Social Biases in Our Society an Example by

Social Biases in Our Society Just how powerful can social bias be in influencing a persons thoughts and his actions? Are social injustices such as discrimination, stereotyping, and prejudice enough for a person to decide against his morals to commit a crime, or even a murder? Perhaps the incident involving a 15-year old in March of 2001 will prove to be sufficient for an answer. Need essay sample on "Social Biases in Our Society" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Charles Williams, of Santee, California, shot to death two of his high school classmates and wounded 13 others, in a shooting later confirmed as related to hate crimes by the authorities (Anti-Defamation League, 2001, p. 2). As stated by his classmates during an investigation, they had said that Charles, a skinny and short freshman, was often the attention of ridicules and bullies of the other guys. People Very Often Tell EssayLab professionals: How much do I have to pay someone to write my assignment online? Essay writers recommend: Things Go Better with Our Experts In a study by the National Education Association, they have found out that majority of the hate crimes are committed by those twenty years old and younger. In a particular study NEA had done in Chicago in 1992, it was revealed that in over 534 cases of hate crimes, 60% were committed by the said age-group (ADL, 2001, p. 2). In the apparent search for answers to this tragic reality, we are left to question the reasons for the proliferation in our culture of these social biases, which causes the most numbers of fatal hate crimes being committed by the youth. Social Biases The Anti-Defamation League defines discrimination as, the denial of justice and fair treatment by both individuals and institutions in many areas, such as employment, education, housing, banking, and political rights (ADL, 2001, p. 9). Its false ideals are founded on the superiority of a certain race, religion, or social class against another or a group of others belonging to a certain class. It can be observed evidently on the various sectors of society, be it in schools, corporations, politics, even in some restaurants, and in other institutions. Prejudice is basically pre-judging; according to ADL, it may be defined as making a decision about a person or group of people without sufficient knowledge. Prejudicial thinking is frequently based on stereotypes (ADL, 2001, p. 9). An example would be how a society, in general, treats ex-convicts with mistrust, and the seeming prejudice of the general society to all criminally-accused as already-proven guilty. Another form of bias as defined by the ADL is stereotype; it is the oversimplified generalization on a person or a group of people without regard for individual differences. Even seemingly positive forms of this can have negative consequences (ADL, 2001, p. 9). An evident form of this type is the stereotyping of people wearing eyeglasses as nerds; another is the stereotyping of those who excel in sports as being unintelligent. Subtle and Blatant Bias A thin line separates subtle than that of a blatant bias. Its meanings share a common ground in its tenet and practice, that making a distinct separation would prove taxing. However, certain conditions make the distinction clear enough for us to make comparisons, and delve deeper into these two topics. Subtle bias often functions in the unconscious level. People experiencing this show signs of sympathy to the aggrieved parties, are supportive of the ideas of equality, and consider themselves as non-biased people. However, they also bear ill feelings towards other minority groups. This type of bias is believed to be common with most of the well-educated American whites in the United States (Loewenstein, p. 1), as compared to the blatant type of bias which is characterized by direct and overt expressions of discrimination. A study done on this topic revealed that, a bystander who is the lone witness to an accident will help the victim regardless of his race. However, when there are multiple witnesses to the accident, he would be less likely to help the victim if he is of a different race (Loewenstein, p. 1). People who are victims of bias will tend to be less productive than what they are actually capable of achieving. There is an absence of a feeling of acceptance to a particular group where he belongs, resulting from covert and often overt manifestations of other peoples hatred towards the person belonging to a minority. This situation at times results in violent and fatal reactions from the individual, as we have witnessed with Charles Williams, when the person is driven to the limits of his temperament and personal morals (ADL, 2001, p. 2). Authorities have suggested a means of overcoming bias in society: through ways aimed at the root causes both at the individual and group levels. At an individual level, techniques may be aimed at the incognizant level, by ways such as broad-ranging educational guides to construct new, anti-bias preconceptions towards a social group, such as Blacks, Hispanics, etc. The introduction of such new anti-bias associations, plus the awareness of their propensity for discrimination had been shown to encourage self-regulatory progressions that would eventually result in, with ample time and experience, the lessening of negative values and mind-sets (Loewenstein, p. 3). On a group level, the use of the Common In-Group Identity Model had shown potentials of eliminating prejudiced thinking. In this technique, members from various social classes are grouped into a single ordinate core, thus eliminating the they and replacing it with we perceptions (Loewenstein, p. 3), hence discouraging the contributing factors to various forms of bias, discrimination, and racism. References 101 Ways to Combat Prejudice (2001). Anti-Defamation League. New York, New York 10017 U.S.A: Anti-Defamation League. Loewenstein, H. Aversive Racism-Subtle Bias, Combating Aversive Racism. Encyclopedia jrank.com.

