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Student Course Outline (Speakout) - All Levels - v5.4

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Due 4th of May

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Makies was the first company to respond to the #ToyLikeMe social media campaign. Image courtesy of MyMakie

On June 5 British toy manufacturer Makies announced cochlear implants were available to buy as accessories in their toy store.

Makies uses 3D printing technology to make one-of-a-kind dolls. It was the first company to respond to #ToyLikeMe, a social media campaign to "increase diversity in the toybox" initiated by three UK mothers with disabilities.

When the trio posted a picture of Tinkerbell with a cochlear implant it began an online movement of parents with and without disabilities posting images of their own #toylikeme.

But this is not the first campaign to criticise the absence of disability diversity in the toybox and Makies is not the first company to offer so-called toys with disabilities. In fact a number of other companies such as American Girls and bindependent already offer accessories.

There is even a WWE toy wheelchair for wrestling action figures.

Image courtesy of MyMakie

Disability bio-etheticist Rosemary Garland Thomson, on Radio National in April, spoke of disability as a form of human variation and diversity. Thomson argued disability should be understood as a reality to be accommodated, not as a problem to be eliminated. With recent statistics showing one in six school-aged children have a disability, diversity in the toybox is ever more important.

Toys have been used throughout history to communicate cultural ideas and reflect the changing position of disability in society.

Journalist and #toylikeme founder Rebecca Atkinson explained the motivation behind the campaign in mid-May on The Limping Chicken:

When I was growing up, I never saw a doll like me. What does that say to deaf and disabled children? That they aren't worth it? That they're invisible in the toys they play with? That they're invisible in society?

With the exception of medicalised doctors' and nurses' kits, which began to be featured during the 1940s, a content analysis of 1930-1963 Billy and Ruth toy catalogues reveals an absence of disability-themed toys until a Three Blind Mice Talking Toy in 1955. The next to appear was the culturally significant Mr Magoo Toy Car in 1961.

This toy was protested against by people with vision impairment for stereotyping blindness in 1962.

Children's toys mirror the values of the society that produce them. In my book Disability and Popular Culture (2015) I relate the emergence of a number of disability toys to key moments of disability social and cultural change.

It is no coincidence that disabled action figures J. Jay Armes (Ideal Toys, 1976) and Mike Power Atomic Man (G.I. Joe, 1975) were released as returning Vietnam vets with similar disabilities were advocating for a more disability-inclusive society.

AP/AAP

Likewise Mattel Barbie's Share a Smile Becky (1996) and American Sign Language Teacher (1999) followed the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) during the 90s. These toys are often described as having a positive impact on the sense of selves of children with disabilities.

The #toylikeme campaign is evidence of another key moment in disability social change. Towson University Disability Media Professor Beth Haller has identified this moment as disability's occupation of digital spaces.

It is true that disability has been receiving a lot of attention in social media and pop culture in the last month: from Maddy Stuart's modelling debut to iDiversicons' Disability Pride Emojis released to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act to the significant backlash against TEDx's #Stellaschallenge.

The #toylikeme campaign and Makie's 3D printing of disability accessories can be situated within this broader trend. Beth Haller says social media allows disability advocates to use vast global networks of "friends" or "followers" to better promote the issues or events important to them.

Haller concludes social media has reinvigorated disability rights activism and fostered more interaction within the disability community regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, disability, or geography.

While the #ToylikeMe campaign has received positive feedback, historically other disability dolls, such as Mattel's Hal's Pals series of Cabbage Patch style dolls with disabilities in the 1980s, or Helga Parks Down Syndrome Dolls have been heavily criticised by a society unwilling to accept disability.

Opponents to disability dolls often point to the ways they emphasise difference rather than encourage children with disabilities to see themselves as the same as everybody else. This ignores the way environments and discriminatory attitudes disable people, not bodies.

As disability rights activist Lisa Egan explains in an xoJane article shared more than 15 000 times, the lack of wheelchair access at train stations is an example of the ways environments have been constructed to exclude people with disability:

Stairs and escalators are man-made barriers put in the way by a discriminatory society that excludes me because I have impaired mobility..

