Essentials of Political Thought Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Essentials of Political Thought - Research Paper Example During Lewis lifetime, science was just beginning to emerge as the Western world's preferred principal system of thought. Essentially, modern life was beginning to be transformed by technological discoveries that resulted from the developing intellectual activity. Lewis felt that that some attitudes were absolutely fundamental to the existence of man while others were essentially false. He scoffed at the emerging popular belief that moral values could be said to be subjective; and that they could evoke different responses from different people- all of which were right in their own settings. Lewis also differed with schoolteachers who disregarded the function of emotional inclinations in favor of practical utilitarian thinking. He would assert that the purpose of education was to stimulate the development of values, â€Å"good† feelings, and thoughts in students while concurrently curbing the development of â€Å"bad† ones. John Dewey (1859-1952) held completely differen t thoughts from Lewis in the importance of moral absolutes. He stated that in life, real truth is not something that really exists and that any theory that will be referred to as truth has to be experimentally determined. Dewey claimed that in life, no theory or object can be said to be inherently evil or inherently good; it is merely a person's choice on how to view the theory or object that makes it seem either good or bad. Dewey also asserted that nothing can be said to be more valuable than another thing. He would claim that morality is mainly situational, and that even religious beliefs ought to be examined scientifically, and that change in belief is inevitable and desirable. He also rejected subjected to scientific evaluation before they can be verified as fact. Dewey, himself, believed in the truth of organic evolution. He held that man was essentially a sophisticated type of animal that could not be said to have any inner being or claim to immortality in the afterlife. For him, the non-physical aspects of man amounted to being little more than a sophisticated habit system. Dewey would further state that human beings are not naturally selfish or depraved, but are conditioned to behave as they do- whether badly or well, by their environment. Owing to the fact that C. S. Lewis felt that the Western world was engaged in rejecting the biblical statutes that determined the existence of objective wrong and right, and believed that once these principles were presented to school children as being real truths there would be a collapse of society, he defended the tradition of natural law in his famous text, 'The Abolition of Man'. His objective was the salvation of Western civilization (Lewis, 5). For Lewis, the beginning of false teachings was initiated by the 18th century Enlightenment when the West was transformed by the most disastrous cultural transition, which he would aptly name the â€Å"un-christening of Europe† or the â€Å"post-Christian† age (Lewis 6). Demoralized by the changes he saw, Lewis stated, "Until the modern era, no eminent thinker would ever presume to doubt that our value based judgments were logical and practical or that what they stated was objective. The modern perspective is quite different; and does not believe in the veracity of value judgments" (Lewis 7). In his arguments, Lewis categorically stated that there is an existing and unassailable universal moral order, and that every

Motivators For Tourist Trips To Different Destinations Essay

Motivators For Tourist Trips To Different Destinations - Essay Example Both outbound and inbound tourism have had a stable growth in tourists. The type and state of weather and climate are a major influence of tourist destinations. The state of the atmosphere in a given place at a particular time describes weather while climate is the prevailing condition of the atmosphere determined after a long period of surveillance(Avraham&Ketter, 2008).The travel and tourism industry has been a major contributor to the economy for a long period. Both outbound and inbound tourism have had a stable growth in tourists. The type and state of weather and climate are a major influence of tourist destinations. The state of the atmosphere in a given place at a particular time describes weather while climate is the prevailing condition of the atmosphere determined after a long period of surveillance(Avraham&Ketter, 2008).Climate is one of the elements of geography that constitute geographical space, contributing to the environmental conditions that encourage or hinder touri sm. People seek to settle in areas that offer the highest comfort and chances of existence in terms of climate. Following this fact, the climate is considered to delimit optimal zones for tourism both at a regional and global scale. For instance, the warm temperate zones are considered optimal for beach and sun tourism.Where tourism uses geographical space, it is because there is specific components which depending on how they are appreciated socially, can be exploited and subsequently assimilated into tourism as a good or service.

