Obama and Romney Campaign Video Analysis

Obama and Romney Campaign Video Analysis Analysis of Obama and Romney campaign Advertisements Igbinosa Ojehomon According to McNair Brian â€Å"Political communication simply is purposeful communication about politics†[1] From his definition of political communication, the main word that strikes a chord is â€Å"purposeful† which according to Merriam Webster dictionary, defines purposeful as â€Å"having a clear aim or purpose†[2] So his explanation could be summarized as communication related to politics having a clear aim. Political communication always has an intent and intended target. More so, it usually has an objective and the objective most of the time it is to influence and persuade an intended group or populace. Besides political communication is always issue specific. Part time the information disseminated is well-defined to reflect a particular message. This is done in other to ensure that the recipients of the targeted information get the intended message in other to have maximum impact. Besides political communication has gone beyond just spoken words and com posed text but it has metamorphosed into to the realm of using filmic and photographic cues[3]. These include deliberate concerted efforts at manipulate audio-visual and pictorial materials, structured in such a way that it portrays a particular identity. In this fashion this could be referred to as Political Image. It further includes advertising related attributes such as emblem design for political party, facial cosmetics, and hairdo making of whoever is going to be a flag bearer of the political party. All this are deliberately done to ensure positive image of the political part and the party leader in other to create a positive impression on the mind of the intended target in order to achieve an intended objective desired by the political party and the political leader. This processes goes down to include what type of slogan to use, what color should be used to represent the party to even include voice training of the political leader, gesture training, walking steps to dressin g style are all carefully manage by a specialist to portray and image consistent with what is intended by the party. Funny enough all this transformation in political communication has influence by advancement in communication technology. From paper to newspapers, magazine to radio, television to the social media. However the advent of the television most especially the colored television has open a fora for highly colorful political advertising programs, speeches, jingles all utilize highly creative multimedia tools to produce the most colorful and eye appeal video footage. Besides all entities have components, this divisions that make up the entity. Against the backdrop the parts that make up political communication are as follows the media, the citizens and the political organization[4] COMPONENT OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION The citizen, media and political organization are all core parts of political communication. They are highly dependent on each other and they could be referred to as mutually interdependent. Each constituent depend on the other constituent depend on the other constituent for relevance. This process is also vice versa. Firms 2012 (Barack Obama’s campaign) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud3mMj0AZZk This 32 seconds Ad was carefully structured to support the motion that Romney was the problem and not the solution to American’s economic woes, by exposing the trading pattern of Romney’s firms and money laundering schemes. In the period when these Ads were aired, America has been experiencing a steady increase in unemployment and the economy was in a bad shape. This economic situation badly affected the middle class of the American society who were losing their jobs to offshore- outsourcing of labor to countries of cheap labor such as Mexico, India and china. Besides, further investment in Tax havens such as Cayman Island and Bermuda. Tax havens â€Å"are locations with very low tax rates and other tax attributes designed to appeal to foreign investors†[5] Some tax haven do not apply taxes for foreign investors. This is an attraction for rich folks and investors, for it is more profitable for them to invest in this place because of low or zero tax. This must hav e been an attraction for Romney’s firm, for his is a business man and wants to make profits. However, investing funds in another country has a tendency of improving the economy of that country. So what this Obama TV Ad is trying to drive at with relation to the economic situation in the United States, is that Romney by investing in the Cayman Island and Bermuda instead of the United States, is contributing to the economic challenges of the United States at that time and not helping the situation. For every amount of money that was invested outside the United States would have contributed to the improvement of the American economy. Besides, the money laundering acts by Romney highlighted in this TV Ad to Swiss account helped to further reinforce the key message of this TV Ad the â€Å"Romney is the problem and not the solution† for when large chunk of money is moved from a country, it short circuit the natural flow of money in the economy and this disruptions have signi ficant impact on the general functioning of the economy. Likewise, those funds saved in the Swiss account by Romney if saved in banks in banks in United States, it would have help improved the American economy by making available funds which banks could