Travelling Abroad Is a Waste of Money Essay Example

Travelling Abroad Is a Waste of Money Essay TRAVELLING ABROAD IS A WASTE OF MONEY I strongly disagree that travelling abroad is a waste of money because we can learn history of civilizations, we can learn cultures of different peoples and we can witness the greatness of Allah. Firstly, in Surah Al- Ankabut: 20, Allah says : â€Å" Travel the earth then see how He makes the first creation, then Allah creates the latter creations † What this verse indicates is the disappearance of one nation to give place to another. For instance, the nation of the Pharaohs has been replaced by modern Egypt. Other nations which have disappeared include the people of Ad and Thamud in the Middle-East. Through travelling we can learn the history and witness the remains of these civilizations. Secondly, we can learn the cultures of different peoples around the world. In Surah Ruum: 22, Allah says : â€Å" And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your tongues and colours.. †. Hence, if we travel from China across to Europe, we will see peoples of different looks, colours, sizes, cultures, languages, and ways of living. They include Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Persians, Arabs, and Europeans. All look different from one another, speak different languages, and practise different cultures. Finally, in Surah Ibrahim : 32, Allah says : â€Å" Allah made ships subservient to you to run their course in the sea by His command ,and He has made the rivers subservient to you. † This verse tells us that Allah provides the facilities for mankind to travel( by sea or river ). In so doing one can appreciate the creations and greatness of Allah. We will write a custom essay sample on Travelling Abroad Is a Waste of Money specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Travelling Abroad Is a Waste of Money specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Travelling Abroad Is a Waste of Money specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer For instance, sailing in the seas will give us the opportunity to see sharks, beautiful islands, and the huge waves. Sailing in the rivers will give us the opportunity to see the numerous floras and faunas, rapids, and waterfalls. Although travelling abroad does cost a lot of money, inconvenience and sometimes have to face some difficulty, in my opinion, travelling abroad is not a waste of money because of the benefits we can get from it. [336 words]

Lion King essays

Lion King essays 1. The movie The Lion King may be broken into three similar themes, creation, de-creation, and re-creation. In the creation part of the movie, which is the early scenes of the movie, the land is beautiful. There are animals running together in herds, birds are flying together in flocks, all the animals are getting along well, all of the elder animals are positive role models for the younger animals, and all of the different kind of animals like elephants and giraffes are getting along well together. Mufasa and Sarabi have a baby lion and name him Simba. 2. In the second part of the story, Simba and Nala go to the shadow lands, which is the elephant grave yard. The three hyenas find Simba and Nala, and chase them through the elephant grave yard. The hyenas trap Simba and Nala and are about to try to kill them, but Mufasa saves them. This part of the movie is like the sin story; Simba disobeyed his father and sinned by going into the shadow lands and putting his and Nalas life in great danger. Scar wants Mufasa and Simba dead so he can be king of the Promise Lands. Scar makes Simba stay in the gorge while Scar gets out and a herd of Antelope go in the gorge while Simba is still in it. Scar gets Mufasa to save Simba from the herd. Mufasa goes in the gorge to save Simba but is putting his life in great danger. He saves Simba but he is stuck in the herd. Mufasa starts climbing the cliff to safety, but without Simba seeing, Scar threw Mufasa in the herd and he died. After the herd went by, Simba went into the gorge to find his father, Mu fasa, dead on the ground. Scar makes Simba believe that it was his fault that his father died, so Simba ran away from the Promise Lands. Timone and Pumbaa find Simba lying in the middle of the desert and take him to an oasis and wake him up. Timone, Pumbaa, and Simba become really good friends from that day and go everywhere together. Timone and Pumbaa show that akuna matata mean...

Strategic Managemnt - Old World wine producers Essay

Strategic Managemnt - Old World wine producers - Essay Example Wineries in some of these countries are curbed by several rules relating to production, labelling and so on. These wineries are also fragmented and treat each other as competitors. The NW countries are Chile, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand (NZ), and North America. Wines from these countries compared with the best in the world during blind tests (New World Wine 2007). Exports from these countries grew by 25.5% in the last 20 years. Since 1990 export revenues for the three countries Australia, the United States and Chile increased five fold in revenue and three fold in volume. (Wine 101 2002) Of these three countries Australia is leading the surge. Australia's success has been attributed to its ability to develop high quality products using innovative techniques, to address various price points and its capacity to be cost effective in a complex market (Wine 101 2002). That is impressive performance considering that formal commercial manufacture was started only in 1960s. The most widely grown vines are: Chardonnay, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Semillon, Colombard and Merlot. (The New World Grape Varieties n.d). In South Africa red wines have replaced much of the white wines and the industry has improved its marketing arm to cope with the changed market. The most widely planted quality black grape variety is Cabernet Sauvignon (The New World Grape Varieties n.d). ... The vintners of America grow every vine ever heard of. NW wineries were successful for a variety of reasons. They make great wine and their labelling is simple. Their climates seem to be more suited than the climates of the OW (Echikson et al. 2001). Their production techniques are modern. They are better able to adapt to market dynamics. All this translated to an 'aggressive approach to entering new markets, and their branding' (Cazin 2004). NW wineries leveraged their greater financial strength to allocate higher marketing budgets with the primary aim of winning larger market share. In the process these wineries built recognizable brands. When there is a concern in the economy, people are afraid to buy Chteau No Name and they come back to the names and the brands they can trust says R. Michael Mondavi (Schaefer 2006). The NZ Wine Industry Although wine-making dates back to colonial times, it was only in the 1970s that viticulture was given any sort of significance. During the 1970s Montana in Marlborough began 3 production of wines which were labelled based on vintage and varietals, the same way the Australian wines were being labelled. The first NZ wines were so successful that large tracts of land were brought under vines. This resulted in a glut. Often the over-production was of the wrong variety. Then in 1984 the government paid growers to pull vines. This setback was only temporary. The last three decades have seen rapid growth in the NZ wine industry. The primary reason for this growth has been the increasing demand for high quality wines. Leading NZ's bouquet was Sauvignon Blanc. The Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region was touted as the best in the world. Marlborough was just one of the ten grape growing

