Global Warming the Truth behind the Matter - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1063 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/03/14 Category Ecology Essay Level High school Tags: Global Warming Essay Did you like this example? Â  Approximately 4.543 billion years ago the earth that we call home was created. Since that time the atmosphere has gone through some drastic changes but, the most change seen in the atmosphere has been within the last 100 years. The reason behind this change has been human evolution and the changes we have had industrial wise. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Global Warming the Truth behind the Matter" essay for you Create order As technology has continued to grow so has our need for the thing that affect our environment badly and help power our new ideals. The atmospheric changes we have had come from a term we call global warming. Since we have played a major role in the pollution that has changed our earth, we must now realize what global warming is, what our role has been to make if flourish, and things we must do to reduce the effects it is having on our planet. Due to different reasons our climate continues to change, mostly heating up, causing polar ice melting, severe tropical storms, and mass droughts. We refer to this change as Global warming. The pure definition of this term is a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earths atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants. Although there are skeptics that try to deny or redirect what global warming is, it is obvious that it is real and that it is serious. Over the past decade temperatures have risen more than any other time that we have measured. This graph shows the temperature increase and difference from a scale in terms of the last century. After the economic boom in the 1920’s the temperature has slowly began to rise. Although it seemingly looks as if it is risen only a little this amount, during this time period there has been plenty of devastation around the wor ld. Over recent year scientist have continued to discover different ways we are affecting our climate badly and the list seems to continually grow. As the search continues to find the causes it is agreed amongst the main scientist community that the main cause is green house gases. Greenhouse gases are known as water vapor, Carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane. These gases are what create the greenhouse effect, warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space. Each of these gases play a different role in the change and each are as important as the other. Water vapor acts a feed back to show how much the atmosphere is warming seeing it is the most abundant. Carbon dioxide, Nitrous oxide, and methane are all produced form humans and some natural resources. Carbon emission is the biggest human factor of all. Over the last century the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. This graph from the NOAA shows the mass amount of carbon currently in our atmosphere and how much was in the previous thousands of years. This show the amount as they truly are, of the charts. As the science around global warming continues to grow it has become more obvious how much it contributes to natural disasters, and Wildfires has become on of the biggest destructive things that carbon emission has affected. With the continual rise of carbon emission our environment continues to heat up. Wildfires on the west coast of the United States have continued to become more frequent and dangerous since the late 1900’s and early 21st century. In the span between 1986 and 2003, wildfires happened almost four times as often, burned more than six times the land area, and lasted almost five times as long when compared to the period between 1970 and 1986. As the graph above shows, the gradual increase in land being burned gives a key sign to the increase in its dangerousness and destructiveness. These rises are due to the effects of the greenhouse effect and will continue to rise. Rick Ochoa, fire weather program manager at the National Interagency Fire Center in Idaho, told MNN, We still have a long way to go on prescribed burns, but I would say that while we are making improvements on that, in some regards global warming is outrunning our ability to do it. The overview of this research paper is to gain a greater understanding that global warming has been growing tremendously due to the greenhouse effect. Each time something on the planet releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, it has an effect on global warming. When looking into a way to slow the increase of global warming nations are taking action to use less energy by withdrawing themselves from things that require a lot of energy and creating or building alternatives fuels for their homes and more. As an individual, I can work on using my car less, so gas is not used as much to minimize the release of carbon dioxide. With that, I will take the public transportation or car poll. At home, if items that require electricity is not being used, they can be unplugged and put away. There are so many ways people can work toward slowing global warming’s increased effect on the environment. So for that matter, after doing all the research that I have, I agree that global warming is a huge trend and it is real. The resources showed the increase through important facts and also with graphs to prove and show the evidences of what is happening in our atmosphere. Now reviewing the paper and everything learned, one can say that a change needs to occur. The change does not have to be all at once, it can be something that is gradually worked on. People just need to know that action is needed because the cause of disasters is us. As the atmosphere continues to change it is becoming more dangerous not only for the human population but most of all for our planet itself. References Carbon dioxide concentration | NASA Global Climate Change. (2017, May 17). Retrieved November 18, 2018, from https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxide/ N., U., R. (2014, July 8). Global Climate Change: Evidence and Causes. Retrieved November 18, 2018, from https://globalclimate.ucr.edu/resources.html NASA/GISS, C. C. (2013, October 09). Is Global Warming Real? Retrieved November 17, 2018, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/global-warming-real/ McLendon, R. (2017, July 10). Are wildfires getting worse? Retrieved November 21, 2018, from https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/translating-uncle-sam/stories/are-wildfires-getting-worse

Schooling Children With Down Syndrome Toward An...

Full Citizenship In order to fully serve all students within a classroom setting, it is helpful to consider the membership of each individual class member. The criteria used to consider a student’s membership or citizenship within a classroom community comes from the book, Schooling Children with Down Syndrome: Toward an Understanding of Possibility, written by Christopher Kliewer in 1998. â€Å"The four elements of citizenship (are): 1) a belief in one’s ability to think, 2) a belief in one’s individuality, 3) a belief in the reciprocity of the relationship, and 4) a shared social place.† (Rapp, p.129, 2012) The ultimate goal for each student is to achieve full citizenship where the contributions of each member are considered by others and the academic needs of each member are also being met. Rapp further explains Kliewer’s elements to possess a â€Å"belief that everyone is capable of thinking-thinking deeply, thinking creatively, thinking fo r themselves† (Rapp, p.129, 2012), â€Å"the belief that each person has unique characteristics all his or her own† (Rapp, p.130, 2012), â€Å"you believe that everyone has something to give and everyone has something to receive; everyone is a teacher and a learner† (Rapp, p.129, 2012), and â€Å"it is a place where each individual belongs and where he or she is valued and can take risks without fear or failure or persecution.† (Rapp, p.129, 2012) The common theme of Kliewer’s elements revolves around ideas of being open minded and believing that

A Dynamic Greek Epic Poem Iliad - 1354 Words

Ancient Greek History is very well known as fascinating due to its many civilization and great heroic people surrounding their history. A dynamic Greek epic poem Iliad portrays the siege of Troy, attributed to Homer. Adventurous and braveness with god-like qualities describe an ancient classic Greek hero in this poem. Iliad is known now as one of the oldest in two surviving ancient Greek epic poems relating the events near the end of Trojan War. Hero’s are known as important figures in ancient Greek history and some of their qualities included; having one immortal parent, born into royalty, having an unusual birth, being favored by the gods, marrying a princess, becoming a subject of a prophecy, and dying an ignoble or unpardonable death. The heroes’ in the Iliad poem can attest for many of these attributes. Emphasis on Iliad depicted how the ancient Greeks celebrate wars. Realities of the war were never ignored; their men died ferociously whiles their women became slav es or courtesan. Heroes in Iliad also chose soldierly exaltation or honor over the life of their families. Hector and Achilles who were the classic hero characters in the test valued their braveness, nobleness, fame and integrity and made a voluntarily sacrifice to be in war rather than to live with their families and those they love. The author’s detailing imagery in the Iliad gave emphasis on how â€Å"arà ªte† meaning the pursuit of excellence or moral goodness was focused on sense ofShow MoreRelatedThe Epic Poem Of Troy1356 Words   |  6 Pages The Ancient Greek History is famous for its many fascinating civilization and great heroic people surrounding the history. Iliad portrays the siege of a dynamic ancient Greek epic poem of Troy, which is attributed to Homer. Adventurous and braveness with god-like qualities is used to describe the ancient classic Greek heroes in this poem. Iliad is now known as one of the aged surviving ancient Greek epic poems, w hich directly relates to the events near the end of Trojan War. HeroicRead MoreThe Aeneid Essay1069 Words   |  5 PagesAeneid was later completed by two of Virgil’s friends, that fixed the minor grammatical errors and published the poem. This decision affected the track of literary history and the development of western culture. In fact, the Bible and the Aeneid were probably the two most consistently read books in Western Europe for hundreds of years. (â€Å"Virgil and the Moderns†) The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem that was written in the late first century. It tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled toRead MoreThe Iliad Of All Time Essay1441 Words   |  6 Pagesgreatest epics of all time. Clearly, Homer’s original poem, the Iliad, influenced Virgil’s Aeneid to a large degree not only in plot setting and characters, but the similarities manifest at the literary level, for instance devices such as the same heroic meter, illustrious similes, allegory, ekriphas, division into books, even though way that the Greeks and Trojans are portrayed amongst many others are features of both works. However, there are striking differences between the two, while the Iliad reliesRead MoreThe Involvement By The Gods888 Words   |  4 Pagesreluctance, Zeus speaks to a Dream: Go, deadly Dream, along the Greek ships Until you come to the hut of Agamemnon, And deliver this message to him exactly: Order him to arm his long-haired Greeks. Now is his time to capture Troy. The Olympian gods are no longer divided; Hera has bent them all to her will And targeted the Trojans for pain (Lombardo 2.12-19). The role of Thetis in the Iliad, is mostly untold. However, the power of Thetis is dynamic as she takes on the role of the protector and is shaped byRead More Comparing The Iliad and The Bible Essay2167 Words   |  9 PagesComparing The Iliad and The Bible  Ã‚      Throughout recorded history, man has sought explanations for the various phenomena that occur in every facet of nature, and when no obvious answer is forthcoming, still a theory is often proposed.   