The American Diet Essays - Diets, Intentional Living, Vegetarianism

The American Diet The American Diet "You are what you eat", goes a famous saying. And if that is truly the case, then a lot of Americans would appear to be unhealthy, chemically treated, commercially raised slabs of animal flesh. And while that is not a particularly pleasant thought, it is nonetheless an description of the typical American omnivore who survives on the consumption of Big Macs and steak fajitas. But there are individuals who do not follow this American norm and have altered their diets so that they do not consume any meat. These people are vegetarians, and they are the new breed of healthy Americans who refuse to poison themselves with fats, cholesterol, and the other harmful additives that come from meat. And while once thought to be a movement that would never gain much momentum, it has nonetheless moved itself to the forefront of Americans' healthy diets. The word vegetarian, used to describe the diets of people who do not consume animal flesh, was not used until around the mid-1800s. The concept of vegetarianism, however, dates back much further. The Greek philosopher Pythagoras, considered by many to be the father of vegetarianism, encouraged a non-meat diet among his followers as a diet that was the most natural and healthful (Messina 3). A vegetarian diet excludes the consumption of meat, and can be exercised by people for a number of reasons. The largest majority of individuals chose vegetarianism for health related reasons. For example, someone with an ulcer might be prescribed a strict diet of vegetables in order to promote the healing process. Or someone with a dangerously high level of cholesterol might be advised to follow a vegetarian diet to lower his or her fat and cholesterol intake. The immorality of consuming animal flesh is another argument touted by a smaller group of vegetarians. R.G. Frey describes this moral argument for vegetarianism and the effect that meat eating might have on the character of humans: Some people have come to believe and fear that, in the suffering and killing which occurs in commercial farming, we demean ourselves, coarsen our sensitivities, dull our feelings of sympathy with our fellow creatures, and so begin the descent down the slippery slope of torture and death, to a point where it becomes easier for us to contemplate and carry out the torture and killing of human beings. (20) This moral argument for vegetarianism is also noted by John Robbins who states that "the suffering these animals undergo has become so extreme that to partake of food from these creatures is to partake unknowingly of the abject misery that has been their lives"(14). But whatever the reasons behind a person's choice to be a vegetarian, it is important to understand the different diets that individual vegetarians can choose. In the widest sense of the word, a vegetarian diet is a diet that is made up of grains, vegetables and fruit, but does not include any animal flesh, such as fish, pork, poultry, or beef. But beyond these standards, there are many variations of diet that occur within the world of vegetarianism. The first, and most prominent, category of vegetarianism is a lacto-ovo vegetarian. Mark Messina describes a lact-ovo diet as "...a vegetarian diet (that) includes dairy products and eggs but no animal flesh"(7). This means that there is consumption of animal byproducts, such as milk, eggs, or honey, but there is no consumption of animal flesh. Another variation is the lacto-vegetarian diet that allows the consumption of milk and other milk products, but does not include the consumption of eggs. And like all vegetarians, these two groups do not consume fish, poultry, or meat (Messina 7). Another category that vegetarians can fall into are vegans. The vegan diet is by far the most strict of all the vegetarian diets. According to Mark Messina, "Vegans avoid meat, fish, poultry, dairy, and eggs. There are many other foods that may not be acceptable to many vegans, however. Foods that involve animal processing to any degree are often avoided"(11). This means that vegans can consume no foods containing animal byproducts, such as milk, eggs, or honey. Being a vegan often dictates an "animal friendly" lifestyle that, aside from not eating anything that came from an animal, also abstains from buying or using products that were tested on animals or are made from animal hairs or skin, such as leather shoes or belts (Messina 11). A common misconception of vegetarians is that they are all a bunch of skinny, malnourished idealists who live on plants and soy milk. And another, related common misconception is that a diet of meat

Letter to Medevil Son essays

Letter to Medevil Son essays To my child. Charles I would like to tell you what my life has been like in the last couple of years. Being a citizen and family and land within the walls of Aberwyven I have responsibilities. Some of my responsibilities include fighting for my lord. Lately, I have been busy with the war. I am sure by now you must know that because of the fact that I am a citizen of Aberwyven and because I serve King Edward. I will just tell you that being a citizen in these times it is your duty to sever your lord and king. Many men from our town have had to leave their wives and children just to fight along side of me. I am anxious to come home to you. As you know when I come home I will come home to serve my lord and to continue with my work. As a merchant I always have things to do. My job includes stocking my store, and keeping it open so that I can also allow anybody to buy what he or she may need. I am traveling when I have a chance so that I can get new ideas. Furthermore, I am willing to except new ideas so that I am able to get more money and get more food. In these days it is rare that anybody will move from the social class in which they are born into. This is a big part especially in the lives of surfs and slaves. However because of the fact that I own land and my own store it is possible for me to gain more money. This is very unlikely though that this money will be able to be saved. In recent times it is very difficult to be able to have long periods of easy living. Son it is important that you have an idea of other people who you grow up to know. Some other people that you may come into contact later in your life are knights and kings. Though there are still other types of workers like surfs, blacksmiths, and monks. All of these people are crucial in the life of a town. Son there is another sad story that I must tell to you. That is that I have received a letter that in one more years time I will ...