borrow to American citizens for business related activities and the such activities would create jobs for American people etc. Personally the arrangement of ideas in this Ad was very was very effective and the arrangement of evidences to support the main idea was splendid. This was an attempt to demonize Romney and blame him for economic situation at that time. However looking at things objectively Romney is a business man, and the goal of every businessman is to make profits so every sane business man will act in like-manner like Romney, such as outsourcing of jobs, investing in Tax haven if he or she feels it is profitable. The Cheaters 2012 (Barack Obama’s campaign) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MI4YOICmuA This 30 seconds audio-visual Obama Ad is titled The Cheaters, this title is arrived at by taking out excerpt from Romney’s speech which is as follows â€Å"It’s time to stand up to the cheaters and make sure we protect jobs for the American people† Funny enough this excerpt was taken from Romney’s TV Ad against Obama accusing Obama of not standing up to China Hence being a cheater. So we could argue that this Obama Tv Ad is a response to Romney’s Tv Ad. The architect of this Ad are very smart, in that they used Romney’s words which he accused Obama of cheating and not standing up to china against him. This they did by picking up key phrases in Romney’s Ad such as â€Å"Stand up to† â€Å"the cheaters† and â€Å"protect jobs† which he accused Obama of, then using those key phrases against Romney. This they did by providing evidences to prove that what he accused Obama of, he (Romney) is guilty of it; that is,  "not standing up to china†. This evidences are presented as follows Firstly, transferring employment to china. Romney’s investment company called Bain capital has overtime systematically invested in companies that focus on shifting jobs from United States to china.[6]This is a direct link to the fact that Romney has not stood up to china. For how can you claim you are standing up to a country and then still indirectly provide jobs for that country at the expense of your own country. That is highly hypocritical and dishonest; this was what Romney’s action implied. This was what Obama TV Ad was trying to capitalize on. That Romney is a hypocrite and dishonest hence â€Å"The Cheater.† This evidence is aimed at making the American public view Romney as unpatriotic. For his investment patterns was taking jobs from the American people and transferring them to China. Americans are very patriotic people, so they would not vote for a presidential candidate that reflect unpatriotic sentiments. Personally I feel this was a very convincing message, that Romney was not standing up to china for the way the Obama TV portrayed it Secondly, heavily investing in china. The surveillance industry in china is a booming industry due to the rising threat of insecurity as a result of large and growing population. This Obama TV Ad help to highlight the fact that significant portion of Romney’s wealthy is invested in the surveillance industry in china.[7] This directly boosts the Chinese economy, provide jobs for Chinese people. This action of Romney’s firms highly illustrates the fact that Romney is not standing up to china instead he is supporting china. These furthermore reinforces the fact that he is supporting china at the expense of the American people. This has negative connotation on the voting populace. For the American people have been wary of china for it is a direct threat to the American economy. For it is a hub for cheap labor and a distribution point for cheap product to the United States. Due to this economic characteristics of china, American has been losing funds and jobs to china. So Ob ama TV Ad on the second point helps to illustrate that Romney has chosen to align himself with china which is a threat to American economy. Thus, it indicates that Romney is supporting china. This message the Obama TV Ad tries to pass across to the American people that Romney is supporting china which depriving them jobs while he claims he is not supporting china. To sum up, the two TV Ad of Obama titled Firms 2012 and the cheaters 2012 were designed to were designed portray Mitt Romney in a negative fashion. The Tv Ad Title Firms 2012 was designed so that the American public could perceive Mitt Romney as the cause of America’s economic challenges due to foreign outsourcing of jobs and investment in tax havens which indirectly causes unemployment and reduction in funds available in the American economy. More so the campaign advertisement title â€Å"The cheaters 2012† was to show mitt Romney as not a dishonest person, for he claimed he would stand up to china, however his financial company was heavily investing in china directly and indirectly Source: http://www.inc.com/gene-marks/mitt-romney-small-business-admit-when-youre-wrong.html Mitt Romney, has had successful career both academically, politically and businesswise until the presidential election in 2012 which he lost to Barack Obama. He studied in Ivy League schools such as Stanford and Harvard[8]. Politically he was one time governor of Massachusetts. Businesswise he owns a very profitable financial company called Bain capital.