for daily opening exercises of Bible reading and recitation of the Lords Prayer. Objecting students are permitted to be excused from the exercises. Maryl ands court of appeals, by a 4-to-3 vote, ruled against objections by the Murrays. The state court said the Constitutions First amendment was not â€Å"intended to stifle all rapport between religion and government.† Counsel for the Murrays argued before the Supreme Court that the Maryland practice breached the figurative wall between church and state. The court was told that the son, William Murray, had been wounded by the practice in that he had lost caste, had been spat on, and was assailed by fellow students of William. In the Pennsylvania case, a three-judge United States district court in Philadelphia unanimously sustained protestations to a state law requiring Bible reading daily at opening exercises of the schools.(Woods) Historical perspective of the US Constitution When the Constitutional Convention initially gathered in Philadelphia in 1787, the spiritual backdrop of the states was diverse. Most states gave authorized gratitude to one recognized spiritual value. For Instance, The state of Virginia, accepted the â€Å"Episcopal Church† as re presentative of the state. Spiritual belief as a central part of colonial life was not in query. Somewhat, sacred matters that occured among states centered on the variations amid states’ conventional values. The political scene also turned off scripts of disunity. The Articles of Confederation had proved insufficient for governing, and the states were aggressive over issues of taxation—namely, which should pay the costs incurred by the Revolutionary War. As the Constitutional Convention assembled, observers supposed the thought of a Constitution, much less a nation, was delicate and quickly fading. Presided by George Washington, this conference of some of the original Founders was observed as a last endeavor for unity. During the Constitutional Convention, states quarreled and self-interest thrived, to the point that no progress was being made. It was then that an aged Ben Franklin stood and said: In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending providence in our favor  ¼ and have we no w forgotten this powerful Friend? Or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance? I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: ‘that God governs in the affairs of man.’ And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? I therefore beg leave to move that, henceforth, prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven and its blessings on our deliberations be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business â€Å" The 81-year-old Benjamin Franklin was not one of the more religiously-minded Founding Fathers—he actually believed more in the rational views of the French Enlightenment—yet he was willing to acknowledge the importance of prayer to the political aspirations of a nation. Not a prayer bound to a denomination, like the states already had, but prayer that acknowledged God as the Creator and Sustainer, prayer that outmoded the trivial blocs of authoritatively standard foundations. (MacLeod 1) Landmark Cases of Supreme Court ENGEL V. VITALE (1962) The Regents School Prayer What authority, if any, does the government have when it comes religious rituals lik e prayers? Can a government write specific prayers for public school students to recite every day? That used to be the case in many places in America, but that was challenged and ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court. This is one of the most important cases in the history of the Supreme Court’s church/state decisions. The State Board of Regents, which had supervisory power over New York public schools, had become concerned about an apparent decline in the morality of school students and so began a program of â€Å"moral and spiritual training† in the schools. This program included a prayer every morning which the Regents themselves had composed in a nondenominational form. Labeled the â€Å"To whom it may concern† prayer by one commentator, it stated: Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country. A group of 10 parents were joined by the ACLU in a suit against the Board of Education of New Hyde Park, New York because they had adopted that prayer. Amicus curiae briefs were filed by the American Ethical Union, the American Jewish Committee and the Synagogue Council of America. Both the state court and the New York Court of Appeals allowed the prayer to be recited. Arguments were made on April 3rd, 1962. On June 25, 1962, the Supreme Court ruled 7 to 1 that it was unconstitutional for a government agency like a school or government agents like public school employees to require students to recite prayers. In his majority opinion, Justice Black sided substantially with the arguments of the separationists, who quoted heavily from Thomas Jefferson and made extensive use of his â€Å"wall of separation† metaphor. Particular emphasis was placed upon James Madison’s â€Å"Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments.† According to Black, the governmentally created prayer recitation is much like the English creation of the Book of Common Prayer. It was to avoid exactly this type of relationship between government and organized religion that many early colonists came to America. In his words, the prayer was â€Å"a practice wholly i nconsistent with the Establishment Clause.† Although the Regents argued that there was no compulsion on students to recite the prayer, Black observed that: Neither the fact that the prayer may be denominationally neutral nor the fact that its observances on the part of students are voluntary can serve to free it from the limitations of the Establishment Clause The Establishment clause is violated regardless of whether there is any â€Å"showing of direct government compulsionwhether those laws operate directly to coerce non-observing individuals or not.† As if he anticipated the harsh public reaction, Black attempted to point out that the decision shows great respect for religion, not hostility. It is neither sacrilegious nor anti-religious to say that each separate government in this country should stay out of the business of writing or sanctioning official prayers and leave that purely religious function to the people themselves and to those the people choose to look to for religious guidance. This case was one of the first in a series of cases, many in the 1960s, in which a variety of religious activities sponsored by the government were found to violate the Establishment Clause. This was the first case which effectively prohibited the government from sponsoring or endorsing official prayers in schools, not Abington School District v. Schempp (from the following year) as is commonly thought. People were outraged that official prayers were no longer permitted in schools, although their anger was directed mostly at the cases which were decided in the following years. Representative of most reactions was a statement from evangelist Billy Graham, who still opposes church/state separation even today: â€Å" This is another step toward the secularization of the United States. [] The framers of our Constitution meant we were to have freedom of religion, not freedom from religion†. Engel v. Vitale got the ball rolling on the separation of church and state in the latter half of the 20th century. (Cline, About: Agnosticism / Atheism) ABINGTON SCHOOL DIST. v. SCHEMPP MURRAY v. CURLETT (1963) Since of the embargo of the First Amendment against the acting out by C ongress of any law respecting an establishment of religion, which is made valid to the States by the Fourteenth Amendment, no state law or school board may require that passages from the Bible be read or that the Lords Prayer be recited in the public schools of a State at the beginning of each school day even if individual students may be excused from attending or participating in such exercises upon written request of their parents. Mutually these cases transactc with â€Å"state-approved reading of Bible passages† before classes in public schools. Schempp was conveye to trial by a religious family who had dropped a line to the ACLU. The Schempps defied a Pennsylvania law which declared that: at least ten verses from the Holy Bible shall be read, without comment, at the opening of each public school day. Any child shall be excused from such Bible reading, or attending such Bible reading, upon written request of his parent or guardian. A federal district court banned this. Murray was conveyed to trial by an atheist: Madalyn Murray (later OHair), who was functioning on the part of her