Graduation Speech: Importance of Change :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Change is a word that I have constantly heard throughout my high school years. It is a transformation through which everyone goes whether it's for the better or for the worse. For me the meaning and value of change has helped me to focus on the goals I have to accomplish. For others, it is simply just a phase we go through. All of us here have been able to learn and develop from our changes to be come a better and successful person. Motivation is an important source of help towards succeeding. We can receive it from our family, friends, and our teachers. The one thing that I have realized about the alternative school is that the teachers and staff will never give up on you. In most public schools the teachers tend to give up easily on a failing student because they don't have the time and opportunity to get to know you and work with you. It is different here at Rose Alternative High School. The teachers continue to push you to work harder, to never give up. Friends have the biggest impact and influence in our lives. They can lead us to the path of success or path of failure. So everything that our parents have told us about choosing the right friends is absolutely true. As you get older, you realize that everything your parents have said or have taught you starts to make sense. You are more aware about situations and are a lot more careful so that you don't make mistakes like we often did when we were younger. Age is not a factor when it comes to completion. As you can see, many of us are a lot older than others. Most of us took different steps in achieving this goal. Some took a few months while others took a few years. But even though we arrived here with different routes, we will all receive the same prize for finishing, which is a high school diploma. This quote from William Arthur Ward reflects upon me and maybe even others here: "If you can imagine it, you can create it.

The Great Depression and John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath :: John Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath

The Great Depression and John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath Though most Americans are aware of the Great Depression of 1929, which may well be "the most serious problem facing our free enterprise economic system", few know of the many Americans who lost their homes, life savings and jobs. This paper briefly states the causes of the depression and summarizes the vast problems Americans faced during the eleven years of its span. This paper primarily focuses on what life was like for farmers during the time of the Depression, as portrayed in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, and tells what the government did to end the Depression. In the 1920's, after World War 1, danger signals were apparent that a great Depression was coming. A major cause of the Depression was that the pay of workers did not increase at all. Because of this, they couldn't afford manufactured goods. While the factories were still manufacturing goods, Americans weren't able to afford them and the factories made no money (Drewry and O'connor 559). Another major cause related to farmers. Farmers weren't doing to well because they were producing more crops and farm products than could be sold at high prices. Therefore, they made a very small profit. This insufficient profit wouldn't allow the farmers to purchase new machinery and because of this they couldn't produce goods quick enough (Drewry and O'connor 559). A new plan was created called the installment plan. This plan was established because many Americans didn't have enough money to buy goods and services that were needed or wanted. The installment plan stated that people could buy products on credit and make monthly payments. The one major problem with this idea was that people soon found out that they couldn't afford to make the monthly payment(Drewry and O'connor 559). In 1929 the stock market crashed. Many Americans purchased stocks because they were certain of the economy. People started selling their stocks at a fast pace; over sixteen million stocks were sold! Numerous stock prices dropped to fraction of their value. Banks lost money from the stock market and from Americans who couldn't pay back loans. Many factories lost money and went out of business because of

Cognitive Appraisal and/or Personality Traits

Suggested APA style reference: Li, M. (2009, March). Cognitive appraisal and/or personality traits: Enhancing active coping in two types of stressful situations. Paper based on a program presented at the American Counseling Association Annual Conference and Exposition, Charlotte, NC. Cognitive Appraisal and/or Personality Traits: Enhancing Active Coping in Two Types of Stressful Situations Paper based on a program presented at the 2009 American Counseling Association Annual Conference and Exposition, March 22, Charlotte, North Carolina Ming-hui Li Ming-hui Li, EdD, LPC, LMHC, is an assistant professor in the Department of Human Services and Counseling at St. John’s University, Queens, NY. His areas of specialty include stress-coping and resilience development. College students frequently experience stressful situations (Dungan, 2002; Li, 2006). Some college students actively cope with stressful situations while others become victims of the situations. The researcher has been interested in exploring factors that lead college students to actively cope with stressful situations. Enhancing these factors may facilitate college students to employ active coping. The term active coping in the study refers to people’s coping responses that are characterized by solving problems, seeking social support, and non-avoidance. The purpose of this study was to explore effective predictors of active coping in two major types of stressful situations among college students: relation and work. Results of this study may provide information for counselors to help students adapt better to college life by enhancing specific factors in different stressful situations. Theoretical Framework Researchers have not reached an agreement on the nature of coping. For example, process-oriented researchers (e. g. , Albinson & Petrie, 2003; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; Olff, Langeland & Gersons, 2005) proposed that cognitive appraisal determines the responses individuals adopt to cope with stressful situations. In contrast, diathesis-oriented researchers (e. g. , Abela & Skitch, 2007; Li & Yuan, 2003; Wagner, Chaney, Hommel, Andrews, & Jarvis, 2007) suggested that a match between personality traits and stress types decides coping responses. The present study explored the extent to which a combination of these two theoretical approaches can determine college students’ employment of active coping. Process-oriented researchers (e. g. , Albinson & Petrie, 2003; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; Olff, Langeland & Gersons, 2005) proposed that coping is a process (instead of a mere trait) in which personal factors, such as beliefs, and environmental factors, such as novelty, work together to affect coping responses through cognitive appraisal. These researchers argued that personality traits and environment are insufficient to determine coping responses. Cognitive appraisal, they believe, is what determines individuals’ coping responses. From their perspective, coping responses can be decided only after individuals have cognitively considered (a) how their lives are influenced by the situation and (a) what they can do to deal with the situation. In contrast, diathesis-oriented researchers (e. g. , Abela & Skitch, 2007; Li & Yuan, 2003; Wagner, Chaney, Hommel, Andrews, & Jarvis, 2007) advocate that individuals’ personality traits influence coping responses in specific contexts. They argued that personality traits influence coping responses most in stressful situations that are closely related to those traits. For example, individuals’ self-efficacy (a task-related trait) has great influence on their coping responses to task-related stressful situations, such as looking for a part-time job. In contrast, individuals’ secure attachment (a relation-related trait) is powerful in influencing coping responses to relation-related stressful situations, such as getting along with new roommates. Both approaches have been supported by previous studies. However, little attention has been drawn to the possibility of combining the two approaches. The present study addressed this possibility. The study was aimed to explore