MARKETING PLAN FOR CIGAFLAVA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

MARKETING PLAN FOR CIGAFLAVA - Essay Example A company analysis is reported as an internal review using SWOT analysis and competitive analysis with the rival cigarette brands. It also includes a consumer analysis where the company aims at targeting young adults and social smokers as a market entry strategy. The financial overview is discussed in the report. The overview will cover the allocation of resources on the different processes of the company as well as the share of each marketing promotion strategies on the marketing budget. A sales forecast is included that will tell how much the company will generate in revenues for the whole year. An implementation plan is also illustrated on the report. The activities are focused on the different marketing tools that the company will utilize in order to gain market share. In order to ensure the success of the marketing plan and its activities, several control areas are identified for monitoring. Deblyn Enterprise's mission is to provide the highest quality and lowest cost of flavored cigarettes for the market. The company exists to attract customers and satisfy customers' needs. The company will ensure success by developing and promoting a niche product - flavored cigarettes. Cigaflava and its sub-products will exceed the expectations of the company's customers. It is the objective of the company to maintain a steady sales growth for Cigaflava each quarter. It will continue to increase market penetration in the US by 2% per quarter. The company will increase brand awareness for Cigaflava and its uniquely flavored cigarettes. Situational Analysis The tobacco industry is deeply rooted in the US history. During the period of the early settlers, the export of tobacco to England had financed the shipment of essential goods to the country. Tobacco became their lifeblood. Today, tobacco sales continue to play a major role in the US economy. The cigarette industry segment has become an important segment for tobacco. In the 20th century, cigarette smoking is the leading form of tobacco consumption. In industrialized countries such as the US, cigarettes disproportionately influence tobacco spending. It is on this industry segment that Cigaflava aims to enter into. SWOT Analysis The following SWOT Analysis encapsulates the key strengths and weaknesses within the company and illustrates the opportunities and threats facing Deblyn Co. and its Cigaflava products. Strengths The strength of the company lies on the niche product - flavored cigarettes. It is a growing new industry and the company is prepared to exploit it. The products are new flavors in the market. It is made with a strong flavor but with low

Asylum Seekers Essay Example for Free

Asylum Seekers Essay The still images of Asylum seekers revealed the medias uncaring attitude towards them. The media believe that asylum seekers are nothing but poor helpless scroungers who soak up others countries fund. I thought that the most powerful image was the one that had a scruffy haired woman reaching out with one hand. This to me was a very effective still image because it mirrored the medias opinion both proximally and kinetically. The womans facial expressions suggested that she was distressed and desperate which in an example of the pictures that are always conveyed in the media. Furthermore the womans gestus (Hand out in need) represented how she needed some aid and refuge. An act that is perceived by the media, as a way to sponge of the countries services, such as healthcare and housing. I conveyed my attitude towards asylum seekers and refugees by taking part in an attitude continuum. I place myself in the number 7 spot 3 places away from being totally sympathetic (10) and 7 spaces away from having a hostile attitude (1). I placed my self here because I believe that as a Christian we should help any one in need and provide refuge for them. However I also feel that we should help the homeless and needy in our own country first. In our still image sequence we acted as farmers in order to show our understanding of the line When the sun says goodnight to the mountains. I am dreaming of the sun saying goodnight. We believed that the lines meant that the sun is ruining all of the Caribbean farmers crops. So without anything to harvest the farmer, owner and the buyer are all badly effected. We showed this with two images. The first one with the farmer sitting around doing nothing because without the rain he could not grow is a crop. The farmer tells the audience without my job on the farm I cannot feed my family. The owner of the farm is seen with is hands empty as he looks nervously at the buyer and says because of the lack of rain I have no harvest to sell. Lastly the buyer looks frustrated at the owner as he proclaims to the audience. Because of the lack of rain I have no harvest to buy cheap and then sell for a profit.

The Nature of Evil in William ShakespeareÂs Othello Essay -- William

William Shakespeare’s Othello uses different and unique techniques in his language to express the nature of evil throughout the play. Verbal twists and the characters most importantly stress the act of evil. Iago, most of all is portrayed as the “villain” or “protagonist in the play. Shakespeare uses this character to set the basis of evil. Each plot point is spiraled further into tragedy due to the nature of Iago and his manipulative language towards the other main characters. Corruption overcomes the Venetian society as Iago uses his crafty skills of deceit. The plan to have Othello turn against the ones he loves is the perfect example of evil’s nature. The power struggle is evident between these two. This situation is the start to Iago’s plan to corrupt the society and take Othello’s place. The root of Iago’s “evil” is jealousy indeed, in turn changing into a power hungry manipulator. Iago is tired of acting like one "courteous and knee-crooking knave" like he always appears to be [I. i. 46]. Since Iago is reluctant to choose to be a master, he is the servant that bites off the fame and "keep yet their hearts attending on themselves," still showing his service to his master but instead is more self-preserving with no attachments at all towards the master [I. i. 52]. Irony is used diligently in Shakespeare’s unique language style. Referred by Othello as “honest Iago”, the irony is very evident in this title. Iago is everything but honest but this proves how easily led and manipulated Othello is. The traits Iago possess are unexpected to a normal villain. He comes across as charming and smart, he can also be referred to a wolf in sheep’s clothing. For example, he knows Roderigo is in love with Desdemona and figures that he ... ...or a most attractive, popular, good-natured, charming, selfish, cold-blooded and utterly unscrupulous scoundrel.” (pp. 333-34) [Grant: Studies in Shakespeare, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1886, pp. 205] This excerpt further explains Iago’s nature being exactly how Shakespeare intended yet a little different than what the average reader would think of him. The nature of evil is strictly evident as the play comes to an end, yet it is viewed as an opinion or a theory whether Iago is truly “evil.” Ironically, Iago’s words speak louder than his actions, proving how legitimate Shakespeare’s use of language for the character was. This dynamic use of language is significant because it can alter the thought of the reader whether Iago was truly evil or just using military tactics to better him. Iago and his use of language set the main plot for every characters outcome.

Racial discrimination Essay

The era of Jim Crow segregation will forever be linked with racial discrimination and the push for civil rights following Reconstruction.   The two most influential black men of the time, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois, were also two of the most polarizing forces within the black community.   Both men strived for racial equality in the eyes of the law, but they employed contrasting strategies in order to combat the dire political and economic situation African Americans found themselves trying to escape. With his leadership skills and political cache, Booker T. Washington was the most famous African American leading the black charge into the 20th Century.   His power increased with his economic and political ties through the Tuskegee Institute and his relations with Presidents Roosevelt and Taft, both of whom were racially prejudiced.   Mr. Washington believed that blacks should accept their subjugated citizenship for the time being instead of agitating the white population.   In his mind, if blacks could earn a dollar through industrial education they would be much better off than fighting the latent power of white society. On the other end of the spectrum, Harvard educated W.E.B. DuBois took the intellectual path to the racial struggle.   His theory held that blacks should never accept a lower position in society just because that was the way things were.   Through his writings and organizing tactics, DuBois rallied the intelligentsia, The Talented 10th, in order to raise black consciousness above the perceived blind acceptance of Booker T. Washington.   DuBois was severely opposed to racial segregation in both politics and economics whereas Washington supported an agenda based on the separation of the races.

