Saturday, January 25, 2020

Celebrity Endorsement on Rural Consumers

Celebrity Endorsement on Rural Consumers The celebrities in India are the role models for majority of Indians, they are so influenced by them that most of the population follows the trends of their dressing, styles and habits. This is the major reason for the companies to hire the celebrities to promote their products. The companies invest billions of to hire the celebrity for the promotion of their product. The companies believe that the celebrity changes the purchase intention of the consumers in India. The study is conducted to find out the impact of celebrity on rural consumers of Lucknow district of Uttar Pradesh. In order to analyze the objective of the study the data was collected using convenience sampling from 300 respondents belonging to the randomly selected areas of Lucknow. The secondary data was collected through different sources such as- Journals, Magazines, Internet, and Newspaper etc. Null hypothesis was framed and analytical Techniques are the statistical tools that are used for analyzing the collected da ta. The frequency tables were used to represent the collected data. One sample T-test was used to test the hypothesis and ANOVA was used to calculate the significance level of impact of celebrity endorsement on rural consumers. The SPSS 17 is also used as statistical software to analyze the collected data. It is found that the Indian consumers prefer celebrities in the television commercials. Keywords Brand Building, Brand Promotion, Celebrity Endorsements, Indian Television Commercials. INTRODUCTION The celebrities in India are the role models for majority of Indians, they tries to follow their styles, clothes and their small habits. Celebrity endorsement is most acceptable and common phenomenon that companies use to attract their consumers across the world. They believe that celebrities can influence the purchasing decision of their prospect consumers as they have special places in the heart of consumer. Therefore after analyzing the degree of involvement to follow the celebrities, the companies started hiring various bollywood and sports stars for the commercial advertisements. That is why the promotional budget for advertising has taken many financial folds compared to past investments. The companies invest billions of Rupees over hiring a celebrity for their product promotion. Such endorsers are seen as dynamic with both attractive and likeable qualities and companies plan that these qualities are transferred to products via marcom activities. Furthermore, because of their f ame, celebrities serve not only to create and maintain attention but also to achieve high recall rates for marcom messages in todays highly cluttered environments. Theory and practice prove that the use of super stars in advertising generates a lot of publicity and attention from the public (Ohanian 1991). Therefore, Celebrity endorsement has been established as one of the most proffered tools of advertising. It has become a trend and perceived as a winning formula for product marketing and brand building. It is very easy to have a celebrity for a product or brand but it is very tough to establish a very strong association between the product and the endorser: because the objective is to build a brand not the celebrity: if properly matched it can do wonders for the company, but it also has a number of potential problems like failure of celebrity in his profession, controversy, etc. LITERATURE REVIEW According to McCracken (1989), a celebrity could be defined as, Any individual who enjoys public recognition and who uses this recognition when they appear in the advertisement in front of the Consumers. There are multiple roles that a celebrity spokesperson may play (and the roles may not be mutually exclusive) (Kamen, Azhari and Kragh, 1975) in an advertisement such as that of a spokesperson, endorser, provider of a testimonial, or an actor. A spokesperson represents the company or brand like a salesman, while an endorser is associated with the brand even though he may not be an expert in the product category of the brand. In case of testimonials, the superiority of the product is attested by an individual or the personal experience of the celebrity. Lastly, the celebrity actor is only a character in a dramatic presentation in the advertisement. McCracken (1989) suggested four different modes of celebrity endorsers namely, Explicit mode, Implicit mode, Imperative mode, and the Co-present mode. In the explicit mode, the celebrity announces the endorsement of a product, while in the implicit mode; the celebrity uses verbal or physical communication for the product. In the imperative mode, the celebrity suggests the audience to use the endorsed product while the celebrity only appears with the product in the co-present mode. The studies of celebrity endorsements in the past 30 years have centered around two broad themes: source credibility and celebrity-brand congruence. Source credibility studies focus on the factors defining the credibility of a celebrity. Credibility of a celebrity has been found to be a major factor influencing consumer attitudes. Research has identified three dimensions of source credibility: attractiveness, expertise, and trustworthiness. Some of the studies (e.g., Ohanian, 