Developmental theories Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Developmental theories - Research Paper Example reated as simply miniature adults for a long time, and it was only in the early 20th century – in other words, fairly recently – that child development in particular was explored by theorists. Among the most popular of these theorists are Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, and Jean Piaget, whose theories will be the focus of this research paper. Their theories shall be discussed in detail – focuses, strengths, weaknesses – and will also be compared and contrasted. Sigmund Freud’s research focuses mainly on sexual desires and libido, dating back to the late 19th-early 20th centuries when he first developed the concept of psychoanalysis. The key point of his tenets is that humans are driven by their instincts and innate sexual urges (libido), which would determine their behavior regardless of repression. Specifically, even if one represses his libido, it will instead manifest in other ways – for instance, one may sate his sexual desires by pushing himself in his work. Humans, he says, are polymorphously perverse, capable of deriving sexual pleasure – or in cruder terms, getting off – from practically anything and everything (Psychosexual Development, 2010). Specifically, children are said to undergo five psychosexual stages, each with its own erogenous zone (henceforth referred to as e-zone) which the id focuses on; any trauma suffered during one of the first three stages – the oral, anal, and phallic stages – may result in fixation of that particular stage’s e-zone (Feist and Feist, 2007), which Freud connects with adult personalities and personality disorders. Locke (2009) cites Edward Cullen, a character from the popular vampire romance series Twilight, as an example of repression and fixation. He is said to have been sired at the age of seventeen – the genital phase of development – and is neither come to terms with his (biological) parents’ death nor been able to fully mature into an adult. Thus, while he is chronologically a hundred

The media are a very powerful source of socialization today Essay

The media are a very powerful source of socialization today - Essay Example While people may have initially been livid with the way the case was handled, and the severity of the spill on human and plant health, the way that the newspaper presents the news about the settlement may change the discernment and actions of people towards BP. The newspaper presents information on the number of claimants who deserve compensation, a factor that BP had not integrated into its compensation plans. Through the major forms of media, television, and newspapers, people are able to get information on recent events such as the BP oil spill and socialize. Without such information, it may be indeed hard for people to fulfil socialization because of insufficient or impassable information. Through the socialization aspect, it is possible to provide an opinionated thought on an event. However, religious and educational institutions remain to be the main source of long-lived socialization aspects, unlike the media that may present sporadic and short-lived presentations that may fluctuate in the future or be prejudiced by external powers guided by egocentric

Impact of Student Socio-Economic Background on Performance

Impact of Student Socio-Economic Background on Performance â€Å"THE IMPACT OF STUDENT’S SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE† A CASE STUDY OF NORTH-EAST STUDENTS IN LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY (PUNJAB) JALESH GURUNG CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ORIENTATION OF THE PROBLEM Education is a basic tool used by society for transmission of its societal values and culture. so, every parents are the most immediate relation of a child for their development and growth. Their financial status and education do have an important influence on the personality of child. For instance educated parents can better understand the educational needs and their children’s aptitude. They can help their children in their early education which affects their proficiency in their relative area of knowledge, confidence, idea, etc. While, Belonging to strong financial background, parents can provide latest technologies and facilities in a best possible way to enhance educational capability of their children as well as they provide good education facilities also. Socioeconomic status is an economic and sociological combined total measure of a persons work experience and of an individuals or family’s economic and social position relative to others, based on income and education, and occupation (Marmot, Michael, 2004) indicates When analyzing a family’s social economic status, the household income, earners’ education and occupation are examined, as well as combined income, versus with an individual, when their own attributes are assessed. Many factors and reasons have been given as being responsible for the continuous falling in the academic standard of our present educational system. These includes; attitudes of teachers to work, lack of seriousness on the part of the students, effect of the dwindled economy and to some extent the increasing degenerating moral system. According to Lareau, Annette ( 2003) observes that Socioeconomic status is typically broken into three categories, high, middle, and low to describe the three areas a family or an individual may fall into when placing a family or individual into one of these categories any or all of the three variables