Plan of action for Eliazar Gomez Essay

Research has shown that shaking babies is the leading cause of infant mortality. In the United States, up to 1,400 children receive medical treatment after being shaken. Twenty-five percent of these die, while a majority of survivors have to cope with a lifelong vision problems and brain injury (First Statewide, undated). Debby Golonka, MPH, writing for BCB Health Guide, in its Web site, expounds that the long-term complications of the shaken baby syndrome may include seizures (uncontrolled muscle movements and unable to speak, see and interact normally), muscle spasticity that results in awkward movements, mental retardation, blindness or vision problems, delays in physical or emotional growth, learning and behavior problems at school. Vincent Palusci, MD adds that damage to an infant’s immature brain, with little stored information and developed capacities, will impair the brain’s adaptive abilities. Dr. Palusci cites an example that a child with severe vision-related problems will not learn by observing. Dr. Palusci also says that the development of language, motor coordination and balance will be adversely affected, requiring physical and occupational therapy, using a sensory-rich environment, in order to assist the child acquire the skills. Dr. Palusci also underlines the importance of building the child’s ability to be attentive. Dr. Palusci writes that therapists often work on one child to help him focus and further his attention span. Dr.Palusci also says that older kids with SBS may require special education and continued therapy. Plan of Action for Eliazar Gomez From his medical records, it seems that Eliazar may have shaken baby syndrome. It’s utterly important to ascertain for sure if he is mentally retarded. It is highly probable that Eliazar has problems with his social skills with fellow students and teachers, and communication skills (â€Å"just looking at you† might indicate that he didn’t understand what was being said). His being a busybody might indicate his short attention span. All of which are signs of mental retardation (National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, 2004). If Eliazar is determined to be mentally-retarded, he will need individualized help. One would need to work with Eliazar’s parents to come up with an individualized education program for him. Further, the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities writes in its fact sheet that teachers will do well to learn more about mental retardation, and the techniques and strategies one can employ to help mentally-retarded students. One also needs to get more involved by emphasizing the student’s strengths and interest, being aware of his educational goals. On the instruction side, the fact sheet suggests being as concrete as possible, giving less verbal instructions and doing more demonstrations (show a picture, or other visual aids). Longer tasks also need to be broken down into smaller steps. (National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, 2004). References 2004. Mental Retardation Fact Sheet. National Dissemination Center for Children withDisabilities. Retreived on 28 March 2008. First statewide shaken baby prevention research project in US. EmaxHealth. Com Retrieved on 28 March 2008. Golonka, Debby. 2007. Shaken Baby Syndrome. BCB Health Guide. Retrieved on 28 March 2008. Palusci, Vincent J. 2004. Shaken Baby / Shaken Impact Syndrome. .

Identifying Perspectives in Psychology Essay

Part: 1 Case Study #1: In neurobiological perspective of psychology, biologists like, Weber and van Helmholtz believe that the endocrine or nervous system is related to behavior. Mrs. B is feeling depressed because something is affecting her nervous system. Her body isn’t producing enough serotonin to control her moods and emotions. A humanistic perspective focuses on the positive outlooks of being human. It emphasizes on the importance of people’s feelings. Like how Carl Rogers came up with the â€Å"self-centered† therapy, which mainly focused on understanding one’s feelings. It seems Mrs. B was very close to her father and her son, with her father’s death this could have made her feel lonely since a main source of love and comfort is gone. Her father’s death could have made her feel insecure about life and given her a low self-esteem. Psychodynamic perspective emphasizes unconscious mind and early adolescent experiences. Mrs. B dropped everything when her father past away because she never resolved her phallic stage, Sigmund Freud’s third stage on psychosexual development. In other words, it seems she had an identity through him rather than her own accord. Furthermore, with her child gone, it could implied that she probably spent a lot of time on her own as a child which may have triggered the sudden actions she has taken in her life. Behavioral perspective is the idea that behavior comes from learning. Like how Ivan Pavlov trained dogs to salivate in a response to the sound of a tone. Mrs. B doesn’t have control of her emotions. Rather than trying to deal with them, she dwells upon her issues without trying to resolve them. It seems that her self-esteem lowered when her father and child gone. Since she has never experienced this before, she feels overwhelmed and lonely. Cognitive approach focuses on the importance of storing and receiving information and one’s way of thinking and reasoning. The only reason she is behaving like this is because of the unfortunate events of her father dying and her child leaving home. It is stressful to deal with these unfortunate events that lower her motivation to teach and be herself. Case Study 2: In the neurobiological approach, Barry is feeling guilty because the lack of serotonin. His concentration and his attention to time is affected too from the lack of this chemical in the body. With a humanistic perspective, it seems Barry has a void in his love life and work life. In Abrahams Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, â€Å"the basic needs must be met before higher ones are satisfied.† Furthermore, since Barry didn’t reach his basic needs which were to go on a date with his co-worker it reflects his on higher need to go to a professional lever. This goes back to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; since he couldn’t fulfill the love part of his life he couldn’t fulfill the esteem part in his job. In a psychodynamic approach, Barry’s behavior comes from his childhood or unconscious conflicts. Barry missed his project date because he is unconsciously feeling overwhelmed from coming to his blind date late and not apologizing. He is putting himself down because he feels that he is a terrible person for making her think she got stood up. In a behavioral approach, Barry’s behavior comes from learning. John Watson’s experiments of classical aversive conditioning say learning from an unpleasant stimulus. He used to his daily routines, spending time with his mother and his computer. The fact the he has something new in his life, which was going on a date with his friend’s co-worker and coming late, affected him. With a cognitive perspective, Barry is behaving like this because his is trying to punish himself by affecting his job because he feels guilty for coming to his date late and not calling her, apologizing for coming late. Part 2: Both the evolutionary perspective and social-cultural might explain the use of corporal punishment. The evolutionary perspective focuses on how Darwin’s theory of natural selection shapes one’s behavior. In biology, there is â€Å"fitness†, meaning the strongest survive. In this perspective, corporal punishment on children makes a stronger child and allowing them to spread their â€Å"strong† gene. The social-cultural perspective emphasizes on how different cultures affects behavior. Different cultures use corporal punishment on children is used to show authority, it shows children must respect their elders. It is also used to show children from right or wrong, teaching children what they should or shouldn’t do.

Critically Evaluate the Reasons for the Rise in Position of Apple Essay

Critically Evaluate the Reasons for the Rise in Position of Apple Brandin the Best Global Brands in 2011 - Essay Example Though others consider it to be time consuming and sometimes frustrating, strategic planning has been found to lead to quality decision making if applied effectively (Westphal & Frederickson, 2001, p.1113). This essay tries to find the possible determinants of the positional rise to 8th position of the apple brand in the global brands. Moreover, the rise in position has been linked closely to effective strategic planning hence, some of the tools used in strategic planning have been analyzed and justification for the choice of each tool given. Introduction According to Tapinos, Dyson & Meadows (2005, p.370) recently the topic of strategic planning has drawn a lot of discussions focusing on its effective implementation and the possible outcomes. The subject has attracted both empirical and theoretical exploration as entrepreneurs try to seek more information regarding it. Effective planning has been associated to improved performance, successful implementation and good decision making. Organizations are facing difficult times due to new technologies, market and economic changes globalization and deregulation. Consequently, all these activities call for the application of proper business techniques and the adoption of appropriate planning tools. Although some people may argue that strategic planning has its own ineffectiveness, the advantages that come along with it are overwhelming (Falshaw, Glaister & Tatoglu, 2006, p.9). Strategic planning allows an organization to understand itself by analyzing its vision and objectives in detail. If it is appropriately implemented, it will enable an organization to realize its full potential. Some of the tools employed in planning strategically are discussed below. Tools for Strategic Planning The SWOT analysis tool is the most commonly employed tool to help an organization determine its possible position within the industry of its operation. SWOT refers to the analysis of an organization’s strengths, its weaknesses, a vailable opportunities and finally threats that are facing it (Lyles, Baird, Orris & Kuratko, 2000, p.38). First is to determine the internal position of an organization by assessing its strengths and possible weaknesses. Strengths refer to the most effective skills that are employed by an organization in the attainment of its vision. Some of such skills include employees of high expertise and advanced technology. On the other hand weaknesses are those things that hinder a firm from attaining its full potential such as functional areas’ conflicts and production costs which are very high (Meers & Robertson, 2007, p.303). Brews & Purohit (2007, p.68) asserts that having analyzed its internal position, an organization needs to understand its external position by analyzing the available opportunities and its external threats. Opportunities refer to the currently available or possible future circumstances that are likely to provide a favorable environment for the firm’s gro wth. They include conditions such as completion decrease, market population increase and favorable legislation. On the other hand, threats refer to the currently available or future environmental conditions which are likely to provide unfavorable environment for a firm’s growth such as, unfavorable legislation and new product-development by competitors. An effective SWOT analysis provides an organization with a clear picture of its

Strategic Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Strategic Business - Essay Example According to the official website of Red Cross, the history of Red Cross is very interesting and it dates back to 1859, when a Swiss Banker, Henry Dunant whilst travelling in northern Italy came across the aftermath of the battle of Solferino. The huge disaster encouraged him to found a nonprofit organization in 1863 with the name International Committee of the Red Cross and after about 140 years, more than 186 National Red Cross societies were present all around the world. In Australia, Red Cross was established in 1914 by Lady Munro Ferguson after nine days of First World War. Australian Red Cross office is located in Melbourne and it is offering services in more than 60 communities there. The different kinds of community services provided by Australia Red Cross include the disaster services, refugee services, first aid and health services and blood services. Australian Red Cross Shops have been established by Red Cross organization and they are offering stock of big fashion at very reasonable and small budget. More than 35 shops are operating in the state (Red Cross n.d.). Australian Red Cross Shops are offering a variety of products including new and pre-loved clothing, medical equipment, baby products, baby kits, electric homeware, car seat etc. The Red Cross Shops are staffed by the volunteers and the income generated from shops is a source of fund for Red Cross. The political factors directly impact the operations of the organizations in Australia. For example, on 2 May 2010, the Federal Government of Australia declared the agenda for future tax system of Australia and this announcement affected all companies, small businesses and nonprofit organizations (Third Sector Magazine 2010). The review specially focuses on not-for-profit organizations which according to the review face inconsistent state and federal regulations in Australia. Since the corporate sector is the major

