Teen Marriage Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Relationship Essays

Teen Marriage What is marriage? Marriage is â€Å"the institution whereby men and women are joined in a special kind of social and legal dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining a family† (Marriage 729). The fact is, marriage, to most of society, is something much more than that. To some, marriage is the uniting of their souls; to others, it is merely an escape from their fear, their pain, and their agony. The sad truth about it is that many of those marriages will end in divorce. So how do couples know if what they have will last forever? It is impossible to know for sure. No one can tell them that they definitely have what it takes to make a marriage last. Marriage is about compromise and understanding. It is also about give and take. If one party in the marriage is unwilling to give, and only takes, the marriage will be short lived. Statistics show that in 1998, 2,256,000 couples became married, and 1,135,000 couples became divorced (Fast 1,2). For every two couples getting married, there is one that is getting divorced. In fact, half of ALL marriages end in divorce (Ayer 41). That is a sad reality to face. Those percentage rates increase as the age of the participant’s decrease. It seems these days, fewer and fewer teens between the ages of 14 and 18 are getting married. This is a change for the better. Teens are usually not prepared for marriage. Marriage comes with many responsibilities; most of which teens are not prepared to handle. â€Å"Early marriage, though possessing certain inherent dangers, is widely practiced in contemporary America† (Teenage 1). Even if teens feel they have the potential for a lasting marriage, they should still wait to become married. One of many arguments against this is that if the teens feel they are â€Å"destined† to be together and they wait to become married, there is a strong potential for pregnancy before marriage. However, just because teens wait to become married does not mean that they wait to share the privileges that married couples share. Today, sex before marriage is widely practiced. Many couples, who are not even considering marriage, have sex. Chances are that if a teen couple is thinking about marriage, they probably have already had intercourse. Allowing the teens to become married would only encourage sex before they are fully prepared to handle the responsibilities that come ... ...ociety; we do not need teens, which are not ready for marriage, to be married. Marriage is all about compromise, understanding, and give and take. Teens have not fully grasped that concept yet. They need to experience more in life before becoming married. They are missing out on so much; it is truly not worth it to rush into marriage. Works Cited Ayer, Eleanor H. Everything you need to know about teen marriage. 1st ed. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 1990. "Fast Stats A to Z." [online] Available http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/ default .html, March 7, 2001. Holt, Chatal Danino. "The three R's of Relationships." [online] Available http://www.aboutyourmarriage.com/communicating/article/ three_r.html, February 12, 2001. Holtrop, Holly. Personal interview, March 12, 2001. "Marriage." Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. 1991. "Teenage Marriage: weigh it carefully!" [online] Available http://www.bible .ca/ f-teen- marriage.html, February 14, 2001. Tobin, Dr. Michael. "Personal Responsibility." [online] Available http://www. aboutyourmarriage.com/columns/drtobin/responsibilities.html, February 7, 2001.

Tv Advertising and Consumer Buying Behavior

ABSTRACT Children are important in the family, they make a family complete and they influence a number of decisions made in the family. Children have occupied a big segment in the marketplace, there are more products produced and directed at them. The importance of children in purchase decision making has grown over the years. They not only make purchase decisions for personal consumption but they also influence family purchase decision-making (Kaur and Singh, 2006). However, nearly all studies are based in the western context, like US and Europe.There are few studies focused on the African context, especially in Nigeria. As a result of this, it is important to examine how they influence the decision to purchase products for family consumption. The typology of family communication patterns and social power theory will be used for this study. The study will employ qualitative research using questionnaire to elicit detailed explanation of children’s influence in family purchase decision. Children between the ages 8-13 years are the focus of this research.Key words: family decision-making, children’s role in family decision making, typology of family communication patterns, social power theory. 1. 0 INTRODUCTION Children are important in the family, they make a family complete and they influence a number of decisions made in the family. Today children are not only passive observers but they have taken a considerable place in the families and have a significant influence on parental buying decisions and they have occupied a big segment in the marketplace. Children are consumers in their own right; there are more products produced and directed at them.Because of a growing awareness of the role children play in family decision making on family purchases other than toys and cereals, as well as a realisation that the influence of children in family decision making appears to have grown significantly over the past two decades (Sellers, 1989 as cited by Eka sasi, 2005), increasing attention is being given to children and their role in family decision making (Foxman and Patriya, 1989). There is no doubt that children establish a significant marketing zone and today they have a more important place in the society than their parents ever had.They are not only consumers but have emotional involvement direct or indirect on parents buying decisions. This trend of increased influence appears to emanate from a number of factors, including the greater affluence enjoyed by many households, higher consumer socialisation of children, product type, and the increasing independence given to children due to dual income families and higher divorce rates. Several researchers have also demonstrated how children have been â€Å"socialised to act as consumers† (Kaur and Singh, 2006).Family (parents and siblings), peers, and media are main socialising agents for children wherein family type, parental style and patterns of communication play important roles. However, most of the studies are based on the western context and there are very few studies focusing on Africa, particularly Nigeria due to which this research will be undertaken. As a result of this, it is important to examine how children influence the decision to purchase products in the family in Nigeria. 