Welcome to this week’s edition of Top Question Tuesday. Last week’s winning question will ask people if they think New Years is an optimistic or pessimistic time of year.  Once we have results from the question we’ll post them on our blog.

This week’s user-submitted survey questions are below. The questions are shortened to save space on our blog post, but these are the basic ideas. Take a look through the questions and then vote for the question you’d most like to see on a Zogby Interactive survey. As a reminder, if you’d like to submit a question to be considered for a Top Question Tuesday Zogby survey, use the “Top Question Tuesday” box on the right of the page. And if you’d like to join Zogby’s interactive panel to answer questions similar to these, click here.

1. ESPN recently announced it will launch a 3D network in June 2010. How interested would you say you are in viewing 3D programming from ESPN – very interested, somewhat interested, or not at all interested?

2. What’s your favorite non-religious holiday/day of celebration? New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Earth Day, Mother’s Day/Father’s Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving or something else?

3. There has been discussion in the news lately concerning the use of full-body scans at airports. Full-body scans show images of the body through clothing. Some supporters of full-body scans argue that tests of the scans show them to be highly effective in keeping dangerous materials off airplanes, particularly non-metal materials that metal detectors won’t catch.  Some opponents argue that because the images of the body are so detailed, the image scanning can be humiliating to passengers and are too invasive. Some argue the need for a balance between the need for security measures and airline safety.
Do you agree or disagree that full-body scans should be allowed at airports?

Leann Uncategorized Top Question Tuesday, work, zogby

Welcome to this week’s edition of Top Question Tuesday. Voter turnout was higher than expected last week!  To thank you for your vote, we have decided to run the top two winning questions from last week’s Top Question Tuesday on an upcoming poll!  The two questions that will be added to an upcoming nationwide survey will ask Americans if they think “In God We Trust” should appear on US coins and the second question will ask Americans if they agree or disagree with Obama critics who argue that Obama is leading the US toward socialism.  Once we have results from the question we’ll post them on our blog.

This week’s user-submitted survey questions are below. The questions are shortened to save space on our blog post, but these are the basic ideas. Take a look through and then vote for the question you’d most like to see on a Zogby Interactive survey. As a reminder, if you’d like to submit a question to be considered for a Top Question Tuesday Zogby survey, use the “Top Question Tuesday” box on the right of the page. And if you’d like to join Zogby’s interactive panel to answer questions similar to these, click here.

1. Do you think women should receive their first mammogram starting at age 40, starting at age 50, some other age, or should women not receive mammograms at all?

2. Do you think having a graduate degree, such as a masters or doctoral degree, makes it is easier to get ahead in the workplace?  

3. Which of the following domestic issues do you think should be the number one priority for the U.S.?
1. National Security 2. Jobs 3. Education. 4. Healthcare. 5. Taxes. 6. Environment 7.  The economy 8. Something else/None of these

Leann Uncategorized economy, education, environment, health, Obama, Top Question Tuesday, war, work, zogby

Welcome to this week’s edition of Top Question Tuesday. Last week’s winning question will ask people if they think Americans with unhealthy habits should pay higher healthcare premiums.  Once we have results from the question we’ll post them on our blog.

This week’s user-submitted survey questions are below. The questions are shortened to save space on our blog post, but these are the basic ideas. Take a look through and then vote for the question you’d most like to see on a Zogby Interactive survey. As a reminder, if you’d like to submit a question to be considered for a Top Question Tuesday Zogby survey, use the “Top Question Tuesday” box on the right of the page. And if you’d like to join Zogby’s interactive panel to answer questions similar to these, click here.

1. The PBS children’s television show Sesame Street recently celebrated 40 years of being on the air. Which of the following muppets is your favorite Sesame Street muppet, or are you unfamiliar with the show?
Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Oscar, Grover, Elmo, The Count, another muppet, or are you too unfamiliar with the show to choose.

2. Do you plan to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving?

3. How many working TVs are used in your household? None, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or more

Leann Uncategorized health, shopping, television, Top Question Tuesday, work, zogby

One-Third of 18-24 Year Olds: Obama Is Abandoning Progressive Causes

By Alexander Heffner / November 4th, 2009

 

Steph Uncategorized economy, faith, Obama, war, white house, work, zogby

A lot has changed in America over the past year. We have a new President and a new administration. Healthcare reform is now on the front burner. Swine flu fears are making headlines. But some things haven’t changed: Troops remain in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a new surge may be in the works. The recession continues, with unemployment hitting record highs and no one really sure when and if the nation’s economy will bounce back.

