The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini - 1367 Words

Doppelganger Siblings, although not born within the same minute much like twins typically are, still surface from the same pool of genes. People that emerge from the same set of parents tend to not only have similar features, but also share the same characteristics. Akin to siblings, the best-selling novel, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini in the early twenty-first century parallels â€Å"Roman Fever†, a short story written by Edith Wharton in 1934. Despite their gap of publication, only a year shy of seventy years, these two novels are more related than one might originally consider. For those who have not had the pleasure of reading The Kite Runner, Hosseini marched to the top of New York Times’ Best-Sellers list for a reason. Composed of more than 72,000 words over a span of 324 pages, this novel can be divided into three parts and hop-scotches the unique tale of a Middle Eastern man named Amir, who is our protagonist. The first-third of The Kite Runner is a flash back to Amir’s childhood, which takes place in Kabul, Afghanistan. In this part of the book, we are introduced to several prominent characters and key events. The second portion of the novel takes place five years later when Amir and his father, Baba, flee from their home country to the United States because of the Soviet Union’s invasion after the Taliban’s takeover. During this section of The Kite Runner, Amir meets and marries a woman named Soraya and not only is Baba diagnosed with terminal cancer, butShow MoreRelatedThe Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini883 Words   |  4 Pagesregret from past encounters and usually feel guilty and bitter about the situation. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, revolves around the theme of redemption. Redemption can be used as a cure for guilt. Throughout the novel, the author shows that redemption requires some sort of sacrifice and the only way that is possible is if you can forgive yourself from the mistakes you have mad e in the past. Khaled Hosseini effectively portrays redemption through motifs such as rape, irony and flashbacks, symbolismRead MoreThe Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini1651 Words   |  7 Pages  Ã‚  Ã‚   The novel â€Å"The Kite Runner† by Khaled Hosseini describes the life of a boy, Amir. Amir’s best friend and brother (although that part isn’t known until towards the end), Hassan, plays a major role in Amir’s life and how he grows up. Hosseini portrays many sacrifices that are made by Hassan and Amir. Additionally, Amir seeks redemption throughout much of the novel. By using first person point of view, readers are able to connect with Amir and understand his pain and yearning for a way to be redeemedRead MoreThe Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini1655 Words   |  7 PagesSarah Singer Major Works Data Form Title: The Kite Runner Author: Khaled Hosseini Date of Publication: 2003 Genre: Historical Fiction Historical information about the period of publication: Since the September 11th attacks in 2001, the United States has been at war with Afghanistan. Their goals were to remove the Taliban, track down those in charge of the attacks, and destroy Al-Qaeda. Biographical information about the author: Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1965. HIs motherRead MoreThe Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini1098 Words   |  5 PagesIn The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, we learn a lot about Amir the main character, and Hassan his servant/brother. In the beginning Hassan and Amir’s relationship was one of brotherly love despite the fact that Hassan was a Hazara and Amir a Pashtun. Back in the 1970’s race and religion played a big part in Kabul and these two races were not suppose to have relationships unless it was owner (Pashtun) and servant (Hazara). Baba Amir’s father had an affair with Hassan’s mother, but it was kept aRead MoreThe Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini1313 Words   |  5 Pagesis not unique to just J.K. Rowling. Khaled Hosseini also incorporates life experiences into some of his novels. A prime example of this is The Kite Runner. The storyline of this novel reflects his past to create a journey of a young Afghanistan boy, whose name is Amir. This boy changes drastically throughout his lifetime from a close minded, considerably arrogant boy to an open hearted and minded man. This emotional and mental trip is partially based on Khaled Hosseini’s own life. Throughout Hosseini’sRead MoreThe Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini1908 Words   |  8 Pages​In the novel, â€Å"The Kite Runner†, written by Khaled Hosseini, was taken place in Afghanistan during the 1970’s to the year of 2002. Many historical events happened during this time period and Hosseini portrayed it into his novel. Kabul, the capitol of Afghanistan, was a free, living area for many Afghanistan families to enjoy the life they were given. Until one day, Afghanistan was then taken over and attacked. In the novel, Amir, the protagonist, must redeem himself and the history behind his actionsRead MoreThe Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini1050 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"There is a way to be good again.† (Hosseini 334). This quote given by Rahim Khan to Amir holds a great amount of force and symbolism. In theory, this quote symbolizes the beginning of Amir’s path to redemption. The eye-opening Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini tells about the struggles of Afghanistan before and during the Taliban, and one’s struggle for redemption and acceptance. With regards to the opening quote, some see Amir’s actions as selfish. However, others may believe that Amir truly changedRead MoreThe Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini1583 Words   |  7 Pagesnovel the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir, the main character, shares his thoughts and actions due to his poor decisions. The problems he encountered were all because of the sin committed in his youth. His sins taunted the beginning of his life and gave him a troublesome memory full of guilt. As the novel continued, Amir attempted to disengage the memory of his sin and forget about it. Amir then faced the long bumpy road to redemption. Khaled Hosseini’s novel the Kite Runner is about sinRead MoreThe Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini871 Words   |  4 Pagesthat person is trying to fix that mistake. This also applies to the novel The Kite Runner. The story revolves around the main character Amir, and his childhood friend, Hassan. After Amir came to America with Baba, his father, he still regrets the things he had done to his childhood friend. He left Hassan getting raped by Assef in a small alley in 1975. Thereafter, Amir always feel regret and seeks for redemption. Hosseini -the author, argues that redemption can be achieved by helping others, teachRead MoreThe Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini3402 Words   |  14 Pagestitle â€Å"The Kite Runner† is symbolic as fighting kites and the kite runnings are impacting moments in the novel. Hassan was the best kite runner in Kabul, if not the whole country, after Amir won the kite fighting the running of that last blue kite triggered the monumental changes for Amir. For the beginning of the story the kite running was associated with Hassan’s rape and Amir’s grief. As kites appear throughout the story, they begin Amir’s story and also end it. Amir flying the kite with Sohrab

Assimilate the New Culture Essay - 546 Words

The Smolinski family in Bread Givers was a typical immigrant family who faced struggles during the assimilation process. By looking at Sara and her father ¡Ã‚ ¯s perspectives that there is a gap of cultural differences and generational differences separated between them, where most immigrants ¡Ã‚ ¯ family faces. As a child of immigrant Sara was bound by her native culture, but she unlike her other sisters took the courage and effort by abandoning her own culture to assimilate the dominant American culture. She also have sacrificed her family separation, her youth and experiencing hardship in order to pursuit her dream. Sara and her father ¡Ã‚ ¯s argument about cultural and generational differences nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;are similarly to most†¦show more content†¦Finally, Sara took the courage and effort by deserting her own culture to assimilate the new culture. Sara knows the only way for her to assimilate the American culture is to leave her cautious father and went to college to become a teacher, which is her dreams. So, At age of seventeen she left her family and rent a basement lived by her self. By escaping her father ¡Ã‚ ¯s shadow she is like a bird free from a cage that she can breath the fresh air of the new world. Eventhough she lived in the little room with dilapidated furniture, but at least she can be herself- to pursuit of self-identity. In order to realize her American dream she experienced hardship, her youthfulness and the pain of her family separation. In order to get her education she had to work during the day and went to the school during night times. She gave up her opportunity to marry Max Goldstein a man wanted her. Also she had focus on her school instead of going back home to see her old, sick mother. As she always said  ¡Ã‚ ° I had made my choice. And now I had to pay the Price. ¡Ã‚ ± By seeing Sara ¡Ã‚ ¯s typical assimilation process she had struggled cultural and generational differences between her and her father. Despite of the oppression her father ¡Ã‚ ¯s old culture and old ideas, but Sara finally broke through the barrier of her own culture to assimilateShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Hester Street By Joan Micklin Silver1655 Words   |  7 Pagesancestors who emigrated from another country and adopted America as their new home. Coming to a new nation brings with it a series of difficulties, one of which is the struggle to find balance between assimilation and the preservation of one’s ethnic identity. Such a struggle is very present in the romantic film Hester Street, directed by Joan Micklin Silver, detailing the lives of Jake and Gitl, two Jewish immigrants living in New York during the early 20th century. Jake and Gitl each maintain differentRead MoreThe Theory Of Assimilation And The American Dream940 Words   |  4 Pages The theory of Assimilation was introduce in the article of Trucios Haynes and its basically talks about immigrants coming to America and that they need to be force to give up on their own culture and assimilate to the American culture. Throughout the reading, I have learned that the theory of Assimilation has been present in this country for many years and how impactful it can still be. Since America was built around immigrants, the first people who came in to this country has already establishRead MoreEssay about Immigrants and Assimilation into American Society1202 Words   |  5 PagesImmigrants and Assimilation into American Society Several years ago, America was taught to be a melting pot, a place where immigrants of different cultures or races form an integrated society, but now America is more of a salad bowl where instead of forming an incorporated entity the people who make up the bowl are unwilling to unite as one. America started as an immigrant nation and has continued to be so. People all over the world come to America for several reasons. Most peopleRead MoreImmigration And The American Culture1238 Words   |  5 Pages For years there has been controversy about how immigrants should assimilate in America. In the past, new incoming immigrants integrated themselves into the American Society based on what they believed the American culture and customs were. Sometimes they chose not to practice them because they were against their own personal beliefs (Zunz, Bodnar, and Thernstrom, p.53.). In recent arguments, some people believe that assimilation is achieved by adopting the American norms and lang uage. While othersRead MoreThe Decline Of The Native American Indians1607 Words   |  7 Pagesa clash of culture and social integration. Interestingly, during times of geographical expansion, the American government usually had their greatest interest in the Indians. The United States population doubled every twenty years between the years of 1800 and 1900, while the population of indigenous people declined. With the decline of their population, the Indians were met with a difficult task of preserving their culture. They had to choose whether to make life easier and assimilate to societyRead MoreCultural Assimilation In Silent Dancing By Judith Ortiz Cofer1052 Words   |  5 Pageschildhood experiences in Paterson, New Jersey. She writes about issues pertaining to her assimilation into daily life. She has the reader experience these tensions through her use of the first person, sensory details of the accounts, and multiple character voices. Throughout her autobiographical short n arrative, Cofer uses shifting first person narration and rich sensory details that slowly infiltrate symbols of Americaness to signal the benefice of embracing all cultures over cultural assimilation. Read MoreDifferences Between Heart Of Darkness And The Poisonwood Bible1086 Words   |  5 Pagesreject his new circumstances, or find a way to assimilate to his new society. This man will either try to find a way to return back to his world, or find a way to adjust his life to his surroundings. Throughout history separate cultures have collided, and with each collision they have either melded together or rejected each other.The Heart of Darkness and The Poisonwood Bible both portray how although every individual can react differently, when faced with the collision of two cultures, one foreignRead MoreThe Liquor Store Down Fifth Street Of San Francisco1355 Words   |  6 Pagesa couple of dollars to buy their snacks. It is interesting how someone that has just migrated to the United States and in two weeks, not only was he able to learn the language, but he was also able to assimilate into the American culture. How this cashier quickly assimilate to the American culture is what Hoo ks wrote about in â€Å"Overcoming White Supremacy† and how it serves to reinforce racism within people of color’s community. In â€Å"Overcoming White Supremacy† bell hooks, a social activist, examinesRead MoreIndian Assimilation from early 1800 - late 1900 Essay1172 Words   |  5 PagesMarcus Garvey once said, â€Å"A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots† (Bro). Here, he proclaims the idea that in order to live a culture must be passed down from generation to generation, growing its roots. When two cultures were fighting for dominance in the U.S., the American government developed a plan to eradicate the First Nations’ roots, buying into the philosophy of Captain Richard H. Pratt when he stated that instead of killing allRead MoreCulture : Culture, Identity, And Cultural Identity1228 Words   |  5 Pagesresult of culture. Every single person has a deep, complex culture whether it is visible to them or not. The word â€Å"culture† is so broad and overused. What is culture? To put it simply, culture is the beha viors and beliefs of a particular social, ethnic, or age group. Our culture shapes the way we see and interact with the world on a huge scale. Our culture affects our personality and our actions. Education develops and molds ones culture. Culture forces reason behind having to assimilate and change