income, education, and occupation can be assessed. Additionally, low income and little education have shown to be strong predictors of a range of physical and mental health problems due to environmental conditions may be the entire cause of that person’s social predicament to begin with. Most economically disadvantaged children have effectively mastered the usual developmental childhood tasks of motor and language skills, and have learned the values of social practices of their homes and neighborhoods (Harry Klingner, 2007); but they may not have learned particular forms of language or the ways in which schools use specific forms of language to the extent that their middle inco me peers have. Therefore, it can be assumed that students’ failure to achieve academically may be explained by other factors also. The amount of money that a family has or the color of a child’s skin should not influence how well that child learns (Rothstein, 2004) Literature review These chapter focus on the relevant and related literature of various researches in an attempt to relate their work to this study. Sub topic related to the literature review are as follows: The concept of social and economic problems Relationship between parents income to the students. The students academic performance as well as social adjustment (i)The concept of social and economic problems While sociology use some broad theoretical sense to explain the concept and meaning of society and its activities. They divide the macro-level society into two broad perspectives, namely functionalism and conflict theory, and then the feminist theory, which combines both micro and micro-levels of analysis, and also the interactions theory, a micro –level analysis which is by far the most influential of the social psychological theories in sociology. (Coleman and Cressey, 1999).The idea make up of the society in such that individual and group of individual is co-exist in the society and make them as a harmony and pace without any threat to the society. Moreover the concept of social and economic problems is that misconstrued by many people. (ii)Relationship between parents income to the students. APA ( 2001) describe the relationship of family socioeconomic status to childrens readiness for school, Across all socioeconomic groups; parents face major challenges when it comes to providing optimal care and education for their children. For families in poverty these challenges can be formidable. Sometimes, when basic necessities are lacking, parents must place top priority on housing, food, clothing, and health care. Educational toys, games, and books may appear to be luxuries, and parents may not have the time, energy, or knowledge to find innovative and less-expensive ways to foster young childrens development. Furthermore,( Ominde, S.H 1964) observes that even in families with above average income parents often lack the time and energy to invest fully in their childrens preparation for school, and they sometimes face a limited array of options for high-quality child care both before their children start school and during the early school years. Kindergarten teachers throughout the country report that children are increasingly arriving at school inadequately prepared. Families with low socioeconomic status often lack the financial, social, and educational supports that characterize families with high socioeconomic status. Poor families also may have inadequate or limited access to community resources that promote and support childrens development and school readiness. Parents may have inadequate skills for such activities as reading to and with their children, and they may lack information about childhood immunizations and nutrition. Lareau, Annette (2004) state that low maternal education and minority-language status are most consistently associated with fewer signs of emerging literacy and a greater number of difficulties in preschoolers. Having inadequate resources and limited access to available resources can negatively affect families decisions regarding their young childrens development and learning. As a result, children from families with low socioeconomic status are at greater risk of entering kindergarten unprepared than their peers from families with median or high socioeconomic status. Amutabi, M.A (2003) says that the impact of socioeconomic status on children’s readiness for school: while the segregating nature of social class, ethnicity, tradition may well reduce the variety of enriching experience through to be prerequisite for creating readiness to learn among children activates. Similarly, cast ethnic value, housing, neighborhood and access to resource that directly or indirectly affect enrichment or deprivation as well as the acquisition of specific value system (iii)The student’s academic performance as well as social adjustment Academic performance of students in the classroom is very important as this is capable of determining whether the student is doing well or not. Parents, Teachers, School Administrators attach so much importance to students’ academic performance that if the students are not performing well academically, then they see all other efforts of the students in the school programme as a total waste. These people pretend as if there are no other activities for the student in the school environment aside the academics, hence academic performance defines the totality of the child in his school life. Contrary to the opinion of this group, it is important that there are many factors that determine the level of a student’s academic achievement, chief among these factors is social adjustment. Moreover, academic performance has been seen as a term used for students based on how well they are doing in their studies and classes. This definition tends to see academic performance as the culmination of all the activities of the student in the school. Academic performance for the student is also seen as the extent to which a student has achieved his educational goals (Wikipedia, 2012-2014). 