Mass Media, Culture, and Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mass Media, Culture, and Society - Essay Example Mass media has traditionally been associated with the responsibility of imparting useful information to the wider masses. This role however has changed over the years. With the passage of time, popular culture has impacted the media. News channels are now focused on giving information, which will earn the channels and the programs higher TRP ratings as opposed to following the rules and regulations. Videos of terrorist attacks and bombings which have been aired on the national news channels are not only disturbing, but it is also against the rules of broadcasting. Similarly newspapers and tabloids print pages contain information about celebrities and their lives, where more pressing issues are often ignored (Berger, 10). A couple of decades back, even movies and TV shows had some morals in them which the producers and writers wanted to put across to the world. They were a source of entertainment but in addition to that they were also a source of beneficial lesson or information. This has changed today. Today the media is market driven. They show the masses what they want to see. The entertainment industry is taking over, to an extent that even news broadcasting has become a source of entertainment (Stevenson). Political talk shows, which have been providing a platform for politicians to discuss topics of interest on a neutral ground, have now become programs which just show how these politicians argue and insult each other. News broadcasting has turned very similar to live drama broadcasting. ... Instead of producing films which are creative and convey a certain message across to the audience, the films produced follow a certain formula that emphasizes on materialistic and superficial things. With shallow and unconvincing characters, these films are based on the basic concept of aggression and greed. The plots are simple to the point that it looks as if templates are used for film making (Berger, 111). One recent example of a news channel broadcasting visuals for higher ratings was from the incident that took place in Karachi on November 28, 2012. A man fell from an 8-storey high building and the Pakistani news channels were constantly telecasting a live video footage of the entire incident. This news piece is one of the many examples which are telecasted on the local news channels. In order to get higher ratings and stay ahead of the numerous competitors, news channels pride themselves to be the first ones to convey the latest new to the masses. However, in the process of be ing on the top and being the first ones at every incident, news channels have forgotten the basic ethics that should follow (Khan). Another example of the amalgamation of mass media and culture are the numerous talk shows, which are aired almost every night on the Pakistani news channels. These shows include Mere Mutabiq (According to Me), To the Point, Target Point and Islamabad tonight to name a few. All of these shows follow the same pattern – members of opposing parties sitting together and discussing recent issues. However, what actually takes place is not discussion, but a blame game. Each party member blames the other political party for misconduct and corruption and thus, results in an argument. Journalism ethics

Public image and social status Essay Example for Free

Public image and social status Essay As we can see, the two generations react differently to questioning by the Inspector. Mr. and Mrs. Birling are at first indignant and resistant to the Inspectors queries, and when they learn what is going on fully they rack their brains for a solution to the problem that has arisen, namely that the family name will be publicly disgraced and that they may lose custom at the office, resulting in a degradation of their lifestyle, public image and social status. However, Eric and Sheila show totally different reactions to Mr. and Mrs. Birling, when the Inspector questions them. Both members of the younger tell the truth to the Inspector, and both are, at one time or another, strong advocates of the truth, believing that repentance for their collective crimes is by far more important than saving face in public. Throughout the whole play, Sheila encourages the entire family to tell the truth and admit their crimes. Eric, in turn, tells the truth and advocates acceptance of the truth and repentance once the Inspector has left. The two different generation groups show different reactions to the incident, and neither can understand the mentality of the other when it comes to the way they deal with the situation after the Inspector leaves. After the Inspector leaves, the Birlings and Gerald discover that Inspector Goole was not a real Inspector at all, but a fake. Mr. and Mrs. Birling and Gerald are overjoyed when they discover that they are not in jeopardy of being linked to the untimely death of a young girl, but Eric and Sheila maintain that this turn of events changes nothing, they should be sorry for the actions they have taken and learn from the events that transpired that evening. Then, on the last page of the text and in the last few seconds of the play, there is a telephone call to tell the Birlings that a girl has just died in the infirmary and an inspector is on his way to visit them. This could lead the audience to think that perhaps the Inspector was an anthropomorphic personification of the collective consciences of the Birlings and Gerald, who was sent to the Birlings to teach them their lesson before it was too late. During this saving of the Birlings we learn that it is the younger generation who, contrary to popular belief, are accepting of their wrongdoing and prepared to change and learn from this event, whether its repercussions reached as far as degrading their lives or not. However, the older generation, who may normally be expected to act as the younger generation have, refuse to accept responsibility for their own actions and are only concerned with maintaining the lifestyle they have carved out for themselves, whether it remains spiritually and conscientiously empty or not. For a full and true understanding of An Inspector Calls, one must first have a knowledge and understanding of how the dates of the play (the date it was set, the date it was first shown, and the dates of major world events that occurred between the time of its setting and the time of its first showing) are all inextricably linked, and combine to magnify the impact of the message Priestley is trying to convey to his audience. It would be sensible to assume that the Inspector in the play represents Priestley himself, as the morals and values exhibited by the Inspector reflect Priestleys own; they both believe that all people should be treated as equals, for example. The representation of Priestleys political and philosophical opinions in the play is reinforced in the younger generation (Gerald and Sheila Birling) as they both exhibit a preference for social responsibility and care towards fellow humans. Conversely, Mr. Birling brings together all of the personality traits and attitudes that Priestley so hated and fervently campaigned against, the arrogance of those left over from the Old Edwardian era, the perception of we, the rich and they, the poor, and the unwavering confidence that this state of affairs could never change, coupled with an inability to see any possible breakdown of this system. This character profile and viewpoint is backed up by Mrs. Birling who shares Mr. Birlings views, and provides a supporting role to reinforce the contrast between the Inspector/Priestleys Socialist views and the Edwardian upper-class views of Mr. and Mrs. Birling. The diametrically opposed views and personalities of these two characters in itself would be enough to highlight just how strong Priestleys views are, but this is coupled with a superb manipulation of the timing of the plays setting and first showing. The play was written in 1944-45, first shown in Moscow in 1945 and in London in 1946, and was set in 1912. In the first act of the play, Mr. Birling makes an impassioned speech that details his political views and makes several statements in the aforementioned arrogance of his peer group; namely, that there will be no war Just because the Kaiser makes a speech or two; the Titanic is unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable; that all the fuss about the Labour party will have blown over; and that Russia . . . will always be behindhand. These statements, in the intervening years between the date of the plays setting and the date of the plays showing, prove to be wholly inaccurate. Two World Wars have broken out, both heavily involving the Germans, the Titanic has sunk after a collision with an iceberg, the Labour party has been voted in several times and will have continued success even though the war is won under a Conservative Churchill, and Russia will become a great 20th Century world power and birthplace of fabulous wealth due to its abundance of natural resources. As well as Mr. Birlings predictions for the future being dashed to pieces by world events of the next 20 years, his very philosophies on how society should operate were proven to be outdated and incompatible with modern life by the new Socialist movement. The twelve years between 1906 and 1918 proved to be the turning point that defined our current political system in this country and the advent of the nanny state. In this period the vote for parliamentary elections was rolled out to all persons aged 18 and over, education became compulsory up to the age of 12, and the Social Security system was founded, providing pensions and unemployment for people who needed them. Granted, these systems were not perfect, but this interlinked lattice of world events, the socialist movement, and the timing of the play serves to make Priestleys point just as eloquently and effectively as the play itself does.