1990) have used all the three dimensions to develop a scale that can measure credibility. On the other hand, there are studies that have analyzed only one or two dimensions of credibility and its impact on the consumer (Weiner and Mowen, 1986; Friedman and Friedman, 1979; Kamins and Gupta, 1994). However, the findings from these studies have been quite contradictory. While some studies have found trustworthiness to be the most important dimension of source credibility (McGinnies and Ward, 1980; Atkin and Block, 1983 and Kamins, 1989), others have emphasized attractiveness (Baker and Churchill, 1977; Kahle and Homer, 1985; Caballero et al., 1989; Silvera and Austad, 2004) or have suggested expertise (Maddux and Rogers, 1980; Ohanian, 1991) to be the most important parameter. Around 64 per cent of the commercials used the implicit mode of celebrity portrayal for different product categories. Usage of film celebrities was more extensive than sports celebrities in major product categories. This was probably because the shelf life of fame for a film celebrity is more than that of the sports celebrity. Male celebrities dominated the product categories like food and beverage, automobiles, and consumer durables. The female celebrities were featured majorly in beauty products. No distinct association was found between the product categories considered and the mode used for celebrity portrayal. (Jain et al. 2010) Using a celebrity for endorsement is not a new occurrence but prevalent since 19th century. Celebrity endorsements help to break the clutter and differentiate the brand. It also helps in image repair of a brand (Kaikati, 1987). In todays world where thousands of advertisements come across people in various forms, celebrity endorsement can easily win the confidence of consumers (Sabnavis, 2003). Celebrity helps in increasing profitability of the organization. In fact, celebrity endorsement is more effective than non-celebrity endorsement in generating attitudes towards advertisement (AAD), attitude towards brand (AB) and purchase intention (PI) (Erdogan, 1999). Research findings suggest that the percentage of celebrity advertisements out of the total number of ads aired is as high as 25-30% in western countries and around 60% in India (Patel, 2009). In such a scenario both academia and industry look for the issues in selection, use and effectiveness of celebrities as product endorsers. Research in celebrity endorsements in the last thirty years have tried to address various issues in celebrity endorsements such as the effects of credibility of endorser on the consumers (Friedman and Friedman, 1979; Goldsmith et al., 2000), issues in celebrity product match-up (Kamins, 1990; Till and Busler, 1998), meaning transfer in celebrity endorsements (McCracken, 1989) and a host of other issues such as effect of negative celebrity information, cross country comparison of celebrity advertising, gender and celebrity endorsement perceptions, etc. Celebrity endorsements is been accepted to be a ubiquitous feature of modern day marketing (McCracken 1989). It has also been seen that one quarter of all advertisement use/feature a celebrity to endorse a product or brand. This validates the effectiveness of Celebrity endorsements as a means of persuasive communication. It has the potential to enhance audience attentiveness, make the ad more memorable, credible, and desirable and add glamour to the endorsed product (Spielman, 1981). OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY The study is conducted to find out the impact of celebrity endorsement on rural consumers of Lucknow District. HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY The null hypothesis that there is no impact of celebrity endorsement on rural consumers was framed for the study. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY STUDY AREA The Study is conducted in the Lucknow city of Uttar Pradesh. Further, the respondents are selected from four different areas namely, Malihabad, Mohanlalganj, Banthara and Bakshi ka Talab of Lucknow. SAMPLING METHOD AND SAMPLE SIZE The sample method used to select the area for this study is random sampling technique. The sample method that was used to collect data from the population was convenience sampling. Sample size identified for the research is 300 respondents from Lucknow district. DATA COLLECTION The Study is based on Primary data and Secondary data both. The primary data is collected through structured questionnaire from the 300 respondents from Lucknow. The secondary data is collected through the magazines, journals, periodicals, people opinion and internet. ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES Analytical Techniques are the statistical tools that are used for analyzing the collected data. The one sample t-test was used to test the hypothesis. ANOVA was used to find out the impact of celebrity on rural consumers. The SPSS 17 statistical software is also used for doing the calculations RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS The study was conducted in rural areas of Lucknow. Using the random sampling technique the rural areas of Lucknow were selected. The study was done at Malihabad, Banthara, Bakshi ka Talab and Mohanlalganj. The total sample size targeted for study was 300 respondents from the selected areas but the responses were received from 277 respondents. The convenience sampling was used to collect the data from the respondents using structured questionnaires. The respondents were categorized in the age group 0- 10, 10- 20 and above 60, with the class interval of 10. It was found that maximum number of respondents were in the age group of 20- 30 with 67 respondents, followed by 10- 20 with 60 respondents as represented in Table 1. As per Table 2, the numbers of male respondents were 173 (62.5%) and the numbers of female respondents were 104 (37.5%). This shows that males participated the maximum in the study. Table 3 shows the preferences about the celebrities in the advertisements. The respondents are categorized in three categories name yes, no and cant say. The numbers of respondents who prefer the celebrities in the advertisements are 103 which contribute 37.2% of the responded population. Further, 96 respondents responded that they do not prefer celebrity in the advertisements which contribute to 34.7% of the responded population. 78 respondents replied cant say which is 28.2% of the responded population. Null Hypothesis: There is no impact of celebrity endorsement on rural consumers. Alternate Hypothesis: There is impact of celebrity endorsement on rural consumers. The null hypothesis indicates that there is no impact of celebrity endorsement on rural consumers, to test this hypothesis one-sample t-test is used, and as per the Table 4 the significance value is .000 which is significant at 5% level of significance. Hence the null hypothesis there is no impact of celebrity endorsement on rural consumers is rejected and alternate hypothesis there is impact of celebrity endorsement on rural consumers can be accepted. ANOVA was used to identify the impact of celebrity endorsement on rural consumers. Here age group of rural consumers is considered as dependent variable whereas prefer celebrity in advertisement is considered as Construct. There is a significant impact of celebrity endorsement on rural consumers. The value of significance level is .000, which is significant at 5% level of significance. Therefore, it can be said that there is an impact of celebrity endorsement on rural consumers based on the data collected for the study. CONCLUSION The statistical tools were used to determine the conclusion of the hypotheses framed. The tools used for analysis of the data are- frequency distribution, which showed the percentage by which the hypotheses has been accepted, one- sample t-test to test the hypotheses at 5% of significance and ANOVA to analyze the impact of celebrity endorsement on rural consumers. The following points were concluding observation to satisfy the objectives of the study and prove the hypotheses: 37.2% of the rural consumers prefer celebrities in the advertisements followed by 34.7% of rural consumers who do not prefer celebrities in the advertisements. There is an impact of celebrity endorsement on rural consumers as it is been proven in the study by calculating the significance level.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Part Three Chapter XI

XI Krystal did not take Robbie to nursery on Tuesday morning, but dressed him for Nana Cath's funeral instead. As she pulled up his least ripped trousers, which were a good two inches too short in the leg, she tried to explain to him who Nana Cath had been, but she might as well have saved her breath. Robbie had no memory of Nana Cath; he had no idea what Nana meant; no concept of any relative other than mother and sister. In spite of her shifting hints and stories, Krystal knew that Terri had no idea who his father was. Krystal heard her mother's footsteps on the stairs. ‘Leave it,' she snapped at Robbie, who had reached for an empty beer can lying beneath Terri's usual armchair. ‘C'm'ere.' She pulled Robbie by the hand into the hall. Terri was still wearing the pyjama bottoms and dirty T-shirt in which she had spent the night, and her feet were bare. ‘Why intcha changed?' demanded Krystal. ‘I ain't goin',' said Terri, pushing past her son and daughter into the kitchen. ‘Changed me mind.' ‘Why?' ‘I don' wanna,' said Terri. She was lighting a cigarette off the ring of the cooker. ‘Don' fuckin' ‘ave to.' Krystal was still holding Robbie's hand, as he tugged and swung. ‘They're all goin',' said Krystal. ‘Cheryl an' Shane an' all.' ‘So?' said Terri aggressively. Krystal had been afraid that her mother would pull out at the last minute. The funeral would bring her face to face with Danielle, the sister who pretended that Terri did not exist, not to mention all the other relatives who had disowned them. Anne-Marie might be there. Krystal had been holding on to that hope, like a torch in the darkness, through the nights she had sobbed for Nana Cath and Mr Fairbrother. ‘You gotta go,' said Krystal. ‘No, I ain'.' ‘It's Nana Cath, innit,' said Krystal. ‘So?' said Terri, again. ‘She done loads fer us,' said Krystal. ‘No, she ain',' snapped Terri. ‘She did,' said Krystal, her face hot and her hand clutching Robbie's. ‘Fer you, maybe,' said Terri. ‘She done fuck-all for me. Go an' fuckin' bawl all over ‘er fuckin' grave if yeh want. I'm waitin' in.' ‘Wha' for?' said Krystal. ‘My bus'ness, innit.' The old familiar shadow fell. ‘Obbo's comin' round, is ‘e?' ‘My bus'ness,' repeated Terri, with pathetic