Today’s Zogby blog post comes courtesy of Cheryl Korn, a Writer/Analyst with Zogby International, and an avid hockey fan since she was old enough to follow and understand the game. Thanks Cheryl!

Patrick Kane, a forward with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL), made history by scoring the first NHL goal in Finland. This is most likely a moment Kane will carry with him for the rest of his life. But what will he remember about pleading guilty to a noncriminal charge of disorderly conduct after being accused of assaulting a cab driver over a fare dispute this past summer?

Kane could have faced up to 15 days in jail and a $250 fine, but the judge in Kane’s case issued him a conditional discharge. This meant he would avoid facing jail time as long as he does not run into problems with the law for a year. Kane was also ordered to make a statement of apology to the cab driver.

Luckily for Kane, everything seems to be neatly swept under the rug. The NHL has not chosen to punish him for his actions off the ice this past summer. However, how well does this lack of punishment sit with hockey fans and the general public?

According to a recent Zogby Interactive survey, 65% of adults nationwide agree that regardless of Kane’s guilty plea, he should face some sort of disciplinary action from the NHL. Respondents age 65 and older (70%) and parents of children under the age of 17 (69%) are among the most likely to agree. Eighteen percent of those surveyed do not agree and believe Kane should not face any disciplinary action from the NHL.

Electronic Arts Sports’ (EA Sports) NHL 10 was released on September 15. This release featured Kane’s image, and the software company has not said anything about replacing Kane’s image on the cover because of the off-ice incident this past summer. Clearly, this lack of action does not sit well with some. Our survey shows that 42% believe EA Sports should change the cover of the game and remove Kane’s image. Respondents ages 50-64 (48%) and 65 and older (47%) and parents of children under the age of 17 (44%) are among the most likely to agree that the cover should be changed. Three in ten (31%) do not agree that Kane’s image should be removed, with First Globals™ (18-29 year olds) (44%) among the most likely to say that Kane’s image should remain on the cover.

What is your opinion about this? How does this situation compare to the incident a few years ago where former Vancouver Canuck Todd Bertuzzi issued former Colorado Av Steve Moore a check into the boards? The play would end Moore’s hockey playing career. As you may recall, the referee during the game did not call a penalty as the check was deemed legal. However, Bertuzzi was later suspended by the NHL due to the severity of Moore’s injuries. Clearly, Kane could have seriously injured the cab driver during the incident, so why is the NHL continuing to look the other way? Did the NHL “miss the call” by not issuing Kane a suspension or some type of disciplinary action for his conduct off the ice this past summer?

ZogbyFeaturedContributor culture, lifestyles crime, entertainment, first globals, history, international, lifestyle, sports, summer, war, zogby

Just in time for Halloween, here are some statistics about Americans’ beliefs on things that go bump in the night, courtesy of a recent Zogby/Animal Planet survey .

- More than one third of those surveyed (39%) said they have seen a ghost or know someone who has. Fifty-four percent have never seen a ghost before, while eight percent were unsure.

- When asked what legendary creature they would like to see proven as real, thirty-six percent of people said they would like Bigfoot to be real, while 21% said ghosts. Twenty-seven percent said various other creatures, including vampires and werewolves.

-About one in five respondents (21%) said they have been visited by a dead friend or relative, while 72% said they haven’t been and 8% were unsure.

- When respondents were asked what creature they would least like to meet in a dark alley, werewolf topped the list with 20%. Thirteen percent said vampire, and 12% said zombie.

-A surprising 35% percent of people said they believe in aliens, while 40% said they don’t, and 25% were unsure.

Are you a believer in any of the paranormal creatures or activities discussed above? Why or why not?

Katy culture holidays, paranormal, zogby

According to a Zogby International poll conducted in August 2005, 87% of Americans agreed that the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 was the most historical event of their lifetime and that our culture, how we all live together in America, and how we as Americans view the world will never be the same. And nearly four years after the tragic day, over three fourths (76%) of those surveyed claimed the events still affected them emotionally, and nearly 70% personally thought about the attacks at least once a week. Among First Globals™ (18-29 year olds), 60% said their memories of the attacks were as emotionally vivid and dramatic in 2005 as they were in 2001. Over one fourth of those surveyed (26%) knew someone who had a family member killed or injured during the attacks of September 11th.

Concerning memorials, 21% of respondents stated that a permanent memorial has been created in their community. However, after 8 years, the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site in New York City is incomplete. Did you think it would be completed sooner? Do you think the length of time will lessen the impact when the memorial is complete, or will it add to the significance of that day?

