The transport policy of the United States is very crucial in the transport sector and its operations within and outside the country. The policy governs the operations undertaken by various stakeholders in the transport sector such as passengers, drivers, pilots, sailors, and owners of various vehicles as well as air and water vessels. Although major transport policies emerged in the 1990s, some of the policies have rich histories, which date back to the 19th century when the focus was on wagons and steamboats. Essentially, some of the major policies in the transport sector of the United States include the Ohio Statehood Act, Federal Act, the Motor Carrier Act of 1935, Davis Bacon’s Act, and the Urban Mass Transport Act of 1964. Furthermore, other policies comprise the Highway Beautification Act of 1965, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Airline Deregulation Act, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, and Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997. Therefore, the essay reviews the policies in the American transport policy and provides an in-depth review of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991.
The policies in the American transportation policy play an integral role in upgrading the transport sector of the United States. While the role of some policies materialized in the 19th century, others became useful in the 20th century. Policies such as the Ohio Statehood Act, which involved the exchange of land for the construction of roads was practical in the 19th century. Consequently, others like the Federal Act, the Motor Carrier Act, Davis Bacon’s Act, and the Urban Mass Transport Act materialized in the 20th century. Dilger (2015) states that the Motor Carrier Act of 1935 governed transport operations that concerned trucks and commercial transport of goods in the country. Conversely, Davis Bacon’s Act and the Urban Mass Transport Act addressed transport challenges that affected urban areas. The Federal Act has been instrumental in instituting various developments in the transport sector. One of the most pronounced impacts associated with the Federal Act comprises commissioning highway departments to oversee the road operations. Remarkably, the role played by the Federal Act is continuous because it has experienced continued modifications and improvements from the state.
While the beautification Act focused on improving the general outlook of roads in the country, Rehabilitation and Americans with Disabilities Act emphasized the equal treatment of all individuals regardless of their physical challenges or impairments. According to Dilger (2015), Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act advocated for the provision of transport services to all Americans and care for those, who had disabilities. On the other hand, Airline Deregulation Act tried to minimize expenditure incurred by airlines and trucks through changes in their regulations and transport schedules. The Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997 aimed at refurbishing and boosting the railway sector after years of decline associated with increased demand for road and air transport. As such, it is imminent that the transport policies have played an important role in advancing the transport sector of the United States.
The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), is a monumental act that instigated various improvements in the country’s transport sector. The focus of the act, which stressed on development and upgrade of highways through increased funding, made it very imperative in the transport sector. Essentially, my vision about the act concerns its continued implementation and increased funding in the transport industry. Dilger (2015) explains that the act became very instrumental in improving the transport sector in the country. With continued implementation, the act would improve the quality of transport for several individuals in the United States. The implication of increased funding was an overall improvement of transport in the country, a factor that compounds my vision. One of the major factors that compelled my selection of the act is its advocacy for increased funding for the transport industry. By promoting increased funding towards the transport sector, the act could eventually initiate minimization of the various challenges and logistics that several individuals faced frequently, while on transit. Therefore, the act played a very significant role in the transport sector of the United States.
Reference
Dilger, R. (2015). American Transportation Policy. New York: Ebsco publishing.
Kendal Jenner PepsiCo Commercial’s Failure
Introduction
Making a social or political statement that can be perceived as entirely unambiguous and positive by the target demographic is a difficult but not impossible task. However, due to the increase in the sociopolitical tensions within the American society and the rise in social pressure regarding the issue of race and ethnicity, companies of vast influence need to be especially cautious with their public image. Fuelled by the social concerns mentioned above, a heated discussion of the public relation (PR) step that was taken wrong may kill a potentially lucrative idea in its conception.
The specified threat has recently been illustrated quite well by PepsiCo’s disastrous commercial. Kendall Jenner’s PepsiCo Commercial was supposed to address the “Black Lives Matter” movement (De par. 2), yet it stooped to parody levels rather fast due to the lack of concern for the plight of the vulnerable demographic.
