The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas The movie, â€Å"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,† was a very interesting but sad movie. It made me think about how children really don't see a lot of things and how they are very innocent. The way the Jews were being treated made me really upset at how things were really running like that in Germany without many countries not noticing, especially the United States, until years later when they had gone to war.But by then, many people had died, or became survivors without any family, homes or any of their elongings at all. It was ridiculous in the way they got away with a lot of things. Their own people in the country thought that it wasn't even bad and they saw the Jews as the enemies. Brunos father who was in charge of the concentration camp though he was doing the right thing, but until his own son died, he was in complete shock. He didn't know what to do anymore. He was Just standing there and couldn't believe it.I think he realized what he was doing and how things drastically changed for his amily and him, especially in how many children and Jews he had been killing in the camp. I really liked how there was friendship in the movie though. Shmuel and Bruno had met, and Bruno would go visit him and talk to him and try to play with him sometimes. But Shmuel couldn't play, because he was very unhealthy and dehydrated, he could barely run. It would break my heart when Bruno would try to bring him food, but he would drop it along the way.I really liked the acting in the ovie; it made everything look so real, even the setting was nice. I really don't know how or what they did to make the prisoners in the movie seem so skinny as if they hadn't ate in months. Pavel who was the butler in the house, would Just peel potatoes all day, it was really horrid when he got beat up for dropping the glass of wine on the dinner table. Many people had to give up their dreams and school Just like Pavel did. It's hard to imagine if that would ha ve happened to me and my family.I wonder what appened to all the people who were involved in this, if they all died or if went to Jail, did they survive? This film also showed me that you shouldn't discriminate any types of people from the rest. It is really sad, because to this day, that's how a lot of people still are and that's the way they think. This is actually one of my favorite movies because it has so many different concepts and it makes you think about many things. Especially to see how far, into friendship you would go. By Jsierra9 The Boy in the Striped Pajamas The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, based on the novel of the same title, directed by Mark Herman, set in Germany during World War II in the early 1940s. It follows the story of Bruno, an eight-year-old boy living in Berlin, currently under the rule of Adolf Hitler. His father is a commandant at a concentration camp. When his family moves to Auschwitz (or as Bruno believes it to be pronounced: ‘Out-With’) near the concentration camp for his father’s work, Bruno finds himself confined to the front yard of his new home and longs for a friend and an adventure. After finding a way out of the property, he discovers a concentration camp, although at this stage he believes it to be a farm rather than a prison. Bruno quickly develops a friendship with Schmuel, a Jewish boy living in the concentration camp who is the same age as him. Bruno makes several visits to the camp, despite being told by his parents that he is not to venture outside the back gate. Schmuel tells Bruno that his father is missing, while Bruno is informed that he and his sister will go to live with his Aunt. Instead of leaving his home in the country to go back to Berlin, Bruno decides to help Schmuel find his father. He dons striped â€Å"pyjamas† and crosses the fence, with horrific consequences. A character I disliked in the movie was Bruno’s father, Ralf. Ralf is a stereotypical German Nazi commandant in charge of the nearby Auschwitz concentration camp. He is very much in support of Adolf Hitler, believing that the Jewish are bad people. He tries to convince his family that he is making the world a better place. Bruno’s sister, Gretel, supports her father’s views on the matter, and explains to Bruno about the Jewish. â€Å"But Dad just sat there! † â€Å"What did you expect him to do? The Jew deserved it! † Can I ask you something about the farm? † â€Å"Bruno, you don’t think it is a farm, do you? It’s a camp, what’s called a work camp, for Jews. † â€Å"Just Jews, because they are the best workers? † â€Å"They’re not in because they are good, silly, they aren’t good at anything. They are in there because they are evil. They are the enemy, evil dangerous vermin. They’re the reason why we lost the Great War. † Ralf also imposes a fake perception of the concentration camp on his soldiers. He shows them a video that portrays the fact that the camp is a nice place to live and that the Jewish enjoy it there. New arrivals here are happy to discover that life in the camp is not all work and that there’s ample opportunity for leisure also. At the end of their day of ironmongery or the build of boot factory, the workers can enjoy the many forms of pastime that the camp has to offer. Organised sport is very popular. Those that don’t play certainly enjoy watching. At the end of the working day the centrally located cafe is the ideal place for friends and families to join together for a hearty and nutritious meal. The children in particular enjoy the pastries and cakes on offer. In the evenings the occasional music concerts either by visiting orchestras or, indeed, by talented musicians from within the camp itself, are always well attended. Other recreations include reading in the library, pottery, cookery, art and horticulture for adult and child alike. Almost any activity one could wish for is available within the camp. † This description is in stark contrast to what the camp really is like. I find Bruno’s father a horrible person for not telling the truth about the camp. Even his wife doesn’t know what goes on in the camp, and when she finds out, Ralf tells her that he was sworn to secrecy. I think we are lucky that we live in a time when fathers aren’t necessarily bound to their job in such a way that it almost destroys a family. Bruno’s father was brainwashed into believing that the Jewish were bad people and did not deserve to live, as was Bruno’s sister, Gretel. I am glad that in this century we are not so easily led into believing such things. What Ralf did was horrible but in a way he was trying to protect his family – if he had disobeyed Hitler’s orders, he may have ended up in a camp himself or even dead – but in this case his efforts to protect Bruno did not turn out so well. I also think we are lucky that we live in a country where we have enough freedom to disagree with our leaders and have an option to vote them out if necessary. In World War II, if you had a different opinion to Hitler, you were either sentenced to death or put in a concentration camp. Ralf did what was best for his family, but in doing so did some horrific things to other people. I felt extremely sorry for the main protagonist, Bruno, and enjoyed the theme of innocence. Bruno was very young, naive and hardly knew anything about the war. I think his parents and tutor should have informed him better about what was going on outside of his front yard, as he certainly didn’t deserve to die in a concentration camp. If he had known more about the outside world, perhaps he wouldn’t have felt so obliged to explore further and in doing so enter the camp. His innocence is portrayed in this instance, when he is talking to Schmuel through the fence. Bruno: â€Å"Is everything alright? † Schmuel: â€Å"No, we can’t find the Pa. He went on a different work duty with some of the men and they haven’t come back. â€Å"I have got some bad news, too. I’m going away. † â€Å"How long this time? † â€Å"That’s what it’s bad. It’s forever I think. Mum says this is no place for children. † â€Å"It’s just stupid. When do you go? † â€Å"Tomorrow, after lunch. † â€Å"So I won’t ever see you again? † â€Å"Yes, you will. You can come on holiday to Berlin if you like, when everybody is getting on with each other again†¦ I wish I could have helped you find your dad. I really want to make up for letting you down like I did. That would have done it, wouldn’t it? Helping find your dad. Would have been great, like a secret mission. Hey, I could dig under [the fence]! † Bruno then proceeded to dig under the fence and dress in striped â€Å"pyjamas† to help find Schmuel’s Dad. He and Schmuel are marched into a gas chamber, where they both die. I also felt sorry for Bruno when he was having lessons with his tutor, Herr Liszt, as he was being taught very difficult things about the war and how Hitler is a good person. For example: â€Å"I don’t understand: a nation’s collapse is only done to this one man? † â€Å"The Jew here means the entire Jewish race. If it had been just one man, I’m sure something would have been done about him. † â€Å"There is such a thing as a nice Jew, though, isn’t there? † â€Å"I think, Bruno, if you ever found a nice Jew, you would be the best explorer in the world. â€Å" Again, this shows how lucky we are to live in a country where there is no war going on. If we were taught such things in school nowadays, we would have a very different perception of the world. We are not taught biased facts about historical nor current day events, and we are lucky that we are allowed to develop our own opinions without being sentenced to death. I think a child’s innocence is extremely important to hold on to in most instances because it prevents them from many dangers that the world poses, however in this case is was the difference between life and death for Bruno. If his parents had told him why he was not allowed to go to the concentration camp, he would have been aware of the dangers and perhaps not have persisted on visiting Schmuel, but his curiosity and lack of reason from his parents eventually led him to his death.

The Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security

The Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security made a report on Counterterrorism intelligence Capabilities and Performance before the 9/11 attack. According to this report, one of the reasons why this tragedy was not prevented was their less than satisfactory management of resources particularly information that could have be used to forewarn about terrorist intentions. It was reported for example, that the FBI, Homeland Security and the other agencies had very limited ability to watchlist terrorist suspects because of their inadequate access to up-to-date data collected by the different agencies and resources.In addition, it was found out that the actions of the FBI were more towards the investigation of possible terrorist attacks and less focus was placed on the prevention of such. (Report of Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security, 2002). These features harmed the Intelligence Committee’s ability to foresee possible threats of terrorism. Needless to say, forekn owledge of an attack is necessary for its prevention. This necessitates infiltrating communities especially those with significant Arab populations.Still, it is important to note that this infiltration is not an act of discrimination but an act based on the great probability that those involved in terrorism would belong to such nationality. There is a greater probablility that sympathizers and supporters of terrorism would belong to the members of the Islamic population than other populations of different religions. The situation demands that efforts never go below minimum if the safety of the population is to be considered. But this infiltration has drawbacks. One, it sacrifices the people’s liberty and privacy.Two, it creates exaggerated fear among the people especially if the infiltration is most obvious. To minimize the resultant fear among the people, it is necessary that infiltration be done in the most discreet way possible. Clearly, barricading the community with FBIs would not be wise as this would not only cause alarm but would also harmful to the intelligence we are trying to gather. This demands the need for informants and secret agents in the said community, from the said community and in all parts of the community, including mosques.It is very important that informants who are to be sent are selected among those already living in that population. These people are already knowledgeable about their community; they know the important people; have a personal concern over the safety of their community and would be more knowledgeable in finding important information given the right directions. This limits the time and effort required for information gathering, focusing the officials’ efforts in the interpretation and analysis of data, which speeds the process of investigation.The result is a more efficient transmission of deeply analyzed information, which is exactly what is needed in the prevention of terrorism according to the Subcommit tee on Terrorism and Homeland Security (2002). But then, using informants, especially if these informants were selected from the same community involved would entail precautions. The danger here lies on the informant’s loyalty. Since the informant is selected from those already living in that population, it would be wise to assume that his loyalty is not absolutely focused towards the progression of the government’s cause.The possibility that his loyalty would lie towards the side of a guilty individual or the investigated individual, who, like him belongs to the same community cannot be denied. Also it cannot be ascertained whether or not he is in league with the terrorists and is providing them with reports, or probably bound by the same ideals completely against the government’s. In using informants from the involved community, the danger lies in the uncertainty of one’s role: who is pulling the strings and who is the marionette. To manage this danger requires the use of a trusted agent who is beyond the bounds of devotion instilled by community membership.This agent would act as the control, monitoring the local informants’ actions and reporting any act that signals treachery. This way, it is possible to determine the reliability of the reports given, pinpoint possible leak in intelligence and manipulate information disseminated, to the advantage of the intelligence committee. Definitely, there is more to war ethics than preventing needless deaths through terrorism, that is, the need to protect the people has made it to the point that the liberty and privacy of the people are sacrificed.Some means of protecting the people such as expanded surveillance and â€Å"seize and interrogate anyone (O’Connor, 2006)† is in itself an act that would incise the people’s freedom. Infiltrating the community with informants and agents, may also, in a way, harm community’s liberty and privacy but in a relativel y less degree compared to other counterterrorism strategies. According to O’Connor (2006), counterterrorism strategies involving technology and the use of informants are the most effective in terms of ensuring the people’s safety and at the same time limiting disadvantages in people’s liberty.In any case at this point, all actions aiming to provide people with their deserved safety entail a cost to the people’s civil liberty. 2. In any undertaking, it is very important to stick to the objective. This does not exclude counterterrorism, war against terrorism or any war for that matter. The war against terrorism is not an end in itself but simply a means to another end which are to protect the peoples’ rights to safety and to provide, in the long run, freedom. I intend to base my answers on these premises.All peoples in the act of terrorism or fighting against the ideals of counterterrorism with the intention of harm would be enemy combatants, without any distinction of citizenship, soldier or non-soldier. This is very different to the status accorded to different people involved in the war on terrorism today where they are classified as enemy combatant, unlawful combatants, prisoners of war or noncombatant, each with different provisions ideally based on International Standards. Whether or not a terrorist is a citizen of Afghanistan, or a citizen of the United States, anyone captured in the act of terrorist violence is considered a terrorist.Simply being an American does not excuse someone from the punishment accorded to crimes of terrorism and the only possible status, rights and protection I could afford an American citizen in the act of terrorist violence is that of a criminal charged with terrorism. He will be interrogated, given a trial and punished according to law without disregard to his rights as human that is without the use of unnecessary torture. A foreign national engaged in terrorism in the United States would be treated in the same way, based on his actions and without regard to his nationality.There would be no more and no less harsh treatment given to a foreign national engaged in terrorism compared to an American counterpart. â€Å"American national birth should not protect American-born terrorists or fail to protect naturalized citizens (Criticisms of the War of Terrorism, 2006). † In affording rights, status protection and punishment, giving such special considerations would be a question to the justice system and to the real intent and objective of this undertaking. Counterterrorism is not a matter of nationality and citizenship.Counterterrorism is defending the peoples’ rights and freedom, a state’s sovereignty against people who disregard such ideals by instilling fear and uncertainty through violence. Double standards should have no place in the justice system. If nationality and citizenship is to be considered, in deciding rights and punishment, then the effor ts to realize the underlying goal which is the safety of the people would be for naught. This would not be counterterrorism but a war against a specific community. This can be applied in the case of the American Citizen who fights against American forces.Again, this is beyond the matter of citizenship. If the American citizen fights against the American forces, he is considered as a threat against the realization of the objectives of the war against terrorism, which is to protect the innocent citizens. The American forces would have no reason not to fight back. Torturing any of these subjects would never be justified in the context of just war. I, personally would say that the torture of these subjects would not be necessary. Eliminating terrorism does not entail the necessity to torture any of the perpetrators of terrorism.Elimination and torture may be similar in a way that it would provoke the wrath of the enemy but they are different in a way that elimination is exactly what it is—that is, it is supposed to eliminate terrorism by eliminating its perpetrators possibly through conviction and application of just laws. Torture, on the other hand would only provoke the wrath of the enemy without the assurance of eliminating terrorism resulting in possible retaliation. Surely, the means of saving lives of peoples would not be limited on a torture or no torture system.Solving terrorism with terrorism is not only unjust but also unwise. 3. Disregarding popular theories on just war, let me say that a war that is just is a matter of perspective. To the leaders, all wars are just as long as it promotes the ideals and purpose they try to protect and achieve. To the US and maybe to some, the war against terrorism is just because its purpose is supposedly to protect the lives, safety and liberty of innocent people against terror. To the leaders of the terrorists, they are supposedly protecting a certain ideal.To some, war is a religious undertaking. Terrorism may be an unpopular act to most but to its supporters, terrorism is their means of fighting for their ideals and achieve their purpose, which they personally believe are just whether others agree or not. But to some people especially those affected negatively by this war, this war would never be possibly just. The families left behind by innocent people who died in the 9/11 attack and those civilians who have become victims of bombs would never think of agreeing to any argument saying that wars could possibly be just.Those who sympathize with these civilians and those who fear the possibility that someday they would become the unknowing victims of war would think the same way. Theorists, most popular of whom, St. Augustine, conceived of criteria that characterize a just war. The just war theory provided guidelines in determining when a war is just (jus ad bellum), how combatants should fight in war (jus in bello), and when to end a war (Just War, 2006). According to the Jus ad bellum, wars should only be engaged in if there is a just cause.Just cause means that wars should only be engaged in to correct wrongdoings, as an act of defense against threats to freedom, rights and sovereignty. The cause is said to be just if it is an act to resist aggression (Orend, 2005). Right intention is also necessary in a just war. Engaging in war for material gains is outside the scope of right intention. In general, intention should always be to defend or correct suffered wrong doings (Orend, 2005). The proportionality and last resort states that gains should always outweigh the casualties incurred and wars should only be engaged in if all other possible means have been exhausted to no avail.Jus ad bellum also emphasizes the importance of legitimate authority and the probability of success. War should only be engaged in if the chance of success is high because doing otherwise would undermine the theory of proportionality, also one criterion in considering a war as a just war (Or end, 2005). In engaging in a just war, combatants are expected to act in a way that violence and casualties are restrained and attempts to recognize human rights of both allies and enemies are made.According to the Jus in bello, combatants of a just war are expected to apply the principle of discrimination in which war is directed only to the perpetrators of wrong and definitely not to civilians. Similar to the Jus ad bellum, in the Jus in bello, proportionality is expected. In this case, the force to be implemented must be justified when compared to the problem that occurred and the possible good outcome. The more civilian casualties, the more the war being waged are questionable (Just War, 2006).The Jus in bello also preaches the use of minimum force, respect for prisoners of war, and derides the use of torture (Orend, 2005). In the same way, in the just war theory, wars should be terminated only with just cause: if both parties are willing to negotiate and violations made by the aggressor have already been recognized and vindicated; right intention, discrimination, proportionality and public declaration and authority (Orend, 2005). Fighting terrorism would cease to be just if it has lost the purpose and ideals which are its foundations.That is, if fighting terrorism has become a mere machination for purposes other than the ideals it stands for. Fighting terrorism would cease to be just if it resorted to unnecessary ways; if it violates human rights; if it in itself resorted to terrorism which is the exact ideal it is supposed to stand against. Fighting terrorism would cease to be just if it has become an act against the principles proposed by the just war theory. Others assert that the presence of any civilian deaths would define an unjust war (Bell, 2006).If all these would classify wars as unjust, then the impossibility of a just war is definite especially when applied to the war on terrorism. Still, criticisms of the just war theory stresses the inapplic ability of the just war theory in the present real wars, such as today’s war on terrorism which is unconventional one. When fighting terrorist groups such as the Al Qaeda, the conventional guidelines for war become obsolete. Therefore, â€Å"just war† has to be redefined (Bell, 2006). 4. Schools, colleges, universities, the press and some institutions have the power to carry out or instill ideas among the people.Unfortunately for the government, these institutions are the breeding ground of radical ideas, some, supporting terrorism and most of which pertaining to anti-militaristic views attacking any actions involving the war against terrorism, inspiring terrorist support. People who incite violence when they glorify violent acts against America may be responsible, indirectly for such acts because of the inspiration they give. They are indeed indirectly accountable but they should not be punished unless they themselves engage in violent acts directly.America, as it pro fesses, hold most deeply their love for freedom and democracy, and part of this freedom and democracy that they allow their people is the freedom to express one’s insights, beliefs and emotions. If a person feels like glorifying violent acts against America, if that person feels that in himself, he is against the beliefs and ideals that America stands for, then he or she is free to communicate, glorify or say anything about it whether or not it inspires violent acts among others. He should be free to say everything as long as he does not directly engage in such violence.It is, after all, his right. Now this freedom allowed to citizens is exactly what makes it difficult for the government to deal with schools, mosques and charities that indirectly support terrorism because imposing sanctions on such indirect actions would undermine the liberty that they strive to protect. The only thing the government can do is to make parallel actions that would negate the actions of the supp orters of terrorism. If there are local institutions that support terrorism, then they would have to use their power to tap what available resources they have, to negate such support and ideals.They have to make an effort to promote their ideas and market it, indirectly targeting the ideas of the supporters of terrorism and at the same time, indirectly making an effort to reach out and win the key supporters of terrorism. Part of the war against terrorism is to put out ideas that make possible the perpetuation of support of terrorism and not the people who support these ideas (if they do not directly engage in terrorism). In this case the war against terrorism is simply not a guns and bombs war, but also a challenge to make some people realize the correctness of the ideas imposed.If the ideas that support terrorism start from ideas imposed by some institutions, then actions should be targeted toward making powerful institutions publicly support ideas like the government’s. Or better yet, infuse anti-terrorist ideas to the institutions that support terrorism. In a way, this would be propagating anti-terrorist ideas as well as killing ideas that support terrorism. 5. â€Å"The fight against terrorism is now the first and overriding priority of the Department of Justice. (US Department of Justice, 2004).† Following this is the revision of the US Patriot act, which expands the power of Intelligence Officials in gathering information. In general, the main purpose of this expansion is for a more efficient targeting and prevention of terrorism by revising previous acts that limited the government’s ability to gather and use information and provide sanctions to terrorists. The revisions include a freer access to information, allowing information sharing among government agencies, â€Å"strengthening criminal laws against terrorism and updating the law to reflect new technology (US Department of Justice, 2004).All these revisions are said to be re quired to eliminate hindrances to the investigation of terrorist acts. The main purpose of this revision is to provide a more efficient means of using critical information especially those related to terrorism. Prior to the approval of the USA Patriot Act was a report submitted by the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security in 2002, analyzing the possible causes of failure to prevent the 9/11 attack.The main points of the report is the mismanagement of intelligence caused mostly by certain restrictions in the law prior to the 9/11 attack, and the need for certain revisions to accommodate the present need regarding terrorism (Report of the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security, 2002). Apparently, the revisions in the US Patriot Act are the response. Undeniably, the revisions in the US Patriot Act are a significant incapacitation of terrorist plans and are a great advancement, although not absolute, in terms of reducing the number of terrorist attacks and thus, ensur ing the safety of the people.This has been proven by situations exemplified in a report by the US Department of Justice in 2004 entitled, â€Å"Report from the Field: The US Patriot Act at Work. † The US Patriot Act has temporarily slowed and probably prevented many acts of terrorism, thus improving the perceived safety of the population. But this advantage comes with the price of increased deprivation of civil liberty. The Act could definitely justify secret wiretaps, increase arrests even at a lower threshold of evidence, increased secret access to personal accounts, records, technological usage, mails and conversations (O’Connor, 2006).The not so few accounts of erroneous arrests that have been recorded since the approval of the US Patriot Act confirm this (Criticisms of the War on Terrorism, 2006). Critics of Militarism and the US Patriot Act, and the proponents of civic liberty agree that â€Å"it is better to think before doing anything drastic (O’Connor, 2006). Those for the Patriot Act agree that in the war against terrorism, time is of the essence as a moment of hesitation could disastrously spell doom (Department of Justice, 2004).Another point to be considered in the US Patriot Act is the span of time when provisions of the Act would still be deemed effective in preventing terrorism and ensuring the peoples’ safety. Anyone motivated by a perceived moral cause would not be stopped by simple revisions of laws, or more appropriately, by â€Å"laws† per se. And this is exactly what characterizes the terrorists in question: their motivation to terrorize is beyond any physical or material cause; they are motivated by their perceived definition of morality and justice.Soon, they will find a loophole in the laws that are presently slowing them down, and continue towards their goals. The question now is would the government foresee possible threats that are beyond the treatment of laws? And if they do, how would they handl e and prevent these possible threats? Would it spell more demands on the peoples’ civic liberty in exchange for the more extensive need for safety? And if they do, what if the bombs and terrorist attacks are mere guises to remove our attention from how they are working on their real target—the peoples’ liberty—the ideal the state is trying to protect.Because if you are a terrorist, what better way to attack than attacking the foundation of your enemies’ framework. Is it not possible that the state is unknowingly working towards the achievement of the enemies’ real goal? Although the approval of the Act has provided the government with better capability to reduce threats of terrorism, it is still very important, especially with the erratic movement of priorities, that such questions be given consideration and other threats to the peoples’ security continue to be studied, understood and monitored (Report of Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security, 2002).Given the present circumstances when the safety of the peoples is at risk, the US Patriot Act seems to be working satisfactorily in terms of preventing terrorist attacks. It would not be wise to change the provisions of the Act if the objective is to ensure the peoples’ safety. But it would be nice to be hopeful that there would someday be a proposal that would ensure the peoples’ safety without sacrificing the peoples’ liberty. At present, all we can do is choose the lesser evil, and think of ways to eliminate â€Å"evil† as a choice.References Anti-Americanism. (2006, August 5). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 02:02, August 6, 2006, from http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=AntiAmericanism &oldid=67844288. Bell, D. (2006). Can the War be Just? Or What is Just War Good For? In Crosscurrents Magazine. Retrieved August 6, 2006, from http://www. crosscurrents. org/Bellspring2006. pdf Criticisms of the War on Terrorism. (2006, August 4).In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 02:03, August 6, 2006, from http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Criticisms_of_the_War_on_Terrorism&oldid=67579159. Just War. (2006, August 6). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 02:02, August 6, 2006, from http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Just_War&oldid=67920472. O’Connor, T. (2006, June 6). Civic Liberties in Domestic Terrorism. In Megalinks in Criminal Justice. Retrieved August 6, 2006, from http://faculty. ncwc. edu/toconnor/429/429lect19. htm. Orend, B. (2005). War. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.Retrieved August 6, 2006, from http://plato. stanford. edu/archives/win2005/entries/war. Report of Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Counterterrorism Intelligence Capabilities and Performance Prior to 9-11 (2002, July). In Federation of American Scientists Intelligence Resource Program. Retrie ved August 6, 2006 from http://www. fas. org/irp/congress/2002_rpt/hpsci_ths0702. html. US Department of Justice (2004, July). Report from the Field: The US Patriot Act at Work.

Character Analysis Lady Macbeth

Set in 1603, Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, follows the life of what started out to be a normal married couple. When the couple, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, discover from a prophecy that Macbeth would one day rule the land of Scotland, the two did everything in power to make sure this would come true. The couple devised a plan to murder Duncan, the current king of Scotland; Macbeth carried out this plan. With this newfound immense amount of royal power, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth go through several challenges in their relationship. Throughout Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, there are significant changes in the way the audience perceives Lady Macbeth when considering her power, brutality, and physical characteristics. Comparing the beginning to the end of the play, it is apparent that Lady Macbeth is very different when considering her power. In the beginning, it appears as if Lady Macbeth was the superior in her relationship with Macbeth. At this period of time, man being inferior to woman was found to be very unusual. In a sense, Lady Macbeth was the â€Å"man† of the relationship. While debating whether or not Macbeth should kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth says, â€Å"When you durst do it, then you were a man; and to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man† (Shakespeare 43). This line expresses Lady Macbeth’s opinion that Macbeth will only be a true man if he follows through with the murder; until then, Lady Macbeth would question his manhood. By using this line, Lady Macbeth has total control over her husband and can basically get him to do whatever she may ask. On the other hand, Macbeth seemed to turn around and take steps toward being the â€Å"bigger man† in their relationship as the play unfolded. With his immense amount of power, Lady Macbeth had no choice but to go with his superiority. An example of Lady Macbeth’s weakness was when she was conversing with the doctor and said, â€Å"Out, damned spot, out I say! One. Two† (Shakespeare 163). This quote explains how Lady Macbeth was obsessive over washing her hands, in other words, she was trying to get rid of the guilt of Duncan’s Murder. This section of the play shows Lady Macbeth’s significant change of weakness. As a weak woman, she succumbs herself to Macbeth’s power. In sum, Lady Macbeth went from being a powerful wife to a meaningless woman within the play. Another change the audience sees in the play is Lady Macbeth’s brutality. At the beginning of the play, she was the mastermind of Macbeth’s violent endeavors (Duncan’s Murder). When the two were plotting Duncan’s murder, it was Lady Macbeth who conveyed Macbeth to follow through; he was about to back out of the plan, as he did not want to commit such crime. When Macbeth was pondering the idea of failure, Lady Macbeth was quick to respond, â€Å"We fail? But screw your courage to the sticking place and we’ll not fail† (Shakespeare 43). This quote shows that Lady Macbeth was the one with confidence in their situation at hand. Towards the end of the play, it was Macbeth who was the mastermind behind his devious plans. Macbeth develops a sense of anxiety over Banquo, as he was the only one who suspected Macbeth had anything to do with Duncan’s Murder. Macbeth makes plans to kill Banquo, â€Å"Our fears in Banquo stick deep, and in his royalty of nature reigns that which would be feared† (Shakespeare 85). Macbeth was making these plans with two murders that he hired; not lady Macbeth. With the guilt of Duncan’s murder, it is doubtful that Lady Macbeth would offer support to Macbeth’s plan, given the opportunity, but Macbeth had purposely left her out of his plans. Now that he was king, he no longer needed assistance from his â€Å"housewife†. This just goes to show that Lady Macbeth went from being a brutal organizer of murder to a wife that has no part of her Husband’s secret life. Throughout Macbeth there are several observable changes in the physical being of Lady Macbeth. Though she may appear the same when focusing on her physical appearance, there are several physical changes in her mental health. At the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth seemed to be a typical put together woman. At the end of the play, she virtually became a psychiatric patient who was in desperate need of mental healthcare. A doctor was consulted, but even the doctor knew there was nothing that could be done to save Lady Macbeth. While the doctor observed Lady Macbeth in her sleep, Lady Macbeth exclaimed â€Å"Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand†¦Wash your hands† (Shakespeare 163-5). The doctor responds to the gentlewoman, â€Å"This disease is beyond my practice†¦So, good night. My mind she has mated, and amazed my sight. I think but dare not speak† (Shakespeare 165). This line shows the astonishment the doctor faces while observing Lady Macbeth. Her illness had reached a level of severity that a doctor could not even fix. Therefore, Lady Macbeth experiences many changes in her physical health throughout Macbeth. Macbeth is a very dense read with a lot of information and different characters. However, the changes in Lady Macbeth were very significant. Though the story concluded with her tragic death, Macbeth put his wife through countless situations that no woman should have to live through. She went from being the brains behind a murder to observing her husband committing several ruthless crimes. She also went from being a strong healthy woman to a woman with severe mental health issues. Throughout Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, there are significant changes in the way the audience perceives Lady Macbeth when considering her power, brutality, and physical characteristics. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. N. p. : Folger Shakespeare Library, 1992. Print.