Say It Right in Spanish

Say It Right in Spanish Thats right. Go to the right. Its my right to vote for a candidate from the right. Its just not right. Youve got it right. As the above sentences indicate, right is one of those English words that has a multitude of meanings. Although  many dictionaries give derecho as the first choice of Spanish words meaning right, its use would be absolutely wrong to translate some of the above sentences. Right as a Direction The Spanish way to refer to the opposite of left is usually derecho  (and its forms for gender and number)  when used as an adjective or the phrase  a la derecha as an adverb. The technique of using the right hand to play the violin is something that ought to be learned correctly. La tà ©cnica de uso de la mano derecha para tocar el violà ­n es algo que debe aprenderse correctamente.Symbolic language is rooted in the right side of the brain. El lenguaje simbà ³lico est radicado en el lado derecho del cerebro.The doctors have to amputate Jorges right leg. Los mà ©dicos tienen que amputar la pierna derecha de Jorge.The car turned right to the end of the street. El coche girà ³ a la derecha al final de la calle.Look right!  ¡Mira a la derecha! A la derecha is also used to mean to the right: His political positions often are to the right of those of this rivals. Sus posiciones polà ­ticas con frecuencia estaban a la derecha de las de sus rivales.Look to the right side of your screen. Mira a la derecha de tu pantalla. Right Meaning Correct When right means correct, the cognate correcto (or its adverb form, correctamente) can usually be used. Other synonymous words or phrases often work well also. Examples include bien or bueno, depending on whether an adverb or adjective, respectively, is needed. To be right can usually be translated as tener razà ³n. I think the article is right. Creo que el artà ­culo es correcto.Take the time in order to make the right decision. Tà ³mese el tiempo para tomar la decisià ³n correcta.I want to pick the right curtains. Quiero elegir las cortinas correctas. If the inhaler is used right the aerosol shouldnt drip from your nose. Si el inhalador se usa correctamente el aerosol no deber gotear de la nariz. Do you have the right time?  ¿Tienes el tiempo bueno? The customer is always right. El cliente siempre tiene razà ³n. Fortunately they werent right. Por suerte no tuvieron razà ³n. Right Meaning Just or Fair Often right carries the meaning of fairness or justice. In such cases, justo is usually a good translation, although in context correcto can have that meaning as well. Many poor people live here. That isnt right. Muchos pobres viven aquà ­. Eso no es justo.Thats true, it is difficult to do the right thing. Es verdad, es muy difà ­cil hacer lo justo. Right as an Entitlement A right in the sense of a moral or legal entitlement is a derecho. Civil rights ought to be respected, even during a national emergency. Los derechos civiles deben de ser respetados, inclusive en tiempos de estado de emergencia nacional.I have the right to be free of all types of abuse. Tengo el derecho de estar libre de todas las formas de abuso. Right Used as Emphasis Right is used in many contexts in English as a general word of emphasis. Often, it does not need to be translated into Spanish, or you may have to translate the meaning indirectly or with some idiom that is specific to what youre trying to say. Many variations other than those listed here are possible: What are you doing right now?  ¿Quà © ests haciendo ahora mismo?If possible, the baby should get milk right after being born. Si es posible, el bebà © debe mamar inmediatamente despuà ©s de nacer.The solution is right here. La solucià ³n est aquà ­ mismo.Ill pay you right away. Voy a pagarte sin demora. Miscellaneous Phrases and Uses Often you can figure out a way of saying right by thinking of an alternative way of expressing the idea in English. For example, to say, The portrait is just right, you might say the equivalent of The portrait is perfect: El retrato es perfecto. Some miscellaneous phrases will have to be learned separately: right angle, right triangle; el ngulo recto, el tringulo rectoright-click (computer use), hacer clic con el botà ³n derecho del ratà ³nright-handed, diestroright of way, el derecho de pasoright-shift key, la tecla derecha de mayà ºsculasright wing (noun), la derecharight-wing (adjective), derechistaright-winger, el/la derechistato right (make correct), rectifar, reparar, rectificarto right (make upright), enderezar Etymological Note Although it may not be obvious, the English words right and the Spanish words derecho and correcto are etymologically related to each other. They all come from a Proto-Indo-European root word that had meanings connected with  moving in a straight line or leading. From that root we get words such a direct (directo in Spanish), rectitude (rectitud), erect (erecto), rule, ruler, regal, rey (king), and reina (queen).