While the commercial itself can be described as lackluster and lacking emotional weight, it is not the blandness of the video that makes it offensive. PepsiCo has chosen an important social issue as the platform for the further enhancement of its brand integrity, which is not offensive by itself. What makes the video and the campaign in general so unbearable is the attempt at capitalizing on the issue of discrimination and the fight for human rights without any regard for the plight of the vulnerable population. Therefore, it is critical for PepsiCo to take a stand on the issue and introduce a new PR campaign that will limit the negative effect of the Kendal Jenner PepsiCo Commercial.
Campaign Description
The campaign was supposed to convey the message of peace and position PepsiCo as the force that brings the community together, which, as a draft, sounded rather innocent, albeit slightly silly. However, at some point in the production process, the element of social importance was added to the campaign, entitling it to champion the cause of unity and the concepts of multiculturalism and plurality. While the goal was admittedly noble, the execution thereof was the reason for the commercial to fail. According to the initial idea, the advertisement was supposed to feature a woman approaching the guard and giving one of the police officers a PepsiCo (Batchelor par. 1). After opening and tasting the drink, the police officer would smile, and the commercial would end in a mass triumph.
The campaign was expected to attract the attention of new audiences, simultaneously reinforcing the connection to the old ones. Particularly, it was assumed that the commercial was made in good faith and that it could be seen as anything but support for the African American population and its plight. However, the lack of thought that went into the production of the commercial has affected the idea, its implementation, and the overall perception of the advertisement.
Reasons for Failure
Unfortunately, what might have seemed like a harmless homage to the key events of the Black Lives Matter movement turned out to be an awkward attempt at reliving the glory of the movement and capitalizing on African American people’s struggle. PepsiCo was not smart enough to choose an African American actress to represent the driving force behind the ceasefire and the management of the conflict between the movement participants and the police. However, which is even more insulting, the commercial took a very powerful moment that was witnessed during the Baton Rouge Protest and turned it into a ploy of selling soda.
The fact that the most cathartic element of the commercial poorly alludes to a real-life event occurring and resolving much more dramatically than the commercial suggests does not help in making PepsiCo look good or, at the very least, considerate. Instead, it becomes evident that the company sought to capitalize on the movement to which it does not belong and the culture that it decided to appropriate. Despite the lack of evidence proving that the company has done research on the subject matter, the commercial does not appear to be either considerate or conscious about the movement to which it was referring.
The specified characteristics would not have been so bad if the commercial itself was not driven the attention of the audience to the Black Lives Matter movement and the poor job that it has done by reflecting it. Particularly, the problem of cultural appropriation should be seen as another factor that has made the campaign so infamous (Yang 153). By taking a significant element of the African American culture and placing an actress of a different cultural background at the forefront of the commercial, PepsiCo has unintentionally attempted to deprive the movement of its intrinsic meaning.
PepsiCo’s Further Actions
In retrospect, there were very few tools that could have made the commercial at the very least functional in the context of modern social activism and sociopolitical movements. Kendall Jenner’s PepsiCo Commercial has already had a vastly negative effect on the company’s brand and its perception among the U.S. population. Furthermore, the project has affected the people involved in it directly. For instance, Kendal Jenner’s star is unlikely to recover from this in the nearest future despite the actress’s attempts to justify her choice. Kendall claimed that she was not fully aware of the actual content of the commercial and was simply far too overwhelmed by the prospects of being hired by a famous organization:
Michael Jackson has done it, Britney Spears has done it, Beyonce, Pink—the list goes on. To get something like that was so exciting. I trusted everyone. I trusted the teams. After I saw the reaction and read what people had to say about it, I most definitely saw what went wrong. I was so stuck, and I really didn’t know what to do, so I completely shut down. (McCarthy par. 7)
However, people are unlikely to forgive PepsiCo Kendall’s participation in what turned out to be the travesty of the famous Baton Rouge Protest photo. During the commercial, Kendall’s character stops the attempt of the squad to restrain protesters by approaching them and handing one of the squad members a can of PepsiCo. The scene alluded to the famous Baton Rouge Protest scene when an unarmed African American woman wearing a dress approached the police in an attempt to reason with them (Cooper par. 2).