the extent to which a combination of these two theoretical approaches influences people to actively cope with stressful situations. Cognitive appraisal and three traits (self-efficacy, secure attachment, and resilience) were included in the combined model. According to the process-oriented approach, cognitive appraisal was expected to predict active coping across the two stressful situations. Based on the diathesis-oriented approach, self-efficacy was expected to predict active coping in work-related stressful situations such as looking for a part-time job; and secure attachment was expected to predict active coping in relation-related situations such as getting along with new roommates. In addition, the researcher hypothesized that resilience can predict active coping in both relation-related and work-related stressful situations because this trait reflects individuals’ general ability to moderate the negative effects of stress (Benetti & Kambouropoulos, 2006). Cognitive appraisal, self-efficacy, secure attachment, and resilience were applied to predict active coping in two types of stressful situations (relation, work), in order to detect the effectiveness of the combined model. The two hypotheses tested in the study were: Hypothesis 1: In relation-related situations, secure attachment, cognitive appraisal, and resilience can effectively predict active coping. Hypothesis 2: In work-related situations, self-efficacy, cognitive appraisal, and resilience can effectively predict active coping. Methods Participants were 126 students recruited from a college in Taiwan. Their age ranged from 18 to 23 years old. The mean age of this sample was 19. 6. Participants were categorized into two groups—a relation group and a work group, based on their self-reported stressful situations. The numbers of participants in groups of relation and work were 76 and 50, respectively. The researcher administered a questionnaire to participants when they were waiting for a class. Participants signed informed consent forms before they responded to the questionnaire. Data was collected using a questionnaire containing the Resilience Scale (Wagnild & Young, 1993), the Revised Adult Attachment Scale (Collins, 1996), the Coping Strategy Indicator (Amirkhan, 1990), the Chinese Adaptation of General Self-Efficacy Scale (Zhang & Schwarzer, 1995), and category I (cognitive appraisal) of the Student-Life Stress Inventory (Gadzella, 1991). All of the instruments have been used to study college students and have demonstrated adequate validity (construct or concurrent validity) and reliability (Cronbach’s coefficient alpha range from . 6 to . 93). All of the instruments except the Chinese adaptation of General Self-Efficacy Scale were translated by the researcher from English into Chinese. Two bilingual Psychology professors and four bilingual doctoral students examined the translated instruments. A bilingual undergraduate student, who was blind to the original English instruments, back-translated the Chinese versions into English. The original instr uments and the back-translated instruments were very close in meaning, indicating correct language transference. Internal consistency estimates of reliability (Cronbach’s coefficient alpha) were computed for each of the instruments used in this study. The values for coefficient alpha were . 89, . 90, . 75, . 87, and . 81 for the Student-Life Stress Inventory (SSI), the Resilience Scale (RS), the Revised Adult Attachment Scale (AAS-Revised), the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSS), and the Coping Strategy Indicator (CSI), respectively. The alpha values for the three sub-scales of the Coping Strategy Indicator (CSI) were . 86 (problem-solving), . 88 (seeking social-support), and . 68 (avoidance). In addition, the alpha value for the category I (cognitive appraisal) of the Student-Life Stress Inventory (Gadzella, 1991) was . 84. The research design of this study was a correlational design with four independent (predictor) variables and one dependent variable. The four independent variables were cognitive appraisal, resilience, secure attachment, and self-efficacy. The dependent variable was active coping. This research design consisted of two separate multiple regression procedures that were used to test the proposed model in two types of stressful situations. Data Analysis and Results The data were analyzed by using SPSS 14. 0. Two procedures of multiple regression were applied to test the two hypotheses. The step-wise method was used because the available literature does not provide direction as to how the variables in this study should be entered into a multiple regression equation. By using the step-wise method, the researcher allowed the computer to select the model with the best statistical â€Å"fit. † Correlations among predictor variables and between predictor variables and the dependent variable were examined in order to meet the requirements of multiple regression. The outlier was removed so it did not impact the accuracy of data analysis. The criterion used to screen outliers were (a) a Cook’s distance greater than 1, and (b) a standardized residual greater than 3. Hypothesis 1 was supported while Hypothesis 2 was not supported. Results showed that (a) cognitive appraisal and resilience can predict active coping in stressful situations associated with relation, and (b) secure attachment can predict active coping in work-related stressful situations. Tables I and II showed the results. Table I. Summary of Regression Analyses of Resilience, Secure Attachment, and Self-Efficacy Predicting Active Coping in Relation-Related Stressful Situations ____________________________________________________________ _____ Variable B ? R[pic]Change p ____________________________________________________________ ______ Resilience . 13 . 29 . 09 . 00 Cognition – 2. 56 – 4. . 18 . 001 ____________________________________________________________ ______ Table II. Summary of Regression Analyses of Resilience, Secure Attachment, and Self-Efficacy Predicting Active Coping in Work-Related Stressful Situations ____________________________________________________________ _____ Variable B ? R[pic]Change p ____________________________________________________________ ______ Secure Attachment . 50 . 1 . 17 . 003 ____________________________________________________________ ______ Discussion The study was aimed to test the effectiveness of the model combining two approaches to coping. Results i ndicated that this model is effective in stressful situations associated with relation. In stressful situations associated with relation, individuals who less engage in cognitive appraisal (i. e. , lower levels of cognitive appraisal) and are able to moderate the negative effects of stress (i. . , higher levels of trait resilience) tend to actively cope with the situations. This finding is consistent with Kulenovic and Busko’s (2006) finding that cognitive appraisal and personality trait simultaneously influence individuals’ coping responses to stressful situations. It seems that when people are in the initial stage of coping with a relation-related stressful situation, the less they evaluate the situation and the stronger their trait resilience becomes, the more likely they can cope with the situation actively. A possible explanation of the finding that cognitive appraisal and trait resilience simultaneously influence individual’s coping response to relational stressful situations is that cognitive appraisal leads people to respond to situational factors such as how the romantic relationship ended and who wanted to end the relationship (Bouchard, Guillemette, & Landry-Leger, 2004) while trait resilience directs people to respond to any situation that causes stress such as breaking-up with a boy/girl friend and losing a job (Li, 2008). In work-related situations, those who hold positive attitude toward social interactions (i. e. , high levels of secure attachment) tend to actively cope with work-related situations. It seems that when individuals are in the initial stage of coping with a work-related stressful situation, the more they believe they can get along well with people in the workplace, the more they become willing to take action to deal with the situation. Conclusion While re searchers have proposed different theoretical approaches to explain coping, no adequate efforts have been made to test the possibility of combining different approaches. This study addresses this issue by combining two existing approaches into one model and tests the effectiveness of the model. Results of the study not only expand our knowledge about coping but also provide useful information for counselors to help clients deal with stressful situations. When clients are in the initial stages of coping with relation-related stressful situations, counselors can help the clients by engaging them in reflection of their previous positive coping experiences rather than urging them to cognitively appraise the situations. When clients are in the initial stage of coping with work-related stressful situations, counselors can help the clients by enhancing their person skills. References Abela, J. R. Z. ; Skitch, S. A. (2007). Dysfunctional attitudes, self-esteem, and hassles: Cognitive vulnerability to depression in children of affectively ill parents. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 1127-1140. Albinson, C. B. , & Petrie, T. A. (2003). Cognitive appraisals, stress, and coping: preinjury and postinjury factors influencing psychological adjustment to sport injury. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, 12, 306-322. Amirkhan, J. H. (1990). A factor analytically derived measure of coping: The coping Strategy indicator. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 1066-1074. Benetti, C. , &; Kambouropoulos, N. (2006). Affect-regulated indirect effects of trait anxiety and trait resilience on self-esteem. Personality and Individual Differences, 41, 341-352. Bouchard, G. , Guillemette, A. , & Landry-Leger, N. (2004). Situational and dispositional coping: An examination of theire relation to personality, cognitive appraisals, and psychological distress. European Journal of Personality, 18, 221-238. Collins, N. L. (1996). Working models of attachment: Implications for explanation, emotion, and behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 810-832. Dungan, D. E. (2002). Five days of stress and coping in the lives of college students. (Doctoral dissertation, Texas Tech University, 2002). Dissertation Abstract International, 62 (10-B), 4827. Gadzella, B. M. (1991). Student-life Stress Inventory. Library of Congress, Copyright. Kulenovic, A. & Busko, V. (2006); Structural equation analyses of personality, appraisals, and coping relationships. Review of Psychology, 13, 103-112. Lazarus, R. S. , & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer. Li, M. H. (2006). Stress, traits of resilience, secure attachment, and self-efficacy as predictors of active coping among Taiwanese students (China). (Doctoral dissertation, Texas Tech University, 2006). Dissertation Abstracts International, 67(4-A),1233. Li, M. H. (2008). Relationships among stress coping, secure attachment, and the trait of resilience among Taiwanese college students. College Student Journal, 42, 312- 325. Li, X. , & Yuan (2003). The relationship between junior middle school students’ diathesis, and life stress with mental health. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 11, 287-288. Olff, M. , Langeland, W. , & Gersons, B. P. R. (2005). Effects of appraisal and coping on the neuroendocrine response to extreme stress. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 29, 457-467. Wagner, J. Chaney, J. , Hommel, K. , Andrews, N. , & Jarvis, J. (2007). A cognitive diathesis-stress model of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents with juvenile rheumatic disease. Children's Health Care, 36, 45-62. Wagnild, G. M. , & Young, H. M. (1993). Development and psychometric evaluation of The resilience scale. Journal of Nursing Measurement, 1, 165-178. Zhang, J. X. , & Schwarzer, R. (1995). Measuring optimistic self-beliefs: A Chinese adaptatio n of the General Self-Efficacy Scale. Psychologia, 38 (3), 174-181.

Customer Perception Essay

ABSTRACT Recent advancements in technology have facilitated commerce around the globe. The online medium of commerce has provided and will continue to provide great opportunities for consumers and businesses. However, there are a number of issues that need to be addressed before the advantages of online shopping can be fully realized. One significant aspect is consumer perception of online shopping. The purpose of this paper is to examine the online shopping perception of consumers who shop from traditional stores. A survey was conducted in shopping malls in the southeastern region of the United States. The results show a positive perception of offline consumers toward online shopping. In addition, the results coincide with national trends for online shopping which show many traditional shoppers gather information on products and services online, but still make the purchase onsite in a traditional setting by visiting a store. Keywords: Perception of shopping, Offline shopping consumers, Online increasing numbers of customers. Many traditional businesses are reacting by going online to remain competitive (Schoenbachler and Gordon 2002). Advancements in technology enable apparel stores, for instance, to improve their online services by using personalized virtual models allowing consumers to visualize the product on the model to determine correct sizing and fit (Kim and Kim 2004; for a trend forecast of the online apparel industry, see: Newbery 2004). In general, online businesses such as Dell are able to mass customize because of current technology and offer customers basically a build-to-order service. Retail based e-commerce sites also try to serve customers by providing a personal shopper. As the shopper searches for an item of interest online, similar or complementing products are suggested. This personal one-on-one customized assistance might require more knowledgeable staff in a traditional store and might require an increase in the costs of products to compensate for the increased staffing costs. The internet has influenced the life of everyone in the recent years and has impacted behavior of consumers (Garrett and Parrott 2005). In general, three types of consumers in regard to their shopping habits can be classified (Lepkowska-White 2004): Online shoppers, i.e. those who purchase regularly online Online browsers, who mainly use the internet as a source of information but prefer to conduct their transactions in traditional stores Hard core offline shoppers, comprised of the continuously diminishing group of individuals, who do not use the resources of the internet either for information gathering or for shopping purposes These different groups show different characteristics and will need to be addressed differently to optimize or initiate online shopping behavior. This study focuses on the traditional consumers who prefer shopping onsite. It is important to know their perception toward online shopping and their classifications of online browsers or hard core offline shoppers. In addition, the factors preventing them from shopping online are important to understand. INTRODUCTION The rise in internet access and online commerce possibilities in recent years has made online shopping a major opportunity for businesses and has changed the way that consumers go about acquiring goods and services (Garrett and Parrott 2005; Schoenbachler and Gordon 2002). For consumers, online shopping provides more flexibility and opportunity (Stafford, Turan, and Raisinghani 2004). For example, consumers can shop with increased knowledge of products through online research and place less reliance on salespersons. If they wish to make a purchase, consumers are not restricted by time, distance, or location (Kim and Kim 2004; Schoenbachler and Gordon 2002). Furthermore, online stores do not incur costs such as store staffing, maintenance, and inventory and might be able to specialize in items and extreme sizes that would not be practical for traditional stores to carry. Amazon and eBay are examples of successful online retailers that use low-priced items and large stocks to attract and retain customers. Online commerce is expanding and is attracting Online Shopping Perceptions of Offline Shoppers The findings of this study should help motivating and encouraging more people to shop online. Reasons for not shopping online might include a lack of interest and knowledge about computers or the internet or going online for research purposes only. The foregoing discussion therefore suggests the following research questions (RQs): RQ1: Are offline shoppers computer and internet literate? RQ2: Do offline shoppers go online? RQ3: Do offline shoppers access the internet for purposes other than purchasing? RQ4: Are there certain distinguishing characteristics between online and traditional shoppers (defined as online browsers and offline shoppers) in regard to online shopping? In order to answer the