Security Administration and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Security Administration and Management - Essay Example From our analysis, by focusing on differentiation strategies in the security industry, Securitas AB success can be attributed to its vast experience in the market, product differentiation, and assorted brands. Securitas AB by using its trademark experience and know how both product differentiation and cost leadership strategy means the company has a focus strategy, focusing on cash on transit and other security system. It business concept of ", packaging, counting and storage of physical values such as cash and precious metals". This has become part of the company's culture. According to Johnson & Scholes (2007), organisational culture is a tool in management strategic armory which appears to be invisible yet it influences "why" "how" "what" and "when" things are done in an organisation or "it is the way things are being done here" (Johnson & Scholes 2007:66 Today's business environment is increasingly becoming more turbulent, chaotic and challenging than ever before and to survive, it is vital that a firm can do something better than its competitors ( Wonglimpiyarat 2004:1). ... 1.0 Introduction Today's business environment is increasingly becoming more turbulent, chaotic and challenging than ever before and to survive, it is vital that a firm can do something better than its competitors ( Wonglimpiyarat 2004:1). Globalisation has not only altered the nature and the intensity of competition but has had to dictate and shape organisations in terms of what consumers wants, how and when they want it and what they are prepared to pay for it (Hagan 1996:1). Kanter (1995:71) on his work of "Mastering Change" argues that success in the present day business is not for those companies that re-engineer the way they do things, or for those fixing the past. According to Kanter (1995) such an action will not constitute an adequate response. This is so because success is based on an organization's ability to create, rather than predict the future by developing those products that will literally transform the way the world thinks and view it self and the needs (Kanter 1995:71). Within the context of today's global competition, businesses and firms no-longer compete as individual companies but try to corporate with other businesses in their activities (Wu & Chien 2007:2). These researchers went further to argue that, this strategy has become quite common in many businesses including the retail clothing chain stores. The conventional vertical integrated company based business model is gradually being replaced by collaborative relationship between many fragmented, but complementary and specialized value stars and constellation (Wu & Chien:1). This paper aim at examining the external environment of the United Kingdom Mobile phone industry, this

Diet and coronary heart disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Diet and coronary heart disease - Essay Example High calorie intake and related to it obesity is the major risk factor – obese people have hisgher risk of coronary heart disease. Consequently, the quote of total fat (and especially saturated and trans-fatty acids) should be restricted as well as the consumption of refined sugars and other sources of carbohydrates. The increased amount of food fiber in the diet is good alternative to unhealthy eating ( ). The lowest risk of coronarey heart disease is determined for vegetarians. The have risk of cardiovascular death (e.g. related to heart disease) which is lower in 1.33 folds than amongst non-vegetarians. A good choice for preventive purposes is Mediterranean diet which is characterising with high intake of fruits and evegetables, olive oil, sea food and a moderate amount of red dry wine. Seafood and the source of essential ï  ·-3 fatty acids and trace elements is useful for control of the level of cholesterol. There were proposed special preventive diets decreasing the risk of coronary disease. Thus Pritikin diet is enriched with food -fiber, unprocessed carbohydrates and contains low amount of fat ( ). Ornish diet restricts the consumption of animal fat (e.g. fatty fish or meat). Only non-fat dairy products and egg whites are allowed in the dietic system. Also Ornish diet restricts simple sugars and give the preferences for complex carbohydrates food. Traditional British diet is healthy enough because of high intake of complex carbohydrates nevetheless the restriction of animal food consumption and replacing these products with vegetables and fruits are expedient. The usage of alcohol beverages should be restriected in the persons with high risk of coronary disease (e.g. with high level of blood choleterol). Only small amount of red wine is permitted. Some food products contains essential nutrients and biologically active substances which are necessary for the prevention of coronary heart disease. Thus pine

