DOCSLIB.ORG

Influental Factors on Brand Choice and Consumption Behaviors: an Exploratory Study on College Students and Beer

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Influental Factors on Brand Choice and Consumption Behaviors: an Exploratory Study on College Students and Beer INFLUENTAL FACTORS ON BRAND CHOICE AND CONSUMPTION BEHAVIORS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON COLLEGE STUDENTS AND BEER By DAVE RITTER A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ADVERTISING UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2008 1 © 2008 Dave Ritter 2 To my family, friends, educators, and colleagues, cheers! Without your love, support, and guidance none of this would be possible. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my entire family for supporting my education and research at the University of Florida. I would like to thank Lakeland College, the University of Illinois, and the University of Florida for providing me with the skills and education possible to complete this document. I also would like to express my gratitude to all of my committee members for their help, guidance, and comments throughout this process. In addition, I would like to give a special thank-you to my thesis chair, Hyojin Kim. Finally, I would like to thank God for giving me faith, ability, and opportunity to persevere. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................................4 LIST OF TABLES...........................................................................................................................7 LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................8 ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................9 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................10 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................................13 Brand Choice ..........................................................................................................................13 Desired Brand Benefits...........................................................................................................19 Performance/Quality........................................................................................................20 Price/Value for Money ....................................................................................................22 Emotions..........................................................................................................................23 Normative/Personal (Social) ...........................................................................................23 Environment (Stewardship).............................................................................................24 Health ..............................................................................................................................25 Situational Factors ..................................................................................................................27 Consumer Factors ...................................................................................................................29 Exploratory Shopping Behaviors ....................................................................................30 Interpersonal Influence....................................................................................................30 Consumption Behaviors ..................................................................................................31 Product Category Involvement........................................................................................32 Demographics..................................................................................................................32 Theory of Reasoned Action....................................................................................................33 Research Questions.................................................................................................................36 3 METHOD ...............................................................................................................................37 Pretest .....................................................................................................................................37 Subjects............................................................................................................................37 Design and Procedure......................................................................................................38 Measures.................................................................................................................................38 Brand Choice...................................................................................................................38 Situational Variation........................................................................................................39 Desired Brand Benefits....................................................................................................39 Consumption Behavior....................................................................................................39 Demographics..................................................................................................................40 Main Study..............................................................................................................................40 5 Subjects............................................................................................................................40 Design and Procedure......................................................................................................42 Measures.................................................................................................................................43 Brand Choice...................................................................................................................43 Situational Variation........................................................................................................43 Desired Brand Benefits....................................................................................................46 Exploratory Shopping Behaviors ....................................................................................46 