Homeland security Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Homeland security - Assignment Example It is also true that second responder in an emergency situation, provide support roles to the first responder, who are usually the; fire response team, police among others. Their duties basically involve preparation, organization as well as offering returning services. However, it is imperative to note that the emergency second responders do not have to necessarily work behind the scenes as indicated in this post. They can also work on site in undertaking duties such as cleaning and return services (Jackson & Faith, 2012). This post indicates that significant training efforts and investment have been made in preparation and training of emergency response teams since the 2001 terrorist attack. This statement is somehow invalid; this is because, significant investment and training have been made in emergency response teams even before September 11, 2001. It could have been made better by indicating the significant improvement in relation to training and investment in emergency response teams have been made since September 2001. In relation to improving the capacities of the second responders towards provision of emergency rescue services, the statement does not indicate the fact that provision a comprehensive training for second responders could be improve their performance especially when there is a shortage of the first responders. That is, second responders should also be subjected to training involving learning the duties of first responders as well as the duties of the second responders could improve their capacity of performance when providing emergency services. It is not wise to assert that the services offered by second responders could be improved by introducing responder three; this actions would simply involve investment if huge amounts of financial resources. Instead, stakeholders can focus on research with an intention of determining more effective ways of improving the performance of the second

Human Resources Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 1

Human Resources Management - Essay Example Two other key characteristics of HRM, compared to PM, is that the former is proactive, referring to the long term needs and conditions of the organisation, and it is based on the rule that employee performance is related to employee satisfaction (Pravin 2010, p.12). In opposition, PM addresses only current organisational needs, ‘being reactive in nature’ (Pravin 2010, p.12). Also, PM is ‘employee-centered focusing on existing employee workforce’ (Pravin 2010, p.12). The development of the workforce, in terms of hiring of new employees but also in terms of training of existing employees, is not among the priorities of PM. In Marks and Spencer emphasis is given not only on existing workforce but, mostly, on the continuous development of workforce so that organisational needs, which tend to change continuously, to be addressed (Marks and Spencer 2012). From this point of view, it could be noted that Marks and Spencer is a proactive organisation, promoting emplo yee strategies that aim to respond not only to current but also to future organisational needs (Marks and Spencer 2012). ... is given on contracts of employment where in HRM effort is made so that the communication between the HRM and the employee to be developed out of contracts, b) from the same point of view, in PM following strictly the rules is critical, while no such trend appears in the HRM, while emphasis is given rather on keeping communication and collaboration in the organization at high levels, c) moreover, PM practices are strictly aligned with the organizational practices while for HRM it is more important to follow the organization’s values, which are often ignored in practice, d) in PM the close monitoring of employees’ performance is quite important while in HRM a trend of nurturing employees seems to be promoted; this trend means that employees are offered the chance to review their thoughts and behaviour within the organization so that they are able to respond more effectively to the demands of the tasks assigned to them. P2. Usually, the activities incorporated in HRM aim to support different needs of both the organisation and the employees. For example, reference can be made to the hiring process. This process needs to be carefully designed so that it is effective, leading to the selection of employees that can respond to particular demands of the organisation. The selection process can help an organisation to achieve its goals in the following way: by choosing appropriate staff, managers can secure the successful completion of organisational tasks (DeCenzo and Robbins 2007); in this way, the achievement of organisational goals can be guaranteed. Moreover, payroll, which is also a HRM activity, needs to be fair, so that conflicts within the organisation are avoided. At the same time, payroll needs to be based on the organisation’s performance and future prospects,

Applying Cue Utilization Theory

Applying Cue Utilization Theory Evaluating Website Quality: Applying Cue Utilization Theory to WebQual Abstract   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cue Utilization Theory is applied to examine the relative importance of each of the WebQual dimensions (Informational Fit-to-Task, Tailored Information, Trust, Response Time, Ease of Understanding, Intuitive Operations, Visual Appeal, Innovativeness, Emotional Appeal, Consistent Image, On-line Completeness, and Relative Advantage) in determining consumers evaluation of website quality. Two studies have been designed for this task. Study 1 qualifies how subjects rate the predictive value (PV) and confidence value (CV) of each dimension. An analysis of these results provides an ability to fit the WebQual dimensions to a 22 model showing the relative magnitude that each dimension has on consumers evaluation of website quality. Study 2 is designed to test the viability of the model via a set of proposed hypotheses. The results from this research will contribute to the field by providing a model that developers can utilize to focus on those characteristics most determi nistic of overall website quality. 1. Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the last ten years, online shopping has become a prevalent part of the average consumers shopping experience. The consumer now has the ability to purchase virtually anything online; ranging from small-ticket items such as a rubber-band ball to bigticket items like vacation homes. With this increase in the online consumers purchasing power and propensity to purchase online, retailers have become increasingly willing to develop their e-commerce presence. Moreover, this explosion of Internet activity has prompted businesses to demand that website developers understand the qualities of a website that serve to facilitate the shopping experience for e-commerce consumers. At the same time, this growth of e-commerce has provided a virtual plethora of new options for crimes of opportunity such as identity theft. The online shopper has to worry not only about finding the perfect product, but they also have to evaluate the website to determine if they are willing to make a purchase from this site.