Research of Outsourcing Business Functions †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Advantages and Disadvantages of Outsourcing Business Functions. Answer: Introduction The research report is based on the topic Advantages and Disadvantages of Outsourcing Business Functions and this section of the report will contain the details of the research data collection and methods undertaken to complete the research. Outsourcing can be understood as the process where the business organisations transfers their business functions to other companies to get them completed by paying a fee or price for it. It means that the business functions can be completed by the outsiders rather than completing them by internal teams. This process is helpful in reducing costs of the business and brings expertise in the business functions (Pratap, 2014). The research will highlight the advantages and disadvantages of such process by collecting reliable data from different sources. This research report will also include the methods adopted for conducting the research. Project Objective The main objective of this research is to identify the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing business functions. This objective will be achieved by going through various research papers, journal articles, books and many other web sources of information. The objective is to determine whether the businesses should outsource their business functions or not. Project Scope The scope of the research is wide as Outsourcing business functions is one of the significant decisions which is taken by the companies. Different reviews and opinions given by various authors will be discussed in order to know whether it is beneficial to outsource business functions or it is harmful for the privacy concerns of the company. Literature Review Outsourcing of business functions is a commonly used method nowadays by the business organisations. It is a significant tool for the companies through which the businesses can get their work done in reduced costs and with better perfection. It helps in deriving the competitive advantage for the businesses. There are several advantages of outsourcing the business functions and also some of the disadvantages. Various authors have different opinion about the same. It has been opined by Krstic and Kahrovic (2015) that Outsourcing of business functions lead to several advantages like building core competency, flexibility, reduction of costs and reduction in the required capital investment. Another opinion was given by Iqbal Dad (2013) who said that the companies handover their functions to other companies to seek perfection and to focus on their core functions. This leads to the global advantages to the companies by letting them compete with the other organisations. The main reasons why businesses decides to outsource their functions includes improvement in the flow of cash, payments, staffing and in the whole business performance. Outsourcing is adopted by the business to get competitive advantage at a global level. Because of the use of technology accessed from different parts of the world, the business is able to provide better services and products to the customers. This also enhances customer satisfaction and also enlarges the scope of the companies and their growth in the industry (Marvin, 2011). In contrast to the above views there are some of the authors which are against outsourcing the business functions. In their view, outsourcing of the business functions can lead to the threat to privacy and confidentially of business functions of the company. It also includes some hidden costs which increases the overall cost of operations of the business. It also creates some of the quality issues with the functions which affect the customer satisfaction. Outsourcing can also lead to the loss of managerial control which creates a threat to the privacy of the organisations. It can create issues between the parties and also the response and communication between the parties can slow down. In the views of Brcar (2011), outsourcing industry will rise in future. Outsourcing of business functions can bring competitiveness in the organisations. There are many examples which prove that outsourcing of the business functions can be advantageous as well as disadvantageous. According to Cowley (2004), the biggest example of failure of outsourcing is the case of cancellation of an outsourcing contract between JP Morgan and IBM where the contract of $5 billion was cancelled by JP Morgan and they started their in-house production facilities which was much more profitable for them. Another example shows the success story of outsourcing the business functions. The example is of PG which outsourced its Research and Development activities which ultimately increased the overall revenue of the company. Also, the statistics shows that outsourcing has become famous in the last two decades and it brought an increase of savings in the savings of the companies from 10 to 15%. The countries nowadays are investing huge amounts on the development of outsourcing functions. United States contributed $172 billion in the industry in 2009. There are around 145 organisations from United Kingdom and United States which was surveyed in which 23% of the organisations experienced benefits of costs. The companies which uses outsourcing services the most are Information technology, web designs, recruitment services and more. The multinational companies are taking it seriously and this has been proved by looking at the statistics. In the views of Sharma Loh (2009), There will be tough competition in the industry and the number of o0utsourcing companies have been doubled between the years 2005- 2008 and 605 out of them are showing their interest in expanding their services. The companies have saved 3.5 times than their actual savings. It is finally advised to the companies that before outsourcing the business activities, the companies should consider the type of services, reviews for the outsourcing partner, costs, etc. there should also be effective communication which boosts up the business and also its performance. Optimum planning should be done before executing them so that results can be effective. Long term relationships are needed to be developed for so that the benefits for both the parties can be maximised (Garland, 2015). The sources used for collecting information in the research are good in quality. It improves the quality of the research and also makes it a valid one. Also, the sources referred are of the year 2004 and later which shows that only the latest information is referred to conduct the research. Most of the research papers are of the year 2012 and above which shows that the data and information are recent. Research Questions These are the following research questions which are needed to be answered through research: What does outsourcing of business functions mean? What are the possible advantages of outsourcing business functions? What are the disadvantages of outsourcing business functions? Research Design and Methodology This section is one of the major sections of the research report because in this section, the details about the methods adopted for conducting research and for data collection will be discussed. Research Methods There are different research methods through which the research can be conducted. One such method is mixed method of research which is followed for this research. In this method, both qualitative and quantitative form of data is collected through many sources of data like primary or secondary sources. Both the forms of data together form mixed method of research which is adopted for this research (Zikmund, et al., 2010). Research approach Both quantitative and qualitative approach has been adopted for completing the research. Qualitative approach have been used for collecting the data in the form of opinions, descriptions and different views while quantitative approach is used for collecting the data in form of numbers. These approaches have contributed in maintaining the quality of the research and in gaining various insights for the topic (Wilson, 2016). Collection of data Data collection is the process in which the information and knowledge is gained from various sources in order to answer the research questions. Data is collected from primary and secondary sources so that proper understanding can be made on the topic of the research. Primary sources of data are those which help in collecting the first hand data whereas secondary sources of data are those which provide the second hand data which is already in use by others. On the topic of the research both the sources of information are used. Primary source of data is survey questionnaire while the secondary source of data is journals, articles, books and other web sources (Mackey and Gass, 2015). Technique of sampling Sampling can be understood as the process of choosing the subset of population from the whole population. In this research, simple random sampling technique is used where every element has same chances of getting selected without any bias. In this survey, different businesses in Australia are surveyed which deals in many business functions. They are asked whether they outsource their business functions or not and what are the possible harms and benefits of the same. The size of the sample is 10. Ten businesses will be selected randomly to answer the survey questions. It will help the researcher to decide whether outsourcing is advantageous or disadvantageous (Flick, 2015). Reliability and Validity The research is reliable as all the sources used for collecting the information are genuine and recent. The content of research report is referenced in order to prove their authenticity. The information is valid as the special permissions are taken from the relevant authorities to conduct the survey and to access the information from library. Strong passwords are used to secure the data collected so that the genuineness of the data can be maintained. Ethical Consideration Ethics are the principles which decide between the right and wrong. Ethics have been followed while taking up the research by maintaining the confidentiality of the survey respondents. The responses given by the respondents are not modified. Even the data collected from secondary sources have not been misinterpreted. Research Limitations The limitations of the research can be understood as the factors which affect the process of research and its results. Time was one of the main limitations because only limited time was available to conduct the research program. The sample of the survey to collect the data is selected randomly which might affect the quality of the data. Also, the sample size is small which might hamper the results of the research. There was also shortage of resources. This shortage might affect the quality of the research. Research Schedule (Research Plan) Research Plan can be understood as the blueprint for conducting the research step by step. It is planning of events to carry out the research in given time successfully. The plan for this research is made and is given below: S. No. Research Plans Beginning date End date Time duration (weeks) Details A Research Planning 1 September 2017 7 September 2017 1 Week This is the beginning of research where the plans are made for the further research project. Here the plans will be made as to how the data should be collected and what all sources are available for the same. B Execution of plans 08 September 2017 14 September 2017 1 week The next step after planning is execution. At this stage, the plans are executed so that the research can be followed as per the plans made. C Collection of data 15 September 2017 28 September 2017 2 weeks Data and information for this research is been collected from various sources which can be primary or secondary. In this research both the sources are used so that complete information can be gained to solve the purpose of the research (Bryman and Bell, 2015). D Analysis of data 29 September 2017 5 October 2017 2 weeks The data collected from various sources will be arranged systematically and then will be analysed so that the results can be derived. E Discussion of findings 6 October 2017 12 October 2017 1 week After collecting and analysing the data, it is now the next step which is discussion of the findings generated from the analysis. These findings are discussed to make the conclusions of the research. F Conclusion 12 October 2017 18 October 2017 1 week After the analysis of the data and discussion of the findings, conclusions are made for the research. Gantt chart Gantt chart can be referred to the graphical representation of the action plan which shows how the research has been carried out step by step. Panneerselvam (2014) Conclusion It can be concluded from the research project that Outsourcing of business functions is now practiced by many organisations. It is because it is the need of the hour. The business organisations nowadays have so many functions to perform in a single go that they are not able to focus on their core functions which reduce their capabilities. For solving this issue, they outsource their functions in order to access expertise and to make themselves able to focus on their core functions. It is clear from the research that before outsourcing the functions, the companies need to ensures the quality of work of the outsourcing partner and should go through its reviews. The terms and conditions should be built on which the whole process can take place. The research clears that it has several advantages and disadvantages but it depends on the companies, outsourcing partner and level of communication between them. The research is been completed by taking primary and secondary sources into conside ration. The real life examples of the corporates also discussed to show how it really affects the companies. It shows that it depends on various factors that the business functions should be outsourced or in house facilities should be developed. References Brcar, F 2011, The Perspective of Business Process Outsourcing in Slovenian Organizations, Organizacija, Volume 44. Bryman, A and Bell, E 2015,Business research methods. Oxford University Press, USA. Cowley, S 2004, Update: J.P. Morgan cancels $5B IBM outsourcing deal. [Online] Available at: https://www.computerworld.com/s/article/95933/Update_J.P._Morgan_cancels_5B_IBM_outsourcing_dea l. (Accessed 17 August 2017). Flick, U, 2015,Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research project, Sage. Garland, A 2015, Five of the biggest outsourcing failures, ITproPortal. Iqbal, Z Dad, A M 2013, Outsourcing: A Review of Trends, Winners Losers and Future Directions, International Journal of Business and Social Science, Vol. 4 No. 8. Krstic, B. and Kahrovic, E., 2015. Business process outsourcing as a tool for improving enterprise efficiency. Ekonomika, 61(3), p.31. Mackey, A and Gass, S M, 2015,Second language research: Methodology and design, Routledge. Marvin, K T 2011, Global Trends in Outsourcing and their Impact (Doctoral dissertation, Worcester Polytechnic Institute). Panneerselvam, R, 2014,Research methodology, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.. Pratap, S, 2014, Towards a framework for performing outsourcing capability, Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal,7(3), pp.226-252. Sharma, A Loh, P 2009, Emerging Trends in Sourcing of business services. Business Process Management Journal., Vol. 15 No. 2. Wilson, V 2016, Research Methods: Mixed Methods Research, Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 11, 56-59. Zikmund, W G, Babin, B J, Carr, J C Griffin, M 2010,Business research methods,8th edn, South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason, Ohio.