1. 2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMFamily as a consuming and decision making unit is a central phenomenon in marketing and consumer behaviour. Earlier, research had only focused on the husband and wife’s role where children’s role was ignored (Commuri and Gentry, 2000 as cited by Kaur and Singh, 2006). The importance of children in purchase decision making has grown over the years. It is seen that children not only influence family purchase decision but they also insist their parents purchase the products they desire (Kaur and Singh, 2006). Children’s influence differs depending on the product category and decision-making stage.Age and gender of the chil dren also have a major impact on decision stage and the product category. The role that children play in family decision- making has directed the researchers to study the influence of children. Several researchers have also demonstrated how children have been â€Å"socialised to act as consumers† (Kaur and Singh, 2006). However, most of the studies are based on the western context and there are very few studies focusing on Africa, particularly Nigeria due to which this research will be undertaken.Since Nigerian society vastly differs from the west in terms of family composition, family type and structure, norms, values, and behaviour, it is important to understand children’s influence in the purchase decision making in families in the Nigerian context. The buying power of children in Nigeria will be different compared to the western countries, but still they play the key role in Nigerian families. Children influence family as well as individual purchase decisions. For this reason, detailed study will be done on children’s influence in family purchase decision in Nigeria. . 3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1. Does parent-child communication affect the way a child contributes in family decision making process? 2. What strategies do children use in influencing family product purchase? 3. At what decision making process stage do children have more influence in the family? 4. How do parents respond to children’s attempt to influence decisions on products for family consumption? 5. How frequently do children attempt to influence purchasing decisions on products for family consumption? 4. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDYThe primary objective of this study is to examine the roles performed by children in family purchase decisions with regard to children and family related products and to explore children’s influence in family decision making process in the Nigerian context. However, the specific objectives are: to understand the family communication stru cture and its influence on a child as a consumer; to examine the decision making process and the stage children have the most influence; and to examine parents’ perception of the role children play in family purchase decision-making. . 5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY This study will focus on children’s influence on decision making process in the family as it relates to the purchase of products to be used by the family, family communication structure and patterns and parents perception of children’s influence in family purchase decision making. 1. 6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY Family is the basic unit where most individuals learn about product categories and how to consume it. So, understanding family buying behavior is very important.It used to be that husband and wife hold dominant influence in family decision-making process. However, now, their role is changing. Today, children’s role in family decision-making process is also significant. As children are an integral part of the marketplace, this study would help manufacturers of family products, marketers and advertisers to understand the place of a child in the family. Their influence relates to a wide variety of products needed by their family and not just to the items that directly relate to their need.This means that, to market successfully to the family, advertisers must understand children’s role in the decision making process in the family. The result of this research will aid advertisers to better position products to win the hearts of children who will eventually influence their parents buying decision. 2. 0 LITERATURE REVIEW This section is to review what past studies has found on the influence children have on purchase decision in the family. 2. 1 FAMILY DECISION MAKING The family is a major influence in the consumer behavior process.As the basic group, which an individual belongs, the family provides early childhood learning about products and product categories, provides th e opportunity for product exposure and repetition, and sets the consumption unit, the family members. As a major consumption unit the family is a prime target for most products and product categories (Schiffman & Kanuk, 1983). Loudon & Della (1993) as cited by Ekasasi (2005) define the family as a group of two or more persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption and residing together as a household.A number of different types of family exist. The nuclear family consists of a husband, a wife, and their offspring. The extended family consists of the nuclear family plus other relatives, such as parents of the husband or wife. There is also the detached nuclear family structure which has characteristics as follows: free choice of mates, higher levels of divorce, increased residential mobility, entry of large numbers of women into the labour force, and lower responsibility of children to care for their parents in their old age (Mowen, 1995 in Ekasasi, 2005).During the course of everyd ay living, thousands