1.3 Statement of the problems According to study published in 2001 issue of Psychological Science found that children of parents with a high socioeconomic status tended to express more disengagement behaviors than their less fortunate peers. In this context, disengagement behaviors represent actions such as fidgeting with other objects and drawing pictures while being addressed. Other participants born into less favored circumstances tended to make more eye contact, nods as signs of happiness when put into an interactive social environment. The more fortuitous peers felt less inclined to gain rapport with their group because they saw no need for their assistance in the future. However, Socio-economic status can be measured in a number of different ways. The prime things that commonly it is measured by father’s education, occupation and income. All familys socioeconomic status is based on family income, parental education level, parental occupation, and social status in the community such as contacts within the community, group associations, and the communitys academic performance of the family, while families with high socioeconomic status often have more success in preparing their young children for school because they typically have access to a wide range of resources to promote and support young childrens development in day to day life. They are able to provide their young children with high- quality child care, books, and toys to encourage children in various learning activities at home but lack in poor ones. And , they have easy access to information regarding their childrens health, as well as social, emotional, and cognitive development. In addition, families with high socioeconomic status often seek out information to help them better prepare their young children for school and college. The study aimed at finding o ut the contribution of socio-economic status of the family on the academic performance of the student in private Universities in Punjab, A case study of North-East students in lovely professional university. 1.4 Objective To study the relationship between socio- economic status of families and its impact on the academic performance of the students in university. To study the impact of the level of parents’ education on the academic performance of the students in university level. To study the impact of occupations of parents on academic performance of the students in the in university. Similarly, to know about the negative impact as well as positive impact on the students performance. To study the impact of family income on academic performance of the students in the various courses in university. To study the impact of expenditure on children’s education on their academic performance in the university. To know about the student’s academic performance (TGPA/CGPA) according to their families socio-economic background. CHAPTER-II METHODS AND PROCEDURE 2.1 STUDY AREA 2.2METHODS While, according to the availability of data the method adopted for this study was descriptive and statistical in nature. The sample consists of 95 students selected from different courses in the university. Therefore, Out of 95 students 36 were males and 59 were females in age range of 20 to 30 from different schools. To have a comparative study of the boys and the girls ,the sample was drawn from both the boys and the girl’s institutions. Stratified random sampling technique was applied for selection of the students for the sample. Similarly, For a detailed technical discussion of all that will be presented in this section, see Dachs et al (2006) Figure 1 –Heretical web of determinants of academic performance of students at university (Dechs et al. 2006) 2.3 QUESTIONNAIRE A self designed questionnaire was used for collection the data. First of all, The questionnaires were designed keeping in mind the objectives of the study and the clarity required at the field level for filling the questionnaire. In this study both types of questionnaire are used i.e. closed-ended as well open ended or combination of both. 2.4 DATA COLLECTION The primary data was collected through the help of questionnaires. While its carry both types such as closed ended as well as open ended questions and they are self administered. All around 95 of questionnaires ware distributed in different block of the University. Secondary data were collected by the appropriated data sources including news paper, books, journals, and activities both published and un-published data sources. Therefore, the data were collected by the method of snow ball survey as well as self distributed. Generally I followed this methods because it was save my time and costs. Additional documents were collected by the university faculty and from friends as well. 2.5 PROCESSING OF DATA The Entire data from the field observation was processed and tabulated in the computer unit. However these processes include the writing, interpretation, analysis of data etc. The programmed for the data feeding, coding of data, scrutinizing of data, preparing of table for the report as well as preparing of statistical volume and analytical tools likewise bar diagram, percentages, pie chat etc.