dignity. ‘Come to the funeral,' said Krystal loudly. ‘You go.' ‘Don' go fuckin' usin',' said Krystal, her voice an octave higher. ‘I ain',' said Terri, but she turned away, looking out of the dirty back window over the patch of overgrown litter-strewn grass they called the back garden. Robbie tugged his hand out of Krystal's and disappeared into the sitting room. With her fists deep in her trackie pockets, shoulders squared, Krystal tried to decide what to do. She wanted to cry at the thought of not going to the funeral, but her distress was edged with relief that she would not have to face the battery of hostile eyes she had sometimes met at Nana Cath's. She was angry with Terri, and yet felt strangely on her side. You don't even know who the father is, do yeh, yer whore? She wanted to meet Anne-Marie, but was scared. ‘All righ', then, I'll stay an' all.' ‘You don' ‘ave ter. Go, if yeh wan'. I don' fuckin' care.' But Krystal, certain that Obbo would appear, stayed. Obbo had been away for more than a week, for some nefarious purpose of his own. Krystal wished that he had died, that he would never come back. For something to do, she began to tidy the house, while smoking one of the roll-ups Fats Wall had given her. She didn't like them, but she liked that he had given them to her. She had been keeping them in Nikki's plastic jewellery box, along with Tessa's watch. She had thought that she might not see Fats any more, after their shag in the cemetery, because he had been almost silent afterwards and left her with barely a goodbye, but they had since met up on the rec. She could tell that he had enjoyed this time more than the last; they had not been stoned, and he had lasted longer. He lay beside her in the grass beneath the bushes, smoking, and when she had told him about Nana Cath dying, he had told her that Sukhvinder Jawanda's mother had given Nana Cath the wrong drugs or something; he was not clear exactly what had happened. Krystal had been horrified. So Nana Cath need not have died; she might still have been in the neat little house on Hope Street, there in case Krystal needed her, offering a refuge with a comfortable clean-sheeted bed, the tiny kitchen full of food and mismatched china, and the little TV in the corner of the sitting room: I don' wanna watch no filth, Krystal, turn that off. Krystal had liked Sukhvinder, but Sukhvinder's mother had killed Nana Cath. You did not differentiate between members of an enemy tribe. It had been Krystal's avowed intention to pulverize Sukhvinder; but then Tessa Wall had intervened. Krystal could not remember the details of what Tessa had told her; but it seemed that Fats had got the story wrong or, at least, not exactly right. She had given Tessa a grudging promise not to go after Sukhvinder, but such promises could only ever be stop-gaps in Krystal's frantic ever-changing world. ‘Put it down!' Krystal shouted at Robbie, because he was trying to prise the lid off the biscuit tin where Terri kept her works. Krystal snatched the tin from him and held it in her hands like a living creature, something that would fight to stay alive, whose destruction would have tremendous consequences. There was a scratched picture on the lid: a carriage with luggage piled high on the roof, drawn through the snow by four chestnut horses, a coachman in a top hat carrying a bugle. She carried the tin upstairs with her, while Terri sat in the kitchen smoking, and hid it in her bedroom. Robbie trailed after her. ‘Wanna go play park.' She sometimes took him and pushed him on the swings and the roundabout. ‘Not today, Robbie.' He whined until she shouted at him to shut up. Later, when it was dark – after Krystal had made Robbie his tea of spaghetti hoops and given him a bath; when the funeral was long since over – Obbo rapped on the front door. Krystal saw him from Robbie's bedroom window and tried to get there first, but Terri beat her to it. ‘All righ', Ter?' he said, over the threshold before anyone had invited him in. †Eard you was lookin' fer me las' week.' Although she had told him to stay put, Robbie had followed Krystal downstairs. She could smell his shampooed hair over the smell of fags and stale sweat that clung to Obbo in his ancient leather jacket. Obbo had had a few; when he leered at her, she smelt the beer fumes. ‘All righ', Obbo?' said Terri, with the note in her voice Krystal never heard otherwise. It was conciliating, accommodating; it conceded that he had rights in their house. ‘Where you bin, then?' ‘Bristol,' he said. ‘How's you, Ter?' ‘She don' wan' nuthin',' said Krystal. He blinked at her through his thick glasses. Robbie was clutching Krystal's leg so tightly that she could feel his nails in her skin. ‘Oo's this, Ter?' asked Obbo. ‘Yer mum?' Terri laughed. Krystal glared at him, Robbie's grip tight on her thigh. Obbo's bleary gaze dropped to him. ‘An' ‘ow's me boy?' ‘He ain' your fuckin' boy,' said Krystal. †Ow d'you know?' Obbo asked her quietly, grinning. ‘Fuck off. She don' wan' nuthin'. Tell ‘im,' Krystal virtually shouted at Terri. ‘Tell ‘im you don' wan' nuthin'.' Daunted, caught between two wills much stronger than her own, Terri said, †E on'y come rounda see – ‘ ‘No, ‘e ain't,' said Krystal. ‘No, ‘e fuckin' ain't. Tell ‘im. She don' wan' nuthin',' she said fiercely into Obbo's grinning face. ‘She's bin