Impact of World Trade Organization (WTO) Policies

Impact of World Trade Organization (WTO) Policies World trade organization (WTO): Introduction: World exchange transactions designed for understandings and settlements for exchange liberalization have been occurring persistently since 1986, with the initiation of the Uruguay Round of transactions in the schema of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which turned into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995. Since the establishing of the WTO the transactions have been highlighted by an arrangement of ecclesiastical gatherings where real choices are to be made by the most abnormal amount of government authorities. Some of these gatherings have been disappointments all alone terms— practically as regularly as they have been effective. Contrasts over the regulation of horticultural exchange whats more homestead endowments assumed focal parts in the most broadcasted of the disappointments, in Seattle in 1999 and in Cancun, Mexico, in 2003. Verifiable setting At the point when inspecting issues behind this worldwide contention, it is vital to comprehend the verifiable connection of exchange liberalization. World financial history has long been described by cycles—or pendulum swings—between more liberated exchange and protectionism. Swings to exchange liberalization are frequently alluded to as financial incorporation— as in coordinating the economies of Canada, the US and Mexico through NAFTA—and the latest swing has been named financial globalization. It would be wrong to assume that incorporation and globalization have never happened some time recently. The most clear authentic illustration is that of European frontiers, in which the economies of the states were incorporated into the undeniably worldwide economies of Europe Structural Adjustment: Forerunner to Trade Agreements The South required obligation rebuilding and the North needed more noteworthy access to Southern markets. The arrangement was obligation rebuilding molded upon the selection of Structural Adjustment Packages (Saps) by Southern governments. A focal peculiarity of these Saps was exchange liberalization including the slicing of imports levies and portions, steep cuts in residential endowments, and begin of no matter how you look at it privatization of state administrations and services. From the GATT to the Uruguay Round and the WTO An arrangement of exchange talks which kept going from 1986 to 1994, and that extended the tenets of worldwide exchange to cover administrations and protected innovation. An exchange round is the name given to arrangement of arrangements where nations attempt to achieve concessions to exchange issue, for example, levy diminishment. The World Exchange Organization (WTO) was made as one of the understandings of the Uruguay Round. The WTO started life in 1995 as another worldwide trade organization, changing the GATT into a more enforceable worldwide exchange code focused around an arrangement of approvals for rebelliousness. The expressed goals of the world trade organization incorporate raising expectations for everyday comforts, guaranteeing full job and a vast and relentlessly becoming volume of genuine wage and viable request, and growing the generation of and exchange merchandise and administrations, in different words, financial improvement focused around the business. This impli es that WTO understandings are intended to bring free market standards into worldwide exchange, through two fundamental components: 1) decreasing exchange boundaries, and 2) applying nondiscriminatory standards. One other imperative guideline, from a certain point of view, is attention for creating nations. Current Status of the WTO Negotiations After the disappointment of the Cancun clerical gathering, arrangements on rural exchange and sponsorships moved in two different bearings. From one perspective, both the U’s whats more the EU hurried to arrange and now and again sign local and respective organized commerce assertions. These incorporated the signings and arrangements between the U’s whats more Central America (CAFTA), the Andean area, the Middle East, Australia, Africa and others, including the stalled arrangements for the Western Hemisphere (FTAA), (Q.A 2003) what’s more between the EU and Latin America, EU extension, and respective negotiations. (Becker, Elizabeth. 2004a) Then again, the US and the EU have escalated their endeavors to concur on another skeleton for WTO arrangements post-Cancun. This took the type of transactions on the alleged July skeleton that closed in Geneva on August 1, 2004. Eyewitnesses noted overwhelming weight strategies by the U’s whats more 6. The key issues in present exchange arrangements 6.1. Grocery Access This is an issue for both Northern and Southern governments. As we saw in the chronicled audit above, access to Southern nation markets for U’s furthermore European Union (EU) fares was a key inspiration first for Saps and later for exchange transactions. Then again, the asymmetry by which Northern nations right now depend on a scope of non-exchange boundaries (Ntbs) to offer more noteworthy assurance to their home markets than Southern nations are allowed for theirs, has transformed business sector access to Northern markets, for Southern fares, into a focal revitalizing cry of the present round of transactions. This was one of the key focuses of accord that united the purported G-20 which incorporated various vast Southern agro export forces like Brazil, China, South Africa and India—in their hindering of new assertions in Cancun. 6.2. Local Subsidies Domestic sponsorships are government installments and administrations to ranchers and agribusinesses, and are off and on again mistaken for residential helps, with is a more extensive classification that additionally incorporates instruments to help crop whats more animal’s costs, in the same way as import duties and standards, and value helps. While the U’s whats more EU formally underwrite slicing appropriations, in practice they have been extremely hesitant to do along these lines, and have regularly depended on what faultfinders and Southern governments see as camouflaging exchange bending appropriations as non-exchange contorting ones. Consequently the endowment issue has assumed a key part in numerous fizzled exchange summits. Agriculturist associations, then again, and numerous exchange economists, see the sponsorship issue in an unexpected way. They indicate studies demonstrating that regardless of the fact that all Northern exchange contorting appropriations we re uprooted tomorrow, unnecessarily low yield also domesticated animals costs would even now plague worldwide merchandise markets Send out Subsidies This is an alternate significant bone of controversy, however one in which evident U’s also EU concessions as of late help re-begin stalled WTO arrangements. As per WTO rationale, these countries, particularly the EU, have huge appropriations for exporters (to a great extent agribusinesses and not ranchers), which are intensely exchange mutilating. The US has since quite a while ago utilized fare credits excluded in the WTOs specialized meaning of fare appropriations to sidestep the fare sponsorship issue and point the finger at the EU 7. Dumping and Subsidies: Unraveling the Confusion Dumping is what is driving a great many agriculturists off the area all through the Third World also into urban slums and global transient streams. It causes the low product costs that make gaining a work off the area progressively impossible.( Bullard, Nicola. 2004). It is likewise unlawful under settled global guidelines. Yet due to the way these principles are composed, they are basically unenforceable when the complainant is a poor nation. First and foremost, nations must have residential enactment that makes dumping illicit. Numerous creating nations dont have such enactment. Second, the organizations (or ranchers) influenced must take after that residential law, which normally intimates indicating damage to the segment all in all an overwhelming test when the segment is involved a million or more smallholders. While dumping is actually the most obvious issue of the current global exchange administration in ranch items, the media keeps on focusing on US and EU appropriations. Th e disarray over sponsorships and dumping has deliberately or unintentionally reached out to the Cairns gathering countries, by the G-20 arranging coalition, and by elements and individuals as various as the World Bank, Oxfam, Jacques Diouf of FAO, Kofi Annan (leader of the UN), the Wall Street Journal, and heading standard economists.( de Grassi, Aaron, and Peter Rosset) 8. Elective Paradigms Two noteworthy options to the rural liberalization ideal model have been put forward, both with noteworthy effects. These are: 8.1. Multi functionality According to this concept, ( Grain, 2004)agribusiness is not pretty much creating tradable wares, yet rather has different capacities in the public eye. It is additionally about saving scenes and securing homestead vocations and country conventions, and it is about nourishment security, and in this manner merits uncommon attention in exchange assertions, as per the defenders of this concept.( Green, Duncan. 