The latest Zogby Interactive survey shows President Barack Obama’s job performance rating has fallen slightly to 49%. Just over a year ago, former President George W. Bush hit a record low of just 21% in Zogby telephone polling as he neared the end of his second term and the November election loomed.

While our latest polling shows 42% of likely voters say the nation is headed in the right direction and 51% believe it is off on the wrong track, Americans were much more pessimistic about the state of the country a year ago. In October of last year, three in four Americans believe the country was headed on the wrong track and just 18% believed the U.S. was headed in the right direction. A year ago, under the Bush administration, there was strong dissatisfaction with the direction the country was headed from all sides of the political spectrum – 84% of Democrats, 79% of self-identified political independents, and even 64% of Republicans felt this way. Fast forward to today, under the Obama administration, and views on the direction the country is headed have become increasingly partisan. Our latest survey shows while 90% of Republicans believe the U.S. is on the wrong track, just 15% of Democrats feel the same. Among independents, 55% believe the country is on the wrong track.

Do you think the country is better off today than at this time last year, and has the change in administrations made a difference either way? Do you think American will be in a better or worse place a year from now?

Steph Uncategorized economy, employment, health, Obama, recession, war, work, zogby

I’m one of those mothers who’s not shy about breastfeeding in public – sushi restaurants, brewery tours, the New York State Fair — if my daughter’s hungry, it’s time to eat. Where ever we are. Sometimes I cover up, sometimes I don’t, but I always try to be as discreet as possible and no one has ever complained (as far as I know).

It seems I’m in good company, as most Americans aren’t bothered when they happen across a nursing mother. In response to a recent Top Question Tuesday question submitted by one of our readers, we asked how Americans feel about breastfeeding in public, and nearly 80% believe women should be allowed to breastfeed in public or private places they would otherwise be allowed to be. Overall, more than half (51%) believe a woman should have to cover up while nursing in public, but more than one in four (28%) are fine with public nursing without a cover. Younger Americans are particularly tolerant of nursing in public while uncovered – 50% of those age 18 to 24 feel this way, compared to just 11% of those 70 or older. This anything-goes attitude about breastfeeding is also more common among men (38%) than women (18%), which may or may not come as a surprise, depending on your perspective.

Some nursing mothers have caught some very public flak as of late for feeding their babies out in the open. One mother at an Indiana Olive Garden was asked to nurse her baby in the restaurant’s rest room after complaints were made to the manager. Another was told to cover up at a Chic-Fil-A in Orlando, prompting a group of nursing mothers to hold a “nurse-in” at the fast food restaurant. Facebook has a policy of removing some images that show women breastfeeding, which lead the formation of a group called “Hey Facebook, Breastfeeding Is Not Obscene!”

To the 16% of Americans who believe women should be allowed to nurse in public places, as long as that place is a restroom (given that I have found very few places that have specially designated nursing areas for privacy) – would YOU like to eat your food in a public restroom? I think not. Even before I became a mother, I would much rather be in the general proximity of a woman quietly nursing than listen to hungry baby shrieking to be fed. As for the 2% of Americans who believe women shouldn’t be allowed to nurse in public at all, I have a gentle suggestion. If you see a woman nursing her baby in a restaurant, perhaps you should keep your eyes on your own food, instead of what her baby’s eating.

I know many who refer to women who insist on nursing in public by such unflattering names like “breastfeeding Nazis”, but I often wonder if they pass equal judgment on the other cases of much more blatant breast exposure – like the scantily clad women on the covers of magazines by the grocery store checkout and in countless advertisements on billboards and television that leave nothing to the imagination.

By Stephanie DeVries, who works in Zogby’s Corporate Communications and Research department, and is a proud nursing mother who is ready to take part in a nurse- in at a moment’s notice, should one ever come to Utica.

Leann Uncategorized communication, television, Top Question Tuesday, work, zogby

I am sitting in my living room. Immediately to my right is my dining room. In my dining room are, variously, a box holding my wedding gown…from 1988, a box of stuffed animals and a 3 foot tall Tigger, a remote control car still in the box (these even though my youngest son is a senior in high school), the cat carrier, two rolling footstools and two Cannondale road bikes. Of course I also have a dining room table, china cabinet, and 6 chairs. There are also 3 stacks of boxes, a bookcase and a settee that belonged to my grandmother.  Although I’ve rarely been accused of being neat, I’m not usually living in such chaos. It’s just that I’ve recently moved, downsized to be precise, and I’m trying to fit more than 20 years of family stuff into a house no bigger than the one I moved to just after wearing that wedding dress all those years ago. 

