Personal Narrative- Defining Self Essay -- Personal Narrative, essay a

Who am I? Such a simple question such a profoundly hard one to answer. I could tell you that my name is Rob Jones, but that would only be my name. I could tell you that I would like to become a victor author and that I call for strong linguistic skills and an artistic flair. just these are merely reflections of who I am gifts I possess and talents I support perfected. I suppose I must start by telling you what I am. I am a human being. As such, I have several distinctive and inseparable parts. There is my physical side namely my body with all its many tangible parts. This is not really me, though on this side of the great veil I couldnt survive without it. You may as well say that this body is merely a suit that houses the real me. But who is the real me? I have a second side to my being, a mental side that consists of intangible things such as my thoughts, feelings, emotions, knowledge, and wisdom-in short all the things that I have ever thought, experienced, known, or felt. Ye s, this side relies on my physical side, my outer shell, to interface with the outer world. ...

Sonic Case Study :: essays research papers

Executive SummaryBeginning with one restaurant, Sonic has become the largest drive-in twine in the United States. While they are smaller than their competitors, they are still leading in sales growth, customer loyalty and customer satisfaction. Sonic restaurants knock up the southern U.S. This gives them the opportunity to expand to other area. However, Sonic is reluctant due to the colder climates and their basis as a drive-in restaurant. Sonic should look at adding or combining capabilities to its restaurants to increase competitiveness and make it easier for them to expand into other areas without limiting themselves.Situational AnalysisIn 1953, troy Smith, the founder of SONIC and World warfare II veteran, was living in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Troy dreamed of owning his own restaurant business. In fact, he had already tried twice. Troy first owned a small diner called the Cottage Caf. The income he received was barely enough to make a living for himself and his family. Troy sold th e Cottage Caf and bought a bigger restaurant. His next business, the Panful of Chicken, was so successful that he tried opening to a greater extent. Unfortunately, fried chicken didnt do well in early 1950s Oklahoma and Troy closed his Panful of Chicken restaurant.Troy wherefore owned a steak house that had a root beer stand attached. This root beer stand, called The Top Hat proved more profitable and eventually outlasted the steak house.While traveling to Louisiana, Troy saw some homemade intercom speakers in use at a local ground beef stand. He contacted the innovator in Louisiana and asked him to make an intercom for the Top Hat. He then hired some local electronics wizards to install the system. He then added a canopy for cars to park under and servers to deliver the food right to customers cars. During the first week after the intercom was installed, the Top Hat took in $1750.With his immature partner, Charlie Pappe, four more Top Hats were opened. However, their lawyers inf ormed them that the Top Hat name was copyrighted. They changed the name to Sonic to go along with the restaurant slogan of "Service With the renovate of SoundSM."1In 1973, a group of ten principal franchise owners became the officers of the guild. Shares were offered to each store owner. Because of the amount of stock offered, Sonic became a publicly traded company with 165 stores in the chain.Between 1973 and 1978, Sonic grew tremendously. 800 new stores were opened and a Sonic School that formally trained new managers was established.

Essay --

Otto BoudetMs. RamirezBritish Literature 16004 December 2013The Mind of doubting Thomas Nashe An EnigmaThomas Nashe is thought to be wholeness of the existences first picaresque writers. Although he is a picaresque writer, critics have a hard time characterizing his works due to his incoherent literary structure. Thomas Nashe has been pinned as an enigma of the literary community as his writing often portrays multiple writing styles all at once. The Unfortunate Traveller is the epitome of this. It is reason as a picaresque novel, solely it is a gruesome and violent story. The story is almost a paradox itself. Thomas Nashe, born in 1567, lived in the small town of Lowestroft, Suffolk. Not much is known of his early life, other than that his father was a curate and that he was baptized at his fathers church. He went on to study at the University of St. Johns at Cambridge where he acquired his bachelors degree. Little is known on whether his time at college influenced his works.Af ter his time at college he moved to London, where he was hired by the ecclesiastical authorities to write pamphlets and essays in an attempt to discredit a man know as Martin Marprelate (Kinney rogue 1). This alias was used by a man who was writing colloquial speeches regarding the episcopacy of the Anglican Church. Nashe might have not been one of the main contributors to the counterattack against Martin Marprelate, but he was able to extract a sort of writing style from the experience. After his excursion with the Anglican Church, his writing became more spontaneous and unstudied (Donno varlet 1). This spontaneous and unstudied style was more prominent in his early works such as The Anatomie of Unsertantie and the preface of Robert Greenes Menapho... ...e Unfortunate Traveller. What angered the writers the most, was the trueness of what Thomas Nashe was saying, even if it was in a sarcastic tone. Not only did he anger authors, poets, and pamphleteers, but he also angered the Bri tish government. Although his jeers were not directed towards the government, Nashes use of the atrocities throughout the country was thoroughly disliked. The government believed that his rendition of the gross actions of Englands people would tarnish its reputation. Thomas Nashe is coined with being one of the worlds first picaresque writers. It is quite ironic how after centuries of debate concerning his eloquent pamphlets and gruesome narratives that he is now categorized under a satirical genre. Although he did incorporate this satire and sarcasm in many of works, it seems unjust to confine him to the one genre.

Bejamin Franklin -- A Life Of A Great Man Essay -- essays research pap

Benjamin Franklin During the period after Americas "birth" there were many incredible people but n champion more so than Benjamin Franklin. Ben is considered one of Americas greatest citizens. He accomplished many things in his lifetime he was a scientist, an inventor, a politician, a printer, a philosopher, a musician, and an economist. In the 1700s, a scientist was psyche who thought about the way things work and tried to figure out ways to make things work better. Every time Ben Franklin saw a hesitancy and tried to answer it, he was a scientist. Ben is most famous for his questions about electricity, but he also experimented with many other ideas in nature. Ben did many studies on electricity, not just lightning. Franklin received an electricity tube from his friend Peter Collinson and began to play around with it, performing a vast amount of experiments (FISM). However, it is Bens interest in lightning that is best remembered. Ben hypothesized that lightning was an el ectrical current. To test his theory he needed to see whether or not lightning would pass through metallic element. So he attached a metal key to a kite and flew it in a storm. His experiment proved that lightning was a stream of electrified air, known as plasma (Lemay) Ben realized that lightning was vastly powerful, so he invented the lightning rod. After Franklin did many studies with lightning and electricity, he realized it was a very powerful force. It was this that motivated him to invent the lightning rod. The lightning rod is a piece of metal attached to a building, house, boat, etc. When lightning strikes the building the rod will attract it and channel the electricity down to the ground where it will do much slight damage. This invention has help protect buildings of today greatly. In 1743, Ben Franklin was watching a storm move in. He wondered why the storms were moving the opposite direction from where the pervert was blowing. Franklin believed that a storm course co uld be plotted. Ben chased the storm on horseback of a mile to see how it worked. He later printed weather forecasts in his almanac (FISM). In his travels across the Atlantic Ocean he became interested in ocean currents and shipbuilding. He measured temperatures on each of his eight trips to atomic number 63 and eventually plotted a Gulf Stream. Ben was one of the first people to work on gulf streams (FISM). In November... ... seventeen, he was a fully proficient printer able to work in any print shop. With this skill, Ben was able to leave Boston and find work in both Philadelphia and London. In 1728, at the age of twenty-two, Franklin opened his own printing office in Philadelphia. He published a newspaper called The Pennsylvania Gazette and his annual Poor Richards farmers calendar (Esmond). He published cartoons and illustrated news stories, and letters to the editor. He believed in the power of the press, using his printing press as a way to bring the news to all people. He used cartoons and pictures so that everyone could understand the news, especially to people who had not learned to read. In 1731, Franklin set up the first ever travel library where people could checkout books so they could read even if they couldnt afford to buy books (FISM). Ben Franklin had many other ideas about our nation. His essays and books about the economy help watch it to what it is today, he strictly believed in hard work. There was no shortage of that in his life Benjamin Franklin is clearly one of Americas greatest citizens. We honor him as one of our founding fathers and his face is on the one hundred-dollar bill.

Body and Nature as Signifying System in A Thousand Acres Essay

Body and character as Signifying System in A Thousand Acres     The pistillate body, in literature as in other texts, functions as a liberal of signifying system a site of continuous signification. Traditionally, this has been understood in terms of transposing patriarchal or tied(p) misogynist cultural values onto the construction of the female body. In A Thousand Acres, however, Smiley turns this around. Just as this novel tries to gain control of the discourse of tabby Lear, and of metaphors of women therein, it also foregrounds the body as a textual matrix through which the subject can understand herself and the world. For Ginny Cook, social interaction escapes the realm of language, because so much of what is going on is hidden and because Larry is this silent human body that only has to be to signify. Instead, she processes the information bodily. Thinking of Carolines snubbing of her sisters when getting married, Ginny realized that I felt the insult physical ly, an internal injury. (139) Later, shame, one of the feelings most often arising in Ginny with impetu... Body and Nature as Signifying System in A Thousand Acres Essay Body and Nature as Signifying System in A Thousand Acres     The female body, in literature as in other texts, functions as a kind of signifying system a site of continuous signification. Traditionally, this has been understood in terms of transposing patriarchal or even misogynist cultural values onto the construction of the female body. In A Thousand Acres, however, Smiley turns this around. Just as this novel tries to gain control of the discourse of King Lear, and of metaphors of women therein, it also foregrounds the body as a textual matrix through which the subject can understand herself and the world. For Ginny Cook, social interaction escapes the realm of language, because so much of what is going on is hidden and because Larry is this silent signifier that only has to be to signif y. Instead, she processes the information bodily. Thinking of Carolines snubbing of her sisters when getting married, Ginny realized that I felt the insult physically, an internal injury. (139) Later, shame, one of the feelings most often arising in Ginny with impetu...