Stress is a world wide phenomenon of modern lifestyles

Stress is a world wide phenomenon of modern lifestyles Stress at work has become these days the headline of news papers and the talk of the day. It is a world wide phenomenon of modern lifestyles to which our island is not an exception. Various researches show that extreme job stress can harmfully affect the emotional and physical health of workers, which ultimately results in decreased productivity, less satisfaction, and less healthy workers. This chapter therefore serves as the foundation for the development of this study. In this chapter, the theoretical literature on organizational stress is examined. The main aim of this section is to go beyond a simple description of the literature so as to acquire an understanding of the topic in a theoretical context in order to better investigate the subject matter having direct applicability to my dissertation. 2.1 Definition of stress Stress is not necessarily something bad it all depends on how you take it. The stress of exhilarating, creative successful work is beneficial, while that of failure, humiliation or infection is detrimental. -Hans Selye (1956) Stress is an imprecise term that can be defined in different viewpoints. In fact, almost anything anyone can think of, pleasant or unpleasant has been described as a source of stress. Research in this particular area has followed several avenues. Hans Selye (1936), one of the founding fathers of stress research, defined stress as Stress   is   the   bodys   nonspecific   response   to   a demand   placed   on   it. He believed that most stressors are neutral, until, by our own thinking, we change them into negative effects or positive effects. Since then, further research has been conducted on the topic and ideas have moved on. Stress is now viewed as bad things, with a range of harmful effects. For Arnold and Feldman (1986), stress is defined as the reactions of individuals to new or threatening factors in their work environment. This definition implies that new situations often arise in our work surrounding, so stress is bound to occur. During the 1980, however, stress was considered as an unfavorable factor not only in physical and mental health, but in other areas of life as well. In the organizational environment, for example, stress was implicated in the deterioration of individual performance efficiency, which in turn, affected the overall performance of the organization (Gaines and Jerimer, 1983). Stress was also been linked to high personnel turnover in organizations (Bowers, 1983). The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) on the other hand in 1991, defines stress as that which arises when the pressures placed upon an individual exceed the perceived capacity of that individual to cope. According to Trade Union Congress (TUC), stress occurs where demands made on individuals do not match the resources available or meet the individuals needs and motivation. Stress will arise if the workload is too large for the number of workers and time available. Equally, a boring or repetitive task which does not use the potential skills and experience of some individuals will cause them stress. In order to explore this topic further, some of the recent literature on the subject must be considered. It is probably useful to start by considering the legislation on the subject by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). In 2008, the HSE stated that stress is the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed upon them. According to research made by Mc Cromick (2005), stress is the relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding his or her resources and endangering well being. For Auerbach et al,(2007), stress refers to an unpleasant state of emotional and physiological arousal that people experience in situations that they perceive as dangerous or threatening to their well-being. 2.1.1 Types of stress Stress can be of two types, good and bad. Most people believe that stress is always bad. Nothing can be far from the truth! A little stress is absolutely necessary for our survival in this highly competitive world! Thus, stress is classified into two groups namely: Eustress: The Good Stress Eustress is the good stress that helps us to improve our performance. A certain amount of positive stress keeps us pepped up to meet all challenges and is essential for our survival and progress in life. Distress: The Bad Stress Distress is a negative form of stress. This occurs when the mind and body is unable to cope with changes, and usually occurs when the norms are being deviated. They can be categorized into acute and chronic stress. Acute stress is severe. It lasts for a short period of time. On the other hand, chronic stress lasts over a long period of time. In Gestalt Therapy Verbatim (Real People Press, 1969), Perls proposes a more general definition, where stress is a manifestation of thinking about the future. According to Perls, there is no difference between good and bad stress. They are both created by thinking about the future. Moreover, French, Kast, and Rosenweing (1985) also emphasized the idea that stress itself is not necessarily bad. The term stress can be considered neutral with the words distress and eustress used for designating bad and good effects. They propose a model that defines an optimum range of stress in terms of its effect on performance. Stress levels below a minimum level result in decreased performance and rust-out. 2.2 Symptoms of Stress Stress is defined by Ganster and Murphy (2000) as a form of strain provoked in response to situational demands labeled stressors which occur when jobs are simultaneously high in demands and low in control. Selye (1946) was the first to describe the phases that the body goes through in response to a threat. Selye defined the general adaptation syndrome, which states that the body passes through three stages. The first stage is an alarm reaction. This is typified by receiving a shock, at the time when the bodys defences are down followed by a counter-shock, when the defences are raised. All bodily systems work together to provide maximum energy for fight or flight. The second stage is resistance. If the stress continues, the body builds up a tolerance to its effect. The body becomes habituated to the effects of the stressor, however, the bodies adaptive energies are being used as a shield against the stressor. The third stage is exhaustion. If the stressor continues to act on the body, however, this acquired adaptation is eventually lost and a state of overloading is reached. Williams and Huber (1986) provide a comprehensive list of the symptoms of stress. These are constant fatigue, low energy level, recurring headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, chronically bad breath, sweaty hands or feet, dizziness, high blood pressure, pounding heart, constant inner tension, inability to sleep, temper outburst, hyperventilation, moodiness, irritability and restlessness, inability to concentrate, increased aggression, compulsive eating, chronic worrying, anxiety, inability to relax, excessive use of alcohol and excessive use of smoking. Furthermore, job stress can make people more susceptible to major illness. (Roseman and Friedman, 1971) 2.3 Causes of stress There are various causes of job stress, but whichever the cause, it is bound to fall into one of the two categories, namely individual causes or organizational causes. However, it is the interaction of the personality of the worker and the working conditions that create higher level of stress. It will be beyond the scope of this dissertation to name each and every causes of job stress as there are too many, so we will just list some of the major ones by regrouping them under each category. 2.3.1 Individual Causes An individual must perceive a stressor in order for it to have a blow on them, and peoples personalities determine how they will recognize something. Some people may see certain events as more stressful as others. An individual may experience the same situation differently; it all depends on their personalities. A shy person may experience more stress than an outgoing person. Therefore, differences in individual factors such as personality and coping style are most important in predicting whether certain job conditions will result in stress. Many researches have been done in this field which shows that there are personality variables such as Type A behavior and Type B behavior. Stress seems to be a factor in these personality types and specifically how a person responds to stress. According to Timothy and Moore (2001), Type A people are achievement oriented, irritable, impatient with delays, and seem to be always in a hurry. They are substantially involved, committed to their work and often neglects other aspect of their lives. This type of personality shows a tendency to suppress stress symptoms and fatigue because they think that illness might interfere with the completion of various important tasks. The relationship between Type A behavior and symptoms of stress is supported in a study of 236 managers in 12 different companies (Howard, Cunningham, and Rechnitzer, 1976). This showed that Type A behavior was associated in a significant way with high blood pressure and higher cholesterol levels. Individuals having Type A personalities are those who tend to create a lot of stress in their lives. In contrast to Type A, Type B people are less competitive, and more easy going. Robbins (1998) stated that Type B people are more relaxed with no sense of urgency or worry about time that is wasted. They often stop to reflect on and review performance or what they have been doing. They think of themselves and approach life more calmly. As such, they can deal more effectively with job stress. 2.3.2 Organizational Causes Although individual factors play a great role in causing stress, yet scientific evidence has shown that certain working conditions are stressful for most people. Stress affects people at work in many ways and the causes of stress are diverse. Studies by Cooper and Marshall (1978) into source of managerial stress identified an organizational boundary with the individual manager straddling that boundary and, in effect, endeavoring to cope with conflicting stressors created by external demands (the family) and internal demands (the organizations). This is depicted in Figure 2.1. The managers response may be affected by individual personality traits, his tolerance for ambiguity, his ability to cope with change, specific motivational factors and well-established behavioral patterns. Within the organization, a number of stressors can be present. These include those associated with: The job Role in the organization Career development Organizational structure and climate Relations within the organization On the other side of the organizational boundary is the organizations interface with the outside world. Here conflict can be created where there may be competition for an individuals time between the organization and his family, or between the organization and an individuals own particular interests or hobbies. Role in organization Role conflict/ambiguity Responsibility for people No participation in decision making etc.Figure 2.1 Sources of managerial stress Intrinsic to job Too much/too little work Poor physical conditions Time pressures Decision-making, etc Career development Over-promotion/under promotion Lack of job insecurity Thwarted ambition, etc. Individual Manager Personality Tolerance for ambiguity Ability to cope with change Motivation Behavioral pattern Organizational structure and climate Lack of effective consultation Restriction on behavior Office politics, etc Organizational boundary Relations within organization Poor relation with boss Poor relations with colleagues and subordinates Difficulties in delegating responsibility, etc. Organizational interface with outside Company versus family demands Company versus own interests, etc. Source: Cooper and Marshall (1978). Stress at work: Management and Prevention, p.23 TUC (2008) lists the main causes of stress as overwork, bullying, low job control and satisfaction, job insecurity, new ways of working, poor work organization and pace of work can all cause stress. Bhagat (1983) has reported that work performance can be seriously impaired by external stressors. There are many aspects of organizational life that can become external stressors. These include issues of structure, managements use of authority, monotony, a lack of opportunity of advancement, excessive responsibilities, ambiguous demands, value conflicts and unrealistic workloads. A persons non-working life (e.g., family, friends, health and financial situations) can also contain stressors that negatively impact job performance. According to Anderson (2002), work to family conflicts is also a predecessor which creates stress in employees of organization. According to McGrath (1978), adverse working conditions such as excessive noise, extreme temperatures, or overcrowding, can be a source of job-related stress. Reitz (1987), reports that workers on swing shifts experience more stress than other workers. Orth-Gomer (1986) concludes that when three shifts are used to provide around-the-clock production, major disturbances in people may be unavoidable. Arnold and Feldman (1986) emphasize the deleterious effects of role ambiguity, conflict, overload and underload. Role ambiguity is often the results of mergers, acquisitions and restructuring, where employees are unsure of their new responsibilities. According to Kahn and Byosiere (1992), role conflict concerns incompatible role expectations. Such conflict is related to conceptual differences between workers and different supervisors regarding the content or importance of required job tasks. This creates conflict: the commitment to a number of superiors versus the individuals values pertaining to the organizations requirements. Katz and Kahn (1978) states that role overload is frequently created by excessive time pressures, where stress increases as a deadline approaches, and then rapidly subsides. Today, role overload is understood to be distinct from role conflict. Role overload is related to number of sick days, feelings of anxiety, frustration, depression, decrease in self-confidence, job burnout, attention and concentration problems and work accidents. (Glisson et al., 2006; Kahn and Byosiere, 1992). Role underload is the result of an insufficient quantity, or an inadequate variety of work. Both overload and underload can re sult in low self-esteems and stress related symptoms. Moreover, poor interpersonal relationships are also a common source of stress in organizations. Arnold and Feldman (1986) cite three types of interpersonal relationships that can evoke a stress reaction namely: too much prolonged contact with other people, too much contact with people from other departments and an unfriendly or hostile organizational climate. Furthermore career related concerns such as job security and advancement are often source of stress. Holmes and Rahe (1967) constructed a scale of forty-three life events, and rated them according to the amount of stress they produce. The most notable feature of their instrument is that many positive life changes (i.e. marriage, divorce, Christmas, vacations etc.) are substantial sources of stress. Generally, stress appears to be a result of any change in ones daily routine. French, Kast, and Rosenweig (1985) believe that any situation that requires a behavioral adjustment is a source of stress. However, a situation that is stressful for one person might not be stressful for another. According to Parasuraman and Alutto (1984), older workers seem to be less strongly affected by stressful situations. Arnold and Feldman (1986) suggest that individuals with high self-esteem and a tolerance for ambiguity are less prone to stress-related illness. 2.4 Consequences of stress The impact stress has on employee performance is no less dramatic. Just as stress accumulates in our bodies, stress accumulates in organizations as well. At high levels, it destroys organizational climate, lowers organizational performance, and weakens organizational effectiveness. While Holmes and Rahe (1980) are concerned mainly with the physiological consequences of stress, there is a wide array of attitudes and behaviors that are affected by stress as well. The consequences of job stress on employee performance are as listed in the table below. Table 1.1 Consequences of Job Stress Consequences of Job Stress Physical Health Psychological Well-Being Performance Decision Making 2.4.1 Negative effects of stress on employee performance Stress within the organization cannot be overlooked. Anderson (2003) states that stress exists in every organization either big or small and the work places and organizations have become so much complex due to which it exists, work place stress has significant effects over the employees job performance. Stress does have a negative impact on employee performance. For instance, Pickering (2001) states that the consequences of stress in the workplace can be very varied and include high sickness, absence and staff turnover together with poor performance. In addition, stress has been frequently associated with industrial sabotage. Workers sometimes create mechanical failures on the assembly line to give themselves a break from the monotony and strain of their work. Job stress also has an impact on individual productivity. Rose (2003) claims that in every organization and at every level of management and workers an elevated average level of stress is to be found which mostly has an effect on employees job satisfaction. As will be seen in Figure 2.2, McGrath (1976) chartered out the job stress performance curve to explain how stress affects performance. Figure 2.2: Job Stress and performance P E High R F O R Moderate M A N C E Low Low Moderate High Source: McGrath, J.E. (1976). Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, p.1363 Figure 2.2 illustrates that as individuals start feeling more stress at work, their performance will increase. They are thrilled to take advantage of new opportunities or to deal with potential problems. In fact, they will be encouraged to work harder than when they are experiencing little or no stress. People will push themselves to their performance limits under moderate amounts of stress. However, as we can see from the above figure, if stress becomes too high or persists for a long period, performance begins to decrease. People suffer exhaustion; they can only work at a fever pitch for so long. The longer the stress lasts, the more their physical and emotional energy gets drained. Thus, it can be seen that the relationship between stress and performance is curvilinear. People perform best under moderate amounts of stress. According to McGrath (1976), stress also affects effective decision making. Employees who are highly stressed are more likely to procrastinate and to avoid having to make decisions. Moreover, employees who are under stress have difficulties to concentrate, they are not able to finish their tasks on time, they tend to commit mistakes in their work and often they forget important pieces of information. As a result, all these lead to degradation of employee performance. 2.4.2 Positive effects of stress on employee performance Despite the fact that stress has negative impacts on employee performance, it does have some positive effects as well. According to Suedfeld (1979), life would be very dull indeed if it were altogether devoid of challenges. He concluded that an intermediate level of stimulation and challenge tends to be optimal for most people. Second, stress may frequently promote personal growth. Stress must sometimes force employee to develop new skills, learn new insights, and acquire new strengths. Last but not the least, todays stress can inoculate us so that we are less affected by tomorrows stress. If stressful experience is moderate in intensity and does not overwhelm us, it may increase our subsequent stress tolerance. (Suedfeld, 1979) 2.5 Managing Stress Managers of organizations have a double perception of stress. They need to be aware of their own stress levels, as well as those of their subordinates. Most of the literature focuses on ways of reducing stress. However, a more appropriate approach might be to examine ways of optimizing stress. French, Kast, and Rosenzweig (1985) state that the challenge is to minimize distress and to maintain eustress. They point out that the conditions of organizational life create a series of paradoxes that demonstrates the need for balance and equilibrium. The role of management becomes one of maintaining an appropriate level of stress by providing an optimal environment, and by doing a good job in areas such as performance planning, role analysis, work redesign/job enrichment, continuing feedback, ecological considerations, and interpersonal skills training. 2.5.1 Overcoming stress at work According to Jick and Payne (1980), there are essentially three strategies for dealing with stress in organizations. The first strategy is to treat the symptoms, secondly change the person and thirdly remove the cause of stress. When a person is already suffering from the effects of stress, the first priority is to treat the symptoms. This includes both the identification of those suffering from excessive stress, as well as providing health-care and psychological counseling services. The second approach is to help individuals build stress management skills to make them less vulnerable to its effects. Examples would be teaching employees time management and relaxation techniques, or suggesting changes to ones diet or exercise. The third approach is to eliminate or reduce the environmental situation that is creating the stress. This would involve reducing environmental stressors such as noise and pollution, or modifying production schedules and work loads. Furthermore, some researchers have suggested that in order to prevent role conflict, organizations should function according to the classic organizational theory principle of unity of command, that is, the employee should be supervised by a single superior and work according to a single plan. According to Weisner (2003) and Rizzo et al. (1970), an organization which cares for its employees must spare them the cross-fire of two or more superiors who have incompatible work instructions and expectations. Organizational theory maintains that each role should have a particular array of tasks and areas of responsibility (Weisner, 2003). Clear definition of role requirements gives superiors license to expect employees to be responsible for performing their roles. But if employees are not aware of the role requirements and what is expected of them, they will hesitate to make decisions and will work by trial and error aiming to meet their superiors expectations (Rizzo et al., 1970). There are many other successful ways of dealing with stress. These include stress reduction workshops, tranquilizers, biofeedback, meditation, self-hypnosis, and a variety of other techniques designed to relax an individual. Programs that teach tolerance for ambiguity often report positive effects. One of the most promising is a health maintenance program that stresses the necessity of proper diet, exercise and sleep. Last but not the least, Katz and Kahn (1978) suggest that managers can create nurturing and supportive environments to help minimize job-related stress. Social support systems seem to be extremely effective in preventing or relieving the deleterious effects of stress. Friends and family can provide a nurturing environment that builds self-esteem, and make one less susceptible to stress. One study found that government white-collar workers who received support from their supervisors, peers, and subordinates experienced fewer physical symptoms of stress. (Arnold and Feldman, 1986) 2.6 Empirical Review Nowadays, call centers and BPOs are booming in a high speed that the people have to work for prolonged hours to maintain the standard of living and achieve their basic needs. So is the condition in the hospitals, colleges, textile and banking sector and lots of other places. In spite of having the modern technologies and facilities, people are feeling themselves to be work loaded and stressed. In this chapter, a broad brush approach, that is, attempting to cover all situations, conditions or instances, is adopted to examine the detailed empirical works necessary to verify or disprove the potential explanations that we tentatively identify concerning the impact of stress on employee performance. Empirically, substantial progress in this field of research has been made possible by Ko de Ruyter, Martin Wetzels and Richard Feinberg (2001), who conducted a research on Role stress in Call centers: Its effects on employee performance and satisfaction. Their study was conducted among call center employees of a large insurance provider in the Netherlands. According to their research, both role stress ambiguity and role stress conflict had a significant and negative relationship with job satisfaction. When role stress increased, job satisfaction decreased, which in turn influences job performance and turnover intention. Moreover, a spate of suicides at France Telecom has put the spotlight on workplace stress and the devastating impact it can have on employees performance. Research by Mark Tutton (2009), has found that there have been 24 suicides and 13 attempted suicides among France Telecoms 100,000 employees since the beginning of 2008. These cases of suicides were apparently because of stress at work. A thirty-one year old woman jumped to her death from her fifth floor office window after she was told her job was changing again.   A worker stabbed himself in the stomach during a staff meeting and a fifty-two year male killed himself and left behind a note saying.I am committing suicide because of my work at France Telecom. Employees of France Telecom have cited constant pressure to resign, impossible goals, frequent forced relocations and chaotic reorganization. Davey, DeBortoli, Parker, Smolkin (2003), in their typology analysis, regarding stress at work, revealed that stress is a widespread phenomenon among Canadian employees. They conducted their research in Watson Wyatt (which surveyed 180 organizations, representing more than 500,000 full-time Canadian employees). According to this survey, 79% of the respondents claimed that stress, anxiety and depression are the main cause of short-term disability and 73% of respondents claimed that these psychological disorders results in long-term disability. Moreover, the average length of stress-related absences is four times higher than for absences resulting from workplace accidents and occupational diseases.