The Computer Mediated Communication Media Essay

The Computer Mediated Communication Media Essay Computer-mediated communication is defined by Metz as cited in Miller Brunner, 2008 as any communication patterns mediated by a computer. The notion of CMC was first discussed in Licklider and Taylor (1968), which posits men will be able to communicate more effectively through a machine (i.e., a computer) than face to face. After almost two decades of studies, researchers have found it increasingly useful to regard computers, through which communication is mediated, as a mass medium (Morris Ogan, 1996). With changes taking place in various aspects of life today due to proliferation of communication, Miller Brunner (2008) hold that research into CMC has become increasingly prominent. CMC studies in both education and business domains have been concerned about the effects of computer as a medium of mass communication (Morris Ogan, 1996). This is largely due to the following characteristics of CMC that Morris (as cited in Chen, 2009) has identified: ubiquity, transparency, asynchronism, hyper-reality, and interactivity. Contrary to its actual potential, earlier ideas about CMC advocated a lack of capacity to deliver rich social information due to text-based and visually anonymous environment (Yao Flanagin, 2004). CMC had been criticised to have inherently prevented interpersonal communication and encouraged impersonal interactions such as bashings on the Internet (Kiesler, Siegel, McGuire, 1984). Siegel, Dubrovsky, Kiesler, and McGuire (1986) find that computer-mediated groups tend to demonstrate more aggressive behavior such as name-calling and swearings, as compared to groups that use face-to-face interactions. Nevertheless, such a deterministic view was challenged in subsequent studies. For instance, it is claimed the email plays a positive role by deconstructing organisational structures, allowing for greater information exchange among more people, and improving socialisation (Spence, 2002). Besides, CMC users are found to be able to adapt to the virtual environment and develop interpersonal relationships that resemble relationships formed face-to-face (Yao Flanagin, 2004). It is also found that group collaboration in CMC has contributed to group processing outcomes deemed innovative and democratic (Miller Brunner, 2008). 2.2 A shift on the Internet The Internet is evolving into a PeopleWeb, which indicates a shift from a web comprised of pages to one populated by people and their artifacts and interactions (Ramakrishnan Tomkin, 2007). In that regard, social networking sites such as Facebook and Friendster that allow information sharing and sourcing, have become extremely popular in the new media (Lipsman, as cited in Pfeil et al., 2009), and according to Bausch and Han (2006), will continue to attract users in a large number. Users are moving away from a state of anonymity on the Internet (McKenna Bargh, 2000) with the evolvement of computer technologies. For instance, popular Chinese social networking site RenRen is concluded to be an extension of users real life as self-disclosure phenomenon elicited by reality rather than anonymity is found present on the site (Yu Wu, 2010). While web 1.0 is getting replaced by applications in the web 2.0 era such as blogs, wikis, and collaborative projects (Kaplan Haenlein, 2009), content now can be modified by all users in a participatory and collaborative manner rather than on an individual basis (Kaplan Haenlein, 2009; Cheung, Chiu, Lee, 2010). With the rise of the social networking sites, their popularity is gauged not only by the size of the user base, but also the ability to provide users with the most significant amount of interaction (Cheung et al., 2010). It is reported in Bausch and Han (2006) that users of the top ten social networking sites in the U.S. had grown from 46.8 million in 2006 to 68.8 million in the following year. The growth of social media has influenced social interaction among people and contributed to a new meaning of the interaction, where scholars have begun looking into (as cited in Lipsman, Pfeil et al., 2009). The ramification of the new media is, as Grossman (2006) puts it, a community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. The web 2.0 a revolution is as if a new version of some old software (Grossman, 2006). Papacharissi and Rubin (2000) have identified online empowerment of individuals linking to instrumentality, interactivity, activity, and involvement as the causes of influence of the new web. On the other hand, Jacobs et al. (2009) attribute the rapid growth of social media to its ability to allow users to produce and share content. While the active audience theory has been shunned as far as traditional media is concerned, Livingstone (1999) highlights the importance of audience activity in both the design and use of interactive media. In fact, the shift in media user activity has been discussed since as early as 1963, when Klapper (as cited in Chigona et al., 2008) put forth the idea that UG focuses on what people do with mass media, rather than what mass media does to people. Shin (2009) calls the UG approach a paradigm shift from traditional media research, where focus was placed on media effects (e.g., what media does to people). A review of the UG theory can be found after this sub-chapter. 2.3 Uses and gratifications (UG) theory The UG theory, otherwise known as the needs and gratifications theory (Roy, 2009, revolves around why and how people use certain media (Lo Leung, 2009). The term gratifications was coined by psychologist Herta Herzogto in 1944 to illustrate specific dimensions of radio audiences usage satisfaction, following which mass communication theorists had adopted and adapted the concept to study various mass media such as TV and electronic bulletins (Luo, 2002). The UG theory is built upon the basic assumption that audience has their own agenda and is deemed as active and goal-oriented rather than passive consumers of information (McQuail, Blumler, Brown, as cited in Katz, Blumler, Gurevitch, 1974). By assuming the audience to be active and goal-directed, the UG perspective posits that they opt for and consume certain media and content that would satisfy their psychological needs, which explains the motivation of their media use (Katz, Gurevitch, Hass, 1973; Rubin, as cited in Roy, 2009; Katz, Blumler, Gurevitch, as cited in Kim, Sohn, Choi, 2010). Such fulfillment of needs as a source of motivation, is proposed to be affecting user gratification of media use (Sangwan, 2005). The UG theory has been adopted and adapted over the years to study the use of various media ranging from the more conventional mass media to the new media and later to mobile technology (Stafford et al., 2004; Chigona et al., 2008; Roy, 2009; Shin, 2009; Liu et al., 2010). Although some scholars have questioned UGs utility in studying the digital media, Ruggiero (as cited in Quan-Haase, 2012) posits the need to seriously include the UG approach in any attempt to speculate on the future direction of mass communication theory. Besides, it is contended that whenever a new technology makes its way into the arena of mass communication, users underlying motivations and decisions to use the new communication tool could be explained by applying the UG paradigm (Elliott