Brazilian foreign policy

The fact that Brazil is one of the most important emerging nations can not be denied. There is no doubt that this country leads the pack when it comes to economic and political supremacy in the southern part of the American continent. This has been made possible by the desire of this country to become a regional and global power to reckon with. To this end, most of the presidents that have ruled this nation since the end of the military rule in the 1980’s have come up with foreign policies that can be viewed as assuming an international look while at the same time trying to maintain the sovereignty of this nation.Most notable of these foreign policies is the one that is adopted by the current Brazilian president. When Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took the helm of this country in 2003, he came up with a foreign policy that seemed to be in contrast in some ways to his predecessor’s. Fernando Henrique Cardoso’s foreign policy, when compared to that of Lula, shows some remarkable differences. Lula has been vocal in opposing the hegemony that is associated with American foreign policies.He tries to create an economic and political system that is independent on the American influence while at the same been recognized by America as an equal, rather than a puppet of the American government. This stance seemed to be criticized when he developed a brief relationship, a close one, with George W. Bush when he came to power in 2002. This may be the reason why his foreign policies have been regarded as been inconsistent. But he maintains a pessimistic view of the globalization phenomenon. He regards it as the tool that is used by the rich nations to stifle and exploit both the poor and the emerging nations.This paper is going to take a critical look at Lula’s foreign policy. The strong points of his policy will be reviewed, as well as the weaknesses and challenges. Lula’s Foreign Policy: Assertive? According to Hurrell (51), Lula can be descri bed as having taken a stand on international system that can be described as been mildly interesting. He views this international system with doubt, but goes ahead to say that it is possible for brazil to maintain an â€Å"activist and assertive foreign policy† (Hurrell 51).Cardoso’s foreign policy was regarded as not been assertive enough. He was once quoted saying that â€Å"creating friction with Washington is to lose† (Hurrell 53). This administration was not seen as defending the interests of this Latin American nation sufficiently. Lula sought to adapt a different style, aided by his supporters in the Workers Party. Lula emphasized the fact that the instability of the international system coupled by the centralization of powers in few hands was not a recipe for the development and sovereignty of Brazil.He was of the view that United States, together with a handful of allies, held far too much power in the international arena, such that if anything were to happen to them, it will affect most of the world’s nations negatively (Hurrell 51). He has always pointed to the current economic crisis as an example of how blunders committed by the wealthy nation of the world led to miseries of the poor nations. His disdain for the developed nations was evident when he talked down on Gordon Brown in a press conference in March 2009. He made the quote that made international headlines for days.â€Å"This crisis was caused by whiter people with blue eyes (sic)†¦. they pretended to know all about economics† (SkyNews 2009). He said this in front of Gordon brown, one his so called â€Å"white people with blue eyes†. Apart from showing how much he detested western powers, this statement was a clear indication of the fact that Lula does not fear these greedy westerners. He will stand by what he believes to be the truth, even if it did not go down well with the whites. The only other head of state that can be expected to make su ch a statement is maybe the Muslim leaders. But a president from a reportedly friendly nation to the Americans!Lula contends that the hyped global economy is more injurious than it is beneficial to the emerging nations (Hurrell 52). By this form of trade, the western nations entrench themselves in the world political and economic arena, while crises are created for the poor. A pointer to this is the current economic crisis. There is also a lot of inequality both internally and externally. This is because global trade benefits few individuals inside the local economies and few nations in the international arena. Lula’s administration has always sought to maintain the autonomy of this nation in the international arena (Hurrell 52).But at the same time, it needs to forge ties with other nations around the world. Lula has concentrated in forming ties with other emerging nations, shunning the western and developed countries (Barriaux 1). This will mitigate the external vulnerabili ties associated with disassociation with the world superpowers. That is why Lula has shunned the North American’s Free Trade Area. Instead, he has resorted to strengthening regional cooperation with neighbors like Uruguay, Paraguay and others across the continent like South Africa, china and India (Fitzpatrick 1).Lula has started to give Washington jitters when it became obvious that he was intent in developing Brazilian nuclear technology (Hurrell 52). His administration is engaged in industrial secrets. But at the same time, he is wise enough to maintain friendly relations with the nuclear inspection teams that have been deployed to Brazil. Lula’s Foreign Policy: Successful? His policies have been hailed by many people as been a success story. This is considering the fact that countries which have tried to defy the western superpowers have fallen by the way side.But Brazil blazes ahead, albeit jerkily, even after defying America Washington and London. But still, some critics have been opining that Lula’s foreign policy is inconsistent. But maybe, the consistency of Lula’s foreign policy lies in its inconsistency. Perhaps the strength of his foreign policy lies in these so called inconsistencies. Brazil has always maintained a tough stance when it came to global trade. She was defiant that no dumping of low quality goods from foreign economies will be done on her economy.This was contradicted when Lula’s administration acknowledged China as a â€Å"market economy† (Fitzpatrick 1). This was in 2004. What this means is that Brazil can not stop the flow of low quality goods from China. China is known for her tendency to flood the international economy with her cheap, low quality goods. This is death sentence to the local industries. Brazil has resisted this until this point in time. China refused to back Lula in his bid to get a permanent slot at the United Nations’ Security Council (Fitzpatrick 1). This was seen as inconsistency in Lula’s stance of an autonomous nation.However, in 2009, Lula was in Beijing. This was perhaps payback time for China. While he was there, he signed a deal with Hu Jintao that would see Brazil export a total of 200,000 barrels of crude oil to Beijing (Barriaux 1). Also, a loan was offered to him from the Chinese government that was to spur development in Brazil. This was in excess of 10-billion dollar (Barriaux 1). He took his disdain of the American regime there when he said that plans were underway to abandon the American dollar as the medium of exchange when the two countries were conducting trade.This is the consistency of Lula’s inconsistent foreign policy that the writer is talking about. Lula, by signing the contract with the Chinese government, expressed his desire of cementing ties with other nations apart from the West. Brazil is a gross exporter of agricultural products, and this is the backbone of her economy (Fitzpatrick 1). When Lula an d his lieutenants take the pessimistic and negative regard of the global market, one is left wondering where Lula plans to sell the entire Soya from this country.However, Lula has been calculative as ever. He led a boycott of the Doha round table talks in 2003, leading a group of developing nations out of the venue until the developed nations addressed their concerns. Celso Amorim, the foreign minister, led a successful crusade against subsidies that the European Union and America offered to their farmers (Fitzpatrick 1). All this was geared towards safeguarding the agricultural exports of the country. Lula has worked hard to revive Mercosur, the regional trade bloc of the Latin American nations (Hurrell 55).This is assign that he is interested in asserting regional control and influence in this region. Been a member of this organization, Lula will be able to bargain with the Americans and Britons when it comes to trade matters. This has given Lula leverage such that he is able to s hun the western nations and at the same time make himself relevant to them. He has opted for this organization while at the same time resisting the Free Trade Area espoused by United States. Conclusion Lula has adopted a foreign policy stance that is bold but at the same time risky.He has sought to assert the presence of the Brazilian nation in the global arena while at the same time refusing to ride on the tail coats of the developed nations, like America. He has a pessimistic view of the global economy. This is risky considering the fact that Brazil is an exporting economy, and thus has to rely on the global market for success. Lula has tried to forge coalitions with other emerging nations like India and China. This way, Lula has eliminated the external vulnerability that the western countries would have taken advantage of by alienating Brazil with the rest of the developing nations.References Barriaux, M. C. Lula Signs Financial Agreements with Beijing. Retrieved from http://news . yahoo. com/s/afp/20090519/wl_asia_afp/chinabrazildiplomacytradecurrency_20090519162806, on 13th June, 2009. Fitzpatrick, J. K. Inconsistency of Brazil’s Foreign Policy. Retrieved from http://www. brazzil. com/2005-mainmenu-79/159-december-2005/9491. html, on 13th June, 2009. Hurrell, S. A. Lula’s Brazil: A Rising Power, but Going Where? Oxford: Oxford University, 51-57. SkyNews. White People with Blue Eyes. Retrieved from http://www. foxnews. com/story/0,2933,510954,00. html, on 13th June, 2009.