The Choice Of Qualitative And Quantitative Psychology Essay

The Choice Of Qualitative And Quantitative Psychology Essay This chapter presents a detailed justification of the research approach used to answer the research questions and achieve the aim and objectives outlined in chapter one. The chapter begins with an overview of social research design. Section xxx discusses the research paradigm as the theoretical research approach. Section xxx discusses the research methodology. Section xxx discusses the methods adopted in this research for data collection. The chapter outlines the sampling techniques, piloting study and analysis techniques. The chapter also illustrates the research validity, reliability, triangulation, ethical consideration and generalizability of the study. Research Design: Research is defined as an in-depth study of a particular issue or phenomenon which the researcher investigates to solve problems related to that issue/phenomenon Marshall, 1997; Brewerton and Millward, 2001; Wilkinson and Birmingham, 2003; Creswell, 2007; Bryman and Bell, 2007). In the social sciences, various researchers present the research overview the theoretical and practical approaches in different ways. The differences in presentation can be clearly identified between the models of Sarantakos (1998); Crotty (2005) and Saunders et al., (2007). These authors agree that social research can be thought of in terms of the theoretical and practical approaches. However, the terminology adopted varies between. For instance, they use different terminology which can be confusing for other researchers. This section explains three different research designs in other to choose the appropriate research design for the study. Sarantakos (1998) identified three levels of research (see Figure xxx). The first level includes the researchers theoretical approach which combines the epistemology and theoretical perspective, which Sarantakos calls the research paradigm. The second and third levels represent the practical approach which contains the research methodology and methods respectively. Figure xxx: Sarantakos social research design, adopted from Sarantakos (1998) Crotty (2005) named four different research levels for the social research (see Figure xxxx). The first two stages comprise the theoretical approach which contains the research epistemology and theoretical perspective. The following two stages comprise the practical approach the research methodology and methods. Based on Crotty (2005), the four levels are interdependent, as the choice of the research epistemology is followed by the choice of theoretical perspective, the choice of study methodology and the choice of specific methods of data collection and analysis. The last two stages methodology and methods of Crotty and Saratakos model are very similar. However, in terms of theoretical approaches, Crotty outlines two levels epistemology and theoretical perspective are merged into one level the research paradigm in Sarantakos model. Figure xxx presents Crotty (2005) research design. Figure xxx: Crotty social research design, adopted from Crotty (2005) Saunders et al., (2007) offer a different model for social research design which they call the research onion. According to this model, there are six levels in social science research. The research levels are philosophies (e.g. interpretivism); approaches (contain either inductive or deductive); strategies (the research methodology); choices (types of research methods); time horizons (cross-sectional or longitudinal) and techniques and procedures (which includes data collection and analysis techniques). In this model, the theoretical approach contains research philosophies and approaches (inductive and deductive). Meanwhile, the practical approach contains the strategies as a methodology and the other three levels contain the research methods. The methods include both data collection methods and data analysis methods. Figure xxx presents the research onion according to Saunders et al., (2007: 132) Figure xxx: Research onion, Saunders et al., (2007: 132) The three research designs have considerable overlaps in their consideration into the theoretical and practical approaches. This research focuses on Sarantakos model, since it reflects more appropriately the research design adopted in this study. The following sections discuss in details this research design. The Research Paradigm: As mentioned early in Sarantakos research design, the first level reflects the theoretical approach and is named the reseach paradigm (Sarantakos, 1998). The paradigm is a particular theme that is used to test and understand social phenomena (Gephart, 1999; Denzin and Lincoln, 2005). Guba and Lincoln (1994) classified social science research into two models; a subjectivist qualitative (constructivist) model and an objectivist quantitative (positivism and post-positivism) model. Guba (1990) explained that there is a third relativist paradigm called pragmatism which combines the subjectivist qualitative model and objectivist quantitative model and its a paradigm on its own. Later, several authors (e.g. Reichardt and Rallis, 1994; Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998; Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004; Pansiri, 2005; Creswell and Clark, 2007) agreed that the paradigm which mixes qualitative and quantitative approaches is pragmatism. Table xxx compares positivism, post-positivism, constructivism wit h pragmatism. Table xxx; Compares different positivism, post-positivism, constructivism with pragmatism (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998: 23) Paradigm Positivsm Post-positivism Pragmatism Constructivism Methods Quantitative Primarily Quantitative Quantitative + Qualitative Qualitative Logic Deductive Primarily deductive Deductive + Inductive Inductive Epistemology Objective point of view. Knower and Known are dualism Modified dualism. Findings probably objectively true Both objective and subjective point of view Subjective point of view. Knower and Known are inseparable. Axiology Inquiry is value-free Inquiry involves values, but they may be controlled Values play a large role in interpreting results Inquiry is value-bound Ontology NaÃÆ' ¯ve realism Critical or transcendental realism Accept external reality. Choose explanations that best produce desired outcomes Relativism Causal Linkages Real causes temporarily precedent or simultaneous with effects There are some lawful, reasonable relationships among social phenomena. These may be known imperfectly. Causes are identifiable in probabilistic sense that changes over time. There may be causal relationships, but we will never be able to pin them down All entities simultaneously shaping each other. Its impossible to distinguish causes from effects Pragmatism: Pragmatism is a term derived from the Greek word pragma meaning action, from which the words practice and practical come (James, 2000). Dewey (1920) explained that pragmatism philosophy discover the meaning of idea that needs to be checked consequently. Therefore, when researcher judges a phenomenon, they must follow its empirical and practical consequences and note its impact on the study population (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998). Moreover, Easterby et al., (2008) explained that, by using pragmatism, researchers have to study individual experiences very well in order to develop an understanding of a particular phenomenon. Moreover, Krauss (2005) explained that the pragmatist paradigm focuses on qualitative versus quantitative data and that to answer research questions, researchers have to mix objective and subjective approaches. Tashakkori and Teddlie (1998) clarified that by using pragmatism, the research logic contains deductive and inductive approaches. Therefore, the pragmatism philosophy rejects the use of particular research philosophies, such as positivism, post-positivism and constructivism. In addition, Tashakkori and Teddlie (1998) explained that pragmatism focuses on both the meaning and the truth of ideas. Truth is what works at the time and it is not based on a dualism between whether reality is independent of the mind or within the mind. Therefore, when judging ideas, pragmatists consider their empirical and practical consequences. Pragmatism is a research philosophy that eliminates the need of making a forced choice regarding the research epistemology between constructivism and positivism (including post-positivism). A pragmatic paradigm dismisses traditional assumptions about the nature of knowledge, truth and the nature of inquiry. Furthermore, for pragmatists, the research question is more important than the research method that is used (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004). Creswell (2003) explained that the choice of the research paradigm (pragmatism) related mainly to the purpose and nature of the research questions. The pragmatism allowed the researchers to study different interested areas by employing different sources of evidence (methods) that are appropriate and explain the study findings in a positive manner (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998 and Creswell, 2003). Therefore, pragmatism is classified as one of the suitable research philosophies in social and management research that investigates beliefs and attitudes using mixed methodology that combines qualitative and quantitative approaches (Creswell, 2003). Reichardt and Rallis (1994) explained that there is much debate about whether pragmatism is in fact a research philosophy because it holds the centre-ground between two well-established social research philosophies. Johnson and Onwuegbuzie (2004) and Robson (2005) confirmed that pragmatism is no longer a debatable philosophy but has achieved widespread use in social research. To achieve the aim of this research, pragmatism has been chosen as a research philosophy. The next part will discuss the mix between the qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The Choice of Qualitative and Quantitative Research Approach: Discussions have been held by series of researchers in connection with the difference between quantitative and qualitative approaches, including Brewer and Hunter (1989), Silverman (2000), Brewerton and Milward (2001), Holliday (2002), Thomas (2003), Corbetta (2003) and Cooper and Schindler (2005). While quantitative researchers base their accounts on figures and numerical information, according to Gelo et al., (2008), qualitative researchers rely on non-numerical data, for instance words, narrative and feelings. Maanen et al., (1982: 32) introduced a verbal picture to help readers understand the difference between both research types as follows: Quality is the essential character or nature of something; quantity is the amount. Quality is the what; quantity the how much. Qualitative refers to the meaning, the definition or analogy or model or metaphor characterizing something, while quantitative assumes the meaning and refers to a measure of it. Furthermore, Bryman (1996) and Cooper and Schindler (2005) noted that quantitative and qualitative approaches are both valid and researchers can use either. Clarke and Dawson (2000) and Gray (2009) suggested that according to the nature of the research, researchers can mix different approaches, as it hard in deciding the better or more useful approach. Miller and Brewer (2003) confirmed that using a mixed method approach decreases the weaknesses and limitations of the research. Table xxx compare quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods procedures (Creswell, 2003: 19). Table xx: Comparison between quantitative and qualitative research (Source: Creswell, 2003:19) Tend to or Typically Qualitative Approaches Quantitative Approaches Mixed Methods Approaches Use these philosophical assumptions Employ these strategies of inquiry Constructivist/Advocacy /Participatory knowledge claim Phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, case study, and narrative Post-positivist knowledge claim Surveys and experiments Pragmatist knowledge claim Sequential, concurrent, and transformative Employ these methods Open-ended questions, emerging approaches, text or image data Closed-ended questions, predetermined approaches, numeric data Both open-and closed-ended questions, both emerging and predetermined approaches, and both quantitative and qualitative data and analysis Use these practices of research as the researcher Position himself or herself and collects participant meanings. Focuses on a single concept or phenomenon Bring personal values into the study Studies the context or setting of participants. Validates the accuracy of findings Makes interpretations of data Creates an agenda for change or reform Collaborates with the participants Tests or verifies theories or explanation Identifies variables to study Relates variables in questions or hypotheses Uses standard of validity and reliability Observes and measures information numerically Use unbiased approaches Employs statistical procedures Collects both quantitative and qualitative data Develops a rationale for mixing Integrates the data at different stages of inquiry Presents visual pictures of the procedures in the study. Employs the practices of both qualitative and quantitative research. Additionally, there are different ways to implement quantitative and qualitative approaches in one study. Johnson and Onwuegbuzie (2004) summarized these in Figure xx. This study combines qualitative and quantitative approaches in a sequential and equal way. The study starts with a qualitative approach through the analysis of mobile payment players (banks and mobile operators) documents and websites. This will then be followed by a quantitative approach using a questionnaire survey of potential consumers of mobile payment services. Time order decision Concurrent Sequential Paradigm emphasis decision Equal Status QUAL + QUAN QUAL à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ QUAN QUAN à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ QUAL Dominant Status QUAL + quan QUAN + qual QUAL à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ quan qual à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ QUAN QUAN à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ qual quan à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ QUAL Figure xxx: Mixed methods approach design matrix (the design used in this study is shown in bold). Note. qualà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ stands for qualitative, quan stands for quantitative, + stands for concurrent, à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ stands for sequential, capital letters denote high priority or weight, and lower case letters denote lower priority or weight. Source: Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004:22. Notation based on Morse, 1991. The Research Methodology: Crotty (2005: 3) identified the research methodology research process as: the strategy, plan of action, process or design lying behind the choice and use of particular methods and linking the choice and use of methods to the desired outcomes. Furthermore, Crotty (2005) made a clarification of research methodology as a strategy built on it, the data collection methods, and linking between the use of research methods and research outcomes. In addition, Crotty (2005) explained that there are different kinds of research methodology, and researchers should select the most suitable for their research topic. The research methods for this study: Having reviewed series of literatures, several factors led to the choice of methods used for this research. Triangulation methods have been proposed for this research and this will complement each other in order to yield a quality result. According to Tshakkori and Teddlie, (2003), triangulation is one way that