Makies, #toyslikeme and the broader focus on disability in digital spaces show we are in the midst of a significant shift towards an inclusive world view of disability.

With children with disabilities now more likely to attend mainstream schools, children without disabilities are exposed to the reality of disability in society.

Campaigns such as #toylikeme continue to use their global network of followers to encourage mainstream toy companies such as LEGO, Playmobil and Mattel to incorporate disabled toys into their catalogue.

It's not just children with disabilities who will benefit from inclusive toybox representation.

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Disability and dolls: #ToyLikeMe is a mark of progress

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On June 5 British toy manufacturer Makies announced cochlear implants were available to buy as accessories in their toy store. Makies uses 3D printing technology to make one-of-a-kind dolls. It was the first company to respond to #ToyLikeMe, a social media campaign to "increase diversity in the toybox" initiated by three UK mothers with disabilities.

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Remember to email a draft to your teacher to check

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This document provides information about what you need to do.

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Author: Sheldon Smith ‖ Last modified: 10 January 2022.

Sheldon Smith is the founder and editor of EAPFoundation.com. He has been teaching English for Academic Purposes since 2004. Find out more about him in the about section and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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Author: Sheldon Smith ‖ Last modified: 10 January 2022. Sheldon Smith is the founder and editor of EAPFoundation.com. He has been teaching English for Academic Purposes since 2004. Find out more about him in the about section and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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Task Sheet Week 10 Group Presentation.doc.docx

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Task Sheet Week 10 Group Presentation v2.doc.docx

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Author: Sheldon Smith ‖ Last modified: 10 November 2019.

Sheldon Smith is the founder and editor of EAPFoundation.com. He has been teaching English for Academic Purposes since 2004. Find out more about him in the about section and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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Author: Sheldon Smith ‖ Last modified: 10 November 2019. Sheldon Smith is the founder and editor of EAPFoundation.com. He has been teaching English for Academic Purposes since 2004. Find out more about him in the about section and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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This site has lots of useful information about academic English

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This site has lots of useful information about academic English

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Welcome to E APF OUNDATION.COM, a website dedicated to the needs of EAP students (and teachers). This page gives a brief guide to the main areas of the website, introduces the videos on the YouTube channel, lists some of the most popular pages, and outlines some special features of the site. For more detailed information, such as what EAP is and who the website is for, visit the About section.

Recently added pages are shown in the spotlight section below.

Spotlight

Main areas of the website

Below are the main areas of E APF OUNDATION.COM. Roll over an image for more information.

YouTube videos from EAPFOUNDATION.COM

EAPFoundation.com has its own YouTube channel. The following are some example videos from the channel (they open in a new window).

Popular pages of EAPFOUNDATION.COM

Below are some of the most popular pages of the website, according to number of visitors.

Special features of EAPFOUNDATION.COM

Below are some of the special features of the website. Roll over an image to find out more.

Other stuff

Want to subscribe to the newsletter? Purchase EAP Foundation books from Evident Press? Check and improve your academic English? The following links will help.

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EAPFoundation.com contains information and resources for students and teachers of English for Academic Purposes (EAP).

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Summarising an article and finding thesis statement.
Answers.

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Week 6 - Thursday (Summarising Articles).docx

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26/05/2020 - 29/05/2020

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Due 25th of May

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Autonomous vehicles could add $800 billion to the US economy, a new report says.

The report also says the negative effects are being overblown - only about 4 million jobs will be directly impacted.

The report is from a non-profit focused on reducing America's dependence on oil, called Securing America's Future Energy.

Many of the fears surrounding self-driving cars are widely overblown, a newly published report says.

Even though the new technology could radically re-shape plenty of jobs, autonomous vehicles will likely only raise the US unemployment rate by a tenth of a percent, according to the report out Tuesday from Securing America's Future Energy, a Washington D.C. non-profit focused on reducing American dependence on oil.