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Valacich, Parboteeah and Wells [1] developed the Online Consumers Hierarchy of Needs to delineate the needs of the online consumer. Their model showed that certain fundamental needs exist that the online consumer must have met before they are willing to utilize a website. These fundamental needs are then further broken down into the specific website characteristic categories of Functional Convenience, Representational Delight and Structural Firmness. Functional Convenience is the category allowing the consumer to accomplish the task-athand easily and includes attributes, such as ease of ordering and tracking. Representational Delight is characterized by those dimensions that make the site visually appealing, such as graphics and sizing. Structural Firmness consists of fundamental qualities such as response time and security. Using this Hierarchy of Needs, a consumer interested in online banking would need to have their basic need for each of these characteristics met before they would be willing to use the website.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This Hierarchy of Needs model shows those characteristics that are necessary for a consumer to utilize a website, and further elaborates by showing which characteristics are most important depending on if the consumer is visiting the website for business, pleasure or a combination of the two [1]. Knowing these characteristics is important for development of the website, but also implies that the consumers level of confidence in evaluating these characteristics of a website is of particular importance to their overall assessment of a given websites quality. Traditional marketing literature suggests that when people make assessments of quality, they tend to use informational cues that are not only predictive, but also easy to assess. This is known as the Cue Utilization Theory [2], and has been paramount in evaluating consumers perceptions of product quality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This research project elaborates on consumers inability to evaluate all relevant cues during the online shopping experience. A model is developed using Cue Utilization Theory [2] and WebQual [3] to show the attributes of a website that are the most determinant of how a consumer will react to the website. This model will provide a deeper understanding of the evaluation of existing and proposed websites with respect to consumers confidence in evaluating the cues communicated by the website. 2. Cue Utilization Theory   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Richardson, Dick and Jain [2] employed Cue Utilization Theory in their research to determine how consumers viewed store brand quality vs. nationally branded merchandise. According to this theory, â€Å" products consist of an array of cues that serve as surrogate indicators of quality to shoppers† [2]. This theory purports that cues are evoked by the two separate dimensions of predictive and confidence values. The predictive value (PV) is â€Å" the degree to which consumers associate a given cue with product quality† [2]. Confidence value (CV) is â€Å" the degree to which consumers have confidence in their ability to use and judge that cue accurately† [2].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Further, based on relative differences in PV and CV, cues can be broken down into the distinct areas of extrinsic and intrinsic. The American Heritage dictionary describes intrinsic as, â€Å"Of or relating to the essential nature of a thing; inherent† [4] and extrinsic as, â€Å"not forming an essential or inherent part of a thing; extraneous.† [5] From this definition, an intrinsic attribute would be one that would fundamentally alter the focal object (e.g., product) if it was changed or absent and, per Cue Utilization Theory, would possess an inherently high degree of PV. Alternatively, an extrinsic attribute would be one that would not alter the fundamental nature of the focal object in its absence but might alter a consumers reaction or perceptions of the object. Per Cue Utilization theory, an extrinsic cue would typically have higher degrees of CV compared to PV.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For example, when looking at a video card on an e-commerce website it could be said that the product price is an example of an extrinsic attribute of the video card. While the video cards dimensions and material composition of the video card serve as intrinsic indicators. Further, you could postulate that the average consumer has a higher CV in their ability to judge the quality of the card based on the price rather than the material composition. Though the consumer knows that the dimensions and material composition of the card are important, they will tend to rely on price as an informational cue, as that is the cue that they feel the most comfortable evaluating.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When considering the quality of a website there are a myriad of dimensions that the consumer mustevaluate to determine if they intend to perform a transaction on this website. From the Valacich et al [1] article the consumers basic needs in terms of Structural Firmness, Functional Convenience and Representational Delight must all be met before the consumer will consider doing business. To determine if these needs are being met the consumer will evaluate the cues they perceive as being exhibited from the website. These cues can be further broken down into components by utilizing the WebQual model [3]. 3. WebQual   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WebQual consists of 12 dimensions: Informational Fit-to-Task, Tailored Information, Trust, Response Time, Ease of Understanding, Intuitive Operations, Visual Appeal, Innovativeness, Emotional Appeal, Consistent Image, On-line Completeness, and Relative Advantage. Each of these dimensions is shown to have strong measurement validity in regards to the consumers evaluation of overall website quality [3].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Information fit-to-task is an amalgamation of information quality and functional fit-to-task [3]. In component form, information quality refers to the datas appropriateness for use or ability to meet the users needs [6]. Functional Fit-to-Task can be represented as the degree the technology assists the user at a given task [7]. Drawing these two components back together as a whole and relating them to cyberspace lends credence to the definition that information fit-to-task is assisting the user in their desired task by presenting relevant/appropriate information. Loiacono, Chen, and Goodhue [8] define this as â€Å"The information provided meets task needs and improves performance†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The ability for consumers to tailor the information displayed on a website to meet their needs is the basic form of Tailored Information. Tailored Information is further characterized by Ghose and Dou [9] as the interactivity of the website, and represents the consumers ability to modify information presented on the website. Recent research suggests that website interactivity will lead consumers to be more positive in their evaluation of websites [9]. This concept has also been operationalized as the ability to personalize information between the consumer and the website [8,10]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Trust, in relation to websites, is defined in an extremely simple form as consumers confidence that any information entered into the website will remain confidential and that said information will be transmitted and stored in a secure fashion [8]. Furthermore, trust is having faith that the information presented on the website is true and accurate [11,12]. Lack of Trust has been cited as one of the main hindrances to completion of e-commerce transactions [14,11,15]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Response Time (aka. download time or download delay) is defined by Rose and Straub [16] as â€Å" the time it takes for a web client to fully receive, process, and display files† (p. 56), and is ranked as one of the largest impediments to electronic commerce in their research. Additional research has reinforced that Response Time can be an impediment to e-Commerce, and that is it also strongly associated with web site success [17,18]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The consumers ease in comprehending the website is the Ease of Understanding. Loiacono et al. [8] describe this in terms of a websites ease of reading and the understandability of said website. This would include things like presenting the information in a manner which is easy for the consumer to assimilate, and in a fashion such that the consumer can quickly navigate to the desired information.