Cadbury Chocolate Company Marketing Strategy Research Paper

Cadbury Chocolate Company Marketing Strategy - Research Paper Example A specification and assessment of the Cadbury Chocolate’s current marketing strategyA specification and assessment of the Cadbury Chocolate’s current marketing strategy In order to amplify the position and reputation in the market, the organization of Cadbury Chocolate tried to implement effective marketing strategies. Only then, the organization of Cadbury Chocolate might enhance its brand image and range of customers to a significant extent as compared to many other rival players.  Effective distribution system: the organization of Cadbury tried to maintain effective distribution system so that the customers might get their desired products. However, this strategy of Cadbury Chocolate became successful only due to the effective team management and work coordination of the sale team members that amplified the productivity and market share of the organization of Cadbury Chocolate in the market.Customer choice and preferences: the organization of Cadbury Chocolate beca me successful in understanding the demands and requirements of the customers and acted in that way. It prepared varied types of chocolates such as gems, diary milk, perk, 5 stars, à ©clairs that enhanced the profitability and demand of the products of Cadbury Chocolate. Moreover, constant modification of the products so as to fulfill the preferences of the target customers amplified its growth by almost 35 percent within a very small period of time. Due to which, it helped the organization to position itself as a market leader.

Imc plan for water

Imc plan for water INDUSTRY PROFILE Bottled waterisdrinking waterpackaged inplasticbottle. The dominant form in which water is packaged is newPolyethylene terephthalatebottlesand sold retail. Another method of packaging is in largerhigh-density polyethyleneplastic bottles, or polycarbonate plastic bottles, often used withwater coolers. Since 2000, sales have increased by 60% and the industry is now worth in excess of  £2bn a year. Drinks consultants are predicting that global consumption of bottled water will soon overtake carbonated beverages and one analyst has taken to calling the sector ‘blue gold. Global sales The global bottled water market valuation grew by 7% in 2006 to reach a value of $60,938.1 million. The volume of bottled water grew by 8.1% in 2006 to 115,393.5 million liters. In 2011, the market is forecast to have a value of $86,421.2 million, an increase of 41.8% since 2006. In 2011, the market is forecast to have a volume of 174,286.6 million liters, an increase of 51% since 2006. The global rate of consumption more than doubled between 1997 and 2005.Purified water is currently the leading global seller, with U.S. companies dominating the field, and natural spring water, purified water and flavored water being the fastest-growing market segments Bottled water in the marketplace The Beverage Marketing Corporation defines the bottled water market segment as â€Å"retail PET, retail bulk, home and office delivery, vending, domestic sparkling and imports† but excluding â€Å"flavored and enhanced water.† Bottled water vs. carbonated beverages Bottled water competes in the marketplace with carbonated beverages sold in individual plastic bottles,and is often considered a healthier substitute. According to the Donkey Recycling Institute, sales of flavored, noncarbonated drinks are expected to surpass soda sales by 2010.In response, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have introduced new carbonated drinks that are fortified with vitamins and minerals, Diet Coke Plus and Tava, marketed as â€Å"sparkling beverages.† Bottled water vs. tap water An officewater coolerwith a reusable 5-gallon bottle In india, bottled water costs between Rs 10 to Rs15 per bottle while tap water costs less negligible..In 1999, according to a NRDC study, U.S. consumers paid between 240 and 10,000 times more per unit volume for bottled water than for tap water. According to Bottledwaterblues.com, about 90% of manufacturers costs is from making the bottle, label, and cap. TheShowtimeseriesPenn Teller: Bullshit!demonstrated, in a 2007 episode, that in a controlled setting, diners could not discern between bottled water and water from a garden hose behind the restaurant. The United Church of Christ, United Church of Canada, National Council of Churches, National Coalition of American Nuns and Presbyterians for Restoring Creation are among some of the religious organizations that have raised questions about whether or not the â€Å"privatization† of water is ethical. They regard the industrial purchase and repackaging at a much higher resale price of a basic resource as an unethical trend. InFinland, the newspaperHelsingin Sanomatonce ran ablind tastingtest containing various brands of bottled water, both Finnish and international, and regular tap water from Helsinki. The majority of the tasters preferred the tap water. Bottled water service It is common for business or individuals person to subscribe to a bottled water service. Instead of selling drinking water in small individual-use bottles, the service supplies it in large, reusable (in the USA, typically 5 US gallons) containers. The containers are installed on a dispenser (or â€Å"cooler†) which chills or heats the water and generally has valves on the front for dispensing. This practice stop the issue of disposing of packaging for individual serves while still providing the same product. Purified water vending machines Without bottles drinking water of brand companies. A number of companies worldwide, among which are a number of North American supermarket chains, havevending machinesthat dispense purified water into customers own containers. This again obviates the costs and environmental issues involved in manufacturing, transporting, and disposing of plastic bottles. Executive Summary Although common objective of all IMC program is increase brand awareness, sale and design a unique image of the product in customers mind. To communicate among public and customers, we will advertise our product campaign on TV, magazine, online. Through the advertisement we want to design the brand image of our product into the customer mind. Besides advertisement, we will also carry out promotional activity such as public relation, direct marketing etc. Various water company also organizes various events in order to communicate properly with customers. The Main purpose of this event was to increase the sale of water. Before designing IMC program the Company carried out market research in order to judge customers behaviors toward their mineral water packaged using. So that appropriate primary data can be collected for designing IMC strategy for â€Å"The boond hub†. Before