Kendall’s act bears enough resemblance to the Baton Rouge scene to be considered a reference yet does an extremely poor job at recreating its emotional power. Instead, with its cheap product placement, the commercial seems like a travesty of the iconic event.
With the specified information in mind, it will be reasonable for PepsiCo to make an official statement in which the organization will explain itself. At present, it is critical for the company’s PR to ensure that it did not have any harmful intentions and that the organization will do everything possible to address the specified unfortunate situation. Indeed, since the commercial has become instantly infamous and has reached the level of parody quite quickly, it would be best for PepsiCo to recognize the mistake and move on (Richardson and Hinton 130). From the PR perspective, the specified decision would also point to the fact that the organization is represented by mature people who treat its target audience like intelligent people.
Unfortunately, PepsiCo has done none of the steps mentioned above so far. While the cast of the commercial, particularly the lead actress, had to come up with public statements regarding their being oblivious to the problem up until it emerged, PepsiCo has only issued a brief apology stating that it was “trying to project a global a message of unity, peace, and understanding” (Batchelor par. 2).
It could be argued that, by refusing to provide a response or a commentary to the unfortunate commercial, the organization is attempting to silence the problem and avoiding repercussions. Indeed, at present, it looks like PepsiCo is trying to minimize the damage by sweeping the unfortunate commercial under the rug. However, the chosen technique evidently fails to work since the company has affected a very vulnerable community and has made a travesty of the Black Lives Matter movement, which has impacted the modern community extensively (Schultz et al. 345). Therefore, the global audience is not going to forget PepsiCo its failure, thus reinforcing the negative effects of the campaign and making the firm’s PR-related situation even direr.
Thus, it is strongly recommended from PepsiCo come up with a public statement regarding the subject matter and admit that mistakes were made. While the proposed step might seem like the assassination of the company’s career and image in the public eye, it, in fact, will help build more respect for the firm. At present, it is not only the mistake made by PepsiCo that makes PepsiCo’s choices problematic but also the unwillingness to provide a public statement regarding the issue. As soon as the organization decides to be honest with its customers about its decisions, buyers will be able to regain their trust in PepsiCo.
Thus, the company should currently consider the PR campaign that will prove its good intentions (Richardson and Hinton 129). While PepsiCo should admit its mistakes, it needs to point out that it was acting in good faith, yet with the lack of research regarding the subject matter.
Conclusion
The recent PepsiCo Commercial involving Kendal Jenner should be seen as a PR failure not because it attempts at using a recent social concern as the platform for promoting its brand but because it does so very blatantly and with no regard for the cause of the movement to which it alludes. The company managed to singlehandedly bring its ratings among general audiences to the bottom due to the lack of concern with which it tackled the problem of social and racial tensions in the United States. As a result, what was initially believed to be a supportive statement with a tint of product placement in it resulted in a gigantic embarrassment and shameless pursuit of easy profit.
While the current approach that PepsiCo uses to manage the problem can be seen as understandable, silencing the issue in the hopes that people will eventually forget about the resonance that it made would be a wrong step to take.
Since even the participants of the commercial, particularly Jenner, are trying to distance themselves from the advertisement and the organization, in general, it will be necessary to conduct another PR campaign that will cement the image of PepsiCo as a well-meaning company. Thus, apart from a public statement addressing the situation, PepsiCo will have to conduct another PR campaign that will incorporate smarter statements concerning the current sociopolitical situation.
Works Cited
Batchelor, Tom. “Pepsi Advert with Kendall Jenner Pulled after Huge Backlash.” Independent, 5 Apr. 2017. Web.
Cooper, Chasity S. “Baton Rouge Protest Photo of Woman Wearing Dress and Facing Off With Police Goes Viral.” TeenVogue. 2016. Web.
De, Elizabeth. “Why People Are Not Happy About Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi Commercial.” TeenVogue. 2017. Web.
McCarthy, Lauren. “Kendall Jenner Finally Speaks Out About Pepsi Commercial Controversy: ‘I Completely Shut Down.’” magazine. 2017. Web.