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Intuitive Operations deals with the usability of a website, and includes items such as navigability, link placement, operation, and changing the color of visited links [19]. Intuitive Operations could be thought of as making the webpage easy to navigate, and providing intuitive options for available tasks [8]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Visual Appeal is how aesthetically pleasing the website is to the consumer. Determining what is aesthetically pleasing is complicated though; it ranges from the overall complexity of the website [20] and the layout of the interface [21] to how many ads and graphics are appropriate on a given page[22]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Innovativeness is â€Å"The creativity and uniqueness of a site design† [8]. This could include concepts such as a website having a new way of presenting its merchandise (e.g. Woot.com) or a website attempting to tailor the information to consumer preferences (e.g. Amazon.com)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Emotional Appeal can be elicited in many forms and can be thought of as the consumers intensity of involvement given the emotions that the website elicits [8]. This is often seen in the form of testimonials presented on the website, but can also be observed by simple things such as a consumers reaction to a Valentines Day card.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Loiacono et al. [8] articulate Consistent Image as the websites ability to project a company image that is compatible with the company image shown in other forms of media channels. For instance, a traditional brick-and-mortal store would want to ensure that their website was displaying a compatible image so that they could capitalize on synergies created by marketing in multiple channels such as cost savings, market extension and improved Trus [23].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Presenting all the information required for the tasks that the website is designed for would be considered On-line Completeness. This would include tasks such as the ability to complete an online transaction on e-commerce sites. A bank for instance would want ubiquitous account access using all available channels, and the information presented in each of these channels has to be on the same update cycle as to present the customer the same information regardless of channel [6].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Relative Advantage is gaining a competitive advantage by being able to do something better than the competition. This could come in the form of providing better interaction with the customer through the website [8], being able to provide more accurate and timely data through your website than the competition [6] or being able to price products lower than the competition because of reduced prices in your supply chain. Each of these dimensions is then tied back into the consumers intention to use/reuse the site. Trust and Response Time, being key indicators, are directly linked to the consumers intention to use the site. Common sense would tell us that consumers are not going to shop on a site that does not respond rapidly to requests. Likewise, if users dont trust the site to keep their information secure, they are not likely to supply the information in the first place. The remaining dimensions are all fully mediated by Usefulness, Ease of Use and Entertainment. Usefulness mediates Informational Fit-to-Task, Tailored Information, Online Completeness and Relative Advantage. Additionally, Ease of Use is partially mediated by Usefulness. Ease of Use mediates Ease of Understanding and Intuitive Operations. Finally, Entertainment mediates Visual Appeal, Innovativeness, Emotional Appeal and Consistent Image (See WebQual model in Figure 1).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Consumers do not just browse a site and evaluate each of these individual traits though. Consumers instead tend to examine a website using those cues that they feel confident in their ability to evaluate successfully. To understand this issue further, WebQual needs to be combined with Cue Utilization Theory to explain the extrinsic/intrinsic nature of each of these dimensions. 4. Cue Utilization/WebQual Conceptual Model   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As Valacich et al [1] point out; consumers must have their basic level of needs met before any of the other elements of the website can become relevant to the consumers experience. To validate that these basic needs have been met, the consumer will evaluate those features that they believe to be highly predictive of the quality of the website. This evaluation will then be indicative of their willingness to continue to use the website.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both extrinsic and intrinsic cues serve a function in the consumers overall evaluation of the quality of a website, which means that such cues possess varying degrees of PV and CV. Literature has shown that consumers tend to use a combination of both extrinsic and intrinsic cues when evaluating the quality of a product [2]. An argument can be made about the extrinsic versus intrinsic nature of each of the dimensions in the WebQual model.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Intrinsic cues are those cues that are inherent to a website. Conceptually they are the cues that when changed fundamentally alter a characteristic of the website (e.g. Visual Appeal). Consumers tend to see these cues as being highly predictive of quality [2]. At the same time, consumers may or may not have a high degree of confidence in their ability to evaluate these intrinsic cues because these cues are often difficult to differentiate. Thus, assuming a Cue Utilization Theory perspective, a website characteristic that is perceived to be an intrinsic cue would have an inherently high degree of PV. Yet, the power of an intrinsic cue for assessments of quality will depend on the CV of the cue, with higher levels of CV being optimal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Extrinsic cues are those cues that are used to evaluate a website but are not an inherent part of the website (e.g. Response Time). Consumers tend to have a lot of confidence in their ability to evaluate these cues in regards to assessment of quality [2]. On [the other hand, consumers typically do not rate these cues as being highly predictive (as compared to intrinsic cues) of the overall quality of the website. Considering extrinsic cues from a Cue Utilization Theory perspective, a website characteristic that is perceived to be an extrinsic cue would have an inherently high degree of CV.