Foundations of Economics For Finance FR1001 Essay

Foundations of Economics For Finance FR1001 - Essay Example Governments are controlling the fiscal policy to stabilize and maintain the flow of the economy. This way, a country can achieve economic stability and growth. In United States, the government controls the fiscal and monetary policy in order to achieve a good economic development. Economy is good in case of low unemployment rate, low fiscal deficit, controlled inflation rate, high gross domestic product (GDP), maintained exchange rate, high export and low import of goods, balanced cash inflows and outflows, and a good investment portfolio. Based on the graph below, the US output gap between the early 1980s up to the last quarter of 1984 and 2001 to 2006 is negative. The worst recent output gap of US was back in 2003 when they have reached negative 1.1. With the proper use of fiscal and monetary policy, despite the Asian crisis in 1997, the US was able to control inflation rate and the fluctuation of exchange rates. The control of inflation resulted to a more stabilized prices and economic growth. The negative output gap is most likely to be the after effect of the high inflation and interest crisis in 1980s, Mexican crisis in 1994 and globalization in year 2000 onwards whereby many of the US businessmen started to cut on their operational costs by subcontracting most of their needed services from the skilled workers from developing countries. The US is aiming to reach a zero output gap by year 2008. (IMF, 2007) Since most of these businessmen are downsizing their businesses in US back in the early twentieth century, many of the US local citizens were affected by mass lay-offs. Some companies even had to declare bankruptcy because of the tight competition coming from the global markets. The increase in the unemployment rate affects the consumer spending in the long-run. This is the main reason why the real domestic output of the US has been constantly declining since 1999. (See Table 1 below) Notice that the graph above indicates that

Geography - British Colonisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Geography - British Colonisation - Essay Example The maritime adventures of the 16th century naval and merchant seamen were responsible for the extension of English economic power throughout the Atlantic to North America and the Caribbean, to promote trade for the home country. â€Å"Obsession with maintaining colonial production led to policies that encouraged the development of labour in the new territories† argues Page (75). Consequently, religious dissidents in England such as the Puritans were subjected to unfavourable treatment which compelled them to flee to the newly discovered land of America by the 15th century. Similarly, indentured labourers were sent away from the British Isles to distant colonies, while slave trade from Africa continued to be carried over several centuries, for subjugation and slavery. The British colonization of India along with trading rivalry from other European powers resulted in their extending their mercantile principles to India by the early 17th century. By the 18th century, British imp erialism spread to Australia as well. In the 19th century, Africa, New Zealand and Canada were brought under British colonization. In the 20th century radical changes took place in the British Empire, besides its separation into dominion and colonial divisions. By the mid-20th century, massive decolonizations led to the achievement of independence by many British colonial areas, although some marginal regions remained in the colonial fold. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate British Colonization across the globe, over several centuries of British Imperialism. Colonization and Expansion of the First British Empire James A. Williamson observes that because there was no scope for ambitious land expansion by the British, colonization had to be undertaken overseas. English sea-power primarily emerged and developed during the Middle Ages, and by the Tudor era (1485-1603) seafaring took lasting hold of the imagination of the people. Thus, British colonization and expansion must take into account the beginnings of sea-power, and its development driven by geographical, political, and economic factors (Williamson 3). The first British empire was established in the Americas between the 16th to 18th centuries by emigrants fleeing from Britain to escape the religious rule and harassment. Thus, by the early 19th century, Britain formed an empire spanning the seas by emigration to the newly discovered land of America which was the homeland of native Indians since ancient times. Gradually, â€Å"multiplication of the colonial stock began to transform British North America from a fringe of maritime possessions into a territorial nation† (Williamson 6). In South Africa, the same process resulted in Cape Colony being taken over as a predominantly naval station on the British route to the East. In Australia, the coasts occupied for a distinctive administrative purpose drew immigrants who spread into the interiors. British expansion into New Zealan d took place against the wishes of the imperial government, states Williamson (6). Thus, the four distinct regions of North America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand were taken over by the growing population of British immigrants who overflowed into unoccupied borderlands. Establishment of the Second British Empire Establishment of the Second British Empire included the expansion of British colonial rule in India from

Savil Building by Glen Howells Architects Essay