Choose, research and describe an existing company you would like to Essay

Choose, research and describe an existing company you would like to work for - Essay Example The corporation avails its beverage products all over the world through its network of bottling and distribution operations and independent bottling partners. Coca-Cola gets net revenues by selling concentrates and syrups to certified bottling partners. The bottling partners may combine the concentrates with sweeteners, still or sparkling water, or mix the syrups with sparkling water to make final products. The company sells concentrates for fountain beverages to bottling partners across the world (Coca-Cola Company 2014). The company has a Separate International Division Structure since its international employees operate independently from the headquarters. Coca-Cola’s segments consist of Eurasia and Africa, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, North America, Bottling Investments and Corporate. Every division has vice presidents who control sub-divisions based on countries or regions (Pendergrast 2013). The structure below works very well because Coca-Cola since it is a colossal corporation. The aim of Coca-Cola Company is to be known around the world as an organization that conducts its business responsibly and ethically and step up sustainable growth. The mission of the company focuses on its impact on the customers around the world. Coca-Cola’s mission statement is â€Å"To refresh the world... to inspire moments of optimism and happiness...to create value and make a difference." Coca-Cola Company has a vision that will help it achieve sustainable growth; it consists of six visions: People, Portfolio, Partners, Planet, Profit, and Productivity (Coca-Cola Company 2014). The six winning behaviors of the company include a focus on the market, work smart, act like owners, be the brand, and live out the values. The company’s six behaviors define the attitude it expects its employees to embrace as they perform their duties. The values of the

Health People of 2020 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health People of 2020 - Essay Example This group also shared four of its greatest disparities with the Hispanic population; drug-induced deaths, cirrhosis deaths, new tuberculosis cases, and deaths from poisoning (Chu, 2004). Potential causes of these health disparities The health disparities are unbalanced and have direct links to the history and current unequal distribution of political, economic, social and the environmental resources. Historically, the acceptance of different groupings in the United States population has frequently been marked by discrimination, disparate treatment, and hostility, providing a solid cause for concern on the health of minorities. The earliest racial and ethnic disparities developed between the original American Indian inhabitants of the continent and the then European colonists. Although the natives split into several racial and ethnic groups for many reasons, the colonialists and their governments employed a logical difference between them and the natives, lumping together of the Alas ka Native and American Indian populations that still finds its value used in government statistics (Koh, 2010). According to Thomas, the requisite importation of slaves from the American colonies of Africa led to a third racial or ethnic group. The definition of this group has changed with time as it is also in other countries, like Brazil and South Africa. The United States detained for several centuries later to a rule of hypodescent, making any African or African American genealogy identifiable as a black.

Literature Review For Creating strong teacher-student relationships to Research Paper

Literature Review For Creating strong teacher-student relationships to improve student achievement in Mathematics class - Research Paper Example Joffrey, with preparation and a sense of delight and gratitude, gave students a chance to explain mathematics inculcating a love for the subject (Strogatz and Joffray, 2009). The Calculus of Friendship is not only a delightful read for aspiring mathematics teachers, but also emphasized the importance of teacher-student relationship for mathematics learning. Mathematics education has evolved over the last hundred years (Jankvist, 2010). Recent perspectives on mathematics teaching and learning have stressed on the importance of mathematical reasoning, problem-solving skills, and their application of real life situations. Depaepe et al. (2007) argued that aspects of classroom culture assumed to enhance beliefs and problem-solving competencies include establishment of classroom norms; instructional techniques and classroom organizational forms; and set of tasks. Strong focus on heuristic skills and embedding tasks in real life are aspects that are easier to implement. The use of technology has been brought about by professional thinking about pedagogy (Katz and Solomon, 2008). Systems include the use of computer-based tools and resources (Smith, 1998; Pear and Crone-Todd, 2002). Ruthven et al. (2004) described the contribution of technology in seven themes including improving working processes and production; supporting processes such as trialling, checking, and refinement; enhancing the variety and appeal of classroom activity; fostering independence among pupils and peer support; overcoming difficulties among pupils and building reassurance; broadening reference and increasing activity currency; and focussing on overarching issues and accentuating important features. Professional thinking and use of technology is anchored in student motivation and classroom learning. Kilpatrick et al. (2001) argued that students need to think mathematically for learning mathematics. In order to be mathematically proficient, students must

European Commissions Proposal to Introduce Audit Independence Reform Essay

European Commissions Proposal to Introduce Audit Independence Reform - Essay Example This paper illustrates that following the evaluation, the auditors determine the level of conformation between those declarations and the required auditing standards, and communicating their opinion through the audit report. The quality and authenticity of audit report and compliance with the prescribed practices of audit standards have always been a subject of discussion in the corporate environment. Adherence to audit standards practice is necessary as it helps a corporate organization to lessen risks as well as optimize its business performance at the same time. Currently, the competitive business environment that prevails worldwide, calls for a rigid regulatory setting and compliance to audit standards norms, for businesses and the financial system to sustain in the long run. However, the European Commission considers the global economic depression during 2007-2009 had pointed out significant drawbacks in the audit system followed in Europe. The Commission believes so because man y financial organizations were found to have been given clean reports by their auditors, in spite of the fact that those institutions had grave financial health issues. As a result, the European Commission had proposed a number of reforms to improve the independence of the auditing profession. To alleviate the danger of any impending conflict of interest owing to an acquaintance risk, the European Commission in its report has proposed that all publicly listed companies will have to obligatorily alter their auditor after each six years in case they had employed one auditor to execute the audit process, and after each nine years when two auditors were employed to perform the audit. This proposed reform is said to have a number of advantages in the context of dealing with issues like conflict of interest and in so doing enhancing the quality of the audit. The major advantage expected from this reform is the reinforcement of professional skepticism.

Chipotle Franchise Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chipotle Franchise - Research Paper Example These factors include the direct and indirect competitors, suppliers and the customers. Since its foundation in 1993, Mexican Chipotle Grill has focused on providing restaurant services centered on a marketing position writ in a unique emphasis on natural ingredients. The chain of restaurants specializes in Mexican delicacies, which have gained popularity in the United States over the recent years. Currently, Chipotle has more than one thousand restaurant sites all over the United States. With the introduction of competing products in American restaurants such as smoked foods, Chipotle needed to implement a new marketing position. The new marketing position is be focused on value analysis in order to improve the restaurants returns and earn more customers through its products pricing. The restaurant uses the four utilities of the product: functional, time, place and possession. The product is mainly sold in the United States by Chipotle’s restaurant chains. Over the past decade, Mexican spices, rice and beans are some of the most consumed foods in the country. Through in-depth analysis of the factors of location and strategic selling position, the restaurant identified favorable market sites outside the US creating business for the products. Internationally, the franchise sells its products in Canada and England. As at 2011, the organization commanded an income in the tune of over two hundred Million dollars. This change in fortunes can be attributed to the re staurant’s marketing strategy in the past three years or so. The main positioning step that earned the franchise a major benefit is the conversion of two hundred of Chipotle restaurants into company ownership rather than corporate ownership. This enables the franchise to convert its revenue into direct investments. Chipotle prices its products based on a framework of value chain writ in a transition that benefits both the customer and the organization. The restaurant is renowned

The Cult of Celebrity - Heroes & Celebrity Assignment

The Cult of Celebrity - Heroes & Celebrity - Assignment Example Whether it be a hero or a celebrity, each possesses the ability to draw intense loyalty from those who feel they are deserving of it. In most cases, celebrities garner far greater attention through media coverage but as is the case with heroes, each through action is taken, have the chance to make an impact on those around them. The similarity between celebrities and heroes would be the faithfulness they would draw from the general populous. A stark contrast between the two would be the underlying presence of garnering fame and attention, that many of those people labeled celebrities, seek to bring to themselves. For those in more of a hero position, they often times tend to do that which they do, from a standpoint of doing whats right versus whats wrong, instead of doing what may be socially acceptable and something that would give them great fame and power. In regards to an example of heroes, one that would come to mind, would be the men and women of the military that day in and day out, place themselves in harm's way for the greater good of all men. They seek to do so to assist others and not so that they'd be able to bring undue attention to themselves. With regards to the world of celebrity, those examples would include George Clooney and Julia Roberts. Individuals that place themselves in the public ey e and are attention grabbers. The individuals who grace the covers of magazines and newspaper advertisements. Especially in the era after September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City, when millions were left scared and bewildered, the need for heroes became far greater than it had beforehand. The need to have those individuals that seek to fight and defeat any foe that may cross their path. Whether it be a physical opponent or an inanimate object, a hero is someone that many seek refuge with when it comes to regaining a sense of security and normalcy.

Assessment and Feedback Essay Example for Free

Assessment and Feedback Essay Assessment drives the choices students make about their learning. It is widely recognised that assessment and feedback contain the strongest potential to change how, and what, students do to succeed in their learning (Ramsden, 2003). This Effective Teaching Guide on Assessment provides practical suggestions on assessment and feedback. Assessment of Learning and Assessment for Learning David Boud, a recognised researcher and scholar of assessment in higher education, suggests that assessment has many purposes, but particularly to help students to improve their learning and certify students’ learning. These two purposes lead to different ways of thinking about what, how, and when to assess students: |Assessment OF Learning |Assessment FOR Learning | |Focused on learning that has already happened; |Focused on learning for the future; | |Making a judgement about final performance; |Goal is to provide useful information to students about how to learn | |Designed to discriminate between students’ achievement and performance; |more effectively; | | Focused on grades, precision and measurement; |Helps students to identify what they do and don’t know – focus is on | |Concerned that tasks are reliable and valid; |improvement; and, | |Testing usually takes place under ‘standardised’ conditions; and, |Develops students’ judgements about the quality of their work – and how | |Grade contributes to final certification. |to improve. | According to Boud and Associate’s Seven Propositions for Assessment Reform in Higher Education (2010), assessment has most effect when: 1. Assessment is used to engage students in learning that is productive (including the need for assessment to be designed to focus students on learning); 2. Feedback is used to actively improve student learning; 3. Students and teachers become responsible partners in learning and assessment; 4. Students are inducted into the assessment practices and cultures of higher education; 5. Assessment for learning is placed at the centre of subject and project design; 6. Assessment for learning is a focus for staff and institutional development; and, 7. Assessment provides inclusive and trustworthy representation of student achievement. The power of feedback Feedback plays an important role in improving students’ learning. A useful summary is that provided by Gibbs and Simpson’s (2004). In their meta-study of the research about how assessment and feedback support student learning, 7 of their 10 identified conditions relate to feedback, and students’ understanding of feedback. These are:  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Sufficient feedback is provided, both often enough and in enough detail; †¢ Feedback focuses on students’ performance, on their learning and on actions under the students’ control, rather than on the students themselves and on their characteristics; †¢ Feedback is timely in that it is received by students while it still matters to them, and in time for them to pay attention to further learning or receive further assistance; †¢ Feedback is appropriate to the purpose of the assignment and to its criteria for success; †¢ Feedback is appropriate, in relation to students’ understanding of what they are supposed to be doing; †¢ Feedback is received and attended to; and, †¢ Feedback is acted on by the student. Hounsell (2004) also makes the following points about feedback: †¢ It can be extrinsic (assessment-focused) or intrinsic (activity and practice-based); †¢ It can be immediate and verbal (in order to address the potential lack of engagement when it arrives after an assessment); †¢ It can be provided to be a whole class; †¢ It can be many to many where students are involved in identifying the strengths and weaknesses (peer feedback); and, †¢ Feedback can be a loop – it can be offered on unfinished work. Another useful idea is feed-forward. Feed-forward encourages students to use something like a marking rubric (also captured by the idea of criteria and standards) to help plan their approach to an assessment. While a marking rubric is routinely used by university teachers to mark/grade students’ work (as an expression of what a student needs to demonstrate (and the level they need to achieve) to receive a particular grade), the idea of feed-forward is about encouraging students to use that same information in the rubric to plan their work, and perhaps even, to self-assess it before submitting it for formal feedback. In summary: Feedback example: Develop a marking rubric as a cover sheet. The rubric identifies the elements of the assignment, together with a breakdown of marks for each element or a description of the standard for an A, B, C, D, P etc. Feed-forward example: Provide the marking rubric to students before the assignment is due so that they clearly understand what’s expected, the levels of achievement, and can plan their approach accordingly. In marking student work, you’ll need a suite of feedback techniques. Remember, if you’re going to be spending a lot of time providing feedback, you want to make sure that students read, use and engage with your feedback to improve their next assignment. The best way to do that is to have a range of techniques that you can draw on, when you need to. The table below describes some feedback techniques. |Technique |Why use this technique? |How would I use this technique? | |Use a marking rubric that contains information |To encourage students to engage, wrestle |Set aside time to discuss the rubric with students| |about criteria and standards. Offer it to |with and develop an understanding of the |in class. Provide examples of what an A, B, C, D | |students so that they can use it to plan high |criteria and standards related to an |and P level answer /assignment looks like. Explain| |achieving work. |assessment task before embarking on their|the differences to students and engage them in a | | |work. |dialogue. Get them to mark assignments samples so | | | |that they have to engage with the criteria and | | | |standards before embarking on their own | | | |assignment. | |Provide verbal ‘global’ feedback to the whole |To emphasise the common achievements and |As you mark assignments, make a list of 3 things | |class. |errors made across all assignments within|done well, and 3 things in need of improvement | | |a student cohort. |across the whole cohort. Use the next available | | | |class to provide feedback to the whole cohort. Be | | | |specific and provide an example. Post a summary on| | | |Moodle. | |Provide written feedback only. The mark/grade |To focus students’ improvement efforts on| | |is released only after students demonstrate a |the written comment rather than the | | |plan for improvement. |number/grade. The technique assumes that | | | |the learning for students is located in | | | |the staff comments. | | |Invite students to tell you 2-3 specific |To develop students’ capacity to |Ask students to write these 2-3 elements somewhere| |elements of the assignment they would like you |self-assess the quality of their |on the assignment cover sheet before submitting | |to focus your feedback on. |submitted work. |it. Your feedback on these elements does not need | | | |to be extensive but they warrant comment. | |Ask students to indicate the grade (ie, A, B, |To encourage students to engage with the |Invite students to write a 100 word justification | |C, D) they think their assignment should |criteria and standards for the assignment|about the grade they’ve nominated. Your final | |receive. |as part of their planning. |feedback and grade does not need to align with the| | | |students but you may wish to note any differences | | | |in each of your perceptions about the quality of | | | |the work. | |Encourage students to demonstrate/write how |For students to demonstrate how they have|Make this aspect a ‘hurdle’ requirement – to be | |they’ve used your feedback as part of the next |used feedback to improve future learning. |submitted with the next immediate assignment. | |assignment. | | | One observation you might make about each of these techniques is that they are focused on: (i) engaging students with the criteria and standards, and (ii) with what the student does with the feedback they receive. If you’d like to read more about these two ideas (and others like them), two articles may be especially useful to you: Rust, Price O’Donovan (2003) and Price, O’Donovan Rust (2004). Consistency and fairness in marking and feedback Consistency in marking, or moderation, is aimed at ensuring fairness in marking, and requires finding or establishing agreement between markers. Making sure that assignments contain criteria and standards is a good start because the expectations involved are clear to the student and clear to the marker. Although this does not absolve the marker from interpreting students’ work, without criteria or standards, the job of marking ends up being much harder. The procedures for marking are set out in the University’s Assessment Procedures (an excerpt of the principles is below): Where there is more than one marker, selected pieces of work from each assessment task should be reviewed by the subject coordinator to verify the level and consistency of the marks allocated by the marker. This process, called moderation, increases the reliability of the assessment process and application of standards, promotes consistency, supports objectivity and establishes a shared understanding of standards and fairness in assessment. The university also has a grading schema with a range of Pass grades. |80-100% |A | |70-79% |B | |60-69% |C | |50-59% |D | |Ungraded |P (may also denote satisfactory completion of a Masters Prelim course of | | |postgraduate thesis) | Graduate capabilities Alongside the conventional grading schema, from 2012, all commencing first year students will receive a result on the achievement of the university’s six graduate capabilities at the end of the year: †¢ Writing †¢ Speaking †¢ Inquiry/Research †¢ Critical thinking †¢ Creative Problem-solving †¢ Teamwork There are some subjects which have been designated cornerstone, mid-point and capstone status. This means that their curriculum has been designed to teach, assess, provide feedback and report specifically on these graduate capabilities. For each graduate capability, students will receive one of three results: exceeded expectations, met expectations or did not meet expectations. Each faculty has carefully crafted a description of what these standards look like. It may be the case that you will be asked to provide feedback to students about their graduate capability achievement as well. Because faculties will have already done substantial work outlining those standards, it is likely you will be asked to offer students that feedback. Summary When considered together, assessment and feedback are incredibly powerful levers for influencing the direction of students’ efforts, and their learning. For many students, the assessment in the subject is the actual curriculum. It is largely students’ reading and perception of what the assessment demands of them which is a key determinant in how they spend their time in a subject. Therefore, the messages that students take away about assessment from the documents; the Subject Guide; from interaction with other students, are important considerations. In the second week, you will discover just how crucial feedback is to this process and how the adoption of standards and criteria will help you mark and grade more efficiently and effectively. References Gibbs, G. and Simpson, C. (2004). Conditions Under Which Assessment Supports Student Learning. Learning and Teaching, Issue 1, pp: 3-31. Hattie, J. Timperley, H. (2007). The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81-112. Hounsell, D. (2004). Reinventing Feedback in the Contemporary Scottish University. Scottish Quality Enhancement Workshop on Assessment, University of Glasgow [available online at: www. enhancementthemes. ac. uk/documents/events/20040604/Hounsellpaper. pdf]. O’Donovan, B. , Price, M. , Rust, C. (2004). Know what I mean? Enhancing student understanding of assessment standards and criteria. Teaching in Higher Education, 9(3), 325-335. Orrell, J. (2006). Assessment beyond intuition. Central Queensland University [available online at: http://www. learning. cq. edu. au/FCWViewer/view. do? page=8896, accessed Feb 2011]. Price, M. , O’Donovan, B. , Rust, C. (2004). Know what I mean? Enhancing student understanding of assessment standards and criteria. Teaching in Higher Education, 9(3), 325-335. Ramsden, P. (2003). Learning to teach in higher education. (2nd edition). Routledge, NY London. Rust, C. , Price, M. , O’Donovan, B. (2003). Improving Students’ Learning by Developing their Understanding of Assessment Criteria and Processes. Assessment Evaluation in Higher Education, 28(2), 147-164. Taylor, J. (2008). Assessment in First Year University: A model to manage transition. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 5(1).