Interpersonal Influence....................................................................................................47 Consumption Behavior....................................................................................................47 Product Category Involvement........................................................................................49 Demographics..................................................................................................................50 4 RESULTS...............................................................................................................................51 Brand Choice among Situational Variation............................................................................51 Consumption Behavior among Situation Variation................................................................58 Variables Affecting Beer Brand Choice.................................................................................67 Variables Affecting Beer Consumption..................................................................................79 5 DISCUSSION.........................................................................................................................90 6 LIMITATIONS.......................................................................................................................96 APPENDIX A PRETEST ...............................................................................................................................99 B MAIN STUDY .....................................................................................................................109 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................120 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................................130 6 LIST OF TABLES Table page 2-1 Brand Choice Studies.........................................................................................................16 3-1 Beer Brand Choice.............................................................................................................41 3-2 Demographic Frequency Distribution................................................................................42 3-3 Situation Frequency Distribution.......................................................................................45 3-4 Average Beers Consumed and Average Occasions Drinking Beer...................................48 3-5 Consumption Behavior Frequency ....................................................................................49 4-1 Situational Groups and Brand Choice................................................................................53 4-2 Situational Groups and Consumption Behavior ................................................................61 4-3 Multiple Discriminant Analysis: Beer Brand Choice ........................................................73 4-4 Structure Matrix for Beer Brand Choice............................................................................75
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Buffy & Angel Watching Order
    Start with: End with: BtVS 11 Welcome to the Hellmouth Angel 41 Deep Down BtVS 11 The Harvest Angel 41 Ground State BtVS 11 Witch Angel 41 The House Always Wins BtVS 11 Teacher's Pet Angel 41 Slouching Toward Bethlehem BtVS 12 Never Kill a Boy on the First Date Angel 42 Supersymmetry BtVS 12 The Pack Angel 42 Spin the Bottle BtVS 12 Angel Angel 42 Apocalypse, Nowish BtVS 12 I, Robot... You, Jane Angel 42 Habeas Corpses BtVS 13 The Puppet Show Angel 43 Long Day's Journey BtVS 13 Nightmares Angel 43 Awakening BtVS 13 Out of Mind, Out of Sight Angel 43 Soulless BtVS 13 Prophecy Girl Angel 44 Calvary Angel 44 Salvage BtVS 21 When She Was Bad Angel 44 Release BtVS 21 Some Assembly Required Angel 44 Orpheus BtVS 21 School Hard Angel 45 Players BtVS 21 Inca Mummy Girl Angel 45 Inside Out BtVS 22 Reptile Boy Angel 45 Shiny Happy People BtVS 22 Halloween Angel 45 The Magic Bullet BtVS 22 Lie to Me Angel 46 Sacrifice BtVS 22 The Dark Age Angel 46 Peace Out BtVS 23 What's My Line, Part One Angel 46 Home BtVS 23 What's My Line, Part Two BtVS 23 Ted BtVS 71 Lessons BtVS 23 Bad Eggs BtVS 71 Beneath You BtVS 24 Surprise BtVS 71 Same Time, Same Place BtVS 24 Innocence BtVS 71 Help BtVS 24 Phases BtVS 72 Selfless BtVS 24 Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered BtVS 72 Him BtVS 25 Passion BtVS 72 Conversations with Dead People BtVS 25 Killed by Death BtVS 72 Sleeper BtVS 25 I Only Have Eyes for You BtVS 73 Never Leave Me BtVS 25 Go Fish BtVS 73 Bring on the Night BtVS 26 Becoming, Part One BtVS 73 Showtime BtVS 26 Becoming, Part Two BtVS 74 Potential BtVS 74
    [Show full text]
  • Commodities, Culture, and the Consumption of Pilsner Beer in The
    Empire in a Bottle: Commodities, Culture, and the Consumption of Pilsner Beer in the British Empire, c.1870-1914 A dissertation presented by Malcolm F. Purinton to The Department of History In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In the field of History Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts August 2016 1 Empire in a Bottle: Commodities, Culture, and the Consumption of Pilsner Beer in the British Empire, c.1870-1914 by Malcolm F. Purinton Abstract of Dissertation Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities of Northeastern University August, 2016 2 Abstract The Pilsner-style beer is the most popular and widespread beer style in the world with local variants and global brands all competing in marketplaces from Asia to Africa to the Americas. Yet no one has ever examined why this beer and not another was able to capture the global market for malt beverages. This is important from the point of view of the study of beer as a commodity, but its greater importance is in the way the spread of the Pilsner style serves as a visible, traceable marker for the changes wrought by globalization in an age of empire. Its spread was dependent not only on technological innovations and faster transportation, but also on the increased connectedness of the world, and on the political structures like empires that dominated the world at the time. Drawing upon a wide range of archival sources from Great Britain, Germany, Ireland, and South Africa, this study traces the spread in consumption and production of the Pilsner in the British Empire between 1870 and 1914.