Body and Nature as Signifying System in A Thousand Acres Essay

Body and Nature as Signifying System in A honey oil Acres     The female body, in literature as in other texts, functions as a kind of signifying system a site of continuous signification. Traditionally, this has been silent in terms of transposing patriarchal or point misogynist cultural values onto the construction of the female body. In A Thousand Acres, however, Smiley turns this around. Just as this novel tries to gain control of the discourse of magnate Lear, and of metaphors of women therein, it also foregrounds the body as a textual matrix through which the subject can interpret herself and the world. For Ginny Cook, social interaction escapes the realm of language, because so ofttimes of what is going on is hidden and because Larry is this silent signifier that only has to be to signify. Instead, she processes the information bodily. Thinking of Carolines snubbing of her sisters when getting married, Ginny realized that I felt the insult physically, an im manent injury. (139) Later, shame, one of the feelings most often arising in Ginny with impetu... Body and Nature as Signifying System in A Thousand Acres Essay Body and Nature as Signifying System in A Thousand Acres     The female body, in literature as in other texts, functions as a kind of signifying system a site of continuous signification. Traditionally, this has been understood in terms of transposing patriarchal or even misogynist cultural values onto the construction of the female body. In A Thousand Acres, however, Smiley turns this around. Just as this novel tries to gain control of the discourse of King Lear, and of metaphors of women therein, it also foregrounds the body as a textual matrix through which the subject can understand herself and the world. For Ginny Cook, social interaction escapes the realm of language, because so much of what is going on is hidden and because Larry is this silent signifier that only has to be to signify. Instead , she processes the information bodily. Thinking of Carolines snubbing of her sisters when getting married, Ginny realized that I felt the insult physically, an internal injury. (139) Later, shame, one of the feelings most often arising in Ginny with impetu...

Hrm in South Africa

International Human imagination Management Your assignment is to fool away a awkward of your choice and consider how the benevolent resource management function has been shaped by the internal and external contexts. Conclude your assignment with several(prenominal) suggestions as to what the future might hold for the field of HRM in your chosen country. The idea behind the module is for you to explore the meaning and implications of the concepts and ideas of international and comparative human resource management. There is no one way of defining and fellow feeling the nature and purpose of HRM.HRM varies according to the cultural and institutional environment in which it is conducted. It is suggested that you make out a country with which you are familiar, perhaps your home country, as this may enable you to provide examples to support your analysis. However, the key point is to choose a country that may be readily researched by access to texts and other available information . Assessment criteria These are referred to in your Handbook. However, as a guide you need to press out understanding of the various concepts and ideas discussed in the sessions, including knowledge of the perspectives to the employment relationship.This entrust include the extent to which culture impacts upon the relationship how governmental, scotch and social contexts influence the relationships indicate few understanding of differing approaches to management development and drive home some understanding of the importance of employee relations. Brief outline of the essential criteria Distinction an assignment demonstrating wide reporting and understanding of the subject, including a strong critical analysis and evaluation. Commendation an assignment demonstrating wide coverage and understanding of the subject, with some critical analysis and evaluation.Pass an assignment demonstrating wide coverage and understanding of the subject, but mainly description rather than cri tical analysis and evaluation. Structure Choose a country that has been researched in the past i. e. a touch where HRM practices are commented on and discussed. Consider and comment on internal and external context that have influenced HRM factors CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF EXISTING RESEARCH Conclude with recommendations, as fountainhead as suggestions as to what the future may hold for HRM in the country of choice. An analysis of current HRM practices in the Republic of to the south Africa IntroductionThis study depart investigate and explore two to three aspects of HRM practises inside the Republic of southerly Africa. In order to gain an insight into how the country functions, it will be important to understand the various internal and external factors that may have influenced current HRM practices. in the south Africa is a multicultural country with a rapelvic inflammatory diseasely growing economy, and is widely seen as one of the most stable democracies in Africa, having recent ly emerged from the infamous apartheid era. The confederation African economy is the largest in the continent, and the 28th largest in the world.The country lobbied heavily, and was lastly invited to join the economic and political organisation BRICS in 2011 (Smith 2011), and has just successfully hosted the annual BRICS conference (2013) for the first epoch. Concerns have however been expressed over whether South Africa deserves its place among the BRICS, as the country has the lowest levels of government spending, life expectancy, and literacy rates within the group, while the South African GDP comprises just 2. 5% of that of the combine BRICSs GDP (Smith, 2013).In addition, while the populations of India and China stand at over a billion people, South Africa has a population of 50 million of which just about a quarter are unemployed and live on less than ? 1 a day (Seria & Cohen, 2009). This high poverty level is a major(ip) contributor to the crime rates in South Africa, wit h Johannesburg creation infamous for its high levels of crime (Diseko, 2010). The most concerning crime considered to be the extent of queer and fierceness against women in South Africa. With two rapes occurring every minute (Itano, 2003), a typical South African woman is estimated to have a 40% chance of being raped (Middleton, 2011).Domestic violence is also reportedly high, with statistics suggesting that one woman is killed by her husband/partner every eight hours in South Africa (Faul 2013). The practice of strict rape is a major problem, which is based on the incorrect belief that the rape of lesbians can cure them of homosexuality (Mufweba, 2003). The South African government is well aware of all these problems, and has made a number of attempts to tackle them head on, including the amendment and strengthening of laws that deal with sexual offences.The government notes that the problem is reflective of deep-seated, systemic dysfunction in our society ( organisation Gazet te South Africa, 2007). Diseko (2010) argues that the high crime levels have had a massive impact upon the South African economy, with recent research display that the country has been experiencing a brain course (Kok, 2006). Moolman (2012) highlights cases of high numbers of skilled engineers and other professionals emigrating to MDRs (More Developed Regions) such as Australia and North America.Dreyer, cited in Moolman (2012) argues that while South Africa holds 80% of the worlds chromium, manganese, gold and platinum reserves, the shortage of skilled workers means that costs are becoming too high for the industry to be profitable. The statistics for 2001 show that only 181 managers or skilled professionals immigrated to South Africa from MDRs, with 645 going the opposite way (Statistics South Africa 2003, cited in Kok, 2006). These statistics highlight the struggle that South Africa faces with regard to the fondness and retention of talented skilled workers to help keep its eco nomic growth on an upward trajectory.However, Diseko (2010) argues that this phenomenon is reversing, and cites South Africas rapidly growing economy and political stability have seen it once again become a net importer of skilled workers. He claims that South Africa now appears an attractive proposition to South African expatriates as well as foreign skilled workers, and argues that this net import of skilled workers is driven by economic factors such as the recession within MDRs, such as Europe and North America. Cultural factors are also vitally important within the handicraft environment, as they affect the context of business and social interactions.Hofstede has developed a In order to understand the cultural aspect of South Africa countryHofstede (2013) This essay will explore current HRM practices in South Africa, with three major aims Identify your country of choice Justify your choice of country Provide a contemporary overview of the country (50 words) Identify the cultura l features of your chosen country using Hofstede or another cultural theorist Explain how those cultural features impact upon HR practices in that country (100 words) Identify the PESTLE factors touching your chosen country. Explain how those PESTLE factors impact upon HR practices in that country. 100 words) What might the future hold for HR in your chosen country? (50 words) These areas will be investigated through a review of existing literature, which will be critically analysed in order to identify areas that may be developed in future. Definition highly debated, as various HR practitioners define this in different ways. Macey & Schneider (2008) argue that the term is used to describe behaviours, traits and psychological states, and their associated outcomes. Access chew up about how the new educational processes being introduced will enhance variation among the talent pool if it works. ttp//geert-hofstede. com/imprint. html http//geert-hofstede. com/dimensions. html SA at th e moment may have the need for people and have the people, but the skills of the people may not match up to the requirements. what has been driving the change, crime rate in johannesburg, violence, more economic potential than actual, growing quite fast, next to BRICKSA is the definition of emerging economies going to include SA? Look at growth rate of BRICKSA economies andcompare to European and US economy. TABLE Stagnation in western economies, but is growth being shown as a comparative within the BRICKSA economies.References Diseko, L, (2010), South Africas brain drain generation returning home, available at http//articles. cnn. com/2010-11-18/world/south. africa. migration_1_south-africans-violent-crime-job-seekers? _s=PMWORLD, Accessed on 15/03/13 Erasmus, B, Van Wyk, M, Schenk, H, (2003), South African Human Resource Management Theory & Practice (3rd Edition) Formeset, Epping, Cape Town Faul, M, (2013), South Africa violence against women rate highest in the world, Available at http//www. huffingtonpost. com/2013/03/08/south-africa-violence-against-women_n_2837804. tml, Accessed on 03/08/13 Government Gazzette South Africa, (2007) Online, Criminal law (Sexual offences and related matters) Amendment Act 2007, Available at http//www. info. gov. za/view/DownloadFileAction? id=77866, Accessed on 12/03/13 HRPractice, (2011), Online, Findings from a pilot survey, Available at http//www. hrpractice. co. za/newsletters-online/200907. html Accessed on12/02/13 Itano, N, (2003), Online, South Africa begins getting tough on rape, Available at http//womensenews. org/story/rape/030224/south-africa-begins-getting-tough-rape.UVB2sBzIbX4, Accessed on 15/03/13 Macey, WH, & Schneider, B, (2008), The meaning of employee engagement, Industrial & Organisational Psychology, Volume 1, pp. 3-30 Middleton, L, (2011), Corrective rape Fighting a South African scourge, Available at http//www. time. com/time/world/article/0,8599,2057744,00. html, Accessed on 12/03/13 Moolman, S, (2 012), Online, The brain drain continues, Available at http//www. miningweekly. com/article/the-brain-drain-continues-2012-08-10, Accessed on15/03/13 Mufweba, Y, (2003), Online, Corrective rape makes you an African woman,Available at http//www. iol. co. za/news/south-africa/corrective-rape-makes-you-an-african-woman-1. 116543. UVB9mhzIbX4, Accessed on 14/03/13 Seria, N, & Cohen, M, (2009), Online, South Africas unemployment rate approaches 23. 5%, Available at http//www. bloomberg. com/apps/news? pid=newsarchive&sid=aoB7RbcZCRfU, Accessed on14/03/13 Smith, D, (2013), Online, South Africa More of a briquette than a BRIC, Available at http//www. guardian. co. uk/world/2013/mar/24/south-africa-bric-developing-economy, Accessed on13/03/13 SA HR Best Practice Summit Reportback http//www. hrfuture. et/education-and-training/sa-hr-best-practice-summit-reportback. php? Itemid=265 ARE YOUR EMPLOYEES ENGAGED? http//www. hrpractice. co. za/news/news. html http//www. info. gov. za/view/DownloadF ileAction? id=117580 Human resource practices and discrimination in South Africa overcoming the apartheid legacy http//www. ingentaconnect. com/content/routledg/rijh/2002/00000013/00000007/art00008 Managing human resources in South Africa A multinational firm focus http//www. emeraldinsight. com/books. htm? chapterid=1761939 http//books. google. co. uk/books? id=uilaYjWdvN4C&printsec=frontcoverv=onepage&q&f=false

