Essay is in 2 stages : STAGE 1 : Completed and attached below ( page 5) for your reference to proceed with stage 2 STAGE 2: Individual work (25%): a) Stage 2 have three question/topics to discuss Question 1 – 2.5 marks Question 2 - 10 marks Question 3 – 10 marks b) Please adjust number of words as per the marks – word ratio. Consumer Research and Ethical Implications Group members work individually. Each member researches a different consumer behaviour influence and ethical points with the purpose of integrating the individual research to provide a comprehensive understanding of the identified issue. Details regarding submission requirements are on following page. Instructions: Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Business Research, European Journal of Marketing, etc... Essay should be formatted in 12 times new roman font, 1.5 line spacing, regular margins, headings in capitals and bold, sub-headings in upper and lower case and bold italics. 2000 words!!!! Excluding reference Notes: •Failing to meet the 5 quality journal article minimum will lead to a 10% deduction of marks. Keep in mind: The academic journal articles may address the actual topic, a related topic or relevant ethical theories. Make sure to use quality journal articles accessed from top ranking journals such as: Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Business Research, European Journal of Marketing, etc.. 2.1 Briefly assess the unsustainable consumption issue identified in Stage 1 oWhat are the main consumer behaviour influences involved? Why investigate this specific one? How can understanding this influence help businesses address the problem? ( 2.5 marks ) Notes from Lecturer Addressing 2.1 (above) can be thought of as the introduction to your individual assignment. • Basically you are succinctly summarising the group work done in Stage 1, identifying the main CB influences related to the topic (one of which you are focusing on and the others your group members are focusing on), justifying why the CB influence you are doing is important. (NOTE this section is worth 2.5 marks) 2.2 Provide a detailed theoretical critique of one Consumer Behaviour influence (attitude and attitude change only) oWhat theories are used to explain the issue? How does theory assist in understanding and solving the problem? Section 2.2 is when you go in-depth regarding the chosen CB influence (10 marks) Notes from lecturer: I want this essay to reflect only attitude and attitude change consumer behaviour . Below theories can assist completing the essay. 1 relevant theory to be discussed in detail and 2 remaining theories to be discussed briefly. Three theories I am going to use: 1. Tripartite model of attitude Cognitive-learn Feelings-feel Behaviour-do 2. Attitude towards object 3. Theory of planned behaviour 4. MODE theory Plus supporting theories can be use to understand person’s feelings , beliefs and behaviour are self-perception theory, attribution theory, balance theory, cognitive dissonance, reactance theory... 2.3 Discuss and compare two relevant traditions of ethical thinking oWhat consumer insights are gained from applying these different ethical perspectives? How can these views support better decision making to improve sustainable consumption? Section 2.3 is when you discuss ethics (10 marks) Notes from lecturer: Three main ethical approaches that are Utilitarianism - Deontology- virtue ethics Please free to give me a call on 0433521244 – Agnes Thanks This page is intentionally left blank Stage 1 Our topic is violence due to the over consumption of illegal drugs in 12-25 year olds. We chose this age group due to the fact that it seems that in America, it is young people who are committing act of violence while under the influence of illegal drugs. There are three types of violence in relation to drug use; · pharmacological violence: The changed mindset of the individual under the influence results in violent outbursts and other antisocial behaviour · Predatory, instrumental violence: (goal-oriented, aggressive, emotionless). This drug-fueled behaviour is associated with the crimes committed by drug users to finance their drug consumption, such as robbery. · Organized violence: This arises out of the competition of various criminal organizations involved in drug manufacture, importation, or distribution and their use of violent methods to conduct and regulate their drug business. (Mieczkowski, T., 2008. Crime and Drug Control Policies in the United States and Japan.) Why is this problem? Mostly countries like American are affected by consumption of the large amount of psychoactive substances that causes a serious social problem. This includes ‘the opiates, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamines, and others like the ‘designer drugs’ MDMA and MDA’ ( Mieczkowski, 2008). Mieczkowski (2008) stated that the consumption of drugs is problematic as it leads to dysfunctional changes in the person’s personality and behaviour. Illegal drugs -- such as heroin, marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine -- inflict serious damage upon America and its citizens every year. Accidents, crime, domestic violence, illness, lost opportunity, and reduced productivity. This point of loss of productivity will be covered later. Violence in the United States some reports of DTO or cartel violence occasionally emerge, including some incidents in 2009. More typical, however, is indirect violence within DTOs or cartels. Indirect violence takes many forms: drug customers who owe money are kidnapped until payment is made and cartel employees who fail to deliver the contraband or the expected proceeds are disciplined through beatings, kidnappings, torture, or death. The Cost of Gang Activity Gang suppression, prevention, and corrections programs cost the nation more than $5.5 billion each year. The toll exacted by gang activity in lives lost and damage to the social fabric of communities is certainly higher. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) spends more than $1 billion a year to suppress gang-related criminal activity and at least $275 million a year on gang prevention programs and an estimated $4.2 billion a year is spent on new and repeat incarcerations of gang members in federal and state correctional facilities According to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, gang members were responsible for approximately 4,323 homicides between 2005 and 2009. Cocaine- example of symptoms leading to violence Some evidence suggests that cocaine use and violent behavior may be associated. one of the most widely reported pharmacological effects of cocaine in users is feelings of paranoia and increased aggression and restlessness. At least one group of researchers suggest that cocaine-associated violence may in part be a defensive reaction to irrational fear. The route of administration may aso influence the likelihood of violent behavior in users, with methods delivering the most intense and immediate effects being most closely associated with some forms of violent behavior Who is affected (young male and female in poverty areas) In 2014, 22% of 18 to 25 year-olds and 16.5% of 16-17 year olds have reported using an illicit drug in the past month. Studies have also found that the highest violent incidences occurred mostly in middle school with 2 incidents in 1000 students in 2009. Additionally, 25% of the public schools reported to have at least case of possession, distribution and the use of illegal drugs, which is higher than alcohol and prescription drugs. This has also caused high gang-related violence in city schools . Individuals that are on welfare or unemployed seem to have affected the most by drugs and violence. Around 20 percent of people on welfare in America reported using illegal drugs during the year. A 2007 survey says 23% of unemployed individuals had used cocaine at least once, as compared to 19% of those employed full-time and almost 15% of part-time employees had tried it. People are most susceptible to the allure of illicit drugs during their adolescent years. Children of drug users can also be injured by user’s drug consumption and production. For example studied as shown that children have been subject to health issues that were living in homes where methamphetamine was consumed in 11 homes in 2009. What is the cost to the community of this problem continuing? Most drug abuse and drug trafficking has been associated with a culture of violence normalization. Violence, such as interfamilial violence, is a part of a drug user’s life, either as perpetrators or victim. The impact of drug use can produce violent crimes that feed on economic and civil insecurity in vulnerable communities. For example, rivalries and crime between local drug dealers and drug users can develop into violent confrontations in and around community neighbourhoods. As a result, these areas are very dangerous for the general public to live in but it has become their everyday life. Added to that is the fact that communities may become dependent on illegal drug markets that support whole economies. With this source of income, the whole community would not exist. As such, the entire community is unable and unwilling to challenge the status quo, as doing so might jeopardize personal incomes and their future Living in such environments young males are exposed to drugs and violence at a very young age. This can normalise their violent behaviour and promotes it as a way of life. Studies have shown that young adults aged 11-17 as re at high risks of engaging in serious violence if: · if they engage in drug abuse · if they live in disordered neighbourhoods with drugs Under such circumstances, female drug abusers can suffer from violent attacks. Some studies have indicated that women who use illegal drugs are more likely to be victimized in their lifetime than women with alcohol abuse problems. Female drug abusers are particularly vulnerable to sexual assault while under the influence of drugs and while living in situations that expose them to increased levels of drug use ( What has been done and what is its impact? War on drugs To stop persistent drug abusers and distributors, America’s illicit drug control policy has relied heavily on criminal agencies to control drug use and distribution. These aggressive efforts began in 1971 with president Nixon declaring a ‘war on drugs’ . This strategy focused on local police as well as national military forces to arrest drug distributors and to prosecute drug users. The goal of this campaign was about stemming the use of