designing integrated marketing communication program it is necessary to judge consumers behavior toward t he product. It is necessary to known customers liking and disliking, these data provide various support during designing of IMC program. Although there are various media available for communicating but Printads news paper and banner is seen most effective medium in the case of mineral water planning strategy. After Research survey done by various mineral water company, it has been founded that female respondents were more brand conscious than male. There is no particular brand trend in among male, but females are more conscious towards their healths. â€Å"dirty water and fast food culture† are the major attributes considered by customer while buying water.Our water Company Boond which makes flavored mineral water has come up with a new IMC plan for the new flavored mineral water product for the new region. South India and metro where the target market in the segment delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, rest of south. In this report, we will further introduce ourselves and how we got star ted, internal and external situational analysis of our company, and why a new IMC plan is needed. Bisleri is a strong competitor in the water industry and it is focusing on increasing the brand equity and profitability of companies focused on increasing their share in the packaged water market. Our mission is to make sure that our clients have the tools and information that they need to become successful in the footwear market. We have looked at the strengths and weaknesses of the Bisleri Company as well as the opportunities and threats and have included them in this IMC plan. HUNKY Company will use all IMC tools which will be best suited for flowing the message among the targeted people. We feel that Bisleri would profit from making an innovative and customer oriented product that will use by mostly all level of people. Company profile Product name-Boond tm Tag line -â€Å"har boond mein biswas†. MISSION Build branded packaged water business to improve health of life by offering tasty, Affordable and highly mineral rich water to our consumer. While maximizing Stakeholders value. Vision:- To become leading brand in packaged water industry after 10 years from today. Situation analysis:- From being confined to the uppermost echelons of society, packaged water has now become a commonplace commodity and almost a necessity in metros. After witnessing historic growth in recent years, it has become a Rs 3,000-crore industry, one that is slated to only post healthy growth rates to become a Rs 10,000-crore business in just three years, says Mr Sushil Kumar, Marketing Director of Shivsu Canadian Clear Waters Technology Pvt Ltd, a company that has executed more than 3,000 packaged water projects worldwide and over 2,000 in India. Speaking toBusiness Lineon the water industry and the road ahead, he said that the industrys phenomenal growth in recent years can be attributed to rising incidence of water-borne diseases, improper municipal supplies, evol ved health consciousness of people as well as globalisation, which has brought in tremendous tourist inflow. â€Å"The bulk water industry, or water in 12-, 20- and 25-litre packages, has also witnessed a parallel growth of Rs 700-1,000 crore,† he informed. â€Å"Basically, the market can be divided into two segments the retail consumer market where the pack sizes are 500 ml, one litre, 1.2/1.5/2-litre and five-litre, and the household and institutional market, where the pack size is usually are 20- or 25-litre.† He added: â€Å"The total Indian market for small segments, such as 0.5-2 litre stands at 12-15 million cases a year. Bulk water sale of 25-litre bubbletops stands at 16.8 million bottles a month.† Though the industry growth rate is 40-50 per cent a year, India is still behind countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, where the industry is already worth Rs 15,000-20,000 crore. â€Å"These countries have much smaller population but similar climatic conditions.† Government data also attributed the growth to the entry of large liquor companies such as the UB Group, which has set up more than 29 plants all over the country for rolling out the Kingfisher brand of packaged water, and around 20 plants for McDowell No 1 brand. Similarly, SAB Miller has come out with Royal Challenge and Haywards 5,000 brands of packaged water, for which purpose it has set up more than 40 plants all over India. The company has also introduced a new concept of sparkling water, â€Å"which is low-carbonated water for a niche market, basically foreigners.† Mr Kumar said that though the Indian market currently has more than 2,000 players, the main brands controlling the market are Pepsis Aquafina, Cokes Kinley, Kingfisher, SAB Millers Royal Challenge, Parle Agros Bisleri, besides local players such as Sabol. He also informed that with better knowledge of packaged drinking water, brands such as Evian of France, Himalayan of North India and Blu Mont from the South are trying to create a niche in the premium water segment of â€Å"mountain spring water,† which comes under the natural mineral water specifications of BIS. â€Å"These products are mainly sold in ‘A class outlets such as five-star hotels, resorts, lifestyle stores, high-end beauty parlours and elite clubs. The industry has also paved the way for new product segments such as flavoured, vitaminised and herbal waters.† With the entry of big players such as the Tatas (who recently bought stake in Mount Everest brand of packaged drinking water), the water industry is poised for a phenomenal surge, â€Å"What we see is just the tip of the iceberg.† SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis will help me to identify our company strength, weaknesses, opportunity and threats internally and externally both. Through this, we can easily identified our competitors in the market and once we know the company weakness and what kind of oppournity we have for the present and future prospect then we can easily make cost effective IMC plan and strategic IMC plan for the company. In SWOT analysis of the company, we have find the following that will help to make more strategical and cost effective IMC plan: STRENGTHS: Easy availability of low cost for all level of people. Massive institutional support for technical services, designing, manpower development and marketing. Exporter-friendly government policies for shoes industry. Well-established linkages with buyers in all parts of India. WEAKNESSES: Lack of modern finishing facilities for packing. Difficulties in accessing to testing, designing and technical services. Environmental problems. Non availability of quality components in the market. Lack of fresh investment in the sector. Uneconomical size of manufacturing