disciplining a child :: essays research papers

Disciplining A Child Relationships between children and parents are unique and intense. Families are often the happiest when parents and children have the skills to relate and communicate with each other in a positive manner, when parents feel competent in helping their children behave appropriately, and when children can express their emotions and behave appropriately. But behavioral problems among children are very common, and such problems might occur in daily life in the home and in the school, with peers or with other adults. My eight-year-old son’s performance at school recently started to decline. At the beginning of the school year, he was an A student with no problems in reading and writing. After a few months, he becomes a C student. First, I thought that he could not understand a particular topic or exercise, but after meeting with his teacher, I found out that he did not pay enough attention in the class. I and his father discussed the problem with our son. Also, I explained to him why his education is important for his future. He agreed with me and promised to change his behavior in the classroom. Despite that, the low grades continued. It was then I decided to use operant conditioning as a type of learning in order to bring out an entirely new response, with a non-physical punishment (the negative secondary reinforcer)such as time out and loss of privileges (TV watching and video games playing). I prefer to avoid the use of physical punishment with my child. Physical punishment usually happens when a parent is angry and this does not create a positive learning experience for a child. Physical punishment models and teaches hitting and physical aggression, often making a child want to avoid the parent and can have a negative effect on a child’s self-esteem. The non-physical punishment worked for a short time: however, very soon I discovered that my son started to hide his low-graded papers from me. I discussed the situation with him and told him that he chose an incorrect way to avoid punishment. I decided to try another kind of reinforcer, positive one, such as a reward. My son was told that if he would get an A in the next two reading and writing tests he would go to play to his favorite place â€Å"Chuck E. Cheese’s†. He was very excited about that and started to respond: to spend more time reading