sons, William and Garth. Murray defied a Baltimore statute that supplied for the reading, without comment, of a chapter of the Holy Bible and/or of the Lords Prayer before the start of classes. This act was sustained by both a state court and the Maryland Court of Appeals in the Supreme Court. Opinions for both cases were taken notice of on the 27th and 28th of February, 1963. On the 17th of June, 1963, the Court ruled 8-1 against of allowing the re citing of the Bible verses and the Lords Prayer. Justice Clark wrote at length in his majority opinion about the history and significance of religion in America, but his finale was that the Constitution prohibits any concern of religion, that prayer is a form of religion, and that hence state- sponsored or mandated prayer in public schools cannot be permissible. For the foremost moment, an examination was formed to assess Establishment questions ahead of courts: what are the purpose and primary effect of the enactment? If either is the advancement or inhibition of religion then the enactment exceeds the scope of legislative power as circumscribed by the Constitution. That is to say that to withstand the structures of the Establishment Clause there must be a secular legislative purpose and a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion. [emphasis added] Justice Brennan wrote in a concurring opinion that, while legislators argued that they had a secular purpose with their law, their goals could have been achieved with readings from secular document. The law, however, only specified the use of religious literature and prayer. That the Bible readings were to be made without comment demonstrated even further that the legislators knew that they were dealing with specifically religious literature and wanted to avoid sectarian interpre tations. A violation of the Free Exercise Clause was also created by the coercive effect of the readings. That this might demand only minor encroachments on the First Amendment, as argued by others, was unrelated. The proportional study of religious conviction in public schools is not forbidden but those religious adherences were not crafted with such visions in mentality. ABINGTON SCHOOL DIST. v. SCHEMPP was fundamentally a replicate of the Courts earlier Court Decision in Engel v. Vitale, in which the Court acknowledged constitutional violations and struck the legislation. As with Engel, the Court held that the voluntary nature of religious exercises (even allowing parents to exempt their children) did not avert the statutes from violating the Establishment Clause. There was, of course, an intensely negative public reaction. In May 1964, there were more than 145 proposed constitional amendments in the House of Representatives which would permit school prayer and effectively reverse both decisions. Representative L. Mendell Rivers accused the Court of legislating they never adjudicate with one eye on the Kremlin and the other on the NAACP. Cardinal Spellman claimed that the decision struck at the very heart of the Godly tradition in which Americas children have for so long been raised. Although people frequently argue that Murray, who later instituted the American Atheists, was the women who got prayer put the boot of public schools and, it should be apparent that even had she never survived, the Schempp case still would have approached to the Supreme Court in some moment in time . (Cline, About: Agnosticism / Atheism) LEMON v. KURTZMAN (1971) There are a lot of people in America who would like to see the government provide funding to private, religious schools. Critics argue that this would violate the separation of church and state and sometimes the courts agree with this position. This was actually three separate cases: Lemon v. Kurtzman, Earley v. DiCenso, and Robinson v. DiCenso. These cases from Pennsylvania and Rhode Island were joined together because they all involved public assistance to private schools, some of which were religious. The final decision has become known by the first case in the list: Lemon v. Kurtzman. Pennsylvania’s law provided for paying the salaries of teachers in parochial schools and assisting the purchasing of textbooks or other teaching supplies, as required by Pennsylvania’s Non-Public Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1968. In Rhode Island, the 15% of the salaries of private school teachers was paid by the government as mandated by the Rhode Island Salary Supplement Act of 1969. In both cases the teachers were teaching secular, not religious, subjects. Arguments were made on March 3rd, 1971. On June 28th, 1971, the Supreme Court unanimously found that direct government assistance to religious schools was unconstitutional. In the majority opinion written by Chief Justice Burger, the Court created what has become known as the â€Å"Lemon Test† for deciding if a law is in violation of the Establishment Clause. Accepting the secular purpose attached to both statutes by the legislature, the Court did not pass on the secular effect test, inasmuch as excessive entanglement was found. This entanglement arose because the legislature has not, and could not, provide state aid on the basis of a mere assumption that secular teachers under religious discipline can avoid conflicts. The State must be certain, given the Religion Clauses, that subsidized teachers do not inculcate religion. Because the schools concerned were religious schools, because they were under the control of the church hierarchy, and because the primary purpose of the schools was the propagation of the faith, a comprehensive, discriminating, and continuing state surveillance will inevitably be required to ensure that these restrictions [on religious utilization of aid] are obeyed and the First Amendment otherwise respected. This sort of relationship could lead to any number of political problems in areas in which a large numbers of students attend religious schools — just the sort of situation that the First Amendment was designed to prevent. Chief Justice Burger further wrote: Every analysis in this area must begin with consideration of the cumulative criteria developed by the Court over many years. First, the statute must have a secular legislative purpose; second, its principal or primary effect must be one that neither advances or inhibits religion; finally, the statute must not foster and excessive government Entanglement with religion. The â€Å"excessive entanglement† criteria was a new addition to the other two, which had already been created in the Abington Township School District v. Schempp. The two statutes in question were held to be in violation of this third criteria. This decision is especially significant because it created the aforementioned Lemon Test for evaluating laws relating to the relationship between church and state. It is a benchmark for all later decisions regarding religious liberty some people love it, some hate it. (Cline, About: Agnosticism / Atheism) Court Tests Applied to Legislation Affecting Religion The Lemon Test Founded on the 1971 case of Lemon v. Kurtzman, the Court will regulate a practice unconstitutional if: 1) It lacks any secular purpose. That is, if the practice lacks any non-religious purpose. 2) The practice either promotes or inhibits religion. 3) Or the practice excessively (in the Courts opinion) involves government with a religion. The Coercion Test Based on the 1992 case of Lee v. Weisman, the religious practice is examined to see to what extent, if any, pressure is applied to force or coerce individuals to participate. The Court has defined that Unconstitutional coercion occurs when: (1) the government directs (2) a formal religious exercise (3) in such a way as to oblige the participation of objectors. The Endorsement Test Finally, drawing from the 1989 case of Allegheny County v. ACLU, the practice is examined to see if it unconstitutionally endorses religion by conveying a message that religion is favored, preferred, or promoted over other beliefs. The Establishment Clause and the Lemon Tests Based on its 1971 decision in the case of Lemon v. Kurtzman, the Supreme Court came up with the three tests of any religion-related law. The Lemon test is still used by the Court today to determine whether or not the law meets constitutional muster. In order for any law to satisfy the First Amendment, it: 1) Must have some secular, or non-religious legal purpose; 2) must neither promote or inhibit the practice of religion; and 3) must not must not foster an excessive government entanglement with religion. In its Lemon decision, the Supreme Court concludes, [i]f a statute violates any of these three principles, it must be struck down under the Establishment Clause. Lemon Test v. The Ten Commandments When viewed against the Lemon tests, the first four of the Ten Commandments would fail because they have no secular, or non-religious legal purpose. Instead, they concern only specific religious duties expected of believers. 