units. OPPORTUNITIES: The Indian packaged water market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 10% for the period spanning from 2008 to 2011. Presently, the Indian packaged water market is dominated by health conscious person that accounts for nearly 70% of the total Indian packaged water market. Abundant scope to supply packaged water to companies setting up branch in India. Growing health consciousness globally. Use of information technology and decision support software to help eliminate the length of the production cycle for different products Product diversification There is lot of scope for diversification into other flavour water etc. Growing international and domestic markets. Retain customers through quality supplies and timely deliveries Aim to present the customer with new designs, infrastructure, and country company profiles. Use of modern technology THREATS: Entry of multinationals in domestic market. Stiff competition from other company. Non- tariff barriers Developing countries are resorting to more and more non tariff barriers indirectly. Fast changing fashion trends are difficult to adapt for every time for our company. Competitive analysis The major competitors in packaged water in Indian context of the Boond Company are bisleri, kingfisher, pepsi, aquiafina, kinley, railneel, and oxygen. They are the giant brand in the packaged water segment and they are the well established brand. So to take a challenge in this segment from these all we will create our company brand value in the market through strong positioning message and with differentiate a unique sell property that is water for all level of people and this core value of the BOOND Company will be shown throughout in IMC plan. Pricing factor will be also a major factor to differentiate to all competitors from our company BOOND. Apart from this some local seller of packaged water in todays scenario giving more competition because they are not branded packaged water and they are providing low price packaged water. So, to face giant challenges from all we are creating our core value of the company that is the packaged water for all level of people that most of the ma jor competitors do not have. They mostly targeted the younger generation but BOOND Company will target all level of people in the health concious segment with affordable price. Marketing Mix Strategies:- Product:-The Main aim of the BOOND Company is to produce high quality packaged water in various flavour for all level of people. It is only possible to capture the attention of the target market. The name of our product is boond. The company is providing 2 years free health tips for the customer. Price: The price range of the product range will be from Rs. 12 to 50. The price will be depended upon the flavour and quantity of the product. The company will also provide discount offer and allowance for the channel members. Place: Thedistributionchannels for Boond Company are as follows:- MANUFACTURER (COMPANY) WHOLESELLER PACKAGED TO RETAILER CUSTOMER Promotion:-In a promotion part of the product we are going to launch IMC plan for the target market. Evaluate Performance The Goal of our marketing plan is to achieve market objective that are established before implementation of marketing plan. We evaluate and control our strategic tactics by comparing our result with standard established before setting of plan, by measuring customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. If result is less than our standard than it means there is any default in implementation and monitoring in the program. The people who are responsible for the monitoring and control of the marketing plan will be the Marketing Executives, Sales Managers, Media Managers, Market Research Departments, and the Production Managers.Some activities will be carried out for evaluating the overall performance that will be precisely and closely evaluating the effectiveness of the strategies and tactics for example the gathering and structuring of data regarding market, product, consumers and the pricing trends, then the generation of daily sales report should be maintained and then in the end continuous reconfirming of the marketing budget and activities by the managers of different divisions. IMC objective and strategy Integrated Marketing Communications is a term used to describe a holistic approach to marketing communication. It aims to ensure consistency of message and the complementary use of media. The concept includes online and offline marketing channels. Online marketing channels include any e-marketing campaigns or programs, pay-per-click, affiliate, email, banner to latest web related channels for webinar, blog, micro-blogging, RSS, pod cast, and Internet TV. Offline marketing channels are traditional print (newspaper, magazine), mail order, public relations, industry relations, billboard, radio, and television. Boond Company is developing its integrated marketing communication programmes using all the elements of the marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion So Integrated marketing communication is integration of all marketing tools, approaches, and resources within a company which maximizes impact on consumer mind and which results into maximum profit at minimum cost. Promotio nal activities include Advertising, sales promotion, and personal selling activities. It also includes internet marketing, sponsorship marketing, direct marketing, database marketing and public relations and integration of all these promotional tools along with other components of marketing mix to gain edge over competitor is called Integrated Marketing Communication. Communication objective:- The main objective of my communication is that people recognise my product as brand. They prefer my product as mineral water. Health conscious person prefer my brand. They feel that proper hygiene is maintained at all the places from where it pass while manufacturing or storing. They think that this company also care for nature. Increase market share up to 20%. Increase sale by 50% in 6 month from thelaunch of public campaign. Create awareness among target audience. Use excessive advertising especially using media preferred by the target market. Create product belonging and position among buyers mind Communication budget:- Total budget is 5 crore. TV advertisement:- (fund allotment 2 crore) Paper advertisement :- (Fund allotted 50 lakhs) Radio advertisement:- (fund allotted-10 lakh) Magazine advertisement:- (fund allotted-10 lakh) Bluetooth advertisement:- (fund allotted-20 lakh) Banners advertisement:- (fund allotted- 30 lakh) Hoardings advertisement:- (fund allotted-90 lakh) Direct selling:- (fund allotted- 1lakh) Door delivery:- fund allotment- 19 lakh) For promotion in event:- (fund allotment-10 lakh) Internet marketing:- (fund