These explanatory theories, often taking the form of stories or chronicles, are usually linked to some sort of mysticism or divine intervention.   By ascribing that which he does not understand to the gods’ will at work, man avoids facing up to his own lackRead MoreEssay on Gender in the Odyssey1002 Words   |  5 PagesOdysseus values and character traits serve as a paradigm of the ideal Homeric Greek man. The god-like Odysseus is crafty, valiant, wise, and eloquent. He gains much of his knowledge through travel, the meeting of different cultures and peoples and learns from suffering and mistakes. He is an aristocrat and a warrior of all warriors. We first learn of many of these traits in Homers Iliad. Agamemnon, the commander of the Greek army always calls on Odysseus f or assignments that required someone cunningRead More The Role of Men and Women in Homers The Odyssey 1173 Words   |  5 PagesWho is the ideal Greek man? It can be argued that through the illustration Homer weaves throughout the Odyssey, Odysseuss character traits cast a lens as a prime example of a man in ancient Greek society. He appears to be brave, intelligent, well-spoken, and clever. Much of his knowledge is discovered by his travels, absorbing the local culture around him and using it as a guide. Aristocratic and a warrior. Perhaps the best warrior of all time. It is the Iliad which presents these attributes initiallyRead MoreIliad Father Son Relationship1562 Words   |  7 PagesIn The Iliad, Homer offers incredible insights into the themes of human interactions. While the epic narrative moves forward, these dynamics are kept intertwined with the devastating battlefield. One of the prominent themes is the father-son relationship and this Iliadic father-son dynamic is foc used mostly between Priam and Hector. Looking at scenes featuring both characters, their interactions feature mutual feelings of love, concern, and, most importantly, interdependency. Priam cares for HectorRead MoreAn Ideal Hero: Greek vs. Roman Essay1527 Words   |  7 Pagescivilizations (Attached) 3. Ages of early Greek mythology to Ovid ( Poet of Metamorphoses) a. Origin of humans: sacred clay (wise and rulers) blood of titans (murderous and criminals), and stones(endurance) b. 4 ages as decline: Golden (peace), Silver (seasons farming), Bronze (war), Iron (mining, deforestation, crime). 4. Dominant and alternate cultural themes in the Iliad Audience: upper-class men Purpose: cultural propaganda. Greek Heros= models of courage skill to men (whatRead MoreComparing The Epic The Iliad Against The Bible s First Book Genesis Essay1877 Words   |  8 PagesUpon initial consideration, comparing similarities in the Homeric epic The Iliad against the Bible’s first book Genesis would seem outlandish. The comparisons between the two tales may not be abundantly clear. The parables of the Bible serve as religious cornerstones for society, while Greek tragedies serve as the moral lessons on which our culture is predicated. Fate in both narratives is understood to be a governing body, with a prominence being placed on remaining on the course with that which

Response †Life of Pi Free Essays

string(65) " that all animals have souls, which is shown through their eyes\." Response The novel, â€Å"Life of Pi† by Yann Martel is about a boy who lives in Pondicherry, India with his family. It is about how he and his family decide to move to Canada with the animals they own and the tragedy on sea. The book explains how Pi survives life and it is narrated by the first character, Pi, who is older now and is looking back on his life and younger years. We will write a custom essay sample on Response – Life of Pi or any similar topic only for you Order Now Pi and his family embarked on the voyage to Canada along with the animals when Pi was around 16 years old. In the midst of the journey, a storm lashed the ship and Pi’s parents, brother and most of the animals did not survive. Pi managed to escape in a life boat and initially did not realize that he had company – and who was it? Well, it was the animals and who were they? Well definitely not those Pi would have dreamt of- an orangutan, a hyena, a zebra and last, but not the least, a tiger- yes a real tiger named Richard Parker. The book tells us about Pi’s battle with survival and the dangers he faced, both with the animals and life at sea. At his age, it was almost impossible, but he survived. The character, Pi has great determination and made the best of the limited resources he had. Every day during his expedition, he was faced with a new challenge. He witnessed the killing of the animals and was helpless. Finally being left alone with the tiger and being gripped with fear- he had 2 choices – to become the tiger’s prey or friend. This was in addition to the challenges at sea, with different weather conditions and with a small supply of food and a survival kit. I admire the bravery of the character Pi towards everything and his positive attitude- He never gave up even though he was forced to live in a boat with a tiger. The principle of â€Å"survival† is applicable. Pi shows us that we must not give up when we do anything, no matter how hard it is. The theme of bravery and courage is very relevant to our world today because, we usually find ourselves not wanting to do things when we find them hard. We are always asking ourselves whether we should just take the easy way out and quit. Pi’s bravery and courage is evident in the story where it is quoted, â€Å"You might think I lost all hope at that point. I did. And as a result I perked up and felt much better. † Also another quote that shows this is, â€Å"I was giving up. I would have given up – if a voice hadn’t made itself heard in my heart. The voice said â€Å"I will not die. I refuse it. I will make it through this nightmare. I will beat the odds, as great as they are. I have survived so far, miraculously. Now I will turn miracle into routine. The amazing will be seen every day. I will put in all the hard work necessary. Yes, so long as God is with me, I will not die. Amen. † The things that stands out to me in his quote is that he knew that God was with him and that God would keep him safe. Even when things are hard and you feel that there is no point in continuing, you should still persevere. Only when you persevere, you will be able to achieve and will be rewarded. This will make you feel satisfied and better than before. You don’t know what life is going to be like, we cannot see the future, but it is our job as humans to take what comes at us and make the best of it. This is determination. The famous saying â€Å"When the going gets tough, the tough get going. † While adrift, Pi and Richard Parker discover an island of carnivorous algae inhabited by a bountiful population of meerkats. Pi’s sees the meerkats pulling out dead fish from the ponds. Pi and Richard Parker were delighted to find that they have found food to eat and a place to live – but no! Pi later discovers a fruit on the tree that he was sleeping on. While peeling the last few leaves around the fruit off, Pi finds that all the fruit make a perfect set of teeth. At night, Pi looks around and sees that the water colour changes and becomes acidic somehow and he knows this because he can see that fish are dying under the acidic water and floating to the top. He realizes that during the night the island somehow becomes carnivorous. This is a message to him that the island is inhabitable and he and Richard Parker must get out of the island. So they left the next morning filling their boats with supplies of water, and seaweed and meerkats for Richard Parker. I admired Pi’s ability and patience to make the tiger, Richard Parker his friend. We must learn to be more like Pi in the way we act by being sensitive to the needs of others. When leaving the island he made sure to take food for Parker for the journey and not only for himself. We must be willing to do anything. Pi was willing to train the tiger and he did succeed over time. This is evident in the story as in the beginning when Pi was younger, he wanted to feed the tiger not realising the dangers he was putting himself into. He only realised the danger in encountering a wild animal when his father saved him by pulling him away and bringing a goat and showing him how the tiger snatched the goat even though the tiger was in a cage. Pi wanted to feed the tiger not only because he thought Richard Parker was his friend but because he felt that all animals have souls, which is shown through their eyes. You read "Response – Life of Pi" in category "Life" Pi himself acknowledges the tiger as his companion in the book when he says: â€Å"Without Richard Parker, I wouldn’t be alive today to tell you my story. † Pi had a tremendous amount of patience with the tiger. Richard Parker is very cunning and so Pi had to be more careful in the way he acted with the tiger. The patience was shown when Pi was motivated to catch food for the tiger to satisfy the tiger’s hunger. By doing this the tiger would not turn to Pi as his prey. Richard Parker was a blessing for Pi as fishing for food kept Pi busy. Even though Pi was mortified by Richard Parker he developed a soft spot for him. He was willing to do anything to keep him alive. The author makes readers feel the love that Pi had for Richard Parker. In those times in the boat Pi gives the impression that to him Richard Parker is equivalent to a human. This is shown in the story when Pi said â€Å"Dare I say I miss him? I do. I miss him. I still see him in my dreams. They are nightmares mostly, but nightmares tinged with love. I still cannot understand how he could abandon me so unceremoniously, without any sort of goodbye, without looking back even once. That pain is like an axe that chops at my heart. †Ã‚   This quote is telling us that when they reach Mexico, Richard Parker just walks away. Pi feels hurt. He feels as if the tiger doesn’t care about anything that has happened in the last 227 days. This really hurts Pi because he feels betrayed and saddened that Richard Parker left him. He never imagined this to happen. This proves that earlier when his father said, â€Å"you think tiger is your friend, he is an animal, not a playmate! †, he was right because no matter what even if you think the tiger is going to be your friend he/she will not. Even though they are not together anymore the author is giving the impression that no matter, Pi will always love Richard Parker. I admire Pi’s openness. The most important reason I admire Pi is because he prayed to God. He was universal in his thinking of religion as he followed three different religions. He was Hindu by birth but chose to practice and follow Islam and Christianity as well. Even though others like Pi’s parents and religious leaders criticize him for following more than one religion Pi still continued to do so anyway not at all effected by what others had to say. Pi says that he meets Jesus Christ through Father Martin and Islam through Mr Kumar. Through living out these three religions Pi was able make connections between the religions. Conclusion: Therefore, I can apply this to our own society and in the way I act. The following qualities of Pi are worth noting; his determination, bravery, courage, perseverance, patience, sensitivity, willingness