Burger King and Its Advertising Campaigns Essay

Burger King is a reliable burger company which has had its ups and downs. In 1974, it came out with a slogan of â€Å"Have it your way† and at this time it also had a 4 % market share. Burger King’s idea was to have the customer have their burger done their way rather than a standard burger. In the early 80’s Burger King was trying to keep sales growing so they had to keep changing their advertising. In 1982 â€Å"Battle of the burgers† and â€Å"Aren’t you hungry for a Burger king now? † were the slogans used. In 1983 â€Å"Broiling vs. frying† and 1985 â€Å"The big switch†. All these ads throughout the years helped increase market shares from 7. 6% to 8. 3% from 1983 to 1985. â€Å"Search for herb† was a slogan used by BK about a person that has never tasted a whopper burger, this campaign was supposed to increase market share by 10% but in reality only increased it by 1% it was a disaster. In 1986-1987 â€Å"this is a burger king town† and â€Å"best food for fast times† brought a lot of attention to the company. In 1988 â€Å"We do it like you do it† was used often but a year later they came out with two new slogans which confused the customer. In 1989 â€Å"Sometimes you gotta break the rules† and â€Å"BK tee vee† with MTV and Dan Cortese with â€Å"I love this place†. This was another huge setback for BK because people on the go and parents found this ad loud and irritating. BK at this time has failed to establish a solid image that would differentiate it from its competitors. Ads if anything only confused consumers as to what advantages BK offered. In 1993 it had a market share of 6. 1% were McDonalds had 15. 6% and BK’s sales were growing slower than its rivals. Failed advertising campaigns weren’t the only problem’s, they also had internal problems. Management lacked focus and direction and has struggled with marketing mix decisions. Franchises became confused and angered, service was slow and food preparation wasn’t consistent. Burger King lost its core product- flame broiled burgers, made the way the customer wanted them. Another thing that hurt them was the fact they didn’t lower prices to keep competing with their competitors this led to a below average sales growth. Many in store promotion also failed. In 1993 a new CEO was introduced, this allowed for huge turnaround and in fact it did. He helped please the franchises and responded to their problems and listened to their recommendations. Then later he lowered prices and hired a new advertising agency. 1. In reading this case analysis I figured Burger King to advertise the Whopper, but throughout the past years they didn’t do this. I figure the whopper or the flame broiled ads would have been more productive and probably would have resulted in greater sales margin. I also feel that the ads should have distinguished themselves from what other ads by letting the people know that burger king wasn’t just another standardized burger. Throughout the years, BK tried to establish the market by becoming someone they weren’t. I feel the ads used by BK should have been simple and to the point. This would have caused less confusion and more honesty with the customer, this is because you don’t want to advertise a pizza or a taco if your selling burgers. Other objectives BK wanted was to target teens with the MTV approach. This also failed because people found it loud and annoying. Then they tried a sit in type of restaurant, which also failed because people want a fast food low price meal not a high priced, sit down meal. Advertising is any paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor. Advertising is a good way to inform and persuade the customer. Advertising objectives are based on past decisions about the target market, positioning and target mix. There are five steps to making a major advertising decision these steps are as follows: Objective setting, Budget decisions, Message decision or media decision, and campaign evaluation. Along with these steps BK should also remember to inform, persuade, and to remind. These three are a must that a company should aim at, for example: in informing BK used the ad â€Å"Broiling vs. frying† in 1983 letting the consumer know that their burgers were broiled and not fried. In persuading, I think BK over did it and that is why I feel that they didn’t retain market share. They tried to be someone they weren’t with slogans like â€Å"search for herb† in 85 and many others like â€Å"BK Tee Vee† trying to persuade the younger generation and â€Å"Sometimes you gotta break the rules†. These slogans and more tried to persuade the consumer. In reminding their customers BK has done a good job. They’ve at least expanded nationally and internationally and always have commercials everywhere with a juicy whopper on the screen, reminding the viewer that BK is the only place a whopper is made. 2. BK’s past advertising and corporate strategy failed because BK did the two biggest mistakes they could have done. First they didn’t listen to the customer and second they didn’t advertise their main product a maintain a target market. In not accomplishing any of these two strategies in the past it allowed their rivals to get a lead on them. In 1993 McDonalds, for example, had a market share of 15. 6 percent compared to BK’s 6. 