Marketing plan of LOreal Melbourne Fashion Festival

Marketing plan of LOreal Melbourne Fashion Festival Listed as a not for profit organisation since 1996, the Melbourne Fashion Festival Ltd, now known as the LOreal Melbourne Fashion Festival, has always been at the forefront of the fashion world. Over the years, the LMFF has become one of Australias top fashion events and focuses on target markets that are fashion oriented, social oriented and a mixture of both. The events success can be recognised by the efforts made by many individuals and businesses that have been with the organisation for many years. On March 14, 2011, the LMFF launched Fashion Full Stop: Decades of Australian Fashion, an event that celebrated designers, along with many labels and styles that have shaped Australias history in fashion. With tickets ranging from $79 to $39, 4000 fans filled the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centres plenary auditorium. Due to this, the event has been deemed a large priority in future shows and an extremely important opportunity to raise the profile of the organisation (LOreal Melbourne Fashion Festival Pty Ltd, 2011) Therefore the main objective of this event is to be recognised both nationally and internationally as the leading event of its kind and stimulate activity across the retail, clothing, footwear, and creative sectors. The purpose of this marketing plan is to identify LMFFs many strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats ; and these must be used in union with several marketing strategies, actions and a budget of $47 200 to eventually achieve the overall objective. Although the companys strengths and opportunities outweigh the organisations weaknesses and threats, the growing competition within the fashion industry and changes in the marketing environment need to be of focus. For the event to be a success, the organisation must modify or maintain the strategies and actions to directly reflect these changes. Event Information The aim of the Fashion Full Stop Opening Runway event is to celebrate and promote iconic designers, labels, styles and moments from the 1960s to today, stimulate sales and present Melbourne as a precinct full of design superiority. Assessment of the Marketing Environment Internal Environment Strengths: Since the LMFF initiated in 1996, the unique LOreal brand image has flourished Created brand awareness, recognition and emotional value to its target audiences Has built a reputable media profile Has been able to grow and produce a diverse range of activities Showcases many strong brand names and sponsors Sales within Melbourne and other parts of Australia have skyrocketed Increased staff attitude towards the event, opinions about the event, and expertise and experience during the event Weaknesses: Certain markets are not focused, e.g. low income earners. This may be intentional as the event focuses on exclusivity. Due to the lack of detail about the event in regards to online advertising, television advertisements and more, previous customers may have a perception that the event may be similar to the previous year or be similar to competition. External Environment 3.21 Micro-Environment Competitive analysis and Venn Diagram Direct competitors (offer similar, but somewhat differentiated events) include: Location Prices Target Market Offerings and/or Sales Date and time Rosemount Australian Fashion Week Sydney Similar Same Similar Different Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival Brisbane Similar, but offer free events Similar Achieved an increase of 61% on ticket sales and 33% on attendance in 2008 (Lindsay Bennett Marketing, 2010) Different Motorola Melbourne Spring Fashion Week Melbourne Nearly all events are free Similar Very similar Different Perth Fashion Festival Perth Similar Same Very similar Different New Zealand Fashion Week Auckland (outside Australia) Very similar Similar Very similar Same Similar offerings Party Eclectic Well known SOCIAL HIGH PROFILE INTERNATIONAL Indirect competitors (seek to provide the same benefits to the consumers, but in a different form) include: Port Fairy Folk Festival Future Music Festival Moomba Festival 3.22 Macro Environment PESTE Analysis Political forces/legal and regulatory influences The LMFF is required to uphold and adhere to many political and legal regulatory practices and the most important include: Drinking laws: all underage visitors must be accompanied by an adult in bars and dining rooms (LOreal Melbourne Fashion Festival Pty Ltd, 2011). Entry: refused entry is given to any person that is affected by alcohol/drugs, behaves aggressively or reduces the reputation of the LMFF or any organisation associated with the LMFF (LOreal Melbourne Fashion Festival Pty Ltd, 2011). Intellectual property: in the interest of all the stakeholders, registered designs, trademarks, patents, and copyrights all need to be respected by using intellectual property laws. It encourages technological innovation and artistic expression in industries (Commonwealth of Australia , 2010). Economic trends In economic troubles, fashion, the arts and entertainment often get sacrificed because of a decrease in disposable income. However, the slowdown within worldwide expenditure due to the impact of the global economic crisis has had a little effect on the LMFF. In fact, consumers are still spending a large