2003) Multi functionality was initially championed by the EU, to some extent as an approach to support keeping up endowments for European ranchers. The EU looked for a partnership with the Third World countries on this idea, yet the U’s furthermore Cairns Group (a coalition of real agro exporting nations) effectively contended that the EU was liable of guarding its own particular ranchers while sponsoring fares that undercut agriculturists somewhere else, consequently blocking backing for this idea from Southern countries. 8.2. Sustenance Sovereignty The idea has picked up huge prevalence and reverberate in common society divisions of countries both North and South, and has been created into a comprehensive and inside intelligible option framework. (Hayenga, M. and R. Wisner, 2000) Like the idea of multi functionality, it is focused around the extraordinary nature of horticulture (as contrasted with industry, for instance). Sustenance Sovereignty advocates contend that nourishment and cultivating are about more than exchange, and that generation for neighborhood and national markets is more imperative than generation for fare from the points of view of: wide based whats more comprehensive nearby and national financial advancement, and for tending to destitution and appetite, safeguarding country life, economies and situations, and overseeing common assets in a manageable manner. They contend that each nation and individuals must have the right and the capacity to characterize their own nourishment, cultivating, and farming approa ches that they have to have the right to secure residential markets, and to have open segment plan for agribusiness that may incorporate sponsorships which dont prompt more prominent generation, fares, dumping and harm to different nations. 9. Arrangement Alternatives for a Different Agriculture Provides each one of us with sufficient, moderate, sound, heavenly and socially fitting nourishment. Offers provincial people groups in each of our nations the opportunity for an existence with poise, in which they gain a living pay for their work and have the opportunity to stay in provincial regions on the off chance that they favor not to relocate to urban areas. Contributes to expansive based, comprehensive financial improvement at the nearby, territorial furthermore national level. Provincial people groups are more being constrained by monetary need to surrender the area also look for their fortune in peri-urban slums and shanty towns, or join the worldwide transient stream. Rustic economies are in a condition of monetary breakdown, from Iowa to Africa, and horticulture helps ever less to neighborhood, local and national monetary improvement. Provincial situations are by and large quickly debased, soils compacted, dissolved and harmed with pesticides, and stripped of biodiversity 10. Business sector Access and Protection: Stop Dumping At the point when poorer nations are obliged to give more outside access to their residential markets than wealthier nations accommodate them, most eyewitnesses consider the framework unequal furthermore uncalled for. When they open their business sectors they get to be defenseless to dumping. Most performing artists appear to concur, at any rate logically, that closure dumping ought to be an objective of universal transactions in agriculture. First, we have to dispense with obvious and concealed fare endowments as fast as could reasonably be expected, despite the fact that that is not as simple as it sounds. In principle this is settled upon even by governments in the WTO, while in practice there are horde ways these endowments are masked and hidden. Second, in light of the fact that full consistence is farfetched, all nations must be allowed a wide scope of choices to ensure themselves from dumping. For instance, all nations ought to be permitted to force countervailing obligations or take other defensive measures if agrarian fares from different nations are consistently dumped at short of what expense of generation costs. 11. Supply Management: Regulate Overproduction Ceaseless worldwide over-creation is a commonly fortifying, descending winding for the worlds agriculturists, as they battle to create more to make up for lower and lower costs, matched against the ever higher generation expenses of the mechanical cultivating model. A generally little number of agro export forces, headed by the U’s also EU, are in charge of the greater part of the over-production. The first is to reestablish enhanced creation restricting approaches for key harvests in the US and the EU. The main demonstrated approaches to diminish creation in the North are generation shares and taking land out of creation, while reinstituting open administration of surpluses—for people in general great and costs. There must be some kind of instrument which keeps agribusiness from seizing powerful, regardless of the fact that aberrant, control of the surpluses, and which includes both government and family cultivate delegates in arranging and choice 12. Potential Stumbling Blocks As Tim Wise has said (Nadal, Alejandro, 2004) these measures face numerous deterrents, most prominently the deliberate resistance of the compelling companies and their legislature associates that right now profit most from the worldwide exchanging framework in farming. Yet these recommendations offer a number of advantages that make them at any rate as conceivable as the thought that we could truly wipe out Northern homestead appropriations. As a matter of first importance, these option recommendations make characteristic associates of rancher and laborer bunches as far and wide as possible, North and South, East and West, as has been sufficiently exhibited by Through Compazine. They additionally lay the introductory foundation for more extensive coalitions and unions inside national and worldwide common society. They could give a shared opinion to numerous Third World and G-10 administrations, were it conceivable to wean them from agribusiness and agro export impacts. They encroach less on national sway, permitting nations to pick the measures they lean toward for the nourishment and cultivating frameworks they need, the length of such approaches dont prompt fare dumping, and they could be a great deal less expensive regarding citizen dollars used on ranch appropriations, with much better conclusions for the greater part of society. 13. 2003—the WTO Cancun Ministerial Yet the Cancun WTO Ministerial broken down much the same as Seattle, again faltering over farming and again checked by enormous road challenges and the immolation toward oneself at the blockades of Korean ranch pioneer Mr. Lee Kyung-Hae. (Patel, Raj, and Sanaz Memarsadeghi, 2003). Cancun likewise denoted the rise of new Southern nation arranging alliances, most broadly the G-20 gathering of nations with extensive agro export potential, and the G-33 and G-90 alliances of less capable Underdeveloped countries 14. WTO Agricultural Negotiations in Geneva Brussels Washington, July 22, 2004. The current drive to achieve concurrence on farming issues at the World Trade Organization (WTO) ought to be brought to an end. The WTO General Council is gathering in Geneva, beginning July 27th, to talk about a skeleton on farming that is totally unsuitable. We propose another EU farming arrangement, another US Farm Bill, and new global exchange controls, all focused around nourishment power and manageable family cultivating. The European Union and the United States must put an end to the cheat they have been forcing on other WTO parts since the Uruguay Round of the GATT in 1994. Propping up the US and EU farming frameworks with gigantic measures of immediate installments re-ordered as green box or blue box installments fizzles wretchedly in covering the guile of the EU, US and the multinational agribusiness partnerships that advantage from purchasing low-estimated things. The cases by these companies that shoddy products advantage shoppers is m isrepresented by their steadily expanding net revenues, the demolition of neighborhood nourishment frameworks, and becoming populaces of undernourished residence. References: A, Q. (2003).EU farm reform. BBC: British Broadcasting Service. Elizabeth, B. (2004).â€Å"WTO rules against US on cotton subsidies. The New York Times. Nicola, B. (2004).G20: Their power is not ours. Focus on the Global South. Focus Web. NFFC, C. (2004).WTO Agricultural Negotiations in Geneva A joint statement by the European Farmers Coordination (CPE) and the National Family Farm Coalition: USA (NFFC. Grassi, d. and Rosset, p. (2014).Forthcoming. A New Green Revolution for Africa? Myths and Realities of Agriculture, Technology and Development. Oakland: Food First Books. The disease of the day: Acute treatyitis. The Myths and Consequences of free trade agreements with the US. GRAIN,. (2004). us. Duncan. G. (2003). The Cancun WTO ministerial meeting: A view from the sidelines. Trade Hot Topics Commonwealth. M, H. and Wisner, R. (2000). Cargills Acquisition of Continental Grains Grain Merchandising Business.Review of Agricultural Economics, 1(22), pp.252/266. Alejandro, N. (2004).Ser vago en la OMC. La Jornada. Mwxico. Memarsadeghi, S. (2003).Agricultural restructuring and concentration in the United States: Who wins? Who loses? Institute for Food and Development Policy (Food First), Policy Brief No. 6..