1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the wa ter under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them. 3. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain. 4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. However, commandments 5-10, taken by themselves, make no mention of religion at all. Instead, they are all rules of proper conduct by people in society and are thus completely secular in nature. 5. Honour thy father and thy mother. 6. Thou shalt not kill. 7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 8. Thou shalt not steal. 9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbours wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbours. But, the Aderholt Amendment did not rule out the first four commandments from contemplation. The 284 U.S. Representatives vote for it. They drew from the expressions of the people who engraved the Constitution. (US Govt. Info, Court Tests) Separation of Church and State Separation of church and state is not even stated i n the U.S. Constitution, since its drafters did not perceive a dichotomy between their religious beliefs and the manuscript that constructed their Republic. However separation of church and state came primarily from two sources, a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to a group of ministers and from the U.S. Supreme Court case, Everson v. Board of Education. The Danbury Letter. Thomas Jefferson wrote the famous phrase separation of church and state in a letter to the Committee of the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut. He was responding to the letter they had written, part of which said: Our Sentiments are uniformly on the side of Religious Liberty—That Religion is at all times and places a Matter between God and Individuals—That no man ought to suffer in Name, person or effects on account of his religious Opinions—That the legitimate Power of civil Government extends no further than to punish the man who works ill to his neighbor. Jefferson’s response to their letter was amicable. He said, Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions [emphasis added], I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties. Jefferson’s declaration of a wall of separation between Church and State expressed his opinion that the federal government did not have the auth ority to prescribe even occasional performances of [religious] devotion. He did not question the validity of religious belief, but he constructed his wall to protect religious freedom of conscience from the potential of one federally recognized religion. His fears were well founded. In his Inaugural Address of the previous year, Jefferson had noted that America had banished from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled and suffered. Clearly, Jefferson decried the federal domination of religious freedom through one established church. In addition, when Jefferson founded the University of Virginia, the Pamphlet of University Regulations included two sections that read: No compulsory attendance on prayers or services. Each denomination to send a clergyman to conduct daily prayers and Sunday service for two weeks. Was this a man who would have sanctioned the complete removal of any form of prayer from the public schools of America? Obviously, Thomas Jefferson’s views on church and state have been grossly distorted. Everson v. Board of Education. The second notable mention of the phrase separation of church and state came in the 1947 U.S. Supreme Court case, Everson v. Board of Education. The plaintiff argued the New Jersey law that reimbursed parents for the cost of bus transportation—to public and religious schools—violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The Supreme Court said that it did not. In the majority opinion, however, Justice Hugo Black used language to set the stage for damaging rulings in the future. He wrote that the Establishment Clause created a complete separation between the state and religion. Jefferson’s letter was written 10 years after the ratification of the First Amendment, yet Black relied upon his own interpretation of Jefferson’s words, rather than on the text of the First Amendment, to set the Everson precedent for future rulings. Twentieth-Century Cases Twentieth-century courts, based predominately on Jefferson’s l etter and on the precedent Justice Black created in Everson, have argued that the Constitution intended to separate all religious expression from public life. Yet that ignores the textual history and the original intent of James Madison, the author of these religion clauses. It also ignores the broad, historical context. The men who hammered out each section of the Constitution also believed in the importance of daily prayer. The Establishment Clause has often been misinterpreted to mean that any link to religion is establishing religion. One of the causes of this is a simple alteration of the wording in the First Amendment. The clause reads, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. It does not read, Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, as it is often misquoted. If the article is read as the, then it refers to establishment of all religion in general. If the article is an, then it clearly refers to a specific religion or denomination—an interpretation backed up by historical records. Realizing that the amendment uses the word an helps clarify the meaning of the Framers. So, rather than attempting to separate themselves from religious belief and expression, the Framers were trying to keep one denomination from being favored over another. The twentieth-century cases pertinent to the issue of school prayer do not recognize those differences. They have clearly been built upon the framework created by Everson, as summaries of key cases demonstrate: McCollum v. Board of Education (1948). It is a violation of the Establishment Clause for Jewish, Catholic or Protestant religious leaders to lead optional/voluntary religious instruction in public school buildings. Engel v. Vitale (1962). The daily recitation of prayer in public schools is unconstitutional. Abington School District v. Schempp (1963). Daily school-directed reading of the Bible (without comment), and daily recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, violates the Establishment Clause when performed in public schools. Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971). This ruling created the three-part Lemon test for determin ing violations of the Establishment Clause. Stone v. Graham (1980). The Court struck down a state law requiring public schools to post the Ten Commandments (with a notice of secular application). Wallace v. Jaffree (1985). A state law requiring a moment of meditation or voluntary prayer was struck down as an establishment of religion because the intent of the legislature was deemed to be religious rather than secular. By Justice Stevens scripting the mass judgment, the Court decided 6-3 that the Alabama law providing for a moment of silence was unconstitutional. The decision underlined that inspection the Supreme Court apply while assessing the constitutionality of government actions. Pretty than allow the argument that the inclusion of or voluntary prayer was a slight accumulation with a bit realistic implication, the goal of the legislature that approved it was adequate to display the unconstitutionality of prayer. Lee v. Weisman (1992). A private, nongovernmental individual (in this case a rabbi) at a public school graduation cannot offer prayer. Student rights were infringed upon, according to the Court, because the important nature of the event in effect compelled them to attend graduation. That, in effect, compelled students to bow their heads and be respectful during the prayer, which the Court ruled was a constitutional violation. Santa Fe Independent School District v. Jane Doe (2000). The Court struck down a school district’s policy that allowed an elected student chaplain to open football games with a public prayer. Even though high school football games are purely voluntary activities, the Court concluded that the policy establishes an improper majoritarian election on religion, and unquestionably has the purpose and creates the perception of encouraging the delivery of prayer at a series of important school events. Each of those cases paid attention on the Establishment Clause to the damage of the Free