Computer science coursework Merit Essay Essay

Record shops, cinemas, radio stations, video rental stores and even libraries are losing customers to the global trend that is OIS (Online Information Sharing – the official MPAA and RIAA term for internet piracy). It once used to be a common sight to see small record shops filled with teens picking their favourite artists’ new records from the well stacked shelves, paying at the desk, discussing music with others and making new discoveries. It was not uncommon for people to buy or rent VHS tapes or sit at home listening to the radio. Piracy of course was alive here, the market for pirate radio, pirate tapes and pirated videos was enormous, the difference between then and today? Equipment. Nearly every person below 40 has a computer in MEDCs and also has the knowledge to ‘share’ everything they want from their media collection with others. The most significant difference between the days of pirate radio and the days of worldwide networking is that you no longer need to know how it works to do it; millions of parents mindlessly expose their young kids to P2P networks such as KaZaA and LimeWire which are full of adult content, viruses and include open chat programs which might allow sexual predators access to their children. The first consumer P2P (peer-to-peer) network of note (others such as MC2 , Direct Connect and TinyP2P had existed before but were not widely adopted by the average user) called Napster allowed only for the sharing of music files such as WAVE and . mp3 (leading to MPEG 3 becoming the most popular music format in years to come). This was the most organised piracy or the time among teenagers and young adults through the internet but had problems in terms of the danger that faced the user (being caught) in that the centralized nature of the service meant that the server not only listed the files bring shared by members but all of the files passed through it in an effort to prevent the proliferation of malicious programs. This was extremely bad news for the user as Napster now had the IP address of each and every user, an integral flaw which would come back to bite the company and its user base later on before it could change it’s process and remove the evidence from its servers. Napster had finally made stealing music easy but was considered flawed by many in the IT community who wanted easier methods of sharing software, video and text files and a safer method of sharing music. Audiogalaxy was the first mainstream centralized P2P client that was capable (although not by design) of sharing any kind of file whatsoever, it gained popularity after the downfall of Napster and was the first time that the MPAA took note of file sharing software as connections became more capable of allowing fast download of high quality video. Audiogalaxy only indexed *. mp3 files, the obvious way round this limitation was found quickly: by (for example) naming a *. exe piece of software from â€Å"tree. exe† to â€Å"tree exe . mp3†. This made AG extremely useful for illegal distribution of both legally and illegally purchased data between users with experience in CGI and Batch (CGI parameters had to be edited to share non mp3 files) but was not as popular as eDonkey2000 (another P2P later to become known as eMule) program which did not have the security limitations of previous P2P clients as it was much faster to decentralize and allow open sharing and indexing. Especially in the case of Napster, facilitating thousands of minor crimes led to a series of lawsuits launched by musicians against the company (Metallica, Dr.Dre, Madonna) but received praise from other artists (Radiohead, Dispatch, Editors) for allowing distribution of singles prior to an album’s release. Eventually a larger lawsuit was filed against the company which eventually resulted in bankruptcy after a lawsuit (which inadvertently increased the service’s user numbers) filed by the RIAA resulting in Napster closing down their network and being blocked from selling the company without liquidating assets under Chapter 7 of the US Bankruptcy Act meaning that the company was forced to close. The name was later sold to Swedish pornography company PMG who run it as a paid for service using similar looking software. AudioGalaxy was also sued and shut down as it’s out of court settlement rendered the service effectively useless and resulted in the service’s user base abandoning it en masse – as a result AG too, opened a pay service to distribute music. In efforts to decentralize and avoid federal prosecution, modern networks designed for file sharing are de-centralized, often encrypted and use proxies to disguise IP addresses, for these reasons modern networks make it much less likely for a user to be discovered and served with a court order or other legal reprimand. A de-centralized system does not have a server which holds the files but instead a server that indexes a list of all available files rather than storing them. Most modern p2p systems also use (as mentioned previously) a process of encryption and proxy servers to make them untraceable. The servers often do not ask uploaders and downloaders of content to register accounts as they have previously done, this prevents user name linking: a process that the CIA reportedly used wherein they would search a napster username through a series of websites trying to gain personal data on a pirate in order to find and prosecute them. Another security feature of modern P2P protocols is the streaming swarm structure which works on a ‘rarest first’ basis, splitting files into multiple ‘parts’ and downloading these parts (to be reconstructed into a usable file on the leech (downloading) computer) rather than an actual file. As none of these individual parts is usable as the intended finished product on it’s own Swedish law allows the redistribution under it’s own piracy laws – for this reason, the most prolific pirating groups are based in the country. One such group is the Swedish pirate political party called Piratbyran, the Piratbyran, (whose motto ‘Pirate and Proud’ has itself caused problems for the group) this organised group has demanded that (along with the Pirates website piratgruppen. org) pirates be treated ‘fairly’ by the law of the world as they believe they have the right to appraise things and decide if they are worth purchasing before doing so. For this reason, Piratbyran have set up Kopimi, a copywright alternative (said ‘copyme’) which declares other’s right to use your work as they see fit (this being a more extreme version of many other previously concocted alternatives like creative commons which permit a user the right to use works for non commercial reasons of their choice) for anything at all. The group also used Bram Cohen’s bit torrent protocol and created the world’s largest ‘tracker’ – a website that indexes all of the files available through the protocol which is called ThePirateBay. com (a. k. a. TPB), this site is distributed in over 20 languages and is currently the most popular tracker for the most advanced, secure and efficient protocol that is commercially available at this time. They are however intending to create their own protocol to remove their reliance in Bram Cohen (the creator) who has recently cut distribution deals with Hollywood film studios and is believed to be considering taking the protocol commercial. Governments across the world are certainly taking note, shown in hundreds of adverts which have only proven ineffective thus far. In the USA and the UK the governments have been running multiple adverts against piracy on legally purchased DVD videos and Blu ray / High Definition DVDs which are fairly useless: the advert assumes ‘You wouldn’t steal†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ and lists a series of items before telling you piracy is a crime and showing w young girl getting up from her computer where she is downloading a film and walking out of the door. Most people tend to be offended at the fact that, after legally paying for something, they are forced to watch an advert telling them not to steal. This string of adverts alone has caused a series of parody adverts which take off the script of the original â€Å"You might steal a book†¦ † and even inspired a film called ‘Steal this movie’. Of course there are also positive sides to the increase in stealing and sharing among internet users, the little guy for example is heard far more than the major executive, companies are embracing the freedom culture and popular bands are pre releasing their albums for free to gain fan support. Sharing is even curing cancer! A largely adopted project (Folding@Home) launched by a US university is folding protein strings over a massive decentralized network in an effort to discover a cancer cure or prevention in lieu of the supercomputer they would normally require. Those passing records about in the early days probably never saw that coming when they connected their first networks! Back in the early 1980s, piracy (albeit not online) was rife amongst office workers and the computer competent, these early criminals would exchange software through floppy disk and share records between each other. As the 90s started and the first networks were being created within offices, the stealing only increased as files could be copied between computer terminals via cable rather than by hand. Now, with the age of the internet: it is estimated that over 300 million of the world’s population routinely steal information and data over the internet with millions more borrowing DVDs and books from each other, whether or not these people are stealing more or less because of the internet is unquestionable, with our ability to access millions and millions of people we are able to share and steal far more than we previously could have done and this only provides incentive to give and take more than we would normally have done in a spirit of world community that is evoked by groups that exist in this sphere such as piratgruppen and the piratbyran.