Savil Building by Glen Howells Architects - Essay Example In its design, its response to the site, the climate, the design requirement, it has surpassed the programme. That's what makes it unique, 'high architecture' or in plainer words an award winner! This essay investigates the architectural qualities of the Savill Building with specific reference to the following themes: Beauty or the aesthetic value of every building is an important feature of every structure established within certain locations. It is also closely related to the time and place of the architectural event. Thus, modernists like Philip Johnson see deconstructivism as 'warped' and the International Style as 'pure'. It is about the contrast between 'perfection and violated perfection'.1 The many trends in architecture after modernism suggest a pluralist society where too many issues are equally important. However, in the collective concern for the environment and attempts at conserving and reusing and generally trying to contain one's carbon footprint, we may have finally, the one world- religion that will generate an aesthetic that may be most persuasive of recent trends.2 And the Savill Building illustrates this beautifully both figuratively and literally. Through improving the landscape of the park, the building creates a profound experience for the visitors making them feel like they belong to the landscape itself. The dome shape of the roof creates an illusion that the entire building is one continuous structure that follows the dictates of the landforms so sensitively that it is difficult to perceive where building ends and landscape begins. It fits in with its surroundings hand-in-glove, not just in terms of building profile but also in terms of its material for construction that was judiciously selected and felled on site itself. Of all the other features of the complex, the structure of the building stands out as the chief characteristic of the complex. Being a part of the whole landscape works well for the Savill Building as it utilizes the natural beauty of the location where the structure is established. The complete building created not only for catering to its distinct functions it aims also to enhance the entire natural landscape of the site3. This capability of the structure to bring out the natural essence of the beauty that the location itself posses makes the complete conception a complimentary element to the landscape. 2. Nature Seen and Sensed The major features of the shapes and elements that make up the building actually create a more sophisticated presentation of nature. The carefully crafted design that mimics the entirety of scale and location highlights the abundance of nature creating an 'environment of seemingly untamed, ever-productive free growth'4. A curved glazed curtain wall allows the visitor to view the 'spectacular' landscape over the terrace.5 The glazing allows natural light to enter the building giving it better chances of being appropriately lit during the day right up to mid afternoon. The glazing 'frames' the scenic view of the natural landscape of the gardens for which the interiors of the building create a perfect foil. Hills and

High School Education Essay Example for Free

High School Education Essay Education has been the proposed priority of the different countries all over the world in an effort to develop the social abilities of the children who will be taking over the country in the future and will be leading it to another way of growth. High school is viewed to be an important time for the students especially as it is a transition between the time of elementary learning and into specialized learning (Armstrong, 1998). Moreover, it is also situated during the development years of the adolescent which may factor to their presence of mind while developing for their future needs. In this regard, it is important to determine the overall direction/objectives of High School in this generation and to determine ways on how these objectives can be implemented and achieved. Today, the main objective of High School also known as secondary school is to provide educational program that enhances full potentials of the students in terns of academics and social aspects. In addition, the educational institution today must be able to establish a more comprehensive and efficient High School or secondary school. It has been said that High school is the time wherein the students themselves are finding their cognitive skills developing and thus are also developing their behaviors appropriately, is also then the time where teachers must focus on tackling these factors equally and comprehensively; as such, the authors acknowledge that high schools must prepare their students for specializing and further studies in different universities. Social competence must also be assessed as the teachers must be able to gauge the abilities of their students and thus from that must then be able to construct their goals for the end of the school year that will include the knowledge that the students have gained, the development of their views, as well as their own goals further than the end of their years in their high school Today, high schools are determined to provide a variety of learning methods to reach all students needs. Recognizing that in the past, instruction has often been geared to a hypothetical average student rather than to individual students with different backgrounds, attitudes, needs, interests, and abilities, new ways of learning are being created. These ranges from options for students within the school itself, to community involvement, and even to visiting or living in other countries. In order to meet these objectives innovative projects and programs are designed to reach students who have become frustrated and uninvolved in the work of the conventional high school. Options are intended to make learning more interesting, realistic, and meaningful to students. New ways of approaching the academic disciplines, more personal relationships with students, and imaginative learning activities are being invented example of ingenuity in creating many types of options within one school. Aside from that, High School today is now trying to integrate their educational program with information communication technology. It is noted that innovative Information Technology (IT) applications can provide advantages such as: students experienced greater independence and responsibility for their own work and progress; students are more capable of beating deadlines; and fostered students’ ongoing reflection about their work: either by redrafting and/or reviewing it, and especially by comparing it with assessment criteria with the aim of improving their overall standards. Similarly positive, Goodison (2002) said that even if in terms children’s awareness most students are not aware if ICT made them more productive in any way and that some pupils see the complexity of software applications as barriers to task completion, ICT contributes to the promotion of learning independently.