allotment-10 lakh) Retailer :- (Fund allotted-30 lakh) Customer sale promotion (Fund allotted-10 lakh) Trade sale promotion (fund allotted-10 lakh) IMC plan TV advertisement:-(fund allotment 2 crore) I will spend around 2 crore on tele-vision advertisement because it reaches to large population. In today scenario TV play very important role in making brand image. I will mainly focus tourist or health oriented channels, try to bring my advertisement those time when there is program related health or tourist place is coming so that I can reach to maximum number of target customers. Because when we go for health we never compromise and same with when we are in tour out of many brands we choose only those brand from which we are familiar or seen their ad in tv. So If we see per person expenditure then it will be less. Paper advertisement :-(fund allotment 50 lakhs) I will spend around 50 lakhs on paper advertisement because it again reaches to large population. I will prefer my advertisement in local as well as national newspaper also. Because my maximum number of customers who are health conscious or who travels frequently prefer national paper and maximum in English language. So my first choice will be that only. Radio advertisement:- (fund allotted-10 lakh) Today again radio trend is coming back due to improved quality of service because of entering of private players. And also today maximum mobile users buy mobile with inbuilt FM radio service. This service is mostly used by youngsters and mid age person, who are my potential customers. So advertisement on radio will also be in priority list. Magazine advertisement:- (fund allotted-10 lakh) Nowadays magazine has reached to mass population. Now magazines are coming according to person interest. For example person who are interested in sports for them sports magazine comes like â€Å"auto†, for business interest business today, business economy, 4p. I will prefer health magazines, tour oriented magazines, sports magazine. Bluetooth advertisement:- (fund allotted-20 lakh) I will also prefer Bluetooth marketing because it reaches only to interested customers so the chance of effectiveness is much more than any other media. Only disadvantage is that it can be done where Bluetooth server is established but this also benefit us because its effectiveness increase. In this customer get all the benefit in the form of video or picture so the effectiveness also increases. Banners advertisement:- (fund allotted- 30 lakh) I will also do banners advertisement because it influence consumer at the time of purchase. When customers go to buy product by seeing advertisement of my brand he will think that this is brand he will prefer, which is normal in our daily life. Hoardings advertisement:- (fund allotment-90 lakh) I will also go for hoardings near market, parks, tourist place, bus stand, railway station all the places where my potential customers go so that consumer recall my brand name all the times. And think that it is good brand. Direct selling:- (fund allotment- 1lakh) I will also prefer direct selling through vendors in trains and bus. Because that is place where consumer need this product most and he will buy it. Also this is place where all the local brand take advantage of it and consumer buy it without will. If I am able to capture this it may be proved very beneficial. Only the commission to the vendor should be kept very high. Door delivery:- fund allotment- 19 lakh) When consumer will buy the product for daily use he will prefer to get the product at home. Also it will be inconvenience to customer the pack of 20 liter with him. So the best option is to deliver the product when he need or call you. This type of practise is already done by many competitors in metro city. For promotion in event:- (fund allotment-20 lakh) I will also prefer promotion of any event which is related to health or tourist. So that I can reached to my maximum customers and they recall me as good brand. Internet marketing:- (fund allotment-10 lakh) I will also do my advertisement on net because today maximum elite customers, business travellers, students and even tourist (tourist take all the information from internet) they all use the internet frequently. So it will very easy to reach them and get their feedback easily. Discount store:- (fund allotment-30 lakh) Today the discount store play very important role in selling this type of product so I will also go for discount store to sell my brand product. Discount stores like easy day, reliance fresh, vishal mart, big bazaar, bargin bazaar all they sell this type product. So I have to give them some special offer so that they prefer my brand. Consumer sale promotion tool:- We will apply following promotional tools increase sale. Price deal: -Price deal is temporary reduction in price of product. We will provide two type of price deal: cents-off deals and price-pack deals. Price deal will be is given at various times to stimulate purchase of Shoes. Coupon: A coupon is typically a printed certificate giving the bearer a stated price reduction or special value on a specific product, generally for a specific period. In this we will provide various kinds of coupon that contain various discount price So that customer get the advantage of this discount and purchase flavour packaged water at low price. Offer: In this we offer that those Customers who buy flavour water will receive a free plain packaged water of 500ml. The offer will be depending upon season to season. The campaign will be marketed with print and TV ads, and will feature TV commercials with musicians singing covers of their favorite song. The company will be offering those collected covers in a CD at retail locations for customers who make a more than 10 flavour packaged water. Premium:We will provide offer of some gift or at bargain price to encourage customer buying. Advertising Specialties: -Advertising specialties also call a promotional product. It will be mostly given to our loyal customers. It includes various cards like birthday card, New Year card. It will be done mostly done to retain old customer. Trade sale promotion tool:- Objectives of Trade Sales Promotion of the Boond packaged water company will be:- Gain/maintain distribution Influence resellers to promote product Influence resellers to offer price discount Increase reseller inventory Defend against competitors Avoid reduction of normal prices There are various sale promotion tools which apply by the Boond packaged warter that stimulate trade to promote company product. Trade Allowances:- In this we will provide short-term special allowances, discounts, or deals granted to resellers to stimulate reseller to rapid purchase of their product. Point-of-Purchase Display:- In this we are generally used at the retail level to call customer attention to