Persuasion in advertising

BLOG POST #6  

TITLE: SYNTHESIZING RESEARCH  ON _Central and peripheral route to persuasion and how it affects advertising.

The economic principle I researched was people generally respond to incentives in predictable ways.

Advertising is not cookie cutter, advertisement have to alter to different personalities to convince people to buy their product and the extent to which central vs. peripheral ad strategies will work depend on several factors. Behavioral econ studies have shown that there is person level variability in spending and saving behaviors. This could be related to genetics. Everyone has a different way they process things. Depending on age, gender and personality. There are significant spending differences between extroverts and introverts.  

In addition to the basic demographic differences-age, gender, race, socioeconomic status. Advertisers must also pay close attention to how they can adapt their persuasive messages to personality traits of their target audiences . This can be highly effective way of increasing a messages impact and highlights potential value of personality based advertising strategies. Like for example companies will want to appeal to am more impulsive buyer which is more likely an extroverted personality. For an introverted personality they will need to convince them using the central route to persuasion, because they are less likely to buy things on an impulse.

The future of advertising given what we know of central and peripheral route messaging will evolve over time. Digital marketing budgets are expected to overtake T.V. ads spending. So now there will be more interactivity between ads online and the consumers. With the rise of ad blockers advertisers will need to continue to figure out ways to capture and hold consumers attention with persuasion.

Overall Look on Healthcare

The economic principle I researched was “Institutions are the “rules of the game” that influence choices”.

    I researched how the United States Healthcare system compares to others and how much was spent compared to other countries. I also researched what President Trump is currently doing to reform and change Healthcare. I also researched a more in depth look at American Healthcare versus other first world Healthcare system and how America still falls short against almost all countries. My topic research shows that there really is a problem its the American Healthcare system and the needs to be change. Not enough people are being covered and the ones that are being covered aren't getting enough.

How to Make Decisions

https://defehttps://defendernetwork.comndernetwork.com

SYNTHESIZING RESEARCH ON What affects our decisions making process? The economic principle I researched was people generally respond to incentives in predictable ways & institutions are the “rules of the game” that influence choices

 Throughout my research on what affects our decision making process I found that there are many different things in our daily lives that alter how we come to a final decision. I found that the people you surround yourself with can greatly influence your decisions and how you act. If your peers and colleagues are an important part of your everyday lives they affect what your final decisions can become without you knowing.

 Also through my research I found that social media has taken the biggest part in the decision making process. There is a new invention called the cookie which is where through all your social media and what you search online a profile is made in order to catch your attention though your apps. So an example would be I was looking on websites for a graduation dress, didn't end up purchasing, but an hour later I was scrolling through instagram and an ad for the same dress I was interested in was featured on my feed. This new invention has been very successful in businesses marketing their products and getting their final goal of gaining customers through social media.

 Overall I have come to realize that when making decisions it's not about you and what you want it's about all of your surroundings that influence you in the final process.

Synthesis Post Alternative Energy

                   Synthesis Alternative Energy

I researched two main economic principles which are people generally respond to incentives in predictable ways and because of scarcity, people choose and all choices come with opportunity costs.In my first and second article, I did research on incentives that are made to attract buyers to renewable energy(Article #1 & Article #2). Government provides much funding in order for companies to switch to renewable energy dependency. Since renewable energy is very expensive to install, the government intervenes and provides monetary awards to those who desire to make use green energy.

   In my third article, I researched the United Nations decided to globally fund alternative energy development all around. In addition, Bill Gates is funding billions of dollars to spread clean energy awareness and research to develop more alternative energy. Private and public sectors are cooperating globally in order to further provide alternative energy around the world (Article #3).  In my fourth article, I researched many reasons why fossil fuels are still more common than alternative energy.  One of the main reasons were that fossil fuels have the capacity of large amounts of energy to be stored in small containers in comparison to alternative energy. In addition, the price of converting to green energy is still expensive, and most people do not want to make the change.

Closing the Gap

www.themediabriefing.com/

Synthesizing research on the relationship between job opportunities and gender norms.

The Economic principle I’m exploring is “Institutions are rules of the game that influence choices”. My overall research question to help me explore the principle is - How do gender norms affect job opportunities/choices?

To begin, according to the article published on Monda.eu titled “Gender Roles, Norms, and Stereotypes”, a gender norm is defined as a consistent pattern of what individuals do based on the gender they identify themselves as. As for gender roles, that can be defined as “a set of expectations associated with the perception of masculinity and femininity”. These terms are very similar because they deal with personal opinions shaped by a community. Both gender norms and gender roles limit the opportunities of my men and women, especially in the job industry. In the past, women have been given the role of staying at home to clean and help with the children. This limited their opportunities because many people, mainly men, believed that they were unable to hold high office positions. Although this idea is mainly behind us, women are still ostracized in the workforce because of the current “norms”.