amount of income, visiting the festival on an annual basis, and sponsorship is still going strong. Socio-cultural trends According to Easey (2008), fashion is ultimately about change.many of these changes are brought about by designers trying to create something new to satisfy customers, but others are because of influences beyond the control of designers or manufacturers.some are within a companys control and others are way beyond it. Therefore, the LMFF opening runway show will have to focus on the current needs and wants of the target market and find a way to satisfy them. Technological trends In several industries, the development and utilisation of new technology gives the opportunity of improving a consumers experience. Recently, designers such as Alexander McQueen and Alexander Wang used technology to stream their fashion shows live online (Moore, 2010). The brand DKNY has also started using a barcode technology for invitations and seating arrangements for its fashion show (Moore, 2010). This type of technology could be developed for use in the LMFF opening runway show. Environmental trends Recently, an ethical fashion forum has developed a mission to support  and  promote  sustainable practices, facilitate  collaboration, raise  awareness  and provide the  tools  and  resources  needed to reduce poverty, reduce environmental damage and raise standards in the fashion industry (Ethical Fashion Forum, 2011). Therefore, the push to become green is fairly large on fashion shows and designers. SWOT Analysis STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES Established in 1996 Unique LOreal brand image Not for profit organisation Stimulates sales within Melbourne and several brands Presents Melbourne as a centre of design superiority Diverse range of activities Unique Strong brand names Good reputation Popular shows created annually/positive track record Staff attitude and opinions Staff expertise and experience Existing media profile/reputable media partners or sponsors Location Celebrity attraction Although variety of offerings, certain markets are not focused on Perception that customers may already know whats of offer Lack of detail Current marketing campaigns are shallow and not environmentally friendly OPPORTUNITIES THREATS Increase visitors and attract tourists Boost retail sales and economy Exposure for sponsors/volunteers Upcoming designers and existing designers to showcase talent Build reputation of Melbourne Opportunities for the LMFF to create something different Competition/growth of other tourism areas in Melbourne Limited finance Infrastructure renewal due to increase of visitors Safety and security Major events throughout the year that target market prefer to spend time and money on Hard to create niche products/services due to continuously changing environment Increase in push to become green Target Market Consumer Information There are three types of target markets: Primary: approximately 50% of attendees, require a small amount of marketing costs, go for the fashion and are loyal to the event. Secondary: approximately 30% of attendees, require a slightly larger amount of marketing costs, use the fashion event as a social experience. Tertiary: approximately 20% of attendees require a large amount of marketing costs; go as its an event close to home. Target Markets and Market Segmentation Market Research For the purpose of improving the LMFF event and in order to determine the characteristics of the primary, secondary and tertiary target markets, secondary research has been used. This information has not been directly extracted from the audience, but instead from a variety of sources. A useful way in identifying the reasons why several target markets visited LMFF was to create a brand bullseye, which takes into account a variety of emotional and functional perceptions, opinions and hot buttons (Skildum-Reid et al, 2007), see appendix 1. Consumer Segmentation The primary target market are associated with the fashion world and are visiting the event to connect with designers, musicians, consumers, and retailers. In other words they are high profile guests who have been actively engaged with the festival throughout its history and continue to support LMFF into its future (LOreal Melbourne Fashion Festival Pty Ltd, 2011). The secondary target market enjoys socialising, spending a large amount of disposable income and are easily influenced by peers and the media. The tertiary are people that are interested in the arts, but use location and convenience to satisfy their needs and wants. Demographics Variables Target Market Primary Secondary Age 21 50 18 30 Gender Female and Male Female and Male Marital Status No No Education Yes Yes Children living at home No No Income Middle to upper class, large amount of income, between $50 000 $110 000 Lower class, large amount of disposable income, equal to or less than $30 000 Internet use/ type High/Broadband High/Broadband Online buying habits Medium High and know how to buy online tickets, etc Television viewing preferences Pay television Pay television and free to air television Transport use Private Public and Private Beverage and food preferences Expensive and prefer alcohol and tea/coffee Cheap and prefer alcohol and sweet drinks Employment status/occupation Employed, usually in the fashion industry Student, unemployed or new worker Location