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shown in Table 1 is a 22 matrix representing how each of the combinations of CV and PV will influence consumers willingness to perform tasks on a given website. As shown, characteristics with high CV and high PV are believed to have the largest effect on consumers perceptions of website quality. Those with low CV and PV would have a small to none existent effect, and those high on one dimension but low on the other would have a moderate effect. Next, we will posit about how varying degrees of cue PVs and CVs, respectively, will affect consumer perceptions of overall website quality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Relative Advantage is often considered an important aspect of websites as discussed previously. However, from a Cue Utilization Theory perspective the consumer may experience, at most, only a vague feeling about the Relative Advantage of the website. As such they would not place much value in their confidence in assessing this characteristic, which would result in a low CV. Along the same lines the average consumer would also not really take Relative Advantage into consideration when they were performing tasks, implying a relatively low level of PV. Thus, website characteristics that fall into the quadrant in the model with low levels of both PV and CV would have a small impact on consumers willingness to perform tasks on a website. H1: A website characteristic with low CV low PV will produce a small to none existent effect on the consumers perception of website quality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A characteristic such as Trust is highly predictive of consumers willingness to use a website, but the average consumer may not have much confidence in their ability to evaluate this characteristic. Trust in an online medium has been shown to be an attribute that is hard for the consumer to evaluate and in some cases to even define. Cue Utilization Theory suggests that though this characteristic is highly predictive of website quality, consumers lack of confidence in evaluating the characteristic may inhibit their ability to use the characteristic to assess the quality of the website. Moreover, dimensions in this quadrant, high PV/Low CV, have been shown to be relatively intrinsic to the website [2], and will have a moderate effect on the consumers evaluation of the websites quality. H2a: A website characteristic with low CV high PV will produce a moderate effect on consumers perception of website quality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One could reason that Response Time is a good example of an extrinsic attribute because it is not part of the inherent composition of the website. Rather, Response Time could be considered extrinsic because it can vary without changing anything about the content of the website. Rose and Straub [16] have shown in their research that consumers tend to attribute lack of responsiveness to extrinsic factors such as the overall speed of the internet, their own internet connection being slow, or other factors. In general, consumers seem to be willing to give the website the benefit of the doubt when slow response times are encountered, and as such, Response Time could be considered extrinsic to the website because it doesnt fundamental change the consumers perception of the website when it is altered. Based on Cue Utilization theory attributes with a low PV and high CV (such as Response Time) will only have a moderate influence on the consumers evaluations of website qua lity, and those dimensions belonging to this quadrant would be extrinsic to the website [2]. H2b: A website characteristic with high CV low PV will produce a moderate effect on consumers perception of website quality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cue Utilization Theory suggests that those characteristics with High CV and PV are the most highly predictive of consumers perception of website quality. Visual Appeal could be considered an intrinsic attribute because it is a characteristic inherent to the website that consumers are confident in using to evaluate website quality. One could further speculate that Visual Appeal is intrinsic to the website because if the Visual Appeal of the website was changed it would alter the inherent nature of the website. Lindgaard, Fernandes, Dudek, and Browà ± [24] have shown in their research that consumers form opinions about websites within the first 50 milliseconds (ms) of exposure. Furthermore, this initial perception of websites is almost entirely based on Visual Appeal; this was shown by correlating the ratings between 50 ms and 500 ms. However, though this attribute is intrinsic it shows an optimally high level of CV and PV thus placing it firmly into the high impac t quadrant. Dimensions in this quadrant would exhibit the optimal balance between PV and CV (i.e., an optimal intrinsic cue), and as such this quadrant of the table is hypothesized to have the largest impact on the consumers evaluation of the websites quality. H3: A website characteristic with high CV high PV will produce the largest effect on consumers perception of website quality. 5. Research Method   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To test these hypotheses two empirical studies will be administered. Study 1 is designed to determine where each of the WebQual dimensions fit into the 22 model shown in Table 1. Furthermore, this study is designed to determine if a significant difference can be perceived to exist between each of the dimensions when rank ordered by PV and CV. Study 2 will test the hypotheses by collecting data on each of these dimensions using a sample website, and comparing actual results to those found in the first study. 5.1 Study 1   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This study will focus on determining the CV and PV for each of the 12 dimensions of website quality, and determining if there is a significant difference between adjacent dimensions when rank ordered. 5.1.1 Subjects. Approximately 500 subjects will be recruited from an introductory Information Systems class held on campus at a large Northwestern University. Additionally, approximately 125 subjects will also be recruited from a distance education class offered by the same university. Subjects physically present on campus will complete the survey during their regular lecture times, and the distance education participants will have one week to complete the survey on their own personal computer. All data for Study 1 will be collected during the fall of 2009. Subjects will be given course credit for completing the survey, and no other incentives will be provided. 5.1.2 Survey Procedure. The survey is broken into two sections, one for CV and one for PV. In the CV section subjects are presented with a scenario about shopping on the Internet and asked about their confidence in assessing each of the 12 WebQual dimensions when shopping on the Internet for a product (e.g. Amazon.com) or Service (e.g. Bank of America). For this series of questions, the subjects will be required to rate each of the 12 WebQual dimensions on a 10-point likert-type scale with Confident/Not Confident being the top and bottom end of the scale. Finally, the subjects are asked to rank order the dimensions from the ones they have the highest confidence in assessing to the ones they have the least confidence in assessing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second section is designed to measure the PV of each of the 12 dimensions. Subjects are put in a hypothetical situation where they are in charge of designing a website for their employer. The first step towards designing the website is to decide the relative importance of each of the twelve dimensions in regards to consumers evaluation of the overall website quality. For this series of questions, the subjects will be required to rate each of the 12 dimensions on a 10-point likert-type scale with Important/Not Important being the top and bottom end of the scale. The subjects are then asked to rank order each of the 12 dimensions with respect to how predictive of website quality the subject believes each dimension to be. 5.1.3 Data Analysis. Aggregating the results of this data collection will allow each of the dimensions to be mapped to a CV and PV scale. Based on the relative PV and CV scores, each of the dimensions will be integrated into the 22 matrix shown in Table 1. Furthermore, the relative magnitude of each dimension will indicate the relative effect each dimension will have on the overall rating of website quality. 