An Analysis of a “Modern” Sitcom

In his Sitcom: What It Is, How It Works, Richard F. Taflinger (1996)outlines not only what makes a television program comedic but more specifically what points to its being a situational comedy (or simply, sitcom). Examining a random sample of programs from 1950 to 1993, Taflinger identified three types of sitcom: actcom, domcom, and dramedy. But the scope of the studies were sitcoms that are now almost unknown to the modern viewers. Taking one of the most popular sitcoms of this generation – Friends – will Taflinger’s theories still hold water? Warner Bros. Television’s hit comedy show Friends started airing on 22 September 1994 and went on to span 10 seasons, ending only last 2004. The show has become sort of a cult following, which made big bucks not only for creators David Crane and Martha Kauffman, but also for the stars. (Internet Movie Database Inc., 2005) Being a sitcom, Friends is episodic in nature – meaning, there is a definite set of character, setting, and a plot for each episode (Taflinger, 1996). Friends fans have come to get acquainted with the six major characters in the series: Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston), Monica Geller (Courtney Cox-Arquette), Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), and Dr. Ross Geller (David Schwimmer). And in the ten years that fans have let the six friends into their living rooms, they have come to know each corner and nook of the characters’ apartment and their favorite hangout place, the Central Park Coffee Shop. (Internet Movie Database Inc., 2005) But unlike the sitcoms mentioned in Taflinger’s study, Friends does not strictly fall under the three sitcom categories named. In fact, this popular sitcom seesaws between being an actcom and a domcom. The series pretty much started as an actcom, with emphasis on the actions rather than the characterization. Parallel to Taflinger’s (1996) description of an actcom, the earlier series of Friends mostly featured Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Ross as â€Å"shallow and superficial† and adhering to a certain societal stereotype. Phoebe was the ditzy, blonde female who always seems to be confused. Joey, who is her male counterpart, represents the struggling vainglorious actor. Releted essay –  An Empty Purse Frightens Away Friends Ross is the geek, Rachel the heartthrob, Monica the know-it-all, and Chandler the all-around typical American guy. During this time, most of the characters’ problems revolve around â€Å"mistakes, misunderstandings, attempts to influence the behavior of others, or unforeseen circumstances.† (Taflinger, 1996) Take for example Rachel’s realization that she likes Ross and, thinking that Ross likes her back (as touted by Chandler), she meets him at the airport only to be surprised that Ross arrived with a date named Janice. Also in line with actcoms, Friends’s situations during the first few seasons are complicated by â€Å"flaws in the plan to solve the problems.† (Taflinger, 1996) A classic example is episode 5 of Season 1, where Joey’s desire to have his ex-girlfriend Angela to break up with her boyfriend Bob led him to asking Monica to go on a double-date by lying that Angela and Bob are siblings. Yet as Friends progressed, it started to develop the characters more. We slowly saw changes in Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Ross and their conflicts became more domestic. Around Season 7 and 8, the characters start to tackle dilemmas of a moral and emotional nature.   Most famous of these dilemmas is Joey eventually falling in love with Rachel. Creating a big story line in the show, this particular crisis creates a ‘moral’ dilemma for Joey – he wonders whether it’s right to love Rachel since she’s been with their friend Ross; and when Rachel also feels that’s she’s having emotions for Joey, she gripes about whether that emotion is right. Even with the evolution to a domcom, Friends still once in awhile go back to being an actcom. There will still be moments in latter seasons where Phoebe makes a really stupid comment or when Joey again proves to be self-centered. This occasional drift to actcom makes Friends a culmination of both the actcom and the domcom types of sitcoms. But even without a definite category, Friends is still undeniably a sitcom in that it meets the umbrella definition of what constitutes a sitcom’s plot, complication, and characterization: that they are deeply rooted – either by representation or by deviation – in idealized American middle-class (Taflinger, 1996). All the characters in Friends – save for some transient or guest stars – are of the middle class. Most of their dilemmas and problems are also typical of those in the same social status. Their decisions and actions are also based on how a typical middle-class American will act. Another element that makes the Warner Bros. Television series a sitcom is the sympathy evoked by each character. As Taflinger (1996) said, audience members identify with sitcom characters. The viewers are supposed to feel for what the character is going through and they almost always wish that the characters soon come to a resolution. Friends spanning into 10 seasons, with the last episode garnering an estimated 51.1 million viewers, plus the still constant clamor for the show to go back on air is a strong testament to the characters’ influence on viewers. It made such a big impact that people felt like Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Ross are also their friends. (Internet Movie Database Inc., 2005) With the changing audience needs and wants, there is a need to redefine the types of sitcoms, calling for a combination of what makes one type click and eliminating what doesn’t. But what’s important is that sitcoms maintain their staple ingredients to become effective. Like Friends. Even with the deviation in the strict categorization of sitcoms, Friends still meet the very definition of what makes a situational comedy – middle-class American and sympathetic. REFERENCES Internet Movie Database Inc. (2005). â€Å"Friends† (1994). IMDb. Retrieved 20 October 2007, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108778/. Taflinger, Richard F. (1996, May 28). Sitcom: What It Is, How It Works. Retrieved 20 October 2007.