of decisions are made by family members. The husband and wife are clearly the dominant influences in family decision-making. Most studies have focused on their role in decision-making and the dominance on their role in decision-making and the dominance of one or the other. The relative influence of the husband and the wife is likely to vary according to the type of product considered, the stage in decision making, the nature of purchase influence, and family characteristics (Assael 1992).In the process of family decision-making, there are three stages: initiation, make choice and final decision. Initiation is the process whereby a family member proposes a suggestion and ideas. Making choice is the second stage. Family members search and compare different alternatives. The final stage is the buying decision process. The child has been regarded as an initiator in family decision-making. When a particular product has been chosen as a candidate in the second stage, the product has greater chance to be sold. 2. 2 CHILDREN’S INFLUENCE IN FAMILY DECISION MAKINGFamily decision- making research was initially directed to spouses, however the role of children on decision making and negotiation strategies had become an important issue of study (Kaur and Singh, 2006). Children not only enjoy making regular consumption decisions with their parents but they also insist their parents to buy the products they desire. The family as a purchasing unit is a central phenomenon in consumer behavior. Researchers have studied how a family makes a purchase decision for many years but most of the ‘families’ studied only comprised the husband and wife (Davis, 1976 in Kaur and Singh, 2006).However, family decisions are influenced by every member of the family, which means how a family makes decisions will not be well examined unless every member’s influence is taken into account; children inclusive. Children’s influence in family purc hase decisions and the spending power of children have increased over the last 40 years (Shoham and Dalakas, 2005). After Berey and Polly (1968) as cited by Kaur & Singh (2006) detected child’s influence in family decision making, there was an increasing recognition of children’s important role with the increasing influence of children in family decision making.Usually, children influence parental purchases in the shopping environment, at home, in the car, at the movies, during television viewing, on vacation, at mealtime, even in church. The influence that children have on parental purchases is extensive and principally embraces the following areas (McNeal 1999): 1. Items for the children, including snacks, toys, consumer electronics, clothing, and hobbies equipment and supplies. 2. Items for the home, including furnishings, television sets, stereo systems, and foods and beverages for meals. 3.Non-household items for family members, including vacations, automobiles, c lothing, restaurant meals, and recreation. In addition to these three groups, there are others that are more difficult to classify. They include family gifts to the children’s grandparents and family donations to charities. Also, children often influence the parent’s choice of stores and shopping centers. According to Ramzy, T. Ogden, R. Ogden and Zakaria (2012) children’s purchasing power can be direct, money controlled by the child, or indirect, relating to parental purchases that the child initiates or influences.Children influence family buying decisions in four different ways. First, children influence their parents to buy products for their individual preferences. Second, older children have their own pocket money and buy the products directly. Third, children influence their parents’ choice for family products for shared consumption. Lastly, children influence their parents’ own preferences. Children exert a certain influence on the overall decision process (Wut and Chou 2009). Geuens, Mast and Pelsmacker (2002) discovered that children can have active or passive influence on purchase decision.Active influence means that the child wants to influence purchase decisions in a direct way by recommending, hinting and/or asking for things (McNeal, 1999). Passive dictation, on the other hand, means that parents are influenced by what they experience their children prefer or need (Wells, 1965). A mother experiencing that her toddler enjoys a specific meal will be more increased to buy or cook this particular food again (Mehrotra and Torges, 1977 as cited by Wut and Chou, 2009).Passive influence is mostly unconscious and as a consequence difficult to observe and measure. Various researchers have revealed that a number of factors play a substantial role on children’s influence on parents buying decisions across different product categories. Berey & Pollay (1968, as cited by Kaur & Singh 2006) studied mother-child dyads in purchase of break- fast cereals and found that in most of the products parents are intermediary purchasing agents for children.In such situations children’s influence on parent’s purchase decisions is governed by two factors as children’s assertiveness and parent’s child centeredness. The study showed that more assertive the child or more children cantered the mother is, more probable the mother will buy the child desired brands. The research also revealed that mother’s act as gatekeepers and bought products that weighed high in nutrition. In general children exert more influence on products for which they are primary consumers (Lee and Beauty 2002).In recent years, family structures have changed considerably. We have single parents, two parents with one source of income, dual income families and higher divorce rates. Geuens, Mast and Pelsmacker (2002) examined the impact of new family structures (single versus one parent, two versus one income, h igh versus low working hours, small versus large size) on children’s influence on family purchase decision-making. The increase of children’s influence on parents buying decisions in most of the developed countries can be attributed to various reasons.First; increase in number of working couple resulting in to cash rich and time poor society and hence increasing the influence of children on parents; second, the shift in the family setup from joint families to nuclear families, allowing the influence of children on parents buying decisions; third, lesser number of children per family, resulting in increase in the buying power of each; fourth, the repeated exposure to media resulting in socialization of children which in turn result in to children influence on parents buying decisions etc. Wimalasiry (2004).Williams and Burns (2000) explained that changing social trends such as working mothers, decreased and delayed childbearing, increased divorce rates, and rapid matura tion have given way to a formidable market force for children. They developed a scale based on social power theory to measure children’s direct influence attempts. The seven dimensions derived to represent direct influence attempt were ask nicely, bargain, show affection, just ask, beg and plead, show anger, and con. In this study, these dimensions will be utilized to measure the direct influence of children. . 