Winter Dreams Essay Example for Free

Winter Dreams Essay Matthew Bruccoli wrote, â€Å"The four closing paragraphs of this story are distinguished by Fitzgerald’s complex explication of Dexter’s sense of mutability: he grieves for the loss of his capacity to grieve. † This statement is about the main character Dexter, in Scott Fitzgerald’s â€Å"Winter Dreams†. I agree that the last four paragraphs show a man whose dream does not turn out the way expects it. Dexter worked hard and in the end, the dream was gone, taken from him. The last line supports Bruccoli’s statement, â€Å" I cannot cry. I cannot care. That thing will come back no more. What Dexter is talking about is his dream or the classic â€Å"American Dream. † The main character of this story Dexter has a vision of success; he wants to pursue the American Dream, money, status, and class. While chasing his goals he wants to climb the latter of wealth and then marry beautiful Judy Jones. Little does Dexter know where this journey is going to take him, the American Dream is something that every person would like to someday reach, but what happens when you get the American Dream? Fitzgerald’s voice is clearly heard in this novel because he shows the parallels’ between Dexter’s â€Å"Winters Dream† and the American Dream. He presents this idea of idealism in a negative way, telling the reader the underlying opinion that the American Dream isn’t real and that all there is left after the glitz and glam are gone is a shuddering feel of emptiness. â€Å"Winter Dreams† is a short story that takes place over a time period of twenty years. The American Dream is something that came about in the mid-1900’s this is something that Dexter strives to have. He wants to be a part of the elite and when he graduates from a prestigious eastern college he becomes a partner in a laundry company. This makes Dexter very wealthy and successful and he realizes that he has two things that are important to American Character: confidence and hard work. He has always had the drive to succeed, even when he quit his job as a caddy his boss begged him â€Å"with tears in his eyes,† not to quit the job. He also exudes confidence when he quits because he knows that he can do better for himself. Also he wanted to be seen as equal not inferior to Judy Jones and he works very hard throughout this entire story to achieve that. Dexter Greens whole life, personal choices, and aspirations were dramatically influenced by the incredible power Judy had on him. His fatal attraction towards her is something that he can never quite shake until the end of this novel. Judy Jones represents all of the things that Dexter can’t have. She is unattainable, just as money, power and success are to a four-teen year old boy; four-teen was the age Judy and Dexter first met. At twenty three Dexter met Judy again in a golf country club, where they became sentimentally involved. Very soon in the story the reader realizes that Judys good looks and flirtatious behavior has the great power to conquer numerous men, including Dexter, making them absolutely powerless and blindly fall in love with her. Judy becomes the ammunition to Dexter’s American Dream she is the ultimate goal Dexter wants to achieve. When he finally catches her eye and they being to date, it doesn’t take long for Judy’s destructive character and shallowness to emerge. Dexter realizes that he is just something that she can play with and when she gets bored with one suitor she quickly throws them out and replaces them with a new one. Her ultimate concern is for her own desires and she doesn’t care about anyone she steps on along the way. Unfortunately for Dexter this destructive game causes nothing but hurt and disparaging sadness for him. Judy and Dexter are briefly engaged and during this time they both suffer a great deal of disillusionment and pain. . â€Å"Winter Dreams,† explores many themes that stand out, but the main theme that Fitzgerald addresses is by far the American Dream and its hollowness at the end of the road. This is a classic story of life lessons, love, and pursuing inner dreams and goals. The way that Fitzgerald uses Judy Jones to represent and entire lifestyle and goal of a character is genius. The American Dream is something that a person works towards and cannot reach by impatience it’s a goal that should be reached overtime, something that should not be allowed to take over your life. Because we are encouraged to chase our goals and follow our dreams, people get caught up in the dream and the illusion and don’t look towards the reality. Then you end up without the capability of grieving and miss the loss of even that. The last four paragraphs summarize all the aspirations Dexter had, lost. He said they had existed once but no longer do, and will never return again.

