Gender Differences in Advertising Language

Gender Differences in Advertising Language In this modern life, advertisements appear widely not only in shops and stores, in leaflets and brochures, on newspapers and magazines but also on high-tech media like radios, televisions and the Internet. They appear in different forms: texts, images, audio files or an integrated form of all: video/animated files. However different they are, they are designed with only one intention. That is to make more profit by bringing the products to groups of potential customers. To fulfill that intention effectively, they characterize the potential customers of each product or service and design personalized advertisements (2008 Choicestream Personalization Survey) that target to certain potential groups of customers. Thus, in the advertising market, some products have more than one advertisement which target at different groups: one may target at the old while another may target at the young; or one may target at the rich while another may target at the working class. Clear Shampoo is one obvious example in Vietnam. The product has seven advertisements on television and the Internet. They seem to target at different viewers of different genders and have several other aspects such as models, images, languages and advertising techniques. This essay focuses on one of those aspects, the language, and aims to find the answers for two following questions: Is the language used by male models/voiceovers different from that used by female models/voiceovers? Is the language used by models/voiceovers of different genders strongly associated with the target viewers? 2. Theoretical background 2.1. Advertising Nowadays, businesses and manufacturers are actually aware of the great importance of advertising their products or services since a successful advertisement can bring them great profits whereas an unfortunate commercial can lead them to bankruptcy (Sadek-Endrawes, 2008). According to adcracker.com, a website for tips, tools and techniques to create world-class advertising ideas, businesses and manufactures try their best to find ways to design the best advertisements for their products and services to attract attention, engage minds, trigger emotions and change what people think. Among techniques used are special metaphors (a symbolic representation for the product), promises of benefit or problem solving, offers of free samples, features of human-like and life-like, features of eye candy, etc. Writers from adcracker.com also believe that it might be useful to choose or create their own characters who are put in some special situations, for example conflicts, which can be exaggerated . But the most and foremost important techniques that all advertisement designers need to know are the techniques of choosing the target viewers and language wisely and correspondingly. That is the reason why there are sometimes more than one advertisements designed for only one single product. 2.1.1. Language use as a powerful advertising technique Language plays a vital role in the society in general and in everyones life in particular. We use language of all kinds every day, if it is not to say, every moment to communicate with other people, to get ourselves and our own opinions expressed and vice versa to get the same things from others (Gyllgard, 2006). Mastering that communicative power of language, sensible advertisers try to utilize language as a powerful tool to influence the viewers. More specifically, they often try to use language distinctively in order to catch viewers attention (adcracker.com). For example, they sometimes play with words, use them out of context, and create new ones in order to help viewers remember a certain brand. Sometimes, those words become the slogan for the brand like Moving Forward for Toyota cars or Malaysia Truly Asia for Tourism in Malaysia. The designers of advertisements also pay attention to speech accommodation (Giles Coupland, 1991) and adjust the speech styles of models and voiceovers in order to fulfill their advertising intentions, especially the intention of attracting the attention of specific groups of viewers. A study of a group of students from Mount Holyoke College (Alfaro et al.) finds that the advertisement is much more effective when the gender of models/ voiceovers and the targeted gender are matched. Language in advertisements is also internationalized (Sadek-Endrawes, 2008), which is expected to be beneficial in order to create the same response from viewers of different countries in case the product comes into the global market. 2.1.2. Focus on target viewers Most advertisers know that advertising techniques have persuasive energy and that the strength of such persuasive energy is measured in several ways, but most importantly in relation to a target audience (adkracker.com). It is explained by adcracker.com that different target audience have different lifestyles, different attitudes, different feelings and emotions, which consequently results in different behaviors. Thus, successful advertisers often attempt to build adverts that can get people to take action or plant a belief in the minds of their prospective buyers by closely associating their adverts with the targeted viewers. This is also supported by the 2008 Personalization Survey of Choicestream, an independent research firm providing recommendation service for the worlds largest retailers and entertainment brands including Yahoo!, ATT, Tesco, Overstock.com, etc. In the survey, they noted that those who spend the most money and shop most frequently are more likely to click on per sonalized ads than non-personalized ads. In fact, 39% of them are more willing to click on a personalized advertisement. 