Elements Of Struggle Between Passion And Reason

Elements Of Struggle Between Passion And Reason In nineteenth century literature a lot of importance was given to passion and emotional appeal in preference to reason and logic. Creative writing and fiction were usually charged with passion and struck a chord with the readers. For any work of fiction or non-fiction the main content needs to have a reasonable plot, theme, structure and organization for it to be of sustained popularity and wide readership. The books included in this study, Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley have elements of both passion and reason even though a clash between these two elements is evident in both stories. Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, nor stand too silent when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing, nor give too much of his heart to a mountain or a valley. For fear will rob him of all if he gives too much (Paton 101). In the above lines from the story, the writer brings about the struggle between the feelings of ownership and belonging of the protagonist, Stephen Kumalo, and the fear of his beloved country falling apart because of racial discrimination and racial hostilities between the whites and the blacks in South Africa. The other theme of clash is between the route to progress and development for the blacks in urban centers like Johannesburg at the cost of the breaking up of families and tribes in rural South Africa. The dichotomy is between progress and urbanization on the one hand and preserving traditions and strengthening relationships on the other. The main themes are of the clash between the privileged and the colonized, the haves and the have-nots. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley has drawn the readers attention towards the clash between science and the occult. Victor Frankenstein who creates the monster represents reason and the monster represents passion. Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow (Shelley 50). In the above lines, the author has tried to elaborate on the pitfalls that the mere quest for knowledge devoid of responsibility and control can have on mortal lives. So the struggle in this story is between reason in the form of science and scientific invention against the passion of the monster which is a creation of the scientist. Frankenstein is a story of an irresponsible scientist who in the pursuit of knowledge creates a monster that nobody is able to control and the monster continues to perpetrate atrocities and chaos. It is a lesson for the reader to bear in mind that curiosity and the mission to gain knowledge is good but the seeker of knowledge must also be capable of taking responsibility and have courage to bear negative consequences in case a need arises. There are a couple of common themes in both these novels. The colonizing of black people in South Africa and disbanding families and tribes in order to profit from cheap labor created the monster of racial hooliganism and lawlessness in Johannesburg. The whites created the black labor force but did nothing to ensure that they remain happy and rooted. The abject poverty and dire living conditions of the black workers created the rift between the rich mine and factory owners and the displaced black laborers. Similarly in Frankenstein Victor Frankenstein created the monster but did nothing to provide a sense of belonging and ownership which encouraged the monster to feel disowned and become wild. The themes of colonialism and imperialism are present in both novels. It is the struggle between the white and black, the rich and poor, the rulers and the ruled in Alan Patons story while the theme of the creator and the created permeates Mary Shelleys novel. Isolation and the sense of lack of belonging have created both the monster and Absalom. The monster seeks the love and acknowledgment of his creator while Absalom leaves his village, Ndotsheni, to seek knowledge and employment. So both the monster and Absalom feel isolated from their people and take to ways that harms others more than they can control. Stephen Kumalo is the pastor of a small village in South Africa and lives in his own world, quite disconnected with the times and happenings in urbanized centers like Johannesburg. When he comes to Johannesburg to help rehabilitate his sister, Gertrude, he is brought face to face with the realities of life in South Africa. He realizes that his world was collapsing and that the main tragedy of his people was that things like relationships and innocence were breaking down and no one was doing anything to mend them. He says, It suited the white man to break the tribe, but it has not suited him to build something in its place (Paton 46). Stephen Kumalo is a man obsessed with a singular quest to seek his son and rebuild the community. Similarly, Victor Frankenstein is obsessed with seeking knowledge and acquiring power. He wanted to play God and test his ability to give life to an animal (Shelley 51). The conclusion of both the stories engenders calm and relative hope. In the end Absalom realizes his mistake and is reconciled to his fate and Stephen Kumalo is able to bring his sister and Absaloms pregnant wife back to the village to try and rebuild his tribe with the help of James Jarvis. The monster in Frankenstein grieves over the death of his creator and is reconciled to his self-imposed exile in the North Pole and subsequent death. He realizes that his atrocities in order to seek revenge did not yield the desired results and he continued to be abandoned and isolated. In both stories, there is a sense of catharsis with Absalom writing home to his parents and the monster grieving over his master. Even though both ends are tragic there is a faint ray of hope in both novels.

Womens Role During World War II :: essays papers

Womens Role during WWll World War II was the largest and most violent armed conflict in the history of mankind. It has affected millions of people around the world both, directly and indirectly. Even though half of a century separates us from the unforgettable event, it left horrible memories especially in those who saw, felt and experienced World War II which was waged on land, on sea, and in the air all over the earth for approximately six years. Whether it’s a battle, hospital, or holocaust, there are so many stories from the survivors, who can teach us not only about the profession of arms, but also about military preparations, global strategies and combined operations in the coalition war against fascism. My interviewee went through a lot during World War II and sharing her amazing story left me evaluating her words for a long time, rethinking and still not willing to imagine the pain. She was one of the 150,000 American woman served in the Women’s Army Corps during the war years. They were one of the first ones to serve in the ranks of the United States Army. She recalls being teased a lot about being a young woman in a uniform but was very proud of it. Women finally were given the opportunity to make a major contribution to the national affair, especially a world war. It started with a meeting in1941 of Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers and General George Marshall, who was the Army’s Chief of Staff. Rogers asked General to introduce a bill to establish an Army women’s corps, where my interviewee, Elizabeth Plancher, was really hoping to get the benefits after the World War II along with other women. ( Since after World War I women came back from war and were not entitled to protection or any medical benefits. ) Mrs. Plancher was a strong-willed woman, dedicated to her goals. She was waiting for this day to happen and it did finally making many women happy. The bill was introduced in May, 1941. At first it failed to receive consideration but General helped to get the bill through the congress. After all the paper work, â€Å"auditions† were passed. Applicants had to be between 20-40. Elizabeth was 22 at that time. She was 5'4, about 120 lbs which suited the position. Only 1,000 women were accepted into the special Women's Army Auxiliary Corps ( WAAC).

Compare and Contrast the two poems, London and Composed Upon Westminste

Compare and Contrast the two poems, London and Composed Upon Westminster Bridge Both of the poets write about London in their poems. There is one big difference between the form and the structure ‘Composed Upon Westminster Bridge’ is written in the form of a sonnet where as the ‘London’ poem is just a four verse poem, each verse having four lines. Comparing the poems with one another I first picked up that they are equally written from first person perspectives which helps to express that these are the writer’s real thoughts and feelings of the great city. Blake doesn’t concentrate on the general scene: Like the buildings or the natural landscapes, He sees beyond all this and he thinks of the people who live there. He explains how everyone is sad and hopelessly depressed, he points out the prostitutes have no other means of earning money than to sell themselves and how the soldiers have to put their lives on the line whenever the king decides. He makes it interesting as he uses a lot of repetition in each stanza to emphasize his views, ‘‘in every cry of every man...

Jurassic Park :: essays research papers

Jurassic Park From the story many questions arise about the condition of the future. With the introduction of biotechnology, what we all want to know is, will this technology be used for the good of mankind? Will it be used to create faster and easier methods of working? Will it be used to create bio-technological replicas of humans that will be able to do our work for us or will the technology be used too misguidingly and lead to the downfall of humanity? All the questions and more are what plague the minds of scientists when trying to perfect this technology. As we approach the 21st century we need to keep in mind that the condition of the world can only benefit from this technology if used properly. If we corrupt this new science field, and try to play God and create super humans we will be disturbing nature and this will bring about humanities down fall. If this technology is used to replace all human work, we as a people will forget the manual way to work. If we totally rely on computers in t he future we will be making mankind obsolete.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the story, the mathematician Malcolm is the philosophical voice that questions the durability of the park and the accountability of the science used to re-create the dinosaurs. He challenges the ideas of Dr.Wu and end up being right in the end about the animals. He also states that society will turn into an information society and thought will be banished. By this he is saying that if the world of technology continues on the path it is on now, the future will be run and determined by technology. Humans will leave everything to machines and we will have an era where humans, as I stated above will become obsolete. All humans will fall into a lazy phase and we will be in a mechanical era.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the early chapters of the book, Malcolm states that the whole Jurassic Park idea will not work because of the Chaos Theory. The Chaos Theory states that first complex systems like weather have an underlying order and second the reverse of that the simple systems can produce complex behavior. I do agree with this theory, especially the second part because simple systems can be predictable to a point, but the slightest change in the system can throw off all predictions by a wide margin.