Public Interest Is Used To Justify Regulation Media Essay

Public Interest Is Used To Justify Regulation Media Essay Public interest is a concept that can be high-jacked by journalists themselves: a plea of in the public interest is a favourite defence for journalism under attack. It is at the heart of the argument about the extent to which prying reporters and cameras should be allowed to invade personal privacy. The Ofcom code says that Where broadcasters wish to justify an infringement of privacy, they should be able to demonstrate why in the particular circumstances of the case, it is in the public interest. Examples of public interest would include revealing or detecting crime, protecting public health or safety, exposing misleading claims made by individuals or organizations or disclosing incompetence that affects the public. The BBC also has its own guidelines as it seeks to balance the public interest in freedom of expression with the legitimate expectation of privacy by individuals. There is no single definition of public interest, it includes but is not confined to: exposing or detecting crime, exposing significantly anti-social behaviour by those holding high office, preventing people from being misled by some statement or action of an individual or organisation, disclosing information that allows people to make a significantly more informed decision about matters of public importance. However, neither media code or attempts a full definition of the public interest. The BBC requires a higher public interest test for secretly recording in a private place where the public do not have access, secretly recording medical treatments, secretly recording identifiable people in grief or under extremes of stress both in public and semi-public. There are also some arguments over the media whether they are serving the public interest or interesting the public. Public/social purpose media should be informing and educating, but medias are more likely to weigh up the market-driven news values nowadays. The news media are failing to serve the public interest because of the following points: Firstly, abuse of individual right to privacy Privacy and alleged invasions of privacy by the media are central issues in the ethics of journalism. Clearly, we live in a society that values personal privacy, and is concerned about intrusions into privacy from whatever source, including the media. Yet, perhaps paradoxically, we also live in a society that thrives on publicity, or at least one in which many individuals depend on publicity for their lives and activities. This seeming paradox is usually defused by drawing a distinction between the private and the public aspects of peoples lives, and by further claiming that there is indeed a right to privacy, but that in certain circumstances the right can be overridden in the name of the public interest. This account of the matter accepts that in such circumstances an invasion of privacy has actually occurred but that the invasion can be justified by an appeal to a greater good. The right to privacy is no more than a presumption ( though an important one), and that where some information about an individual that he or she would prefer to keep private should be in the public domain, then putting it there is not overriding that individuals right to privacy because no such right ever existed concerning this aspect of the persons life. There is, on this account, no such thing as a justifiable invasion of privacy because justification is in fact a demonstration that no privacy could properly be claimed in the first place. On this account, all invasions of privacy are unjustifiable. This is particularly important in the case of politicians and others who occupy similar positions in society. Thus a politician who has his or her secret love nest exposed in the press is not the victim of an invasion of privacy, because scandalous behaviour of this nature cannot legitimately claim the protection of privacy. This is not simply because politicians are in the public eye, but because they, and others in business and the media as well, wield power in society, and all aspects of the exercise of power must be open to public scrutiny. This is the only way to avoid corruption in public life, and by corruption. I mean more than financial chicanery. I do not say that politicians are not entitled to privacy, but that they are not entitled to abuse the right to privacy. In a democracy those who wield power cannot decide for themselves where to draw the boundary between the public and the private aspects of their lives. In spite of the recent introduction in the UK of some legislative safeguards in the first two areas, there is a little that members of the public can do to assure themselves that their privacy is not being abused here. They simply do not know what is going on an cannot find out, for such abuse is normally hidden at source, even though it might have actual consequences for peoples lives. With invasions of privacy by the press it is wholly different, for here the victim obviously knows. This might explain why there is a considerable outery against invasions of privacy by the press even though this is less harmful to individuals and the democratic political process than abuses in the other two areas for here is an open target, easily identifiable, to soak up the publics concern and wrath. Hence the demand for the press to clean up its act, either voluntarily or, if this fails, through controls imposed by legislation. This threat of statutory restraints prompted the editors if the national newspaper in Britain to issue their own Code of Practice in 1989 to add the codes promulgate by bodies such as the Press Council ( now defunet) and the National Union of Journalists. The editors code and the Press Council code were later absorbed into a newspaper-industry code, monitored by the Press Complaints Commission, in which the voluntary protection of privacy, without legislative intervention, was a primary aim. Secondly, interesting the public rather than serving the public interest According to the trend, the pursuit of profit has replaced that of serving the public interest as the driving force of journalism. News producers even those like the BBC which are free of direct commercial pressures have been required to become more an more oriented towards ratings, subordinating the journalistic obligation to inform to the more audience-friendly task of supplying entertainment. The result of these pressures has been an explosion of infotainment journalism in which entertainment values take precedence over information content, presented at an intellectual level low enough to appeal to the mass audiences