Modelling Leadership Essay

Many people have potentials of becoming leaders by celibacy of their births, for instance, into royal families. Some others cashed in on the naivety and innocence of the people around and, before long, became leaders not necessarily by achievements but because they are opportunist. I see real leadership emerging when a individual can conquestfully impact the life of others which in turn makes them instinctive followers. This is the category my headmaster falls into.My relationship with this man started a couple of years ago. As a teacher and mentor, he sees every opportunity for success in every child. He is by no means a disciplined man, yet he is patient enough for any student. He is the headmaster, coordinate the teachers yet he is the teacher himself. He takes it as a responsibility to have a one-on-one contact with every students in the school and he has been successful at it in spite of all other official assignment competing for attention.Every student, to him, needs to d iscover himself his strengths and weaknesses. With my headmaster, the hardworking students still has rooms to do better if only he could discover how and the lazy students needs only to discover his areas of interests and concentrate on it for his success. This is what he seeks to do for each students by outlay time with them. An of course, he encourages the teachers to do likewise.In his words these little minds are going to perplex our leaders tomorrow and it is how well we impact them that determines what they do when they become our leaders -whether they lead us well or not. His course has produced great changes in the life of students. Even other teachers are borrowing successfully from his style and they in turn are achieving great results with their students. I hope one of his products eventually rises to become the president of our great nation this will be a rewarding feather added to his cap.

My Thoughts About Travelling

I requirement to travel. I want to travel to any places, especially those popular with tamp tour. Ive been asked, wherefore do you want to travel? Well, I told him that I want to bring out new things. Things like what? Things where our own country and home doesnt have. What do you mean by that? Any difference of our country and other countries? Well, of course there are. At least I want to see how the people lives at other countries. I want to see what our differences are, and what our similarities are as well. I can know how does their country work and operate.Travelling is also, a expression to relieve stress. So, why not travel? And also, you learn how to live in different conditions, in different ways, in different environment, surrounded by different people. You can learn how to communicate and interact with different people. Youll be amused by how other people respond to problems, what they think or so issues. What do they think they should do to mitigate either themselv es or the country? Travelling is also a challenge in a way, as it trains both our mentality and physicality.In my opinion, it can broaden our mastermind as we can gain experience from our locomotion. Theres a saying, which I guess eitherone had heard of before Dont be a frog in the well. Because if we do, we are adjustment ourselves to many other part and aspects of life that could have gone much better than you can imagine, and thats if you choose to be that way, cause theres no certainty if youll do better, because life, has its ups and downs, how you want it to be, all depends on how you want it to be and how u respond and handle it.True story. Alright, lets go back to travelling. Hmmm In a way, I do think that travelling brings out our aline personality and character. Whether youre travelling alone or with some buddies, in travelling, most of the time, theres no doubt that youll be letting yourself enjoy every moment of it. And thats where your true personality and character show itself. Hence, to be honest, I just realized thats what I want to achieve of all this time, finding my true self.And I believe thats what lifes purpose, finding our own selves. So, Im kind of out of juice after writing this passage, its just what I thought about travelling. I just simply cant imagine any disadvantage of it, except that it requires a lot of money, but I still believe theres some way to travel without much costing. So, you got any suggestion for me? I really appreciate it. But, no matter how, Ill still be travelling, no matter where it is. give thanks for reading.