off it fer weeks.' ‘Is tha' right, Terri?' said Obbo, still smiling. ‘Yeah, it is,' said Krystal, when Terri did not answer. ‘She's still at Bellchapel.' ‘Noffur much longer,' said Obbo. ‘Fuck off,' said Krystal, outraged. ‘Closin' it,' said Obbo. ‘Are they?' said Terri in sudden panic. ‘They ain't, are they?' ‘Course they are,' said Obbo. ‘Cuts, innit?' ‘You don't know nuthin',' Krystal told Obbo. ‘It's bollocks,' she told her mother. ‘They ‘aven' said nuthin', ‘ave they?' ‘Cuts,' repeated Obbo, patting his bulging pockets for cigarettes. ‘We got the case review,' Krystal reminded Terri. ‘Yeh can't use. Yeh can't.' ‘Wha's that?' asked Obbo, fiddling with his lighter, but neither woman enlightened him. Terri met her daughter's gaze for a bare two seconds; her eyes fell, reluctantly, to Robbie in his pyjamas, still clinging tightly to Krystal's leg. ‘Yeah, I wuz gonna go ter bed, Obbo,' she mumbled, without looking at him. ‘I'll mebbe see yer another time.' ‘I ‘eard your Nan died,' he said. ‘Cheryl wuz tellin' me.' Pain contorted Terri's face; she looked as old as Nana Cath herself. ‘Yeah, I'm goin' ter bed. C'mon, Robbie. Come wi' me, Robbie.' Robbie did not want to let go of Krystal while Obbo was still there. Terri held out her claw-like hand. ‘Yeah, go on, Robbie,' Krystal urged him. In certain moods, Terri clutched her son like a teddy bear; better Robbie than smack. ‘Go on. Go wi' Mum.' He was reassured by something in Krystal's voice, and allowed Terri to take him upstairs. ‘See yeh,' said Krystal, without looking at Obbo, but stalking away from him into the kitchen, pulling the last of Fats Wall's roll-ups out of her pocket and bending to light it off the gas ring. She heard the front door close and felt triumphant. Fuck him. ‘You got a lovely arse, Krystal.' She jumped so violently that a plate slipped off the heaped side and smashed on the filthy floor. He had not gone, but had followed her. He was staring at her chest in its tight T-shirt. ‘Fuck off,' she said. ‘Big girl, intcha?' ‘Fuck off.' ‘I ‘eard you give it away free,' said Obbo, closing in. ‘You could make better money'n yer mum.' ‘Fuck – ‘ His hand was on her left breast. She tried to knock it away; he seized her wrist in his other hand. Her lit cigarette grazed his face and he punched her, twice, to the side of the head; more plates shattered on the filthy floor and then, as they wrestled, she slipped and fell; the back of her head smacked on the floor, and he was on top of her: she could feel his hand at the waistband of her tracksuit bottoms, pulling. ‘No – fuck – no!' His knuckles in her belly as he undid his own flies – she tried to scream and he smacked her across the face – the smell of him was thick in her nostrils as he growled in her ear, ‘Fuckin' shout and I'll cut yer.' He was inside her and it hurt; she could hear him grunting and her own tiny whimper; she was ashamed of the noise she made, so frightened and so small. He came and clambered off her. At once she pulled up her tracksuit bottoms and jumped up to face him, tears pouring down her face as he leered at her. ‘I'll tell Mist' Fairbrother,' she heard herself sob. She did not know where it came from. It was a stupid thing to say. ‘The fuck's he?' Obbo tugged up his flies, lit a cigarette, taking his time, blocking her exit. ‘You fuckin' ‘im too, are yeh? Little slapper.' He sauntered up the hall and was gone. She was shaking as she had never done in her life. She thought she might be sick; she could smell him all over her. The back of her head throbbed; there was a pain inside her, and wetness seeping into her pants. She ran out of the room into the living room and stood, shivering, with her arms wrapped around herself; then she knew a moment of terror, that he would come back, and hurried to the front door to lock it. Back in the sitting room she found a long stub in the ashtray and lit it. Smoking, shaking and sobbing, she sank into Terri's usual chair, then jumped up because she heard footsteps on the stairs: Terri had reappeared, looking confused and wary. ‘Wha'ssa matter with you?' Krystal gagged on the words. ‘He jus' – he jus' fucked me.' ‘Wha'?' said Terri. ‘Obbo – ‘e jus' – ‘ †E wouldn'.' It was the instinctive denial with which Terri met all of life: he wouldn't, no, I never, no, I didn't. Krystal flew at her and pushed her; emaciated as she was, Terri crumpled backwards into the hall, shrieking and swearing; Krystal ran to the door she had just locked, fumbled to unfasten it and wrenched it open. Still sobbing, she was twenty yards along the dark street before she realized that Obbo might be waiting out here, watching. She cut across a neighbour's garden at a run and took a zig-zag route through back ways in the direction of Nikki's house, and all the time the wetness spread in her pants and she thought she might throw up. Krystal knew that it was rape, what he had done. It had happened to Leanne's older sister in the car park of a nightclub in Bristol. Some people would have gone to the police, she knew that; but you did not invite the police into your life when your mother was Terri Weedon. I'll tell Mist' Fairbrother. Her sobs came faster and faster. She could have told Mr Fairbrother. He had known what real life was like. One of his brothers had done time. He had told Krystal stories of his youth. It had not