to do anything, love and openness. Pi’s determination has taught me to always be confident when making decisions about anything because confidence allows you and others to know that you are sure of what you are doing. Pi’s bravery has taught me to always have a positive attitude. It has taught me when you have bravery you can convince others and that when you are brave you are determined to do what you want. Pi’s courage has taught me that when you are brave and determined you have courage to do something. I can have courage when doing extra-curricular activities. There may be no one that I know of but by doing them anyway this shows that I have courage. Pi’s perseverance has taught me to always continue what I am doing to the end. He has taught me to never leave any task undone. Pi’s patience has taught me to always be calm with others. He has taught me not to get angry when I see something annoying me or to start grumbling. In the future I must learn to be calm with everyone and not only to my friends. Pi’s sensitivity has taught me to always be sensitive and caring to the needs of others and those around me. He has taught me to care for others by helping people carry their things or just by simply brightening a person’s day. Pi’s willingness to do anything had taught me to always be ready to help others no matter what. He has taught me to always be ready to lend a helping hand at anything. I can do this by helping my school out at school working bees. Pi’s love has taught me that I must not boast about how we love people, but simply show love through our everyday actions. I can show love by praying for the needy and others who have asked for prayers or by sitting with people at lunch time that may not have a friend to sit with. Lastly, Pi’s openness has taught me to keep my mind and soul open for everyone and everything. He has taught me to start things with an open mind instead of in a bad way which may affect how I may do things. We can learn to be more like Pi we can be more loving, brave and open to those around us. From this story, I have learnt that I can do anything that I persevere. We must all be like Pi in the way we lead our lives. Pi never judged anyone. He always saw the best in everyone and everything. I have also learnt that being patient can get me somewhere in life. Patience is the ability to endure waiting, delay, or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset, or to persevere calmly when faced with difficulties. How to cite Response – Life of Pi, Essays

I Go Along free essay sample

The story I Go Along, by Richard Peck, is about a boy named Gene who has changed his attitude while going on a class trip to see a poet. Throughout the story, the title is relative in various ways to the context of the story itself and represents many themes, such as dependence and conformity and most importantly, the idea that it is vital to make decision based on your own thoughts instead of following the crowd. By looking at the title of the story, I Go Along, the readers can directly obtain a sense associated with dependence and conformity. This sense is quickly explored at the beginning of the story as Gene goes along the crowd as everybody in the class puts up their hands (para.8) when his teachers asks them to go to a poetry reading. Genes reaction of raising his hand without thinking, going along with the class demonstrates that he plays a role as a follower instead of a leader in his everyday life. We will write a custom essay sample on I Go Along or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The title of the story successfully makes a connection with Genes dependent and conforming nature, which makes the title more relative to the context of the story. If you dive into the story more deeply, however, the title of the story can also represent more ideas, such as if you always follow or go along with the majority, then you would never realize what you could accomplish and achieve. One most obvious and direct example from the story that illustrates this idea is when Gene pulls his ball cap down to his nose and laces his fingers behind his head and kicks back in the seat ( para.57). Although Gene is recommend to switch to the advanced English class, which is a higher level he is capable of achieving, his reaction displays his careless attitude as a member of the lower class. Gene, who does not make his own decision and often adopts the crowds idea causes his own loss of chance of achieving something greater. At this point in the story, the title I Go Along is responsive to the attitude Gene has, as who tends to follow the majority. The title of the story can represent many different themes and ideas, of which each is significantly related to the context of the story. By analysing these various subjects, such as dependence, conformity, and the concept that making independent decision could lead to greater accomplishment, the readers will not only witness how effective Peck has been in using the story title to connect with the story itself, but come to understand the message the story is trying to convey from a deeper

Private Label free essay sample

PRIVATE LABEL BRANDS AND THEIR PERCEPTION AMONG INDIAN YOUTH Dr. Ankit Mehrotra Faculty Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow Dr. Reeti Agarwal Faculty (Marketing), Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow Article No: 180 Year:November 2009 ISSN 0974 – 9497 Volume 3, Issue 4/4 Abstract: Retail and real estate are the two booming sectors of India in the present times. Retail, one of India’s upcoming industries, has presently emerged as the most dynamic and fast paced industries of recent times with several players entering the market. One of the routes taken up by Indian retailers to succeed in the retail business is to focus on private label brands. Retailers use private label brands to compete with the national brands by setting competitive price points. Determining customer perception towards private label brands is an essential part of a retailer’s marketing strategy formulation process. To gain this understanding in respect of Indian customers specially the youth of India, the study was conducted using the personal survey method on respondents taken from the northern part of India. We will write a custom essay sample on Private Label or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The major findings of the study depict that though respondents on the whole prefer national label brands over private label brands, the preference pattern is significantly affected by the age and profession of respondents. Age and profession were also found to affect the preference pattern and satisfaction level of respondents in respect of private label brands in different categories of products. Key words: profession Private label brands, apparels, grocery, electronics, Indian youth perception, age, INTRODUCTION The Indian retail market, which is the fifth largest retail destination globally, has been ranked the second most attractive emerging market for investment after Vietnam in the retail sector by AT Kearneys seventh annual Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), in 2008. The share of retail trade in the countrys gross domestic product (GDP) was between 8–10 per cent in 2007. It is currently around 12 per cent, and is likely to reach 22 per cent by 2010. A McKinsey report The rise of Indian Consumer Market, estimates that the Indian consumer market is likely to grow four times by 025. Commercial real estate services company, CB Richard Ellis findings state that Indias retail market is currently valued at US$ 511 billion (Bang, 2009). Banks, capital goods, engineering, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), software services, oil marketing, power, two-wheelers and telecom companies are leading the sales and profit growth of India Inc in the fourth quarter of 200809. India continues to be among the most attractive countries for global retailers. At US$ 511 billion in 2008, its retail market is larger than ever and drawing both global and local retailers. Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows as on January 2009, in single-brand retail trading, stood at approximately US$ 1 25. 18 million, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) (www. dipp. nic. in). According to the Investment commission of India, the overall retail market is expected to grow from US$ 262 billion to about US$ 1065 billion by 2016, with organised retail amounting to US$ 165 billion (approximately 15. per cent of total retail sales). India is expected to be among the top 5 retail markets in the world in 10 years. Indias overall retail sector is expected to rise to US$ 833 billion by 2013 and to US$ 1. 3 trillion by 2018, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10 per cent. As an emerging market with high growth rates, consumer spending has risen sharply as the youth population (more than 33 percent of the country is below the age of 15) has seen a significant increase in its disposable income. Consumer spending rose an impressive 75 per cent in the past four years alone. Also, organised retail, which accounts for almost 5 per cent of the market, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 40 per cent from US$ 20 billion in 2007 to US$ 107 billion by 2013. India has emerged the third most attractive market destination for apparel retailers, according to a new study by global management consulting firm AT Kearney. It further says that in India, apparel is the second largest retail category, representing 10 per cent of the US$ 37 billion retail market. It is expected to grow 12-15 per cent per year. Apparel, along with food and grocery, will lead organised retailing in India. India has one of the largest numbers of retail outlets in the world. A report by Images Retail estimates the number of operational malls to grow more than twofold, to cross 412, with 205 million square feet by 2010, and a further 715 malls to be added by 2015, with major retail developments even in tier-II and tier-III cities in India. Also, according to new market research report by RNCOS titled, Booming Retail Sector in India, organised retail market in India is expected to reach US$ 50 billion by 2011 (http://www. rncos. com/Report/IM112. ht m) . The report specifies that the number of shopping malls is expected to increase at a CAGR of more than 18. 9 per cent from 2007 to 2015. It further specifies that rural market is projected to dominate the retail industry landscape in India by 2012 with total market share of above 50 per cent. Thus, according to industry experts, the next phase of growth is expected to come from rural markets, with rural India accounting for almost half of the domestic retail market, valued over US$ 300 billion. Rural India is set to witness an economic boom, with per capita income having grown by 50 per cent over the last 10 years, mainly on account of rising commodity prices and improved productivity. As already mentioned, the Indian retail industry is valued at $270 billion, with organized retail cornering 4. 