1 percent. This is because they established their market and didn’t try to invent new strategies. Burger King started to lose market shares when it first came out with the search for herb, and then it declined again when it tried to target the teenage generation rather than staying loyal to the general customer. It tried targeting the younger generation through MTV. This became insulting and irritating to the old customers and to the quiet more relaxed people and even all the young children who prefer clowns than some man screaming on TV . BK did not listen to its customer, they tried to establish a restaurant type of business, rather than their fast food burgers. Fast food patrons really wanted low prices and quick but high quality food, not a higher priced, sit down meal. The corporate strategy and the past advertising wasn’t the only problem and wasn’t the only one at fault for BK’s failure. They also had internal problems. Management has had troubles with the market mix decisions. Service was slow and food preparation was inconsistent and many stores needed remodeling. BK didn’t focus on its burger ,instead they were trying to experiment with pizza’s and ice cream. This caused confusion ,and confusion brings problems. To add to the problems BK was more expensive than McDonalds or Wendy’s combos, which was also hurt sales for Burger King. 3. For the new advertising campaign I would personally target the young and the old generation. I would also be very health conscious and try to establish myself as an environment safe corporation. Burger King is huge, they have the ability to do what they please, but they better make sure the customer are happy. I would make new slogans, and put new ideas for kids and grown ups to enjoy. I remember when I was growing up I used to love going to Burger King for a burger and getting a little toy. Now, you get a toy but the prices are so high you really end up paying for it anyway. I wouldn’t leave out the teenage to mid- twenty’s crowd, but I feel they are less influence by ads and specials, they will buy what is probably better and cheaper. Besides if you target them when they are small growing up then when they already grow they look they like you anyway. That is why you have to target the young and make sure you are good to them. New slogans are hard to come by in specially into this society where you better watch what you say or you will get suit. I do not really believe in slogans, I personally rather buy quality than to hear how good it could be. For me seeing is believing and I do not believe everything I hear. 4. I recommend a couple of things for Burger King to do. One has already been accomplish, this was I would first change the CEO. In this case Jim Adamson stepped in July 1991, since then Burger King has made a turn around. He listened and responded to franchise problems and recommendations. He locked into a strategy of concentrating on BK’s core products flame broiled, bigger burgers. He launched a new pricing structure which will compete with that of McDonald’s. Burger King also needed to get some effective advertising, and I believe Mr. Adamson also accomplished this, seeing BK has grown since 1991. He went back to the basics which I think was the most important part of a Company’s rebuilding, because this how you got to where you are and if all else fails, it’s like starting again with experience. BK became known as â€Å"The voice of the people† opposed to McDonald’s been known as the voice of the Corporation. I also feel BK advertising has improved. Now you see burgers on TV compare to Dan Cortese a couple of years ago. You also see people having a good time and eating a whopper. I feel Burger King is a company with many obstacles but it is also a company that if is stuck to its basic game plan, it could regain a great deal of the market share. If I was to give a recommendation it would probably be for BK to stay been loyal to your customers and to try to keep the market share.

Italian Soccer Teams Have Colorful Nicknames

Italian Soccer Teams Have Colorful Nicknames If there are three things you can count on Italians to be passionate about it would be: their food, their family and their soccer (calcio). The pride of Italian’s for their favorite team  knows no bounds. You can find fans (tifosi) fearlessly cheering in all kinds of weather, against all kinds of rivals, and with a dedication that endures generations. Part of the fun of learning about soccer in Italy is also learning about the nicknames of the teams. But first, its important to understand how soccer works in Italy. Soccer is broken down into various clubs, or â€Å"serie.† The best is â€Å"Serie A† followed by â€Å"Serie B† and â€Å"Serie C† etc. Teams in each â€Å"serie† compete against each other. The best team in â€Å"Serie A† is regarded as the best team in italy. The competition in Serie A is fierce and if a team doesn’t win or do well in a season, they can be demoted to a lower â€Å"serie† much to the shame and disappointment of their adoring fans. Now that you understand the basics of how Italian teams are ranked, it is easier to understand their nicknames. Italian Soccer Team Nicknames Some of these nicknames seem random but they all have a story. For example, one of my favorites is the Mussi Volanti (Flying Donkeys- Chievo). They were given this nickname by their rival team, Verona, because the odds of Chievo entering the Serie A league was so slim (like the English expression to express unlikely odds, â€Å"When pigs fly!† In Italian, it’s â€Å"When donkey’s fly!†).    