An Enquiry into The Efficiency of Celebrity Endorsement As A Marketing Dissertation

An Enquiry into The Efficiency of Celebrity Endorsement As A Marketing Communication Strategy In Modern Day Society - Dissertation Example Consumers are bombarded with advertisements featuring popular celebrities from various fields, thus exposing them to thousands of attractive images and voices – be it in print i.e. magazines, newspapers, billboards, or websites or through other audio-visual media such as radio and television. The use of celebrities for advertising has existed historically, but the trend has caught momentum and the use of celebrities for endorsing brands has increased substantially over the recent decades and is known to have a substantial and positive impact on a companies’ profitability (Erdogan, 2001). According to Shimp (2000) one out of four commercials on television on American television features a celebrity. The main aim of brands is to attract the attention of their prospective consumers and communicate information about their products to their target audience, by highlighting various attributes of their brand and associating the same with a popular celebrity. This paper aims to analyze, and understand the effectiveness of the use of celebrities for brand endorsements as a marketing strategy. ... Figure 1: Royal Cocoa Advertisement, 1884 Although the use of celebrities was relatively less as compared to that witnessed in present times (Kaikati, 1987), as celebrities in those days were vary of associating with a brand and risking their credibility in the process. The late 1970s saw a sharp rise in the trend, where celebrities began to consent to associate with certain brands (Thompson, 1978). With the expansion of film industry and a simultaneous growth in the television sector, the number of celebrities rose substantially, and the avenues for advertisements too increased manifold, as the marketers now had an access to a wider variety of celebrities to choose from. The trend was similar in most of the countries across the globe. In UK for instance, according to a report published in a magazine (Marketing, 1996) the brands which featured celebrities as their key endorsers were quick to grab national headlines and gain instant popularity. The success of use of celebrities as bra nd ambassadors could be established from the fact that the amount offered to them crossed over one billion dollars. Such an offer was made mostly to athletes, owing to their fame and popularity among the consumers. Celebrity Endorsers: Meaning, Relevance and Significance It is common knowledge now, that most of the retail advertisements today feature celebrities (White et al., 2009). The term celebrity endorser includes all popular people from various fields such as films, sports, or artists and who have achieved significant success in their respective fields (James, 2004). According to McCracken (1989) the term celebrity endorser can be defined as "any individual who enjoys

Preschooler observation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Preschooler observation - Essay Example Among his fellows he was looking aggressive and a bit ailing (Berger, p.210-212). The three were standing in a row while about four or five children were motivating them to start the race. One of them count up to three and the race begun. Jacob fell to the ground and lost the race, but his reaction was very unnatural. He started crying and called himself a loser who cannot win anything. I approached him and asked why he is crying? He replied quickly that I am a loser because I didnt win the race and I never wins, furthermore, that "all my mates think I am a loser in light of the fact that I always cry. They make fun of me for my crying." I attempted to console him and let him know I did not think he was a loser. He was just assuming himself a loser on the basis of his past experiences but have no logical understanding (Berger, p. 182). I told him that his friends were playing with colorful cards while he was trying to climb rings. This made him tired while his fellows were relaxed and full of energy. Some of his friends called him to play with them, but he refused and remained crying. I tried to convince him that his friends are still eager to play with him because for them he is their friend not a loser. He was hard to convince because at the time he was relating many other things to his failure, perhaps the behavior of his parents, siblings and caregivers (Berger, p. 216). His attitude made me think about his family and I assumed that he is from a family where his parents are too busy to spend time with him and his elder siblings may tease him and discourage him in doing things. Jacob’s social and emotional behavior was influenced by his fellows at the center. His fellows won the race and this made him cry and aggressive that why he didn’t win the race. His stressed reaction showed that he never got encouragement from others, hence he strongly believed that he cannot win as he has no traits of winners. At this age group, children are open to

Research Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Research Proposal - Essay Example In essence, public policy has played a key part in addressing the issue of poverty (Lee 2006). Assessment of governments’ use of public policy in addressing the issue of poverty is a concern that needs to be articulated upon comprehensively since poverty has been widely known to carry luggage of other economic and social dev elopements. For example, studies have documented that if the issue of poverty can be solved, several other issues such as GDP can be partially be solved. In another dimension, study of how public policy can be used in eradicating poverty can be argued to possess great impact on identifying and raising issues that can help governments in making necessary measures that can help solve not only poverty issue but also other problems affecting the public (Chaturvedy 2005). In addition, in the process of investigating the phenomena at hand, it is apparent that different frameworks of how different governments have used in utilisation of public policy in addressin g public issues will be highlighted. This way, there will be a broader spectrum of how identified frameworks by successful governments can be applied by unsuccessful governments. In essence, the concern of the study will also try to interpret the differences that are recorded in different approaches of public policies in addressing public issues. 