World economy and global competitive strategies

The services sector industry is among the more active sectors in every economic unit growing at a faster rate than the rest of the components in every economy. The financial and professional services component for one are among the more strategic professionals tht provide clients with strategic analysis, focused direction, competitive market positioning and portfolio assessments across all segments of an economy. This sector, being one of the most active economic drivers in recent memory, has the in-depth industry resource, experience and clout in bringing the hands-on knowledge of making economic investments and positioning decisions in a dynamic and highly competitive manner in the markets. The services sector has grown by leaps and bounds during the last twenty years, integrating deep knowledge and proficiency of every markets they serve, international and national clout and influence in the major corporate management decision making in the primary industries specifically in the capital and labor intensive financial services sector, energy, property, communications, technology and tourism areas aligning strategies and projects, providing clients with forward-looking market analysis and scenarios which model both demand from every market and supply from competitors. With the intensive use of technology and knowledge-based proprietary databases and the dynamic, interactive analytical models of the globalization phenomena, the services sector is able to analyze and project the directional details of the markets, competition, capacity, risks and uncertainties of the global economy. Developing innovative strategies based on a detailed knowledge of demand, technology and competition in all sectors of the economic value chain, the unprecedented growth of the services sector ironically characterizes its own periodic collapses triggered by the sheer heavy weight of its strategic competitive responses to every demand emanating from the other sectors, primarily the agriculture and the manufacturing components. It is not to be underestimated that the influences of the services sector in the two other areas are significant, pervasive and encompassing and this alone has driven the globalization of the services industry to an extent never before imagined. For example, the influences of the professional services of big auditing and consulting firms in the services sector contributed and assured much to its stable growth during the last fifty years that this services area became one enabling force for globalization not only of its own sector, but the entire economic drivers from the agriculture and manufacturing territories. The series sector advise and consult with corporate and business unit executives to evaluate corporate performance; optimize resource and equity portfolios under different future scenarios and uncertainties and risks; assess competitive behavior, outcome and economic implications; and measuring business strategies against overall corporate objectives at the micro level and economic goals at the macro level. This paper therefore analyzes the world economy and makes a strategic competitive economic scenario forthcoming. In the process, this paper seeks answers to the following issues: 1) What are the tell-tale signs that are predictive of favorable and unfavorable global economic and financial scenarios? (2) What new competitive models are tempered by the new forms of economic and financial framework? (3) What is the sustainability of these models in face of the appurtenant risks and uncertainties of the emerging economic environment? (4) What relevance are these emerging strategic competitive models are to the concept of strategy mapping and in the realm of the balance scorecard? Scope and delimitation This study aims to cover the emerging global competitive scenarios and strategies in the services sector and does not include analysis of the agriculture or manufacturing sector. Likewise, this discussion limits itself to the current economic scenario of the first stage of post-2008 global meltdown and their implications towards the succeeding uncertainties of the ongoing turmoil in the financial sector. In addition, discussion extends to every financial market as Britain and Europe, United States, Australia, Singapore, Tokyo and Hongkong and even the emerging capital market in the Middle East. Similarly, discussions aims to center on the major economic drivers that dominate the competitive market place mentioned earlier. Significance of the study This study aims to analyze the economic, political, environmental, social, technological and legal viewpoints that impact the strategies prevailing in the competitive markets. Thus, this paper is determined to clarify the inputs that enable political units to craft economic policies aimed at stabilizing and enhancing the growth of the business sector. Business modeling is a sector that helps clarify the forces that create a phenomenon. Thus, this study will enhance the descriptive relationship among models and seeks to gather enough documented models to help predict phenomena . Thus, this will help allow optimization and maximization necessary to address a continuing environment of competition and the other problems that impacts upon every market phenomenon. Because of the increasing importance of the services sector in the global marketplace, this study will provide a synthesizing prediction of the emerging models of competition in the face of the growing complexity of every economic activity. The services sector and its unique contribution to global economic fundamentals The services sector provides the intangibles that characterize the qualitative directional guide and radar for all other sectors. These services are unique in the sense that corporate judgments and decisions are based on the cost-benefit analytical models that guide entrepreneurs and every unassuming captain of every industry to effective alternative options. When decisions are made, they are tempered with the competitive factors that mitigate or eliminate the risks while enhancing the success rates of choosing the most appropriate solutions. Examples of advisories and consulting projects distinct in the services sector include: (1) integrated corporate strategy development and financial modeling of old and emerging business issues; (2) market analysis and forecasts; (3) project concept optimization and advanced financial modeling; (4) capacity and value chain analysis; (5) risk management systems; (6) global marketing; (7) technology modeling; (8) educational technology, accreditation and certification; (9) quality assurance; (10) logistics planning and management; (11) reengineering consultancy; (12) off-shoring, outsourcing and multi-sourcing; and, (13) economic forecasting, strategic planning and strategic human resource management, among others. These services are the products of the competitive environment in the highly volatile knowledge-based sector and are expected to create greater economic impact moving into the next millennium as the services sector becomes tempered more with tightening capital and equity base as globalization gives way to a more complex type of globalization. Globalization at this point, shall have become more efficient but predatory. The unending shift of the markets in favor of those companies that are heavily underwritten by the services sector will continue to pervade every market making it even more sensitive and uncertain. Just like the appearances of the recessive depressions of the 1930s, the 1997 Asian financial crisis and 2008s, the unpredictability of the services sector is always a warning to its adherents – that the potentials of this sector is as open and lethal as the crises that are spawned by its abuses. Among the industries: manufacturing, services and agriculture, the services sector appears to have pervaded more the impact of the other sectors in the same way the GATT and WTO, the Asia Pacific Cooperation (APEX) agencies and the NAFTA that have influenced the markets of the developing countries in the process of protecting the interests of the developed states. Understandably, this protectionist groupings is expected to bring and create a leveling of the playing fields in business, but at whose terms? †¢ This sector advises many companies and economic units as well as governments on the implications of geopolitics and economic development for global and regional industry investments, whether foreign direct capital or the portfolio type that characterize television game showed. Our economic analysts combine a rigorous analysis of country, regional and global political and economic factors with in-depth understanding of how the markets operate. There is the assessment and impact modeling on companies and markets of economic importance and change, the sensitivity impact of OPEC decisions, economic developments and global supply/demand patterns. The services industry is an industry leader in understanding the dynamics of the energy sector. Using a unique methodology and framework to predict country and regional developments, there are provided commercially-relevant scenarios which enable clients to evaluate risk, assess opportunities and plan strategy accordingly. Examples of advisories and other consulting projects include: (1) assessment of the long-term investment risk in a new country compared with other assets in an independent's portfolio basis; (2) formulation of a global competitive strategy for every small and medium sized international company; (3) development of future political and economic scenarios and implications for every industry giving the accurate and genuine investment opportunities for a major players in the economy; and, (4) development of a regional access strategy for every major integrated company. The services strategies group offers advisory and consulting services primarily as well as real time online membership services to meet the needs of clients. The services industry is highly dependent on global competitive costs and demands explanations and implications from the services analysts. The business sector cannot afford not to know every economic driver? For more than two decades, 25 years to be exact, The service s sector’s economic and political risk experts have woven their deep understanding of the energy sector into a keen understanding of geopolitics. Thus, unique insights are provided into the economies of major economic producers, their development strategies and the sustainability of those strategies. The sector is responsible for advising many clients on business opportunities and entry strategies in emerging markets, leveraging their understanding of political risk and country politics. Thus, the services sector have benefitted from the importance it has given to the following industries: aerospace and defense, automotive and transportation, banking, chemicals, construction consumer products, energy and utilities, financial services, government, industrial manufacturing, insurance, metals and mining and pharmaceuticals The expertise of the services sector goes well beyond consulting and financial services. Using a unique methodology and framework to predict country and regional developments, the sector provides commercially-relevant scenarios which enable clients to evaluate risk, assess opportunities and plan strategy accordingly. Thus, competition in this area continuous to become stiff, hence extremely important. Thus, built with a combination of regional politics, economics, markets and global trends and technology, this analytical study is applicable to the business environments of the diverse industries and clients that benefit from their advisory system. Similarly, the sector’s and market experts provide clients an integrated approach to country, regional, local and global market trends resulting in probabilistic scenarios that help them manage the value of such undertaking. There is a need to combine the in-depth knowledge of the every sector with the ability to build and construct vertical and forward-looking geopolitical and economic risk models, such as the political and economic analysis of key producing markets, the wide and extensive power-mapping of key economic and political decision makers in the strategic sectors of the economy, getting insights into energy-intensive, value added sectors of the economy, national development goals, plans and capabilities, unconventional wisdom regarding complex