involves a combination of data collection to get good results. Although the term triangulation has different meanings, it is associated with using combinations of methods with a strategy of convergent validity being common (Bryman 2004). Kholoud (2009) cites Johnson et al., (2007) who identified four types of triangulation: data triangulation, investigator triangulation, theory triangulation, and methodological triangulation. Kholoud further cites the same authors for defining ways in which quantitative and qualitative methods can be combined. From research on technology acceptance perspective, technology acceptance has a dominant theoretical urge which is positivist in nature. The current research aim is to design a predictive viable model of behaviour intentions of users of technology services (in this case mobile payment). This objective requires the means of a structured, well-defined framework, and definite measurements that could establish relationships between variables, such that inferences could be made from the research study sample to a larger population. Most of these qualities can be addressed by quantitative research methods (Johnson et al., 2007). The stimulus of this study is to test hypotheses which relates to the proposed conceptual framework model as well as different hypothesized relationships previously accepted in technology acceptance context. The conceptual drive of this research is deductive in nature. The research proposes to follow a confirmatory strategy of research that needs empirical analysis (a way of proving or disproving previously assumed hypotheses related to mobile payment acceptance). Despite the fact that this study will be mainly quantitative, qualitative methods will be employed at the initial stages of the study. Structured observations will be employed allowing for in-depth assessment of mobile payment schemes in the country in order to determine those that could be researched. Figure xxx shows the eleven main steps in a quantitative research process. To answer the research question, this study aim to follow the path in the order in which they appear as shown below. However, the steps at times might overlap during the course of the research. Figure xxx: Process of Quantitative Research as outlined by Bryman Bell (2007). In this study, theories and literatures underpinning this study will be advanced to guide the research deductively. Research Designs: The major reason of this research is in testing the hypotheses which could explain the variance in the dependent variables. Such analyses fit a correlation study design as described herein. Correlation Designs: Correlational design measures two or more variables with the eventuality of measuring the dependent variables. It does not manipulate one or more independent variables. The major premise of this research was that if a statistical significant relationship was in existence between the independent and the dependent variables, there would be the possibility of predicting the dependent variable using information available in the other variable. Within quantitative methods, the investigation used correlation research design (see Figure xxx) to determine if there was an existence of some relationship between independent constructs and the dependent constructs of behaviour intention to use mobile payment. Figure xxx: Illustration of the Research Designs according to Mugenda (2008, p. 65) In this kind of scenario, the research study will apply reliability coefficients, multiple correlation coefficients, generalized linear regression model coefficients; and path model coefficients for different study assessments of the collected data. These will be discussed below: a) Reliability analysis will be carried out using Cronbachs Alpha commonly called coefficient for Internal Consistency (IC) and inter-item correlation coefficient. According to De Vellis (1991), reliability is a measure of the degree to which a research instrument would yield the same results after repeated trials. Cronbachs Alpha provides information on the degree to which each item in the construct correlates with at least one other item of the construct. The analysis can estimate the proportion of true score variance that is captured by the indicators by comparing the sum of indicator variances with the variance of the sum scale. Cronbachs statistic was computed as follows: Cronbach = ÃŽÂ ± = number of items * number of items ÃÅ' ¶ 1 Where s ² denotes the variance for the number of individual items; s2 denotes the variance for the sum of all questions or items (which is esoteric and unique, and, therefore, uncorrelated across respondents), then the variance of the sum will be the same as the sum of variances of the individual questions/items. Therefore, coefficient alpha will be equal to zero. If all items are perfectly reliable and measure the same thing (true score), then coefficient alpha is equal to 1. In this investigation, the construct would demonstrate an acceptable level of reliability if the Cronbachs alpha was at least 0.6. b) Multiple correlation coefficients (R ²), will be used to describe the extent to which a dependent variable was explained by a set of independent variables. The statistic was used to measure the predictive power of the model that has been estimated. The value of R ² ranges from 0 to 1, and in this study, neither threshold nor the minimum value is pre-determined but instead the statistic only state the percentage variation in the dependent variables as explained by the independent variables. Symbolically, the (R ²) statistic is defined as follows: R ² = Where observ is the measurement of random variable observ on individual i. The est.observ and est.mean are the predicted measurements and mean values respectively. The mean of measurements for the n individuals is also factored into the calculation in equation 3.1 in order to obtain R ². A complete analysis of the entire model requires an examination of the goodness of fit using R ² and adjusted R-squared. The goodness of fit measures how well the model parameter estimates is able to explain the variations in the dependent factor of the model and reproduce the sample covariance matrix. The adjusted R ² equally measures the goodness of fit as does the R ², but instead, the former statistic takes into account the degrees of freedom (expressed as the number of observations and number of estimated coefficients) as stated in equation 3.2. Thus, Adjusted R ² = 1 c) The Generalized Linear Regression model (GLM) coefficients are weighted coefficients that indicate the magnitude, direction and significance of the possible linear relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The techniques measures both direct and indirect effects of the independent variables on dependent variable respectively. The technique handles the moderating effects in the analysis of linear models. The GLM was appropriate because of its nature of handling fixed factors, covariates and the interaction effects. The model results, will allow a direct comparison of the variance explained from both estimation measures. In the context of this study, it was hypothesized that three factors; performance expectancy, relevancy and social influence (culture) determine behaviour intentions. On the other hand, behaviour intentions together with facilitating conditions (technical support/training) determine usage. It was further postulated that the independent variables in the model were moderated by gender, age, experience and awareness, all of which required an appropriate modelling technique. Thus, the GLM that handled both direct and indirect effects were used in the form of the following equation (Eq. 3.4). Y = X ß + (X * M) ÃŽÂ ¸ + U Where Y is a matrix with multivariate measurements of the response or dependent variables X is a matrix of the block of independent variables; ß is a matrix of parameters to be estimated; U is the vector of the error terms. d) The path model employs the path analysis statistical technique for decomposing correlations into different pieces for interpretation of effect. It allows one to compare the direct effects of variables in a complex system of relationships. The path model measures direct effects or the possible inclination of the independent variables on the dependent variable in the network of variables. The path model only establishes linear relationships between variables and also indicates the predictive power of the model being evaluated. The mathematical relationships between the variables may be expressed as a set of linear equations, called the path model. According to Keeves, (1972) the fundamental principle of the path model that allows the linear equations to be estimated is: rà ¡Ã‚ µÃ‚ ¢ = Æ © p * r Where i and j denote two variables in the network and the index k includes all variables from which paths lead directly to the dependent construct (j), r is the correlation coefficient and p is the path coefficient. Equation 3.5 can be expanded by successive applications of the formula itself to r. In this case, the errors from behaviour intentions and facilitating conditions all point at usage behaviour. Expressed in expanded form can be read directly from the path diagram by using the following direct relationships in this study: BIC = ÃŽÂ ±PEC + ÃŽÂ ±REC + ÃŽÂ ±SOC BUC = ÃŽÂ ±FOC + ÃŽÂ ±BIC EBC = ÃŽÂ ±BUC Where BIC is Behavioural Intention, PEC is performance expectancy, REC is relevance, FOC is facilitating conditions, BUC is usage behaviour and EBC is expected benefits constructs respectively. In this study, a path coefficient with a negative sign implies an inverse relationship between constructs whereas a coefficient with a positive sign implies that there is a direct relationship between two constructs. Survey Designs: There are two types of surveys used when evaluating acceptance and use of technology as discussed in 3.2.1. These are longitudinal surveys and cross-sectional survey. Since mobile payment services being investigated are in their early years of introduction, the best survey method is a cross-sectional. By using cross-sectional survey, the study would be able to predict future usage. i) Cross-sectional survey The study proposes to use a survey approach to collect data that could be a representative of the real phenomena in the population from which the study sample will be drawn. The study will focus on the link between end-users behaviour intentions to use mobile payment services. In IS/IT evaluation studies, cross-sectional survey methods are not new because they have been used by several authors, Gefen et al., (2002), Chau and Hu (2001), Venkatesh and Davis (2000) and Venkatesh and Morris (2000). A cross-sectional survey design will be utilized to gather quantitative data to assess the relationships between the study variables. A cross-sectional study/research involves data collection that covers a one-off time period. Data collection of individual observations can occur at one point in time or may be over a period of days, weeks or months. In the case of the current study, the data collection aim to be for a period of three months. According to Mugenda (2008), Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), this sort of survey helps to establish whether significant associations among variables exist. The additional value of this type of survey is that one can generate testable hypotheses, which the current study aims to do. Cross-sectional designs have three distinctive features: there is no time dimension, only differences between groups are measured rather than changes over time; there is reliance on existing differences rather than change following any intervention and there is no allowance for differences to emerge over time; and grouping individuals in the sample is based on existing differences or according to a category or the independent variable to which they happened to belong rather than random allocation. The researcher was aware of the limitations of this type of investigation, but the research timeframe might not permit the use of a longitudinal study. When data is collected at more than one point in time and then later on, the study is considered longitudinal (Crestwell, 2003). Longitudinal studies are feasible when there is need to describe the pattern and direction of change and stability (De Vaus, 2001). The objective of this study is to understand usage behaviour as a dependent variable that would predict the actual usage of the services in future. The current study will employ cross-sectional survey and college students will be used for this study. Behaviour intention is associated with self-predicted future usage of a new technology. Furthermore, measuring behaviour intention as a predictor of future usage behaviour is also important. The researcher believes that the experience college students will gain in using mobile payment services would impact on their behavioural intentions if they intend to use the service in future. As reported in the conceptual framework section, behaviour intentions as a dependent variable measured in a cross-sectional study can help to identify future usage of mobile payment services. It is because of these reasons that the current study proposes to use a cross-sectional survey method which will be carried out over a period of three months. STUDY POPULATION Methods of Data Collection: This section presents the final research level namely the research methods. Crotty (2005) defined research methods as the techniques used by researchers to collect and analyse the data required to answer the research questions. Moreover, according to Saunders et al., (2007), research methods are the various procedures used to collect data, such as questionnaire, observation and interviews, and to analyse it, e.g. statistical and non-statistical techniques, according to the nature of the research. Since this study is basically quantitative in nature, questionnaires will be used. Furthermore, to determine the research reliability and validity, the researcher will use multiple sources of evidence. The research method to be applied will be in accordance with the research objective. For this study, the practical objective will be to identify the main elements that influence consumer acceptance and use of mobile payment services. This objective will be achieved by designing a comprehensive questionnaire to identify the main factors that impact on consumers behavioural intentions towards the acceptance and use of mobile payment. In this regard, about 1000 questionnaires are proposed to be distributed to college students willing to participate in this research study. Structured Interviews: Researchers prepare themselves in advance by setting up a predetermined list of questions with limited option responses (closed questions). Usually structured interviews are associated with social surveys which aim to interview as wide range of respondents as possible to collect large volumes of data (Bernard, 2000; Denscombe, 2003). Saunders et al., (2007) classified the structured interview as a type of questionnaire which is administered face-to-face. Questionnaire Survey: Based on the proposed research model, the research questionnaire will be designed to identify the main constructs that impact consumer behavioural intentions towards the acceptance and use of mobile payment. Thus, a questionnaire survey method will be applied in this study. Robson (2005) clarified the full benefits of using questionnaires in business research within a survey strategy. Fink (1995:1) identified survey as: A survey is a system for collecting information to describe, compare, or explain knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour. Survey involves setting objectives for information collection, designing research, administering and scoring the instrument, analysing data, and reporting the resul