been like her youth – nobody was as low as her, she knew that – but like Nikki's, like Leanne's. Money had run out; his mother had bought her council house and then been unable to keep up the payments; they had lived for a while in a caravan lent by an uncle. Mr Fairbrother took care of things; he sorted things out. He had come to their house and talked to Terri about Krystal and rowing, because there had been an argument and Terri was refusing to sign forms for Krystal to go away with the team. He had not been disgusted, or he had not shown it, which came to the same thing. Terri, who liked and trusted nobody, had said, †E seems all righ',' and she had signed. Mr Fairbrother had once said to her, ‘It'll be tougher for you than these others, Krys; it was tougher for me. But you can do better. You don't have to go the same way.' He had meant working hard at school and stuff, but it was too late for that and, anyway, it was all bollocks. How would reading help her now? ‘Ow's me boy? He ain' your fuckin' boy. ‘Ow d'you know? Leanne's sister had had to get the morning-after pill. Krystal would ask Leanne about the pill and go and get it. She could not have Obbo's baby. The thought of it made her retch. I gotta get out of here. She thought fleetingly of Kay, and then discarded her: as bad as the police, to tell a social worker that Obbo walked in and out of their house, raping people. She would take Robbie for sure, if she knew that. A clear lucid voice in Krystal's head was speaking to Mr Fairbrother, who was the only adult who had ever talked to her the way she needed, unlike Mrs Wall, so well-intentioned and so blinkered, and Nana Cath, refusing to hear the whole truth. I gotta get Robbie out of here. How can I get away? I gotta get away. Her one sure refuge, the little house in Hope Street, was already being gobbled up by squabbling relatives †¦ She scurried around a corner underneath a street lamp, looking over her shoulder in case he was watching her, following. And then the answer came to her, as though Mr Fairbrother had shown her the way. If she got knocked up by Fats Wall, she would be able to get her own place from the council. She would be able to take Robbie to live with her and the baby if Terri used again. And Obbo would never enter her house, not ever. There would be bolts and chains and locks on the door, and her house would be clean, always clean, like Nana Cath's house. Half running along the dark street, Krystal's sobs slowed and subsided. The Walls would probably give her money. They were like that. She could imagine Tessa's plain, concerned face, bending over a cot. Krystal would have their grandchild. She would lose Fats in getting pregnant; they always went, once you were expecting; she had watched it happen nearly every time in the Fields. But perhaps he would be interested; he was so strange. It did not much matter to her either way. Her interest in him, except as the essential component in her plan, had dwindled to almost nothing. What she wanted was the baby: the baby was more than a means to an end. She liked babies; she had always loved Robbie. She would keep the two of them safe, together; she would be like a better, kinder, younger Nana Cath to her family. Anne-Marie might come and visit, once she was away from Terri. Their children would be cousins. A very vivid image of herself and Anne-Marie came to Krystal; they were standing at the school gates of St Thomas's in Pagford, waving off two little girls in pale blue dresses and ankle socks. The lights were on in Nikki's house, as they always were. Krystal broke into a run.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

The Role and Function of Religion - 636 Words

According to Henslin, religion is an element of faith (2012). My religion is Romanian Pentecostalism. I am the first generation born in America and my parents are from Romania. My religion is based on Pentecostal beliefs as well as Romanian culture. The book Essentials of Sociology talks about the functions and dysfunctions a religion, the symbols and categories of a religion, and the social class and tolerance of my religion. Henslin explains the different functions of religion and what they mean: questions about ultimate meaning, emotional comfort, social solidarity, guidelines for everyday, social control, and social change (2012). As I read the descriptions, I saw how each function explained how parts of my religion works. I believe that there is a higher God and that God gives me a purpose in life which is to love others and bring glory to Him so that in the end I can have eternal life with Him. 