Effect Of Family Background On Students Academic Achievement

This research was done to look into the consequence of household background on pupils ‘ academic accomplishment in Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan ( Cina ) Yuk Tse, Tumpat, Kelantan. There were 377 respondents from twelvemonth 1 to twelvemonth 6 pupils of Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan ( Cina ) Yuk Tse, Tumpat, Kelantan. The instrument used in this research was the questionnaire to garner information about the respondents. The information such as pupils ‘ personal inside informations ( age, gender, cultural group ) and their consequences ( Chinese Comprehension, Malay Comprehension and English ) in Mid Term Exam Year 2010, pupils ‘ household construction, socioeconomic position of the pupils ‘ households, and their parents ‘ attitudes and outlook. Next, the pupils ‘ personal inside informations were analyzed utilizing mean, average, manner, scope, standard divergence, discrepancy and per centums to find their demographic profiles in term of ages, gender, cultural group, figure of sibling, individual populating with, parents ‘ income, parents ‘ highest degree of instruction, parents ‘ monthly income. Then, the pupils ‘ tonss in Chinese Comprehension, Malay Comprehension and English were analyzed to find their accomplishment in these three topics. The information from the questionnaire besides analyzed to find the relationship between pupils ‘ academic accomplishment and household backgrounds such as household construction, household ‘s socioeconomic position, parental outlook, place environment and place linguistic communication. The results of these informations analysis would so be used to reply the research inquiries and eventually reason the research. Hence, old research can be vali dated through the results.5.3 Discussion of Research FindingsBased on the research result, the mean category twelvemonth of the pupils in this school is in twelvemonth 3. There are adequate grounds to reason that there is a difference between academic accomplishment of pupils and category twelvemonth. The academic accomplishments for pupils from different twelvemonth are non the same. The flat faculty member is higher from twelvemonth to twelvemonth. Furthermore, the criterion for each pupils are non the same, because they are from different household background.Rankscategory Nitrogen Mean Rank Result ( BC ) 1 76 202.41 2 70 220.40 3 73 133.82 4 29 248.41 5 79 173.15 6 50 195.81 Entire 377 Table Female pupils in this school are more than male pupils. There are no significance difference between academic accomplishment of pupils and gender. Majority of the pupils were Thai, followed by Malay, Chinese and Indian. There are besides no significance difference between the academic accomplishment of pupils and their cultural group. Most of the pupils ‘ households have 3-4 siblings in their house. There is non adequate grounds to reason that there is a difference between academic accomplishments of pupils and Numberss of sibling in a household. Most of them stayed with their biological parents. So, there is non adequate grounds to reason that there is a difference between academic accomplishments of pupils and people they live with. From the research outcomes, most of their male parents ‘ monthly wage is below RM1000 and their female parents are in other group, means they do non supply any money to the households in any grounds. There is non adequate grounds to reason t hat there is a difference between academic accomplishments of pupils and parents ‘ monthly wage. Majority of the parents had instruction at primary school degree. There is adequate grounds to reason that there is a difference between academic accomplishments of pupils and female parents ‘ highest degree of instruction.RanksMother ‘s instruction degree Nitrogen Mean Rank Result ( BC ) Others 38 216.22 Finish primary school 258 185.39 Finish secondary school 41 168.94 Diploma 25 242.06 Degree 15 148.53 Entire 377 Table Most of the pupils ‘ female parents stay at place as a homemaker. So, they spend more clip with the kids. Since their instruction at primary degree, they will be holding troubles in oversing their kids in their prep. Based on the research outcomes, the pupils have low accomplishment in Chinese Comprehension, Malay Comprehension and English linguistic communication. Their mean mark for these three topics are below 70 % . The lowest accomplishment among these three topics is Chinese Comprehension. There is non adequate grounds to reason that there is a difference between academic accomplishments of pupils and parents ‘ attitude an outlook. However, there is adequate grounds to reason that there is a difference between academic accomplishments of pupils and the figure of books at place. Availability in the place of books and other reading stuff has validated that it effects the academic accomplishment of the pupils.RanksHow many books, other than text editions are at that place in your place? Nitrogen Mean Rank Result ( BC ) no book 42 142.23 1-5 228 185.17 6-10 68 188.82 more than 10 38 259.05 Entire 376 Table There is adequate grounds to reason that there is a difference between academic accomplishments of pupils and place linguistic communication.RanksMajor Language Nitrogen Mean Rank Result ( BC ) Chinese 24 242.40 Malay 133 178.26 English 7 260.14 Tai 183 191.29 Other linguistic communication 30 163.32 Entire 377 Table Chinese linguistic communication is the medium linguistic communication in this school. However, most of the pupils speak their female parent lingua at place. For Tai pupils, they speak in Thai linguistic communication ; Malay pupils speak Malay linguistic communication. Even most of the Chinese pupils speak in either Thai linguistic communication or Hokkien, merely least of them speak in Chinese linguistic communication. Indian pupils speak in Thai or English merely. From the tabular array above, pupils who non utilize the school linguistic communication at place has been validated have lower academic accomplishment. Through this research analysis, S.J.K ( C ) Yuk Tse, Tumpat, Kelantan is holding some jobs which lead to pupils lower academic accomplishment particularly in Chinese Comprehension. First, the pupils from twelvemonth 3, twelvemonth 5 and twelvemonth 6 have lower accomplishment in Chinese Comprehension compared with other twelvemonth category. Majority of these pupils have female parents who in primary instruction degree. They have fewer books compared with other pupils. They speak in their ain female parent lingua but non in Chinese linguistic communication at place.5.4 Deductions of Research FindingsThis research is conducted to happen out the consequence of household background on pupils ‘ academicA accomplishment in S.J.K ( C ) Yuk Tse, Tumpat, Kelantan. This research can be a mention to this school to happen the ways to increase the pupils ‘ academic accomplishment. The ways below are suggested to increase the pupils ‘ accomplishment in Chinese Comprehension: Teachers as supervisors Teachers need to pay more attending and forbearance to the pupils who do non have any supervises from their parents. These pupils are confronting jobs in completing their prep at place. So, instructors play an of import function as their supervisors at school. As the pupils ‘ female parent lingua is non Chinese linguistic communication, it is decidedly become the pupils ‘ job when they ca n't understand the instructions from their instructors. Teachers need forbearance and steer them during the instruction and acquisition procedure. It is really of import to elicit their involvement to larn and talk in Chinese linguistic communication. Teachers as incentive Teachers need to promote pupils to read more Chinese books. Teachers can assist pupils to take printed stuff such as narrative books, amusing, magazines and others which suitable for their degree. Reading can assist the pupils to derive more involvement in larning Chinese linguistic communication. Furthermore, instructors besides need to promote pupils to talk Chinese linguistic communication with their parents. If their parents do non talk in Chinese linguistic communication, pupils can play function as a â€Å" little instructor † and seek to learn their parents in Chinese linguistic communication. Cooperation among parents and instructors Parents need to take part in school activities such as Parents and Teacher Association, Sport Day, Children Day, Annual Award Ceremony and others. Through these activities, parents will more understand the school map and cooperate with in educating their kids. Parents besides need to understand their kids ‘s demands and jobs. Parents can hold a meeting with their kids ‘s instructors and cognize more about their kids behavior at the school. Teachers and parents together think of ways to increase the pupils ‘ academic accomplishment. Encouragement from the parents Parents need to promote their kids to talk more Chinese linguistic communication at place. Children will non experience uneasy whenever they speak in this linguistic communication. Parents besides need to purchase some books or magazines to their kids or convey them to the library to borrow books. Parents need to promote their kids to read more books during their leisure clip and allow reading go one of their avocations.5.5 Further ResearchFurther researches are suggested as below: Research can be made on instructors ‘ learning methods due to the learning methods will impact the pupils ‘ academic accomplishment in this school. Make a questionnaire which focuses on the pupils ‘ acquisition job. It should be conducted to analyse the pupils ‘ acquisition job. Teachers can happen ways to work out the pupils ‘ jobs through the research consequence.

My Own Theory of Personality Essay

The theories of personality are contributed to by different psychologist such as B.F. Skinner, Carl Jung, Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Sigmund Freud and many more. It has been a part of psychology which enjoyed great attention because of its close relation to human beings. The personality of a person is not something that can be easily taken away nor could it disappear into thin air. Everywhere a person goes, that person carries his/her personality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To create a personal theory of personality, the author would mix the theories of B.F. Skinner, Abraham Maslow, and Sigmund Freud. First, it would bear the hierarchy of needs of Abraham Maslow. It would have stages from the deficit needs to the being needs. The first stage is the physiological needs which are the basic survival needs for a person. It includes the food, water, shelter, clothing, oxygen, and other essential life-sustaining minerals and vitamins. The second stage holds the safety needs, which are mostly the need to protect one’s self from danger. It also includes security in all aspects of life. The third stage is the love and belonging need where one person has the need to belong to a group and be accepted lovingly by that said group. The fourth stage will have the esteem needs where one aspires for respect, status, glory, and fame in this stage. The fifth and last stage would be the self-actualization where the people have the chance to gain a full understanding and fulfillment in their life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Just the same, one can not push through to the second level without fulfilling the first level first. Then a person will proceed from one level to another as the current level is fulfilled. Deprivation from each stage would mean negative drawbacks from society and different coping mechanisms will be employed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another feature of this theory of personality would be that there are certain things in each level which serves as the reinforcer for people. These reinforcers would motivate them towards attaining the second level. People have this nature of longing for the things they are yet to have in life. As they see and feel the good things in the next level of the hierarchy of needs, these would make them act accordingly in order for them to reach the second level. This operant conditioning stage gets into work when there is a transition from a lower level to a higher level. For example, when a person has satisfied the needs present in the first level, the person would be conditioned to work towards the needs listed in the second level by the satisfaction he/she feels for each level. Moreover, even when the person already has achieved that need, he would respond the same way to the stimuli.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Furthermore, people would work their way towards these needs in accordance with the societal norms and as dictated by their ego. There are impulses produced by the id but it is controlled by the superego for the person to stay directed in their path upwards and to avoid negative social drawbacks due to the non-attainment of the needs in each level.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I see these three particular constructs of Abraham Maslow, B.F. Skinner, and Sigmund Freud namely hierarchy of needs, operant conditioning, and personality structures respectively as important factors for the personality of the human beings. These are simple to explain theories which can be easily related to the everyday living and behavior of people. In addition to this, they are among the theories that are somehow related to form a theory of personality. Their relatedness proves them important and flexible in any environment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The personality aspect of a human being is a very interesting field. More theories are added to it and it becomes a much enriched one. Soon, additional interesting theories will enter the field and make it a more colorful one and expand its horizon to accommodate the various personalities present today.