"Like many new technologies before it, the public discourse around AVs has witnessed a significant focus on potential downsides, often with considerable exaggeration," the 52-page report said.

"Simulations of the impact of AVs on employment showed a range of impacts that would be felt starting in the early 2030s but would only increase the national unemployment rate by 0.06-0.13 percentage points at peak impact sometime between 2045 and 2050 before a return to full employment. Through 2051, the marginal impacts on the unemployment rate will remain quite low when considered from an economy-wide perspective, below the current uncertainty in the monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) unemployment reports."

Securing America's Future Energy (SAFE)

Still, industries that depend heavily on human drivers are likely to see a bigger impact than the broader population.

"The displacements induced by AV adoption are predicted to be far larger in the commercial sector-a diverse category, ranging from school bus drivers to long-haul truckers in double tractor-trailers-than in occupations impacted by light-duty vehicle automation," says the report. "There are simply far more driving jobs in the commercial trucking sector."

That's likely to be good news for some companies. America has a critical shortage of long-haul truck drivers. And as the impact is beginning to show up on balance sheets, many companies - including tech giants like Amazon - are sounding the alarm.

Self-driving cars could net the economy $800 billion

Even with the job losses, which will only affect a small percentage of the total employed US population, the economic benefits easily make it worth it, according to the report.

"Significant economic benefits from the widespread adoption of AVs could lead to nearly $800 billion in annual social and economic benefits by 2050, mostly from reducing the toll of vehicle crashes, but also from giving productive time back to commuters, improving energy security by reducing dependence on oil, and providing environmental benefits," says the report.

Here's a more detailed breakdown of where the group sees those benefits coming from:

Securing America's Future Energy (SAFE)

Finally, the non-profit encourages lawmakers and others involved in writing policy to consider all aspects of self-driving cars before taking action.

"Policy steps to address the evolution of the labor market must ultimately be placed in the context of the broader impacts of AVs in order to ensure the best outcome, says the report. "Due to the large-scale societal benefits from the deployment of AVs, policies to address labor force issues must carefully consider their potential impact in delaying the deployment and thus the benefits of AVs."

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Self-driving cars could wipe out 4 million jobs - but a new report says the upsides will be easily worth it | Markets Insider

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Autonomous vehicles could add $800 billion to the US economy, a new report says. The report also says the negative effects are being overblown - only about 4 million jobs will be directly impacted. The report is from a non-profit focused on reducing America's dependence on oil, called Securing America's Future Energy.

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Using APA Style

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Library: APA referencing: What is a Reference List?

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Library: APA referencing: What is a Reference List?

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Writing: Introduction and counter argument

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Writing: Introduction and counter argument

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EAP Introductions to be put into weekly material.docx

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Vocabulary to help you

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Crime vocabularyu

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(EAP) Crime and Punishment Podcast Vocabulary Flashcards | Quizlet

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Start studying (EAP) Crime and Punishment Podcast Vocabulary. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.

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Due 18th of May

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Whether children imitate a bear or a pirate, their imagination could contribute to human advancement. Juhansonin

We all know the scene: a child, wrapped in his or her own imaginary world, fights off aliens while flying through space on a rocket fashioned from an empty box. But could such flights of fancy be critical to humanity as we know it?

I published a paper earlier this week in the Journal of Comparative Psychology where I argue that the emergence of childhood (which I would broadly define as between two and seven years old) as a life stage may have been an important step. Here's why.

Since the split from our common ancestor, the chimpanzee, seven million years ago, we have colonised more of the planet's terrestrial habitat than any other species and account for about eight times as much biomass as all other terrestrial vertebrates combined.

Chimpanzees, by contrast, have been pushed to the brink of extinction. Why? What has led to our remarkable success, leaving all other species in our, at times devastating, wake?

There are many answers. But a stand-out candidate is that, unlike other animals, we not only pass on from one generation to the next a vast array of skill and information, but as we do, we define it, reinvent it and make it better.

ohsohappytogether

This is what has become known as "cumulative culture", and ours is the only species to show it.