which comprise the major media markets( the lowest denominator, as critics frequently express it). Lower, too, than a healthy democracy demands. Political journalism is said to be conforming to the pressures of tabloidisation observed elsewhere in the media: a term which used interchangeably with dumbing down and infotainment, functions as shorthand for the offence, as it is often characterised, of catering for popular tastes. One manifestation of this trend would be the medias contemporary fascination with elite deviance( sexual, financial or moral), as in the cases of Conservative and Labour politicians in Britain throughout the 1990s, an of course Bill Clinton, whose sex addiction was a prominent theme of political journalism in Britain as well as the United States during the 1990s, exemplified by coverage of the Monica Lewinsky scandal in 1998-9. The sleaze agenda which featured prominently in British and American political news for most of that decade was alleged to be driven by market forces rather than public interest, in so far as the relentless commodification of journalism an the ever-increasing competitiveness of the media market put a commercial premium on sensationalism an prurience in coverage of politics. Although journalists like to envision themselves as independent pursuers of truth, the public sees them as employees who are only trying to help corporations make a pound. More than two-thirds say: News papers are concerned mainly with making profits rather than serving the public interest. I believe that newspaper frequently overdramatize some news stories just to sell more papers. Journalists chase sensational stories because they think itll sell papers, not because its an important story. Journalists sometimes see themselves in heroic terms. Lurking in the back of their minds are phases like eyes and ears of the public, representatives of the citizenry and the publics watchdog. By keeping tabs on the politicians, they can ensure that the public will be properly served by the government. The public, however, is convinced that politicians are more ethical than journalists. Many journalists shrug off such findings. Journalists are not supposed to be popular, they say. Theyre supposed to be tough observers of government and society. Thirdly, lies: publish and be damned degenerates to publish and be sued we can afford it: The law is a conservative profession. Most legal advisers first impulse will be tell news organisation Dont publish. The paper is at liberty to ignore the advice: to publish and be damned. But because of the complex risks involved, this is not a decision for an individual reporter or sub-editor to make. It needs to be made collectively and at policy level. Many news reporters start their careers with a stint on the court beat. This is considered good training in the need for discipline and accurate fact-gathering in journalism. Many young journalists, however, find the courts intimidating, confusing, and stultifying boring. Often, thats because they dont know the ropes. News media nowadays tend to pay for the punishment than actually avoid treading lines. They are more likely to step into the grey area on the ethical issues. Fourthly, abuse of the public interest defence (especially by some elements of the news media) : Journalists damage their case further when their stories go too far, as they often do. Tabloids have behaved as though the public interest argument stretches indefinitely, that once established it justifies anything. But a legitimate public interest in an aspect of the private behaviour of a public figure cannot automatically justify disclosure of any private information about the individual. Legitimate public interest certainly justified the story that the heir to the Britain throne, Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, had had an affair with Mrs Camilla Parker-Bowles after his marriage. Public interest would probably also has justified the story, were it true, that Charles have sex with Camilla at his home while his wife was upstairs. The case was compromised, though by publication of pictures inside the Parker-Bowles home and bedroom against their will. They were not justified by a pub lic interest. The chairman of the PCC, Lord Wakeham, gave a strong warning to editors early in 1995 against abuse of the public interest defence. He said the Commission would not tolerate spurious use of the defence when considering complaints. Soon afterwards, the PCC severely critised the biggest selling British newspaper, the Sunday tabloid, the News of the World, for coverage of the illness of Lady Spencer, wife of the brother of the Prince of Wales. The paper has shown sad pictures of Lady Spencer, taken evidently without her knowledge, while she was being treated for an eating disorder. No genuine public interest was involved an Lord Wakeham took the unusual step of writing to the owner of the paper, Rupert Murdoch of News Corporation, about it. As a result, Murdoch publicly rubuked the News of the World editors. Specious and spurious arguments and dubious cases aside, the public interest defence is widely recognized as valid within limits. The committee appointed by government to examine media intrusion and suggested what public interest defences might be used. Journalistic intrusion could be justified if the information collected expose crime, other wrong-doing or a danger to public health. The PCC adds a further consideration: intrusion can be justified if it would prevent the public from being misled by some statement or action of an individual or organisation. This could be strengthened further by adopting the public interest defence that already exists in the Obscene Publications Act. An intrusion could be defended if the material gained exposed any matter of serious concern to the general public. Critics regard generalized exceptions as weasel words designed to allow disreputable journalism to proceed unhindered. But plainly interpreted, a wide-ranging defence of the kind envisaged would offer some protection for public figures, would reduce the risk of commercial villains sheltering behind a privacy law and would not damage protection for ordinary people when they deserve it. Lastly, Outings by media which are couched as serving the public interest. To conclude , the news media are failing to serve the public interest because of abusing of individual right to privacy, interesting the public rather than serving the public interest, lies: publish and be damned degenerates to publish and be sued, abusing of the public interest defence (especially by some elements of the news media) and Outings by media which are couched as serving the public interest.