1.1 Research Questions Can public policy be used to solve the issue of poverty? In what ways can public policy be used to solve the issue of poverty? What are effects of failure to use public policy in solving the issue of poverty? 1.2 Objectives of the Study General objective To investigate if public policy can be used to solve the issue of poverty Specific objectives To assess ways in which public policy can be used to solve the issue of poverty To find out the effects of failure to use public policy to solve the issue of poverty 1.3 Conceptual Framework Independent variables Independent variable 2 Literature review Application of public policy in addressing public problems One of the apparent functions of public policy is the creation of legislations of social policies. In fact, as Lee 2006 asserted, the initial step in solving poverty issue is by putting social legislations in place. In this regard, the issue of public policy comes in. Nevertheless, focus on how an issue like poverty can be solved needs a clear articulation of several things. Basically, a government needs to conduct some research and evaluate the necessary steps to be taken in order to solve the problem. The below sections highlight some areas that governments can put public policy into action in order to curb the menace of poverty. 2.1 Creation of Labour Institutions One of the challenges of eradicating poverty is the issue of unemployment and poor employment conditions. Studies have indicated that countries with high unemployment rates experiences lower economic growth and are reported to have a higher level of poverty than counties with higher employment rates (Chaturvedy 2005). Poverty can be defined under

Building an Ethical Organization Part 2 Essay Example for Free

Building an Ethical Organization Part 2 Essay Individual: Building an Ethical Organization Part 1 The name of my organization is Focus Mental Health and Developmental Agency Focus is an agency that provides help and compassion to people that are going through a mental health issue whether it is needing counseling, support, or medication treatment Focus is your path to peace of mind. Substance abuse is another issue that we address from helping to get assistance to go into inpatient treatment facility, or outpatient treatment, as well as Aftercare which is a support program for clients being fresh out of drug or alcohol treatment or stopping using on their own. Recovery program that can be provided through Focus for continued success at a productive life for clients. Recovery is a life altering event because the client will be drug or alcohol free for a certain amount of time but will constantly be on a mission to stay free from these addictions. We have case managers who do home visits as well as office visits to stay on top of our clients’ needs before they become a crisis. We promote medication therapy which assists clients in staying on a strict medication regiment for mental health and some substance abuse treatments as well when necessary. Groups for substance and alcohol abuse meet weekly, the meeting are separated in to one for teenagers and one for adults as well as one for narcotics and one for alcohol abuse. Focus also has a team that works in human services call the impact team which do such things as take the clients grocery shopping, or to appointments or out to functions in town and even to visit family members they a re up close and personal with the clients. The clientele for Focus will be children starting at age 10 and up through adulthood. The clients are high in number in male and female ratio, meaning we service high numbers of both genders. Clientele for Focus consist of primarily low income clients but is open to all residents of Richmond County. Children and adults that may be going through a turning point in their lives and need some assistance in adapting to the changes and probably have no other place  to turn are much of Focus clientele. Within our substance abuse programs many of our clients are repeaters they have had some type of counseling or treatment in the past, the clients are children as well as adults. Much of our clientele is involved in long term care phases with Focus they are in need of support in their lives, medications and usually involved in aftercare or recovery. Mental health issues brings many clients to Focus, they sometimes come straight from the hospital to the offices of Focus they are usually in great need of care. Our clientele is very diverse we have to be prepared for almost anything from getting someone to speak another language to clients to giving a child a hug. Focus is a non-profit organization, but we do bring in an income by charging for services, on a sliding fee scale, services maybe free for those who qualify, or clients can setup a payment plan, but the rates are according to income and ability to pay. Focus has to charge a small fee to cover their bills and overhead to stay in business and grow and continue to service the Richmond County area. Focus is not in business to get wealthy but to make a difference in the lives of our clients and the community. The issue of Focus is to support an issue of private or public interest that does not include a monetary value. Mission Statement: Focus gracefully and respectfully service adults and children that may be at a turning point in their life and are having mental health and/or substance abuse issues, as well as people in any phase of relapse. Focus particularly caters to low income people but all are welcome, we serve the county of Richmond. Our goal is to provide our clients with the knowledge, treatment and support so they can return to a life of independence, good health and wellbeing; and Focus encourages and support clients in their aftercare and recovery as needed. We do not discriminate against anyone needing service for any reason; we are made up of a diverse society at Focus. The mission statement supports the ethical system because Focus not only will treat the clients and bring them around to better health and not only that Focus will make sure that the clients learns the tools they need to stay healthy and recover, and continue on a path to independence again. The mission statement supports the ethical s ystem because it calls for diversity which is a big part of the clients that come to the agency and the staff. The  message the mission statement send to the community is that we are here for you, to help you, support you and see that your needs are met. Focus will be with you through your journey and for the long term until you are able to become more manageable in your life. That during your