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In looking at how religion functions in social structures, social systems, and small group interpersonal interactions a sociologist could formulate a better understanding of religion s role in society and the human experience. The sociologist looks at the individual, and how that individual connects to a specific societal location or setting and specifically at religion a sociological study could determine the power religion holds over people and societies. UnderstandingRead MoreSociological Perspectives Of Structural Functionalism1490 Words   |  6 Pagespaper –religion (as a primarily social rather than theological or psychological phenomenon) and the effects on societies. In looking at how religion functions in social structures, social systems, and small group interpersonal interactions sociologists could formulate a better understanding of religion s role in society and the human experience. The sociologist looks at the individual agency, and how that connects to a specific societal location or setting. Specifically, in the case of religion a sociologistRead MoreSocial Institutions And Its Impact On Society1602 Words   |  7 Pagesin a society play an important role. There are some major social institutions which have considerable impacts on the lives of the members of society, such as religion and education. These institution act as the means of providing opportunity fo r the overall development of individuals. In this regard it can be said that â€Å"The role of religion is to remind republican citizens of their duties to and reliance upon God. Virtue is the bedrock of free society, and religion provides a constant reminder ofRead MoreThe Main Function of Religion According to Sociological Arguments685 Words   |  3 PagesThe Main Function of Religion According to Sociological Arguments Many sociologists believe that the main function of religion is to provide people with a code of conduct, which regulates personal and social life. There are two main theories to what role religion plays within society. One of these theories is the Marxist theory. Marxism sees society as superstructure. They believe that society isn’t peaceful and is based on conflict and exploitation. Religion makes thisRead MoreStructural Functionalism : A Sociological Perspective1096 Words   |  5 PagesStructural functionalism best describes the view of the world and varies roles that are played by different people. Structural functionalism is a theory that views society as a complete unit (Ballantine Roberts, 2007). Emile Durkheim is the father of Structural Functionalism. They look at society the same way as someone looks at a formula for a math equation. They view the equation as a whole before using the formula to play a role in the equation itself. In order for structural functionalism to workRead MoreAssess the View That Religion Is a Source of Instability and Conflict1094 Words   |  5 PagesAssess the view that religion is a major source of instability and conflict in society today Religion has held an important role in society since the beginning of civilisation and it has such power over people’s minds and shape the way our world developed. Whilst some sociological theories such as functionalist sees religion as performing a positive function in society as it can lead to social solidarity, integrating people into society, other sociological theories such as Marxist and FeministRead MoreImpact Of Social Institutions On Caribbean Culture1223 Words   |  5 Pagesoperations of society. They are the major organising framework in social life. Social institutions have evolved overtime and therefore embody what the society holds valuable in relation to family, education, religion, the justice system, the economy and health. †¢ Each social institution has functions that ensure the smooth working of the social system as they often illustrate the need for order, uniformity and consensus. †¢ Social institutions determine and guide behaviour: they signify what is accepted

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

The Internet Usage At Workplace - 1320 Words

INTRODUCTION Prior to the Internet, employees would have limited activities they could perform when using the computer at work, however with the advance of technology the computer and the Internet enabled a wide range of tools employees can work with. These technological developments have a huge impact, both positive and negative, and are also affecting the way Internet is being used in the workplace. On the positive side, the Internet improved the way employers and employees communicate in the workplace, providing a faster and more efficient way of transmitting information, orders, documents and also helping eliminate time and space barriers that once existed. On the other hand, the Internet use can contribute to reduce employee’s productivity as they can spend a lot of time dealing with personal interests affairs and navigating in social media instead of focusing on their job assignments while at work. For this reason, nowadays organizations started to develop and implement policies and procedures that regulate the Internet usage at workplace. Those rules helps establish codes of conduct employees must observe during work hours and what it is and what is not allowed to access from the company’s computer. This paper reports both positive and negative aspects and impacts of the Internet usage in the workplace and how this matter is being addressed these days by managers and employers to ensure that Internet is being used properly. THE INTERNET USAGE IN THE WORKPLACE:Show MoreRelatedEmployee Privacy Essay1215 Words   |  5 Pagesdo implement high safety mechanisms, such as firewalls and passwords, to certify privacy they still reserve the right to monitor an employee’s usage of company property. The majority of companies have put into practice some type of Internet usage policy of what the company regards as suitable usage of the company’s resources to gain access to the Internet and what privacy