[9]This company has been very profitable to Romney and has help to manage his financial assets and channel funds to profitable investments. Conservative Agenda 2012 (Mitt Romney’s campaign) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6vMqnP3TM4 The first few words of this campaign Tv advertisement summarizes everything in this video. That is Mitt Romney claiming that he would make the American government simpler smaller and smarter, this he further explains he would do through nationalization of programs eliminating non-essential programs and Obamacare. This his rhetoric is highly conservative and a reflection of Republican Party doctrine. Republican Party are not in favor of welfare programs, that may explain why he said he will get rid of programs(Obamacare).He also talks about introducing spending cut and balancing of budget. By this he is trying to show that Obama’s government are not literate enough to handle the American economy. More so his approach here to what is causing job loss for the American people is government deficit as a result of excessive spending .In this campaign add he is outlining the problems of the American economy and offering solutions to it. He is not directing his criticism at Obamas per sonality but at the institution that represent Obamas government. Besides his words in this video is portraying care and concern for the American people and the future. He is portraying himself as a responsible father by talking about the negative impact the Obama government is having on the future of the American kid. Give Me a Break 2012 (Mitt Romney’s campaign) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9gKQlYtDU8 â€Å"Give me a break† means literally excuse me or give me breathing space. This could literally mean mitt Romney telling Obama to give the American people a break, for even former president Clinton said the same word in 2008 presidential campaign about Obama, highlighting the fact that he could not see any meaningful solution Obama would bring. For since Obama took office the American economy has regressed, the middle class are falling backward and large chunk of the American population are looking for job. Failing American Workers 2012 (Mitt Romney’s campaign) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58pq658byzI The title of campaign advertisement summarizes everything in this video. Before Obama took office for the first time he promised to create jobs and revive the economy. However the video illustrates that Obama has failed to meet up to his promises, thereby failing the American workers, who are affected most by his failure. Romney shows using figures that illustrate that Americas manufacturing jobs was more than china but when Obama took office, it drop till the extent that china overtook America in manufacturing jobs. An excess of half a million manufacturing jobs were lost under Obamas first administration. This is a concrete prove that Obama has failed the American worker. This is the message Romney is trying to pass across. Failing American Families 2012 (Mitt Romney’s campaign) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erT_1axOAHo Family is a very important factor in among the conservative in the American society. Romney is using the family as a weapon to show that under Obamas administration family income has on a regular interval been reducing by 4000 dollars and furthermore he also illustrates that national debt have increased steadily. By this happen he has failed to meet up to the expectation he promised the American people when he initially took office hence failed the American families. PERSONAL ANALYSIS In this section would attempt to analyze Obama campaign and Romney campaign separately then show the differences and similarities between the two The differences between Obama campaign and Romney campaign in this Video clips is that the two Obama video clips are is more of a personality attack on Romney, designed to create negative sentiment about Romney. Secondly it is mainly focused on Romney as the cause of the problems. Thirdly it it is attacking Romney’s business life. Taking his past business activity and associating it to be the cause of American economic problems and increase unemployment. While alternatively Romney’s campaign advertisement is has substance. Substance in the sense that it is using statistics, numerical facts to prove that Obamas first time in office has done America more harm than good. He does that by comparing America’s economy (house hold income, employment rate and debt burden), before Obama took office and after Obama’s first term in office. He used it to prove that America has not made progress domestically and internationally when compared to china. Personally this is highly convincing, concrete and professional. The challenge to Romney’s approach is that it appeal to the intellectuals and highly educated. In short it appeal to the brain because it the argument are logical and factual. But, it is not the whole American population that would view his campaign from that standpoint. More so Romney’s campaign advertisement was more nationalistic and futuristic. He was trying to make the America public understand the negative impact of Obamas government in the first four years on the future of the American people. More so, Romney’s campaign Advertisement was making use of authority’s facts, such as information from national bureau of statistics, while Obama was utilizing information from newspapers etc. But when view both campaign, Obama campaign seemed to have more effects because it appealed to the emotion. It provoked negative feelings towards Romney by the American people, no wonder Obama won the presidential election the second time. In conclusion, Obama negative campaigning again Romney won again Romney’s logical and systematic and factual representation of campaign advertisement can personally learn from this that people may response more effectively to emotionally charged campaign advertisement than to logical and factual campaign advertisement. More so independent research also suggest that Obama was more genuine that Romney, only God knows. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. McNair, Brian. An introduction to political communication. Taylor Francis, 2011. 2. Webster, M. (n.d.). . . Retrieved, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purposeful. 3. McNair, Brian. An introduction to political communication. Taylor Francis, 2011 p6 5. Dharmapala, D., Hines Jr, J. R. (2007, April). Which countries become tax havens?. InAmerican Law Economics Association Annual Meetings(p. 48). bepress. 6. Hamburger, T. (n.d.). Romney’s Bain Capital invested in companies that moved jobs overseas.. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/romneys-bain-capital-invested-in-companies-thatmoved-jobs-overseas/2012/06/21/gJQAsD9ptV_story.html 7. JACOBS, A., BULLOCK, P. (2012, March 15). Firm Romney Founded Is Tied to Chinese Surveillance.. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/world/asia/bain-capital-tied-to-surveillance-push-in-china.html?pagewanted=all_r=0 8. The American Presidency. (n.d.). . Retrieved May 14, 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/presidents/article-9439058 [1] McNair, Brian. An introduction to political communication. Taylor Francis, 2011. [2] Webster, M. (n.d.). . . Retrieved, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purposeful. [3] ibid [4] McNair, Brian. An introduction to political communication. Taylor Francis, 2011 p6 [5] Dharmapala, D., Hines Jr, J. R. (2007, April). Which countries become tax havens?. InAmerican Law Economics Association Annual Meetings(p. 48). bepress. [6] Hamburger, T. (n.d.). Romney’s Bain Capital invested in companies that moved jobs overseas.. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/romneys-bain-capital-invested-in-companies-thatmoved-jobs-overseas/2012/06/21/gJQAsD9ptV_story.html [7] JACOBS, A., BULLOCK, P. (2012, March 15). Firm Romney Founded Is Tied to Chinese Surveillance.. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/world/asia/bain-capital-tied-to-surveillance-push-in-china.html?pagewanted=all_r=0 [8] The American Presidency. (n.d.). . Retrieved May 14, 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/presidents/article-9439058 [9] ibid

Customer is King: Evolution of the Retail Food Industry Essay

It is common understanding that you cannot have a business if you do not have customers to buy the product you produce or services you deliver; therefore customer is an integral part of every business. There was a time when customers was treated less critical and vocal by the businesses and markets was treated just as dumping grounds for the products, however this situation does not prevail anymore because of the tremendous transformation happening in the retail food industry since last five decades. Today customers have more choices than ever before, through more diverse channels. Even the expectations of customer are higher than ever before. Companies who fail to leave up to the expectation are finding hard to get or retain the customers- Majority of the unsatisfied customer do not complain they just change the suppliers. Therefore retailers have realised that the only way to sustain in the competitive market is by being customer centric. (Barnes & Glynn, 1993) Today every businesses treat customer as king and aware that only exceptional level of customer service can differentiate them from the competition in an increasingly saturated marketplace. Customer is often treated as the asset of the company and considered in the strategic level decision making. Therefore I certainly agree with this frequently used marketing cliche â€Å"customer is king†. To better explain my position I have presented my views based on two contexts. The first being how customer is king? This is explained by describing the customer’s role in the evolution of the retail food industry and its implications. The second being why customer is king? This is explained by detailing the significance of customers in the retail food business. The evolution of the retail food industry and its implications: Retail food industry has undergone a tremendous transformation in the last five decades, these transformations can be classified into four different phases- Predevelopment, Development, Saturation and Decline phase (Terbeek, 1999). During the predevelopment phase shopping was a social event, relationships between the customer and grocer was important. Shopping experience was logical, retail was more of a personalised business where the customer was treated as an individual and his or her needs were well known and understood by the businesses. Also there existed a long term personal relationship between the businesses and the customer (Steidtman, 2005). Therefore during this phase more emphasis was given to the customer and customer service, however this situation did not prevail long. During the development phase, small and neighbourhood stores started to decline due to the raise of supermarket. Customers were no more trusting grocer rather they started to trust brands. No longer there existed a personal relationship between the businesses and the customer. Even management was centralised and employees were ignorant of the customer behaviour, old values which existed during the predevelopment stage relating to employee and customer relationship almost disappeared, the customer becomes a consumer. However due to logistics efficiency and introduction in new model of