above RQs the following two major hypotheses are tested. H01: Offline shoppers are computer and internet illiterate H02: Offline shoppers do not go online RELATED LITERATURE The number of internet users and online shoppers are increasing significantly every year. U.S. consumers are spending billions of dollars online each year (Preston-Hubbard, 2004). The internet retail sale is increasing rapidly to the extent that this increase is realized and measured by quarter and not year. (Tamini, Sebastianelli, and Rajan 2005). Currently, many Americans have internet access and the number of households to have access to internet will increase significantly in the years to come (Lepkowska-White 2004). An increasing percentage of those who are currently connected, shop online, i.e. use the internet to complete at least one purchase per month (Lepkowska-White 2004). Similar numbers are available for the European market, where, a significant number of internet users are shopping online (Monsuwe, Dellaert, and Ruyter 2004). For example, in Germany, retail sales of textiles, electronic products and durables via the internet has increased significantly in recent years (Reinhardt 2004). A significantly higher number of individuals, sometimes referred to as online browsers in the literature (e.g. Lepkowska-White 2004), avail themselves of the resources provided by the internet to check products or compare prices (Jaillet 2003). A study by Pew Internet and American Life Project suggests that most online browsers need about one to Volume X, No. 2, 2009 23 three years to become online shoppers (LepkowskaWhite 2004). Depending on how many of those individuals can be turned into online shoppers, predictions for online sales vary widely from $81 billion in 2005 (Bellman, Lohse, and Johnson 1999; Monsuwe, Dellaert, and Ruyter 2004) to as much as $269 billion in 2006 (Lepkowska-White 2004). Consequently, there is a huge market to be explored. However, businesses must be aware of perceptions and concerns regarding online shopping of traditional shoppers, and the online browsers. In order to capitalize on this potential in the best possible way, various models and frameworks for analysis have been presented in the recent literature on the topic (Chiang, Dholakia 2003; Zhou, Chiang, Zhang 2004). Monsuwe, Dellaert, and Ruyter (2004) have suggested a framework for consumers’ intentions to shop online which draws on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), popular in the field of Information Systems. According to this framework, utilitarian dimensions such as usefulness and ease of use of the site and hedonic dimensions such as enjoyment together with the consumer’s traits shape the consumer’s attitude towards online shopping. Situational factors trust in online shopping, product characteristics and previous online shopping experience affect the final decision to conclude the transaction online or not. Lepkowska-White (2004) divides variables for the analysis of online shopping behavior into supply and demand factors, with supply factors meaning web design and technical aspects and demand factors referring to consumer factors, such as social interaction, and product/service determinants, such as selection of products available online. Despite different naming conventions, the literature on the topic agrees that the 24/7 availability of products and information about products have changed the retail industry and consumer shopping. Most stores feel they cannot afford not to be online, even if for information purposes only (Schoenbachler and Gordon 2002). Generally, time and location constraints, convenience, availability of products, incentive programs and easy comparison of product information induce shoppers to shop online (Huang, Schrank, Dubinsky 2004; Kim and Kim 2004; Levin, Levin, and Heath 2003). Shoppers are looking for hassle free, accurate transactions, proper display of sufficient information and efficient download times for sites in their online experience (Tamini, Sebastianelli, and Rajan 2005). Regarding price, the literature cites both lower prices as incentives for shopping online (GfK 2004; Girard, Silverblatt, and Korgaonkar 2002; Kim and Kim 2004) as well as a lesser degree of price sensitivity of online shoppers Issues in Information Systems due to the added convenience. In addition, online browsers display a higher degree of price sensitivity compared to online shoppers but lesser degree of time sensitivity (Lepkowska-White 2004). The demographic information on online shoppers is inconsistent in the literature. For example, Kim & Kim (2004), report 43% of their respondents held graduate degrees while 12.41% of respondents in Tamini, Sebastianelli, and Rajan’s (2005) study held graduate degrees. It seems, however, that most online shoppers have a higher level of education and higher incomes, with the average household income of online shoppers expected to be $65,000 by 2006 (Kim and Kim 2004). While currently the majority of online shoppers is aged 44 or under (Kim & Kim 2004), shoppers aged 50 years and over are expected to become a more significant portion of the online shopping population, increasing to 30% by 2006 (Anonymous 2002). Regarding gender, research suggests that while men were early adopters of online shopping behavior, women have caught up and online shopping is starting to display the same gender proportion as offline shopping does (Kim and Kim 2004; Lepkowska-White 2004; Stafford, Turan and Raisinghani 2004; Tamini, Sebastianelli and Rajan 2005; Van Slyke, Comunale, and Belanger 2002). Previous positive experience with online shopping, trust in the company shopped from, and sufficient customer service enhance positive attitudes towards online shopping as well as conviction of one’s ability in one’s computer skills and access to computers and the internet (Levin, Levin, and Heath 2003). Generally, the greatest obstacles to getting individuals to shop online are hedonic dimensions of the shopping experience, security concerns and a lack of confidence in their computer skills (Swinyard and Smith 2003). The majority of those, who value the social components of the traditional shopping experience, such as interaction with sales people, window shopping, meeting up with peers and friends or the benefit of obtaining the product immediately, spend less time engaging in online shopping (Lepkowska-White 2004). Similarly, despite increased attempts at better security, credit card and personal information security are still a main concern for most shoppers: approximately 500 emails per day report online fraud to the Securities and Exchange Commission and average losses from online fraud have risen from $318 per person in 2000 to $638 in 2001 (Sager and Green 2002; Lepkowska-White 2004). Finally, individuals who do not complete transactions online indicated a lower level of confidence in their computer skills (LepkowskaWhite 2004). Volume X, No. 2, 2009 24 In order to retain current and attract new online customers, online stores should ensure sufficient product information, such as displaying price and the product details as well as a well operational, current, user friendly and easy to download web sites (Chiang and Dholakis 2003). Security and accurate and comprehensive cost information positively skew the customer perception of the online shopping experience as well as good customer service and hassle free return policies (Tamimi, Sebastianelli, and Rajan 2005). Providing free shipping might prove a powerful incentive to increase the number of persons who complete an online purchase: a 2002 study found that shipping costs were the deterrent for 53% of individuals in the US who decided against an online purchase in the last steps of the process (Kim and Kim 2004). METHODOLOGY A survey was randomly administered at shopping malls in the southeastern region of the United States. A survey instrument was developed to determine the perception of consumers who enjoy shopping from traditional stores about online shopping. The survey was not conducted online to better target the offline shoppers. 