Rosenberg, Liu, Cheung Lee, 2010). However, in order to effectively study and measure the new media by using the UG scales intended for traditional media research, Lin (as cited in Shin, 2009) holds that a revision to the scales will be required. Consistent with Lins idea is Angleman (as cited in Shin, 2009), who believes existing theories require amendments in order to fit new media studies. Application of the UG theory in various new media studies has been reviewed and an overview of those studies with their respective motivations is presented in Table 1. Table 2.1: Overview of Prior Studies on New Media UG Author and year Research area Motivations identified James, Wotring, Forrest (1995) Electronic bulletin board (i.e., forums) Transmission of information and education, socialising, medium appeal, computer or other business, entertainment Korgaonkar Wolin (1999) Internet Social escapism, transaction, privacy, information, interaction, socialization, economic motivations Papacharissi (2002) Personal home pages Passing time, entertainment, information, self-expression, professional advancement, communication with friends and family Stafford et al. (2004) Internet Process: resources, search engines, searching, surfing, technology, web sites Content: education, information, knowledge, learning, research Social: chatting, friends, interactions, people Ko, Cho, Roberts (2005) Internet Information, convenience, entertainment, social-interaction Diddi LaRose (2006) Internet news Surveillance, escapism, pass time, entertainment, habit Cheung Lee (2009) Virtual comminity Purposive value, self-discovery, entertainment value, social enhancement, maintaining interpersonal interconnectivity Haridakis Hanson (2009) YouTube Convenient entertainment, convenient information seeking, co-viewing, social interaction Mendes-Filho Tan (2009) User-generated content Content: information consistency, source credibility, argument quality, information framing Process: medium; entertainment Social: recommendation consistency, recommendation rating Liu, Cheung Lee (2010) Twitter Content: disconfirmation of self-documentation, disconfirmation of information sharing Process: disconfirmation of entertainment, disconfirmation of passing time, disconfirmation of self-expression Social: disconfirmation of social interaction Technology: disconfirmation of medium appeal, disconfirmation of convenience 2.4 Media user gratifications Katz et al. (1974) suggest research on gratifications has revolved around media-related needs that serve to satisfy media consumers at least in part who are deemed active and goal-oriented. Despite having a problem with ambiguity as far as definition is concerned, Weiss (1976) asserts that related key terms like uses, needs, satisfactions, gratifications, and motives are being used interchangeably across different papers and within single papers. Stafford et al. (2004) define gratifications as some aspects of user-reported satisfaction. It has been found that satisfaction of user motivations is positively correlated with future internet usage (Papacharissi Rubin, 2000). Before resorting to a certain behavior of media use, past experiences of individuals and whether or not their motivations can be satisfied by certain behaviors will be evaluated (McLeod Becker, as cited in Johnson Yang, 2008). Sangwan (2005) puts forth the idea that gratification can be used as a proxy measure to evaluate the success or failure of a virtual community, which is similar to that used in information systems. He proposes that gratification of media users will be affected by fulfillment of media needs that acts as a motivator. In this research, a total of 22 questions on social media use are employed as the instrument to evaluate and explain users motivations. By taking up the proposal by Sangwan (2005), the research outcome will tell if users motivations have an effect on the gratifications or satisfaction of media users. Detailed information on the research instrument can be referred to in Chapter 3. 2.5 Categorisations of needs and gratifications The UG theory proposes five categories of needs, namely cognitive, affective, personal integrative, social integrative and tension release needs (Katz et al., 1973). Over the years, researchers appropriating the UG theory to study various media have discovered a plethora of different needs. While some of these needs are rather consistent with one of the earliest classifications of needs by Katz et al. (1973), others are not. In a study that examines the relations between web usage and satisfaction, Luo (2002) employs three constructs drawn from previous traditional media UG research, namely informativeness, entertainment, and irritation, in order to assess how each of them affects user attitude towards the web. Research results have confirmed the said constructs were what determine users attitude towards the web. Also employs similar constructs include such researchers as Eighmey (1997), Eighmey and McCord (1998), as well as Kargaonkar and Wolin (1999). Livaditi, Vassilopoulou, Lougos, and Chorianopoulos (2003), in their interactive TV applications UG study, catogorise media needs into the two basic constructs of ritualised and instrumental. Other researchers who have adopted such a classification of needs are Metzger and Flanagin, as well as Rubin (as cited in Ran, 2008), who have found that gratifications, as motivations, do lead to both ritualised and instrumental use of media. In Sangwan (2005), several types of needs have been identified to explain the motivations behind the use of virtual community platforms, such as forums: functional, emotive, and contextual needs. However, it is posited that although the research sample has been assumed to be active participants of virtual communities, there are also passive participants whose latent needs have yet to be identified (Sangwan, 2005). Cutler and Danowski, as well as Stafford and Stafford (as cited in Chigona et al., 2008) divide motivations into the categories of process and content. Later, an additional category known as social motivations has been identified and included (Stafford Stafford, as cited in Chigona et al., 2008). Stafford et al. (2004) describe this additional social dimension as unique to Internet use. Although found to be the weakest variable among others, social motivations serves as a vital construct in the Internet-specific UG research (Stafford et al., 2004). Chigona et al. (2008), who appropriate the motivation categories verified in Stafford et al. (2004) to study mobile Internet UG, have confirmed the presence of all three constructs. Peters, Amato, and Hollenbeck (2007), as well as Mendes-Filho and Tan (2009) are among other researchers who have adopted the three constructs in their respectively studies of wireless advertising and user-generated content. Also adopting the instruments is Shin (2009), who, on top of the three motivation types, has added embedded gratifications to study wireless Internet use. Besides, Liu et al. (2010) also employ the three motivations types on top of an additional technology gratification to study Twitter use. 2.6 Process, content, and social motivations This study bases its main framework on one developed by Stafford and Stafford (as cited in Chigona et al., 2008), and later verified by Stafford et al. (2004): the three motivation