markets, innovative approaches to interpreting country risk and identifying under-explored opportunities Strategic Competitive Functional Practices of the Services Sector The service industry, while still comparatively young compared to the other sectors will continue to grow and expand as the global economy gradually makes progress in the midst of the global financial turmoil which has stalled all momentum towards expected growth. The complexity and importance of their services to the business sector will determine the competitiveness with which this sector grown by leaps and bounds. To name a few, the business process outsourcing and offshoring sectors expands at a dizzying pace than before as corporate organizations continue to adopt reengineering measures to reduce cost to remain competitive. The fluidity of the professional services sectors in the health area represented by the nurses and other health experts have pervaded the manpower market all over and remains an extremely bright prospects for sustainability of countries with a high degree of services training to its people. Mutual regional agreements for the practice of professionals beyond borders are relevant issues being considered by regional economic summits and groupings such as Apec, Asean, Nafta and follows the pattern advocated by the GATT and the WTO. Thusm advanced form of services will replace traditional schemes: (1) global coverage with regional expertise where the services team of regional experts offer in depth expertise and collectively create an integrated, global perspective; (2) energy dynamics which helps maintain relationships with key sector delegations and provides insight into the effect on markets and local sectors by the services component; (3) industry leadership in understanding the dynamics of the energy sector. Using a unique methodology and framework to predict country and regional developments, the sector provides commercially-relevant scenarios which enable clients to evaluate risk, assess opportunities and plan strategy accordingly. In addition, its industry players are considered the strong backbone of the sector as they have steered the industry from nothing. Experience-wise service experts have previous background experience in the government and provide clients with insight on United States foreign policy formation, future policy directions and economic impact on various industries. Somehow, the framework of global competitiveness for the sector will continue to be governed by technology-based innovations and cost-efficient systems sustainable over the long term. Here, the impact of an important consideration as Climate Change Policy, our understanding of climate change policy that stems from the broad expertise in national and global regulatory regimes, and the interaction of long-term trends in politics, economics and technology. Regional Issues for Investors in the Services sector In Africa, the services sector provides consulting and advisory services to companies and governments on African geopolitics, political risk to investments, market strategies and competitive positioning in the region. Likewise, it also offers assessments of key linkages between Africa and other regions and the resulting implications to the economic environment prevailing. In Asia, the industry provides an on-the-ground expertise to clients focused on the region itself along market risks and strategies, competitive issues and regional geopolitics. In Europe, where the services sector is among the fastest growing component, the series sector maintains consulting advice with companies and governments on regional politics, the impact of regulatory changes and policies, market strategies and competitive issues. In Latin America, the services sector focus on tourism ands draw from their extensive knowledge of politics, economics and regulatory trends as well as on-the-ground experience to help clients anticipate policy shifts and improve strategic planning. Latin America's largest markets also offer major asset-liability resource-holders and grounds for clients to benefit from recognized expertise in geopolitics, economic markets, US foreign policy as it relates to the region and in-depth knowledge of the primary economic drivers of the industry. In providing integrated risk assessments and laying out future scenarios, the role of the services sector is to assist its clients to devise robust coordinative and competitive strategies unique for the region. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the strategic focus is more on the uniqueness of the Middle East which recognizes services technology experts for the region. The market in Bahrain allows for greater interaction with clients in the MENA region along geopolitics, the economic impact of US foreign policy, the developmentalist strategies of the Gulf States and investment opportunities and political risks which are considered high in the region as they become more volatile in terms of strategy. A special emphasis of the services sector in the area is the government consulting efforts that is directed towards sustainable development and one that will allow governments to leverage their natural resources, diversify their business ventures and enhance human capital. In North America, the services sector continue to dominate the economic landscape at enhancing extensive knowledge about the impact of US energy, economic, climate change and foreign policy, allowing clients to benefit from our interaction with key government officials. In Russia and the Caspian area, the services sector which are heavily technology-based, experts write, consult and speak on regional oil and gas developments; regional energy strategies; economics and politics; M&A trends in the Russian oil sector; US foreign policy as it relates to the region; entry strategies; competitive trends and other associated issues that impact investments in the region. Service consultant and advisors regularly participate in senior-level delegations with representatives from both US and regional governments and private industry but mostly oil companies. Methodology The study requires a primarily qualitative approach of the descriptive types that brings and illustrates scenarios that accurately depict the answers the questions and issues earlier propounded. The first statement of the issue on the tell-tale signs that are predictive of a favorable and unfavorable global economic and financial scenarios require am inventory of the manifestations of market indicators that may likely result to either scenarios. The predictive validity of indicators is the subject of analysis and correlation. In the second statement, on what new competitive models are tempered by the new forms of economic and financial framework, the methodology explores specific or merging theories that explains and clarifies the new relationships of marketing, competitiveness, quality, pricing, technology and the buyer’s behavior. In the third statement on what the sustainability of these models are in the face of the appurtenant risks and uncertainties of the emerging economic environment requires the analysis of the stability of the models presented and their sensitivity to the changes occurring in the environment in the form of risks and uncertainties and are expressed in terms of low or high degrees in a scale of five. On the fourth issue on what relevance these emerging strategic competitive models are to the concept of strategy mapping and in the realm of the balance scorecard, require the matching of the competitiveness models with the functional models currently prevailing such as the Kaplan and Norton (2004) concept of strategy maps and balanced scorecard. Thus, the findings are expected to explain the competitiveness, the prospects of growth and the emergence of a new globalization model of the prevailing services sector. Documentary and situation analysis, economic cause and effect relationships, financial modeling and analysis are likely to show cause for explaining the competitive scenario for the service industry. Key informants, representing authorities in the area of economics, competitiveness and marketing contribute to the analytical processes that zeroed in on the phenomenon. An in-depth analysis is required to link instances with growth, emerging manifestations with symptomatic issues. Findings and Data Analysis The issue statements are again enumerated below to determine the results of the study as well as the implications and conclusions being propounded and established. Here, the research questions are reiterated and provided with analytical findings that support current economic theories. Telltale signs Tell-tale signs that are predictive of favorable and unfavorable global economic and financial scenarios are those manifestations that are likely to result in bullish or bearish market sentiments and may provide upbeat optimism or gloomy pessimism towards the future. Favorable economic scenarios are manifested by the following factors: (1) price stability of the product or services which implies a good balance of demand and supply of such product and services. This further explains the general stability of the supply chain applicable to the services sector such as the availability of an adequate number and quality of labor matching the industry needs. For instance, the outsourcing and the off shoring services sectors are steadily growing at a rate indicative of the normal growth in gross domestic product. These should be supported in addition by manifestations in the other areas of the supply chain such as political order and situation is a major supply area such as the Asian continent which are primarily the supply market for the services sectors especially the BPO manpower needs. In the professional services sectors, the availability of nurses, engineers, accountants, doctors, teachers, hospitality industry workers, IT programmers and web designers and other professionals is a significant factor in stabilizing the long-term prospect of the services sector. Thus, the participation of the educational sector especially the higher education institutions are critical in maintaining the steady and balanced flow of manpower to the industry in terms of quantity and quality provided. Any form of imbalance is likely to create a demand and supply gap that is likely to translate into price differences and either to the advantage or disadvantage of the employer and employee. Growth areas in the services sector will continue to be dominated by the BPO industry which includes back office services provided by the accountants and financial services providers, health care workers, hotel, restaurant, tourism and culinary experts. Geographically, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is likely to become a prominently rich areas for the services sectors tempered only by sporadic issues of conflicts between and among the native Arab constituents which will concentrate the services sectors in the more politically stable Arab nations such as the Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt which are becoming the favorite destinations of service professionals due to its lucrative compensation packages. Other growth areas considered include the American services market which serves as the area expect to pump prime and jumpstart back the economic stimulus packages provided by the US administration. In addition, the Australia-New Zealand market is likely to dominate the Asian region next to India primarily driven by efficiency factors while India’s competitive advantage is its low-cost technical service providers in the dominant BPO industry. Although China and Korea are fast becoming the hub of pr ofessional teachers and education providers, the Asian market is expected tube the primary beneficiary of its own competent manpower supply. This is similarly the case of Europe and South America which adequately provide and supplies its own service providers primarily in the tourism and professionals sector. The North American market will likely be dominated by the Canadian demand as the country opens up its doors to professionals from all over the world. Nevertheless, off-shoring and outsourcing services are expected to continue its upbeat growth rate over the long-term. However, it is likely that the shifting from outsourcing to the off-shoring area will be more pronounced as labor costs offer competitive advantage to a host country. Nonetheless, the primarily considerations for the BPO industry