Creative Essay: Why Are There Poor People -- essays research papers

Creative Essay: Why Are There Poor People   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Looking back on my childhood, I realize how lucky I was to be blessed with the family I have. Knowing what I know now, I have come to understand that not every kid had the same life that I had. Not every child had a living room full of gifts on Christmas morning, or a family to share a birthday with. I was lucky enough to have all of the luxuries that so many children yearn for. So many children take for granted the fact that they eat three meals a day, while so many others are lucky to find a scrap of bread in a dumpster.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It wasn't until I was about nine or ten when I realized that there were poor people in the world. My family and I had been on our annual trip to New York City to see ...

Diary and Character Essay

Over the course of this 3 week unit, you will have the opportunity to explore the nuances of Macbeth by putting yourself into the mindset of a character you have selected. You will write a series of diary entries as if you were this character, that means from his or her point of view and create an appropriate and creative cover. Requirements: 1. You will be assigned 6 entries, with the option of skipping one entry at any time. If you choose, you may do all 6 entries and receive up to 10 points extra credit. 2. All entries must be at least a page long, double-spaced. Know that some of the topics that you write about will require more length in order to give a full and reflective response, though. 3. Entries must be original and of your own work. Plagiarism of any type will result in an F for this assignment. If you have any doubt about what constitutes plagiarism, please ask me. 4. Entries must be relatively free of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. 5. Design a cover/title page for you diary. It must reflect some aspect of the character and should Include illustrations or graphics. 7. For each of the entries, you will pick from the following list of topics. Although you must stay within the limits of what the text says about the character, you are free to use your imagination to fill in the gaps. If you wish, you may also illustrate your entries. You may not repeat any topic. Specific Diary Topics: (Choose at least 5) 1. Pick a specific scene. How does your character feel that he/she contributes to this scene? What are his or her actions and why? Also, explain how your character is relating to other characters on stage at this time. 2. What is something surprising about your character? Discuss this from his/her point of view. 3. What happened today in the life of your character? 4. Have your character write a letter to another character. 5. Write down a quote from your character and have your character write in response to what he or she said. 6. What is your character feeling as a result of his/her actions? 7. What music or television shows might your character enjoy listening to or watching? Why? 8. Have your character talk about how he or she has changed throughout the play. 9. Choose from the following conflicting aspects that Shakespeare uses throughout the play and discuss how your character demonstrates both sides: ambition/duty, bravery/fear, stre ngth/uncertainty, good/evil, and fair/foul. Make sure your character journal matches what the teacher is grading you on in the rubric.

Pop Culture Essay

Movie Genres There are many movie genres out today than there were before in earlier years. Movie genres are basically different types of movies, such as: horror, suspense, mystery, drama ,romance, etc. Today it seems that most peoples favorite movie genre is horrow or action. Action movies have a lot of different stuff in them that is pleasing to the eye. Action movies are typically loud and have a lot of fighting, racing, and adventurous things in the film. Horror movies on the other hand have a lot of scary things in the movies. Their big thing is that the more blood they have the better it is to the audience watching. Even though horror and action may be the top picks of the rest of the country, I have my own genre of movies that I particularly like the best. My favorite genre of movies is romance. In a romance based movie, it is filled with love and a lot of laughter throughout the whole movie. While most romance movies start off bad and end up with a happy ending, some start out good and end good as well. Most romance movies today start out being bad and then it ends up in the happy ending that you suspect from the title of the movie. Romance movies go through every movie genre there is. There is suspense and sometimes a little horror as well. Sometimes, and most of the time, they contain a lot of drama. The best romance movies are the ones full of drama that is fun to watch. Every woman around the world enjoys a good romance movie. Many women around the world love romance movies, including myself. Simply because they meet the cravings that every woman has sometime throughout their lives. Each and every romance movie touches a woman in some way or another. Every girl dreams of having that guy from a love story. They want them to be loving and caring and when we watch these movies we imagine ourselves being the girl in the movie. Some movies, even make a girl feel better after a breakup. However, some of the real love stories can make it worse than ever before. Also, romance movies will make you cry if it is one of those that are filled with sad moments throughout the whole movie. As a girl, sometimes we feel the need to cry, whether it is stress or PMS. The romance movies are a good way to bring out the inner emotions and in the end, make you feel a whole lot better. Drama is another movie genre that gets included into romance movies. Drama can be funny and it can also bring out deeper thoughts and emotions. Everyone and especially women, have a fair share of their love for drama. Women like to gossip and chick flick, love stories are filled with it. Gossiping is a way to let things out and to give out information that can be bad or good. It just depends on who is saying it or what is said. The good thing is, the drama in the romance stories are usually not true. Even though we all get a good laugh at the stupid ones in the movie. In conclusion, romance genre movies are a favorite. They can make you happy or sad or bring out different emotions. Romance movies are twisted with drama along with romance to bring out laughter or anger in the audience. Everyone will have their own personal reaction to every single romance movie that comes out. Therefore, in my opinion, romance genre movies are the best because they contain many qualities that other genres do. Meaning that they satisfy almost every â€Å"craving† that a person has for a good movie.