Both domestic and international Domestic and urban/metropolitan areas (Information collected from EIT Inc, 2005; Frankie, 2011; Fashion TV, 2011) Psychographics Variables Target Market Primary Secondary Lifestyle City prone Enjoys shopping Quality oriented Frequent buying behavior Interested in the arts music, dance etc Upscale and well-off Trendy Globetrotters Value-for-money oriented Social status activities No major responsibilities City prone Big spenders Personality Independent/Opinion leader Brand and fashion conscious Very sensitive to advertising Competitive Always searching for the newest trends and products representative of their social image Influenced by peers Outgoing Opinion formers Street-smart (Information collected from EIT Inc, 2005; Frankie, 2011; Fashion TV, 2011) Objectives Overall Business Objective The overall business objective of this event is to be recognised both nationally and internationally as the leading event of its kind and to stimulate activity across the retail, clothing, footwear, and creative sectors. SMART marketing objectives The objectives below conform to marketing standards of setting objectives which are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results oriented, and Time bound (Skildum-Reid et al, 2007). To obtain international and national prime time stories on channel FTV, various advertisements on national radio station NOVA, and a major advertising campaign with a colour photo in the magazine Frankie, one month before the event. To increase ticket sales domestically and internationally by 10% compared to the previous years opening runway event. To increase awareness and recognition of the brand LOreal in Australia from 20% to 35% by February 2012. To obtain five more sponsors prior to the event in order to increase funds by $150 000. Marketing Strategies Link to objective Rationale Strategies Measurement mechanism 1 This will achieve a large market penetration in the target markets and will encourage ticket sales before the event 1.1 Provide digital footage of highlights of last years event to various television and radio stations Number of televised stories that use the material 1.2 Create opportunities for video and audio interviews with designers of the event Number of interviews 1.3 Create and distribute press kits to local and international media Quality and acceptance of media kit 2 This will achieve market growth and showcase the event as being popular and well-known 2.1 Release early bird tickets at a discounted price to loyal customers Advance ticket sales and/or revenue, customer database 2.2 Provide online ticket purchases through connection of event website and ticketing company Ticket sales and/or revenue, customer database of event and ticketing company 2.3 Cross-promote with the event designers, singers and dancers through various advertising campaigns Number and quality of cross promotions 3 This will boost ticket sales and product sales before the event due to brand loyalty and recognition 3.1 Offer and provide samples of LOreal products to customers Number and frequency of customer purchases, customer opinion and satisfaction 3.2 Cross-promote event with LOreal advertisements Number, quality and success of cross promotions 3.3 Start an online social page e.g. facebook to discuss the brand/product/event Number of visits/hits/comments/likes/followers 4 This will allow the event to produce better offerings in regards to the exclusivity of the event and will increase the events profile 4.1 Create a sponsorship proposal and press kit that stands out from competitors Acceptance of proposal and number of responses, number of proposals from competitors Action Plan Actions Action Officer Time Frame (months before event) 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Strategy 1.1 Action 1.11 Contact FTV and NOVA representatives to find out deadline Public relations/media team Action 1.12 Collect and compose footage of event and audio interviews Public relations/media team Action 1.13 Send to FTV and NOVA by deadline Public relations/media team Strategy 1.2 Action 1.21 Develop an interview script Public relations/media team Action 1.22 Contact agents of designers or designers directly and set up a meeting to interview Public relations/media team Action 1.23 Collect and condense interview data into clear information Public relations/media team Action 1.24 Send to editor of magazine by deadline along with press kit Public relations/media team Strategy 1.3 Action 1.31 Contact media representatives to find out deadline Public relations/media team Action 1.32 Write media release and information Public relations/media team Action 1.33 Develop press kits to send to magazine Public relations/media team Action 1.34 Send to editor by deadline Public relations/media team Strategy 2.1 Action 2.11 Contact ticketing company to inform them of intention to sell tickets to event, with prices and discharge information Marketing team/Ticketing manager or assistant Action 2.12 Create online flyer to advertise event and early bird discount Marketing team Action 2.13 Send flyer to ticketing company database and event database through both mail and e-mail Administration Strategy 2.2 Action 2.21 Liaise with marketing team of ticketing company about website link Marketing team Action 2.22 Create link within current event website with information and prices of