Explain the influence of T. S. Eliot on 20th century Arabic poetry, Essay

Explain the influence of T. S. Eliot on 20th century Arabic poetry, giving examples - Essay Example He died in 1965 but his fame did not die with him. Infact he became a model for the future generations in all parts of the world (Nobelprize.org). Eliot’s influence on English writers is well known to everyone. His books â€Å"Prufrock and other Observations†, â€Å"Four Quartets† and in particular â€Å"The Wasteland† has influenced many English writers. However, Eliot’s fame and influence did not confine itself to the borders of Europe and America. Where English poetry under Eliot’s influence moved with a steady pace, the Arabic poetry made a giant leap unleashing itself from the age old Arabic classical poetic model, the qasida, whose form, structure and pattern were laid down in the seventh century and were older than the religion Islam itself (Loya, 1971). The qasida was a couplet which consisted of two symmetrical hemistiches, separated by a caesura followed by a fixed pattern of long and short vowels. Each couplet was independent of the rest of the poem. All the couplets followed a similar rhyme scheme and meter throughout the poem. In Arabic poetry there was also restriction in the selection of themes as well. This pattern was being followed by the Arab poets without any significant changes for the past fourteen hundred centuries. The tribal Arab society gave way to the urbanized society which desperately demanded changes in the poetic form to express its message. The Arab poets became aware of the fact that the traditional qasida form consisting of fixed meter and rhyme was not sufficient to express the harsh realities of life. Despite all this the Arab poets continued to write in the traditional form till the twentieth century. The situation continued till the influence of West, in particular, the influence of T.S. Eliot changed the trend of the Arabic poetry. Many Arabic poets were deeply influenced by T.S. Eliot, whose literary work had touched all parts of the world with admiration (Loya,

Market research to the success of a new business Essay

Market research to the success of a new business - Essay Example The market research processes help the entrepreneur of the venture to gather relevant information regarding the external business situation based on which he or she can take the suitable marketing and management decisions for the business. The carrying out of a suitable market research can be done through the internal personnel of the company as well as through a third party market research company. Whatever the avenue of the market research is, the results of a market research are expected to add value to the probability of success of the business in the market through an understanding of the external factors that are likely to affect the success as well as the continuity of the business Market research is an essential strategic management tool for the creation of a feasible business plan that would enable a new business venture to initially create a place for itself in the highly competitive business segments and to thrive in the market in the long run as well. Market research conducted for a start up venture is essentially the process of becoming knowledgeable and gathering information about the target market of a new business (Malhotra, 2002). A market research process may serve four types of primary objectives which are Predictive: The predictive view is aimed at analyzing the future trends, opportunities, risks and requirements of the market which helps the company to decide on its priorities and set its objectives and strategies. Descriptive: The descriptive view of market research considers the explanation and description of the existing market situations and aims at identifying the core reasons driving the present market condition (McDonald, 2007). Market research helps a business to understand the context for the new business, accurately define and target the appropriate customer segment, verify whether there is an advantageous level for demand for the products and/or services of the business in the selected market, collect

Management of Ports Sale Blockade Fallout Case Study

Management of Ports Sale Blockade Fallout - Case Study Example Thirdly we must pursue with Department of Commerce to facilitate DPW for onward sale of its asset without losses. The opponents perceive it as a security threat without any justification. Notwithstanding the fact that the port operation is already foreign owned, the security is not the operator's prerogative. It is according to the International Shipping and Ports Security Code which is implemented by US Coast Guards. None of the infrastructure at ports in question relates to military or national security facilities. The Defense Department controls the facilities that it uses to ship military goods. Sale of these ports operations is nothing to do with security. It is a direct result of globalization of maritime trade and neither is it an outsourcing issue. The hype has actually been created by the Democrats to put pressure on Administration. However this needless hype has damaged our long term interests severely in Arab World. This is being taken as a test of US impartiality by our Arab allies as P&O is already a foreign owned company and only being transferred from British to Arabs owners The stakes are too high in properly managing this issue for long term US interests in the region. Not only this will add fuel to fire in US impression in Arab world, it will jeopardize the security of our business interests in Arab World. This issue may be taken as an argument to nationalize vital strategic industries currently being run be American Companies. It may aggravate the security problems for US citizens in the region if the issue is politicized by the radical elements in the Arab World. Possible Courses of Actions The current situation suggests three possible courses of actions 1. Normal Diplomatic activity from State Department and projection of the issue as merely a legal and technical matter. 2. Normal Diplomatic activity till blockade and taking remedial measures by putting the onus of blame on Arabs by directly projecting the issue as a fall out to 9/11. 3. Taking a non apologetic and non accusatory position to the problem by State Department and proactive diplomacy for controlling the potential damage in Arab world. Need for Pro-activity in Damage Control The first option can possibly work if the issue is really such and there are justifiable legal grounds available. However given the sentiments involved and heightened emotions both in US population and Arab world it is not advisable. The second approach will simply aggravate the sentiments in Arab world and will likely complicate our relationships with the Arabs no matter how much we consider them to be at fault in 9/11. Therefore only practical approach is to be proactive and carefully guard the situation till the time attention is diverted to any other issue. We need to be highly active in this regard. If we do not take proactive approach now as proposed and wait to see the result of Senate decision, we will likely be doing damage control by making explanations and would be clearly seen in negative light. The US government has to take a clear stance despite domestic

Mobile Device Security Policies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mobile Device Security Policies - Research Paper Example It mitigates any other forms of software and device abuse such as use of pornographic materials. The policies and restrictions apply to all the users in a specified area which is covered with such a policy. This is to protect usage of network. The policies are enforced on anyone who uses the devices, and there are penalties for noncompliance which include civil or criminal litigation, restitutions and fines (Long and Long, p 91). The policies that might be proposed to protect mobile devices may include, but does not narrow to the following; There must be a password to protect every device (Negri, p63). This is to limit its use to unauthorized persons. It should be a strong password, for example, eight characters in length. Another policy is ensuring physical security of the devices. This is to be ensured by the owners and any other authorized user and ensure the devices are always kept in a secure place (Bott, p 85). Another policy on mobile devices is that all sensitive and confidential documents stored should be encrypted to ensure security (Henten, p 13). It also ensures data is removed in case the device is to be disposed. Mobile device options that are not in use should be disabled to ensure there are no breaches on any information. Screen locking and screen timeout should be implemented as a security policy. Mobile devices should be scanned for viruses this to protect deletion of files by the virus (Ca lhoun, p 62). Software restrictions policies are part of Microsoft security and management to help their customers to make their devices more reliable and manageable (May, p 32). The restrictions ensure that viruses are fought using the best ways possible to avoid loss of data. The company also restricts which activeX controls can be downloaded. This is to ensure their users use only the recommended software (Panchal and Sabharwal, p 42). The company also insists on using scripts which are digitally signed. This reduces the

LAB Ethogram Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

LAB Ethogram - Assignment Example The bird flies with regular, up and down undulations of the wings, hops from branch to branch and swings its tail from side to side while on a perched (standstill) position. This is a carnivorous species which feeds on insects, both flying and crawling. This species specifically hunts its prey in-flight through abrupt flight from a perch. However, it also hops from branch to branch in search of food and at the same time runs along the ground alternating with regular hops, while turning over leaves in check of crawling insects hidden underneath. The second common behavior was that I would call ‘grooming’, whereby many of the birds could be spotted lining out their plumage, shaking of dust from their feathers, picking oil from their tails and applying it along the feathers and washing by beating their wings up and down on a water surface. Others of these behaviors can be termed ‘recreational’ for example when the bird lays itself under direct sunlight and opens up its wings to enable heat penetration in between its wing and body. Most of these grooming and recreational behaviors are individual, but, social behaviors could also be observed. These include cases where male birds, more bright in colours were spotted on display singing together. This is a characteristic of the mating period, when males go on display to attract females to mate with, hence leading to reproduction. Nesting is the next social behavior when two birds, presumable male and female are spotted combining efforts to construct a nest where the eggs will be laid, hatched and the young ones raised from. Response to calls was evident as to alert others of the discovery of a food patch or alert in case of a n intruder. This could be judged by the kind of response that followed any particular call. In conclusion, a number of behaviors were observed to be interconnected to the welfare of the species along to its biological processes. These include grooming, which was found out to

Students should go to colleges better than universities from the Essay

Students should go to colleges better than universities from the beginning - Essay Example One of the problems is that most of these students study for the sake of passing their examinations (Fernando, 50). As a result, most of them finish campus with no adequate knowledge required by the employers. This makes most of them jobless for a long time, which is problematic for the generation of these productive individuals. The reason is some individuals may not have gotten the required grade to join their desired course (Nitza, 135). Thus, the university admits the individual for a much lower course than the one the individual yearned for. They will only study for that course for the sake of getting a degree. This is unlike in joining college first since the individual can get the required marks in college and then join university to pursue their desired courses. Most of these individuals joining university are fresh from high school where their parents monitor their every move (Chin, 18). However, with university, most of them even move out to live in campus premises. The joy of being able to live away from the parents finally is a relief for most of them who tend to put it in their heads. They become party animals in campus to an extent of forgetting their studies. There are even cases of students caught cheating during exams due to failure of adequate preparation. It is important for such students to realize that despite how long it takes, it is important to join university for the right reasons- working hard to get a well-paying job in future. This brings us to the next