The multi-format games magazine Essay Example

The multi The multi-format games magazine Essay The multi-format games magazine Essay The multi-format games magazine Edge has clearly been designed for the older gaming generation, by which I mean those over twenty years of age. This fact is distinguished as a result of the magazines subject content, but more importantly the relative complexity of its lexical usage. The magazine portrays a professional image through its neat graphological factors, in conjunction with a consistent sense of formality. Lexis Throughout the review Edge uses complex lexical items, such as alleviates, proficiency among some very subject specific specialised language.The impact of this technique reflects the comparative formality of the magazine. However, an understanding of these words provides an explanatory view on the magazines ideology in relation to the subject, which is this case, the game Super Mario Sunshine. An example of this is the sentence that youre only seriously aware of that ability when you lose it is testament to how well integrated into the mechanic it is, and gaining proficiency with it and the horizontal spraying is a joy.This sentence additionally reinforces the point of Edges lexical complexity and intended audience. The language is very considerable to the requirements of an older audience and suggests the need for a degree of education, narrowing the potential audience range. The use of aforementioned specialist lexis confirms this. The range of these words used in Edge supersedes those of the other three articles, both in complexity and number. Death throes, skybox, clipping and dual analogue are examples of computer jargon highlighted in the review.The magazines lexical superiority is confirmed with the very effective use of lexical cohesion. In the opening paragraphs of the review, Edge repeats the phrase six years five times. This phrase is also repeated twice during the conclusive paragraph of the review. The impact of this is to link the beginning and ending of the review in the readers mind in order to provide a relevant conclusion relating to the initial points made within the introduction. The reason for repetition will be handled appropriately in the Grammar section. GrammarEdge contains some very complex sentences, perfectly exemplified by There was always somewhere to go, always something to do; levels thrilled and baffled in equal measure; there were tiny polished touches that you might not discover for days, months, years. The example also shows the continuous use of punctuation marks used in order to break up the often-long sentences the magazine contains. However, the magazine also combines very short sentences, particularly clear in the use of repetition in the reviews opening Six years to marvel at the ingenuity of Tiny-Huge island.Six years in which to dive for coins in Jolly Roger Bay. Six years in which to fly. The short sentences tighten the gaps between the repetitions of six years increasing the emphasis upon the word itself, which is later to have implications for the magazines opinion on the game. The often short and precise sentences contained in the magazine, such as So lucid and solid too, No obvious invisible walls, So much negativity and Small flaws, sometimes present the direct nature of the magazine, contributing to a generally narrative style which involves the reader.The magazine again uses this method of shortened sentences for another case of repetition when giving its views upon the games flaws Or the level tasks loop just that fraction more than youd like. Or the clipping isnt quite there. Or the game crashes, dead, stop. By using Or to start every progressive sentence, the aim of this function is reinforced. The magazine then links this repetition to the following paragraph (beginning Or bigger issues) demonstrating the usefulness of cohesion in this case.My opinion that the review is in a style more spoken than written is influenced by a few extracts from the text. Only once, mind, in so much play time is a good example. The word mind, in this serious context, is quite inappropriate in a text which contains much elevated language and complex grammatical and lexical methods such as cohesion. Further examples of this, which also serve the purpose of involving the audience, are The fault is nearly always yours and if you will .The use of the personal pronoun you is particularly crucial in maintaining the audiences interest through personal address. The use of a rhetorical question at the beginning of the third paragraph Perfection? carries this role too, by answering questions the magazine arises itself. Conclusively, Edges use of grammar is irregular due its varying sentence length used for grammatical effect. This results in much comma use. However, every usage seems to serve a purpose which contributes to an overall appealing review.

Everyday Use and Two Kinds essays

Everyday Use and Two Kinds essays Moments of realization are important themes in the short stories "Everyday Use" and "Two Kinds." Both stories describe characters that undergo a change when they gain a broader understanding of life. By creating situations that allow their characters to discover something important about themselves, Alice Walker and Amy Tan help us understand how Both stories focus on mother and daughter relationships. In "Everyday Use," Walker demonstrates how a mother discovers the truth about her two daughters and herself as well. For instance, in the beginning of the story, the narrator describes Maggie as "a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person . . . sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to them" (1423). However, she changes her mind about Maggie, after she offers Dee the quilts. This action causes the narrator to feel something like the "spirit of God" (1428) that makes her happy and makes her want to shout. (1428) The mother realizes that looks are not everything and despite how Maggie looks and acts, she is a better person than the pretty Dee. She also realizes how she is content with her life just as it is, regardless if Maggie approves of it or not. Similarly, Jing-Mei struggles with her mother's attempts to turn her into something that she is not. For example, she forces her to pay the piano, which makes Jing-Mei feel as thought she had been "sent to hell" (146). Jing-Mei resists her mother's desire so much, that she sabotages herself. She admits that she might have been a good pianist at an early age, but she was "so determined not to try" (148). It is only after her mother's death that Jing-Mei appreciates her efforts. She reconciles the pleading child she was with the contented adult she has become by realizing her mother was only trying to help her. In conclusion, both stories revolve around life-changing realizations ...

Avoid These 15 Career Mistakes If You Want to Get and Keep a Job

Avoid These 15 Career Mistakes If You Want to Get and Keep a Job If love is a battlefield (and we all know it is, thanks to Pat Benatar), then the career world is a minefield. There’s the resume and interview process, but the dangers don’t end once you’re hired and installed comfortably in a cubicle somewhere. Let’s take a look at some of the most common career mistakes throughout the job cycle, and what you can do to try to avoid them. 1. Before You’re Hired2. On the Job3. On Your Way Out4. Your Future CareerBefore You’re HiredThe clock for potential missteps kicks off the second you decide to apply for a job. Here’s what you should be wary of doing:1. Making blatant mistakes in the cover letter/resume.In many cases, your cover letter is your first chance to make an impression on the recruiter or hiring manager. If you go in with a bunch of obvious errors (or one really egregious one), this suggests that you might be as sloppy an employee as you appear as a candidate. Always check everything thorou ghly for typos, and if possible, have a trusted friend or family member read over any materials you’re going to release to the world.I have a friend who made the most horrible typo possible, accidentally leaving a super-vulgar mistyped word in a cover letter to a company that, shall we say, wasn’t very likely to laugh off such a word appearing in communication with them. Needless to say, he never got a call for an interview at that place. Trust me, it’s worth it to spend the time to write and revise your resume, engineering it down to every word.2. Addressing the wrong person/company.Dear Sir at Widget Company, I was excited to hear about an opening at your company. I’ve always wanted to work at Widgets R Us. I anxiously await your response. [Spoiler alert: no interview forthcoming.]3. Phoning-in the interview.Whether you don’t really want this job after all, or you think you can coast because you’re very qualified, don’t take anythin g for granted. Always bring your A-game to any interview. Even if the job is unlikely to pan out, it’s good practice, and the people who take the time to talk with you about the job will appreciate your engagement and enthusiasm.4. Not following up with a thank you.Whether the interview went awesome or terribly, always follow up quickly with a thank you note. Manners go a long way, and you never know when you’ll come across the same people in the course of a future job search.5. Being too aggressive (or not aggressive enough).The Goldilocks approach works here. Don’t go in, all iron-grip handshake and unblinking eye contact. Also don’t go in looking at the floor and answering only direct questions. Try to find a happy medium where you’re confident, but not challenging every interviewer you meet to a staring contest.6. Talk money too early in the hiring process.As the old saying goes, â€Å"he who shoots first, loses.† If you bring up salary before the company is ready to make an offer, you can come off as mercenary- or worse, you can unintentionally limit your negotiating power after you have an offer in hand. Leave the interview process for getting to know the job and presenting yourself as the best candidate, and keep the negotiating for later. There’s no real upside to discussing money early in the process, and many opportunities for it to blow back on you.7. Not negotiating at all. No matter how grateful you are to get a job, always try to negotiate the best possible salary and benefits. Companies expect this, and as long as your requests are reasonable, it’s a must-do once you have a job offer. If you don’t negotiate and try to build on the initial offer, the only one you’re hurting is yourself.On the JobOnce you’ve got the job, don’t get too complacent- you still need to be careful about making mistakes. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to be perfect at all times, and that errors won’t sometimes happen in the course of your job. These are more the situations to avoid in the workplace.8. Making decisions purely based on money.If you love your job but jump ship for the first opportunity that comes along and pays better, you could live to regret that. Make sure that major decisions (like accepting a job somewhere else or deciding to leave) are backed up by a number of factors you’ve considered, including salary, benefits, your overall level of happiness, and your career goals9. Keeping your head down.Working hard is super important, but you know what else is too? Connecting with coworkers. You don’t have to be best buds, but making a nominal effort to get your coworkers can really help you later on. Not only do you get comfortable with people whose faces you see every day, but you never know when an ally will come in handy in the office. Quash those introvert tendencies and make small talk the next time you find y ourself waiting at the copier with â€Å"Tim†¦uh, Something from accounting.†10. Limiting your network to people you work with.It’s great to get to know people at every level in your company (see #9). However, don’t fall into a trap where your entire active network is located within your office’s four walls. Part of the beauty of having a network is getting information and opportunities from other places, so why limit yourself? If your LinkedIn profile is mostly people you see at least four times a week at the watercooler, it’s time to branch out and start making connections with people at other companies.11. Avoiding difficult situations.Challenges are excellent experience builders. Fear of failing can make us more likely to avoid taking on unfamiliar projects and goals, but you could be hurting yourself in the long run to keep things smooth in the short term. You’re unlikely to learn new skills or gain experience if you stick narrowly to your job description. It’ll also leave you with fewer instances where you can point to genuine growth and problem solving skills.12. Not owning up to mistakes.Not wanting to get in trouble with the boss is a pretty valid feeling. However, I’m assuming that you’re human. And accordingly, mistakes will happen at some point. It’s how you deal with those that can make or break your reputation. Don’t be the person who starts looking for someone to throw under the bus when things are going wrong. Be the one who says, â€Å"this is what’s wrong, here’s how we’re going to approach this, and here’s how this will be handled moving forward.†Not only that, but you also don’t want to earn a reputation as someone who trashes coworkers to make yourself look better. If you’re leading a group and others dropped the ball, it shows better leadership skills to take responsibility for the group’s performance a nd move on than to sit there pointing fingers at everyone else.13. Saying yes to everything.This is a tough one. You want to seem like an uber-employee, able to handle everything that comes your way. However part of being that uber-employee is knowing your limits, and being able to manage priorities. Getting overwhelmed is never going to be helpful- not for you, and not for anyone who’s counting on you to do the things you said you’d do.On Your Way Out Oh, did you think that once you’ve decided to leave your job, it no longer matters what you do? Nope, you’re still on the hook. There’s still potential for things to go awry.14. Burning bridges.This popsicle stand may be blown (or about to be), but no matter how resentful or angry you feel about your soon-to-be-former job, it’s in your best interest to be gracious until your last second in the office. You never know who you’ll come across again in the future, so you don’t want th e lingering impression to be, â€Å"Oh, I remember that person. What a jerk!†Your Future CareerThere’s one more mistake you don’t want to make, and this one has nothing to do with what you’re currently doing; it has to do with limiting your future career options.15. Letting inertia get the better of you.Are you still at your job because you don’t want to rock the boat and try to leave? Are you sacrificing career goals in the interest of stability? According to Forbes’s Liz Ryan, this â€Å"falling asleep† is one of the deadliest things that can happen in your career. Always be on the lookout for new opportunities, and find ways to make these opportunities work so that you can take advantage.Taken individually, none of these career mistakes are likely to translate into being career killers. But if you’re more aware of the consequences of even the smallest career pitfalls, you’ll be that more adept in getting right around them.