The Lost Symbol Chapter 102-106

CHAPTER 102 Robert Langdon had often heard it said that an animal, when cornered, was capable of miraculous feats of strength. Nonetheless, when he threw his full force into the underside of his crate, nothing budged at all. Around him, the liquid continued rising steadily. With no more than six inches of breathing room left, Langdon had lifted his head into the pocket of air that remained. He was now face-to-face with the Plexiglas window, his eyes only inches away from the underside of the stone pyramid whose baffling engraving hovered above him. I have no idea what this means. Concealed for over a century beneath a hardened mixture of wax and stone dust, the Masonic Pyramid's final inscription was now laid bare. The engraving was a perfectly square grid of symbols from every tradition imaginable–alchemical, astrological, heraldic, angelic, magical, numeric, sigilic, Greek, Latin. As a totality, this was symbolic anarchy–a bowl of alphabet soup whose letters came from dozens of different languages, cultures, and time periods. Total chaos. Symbologist Robert Langdon, in his wildest academic interpretations, could not fathom how this grid of symbols could be deciphered to mean anything at all. Order from this chaos? Impossible. The liquid was now creeping over his Adam's apple, and Langdon could feel his level of terror rising along with it. He continued banging on the tank. The pyramid stared back at him tauntingly. In frantic desperation, Langdon focused every bit of his mental energy on the chessboard of symbols. What could they possibly mean? Unfortunately, the assortment seemed so disparate that he could not even imagine where to begin. They're not even from the same eras in history! Outside the tank, her voice muffled but audible, Katherine could be heard tearfully begging for Langdon's release. Despite his failure to see a solution, the prospect of death seemed to motivate every cell in his body to find one. He felt a strange clarity of mind, unlike anything he had ever experienced. Think! He scanned the grid intensely, searching for some clue–a pattern, a hidden word, a special icon, anything at all–but he saw only a grid of unrelated symbols. Chaos. With each passing second, Langdon had begun to feel an eerie numbness overtaking his body. It was as if his very flesh were preparing to shield his mind from the pain of death. The water was now threatening to pour into his ears, and he lifted his head as far as he could, pushing it against the top of the crate. Frightening images began flashing before his eyes. A boy in New England treading water at the bottom of a dark well. A man in Rome trapped beneath a skeleton in an overturned coffin. Katherine's shouts were growing more frantic. From all Langdon could hear, she was trying to reason with a madman–insisting that Langdon could not be expected to decipher the pyramid without going to visit the Almas Temple. â€Å"That building obviously holds the missing piece to this puzzle! How can Robert decipher the pyramid without all the information?!† Langdon appreciated her efforts, and yet he felt certain that â€Å"Eight Franklin Square† was not pointing to the Almas Temple. The time line is all wrong! According to legend, the Masonic Pyramid was created in the mid-1800s, decades before the Shriners even existed. In fact, Langdon realized, it was probably before the square was even called Franklin Square. The capstone could not possibly have been pointing to an unbuilt building at a nonexistent address. Whatever â€Å"Eight Franklin Square† was pointing to . . . it had to exist in 1850. Unfortunately, Langdon was drawing a total blank. He probed his memory banks for anything that could possibly fit the time line. Eight Franklin Square? Something that was in existence in 1850? Langdon came up with nothing. The liquid was trickling into his ears now. Fighting his terror, he stared up at the grid of symbols on the glass. I don't understand the connection! In a petrified frenzy, his mind began spewing all the far-flung parallels it could generate. Eight Franklin Square . . . squares . . . this grid of symbols is a square . . . the square and the compass are Masonic symbols . . . Masonic altars are square . . . squares have ninety-degree angles. The water kept rising, but Langdon blocked it out. Eight Franklin . . . eight . . . this grid is eight-by-eight . . . Franklin has eight letters . . . â€Å"The Order† has eight letters . . . 8 is the rotated symbol for infinity . . . eight is the number of destruction in numerology . . . Langdon had no idea. Outside the tank, Katherine was still pleading, but Langdon's hearing was now intermittent as the water was sloshing around his head. † . . . impossible without knowing . . . capstone's message clearly . . . the secret hides within–â€Å" Then she was gone. Water poured into Langdon's ears, blotting out the last of Katherine's voice. A sudden womblike silence engulfed him, and Langdon realized he truly was going to die. The secret hides within– Katherine's final words echoed through the hush of his tomb. The secret hides within . . . Strangely, Langdon realized he had heard these exact words many times before. The secret hides . . . within. Even now, it seemed, the Ancient Mysteries were taunting him. â€Å"The secret hides within† was the core tenet of the mysteries, urging man kind to seek God not in the heavens above . . . but rather within himself. The secret hides within. It was the message of all the great mystical teachers. The kingdom of God is within you, said Jesus Christ. Know thyself, said Pythagoras. Know ye not that ye are gods, said Hermes Trismegistus. The list went on and on . . . All the mystical teachings of the ages had attempted to convey this one idea. The secret hides within. Even so, mankind continued looking to the heavens for the face of God. This realization, for Langdon, now became an ultimate irony. Right now, with his eyes facing the heavens like all the blind men who preceded him, Robert Langdon suddenly saw the light. It hit him like a bolt from above. The secret hides within The Order Eight Franklin Square In a flash he understood. The message on the capstone was suddenly crystal clear. Its meaning had been staring him in the face all night. The text on the capstone, like the Masonic Pyramid itself, was a symbolon–a code in pieces–a message written in parts. The capstone's meaning was camouflaged in so simple a manner that Langdon could scarcely believe he and Katherine had not spotted it. More astonishing still, Langdon now realized that the message on the capstone did indeed reveal exactly how to decipher the grid of symbols on the base of the pyramid. It was so very simple. Exactly as Peter Solomon had promised, the golden capstone was a potent talisman with the power to bring order from chaos. Langdon began pounding on the lid and shouting, â€Å"I know! I know!† Above him, the stone pyramid lifted off and hovered away. In its place, the tattooed face reappeared, its chilling visage staring down through the small window. â€Å"I solved it!† Langdon shouted. â€Å"Let me out!† When the tattooed man spoke, Langdon's submerged ears heard nothing. His eyes, however, saw the lips speak two words. â€Å"Tell me.† â€Å"I will!† Langdon screamed, the water almost to his eyes. â€Å"Let me out! I'll explain everything!† It's so simple. The man's lips moved again. â€Å"Tell me now . . . or die.† With the water rising through the final inch of air space, Langdon tipped his head back to keep his mouth above the waterline. As he did so, warm liquid poured into his eyes, blurring his vision. Arching his back, he pressed his mouth against the Plexiglas window. Then, with his last few seconds of air, Robert Langdon shared the secret of how to decipher the Masonic Pyramid. As he finished speaking, the liquid rose around his lips. Instinctively, Langdon drew a final breath and clamped his mouth shut. A moment later, the fluid covered him entirely, reaching the top of his tomb and spreading out across the Plexiglas. He did it, Mal'akh realized. Langdon figured out how to solve the pyramid. The answer was so simple. So obvious. Beneath the window, the submerged face of Robert Langdon stared up at him with desperate and beseeching eyes. Mal'akh shook his head at him and slowly mouthed the words: â€Å"Thank you, Professor. Enjoy the afterlife.† CHAPTER 103 As a serious swimmer, Robert Langdon had often wondered what it would feel like to drown. He now knew he was going to learn firsthand. Although he could hold his breath longer than most people, he could already feel his body reacting to the absence of air. Carbon dioxide was accumulating in his blood, bringing with it the instinctual urge to inhale. Do not breathe! The reflex to inhale was increasing in intensity with each passing moment. Langdon knew very soon he would reach what was called the breath-hold breakpoint–that critical moment at which a person could no longer voluntarily hold his breath. Open the lid! Langdon's instinct was to pound and struggle, but he knew better than to waste valuable oxygen. All he could do was stare up through the blur of water above him and hope. The world outside was now only a hazy patch of light above the Plexiglas window. His core muscles had begun burning, and he knew hypoxia was setting in. Suddenly a beautiful and ghostly face appeared, gazing down at him. It was Katherine, her soft features looking almost ethereal through the veil of liquid. Their eyes met through the Plexiglas window, and for an instant, Langdon thought he was saved. Katherine! Then he heard her muted cries of horror and realized she was being held there by their captor. The tattooed monster was forcing her to bear witness to what was about to happen. Katherine, I'm sorry . . . In this strange, dark place, trapped underwater, Langdon strained to comprehend that these would be his final moments of life. Soon he would cease to exist . . . everything he was . . . or had ever been . . . or would ever be . . . was ending. When his brain died, all of the memories held in his gray matter, along with all of the knowledge he had acquired, would simply evaporate in a flood of chemical reactions. In this moment, Robert Langdon realized his true insignificance in the universe. It was as lonely and humbling a feeling as he had ever experienced. Almost thankfully, he could feel the breath-hold breakpoint arriving. The moment was upon him. Langdon's lungs forced out their spent contents, collapsing in eager preparation to inhale. Still he held out an instant longer. His final second. Then, like a man no longer able to hold his hand to a burning stove, he gave himself over to fate. Reflex overruled reason. His lips parted. His lungs expanded. And the liquid came pouring in. The pain that filled his chest was greater than Langdon had ever imagined. The liquid burned as it poured into his lungs. Instantly, the pain shot upward into his skull, and he felt like his head was being crushed in a vise. There was great thundering in his ears, and through it all, Katherine Solomon was screaming. There was a blinding flash of light. And then blackness. Robert Langdon was gone. CHAPTER 104 It's over. Katherine Solomon had stopped screaming. The drowning she had just witnessed had left her catatonic, virtually paralyzed with shock and despair. Beneath the Plexiglas window, Langdon's dead eyes stared past her into empty space. His frozen expression was one of pain and regret. The last tiny air bubbles trickled out of his lifeless mouth, and then, as if consenting to give up his ghost, the Harvard professor slowly began sinking to the bottom of the tank . . . where he disappeared into the shadows. He's gone. Katherine felt numb. The tattooed man reached down, and with pitiless finality, he slid the small viewing window closed, sealing Langdon's corpse inside. Then he smiled at her. â€Å"Shall we?† Before Katherine could respond, he hoisted her grief-stricken body onto his shoulder, turned out the light, and carried her out of the room. With a few powerful strides, he transported her to the end of the hall, into a large space that seemed to be bathed in a reddish-purple light. The room smelled like incense. He carried her to a square table in the center of the room and dropped her hard on her back, knocking the wind out of her. The surface felt rough and cold. Is this stone? Katherine had hardly gotten her bearings before the man had removed the wire from her wrists and ankles. Instinctively, she attempted to fight him off, but her cramped arms and legs barely responded. He now began strapping her to the table with heavy leather bands, cinching one strap across her knees and then buckling a second across her hips, pinning her arms at her sides. Then he placed a final strap across her sternum, just above her breasts. It had all taken only moments, and Katherine was again immobilized. Her wrists and ankles throbbed now as the circulation returned to her limbs. â€Å"Open your mouth,† the man whispered, licking his own tattooed lips. Katherine clenched her teeth in revulsion. The man again reached out with his index finger and ran it slowly around her lips, making her skin crawl. She clenched her teeth tighter. The tattooed man chuckled and, using his other hand, found a pressure point on her neck and squeezed. Katherine's jaw instantly dropped open. She could feel his finger entering her mouth and running along her tongue. She gagged and tried to bite it, but the finger was already gone. Still grinning, he raised his moist fingertip before her eyes. Then he closed his eyes and, once again, rubbed her saliva into the bare circle of flesh on his head. The man sighed and slowly opened his eyes. Then, with an eerie calm, he turned and left the room. In the sudden silence, Katherine could feel her heart pounding. Directly over her, an unusual series of lights seemed to be modulating from purple red to a deep crimson, illuminating the room's low ceiling. When she saw the ceiling, all she could do was stare. Every inch was covered with drawings. The mind-boggling collage above her appeared to depict the celestial sky. Stars, planets, and constellations mingled with astrological symbols, charts, and formulas. There were arrows predicting elliptical orbits, geometric symbols indicating angles of ascension, and zodiacal creatures peering down at her. It looked like a mad scientist had gotten loose in the Sistine Chapel. Turning her head, Katherine looked away, but the wall to her left was no better. A series of candles on medieval floor stands shed a flickering glow on a wall that was completely hidden beneath pages of text, photos, and drawings. Some of the pages looked like papyrus or vellum torn from ancient books; others were obviously from newer texts; mixed in were photographs, drawings, maps, and schematics; all of them appeared to have been glued to the wall with meticulous care. A spiderweb of strings had been thumbtacked across them, interconnecting them in limitless chaotic possibilities. Katherine again looked away, turning her head in the other direction. Unfortunately, this provided the most terrifying view of all. Adjacent to the stone slab on which she was strapped, there stood a small side counter that instantly reminded her of an instrument table from a hospital operating room. On the counter was arranged a series of objects–among them a syringe, a vial of dark liquid . . . and a large knife with a bone handle and a blade hewn of iron burnished to an unusually high shine. My God . . . what is he planning to do to me? CHAPTER 105 When CIA systems security specialist Rick Parrish finally loped into Nola Kaye's office, he was carrying a single sheet of paper. â€Å"What took you so long?!† Nola demanded. I told you to come down immediately! â€Å"Sorry,† he said, pushing up his bottle-bottom glasses on his long nose. â€Å"I was trying to gather more information for you, but–â€Å" â€Å"Just show me what you've got.† Parrish handed her the printout. â€Å"It's a redaction, but you get the gist.† Nola scanned the page in amazement. â€Å"I'm still trying to figure out how a hacker got access,† Parrish said, â€Å"but it looks like a delegator spider hijacked one of our search–â€Å" â€Å"Forget that!† Nola blurted, glancing up from the page. â€Å"What the hell is the CIA doing with a classified file about pyramids, ancient portals, and engraved symbolons?† â€Å"That's what took me so long. I was trying to see what document was being targeted, so I traced the file path.† Parrish paused, clearing his throat. â€Å"This document turns out to be on a partition personally assigned to . . . the CIA director himself.† Nola wheeled, staring in disbelief. Sato's boss has a file about the Masonic Pyramid? She knew that the current director, along with many other top CIA executives, was a high-ranking Mason, but Nola could not imagine any of them keeping Masonic secrets on a CIA computer. Then again, considering what she had witnessed in the last twenty-four hours, anything was possible. Agent Simkins was lying on his stomach, ensconced in the bushes of Franklin Square. His eyes were trained on the columned entry of the Almas Temple. Nothing. No lights had come on inside, and no one had approached the door. He turned his head and checked on Bellamy. The man was pacing alone in the middle of the park, looking cold. Really cold. Simkins could see him shaking and shivering. His phone vibrated. It was Sato. â€Å"How overdue is our target?† she demanded. Simkins checked his chronograph. â€Å"Target said twenty minutes. It's been almost forty. Something's wrong.† â€Å"He's not coming,† Sato said. â€Å"It's over.† Simkins knew she was right. â€Å"Any word from Hartmann?† â€Å"No, he never checked in from Kalorama Heights. I can't reach him.† Simkins stiffened. If this was true, then something was definitely wrong. â€Å"I just called field support,† Sato said, â€Å"and they can't find him either.† Holy shit. â€Å"Do they have a GPS location on the Escalade?† â€Å"Yeah. A residential address in Kalorama Heights,† Sato said. â€Å"Gather your men. We're pulling out.† Sato clicked off her phone and gazed out at the majestic skyline of her nation's capital. An icy wind whipped through her light jacket, and she wrapped her arms around herself to stay warm. Director Inoue Sato was not a woman who often felt cold . . . or fear. At the moment, however, she was feeling both. CHAPTER 106 Mal'akh wore only his silk loincloth as he dashed up the ramp, through the steel door, and out through the painting into his living room. I need to prepare quickly. He glanced over at the dead CIA agent in the foyer. This home is no longer safe. Carrying the stone pyramid in one hand, Mal'akh strode directly to his first-floor study and sat down at his laptop computer. As he logged in, he pictured Langdon downstairs and wondered how many days or even weeks would pass before the submerged corpse was discovered in the secret basement. It made no difference. Mal'akh would be long gone by then. Langdon has served his role . . . brilliantly. Not only had Langdon reunited the pieces of the Masonic Pyramid, he had figured out how to solve the arcane grid of symbols on the base. At first glance, the symbols seemed indecipherable . . . and yet the answer was simple . . . staring them in the face. Mal'akh's laptop sprang to life, the screen displaying the same e-mail he had received earlier–a photograph of a glowing capstone, partially blocked by Warren Bellamy's finger. The secret hides within The Order. Franklin Square. Eight . . . Franklin Square, Katherine had told Mal'akh. She had also admitted that CIA agents were staking out Franklin Square, hoping to capture Mal'akh and also figure out what order was being referenced by the capstone. The Masons? The Shriners? The Rosicrucians? None of these, Mal'akh now knew. Langdon saw the truth. Ten minutes earlier, with liquid rising around his face, the Harvard professor had figured out the key to solving the pyramid. â€Å"The Order Eight Franklin Square!† he had shouted, terror in his eyes. â€Å"The secret hides within The Order Eight Franklin Square!† At first, Mal'akh failed to understand his meaning. â€Å"It's not an address!† Langdon yelled, his mouth pressed to the Plexiglas window. â€Å"The Order Eight Franklin Square! It's a magic square!† Then he said something about Albrecht Durer . . . and how the pyramid's first code was a clue to breaking this final one. Mal'akh was familiar with magic squares–kameas, as the early mystics called them. The ancient text De Occulta Philosophia described in detail the mystical power of magic squares and the methods for designing powerful sigils based on magical grids of numbers. Now Langdon was telling him that a magic square held the key to deciphering the base of the pyramid? â€Å"You need an eight-by-eight magic square!† the professor had been yelling, his lips the only part of his body above the liquid. â€Å"Magic squares are categorized in orders! A three-by-three square is an `order three'! A four-by-four square is an `order four'! You need an `order eight'!† The liquid had been about to engulf Langdon entirely, and the professor drew one last desperate breath and shouted out something about a famous Mason . . . an American forefather . . . a scientist, mystic, mathematician, inventor . . . as well as the creator of the mystical kamea that bore his name to this day. Franklin. In a flash, Mal'akh knew Langdon was right. Now, breathless with anticipation, Mal'akh sat upstairs at his laptop. He ran a quick Web search, received dozens of hits, chose one, and began reading. THE ORDER EIGHT FRANKLIN SQUARE One of history's best-known magic squares is the order-eight square published in 1769 by American scientist Benjamin Franklin, and which became famous for its inclusion of never- before-seen â€Å"bent diagonal summations.† Franklin's obsession with this mystical art form most likely stemmed from his personal associations with the prominent alchemists and mystics of his day, as well as his own belief in astrology, which were the underpinnings for the predictions made in his Poor Richard's Almanack. Mal'akh studied Franklin's famous creation–a unique arrangement of the numbers 1 through 64–in which every row, column, and diagonal added up to the same magical constant. The secret hides within The Order Eight Franklin Square. Mal'akh smiled. Trembling with excitement, he grabbed the stone pyramid and flipped it over, examining the base. These sixty-four symbols needed to be reorganized and arranged in a different order, their sequence defined by the numbers in Franklin's magic square. Although Mal'akh could not imagine how this chaotic grid of symbols would suddenly make sense in a different order, he had faith in the ancient promise. Ordo ab chao. Heart racing, he took out a sheet of paper and quickly drew an empty eight-by-eight grid. Then he began inserting the symbols, one by one, in their newly defined positions. Almost immediately, to his astonishment, the grid began making sense. Order from chaos! He completed the entire decryption and stared in disbelief at the solution before him. A stark image had taken shape. The jumbled grid had been transformed . . . reorganized . . . and although Mal'akh could not grasp the meaning of the entire message, he understood enough . . . enough to know exactly where he was now headed. The pyramid points the way. The grid pointed to one of the world's great mystical locations. Incredibly, it was the same location at which Mal'akh had always fantasized he would complete his journey. Destiny.