central buying and distribution of standard products to standard stores led in the decline of product prices. Even though retailer was the ultimate connection to the customer but manufacturer had more control over the market demand and retailer was just acting as distributor. Manufacturer assumed that every market was standard and started using push marketing model to sell his products, therefore emphasis on customer was neglected and customer service was taken a backseat (Terbeek, 1999) During the saturation phase the competition between the retailers intensified, there was a rise of many stores even the products increased from 8000 to 30000 items and above, which resulted in making a decision making stressful for the customers. However the growth of the industry slowdown and the real growth for supermarkets came from taking businesses away from each other. Marketing cost intensified because of the competition between supermarkets, even value created by supermarkets become less easy to distinguish because of the availability of the identical products in every store. Therefore Price become the way for many stores to differentiate them, which gave rise to the new mantra of super markets called â€Å"more products and lower prices†. Competition among the manufacturers also heated up which led retailers to get better incentives for the self-space. Therefore retailers was busy concerned on making deal money which was more profitable then customer service, Customer was almost invisible and the relationship between the retailer and the customer no longer existed(Terbeek, 1999). During the decline phase the might of the supermarkets reduced drastically by the entry of fast food chains and low cost department stores (Wal-Mart, Target etc. – which started competing for the stomach share of the consumer. Therefore retailers try to differentiate themselves by introducing new merchandising strategies such as home meal replacement and solution selling, also another strategy for growth was geographic expansion through consolidation and globalisation. Retailers were more concerned on making profits and increasing market share, however even in this phase they neglected the fact that customer is one of the important ass et and failed to be customer oriented. Therefore retailers still moved even further away from the customer. Following the decline phase of the retail food market is the â€Å"current† (2000+) situation which can perhaps be termed as the frictionless phase (Terbeek, 1999). It’s not surprising that in this phase, the focus is once again on the customer. The one size fits all concept of retail is no longer applicable and there is need to deliver personalized services and products on an individual basis to distinguish them from others and to stay ahead in the market. Therefore customer has become the central focus in this era, even the retailers have realised that customer service, customer loyalty and customer retention plays a major role in sales and profitability of the concern. Thanks to Technological transformation, which has enabled retail to return to what it once – a personalised business, today businesses have realised that customer is a strategic asset of the organisation and treating customer as a â€Å"King† is vital for the long term sustainability. Significance of customers in the retail food business: The food and beverage market is often the largest industrial sector in developed economies. In the US, expenditures on food in both retail stores and food service establishments account for nearly 30 percent of all retail spending. Food retailing alone is among the largest of all retailing sectors in most countries(Gomez, McLaughlin, & Wittink, 2003). The most recent Consumer Expenditure Survey from the Department of Labour indicates that 58 percent of food expenditures are on food consumed at home and Groceries represent a $700 billion business in US alone (George, 2005). Due to the market size today retail sector is not only growing in the rapid pace but also becoming more competitive, even the customers have become more demanding than ever. Retailers have realised that the only way to sustain in the competitive market is through differentiation; Rita Heise of Cargill says differentiation must be a top priority of almost any company today (Tuck, 2003). Today differentiation in terms of pricing, product offering are also becoming commonplace so companies need new ways to differentiate themselves. In the verge of finding differentiating strategies, retailers have realised that the only way of differentiating them form others is by being customer centric(Gomez et al. , 2003). Today customers are vital for the retail businesses, treating customers like a King is really important because this leads to more satisfied customers. The more satisfied the customers are, the more loyal the customers will be- which in turn helps in maintaining customer loyalty. Therefore customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and customer retention all these three terms are interrelated which has a significant impact on the profitability, sales and market share of the businesses. Customer satisfaction: Customer satisfaction and retention are generally considered among the most important long term objectives of firms (Cooil, Keiningham, Aksoy, & Hsu, 2007). The satisfied customers will remain loyal to the company and also create a positive brand image by word of mouth. In recent research of over 1,000 kiwis, respondents said they were twice as likely to tell others about a bad experience over a positive one. With stories being