But saying that cumulative culture is the key only provides a partial answer. More critical is to detail what, in the seven million years we followed different evolutionary paths, led us to develop cumulative culture and chimpanzees not to.

A cornerstone of human cumulative culture is our overwhelming propensity for copying what others do. Research has shown that children will imitate extended action sequences shown to them by an adult, even if those actions clearly serve no functional purpose.

This is important given that children grow up in environments saturated with tools and objects they must learn to use, adopting a strategy based around exact copying may have fewer costs than attempting to selectively choose relevant components.

A propensity for copying everything is also a marvellous platform for all sorts of cultural information to be passed on.

But copying everything others do won't allow anything new to be created. Fundamental to our progression as a species is our capacity for invention. We are constantly developing new and ingenious ways of doing things - and constantly providing new and ingenious answers to questions that once seemed beyond our reach.

Father of JGKlein

Our capacity for creative thinking sets us apart. But it doesn't just emerge in us as adults. It very likely finds its origin in the imaginative play that children engage in from very early in life.

When children play they pretend - they conjure brave new worlds and let their imaginations run wild. Without this glorious period of child play in which the imaginative mind can flourish, it's hard to see how such a mind could emerge at all.

So we have two core traits that seem necessary for cumulative culture to emerge - a tendency for copying others with high fidelity, and time for play. Both of these are laid down when we are children.

So it may be the mind that gives rise to cumulative culture emerges only after being first established in the mind of the developing child.

Creating childhood

This, of course, relies on the existence of a childhood in the first place and human life history, unlike any other animal, incorporates a lengthy period of dependency that begins after weaning and continues until self-care becomes possible at around seven years.

When might this species-specific life stage have become established? Shortly after divergence from our common ancestor with chimpanzees? Some time sooner?

A modern human-like sequence of dental development, as a proxy for the pace of life history, is regarded as one of the diagnostic hallmarks of our species. We can look at fossil teeth to get a picture of when childhood may have emerged in our evolutionary past.

slightly everything

In contrast to microscopic analysis of growth patterns in fossil teeth from other hominin species (e.g. Homo erectus) analysis of dental development in fossilised Neanderthal teeth is suggestive of a childhood in this species.

That is, childhood may not have emerged until after 300,000 years ago. Before this, there would have been a much more direct transition from infancy and breastfeeding to independence, as is the case for modern chimpanzees.

Crucially, this possible emergence of childhood coincides with the appearance in the archaeological record of rapid leaps in technological innovation in the construction of stone tools, and the emergence of clearly identifiable regional and stylistic variants indicative of true cultural traditions and culture areas.

We see signs of something like our cultural mind emerging around the same time we see signs of childhood emerging.

In sum, imitation and pretend play are critical developmental domains in the evolution of human cumulative culture. These domains became firmly established in the human mind and flourished only because the Homo line developed extended childhood as a life stage.

So next time you see a little one being a copycat or pretending to be an astronaut, take the time to reflect that, without these things happening, we may have never got to the moon.

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Imitation and imagination: child's play is central to human success

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We all know the scene: a child, wrapped in his or her own imaginary world, fights off aliens while flying through space on a rocket fashioned from an empty box. But could such flights of fancy be critical to humanity as we know it?

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Countries rich in physical resources - such as warm climates, beautiful beaches, rare ecosystems, and abundant plant and animal life - are often sought-after holiday destinations by people from MEDCs . Tour operators and developers invest in these locations in the hope that they will become as popular as European resorts.

Places such as Kenya in East Africa, where tourists go on safari, or Bali in Indonesia, visited for its beautiful beaches, all benefit financially from tourism. However, tourism in LEDCs needs to be carefully managed to prevent harm to the environment and disruption to local communities.

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BBC Bitesize - GCSE Geography - Tourism in an LEDC - Revision 1

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Countries rich in physical resources - such as warm climates, beautiful beaches, rare ecosystems, and abundant plant and animal life - are often sought-after holiday destinations by people from MEDCs . Tour operators and developers invest in these locations in the hope that they will become as popular as European resorts.