Second, the article published in AAUW titled “ The Simple Truth about Pay Gap ” shows the difference in pay between men and women. It states that women are usually paid “80 percent of what men were paid”. This means there is a 20% gap between men and women salaries on average. In Illinois, women earn “79.3 cents for every dollar a man makes” which is a 20.7% gap.

Finally, as a result of time, it is statistically shown that the line between masculine jobs and feminine jobs is becoming blurred. Chad Brooks, author of “Gender Roles? Traditional ‘Gendered’ Jobs are Being Flipped” , claims that “23% of jobs traditionally held by men are now held by female workers” and “27% of female dominated occupations… are held by male workers”. These statistics show that adults going into the workforce are ignoring the gender association of each job. Changing role can take time, but it is heading in the right direction.

SYNTHESIZING RESEARCH ON Gender Targeted Advertising

http://mediagenderbender.blogspot.com

The economic principles I used during my research where “People generally respond to incentives in predictable ways” and “Institutions are the ‘rule of the game’ that influence choices”. The research I did was to answer the question of how companies incentivise men and women differently through advertising.

The first thing I came upon during my research that also popped up in other articles I read where “Men will look at the primary message – ‘Buy this’ or ‘Shop here,’ for example – and respond. Women tend to evaluate the primary message but will then look for other clues: “If I buy this or shop here, I will be trendy,” for example”. This shows how men are stimulated mainly by the idea of a picture while women tend to look into what they are buying and do their research. I also found that while men are stimulated by an image, women are more stimulated by the words involved in an advertisement. I also saw in another article that women tend to connect more with their feelings shown in a study done, “Furthermore, Yarborough suggests that in women, the two spheres of their brain communicate better than those of men. Studies show that women pull in information from both halves. This allows women to give a more sophisticated emotional response.” This all connects back in time to when we weren’t such a built up civilization, “Men had to become the more aggressive hunters and compete with other men. They had to process information quickly, perhaps more quickly than the females. The converse of this is that women as gatherers had to mentally map in fine detail things like bushes, barriers and where they had stored food.” In easier terms, men take a quick glance, while women tend to look into things and not just absorb the bigger picture. Also through my research, a lot of sources that I came across told me the different ways women and men are portrayed with in advertisements. This includes, the credibility of men as authority figures while women tend to use the man. Along with that, it tended to discuss how women play the role of being dependent on another person, while men are independent; men are usually the bread winners and bring home the money and have a big business job, while the women stays home. These are the most prevalent things that I came across within my research. I did however do some more recent research of this day and age, because one could argue that things have changed and I will agree that they slightly have even though all of these things discussed are still very prevalent.

Next, I had found research on a more prevalent topic within the media, which is targeted ads on social media apps. I found studies on how people tended to perceive themselves a different way just because of what ads would pop up on their feed. I connected this to my topic in the sense that if an ad showing a gender bias, a person will believe that for example they’re meant to be a stay at home wife and clean and cook and look after the children. This could lead to people looking down upon themselves and may even cause some harm that was shown within advertisements with in the 70’s or 80’s. This is the new generations way of putting people in certain spots based on which ad pops up on their feed. In another direction, I also did some research on “femvertising” this is a new known way to build women up in advertising instead of the typical way it has been done in the past years where women have been diminished. In a study done online, “Fifty-two percent of the more than 600 women surveyed online nationally said they have bought a product because they liked how the ad for it portrayed women, and 71% of those surveyed said they believe brands should be held responsible for using their ads to promote positive messages to women and girls.” This type of advertisement has built a new community of building women up. This is the modern version of advertising for women and it is the step in the right direction. This movement mainly started with the #LikeAGirl advertisement. These two things connect to the idea of gender stereotype advertising.

SYNTHESIZING RESEARCH ON THE SUPREME RESELL MARKET

http://galfrats.com/2016/02/16/supremes-springsummer-2016-lookbook/

The economic principle I researched was people gain when they trade voluntarily and because of scarcity, people choose. My research question was why do prices skyrocket in the Supreme resell market? I found that prices go up because of scarcity and high demand for a product. 

The first thing I wanted to know when I started to research the Supreme resell market was how it all worked and why people were investing time into a risky market. I came across an article from GQ titled “Can Selling Supreme Make You a Millionaire”, it showed that a company named Wealthsimple is recruiting young customers to buy Supreme for them and then they will show them how to make a profit on items. It all follows a simple formula that the company came up with “Cop.Flip.Invest.” Wealthsimple uses this motto to get young people to buy products and resell them, while they inform the “buyers” on what to buy. Wealthsimple notes that “any product with a box logo is automatically worth more and that selling items fast—while the hype is hot and the folks who missed out are still licking their wounds—is key if you want to lock in the most profit.”