is similarly shifting from the cost factor to the quality factor. Emerging Competitive Models The new competitive models tempered by the new forms of economic and financial framework are expected to be along the cost-quality market factors. Traditionally, cost considerations have been the primarily competitive factor in the services sector. However, the growing matching of cost and quality character of providers is becoming the defining standard in the competition. It appears here, that the cost considerations are slowly becoming a secondary option for buyers of services as the industry shifts its priorities towards the quality dimension. Thus, the Asian services market has slowly adopted the cost-quality model which is attributed to be factors in further stabilizing the services. On the other hand, the cultural factors of manpower providers are slowly gaining adherents in the industry considering the ability of the cultural dimension to enhance or denigrate the quality dimension in the delivery of services in the sector. Thus, certain preferences have started to be a consideration in terms of hiring. Filipinos, for instance, are becoming favorite preferences for teachers in China and Korea because of their cultural background in the languages that enabled them to become the fourth largest English speaking country in the world. India so far has dominated the BPO industry because of its technology-driven educational sector that is consistently being developed by the government. Sustainability versus risks and uncertainties Risks and uncertainties similarly will characterize all moves in the competitive services market. The cost-quality-culture model of competitiveness is likely to dominate during the medium to long-term as markets start developing their niche in the services sector. Incidentally, the services industry has been primarily driven by the ability of the providers to integrate the values of their culture with the value-needs of the sector. Slowly, the cost-quality-culture model is being enhanced and made more marketable by the cross-cultural and social migration factors that gradually demands the quality of immigrants or permanent residents admitted in a host country like Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the MENA region. Other emerging models indicate the growing preferences for the language and skills qualifications of professionals as they are slowly absorbed by the host country. However, the risks and uncertainties faced by the services sector include the factor of cultural resistance as migrants and overseas workers assimilate themselves into the society of the host country. Formal ethnic groupings are likely to increase which will likewise increase the racial tensions and discriminations inherent in the host country. Thus, the social cost of the services sector is likely to cause short-term cultural irritants especially for ethic groups with high militancy backgrounds. Relevance of Models vs Strategy Maps and the Balance Scorecard The emerging strategic competitive models and the concept of strategy mapping and the balance scorecard principle (Kaplan & Norton, 2004) are heretofore being matched to create relevance and purpose in the models emerging in the economy. The balanced scorecard and strategy map concepts appears to be where the services sector is heading form refinement. These concepts defines strategies along four perspectives: the financial, which assures corporate profitability for shareholders; customer satisfaction which assures clients on the quality of the services; learning and growth, which provides investments in training and development to the human capital; and the internal business processes that demands the use of appropriate technology processes in providing services. Here, the prospects of the models have the making of an extremely positive framework for rendering services in the industry. The stakeholder concept of management and decision making demands that business decisions be tempered with the interests of all stakeholders in mind, such that no sector or perspective becomes underserved and neglected. Fairness and impartiality is paramount and immortal. These models, perhaps is the best road map the services sector can design and sustain. The services sector is likely destined to become a very potent sector in the next generation employing a large majority of the working age population at the least and the highly intellectual sector at the most. Henceforth, this economic component stands to be the most productive resource in any economic unit. The fluidity of the world economy will always welcome new shifts in thinking as well innovation in the way services are being delivered. In due time, the delivery services will concentrated through information technology processes that may reduce the physical component of the industry, that is, investment in physical assets will shift to the burden of the worker as services are rendered from home areas and no longer from fixed buildings and offices. In fact, off-shoring is virtually an outsourcing done away from the country. The situs of work is becoming mobile. This implies the intensive use of technology as man opts to become more multitasking and productive in the most feasible ways than ever. Although many sectors in the service industry will continue to be in the actual place of business, but the change in the configuration of how services are delivered in some areas will likely create a new industry or a form of industrial revolution that allows doctors to treat their patients miles away, accountants analyzing clients’ financial statements from another country, bank clients interacting with their banks in all financial transactions that virtually makes use solely the ATM equipment, nurses automating and teleconferencing with in-patients and outpatients on home care, call center agents investing in their own VOIP and serving the company in the comfort of their homes, teachers using high-end technology in virtual contact with his or her students through teleconferencing in a virtual room, engineers designing and monitoring projects through rooms filled with LCD monitors projecting all possible angles of the project, or computer programs and website developed in the worker’s own laboratory. All these components of the service industry realigning to form a new form of services sector that are home-based or away from the usual work sites—called the offsite services sector. The potentials of this emerging sector becomes tremendous when one considers the effects in terms of less manpower and capital expenditures outlay on the part of the company and less personal expenses in moving to and from work such as gasoline, clothing, meals, work stress, travel risks and more of family time, leisure and quiet healthy decision making processes away from the chaos of the company premises. The services sector has a unique characteristic, and that is the substance of the services is intellectually conceptualized, hence there is no need for physical presence. The other half of the services sector definitely requires physical presence like the tourism and the hospitality industry, the traditional hospital and medical care services, accountants on actual hands-on supervisory work, managers that physically supervises handling of the movements of logistics and resources, etc. Conclusion The potentials of the services sector are one that virtually creates unlimited prospec ts for the economy. The industrial revolution expanded man’s opportunities that practically opened new doors for other industries to be born, such as the technology revolution, the knowledge age, the atomic era, the period of corporate social responsibility as an inescapable perspective in the conduct of business. Managing the world economy through the next generation is one gigantic responsibility that demands a new form of working with tasks and people. The sensitivity of every stakeholder in the conduct of business similarly demands impartial attention to their expectations which should not be left to the corporate background and be given lesser priority. Likewise, managing the services sector of the economy demands investments in the human capital and the peripherals of services. Thus, considering the high degree of volatility and fluidity of the services sector, the future of the industry remains as upbeat as any optimist can be. Man’s responsiveness to the emerging models of the services sector should enable him to reconfigure his thinking, shifting not simple paradigms but merging those old thinking with innovative components that not only redesigns old ideas, but keeps them to create balance between technology of the past and the emerging innovations of the present. Man is not likely to stop reinventing himself. The services sector is the vehicle of that reinvention. Thus, it is the core of this thesis that the various industries, the services sector especially, need to reconsider currently existing models such that these gradually matches man’s need for identity, relevance, dignity and immortality in terms of innovation gratitude.

The debate of gender differences in aggression †Psychology Research Paper

The debate of gender differences in aggression – Psychology Research Paper Free Online Research Papers The debate of gender differences in aggression Psychology Research Paper ABSTRACT -Are males really more physically aggressive than females? This study is a partial replication of Stephenson (1997), who found that males were more readily physically aggressive whereas females were more readily verbally aggressive in aggression-inducing situations. Stephenson (1997) obtained her results by portraying anger and aggression on a questionnaire as mutually exclusive acts. This defies both everyday experiences of feeling anger before aggression, as well as much literature that empirically supports these experiences. Secondly, there is much evidence of females being just as, if not more, physically aggressive than males. Finally, there is research which proposes a range of other motives that precede aggression besides anger, thereby undermining Stephenson’s (1997) core presumption that anger is the only likely motive of aggression. Accordingly, a revised questionnaire allowed participant’s to simultaneously rate their anger and aggression orientated responses on hypothetical aggression-inducing situations, and specifically tapped into the types of aggression that are debated to differ between males and females by including separate Verbal Aggression and Physical Aggression scales. Results revealed there to be no differences between males and females in terms of their respective ratings of anger, verbal aggression, and physical aggression. Also, it was found that anger always correlated with some form of aggression, regardless of gender, indicating that anger was the only motive. Future research must pursue individual threads of research into other established influences on aggression, and investigate any relationships between them in order to accurately expand our knowledge of the role and importance of anger to aggression. The current results are compatible with the evidence of no gender differences in any type of aggression, and though the questionnaire’s dimensions are generally under-established to provide any clear idea of situations under which gender differences may be found, they represent a new area for research to expand into with an eye for such differences. CONTENTS Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 Method†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 19 Results†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 26 Discussion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 33 Appendix Sample Questionnaire Raw Data Sample – Items 1 and 2; Participant’s 1 to 42 T-test – All Dimensions; All Scales (Both Genders) Pearson Correlation – All Dimensions; 2-Tailed (Both Genders) Pearson Correlation – All Dimensions; 2-Tailed (Males) Pearson Correlation – All Dimensions; 2-Tailed (Females) Reliability Test – All Dimensions T-test – Situations Beyond One’s Control; All Scales (Both Genders) Pearson Correlation – Situations Beyond One’s Control; 2-Tailed (Both Genders) Pearson Correlation – Situations Beyond One’s Control; 2-Tailed (Males) Pearson Correlation – Situations Beyond One’s Control; 2-Tailed (Females) Reliability Test – Situations Beyond One’s Control T-test – Interpersonal Discrepancies; All Scales (Both Genders) Pearson Correlation – Interpersonal Discrepancies; 