264 surveys were used for the purpose of data analysis. Fourteen surveys had to be discarded since they were incomplete or instructions had not been followed. The survey consisted of components such as demographics, computer and internet literacy, perception which included attitude and behavior. FINDINGS The largest group of respondents was aged 18-30 (35.7%), and the next largest group was individuals aged 61 and over (28.3%). Of the 264 respondents, 32.6% were male. The most common response, given by slightly less than 30% of the respondents, indicated they were shopping online one to five times per year which further confirms the respondents of this study to be primarily offline shoppers. Online shoppers are assumed to shop online more than once a month (Lepkowska-White 2004). The consumers of this study were overwhelmingly computer literate and had access to the internet (84.5%). However, they were shopping in shopping malls (RQ1). Therefore, H01 is rejected and there is evidence that the offline shoppers of this study are in fact computer and internet literate. Many of them indicated they were going online (RQ2) to collect information and do research on products to be better prepared shoppers before purchasing items in Issues in Information Systems Online Shopping Perceptions of Offline Shoppers traditional stores (72.4%) (RQ3). Only a small number of these consumers purchased the product online (1 to 5 times a year) after they found the searched product (32.3%) (RQ4). Therefore, H02 is also rejected and the contention offline shoppers of this study do in fact go online is supported. It is clear that the consumers of this study shop offline. However, a small number of them 32.3% while searching for information on different products online ended up purchasing the product online one to five times per year (29.7%). These individual cited the following reasons for completing the transaction online and purchasing the product they were researching for online: Familiarity with the online stores, No brick-and-mortar alternative (e-Bay, Amazon), Low-ticketed items. In addition, they considered ease of return the online-purchased item, and they thought the design of website was influential in their decision of finalizing the transaction and purchasing the product online. DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS Online shopping has already influenced shopping patterns and is expected to influence even more in the future with improvements in technology. Online shopping has made shoppers more knowledgeable than ever before. Consumers are becoming more efficient by shopping online and more effective because of ease of information accessibility online. Many shoppers go online for research purpose rather than purchase purpose. Prices and features of products can easily be compared to make an informed purchase decision. Information on products can be obtained from anywhere at anytime. The purchase is then made online or from a more tradition store. Especially for more expensive purchases, shoppers tend to take advantage of the availability of information online, replacing traditional methods of going from store to store in order to compare prices and look for the best buy. Consumers in this study as expected were mainly offline shoppers who were browsing the internet for information. They were computer literate and had access to the internet. This study reveals a positive attitude toward online shopping by those consumers who still like traditional stores. The consumers of this study are mostly in low and high age groups. It is possible that these consumer groups place a stronger emphasis on the social aspects of offline shopping and have more time to spend in traditional stores and malls and value the offline shopping experience for social reasons, such as meeting with friends. These consumers are technology oriented and take advantage of technology and the inter net to educate themselves about products of interest and then purchase them from traditional stores. CONCLUSION, LIMITATIONS, AND FUTURE WORKS Online shopping is a relatively new experience and has greatly impacted the lives of consumers in its short time of existence (Garrett & Parrott 2005). It is expected to grow constantly in years to come with more advancement in technology. Online shopping has made consumers more effective and efficient in their shopping behavior and has driven businesses to a new level, forcing many to make the necessary adjustments and changes to reach the new market of knowledgeable consumers (Lepkowska-White 2004; Schaupp and BÃ ©langer 2005). Tomorrow’s consumers include today’s elementary and secondary school students who grow up using browsers and search tools in order to retrieve information from global resources. The offline shoppers of this study indicated a positive perception of online shopping. These offline shoppers collected the necessary information online to facilitate their offline shopping, and it seems they are not too far away from completing the transaction and making the purchase online. It is important for businesses to find the online analogy of factors that make customers buy in a brick-and-mortar setting (Lepkowska-White 2004). Future studies should look into the factors preventing the current offline shoppers and online browsers from completing the transaction online after they have gained more knowledge about the product of interest. Factors encouraging individuals to complete a transaction online should be investigated. Future studies should also focus on what needs to be done in order to make the idea of online shopping in general more appealing to offline shoppers to turn more offline shoppers into online shoppers. In addition, perception of online shoppers toward traditional stores and onsite shopping should be considered. A perception comparison of online and offline shoppers on the internet and online shopping in general would facilitate understanding of restraining and motivational factors in online shopping. This survey was conducted in one region and future works should focus on different regions and classifications of consumers based on demographic make up such as age, income, and occupation. Cultural differences and online shopping would also be a good factor to examine (see for instance: Bin, Chen, and Sun 2003; Stafford, Turan and Raisinghani 2004). REFERENCES 1. Anonymous, 2002, Online Shoppers Grow Up Marketing Management, 11(3), 4. Bellman, S, G. L. Lohse, and E. J. Johnson, 1999, Predictors of Online Buying Behavior, Communications of the ACM, 42(12), 32-38. Bin, Q., C. Shu-Jen and S. Sun, 2003, Cultural Differences in E-Commerce: A Comparison Between the U.S. and China, Journal of Global Information Management, 11(2), 48-56. Chiang, K. and Ruby R. Dholakia, 2003, Factors Driving Consumer Intention to Shop Online: An Empirical Investigation, Journal of Consumer Psychology, 13(1, 2), 98-105. 4. Garrett, G. and G. Parrott, 2005, E-Business: Understanding Key Trends and Applying Best Practices, Contract Management, 45(7), 34-42. GfK Group, 2004, Market for Online Shopping Grows, Retrieved from: http://www.gfk.com/english/presse/pressemeldun g/contentdetail.php Girard, T., R. Silverblatt, and P. Korgaonkar, 2002, Influence of Product Class on Preference for Shopping on the Internet, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 8, 1-22. Huan g, W., H. Schrank and A.J. Dubinsky, 2004, Effect of Brand Name on Consumers’ Risk Perceptions of Online Shopping, Journal of Consumer Behavior, 4(1), 40-51. Jaillet, H.F., 2003, Web Metrics: Measuring Patterns in Online Shopping, Journal of Consumer Behavior, 2(4), 369-382. Kim E.Y. and Y. Kim., 2004, Predicting Online Purchase Intentions for Clothing Products, European Journal of Marketing, 38(7), 883-898. 12. Newbery, M., 2004, Trends in Apparel Online Retailing, Forecasts to 2010, Just in Style, 1-8. 13. Monsuwe, Perea y, T., B. Dellaert and K. de Ruyter, 2004, What Drives Consumers to Shop Online? A Literature Review, International Journal of Service Industry Management, 15(1), 102-122. 14. Preston-Hubbard, H. April 17, 2004, Growth Drives Revival in Internet Shares, International Herald Tribune. 15. Reinhardt, A., 2004, Europe Hits the E-Mall, Business Newsweek, 51-52. 16. Sager, I. and H. Green, 2002, So Where Are All the Bargains?, Business Week, 162-164. 17. Schaupp, L. and F. BÃ ©langer, 2005, A Conjoint Analysis of Online Consumer Satisfaction, Journal of Electronic Consumer Research, 6(2), 95-111. 18. Schoenbachler, D. and G. Gordon, 2002, Multichannel Shopping: Understanding What Drives Channel Choice, The Journal of Consumer Marketing, 19(1), 42-54. 19. Stafford, T.H., A. Turan and M. Raisinghani, 2004, International and Cross-Cultural Influences on Online Shopping Behavior, Journal of Global Information Technology Management, 7(2), 70-88. 20. Swinyard, W. R. and S. M. Smith, 2003, Why People (Don’t) shop Online: A Lifestyle Study of the Internet Consumer, Psychology and Marketing, 20, 567-597. 21. Tamimi, N., Sebastianelli, R. & Rajan M., 2005, What Do Online Customers Value?, Quality Progress, 38(7), 35-40.