The history of the Asian community in Britain The WritePass Journal

The history of the Asian community in Britain Introduction The history of the Asian community in Britain IntroductionThe history of the Asian community in Britain The migration and settlements of Asians to the BritainStatistics of the population of South Asians in Britain Influence on Britain by the presence of Asian communityThe rationale of the presence of the Asian community in Britain Conclusion Reference ListRelated Introduction The history of Britain is marked by a continued presence and increasing trends of Asian occupation. The history of the Asian community in Britain portrays a long-term presence and increasing migrations, an area that has caused great concern among the researchers, academicians, as well as scholars. History explains the trends in the evolution of an entity since its inception and up to the point of its review. The history of the Asian community in Britain dates back in the 18th century, in the period 1850s up to date. Britain has thus become one of the world’s multicultural centers, with rampant tribes from the four corners of the world. Migration and settlement of the Asians in Britain is attributed to the existence of emigration and migration policies, conflicts in the Asian lands, employment opportunities desire among the people and so on. Asians are also known to be very outgoing people in regard to invention, and their presence in the land has excellent rationales, though s ome are attributed to negativity.    The Asian community also consists of people from distinct origins, the earliest coming from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri-Lanka. The presence of the Asians in British land is known to have influenced the culture, agricultural, industrial as well as the urban sectors of the economy. The political as well as the social have not been exceptions from the influence by the long presence of these aliens. The continued migration and settlements of Asians in the recent years has drastically raised Britain populations to high scores. Researchers and scholars in the recent decades have continued to develop enthusiasm and interest in this area, though no study has directly related the history (Addison and Jones, 2007. Therefore, the discussion in this paper investigates into the history of the Asian community in Britain. The migration and settlement of the Asians in the land is also found ample to present in order to enhance the understanding of the history. An establishment of the Asian statistics in Britain is also found to provide a rationale in this discussion. Furthermore, the kind of influence on Britons as well as original settlers in Britain will also be duly presented. The history of the Asian community in Britain The history of Asian immigration to the Britain dates back in 1850’s. Different phases have been seen arrive the phases over the years, the first wave arriving in 1850 in the city of United Kingdom. The reason for the referral inform of phases is because of conformity with immigration laws that have Marjory controlled the immigration trends. The first and the second waves having arrived in 1850 an d 1882 respectively, laws were set regarding a stop of immigrants from Asia moving in to the United Kingdom. The 1970 again saw a restoration of the immigration laws that enabled other more waves moving into the United States, carrying heavy populations. The waves can be categorized into three basic groups. The first waves that were experienced in the period between 1850 and 1942, consisting mainly of Chinese and Japanese people. Most of them immigrated in search of labor due to the arising human needs. The second period occurred between 1943 and 1965, due to the evaluation and revis ion of the e migration laws in the Asian countries as well as those of immigration in the United Kingdom. The set laws were set in favor of immigrants, thus this period experiencing a vast number of people move from the Asian nations. The period from 1965 up to date is the most relevant, being the one in which rampant migrations take place.   Today, not only do the Asians migrate to the Britain, but also to other countries around the globe. The causal factors for migration have also become modified, and the laws have been regulated to ease movement for all kinds of people (Addison and Jones, 2007. The British citizens who have long emigrated from Asia from are a term that has been utilized to describe the Asians who are found living in Britain. The establishment of the East India Company is known to the beginning of southern Asian people immigration to Britain. This saw the movement of the Indian continent people to England. The independence attainment by Pakistan, India, as well as Sri-lanka was a rationale to the increased immigration and this was increased during the British Raj period. The history of the migration is also said to have emanated from economic and educational pursuits. The earliest settlements origin in Great Britain from Asia cannot be attributed, including the Romanis. The middle ages are the earliest estimated times which saw the Asians settle in the Briton land. The sinti are also inclusive of the earliest groups, originating from the regions of Pakistan and North India. The period 1000 saw the Asians begin to travel westwards, where they were mixed South west Asians and people from Europe. Sizeable numbers of Romanis started arriving at the Western Europe in the 16th century (Spencer, 1939). The 1660 saw the enactment of the Navigation act that restricted the employment realms for sailors from Non-English regions. Records of baptism in the East-Greenwich indicate that Malarban coast people origins were seeking better areas to establish their religion. The phases of migration that were in migration and settlement are grouped into four categories. The first phase saw the immigration of people who were in need of better employments that included the substandard jobs, including those of cooks as well as farming in small-scale farms. The recent years have been characterized by rampant migrations of the Asians into Britain and other area (Spencer, 1939). The migration and settlements of Asians to the Britain The emigration policies that had set in each of the Asian countries, and their relationship with the immigration policies at work in the Britain has been a long term factor that contributing to the Asian immigration into the British countries. The second rationale entails the linkage between Britain and the South Asian countries in relation to economical, political, social, as well as military linkages. A third migration cause is the aspect of globalization, in the fact that the world has been modified recently to appear like a small city where people can move to and fro. This has also made the movement process easy, making the movement of the Asians into the United Kingdom year-by-year (Spencer, 1939). Theories have long been put forward that provide broad literature concerning the immigration of the Asian people into the Britain as well as into other countries. The push and pull forces that are considered causal for migration are abundant, and contributing to the actions of the pull and push theory. The push action of the theory is manifested in the fact that major factors are considered to cause the Asians move out of their original homeland into an alien land. These factors include search for labor, spirit of adventure, in search for better business as well as conflicts occurrence in the emigration land. The pull action comes in when the target alien land has a ground for provision of the needed by the immigrants. The Asians consider the Britain to possess important soil, geographical and development addition to social and culturally ample features. These are push factors that make the Asians develop increased enthusiasm to travel abroad, constituting the push and pull theory (V isram, 2002). Migration is a major contributor to population increase in Britain spheres. The earliest known Asian settlers in Britain were from the Bangladesh region, Pakistan as well as the Sri-Lankans. The recent years have seen the Chinese and Japanese continue to settle in Britain for agricultural, industrial as well as urban and technological reasons. Therefore, the change in the agricultural, industrial and urban sectors has experienced a boost as a result of increased migrations and settlement.   The rampant migrations have seen increased interactions in terms of language influence. The Asians have influenced the Britons with their language and at the same time, the Britons impacted their language on the immigrating Asians. Migration has also a causal factor for the adoption of new farming, industrial as well as technological skills (Kalra and Sayyid, 2008). Statistics of the population of South Asians in Britain The southern Asians are the earliest people known to have settled in Britain, since the year 1850. The distinct types of the south Asians in the Britain region include those that came from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Sri-lanka. The Chinese and the Japanese people are also present in Britain in large numbers. The current statistics indicate the Asians to consist of 15% of people from Pakistan, Bangladesh as well Sri-lanka. The Indians from southern Britain are also the largest part of the Asians in the British continents (35%). The trends of movement in the phases have shown a great increment according to the recent research. The recent years have seen many people from the four corners of the world desire to get their way into the Britain. The earlier waves are known to have trends that were rising in terms of the immigration population as well as movement and settlement reasons. Philosophical thinkers have tried to come up with explanations governing the recent immigrations into Britain. Most of the causal factors are because of political, social, as well as economic interests. Many scholars believe that the Britain has the best education system, therefore desiring to become part of the same. The economists have credited the country with excellent economic systems as well as financial management ones, thus making most people want an association with the powerful country. The Academicians have contributed to the recent developed immigration trends in Britain in their urge to compare the academic curriculum with other systems since the Britain systems are considered the best around the globe (Kalra and Sayyid, 2008). Influence on Britain by the presence of Asian community The style of life of the Britons has been greatly influenced by the immigration and settlement of the Asian community in the land. The culture of the Britons was ideally eroded as a result of rampant interactions with the Asians. The language was also ideally influenced by the mix of cultures where each culture had to learn the language of the other. A strong adaptation skill to the region was a demand for all people found in the British continent. The Asians are known to have a passion for music, arts and performances, theatre activities, factor which has long led to the establishment of experience economy centers. The establishment of the events industries including the tourism industry is a result of the increased interaction between distinct communities. The Britons were taught how to adopt the agricultural practices, which have long caused the increases experienced in the economic fields. The history and the present day immigration to the Britain has become an issue of concern i n the recent years. The U.S is one of the countries where population rise has also been an issue in the research reams. This is attributed to the in movement of people from other continents, predominantly the Asians, and specifically the Chinese and Japanese. The Chinese were the original immigrants in the 1850’s. Following the enactment of distinct laws governing immigration by the different ruling regimes in the Britain, four waves have been seen come into the Britain, the first beginning in the 1850. The second was in operation in the 1943 up to 1965. The third was found to operate in the 1965 and up to 1980, while the last rate from 1980s to the present day, constitutes the current immigration trends (Brown, 2007). Immigration emanates from the desire to boost the economic, social, as well as political status of a nation. It is also geared towards the achievement of better cultural conditions of the immigrants, for instance immigrant women in the Britain due to the alienation of culture, thus they are able to acquire life with freedom. Scholars are migrating to enhance their knowledge as academicians search for better curriculum. Industries like Japan and China move in search for industrial location and business contraction sites, as the traders seek ample trade partners across the globe. More over, the enactment of immigration laws in countries like the UK has made it possible for many immigrants to emerge. The impacts of immigrations include global technological advancements, urbanization, and industrial developments, in addition to the conflicts and culture linkages and alienations as in the current world. However, the Asians have left a mark in their rampant immigration trends to Britain (B rown, 2007). The rationale of the presence of the Asian community in Britain The presence of the Asians in Britain has had major positive and negative effects on the Britons, the immigrants as well as the entire country’s realms. The Asians are long known to possess a heart for development and making great industrial discoveries. Thus, the recent industrial advancements are known to have taken place partly because of the presence of the immigrants. The increment in the agrarian revolution and the agrarian shifts that have long taken place in Britain are attributed to the presence of the Asians in the region. Britain is today identified as one of the multicultural countries in the world due to continued presence of the Asians in Britain. Thus, alienation of cultures occurred to great extents such that mostly the existence of mixed cultures is prominent. The recent technological advancements have had their way due to the increased occupation of the Asians in Britain. The experience economy sector has been ideally improved due to the influence of Britain by the immigrant Asians. There has been development of arts, tourism, as well as the events industry (Brown, 2007). The recent industrialization trends have made it possible for the formation of linkages between the Asian and American continents, facilitating the movement of people from one corner to the other in search for better industrial linkages. These have made the Japanese and the Chinese people become rampant in the Unites states industrial realms, owing to the fact that they are industrial-minded people. These have moved and settled in the United Kingdom fostering for the best development patterns. The recent academic trends have also enabled the immigration of people from the Asian to the American continent. Thus, the recent immigration trends are composure of all kinds of people, and the population of the Britain has solely increased (Brown, 2007). Conclusion The history of Britain is marked by a continued presence and increasing trends of Asian occupation. The history of the Asian community in Britain portrays a long-term presence and increasing migrations, an area that has caused great concern among the researchers, academicians, as well as scholars. The recent statistics indicate the presence of large numbers of Asians in Britain, up to almost 50%. The presence of Asians has ideally influenced the political, social and economic life of the Britons and other cultures though has a very great economic rationale. More research should be conducted to reveal correct statistical figures of Asian community in Britain. Reference List Addison, P. and Jones, H., 2007. A companion to contemporary Britain, 1939-2000. MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Brown, J., 2007. Global South Asians: introducing the modern Diaspora. NY: Cambridge University Press. Kalra, N. and Sayyid, V., 2008. A Postcolonial People: South Asians in Britain. Columbia University Press. Spencer, I., 1939. British immigration policy since 1939:   the making of multi-racial Britain. NY: Routledge. Visram, R., 2002. Asians in Britain: 400 Years of History, Pluto Press. (Online). Available from fathom.com/course/21701766/index.html (Accessed April 15, 2011)