2-Tailed (Both Genders) Pearson Correlation – Interpersonal Discrepancies; 2-Tailed (Males) Pearson Correlation – Interpersonal Discrepancies; 2-Tailed (Females) Reliability Test – Interpersonal Discrepancies T-test – Personal Issues; All Scales (Both Genders) Pearson Correlation – Personal Issues; 2-Tailed (Both Genders) Pearson Correlation – Personal Issues; 2-Tailed (Males) Pearson Correlation – Personal Issues; 2-Tailed (Females) Reliability Test – Personal Issues T-test – Physical Uncomfortability; All Scales (Both Genders) Pearson Correlation – Physical Uncomfortability; 2-Tailed (Both Genders) Pearson Correlation – Physical Uncomfortability; 2-Tailed (Males) Pearson Correlation – Physical Uncomfortability; 2-Tailed (Females) Reliability Test – Physical Uncomfortability INTRODUCTION Defining Aggression In a typical discussion of a phenomenon, the first thing that is mentioned is its definition to clarify the focus of the article and provide a foundation on which to base a discussion. When considering aggression, this first step is not a standard one, because most layman’s definitions are inadequate. Indeed, most would agree with Buss’s (1961) definition of aggression as â€Å"a response that delivers noxious stimuli to another organism†. However, advocates of this view are ignorant to other factors that are key. An efficient definition of aggression must first include an intent to harm on behalf of the aggressor. Buss’s (1961) definition lacks this specification of a psychological source that is responsible for the aversive response. Indeed, one of the key models of aggression by Dollard et al (1939), the frustration-aggression hypothesis, argues that â€Å"Aggression is an act whose goal-response is injury to an organism†, which clearly suggests an element of motivation behind the aggression, making the final aggressive response a set of deliberately harmful acts. Essentially therefore, a harmful action without a goal-response, or a deliberate intention, is not an aggressive act. This key factor can be built on by including a second one that is often ignored. The definition must also include a motivation on behalf of the victim to avoid the harmful intent of the aggressor (Baron Richardson 1994). Again, Buss (1961) fails to consider this factor by instead portraying the victim is merely a receiver of aggression. Hence, the definition fails to consider the commonality of situations where a person may tolerate the aggression they receive. An efficient definition, having considered Buss’s (1961) original one and the key factors that it excludes, would constitute a working definition of aggression being the delivery of an aversive stimulus from one person to another, with intent to harm and with the victim receiving the harm to be motivated to avoid this aversive stimulus. Regardless, such a definition is a working one because it neglects the role of emotions and cognitive judgements in aggression, as well as the common occurrence of an aggressive situation being reciprocal. Its main advantage, however, is its ability to account for any form of aggression, as in, verbal or physical because either type can be actuated as intent to harm another person against that persons wishes. The original investigation by Stephenson (1997), of which this study is a partial replication, ignored the above discussed issues of the dynamics of aggression, because the original questionnaire used to obtain one set of results forced participant’s to choose whether their response to a hypothetical aggression-inducing situation would be either verbally aggressive or physically aggressive, thereby not allowing participants to choose both. This mutual exclusivity demonstrates Stephenson’s (1997) ignorance to consider what an efficient definition of aggression must include and, on this premise, ignorance to that fact that both verbal aggression and physical aggression can co-occur. The Provoking of Aggression In addressing the definition of aggression, the next step is to consider what provokes aggression. The consideration of the provocation effectively acts as an extension of the definition of aggression because a phenomena such as this cannot be understood by merely describing its expression. Therefore, an effective discussion of aggression must consider how people become potentially aggressive beings, as well as what stimulants, be they objects or situations, elicit their aggressive responses. The current study works on Dollard et al’s (1939) frustration-aggression hypothesis, which states that frustration produces a condition of readiness or instigation to aggress, and that aggression is always preceded by some form of frustration (Hovland Sears 1940; Landau Raveh 1987; Landau 1988; Novaco 1991; Chen Spector 1992; Catalano et al 1993). The current author expands on this hypothesis by arguing that anger is one such form that frustration manifests itself in and can occur as an isolated phenomenon from aggression, as in, not inevitably co-occurring with an aggressive action in a given situation. This expansion is reflected in the current study’s demarcation of anger from aggression, as represented by the three separate scales for each item for ‘Anger’, ‘Verbal Aggression’, and ‘Physical Aggression’. Geen (2001) argued that â€Å"although anger has a physiological side, manifested in what we today call autonomic arousal and experienced as painful feelings, this is not its most important characteristic. What is most important for aggression is the person’s understanding of how he or she has been treated by the other and how that treatment has caused the pain that is being felt†. Despite the dominant presumption that anger acts as a motivational emotion that instigates aggression, it is essential to consider viewpoints opposed to this one. In doing so, should some results fit alternative conceptions of anger’s relation to aggression, they will be able to be discussed with an eye to re-evaluating the currently dominant conceptualisation of anger and act as identifiable directions for future research. Averill (1982) firmly argues against the apparently necessary connection between anger an aggression, and instead advocates the notion of anger being a socially constructed state. According to Averill (1982), anger has socially defined objectives, such as retribution for an actual or imagined misdeed, and people become angry with other members of society who go against or break acceptable norms of behaviour of a given culture or society. Anger is argued to be aroused in both an objective sense as well as being interpreted in a way that instigates the feeling of anger, whereby a person who is physically assaulted by another interprets the attack for what it is and label’s it as such. In doing so, the victim’s feelings are determined by socially acceptable rules that the victim is not only aware of but aware that such rules have been broken in his or her target of aggression, as in, a feeling of anger. Novaco (1994) also opposes the apparent importance of anger by portraying it as the expression of an emotional experience which collectively represents both physiological and cognitive arousal, which one would label as the result of being antagonised. Such a labelling process is an automatic reaction to the perception of the aggressive act. As such, if a provocative action elicits an increase in arousal, then that action is instantly encoded by the victim as a feeling of anger. Novaco (1994) further argues that anger is not a sufficient or necessary cause of aggression, but merely an important one in it’s elicitation. Furthermore, he argues that aggression is not ultimately triggered by anger, and anger as a singular emotional phenomena does not inherently produce aggression if the given person does not have a social history which makes such aggressive behaviour likely. Aggression as a Social Act Aggression is ultimately a social act, in either it’s physical or verbal form – a â€Å"physical force or threat of physical force that results in physical or non-physical harm to one or more person’s†¦against the will or without the consent of the other person or person’s† (Weiner, Zahn, Sagi 1990), or a behaviour directed towards the goal of harming or injuring another living being who is motivated to avoid such treatment (Baron 1977). Though such definitions may not be superior to the earlier revised definition of aggression, they both satisfy the goal of clearly emphasising the social nature of aggression. As a means of providing a foundation on which to consider moderating variables in aggression, several significant socialisation theories and findings of aggression are reviewed. The most relevant of these theories is arguably Bandura’s (1973; 1977) social learning theory, which applies to all behaviour, including aggression, by arguing that it is determined by observing, and thereby learning from, the behaviour of another and noting a reward for that behaviour. Bandura claims that observation becomes behaviour by storing that behaviour in memory. The symbols of this behaviour in memory are then converted into actions similar to the behaviour that has been retained in memory. The final stage of the social learning process involves the repetition of the retained behaviour, which is determined by whether it causes reinforcement or punishment and if the person is motivated enough to perform the behaviour (Bandura 1977). With reference to aggression, those who perceive aggressive behaviour as a source of pride or self-esteem may act violently to experience the self-satisfaction that is associated with acting aggressively (Parke Slaby 1983). Band ura’s (1973) theory rests on the notion of reinforcement or punishment of an observed person, or a ‘model’ of the behaviour that the observing person may be retaining in memory depending on the outcome of the observed person’s behaviour. If another person is seen to behave aggressively and receive some kind of reward (e.g. praise from others), then there is a high probability that this observed person will act as a ‘model’ of acceptable behaviour that the observer will store in memory to enact in the future. Bandura (1973) proposed three specific such models that increase the likelihood of aggressive behaviour – family, subculture (for example, peer groups), and culture, represented by things like television and films. There is plenty of evidence to support the notion of these specific models influencing the likelihood of aggressive behaviour, such as Gully et al (1981), Kalmuss (1984), and Farrington (1991) citing the significance o f aggressive family behaviour, Cairns Cairns (1991) finding influences of peer groups, and Huesmann et al (1992), Eron et al (1972), and Goldstein (1986) who find influences of cultural symbols such as television and films. Patterson’s (Patterson 1982; Patterson et al 1989, 1991) theory of the importance of parental and family interactions, both draws on, and lends credibility to, Bandura’s notion of the reinforcement of models. Patterson based his theory on the consistent finding of families with aggressive children exhibiting high levels of parental and child coercive behaviour. Parents were harsh and inconsistent in their application of discipline, were less positively involved with their children, and were less effective in supervising their children’s aggression (Patterson Dishion 1985; Loeber Dishion 1983; Morton 1987). Patterson derived from these consistent findings that this kind of family is training the child to behave aggressively via the interactions between the parents and the child which are constantly forceful and can frequently lead to physical attacks. Accordingly, the child learns to apply forceful behaviour to escape such negative situations and gradua lly learns to control situations with other family members via such forceful interactions, thereby reinforcing the behaviour, with the parent’s being the relevant responsible models. The Debate Of Sex Differences Having currently reached a stage in which apparent explanations of aggression can be argued to particularly male-orientated, an appropriate foundation for the discussion of the debate over sex differences in aggression has now been laid. Accordingly, one must now consider the variously proposed avenues of differences between male and female aggression that the literature into the issue has provided, and then consider it in relation to evidence that undermines such avenues. Advocates of the biological perspective of gender differences argue that biological