In what ways have various forms of visual entertainment media shaped American culture and its values Essay

Media has evolved constantly in the last century. There is a new source or outlet of media being invented. Our nation has moved from newspapers and radio broadcasts to internet and cell phones to receive the news of the day. Radio and newspapers are losing popularity as quick as it gained popularity in the beginning. People can now be updated with news stories and global news on the go. There is no longer the need to flip through a paper or wait through commercials, the news is as easy as a click away. There are some disadvantages to this new form of media delivery, however. Traditional media outlets like newspapers, radios, and television are widely available to everyone, where as internet access has a smaller audience due to expense rates/plans. Although, the media is changing daily news is either broadcasted or by word of mouth in America. I believe that there have been many television shows and movies that have displayed the culture of times in them. People have been influenced by these movies and television shows because some individuals can really relate to the lifestyles or actions of the people in these movies or shows. Especially with videos out there for learning things, I think that can really help with teaching people rather than just trying to get them to read materials to learn. It gives a different view of the materials and what is supposed to be learned. Visual learning become global and many people are taking advantage of it while its here. The internet provides visual entertainment to all that have access to it. The media is all around us and what surrounds us will have an effect on any and everyone in the world. For example: Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube and made an impact on media in the past couple of years. However, I think that these different forms of visual entertainment media have shaped American culture and its values by influencing people to act differently because of what they see on television or in movies. I believe that celebrities can have a large impact on how people say and do things. I am a male R&B artist and the message in my songs inspire others to change the way they act and think.