a featured product. In this company employees observe every retail shop and that display more company product will be winner of special gift or prize. Implementation Tactics Launch a blind ad campaign on billboards and magazines in all A class areas of major cities and magazine with respect to target market. Heavy advertising on TV, newspapers and magazines Set displays of malls and retail in showrooms and major dealer outlets in all cities. Continue Advertising. Evaluation of IMC planning process Evaluation of IMC planning of Boond packaged water is necessary because:- The cost of advertising and communication spiraling day by day so it is necessary to find out if the investment in IMC plan of the Boond packaged water is generating any return or just going down the drain. As a IMC planner we can easily evaluate various communication alternatives such as alternative message, IMC tools, media and vehicle and choose the most effective ones. It will provide complete feedback regarding the performance of various strategic alternatives and provide a basis for future planning. Evaluation will increase the effectiveness of marketing communication by eliminating unproductive alternatives and adding productive alternatives. Evaluation will provide me the complete figure regarding our total IMC budget expense that the budget is expense in the right way or not. It helps to judge the behavioral result of the target market. It will help to judge the communication oriented result of the target market. It will help to allocate as a guider about the new target market for further new implementation of IMC plan   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finally at last we will add few words with it that this IMC plan for boond water company is for the financial year 2009-10 is prepared by me by taking the new existing company of my own and not copied from any other sources. Prepared by (randhir pratap). Thank you all for co-operation in presenting my IMC plan in front of my respected mam Ms. Malika thakral and makes the session successful. Bibliography:- http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/07/27/stories/2007072750190900.htm

Sleep disorders Essay -- essays research papers fc

Sleep Disorders Child Sleep Disorders: Is Your Child at Risk? Recent research has proven that children just are not getting the sleep they need these days. Kids today seem to be doing poorer in school and have less attention spans. Most parents are not aware of a common problem effecting thousands of children in this country: sleep disorders. Parents often fail to follow there children's sleeping patterns which can result in some serious side effects if that child has a sleep disorder. A study done at Tulane University in New Orleans studied about 300 first graders that preformed poorly in school. They found that 18 per cent showed signs of a sleeping problem. The percentage of children with bad grades found to have sleeping problems was six to nine times higher than found in a previous study done over all of the childhood population. (The Toronto Star). Most people believe that sleep disorders only affect adults but in reality 30% of all children have some sort of sleep disorder. (Burcum). Sleep disorders are defined as a group of syndromes characterized by disturbance in the patient's amount of sleep, quality or timing of sleep, or in behaviors or physiological conditions associated with sleep. To qualify for a diagnosis of sleep disorder, the condition must be a persistent problem, cause the patient significant emotional distress, and interfere with his or her social or occupational functioning. (Frey p265). Some sleep disorders can effect children of all ages. The sleep disorder that children are subject to often depends on their age and development. Sleep disorders change most frequent in the middle-school years. Children often experience more anxiety at this time. (Burcum). The source of the certain sleep disorder cannot normally be pin pointed in every case. Many factors come in to play when dealing with the cause of a sleep disruption. Parental characteristics, personality, psychosocial influences, education, parenting skills, stress, trauma, school, culture and personal health can all bring about sleeping disorders in young to middle-aged children. Some parents find that there children sleep to much, while others don't sleep enough. Some fall asleep at the wrong times while others cant ever even get to sleep. There are about 100 different sleep disorders being researched currently. Although sleep is a basic behavior in animals as well as hu... ...nd Psychiatry. (1992). 12 Sept 2001. http://www.Ilboro.ac.uk/departments/hu/groups/sleep.com Klein, Hanne. "Troubled Nights". The Dallas Morning News. 1 March 1999. 19 Sept 2001. http://www.elibrary.com/s/edumark/getdoc.com Kryger, Meir. "Childhood Sleep Apnea". Online Posting. 24 Mar 1999. 19 Sept 2001. http://www.stanford.edu Kryger, Meir. "Children and Sleepwalking". Online Posting. 15 April 1998. 19 Sept 2001. http://www.standford.edu/slpwalking.html Kryger, Meir. "Night Terrors in Children". Online Posting. 10 Sept 1998. 12 Sept 2001. http://www.standford.edu/terrors.html "Night Terrors". The Sleep Tight Video for Sleepless Parents. Excerp. 12 Sept 2001. http://www.sleeptight.com/EncyMaster/N/night.html "Sleep Disorder Affects on Children". The Toronto Star. 11 Sept 1998. 19 Sept 2001. http://www.elibrary.com/s/edumark/getdoc.com "Sleep Problems". Online Posting care of Keep Kids Healty.com. 20 Apr 2000. 12 Sept 2001. http://www.keepkidshealty.com/schoolageproblems/sleep.html "Tipsheet: Nightmares, Night Terrors, and Sleep Walking". 1997. 12 Sept 2001. http://www.aca.ninemsn.com

Freshman Fifteen English Paper

First Draft The Future of America: Freshmen 15 Crisis As obesity rates continue to rise worldwide, the U. S. sets an example of culturally influenced weight problems and therefore ranks ninth out the ten of the fattest countries, according to the World Health Organization (Streib). College campuses in the U. S. are the perfect example of cultural weight gain. At Towson University, the large number of freshman gaining the stereotypical â€Å"freshman 15† can be explained by poor eating and exercising habits developed in college and the university's dining options. A lot of incoming students come into college already aware of what the freshman 15 is but still manage to develop horrid eating habits. A great way to help solve such an issue is to inform students about this health issue that is only continuing to flourish. To do this universities need to step of to this nationwide concern and include a health and wellness component to our Univ. 100 classes in which students will learn what they should eat and what habits to avoid. Despite what some optimistic researchers say, the freshman 15 is