marijuana as this was seen as a major problem drug however in 1972, the commission unanimously recommended decriminalizing the possession and distribution of marijuana for personal use. Nixon ignored the report and rejected its recommendations. This view of decriminalizing was changed in the social eye a few years later however as parents became more concerned about high rates of teen marijuana use. Just say no-DARE program Through the 1980s, concern was built about illicit drug use largely due to the media’s portrayal of users addicted to the substances. In 1981 the wife of President Ronald Reagan began a widely publicised anti-drug campaign with the slogan “just say no” which held a zero tolerance policy and as a part of this, police chief Daryl Gates founded the DARE drug education program where police officers would come to school and teach children in the sixth grade and extending through to the last year of highschool peer resistance and refusal skills so that young people could learn to say no when offered drugs by their friends. The secondary goals of the program were to build students’ social skills and enhance their self-esteem, as these are believed to be linked to adolescent drug use. This program was seen to have a significantly positive effect on students self-esteem however it had no effect on reducing drug use, with some research finding that students were actually more likely to do drugs if they went through program. Escalating the drug war- G.W BUSH When George W. Bush became president, the war on drugs seemed to be dying down but Bush pushed the policy, putting more money into the campaign then ever. Through Bush a major campaign to promote student testing was launched however while rates of illicit drug use remained constant, overdose fatalities rose rapidly. In the era of Bush, drug law enforcement was increased significantly and by the end there were about 40,000 paramilitary-style SWAP raids on americans every year. National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign In 1997, The office of National Drug Control Policy (ONCP) created a large-scale media campaign to educate and enable young people in America to reject illegal drugs. Between 1998 and 2004, the US government nearly spent $1 billion on the campaign. This had 3 goals: educating America’s youths to reject illegal drugs; preventing youths from initiating use of drugs; and convincing drug users to stop.. This was a social marketing effort that aimed anti-drug messages to children aged 9-18. Messages were distributed through tv, radio, web sites, magazines, movie theatres and others. However according to a study conducted by Hornik, Jacobsohn, Orwin, Piesse & Kalton, most analyses showed no effect from the campaign however more a exposure predicted less intention to avoid marijuana. Analyses showed that no significant associations of exposure with the desired cognitive outcomes in individuals that were exposed to. Conversely, there is evidence that exposure to the campaign was actually related to pro-drug cognitions later on. There is a poll on debate.org that shows that 69% of people vote in favour to legalizing drugs. This shows a sample of the views of society on drug use in the present as being swayed the other way compared to in the past indicating that society is more open and accepting about drug use, although it could be argued that this sample doesn’t represent all of society and the view they have on drugs. Why are both mindset and behaviour critical? The reason why young people abuse drugs has been a topic which has interested many researchers and one common finding has been that teeenagers overconsume drugs due to their environment along with their inherited personality traits. Drugs and the high which follows provides an “escape” from the reality of users and this is especially sought after in youth who are having family problems, bad relationships, feeling depressed or are experiencing other negative emotions about their lives. Parker R.N and Auerhahn K agree with this view of the importance of environmental influences of drug abuse, quoting “social environment is a much more powerful contributor to the outcome of violent behavior than are pharmacological factors associated with any of the substances” (Parker R.N Auerhahn K 1998 pp. 16). This allows the inference that it is the feeling of escapism that users get addicted to, not the drug itself, which then in turn leads to health and social impacts. Violence from drugs users is a very real and pressing social concern as many drugs have increased aggression and violent behaviour as one of the negative side effects and this could affect not only the user but everyone around them. The level of drug use in one's environment by other people also influences the frequency of violent crime. For example, individuals that know the surrounding neighbourhood as a chaotic, desperate and disadvantaged community can use these circumstances to rationalise their violent behaviour. As such, drug use has provided abusers with the means and justification to their violent behaviours. (Copes, H., Hochstetler, A. and Sandberg, S., (2015). ‘Using a narrative framework to understand the drugs and violence nexus’. Criminal Justice Review, 40(1), pp.32-46. By criminalizing drug use, governments hope