need for Focus services you can count on us and we will teach you how to take the best care of yourself with and without our assistance. Drohan William M, (June 2010) wrote a successful statement becomes a unifying force, a foundation on which to build, and a reference point for everything the association does. Its well worth the time to make sure it is written in such a way that it will serve as a guide and an inspiration for many years to come. Values statement: At Focus we value and treat everyone that comes through our doors with mutual respect and dignity. We will have acceptance of all people regardless if there is any kind of difference between us, we will always embrace diversity. Focus will respect each client’s privacy by protecting their medical records at all times, and allowing only staff directly involved with client care to view records. There will be no room for sexual harassment of clients or staff. Kernaghan, K. (2003) writes, A values statement expressing values that are shared at all organizational levels-combined with the dispersal of leadership roles throughout the organization-provides an especially strong foundation for integrating values into public service. These values will inspire action and influence behavior because it states that you will be treated with mutual respect, so clients will know to be on their best behavior and staff will know that also as well as being professional at all times. By accepting d iversity that lets all clients know that they are welcome, important and will be getting equal treatment. The clients will feel protected knowing their medical records are kept confidential and they will not be sexually harassed during their visit. They both call for treating the clients with mutual respect, regardless of any type of differences that maybe. Values and mission statements both state that they are for diversity so it includes people, make people want to come forward and get care. Knowledge and support for the clients is a part of the values statement as well as the mission statement. Long term care is part of each statement which would usually be necessary for Mental Health and Substance abuse treatment. The mission statement and the values  statement in different ways states that they want the best for the clients, want them to get the best service or treatment available at Focus, so they can be their best. Code of Ethics All employees will abide by these codes of ethics at all times (except when necessary not to), we will present good conduct ourselves at all times to be a credit to the organization and the community we serve. Yi-Hui, Haung, (2010) states, First, responding to the argument that ethics codes are not an effective indicator of professionalism, I believe that a code of ethics is part of the standards that must be fulfilled for an occupation to be a profession, especially for public relations. 1.All staff should attempt to meet the needs of their clients, including committing to and respecting client rights and maintaining confidentiality at all times, except in special cases. 2.Staff should be knowledgeable in a variety of areas and situations in order to be able to effectively perform their duties in human services. 3.All staff must work well with their peers and should show mutual respect for one another, and avoid negative criticism. 4.All staff must carry themselves in a professional manner at all times and must not let their personal lives interfere with being professional on the job. 5.All staff should work for the benefit of society and make sure that all clients equal rights are protected and have an opportunity for helpful services that meet their need. 6.Staff will not argue with clients or other staff if a situation should come up between either of the two it must be taken to the supervisor and dealt with directly if the situation cannot be handle in any other fashion 7.All staff must vow to speak up if they see or know of another employee that is violating the codes of ethics, the law, or a client these matters must be addressed with your immediate supervisor. 8.The use of drugs will not be tolerated, and the use of alcohol while on the clock will not be tolerated either, if you suspect another employee report it, it is for the safety and protection of the organization. 9.All employees should exercise their power to prevent mistakes or wrongdoing by ask ing questions at the right time. 10.All staff should respect the property of others, be honest and not take unfair advantage of other employees. The code of ethics inspires a tangible outcome from an employee because they will want to be the best example for the organization and their peers. The  code of ethics would cause the employee to check their work more carefully and make sure it is done correctly and by the law as well as dealing with the clients. The code also helps the employees feel protected, because it sets rules and guidelines for the employees and all must abide by them equally. The code of ethics is related to the mission and values of the organization because they are there to co-inside with each other for the direction of the organization, and the protection of the clients and staff. All three are necessary for the good of the organization, the focus and the goal to be effective. Our organization plans on having a relaxing, calm, approachable family oriented culture. The atmosphere will be calming, loud noise will be prevented as much as possible, and we tell our clients to invite a family member if possible to the appointments. Our staff will carry themselves in a professional, plight and clam manner in order to set an example for the clients, so they will not get excited. The culture will institutionalize the organizations values by having them mesh together. When the clients see how the environment of the organization is they will be more than willing to come to their appointments regularly and participate in their treatment and perhaps invite a family member. Even though this will be a change for the clients from an institution staff will do everything to help them adjust. Focus employees will treat everyone with dignity, respect, honest, and kindness this is the type of atmosphere we represent. Identifying my moral responsibility as a leader is of importance, because the workers will be watching and imitating the kind of behavior that I display, the leader sets the mood in the environment in the whole organization. I will be responsible for all action that I take part in, and be honest and truthful in all my actions. While trying to maintain