The Early Purges & Woodchucks

If asked how one feels about animals, most people wouldn’t have a definite feeling one way or another. However, when an animal starts invading their lives and homes, a feeling of strong distaste emerges. Many would not think anything of killing a rodent or insect that started taking over their home; however most people wouldn’t kill a domesticated animal because it is taking up too much room or eating too much food. In fact, killing a domesticated animal, such as a dog or cat, today could result in jail.In the poems, â€Å"Woodchucks† by Maxine Kumin, and â€Å"The Early Purges† by Seamus Heaney, two drastic examples of killing an animal is discussed. Although both of these poems discuss the killing of animals; one is about the extermination of â€Å"pests† and the other is the killing of a family pet. Both poems tell a story of killing an animal; however, they are told from different perspectives. The following is a comparison of each of these poem s and discusses how even though the narrators share a common bond; their story is very different because of their point of view, style in telling the story, and tone in describing the killings.Poets use different points of view depending on how they want their audience to react to a certain poem. In the poem â€Å"Woodchucks†, the audience sees the poem through the eyes of the killer as the events are occurring. This allows the audience to have a better understanding of the events leading up to the killings and exactly how the killings occurred. The poet says, â€Å"Now drew a bead on the littlest woodchuck’s face† (Line 17), and â€Å"Ten minutes later I dropped the mother† (Line 19).The poet describes the actions of the woodchucks as they are happening as well this is seen when she says, â€Å"Next morning they turned up again, no worse† (Line 7), and â€Å"They brought down the marigolds as a matter of course and then took over the vegetable pa tch nipping the broccoli shoots, beheading the carrots† (Lines10-12). Because the events are being told in present tense by the killer, the reader is able to identify her actions and have an understanding for her justification; to save her garden and vegetables.Unlike â€Å"Woodchuck†, Heaney’s poem is told from the perspective of an adult looking back on an event that occurred in his childhood. In Heaney’s poem â€Å"The Early Purges†, an adult recalls a vivid childhood memory of kittens being drowned. In the very beginning of the poem he starts out by saying, â€Å"I was six when I first saw a kitten drown† (Line 1). Although the story is being told by adult, the reader can envision a six year old witnessing this tragic event.He remembers feeling as a child that this was a cruel punishment for the kittens, and states, â€Å"Suddenly frightened, for days I sadly hung Round the yard, watching the three sogged remains turn mealy and crisp as old summer dung† (Lines 10-12). Towards the end of the poem, the narrator, now an adult, has changed his attitude toward the killing of animals. Even though there is no other reason for killing them than to get them out of the way, he acts if killing any animal is warranted.This is seen when the poet says, â€Å"And now, when shrill pups are prodded to drown I just shrug, ‘Bloody Pups’† (Lines 16-18). All the sadness and pain he once felt is gone. The people and storyline in this poem is very different from those in â€Å"Woodchucks†, where the killing of the woodchucks was necessary to stop them from eating the garden. Here, there is no reason given that can justify the killing of the kittens and the only understanding is how the narrator was changed as a person by being a witness to the drownings.Every poet has their own style in the way they compose their work. Both, Kumin and Heaney share the same approach by telling a story within their poem. Al though both of their stories are about killing animals, the way in which they tell it leaves a different feeling for the animals and their killers. In â€Å"Woodchucks†, the narrator takes the readers through her thought process; first, killing the woodchucks becomes her goal; she even dreams about it, â€Å"I dream I sight along the barrel in my sleep† (Lines 27-28). This shows that she can’t stop thinking about it until she gets them.Then, she justifies her actions, â€Å"The case we had against them was airtight† (Line 4). By saying that they had a strong case against these animals, and that this was just the consequence of the woodchuck’s actions. The poet also talks about how the woodchucks are â€Å"taking the food from our mouths† (Line 13). Finally, her guilty conscience arises â€Å"If only they’d all consented to die unseen gassed underground the quiet Nazi way† (Lines 29-30). These last two lines show her guilt and h ow she wishes they had died when she tried gassing them so she wouldn’t feel as guilty.If they had died this way she would have not seen their faces when she killed them so it would have been less personal, but because she shot them one by one she saw each of their faces. In â€Å"The Early Purges† the setting of the farm allows for these differences to become apparent. When the narrator was younger he was exposed to these things. Although he did not agree with them, and he was frightened his exposure was a critical role in how he later justified his actions. When Dan Taggert said, â€Å"Sure isn’t it better for them now? † (Line 7).The child hearing this began to lose his innocence by witnessing the event and hearing that this action was acceptable, which leads him away from childhood and into adulthood where the poet used the farm to explain that, â€Å"on well-run farms pests must be kept down† (Line 21). This is the answer that the child that i s now grown and no longer innocent gives to justify his actions in harming animals. Finally tone is a technique used in both poems, but in different ways. In â€Å"Woodchucks† through her use of tone, the reader can observe a change in her attitude from one stanza to the next.The poet is pestered by woodchucks that are destroying her garden. The first stanza sets the story by saying, â€Å"Gassing the woodchucks didn’t turn out right† (Line 1). Kumin says the â€Å"knockout bomb† that she purchased was â€Å"featured as merciful, quick at the bone† (line 4). This shows that she hoped the gas would be a quick and easy solution to her woodchuck problem. Even though she was able to create an â€Å"airtight† seal on both exits of the underground tunnels, the gas was ineffective because the woodchucks â€Å"had a sub-sub basement out of range† (Line 6).The second stanza describes how the problems still persists and the woodchucks are back â€Å"taking over the vegetable patch nipping broccoli shoots, and beheading the carrots† (Lines 11-12). This shows that it has now become a personal war between her and the woodchucks because they are taking what is hers. In the third stanza she describes herself as a â€Å"pacifist fallen from grace† (Line 15). Which shows her killer instinct is taking over and because of this in the fourth stanza she shoots a mother woodchuck. In â€Å"The Early Purges†, the tone changes throughout the poem as well.The poet starts off as an innocent young child who thinks that the killing of these animals is cruel. This is seen after he witnesses a kitten being killed he says, â€Å"Suddenly frightened, for days I sadly hung Round the yard, watching the three sogged remains Turn mealy and crisp as old summer dung† (Lines 10-12). He sees this as wrong, but he is only a child and can do nothing to change what has happened. Finally he forgets what he has witnessed, but is frightened once again when he see Dan Taggert killing other animals with other cruel punishments.As the poem continues he is now an adult, and from having experienced all these punishments he has now learned to push his feelings aside this is seen when he says, â€Å"And now, when shrill pups are prodded to drown I just shrug, ‘Bloody pups’† (Line 18). He now has no feeling when he sees animals being killed because he has grown up being shown that this was common and acceptable in society. The tone of a poem also has a major impact on how the reader interprets the poet’s work. The use of adjectives, sarcasm and comparisons within the poem creates the mood for the story they are telling.In â€Å"Woodchucks† the tone varies from one stanza to the next. Within the first stanza, it is obvious that she is frustrated by the pestering woodchucks that are destroying her garden. She starts off by saying, â€Å"Gassing the woodchucks didn’t turn out right† (Line 1). Kumin says the â€Å"knockout bomb† that she purchased was