I Diavoli (The Devils- (Milan), are called as such because of their red and black jerseys. I Felsinei (Bologna- is based on the ancient city name, Felsina), and I Lagunari (Venezia- comes from the Stadio Pierluigi Penzo that sits adjacent to the lagoon). Many teams, in fact, have multiple nicknames. For instance, the illustrious Juventus team (a longstanding member and winner of Serie A) is also known as La Vecchia Signora (The Old Lady), La Fidanzata dItalia (The Girlfriend of Italy), Le Zebre (The Zebras), and [La] Signora Omicidi ([The] Lady Killer). The Old lady is a joke because Juventus means young, and lady was added by rivals who were essentially poking fun of the team. It got it’s â€Å"girlfriend of Italy† nickname due to a large amount of southern Italians who, lacking their own Serie A team, became attached to Juventus, the third oldest (and most winning) team in Italy. Besides these less obvious nicknames, one other colorful tradition, is to refer to the teams by the color of their soccer jerseys (le maglie calcio). The terms are frequently seen in print (Palermo, 100 Anni di Rosanero), as part of fan club names (Linea GialloRossa), and in official publications. Even the Italian national soccer team is known as Gli Azzurri because of their blue jerseys. Below is a list of the nicknames associated with the 2015 Serie A Italian soccer teams when referring to their jersey colors: AC Milan: RossoneriAtalanta: NerazzurriCagliari: RossobluCesena: Cavallucci MariniChievo Verona: GiallobluEmpoli: AzzurriFiorentina: ViolaGenoa: RossobluHellas Verona: GiallobluInternazionale: NerazzurriJuventus: BianconeriLazio: BiancocelestiNapoli: AzzurriPalermo: RosaneroParma: GiallobluRoma: GiallorossiSampdoria: BlucerchiatiSassuolo: NeroverdiTorino: il Toro, i GranataUdinese: Bianconeri

Porfessional future Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Porfessional future - Essay Example Brand management has always been important but I sincerely believe that globalisation has both expanded and intensified its importance. While my professional ambitions are centered on brand management, the truth is that wanting a particular career does not mean that one will be successful at that career. Professional success is only partially dependant upon interest and ambitions in and within a particular field and more so on understanding one's abilities, potentials, strengths, weaknesses and limitation and, importantly, selecting a career/profession which is correlated to the aforementioned. In other words, my later professional success is somewhat dependant upon my selecting a career in which my weaknesses and limitations will not function as an obstacle to success and where my strengths will be highlighted and my potential realized. Doing so is ultimately dependant on engagement in deep self-reflection, aiming towards the generation of a greater and more expanded self-awareness. This is precisely what this exercise aims to achieve by responding to a series of five questions, all of which contribute to the realization of the aforementioned. The first question I need to respond to is "where have I been" This question requires that I look back on my past to understand who I am and where I came from, thereby arriving at an understanding of the source of my current abilities, values, interests and beliefs. Starting from the beginning, I was brought up in Paraguay and Korea and, accordingly, am multilingual. While I am now studying marketing communications, I had completed two years of university in Paraguay where I studied English literature. As I reflect upon the stated, I find that they contain part of the answers to the questions earlier posed. Starting with the notion of values and beliefs, I find that while I have very strong beliefs and firm values, I always limit judgments to myself. I do not believe that I, or anyone else for that matter, has the right to judge another person or censure him/her for their beliefs or values. My reasoning is quite straightforward and simple. In brief, each person is a product of his/h er environment and the decisions he/she makes or the actions he/she takes are ultimately dependant on their environment and the circumstances which determined the decision or action in question. Therefore, from my perspective, rather than pass judgment, it is imperative that we make the effort to understand the rationale behind the decision which was made or the action that was taken. Upon critical reflection, I find that the aforementioned attitude is an outcome of my multicultural upbringing and my study of literature. Through exposure to different cultures, I learnt that values and beliefs were ultimately a product of culture and to pass judgment on them is to judge a culture, something which very few people, if any, are equipped to do. Added to that, through exposure to the thought processes and experiences of numerous characters through my reading of English literature, I learnt that the reasons why people undertook certain actions or made decisions were complicated and complex . The implication here is that rather than pass judgment, we need to understand where the other person is coming from and try to meet him/her on their terms in order to

Values Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Values Paper - Essay Example The officer also vows to be honest both in his personal and official life and to become an example by obeying the laws and regulations of the land. In this statement the officer also recognizes the importance of not permitting his personal feelings, animosities or friendships and prejudices to influence his decisions. He vows to enforce the law appropriately and courteously without malice, fear or favor and never to use unnecessary force or violence. Our Core Values Convict the guilty Protect victims Protect the innocent from wrongful conviction Maintain order Protect both the innocent and guilty from oppressive or arbitrary treatment Secure public confidence and cooperation in policing and prosecution; and Pursue these goals effectively and efficiently without disproportionate