Malcolm X Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Malcolm X - Essay Example Malcolm writes: "My two other images of my father are two outside the home: he never pastured in any regular church of his own" (p. 7). Similar to his father, Malcolm created his own religion based on century-old traditions and values, morals and ideals. Malcolm's sister, Ella Collins, explained that Malcolm X was present at chapter meetings almost from birth. Political ideas and rebellious issues expressed in the meetings, formed personality of Malcolm and his life perception. Also, Malcolm admits that: "the image of him [father] that made me proudest was his crusading and militant campaigning with the words of Marcus Garvey (p. 8). Further, Malcolm became a militant leaders fighting for pride and self-determination of black people. Malcolm's childhood was filled with the emerging urban culture of Black America. Malcolm's rooting in the U.S. working class was incomplete. Riding the rails as a porter and later established in Harlem, the cultural capital of the Black world, Malcolm X developed a deep, if only partly conscious, sense of the peoplehood of the African American. Malcolm admits that: "it was only me that he sometimes tool with him to the Garvey UNIA meetings which he held quietly in different people's homes" (p. 8). Similar to his father, Malcolm supposed that no Black man at this time could be easily and unequivocally rooted in the working class. Malcolm's family and father was unusual in that it made the transition from the southern rural countryside to the northern urban city intact and started out as the nuclear family of the American Dream. During these years, Malcolm's father played both in the family and in the UNIA a strong leadership role. The "New Negro" concept embodied a new view of the role of Blacks in social change. It represented a further development of themes first seen in the Negro movement at the turn of the century. Malcolm's father was following a model of Black liberation popularized at this time. All these features have a great influence on Malcolm and his life aspirations. His father supposed that: "freedom, independence and self-respect could never be achieved by Negro in America" (p. 4). Further, Malcolm opposed this view fighting for racial equality and identity politics. To some extent, the full power of Malcolm's intellect was held in check due to the magnetism of his father's personality and the very special and personal role that he played in Malcolm's life. Political figure of his father had immense power and prestige, and obviously one that Malcolm X did not subject to his otherwise methodical scrutiny. It is possible to say that Malcolm used Black national ideas of his father and transform them into a separate national movement, but later expelled that nationalism from the NOI to protect its theology from internal criticism and to deflect an activist thrust which would lead to repression. For Malcolm, he embodied wisdom represented as a keeper of Negro's traditions and values. "I reflected many, many times to myself upon how the American Negro has been entirely brainwashed from ever seeing or thinking of himself, as he should, as a part of the nonwhite peoples of the world" (p. 56). These ideas helped Malcolm to create a framework for the reformulation of Black nationalism in a more internationalist and revolutionary manner and thus facilitated the linking of the Civil Rights movement with the

Death and Dying Rituals in Islam Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Death and Dying Rituals in Islam - Term Paper Example In this paper we would be discussing about the third phase which pertains to death and afterlife. According to the Holy Koran, every person that dies would be judged by God and would receive their everlasting abode which could either be Heaven or Hell. According to Islamic traditions, after an individual’s life comes to an end, the corpse has to be buried and hence elaborate rituals involving the burying of the dead takes place when an individual is diseased. Death, according to Islam, is a passage from an earthly existence, to a pure and eternal sacred realm. (Kassis 51) Muslims believe that only God is permanent while all else perishes after a time. The Quran clearly states – â€Å"All that dwells upon the Earth is perishing, yet still abides the Face of thy Lord majestic and splendid.† (Kassis 50) According to (Chittick 126) in Islam, an individual fails to fulfill his existence on the Earth, if they follow their own desires, outside the boundary of Divine str ucture. Thus, such a failure causes a problematic condition for the human. Shedding light on this problematic condition, Streng states that â€Å"human life that does not duplicate the eternal structure of meaning and order as found in the Sacred Realm is merely a profane existence, characterized by weakness, ignorance, impurity, and meaningless.†(44).... he profane world is impure† (46) In Islam, the different customs and rituals during the burial incorporate the concept of purity and impurity of the individual’s existence. The ritual of ghusl according to Islamic culture is the preparation of the corpse for the day of resurrection. According to (Kassis 52), the corpse is washed an odd number of times to purify it from its earthly existence. During this ritual, a white shroud is wrapped around the corpse, demonstrating that though all individuals lead different lives on this earth, yet they leave this world as equals. Islamic traditions view the impure nature of the world and are emphatic about purifying the individual before entering the Sacred Realm. (Streng 46) is of the opinion that the impure nature of the person’s existence reflects the problematic condition he faces during judgment. F. Bird (35) discloses that the washing and purifying of the corpse according to the Islamic ritual in a regulative communicat ive manner symbolizes the washing ritual by the family members, to be the purification of the individual from the profane world and into eternal light. (Sacred Realm) Shedding light on the meaning of this ritual Bird states that partaking in this ceremony helps to reinforce the myths that surround it and reaffirm ‘the beliefs they embody.’ (Bird 35) According to Islamic belief man is created in the image and likeness of God and represents and reflects varying degrees of light and darkness (131) based on the quality of their existence. Human existence is provided a special place in the universe because they are created by God. Islamic traditions believe that â€Å"the structure of the universe is like a globe of infinite dimensions. The crust or outside shell is made of clay and is the visible universe

Administrator challenges Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Administrator challenges - Essay Example Discipline is a single word but it has lot of meanings i.e. order, control, arrangement and organization. It is a continuous process of training and educating ourselves to live under control of certain rules and regulations Gondal (1999). According to a poet (1976), life is the combination of a few elements under some ‘discipline’, and death is the indiscipline among these elements. Men live in a society which is governed by certain laws to keep the individuals in discipline. If the discipline is not maintained properly, the result will be chaos, anarchy, disturbance, and ultimately ruin. Thus a society can function peacefully only if its individuals are disciplined. Even an individual can’t make progress in life if he does not discipline himself. Law-breakers and undisciplined persons bring ruin not only to themselves but also to society Wallace (1987). The primary origin for any criminal justice system is the law of the society, and it plays an important role in a democratic society. The course of growth of law in a democratic society makes sure an evaluation of community permission for the law through approval expressed by the elected government. The whole criminal justice system in a country, thus, moves around the laws those are passed by the Union Parliament and State Legislatures. Police department comes at the phase as the main law enforcement authority available to the State. Being a police commissioner, it is my responsibility to administrate and control the discipline in the department. I faced lot of problems in this occupation. As the role of police in keeping public order have even greater restrictions especially in a democracy. Preservation of order involves a certain evaluations of peace and avoidance of violence of any kind. The typical features of the existing social structure in many countries are, inter-group disagreements on description of religions, language, caste,

Geology formation in the oil fields Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Geology formation in the oil fields - Essay Example Crude oil is a product of pressure, organic matter from ancient living creatures and certain formation of the rocks in the strata. The porous and permeable rock reservoirs are the collection point of the hydrocarbon fuels. This is possible due the accumulation of these liquid oil and gases such as methane and shale gas. There are however some important factors that ensure the conditions are right for the formation of the crude oil. These factors include the existence of what are referred to as source rocks, reservoir rocks, traps and oil and gas seals. Each of the named features should definitely be present in order for the conditions to be optimal and to allow the proper formation of crude oil. Oil and naturally occurring gas come from certain types of rocks. These rocks are sedimentary in type and were deposited in water during the changing phases of the transformation of the Earth. These rocks are known as source rocks. Mineral fragments, remains of organic substrates, and moistur e. When this type of rocks experience a lot of pressure and heat from the compressing by other layers of rock. The term sedimentary comes from the characteristic of the rock to be formed from sediments, these include organic matter. The sedimentary rocks were usually deposited as soil or mud at the bottom of lakes and oceans. This excessive pressure forces the organic matter from the sedimentary rocks to start to be heated and when the right temperatures reach oil and gases are expelled from these rocks.