    [Show full text]
  • The Scheduling and Reception of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel in the UK
    Vampire Hunters: the Scheduling and Reception of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel in the UK Annette Hill and Ian Calcutt Introduction In a viewers’ feedback programme on TV, a senior executive responded to public criticism of UK television’s scheduling and censorship of imported cult TV. Key examples included Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin off series Angel. The executive stated: ‘The problem is, with some of the series we acquire from the States, in the States they go out at eight o’clock or nine o’clock. We don’t have that option here because we want to be showing history documentaries or some other more serious programming at eight or nine o’clock’ [1]. TV channels in the UK do not perceive programmes like Buffy and Angel, which have garnered critical and ratings success in the USA, appropriate for a similarly prominent timeslot. Although peak time programmes can include entertainment shows, these are generally UK productions, such as lifestyle or drama. This article analyses the circumstances within which British viewers are able to see Buffy and Angel, and the implications of those circumstances for their experiences as audience members and fans. The article is in two sections. The first section outlines the British TV system in general, and the different missions and purposes of relevant TV channels. It also addresses the specifics of scheduling Buffy and Angel, including the role of censorship and editing of episodes. We highlight how the scheduling has been erratic, which both interrupts complex story arcs and frustrates fans expecting to see their favourite show at a regular time.
    [Show full text]
  • WC Fields and Charles Bukowski As
    "TOO MANY OLIVES IN MY MARTINI": W.C. FIELDS AND CHARLES BUKOWSKI AS POSTMODERN CARNIVAL KINGS David Camak Pratt A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS August 2008 Committee: Jeffrey Brown, Advisor Marilyn Motz © 2008 David Camak Pratt All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Jeffrey Brown, Advisor In the early history of America, constant, steady drinking brought the carnivalesque into official life such that the carnival and the official, as Bakhtin describes these terms, were intertwined. As hard alcohol, binges and drunkenness flourished in America, official life separated from carnival life. Temperance and prohibition movements that rose to significance in the early nineteenth century successfully marginalized the use of alcohol and also the alcoholic carnival. As the American alcoholic carnival diminished as a part of lived experience, it continued on in the mediated form that is its primary embodiment today. W.C. Fields and Charles Bukowski are two particularly successful purveyors of the mediated alcoholic carnival, Fields as an actor and screenwriter and Bukowski as a writer of poetry, stories, novels, and one screenplay. Bukowski’s mostly autobiographical texts often detail the steps his character, Henry Chinaski, takes to ensure he is able to drink and write, to the exclusion of most other considerations. A Fields character tries harder than Chinaski to succeed according to American middle-class standards, but first has to deal with the distaste he inspires as an alcoholic eccentric. Bukowski/Chinaski, by defining his own terms for success, stands largely outside of American hegemonic culture, criticizing the American Dream and American notions of alcoholism.
    [Show full text]
  • Slayage16, March 2005 [4.4]
    Slayage 16, March 2005 [4.4] David Lavery and Rhonda V. Wilcox, Co- Editors Click on a contributor's name in order to learn more about him or her. A PDF copy of this issue (Acrobat Reader required) of Slayage is available here. A PDF copy of the entire volume can be accessed here. Roz Kaveney, A Sense of the Ending: Schödinger’s Angel (from Reading Angel: The TV Spinoff with a Soul, published by I. B. Tauris) | PDF Version (Acrobat Reader Required) Margaret Bates (Duke University), Emily M. Gustafson, Bryan C. Porterfield, Lawrence B. Rosenfeld (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), "When Did Your Sister Get Unbelievably Scary?" Outsider Status and Dawn and Spike’s Relationship | PDF Version (Acrobat Reader Required) Agnes Curry (Saint Joseph College), Is Joss Becoming a Thomist? | PDF Version (Acrobat Reader Required) Gwyn Symonds (University of Sydney), Playing More Soul Than is Written: James Marsters' Performance of Spike and the Ambiguity of Evil in Sunnydale | PDF Version (Acrobat Reader Required) Recommended. Here and in each 1 2 3 issue of Slayage the editors will 4 [1.4] [1.1] [1.2] [1.3] recommend writing on BtVS appearing elsewhere. 5 7 6 [2.2] 8 [2.4] New Encyclopedia of Buffy [2.1] [2.3] Studies entries on Whedonverse DVD 11- Commentaries: 9 10 12 Rebecca Bobbitt: Whedon on [3.1] [3.2] [3.3- "Spin the Bottle" 4] Cynthia Burkhead: Whedon on "Innocence" Nicholas Bush: Whedon on "Once More with Feeling" 13- Joseph Gualtieri: Whedon on "A 14 15 Hole in the World" [4.1- [4.3] Archives 2] Michelle Herr: Whedon on "Chosen"