Globalization Issue according toThomas L. Freidman and William J Essay

Globalization Issue according toThomas L. Freidman and William J. Duiker - Essay Example The book portrays a scenario where untimely flattening of the opponents of globalization is inevitable. William (2009:340-344) shares his sentiments in his book ’The contemporary world History’. He feels that the forces of fragmentation are too strong to allow globalization to gain a stable footing. Critical analysis of the thoughts of the two writers tempts an individual to take a position. Although William presents steep challenges to globalization, the basis of his arguments and speculation are on uncertainties. The past global trends have shown that globalization has received positive attention all over the world. Although some nations may not appear in public to support globalization, researches have shown that it remains a hot subject in their boardroom meetings. This shows that globalization is live and soon the world will be a global village. Thomas explicitly lays out the benefits of globalization. However, he does not overlook the possible challenges that glob alization might be faced with. This makes Thomas’s convictions correct, more sensible, and real in the current world. The Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention which Thomas subscribes to affirms that there cannot be disagreement between countries, which share a common interest. He emphasizes that globalization is the sole solution to the most conflicts in the world. In essence, Thomas signifies that the nations that embrace globalization have reaped benefits and not enmity. Globalization is the only safe platform to enrich cultural, economic, technological, and political ties while appreciating diversity. Thomas points out that there are still impediments to globalization. He argues that overcoming anti-global forces must be at the heart of its proponents. Freidman (580-604) highlights some of the issues which include poor education systems, weak economic powers, diseases, and bad infrastructure. Compromised education system negatively affects globalization. This is evident in t he third world countries where only the privileged in society acquire quality education and skills.

International Organization Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

International Organization Behaviour - Essay Example Communication, which has been variedly defined by authors, is the dissemination of information, conversation between people or passing and receiving information between various people or groups. Culture and communication are closely related in that culture determines the kind of communication among people. Organizational culture also determines the kind of communication used within the organization by the management and employees. Organizational behaviour relates to the feelings and concerns of employees in the organization. This can be defined by their cultural values, attitudes, beliefs, customs and lifestyle. Management, according to international organization behaviour, should consider the views and perspectives of employees in every decision made (McGregor 2005, p. 50). This will ensure communication is effective and the intended information is always disseminated. Culture mediated understanding and perception. It is also true that communication which is one way hinders learning and knowledge acquisition. Therefore the role of culture and communication is very vital in the organization. This is why culture is an important aspect in an organization. Accommodating cultural diversity will also ensure that the relationship between employees and the management is favourable towards achieving the major goals of the organization. This paper therefore seeks to discuss the role of culture and communication. ... Effective communication is also developed over time. This enable the people involved in organizations to share their experiences at work and even work as a team. This is also important in that communication facilitates achievement of organizational goals, customer relations, and promotes feedback both from employees to the management and from customers to the organization. Organizations develop culture that is usually apparent in specific layout of work space, pattern of dress, styles of leadership, styles of functions and meetings, talking about direction and nature of organization, and ways of thinking about the organizational roles, goals and mission of existence. These perspectives are achieved with the help of effective communication within the organization (Graham 2005, p. 40). Culture of an organization may be expressed through both verbal and non verbal communication among the parties in the organization. Organizations that develop a common culture for its employees understan d the role of cultural diversity of its employees and achieve its objectives. In the concept of organizational behaviour, managers are charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the views and perceptions of employees are understood and incorporated in day to day management of the business. Managers can only understand their employees if they first conceptualize their cultural beliefs, norms, customs, and attitudes. Some employees feel motivated if they are involved in decision making and their suggestions considered in the organization. This can be effectively done where the role of communication is emphasized and cultural diversity within the organization is captured. This introduces the concept of cross cultural communication