Violence in Sports Essay Example for Free

Violence in Sports Essay Comedian Rodney Dangerfield once joked, â€Å"I went to the fight the other night and a hockey game broke out†, but violence in sports is a continuous problem that is not amusing. Whether the conversation is the about the â€Å"blood games† of the Ancient Greeks and Romans or the 2012 NFL season, there is one common factor and it is violence. Over the course of history sporting events have become more civilized which does not make the â€Å"blood games† and Monday Night Football an apples to apples comparison, however one cannot debate the fact that violence still remains a main stay in sports today. The real debate is who is responsible for its continuous existence. Has society witnessed so much violence that sports would not be sports without it? Did the media and the commercialization of sports help keep violence alive in today’s games? Is there truly enough evidence to pinpoint the real culprit or can we all mutually agree that all parties are to blame? The author argues that much of the violence in sports today involves overconformity to the norms of the sport ethic which is absolutely valid. Jay Coakley discusses how athletes may use violence to enhance their status amongst peers and gain popularity with spectators. He believes some athletes compensate their insecurities with extreme measures to prove themselves because â€Å"they are only as good as their last game†. Every day athletes are looking to make that big devastating hit that will have fans jumping out of their seats, teammates giving them high fives and coaches praising them in team film sessions. They have a desire to gain a reputation that demands respects, a player with a killer instinct that opponents fear. While I agree with Coakley, it is only to a certain degree. In today’s society you must factor in the media and the commercialization of sports as well. Players understand that the big hit will gain them the respect they desire, but it will also gain a clip in ESPN’s top ten highlights. Players in today’s game have a need to be noticed and recognized by the media because it will lead to cashing in on a big time sports contract and endorsement deals. Back in the 1970’s players demanded respect because they wanted to be a tough guy which is also true today, but now they prefer to be a famous rich tough guy. Violence in sports does not only exist within the participants of sporting events either, which continues to build on the Coakley’s argument that athletes use violence in an effort to gain spectators popularity. Sports fans fighting against other fans for obscene comments toward each other, wearing the wrong jersey in the wrong section, or looking to fight players for poor performances are becoming the norm. These events are putting fans in a state of wanting, in fact needing violence in order to be satisfied with sporting events. Soccer has become a sport that is synonymous with fan violence. Soccer fans have no level of fear when it comes to violence and it has come the point that soccer players are scared of their own fans. Alexei Barrionuevo and Charles Newberry of the NY Times wrote an article discussing the extreme fan hostility and violence that occurs in Argentinian soccer. There is an organization in Argentina dedicated to ending violence in soccer named Let’s Save Football, but there existence is not enough to deter the violence. In fact the president of the organization Monica Nizzard, stated, â€Å"We don’t feel safe inside of our stadiums in Argentina†, â€Å"That is why families have stopped going. † (NY Times 2011). This is just one example of many fans creating a violent atmosphere that exists in sports today. Coalkey also describes a scene from Pat Conroy’s novel The Prince of Tides that has a coach addressing his team in a manner that puts a player in a state of mind looking to create a violent experience. However he states â€Å"many coaches don’t use such vivid vocabulary because they know it can inspire dangerous forms of violence† and then adds that these coaches seek athletes that already think that way. He is correct, but at the same time incorrect. For example, the NFL recently made headlines with the New Orleans Saints â€Å"bounty program† where MSN Fox Sports quoted defensive coordinator Greg Williams quoted as saying, We need to decide whether Crabtree wants to be a (expletive) prima donna or he wants to be a tough guy. He becomes human when we take out that outside ACL. (Associated Press 2012). Coaches are just as responsible for violence in sports as the athletes. Some coaches may not be quoted like Greg Williams was, but on both amateur and professional levels coaches prepare game speeches about going to war with the enemy†¦not go give it your best effort. Below is a recent controversial video of a football coach that may or may not have assaulted an opposing 7th grade football player depending on your side of the situation. Regardless of the opinion on his actions it makes people wonder what this coach may be saying when the camera is not on. http://network.ardbarker. com/high_school/article_external/backyard/new_video_emerges_of_youth_coach_assaulting_player/12191230? refmod=backyardrefsrc=foxsports Sports play a significant role in society and grab the attention of millions of viewers while impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands of athletes. Some athletes use violence as a basic instinct while playing sports. Some athletes will use it as a means to gain money, power and respect. Some fans will cheer for violence and some fans will jeer against it. Coaches and parents will teach their children the right and wrong of violence in sports. With all that said, violence is not doing a disappearing magic act from sports. It used to exist, still exists and will continue to exist. Throughout all of my reading for this assignment I go back to one quote from Dan Lebowitz, executive director of the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University in Boston†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Questioning violence in sports offers an opportunity to question humanity in general. † (Discovery News, 2012) Cited References BarrioNuevo, A and Newberry, C. (2011, Nov. 26). In Argentina, Violence is Part of the Soccer Culture. Retrieved from NYTimes. com: http://www. nytimes.com/2011/11/27/sports/soccer/in-argentina-violence-is-part-of-the-soccer-culture. html? pagewanted=all_r=0 This article discusses the extremely violent nature of soccer in Argentina. It goes into detail the actions of violent Argentinian soccer fans. It also discusses how they are attempting to put a stop to the violence. Associated Press (2012, April 06). Report: Tape Captured Bounty Offer Retrieved from Fox Sports: http://msn. foxsports. com/nfl/story/gregg-williams-instructed-new-orleans-saints-players-to-injure-san-francisco-49ers-040512 In this article the author discusses the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal. It discusses the first released quotes from Coach Greg Williams regarding the bounties. It goes into detail about the entire tape and how it impacts the bounty scandal. Issac, A. (2012, Nov. 12). MNew Video Emerges of Youth Coach Assualting Playerkes Neon- Retrieved from Fox Sports: http://network. yardbarker. com/high_school/article_external/backyard/new_video_emerges_of_youth_coach_assaulting_player/12191230? refmod=backyardrefsrc=foxsports The video clip was used as a reference. The video shows a clip of a youth football coach assaulting an opposing 7th grade player. It details the legal action taken place against the coach and how it has affected his life. The player’s mother also speaks out against the coach. Sohn, E. (2012, March 07). Is Violence in Sport Inevitable Retrieved from Discovery News: http://news. discovery. com/adventure/violence-sports-football-120307. html The author discusses violence in sports and fans reactions to violence. It discusses actual fan violence as well as the viewership reactions to violence. The author also discusses the impact violence would have on sports if it did not exist.