Applying Servqual to Web Sites: an Exploratory Study

multinational diary of Quality & reliableness Man come onment Emerald Article Applying SERVQUAL to clear ranges an preliminary study Jos vanguard Iwaarden, Ton van der Wiele, Leslie Ball, Robert Millen Article information To cite this document Jos van Iwaarden, Ton van der Wiele, Leslie Ball, Robert Millen, (2003),Applying SERVQUAL to net sites an exploratory study, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 20 Iss 8 pp. 919 935 Permanent link to this document http//dx. doi. org/10. 1108/02656710310493634 Downloaded on 27-01-2013References This document short-changetains references to 26 other documents Citations This document has been cited by 25 other documents To copy this document emailprotected com This document has been transfered 2679 propagation since 2005. * Users who downloaded this Article as well as downloaded * Jos van Iwaarden, Ton van der Wiele, Leslie Ball, Robert Millen, (2003),Applying SERVQUAL to network sites an exploratory study, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 20 Iss 8 pp. 919 935 http//dx. doi. org/10. 108/02656710310493634 Jos van Iwaarden, Ton van der Wiele, Leslie Ball, Robert Millen, (2003),Applying SERVQUAL to nett sites an exploratory study, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 20 Iss 8 pp. 919 935 http//dx. doi. org/10. 1108/02656710310493634 Jos van Iwaarden, Ton van der Wiele, Leslie Ball, Robert Millen, (2003),Applying SERVQUAL to entanglement sites an exploratory study, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 20 Iss 8 pp. 919 935 http//dx. doi. org/10. 1108/02656710310493634Access to this document was given through an Emerald subscription provided by UCSI EDUCATION SDN BHD For Authors If you would like to write for this, or any(prenominal) other Emerald offspring, then please utilize our Emerald for Authors service. Information ab erupt how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelin es argon available for all. Please visit www. emeraldinsight. com/authors for more information. Ab come to the fore Emerald www. emeraldinsight. com With over forty days experience, Emerald Group Publishing is a leading fissiparous publisher of global research with impact in trading, society, public policy and education.In total, Emerald publishes over 275 journals and more than 130 book series, as well as an capacious f disordered of online harvest-times and serve. Emerald is both COUNTER 3 and TRANSFER compliant. The cheek is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS hatchway for digital archive preservation. *Related con disco biscuitt and download information correct at time of download. The Emerald explore Register for this journal is available at http//www. emeraldinsight. com/researchregister The menstruation issue and full text archive of this journal is available at http//www. emeraldinsight. om/0265-671X . htm NEW RESEARCH Applying SERVQUAL to weathervane sites an exploratory study Applying SERVQUAL 919 Jos van Iwaarden and Ton van der Wiele Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and Leslie Ball and Robert Millen Received August 2002 Revised December 2002 Accepted December 2002 Northeastern University, Boston, Massach economic consumptiontts, USA Keywords Worldwide mesh, SERVQUAL, Electronic commerce Abstract In an grounds to identify the persona work outs perceived to be most important in relation to the purpose of meshwork sites, a survey was undertaken. The questionnaire utilized was base on the SERVQUAL instrument that identi? s ? ve feel dimensions in service environments. The results indicate that the quality dimensions found relevant in the service sector argon also applicable to Web sites. The items that know been identi? ed as most important in relation to the quality of Web sites atomic figure 18 tangibles (the appearance of the Web site, na vigation, search options, and structure), dependableness (the ability to judge the trustworthiness of the offered service and the organization performing the service), responsiveness (the leaveingness to champion guests and provide prompt service), pledge (the ability of the Web site to get down trust and con? ence in the organisation behind it with respect to security and privacy), and empathy (the provision of caring, individualized attention to guests, including substance abuser recognition and customization). Introduction In the advance(prenominal) 1990s three technologies (communications speed, memory capacity, and computer speed) were rapidly growing in terms of capabilities they had for over 20 years. However, their combined S-curve growths suddenly enabled bingle of the grea show applied science revolutions ever seen the explosion of the mesh.Originally figureed as an information conduit, entrepreneurs soon saw the great power of a selling channel that enabled b rowsing, selecting, and buying without leaving the consolation of the home office. Businesses realized that they could interact directly with other businesses over the cyberspace, as well. Additionally, government agencies caught on and began delivering services online, collecting payments for licenses and taxes, providing information, etcetera The history of this explosion is well attested as both computer and Internet use guide increased substantially in the past few years (US division of Commerce, 2002).Since 1997 computer use has grown at a rate of 5. 3 part on an annualized basis. Internet use has grown at a rate of 20 percent per year since 1998, and in the 13 months prior to the September 2001 survey by the US Department of Commerce, over 26 million more Ameri throw outs went online. The authors atomic number 18 thankful to all anonymous referees for their valuable comments. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management Vol. 20 No. 8, 2003 pp. 919-935 q MC B UP Limited 0265-671X DOI 10. 1108/02656710310493634 IJQRM 20,8 920While there is a great talk about the digital divide, the US Department of Commerce reported that 54 percent (or 143 million Ameri gits) substantiate access to the Internet in their homes and that nearly 100 percent of the US population has access through schools and libraries. Thousands of companies were formed to sell goods and services over the Internet during this period creating the spic-and-span Economy. Subsequently, umpteen of those companies argon now gone as witnessed by the huge number of bankruptcies (Baldwin, 2002). Different experts might de? e e-commerce differently, but most tally on one thing the sector represents a growing piece of the overall commerce pie, and its sh ar is judge to increase steadily though piece meal over the next ? ve years. Various parties have forecast different results. For example, Forrester reports that online sales in the USA accounted for $51. 3 million in revenu e during 2001, and revenue for 2002 is expected to a total of $72. 1 billion, a 41 percent increase over the previous year (Hirsh, 2002). However, this accounts for only 2 percent of the overall sell spending.It has been predicted that this sh atomic number 18 will grow by about three-tenths of a percentage point each year through at least 2005, marking a slow but steady climb. As for e-commerce sales, a nonher projection estimates that online revenue will total about $90 billion in 2002, $160-$170 billion in 2004, and $287. 9 billion by 2006 (Hirsh, 2002). The value of the Internet goes beyond adding another selling channel. Researchers at McKinsey and community report that the retention of guests online is easier than in traditiona tipic bricks and mortar companies where the online company spends three to ? ve times less to retain them.Companies that retained customers exhibited traits of reliable basic plowal execution. Their sites downloaded quickly they responded to custom er queries quickly they delivered more than 95 percent of their orders on time and they made it easy for customers to return or exchange leverages. One company raised its on-time deli really rates from 60 to 90 percent, and cut customer churn in half (Agrawal et al. , 2001). The Internet also can play a pivotal role in enhancing patsy relationships and corporate reputations. Nike, Disney, Coke, and Toyota be all well-established brands that drive us to search for and ? d their products. denounceing is a critical component of the design of Web sites. It is about building a brand or corporate reputation to reach relationships with customers (Chiagouris and Wansley, 2001). Branding is rede? ned online, says Caroline Riby, vice president-media director at Saatchi & Saatchi Rowland. We are moving beyond representing a brand to experiencing it (Chiagouris and Wansley, 2001). The Web site must capture the attention of those people who know nothing or very little about the company, but are implicated in its category.It must also build awareness of what the company does within the context of the industry in which it is competing. Earlier Web sites were demonstrable by great(p) corporations, which required that they adhere to the corporate logo and color scheme, attach to the corporate databases, and comply with several other corporate requirements. This translated to tall cost and signi? cant instruction time. Others (those created for Mom and Pop operations and early entrepreneurial operations), built over the weekend, did not connect to large databases, and had no standards. While the company was in operation quick, the sites were often unattractive and dif? ult to use. Is it not surprising that the companies that are most successful selling over the Internet are the former and not the afterward? Certainly, we can ? nd examples of the up-starts that have succeeded, but they have usually adapted to the model of the corporation that requires high standards. Just as in the bricks and mortar world, companies have to offer excellent service on the Web. Web sites will become very important to companies as more products and services will be bought every over the Internet or by making use of the Internet before purchasing in a bricks and mortar store.Therefore, companies need to have Web sites that live up to customers expectations. The figure of our research is to provide falsifiable evidence on the operators that contribute to the quality of Web sites. Our most important research questions are . How do customers distinguish a good Web site from a bad one? . What cistrons determine the quality of a Web site? node atonement Companies offer quality to satisfy their customers (Dale, 1999). Because a Web site is part of the connection amongst a company and its customers, it is evident that it should re? ct the quality efforts that are in place throughout the company. Besides this reason there is another reason why a company should provi de high quality Web sites to its customers there is no serviceman contact through Web sites. The interaction via the Internet between a company and a customer is always through technology. This means the moment of truth between a company and a customer is the Web site. Although companies may try to emulate human behavior with technology, the interaction remains different because some reflections of human interaction cannot be replaced with technology, e. g. ourtesy, friendliness, helpfulness, care, commitment, ?exibility and cleanliness (Cox and Dale, 2001, 2002). The absence of these aspects of human interaction through which quality can be delivered to customers will have to be compensated by better performance on other quality factors or by excellent performance on new speci? c Web quality factors. A key aspect in customer satisfaction is the way a customer can let out satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a companys service. If a company deprivations to satisfy its customers the ? rst question it needs to answer is what is it that Applying SERVQUAL 921 IJQRM 20,8 22 satis? es customers and, equally important, what is it that makes customers dissatis? ed with the company and its products and services. Satisfying customers depends on the balance between customers expectations and customers experiences with the products and services (Zeithaml et al. , 1990). When a company is able to lift a customers experience to a level that exceeds that customers expectations, then that customer will be satis? ed. Because customers have ever increasing expectations it is necessary for companies continuously to correct their quality and hence customers experiences with the company.The issue is what should be improved to keep the customers satis? ed. What customers experience is not just one simple aspect of a company, but a whole range of aspects. Some of these aspects are c at one timerned with the way customers experience the company itself, some are concerned with the way customers experience the physical product and, ? nally, some are concerned with the way customers experience the service the company offers. Comparing customers expectations and their perceptions of actual performance can be done by making use of the SERVQUAL outmatch of Berry, Parasuraman and Zeithaml (Zeithaml et al. 1990). This outstrip has been developed for the service sector. It has ? ve generic dimensions or factors and are stated as follows (1) Tangibles. Physical facilities, equipment and appearance of personnel. (2) Reliability. Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. (3) Responsiveness. Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service. (4) Assurance (including competence, courtesy, credibility and security). Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and con? dence. (5) Empathy (including access, communication, understanding the customer).Caring and individualized attention that the ? rm provides its customers. In the SERVQUAL instrument, 22 statements sum of money the performance across these ? ve dimensions. For each statement, the expectation and the experience of a customer is determined. There is some criticism on the long-term stability of the results of the SERVQUAL scale (Lam and Woo, 1997) and on the general applicability of the ? ve dimensions (Buttle, 1996 Crosby and LeMay, 1998). Although alternative models have been proposed for the measurement of service quality, e. . SERVPERF (Cronin and Taylor, 1992), the SERVQUAL scale has been widely utilise by academics and practitioners to measure service quality. Therefore, this model has been used as a point of reference in this paper. SERVQUAL dimensions in relation to e-business Tangibles Examples of the tangibles factor are has up-to-date equipment, physical facilities are visually appealing and materials are visually appealing. These aspects might be even more important in e-business as there is no face-to-face conta ct between the customer and an employee.The visual aspects of the equipment (i. e. the Web site) are the only visual contact between a customer and an organization. Therefore, the need to have well functioning and good-looking Web sites is paramount. There are a great number of customers who abandon their shopping carts on the Internet because they get frustrated with the technology, or the design and lay out of the Web site interface (Hager and Elliot, 2001). The visual aspects of Web sites are also judged differently by the people of different age. While young people may be attracted by ? shy graphics, sounds and a high-speed interface, older people do not want blinking texts that are hard to read or animations that distract from the use of the Web site (Houtman, 2002). Although a number of Web sites offer users the opportunity to customise the Web site to their needs, this customization process is mostly aimed at the content of the Web site and not at the graphics, animations and sounds. Reliability Some of the aspects in the reliability factor have to do with doing what is promised and doing it at the promised time.Although many organizations seem to think that the major reason why customers shop via the Internet is because of the low prices, this does not always need to be the case. Some organizations found out the hard way that there are also a lot of customers shopping via the Internet because of contraption considerations (Riseley and Schehr, 2000). If customers cannot trust an organization to do what they ingest, those customers will be dissatis? ed. Priceline, for example, ran into big problems by the end of 2000 because of its focus on the lowest prices. People could buy a plane ticket at a very low price, but because of possible inconvenient ? ing times there was a big risk for customers. This resulted in dissatis? ed customers who were happy to trade off Pricelines discounts for the convenience of a competitor (Riseley and Schehr, 2000). Respons iveness One of the aspects in the responsiveness factor is gives prompt service. The amount of time it takes to download a Web scallywag appears to be of great importance to the users of the Internet. Research in 1999 found that fewer than 10 percent of users chair a Web site if knave receipt time is unplowed below 7 s. However, when it rises above 8 s, 30 percent of users leave.When delays exceed 12 s, a staggering 70 percent of users leave a Web site (Cox and Dale, 2001, 2002). It can be assumed that people expect Web sites to be even more quicker than in 1999 because of the expert advances. Thus, it is very important Applying SERVQUAL 923 IJQRM 20,8 924 for organizations to have a Web site that is quick, but on the other hand users expect Web sites to be visually appealing. As the number and size of animations, pictures and sounds increase to make a Web page more visually appealing, the time it takes to download that Web page will also increase, which is judged negatively by users.Hence, there is a trade-off between the looks of a Web site and the speed of that site. Organizations will have to try to ? nd the slump balance between good looks and speed. The trade-off between looks and speed is complicated by companies demand that their Web sites convey the corporate image (Manning et al. , 1998). The design division of a company wants Web pages to be easily recognisable as belonging to that company. In their view, Web pages have to display company and product boy as well as other graphics that underscore the corporate identity.These graphics add to the overall size of Web pages and thereby increase the download time for Internet users. It is questionable whether users are willing to accept slower pages in return for more logos and graphics that do not improve the functionality of the Web site (although they might improve the visual appeal). Assurance One of the aspects in the assurance factor is knowledge to answer questions. Customers expect to ? nd everything they want on a Web site. In a bricks and mortar store, people feel comfortable with a limited inventory. On the Internet, people are not satis? ed if they cannot ? nd everything they want.Web shops need to have great depth of inventory and rich and relevant product information (Dayal et al. , 2002). Two other aspects in the assurance factor are employees can be trusted and feel safe in your transactions with employees. First, there is the risk for users to share private information with an organization they do not know. Research on this topic (Statistical Research Inc. , 2001) shows that at least 50 percent of users are very concerned about contumely of credit card information given over the Internet selling or sharing of individual(prenominal) information by Web site owners and cookies that traverse customers Internet activity.Second, the same research shows that two-thirds of active Web users typically abandon a site that requests personal information and one in ? ve has entered false information to gain access to a Web site. Aspects in the assurance factor that could be very important in e-business are (Daughtrey, 2001) . availability of a glob privacy and con? dentiality policy on a Web site . secured access to a Web site (that customers are prompted to acknowledge) . general reputation of supplier . certi? cations or guarantees of assurance and . reports of experiences of other customers.The ? rst aspect in this list is also acknowledged by the International Organization for Standardisation in Geneva. The Code of radiation diagram for Information Security Management (ISO/IEC 177992000) provides a basis for establishing and maintaining the means of handling sensitive data (Daughtrey, 2001). Certi? cations and guarantees of assurance are also important in e-business. much and more organizations are trying to obtain certi? cation by an objective, consensus-based standard, just as they did earlier with quality commission standards (Daughtr ey, 2001).These organizations are becoming aware of the advantages of such certi? cation in relation to customers trust in these organizations. Empathy In the dimension of empathy there are several aspects that are usually not found on a Web site. Because of the fact that there is no human interaction, Web sites normally do not offer personal attention. To achieve this, a number of Web sites have a design that can be personalized by the users of these sites, so people can have their own version of the Web site. This kind of Web site design is aimed at giving users the experience of getting personal attention.The idea is that the more a Web site is tailored to a particular(a) customers needs, the more likely that customer will return again and again (The Economist, 2001). The most advanced technologies in this area aim to create a face-to-virtual-face interaction. A friendly looking face of a virtual assistant on your screen is supposed to make customers feel more comfortable. With the use of arti? cial intelligence, the virtual assistant can suggest products or services that might be of interest to a customer based on previous secures and on reactions to the questions of the virtual assistant.The latter possibility of asking users of a Web site questions via a virtual assistant will enable companies to tailor their offerings to the wishes of the user to stay fresh customer dissatisfaction. The only purpose of all these technological gadgets is to add one of the Webs key missing ingredients warmth (The Economist, 2001). Other aspects It seems that most of the dimensions and aspects that have been de? ned for general service environments are also important in e-business. Besides the ? ve dimensions as de? ned by Zeithaml et al. (1990), empirical evidence might come up with more speci? c dimensions related to e-business.Some preliminary research has been done in this area (Cox and Dale, 2001, 2002 Fink and Laupase, 2000 Schubert and Dettling, 2001 Wan, 2000), but no de? nitive results have been attained. Hence, more research is needed (Zeithaml, 2002). Research methodology The research was conducted by means of a questionnaire survey. Employment of this approach provides a relatively easy means to study the perceptions and Applying SERVQUAL 925 IJQRM 20,8 926 opinions of a large assort of people in a limited time frame and at low costs. The survey was undertaken with the student population at Northeastern University (NEU), Boston, USA.Students were expected to be familiar with e-business and the Internet. Students received an e-mail with a hyperlink to the Web site containing the questionnaire allowing them to respond to the questionnaire electronically and to submit by clicking a button. The purpose of the questionnaire survey was to develop empirical evidence on the quality factors of Web sites that are important to people who are familiar with the Internet and frequent Internet users. The survey comprised the following questions . p ersonal information (gender, age, academic discipline) . respondents use of Internet (equipment, frequency of use) . peci? c Web sites that are visited by respondents (a prede? ned list of 20 categories of Web sites) and . aspects of Web quality (a prede? ned list of 50 aspects). The core of the questionnaire consists of the list of aspects of Web quality. For every aspect we ask the respondent to indicate the importance of that aspect and at the same time we ask for their satisfaction with that aspect. The structure of the questions is based on the SERVQUAL scale (Zeithaml et al. , 1990). The aspects have been de? ned accord to the categories of the model developed by Cox and Dale (2001, 2002) and are as follows clarity of purpose . design . communication . reliability . service and frequently asked questions . accessibility and speed . product or service choice . order con? rmation . product purchase . user recognition . extra service and . frequent buyer incentives. For each of these categories a number of aspects have been de? ned in the questionnaire. The questionnaire has been discussed with experts in the ? eld of quality management and a pilot study has been conducted amongst a small number of students. This lead to an improved questionnaire which has been used for the esearch presented in this paper. Survey results Sample and response rate both students who obtained a university e-mail account at NEU (approximately 6,000) received an e-mail about the study and the questionnaire. Responses were received from 293 students. The response rate for the direct mailings to students was rather low (approximately 5 percent of the number of e-mails sent out), although acceptable for this caseful of mailing. Applying SERVQUAL 927 Descriptive statistics In confuses I and II, the response sample is described in terms of gender and age, respectively.A proportion of the response sample with the total population at NEU leads to the conclusion that the response gr oup is representative for the total population. The respondents were enrolled across many academic disciplines, and judged by the age of the respondents, most students were at the undergraduate level. Table III shows the respondents use of the Internet in terms of the quality of their own equipment. Overall the students are rather satis? ed with their equipment and do not seem to have problems with speed and download time. Table IV summarizes the frequencies of respondents Internet visits.They visit the Internet on an average 18 times per week, for about an hour per visit. So, it is clear that students make frequent use of the Internet. Male Female Total 104 188 292 Table I. Number of respondents by gender , 21 years 21-25 years 26-30 years 31-35 years . 35 years Total 192 71 19 4 7 293 Table II. Number of respondents by age PC Connection speed Printing from the Web Downloading from the Web Notes On a ? ve-point scale from very dissatis? ed to very satis? ed 3. 83 3. 59 3. 53 3. 57 Table III. contentment of respondents with the equipment they use IJQRM 20,8 928 Table IV. The use of the WebIt is interesting to note the types of Web sites that are used most often by our respondents (Table V). The types of Web sites that are used most often are search engines, university sites, quotidian news and entertainment sites. Web sites that are used less frequently are e-shops and chat rooms. Sites with stock exchange information are not visited very often either. In Table VI (top ten) and Table VII (bottom ten) the importance (expectations) and the satisfaction (experiences) are summarized on prede? ned aspects related to the quality of Web sites. The top ten aspects seem to relate to reliability issues in pure e-commerce.Customers who buy a product on the Internet want Web sites and the organizations behind them to be trustworthy. E-commerce Web sites need to be fast, simple and always available. Customers want a clear overview and con? rmation of what they bought and what they have to pay for. informal to ? nd desired Web site 3. 80 Easy to use Web page links 3. 92 Easy to ? nd relevant information 3. 38 Time spent on one site , 12 min Time on the Web per Internet visit , 60 min Number of Internet visits per week , 19 visits Note If not indicated otherwise, on a ? ve-point scale from very dif? cult to very easy reckon Table V. Web sites ranked by requency of visits Search engines Daily newspapers Entertainment Universities Electronic libraries Personal Web sites Information portals Games Travel Sports Banking Company information E-shops Book stores Music stores Movie stores Second-hand products Stock exchange information Who is where Chat rooms Note On a ? ve-point scale from never to once a day or more 4. 64 3. 63 3. 47 3. 38 3. 02 2. 99 2. 92 2. 82 2. 72 2. 62 2. 60 2. 58 2. 57 2. 41 2. 39 2. 27 2. 16 2. 02 1. 84 1. 76 Top ten with highest scores on importance Finding your way on the Web site is easya Access is fasta A complete overview of the order is presented before ? al purchase decisiona Tax and/or other charges are clearly detaileda The adaptation process is simplea Access to pass judgment delivery times is available at all timesa All relevant order con? rmation details sent by e-maila Order cancellation and returns details are con? rmed within three daysa Order-tracking details are available until deliverya There are well programmed search optionsa magnificence Satisfaction mean mean Delta S-I 4. 61 4. 60 3. 44 3. 31 2 1. 17 2 1. 29 4. 55 4. 50 4. 50 4. 46 4. 46 3. 75 3. 47 3. 36 3. 18 3. 84 2 0. 80 2 1. 03 2 1. 14 2 1. 28 2 0. 62 4. 43 4. 40 4. 39 3. 24 3. 30 3. 08 1. 19 2 1. 10 2 1. 31 Notes a Mean values on ? ve-point scales difference between importance and satisfaction signi? cant at 0. 01 level based on a t-test (two-tailed) Bottom ten with lowest scores on importance Applying SERVQUAL Importance Satisfaction mean mean Searches on related sites are provideda 3. 81 The privacy policy is track downera 3. 79 The security policy is accessiblea 3. 76 The Web site contains company detailsa 3. 70 3. 68 Scrolling through pages and text is kept to a minimuma Links are provided to pages on related products and servicesa 3. 67 Web site animations are meaningfula 3. 52A customer platform is provided for exchange of ideas 3. 36 The user is invited into a frequent buyer programa 3. 31 Brand image is important 3. 22 Notes a Mean values on ? ve-point scales Difference between importance signi? cant at 0. 01 level based on a t-test (two-tailed) 3. 40 3. 52 3. 51 3. 32 3. 29 929 Table VI. Importance of and satisfaction with aspects of Web quality Delta S-I 2 0. 41 2 0. 27 2 0. 25 2 0. 38 2 0. 39 3. 40 2 0. 27 3. 21 2 0. 31 3. 29 2 0. 07 3. 08 2 0. 23 3. 29 0. 07 and satisfaction The bottom ten aspects seem to relate to extra service (e. g. customization of Web sites) and information (e. g. ecurity policy and company details) that is provided to the customer. Apparently respondents do not ? nd th ese extras very important in their use of the Internet. Tables VI and VII also show the gaps between experiences and expectations (satisfaction minus importance). It can be concluded that the gap is widest for the aspects that respondents perceive as most important. The aspect with the largest gap is access is fast (satisfaction score 3. 31 and importance score 4. 60). In the top ten aspects there are no aspects with a unconditional delta, meaning Table VII. Importance of and satisfaction with aspects of Web qualityIJQRM 20,8 930 that for every aspect the experience is less than expected. In the bottom ten aspects there is just one aspect with a (very small) positive delta brand image. Factor analyses (varimax, principal components) on the importance data (KMO value ? 