3 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Two theories are proposed to guide this study. They are the typology of family communication patterns and social power theory. 2. 3. 1 TYPOLOGY OF FAMILY COMMUNICATION PATTERNS The typology of parent-child communication structures and patterns was developed by McLeod and Chaffee (1972) and this typology utilizes Newcomb's (1953) co-orientation model. Together, the two dimensions of family communication structure yielded a four-fold typology of family communication patterns: laissez-faire, protective, pluralistic, and consensual.McLeod and Chaffe e (1972) identified two dimensions of parent-child communications dimensions. These dimensions are the degree of social orientation and degree of concept orientation. Social Orientation: The communications in families with a high social orientation are designed to produce obedience from the child and foster family harmony. Concept Orientation: The communications in families with a high concept orientation are designed to encourage openness and foster an independent outlook. Laissez-faire families emphasize neither of the two dimensions and there is little communication between parents and children.Protective families emphasize the socio-orientation dimension, stressing obedience and social harmony, and are not concerned with conceptual matters. Conversely, Pluralistic families tend to stress the concept-orientation dimension, with an emphasis being placed on mutuality of respects and interest. Children are encouraged to explore new ideas and to express them openly without fear of re prisal. Finally, consensual families stress both the socio- and concept orientation dimensions, and children are encouraged to explore the world about them but to do so without disrupting the family's established internal social harmony.A parent with a high socio-orientation believes that children should respect him/her, should suppress opinions on areas not pertaining to them, that children should avoid disagreements with parents and be obedient (Moschis & Moore 1978). Parents with this type of communication orientation tend to control their child’s consumption-related learning (Moschis & Moore 1979). A high concept-orientation means that parents encourage children to evaluate different alternatives when making decisions. Children in this orientation are allowed to discuss disagreements with parents and to develop their own consumer skills.They are also asked by their parents about purchase decisions even if the product is not directly for the child. According to Moschis and Mitchell (1986), children from families with a high social orientation are less likely to be involved in family decisions and less likely to make consumption-related decisions for themselves. Conversely, children from families with a high concept orientation are likely to have higher product knowledge, better able to manage a family budget and have a higher regard for their parents’ opinions. 2. 3. 2 SOCIAL POWER THEORYSocial power theory examines power bases in social interactions. The concept of social power was initially introduced by Lewin (1951) and later developed theoretically by French and Raven (1959). Social power theory is an appropriate theoretical framework from which to study children’s direct influence attempts for several reasons. First, social power theory identifies the bases of power which are present in social interactions. These sources of power may include expertise, reward power, referent power, legitimate power, and coercion.These five bases ar e considered by French and Raven (1959) to be the most important resources utilized by a person, but not an all-inclusive list of potential resources. Further, social power theory suggests that a person will make an assessment of his or her resources and choose an influence attempt that is consistent with his or her sources of social power. In addition, the theory suggests that these power bases may be utilized in two ways: active (i. e. , direct) or passive (i. e. , indirect). When the utilization of power to influence is active, or the result of an intentional act, a direct influence attempt is exerted.In relation to influence and power evidence exists that children exert varying degrees of influence on the family decision-making process. This influence varies by product, decision stage, child, parental and family characteristics but are not properly researched. Social power theory is useful in explaining differences in children’s influence on purchases and distinguishes be tween influence derived from active and passive power, compatible with direct and indirect influence. Power bases pertinent to exercising influence include: expert (e. g. children possess detailed knowledge about toys, games etc. ; legitimate (e. g. children and products they consume including food, toys and clothing); referent (identifying with peers); reward (children exhibiting good behaviour) and coercive power (e. g. children threatening negative or bothersome behaviour, complaining or even pestering) (Flurry and Burns, 2005). Furthermore, social power theory further suggests the five power bases may be utilised in two ways: actively and passively. Power used to influence is an active and intentional action; passive, when the mere presence of power is influential.Both contribute to a person’s potential to direct a preferential outcome. 3. 