Street Scalpers :: essays papers

Street Scalpers Ticket scalping has shown much benefits to both consumers and sellers, and where demand meets supply. For the ultimate consumers, scalpers offer an alternative to purchasing the much sought after tickets without waiting in line. However, at a higher monetary value! Demand for these "easy" tickets has been great that keeps ticket scalping going on for years. There are different value people put in the things they do over the others. What is the value an individual put to wait in line or to pay a higher price differs these people into two groups. From the economic perspective, people who waits in line expects their marginal benefits from the ticket to match or exceed their marginal cost. While others choose to purchase from street scalpers has place their time as their marginal benefits over the marginal cost of higher price. Ticket scalping will thrive as long as there is demand for the service and people are willing to pay a higher price. As the two group of people identify their marginal benefits opposite of one another, the price for the same event changes as well. The time-cost to wait in line seems higher to the buyers from the scalpers and therefor, it is fair that they pay a higher price for the ticket without having to spent unproductive hours. To enforce restrictions on reselling tickets, the price of the tickets will become less affordable as there will be less audience to make the event more successful and profitable. It will also cost the scalpers to charge their customers an even higher price. The best solution to stop ticket scalping is to have enough tickets for everyone who wants it.

Market Analysis

Market Analysis Bubble tea is specialist drink increasingly being offered in cafes, coffees shops and bars. It originates from Asia and is made up  of hot or cold tea, milk,  sugar and giant black  tapioca balls. Ice is then added and the drink shaken to create the bubble effect. Bubbletea is often referred to as pearl shake, tapioca ball drink; boba ice tea and bubble drink  among other things. Owing to their influences, bubble tea  cafes are often Asian-themed in decor and may alsosell Asian snacks and food.They are often situated in fashionable areas of cities,  populated by urban professionals with high disposable incomes and an interest inalternative eating and drinking venues. Bubble tea is a tea beverage that originated in Taiwan in the 1980s. The term â€Å"bubble†refers to the tapioca balls in the drink. These chewy tapioca balls, or â€Å"pearls,†Ã‚  areconsumed along with the beverage through a wide straw. Bubble tea is especially popular  in ma ny East Asian and Southeast Asian regions such as Taiwan, Brunei, China(including Hong Kong and Macau), Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea,Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and  Australia.Bubble tea is a mixture of iced or hot sweetened tea, milk, and often other flavorings. Thedistinctive characteristics of bubble tea are the black gummy balls made of tapioca (or,more commonly in East Asia, yam starch), called â€Å"pearls† or â€Å"boba† or balls that sit at the  bottom of the cup. The pearls are larger than those found in tapioca pudding, with adiameter of at least 6 millimeters, but smaller ones are occasionally used. They aregenerally translucent brown with a darker brown center, although pearls of other colors or  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœjelly cubes' have also recently become available.The original bubble tea consisted of a hot Taiwanese black tea, tapioca pearls, condensedmilk, and honey. As this drink became more popular, variations were created. Initiallyiced v ersions with a hint of peach or plum flavoring began to appear, and then more fruitflavors were added until, in some  variations, the tea was removed entirely in favor of  realfruits. Today you can find shops entirely devoted  to bubble tea, similar to bubble teacafes of the early 1990s. They usually contain colored pearls that are chosen  to matchwhatever fruit juice is used, in addition to  brightly colored oversize straws for sucking upthe pearls.Bubble tea is generally split into two types: fruit-flavored teas, and milk teas. Milk teasmay use dairy or non-dairy creamers. The mixtures that make up  bubble tea vary. Several examples of flavors are strawberry,  passion fruit, mango, chocolate, and coconut, and may be added in the form of powder,fruit juice, pulp, or syrup to hot black or green tea, which is shaken in a cocktail shaker or  mixed in a blender  with ice until chilled. The mixture is usually combined with milk  andcooked tapioca pearls.Bubble tea ba rs often serve bubble tea using a machine to seal the top of the cup with  plastic cellophane. This allows the tea to be shaken in the serving cup. The cellophane isthen pierced with a straw. Other  cafes use plastic dome-shaped lids. Even fruit slushiesand smoothies can have boba added to the drinks. These tapioca pearls are made mostly of tapioca starch, which comes from the tapioca, or  Ã‚  bitter-cassava plant. In other parts