I am among those who are reducing their lifestyle. Why? Well, it’s a cost savings obviously; a smaller place will cost me less money monthly to light and heat. My monthly payment is lower and the maintenance is significantly less on a smaller home, so it’s less work. I’m headed for an empty nest as my youngest son graduates from high school so we no longer need as much room as we used to come the fall, so there’s that as well.

It feels like there’s more to it though. After a lifetime of always feeling as though I needed to have just a little more than enough-just in case, everything from extra towels and sheets to a back up bottle of laundry detergent and a pound of butter in the freezer, I’m now running leaner. We have very little storage space now, no extra closets, no garage and so we’re operating on just having what’s necessary, I’m letting go.

Is it part of the new economy? Yes, that’s some of it, and I’m not alone. On a recent Zogby Interactive survey 29% of Americans report they are driving less as a result of the recession, 5% have downsized their home, 19% are bringing their lunch, 38% have reduced or eliminated going out to dinner, 19% are renting movies, and 34% have changed their travel plans.

So, yes, for myself and plenty others, that’s part of it, but there’s something else I’ve found, it’s freeing to have less. I have less to be responsible for. I donated, sold or gave away plenty, and threw out a fair amount of just plain junk that we’ve carried from house to house over the years. And the result is that I feel better. There’s less to be responsible for, fewer things to maintain, fewer moving parts, and fewer broken ones.

Will I continue to live a smaller life? Have less of a footprint here on earth? Yes, I think I will. Will you? Are you now? Did you always live a sparse lifestyle and you’re glad to see so many of us are catching up? Anyone want to buy a “vintage” wedding gown?

Karen Scott is Managing Editor and co-Director of Project Management at Zogby International. She has two sons, one is a sophomore at Pennsylvania State University (We Are-Penn State!) and one, as mentioned above is a senior in high school. Her life has been full of surprises, among them are the fact that her wedding dress (pictured here) lasted longer than the marriage did, and while she knew she was a (young)  Woodstocker, upon further examination, it seems as though she might have become a Secular Spiritualist while no one was looking.

ZogbyFeaturedContributor Uncategorized animals, economy, international, lifestyle, marriage, media, recession, travel, work, zogby

While critics in the U.S. bad mouth socialized medicine as being inferior to the U.S. and its primarily private healthcare system, people in the nation with among the most national of systems are pretty happy.

That was the result of a Zogby Interactive poll of adults in the United Kingdom that found that 71% are satisfied with the National Health Service (NHS), that nation’s publicly-funded healthcare system. Also, 60% positively rated the amount of time they usually wait before they get an appointment with a doctor.

There are no seriously considered proposals before Congress to adopt a single-payer system like the UK’s, where physicians actually work for the government-run National Health Services. Liberals here are pushing a “public option” for the uninsured, who could buy coverage in a government-run plan. Still, opponents equate the “public option” with a full-blown national health care plan.

Do the opinions of people in the UK impact how you might feel about having a “public option” in the U.S.?

Paul Uncategorized health, work, zogby

We are thrilled to welcome Maya Frost as a guest blogger on The Way We’ll Be. Maya is an internationally recognized expert on nontraditional and innovative paths through higher education. Maya is the author of The New Global Student, a primer for students and parents interested in global and unorthodox higher education while avoiding the anxiety and expense of traditional college. You can read more about Maya at her website and blog. Thanks Maya!

In his book, The Way We’ll Be, John Zogby describes the current generation of twenty-somethings (and a bit younger) as those who are more likely than any other age group to know someone who lives abroad, to consider going abroad, and to have knowledge of and interest in other parts of the world. He describes these young people as our First Global Citizens.

In my book, The New Global Student, I describe the young people who are broadening their perspective by actually spending meaningful and substantial periods of time abroad. These “New Globals” are a subset of the First Global Citizens in that they are the travelers who are sharing their experiences and first-hand knowledge with those who are seeking information about the world beyond our nation’s borders.