    [Show full text]
  • Fermentation in Its Household Relations
    FERMENTATION IN ITS HOUSEHOLD RELATIONS. [From the Report of the Secretary of Conn. Board of Agriculture, 1880.] FERMENTATION IN ITS HOUSEHOLD RELATIONS. BY PROF. WILLIAM H. BREWER. We give the name fermentation to a peculiar kind of chemi- cal change, in which the decomposition of a compound is caused by the presence of some other substance known as a ferment. The word is as old as our language, and the thing it represents has been known ever since Noah made wine, and perhaps longer, but its real nature has been understood for only a few years. Even now only its main features are proved with reasonable certainty. Lying just beyond what is proved there is a wide field belonging to this subject, in which the proof is not yet complete, where we have some considerable evidence, but not enough to establish the principle beyond ques- tion. Still outside of this lies another great class of facts which can best be accounted for on the principle of fermenta- tion, where the analogies and inferences are so very strong in that direction that a plausible explanation may be given to otherwise very mysterious processes, but where, after all, we have as yet very little actual proof. Some of these are of so much interest to science, and at the same time of such vast importance to our race, that the whole matter is now receiv- ing much attention and study in one way or another, and is probably the subject of more refined and zealous investigation, than any other department of natural science.
    [Show full text]
  • BUFFY Steps Up, Starts with the Pummeling
    Beer Bad Written by: Tracey Forbes Teaser EXT. CEMETERY – NIGHT BAM! The heel of a boot spikes a VAMPIRE hard in the eye. He stumbles back a few feet and BUFFY steps up, starts with the pummeling. She’s dazzlingly efficient. ANGLE: in the grass Is the potential victim, turned away from us in a thick woolly coat, hand to his neck. He turns to see what’s going on and we see it’s PARKER. PARKER Buffy? BUFFY Parker? The vamps comes back at her – BUFFY (cont’d) (to Parker) Stay down. Buffy, fast on top of the vamp again, punching and kicking with amazing style and strength. And when the vamp finally falls, Buffy pulls a stake. THUNK – he’s DUST. Then… PARKER (O.S.) Buffy! Parker has TWO HUGE VAMPS on him. Dragging him off. Seeing this, Buffy flies over, taking both on at once. The Vamps drop Parker. And they engage in a fast and intense slugfest. Buffy is even sharper than usual, if that’s possible. And to finish them off, a spectacular flip-toss, STAKING both vamps who SCREAM all their merry way to hell. Buffy stands alone, breathing only a little hard. Parker enters frame tentatively. PARKER Buffy, I don’t know what to say. After how I’ve treated you, and now I owe you my life. BUFFY It’s nothing. PARKER Buffy Angel Show It’s everything. You’re everything. And I’m gonna do whatever it takes to get you to forgive me. Do you think… one day, you might? Buffy might answer, but instead a DISTANT VOICE WHISPERS: GIRL’S VOICE (O.S.) Sure, uh-huh… And suddenly, Buffy is… INT.
    [Show full text]
  • Slayage, Numbers 13/14
    Lorna Jowett New Men: “Playing the sensitive lad” This essay is Chapter Five from Sex and the Slayer (Wesleyan U P 2004). It is published here with the kind permission of Professor Jowett and Wesleyan. Go here to order the book from Amazon.com. [1] It follows that in trying to destabilize traditional representations of femininity, especially through role reversal, Buffy must offer a concomitant alternative version of masculinity. Producer Fran Rubel Kuzui articulates this when she says, “You can educate your daughters to be Slayers, but you have to educate your sons to be Xanders” (in Golden and Holder 1998: 248). In 1995 Thomas suggested that the British television detective series Inspector Morse demonstrated “the extent to which feminist influences are discernible in this example of quality popular culture, particularly in its representations of masculinity” (1997: 184). Television melodrama and soap in particular have addressed masculinity because they are concerned with family and the domestic, traditionally “feminine” areas (Torres 1993: 288). Saxey notes with some surprise that in Buffy fan fiction “it is the males who are persistently tortured by doubt” and wonders why “slash readers and writers wish to explore the suffering of these often sensitive, non- traditional male figures, while female characters more often enjoy less emotionally painful treatment” (2001: 201), and I would suggest that it is partly because masculinity is being so visibly renegotiated in pop- cultural forms. As noted in the last chapter, “good” new masculinity contrasts with “bad” tough-guy masculinity by being “feminized,” passive, sensitive, weak, and emotional, and this contrast is partly about the separation of gender and behavior in the new men.