0. 91) and satisfaction data (KMO value ? 0. 93) based on Eigenvalues greater than one indicated 12 factor solutions. These factors cluster the aspects more or less according to the structure of the questionnaire. Mos t of these factors also become to a fault speci? c and do not disclose the underlying structure of customers perceptions of the quality of Web sites.The Scree plots indicated solutions with fewer factors, possibly around ? ve factors. A comparison of the results of factor analyses with varying numbers of factors led to the conclusion that ? ve-factor solutions ? t the data best. These ? ve-factor solutions were used to ? nd evidence for the existence of the ? ve dimensions according to the SERVQUAL scale (Zeithaml et al. , 1990). The results of these ? ve-factor solutions are summarized in Table VIII. In Table VIII we only include the aspects with factor loadings greater than 0. 5. The aspects are ranked under each factor according to their factor loadings.It can be seen from the table that the two ? ve-factor solutions (importance and satisfaction) come to the same conclusions regarding the clustering of the aspects. There are some minor differences in the clustering of the aspect s between the two factor solutions however, these differences are related to the aspects with low factor loadings. It can be concluded that the factor analyses on both the importance of the Web quality aspects and the satisfaction with the Web quality aspects are compatible with the ? ve factors of the SERVQUAL scale. Correlation between Web sites and Web quality factors The importance of any of the ? e factors of the SERVQUAL scale might differ per type of Web site, just like it differs per service sector in the bricks and mortar world. Therefore, a correlation between the ? ve SERVQUAL factors and the different types of Web sites is useful to determine these differences. In order to categorize the fairly large number of different types of Web sites, a factor abbreviation (varimax, principal components, KMO value ? 0. 83) on the data on the use of Web sites (Table V) is conducted. The results of this factor analysis indicate that there are clearly ? ve groups of sites that form th e underlying usage pattern.These are (1) e-shops for books, music, movies, etc. (Cronbachs of import ? 0. 75) (2) university and study information (Cronbachs alpha ? 0. 64) (3) games, entertainment, and sport (Cronbachs alpha ? 0. 66) (4) company information, stock information, and banks (Cronbachs alpha ? 0. 69) and (5) general information on daily news, travel, libraries, and search engines (Cronbachs alpha ? 0. 58). Importance Satisfaction Factor 1 (Reliability) A complete overview of the order is presented before ? nal purchase decision Tax and/or other charges are clearly detailed Different payment options are stated clearlyAll relevant order con? rmation details are sent by e-mail within 24 hours Access to anticipated delivery times is available at all times Terms and conditions of sales are accessible Order-tracking details are available until delivery Order cancellation and returns details are con? rmed within three days Full details of product or service pricing are availa ble The registration process is simple Full product or service characteristics are available Registration process details are retained The Web site offers free shipping and handling within a set of rules Access is fast The user can make a purchase without Web ite registration Factor 1 (Reliability) All relevant order con? rmation details are sent by e-mail within 24 hours A complete overview of the order is presented before ? nal purchase decision Terms and conditions of sales are accessible Order-tracking details are available until delivery Different payment options are stated clearly Tax and/or other charges are clearly detailed Access to anticipated delivery times is available at all times Order cancellation and returns details are con? rmed within three days The home page features options for new and registered users Registration process details are retainedFactor 2 (Tangibles) Finding your way on the Web site is easy Information is found with a minimum of clicks seafaring is c onsistent and standardized There are well programmed search options instruction manual are directly available Opening of new screens is kept to a minimum Applying SERVQUAL Factor 2 (Tangibles) Finding your way on the Web site is easy Information is found with a minimum of clicks Navigation is consistent and standardized The number and type of links are meaningful The purpose is clear Scrolling through pages and text is kept to a minimum Instructions are directly available It is easy to print from the WebFactor 3 (Empathy) Factor 3 (Empathy) Links are provided to pages on related products Links are provided to pages on related products and services and services A customer platform is provided for the On travel sites a ? ight/hotel search is provided exchange of ideas A standard navigation bar, home button and On travel sites the user can customize seat and back/forward button are available on every meal preferences and the information is page retained (continued ) 931 Table VIII. Co n? rmative factor analysis (? ve-factor solution) IJQRM 20,8 Importance Satisfaction It is easy to print from the WebOn travel sites a ? ight/hotel search is provided Web sites that focus on brand awareness have a store locator The user is invited into a frequent buyer program Factor 4 (Assurance) The security policy is accessible The privacy policy is accessible External validation of trustworthiness is important The Web site contains company details Brand image is important Page availability information is given on entry The user is invited into a frequent buyer program A customer platform is provided for exchange of ideas Factor 4 (Assurance) The privacy policy is accessible The security policy is accessibleThe Web site contains company details External validation of trustworthiness is important 932 Factor 5 (Responsiveness) The frequently asked questions and answers contain links that take the user to the relevant page(s) Information is provided to frequently asked questions an d answers Queries or complaints are heady within 24 hours User feedback is sought to measure customer satisfaction An e-mail address for queries and complaints is provided Table VIII. Factor 5 (Responsiveness) User feedback is sought to measure customer satisfaction Queries or complaints are resolved within 24 hoursThe frequently asked questions and answers contain links that take the user to the relevant page(s) Access is fast Opening of new screens is kept to a minimum Graphics and animation do not detract from use Full details of product or service pricing are available Notes Principal component analysis. Varimax with Kaiser normalization. Rotation converged in nine iterations (importance) and ten iterations (satisfaction). Factor loadings . 0. 5, ranking based on factor loadings from high to low Table IX shows the correlation matrix between the frequency of use of types of Web sites and the importance of the Web quality factors.Some results are as follows . All ? ve quality dim ensions are most strongly correlated with e-shops, indicating that frequent users of e-shops tend to have higher quality expectations. . An increase in the frequency of use of the types of Web sites is in all cases most strongly correlated with either empathy (E-shops), assurance (company sites and search engines) or responsiveness (study related sites, Reliability Coef. Sign E-shops (books, music, movies etc. ) Study-related sites Games and sports sites Company and banking sites Search engines, daily news, travel Tangibles Coef. Sign EmpathyCoef. Sign Assurance Coef. Sign Responsiveness Coef. Sign 0. 220 ** 0. 174 ** 0. 239 ** 0. 232 ** 0. 233 ** 0. 171 ** 0. 167 ** 0. 183 ** 0. 156 ** 0. 202 ** 0. 114 * 0. 124 * 0. 168 ** 0. 112 n. s. 0. 171 ** 0. 144 ** 0. 136 * 0. 151 ** 0. 166 ** 0. 144 ** 0. 122 * 0. one hundred fifteen * 0. 115 * 0. 123 * 0. 115 * Notes * Correlation is signi? cant at the 0. 05 level (two-tailed) ** Correlation is signi? cant at the 0. 01 level (two-tailed) n. s. ? no signi? cant correlation . Applying SERVQUAL and games and sports). More frequent users of the Internet tend to ? nd reliability and tangibles less important.All correlation coef? cients are positive, indicating that for all types of Web sites more usage leads to higher importance of all quality dimensions. The experienced user seems to have higher expectations of the quality of Web sites. Conclusion The results of this research can be summarised in the following way. Of a prede? ned list of Web quality aspects these aspects are considered to be the most important access is fast ? nding your way on the Web site is easy a complete overview of the order is presented before ? nal purchase decision and the registration process is simple. Of the ? e factors that can be found by means of factor analyses (reliability, tangibles, empathy, assurance and responsiveness) various aspects related to the factors reliability and tangibles are included in the top ten important aspects. Va rious aspects related to the factors empathy and assurance are included in the bottom ten aspects ranked according to their perceived importance. Both the importance of the Web quality aspects and the satisfaction with the Web quality aspects are compatible with ? ve-factor analyses that support the existence of the ? ve factors of the SERVQUAL scale of Zeithaml et al. (1990).The importance of any of the ? ve factors of the SERVQUAL scale differs per type of Web site, just like it differs per service industry in the bricks and mortar world. So far, it can be concluded that the quality dimensions developed by Zeithaml et al. (1990) for service environments are equally useful in e-business. 933 Table IX. Correlation between the frequency of use of types of Web sites and the importance of the Web quality factors IJQRM 20,8 934 Further analysis of the data is needed. While this research project yields a number of very interesting results, we believe that there are a number of things tha t should be done to con? m our results as well as to expand our hypotheses. First, with the number of Internet users now over one billion, our sample is relatively small. Therefore, research with larger samples that pose the same or similar questions would be appropriate. Second, Internet users come from all over the globe. One has to suspect that there are differences between a sample taken from students of the USA and what might be found among students elsewhere. Possible, language, culture, religion, and a host of other factors may be important to a users impression of the quality of a Web site.Finally, quality is an area of critical importance for commercial companies. Businesses need to understand what attracts people to their Web sites, what keeps them there, and what keeps them coming back. They need to understand the differences between the casual buyer versus the user who visits their Web sites on a daily basis. Web sites for companies like Dell, Cisco, Orbitz, and Covisint do millions of dollars of business each day. They need to understand the factors that keep these businesses growing better by understanding what encourages buying and what brings them back to the Web sites.Likewise, their competitors need to understand these factors even more to compete in this highly competitive marketplace. Due to the signi? cance of this to business, we expect that this type of research will be ongoing for many years to come. The results of that research will be easier to use Web sites that are more customer focused and evolving as the user evolves. A Chinese proverb says, May you live in interesting times. We are certainly living in interesting times. References Agrawal, V. , Arjona, L. and Lemmens, R. (2001), E-performance the path to rational exuberance, The McKinsey Quarterly, No. 1. Baldwin, S. 2002), Ghost Sites, available at www. disobey. com/ghostsites (accessed 17 January). Buttle, F. (1996), SERVQUAL review, critique, research agenda, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 30 No. 1, pp. 8-25. Chiagouris, L. and Wansley, B. (2001), Branding on the Internet, available at www. MarketingPower. com Cox, J. and Dale, B. G. (2001), Service quality and e-commerce an exploratory analysis, Managing Service Quality, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 121-31. Cox, J. and Dale, B. G. (2002), Key quality factors in Web site design and use an examination, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 19 No. 7, pp. 862-88.Cronin, J. J. Jr and Taylor, S. A. (1992), Measuring service quality a re-examination and extension, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 56 No. 3, pp. 55-69. Crosby, L. and LeMay, S. A. (1998), Empirical determination of shipper requirements for motor carrier services SERVQUAL, direct questioning, and policy-capturing methods, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 139-53. Dale, B. G. (1999), Managing Quality, 3rd ed. , Blackwell Publishers, Oxford. Daughtrey, T. (2001), Costs of trust for E-business risk analysis can help e-b usinesses decide where investments in quality and security should be directed, Quality Progress, No. 0, pp. 38-43. Dayal, S. , French, T. D. and Sankaran, V. (2002), The e-tailers secret weapon, The McKinsey Quarterly, No. 2. (The) Economist (2001), Talking heads, The Economist, 24 March. Fink, D. and Laupase, R. (2000), Perceptions of Web site design characteristics a Malaysian/Australian comparison, Internet Research, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 44-55. Hager, L. and Elliot, B. (2001), Web quality tool can raise ROI on contact middle investments, Gartner First Take, 15 November. Hirsh, L. (2002), How big is e-commerce? , E-commerce Times, available at www. ecommercetimes. om/perl/story/18403. html (accessed 27 June). Houtman, J. (2002), Webpaginas instelbaar voor oudere surfers, Emerce, 25 March. Lam, S. S. K. and Woo, K. S. (1997), Measuring service quality a test-retest reliability investigation of SERVQUAL, Journal of the Market Research Society, Vol. 39 No. 2, pp. 381-96. Manning, H. , McCarthy, J. C. and Souza, R. K. (1998), Forrester Report Why Most Web Sites Fail, Forrester, Washington, DC. Riseley, M. and Schehr, D. (2000), Pricelines problems result from poor execution in a niche market, Gartner First Take, 8 November. Schubert, P. nd Dettling, W. (2001), Web site evaluation do Web applications meet user expectations? Music, consumer goods and e-banking on the test bed, Proceedings of the 14th Bled Electronic Commerce Conference, Bled, pp. 383-403. Statistical Research Inc. (2001), Even veteran Web users remain skittish about sites that get personal, 7 June, available at www. statisticalresearch. com/press/pr060701. htm (accessed 15 March 2002). US Department of Commerce (2002), A Nation Online How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet, US Department of Commerce, Washington, DC, February.Wan, H. A. (2000), Opportunities to enhance a commercial Web site, Information and Management, Vol. 38 No. 1, pp. 15-21. Zeithaml, V. A. (2002), Guru view, Manag ing Service Quality, special issue on service excellence, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 135-8. Zeithaml, V. A. , Parasuraman, A. and Berry, L. L. (1990), Delivering Quality Service Balancing Customer Perceptions and Expectations, The Free Press, New York, NY. Further reading Cutler, M. and Strene, J. (2000), E-metric Business Metric for the New Economy, NetGenesis Corp. Applying SERVQUAL 935