2.2. Gender difference Men and women are different in various aspects which can mainly be categorized into biological and social factors. Consequently, different terms are coined to show such differences, for example sex and gender. Sex is defined by Eckert and McConnell-Ginnet (2003:10) as a biological categorization which is based primarily on reproductive potential and gender is the social elaboration of biological sex. This means that sex is something fixed by birth (Thomas, 2004) and gender is something that the social life shapes on us continuously in every pace of our life (Graddol and Swann, 1994:8). It is believed that gender has a major influence on language use through the process of socialization (Tannen 1993:84). As afore-mentioned, language is an important part of an individuals life which helps to form his/ her social identity (Gyllgard, 2006:1) by their different linguistic habits which reflect different individual biographies and experiences (Graddol and Swann, 1994:5). Coates (1993:144) also claims that when children adopt linguistic behavior considered appropriate to their gender they perpetuate the social order which creates gender distinctions This means that language is among the most significant factors, bedsides social roles and social positions, that make distinctions between men and women. Actually, it is observed that men and women use language differently in a gender-appropriate manner (Tannen, 1993:85) since they are small. In the following part of the paper, the use of language by different genders will be discussed in three main aspects: (1) topic choices, (2) word choices and (3) manner of speaking. Topic choices In terms of topic choices, men are believed to talk more about sports or other physical activities when they are small (Poynton, 1989) and about current concerns, about their strength and their dominance (Coulmas, 2005) when they grow up. Meanwhile, women are believed to spend time talking more about home activities, romance and fantasy worlds. Later in their life, they are considered to choose to talk about nonsense and unimportant personal topics (Gyllgard, 2006). Consequently, mens language is often considered as serious and important while womens is seen as trivial and easy to ignore (Coates, 1993). Word choices It is believed that women seem to be more careful about choosing words than men. It is explained that this results from the different roles of the two genders in the society. Women are considered to have their first and foremost roles as caring the families and bringing up children. Consequently, they need to be careful with the words they use or otherwise they may set bad examples for their children. Also regarding word choices, in their works, Poyton (1989) and Eckert McConnell-Ginet (2003) find that women use more intensifies (such as so and very), words of approximation (such as about and around), or inessential qualifiers (like really or so) than men. Women are also claimed to use more adjectives (including empty adjectives like cute and evaluative adjectives like wonderful) and adverbs. Furthermore, hedges and tag questions are found more in womens language than in mens in order to require confirmation or signal uncertainty respectively (Lakoff, 1989). Manner of speaking With the same reasons of different social roles, in terms of manner of speaking, women are found more polite in speaking and men are found to create and use more taboo language like slang or swear words (Poyton, 1989). Lakoff (1989) also agrees with this by giving an example that women choose to use weaker expletives like oh dear or goodness instead of words like shit or damn. Meanwhile, Coates (1993) believes that the language used by women is collaboration-oriented with supportive comments to create and maintain relationship of closeness and equality while that used by men is competition-oriented in order to assert their positions of dominance. 3. Methodology and Data This study focuses on the difference between the languages used by male and female models in different advertisements for the same product, namely Clear Shampoo, one kind of shampoo used in Vietnam. It will test whether the difference in language used by male and female models and voiceovers is associated with the difference in genders of the target viewers and how they are associated. First of all, English versions of seven Clear Shampoo advertisements are selected to be the data for analyzing. Those advertisements are chosen for several reasons. Firstly, shampoo is now an essential cosmetic product that people, regardless of their age, their social or financial status and certainly their gender, have to use in their daily life. Thus, it is worthwhile to investigate the advertisements of such product. Secondly, it is found that there are several different advertisements of Clear Shampoo on television as well as on Youtube at the same time and it is presumed by the author that it may result from the advertisers purpose of targeting viewers of different genders. Consequently, with the help of Google search and Youtube website, seven advertisements of Clear Shampoo are collected and transcribed in the appendices of this essay for being analyzed to answer the first research question. Differences among those advertisements will then be figured out by checking the above -mentioned theory and later used to group the seven advertisements into 3 groups: for men, for women and for both men and women. The second question is answered by analyzing the interviews with 20 viewers of both genders who are non-native speakers of English but gain sufficient proficiency to understand the advertisements. Actually, they are Vietnamese teachers of English who are now teaching English at College of Technology and students of some M.A. programs for English Linguistics or English Teaching Methodology. The procedure includes two small sections. Firstly, the viewers are given the transcriptions of the advertisements and asked two following questions: Who does each advertisement target, men or women? How do you know who the advertisement target at? After that, they are asked to watch the seven advertisements and answer the two questions again. 