Stereotypes Exist Because They Are Grounded in Truth

Stereotypes Exist Because They Are Grounded In Truth Has anyone ever said that ‘unicorns exist in real life and that they have seen them’? Or that they ‘felt hot while it was snowing’? Or that ‘cats can bark like dogs’? Clearly there is no truth to these statements. This is simply because unicorns do not exist in real life, you cannot feel hot if it is snowing, and that cats simply cannot bark like dogs. Life cannot exist without water, what goes up must come down, and similarly any statement which is accepted by thousands of other people must have some hint of truth to it.As Kanazawa says â€Å"Many stereotypes are empirical generalizations with a statistical basis and thus on average tends to be true. If they are not true, they would not be stereotypes† (â€Å"The Scientific Fundamentalist†). Although some people argue that stereotypes are just over generalizations, and that people use them to perceive the stereotyped groups†™ characteristics, most stereotypes are true as what is generally accepted in society must be somehow grounded in reality. Moreover, many stereotypes have been proven by science, and conducted psychological studies such as stereotype threat.People who believe that stereotypes are false, argue that stereotypes are just over generalizations. They argue that stereotypes represent just a small minority of the group being stereotyped against. They give the example of the stereotype that â€Å"all blondes are dumb. † And state that while some blondes may be dumb, not all of them are, in fact many are quite smart. They say that one's hair color has no effect on ones intellectual capability. While this may be true for some of the stereotypes, many of the stereotypes actually represent the majority of the group being stereotyped.For example the stereotype that ‘college educated people have bigger incomes than those who have only completed high school’ is a valid assessm ent. Yes, this might be true in some cases. But as proven by the â€Å"The College Payoff† a report published by the Georgetown University, while there might be a small handful of people who are only high school educated and who earn more than many of the college educated people, still most of the college educated people have a higher salary then high school educated people (Carnevale, Rose, and cheah â€Å"the college payoff†).So although there may be some stereotypes that are false or depict over generalization, most of the stereotypes in fact are based on assessments and actions of the majority of the group being stereotyped. Furthermore, people who argue that stereotypes are false state that people continue to cling on to stereotypes because it is quick and comfortable. It allows people to think they are gathering information about other people, without having to stop and actually spend time understanding the person or groups true personality. They claim that becau se of this many of the people or groups are misunderstood.However, what these people do not realize is that many of these stereotypes quite rightly show some of the traits of the group or individual being stereotyped. An example is the stereotype, ‘Jews are adept money handlers'. The fact is that this stereotype is true to quite a great extent. According to ‘The Weakonomics’, â€Å"you see an overwhelming representation of Jewish people within industries that revolve around the exchange of money†¦ Not only have they dominated finance†¦ † (â€Å"Why Do We Associate Jews with Money? †). While some of the Jews are either lawyers or doctors, most of them are in a field related to finance such as banking.In fact most of the people in top positions related to finance are Jews like the treasurer of the United States, and the Secretary of the Treasury. In fact most of the people running the American Treasury happen to be Jewish. Another example is the stereotype that Asians are smart and studious. Some people say Asians are smart because they are taught differently in their home country, others claim that Asians are smart because they are very studious, and still others say that Asians are studious because they feel academically at a loss when they come to foreign places to study and to compensate study harder.Whatever may be the reason, the truth remains that Asians are smarter and more studious than most of people. Thus, while some stereotypes might contain some discrepancies, most of the stereotypes show the truth about the group being stereotyped. Stereotypes do not just come out of thin air; they were based on actual observations of people or their actions. An event must have occurred to have that formed these stereotypes.For example according to Meltzoff, Cvencek and Greenwald, the stereotype that boys are better in math then girls forms almost as early as second grade when boys start to associate with math and start do ing better than girls in the subject (766-799). In fact all of the stereotypes have evolved from an origin. The stereotype that ‘blacks are good at sports’ came about because in almost every sport there is a black athlete who dominates the others. As sports sociologist Ben Carrington points out, at the beginning of the 20th century, whites were considered to be superior to blacks intellectually, aesthetically and even physically.However by the 1930s, this logic began to change as blacks started to be viewed as physically superior to whites in matters related to sports (Interview of Carrington, University of Texas). Another example is the stereotype that ‘Italian men are very romantic’. This stereotype exists because of the Italians' constant flirting with girls and their traditions which involve kissing a girl on her hand as a greeting. As Megalio says, Italian men â€Å"tell you that you're beautiful and really mean it, feed you to show their affection, c ry rarely but genuinely and work hard in honor of the woman they love† (â€Å"Why Women Can't Get Enough of Them†).Another example is the stereotype that ‘Italian men have an unhealthy obsession with their mothers. ‘ According to Pike and Allen; married or not, one in three Italian men sees his mother every day (The Guardian). Thus, stereotypes are formed based on history and statistics, but in order to survive they must be regularly reinforced. While there might be some stereotypes that do not apply to the majority of the group being stereotyped against, or are exaggerated truths, many of the stereotypes have in fact been proven by science.For example, according to Susan, quite a lot of gender stereotypes have been proven to be true by science (â€Å"Gender Stereotypes That Science Says Are True†). These stereotypes include ‘Women Love to Talk’ and ‘men are comparatively color blind’. As per the stereotype women love to talk , Susan talks about how the areas of the brain responsible for language are larger in women than men, and how the female brain processes language in both hemispheres of the brain (â€Å"Gender Stereotypes That Science Says Are True†).Moreover, regarding the stereotype ‘men are comparatively color blind', Susan talks about how the gene for seeing red is carried by the X-chromosome, and men have one X-chromosome while women have two, which puts men at a disadvantage at seeing the color spectrum (â€Å"Gender Stereotypes That Science Says Are True†). Another example is the stereotype that black people can't swim. In the first of its kind survey by USA swimming, it found that nearly 60% of black children have not been given aquatic training. (Quoted. in msnbc).Therefore, as we can see from the examples given, many stereotypes have actually been proven by science to be true and are hence more than just exaggerated truths. Lastly, another way in which stereotypes are t rue is the fact that they actually reinforce stereotypical behavior. This phenomenon is known as stereotype threat, whereby an individual is constantly exposed to negative images of his/her racial or ethnic group, this person starts to accept the same social and personal characteristics of these images as self characteristic.In fact psychologists, Steve and Aronson, conducted several experiments in which they proved that the phenomenon of stereotype threat does exist. When female participants were primed before a test of not being as smart as their male counterparts, their scores were significantly lower as compared to when the women were led to believe the tests did not reflect these stereotypes(â€Å"A threat in the air† 613-629). The same experiment was run again using African-Americans and Americans with the same results (â€Å"Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance† 797-811). Thus proving that the person acts like the way he/she was stereotyped to be.Stereotypes might be flattering or insulting. They might have positive effects or negative ones. But at the end of the day the fact remains that most of the stereotypes are true because they are grounded in actual observations of people, they have been proven by science, and because of the concept of stereotype threat. As David Cronenberg says â€Å"All stereotypes turn out to be true. This is a horrifying thing about life. All those things you fought against as a youth: you begin to realize they're stereotypes because they're true. † Therefore, just as smoke cannot exist without fire, stereotypes cannot exist without truth.Works Cited Kanazawa, Satoshi. â€Å"The Scientific Fundamentalist. † Psychology Today. 24 April 2008. Web. 12th March 2012 ;http://www. psychologytoday. com/blog/the-scientific-fundamentalist/200804/all-stereotypes-are-true-except-i-what-are-stereotypes;. Carnevale, Anthony P.. Rose, Stephen J.. Cheah, Ban. â€Å"The College Payoff†. Geo rgetown University Center for Education and the Workforce. 5th August 2011. Print. ; http://cew. georgetown. edu/collegepayoff/; â€Å"Why Do We Associate Jews With Money? † The Weakonomics. 27th July 2009. Web. 12th march 2012 ; http://weakonomics. om/2009/07/27/why-do-we-associate-jews-with-money/ ; Cvencek, D. , Meltzoff, A. N. and Greenwald, A. G. (2011), â€Å"Math–Gender Stereotypes in Elementary School Children Child Development†, 82: 766–779. ;http://onlinelibrary. wiley. com/doi/10. 1111/j. 1467-8624. 2010. 01529. x/abstract; Blacks, Sports and Lingering Racial Stereotypes: A Q;A with Sports Sociologist Ben Carrington. Interview by University of Texas. 25th August 2010. Web. 12th march 2012. ;http://www. utexas. edu/opa/blogs/shelflife/2010/08/25/blacks-sports-and-lingering-racial-stereotypes-a-qa-with-sports-sociologist-ben-carrington/;Meglio, Francesca Di, â€Å"Italian Men: Why Women Can't Get Enough of Them†?. Our Paesani. Web. 12th ma rch 2012. Pike, Rebecca; Allen, Carmel. â€Å"Mamma mia†. The Guardian. 14th May 2002. Web. 12th March 2012. < http://www. guardian. co. uk/world/2002/may/14/gender. uk> H. Susan. â€Å"6 Absurd Gender Stereotypes (That Science Says Are True)†. 10th May 2010. Web. 12th March 2012. â€Å"Nearly 60 percent of black children can't swim†.Associated Press. Msnbc. 5th January 2008. Web. March 12th 2012. ;http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/24411271/ns/health-childrens_health/t/nearly-percent-black-children-cant-swim/#. T2CsyBHxrNl; Steele, C. M. â€Å"A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance†. American Psychologist. 1997. Print. 52, 613-629. Steele, C. M. , and Aronson, J. â€Å"Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African-Americans†. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1995. Print. 69, 797-811. Cronenberg, David. Brainy Quote. Web.