Coursework Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Case Study - Coursework Example However, in case of violation of the legally binding contract, the non breaching party is permitted to take a legal action of filing a lawsuit to demand for the payment of damages incurred as a result of immature cancellation (Chitty 2012, p. 145). Alternatively, the breaching party is mandated by law to compensate the aggrieved party in this case Antony is obligated to pay Joyce and Taz for contravening the existing terms. Despite the measures in place to safeguard the success of any legally binding contract such as that involving a company selling goods and services, instances of violation are rampant because people do not comprehend the basics of law. According to common law, contracts operate within legal systems that entail forging a lawful accord where two or more members seek an agreement to conduct a given activity. Therefore, in Antony’s case, whether he has reached a legally binding contract with Joyce on the choice of supply depends on several factors worth noting. For example, Antony is in agreement with Joyce because there was an offer and acceptance where he promised to supply 100 pieces at the cost of ?350 per piece. This implies that the element of contractual law called the ‘meeting of the minds’ had been achieved to satisfy the wishes of both parties. Additionally, the exchange of promise from Antony signifies his willingness to provide clothe pieces at a subsidized price and hence expand the business prospects of his Rocco Company. Antony must also acknowledge the essence of ‘consideration’ in legally binding agreement that encompasses his promises and acts of assuring Joyce that she would receive the 100 pieces at a lowered price to elevate her business through increased sales and profits (Harris 2007, p. 110). This is called the enforceable contract and it often entails consideration as a binding word for the first party offering the promise such as Antony in his prospects of supplying Joyce with clothes. En forceable contract, according to legal experts, is achievable either orally as was done by Antony and therefore, cannot rescind his promise or through writing. However, in special instances as stipulated by state by-laws, some enforceable contracts are only legally binding in writing. Contrastingly, this does not overrule verbal contracts that are enforceable such as the case of Antony who stated in person that she would assist Joyce by cutting the garment prices from ?1000 to a manageable ?350 per piece. This suggests that while Antony’s main idea was to double the sale of Rocco products and establish strong image for his name, the verbal communication with House of Style Department fixed a contract that cannot be contravened under any legal terms (Koffman & Macdonald 2007 134). Interestingly, Antony’s decision to cancel the agreement is part of a legally enforceable contract recognized by the law and hence accorded Joyce an edge in upholding the agreement. An agreeme nt to perform a particular act such as supplying garment pieces also signified a binding agreement for both parties thus preventing Antony from altering his mind concerning his promise. Advice, therefore, in a legally binding contract requires all the members involved in the contract to find a neutral platform of amending the considerations before recalling any emerging obligations. Contrastingly, the conditions of agreement always

The effects of managed care on health care in the U.S Essay

The effects of managed care on health care in the U.S - Essay Example The sector has been witnessing a new dimension in recent years, because it’s in no small measure assisted to halt the increase as regarding the costs of health care in the country, given a wider room for the less privileged to enjoy the program, which has been hitherto on the rapid increase beyond their capacities. Meanwhile, our focus should now assess the whole issue, dated back to early 90s when the Managed-Care system began to have it solid root. The United States Congress has brought a turning point toward enhancing the health care system within U S. â€Å"The nation’s health care system stem was under microscope, undergoing a level of scrutiny not seen since the early 1990s, when congress scrapped the Clinton administration’s complex plan to overhaul health care. Since then, employers have acted on their own to control health costs, largely by requiring employees to join managed-care programs, such as health maintenance organizations (HMOs). More than 100 millions Americans are now covered by Managed-Care†. (Public Agenda). The HMOs is one of the key pillars of which the Managed-Care program stands on, while observers concluded that it is almost the best among other related pillars. Another branch of Managed-Care that also need brief explanation is â€Å"Capitation†, a system that involves a sort of payment method. This involves paying physicians a specific amount for treatment of patients, not considering how much will be the subsequent cost to be incur. â€Å"Some â€Å"Managed Care† practices seek to impact the quality care of, for instance, clinical guidelines that aim to alter the clinical management of specific health concerns (e.g., treatment of hypertension) are also common managed-care practice†. (Ethics in Medicine). One of the important effects that we ought to bring into consideration while discussing on the Managed-Care on health care in the United States is that most of the citizens were in the view that

The critical perspectives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The critical perspectives - Essay Example As Jeremy (2011) points out that after the collapse of financial system, the efforts were directed towards repairing the system without realizing that the â€Å"system itself needed to change†. This book by the Nobel Prize winning economist appeals to rethink and reconsider the present capitalist structure in the markets. The author talks about how overspending and low savings have brought down the financial meltdown. He is very skeptic about the conditions prevalent in housing market. He criticizes how low interest rates to boost consumption and monetary expansion have brought lax control over the economy. Stiglitz predicts that it will take a long time before USA markets fully recover as he calls it â€Å"Japanese style recovery†, where markets will face low aggregate output and low wages. In his opinion America needs to fix its macroeconomic structure through increasing savings, reducing consumption and more allocation of funds towards issues such as town planning an d climate change. Turner (2010) states in a review that Stiglitz has made it the sources of the current crisis very obvious for those who argue that the current crisis was â€Å"unforseen†. He criticises the policies of Bush and Obama for bringing the economy to collapse in 2008. Stiglitz has criticized Obama for not developing a clear vision and strategy to improve the conditions of the economy. In fact Stiglitz accuses his lack of control over the economy which left the economy even more vulnerable at the hands of those running the financial sector than ever before. Stiglitz is also skeptical about how members of Bush’s administration continued their role in present government and are not rectifying the errors that created huge ups and downs in the business cycle previously. He has mentioned that the policies are made in a manner that increases the burden on taxpayers in case of any loss or bailout situation. Moreover Freefall also criticizes the role of retired bank ers in policy formulation and regulation of the financial sector, which according to Stiglitz has created a greater imbalance in power. Stiglitz strongly advocates imposition of stringent regulations and restructuring of banks. He accuses Obama administration for come under the influence of finance tycoons and failing to exercise control over the banks and other financial institutions which became too giant to handle a crisis. He still believes that large banks need to be broken up in order to right-size them; an example is Citigroup, which is too huge in size to handle. He also is dejects the use of mortgage securitization, and encourages to police derivatives. Analysis Economic Policies Stiglitz considers Keynesian economics to be the solution for the current prevalent problems, however there are a number of factors that place a question mark on this proposition. Firstly we need to understand that in order to predict the impact of an injection of funds into the economy, we need to know the GDP multiplier. This GDP multiplier is dependant over the banking system because they are the ones to extend credit to the private sector. Now if the banking system is itself so weak and in need of funds, it is difficult to say that it can bring the economy out of recession. Moreover we also need to understand the flaws of government control, an example here is for people to decide if they want to rely on private pensions or

Research paper on Sweden Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

On Sweden - Research Paper Example They face some distress and mistrust of people from different cultures. They are often afraid that other cultures will not understand them (Devito, pg 150). The geographical orientation of Sweden is another roadblock to successful communication. The country is separated by many rivers and forests. This makes it hard for people of different cultures to meet and mingle. Ethnocentrism is another noticeable barrier among the Swedish. They often feel that they culture is the richest as compared with other cultures. They therefore believe that other cultures should study their culture and not vice versa (Guirdham, pg 316). Americans are continuously trying to ease thriving communication with the Swedish. However several strategies are needed for this to actualize. The Americans should be Americans more open -minded to the Swedish culture. They should develop a positive attitude towards the culture. Americans should also be more flexible in accepting the Swedish culture. They should strive to be altruistic this will ensure that the Swedish group opens up to new ideas. The most effectual way for Americans to enhance communication with the Swedish group is by understanding and learning their culture (Verderber et al pg 117). This will ensure that the Americans learn the Swedish culture. In so doing the Swedish group will be compelled to learn and open up to more

Academic English Writing in Bioscience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Academic English Writing in Bioscience - Essay Example This paper seeks to address both good and bad factors that have arisen from organ donation. The body organs that are usually considered for donation include hearts, kidneys, lungs, livers, and the pancreas. Body tissues that are donated include skin, corneas, connective tissues, bone, and blood vessels. According to (Tilney, 2003:137), â€Å"the donation of a liver, heart, pancreas, and lungs can only take place if the donor is brain dead. The donation of body tissues like skin, bone, and corneas, on the other hand, can take place in spite of age as well as with any fatal outcome.† In the last decade, there are some factors that have increased the number of organ transplant that have been successfully carried out. These include: 3) The creation of improved methods for the maintenance of donor organs after their surgical removal. According to (Bramstedt and Down, 2011:61), there was a five percent increase in the total number of organ transplants carried out in 2010 in the United Kingdom compared to the previous year. This amounted to 3706 people receiving new organs. More transplant centres were also started in the major hospitals. According to (Bramstedt and Down, 2011:94) doctors felt more prepared to take on additional transplant cases because of the improvement of technologies that preserve the state of the organs when in transit to the recipient. On one hand, organ donation gives another person who was close to death a chance to live. Supporters of organ transplants point out that extending life to another person is the noblest thing that any human can do. On the other hand, as (Schwartz, 2005:58) states, the opponents of organ donation have in the past pointed out that organ donation operations are fraught with risks for the donor. This is not something that is often spoken about. According to (Schwartz, 2005:76), â€Å"as a half of all liver donors usually have to deal with complications like more surgical

Analysis and design of concrete pavements Research Paper - 1

Analysis and design of concrete pavements - Research Paper Example The research project involved carrying out an analysis and design of concrete pavements based on a comprehensive literature review as well as on the results of a number of engineering tests to determine the best designs for concrete pavements. Concrete pavements are road surfaces that are built using a concrete mixture of Portland cement, sand, coarse aggregate and water to provide durable surfaces that can effectively sustain vehicular or foot traffic. The history of the use of concrete pavements on roads and walkways dates back to 1893 when the world’s first strip of concrete pavement was successfully completed. According to Croney (2008), the first concrete roads were constructed in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century and the technology later spread to Europe and the other parts of the world in the 1920s. Over the years, concrete as a building material has been increasingly used for paving airports, highways, residential streets as well as business parking lots. According to many experts, the increasing popularity of concrete pavements is particularly attributed to the numerous benefits of using concrete as a paving material some of which include its durability and less maintenance requirement, workability, strength, cost effectiveness and durability. Contemporary design techniques used for concrete pavements have resulted in the development of economically sustainable concrete pavements that are not only offer one of the best riding surfaces but are able to perform for many years with minimal maintenance. According to Horenstein (34), modern designs often take into account all the diverse sorts of environmental conditions including future estimations on environmental changes and traffic growth. Currently, there is a growing need for sustainable and low cost alternative pavement materials in many developed countries including Australia. For example, since