4. Data analysis and results 4.1 Advertisement analysis and results Based on the theoretical background and seven advertisements of Clear Shampoo, the following results on gender differences in language use are obtained and grouped in three major aspects: (1) choice of topic, (2) choice of word and (3) manner of speaking. 4.1.1. Choice of topic It is revealed by the advertisement analysis that male models talk about their confidence and show their strength as well as their dominance to others by facing the problems: Black is confident. Confidence means no dandruff. (Appendix 1) Face it. Cover it. I deal with dandruff like man. (Appendix 4) or Rage. Rage against her breath of fear. (Appendix 5) Meanwhile, female models talk about beauty as in: some beauty shampoos (Appendix 3) about their daily activities such as combing in appendix 3 or about their emotion and their perception as in: I love my hair. Im convinced. (Appendix 2) Convinced. I am. (Appendix 3) They also mention one fact that they often try to avoid the troubles they encounter: Hide itCover itI keep it secret as any woman should. (Appendix 4) 4.1.2. Choice of words Verb choice As male models choose to talk about their confidence, their strength as well as their dominance, they use words that help to express perfectly what they mean. Actually, they use strong verbs as breath, move and sweat in Appendix 1 or face, solve, and deal with in appendix 4 or verbs that show their activeness as in I trust Clear. (Appendix 1) The verbs spoken by male voiceovers also have the same feature: remove and prevent the dandruff (appendix 5), or make the dandruff go away and stay away (appendix 7) so that its all settled (appendix 4). All those verbs bring to the audience the active position of the speakers, and thus, reveal their dominant positions. On the other hand, the verbs used by female models are quite different since they seem to display the defensive positions of the women Im convinced. (Appendix 2) Convinced. I am. (Appendix 3) or their solutions of avoiding dandruff by hiding it, covering it or keeping it secret (appendix 4). Adjective choice As their concerns are different, female and male models choose different adjectives when they speak about their hair. For example, most male models and voiceovers use black to talk about their hair or the hair they want to have: I like black. Black is confident. Black looks good. (Appendix 1) From black into darkness and into the dark, the icy blackness follows. (Appendix 5) the seduction of black, the temptation of black. Its the closeness of black that you can only have (Appendix 6) At the same time, female models talk about the features of soft, clean and beautiful which are just suitable to describe female hair. Clear makes my hair soft and beautiful. Just soft hair. (Appendix 2) Can your shampoo leave your hair soft and clean Clear takes it soft. Just soft hair. (Appendix 3) 4.1.3. Manner of speaking As can be seen from the seven advertisements, female models talk with a collaborative orientation. They talk as if they want to share their experience with the audience whereas male models and voiceovers try to assert their positions of dominance by a competitive orientation. They talk about their dealing with dandruff (appendix 4), the collision of sparks and dandruff (appendix 5), their black seduction and temptation when they are dandruff free (appendix 6). The tendency of dominance is also expressed by their short imperative sentences which can be found more frequently in male models or voiceovers speech: Face it Solve it (Appendix 4) Rage, rage against her breath of fear. (Appendix 5) Make the season more seductive. Make it a Clear Black Valentines. Be board. Be Black. Move closer anytime. Have Clear Black Valentines. (Appendix 6) The first advertisement in Appendix 1 with the male model also offers another feature of male speech. That is the logic in thinking and speaking: Black is confident. Black looks good. Looking good means no dandruff. Confidence means no dandruff. Clear means no dandruff. With his logical speech, the male model tries to convince the audience the close relationship among Clear, black, confident and looking good. 4.2 Interview analysis and results The results of the interviews reveal that it is not language but mainly the models, the images in the advertisements that inform the interviewees about the target viewers of the advertisements. In fact, after looking at the transcription of the seven advertisements, most of them (16 out of 20) hardly say who the advertisements target at. The other four guess the target viewers based on the name of the models (Rain in Appendix 1 or Nicole in Appendix 2) or the name of the products (Clear Men in Appendix 4 or Clear Black Valentines in Appendix 6). However, they can easily answer the two questions after watching the video files and confirm that the language does not get much of their attention but the rhythm of the speech does have some effects on their viewing. This might lead to a conclusion that language does not play an important role in revealing the target viewers of advertisements. 