Theory Mild Steel Material

Theory Mild Steel Material Mild steel or so-called carbon steel was the most common  types of steel  being used nowadays in almost all forms of industrial applications and industrial manufacturing. Basically, it refers to a group of low carbon steel with relatively low tensile strength, malleable and cheap which consist the maximum composition of Carbon between 0.15% to 0.3%. Furthermore its surface hardness can be increased through carburizing. Apart from the cheapest types of steel, it was widely used in every type of product created from  steel because of its weldability, good strength and hardness and although it has the tendency to rust, it is very durable to build materials. Plus, it had the ability to be be magnetized and used in almost any project that requires a lot number of metal. 2.1.2 Types of Mild Steel There were many types of Mild Steel that had been discovered until recently, among them were A36, High Strength Low Alloy (HSLA) Steel, Abrasion Resistant (AR), Pressure Vessel Quality (PVQ), 4140, 8620 ,1045,1018 and Free Machine Steel (FM 45). The most popular mild steel specification for carbon steel is A36 which normally comes in shapes of plates and bars for bolted and welded construction. High Strength Low Alloy (HSLA) Steel usually contain more than 15% composition of carbon and it is stronger than any ordinary plain carbon steels. HSLA normally comes in the appearance of Corten and Exten material. They are widely used in cars, cranes, bridges and other structures to handle stress at low temperatures. Abrasion Resistant (AR) is commonly used in truck and hopper bodies, shoots, and wear as it is a very hard mild steel that is abrasion or wear resistant. While for the Pressure Vessel Quality (PVQ), because of its properties which are high strength and low weight mild steel it wa s commonly used in earth moving, transport equipment such as booms, buckets, and pressure vessels. Among the example of PVQ are A514 and T1. 4140 and 8620 perform well under high heat, heavy load wear-resistant material and was used for dyes and molds. 1045 is a standard mild steel which is more durable than A36 though it is harder to machine and weld. It is commonly used for axles, bolts, connecting rods, hydraulic rams and etc. 1018 is the most frequently available of the cold-rolled steels and chemically similar to A36. It come generally in round rod, square bar and rectangle bar. It have good edges such as strength, ductility and ease of machining. Last but not least, Free Machine Steel (FM 45) is a mild steel that has average durability in strength and easy to machine. 2.1.3 Mechanical Properties of Mild Steel In materials science, the strength phrase can be assumed as a high resistance to breakage. Mild steel was well known because of its high resistance to breakage and therefore its mechanical properties can be considered as very strong due to the low amount of carbon it contains. Mild Steel also was recognized as having a high tensile and impact strength compared to the High Carbon Steel due to the fact that it can be easily malleable even when in cold. Another distinguished differences of mechanical properties between high carbon steel and Mild Steel was mild steel bends or deforms if being subjected under stress while a high carbon steels usually shatter or crack. This cause Mild Steel was widely preferred in the construction area in the interest of its weldability, machiniability, malleablility and high strength. As a result of its high strength and easy to malleable, the former is actually quite soft which cause its easy to machine and welding both to itself or to other types of ste el. Nevertheless, the former cannot be hardened through heat treatment processes unlike the latter. Mild steel usually contains few other alloying elements other than Carbon to give them certain desirable mechanical properties. For example, lets take a look at 1018, a common type of mild steel. 1018 contains an approximately 0.6%-0.9% Manganese (Mn), 0.04% Phosphorus and 0.05% Sulphur. Varying these chemicals will affects certain properties such as corrosion resistance and strength. For instance, Phosphorus, Sulphur and Silicon are undesirable and can be considered as trace elements as they have negative impacts on the steel due to their bad effects on the steel and its properties. The reason why Phosphorus is consider as a trace element because it affects primarily the ductility and the toughness of steel mostly when the steel is in the quenched and tempered conditions. In fact, the Phosphorus has a tendency to react with the iron to form a compound known as ironphosphide (Fe3P) which has the particularity of being brittle. Hence, phosphorus renders steel less tough and ductile wh ile it increases brittleness. While for the Sulphur which also was a trace element, it has a great tendency to segregate (that is to isolate itself in the structure). It also reacts with iron to form iron sulphide which produces red or hot-shortness, since the low melting eutectic forms a network around the grains so that these hold but loosely together, and the grain boundaries may easily break up during hotforming. So, from here we can see that Sulphur plays a great role in the decline ability of steel such as weldability, impact, toughness and the ductility of the steel. Carbon is an element whose presence is imperative in all steel. Indeed, carbon is the principle hardening element of steel. That is, this alloying element determines the level of hardness or strength that can be attained by quenching. Furthermore, carbon is essential for the formation of cementite (as well as other carbides) and of pearlite, spheridite, bainite, and iron-carbon martensite, with martensite being the hardest of the microstructures. Carbon is also responsible for increase in tensile strength, hardness, resistance to wear and abrasion. However, when present in high quantities it affects the ductility, the toughness and the machinability of steel. Whereas element like Carbon and Manganese are desireable as it can enhanced the properties of steel. First, lets observe Carbon element. Carbon is an element whose presence is imperative in all steel. Indeed, carbon is the principle hardening element of steel. That means that the alloying element determines the level of hardness or strength that can be attained by quenching. Furthermore, carbon is essential for the formation of cementite (as well as other carbides) and not to mention pearlite, spheridite,bainite, and iron-carbon martensite, with martensite being the hardest of the microstructures. Carbon is also responsible for the increase in tensile strength, hardness,resistance to wear and abrasion. However, when present in high quantities it will affects the ductility, the toughness and the machinability of steel. Same as Carbon, Manganese also contributes greatly towards increasing strength and hardness, but to a less extent than carbon. To be more precise, the degree to which manganese increases hardness and strength is dependent upon the Carbon content of the steel. In fact, manganese contributes to the increasing the strength of the ferrite, and also toward increasing the hardness of penetration of steel in the quench by decreasing the critical quenching speed. Moreover, still consisting of a considerable amount of manganese can be quenched in oil rather than in water, and are therefore less susceptible to cracking because of reduction in the shock of the quenching. In addition, the latter enhance the tensile strength, the hardness, the harden ability, the resistance to wear and it also increase the rate of carbon penetrating in the coefficient of thermal expansion of steel whereas it is detrimental to both thermal and electrical conductivity. 2.1.4 Application of Mild Steel Nowadays, every objects that are fabricated of  steel  are using  mild  steel type of material which includes automobile chassis, motorcycle frames and most cookware product. Due to its poor corrosion-resistance, it must be painted or protected and sealed in order to prevent rust from damaging it. A light coat of oil or grease is able to seal this  steel  and aid in rust control.Unlike high-carbon  steel,  mild  steel  is easily welded. The properties of the  steel  allow the electrical current to travel through the metal without distorting the makeup of the material. Some types of high-carbon  steel such as stainless  steel, require special techniques in order to properly weld the material. Being less brittle than high-carbon steels, the  mild  variant is able to flex and give in construction projects where a higher-carbon version could simply break. Most of the pipeline in the world is created using  mild  steel. This allows the pipe to not only be easily welded into place, but also lets the pipeline flex and avoid cracking and breaking under pressure. The corrosive properties of the  steel  pipeline mean that it must be properly sealed through painting or a process often used on pipelines that involves wrapping the pipe with a corrosive-resistant material.Often in very cold climates, a warming type of insulating material is wrapped around the pipeline. This material helps keep the cold inside the pipe running smoothly. The wrap also prevents the soft  mild  pipe  steel  from becoming brittle and cracking. The constant expansion and shrinkage due to cold and warmth cycling in the pipe could create structural integrity problems, but these are held in check by the insulating wrap. On a much smaller scale, household pipes can be prevented from becoming cold and breaking by the use of electrical heating tape. 2.2 Theory Test 2.2.1 Tensile Test A  tensile test, also known as tension test is the most fundamental type of mechanical test one can perform on the material. This tests are simple, relatively inexpensive, and fully standardized. By pulling on something, one will determine how the material will react to forces being applied in tension. As the material is being pulled, one will find its strength along with how much it will elongate. The objective of conducting Tensile test until the material breaks or rupture is to obtain a complete tensile profile. A curve will result showing how it reacted to the forces being applied. The point of failure is of much interest and is typically called the Ultimate Strength or UTS on the Stress vs Strain diagram. The total of 4 samples of mild steel plate were prepared for this test purposed where all the samples were machined following the standardized dimension given. Stress vs Strain Diagram 2.2.2 Hardness Test Rockwell hardness testing is a general method for measuring the bulk hardness of metallic and polymer materials. Although hardness testing does not give a direct measurement of any performance properties, hardness correlates with strength, wear resistance, and other properties. Hardness testing is widely used for material evaluation due to its simplicity and low cost relative to direct measurement of many properties. This method consists of indenting the test material with a diamond cone or hardened steel ball indenter. Only 1 samples of mild steel material plate was prepared for this type of test as this test only required 1 samples indent 10 data on that 1 samples. 2.2.3 Impact Test The impact properties of samples were measured using the standardized dimension from the strength lab that had been acquired from the lab technician. Then the samples that had complete the machining process will have to undergo two test which are Charpy test and Izod test. These two test were meant to measure the the amount of  energy absorbed by a material during  fracture. This absorbed energy is a measure of a given materials notch  toughness  and acts as a tool to study temperature-dependent ductile-brittle transition. The only distinctive differences between the charpy and izod lies in the way that the specimen are supported in the apparatus machine. 2.2.4 Microstructure Observation In Microstructure observation, the samples of mild steel plate will be observed under the microscope in order to monitor the microstructure of the specimen. Before the observation start, the sample will have to be prepared by first grinding the sample with grit sand paper starting from 240, 320, 400, 600 and lastly 1200. After that the sample will be polished by using either powder or paste depend on which is more suitable. Only after all these process were done we can start observe the microstructure under the microscope starting from 5x, 10x, 20x, 40x, 50x and etc.