types of process, content, and social. The rationale behind this choice has been explained in Chapter 1 under Statement of problem (p.zz). What is defined by each of the process, content, and social motivations, is illustrated in the next few paragraphs. Content gratifications from the UG theory are characterised by their relation to information content, such as product or store information (Stafford Stafford, as cited in Stafford et al., 2004) and place concern on messages carried by the medium (Stafford et al., 2004). Such motivations are stemmed from the use of mediated messages for the receivers intrinsic value (Cutler Danowski, as cited in Chigona et al., 2008). Content motivations take consideration into to the messages that a medium carries (Stafford et al., 2004; Stafford, 2009), which may be informative or entertaining (Stafford, 2009). Roy (2009) asserts that content is normally skewed towards entertainment and dispersion in UG studies of non-Internet media, as compared to informativeness in those of Internet. Nevertheless, certain Internet users may be motivated by such usage process as random browsing and site navigation (Hoffman and Danowski, as cited in Stafford et al., 2004). Process motivations are driven by the actual use of the medium per se (Cutler Danowski, as cited in Chigona et al., 2008; Stafford et al., 2004; Stafford, 2009), such as enjoyment of the process of using the Internet (Hoffman Novak, as cited in Stafford et al., 2004; Stafford, 2009). On the other hand, social motivations include such aspects as chatting, friendship, interactions, and people (Chigona et al., 2008). 2.7 Social dimension and the rising impact Social contacts and interactions have shifted from offline to online realms (Boyd, as cited in Smeele, 2010) and this social dimension defines what users understand about themselves and their relation to the communities (Dyson; McMillan Chavis, as cited in Jacobs et al., 2009). Stafford et al. (2004) posit the importance of looking into the potential UG of the Internet as a social environment, as researchers may be expected to discover emergent social gratifications for Internet use. Research by Jacobs et al. (2009) shows a majority of the students utilise social media in a manner that resembles the social friends and family setting. Besides, Ellison, Steinfield, ande Lampe (as cited in Ross, Orr, Sisic, Arseneault, Simmering, Orr, 2009) also assert that maintenance of pre-existing social relationships has been made possible and may be stronger through online platforms. Users now turn to the Internet more frequently to socialise with people they know and expand their circle of friends (Jones, as cited in Correa, Hinsley Zà ºÃƒ ±iga, 2010). Active participation on sites like Facebook, communication via texting and chat programmes, as well as creation of blogs have become a way of life for the new generation according to Jacobs et al. (2009). Correa et al. (2010) are of the opinion that individuals who choose not to engage online may be limiting their ability to advance socially as it is an increasingly user-generated environment. 2.8 The need to quantify social dimension Stafford et al. (2004) concede that there is limited evidence in support of the distinct social aspect to Internet use. Following the identification of social motivations in Stafford and Stafford (as cited in Chigona et al., 2008), researchers are trying to validate this emerging motivation type, which eventually has been found present in studies by such researchers as Chigona et al. (2008), Haridakis and Hanson (2009), as well as Norway Brandtzà ¦g and Heim (as cited in Kim et al., 2010). Miller and Brunner (2008) hold that studies that focus specifically on the social aspect of online communicators and its theoretical foundations are lacking. For instance, although the social dimension is found present in a mobile Internet UG study by Chigona et al. (2008), the researchers merely confirm its existence without providing much elaboration into how it fares in contrast to content and process motivations the latter of which according to Aoki Downe; Leung Wei; Rubin; Stafford Gillenson; Stafford et al. (as cited in Chigona et al., 2008), are the most pronounced motivation types found on traditional Internet use. Besides, several social media studies also show that the social dimension does not live up to the medias supposedly social nature (e.g., Liu et al., 2010; Smeele, 2010; Xu, Ryan, Prybutok, Wen, 2012). 2.9 Genders and UG Gender differences have been identified as an important aspect in computer-related research (Gunawardena McIsaac, as cited in Kim Chang, 2007). The issue of limited women in the fields of technology and ICT remains a topic of interest for both the scientific community and decision-makers today (Sà ¡inz Là ³pez-Sà ¡ez, 2010). Some studies have suggested that females may be more inclined to have computer anxiety and lower self-efficacy due to the socio-cultural background of gender (Halder, Ray, Chakrabarty, 2010). Gutek and Bikson (as cited in Harrison Rainer, 1992) also find that men tend to demonstrate computer-related skills at workplace. In another instance, Wilder, Mackie, and Cooper (as cited in Harrison Rainer, 1992) find that males show greater interest in using a computer compared to females. In more recent research, Leung (2003) finds socioeconomic status such as gender, with the exception of age, to be predictive of Internet use, and that heavy users of the web are usually males. Although Okazaki (2006) asserts that effect of gender on mobile Internet service adoption is uncertain, married women indicate more negative perceptions than married men. Besides, a study on mobile phone UG by Ran (2008) reveals that males are significantly skewed towards a certain news-seeking need. Roy (2009) also discovers gender-related differences in perceived Internet use. In terms of social media UG, gender-related differences have also been found in a slew of studies such as Sveningsson Elm (2007), Joinson (2008), Jones, Millermaier, Goya-Martinez, and Schuler (2008), Thelwall (2009), as well as Thelwall, Wilkinson, and Uppal (2010). Volman, van Eck, Heemskerk, and Kuiper (2005) contend that the development of software, websites, and even teaching materials needs to have gender sensitivities taken into consideration in order to facilitate better learning among male and female pupils, who demonstrate very different preferences and attitudes towards ICT. Also in line with their idea are Halder, Ray, and Chakrabarty (2010), who suggest the importance of studying behavioral differences between people with respect to information processing and searching as such behaviors have to be more holistically understood and generalised before information retrieval systems and user support services are designed. Those are some implications of how gender differences could impact human behavior associated with the acceptance of information and technologies. With gender being neglected as a significant variable, studying human information behavior will remain incomplete (Nahl Harada; Roy, Taylor, Chi, as cited in Halder, Ray, and Chakrabarty, 2010). It is, therefore, of the essence to find out if the influence of gender is valid in this social media UG study. If valid, which aspect of motivations is users social media experience influenced the most?