5. Conclusion The results of two analyses reveal the answers for both research questions. Firstly, the analysis of the advertisements answers the first question about the relationship between the language and the gender of speakers. In fact, it confirms the theory of gender language. According to the analysis, the language used models/voiceovers of different gender are not the same even though they are not the language that they say in the real life but what they are told to say by the advertisement designers or directors. The differences mainly lie in the choice of topics, choice of words and the manner of speaking. Secondly, the analysis of the interviews with 20 non-native English speakers answers the second question about the relationship between the language and the target viewers of the advertisements. The result reveals that language does not have a strong link with the target viewers since most of the interviewees cannot say exactly the target viewers of the advertisements if they only look at the transcriptions of the ads. Although the research has found answers for both research questions, there are still many drawbacks that should be improved. First of all, it is realized that just one or two typical advertisements should be selected in stead of seven so that the analysis could be more thorough and focused. Secondly, the interviews should be recorded by means of multi-media in stead of just recorded by note-taking since it can provide much more information and can be referred back easily. References 2008 Choicestream Personalization Survey. Choicestream. 29 October 2009 Advertising techniques Dos and Donts and Simple Tips from Years of Learning. Buzz Marketing. 29 October 2009. Alfaro, M.W. et al. The effect of voice-over gender and targeted gender of product on television commercial effectiveness. 12 December 2009 Creative and Effective Advertising Techniques. AdCracker. 29 October 2009 Coates, J. 1993. Women, Men and Language. London: Longman. Coulmas, F. 2005. Gendered speech: Sex as a factor of linguistic choice. Sociolinguistics. Cambridge. Eckert, P. McConnell-Ginnet, S. 2003. Language and Gender. Cambridge: CUP Giles, H. Coupland, N. 1991. Language: Contexts and Consequences. Open University Press Graddol, D and Swann, J. 1994. Gender Voices. Oxford: Blackwell. Gyllgard, L. 2006. Gender differences in Swedish students written English and students identification of female and male language features. 29 Oct, 2009 Lakoff, R. 1989. Language and Womans Place. New York: Harper and Row. Newman, M.L. et al. 2008. Gender Differences in Language Use: An analysis of 14,000 Text Samples. Discourse Processes. 45: 211-236 Poynton, C. 1989. Language and Gender: Making the difference. Oxford: OUP Sadek-Endrawes. 2008. Culture Advertising. 29 Oct, 2009. Sunderland, J. 2008. Language and Gender. Routledge. Tannen, D. 1993. Gender and Conversation Interaction. New York: OUP. The Targeted Advertising Dictionary and Business Index. The Interactive TV Dictionary and Business Index. 25 Nov, 2009. Thomas, L. et al. 2004. Language, Society and Power. Routledge. Trudgill, P. 2000. Sociolinguistics: An Introduction to Language and Society. London: Penguin APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: Clear Commercial found on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLb6o0QV9jo I breath. I move. I sweat. With the world watching. My hair. My clothes. I like black. Black is confident. Black looks good. Looking good means no dandruff. Confidence means no dandruff. Clear means no dandruff. I trust Clear. Dandruff never comes back. My name is Rain. Clear. No Dandruff. APPENDIX 2 Clear Commercial found on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGzm2dIjO3I I lived to perform. My song, my dance, my hair. Theres no room for dandruff. Clear makes my hair soft and beautiful. I love my hair. Clear. It works. Im convinced. My name is Nicole. Clear. No Dandruff. Just soft hair. APPENDIX 3 Clear Commercial found on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TYOSixnZWwfeature=related Can your shampoo leave your hair soft and clean. That is how combing sounds like with some beauty shampoos. And that is how it sounds like after Clear takes it soft. Convinced. I am. Clear. No Dandruff. Just soft hair. APPENDIX 4: Clear Commercial found on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd_LQMSvXJ4 Face it. Hide it. Solve it. Cover it. I deal with dandruff like a man. I keep it secret as any woman should. But either way, we know the answer is clear. I use clear. Clear men for me. It has zinc vitanol, clinically proven effective to remove dandruff and prevent it from coming back. Its all settled then. For us, its only one choice. New clear. No dandruff. APPENDIX 5 Clear Commercial found on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6WlPhqIyrs From black into darkness, shadows see follicles bent and broke and slivers of sparks as dark and dandruff collide. Rage, rage against her breath of fear! Now frozen, silence marks the danse macabre. And into the dark, the icy blackness follows. APPENDIX 6 Clear Commercial found on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9tx1JR34lc You never know when youd get stuck by the seduction of black, the temptation of black. Its the closeness of black that you can only have when you are dandruff free. With Clear. Make the season more seductive. Make it a Clear Black Valentines. Be board. Be black. Move closer anytime. Have Clear Black Valentines. With clear. No dandruff.