What is Ambition free essay sample

Ambition. Motivation. Aspiration. Passion. Lust. Craving. Zeal. Spirit. Vigor. I can keep defining synonyms for ambition for you, but honestly, its not worth it. Words cannot EXPLAIN what ambition is. It cannot make you UNDERSTAND. It cannot INSPIRE. So let me show you what it means. Ambition is suffering. Despair. It is falling into a hole that has no starting and no ending. A hole so wide it makes up the entire universe and becomes the only reality you know. In this hole, you are drowning. Drowning in self-pity and grief. Drowning because you are sinking because there are rocks tied to your limbs. There is no air. There is no light. There is only darkness. And in this darkness, you have to defeat your greatest enemyyourself. Yet, you will not win. You never win. The word victory is not even something you can understand. In this hole, you suffer. We will write a custom essay sample on What is Ambition? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When you are sinking and drowning in a world full of so much darkness, it is now, at your lowest point, that there will be a crackle, a bang, a roar of a flame coming to life. This ember is your guide. It is your child, that you have to nurse and grow. If you let it die, then so will you. Ambition is suffering and crawling out of that hole with every ounce of strength you can muster with only a little flicker of light to guide you. Ambition is a cage. An imprisonment. You are jailed in a world that is so utterly against you. The slightest wrong twitch can be your death. This cage is metal, frozen andinhumane. The steel bars are coated in dried blood, unbent and undamaged.The cage is small, cramped and short. In this cage, you have no room to stand, to breathe. You are given no luxuries because you arent considered human, an equal to those that caged you. You are an animal. Not a person. Your life is not worth it. You are a beast, a monster. In this cage, you are screaming, yelling. Your throat is raw and fading. Nobody hears you because nobody cares. In this cage, you are faced with your greatest obstaclebeing invisible. Ambition is being shoved into a caged, where you are forced to be to confined and withered away. Nobody will notice you or hear you. You are forgotten. Ambition is screaming your lungs out and bashing yourself against the cage until you break free. It is being stripped away of yourself, but st ill knowing who you are. Ambition isa sense of dignity when there is none to be had. Ambition is being tired. Exhausted. It is laying in bed and feeling so sleepy, you cant actually rest. Your bones are screaming in pain. Your muscles are tight and sore. Your brain is fuzzy and cloudy. Yet, you cannot sleep because going to sleep means that youll wake up. Wake up to repeat the same motions. Day in. Day out. Again and again. Living your life in loops. A cycle of endless motion. In this cycle, you do not rest. You do not get to sleep. You get nothing but the burden of exhaustion weighing you down and making you slow. You hate this infinite loop, and yet, you do not know how to stop it. You are doomed to relive the same cycle over and over. Day in. Day out. Again and again. In this loop, you are faced with your greatest weaknessgiving up. Ambition is picking up your worn down body and dragging yourself through the same motions, yet, with a sense of vigor as if you arent tired. Arent about to collapse to the ground. Ambition is pushing yourself to the point where you wi ll want to give up, to bow down in defeat, but you soldier on and break past that. Ambition is continuing even when your own body is willing you, shrieking at you to stop. Ambition is hatred. A rage. A sense of madness that drives you to a corner, where the hot licks of a fire will be biting at your heels and the sharp points of pitchforks will be stabbing into your flesh. Accusing eyes will follow you. Hurtful words will damage you. Disdainful faces will mock you. You are unworthy. You are disgusting. You are the filth upon the floor. Backs will be turned to you. Helping hands will be gone. Idols will be frauds. And you, will be the center of all anger. Anything and everything will be your fault. You will never be forgiven. In this hatred, you will be faced with your greatest revelationloving yourself. Ambition is being alone in a world where no one will help you and will only mock you. Ambition is being thrown into a world of anger and chaos, and not lowering yourself to their standards. Ambition is accepting who you are and not letting what the world says about you get to you. Ambition is dreaming. A reality. It is putting your heart onto a gold mantle and raising it above the sky and into the stars. Where it will float amongst the vast universe. It will not be bound down by people. It will not be tied down with lies. It will not be chained by â€Å"reality†.It is dreaming the impossible and laughing into peoples faces. It is spitting onto all that mock you. It is proving everyone wrong. It is seeing the world screaming out against you, but hearing only silence.It is removing your shackles and spreading your wings. In dreaming, you will be faced with your greatest feat.making it a reality. Ambition is dreaming a dream and waking up for it to come true, Ambition is making miracles become reality. Ambition is bursting past the limit of the sky and reaching to the stars. Ambition is not about them. It is not about her or him. It is not about they. It is about you. Yourself. The only person that makes you who you are. You are an individual. You are unique. You, alone, hold the greatest power in the entire world and that is to shape your destiny. I can throw out a million quotes to you, in hopes, that they inspire, but I wont. Why should I waste my breathe? I dont need to say anything when I already know that you are amazing. You are you and nobody else. Ambition is You.