School Violence

Tyeshia Michie Professor Silverstein English 102 naturalise fierceness School force-out is the condition used to define craze or any form of arrogance that happens inside a work. Some of the known forms of naturalize violence are bookman gangs, yobboing, physical attacks on fellow learners, and physical attacks on the instill staffs. This is becoming a very life-threatening discipline in the United States where the school violence rates are extremely high with students possessing knives, guns and new(prenominal) weapons at will. In the earlier days, schools were the safest places for students.Students were safer than they were at their abodes because they were being monitored each and every second by the school staffs and other fellow students, but it is no longer the same because of the alarming increase of school violence inside the school premises. The school authorities are not able to control such inclement activities inside the school and parents all over the wo rld are concerned with this very serious issue because their children are prone to be victims of school violence. Leading Causes of School Violence Pinpointing causes of school violence is a difficult task.It is difficult to categorize the numerous school violence attacks that have occurred. Each case has different circumstances. The majority of researchers agree that school violence is the result of a society unable to always tick off between good or bad choices and right or wrong moral decisions but have suggested various theories on what may lead a student to incite violence. Children who witness domestic violence in the home and who are not taught otherwise are likely to internalize such demeanor as appropriate means of dealing with conflicts in the school.Such students who get in confrontations with other students may be predisposed to engage in physical violence. Students who climb up in communities with street violence also may react violently to perceived threats. Accord ing to Youth Violence A Report by the Surgeon commonplace, psychological conditions hyperactivity, impulsiveness, daring and short attention span can pose a small risk for violence. Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson of Texas A&M International University notes in The Journal of Pediatrics that depression is a leading cause of youth violence.Additionally, Thomas Grisso professor of psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School writes in The Future of Children that kids with mental disorders are at an increased risk of displaying aggressive behavior. Having access to guns and other weapons may enable students to commit violent acts against their peers. The report Violence barroom The Evidence by the World wellness Organization states limiting access to weapons can lead to a reduction in violent acts. Students may find guns in their homes or acquire guns illegally on the street.Without access to weapons, however, students would be unable to carry out violent acts. Students wh o have been bullied may penalise against their peers. The National School rubber eraser Council notes that many who participate in such acts are bullied or ostracized from their peers. Peers reportedly bullied or ignored the Columbine shooters, which caused their anger. However, the surgeon world(a) notes that violence in the media also may lead kids to engage in aggressive and violent behavior. What Are the Causes of Bullying in Schools?Bullying is a serious problem in schools and, according to Kids Health, three quarters of kids says that they have been bullied or teased at school as of 2010. Bullying takes a variety of forms and has or so(prenominal) detrimental effects on children including depression, stress, sickness, physical injuries and even death. The first step in dealing with bullying is to pinpoint the causes behind bullying and clarify more or less of its many bullies engage in bullying as a way to draw attention to themselves and make themselves feel important. Unfortunately, according to Education. om, bullies tend to be democratic and even admired by classmates for their toughness. This is especially the case in middle schools, where bullies are sometimes regarded as popular and cool. As a consequence, other kids accompany bullying behavior in an effort to increase their popularity. Another myth about bullying is that bullies suffer from low self-esteem and, as a result, bully other kids in order to make themselves feel better. According to Education. com many bullies have high self-esteem and regard themselves in a positive light. It is not uncommon for bullies to have an overly inflated sense of self.The desire to control and dominate others is a common factor in bullying. Bullies often perceive kids who are smarter or different than them as a threat. Dominating and manipulating the perceived threat allows the bully to minimize the threat and to feel empowered. The bullys sense of satisfaction comes from provoking a reaction from the victims who are being bullied. The best strategy is to ignore a bully if possible. If the bully is unable to provoke a reaction, he may before long grow tired of bullying you. If it is not possible to ignore the bully, the best strategy is to stand up for yourself.Dont given in to a bullys demands. Always intercommunicate a parent, instructer or adult. Bullying behavior is often the result of a repetitive cycle of abuse. Bullies may be victims of abuse at home or they may learn patterns of behavior in which anger, name-calling and other forms of verbal abuse and physical violence are normal. Bullies may s Different Interventions Prevention Models of High School Violence According to the College Student Journal, almost one-quarter of public school students report that they had been the victims of violence at school.With the proper interventions, high school violence can be prevented or minimized. The National School Safety Center says that if parents, teachers and students work t ogether, school violence can be minimized and, in some instances, eliminated. Parents and guardians are primary gatekeepers in helping to prevent high school violence. Parents must be aware of the influences their children receive whether through television, video games or other bulk to minimize exposure to violence. Parents affect to teach their children to be empathetic and compassionate so that violence will not be tolerable to them.High school violence can often be thwarted by providing counselors for students. Counselors can help students with decision making and can teach alternatives to violent behaviors. The school environs is sometimes the only opportunity high school students have to talk about their problems and get suggestions about reasonable solutions, according to the The National School Safety Center. The National School Safety Center says that a proper level of security can be an effective preventative for high school violence.Security military unit on staff can head off violence and must be alert for weapons such as guns or knives. Metal detectors can be installed to aid in weapons detection, if demand. College Student Journal suggests that the high school buildings be evaluated to identify areas that could facilitate violent events for example, doors that do not open properly (should students need to escape) or doors that are too accessible to potential violent offenders. Meditation is another intervention that can be successful in preventing violence.According to National School Safety Center, mediation can help the students to relax, calm their thoughts, reduce stress and ultimately prevent violent attitudes among the students. Anger management sessions are a necessary part of intervention so that high school students can learn how to control rage and other intense emotions. Conflict-management strategies that focus on how to avoid rubbish and other threatening behaviors can prevent violence. Peer mediation is another effective metho d to manage conflict in a high school.With this method, student leaders are trained in mediation and, with supervision help settle conflicts among their peers. Violence prevention models help both parents and students to develop effective colloquy skills that will enhance peer development. Some techniques include role playing, with role reversal, so that the students can experience both sides of a violent interaction, or decision-making exercises that teach them what to do in potentially violent situations. Other skills include educating the students on the risks of violence in a descriptive manner that gives them a realistic video of the impact of high school violence.Conclusion As far as this issue is concerned the solution to the problem will be identifying the root of the problem. Some people are quick to blame the media, while some blame parents, and others blame the schools. Americans need to try to take control of todays youth and the violence that is and has been developin g in this country for many years. Although school violence will never be extinct, there are many different ways to reduce violence. References Surgeon General Youth Violence Prevention A Report of the Surgeon General Reuters Depression, Peers Top Influences on Youth ViolenceThe Future of Children Adolescent Offenders with Mental Disorders World Health Organization Violence Prevention USA Today 10 Years Later the Real Story behind Columbine College Student Journal The understructure of School Violence Causes and Recommendations for a Plan of Action. The National School Safety Center Proven Preventive Measure for School Violence. Adolescence School Violence prevalence and Intervention Strategies for At-risk Adolescents. Kids Health Dealing With Bullies Education Some Myths and Facts about Bullies and Victims