to stop illicit drug use, however in most cases the opposite is the case as the substances become “forbidden fruit” for the users. Strong policies have been used to fight drug use and try to stop it all together however as studied have shown, these have not worked. What are the government, business and consumer imperatives? Government The government is very concerned with this problem and have tried many aggressive techniques and campaign to try to end substance abuse and the damages which this causes to both society and individuals. It is estimated that the annual cost of drug-related crime is more than $61 billion and that the yearly health care costs are more than $11 billion including both direct and indirect costs related to medical intervention, such as emergency services, inpatient drug treatment and drug use prevention and treatment research. Overcrowding in prisons and hospital is also a direct effect of drug over consumption with approximately 2 million emergency department visits to U.S hospitals in 2009. The Government is looking to stem the growth of illegal drug use under the assumption that it is the use of these substance which is causing many problems in young people however it seems like the policies are having the opposite effect. The demand for drugs will never cease and the more governments try to criminalize the use, the higher the demand becomes. An example of this is the drug cartels and drug organizations which handle the drug trade. It is because there is such a great demand for these drugs and hence such a profit to be made, violence has become a great issue for the government and studies have shown that increasing drug law enforcement and intensity results in an increased rate of drug market violence, which in turn causes more damage to society and costs the government more in the above mentioned ways. Business Lost productivity generally occurs through the incapacitation of individuals, either by reduced motivation or by confinement in residential treatment programs, hospitals, or prisons. The most significant factor in lost productivity is reduced labor participation, which costs society an estimated $49 billion each year. Loss of productivity as a result of incarceration costs society at least $48 billion annually, and drug-related homicides result in a further loss in productivity of approximately $4 billion. The percent of the population 18 and older reporting use of an illegal drug averaged 8.2 percent over the sample years 2005 to 2011. Illegal drug use was 18 percent for the unemployed, followed by 10 percent for part-time workers, 8 percent for full-time workers and less than 6 percent for those in the "other" category, which includes retirees. Why is drug abuse so strongly related to job status? The simplest potential explanation is that employed drug users "misreport" when they answer the drug-use survey for fear that their confession of drug use would be passed on to their employers. This simple explanation, however, is unlikely for two reasons. First, the survey uses several strategies to reassure respondents of its anonymity. Second, there is a large difference in drug use between part-time and full-time employees—why would one group misreport less than the other? A second possible explanation is that persons with different job status have different amounts of free or unstructured time. A third explanation would say that each of the labor force categories represents different socioeconomic groups, which, for inherent reasons, may have different propensities to abuse these substances (Badel, A. Greaney, B. 2013, “Exploring the Link between Drug Use and Job Status in the U.S.”). Consumer Epidemics of HIV and HCV among people who use illegal drugs. Worldwide, there are more than 13 million people who inject illegal drugs. In some regions, more than 50 percent of them are infected with HIV and an even greater percentage are infected with HCV. Drug injecting with contaminated equipment is the major mode of HIV transmission in many countries and is the driver of the world’s fastest spreading HIV epidemic. In spite of the importance of addressing the needs of people who use drugs, estimates from 94 reporting low- and middle-income countries suggest that only eight percent of people who inject drugs receive some type of HIV prevention service. Even fewer have access to comprehensive services, including opioid substitution therapy and needle and syringe programmes. People who use drugs (or have used drugs in the past) also continue to have poor and inequitable access to anti-retroviral treatment. Everywhere, people who use drugs are among the most marginalized and discriminated against populations in society. Punitive approaches to drug use fuel stigma and hatred against people who use drugs, pushing them further into hiding and away from services to prevent, treat, and mitigate the impact of HIV and HCV. Added to that is the fact that communities may become dependent on illegal drug markets that support whole economies. With this source of income, the whole community would not exist. As such, the entire community is unable and unwilling to challenge the status quo, as doing so might jeopardize personal incomes and their future (http://www.incb.org/documents/UNGASS_CONTRIBUTION/ChpI-AR2003_E.pdf).