tickets IT team, marketing team, ticketing manager or assistant Strategy 2.3 Action 2.31 Develop a partnership agreement Public relations, marketing team Action 2.32 Contact agents and set up a meeting to propose potential partnership  arrangement Public relations, marketing team Action 2.33 Create and edit advertisement/promotion Marketing Action 2.34 Inject cross-promotion into public Marketing Strategy 3.1 Action 3.11 Contact LOreals sales and marketing team and set up a way to receive an x amount of samples Sales and Marketing team Action 3.12 Contact various intermediaries such as makeup counters, hair salons, fashion magazines to inform about samples Marketing team Action 3.13 Distribute samples to intermediaries to implement in marketing campaigns Sales and distribution team Strategy 3.2 Action 3.21 Develop a partnership agreement Public Relations, marketing team Action 3.22 Contact LOreals marketing team and set up a meeting to propose potential partnership  arrangement Public Relations, marketing team Action 3.23 Create and edit advertisement/promotion Marketing Action 3.24 Inject cross-promotion into public Marketing Strategy 3.3 Action 3.31 Create a user login on facebook.com IT Team Action 3.32 Organise and disseminate information and media on profile page with links to several other pages and event website IT Team, media team, marketing team Strategy 4.1 Action 4.11 Write a marketing plan Marketing team Action 4.12 Identify competitors and sponsors Marketing team Action 4.13 Write a sponsorship proposal and press kit Marketing team Action 4.14 Send sponsorship proposal and press kit to identified sponsors Public relations, marketing team Contact sponsors and decide on sponsorship funds Marketing team Marketing Budget The marketing budget was based on a calculation of 20% of the total price of 4000 tickets sold in 2011. Ticket cost Total $79 x 4000 $316 000 $59 x 4000 $236 000 $39 x 4000 $156 000 $708 000 Average $236 000 Total Marketing Budget after 20% $47 200 Objectives Need Description/Calculation of Costs Cost 1 Advertising/publicity costs for Frankie and NOVA and FTV Frankie: 3 x Full Page, W: 210mm x H: 275mm @ $4670 each (Frankie, 2011) $14010 NOVA: 20 x 30 second ads over 7 days, 6am 6pm prime time @ $50 each (Australia Trade, 2010) $1000 FTV: 10 x 15 minute shows over 7 days, 7pm 7:15pm @ $20 cost per thousand (CPM) of 50, 000 (Boone, 2009) $10 000 Total $25 010 2 Mailing costs 5,000 x letters @ $58c each (Australia Post, 2011) $2900 Ticketing commission 4000 tickets x 10% increase = (4400 x $79) x 0.01 commission $3476 Printing costs 2 colour copy flyers per A4 page = 2500 x A4 pages @ $38c each (Officeworks, 2011) $950 Website development Overall cost (Cmather, 2011) $495 Website maintenance 30 hours @ $30 per hour (Cmather, 2011) $900 Advertising and promotion for cross-promotion with designers Billboard 6m x 3m for 8 weeks @ $1500 per 4 weeks and a one off $300 installation cost à · 2 (halves with cross-promotion) (GOA Billboard, 2011) $1650 Total $10 371 3 Samples cost 20 000 samples @ $10c each $2000 Advertising and promotion costs for cross-promotion with LOreal 25 x national light weight bus stop advertising @ $690 each à · 2 (halves with cross-promotion) (Adshel, 2011) $8 625 Social Website Usage is free $0 Distribution costs Covered by LOreal $0 Total $10 625 4 Printing costs 20 pages x 100 booklets = 2000 colour pages @ 0.38c = $760 + 100 booklets x $1.95 each for binding = $195 (Officeworks, 2011) $955 Mailing costs $1.20 x 100 booklets (Australia Post, 2011) $120 Total $1175 Overall total $47 181 Monitoring and Evaluation Objective 1: Measurement and evaluation mechanisms include: Number of televised stories that use the material Number of gained interviews Quality and acceptance of media kit Continuous partnerships with companies Objective 2: Measurement and evaluation mechanisms include: The difference in the number of ticket sales and/or revenue collected in prior year and current year Customer database increase and loyalty Number and quality of cross promotions Employee satisfaction LMFF annual review statistics Objective 3: Measurement and evaluation mechanisms include: Number and frequency of customer purchases/ LOreal annual review Number and frequency of sample intake Customer opinion, satisfaction, perception, and behaviours through surveys Number, quality and success of cross promotions Number of visits/hits/comments/likes/followers on facebook page Increase in ticket sales for LMFF overall events Objective 4: Measurement and evaluation mechanisms include: Acceptance of proposal Number of responses from sponsorships Number of proposals from competitors to sponsors Number of contracts signed with sponsorships compared to previous years, see appendix 2 Sponsorship funds increase and resource availability Sponsor reliability, efforts made, and perception of event Conclusion and Recommendations The LMFF has repositioned one of its most recently popular events called Fashion Full Stop: Decades of Australian Fashion. This popularity is proven by creative director, Grant Pearce, who stated in previous years, there hasnt been a show on opening night, theres just been a small presentation but this is a major theatrical show (Merhab, 2011). This success has been assisted by creating numerous objectives, marketing strategies, and an action plan that concentrates on increasing