Allusions in Brave New World

Henry Ford served as the inventor for the assembly line. He believed that the idea of independently manufacturing products was too inefficient and cultivated the idea to move the product instead of the people building it. Ford also pioneered technological research in developing products. Ford served as the turning point for technology; introducing and utilizing break-through ideas. Not only did he change how automobiles were manufactured, he changed the way people thought about technology. He made new technologies readily accessible and set the standard for the 20th century.In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Huxley makes Ford the center-point for why the new society was created, the old one was un-happy and inefficient. Replacing God with Ford, Brave New World, showcases how Ford’s ideas could have been implemented. 2. Vladimir Lenin was the first person to make a country completely communist. With his uniting of the Soviet Union, Lenin integrated his communist ideolog ies into its member countries. Lenin derives many of his beliefs from his time when he was a member of the Bolshevik faction. This is where he accumulated Marxism fundamentals. Unlike in Brave New World, Lenin believed in a single class.Brave New World, invasions a perfect society with multiple social classes. In these classes, all of their members are perfectly fit with where they stand in society. There is neither backlash nor hatred among the population against the other classes. Lenin, however, believes that having different classes arouses hatred amongst a society’s citizens. 3. Thomas Malthus was an English economist that is much acclaimed for inventing modern-day rent as well as sparking awareness of population growth. The father of Malthusianism, he believed that economic factors were to be held above all else in a society.He also believed that England’s out-of-control population growth would eventually hurt the economy. He believed that the government should p lay a role in determining population growth. He was also, however, a firm believer in natural selection. Brave New World follows many of Malthus’ ideas. The primary being his belief of population growth control. Huxley implements this by having the government control all factors of the population and essentially removes bad-traits through natural selection. The society only produces people that have few DNA imperfections, allowing them to be the strongest.This essentially removes natural selection as a problem for the society. 4. Thomas Hunt Morgan was an evolutionary geneticist. He is praised with having found that genes are carried on chromosomes. Morgan also found the significance of sex-linked traits and was able to prove Darwin’s sex determination theory incorrect. Brave New World demonstrates Morgan’s genetic heredity theories by utilizing genetics to artificially create people. 5. Lewis Henry Morgan was an acclaimed anthropologist. He theorized that socie ty in general is much greater than the need for a family.He stressed that kinship must be attained by all of the societies members. He also believed that people must sense belongingness within a group in order to feel happy. Brave New World demonstrates Morgan’s fundamentals by embracing the need to belong, in order to feel happy. Citizens in Brave New World are made to feel happy by having a sense of belongingness within their own social class. They put down other social groups and only feel good about theirs. Each member is happy where he or she is in the class system. 6. Benito Mussolini was an Italian fascist dictator. Mussolini believed heavily in the national or group based identity.He wanted his citizens to act as one, having extreme pride for their nation and hiding their personal identities. He demanded that foreign influences be eradicated. Brave New World embraces Mussolini’s ideas by having its citizens share a mass-identity within their class. Individual i dentity differences are put aside and people only classify others past upon their class. 7. Herbert Hoover, a former U. S. president, believed that efficiency was the solid backbone of an economy. He theorized that the U. S. economy was heavily inefficient and as a result was beginning to slow down.He instituted many new government policies that were built upon this idea. Brave New World demonstrates this efficiency policy into the society’s main economy. The government controls most enterprises and believes that inefficiencies would slow down the economy. Automation and technology are utilized whenever possible. 8. Leon Trotsky was a Russian communist leader in the early 20th century. His beliefs, called Trotskyism, stated that the working class should have supreme power in government control. Brave New World implements Trotsky’s ideas through social classification with a cast system.Although there is a working class and wealthy class, the majority are working class m embers. Socialism is also used throughout Brave New World by the distribution of wealth and control. 9. Charles Darwin was the father of evolution and natural selection. Darwin brought about the idea of genetic evolution by theorizing that only the strongest in a population will survive and be able to carry on their genes. Brave New World takes on these ideas by utilizing genetic engineering to ensure that the society members have the best genes and have few DNA imperfections.This ensures that the members of a class will not be able to become stronger than the high class. It also ensures a broad single identity amongst a class’s members. 10. Napoleon Bonaparte was a military ruler and dictator of France and eventually most of Europe. Bonaparte used many tactics in order to control his population. He introduced Napoleonic code, which stated that men were superior and outlined a new French government. He also heavily utilized propaganda by controlling the press and restricting access to historic publications. Brave New World shares many parallels with Bonaparte.The government uses censorship in order to control public opinion. They ban texts such as Shakespeare in order to alleviate artistic interpretations and opinions. 11. Hermann von Helmholtz was a German physicist that introduced the conservation of energy and electrodynamics. Helmholtz believed that technological innovation within science was lacking but the information in order to so was. He presented that technology could be used to grow society and make it more efficient. Brave New World takes some of Helmholtz’s ideas about technological innovation and efficiency. The society pushes itself to keep innovating.The society also embraces science as a way of life through shared concepts such as thermodynamics. 12. John B. Watson was a psychologist of the behaviorism philosophy of psychology. Watson regarding everything that humans do, such as thinking, acting, or sensing, can be regarded as be haviors. These behaviors can be altered through classical or operant conditioning. Brave New World uses these ideals in order to shape how the society members think and act. Classical conditioning is used in order to change people’s behaviors. These are as simple as thinking a pant color looks good or bad. 13. Karl Marx was a German communist philosopher.He presented his ideas through Marxism, a sub-unit of communism. Working with Friedrich Engels, he believed that capitalism was a corrupt economic policy, stating that it would eventually lead to socialism, followed by communism. Brave New World encompasses his ideas by separating classes but having each class feel good about itself. Alphas look down upon epsilons, but epsilons also look down upon the alphas, instead of having jealousy. Brave New World shares the ideas of Marx but does everything possible in order to avoid them. 14. Friedrich Engels was an industrialist and co-founder of Marxism.Engels believed in a single wo rking class with quality. Brave New World takes Engels ideas and tries to do everything possible in order to avoid a Marxist based situation. Although there are different classes, they all share similar working types and although there are higher classes, there is not a classic cast system of the haves and have-nots. 15. Jean Jacques Rousseau’s Noble Savage depicts the idea that society corrupts the good natural state of a person. Brave New World shows the noble savage as John. Not correctly anticipating the new society makes him loose his values.It shows how society changes a person’s personality in order to fit within the society. 16. The quote â€Å"God’s in his heaven – all’s right with the world† in the poem Pippa Passes is modified in Brave New World. The words God and heaven and substituted by Ford and flivver respectively. Ford is used instead of God, as modern-day religion does not exist within the new society. Ford is referred to a s the cultivator of the society. Flivver is used instead of heaven as flivver referrers to something unsatisfactory or low in quality. Flivver is also used to describe old cars, notable since Ford created the modern automobile.When stating that Ford is in his flivver, this indicates that Ford has changes the world forever. Basically stating that Ford is happy where he is, the state of flivver. 17. Shakespeare’s The Tempest is used within Brave New World as an ironic symbol for the new society. When John of Brave New World and Miranda of The Tempest say â€Å"O, Brave New World†, they do not what the new society is like. They both incorrectly mistake the new world as perfect with no imperfections. Unlike Amanda, John eventually realizes the imperfections of the new world. Amanda never finds out the truth. 18. Soma is an ancient Indian herb drink.It was used to give energy to the consumer and is considered a spiritual drink. Brave New World citizens consume soma in order to relax anxiety and stress. 19. Mustafa Kemel Ataturk was the first ruler of modern-day Turkey following its independence from the Ottoman Empire. Kemel was a liberal-progressive who introduced a new Turkish alphabet and introduced many reforms under Kemalism. These included the removal of religious law and introduction of women’s rights. Brave New World encompasses several of Kemel’s beliefs such as the belief of socialism and government-controlled entities.

Destination Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Destination Management - Essay Example The London underground is identified as the oldest underground railway existing throughout the world. London can be said to be in the consolidation of destination development. As mentioned it is rich in both natural and artificial attraction's sites. Besides that it has vigorous tourism advertisements and promotion activities that are part of destination management efforts. For instance, visitlondon.com outlines the lined-up activities' events within London that appeals to people around the world. Visitors continued to flock to London, and it is said to attract 27 million visitors who stay overnight annually (Beesley-De, 2013). 2. Approach to destination management Basically, destination management involves three main phases, including development planning, marketing and management. Development planning involves assessing the potential of the destination, consultation and investment. Marketing involves research, target market, mix and planning, and visits and yield. Management involv es protecting resources, quality assurance and sustainable growth. Achieving these means competitive tourism to a destination. However, it must be underscored that destinations are dynamic and always evolving (Swrabook, 1999). This means that London is a continuously evolving destination that will have something new or rebrand itself to appeal to as many visitors as possible. As indicated above London boasts of some of the most visited tourism sites around the world. Besides it has the necessary facilities and amenities that support tourism. However, this success and sustainability of the same can only be achieved through consolidated efforts. There is a team responsible for development planning, marketing and management of London as a destination of tourism. This team comprises of appointees from the government of London and stakeholders in the tourism sector. This team is charged with identify what London can offer both naturally and artificially. The work of this team can be easi ly seen from the official visitor's guide identified as visitlondon.com. Here a visitor can discover London, know things to do, where they can stay, travel information and special offers. This makes London one of the most organized tourism destinations that receives a high number of visitors in Europe and worldwide. 3. System of governance London is home for two levels of government the local and national government. However, it is the local government that is responsible for administration. The local government administration is divided into two tiers-a local tier and a citywide, strategic tier. The great London Authority (GLA) coordinated the citywide administration whereas 33 smaller authorities coordinate local administration. The GLA is made up of two elected arms of government the Mayor, who occupies an executive office and London assembly check mayor’s decisions and can reject or accept the mayor’s proposals annually (Beesley-De, 2013). The command market system operates in London. The government owns and operates a significant portion of the factors of production. Infrastructure, including roads, airports, seaports and the underground railway system are owned and controlled by the government. At the same time, major tourism attraction sites as identified above are

