New Approach Of IT - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 29 Words: 8794 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background and Motivation The new epoch of information and technology has begun. The use of the internet is transforming how business is done locally and globally. Due to major technical developments, the internal information system development is moving to an external development and provision model, driven by the needs for lower costs, faster implementation, easier-to-use applications and effective use of scarce resources (Locket et al., 2006). The internet has revolutionised the computer and communication world like nothing before. The invention of the internet has a worldwide broadcasting capability, it is a medium of collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without any limitation in their geographical location. The origin of the internet can be found in the United States department of defences Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA). The aim of the ARPA was to develop a nationwide computer system where military personnel could share message without any barrier irrespective of their location (Freedom, 2008). In 1960s United States funded researchers in California to explore ways through which computers could share information. In 1969, the research group connected the computers of some universities in the United States to share information being physically apart. The network was named as ARPA network or ARPAnet (Freedom, 2008). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "New Approach Of IT" essay for you Create order The last few years have witnessed technological changes among which prominent is electronic commerce, or the exchange of products (tangible and otherwise) and payments via telecommunication systems (Kalakota Whinston, 1997). Payment systems are a core group of strategic information system which contribute towards economic development, especially in emerging economies, and forms the foundation for financial sector. Most of the industries have been influenced in some way or the other by e-commerce, nowhere the effect of e-commerce is more apparent in online banking (e Marketer, 2000). The online banking overcomes the traditional banking and its way of queuing up to get the transaction done. Internet banking is no more taking out time from the schedule to go to the bank, it is the easiest and the safest way of banking. An individual can get reports about the account, statement etc. with just click of a button (Online banking question, 2008). Apart from ease of use there are some barrie rs in online banking. The main issue is that of trust. Customers may wonder if their transaction went through successfully or the clicked the correct button. Also online banking can take some time to start and can be difficult to learn at first for the beginners. Thus, the physical separation of the bank with the customers and that of the customer with the financial advisor, the overall perceived insecurity of the internet provides unique challenge to the bank to develop a safer internet banking (Mukherjee, ) The internet technology are rapidly changing the personal financial services are being delivered. Several banks in India have introduced internet banking to make the banking faster, easier and to reduce the costs. Despite such developments by the banks these facilities are largely unnoticed by the customers. Online banking is the newest channel for retail banking services. Online banking refers to several types of services in which the customer can carry out most of the services balance reporting, inter-account transfer and bill payment (Sathe, 1999). Europe has been the leader in online banking technology (Schneider, 2001). At the end of 2000 only 20 percent of the United States banks offered online banking ad only 20 percent of the customers with internet connection used online banking. In Europe 75 million users used online banking by 2005. Most popular Online banking Activities Most Popular Internet Activities 2005 Visitor Activities 1. E-mail 2. General web surfing/ browsing 3. Reading news 4. Shopping/ buying goods online 5. Entertainment news 6. Looking for and reading information about hobbies 7. Online banking 8. Looking for and reading medical information 9. Instant messaging 10. Looking for and reading travel information and making travel arrangements Table: Most popular internet activities in 2005 Source: U.S.C. Annenberg School Center for Digital Future, 2005 cited in Laudon and Traver, 2007, p.220) However, one of the major concerns regarding not using the internet has been highlighted by many authors and that issue is security. Chesher and Kaura (1998) points that the most important reason that has kept both consumers and business away from the internet is its security issue. Security is considered as the primary issue than any other issue. Nevertheless, efforts have been made to overcome this issue in the form of software, digital certificate, signed message, encrypted message and so on (Chesher ad Kaura, 1998 M) As the organisation continue to invest in ICT, the usage behaviour of the consumer becomes very important topic in research on its implementation. To understand the usage behaviour of the consumers we will use technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this is an established model of computer usage and has been validated through testing with a number of technologies. From the Asian market experience, it is clear that internet banking is here to stay and would be major way to acquire and provide service to the customers. The banks that have launched online banking products and services increased from 6% in 1998 to 75% in 2003. According to IDC, in countries like Korea and Singapore 10% of their population uses internet banking. These markets are way ahead of India both in terms of online banking penetration and internet penetration. India is a big potential market and is fast catching up with its counterpart (Kannaberan, Narayan, 2005). Despite all the efforts and investment undertaken by the banks, e-banking facilities have been unnoticed by the customers of India. Therefore, customers perception and trust is of utmost importance. The Indian market has been increasingly attractive for global marketers in the recent years. Although the overall per capita GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is low at $421 (Budhwar, 2001). There are 203 million middle class consumers who are well educated and with salaries more than $5000 in local purchasing power (Ramchandaran, 2000). As a result FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) flow to India increased from $103 million in 1990-91 to $5.1 billion in 2000-01. 1.2 Aims and Objective: The aim of the study is to determine the importance of trust in relation to the online banking. This will lead to explore a range of issues related to trust, security and how well Indian banks adopted online banking. This research also aims to investigate the internet adoption strategy in established banks. The research problem chosen of a great importance especially in developing country like India where banking sector witnessed a major revival in the last decade. The research question is important because the entire multinational bank that came to India tried to persuade people to use online banking but still people dont use it because they dont trust online banking. The research will basically deal with customers trust in online banking and factors that affect it. This is one of the major areas where the bank should concentrate and work upon it. TAM is one of the models that are used widely to explain the factors that affect user acceptance of Information System (Suh, Han). However traditional information system is different from Internet Banking, which uses emerging technology like WWW and internet. With the advancement of WWW and internet, various researches have adjusted TAM to WWW environment to overcome TAMs lack of task forces. Recent studies of user acceptance of WWW have paid attention to perceived playfulness, because WWW is used both for pleasure and play. The studies have verified that perceived playfulness has a significant impact on user acceptance of WWW. In spite of the recent boom in electronic commerce, customers are reluctant to provide sensitive information to websites. Generally the customers are comfortable in providing general information but they are uncomfortable in providing sensitive information like credit card details, personal details. Internet banking sites are one location where most personal information is carried out, that is, financial information. This inhibits the usage of internet banking by customer. Therefore unlike traditional information system, the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use may not fully reflect customers acceptance of internet banking. Research on customers acceptance of internet banking may therefore enhance the understanding of a customers belief to use internet banking. TAM is an established model of computer usage and has been validated through testing with a number of technologies (Davis et al., 1989; Igbaria et al., 1994, Lederer et al., 1998). And it has also been found that TA Ms ability to explain attitude towards using an Information System is better than other models like Theory of Reasoned Action, Theory of Planned Behaviour (Mathieson, 1991 (CP)). The studies have proved that TAM explains around 40% of the variance in the usage extension ad behaviour. We will use Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a base model for this research, and adjust the model to reflect the characteristic of Internet banking and Trust. 2. Literature Review 2.1 Introduction to ICT The world is it the midst of general purpose technology revolution. Information and communication technology has developed in the context of rapidly changing business environment. For several years, there have been talks about topics like new global political and economic orders, liberalization of trade, growing environment concerns, deregulations, rapid technological developments especially information and communication technology and terrorists attack and so on. For business perspective only few are driving forces while others are just facilitating or inhibiting factors (Li, 2007 M). Two changes that have contributed to the current transformation are the changing nature of the economy and rapid development and proliferation of the ICTs. ICT in general and internet in particular are changing the way businesses are done all over the world. The internet is a source of data and information and its value depends on the provider, its relevance timeliness and accuracy (Lany and Powell, 2003 M). The internet has created new communication channel that is bringing people together cheaply, efficiently and presenting many opportunities and challenges for the business community. People around the world are using the internet to service their need and wants and thus the internet is presently the potential for extending markets, developing new products, services and achieving profitability (Combe, 2006). Due to this the worldwide number of internet users has increased from record 16 million in 1995 to 1.5 billion in 2008 (Internet worldwide stats, 2009). The ICT revolution has already led to some profound changes and many more yet to come. The internet is particularly important as it is acting as a contemporary platform on which m any of the new important developments are taking place. 2.2 Internet Banking and India Internet banking has witnessed wide acceptance internationally and catching up fast in India with more and more banks entering into fray. The British legacy left behind large and small privately held banks. In the late 60s all the private banks were nationalised, which led to the emergence of the public sector banks. In 1960s banks used latest technologies in massive way, led in particularly by new private or Multinational Banks. In the context of online banking private banks have been early adopters whereas public banks are lagging behind. Reserve Bank of Indias survey in 2001 revealed that 46 major banks operating in India, around 50% of them either offered internet banking services or planned to offer in the near future. Only 1% of the internet users utilised internet banking services in 1998, the internet banking user base increased by 16.7% by 2000 (Icmrindia,). Major Banks like ICICI bank, HDFC bank, IDBI, Bank of Punjab etc were offering online banking services. The banks began to collaborate with utility companies to provide online services to the customers. ICICI bank collaborated with Infinity, which was already a leader in online banking in India to pay their online bills. HDFC through payment gateway allowed its customers to make online payments. As more banks entered into online banking fray, the competition between the banks deepened. This forced the banks to search for new market, customers and adopt new technology. Multinational and private banks have been very successful in India in setting up internet banking, this is because they already had automated banking environment. Most of the multinational banks have already have internet banking in other countries that can be copied in India. Unfortunately nationalised banks or public sector banks have been unable to evolve as fast as private banks because in many organisations there may be a mix of both automated and manual system, both the system runs parallel created by the small vendors. This creates chaos and makes network management a nightmare. ICICI Bank started banking way back in 1996 and other banks soon followed it. During 1995-99 ICICI Bank invested Rupees 50 million in online banking technology solutions. Year 1996 to 1998 marked the adoption phase because of the increased usage of internet in 1999 due to the lower internet service provider charges. The industry estimates the cost of internet banking at Re. 0.10 per transaction whereas the charges of other conventional methods such as ATM at Re. 0.45 per transaction, phone banking at Re. 0.35 per transaction. Thus, this shows that internet banking is more cost effective. State Bank of India (SBI), which is one of the oldest bank of India launched internet banking in July 2001 and it has 18,000 registered customers across 150 