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Tourism Development: Outline of Advantages and Disadvantages

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We don't really see a different list of pros and cons for tourism in rural and urban areas. Rural or urban, the result largely depend upon how the business is conducted: Are visitors coming and supporting what the community prides itself in and in a way that perpetuates and sustains (or improves) the quality of life in the community)?

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One of the most important questions to ask yourself when considering making a move to another country for living is whether you'd like to live in a highly touristed area or a place that's removed from the tourist path. Living in a tourism area can mean big annoyances, but it also has its advantages.

First, the downside. Here are six reasons not to live overseas in a tourist area:

1. Lack of community. Tourism areas don't have the same community feel as a residential setting. Most of us stand out as foreigners when living abroad. (There's just no way not to.) Because tourism areas have high numbers of foreigners, you can often feel like you're being treated as a tourist rather than a local resident who is part of the community.

2. It's harder to integrate. In tourism areas it can be harder to integrate with the local culture and people. The local residents can place you in the tourist camp rather than the local camp.

3. Higher costs. As an expat living in a tourist area it can be hard to exempt yourself from the pricing practices that tourists usually fall victim to.

4. The Disneyland effect. The tourist areas of any country often don't reflect the genuine character of that country. Instead you get a caricature of the country this is designed to attract visitors.

5. Tourist annoyances. High tourism areas often come with tourist annoyances, such as a constant stream of vendors, tour guides, scammers and even beggars. Tourist zones are also often the target of local pickpockets and tend to be noisy and crowded. Traffic and parking can be daily aggravations.

On the other hand, high tourism areas also come with benefits that can outweigh the annoyances:

1. Community amenities. Tourism areas usually have a higher than typical density of nice restaurants, cafés and entertainment.

2. Care of infrastructure. Tourist sectors usually have the best maintained roads, sidewalks, trails and beaches. Touristed beach areas, for example, are typically cleaned daily, while local beaches are usually ignored by local authorities.

3. Lack of obvious poverty. Obvious poverty can be a downside in poor countries, but in tourist areas you'll often see far less of it. One reason is that these areas bring local jobs. As well, local officials often make efforts to keep panhandlers and homeless people away from the high tourist sectors.

4. Better flight connections. Areas with high tourist traffic tend to be more accessible, with frequent flights to nearby airports and good public transportation.

5. Rental income and resale. Many tourist areas offer the opportunity for good rental returns thanks to the increased traffic. They can also provide you with more liquidity at resale time.

6. More English spoken. English is the primary international language, so if it's the only language you speak, you'll generally be better off in an area with lots of tourists.

7. More conveniences. Areas with lots of tourists also have lots of tourist conveniences, such as ATMs, bank branches, familiar franchises and North American products.

8. Better construction options. High tourism areas often offer better options for living than the local market would otherwise demand. You'll find more high end condos that are built to first world standards.

9. Great local intrinsic attributes. Tourists don't come to a place to hang out with other tourists. They come because the area has something interesting or entertaining to offer, such as beautiful beaches, great weather, scenic mountains or historic cities and landmarks. You'll benefit, as well, from whatever is attracting all the tourists.

Be honest with yourself about the overseas living or retirement lifestyle that will suit you best. Not everyone is up for learning a new language. Think about whether you are willing to travel some distance for amenities and conveniences or would prefer them on your doorstep.

Also, consider whether you will be using your overseas home full time, part time or as a vacation getaway. If you're spending one month at a time abroad, you'll enjoy the tourist area's amenities and the annoyances won't have time to wear on you. Longer-term residents might appreciate a non-tourist area's community feel and local culture long after the novelty of the tourist amenities has worn off.

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The Pros and Cons of Living in a Tourist Town - Live and Invest Overseas - Medium

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One of the most important questions to ask yourself when considering making a move to another country for living is whether you'd like to live in a highly touristed area or a place that's removed from the tourist path. Living in a tourism area can mean big annoyances, but it also has its advantages.