John Higgins Essay

The Central Issue: Why did Prescott think that his executive assistant, John Higgins, lost his effectiveness in representing the U.S parent company, while also having a strong identification with the Japanese culture? Why is Prescott having conflict dealing with Higgins about the issue? Recommended Course of Action: Prescott and Higgins should come to some kind of mutual understanding with each other as soon as possible Basis of Recommendation: Prescott and Higgins attitudes towards implementing the U.S personnel policies in the Japanese operation were both different. Prescott and Higgins should come to a mutual understanding, which would be important for the organization in resolving the conflicts between the two, to ensure the operations are running smoothly. The situation for both companies were to work together to increase the international market segment of Weaver, but before all of that, Prescott spend over 25 years in weaver, which he served in other countries and has a better experience than Higgins in handling international issues. Prescott sees Higgins activities are not for benefiting for the organization but rather for personal objectives. Higgins should not forget that he’s representing the U.S parent company in Japan and not his deep interest with japan itself. Therefore, Prescott being so high up in the corporation, he should really have an understanding of how to manage conflict and manage change in a corporation. Reasonable Alternatives: 1) Prescott should fire Higgins. This is rejected because that would not solve any kind of problem. Firing Higgins would make the company one less employee shorter overseas, plus would not help Prescott nor Higgins with any leadership skills that need to be worked on. 2) Prescott should relocate Higgins. This is rejected because that would result in more problems occurring. Higgins knows that there is issues going on and for him to be moved out of his culture that he has deeply spent time studying and growing with, would cause him more ineffectiveness in the company. If Higgins doesn’t want to move, he might want to resign which wouldn’t solve their first problem or help Prescott with his problem of fixing the issue for next time. 3) Prescott should just leave the issue, until it gets worse. This is rejected because this would make things worse. It will cause the company a deeper hole then they already are in with issues. Talking to one another about their problems is the whole reason of doing business together, if not then why work together. Letting things go will not help Prescott become a better manager and also won’t help Higgins in the feedback category. Coming to an understanding would help both out with what is going wrong instead of leaving the issue. Significant Factors: 1) Vision 2) Leadership Ability 3) Business Goals 4) Relationship 5) Positivity Discussion: Vision: One main issue I know why Prescott is having trouble dealing with Higgins attitudes towards his effectiveness of the U.S parent company is Vision. First off, the vision of the joint venture seems to only be viewed and felt by the head management and not a unit. For example, Prescott has his very own vision in looking at the company from the U.S standards and business side of things and Higgins has a way of looking at the company in the Japanese way. Both these visions are two different visions and a company cannot be successful in this matter. The reason behind this is Higgins having personal activities with the japan culture itself that when it comes down to the business part of things, he will think like a native of the country rather than a native of the U.S parent business. Another example of Vision can be used towards the employees. If the employees of the japan branch are not meeting the vision of the top management, then the business will not go hand in hand and will slow the process of the company down, may be the reason why Prescott thinks Higgins is losing effectiveness because his vision of his employees are lower standards than the top management. Once every employee is on page and is working towards one vision, the company can fulfil any method or goal they can. Leadership Ability: Leadership in any company is one of the most important things to becoming successful. As a boss or even part of the management team, having leadership is one that takes pride in what he or she does and leads their employees to success anytime they can. In this situation about Prescott and Higgins, leadership needs to take stand for both of them. In the case, they explained that Prescott seen a change in Higgins work ethic towards the Japanese employees and U.S parent company. Some reasons for this were him becoming really in depth with the Japanese culture and even being really social at work rather than making decisions. The case also stated that he would attend marriages of coworkers, which meant he was super close and had a relationship with them. Leadership plays a huge role in this with Higgins separating work form his personal life. Leadership in this situation would be to not make friends that will neglect you from your everyday work but still able to hold a relationship with them. For Prescott, his leadership should be shown in a better way as of dealing with the situation of Higgins. Prescott needs to have good leadership to confront Higgins and go over a understanding about what needs to be done on the job and what personal activities should be separate from work and what not. Prescott needs to  identify the actual reasons behind their conflict and remove them to have a smooth system. Business Goals: Adding on to the last topic of Leadership, Business Goals can fit right after that. After coming to a certain agreement, Prescott and Higgins should provide each other with certain business goals they have of their own, along with an appropriate model from their teams to follow as well. Having goals can be the motivation factor of Higgins and Prescott to achieve what they want in their employees