of the world, the  bitter-cassava plant may be calledmanioca or yuca. Cassava is native to South America, and was introduced to Asia in the1800s.The balls are prepared  by boiling for 25 minutes, until they are cooked thoroughly  but have not lost pliancy, and then cooled for 25 minutes. After cooking they last about 7hours. The pearls have  little taste, and are usually soaked in sugar or honey solutions. There are two shops that claim to be the first creator of Bubble Tea. One is Liu Han Chiewho worked in Chun Shui Tang teahouse Taichung Cit y, Taiwan in the early 1980s, andexperimented with cold milk tea by  adding fruit, syrup, candied yams, and tapioca  balls. Although the drink was not popular at first, a Japanese television show generated  interestamong businessmen.The drink became well-known in most parts of East and SoutheastAsia during the 1990s. An alternative origin is the Hanlin Teahouse  in Tainan City, Taiwan, owned by Tu  TsongHe Hanlin Bubble tea is made by adding traditional white fenyuan which have anappearance of pearls, supposedly resulting in the  so-called â€Å"pearl tea. † Shortly after,Hanlin changed the white fenyuan to the black, as it is today. In the late 1990s, bubble tea began to gain popularity in the major North American citieswith large Asian populations, especially those on the  West Coast and East Coast and inTexas.The trend in the  United States started by Lollicup in the city of San  Gabriel,California and quickly spread throughout Southern California. The be verage has receivedmuch attention from mainstream American media, including  covers on National PublicRadio show Morning Edition and  the Los Angeles Times. Bubble tea  has spreadinternationally through Chinatowns and other overseas Asian communities. In the U. S. , major chains such as Boba Bee in Chicago are expanding into suburbanareas, particularly those with large Asian populations. Bubble tea  can also be found inmajor European cities such as London  and Paris.Bubble tea is also gaining  in popularityin Canada, particularly in and around  the cities of Vancouver, British Columbia; Toronto,Ontario; and Montreal, Quebec where there are large Asian-Canadian communities. It isalso gaining popularity in Australia, especially in Sydney, Brisbane and  Melbournewhere there are also high concentrations of Asian immigrants and descendants. Capital Bubble Tea Cafe's focus is on meeting the demand of a regular local residentcustomer base, as well as a  significant level of tourist traffic from nearby highwaysMarket Segmentation Customers are likely to be: * Young professionals may consider bubble tea a  novelty and luxury alternative tothe commuter, lunchtime or after-work coffee. * Although it contains sugar, bubble tea  is a much healthier alternative tocarbonated fizzy drinks and may therefore appeal to health conscious consumers. * It is popular for people to hold meetings such as craft circles and book groups inlocal cafes and coffee shops and a bubble tea cafe could appeal as an unusualalternative. Due to its fairly new status, bubble tea has a certain novelty value that mightappeal to people looking  to try different tastes and flavors. * Office workers looking for a quick snack and drink or a relaxing meeting place. Travelers will be attracted to bubble tea  cafes situated at transport locations suchas railway stations or airports; these can provide a useful way of relaxing beforeor during journeys. Increasingly bubble tea cafes or outlets are being located attransport terminals servicing clients throughout journeys, even short distance commutes.Capital Bubble Tea Cafe  will focus on two different market segments: Commuters andCaptive Consumers. Commuters are defined as any one  or more individuals in a motorized vehicle  travelingfrom point â€Å"A† to point â€Å"B. †Ã‚  Capital Bubble Tea Cafe greatest concentration  will be oncommuters heading to or from work, or those out on their lunch break. Captive Consumers would include those who are tethered to a campus environment, or ina restricted entry environment that does not allow free movement to and from.Examples would include high school and college campuses, where  there is limited time  between classes, and corporate campuses  where the same time constraints are involved,  but regarding meetings and project deadlines, and special events; such as  carnivals, fairsor festivals–where there is an admission price to ente r the  gate, but exiting would meananother admission fee, or where refreshments are an  integral part of the festivities. Capital Bubble Tea Cafe focuses on the middle and upper-income markets. These marketsegments consume the majority of bubble tea. Local ResidentsCapital Bubble Tea Cafe  wants to establish a large regular customer base. This willestablish a healthy, consistent revenue base to  ensure stability of the business. Tourists Tourist traffic comprises approximately 35% of the revenues. High visibility andcompetitive products and service are critical to  capture this segment of the market. Target Market Segment Strategy The dominant target market for Capital