0 METHODOLOGY This section comprises of the research design, population, sample size, sampling technique, research instrument to be em ployed, method of data collection and analysis to be employed. 3. 1 RESEARCH DESIGN This study will employ descriptive survey because the role children play in influencing family purchase decision will be described. It will also be a cross-sectional study as children’s influence will be examined from the children as well as the parents’ point of view.Since the research aims at understanding children’s influence in family purchase decision, the views of the children will be essential for this study and to get a balanced view, the views of the parents will also be important, especially mothers. This study will employ questionnaire and in-depth interview as methods of collecting primary data. 3. 2 POPULATION The study will be located in Ibadan metropolis in Oyo State, South West Nigeria. Ibadan is majorly populated by the Yoruba people, but its population has always been ethnically mixed and is becoming increasingly so.Ibadan houses one of Africa’s premier u niversities, the University of Ibadan, which lends its economy a significant intellectual, professional and artistic profile. There are 11 Local Governments in Ibadan metropolitan area consisting of 5 urban local governments in the city and 6 semi-urban local governments. This study will be limited to one urban and one semi-urban local government which are Ibadan North-West and Ido local government respectively. One government-owned secondary school; one private secondary school will be randomly selected from the list of Secondary Schools in the two local government areas for this study. . 3 SAMPLE SIZE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE A multi – stage sampling procedure will be used for this study. At first six schools will be randomly selected from a list of public and private secondary schools in Ibadan North West as well as in Ido Local Government Areas of Oyo State respectively. Then, the balloting system will be used to choose one school for the public secondary school and for the private secondary school in the two local government areas respectively. Going by the assumption that 25 pupils are meant to be in a class, a class of J. S. S 1, 2 and 3 students of a school will be the respondents for this study.This will be 75 respondents per school, making the number of respondents to be 150 altogether. The J. S. S 1, 2 and J. S. S 3 students will be used because they fall within the age range that this study would be focusing on, which is between the ages of 8 and 13 and also because they should be more matured than those in the primary school that also falls within this age range.. 3. 4 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT Questionnaire and in-depth interview will be used for this study. The questionnaire will be in two sections; the first section will be addressed to the children while the second section will be filled by the parents, specifically mothers.This section is specifically to ask the mother to indicate demographic characteristics of the child; including his/her bir thday and sex of the child and to find out how they perceive the role their children play in family purchase decision. This information will be used to match the parent's responses to responses given by the child. The questionnaire will be given to respondents to take home to their parents. The interview will be for the teachers of the respective schools to be used to ascertain the schools’ demography. 3. 5 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION This will involve qualitative method.The headteachers or class teachers of these four schools will be requested to distribute the questionnaires to a class of J. S. S 1, 2 and J. S. S 3 students at the schools. 3. 6 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS The method of data analysis will involve quantitative and qualitative methods. For quantitative method, univariate and bivariate tabulation methods will be used for the analysis. REFERENCES Ali A. and Batra D. K. (2011) Children influence on parents buying decisions in Delhi (India) European Journal of Business and Management (Online) Vol. 3 (11), 19-28 Davis, H. L. 1976), Decision making within the household, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 2, March, 241-60. Ekasasi S. R. (2005) The Role of Children in Family Decision Making: A Theoretical Review, Edisi Khusus Jsb on Marketing, Volume 3, 25 – 41 Foxman E and Patriya S. T. (1989) Adolescents and Mothers Perceptions of Relative Influence in Family Decisions: Patterns of Agreement and Disagreement Advances in Consumer Research, 449-453. Geuens M. , Mast G. and Pelsmacker P. (2002) Children’s Influence on Family Purchase Behavior: The Role of Family Structure, Asia Pacific Advances in Consumer Research Volume 5, 130-135Hall J, Shaw M, Johnson M. and Oppenheim P. (1995) Influence of Children on Family Consumer Decision-Making, European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 2, 45-53 Kaur, P and Singh, R (2006) „Children In Family Purchase Decision Making In India and the West: A Review. Academy of Marketing Science Review Vol. 2006 (8), 1-30 Lee, C. K. C. and Beatty, S. E (2002) Family Structure and Influence in Family Decision Making Journal of Consumer Marketing Vol. 19 (1), 4-41 McNeal, J. ; Ji, M. (1999) Chinese children as consumers: an analysis of their new product information sources Journal of Consumer Marketing Vol. 6(4), 345-364 Mikkelsen M. R. and Norgaard M. K (2012) Children’s Influence on Family Decision-Making in Food Buying and Consumption International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research Vol. 2 (5), 1-23 Moschis G. P, Prahasto A. E and Mitchell L. G (1986) Family Communication Influences on the Development of Consumer Behavior: Some Additional Findings Advances in Consumer Research Volume 13, 365-369 Moschis G. P and Mitchell L. G (1986) Television Advertising and Interpersonal Influences on Teenagers' Participation in Family Consumer Decisions Advances in Consumer Research Volume 13, 181-186Nash C. (2009) The Parent Child Purchase Relationship Academy of Marketing Science R eview Volume 8, 1-30 North E. J. and Kotze T. (2001) Parents and television advertisements as consumer socialisation agents for adolescents: An exploratory study Journal of Family Ecology and Consumer Sciences, Vol. 29, 92-99 Ramzy O. , Ogden D. T. , Ogden J. R. and Zakaria M. Y. (2012) Perceptions of Children’s Influence on Purchase Decisions – Empirical Investigation for the U. S. and Egyptian Families World Journal of Management Vol. 4 (1) March, 30 – 50 Ward, S. and Wackman, D.B (1972) Children’s Purchase Influence Attempts and Parental Influence Attempts and Parental Yielding, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 9, 316-319. Williams L. A. and Burns A. C. (2000) Exploring the Dimensionality of Children’s Direct Influence Attempts Advances in Consumer Research Volume 27, 64-71 Wut T. M. and Chou T. J. (2009) Children’s influences on family decision making in Hong Kong Young Consumers Vol. 10 (2), 146-156 Wut T. M. and Chou T. J. (2009) Fa mily Communication Patterns and Children’s influence on Family Decision Making ANZMAC, 1-7