branches. Some of the reason why public sector banks are lethargic because there is a lack of zeal and mindset towards adopting new technology , second reason is the highly politicised unions which act as a barrier as they feel that internet bank ing will expose their low productive levels. The list of the Indian banks includes: Name URL 1. Allahabad Bank https://www.allahabadbank.com/ 2. Andra Bank https:// www.andrabank.in/ 3. Axis Bank Ltd. https:// www.axisbank.com/ 4. Bank of Baroda https:// www.bankof baroda.com/ 5. Bank of India https:// www.bankofindia.com/ 6. Bank of Maharashtra https:// www.bankofmaharashtra.in/ 7. Canara Bank https:// www.canarabank.in/ 8. Central bank of India https:// www.centralbankofindia.co.in/ 9. City Union Bank Ltd. https:// www.cityunionbank.com/ 10. Corporation Bank https:// www.corpbank.com/ 11. Dena Bank https:// www.denabank.com/ 12. Development Credit Bank Ltd. https:// www.dcbl.com/ 13. HDFC bank Ltd. https:// www.hdfcbank.com/ 14. IDBI Ltd https:// www.idbi.com/ 15. Indian Bank https:// www.indian-bank.com/ 16. Indian Overseas Bank https:// www.iob.in/ 17. Indusind Bank Ltd. https:// www.indusind.com/ 18. Ing Vysya Bank Ltd. https:// www.ingvysyabank.com/ 19. Kotan Mahindra Bank Ltd. https:// www.kotak.com/ 20. Nainital Bank Ltd. https:// www.nainitalbank.co.in/ 21. Oriental Bank of Commerce https://www.obcindia.co.in/ 22. Punjab National Bank https://www.pnbindia.com/ 23. Punjab Sindh Bank https://www.psbindia.com/ 24. SBI Commercial and International Bank Ltd. https://www.sbici.com/ 25. State Bank of Bikaner Jaipur https://www.sbbjbank.com/ 26. State Bank of Hydrabad https://www.sbhyd.com/ 27. State Bank of Indore https://www.indorebank.org/ 28. State Bank of Mysore https://www.mysorebank.com/ 29. State Bank of Patiala https://www.sbp.co.in/ 30. State Bank of Travancore https://www.statebankoftravancore.com/ 31. Syndicate Bank https://www.syndicatebank.in/ 32. Tamilnad Mercantile Bank https://www.tmb.in/ 33. The Bank of Rajasthan Ltd. https://www.bankofrajasthan.in/ 34. The Catholic Syrian Bank Ltd. https://www.csb.co.in/ 35. The Dhanalakshmi Bank Ltd. https://www.dhanbank.com/ 36. The Jammu Kashmir Bank Ltd. https://www.jkbank.net/ 37. The Karnataka Bank Ltd. https://www.karnatakabank.com/ 38. Karur Vysya Bank Ltd. https://www.kvb.co.in/ 39. The Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd. https://www.ivbank.com/ 40. The Ratnakar Bank Ltd. https://www.theratnakarbank.com/ 41. The Sangli Bank Ltd. https://www.icicibank.com/pfsuser/icicibank/ibank-nri/nrinewversion/listofm2i_sanglibankltd.htm 42. The South Indian Bank Ltd. https://www.southindianbank.com/ 43. The United Western Bank Ltd. https://www.uwbankindian.com/ 44. UCO Bank https://www.ucobank.com/ 45. Union Bank of India https://www.unionbankofindia.co.in/ 46. United Bank Of India https://www.unitedbankofindia.com/ 47. Vijaya Bank https://www.vijayabank.com/ 48. Yes Bank https://www.yesbank.in/ (Financial Technologies, 2009) The services offered by the banks on the internet are: 1. Information Kiosks: In this the bank provides information about various products and services offered by the banks. The bank solves the queries of the customers through emails. 2. Basic Internet banking: In this the banks allows the customers to open the account and pay bills. 3. E-Commerce banking: Banks acts as an e-market place and enables the customers to transfer the money from their account, bill payment, sale and purchase of securities etc. The Wallis report (1997) stated that consumers will use those financial products and suppliers which offer best value for money and they are educated about it. Hence, in case of adoption of internet banking, it is necessary that bank should make consumers aware about availability of the product and how it adds value to the products. The perceived usefulness and in electronic banking according to Trethowan and silicone (Daniel, 1999) was sales orientation, convenience and low costs. The importance of perceived usefulness has been recognised in the field of internet banking (Gwiting, Ndubisi, 2006; Ericson et al, 2005; Polatoglu and ekin, 2001). According to them usefulness is probability that technology can improve how user completes a task. However, Gerrard and Cunningham (2003) stated that perceived usefulness depend upon the services offered like checking bank balance, applying for a loan, paying bills, transferring money abroad and obtaining information on mutual funds. The greate r the perceived usefulness of electronic banking services, the more electronic banking will be adopted. Threats to information security and fraud related to electronic transaction have increased at an alarming rate, resulting in reduced trust in transactions online (The Hindu, 2009). In online banking in India not many fraud activities have taken place. But in internet banking one cannot depend heavily on luck. No institution or bank can afford to depend on luck. The institutions have to adopt security procedures to suit the environment, in order to increase the trust ad faith in the user of online banking. Trust in online banking is new and emerging field of internet in management research. Literatures on online banking are focussed more on general (main). For example Khiaonarong (2000) examined electric payment system and discussed laws supporting electric payment system, risk reduction method. Tan and Teo (2000) explored intentions to use internet banking services through attitude subjective norms and behavioural controls. Daniel (1999) examined online banking issues like culture of innovations, market share and organizational restrictions. Mole (1998) examined behavioural issues pertaining to online banking, such as satisfaction, price sensitivity. Sathye (1999) studied the effect of security, ease of use, awareness and pricing. Trust has been defined in various ways. Trust is willingness to rely on an average partner in whom one has confidence (Moorman et. al ., 1993). Morgan and Hunt (1994) felt trust exists When one party has confidence in an exchange partners reliability and integrity. Mc.Knight and Chervany classifies the definition of trust in four types: deposition of trust, institution-based trust, trusting belief and trusting intention. Deposition of trust means the extent to which one displays consistent willingness to be dependent in general in any situation. This is primarily derived from psychology. Institution-based trust means that one believes that conditions conducive to situational success in an endeavour or aspect of ones life are in place. This type of trust is derived from sociology. Trusting belief is one where one beliefs that the other party has one or more characteristic beneficial to oneself. Trusting intention means that one is willing to depend on the other party even though one c annot control that party. Thrusting belief and trusting intention are primarily derived from social psychology. Husted (1989) states that the trust is a complicated construct because of wide spectrum of approaches that defines it, makes it difficult to define ad operationalise. Trust can be defined in three perspectives Cognitive, economic and social. A cognitive definition of trust represents an optimistic expectation for an outcome of an event. To be specific it is a confidence I the result of an uncertain event. Zand (1972) defines trust as it is a positive expectation about the outcome, with a lack of control over the actions of others. The transaction-cost theory of trust states that a potential trustor examines the cost and benefits inherent in trusting abother party. The cost of trust is examined because the trustee may ivolve opportunistic or detrimental behaviour to maximise self interest (RBSir). The social perspective states that the trust can arise irrespective of economic consideration. When a number of people share common values, beliefs are known as reference groups. This helps in building trust in the group. Howard (1994) states that the group has a strong influence on individuals beliefs and their valuation of products and services. The question of trust may be even more important in online banking environment than in offline banking environment. Because building trust is particularly important where there are risk and uncertainty. In the internet environment all the users are spread around the world that access critical files on computers and information via internet. Therefore, internet becomes risky from the view point of security because parties involved in the transaction that is customer and the bank are not at the same place. Customers cannot depend on physical activity, handshakes and body signals because the customer cannot see the teller. Because of this, customer trust is of major factor enhancing the growth of internet banking (Shu, Han). The growth of online e-commerce activity has encouraged a lot of research on user trust in online environment. Researchers in this area have generally used institutional trust developed by Zuker (1986). Institutional trust refers to the development of trust within a n economic framework and using third party mechanism such as certification ad regulation to establish trust. 2.3 Dimensions and antecedents of Trust Now we will discuss about trust and its dimensions, antecedents and consequences. The dimensions of the trust are: 1. Reputation 2. Perceived Risk Reputation: Reputation is one of the dimensions of trust. Reputation is defined as Overall quality character as seen or judged by people in general (Malaga, 2001). When customers uses online banking they would have banks reputation in mind. Reputation is very important for trust worthiness. The more the reputation of the bank the more it will encourage people to do online transactions. And if the people think that a bank has a poor reputation, then they will be discouraged to use online banking. Reputation arises from a particular brand name, previous interaction, endorsement from trusted third parties (Egger, 2000). Perceived Risk: Perceived risk is a key dimension of trust. The issue of trust arises as the bank and the customers are physically apart, difficulty in predicting problems, relationships are difficult to maintain and also the cyber laws are not well defined (main). The issue of trust also arises because economic transactions involve risk (main). Experienced online banking users have more information about online banking, thus leading to less risk and more trust in online transactions (Ba, 2001). The extent to which they trust the electronic system is likely to co-relate with trust when engaging in online banking (lee, Turban, 2001). When customers assess their trust certain issue that arises in their mind are competency of electronic system, network and download speed, reliability, connectivity and availability (Lee and Turban, 2001). The main issue to the customers would be reliability of the network because when customer transfers important financial data over the network there are provision that unauthorised parties ca intercept the transfer of information. Antecedents of Trust 1. Shared Value 2. Communication 3. Opportunistic Behavior Shared Value: Extent to which both the partners have common belief about goals, policy and behaviours whether they are wrong or right important or unimportant (main). In online banking environment shared value means extent to which they have common beliefs on ethics, security and privacy. Ethical value means chances of being given incomplete or wrong product information and selling customers information to the third party. Honesty and Ethics help build trust (Huemer, 1998, main). A number of surveys have found high level of customers concern about privacy in online banking (Ackerman et al., 1999, main). The main concern for customers is privacy violation which means misusing personal information of the customers. Due to technical development and low cost of data transmission, now it had become easier for companies collect data from the customers and sharing it with the third party (Clay and Strauss, 2000). Security is one of the most important factors in building trust. Customers believe that internet payment channel are not secure and can be intercepted, this reduces customers trust in online banking and discourages them in using it (main). However, recent development in the internet environment has made the customers less concerned about internet security (Swaminathan et al., 1999). Communication: Communication can be defined as sharing of formal as well as informal and timely information (Anderson and Narus, 1990). The variables of the communication are openness, speed of response and quality of information. Trust is build by openness in communication and their relationship with the bank. Geten and Straub (2001) research found that electronic system plays an important role in building trust with the customers. The ability of the site to communicate with the customer in terms of openness, speed of response and quality of information will influence the site to address the need of the customers, who in turn will respond to it. Thus, the higher the degree of communication displayed by the banks site, the greater will be the influence on the customers trust. Ways to increase online communication by the sites include fast response, personalized message and real-time interactions (Geten and Straub, 2001). Opportunistic Behaviour: Opportunistic behaviour can be defined as self-interest seeking guile (Williamson, 1975). The integrity of the online banks and obligations depend on the extent of regulatory control, which is a major determinant of the customers trust in online banking environment (Lee and turban, 2001, main). Customers have low level of trust due to high risk of opportunistic behaviour by online banks and poor developed rules (Clay and Strauss, 2000, main). Online identities can be forged (Ba, 2001, main), sites can be counterfeit (bailey and Bakes, 1997, main). Because of the lack of adequate regulatory control customers believe that their personal information may be used without their consent during or after navigation (Li et al., 2001). Klang (2001) stated that customers first access banks interest and then judge its integrity. Thus, it can be seen that integrity of the online bank is very important in gaining the trust of the customers. 