Chocolates Positive and Negative Effects

Chocolates Positive and Negative Effects Introduction In the past two decades, chocolate has been considered a junk food due to the way in which its consumption has significantly contributed to the obesity epidemic within the U.S. at the present.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Chocolates Positive and Negative Effects specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Nearly 33% of adults within the U.S. are obese which represents a 60% increase over a 20 year period with the rate for child obesity not far behind at nearly triple what it was 30 years ago. Most of these cases have been attributed to the consumption of large amounts of junk food with chocolate being ranked among the most popular types to be eaten. However, it must be questioned whether chocolate truly deserves to be ranked as a junk food. The fact remains that numerous studies such as those by Howe (2012) have expressed that the consumption of chocolate is in fact beneficial and can aid in enabling a person to attain a healthier body[1][2]. On the other hand, there are studies such as those by Hughes (2012) which state that it is the excess consumption of chocolate that has contributed significantly to obesity within the country[3]. It is based on this that this paper will examine aspects related to the current junk food culture, the portrayal of the media about junk food and chocolate as well as current academic literature surrounding the consumption of chocolate. The researcher expects that through this investigation a clearer picture can be seen regarding the nature of chocolate. It is the assumption of this study that chocolate can be considered a junk food depending on the quality and the quantity that has been eaten. The Age of the Junk Food Culture Junk food in the form of chips, dips, burgers, fries, sodas, candies and ice cream have become such a part of Americas culture that the most prevalent cultural distinction for American today is that of the Junk Food culture. Th e term junk food is actually a terminology that was originally developed during the early half of the 1970s to describe the growing proliferation of prepackaged easy to consumer food products that came in disposal wrappers[4]. The low nutritional content of said food products combined with the easy to dispose nature of their wrappings resulted in the creation of the term junk food. In nearly every town, city and state groceries, shopping malls and fast food restaurants carry some form of junk food that is rapidly consumed by a voracious public that enjoys the taste and convenience of such products. Unfortunately, this cultural distinction is actually slowly killing the American population due to resulting effects such food types have one the body. The recommended daily allowance of nutritional calories that a body should have in a single day as recommended by the American Medical Association is roughly 2,500 to 3,000 calories a day[5].Advertising Looking for research paper o n health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The problem with junk food is that due to their convenience and serving size most people are not aware that on average they consume more than 3,000 calories a day from the various forms of junk food they eat[6]. An average adult male in the U.S. should consume only 65 grams of fat and 2,500 calories in a single day yet a burger and fries combo meal with a large coke available at the local McDonalds is equivalent to more than 50 grams of fat and 1500 calories within a single sitting[7]. This would not be a problem should that be the only large meal they eat throughout the day however this meal is supplemented by various chips, sodas and various other unhealthy options throughout the day which brings the total calorie count to 4,000 calories or more. Chocolate in particular, due to the current manner in which it is produced, is deceptively packaged to the extent that a single chocolate bar can contain 300 to 400 calories or more. Considering the fact that it would take a considerable amount of chocolate to feel full, normal consumers wind up eating more than they should resulting in the consumption of several hundred excess calories. Journalism and the Portrayal of Scientific Information to the General Public On average nearly 10,000 TV ads appear within a given year which focuses on promoting the products of various restaurants and companies[8]. Children in particular are targeted by fancy commercials advertising sugary sweets through the use of cleverly crafted cartoonish elements in the commercial itself. Since TV advertisements are an extension of popular culture it can be seen that popular culture is one of the primary reasons behind the obesity problem America now faces due to this patronage of products that are not only unhealthy but cause people to become obese as a result of their consumption. The power of advertising should not be underestimat ed since it has been shown that TV ads are one of the best ways to convince people to buy a certain product. From this it can be seen that the causes behind obesity is not merely the fast food culture that Americans find themselves in but also the actions of various corporations that promote with wild abandon their products without taking into consideration the possible ramification on the population. It should be noted though that along with these numerous advertisements come equally numerous articles by journalists which deride and criticize food companies for ruining the health of the present day generation. However, what is lacking in such articles is a truly in-depth examination of the nutritional impact of individual junk food products. What occurs is merely a general critic instead of an examination which attempts to determine whether foods such as chocolate have any generally positive effects[9].Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Chocolates P ositive and Negative Effects specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Positive Effects of Chocolate While it may be true that chocolate has become a synonymous aspect of the junk food culture, the fact remains that it has a variety of positive healthy effects on the body. This encompasses effects related to better cardiovascular health, an increased metabolism, and brain stimulation. Not only that, chocolate has also been stated as being a possible anti-depressant as well as possessing anti-cancer and anti-oxidant effects[10][11]. However, its relation as a junk food has been cemented due to the manner in which it is consumed in amounts that are greater than the recommended dietary allowance per day. As it was revealed in the study of Howe (2012), chocolate and its numerous iterations has been mixed and matched with a plethora of substances to the point that its health benefits have been highly diluted through an assortment of brands and products[12 ]. Its health benefits are tempered by extreme amounts of added sugar along with prodigious amounts of carbohydrates and assortment of chemicals[13]. The end result is a product that combines the positive mental stimulation of cocoa with the negative impact of a high fructose corn syrup. It is based on this that it can be stated that any health benefits derived from chocolate depends on the type of chocolate and the amount that is consumed. Thus chocolate can be considered a health food so long as one eats it sparingly and consumes chocolate products that are rich in natural cocoa and have little sugar in them. Conclusion Based on the information and arguments that has been provided in this paper thus far, it can be stated that can be considered a junk food depending on the quality and the quantity that has been eaten. Reference List Benton, David. 2004. Coffee, Tea, Chocolate and the Brain. Florida: CRC Press Datar, Ashlesha, and Nancy Nicosia. 2012. Junk Food in Schools and Childh ood Obesity.  Journal Of Policy Analysis Management 31, no. 2: 312-337. Howe, James. 2012. Chocolate and Cardiovascular Health. Gastronomica 12, no. 1: 43-52.Advertising Looking for research paper on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Hughes, Linda G. 2012. More chocolate? Yes, please: Obesity epidemic threatens to erode heart disease progress. Indianapolis Business Journal 10. Regional Business News, EBSCOhost . Hurley, JayneLiebman, Bonnie. 2008. Choosing Chocolate. Nutrition Action Health Letter 35, no. 8: 12. Pollan, Michael. 2008. In defense of food: An eaters manifesto. New York: Penguin Robinson, Elizabeth. 2008. Become a Media Megastar: Analyzing junk food advertising.  Screen Education no. 49: 82-87. Footnotes Howe, James. 2012. Chocolate and Cardiovascular Health. Gastronomica 12, no. 1: 43-52. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost . Benton, David. The biology and psychology of chocolate craving. Coffe, Tea, Chocolate and the Brain: 205-215 Hughes, Linda G. 2012. MORE CHOCOLATE? YES, PLEASE: Obesity epidemic threatens to erode heart disease progress. Indianapolis Business Journal 10. Regional Business News, EBSCOhost . Datar, Ashlesha, and Nancy Nicosia. 2012. Junk Food in Schools and Childhood Obesity. Journal Of Policy Analysis Management 31, no. 2: 312-337. Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost Pollan, Michael. In defense of food: An eaters manifesto (New York: Penguin, 2008), 19-32 Ibid Pollan, Michael. In defense of food: An eaters manifesto (New York: Penguin, 2008), 19-32 Robinson, Elizabeth. 2008. Become a Media Megastar: ANALYSING JUNK FOOD ADVERTISING. Screen Education no. 49: 82-87. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost . Ibid Benton, David. The biology and psychology of chocolate craving. Coffe, Tea, Chocolate and the Brain: 205-215 Hurley, JayneLiebman, Bonnie. 2008. Choosing Chocolate. Nutrition Action Health Letter 35, no. 8: 12. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost . Howe, James. 2012. Chocolate and Cardiovascular Health. Gastronomica 12, no. 1: 43-52. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost . Hurley, JayneLiebman, Bonnie. 2008. Choosing Chocolate. Nutrition Action Health Letter 35, no. 8: 12. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost .

Social Responsibility Practices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Social Responsibility Practices - Essay Example Socially Responsible Business Practices 5 4.1 Designing Facilities 5 4.2 Developing Process Improvements 6 4.3 Discontinuing Product Offerings 6 4.4 Selecting Suppliers 6 4.5 Choosing manufacturing and packaging materials 6 4.6 Providing full disclosure 6 4.7 Employee Welfare Programs 6 4.8 Measuring, tracking and Reporting 6 4.9 Children’s Marketing 6 4.10 Access for the disabled 7 4.11 Privacy for Customer Information 7 4.12 Plant, outsourcing, retail location decision 7 5. Conclusion 7 6. References 8 1. Introduction Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a field of study has created a niche for itself among the academia, corporate, the government and other agencies. Starting at the beginning of the twenty first century, there has been a growing interest in Socially Responsible Investment. There is always a conflict of interest between business and society. From an ethical standpoint, CSR helps create an ideal society due to the actions of companies. However, the economic view is that profit should be maximized. As Leonard and McAdam point out, CSR includes issues such as human rights, workplace, unfair trade practices, ecology, consumers, community involvement and social development among others; and it has a bearing on organizational aspects like manufacturing, marketing, packaging, pricing, and distribution (27-29). CSR has evolved gradually from a ‘compulsory’ attitude to an ‘instructional’ one to a ‘suggestion’ one. This implies a process towards a complex and nuanced framework to define the concept and implement the practice of CSR. 2. Concept of CSR The World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) defines CSR as â€Å"the commitment of business to contribute to sustainable economic development, working with employees, their families, the local community and society at large to improve their quality of life† (as qtd in Centidamar and Husoy 164). The best CSR initiatives are taken volun tarily on behalf of companies. Encouragement rather than punishment is a better alternative. The stakeholders in CSR should include customers, employees, suppliers, local neighbourhood etc. A softer relationship rather than a formal one should be the basis for collaboration with various stakeholders. Further, CSR brings together various organizations i.e. makes a network among them or builds communication channels between them (Centidamar and Husoy 165). As long as companies can benefit economically, they will implement CSR. Environmentally sound technology is the perfect example for this trend. Increased investments in technology will finally result in increased profits. Not only can innovations improve the corporate image, but also reduce the costs involved (165). Quality is part and parcel of CSR. The lower the company’s ethics, the lesser will be the success of Total Quality Management (TQM). Moreover, the brand image of a corporation is affected if it ignores quality. 3. Importance of CSR The following is a description of some of the merits and the criticism of CSR which together explain the significance attached to this growing field. 3.1 Limiting Litigations Every company has to cross swords with the law of the land at some point of time. Litigations arise when there is an aggrieved party who does not have faith in the company finding a solution that is fair to him/her. CSR is an attitude and a way of doing business. Implementing CSR can