Psychopathy And Borderline Personality Disorder Essay

     INTRODUCTION Personality disorders constitute a major group in the classification of mental disorders. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, text revision (DSM-IV-TR),1 these conditions are defined by maladaptive personality characteristics beginning early in life that have consistent and serious effects on functioning. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is frequently seen in clinical practice.2 Characterized by emotional turmoil and chronic suicidality (suicide ideation and attempts), this type of personality disorder presents some of the most difficult and troubling problems in all of psychiatry.   The majority of patients with BPD are seen in psychiatric clinics or in primary care. The keys to successful management include making an accurate diagnosis, maintaining a supportive relationship with the patient and establishing limited goals. Although BPD may persist for years, it does not last forever, and one can be reasonably optimistic that most patients will recover with time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Psychotherapy can help speed up the recovery from BPD. The most effective forms of treatment have been developed by psychologists, and therefore when making a referral, physicians should consider a patient’s ability to pay for such therapy.   More research into the causes of BPD is needed, the results of which may help to develop evidence-based approaches to treatment that are practical and specifically designed for this challenging disorder.   THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER   Epidemiologic studies of personality disorders are at an early stage of development. Community surveys of adults have indicated that the prevalence of BPD is close to 1% (similar to that of schizophrenia).3,4 About 80% of patients receiving therapy for BPD are women,2 but sex differences are less striking in community samples.4 As is the case for personality disorders in general, BPD is associated with lower social class and lower levels of education.3,4   THE ETIOLOGY OF BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER We are only beginning to understand the causes of BPD. As with most mental disorders, no single factor explains its development, and multiple factors (biological, psychological and social) all play a role.   The biological factors in personality disorders consist of temperamental (inborn or heritable) characteristics that present in adulthood as stable personality traits: patterns of thought, affect and behaviour that characterize individuals and are stable over time.5 Heritable factors account for about half of the variability in virtually all traits that have been studied.6 Specifically, both affective instability6 and impulsivity7 have a heritable component of this magnitude, and studies involving twins have demonstrated that BPD itself shows a similar genetic influence.8 Also, family history studies have found that impulsive disorders such as antisocial personality and substance abuse are particularly common among firstdegree relatives of patients with BPD.9 Studies of central neurotransmitter activity have shown that impulsive traits, a major component of BPD, are associated with deficits in central serotonergic functioning.10,11 However, the biological correlates of affective instability are unknown, and no markers specific to the overall disorder have been identified.10 The psychological factors in BPD can be striking but are not consistent. BPD first presents clinically in adolescence, at a mean age of 18 years.12 Although many patients describe adversities such as family dysfunction as well as mood and impulsive symptoms that go back to childhood, longitudinal data are needed to determine the precise influence of early risk factors. 13 Reports of a high frequency of traumatic events during childhood in this population need to take into account community studies, which show extensive resilience following trauma, particularly for less severe adversities.13 The most careful studies have shown that a quarter of patients with BPD describe sexual abuse from a caretaker14 and that about a third report severe forms of abuse.15 However, although child abuse is clearly a risk factor, it is not specific to BPD.13 In general, adverse life events are not consistently pathogenic by themselves but, rather, produce sequelae in vulnerable populations.16 Social factors in BPD are suggested by indirect evidence.   Thus far, there have been no cross-cultural studies of BPD, although characteristic symptoms such as recurrent suicide attempts are less common in traditional societies, in which there is little change from one generation to the next, but are on the increase in modern societies and in societies undergoing rapid change.17   DIAGNOSIS AND SYMPTOMS OF BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER The term â€Å"borderline† is a misnomer, based on an old theory that this form of pathology lies on a border between psychosis and neurosis. Actually, BPD is a complex syndrome whose   central features are instability of mood, impulse control and interpersonal relationships.2 Box 1 presents the DSM-IV-TR1 criteria, reorganized in relation to these basic dimensions, as well as cognitive symptoms.   Since the DSM-IV-TR requires only 5 of 9 criteria to be present, making a diagnosis on this basis leads to heterogeneity; more precise research definitions have been developed that require high scores for all 3 dimensions.18 The affective symptoms in BPD involve rapid mood shifts, in which emotional states tend to last only a few hours.19 When affective instability is monitored with standardized instruments,20 emotions are found to be intense but reactive to external circumstances, with a strong tendency toward angry outbursts. Levels of affective instability are most predictive of suicide attempts.21 Impulsive symptoms include a wide range of behaviours and are central to diagnosis.22 The combination of affective instability with impulsivity in BPD23 helps account for a clinical presentation marked by chronic suicidality and by instability of interpersonal relationships.23 Finally, cognitive symptoms are also frequent. In one case series,24 about 40% of 50 patients with BPD had quasi-psychotic thoughts. In another series,25 27% of 92 patients experienced psychotic episodes.   In a third series,26 psychotic symptoms were found to predict self-harm in patients with personality disorders. BPD is common in practice. A recent study involving patients in an emergency department who had attempted suicide showed that 41% of those with a history of multiple suicide attempts met the criteria for BPD this disorder.27   However, many cases are also seen in primary care settings.   Data from a survey conducted in a US urban primary care practice indicated that BPD was present in 6.4% of a sample of 218 patients.28   Because of the wide range of symptoms seen in BPD that are also typical of other disorders (Table 1), such as mood and anxiety disorders, substance abuse and eating disorders,29 patients may be felt to have one of these conditions while their BPD goes undetected. The most common disorder associated with BPD is depression, but in BPD, symptoms are usually associated with mood instability rather than with the extended and continuous periods of lower mood seen in classic mood disorders.19 Also, because of characteristic mood swings, BPD is often mistaken for bipolar disorder.30 However, patients with BPD do not show continuously elevated mood but instead exhibit a pattern of rapid shifts in affect related to environmental events, with â€Å"high† periods that last for hours rather than for days or weeks.30 BPD may be mistaken for schizophrenia; however, instead of long-term psychotic symptoms, patients with BPD experience â€Å"micropsychotic† phenomena of short duration (lasting hours or at most a few days), auditory hallucinations without loss of insight (patients with schizophrenia do not recognize that a hallucination is imaginary, whereas patients with BPD do), paranoid trends and depersonalization states in which patients experience themselves or their environment as unreal.   