 Next I wanted to know why people are willing to pay two or three times what the item originally sold for. I figured that it had to be because of scarcity, there is such a limited amount of products that people are willing to pay more for them. In an article published in The Harvard Business Review titled “Customers Will Pay More for Less”, I found out that people subconsciously associate values with items. The author, Alexander Chernev states that this is due to “An underlying process that we call categorical reasoning. People naturally tend to classify products as either expensive or inexpensive, and this categorization influences how they judge products.” You can go to Walmart and buy the same material t-shirt, but people want the clout, they want the rarity, they want Supreme. In the article “Law Of Supply and Demand.” from Investopedia I found why Supreme resellers were able to make so much money. The article states that “Generally, low supply and high demand increase price.” Supreme has a very low supply and a very high demand, this is because they have a limited amount of stores and have had praise from mainstream artist promoting the brand to the public.

How a Musician can be Successful

In my research, I’ve explored different aspects of how musicians can be successful, with respect to the economic principles “people gain when they trade voluntarily” and “people generally respond to incentives in predictable ways.” Musicians can be successful if they incentivize people to buy their products and make music that people enjoy. The first part of a musician being successful is that they need to find a way to make money. Since less people buy music, and those who do use a streaming service, which only gives a tiny amount of money back to the musician. According to The Rolling Stone, some ways musicians can make money are by selling concert tickets and merchandise. The incentive is that when people like and support a musician, they want a chance to see them perform live. People also enjoy having tee shirts, posters, and phone cases that represent their favorite musician. The next main thing a musician needs to do to be successful is make music that people listen to. According to the Smithsonian, music is getting simpler. This is because people enjoy listening to simple music. People also enjoy listening to a greater amount of simple music rather than a smaller amount of more complex music. The musicians benefit because more people are buying their music, and they’re buying a larger number of songs. It’s also worth noting that this simple music isn’t worse just because it’s simple. As CDM explains, in a way it’s impressive that there’s so many distinct songs that use the same four chords. People don’t need to buy music, they buy it because they enjoy it. Music wouldn’t be on the charts if people weren’t buying it, and people wouldn’t buy it if they didn’t enjoy it. Since people are buying and enjoying the music, there’s no valid reason to call it bad.

Conclusion of Car Research

BLOG POST #6  

RESEARCH

The economic principal I am studying is “because of scarcity people choose, all choices have an opportunity cost”.

In my research of the economic principal I was studying, I used the focus of cars and the different consumer needs when buying a car. In my research I first looked at why people buy certain cars. I learned that it mainly comes down to the location of the consumer and they money that they have available to purchase the car. Because it depends if they need an all wheel drive car or if they are willing to spend extra money to get a luxurious car or a sports car. I continued to research why consumers choose to buy certain car models. According to study by  J.D. Power, a highly trusted automotive guide, found that the top reasons consumers choose between certain models is the reliability and comfort of the cars. I didn't find this to be much of a surprise, because I would argue that most people would prefer a reliable car over one that would cost a lot to maintain. It also makes sense that consumers would rather have a car that is comforting for the daily driving rather than one that is not.

Further on in my research I looked into the appeals of SUVs, cars, trucks and sedans to the consumer. Edmunds, a leading automotive news outlet, stated that it mainly depends on the individual consumers needs. It depends if they are looking for “spirited drives” which would mean they would want a sport car trim or someone who needs a practical daily driver which falls in the range of cars or sedans. But if they needed towing and versatility than an SUV or truck would fit them best. Finally in my research, I looked at the ways available for consumers to be able to buy a car. In this, I found that the two most popular ways of purchasing a car is to lease it (have a 2-4 year contract with the car) or purchase it upfront and eventually pay it off full price. When you are leasing a car you have to pay monthly payments for the duration you are using the car but will eventually have to turn it in at the end of the lease. People lease cars because it is more cash effective in the short run and allows them to drive more expensive cars for less money. Bur when leasing you are limited only to a certain amount of miles a year and are not allowed to customize it or void the warranty. While buying a car out full price is more expensive in the short run, it is actually much cheaper in the long run than leasing. Owning a car gives you complete freedom with what you can do with the car or how much you can drive it.

In conclusion, consumers have many reasons when it comes down to choosing the right style and car model to buy, the options on it and the way of purchasing it. More importantly my research has taught me that in large expense purchases there is a lot to look over, and before you make the purchase make sure you have the absolute right product that fits your needs and make sure you have researched it and become an expert on it. But finally to make sure that you can financially make the right decision and that it won’t negatively affect you.