Wasteful :: essays research papers

Wasteful Repetition 12 years of our lives are spent learning the basics, 12 years. Yet, after those twelve years of near continuos education, colleges require us to relearn what we already know, knowledge that may be irrelevant to our chosen major. Core Curriulumn is a waste of time and money. Each year for twelve years we wake up on a day around August in order to attend required schooling. We learn english, mathematics, sciences, health, and history. School becomes our lives, almost a career that lasts approximately 120 months. For those 120 months we are taught the same subjects, not a year goes by that we were not required to take an English, Math, Science, and History courses. After successfully completing our â€Å"lower learning† studies and recieving our much awaited diplomas almost two thirds of us go on to college.1 Upon arrival at these institutions of higher learning we come to realize that our â€Å"Basic† learning is not over and we must extend our knowledge of said material before we can move on to things that more directly concern our majors. Colleges are asking us, rather, telling us to relearn the knowledge we, for the most part, already pocess. There are several things we lose when we agree to, or rather are required to retake the basics in college. Most likely foremost of what we lose,in students minds ,espeacially in todays society, is money. We spend outrageous sums of money to attend college for 4 years, individually the cost of tuition possibly ranges between 50,000 to 100,000.As a whole the nation spends in excess of $175 billion each year.2 Money wasted on learning the same material we were educated in for 12 years of our lives. Money that many of us do not have and if we are not fortunate enough to recieve a scholarship or any type, we must look towards students loans. By definition a loan is something that is lent on condition of being returned.3 Zachary Karabell,author of the book What’s College For?, wrote that: In the 1990’s alone, the average debt burden for a   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  college student grew from 8,200 to 18,800. Given that   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  these students, once they graduate, tend to earn   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  between $20,000 and $30,000 a year, those debts are   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  heavy, and some schools have begun efforts to limit   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  borrowing by students. In addition to loans,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  three-quarters of all students work part time during   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the school yea, and more than 15 percent work   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  full-time.* For their money, for their investment, for   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the hours they work in order to pay for their classes,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  these students expect to be taught something they don’t   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  already know. They expect to learn. And at the end,