Exercise Clause. That has been the trend of the twentieth century. The courts have too quickly forgotten that the Constitution explicitly protects the free exercise of religion. (MacLeod 2-3) â€Å"The earlier cases were more black and white, and the later ones were more grey in terms of the issues: Stink of Unfairness in Later School Prayer Cases† The era of 1980s instigated with a diktat not in favor of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms, and by 1985 even so much as one minute of silence, for meditation or prayer by students, turned out to be inviolable; even though firm decisions delivered by the supreme court (see Engel v. Vitale. Abington School District v. Schempp, Lemon v. Kurtzman). Engel v. Vitale case was one of the first in its origin in which a range of holy conducts backed by the government were found to defy the Establishment Clause. This was the first case which successfully forbidden the government from sponsoring or endorsing official prayers in schools, not Abington School District v. Schempp which is frequently considered. Public were irritated that official prayers were no longer legalized in schools, although their anger was directed mostly at the cases which were decided in the following years. Delegates of most reactions were a declaration from evangelist Billy Graham, who still refuses to accept church/state separation yet at present. Abington School District v. Schempp case was fundamentally a consequence of the Courts earlier Court Decision in Engel v. Vitale, in which the Court recognized constitutional violations and struck the legislation. As with Engel, the Court held that the voluntary nature of religious exercises. There was, of course, an hugely harmful public behaviour. In May 1964, there were more than 145 proposed constitional amendments in the House of Representatives which would permit sch ool prayer and successfully overturn both verdicts. Lemon v. Kurtzman decision was particularly noteworthy because it created the aforementioned Lemon Test for assessing laws relating to the relationship between church and state. It is a yardstick for all later decisions concerning religion freedom. By the turn of the 21st century the extirpation of faithfulness from government schools had been merged, and the mugging on religion in public life fanned out into society at large. Proclamations were subjected exalting vice and suppressing virtue. The year2004 saw the outrage of despair, elevated to a â€Å"full right† under the Constitution, even as God’s Ten Commandments were driven off public property. In the supreme court of Alabama the Chief Justice dared to resist, and was stripped of his office. The judicial oligarchy forced all these changes in the name of the Constitution. The school cases were precise to the establishment clause of the First Amendment. So far the Amendment has a complimentary implement of religion clause, which the politburo of nine has elected to downplay or minimally ignorant. For instance, the Lee v. Weisman decision failed to reverse the standards established by the Court in Lemon. Instead, this ruling extended the prohibition of school prayer to graduation ceremonies and refused to accept the idea that a student would not be harmed by standing during the prayer without sharing the message contained in the prayer. Similarly, Upon reading Santa Fe, Ingebretsen, and Clear Creek II, it seems, with regard to the Establishment Clause, that panels of our court pay little regard to previous jurisprudence. One might think that a specific holding of a prior opinion is no more than a puff of wind. Santa Fe disregards Clear Creek II today. The next panel can disregard Santa Fe tomorrow. When judges can pick and choose without the constraints imposed by precedent, the public is left stranded, vulnerable to liability, helplessly dependent on the panel it draws. We could fulfill our constitutional and professional duty to the public, vote this case en banc, and be of a single voice. But when our court refuses to rehear en banc cases such as Santa Fe, this unrestrained decision-making goes uncorrected. This failure to act, in turn, allows individual members of our court to continue to engage in an activity that has all the appearance of simply advancing personal philosophy. The Alito Nomination: Chief Justice John Roberts and future Justice Samuel Alito probably mean a more conservative Supreme Court. But it probably doesn’t mean a stream of clear-cut conservative breakthroughs on abortion, affirmative action, school prayer or even flag burning. The future of constitutional rulings on those and other hot button issues will be determined by two words: Anthony Kennedy. That’s an oversimplification of course. But it seems likely that on a number of issues, there will be four conservatives, four liberals and there will be Justice Kennedy. Unlike Roberts and Alito who went to lengths to leave the world guessing about how they will rule, we know a lot about what Anthony Kennedyism means because he has already faced these issues as a justice. It means Roe v. Wade isn’ t overturned, but partial birth abortion is banned and other abortion restrictions are accepted. Affirmative action is more constrained but not ruled unconstitutional. State-sponsored displays of religious symbols are more likely to be tolerated, but the ban on school prayer is not overturned. Burning a U.S. flag to protest, and viewing pornography on the internet continue to be constitutionally protected activities but McCain-Feingold- type regulations on political campaigning are vulnerable to First Amendment challenges. On the first day of the Alito hearings, Sen. Joseph Biden, D.-Del., said that the â€Å"elephant in the room†¿ was the question of whether Alito would cast the decisive votes to reject the direction in which the Supreme Court has been going for the past 70 years. Over the next two and a half days, Alito endorsed some of those precedents (Brown v. the school board, one-person, one-vote, and the Constitutional right of privacy, at least as far as the contraception cases.) Alito also danced artfully around senators’ efforts to commit himself on some other precedents, most especially relating to abortion. This is the current state-of-the-art strategy for confirmation, and it appears to be working well. The intensity of the pro-choicer campaign a gainst Alito leads one to forget that there are still five votes to affirm Roe, and that on many of the issues liberals care about, Kennedy has affirmed the basic Warren Court breakthrough rulings. Depending on the the health of Kennedy and the four liberals, and the outcome of future elections, the stakes simply may not be as high as Biden’s elephant’s eye. (That was an elaborate conflation of the previous reference with a corny lyric from â€Å"Oh What a Beautiful Morning.† Ask your parents.†) If Roberts and Alito turn out to be solid allies of Scalia and Thomas, if the liberals stay together and stay well, and if Kennedy sticks with his established positions, that means: †¢Roe v. Wade is not overturned. Kennedy and the four liberals have already rejected that idea. But the congressional ban partial birth abortion is upheld. Kennedy already voted to uphold it once before. And other restrictions on abortion rights will be accepted. †¢Affirmative action is not ruled unconstitutional at its core. Scalia and Thomas have indicated a willingness to strike it down completely. But Kennedy declined to join those opinions. On the other hand, college s and universities will have an even rougher time figuring out how to construct a constitutional affirmative action program. In 2003, Justice O’Connor joined the four liberals in upholding the University of Michigan Law School’s admissions program, which claimed to have found a way to act affirmatively without explicit quotas or race-based point systems. Kennedy and the conservatives formed a four-member bloc that didn’t buy it. Quite likely, if a similar question makes it to the court, Kennedy will cast the decisive vote. †¢State-sponsored displays of religious symbols, like the 10 commandments, are more likely to be tolerated when Kennedy’s becomes the key swing vote. But the breakthrough Warren-era decision, banning school prayer, will not be overturned. Kennedy has already endorsed that precedent. †¢Kennedy’s free speech jurisprudence has a strong libertarian streak. That has helped liberals construe the burning of a U.S. flag by protesters and viewing pornography on the internet as constitutionally protected activities under the First Amendment. But Kennedy ’s libertarian streak made him leery of McCain-Feingold-type regulations that restrict political advertising in the name of campaign finance reform. The next time those issues roll around, Kennedy may provide the fifth vote necessary to strike down those regulations on First Amendment grounds. ( Black and Tice 1-2) Arguments against and in favor of School Prayer: School Prayer was a chief center of attention of Darrell Scott’s (father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School Shootings in Littleton, Colorado) testimony to the House Judiciary Committee in a exceptional session of the U.S. Congress on Thursday, May 27, 1999. What Darrell Scott said to our national leaders regarding school prayer was utterly factual and enlightening for all of us. The following is a portion of the transcript: â€Å"I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best. This was written before I knew I would be speaking here today. Your laws ignore our deepest needs, Your words are empty air. Youve stripped away our heritage, Youve outlawed simple prayer. Now gunshots fill our classrooms, And precious children die. You seek for answers everywhere, And ask the question, Why? You regulate restrictive laws, Through legislative creed. And yet you fail to understand, That God is what we need! Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, soul, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual influences were present within our educational systems for most of our nations history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in doing so, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbines tragedy occurs, politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to the erosion of our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts. Political posturing and restrictive legislation are not the answers. The young people of our nation hold the key. There is a spiritual awakening taking place that will not be squelched! We do not need more religion. We do not need more gaudy television evangelists spewing out verbal religious garbage. We do not need more million dollar church buildings built while people with basic needs are being ignored. We do need a change of heart and a humble acknowledgment that this nation was founded on the principle of simple trust in God! As my son, Craig, lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America, and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High S chool, prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred regard for legislation that protects your God-given right to communicate with Him.† (Popular Issues, School Prayer) There is always a state of war between secular humanists and groups like the Christian Coalition are concerning prayer in high schools and the victim is the innocent average high school kid. Each moment in time the argument is reawakened it concludes in a deadlock. The supporters of prayers say it will add to the broadmindedness in schools, as children be taught of diverse religions will convey to surface the special inquiries kids have about God and religion and allow them to investigate for their own conviction. The majority of them believe that prayers will lend a hand overturning the moral degradation of the society. Contrarily, Secularists shapes the public schools exist to educate, not to proselytize. Religion is private, and schools are public, both of the things couldn’t be intermixable. Whilst the sunup members of the clergy supports prayer during the Constitutional Convention and in ordinances governing education, the U.S. Supreme Court has vividly transferred their original premises. Some legal scholars and special interest groups have built upon those precedents, creating other rationalizations for limiting religious expression in America’s public schools. The mainly widespread squabble of such individuals is that the government has a responsibility to be neutral, so that no child is offended by the religious speech of another. This is erroneous because the issue cannot be neutral. Elimination of religious expression for the atheist will offend the child who believes in God. So, the schools must choose. Since 1962, they have sided with the small, nonreligious minority of atheists which, as recent Newsweek poll shows, consists of only 4 percent of the population. By contrast, 94 percent of respondents to that same survey professed a religious faith, and 61 percent said that they agreed with the statement that religion is very important in their lives. If free religious expression in the form of prayers is forbidden, school officials are, at the very least, teaching children that public recognition of God is not as significant as the things the schools can argue. It looks irrational that public schools permits open discussion about sexism but do not permit unwrap conversation regarding God. The courts have elapsed that schools can allocate free religious expressions devoid of implementing any meticulous category of spiritual consideration. Another dilemma is School prayer polarizes citizens around a religious axis. so far the First Amendment was printed to evade the bickers that might effect in the midst of values. Not tolerating prayer has done more to polarize citizens than almost any other issue in American history. Allowing prayer would put decision-making back in the hands of parents and local school boards, where it once rested. Those local boards could position guiding principles that would permit students who object to all prayer or some prayers not to chip in, just as many religious students have opted out of sex education classes at school place. That would obviously revere the rights of the minority, without infringing upon the rig hts of the majority. Local school boards would also be sheltered by the constitutional time/place/manner restrictions that apply equally to religious and nonreligious dialogue. In due course, a reinstatement of liberated expression to local public schools would unite, not polarize, citizens. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment presents that government shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion. Because public schools are government funded, prayer led by school officials or incorporated into the school routine amounts to government-established religion. Prayer is school is already legal. Students are already allowed to pray on a voluntary basis (in a non-disruptive way) so formal school prayer is unnecessary. School prayer may lead to intolerance. Public prayer will emphasize religious diversity of which students may have been oblivious. Those students who withdraw from school prayer or dissent against it may be detested. School prayer is intrinsically coercive and cannot be implemented in a way that is truthfully intentional. The public school system is created for all students and supported by all taxpayers. It should therefore remain neutral on religious issues over which students and taxpayers will differ. Since no formal school prayer could simultaneously honor and uphold the tenets of the many religions practiced in the U.S., as well as various denominational differences, prayer is better left in the home and religious institution of the individual student’s choice. An associated squabble is that school prayer assumes the function of parents and religious institutions who wish to offer religious instruction in keeping with their possessive viewpoints. (All About History, School Prayers) Ishmael Jaffree alleged after Supreme Court decision (1985): For me, the battle is over. But prayer will go on in the schools. It just wont go on in any of my childrens classes. (NY Times B5:1) Works Cited Edward F. Woods. â€Å"Court Outlaws Prayer in Schools†.(1963) St. Louis Post-Dispatch Laurel MacLeod. â€Å"School Prayer And Religious Liberty: A Constitutional Perspective†. (2000) http://www.cwfa.org/images/content/cwaicon.ico Frohnmayer, John. â€Å"Out of Tune: Listening to the First Amendment. Golden, Colorado† North American Press, (1995). Austin Cline. â€Å"Prayers in Public Schools†. About: Agnosticism / Atheism. http;//usgovtifo.about.com â€Å"Church and State: How the Court Decides†. US Govt. Info/ Resources http;//usgovtifo.about.com â€Å"School Prayer Case Law- Absolute Necessity†. Popular Issues http://www.allaboutpopularissues.org Choper, Jesse H. â€Å"Securing Religious Liberty: Principles for Judicial Interpretation of the Religious Clauses†. University of Chicago Press. (1995). Erick Black and DJ Tice. â€Å"The Big Question: Who was the elephant NOT in the room†? Star Tribune (2006) http://www.startribune.com/blogs/bigquestion/?m=200601 â€Å"Arguments Against School Prayer†. All About History http://www.allabouthistory.org Ishmael Jaffree. â€Å"Quotation of the Day†. The New York Times. B5:1, Published: June 5, 1985.