Conventional gun control Essay Example for Free

Conventional gun control Essay Conventional gun control and punishment policies have done nothing to make American schools safer or American students more secure. Quite the contrary, such policies have been attended by increasingly violent school environments, students living in fear, and no means for protection. This essay will argue that a new research-based approach is needed. More specifically, because the available research clearly demonstrates that right-to carry laws lead to decreases in crime and cause criminal offenders to alter their criminal behavior, it is time for school districts across the country to begin issuing legal permits for guns to students. Costs of Gun Violence: Students and Society As a preliminary matter, in order to demonstrate why a new approach to school violence is necessary, it is important to understand the true costs associated with gun violence, schools, and students. The most common perception is that guns are responsible for physical injuries and deaths. To be sure, this is true. Such a perception, however, is too narrow and ignores the much broader spectrum of costs associated with gun violence and students. This analytical mistake, focusing too narrowly, has unfortunately crept into the public consciousness and made discussions too narrow in scope. As has been stated by a leading scholar in the field Victimization statistics indicate that gun violence is highly concentrated within a narrow sociodemographic slice of the population. Yet a consideration of economic costs suggests that the burden of gun violence is shared much more broadly across society, affecting taxes, residential choice, fear, and freedom of movement. (Cook Ludwig, 2002) What can be seen is a problem that is much more pervasive, and much broader in scope, then what has traditionally been defined as a threat to individual physical safety. This issue implicates a variety of social and economic issues as well as issues of personal safety and individual well-being. Where gun control policies, whether in school specifically or in society more generally, have failed to attain the desired results an extraordinarily broad spectrum of society has suffered. Society has suffered in the form of higher taxes in order to fund police staffing, judicial proceedings, and school as well as community programs to deal with violence in school. Society and individuals have also suffered because residential choice and freedom of movement has been constrained by fears of gun violence in certain communities or school districts. In short, the costs associated with gun violence in or near schools are much more severe than previously thought. More troubling, despite huge expenditures of money and effort, conventional approaches to the problem have failed miserably. Gun Control and Punishment: No Solution The most conventional approaches have proceeded as different types of gun control and punishment philosophies. These conventional approaches have been based on certain assumptions. First, with respect to gun control, those advocating gun control policies proceed upon the assumption that legal limitations and restrictions will necessarily result in less gun violence. Implicit in this assumption is the notion that gun control approaches will decrease access to guns by irresponsible students or individuals. A close examination of the relevant research, however, demonstrates quite clearly the falsity of such assumptions. In one comprehensive study, relying upon data submitted by the states, it was found that the statistical analysis of the 1999 state data provides no evidence that gun control reduces crime rates. Nor is there any evidence that lax gun laws in neighboring states contribute to higher crime rates. (Moorhouse Wanner, 2006) These conclusions are startling; they are startling because policymakers continue to advocate and implement a tremendous variety of gun control laws despite the empirical evidence that strongly suggests such laws are ineffectual. In addition to the emphasis on strong gun control laws, the aforementioned conventional approaches to gun violence in schools also tend rather uniformly to emphasize punishment as a penalty rather than more preventative approaches. Such punishment components of larger gun control laws and policies have manifested themselves in terms of no tolerance policies, the elimination of constitutional protections against otherwise illegal searches of students at school, and incarceration rather than education or counseling. In Colorado, for instance, the state legislator noting that Newspapers in the state reported almost daily on hand-gun-related incidents involving young people (Pipho, 1993) decided simply to follow the conventional approach without reviewing the aforementioned research data. The problems remain. What is needed is a departure from conventional gun control and punishment philosophies that have proven to be unsuccessful all across the country. American children, students who should be safe and secure at school, deserve more than political posturing that places them at continued risk of harm. A Novel Proposal: Legal Permits at Schools Ironically enough, the best way to safeguard students at school, and to eradicate the extraordinary costs associated with gun violence among and between students, may be to grant legal permits allowing students to carry concealed handguns to and from as well as at school. Such a proposal is ironic because conventional theories have always presupposed that more guns equals more violence. Again, however, the research demonstrates that this is clearly not the case. Conceal and carry laws, for example, have actually led to decreases in crime, both generally and with respect to violent crime, in places where such laws have been implemented. In fact, the available research has found that right-to-carry laws reduce violent crime rates, the reductions are greater in counties with proportionally higher urban populations, and the laws afford relatively greater protection to minorities and women. The latter groups are precisely those that are disproportionately victimized by violent crimes. Furthermore, Lott and Mustard find that criminals substitute nonconfrontational crimes such as burglary, auto theft, and larceny for robbery and assault. (Moorhouse Wanner, 2006) These findings are remarkable. Not only have right-to- carry laws, whether implemented through legal permits or otherwise, reduced violent crime rates but they have compelled criminals to alter their criminal behavior. Such findings support the main thesis of this paper; more specifically, because conventional gun control and punishment approaches have proven abysmal failures, a new approach is necessary. This new approach must incorporate certain realities. These realities are that different types of right-to-carry laws do, in fact, result in lower crime rates and in less violent types of crime being committed. The fear needs to be reversed. School districts, operating through local law enforcement and legislative officials, have a moral duty to consider these research findings and implement legal permit procedures to allow good students to carry guns for their protection. To be sure, such an approach would require careful planning, special gun safety education for students, and diligent monitoring. The fact that a new approach may be difficult to implement is no reason for clinging to unsuccessful conventional theories. In addition, because Federal and state laws also prohibit persons of any age from carrying guns without a permit and bringing a gun onto school property (Brezina Wright, 2000, p. 82), both state and federal agencies will have to work together to make such a new approach possible. Conclusion In the final analysis, the research is clear on several points. First, the costs associated with gun violence at schools are staggering and pervasive. Second, conventional gun control and punishment approaches to the problem have failed miserably. Third, because right-to-carry approaches have proven successful in reducing crime rates generally, it is time to incorporate such laws in American schools. References Brezina, T. , Wright, J. D. (2000). Going Armed in the School Zone. Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy, 15(4), 82. Retrieved April 8, 2009, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=5001177255

