Saturday, January 25, 2020

E-commerce Internet Shopping

E-commerce Internet Shopping Is e-commerce boundary-less? Effects of individualism-collectivism and uncertainty avoidance on internet shopping. Abstract: Regardless of the unusual growth of internet during the last few years, the enormous business potentials of the internet remain largely untapped. There is a general observation that with the internet, national and international boundaries should become irrelevant when engaging in business exchanges. There exist two national cultural dimensions, individualism-collectivism and uncertainty avoidance and their interaction that influences internet shopping rates across a wide spectrum of countries. For countries lower in uncertainty avoidance, individualistic cultures show higher internet shopping rates than do collectivist cultures. Implications for national and internet firm-level web design strategies are discussed. Problem Statement: Is e-commerce boundary-less? Effects of individualism-collectivism and uncertainty avoidance on internet shopping. Although the adoption rate of internet shopping is relatively high in the west, it is still generally unpopular in the east. In spite the promises of the greater global customer reach and potential profits; internet shopping adoption is still systematically affected by cultural differences. National wealth also contributes towards the adoption of internet shopping, because money is needed for necessary internet access infrastructure, subscription of internet services, and online purchases. Although national wealth alone cannot account for the vastly different internet shopping rates among high gross GDP countries. The adoption of internet shopping is jointly effected by a set of contextual factors i.e. national income and educational level as well as two major cultural factors, namely, individualism-collectivism and uncertainty avoidance. Research Objectives: The objective of this research is to find the effects of individualism-collectivism and uncertainty avoidance on internet shopping keeping under consideration the Internet shopping adoption rate, individualism index, uncertainty avoidance index, per capita GDP, educational level, unemployment rate, and crime rate. Hypothesis 1: Internet shopping adoption rates are higher for countries with relatively lower uncertainty avoidance levels. Hypothesis 2: Internet shopping adoption rates are higher for individualist than for collectivist countries. Hypothesis 3a: For countries with high relatively high uncertainty avoidance levels, individualism-collectivism shows little impact on internet shopping rates. Hypothesis 3b: for countries with relatively low uncertainty avoidance levels, the individualist countries show higher Internet shopping adoption rates than the collectivist countries. Importance / benefit of study: The importance of this study is that it addresses the issues and problems related to internet shopping and will also help in working around these issues and problems. It will also help in the regulation of e-commerce activities in a proper and efficient manner. Research Design: Exploration: Quantitative. The data was mainly collected from Global e-Commerce Report, Hofstede, World Fact book and United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture, Institute for statistics online base. Data Analysis: The dependent variable under observation is Internet shopping adoption rate by country. Internet shopping adoption rate is the percentage of internet users, who have bought goods or services during the past month. Data on internet shopping adoption rate were obtained from the Global e-Commerce Report of Taylor Nelson Sofres (2001). This report consists of data from 36 countries derived from interviewing a total of 42,742 people. The two independent variables are individualism index and uncertainty avoidance index. The data for both these variables was obtained from Hofstede, which includes 50 countries. The control variables are per capita GDP, educational level, unemployment rate, and crime rate. The data for GDP and unemployment rate was collected from World Fact book, The International Monetary Fund (2001). Data for educational level was obtained from United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture, Institute for statistics online base. Data for internet crime rate was derived from the total sum of the number of offences contained in national crime statistics and major categories of reported crime in each of the Interpol member countries. Nature and Form of Results Schedule: The results which can be concluded from the whole study are: Higher the income levels of a country, the higher the internet penetration rate. It can also be concluded from the case that taking income into consideration, educational level, unemployment rate, crime rate, and economic growth rate do not significantly affect internet penetration. Internet shopping adoption rate is negatively correlated with uncertainty avoidance, but positively correlated with individualism-collectivism. The relationship of uncertainty avoidance with internet shopping adoption is not as strong as expected, and is not significant. All the results support our hypotheses. National income plays a very important rate in both internet penetration rate and adoption rate of internet shopping. It can also be said that whether it is online or offline shopping, the higher the income level, the higher the purchasing power. Cultural factors also play an important role in affecting internet shopping behavior, over and above the effect due to national income and educational levels. Internet shopping is still at its infancy for some countries. The result also support that dimensions of national culture affect internet shopping rate. The national government level, macro level policies that are designed to suit the local culture can be implemented to stimulate the adoption of internet shopping. Facilities and Resources: The resources of this case study are Global e-Commerce Report, Hofstede, World Fact book and United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture, Institute for statistics online base. Bibliography: References: Anderson, J.C. Naurus, A. (1990) ‘A model of distributor firm and manufacturer firm working partnerships, Journal of marketing 54(1): 42-58 Hirschey, M. and Pappas, J.L (1993) Managerial Economics, 7th edn, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers: Orlando, FL. Hofstede, C.H. (2001) Cultures and Organizations: Software of the mind, McGraw -Hill: London. Leung, K. and Bond, M.H (2004) ‘Social exioms: a model for social beliefs in multicultural perspective, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 36: 119-197. Lynn, R. and Martin, T. (1995) ‘National differences for 37 nations in extroversion, neuroticism psychoticism and economic, demographic and other correlates, Personality and Individual Differences 19: 403-406. Morris, M.W., Williams, K.Y., Leung, K., Larrick, R., Mendoza, (1998) ‘Conflict management style: accounting for cross national differences, Journal for International Business studies 29(4): 729-747. The International Police Organization (Interpol) (2003) Online data, http://www.interpol.com The International Monetary Fund (2001) ‘World economic outlook data.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Dorian Gray Passage Analysis