Women In Healthcare

The values of the world have changed a lot over time and they’re still changing as time goes on. Cultural values especially have changed whether it was for better or for worse while also changing the economic structure that was built. Of course The Equal Pay Act put in place in 1963 has changed lessened the pay gap between men and women immensely compared to the present, but that would be because it was so wide in the first place that people finally thought it was time for a change and although it changed the economic system for the better, it shouldn’t have stopped narrowing the wage gap. As proved in the article Equal Pay Laws By State, it should be common nature that people are paid equally for the same job or at the very least, in the same career area. Smart states like California, New York and Maryland know that it would help build up the economic system if women and men were paid equally for the same career choice and therefor expand their laws put in place for wages and pay. As also stated in Gender gap in hospital medicine: Do women have the same opportunities?, “At the rate of change between 1960 and 2016, women are expected to reach pay equity with men in 2059. But even that slow progress has stalled in recent years. If change continues at the slower rate seen since 2001, women will not reach pay equity with men until 2119...Bina Desai (MD at Chicago’s Loyola University Health System) says that the field has a great shot at being equitable because “we are young and there are 50-50 males-to-females going into hospital medicine”. This is proof that the people concerned for themselves as well as their colleagues or employees are trying to speak out against those who are not concerned with making the pay equal and unfortunately, if they are not concerned then it won’t happen fast enough before the economy changes again.

 It is very common that women are looked down upon by men because they all think it’s still a man’s world. The women who fight for equality for women and men alike are the voices of those who can’t speak up. Unfortunately women think they need men and therefore, they can’t leave. And that applies to more than just business. In the article Women Doctors Are Paid $20,000 Less Than Male Doctors Dr. Anupam Jena says “...a combination of three factors can largely explain it. First, he says, women tend to negotiate less aggressively than men, and they’re also less likely to solicit outside job offers in order to seek a raise from their current employer. ‘The third explanation, which is the scariest, is that there’s actually discrimination occurring, whether conscious or subconscious’”. And it states that the main reason behind gender discrimination is because human resources departments allow this to persist, not that women negotiate too timidly. I know that women are starting to rise up again in society but it has been a slow process. What’s even worse is that there isn’t much mercy on those who live in poor neighborhoods and who are struggling to feed themselves and possibly even their kids. There was a law put in place back in 1963 to protect women’s rights for fair pay and now we’re once again merely brushing aside the problem that some women have to go through and only 3 out of the 50 states in the country are expanding that law to help women who don't think their voice is worth hearing all because they think or know that no one is willing to listen.

Computer Conclusion

Avant-Garde

The economic principle I researched was that people gain when they trade voluntarily.

When people trade voluntarily the gain out weighs the cost. This principle is no different with computers, well building them at least. When one is building a computer one thing rises above all else, and that is compatibility. 

The reason that compatibility is so important is because you may have all of these wonderfully powerful and expensive parts, but if their not compatible, if the don't work together, the metal inside is worth more. That's saying a lot based on how much these things can cost. In an article from Digital Trends titled "Recent data suggests that GPU supply might be stabilizing and prices falling" discusses how the price of Nvidia's graphics cards have gone up as well as the why the price is so high saying that the cards have gone up, in some cases 100% their original price, being due to the rise in popularity of the cryptocoin. 

Today is May 4th, 2018 and I checked the price of the picture of the graphics card I used in my blog post titled "Picture Perfect" which is a Nvidia Titan V, and the price was £2,700.00 or in terms of the American dollar is $3,648.28! That's a lot of money, but as the title of the article says, prices are falling, or at least stabilizing.

Over the summer, I seriously upgraded the parts in my computer from the budget version to the brand spanking new top of the line model. 

This didn't come cheap, it cost me my entire summers salary of $1,200, and was it worth it? In my eyes of course it was, I use my computer everyday and use the parts that I spent my hard earned money on every single day, in fact I think that I gained more than what I spent in terms of use so far it's been a little over $3 a day for what I got and as more time goes on the price per day of what I bought will continue to fall.

So in conclusion, I think that people gain when they trade voluntarily, because if you really wanted these computer parts you could get them. It would cost you a little more but it would be possible.

US Gun Control and Surrounding Policymaking, a conclusion

“Synthesizing Research on US Gun Control”

Source: The Atlantic

The economic principle I researched was: Institutions are the “rules of the games” that influence choices.

What sparked my interest in the research of gun control were the recent events of the Las Vegas “Pulse” Club shooting and the Parkland School shooting. My synthesis will focus on the structure of US Government and how this shapes and influences policy making around the topic of guns.


Current news and political climate under the Trump administration can tell you that the Republican-dominated Congress has not been taking any real legislative action in terms of gun control, to prevent future acts of terrorism and murder. The “rules” or structure of the institution, Congress, can be partly attributed to this lack of action. The pace of change in Congress is deliberately made to be slow, given the many different opposing perspectives. In 2013 the Senate voted on increased background checks and increased ban of more semiautomatic guns-- but these efforts failed even with a democratic-controlled Congress (1).