2.4 Technology Acceptance Model Organisations invest in Information Systems for many reasons. For example cutting costs, producing more at the same cost, improving quality of services and products (lederer et al., 1998 (CP)). Users attitude towards the acceptance of new Information System plays an important role in successful adoption of the information system (Venkatesh and Davis 1996 (CP)). The more accepting the new information system the user are, the more they are willing to accept changes in their practices (Succi and walter, 1999 (CP)). Thus, the usage of a system can be an indicator of information system success. If the user does not rely on the system their behaviour would become negative for the Information System. One of the most widely used model for studying Information System acceptance is Technology acceptance Model (TAM) which helps in determining the use of system. The TAM model is an information system that shows how the users accept and use a technology. The model reflects that when a user is give or provided with a new software package, a number of factor will influence their decisions. They are: 1. Perceived Usefulness: Fred Davis defines perceived usefulness is the extent to which a person believes that using a particular system would enhance their job performance. Finally perceived usefulness is influenced by ease of use and external variable, which could be training, documentation and user support. 2. Perceived Ease of Use: Davis defined this as a the extent to which a person believes that using a particular system would be free from effort (Davis 1989). According to Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) the two factors are very important in determining computer acceptance. TAM is an adoption of the TRA (Theory of Reasoned Action) which was developed by Ajzen and Fishbein. TAM was developed by Fred Davis (1986, 1989) to explain software adoption based on TRA. Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) is based on the assumption that consumers behave rationally and they evaluate systematically all the available information. TRA also assumes that people take into account the effect of their actions ad based on this reasoning make decision to whether take action or not (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980 (CP)). Individuals will use computers if they feel that there would be positive benefits associated with it. Technology Acceptance Model hypothesises that: The more the perceived usefulness of the technology the more is the adaptation. The more is the ease of use of technology, the more is the adoption. The lower the benefit of the innovation the less is the adoption. In addition to individual characteristics like age, gender, qualification and previous experience in adopting technology, there are some social factors. They are: 1. Apprehensiveness: it refers to the anxiety of using a new medium or technology (Rao, ). The adoption of the telephone in early years led to apprehensiveness. A firm would never risk by adopting indigenously developed technology as it involves cost and chances of failure are enormous (Rao, ). For example, bank employees are always worries about computerisation of data. 2. Intrinsic Motivation: It leads to activities where there is no reward for the work but the activity itself. Intrinsic motivation arises from people need to feel satisfied and competent in dealing with their environment. There is an inner motivation to learn. For example: in case of new recruits, learning for them is an investment. 3. Compatibility: it is the judgement of the decision makers to evaluate the compatibility of the new technology. The more the new technology is similar to the existing one, the higher is the confidence to learn the new technology. 4. Social pressure: Social norm have most significant affect on system usage. Norm is the most frequent occurring and observable for the members of a particular society. For certain products, the social message that the product conveys to its users is the only benefit that the adopters receive (Rao, ). 5. Enhanced Value: Apart from the benefits derived directly, there could be some benefits that are derived indirectly such as generations or enhancement of quality image. Such benefits can create extra value for the user. Therefore, adopting a new technology may not only be from the firms utilisation point of use but also the extra value added with the new technology. The more experience an adopter has, the better will be the understanding of a new technology. This will lead to the appreciation of the added value with the new technology by the user or the adopter. 6. Technology suppliers commitment: new technology teds to carry high risk. A good commitment from the supplier can help reduce the level of risk related with it. It can be done through providing adequate information to the user. Resource commitment from the supplier can help the adopter to accept the new technology. In this world when the technology is changing rapidly the buyer is worried about the life of the technology that he is adopting. This problem can be delt by the supplier by promising to upgrade their product or buy back of hardware and change of the software. 7. Adoption experience: adoption experience is the accumulated knowledge of the user and working relationship with the suppliers. Any previous experience with the technology helps the adopters to collect all the relevant information related to technology. The adopters know the needs and the requirements of the new technology and can understand the support required from the supplier of the technology. 2.5 Some other Information System Some other Information Systems are: Theory of Reasoned Action: Theory of reasoned Action (TRA) was developed by Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen (1975, 1980). Theory of reasoned action consists of three components: 1. Behaviour intention 2. Attitude 3. Subjective norm. Behaviour intention is a measure of ones intention to execute a specified behaviour. Attitude is defined as an individuals positive or negative feelings for behaviour (Warshaw, Bagozzi and Davis, 1989). Subjective norm is a persons perception of what people think that the individual should do. Subjective norm is a type of pressure. A persons participation in any behaviour is influenced strongly by people around them. In this theory persons behaviour consists of two factors: 1. Belief that certain behaviour would lead to some outcome. 2. An evaluation of the outcome of the behaviour. Thus, if an outcome is beneficial for the individual then he/she tends to participates in the behaviour (Mischigan State University, 2008). Theory of Planned Behaviour: The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) was proposed by Icek Ajzen. Theory of planned behaviour helps us to understand how we can change the behaviour of the people. TPB is an extension of Theory of Reasoned Action of Ajzen and Fishbein (1975, 1980). There are three considerations that guide human behaviour. 1. Behavioural belief: behavioural belief is an individuals belief about consequences of certain behaviour. 2. Normative Belief: It is the perception about certain behaviour which is influenced by the judgement of others. 3. Control Belief: Control beliefs are the belief that facilitate or impede the performance of behaviour. Behavioural Beliefs generates favourable or unfavourable attitude towards behaviour, normative belief results in social pressure and control beliefs gives rise to behavioural control. Thus, in combination attitude towards behaviour leads to the formation of behavioural intention. If the attitude is more favourable, the perceived control will be greater and the persons intention to perform the behaviour will be stronger (12 Manage, 2009). Task Technology fit Model: Task technology fit model was developed by Goodhue (1995), Goodhue ad Thompson (1995) at individual level. At group level it was developed by Zigrus and Buckland (1998). TTF model states that a good fit between technology, task and team can lead to better performance (Dennis et al, 2001, Goodhue, 2005, Zigrus and Buckland, 1998). In TTF Goodhue examines three factors: 1. Individual ability 2. Technology characteristic 3. Task requirement. He evaluates the influence of these three factors on performance and user evaluation of information technology system. Goodhue argues that TTF is the extent to technology functions, matches task requirements and individual abilities. Goodhue and Thompson (1995) developed a measure for TTF that consists of eight factors They are as follows: 1. Quality 2. Locatability 3. Authorization 4. Compatibility 5. Ease of use 6. Production timeliness 7. System reliability 8. Relationship with the users. Each factor is evaluated between two to ten questions with responses on seven point scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree. However TTF focuses only of fit between user and technology and task and technology. It ignores the interaction between user and task (Mehlan et al, 2006). Goodhue argues that user evaluation is a substitute of TTF and it is appropriate for both mandatory and voluntary user information technology system. TAM is one of the models that are used widely to explain the factors that affect user acceptance of Information System (Suh, Han). However traditional information system is different from Internet Banking, which uses emerging technology like WWW and internet. With the advancement of WWW and internet, various researches have adjusted TAM to WWW environment to overcome TAMs lack of task forces. Recent studies of user acceptance of WWW have paid attention to perceived playfulness, because WWW is used both for pleasure and play. The studies have verified that perceived playfulness has a significant impact on user acceptance of WWW. Technology Acceptance Model 2 (TAM2) is the extension of TAM and it includes additional constructs like social influence process (Subjective norm, Voluntariness and Image) and cognitive instrumental process (job relevance, perceived ease of use, output quality). TAM2 reflects three interrelated social forces faced by an individual to adopt or reject a new technology. They are: Subjective norm, Voluntariness and image. Subjective norm can be defined as persons perception that most people who are important to him think he should or should not perform the behaviour in question (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975, p.32). Subjective Norm is included as a direct determinant of behavioural intention in Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). The reason for the direct effect of subjective norm is that people may choose behaviour even if they do not agree towards the behaviour or its consequences, but if one or more referent thinks that they should then they are influenced to do so. Voluntariness and compliance with social influence: mixed findings regarding subjective norm was discovered by Hartwick and Barki (1994). After separating the respondents into mandatory and voluntary usage, they found that the subjective norm had a great effect on mandatory but not on voluntary setting. Casual mechanism is referred as compliance. TAM 2 theorizes that the direct compliance based effect of subjective norm on intention, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use will occur on mandatory but not on voluntary system usage setting (Venkatesh and Davis, 2000). Voluntariness as a moderating variable defined as the extent to which potential adopters perceive the adoption decision to be non-madatory (Agarwal and Prasad, 1997, Hartwick and Barki, 1994). If the users do not accept the information system the organisation will not be benefitted from the information system (Davis, 1993. Davis ad Venkatesh, 1996). The more willing to the information system users are the more willing they are to make changes in their practices and time to start using new information system (Succi and Watler, 1999). Usage of a particular system is an indicator of information system success and acceptance of computer. If the users do not trust the system and its information then their behaviour towards could be negative. Therefore, it is important to find out the reason why people use or do not use the information system. This information will help both the designer and the developers in their work (Mathesion, 1991). According to Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the two factors, Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are of primary significance for computer acceptance. This is because if a user feels that using a particular information system will enhance his job performance and would require less effort, then only the user will use the information system. In case of online banking and Technology Acceptance Model, Perceived Usefulness is the degree to which individual feels that using online banking will enhance his/her performance and perceived ease of use refers to the degree to which an individual feels that using online banking would be free from effort. Thus online banking involving complex procedures or requires customers to learn new software will discourage people from using online baking. The case to TAM will arise only when people trust online banking and use it, TAM will be not used when people are not using online banking. TAM comes into play or use only when people use onli ne banking. Thus, this shows that trust is the centre to online banking and TAM and it is a basic foundation for the use of online baking and Technology Acceptance Model. Therefore, we hypothesise that as trust increases the use of online banking also increases. Hypothesis Stated in formal fashion, my study two five hypothesis. There is a positive relationship between ease of use and trust. There is a positive relationship between perceived ease of use and trust. 