cost and consequent harm to other public services Our core values relate to the criminal justice agency’s values statement as follows: we strive to protect all people including the innocent and victims from oppressive or arbitrary treatment just like the criminal agency strives to protect all persons including the weak and the peaceful from oppression, violence or disorder. Another core value is securing public confidence in policing and prosecution which relates to the law officer will enforce the law without malice, fear or favor. ... These values are mostly based on a person’s ethnicity and the kind of people a person grows up with. They are also subject to change. According to Koivula (2008) values are abstract rules of desirable conduct and goals developed to fit the conditions in which the society lives. The author also asserts that common values ensure that members of a society understand each other and pursue similar goals in a compatible way without a great deal of negotiation. Values lead to knowledge sharing in the workplace (Koivula, 2008). The author gives an example of self-transcendence values including benevolence and Universalism which are positively connected with knowledge sharing in the workplace. Values make us better people and help us contribute to the betterment of the society including other people and the environment. Values drive us to helping other people either as individuals or groups. Values cause people to become independent in the workplace. People do not need to be closely su pervised if they are guided by values. One is able to determine the nature of his or her work without significant direction from others. Values enhance teamwork in the workplace. People tend to work towards common goals when they are guided by the same values. Employees are more likely to have a good working relationship when they work as a group and are governed by similar organizational values when performing their duties. Values lead to organizational change. Koivula (2008) found that attitudes rely on values and they usually guide behavior in the workplace. The author states that organizational change requires a person to at least sacrifice his or her own resources and interests for the benefit of the whole

Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 16

Psychology - Essay Example In a similar vein, studies have shown that social influence through friends influence the use of alcohol in young adults and friends. This is the rationale behind the attempt of the study to evaluate the strength of influence of parents, siblings and friends in the frequency of alcohol use over time in adolescents and young adults. The research question pertains to finding out whether there is any difference in the influence between, parents, siblings, and friends’ use of alcohol on frequency of alcohol use over time in adolescents and young adults, and whether the influences of parents, siblings, and friends were moderated by factors of age and sex. The study provides additional input on the influence of familial and friends on the use of alcohol in adolescent and young adults in three ways consisting of simultaneous examination of this influence, differences in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, and the use of twin data. The frequency of drinking of the participants was ascertained through the use of a single question with eight response categories. The Netherlands Twin Register Survey provided the data on the frequency of drinking among the parents, twins, and friends of the participant twins. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted on the data collected in 1993 to evaluate the cross sectional influence of family members and friends on regular drinking in adolescents and young adults. Multivariate logistic regression analyses for the short term (1993 to 1995) longitudinal data, and for the long term (1993 to 2000) longitudinal data was used to determine whether drinking habits in family and friends predicted consumption of alcohol in adolescents and young adults. Influence of drinking of twin was assessed in data from 1995 and 2000. Cross-sectional multivariate logistic regression analyses

Subculture Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Subculture - Personal Statement Example I suppose that shocking way of dressing typical for those people who go against the system trying to prove independence and personal freedom. I do not life to waste time and efforts on shopping. Attitude to learning and friendship reflects my subculture: I am a hardworking, persistent and diligent student. I like parties which is a part of my subculture. Regardless of the style and social backgrounds, parties' culture represents freedom from rules, structures, controls and lifestyles. I can define this subculture in terms of inner self and 'people like me'. I like pop music including Latino singers and jazz. These music trends reflect youth priorities on a day-to-day basis. They become an example for background and ethics, morals and way of behavior for millions of people. This subculture affects all aspects of culture in a positive and negative way: how people dress, what music they listen to, and what they choose for entertainment. Another interesting part of my subculture is eating. I am a fast food eater. Eating is one of the most essential processes in our life which supplies our body with energy and mineral elements. Food determines different ways of living and personal culture of every person. I suppose that eating habits are more important than a trendy style or music you listen to. For most Americans, the good life means good food.