rights their employees may or may not have. In todays place of work, employees individual civil liberties are being infringedRead MoreThe Current Generation Of School Age1131 Words   |  5 Pagesage† and in the young adults age group is among the earliest to grow up in the age where Internet usage plays a near pivotal role in society. Naturally, this also leads to the fact that this demographic is most affected by Internet addiction. In fact, a study conducted using four years of information from the Korean Information Society Agency concluded that the higher the level of school, the higher the Internet addiction ratio. The highest level of school in this study was university level. (Jun,Read MoreThe Impact Of Social Media On The Workplace853 Words   |  4 Pagescompanies allow the usage of social networking sites in the workplace. It will also explain the positive impact social media usage has in the workplace, such as allowing communication to a broader audience. In addition to the positive usage, this topic will a lso explore the negative implications usage can cause. Because social media is still relatively new, there are not many laws establishing the proper guidelines for these sites in the workplace. Scholarly articles such as the ‘Workplace impact of socialRead MoreMarketing Analysis : Apple Company866 Words   |  4 Pagescustomers in the world. Apple should adopt internet selling, electronic commerce and a faster, widespread and economical means of reaching the target market. Website creation is one of the best methods of reaching customers worldwide. Apple should create many website pages in which the products are displayed together with their prices and their qualities. Apple Inc. Global Internet, e-commerce, and mobile technology adoption E-commerce, use of Internet, and use of mobile technology are a very criticalRead MoreHow the Growth of Electronic Monitoring Has Changed Employee Expectations of Privacy in the Workplace1151 Words   |  5 Pagesthe internet for personal pursuits in the workplace has seen phenomenal growth over the last quarter century. Along with this growth, employers and employees alike have used the internet as a tool to increase profit, manage time and facilitate communications. However, such technological advancement has its issues. The problem investigated is how the growth of electronic monitoring has changed employee expectations of privacy in the workplace. Should employees be able to use the internet forRead MoreEssay On The Use Of Monitoring Techniques Used In The Workplace902 Words   |  4 Pages Marcia Leath ENGL 735 16/10/2017 The Use of Monitoring Devices at the Workplace For the past decade, many companies have changed their way of using modern technologies. Therefore, it has resulted in newer strategies to manage employees at the workplace. The increased usage of surveillance and monitoring have caused concerns for both employees and employers. These technologies should not be allowed at the workplace because it can create poor working environment and violates privacy rights. TheRead MoreProposal For Monitoring Employee Use1131 Words   |  5 PagesMEMORANDUM To: Workplace IT Department From: Kyle Breimayer Date: September 23, 2015 RE: Proposal for Monitoring Employee use of Technology in the Workplace Introduction In today’s working world, there are almost no boundaries anymore between the technologies employees used for business and the ones used for pleasure. In fact, 64% of employees say they use the Internet for personal interest during working hours (Office Slacker Stats, 2015). Not to mention, advances in technology have helped employersRead MoreWhy Companies Should Enforce Written Policies837 Words   |  4 PagesBeing on the job with nothing to do since you have completed your day’s assignment before time can be frustrating. Or even falling astray because the internet is free to use to one’s advantage, is the problems many managers encounter with employees on a daily basis. Primarily, use of email, instant messaging and the internet have been a tool implemented on the job to increase employee productivity but sometimes does the opposite. Managers believe that there must be a solution to minimize this issueRead MoreInternet Abuse Essay1710 Words   |  7 PagesNTRODUCTION The Internet has become a fully integrated part of our society, touching many aspects of our business and personal lives. The Internet is so incredibly popular because it enables us to not only quickly access information from sources all over the world, but also transfer information quickly and easily. Businesses were quick in seeing the benefits the Internet would provide their companies. Soon after phrases like â€Å"The Web† and â€Å"Web Surfing† began to circulate, computers with Internet capabilitiesRead MoreA Brief Note On The State Of Privacy727 Words   |  3 PagesState of privacy in the workplace (Privacy in the Workplace: Overview) In the private sector employees don’t really have much privacy rights as far as company tools to communicate go. Most employees conduct some kind of big brother surveillance through cameras, computer log information or badges swipe log. The employers spy because they have the right to protect their building and office equipment. Essentially security trumps employee privacy in the workplace. Most states do not have employee