Richardson, Kathy B., and Marcie Hinton. Applied Public Relations: Cases in Stakeholder Management. 3rd ed., Routledge, 2015.
Schultz, Don E., et al. Building Customer-Brand Relationships. 2nd ed., Routledge, 2015.
Yang, Jing. “Cross‐Cultural Appropriation of Hollywood Romance in Beijing Meets Seattle.” The Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 51, no. 1, 2018, pp. 152-174.
Online Education For Clinical Social Work
Since the time of its creation and popularization, online learning has attracted the attention of both users and researchers alike. From aviation to history or from clinical social work to agriculture, online education grants the possibility of perceiving information in an entirely new format, different from traditional learning techniques. Appraising these approaches, however, requires not only study but also examples that are rooted in various industries.
E-learning: Advantages and Disadvantages
The research of Arkorful and Abaidoo aims not only at exploring the different meanings and implementations of internet-based learning but also presents its advantages and disadvantages. Among the presented and unrefuted positive aspects of internet-based education, the authors highlight the flexibility of information perception, its self-pacing nature, and its accounting for the individuality of student approaches to learning.
Arkorful and Abaidoo conclude that online education “adoption… has increased faculty and learner access to information” (36). In this article, the negative factors do not affect the conclusion process, despite them being mentioned in the research. The authors’ appraisal of online education is exclusively positive, despite the authors presenting seven beneficial and eight detrimental aspects of e-learning.
Online Education Challenges and Benefits as Specific to Clinical Social Work
The paper by Jones also attempts to assess computer-based education through an analysis of three social work courses: interviewing, symptomatic evaluation, and senior-specific interactions. However, this article is immediately more cautious in nature, with Jones stating that “we must not underestimate or overestimate the potential of online social work learning of direct practice skills” (234). Jones touches upon aspects of required infrastructure and resources, which include the need for defining work quality, preparation of necessary materials and equipment, and briefing those who will be interacting with the prepared courses.
In her eyes, these present at the same time both the positives and negatives of the process, since the cost of preparation attempts to balance against the quality of material provided. Jones, therefore, calls for a rational approach to online education, highlighting the fact that while internet-based learning does retain a multitude of positive factors, it cannot replace hands-on experience.
Regional-specific Information and Communication Technology
Talebian et al. draw a completely different conclusion, applying their research not only to a different sphere of education but also to a different country. Considering the specifics of studying agriculture in Iran, the authors, as in the past two cases, present the positive and negative effects of computer-based learning. The crucial moments of their research center on region-specific issues: limited computer literacy, low bandwidth, and the online monopoly of the English language, which makes many materials unavailable for Farsi-speaking users.
However, Talebian et al. do not deny the positive effects of information and communication technology (ICT), which include but are not limited to high-quality materials, flexible availability of information, and facilitated access to education. Effectively, the researchers conclude that “educational effectiveness of ICTs depends on how they are used and for what purposes” (Talebian et al. 304). This research is not a negative appraisal of internet education, but it effectively displays its major drawbacks in unprivileged environments, which result in its continuing lack of possible implementation.
Conclusion
Thus, having considered three published articles on Internet-based learning in different countries and about various fields, it is possible to conclude the positive effect of balanced online education on students. However, the limits of computer-based instruction remain hard to overcome, with innovation leaving underprivileged students on the periphery of change. Thus, for an efficient application of e-learning, it is necessary to consider not only faculty-based costs but also the availability of resources to students, as well as the appropriateness of an at-a-distance education.
Works Cited
Arkorful, Valentina, and Nelly Abaidoo. “The Role of E-Learning, Advantages and Disadvantages of its Adoption in Higher Education.” International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, vol. 12, no. 1, 2015, pp. 29-42.
Jones, Sally Hill. “Benefits and Challenges of Online Education for Clinical Social Work: Three Examples.” Clinical Social Work Journal, vol. 43, no. 2, 2015, pp. 225-235.
Talebian, Sogol et al. “Information and Communication Technology (ICT) In Higher Education: Advantages, Disadvantages, Conveniences and Limitations of Applying E-Learning to Agricultural Students in Iran.” Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 152, 2014, pp. 300-305.