and push each other to reach them. There is many examples that can be used here, but some minor ones are: show up on time every day, wear the right dress wear and also avoid as much personal talk and issues outside of work so that way the company can perform more. Having these goals for yourselves, yet alone your employees can surely reflect their work. The reasoning behind this is that Higgins is adapted to the Japanese culture so much, instead of finding personal issues with the culture, use it to engage with the Japanese population at the work place to get them to follow the right rules and ways to adapt what it is he is doing. If they see someone like Higgins who has a lot of Japanese culture in him, they will feel more comfortable to relate to him, rather than draw away. Relationship: Relationship in this situation is probably key. Relationship usually can mean any type of communication or activity to engage with one another. In this situation it’s about Prescott and Higgins. I feel that Prescott and Higgins need to have a good relationship with each other so that way when issues arise, they can be comfortable talking about it rather than assuming what each other is doing. For example, Prescott feels that Higgins is drawn away from the U.S Parent company and teaming up with the Japanese because he has spent more time engaging himself in the Japanese culture that it only feels right to work with them. This pushes back on having a vision and staying with it. Since he has the Japanese culture in him he wants the have a vision of a Japanese’s native, which isn’t going well with Prescott. So having that relationship to actually have a meeting and talk to Higgins on what it is that Prescott is worried about can help the company in the long run. Posi tivity: Last but not least, Positivity. Positivity can be used in a way for Prescott. If his behavior as a boss is perceived as negative by his employees, that could mean the employees would not listen to him or any other boss of this matter. Under the organization structure that they use with employees being in other countries and not face to face, tone of the voice and compliments could be helpful in motivation or just coaching of the employees. I recommend that Prescott can use some positive feedback towards his employees and also using realistic thinking process when dealing with Higgins in the future. If you think negative of a worker, for example Higgins, the discussion can lead to more things arising that you feel negative towards rather than having a positive mindset. All in all, I fell these five factors can surely help out what it is that Higgins is doing and it could also help out Prescott in the thinking and leadership process of the understanding that him and Higgins need to hav e in order to have a smooth operations system.

Modern family values

Family dynamics have rapidly been changing and evolving over the last two hundred years, with far-reaching consequences on individuals and societies as a whole. Whereas before the industrial revolution, children used to live and work with their parents within the home to learn the family trade that would support them and future offspring, now parents spend a good majority of their days at work and children at school. Additionally, there is no longer a â€Å"normal† family model of two heterosexual spouses and their children to comprise the average home. As noted by economist Nancy Barret inDecline of the Family: Conservative, Liberal and Feminist Views, there is no longer one family model that is more dominant than another. (Giezle, Janet D. , 88) The opinions regarding the reasons for such familial shifts are as diverse as the many family models now present. While the opinions of the reasons for such changes in the family may differ, there is a consensus that such changes cor relate with the general upward trend of violence, anti-social behavior, divorce rates, teen pregnancies and addiction habits among parents and especially children.Conservatives argue that such negative behavior epresents a moral decline perpetuated by broken homes and poverty caused by young, unwed parents. They offer a return to traditional family standards and values as a solution to such problems. to such problems, a reversion to a traditional family model is not a viable solution for every family and, therefore, the solution lies in building up communal support for all family types by stressing the importance of families and deemphasizing the individual.Using these two perspectives put forth in Giezle's Decline of the Family, this paper will analyze a true narrative of my younger sister who, after failed marriage, attempted to raise a son, attend university and procure a Job after graduation. I have four siblings, and my sister, Beth, is the youngest. Our mother was a single mot her who supported her five children by, first, relying on government support through welfare and charities, until she was able to gain a Job working night shift for the post office. The Job offered long, exhausting hours but Just enough money that we no longer required government assistance.Though my mother was able to support us materially, she was still often stressed over money matters, running a household nd trying to meet the needs of her children. Our home environment was very stressful. Our mother needed to sleep during the day, so household responsibilities were left to us children. Though we were children, it was expected of us to grow up rather quickly, as we had to rely on and look after each other. Emotions were put aside in favor of getting by, paycheck to paycheck. By the time each of us became a teenager, it was expected that we would find a part-time Job to help cover some of our own expenses. lerical position, my brothers and I into the military, and Beth, surprisin gly, decided to elope with her oyfriend, who had also Joined the military. It was, as she has reflected on it, an act of desperation to escape a stressful home and the fear of no Job prospects and absolutely no