Summary and opinion of women study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary and opinion of women study - Essay Example However, that equality drops quickly in social settings. When a woman goes into an automotive store, the salesman treats her as if a child. Sports, especially male sports, are still off limits to women. Mixed Olympic wrestling, MMA, and other sports are still male only clubs. Some might argue that women are not physically capable of these sports. However, Chyna, Serena and Venus Williams, and other women are more physically capable than men. The problem is men do not want to women to cross over into certain areas. NASCAR is a perfect example. Many owners do not want to sponsor a woman. Thus women tend to stay away from these areas. Women, especially minority women, are discriminated against. These women will take any job to help their families. Women with large families are discriminated against, married or not. Taunts are directed at these women of ‘Don’t you know what causes that?’ or ‘You can’t take care of what you have.’ It is assumed that a woman with many children have a number of fathers for these children. The man needs to be held accountable as well. A mother is normally responsible for any children. Unwed fathers do not face the stigma of an unwed mother. Popular Culture tends to portray the mother or sex symbol. Ordinary women are overlooked. Hollywood ads and movies are not made about the Eleanor Roosevelts of the world. Instead June Cleaver, Roseanne, Jennifer Aniston, and so forth are promoted. Single women with power do not gain ratings. Men, on the other hand, do not age. They can still be stars long after their middle age. A woman rarely makes it past her fifties in popular culture. Rape and violence against women is a major problem in America. Husbands killing wives are in the news. Scott Peterson, Drew Peterson (no relation), and others capture the headlines. Rape in many forms is still present. The violent rape is bad, but date rape leaves a woman devastated. The power that a

Universal Health Coverage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Summary and opinion of women study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Fashion Opinion Leadership Essay Example for Free