24 Finally, patients with BPD are at increased risk of substance abuse, which forms part of the clinical picture of widespread impulsivity.2 To diagnose BPD in practice, clinicians must first establish whether a patient has the overall characteristics of a personality disorder described in the DSM-IV-TR;1 that is, long-term problems affecting cognition, mood, interpersonal functioning and impulse control that begin early in life and are associated with maladaptive personality traits, such as neuroticism (being easily prone to anxiety or depression, or both) or impulsivity. Personality disorders can often account better for the multiplicity and chronicity of symptoms than can alternative diagnoses such as mood or anxiety disorders. The next step is a personality assessment, which requires a good history. Although practitioners will be able to obtain needed information from most patients during a routine visit, they may also, with the patient’s consent, wish to speak to family members or friends.   The final step is to determine the category that best fits the clinical picture. To diagnose BPD, clinicians   need to establish that patterns of affective instability, impulsivity and unstable relationships have been consistent over time.   THE COURSE AND MANAGEMENT OF BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISODERs Managing patients with BPD can be burdensome for clinicians because they may have to deal with repeated suicide threats and attempts over years. Also, patients with BPD do not easily respect boundaries and may become overly attached to their therapists.31 When practitioners fail to diagnose BPD, they may be at risk of becoming overinvolved with patients who suffer greatly but can be personally appealing to the physicians. Fortunately, most patients with BPD improve with time.32–34 About 75% will regain close to normal functioning by the age of 35 to 40 years, and 90% will recover by the age of 50.32 Unfortunately, about 1 in 10 patients eventually succeeds in committing suicide.35 However, this outcome is difficult to predict, and 90% of patients improve despite having threatened to end their lives on multiple occasions. The mechanism of recovery in BPD is not fully understood, but impulsivity generally decreases with age, and patients learn over time how to avoid the situations that give them the most trouble (e.g., intense love affairs), finding stable niches that provide the structure they need.35 BPD is a therapeutic challenge. A series of randomized controlled trials of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy36–47,50,52–54 have been published; however, the trials had a number of defects, most particularly small samples, attrition and durations that were too short (usually 8–12 weeks) for a chronic disorder that can last for years. Finally, outcomes in these studies were generally measured by self-report and did not indicate whether the clinical picture had actually shown full remission. The pharmacologic treatment of BPD remains limited in scope. By and large, the result can be described as a mild degree of symptom relief. A number of agents, including low-dose atypical neuroleptics,38 specific serotonin reuptake inhibitors39,41–43 and mood stabilizers,44,45 all alleviate impulsive symptoms. However, antidepressants are much less effective for mood symptoms in BPD patients than in patients without a personality disorder.48 Benzodiazepines are not very useful in BPD and carry some danger of abuse.49   Thus, although several drugs â€Å"take the edge off† symptoms, they do not produce remission of BPD. Failure to understand this point has led to polypharmacy regimens, on the assumption that multiple drugs are needed to target all aspects of the disorder. The result is that many patients receive 4–5 agents — with all their attendant side effects12 — in the absence of evidence from clinical trials supporting the efficacy of such combinations. Future research may lead to the development of agents more specific to the symptoms seen in BPD.   The mainstay of treatment for BPD is still psychotherapy. Dialectical behaviour therapy is a form of cognitive behavioural therapy that targets affective instability and impulsivity, using group and individual sessions to teach patients how to regulate their emotions. This form of behaviour therapy has been shown to be effective in bringing suicidal behaviours under control within a year.50–53 However, whether this method is effective in the long term is unknown. There is evidence from a randomized controlled trial supporting the use of a modified form of psychoanalytic therapy in a day-treatment setting that also makes us of cognitive techniques.54   Unfortunately, these forms of psychotherapy for BPD are expensive in terms of resources and are not generally available. In practice, therapy tends to be practical and supportive.   Practitioners who manage these cases can also use educational materials for patients and their families.31   BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER AND SUICIDE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The main problem that practitioners face in managing cases of BPD is chronic suicidality. Physicians in primary care settings are prepared to care for many patients with psychotic disorders but are likely to ask psychiatrists to manage patients who make repeated suicide threats and attempts, or to suggest hospital admission. However, there has been little research on the   Efectiveness of hospitalization for the treatment of BPD and no evidence that it prevents completion of suicide.55 Suicidality in BPD peaks when patients are in their early 20s, but completed suicide is most common after 3035 and usually occurs in patients who fail to recover after many attempts at treatment. In contrast, suicidal actions such as impulsive overdoses, most often seen in younger patients, do not usually carry a high short-term risk and function to communicate distress.56 Self-mutilating behaviours such as chronic cutting, often referred to as â€Å"suicidal,† are problematic but are not associated with suicidal intent and instead serve to regulate dysphoric emotional states.56 Practitioners should move beyond their concerns about these patients and instead concentrate on managing symptoms and the life problems that exacerbate suicidal thoughts or behaviours.   THEORIES OF BEHAVIOR INTENT   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Explaining and predicting consumer behavior has been the focus of research for many years. Marketing research seeks to find the answers as to why people make specific choices and how can these be predicted.   Are there commonalities among purchasing groups that can be identified as predictors?   The literature available is rich, as researchers try to understand the drive forces and motivators of the consumer. Hovland and Rosenberg (1960) proposed that attitude, acting as an intervening or moderating variable, consists of three components: cognition (knowledge, ability), affect (beliefs, opinions) and conation (behavior or intent of behavior) (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975; Hansen, 1972).  Ã‚   In order for behavior intent to exist, the three components must be present (Fazio & Olsen, 2003). Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) proposed that attitude does not consist of three components, but is the moderating or intervening variable between cognition and the behavioral intent.   Attitude is derived from cognition, which in turn determines the intent to act or not (Ryan, 1982)   They proposed that researchers need to look at four categories: 1) knowledge, opinions and beliefs (cognition) about the object, 2) attitude (affect) towards the object, 3) behavior intent (conation) and 4) observed behavior to the object (Fishbein and   Ajzen, 1975). The specific action cannot be determined by the assessment of the knowledge of attitude toward an object but rather through the person’s intention to perform the act (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975).   Previous studies have shown that people may have a positive attitude toward an object; however, the intention of behavior will be negative.  Ã‚   This was found in studies concerning blood donation, condom use, and racial prejudice (Ajzen and Fishbein, 2005; Burnkrant and Page, 1982; Fazio and Olson, 2003; Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). Although many previous surveys showed favorable attitudes toward blood donation, condom use, and other races, their intention to give blood, use condoms or socialize with racial groups was negative.   Therefore, the intent of behavior of an individual must be determined, as well as his beliefs and attitude.   An in-depth discussion of each component will be addressed at a later point of this chapter.   MOA THEORY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Related to the behavioral intent theories is the motivation-opportunity-ability theory of processing information.   