Internet Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Internet Marketing - Essay Example Customers too see brands as something that is more than what is built into the product. But these values and meanings may be different from customer to customer or from one group of customers to another. While Aaker is of the opinion that brand values are expressed along these four dimensions others like Jean - Noel Kapferer are of the opinion that this expression is along six dimensions: Physique, relationship, reflection, personality, culture and self-concept. (Kapferer 2000, p.127) Brand identity is made up of a core identity and an extended identity. A brand's core identity is fundamental to the meaning of a product. It is what a business will want its product or service to be perceived as. The extended identity of a brand includes aspects of the brand that complete the picture. This will normally be, aspects of the brand that a business will want its target market to associate with. Everything a brand stands for cannot be communicated merely by its core identity. This shortcoming of the core identity is made good by its extended identity. And the broader a brand's extended identity the more unforgettable it will be. (Aaker 1996, pp.85-9) The concept of brand identity brings us to ... It is what a business will want its product or service to be perceived as. The core identity of a brand helps a business to specifically identify the essence of a brand, organizational values that drive the brand, and what the organization itself stands for. It is what gives a brand its uniqueness and "sets it apart from competition". It is something that is relatively permanent. 3 Extended Identity The extended identity of a brand includes aspects of the brand that complete the picture. This will normally be, aspects of the brand that a business will want its target market to associate with. Everything a brand stands for cannot be communicated merely by its core identity. This shortcoming of the core identity is made good by its extended identity. And the broader a brand's extended identity the more unforgettable it will be. (Aaker 1996, pp.85-9) Brand Position The concept of brand identity brings us to the concept brand position. Brand position is that part of a brand's identity and its value proposition that a business intends to repeatedly communicate to its target market. It is the brand position that communicates an advantage over competition. All advertising is centered on a brand's position. (Aaker & Joachimsthaler 2000, pp.41-2) Brand Image While a brand's identity is what a manufacturer or distributor may want its target market to perceive it as, a brand's image is what the actual market perception. In wanting to communicate a brand's identity companies send out messages; it is how the market receives these messages and interprets them that are important. Although brand image is a lagging indicator, it helps the marketing department make corrections to its communications strategy if its

How does preeclampsia develop and does it confer future cardiovascular Essay

How does preeclampsia develop and does it confer future cardiovascular risk - Essay Example The aim of the review is to arrive at the developmental causes of preeclampsia. Similarly, a large number of studies have reported linkages between preeclampsia and future cardiovascular disease. The evidence is suggestive, and a vast number of data produced is available on the subject. The present sysetmatic survey therefore focuses on an analysis of the literature with the objective of finding out conclusive evidence to establish that preeclampsia may pre-dispose to cardiovascular risk in the long term. The systematic review involved gathering of available data through an extensive search and reading, critically evaluating all the research in terms of its methodology and scope and also exploring and recommending future studies that could be more effective towards addressing the research questions. It was found that a number of factors, like obesity, hypertension, abnormal insulin resistance, inflammation, cardio-vascular risk factors (as measured by serum levels of triglycerides, cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol, and blood pressure), increased Homocysteine, presence of periodontal disease among others, were observed in preeclamptic pregnancy. However, the systematic review could not establish if these factors had a causative relationship to preeclampsia or if these factors were the manifestation of some other factors that also cause preeclampsia. The review also evaluated available evidence on cardiovascular risks and preeclampsia history. It was found that cardiovascular risk indeed has a larger than normal odds of having a history of preeclamptic episode. Again, it was not proved if preeclampsia pre-disposes to increased cardiovascular risk, or if preeclampsia and cardiovascular disease have the same pathogenesis. Preeclampsia, Cardiovascular Disease,

Employee engagement is crucial for effective, corporate decision Essay

Employee engagement is crucial for effective, corporate decision making. Discuss using examples from two global companies - Essay Example Employee engagement profoundly affects an employee’s willingness to learn, cooperate, and work together with others (Karsan & Kruse 2011). Employee engagement can therefore be identified as a fundamental element of teamwork. Engagement should, however, not be confused with satisfaction and motivation. Different individuals might find parts of their job which offer satisfaction and motivation yet they might not be fully engaged. The concept of employee engagement remains an essential element of business management, which can effectively assist in corporate decision-making. Employee engagement could be defined as the willingness and ability for employees to assist the organisation to succeed, through offering discretionary effort, continuously (Wellins et al. 2005). Business decisions regarding human resource can be effectively undertaken through the understanding of various aspects of employee engagement. The element of engagement could be measured through the continuous mo nitoring of individuals behaviour, consequently understanding their engagement to work related activities (Seijts & Crim 2006). Proper knowledge of the engagement level possessed by employees can assist human resource management decisions by identifying individual’s skills and motivators. ... Employees to stay within the organisation commonly display the employee commitment through the desire. Many international corporations engage in the assessment of employee engagement in enhancing the decision-making process. This enables the corporations to make informed business decisions regarding the organisational operations. There are several aspects of employee management which managers must undertake in order to ensure their employees remain engaged to their respective jobs. Among these drivers of employee engagement, the top three could be identified as management’s interest in employee well-fare, work related challenges, and the decision making authority (Saks 2006). Employee engagement notable among many employees remains the capacity to fell valued and involved within the company operations. This significantly concerns the decision-making process utilised within an organisation. Involvement of employees in decision making helps in increasing their morale. Conseque ntly, the ultimate results of decision-making involvement are increased engagement of employees with corporate operations. The involvement of employees in decision-making includes seeking their opinions regarding various issues surrounding corporate operations. Though their ideas might not be implemented, the thought of having voiced their ideas becomes a source of encouragement. Managers remain the key to achieving engagement of an entire corporate workforce. In achieving considerable engagement of employees the managers must undertake various responsibilities aimed at improving the morale of employees (Baumruk & Gorman 2006). Firstly, managers

Microlending helps small enterepreneurs start businesses Essay

Microlending helps small enterepreneurs start businesses - Essay Example There are collaborative efforts between Kiva, lenders, entrepreneurs, and other players in the microfinance sector. This diversifies its reach to the global population, allowing web-based donations to be mobilized for loaning purposes. The organization of Kiva.org is unique relative to the financial purposes it serves. The microfinance combines a traditional business system with a contemporary web platform in executing its operations. The ultimate objective is to reach out to the needy entrepreneurial population and help it eradicate poverty in both the short run and long run. Kiva.org uses other microfinance players to reach out to the globe. Being a web-based microfinance, it does not necessarily need physical locations to attend to entrepreneurs. Also, working with other global microfinances further makes Kiva.org unique. Most importantly, the microfinance does not operate on a return-on-investment basis. Lenders actually donate the loan funds without expecting any returns on the loans that Kiva gives to needy entrepreneurs. The loans given by Kiva.org to entrepreneurs come from donations that are received from the lenders through the website. This essentially deviates from traditional businesses where loan funds are obtained from deposit-taking activities. On the same note, Kiva.org depends on field partners to have entrepreneurs’ profiles approved in order to qualify them for microfinance lending. The model Kiva.org uses to give loans is effective and efficient. As the situation stands, this microfinance has reached millions of entrepreneurs in need of loans. Follow-ups are also made to not only ensure that the awarded loans are put to use, but also repayments are collected when they fall due. While this model appears simple, it is actually sophisticated and functional. Personally, I think that this model would work on a larger scale. The