Furthermore, divisions in party affiliations help contribute and influence legislative issues and debates over gun control because it shows how the differing behaviours exhibited by gun-lovers and gun-controllers clash. My research has found that in the wake of acts of terrorism, many opinions of America are highly polarized (2). Also, those who advocate gun rights are much more passionate and are around 15% more likely to contact their public officials in favor of gun rights instead of those who are pro-gun control. Although the long term trend is towards saving future victims by implementing harsher gun laws, right now, the conservative forces are too strong for any effective action on gun control to take place.

Next, I looked at the groundwork and background of both the effectiveness of protests and the history of gun control. By political science, Congress members are single-minded seekers of reelection: Congress members influence policy important to constituent interests and are willing to accept resources that enable policy making and encourage reelection from interest groups. Research has shown that bigger political protests helps spur political activity and to signal changes in legislation to Congress members (3). There have been some laws and court cases that have shaped the Second Amendment. Since 1776, the US government allows for the freedom of speech and the freedom to protest. In 1934, the NFA imposed a tax on the manufacturing, selling, and transporting of firearms listed in the law. Furthermore, following the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., Lyndon B. Johnson pushed for the Gun Control Act of 1968. This act, overall, tightened restrictions on gun ownage. In 1986, with the American conservative backlash, the Firearm Owners Protection Act loosened restrictions for gun owners. By loosening the definition of what a gun is and the business of, and loosened restrictions on the sale of guns. And lastly, in 1993, Bill Clinton passed a law that criminal checks were mandatory in purchasing a gun. It established the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) (4).

What persuades us to buy things online?

Dayandadream.com

BLOG POST #5  

The economic principle I’m exploring is “People generally respond to incentives in predictable ways”

My research question to help me study the economic principle is “How do the different routes affect buying behavior?”

The article published in A List Apart Persuasion: Applying the Elaboration Likelihood Model to Design titled” demonstrates this economic principle because it shows that most consumers are less motivated to actually read into an ad and will just look and one particular symbol like a star rating before purchasing. The article gives an example of when someone is buying a TV on Amazon. They will first see the big color picture of the TV and instead of looking at reviews they will just look at the bright yellow star rating and the bold letters of free shipping draw the consumer in to buying the product. So then the consumer is influenced to buy this product based on the peripheral factors. The article then talks about that with Central route that it influences the consumers attitude about the product and the buyer will less likely have counter arguments against buying the product.  The article also talks about it depends on the consumer if whether or not the peripheral or central route will persuade them. Like most people will look at the price first and then if the person has more interest in the product they will pay attention to the message and design. Like how on Amazon they have reviews from customers that a consumer can read. Which can either persuade them to buy it or not. Overall, someone can in the end be influenced by both peripheral and central persuasion, like most people process information using both routes. Like someone will process the information about the description of the product using the central route then use the bright-yellow star rating peripheral route to see if the product if right for them. So n the end someone can be persuaded by both to get the same outcome.

In my next blog post I will research:  What role does the central and peripheral route have in giving people an incentive to purchase things?

 

The Pay Off of the Trade

The economic principle that I researched was how people gain when they trade voluntarily. 

MLBTradeRumors.com

To introduce this idea, consider how many great baseball players that every general manager would love to have on their team, such as Albert Pujols. However, only a portion of the players available to sign with a team of their choosing are truly worth their price and have a good fit with the specific team. The article, published in the Los Angeles Times and titled “INSIDE BASEBALL; ON BASEBALL; These contracts may be killers”, demonstrates the economic principle of scarcity because it shows how MLB teams cannot afford to spend money on every quality player in the free agent market and how the teams cannot take too many players that only fit at one or two positions on the field.

The team wanting to bring in new players to their organization needs to thoroughly evaluate the player’s value before spending a major chunk of money. For example, the Florida Marlins (now called the Miami Marlins) were “linked to rumors involving [Albert] Pujols and [Prince] Fielder… though the Marlins are more likely to settle for [Hanley] Ramirez or [Jose] Reyes.” In this case, the Marlins realized that they were probably going to pay Pujols or Fielder more money than what they were worth mathematically if they elected to sign one of those high-profile players, so they believed that they could receive a better value by signing a player not quite as expensive but still quality. In other words, the Marlins had to settle for less because their financial situation did not permit them to spend high, so this illustrates the idea of how people gain when they trade voluntarily.

(LAST BLOG POST... no future research question)

Conclusion on Economics of Video Games

oneworldedication.com

TITLE: SYNTHESIZING RESEARCH  ON How do video game companies incentivise gamers to buy their games?  (OVERALL TOPIC)

The economic principle I researched was “People generally respond to incentives in predictable ways. ”

Video game companies are always wanting to get more people to play their games. How they do this is by incentivizing customers, gamers, to buy their games. There are a lot of ways they do this and I have explained all of them in the previous blog posts. Some key ideas they use to incentivise the gamers, customers, to buy their games is by, giving the player what they essentially are looking in a game, making key parts of a video game interesting as well as intriguing and keeping a great story as well as gameplay.