Although this theory is in response to communication outcomes, the components are relative to this study.   According to the MOA theory, a person must have motivation, opportunity, and ability to process information in order to develop an attitude towards a brand, which can be enhanced through advertising cues (MacInnes et al., 1991).   Motivation in ad processing refers to the consumers’ willingness to allocate processing resources; whereas, opportunity is the amount of attention that is allocated without disruption; and ability is the â€Å"skills or proficiencies† or prior knowledge (MacInnes et al., 1991).   Each component of the MacInnes et al. model will be discussed in greater detail.   Cognition – Knowledge, Opinions and Beliefs The cognition or knowledge, opinions and beliefs component of the Fishbein and Ajzen model is considered to be the driving force of the model.   Beliefs about an object are formed through direct observation, with information received from outside sources or by inference processes (Fazio and Olsen, 2003; Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975).   The information or knowledge sought in belief formation in a specific situation can be influenced by the effort needed to obtain the information, the time constraint, and the likelihood that the information will be useful (Hansen, 1972).   Opportunity Opportunity pertains to those distractions or environmental factors which affect the consumers’ attention to information (Agho et al., 1993; MacInnes and Jaworski, 1991; Mooy and Robben, 2002).   Fazio and Olsen (2003) further proposed in their MODE or Motivation and Opportunity as DEterminants of attitude-behavior relationship that in order for deliberate processes such as activities used in belief formation, opportunity to engage in the deliberate process must first be available, otherwise, the consumer will resort to memory (Fazio & Olsen, 2003).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Time is reflective of opportunity as it influences consumer behavior and choices.   This finite and intangible resource is allocated by the consumer by choice, and is acquired by trading for another resource such as money (Bergadaa, 1990).   Therefore, consumers must choose how to use and manage their time.   Okada and Hoch (2004) found that consumers place a higher value on time spent if the outcome is positive and a lesser value if the experience is negative.   Consumers who have little time pressure will process the information in a leisurely fashion.   However, consumers who experience greater time pressure will generally use less time to process the information (Suri and Monroe, 2003).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Therefore, this study will propose that if the consumer has little time or reduced opportunity to expend on search and information gathering, he or she will be more likely to enlist the services of a realtor.   However, if the consumer is seeking monetary savings, and believes that time is less than the value of monetary costs, that consumer will participate in a For Sale by Owner transaction. Reference groups, friends, and family are important resources for the search of information, which is an integral part of buying or selling real estate.   This social network provides a means for sending and receiving information.   Word-of-mouth communication is important in shaping the attitudes and behaviors of the consumer.   â€Å"Personal word-of-mouth influence has a more decisive role in influencing behavior than advertising and other marketer dominated sources (Herr et al., 1991).   Brown and Reingen (1987) found that the stronger the relationship tie, the more influential the communication.   The weaker relationships, on the other hand, were instrumental in developing a bridge in the communication flow and in providing a means for referrals.   The opportunity to obtain information increases as the number of people a person comes into contact with increases.   Ability Ability comprises the second component of cognition.   Not only does the consumer need opportunity to process information, but he or she must have the skill set or ability to access and process the information (MacInnes et al., 1991; Mooy and Robben, 2002).   Any increase in ability can reduce the search process for information, as consumers will rely more on internal information than external information (Gibler and Nelson, 2003). The Internet has become a primary source for product research.   By using the Internet, consumers are afforded the ability to research a specific product, as well as compare products, attributes and prices.   â€Å"Retail businesses must struggle with facing an era of unprecedented consumer power obtained through Internet information† (Schoenbachler and Gordon, 2002).   This phenomenon would apply to the sale or purchase of a home as well (Muhanna, 2000).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Technology and the Internet have provided consumers access to information and products that were previously difficult, if not impossible to obtain, as well as have significantly influenced lowering of search costs.   Armed with this advantage, consumers are now afforded with possibilities of researching on the Internet and taking virtual tours, or viewing pictures and descriptions of available properties from the comfort of their own home.   The use of the Internet as one source of information will reduce the cost to the consumer during the search process (Baen, 1997; Baen and Guttery, 1997; Bakos, 1998; Seiler et al., 2001; Giaglis et al., 2002).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ability is an intangible attribute that is often related to age and education.   As a person ages, or attains higher levels of education, the level of ability increases (Alba and Marmorstein, 1987; Huneke et al., 2004; Maheswaran and Sternthal, 1990).   Age contributes to the informal knowledge base while education contributes to the formal knowledge.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Experience is also often associated with the level of ability (Alba and Marmorstein, 1987; Huneke et al., 2004; Maheswaran and Sternthal, 1990).   Alba and Marmorstein (1987) studied the correlation of frequency or the number of times an event occurs, of experience to knowledge levels.  Ã‚   The greater the number of times a person was exposed to information or experience, the process of decision making was observed to be faster and less complicated.   Furthermore, â€Å"task performance is improved by different types of experiences† (Alba and Hutchinson, 1987).   Gibler and Nelson (2003) described that experienced home buyers remember which dimensions were useful in the past; on the other hand, inexperienced buyers ar e more susceptible to external influences, such as real estate agents, in determining their criteria for selection.   Therefore, the more homes a person has bought and/or sold, the more experience he/she has gained, and the less likely will that person enlist the services of a real estate agent.   The measurement of the levels of ability by the consumer can be ascertained by examining age, education level and prior experience.   â€Å"The greater the accumulation of experience and knowledge as one ages creates a reduced desire for additional information† (Gibler and Nelson, 2003).   Conation/Motivation – Dependent Variable   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conation is defined as behavior or behavior intent.   Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) determined that conation is motivation or behavior intent.   Behavior only occurs if motivation is present to perform the behavior.   MacInnes et al. (1991) stated in their MOA theory that motivation is defined as the consumers’ desire or readiness to process the information.   Therefore, motivation can be defined as behavior intent.   Opportunity, measured by time and social contacts, and ability, measured by Internet access, education and experience (cognition) directly influence the level of motivation or behavior intent (conation).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hovland and Rosenberg (1959) proposed that attitude consists of three elements:   cognition, affect and conation.   Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) argued, however, that attitude is affect, or the feelings toward a behavior.   