advertising, sponsorship and sales. The LMFF needs to continuously check and track the success of their initial objectives and modify or maintain the strategies and actions accordingly. These changes need to directly reflect the target markets and their various needs, wants and demands. Appendix Appendix 1. Appendix 2. Principal and Government partners: Loreal Paris, State Government Victoria Major Partners: Herald Sun, David Jones, Sofitel Luxury Hotels, Pacific Brands, Centralpier Spirit of Docklands, SpecSavers, Paper Stone Scissors, Eye Media, Westfield, City of Melbourne Event Partners: Marie Claire, 565 Lasoo, City of Stonnington, Peroni Italy, Colonial First State Global Asset Management, Woolmark, Sportsgirl Official Product Partners: Champagne Devaux, Yering Station, Lavazza, Lexus, Raffaello, Chambord, Sanpellegrino, Toll Ipec, Nine west, kikki.K, Synergy, Steve Madden Platinum Partners: Chadstone, Deloitte, Victoria Racing Club, Wilson Parking Gold Partners: Middletons, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Deutsche Bank, MyCatwalk.com, Melbournes GPO, Fashion Weekend Melbourne, Image Box, The Just Group, Collins 234, Nikon, QV Melbourne, Kookai Media Partners: Artichoke, WGSN, Frankie Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Vogue Australia, 3AW 693, FASHIONTREND, FashionTV, Harper Bazaar, Grazia, Nova 100.3FM, InStyle, Madison, Avant Card, Hoyts, Yen

Compare and contrast the consequences of WWI respectively WWII Essay

WWI and WWII brought an extreme destruction and devastation to the world, certainly the previous wars had also brought devastation, but in a totally different scale. These wars were the biggest in the history of men with unexpectedly huge causalities to every country participating. The technology of warfare had improved beyond the imagination of men, bringing weapons that could kill enormous masses of people within a short period of time. WWI and WWII both had devastating results, far more than expected since each war took more than 10 million lives each and as written in the header, that was much more than any previous war. The cost of the war had gone along the size. Whole Europe fell in large debts from the wars, and there were inflation everywhere, more severe after the first war, and you can almost assume that the leaders of the countries had learnt something at least. Especially the inflation were high under the depression in Germany. The previous optimism from the 19th century was gone, now people had experienced the true horror of war, of the first world war, and after the second world war the horror that it could be repeated, a thought which didn’t occur to most people after the first war. Partly due to that many countries changed their ideologies after both wars, countries drew back after the first war, trying to repair some of the devastation, along with the more republics that came, the ideologies became more turned inwards – the country above all, we are the better, nationalism is a possible definition, but in many cases, except Germany, who mostly under these years were driven by hatred and revenge against the unfair Versailles treaty, it was more a fear, a paranoia, especially for the French along the Maginot line, â€Å"walls† rose between countries and the whole area were pretty tense, not as tense as before the war, but still everything hadn’t faded away. The exception for this was the USA with their attempts to create the League of Nations, but it became very short lived and hadn’t the impact it needed for becoming strong. However it planted the seed for the coming UN, which makes another similarity, both wars created these welfare organisations. But after the WWII the countries in Europe again started to look over their own borders, becoming a little more widely minded, countries became more involved in worldwide questions and started with these war-preventative organizations like NATO, trying to prepare for the next war, now that they knew that a repeat of the war weren’t impossible. These would show themselves useful sooner than expected. Since WWII as well as WWI led to a new conflict, for WWI obviously the WWII, and later for the second, the cold war, although it weren’t even close to the scale of the previous wars mostly due to the fact that it didn’t blossom to the war it were predicted to. Both wars also had an enormous impact on the economy in Europe. Among others huge economic debts piled up for each country involved. Furthermore the countries lost labour, since they got killed in the war. This was a downfall for the economy but to make up for some of the scarcity of labour women got to work in the factories, something which earlier was unthinkable, especially in the first world war. A general opinion of men during the late 19th century and the early 20th century was that women should be at home, taking care of the family etc, while men should work, providing the family with money. Although women was accepted working in factories to a great extent in the second world war, compared to the first and especiallty the time before, it would take a lot of more years before a women, not during war time should work. This also provided to the new liberal ideologies after the Second World War. Moreover things that had an impact on the economic change was the new technical improvements during the wars, since many products was invented as a