3. Research Methodology: 3.1 Research Design: The research design for this study investigates the factors that have an influence on customers acceptance of internet banking. I present an additional belief, trust and its dimensions to the Technology Acceptance Model to reflect the importance of trust in online banking environment. Online banking is of great use to the customers. It helps in saving time, cost, it can be used at anytime of the day irrespective of the location. All these benefits enhance the performance of the customers banking activity. A customer will therefore expect these services when he/she uses online banking. Trust is identified by three main antecedents. They are shared value, communication and opportunistic behaviour whereas Technology Acceptance Model is identified by two main characteristics like Perceived ease of use and Perceived usefulness. Verifying the TAM-Trust related hypothesis in the context of Online Banking will help us determine the importance of trust in Online Banking. Shared value is the extent to which the customers and bank share a common belief about what goal, policies are important or unimportant, right or wrong (Morgan ad Hunt, 1994). Based on the operational definition of Perceived usefulness, I assume that Perceived usefulness will help establish trust or shared value if the customers believe that online banking is useful. (Suh, Han). H1. Perceived Usefulness has a positive impact on Shared Value of the customer. Trust id negotiated through openness in communication. Communication has various variables like speed of response, quality of information and openness (Mukherjee and Nath). A customer will trust online banking only when his/her communication with the bank is fast, open and useful. Slow communication and low response rate from the bank will discourage people from trusting the bank. Thus, more the communication will be useful and open to the customer the greater will be the trust between the customer and the bank. H2. There is a positive relationship between communication and Perceived Usefulness in building trust. Opportunistic behaviour is conceptualised as regulatory control and information asymmetry. Due to high risk of opportunistic behaviour by online banks and poor developed rules and regulations, customers have low level of trust in online banking (Mukherjee and Nath). Thus, less opportunistic behaviour showed by the bank will increase the level of trust and usefulness from the customers point of view. H3. There is a negative relationship between Opportunistic Behaviour and Perceived Usefulness. Perceived ease of use is the extent to which using of a system would be free from effort (Davis, 1989). If the terms and conditions of the shared value of the bank is easy and free from effort then it will enhance trust and encourage customer to use online banking. H4. There is a positive relationship between Perceived ease of use and shared value. The customers trust also depends upon his/her communication with the bank. Communication is directly related to Perceived ease of use. If the communication of the customer with the bank is effort free and comfortable, customers would be encouraged to use online banking. So we hypothesise H5. There is a positive relationship between communication and Perceived ease of use. H1 H4 H2 H5 H3 H6 3.2 Research Method This chapter covers the operational description of the research explaining the methodology strategy used in this study. In order to achieve the research objectives, the most appropriate method to collect the data. Data is collected both by primary and secondary research. The reasons for using these methods and how the overall study was conducted will be explained in this section. The methodology used has some limitations which will be discussed at the end of this chapter. Research is a systematic study on a particular matter employing facts investigation and data collection (Collins, 1989). Research can also be defined as a systematic and methodical process of enquiry and investigation with a view of increasing knowledge (Collins and Hussey, 2009). The objectives of the research can be summarized as follows: To provide solution to the problem. To explore and analyse more general issues. To generate new knowledge To explain new phenomenon. (Collins and Hussey, 2009) Research is conducted using two main strategies. They are Qualitative and Quantitative. (Bryman and Bell, 2008). Quantitative method is a phenomenon which concentrates on phenomena of measurement. In this the data can be shown in mathematical format or in statistical software by producing different charts and graphs. In simple words quantitative method can be measured. 3.2.1 Choosing Quantitative method This research mainly used quantitative method because quantitative method can be construed as a research strategy that emphasizes quantification in the collection and analysis of the data and also because: It involves a deductive approach between theory and research in which the accent is placed on the testing of theories. It involves a view a social reality as an external, objective reality. It incorporated the practices and norms of the natural scientific model and of positivism in particular (Bryman and Bell, 2008). Quantitative Data Analysis There are two types of quantitative data analysis. 1. Descriptive analysis 2. Inferential analysis Descriptive data analysis is also called as exploratory data analysis. It is concerned with describing data, it is also useful for summarising data and presenting it in tables, charts, graphs and other diagrammatic forms which enables us to comprehend pattern and relationships which are not apparent in raw data. Graphical presentation does not only present data in more compact form but the form that positively aids hypothesis confirmation (Hussey and Hussey, 1997). The four main groups of techniques which can be used are: presenting frequencies, measuring location, measuring dispersion ad measuring change. Inferential data analysis is also known as confirmatory data analysis. It involves using quantitative data collected from a sample to draw conclusions about a complete population (Hussey and Hussey, 1997). Four groups of inferential statistics which are used while conducting confirmatory data analysis are: estimating form samples, measuring associations, measuring difference, forecasting. This study will use descriptive data analysis to study the data collected from primary source. The advantages of descriptive data analysis are: It helps examine the tendencies, spread, normality and reliability of the data set. Descriptive statistics can be rendered both graphically and numerically. Descriptive statistics includes useful techniques for summarizing data in visual form. Descriptive data analysis is much easier to work with, interpret and discuss the raw data. 3.2.2 Primary Data Primary Data Collection: Primary Data is the information that is collected first hand by the author (William, 2003). The data is original and is used for the first time in the research. There are many methods of collecting Primary data for example interview, questionnaire and observations. This research adopted self-completion questionnaire. It is sometimes referred to as self-administered questionnaire. In self-completion questionnaire the respondents answer the question by completing the questions themselves (Bryman and Bell, 2008). Self-completion questionnaire can be done in several forms. One of the most used methods is mail or postal questionnaire. In this the questionnaire is sent to the respondents through the post, who in turn after filling the questionnaire is asked to return it by post. In many ways self-completion questionnaire and interview are similar methods of business research. The basic difference between them is that there is no interviewer to ask the question, the respondent must read the questions and answer themselves (Bryman and Bell, 2008). As there are no interviewer to ask the question must be simple and easy to follow. As compared to interview the self-completion questionnaire should be: The questionnaire should have fewer open questions and more closed questions because they are easier to answer. Questionnaire should have easy-to-follow to reduce the risk that the respondents will fail to answer (Bryman and Bell, 2008). 3.2.3 Why Questionnaire In this research the author has use questionnaire to collect primary data. Some advantages of self-completion questionnaire over interview are: 1. It is cheaper to Administer: The cheapness of the self-completion questionnaire is especially advantageous if you have a sample that is geographically widely dispersed (Bryman and Bell, 2008). Interviewing can be expensive. The postal questionnaire will be much cheaper because interviewing involves a lot of time as conducting personal interview is a long process. Thus, the postal questionnaire enjoys cost advantage. 2. Quicker to administer: questionnaire can be sent out by post or distributed in large numbers at a same time but in interviews conducting personal interview takes a lot of time. Many questionnaires can be sent out by post in one batch. Also, it is very important to note that all the sent questionnaire do no t come back immediately ad they may take several week to be returned. There may be a need to send a follow up letter to those who fail to return the questionnaire. 3. No variability of the interviewer: Self-completion questionnaire do not suffer from the problem of question being asked in different ways by the interviewer. 4. Convenience for respondents: Completing a questionnaire is convenient for respondents because they can fill the questionnaire whenever they want and at the speed that they want. 3.3 Sample Selecting a sample is a fundamental element of a positivist study. A sample is made up of some members of a population. A population may refer to a body of people under consideration for research purpose. (Hussey and Hussey, 1997). A good sample is one in which the result obtained for a sample can be taken as true for the whole population. A sample technique is broadly classified in two categories: probability and no probability sampling technique. In probability sampling technique sample is selected randomly from a sampling framework. In a non probability a sample is drawn based on the personal judgement of the researcher (Malhotra, 2007) This study has used non probability sampling technique to collect data because of the restriction of time, unavailability of sample framework of online banking users in India. The study conducted online surveys to collect data. For online surveys a snowball sampling technique was to distribute questionnaire online. An initial group of 20 respondents were identified from personal sources. These respondents were asked to suggest people and questionnaire was distributed among them. The final valid respondent sample to the structured questionnaire consisted of 120 internet surfers in India. The respondents chosen were students, professionals, self-employed and housewives. 3.4 Modes of Analysis Responses to the quantitative survey questionnaire were considered and discussed in the light of the existing literature. In order to measure the quantitative result of the questionnaire, it was designed to integrate a five point likert scale (Saunders et al, 2006). For example a question was designed to ask if online banking makes it easier for them to utilize banking services. The respondents were supposed to give answers o the 1-5 rating scales where: 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree, 5=strongly agree. Answering strongly disagree or disagree would suggest that online banking did not make banking services easy for the users whilst choosing strongly agree or agree would indicate contrary. However, a disadvantage of using this method is that the respondents to be in a positive light (Eysenck and Flanagan, 2002), may have been subject to social desirability bias (Baker and Foy, 2008) by avoiding selecting the extreme options. Reliability and Validity A research is evaluated using two most prominent criteria namely reliability and validity from a methodological point of view. Reliability refers to a consistency for a measure of a concept in a piece of research (Finn et al., 2000). Reliability has greater importance in a quantitative research. For example: if you ask the same question to a respondent repeatedly, the answer would be same (Bryman and Bell, 2008). According to Bryman and Bell (2008, p.165) Validity refers to the issue of whether or not an indicator that is desired to gauge a concept really measures that concept. Validity is the most important criterion of research. It is also concerned with the integrity of the conclusion that are generated from research. There are different types of validity. There are mentioned below: Measurement Validity: It is also known as Construct Validity. Measurement validity primarily applies to quantitative research and to the search for measures of social scientific concept. It is generally related to whether or not a measure that is desired of a concept really does reflect the concept that it is supposed to be denoting. Measurement validity is very much related to reliability. If a measure of a concept is unstable, fluctuates then it is unreliable. It cannot provide a valid measure of the concept (Bryman and Bell, 2008). Internal Validity: It is concerned with a question of whether a conclusion that incorporates a casual relationship between two or more variable holds water. For example: In our study shared value causes trust, can we be sure that it is only shared value that is responsible for causing trust and nothing else. Thus, Internal Validity raises question: how confident can we be that independent variable is responsible for the change identified in dependent variable. External Validity: External Validity refers to the question of whether the result of a study can be generalised beyond specific research context. How people or organisations are selected to participate in research becomes very crucial in this issue. It is because of External Validity that the quantitative researchers are so keen to generate samples. Ecological Validity: The issue of Ecological Validity relates to the naturalness of research approach and has considerable relevance to quantitative research. The criterion is concerned whether social scientific findings are applicable to peoples every day, natural social setting. Thus, business research may sometime produce findings that are technically valid but little to do with the happenings in the peoples everyday life. Furthermore, result deriving from a study using questionnaire the unnaturalness of the fact of having to answer a questionnaire may mean that the findings have limited Ecological Validity, but the questionnaire may have measurement validity and reasonable level of internal validity. (Bryman and Bell, 2008).