â€Å"Attitudes reflect reasons for acting, and focus on what the decision maker does or can do† (Bagozzi et al., 2003)   For the purposes of this study, affect and attitude will be treated as the same and will be referred to as affect.   Affect is the result of cognition (Perugini and Bagozzi, 2001). Therefore, if behavior intent is a result of persuasion and persuasion is the result of cognition, then persuasion will act as a moderating variable.   As the persuasion increases positively and based upon previous studies, behavior intent will increase positively.   Media habits, or message exposure, will also moderate cognition-affect-behavior intent (MacInnes et al., 1991; Mooy and Rubben, 2003).   The higher the levels of exposure to television, radio, newspaper, and internet, the more frequency the messages will occur (Alba and Marmorstein, 1987).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Demographics have been routinely used in marketing to assist in segmenting markets based upon gender, age group, income, culture, marital status, education and household size.   These variables are often referred to as demographics; however, as pointed out by Art Weinstein (1994), many variables used for demography are often socioeconomic.   It is common in marketing research to refer to all of these variables as â€Å"demographics† (Weinstein, 1994).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Demographics are commonly used in business management due to the fact that they are easy to collect, group and analyze.   Furthermore, demographic variables typically have an interrelated correlation, which facilitates generalization and analysis of demographic data (Weinstein, 1994).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Household income and household size have a direct correlation with the monetary asset or value.   Consumers with lower incomes, or who have a large number of members in the household, are generally more price conscious.   Therefore, it is proposed that these consumers would prefer to participate in a For Sale by Owner transaction, foregoing the commissions paid to a real estate agent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The purpose of this study is to identify those determinants which persuade a consumer to participate in a For Sale by Owner transaction.   Therefore, in order to identify these factors, the proposed model is an integration of the three major theoretical models discussed. Fishbein and Ajzen’s expectancy value model, and Hovland and Rosenberg’s tripartite theory of behavior, provides the cognition-affect-conation model and cognition-attitude-motivation.   Integrated with this model, is the MOA model as proposed by MacInnes, Moorman and Jaworski (1991), in which behavior is influenced by motivation, opportunity and ability.   Through literature, it has been determined that opportunity and ability are components of cognition, and motivation is influenced by cognition and moderated by affect.   METHODOLOGY Study Population   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The selected population for this study is the participants of a study conducted by Bluefield State College School of Business.   The purpose of the study was to collect raw data regarding the real estate buying and selling behavior of the consumer in the local area, which would be available for future analysis and interpretation.   Their sample is composed of participants over the age of 18 at a local annual exposition held in Mercer County, West Virginia.   Mercer County has a population of 61, 589 people with a median income of $28,130. In 2004, 30,207 housing units existed in the County, with 63.5% of the population living in the same house in 2000.   The homeownership rate was 76.8% in 2000 (US Census Bureau).   The attendance rate at this particular event was approximately 6000 people, approximately 10% of the population (Princeton Mercer County Chamber of Commerce, 2006).   Table 2 provides a summation of the demographics of Mercer County, West Virginia, in comparison to the State of West Virginia and United States averages.   Table 2. Demographic Data Mercer County, WV, State of West Virginia and United States (US Census Bureau, 2000) Demographic Mercer County West Virginia United States Population 62, 980 1,816,815 281,421,906 Median Household Income 28,120 32,967 43,318 Homeownership 76.8% 75.2% 66.2% For Sale By Owner N/A N/A 13% Living in the same home in 1995 and 2000 63.5% 63.3% 54.1% Housing units 30,207 866,944 122,671,734 High School Graduates 72.1% 75.2% 80.4% Bachelor’s Degree or above 13.8% 14.8% 24.4% In order to determine the appropriate sample size needed to complete this study, the following formula was used (Malhotra, 372); whereas the number of possible homeowners is 76.8% or 77% (US Census, 2000), Proportion of population that are homeowners (Ï€) = .70 Desired precision level (D) =.05 Confidence Level (CL) = 95% z value associated with 95% confidence level =1.96: Therefore, the number of samples needed:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   n = Ï€(1-Ï€)z2/D2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   n=.77(1-.77)(1.96)2/.052   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   n=.77(.23)(3.8416)/.25   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   n=272.13 or 272 samples needed   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Bluefield State College study contains 356 usable surveys of individuals rather than households, which is in excess of the 272 samples required for this study.   Based upon attendance of 6,000, this represents .0593% or 6% of the attendees surveyed. Instrument   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The questionnaire developed consists of 42 questions including 35 opinion statements followed by 4-point Likert Scale responses and 8 demographic questions.   The Likert responses ranged from â€Å"mostly disagree† = 1 to â€Å"mostly agree† = 4.   Therefore, those who prefer to purchase or sell real estate without the assistance of a real estate agent will answer 1’s or mostly disagree.   These questions were drawn from Mitchell’s 1980 VALS; however, drawing from the works of Wells (1975) the constructs were changed to reflect product specific behavior. Opportunity H1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As the level of opportunity, measured by time and social contacts, increases, the behavior intent or motivation to buy or sell real estate without a professional agent will increase.      Two variables will be measured to identify the positive or negative level of opportunity.   As previously stated in the literature, opportunity is influenced by time and social contacts. Six opinion statements are used to identify respondents’ attitudes and opinions regarding time, or the lack of time. These statements are followed by four Lickert-scale responses to choose from with 1 = â€Å"mostly disagree† and 4 = â€Å"mostly agree†.   An example statement from the questionnaire is, â€Å"I spend more than 40 hours a week outside of the home†.   Those respondents, who disagree with this statement, will have more time available to search or sell a home.   Previous research cited has shown that reference groups are an important factor during the information search phase of the decision making process.   Therefore, the more people a consumer comes into contact with, the greater access to information.   The questionnaire contains eight opinion statements with 4-point Lickert-scale responses.   These statements represent the respondent’s network by asking questions in regards to school, community, church and family gatherings.   It is proposed that respondents who have a larger network of social contacts will have access to more information than those who choose not to participate in outside of the home activities.   Therefore, based upon the scale responses, 1=mostly disagree and 4=mostly agree, responses that are higher numbers, will most likely have a stronger social network.   For instance, the statement â€Å"I am active in my community†, reflects the activities of the respondent.   If the response is a 4, then the respondent has outside of the home social contacts and access to information. Affect H1a  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The direction of the level of affect will moderate the level of motivation to purchase or sell real estate without a professional agent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In order to determine affect, or beliefs, the survey provided seven belief statements.   Respondents responded using a Lickert scale, with â€Å"1† = mostly disagree to â€Å"4† = mostly agree.   