Role of Blog Marketing in Consumer Decision Making Process

Role of Blog Marketing in Consumer Decision Making Process A FUTURE MARKETING PERSPECTIVE The phenomenon of blogs is growing rapidly and is expected to increase even in a more rapid pace (Technorati, 2006, November 6). As Wright (2006) discuss; blogs provides a new way of communicating with customers, as customers want to be talked with, not to. Companies have newly started to pay attention to this and as a result, the concept of Blog marketing has been born. The use of blogs as a communication tool has the huge importance for companies to understand how consumers use blogs in their decision making. The purpose of this paper is to understand and explore how and why consumers use blogs in their decision making process. Interview technique was used on young adults, as research suggests that this population use blogs the most (Tremayne, 2007). It was identified that consumers use blogs throughout their decision making. Within the consumers decision making, collaborative blogs was mostly used as the consumers because it cover specific topic of interest for the consumers. Consumers were found mainly writing in the blogs when they had knowledge to contribute with or when they needed information that they could not otherwise find in the blogs. It was identified that consumers turned to groups they belonged to, so called normative group, or they turned to groups that they did not belong to, so called comparative groups. These groups influenced the consumer by providing them with knowledge and by giving them positive and negative confirmation on their choice of purchase. However normative groups also persuaded the consumer to buy products in order to belong to the group. Besides this, a pattern of characteristics of the individuals that the consumer blogged with were noticed. Consumers wanted user experiences and thus the vast majority of these individuals they turned to, seemed to be consumers themselves, with relevant product experiences. The consumers also seem to blog more with certain individuals, whose opinions were valued more. These individuals often shared the latest information on products. Lastly it was also identified that consumers seemed to be selective when reading blog posts. The blog posts needed to contain detailed- and up-to-date information. Moreover, consumers wanted blog post to be written by other consumers because they saw them as more credible then companies. The consumers also chose to read blog posts that show similarities between the consumer and the blogger in terms of either usage pattern of product or preference for product choices. INTRODUCTION Ever since the internet was introduced for the general public during the 1990s, people have used it as a source of information. Majority of the population in India use internet in order to get information regarding products and services. However most statistics available does not tell how the consumers use the internet and what kind of information they search for. There are many different sources of information online, for example company web pages, communities, blogs etc. The concept of blogs and blogging is a relatively new phenomenon in todays society and it has not really been explored before. Nevertheless, magazines are today filled with articles on the importance for companies to start blogging and join the communication of the future, if they do not want to loose ground to their competitors (Lindstedt, 2005, November). The major blog search engine, Technorati, shows some interesting facts on the number of blogs and its growth. In October, 2006, Technorati counted 57 million blogs and a growth rate of one hundred thousand new blogs per day. This number is expected to keep growing and double every eight month (Technorati, 2006, November 6). However, when it comes to the number of blogs in India, there is uncertainty. Different articles talk about a wide interval of blogs, starting at around 18,000 (Lindstedt, 2005, August) and counting up to more then hundred thousands (Johansson, 2007). The reason to this wide span is due to the lack of a clear definition on what a blog is and also the fact that the figures are 18 months apart from each other. But the fact is that the tremendous growth of blogs worldwide also is true for India. India contains actors like Twitter, Facebook and MSN spaces whom all contain blogs and allow for a creation of your own blog. As a result of this growth, blog marketing has emerged as a new innovative way to create closer relationship with customers. It has also given the consumers the possibility to discuss amongst each other. Blog marketing allows marketers to establish closer relationships with its segment. Today limited research has been made within the concept of blog marketing. Furthermore, all research that has been conducted has had the focus on how companies can use blogs in order to interact with consumers. Something that has not been considered, and has been taken for granted, is the issue of how consumers use blogs in their decision making. Moreover, how consumers consider the information that is being transmitted on the blog has not yet been explored. The truth could be that consumers use blogs in a way that companies have not thought about. The existing use of blog marketing could thus miss its objectives if companies do not know how their audience perceives it. PROBLEM DISCUSSION The paper focuses on consumer decision making process and tried to explore how consumers use blogs in this process. As there is not so much work done on the area, this increases the importance to conduct such study. Blogs provides a new way of communicating with customers (Wright, 2006). In order to use this communication tool, it is of big importance for companies to understand how consumers use blogs in their decision making. The focus on the consumer decision making process in the context of blog is of importance for several reasons. It is today unclear how and in what stages consumers use blogs in their decision making process. An overview of the literature shows that not much research has been done within this subject. Traditional marketing tools such as advertising, sales promotion etc have different impact in the different stages of the consumer decision making process. But it is unclear what impact blogging has in those stages. By mapping out this information, companies can learn how to use their marketing in a new and innovative way to appeal consumers. Moreover, whatever research is conducted is from company perspective. To be successful in blog marketing, activities needs to be shaped in accordance to consumers blog usage. If companies learn how blogs are used, they can benefit in several ways like they can engage in the viral marketing on the blogs to create knowledge of their products, or can listen on why consumers prefer competitors products. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK What is Blog? A blog is a web page that contains regularly posted inlays that are archived and arranged in reversed chronological order (Wright 2006). They are user-friendly, inexpensive, self-publication of content for a potentially vast audience on the web. The entries in the blogs are called blog posts. Blogs are more flexible and interactive than previous publication print and digital formats. They contain numerous hyperlinks that are often accompanied by comments regarding the destination of the link. Blogs are designed to be a part of a network where they are connected to each other through links, which are generally related to the content. The readers then have the possibility to comment on the blog posts. Blogosphere is the term used to describe the global network of blog postings. Blogs can be thought of as a gateway to vast sources of information where users may respond to a blogger by sending comments and links to additional information. In this sense, it is fulfilling many needs (Trema yne, 2007). Type of Blogs Diary blog A diary blog is a web based tool that gives the author the possibility to post information for consumption for others. Also, diary blogs gives the reader the possibility to add comments regarding its content; however, this is not applicable for all diary blogs. The authors that are writing on a diary blog all have different opinions regarding things and express their view of whatever they are writing about. This is a demonstration to the personal and dynamic capacity of a diary blog according to Searles and Sifry (2002). Pomerantz and Stutzman, (2006) describes diary blogs as web pages that arranges discrete posts that contains chunks of information that may contain images, multimedia and text. According to Lamshed, Berry and Armstrong (2002) diary blogs are very personal and if the reader does not like the author and his/her opinion, it may not interest them enough to return. The blogger can use the diary blog for personal enjoyment and archive the happenings in their li ves. Collaborative blog It contains information that is posted by several individuals not just one author. In collaborative blogs, readers have the possibility to contribute with links or posts comments, in order to participate with their opinions, answers and questions. Most collaborative blogs focus on a specific topic, and the authors can be both regular people as well as experts within the topic (Holtz and Demopoulos, 2006). The collaborative blogs are an online group created by the bloggers in the blogosphere. These groups have focus on certain topics in order to encourage readers to correspond to each other, which is similar to a normal discussion group. The purpose, according to Lamshed et al. (2002), is to break down the barriers between people and to extend the blog to more than just one author, in order to create a discussion among its members. Collaborative blogs have standard rules about participation in order to avoid development of poor quality content, which do not encoura ge new and current readers to come back on a regular basis. Company blog It include two types of blogs, product and customer service blog. Product blogs can consist of different approaches. One approach is to provide updates about the product so customers can receive the latest information. A second approach is to provide customers with insights and information directly from those who are responsible for the products. A product blog that keeps customers updated can build loyalty to the product and the brand/company. The customer service blog is rather similar to product blogs, but customer service blogs focus completely on issues on the already purchased products. The customer service blogs is a channel in order to address the issues on the products to the customers that have purchased the product (Holtz and Demopoulos, 2006). When the first blogs appeared in the late 1990s, they were primary web pages that contained many links, offering mostly â€Å"personal information† and easy to update. The blogosphere has been expanding rapidly over the last few years. According to the New York Times and Pew Research, nearly one blog per second is created (Tremayne, 2007). The Current Scenario People have blogged long before the term was coined, but the trend gained force with the introduction of automated published systems, especially Blogger at blogger.com. Thousands of people use services such as Blogger to simplify and increase the publishing process. People started using the blogs because they wanted to express themselves about mentioned events. Blogging about events has attracted the attention of the mainstream news media, further contributing to the popularisation and adoption of this new phenomenon of computer mediated communication. Today the blogging in the blogosphere concerns business, for example about markets, customer service, product etc. (Tremayne, 2007). According to the search engine Technorati (2006, November 6) there were more than 57 million blogs available on the internet as of the end of October 2006. Approximately 12% of those blogs had posted comments or links. Research by the Pew Internet and American Life Project presented by Tremayne (2007) also indicates that blog readers today are similar to the early adopters of the internet and other new communication technologies. The bloggers are young, well-educated and more likely to be males. According to Tremayne (2007) the development of blogs seems to follow the traditionally diffusion path of successful new communication technologies and users with great interest in technology. The final step to become a part of the broader public of the internet community is then to shift to the general internet users. The new stage of the development of blogs is the business sector. Business has become a new phase of the communications that appears on the blogosphere today. Bloggers communicate and share information to each other since blogs are the new ways for customers to reach out to the companies. This scenario has made the companies more alert to listen to their customers demands through the blogosphere. Enterprises now have the opportunity to gain new knowledge from the customer and to gain an idea about what the customers are saying about them (Tremayne, 2007). Observations have been done on why internet users connect to blogs. Blogs seem to encourage a sense of community, especially for those who seek more in-depth information than what is available through traditional media. Blog content generally reflects the bias of the blogger, who tends to take one side of an issue. Furthermore it contains a sense of belonging to a group of like-minded individuals. Information seeking is also a reason for accessing blogs. Bloggers provide the latest news and analysis by experts and other with inside knowledge, some of which is glossed over or omitted by the traditional channels. Blog users can also frequently use one certain blog due to they follow a story for a longer period of time than that they would be able to do if the story came from traditional media (Tremayne, 2007). Blog as mode of Communication In business, companies are required to communicate with their customer and have a strategy for the implementation of the chosen approach (Kotler et al. 2005). Communication with customer can take many forms, such as advertising, mailed brochures, sales promotion and personal selling etc. The marketers are often those who conduct this communication. They are often perceived as people with something to sell; they express what is good, great and irresistible with the product/service (Varey 2002). Blog enjoys characteristics of different types of flow of communication like: It enjoys characteristics of One-step flow of communication as: Flow of information from company to the target audience (Fill 1999, Harrell et al 1999, Ottesen 2001). It is non-personal communication since the message is carried without personal involvement by Kotler et al. (2005). All consumers are exposed to the same message at the very same time. It follows the principle of Mass Communication (Fill 1999). It enjoys characteristics of Two-step flow of communication as: In this information goes from the sender to certain receivers, that in turn reach the target audience through interpersonal networks (Fill 1999). Mass communication reaches the target audience, opinion leaders and opinion formers are there to strengthen the influence of the message (Blackwell 2001). Blogs helps the opinion formers and leaders in reaching targets that were missed by the traditional mass communication. It enjoys characteristics of Multiple-step flow of communication as: It overcomes the problem of two-step flow of information that neither allow the information to flow between individuals in the target audience, nor it includes the communication between the original senders, via a consumer, to the opinion leader and then passed on to other consumers. It adds the function of gatekeepers, who are