real. Some have argued that most freshmen are doing better with their diet now than in the past; however we are still gaining around eight pounds a year (â€Å"Some†). It is difficult to go from a controlled and routine schedule of eating and exercising at home to the free world of choices at college. In his recent work Daniel Hoffman, a professor at Rutgers University, points out that it is â€Å"perhaps most important for students to recognize that seemingly minor and perhaps even harmless changes in eating or exercise behavior may result in large changes in weight and body fat mass over an extended period of time† (Hoffman). The fact is that students are not leaving home prepared enough for the world of late night pizza and consumption of alcohol that characterizes most students’ college years. If a nutrition lecture or a healthy lifestyle class were mandatory for incoming students it would provide a new perspective on diet and health. After becoming notified on the issue students can find their own routine of a well balanced diet and an hour of exercise per day at school. If students were informed they could start researching nutritional facts on what food they should eat and what time of the day would best to consume it. Professor Elizabeth Klasen from the University of Wisconsin insists this national phenomenon can be â€Å"attributed to dorm food, and may be associated with altered meal and sleep patterns† (Klasen). Students are forced upon sleeping abnormal hours along with eating unhealthy food consumption at inappropriate times, making it difficult to for them to eat fewer than 2000 calories or even exercise the recommended 15 minutes a day. It is difficult to maintain a healthy balanced diet on a college campus that is filled with fast food like diners and limits students to only fifteen dollars of food a day, making the alternative of more expensive and healthier foods not an realistic option. This inconvenience of healthy food and convenience of junk food was â€Å"all it took for freshmen to gain seven pounds over two semesters† in a 2006 Rutgers study (â€Å"Some†). For those students, the difference between maintaining a healthy weight and gaining seven pounds â€Å"was about 112 extra calories a day. That's one soda or half a cookie a day, or 10 minutes less of exercise† (â€Å"Some†). For instance, to get a healthy meal at one of Towson’s diners, let’s say a pre-made salad, you have to pay six dollars and wait in a mile-long line. Then, as you are standing in that line you look over and see a non-existent line for that slice of pizza and start to think to yourself, Why should I pay three times more for this salad and wait in line for 15 minutes when I only have 20 minutes until my next class, when I could go grab that last piece of pizza? Unfortunately, college presents even more opportunities for students to eat poorly, since most students stay up late to study, do last-minute homework after procrastinating all day, or hang out with friends after a party. Whether or not college students are aware of what they are doing to their bodies, researchers know that the â€Å"food eaten between 8 p. m. and 4 a. m. [is] a leading contributor to weight gain,† making the most active part of a college student’s day the most detrimental to his health (â€Å"Some†). One study from the University of Wisconsin attempts to explain this phenomenon through â€Å"Night Eating Syndrome (NES), which is associated with overweight and obesity and involves consumption of over 50% of daily calories after 7 pm† (Klasen). What’s surprising is how easy it is to get food that late at night. Specifically, Campusfood. com, a common college food supplier, gives options for students to order 1000-calorie meals delivered conveniently to their dorm steps at 2:00 a. m. The number of fast-food delivery places that open at such a late time is absurd; these restaurants are helping America gain the freshman 15 one pizza at a time. During the first semester of their freshman year in college, students will be preoccupied with many things, like which classes they will take, how well they will do in those classes, which activities they want to devote their time to, which people they want to hang with, and whether or not they will have enough money to do fun things off campus (Gonzalez). People who believe that college weight gain is a natural occurrence argue that students need to focus on more important aspects of school such as their grades, making friends, and getting involved in clubs, rather than spending time worrying about an unproven stereotype of weight gain. However, the fact that students are gaining weight is proven. As the aforementioned studies show, the freshman 15 is real, and it is affecting the lives of college freshman across the country. Freshmen are gaining weight because of eating habits they develop during the first semester. Poor food options do increase the chances of gaining weight. Freshmen do gain weight because of the convenience and availability of unhealthy food on campuses. It is true that students should concentrate on grades and other college activities however this is not an excuse to pig out and throw health concerns out the window. Missouri Western State University did a study that showed â€Å"higher GPA was associated with less consumption of fast food and higher GPA was also associated with the amount of meals an individual skipped per day: the fewer meals skipped the greater the GPA† (Costa). Apparently students’ grades are affected by what they eat. The belief that students should not worry about the â€Å"freshman 15† because they should worry about their grades is incorrect. If students concentrate on eating well their grades will reflect their good habits. The â€Å"freshman 15† is a phrase that represents a bigger dilemma, because is not just something that takes place during the first year in college. It’s not just freshman gaining weight, sophomores and upper classmen do to. Researcher Elizabeth Lloyd-Richardson, assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University Medical School did a study that â€Å"found students are weighing in at two to three pounds heavier post-sophomore year† (Rosenberg). Bad eating habits and lack of exercise start with freshmen. But since nothing is done to correct those habits students continue through the rest of their college years and after. Fitness Director Stacy Trukowski is cited by Rutgers University’s newspaper, Relations, saying, â€Å"Most people fail to gain control of their weight gain from early adulthood. Although gaining an average of seven pounds is not as alarming as 15, the pounds will surely add up over time† (Rosenberg). Unfortunately college students see weight gain from the time they enter school to the time they leave. Trukowski credits this to â€Å"drinking and eating at night and