Implementation Of New Product Service Or Process Purpose Marketing Essay

Implementation Of New Product Service Or Process Purpose Marketing Essay KELLOGG is the worlds leading producer of cereal products with total sales volume of nearly $13 billion during 2008. Kellogg products are manufactured in 19 countries and marketed in more than 180 countries around the world. Major Kelloggs products include crackers, Toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruit-flavored snacks, frozen waffles and vegetarian foods (http://www.kelloggs.co.uk/ Accessed on March 03, 2011). The company famous brands include all- bran, corn flakes, keebler, pop-tarts, eggo, cheez-it, nutri-grain, rice krispies, bearnaked, morningstar farms, famous amos, special K, and frosted mini-wheats. Mission statement: Kellogg is a global company committed to building long-term growth in volume and profit and to enhancing its worldwide leadership position by providing nutritious food products of superior value http://www.kelloggs.co.uk/ Accessed on March 03, 2011) In a rapidly changing and competitive business environment, it is not easy to predict: future trends in consumer tastes and preferences competitors actions market conditions. Creating new products or making changes to existing brands involves making investment decisions, in the hope of making a return. Weighing up future returns against an investment is crucial and involves an element of risk, because the future is never certain. Previous experience, together with market research information helps to predict future events and outcomes. However, all business activities involve some element of risk. There is often a link between risk and return. More the risk, the higher the likely returns (or profits); however, a balance needs to be struck. In making a decision to develop a new brand, it needs to decide how much investment to make and to forecast the likelihood of a successful outcome. Decision makers aim to develop a long-term strategy to meet a range of objectives such as: growing market share developing a unique market position creating consumer or brand loyalty generating a targeted level of profit. This case study describes a major investment in Kelloggs All-Bran. It illustrates business case for the new product and identifies how the companys investment in new product development serves to strengthen a global brand. Later part of the essay will reflect an outline plan which identifies resources required for the project that is materials, equipment, labour, and training and development of staff 2. LAUNCHING OF KELLOGGs ALL-BRAN 2.1) NEED IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS: In an uncertain world where the organisations strategy is to focus on products and brands that are either the market leader or in a strong position the company believes that this focus upon core and successful products enables it to provide consistent and reliable returns and rewards for its stakeholders. Before proceeding with the change, Kellogg carried out some detailed market research with consumers to discover their thoughts and feelings. There are two main approaches to market research i.e.: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative research involves working in detail with a relatively small number of consumers e.g. observing and listening to them talking in small groups in which they discuss the brand, products, packaging, advertising ideas, etc. The qualitative research helped Kellogg to develop the concept of a family of fibre brands. The advertising and promotional materials with which the consumer groups worked were very similar to the end promotions that Kellogg wished to communicate. Quantitative research involved using questionnaire and survey approaches with a much larger sample of targeted consumers to estimate the impact on sales if these changes were put into market. Kelloggs undertook market research by answering the questions as per questionaire-1 in Appendix. In September 2004, Kellogg planned to introduce a new product i.e. All-Bran to make the benefits more relevant to consumers. Promotion of feel great message was featured on 8 million packs and on the All-Bran website. It focused on the fact that high-fibre diets may help people to feel lighter and more energetic as well as aiding the digestive system. Bran which is high in fiber is needed in a humans diet. It is best to be used in moderation to gain the positive health it promotes. The high bran, high fibre cereal has been designed to aid a healthy digestive system and to help people control their morning eating habits; without compromising on taste! Research showed that consumers see cereals as a natural product. This is a strong selling point. It makes it vital to feature the ingredients on the packaging. This is because All-Bran range can be seen as part of a daily healthy diet (http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/case-studybuilding-brand-order-to-sustain-its-life-cycle Accessed on March 03, 2011). 2.2) OBJECTIVES: By setting up SMART (specific, measurable, achievable or agreed, realistic and time-related) objectives Kellogg would know whether each objective for launching All-Bran had been achieved. The objectives were clear and were communicated to all staff. This made sure that all staff agreed to follow certain actions to achieve the stated aims. By setting these objectives Kellogg set a direction that would take the business to where it wanted to be three years into the future. Major objectives include; encourage and support physical activity among all sections of the population use resources to sponsor activities and run physical activity focused community programmes for its consumers and the public in general increase the association between Kellogg and physical activity use the cereal packs to communicate the balance message to consumers introduce food labeling that would enable consumers to make decisions about the right balance of food 2.3) TARGET MARKET: It is the process of evaluating each market segment and select one or more segments to enter. Premiums and gifts are outstanding tools for call to mind initial trial, brand switching, and repeat purchase. Now and then company is able to target because they are financially strong and they can arrange a vast product line. People aged 55 and over are the target markets of Kelloggs ALL BRAN .Kelloggs ALL BRAN are easily available in urban and rural areas all over the country. It has been targeted every segment and we can say that Kellogg has a fragmented market. Market attractiveness factors for All-bran include market, size, differentiation possibilities, bargaining power of customers, seasonality, distribution, product growth and stage in product life cycle Main factors influencing marketing of a product are; a) Economic and technological factors i.e. Investment intensity, Industry capacity, Technology, Barriers to entry and exit and Access to supplies b) Competitive i.e. competitive structure, competitive groupings, substitute products, price, and Individual competitor analysis 3. PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE The product life cycle is the period over which it appeals to customers and can be illustrated in a series of stages showing how consumer interest, and hence sales, has altered over time. Kelloggs All-Bran has a long and distinguished history. Like many other famous products, however, it is important from time to time to re-energize its life cycle. To prolong the life cycle of a brand or product an organisation needs to use skilful marketing techniques to inject new life into the product. The traditional product life-cycle shows how a product goes through 4 stages during its life in the market place. At each stage in the product life-cycle, there is a close relationship between sales and profit so when a product goes into decline, profit decreases. When a product is introduced to the market, growth is slow due to limited awareness. As the product is establishing itself, sales will start to increase during the period of growth. As the product reaches maturity, the company needs to inject new life into the