In June 2011 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that video games enjoy full free speech protections and that the regulation of violent game sales to minors is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court also referred to psychological research on violent video games as "unpersuasive" and noted that such research contains many methodological flaws.…

Recently the authors completed a course designed to expand and deepen their knowledge about America's consumerocracy and the methods that give it the immense power it has. As a result of their reading and shared thinking in this course, Teaching Adolescents in a Consumer Society, they feel strongly motivated and better prepared to craft…

This qualitative case study explored the Student Consumerism phenomenon as displayed by post-secondary students as perceived by their instructors. Because it was not entirely understood how post-secondary instructors react to the manifestations that occur due to Student Consumerism style of behaviors, this study examined the phenomenon from that…

We focus on the recently emerging "baby culture" that is fostering a curriculum of consumption and consumerism among parents-to-be and infants aged zero-to-three. To gain insight into how the cultural artifacts, practices, and trends emerging from this demographic are shaping the way we think and act in a consumer culture, we investigate…

Taking the perspective of consumer socialization theory, this study examined the influences of different socialization agents on consumers' purchases of green products. A total of 224 surveys were distributed to students enrolled in a business-related course at a major university in the northeastern United States. The objectives were twofold. The…

The current focus on all things "green--greener--greenest" has found its way into the realm of continuing higher education through a proliferation of courses and programs. A recent Internet search on the phrase "sustainability certificate" produced over 7,600 results, reflecting a strong perceived or real demand. In this…

In the context of the last two years' recession, parents, teachers and administrators seem to increasingly welcome school-business "partnerships" that they hope may help ward off program cuts. Businesses encourage such arrangements because school-based marketing and advertising programs are perfectly poised to "brand" children…

Background: Media culture touches most aspects of the lives of children growing up today, beginning at the earliest ages. It is profoundly the lessons children learn as well as how they learn, thereby contributing to what this article characterizes as "remote control childhood." Educators need to understand remote control childhood so…

This bulletin presents detailed income and expenditure data for 1984 from the interview component of the ongoing Consumer Expenditure Survey. Data in this bulletin are for the urban population. Text tables include the following: (1) annual expenditures of urban consumer units, and percent change in consumer expenditures, Interview Survey and…

According to Gottfried, the growing and increasingly crass commercialization of American higher education is an amply documented phenomenon, and one that receives continuing empirical and anecdotal verification. It is, furthermore, a problem that draws notice from across the political spectrum, from social democrat Russell Jacobi to…

This year's Schoolhouse Commercialism Trends report finds that schools continue to be a prime target of a wide variety of corporate advertising efforts and criticism of marketing to children in schools is mounting. Most of this criticism is directed at marketing activities that are thought to have a negative impact on children's health. Public…

This proceedings contains the texts of 5 invited papers and 28 refereed papers. The following are among the papers included: "Consumer Interest in the 1990's and Beyond" (Turner); "Esther Peterson and the Consumer Movement" (Galbraith); "The Public's Right to Government Information" (English); "Partnerships in…