Being A Tai Chi Teacher - 1496 Words

Being a Tai Chi teacher the question of which diet is healthier, one including meat or one excluding meat i.e. a vegetarian diet has lead me to research the subject my finding were surprising. The word vegetarian is not derived from vegetable as most people think, but from the Latin word vegus which means full of life. Some of the world s greatest thinkers eschewed meat, among them: Leonardo Da Vinci, Sir Issac Newton, St. Francis of Assisi and Albert Einstein who said: It is my view that the vegetarian manner of living, by its purely physical effect on the human temperament would most beneficially influence the lot of mankind. Pythagoras, who is generally given credit for its inception, praised vegetarianism for its hygienic nature and the kinship it fostered between man and the animals. In the past most Doctors, nutritionists and those responsibly for health education, have in the main stated that a diet which contained no meat, could not be a healthy diet because this kind of diet would be lacking in certain minerals and vitamins, especially the B group of vitamins. In recent years the trend towards eating less meat has increased because the technology that has so successfully increased meat production is an unnatural method. The use of chemicals and the unnatural living conditions the animals are kept in, which in many cases are appalling, are designed to force growth. People are now becoming increasingly concerned about their intake of chemicals and fat via theShow MoreRelatedReport on Tai Chi Essay1171 Words   |  5 PagesReport on Tai Chi Tai Chi is a major branch of Chinese martial arts that is primarily practiced for its health benefits, including tension and stress, relaxation and as a form of self-defense. 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Lightning and Electrical Storms Free Essays