Outline Current Legislation Affecting the Safeguarding of Children and Young People Essay

â€Å"Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined as: †¢protecting children from maltreatment †¢preventing impairment of children’s health or development †¢ensuring children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care. â€Å" (Dept for Education www.education.gov.uk) There are numerous laws and guidelines in place which aim to protect children from harm, and promote their health and wellbeing. The need for improved legislation has been highlighted by high-profile cases, such as the death of Maria Colwell in 1973 and, more recently, Victoria Climbià © in 2000. These cases shocked the nation and showed weaknesses in procedures. These policies are constantly reviewed and amended so it is important to keep up to date with these changes. The Children Act 1989 This Act identifies the responsibilities of parents and professionals who must work to ensure the safety of the child. This Act includes two important sections which focus specifically on child protection. Section 47 states that the Local Authority has ‘a duty to investigate when there is a reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm’. Section 17 states that services must be put into place to ‘safeguard and promote the welfare of children within the area who are in need’. The Education Act 2002 This outlines the role of Local Education Authorities (LEAs), governing bodies, head teachers and all those working in schools to ensure that children are safe and free from harm. The Children Act 2004 This is not a replacement of the Children Act 1989. This provides the legal framework for Every Child Matters and sets out the process for providing services in a way which allows every child to achieve the five outcomes of Every Child Matters (described below). It requires local authorities to lead multi-agency children’s trusts, to develop a children and young people’s plan, and to set up a shared database containing information relevant to a child’s welfare. This allows all the organisations involved in children’s welfare to access relevant information and work together to provide the best possible service. Childcare Act 2006 This act aimed to transform early years and childcare services in England. Local authorities are required to: †¢Improve the Every Child Matters outcomes for pre-school children †¢Provide sufficient quality childcare for working parents. †¢Provide a better Parent Information Service. Every Child Matters This was launched in 2002, at least partly in response to the death of Victoria Climbià ©. It is one of the most important policy initiative and development programmes in relation to children and children’s services of the last decade. It has been the title of three government papers, leading to the Children Act 2004. Every Child Matters covers children and young adults up to the age of 19. Its main aims are for every child, whatever their background or circumstances, to have the support they need to: †¢Be healthy  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Stay safe †¢Enjoy and achieve †¢Make a positive contribution †¢Achieve economic well-being Each of these themes has a detailed framework attached whose outcomes require multi-agency partnerships working together to achieve. The agencies in partnership may include children’s centres, early years, schools, children’s social services, primary and secondary health services, and Child and Adolescent Mental Health services (CAMHS). In the past it has been argued that children and families have received poorer services because of the failure of professionals to understand each other’s roles or to work together effectively in a multi-disciplinary manner. Every Child Matters seeks to change this, stressing that all professionals working with children should be aware of the contribution that could be made by their own and each others’ services. Protecting children from harm can be best achieved by effective joint and partnership working between agencies. Working Together to Safeguard Children This provides guidance on what you should do if you have concerns about the welfare of a child. It also recommends ways of working for people who work with young people and their families. What to do if You’re Worried a Child is Being Abused (DfES 2003) This is a guide for practitioners, helping them understand how to work together to promote children’s welfare and protect them from harm. It reinforces Every Child Matters by stressing the importance of joint working. United Nations Convention in The Rights of The Child 1989 This treaty sets out the rights and freedoms of all children in a set of 54 articles. Included in those rights are those which ensure that children are safe and looked after. Article 19 states children’s rights to be ‘protected from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation including sexual abuse by those looking after them’. Those countries which signed up to the Treaty, including the UK in 1991, are legally bound to implement legislation which supports each of the articles.

Health drinks Essay