To Determine Social Media Usage Among Malaysia Student Media Essay

To Determine Social Media Usage Among Malaysia Student Media Essay Recent year have shown a worldwide growth pattern in social interaction in digital media more knows as social media. Today more than hundreds of millions internet user all over the world visited thousand of social media sites. Social media come out parallel with various technological affordances, supporting with a wide range of interests and practices. While, their key technological features are fairly consistent and the cultures that emerge around social media sites are varied. Most sites support the maintenance of pre-existing social networks, but others help strangers connect based on reasons, shared interests, political views, or activities. Universal McCann (2009) conducted an extensive study on social media usage among 232000 active internet users in 38 countries during spring 2009. This study showed that social consumption of digital content is either highly penetrated among active internet users or still growing rapidly. Besides that, through this study also find out that consumers continue to flock to digital destinations in order to create and share content, but they are now becoming more selective in terms of where they are doing it included the tools of social media are starting to coalesce on to a single platform type, namely the social network. According to Universal McCann (2009), 17 percent of active internet users globally now access the internet on the move, in others words internet and social media use are becoming more mobile. Social media platforms also are becoming more multi-media and the number of bloggers and social network users who have uploaded photos, videos, music and widgets has continued to rise since the last study conducted in 2007 until 2008. From this information, there is no doubt at all that social media increasingly important and become a culture for people all over the world in this era 21st century. Background of the study This study will carry out in Universiti Utara Malaysia because students are not exceptional as the active internet user and they have a higher access to the internet especially in variety types of social media. It is also because many students are teenager and still young. Usually, at this age the student have a higher desire to do something that their feel interesting and something new. Commonly, student will use many type of social media depending on their reasons. Sometimes, they visited social networking sites, collaboration websites, creativity work sharing sites and others type of social media to get any information, to make a discussion, to keep in touch with friend, for media sharing, self presentation and debate, social networks, referencing and recommendation services and many else. Problem statement Currently, social media become phenomena to all internet users not only in Malaysia but all over the world. According to the recent report, more than 30% teenager neglecting their school and also family because spend a long time to access social media. We can see that young became addicted to social media. Social media addiction will occur when people visited websites regularly without any motive, goal and became of their habit every day. Social media addicted is more likely to happens to a university student that have a greater access to the computer. So, this research will conduct a study in Universiti Utara Malaysia to identify the social media usage among Universiti Utara Malaysia student and also to determine the factors that motivate them to take part in social media. 1.3 Research question This research aims to answer the following question: What are the social media usages among Universiti Utara Malaysia student and what are the factors motivate them to take part in social media? 1.4 Research objective Research objective has listed below: To determine social media usage among University Utara Malaysia student. To determine whether social media usage among University Utara Malaysia student is motivate by performance. To determine whether social media usage among University Utara Malaysia student is motivate by passing time. To determine whether social media usage among University Utara Malaysia student is motivate by information seeking. To determine whether social media usage among University Utara Malaysia student is motivate by social connection. To determine whether social media usage among University Utara Malaysia student is motivate by entertainment. 1.5 Significance of the study A study on internet user regarding social media was done by previously researchers. However, the author choose to take the graduate as the scope of the study as this group is those who are educated and expose to technologies changes especially in emerging of variety type social media. They believe through social media they can gain many advantages and beneficial information. Hence, this group should be addressed to enhance a better understanding about social media and the factors motivate to take part in social media. The author chooses Universiti Utara Malaysia to conduct this study because Universiti Utara Malaysia is one of the early higher educations in Malaysia. Besides that, this study location at northern peninsular of Malaysia because until now, there did not have any study conduct regarding social media in Malaysia. This study is considered important because to identified the social media usage and to determined the factors that motivate Universiti Utara Malaysia student to take part in social media. This study also was conducted to view growing rapidly all over the world. The previously research about social media should be given a new lease. 1.6 Scope and limitation of the study The studies on the social media usages and motivation factors to take part in social media only focused only to the graduates. Graduated are here devoted to College of Business student that consist of undergraduate student and also postgraduates student. The researcher will make Universiti Utara Malaysia student from College of Business as their population and sample will be randomly selected from the population. The limitation of this study is limited to the Universiti Utara Malaysia student only because of timing problem and also budget problem. Organization of the research project CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction In this chapter earlier studies connected to the problem area and more specifically to the research questions, will be discussed. First, previous studies related to the definition of social media from previous research, will be presented. Then, literature regarding the research question from first question until the last question about social media usage and motivation factor to take part in social media among Universiti Utara Malaysia student will be brought up in this chapter. 