people in a position able to decide whether or not the target audience will be able to take part of the message. Relationship between Blog and Word of mouth (WOM) WOM is defined by (Blackwell et al 2001 p.404) as â€Å"the informal transmission of ideas, comments, opinions, and information between two people, neither one of which is a marketer†. According to them, both the sender and the receiver gains from WOM, which is supported by Fill (1999), who also argues for the above. The benefits for the receiver are rather straight-forward; as they gain lots of information they would not be able to obtain otherwise. The benefits for the sender can be a little vaguer at first glance, but according to both Blackwell et al (2001) and Fill (1999) people like to talk about the purchases for a number of reasons, such as confirmation, satisfaction, status etc; which is what the purpose of blogs. According to Blackwell et al (2001) the affect of WOM has increased rapidly due to Internet. Consumers of today are able to spread the word of something faster and further than ever before. Schindler and Bickart (2005) discuss that the traditional WOM and online WOM differs in the strength of ties between consumers when they are exchanging information between each other. Granovetter (1973) previously argued that the strength of ties between two individuals is a function of the amount of time spent together, the emotional intensity and degree of intimacy in the relationship. Following this discussion, online WOM is characterized by weak ties. Weak ties then provide three possible benefits for the consumer. Friedkin (1982) argues that it first provides a potential input for a decision. Second, consumer information should be more diverse then that coming from stronger ties. Thirdly, it also gives consumers the opportunity to gain access to expertise which they normally would not get access to (Constant, Sproull and Kiesler, 1997). One downside is however, that consumers do not know the motives of the person that provides the online WOM. It can be difficult to access the in formants background and expertise in the topic (Schindler and Bickart, 2005). Consumer Decision Making Process The consumer decision making process provides a general description on how a purchase decision is made. Consumers does not necessarily go through all the stages for all the kinds of decisions they make, and neither do they always go through the stages in the very specific order that is presented below (Blackwell et al 2001). The process consists of mainly five steps (need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase and the post-purchase process) according to most researchers within the field (Blackwell et al. 2001, Statt 1997, Kotler et al. 2005), but there are number of factors that affects the consumer in their purchasing process. Consumer are affected by individual determinants (Blackwell et al., 2001) and physical factors (Harell Frazier, 1999) because they are different, have different experiences and motivations, therefore, they will interpret things differently. Also consumers differ in available resources and knowledge which will further affect thei r decision. Another aspect that affects the consumers is the environmental influences (Blackwell et al., 2001) and societal and social factors (Harell et al., 1999). Here the authors talk about external factors that affect consumer, such as culture, social class and reference groups, but also the influence of the family and other individuals by whom the consumer is affected because every individual strive to some extent â€Å"fit in† heavily affect consumers. Also the information provided by these groups tend to have high credibility, depending on the consumers need to belong. Lastly, consumers are also affected by their degree of involvement (Harell et al. 1999). Involvement is the degree to which the consumers perceive the purchase to be of importance to them, and how complex they find the purchase situation (Blackwell et al 2001). The more complex the purchase, the more effort will be needed from the consumer in order to make a good decision. The involvement in turn affects the way in which consumes will learn about the products. Since a low involvement purchase is fairly routine consumers do not engage in a very extensive information search on the product, they mainly gather their information passively. A high-involvement purchase will demand more from the consumer and they will be more motivated to actively search for information. LITERATURE REVIEW Bickart Schindler (2001) investigated the WOM in online forums on the Internet. They assigned students to look at either corporate web pages or consumer forums about specific products. They found that after one semester, there was a higher interest in the product category for those who used the online discussion forum. They then suggested that a reason for this was because the content posts in the online discussion forums are thought to be more credible and more relevant but also having more empathy among its readers. In another study, Bickart Schindler (2005) tried to explore the consumer use of online WOM. They found three motives for using online WOM a) To gain information on purchase decisions, in which consumer reviews and negative information was of most interest; b) To get support from decision already made in which positive was used most for confirmation of that the right choice have been made; and c) Whether information was searched for fun or not. Another theme they discovered was the evaluation of the content of information in online WOM. They identified, corporate web pages are more biased and untrustworthy. Independent web pages free from corporate marketing, in which detailed information and authentic first person experience was viewed more credible and reliable. A consensus of agreement among consumers in the online WOM also tended to increase the credibility. Finally, they found online WOM disperse more information in all stages of consumer decision-making process. During the nee d recognition, when product was mentioned, it sometimes stimulated interest or problem recognition for the consumer. Other consumers sometimes provide ideas that lead for alternative product to be included, or removed, in the consumer consideration set. Online WOM also suggested important attributes that could influence the criteria of which alternatives are compared. Information from consumers on how alternative rate on those criteria was also of importance when comparing alternatives. After purchase was done, online WOM information could increase the consumers satisfaction of the purchase through positive information. They also discovered that their informants were selective in their information gathering process. This was done to simplify the information but also to help them absorb the information with amount of consumer information about a large area of different products. They continue and suggest that future research should look deeper into what characterise the content in those online WOM consumers choose to read. Bernhad, Bjurling and Ã…hrà ©n (2006) did another study on un-addressed consumer complaints through blogs. They found that the blog is used as a way to express dissatisfaction on companies and their products and services. It is used when the consumer do not get enough amendments from the companies. Blogs then works as a complement to complaints through friends and family, and it is an easy way to ease the consumers experiences and reduce the stress of a distasteful treatment from companies. The consumers have then used blog to warn other consumers on products and companies but also to tell their own story regarding the complaint. Bernhad et al. (2006) discuss that the technical development has reduced the barriers to complain and this had led to increased likelihood to present complains for products of less value. Wallstà ©n (2005) then comes to the conclusion that the collaborative blogs increase the learning process in which people can learn from each other by reading blog pos t. It also gives a shared knowledge base for the participants. In another study by Constant, et al. (1997) weak-tie sources were found to make it harder for consumers to assess the quality of the WOM information they received. Schindler and Bickart (2005) then discuss that the reason for this may be that the consumer do not know the motives of the informant and it may also sometimes be hard to assess the background and expertise in the topic of the informant. RESEARCH METHOD Research approach As the purpose of study is to understand how consumers perceive their own experiences and behaviour which can be best analysed through inductive approach. As this approach allows researcher to have more flexible structure that will permit alternative explanations of the phenomena. This approach is qualitative in nature that begins with data. It develops an empirical generalisation that describes patterns of that data and it seeks to identify or develop a theoretical proposition that is consistent with those patterns (Schutt, 1996). Research Strategy Putting emphasis on the inductive approach, research strategy of the paper is built on an exploratory study, though it also includes a cross-sectional study as interviews were held over a short period of time (Saunders et al. 2003). As the paper does not allow for sufficient time for conducting a longitudinal study and it is not intended to study the effects of change and development of the blogging phenomena on the consumers decision making process, a cross-sectional study is more appropriate. As the purpose of paper is from the consumers perspective, qualitative research method will enable us to get information from the informants and will allow us to understand the meaning that the informants attach to their experiences of blogging. Description is based on the meanings that informants express through words. A qualitative approach will allow getting this non-standardised data without being locked into a standardised set of questions. This is because the nature of the questions will need to be flexible and open-ended in order to explore what emerges during the interview. Furthermore, to get a rich description of this non-standardised data and to get into the thoughts of our informants, the interviews will need to allow a long length of time. Sample selection The sample selection consists of young educated adults; as previous research suggests they use blogs the most. The sample size consisted of nine people within the ages of 21 to 28. Of those nine people, three are females and six are males. Judgement sampling technique was used for identifying the informants who had rich experiences of blogging. The low number of informants can be justified by this as it allows getting a richer description of the phenomena studied. Data collection This primary data has been collected through interviews which are qualitative (semi-structured and in-depth) in nature. Limited research that exists and relates to our study has been used as secondary data. To check the effectiveness of semi-structured interview, two pilot studies were conducted. First semi-structured interview uses too much theoretical jargons that fail in retrieving the information. The second test then avoided the theoretical jargon and explanations. To get a rich description, informants were briefed two days prior on the themes to be covered in the interview. It was ensured that each informant had read the information letter before the interview took place. The informants were interviewed in two different ways -a) 6 informants were interviewed face-to-face in quiet rooms and conversations were recorded; and b) remaining 3 informants were interviewed through Skype because of distance and conversations were again recorded. However, attempt was made to conduct all interviews face-to-face as it enables to establish personal contact which is also important as Saunders et al (2003) argue; qualitative data favours the establishment of personal contact. It was also judged that the face-to-face contact would increase the likelihood of describing and identifying our informants accurately. In all cases, focus was on recording the findings from the interview as the findings emerged naturally. To really understand the informants meanings to their experiences and actions, flexible approach was used within the semi-structured interview. Although questions were bound to the themes, questions were flexible to allow an understanding of the participant. DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS Data is presented through sectioning each interview individually. Collected raw data was put into categories and themes that emerged from the interview as need is to have a close understanding to our informants. Information collected and compiled under each category will be compared with other categories. This helps in identifying relationships; in discovering key themes, and recognising patterns and trends. Later on, theoretical framework will be applied on those patterns in order to understand it in a new way. Quotes will be made to simplify the meaning and in drawing conclusions. Empirical Findings a) Interview with Reema Sharma: Reema, 25 years old, was interviewed at her office in Jammu and studying at Jammu University. She uses blogs when she wants to buy something new or wants to find out different type of products available. She also uses blogs for reading travel diaries for fun and to be in touch with people she knows. When it comes to blogging about a future purchase, she reads blogs by people who are in the same situation as her and that have experience from the things she is interested in. She blogs travels but sometimes for electronics products and hiking. She has never used blogs actively, she only reads them. The kind of blogs she uses is mainly product blogs, and collaborative blogs, where she can read and learn more. She does not really read the blogs from companies. Rarely she reads a blog and completely changes her mind. The blog can instead make her choose a different brand. Relationship with bloggers: For her, the blogger is just someone whose blog she happens to find. Reema trusts all the information that is written in the blogs, but she explains that the more detailed description on how the product has been used, the more she relies on the inlay. People whose blogs she reads most often posses greater knowledge then her, within the subject. Need and awareness discovered with blogs:Reema agrees that she discovers a lot of new kinds of products, but this has never actually evolved to a need. This has occurred, for example, when she has blogged about hiking gear, she has learned about many new products and the advantaged with those products, but as she is not very experienced in the area, many of those products are just too complicated. However, the blogs she reads regarding travels could actually create a need sometimes. From these blogs she learns more about possible places to travel to which she might visit later in her life she explains. Blogging for information and evaluation of potential purchase: Reema searches for information about experience from others consumers and their opinions. She looks for new things and assesses which of the product will give most value for her money. For her, price is often one of the most important factors affecting her decision. The reason to why she chooses to collect the information from blogs is because she feels that this is the only place where she can learn about peoples experiences and opinions, and also since this information is more neutral then if it would be from a company. When it comes to evaluating products, she mainly uses collaborative blogs in where many people can express their opinions on things. While evaluating the products she mainly stick within one price category that will offer her maximum value of her money. Bloggi