Applying Cue Utilization Theory

Applying Cue Utilization Theory Evaluating Website Quality: Applying Cue Utilization Theory to WebQual Abstract   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cue Utilization Theory is applied to examine the relative importance of each of the WebQual dimensions (Informational Fit-to-Task, Tailored Information, Trust, Response Time, Ease of Understanding, Intuitive Operations, Visual Appeal, Innovativeness, Emotional Appeal, Consistent Image, On-line Completeness, and Relative Advantage) in determining consumers evaluation of website quality. Two studies have been designed for this task. Study 1 qualifies how subjects rate the predictive value (PV) and confidence value (CV) of each dimension. An analysis of these results provides an ability to fit the WebQual dimensions to a 22 model showing the relative magnitude that each dimension has on consumers evaluation of website quality. Study 2 is designed to test the viability of the model via a set of proposed hypotheses. The results from this research will contribute to the field by providing a model that developers can utilize to focus on those characteristics most determi nistic of overall website quality. 1. Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the last ten years, online shopping has become a prevalent part of the average consumers shopping experience. The consumer now has the ability to purchase virtually anything online; ranging from small-ticket items such as a rubber-band ball to bigticket items like vacation homes. With this increase in the online consumers purchasing power and propensity to purchase online, retailers have become increasingly willing to develop their e-commerce presence. Moreover, this explosion of Internet activity has prompted businesses to demand that website developers understand the qualities of a website that serve to facilitate the shopping experience for e-commerce consumers. At the same time, this growth of e-commerce has provided a virtual plethora of new options for crimes of opportunity such as identity theft. The online shopper has to worry not only about finding the perfect product, but they also have to evaluate the website to determine if they are willing to make a purchase from this site.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Valacich, Parboteeah and Wells [1] developed the Online Consumers Hierarchy of Needs to delineate the needs of the online consumer. Their model showed that certain fundamental needs exist that the online consumer must have met before they are willing to utilize a website. These fundamental needs are then further broken down into the specific website characteristic categories of Functional Convenience, Representational Delight and Structural Firmness. Functional Convenience is the category allowing the consumer to accomplish the task-athand easily and includes attributes, such as ease of ordering and tracking. Representational Delight is characterized by those dimensions that make the site visually appealing, such as graphics and sizing. Structural Firmness consists of fundamental qualities such as response time and security. Using this Hierarchy of Needs, a consumer interested in online banking would need to have their basic need for each of these characteristics met before they would be willing to use the website.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This Hierarchy of Needs model shows those characteristics that are necessary for a consumer to utilize a website, and further elaborates by showing which characteristics are most important depending on if the consumer is visiting the website for business, pleasure or a combination of the two [1]. Knowing these characteristics is important for development of the website, but also implies that the consumers level of confidence in evaluating these characteristics of a website is of particular importance to their overall assessment of a given websites quality. Traditional marketing literature suggests that when people make assessments of quality, they tend to use informational cues that are not only predictive, but also easy to assess. This is known as the Cue Utilization Theory [2], and has been paramount in evaluating consumers perceptions of product quality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This research project elaborates on consumers inability to evaluate all relevant cues during the online shopping experience. A model is developed using Cue Utilization Theory [2] and WebQual [3] to show the attributes of a website that are the most determinant of how a consumer will react to the website. This model will provide a deeper understanding of the evaluation of existing and proposed websites with respect to consumers confidence in evaluating the cues communicated by the website. 2. Cue Utilization Theory   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Richardson, Dick and Jain [2] employed Cue Utilization Theory in their research to determine how consumers viewed store brand quality vs. nationally branded merchandise. According to this theory, â€Å" products consist of an array of cues that serve as surrogate indicators of quality to shoppers† [2]. This theory purports that cues are evoked by the two separate dimensions of predictive and confidence values. The predictive value (PV) is â€Å" the degree to which consumers associate a given cue with product quality† [2]. Confidence value (CV) is â€Å" the degree to which consumers have confidence in their ability to use and judge that cue accurately† [2].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Further, based on relative differences in PV and CV, cues can be broken down into the distinct areas of extrinsic and intrinsic. The American Heritage dictionary describes intrinsic as, â€Å"Of or relating to the essential nature of a thing; inherent† [4] and extrinsic as, â€Å"not forming an essential or inherent part of a thing; extraneous.† [5] From this definition, an intrinsic attribute would be one that would fundamentally alter the focal object (e.g., product) if it was changed or absent and, per Cue Utilization Theory, would possess an inherently high degree of PV. Alternatively, an extrinsic attribute would be one that would not alter the fundamental nature of the focal object in its absence but might alter a consumers reaction or perceptions of the object. Per Cue Utilization theory, an extrinsic cue would typically have higher degrees of CV compared to PV.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For example, when looking at a video card on an e-commerce website it could be said that the product price is an example of an extrinsic attribute of the video card. While the video cards dimensions and material composition of the video card serve as intrinsic indicators. Further, you could postulate that the average consumer has a higher CV in their ability to judge the quality of the card based on the price rather than the material composition. Though the consumer knows that the dimensions and material composition of the card are important, they will tend to rely on price as an informational cue, as that is the cue that they feel the most comfortable evaluating.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When considering the quality of a website there are a myriad of dimensions that the consumer mustevaluate to determine if they intend to perform a transaction on this website. From the Valacich et al [1] article the consumers basic needs in terms of Structural Firmness, Functional Convenience and Representational Delight must all be met before the consumer will consider doing business. To determine if these needs are being met the consumer will evaluate the cues they perceive as being exhibited from the website. These cues can be further broken down into components by utilizing the WebQual model [3]. 3. WebQual   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WebQual consists of 12 dimensions: Informational Fit-to-Task, Tailored Information, Trust, Response Time, Ease of Understanding, Intuitive Operations, Visual Appeal, Innovativeness, Emotional Appeal, Consistent Image, On-line Completeness, and Relative Advantage. Each of these dimensions is shown to have strong measurement validity in regards to the consumers evaluation of overall website quality [3].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Information fit-to-task is an amalgamation of information quality and functional fit-to-task [3]. In component form, information quality refers to the datas appropriateness for use or ability to meet the users needs [6]. Functional Fit-to-Task can be represented as the degree the technology assists the user at a given task [7]. Drawing these two components back together as a whole and relating them to cyberspace lends credence to the definition that information fit-to-task is assisting the user in their desired task by presenting relevant/appropriate information. Loiacono, Chen, and Goodhue [8] define this as â€Å"The information provided meets task needs and improves performance†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The ability for consumers to tailor the information displayed on a website to meet their needs is the basic form of Tailored Information. Tailored Information is further characterized by Ghose and Dou [9] as the interactivity of the website, and represents the consumers ability to modify information presented on the website. Recent research suggests that website interactivity will lead consumers to be more positive in their evaluation of websites [9]. This concept has also been operationalized as the ability to personalize information between the consumer and the website [8,10]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Trust, in relation to websites, is defined in an extremely simple form as consumers confidence that any information entered into the website will remain confidential and that said information will be transmitted and stored in a secure fashion [8]. Furthermore, trust is having faith that the information presented on the website is true and accurate [11,12]. Lack of Trust has been cited as one of the main hindrances to completion of e-commerce transactions [14,11,15]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Response Time (aka. download time or download delay) is defined by Rose and Straub [16] as â€Å" the time it takes for a web client to fully receive, process, and display files† (p. 56), and is ranked as one of the largest impediments to electronic commerce in their research. Additional research has reinforced that Response Time can be an impediment to e-Commerce, and that is it also strongly associated with web site success [17,18]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The consumers ease in comprehending the website is the Ease of Understanding. Loiacono et al. [8] describe this in terms of a websites ease of reading and the understandability of said website. This would include things like presenting the information in a manner which is easy for the consumer to assimilate, and in a fashion such that the consumer can quickly navigate to the desired information.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Intuitive Operations deals with the usability of a website, and includes items such as navigability, link placement, operation, and changing the color of visited links [19]. Intuitive Operations could be thought of as making the webpage easy to navigate, and providing intuitive options for available tasks [8]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Visual Appeal is how aesthetically pleasing the website is to the consumer. Determining what is aesthetically pleasing is complicated though; it ranges from the overall complexity of the website [20] and the layout of the interface [21] to how many ads and graphics are appropriate on a given page[22]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Innovativeness is â€Å"The creativity and uniqueness of a site design† [8]. This could include concepts such as a website having a new way of presenting its merchandise (e.g. Woot.com) or a website attempting to tailor the information to consumer preferences (e.g. Amazon.com)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Emotional Appeal can be elicited in many forms and can be thought of as the consumers intensity of involvement given the emotions that the website elicits [8]. This is often seen in the form of testimonials presented on the website, but can also be observed by simple things such as a consumers reaction to a Valentines Day card.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Loiacono et al. [8] articulate Consistent Image as the websites ability to project a company image that is compatible with the company image shown in other forms of media channels. For instance, a traditional brick-and-mortal store would want to ensure that their website was displaying a compatible image so that they could capitalize on synergies created by marketing in multiple channels such as cost savings, market extension and improved Trus [23].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Presenting all the information required for the tasks that the website is designed for would be considered On-line Completeness. This would include tasks such as the ability to complete an online transaction on e-commerce sites. A bank for instance would want ubiquitous account access using all available channels, and the information presented in each of these channels has to be on the same update cycle as to present the customer the same information regardless of channel [6].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Relative Advantage is gaining a competitive advantage by being able to do something better than the competition. This could come in the form of providing better interaction with the customer through the website [8], being able to provide more accurate and timely data through your website than the competition [6] or being able to price products lower than the competition because of reduced prices in your supply chain. Each of these dimensions is then tied back into the consumers intention to use/reuse the site. Trust and Response Time, being key indicators, are directly linked to the consumers intention to use the site. Common sense would tell us that consumers are not going to shop on a site that does not respond rapidly to requests. Likewise, if users dont trust the site to keep their information secure, they are not likely to supply the information in the first place. The remaining dimensions are all fully mediated by Usefulness, Ease of Use and Entertainment. Usefulness mediates Informational Fit-to-Task, Tailored Information, Online Completeness and Relative Advantage. Additionally, Ease of Use is partially mediated by Usefulness. Ease of Use mediates Ease of Understanding and Intuitive Operations. Finally, Entertainment mediates Visual Appeal, Innovativeness, Emotional Appeal and Consistent Image (See WebQual model in Figure 1).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Consumers do not just browse a site and evaluate each of these individual traits though. Consumers instead tend to examine a website using those cues that they feel confident in their ability to evaluate successfully. To understand this issue further, WebQual needs to be combined with Cue Utilization Theory to explain the extrinsic/intrinsic nature of each of these dimensions. 4. Cue Utilization/WebQual Conceptual Model   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As Valacich et al [1] point out; consumers must have their basic level of needs met before any of the other elements of the website can become relevant to the consumers experience. To validate that these basic needs have been met, the consumer will evaluate those features that they believe to be highly predictive of the quality of the website. This evaluation will then be indicative of their willingness to continue to use the website.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both extrinsic and intrinsic cues serve a function in the consumers overall evaluation of the quality of a website, which means that such cues possess varying degrees of PV and CV. Literature has shown that consumers tend to use a combination of both extrinsic and intrinsic cues when evaluating the quality of a product [2]. An argument can be made about the extrinsic versus intrinsic nature of each of the dimensions in the WebQual model.