Health as an Expanding Consciousness Research Paper

Health as an Expanding Consciousness - Research Paper Example She received a Master’s degree in Medical-Surgical Nursing and Teaching in 1964 at the University of California. In 1971, she was awarded a Doctorate of Nursing Science and Rehabilitation at New York University (Newman, 1994). She completed her graduate studies at New York University from 1971 to 1976. During this time, she worked and taught alongside nursing theorist Martha Rodgers. In 1977, she was the professor in charge of graduate nursing studies at Pennsylvania State. In 1984, she was a nurse theorist at the University of Minnesota and later served as the Director of Nursing at the clinical research center at the University of Tennessee. Newman is one of the successful female nursing scholars and theorists in the 21st century. She has taught and led research activities in several institutions. Her education achievements serve as a challenge to nursing students in the university. The purpose of the theory is to present the relationship between individual consciousness and health conditions. Concepts †¢ Expanding Consciousness †¢ Consciousness †¢ Movement †¢ Time †¢ Space †¢ Pattern †¢ Pattern recognition †¢ Transformation Definition of concepts a. Consciousness is the information capacity of the system and its ability to interact with the environment. Consciousness does not cover only the cognitive and affective awareness but includes the interconnectedness of the living system (Endo, 2004). Expanding consciousness is becoming aware of oneself, finding meaning in life, and reaching new levels of connectedness with other populace and the globe. Pattern is information that presents the whole, creates understanding of the meaning of the whole, and relationships at once. Coming in touch with one’s person helps become aware of the other persons pattern, which is called pattern recognition. Transformation is a change that occurs at once rather than gradually in a linear fashion. Movement is a reflection of consciousness and person conveys self awareness through the movement from posture, language, and body (Newman, 1994). Time is a function of movement and a measurement of consciousness that centers primarily on the percei ved duration. . Space is the three-dimensional expanse where all matter exists. Rationale Statements and Propositions Some individuals suffer from chronic diseases and other disabilities that cannot be separated from their health issues. Nurses view such individuals as those faced with uncertainty, debilitation, loss, and death in the long run (Picard, Jones and Newman, 2005). Structure Newman begins by stating and defining concepts used in the theory. She then states the propositions and assumptions made in the theory. The paradigm shift is them stated by explaining the shift from instrumental view to relational view. The meta-paradigm shows the relationship between the person, environment, health, and nursing. The theory assumes that: Health encompasses conditions that are referred to as illness or pathology. Pathological conditions can act as a manifestation of the total pattern of the person. The pattern that manifests itself as pathology exists prior to structural or functional changes. Removal of the pathology will not change the pattern of the individual. If the pattern of an individual can only be manifested by becoming ill, then that is the health of that particular individual. Health is an expansion of consciousness. Theory critique Origin and Context Newman conceived the idea of health as expanding consciousness when caring for her who has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Newman, 1995). Both Newman and her mother experienced alterations in movement, time, space, and consciousness. They also

Labeling theorists Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Labeling theorists - Research Paper Example The use of word such as criminal, thief or felon influences deviant behavior of individuals an aspect that result to increasing cases of crimes in the society. Based on its argument that the criminal justice system is limited in its effort to restrain unlawful conduct, the labeling theory has been criticized for its failure to explain serious offences that occur in the society. Some individuals indicate that by terming other people as criminals is not appropriate and the labeling theorists should use specific words such as rapists, murderer or child abuser (Mann et al, 1999). On its part, the cultural deviance theory indicates that the cause of criminal behaviors among the lower class is due to conformity to the prevailing cultural norms. On their part, the individuals in the working class commit criminal activities in their efforts to respond to cultural norms within their own class. Apart from the labeling theory and cultural deviance theory, this paper seeks to discuss another the ory than tends to avoid stereotyping individuals in the criminal justice system. Strain theory on its part indicates that a crime is a function of the conflict between the objectives that are focused by individuals and the strategies they can adopt to legally achieve them. The theory indicates that ones class plays a major role in obtaining their goals which are the same for all people. As the result, individuals at the lower class, feel anger, resentment and experience frustration an aspect referred to as strain (Piquero and Miriam, 2000). Strain can either be structural or individual. Structural strain indicates the process within the society that affect the way one sees his or her wants. For example lack of adequate regulations or social structures may result to change of ones perceptions. On the other hand, individual strains entail the pains and frictions that are experienced by individuals in their efforts to look for ways to satisfy them. Once the lower class members

Vodafone and the Use of Internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Vodafone and the Use of Internet - Essay Example As it operates in the telecommunication sector, it has optimal internet applications and those applications heighten its power, even while nullifying the threats. It uses internet not only for its operations but also as part of marketing tool, with its website being its main marketing tool. Vodafone UK’s Website is aptly designed providing detailed information about its products and services, but still more interactive can be incorporated. Its B2B model is working aptly benefiting both them and their partners. From ethical angle, Vodafone has included restrictions on adult content for children, so they do not become morally corrupt. Thus, Vodafone’s e-business initiatives through internet are working effectively, with need for only few optimization strategies. E-Business background Vodafone is the world’s largest firm in terms revenues earning more than 45 billion pounds and is the second-largest in terms of subscribers having close to 450 million subscribers as on December 2011. (Vitorovich 2012). In all those operations, internet technologies played and are playing optimal role in Vodafone. Vodafone’s major e-Business achievements include launching the first prepaid analogue package in the UK in 1996, acquiring the largest 3G license available in the UK by 2000 and launching their 3G service in 2004. (Further examples in Appendix A). In terms of services, Vodafone offers Mobile Broadband, Pay As You Go, etc. (Appendix B). As far as products are concerned, Vodafone do not build the phones paired with their service contracts, instead they collaborate with certain manufacturers to create Vodafone-branded phones. According to the Porter’s 5 Forces analysis (Complete analysis in Appendix C), the suppliers of Vodafone have less bargaining power due to the availability of similar handsets from many different manufacturers. On the other hand, the buyers have more bargaining power in relation to Vodafone because with strong alternati ves, they can switch to new networks without major financial burden. In addition, with internet offering the buyers the option to compare the various service providers or competitors and their services, buyers have sizable power. (Campbell 2007). There is a fairly low threat of new entrants thanks to the high costs and infrastructure including IT related ones required to compete with the big providers like Vodafone. (Thiele, Blakeway and Hosch 2010). There is a threat of substitutes in the form of mobile internet and the related services like Skype for phone calls, and other social networking options like Facebook, mails, etc., for other communications, but still there will be adequate space for Vodafone to operate. Vodafone faces high competitive rivalry from O2, 3, Orange, T Mobile, Virgin Mobile, Asda Mobile, etc. as they offer internet enabled services and products with good features and at competitive prices. E-Marketing analysis As part of e-marketing, Vodafone carry out optim al marketing strategies through various mediums particularly the internet. With internet as the ‘foundation’, Vodafone does e-marketing through its official websites, other Third Party websites in the form advertisements, press releases, etc., and also through social networking websites. Personalization: The Vodafone’s official website features all its products and services, as well as the benefits of using them, thereby providing the customers to personally choose what they

Customers' attitude towards online banking services in the UK Dissertation

Customers' attitude towards online banking services in the UK - Dissertation Example Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the factors that are responsible to make certain attitude of the consumers towards using internet banking services in the UK. This research considers two banking institutions: Lloyds Bank and Barclays Bank, and two non-banking financial institutions: Tesco and Virgin. All these institutes are UK based, and internet services provided by these institutes, studied to determine the attitude of the customers for their services. The approach selected to conduct this research is quantitative approach that is based on positivistic paradigm. The result revealed that the attitude of the customers of UK is positive towards the internet services provided by banking and non-banking institutions. ... ble 1: Frequency Tables – Barclays Bank 45 Table 2: Descriptive Statistics for Dependent Variable - Barclays Bank 47 Table 3: Descriptive Statistics for Independent Variables - Barclays Bank 49 Table 4: Frequency Tables – Lloyds Bank 511 Table 5: Descriptive Statistics for Dependent Variable - Lloyds Bank 52 Table 6: Descriptive Statistics for Independent Variables - Lloyds Bank 53 Table 7: Frequency Table - Tesco 55 Table 8: Descriptive Statistics for Dependent Variable - Tesco 57 Table 9: Descriptive Statistics for Independent Variables - Tesco 58 Table 10: Frequency Table - Virgin 60 Table 11: Descriptive Statistics for Dependent Variable - Virgin 60 Table 12: Descriptive Statistics for Independent Variables - Virgin 61 Table 13: Regression - Banking 64 Table 14: Regression – Non-Banking Financial Institutions 65 Table 15: Independent Samples Test 67 Chapter 1 - Introduction 1.1. Background In the retail banking services, online banking is relatively new phase and still many people are not properly aware of the offerings of online banking (Peevers, et al. 2011). There are different services that online banking offers to the customers so that they can perform their transactions and can request for the information of their accounts. This includes the â€Å"inquiry of balance, transfer of accounts, payment of bills, ATM card pin code†, and many other services that the banks are offering (Aladwani 2001). The successful key for developing economies is information, and most of the companies are thinking of switching their businesses from physical to online technology (Akinci et al., 2004). There are many factors responsible to influence the preference of the customers in terms of the online banking, and it is very important for the banks to understand these factors

Which of the following documents (Lee's Resolution, Voting Rights Act Essay

Which of the following documents (Lee's Resolution, Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Declaration of Independence) enforce Civil Rights and which enforce Civil Liberties - Essay Example Hence, the Lee’s resolution can be termed as an enforcer of Civil Liberties, because its objective was to provide the American Colonies independence from British Empire. African Americans in the South were not allowed to vote prior to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This act was a result of continuous public protests and dialogue from the Black community, who demanded political and civil equality in America. This is why it can be said that this act enforced civil rights because it â€Å"expanded voting rights for non-English speaking Americans† (Hines, "Forty-Seven Years After the Voter Rights Act, Blacks are Still Disenfranchised"). President Lyndon B. Johnson presented the Voting Rights Bill in March 1965, which was turned into a law on 6th August 1965. This was an official statement adopted by the Continental Congress on 4th July, 1776, in response to the Lee’s Resolution. With this document of independence, 13 American colonies were formally granted independence from the allegiance of British Empire and the tyrant government of King George III. It remains one of the most memorable and cherished moments in America’s political history, and 4th July is now celebrated as the Independence Day in USA. Its draft was composed by Thomas Jefferson. Therefore, this document could be referred to as an enforcer of civil liberties since it provided liberation to the American colonies fighting for independence from the British regime. Hines, Debbie. "Forty-Seven Years After the Voter Rights Act, Blacks are Still Disenfranchised." Legal Speaks. Vanstudios. 5 Aug. 2012. Web. 22 Sep. 2012.