5%. The organized pie is expected to see a growth at a CAGR of 37 % (India Retail Report 2007) 2 Source: http://www. chillibreeze. com/articles_v arious/top-10-retailers. asp In order to be truly successful, retailers must advance from the generic or store brand mindset of the past to a new private label paradigm. Many retailers have begun to describe their private label brands as â€Å"own† brands because there is recognition that these proprietary, exclusive offerings are tools that represent momentous power and potential for the retail store. Sales of private label brands (PLBs), also called store brands, have been growing rapidly in recent years (Batra and Sinha, 2000). The term â€Å"own† brands acknowledges that today’s visionary retail marketers have powerful proprietary portfolios that they control and manage and there is potential to reap bigger and better rewards by taking a closer look at the way they orchestrate the role and expression of these brand offerings in the eyes of consumers in each product category. Those retailers who appreciate the magnitude of this brand opportunity have created a new industry standard in their realm of influence and activity. Retailers like PLBs because of their potential to increase store loyalty, chain profitability, control over shelf space, bargaining power over manufacturers, and so forth (Richardson, Jain, and Dick, 1996). Among consumers, one obvious reason for their popularity and growth is their price advantage (averaging 21%) over national brands (Batra and Sinha, 2000). Nevertheless, high quality seems to be more important in determining PLB success than lower price (Hoch and Banerji, 1993; Sethuraman, 1992). â€Å"Own† brands are articulated and developed in a way that they not only fit with the brand promise of the retail store, but if effective, they also give consumer a key point of departure to enhance and celebrate the overall retail brand proposition to keep consumers coming back for more. One of the interesting phenomena concerning PLBs is the fact that their growth has been highly uneven across product categories (Hoch and Banerji, 1993). The present study has been undertaken to gain an insight into Indian customers’ specially youth’s perception of private label brands and to explain variations in purchasing preferences for private label brands versus national label brands across three product categories. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 3 Meaning of Private Label Brands A private-label product is a manufactured good that a retailer purchases from a supplier, with the intention of renaming, repackaging and selling it under the distributor’s own brand name. Depending on the agreement between a manufacturer and a retailer, the manufacturer sometimes handles the packaging and labeling for the retailer for an additional charge. Otherwise, the retailer is responsible for the process of dressing up the product as its own. Thus, it can be said that Brands owned not by a manufacturer or producer but by a retailer or supplier who gets its goods made by a contract manufacturer under its own label are called private label brands. Manufacturers use either their own name, that of a middleman, or a combination of both when they are marketing their products. Private labeling occurs when middlemen, usually large retailers or wholesalers, develop their own brand. Building a following from scratch through private-label products, especially in rough economic times, is challenging because smaller retailers do not have the marketing budget compared to their larger-sized competition. Evolution of private label brands The definition of private label branding has evolved significantly over time. Some would argue the term â€Å"private label† is a misnomer of great proportions. There is no question that the words â€Å"private label† acknowledges the birth, history and existence of generic and store brands. Yet, the term does not adequately capture the extent to which private label has progressed. Todays retail marketers are managing their proprietary brands with the same combination of care and innovation as manufacturers of national brands. In recent years, retailers have been liberating themselves from the traditional definition of private label marketing as being the poor relative of national brand consumer goods, and, in doing so, opening up huge opportunities for private label branding. These opportunities require the adoption of a different set of marketing and branding practices to support and propel the retailer’s business and marketing ideals for its private label brands. The key to successful marketing management for today’s retailers is to understand the contribution and role of their proprietary or â€Å"own† brands in the long-term business strategy and marketing mix of the retail store and consider both the supply side and the demand side of the equation. Effective category management can enable retailers to solidify and optimize supplychain relationships. Strategic brand management goes hand in hand with these endeavors to establish sustainable points of difference in each aisle and segment within the store. It also spurs decisions about how to appropriately define the retailer’s â€Å"own† brand portfolio in order to galvanize consumers to connect and reconnect with its franchise in a compelling manner. Benefits of Private Label Brands Since manufacturers (producers) brands have large advertising expenditures built into their cost, a private labeler is able to buy the same goods at a lower cost and thus sell them at a lower price and/or at a better profit margin. In addition, private labelers have more control over pricing and are able to advantageously display their own brands for maximum impact. For example, a grocery store can quickly reduce the price of its own private-label brand in order to meet or beat a competitors price. Or the grocery store can create a special point-of-purchase advertising display and/or give its brand predominant shelf space in order to boost sales. Private-label brands are usually priced lower than comparable 4 manufacturers brands and therefore appeal to bargain-conscious consumers. An example of a private-label brand would be a supermarket product bearing a store label with a products name. As already mentioned, retailers like PLBs because of their potential to increase store loyalty, chain profitability, control over shelf space, bargaining power over manufacturers, and so forth (Richardson, Jain, and Dick, 1996). Among consumers, one obvious reason for their popularity and growth is their price advantage (averaging 21%) over national brands (Batra and Sinha, 2000). Previous studies related to Private Label Brands A review of previous studies related to private label brands brings forth researches carried out related to certain issues. For example researchers have found that one of the interesting phenomena concerning PLBs is the fact that their growth has been highly uneven across product categories (Hoch and Banerji, 1993). Dhar and Hoch (1997) found that by far the largest source of variation in PLB share across markets, retailers, and categories (40%) is due to the differences among product categories. Because the reasons for these intercategory differences in PLB share might shed light on the reasons for PLB growth overall, these differences are clearly worth researching in detail. Retailers will benefit by knowing better how to expand sales of their higher-margin PLBsand national brand manufacturers will benefit by knowing better how to fight PLB growth. Previous research investigating these across-category differences has looked at them mostly from the manufacturer and retailer perspectives. In studying the retailer economics of PLB programs, researchers have mostly examined factors such as the technology investments necessary, size of category, category margins, national brand advertising and promotional activity levels and so forth (Hoch and Banerji, 1993; Sethuraman, 1992). Thus, Hoch and Banerji (1993) find that PLBs have higher shares in large categories offering high margins, and where they compete against fewer national manufacturers who spend less on national advertising. The gap between national brands and PLBs in the level of quality also depends on the technology requirements in manufacturing that varies across categories (Hoch and Banerji, 1993). Research has been more limited on the consumer-level factors that make PLBs differentially successful across product categories. Some researchers studying consumer-level factors for PLB pronenesssuch as Richardson, Jain and Dick (1996)have not studied acrosscategory variations at all. They have chosen instead to aggregate data across categories. Those few studies that have looked at cross-category differences from a consumer-factor perspective have sometimes omitted important variables: Sethuraman and Cole (1997), for instance, did not measure and model the crucial effect of the level of perceived risk in the product category (Richardson, Jain, and Dick, 1996; Narasimhan and Wilcox, 1998). In this research, we focus upon these consumer-level perceptions of intercategory differences. By doing so, we hope to shed light on what has made PLBs successful overall, drawing implications both for retailers marketing PLBs as well as the national brands that compete with them. Any examination of the consumer-level factors that moderate PLB success across product categories should start with a framework to explain consumer 5 susceptibility to buying PLBs. Richardson, Jain, and Dick (1996) present what is probably the most extensive such framework offered to date. They argue that consumers propensity to purchase PLBs depends on (a) certain demographic factors, such as income, family size, age and education, (b) certain individual difference variables, such as the degree of reliance by the consumer on extrinsic cues (those more reliant on such cues preferring national brands) and the consumers tolerance of ambiguity (intolerants preferring safer national buys), and (c) certain consumer perceptions of the particular category (degree of perceived quality variation, level of perceived risk, and perceived value for money), as well as the degree of consumer knowledge about the category (greater knowledge increasing PLB choice). Note that though several of these perceptual factors ought to vary across categories (such as the degree of perceived quality variation, level of perceived risk, perceived value for money, and degree of consumer knowledge), Richardson, Jain and Dick did not study category-level variations in these factors. In their more recen t study, Sethuraman and Cole (1997) did model categorylevel variations in many of these factors. They also examined the effect on willingness to pay a price premium for a national brand of (a) several categorylevel variables, including the quality perception of PLBs, average price, purchase frequency, and the degree to which the category gives consumption pleasure, (b) individual demographics such as income, age, family size, gender and education, and (c) individual difference perceptual variables such as the belief of a price-quality relationship, perceived deal frequency, and familiarity with PLBs. However, as noted above, their list of category-level variables did not include crucial perceptions of the degree of category perceived risk. In this study, the consumer-level variables include category-specific perceptions of private label brands versus national label brands, the degree of variation in quality across brands, the factors customers consider important while purchasing private label brands in a particular product category, and consumer price-consciousness in that category. Price Consciousness, defined as the degree to which the consumer focuses exclusively on paying low prices (Lichtenstein, Ridgway, and Netemeyer, 1993, p. 235), has been found to be a predictor of PLB purchase (Burger and Schott, 1972; Rothe and Lamont, 1973). We include it here because it can logically be expected to mediate (and thus capture) the effect of several demographic and attitudinal variables for which have data, such as income, profession and so forth. Previous research has shown that a consumers level of price-consciousness rises with lower incomes (Gabor and Granger, 1979; Lumpkin, Hawes, and Darden, 1986), and is higher among deal-prone consumers (Babakus, Tat, and Cunningham, 1988) who