Dorian Gray Passage: Literary Analysis In this scene, Wilde creates a threatening atmosphere as he describes Dorian heading to the Opium House at night, a place that represents his sins. Dorian’s carriage â€Å"jerks† into a â€Å"dark† area, the sudden movement suggesting that the horse is instinctively nervous or scared. And the â€Å"low roofs and jagged chimney-stacks† that looked like â€Å"black masts† shrouded by a mist of â€Å"ghostly sails† paint a nightmarish image of hostility due to harsh words like jagged, and fear with mentions of ghosts; both add to the tension.In the next paragraph Wilde uses diction such as â€Å"hastily† and â€Å"quickly† to build the suspense with Dorian’s obvious discomfort in the situation and desire to get out of the open. Then, Wilde uses light imagery to illustrate a dark setting which would explain Dorian’s fear. The description that the night was lit by a â€Å"red glar e† and â€Å"lights [that] shook and splintered in the puddles† contributes to the uneasiness because red is often the color of evil and shaking lights can be associated with panic.Dorian’s anxiety heightens as he â€Å"hurried† and â€Å"[glanced] back now and then to see if he was being followed†. His actions suggest that he is paranoid and running from something, causing the environment around him to appear more threatening. And finally, Wilde’s description of â€Å"gaunt factories† completes the image of a foreboding neighborhood because even at night, factories are supposed to appear formidable, not desolate as if they couldn’t stand up to their surroundings.

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

How to Become a U.S. Citizen - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 714 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/04/15 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Citizenship Essay Did you like this example? How do you know the interviewee? She is my mother. Part A: Questions and Responses Question Notes on Interviewee Response What inspired you to become a U.S. citizen? I was inspired to become a U.S. citizen for my children, I believed that it would benefit them and their future. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "How to Become a U.S. Citizen" essay for you Create order What steps did you have to take as part of the naturalization process? I used to take classes to learn English a couple fo years ago, but I didn’t have time after that. Working has really helped me with my English and practicing it in real life. Before taking my citizenship test, I went to a tutor and made me practice with questions that might have been on the test. This really helped me, because many of the questions were on the actual test. How would you describe how you felt about the process? I was extremely nervous, I have major anxiety, but I was determined to pass it because I have waited so long. I have been prolonging it or years but when the time actually hit to do it, I was a wreck. How has citizenship changed your life? Well I travel a lot, so it has affected me in that sense. I don’t have to have an extra stop at the airport in other countries or when I come back because I’m a citizen now. I also believe that in this country I have rights which I didn’t have in Cuba, in Cuba you are limited to the things you can say and do. Is your daily life different because of citizenship? I am protected Here in America, because I’m a citizen. If something were to happen I would be protected and given rights. Being a citizen means that I have opportunities that others don’t. For example my brother is still in Cuba and I have to send things over there because him and his family just can’t afford thing that we take for granted here: Do you feel the process was worthwhile? Now looking back at it, I did take me a while to actually do the test, but I believe it was worth it because the benefit that I got from it will always benefit me and my children. If you had to, would you do it again? Please explain. If I had to, I would do it again because the opportunities that I have here are greater than the opportunities I would have in my home country. Would You tell others that they should be citizens as well I would because I believe that it would benefit, everyone involved. Themselves, their children, their other family. If they have the money I would recommend it. Part B: Write a two-paragraph reflection of the naturalization process. Use the following questions as a guide: The purpose of the naturalization process is for immigrants to become U.S. citizens. At first the person has to apply for citizenship, they must complete an application, and participate in a interview and then take a civic and English test, this also involves different fees, it is a very long process. I believe that the process works well because it protects the current citizens and doesn’t allow just anybody to become a citizen. The process does achieve its goal becomes it allows you to have rights and opportunities like any other citizens. Even if you start just studying the questions, thats a step in the right direction. I would not change anything because, I believe that the process will over time just include that people who really want to be a citizen. I would not like to change the process, the process makes it so that only people who are truly motivated will finish it. The process is so long and tiring that It would make anyone who isn’t ready procrastinate it for a long time. The benefits out weigh all the time and effort you have to go and study for. Once you are a citizens you have just as many rights as everyone else, not only human rights but citizen right which not many other countries have. Living a better life and providing for your family will encourage anyone willing to become a citizen.