Advantages and disadvantages of the film medium for Surrealism Essay

Advantages and disadvantages of the film medium for Surrealism - Essay Example The essay "Advantages and disadvantages of the film medium for Surrealism" discusses surrealism and the film medium. Looking at examples of surrealistic film work can provide a relational discussion of the Manifesto of Surrealism and the achievements of the artists who used film as a medium. Surrealism blossomed from the remnants of the Dada movement. Surrealism emerged to elevate objects into new imaginings of reality, recreating the world to express thoughts that were unfettered by reason and order, but free to be associated through related and unrelated imaginings. Politically, Surrealists were typically to the extreme left, embracing communism and anarchist principles in search of ways in which to liberate man from the chains of capitalistic points of view and to elevate the human spirit beyond the needs for material gain over others. If one clear message is to be gained from the overall movement and the visuals that were represented by its members, it might be said to say that à ¢â‚¬â„¢the world is not as it seems’. It is the common interpretation of the world that is challenged by the Surrealists. At a time when the entire world was struggling with the interpretation of how life should be viewed and lived, the Surrealists revealed that the perception of the world did not always reflect its reality. Therefore, to reflect reality was to, in truth, twist it until it revealed a deeper truth or an unimagined sense of how the world worked. In a work of surrealism real objects become pawns.

Racial Harmony throughout Hawaii Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Racial Harmony throughout Hawaii - Essay Example Harmony on other hand represents happiness or agreement and so it is important to note that the happiness of the USA is Hawaii. Having put that across, it is pertinent to heed that Hawaii has a role in representing â€Å"Harmony† in USA history and media, since â€Å"USA† means several states of America under the same rule and all of the states are governed by harmony. It is vital to note that the republic of North American represents fifty different states. Therefore, when the United States is discussed, the foremost thing to think of is the term harmony (Winters 23). The above is true because despite of the country being a comprise of several states, they live in peace and agreement. The above is only possible because of the respect the Americans have to the rule of the state, the culture, and laws followed by the definition of the American history. With the above point in mind, it is noted that harmony is a pertinent requirement to the states of America. It is intere sting to realize that Hawaii specifically represents harmony in itself among the states of America. In other words, Hawii is a model of harmony that aspire the rest of Americans. It follows that Hawaii is a link or rather a channel that enforces harmony to the states of America (Lee 14). The above is true according to the common sense that, for any given individuals of different caliber to stay together then it needs harmony. It applies to the state of Hawaii, with the relationship it has with the rest of the states of America. According to the experts, several reasons have been drawn to represent the harmonic symbol of Hawaii to the Americans. Here the first reason that makes Hawaii to have the harmonic symbol in the United States is that as fiftieth state, Hawaii joined the union on August 21 in the year 1956. It is also important to acknowledge the fact that USA respects the laws, culture and lands of the Hawaiians (Haas12). Further to the above, the whole country (united state) does not only agree but also accepts the Hawaii as one of the state member. The above evident the fact that though it is the last to be assimilated into the states of America, it has to some extent participated to the contribution of the harmonic environment to the American state. By harboring harmony and promoting peace to the whole nation. The idea that acknowledges Hawaii as a harmonic symbol of the United State is that Hawaii has a Pearl Harbor. Here, it is notable that the US Navy guards are situated in the Pearl Harbor of the Hawaii and they act as the state protectors (Liu 42). Fortunately, the guard does not protect only the states or Hawaii but the entire world, where they enforce peace and unity. Therefore, with the US Navy guard at the coast, they facilitate harmony in not only the Hawaii but also the entire world. The above is true since the guards maintain law and order and in so doing, they facilitate peace in the American country and the entire world. With its origin at the coast of Hawaii, it is enough reason to note that Hawaii is harmony motivator in the states of America. If that is not enough, the reason of tourism development to some extent acts as a symbol of Harmony. Here, tourism develops in Hawaii makes the whole of US people to think that Hawaii is a harmonic figure in the history of the US (winters, 57). It is evident that a tourist sector is always peaceful to attract the tourist. That is way; the tourist development in Hawaii gives it advantage of being a Harmonic

High School vs College Essay Example for Free

High School vs College Essay College and high school share the same common goal, which is teaching students to learn; however, in reality there are many differences between college and high school. In fact college and high school are two different experiences in the life of students. For example many students at colleges and University’s live on that campus or establishment, for as people in high school do not. Most students who graduate high school and go off to college choose to be there, students who are enrolled in high school have to be there, if the students in high school didn’t attend they more than likely won’t be attending college. Attendance is one of the biggest changes from making the change from high school to college, in high school kids were penalized for missing/skipping class. However in college the professor wouldn’t care if you came or not. That is a big part in the transition from grade school to the collegiate level. Most teachers in high school assign busy work that doesn’t count on your final grade. For as college you get assignments that really count towards your grade. You will very seldom get assignments that do not count like reading some pages in a text book etc. t is nice and saves a lot of time for your social life. There is also a lot of relearning in college classes, and classes can be much larger than those of high school. High school you will probably get fifteen to twenty students in each of your classes, but far as college it varies in numerous numbers you can get to fifty students in one classroom. Many people may not believe me when I tell them college students are muc h more mature than those of the high school level. People of high school always have a principle, teacher, or substitute in their ear telling them what to do, and what not to do most of the time. College is more of yourself doing what you need to do to succeed that’s why college students are more mature and organized. Not saying that every high school student’s not, but for the majority college students over rule in that area. In college you can make out your own schedule instead of waking up early every morning at 8: am or whatever time your high school classes started. It’s a big difference between high school and college. In high school you are expected to read short assignments that are then discussed, and often re-taught, in class. Far as college you are assigned substantial amounts of reading and writing which may not be directly addressed in a college class. You may study outside class as little as 0 to 2 hours a week in a high school class, and this may be mostly last-minute test preparation. College courses you need to study at least 2 to 3 hours outside of class for each hour in class to be prepared for test quizzes and exams. The transition in high school teachers and professors are also a big difference. Teachers of the high school level present material to help you understand the material in the textbook, Professors may not follow the textbook. Instead, to amplify the text, they may give illustrations, provide background information, or discuss research about the topic you are studying. Or they may expect you to relate the classes to the textbook readings. The changes from high school to college vary in many ways some good, and some bad depending on the student.