believe less in price-quality associations (Lichtenstein, Bloch, and Black, 1988). Research has for long talked of the level of perceived risk in the category as being a crucial factor in PLB purchases (Bettman, 1974; Richardson, Jain, and Dick, 1996), though this variable has either not been studied at the individual category level (e. g. , by Richardson, Jain, and Dick, 1996), or has been omitted in some recent category-level studies (e. g. , Sethuraman and Cole 1997). Such perceived risk can be gauged using performance, financial, or social criteria (Dunn, Murphy, and Skelly, 1986). Drawing on the literature on perceived risk (e. g. , Bauer, 1967; Cox, 1967), Narasimhan and Wilcox (1998) argue 6 hat consumers will prefer national brands to PLB s if the level of perceived risk in buying the PLB in that category is seen as high. One of the determinants of such risk, according to Narasimhan and Wilcox (1998), Dunn, Murphy, and Skelly (1986), and others, is the degree of inconvenience of making a mistake. Similar conceptualizations have been offered in the extensive literature on product category involvement (e. g. , Laurent and Kapferer, 1985). Thus, purchases of certain product categories such as baby foods should clearly be seen as more risky than the purchases of others, such as most toiletries and groceries. The consequences of making a mistake for the former are obviously more severe. In addition, purchases that expose the consumer to social (reference- or peergroup) ridicule can also be high risk, even if they are of low dollar value (e. g. , certain types of clothing, or publicly consumed beverages). Livesey and Lennon (1978) argue that social risk inhibits the selection of PLBs. They find that English consumers serve national brand tea to guests, but consume less expensive store brand tea themselves. The other half of the consequences of making a mistake notion deals not with the consequences of making such a mistake, but with the likelihood of doing so. The expected value of any decision is obviously the product of its consequences times its likelihood (Dunn, Murphy, and Skelly, 1986). This suggests the important role of the perceived degree of quality variability in a categorydifferent from the perceived PLB quality levelfor it is the variability that should create greater uncertainty and doubt and create more perceived risk. Researchers such as Narasimhan and Wilcox (1998) have argued that the degree of perceived risk increases with the degree of perceived quality variation across brands in that category. Supporting this notion, Hoch and Banerji (1993) found that PLB share was lower in categories where the quality variability of store brands was high. Richardson, Jain and Dick (1996) found, in their analysis of aggregate across-category data, that perceived quality variation led to reduced perceived value-for-money of PLBs both directly and via perceived risk. This eventually led to a reduced, private-brand proneness. A third determinant of category-specific perceived risk, (Erdem and Swait, 1998), is search versus experience nature of the attributes or benefits involved. Several researchers have found, or suspected, that the nature of the product features makes a difference in PLB proneness. Thus, Bellizi et al. (1981) found that (in 1980) consumers rated national brands higher than PLBs and generics on prestige, reliability, quality, attractive packaging, taste, aroma, color, texture, appealing, tempting, purity, freshness, uniformity, familiarity, confidence in use, among others (italics added). Sethuraman and Cole (1997) found that national brands are more likely to command a price premium if they were higher on consumption pleasure (hedonic), instead of functional, though they do not offer a theoretical rationale for this result. To use the terminology of Nelson (1974), we suggest that hedonic attributes or benefits such as taste, aroma, color, texture, and so forth, share the characteristic of being experience qualities of a product instead of search qualities. Search attributes are those that can be verified before purchase through direct inspection or through readily accessible sources such as color or ingredient content. Experience attributes can be verified only by using the product (e. g. , taste). That is, consumers can easily compare the functional attributes of a 7 roduct such as ingredients used, quality standards or specifications met, and so forth, based on written or often numerically quantifiable descriptions in product packaging or other communications. Howe ver, such hedonic or experiential qualities as taste and aroma cannot be so easily quantified or described. They should thus create the potential for greater felt uncertainty and risk, nudging the consumer to prefer a known national brand to a lesser-known PLB. Prior research has established that consumers are less skeptical of search attribute claims than they are of claims involving experience attributes (Ford, Smith, and Swasy, 1990). Erdem and Swait (1998) argue that in product categories where the attributes are of this experience type (e. g. , in jeans), instead of being of the search variety (e. g. in the caloric content of a juice), a wellrespected brand will have a higher purchase probability because awareness will serve to reduce perceived risk. This idea that PLB proneness rises in categories where it is easier for consumers to compare attribute quality levels on search-type attributes has been hinted at, though not clearly articulated, in some previous research. Hoch an d Ha (1986) have argued and shown that consumers tend to utilize extrinsic cues, such as a brand name, when confronted with ambiguous attributes that lower their perceived ability to make objective, quality-comparisons across brands. Search attributes are, by definition, more unambiguous than experience attributes. McKinsey and Co. in analyzing intercategory differences in PLB marketshare in Europe (Glemet and Mira, 1993), found that categories with high PLB share were those that provided, among other characteristics, an easy comparison. PLB shares tended to be higher where consumers could, in their judgment, make quality comparisons more easily. Richardson, Jain, and Dick (1996,p. 180) also suggested that consumers may be more prone to select store brands for think type rather than feel type products, though they do not offer support for this suggestion. Thus, a review of previous studies undertaken in the area of PLBs indicates that, research has been more limited on the consume r-level factors that make PLBs differentially successful across product categories. Some researchers studying consumer-level factors for PLB proneness-such as Richardson et al. (1996) have not studied across-category variations at all. Also the effect of demographic variables on customer perception and preference for private label brands across different product categories has hardly been researched. Given the lack of studies undertaken in the area of understanding Indian customers’ attitude and perception of private label brands across product categories and the effect of demographic variables on this perception, the present study has been undertaken to gain an insight into how customers in India, specially youth, perceive and evaluate private label brands in comparison to national label brands. The findings of the study will be helpful for retailers to understand the importance of various factors in being successful with customers in the private label brands category. For manufacturers of national label brands, the insights will prove to be useful in leveraging their brands while for private label brands wanting to make their presence felt in the market, the findings will act as important guidelines in competing successfully with national label brands. OBJECTIVES OF THE PRESENT STUDY 8 The present study has been undertaken to understand the perception of Indian youth towards private label brands in Indian Retail and the importance they attach to such brands while making purchases. In particular, the research focuses on: 1. Finding out customer understanding/perception of private label brands. 2. Finding out their overall preference of private versus national brands while purchasing. 3. Finding out customers’ frequency of purchase of private versus national brands for different categories of products. 4. Customer satisfaction with private label brands. 5. Identifying important factors affecting customer’s decision to purchase private label brands in different categories of products. RESEARCH DESIGN The research was conducted in the northern part of India. The tool employed for generating responses was questionnaire based survey of customers with respect to their perception and opinion towards private versus national label brands across various factors. These factors were identified from various studies undertaken in this area in the past (Sethuraman and Cole (1997); Lichtenstein, Ridgway, and Netemeyer, (1993); Burger and Schott, (1972); Rothe and Lamont, (1973); Gabor and Granger, (1979); Lumpkin, Hawes, and Darden, (1986)) and on the basis of the information collected through focus group discussions. Focused Group Discussions (FGD) were conducted which provided information and understanding of the major factors and aspects associated with customers’ preference for private or national label brands. Pilot testing of the questionnaire was done on a group of fifty respondents. Unwanted and ambiguous questions were removed and some new alternatives were introduced in the questionnaire after conducting reliability analysis. This whole exercise helped in framing the questions for the final questionnaire and also helped in streamlining the information needed to conduct this research. Given the importance of age as one of the factors identified by Grundey (2006) in understanding the attachment and loyalty with a brand, age has been taken as the criterion variable in selecting the sample for the study with major concentration in the age group of 20 to 40 years. Thus, the sampling procedure adopted was quota sampling in which the relevant control characteristic was age on the basis of which quotas were formed. The respondents were selected conveniently and the information was collected through a questionnaire using the personal interview method of data collection. Only primary data was used in the research, which was obtained from the questionnaire. Likert scale was used to gain an understanding of evaluation of consumers regarding factors denoting different attributes associated with private or national label brands. RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY The first draft of the questionnaire was reviewed by two professional scholars in related fields. The contents of the draft were reviewed and revisions were suggested. The questionnaire used in the study thus qualified for expert validity. The results of the pilot test were incorporated and expert validity ensured. The pilot test for the questionnaire was conducted on a sample of 50 customers. Reliability analysis was conducted on all the 50 responses. The present study had adopted internal consistency analysis to conduct reliability testing. Cronbach’s ? came out to be 0. 699. The value indicated that reliability of the scale of measurement was significantly high. For 9 the complete study, 400 responses were generated using the pilot tested questionnaire, but only 344 completely filled questionnaires were retrieved. The reliability of the completely filled questionnaires was tested using the internal consistency method wherein the value of Cronbach’s alpha came out to be 0. 