It is but considered that lightning and electrical storms are naturally ocurring events in nature where by we tend to be oblivious about it. Yet, its intensity brings about changes which may affect us to our advantage or disadvantage. Oftentimes, children are scared of the sound of thunder brought about by the blinding flash of lightning. We will write a custom essay sample on Lightning and Electrical Storms or any similar topic only for you Order Now In ancient times, lightning is associated with the wrath of a higher power as is evident with the Supreme god of Olympus, Zeus and the god of Thunder,Thor. To our ancestors, this is a sign that people will be punished for the bad deeds done, being superstitious at that. At present, lightning is associated with powerful mind-created characters often seen on televisions and some flicks. These beliefs though was not proven to exist in reality but these shows only the notion that lightning is indeed powerful. Now, one would ask what lightning is and why is there a need for lightning and electrical storms to occur? It is not just there as part of nature’s wonder. What is Lightning? Lightning is an electrical discharge between two different fields of charges which is formed in electrical storms (Learn More About†¦; par. 1). It is deemed that lightning has a heat three times greater than that of the sun’s surface. Usually, it is evident when rain clouds are present. Credit on lightning discovery is usually given to Benjamin Franklin with his kite and key experiment during a thunderstorm. This is because he pioneered the first experiment on showing electrical conductance of lightning as opposed to those ahead of him (Lightning; par 2,3,4 5)..  However, hoew lightning came about has many explanations. There are many existing theories on how thunder is formed and which of which is still disputed. How lightning comes   about Lightning is dtermined to be caused by difference in charges but, how it is generated is what is still uncertain till present.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Scientific studies are currently being conducted as to how it is generated. However, theories are proposed on how these charges are accumulated. One is the Polarization Mechanism Theory which states that falling droplets of ice and rain acquire charges before they hit the ground through electrostatic induction and another theory is the Electrostatic Induction Theory which, on the other hand, states that opposite charges in clouds are separated by energy between them and collision of charges with ice crystals brings about increasing intensity in charges inside the cloud. This increased intensity will soon find release in the form of lightning (Lightning; par. 11 12). The process after electrical charges are acquired and in which it should be released is a rather complex one. Usually in a rain coming, a cumulonimbus cloud is what is known as the source of lightning (Lightning Mountainnature.com; par. 2). This type of cloud possesees a strong electrical charge and varies in horizontal difference of the cloud. At the base, the charge is strongly negative while at the top, it is strongly positive. This charges are being separated by an electrical field which is an energy in nature to keep the charges from colliding. The energy in the electric field is directly proportional to the cahrge of the particles between it. As the charges continue to increase in both sides brought about by collision, so is the amount of energy in the electric field. This intense energy causes the repulsion of the charge in the earth’s surface by the negative charge of the cloud causing the earth’s surface to gain positive charge.What happens next is that the electric field inside the cloud provides a path for the conductance of charges between the negative charge at the bottom of the cloud and the positive charge of the earth’s surface. This path is the air in which it is ionized by the strong electric field of the cloud. This process is known as air ionization. This causes about the formation of the flux line wherein the lightning will travel through. Upon completion of the necessary path, the continuous build up of energy in the cloud causes about the outburst   of this energy which travels through the ionized air and the set flux line towards the positive charge. What travels here is what we kn ow as lightning (Zavisa; pt 1, 2, 3 4). On the other hand, the thunder that we know of is the sound formed after a lightning. This is caused about by lightning as it heats and expands the air which produces the sound known as thunder. As we all know, light travels faster than sound; reason why we hear thunder late after a lightning (Lightning:The Shocking Statistics; par. 6). Types of Lightning There are different types of lightning. The most common of which is the Cloud-to-cloud lightning and the other is the cloud-to-ground lightning.  Cloud-to-ground lightning is the most dangerous lightning. This is also the most destructive to properties. This occurs when lightning hits the ground or anything on earth’s surface. Being the most common, it is the most understood type of lightning (About Lightning; pt 4). Another is the cloud-to-cloud lightning which is also known as intra-cloud lightning. Intra-cloud lightning occurs when lightning transfers from cloud to another cloud or within the same cloud. This type occurs lesser in frequency than cloud-to-ground (Lightning Detection from Space; page 3). There are many other types of lightning and are named based on optical illusion and appearances. These are ball lightning, heat lightning, bead lightning, sheath lightning, black lightning and many others (Lightning Detection from Space; page 3). Effects and Damages of Lightning Lightning, which occurs along with electrical or thunder storms, are light flashes brought about by disturbances among the charges. It is known that lightning replenishes the  nitrogen supply in soil in which it hits. But with its great strength, this poses great danger among individuals. From the span of year ’90 to ’92, lightning killed four people and injured 127 individuals. It averages 80 kills per year in the United States alone (Lightning: the Shocking Statistics; par. 1). Moreover, lightning kills 55% more people than tornado and 40% more than hurricanes. It causes a loss of 15 – 20 million dollars each year to infrastructures. More so, the US Department of Agriculture reported that lightning causes about 80 % of accidental deaths in livestocks (Dworkin; par. 8). People are evidently exposed to the hazards of lightning. Damages to building, infrastructures, forest and wildfires, downed power lines and loss of life are just among its effects (Multihazard Risk†¦; spt. A). These also causes airplane disasters as it hits a flying craft. It was reported that in 1963, a plane strucked by lightning near Elkton, MD, killed 38 people. It is also noted that plane crashes in 1982 in Kenner, Los Angeles, and 1985 in Dallas, Texas was brought about by lightning. The past decade also took notice of 15,000 fires caused by lightning in the US alone causing wide property damage and loss of 2 million acres of forests (Multihazard Risk†¦; spt. A). Conclusion Evidently destructive by nature, lightning is inescapable. But, there are many precautions which one would be able to take to prevent or minimize the losses brought about by lightning strikes. First is to listen to weather forecasts so that one would not be in the open when an electrical storm came. Second is to manage an electrical conductor in houses or if in a car, better stay in the car as it is a good conductor. Next is to stay out of an open field where  you eould be the tallest object to be hit by lightning.   Another is to stay calm and stay as low as possible when it is inevitable that electrical storm will come when your outside the safety of your own home. These are few among the possible preventive measures (Protection†¦; par. 2). Presently, experiments on lightning deflectors to be placed on planes are being conducted. Spires are also being improved to be placed on skyscrapers. More so, the prospect of harnessing lightning’s power as source of electricity is on its way. Who knows, one day, we would be able to truly deflect lightnings disastrous strikes to our advantage. OUTLINE: Introduction What is lightning How it comes about Types of lightning Effects and damages of lightning (stats) especially in st louis missouri us and midwest Conclusion References: â€Å"Learn More About Lightning and Thunder.† 2007. 30 April 2007 http://sky-fire.tv/index.cgi/lightning.html#sexist. â€Å"Lightning.† 2005. 30 April 2007 http://www.mountainnature.com/Climate/Lightning.htm. Zavisa, John. â€Å"How Lightning Works.† 2007. 30 April 2007 http://science.howstuffworks.com/lightning1.htm. Dworkin, Gerald. â€Å"Emergency Procedures During Thunder and Lightning Storms.† 23 February 1998. 30 April 2007. http://www.lifesaving.com/issues/articles/20thunder_lightning.html. â€Å"About Lightning.† 2007. 30 April 2007. http://www.stormchasing.nl/lightning.html. â€Å"Multi-Hazard Risk Identification and Assessment.† 2007. 30 April 2007. http://www.fema.gov/txt/fhm/mhira_n1.txt. â€Å"Lightning: The Shocking Statistics.† 2007. 30 April 2007 http://www.wildwildweather.com/lightning.htm. â€Å"Lightning Detection From Space.† 2007. 01 May 2007 http://thunder.nsstc.nasa.gov/primer/primer2.html. â€Å"Lightning.† March 2007. 01 May 2007 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning. â€Å"Protection Against Lightning.† 2007. 01 May 2007 http://www.sos112.si/eng/page.php?src=np16.htm. How to cite Lightning and Electrical Storms, Essay examples

Blockbuster Video free essay sample

The central issue or issues of the Blockbuster Video case that the company faced, can be broken down and represented as three major areas of focus: †¢Financial ? Prevent the continual decline in cash flow and profits. Lower inventory costs. †¢Strategic ? How to react to an ever decreasing video rental market. Promote global marketing to reach and service the international home entertainment market. †¢Technology ? Implement Best practices to utilize Blockbuster? huge customer database. Implement leading edge technology in keeping up with and surpassing their competition? s use of technological innovations. As was clearly seen through systems analysis, each one of these issues is directly related to Blockbuster? s continued success, and was an important area of focus for setting and achieving Blockbuster? s business directives. Financially Blockbuster had been experiencing a steady decrease in cash flow and profits finally resulting in a serious negative cash flow situation by 1994. How to prevent this trend became the number one financial issue that Blockbuster was facing. We will write a custom essay sample on Blockbuster Video or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Other issues for Blockbuster were how to remain profitable within a mature industry, and how to lower their inventory costs (mainly through middleman elimination). Blockbuster? s strategic issue of how to react to an ever decreasing video rental market lead to a corporate merger with Viacom, and subsequently to a partnership with Sony Electronics. These mergers were intended to increase profits by elimination of ? middleman? distributors and expand Blockbuster? s reach within the home entertainment industry as a whole. Blockbuster? s penetration into foreign markets was also a primary strategic issue in directing Blockbuster? s expansion. Another key strategic goal of Blockbuster was to change its image from a ? video? store into a ? total-entertainment store? , primarily by the addition of music and book sections to Blockbuster outlets. Technologically, Blockbuster was first of all trying to understand how technology could improve their business operations efficiencies and lower operating expenses, primarily through utilizing its already huge customer database. Secondly, Blockbuster was trying to find a way to match available technologies to customer needs in the form of state of the art audio and leading edge video product offerings, along with the need to use technology in attaining Blockbuster? s own business goals and objectives. IV. Alternatives: A few steps the managers could take now that the issues have been determined and sufficient analysis has taken place would be; continued focus on technological innovations such as the Web as a means for growth within the domestic market as well as to promote international market penetration. Establishing a name synonymous with video, then wanting to broaden their scope to ? total-entertainment store? , requires staying on top of edge home entertainment technologies such as ? Video on Demand? services. An ES or DSS could greatly assist Blockbuster management in making good decisions regarding which new technologies to invest in, based on market research presented through ES and DSS analysis. Blockbuster should consider building an Expert System in helping to provide solutions regarding future technological investments. Blockbuster should continue with technological innovations such as the 1997 DVD kiosk concept to keep ahead of its competition, and to stay on the leading edge of home entertainment technology. Blockbuster? free CD internet access promotion with Sprint might be used as a model to be used in an ES (Expert System) to help Blockbuster make sound business and promotional decisions through the solutions provided by the ES? s rules-based inference engine. Given the current environment in which the managers are working, and the problems and opportunities that they face, it would seem that the most comprehensive approach that Blockbuster could take would be to continue their Industry leading technological innovations, focused on international distribution as a means of increasing customer satisfaction, market share, and lowering operating costs.This could be implemented by the use of an ES, or even a DSS (Decision Support System), such as a capital investment decision system in helping the management at Blockbuster plan their present and future financial investment strategies.

Analysis Of The Moldau Essays - Symphonic Poems, M Vlast

Analysis Of The Moldau Composer: Bedrich Smetana Work Title: The Moldau Date: 1874-1879 Genre: Symphonic Poem For my first selection of music for this final project I chose ?The Moldau? by Bedrich Smetana. The reason I chose this piece was first, it is a symphonic poem and second, because it perfectly exemplified the use of nationalist style and word painting. The Moldau is a symphonic poem representing Nationalist pride for Smetana's country. It is the second of six symphonic poems from the orchestral piece ?My Country?. A symphonic poem is a one-movement orchestral form that, in this case, suggests a scene. It was written over a five-year span that covered the revolution against Austrian rule. The Moldau is a perfect example of a nationalist song, which is a song of folk pride for one's country. The piece ?The Moldau? represents scenes along the river Moldau in Bohemia. It is here that we see the use of word painting, music expressed as though it were a painting to be seen. It begins as a few streams in the forest flowing into the mighty river, painted with a flute and some clarinets and leading to violins. The journey takes us through a day in the forest where we see hunting, peasants dancing at a wedding, nymphs in the moonlight, the St. John's Rapids, the Ancient Castle and back to the River theme as the river dies away. It is truly an enchanting piece.