Impact Of Community Violence On Children And Adolescents Criminology Essay

Impact Of Community Violence On Children And Adolescents Criminology Essay Using the Social Ecological Model as a framework for evaluating the effects of community violence effects on children and template for prevention and intervention programs Abstract The effects on children of community-based violence are consequences that raise grave concern in Jamaica and across the world. Various empirical work and reviews have well-documented the many negative effects. However, relations between community violence, the individual, the environment, and child development do not occur in a vacuum.  The impact can be understood as related to changes in the society, communities, relationships, and other  social  contexts which children experience, and in the psychological processes activated by these  social ecologies.  To promote this inter-related process-oriented perspective, a  social  ecological  model  for the effects of community violence on children is presented, to indicate the need for prevention and intervention programs to tackle the issue of community violence from this perspective.   Research questions: Are the impacts of community violence dimensional Hypothesis: Impacts of community violence are dimensional and have ripple effects across all dimensions as identified in Bronfenbrenner Social Ecological Model Community violence frequently refers to a wide range of events including riots, sniper attacks, torture, bombings war, ethnic cleansing, and widespread sexual, physical and emotional abuse (Logsdon, 2010). Background/Problem Living in chronically violent context has been a perennial problem in developed and developing countries. Community violence is recognized as a major public health problem (WHO, World Report on Violence and Health, 2000; Cooley, Lambert, Ialongo, 2003), and affects all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups, but its impact falls most heavily on poor, urban, and minority groups, particularly youth (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1997; Christoffel, 1990, Stein et al, 2003). Much of the empirical work done on childrens exposure to community-based violence has focused on implications such as the impacts, protective factors, cause for childrens resilience, mediating and moderating factors among others, all evaluated as detached dimensions. This review proposes that living in a chronically violent context has the potential to affect childrens overall quality of life. Therefore, evaluating the implications of childrens experience of living in chronically violent setting and the impact on their development need to be looked at from a multidimensional level with it all being interconnected. Notably, research that focuses on any one level underestimates the effects of other contexts (Klein et al., 1999; Rousseau House, 1994; Stokols, 1996). The purpose of this review includes mutually greater insight into this particular context of living in chronically violent settings and the provision of a template for study of the impact of childrens exposure to violence in the Caribbean and other regions of the world.  Accordingly, the applicability of this approach is considered for the context of community violence in Jamaica. This review seeks to evaluate the four levels as a mode of informing prevention and intervention programs on how to target community violence based on the interplay intra-context and inter-context. The Social Ecological Model The Social Ecological Model (SEM) allows for the integration of multiple levels and contexts to establish the  overall impact and in conflict communication. (Oetzel, Ting-Toomey, Rinderle, 2006) In examining the effects of community violence, its most likely relevant to assess equally the individuals direct experience of violence as well as the actual amount of violence that is occurring in the surrounding environment, be it direct or indirectly. This distinction is analogous to Bronfenbrenners distinction between the microsystem and the exosystem (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). Direct experiences of violence are part of the childs immediate environment (or microsystem). These direct experiences occur within a broader context-the exosystem-that provides a backdrop for the childs immediate experiences. Rates of violent crime in a neighborhood, for example, provide a measure of how much violence is occurring in a community, even though the child may not be directly experiencing it himself or herself. But these more remote, ambient occurrences of violence still can exert influences on childrens development-through how they affect the availability and adequacy of resources and supports, and how they affect the familys emotional well-being and approach to daily life. Both direct (microsystemic) and indirect (exosystemic) experiences of community violence are important and relevant to investigate, and they each may affect childrens adaptation. It is important for researchers to be clear in specifying what they are measuring so that they can be more precise in their predictions and in their conclusions. However, despite the burgeoning of the research area, the knowledge base remains fairly diverse. It is dominated by research employing a few select measures or their revisions, several of which have yet to have their psychometric properties documented. Rather than reflecting a consolidated body of findings which can be used to direct policymaking and program design and implementation, the available work constitutes an increasingly complex and fragmented body of empirical findings, drawing from differing assumptions and operationalizations of what constitutes community violence (Guterman et al., 2000, p. 572) Social-ECOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK Bronfenbrenners (1979) ecological framework indicated that humans should be viewed in the context of their environment. Three of the levels within this ecology of human development are the macrosystem, exosystem, and microsystem. The broadest aspect, the macrosystem, consists of institutional patterns such as economic, social, educational, and political systems (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Cicchetti Lynch, 1993). Bronfenbrenner defined the exosystem as a system that includes social settings, such as interactions between the neighborhood, schools, and churches, along with issues such as a lack of employment opportunities and pervasive low socioeconomic status (Cicchetti Lynch, 1993). Similarly, class status, chronic oppressive experiences, and exposure to violence also fit within the exosystem. The microsystem is the most proximal and directly affects a child (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). This level encompasses the complex interactions between a child and his or her family environment. To better understand relations between violence and child development it is crucial to examine the effects from multiple levels of societal functioning, including community and domestic conflict and psychological processes associated with violence exposure (Feerick and Prinz, 2003). its concentration in poorer areas during prepubescence and in younger adulthood (parenting age) suggests that poorer children are exposed to much more aggressive communities. This is likely to contribute to the disproportionate escalation in violence they experience during adolescence. Effective interventions to prevent such escalations are available and need to be implemented particularly in poor communities. Theoretical models need further development and testing. These models are needed for more compelling explanation on how and why exposure to violence affects child development at different levels (ie. Socially, emotionally, cognitively, neurologically). Such frameworks have the potential to better evaluate social, cultural, ethnic, and political contexts that are integral to understanding the impact of violence exposure (Feerick Prinz, 2003). Contextual theory attends to the influence from various contexts, especially the historical or socio-cultural climates. Ecological theory stresses the importance of various context or systems, including the Microsystems, mesosystems, exosystems and macrosystems. (internet cite) Microsystems encompass a setting that includes where we live, our family, our schools, and our neighbourhoods. Mesosystems pertains to the interactions between experiences in the Microsystems. Exosystems are experiences in another social setting that we do not have an active role in, but that have an immediate influence on us. Community violence falls within this level. However, it is clear that even though at another the interrelatedness of its influence is not detached within the system.Macrosystems generally speaking is the culture in which we live. The literature on community violence has shown that many negative outcomes are results from such exposure (Lynch, 2003, Stein, 2003 Osofsky, 1999). One suggestion for better examination of the effects of community violence is the use of longitudinal studies (Stein et. al). The researchers explained that the use of longitudinal studies would allow examination of the effects of violence on the developmental paths of children. Bearing in mind that the chronicity (when, how often, and over what time frame) of violence exposure may significantly influence a childs developmental trajectory longitudinal studies are essential to better understanding how early violence exposure relates to later violence exposure, symptoms development, school performance, violence perpetration, as well as other high risk behaviours (Stein et. al, 2003). This approach would tap into some levels of the systemic approach to examining the effects, but the interactions within and the influences of the macrosystem variables (poverty, lack of resources, socio-economic status, housing) are not factored here. The Context for the individual Exposure rates very high (Luthar Goldstein, 2004) Psychological effects Among the psychological correlates of childrens exposure to community violence are anxiety symptoms and disorders, depressive symptoms, academic failure, and school disengagement (Boyd, Cooley, Lambert Ialongo, 2003 and Cooley-Quille, Boyd, Frantz, Walsh, 2001) Diagram The individual/Microsystem PTSD Post traumatic stress Disorder (PTSD) is the most common psychological impact identified in the field of literature. In one study the researcher explored the relationship between exposure to chronic community violence and the development of complex PTSD that occur as a result of repeated exposure to traumas (Jones, 2007) Findings revealed despite community violence exposure was a daily part of living among the participants, formal kinship and spirituality, along with high levels of combined supports, demonstrated buffering effects on exposure to violence (Jones, 2007). Psychological effects Not surprisingly, many studies have demonstrated that exposure to community violence can be traumatic for children. Exposure to community violence has been positively correlated with symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in children ranging in age from the early elementary years through adolescence (Fitzpatrick Boldizar, 1993; Horowitz, Weine, Jekel, 1995; Lynch Cicchetti, 1998a). All forms of exposure appear to have some effect- hearing about violence in the community, witnessing it, and being personally victimized. However, chronic exposure to community violence and personal victimization by violence in particular may be especially relevant in the development of symptomatology (Lynch Cicchetti, 1998a; Terr, 1991). Victimization by community violence has been shown to predict levels of traumatic stress even when demographic variables and prior symptomatology have been controlled (Lynch Cicchetti, 1998a). In addition, victimization by community violence predicted symptoms of traumatic stress in a sample of urban children who had been maltreated by a caregiver, even after the effects of maltreatment severity were Substance abuse (Lynch, 2003) Behavioural problems are also linked with exposure to community violence (Stein, 2003) Among these are externalizing problems and internalizing problems. Notably, though there is a distinct association between behavioural problems and exposure to violence, the direction of that association is probably bi-directional. In essence, behavioural problems are simultaneously a predictor to exposure to violence and a result of exposure (Lynch, 2003). Mesosystem Similarly, exposure to community violence has been found to be associated with a wide range of serious problems that influence almost every area of a childs life. They include internalizing and externalizing problems, substance abuse, disturbances of cognition, poor peer relationships, lowered educational outcomes, and higher rates of juvenile justice offences (for reviews see Osofsky, Wewers, Hann, Fick, 1993; Osofsky, 1995; Lynch, 2003). Children are at high risk of for both internalizing and externalizing problems (Luthar Goldstein 2004). In the face of high community violence, positive family processes may have modest protective potential (Luthar Goldstein 2004); in addition to PTSD and more modest ones with depressive