the ethical standard I will be evaluating their performance in six month intervals and on their anniversary date. For the six month if no problems the employee will get a gift card to a store and for the anniversary day they get a raise. I will have a one on one meeting to talk about their performance evaluation and their strengths and weakness and how they can improve during their job. I will keep a record of all evaluation so I can assist workers in being the best employee they can be. I will lead by example. Part of my moral responsibility is to lead the worker to the best of my abilities. I wil l make sure that I set the same kind of ethical  standards that I would like for my workers to follow. Morals have to do with values and values relate to compassion, integrity, and dignity and these are things that I will display while I am in a leadership role. I will maintain Focus ethical standard while measuring the workers performance by treating all employees as individuals and as fair as possible. There will be an ethics committee which will consist of the me, my boss and one employee so the employees will have a voice. The ethics committee will review the evaluations to make sure all rule and guidelines have been followed and the committee will study different methods and organization policy to look for what is right and what is wrong. Other than me leading by example and the ethics committee the workers will follow suit and become loyal employees. The structures I would put in place for oversight is training for employees, evaluate new employees the first six months of em ployment. In conclusion the mission and value statements and the code of ethics form the core of Focus is something that clients and employees can value in the organization. They serve as a guiding tool for employees so they can give their clients the best service practically every time. Effective leadership is necessary for morale and production in the organization and that comes from a good leader. Performance evaluations will play an important role in the structure of the employee’s positions. Periodical performance evaluations are necessary in order to evaluate the performance of the employees and maintain an ethical standard. The Focus is a place where people with mental health issues and/or substance abuse issues can come for help and get their needs met and feel safe. References Drohan, W. M. (1999, January). Writing a mission statement. Association missions statement; writing, 51(1), 1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/229219642? Kernaghan, K. (2003). Integrating values in to public services: The value statement as a centerpiece. Public Administration Review, 63(6), 711-719. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy..apollolibrary.com/docview/197169756? Huang, Y. (2010, June). Should a public relations code of efforts be enforced.. Journal of Business Ethics, 31(3), 259-270. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.exproxy.apollolibrary

miscarriages of justice Essays -- essays research papers

The statement "It is better that 10 guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer" summarises and highlights the mistakes and injustices in the criminal justice system. In a just society, the innocent would never be charged, nor convicted, and the guilty would always be caught and punished. Unfortunately, it seems this would be impossible to achieve due to the society in which we live. Therefore, miscarriages of justice occur in the criminal justice system more frequently than is publicised or known to the public at large. They are routine and would have to be considered as a serious problem in our society. The law is what most people respect and abide by, if society cannot trust the law that governs them, then there will be serious consequences including the possible breakdown of that society. In order to have a fair and just society, miscarriages of justice must not only become exceptional but ideally cease to occur altogether. A miscarriage of justice is basically "a failure to attain the desired end result of justice". In our society, every person should be treated equally and fairly as "our legal institutions are premised on the idea that our legal system is both neutral and impartial, and that all persons are equal in the eyes of the law". The country in which we were born, the language we speak, the colour of our skin and our gender should be of no relevance in deciding the outcome of justice. All these notions are part of "due process" and if this occurs in our society, why are there still miscarriages of justice? Our legal system is based on the fact that everyone deserves a fair hearing. In theory this is ideal, but due to human nature mistakes will always occur. The introduction of DNA into the courtroom ( which can free innocent people wrongfully convicted of a crime twenty years ago) and Anderson's view on allowing juries to ask questions and participate more in tria ls (by stating the evidence on which they base their convictions), on the surface appear beneficial to the outcome of justice, and in some cases this will be the result. However, justice will always be hindered by humans and their corrupt side. Unfortunately, this is part of human nature and even the people in high positions are not immune. When a person is accused of being "guilty", society must assume the person is innocen... ...ct that in less serious crimes the defendant will plead guilty in order to receive a better deal. The theories of Anderson, Hogg,Walker and Wilson are justified opinions and could be advantageous to the criminal justice system. However, even if these theories are implemented into our society, corruption will still always occur. Unfortunately, it is just part of human nature. It is futile to establish new methods of judgement without considering the fact that corruption occurs throughout all levels of society. Juries, police, and lawyers can all be persuaded and succumb to corruption if it suits their needs to do so. Likewise, DNA samples can be tampered with or plagued by human error. It is a vicious circle and until human beings change, miscarriages will continue to occur. Miscarriages of justice are definitely not exceptional and occur much more frequently than most people realise. They place a great burden on our society as a whole and cause injustices and hardships to many people. Just because we do not hear about them, does not mean they don't exist. As Walker states "s ince justice is applied by fallible, prejudiced human beings, miscarriages are inevitable".