Giving the player what they want is one of the key incentives to buy and play their games. Companies use this to keep the players from moving to other games and sticking to one they can keep enjoying. Next, making key parts of a game interesting as well as intriguing is essential to incentivise gamers. Some examples of this are to keep good concept art that fits the games theme, music that follows and makes the player feel the emotions of what is happening in the game and finally levels by keeping the levels in tack and normal they can keep the player feeling like they are actually on the scene. At last, keeping a great story as well as gameplay is a key in incentivising gamers. They both need to be equal if one is greater than the other than players will easily get bored and move to another game. All in all these are just a few of the key ideas used by video game companies in order to incentivise gamers to buy their games.

How to Save Money on Music all While Helping the Music Industry

Source: tiki-toki

BLOG POST #6 (SYNTHESIS POST)

 TITLE: SYNTHESIZING RESEARCH: What changes would help the music industry now that there is almost always a free alternative for getting music?

 The economic principle I researched was that “Institutions are the “rules of the game” that influence choices”

 In order to understand the best way to help the music industry you have to first know how the music industry makes the majority of its profits and the reasons why they are struggling. Singers and bands in today's society are finding that they are making far less money than in the past due to the fact that there are so many ways people can listen to their music for free. Today people can hear their favorite songs for free on the radio, from free streaming services likes Spotify, and from illegally pirating music. The trend of piracy has been on the rise resulting in an estimated 12.5 billion dollars lost annually for the music industry and in the U.S. alone a loss of 71,060 jobs. Musicians now are discouraged from putting too much effort into their songs because they are afraid that all their efforts will be for nothing if people can just illegally pirate their music and they get nothing for it. If the issue of piracy continues then we may see the loss of many great musicians and bands today and we will never get to hear all of the great music that would have been produced had people actually just payed for their music.

 How do we go about solving the issue of piracy? Some music companies today are changing the way we receive our music entirely by providing free streaming services with some adds thrown in so that there is no need to go out and illegally pirate music because there is now a legal way to get it for free. Of these streaming services the most common and well known is Spotify. Spotify allows its users to listen to music that they stream for free while throwing in some occasional adds. If the user wants to be able to select specific songs that they want to hear or to be add free then they have to sign up for a monthly membership with the company where they pay to rent an unlimited amount of songs for a certain period of time before they have to renew their membership again. This means a steady source of income for the music industry because people now have to keep paying time and time again to rent their songs for a certain period of time. But how does Spotify make money off of all those people who don’t apply for a membership and just listen to their music at random for free? Companies pay Spotify to put in their adds because they know that there are thousands of people who will then hear their adds and this will potentially give them more business.

 Now knowing how the music industry makes money and what shifts they are making, what is the best way to get our music as a consumer? In the article “The Cheapest Way to Listen to Music, Uninterrupted” by G.E. Miller, I found that the author had a highly effective way of obtaining their music at the cheapest price while still obtaining it legally and still helping out the music industry. G.E. Millers says that the best way to go about getting music is to utilize the free streaming services that apps like Spotify provide to help find new songs that you enjoy and save them to a playlist. From the playlist you are able to listen to a bunch of songs that you enjoy for free and the only drawbacks are that you will occasionally have to listen to an add or two and that you can’t select specific songs to listen to from the playlist. Spotify is a good tool to find songs you like, but you are better off purchasing any of the songs that you find yourself liking for an extended period of time or that you need to be able to hear whenever you are in the mood. This method for getting music is extremely effective, cheap, and still helps the music industry because you can listen to all the songs you like for free, you end up saving money because you only purchase your favorite songs, and the music industry is still getting money back for all the effort that it took them to provide you with the music that you love.

So How DOES The Environment Affect Our Behavior?

Source:mostlyfalse

I researched the economic principles that people generally respond to incentives in predictable ways and that institutions are the "rules of the game" that influence choices. 

Overall, research shows that a more structured environment encourages us to be more efficient, being in an impoverished area causes us to act more cautiously, gender roles affect how males and females act and how they respond to different types of situations , and finally that being exposed to a certain type of behavior affects how people will behave themselves.

First, I researched how the environment that surrounds a person affects their behavior. I found that a cleaner, more put-together environment motivates a person to be “efficient and hard-working” (Blog Post 2). Yet when a person from a more privileged area enters a less privileged area, they tend to feel “a bit apprehensive and fearful” (Blog Post 2). These emotional responses affect their behaviors in different environments. Therefore proving the economic principle that people generally respond to incentives in predictable ways because when people enter an environment they are not used to or comfortable in, they respond with different behaviors.