Main differences and similarities between God and human according to Hebrew Scriptures Essay

The first man was perfect, Made in the image of God and likeness (Genesis 1:26). Image in this case can not refer to the body; God is a spirit while man is earthly. Image here would mean the divine attributes that God endued man with, separating mankind from other animals. Short gives six God like qualities that man posses. These are language, creativity intellectual ability, dominion over the earth, love holiness, immortality and freedom (5). Some of these attributes are arguably not possible without including the body in the image. Man stands apart from all other living creatures because of his relationship with God. Grudem gives five aspects of our likeness to God. These aspects of human existence shows man to be more like God than the rest of creation. The aspects are: †¢ Moral aspect: Human has an inner sense of right and wrong that set him part from animals. †¢ Spiritual aspects: Man’s spiritual lives enable him to relate to God as persons, to pray and hear him speaking his word to him. †¢ Mental aspect: man has the ability to reason and think logically. †¢ Relational aspect: despite the fact that animal too relate to each other, the depth of interpersonal harmony in human relations; in marriage, church is much greater and function in accordance to God’s principles. †¢ Man’s great dignity as bearers of God’s image. Despite the fact that man is in the image of God, God has no the physical form but is a spirit. b) Similarities and differences between the gods and humans, according to the Iliad Greek gods are not spiritual beings but are anthropomorphic. They resemble human beings and tend to act in human ways. They portray human emotions, virtues and vices. They further are organized into divine family, which imitates the patriarchy of human society. Iliad gods are much concerned with human affairs. Many goddesses would mate with human beings, sire children who would favor them in times of war. The Iliad presents an action on two planes, the human and the divine. The gods serves to emphasize the limitation of man, his short life, and the ultimate meaningless of human affairs. Work cited Short J. R, The image of God. Viewed on 09/07/10 from http://www. answersingenesis. org/creation/v4/i1/man. asphttp://www. answersingenesis. org/creation/v4/i1/man. asp Dunkle R, classic origin of western culture. Viewed on 09/07/2010 from http://ablemedia. com/ctcweb/netshots/homer. htm Grudem. W, the Uniqueness of Human Beings: â€Å"In the Image of God viewed on 9/7/10 from http://www. creationbc. org/index. php? option=com_content&view=article&id=131&Itemid=5 Question 2: What is the covenant? (Gen: 12 and 15) The covenant refers to the Abraham covenant. Abraham is told to leave his people, take his wife and move to Canaan. The covenant found in Genesis 12:1-3 reads: â€Å"and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great and you shall be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless you, and curse them that curse you: and in you all families of the earth are blessed. † Abraham would receive the seven physical blessings only if he would obey God. Nations in Abraham day would be blessed through Abraham .The covenant has four basic provisions, these are: †¢ Special favor with God. †¢ Land provision †¢ Special favor to Abrahams physical offspring’s, and , †¢ Special favor to Abraham’s spiritual seeds Relationship between Abraham Covenant and Mosaic Ten Commands of Exodus 20 The Mosaic Law was a bilateral covenant made specifically for Israel to govern her life in the Promised Land. From the Abrahamic covenant, Israel was a chosen nation, an instrument through which God would bless all other nations. Yahweh was her Theocratic king to rule and guide the nation to her destiny, protect the nation from pollution and contaminations by other nations hence fulfill the God’s intended purpose. The Mosaic nation was hence instituted to direct Israel as a nation in all spheres of her life- morally, socially, politically, economically and religiously. Work cited Grudem. W, the Uniqueness of Human Beings: â€Å"In the on 9/7/10 from Image of God viewed http://www. creationbc. org/index. php? option=com_content&view=article&id=131&Itemid=5 Keathley H. j The Mosaic Law. Viewed on 09/07/10 from http://bible. org/article/mosaic-law-its-function-and-purpose-new-testament Question 3 The origin of evil and human suffering according to: †¢ Hebrew scriptures According to Rhodes, evil is something that is not an existence of its own: it rather is corruption of that which already exists. It is absence or privation of something good (3). Evil exist either as natural evil or moral evil. Moral evil is evil that we human beings originate: cruel, unjust, vicious and perverse thoughts and deeds. Natural evil is evil that originates independently human actions: in disease, earthquakes, storms, droughts etc. In Gen1:31, the original creation was very good. No sin, no evil and no death. The turn down come after Adam and Eve choose to use their God given free will and violently chose to disobey him. Created in the image of God, man was given the risky gift of free will. Based on the above fact, it would be right to argue that God had the potential for evil, when he bestowed upon man the freedom of choice but the origin of evil came s result of man’s who disobeyed God for his own selfish personal desires. †¢ Sayings of Buddha According to Buddha, craving is the root cause of all human suffering. To him craving is the central evil that reduced life into a bundle of painful despair. As long as there were delightful and pleasurable things, the craving would persist. Craving takes root in the sense, in the eye, in the ear, in the nose, in the tongue in the mind and in the body. Sensuous craving causes accumulation of present and future suffering. These accumulated craving then leads people to various form of conflicts and quarrels or wicked acts like stealing robbery or seducing other men’s wives which results in deadly pain or death ( the noble truth of the origin of suffering). †¢ Hesiod in Works and Days According to Hesiod, gods keep secretes of an easy life away from men. From Hesiod’s work, Prometheus was able to snatch the gift of fire from man, pilfering it from the gods; this angered Zeus who vowed to curse men. He sent the evil seductress Pandora them â€Å"all gifts† like diseases, pain and evil. Hesiod believes that all women are wily, wiggling traps to lead men to destruction. God keep men helpless, men then live lives of toil to avoid starvation. Work cited Rhodes. R, Notes on the Problem of Evil. Viewed on 09/07/10 from http://ldolphin. org/evil. html Question 4 Meanings of the Hebrew words for prophet The common word for prophet in Hebrew is nabi and meaning spokesman. Other Hebrew words associated with prophetic figures are hozeh and ro’eh, both meaning some one that sees. Nabi and Hozeh are close synonyms. The roles a prophet filled during the period of the Hebrew Kingdom, from Saul to the exile and return from Babylon Prophets played an important role in Israel political life. In the monarchy and rise to power of Saul, Samuel played an important role in the decision and action. Samuel was at the frontline in the appointment of David (1sam 8-12; 15-16). Even prophets who had a strong burden to correct false religious practice like Hosea addressed political issues strongly. Prophets would be consulted about the future. They were powerful to bless or curse, like in the Moabite prophet Balaam illustrates (nun 22). Prophets would also perform miraculous or symbolic acts like; Showing unusual power over nature (1 Kgs 17:1-8, 41-46) ,Feeding people by miraculous means (1 Kgs 17:8-16; 2 Kgs 4:1-7; 4:38-44), Healing people (2 Kgs 5:1-19) or causing others to fall ill (2 Kgs 5:20-27), Rising the dead (1 Kgs 17:17-24; 2 Kgs 4:8-37) and Performing other miraculous and/or symbolic actions (1 Kgs 18; 2 Kgs 6) â€Å"Prophet’s reward† in Old Testament times In the Old Testament times, each prophet had to pass through pain of rejection, self doubt, persecution, and ultimately vindication only after the unfolding of history validates their prophetic utterances. Jeremiah, after many years of warning his people of unidentified evil coming from north, wearied by the non fulfillment of his prophecies, even his family members plotted against him to take his life in order to silence him. Differences between visions and messages of the prophets Prophet in the bible were not were not primarily foretellers, they in addition seeing would criticize the present wrong doing, injustice, oppression, and rich , luxurious worship while the poor starved. Amos, for instance looked at the future often to warn. He warned against disobedience and its repercussions. Bible dictionary: Prophets, viewed on 11/07/10 from file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/User/Desktop/prophets. htm

Research Essay

1. Dadaism- was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century. Many claim Dada began in Zurich, Switzerland in 1916, spreading to Berlin shortly thereafter but the height of New York Dada was the year before in 1915. To quote Dona Budd’s The Language of Art Knowledge. Dada was born out of negative reaction to the horrors of World War I. This international movement was begun by a group of artist and poets associated with the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich. Dada rejected reason and logic, prizing nonsense, irrationality and intuition. The origin of the name Dada is unclear; some believe that it is a nonsensical word. Others maintain that it originates from the Romanian artists Tristan Tzara’s and Marcel Janco’s frequent use of the words da, da, meaning yes, yes in the Romanian language. Another theory says that the name â€Å"Dada† came during a meeting of the group when a paper knife stuck into a French-German dictionary happened to point to ‘dada’, a French word for ‘hobbyhorse’. 2. Cubism- is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement pioneered by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, joined by Jean Metzinger, Albert Gleizes, Robert Delaunay, Henri Le Fauconnier, Fernand Là ©ger and Juan Gris that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. Cubism has been considered the most influential art movement of the 20th century. The term is broadly used in association with a wide variety of art produced in Paris (Montmartre, Montparnasse and Puteaux) during the 1910s and extending through the 1920s. Variants such as Futurism and Constructivism developed in other countries. A primary influence that led to Cubism was the representation of three-dimensional form in the late works of Paul Cà ©zanne, which were displayed in a retrospective at the 1907 Salon d’Automne. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassembled in an abstracted form—instead of depicting objects from one viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent the subject in a greater context. 3. Impressionism- is a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists. Their independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s, in spite of harsh opposition from the conventional art community in France. The name of the style derives from the title of a Claude Monet work, Impression, soleil levant(Impression, Sunrise), which provoked the critic Louis Leroy to coin the term in a satirical review published in the Parisian newspaper Le Charivari. Impressionist painting characteristics include relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subject matter, inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience, and unusual visual angles. The development of Impressionism in the visual arts was soon followed by analogous styles in other media that became know n as impressionist music and impressionist literature. 4. Expressionism- was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas. Expressionist artists sought to express meaning or emotional experience rather than physical reality. Expressionism was developed as an avant-garde style before the First World War. It remained popular during the Weimar Republic, particularly in Berlin. The style extended to a wide range of the arts, including painting, literature, theatre, dance, film, architecture and music.

Media and Sexuality

I feel the embarrassment of women in advertising usually focus on women being considered as male sexual objects. The complete AXE campaign in commercials treats both men and women as dense idiots, and assumes that young men will believe that spraying crap on themselves will attract hot young women. The commercials has the man spraying magic cologne known as Axe, he becomes the sexual object of women's desire. Literally hundreds of women are running through the Jungle hunting down a smell as their life depends on it. When they reach the meal, the prey, which is a man is spraying Axe all over his body.The sad part is how many guys fall for it. The advertising works. My teenage stepson has his cronies over constantly during the week and weekends. My basement known as the hangout smells like an Axe bomb Just got dropped. When their friends who are girls are coming over it is the worst, they put on twice as much. I basically want to suffocate myself in sweet smelling air fresheners, It re minds me of my high school experience when all the teen boys drowned themselves in Calvin Klein cologne. I have tried to ell them that they might be actually offending some of the girls, because they might have viewed the Axe commercial.Their response Is â€Å"No way man, chicks goes crazy over this stuff. Are men really senseless enough to believe that If they spray themselves with something In a can that beautiful women as defined by the media will intensely throw themselves at them? The commercial shows attractive women tackling down guys that spray It on but It also makes guys look like Idiots because In real life no one believes putting on a cheap body spray will attract anyone. It concern me because guys who has low self esteem or are suffering from not being attracted to women are desperate enough to buy Axe products.In the Harden's ad, well-known celebrity, Kim Sardinian, Is and Is shown eating one of the hamburger chain's salads. There are two strategies going on In the ad . The first one Is the use of a celebrity to sell the product, and the second one Is the plan that uses sex appeal. The low cut dress shows off Christian's full cleavage, and the spotlight seems to be on that feature Instead of the focus merchandise, the salad. The media plays sexuality because Its market led; they give people what they want, when they want It. For men, beauty In women Is very Important, for women beauty In men Is less.A man can be considered very attractive by women without being particular handsome, or handsome at all. Media and Sexuality By sprightliness's have viewed the Axe commercial. Their response is â€Å"No way man, chicks goes crazy over this stuff. Are men really senseless enough to believe that if they spray themselves with something in a can that beautiful women as defined by the media cackling down guys that spray it on but it also makes guys look like idiots because in celebrity, Kim Sardinian, is and is shown eating one of the hamburger chain's sal ads.There are two strategies going on in the ad. The first one is the use of a celebrity to sell the product, and the second one is the plan that uses sex appeal. The that feature instead of the focus merchandise, the salad. The media plays sexuality because its market led; they give people what they want, when they want it. For men, beauty in women is very important, for women beauty in men is less. A man can be

An Evaluation of Consumer Buying Criteria and Its Impact on the Purchase of Commoditized Laptops