Child Language Development Case Study

Child Language Development Case Study Introduction This paper explores a case study with one family with a child displaying slower language development, examining the case in the light of well-known theories around child development. These theories, which include scientific approaches, social approaches, and applied approaches to understanding and supporting child development, are evaluated in the light of the existing literature and in relation to health visiting practice. The Case Child A is a 2 year old male, the only child of a same sex lesbian couple, living in an ex-council house within a village environment. The area of the village in which they live is predominantly local authority housing, but they bought their house as a private sale from its previous owner. The biological mother, who for the purpose of this essay will be called Mother A, was brought up in this village, and left to attend university and have a career, returning when the child was 3 months old. Mother A works 21 hours a week as a nurse, and also works ad hoc shifts as an agency nurse. Mother B is a university graduate who left full time employment to move in with Mother A, and now works for a local women’s charity part time, as a child support worker. Child A displays normal development in most areas, and demonstrates clear cognition and understanding of language and interactions, potentially beyond the standard for his stage of development. However, Child A does not use verbal language himself very much, and at times displays behaviour which suggests he is withdrawn and not interested in socialising. Mother A states that Child A socialises well in the Creche he attends 3 days per week. However, Mother A also states that as a family they are very socially isolated. Mother A’s extended family lives within 3-5 miles of them, but has very limited contact, because of discomfort with their lifestyle. The family attempted to join a mother and toddler group, but were made to feel unwelcome, and both parents state that they are ostracised by their local community, and cannot access social support from a wider lesbian community because they have no childcare other than the crà ¨che. They have been unable to secure a childminder or babysitter because of their alternative family arrangement. Observations of interactions between parents and child demonstrate good, positive attention from both parents. Mother A is very ‘attuned’ to the child and ‘interprets’ behaviours and expressions, anticipating the child’s needs. Interaction between health visitor and child suggests the child is capable of proper linguistic expression. On one occasion, the child corrected the health visitor, to inform her that a shell in his ‘collection’ was grey, not white. The child also shows some ability to recognise alphanumeric characters. Despite this, verbal communication seems very limited. Discussion This case provides an interesting dilemma in exploring the theories which would explain the apparent linguistic retardation this child displays. Bowlby’s attachment theory, for example, might suggest that the child’s linguistic restriction is due to some element of attachment, and that the primary attachment figure for this child is Mother A. In the absence of what others might describe as a normal social sphere for the child, the attachment between Mother A and Child A may never have been challenged, and this close attachment means that the child feels no motivation to speak, because his needs are being anticipated by his primary caregiver. Discussion with both parents does not indicate that the child undergoes separation distress (Bowlby and Bowlby, 2005)), but this could be anticipated from what might be an overly strong and exclusive attachment to Mother A. However, this author feels that attachment theory does not provide a model to explain what effect this kind of relationship might have on linguistic development. Behavioural theories of child development might also provide some insight, particularly if the child views that his current behaviours are being rewarded and reinforced by one or both of his parents (see, for example, the theories of Skinner, Pavlov and Watson). Scientific and biological theories of linguistic development may shed some light on the situation. Chomsky (2007), for example argues that the development of language in the individual child depends on a combination of genetic factors, which precipitate language learning in terms of a biological imperative, experience, which relates to the placement of the child as interacting with its social world, and principles of development which are not specific to the faculty of language. What this demonstrates is a move away from Cartesian dualism, and the reintegration of the processes of the mind into the functional and developmental processes of the body (Chomsky, 2007). In this case, therefore, Child A is likely to have biological imperatives precipitating linguistic development, but may not be achieving his potential due to a possible deficit in his interactions with the social world. It may be that this theoretical perspective highlights the single most important feature in this case, t he lack of social integration into the wider social world, or into normal society. This is not to say that if a same sex lesbian family were socialising in peer groups or social networks, that this would not be normal – far from it. What is notable about this case is that the family are isolated from both general, â€Å"heterosexual† society and from peer-related social groups. If there are, then, elements of linguistic development which are founded on social interactions, a deficit in these areas would likely indicate a potential reason for Child A’s linguistic retardation. The family have attempted to ensure the child is with his own peer group by placing him in a crà ¨che, a group childcare environment, rather than a single carer environment, which is a