Fashion Opinion Leadership Essay 1. Introduction Consumers influence each other in several ways: they exchange information through communication, seek or give opinions and copy each other’s behaviour. Researchers recognise the giving and seeking of opinions as one of the most important word-of-mouth influences on brand and product choice (Bristor, 1990 and Weimann, 1994). Especially in fashion, social groups and opinion leaders influence product and brand evaluations (Amaldoss and Jain 2008). Fashion consumers often refer to fashion opinion leaders who they desire to be alike. The Internet and social media speeded up the way of communication within reference groups and made it possible to share interests without physical interaction. The following essay will outline an overview of fashion opinion leaders and reference groups before giving a better understanding of how fashion retailers make use of fashion opinion leaders in order to influence customers. 2. Reference groups and reference group influences Consumers use several sources when they seek information or opinions on decisions; informal and social (Goldsmith and Clark 2008). This aspect of consumer behaviour is described as opinion-leadership-opinion-seeking, word-of-mouth, buzz or social communication (Goldsmith and Clark 2008). This means that consumers refer to something or someone when they seek information and clears the way for the term referential or reference group. Solomon and Rabolt (2009) define Humans as social animals that try to fit into certain groups, please others and take â€Å"cues about how to behave by observing the actions of those around† (p. 422) them. A group can simply be defined as two or more people sharing common goals and interests. All members of a group interact by certain patterns, frameworks and networks. A group member must therefore be perceptible to belonging to this group. Groups can be primary (family), secondary (professions), formal (churches), or informal (certain group of frie nds). Belonging to a herd or group, makes consumers want to identify themselves psychologically and physically with desirable individuals of this group. Thus, an individual or group conceived of having significant relevance upon an individual’s sociological attributes, such as evaluations, characteristics, aspirations, or behaviour is defined as reference group (Park et al, 1977). As stated by Holton (2004), Merton hypothesized that individuals compare themselves with reference groups of people who occupy the social role to which the individual aspires. Hence, the group becomes the individuals frame of reference and influences his ideas and decisions. Reference group influence can occur in different ways. According to Solomon and Rabolt (2009), group members of reference groups can be influenced informational, utilitarian or value-expressive. Furthermore, individuals are also mostly influenced by normative referents of the group, such as parents, teachers, or peers (Childers and Rao, 1992). There are also so called aspirational groups of which individuals aspire to be a member of. This phenomenon can be considered as comparative referents, such as public opinion leaders or celebrities. Belonging to a group, aspirational or not, can influence the buying behaviour of individuals, and decisions are often based on what the group members please in order to be accepted (Joel et al 1972). According to the above, a reference group is as an individual or group that significantly influences an individual’s behaviour (Bearden and Etzel 1982). 2.1 Online referential groups and virtual consumption communities Literature mostly concentrates on face-to-face interaction within reference groups on a regular basis or on aspirational groups without direct interaction (Pentina et al, 2008). However, Sheth and Parvatiyar (1995) stated that it is not directly necessary to have physical contact and interactions with members of a group in order to refer to it. More common forms of reference groups are online reference groups, which only exist in the World Wide Web. Within the age of the Internet, arising social media networks and communities it is possible to share interests with people who the individual never met personally (Solomon and Rabolt, 2009). A virtual community of consumption is defined as â€Å"a collection of people whose online interactions are based on shared enthusiasm for and knowledge of a specific consumption activity† (Solomon and Rabolt, 2009, p 426), such as fashion for instance. In the concept of virtual communities any group of people can share common bonds, without being dependent on physical interaction and common graphic location (McDonough, 1992). But the issue of relationships between each other still lies at the heart of virtual communities (Farquhar and Rowley, 2006). Although online sharing of interests takes place on blog websites, social media platforms, like facebook or twitter or sharing services like as Pinterest, members build up relationships when sharing. On facebook, for instance, members liking other people’s post in certain theme groups and commenting on those can explain a relationship. Solomon and Rabolt (2009) state that the impact of virtual communities on individual’s product preferences and decisions are huge. Because of that, an online referential group can be considered as consumers who write about their opinions towards certain topics, seek information, publish recommendations, and post products or services. 2.1.1 Online referential groups in fashion and fashion bloggers Fashion and apparel shopping are seen as the most popular discussion topic among social networks (Thomas et al, 2007). In fashion, online communities are seen mostly through social media emergence such as blogs or facebook groups. Fashion blogs are mostly run by one person who writes or â€Å"blogs† about different products, occasions or events within the fashion industry. The community is then formed by readers of the blog, so called â€Å"followers†, that read the stories or comment on it. With gaining popularity bloggers are also able to gain money by advertising on their blog websites. According to the Telegraph, the most popular bloggers make up to  £10,000 a month in advertising (Telegraph, 28/10/2012). Meanwhile, also fashion retailers look into the blogging business. For retailers the building up of social media groups could help them to gain direct feedback from consumers while monitoring discussions in referential groups online. Burberry for example not only has its own group on facebook, but also launched a blog, showing images of people wearing their trench coats (The Art of Trench, 28/10/2012). 3. Fashion opinion leadership Referring to an opinion leader is one of the social or informal sources of decision and opinions seeking, named by Goldsmith and Clark (2008) in reference group behaviour. A person who has knowledge about a certain product and whose advice is seriously taken by others explains opinion leadership. An opinion leader or influential is a person, who is frequently able to influence attitudes and behaviour of others (Solomon and Rabolt 2009) Further, it can be explicated by the desire of leaders to distinguish themselves from followers, while followers pursue the countervailing desire to assimilate with leaders (Amaldoss and Jain 2008). Feick and Price (1987, p. 95) state that opinion leaders are more likely in product categories in which association with the product provides a form of self-expression. Fashionable clothing embodies information about the personality and status of its wearer to other people (Dodd et al, 2000). However, Amaldoss and Jain (2008) argue that in fashion, this occurrence is mostly seen within the purchasing of luxury clothing and accessories. There are several types of opinion leaders that can be observed in fashion. Firstly, some heavy consumers of fashion clothing who become extremely interested and preoccupied with it, so that their interest, knowledge and experience qualifies them to become fashion opinion leaders for others (Goldsmith, 2000). Today, these types of fashion opinion leaders occur mostly online, such as fashion bloggers. Secondly there are people who are in the public spotlight, such as celebrities. Celebrities mostly look adorable and therefore individuals follow their look because they desire to assimilate with this leader (Amaldoss and Jain 2008). But sometimes celebrities are being dressed up by personal outfitters in order to create, perform and accomplish a certain image without actually having the interest or knowledge in the area. This shows that also the perception that individuals have about a person can make the person an opinion leader. Of course, there are also people whose profession is related to fashion that can be an opinion leader for individuals, such as designers, fashion photographers, models or fashion magazines. A recent study on Mintel shows that fashion content in celebrity, lifestyle or fashion magazines, newspaper supplements and makeover shows has a direct influence on the shopping behaviour of 2 3.5 million people. Especially women are most likely influenced by such coverage (Mintel, Fashion Online, 29/10/12). As the fashion magazine example illustrates, an opinion leader does not have to be only one person, it can also be a company or an organisation. 3.1 Fashion opinion seeking â€Å"Opinion seeking is the behavioural counterpart to opinion leadership† (Goldsmith and Clark, 2008, p 309) and is important to the diffusion of new fashion products because it can spread word-of-mouth about the advice gotten from opinion leaders. Unlike opinion leaders, opinion seekers do not have the same knowledge of and interest in a product category than opinion leaders in this segment do (Goldsmith, 2000). Opinion leaders do also absorb risk (Solomon and Rabolt, 2009) for opinion seekers when buying a new product. Therefore, Opinion seekers consider opinion leaders as appropriate sources for information and advice (Bertrandias and Goldsmith, 2006). Nevertheless, opinion seekers are very important to opinion leaders because they act on the information they got from the opinion leader. The fashion industry is one of the industries that show the most frequent changes in trends and styles. When consumers determine on buying a new product they might ask or even search for information about the desired fashionable product. Because of that they often make use of informal or social sources when seeking information (Goldsmith and Clark 2008) or opinions on decisions from fashion opinion leaders in any form. Consumers can seek for an opinion through various types of social communication, word-of-moth recommendations, observing opinion leaders, researching a subject or buzz (Goldsmith and Clark 2008). In an online perspective, consumers can use social network communities as sources for apparel shopping. 3.1.1 The process within referential groups in fashion: coherence of opinion leaders and opinion seekers The basis of forming referential groups in virtual communities is the process combining interpersonal connectivity, social enhancement and sharing of information. Dholakia and Bagozzi (2004) state that interpersonal connectivity between members is important to retain social benefits of participating online. In fashion opinion leadership and fashion opinion seeking, the process is based on the social need of each other, shown in figure 3. Figure 1: The process of fashion influence between fashion opinion leaders and fashion opinion seekers in referential groups, adapted from Goldsmith and Clark, 2008 This process can especially be observed in online communities where opinion leaders post pictures of themselves wearing a new product. Several opinion seekers may like the product and give a positive feedback to the opinion leader or even share it with others, which shows symbolic validation to the opinion leader and creates a loop. 3.1.2 Victoria Beckham as fashion opinion leader for the Birkin Bag A good example for an opinion leader in fashion is Victoria Beckham. The ex-singer, designer and wife of English football star David Beckham is referred to being an A-list celebrity in the public spotlight. She is not only famous for designing fashion and wearing high-heels, but also for her collection of the Hermes Birkin Bag. The Birkin Bag is a hand-made handbag designed by the luxury fashion brand Hermà ¨s and is estimated to start at $6,000 (Branch, 2004). The bag is often seen adorning the arm of celebrities and has become a cult fashion phenomenon (Tonello, 2009) and is an example of a fashion product that gained high popularity. Its brand, Hermà ©s limited its production, to limit its accessibility. Victoria Beckham is presumed of possessing the largest collection of Birkins (Fashionthroughtravel, 26/10/12). The following figure shows an example of her and her Birkin Bag collection. It can be the fact that Victoria Beckham is popular and has a lot of people referring to her what made the bag so famous and desirable. Followers or referents to her then adopted the product, Birkin Bag. The more leaders adopt a product, the higher value is crated among its followers. â€Å"Thus, followers are buying the product for its reference group effect† (Almadoss and Jain, 2008, p 935). Therefore individuals that look up to their opinion leader may want to follow his choices (Amaldoss and Jain, 2008). As being outlined before, fashion clothing transmits a certain personality and status of its wearer to other people (Dodd et al, 2000) and is also a form of self-expression. Wearing certain trends or accessories like a Birkin Bag show commitment to a certain image of being wealthy, belonging to a higher class or having a sure feeling of trends and fashion. 4. Why and how marketers make use fashion opinion leaders The innovator theory by Rogers (1962) shows that consumer attitudes towards purchasing products can be classified into five categories. The following figure shows Rogers’s adoption of innovations curve. Depending on how quick consumers are to purchase they are either: 1. Innovators or Designers (2.5%), 2. Fashion opinion leaders or early adapters (13.5%), 3. Early majority (34%), 4. Late majority (34%), 5. Laggards or late adapters (16%) Directly after innovators or designers of the product, opinion leaders come second in purchasing or adapting this trend. According to the theory, opinion leaders are the key to product diffusion (Mituse, 05/11/12). Although innovators and opinion leaders combined account for no more than 16% of the overall market, a company can try to target opinion leaders already in early product stages and see if product diffusion will spread to the early and late majorities (Mituse, 05/11/12). Following Rogers’s theory and transferring it to the fashion industry, it can be argued that it is from extreme importance for fashion retailers to get opinion leaders on board in order to establish their designs and products within the market. Thus, the reasons why fashion opinion leaders influence others by sharing information are extremely important for companies (Bertandias and Goldsmith, 2006). Fashion retailers make use of â€Å"key opinion leaders† to influence the purchasing behaviour of consumers through their perceived position of authority. Therefore employing opinion leaders as advertising mascots or models in commercials or adverts, as seen in the figure below, is common in fashion retail. Figure 4: Fashion opinion leaders advertising for retailer Furthermore, collaborations with opinion leaders that are famous for their profession are common in fashion retail. This can be underlined by collaborations between mass retailer hm and designers like Donatella Versace (2012) and Jimmy Choo (2009) or online premium retailer NET-A-PORTER and Karl Lagerfeld, as figure 5 illustrates below. Figure 5: Collaborations of retailers and designers as fashion opinion leaders Nevertheless, marketing products or brands effectively today requires tools that reach beyond normal advertising methods: by prior targeting fashion opinion leaders, marketers are able to engage positive word-of-mouth behaviours (Bertrandias and Goldsmith, 2006) about their products. According to Chaney (2001), opinion leaders act as human information processors and are an attractive marketing tool as part of the overall communication strategy. Influences by fashion opinion leaders are not only verbal, but also visual (Bertrandias and Goldsmith, 2006). In fashion, a product has to be desirable to a consumer. If no one is seen with a certain product, most consumers don’t see a reason in buying it. If someone famous is seen with the product, the probability of referential groups buying or wanting the product as well increases. When word-of-mouth networks are generated around opinion leaders, it can pave the way for spreading news or opinions about certain fashion products. Thus, it is beneficial to address fashion-marketing communications directly to opinion leaders of this segment in order to speed up advertising messages. Therefore, advertisers may address womenswear or accessories fashion campaigns directly to opinion leaders like celebrities or high-fashion magazines. Because of the important role they may have in influencing markets, advertisers may also hand out free fashion product samples to opinion leaders (Yahoo, 29/10/12). Handing out such testimonials, which often embody free designer clothes, handbags or shoes, retailers encourage opinion leaders to wear the brand in order to influence reference groups around the opinion leader visually. Outfitting celebrities that have public appearance for free, mostly sees this occurrence, exemplarily stated in the below figure. Figure 6: Celebrities on the red carpet, adapted from ELLE By doing so, the marketer uses the position of the opinion leader to carry and break down its message to influence its relevant target group. Well-established magazines such as Vogue, Elle or Glamour can also be expected to have high influences on fashion decisions of opinion seekers. A fashion magazine even has the ability to cluster a whole group of fashion opinion leaders together: celebrities, photographers, editors, industry experts and fashion journalists. This might be a reason why opinion seekers use those magazines as information source when seeking for an opinion. Thus, advertising in fashion magazines, outfitting celebrities, or using fashion opinion leaders in adverts can influence target groups in their purchasing behaviour. 5. Conclusion ‘Reference groups in fashion’ are defined as fashion consumers who are heavy fashion users and highly involved in seeking or reflecting opinions about fashion brands and products with others who share the same interests. Further, it is differentiated between fashion opinion leaders and fashion opinion seekers. As being part of a referential group, opinion leaders and opinion seekers are positively related to each other, as the one can’t exist without the other. Today, fashion opinion leaders are often classified as celebrities, people standing in the public spotlight, magazines, or bloggers, surrounded by networks of reference groups that admire to be like them. Especially in the age of social media it has become more important to marketers to understand the process of providing, sharing and seeking of information between fashion opinion leaders and opinion seekers. Therefore opinion leaders are seen to be an important marketing tool in fashion as they are able to influence reference groups in their product or brand purchasing decisions. List of references: Amaldoss, W. Jain, S. (2008), Trading Up: A Strategic Analysis of Reference Group Effects, Marketing Science, pp. 932-942 Bearden, W. Etzel, M. (1982), Reference Group Influence on Product and Brand Purchase Decisions, Journal of Consumer Research, pp. 183-194 Bertrandias, L. Goldsmith, R. (2006), Some psychological motivations for fashion opinion leadership and fashion opinion seeking, Jornal of Fashion Marketing an Management, Vol 10, Issue 1, pp. 25-40 Branch, S. (2004), ‘Hermà ¨s’s jelly ache’, Wall Street Journal Bristor, J.M. (1990), ‘Enhanced explanations of word of mouth communications: the power of relationships’, in Hirschman, E.C. (Ed.), Research in Consumer Behavior, 4th ed., JAI Press, Greenwich, CT, pp. 51-83. Chaney, I. (2001), Opinion leaders as a segment for marketing communications, Marketing Intelligence Planning, p. 302 Childers, T. Rao, A. (1992), The Influence of Familial and peer-based Reference Groups on Consumer Decisions, Journal of Consumer Research, pp. 198-211 Dholakia, U. Bagozzi, R. (2004), A socialinfluence model of consumer participation in network- and small-group-based virtual communities , International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol. 21, Issue3, pp. 241-263 Dodd, C., Clarke, I., Baron, S. Houston, V. (2000), ‘Looking the part: identity, meaning and culture in clothing purchasing – theoretical considerations’, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 41-48 Farquhar, J. Rowley, J. (2006), Relationships and online consumer communities, Business Process Management Journal, pp. 162- 175 Feick, L. Price, L. (1987), `The market maven: a diffuser of marketplace information, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 51, p. 95. Goldsmith, R. Clark, R. (2008), An analysis of factors affecting fashion opinion leadership and fashion opinion seeking, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, pp. 308-322 Goldsmith, R. (2000), ‘Characteristics of the heavy user of fashionable clothing’, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practise, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 1-9 Holton, G. (2004), „Robert K Merton – Biographical Memoriesâ€Å", Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 148 (4) p 506–517 Jetsetsocialità © , Jetsetjunior, Accessed: 26th October 2012, Source: from: http://www.jetsetsocialite.com/2008/10/19/the-hermes-birkin-bag-buying-guide/ McDonough M. 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