lifestyle changes they are not used to† (Rosenberg). With this evidence of continuous lifelong weight gain resulting from habits developed in college, it is surprising that colleges are not doing anything to prevent this issue. This problem may be related to rising obesity rates in America. Professor Levitisky from the college of human ecology at Cornell University found that â€Å"freshman weight gain could be the same phenomenon that is contributing to the epidemic of obesity among all Americans–that a relatively small increase in calories each day or week has the cumulative effect of adding a significant amount of weight over the years†(Land). Professor Levitisky’s study puts into perspective how important freshman weight gain is. Eating habits learned as freshmen stick with them and are harder to change as years go by. Universities need to confront this issue and take precautionary measures to help prevent future concerns. A course for incoming freshman to learn about the â€Å"freshman 15† and how to avoid it would be a great first step. Long Island University’s freshman College 101 course sets a good example of what could be used at Towson University. The course had a great proposal to teach students by having nutrition communication students present information about freshmen weight gain in a mandatory orientation class (Thomas). Since Towson University already has freshman Health 101 lecture classes, the class should dedicate at least one day in the semester to diet and exercise education. This way teacher could reduce the number of freshman gaining weight during the first semester. A Univ. 101 health and wellness component lecture would teach students how to develop healthy eating habits that would then help them for the rest of their lives. For example, they would learn what foods to avoid and what time they should avoid eating. There could be seminars in which juniors and seniors majoring in nutrition come in and talk about available foods on campus and nutritional facts along with what a good college campus diet looks like and how it can be achieved. In this class students would also develop a weekly health plan. This health plan would be incorporated into a personal log in which students would record how have exercised that week and how many times they ate late at night. This would help students analyze their bodies and realize what a simple lifestyle change could do. Studies like ones done University of California at Berkley show students who record their eating habits are more likely to witness their mistakes and correct them (Hom). The overall goal for this class is for freshmen to stop picking up bad habits during their first semester and stick with their good habits for the rest of their lives. The freshman 15 is an issue that needs to be taken care through an education system that teaches healthy diet and exercise options. Learning about proper eating habits will stop students from initially gaining weight in college and help prevent future obesity problems. If colleges implement programs to help solve this dilemma then it might be possible to help reduce America’s growing obesity concerns.

Homosexuality and the American Baptist Church

Homosexuality in the Baptist Church: Homosexuality is one of the most debated issues among Christians today, regardless of the denomination of their church. Some churches view homosexuality as a sin and have no tolerance for it, while other denominations are more accepting and consider it a non-sin. Even though some denominations have taken a stand on homosexuality, there seems to much discord within the governing bodies of the churches regarding this issue. It has moved from a topic rarely discussed and considered very personal and private, to a mainstream topic of conversation.Although there has been a growing acceptance among certain Christian denominations regarding homosexuals, the American Baptist Church has remained firm in its position towards homosexuality. The American Baptist Churches descended from the Northern Baptist Convention that was founded in 1907. The church has approximately 1. 5 million members and 5800 congregations that are scattered through 34 regions of the United States. The American Baptist Church members are following the century long traditions of soul freedom, which allows the independence of individual members of the church to form their own beliefs.They also support congregational freedom, which allows each church the autonomy to develop its own policies. In order to understand the position that the American Baptist Church takes on homosexuality, it is important to examine their general religious beliefs. According to a website of the First Baptist Church in Scituate, MA , they believe that salvation and eternal life are granted to all those who trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. They believe that both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible are the divinely inspired word of God. The Bible is to be interpreted responsibly under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.Baptists hold the Scriptures and the Old and New Testaments as their final authority. This has become the basis for the viewpoint that the American Baptist Church ha s developed on the issue of homosexuality. The American Baptists also have some strong convictions about the type of person they are supposed to be. Again, according to the First Baptist Church website, these include a redeemed person that claims a personal relationship with God, a biblical person that seeks guidance in understanding the Scripture, and a worshipping person that shares an open and public confession of faith.American Baptists are also supposed to be a mission person that invites others to follow Christ and an inclusive person, who embraces different races, ethnicity, and genders, and also accepts that there are individual differences of conviction and theology. This inclusion also covers those who are from a variety of backgrounds and they are to find unity in diversity and diversity in unity. These convictions have become a source of division among some of the member churches within this denomination, as they are supposed to embrace and accept those with individual d ifferences, yet they are not accepting of homosexuals.According to the religious tolerance website, The American Baptist Church has been actively responding to issues pertaining to homosexuality as far back as 1987. In June of 1987, a statement of concern regarding homosexuality was defeated by church delegates at their Biennial Meeting. They decided that â€Å"Scriptures repeatedly depict homosexuality as a social and moral evil and the unrepentant homosexual has no claim to full acceptance in the Christian community. † So at that time, they decided that they just did not want to deal with the issue.Four