Consumer Perception on Security in E-Commerce Portals Essays

Consumer Perception on Security in E-Commerce Portals Essays Consumer Perception on Security in E-Commerce Portals Essay Consumer Perception on Security in E-Commerce Portals Essay With the introduction of internet and e-commerce many companies have been performing their business transactions through e portals such as C2B (Consumer to Business), B2C (Business to Consumer) etc. Increasing technology changes has bought tremendous changes in online business transactions and /or processes (buying and selling) and currently this process has become common. Currently E-commerce portals are playing a vital role in online business and here most consumers have varying opinions or views on online transactions especially security, privacy and trust. Security and privacy are the two major aspects that drive online businesses which leads online consumers to develop trust on the e-portals. This ultimately increases the business processes. Keeping in view this as a major aspect this research investigates and discusses the varying consumer perceptions on privacy, security and trust in electronic commerce portals. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This research aims at discussing varying consumer perceptions on privacy, security and trust on electronic commerce portals. The intended aim is achieved through following objectives * Analyze consumer perceptions on varying characteristics of e-commerce portals * Examine the various factors that influence consumer trust and privacy on e-commerce portals * Identify the antecedents and consequences of online consumers privacy concerns * Examine how various security factors affect consumer perceptions towards e-commerce portal BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY The competition is on the increase in this highly advanced segment of marketing, both in number and intensity. More number of websites or portals are offering their services/products with lot of value additions and better quality. Selling of the services or goods, groceries, clothes, music, travel, tickets, hardware, gifts, flowers, books are a part of the e-merchandise. Insurance, smart cards, debit cards, financial services, credit cards, internet banking, banking machines etc. , are a part of the e-finance products. If any website seriously intends for retention of it existing customers (in addition to attractive more number of new customers), hey need to incorporate in their marketing strategies the relationship paradigm (Hsu, Li-Chang amp; Wang, 2008; Walczack et. al, 2006). Internet Effects on Trade and Commerce Utilization of the internet has become one of the important marketing channels and medium. In this scenario, it is the responsibility of the Managers to efficiently manage the scarce marketing resources under the purview of the internet channels in order to improve the sustainab le customer relationships. Every business entity needs to focus on the customer’s perception of improving the security, in order to maintain long term relationship. This is an important aspect in view of the fact that the customers depend on the internet for gathering the information as well as for purchases online and become very loyal to the company or a particular brand of the product they are interested in (Bart et. al. , 2005). Web Site Designing Crucial Concerns Designing of a website is one of the critical parts of internet marketing strategies as well in addressing the security concerns of the customers/consumers. The characteristics that are generally emphasized in the website categories are navigation, privacy and security (or the trust). (Bart et. al. , 2005). A website needs to be viewed as a virtual store from the consumer’s standpoint and needs to gain customer’s trust in order to create a meaningful shopping experience. A consumer’s online interaction through the website can be co-related to the experience at a store in person. Naturally, consumers develop perceptions of trust basing on their website interaction and experience. However, the trust of a consumer developed on the website depends on the extent of confidence on the security and safety of the portal. Only basing on these factors the consumer’s perceptions are formed either positive or otherwise. The level of satisfaction derived by a customer by a portal depends to a great extent on the authenticity and believability of the information offered by a portal (Bart et. al. , 2005). Privacy Vs Freedom of Information Every individual has a right to retain the information of their own tax, medical and other government related documents and this highly sensitive and ersonalized information is not revealed by the hospitals/doctors, financial institutions, business parties or the government agencies to irrelevant third parties. The Capitalistic societies are trading with the personal data as a saleable commodity (Jan, 2005), resulting in the privacy and free market policies being at odds with each other. Advanced data management technologies have re sulted in sophisticated â€Å"Consumer database and management systems† which in turn has become a fast growing and highly profitable business activity by itself. Data stored digitally has an indefinite span of life; because of which, consumers are apprehensive about their personal information being shared with unintended third parties (Warren amp; Brandies, 1890). In the present day context, the â€Å"rights to privacy† is directly conflicting with the â€Å"freedom or the right to information† being implemented by various democratic societies (Udo, 2001). Protection of the individual personal identifiable information is covered under the privacy. This is one of the major key drivers of online trust. A person buying a system may not reveal so much of personal information as the one who is travelling or even commuting. Traveler has to identify self, place of residence, place of travel, date of travel and such other details which are of prime importance and need meant to be disclosed to everyone – specially those who are not relevant to the issue. Security relates to the information revealed online such as credit card, debit card or the other financial related information, used for purchase of goods and services (Hoffman, Novak amp; Tom, 1996; Peratla, 1999). The need for online trust is very high for website categories which require presentation and navigation of information. The consumers may rely more on the brand strength of the product/ portal, while searching the websites. Advice is also one of the stronger determinants of online trust of website categories, for information on high search efforts. High involvement items are generally associated with the issue of order fulfillment conditions. Community features are very useful in trusting the information in cases where the expected sharing of the information in unknown circles is very high. Consumers generally expect the website to be â€Å"error free† (such as incorrect processing of information or the site containing wrong information) since they do not accept information error on the websites as the information becomes the critical input for their decisions making (Hoffman, Novak amp; Tom, 1996; Peratla, 1999). Regulation – Sanctity of Online Privacy Statements Of late it has become customary on the part of every website to have a privacy statement displayed prominently. This has become compulsory in view of increasing consumer perception of their security and safety being at risk while transacting on the e-commerce portals. In order to nullify the negative feelings of the consumers, privacy statements have been resorted to by the owners of various e-commerce web portals (Jan, 2005). Seldom, the privacy statements on the websites really try to protect the consumers from misutilization of their data and privacy. Mostly, they exhibit the same as per the regulatory requirements. There is lot of ambiguity in these privacy statement declarations, which are not clear in their terms and conditions and most of the time they are vague, unclear and highly confusing. The consumers are really taken for a jolly good ride by these statements, which are prepared in the interest of the owners; not the consumers (Jan, 2005). The Efficacy of Privacy Statements Unfortunately, despite various regulatory authorities being in place, the companies are not legally obliged to protect the consumers in true sense. It is up-to the consumers themselves to protect their privacy by taking care and precaution while dealing with such e-commerce portals. The consumer is expected to read the privacy statement in detail and take a decision accordingly, whether or not to divulge the personal information through such web portals. Obviously, consumers who are high users of internet services, while the occasional browsers of the internet will be taking high risk in dealing with the e-commerce portals. The high users of internet services have more awareness of privacy issues and hence will be very discrete in sharing their personal information with the web portals. (Miyazaki amp; Fernandez, 2000; Sheehan amp; Hoy; 2000). While participating in various online activities, consumers have always expressed their serious concern as regards their privacy aspects. Various legislations have been made to improve the privacy levels of the consumers. Unfortunately, such legislations have been misused by the portals to their advance, for example Amazon. com had recently publicized their privacy police statement without any notice to the consumers. As per this policy, Amazon. com could use (trade with) the personal data of the consumers with out their consent. Every organization with internet presence, cannot deny the fact that the privacy is the key factor the success of online transactions (Miyazaki amp; Fernandez, 2000). Internet Seals of Approval This is an effort by a group of companies having their online presence, to promote a third party seal of approval system in order to counter the efforts of legislation of privacy policies by various government authorities. Despite this seal of approval system being in force for couple of decades now, discussions are still inconclusive as regards – i) improving the online e-commerce portals’ privacy related practices that are acceptable to the consumers as per their expectations. ii) The extent of influence on consumer’s perceptions by such privacy policies and their implementation (Krishnamurthy amp; Sandeep, 2002). The so called seal of approval has very little or negligible impact on the consumer perceptions on the believability; since the same has been carried out by an agency of the e-commerce portal management / owners and not by a government or legalized authority. It has been believed that it is not in the best interests of the consumers and it is only intended to help the e-commerce portals to improve their business revenues by way of trying to influence the consumers by giving a feeling of total privacy assurance. Even after having failed to convince the consumers on a high note, the system of seal of approval is still continuing to be used in the market place of e-commerce portals (Krishnamurthy amp; Sandeep, 2002) Thus, this study tries to discuss and analyze the differentiating perceptions of consumers towards internet privacy, security that leads to trust on e portals. In this regard this research also looks for consumer perceptions towards e portals, key drivers of internet security, and characteristics of consumer perceptions and measures that can be used or implemented to reduce consumer perceptions on security. Further this research intends to put forward the antecedents and consequences of online consumer privacy and few recommendations to overcome the increasing security related issues to e portals which could help the consumers to effectively use e-portals, and the portals to give efficient and effective services to their online consumers. Therefore the following sections give a clear picture of these aspects in the research. LITERATURE REVIEW E-commerce portals (B2B / B2C) Today business is done with many communication technologies such as mail order phone, mail order fax, walk-in retail and so on. Web and internet are said to be another medium of communication (Vark, 1997). With the increasing demands of online customers the need of scalable, fast, accurate and secured information exchange is very important. This creates trust in online consumers. E-commerce is generally defined as a means for transactions of goods and services through internet (some of these could be B2B, B2C etc. ). E-commerce creates an indirect access of the business products and services to the customers who intend to buy just sitting at one place. This can be said as a more relaxed way of shopping (Akther, 2004). E-portals provide a wide range of products and services and if any customers intend to buy through moving for shopping they have to move to different locations to get the same, so e-portals can be said as â€Å"one sit shopping†. Security in e-commerce portals Security is defined as the protection of data against accidental or intentional disclosure to unauthorized persons, or unauthorized modification or destruction (Udo, 2001). Security is also defined as the protection of data against accidental or intentional disclosure to unauthorized persons, or unauthorized modifications or destruction. Privacy refers to the rights of individuals and organizations to determine for themselves when, how, and to what extent information about them is to be transmitted to others (Udo, 2001). According to Hsu, Li-Chang amp; Wang (2008); Mc. Knight et. al. (2002) security is one of the major and important factors of this relationship marketing. For a successful business relationship, security is generally is considered as the crucial component in the relationship marketing paradigm. Security is a mutual detriment of behavior and an indication of confidence in the exchange partner’s integrity and its reliability. The importance of consumer perceptions on security in e- portals has been stressed by many researchers and practitioners keeping in view different perspectives such as social, economic, institutional, ethical, organizational, managerial, and technological approaches (Chang et al. 2005, Moon, Gefen and Straub 2004), while Jarvenpaa et al. (1999) and (2000) in their preceding studies have suggested importance of consumer perceptions on security with respect to internet sites (online websites) and comparatively some other studies were also investigated importance of B2B on consumer buying behaviors and their varying expectations (Akhter et. al. , n. d). According to Miyazaki amp; Fernandez (2000) online consumer s purchasing behavior is affected due to concerns related to security. Due to low consumer trust these concerns may raise high risk concerns or low buying behavior. It is viewed (Akhter et. al. , n. d) that based on the experience online consumer consciously or subconsciously analyze the security levels provided online and decide to continue transactions with that particular business (company) or move to another. Technical and non technical barriers in e-commerce have been discussed by Akhter (2004 amp; 2006), Tassabehji (2003) and Turban et al. , (2000) which are considered as barriers of online growth and