way to fund a college education. Her husband was trained by the military in basic mechanical duties on military planes and they lived in Texas for a year before they expected their child. With his military contract up, they returned to the Pacific Northwest with the idea of him finding steady work to support their family.The work was hard to find. The mechanical skills her husband had acquired in the military did ot transfer to the civilian world. Temporary, part-time Jobs were not a reliable source of income to prepare for their child. My sister took up work in a restaurant right up until she gave birth in order to help with the finances. After she gave birth, the question of whether to return to work raised several issues. His income alone was not enough on which to live. T herefore, they needed a second income. However, they could not afford to hire a sitter to cover those work hours.Further, they were informed by the state that the additional income would raise them above assistance level for food and edical benefits. They were in a catch-22, so to speak. They needed to earn more money, but if they did, they would second income. The strain of money issues, raising a newborn, and the typical relationship problems that accompany young people and rash decisions, brought their marriage to an end when their son was Just one. My sister was in a very difficult position. She had a son to raise, but on no place to live, no college education, and very little work experience. She lived with me while she filed for state benefits.Over the course of eight months, she secured an apartment, enrolled in chool and began the work-study program there to earn a bit of money. However, the state assistance would only continue if she were in a vocational program at the comm unity college. The incomes of such vocations threatened to put her back in the same predicament she and her husband had been in†not enough to get by, but Just enough that the state could offer no assistance. She gave up the state assistance and her apartment to move back home with our mother, who agreed to baby-sit while my sister attended the University of Portland and worked on campus there.She still eceived medical insurance for her son, and a small stipend for food. After four years, she graduated and landed a Job that now supports her and her son. It would not have been remotely possible without the support of state programs, generous student grants and constant support from her family members. From a conservative's perspective, issues such as teen pregnancy, divorce and couples having children while being unable to support them are all marked signs that society has shifted from traditional family values.A conservative would argue that the moral declination of society is exemplified in the selfishness of individuals ho place little to no value on the family unity. Further, they argue that the cultural attitudes toward unwed parents and those on state assistance have become too tolerant, rewarding them with welfare assistance programs that do nothing but lower community standards and teach dependence instead of self-reliance. (Giezle, 77) Cons

Sports and Video Games - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1452 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/04/22 Category Entertainment Essay Level High school Tags: Video Games Essay Did you like this example? The debate is over, Should Video Games be considered a Sport, is being talked about more and more every day to becoming reality. Sitting in front of a television playing a video game for hours while upsetting your parents because they think they are addictive and are making you lazy is no longer the way many people view them. Video games today actually require you to be extremely active while you compete against someone next to you or online. This type of activity and competition have allowed people to now get paid for their advanced skills in gaming. Today there are competitions worldwide and people are getting paid very well to play them. They say Sport is defined as an activity played competitively with set rules. The similarities between action sports and playing video games is higher than most people think. A Gamer, person who plays video games, should receive the title of an athlete because they put in a large amount of effort and practice to gain the skill required to play the games they play. Most gamers just like athletics practice hours every day for upcoming competitions and events. The better and bigger they get the better the chance to get picked up and sponsored by large companies. So, if exercise while practicing, getting paid while playing, and feeling that adrenaline from a competitive match is aspects of playing a sport then playing video games should be considered a sport. While Gaming as a sport is being debated, it has caught the eye and interest of quite a few prominent companies. Just like in the NFL, NBA, and a few other sports these companies see eSports (electronic sports) as something that can prove profitable to everyone involved. In fact, according to the research firm Newzoo, The eSports industry will grow from $278 million in revenue in 2015 into a $765 million industry by 2018. In fact, athletics all over are actually the ones playing in some of these tournaments. According to one article, 32 NFL teams will be compe ting in an online Madden Championship in which the winner will receive Super Bowl tickets. Even though the number of export players is significantly lower compared to professional teams They are competing and playing against other pros in these tournaments and making almost as much as the sports athletes. Its been proven that it can be extremely lucrative with the potential of a large payout for the gamer and the company that may sponsor them if they have the skills. For well-established gamers, total prize money can be in the millions. Also, for those established gamers major companies especially the ones that sell computer hardware or software and energy drinks