years later, in June of 1991, the delegates of the Biennial Meeting were forced to deal with the topic of homosexuality again. They adopted a statement that rejected the homosexual lifestyle, homosexual marriage, ordination of homosexual clergy, and the establishment of gay churches and gay caucuses On the other hand, their statement also included that the church should love and minister to the homosexual, but condemn the sin of the practice of homosexuality. They were taking the stance of hate the sin, love the sinner.They also established a Commission on Human Sexuality Resources to provide clarification and guidance for a Christian understanding of God’s gift of sexuality. By June of 1992 the General Board of the American Baptist Church was being pressured by some of their member churches to accept the practice of homosexuality within their denomination. A resolution called â€Å"Homosexuality and the Church†, which identified Gods plan for the fulfillment of sexual union to be one man and one woman in heterosexual, monogamous, and lifelong marriage, was narrowly defeated.The resolution further stated that â€Å"the redeeming love of Christ† is available to practicing homosexuals as it is to all who turn to him in faith and repentance. Then a few months later, in October 1992, the General Board was again approached and was force d to vote regarding the issues of homosexuality in their church. They finally agreed to issue a one sentence standing that was called â€Å"American Baptist Resolution on Homosexuality†. The sentence briefly stated â€Å"We affirm that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. This started the ball rolling and in June of 1993 the General Board next came up with another resolution that was called â€Å"American Baptist Resolution Calling for Dialogue on Human Sexuality†. That resolution states â€Å"that there exists a variety of understandings throughout our denomination on issues of human sexuality such as homosexuality† and encourages discussions regarding those particular issues. American Baptists were also encouraged to seek unity and avoid divisiveness.This resolution might as well have stated â€Å"there exists a variety of misunderstandings† and even though it encouraged discussions, their viewpoint was already establi shed. 1995 was an important year for the American Baptist Churches and their stand on homosexuals. In June 1995, the Granville Baptist Church in Granville, Ohio was expelled from the The Columbus Baptist Association because the church supported full participation of homosexuals. Then in September, the Pacific Southwest Region of the American Baptist Churches, which represented more the 300 churches, began defecting over the issue of homosexuality.The leaders of the region cited underlying issues regarding interpretation of the Scriptures and church discipline. As a result of the defection, The General Board of the American Baptist Churches created a commission â€Å"to find ways to deal constructively with issues around which there has been considerable disagreement. † In other words, they realized that the homosexuality issue was starting to destroy their denomination and they needed to get serious about resolving the problems.After various resolutions, committees, and amend ments over the next ten years, The General Board of the American Baptist Churches finally made some decisions in 2005. At that time they voted to amend their own document â€Å"We Are American Baptists† by adding a statement to the section â€Å"A Biblical People: Who submit to the teaching of Scripture that God’s design for sexual intimacy places it within the context of marriage between one man and one woman, and acknowledge that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Biblical teaching. This represents their final stand on homosexuality, which is that they believe it is wrong and is not in line with the teachings of their church. Although every denomination believes in the Bible as their â€Å"guiding light†, they all interpret it in a different way and can put their own spin on different passages. The American Baptist Church relies on their interpretation of the Bible to support the position that they have taken on homosexuality. There are passag es in the Bible that are known as the â€Å"clobber passages†, because they are used to beat up homosexuals.Leviticus 18:22, 20:13 is a typical passage that is thought to support the anti-gay stance. It states â€Å"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination† (Leviticus 18:22). There is also an important passage in the New Testament that condemns homosexual behavior. â€Å"Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their own error. † (Romans 1:24-27). However, later on there is a passa ge about judging others, so therefore you should prepare to be judged – so it is really a contradiction to think that the passage is condemning homosexuals. The arguments that support homosexuality within Christianity are widespread.They include the fact that we are all God’s children and he created us the way he wanted. So if he made some people homosexual, then that was his choice and it should be accepted. The Bible does not really give any straightforward help in guiding Christians regarding the entire problem of homosexuality. It is up to each person to develop their own opinion based upon their knowledge, experiences, and influences of their chosen religion. The ongoing problem between homosexuality and Christianity will probably be around for a long time. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. American Baptist Churches in the USA.Accessed October 14. http. //religioustoleran ce. org_abc1. htm [ 2 ]. American Baptist Beliefs. Accessed October 14. http://firstbaptistcituate. com/americanbaptistbeliefs. aspx [ 3 ]. American Baptist Church. Accessed October 14. http://abcusa. org/LinkClick. aspx? fileticket=iRGq66AgLAU%3d&tabid=199 [ 4 ]. American Baptist Church. Accessed October 14. http://abcusa. org/LinkClick. aspx? fileticket=iRGq66AgLAU%3d&tabid=199 [ 5 ]. American Baptist Church. Accessed October 14. http://abcusa. org/LinkClick. aspx? fileticket=iRGq66AgLAU%3d&tabid=199 [ 6 ]. American Baptist Church. Accessed October 14. ttp://abcusa. org/LinkClick. aspx? fileticket=iRGq66AgLAU%3d&tabid=199 [ 7 ]. American Baptist Church. Accessed October 14. http://abcusa. org/LinkClick. aspx? fileticket=iRGq66AgLAU%3d&tabid=199 [ 8 ]. Moll,, Rob. 2005. â€Å"American Baptist Exodus†. Christianity Today. November 23, 2005 [ 9 ]. American Baptist Church. Accessed October 14. http://abcusa. org/LinkClick. aspx? fileticket=iRGq66AgLAU%3d&tabid=199 [ 10 ]. Hays, Richard. 1991. â€Å"Awaiting the Redemption of Our Bodies†. Sojourners. November 11. P 17-21 [ 11 ]. Hays, Richard. 1991. â€Å"Awaiting the Redemption of Our Bodies†. Sojourners. November 11. P 17-21