development. Some of the barriers are said as lack of security and reliability, standard technologies for secure payment and proven online business models. Security is a major concern to vendors in B2C as this reflects the consumer perceptions towards that business. As there is uncertainty and due to many complications present in e-commerce online consumers think of whether their financial information such as credit card are safe to send to a vendor through internet (Akhter, 2006) and due to this most consumers fear to provide their credit card information on internet to do any transaction. According to an argument done by Akhter (2004), online consumer trust can be increased if e commerce or e portals can create a positive opinion on the system that it is trustworthy and secure. Key Drivers of Online Trust Trust is a fundamental principal of every business relationship. Trust is the critical factor in stimulating purchase over internet (Corbit et. al. , 2003). Most internet marketing sites lack trust of consumer either in merchant honesty or competency. Thus trust plays a vital role on online consumer activities there by leading to ecommerce success (Corbit et. al. , 2003). Trust is said to be characterized by uncertainty, reliability, dependency and venerability and these are reflected on online transactions. According to Corbit et. al. , (2003) in the relationship marketing paradigm, trust is generally viewed as an essential ingredient for a successful relationship. Trust as a willingness to rely on an exchange partner in whom one has confidence. Trust is the perception of ‘‘confidence in the exchange partner’s reliability and integrity. According to balance theory it states that consumers tend to develop a positive towards those with whom they have prior association. Greater the association, more the consumer experience, more is the positive attitude developed towards e-commerce sites. Successful e-commerce websites are those that build trust in consumers and reduce the risk perceptions through effective technologies and marketing activities (Corbit et. al. , 2003). Some of the key drivers of online trust are – security privacy – advice brand strength fulfillment of order conditions – features of the community – error free transaction or absence of errors of all these Security and Privacy being of highest importance (Warren amp; Brandies, 1980). The basic human dignity calls for â€Å"a right to be let alone† or a right to total privacy. In the present day the powerful media or the press has taken over to a new proportion. With the advancement of information technology as well the rise of the information society, privacy levels have been curtailed by the latest â€Å"right to information acts† being implemented by various governments (Warren amp; Brandies, 1980). According to a company website (ecommerce-digest. om) most ecommerce merchants leave the mechanics to their hosting company or IT staff, but it helps to understand the basic principles and discuss some of the basic principles of customer security as following and states that any system has to meet following four requirements: * Privacy: information must be kept from unauthorized parties * Integrity: message must not be altered or tampered with * Authentication: sender and recipient must prove their identities to each other * Non-repudiation: proof is n eeded that the message was indeed received (ecommerce-digest. com). Online Privacy Policies and Adoption of Internet Seals Fair Information Practice Principles, which were adopted prior to the internet widespread, need to be based for arriving at online privacy standards. These primary principles are as follows: Notice: Disclosing the information practices by the Data Collectors (e-commerce web portals) prior to the collecting of the personal information from the consumers. This totally keeps the consumer aware of the practices being adopted by the web portal and whatever decision is taken subsequently is at their own risk and security aspects (Miyazaki amp; Fernandez 2000; Sheehan amp; Hoy, 2000). Choice: Consumers needs to be kept aware of whether and how – the personal information provided by them online the portal, could be used, beyond the purposes for which the information is provided by them to the e-commerce web portal. Here, the consumers are not only alerted on the ways of utilizing the information, also their prior consent is obtained in order to proceed further for intended purposes (Miyazaki amp; Fernandez 2000; Sheehan amp; Hoy, 2000). Access: provision of letting the consumers being able to view the accuracy as well as the completeness of the data gathered from them by the e-commerce web portal. This enables them to contest the same, if they so desire to do so (Miyazaki amp; Fernandez 2000; Sheehan amp; Hoy, 2000). Security: This is the major concern of any consumer. As the consumers are slowly but steadily moving from physical shopping to the internet shopping environments. This aspect only stops them from using the e-commerce portals, for the fear of its inadequate security measures or the levels. As such, the role of Security in this kind of environment is highly desirable form the consumer’s perception (Miyazaki amp; Fernandez 2000; Sheehan amp; Hoy, 2000). The data collectors or the e-commerce web based portals, need to assure the consumers that the information collected on line from them is â€Å"totally accurate, secure and will not be used for un-authorized purposes by the people, who are not supposed to be dealing with such data of the consumers† (Miyazaki amp; Fernandez 2000; Sheehan amp; Hoy, 2000). PROBLEM DEFINITION E-commerce is an act involving an online transaction. It could be anything from ordering a product or service online, paid content being delivered online sometimes, and financial transactions such as payments to various services such as water, electricity, telephone, rail, road and air services, movement of money from one account to another. The opportunities that arise out of E-commerce are: E-learning, E-business, E-insurance, E-ticketing etc. The internet based E-Commerce, besides its own major advantages, has some is-advantages too coming with it. These days, most of the web sites on the Internet are not focusing on the security, privacy and trust concerns of the consumers; which is highly essential for an ongoing relationship with the consumers. Most of the websites, unfortunately, are acting as â€Å"online service catalogs providers or catalog display centers†. Their failure to convince the consumers on the security and safety of their privacy issues is leading to failu re of not being able to convert the â€Å"clicks† into â€Å"closure of deals†. This is simply because they are not effective on their website on the safety, privacy and trust related information as expected by the consumers of the present day. Therefore, here security, privacy and trust are the major concern of any consumer. As more consumers are slowly but steadily moving from regular shopping to the internet shopping environments these aspects become very vital for the consumers. Thus this research intends to investigate and discuss the varying consumer perceptions on security, privacy and trust in e-commerce portals. RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES The purpose of this study is to investigate and discuss the perceptions of online consumers towards privacy, security and trust on e-portals. The different perceptions reported in this paper were identified by review of literature in relation to this issue (trust, security and privacy). A questionnaire consisting 21 questions were developed and mailed to 150 e-commerce (B2B and B2C) consumers (an email survey was conducted) in three major emirates of UAE (Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah) where in 108 individuals responded to the survey. The questions were developed from literature review, news, security and privacy issues. People who make online shopping have email Id’s as conformation of purchase is made through emails, hence we have approached this methodology. The sample email ids were borrowed from social networking sites. A pilot email was sent to them to assess their willingness to participate in this survey. Only those who were interested in the survey were sent the main questionnaire. SURVEY RESULTS The following tables (table 1 and 2) indicate the percentage responses according to demographics, consumer behavior other issues related to usage of e-portals Table 1: Percentage response according to gender, age and occupation Characteristics| % Response| Gender| Males| 72. 3| Females| 27. 7| Age| 18-25| 23. 2| 25-35| 48. 1| 35-45| 15. 4| 45-55| 12. 3| 55 and above| 2. 0| Occupation| Managers| 12. 2| Employees| 36. 3| Students| 17. 2| Others| 34. 3| According to the demographics out of 108 people surveyed 72. 3% were males and 27. 7% were males of which 23. 2% were under the age group of 18 – 25, 48. 1% were under the age group of 25 – 35, 15. 4% were under the age group of 35 – 45, 12. 3% were under the age group of 45 – 55 and the other 2. 0% were under the age group of 55 and above. Next considering the occupation of the respondents surveyed it is seen that 12. 2% were managers, 36. % were employees, 17. 2% were students and 34. 3% were others. This clearly indicates that the survey included more percentage of males when compared to females and people in the age group of 25-35 are of the highest and most on the respondents were employees and others. The following table indicates the percentage response i n accordance with consumer behavior and opinion towards browsing e-portals and online purchases, E-portal sites regularly visited, Frequency of online purchase, Concernedness and Willingness. Table 2: Consumer behavior towards browsing, purchase, frequency of usage, concernedness and willingness Behavior| % Response | Browse e-portals| Yes| 98. 5| No| 1. 5| Online purchases| Yes| 68. 7| No| 31. 3| E-portal sites regularly visited| Brownbag. ae| 21. 2| eRealDeal. com| 30. 1| Frobes. com| 3. 0| Ellamart. com| 24. 5| eTechnoworld. com| 18. 1| BooksArabia. com| 3. 1| Frequency of online purchase| Regularly| 42. 3| Occasionally| 46. 4| Never| 11. 3| Concernedness| Strongly concerned| 96. 3| Concerned| 3. 6| Neutral| 1| Not concerned| Nil| Willingness| Yes | 2. 3| No| 97. 7| According to the survey results it is seen that 98. 5% respondents browse e-portals and of which 68. 7% make transactions through e-portals. RealDeal. com portal is mostly used (30. 1%) in UAE by the respondents where as Ellamart. com stands in the 2nd position (24. 5%). Occasional purchasers are more (46. 4%) when compared to regular purchasers (42. 3%). Survey indicates that 96. 3% people are strongly concerned towards the abuse of your financial and other personal information when/they purchase things online. When questioned abou t willingness towards purchase of anything online in case their (consumer) concerns are addressed or eliminated, this survey indicated that 97. 7% people do not show willingness. The following table indicates the level of opinions of online consumers towards various issues related to security, privacy and trust. Table 3: Consumer perceptions towards issues related to security, privacy and trust Level of opinion| % Response| Online or internet security is becoming an increasingly important issue| Strongly agree| 47. 5| Agree| 31. 6| Neutral| 12. 7| Disagree| 5. 7| Strongly disagree| 0. 6| The privacy of Internet users is greatly violated| Strongly agree| 41. 8| Agree| 33. 5| Neutral| 11. 4| Disagree| 9. 5| Strongly disagree| 1. 9| Internet (e-portals) shopping sites cannot be trusted| Strongly agree are sufficient to provide security and safety on the Internet| Strongly agree| 4. 3| Agree| 20. 9| Neutral| 25. 8| Disagree| 38. 1| Strongly disagree| 6. 4| I am assured of the safety of my credit card information on the e-portals| Strongly agree| 3. 1| Agree| 11. 5| Neutral| 15. 1| Disagree| 29. 8| Strongly disagree| 38. 0| Stalking and impersonation (including forged identity) are common on the e-portals| Strongly agree| 32. 3| Agree| 42. 4| Neutral| 13. 9| Disagree| 7. 0| Strongly disagree| 2. 5| Security and privacy concerns are barriers for my shopping online| Strongly agree| 44. 1| Agree| 31. 2| Neutral| 20. 5| Disagree| 3. 2| Strongly disagree| 1. 0| As depicted over 89. % of participants (strongly agreed and agree) agreed that online or internet security is becoming an increasingly important issue. A large number 85. 3% of participants (strongly agreed and agree) agreed that the privacy of internet users is greatly violated; looking at the response for Internet (e-portals) shopping sites cannot be trusted it is indicated that 69. 0% agreed (strongly agreed and agree) where as 22. 2% showed a neutral opinion. The survey indicates that 13. 7% participants were neutral but a highly 90. 3% participants agreed that reduced the risk of liability, e-portals should institute privacy protection policies. RECOMMENDATIONS Measures to Reduce the Consumer’s Negative Perceptions on Security With the kind of negative consumer perception on the e-commerce trading and patronizing with such portals, it becomes important on the part of the owners of such portals to attempt reducing the consumers perceived security (risk) factors. One of such important measures could be the use of seal of approval from a third party agency. Attestation by such third parties on the maintenance of security and privacy levels, may be believed by the consumers, better than the one’s issued by the own agencies of e-commerce portal managements. This improved trust or the confidence level of the consumers, helps improving the online transactions using the e-commerce portals. Secondly, the seal of approval can be treated as a co-branding strategy of a web based e-commerce portal aligning with a trusted third party agency which ultimately leads to the gain of trust/confidence of the potential customers/consumers; as they are assured of security by a neutral agency, which is in line with their expectations (Krishnamurthy amp; Sandeep, 2002). One of the major responsibilities of online consumers is to maintain the privacy. When they look for any e commerce site and intend to do any transactions it is important for them to look for privacy statements of that site (Udo, 2001). According to Udo (2001) sites in which privacy concerns are sensitive should clearly display privacy policies and should offer the consumer to choose to share their personal information or restrict its use and such sites should also state how to use the privacy policies. The following have been provided as the top 12 ways to protect the user’s privacy online (McCandlish, 2002): * Do not reveal personal information inadvertently Turn on cookie notices in your Web browser * Keep a clean’’ e-mail address * Don’t reveal personal details to strangers or just-met friends’’ * Realize you may be monitored at work, avoid sending highly personal e-mail to mailing lists, and keep sensitive files on your home computer * Do not reply to spammers, for anything * Be conscious of Web security * Be consciou s of home computer security * Examine privacy policies and seals * Remember that you decide what information about yourself to reveal, when, why, and to whom * Use encryption Keep sensitive files on your home computer