Next, I researched how environments affect people positively and negatively. I found that “neural activity, gender, and social interactions shape our behavior” (Blog Post 3). Different environments can affect a person’s behavior positively or negatively based on their personal experiences. Nonetheless, society greatly impacts behavior, especially when comparing males and females. For example, when young boys are told not to do something, they do it. However, when little girls are told not to do something, they do not do it. In addition, the fathers of young boys are often “very, very scared if their little boy is showing any version of effeminate behaviors” (Blog Post 3). This proves that there is no such thing as “bad, criminal, lazy, brilliant people, thieves or racists,” (Blog Post 3) only people who are exposed to this kind of behavior. This demonstrates the economic principle that institutions are the “rules of the game” that influence choices because societal norms are the institutions that cause people to act or react a certain way, such as when a boy cries, reprimanding him.

The Animation Industry, in Conclusion

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SYNTHESIZING RESEARCH  ON THE QUESTION “How do animation production project leaders
develop a story idea (on a limited budget) when planning for a film to appeal best to an audience?”

The economic principle I researched was “Because of scarcity, people choose. All choices have an
opportunity cost.”

Throughout my research, I looked into the hiring process for animation studios, what happens during pre-production
and  production for animated films, and the history of the animation industry and all the ups and downs it has
encountered.

The economic principle played a major role in understanding how hiring happens - studios calculate the opportunity
cost of hiring for technical talent versus for ideas. The production process over the course of decades has proven
that a balance must be struck between the search for talent or ideas - it must be talent AND ideas. An idea can be
turned into an emotionally compelling film only when given to a great team.

During pre-production then, project leaders choose to make the most of the inexpensive planning/story-writing
process before spending time on production that requires hours of expensive labor. So this process is dedicated to
creating a rough prototype of the envisioned film, starting with layering the artists’ voices (as a placeholder for the
voice actors that will voice the characters) on top of the quickly drawn storyboards, scanned in and put together like
a slideshow.

Production is all about the technical skill like painting and designing, and the cutting-edge software like Autodesk
Maya. This plays a role in how animators search for employment. For example, a large, major studio like Pixar would be able to hire many animators that are highly specialized in specific skills like 3D modeling, so an animator who has enough experience to work in major studios would want to specialize in one part of the animation pipeline.

On the other hand, a small, perhaps self-directed studio would hire just a few animators that spread out their skills
across all of the trades that make up the animation process; such an animator would be able to do concept design,
storyboarding, and rigging and modeling altogether.

Finally, the history of animation has proven that life-like characters and scenery, relatable everyday themes, and
accompanying music are key to animated films that appeal to audiences. Artists must stay away from trying to push
realism so far that it looks and feels like any other film, though. And studios do best when they can worry less about
the cost and time put into producing films, which is why computer animation has sped up the momentum and growth
of the animation industry.

Healthcare Across the World

 

Source: Commonwealthfund

 The economic principle I’m exploring is Institutions are the “rules of the game” that influence choices My research question to help me study the economic principle is ¨How does the United States American Healthcare compare to other countries?’’ The article/video/etc published in The Commonwealth Fund titled “U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective” demonstrates this economic principle because it shows based on location(country) the level of healthcare changes for everyone, and the baseline for healthcare changes as well. Some countries allow for companies to have a big say, others, not so much. This data analyzes 13 high-income countries: New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Canada, Denmark, Australia, United Kingdom, and the United States. In 2013 the U.S. spent way more for health care compared to the other countries. The United States had higher spending due to the large use of medical technology and higher health care prices. Compared to other countries having cheaper more frequent doctor visits. Americans tend to have less hospital visits and admissions because of the use of very expensive medical technologies in hospitals, which explains why American health care can be so unbelievably expensive. United States healthcare spending does exceed the spending of most other countries, but the spending has been decreasing and slowing down. The United States is the only country, from the list, that does not have a publicly financed universal health care system, but it does spend more public dollars on it then all the countries but two. The United States spend quite little on social service programs: housing assistance, employment programs, disability benefits, and food security. This has had an effect on the outcome for Americans healthwise. The United states does see worse results on health outcome measures like life expectancy and chronic conditions, compared to the other countries. This is evidence that there is an inefficiency within the United States healthcare system. In most cases, when you pay more for something you get higher quality goods, items, or care, but this isn’t always the case in America. Americans are paying more to have better care and outcomes but the average American isn’t getting that. Americans skip out on doctor visits, hospitalization, medicines, and treatments due to the fact it’s not affordable. The United States spends 17.1% of its gross domestic product(GDP) on healthcare, this was in 2013. This is about 50% more than the list’s next highest spender which was France with an 11.6% GDP, and was double compared to what was spent in the United Kingdom, 8.8% GPD.