â€Å"featured as merciful, quick at the bone† (line 4). She is obviously annoyed that the gas, which she thought would be a quick and easy solution to her woodchuck problem, failed even though she was able to create an â€Å"airtight† seal on both exits of the underground tunnels.In the second stanza she describes how the problems still persists and the woodchucks are back â€Å"taking over the vegetable patch nipping broccoli shoots, and beheading the carrots† (Lines 11-12). Her frustration has turned into anger and she now has a personal war between her and the woodchucks because they are taking what is hers. In the third stanza she describes herself as a â€Å"pacifist fallen from grace† (Line 15). Her killer instinct has taken over any guilty conscious she may have felt once she shoots a mother woodchuck as described in the fourth stanza.Through out the poem, her audience can relate to her frustration as well as to her guilty conscious. Like â€Å"Woodchucks, in â€Å"The Early Purges†, the tone changes throughout the poem as well, except that it covers a large time period rather than a couple of days. The poet starts off as an innocent young child who thinks that the killing of these animals is cruel. This is seen after he witnesses a kitten being killed intentionally. He describes feeling at the moment in the stanza, â€Å"Suddenly frightened, for days I sadly hung round the yard, watching the three sogged remains turn mealy and crisp as old summer dung† (Lines 10-12).He sees this as wrong, but he is only a child and can do nothing to change what has happened. Finally he forgets what he has witnessed, but is frightened once again when he see Dan Taggert killing other animals with other cruel punishments. As the poem continues he is now an adult, and from having experienced all these punishments he has now learned to push hi s feelings aside this is seen when he says, â€Å"And now, when shrill pups are prodded to drown I just shrug, ‘Bloody pups’† (Line 18).He now has no feeling when he sees animals being killed because he has grown up being shown that this was common and acceptable in society. Unlike the poem, â€Å"Woodchucks†, the tone of this poem is depressing as it includes the mind and heart of a child and how he was forever impacted by seeing the drowning. Further, there was no explanation for the killing except that it was a way of life, which offers little justification. At least in â€Å"Woodchucks†, there was a purpose and failed efforts of controlling the problem before she killed them.The authors’ stories in the poems, â€Å"Woodchucks† and â€Å"The Early Purges† are very different from each other even though they are both about killing an animal. In â€Å"Woodchucks† it is understandable why she had to kill the woodchucks as they were destroying her garden and eating her food. After other attempts, she was left with no choice. It is easy to feel compassion for her as even though she started acquiring a killer instinct, she felt guilty and remorse that it had come to her shooting them. In â€Å"The Early Purges†, there is more of a focus on the impacts the killing had on a child.Because there was no justification given for the killings it affected the narrator’s mind and emotional well being. He became hardened after witnessing the killing of family pets. Through each of the pieces of work, the style and tone of the poems was very different as they were from different perspectives. In â€Å"Woodchucks† the audience gets the story from the killer, herself, which provides more details in the process and in her thoughts. Whereas, in â€Å"The Early Purges†, the audience is left without answers and a rationale and instead are left wondering and pondering just like the narrator.

Oversea Study Agent in China Essay

1.0 Introduction As China’s refrom and opening up, foreign exchange increasing day by day. Studying abroad craze after another. More and more people chose to accept foreign advanced education. This report is small scale survey on experiences with the services of oversea study agencies, which in order to inform readers some informations about oversea study agencies, let them have a more comprehensive understanding of these agents. First, some basic overviews of oversea study agent such as what is the oversea study agent, the history and development of these agencies, the role and characteristics of oversea study agencies, will be described in this report. Then it also show some main problems of oversea study agencies, which include some illegal phoenomenons, professionalism of employee is low and regulatory mechanism is not perfect. Legal system is not perfect and the lack of high-quality personnel as the causes of problems followed by. At last the recommendation and conclusion will be illustrated. 2.0 Procedures This paper is after a group discussion and arrangements. Five education agents are investigated through telephone consultation, internet search, etc. They are Golden Oriental, Jin Gillette, Mei Grabrel, CIEC World Famous Studio to study vertical and horizontal, Zhong Rui in Shanghai. There are also some views reference by authority report. 3.0 Findings 3.1 Some basic overview of oversea study agent 3.1.1 What is oversea studying agencies Oversea study agent is a intermediary for students to studying abroad to other countries that provide school students application and visa application assistance and services. Everywhere in the world exist this industry. In China the first countries to ratify the legal service agencies to study abroad is very high, the first practitioners of the business background needed to be engaged in education institutions, so the first batch of approved institutions most comprehensive university with some formal or large state government departments, only two company are private institutions, Jin Gillette in Beijing and Zhong Rui in Shanghai . And the choice of this two institutions are engaged in their education both at the same time quite strong behind the enterprise groups as the background. Second and subsequent access to qualified institutional conditions in the application than the first batch of great relaxation, an increase of more institutions, but are required to be registered within the legal institutions. 3.1.2 The role of oversea study agent First, providing professional guidance to reduce the personal trouble. This is the most important role of education agents. The current situation is that most people and institutions of education abroad do not quite understand the situation, the role of intermediaries is to use the relationship with foreign educational institutions, combined with national policies to individuals and schools to study the national situation, to apply for admission, handle Visa and other relevant information and advice. Procedures for many students, if they apply the words of ordinary people, not only spend more time, and error-prone, with the help of an intermediary, you can greatly reduce such problems. Second, providing legally qualified schools. It is understood that there are two types of foreign registered schools, one is teaching institutions, although another category called the school, but in fact is the company, and such registration requirements of the company’s relatively loose, the more difficult for teachers and teaching quality assurance. Chinese government prohibited foreign institutions and educational service agencies engaged in recruiting activities on their own in, requiring direct intermediary service organizations and educational institutions with foreign universities signed a cooperation agreement and submit the location of the relevant provincial education administrative departments for the record, but also requires foreign school to provide the Embassy of China in the internationally renowned certification other than the institutions. The goal is to prevent a number of international universities and the poor quality of some multinational companies fraud in China. Therefore, the study intermediary agreements with foreign institutions of higher learning in schools is actually a constraint, so as to ensure the quality of teaching in schools and individual rights. Then, to help design individual study plans. Study abroad is a new way of learning in China, so most Chinese people find it difficult to design their own study plan. There arise a phenomenon that many people have chosen wrong counties, wrong school or wrong professional. The losses are difficult to be measured by money. Study intermediary with resources, according to consumer expertise, interests and financial ability to provide consumers with a most appropriate and most effective way to study. In addition, there is a balance the function of oversea study agencies for market supply and demand. As with other products in the market, study abroad market also has a supply and demand balance. The difference is that, as the case involves foreign students, consumers are poorly understood, the role of intermediaries is that the students grasp the situation told the consumer market, and guide consumers in different countries and schools to filter, so that the education market and a balanced supply and demand. 