In India Consumers behavior towards purchase of food drink products like beverage are changing due to economic and personal factors. Once if we compare last five years the prices of beverage products, it could be noted that there is an increase. The major reasons for the increase in the sales of food drinks are due to the increased consumption level among the customers. On an average an individual would consume these products two to three times in a day. Moreover, the prices were also designed in such a manner by the manufacturers making it possible so that every consumer from different segment based on their demographic and geographical patterns could be able to make the purchase. In effect it influences the consumers at large to opt for non-branded and cheap products that are available in the marketplace. This work was undertaken with an object to identify the pattern of purchase by the consumers, factors that dominate and influence the consumers to purchase the products and lastly the impact of demographic factors on the purchase of health food drinks consumption in the study area. The study clearly shows that demographic factors like gender, place of purchase are largely influence the consumers while they purchase beverage products in the shops. Clanging consumerism is the biggest factor that plays a major role as for as consumers purchase behavior is concern. KEYWORDS Health Food and Soft Drinks, Demographic Factors, Purchase, Beverages, Consumer Behaviour, Corporate, Leverage, Consumerism, Consumption. INTRODUCTION Changing consumer behaviour is the biggest challenge for any corporate beverage companies especially for companies like Tata, ITC etc. This is mainly due factors that influence the consumers while purchasing beverage products. For instance, factors such as offers, discount etc. , often increase the purchase. Health food drink products like beverages (hot and cold) are major items that consumer purchase as they consume beverage products not less than two to three times a day. According to the consumers demographic factors like Gender, Age, Educational Status, Marital Status, Occupation, Domicile, and Shopping Destinations often influence consumers while purchasing health food drink products. SCOPE OF THE STUDY The study aims to find the customer preferences towards health food drink products. It has been carried out for period of 2 months focusing all type of consumers. It was restricted to information regarding the demographic profile of the consumers and questions regarding four P’s of marketing tools. OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH To understand the overall purchase pattern of the beverages by the consumers. To identify the level of influence various factor dominate the consumers. To have an insight about prepurchase behavior of consumers. To understand the impact of demographic factors of consumers upon purchase beverage products. RESEARCH DESIGN A Research design is process of collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economic aspect involved in mind. A Research is purely and simply the framework and a plan for the study that guides the collection and analysis of data. It is a blue print followed in completing a study which contains the steps as: Research is an art of scientific investigation. Research is a process of systemic study. Research is a search of knowledge. Research is an area of investigation which includes collection, analysis and interpretation of data. Research has to proceed systematically in the already planned direction with the help of a number of steps in sequence. To make the research systemized the researcher has to adopt certain methods. The method adopted by the researcher for completing the project is called Research Methodology. DATA COLLECTION METHODOLOGY AND Data refers to information or facts. It is not only refers numerical figures but also include descriptive facts. The method of data collection includes two types for the study, such as primary data and secondary data. PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION METHOD The primary was collected with the help of a structured questionnaire directly from consumers through personal interview. The questionnaire contains questions that suit the objectives of the study. The questions will help to draw the information A Study On Consumers Buying Habits Towards Health Food Drink Products In Salem District Tamilnadu – Mr. P. Arun relating to purchase pattern of beverage products by the consumers. The Primary data was collected with a set of specific objective to assess the current status of variables considered for the study. Primary data is useful and applicable only for a specific time. and previous reports, magazines, sales vouchers etc. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION MULTI-DISCRIMINANT FUNCTION ANALYSIS METHODS OF PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION The performance of buying behaviour varies by the different stages of influence. In the study area out of 106 respondents divided into two groups, one is low level of influencer and high level of influencer. For the purpose of the study 7 variables were selected. Although there are several methods are being used for collecting primary data, questionnaire and interview methods has been employed in this study. SECONDARY DATA Gender Age Educational Status Marital Status Occupation Living Place Place of Shopping It was used mainly to support the primary data. Secondary data was collected from sources such as through books, annual reports, significant, available literatures from organization TABLE No. 1 – SUMMARY TABLE BETWEEN LOW INFLUENCER AND HIGH INFLUENCER GROUPS STEP 1. 2. VARIABLE ENTERED Gender Place of purchase WILK’S LAMBDA 0. 955 0. 909 MINIMUM D2 SIGNIFICANCE 0. 222 0. 471 ** * *. Significant at 1% level, ** Significant at 5% level, TABLE No. 2. – CANONICAL DISCRIMINANT FUNCTION CANONICAL CORRELATION 0. 302 WILKS LAMBDA 0. 909 The canonical correlation is 0. 302 when squared is 0. 091 that is 9. 1% of the variance in the discriminant group can be accounted for by this model, Wilk’s Lambda and chi-square value suggest that D. F. is significant at 1% level. The variables given above are CHISQUARE 9. 711 D. F. SIG 2 Significant at 1% level identified finally by the D. F. A. as the eligible discriminating variables. Based on the selected variables the corresponding D. F. coefficients are calculated. They are given in the following table. TABLE NO. 3: DISCRIMINANT FUNCTION COEFFICIENTS Namex International Journal of Management Research 33 Vol. 2, Issue No. 2, July – December 2012. A Study On Consumers Buying Habits Towards Health Food Drink Products In Salem District Tamilnadu – Mr. P. Arun. VARIABLES COEFFICIENTS 1. 