AN EVALUATION OF CONSUMER BUYING CRITERIA AND ITS IMPACT ON THE PURCHASE OF COMMODITIZED LAPTOPS by Rachel V. McClary A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Capella University December 2006  © Rachel McClary, 2006 AN EVAULATION OF CONSUMER BUYING CRITERIA AND ITS IMPACT ON THE PURCHASE OF COMMODITIZED LAPTOPS by Rachel V. McClary has been approved December 2006 APPROVED: JIM MIRABELLA, D. B. A, Faculty Mentor and Chair RICHARD MURPHY, Ph. D. , Committee Member ELAINE GUERRAZZI, Ph. D. , Committee Member ACCEPTED AND SIGNED: _________________________________________ JIM MIRABELLA, D. B. A. __________________________________________ Kurt Linberg, Ph. D. Executive Director, School of Business & Technology Abstract Laptop vendors are constantly looking for new ways to differentiate themselves. The commodization of this market precipitates a deeper view into what drives a consumer purchase of one brand over another. Do cer tain demographic profiles exist that are more likely to purchase a particular brand? Do certain product or brand attributes serve as the final decision criteria in the purchase process?What is compelling between laptop brands to drive selection? Results support the premise that relationships exist and that consumers are more likely to purchase one brand over another based on age, education level, gender or technical competence. The likely selection of a laptop brand can also be associated with a particular product or brand attribute. A better understanding of the laptop consumer enhances a vendor’s ability to properly segment and market the message to the right audience, increasing the likelihood of purchase. Implications for laptop vendors and recommendations for them as well as future research are presented.Dedication To Stephen, whose commitment and dedication to this journey was equal if not sometimes greater than my own. To Olivia and Elle, may this serve in later years as evidence that anything can be achieved if you work hard. iii Acknowledgments To committee members, Dr. Dick Murphy and Dr. Elaine Guerazzi, thank you for your careful guidance and direction from the first proposal to the final submission. Your contributions were appreciated and made this final product what it is. An unparalleled gratitude must be extended to my Mentor, Dr.Jim Mirabella, whose tireless commitment, support and confidence given to me throughout the process cannot go unrecognized. I only hope that I can demonstrate the passion and dedication to students he so easily does. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgments iv List of Tables vii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 Introduction to the Problem 1 Background of the Study 1 Statement of the Problem 3 Purpose of the Study 4 Research Questions 4 Significance of the Study 6 Definition of Terms 6 Conceptual Framework 9 Organization of the Remainder of the Study CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 10 11 Introduction 11 Decision Making Theory 1 Consumer Choice Through Decision Making 22 Attributes as Influencers to Purchase 31 Brand Equity Definitions 41 Application to High Tech 43 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY 46 Design of the Study 46 Methodology 47 v Study of the Population and Sample 48 Measurement Strategy 50 Variables 51 Research Questions and Hypotheses 51 Data Analysis Procedures 59 Assumptions and Limitations 59 CHAPTER 4. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS 60 Demographics 60 Brand 61 Respondent Characteristics 61 Results 64 CHAPTER 5. RESULTS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 174 The Research Questions 174 The Hypotheses 175 Conclusions 91 Recommendations for Laptop Vendors 196 Recommendations for Future Research 199 REFERENCES 201 APPENDIX SURVEY 208 vi List of Tables Table 1. Brand’s Role in Consumer Choice 36 Table 2. Gender Descriptive Statistics 62 Table 3. Age Group Descriptive Statistics 62 Table 4. Education Level Descriptive Statistics 63 Table 5. Technical Competence Level Descriptive Statistics 64 Table 6. Crosstabulation for H1 65 Table 7. Chi Square Test for H1 66 Table 8. Crosstabulation for H2 67 Table 9. Chi Square Test for H2 68 Table 10. Crosstabulation for H3 69 Table 11. Chi Square Test for H3 69 Table 12.Crosstabulation for H4 71 Table 13. Chi Square Test for H4 72 Table 14. Crosstabulation for H5 73 Table 15. Chi Square Test for H5 74 Table 16. Crosstabulation for H6 75 Table 17. Chi Square Test for H6 76 Table 18. Crosstabulation for H7 77 Table 19. Chi Square Test for H7 77 Table 20. Crosstabulation for H8 79 Table 21. Chi Square Test for H8 80 Table 22. Crosstabulation for H9 81 vii Table 23. Chi Square Test for H9 82 Table 24. Crosstabulation for H10 83 Table 25. Chi Square Test for H10 84 Table 26. Crosstabulation for H11 85 Table 27. Chi Square Test for H11 85 Table 28. Crosstabulation for H12 7 Table 29. Chi Square Test for H12 88 Table 30. Crosstabulation for H13 89 Table 31. Chi Square Test for H13 90 Table 32. Crosstabulation for H14 91 Table 33. Chi Square Test for H14 92 Table 34. Crosstabulation for H15 93 Table 35. Chi Square Test for H15 93 Table 36. Crosstabulation for H16 95 Table 37. Chi Square Test for H16 96 Table 38. Crosstabulation for H17 97 Table 39. Chi Square Test for H17 98 Table 40. Crosstabulation for H18 99 Table 41. Chi Square Test for H18 100 Table 42. Crosstabulation for H19 101 Table 43. Chi Square Test for H19 101 Table 44. Crosstabulation for H20 103 Table 45.Chi Square Test for H20 104 viii Table 46. Crosstabulation for H21 105 Table 47. Chi Square Test for H21 106 Table 48. Crosstabulation for H22 107 Table 49. Chi Square Test for H22 108 Table 50. Crosstabulation for H23 109 Table 51. Chi Square Test for H23 109 Table 52. Crosstabulation for H24 111 Table 53. Chi Square Test for H24 112 Table 54. Crosstabulation for H25 113 Table 55. Chi Square Test for H25 114 Table 56. Crosstabulation for H26 115 Table 57. Chi Square Test for H26 116 Table 58. Crosstabulation for H27 117 Table 59. Chi Square Test for H27 117 T able 60. Crosstabulation for H28 119 Table 61.Chi Square Test for H28 120 Table 62. Crosstabulation for H29 121 Table 63. Chi Square Test for H29 122 Table 64. Crosstabulation for H30 123 Table 65. Chi Square Test for H30 124 Table 66. Crosstabulation for H31 125 Table 67. Chi Square Test for H31 125 Table 68. Crosstabulation for H32 127 ix Table 69. Chi Square Test for H32 128 Table 70. Crosstabulation for H33 129 Table 71. Chi Square Test for H33 130 Table 72. Crosstabulation for H34 131 Table 73. Chi Square Test for H34 132 Table 74. Crosstabulation for H35 133 Table 75. Chi Square Test for H35 133 Table 76. Crosstabulation for H36 135 Table 77.Chi Square Test for H36 136 Table 78. Crosstabulation for H37 137 Table 79. Chi Square Test for H37 138 Table 80. Crosstabulation for H38 139 Table 81. Chi Square Test for H38 140 Table 82. Crosstabulation for H39 141 Table 83. Chi Square Test for H39 141 Table 84. Crosstabulation for H40 143 Table 85. Chi Square Test for H40 144 Table 86. Crosstabulation for H41 145 Table 87. Chi Square Test for H41 146 Table 88. Crosstabulation for H42 147 Table 89. Chi Square Test for H42 148 Table 90. Crosstabulation for H43 149 Table 91. Chi Square Test for H43 149 x Table 92. Crosstabulation for H44 151 Table 93.Chi Square Test for H44 152 Table 94. Crosstabulation for H45 154 Table 95. Chi Square Test for H45 155 Table 96. Crosstabulation for H46 156 Table 97. Chi Square Test for H46 157 Table 98. Crosstabulation for H47 158 Table 99. Chi Square Test for H47 159 Table 100. Crosstabulation for H48 160 Table 101. Chi Square Test for H48 161 Table 102. Crosstabulation for H49 162 Table 103. Chi Square Test for H49 163 Table 104. Crosstabulation for H50 164 Table 105. Chi Square Test for H50 165 Table 106. Crosstabulation for H51 166 Table 107. Chi Square Test for H51 167 Table 108. Crosstabulation for H52 68 Table 109. Chi Square Test for H52 169 Table 110. Crosstabulation for H53 170 Table 111. Chi Square Test for H53 171 Table 112. Crosstabulation for H54 172 Table 113. Chi Square Test for H54 173 Table 114. Relationships Between Demographics and Information Sources and Attributes 193 xi Table 115. Relationship Between Demographics and Most Important Evaluative Criterion 194 Table 116. Relationships Between Brand and Information Sources and Attributes 195 xii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION Introduction to the Problem The era of highly differentiated laptops in the consumer industry is over.No longer does one vendor dominate the market, enjoying their product being seen as exceedingly superior to its competition. What once served to distinguish a laptop provider has now been equalized across the field; every vendor offers the same microprocessors, the same RAM capacity, the same graphics cards, the same networking and wireless functionality. The commoditization of the market has diminished a vendor's ability to strongly differentiate themselves among consumers. With all things virtually equal within the box, what is it that makes a consumer choose one brand over another?Is it still within the box or outside of it that drives the decision? While the evaluative buying criteria consumers use when purchasing these products may be known, what was not known was the impact each of them have in contributing to that decision, and whether combinations of these criteria aligned with a certain demographic profile of a customer segment. Background of the Study The introduction of computer technology to the consumer market brought with it an evolution of change within the household that is comparable to the likes of radios and televisions in the 20th century.It served as a catalyst in jumpstarting not only how consumers obtain information but also the rapidity, quality and density with which they retrieve it. Computers serve as a source of entertainment in addition to its role as resource and productivity tool. 1 Over the years as the benefits of household computers exponentially increased while simultan eously being realized, the technology had equally improved at the same rate. What was once a massive box and monitor taking up an entire desktop was now a sleek, stylish addition to one’s decor, the size of a coffee table book.What had piggybacked on this technology boom was the paradigm shift in the computer industry from highly proprietary, differentiated and premiumpriced hardware to industry-standard, commoditized components that were priced accordingly. Despite the loss of high margin goods, manufacturers continued to push the boundaries of the technology to deliver one more choice point to the consumer – mobile computing. The explosion of laptop/mobile notebooks on to the market further improved user productivity and introduced a sense of freedom otherwise unknown.Similar to any market where a hot product enters, manufacturers were quick to replicate and develop their own under their brand. The Personal Computer was viewed by consumers in the United States as a v aluable tool to enhance productivity and improve the entertainment experience. While the form factor of choice in households today remains the desktop, maintaining more than 50% of the ownership, laptop/mobile notebooks are improving their position, up to 17%. Price difference between the two remains the primary reason for the gap, although manufacturers are introducing lower priced laptops that directly challenge the price of many desktops.The increase of wireless capabilities and the corresponding benefits were beginning to tip the scales toward the mobile computing direction (Daoud & Shim, 2005). Fast forward from the introduction of the computer to the laptop today, where the market has became saturated with well-known brands, each offering nearly indistinguishable products to a population of consumers that are now more educated, have easier access to more information to compare and contrast competitive products and ultimately make a much more fact-based, 2 informed decision.Whi le consumers enjoy the benefit of being more educated with public access to free information regarding laptops, manufacturers continue to conduct studies on consumer behaviors behind closed doors. Little to no market segmentation exist publicly that states who the laptop buyer really is. No public studies had been located at this point of this dissertation development, as market research studies are traditionally private. What has been studied is the decision making process itself, grounded in theory and tested in practice, specifically when consumers seek ought the information that is available to them.Within the normative model of decision making, the consumer collected information about alternatives, evaluated them based on their relevance and made a decision that will maximize the value of that decision (Lau, 1995; Abelson & Levi, 1985). How the consumer collected his information affected the choice strategy he selected. The more complex the decision task, the more likely strate gies will be employed to simplify that task (Johnson & Payne, 1985; Thorngate, 1980). Statement of the Problem As industry standard components within a laptop became more prevalent, the ability to differentiate became more difficult.The commoditization of this market created a challenge for manufacturers to identify the internal motivation among the consumer base that influenced their purchase of one brand over another. This commoditization had proven it difficult for any one vendor to considerably differentiate themselves in the consumer market. Laptop vendors needed to know if relationship existed between the profile of these consumers, the most important buying criteria they used when considering the purchase and the final brand that was selected at point of purchase. 3 Purpose of the StudyThe purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between the brand of laptop consumers selected and a variety of demographic and evaluative buying criteria considered in the process. The demographic variables examined included age, education level and the degree of technical competence. The result provided laptop vendors a unique perspective on the consideration and selection phase. The results further enabled useful segmentation of the population to better target messaging and promotions that will resonate with the appropriate audience.There is tremendous business value in vendors gaining insight into the consumers' minds around this topic as it can drive better marketing activity to influence awareness, consideration, preference and ultimately purchasing campaigns. Marketing the wrong product features to the wrong audience results in a low marketing Return on Investment (ROI). Customer insight is powerful and can properly navigate the vendor toward the right direction in developing message and value propositions that hit the mark, resulting in higher sales and higher returns on their investment.Research Questions Humans are inquisitive. They seek to answer the many questions that are posed as a result of their observations and interpretations. Research acts a framework to help guide an individual through the process of producing high quality, reliable answers to those questions, enabling better decision making. All research begins with the simplest form of a question. While the process for development and refinement is built into the design of the research and its methodology, the spark of inquiry that fuels it is primal and basic This study strove to answer a series of nine research questions within two categories through the development of relevant hypotheses and use of statistical techniques to either prove or disprove them. Demographics 1. Is there a relationship between the demographics of a laptop user and the brand purchased? 2. Does a relationship exist between the demographics of a laptop user and the most important evaluative buying criteria identified by the consumer in contributing to the purchase decision? 3.Is the re a relationship between the relative importance of various information sources and the demographics of a laptop user? 4. Does a relationship exist between the between the demographics of a laptop user and the tangible, product-like attributes considered in the purchase decision? 5. Does a relationship exist between the between the demographics of a laptop user and the soft, intangible attributes considered in the purchase decision? Brand 1. Is there a relationship between the laptop brand purchased and the relative importance of various information sources used by the consumer? . Does a relationship exist between the tangible, product-like attributes considered in the purchase decision and the laptop brand selected? 3. Does a relationship exist between the soft, intangible attributes considered in the purchase decision and the laptop brand selected? 4. Is there a relationship between the laptop brand purchased and the most important evaluative buying criteria identified by the con sumer in contributing to the purchase decision? 5 Significance of the Study Identifying if a consumer tendency existed toward the use of tangible product attributes, (i. e. speeds and feeds†) versus less tangible criteria (i. e. brand awareness, or â€Å"I like Dell's commercials†) helped determine the appropriate course of action to influence them throughout their purchase journey. For instance, a 75 year-old female with a High School Diploma and no technical background would consider the purchase of one laptop over another for very different reasons than a 30 year-old Computer Technician who is heavily into gaming. Each individual develops his or her own collective set of attributes that is evaluated, assessed and weighed to enable a purchase decision.By better understanding the relationships between the criteria, including their relative importance in relation to demographic variables, laptop vendors can more accurately target the appropriate value proposition that w ill resonate with the intended audience. This type of focused segmentation and targeted messaging can result in a higher Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI). The better equipped vendors are to send the right message to the right audience, the better the likelihood it will result in increased sales.The number one function of Marketing is to grow the top line by filling the sales funnel with prospective buyers. Definition of Terms The definitions below were sourced from the online technical resource, whatis. com. Application program interface (API). An application program interface (API – and sometimes spelled application programming interface) is the specific method prescribed by a computer operating system or by an application program by which a programmer writing an application program can make requests of the operating system or another application.An API can be contrasted with a graphical user interface or a command interface (both of which are direct user interfaces) as interfaces to an operating system or a program. † 6 (Retrieved October 14, 2006 from http://searchexchange. techtarget. com/sDefinition/0,,sid43_gci213778,00. html) Commoditization. Commoditization is the existence of like attributes to a product or service. When a product becomes indistinguishable from others like it and consumers buy on price alone, it becomes a commodity. (Retrieved October 14, 2006 from http://www. investopedia. om/terms/c/commoditization. asp) Digital-to-analog conversion. Digital-to-analog conversion is a process in which signals having a few (usually two) defined levels or states (digital) are converted into signals having a theoretically infinite number of states (analog). A common example is the processing, by a modem, of computer data into audio-frequency (AF) tones that can be transmitted over a twisted pair telephone line. The circuit that performs this function is a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). (Retrieved October 14, 2006 from http://search smb. echtarget. com/sDefinition/0,,sid44_gci213875,00. html) Graphics card. A video adapter (alternate terms include graphics card, display adapter, video card, video board and almost any combination of the words in these terms) is an integrated circuit card in a computer or, in some cases, a monitor that provides digital-to-analog conversion, video RAM, and a video controller so that data can be sent to a computer's display. Today, almost all displays and video adapters adhere to a common denominator de facto standard, Video Graphics Array (VGA).VGA describes how data – essentially red, green, blue data streams – is passed between the computer and the display. It also describes the frame refresh rates in hertz. It also specifies the number and