Wilsons Commitment to Peace essays

Wilson's Commitment to Peace essays War does not always have the simple goal of killing as many of the enemy as you can. The motives behind war are often complex and not always vicious attempts to gain power. Often times a nation must enter a war to secure peace in the future. This was the case when Woodrow Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war. Since the early days of the war when Wilson asked the nation to be impartial in their thoughts about the war, he fought to maintain the United States neutrality. By sending his close friend, Colonel House and other envoys, Wilson diplomatically delayed war until the last possible moment. However, Wilson knew that war was inevitable. It was imperative for the United States to enter the war because it had become a threat to humanity and unless the United States intervened, Western civilization itself might be destroyed. (Garraty, pg. 665) Wilsons main reason for involving the United States in the war was to be included in peace talks following the end of the fighting. Had the United States not entered the war, neither the Allies nor the Central Powers would let the U.S. involve itself in the peace talks. Wilson knew that it was essential for the U.S. to be a part of these talks. The majority of statesmen thought that a victory on the battlefield was triumph enough but Wilson knew better than that. Wilson realized that the victory would be wasted if the winners permitted themselves the luxury of revenge. (Garraty, pg. 674) It was important for the victor to forgive and forget and begin to build a better society. Unfortunately for Wilson, a steadfast pacifist, he had to resort to war to secure peace for the future. By entering the war the United States was able to play a powerful role in peace talks after the fighting ended. Although the peace talks did not stop keep WWII from happening, that was Wilsons goal. He avoided war as much as he could but when he had could no longer ...

(Biochip Microfluidic Vortex Chamber) and (Biochip with Integrated Essay

(Biochip Microfluidic Vortex Chamber) and (Biochip with Integrated Vertical Emitting Light Source) - Essay Example The â€Å"optical imaging technology† (Bachman, 1986) was the best materials system of its time for fabricating â€Å"photodiode arrays† (Bachman, 1986) that were used in NASA’s satellite system. Bachman considered this to be just the beginning of experimentation with microgravity for the production of semiconductors. He articulated the need for further advances in physics to improve the photoconductive properties of the detectors in order to improve the quality of the satelites Twenty years later Bachman’s optical imaging device is being applied to identify diseases, as well as, analize the chemical and biological properties of different cystals and alloys in vortex chambers. The photoconductive device described in the study offers a cost effective method of fabricating biochips when coupled with simulation software known as Comsol software.Industries outside of quasi-government agencies such as NASA are utilizing microgravity technology. The budgets of these industries are not limitless, and therefore are in need of a feasible way of applying the quantum leap in semiconductor quality that is due to the microgravity science, without incurring the considerable costs that would keep them out of the field of biotechnology. The model described in this study offers theoretical outcomes when describing modified conditions calculated in simulation software as well as the actual observed events that occur within the various chambers of the photoconductive device. The properties that were observed utilizing simulated fluidic vortex chamber device are fluid flow, concentration and diffusion, and electrical conductivity. The conditions that were modified were velocity of fluid flow, locations of fluid concentration, and length of time the fluid would be concentrated at various locations. The results that the changing conditions as described in the â€Å"incompressible Navier-Stoke equation†.

Global Trade Distribution Processes Dissertation

Global Trade Distribution Processes - Dissertation Example The company continues to enter new geographical markets is expanding its presence in already existing markets. The company use a distinct strategy concerning entry into a market for every new market and aims to promote the sale of its jewelry products and establish itself in a very short time with efficient brand positioning in the market. In markets that are well developed, PANDORA develops its market presence by using the current retail outlets that are available to it. However, in emerging markets, the company uses branded points of sale of the company, which are directly operated, and franchise in nature. For example, in 2009, PANDORA was able to gain access to a variety of markets and also prepared an entry into other markets. The markets included-Croatia, Indonesia, China, UAE, Turkey, Taiwan, Serbia, South Korea, Ukraine, Philippines, Japan, Malaysia, Italy, and Russia. A number of the markets were recorded to have high market potentials. In each of the potential markets in the different countries, PANDORA adopted different strategies to enter the market. In Russia for instance, PANDORA gained entry into the market by entering into a Master Distribution and Franchise Agreement with the country. It was programmed in such a way that the expansion of the retail market was based on a cluster strategy linked to geographical locations with an aim of optimizing the exposure of the brand. The focus was initially placed on St. Petersburg and Moscow and in 2010, 6 other concept stores were unveiled. PANDORA gained entry into the Italian market in July 2010.This was a big step because by doing so, it had gained entry into a market that is termed as Europe’s biggest market for fine jewelry. The company was based in Milan, their strategy involved visual merchandise and a team of sales representatives with an aim of covering the market through the use of points of sale that are a multi-brand. PANDORA was planning to sell products through 362 white stores, 70 silver stones, 7 gold stores, 1 concept store, and 12 shop-in-shops.

Environmental Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Environmental Science - Essay Example And even the general perception about them is that ‘they are less destructive than other storms’. For this very reason so little is known about nor’easters. Nor’easters are said to have caused heavy snow falls in New England and the Middle Atlantic states. In recent years, the US coastal areas have also been hit by a series of nor’easters. All this has led to more attention towards these storms. Researchers have found that apart from their origins in atmospheric disturbances and their cyclonic winds, hurricanes and nor’easters bear little resemblance to each other. Hurricanes are warm-core systems and thus limited in height by the colder upper air, while nor’easters are cold-core systems that do not lose intensity with height. Unlike hurricanes, nor’easters do not necessarily form over the open ocean. Nor’easters are supposed to require the support of the jet stream to form, so their prevalence is closely related to season al changes in the position and the strength of the jet. Correlation of data for the past 50 yrs suggest that the annual frequency of the strongest nor’easter is positively correlated with southerly jet-stream position over the eastern US. Wind’s speed, its duration and the distance are the three factors affecting the growth of waves. With an increase in any of these factors, the height of the storm surge increases. October to April is the primary nor’easter season with February being the most active month. Some of the features of nor’easters which can be summarized based on recent studies are; Because of their diffuse structure, they are difficult to characterize, categorize and predict. Having not able to establish a direct relationship between a nor’easter’s wind speed and its destructive power has made the task of classification and comparison of these storms more difficult. Researchers assert that one possible cause for the