2.1 Social media From the previous research, we can see there have several definitions of social media given by the previous researcher. The definition that already given by the previous researchers is so variety and there is no clear definition about social media. According to Universal McCann (2009), social media is a platform for social connection and also an application to user generated content. It is a new kind of online media that can be characterized by user participation, openness, conversation, community and connectedness (Mayfield, 2006). Blog, micro blog, RSS, widget, social networking sites, chat room, message board, video and photo sharing is included in central of social media (Universal McCann, 2009). According to Universal McCann (2009), social media design is about designing platforms and applications for social interaction and user generated content. Social media is a new kind of online media characterized by user participation, openness, conversation, community, and connectedness (Mayfield, 2006). Central social media platforms include blogging, micro blogging, RSS, widgets, social networking, chat rooms, message boards, podcasts, video sharing, and photo sharing (Universal McCann, 2009) Social media is an application and system that can support content sharing, and create environment for sociable online that included solution for media sharing, presentation and debate, social network, referencing and recommendation and also sources for create knowledge. It also may include technology platform interactive television and also mobile phone (Karahasanovic Folstad, 2008). According to KarahasanoviĆ¡ Fà ¸lstad (2008), social media are systems and applications supporting content sharing and co-creation in sociable online environments. This includes solutions for media sharing (e.g. YouTube, Flickr), self presentation and debate (e.g. MySpace, blogs), social networks (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn), referencing and recommendation services (e.g. Digg, Del.icio.us) and co-created knowledge resources (e.g. Wikipedia). Social media may also include technology platforms such as interactive television and mobile phones (KarahasanoviĆ¡ Fà ¸lstad, 2008). According to Kaplan et al (2010), social media is a group of internet based application that can build ideology and technology foundation of Web 2.0 that can allow creations of user generated contents and also exchanges the user generated contents. Web 2.0 can be consider as platform for the evolution of social media because it represent the ideology and technology foundation that have being seeing as the sum of all way in which people make use the social media (Kaplan et al, 2010). Social Media is a group of Internet based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content. They consider Web 2.0 as the platform for the evolution of Social Media because when Web 2.0 represents the ideological and technological foundation, User Generated Content (UGC) can be seen as the sum of all ways in which people make use of Social Media (Kaplan et al, 2010). There have three requirements in User Generate Content that included need to be published, certain amount of creative effort need to be show and lastly need to create outside from the practices and routine (Kaplan et al, 2010). According to Kaplan et al, (2010) User Generated Content needs to fulfil three basic requirements in order to be considered as such first, it needs to be published either on a publicly accessible website or on a social networking site accessible to a selected group of people and second, it needs to show a certain amount of creative effort and finally, it needs to have been created outside of professional routines and practices. The combination of technological drivers likes increased broadband availability and hardware capacity, economic drivers likes increased availability of tools for the creation of User Generated Content and social drivers likes rise of a generation of digital natives and screenagers: younger age groups with substantial technical knowledge and willingness to engage online will make User Generated Content nowadays fundamentally different from what was observed in the early 1980s. (Kaplan et al, 2010). According to Danah Allison (2007), social media is a web based service that allow user to construct a profile either public or semi public profile that will be bound by the system, all will be listed in the system included list of other user that they are connected with and lastly view and traverse their list that they are connected with and other within the systems. The connection is different between sites to sites. Social network sites as web-based services that allow individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and lastly view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site (Danah and Ellison, 2007). 2.2 Factors motivate to take part in social media They are many factors that can motivate user to take part in social media. It is included because of performance, passing time, information seeking, social connection and entertainment that will be elaborate below: 2.2.1 Self expression From literature we can find several different reasons why customers visit social media sites. Shao (2008), believe that the user contributed to social media because their need to self expression. This statement also supported by Sirgys (1982) claim that user looking for the experience that will enhance their self concept. Shao (2008) suggests that users contribute because they have a need for self-expression and self-actualization, which is supported by Sirgys (1982) claim that individuals look for experiences that enhance their self-concept. According to Shao (2008), self expression refer to user communicated their own identities and also their individualities. It is assume that user wan to communicate themselves to other person, so other person will know about themselves as they know themselves (Shao, 2008). Self-expression refers to users communicating their own identity and individuality (Shao, 2008). It is assumed that people want to communicate themselves to other people, so that others can know them as they know themselves (Goffman, 1959; McKenna and Bargh 1999; Swann, 1983; Shao, 2008). 