Business law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Business law - Essay Example Referring to general principles of recognized by civilized states as a source of international law, it protects South African government in its bid to establish its own health care policy. The decision of South Africa was driven by the fact that most of the affected HIV/AIDS victims come from developing countries where access to cheap medical facilities and medicines were inadequate faced by a total population of 4.7 million people affected y the pandemics, the South African government had no alternative except to manufacture cheap drugs accessible to all people. Therefore South African had the right to implement the legislation both before and after Doha declaration. Before Doha declaration, the South African Government was acting under the general principle of law recognized by civilized states which a recognized source of international law.This source helps international law to adapt itself in accordance with the changing times and circumstances.As pointed out by G. Von Glahn, ren owned author of international law, two views are prevalent about this source of law. According to one view the phase includes such general principles which can be applied in domestic jurisprudence and can be applied to international legal issues. For instance the question of hand in which, the South African government and the pharmaceuticals companies from U.S are seeking international redress to the issue of the SA government manufacturing cheap drugs. The point of contention at hand is the issue of patents rights where pharmaceutical companies want patent rights be protected while the government is concerned about providing cheap and affordable drugs to the people infected by HIV/AIDS; the pharmaceutical companies are sensing a decline of their products in the market due to the preference of cheap drugs. Owing to the gaps in international law, it was felt that the competence of the court could not be confirmed to making judgments according to positive international law i.e. according to customer and conventions but it won rather designed to give free reign to the law making activity of the court and the court had to content itself with applying principles of law which could be established as common to the municipal law of all civilized nations and were therefore positive law, though not positive international law (Tostem Gohl, the legal characters and sources of international law Stockholm (1957). In the Lotus case, (P.C.I) ser, A No. 10) the permanent court of international justice observed on the court considers that the words principles of international law as ordinary used can only mean international law as is applied between nations belonging to the community of states. A principle of law recognized by any domestic law does not become on international law by the virtue that it has been accepted by other nations, it becomes a principle of international of law when it has been accepted by the world court. Judge Lauterpact has therefore rightly remarked that the main function of the general principles of law has been that of safety-value to be kept in reserve rather than a source of frequent application of this source only when in a case before it, there is neither international convention nor a custom in respect of the dispute involved. Thus articles 38, paragraph 1 (c) of the statute of the international court of Justice places on record are of the main sources of the rules of public international law. The general principles of laws are those rules or standards which, are repeated in much the same form in the development systems of law, either because they have a common origin or because they express a necessary response to certain basic needs of human association reference to the South African case, the Doha declaration on the TRIPS AND PUBLIC HEALTH. The Doha declaration

Employee engagement is crucial for effective, corporate decision Essay

Employee engagement is crucial for effective, corporate decision making. Discuss using examples from two global companies - Essay Example Employee engagement profoundly affects an employee’s willingness to learn, cooperate, and work together with others (Karsan & Kruse 2011). Employee engagement can therefore be identified as a fundamental element of teamwork. Engagement should, however, not be confused with satisfaction and motivation. Different individuals might find parts of their job which offer satisfaction and motivation yet they might not be fully engaged. The concept of employee engagement remains an essential element of business management, which can effectively assist in corporate decision-making. Employee engagement could be defined as the willingness and ability for employees to assist the organisation to succeed, through offering discretionary effort, continuously (Wellins et al. 2005). Business decisions regarding human resource can be effectively undertaken through the understanding of various aspects of employee engagement. The element of engagement could be measured through the continuous mo nitoring of individuals behaviour, consequently understanding their engagement to work related activities (Seijts & Crim 2006). Proper knowledge of the engagement level possessed by employees can assist human resource management decisions by identifying individual’s skills and motivators. ... Employees to stay within the organisation commonly display the employee commitment through the desire. Many international corporations engage in the assessment of employee engagement in enhancing the decision-making process. This enables the corporations to make informed business decisions regarding the organisational operations. There are several aspects of employee management which managers must undertake in order to ensure their employees remain engaged to their respective jobs. Among these drivers of employee engagement, the top three could be identified as management’s interest in employee well-fare, work related challenges, and the decision making authority (Saks 2006). Employee engagement notable among many employees remains the capacity to fell valued and involved within the company operations. This significantly concerns the decision-making process utilised within an organisation. Involvement of employees in decision making helps in increasing their morale. Conseque ntly, the ultimate results of decision-making involvement are increased engagement of employees with corporate operations. The involvement of employees in decision-making includes seeking their opinions regarding various issues surrounding corporate operations. Though their ideas might not be implemented, the thought of having voiced their ideas becomes a source of encouragement. Managers remain the key to achieving engagement of an entire corporate workforce. In achieving considerable engagement of employees the managers must undertake various responsibilities aimed at improving the morale of employees (Baumruk & Gorman 2006). Firstly, managers

Business law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Business law - Essay Example Referring to general principles of recognized by civilized states as a source of international law, it protects South African government in its bid to establish its own health care policy. The decision of South Africa was driven by the fact that most of the affected HIV/AIDS victims come from developing countries where access to cheap medical facilities and medicines were inadequate faced by a total population of 4.7 million people affected y the pandemics, the South African government had no alternative except to manufacture cheap drugs accessible to all people. Therefore South African had the right to implement the legislation both before and after Doha declaration. Before Doha declaration, the South African Government was acting under the general principle of law recognized by civilized states which a recognized source of international law.This source helps international law to adapt itself in accordance with the changing times and circumstances.As pointed out by G. Von Glahn, ren owned author of international law, two views are prevalent about this source of law. According to one view the phase includes such general principles which can be applied in domestic jurisprudence and can be applied to international legal issues. For instance the question of hand in which, the South African government and the pharmaceuticals companies from U.S are seeking international redress to the issue of the SA government manufacturing cheap drugs. The point of contention at hand is the issue of patents rights where pharmaceutical companies want patent rights be protected while the government is concerned about providing cheap and affordable drugs to the people infected by HIV/AIDS; the pharmaceutical companies are sensing a decline of their products in the market due to the preference of cheap drugs. Owing to the gaps in international law, it was felt that the competence of the court could not be confirmed to making judgments according to positive international law i.e. according to customer and conventions but it won rather designed to give free reign to the law making activity of the court and the court had to content itself with applying principles of law which could be established as common to the municipal law of all civilized nations and were therefore positive law, though not positive international law (Tostem Gohl, the legal characters and sources of international law Stockholm (1957). In the Lotus case, (P.C.I) ser, A No. 10) the permanent court of international justice observed on the court considers that the words principles of international law as ordinary used can only mean international law as is applied between nations belonging to the community of states. A principle of law recognized by any domestic law does not become on international law by the virtue that it has been accepted by other nations, it becomes a principle of international of law when it has been accepted by the world court. Judge Lauterpact has therefore rightly remarked that the main function of the general principles of law has been that of safety-value to be kept in reserve rather than a source of frequent application of this source only when in a case before it, there is neither international convention nor a custom in respect of the dispute involved. Thus articles 38, paragraph 1 (c) of the statute of the international court of Justice places on record are of the main sources of the rules of public international law. The general principles of laws are those rules or standards which, are repeated in much the same form in the development systems of law, either because they have a common origin or because they express a necessary response to certain basic needs of human association reference to the South African case, the Doha declaration on the TRIPS AND PUBLIC HEALTH. The Doha declaration

TAM provides Essay Example for Free

TAM provides Essay Online trust is essential in e-commerce as such trait is needed to have a healthy relationship among consumers and electronic marketing firms. Trust governs how the consumer behaves in online transactions and activities. The paper aims to evaluate the understanding of online trust in e-commerce and thus have provided one method and two essential models to be discussed. Dr. Hemphill gave us simple factors which influence the formation of online trust. The study suggested that terms and policies must be presented to the consumer through the website in order for the consumer to understand the process of the firm in the businesses in terms of dealing within transactions. Most online marketers will spend much on their website development for people to acquire their services. Thus, some people argue that gaining online trust is not just mere commitment in giving out service; it is included as a package for consumers to get enticed to ask for the firms services and continue to acquire their services. TAM provides an understanding of how technology affects the formation of trust. A model used by many researchers regarding online trust, the TAM evaluates how the perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of the technology contributes to the trust and dependency of the individual with the technology. As observed in the society, people sees technology, in particular the computer and the Internet, as easy to use and useful. Everyday transactions can be done through this system which makes the lives of people easier and faster. As the paper specified, e-commerce is greatly influenced with this event. And this realization threatens privacy and security measures. Furthermore, a recent study by Lewis supported the direct positive effects of PIIT on perceived ease of use. If a person is more innovative, he will try out the new system with an increased belief about his ability with technology and ease of use perception. (Lewis, 2003) There is great use of the determinants mentioned in the study of Cockcroft (2005) in evaluation the cultural dimensions of gaining trust in e-commerce. The determinants are able to explain online consumer behavior and how cultural and social norms affect the process of gaining online trust. Trust, being one immeasurable trait, is a result of several factors. Several factors affect the formation of trust between consumers and online market firms. Although, the study concluded that only the determinant group collectivism contributes to the effect of cultural aspect in online trust. Another significant conclusion in the study is that trust is not attributed to the mediation between IUIPC and behavioral intention (Cockcroft, 2005). The individual may strongly be motivated to trust an online marketing firm but the intention to involve in the transactions with the firms may be lessened with privacy concerns- Cockcroft (2005). This essay included just the significant determinants to discuss the main objectives of the paper. Limitations on this essay and further improvements for future research First, The Technology Acceptance Model has its set limitations with the technology existed during the time the model was created. Future research regarding the model should define technology in a new perspective. Since technology nowadays is more sophisticated and complex, its revision should consider the situation of employing more refined technologies. TAM should involve more conflict in the models’ perceive ease of use. As researched, the revision for TAM should emphasize the perceive usefulness factor and add analysis on the factor perceive enjoyment. Second, Cockcroft (2005) suggests that future research should include an evaluation regarding the diversity of culture in the society as this can affect the formation of online trust. I would agree and suggests this point well taken by the author. The paper, due to its limitations, have included only the significant determinants in the social and cultural determinants model in line with its objectives, thus there is a need to study several determinants such as institutional collectivism and human interaction. Third, attributed to the limitation of word counting, the essay focused on two research models only. As this is realized, there is a need to discuss more models and provide concrete analysis regarding how different models explains and discern the formation and evolution of online trust in e-commerce. Fourth, the concept of online trust can not be summed or generalized into one formal and concrete model. Thus, to effectively lay a foundation of theories or ideas regarding online trust in e-commerce, future research must be done to accomplish this objective. BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1. ) Merriam Webster Online Dictionary, Definition of Trust, Google search engine, November 4, 2006 2. ) AUGUR, D. (2006) Internet Business Strategy: Internet Business Facts and Statistics Web Development by My Web Gal.