Internet Privacy in the Modern World Essay

The internet’s debut in 1988 which had revolutionized commercial transactions all around the globe had grown exponentially over the past decade. In fact, the world internet users and population statistics by the Miniwatts Marketing Group (2009) showed that 23.5% of the world’s population are internet users and that the growth of internet users from 2000-2008 is 336.1 %. This rapid increase in internet users paved the way for the development of electronic commerce or E-commerce. E-commerce, the exchange of information, goods or services online, had also gained popularity over time as more and more people discover the expediency of online transactions. However, the internet, which is a huge storage room of information, poses risks to one’s privacy through these E-commerce transactions. The privacy risks faced by internet users is one of the biggest threats in E-commerce, thus, this paper’s purpose is to provide information regarding internet privacy and the dangers associated with the loss of that privacy through the discussion of the following topics: the definition of internet privacy, the means through which one’s privacy can be compromised through the internet and the reason why internet privacy had become a major public concern. I. What is Internet Privacy? Internet privacy, which is another branch of privacy, is a basic human right. It refers to an individual’s ability to protect information about himself (Gadberg, Wagner & Brewer, n.d.). Privacy is protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and by various laws in different countries around the world. According to the initial results of the data privacy survey conducted by the director of the Philippine Internet Commerce Society, Atty. Lalen Parlade, almost all respondents in the private sector believed that data privacy is part of every person’s right to privacy, and that this right imposes limitations on the use by the government of citizens’ personal data (including name, personal circumstances, contact information), and limitations on the collection and use by private individuals of an individual’s personal data (including name, personal circumstances, contact information, credit card) . On the internet, privacy can be divided into personal information privacy, privacy of communications and anonymity. Personal information privacy deals with the amount of personal information shared with anyone else on the internet without permission. Privacy communications or message privacy is concerned with the security of information sent through communication channels, that is, the information sent would not be intercepted and leaked en route. Finally, anonymity deals with keeping one’s identity confidential (â€Å"Privacy,† n.d.). Among the three aspects of privacy, internet privacy is closely linked to anonymity which is the privacy of identity. Anonymity can refer to either persistent anonymity or one-time. Persistent anonymity refers to an online persona different from the personality created. On the other hand, one-time anonymity refers to an online persona that lasts for one use (Gadberg, Wagner & Brewer, n.d.). II. In what ways can one’s privacy be compromised through the Internet? One’s internet privacy can be compromised due to various data mining devices which store an individual’s personal information usually without that person’s consent. Some of the most common devices that collect a person’s data are search engines, spywares and cookies. Almost every individual who uses the internet is familiar with search engines such as Yahoo, MSN and Google. Search engines are the tools one uses when looking for information in the World Wide Web, the results of the search which are called hits are presented in a list. It is widely used for data gathering in the internet. In fact, the word google, the name of the leading search engine today, is starting to become a verb which is synonymous to look up or search. However, using search engines also has its costs, one of which was explained by Rushe (2007) in his statement, â€Å" A lot of people don’t realize that search engines save everything for you, everything you’ve searched for†¦the more these issues get into press, the more people realize that when they sit down at their keyboard, they’re being watched.† Many companies, including Internet Service Providers, search engine firms, and web-based businesses, monitor users as they travel across the Internet, collecting information on what sites they visit, the time and length of these visits, search terms they enter, purchases they make, or even â€Å"click-through† responses to banner ads. In the off-line world this would be comparable to, for example, having someone follow you through a shopping mall, scanning each page of every magazine you browse though, every pair of shoes that you looked at and every menu entry you read at the restaurant. When collected and combined with other data such as demographic or â€Å"psychographic† data, these diffuse pieces of information create highly detailed profiles of net users. These profiles have become a major currency in electronic commerce where they are used by advertisers and marketers to predict a user’s preferences, interests, needs and possible future purchases. Most of these profiles are currently stored in anonymous form. However, there is a distinct likelihood that they will soon be linked with information, such as names and addresses, gathered from other sources, making them personally identifiable (â€Å"Privacy and Human Rights 2003: Threats to Privacy,† n.d.). Due to these reasons, the public started to doubt the credibility of search engine companies. Google, which is the most popular search engine today, is feared by many. As expressed by Jesdanun (2001), â€Å"Although many internet users eagerly await technology from Google, Inc., it’s rapid expansion is also promoting concerns that the company may know too much: what you read, where you surf and travel and whom you write.