ZogbyFeaturedContributor culture, politics culture, first globals, history, international, politics, zogby

It’s shaping up to be a good, if expensive, week for survey researchers (and others) who are also Beatles fans. This Wednesday, Harmonix Music Systems will release the greatly anticipated The Beatles: Rock Band , a video game which will allow users to jam along with the Beatles interactively on the game’s electronic instruments. That same day, digitally remastered versions of all Beatles studio albums will be released . Serious aficionados will no doubt snap up the box set featuring 14 of these remastered CDs along with brief documentaries detailing the making of each CD.

In a nine page article in the New York Times describing the making of The Beatles: Rock Band, author Daniel Radosh describes the extensive involvement of surviving Beatles Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney as well as Yoko Ono and Olivia and Dhani Harrison in imagining, creating, refining, and publicizing the game. On the decision to place the Beatles in the center of the interactive video game cultural phenomenon, McCartney comments that “I think it reflects where the Beatles are at.. we are halfway between reality and mythology.” McCartney is also a fan of the game’s interactive nature, noting that “you want people to get engaged… [now people can feel as if] they possess or own the song, that they’ve been in it.”

Meanwhile, some pollsters are hard at work confirming hypotheses that will come as little surprise to Beatles fans: more than forty years after their last group recording, the Beatles are judged to be the most liked musical group in America, and their fans are found in every generation. Pew reports that 49% of those surveyed claimed they liked the Beatles “a lot”, and 81% like the Beatles overall. This is the highest favorability percentage for any of the 20 musical groups or artists included in Pew’s survey. The biggest fans are those between 50 and 64, with 65% of this age group liking the Beatles “a lot”, but fans are found in all age groups: 45% of those between 16 and 25 also like the Beatles “a lot”.

Are you a Beatles fan? Do you think any musical group will ever have a cultural or musical impact equal to the Beatles? Do you plan to purchase or play any of the Beatles-related music or games released this week?

Katy culture, lifestyles, media Beatles, best band ever, culture, entertainment, music, polls, video, work

For decades, the U.S. has moved away from being a nation that manufactured products to one that buys things that are made somewhere else.  Given that model, our economy is very dependent on consumption through retail sales to spur growth and profit.
Surveys we have conducted at Zogby International continue to show American society moving away from that model. We are experiencing a paradigm shift that rejects the necessity of owning the next great new thing, and instead embraces satisfaction through relationships, leisure activities, volunteerism, self-expression and spiritual fulfillment. The latest evidence of this came in a series of questions we asked to more than 40,000 U.S. adults in a July interactive survey.

Read all of John Zogby’s article on how Americans are choosing to live with less at Forbes.com.

Paul consumption, culture, economics charity, consumption, economy, international, John Zogby, leisure, race, zogby

A recent article in Wall Street Journal argued that social networking sites such as Facebook have some undesirable effects on friendships. One of the arguments made was that the ease with which information can be shared encourages sharing of banality that was previously usually kept for oneself.
One of the targets in both the article and comments were posts and tweets about consuming food and drinks.

Insofar as this is a sin, Zogby Interactive data suggest that not that many of us are sinners. 85% percent of our respondents who use Twitter said they have never twittered about food or drinks. Females tend to find these topic a little more interesting, with 18% saying they have done so (compared to 13% males).

Do you think that sites such as Facebook encourage banality in relationships? Do you tweet about food and drinks?

Zeljka communication, culture, internet, lifestyles, media twitter, work, zogby

by Rebecca Wittman

Well, not quite, but they appear to more concerned with humane issues than their elders. In two areas Zogby has polled – circuses and farm animals – New Globals appear ready to consider animals as beings worthy of empathy and consideration.

On Using Animals in Circuses

A majority of New Globals are opposed to using exotic animals like elephants, tigers, and bears in circuses, in fact, they are nearly one and a half times as likely as any other age group to feel that way – 51% under 30 opposed vs. an average of 38% over 30 who are opposed. And it isn’t just exotic animals they object to, they are also more likely than those over 30 to object to using domesticated animals like horses, cats, and dogs as circus acts (49% New Globals object vs. an average of 27% over 30 who object).