Role of Blog Marketing in Consumer Decision Making Process Role of Blog Marketing in Consumer Decision Making Process A FUTURE MARKETING PERSPECTIVE The phenomenon of blogs is growing rapidly and is expected to increase even in a more rapid pace (Technorati, 2006, November 6). As Wright (2006) discuss; blogs provides a new way of communicating with customers, as customers want to be talked with, not to. Companies have newly started to pay attention to this and as a result, the concept of Blog marketing has been born. The use of blogs as a communication tool has the huge importance for companies to understand how consumers use blogs in their decision making. The purpose of this paper is to understand and explore how and why consumers use blogs in their decision making process. Interview technique was used on young adults, as research suggests that this population use blogs the most (Tremayne, 2007). It was identified that consumers use blogs throughout their decision making. Within the consumers decision making, collaborative blogs was mostly used as the consumers because it cover specific topic of interest for the consumers. Consumers were found mainly writing in the blogs when they had knowledge to contribute with or when they needed information that they could not otherwise find in the blogs. It was identified that consumers turned to groups they belonged to, so called normative group, or they turned to groups that they did not belong to, so called comparative groups. These groups influenced the consumer by providing them with knowledge and by giving them positive and negative confirmation on their choice of purchase. However normative groups also persuaded the consumer to buy products in order to belong to the group. Besides this, a pattern of characteristics of the individuals that the consumer blogged with were noticed. Consumers wanted user experiences and thus the vast majority of these individuals they turned to, seemed to be consumers themselves, with relevant product experiences. The consumers also seem to blog more with certain individuals, whose opinions were valued more. These individuals often shared the latest information on products. Lastly it was also identified that consumers seemed to be selective when reading blog posts. The blog posts needed to contain detailed- and up-to-date information. Moreover, consumers wanted blog post to be written by other consumers because they saw them as more credible then companies. The consumers also chose to read blog posts that show similarities between the consumer and the blogger in terms of either usage pattern of product or preference for product choices. INTRODUCTION Ever since the internet was introduced for the general public during the 1990s, people have used it as a source of information. Majority of the population in India use internet in order to get information regarding products and services. However most statistics available does not tell how the consumers use the internet and what kind of information they search for. There are many different sources of information online, for example company web pages, communities, blogs etc. The concept of blogs and blogging is a relatively new phenomenon in todays society and it has not really been explored before. Nevertheless, magazines are today filled with articles on the importance for companies to start blogging and join the communication of the future, if they do not want to loose ground to their competitors (Lindstedt, 2005, November). The major blog search engine, Technorati, shows some interesting facts on the number of blogs and its growth. In October, 2006, Technorati counted 57 million blogs and a growth rate of one hundred thousand new blogs per day. This number is expected to keep growing and double every eight month (Technorati, 2006, November 6). However, when it comes to the number of blogs in India, there is uncertainty. Different articles talk about a wide interval of blogs, starting at around 18,000 (Lindstedt, 2005, August) and counting up to more then hundred thousands (Johansson, 2007). The reason to this wide span is due to the lack of a clear definition on what a blog is and also the fact that the figures are 18 months apart from each other. But the fact is that the tremendous growth of blogs worldwide also is true for India. India contains actors like Twitter, Facebook and MSN spaces whom all contain blogs and allow for a creation of your own blog. As a result of this growth, blog marketing has emerged as a new innovative way to create closer relationship with customers. It has also given the consumers the possibility to discuss amongst each other. Blog marketing allows marketers to establish closer relationships with its segment. Today limited research has been made within the concept of blog marketing. Furthermore, all research that has been conducted has had the focus on how companies can use blogs in order to interact with consumers. Something that has not been considered, and has been taken for granted, is the issue of how consumers use blogs in their decision making. Moreover, how consumers consider the information that is being transmitted on the blog has not yet been explored. The truth could be that consumers use blogs in a way that companies have not thought about. The existing use of blog marketing could thus miss its objectives if companies do not know how their audience perceives it. PROBLEM DISCUSSION The paper focuses on consumer decision making process and tried to explore how consumers use blogs in this process. As there is not so much work done on the area, this increases the importance to conduct such study. Blogs provides a new way of communicating with customers (Wright, 2006). In order to use this communication tool, it is of big importance for companies to understand how consumers use blogs in their decision making. The focus on the consumer decision making process in the context of blog is of importance for several reasons. It is today unclear how and in what stages consumers use blogs in their decision making process. An overview of the literature shows that not much research has been done within this subject. Traditional marketing tools such as advertising, sales promotion etc have different impact in the different stages of the consumer decision making process. But it is unclear what impact blogging has in those stages. By mapping out this information, companies can learn how to use their marketing in a new and innovative way to appeal consumers. Moreover, whatever research is conducted is from company perspective. To be successful in blog marketing, activities needs to be shaped in accordance to consumers blog usage. If companies learn how blogs are used, they can benefit in several ways like they can engage in the viral marketing on the blogs to create knowledge of their products, or can listen on why consumers prefer competitors products. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK What is Blog? A blog is a web page that contains regularly posted inlays that are archived and arranged in reversed chronological order (Wright 2006). They are user-friendly, inexpensive, self-publication of content for a potentially vast audience on the web. The entries in the blogs are called blog posts. Blogs are more flexible and interactive than previous publication print and digital formats. They contain numerous hyperlinks that are often accompanied by comments regarding the destination of the link. Blogs are designed to be a part of a network where they are connected to each other through links, which are generally related to the content. The readers then have the possibility to comment on the blog posts. Blogosphere is the term used to describe the global network of blog postings. Blogs can be thought of as a gateway to vast sources of information where users may respond to a blogger by sending comments and links to additional information. In this sense, it is fulfilling many needs (Trema yne, 2007). Type of Blogs Diary blog A diary blog is a web based tool that gives the author the possibility to post information for consumption for others. Also, diary blogs gives the reader the possibility to add comments regarding its content; however, this is not applicable for all diary blogs. The authors that are writing on a diary blog all have different opinions regarding things and express their view of whatever they are writing about. This is a demonstration to the personal and dynamic capacity of a diary blog according to Searles and Sifry (2002). Pomerantz and Stutzman, (2006) describes diary blogs as web pages that arranges discrete posts that contains chunks of information that may contain images, multimedia and text. According to Lamshed, Berry and Armstrong (2002) diary blogs are very personal and if the reader does not like the author and his/her opinion, it may not interest them enough to return. The blogger can use the diary blog for personal enjoyment and archive the happenings in their li ves. Collaborative blog It contains information that is posted by several individuals not just one author. In collaborative blogs, readers have the possibility to contribute with links or posts comments, in order to participate with their opinions, answers and questions. Most collaborative blogs focus on a specific topic, and the authors can be both regular people as well as experts within the topic (Holtz and Demopoulos, 2006). The collaborative blogs are an online group created by the bloggers in the blogosphere. These groups have focus on certain topics in order to encourage readers to correspond to each other, which is similar to a normal discussion group. The purpose, according to Lamshed et al. (2002), is to break down the barriers between people and to extend the blog to more than just one author, in order to create a discussion among its members. Collaborative blogs have standard rules about participation in order to avoid development of poor quality content, which do not encoura ge new and current readers to come back on a regular basis. Company blog It include two types of blogs, product and customer service blog. Product blogs can consist of different approaches. One approach is to provide updates about the product so customers can receive the latest information. A second approach is to provide customers with insights and information directly from those who are responsible for the products. A product blog that keeps customers updated can build loyalty to the product and the brand/company. The customer service blog is rather similar to product blogs, but customer service blogs focus completely on issues on the already purchased products. The customer service blogs is a channel in order to address the issues on the products to the customers that have purchased the product (Holtz and Demopoulos, 2006). When the first blogs appeared in the late 1990s, they were primary web pages that contained many links, offering mostly â€Å"personal information† and easy to update. The blogosphere has been expanding rapidly over the last few years. According to the New York Times and Pew Research, nearly one blog per second is created (Tremayne, 2007). The Current Scenario People have blogged long before the term was coined, but the trend gained force with the introduction of automated published systems, especially Blogger at blogger.com. Thousands of people use services such as Blogger to simplify and increase the publishing process. People started using the blogs because they wanted to express themselves about mentioned events. Blogging about events has attracted the attention of the mainstream news media, further contributing to the popularisation and adoption of this new phenomenon of computer mediated communication. Today the blogging in the blogosphere concerns business, for example about markets, customer service, product etc. (Tremayne, 2007). According to the search engine Technorati (2006, November 6) there were more than 57 million blogs available on the internet as of the end of October 2006. Approximately 12% of those blogs had posted comments or links. Research by the Pew Internet and American Life Project presented by Tremayne (2007) also indicates that blog readers today are similar to the early adopters of the internet and other new communication technologies. The bloggers are young, well-educated and more likely to be males. According to Tremayne (2007) the development of blogs seems to follow the traditionally diffusion path of successful new communication technologies and users with great interest in technology. The final step to become a part of the broader public of the internet community is then to shift to the general internet users. The new stage of the development of blogs is the business sector. Business has become a new phase of the communications that appears on the blogosphere today. Bloggers communicate and share information to each other since blogs are the new ways for customers to reach out to the companies. This scenario has made the companies more alert to listen to their customers demands through the blogosphere. Enterprises now have the opportunity to gain new knowledge from the customer and to gain an idea about what the customers are saying about them (Tremayne, 2007). Observations have been done on why internet users connect to blogs. Blogs seem to encourage a sense of community, especially for those who seek more in-depth information than what is available through traditional media. Blog content generally reflects the bias of the blogger, who tends to take one side of an issue. Furthermore it contains a sense of belonging to a group of like-minded individuals. Information seeking is also a reason for accessing blogs. Bloggers provide the latest news and analysis by experts and other with inside knowledge, some of which is glossed over or omitted by the traditional channels. Blog users can also frequently use one certain blog due to they follow a story for a longer period of time than that they would be able to do if the story came from traditional media (Tremayne, 2007). Blog as mode of Communication In business, companies are required to communicate with their customer and have a strategy for the implementation of the chosen approach (Kotler et al. 2005). Communication with customer can take many forms, such as advertising, mailed brochures, sales promotion and personal selling etc. The marketers are often those who conduct this communication. They are often perceived as people with something to sell; they express what is good, great and irresistible with the product/service (Varey 2002). Blog enjoys characteristics of different types of flow of communication like: It enjoys characteristics of One-step flow of communication as: Flow of information from company to the target audience (Fill 1999, Harrell et al 1999, Ottesen 2001). It is non-personal communication since the message is carried without personal involvement by Kotler et al. (2005). All consumers are exposed to the same message at the very same time. It follows the principle of Mass Communication (Fill 1999). It enjoys characteristics of Two-step flow of communication as: In this information goes from the sender to certain receivers, that in turn reach the target audience through interpersonal networks (Fill 1999). Mass communication reaches the target audience, opinion leaders and opinion formers are there to strengthen the influence of the message (Blackwell 2001). Blogs helps the opinion formers and leaders in reaching targets that were missed by the traditional mass communication. It enjoys characteristics of Multiple-step flow of communication as: It overcomes the problem of two-step flow of information that neither allow the information to flow between individuals in the target audience, nor it includes the communication between the original senders, via a consumer, to the opinion leader and then passed on to other consumers. It adds the function of gatekeepers, who are