width of horizontal lines, which essentially amounts to specifying the resolution of the pixels that are created. VGA supports four different resolution settings and two related image refresh rates. (Retrieved October 14, 2006 f rom http://searchsmb. techtarget. com/sDefinition/0,290660,sid44_gci213290,00. html) Hard disk.A hard disk is part of a unit, often called a â€Å"disk drive,† â€Å"hard drive,† or â€Å"hard disk drive,† that stores and provides relatively quick access to large amounts of data on an electromagnetically charged surface or set of surfaces. Today's computers typically come with a hard disk that contains several billion bytes (gigabytes) of storage. A hard disk is really a set of stacked â€Å"disks,† each of which, like phonograph records, has data recorded electromagnetically in concentric circles or â€Å"tracks† on the disk. A â€Å"head† (something like a phonograph arm but in a relatively fixed position) records (writes) or reads the information on the tracks.Two heads, one on each side of a disk, read or write 7 the data as the disk spins. Each read or write operation requires that data be located, which is an operation called a â€Å" seek. † (Data already in a disk cache, however, will be located more quickly. ) A hard disk/drive unit comes with a set rotation speed varying from 4500 to 7200 rpm. Disk access time is measured in milliseconds. Although the physical location can be identified with cylinder, track, and sector locations, these are actually mapped to a logical block address (LBA) that works with the larger address range on today's hard disks. (Retrieved October 14, 2006 from http://searchstorage. techtarget. com/sDefinition/0,,sid5_gci212227,00. html) Laptop/mobile computer. A laptop computer, usually called a notebook computer by manufacturers, is a battery- or AC-powered personal computer generally smaller than a briefcase that can easily be transported and conveniently used in temporary spaces such as on airplanes, in libraries, temporary offices, and at meetings. A laptop typically weighs less than 5 pounds and is 3 inches or less in thickness. Retrieved October 14, 2006 from http://searchmo bilecomputing. techtarget. com/sDefinition/0,,sid40_gci213610,00. html) Operating system. An operating system (sometimes abbreviated as â€Å"OS†) is the program that, after being initially loaded into the computer by a boot program, manages all the other programs in a computer. The other programs are called applications or application programs. The application programs make use of the operating system by making requests for services through a defined application program interface (API).In addition, users can interact directly with the operating system through a user interface such as a command language or a graphical user interface (GUI). Retrieved October 14, 2006 from (http://searchsmb. techtarget. com/sDefinition/0,,sid44_gci212714,00. html) Processor. A processor is the logic circuitry that responds to and processes the basic instructions that drive a computer. The term processor has generally replaced the term central processing unit (CPU). The processor in a personal c omputer or embedded in small devices is often called a microprocessor. Retrieved October 14, 2006 from http://searchsmb. techtarget. com/sDefinition/0,,sid44_gci212833,00. html) RAM. RAM (random access memory) is the place in a computer where the operating system, application programs, and data in current use are kept so that they can be quickly reached by the computer's processor. RAM is much faster to read from and write to than the other kinds of storage in a computer, the hard disk, floppy disk, and CD-ROM. However, the 8 data in RAM stays there only as long as your computer is running. When you turn the computer off, RAM loses its data.When you turn your computer on again, your operating system and other files are once again loaded into RAM, usually from your hard disk. RAM can be compared to a person's short-term memory and the hard disk to the longterm memory. The short-term memory focuses on work at hand, but can only keep so many facts in view at one time. If short-term mem ory fills up, your brain sometimes is able to refresh it from facts stored in long-term memory. A computer also works this way. If RAM fills up, the processor needs to continually go to the hard disk to overlay old data in RAM with new, slowing down the computer's operation.Unlike the hard disk which can become completely full of data so that it won't accept any more, RAM never runs out of memory. It keeps operating, but much more slowly†. Retrieved October 14, 2006 from (http://searchmobilecomputing. techtarget. com/sDefinition/0,290660,sid40_gci214255,00. html) Conceptual Framework What is it that compels a consumer to purchase the Dell laptop instead of the HP when a consumer is comparing them side by side? Is it just the price? Has the consumer previously had a bad experience with HP?Are the Dell commercials intriguing enough to make consumers think they look like a fun company so their products must be the best? Does someone from a younger generation with a higher degree of technical competency tell an older family member that Dell is the only thing to buy? What drives the decision, and is there any relationship between those drivers and the consumer profile making them? Howard-Sheth (1969) and Engel (1983) developed models that can explain and predict human behavior and how it related to decision making, focusing on the process, learning and perceptions and attitudes.But did a key set of attributes exist that could influence that decision one way or the other? Specifically as it related to technology, the Technology Adoption Model (TAM) proposed five attributes that will be discussed in greater detail in Chapter 2. They 9 include: (a) perceived usefulness, (b) perceived ease of use, (c) relative advantage, (d) technology attitude, and (e) brand (Taylor & Todd, 1995). The first of several variables analyzed in this study was the brand of laptop selected in the purchase decision.Additional variables included both tangible, product-related factors lik e price and features as well as intangible, brand-related attributes like brand image and outside recommendations. The demographic variables were age, education, gender and level of technical competency. What was tested is the existence of a relationship between these variables and the laptop brand purchased. For example, whether or not the competency level of the consumer influenced the purchasing decision was studied.It is often conjectured that those consumers with a high level of technical competency may have a tendency to align more with the physical attributes versus with lower levels that choose to align emotionally. The age of the consumer is another indicator, as it is often speculated whether younger consumers make buying decisions based on intangible attributes such as brand image while older consumers depend more heavily on the more tangible attributes like reliability. Organization of the Remainder of the StudyChapter Two reviews the relevant literature examining decisi on-making theory at its most basic level and then delves deeper into consumer choice as it relates within that theory and further reviews specific attributes that would affect that choice and the role that brand equity plays within. Chapter Three reviews the methodology of this secondary research study while Chapter Four presents the analysis of the data. The final Chapter provides a thorough review of the findings including recommendations to vendors and future research. 10CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction Fundamental to unlocking the secret of internal motivations surrounding consumer purchase is understanding three key areas: (a) decision making theory that serves as the foundation and the role information plays in this process and the acquisition strategy of the user, (b) what drives consumer choice and the attributes that act as influencers to ultimately enable purchase decisions, and (c) importance of brand and the resulting brand equity that contributes to a consumerà ¢â‚¬â„¢s choice to purchase.Each of these three areas will be reviewed in this chapter. Decision Making Theory Data is data, but information is power. When data can be transformed into information, the user is equipped with better decision making tools. Different data can become information to different people, all based on its relevancy to the user in achieving the desired goal of making an informed decision. The stages a consumer experiences in working through this process are similar, and a certain sense of consistency has emerged as a result of continuous research around decision making.Decision Making Theory and Information Acquisition In order for a decision to be made, an individual must first identify a perceived need that must to be met. As mentioned, for this discussion, the individual will be identified as a consumer with the need for a product or service. Then the process begins. Within the normative 11 model of decision making, the consumer collects information about al ternatives, evaluates them based on their relevancy and makes a decision that will maximize the value of that decision (Lau, 1995;Abelson & Levi, 1985).Otherwise known as the value-maximization theory, the normative model has been criticized as too broad, ignoring human limitations (Moorthy, Ratchford & Talukdar, 1997; Thaler, 1985), and an evolutionary, bounded rationality model emerged to enhance it. Here consumers were assumed to have limited processing capability, selectively search alternatives and terminate the search when a suitable solution has been found (Simon, 1985). Further criticism emerged from this model as well. By selective selection, the consumer is compromising the random nature of the information search and may compromise the decision choice.How a consumer collects his information affects the choice strategy he uses. For example, decision makers choose a certain strategy depending on the complexity of the task. The more complex the decision task, the more likely people employ strategies to simply that task (Johnson & Payne, 1985; Thorngate, 1980). While several theories exist, the valuemaximization/normative model has remained relatively intact and enhanced with the limitation of human processing capacity. Rationality: Substantive Versus ProceduralThe first stage of defining relevancy as it relates to the consumer decision process within Abelson and Levi’s (1985) framework is grounded in the notion that consumers are rational and have the ability to apply a certain sense of logic to the determination and definition of relevant information to aid them in the decision making process. Consumers are considered rational decision-makers in the traditional economic theory of consumer behavior. They implement choice strategies that are the most advantageous to their outcome, based on their perception of the decision environment.The use of cost/benefit analysis demonstrates optimal nature of the 12 consumer’s strategy (Moorthy, Ratchfo rd & Talukdar, 1997; Payne, 1982). In addition Simon (1985) suggests that every consumer, when making a decision, has and uses a â€Å"utility function† that generates a ranking within the alternatives and enables the selection of the product with the highest utility. This process assumes a substantively rational solution. Procedural rationality as defined by Simon (1985) is the flexible nature of human ehavior that adapts and adjusts to the external factors facing and internal factors constraining the consumer. Because it was developed within psychology and the primary focus is on the process, procedural rationality concentrates on the process that generates a particular behavior rather than the outcome. The intent is to observe the individual and the process though which they work that will generate the rational thinking behind the decision. Compensatory Versus Noncompensatory Choice Rules The two major rules guiding choice strategies discussed in the literature are compens atory and noncompensatory.They are differentiated based on three characteristics: the level of attractiveness, commensurability across attributes and form of processing (intradimensional versus interdimensional). The former describes a complex and sophisticated method for Abelson and Levi’s (1985) third element of decision making, information integration, while the latter equally descriptive to information integration deploys a simplistic approach. Each of these rules is also used in the second stage of information collection. Compensatory choice rules require commensurability, enabling trade-off of attribute value of one over another.For example, when purchasing a home, the total square footage may be sacrificed for an ocean view. The level of attractiveness of each of these attributes could be high but trade-offs on initial ranking could occur. Generally compensatory choice mandates an 13 interdimensional form of processing, where the consumer assigns an overall rating to e ach attribute in the choice set (Abelson & Levi, 1985). Noncompensatory choice rules differ. Commensurability is not required, and attribute trade-offs are not allowed. Within this category of rules, there exist conjunctive and disjunctive rules.Both require a set of cutoffs on the choice dimensions. The conjunctive rule assumes a minimum set and product rejection when it does not exceed all of them. The form of processing is interdimensional. Using the home search example above, the consumer using a conjunctive, noncompensatory rule would consider each home separately and reject either if it did not meet both the square footage and view requirements. A caveat to this rule is that if more than one product exceeds all of the requirements, the model will yield an equal number of acceptable alternatives.At this point, the consumer would either develop more stringent cutoffs or use a different choice rule that would yield only one solution. Disjunctive rules also require those cutoffs, although the filter is different. â€Å"An alternative would be considered acceptable if it has at least one value greater than the corresponding cutoff† (Abelson & Levi, 1985, p. 260). With the home example, the homes to be considered acceptable would have at least the desired square footage or view. Both are not necessary.The caveat to this rule is that a different set of cutoffs would generate a different set of alternatives, allowing for multiple choices. The same issue applies to the conjunctive rules. Information Search Strategies Once the relevancy is determined the surgical approach in searching for information can begin. The strategies are learned and deployed cumulatively as the consumer steers his way through the process. The search strategies enable the integration of the information and the eventual selection of the product, exploring all three stages of Abelson and Levi’s (1985) model: 14 elevance, assembly and integration. First the idea of rationality e nables the definition of relevance. That breaks through to pave the way for assembling information which in turn enables the integration. An emergent belief exists among decision science researchers that consumer preferences are often times developed during the decision process rather than being pre-existing (Tversky, Sattath & Slovic, 1988; Bettman, 1979). â€Å"People often do not have well-defined preferences; instead, they may construct them on the spot when needed, such as when they must make a choice† (Bettman, Luce & Payne, 1988, p. 88). The concept of constructive preference enhances the ideas of Simon’s (1985) bounded rationality and limited processing capacity. It introduces the dynamic of human learning and adaptability, further refining the concepts to explain the intricate actions of consumer behavior and decision making. â€Å"One important property of this constructive viewpoint is that preference will often be highly context dependent. This implies tha t processing approaches may change as consumers learn more about problem structure during the course of making a decision† (Bettman, Luce & Payne, 1988, p. 88). Agility connotates a level of intelligence and rationality, bound together by reason and logic. Three search strategy models exist defined by the underlying choice rules (compensatory versus noncompensatory and interdimensional versus intradimensional): linear, additive difference, conjunctive and elimination-by-aspects (Payne, 1976). The additive model represents the consumer choosing between multi-attribute products by evaluating each product separately in a pre-determined choice set, an interdimensional form of processing.Each product attribute is first analyzed and then combined with other attributes that are perceived by the consumer to deliver the most value thereby creating the choice set (Lau, 1995). 15 In contrast, an intradimensional rule is employed within the additive difference model. Products are compared at the individual attribute level, differentiation is identified and the sum of the results is used to identify the best product. With both the linear and additive difference models, the strategies use a compensatory strategy (Lau, 1995). A non-compensatory strategy is used for the elimination-by-aspects (EBA) model.In opposition to the linear and additive difference models, EBA does not support commensurability (i. e. value tradeoffs). Product attributes are weighted based on perceived importance of the consumer. The attribute is then selected with probability proportional to its weight. Those products that do not meet the proportional values for the selected attributes are eliminated. The consumer considers only one product attribute at a time, an intradimensional form of processing (Tversky, 1972). Information Processing Theory of Consumer ChoiceThe theoretical framework of Bettman’s (1979) Information Processing Theory of Consumer Choice (IPTCC) consists of six key eleme nts that represent the hypothetical value chain, each chronologically and cumulatively dependent on the other, with four key summary points: (a) the choice process is iterative and goal-directed, (b) rather than strictly sequential, the process is cyclical, (c) in certain circumstances consumers abandon the conscious decision process in placement of â€Å"learned rules and procedures,† and (d) selection or what is termed â€Å"choice decisions† can be made at several different levels within the process.Considerable research has proven that individuals possess a limited capacity to process information, and when required to consider multiple attributes simultaneously the ability decreases, further limiting the processing capability (Bettman, 1979; Dawes, 1976; Lindsay & Norman, 1972; Norman & Bobrow, 1975; Simon, 1969). The first of six elements, processing 16 capacity, contributes to the theory that with limited capability, the use of heuristics (simple decision strateg ies) and previous experience plays a significant role in decision making.Braunstein (1976) defines heuristics as uncomplicated problem-solving methods that generate acceptable results to often complicated problems. The outcome is achieved by limiting the search to only possible solutions. Lau and Rediawsk (2001) define them as â€Å"problem-solving strategies (often employed automatically or unconsciously) which serve to keep the information processing demands of the task within bounds† (p. 252). There is no argument that heuristics are used in place of capacity and processing capability.Primitive in nature, they compensate for these gaps and enable more accurate choices with minimal cognitive effort (Abelson & Levi, 1985). Internal motivation dictates the amount of the limited processing capacity that is dedicated to a particular decision making activity. It also affects the choice of one behavior rather than a different one, as it prescribes a certain action that drives the consumer to a particular outcome (Bettman, 1979). A caveat to be considered regarding motivation is the control issue that motivational or emotional forces present.They tend to produce a sense of irrationality that may lead to judgmental biases (Abelson & Levi, 1985). Internal motivation is personal and drives unique behaviors in each consumer, yet the end result is the same. A purchase decision has been made. The drivers that triggered the process are likely different as is the path taken. The third element, attention and perceptual coding, breaks attention into two different categories: voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary attention occurs when a consumer consciously allocates his processing capacity toward an intended action while pursuing a pre-determined 