positive move. However, it could be that even this is not sufficient to precipitate the linguistic development that would be expected of Child A at this point. Classic theories such as Piaget’s constructivist theory, which posits certain developmental stages, might be useful here. In Piaget’s theory, constructivism is an alternative to simple biological understandings of child development, and the development of children’s thinking and cognition is segemented into four stages, which are viewed as progressive (Dawson-Tunkin et al, 2004). Piaget’s stages suggest that children must all move through these stages, sequentially, in order to develop ‘normally’. It is unsurprising that many theorists argue against the centrality of these sorts of stages, as being too restrictive and rigid and not necessarily universally applicable (Dawson-Tunkin et al, 2004). Piaget posits that equilibration, the process of learning wherein the individual reflects on previous experiences to assimilate new concepts and knowledge into current knowledge, is perhaps the most significant of the features of children’s devel opment (Dawson-Tunkin et al, 2004). So, although Piaget understood that biological maturation may set the timetable and limits of some aspects of child development, but stresses that the environment in which children are placed, and their interactions with that environment, is essential to them developing as they should. â€Å"Children who have severely limited interactions with their environments simply will not have the opportunities to develop and organize their cognitive structures so as to achieve mature ways of thinking† (Cook and Cook, 2005). There appears to be an almost inbuilt dissatisfaction with equilibrium, requiring individuals to extend their cognitive structures by seeking out, assimilating and processes new information (Cook and Cook, 2005). This is complemented by reflective abstraction, in which individuals take note of something in their environment, then reflect on it (Cook and Cook, 2005). However, Piaget also argues that â€Å"children do not passively absorb structures from the adults and other people around them†¦[but] actively create their own accommodations and so construct their own understandings† (Cook and Cook, 2005). Feldman (2004) criticises Piaget’s theories because they do not properly allow for the individuality of children, and for differences in development which might be quite marked between children in different circumstances (Feldman, 2004). This author also questions whether there is any need for such rigorous demarcation of stages of development, because if they are still only theories, then labelling children as failing or falling behind might be detrimental to the child and his/her family. However, many theories of development, general and linguistic, do suggest that social environment and/or interactions affects cognitive and linguistic development. Therefore, it could be that in this case, Child A, through his experiences to date, which have been somewhat limited in wider social interaction, has developed his own understandings of the role and function of language in his life, and has perhaps come to the conclusion that the verbalisation of language, at least for him, is rarely necessary. Cognition is not absent, this is evident from interactions with him. He can speak, or at least, it is evident that he understands language, symbols and complex sentence structures, but he does not have any motivation to speak. If asked to carry out a relatively complex task, such as ‘put the shells back in the truck, and put the truck away†, he can do this, readily, and willingly. But if asked to describe what he is doing or to describe his truck, he uses one word answers, gestures and facial expressions to communicate. Cole et al (2004) discuss how positive emotions are important in child development, suggesting that â€Å"emotions organise attention and activity and facilitate strategic, persistent or powerful actions to overcome obstacles, solve problems and maintain wellbeing (Cole et al (2004). This might suggest that perhaps Child A is not being placed in situations where he is emotionally tested enough, in order to motivate him to utilise language in ways that other children might do. Bell and Wolfe (2004) also suggest that there is a need to better understand and explore the role of emotions in organizing and regulating a child’s thinking and learning, and also in understanding the role and of thinking, learning and action in the regulation of children’s emotions. Certainly both Piaget and Vygotsky both argue that children working together learn more than children attempting to, for example, solve problems alone (Cole et al, 2004). It would be no great stretch to see the connection between these collaborative or interactive experiences, the emotional responses of children, and their development, and this must include linguistic development, because these interactions would require the use of language, and perhaps, the development of new linguistic capabilities. Callanan (2006) states that children’s cognitive processes are connected to the language they hear around them. In this case, therefore, it could be argued that Child A may be limited linguistically because the language he hears around him is only that of his two main carers, and of course, the language he hears on television. His social isolation may be affecting the ways in which he is thinking about the world, because he is exposed to limited verbiage. A Freudian analysis of this situation would be both problematic and challenging. If Child A is passing through Freud’s stages of psychosexual development, it could be said that he is perhaps arrested in his oral stage of development, and has not moved out of this stage because of his relationship either with Mother A alone or with both of his female parents. Freudian analysis here is fraught with difficulties, however, because this is not a typical heterosexual