symptoms. Social Cognition More urban youths have been caught in gun crossfire than non-urban adolescents ( 24% vs 4%; Schwarz, 1996). Reseachers have noted that low income communities are likely have higher rates of community violence with inner-city children at higher risk of being exposed to criminal offences (Jipguep Sanders-Phillips, )   Robbery was an almost universal experience affecting children from all schools and socio-economic groups (Samms-Vaughan, Jackson, Ashley, 200). The researchers explained that the high level of community violence in Jamaica is likely to expose Jamaican children to violence. Their study reported that a quarter of the children who completed given questionnaires had witnessed severe acts of physical violence such as robbery, shooting and gang wars, a fifth had been victims of serious threats or robbery and one in every twelve had been stabbed. The researchers recommended that intervention strategies to reduce childrens exposure to violence should include community educati on on the impact of exposure to violence on children, and the development of a range of school-based violence prevention programmes (Samms-Vaughan et al, 2005). This suggestion clearly tracts an ecological approach and valuing the relevance of the exosystem. Relationships/Mesosystem Among families living in conditions of poverty, positive parenting, encompassing high monitoring, support and cohesiveness, can help children maintain adequate levels of adjustment, but even the best of families will be limited in shielding their children when living in neighbourhoods where violence is a constant fact of life (Luthar Goldstein, 2004) This strengthens the point of the need for impacts of community violence not be evaluated in a piecemeal fashion, but as a cohesive whole system. For interventions the findings underscore the need to control violence in communities with efforts at both national policy and community levels addressing issues such as good control, neighbourhood, cohesiveness, communities and safety in schools (Luthar Goldstein, 2004); in essence a systemic approach. According to Pottinger, Many children exposed to chronic violence in their community are also beaten regularly at home and school. Feelings of unworthiness, inferiority and low self-esteem were prevalent reports along with expressions of depression. Girls who were shunned or isolated from their peers and boys who were sexually abused were likely to report depression. Low self-esteem, identified more in our boys, may be reflecting the disenfranchisement of some children, as they learn from early that they are not worthy of being protected from violence. These students may then progress to delinquent and aggressive behaviours during their adolescent years, Pottinger said. Vignette from Crawfords book Peer Relations Exsosystem Repeated general population studies would allow us to better understand how childrens exposure to violence is changing overtime (Stein et. al, 2003). The question here would be are community violence types different now. A clear answer would come from looking at the overall dynamics of interactions within each levels of the SEM. To reiterate, contextual factors are important in determining the impact of violence exposure on children (Stein et. al, 2003). This could be used to better inform violence prevention programmes for both schools and community, and to move the research field toward better science around the interplay between violence exposure, emotional and behavioural outcomes, the impact of prevention and intervention programmes, and needed changes in public policy (Stein et. al, 2003). Educational Outcomes Also reiterated are the impacts of community violence on education and leisure activities . When children experience violence at concentrated levels, in so many doses, and from so many directions, they are affected holistically- emotionally, psychologically and cognitively. This situation undermines their ability to be educated as well as access to education that is available (Crawford-Browne, 2010). It is common that children would miss school because community violence preventing them from doing so/ as a result of violence in communities children are often prevented from going to school or attending other leisure activities such as camp or after school programmes. According to Gayle, United Nations research shows a direct correlation between spending on education and levels of crime. In the Caribbean, Barbados has the lowest violence and highest education. Haiti has the highest crime and the lowest education. One of the strategies to get people to participate less in crime is to educate them. Education leads to character building. At the same time, loss of revenue caused by crime means that less can be used on education, Gayle said. Pauletta Chevannes, a lecturer in the Department of Education, University of the West Indies, noting that crime continues to impact greatly on the education system, insists that only with wider social change can the problem be solved.This wider change reiterates the argument of this paper that implementations has to consider the wider levels of the socio-ecological model. microcosm The school is a microcosm of the society and a lot of the violence experienced in these schools is directly related to what is happening in society. Juvenile justice outcomes While risk of exposure to violence is higher among poor, densely populated urban areas, it is not restricted to this group. In addition, the effects of exposure to community violence on health and functioning are vast, particularly in vulnerable populations. Exposure to community violence was strongly related to PTSD, for both victim and witness had adverse mental health outcomes (Fowler, Tompsett, Braciszewski, Jacques-Tiura, Bates, 2009). Personal and family contextual factors may protect an individual from the adverse impact of exposure to community violence (Gorma-Smith, Henry, Tolan, 2004) Exposure to community violence does not occur in isolation. Further research needs to be conducted on social, environmental and contextual factors that protect vulnerable populations, such as women, adolescents and children from adverse outcomes related to violence (Aisenberg Herrenkohl, 2008). Despite these tremendous stressors, some children appear to be less affected than others (Barbarin, 1993; Barbarin, Richter, deWet, 2001). Coping mechanisms enmeshed in family and peer support are protective factors (Jones, 2007). Macrosystem Many children and adolescents in America continue to be exposed to many types of community violence. Some factors such as sex, age, race and socioeconomic status are associated with higher rates of exposure. Community violence affects children from all backgrounds and communities (Stein, Jaycox, Kataoka, Rhodes, Vestal, 2003). The whole system is interrelated. Multiple risk factors such as poverty, overcrowding, inadequate medical care, scarcity of community resources, and parental problem all contribute to the strain within the exo-system within the context of development. It is important to examine the challenges victims and perpetrators may have. However, to widen understanding of effects of chronic violence on children focus need also be place on the ripple effects of the psychological impacts on children who are affected indirectly (Osofsky, 1999). From a prevention and intervention the most significant implication drawn from the body of literature is that in prevention efforts, the primary focus must be on the environment rather than the individuals experiencing the violence (Gorman-Smith et. al, 2003 and Luthar Goldstein 2004)However both environment and individual factors need to be focused on in tandem as both are equally important in dealing with the crux of the matter in making informed and balanced interventions. The highest recommendation is the prevention of community violence (Luthar Goldstein, 2004). Targeting the issue of community violence as a whole from an ecological model perspective is the more probable successful way to tap every domain that influence its pervasiveness. UNICEFs office in Jamaica estimates that violence costs the country over US$236 million or JA$15 billion annually. IN LOCAL communities affected most by violence, economic and social activities have been considerably reduced. Schools are underpopulated and when there is a flare-up of violence businesses, as well as schools close, the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) stated in a 2007 report on violence and its costs. Audrey Pottinger, a consultant clinical psychologist at the Department of Child Guidance attached to the University of the West Indies said that the most frequent and traumatizing experiences students have are cruel tea-sing or verbal humiliation, followed by robbery and physical attack. She was making reference to a recent study done with a sample of more than 200 students from primary and secondary schools. Meanwhile, Dr Herbert Gayle, University of the West Indies-based anthropologist who produced the recent study on early training of males in criminal behaviour, suggested that the Government should invest more in education as one means of reducing crime. (Jamaicas Burden of crime, 2009). The consequences of community violence interrelatedness and broad propensity cannot be overemphasized. Consequences of not providing the necessary preventative, ameliorative or rehabilitative services will put additional strain on Jamaicas economy in terms of Jamaican dollars needed. Apart from the negative emotional health impact on the nation, the quality of life of the citizens will remain at continued risk (Crwaford-Browne, 2010). Macro implications of the impact of violence are insidious. Children develop dysfunctional interpersonal patterns in their relationships as it relates to violence and understanding their world. Psychological impacts through overexposure and trauma is difficult to quantify and this presents far-reaching limitations. Evaluating the system as a whole from the ecological model perspective ease this challenge as factors from the varying levels of the model can be targeted to cushion insidious effects of community violence. Recommendations Feerick and Prinz posited that specific issues for research issues in relation to community violence need to be probed (2003). Suggested issues include consequences of co-occurring risk factors, mediators, moderators and mechanisms. The premise of this review cautions this specific issues approach from the perspective that issues should not be investigated in a detached fashion, but rather enmeshed. Violence Prevention There are individual and community approaches to violence prevention (World Health Organization, 2002). On an individual level, public health authorities should encourage healthy behaviours that do not include violence as well as educating individuals in order to persuade them to change violent behaviours. In the community there are many opportunities to raise public awareness and stem community violence. Advocating for policy changes that address larger environmental issues (See Logsdon, 2010). Only with change that address the issue of community violence from the dimensions of the socio-ecological model- in making informed planning and implementing with regard to prevention and intervention programming. Summary/Conclusion This paper seeks to provide an overview of the current literature regarding effects exposure to community violence on children in systemic framework, and to identify the interrelatedness of the impacts at all levels on the social ecological model. In addition, recommendations are made that prevention and intervention programs use this systemic approach to better address and curtail the impacts of community violence. Violence in its various forms have been taking a heavy toll on the physical, emotional and mental health of Jamaican children, who exhibit symptoms of depression, PSTSD, aggressive impulsive behaviour, difficulty concentrating, bedwetting, and attachment problems. It is important to note that many of these symptoms exist within the context of unstable familial environments and are factors that are associated with aggressive and delinquent behaviours (Samms-Vaughan, 2005), further fuelling our present endemic of violence (Crawford-Browne, 2010). Poor quality of life and marginalization are some social impact of chronic violence exposure (Crawford-Browne, 2010). The researcher expounded that children get caught in the symbolic net of the different forms of violence which interact with each other with gruesome consequences. In explaining further, it is noted that the different types of violence emanates and ricochet from the various systems that interface and intercedes. The impact from a systemic level is quite distinct here. Clear it is that the childs experience here at all levels, the home, family, communities and society are impacted (Crawford-Browne, 2010). Peer Relations Community violence as daily variable offers negative role models that place of the government and community-building organizations (Crawford-Browne, 2010). Role models as such are the perennial figures of a Community Don or notorious gang leader. These negative role models act as agent of socialization. Hypthesis .