Bubble Tea Cafe is a regular  stream of localresidents. Personal and expedient customer service at  a competitive price is key tomaintaining the local market share of this target market.Market Needs Because Capital City has a warm  climate for eight months out of the year, bubble  tea  products are very much in demand. During the remaining four months of the year,  warmdrinks are in significantly higher demand, along with a slower but consistent demand for  Ã‚  bakery products. Much of the  day's activity occurs at lunchtime, with a relatively steadyflow for the remainder of the day. Service Business Analysis The retail bubble tea industry in the  U. S. has recently experienced rapid growth. Theclimate in Capital City stimulates consumption of cold beverages throughout the year.Bubble tea drinkers in the U. S. are finicky about the quality of beverages  offered at thenumerous cafes across the region. Despite low competition in the immediate area, Capital Bubble Tea Cafe will positionitself as a place where customers can  enjoy a cup of delicious bubble  tea with a fresh  pastry in a relaxing environment. Competition and Buying Patterns Competition in the local area is somewhat  sparse and does not provide nearly the  level of  Ã‚  product quality and cus tomer service as Capital Bubble Tea Cafe. Local customers arelooking for a high quality product in a relaxing atmosphere.They desire a  unique, classyexperience. In addition to sales through company operated retail stores, leading competitors selldrinks through other channels of distribution (specialty operations). Larger chains varytheir product mix depending upon the size of each store and its location. Larger stores carry a broad selection of drinks in  various sizes and types of packaging, aswell as accessories such as storage containers, travel tumblers and  mugs. Smaller storesand kiosks typically sell a limited line of drinks and,  maybe, a few accessories such astravel tumblers and logo mugs.Technologically savvy competitors make fresh bubble tea and bubble tea-related productsconveniently available via mail order and  online. Additionally, a few larger competitorshave made mail order catalogs offering bubble tea, certain food items, and select bubbletea-making equ ipment and accessories, available. Websites offering online stores that allow customers to browse for and purchase  bubbletea, gifts, and other items via the Internet have become more commonplace as well Strategy and Implementation Bubble tea cafes shops are heavily reliant on impulse buying and passing trade.Thereforethey will benefit from a strong image that is attractive to  clearly identifiable types of  customer. They are at the forefront of ‘lifestyle’ branding and as such  reflect the changes in theUS’s demographic make-up. Issues to consider when developing a bubble tea cafes client base include: * Visibility – location will be vital. However, high street sites may be difficult toobtain due to high rent  and intense competition, particularly from major chains. * Ease of access – other locations to consider includes those close to transport, e. g. near railway and bus stations. Shop design – bubble tea cafes usually cater for both the leisure and takeawaymarket by having separate areas, e. g. a lounge area and a walk-in area. Manychains have been modeled on specific themes such as Asian style. However, anindependent bubble tea cafe  may need to differentiate itself from the large chains. Advertising in a variety of local publications will increase knowledge  of your  Ã‚  bubble tea cafe and  a favorable review in the local  media will increase interest. Consideration should be given to additional activities that may attract custom.For  example displaying art works of local artists or students may bring in customers. Live music could increase interest or hosting ‘reading  group’ meetings (anincreasingly popular leisure activity) could bring in additional and regular custom. * Promotional offers – most bubble tea cafes attract younger customers, therefore  promoting the business to older age groups may be worthwhile or offering dealssuch as ‘bubble tea and†¦ ’ deals. * Good quality food and drink will be  an essential element as the market is highly competitive. If other drinks are served this could be  promoted along with any other unusual elements of the business. * Word of mouth recommendation will also be  important therefore it is important that you offer good customer service and  staff are aware of this requirement. Capital Bubble Tea Cafe  will succeed by offering consumer’s high quality bubble tea, as well as bakery products with personal service at  a competitive price. Competitive Edge Capital Bubble Tea Cafe's competitive edge  is the relatively low level of competition in the local area in this particular niche.Capital Bubble Tea Cafe  will involve the customers in community support efforts byexplaining that a portion of their purchase price will be donated to a charity of their  choosing. In so doing, Capital Bubble Tea Cafe has: * Provided a customer with a quality product  at a competiti ve