Existentialism: American Beauty

Existentialism American Beauty American Beauty is a movie that sets in suburban America. The story is virtually Lester, whom is a middle-aged writer operative in a magazine company. He was having a midlife crisis where he felt lonely and numbed by continuous force outuring routine of his everyday life. In the movie, his wife pictured as a successful real estate agent, but she was also going through her de runr midlife crisis in both her career and personal life. Lesters girl, Jane Bumham had alienated her parents and was going through puberty.They have a saucy neighbor who is a U. S. Marine army corps Colonel hound Fitts, and he has a son, Ricky Fitts, who is a drug dealer. Lester was going to get fired from his company that he had worked for fourteen year. Lester managed to cut a deal by threatening the manager to give him a years worth of salary or else he would distribute the gossip news, which would sabotage the company. One day, he and his wife went to see their daught ers cheerleading dance and during the performance Lester maxim Janes friend Angela Hayes. He then starts having fantasies of her.On the other hand, his wife was also having an closeness with a successful colleague. Disregarding his wifes life, Lester started to make changes in his life afterwards hearing Angela complimented him and suggested that if he worked out, she would equal him even more. Therefore, he started working out after being fired from his job, and got a new job at a fast food restaurant. During work, he found that his wife was having an routine and he asked her for a divorce. On the other hand, the marine corporal, Frank, has trust issues with his son, since Ricky had a history of using drugs (smoking weed).One day, Frank starts to get suspicious some Rickys actions. thusly when Lester called Ricky to get more marijuana, Frank saw them getting together in a room. He thought that they were sexually involved. In reality, they were just smoking weed. When Ricky w ent home, Frank abused him and mis give innly believed that he was homosexual, which caused him to kick Ricky out of the house. So Ricky decided to ask Jane to runaway with him to New York. At the same time, when Lester and Angela was getting intimate with for each one other, she suddenly confessed that she was a virgin.Lester realized that he shouldnt be taking advantage of her and Angela started crying, so he comforted her. After the incident, both of them bonded and shared their problems. On the last scene of the movie, it showed Lester holding an old picture of his family reminiscing the past then Frank suddenly showed up with a gun and shot him. The movie, American Beauty, portrayed many existential nationals from philosophers like Franz Kafka, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Jean-Paul Sartre. In the beginning of the movie, Lester indicates he lived like a dead man.He goes through the same routine everyday, which is similar to Franz Kafkas acknowledgment Gregor Samsa in the short st ory Metamorphosis. Before Gregors transformation into a metamorphosis, he was a salesman for a long period of time where he felt that had lost his character, goals and even estranged himself from his family. Lester and Gregor have committed themselves to the society, which caused them to be alienated by their families. In the beginning of the movie, Lesters daughter critiqued her father as a loser and his wife also looked down on him.Gregor had similar situations, he was also alienated because his job required him to travel, and therefore, he couldnt spend time with his family. According to Kafka, one has to go through alienation because that awakens us to blossom into a new life. He believes that an individual have to balance themselves mingled with individuality and society. compensate though Gregors transformation gave him a new life, it was too late for him to live for himself. On the other hand, Lester was lucky enough to go across the change when he heard Angelas suggestio n to get fit.This tip encouraged Lester to adjust his dull and melancholy life. He starts working out and live for himself, instead of living up to other peoples standards. Kafkas view of existentialism is that an individual has the province to find balance between unemployed and work. Lesters character has some similarities as Kafkas life. Kafka was employed at an insurance company, where he had experienced the suffering from working in the dull cubelike office. He used writing as a way to escape from the tedious life he had, and it was the only method that could explore his creativeness.Even though Kafka was non an existentialist, his writing depicted many existential themes and shared similar thoughts with other philosopher like Friedrich Nietzsche. Friedrich Nietzsche is a philosopher in the late 18th century. He has a big(p) reach towards existentialism. His existential theme is about individuality and constructing identity. Through his book called Gay Science, Nietzsche indicated that there were more liberation and freedom after religious wars and persecution ended. He believed that people were getting detached with religion.Even though the movie American Beauty did not have any religious related themes, it still portrayed the theme of liberation. It was freedom that saved Lester from being drowned by his miserable life, especially when he was being disregarded by his wife and alienated from his daughter. In addition, in the end of the movie, Ricky Fitts, the neighbors son was released from his father because of a misunderstanding. He was trapped under his abusive fathers rules and control. When Ricky was living under his father, he was like the last man in Nietzsches short story Thus Spoke Zarathustra.The last man lacks passion and has no drive they do not like to hear the world contempt applied to them. Let me then address their pride. Let me speak of them of what is the most contemptible but that is the last man (Soloman, 73). Lester also has similar characteristics of the last man. Before his transformation, he even confessed that he was living a life of a dead man. Nietzsche saw the last man among the middle class and he was afraid that they would be suffocated by the dreadful office space. This greatly relates to Lesters working environment and the suburban area where he lived.Everyday felt like yesterday, nothing changes. There is no creativity or passion in Lesters life and Nietzsche believed that people should be pushed and encouraged to break the cycle. Lesters transformation speaks of Nietzsches existentialist theme we philosophers and free spirits fell, when we hear the news that the old god is dead. As if a new dawn shone on us (68). The new dawn that Nietzsche mentions in his book have similar portrayal in the movie, which is Lesters transformation of his new life. From a miserable and coward person, Lester changed into a new courageous and free spirited individual.He was able to confront his wife and make hi s own decisions without being afraid of her feel down on him Its a great thing when you realize you still have the ability to surprise yourself. Makes you wonder what else you can do that youve forgotten about (American Beauty). Overall, Nietzsches theme reveals that people have the ability to make their own decision and put their destiny into their own hands just like what Lester did with his life. alike(p) to Kafka and Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre also emphasized the importance of individuality.He believes that existence comes before essence, people creates their own destiny and it is not God that controls our fate (206). He also explained that human constitution did not emerge because God created us. Sartre did not believe in God therefore, he believed human created the existence of human nature, like how Lester change his life. Sartre also indicated that individuals should take responsibility towards their actions. Lester broke away from the society and left his past life to construct a new character without other people to disapprove his decisions.However, he also threw away all the responsibility as a father and husband. Lester quit his job and got a lower salary job, which left his wife in charge of the mortgage. Even before the transformation, the relationship between Lester and his daughter drifted apart causing them to ignore each other. He failed to take a responsibility as a father and nurture his child instead he tried to flirt with his childs friend. From Sartres book Existentialism is a Humanism, he wrote Our responsibility is thus much greater than we had supposed, for it concerns mankind as a whole (208).He believed that an individuals action could have a huge impact on others, just like how the neighbor, Colonel Frank Fitts killed Lester at the end of the movie. Frank has to live carry that guilt forever. It was his decision to kill and therefore it would be his responsibility to accept the blame. However the movie did not indicate what co nsequences Frank will be facing, or what kind of responsibility he will get after the murder. The director leaves the decision to the audience to decide what his fate is going to be. Lester did mess up his family and take no responsibility during his physical and mental transformation.In the end of the movie, when Angela, his daughters friend, told him that she was a virgin, he realized that he could not take advantage of her. This message reminded him that she was just a teenager that needed attention. He took a parental responsibility by comforting her and explored her frustrations, which applied to Sartres theme of taking responsibility while making alternations in life. Through out the movie, American Beauty, it has exposed many existential themes that connected to multiple philosophers including Franz Kafka, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Jean-Paul Sartre.All of them emphasized the importance of individuality, passion and creativity, which was depicted in the movie, especially on the main character, Lester. He altered his life and cured his mid-life crisis. It was through existentialism where he was released from the trap of society and the controlled environment. In the end of the movie, every character found an answer towards the purpose of life. Even though Lesters life ended getting shot in the head, he was actually happier than he was before and managed to live the life he wanted. eccentric Solomon, Robert C. Existentialism. 2nd. New York, NY Oxford University Press, 2005. Print.

Technical Project Paper: Information Systems Security

You are the Information Security Officer for a small chemists shop that has recently been opened in the local shopping mall. The daily operation of a pharmacy is a unique business that consumes a combination of both physiologic and coherent access controls to protect medicinal drug and funds maintained located on the premises and personally identifiable information and protected wellness information of your customers. Your supervisor has tasked you with identifying inherent gambles associated with this pharmacy and establishing physical and logical access control methods that will mitigate the risks identified.Firewall (1) Windows 2008 Active Directory Domain Controllers (DC) (1) File Server (1) Desktop computers (4) Dedicated T1 Connection (1) Write a tenner to fifteen (10-15) page paper in which you Identify and analyze any potential physical vulnerabilities and threats that require consideration. Identify and analyze any potential logical vulnerabilities and threats that require consideration. Illustrate in writing the potential impact of all identified physical vulnerabilities and threats to the earnings and the pharmacy. Identify all potential vulnerabilities that may cost in the documented communicate.Illustrate in writing the potential impact of all identified logical vulnerabilities to the network and the pharmacy. For each physical vulnerability and threat identified, choose a strategy for dealing with the risk (i. e. , risk mitigation, risk assignment, risk acceptance, or risk avoidance). For each logical vulnerability and threat identified, choose a strategy for dealing with the risk (i. e. , risk mitigation, risk assignment, risk acceptance, or risk avoidance).For each physical vulnerability and threat identified, develop controls (i. e. administrative, preventative, detective, and corrective) that will be used to mitigate each risk. For each logical vulnerability and threat identified, develop controls (i. e. , administrative, preventat ive, detective, and corrective) that will be used to mitigate each risk. Your assignment moldiness follow these formatting requirements Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides citations and university extensions must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.Include a showing page containing the title of the assignment, the students name, the professors name, the program title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length. The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are Explain the concepts of information systems security as applied to an IT infrastructure. Describe how cattish attacks, threats, and vulnerabilities impact an IT infrastructure. Explain the means attackers use to compromise systems and networks, and defenses used by organizations.Explain the role of access controls i n implementing a security policy. Explain how businesses apply cryptography in maintaining information security. Analyze the importance of network principles and architecture to security operations. Use technology and information resources to research issues in information systems security. Write clearly and concisely about network security topics using proper writing mechanics and technical tendency conventions. Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic/organization of the paper, and voice communication and writing skills, using the following rubric.