The Career Of Katherine Dunham Theatre Essay

The Career Of Katherine Dunham Theatre Essay Katherine Dunham modern dancer and choreographer, born in Glen Ellyn, Illinois United States of America, she were completed her study at the Chicago University and went on to earn a higher degree in anthropology. According to Darlene, (2006) turn to the side of dance she began her first school in Chicago in 1931, when she becoming dance director for the works progress administrations project of Chicago theatre. A flashy performer, she was best known for her choreography in such musicals as Cabin in the sky 1940, and for action pictures, notably Stormy Weather 1943. According to Barbara, (2000) Dunham studied abut the dance forms in the Caribbean, especially Haiti where she lived for many years, and is credited with bringing Caribbean and African determines to a European dominated dance world. Her company traveled globally in the 1940s-60s, and she consistently denied performing at segregated venues. According to Joyce, (2002) in 1967 she founded the Performing Arts Training Center fo r inter-city younger in East St Louis, IL, and in 1992 went on a 47-day appetite strike to protestation in resistance to the American banishment of Haitian refugees. Her honours incorporated the Presidential Medal of the Arts (1989) and the Albert Schweitzer Prize. Introduction Dunham is perhaps most well known, however, for her unique blending of anthropology and dance. According to Jessie, (2002) Dunham challenged mainstream academic circles by using her anthropology not only for articles and books, but also as a catalyst for her own artistic dance productions, which heavily drew on the dance forms and cultural rituals she witnessed and documented through total immersion in the cultures she observed. Dunham traveled the world with these productions, bringing African culture, through movements, rhythms and sounds, to the worlds consciousness. This hybrid of anthropology and dance later morphed into what is today known as the Dunham technique, a special type of dance training utilizing movements witnessed in her field work. According to Darlene, (2006) Dunham technique is today studied and practiced around the world. After Dunham retired from dancing, she moved to East St. Louis, a blighted, predominantly African-American city which she hoped to revitalize through establishing a vibrant cultural center. Dunham established there an interactive museum and a dance institute (which continues to teach her technique to students from around the world). Research objectives Dunham desired to experiences this academy the base of enough larger cultural institution that world bring the East St. Louis community with each other. Just as surely as Haiti is overcome through the character of vaudun the island possessed African American Katherine Dunham when she first went there in the year of 1936 for the purpose of study dance and ritual. According to Joyce, (2002) in her book, Dunham discloses how her anthropological research, her work in dance, and her fascination for the people and cults of Haiti worked their trance, catapulting her into experiences that she was often lucky to have had. According to Richard and Joe, (2008) Dunham explain how the island came to be possessed by the deities of voodoo and other African religions, as well as by the deep class distributions, particularly within mulattos and blacks, and the political strife remain enough in evidence at present. Full of flare and suspense, Island Possessed is also a pioneering work in the anthropol ogy of dance and a captivating document on Haitian beliefs and politics. Discussion The book Island Possessed,  details Ms. Dunhams experiences and sentiments of her adopted homeland, from the year 1936 to the late 1960s, and even describes her final initiation into the Vaudoun (Voodoo) religion of the half-island. According to Patrick, (2006) she speaks Haitian Creole fluently, she has owned a beautiful 18th century Haitian estate, Habitation LeClerc for decades, and, in the early 1990s, she put her life on the line and went on an extended hunger strike, when President Aristide was overthrown and forced to leave the country. According to Jane, (2007) Ms. Dunham also adopted a young girl from the French West Indies island of Martinique, back in the 1950s, as further demonstration of her love and commitment to the Diaspora. Introduced to Theater One of those baby-sitters, Clara Dunham, had come to Chicago with her daughter, Irene, hoping to break into show business. They and other amateur performers began rehearsing a musical/theatrical program in the basement of their apartment building, and Dunham would watch. Although the program wasnt a success, it provided Dunham with her first taste of show business. According to Darlene, (2006) Dunham and her brother were very fond of their Aunt Lulu. However, because she was experiencing financial difficulties, a judge granted temporary custody of the children to their half-sister Fanny June Weir, and ordered that the children be returned to their father as soon as he could prove that he could take care of them. Katherine Dunham Katherine Dunham was born June 22, 1909, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, in DuPage County, and died May 21, 2006 in New York City. Although one of the most important artists (and scholars) of her time, she remains largely unknown outside Dance and African-American studies. According to Darlene, (2006) Sara E. Johnson supposed that the breadth of Dunhams accomplishments is perhaps one explanation for the underappreciation of her work. Dunham worked so hard on so many different things that she remains hard to classify. She almost single-handedly created a genuine artistic and cultural appreciation for the unique aspects of African dance, especially as manifested in African diaspora cultures. According to Joyce, (2002) Dunham was also a serious anthropologist that began her career with ground-breaking studies carried out in Jamaica and Haiti as a student at the University of Chicago. Finally, she was a tireless advocate, who led to a brief arrest during race riots in East St. Louis and a 47 da y hunger-strike carried out at the age of 82 against US discrimination against Haitian refugees. Dunhams Artistic Academic Background This process was, in fact, a remaking of memory through performance. As Hamera reinforces, the practice of he social work of aesthetics is especially communal and corporeal, and where corporeality and sociality are remade as surely as formal event is produced. According to Jessie, (2002) in this sense, Afro-Caribbean culture and sociality voyaged across the Atlantic to the rest of the Americas, Europe, and Asian-wherever the Katherine Dunham Dance Company performed. According to Ruth, (2009) Dunhams Research-to-Performance Method Armed with these researched dances of the black Atlantic and an understanding of their Functional social contexts, Dunhams dance theater became a prime laboratory where Afro- Caribbean cultures could migrate through the performance of her choreography and through the personalities of her individual dancers in the act of performing the Dunham oeuvre. Uncovering Danced Memory Katherine Dunhams earliest written ethnography provides ample proof of her prescience as a fieldworker and scholar in uncovering an ancient African dance surviving in the Caribbean on the island of Jamaica. According to Joyce, (2002) in her fieldwork represented in Journey to Accompong, she utilized a functionalist theoretical frame by recording the various social institutions in relationship to each other in the village of Accompong. Kinship, ownership patterns, religion, work group organizations, clothing and material culture, age, gender (unusual for her time), and social interaction were the sequential subject matters of her chapters. Yet, as she reveals, she had come there to study and take part in the dances. According to Naima, (2001) Accompong was and is one of the maroon villages in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, having been established by run-a-away slaves from the Spanish as early as 1650 and later the English rulers in the 1690s of these maroons the Coromantees, an Akan g roup from the West African Gold Coast made up the largest ethnic group. They fought many battles with the British and were finally given their independence by England in a treaty signed in 1738. Thus, as a nation within a nation, the maroons of the cockpit region of the Blue Mountains had sufficiently maintained their ways of life for two centuries by the time that Katherine Dunham had arrived to study their dances and ways of life. Enslavement and colonialism had taken its toll even among those so long separated from European influence. But Dunham was determined to unearth a vital expressive part of their successful victory and independence against the British. She would soon discover this same phenomenon among the petwo dances among the Vodou practitioners in Haiti against their French captors. Through her intense engagement of the participatory insider role with the dancing maroons, she gained historical insights that were embedded within the dancing act itself: According to Richard and Joe, (2008) The war dances are danced by men and women. Their songs are in lusty Koromantee, and from somewhere a woman has procured a rattle and shakes this in accompaniment to Ba Weeyums. Some of the men wave sticks in the air, and the women tear off their handkerchiefs and wave them on high as they dance. According to Patrick, (2006) few of these turns, and we are separated in a melee of leaping, shouting warriors; a moment later we are bush fighting, crouching down and advancing in line to attack an imaginary enemy with many feints, swerves and much pantomime. At one stage of the dance Miss May and I are face to face, she no longer is a duppy, but a maroon woman of old days, working the men up to a pitch where they will descend into the cockpit and exterminate one of his majestys red-coated platoons. Afro -Jamaican dances, such as the Coromantee war dance, represent in a direct way the concept of dance itself as having rhetorical voice. As Judith Hamera explains, performance, including dance, is enmeshed in language, in reading, writing, rhetoric, and in voice. Dunham implicitly understood the movement rhetoric of the Coromantee dance and the relationship between its performance and the writing of her ethnographic experience in Jamaica. According to Richard and Joe, (2008) Dunhams willingness to engage the maroon dances on the cultures own terms, treating dance as another social system, allowed her a unique view into the role of the nearly forgotten Koromantee dance as a part of the maroons hard won battle for independence from the British. According to Joyce, (2002) this is a prime example of dances unique rhetorical voice-what dance anthropologist Yvonne Daniel calls embodied knowledge: Community members are in an open classroom with dance and music behavior. These sorts of knowledges are on display as community instruction for social cohesion and cosmic balance, Participants learn from observation, witnessing, modeling and active participation. According to Ira and Faye, (2009) Dunhams implicit understanding of this embodied knowledge established her philosophical foundation that would serve her use of dance and the body, according to Clark, as a repository of memory. Moreover, she trusted her choreographic acumen to represent her understanding of her research, which in the Jamaican case, had been unearthed and cajoled from the continuing, yet reluctant, milieux de mà ©moire lingering in Accompong. According to Richard and Joe, (2008) in her active participation, Dunham was, thus, one of the first to demonstrate the continuity of specific West African dances that served enslaved Africans with similar purposes in the colonial New World. It is significant that this discovery was cognized in the act of dancing, through corporeal immersion in the communal dances of the people. We realize from todays contemporary scholarship the importance of Dunhams early trans-Atlantic performance connections. According to Joyce, (2002) Africanist anthropologist Margaret Drewal revealed in the 1990s that African-based performance. Primary site for the production of knowledge, where philosophy is enacted, and where multiple and often simultaneous discourses are employed. As I have said elsewhere, dance, for African peoples, whether on the continent or in the diaspora, is a means of enacting immediate social context, history, and indeed philosophical worldview. Dunham understood these multiple strat egies embedded within Africanist performance, such as in her treasured Koromantee war dance. Honouring Katherine Dunham as the progenitor of African American dance would be misleading and disrespect the legacy of other African Americans who contributed their own particular ways of knowing movement. According to Jane, (2007) it introduced Bannerman to Pearl Primus. Both Dunham and Primus were pioneering giants in the American dance pantheon with different ways of making dance. Since the programme was ultimately going to comment on the dance practices of African Americans, these two pioneers had to be discussed. According to Ruth, (2009) collecting life stories and reflections on movement and descriptions of individual interactions with works of Dunham and Primus would speak of the diversity that is American dance making than the celebration of any one artist. Dunhams Staged Caribbean Dances of the Black Atlantic Dunham perceived her form of dance-theater as intercultural communication. For example, when international audiences viewed her 1948 ballet Naningo, she was allowing non-Cubans to interact with one of the ritualized ways in which male Afro-Cubans had retained their cosmological secret rituals perpetuated from the Ejagham people of todays Cross-River area of Nigeria. According to Jessie, (2002) Naningo, as an all-male ballet was a fusion of balletic athleticism, Dunham technique (particularly rhythmic torso isolations and the use of the pelvis as the source for extending the legs), and a recontextualization of the movements of the Cuban male secret society called Abakua. Through program notes, the exuberant virtuosity of the dance, and the cryptic Abakua symbolic movements, she transported European audiences to secret enclaves in Cuba that only initiated Abakua members could have previously viewed. She also cast one of her Cuban dancers in the role of a traditional Abakua figure that drums upstage center throughout the entire ballet, as an authentic gaze watching over her appropriated fusion style. According to Barbara, (2000) as the curtain closes, after all the Dunham technique dancers have left, the ballet ends with that figure moving across the stage in enigmatic movement phrases representative of the symbolic language of the Abakua Cuban male society. Secret society rituals, restaged in a secular theatrical setting is not a substitute for being there, but it does transmit an underlying social strategy of male survivors of the Atlantic slave trade, as well as a vision of sacred danced symbolism in that survival strategy. According to Ruth, (2009) Dunham company performed Naningo for people internationally who had no idea that the Abakua society even existed. In the adept hands of knowledgeable researchers like Katherine Dunham, performance becomes another mode of bridging t he cultural gaps that make cross-cultural understanding such a difficult goal to reach. Conclusion In conclusion, life of the Dunham and career are miraculous, and although she was not alone, Dunham is perhaps the best known and most influential pioneer of black dance. She wanted to make a point that African-American and African-Caribbean styles are related and powerful components of dance in America. Performed imagined migration is underpinned by her specific artistic intent and projected audience reception. There are many ways to present dance on radio but a visual image is preferable if the discussion concerns elements of a form. The programme makers can then include descriptions of how the shaping of arms and legs display rhythm or portray expression and how contours of the torso fulfill the dancers intended personification. Radio though is an excellent tool to stir the minds eye especially if the words relate life stories and movement experiences in a descriptive way. Bannerman contacted me to research and be the presenter for the 45-minute programme You Dance Because You Hav e To aired on 21 September 2003. Interested in emerging American dance forms producer, Richard Bannerman submitted a proposal to BBC Radio 3 to make a documentary on Katherine Dunham. Bannerman knew Radio 3 wanted to explore new territories in dance and Katherine Dunhams story was relatively unknown in Britain. Bannerman also found the repertory of The Alvin Ailey Dance Company inspiring and speculated that Katherine Dunhams life would be a good starting point to discuss in a general way, the dance practices of African Americans. In our preliminary meeting it became clear to me that our programme had to respect the diversity of African American practices.