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 ...

Sexual Reproduction - Gametes and Fertilization

Sexual Reproduction - Gametes and Fertilization Sexual Reproduction Individual organisms come and go, but, to a certain extent, organisms transcend time through producing offspring. Reproduction in animals occurs in two primary ways, through sexual reproduction and through asexual reproduction.  While most animal organisms reproduce by sexual means, some are also capable of reproducing asexually. Advantages and Disadvantages In sexual reproduction, two individuals produce offspring that inherit  genetic characteristics from both parents. Sexual reproduction introduces new gene combinations in a population through genetic recombination.  The influx of new gene combinations allows members of a species to survive adverse or deadly environmental changes and conditions. This is a major advantage that sexually reproducing organisms have over those that reproduce asexually. Sexual reproduction is also advantageous as it is a way to remove harmful gene mutations from a population through recombination. There are some disadvantages to sexual reproduction. Since a male and female of the same species are required to sexually reproduce, a considerable amount of time and energy is often spent in finding the right mate. This is especially important for animals that do not bear many young as the proper mate can increase the chances of survival for the offspring. Another disadvantage is that it takes longer for offspring to grow and develop in sexually reproducing organisms. In mammals, for example, it can take several months for offspring to be born and many more months or years before they become independent. Gametes In animals, sexual reproduction encompasses the fusion of two distinct gametes (sex cells) to form a zygote. Gametes are produced by a type of cell division called meiosis. In humans, gametes are produced in the male and female gonads.  When gametes unite in fertilization, a new individual is formed. Gametes are haploid containing only one set of chromosomes. For example, human gametes contain 23 chromosomes.  After fertilization, a  zygote is  produced from the union of an egg and sperm. The zygote is diploid,  containing two sets of 23 chromosomes for a total of 46 chromosomes. In the case of animals and higher plant species, the male sex cell  is relatively motile and usually has a flagellum. The female gamete is non-motile and relatively large in comparison to the male gamete. Types of Fertilization There are two mechanisms by which fertilization can take place. The first is external (the eggs are fertilized outside of the body) and  the second is internal (the eggs are fertilized within the female reproductive tract).  Ã‚  An egg is fertilized by a single sperm to ensure that the correct  chromosome  numbers are preserved.   In external fertilization, gametes are released into the environment (typically water) and are united at random. This type of fertilization is also referred to as spawning. In internal fertilization, gametes are united within the female. In birds and reptiles, the embryo matures outside of the body and is protected by a shell. In most mammals, the embryo matures within the mother. Patterns and Cycles Reproduction is not a continuous activity and is subject to certain patterns and cycles. Oftentimes these patterns and cycles may be linked to environmental conditions which allow organisms to reproduce effectively. For example, many animals have estrous cycles that occur during certain parts of the year so that offspring can typically be born under favorable conditions. Humans, however, do not undergo estrous cycles but menstrual cycles. Likewise, these cycles and patterns are controlled by hormonal cues. Estrous can also be controlled by other seasonal cues such as rainfall. All of these cycles and patterns allow organisms to manage the relative expenditure of energy for reproduction and maximize the chances of survival for the resulting offspring.

You choose Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

You choose - Essay Example The term leadership simply means the method of influencing a group of people and guiding them towards the accomplishment of a common objective. Our present topic of discussion is the effect of leadership within an organization and its application within the management of an organization. Generally the organizations get highly benefitted by the implementation of proper leadership approaches as it results in improved quality of goods and services produced by the organization. Leadership refers to the way by which an individual organizes a group of people so as to achieve a common goal. Leadership is a process of social influence in which an individual attempts to gain the support and help of a group of people to accomplish a common goal. Transformational Style- in this style the leader guides and transforms the staff. The leader makes continuous efforts to address the grievances of the employees and motivate them for improved performance. Here open communication between the staff and the leader is always encouraged and the leader follows participative style of management. The staff gets highly influenced by the leader in Transformational Leadership Style (Ingleton 2013). Transactional Style- Here the main focus of the leader is on management’s objectives. In this style the leader constantly motivate his followers by offering rewards for completed tasks. These leaders are mostly work oriented; they usually follow a particular structure and practice directive style of management. In this style of management, innovativeness and creativity are ignored and people are often motivated by the use of extrinsic motivational factors like incentive and holiday trip (RUGGIERI and ABBATE 2013). Laissez-faire Style- This is also termed as Passive Leadership which exercises least control on the staff. The managers avoid the responsibility of setting objectives and making important decisions. It allows the scope for macro management and self

Roots of development Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Roots of development - Article Example Development of good institutions are key to continue economic growth as evidenced from the colonial times. Most countries which had favourable geography for the Europeans, benefited from the development of this kind of development. North American and Australia, had better geographical conditions more than African countries and South America hence the different levels of economic developments. Due to the bad geographical conditions in Africa, there was a high mortality rate among settlers, hence utilising the continent as a source for raw materials. They planted institutions during the colonial period bring about the economical differences as seen in the present world. According to the author, government policies have a tremendous impact on the economic growth. This is further supported by the fact that countries with good policies supporting business, are doing well while those that are not are doing dismally terms of economy. Moreover, policies acts as the proxy for institutional development, thus poor policies will deter development of the institutions necessary for rapid economic development. This fact leaves policies as the most fundamental factor determining economic growth in a particular country (Print,