people in a position able to decide whether or not the target audience will be able to take part of the message. Relationship between Blog and Word of mouth (WOM) WOM is defined by (Blackwell et al 2001 p.404) as â€Å"the informal transmission of ideas, comments, opinions, and information between two people, neither one of which is a marketer†. According to them, both the sender and the receiver gains from WOM, which is supported by Fill (1999), who also argues for the above. The benefits for the receiver are rather straight-forward; as they gain lots of information they would not be able to obtain otherwise. The benefits for the sender can be a little vaguer at first glance, but according to both Blackwell et al (2001) and Fill (1999) people like to talk about the purchases for a number of reasons, such as confirmation, satisfaction, status etc; which is what the purpose of blogs. According to Blackwell et al (2001) the affect of WOM has increased rapidly due to Internet. Consumers of today are able to spread the word of something faster and further than ever before. Schindler and Bickart (2005) discuss that the traditional WOM and online WOM differs in the strength of ties between consumers when they are exchanging information between each other. Granovetter (1973) previously argued that the strength of ties between two individuals is a function of the amount of time spent together, the emotional intensity and degree of intimacy in the relationship. Following this discussion, online WOM is characterized by weak ties. Weak ties then provide three possible benefits for the consumer. Friedkin (1982) argues that it first provides a potential input for a decision. Second, consumer information should be more diverse then that coming from stronger ties. Thirdly, it also gives consumers the opportunity to gain access to expertise which they normally would not get access to (Constant, Sproull and Kiesler, 1997). One downside is however, that consumers do not know the motives of the person that provides the online WOM. It can be difficult to access the in formants background and expertise in the topic (Schindler and Bickart, 2005). Consumer Decision Making Process The consumer decision making process provides a general description on how a purchase decision is made. Consumers does not necessarily go through all the stages for all the kinds of decisions they make, and neither do they always go through the stages in the very specific order that is presented below (Blackwell et al 2001). The process consists of mainly five steps (need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase and the post-purchase process) according to most researchers within the field (Blackwell et al. 2001, Statt 1997, Kotler et al. 2005), but there are number of factors that affects the consumer in their purchasing process. Consumer are affected by individual determinants (Blackwell et al., 2001) and physical factors (Harell Frazier, 1999) because they are different, have different experiences and motivations, therefore, they will interpret things differently. Also consumers differ in available resources and knowledge which will further affect thei r decision. Another aspect that affects the consumers is the environmental influences (Blackwell et al., 2001) and societal and social factors (Harell et al., 1999). Here the authors talk about external factors that affect consumer, such as culture, social class and reference groups, but also the influence of the family and other individuals by whom the consumer is affected because every individual strive to some extent â€Å"fit in† heavily affect consumers. Also the information provided by these groups tend to have high credibility, depending on the consumers need to belong. Lastly, consumers are also affected by their degree of involvement (Harell et al. 1999). Involvement is the degree to which the consumers perceive the purchase to be of importance to them, and how complex they find the purchase situation (Blackwell et al 2001). The more complex the purchase, the more effort will be needed from the consumer in order to make a good decision. The involvement in turn affects the way in which consumes will learn about the products. Since a low involvement purchase is fairly routine consumers do not engage in a very extensive information search on the product, they mainly gather their information passively. A high-involvement purchase will demand more from the consumer and they will be more motivated to actively search for information. LITERATURE REVIEW Bickart Schindler (2001) investigated the WOM in online forums on the Internet. They assigned students to look at either corporate web pages or consumer forums about specific products. They found that after one semester, there was a higher interest in the product category for those who used the online discussion forum. They then suggested that a reason for this was because the content posts in the online discussion forums are thought to be more credible and more relevant but also having more empathy among its readers. In another study, Bickart Schindler (2005) tried to explore the consumer use of online WOM. They found three motives for using online WOM a) To gain information on purchase decisions, in which consumer reviews and negative information was of most interest; b) To get support from decision already made in which positive was used most for confirmation of that the right choice have been made; and c) Whether information was searched for fun or not. Another theme they discovered was the evaluation of the content of information in online WOM. They identified, corporate web pages are more biased and untrustworthy. Independent web pages free from corporate marketing, in which detailed information and authentic first person experience was viewed more credible and reliable. A consensus of agreement among consumers in the online WOM also tended to increase the credibility. Finally, they found online WOM disperse more information in all stages of consumer decision-making process. During the nee d recognition, when product was mentioned, it sometimes stimulated interest or problem recognition for the consumer. Other consumers sometimes provide ideas that lead for alternative product to be included, or removed, in the consumer consideration set. Online WOM also suggested important attributes that could influence the criteria of which alternatives are compared. Information from consumers on how alternative rate on those criteria was also of importance when comparing alternatives. After purchase was done, online WOM information could increase the consumers satisfaction of the purchase through positive information. They also discovered that their informants were selective in their information gathering process. This was done to simplify the information but also to help them absorb the information with amount of consumer information about a large area of different products. They continue and suggest that future research should look deeper into what characterise the content in those online WOM consumers choose to read. Bernhad, Bjurling and Ã…hrà ©n (2006) did another study on un-addressed consumer complaints through blogs. They found that the blog is used as a way to express dissatisfaction on companies and their products and services. It is used when the consumer do not get enough amendments from the companies. Blogs then works as a complement to complaints through friends and family, and it is an easy way to ease the consumers experiences and reduce the stress of a distasteful treatment from companies. The consumers have then used blog to warn other consumers on products and companies but also to tell their own story regarding the complaint. Bernhad et al. (2006) discuss that the technical development has reduced the barriers to complain and this had led to increased likelihood to present complains for products of less value. Wallstà ©n (2005) then comes to the conclusion that the collaborative blogs increase the learning process in which people can learn from each other by reading blog pos t. It also gives a shared knowledge base for the participants. In another study by Constant, et al. (1997) weak-tie sources were found to make it harder for consumers to assess the quality of the WOM information they received. Schindler and Bickart (2005) then discuss that the reason for this may be that the consumer do not know the motives of the informant and it may also sometimes be hard to assess the background and expertise in the topic of the informant. RESEARCH METHOD Research approach As the purpose of study is to understand how consumers perceive their own experiences and behaviour which can be best analysed through inductive approach. As this approach allows researcher to have more flexible structure that will permit alternative explanations of the phenomena. This approach is qualitative in nature that begins with data. It develops an empirical generalisation that describes patterns of that data and it seeks to identify or develop a theoretical proposition that is consistent with those patterns (Schutt, 1996). Research Strategy Putting emphasis on the inductive approach, research strategy of the paper is built on an exploratory study, though it also includes a cross-sectional study as interviews were held over a short period of time (Saunders et al. 2003). As the paper does not allow for sufficient time for conducting a longitudinal study and it is not intended to study the effects of change and development of the blogging phenomena on the consumers decision making process, a cross-sectional study is more appropriate. As the purpose of paper is from the consumers perspective, qualitative research method will enable us to get information from the informants and will allow us to understand the meaning that the informants attach to their experiences of blogging. Description is based on the meanings that informants express through words. A qualitative approach will allow getting this non-standardised data without being locked into a standardised set of questions. This is because the nature of the questions will need to be flexible and open-ended in order to explore what emerges during the interview. Furthermore, to get a rich description of this non-standardised data and to get into the thoughts of our informants, the interviews will need to allow a long length of time. Sample selection The sample selection consists of young educated adults; as previous research suggests they use blogs the most. The sample size consisted of nine people within the ages of 21 to 28. Of those nine people, three are females and six are males. Judgement sampling technique was used for identifying the informants who had rich experiences of blogging. The low number of informants can be justified by this as it allows getting a richer description of the phenomena studied. Data collection This primary data has been collected through interviews which are qualitative (semi-structured and in-depth) in nature. Limited research that exists and relates to our study has been used as secondary data. To check the effectiveness of semi-structured interview, two pilot studies were conducted. First semi-structured interview uses too much theoretical jargons that fail in retrieving the information. The second test then avoided the theoretical jargon and explanations. To get a rich description, informants were briefed two days prior on the themes to be covered in the interview. It was ensured that each informant had read the information letter before the interview took place. The informants were interviewed in two different ways -a) 6 informants were interviewed face-to-face in quiet rooms and conversations were recorded; and b) remaining 3 informants were interviewed through Skype because of distance and conversations were again recorded. However, attempt was made to conduct all interviews face-to-face as it enables to establish personal contact which is also important as Saunders et al (2003) argue; qualitative data favours the establishment of personal contact. It was also judged that the face-to-face contact would increase the likelihood of describing and identifying our informants accurately. In all cases, focus was on recording the findings from the interview as the findings emerged naturally. To really understand the informants meanings to their experiences and actions, flexible approach was used within the semi-structured interview. Although questions were bound to the themes, questions were flexible to allow an understanding of the participant. DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS Data is presented through sectioning each interview individually. Collected raw data was put into categories and themes that emerged from the interview as need is to have a close understanding to our informants. Information collected and compiled under each category will be compared with other categories. This helps in identifying relationships; in discovering key themes, and recognising patterns and trends. Later on, theoretical framework will be applied on those patterns in order to understand it in a new way. Quotes will be made to simplify the meaning and in drawing conclusions. Empirical Findings a) Interview with Reema Sharma: Reema, 25 years old, was interviewed at her office in Jammu and studying at Jammu University. She uses blogs when she wants to buy something new or wants to find out different type of products available. She also uses blogs for reading travel diaries for fun and to be in touch with people she knows. When it comes to blogging about a future purchase, she reads blogs by people who are in the same situation as her and that have experience from the things she is interested in. She blogs travels but sometimes for electronics products and hiking. She has never used blogs actively, she only reads them. The kind of blogs she uses is mainly product blogs, and collaborative blogs, where she can read and learn more. She does not really read the blogs from companies. Rarely she reads a blog and completely changes her mind. The blog can instead make her choose a different brand. Relationship with bloggers: For her, the blogger is just someone whose blog she happens to find. Reema trusts all the information that is written in the blogs, but she explains that the more detailed description on how the product has been used, the more she relies on the inlay. People whose blogs she reads most often posses greater knowledge then her, within the subject. Need and awareness discovered with blogs:Reema agrees that she discovers a lot of new kinds of products, but this has never actually evolved to a need. This has occurred, for example, when she has blogged about hiking gear, she has learned about many new products and the advantaged with those products, but as she is not very experienced in the area, many of those products are just too complicated. However, the blogs she reads regarding travels could actually create a need sometimes. From these blogs she learns more about possible places to travel to which she might visit later in her life she explains. Blogging for information and evaluation of potential purchase: Reema searches for information about experience from others consumers and their opinions. She looks for new things and assesses which of the product will give most value for her money. For her, price is often one of the most important factors affecting her decision. The reason to why she chooses to collect the information from blogs is because she feels that this is the only place where she can learn about peoples experiences and opinions, and also since this information is more neutral then if it would be from a company. When it comes to evaluating products, she mainly uses collaborative blogs in where many people can express their opinions on things. While evaluating the products she mainly stick within one price category that will offer her maximum value of her money. Bloggi