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Another example of an argumentative essay

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Another example of an argumentative essay

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The two main body paragraphs are useful in terms of structure

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Free tickets for international students - 'Big Bash' cricket

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Study Melbourne and Cricket Victoria invite international students to experience the spectacle of Australia's Big Bash Cricket Competition.

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Answers:

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Good Luck

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Due 11th of May

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Sydney uses more water than Melbourne

Dr Petr Matous is an academic from the University of Sydney's Faculty of Engineering who specialises in environmental and humanitarian engineering. While he believes governments should invest in recycled water infrastructure, water usage is high in Sydney compared to other parts of the country.

"The latest rains in Sydney didn't change much except increase the levels of water-borne bacteria along our beaches from surface run off. We had a few days of rain but we are still in a drought," said Dr Matous.

"The water level of Warragamba Dam, the dam that supplies most of Sydney's water, is still only at 50 percent just like it was a week or so ago. During those few days of rain, four centimetres fell in its catchment area and all of it was consumed.

"To ensure sufficient water supply for a growing population, the creation of recycled water infrastructure would be a step in the right direction. However, to buttress us through further droughts in an increasingly variable climate, significant awareness raising and especially work on pricing is needed.

"Sydney has great storage capacity but even with desalination plants running, water levels are decreasing because there hasn't been enough rain and because we use too much water in Sydney; 30 percent more, per person, than in Melbourne.

"Most of us in Sydney don't even know how much water we use, unlike people in other cities whose water bills depend on their actual consumption, or people in remote areas who live off their rainwater tanks, a technology that should be rolled out in urban areas."

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Troubled waters: experts comment on the drought and water policy

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Dr Petr Matous is an academic from the University of Sydney's Faculty of Engineering who specialises in environmental and humanitarian engineering. While he believes governments should invest in recycled water infrastructure, water usage is high in Sydney compared to other parts of the country.

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Week 7 - Story of Stuff

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EAP Writing Folio Week 7 task sheet.docx

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Celebrities are always part of the show in the US presidential election. This is by no means a new trend. Historians have traced the role of celebrities in politics back to the 1920 election, when Warren Harding was endorsed by film stars including Lillian Russell.

In 1960, John F. Kennedy was endorsed by Rat Pack members Sammy Davis junior and Dean Martin. More recently, Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, will.i.am, Brad Pitt and Samuel L. Jackson supported Barack Obama. Actor Clint Eastwood, however, endorsed Republicans John McCain in 2008 and Donald Trump this time around.

The 2016 election is no different. So how much of a difference, if any, do high-profile endorsements make? And to which demographics?

Who's endorsing who?

Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have been endorsed by an army of celebrity supporters.

Some of Clinton's high-profile endorsers include LeBron James, Amy Schumer, Katy Perry, Meryl Streep, Jamie Lee Curtis, Lady Gaga, Ellen DeGeneres, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, Khloe Kardashian, Kerry Washington, Viola Davis, Britney Spears, John Legend, Richard Gere, Salma Hayek, Lena Dunham, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce and Snoop Dogg.

In contrast, some of Trump's supporters include Azealia Banks, Sarah Palin, Kirstie Alley, Tom Brady, Charlie Sheen, Dennis Rodman, Kid Rock, Mike Tyson, Donnie Wahlberg, Gary Busey, Hulk Hogan, Tim Allen and Chuck Norris.

If we simply look at the Twitter power behind some of the celebrities listed above, Clinton's camp - with DeGeneres, Spears, James, Lopez and Beyonce - has a combined 195.6 million followers, compared to Trump's camp - Sheen, Tyson, Palin, Hogan and Alley - with a combined 21 million followers.

Celebrities often go beyond simple endorsements and make powerful statements such as Elizabeth Banks' Fight Song or the star-studded Avengers cast's oblique but powerful statement against Trump.

Celebrities sell

Advertisements featuring celebrities are a popular marketing strategy. In fact, one in five ads globally features a celebrity. Undoubtedly, endorsements are big business.