What distinguishes these young travelers from their backpacking-through-Europe-in-the-seventies parents is that are using the internet to design their individual dreams. And while their peers may be signing up for group tours, “submarine” programs (immersed in a bubble along with other Americans abroad) or expensive university study abroad options, the New Globals are choosing to:
1) create the terms of their stay (destination, cost, length of time, activities, type of housing, etc.)
2) connect directly with locals who can help them learn more about the people and places that intrigue them
3) collaborate with others to share ideas about ventures that allow them to spend more time in their chosen destination in ways that support and encourage the community.

In general, the New Globals are following three bold rules when it comes to traveling: go solo, go long, and go deep. This isn’t the Cancun-for-spring-break crowd or the shopping-and-cappuccino-in-Rome-with-my-girlfriends crowd—it’s the hey-I’m-thinking-of-heading-to-Bogotá-next solo traveler who speaks Spanish (thanks to, say, a few months as a journalism intern in Argentina after a summer volunteering in Guatemala), has an abiding interest in Latin American culture and has friends (new and old) waiting for him when he arrives. New Globals are more likely to pick off-the-beaten-path places that require less money but a greater sense of adventure. They use Facebook and CouchSurfing to meet others and find endless opportunities for work and cultural engagement wherever they go.

While the First Global Citizens will be making a tremendous impact on our culture in the next few years, keep your eye on the ones they’re watching: the New Globals. Their stories will inspire others to stretch their wings and discover more about the world and their possibilities for making it a better place.

ZogbyFeaturedContributor Uncategorized culture, education, international, internet, John Zogby, shopping, summer, The Way We'll Be, travel, volunteering, work, zogby

We ask some pretty interesting questions here at Zogby International. And, I must say, we get some pretty interesting answers. You, our faithful panelists and readers, also ask us some pretty interesting questions in return. However there’s one question that comes up a lot. It’s something that many of you want to know. And it goes something like this:

“Hey, you people at Zogby, I enjoy your surveys but –What’s up with those wacky demographics?”

If you’ve taken more than one or two of our surveys, you know exactly what I’m talking about, right? Are you a WalMart shopper? If so, how often do you shop there? Are you a NASCAR fan? Do you consider yourself a citizen of your city or town, the U.S. or the planet earth? And on one memorable survey, we even asked if you were a tree what kind of a tree would you be? We ask standard demographics of course, questions you’d see on any other survey, age, race, income, education, etc. but those are what you’d expect, and here at Zogby we’re proud of being ahead of the curve and, to mix my metaphors, sometimes that means thinking outside the box.

Essentially we’re trend spotters, I can’t count the number of meetings here at Zogby where we discuss trends in one form or another, and in fact it would probably be safe to say we talk about trends at nearly every meeting. We’re looking for what’s happening, and, just as importantly, we’re looking for who’s making it happen. As with any of the more standard demographic questions, we are, to put it simply, grouping people based on commonalities and differences. When we have groups of people, versus just an individual, we can say something about what the group as a whole thinks.  We can determine how America views the President or if a majority of beer drinkers prefer Guinness to Coors.  It’s the same with the wacky questions.

Take yourself as an example. You’re not just your age, or your race, or your education, you’re so much more than that. Your opinions and feelings have been shaped by your family, by where and how you grew up. You’re as much a product of your generation, the Woodstockers, or the Nikes, as you are of your geographic location, as much a product of your birth order, as you are of your gender, all of these and more come together and create the glasses through which you see the world.

WalMart shoppers and NASCAR fans have proven to primarily vote more conservatively, so when we see this strong cohort move, we know that we are seeing a shift that maybe we wouldn’t have otherwise spotted.

And what about that planet citizenship question? Well, much of Mr. Zogby’s recent work has to do with America’s First Globals™, who often agree that they see themselves as citizens of planet earth. These are the people who are likely to have passports, and who are just as likely to tell you that their best friend lives in Belarus, as in Frackville. This question was one of the predictive identifiers for this generation, and as they are the ones we will one day turn this nation over to, we here at Zogby agree that knowing what they think, and how, will help us follow them into the future.

Do you have an idea for an emerging trend?  Leave a comment and let us know or submit a question in the ‘contact us’ box on the right hand side of the blog!

Written by Karen Scott, Managing Editor, Senior Analyst at Zogby International. In this role, she oversees the team that creates Zogby International’s surveys, scientific reports of survey results, and research papers.  Karen has half a decade of experience with Zogby and has played an integral role working with hundreds of clients ranging from political activists to consumer trends.

Leann Uncategorized education, faith, first globals, future, international, race, sports, work, zogby