2.2.2 Performance there are various types of Social Media that need to be distinguished further. However, although most people would probably agree that Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, and Second Life are all part of this large group, there is no systematic way in which different Social Media applications can be categorized. To create such a classification scheme, and to do so in a systematic manner, we rely on a set of theories in the field of media research (social presence, media richness) and social processes (self-presentation, self-disclosure), the two key elements of Social Media. Applied to the context of Social Media, we assume that a first classification can be made based on the richness of the medium and the degree of social presence it allows. Applied to the context of Social Media, we assume that a second classification can be made based on the degree of self-disclosure it requires and the type of self-presentation it allows. Social media encompasses a wide range of online, word-of-mouth forums including blogs, company sponsored discussion boards and chat rooms, consumer-to-consumer e-mail, consumer product or service ratings websites and forums, Internet discussion boards and forums, moblogs (sites containing digital audio, images, movies, or photographs), and social networking websites, to name a few. As illustrated by Table 1, social media outlets are numerous and varied. 2.2.3 Passing time 2.2.4 Information seeking According to Shao (2008) argue that the primary use of social media among user is to find information and also to build the knowledge. Users can get technical value from social media through find the specific information that can broadening and increase their knowledge (Shao, 2008). Shao (2008) suggest that the primary use is looking for information and building knowledge. In social media technical value can be seen as the value that the customer gets from finding specific information or just broadening his knowledge (Shao, 2008). Desire to increase knowledge among user are motivated user to seeking for the information. User not only wants to get information about others and the world but they also want to provide information about themselves to others and the world. Shao (2008) argues that information seeking is motivated by users desire to increase knowledge. Users want information about themselves, others and the world (Shao, 2008). Studies show that people are increasingly looking for information on the web, which has lead to sites like wikipedia.org growing rapidly (Shao, 2008). According to Kaplan (2010), the trend of social media can be seen as evolution to the Internet root since World Wide Web already transform to became a platform that can exchanges information between user. The current trend toward Social Media can therefore be seen as an evolution back to the Internets roots, since it retransforms the World Wide Web to what it was initially created for a platform to facilitate information exchange between users (Kaplan, 2010). Shao (2008), argue that users can find and get information about product and services but in some cases, user are more trusted the information that they are getting from others user compare to the information that they are getting from the marketers. Searching for information can also be related to reading about products or services. In most cases, users trust information that they get from other users more than they trust information that is provided by marketers (Shao, 2008). According Kim et al, (2010) both members and non-members have two types of facilities to find the information they need on social Web sites. The facilities are keyword-based search engines and browsing. The search engines can be used to look for the names of people, names of groups, and particular UCCs. Browsing can be done on selected groups and UCCs in a particular category. Most sites allow keyword-based search of text-based contents. Some search engines are fairly powerful, while others are crude. The users can also browse the results of keyword-based searches, and groups and UCCs that are suggested as related to the group and UCCs the users currently view. All social Web sites provide categories for the UCCs stored, so that users may browse UCCs in a specific category. 2.2.5 Social connection Social media can also increase users social interactions, and decreases loneliness or help users manage their moods (Shao, 2008). These motivations can also be linked to the community aspect of social media, as Tedjamulia et al (2005) suggests that one of the reasons why users choose to contribute is because they feel motivated to do so because of being part of a community. Social Web sites provide various facilities for members to use to communicate with their online connections, that is, friends and other members. These include email, instant messaging, text messaging, and public and private bulletin boards, and even Internet phone services. Such sites as MySpace and Facebook allow their members to use the messaging and phone call facilities of Internet phone services, such as Skype (Kim et al, 2010). Further, according to Kim et al, (2010) on behalf of the members, the sites send member updates and notices using emails or text messages to members friends. They also send updates and notices to members of groups. The sites also display friends updates to members public and private boards. For example, Twitter allows members to send mes- sages to friends on what the members are doing. A message, which is restricted to 140 characters, may be sent to friends mobile devices and their Twitter accounts. A member may have one or more followers, and many members may be following a member. Facebook provides a mini bulletin board (called a wall) to post a members message for all friends to see and respond to. LinkedIn provides an answers function to allow members to answer questions posted by other members, and to refer the questions to their online connections.