product; either by creating brand extensions or variants otherwise the product will reach maturity and start to decline. All-Bran is standing on the maturity stage with 65% of total market share. To stay spirited in the market it needs to introduce time to time new offers and flavors and different promotional schemes. Manufacturing capability is another key issue. If launches of new products are successful in global markets, Kelloggs must have the manufacturing capaci ty to meet consumer demand as well as the supply chain necessary to reach those consumers. When a company like Kelloggs is investigating a change in its marketing it can consider four elements (http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/case-studyusing-new-product-development-to-grow-a-brand Accessed on May 03, 2011) of marketing mix or 4Ps: 3.1) PRODUCT: This is about meeting changing needs and wants of customers through offers. The growth in healthier lifestyles creates opportunities for Kelloggs to increase the number of products for this segment. In case of ALL BRAN, the product is the cereal production by the company. Core Product is cereal, for breakfast and as a snack. Actual product is high quality level; different tastes, flavors, packaging and the symbol K. Augmented product provides tastes and energy as well as nutritional ingredients. 3.2) PRICE: Pricing decision is very important because the survival of a company in the market depends upon pricing decision. Pricing strategy depends on pricing objectives. The amount a company charges for its product is important in determining sales. Super brands like Kelloggs can charge a premium because of the strength of the brand and product quality. 3.3) PLACE: Where customers can purchase the product is also an important factor in determining sales. If a brand like All-Bran is not stocked in supermarkets where most purchases are made, sales will be lost. 3.4) PROMOTION: The marketing mix activities of a product planning, pricing, and distribution are performed mainly within the organization or between the organization and its marketing partners. However, with promotional activities, the firm communicates directly with potential customers. Kelloggs uses above the line promotion like TV advertising as well as below the line promotion like on-pack promotions and sampling. The market research revealed several matters that Kellogg needed to address when alerting the public to changes in the brand family. 1. Some consumers might find the act of placing a range of separate products under the All-Bran brand confusing. The solution was to ensure that packs clearly display both the power brand name (All-Bran) and also the product name (e.g. Bran Flakes). 2. Research showed that consumers see cereals as a natural product. This is a strong selling point. It makes it vital to feature the ingredients on the packaging. 3. To give the campaign maximum impact, Kellogg carefully co-ordinated television and radio advertising, PR and in-store promotions. These encouraged consumers to try out and reappraise the revamped products. A products life cycle may last only a few months (e.g. with a fad, or craze) or, as with Special K, for many years. Although it was a successful product, Kelloggs recognised the opportunity to stretch the brand by investments that would: revitalize it extend and further develop its growth phase and Help to delay the onset of the maturity phase. 4. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MARKET 4.1) MARKETING ENVIRONMENT: This can be divided into two broad categories; a) Micro Environment: The Micro Environment of the Kellog consists off; The Company: has to take other groups or departments of company into account. Such as finance, research and development, purchasing, operation, accounting department. Suppliers: Kelloggs obtains its raw materials of wheat, corn, cocoa, rice and sugar from primary suppliers around the world. It is a large-scale manufacturer and stores sufficient stocks to meet customer orders. Marketing Intermediaries Kelloggs does not sell its breakfast cereals directly to consumers. It uses intermediaries like wholesalers, supermarkets, high street stores and hotels. Kelloggs has major relationships in the tertiary sector. These include the major retail supermarkets such as Tesco and ASDA and some of the wholesale sector such as Makro. Customers: The Kelloggs Company mainly focuses on customer market that consists of people aged 55 and over and weight conscious people. Competitors: Nestle is the only competitor of Kellogg. b. Macro Environment: The external factors which affect a companys planning and performance, and are beyond its control: for example, socio-economic, legal and technological change (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_macro_environment_of_Kellogg) There are many environmental issues which should be looked at to get the broader picture of Kelloggs Company. These issues can be grouped into six categories: political, economical, social-demographic, technological, legal and ethical. The acronym for this is a Pestle analysis. Political /Legal Environment: UK has a stable political environment hence, private enterprise is encouraged, which gives Kellogg an opportunity to introduce new products and improve the existing ones. Economic Environment: Economic factors are those that affect consumer buying behavior. As this is an era of great depression, there is a change in the income of the consumer so the sales of Kellogg are affected by this. Natural Environment: The natural environment of Kelloggs involves all the natural resources that are needed as inputs by the company and are affected by market activities. Theyve set themselves a number of targets to meet by 2015, and are constantly checking their progress along the way so they can see how theyre doing. By 2015 they aim to have reduced all of the following by 15-20% per metric tonne of food produced since 2005. Energy use Greenhouse gas emissions Water use Waste sent to landfill (For waste to landfill, they achieved a 41.5% reduction by 2009 and have set themselves a new target of a further 20% reduction by 2015 against a 2009 baseline.) Socio-cultural Environment: UK has a tradition of eating cereal as a breakfast so Kellogg has got high market. Technological Environment:: UK has good infrastructure and distribution channel which again is highly favorable for Kellogg to grow further. Responding to the Marketing Environment: Kelloggs has utilized integrated business units and compensation incentive systems to increase the accountability of the cash expenditure and improve the functionality of the organization. Products sales have been increasing in the UK as well as in other countries. The pricing and availability of the product determines the profitability of a product. Streamlining many of the operations in recent times has helped the Kellogg increase the profit margin. More resources could therefore be spent on the marketing and advertisement of products. In addition, Kelloggs also increased the number and frequency of promotional offers more toys and DVDs in cereal boxes, tie-ins with movies and charitable donations to local schools and charities. In 2002, a new strategy of Volume to Value was introduced throughout the company. 4.2) MARKET SEGMENTATION PROCESS The process of defining and subdividing a large homogenous market into clearly identifiable segments having similar needs, wants, or demand characteristics. Its objective is to design a marketing mix that precisely matches the expectations of customers in the targeted segment. Today Kelloggs is doing its business in United states, China, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, United Kingdom, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. In this project we are only discussing its market segmentation in United Kingdom. They are segmenting the market in the form of geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral. All-Bran Original is available in Australia, Somalia, USA, Canada, Colombia, UK, Italy, Mexico, France, Japan, Latin America, and South Africa 4.3) MARKET TARGETTING PROCESS After dividing the market into various segments, the Kellogg Company has to decide which segment it can serve better. So first they evaluated each segments. They want the sets of buyers who share common needs and characteristics to serve. Kellogg mainly used undifferentiated (mass) marketing strategy because cereal will always be mass marketed. They have to do business on large scale so Kellogg Company is using mass marketing. 