† According to Chris Hoofnagle, senior counsel of the Electric Privacy Information Center,† This is a lot of information in a single basket. Google is becoming one of the largest privacy risks on the internet† (as cited by Jesdanu n,2001). In, addition to search engines there are spywares whose existence places computer users under constant surveillance by strangers. Spyware may be described as any software that uses a person’s internet connection as a backdoor approach intended to access personal or business information, without the knowledge or consent of the computer user. Spyware is often introduced into computers when people download files off the internet. File sharing can pose risks of spyware download, when people download music, movie or other types of p2p file sharing programs. Marketing and promotional companies use spyware as an effective tool, to access and collect information from computers. Spyware enables them to observe sites being visited, products being bought, chat line discussions, topics of interest, online searches by the user and the information obtained, allows the marketing company to direct targeted products or services. Spyware revolves around information going out to promotional companies and related advertisements coming in via the internet by way of email or pop-ups ads. Needless to say that spyware poses an immense threat to any computer user and can lead to the loss of privacy, stolen identity and financial risks. Spyware is a comprehensive term that includes adware,a trojan horse, a browser hijacker, keyloggers, and dataminers all of which affect online privacy. (â€Å"Are Your Computer Activities under Surveillance by Strangers,† n.d.). Finally, there are cookies. Almost every media site on the net uses cookies. Popular blogs have embraced them, Google and Yahoo! dispatch them to better target ads, retailers like Amazon rely on them to fulfill orders and even Sesame Street deploys them on its Web site. Cookies are simply text files sent by a Web site to your computer to track your movements within its pages. They’re something like virtual license plates, assigned to your browser so a site can spot you in a sea of millions of visitors. Cookies remember your login and password, the products you’ve just bought, or your preferred color scheme. Cookies make navigating the Web profoundly easier; however, there are third-party cookies which are also known as â€Å"tracking cookies† that are placed by an entity that’s interested in tagging visitors. Often they make sure a user won’t be hit with the same ad twice; others guarantee that someone who says they have an interest in sports gets different ads than someone who likes gadgets. But third-party cookies could also be used to compile a dossier of surfing habits, that means that it could track you over dozens of sites, logging every article you read, every ad you click on, and every gadget and gizmo you buy without your knowledge or approval (Penenberg, 2005). III. Why is Internet Privacy a major public concern? The great innovation that has led to the e-commerce revolution over the past decade has been the result of an open and flexible network environment with ever increasing connectivity and functionality. Unfortunately, this has also created many security vulnerabilities which represent a threat to users of the internet and to e-commerce merchants. Due to the glitch in the internet’s security system, privacy has become a major concern on the internet. The extraordinary growth of the Internet has created a number of privacy issues that society has never encountered before and therefore has been slow to address. Privacy issues on the Internet relate to two major concerns. The first concern is to control the rate, type and sequence of the information one views. A second concern relates to the ability of users to address and understand how organizations collect and use personal information on the Internet (â€Å"Internet Privacy,† n.d.). The first concern which is a control concern is the category to which spam belongs. Spam refers to a huge number of unwanted mails which are usually for commercial purposes. This is applicable to e-mails which convey the same message but sent repeatedly by the sender. This violates one’s privacy because it intrudes upon an individual’s private space and it results from the circulation of one’s e-mail address in the internet. The second concerns the various methods through which data privacy can be violated online through the use of information collected by commercial organizations. As Givens (2001) pointed out,† News stories of internet privacy threats are common place these days. The internet was designed as an inherently insecure communications vehicle. Hackers easily penetrate the most secure facilities of the military and financial institutions. Internet companies have designed