3.2 Problems of oversea study agencies It is report that â€Å"Golden Oriental† has the trap of going abroad, 15 students trapped in Germany. A parents said the â€Å"Golden Oriental† is a German training center in Qingdao, the main business is to recruit students to learn German. Enrollment in the center, forward to introduce registration of students and parents â€Å"to learn the language here, must we go through the exit of the relevant procedures.† This fully demonstrates the agency of studying abroad at this stage still exit some problems. 1. Some illegal phenomenon First, unauthorized business in the studying intermediary. Without the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Public Security issued a â€Å"permit to study intermediary services,† without the approval of the administrative department for industry and commerce registration, engaging in business activities of education agents. In Beijing there are still some people who employ by the â€Å"three no company† (no license, no office, no charge certificate) to the embassy in front of students engaged in activities of intermediary services around by some foreign embassies. These illegal intermediary agencies in profits, driven by the illicit in intermediary services. Second, there is a linked management phenomenon. Linked management is some of the illegal gain qualification in legal education agents affiliated companies access to the following qualification to the legitimate operations of those features. There are some study intermediaries authorized by the parent company of illegally engaging in a branch or branches of intermediary business, the umbrella agency to act as illegal. Finally, some foreign companies do illegally business in China. State expressly that foreign investment institutions in the country engaged in the study can not be mediated. But there are still some companies as the representative of the foreign school or under the banner of the Office of foreign schools in China to enroll students. 3.2.2 Professionalism of employee is low It is understood that practitioners who have the correlated educational background in the study abroad agency are less than 50ï ¼â€¦. Management has not issued specific standards for employees in certificates, but no appraisal system. Most of the intermediary’s employees are recruited from the community, by the agency after a simple training to induction, a considerable number of other employees in the state organs or institutions of workers retire, there officers aging. Therefore, the variation in levels of professional and reduce the agency’s service quality and effectiveness of the service extensively restricted. 3.2.3 Regulatory mechanism is not perfect At current situation, it has not specifical laws and regulations on the study abroad agency to regulate behaviours they have. At the same time, the management of policies from different departments, regulatory agencies is not clear. It is a more complex work to supervision and management the intermediary services for studying abroad. Too few managers, industry and commerce, are also responsible for public security, there is busy. Three units of the joint action, they often stay in the rectification movement style, and they can not do more frequent, thorough and meticulous work, so that the management is difficult to place. 3.3Causes of the problems 3.3.1Legal system is not perfect Currently, the state has not the development of social intermediary organizations and the general considerations of unified planning, there is no national authority in charge of social intermediary organizations and coordination of departments, to study abroad agency management and macro-control weaknesses still exist. Government lack of studying abroad Pan strictly regulate intermediary management, law degree is not high. Market economy is the legal economy, study abroad agency to rely on laws and regulations to locate and act. However the legal management of oversea study agencies has a far way from the establishment of socialist market economy. 3.3.2The lack of high-quality personnel Oversea study agency is a strong professional service, foreign language level requirements high. Thus, requiring that their employees must have a high quality of cultural knowledge, good professional service and knowledge of international practice. However, there are talents in this area obviously can not keep up the situation and development needs: the quality of personnel is not high, the shortage of professionals. 4.0 Recommendation At present, more and more people choose to go abroad, the oversea study agent play an important role in China. However, there are still exit the problems which mentioned above. So some measures must be taken such as effectively strengthen the supervision and management of education agents’waste, further improve the advertising review and investigation, to increase the intensity modulation of employees’ education and training, improve relevant laws and regulations to standardize and restrain intermediary acts. 5.0 Conclusion Whit the boom of study abroad set off, oversea study agency has become an indispensable institution to student. It provide professional guidance, provide legally qualified schools, help design individual study plans and so on. However, there are still some problems that can damages the interests of consumers. When people choosing the oversea study agencies, both advantages and disadvantages should be considered. Whit the sound of legal system and the development of market economy in China, problems in the intermediary agencies of study abroad will be solved. Their business will be more and more standardized. 6. Reference Gousheng Li, 2006-10-29, Study abroad at one’s own expenses intermediaraes’problems and countermeasures. Junrong Yan, 2001-12-4, Education agents, you play what role http://baike.baidu.com/view/864680.htm http://www.runsky.com/homepage/study/abroad/news/userobject1ai413028.html

Argument and Counterarguement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Argument and Counterarguement - Essay Example In addition, Anderson highlights the fact that the state recognizes the union of males and females but not same sex marriages. In his conclusion, he emphasizes that marriages as recognized by the state, should be that of a man and woman, a relationship â€Å"ideal for procreative love, childbearing and childrearing† (Anderson). Anderson deduced that a marriage should be between a male and female from the fact that only a sexual relationship between a man and woman can make reproduction possible. He claims that marriage is intentionally for the reproduction of the human species. Since same-sex-relationships by nature cannot make reproduction possible, heterosexual marriages are believed to be what satisfies this objective of marriage. As Anderson says, â€Å"Marriage is based on the biological fact that reproduction depends on a man and a woman† therefore, marriage should be between opposite sexes. This argument is valid because it is based from observable facts. Anderson considers the emotional aspect of relationships and he does not disregard its importance in the union of two people. The emotional aspect is a vital consideration in every relationship however it is only a heterosexual relationship that can satisfy the emotional needs of each partner as well as the objective of marriage which is hav ing children. Although Anderson has a good point, such argument may not seem sound to other readers because not all people getting in a relationship would really want to have children. Moreover, not all heterosexual relationships can really successfully produce children just like the case of infertile men or of barren women. Using inductive reasoning, Anderson comments that based from religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam, marriage has always been recognized to be the union of males and females. Trying not to limit his position on the issue in accordance to religious views, the author also presents the philosophies of the great ancient Greek and