Bad Writing Assignment(Intentional) Essays

Bad Writing Assignment(Intentional) Essays Bad Writing Assignment(Intentional) Essay Bad Writing Assignment(Intentional) Essay An Indiana supermarket has started the next trend in do-it-yourself grocery shopping – allowing customers not only to check themselves out. But also to let themselves in. On Thanksgiving night in Goshen, the locking mechanism on its front door was not checked by someone at the store. That resulted in a dozen customers entering the store and trying to shop despite a complete absence of store employees. Normally open 24 hours a day, the doors of the store were shut at 6 p. m. on Thanksgiving evening. Store manager, Sheila Donley, said. It seems the locks on the front doors must have failed, and instead of actually sleeping off their turkey dinners or getting an early head start on Black Friday, some loyal Kroger customers decided to pick up a few extra items. † Since the locking mechanism had failed the doors were not easy to slide open, Donley said, that may have deterred others who came earlier in the evening. About 10:15 p. m. , though, one customer decided the store lo oked open. And pulled the sliding front doors apart just as several other shoppers arrived. When I arrived at the store I could see a little space between the doors, because all the lights were on inside, I just assumed the automatic opener had stopped working but I could still shop,† said, Goshen resident, Bill Terrell. â€Å"I looked for an employee to alert, I found no one and decided just to buy what I needed. † Several other late-night shoppers gathered items and went to the self-checkout lanes, seemingly oblivious to the utter lack of employees. They realized something was wrong after seeing all registers closed, Terrell said. At some point, police were called. Puzzled by the situation, a call came from a customer or a neighbor concerned about the sudden activity. Police spokeswoman, Christy Samms said, â€Å"There were definitely no signs of forced entry at all and apparently no one stole any items from the business. † She said it appeared the door’s locking mechanism had not completely engaged. At this point in time, Donley, called in by police, secured all of the entrances and sent the confused customers on their way – each with a voucher for $20 worth of Kroger-brand items on a upcoming future visit. The customers, taking it in stride, left without incident, Terrell said. â€Å"As foolish as we probably were to be out on Thanksgiving night, I guess it’s hard to complain about free food on our next trip,† he said. 1a. Original: Donley, called in by police†¦. 1b. Revision: At this point in time, Donley, called in by police†¦ (Concise Wording) 2a. Original: â€Å"There were no signs of forced entry and apparently†¦. 2b. Revision: â€Å"There were no signs of forced entry at all and apparently†¦ (Unnecessary Filler) 3a. Original: †¦and apparently no one stole from the business. † 3b. Revision: †¦and apparently no one stole any items from the business. † (Unnecessary Filler) 4a. Original: â€Å"It seems the locks on the front doors failed†¦ 4b. Revision: â€Å"It seems the locks on the front doors must have stopped working†¦ (Concise wording) 5a. Original: â€Å"I could see a little space between the doors†¦ 5b. Revision: â€Å"When I arrived at the store I could see a little space between the doors†¦ (Long Lead Ins) 6a. The doors were not easy to slide open,†¦. 6b. Since the locking mechanism had failed the doors were not easy to slide open,.. (Long Lead Ins) 7a. †¦and instead of sleeping off†¦. 7b. †¦and instead of actually sleeping off†¦ (Needless Adverb) 8a. †¦brand items on a future visit. 8b. †¦brand items on a upcoming future visit. (Redundant Words) 9a. â€Å"There were no signs of forced entry†¦ 9b. â€Å"There were definitely no signs of forced entry†¦ (Needless Adverb) 10a. †¦or getting an early start on Black Friday†¦ 10b. †¦or getting an early head start on Black Friday†¦ (Redundant Words)

Grouch Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Grouch - Personal Statement Example I am not one of them. Grouchiness is its own reward, and often times it can also give a person a distinct strategic advantage in any given situation. The Grouch is a cruel master who has the capacity to take charge and ensure that things are done right. Simply put, people respond to anger. An angry person can motivate others to attain new levels of achievement. In today's economy, not a single company can afford to lose a customer. If you spend money, then you are in a buyer's market for an exceptional level of service. No one wants to see a client walk away in a bad mood. I was on the phone the other day trying to get some support for a computer program that was not functioning properly. Just the slightest edge of Grouchy frustration in my voice elicited many apologies from by service representative. In just a few minutes I got more than enough help to solve all of technological woes. When I received the email feedback form inquiring about my experience, the Grouch in me checked the "dissatisfied" box on every question. For some reason, it was important to me to show these executives who is boss. Sometimes anger is justifiable in itself with no apparent practical purpose. I was driving in my car today and some lady cuts right in front of me and then slows down. Before I know it, I have to jam on my brakes just to keep from hitting her. Sure I could have kept my mouth shut and driven around her, but it was so much more fun to burst into a rage and start shouting at the other car. "What are you doing Why did you cut in front of me" No one could hear what I was saying of course because my car windows were rolled up. It was exciting none-the-less to engage in such an outburst. The afterglow of a Grouchy temper tantrum is an experience worth savoring. It doesn't really matter if there was a crime committed or not. The Grouch is happy enough to treat every minor infraction as a potentially life-threatening violation. There are personal benefits to being a Grouch. After a rampage, one is left with the not-so-subtle feeling of superiority. It wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination to say that being a Grouch is similar to being a drug addict. Both behaviors cause a physiological change in the body. Endorphins are released and they bind to receptors on neurons of the brain resulting in a sensation of euphoria. A cascade of internal chemical events gives you the rush you've been craving without the messiness or inconvenience of actually having to "shoot up". Without a doubt rage is an addictive behavior, perhaps even more addictive than a chemical dependency. I do not know if there are 12-step recovery groups for Grouches (rage-a-holics anonymous, perhaps) but there is a definite need for them. Being a Grouch can be hard work sometimes. It is a complex task that engages a variety of emotions, not just anger. For example, in order to get to that place of becoming properly incensed there are some prerequisites. First you have to develop a taste for righteous indignation. Taking offense at another person's behavior is key to developing a good rage. That is the trigger which gets the ball rolling. The process starts when I am standing innocently by myself, and then someone comes along and disturbs me in some small way. You have to believe that you are an innocent victim in order to be a Grouch. The first rule of victimhood is to deny all