consequence of the war and also the rate of mass production rose during the first world war. Also due to the enormous cost of the war there were inflation in many countries, one extreme example is Germany after the first world war, the Versailles treaty had put Germany under unimaginable debts. Debts that Germany had no opportunity paying back. That’s the major reason behind the inflation, when in just a few months in 1923 the worth of the mark compared to the dollar rose from 4.6 million to 4.3 trillion, about 1000000 times as much. Also the geography of the world changed after the wars, the borders changed quite a lot, and for example the first world war was the final blow for the Ottoman Empire, the reason that it fell, although it were about to fall anyway this was the spark. Then during the war Austria Hungary fell and the borders changed a lot in the Balkans. Finally, as pointed out the effects are quite similar, the atmospheres after the wars were rather similar, both were tense and allowed for new conflicts to start. The distrust of people for the government rose greatly. Furthermore there’s one effect I haven’t taken up yet, the destruction of the earth after the wars, great parts of Europe were affected, trenches were built, big land parts were bombed, and destructed even whole cities were bombed, then especially the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki under the second world war. Then there’s the social trauma, both of the soldiers and the families at home, losing their relatives. But as they are similar, there aren’t many significant differences, probably the biggest were however the fact that no country did demand any compensation for the war, then there were no opportunity of a scenario like the one of Germany after the First World War to occur another time. Even though there also were positive sides on the war like the great leap in technology the overall effects were greatly negative, both wars had devastating effects.

Argumentative Essay on Should America Have Stronger Gun Control Laws

As of 2010, the current U.S. population is around 310 million people. According to Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Bureau, approximately 45 % of American households, which are represented by over 65 million people, who own a total of more than 200 million firearms. Every year the amount of arms in private hands continuously increases by 4.5 million unit (Kleck, 1997, p. 45). The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution of 1791guarantees Americans the right to keep and bear firearms. There are a number of federal laws, regulating ownership and use of firearms, however, every American state establishes the majority of gun control laws independently. For example, in 46 states there is no limit to the number of guns a person can buy. In 7 out of 50 states there are no age limitations on the purchase of firearms. In 2000 the Open Society Institute compared gun control laws of different states of the U.S.A. Their research showed that Massachusetts and Hawaii have strict laws, whil e Main, Alaska and Louisiana are distinguished by relatively free use of firearms (Lott, 2010, p. 78). In addition, Universities and colleges in the U.S. have their own gun policies. As a result, 82 out of 150 biggest higher educational institutions have totally banned firearms from campus (Kleck, 1997, p. 89). Nevertheless, tragedies such as Virginia Tech University mass murder in 2007, shooting at Colorado’s Columbine High School in 1999, and thousands of underage Americans dying from firearm injuries every year, raise heated debates regarding gun control laws. This issue is a very controversial and painful one, since politicians are careful to take risk of strengthening gun legislation, which can negatively effect their political career. In my opinion, America should not have stronger gun control laws, but a balanced legislation, letting adult American people own and use firearms to protect their lives, families and homes, but at the same time introducing wise restrictions to limit the access to firearms for children and teenagers, especially in public places like high schools and colleges. Disadvantages of Stronger Gun Control Laws Pro-gun activists, who vote for gun control laws softening, declare that government attempts to limit constitutional rights, allowing Americans to keep and bear firearms, has a negative impact on the entire American legislation. Every small step towards this direction leads to serious and long-term consequences. I personally agree that guns do not kill people, people do. Criminals will always find a way to obtain any form of a hand gun or automatic weapon, while law-abiding citizens will be defenseless against them. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in the states with the least number of gun ownership restrictions have 22 % less of violent crimes, 30% less murders, and 46% less burglaries. Besides, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that there is no proof that stronger gun control laws result in the decrease of crime level (Poe, 2003, p.108). For this reason, I believe that in regions with more armed citizens, the level of crime is lower and the level of security is higher. Criminals usually do not tend to attack people, who are able to resist and protect themselves with guns. Advantages of Stronger Gun Control Laws On the other hand, pro-gun control activists claim that the Second Amendment to the Constitution does not guarantee the right of all Americans to bear firearms, but is related solely to police and militia members. In their opinion gun is a risk factor by itself: in places with higher private gun ownership more gun injuries and deaths happen. Firearms at home are especially dangerous for children and teenagers. Over 5 thousand young Americans die of gun injuries annually. Perennial statistics of FBI shows that every year a quarter of violent crimes and 60 to 75 % of murders in the U.S. are committed with the use of firearms. Furthermore, according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, in 2004 almost 29.6 thousand people died as a result of firearms in USA: out of which11.6 thousand were murdered and approximately 16.7 thousand committed suicide. In order to compare, 58.2 thousand Americans died during the Vietnam War (Poe, 2003, p. 178). According to the research of Emory University, for every defensive uses of firearms of 22 incidents of unlawful use of firearms including suicide occur. Availability of guns at home triples the risk of burglary (on the other hand, usually firearms are purchased by people residing in criminal districts), and increases the risk of family member suicide by five times. In 1986 criminalists Arthur Kellermann and Don Reay published an article in New England Journal of Medicine, proving that an American possessing a firearm has 43 times higher chance to shoot a family member, than a chance to shoot a criminal, who broke into their house. Moreover, it is estimated that for every uses of a gun or a rifle for self-defense, there occur 1.3 accidental deaths, 4.6 firearm use in violent crime, and 37 suicides involving the use of firearms (Kleck, 1997, p. 221). Pros and Cons of Stricter Gun Legislation Defenders and opponents of â€Å"armed America† actively operate with statistics, proving their points of view. Both sides try claim that ideological opponents distort and incorrectly quote referencing research results. However, official data of the Bureau of Justice Statistics reveals that the number of crimes committed with the use of firearms in the U.S. is constantly decreasing since 1993, even though the total amount of guns in private hands is increasing gradually. In 1993 11% of total crimes were committed with the use of guns and rifles, and in 2005 the percentage has fallen to 9% (Poe, 2003. 105). For this reason, there is no proof of direct correlation between the total amount of guns and the number of crimes. Besides, the number of firearm incidents has also decreased. In 1993 over one million of firearm incidents were reported, while in 2005 – only 419 incidents. Thus Lott (2010) has made an example of Brazil, where legal purchase of firearms is almost impos sible, but it does not stop criminals from arranging weekly street shootings where many people are murdered freely (p. 245). Dave Kopel, a member of Independence Institute, is one of the fiercest critics of Kellermann and Reay research on crimes and suicides involving the use of firearms. He claims that they based their conclusion on limited statistics of just one American county, and their calculations have serious arithmetic shortcomings. The main argument of their critics is that statistics thoroughly considers dead, injured, and arrested citizens. However, it fails to consider all the occurrences of defensive firearm use, because only 20-25% of people who have successfully defended themselves call the police afterwards (Lott, 2010, p.189).     Furthermore, Kopel emphasizes one more important factor: self-murderers will always find a way to kill themselves. For example, in Japan private possession of firearms is prohibited, but nonetheless, their rate of suicide is twice as high as in the USA. According to the research of Florida State University, Americans use firearms 2.5 million times for self-defense every year. Therefore, undoubtedly, there are real threats and reasons for owning a gun in order to protect oneself, one’s family or home, and we cannot deprive American citizens of this right, which brings them a feeling of security and peace. Moreover, legitimate use of firearms occurs 3-5 times more often than illegitimate one, and the majority of people who use rifles for self-defense do not fire it, since 1% of criminals attacking them were injured and only 0.1% was killed (Poe, 2003, pp. 210-211). Kleck (1997) claims that USA is distinguished by a significantly lower number of hot burglaries, accompanied by violence and threats to house owners in comparison to those countries, where household owners are not allowed to possess guns (p. 67). Thus, hot burglaries in the U.S. comprise 13 % of total crimes, while in Great Britain and Netherlands, where there is a strict anti-gun legislation, they comprise 45% of overall violent crimes. The author proves his point, relying on multiple interviews with arrested burglars, who avoid breaking into homes where owners can use firearms against them. Another strong point in defense of softer gun control laws is made by Poe (2003), who in his book tries to prove that if Americans renounce their rights to own guns, it will result in disappearance of traditional American culture (p. 126). As he says, a boy becomes a man when his father hands him a rifle and takes him for hunting. In