A sample statement from the questionnaire is â€Å"I believe real estate agents are a necessity when buying or selling a home†.   Responses with higher numbers will have a strong belief concerning real estate agents. Ability H2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As ability, measured by age, education and experience, increases, behavior intent or motivation to purchase or sell real estate without a professional agent will increase. Ability is measured by three variables:   experience, Internet access and education. In order to determine experience, the survey provides two questions and twelve opinion statements.   Experience can be measured by the number of homes purchased or sold in a lifetime.   Respondents to the questionnaire were asked to choose 1, 2, 3, or 4 or more.   As the number of homes purchased or sold in a lifetime increases, the level of experience increases.   The highest possible response will be a 4 and the lowest 1.   Furthermore, experience with a real estate agent is questioned.   If the respondent had used an agent to buy or sell his/her home the answer would be no, represented by the number 1.   If yes, then number 2. Internet presence, which is also an indicator of information access, is determined in the questionnaire by requesting the respondent to choose which email providers they use for email.   The more email providers would indicate a higher Internet usage of the respondent.   Also, based upon the provider, it can be determined if the respondent has high speed cable or DSL access.   Those respondents without email would respond to â€Å"none†. Information regarding education level will then be analyzed to determine correlation with the questions and statements regarding ability.   According to the literature cited, it is proposed that as the level of education, Internet access, and experience increases ability will increase, which will directly impact behavior intent. Motivation (Behavior Intent) The next twelve statements contained in the survey are opinion statements regarding the use of real estate agents, brokers and intentions of the respondent.   A sample statement from the questionnaire is â€Å"I would always use a real estate agent to help with purchasing a home†.   Respondents were given four Lickert-scale responses to choose from with 1 = â€Å"mostly disagree† and 4 = â€Å"mostly agree†.   Therefore, â€Å"3† and â€Å"4† would indicate the respondent’s intent to use a real estate agent, rather than for sale by owner. Media Habits H1b  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An increase in the level of media habits will moderate the level of opportunity and its relationship with motivation to purchase or sell real estate without a professional agent..      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   H2b  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An increase in the level of media habits will moderate the level of ability and its relationship with   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Media habits, is also an indicator of information access.   Survey questions ask respondents the number of hours spent weekly watching television, listening to the radio, as well as newspapers read.   It is proposed that as the hours spent watching television or listening to the radio will moderate cognition and behavior intent.   As the number of hours exposed to media increases, the level of behavior intent will increase. Demographics H1c  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Demographics, measured by age, household income and household size will mediate the relationship between opportunity and motivation to purchase or sell real estate without a professional agent.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   H2c  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Demographics, measured by age, household income and household size will mediate the relationship between ability and motivation to purchase or sell real estate without a professional agent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Demographic information regarding age, household income and household size will be collected.   This information will mediate cognition and behavior intent. Questions concerning gender, marital status and zip code will be used as descriptor or extraneous variables which are not statistically significant in this study. Data Analysis Descriptive Statistics   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The data that will be used in this study has been collected by the Bluefield State College School of Business; however, statistical analysis has not been completed.   Therefore, raw data obtained will be used for this study. The first step will be determining the descriptive statistics of the variables used in the study.   This will provide the mean, median and standard deviation of each survey question.   The aggregate mean will then be used for each variable.   The results of this analysis will then be used to conduct inferential statistic analysis. Inferential Statistics Inferential statistic analysis will be conducted in four steps.   Multiple regression analysis will be conducted to determine the affect of the moderating and mediating variables.   The dependent variable is dichotomous; therefore, logit analysis will be conducted, followed by model fit and significance testing. Due to the existence of several independent variables, mediators and moderators influencing the dependent variable, multiple regression analysis will be conducted to determine the relationships (Hair, 2003, p579).   The steps that will be taken to accomplish this, as recommended by Hair (2003, p579) are: assess the statistical significance of the overall regression model using the F statistic with a level of significance

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Develop a plan for changing that which both the client and the social worker agree needsRead MoreA Study Of Gentrification On Economically Vulnerable Populations : A Case Study For The Jackson, Mississippi5347 Words   |  22 PagesDiscussion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦18 Chapter 7: Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..19 Bibliography†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦20 Chapter 1: Introduction Gentrification has introduced a new demographic of more affluent populaces into once low income, urban neighborhoods. 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Globally, the consumption of wild and cultivated local fruits are gaining more recognition on the international agenda. First, in 2008, the fruits journal dedicated a special issue to underutilised fruits (ISSN 0248-1294) in which an inventory of indigenous species and a characterisation of species to be improved was ma de (Jaenicke, 2008). Latter in 2011, the editorial of the International Forestry Review Vol. 13 (3), 2011 reemphasisedRead Morepreschool Essay46149 Words   |  185 Pagesreport, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) calls for early educators to make play a regular part of the daily curriculum and be responsive to the needs of each student. In addition, a recent report from the American Academy of Pediatrics concludes that play is vitally important for healthy brain development. These reports, as well as many others, make clear that preschool children’s play and integrated learning are vital components of high-quality preschool Read MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesSoftware In-Basket Exercise 43 PART I 1 PERSONAL SKILLS 44 45 DEVELOPING SELF-AWARENESS SKILL ASSESSMENT 46 Diagnostic Surveys for Scale Self-Awareness 46 Self-Awareness Assessment 46 Emotional Intelligence Assessment 47 The Defining Issues Test 48 v Cognitive Style Indicator 52 Locus of Control Scale 52 Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale 54 Core Self-Evaluation Scale (CSES) 56 SKILL LEARNING 57 Key Dimensions of Self-Awareness 57 The Enigma of Self-Awareness 58 The Sensitive Line 58Read MoreBhopal Gas Disaster84210 Words   |  337 Pagessurvivors as well as cleaning up of the hazardous waste. This compilation of selected news stories covering the last four years is a small effort to highlight this campaign as reported by the mainstream media. For an in-depth understanding of the issues see www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/indepth/term/2542. A comprehensive collection of these up-to-date news clippings, research papers, lab studies, reports, documents, opinions and court judgments etc have now been made available by the Centre for