A plausible scientific explanation accounting for the development of Essay

A plausible scientific explanation accounting for the development of diverse sexual orientations in humans - Essay Example It is therefore a subject that has elicited a lot of debate and controversies, especially with the numerous scientific researches that has been done by the different scientists. Scholars have also attempted to come up with theories all in an effort to justify their ideas and explanations. So at the end of the paper we should be in a position to appreciate whether â€Å"Gay, straight and the reason why† by LeVay, S. (2010) offer answers to the origin and existence of homosexuality. LeVay did a study of the brain to ascertain the cause and the differences in the sexual orientation of the different people and had some interesting reports and facts to present (LeVay &Valente, 2006). The main focus of his study was the brain of the males who were gay and the men who were straight. His study was based on the fact that a part of the hypothalamus section of the brain of the males and the females is always different in size due to their differences in sex (LeVay &Valente, 2006). He therefore wanted to see if this part of the brain had any differences for the men who were straight and the men who were gay. He therefore studied several samples of the brain tissue collected from the men who had passed on and used this to do his studies (LeVay &Valente, 2006). Although his conclusion proved that there was quite a significant amount of difference, other people against his line of through felt that this was because his study was purely focused on the men who had died of the AIDS complications among other sexually transmitted diseases (LeVay &Valente, 2006). However, this was not entirely true as he used also the tissues of the people whose death was from other causes while others who died but in perfectly good health. This is why he later on noted that other research done after he also proved that he was right that there was a difference in the brain, especially the particular section of

Outline Research Into Institutional Aggression Essay Example for Free

Outline Research Into Institutional Aggression Essay Institutional aggression is aggressive behaviour displayed within an institutional situation such as a school or prison. Most research into institutional aggression has been conducted in prisons. One explanation of institutionalised aggression is the importation model- dispositional factors. This model suggests that prisoners bring (import) their own social histories and traits with them to the prison environment and these influence their subsequent behavious (Irwin and Cressey, 1962). Most of the aggressive behaviour studied in the prison situation is not specific to that situation- the same behaviour was carried out in wider society by the same individuals. Such people bring with them into a prison a ready-made way of behaving which they just use in their new institutional setting (Cheeseman, 2003). Irwin and Cressey realised the importance of different prisoner subcultures and identified three. Firstly; the criminal or thief subculture, the prisoner follow the norms and values that are present in the professional thief or criminal careers, such as not betraying one another and being trustworthy. Secondly; the convict subculture, the subject has been raised in the prison system. They seek positions of power and influence and are therefore most likely to turn to aggression or another maladaptive form of coping. and the conventional or straight subculture tend to be one-time offenders and were not part of a criminal or thief subculture before entering prison. They reject the other two subcultures and identify more with the prison staff. This group is least likely to be aggressive. The three subcultures are better at explaining offenders who do not reoffend then some other explanations of institutional aggression. It suggests we have some degree of free will and explains that some offenders will not re-offend.

The War in Vietnam Essay -- Papers USA Cold War Essays

The War in Vietnam America became increasingly involved in the war in Vietnam, mainly because of the domino theory, the fear of the spread of communism. If South Vietnam fell to the communist the US feared that communism would spread throughout Asia and to neighbouring countries. The influence of the previous presidents also caused another main reason for the US to become more involved in Vietnam. But there is one underlining fact; if the ‘French had not left, America would not have become involved in Vietnam at all. There are many more reasons for America to increase involvement in Vietnam, and all of these can be listed in long and short-term reasons, such as Domino theory being long term and Gulf of Tonkin being short term. Some of the reasons have higher influence in the increase in involvement in Vietnam, while others being less important (for example the Gulf of Tonkin incident). The most important factor for America’s involvement was the Domino Theory, conceived by President Eisenhower, which was originally President Truman’s Theory of Containment (Theory evolving into Domino Theory).The theory of containment was the idea of not actually stopping communism but containing it within a country to stop communism from spreading. This theory was used in the Korean War( 1950-53) and had succeeded in containing communism in North Korea. Eisenhower’s theory, the Domino Theory, initially evolved from Truman’s Theory of Containment. Domino Theory was the idea of the spread of communism, which was compared with the falling of dominos, â€Å"you have a row of dominos set up you knock over the first and what happens to the last is a cer... ...o the failings of the corrupt Diem, leading to the cancelling of the elections, which angered the North, who retaliated by attacking the south, and in response the Americans increased it’s troops to try meet the threats of the Vietcong and Communism. But some factors can be linked to other factors, domino theory and influence of the presidents. Also some of the Factors are more important than others, the most important being the Domino Theory, and the French Exit, but the UN not being as important in the reasons why America got more involved. The Domino theory was the justification for the war. The Gulf of Tonkin was only an excuse , French exit was the void that America filled, and Diem’s failings, all of which linked to the Domino Theory, which is basically the reason why America got increasingly involved in Vietnam.

Changing a Qualitative Research Into a Quantitative Study Essay

Fry and her colleagues undertook a qualitative research to develop a moral distress model in military nursing. Using the same problem statement, literature analysis and background information, this paper aims at converting the qualitative study carried out by Fry and her colleagues into a quantitative study. The study entails setting different research questions and collecting data that aims at addressing these questions. The process proceeds by a review background information and the problem statement. The final state of the process is formulating a new quantitative study question. Qualitative research problem Moral distress is a critical concern in military nursing considering the harsh and complex environments under which military nurses operate in. Literature has established a conceptualised model of moral distress, which starts with initial moral distress symptoms that leads to reactive distress behaviour which results from the effects of the former. There are various factors that cause the occurrence of moral distress in nursing. Considering the environmental differences of military and civilian nursing practice, it is evident that the prevalence of moral distress varies. Quantitative research purpose The main objective of this quantitative study is to contribute to the knowledge base about military nursing moral distress. The knowledge drawn from the research findings will be informative in designing conceptual models of moral distress in military nursing and developing policies for expediting the problem. Quantitative research question The qualitative research question was: Do military nurses experience the dimensions of the conceptualised moral distress described in the problem statement? In response to this question, Fry and her colleagues established four guiding research objectives. They include identification of moral distress experience among the United States Nurse Corps officers; construction of a moral distress model for moral distress experience among military nurses; development of a valid and reliable tool to measure moral distress in military nursing and the identification of the moral distress dimensions among military nurses. The new research question is: What is the prevalence of moral distress in military nursing? The research objectives associated with the aforementioned quantitative question include: (1) To establish the prevalence of moral distress among the Nurse Corps officers of the United States who have ever participated in the military crisis and (2) to establish the percentage of military nurses to develop reactive moral distress behaviour after suffering initial moral distress. Quantitative research sample The qualitative research sample comprised of 13 United States Army Nurse Corps Officers who have ever been deployed in military crisis zones from 1980 and latter. Seven of the thirteen nurses who took part in the research study were males. Six of them had been deployed in Bosnia, Three in Vietnam and four in the Persian Gulf War. The new study sample will include the retired and current United States military nurses who have ever been deployed in the military crisis zones. The large sample size is essential in identifying an inclusive sample representative of 1500 participants to give a higher validity and reliability of the research findings. Participants will be recruited through random selection of nurses who have ever been deployed to military crisis zones. The use of randomised selection of participants improves the validity of the overall results. Qualitative research limitations The first limitation as seen from the study is the use of snowballing sampling which reduces the validity of the overall findings. The second weakness of qualitative study relates to the sample’s small size. The final research findings of qualitative research lack generalizability due to the small sample size. The third weakness of qualitative research is the long time it takes to gather research data through interviews. The fourth eakness is the difficulties encountered in the analysis of the research data. It is not practical to apply statistical methods and tools in the analysis of qualitative study data. The limitations of the new quantitative research findings include: (1) the logical difficulties of getting a large sample size of 1500 participants; (2) the cost implications. It is costly to carry out a research involving such a large sample size. The third limitation is the inability of quantitative study to capture real sample dynamics that are guaranteed by structured interviews (Creswell, 1999). Qualitative Informed Consent and use of IRB The given study satisfied all the ethical research considerations. The researchers obtained the participant’s informed consent and also upheld the duty of confidentiality. The institutional review boards’ approvals were also sought before commencement of the research (Fry et al. , 2002). In the quantitative research study, ethical research considerations involved obtaining research approval from relevant institutional review boards. The research preamble instructions outlined the duty of confidentiality owed by the researcher to the participants. Participation in the phenomenal research study was also voluntary upon acquisition the consents of the participants. Qualitative Research Design and Philosophical Connectedness (underpinnings) The research design has two phases. The first phase entailed a review of the current literature to establish a conceptual moral distress model. The second phase entailed a structured interview with 13 participants who satisfied the inclusion criteria to collect the required research data. The final research findings were used in validation of the conceptualized moral distress model. The quantitative research employs a phenomenological study of the experiences of the United States military nurses in military crisis deployments. The study will seek to obtain the individual encounters with situations that caused them moral distresses. The research study will also seek to establish the prevalence of reactive moral distress behaviour among the participants that suffered initial moral distresses. The research design will employ a questionnaire for data collection. The questionnaire will contain both open and closed ended questions to collect specific responses from participants and general open-ended views from participants. Quantitative Rigor of the Study Rigor is essential in quantitative research study. It raises the overall significance the research. Reliability and validity are the key dimensions of quantitative research’s rigor (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2007). The use of a large sample size and probabilistic recruitment of the research participants increases the external validity of the overall research findings. The researcher should also avoid the research bias in the collection and analysis of the findings to increase the generalizability of the findings. Reliability is the measure of consistency of the research findings. It can be increased by applying similar statistical tools of analysis the results. SPSS is an accurate tool for statistical analysis of quantitative research findings using a uniform degree of freedom. The use of a self-administered questionnaire helps in maintaining anonymity, which give participants the freedom of expressing their genuine views. This is essential in reducing bias and increasing the overall validity and reliability of the research findings. The researcher should admit only completed questionnaires for final research analysis to ensure high validity and reliability of the study findings. This underpins the essence of recruiting a higher number of research participants to guarantee a high number of valid responses from the participants for analysis. Advantages of Qualitative research The main advantages of qualitative research include: (1) In-depth research of a phenomena through structured interviews and observation; (2) Flexibility of the research method to accommodate undefined variables; (3) Ability to capture the whole research information and scenes through tape recording and (4) it allows the researcher to note only relevant responses for analysis (Rubin & Babbie, 2009). Disadvantages of qualitative research The major advantages of qualitative study include: (1) subjectivity of the research findings; (2) its vulnerability to researcher’s bias; (3) It requires a lot of labour and resources; (4) limited replicability and generalizability of the research findings and (5) the difficulties encountered in analysing qualitative research data. It is laborious and time consuming (Rubin & Babbie, 2009). Advantages of quantitative research study The main strengths of quantitative research include: (1) the ease of data analysis using statistical tools; (2) the ease of statistical analysis of quantitative data makes it effective in testing hypotheses and (3) the ability to accommodate large sample sizes that increases validity and reliability of the findings. Disadvantages of quantitative research The first weakness of quantitative research is the ignorance of the research context. The second is the connectedness of the research validity with large sample sizes. It can be difficult and expensive to get a large sample size. The third weakness is the high probability of getting unreliable responses from anonymous participants.