told online, rather than person-to-person, they are accessible to a much wider audience and live on long after the initial compromising incident occurred (Meyer, 2011). Therefore businesses which fail to meet the customer expectations will not only lose customers but also may create a negative brand image. Linking customer satisfaction and customer loyalty/retention: The marketing concept suggests that a satisfied buyer will likely return to purchase again, or at least, consider purchasing again(Keith, 1960). According to Reichheld and Sasser repeat customers cost less to serve than new buyers, benefiting a firm’s cost structure. Additionally, maximizing customer retention rates and minimizing customer defections are primary strategic objectives for most firms because of the competitive retail environment and low switching costs(Reichheld, 1990). Customer satisfaction is positively linked to loyalty and customer retention, therefore businesses should be customer oriented in order to maximise the profits, market share and also to increase the sales. Linking profitability or market share to customer satisfaction and customer loyalty: According to one study, a 2 percent increase in customer retention has the same effect on profits as cutting costs by 10 percent. Similarly, a 5 percent reduction in customer defection rate can increase profits by 25-125 percent (Min, 2011). It is logical that both satisfaction and loyalty are directly related to profitability(Pleshko & Baqer, 2008). Loyal and satisfied customers will increase the customer base by positive word of mouth advertising, which in turn increase the market share and also the sales, even lowers the market retention costs. Satisfied and loyal customers gives businesses a clear understanding about their needs and wants which helps the retailers to grow businesses and profits based on their deep knowledge and understanding of customers. Satisfied customers also create brand equity and even retailers will be insured with better protection during downturn- due to more loyal customers. Therefore today retailers are continuously focusing on keeping their customers happy and satisfied. Businesses which do not satisfy the customers run the risk of customer base eductions, smaller sales and also lose the market share for the retailers who serve better to the customers. Being customer centric cannot be treated simply as the strategy of an individual company because modern food system is complex, dynamic and international (Schaffer, 1998). It includes suppliers of farm inputs, agricultural producers, packaging suppliers, processors and manufacturers, commodity merchants, wholesalers, food retailers, restraints, institutions, and facilitating industries etc. (Schaffer, 1998). Therefore to be successful and competitive, all the players in the food system should be customer centric. Businesses in the food supply chain have realised this and every businesses are taking customer centric approach in the recent years. Today’s retail market in the developed world are becoming more customers centric and treating customers as Kings because retailers have realised that customer centric approach is directly linked to profitability of the firm and also can become a key source of competitive differentiation. By excelling at the strategic customer-centric approach can deliver a superior shopping experience that could not only result in consistently high customer satisfaction but also might encourage customers to shop more often and spend more with their favoured retailers. Therefore we can say that today businesses have realised that customers have the power to dictate their profits, market share and also the sales in the businesses, so treating customers as Kings has become vital for the retail businesses success today.

The American War On Drugs - 1598 Words

The American â€Å"War on Drugs† war created to keep an exorbitant amount of people behind bars, and in a subservient status. First, America has a storied history when it comes to marijuana use. However, within the last 50 years legislation pertaining to drug use and punishment has increased significantly. In the modern era, especially hard times have hit minority communities thanks to these drug laws. While being unfairly targeted by drug laws and law enforcement, minorities in America are having a difficult time trying to be productive members of society. A famous quote attributed to Charlie Fleisher says much about the 1960’s. â€Å"If you remember the 1960’s, then you weren’t there.† By the late 1960s drug use had become a fairly†¦show more content†¦In order to spread lies about marijuana use, various agencies released propaganda films, most notable of these films is â€Å"Reefer Madness†. In this film, high school studen ts are lured into using marijuana, which leads the students to commit murder, rape, suicide, and an overall decent into madness. Despite the strong use of propaganda, marijuana use saw an upward trend between the 1950’s and the 1960’s. Use of marijuana had spread to the white upper and middle classes by the 1960’s, partially changing the negative connotations attached to marijuana use. The drug was used by these middle and upper class whites to rebel against the older generation’s way of thinking. Many teens were introduced to marijuana use in college, where various other counter-culture ideas were being expounded. While the use of marijuana experienced a rise since the 1800’s to the middle of the 20th century, use of the drug saw a strong downward trend in the 1970’s through the early 1990’s, in part due to the strongest