706. The profile of the respondents for the present study has been tabulated below in table 1. Refer Table 1) For convenience of display and analysis purposes, various items/values of the demographic variable Profession have been abbreviated as shown in table 2. (Refer Table 2) RESEARCH FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS Customer understanding/perception of private label brands Before formulating its business strategy it is important for a company to gain an insight into customers’ understanding and perception about a particular thing. Thus, in order to formulate strategies related to private label brands retail companies need to have clear idea about what customers’ understand by the term private label brands. Analysis of findings related to this aspect has been tabulated below in table 3. As can be seen from the table, 66. % of the respondents perceive private label brands to be goods that are outsourced from other companies (mainly local) and sold under the retailer’s name while 33. 1% of the respondents perceive private label brands to be goods which are manufactured by retailers selling them. (Refer Table 3) Customers’ preference for private label brands In order to find out the preference of overall customers towards private label brands, the respondents were asked to specify their preference for private label brands vis-a-vis national level br ands in retail outlets. As can be seen from table 4, 43. 3% of the respondents prefer private label brand while 56. 7% of the respondents prefer national level brands. Thus, it can be seen that there is not a major difference in the preference of customers for private label brands vis-avis national level brands. A review of previous studies brought forth the importance of age and profession in influencing customers’ attitude, perception and preferences. Thus, in order to find out if age or profession influence the preference pattern of customers, Kruskal-Wallis Test of Equality of Mean was administered with age and profession as the grouping variables and the preference responses of the respondents as the test variables. Significance was seen at 5% or 10% level of significance. (Refer Table 4) a) Effect of age on preference The significance of Kruskal-Wallis Test with age as the grouping variable came out to be 0. 12 which shows that age is highly significant in affecting the preferences of customers towards private/national level brands and that the preference differs in different age groups. The preference of customers for private/national level brands according to different age groups, has been given in table 5. If we consider the age groups to corresponds to two major groups that is 40 and call it younger generation and older generation respectively, it is clearly evident from the table that the younger generation has a clear cut preference for national level brands vis-avis private level brands while the preference pattern is opposite in the case of older generation. Refer Table 5 ) b) Effect of profession on preference The significance of Kruskal-Wallis Test with profession as the grouping variable 10 came out to be 0. 013 which shows that profession is highly significant in affecting the preferences of customers towards private/national level brands and that the preference differs in different profession. The preference of customers for private/national level brands according to different profession has been given in table 6 which shows people employed in government sector and also those who are retired prefers private labels more than the national level brands on a general basis. The least preference is being sown by people employed in privte sector or are professionals. Refer Table 6 ) Customers’ frequency of purchase of private label brands with respect to different product categories In order to find out customer preference for private label brands vis-a-vis national label brands in different product categories, Kendall’s W test was administered on the responses. The findings as shown in table 7, clearly depicted that based on the frequency of purchase of private label brands, grocery products topped the list followed by apparels/footwear and electronic goods. (Refer Table 7 ) The frequency of purchase of private label brands in different categories of products by customers is given in table 8. (Refer Table 8) As can be seen from table 8, approx. 39% of the respondents purchase private label brands in the grocery section fairly often to always while this percentage is the lowest i. e. approx. 31% in the case of electronic goods. ) Effect of age on frequency of purchase of private label brands visa-vis national label brands In order to find out if age has any effect on customers’ frequency of purchasing private label brands as opposed to national label brands, Kruskal Wallis Test of Equality of Mean was administered with age as the grouping variable and the responses of the respondents as the test variable. The results of the test indicated that age is significant (Asymp. Sig. = 0. 024) in affecting customers’ frequency of purchase of private label brands vis-a-vis national label brands only in respect of electronic goods. In respect of frequency of purchase of private label brands in groceries and apparels/footwear, age was not found to be having a significant effect (since the value of Asymp. Sig. came out to be 0. 622 and 0. 229 respectively). Since age was found to be having a significant effect on the frequency of purchase of private label brands only in respect of electronic goods, only findings corresponding to the effect of age on purchase pattern for electronic goods have been tabulated in table 9. (ReferTable 9) As can be seen from table 9, customers in the age group 51-60 show the maximum propensity to purchase private label brands in electronic goods fairly often while customers in the age group 41-50 show the least propensity. In the younger age group, 24%, 8. 93% and 8. 33% of customers in the age group 60. The least level of satisfaction with private label brands in electronic goods is found among customers in the age group 20-30. Thus, overall it can be said that there is a higher 12 level of satisfaction with private label brands in electronic goods category among the older generation in comparison to the younger generation. ) Effect of profession on customer satisfaction level with private label brands in di fferent categories of products Kruskal Wallis Test of Equality of Mean was administered with profession as the grouping variable and the responses of the respondents as the test variable in order to find out if profession has an effect on customers’ satisfaction level with private label brands in respect of different categories of products. Analysis of findings clearly indicates that profession significantly affects the satisfaction level of customers with private label brands in respect of all the three product categories since the value of Asymp. Sig. came out to be 0. 049, 0. 011 and 0. 001 for groceries, apparels/footwear and electronic goods respectively. Satisfaction level of customers belonging to different categories of profession in respect of private label brands in different categories of products has been given in table 14. Refer Table 14 here) As can be seen from table 14, in respect of groceries the highest percentage of customers who are more satisfied with pri vate label brands are retired followed by housewives, while the least percentage of customers satisfied with private label brands in this category are professionals. In the category of apparels / footwear, the highest percentage of customers who are satisfied with private label brands are professionals while the least percentage of customers satisfied with private label brands in this category are retired and self – employed customers. For electronic goods, the highest percentage of customers satisfied with private label brands in this category are retired customers followed by housewives. The least percentage of customers who are satisfied with private label brands in the category of electronic goods belong to the profession – employed in private sector. Importance of various parameters on customers’ choice of private label brands vis-a-vis national label brands In order to find out the relative importance that customers attach to different attributes while purchasing private label brands over national label brands in the three different product categories – groceries, apparels/food and electronic goods, Kendall’s W test was administered separately on customers’ responses in respect of ten attributes for each of the three product categories. The results of the test are tabulated in table 15. (Insert Table 15 here) As can be seen from table 15, the value of Kendall’s W came out to be . 081, . 088 and . 82 for groceries, apparels/footwear and electronic goods respectively, which indicates that there is agreement across customers in the ordering of different attributes. The values are significant at 95% significance level with the asymptotic significance value coming out to be . 000 for each product ca tegory. Table 15 also gives the mean rank of various attributes as considered to be important by customers in purchasing private label brands in different product categories. Findings indicate that customers attach maximum importance to freshness and price while choosing private label brands in grocery items while least importance is attached to sales team/salesperson who is attending to the customers. On further studying table 15, it can be seen that the customers attach maximum importance to price and schemes/discount in case of private label brands in the category of apparels and footwear. The customers attach least importance to sales team present on the floor and color of the apparels. 13 While analyzing the results for electronic items (table 15) offered under private label brands, price and after sales service stand out from the rest of the attributes studied followed by warranty/guaranty and schemes/discount associated with the product. It can be seen again that the attributes with the lowest importance are sales team present on the floor along with added/extra features offered. This is quite understandable since the customers who are buying private label products in the electronic section evaluate these goods with the branded products available in the same category based on price. To some extent, customers are accepting the fact that the quality of private label electronic goods does not exhibit the same level of quality as can be expected out of a branded product and accordingly quality has been ranked as last but third item in the ranking. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS In this study, we examined how Indian customers’ specially youth perceive private label brands in three product categories in comparison to national label brands. Although intercategory differences have been cited as the most important source of variation in PLB share across markets, retailers and categories (Dhar and Hoch, 1996), little prior consumer-level research has thus far been done to explain these crucial variations. The present study offers an insight into customer’s perception and satisfaction with private label brands across three product categories. In attempting to explain intercategory variations in customer perception of private label brands, the effect of age and profession has been taken into consideration. The findings of the study can be useful to retailers in formulating strategies to make products other than the national branded ones acceptable in the market. An analysis of perception and satisfaction with private label brands can furthermore help retailers in developing stronger store/private label brands and in increasing their presence and acceptance in the market. The Indian retail industry is growing with every passing day. Though highly lucrative, there is stiff competition in the market among organized and unorganized retailing with both branded and unbranded products manufacturers vying for a share in the pie. The findings of the present study provide important insights to all private label manufactures in India to increase their foothold and successfully compete in the Indian retail market. Understanding customers in terms of what they expect/associate with a private label brands vis-a-vis national brands is quite important from the view point of making these brands acceptable in the market. Customer loyalty has become a very fickle term in today’s highly competitive and volatile market. Customers may prefer one brand over another or might be loyal towards none of the brands as long as they feel that their expectations are being satisfied and they are getting good value for money irrespective of the brand they are purchasing. The findings of the study clearly bring forth the importance of pricing (table 15) as an attribute in influencing customers’ acceptance of private label brands. This is so because today’s customers are smart enough to understand that since they are not buying branded products so they need not pay premium. Thus, a difference in pricing is desired and companies needs to fine tune and concentrate more on their supply chain and logistics to bring down costs associated with various products which they can pass on to customers in the form of reduced prices in turn leading to increase in customer satisfaction and acceptance of private labels. This is quite acceptable and understandable in an emerging economy like India where masses are not very brand/fashion savvy/centric but pay more attention to 14 better bargains and value for money in every purchase that they make. Thus, schemes/discounts are also considered to be important by customers in purchasing private label brands in groceries as can be seen from table 15. This brings forth clear insights for private labelers and sensitizes them to the fact that though price is one of the most important factor but customers also connect themselves and eagerly purchase those products as well which are offered in bundling or are given at a discount. This leads to another insight that it is not always beneficial to project differential pricing for your private label brands rather for the same amount of price if you provide bundling with complementary products, they will be able to attract more customers. Infact, the private labelers can take a step further and start bundling non-consumable/nonperishable products along with grocery items so that the level of customer satisfaction which is lower for grocery items can be increased. Indian customers are value-conscious and increased awareness and exposure with more choices has made them conscious of their power of bargaining and capability of extracting maximum worth from everything they pay for. Retailers also need to understand that range and quality of products offered does play a role among value for money segment of customer as high quality is generally perceived to be synonymous with durability by customers. Indian customers are value-conscious and though increased awareness and exposure has made them keen on keeping pace with changing trends in society and fashion but they are still more interested in products which fit them better along with giving them unique recognition with comfort and quality at affordable prices. This is easily discernable from the findings of the present study (table 7 and 9), which indicate that age is not a significant factor in affecting preference in apparels/footwear category. A major opportunity exists for private label brands in this category. Customers, specifically young ones (students) are more interested in changing their attire with the changing fashion and to afford such luxury they need a range of clothes which are both cheap and trendy along with some quality. Marketers should not forget that India is a young country and these young Indians believe in building their own fashion statement based on their comfort and fitting rather than adopting what is displayed on the shelves and in advertisements. This is one of the reasons unbranded/local shops in Fashion Street in Bombay, Sarojni Nagar market in Delhi and the likes are still flourishing even though big names have had their presence in India for quite some years now. While analyzing the preference of customers with regard to electronic goods under private label brands, it is quite important for the retailers to take note of the fact that quality has been ranked as the 8th factor (table 15) meaning thereby that customers have accepted that the quality of the product of a private label brand would not match with that of the national level brand and that is another reason why price has been ranked as the top most factor which accordingly they expect to be low for private label brands. Customers have ranked electronic goods as the lowest in terms of satisfaction (table 11) which clearly indicates that though they are buying the private label brands in electronic goods category because of the price differential but their satisfaction in terms of services extracted out of the product is quite low. This can be viewed as an opportunity by private label brand retailers as by improving the quality even a little bit, specifically for the basic service for which the product has been made and by not paying unnecessary attention on extra features, can go a long way in increasing the satisfaction of the customers and in turn establishing 15 themselves in the electronics market as well. While analyzing the preference of private versus national level brands with respect to the profession of the customers, retailers need to target the students and house wife segments (table 6) where opportunity exists as difference in preferences are not quite high. Moreover, both these segments are price conscious and fast product changers, so a little bit of effort in these two segments with respect to increase in trendiness and quality of the product can help boost preference for private label brands. Findings related to factors considered to be important by customers across different product categories in purchasing private label brands can help retailers in taking steps to improve their private label products along these parameters. These steps would enable private label products to become more acceptable and preferable in the eyes of customers. Thus, in conclusion it can be said that if private label manufacturers can consistently provide value to customers on factors rated high by customers and even if it is low on status symbol, there is a high possibility for them to establish these brands as acceptable in the minds of customers and to improve customers’’ perception regarding the same. Though this perception may not be as high as a branded product enjoys but it could still become high enough for retailers to increase the sales of these brands and thereby raise their profit margin considerably. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY The scope of this study is limited to a specific geographical area (northern part of India only). The results and findings of the study are thus limited in their ability to be projected to the entire state, country or foreign countries. There is no denying the fact that because of socio-economic and cultural differences there is a variation in perceptions of people. Thus, the study could be extended and conducted in other parts of the country so that the findings may be more useful. REFERENCES Babakus, Emin, Peter Tat and Cunningham (1988). Coupon Redemption: A Motivational Perspective. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 5(2), Spring, pp. 37-43. Bang (2009). Available at: http://www. stockmarketsreview. o m/news/india_after_the_recession_ gloom_it_is_time_for_a_good_run _for_the_branded_retail_sector_14 44/ accessed on: 01/11/09 Batra, Rajeev, Sinha, Indrajit (2000). Journal of Retailing, 76(2), Summer, pp. 175-191. Bauer, R. A. (1967). Consumer Behavior as Risk Taking, pp. 2233 in D. F. Cox (Ed. ), Risk Taking and Information Handling in Consumer Behavior. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press. Bellizzi, Joseph A. , Harry F. Krueckeberg, John R. Hamilton, and Warren S. Martin (1981). Consumer Perceptions of National, Private, and Generic Brands, Journal of Retailing, 57(4), pp. 56-70. Bettman, James R. (1974). Relationship of InformationProcessing Attitude Structures to Private Brand Purchasing Behavior, Journal of Applied Psychology, 59(1), pp. 79-83. Burger, Philip C. nd Barbra Schott (1972). Can Private Brand Buyers be Identified? Journal of Marketing Research, 9, May, pp. 219-222. Cox, Donald F. (1967). Risk Handling in Consumer BehaviorAn Intensive Study of Two Cases, pp. 34-81 in D. F. Cox (Ed. ), Risk Taking and Information Handling in Consumer Behavior. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press. 16 Dhar, Sanjay K. and Steven J. Hoch (1997). Why Store Brand Penetration Varies by Retailer, Marketing Science, 16 (3), pp. 208227. Dunn, Mar k G. , Patrick E. Murphy, and Gerald U. Skelly (1986). The Influence of Perceived Risk on Brand Preference for Supermarket Products, Journal of Retailing, 62(2), pp. 04-17. Erdem, Tulin and Joffre Swait (1998). Brand Equity as a Signaling Phenomenon, Journal of Consumer Psychology, 7(2), pp. 131-157. Ford, Gary T. , Darlene B. Smith, and John L. Swasy (1990). Consumer Skepticism of Advertising Claims: Testing Hypotheses from Economics of Information, Journal of Consumer Research, 16, March, pp. 433-41. Gabor, Andre and C. W. J. Granger (1979). On the Price Consciousness of Consumers, Management Decision, 17(8), pp. 551. Glemet, Francois and Rafael Mira (1993). The Brand Leaders Dilemma, McKinsey Quarterly, 2, pp. 3-15. Global Retail Development Index (2007). AT Kearney Survey. Grundey, D. (2006). Delineating Values, Emotions and Motives in Consumer Behaviour: An Interdisciplinary Approach, Transformations in Business Economics, 5(2), pp. 21-46. Hoch, Stephen J. and Young Won Ha (19 86). Consumer Learning: Advertising and the Ambiguity of Product Experience, Journal of Consumer Research, 13, September, pp. 221-33 Hoch, Stephen J. and Shumeet Banerji (1993). When Do Private Labels Succeed? Sloan Management Review, 34(4), Summer, pp. 57-67. http://www. chillibreeze. com/articles_ various/top-10-retailers. asp accessed on 29/10/09 http://www. dipp. nic. in accessed on 28/10/09 http://www. rncos. com/Report/IM112. htm accessed on 29/10/09 Laurent, Gilles and Jean-Noel Kapferer (1985). Measuring Consumer Involvement Profiles, Journal of Marketing Research, 22, February, pp. 41-53. Lichtenstein, Donald R. , Nancy M. Ridgway, and Richard G. Netemeyer (1993). Price Perceptions and Consumer Shopping Behavior: A Field Study, Journal of Marketing Research, 30 (May), pp. 234-45. Lichtenstein, Donald R. , Peter H. Bloch, and William C. Black (1988). Correlates of Price Acceptability, Journal of Consumer Research, 15(2), September, pp. 243-252. Livesey F. and P. Lennon (197 8). Factors Affecting Consumers Choice Between Manufacturer Brands and Retailer Own Brands, European Journal of Marketing, 12(2), pp. 158-170. Lumpkin, James R. , Jon M. Hawes, and William R. Darden (1986). Shopping Patterns of the Rural Consumer: Exploring the Relationship Between Shopping Orientations and Outshopping, Journal of Business Research, 14(1), February, pp. 63-82. McKinsey Company (2007). The Bird of Gold: The Rise of Indian Consumer Market, McKinsey Global Institute. Narasimhan, Chakravarthi and Ronald T. Wilcox (1998). PrivateLabels and the Channel Relationship: A Cross-Category Analysis, Journal of Business, 71(4), October, pp. 573-600. 