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Intrinsic cues are those cues that are inherent to a website. Conceptually they are the cues that when changed fundamentally alter a characteristic of the website (e.g. Visual Appeal). Consumers tend to see these cues as being highly predictive of quality [2]. At the same time, consumers may or may not have a high degree of confidence in their ability to evaluate these intrinsic cues because these cues are often difficult to differentiate. Thus, assuming a Cue Utilization Theory perspective, a website characteristic that is perceived to be an intrinsic cue would have an inherently high degree of PV. Yet, the power of an intrinsic cue for assessments of quality will depend on the CV of the cue, with higher levels of CV being optimal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Extrinsic cues are those cues that are used to evaluate a website but are not an inherent part of the website (e.g. Response Time). Consumers tend to have a lot of confidence in their ability to evaluate these cues in regards to assessment of quality [2]. On [the other hand, consumers typically do not rate these cues as being highly predictive (as compared to intrinsic cues) of the overall quality of the website. Considering extrinsic cues from a Cue Utilization Theory perspective, a website characteristic that is perceived to be an extrinsic cue would have an inherently high degree of CV.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shown in Table 1 is a 22 matrix representing how each of the combinations of CV and PV will influence consumers willingness to perform tasks on a given website. As shown, characteristics with high CV and high PV are believed to have the largest effect on consumers perceptions of website quality. Those with low CV and PV would have a small to none existent effect, and those high on one dimension but low on the other would have a moderate effect. Next, we will posit about how varying degrees of cue PVs and CVs, respectively, will affect consumer perceptions of overall website quality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Relative Advantage is often considered an important aspect of websites as discussed previously. However, from a Cue Utilization Theory perspective the consumer may experience, at most, only a vague feeling about the Relative Advantage of the website. As such they would not place much value in their confidence in assessing this characteristic, which would result in a low CV. Along the same lines the average consumer would also not really take Relative Advantage into consideration when they were performing tasks, implying a relatively low level of PV. Thus, website characteristics that fall into the quadrant in the model with low levels of both PV and CV would have a small impact on consumers willingness to perform tasks on a website. H1: A website characteristic with low CV low PV will produce a small to none existent effect on the consumers perception of website quality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A characteristic such as Trust is highly predictive of consumers willingness to use a website, but the average consumer may not have much confidence in their ability to evaluate this characteristic. Trust in an online medium has been shown to be an attribute that is hard for the consumer to evaluate and in some cases to even define. Cue Utilization Theory suggests that though this characteristic is highly predictive of website quality, consumers lack of confidence in evaluating the characteristic may inhibit their ability to use the characteristic to assess the quality of the website. Moreover, dimensions in this quadrant, high PV/Low CV, have been shown to be relatively intrinsic to the website [2], and will have a moderate effect on the consumers evaluation of the websites quality. H2a: A website characteristic with low CV high PV will produce a moderate effect on consumers perception of website quality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One could reason that Response Time is a good example of an extrinsic attribute because it is not part of the inherent composition of the website. Rather, Response Time could be considered extrinsic because it can vary without changing anything about the content of the website. Rose and Straub [16] have shown in their research that consumers tend to attribute lack of responsiveness to extrinsic factors such as the overall speed of the internet, their own internet connection being slow, or other factors. In general, consumers seem to be willing to give the website the benefit of the doubt when slow response times are encountered, and as such, Response Time could be considered extrinsic to the website because it doesnt fundamental change the consumers perception of the website when it is altered. Based on Cue Utilization theory attributes with a low PV and high CV (such as Response Time) will only have a moderate influence on the consumers evaluations of website qua lity, and those dimensions belonging to this quadrant would be extrinsic to the website [2]. H2b: A website characteristic with high CV low PV will produce a moderate effect on consumers perception of website quality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cue Utilization Theory suggests that those characteristics with High CV and PV are the most highly predictive of consumers perception of website quality. Visual Appeal could be considered an intrinsic attribute because it is a characteristic inherent to the website that consumers are confident in using to evaluate website quality. One could further speculate that Visual Appeal is intrinsic to the website because if the Visual Appeal of the website was changed it would alter the inherent nature of the website. Lindgaard, Fernandes, Dudek, and Browà ± [24] have shown in their research that consumers form opinions about websites within the first 50 milliseconds (ms) of exposure. Furthermore, this initial perception of websites is almost entirely based on Visual Appeal; this was shown by correlating the ratings between 50 ms and 500 ms. However, though this attribute is intrinsic it shows an optimally high level of CV and PV thus placing it firmly into the high impac t quadrant. Dimensions in this quadrant would exhibit the optimal balance between PV and CV (i.e., an optimal intrinsic cue), and as such this quadrant of the table is hypothesized to have the largest impact on the consumers evaluation of the websites quality. H3: A website characteristic with high CV high PV will produce the largest effect on consumers perception of website quality. 5. Research Method   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To test these hypotheses two empirical studies will be administered. Study 1 is designed to determine where each of the WebQual dimensions fit into the 22 model shown in Table 1. Furthermore, this study is designed to determine if a significant difference can be perceived to exist between each of the dimensions when rank ordered by PV and CV. Study 2 will test the hypotheses by collecting data on each of these dimensions using a sample website, and comparing actual results to those found in the first study. 5.1 Study 1   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This study will focus on determining the CV and PV for each of the 12 dimensions of website quality, and determining if there is a significant difference between adjacent dimensions when rank ordered. 5.1.1 Subjects. Approximately 500 subjects will be recruited from an introductory Information Systems class held on campus at a large Northwestern University. Additionally, approximately 125 subjects will also be recruited from a distance education class offered by the same university. Subjects physically present on campus will complete the survey during their regular lecture times, and the distance education participants will have one week to complete the survey on their own personal computer. All data for Study 1 will be collected during the fall of 2009. Subjects will be given course credit for completing the survey, and no other incentives will be provided. 5.1.2 Survey Procedure. The survey is broken into two sections, one for CV and one for PV. In the CV section subjects are presented with a scenario about shopping on the Internet and asked about their confidence in assessing each of the 12 WebQual dimensions when shopping on the Internet for a product (e.g. Amazon.com) or Service (e.g. Bank of America). For this series of questions, the subjects will be required to rate each of the 12 WebQual dimensions on a 10-point likert-type scale with Confident/Not Confident being the top and bottom end of the scale. Finally, the subjects are asked to rank order the dimensions from the ones they have the highest confidence in assessing to the ones they have the least confidence in assessing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second section is designed to measure the PV of each of the 12 dimensions. Subjects are put in a hypothetical situation where they are in charge of designing a website for their employer. The first step towards designing the website is to decide the relative importance of each of the twelve dimensions in regards to consumers evaluation of the overall website quality. For this series of questions, the subjects will be required to rate each of the 12 dimensions on a 10-point likert-type scale with Important/Not Important being the top and bottom end of the scale. The subjects are then asked to rank order each of the 12 dimensions with respect to how predictive of website quality the subject believes each dimension to be. 5.1.3 Data Analysis. Aggregating the results of this data collection will allow each of the dimensions to be mapped to a CV and PV scale. Based on the relative PV and CV scores, each of the dimensions will be integrated into the 22 matrix shown in Table 1. Furthermore, the relative magnitude of each dimension will indicate the relative effect each dimension will have on the overall rating of website quality. 5.2 Study 2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This study will utilize subjects from an introductory Information Systems class taught in the fall of 2009. Approximately 500 students will participate. This study will focus on first determining the overall quality attributed to a website by the subjects, and secondly how the subjects rate each of the twelve WebQual dimensions for each website. Using regression analysis, we should then be able to show that the model accurately predicts the website quality based on the rating of each of the 12 dimensions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Furthermore, the pattern of results from this study will examine how well the WebQual dimensions fit to the quadrant they were assigned in Study 1, and that the model developed in Study 1 is predictive of the responses received in Study 2. Those dimensions that serve as the highest-level indicators of website quality should be rated the highest by the subjects, and those that are the lowest should be rated likewise. Ideally, this study should provide significant support for each of the proposed hypotheses, and indicate which of the dimensions should be of highest consideration when constructing a high quality website. Initial data for both of these studies should be ready to share at the conference, should the paper be accepted. 6. Discussion and Potential Contribution   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As shown in the model, the most important considerations when developing a website are those attributes that reside in the high CV and high PV quadrant. Online businesses should pay particular attention to the characteristics in this quadrant, as the consumer will tend to utilize these dimensions the most when determining the overall quality of the website. All businesses seeking to perform transactions within the e-commerce channel should pay heed to these recommendations, but online retailers need to pay particular attention, as this is the primary channel through which they produce revenue.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Of secondary importance to consumers are the Low CV/High PV and High CV/Low PV quadrants. If an online business seeks to capitalize on one of the dimensions within these quadrants, they need to pay particular attention to how they will nudge the consumer into using these dimensions for evaluation of website quality. This could potentially be accomplished through educational campaigns or marketing literature. Finally, the low CV/Low PV quadrant is of limited value to the online retailer, and should be removed from consideration when developing a website. This article seeks to contribute to the field by providing a model that can be used to enable web developers to effectively predict the overall quality of a website based on its design. In following this model, the developer will need to pay particular attention to those attributes that are highly predictive, from the consumers viewpoint, of overall website quality, and as such, the website should be designed in a fashion that encourages the consumer to conduct transactions. Additionally, the consumer will be motivated to perform future transactions from this website because they are familiar with the layout and possess a high confidence in the overall quality of the website. 7. Limitations and Future Research   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The primary limitation of this model is that it is an untested conceptual model. The assumptions contained herein are as of yet ungrounded in solid empirical evidence; furthermore, this model was designed around e-commerce websites designed to sell products to end consumers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Future research could delve into decomposing those elements that are the most highly predictive of website quality. This research could take each dimension and decompose them to their base elements to discover what it is about the dimension that makes it highly predictive of website quality. Additionally, the extrinsic/intrinsic nature of each of the dimensions could be explored to determine how a company can best capitalize on these dimensions when trying to sell the consumer on the quality of their website. Either of these approaches could prove invaluable to the field, as they will begin to give the developer a specific set of principles to follow when developing a high quality website. 8. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cue Utilization Theory is a concept that has been used in marketing for years to determine why consumers react differently to a given product. The author of this article has overlaid Cue Utilization theory upon WebQual to design a model that is predictive of the dimensions serving to form the consumers overall feel for the quality of a website. Using this model, website designers will be able to build a website that consumers will be more confident in assessing the quality of, and as such, the consumer will gain confidence in performing transactions on this website. 9. References J.S. Valacich, D.V. Parboteeah, and J.D. Wells, â€Å"The online consumers hierarchy of needs,† Commun. ACM, Vol. 50, No. 9, pp. 84-90, 2007. P.S. Richardson, A.S. Dick, and A.K. Jain, â€Å"Extrinsic and intrinsic cue effects on perceptions of store brand quality.,† Journal of Marketing, Vol. 58, No. 4, p. 28, Oct. 1994. E.T. Loiacono, R.T. Watson, and D.L. Goodhue, â€Å"WebQual: An Instrument for Consumer Evaluation of Web Sites.,† International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 51-87, Spring. 2007. â€Å"intrinsic,† The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. â€Å"extrinsic,† The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. C. Cappiello, C. Francalanci, and B. Pernici, â€Å"Time-Related Factors of Data Quality in Multichannel Information Systems.,† Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 71-91, Winter. 2003. D.L. Goodhue and R.L. Thompson, â€Å"Task-Technology Fit and Individual Performance.,† MIS Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 213-236, Jun. 1995. E.T. Loiacono, D. Chen, and D.L. Goodhue, â€Å"WebQual TM Revisited: Predicting the Intent to Reuse a Web Site,† AMCIS 2002 Proceedings, p. Paper 46, 2002. S. Ghose and W. Dou, â€Å"Interactive Functions and Their Impacts on the Appeal of Internet Presence Sites.,† Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 29-43, Mar. 1998. R.T. Rust and K.N. Lemon, â€Å"E-Service and the Consumer.,† International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 85-101, Spring. 2001. D.H. McKnight, V. Choudhury, and C. Kacmar, â€Å"Developing and Validating Trust Measures for e-Commerce: An Integrative Typology.,† Information Systems Research, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 334-359, 2002. R. Pennington, H.D. Wilcox, and V. Grover, â€Å"The Role of System Trust in Business-to-Consumer Transactions.,† Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 197-226, Winter. 2003. J. Kim, J