The Importance Of Exercise In Older People Physical Education Essay

The Importance Of Exercise In Older People Physical Education Essay In older adults, physical activity is a necessary action to provide and maintain health.1 A substantial amount of empirical evidence has demonstrated that the health benefits associated with participation in physical activity can maintain functional independence and ultimately improve quality of life.2-.3 In addition, participation in physical activity improves self-esteem, mental alertness and social interaction, and decreases levels of depression.4-5 Physical activity is also a major independent modifiable risk factor that has a protective effect against the onset of cardiovascular disease, ischemic stroke, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.6-7 However, a preliminary report in 2007 by the National Statistical Office of Thailand showed that more than 58% of Thai elderly engaged in physical activity less often than recommended for good health.8 Therefore, it is imperative that physical activity among the aged population is evaluated. A review of physical activity studies reveals that the physical environment is significantly associated with physical activity participation. According to Bandura, physical environment plays either the role of facilitator or obstacle in human motivation through the interaction between cognitive functions and environment.9-10 Both natural features and human constructs related to environment may affect physical activity engagement.11 Physical environment positively influences physical activity within older people.12-18 While the significance of physical environment is well recognized, an accurate measure is needed to identify the specific characteristics of the physical environment for physical activity, with respect to older people. If there is low error in the assessment, the explanation of the relationship between physical environment and physical activity will be raised. The concept of behavior setting helps to elucidate the influence of physical environment on physical activity.19 Behavior occurs within a physical and social context. So, the behavior of older people will be influenced by environment the neighborhood, community, or home environment. The home environment is a primary setting for the performance of daily activities among older people.20 In Thailand, most older people stay and participate in physical activity in their home. Although previous studies have assessed only convenience of facilities and access to equipment at home related to physical activity, the characteristics of home environment is the least studied potential determinant of participation in physical activity.11-12 Existing investigations use either neighborhood-focused scales to determine physical environment 14,21-22, or have applied both neighborhood and availability of facilities in the community.18,23 A review of relevant research indicates that aspects of the physica l environment, such as safety, traffic volume, street lighting, unattended dogs, having a sidewalk, and accessibility to public recreation places influence physical activity,14-18 whereas other evidence suggests equivocal results.21-22,24 At least one potential reason exists for this inconsistency which may be related to the physical environment measurement, particularly with older adults. Most physical environment questionnaires were developed in western countries. These measurements have involved different neighborhood and community settings; assessed in different dimensions such as convenience, safety, accessibility, and facility. Even though the physical environment questionnaires have been validated in western countries, they have not been tested in others settings. Due to differences of geographic features, culture, and patterns of living, a need exists to assess the physical environment of Thai elderly to confirm reliability and validity in this cultural context. Furthermore, the relationship of the physical environment of home and physical activity of older Thai people is still unknown. Understanding features of the physical environment related to physical activity may provide an effective implementation design to motivate older Thai people to participate in physical activity. For these reasons, a modified instrument, the Thai Environmental Support for Physical Activity for Older Thai people (TESPA) for assessing the physical environment including home, neighborhood, and community environment needs to be modified and validated for the older Thai population. This study addressed this shortcoming by modifying and confirming a three-factor structure for physical environment in a sample of older adults in Thailand. We hypothesized that a correlated three-factor structure for the TESPA would fit the data well and that these factors would possess good internal consistency. Additionally, we hypothesized that higher scores on the subscales of the TESPA would be significantly and positively correlated with higher levels of physical activity. Moreover, our study purpose was to prepare physical environment questionnaire for a large descriptive study related to physical activity in older Thai people. Objective The purpose of this project was modification and assessment of the TESPA scale in older Thai people to provide a reliable and valid measure that is culturally congruent and useful for future research. Measures Demographics. -A personal data sheet was used to obtain demographic and socioeconomic data including age, gender, income, marital status, education level, area of living, the length of living in their residence and medical history. The Chula Mental Test (CMT), an interviewing questionnaire developed by Jittapunkul, and colleagues was administered to determine the cognitive function of older Thai people who has difficulties in reading and writing.25 The CMT consists of 13 items related to cognitive function. Scales are coded on a dichotomous score of 0 (incorrect) and 1 (correct); items 5 and 12 have two sub-scales, and items 3 and 13 have three sub-scales each. Total scores indicate the cognitive function and range from 0-19. Scores 0-4 illustrate severe cognitive impairment, scores 5-9 depict moderate cognitive impairment, scores 10-14 reveal mild cognitive impairment, and scores 15-19 demonstrate normal cognitive function. Physical activity. -Physical activity was assessed by using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Long form (IPAQ-L). The IPAQ-L was developed by the International Consensus Group for the Development of an International Physical Activity Questionnaire at the WHO in 1998.26 The IPAQ-L includes 5 parts: work-related activities, transport-related activities, domestic activities, and time spent sitting during the previous 7 days. In addition, the IPAQ-L assesses the frequency, intensity and duration of all daily physical activity. In summary, total physical activity equals the MET score, which is the sum of minutes spent in each domain multiplied by the MET value.26 We used a cut-off point 600 METs, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States of America and the American College of Sports Medicine.27 Threshold values for the IPAQ-L in the present study were categories insufficiently active ( 600 METs-min-week) We translated and adapted the IPAQ-L to fit the habits of older Thai people; content validity was determined by three experts. The content validity index of the IPAQ-L was .96. Numerous studies testing the test-retest reliability of the IPAQ-L revealed results ranging from 0.63 to 0.91, which indicated good repeatability.26,29 In the present study, the stability of the IPAQ-L questionnaire was reported to be 0.77 in 30 Thai elderly. Methods A cross-sectional design was used in the current study. The process of modification of the questionnaire included two phases (see Figure 1). In phase I, the instrument was modified as follows: 1) questionnaire improvement stage and 2) quantification stage. In phase II, instrument assessment was conducted to examine construct validity by confirmatory factor analysis and the known-group method. Insert figure 1 here Phase 1: Modification of instrument Stage 1: Questionnaire improvement stage consisted of measurement review, translation, instrument refinement and item construction. Measurement review and translation procedure: Physical environment is defined as older peoples perception of the physical environment to facilitate or hinder physical activity engagement in three settings: home, neighborhood, and community. We reviewed the relevant research regarding measurement of physical environment from the literature. The existing measurement was chosen based on definition and psychometric properties of measurement. After obtaining written consent from the author, the original questionnaire was translated into Thai versions by the researcher and an independent translator according to the translation-back translation method.28 The Thai version was evaluated by three Thai/English bilingual people. The questionnaire was translated back into English by two Thai-English independent translators who each had taught English to graduate students for more than 20 years. We then compared both versions in the original language, conducted checks with the translators, discussed the differences, and produced a final conse nsus version. 1.2 Instrument refinement and item construction: We modified the translated instruments to achieve a closer cultural fit for older Thai people. During October to December 2007, a preliminary study was conducted with ten elders: five who lived in a municipal area and five in a non-municipal area. The participants were selected from a broad range of backgrounds: five elders had elementary education and had worked in the agricultural sector, three elders had secondary education and had worked as small businesses owners, and two elders were retired and held bachelors degrees. Open-ended interviews were applied to ensure that instrument content and language were suitable for Thai elderly. They were interviewed in their home or a temple in their village. The participants were encouraged to share their opinions regarding the relevancy of items and appropriateness to the culture of older Thai people. Additionally, participants were encouraged to think of additional items that potentially could be used in the questionnaire. Each participant was interviewed twice for 30 minutes for each time, or until no new data occurred. In the preliminary study, no participant refused to participate. Interviews were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. Categories and coding were derived from data sources and previous related studies. Statements by participants about the physical environment were delineated and identified as a content domain. Representative phrases and terms were marked to be used as potential items so that the language of the participants could be preserved. Additional items then were discussed with two Thai experts and an American expert in geriatric nursing. As a consequence, the measurement was modified. Stage 2: Quantification stage This stage involved the validity and reliability of the psychometric properties of the modified measurement. Content validity of the scale was evaluated by three geriatric experts including one physician in geriatric physical activity, one expert in geriatric community nursing, and one expert in geriatric nursing. The experts were asked to rate the level of relevancy between the items and the definition of the concepts as represented. A four-point Likert-type scale ranging from 4 (strongly relevant) to 1 (strongly irrelevant) was used to rate each item. Data collection started in October 2008 after obtaining approval from the Institutional Review Board at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. Both written and verbal informed consent was obtained in Thai on the same date as the data collection. The informed consent form explained the purpose of the study, benefits, risks, the types of questionnaires and tasks to be completed, and the length of time needed to complete the interview. In particular, it explained about risk prevention and treatment when the risk may occur during the interview or when collection of data is taking place. Permission was obtained from participants prior to data collection. At the setting, the participants were informed about the purpose of the study and their right to refuse participation. If participants chose not to answer the questionnaire, they could withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. They were also notified that their relationship with the health care team would not be affected. Their names were not used; instead, a code number was used to ensure confidentiality. There was no harm to the participants in this study. In addition, to assess the feasibility of using psychometric properties, the modified measurement was determined in the pilot study. The consent was obtained from the directors of primary care units, one in an urban area and the second in a rural area. A purposive sample of 15 older people from each setting was recruited in the pilot study; no respondent refused or dropped out in this stage. The participants were older people, with a mean age of 70+ 4.19 years. Most participants were female (76.7%), married (53.3%), had elementary education (80%), were employed (62.6%), with a household income of less than 5,000 Baht per month (approximately US$147) (76.7%). A substantial proportion (63.3%) lived in urban areas and had lived on average for 44.6 years in their residence. Of the sample, more than half reported sufficient physical activity level (50%), whereas 20% had a low physical activity level. A total of 23.3 % reported having no current health problems, while 16.7 % had hypertensi on. The most frequent type of physical activity reported was household related activity, followed by leisure time activity, transportation related activity, and occupational activity. Stability of reliability was obtained in two weeks, whereas internal consistency was assessed at baseline. Phase 2: Assessing the Instrument Construct validity of the modified scale was determined in the main study. Multi-stage random sampling was employed to obtain a sample of 336 elderly (aged 60 years and older) residing in 12 villages from six provinces of Thailand, who were not part of the preliminary study or the pilot study. In each village, 28 participants were selected by a systematic sampling technique from a name list obtained from the villages primary care unit. A simple random technique was applied and only one member in each family was included in the study. The participants were determined to be eligible to participate in the study if they scored >15 on the CMT, were able to ambulate without assistive devices, and were willing to participate in the present study. Data were collected from November 2008 to April 2009. An authorization letter was sent to officers of the primary care unit in all 12 settings to ask for their consent. After obtaining their consent, the public health nurses of the primary care units were asked by the researcher to make appointments with participants. When verbal agreement was obtained, the participants were asked to sign a consent form. The modified questionnaire was used to conduct interviews lasting between 15 to 20 minutes; each participant received a handkerchief in appreciation for their participation. A total of 336 questionnaires were selected for accuracy of data entry. Statistical analysis showed that two cases with a single or more than one missing value on community environment were deleted, leaving 334 cases for analysis. According to IPAQ Research Committee guidelines, the physical activity scores were processed to reduce data comparability. Ten cases were excluded by the truncation process due to the total duration value being more than 3 hours per activity, and four cases were eliminated because of multivariate outliers. Therefore, 320 cases remained for analysis. Most of the participants in the main study were female, married, had elementary education, and a household income less than 5,000 Baht per month (approximately US$147). Approximately 70% of the participants reported at least one health problem. Shared living was the most frequent living arrangement reported (92.8%) with an average of 4.11 persons per household. A substantial proportion (61.9%) lived in an urban area and stayed in their own residence. Data analysis Descriptive data are presented as mean + SD. The internal reliability of the scale was based on an alpha coefficient greater than or equal to .70; 30 stability of the scale was analyzed by product correlation coefficient. Reliability of each item, overall reliability, and construct validity of the scale were determined using structural equation modeling (SEM).31 The known-group technique was conducted using the multivariate analysis of variance, to compare the physical environment of those who reported sufficient physical activity and those who did not. Statistical significance for analyses except SEM was defined as p Results Phase 1: Modification of instrument Stage 1: Questionnaire improvement stage Following determination of the validity and reliability of the instrument, results were used to make modifications. The following procedures were undertaken. 