17 Nelson, Phillip (1974). Advertising as Information, Journal of Political Economy, 82, July/ August, pp. 729-754. Richardson, Paul S. , Arun K. Jain, and Alan Dick (1996). Household Store Brand Proneness: A Framework, Journal of Retailing, 72 (2), pp. 159-185. Rothe, James T. nd Lawrence M. Lamont (1973). Purchase Behavior and Bran d Choice Determinants, Journal of Retailing, 49(3), pp. 19-33. Sethuraman, Raj (1992). Understanding Cross-Category Differences in Private Label Shares of Grocery Products, Cambridge, MA: Marketing Science Institute, Report No. 92-128. Sethuraman, Raj and Catherine Cole (1997). Why do Consumers Pay More for National Brands than for Store Brands? Cambridge, MA: Marketing Science Institute, Report No. 97-126, December. The Indian Retail Report (2007). IMAGES-KSA Consumer Outlook Study. 18 Table 1: Sample Profile 20 20-30 Age 7. 3% 65. 1% Male Gender 49. 4% High School Max. Education 3. 8% 1-40 17. 4% Female 50. 6% 41-50 5. 8% 51-60 3. 8% Post graduate 28. 8% Marital status Intermediate Graduate 6. 1% Employed Employed in Student in private government Profession sector sector 57. 8% 13. 1% 9. 0% Household avg. monthly income Family size 1 1. 5% 2 4. 7% Single 68. 2% 15K 15. 4% 3 16. 0% Newly married 9. 3% Life cycle stage 37. 2% Professional Self (Doctor, Employed Lawyer etc. ) 5. 2 % 7. 8% 3000115001-30K 45K 34. 6% 26. 5% 4 5 37. 2% 26. 2% Married Married (children (youngest between 6 child 6 18 years) years) 6. 4% 6. 1% 60 0. 6% Single Married 62. 8% 37. 2% Professional course 24. 1% Housewife 6. 4% 45001-60K 14. % 6 9. 9% Married (employed children) 8. 1% Retired 0. 6% above 60K 8. 7% 7 4. 1% Married (no children) 1. 2% Table 2: Abbreviation table Abbreviations and their meaning for the demographic variable â€Å"Profession† Student Abbreviated as S Employed in private sector Abbreviated as EInPS Employed in government sector Abbreviated as EInGS Professional (doctor, lawyer) Abbreviated as P Self employed Abbreviated as SE House wife Abbreviated as HW Retired Abbreviated as R 19 Table 3: Customers’ understanding of private label brands Valid Frequency Percent Percent Frequencies for perception Outsourced locally 230 66. 9 66. 9 manufactured by 114 33. 1 33. retailer Total 344 100. 0 100. 0 Cumulative Percent 66. 9 100. 0 Table 4: Customer preference of private label brands vis-a-vis national label brands Cumulative Frequencies for Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Preference Valid private label 149 43. 3 43. 3 43. 3 national label 195 56. 7 56. 7 100. 0 Total 344 100. 0 100. 0 Table 5: Customer preference for private label brands on the basis of age Crosstab Prefer * Age Age 60 Total % private within 32. 0% 42. 0% 48. 3% 70. 0% 15. 4% 100. 0% 43. 3% label age Prefer % national within 68. 0% 58. 0% 51. 7% 30. 0% 84. 6% . 0% 56. 7% label age Total 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. % Table 6: Customer preference for private label brands on the basis of profession Crosstab Prefer * Profession prefer Profession S EInPS EInGS P SE HW R Tot Total private % within 42. 7% 31. 1% 71. 0% 33. 3% 37. 0% 45. 5% 100. 0% 43. 3 label profession national % within 57. 3% 68. 9% 29. 0% 66. 7% 63. 0% 54. 5% . 0% 56. 7 label profession % within 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. professio n 20 Table 7: Ranking of various categories of products in terms of customer frequency of purchase of private label brands Ranks Grocery Apparel/footwear Electronic goods Mean Rank 2. 13 2. 02 1. 85 Test Statistics N Kendalls W(a) Chi-Square Df Asymp. Sig. 344 . 024 16. 306 2 . 000 a Kendalls Coefficient of Concordance Table 8: Frequency of purchase of rivate label brands in different product categories by customers Frequencies Grocery Apparel/footwear Electronic goods never 19. 5% 11. 0% 17. 7% Percentage fairly seldom occasionally often 15. 4% 26. 2% 18. 6% 28. 8% 27. 3% 21. 8% 27. 0% 24. 1% 22. 1% always 20. 3% 11. 0% 9. 0% Total 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% Table 9: Frequency of purchase of private label brands in electronic goods by customers on the basis of age Crosstab Age 60 Tota % within age never 16. 00% 17. 41% 18. 33% 25. 00% 15. 38% 0. 00% 17 seldom 20. 00% 25. 89% 21. 67% 60. 00% 23. 08% 100. 00% 27 electronic goods occasionally 24. 00% 25. 45% 30. 00% 10. 00% 0. 00% 0. 00% 24 fairly often 16. 00% 22. 32% 21. 67% 5. 00% 61. 54% 0. 00% 22 always 24. 00% 8. 93% 8. 33% 0. 00% 0. 00% 0. 0% 9 Total 100. 00% 100. 00% 100. 00% 100. 00% 100. 00% 100. 00% 100 Table 10: Frequency of purchase of private label brands in different product categories by customers on the basis of profession Crosstab S EInPS EInGS % within Profession never 27. 1% 13. 3% 12. 9% seldom 15. 1% 13. 3% 6. 5% grocery occasionally 27. 1% 13. 3% 9. 7% fairly often 13. 6% 11. 1% 41. 9% always 17. 1% 48. 9% 29. 0% Total 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% apparel/ footwear never seldom 14. 6% 28. 1% 17. 8% 26. 7% . 0% 25. 8% Profession P SE HW R 11. 1% . 0% 4. 5% . 0% . 0% 25. 9% 36. 4% . 0% 66. 7% 14. 8% 40. 9% 100. 0% 22. 2% 40. 7% 18. 2% . 0% . 0% 18. 5% . 0% . 0% 100. 0% 100. % 100. 0% 100. 0% . 0% . 0% . 0% 40. 7% 4. 5% 54. 5% 21 .0% . 0% occasionally fairly often always Total 24. 6% 26. 7% 45. 2% 33. 3% 23. 1% 22. 2% 3. 2% 44. 4% 9. 5% 6. 7% 25. 8% 22. 2% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 14. 8% 33. 3 % 11. 1% 100. 0% 37. 0% 18. 5% 33. 3% 3. 7% 7. 4% 100. 0% 31. 8% 100. 0% 4. 5% . 0% 4. 5% . 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 22. 7% . 0% 31. 8% 100. 0% 18. 2% . 0% 22. 7% . 0% 4. 5% . 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% never 19. 1% 13. 3% 6. 5% . 0% seldom 21. 1% 46. 7% 32. 3% 33. 3% electronic goods occasionally 26. 6% 22. 2% 16. 1% 11. 1% fairly often 21. 6% 15. 6% 35. 5% 50. 0% always 11. 6% 2. 2% 9. 7% 5. 6% Total 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% Table 11: Ranking of various categories of products in terms of customer satisfaction level with purchase of private label brands Mean Rank Ranks Test Statistics grocery 2. 09 N 344 Apparels/footwear 1. 98 Kendalls W(a) . 012 electronic goods 1. 92 Chi-Square 8. 424 Df 2 Asymp. Sig. .015 a Kendalls Coefficient of Concordance Table 12: Customers’ satisfaction level with private label brands in different product categories highly dissatisfied dissatisfied satisfied highly satisfied Total Frequencies grocery 7. 27% 15. 70% 70. 93% 6. 10% 100. 0% apparel/footwear 3. 49% 29. 94% 49. 13% 17. 44% 100. 0 electronic goods 6. 69% 34. 01% 46. 51% 12. 79% 100. 0 Table 13: Customer satisfaction level with private label brands in electronic goods on the basis of age Crosstab: Items * Age 60 Total S EInPS EInGS P Profession SE HW R grocery Total highly dissatisfied dissatisfied satisfied highly satisfied highly dissatisfied dissatisfied satisfied highly satisfied 9. 5% 4. 4% 3. 2% . 0% 7. 4% 4. 5% . 0 18. 1% 2. 2% 9. 7% 50. 0% 14. 8% 4. 5% . 0 65. 8% 86. 7% 87. 1% 44. 4% 63. 0% 90. 9% 100. 0 6. 5% 6. 7% . 0% 5. 6% 14. 8% . 0% . 0 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0 3. 0% 2. 2% . 0% 5. 6% 14. 8% . 0% . 0 29. 6% 24. 4% 29. 0% 22. 2% 33. 3% 40. 9% 100. 0 49. 7% 46. 7% 38. 7% 55. 6% 51. 9% 59. 1% . 0 17. 6% 26. 7% 32. 3% 16. 7% . 0% . 0% . 0 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0 apparel/ footwear Total highly dissatisfied 7. 0% 11. % 3. 2% 5. 6% 7. 4% . 0% . 0 dissatisfied 36. 7% 44. 4% 19. 4% 38. 9% 33. 3% 9. 1% . 0 electronic goods satisfied 47. 2% 26. 7% 54. 8% 55. 6% 44. 4% 59. 1% 100. 0 highly satisfied 9. 0% 17. 8% 22. 6% . 0% 14. 8% 31. 8% . 0 Total 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0% 100. 0 23 Table 15: Importance/ranking of attributes in pu rchase of private label brands in different product categories Grocery Attributes Rank freshness/expiry 6. 80 price 6. 68 schemes/discounts 5. 84 range of product 5. 35 quality 5. 35 after sales service 5. 22 warranty/guaranty 5. 21 quantity 5. 11 brand 4. 72 sales team 4. 71 Apparels/Footwear Attributes Rank price 6. 5 schemes/discounts 6. 24 range of product 5. 79 quality 5. 53 warranty/guaranty 5. 52 freshness/design 5. 50 brand 5. 47 after sales service 5. 08 sales team 4. 68 Quantity/colour 4. 23 344 . 088 272. 049 9 . 000 Electronic goods Attributes Rank price 6. 42 after sales service 6. 30 warranty/guaranty 6. 26 schemes/discounts 5. 75 range of product 5. 36 brand 5. 32 freshness/look 5. 26 quality 5. 10 sales team 5. 05 added features 4. 17 N Kendalls W(a) Chi-Square Df Asymp. Sig. 344 . 082 253. 706 9 . 000 N 344 N Kendalls W(a) . 081 Kendalls W(a) Chi-Square 249. 302 Chi-Square Df 9 Df Asymp. Sig. .000 Asymp. Sig. a Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance 24

Selecting Media Analysis Essay Topics

Selecting Media Analysis Essay TopicsAs an instructor of an online media analysis course, I am often asked about how to select media analysis essay topics. My initial response is, 'Use what you have.' For example, if you have a basic understanding of the news media, I can recommend some media analysis essays that will help you get started in this field.I've found that many instructors and students choose to 'retro' their essay topics based on the media they were exposed to as children. This is fine for the first semester or two of your courses but will probably not hold true for the rest of your studies. You need to make sure that your skills and knowledge are well rounded and you also need to be prepared to learn new skills and know how to deal with new ideas and concepts. If you focus too much on your experiences as a child, you may end up with an essay that is too closely aligned with your home environment.One other place where I have used my choice of essay topics is in my job. F or example, when I teach elementary school it is my job to identify a subject to teach, create an assigned homework assignment, set up the classroom environment, assign tests, and supervise the class. When I was a middle school teacher I had a difficult time doing all of these tasks and so I had to consider what I could do as a job to supplement my income. In this case, I started off by selecting several media analysis essay topics.After you have identified a few topic areas, you can begin to identify a few main fact patterns to teach from each topic area. Then you will need to select the assignment from among these two fact patterns and teach the curriculum associated with each topic area. This ensures that your curriculum presentation will provide the greatest benefit to the students and you.The key for selecting essay topics is to choose topics that will allow you to grow and improve as a teacher. After you learn a new skill or apply a new concept to your practice, you will want to continually update your knowledge and exposure to that new skill or concept. Using the same topic for several years won't allow you to take advantage of this information because it will be a part of the 'buzz' on your curriculum.So, by using the same topic in your curriculum you will continue to receive new information and build your credibility in your profession. Also, you will continually keep up to date with the changes in the industry. As you go from one class to the next you will continually be teaching new skills. If you plan on teaching for many years, you will want to continue to make sure that you keep your skills up to date and develop your credibility in your industry.Using the same essay topics for several years can also help you recognize trends and developments in the media, technology, politics, or even religion. As you continue to write more essays, you will be able to identify the most relevant topics to teach your students in each class. By doing this, you will be able to retain the most relevant information that you need to teach and you will keep the class moving forward.