differences between males and females inherently predispose them to exhibit significant differences in aggression intensity and expression. Hormonal research has received much attention for proposed biological gender differences because the findings of various studies, as well as the purpose of the hormones themselves, are debatable. On the one hand, consistent positive correlations between testosterone level and the level of aggression among males have been found (Dabbs et al 1987; Dabbs Morris 1990), as well as hormone levels positively correlating with observer- and self-ratings of aggression among males (Susman et al 1987; Gladue 1991). Conversely, dissenters argue against the biological perspective completely and instead take a social-cognitive stance by arguing that the influences of society and unique cognitive elements have a far bigger influence (Campbell et al 1997). There is evide nce which indirectly supports such claims, whereby the presumed direction of causality of hormones causing aggression is undermined by studies indicating the reverse relationship (Mazur Lamb 1980; Salvador et al 1987). There is also debate on whether hormones are directly related to increases in aggression, or whether they merely increase a readiness for the person to become aggressive in response to adequate provocation. Van Goozen et al’s (1994) finding is exemplary of this debate’s rationale, when the study manipulated the testosterone levels of female-to-male sex-change treatments, and found that there were no changes in the general self-reported levels of aggression but significant increases in the self-reported proneness to behave aggressively in reaction to hypothetical aggression-provoking situations. Furthermore, Van Goozen et al (1995) found an increase in aggression proneness in a female-to-male group after treatment as well as an opposite decrease in ag gression proneness in a male-to-female group, all in response to hypothetically aggression-provoking situations. It is safe to infer from this reviewed evidence that there is much debate over the relationship of hormones to aggression. There are conflicting conclusions between the likes of Dabbs et al (1987) and Susman et al (1987) with Mazur Lamb (1980) and Salvador et al (1987), which is further complicated by Van Goozen et al’s (1994; 1995) evidence that strikes against the presumed direct link between aggression and hormones that underlies all of these studies, by arguing for hormones merely influencing, rather than governing, aggression. The causal link remains uncertain between hormones and aggression, but nevertheless utilises predictions of aggression when a given situation most typically provokes a person to behave aggressively. Therefore, hormones should be cautiously interpreted as only a ‘background’ variable of the likelihood of aggression betwe en males and females. Many reviews have been performed into the literature of the social acceptability of aggression in relation to gender-prescribed behavioural norms, but Frodi et al (1977) illustrates one of the clearer pictures of the differences between these norms. Frodi et al (1977) concluded that both males and females were less likely to act aggressively against another female than against a male, that females were more likely to perceive aggression as more inappropriate than males, that females were more likely to aim to repress aggression more than males, being more likely than males to feel guilt after an aggressive act, as well as differing in terms of how they interpreted, assessed, and reacted to aggression-inducing situations. Geen (2001) interprets this exemplary review as indicative of how males and females behave in accordance with socially defined norms in judging aggression and the affective states which accompany it. Another particularly prevalent area of research into the differences between male and female aggression is that which investigates the qualitative differences in the situations that provoke males and females into behaving aggressively. A study by Paul et al (1993) found females to get more aggressive than men towards unfaithful partner’s and other rival’s for their partner’s attention. Bettencourt Miller’s (1996) review illustrated that men were more aggressive than women in neutral conditions, as well as specific types of provocation highlighting sex differences in aggression. Whereas with women physical attacks and insults elicited far more aggression than when a verbal attack was made on her the self esteem, males reacted equally aggressive to attacks on their self-esteem as much as their physical selves, which were both more than the aggression in response to an insult. The review further showed that men were more aggressive than women when p hysical aggression was available to them, but were equally aggressive as each other when verbal aggression was involved. Eagly Steffen’s (1986) meta-analysis illustrated the importance of personal perceptions of the effects of their aggression between males and females. It was found that females were significantly less physically aggressive than men when they feel that they will bring harm to the victim, or themselves, or predict feelings of guilt or anxiety, thereby illustrating that personal gender-related beliefs can have a significant effect on the extent to which aggression is expressed. The researcher’s concluded that the differences between such gender-related beliefs are amplified in situations involving physical aggression, which is consistent with the frequent finding of males being highly more likely to be significantly more aggressive than females when aggression is physical in nature. Ultimately, the types of provocation leading to aggression and the beliefs behind the perceived consequences of the aggression expressed illustrate that males and females differ in terms of the type of aggression that they typically prefer to exhibit, whereby males prefer to use physical aggression more than females, who prefer to be more verbally aggressive. Correlations Between Sex and Types of Aggression As has just been illustrated, each gender has a typically preferred method of aggression to use, further, and more importantly, illustrating that it would be highly erroneous to treat aggression as a singular, or general, phenomenon. With sex differences within aggression being the debate that it is, and having considered the arguments for significant differences across various variables (for example, in terms of provocation and beliefs of consequences), it would be erroneous to not consider the evidence against such specific differences. There is substantial evidence that reports no differences in the use of physical aggression between males and females. Burke, Stets, Pirog-Good (1988) reported no significant difference between men and women in reporting inflicting or sustaining physical abuse, while a review by Flynn (1990) concluded that researchers consistently have found that men and women in relationships, both marital and premarital engage in comparable amounts of violence, Henton et al (1983) found that both partners in a relationship initiated physical aggression at similar rates to each other, which was also found by Kwong, Bartholomew, Dutton (1999) who reported similar rates of male and female violence in dating relationships, as well as White Koss (1991) finding that 37% of males and 35% of females inflicted physical aggression on another, and Vivian Langhinrichsen-Rohling (1996) finding no significant differences between husbands and wives reports concerning the frequency and severity of physic al aggression, The literature also contains substantial evidence of females being more physically aggressive than males. Archer’s (2000) meta-analysis concluded that women were more likely than men to use one or more acts of physical aggression and to use such acts more frequently, while Harders et al (1998) found females to be significantly more physically aggressive than males in terms of pushing, slapping, and punching, Thompson (1990) found 24.6% of males compared to 28.4% of females expressing physical aggression toward their dating partners, Follingstad, Wright, Sebastian (1991) found that females were twice as likely to report perpetrating physical aggression as males, and Foshee (1996) finding 27.8% of females compared to 15.0% of males reported being physically aggressive. Also, Arias, Samios, OLeary (1987) found a higher proportion of females to males as behaving severely physically aggressive, while DeMaris (1992) concluded when one partner could be said to be the usual i nitiator of violence, that partner was most often the women†. Such studies over the last fifteen to twenty years are consistent with longitudinal studies such as Straus Kaufman-Kantor (1994) who found that the trend of decreasing severe assaults by husbands found in the National Survey from 1975 to 1985 has continued in the 1992 version of the survey, while wives maintained higher rates of assault. Such longitudinal findings bare resemblance to Stets Henderson (1991) finding females to be six times more likely than men to use severe aggression†, Bland Orne (1986) finding that females both acted and initiated physical violence at a higher percentage than males, Bookwala et al (1992) finding that females reported initiating violence with non-aggressive partners more often than males, and Brush (1990) finding that females engage in the same amount of spousal violence as females. Similarly, Sommer (1994) found 21% of â€Å"males and 13% of females partners required me dical attention as a result of a partner abuse incident, and Simonelli Ingram (1998) found that 40% of males reporting being the victim of physical aggression from female partners also reported greater levels of distress and depression than women. The Hypothesis Such consistent evidence as outlined above which is contrary to the earlier described studies that illustrate males to be more physically aggressive than females, clearly illustrates an ongoing debate as to which picture is more representative of the true nature of different types of aggression proportionate to males and females. As such, the motivation of the current study is to investigate this issue further, with a focus on the distinction between physical and verbal aggression. This is investigated in relation to the debate over anger being a prerequisite to aggression, as well as to whether physical aggression is a final potential stage that follows from verbal aggression, which has itself followed from feelings of anger or frustration. The evidence that suggests males are more physically aggressive than females acts as a direct contrast to the evidence that suggests females can be just as, if not more, physically aggressive than males. There are three probable outcomes for this study, given the prevalent evidence in the literature – males being more physically aggressive, while females are more verbally aggressive; females being no less physically aggressive than males; females being more physically aggressive than males. The current author argues that Stephenson’s (1997) methodological flaws detract a lot of the reliability from its conclusions, which makes its contribution to efficiently resolving the debate little more than null, and so therefore would have more likely found there to be at least no differences in the types of aggression used between males and females had the questionnaire not been flawed. Furthermore, this possibility is compatible with two of the three probable outcomes th at disputes the research that has revealed sex differences, thereby making the finding of males being more physically aggressive and females more verbally aggressive less likely in proportion to all of the probable findings. Ultimately, being as it more likely to find that there will be at least no differences in the types of aggression used between females and males, the hypothesis for this study will be that males will not be significantly more physically aggressive than females. METHOD Pilot Study Participants The age of participant’s ranged from 20 years old to 55 years old (N=10). Five were male and the other five were female. Three of the five males (mean age = 20.75 years) and three of the five females (mean age = 20.6 years) were students at the University of Lincoln. The two remaining males (mean age = 39.4 years) and the two remaining females (mean age = 43.3 years) were neighbours or friends of the researcher. Materials A standard tape recorder recorded the discussions between the