    [Show full text]
  • Slayage, Number 10: Cocca
    Carolyn Cocca "First Word 'Jail,' Second Word 'Bait'": Adolescent Sexuality, Feminist Theories, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer Wesley: "And you teach psychology?" Cordelia: "I take psychology." Giles: "She's a student." Cordelia, "It's about time we got some fresh blood around here." Wesley: "Fresh . yes . [Cordelia exits.] My, she's cheeky, isn't she?" Faith: "Uh, first word 'jail,' second word 'bait.'" "Consequences" (3015) Buffy: "There's Oz over there. What are we thinking, sparkage?" Willow: "He's nice. I like his hands." Buffy: "Mm. Fixation on insignificant details is a definite crush sign." Willow: "Oh, I don't know, though. He is a senior." Buffy: "You think he's too old 'cause he's a senior? Please, my boyfriend had a bicentennial." Willow: "That's true." "Surprise" (2013) I. Introduction [1] A number of articles have debated whether or not Buffy Summers is a feminist heroine (e.g., Siemann, Pender, Daugherty, Playdon), and have praised the show for its realistic portrayal of the problems of growing up and sexually maturing (e.g., Vint, Wilcox, Moss, Zacharek, Daugherty. See also Noxon and Whedon commentaries on Season 2 DVD, Petrie on Season 3 DVD, and Espenson on Season 4 DVD). None, however, has engaged with the ways in which seemingly conflicting feminist theories about teen sexuality can all be at play simultaneously in the series. * [2] In the episodes before the main characters, particularly Buffy, turn 18 (i.e., 3012 "Helpless"), any sexual activity they engage in is theoretically illegal--it is statutory rape. Statutory rape laws differ across the states: each sets an age of consent, generally 16 or 18, and prosecutes sexual intercourse with an unmarried person under that age if one of the parties is a certain number of years older than the other.
    [Show full text]
  • DECLARATION of Jane Sunderland in Support of Request For
    Columbia Pictures Industries Inc v. Bunnell Doc. 373 Att. 1 Exhibit 1 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation Motion Pictures 28 DAYS LATER 28 WEEKS LATER ALIEN 3 Alien vs. Predator ANASTASIA Anna And The King (1999) AQUAMARINE Banger Sisters, The Battle For The Planet Of The Apes Beach, The Beauty and the Geek BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE BEDAZZLED BEE SEASON BEHIND ENEMY LINES Bend It Like Beckham Beneath The Planet Of The Apes BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE 2 BLACK KNIGHT Black Knight, The Brokedown Palace BROKEN ARROW Broken Arrow (1996) BROKEN LIZARD'S CLUB DREAD BROWN SUGAR BULWORTH CAST AWAY CATCH THAT KID CHAIN REACTION CHASING PAPI CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN 2 Clearing, The CLEOPATRA COMEBACKS, THE Commando Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes COURAGE UNDER FIRE DAREDEVIL DATE MOVIE 4 Dockets.Justia.com DAY AFTER TOMORROW, THE DECK THE HALLS Deep End, The DEVIL WEARS PRADA, THE DIE HARD DIE HARD 2 DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY DOWN PERISCOPE DOWN WITH LOVE DRIVE ME CRAZY DRUMLINE DUDE, WHERE'S MY CAR? Edge, The EDWARD SCISSORHANDS ELEKTRA Entrapment EPIC MOVIE ERAGON Escape From The Planet Of The Apes Everyone's Hero Family Stone, The FANTASTIC FOUR FAST FOOD NATION FAT ALBERT FEVER PITCH Fight Club, The FIREHOUSE DOG First $20 Million, The FIRST DAUGHTER FLICKA Flight 93 Flight of the Phoenix, The Fly, The FROM HELL Full Monty, The Garage Days GARDEN STATE GARFIELD GARFIELD A TAIL OF TWO KITTIES GRANDMA'S BOY Great Expectations (1998) HERE ON EARTH HIDE AND SEEK HIGH CRIMES 5 HILLS HAVE
    [Show full text]
  • A PDF Copy of This Issue of Slayage Is Available Here