Some well-known campaigns include Beyonce and Pepsi (worth US$50 million), Justin Bieber and OPI nail polish ($12.5 million) and Brad Pitt and Chanel No. 5 ($6.7 million).

Marketers happily spend millions on celebrity endorsers as they are able to leverage "secondary brand associations" - that is, people transfer their opinions and feelings about a celebrity to the brand.

In a cluttered world where myriad messages fight for the attention of time-starved consumers, celebrity endorsers serve as arbiters of public opinion. And so, marketing organisations rely on symbolic and emotional features to generate "sociopsychological associations". Some celebrities are seen to be so aspirational that even a glimpse of them in an ad conveys positive meaning, like athletes Cristiano Ronaldo and Roger Federer.

It's important to understand the traits a celebrity, also referred to as a source, should have in order to transfer positive meaning to a brand. These are broken down into three categories:

source attractiveness (physique, intellect, athleticism, lifestyle);

source credibility (expertise, trustworthiness); and

meaning transfer (compatibility between brand and celebrity).

Quite often, celebrities use their high profile to encourage people, world organisations and politicians to support their cause, like singer Bono's One campaign against poverty. Actors Jack Black and Neil Patrick Harris encouraged Californians to vote against the California Marriage Protection Act.

Not-for-profit and world organisations are aware of the power of celebrities and create connections in order to garner publicity, awareness and donations. This includes the United Nations and Angelina Jolie, and DeGeneres and the Ice Bucket Challenge.

Celebrity endorsements in politics makes sense

We know celebrities grab and hold consumer attention. They also improve ad recall. People are more likely to think positively about a product because they are familiar with the celebrity.

However, expertise is an important element when wanting to influence consumers. Credibility is another crucial factor that tells us not all celebrities are equal. Those considered to be more credible have a higher influence on people's opinions and decisions.

Celebrities with prior political activism, like Martin Sheen and George Clooney, are more likely to have a stronger influence. Interestingly, people consider celebrities to be more credible and trustworthy than politicians.

A negative comment by a credible endorser such as Oprah Winfrey can be as damaging as a positive one. For example, Winfrey stopped eating burgers during the 1996 "mad cow" spread - this resulted in a 10% drop in cattle futures the next day.

Effectiveness and audience

Research has found that young adults are more likely to listen to family and friends, rather than celebrities, as a source of political information.

At the same time, young people believe celebrities have an effect on the way people think - more than politicians, scientists or academics. Outside of age, ethnicity and gender are also known to affect celebrity endorsement influence.

For instance, African-American and Caucasian-American voters are more likely to rely on family and friends. However, Asian-American, Polynesian and Hispanic voters are more likely to trust politicians or interest groups. Also, men consider celebrities to have a greater influence than women do, regardless of cultural background.

Celebrities are able to motivate young people to seek further information and to take part. However, this is less true of first-time voters. Those who are less politically savvy or poorly informed are also more likely to vote for a political party endorsed by a celebrity.

What's interesting is that most celebrities tend to align themselves with politically uncontroversial issues and tend to steer towards liberal perspectives - for example, George Clooney and Not On Our Watch, a campaign for improving human rights.

Trump's camp includes controversial celebrities who have previously been involved in controversial branding endorsements, like Charlie Sheen and underwear brand Hanes.

Trump was also a celebrity prior to becoming a candidate. People's experience of his public persona through his roles on TV have over time instilled a specific meaning. That meaning is now transferred to his political campaign.

So what's the final verdict?

With the right celebrity endorsements, political campaigns can do quite well.

Oprah Winfrey's endorsement of Obama in 2008 was found to increase overall voter participation and number of contributions received by Obama, and an estimated overall 1 million additional votes.

All it takes is trustworthiness, credibility, and a lot of followers.

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US election: what impact do celebrity endorsements really have?

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Celebrities are always part of the show in the US presidential election. This is by no means a new trend. Historians have traced the role of celebrities in politics back to the 1920 election, when Warren Harding was endorsed by film stars including Lillian Russell. In 1960, John F.