And when weighing two arguments about the treatment of animals used in circus acts, one postulating humane treatment (care by trained professionals who understand the animals’ needs and reinforcing natural behaviors as acts) and one postulating inhumane treatment (cramped cages, chaining, forced to perform unnatural behaviors), agreement with the notion that animals in circuses are treated inhumanely decreases with age, with New Globals (56%) most likely to agree that animals are treated inhumanely, while those over 65 are  the least likely to agree (36%).

On Treatment of Farm Animals

In a 2005 PETA poll, Zogby spoke with 300 15 to 23 year olds and discovered that humane issues were as likely or more likely to generate a move to vegetarianism than were personal or health issues.

So, New Globals may be the turning point in realizing better treatment for animals and an understanding that they deserve respect as individuals with intrinsic value outside their usefulness to humans. Here’s hoping so!

ZogbyFeaturedContributor consumption, culture, first globals, future animals, health, video, work, zogby

Large numbers of U.S. adults have cut back on driving, eating at restaurants, going to the movies and traveling. It’s no surprise that this type of discretionary spending has taken a hit, but these trends are not just the result of a 20-month recession.

To be sure, the recession has added to the count of people who are cutting back. But many Americans had already decided to live with less before the bottom fell out of the economy. That has been an ongoing trend, as more Americans move away from material frivolities and take pleasure in a simpler lifestyle. Now that a recession is forcing many others to also live within limits, how many will discover that they never really needed all those material things to be happy in the first place? That thought should worry consumer-oriented businesses, and encourage those who believe the nation and world are on an unsustainable course.

Read the rest of John Zogby’s column at Forbes.com and more about this survey here.

Paul culture, economics economy, John Zogby, lifestyle, recession, travel, zogby

In his book “The Blank Slate”, psychologist Steven Pinker has, among other things, criticized the “noble savage” view of human nature. According to this view, people are by nature generous and non-aggressive, however, as they grow up they get corrupted by the existing culture. Consequently, vast majority of social problems can be solved by changing culture and returning to the age of innocence. Pinker, on the other hand, used psychological, historical and archaeological evidence to argue that such times never existed.

Our data show that a vast majority of people appear to be endorsing the noble savage view of human nature. Overall, 55% percent of Americans agree with the view, “generally speaking, people are born nice and generous, but the existing culture gradually corrupts them”. Perhaps surprisingly, there are no generational differences and ideological differences are almost negligible.

What is your view of the “noble savage” hypothesis?

Zeljka culture, first globals, future, ideology, psychology culture

We’ve heard about the Greatest Generation. Now we seem to have the most hated generation: Baby Boomers.

Maybe that is an exaggeration, but our recent interactive poll  of 4,811 U.S. adults found 42% saying Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) will be remembered for “ushering in an era of consumerism and self-indulgence.” The other choice we gave respondents was to say the Boomer legacy will be “helping to bring lasting change in social and cultural values and ending a war.” That more favorable description is believed by 26% of our sample. The remaining 32% chose “nothing at all” some other legacy or just weren’t sure. (You can read John Zogby’s analysis of this poll at Forbes.com.)

I’ll drop all pretense of objectivity and say that I am part of the Woodstock generation. I was born in 1948 and am a writer at Zogby, with a background in newspapers and advocacy. 

I even went to Woodstock, and wrote a God awful piece for my local paper with a lead that read: “I was there.” So I will readily admit we thought we were special, and that we could change the world. That notion was short-lived.

So I refuse to silently take this generational bad rap. Generations don’t consciously decide how they will react to the world. They play the hand they are dealt, with human nature in control.  

Hardened by the Depression, the Greatest Generation was faced with fighting a just war against fascists who wanted to dominate the world. The survival instinct produced brave warriors and self-sacrificing civilians. They won the war, and the U.S. emerged prosperous and powerful. Mass media and modern advertising started to dominate the culture, ushering in the consumer age.

Still in survival instinct mode, the Greatest Generation sent  Baby Boomers to fight a misguided war that could not be won, and as history played out, wasn’t even worth winning. We now buy clothes from Vietnam. Our nation fissured over the war. At the same time, African-Americans justly demanded equal rights. Women went to college in much greater numbers, and they too expected equal pay and status. The post-war prosperity bred indulgence in the form of drugs and looser sexual mores. In short, all Hell broke loose.

The nation, and the Baby Boom generation itself, have been split ever since along those 1960s fault lines. Despite all that, normalcy goes on across political ideologies. People continue to work, raise families and want the best for their children. Human nature prevails.

What do you think about Baby Boomers and their legacy?

Paul Uncategorized, culture culture, drugs, Generations, history, John Zogby, media, war, work, zogby