participants and the researcher. The researcher also used a photocopy of the original items from Stephenson’s (1997) questionnaire. There were twenty-seven items derived from all the transcribed discussion with the ten participants. Four dimensions were derived the items, each of which satisfied reliability tests – eight items comprised a â€Å"Situation’s Beyond One’s Control† dimension (Cronbach’s ? = .857), nine comprised an â€Å"Interpersonal Discrepancies† (Cronbach’s ? = .885) dimension, five formed a â€Å"Personal Issues† dimension (Cronbach’s ? = .819), and the final five formed the â€Å"Physical Uncomfortability† dimension (Cronbach’s ? = .858). All dimensions collectively ‘hung’ together reliably (Cronbach’s ? = .903). Below every item in the questionnaire, there were three separate scales that the participant’s in the main study were required to rate their opinions on. These were ‘Anger’, ‘Verbal Aggression’, and ‘Physical Aggression’. To improve upon the range of the original questionnaire, the current study has designed an 8-point scale to apply to all three dimensions for every item. Not only will this solve the middle value problem on Stephenson’s (1997) original questionnaire but also it’s extended range will more accurately complement the slight differences in feelings or opinions towards aggression and anger. Design Participants were chosen using an opportunistic procedure. The only measure that applied in terms of selection was that of the genders of the participant’s in accordance with the current study’s focus on gender differences in the expression of aggression. Procedure Participants were taken into an enclosed room. The participant’s and the researcher were sat around a table. On the table was the tape recorder. The participant’s were briefed as to the purpose of the imminent discussion. They were reassured that they were free to leave the conversation at any point, that they should not feel pressured to partake in the discussion, that anything that they say or do does not implicate them personally, and that all details disclosed to the researcher throughout the conversation would remain strictly private and confidential. The researcher then began recording on the recorder and read an item from the original study’s questionnaire to the participant’s. They were asked what they thought of that item in terms of it’s relevance to their own lives and to also describe any situations that they have experienced which resemble the described item in any way. This typically created a conversation with at least one other member of the group, whereby that participant would also disclose an experience that he or she in some way related to the item that had been read aloud. The researcher would allow the conversation to continue until it was deemed necessary to move onto the next item, either because enough material was judged to have been collected from the participant’s or because the conversation was judged to be merging into a separate topic of discussion. At this point, the researcher would kindly end the discussion of that item and then read aloud the next item on the list to instigate a further discussion. This procedure was repeated for every item from Stephenson’s (1997) original item list. Once all the items had been read through, the tape recorder was stopped, the participant’s were debriefed, and finally thanked for their time. Results The tape recordings of every group discussion were transcribed and analysed for frequent situations that were described. From an intense analysis of all the transcribed discussions, there were four dimensions that the participant’s descriptions fell into, which represent categories of the participant’s descriptions that are unique and specific in their material content when compared to other given items. The dimension of â€Å"Physical Uncomfortability† was deduced because the participant’s often referred to situations where they were agitated by circumstances which were particularly physical. Though some of these were in the context of physical contact with other members of society and others were of personal physical irritation, they were all judged to share the common underlying theme of potential aggression and anger as being induced by some kind of personal physical contact with another physical entity. The â€Å"Interpersonal Discrepancies† dimension specifically differed from the items that appeared in the â€Å"Physical Uncomfortability† dimension because the participant’s frequently described particular situations that irritated them on a verbal interaction level and they did not refer to any physical aspect that irritated them. The title for the dimension was deduced on the grounds that the participant’s frequently referred to situations involving friends and people that they knew who irritated them. As such, these situations were particularly prevalent and therefore sufficiently distinguishable as a category, from â€Å"Physical Uncomfortability† because this dimension was derived from situations that involved people which were strangers rather than people which were known (as were so among the â€Å"Interpersonal Discrepancies† items). The third â€Å"Situations Beyond One’s Control† dimension was deduced because there would be frequent situations that people would describe where they emphasised a feeling of powerlessness in a given situation. They would frequently elaborate on the situation by describing how they wish they could instantly do something about their situation but because of physical inability’s or the moral implications of the actions they would take, they felt helplessly confined to their irritating situation. These situations would be both personal and impersonal in nature but these were judged as distinguishable from â€Å"Interpersonal Discrepancies† items because the deduced items in this dimension did not hint at any feelings of powerlessness. In the â€Å"Interpersonal Discrepancies†, the participant’s often described how they would deal with the situation if it were to occur again and how they would cope with the consequences of their actions. The situations which produced the â€Å"Interpersonal Discrepancies† dimension consistently contained elements of situational control, whereas those in the â€Å"Situations Beyond One’s Control† dimension collectively demonstrated a strong underlying element of hopelessness. The final â€Å"Personal Issues† dimension was deduced because the participant’s regularly described situations that irritated them which referred to their own abilities, situations in which only themselves were present and could only hold themselves responsible, or situations which involved distant family or close friends. In terms of their own abilities, participant’s frequently referred to psychological capacities which irritated them, the most frequent of which referred to the difficulty in understanding a particular document or article. A particular theme was recognised in a number of the situations that people described, whereby they did not refer to, or specifically ruled out, outside influences of other people or uncontrollable situations which lead to them to experience the irritations in their situations and that such irritations were the result of their own personal actions or abilities. It became clear that there were situations where people e xplicitly stated that they felt that they were in some way wholly responsible for the irritation or anger that they experienced in the situation. Not all of the items which were used from the original questionnaire sample elicited descriptions from participant’s which were frequent enough to create another dimension. There were about five or six situations that were read to people and the responses they produced were either not repeated by other people frequently enough or were not the subject of a discussion amongst the group of people to suggest that it was a situation that elicited anger, aggression, or irritation on a wholly personal level rather than one which people were familiar with across the whole group. In other words, there were situations that were too personally specific and therefore especially different in content in relation to those that appeared in those collectively described by other people. Main Study Sample Design A total of 54 participant’s were used in the study. Questionnaires were given to 27 females and 27 males. An opportunistic design was employed just as in the pilot study. Friends and neighbours over 20 years of age were asked to complete a questionnaire. 13 of the males were students at Lincoln University, as were 14 of the female students. The remaining 14 males and 13 females were neighbours and friends outside of Lincoln University, who were typically older than the male and female students. Materials Because the questionnaires were completed in the participant’s own time, the only necessary materials provided was the questionnaire itself Procedure Participants were approached and asked if they would give their time to complete the questionnaire. All participants were told that it could take between 15 to 45 minutes to complete and were then asked if they felt comfortable with this amount of their time being spent. If participant’s agreed to proceed, they were given a copy of the questionnaire. Participants were discreetly monitored every five minutes to check if the participant had completed his or her questionnaire, but without interrupting his or her concentration. When the participant had completed the questionnaire, he or she were debriefed on the aims and expectations of the study, reassured that their results were confidential and in no way implicated them personally or psychologically, and finally thanked for their participation in the study. Results Being as all of the scales of this questionnaire satisfactorily met the reliability demands of Cronbach’s Alpha analysis, the results of the collective analysis of all four dimensions will first be described, and then the results pertaining to each comprising dimension will be successively described. All Dimensions Table 1 shows that across all four of the questionnaire’s dimensions, males (M = 48.74) were more angry than females (F = 42.48) on the Anger scale ratings but non-significantly (t ² (52) = 1.066, p >.291), on the Verbal Aggression scale females (F = 121.70) produced higher ratings overall than the males (M = 119.40) but non-significantly (t ² (52) = .209, p > .835), and on the Physical Aggression scale males (M = 87.93) produced higher scores than females (F = 83.48), but non-significantly (t ² (52) = .483, p > .631). Across both genders and all four dimensions, there was a significant correlation between ratings on the Anger scale and Verbal Aggression scale (r (54) = .270; p < .05), a significant correlation between the ratings on the Anger scale and Physical Aggression scale (r (54) = .668; p < .01), and a significant correlation between the ratings on the Physical Aggression scale and the ratings on the Verbal Aggression (r (54) = .470; p < .01). Among females, across all four dimensions, there was a non-significant correlation (i.e. no correlation) between ratings on the Anger scale and Verbal Aggression scale (r (27) = .123; p > .05), a significant correlation between the ratings on the Anger scale and Physical Aggression scale (r (27) = .603; p < .01), and a significant correlation between the ratings on the Physical Aggression scale and the ratings on the Verbal Aggression (r (27) = .398; p < .05), as can be seen in Table 2 below. Among males, across all four dimensions, there was a significant correlation between ratings on the Anger scale and Verbal Aggression scale (r (27) = .433; p < .05), a significant correlation between the ratings on the Anger scale and Physical Aggression scale (r (27) = .734; p < .01), and a significant correlation between the ratings on the Physical Aggression scale and the ratings on the Verbal Aggression (r (27) = .533; p < .01), as can be seen in Table 3 below. Dimension 1 Situations Beyond Ones Control Males (M = 16.26) scored higher than females (F = 14.44) on the Anger scale but non-significantly (t ² (52) = 1.004, p > .320), on the Verbal Aggression scale males (M = 35.93) scored higher than females (F = 34.89) but non-significantly (t ² (52) = .310, p > .758), and on the Physical Aggression scale males (M = 27.15) again scored higher than females (F = 25.19), but again non-significantly (t ² (52) = .670, p > .506). Across both males and females, there were positive correlations between ratings on