are the leading sponsors. These sponsors have noticed the rapid growth of competing for gaming and the revenue that it generates and have invested a great deal in many of the tournaments throughout the country. Esport events are selling out stadiums and arenas worldwide. For example, In Korea, stadiums that use to sel l out for soccer matches are now being sold out to watch gaming competitions compete and in the United States in 2014, 11,000 fans stuffed themselves into the old Seattle Supersonics basketball arena to watch gamers compete for 11 million in prize money. These sponsors are not just earning money from the gamers but also through advertisements, which is called advergames, advertising while they compete. Its forecasted to make billions by 2022 through media rights, streaming advertisement, consumer contributions, and ticket sales. This is the same way professional sports earn their money. Companies hire well-known athletes to promote their products. In the video gaming world, they are doing the same. They look for the video gamers that are attracting large viewing audiences and recruit them to promote their company just by wearing a logo on their shirts just like we now see in the NBA. Both the gamer and athletic have perfected their craft, earned worldwide recognition, as well as a fans base, and are making millions of dollars doing so, so why not consider video game competitions as a sport. Other aspects of the professional game are the exercise and training it takes to become a professional. Gamers must train to prepare for tournaments by honing their physical skills and training their minds. In 2006, Nintendo made it possible when they introduced a game console that included body movement making it possible for people to play games that were normally played outside, games like baseball, boxing, and bowling, all games that can now be played in front of the television. These active video games provided a way to increase physical activity. This physical activity that is now known as Exergaming, a new term describing the gamer that is physically active during their play by allowing it to stimulate a gamer mind as well as their bodies. Games are consoles like this started the revolution of competing for video games. Esports became the frontrunner in inventi ng games that allowed exercise as an unconscious benefit for playing games that were once frowned upon because many felt to much time was being spent in front of a television. Today, gamers put in a crazy amount of effort to gain the skill required to play the games they play. Most gamers practice hours every day to practice for upcoming competitions and events. They train to improve their mental and physical endurance just in case they are faced with long dueling matches. Getting ready for these competitions the gamer must learn different skills and techniques to get better. Not only do they focus on the physical aspect they also focus on mental fitness † focus, wakefulness, reaction time, and clear, strategic thinking. They spend hours each day perfecting their skills just as a pro athlete who spends the same amount of time practicing and exercising to get ready for their upcoming games. While making money and practicing to perfect their skills there is also a sense of co mpetition that gamers love. That adrenaline of competing is considered one of the best feeling ever. Adrenalin, also known as epinephrine, is the bodys response to stress. That type of stress ignites our competitive nature preparing us to either fight or flee, its a survival instinct that all athletes have achieved one time or another. We see this fight in basketball players, soccer players, and football players when they are competing in those game sevens. Just like when a gamer picks up his controller and start to play or compete it gives their brain cells a huge boost. This boost comes when they compete for these large purses and a shiny trophy, they are feeling that same survival instinct as those pro athletes. Thats the feeling of adrenaline and that feeling is being met through their physical exertion, the fear of losing, and the excitement of winning. This is the same type of adrenaline pro athletes feel when they are playing so why not think of a video competition as a sport. Even though pro athletes and gamers have so many similarities, there are those who think that playing video games let alone getting paid to compete and is a waste of time. Video games have been proven to be addictive and in some cases, they have been known to make the player lazy. Not everyone who tries to be a programmer will succeed just like everyone did succeed in trying to make a career in sports. Video games are no longer something to dipiss. They have games in school, educators will use them as incentives if work is completed or if points were earned during class. Educators have also invented games that surround various subject matters to peak the students interest. Understanding the video gaming world is not for everyone. People are still going to think that it a waste of time, even though this paper has pointed out some positive point on how video games have changed over time. Nothing will change some people point until it them that the one that became a million aire playing. Competing in video games are the future. Video games now provide mental and physical activity and people are making big bucks doing it. Just like pro athletes, they are getting paid to play in from of large arenas and stadiums. Since playing video games are providing exercise, opportunities to make a lot of money, and providing the rush of competing why not classify it as a sport. I think video games should be considered a sport and I the near future it will be. The Olympics and the NCAA are both considering adding playing video games as a sport, so why not join the bandwagon and hop on and enjoy the ride. Its worth every penny you spend on it. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Sports and Video Games" essay for you Create order