5.2 Study 2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This study will utilize subjects from an introductory Information Systems class taught in the fall of 2009. Approximately 500 students will participate. This study will focus on first determining the overall quality attributed to a website by the subjects, and secondly how the subjects rate each of the twelve WebQual dimensions for each website. Using regression analysis, we should then be able to show that the model accurately predicts the website quality based on the rating of each of the 12 dimensions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Furthermore, the pattern of results from this study will examine how well the WebQual dimensions fit to the quadrant they were assigned in Study 1, and that the model developed in Study 1 is predictive of the responses received in Study 2. Those dimensions that serve as the highest-level indicators of website quality should be rated the highest by the subjects, and those that are the lowest should be rated likewise. Ideally, this study should provide significant support for each of the proposed hypotheses, and indicate which of the dimensions should be of highest consideration when constructing a high quality website. Initial data for both of these studies should be ready to share at the conference, should the paper be accepted. 6. Discussion and Potential Contribution   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As shown in the model, the most important considerations when developing a website are those attributes that reside in the high CV and high PV quadrant. Online businesses should pay particular attention to the characteristics in this quadrant, as the consumer will tend to utilize these dimensions the most when determining the overall quality of the website. All businesses seeking to perform transactions within the e-commerce channel should pay heed to these recommendations, but online retailers need to pay particular attention, as this is the primary channel through which they produce revenue.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Of secondary importance to consumers are the Low CV/High PV and High CV/Low PV quadrants. If an online business seeks to capitalize on one of the dimensions within these quadrants, they need to pay particular attention to how they will nudge the consumer into using these dimensions for evaluation of website quality. This could potentially be accomplished through educational campaigns or marketing literature. Finally, the low CV/Low PV quadrant is of limited value to the online retailer, and should be removed from consideration when developing a website. This article seeks to contribute to the field by providing a model that can be used to enable web developers to effectively predict the overall quality of a website based on its design. In following this model, the developer will need to pay particular attention to those attributes that are highly predictive, from the consumers viewpoint, of overall website quality, and as such, the website should be designed in a fashion that encourages the consumer to conduct transactions. Additionally, the consumer will be motivated to perform future transactions from this website because they are familiar with the layout and possess a high confidence in the overall quality of the website. 7. Limitations and Future Research   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The primary limitation of this model is that it is an untested conceptual model. The assumptions contained herein are as of yet ungrounded in solid empirical evidence; furthermore, this model was designed around e-commerce websites designed to sell products to end consumers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Future research could delve into decomposing those elements that are the most highly predictive of website quality. This research could take each dimension and decompose them to their base elements to discover what it is about the dimension that makes it highly predictive of website quality. Additionally, the extrinsic/intrinsic nature of each of the dimensions could be explored to determine how a company can best capitalize on these dimensions when trying to sell the consumer on the quality of their website. Either of these approaches could prove invaluable to the field, as they will begin to give the developer a specific set of principles to follow when developing a high quality website. 8. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cue Utilization Theory is a concept that has been used in marketing for years to determine why consumers react differently to a given product. The author of this article has overlaid Cue Utilization theory upon WebQual to design a model that is predictive of the dimensions serving to form the consumers overall feel for the quality of a website. Using this model, website designers will be able to build a website that consumers will be more confident in assessing the quality of, and as such, the consumer will gain confidence in performing transactions on this website. 9. References J.S. Valacich, D.V. Parboteeah, and J.D. Wells, â€Å"The online consumers hierarchy of needs,† Commun. ACM, Vol. 50, No. 9, pp. 84-90, 2007. P.S. Richardson, A.S. Dick, and A.K. Jain, â€Å"Extrinsic and intrinsic cue effects on perceptions of store brand quality.,† Journal of Marketing, Vol. 58, No. 4, p. 28, Oct. 1994. E.T. Loiacono, R.T. Watson, and D.L. Goodhue, â€Å"WebQual: An Instrument for Consumer Evaluation of Web Sites.,† International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 51-87, Spring. 2007. â€Å"intrinsic,† The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. â€Å"extrinsic,† The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. C. Cappiello, C. Francalanci, and B. Pernici, â€Å"Time-Related Factors of Data Quality in Multichannel Information Systems.,† Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 71-91, Winter. 2003. D.L. Goodhue and R.L. Thompson, â€Å"Task-Technology Fit and Individual Performance.,† MIS Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 213-236, Jun. 1995. E.T. Loiacono, D. Chen, and D.L. Goodhue, â€Å"WebQual TM Revisited: Predicting the Intent to Reuse a Web Site,† AMCIS 2002 Proceedings, p. Paper 46, 2002. S. Ghose and W. Dou, â€Å"Interactive Functions and Their Impacts on the Appeal of Internet Presence Sites.,† Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 29-43, Mar. 1998. R.T. Rust and K.N. Lemon, â€Å"E-Service and the Consumer.,† International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 85-101, Spring. 2001. D.H. McKnight, V. Choudhury, and C. Kacmar, â€Å"Developing and Validating Trust Measures for e-Commerce: An Integrative Typology.,† Information Systems Research, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 334-359, 2002. R. Pennington, H.D. Wilcox, and V. Grover, â€Å"The Role of System Trust in Business-to-Consumer Transactions.,† Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 197-226, Winter. 2003. J. Kim, J

Native Americans