his opinion, gun ban will lead to the decline of American democracy and government dictatorship. Public opinion surveys, regularly conducted by Gallup service, show that the number of supporters of stronger gun control laws is continuously decreasing starting since 1990. In January of 2007, for the first time in fifteen years pro-gun advocates constituted less than a half (49%) of the total amount of respondents. While the number of people, who support gun laws softening, has reached 14%. A survey, conducted at the end of 2006 showed that the majority of Americans believe that a gun or a rifle makes their home a more secure place. However, 43% of people claimed just the opposite (Kleck, 1997, pp. 320-323). Taking into account all the arguments proving that stronger gun control laws should not be introduced in America, we must not forget that a gun in the hands of a child or a teenager, who has not reached mental and intellectual maturity, and who may often perceive weapon as a toy without realizing all the damaging consequences of its misuse, is something totally opposite to a gun in the hands of an adult, trying to protect his family and home. I am convinced that massacres in public educational institutions that from time to time strike American nation are not simply the result of soft gun control laws. The access to weapon does not turn young people into murders. We should search for the cause in family and national culture that raises this kind of young generation. However, I think that mass shootings like in Virginia Tech University or Columbine High School could be avoided if there were wise age limitations on firearm purchase, and if students were not allowed to carry guns on cam pus territory. Conclusion The question whether free access to firearms influences the rate of crime and overall security of the society still remains opened. In any case crime in USA is one of the most essential problems of the country. Every year 6 million Americans become victims or crime (Lott, 2010, p.34). However a wrongful interpretation of crime statistics must not convince people of the need for stronger gun control laws. Numerous researches indicate that disarmament of law-abiding citizens is not a leap forward to a more secure society, but towards crime indulgence. It is a well-known fact that criminals rarely buy arms legally. On average, only 7 % of criminals legally purchase their weapon (Poe, 2003, p. 285). For this reason, if there must be stricter gun control laws, they should apply to illegal weapon trade. In the states where citizens are allowed to bear arms the rate of violent crimes is lower, than in the states where people are deprived of this right. Thus, it is wrong to claim that stronger gun control laws lead to crime rate decrease. At the same time absolutely no gun control and regulation would put into danger the most vulnerable American citizens like children and teenagers, who are most likely to misuse firearms and hurt each another. That is why balanced gun legislation must be executed in order to protect every group of American society.

Drug Drugs And Its Effects On The United States - 1392 Words

In the United States every year the percentage of deaths related to overdose increases drastically. Heroin is one of the top drugs in the United States used and cause of overdose. There are numerous types of heroin that is being sold on the streets because of different things however I’m talking about heroin in general. This drug has become a nationwide problem and is affecting many families and friendships who have loved addicted to or using heroin. Once addictions get too bad friends and family begin to distant themselves and the person more than likely start to feel alone and the drug is the only thing to comfort them. Abusers go for the drug that is easier to get ahold of rather going after the drug that is difficult to get their hands on. Heroin has become more prevalent in teenagers and young adults than any other drug, kills more people every year and was made to help those addicted to morphine. Prescription drugs such as OxyContin, Norco, Xanax and other prescription drugs were the most prevalent drugs on the streets that were abused by using it to get high and overdosing causing death. Around the country it is reported that teenagers who abuse OxyContin begin to switch to use heroin either by injection or snorting. That was before heroin even became prevalent in the streets as a street drug people were using. In 2012 the age group with the highest heroin overdose death rate was aged 25-34 years of age while the age group for the highest OPR is 45-54 years of ageShow MoreRelatedDrugs And Its Effects On The United States1542 Words   |  7 Pages Drug - U-47700 – aka Street Name Pinky, Pink and U-4 During the 1970s, a drug U-47700 was created by researchers as an anesthetic, less addictive than a morphine substitute. U-47700 was eventually tossed out and discontinued. The Food and Drug Administration did not approve it for human use. 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The fight to prevent the manufacturing and trafficking of illegal drugs into the country has made very littl e impact on its accessibility to those that wish to partake. According to the National Drug Control Budget Report for 2015, the President of the United States request $25.4 Billion in Fiscal Year 2015 in order