17 goal.Involuntary attention on the other hand occurs as â€Å"an allocation of effort to stimuli based more upon automatic mechanisms than upon current goals† (Bettman, 1979, p. 25). As Bettman (1979) and Abelson and Levi (1985) posit, consumers acquire information they deem relevant to aid in achieving the goal of making decision. In addition the information must be evaluated for relevancy. Information acquisition and evaluation, the fourth element of the IPTCC, suggests that a conscious information processing effort is present only in a complex choice scenario. Consumers tend not to seek out new information when making a habitual choice.For situations where information is sought, two sources exist: internal memory and external. Information from one’s memory is what Bettman (1979) refers to as strongly associated, proposing that little processing effort is necessary. For example, when a consumer frequently purchases their favorite brand of toothpaste, any type of information processing is absent. The decision is made without thought. Information stored in memory, prior knowledge, does affect the information processing model and has been studied extensively (Brucks, 1985; Johnson & Russo, 1984; Bettman & Park, 1980).Different measures within the prior knowledge concept have been studied including frequency of purchase (Bettman & Park, 1980), formal training (Sujan, 1985;Hutchinson, 1983) and self-reporting (Johnson & Russo, 1984; Alba, 1983). For situations when the information in memory is either non-existent or insufficient, it will be sought externally from a variety of resources. Bettman and Kakkar (1977) support the series of studies that have been conducted to show that how a consumer collects information is heavily dependent on the format in which that information is presented (Capon & Burke, 1977; Payne 1976; Tversky, 1969) .The search patterns differ as the display format does. The strategies employed by a consumer in selecting a 18 particular product over another have been boiled down to two emerging patterns: Choice by Processing Brands (CPB) and Choice by Processing Attributes (CPA). Information is gathered on several attributes of one brand first and th en collected on a second, a third, and the process continues with CPB. CPA strategy is used by consumers who first look at one attribute across several brands and then proceed to the second attribute. These could be referred to as vertical (CPB) versus horizontal (CPA) approaches to brand products.The use of these strategies by consumers to assembly relevant information to enable their decision is strongly affected by the structure of that information being presented. The consumer’s use of cost/benefit analysis demonstrating rationality was discussed earlier as it related to the determination of relevancy. This is also applicable to discuss as it relates to the information search of that relevant content. Within the context of information search, the same principles apply. A consumer’s search is optimized when the perceived benefit and cost of that search are considered.Experience increases expertise and drives the demand for more information, while product knowledge d ecreases the demand (Moorthy, Ratchford & Talukdar, 1997). The degree of pre-existing knowledge versus the perceived cost of acquiring new knowledge in an effort to decide which product is the best fit for the need is weighed. When a consumer searches on a brand and retrieves all the attribute information desired, â€Å"the uncertainty of that brand is removed, and its true utility revealed â€Å" (p. 265), thus producing a high benefit relative to a lower perceived cost of information acquisition.If the consumer brings existing brand knowledge, the perceived cost is even lower. Moorthy, Ratchford and Talukdar’s (1997) study was able to show that these factors affect the search behavior of the consumer and highlight the effect prior brand knowledge has on the search process. 19 Svenson (1979) summarized several studies in this area, documenting that an increase in the number of product attributes to be considered had a greater effect on the information search than a compara ble increase in products. The limited processing capacity of consumers is clearly demonstrated here.An interesting point to consider is the difference in effect of information collection between the change of product attributes versus number of products. The more attributes, the less information consumers sought. Multi-attribute products, while warranting more information yet resulting in the collection and assembly of less, would lead one to conclude that these types of products and the choices presented to the consumer yield less than desirable results for both the consumer and product vendor. Vendors should integrate these learnings into the development of their products and corresponding attributes.In referring back to the third stage of Abelson and Levi’s (1985) decision making theory, integrating information to make decisions, Bettman’s (1979) concept of perceptual coding supports it. Perceptual coding describes the process through which a consumer navigates by i nterpreting the meaning of information to which he has directed attention. Several theories propose that the interpretation of that information is developed by using both â€Å"information from memory† and â€Å"the perceptual input itself† (Bettman, 1979, p. 25; Lindsay & Norman, 1972).In addition to perceptual coding, the amount of information the consumer collects in the assembly stage can contribute to the success of a quality decision or the failure of a low quality decision. Bettman, Luce, and Payne (1998) found the following: Decisions become more difficult as the amount of information increases, as the time resources available for processing the information decrease, as the degree of conflict among attributes increases, as the amount of missing information increases, as the information display format becomes less organized or more complex. (p. 199) 20Information load can be defined as the independent number of informational items. When asked to choose between t wo products, consumers search equally on both alternatives demonstrating the use of a compensatory decision rule. When asked to review and choose between several products with more attributes to consider, the search concentrates on only a few attributes within the choice set, utilizing a noncompensatory strategy. When faced with too many options, consumers reduce the amount of information collected by artificially reducing the number of alternative product combinations to achieve the objective of choosing one product (Payne, 1976).Less information is sought and noncompensatory strategies used to simplify the task. While time pressure may contribute (Wallsten, 1980; Wright, 1974), findings of these studies conclude that the use of simpler, less optimal rules enable the otherwise complex task to be completed (Abelson & Levi, 1985). Information load and decision quality are inversely related. High levels of information can considerably reduce decision quality.In research conducted by M alhotra (1982), the effects of a wide range of content and information on decision quality was studied with a varied set of measures including a self-determination of overload. The results of the study support the theory and existence of relationship between the amount of information a consumer sees and the quality of the decision made in support of that information. Consumers who are faced with too many attributes are cognitively unable to make the number of necessary comparisons to thoroughly rank them. As a result, they resort to simple choice rules and heuristics to achieve the objective.Further studies by Scammom (1977) suggest that when confronted with increasing amounts of information, consumers will likely split their time between all of the informational objects causing a dilution of the content consumption and eventual overload, causing low decision quality and dissatisfaction among the consumer over their product choice. 21 The final element of the Process, consumption an d learning, refers to the consumer’s progression through the stages to arrive at a final purchase decision and ultimately consume the product. The experience as a result of the purchase and consumption can be recycled and used as information for uture purchase decisions. In a world of endless data, the skill to convert it into useful information to enable an educated, high quality decision is greatly coveted. The three stages of relevancy, assembly and integration are equally important and equally deserving of further observation as they relate to consumer decision making. The more data, the less likely the consumer is able to wade through it and result in a quality decision. A paradox exists. Consumers crave data. They covet information. Yet when presented with a limitless supply, they are overloaded and forced to ignore the abundance.The human condition creates an environment that sustains the individual and supports them in their decision making process. With too much, we get less. With too little, we get less. The careful, delicate balance between starvation and overload is the utopia vendors need to obtain to better enable more satisfied, higher quality decisions consumers can enjoy. Consumer Choice Through Decision Making This section will introduce to the reader the models that support the underlying drivers to consumer choice and the attributes that act as influencers to enable purchase decisions.It will answer the questions: what drives consumer choice and what attributes from those drivers influence purchase? The reader will understand how the consumer approaches the concept of making a decision and the internal, processes and tools he uses to arrive at that decision. For the purposes of this discussion, the scope of attributes influencing purchase as they relate to consumer choice will be bound to the area of technology adoption. The concepts of consumer 22 choice and decision making are described in the general context. Discussion relation t o them focus in on the technology adoption component.Choice can be a double-edged sword. When not faced with it, one feels mandated. When faces with its entirety, one feels overwhelmed. In between exists a delicate balance, once where the decision-maker believes enough in the way of resources has been allocated to enable him to generate a high quality decision. In the context of consumer choice, the process an individual assumes to ensure the quality is driven by the individual, similar in methodology to all but unique in deployment. Drivers to Choice What drives a consumer to choose one product over another?What combination of variables, alternatives, external or internal factors compels the decision? The answer, intricate in its delivery yet simple in its response is fundamentally human behavior. How humans process information and make choices around the selection and consumption of products is fundamentally to answer the question of what drives the actions. Swift and continuous t echnological change in conjunction with the explosion of information sources like the web and television have given consumers too much choice within a time-pressured environment. How can consumers adapt and cope with the decisions they make?Bettman, Luce and Payne (1998) suggest the process is adaptive and present a conceptual framework of five components that helps unlock the secret of understanding the process consumers undergo to form their purchase decisions. Howard and Sheth (1969) focus on four stages of attitudes, perceptions and learning, while Engel (1983) focuses on decision making as problem solving. This section of the paper will guide the reader through a series of theoretical and applied behavior models that provide the foundation, structure and eventual answer to the question: what drives consumer choice? 3 Constructive Consumer Choice Processes in Summary Is the consumer choice process adaptive? Are consumers agile enough to recognize at a moment in time through refl ection that a different approach might yield a more acceptable outcome? Bettman, Luce and Payne (1998) say yes, and support it with five summary concepts that will be presented here. Consumers are goal oriented and develop their process for making a choice to achieve their goal. Driving factors include motivation, like increasing decision quality, reducing effort level or decreasing negative emotions.Because consumers are rational in nature, they also recognize that limited cognitive processing capability requires them to selectively process the most relevant information (Bettman, Luce & Payne, 1998). Continuing with the theme of information, consumers do differ in the rules and strategies they employ when collecting and analyzing it. Several argue that increased knowledge and expertise better enable the consumer to assess the information and select more effective decision strategies (Alba & Hutchinson, 1987; Russo & LeClerc, 1994; West, Brown & Hoch, 1996).Even further down the dis cussion with information, Bettman, Payne and Luce (1998) state that how the information is displayed and presented can also affect/influence the consumer’s decision. Using Slovic’s (1972) principle of concreteness as the basis for their argument, they demonstrate that consumers are more likely to use information â€Å"that is explicitly displayed and will use it in the form it is displayed, without transforming it† (p. 202). Consumers will also vary their process when product categories are comparable and noncomparable.Comparable choices are product alternatives in choice sets that have similar attributes, like a BMW versus a Mercedes. Noncomparable categories involve no similar attributes, like comparing cellular phone to a Mercedes. In those kinds of situations consumers 24 tend to â€Å"develop more abstract attribute or compare overall evaluations† (Bettman, Payne & Luce, 1998, p. 203) to process the information. Time constraint is the fifth and final contributing element to an adaptive decision process. Time dictates availability to process, compare and choose.Consumers will limit each phase as appropriate to accommodate the constraints (Betmman, Payne & Luce, 1998). Howard-Sheth Model Four stages exist within the Howard-Sheth (1969) model, all to occur sequentially, building cumulative momentum to aid the consumer in his choice: (a) inputs, (b) perceptual constructs, (c) learning constructs, and (d) outputs. The inputs a consumer receives are a series of informational objects around the brand or product that can be categorized in three ways, significative, symbolic or social. Information around the physical attributes of a product, like features and functionality are significative.Verbal and visual information in the form of advertising is symbolic, and social content is received through the consumer’s social environment by means of product opinions and recommendations (Warner, 1997). Perceptual constructs are built as a result of the informational inputs. While the inputs serve as the foundation on which to develop a purchase decision, the perceptual construct further refines the base to filter those inputs and frame them in a manner that is comprehensible for the consumer. Two different actions occur here to achieve that objective, contributing to the goal: stimulus ambiguity and overt search.Stimulus ambiguity is not an action, rather an experience; however, the phenomenon describes a state of confusion and lack of clarity around the messages attempting to be received by consumer that thwarts the progress. While many might consider an obstacle like this to detract from the goal, it contributes strongly by leading the consumer to an overt search, concentrating on collecting intelligence/information about the subject of the 25 message. Not every consumer experiences ambiguity and not every consumer will conduct an overt search.These two actions result in a stronger, more vetted set of perceptual constructs that prepare the consumer to learn (Warner, 1997). Learning constructs are strongly influenced by the preceding perceptual constructs. Four learning constructs exist, each driving different reactions, although each equally driving choice: (a) motivation, (b) brand comprehension, (c) confidence, and (d) attitude. Consumers are motivated to satisfy a perceived need, and it is this internal motivation that influences the evaluative criteria used to select the appropriate product to purchase (Warner, 1997).Howard and Sheth (1969) argue that perceptions can be influenced. Brand comprehension simply defined is a consumer’s overall perception of a product. Targeted messaging, previous experience with the brand and external recommendations from trusted sources are three primary factors that influence and drive product choice over another. Brand comprehension, Howard and Sheth (1969) argue, has an equally powerful capability of influencing consumer attitudes toward particul ar products (Warner, 1997).The work and navigation through a series of stages up to this point all contributes to the level of confidence the consumer experiences toward the capability of a particular product to satisfy his initial, perceived need. Confidence determines the next step. Does the consumer feel confident that he is on the right path, that enough information has been collected and properly filtered to aid in his decision? Does he feel as though he has missed something, or has the work up to this point secured his position allowing him to develop an attitude about his selection?Attitude and confidence drive the intention to purchase, which leads to the actual purchase or output. Attitude is developed as a result of the confidence created by consumer wile 26 forming hi opinion through collecting information by way of inputs, developing perceptions as a result of learning from those perceptions. The output is the purchase. Engel Model The Howard-Sheth Model (1969) places gr eater emphasis on perception, attitudes and learning, while the Engel Model (1983) concentrates on decision-making processes.The Engel Model (1983) views consumer decision-making as a problem-solving exercise, assuming the purchase of a particular product will resolve the initial problem. The most common sequence within a decision-making framework introduces six stages of the consumer experience: (a) define the problem, (b) generate alternative solutions, (c) evaluate alternatives, (d) decide on the solution, (e) implement decision, and (f) monitor results. Engel (1983) enhances the sequence by overlaying the driving human factors behind the sequence, preserving the process.Motivation drives the recognition of a need to define the problem in the first stage. To generate alternative solutions in the second, the consumer must conduct an information search. The evaluation stage is where consumers employ a series of decision rules and strategies, dependent on the amount of information a nd the limitations of their processing capacity to eventually arrive at a decision (Warner, 1997). Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) Fishbein and Ajzen’s (1975) Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) stems from social psychology and the focus on the determinants of consciously intended behavior.In its simples form, the theory suggest that an individual’s actions are a direct result of his intentions that are based on personal attitudes and social norms toward a particular behavior. Attitudes related to the evaluation of personal beliefs that a behavior will generate a certain outcome and 27 consequence. Intentions to engage in particular behavior are additionally affective by subjective norms, â€Å"the person’s perception that most people who are important to him or her think that he or she would or should not perform the behavior in question† (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975, p. 302).It is a social filter of sorts, a conscience to play back the potential outcome before i t occurs to allow the individual to assess the risks and rewards. Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) Recognizing that TRA as a predictor of actual behavior was solid in its fundamental assumptions, was at the same time limited with respect to analyzing only those behaviors that were under an individual’s control, Ajzen (1991) introduced the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). TPB supplements TRA by appending the control factor. TPB adds the perceived behavioral control component as a determinant of intentions to perform a behavior.Perceived behavioral control refers to an individual’s assessment of â€Å"the presence or absence of requisite resources and opportun