Premarital Sex Essay

Premarital Sex Premarital sex is defined as when two people begin to engage in sexual intercourse before marriage. In todays society premarital sex has become part of the norm and has been accepted. Many young adults are living together before marriage and engaging in sexual activity. It has become apparent that more people are involving themselves in premarital sex and do not acknowledge that it is an immoral act. Sex has become a symbol for pleasure and is no longer considered sacred in today’s society. I believe sex before marriage should not be accepted and that abstinence should be promoted more.According to civil law, the church/divine law and the teachings we learned in Grade 12 religion class, premarital sex is an immoral behavior that should not be tolerated. Premarital sex has become common and acknowledged in todays society. In the Canadian government there is no law nor criminal offence towards premarital sex. The moral issue of sex before marriage has become criti cal in society and has become accustomed to peoples lives. â€Å"Canadian survey indicates fewer than one in 10 engaged women in the country agrees with the statement â€Å"sex before marriage is not a good idea. Weddingbells Magazine said its survey of 1,241 people found 8 percent of engaged women agreed with the statement, with only 4 percent saying their strongly agreed, CanWest News Service reported Wednesday† (UPI) This explains how many people do not take premarital sex as a wrong action but instead as a good idea. Very few people follow the moral doings of saving sex before marriage. Since the government does not have a specified law against this act it is not followed nor respected. Society has socially accepted that people, including young teens, are involved in sexual activity before marriage.Society promotes â€Å"safe sex† by engaging the use of birth control and condoms. Society gives the impression that premarital sex is tolerable as long as you’r e protected. Sex has become a symbol of lust instead of what it is truly meant for, which is love. Society has taken over the meaning of intimacy and has overwritten it. The media endorses sex through famous artists, television shows as well as music. It has become apparent that most songs underlie the meaning of sex and portray the immoral act. Society constantly sends a bad message to the public causing the increase of premarital sex. Today 67% of youth are sexually active before marriage. Teenagers are about as good at contraception as they are at making their beds, doing their homework and doing their chores. Teenage girls have an average of six sex partners in high school. In 1966, 6% of white babies were born out of wedlock, now its up to 25%. In 1967, 22% of black babies were born out of wedlock. Now 66% of black babies are born out of wedlock. â€Å"(Macdonald, D) This proves the increase in sexual activity over the years and how vital it has become in our society. Statisti cs have increased proving that people mostly do it for pleasure instead of love.The realism is that there is no consequence regarding the law against this decision, which greatly impacts peoples choices. Society continues to acknowledge the immoral behavior causing it to become socially accepted. Premarital sex is looked upon as a sin in regards to the Catholic Church. Growing up most were always told that abstinence was a must and marriage was not acceptable if purity wasn’t present. Sex before marriage is referred to as fornication in the Bible. As Christians, The Bible is a primary source that we look to for guidance. The Bible teaches us the teachings of God as well as the sins.Premarital sex is a sin when we refer to the Bible. In the Bible it states, â€Å"Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without (outside) the body; but he that commiteth fornication sinneth against his own body. â€Å"(1 Corinthians 6:13). This means that as Christians we should use our body in ways to glorify God. By committing the act of fornication we are committing a sin and are considered as evil. According to God, sex is supposed to be meant for reproduction and love, not for pleasure and lust.The act of sex is behavior that goes against our faith and beliefs. The bible is our standard of what is right and wrong. In the bible it states, â€Å"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. † (Revelation 21:8). This means that God views the sin of premarital sex as equal to murder, prostitution, and lying. Even though society accepts fornication, it doesn’t mean God does. As Catholics we are to follow his blessings and teachings regardless of society.God wants us to be pure until it i s the appropriate time and to flee from our selfish desires. â€Å"Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body† (1 Corinthians 6:18-20). This scripture means that premarital sex is not only a sin against God but it is also a sin against your own body.Our bodies are sacred and pure; once we have sex we loose our purity and wholesomeness. God gave us our body and we are to cherish it and respect his rules by not having sex until marriage. We are to honor God and thank him for the gift of life by becoming abstinent until married. Over the course of the grade 12 semester we learned many things that interchange with the moral reasoning of premarital sex. We learn that having sex before marriage is a ma xim, something that we shouldn’t do but people do anyways. Morality is defined as the ways people obtain good through rules and laws.Ethics is defined as the search for the infinite good, which guides to morality. Growing up we learn different morals and values that we are supposed to respect and follow. Abstinence is something we learn to follow based on our religious beliefs. The morality of premarital sex is that it is wrong and it goes against our morals. Our ethics and morality is supposed to lead us to happiness and good and it is said that if we disobey the value of abstinence then we will not reach this goal. We also learned about Sigmund Freud and the three parts of our unconscious mind. When people have sex before marriage â€Å"the id† is in recognition.This part of the mind focuses on the pleasure principle and our strong desires. People are not concerned with the consequences but instead acting upon their satisfaction. When Christians have premarital sex t hey may form a guilty conscience. Knowing that they have disobeyed the laws of their faith they form a â€Å"well formed conscience†. A well-formed conscience is formed through Church, Scriptures and Community and usually entails recognizing ones own guilt from past wrong doings. One has a conscience knowing that they have committed a sin and went against God’s teachings.Our conscience helps us show that we recognize our wrong doings and know that we violated the church scriptures. In conclusion premarital sex has been proven that it is an immoral act and should not be accepted. There is no civil law or offence against it which makes it that much more common in society. Society promotes safe sex causing an increase in premarital sex. Society sends a sinful message to the public, impacting their decision about sex. The church boldly represents premarital sex as a sin and recognizes it as evil. According to God, sex is supposed to be meant for reproduction and love, not for pleasure and lust.We are to save our sacred bodies for marriage and anything before is referred to as disobeying God as well as your body. Premarital sex goes against our beliefs and morals. The morality of premarital sex is that it is wrong and if we deny that then we will not reach our ultimate happiness. Overall sexual activity is sinful behavior and should be saved until you marry the one special person that you are appropriately able to share your body with. Works Cited â€Å"Life is Sacred. † 16 March 2004. www. troubledwith. com/Web/groups/public//@fotf_troubledwith/docume nts/articles/ ? Macdonald, David. What's wrong with sex before marriage? Why Choose Chastity? † October 6, 2011. http://www. davidmacd. com/catholic/chastity. htm Mcllhaney, Joe S. , Jr. M. D. â€Å"Testimony of Joe S. Mcllhaney, Jr. , M. D. † 16 March 2004: 3- 8. 23 April 2002. www. medinstitute. org/media/testimony. htm â€Å"Poll: Premarital sex OK with Canadians†, June 9, 2010. http://www. upi. com/Odd_News/2010/06/09/Poll-Premarital-sex-OK- with-Canadians/UPI-77871276111501/ â€Å"The Benefits of Chastity Before Marriage. † 17 March 2004. www. foreverfamilies. net/xml/articles/benefitsofchastity. aspx

Meursault vs MLK Jr essays

Meursault vs MLK Jr essays Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who was deeply committed to bringing justice to the Negroes of America. He expressed this commitment in his Letter from Birmingham Jail. This letter tells us a lot about the way in which King saw the world and the power relationships within it. It painted the picture of a determined man who saw his place in the grand scheme of things and knew how to use his power to achieve his goals. The character Meursault from the Albert Camus novel The Stranger also manipulates power to his advantage. Meursault on the other hand seems to be completely indifferent to what is going on around him. These two men have opposite personalities and yet they both come to the same end... power. How is this possible and what does this say about the typical power theory? To answer this question I will examine the ways in which both King and Meursault understand love, justice, religion and law. In his Letter from Birmingham Jail King expresses his love for the church, his love for freedom and his love for America. He follows the words of Jesus, who said, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and persecute you (479.) This approach to ones enemies is an interesting one. Rather than gaining power in the relationship by pushing others down it aims to gain power by lifting them up. Say person X hates person Y. Kings approach was that Y should return that hate with love. The desired result was that X would not be able to hate someone who loves him/her without feeling guilty and instead give the love back thus making the two equal. Meursault definitely does not share Kings opinion on love. Whereas King goes by the principle that love will be returned with love and leave nothing but equality Meursault does not see the importance in the whole thing. Marie obviously loves him but he does not love her (5...