    Slayage: Numbers Eleven and Twelve (double issue) Slayage 11-12 April 2004 [3.3-4] David Lavery and Rhonda V. Wilcox, Co-Editors Click on a contributor's name in order to learn more about him or her. A PDF copy of this issue (Acrobat Reader required) of Slayage is available here. A PDF copy of the entire volume can be accessed here. Rebecca Williams (Cardiff University), “It’s About Power!” Executive Fans, Spoiler Whores and Capital in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer On-Line Fan Community | PDF Version (Acrobat Reader Required) Elizabeth Rambo (Campbell University), “Lessons” for Season Seven of Buffy the Vampire Slayer | PDF Version (Acrobat Reader Required) Dawn Heinecken (University of Louisville), Fan Readings of Sex and Violence on Buffy the Vampire Slayer | PDF Version (Acrobat Reader Required) Gwyn Symonds (University of Sydney), "Solving Problems with Sharp Objects": Female Empowerment, Sex and Violence in Buffy the Vampire Slayer | PDF Version (Acrobat Reader Required) Stevie Simkin (King Alfred's College), "You Hold Your Gun Like A Sissy Girl": Firearms and Anxious Masculinity in BtVS | PDF Version (Acrobat Reader Required) ___. "Who died and made you John Wayne?” – Anxious Masculinity in Buffy the Vampire Slayer | PDF Version (Acrobat Reader Required) Jana Riess (Publishers Weekly), The Monster Inside: Taming the Darkness within Ourselves (from What Would Buffy Do? [published by Jossey-Bass]) | PDF Version (Acrobat Reader Required) file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/David%20Lavery/Lavery%20Documents/SOIJBS/Numbers/slayage11_12.htm (1 of 2)12/21/2004 4:24:14 AM Slayage, Numbers 11 and 12: Williams Rebecca Williams "It’s About Power": Spoilers and Fan Hierarchy in On-Line Buffy Fandom Within the informational economy of the net, knowledge equals prestige, reputation, power.
    [Show full text]
  • Brewing Makes You Smarter Joe Potter Grand Valley State University
    Grand Valley State University ScholarWorks@GVSU Honors Projects Undergraduate Research and Creative Practice 2015 Brewing Makes You Smarter Joe Potter Grand Valley State University Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/honorsprojects Part of the Food Science Commons Recommended Citation Potter, Joe, "Brewing Makes You Smarter" (2015). Honors Projects. 398. http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/honorsprojects/398 This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Undergraduate Research and Creative Practice at ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Projects by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Joe Potter Frederik Meijer Honors College Senior Project Grand Valley State University Winter 2015 1 Foreword “I mean really, what’s the point? I’m not European, I don’t plan on being European, so who gives a crap if they’re socialists?” - Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) ​ “The best learning happens in real life, with real problems and real people, and not in classrooms.” - Charles Handy How many times have you sat in a classroom, stared blankly ahead, considered what the instructor was saying, and asked yourself, “When am I ever going to use this?” As I think back on all the years I’ve spent in some sort of educational setting, I recall hearing this question muttered countless times from under the breath of classmates and friends (and honestly, from my own mouth on occasion). Granted, I heard it most in my middle and high school days: back then, the toxic combination of hormones, teenage angst, and the feeling that you’re still a long ways away from the real world makes it easy to question why the educational system is requiring that you learn the details of covalent bonding, the themes of Hamlet, or ​ ​ the rise and fall of an ancient Chinese dynasty.
    [Show full text]