the Anger scale and Verbal Aggression scale (r (54) = .450; p < .01), between the ratings on the Anger scale and Physical Aggression scale (r (54) = .586; p < .01), and between the ratings on the Physical Aggression scale and the ratings on the Verbal Aggression (r (54) = .560; p < .01). Among females, there were positive correlations between ratings on the Anger scale and Verbal Aggression scale (r (27) = .407; p < .05), between the ratings on the Anger scale and Physical Aggression scale (r (27) = .565; p < .01), and between the ratings on the Physical Aggression scale and the ratings on the Verbal Aggression (r (27) = .578; p < .01). Among males, there was a positive correlation between ratings on the Anger scale and Verbal Aggression scale (r (27) = .495; p < .01), between the ratings on the Anger scale and Physical Aggression scale (r (27) = .605; p < .01), and between the ratings on the Physical Aggression scale and the ratings on the Verbal Aggression (r (27) = .552; p < .01). Dimension 2 – Interpersonal Discrepancies In this dimension, males (M = 13.74) were found to be more angry on the Anger scale than females (F = 11.96) but non-significantly so (t ² (52) = .889, p > .373), on the Verbal Aggression scale females (F = 39.63) were found to be more verbally aggressive than males (M = 38.70) but non-significantly (t ² (52) = .230, p > .819), and on the Physical Aggression scale males (M = 27.11) were found to be more physically aggressive than females (F = 26.89), but again non-significantly (t ² (52) = .069, p > .946). Across both males and females, there was a non-significant correlation (i.e. no correlation) between ratings on the Anger scale and Verbal Aggression scale (r (54) = .178; p > .05), a significant correlation between the ratings on the Anger scale and Physical Aggression scale (r (54) = .574; p < .01), and a significant correlation between the ratings on the Physical Aggression scale and the ratings on the Verbal Aggression (r (54) = .507; p < .01). Among females, there was a non-significant correlation (i.e. no correlation) between ratings on the Anger scale and Verbal Aggression scale (r (27) = .050; p > .05), a significant correlation between the ratings on the Anger scale and Physical Aggression scale (r (27) = .447; p < .01), and a significant correlation between the ratings on the Physical Aggression scale and the ratings on the Verbal Aggression (r (27) = .528; p < .01). Among males, there was a non-significant correlation (i.e. no correlation) between ratings on the Anger scale and Verbal Aggression scale (r (27) = .306; p > .05), a significant correlation between the ratings on the Anger scale and Physical Aggression scale (r (27) = .675; p < .01), and a significant correlation between the ratings on the Physical Aggression scale and the ratings on the Verbal Aggression (r (27) = .495; p < .01). Dimension 3 – Personal Issues In this dimension, males (M = 6.96) were found to be more angry than females (F = 6.67) but non-significantly, (t ² (52) = .297, p > .768), on the Verbal Aggression scale females (F = 21.74) were found to be more verbally aggressive than males (M = 20.41) but non-significantly (t ² (52) = .614, p > .542), and on the Physical Aggression scale, males (M = 13.81) were again found to be more physically aggressive than females (F = 13.70), but again non-significantly (t ² (52) = .065, p > .948). Across both males and females, there was a non-significant correlation (i.e. no correlation) between ratings on the Anger scale and Verbal Aggression scale (r (54) = .201; p > .05), a significant correlation between the ratings on the Anger scale and Physical Aggression scale (r (54) = .611; p < .01), and a significant correlation between the ratings on the Physical Aggression scale and the ratings on the Verbal Aggression (r (54) = .383; p < .01). Among females, there was a non-significant correlation (i.e. no correlation) between ratings on the Anger scale and Verbal Aggression scale (r (27) = .106; p ? .05), a significant correlation between the ratings on the Anger scale and Physical Aggression scale (r (27) = .598; p .05). Among males, there was a non-significant correlation (i.e. no correlation) between ratings on the Anger scale and Verbal Aggression scale (r (27) = .316; p ? .05), a significant correlation between the ratings on the Anger scale and Physical Aggression scale (r (27) = .640; p < .01), and a significant correlation between the ratings on the Physical Aggression scale and the ratings on the Verbal Aggression (r (27) = .463; p < .01). Dimension 4 – Physical Uncomfortability Finally, in this dimension, males (M = 11.78) were found to be more angry than females (F = 9.41) on the Anger scale but non-significantly so (t ² (52) = 1.368, p > .177), on the Verbal Aggression scale females (F = 25.44) were found to be more verbally aggressive than males (M = 24.37) but non-significantly (t ² (52) = .476, p > .636), and on the Physical Aggression scale males (M = 19.85) were found to be more physically aggressive than females (F = 17.70) but again, non-significantly so (t ² (52) = .928, p > .358). Across both males and females, there was a significant correlation between ratings on the Anger scale and Verbal Aggression scale (r (54) = .299; p < .05), a significant correlation between the ratings on the Anger scale and Physical Aggression scale (r (54) = .767; p < .01), and a significant correlation between the ratings on the Physical Aggression scale and the ratings on the Verbal Aggression (r (54) = .507; p < .01). Among females, there was a non-significant correlation (i.e. no correlation) between ratings on the Anger scale and Verbal Aggression scale (r (27) = .163; p > .05), a significant correlation between the ratings on the Anger scale and Physical Aggression scale (r (27) = .753; p < .01), and a significant correlation between the ratings on the Physical Aggression scale and the ratings on the Verbal Aggression (r (27) = .411; p < .05). Among males, there was a significant correlation between ratings on the Anger scale and Verbal Aggression scale (r (27) = .468; p < .01), a significant correlation between the ratings on the Anger scale and Physical Aggression scale (r (27) = .785; p < .01), and a significant correlation between the ratings on the Physical Aggression scale and the ratings on the Verbal Aggression (r (27) = .601; p < .01). Research Papers on The debate of gender differences in aggression - Psychology Research PaperResearch Process Part OneEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2The Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesMind TravelIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalStandardized TestingRiordan Manufacturing Production Plan

Geography of Ecuador - Learn Information about South Americas Ecuador

Geography of Ecuador - Learn Information about South America's Ecuador Population: 14,573,101 (July 2010 estimate)Capital: QuitoBordering Countries: Columbia and PeruLand Area: 109,483 square miles (283,561 sq km)Coastline: 1,390 miles (2,237 km)Highest Point: Chimborazo at 20,561 feet (6,267 m)Ecuador is a country located on the west coast of South America between Columbia and Peru. It is known for its position along the Earths equator and for officially controlling the Galapagos Islands which are about 620 miles (1,000 km) from Ecuadors mainland. Ecuador is also incredibly biodiverse and it has a medium-sized economy.History of EcuadorEcuador has a long history of settlement by native peoples but by the 15th century it was controlled by the Inca Empire. In 1534 however, the Spanish arrived and took the area from the Inca. Throughout the rest of the 1500s, Spain developed colonies in Ecuador and in 1563, Quito was named as an administrative district of Spain.Beginning in 1809, Ecuadorian natives began to revolt against Spain and in 1822 independence fo rces beat the Spanish army and Ecuador joined the Republic of Gran Colombia. In 1830 though, Ecuador became a separate republic. In its early years of independence and through the 19th century, Ecuador was unstable politically and it had a number of different rulers. By the late 1800s, Ecuadors economy was beginning to develop as it became an exporter of cocoa and its people began to practice agriculture along the coast.The early 1900s in Ecuador were also unstable politically and in the 1940s it had a short war with Peru that ended in 1942 with the Rio Protocol. According to the U.S. Department of State, the Rio Protocol, led to Ecuador conceding a portion of its land that was in the Amazon area to draw the borders that it currently has today. Ecuadors economy continued to grow after World War II and bananas became a large export.Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Ecuador stabilized politically and was run as a democracy but in 1997 instability returned after Abdala Bucaram (who became president in 1996) was removed from office after claims of corruption . In 1998, Jamil Mahuad was elected president but he was unpopular with the public due to economic problems. On January 21, 2000, a junta took place and Vice President Gustavo Noboa took control.Despite some of Noboas positive policies, political stability did not return to Ecuador until 2007 with the election of Rafael Correa. In October 2008, a new constitution went into effect and several policies of reform were enacted shortly thereafter.Government of EcuadorToday Ecuadors government is considered a republic. It has an executive branch with a chief of state and a head of government - both of which are filled by the president. Ecuador also has a unicameral National Assembly of 124 seats that makes up its legislative branch and a judicial branch composed of the National Court of Justice and the Constitutional Court.Economics and Land Use in EcuadorEcuador currently has a medium-sized economy that is based mainly on its petroleum resources and agricultural products. These products in clude bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, tapioca, plantains, sugarcane, cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products, balsa wood, fish and shrimp. In addition to petroleum, Ecuadors other industrial products include food processing, textiles, wood products and various chemicals manufacturing.Geography, Climate and Biodiversity of EcuadorEcuador is unique in its geography because it is located on the Earths equator. Its capital Quito is located only 15 miles (25 km) from a latitude of 0Ëš. Ecuador has a varied topography which includes coastal plains, central highlands and a flat eastern jungle. In addition, Ecuador has an area called Region Insular which contains the Galapagos Islands.In addition to its unique geography, Ecuador is known as being highly biodiverse and according to Conservation International it is one of the worlds most biodiverse countries. This is because it owns the Galapagos Islands as well as portions of the Amazon Rainforest. According to Wikipedia, Ecuador has 15% of the worlds known bird species, 16,000 species of plants, 106 endemic reptiles and 138 amphibians. The Galapagos also have a number of uni que endemic species and is where Charles Darwin developed his Theory of Evolution. It should be noted that a large portion of Ecuadors high mountains are volcanic. The countrys highest point, Mount Chimborazo is a stratovolcano and because of the Earths shape, it is considered as the point on the Earth that is farthest from its center at an elevation of 6,310 m.Ecuadors climate is considered humid subtropical in the rainforest areas and along its coast. The rest however is dependent on altitude. Quitos, with an elevation of 9,350 feet (2,850 m), average July high temperature is 66ËšF (19ËšC) and its January average low is 49ËšF (9.4ËšC) however, these high and low temperatures are the average highs and lows for each month of the year due to its location near the Equator.To learn more about Ecuador, visit the Geography and Maps section on Ecuador on this website.References Central Intelligence Agency. (29 September 2010). CIA - The World Factbook - Ecuador. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ec.htmlInfoplease.com. (n.d.). Ecuador: History, Geography, Government, and Culture- Infoplease.com. Retrieved from: infoplease.com/ipa/A0107479.htmlUnited States Department of State. (24 May 2010). Ecuador. Retrieved from: state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35761.htmWikipedia.com. (15 October 2010). Ecuador - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecuador