Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Julius Ceasar Flattery :: essays research papers
Flattery will get you nowhere. At the beginning of the story this quote might appear to be false, but as the story unfolds it only leads to the down fall of all involved. Throughout Julius Caesar, both friends and enemies use flattery and manipulation to obtain their goals. à à à à à The first main use of flattery is used by Cassius on Brutus in Act 1, Scene 2 and in Act 2, Scene 1. Cassius tries his hardest to force Brutus to join the revolt against Caesar, but Brutus resists, stating his loyalty and faithfulness to Rome. However, after Brutus accidentally blurts out, ââ¬Å"I do fear the people choose Caesar as their king.â⬠Cassius continues his pursuit to convince Brutus to join the conspirators. He thinks the best way to flatter Brutus is by talking about how noble the plebeians view him. Cassius chooses to send Brutus a letter supposedly from a Roman citizen. It boldly states ââ¬Å"Brutus, thou sleepââ¬â¢st. Awake, and see thyself! Shall Rome, etc. Speak, strike, and redress!â⬠These words persuade him to join the conspirators because he prides how high the public views him and does not want to let them down. Cassius swayed Brutus by complementing him and saying the people depend on him. Without flattering, his nobility Bru tus would probably never have joined the conspirators. In Act 2 Scene 2, there is thunderstorm outside and Caesarââ¬â¢s wife is having a nightmare about her husbandââ¬â¢s death. She dreamt that smiling Romans were washing their hands in Caesar's blood. When she awakes, she tells Caesar who tries to calm her by sending the augurers to make a sacrifice. However, the results of the sacrifice do not comfort him, ââ¬Å"They could not find a heart within the beast.â⬠When Decius Brutus comes to take him to the senate, Caesar declares that he will stay home. Caesar tells him about Calphurnia's dreams; Decius Brutus cleverly gives them a flattering interpretation by ââ¬Å"This dream is all misinterpreted. It was a vision fair and fortunate. Your statue spouting blood in many pipes, in which so many smiling Romans bathed, signifies that from you great Rome shall suck reviving blood.â⬠Decius also says that the members of the senate are planning to crown him today, but they might rethink it if the found out he stayed at home due to his wifeââ¬â¢s dreams. Decius toyed with Caesarââ¬â¢s pride by flattering him; he caused Caesar to change his mind and go to the senate to be murdered.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Witchcraft and the Inquisition of the Catholic Church Essay -- Essays
Witchcraft and the Inquisition of the Catholic Church Witchcraft. The word in itself evokes a certain kind of eeriness. In past centuries, people who were accused of being witches were thought of to be the worst kinds of people there are. There were several kinds of witches and several ways in which they operated. Whatever the reason, the Catholic Church saw witches, or those accused of being witches, as sinful. Partly to stop this kind of sin and other forms, the Inquisition of the Catholic Church was implemented. It is important to know what the factors leading up to the Inquisition included to fully understand its implementation. Once the history is reviewed it is easy to see how the Faith of the Church and the reason behind its thinking were hand-in-hand at the time, and also the way in which they seemingly conflict today. There are many factors leading up to the establishment of the Inquisition by the Catholic Church. One of the main factors is the beginning of the Middle Ages in Europe. A symbol of these emerging ages is Pope Gerbert of the year 1000. Although he was a Pope, he was learned in algebra, and because of his knowledge he was considered somewhat of a wizard. He once wrote to a friend in Italy asking for secular books written in Latin. He instructs the friend to make sure the books are "procured quietly." (Nickerson 12) . Nickerson feels that this makes Gerbert a symbol of his times because it is out of similar knowledge that the Medieval times arise. Around the same time, the Normans were conquering England, the Church begins to have a common purpose, and the First Crusade begins. Although the Church was secure in its universality, two groups, the Albigensians and Waldensians emerged, each with very di... ...ured endlessly. Finally, all people were allowed to believe what they wanted to believe. Faith and reason were in harmony. Bibliography Books James B. Given, Inquisition and Medieval Society; Power, Discipline, and Resistance in Languedoc. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1997). Hoffman Nickerson, The Inquisition: A Political and Military Study of its Establishment. (Port Washington, NY.: Kennkiat Press, Inc., 1968). Mary Elizabeth Perry, and Anne J. Cruz, Cultural Encounters: The Impact of the Inquisition in Spain and the NewWorld. (Berkeley, CA.: University of California Press:, 1991). Albert C. Shannon, O.S.A., The Medieval Inquisition. (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 1991). Internet Sources Hilgers, Joseph. "Index of Prohibited Books." The Catholic Encyclopedia.URL:
Monday, September 2, 2019
Essay --
The purpose of the present study Stanley 46 (1999) was to profile competitive junior female tennis players and determine if differences in fitness exist between state (n = 13, age=16.23 yrs) and district (n = 10, age = 17.10 yrs) standard female tennis players. The fitness components measured included: maximal aerobic capacity (graded treadmill test to volitional exhaustion with direct oxygen analysis), strength (grip strength), power (vertical jump), speed (20 yard dash), muscular endurance (60second sit-up), agility (spider test), flexibility (sit and reach) and body composition (restricted anthropometric profile). A questionnaire was also administered to determine fitness training habits and attitudes to fitness. A series of unpaired t-tests found no significant differences between the groups on any of the body composition or fitness variables. The only significant difference occurred with the subjects playing age where the state group had been playing tennis for a significantly l onger time (8.46 yrs) than the district group (6.55 yrs). The results of the present study showed that the fitness level of the girls was sub-standard. This may partly explain the current lull in the performance of Australia's female tennis players. Questionnaire results showed that most girls were spending considerable time doing fitness training each week however, the questionnaire also showed that most of the girls did not have a fitness program to follow and would like a program written for them. To succeed at the highest level the tennis player must be proficient in all three areas of skill, psychology and fitness. Graetzer., & Shultz. 47 (1995) assessed aerobic and anaerobic power and capacity, muscular strength, flexibility, balance, and blood ... ...yers (4,063 m and 4,050 m vs. 3,866 m), respectively. However, in light of the distance-covered values (i.e., 2066-5251 m) found by Manchado. et al. (2008), the study was not very clear on the basis of the practical significance of these differences is unclear. The wing players are also engaged in more high intensity work, than the back-court players (1.35%) and pivots (2.32%). On offense, wing players received less tackles (7.5 per match) than back-court players (15.9) and pivots (25.4). On defence, wing players performed fewer tackles (11.8 per match) than back-court players (24.6) and pivots (27.4). Wing players also engaged in more quick runs (4.4 per game) compared to back-court players (1.35) and pivots (2.47). In, summary, wing players did more high intensity work, covered greater distances and engaged in fewer tackles than both back court players and pivots.
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Body Piercing and Management
Of the many growing trends, body piercing has become very popular. With this practice becoming more popular everyday, many people are frightened away because of sanitary and health reasons. To most peoples surprise the business of body piercing is a safe and clean procedure. Body piercing is a form of self-expression, such as tattoos and hair styles. Piercing are more widely accepted among business today than a couple years ago. Even-though they are becoming more acceptable in society today there is still a misconception of the safety, sterility, and health issues involved. Many people fear the sterility of the piercing process, ergo they don't get the piercing. In actuality piercing is very safe. The piercer has to follow many steps in ensuring the safety of the piercer and the patient. After filling out the proper paperwork, the patient has to decide of the location of the piercing. There are many spots over the human body where one can get pierced. Some of the common spots to get pierced are: the inner and outer ear, the nose, the bridge of you nose, the cheek, lips, tongue, eyebrows, nipples, naval, and the genitalia. If one was to get their tongue pierced, the piercer must decide whether or not it is piercable. If the tongue has a large under-webbing it cannot be pierced. Once the tongue is deemed piercable, the piercer sterilizes all of his equipment. A common set-up for a piercing is as follows: two pairs of surgical gloves, many gauze, a needle, cork, rubber-band, surgical clamp, toothpick, and the jewelry. All of these are placed in a metal cartridge and placed inside a sterilizing machine. The machine heats and compresses distilled water and then blows steam into the cartage sterilizing everything inside. During this time the patient is instructed on the procedure and washing his mouth with bioclean. Bioclean is antibacterial mouth cleaner that destroys 99% of all mouth bacteria. During this time the piercer scrubs his hands with an antibacterial soap, and places one pair of gloves on. The patient sticks out his tongue and the piercer makes a horizontal and vertical make on the tongue if a mild antiseptic dye. The clamps are placed on the top and direct bottom of the tongue and double checked, to ensure that the needle will not pierce a vein. At this time the piercer discards his current pair of gloves and dons the second. He then places the needle on the tongue and pushes it through. Once the needle has passed through, he then places a cork on the end so no one is harmed. The needle is push the rest of the way through with the jewelry. The needle and cork are placed in a sealed biohazard container to await proper disposal. The clamp is removed and placed in an antibacterial solution. The other half is then screwed on and the piercing is over. All the gausses and swabs with no blood are placed in the trash, and any items with blood on them are placed in a biohazard bag. At this time the piercer informs the patient on the proper care and maintenance of the piercing. In an interview with Richard, a piercer at Factor V in Charleston, SC, he states that the most unsanitary and dangerous time for a piercing is seven days afterward. ââ¬Å"People don't follow directions and end-up with an infection. Most piercers pass out a pamphlet with the proper care directions on it. The piercing process is safe when done by a professional. The customer is responsible for the piercing once the piercing process is over. The procedure is so safe that one doesn't even lose taste due to the piercing. Some swelling may occur and pain in very minimal because no nerves were hit. Piercing can be a healthy and fun way express oneself, when done in a clean and experienced environment. But one has to make sure that proper care is given to the piercing.
Back in Shakespeare Essay
Back in Shakespeareââ¬â¢s days courtly love was a fashionable tradition. What happened was the men saw the women as Goddesses but their love was more often unrequited. But the men would send them love letters in the form of sonnets in order to win the womanââ¬â¢s love, however it usually failed leaving the man feeling melancholic. This is the position Romeo found himself in as he was in love with a girl called Rosaline. Montague and Benvolio notice a change in Romeoââ¬â¢s behaviour due to this and Montague explains how he ââ¬Å"shuts up his windowsâ⬠and ââ¬Å"locks fair daylight outâ⬠this shows that Romeo attempts to isolate himself from the outside world and really is depressed. As Romeo enters the scene the audience can see for themselves his state of mind during his conversation with Benvolio. His replies to Benvolioââ¬â¢s comments are short and subdued and he explains, ââ¬Å"sad hours seem longâ⬠. We can work out from this that Romeo is not having a good time so our sympathy wins him over and we hope for his luck to change. As we move onto scene 2, we meet Paris, who is a man hoping to marry Juliet and is trying to convince Capulet to allow him to, however Capulet seems to think Juliet is too young for marriage as ââ¬Å"She hath not seen the change of fourteen yearsâ⬠. The possible marriage between Paris and Juliet is exciting for the audience yet it is an obstacle between the forthcoming relationship between Romeo and Juliet. The scene then cuts back to Romeo and his problems with courtly love. Benvolio who is aware of Romeoââ¬â¢s problem tries to be a useful friend by giving him advice. His advice is ââ¬Å"one fire burns out anotherââ¬â¢s burningâ⬠, this is a metaphorical way of putting; you should find someone else and forget about Rosaline. Then as ââ¬ËClownââ¬â¢ from the Capulet family is struggling to read a party invitation he asks Romeo and Benvolio to read the list out for him. Romeo notices that Rosalieââ¬â¢s name is on this list and the pair therefore decide to find a way of going to the ââ¬Ëmasqued ballââ¬â¢ to give Romeo a chance of fore filling his dream of meeting Rosaline. The fact itââ¬â¢s a masqued ball means they can get in whilst in disguise and probably get away with it and this thought enters Benvolioââ¬â¢s head. In scene 3 we meet the Nurse. A nurse is the Elizabethan equivalent to a child minder, however in these days they were hired out commonly by wealthy upper class families and were pretty much part of the family, they would raise the children and even breast feed them when they are babies. This particular Nurse raised Juliet and the two of them are very close. She is a bubbly character who often tells sexual jokes or sexual innuendoââ¬â¢s and tells Juliet stories about when she was younger usually embarrassing her. From seeing the play myself I remember the nurse being an entertaining character and was an audience favourite which was most noticeable by the applause she got at the end. Her sexual humour is shown where she says, ââ¬Å"dost thou fall upon thy face? Thou wilt fall backward when thou hast more wit, wilt thou not, Jule?â⬠This is a crude joke of falling onto her back for sex and most fourteen year olds would find an adult talking to them like this terribly embarrassing yet the audience find it comical and entertaining. Soon after; Juliet discovers Parisââ¬â¢s desire to marry her and to the nurses delight Juliet replies ââ¬Å"It is an honour that I dream not ofâ⬠. Again the audience are excited by what is now a probable marriage yet it also questions the possibility of Romeo and Juliet getting together. Whilst on their way to the Capulet masqued ball Romeo predicts the future when saying ââ¬Å"for my mind misgreaves some consequence, yet hanging in the starsâ⬠, similarly to what it says in the prologue; Romeo is saying he fears an unfortunate accident. The audience therefore semi-expect this to ironically happen. This is meant to create tension especially when he says about an ââ¬Å"untimely deathâ⬠, which along with the prologue suggests young death. Scene 5 is set in the Capulet household as it is the location of their ââ¬Ëmasqued ballââ¬â¢. A ââ¬Ëmasqued ballââ¬â¢ was a fashionable party to have in Elizabethan times where everyone went disguised in a mask. It was the equivalent to what a fancy dress party is today and this is why the Montagueââ¬â¢s were able to get in with little suspicion from the Capuletââ¬â¢s. Partyââ¬â¢s are always a popularity and so Shakespeare made this scene a key one in the play for the entertainment of the audience. From what the audience have seen so far, Romeo is a melodramatic isolated character. He has won over our sympathy and as he is one of the main characters we all want to see things turn around for him. The reason Shakespeare presents him as a melancholic lover is to emphasise the artificial nature of his love for Rosaline in comparison to the genuine emotion he feels for Juliet. We witness the two types of love juxtaposed and recognise that his love for Juliet is positive, energising and less of a ââ¬Ëposeââ¬â¢. But by presenting him in love with someone else initially, it creates romantic suspense for the audience. When Romeo first sees Juliet, it is described as ââ¬Ëlove at first sightââ¬â¢, this really helps to emphasise how he feels about her. From the audiences point of view, Romeo appears to be shocked by how much Juliet stands out by the way he says ââ¬Å"O she doth teach torches to burn brightâ⬠, the reason he says ââ¬ËOââ¬â¢ at the start of his speech is purely to emphasise his emotion. The speech as a whole is a type of light imagery and explains how her beauty stands out so much to Romeo. He then goes on to say ââ¬Å"â⬠¦she hangs upon the cheek of night / As a rich jewel in an Ethiops earâ⬠, this is a metaphorical way of saying that she is beautiful, precious and rare to him as is ââ¬Å"Beauty too rich for useâ⬠. These are both examples of wealth imagery. The majority of his speech in this part of the scene is imagery and metaphorical to help stress his feelings for Juliet, he also claims she ââ¬Å"Shows a snowy dove trooping with crowsâ⬠. This is in the category of bird and colour imagery and helps to stand out the point that she really does stand out from the crowd. As explained by courtly love, it was a common thing for men to respect women like they are goddesses, and Romeo uses this kind of ââ¬Ëholy imageryââ¬â¢ when he says ââ¬Å"â⬠¦touching hers, make blessed my rude handâ⬠. Overall the speech shows strong romantic inte rest due to how Romeo is so intense, passionate and genuine. This is one of the most loving parts of the story; however it is interrupted as the fiery character of Tybalt notices that a Montague is present. He clearly shows his anger by referring Romeo as a ââ¬Å"slaveâ⬠, which is saying that Romeo is like his inferior. As Capulet enters the scene; Tybalt threatens to ââ¬Å"strike him deadâ⬠, however, Capulet bears in mind what the Prince said, in that any more fighting would mean their ââ¬Å"lives would pay the forfeitâ⬠and as he wants no violence at the party, he aggressively prevents Tybalt from making any wrong moves. The hatred is then interrupted by the love of Romeo and Juliet as they meet and talk for the first time. Their conversation is set out in the style of a sonnet as of course; these were popular in the Elizabethan and Medieval times. It is very poetic, passionate and filled with religious imagery. The language is intense, memorable and uses rhyming couplets at the end of every other line to help it to sound better and stand out. Juliet is very responsive to Romeoââ¬â¢s requests and appears to want Romeo to kiss her, which was a rarity in the courtly love tradition. Romeo flirtatiously refers to Juliet as a ââ¬ËPilgrimââ¬â¢; this shows how he respects her like a Goddess and this is the start of a large amount of religious imagery. In addition to that, Juliet answers back with her own religious metaphors like ââ¬Å"And palm to palm is holy palmers kissâ⬠this also contains some alliteration due to the repetitive use of words containing ââ¬Ëpalmââ¬â¢. The speech overall is a pattern of Romeo flirting to Juliet and Juliet flirting back, this keeps the flow of the conversation going and on a couple of occasions we witness a kiss. All this comes to a sudden end as the Nurse enters the scene and they discover each others identity. The nurse calls Juliet to go to her mother and when she is gone explains to Romeo ââ¬Å"Her mother is the lady of the houseâ⬠and of course Romeo realises this is the Capulet house. Benvolio calls Romeo away from the scene explaining ââ¬Å"The sport is at the bestâ⬠which informs that he knows the best part of the night is over and their identity has been discovered. This means that the Montagueââ¬â¢s have to make a swift exit effectively making Romeo and Julietââ¬â¢s ââ¬Ëmomentââ¬â¢ short with a sudden end. This leaves the nurse and Juliet alone together. Juliet finds out from the Nurse that Romeo is in fact a Montague and is clearly devastated by this when she says ââ¬Å"My grave is like to be my wedding bedâ⬠and ââ¬Å"My only love sprung from my only hate. All the way throughout this scene; Shakespeare juxtaposes love and hate. The first sight of love is at Romeoââ¬â¢s first glimpse of Juliet and the whole ââ¬Ëlove at first sightââ¬â¢ event, this is interrupted by Tybalt noticing Romeo and wanting to cause a violent act but he is stopped by Capulet. This allows Romeo and Juliet to have their first speech in the form of the love sonnet although when the two realise each otherââ¬â¢s identity, the hate between the two families takes over leaving the audience wondering if the power of their love is strong enough to overcome the hate. In conclusion to the opening act of the play; Shakespeare creates many ââ¬Ëuntiedââ¬â¢ ends to the story. This makes the audience want to carry on watching to get an answer to their questions; questions such as will Tybalt fore fill his threat towards Romeo? Are Romeo and Juliet going to die and if so how? Will Paris marry Juliet? And will there be any more fighting? The only possible way for the audience to find an answer to these questions is to carry on watching the play. This was Shakespeareââ¬â¢s objective for the opening act and he has therefore successfully completed it.
Saturday, August 31, 2019
Lady Macbeth Is the Real Villain of Macbeth Essay
Shakespeareââ¬â¢s Macbeth explores the notion of villains through its key characters and throughout the play the audience is left wondering who is actually the ââ¬Ërealââ¬â¢ villain. Lady Macbeth seems to portray certain characteristics of a villain and appears to have evil intentions and Macbeth is also perceived as a villain due to his violent rampage. Nevertheless, both Macbeth and his wife have a conscience and they realize what theyââ¬â¢ve done wrong. With this considered, it is ultimately the witches who are the true villains as they continue to encourage Macbeth on his murderous journey and they are soulless as they have a sense of what is right and wrong, however they find pleasure in disrupting the natural order. During the exposition act, Lady Macbeth immediately displays certain characteristics similar to a villain, and she appears to have evil intentions. Since she fears that Macbeth is too full of ââ¬Å"thââ¬â¢ milk of human kindnessâ⬠to take the steps necessary to make himself king, her attitude becomes very strong and forceful and she states ââ¬Å"unsex me here, and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty! Make thick my bloodâ⬠which presents her evil intentions as she desperately wants the crown for her husband, and does so in a dark way to emphasize the supernatural world as she would put aside her natural femininity so that she can do the bloody deeds in order to seize the crown. It also seems to be Lady Macbeth that is the ââ¬Å"spur to prick the sides of [Macbethââ¬â¢s] intentâ⬠, as she is adding to his ââ¬Å"vaulting ambitionâ⬠. Moreover, she belittles her husband, as she believes he needs to be ââ¬Å"more the manâ⬠, and portrays herself as a woman who is capable of doing something unthinkable. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is introduced as a ââ¬Å"braveâ⬠and ââ¬Å"worthy gentlemanâ⬠, as he fought bravely and was loyal to his king. However, the witchââ¬â¢s prophecies affect his ultimate desire to become ââ¬Å"king hereafterâ⬠, and he begins to display certain characteristics associated with a tragic hero, thus being a fatal flaw. In Macbethââ¬â¢s situation, his fatal flaw is his ââ¬Å"vaulting ambitionâ⬠for power. This is the point in the play when he is viewed as a villainous character, as he sets out on his violent rampage and commits murder, therefore putting the entire kingdom in danger. Furthermore, Macbeth has the opportunity to decline his wifeââ¬â¢s temptations, however his hunger for power takes its toll on him and he continues on his murderous journey. As the play progresses, the audience is able to see Macbethââ¬â¢s and Lady Macbethââ¬â¢s decline. Another thing that they also notice is that Macbeth and his wife have a conscience; more specifically a guilty conscience. They actually realize what theyââ¬â¢ve done wrong, and a terrible amount of guilt washes over them. Lady Macbethââ¬â¢s guilty conscience was evident when she began getting flooded with nightmares and she would sleep walk as well as always talk about the stained blood on her hands, and how she is trying to wash it off. This idea of blood refers to guilt. ââ¬Å"Out, damned spot! â⬠shows that she is struggling to remove the guilt from her hind. She also emphasizes that itââ¬â¢s impossible to remove the blood as she states ââ¬Å"all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little handâ⬠. Towards the end of the play, Macbeth realizes the evil he has committed and he is portrayed as a victim to his own ambitious and greedy actions. Due to this realization, Macbeth is viewed as a tragic hero, and at the end of the play the audience notice his emptiness ââ¬â ââ¬Å"I have lived long enough: my way of life is fallen into the sear, the yellow leaf, and that which should accompany old age as honour, love, obedience, troops of friends.. â⬠. Seeing as Lady Macbeth or Macbeth werenââ¬â¢t the ââ¬Ërealââ¬â¢ villains of the play, it makes way to present that the witches were the real villains. The witches were the ones who ultimately manipulated and tricked Macbeth to kill King Duncan, Banquo, the Guards and many other people. Everything the witches do eventually lead to Macbethââ¬â¢s downfall and therefore they are responsible for his demise. They continue to encourage Macbeth on his murderous journey and are displayed as soulless characters, as they have a sense of what is right and wrong, however they choose to find pleasure in disrupting the natural order as they believe that ââ¬Å"fair is foul and foul is fairâ⬠. Therefore, Lady Macbeth isnââ¬â¢t the real villain of the play. Although she has evil intentions and holds villainous characteristics, she has a conscience and becomes extremely guilty of her actions. The audience is left wondering who the ââ¬Ërealââ¬â¢ villain is, and some may think itââ¬â¢s Macbeth, however Macbeth is a tragic hero as he realizes the crime he has committed, yet he still fights until his very last moment. The witches are certainly the real villains of this play as play upon the motives of Macbeth, therefore being responsible for his downfall, and they enjoy disrupting the natural order. With this said, it is quite evident that Lady Macbeth is not the real villain of the play.
Friday, August 30, 2019
Consumer Decision-Making Styles of Gen Y Consumers in Malaysia
Consumer Decision-Making Styles of Gen Y Consumers in Malaysia Introduction Market segmentation is a crucial element in marketing because goods can no longer be produced and sold without considering consumer needs and recognizing the characteristic of those needs. Due to the highly competitive environment nowadays, attracting and retaining enough loyal customers plays an important key role when developing business strategies.Therefore, business should understand and target consumer from different background and culture differently in order to effectively adapt their marketing strategies (Yeong & Lovett, 2010). In general, there are many demographic variables can be used to segment consumer market, for instance income, age, gender, ethnicity, marital status and household size. Among these variables, gender has been and continues to be one of the most popular forms of market segmentation for a significant proportion of product and services.According to marketing scholars (Meyers-Levy & Sternthal, 1991; Darley & Smith, 1995) argue that gender-based segmentation, especially if it is based on biological sex per se, meets several of the requirements for successful implementation: the segments were easy to identify, easy to access, and large enough for consumer products and services to be marketed profitably. In addition, there are many studies in the past also provided considerable evidence that gender relates to consumersââ¬â¢ perceptions, attitudes, preferences and purchase decisions(Mitchell & Walsh, 2004; Bakewell & Mitchell, 2006).Because gender has been identified as one of the significant factor in understanding consumer behavior and as a fundamental market segmentation index for companies to satisfy their customerââ¬â¢ demand, therefore marketer should endeavor to understand the gender differences in decision-making styles. In addition, research addressing the issue of gender differences in decision-making styles could help marketers to find better ways of communicating with both sexes and to guide marketing mix decisions (Mitchell & Walsh, 2004).Literature Review According to Williams, Page, Petrosky and Hernandez (2010), Generation Y also is referred to as the Millenials or Echo Boomers. They were born during 1977-1994 and are in the 15-32 age range as of 2009. They are children of the original Baby Boomers and their numbers rival that of the Baby Boomers. They grew up in a time of immense and fast-paced change including virtually full-employment opportunities for women, dual-income households as the standard, and having computers at college and home.Moreover Gen Y consumers are more likely to complete their tasks online in just one click in making their decisions (Sengupta & Titus, 2012). Starting in 2000, when the Millennials began attending college, they began to be studied by researchers and marketers to determine the generationââ¬â¢s overriding characteristics. Consumer decision? making styles can be defined ââ¬Å"as me ntal orientations characterizing a consumerââ¬â¢s approach to making choicesâ⬠(Sproles & Kendall, 1986, p. 268).The aim of Sproles and Kendall (1986) was to provide a potentially useful instrument to assist marketers to better understand consumersââ¬â¢ decision-making styles in purchasing. As consequence, they developed the original 40? item Consumer Style Inventory (CSI) scale, which identified eight characteristics related to consumer decision? making styles. The CSI provides a quantitative instrument for classifying different consumer decision? making styles into distinct categories of shopping orientation.Through empirical research, Sproles and Kendall (1986) defined the following eight categories of decision -making styles namely: 1) perfectionism and high-quality conscious: Consumers carefully search for the best quality in product; 2) brand conscious and price equals quality: Consumer choose to buy more expensive, well known national brands, and believing that a h igher price means better quality; 3) novelty and fashion-conscious: likes new and innovative products and gains excitement from seeking out new things; 4) recreational and hedonistic: finds shopping a pleasant activity and shop just for the fun of it; 5) price conscious and value for money: consumer which has high consciousness of sale price and likely to be comparison shoppers; 6) impulsive and careless: Consumer who do not plan their shopping and appear unconcerned about how much he or she spends; 7) confused by overchoice: These consumer are experiences information overload in the market due to perceiving too many brands and stores and have difficulties making choices and 8) habitual and brand-loyal: These consumers select favorite brands and stores repeatedly overtime. Hiu, Siu, Wang and Chang (2001) revealed three prominent market segments through their study namely: 1. )Trendy, perfectionistic consumers: who frequent shopping and take it as an enjoyment. They are interested in high quality and fashionable items, read fashion magazines, watch various advertisements to gain trendy fashion information and tend to supportive with foreign brand which is high quality and fashionable styling. 2. ) Tradisional, pragmatic consumer: who do not view shopping as a enjoyment activity to them. They are price conscious, not interested in fashion styling and most probably choosing local brands. 3. Confused by overchoice: these consumers tend not to read magazines or advertisement on fashion, avoid exposure to too much information, and only purchase local brands which they are familiar. According to Bakewell and Mitchell (2003), five meaningful and distinct decision-making groups were found in the study of decision-making styles of adult female Generation Y consumers in the UK: ââ¬Å"recreational quality seekersâ⬠, ââ¬Å"recreational discount seekersâ⬠, ââ¬Å"trend setting loyalsâ⬠, ââ¬Å"shopping and fashion uninterestedâ⬠and ââ¬Å"confused tim e/money conservingâ⬠. In their later study on decision making styles of male consumers in the UK (Bakewell & Mitchell, 2004), all of the original eight traits plus four new traits namely; store-loyal/low-price seeking, time-energy conserving, confused time restricted and store-promiscuity were identified.From their study it shows that the potential of the CSI for segmenting market as meaningful and different groups of male consumers with different decision making styles. Despite of previous studies which reported gender differences in decision-making styles of consumer, Mitchell and Walsh (2004) compared the decision-making styles of male and female shoppers in Germany. From the research, they managed to verify the construct validity of all eight CSI factors for female shopper and four of the factors for male shoppers. In consequence, they also concluded that male consumers were slightly less likely to be perfectionists, somewhat less novelty and fashion conscious, and less lik ely to be confused when making purchases compared to female consumers.Years after that, Bakewell and Mitchell (2006) undertook a similar study in the UK by using a sample of 480 male and female undergraduate students, they found that nine decision-making style were common to both genders. Through the study they had discovered three traits for male (store-loyal/low-price seeking, confused time-restricted and store-promiscuity) and three new traits for female traits (bargain seeking, imperfectionism and store loyal). There are few studies recently which had attempted to thoroughly explore the antecedent and consequences of consumer decision-making styles. Ghodeswar (2007) found that that seven out of eight dimensions of consumer decision-making style proposed by Sproles and Kendall (1986) in his study of consumer decision-making styles among Indian students.The only style which was not confirmed in his data is ââ¬Å"price consciousness/ value for money consumerâ⬠. Gupta, Brantle y & Jackson (2010) found that consumers Generation Y at Midwestern University tend to be brands store loyal when they are buying high involvement product. Kambiz & Fereshteh (2011) found that husband and wife have divergent decision-making styles and their family structure as a social-structural variable can be influenced by the decision-making styles of family members which is related to their purchasing behavior. Lastly, it is believed that male and female consumer in Malaysia may also have certain distinctive characteristic in decision-making during shopping and purchasing.But those characteristic could be have equal interest to both researchers and marketing practitioners. Hence, this paper will fill the gap by focusing on the differences in decision-making styles on gender in the Malaysia context. Methodology According to the past study, most of the researchers prepared a structured questionnaire based on literature review and objectives of the study. Consumers decision-making were measured using the 40-items of Consumer Style Inventory (CSI), developed by Sproles and Kendall (1986). All scales were measured on a 5-point Likert-type scales ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The reliabilities of the CSI scale, according to Sproles and Kendall (1986), ranged from 0. 48 to 0. 76.The scales items were translated into Malay language with minor changes in wording to clarify the meaning. In addition, some demographic questions were included in the questionnaire. And most of the questionnaire was self-administered to non-probability sample of male and female undergraduate students in Malaysia. Finding and Analysis Common Factors for both Male and Female According to the research study of Safiek and Hayatul (2009) in Malaysia, the decision-making of Malaysian young consumer for both gender have similarities namely: 1. ) Quality consciously: meaning that they prefer to buy more durable and quality product. 2. ) Brand consciously: it shows tha t they set high standards and have high expectations for the products they buy.Moreover they choose to buy the product which is heavily advertised and well-know national brands. 3. ) Fashion consciousness: this shows that both genders are seem to gain pleasure from seeking out new things and keep up-to date with fashionable attractive styles. 4. ) Confused by overchoice: This factor shows that they feel over-loaded with the information on various brands products and find it very hard to choose the best product during shopping. 5. ) Satisfying and value seeking: concluded that if both items were identical in both sample, they will carefully find the best value for money product to be purchased which is also satisfied their needs. Male FactorsAgain from the study of Safiek and Hayatul (2009), there are two factors found for males namely brand loyalty and time-energy conserving. For brand loyalty, male consumers score higher than female consumers on this factor because they tend to hav e favorite brands and will use these habitually. Next, time-energy conserving which was not found in females but it characterizes males who often save energy by making their shopping trips as fast as possible in the same stores. Moreover, males have the perception that going shopping is a waste of time and they donââ¬â¢t give their purchases much thought. In overall, both of these results show the similarity with previous researchers, Bakewell and Michell (2006) in the UK. Female factorsFrom the study of Safiek and Hayatul (2009) research, it shows that there are three female factors found namely price consciousness, recreational and shopping avoidance. Female consumers scored higher than male consumers on price consciousness shows that female are more aware of the sale prices and more often choose to purchase lower price products. Next, female shoppers are more particular on recreational or pleasant shopping activity compared to male shoppers. And this factor is consistent with Mitchell and Walshââ¬â¢s (2004) and Bakewell and Mitchellââ¬â¢s (2006) which characterization of a recreational consumer. The last factor is shopping avoidance which is very exclusive to female consumers and posed an opposite trait of recreational.However the high scored shows that if the shopping is unpleasant, female shoppers will tend to shop as quickly by purchasing the first brands or product that seem to be good enough. Conclusion In conclusion, through the research of consumer decision making styles, it offers a great opportunity to understand the characteristic or style of consumer towards their shopping behavior. And this consumer style inventory provides a fundamental for consumer decision making styles and has practical application advantages for marketers in their marketing strategic. However this study has a limitation because it only covered a specific segment of young adult in an local university in Malaysia.For future recommendation, there is a need to study th ese decision making styles among the larger population across different segment in order to get better converge of Malaysia young consumers. References Sproles, G. & Kendall, E. (1986). A Methodology for Profiling Consumersââ¬â¢ Decision-Making Styles, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Vol. 20 (2), pp. 267-279 Mitchell, V. , & Walsh, G. (2004). Gender Differences in German Consumer Decision-Making styles. Journal of Consumer Behavior, 3(4), 331-346 Bakewell, C. & Mitchell, V. W. (2003) Generation Y Female Consumer Decision-Making styles. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 31(2), 95-106. 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H. & Fereshteh, L. (2011). Influence of Family Structure on Consumer Decision-making Style in Iran. International Journal of Business and Management, Vol. 6, No. 11; November 2011
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