For many years Native Americans life has been a struggle. The government at the time was trying to encourage them into the white world and ultimately lose their cultural beliefs but Indians themselves at the time fought bitterly against the policies by the US government and also for their tribal lands. Their major concern was that if they chose to live away from tribal land they experienced discrimination and if they lived in tribal land the US constitution did not apply to them. In 1961 tribes gathered for a meeting in Chicago where they issued declaration of Indian purpose that stressed responsibility of preserving their native land and the right to choose their own way of life. Due to the activism the congress passed the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 which granted Native Americans full access to the United States Bill of Rights and protection for their tribal lands. This means that the Native Americans can govern themselves in sovereignty. Even though civil right gave tribes legal rights and protection there were conflicts that arose between respecting Native American sovereignty and practicing the United States bill of rights. Robert, Ericson and D. Rebecca Snow, â€Å"The Indian Battle for Self-Determination†, 1970 this additional source was an article written by two scholars who explained the battle for self-determination for the Indians. The article provides new information about the controversy in American courtrooms and legal halls. The article stated, â€Å"Federal courts have traditionally viewed the tribe as a dependent or â€Å"tributary† nation possessed of limited elements of sovereignty and requiring federal protection;' the Congress has alternately viewed the tribe as a substantially independent political unit or as an anachronism which must be phased out consequent to a policy of Indian assimilation† (Erickson and Snow). This quote shows us that the tribal sovereignty has often been conflicted. Another important information I learned from the article was what a tribe cannot do when it comes to certain situations. The article claimed, â€Å"Moreover, a tribal Indian cannot claim protection from illegal search and seizure, or from interference with freedom of speech, press, or assembly. In addition, a tribe can impose a tax, or revoke tribal membership rights without complying with due process requirements† (Erickson and Snow). This quote explains the limitations of being a tribal Indian. This was an important information to learn because it showed the struggles of many Indians back then. Lastly, this quote explains one of the positive aspect of the civil rights act of the government. The quote states, â€Å"Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the proposals is that they represent an attempt to respond to Indian grievances. This is a refreshing departure from past policy. Too often, Indian preference has been ignored† (Erickson and Snow). All of the examples provide new outside information about the Indian civil right Act of 1968. Finally, this source could be consider trustworthy and biased because even though it is written by a scholar but it is not like a newspaper from during that time of the event. I think that both of the authors agreed on the Indian civil right act but they states that there were conflicts and controversy in American courtrooms and legal halls. Both of the scholars liked how the government took an attempt to respond to the Indians because they often get ignored. The article was well balanced when providing information because not only it talked about the rights act but it also provide information about the government and how the Indian civil right act movement started. I think this was a good source to use because it gave me new insight about Indians and I learned more information about the civil right Act Itself.

Education Is the Main Agent of Secondary Socialisation Essay

Secondary socialisation is an ongoing process which occurs when a child leaves a family environment and continues learning how to live as a member of society. There is always an influence to help carry out this process, this is known as an agent of socialisation. The perfect example of an agent of secondary socialisation is Education, more precisely, school. At school, the student continues learning that which they started learning at home. The aim of education is for the individual to learn how to behave in certain situations and places. One of the main aims of education in schools is the preparation for the world of work, one of the most predominant aspects of social life. Functionalists view the positive aspects when it comes to education’s contribution to society as a whole. Functionalists view education as meritocratic, stating that it is a system which is fair on everyone. They attribute intelligence and effort as being the keys to success. Parsons, a functionalist, says that schools are a major tool when it comes to role allocation. He views education as being important when selecting the future roles of individuals in society. In his own words, he states that an educational system ‘’functions to allocate these human resources within the role-structure of adult society’. Parsons therefore concludes that schools test the student while also evaluates them, to give a suitable job based upon the talents and skills that the student has. Parsons view regarding the values transmitted may not have been that of society as a whole, but perhaps as a ruling minority. Something which Parsons has been criticised for. His view upon schools being a meritocratic system was also questioned. Meanwhile, another functionalist, Durkheim, says that schools are society in miniature which is modelled after the social system. Same as in society, in school, an individual has to abide by a certain set of rules which in turn prepares the student for interaction with the members of society as a whole. Durkheim believes that the rules should be enforced and also punishments should be given to reflect the offence’s seriousness. This being done as a lesson for pupils to act in favour of the interests of society as a whole and also learning to exercise self-discipline in the process. Durkheim also claims that the students learn specific skills which are important for their future occupation, saying that this is important due to the increasing specialisation of labour. Durkheim is criticized for her descriptions of how schools act, with some researchers questioning this. David Hargreaves says that education in modern Britain fails to promote self-discipline. Bowles and Gintis, Marxist economists, do not agree with the Functionalists in their view that education is meritocratic. They believe that achievement can be influenced by the class background, citing this influence as the most important one, claiming that there is no such thing as equality. Despite education being open to all, they claim that some have more opportunities than others. Children who are of wealthier and more powerful backgrounds tend to have higher qualifications and more respectable jobs, without any reference to their abilities. Bowles and Gintis say that this is disguised by a myth of meritocracy done by the educational system. Those who do not have access to success do not blame the system which has forced them to fail, but blame themselves. Their views are criticised for claims regarding how the student’s personalities are shaped because of the school. No matter what kind of view or perspective is presented regarding the subject of education, it is quite obvious that education or school is one of the main agents of socialisation because we can say that school regulations are similar to those we find in the work place. Therefore the student learns norms and values that are expected in society.