relationship, and so the parameters within which Freud’s psychoanalytical theories are framed simply to do not apply. The whole issue of gender here could be a difficult one, because there may be those who believe that a male child needs a gender-similar role model, and his current parenting situation does not provide this. However, contemporary theories on child care and child rearing have veered away from gender-specific behaviours and advocated for gender-neutral child rearing, a reorientation which has follow ed in the wake of radical and second wave feminist theories (Martin, 2005). These feminist theories have at times rejected concepts such as socialisation in the development of children’s social and personal awareness and in developing gender identity (Martin, 2005). However, this author believes, as does Martin (2005), that socialisation is an important feature in child development, and that while Freudian theories posit primary socialisation as occurring within the home, socialisation also occurs once the child is exposed to new environments. If the child is only exposed to limited social environments, this might also mean the child does not become socialised to as many environments and behavioural codes as it should do. Certainly, this author has met colleagues who have argued that the lack of a male role model, or male role models in the home situation, would constitute a problem. However, it would seem that many would argue that gender neutral parenting would not affect d evelopment, particularly if gender and chld development is fixed by biology (Martin, 2005). Vetegodt and Merrick (2003) suggest that there are five important needs that children have, in relation to formation of their identity and in relation to their cognitive development. These needs are: â€Å"the need for acknowledgement, acceptance, awareness, or attentions, respect and care† (Vetegodt and Merrick, 2003). There is a suggestion that if children do not have these needs met, they may then modify their own identities to adjust to their parents and the situation (Vetegodt and Merrick, 2003). While this may not necessarily be true, in the case of Child A and his family, it might be that his needs are met in the home situation, but his needs may be being met in other situations. Certainly, conversations with the parents suggest that they fear his needs, of the nature described above, would not be met outside the family environment because of the nature of his family. There is an ongoing belief that childhood is of primary importance in children forming ‘healthy i dentities’ (Taylor, 2004). The Role of the Health Visitor These theories are mere explorations of potential reasons for an apparent deficit in linguistic development in Child A. Addressing this developmental issue with the parents, in this context, is likely to be somewhat challenging, particularly as the relationship between the health visitor and the parents is of primary importance (Jack et al, 2005). Certainly the child’s home situation is a positive one, and there are no issues in relation to economic or other deprivation. Both parents are intelligent and open to discussion about development and the child’s social needs, but both are also, understandably, sensitive about their continued social exclusion. However, the role of the health visitor is to promote the child’s health and wellbeing (Condon, 2008), and so part of the role in this situation is to assess this wellbeing and ensure the child is offered full participation in all the aspects of health promotion and disease prevention available (Condon, 2008). In t his case, as Mother A is a nurse, and Child A has been subject to all necessary health checks, immunisations, and the like. Engaging with the family has allowed the health visitor to identify elements of the home situation which could affect maternal wellbeing, and so affect child development and wellbeing, but there are no signs of postnatal depression or anything else to raise any warning signs (Peckover, 2003) Here, the role of the health visitor may be to assist the family in identifying ways of extending their social sphere and social life, and integrating their child into social groups and networks which might be more accepting of their alternative family construct. However, there are limits to what a health visitor can advise, and it might be necessary to look at other disciplines, other professionals, and other agencies to support this family. Certainly with changes in the law and social life in recent years, it is becoming less challenging for alternative families to find support and inclusion, but in this case, it would seem that social inclusion may be negatively impacting upon their child’s development. The public health dimension of the health visitor role is very much vaunted in the literature and in governmental policy, but is less easy to realise in practice (Cameron and Christie, 2007). Yet activities such as those discussed in this essay contribute to the public health dimension of the health visitor’s role, in concrete ways. Perhaps it is most important to view the macrocosm of public health policy in relation to the microcosm of the daily work of the health visitor, although it is not always easy to evaluate the day to day function of this role in relation to wider public health improvements. Conclusion It would appear that, whatever the theoretical standpoint, there seem to be a range of ways of defining child development, and many of these relate to the way that children relate to their environment. While there may be a biological imperative to develop cognitively, developing cognitive and, in the case of Child A, linguistic processes, there can be factors which can negatively affect these processes. If these factors are socially mediated, then the social environment that the child finds itself in may be as important as providing good nutrition and health protection. 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