   The United States Public spending is overly high even though it covers few residents in the States. Public spending per person in the United States was $4,197, this was more than any country except Norway, $4,981, and Netherland, $4,495. Both Netherlands and Norway have a universal health care system, something the U.S. does not have. In the United States, only about 34% of people were covered by public health programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Unlike the United Kingdom, which has a universal public health system which covers every resident and only spend $2,802. This fact proves the efficiency of the American Health System. The United States is spending about double what the United Kingdom is, yet are health care provided in America falls short. A lot of Americans are not getting the care the need due to the high costs. If people cannot get healthcare they will get sick and cost the American economy more money since they cannot contribute fully to the economy. They will either not have excess money to have purchasing power or they will be too sick to work and be put on benefit programs. I believe there needs to be some sort of reform in the healthcare system since there is an obvious imbalance within it.

 In my next blog post I will research: Reforms in the healthcare system

Gun Conclusion

Gun Conclusion   

Source

          I researched firearms and the economic principle is “people generally respond to incentives in predictable ways”. In order to do that I decided to break my topic up into smaller topics, so I can easily see the factors that come into effect when purchasing a gun.

          My first question is why do people want firearms? Well, there are surprisingly more reasons than people think. Most people claim that their only use is to kill and destroy things. That is true but their are some other uses. The whole reason firearms were invented was to use in war or self defense but now with the increased security and safety of the world we have found other uses. An article called "The Psychology of Guns" by Joe Pierre explains that many people who have fired a gun describes it as fun and entertaining. Also people use them as a sport such as competitive shooting, where people compete to shoot targets being judged on their speed and accuracy. Others like to collect rare firearms and use them as display pieces. Those are the most peaceful reasons unfortunately. Firearms are mainly bought for a mean of self defense, whether it is for home defense or a conceal carry. All states allow people to own a gun in their home in case of a home invasion. In Illinois you can only use a firearms against someone if they have violent intentions and actions. Illinois also has conceal carry, which is where you can walk around with a gun as long as it is concealed. Farmers are also known to buy guns and use them more as tools. They use them if an animal starts to attack their cattle or if their cattle were to need to be put down. 

          When do gun sales rise? "Why Americans Buy Guns After Mass Shooting, according to Psychologists" by Peter Hess depicts when a democratic politician wins a spot in office or starts trying to limit guns sales tend to start to rise. This happens because they see that the politician is going to be making it harder to obtain a gun or a certain type, so people decide to get it now while the process may be easier. Another time gun sales start to spike up is after a mass shooting or another major crime to public safety. People feel less safe after seeing these things in the news or in person so they feel unsafe. In return they buy a gun in order to protect themselves in case they are ever in a dangerous situation. 

          How easy is it to buy a gun? According to "Illinois gun laws" by Pew Pew Tactical in Illinois you have to be at least 18 to get a FOID card by yourself and be an american citizen. To get a FOID card you must apply for it and get accepted. Only way to get a gun is to first have a FOID card. If you have a parent who has a FOID card they can get you one before you are 18. At that time you can only buy rifle, shotguns, and ammo. At 21 you can purchase any type of gun. You must have a good background of mental health and a clean criminal background to buy a gun. According to "Gun Laws in Illinois", the only things banned in Illinois are suppressors, Shotguns with a barrel length under 13 inches, and fully automatic firearms. Otherwise you can proudly show off your second amendments rights. 

          In conclusion, People buy guns for many reasons. Some want them for defense and others entertainment. Gun sales rise when a politician is planning on restricting gun laws or after a mass shooting because people fear for their safety. Any responsible American who is at least 18 can own a firearm as long as it is not fully automatic, suppressed, or a shotgun with a below 13 inch barrel.

The Case Makes the Man

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The economic principle I’m exploring is: People gain when they trade voluntarily.

My research question to help me study the economic principle is: How do consumers of computer parts know that they are getting the best price?

 The article/video/etc published in “PC World” titled “Which PC case should you buy?” demonstrates this economic principle because it demonstrates that consumers gain because the computer case is based off of all the other parts one would buy.

First, computer cases are the last thing purchased when building a PC. That’s because the size and port locations are all determinant on the other parts one has bought. Because when it comes to PC parts, an underlying truth is that “size matters”.

Second, PC cases are a very integral part of the build because they aren’t just a pretty face. The PC cases have fans that help cool down the system or hold supports for a water cooling system, and they aren’t cheap costs ranging from $50 to around $150.

Third, however one decides to take the build path, a PC case is important because it shows your identity. Cases can look futuristic, old style, white, black, have a rainbow of LEDs, just one color of LEDs, or none. No matter how you look at it, this may be the last post besides the synthesis but it’s certainly not the least.

 In my next blog post I will research: Nothing!