4.4) PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS New product development process of product starts with idea generation. Commercialization Product Development Marketing Strategy Development Idea Generation Test Marketing Business Analysis Concept Development Testing Idea Screening 5. USE OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL RESOURCES Use of internal and external resources is crucial in the launch of a new product. 5.1) INTERNAL RESOURCES: Idea of Kelloggs came from; Product development teams Formal research and development (asked consumers through questionnaires ) Brains of its executives, scientists, engineers, manufacturing staff and salespeople Companies successful entrepreneurial programs (encourages employee to think about new cereal product ) Value innovation program 5.2) EXTERNAL RESOURCES: Customers (through questionnaires) Competitors (Kelloggs get clue about their new product by watching competitors ads, analyze the sales, and then decide). Distributors Suppliers (tell company about new concepts, techniques and materials that can be used to develop new products). 6. SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTHS: a) Kellogg All Bran is the only large, very high fibre brand in the market place. Private label provides the main competition. b) The general public remains highly aware of ALL BRAN c) The ALL BRAN brand is strong; consumers associate it with healthy activity. WEAKNESS: a) Awareness of the brand had been declining because of little promotional (e.g. advertising) activity in recent years. b) Compared with leading brands such as Kellogg corn flakes, the individual fibre products have limited scale, making it hard to make advertising investment economic. c) The preposition that a fibre cereal keeps you regular is less motivating to consumers than in the past. Consumers now more interested in products inner health OPPORTUNITIES a) People are looking to eat more healthily b) The rapid growth of non cereal products that meet inner health need (pro biotic drinks and yogurts) c) In the UK the number of people over 55(the products main consumers) continues to increase. THREATS: a) The sales of private labels fibre cereal is growing. b) There is a consumers trend towards the tastier cereal 7. CONCLUSION By creating the power brand All-Bran and providing the right sort of well researched promotional support, Kellogg has been able to inject renewed vigor into a family of related products. Through appropriate promotional activities and more relevant messages, Kellogg has re-awakened consumers interest in products that can play an important part in developing a healthy diet in a health-conscious world. Regular campaigns of promotional activity are helpful in enabling all organizations to sustain their own life cycle and those of their brands and products. It is early days in evaluating the success of the marketing activity supporting All-Bran but the signs are good. Appendix: Primary Research: Survey questionnaire-1 What changes taking place in society are likely to affect the product? How might new technologies affect our business? What are likely to be the future market trends? Where are the opportunities within the market place? What new categories would appeal to the target market? How far do consumers think the brand could stretch into the market for different product categories? Survey questionnaire-2 1. What is age bracket do you belong to? 13-16 yrs 17-30 yrs 31-39 yrs 39 yrs or above 2. Which income bracket do you belong to? GBP 50-200 GBP 200-500 GBP 500-1000 GBP 1000 above 3. What is your marital status? Single Married 4. What is the brand of the cereal that you usually purchase? Nestle Kellogg 5. Is ALL BRAN your favorite cereal? Yes No 6. How often do you purchase cereal? Everyday Once a week Once a month 7. Please rank accordingly to the characteristics of ALL BRANS: a) Taste b)Price c) Flavor d) Packaging 1=least preferred 5=most preferred 1 2 3 4 5 8. Do you like the ads of ALL BRAN? Yes No 9. What flavors of Kellogg do you like the most? Corn flakes All bran Rice kripsies Special K

Cigarrette Advertisements Essay -- essays research papers

Cigarette Advertisements   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Advertisements are everywhere. After turning on the television, within minutes the viewer will glimpse dozens of spot ads that attempt to lure him/her to buy a certain product, join a certain club, or watch a specific show. When driving on a highway those in the vehicle will pass countless billboards urging them to stop at a particular restaurant, spend the night at a distinguished hotel, or visit enjoyable family theme parks. The most prominent form of advertisement, however, are those ads found in magazines. Magazines house numerous ads for every different product imaginable. Advertisements that promote cigarette smoking cover dozens of magazine pages each month. With a variety of brands to choose from, including Marlboro, Kool, Winston, and Newport, advertisers compete with each other to target every age, gender, and career profession to successfully convert smokers to their brand of cigarettes. Before a person decides on what brand of cigarettes to purchase, h e/she must ask and be able to answer one question; Which cigarette advertisement most effectively urges people to buy their brand of cigarettes?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first cigarette ad that is attached is that promoting Winston cigarettes. This ad, taken from Mademoiselle magazine, is predominately targeted towards women. It is a two-page advertisement that reads, “I wanted a light, not his life story.'; Below the quote there is a round, black “No Bull'; stamp imprinted. On the opposite page there is a black and white picture of a woman smoking her cigarette. She is listening to the man sitting next to her incessantly talking. From the expression on her face the reader is able to assume that she is completely uninterested in what he has to say. Obviously annoyed, she is thinking to herself that all she wanted was a light. The twice-mentioned “No Bull'; slogan that exists on both pages of the Winston advertisement adds great emphasis to the fact that Winston cigarettes contain 100 percent tobacco and no additives. Besides the fact that the advertisement is large, it also draws the reader’s attention through its color scheme. A box of Winston cigarettes is colored red and white; similarly, the quote is enclosed in a white box surrounded by red on both the top and the bottom, bringing further e... ...rtrayed in this advertisement in no way seemed trashy. She was not looked upon as a sex symbol or other related stereotypes pointed out in Killing Us Softly which have often been used in the past. The model was presented as being a “real woman.'; Although this real woman persona is a stereotype as well the real woman of today can relate to her in a stronger sense.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With all the distinct cigarette advertisements which are present in today’s society it is common to vary the choice of brands to buy. With respect to the three advertisements looked at, I feel compelled to favor Winston. The Winston cigarette advertisement portrays an image of a much more confident and secure woman. Such an attitude is greatly desired and admired by women of today. With its creativity, color, scheme, catchy quote, and relatable images the Winston advertisers successfully attract many prospective buyers. After thumbing through magazine after magazine, acknowledging the different aspects of each distinct cigarette ad, I believe that the Winston brand cigarette promotion conveys the most desired image, and is thus, in turn, the most effective advertisement.