Opposition to the Tsar increase in the years 1881-1914

Why did opposition to the Tsar increase in the years 1881-1914 During the period of 1881- 1914 opposition towards the Tsar in Russia increased. The main reasons as to why opposition towards the Tsar arose in Russia can be seen to be as a result of the discontentment growing between the Russian people. A strong sense of discontent spread throughout Russia, this because Russia had suffered from extreme domestic and economic troubles in this period.The most significant troubles which Russian citizens experienced -eventually leading to the opposition of the Tsar ,was their ant for political change, strict censorship, oppression of the Okrana, their want for political change , their poor standard of living , lack of trust of Tsarist government following the Russo-Japanese war and finally the 1905 revolution . The first cause as to why opposition to the Tsar increased in the years 1881-1914 is the Russian peoples want for political change. Their want for political change is due to the stri ct, oppressive and censored regime of state they lived in.Following the assassination of his father Alexander II, Alexander Ill undid the reforms previously made by his father nd introduced his own reforms during his reign of 1881-1894. One major reform introduced by Alexander was the Russification of Russia. This restricted the language in Russia to Russian only; it also openly started attacks on Jews. Despite the Jews being a minority group within Russia, the Jewish population was vast and a majority of Russians were Jewish, therefore the Russification of the Jews meant that the Tsar lost the support of a lot of the Russian population which led to further opposition.Alexander also launched a campaign of repression to all those supporting political eform, he also restricted press freedom as well as ensuring foreign books & newspapers were rigorously censored. This led to unrest in Russia as many felt their freedom was taken away and were against the form of control they now were un der. This was worsened as the Okhrana (the secret police) was established. The Okhrana worked undercover, infiltrating organisations and groups which might present a danger to the Tsar; the Okhrana was highly unpopular within Russia with the people as its tactics of control were severe and violent.This therefore increased opposition o the Tsar as a wide amount of Russians were angry at their lack of civil rights, which had been infringed under the Tsars reforms. The second cause as to why opposition to the Tsar increased in the years 1881-1914 was the poor standard of living the majority of the working class experienced . This is because despite the Russian industry and unemployment levels improving during the 1890s as a result of the ‘great spurt', the working condition for the working class in factories and in industrial towns was very poor.Russia's industrial towns could not cope with its ever rowing population and consequently the working class had to cope with poor workin g conditions and lower pay. This meant their standard of living declined and they could now only afford the minimum necessities the required to stay alive, despite working long hours in a poor working environment. As a response to this workers attempted to encourage a reform to better their working conditions.However they received no response torm the Tsarist ernment, this theretore led to the opposition of the Tsar as many felt neglected by the Tsar and Government. The third cause as to why opposition to the Tsar increased in the years 1881-1914 was the defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905. The defeat was a major blow to Russia who had been over confident about being victorious. The defeat led to a mutual feeling of humiliation across Russia, the Russian people would have been embarrassed that they a large country lost to what were a much smaller inferior country.The Russians blamed the government for the loss of the war and therefore resentment towards the gover nment built up, not Just from the citizens but lso from the army and naw who were angry that they were under prepared for the war. The defeat also changed the Russian's attitudes towards the Tsar Nicholas. The image of the Tsar being all powerful and the protector of his empire was severely affected, and people's ideas about the Tsar changed, they thought he was powerful enough to bring them victory against Japan , especially as they believed the Tsar was chosen by God.However incidents such as the defeat in Tsushima showed that the Tsar was in fact weak as he did not lead Russia to victory. The defeat and failure of he Tsar led to people turning against him as their belief in him was lost, this therefore led to an increase in opposition towards the Tsar. The fourth cause as to why opposition to the Tsar increased in the years 1881-1914 was the uproar of the revolution in 1905. The Russian people were already marginally against the Tsar and government, but by 1905 the opposition inc reased dramatically leading to a revolution.The revolution began after five men were sacked from a factory in St Petersburg, the workers from the same factory felt the dismissal was unjust and herefore went on strike in protest in an attempt to get the workers reinstated. The word spread of the protest and by Friday 7th January 105,000 workers went on strike in disgust. Not only did many feel disgusted at the workers dismissal, the events further reminded them of the troubles they were facing under their state control, one of the most recent troubles being that their 1905 petition for political change was refused.Furthermore this led to large demonstrations being organised. However the Tsar and Government banned the demonstrations and placed thousands of troops round St Petersburg on bridges to stop the marches, in an attempt to keep public unrest under control to avoid further opposition spreading. Despite the protests being banned the marchers continued with their demonstrations a nd headed to the Winter Palace. However once they reached the Palace the demonstrators were shot down. The shootings at the demonstrators led to 800 participants being wounded and 200 killed. This led to greater opposition of the Tsar.This is because the shooting of the demonstrators ,which became known as ‘bloody Sunday, proved to the Russian itizens that the Tsar was unwilling to listen to their pleas and was prepared to go to the extremes of violence , killing their friends or family ,all in attempt to stop them from protesting for what they believed in. This therefore made them feel angry.

Gustave Caillebottes The Orange Trees essays

Gustave Caillebottes The Orange Trees essays The work chosen for evaluation in this essay is Gustave Caillebottes 1878 oil on canvas painting titled The Orange Trees, a 61 x 46 work in which two central human figures are positioned in a formal garden in which orange trees are planted in sculpted boxes. The male figure in the foreground is the artists brother, Marital; he wears a straw hat and purple shoes and is depicted reading a newspaper or magazine, his back to the artist, and his head bent over the reading material. In the background is the artists cousin, Zoe, who wears a striped dress and red boots and who is bending over one of the boxed orange trees in a very formal garden. Also present in the picture are formal, wrought iron garden chairs and a winding path surrounded by formal plantings. According to the Museum of Fine Arts of Houston (MFAH) Web site (1), Capturing the specific light effects of midday, Gustave Caillebotte contrasts the cool colors of shade with the dazzling, flattening effects of direct sunlight. The painting by Caillebotte employs a diagonal line moving from the lower left side of the canvas as one views it to the upper right side, creating a fairly geometric shape that is nevertheless organic in its flow (a feature made possible by the winding path that moves through the garden, balanced by a patch of brightly colored flowers). The texture is typical of the Impressionists, employing alternating patches of depth and surface paint to create variations in tone and in the interplay of light and shadow. Balance is achieved through an asymmetrical placement of the two human figures and the winding path, juxtaposed against the darker boxed orange trees. The focal point at the foreground of the painting is the artists seated brother; the focal point in the rear is the artists standing cousin, but the curving path creates movement from the bottom to the top of the canvas. This curve also emphasize ...