812 0. 777 4. 635 Gender Place of Purchase Constant The equation is: Z = – 4. 635+ 1. 812 (Gender) + 0. 777 (Place of purchase) The discriminating power or the contribution of each variable to the function can sufficiently. For this consider the following table. TABLE No. 4- RELATIVE DISCRIMINATING INDEX FACTORS Gender Place of Purchase GROUP 1 MEAN X1 1. 58 2. 90 GROUP2 MEAN X2 UNSTANDARDIZED DIC. COEFF. (kj) 1. 35 2. 55 1. 812 0. 777 Ij = ABS (Kj) MEAN (Xjo – x ji) 1. 24 0. 29 1. 53 Total Rj = Ij / sum Ij j*100 81. 0 19. 0 100. 0 This reclassification is called predictor group membership. In short, the efficiency of the D. F. is how correctly it predicts the respondents into respective groups. TABLE NO. 5 – CLASSIFICATION RESULTS PREDICTED GROUP MEMBERSHIP ACTUAL GROUP No. OF CASES GROUP I Group 1 (Low Influencer) Group 2 (High Influencer) 20 (64. 5%) 31 (41. 9%) 31 74 GROUP II 11 (35. 5%) 43 (58. 1%) Percent of grouped cases correctly classified: 60. 0%. The above table gives the results of the reclassification. The function, using the variables selected in the analysis classified 60. 0% of the cases correctly in the respective groups. low and high influencer. The following factors significantly discriminate the two influencer groups. They are: Gender (at 5% level) Place of purchase (at 1% level) Discriminate function analysis was applied to the respondents based on the TABLE NO. 6: DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS (N=106) ITEM GENDER Male Female MARITAL STATUS Single Married NUMBER Namex International Journal of Management Research PERCENTAGE 61 45 58. 00 42. 00 21 84 19. 88 79. 25 34 Vol. 2, Issue No. 2, July – December 2012. A Study On Consumers Buying Habits Towards Health Food Drink Products In Salem District Tamilnadu – Mr. P. Arun Widow EDUCATIONAL STATUS Elementary School High School Graduate Post Graduate Doctoral Degree OCCUPATION Professional Worker Business Retired Staff House Wife PLACE Salem Omalur Mecheri Mettur Dam Kolathur The Present study is related to consumers’ behaviour on health food drinks in Salem area. In the constituted sample size of 106 respondents it was found there were 61. 33% professionals, 04. 71% workers, 30. 18% businessmen, 0. 94% retired staff and 02. 83% house wife. The distributions of consumers were found to be from locations such as Salem, Omalur, Mecheri, Mettur Dam and Kolathur. From the above table it could be seen that 34. 91 % of consumers were from Kolathur, 31. 33% of consumers were from Mettur 01 0. 94 09 12 23 55 04 08. 49 11. 33 21. 69 51. 89 03. 78 65 05 32 01 03 61. 33 04. 71 30. 18 0. 94 02. 83 25 01 10 33 37 23. 59 09. 44 09. 44 31. 33 34. 91 doctoral. With respect to the occupation of the respondents was concerned, 61. 33% were professional, 30. 18 were business person and remaining 6% were worker, retired staff and house wives. STATISTICAL TOOLS APPLIED The primary data collected through interview schedule from 106 respondents. The statistical tool applied is multi discriminant analyses were used for this study. FINDINGS Dam, 23. 59% of consumers were from Salem City, 9. 44% of consumers were from Mecheri and the remaining 0. 94% of consumers were from Omalur. The gender distributions of consumers in the study, it is noted 58% of the respondents were male and the remaining 42% were female. As for as education qualification of the consumer was concerned, there were 51. 89% post graduate, 21. 69% graduate, 11. 33% high school level, 8. 49% elementary school level and the remaining 3. 78% Namex International Journal of Management Research The study shows the following findings. It’s clearly shows that the below gender and place were significantly differed: Gender (at 5% level) Place of purchase (at 1% level) CONCLUSION The study clearly shows that demographic factors like gender, place 35 Vol. 2, Issue No. 2, July – December 2012. A Study On Consumers Buying Habits Towards Health Food Drink Products In Salem District Tamilnadu – Mr. P. Arun of purchase are largely influence the consumers while they purchase beverage products in the shops. Clanging consumerism is the biggest factor that plays a major role as for as consumers purchase behavior is concern. REFERENCES Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, McDowell MA, Tabak CJ, Flegal KM. Prevalence Of Overweight. And Obesity In The United States, 1999–2004. JAMA. 2006; 295(13):1549–1555. [PubMed] The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity 2001. Rockville, MD: Office of the Surgeon General, Public Health Service, US Dept of Health and Human Services; 2001. Flegal KM, Graubard BI, Williamson DF, Gail MH. Excess deaths associated with underweight, overweight, and obesity. JAMA. 2005; 293(15):1861–1867. [PubMed]. Mokdad AH, Marks JS, Stroup DF, Gerberding JL. Actual causes of death in the United States, 2000. JAMA. 2004; 291(10):1238–1245. [PubMed]. Hedley AA, Ogden CL, Johnson CI, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, Flegal KM. Prevalence of overweight and obesity among US children, adolescents, and adults, 1999– 2002. JAMA. 2004; 291(23):2847–2850. [PubMed]. National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality. Expert Committee recommendations on assessment, prevention, and treatment of child and adolescent overweight and obesity 2007. [Accessed January 27, 2008]. http://www. amaassn. org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/43 3/ped_obesity_recs. pdf. Johnston FE. Health implications of childhood obesity. Ann Intern Med. 1985; 103(6, pt 2):1068– 1072. [PubMed]. Namex International Journal of Management Research Serdula MK, Iver D, Coates RJ, Freedman DS, Williamson DF, Byers T. Do Obese Children Become Obese Adults? A review of the literature. Prev Med. 1993; 22(2):167–177. [PubMed]. Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Kuczmarski RJ, Johnson CL. Overweight And Obesity In The United States: Prevalence And Trends, 1960– 1994. Int. J. Obes. Relat Metab Disord. 1998; 22(1):39–47. [PubMed]. Sellers K, Russo T, Baker I, Dennison B. The Role Of Childcare Providers In The Prevention Of Childhood Overweight. J Early Child Res. 2005; 3(3):227–242. WEBSIGHTS www. yahoo. com. www. google. com. www. hul. co. in. 36 Vol. 2, Issue No. 2, July – December 2012.

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