numerous ways to track web users as they travel and shop throughout cyberspace. â€Å"Cookie† is no longer a word associated solely with sweets. It now refers to cyber-snooping. Identity thieves are able to shop online anonymously using credit-identities of others. Web-based information brokers sell sensitive personal data, including social security numbers, relatively cheaply. â€Å" One of the concerns raised by a number of individuals is the use of one’s stored information which refers to the fact that one’s online actions could be monitored by unauthorized parties, logged and preserved for future access many years later. One might not realize that one’s personal information has been monitored, logged and subsequently disclosed; those who would compromise one’s privacy have no incentive to give a warning (Gadberg, Wagner& Brewer, n.d.). Thereby, the accrued information about an individual’s transactions can incriminate or cause damage to the person from whom that information was collected. Another public concern is identity theft. Puno pointed out that the advent of the internet had provided â€Å" a new field of battle† in the right to privacy, saying that it may deprive individuals of the right to control the flow of information about themselves (as cited by Uy, March 13, 2008). The huge amount of information flowing freely on the internet makes an individual vulnerable to identity theft. Identity theft is a major problem and a vexing threat. It takes diverse forms and degrees ranging from simple unauthorized use of a credit card to complete takeover of a person’s identity. Furthermore, law enforcement officers find it difficult to identify and apprehend online Identity thieves. This may be due to the fact that they can use technology to conceal their identities and physical location, thereby frustrating law enforcement efforts to locate them. Accordingly, identifying an electronic crime scene can be a daunting task when the perpetrator may have routed his communications with the victim through computers in three or four countries, with obscure networks that are inaccessible to investigators. Additionally, perpetrators could make things much more difficult and complicated by using technology and encryption techniques that provide a high level of anonymity or assuming the identity of an innocent person. Moreover, the scale of online identity theft can exceed that of real-world crime in terms of the degree of harm inflicted by a single crime (Chawki & Wahab, 2006). Going further, another concern is being stalked and bullied online. Bullying and stalking are not only applicable in the real world but in the virtual world as well. Cyberbullying refers to the new, and growing, practice of using technology to harass, or bully, someone else. Bullies used to be restricted to methods such as physical intimidation, postal mail, or the telephone. Now, developments in electronic media offer forums such as email, instant messaging, web pages, and digital photos to add to the arsenal. Computers, cell phones, and Personal Digital Assistants are new tools that can be applied to an old practice. Cyber stalking on the other hand is almost always characterized by the stalker relentlessly pursuing hisher victim online and is much more likely to include some form of offline attack, as well. This offline aspect makes it a more serious situation as it can easily lead to dangerous physical contact, if the victim’s location is known (McDowell, 2008). Due to the nature of the above-mentioned concerns, internet privacy, specifically personal information privacy is very important. If one’s real identity is known in the cyber world one would be very vulnerable to the attacks of cyberbullies and cyberstalkers. Conclusion The increasing use of the internet in conducting E-commerce transactions totally changed the way of life. Today, with a click of a button one can get in touch with the rest of the world, one can get the latest lotto results online and one can pay our bills directly from our homes. However, while an individual is enjoying the features of the internet, that person is also faced with huge threats to privacy. These threats could be risky to an individual’s personal information privacy, privacy in communications and anonymity. But these trade-offs are necessary in order to utilize the functionality of the internet. It would be impossible to stop the use of internet especially at this age where different organizations from around the world are use the internet in conducting different transactions. Also, the internet is a huge information pool that provides large amounts of information to its users everyday. Of the 6,710,029,070 people in the world 1,574,313,184 for varying reasons. The internet also provides employment for a number of individuals so abolishing it is not an option. Internet Privacy is a very essential issue regarding E-commerce because it is one of the reasons why a number of individuals are still hesitant about going online. Getting rid of various data mining devices in the World Wide Web is also impossible because even if there are costs associated with those tools they also have their benefits. And so, the best course of action involves taking precautions in safeguarding one’s identity and staying informed. Gaining knowledge about internet privacy is very important because through this we will be aware of the amount of personal data that we reveal online.

Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development

Biography of Erik Erikson Erik Hamburger Erikson born in 1902 Frankfurt, Germany. He never knew his biological father. A few years after Erie's birth, her mother took him to a local Jewish pediatrician, Dry. Theodore Hamburger for a treatment of minor illness. His mother and the pediatrician eventually fell in love. He quickly developed a sense that something was wrong his mother and father were Jewish his own physical appearance was clearly Scandinavian. Later on he found the truth about his heritage, his identity crisis was worsened. Rejecting his stepfather's plea to become physician.He went to Europe and enrolled in art school and eager to learn about culture and history. He returned home at the age of 25 prepared to settle down and teach art for a living. Erikson was asked by his former high school friend Peter Blobs to Join him as a teacher in Experimental Nursery school in Vienna where he met Anna Freud and her famous father Sigmund Freud. Anna Freud was trying to convert psyc hoanalytic interest in childhood experiences of adult. Erikson shared her pioneering interest and was eventually trained by her as a child analyst.Erikson was still unsure to earn his living a psychoanalyst because still wanted to paint and draw. However, he began to see a connection between psychoanalysis and art. He observed that children's dream and play involve important visual images that only later are translated into words in therapy. Concepts and Principles Erosion's position represents a systematic extension of Fraud's view of the role of ego in personality functioning. Erikson is a Freudian ego-psychologist. Erikson proposed that ego often operates independently of id emotions and motivation.Ego functions to help individual adapt to challenges presented by the surrounding. Ego Psychology Emphasized the integration of biological and psychosocial forces in determination of personality functioning. Epigenetic Principle The idea that human development is governed by a sequence of stages that depend on genetic or hereditary factors This principle says that we develop through a predetermined unfolding of our personalities in eight stages. Our progress through each stage is in part determined by our success, or lack of success â€Å"crisis†, in all the revises stages.Crisis defined as the crucial period in every stage. Virtue â€Å"inherent strength or active quality' human qualities or strength emerge from successful resolution of crisis. Psychosocial Development: Stages of Ego Development Stage Basic Conflict Virtue Important Events Outcome Infancy (birth to 18 months) Trust vs.. Mistrust HOPE Feeding Children develop a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliability, care, and affection. A lack of this will lead to mistrust. Early Childhood (2 to 3 years) Autonomy vs.. Shame and Doubt WILL Toilet TrainingChildren need to develop a sense of personal control over physical skills and a sense of independence. Success leads to feelings of autonomy, failure results in feelings of shame and doubt. Preschool/Play Age (3 to 5 years) Initiative vs.. Guilt PURPOSE Exploration Children need to begin asserting control and power over the environment. Success in this stage leads to a sense of purpose. Children who try to exert too much power experience disapproval, resulting in a sense of guilt. School Age (6 to 1 1 years) Industry vs.. Inferiority COMPETENCE SchoolChildren need to cope with new social and academic demands. Success leads to a sense of competence, while failure results in feelings of inferiority. Adolescence (12 to 18 years) Identity vs.. Role Confusion FIDELITY Social Relationships Teens need to develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success leads to an ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role confusion and a weak sense of self. Young Adulthood (19 to 40 years) Intimacy vs.. Isolation LOVE Relationships Young adults need to form intimate, loving relationships with other people.Success dads to strong relationships, while failure results in loneliness and isolation. Middle Adulthood (40 to 65 years) Generatively vs.. Stagnation CARE Work and Parenthood Adults need to create or nurture things that will outlast them, often by having children or creating a positive change that benefits other people. Success leads to feelings of usefulness and accomplishment, while failure results in shallow involvement in the world. Maturity(65 to death) Ego Integrity vs.. Despair WISDOM Reflection on Life Older adults need to look back on life and feel a sense of fulfillment.Success at this tag leads to feelings of wisdom, while failure results in regret, bitterness, and despair. Strengths and Weaknesses of Erik Erosion's Theory Strengths Comprehensiveness It addresses itself to wide variety of phenomenon both normal and abnormal and seeks to biological, social, cultural and historical factors. Heuristic Value Within Psychology, Erosion's work has contributed directly to lifespan psycholo gy and the development of adult psychology. Applied Value Erosion's work has practical impact in the area of child psychology and psychiatry, counseling, education and social work.Weaknesses Male Bias Erik Erikson articulated psychosocial stage describes the life cycle hallmarks of white, western society and may not apply well to other cultures or even to our own today/ present time. Erosion's positive outcome (such as autonomy, initiative, industry) virtues (such as will, purpose and competence) are frequently seen as characteristics of healthy male development. And his negative ones, (doubt, guilt and inferiority) are seen as reflecting unhealthy female development. Sailing's studies of girl and women's development suggest different positive values emerge in healthy