1.1 Measurement review and translation procedure: Findings from prior studies demonstrated that most physical environment measurements were designed to identify specific characteristics of the built environment (e.g. distance between destinations, presence of sidewalk), and showed moderate to high reliability. Blocks of questions appeared to have different reliability among urban and rural respondents. Only one measurement was constructed for older people.12 A meta-analysis study by Duncan and colleagues concluded that the environmental characteristics in measurement presented in physical activity include facilities, sidewalks, shops and services in walking distance, heavy traffic, high crime, street lighting, and unattended dogs.32 The Social-physical Environmental Supports for Physical Activity Questionnaire (ESPA) is a measurement that designed to capture and assess the supporting social and physical environment for physical activity typically performed by all age.33 The ESPA was selected to collect data in this study because it is closely congruent with the Thai context, and indicates both neighborhood environment and community environment. In addition, the coefficient differences between urban respondents and rural respondents of this scale were small when compared with the other questionnaires.34 Moreover, the previous validity and reliability value of ESPA was acceptable.34 The ESPA is composed of two domains: the social and the physical environment domains. The physical environment is composed of 20 items: 10 neighborhood items (access, characteristics, barriers, use), and 10 community items (access, and barriers). A Likert-scale was used to assess neighborhood items, except for an item on public recreat ion facilities which allowed response options as 1(yes) or 0 (no). The community items have response options of 1(yes) or 2(no), with score form items on recreation facilities, whereas a community item used a Likert Scale. The higher the summary score the stronger the physical environment. The ESPA questionnaire was translated into Thai. Instrument refinement and item construction: All participants recommended that some items of the ESPA questionnaire be deleted and many remarked that the questionnaire format be reviewed. Most participants suggested that 21 physical environment items be eliminated including public swimming pools, sidewalks, parks, walking trails, bike paths, recreational centers, shopping malls (sometimes used for physical activity or walking programs), and being a private member of a recreational facility . These items reflected physical activities and sites that were uncommon in Thailand and thus were not deemed to be valid it this cultural context. As well, five pages of the scale and various types of choices took up too much time and were difficult to answer; for example: In general, would you say that motorized traffic in your neighborhood isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Heavy, Moderate or Light., When walking at night, would you describe the STREET lighting in your neighborhood asà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..Very good, Good, Fair, Poor or Very poor and How safe are the public recreational facilities in your community? would you sayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Very safe, Somewhat safe, Somewhat unsafe or Not safe at al. Additionally, the literal translation of the word physical activity into Thai git-ja-gam-taang-gaa or à  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ´Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‹â€ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ £Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ £Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ¡Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸-à  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ²Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ²Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ¢ (git-ja-gam = activity; taang-gaai= physical) was unfamiliar to older people. Most participants thought this term was difficult to understand and felt that it was not applicable to them. The elders preferred the term kleuan-wai-ok-raeng or à  Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ¥Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ·Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¹Ã‹â€ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ­Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â€ž ¢Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ «Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ­Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ­Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¹Ã‚ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ £Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ (kleuan-wai= movement; ok-raeng= expend energy) instead to define physical activity. The term kleuan-wai-ok-raeng was therefore applied to this study. The interview findings illustrated that the statements contribute to physical environment among participants was delineated and identified as a content domain. Home was most frequently mentioned as a favorite place for engagement in physical activity. The majority of participants expressed that they generally preferred engaging in physical activity at home because of safety concerns and convenience. Representative phrases and terms were marked to be used as potential items so that the language of the participants could be preserved. As a result, the home environment subscale was formulated, and it was consisted of safety and convenience both inside and around home. Based upon the experts suggestions, 21 items that were considered irrelevant on the ESPA were eliminated and four additional items related to home environment were added to the ESPA. Therefore, the modified scale was called Thai Environment Support for Physical Activity in older Thai people (TESPA). A Likert scale was used to assess physical environment for physical activity. Possible responses were 1(strongly disagree), 2(disagree), 3(neither agree nor disagree), 4(agree), and 5(strongly agree). The possible ranges of scores for home, neighborhood, and community sub-scale were 4-20, 3-15, and 3 15 respectively. The total score was calculated by computing the numerical ratings for each answer. The possible scores ranged from 10 to 50. Higher scores indicated a higher level of perceived physical environment supportive of physical activity. In short, the TESPA was conceptualized to include three subscales, with the six items serving as supportive neighborhood and community environments, and the four new items as supportive of home environment. Neighborhood environment was defined as the area around their home to which they could walk within 10 minutes.23 A supportive neighborhood environment referred to older peoples perceptions of support including: characteristics, access, and barriers of physical activity; a pleasant neighborhood for walking; low traffic volume; and lack of unattended dogs in their neighborhood.23 Secondary, community environment is defined as the area contained within a 20-minute drive from the respondents home.23 Community environment support refers to older peoples perceptions of convenience and safety of physical activity in their community: convenience of facilities of the Primary Care Unit; access to parks, playgrounds, and sports fields; and the safety of public recreation facilities.23 Finall y, home environment support is defined as participants perceptions of convenience and safety regarding their home environment, both in and around their home, in relation to their participation in physical activity. Stage 2: Quantification stage The Content Validity Index of the TESPA questionnaire was 0.92. The reliability coefficients of TESPA scale was 0.73 and the test-retest reliability of scale was .76. The results of the pilot study demonstrated that respondents took between 15 to 20 minutes to complete the questionnaire. The measurements were culturally appropriate for older Thai people and the procedures were followed without any difficulty. Phase 2: Assessing the Instrument The physical activity score ranged from 0 to 2203.50 MET-minute/week with a median of 849.25 (SD = 438.63), and the interquartile rang of 670.13 MET-minute score. The skewness coefficient (.26) and the kurtosis statistic (-.52) indicated that the majority of the subjects reported a moderate physical activity score and a close proximity to a normal distribution. Also, 65% of the participants of this study were sufficiently active and 35% were not. The total sum scores of physical environment ranged from 19.00 to 50.00, with a mean of 34.87 (SD = 6.47). The skewness value (.26) and the kurtosis value (-.49) indicated that the majority of the respondents had moderate physical environment scores and the variance was distributed normally. Construct validation was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis, and the known-group technique. Based on confirmatory factor analysis, the findings demonstrated that the construct of TESPA was composed of three underlying subscales: home, neighborhood, and community environment. The correlation among items ranged from .02 to .77 and the total scale could explain 61.01% of the variance of physical environment. The home, neighborhood, and community subscale could account for 29.4%, 19.7%, and 12.0% of the variance, respectively. The next analysis tested the three-factor model. The measurement model testing was designed to estimate which ten items were used as indicators for the model. Although the original model was statistically significant, the model was not consistent with the data /df= 4.59 and RMSEA more than 0.05 (= 151.54, df= 33; p Insert figure 2 here Table 1 illustrates the loading with t-values and squared multiple correlation coefficients among each observed variables for TESPA scale. The results revealed that all indicators of the TESPA measurement had significant low to high parameter estimates, which were related to their specific constructs and validated the relationships among observed variables and their constructs. The squared multiple correlations for observed variables of the latent variables were ranged from 0.02 to 0.92. The R2 of item 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 were acceptable indicators, except for the item 1, 7, 8, 9, and 10 which were less than .40. Insert Table 1 here The known-group technique is an examination of relationships based on theoretical prediction. 35 Table 2 shows the mean values for each of the TESPA subscales and physical activity subgroups for the complete sample. Those who demonstrated sufficient physical activity had significantly higher physical environment scores along all three subscales and total score. In addition, each subscale was positively correlated with participation in physical activity including neighborhood (r=.30, p Insert Table 2 here Discussion: Testing of the TESPA measurement model in the current study provided additional evidence for the validity and reliability. The findings are discussed in the following section. The content validity and construct validity of the newly designed TESPA scale were accepted. Continued support for the construct validity of the scale was also provided through confirmatory factor analysis and the known-group method. The TESPA measurement model demonstrated that all sub-scales of the measurement had significant low to high parameter estimates, which were related to their specific constructs and validated the relationships among observed variables and their constructs. Within the known-group method, the findings demonstrated that physical environment was significantly correlated with physical activity. This finding indicated that older people with high perceptions of safety, convenience, and accessibility in their home, neighborhood, and community environment were more likely to participate in physical activity. Similarly, active older people who met guideline recommendations for good health scored significantly higher in each of three factors supportive home, neighborhood, and community environment than those who did not. Physical environments affect the participation in behavior by means of the interaction between cognitive functions and environment through human motivation.9-10 Bandura argued that a better environment provides a great opportunity to perform a behavior.10 According to the empirical data in the present study, a plausible explanation for this result contributed to characteristics of the Thai elderly. The majority of the elders sampled have lived in their home for a median 30 years; consequently, they were familiar with the physical characteristics of their environment in and outside the home. It is possible that the friendly environment contributed to motivate them for physical activity engagement, while unfriendly environments discouraged activity. For reliability, although the R2 for item 1, 7, 8, 9 and 10 indicated that these items should be considered irrelevant for the TESPA scale, the measurement model was a good fit with the empirical data. Not only was this scale firstly modified and validated in older Thai adults, but also normative data for comparison in the elderly or other study were not available. Approximately 61 % of the variance in the TESPA scale was explained by the 10 items, whereas 39 % of the variance in this scale remains unexplained. Corresponding with the SCT approach, Bandura argued that nearly all aspects of the physical environment can influence physical activity.36 Owing to the fact that the TESPA measurement includes only safety, convenience, and accessibility aspects of physical environment, it is possible that other aspects may contribute more to physical activity than these aspects. Other aspects of the physical environment may still influence engaging in physical activity; a need is indicated for work to identify these aspects yet unidentified. Therefore, continued evaluation of the psychometric properties both in the other sample and new additional items are necessary to confirm this study. Limitations and recommendations: This study was limited by homogeneity of the sample. The majority of participants was female, married, low socioeconomic status, and lived in their home. Continued testing of the TESPA scale, particularly with socio-economically diverse older adults, is needed to insure that this measure is consistent. Additionally, using objective measurement should be considered, to further add to the validity of the findings and confirm the subjective report. Further, the item related to community environment should be explored via a qualitative study to explore and understand with the physical environment of Thai elderly. Nevertheless, based on factors of the TESPA, manipulation of these factors with cognitive behav