price. * Provided the customer with a more convenient method for obtaining their desired  product. * Demonstrated how Capital Bubble Tea Cafe  appreciates their loyalty and  patronage by donating money to their personal cause. Marketing Strategy CapitalBubble Tea Cafe  will be implementing a low cost advertising/promotioncampaign which could involve drive-time radio, but not much more. Capital Bubble Tea Cafe  will rely on building relationships with schools, charities and corporations to provide significant free publicity because of its community support  program. By giving charitable contributions to these institutions, they will get the word out to their students/faculty/employees/partners about Capital Bubble Tea Cafe. Word of mouth has always proven  to be the greatest advertising program a company can instill.In addition, the media will be more than willing to promote the charitable aspectsof Capital Bubble Tea Cafe  and provide the opportunity for more expo sure  every timeCapital Bubble Tea Cafe writes a check to another organization. Pricing StrategyCapital Bubble Tea Cafe  pricing will be comparable to the competition, but with thevalue-added feature of immediate convenience. Promotion StrategyThe long-range goal is to  gain enough visibility to leverage the product  line into other  regions and generate inquiries from potential inventors.To  do that, Capital Bubble TeaCafe needs: * Public relations services at $1,000 per month  for the next year intended togenerate awareness of editors and product  information insertions, reviews, etc. Itis anticipated that the school fundraising program will generate a fair amount of  Ã‚  publicity on its own and will, perhaps, minimize–or even  eliminate–the need for  a publicist. * Advertising at $1,000 per month concentrating on drive time radio. CapitalBubble Tea Cafe will experiment with different stations, keeping  careful track of  results.As with the school fundraising program, Capital Bubble Tea  Cafe expects the facilities and signage to be a  substantial portion of our advertising. However,in the start-up phase, Capital Bubble Tea Cafe needs to let people know where tolook for the facilities. Marketing ProgramsDistinctive Logo:Capital Bubble Tea Cafe  wants to touch every customer every day. That  is why the use of  the term â€Å"Come Again† with a  smiling logo lends itself to being the corporate identifier. Distinctive Buildings:Capital Bubble Tea Cafe  has worked closely with the manufacturer to make  the buildingdistinctive, so that it is easy to recognize, and  functional.Advertising and Promotion:In the first year, Capital Bubble Tea Cafe plans to spend $20,000 on advertising and  promotion, with the program beginning in **. This would not be considered a seriousadvertising budget for any business, but Capital Bubble Tea Cafe feels the exposure willcome from publicity and promotion, so most of  the funds will be spent on a  good  publicist who will get the word out  about the charitable contribution program and  how itworks in conjunction with the website.Capital Bubble Tea Cafe  also believes that word-of-mouth advertising and free beveragecoupons will be better ways to drive  people to the first and second  locations. In the second year, Capital Bubble Tea Cafe is increasing the budget to $40,000, since itwill need to promote several locations, with particular emphasis on announcing theseopenings and all the other locations. Capital Bubble Tea Cafe will continue to use  publicity as a key component of the marketing program.In the third year, Capital Bubble Tea Cafe will increase its advertising and promotion  budget to $80,000,  with the majority of the advertising budget being  spent on drive timeradio. Sales StrategyThere will be several sales strategies put into place,  including posting specials on high-  profit items at the window. Th e staff will also hand  out free drink coupons to those whohave purchased a certain number of cups or something similar.Capital Bubble Tea Cafe  will also develop window sales techniques such as  the staff  asking if the customer would like a  fresh-baked item with their bubble tea. Sales Programs * Corporate Tasting Events – Capital Bubble Tea  Cafe plans to host tasting eventsfor customers on a quarterly basis. Each quarter, at the  introduction of eachseason, Capital Bubble Tea Cafe will be adjusting its menu to reflect the changesin the flavors served. * Drink Coupons – At fundraising events for schools and  corporate events, we will  be giving away drink coupons as door prizes or awards.This encourages the  person to come in for their free beverage and bring a friend or buy a baked item or  a package of our bubble teas. * Chamber of Commerce and Professional Memberships – Because  of the need tosell our services, Capital Bubble Tea C afe  will be an active participant in the Regional Chamber, local Chambers of Commerce,  Foodservice Associations, and Specialty Beverage Associations. The exposure and education that these organizations provide is outstanding, but equally important are the  contacts and opportunities made available