Cloning is Wrong essays

Cloning is Wrong essays Cloning should never be done to humans or any other of Gods creations. The internet has many examples of why cloning should not be done. even the encyclopedia has articles against cloning. Cloning is a threat to the human race, immoral, and we should never allow it to take place. First lets talk about Recombiant DNA. The Websters World Dictionary gave this definition for Recombiant DN@ DNA formed in the laboratory by splicing together pieces of DNA from different species, as to create new life forms. This is wrong why would anyone want to create a new life form? The effects could be very dangerous the life on the earth. The author on recombiant DNA says: Public reaction to the use of recombiant DNA in the genetic engineering has been mixed. The production of medicines through the use of genetically altered organisms has generally been welcomed. However, critics of the recombiant DNA experiments might develop extremely infectious forms that could cause world wide epidemic. In an effort to prevent such an occurrence the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has established regulations restricting the types of recombiant DNA experiments that can be preformed using such pathogens. If the cloning and combing of disease-caused organisms were done, it could cause extremely large amounts of illness and death. Why would anyone want to inflict that upon the living creatures of our earth? The human race is in no need of new diseases that we havent got a cure for. What could happen to the human race if man was cloned? Aaron Hawley, a high school student who has researched cloning, put some of the information on a web site. Aaron says, The largest problem with the use of cloning on a large scale would be the decline of genetic diversity (www.vub.org/apvio/clone/wrong/htm). If we do clone humans on a large scale, every clone would be made from the same genetic material. If we s ...

Jesus and Kingdom of God Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Jesus and Kingdom of God - Assignment Example In order to develop a better understanding, it may be suitable to analyze some of the Beatitudes. Thus, in Matthew chapter 5 verse 8 it was pointed out that those who are â€Å"pure in heart† will enter the Kingdom of Heaver. It is quite obvious that the above mentioned concept is synonymous to ethical decision making. Another concept which is analyzed in the next verse, namely peacemaking, reflects the ethical principle of refraining from violence and avoiding conflict between people. There is no doubt that this contributes to harmony in the world and is greatly values by Christianity. Finally, the high significance of mercy is states in the previous verse. As one can easily see, the idea of Kingdom of God stands for an environment of moral individuals who exercise highest ethical values such as refraining from violence or mercy on other people. That is why the above mentioned concept should be seen as an ethical

Sociological Concepts on War in the Middle East Essay

Sociological Concepts on War in the Middle East - Essay Example Wars can be considered as a serious social problem as it has been responsible for many sociological issues. The wars that have been fought result in degeneration and loss of life and property. During war people become disheartened and they resort to all kinds of violations to correct the authorities in power. People become the preys of exploitation and anarchy in times of war. The social challenges that the wars raise are matchless with out any remedies. People are grabbed by the aftermath of the war by becoming widows, orphans etc. The social threat that the war raises is dissatisfaction and degeneration of the society and people. The status of people gets degenerated and they have to suffer a lot to get out of the social evil of wars. Due to the anarchy during the times of the war people get addicted to alcohol and many other drugs. The wars that are fought in the Middle East had great lessons to teach the modern world. But people are indifferent to the adverse impacts of war. They behave as if they are ignorant of the aftermaths of the war. The loss of life and property due to never ending war is quite beyond the imagination of human beings. The paper is dedicated to the analysis of global images of sociological concepts on war in the Middle East. Apart from war there are a number of other social problems that the word faces today. All these social problems are social issues that every country suffers in the present day. Though there are a number of corrective measures adopted by the authorities they are not adequate to meet the essential requirements. Any country that suffers from any of these social problems can not be considered secure as it lags much behind social progress that of the expected rate. These social problems stand as a hindrance to the growth and development of the country. If a nation wants to attain fast development in every field it should be free from all these negative factors. The social problems are actually the negative factors that pull the countries backward from development. The major social problems that many nations suffer are poverty, unemployment and under employment, beggary, prostitution, war etc. . (Jamail). The image shows how adversely common people are affected by the social problem war. They are a few social problems that deserve mention. There are a number of other social problems to be mentioned. But comparatively they are less severe than those mentioned above. Poverty is a social evil that grabs the society in the modern world. It is a global issue to be taken care of and to be removed. Whole world is now under the clutches of poverty. The rate at which poverty grows is highly alarming and authorities try to find remedy for the social evil of poverty. But no remedial measure is sufficient and foolproof as it lacks popular support. Unemployment and underemployment are other two social evils which put much burden on people. When people have no jobs they would resort to meanest things to find a living. It affects the status of the country and its people. Begging is another social issue that almost all the developing countries face. Poverty and unemployment are the two reasons responsible for begging. The authorities can reduce the number of people who have resorted to begging by providing more and more job opportunities. The main reason behind the global social problem of prostitution is the lack of employment and less salary of the employed persons. People who resort to