Marketing Exploratory Research Essay

Researchers employ exploratory research when little is known about the topic and previous theories or ideas do not apply. For example, if you wanted to study how to get students to use the computer lab in a college environment, you might first have to do exploratory research to figure out which students might need the lab and what appeals to this demographic. Exploratory research clarifies problems, gathers data and creates initial hypothesis and theories about subjects. The primary point of exploratory research is to give researchers pertinent information and help them to form initial hypotheses about the subject. Exploratory research is challenging in the sense that it tackles vaguely defined hypothesis and tries to find answers to questions. This kind of research is social in nature and requires some preliminary work in the direction of the research. In fact, sociologist Earl Babbie treats exploratory as the purpose of the research saying this kind of research proves to be useful when the hypothesis has yet not been formed or developed. There are certain basic premises that need to be tested at the start of an exploratory research. With the help of these hypotheses, the researcher hopes to arrive at more generalizations. Exploratory research is a form of research conducted for a problem that has not been clearly defined. Exploratory research helps determine the best research design, data collection method and selection of subjects. It should draw definitive conclusions only with extreme caution. Given its fundamental nature, exploratory research often concludes that a perceived problem does not actually exist. Exploratory research often relies on secondary research such as reviewing available literature and/or data, or qualitative approaches such as informal discussions with consumers, employees, management or competitors, and more formal approaches through in-depth interviews, focus groups, projective methods, case studies or pilot studies. The Internet allows for research methods that are more interactive in nature. For example, RSS feeds efficiently supply researchers with up-to-date information; major search engine search results may be sent by email to researchers by services such as Google Alerts; comprehensive search results are tracked over lengthy periods of time by services such as Google Trends; and websites may be created to attract worldwide feedback on any subject. When the purpose of research is to gain familiarity with a phenomenon or acquire new insight into it in order to formulate a more precise problem or develop hypothesis, the exploratory studies ( also known as formulative research ) come in handy. If the theory happens to be too general or too specific, a hypothesis cannot to be formulated. Therefore a need for an exploratory research is felt to gain experience that will be helpful in formulative relevant hypothesis for more definite investigation Descriptive Research Descriptive research is done with a specific research question in mind. It gives a set view of the subject, population, market segment or problem. An example of descriptive research would be a report that provides an age and gender breakdown of the users of a particular online service. Descriptive research provides research questions, populations or methods of analysis before the research is started. In marketing, it often consists of longitudinal studies, which study the behavior of individuals over time, and cross-sectional studies, which examine many populations at one specific time. As the name implies, a descriptive research is descriptive in nature and gathers statistics, which is later carefully studied to arrive at conclusions. In fact, descriptive research often leads to formulation of hypothesis as collation and analysis of data produces conclusions that form the basis of another research. So, if there is a research about the use of alcohol among teenagers, it typically begins with collection of data that is descriptive in nature and lets people know the age and drinking habits of students. Descriptive research is helpful for calculations and to arrive at statistical tools such as median, averages, and frequencies. Descriptive research, also known as statistical research, describes data and characteristics about the population or phenomenon being studied. However, it does not answer questions about e.g.: how/when/why the characteristics occurred, which is done under analytic research. Although the data description is factual, accurate and systematic, the research cannot describe what caused a situation. Thus, Descriptive research cannot be used to create a causal relationship, where one variable affects another. In other words, descriptive research can be said to have a low requirement for internal validity. The description is used for frequencies, averages and other statistical calculations. Often the best approach, prior to writing descriptive research, is to conduct a survey investigation. There are three main types of descriptive methods: observational methods, case-study methods and survey methods. Observational Method With the observational method (sometimes referred to as field observation) animal and human behavior is closely observed. There are two main categories of the observational method — naturalistic observation and laboratory observation. The biggest advantage of the naturalistic method of research is that researchers view participants in their natural environments. This leads to greater ecological validity than laboratory observation, proponents say. Ecological validity refers to the extent to which research can be used in real-life situations. Proponents of laboratory observation often suggest that due to more control in the laboratory, the results found when using laboratory observation are more meaningful than those obtained with naturalistic observation. Laboratory observations are usually less time-consuming and cheaper than naturalistic observations. Of course, both naturalistic and laboratory observation are important in regard to the advancement of scientific knowledge. Case Study Method Case study research involves an in-depth study of an individual or group of indviduals. Case studies often lead to testable hypotheses and allow us to study rare phenomena. Case studies should not be used to determine cause and effect, and they have limited use for making accurate predictions. There are two serious problems with case studies — expectancy effects and atypical individuals. Expectancy effects include the experimenter’s underlying biases that might affect the actions taken while conducting research. These biases can lead to misrepresenting participants’ descriptions. Describing atypical individuals may lead to poor generalizations and detract from external validity. Survey Method Survey method research, participants answer questions administered through interviews or questionnaires. After participants answer the questions, researchers describe the responses given. In order for the survey to be both reliable and valid it is important that the questions are constructed properly. Questions should be written so they are clear and easy to comprehend. What is the difference between Descriptive and Exploratory Research? †¢ Descriptive research, being quantitative in nature, is restrictive in terms of open ended questions, which can be better answered using exploratory research. †¢ Flexibility of design is offered by exploratory research more than by descriptive research. †¢ Descriptive research is used more to arrive at statistical tools such as mean, average, median and frequency. On the other hand, exploratory research allows the researcher to develop designs that are more qualitative in nature. †¢ The amount of information known to the researcher at the start of the research plays an important role in deciding upon the type of research. With only vague ideas in the minds of the researcher, it is better to go for exploratory design. On the other hand, more information such as quantitative data allows a researcher to go for descriptive research that leads to unearthing causal relationships. †¢ Exploratory research needs to be conducted first to have a platform that allows for collation of data required in descriptive research.

Rebellion or Reason in Amy Tan’s: Two Kinds

Rebellion or Reason in Amy Tan's: Two Kinds In the short story â€Å"Two Kinds†, written by Amy Tan, the character Jing-Mei appears to be rebelling. But, what is she rebelling against? I feel she is rebelling against her mother’s competitive relationship with her Auntie Lindo and her daughter, Waverly. She is struggling to establish her identity by purposely not measuring up to her mother’s standards. This in turn, allows her to enforce her boundaries.Jing-Mei’s mother wanted the best for her; she had very high hopes for her. Jing-Mei’s mother wanted the â€Å"perfect child†. She may have wanted this â€Å"prodigy child,† due to sibling rivalry. As the story begins, the stench of ongoing competition is made apparent when Jing-Mei’s mother snorts, â€Å"What does Auntie Lindo Know† (2)? There is an unspoken, but well known big sister little sister, love-hate relationship; which ironically, is very similar to the struggles that mothers and daughters experience.Younger children may look up to their older siblings and try to emulate them. And this is important since older children tend to influence the actions and behavior of younger siblings. Sibling rivalry or childhood conflict teaches us how to relate to others. If we're struggling with adult sibling rivalry, our experiences can change how we communicate with our partner or our children. Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen,’ Adult Sibling Rivalry – How It Starts- Fighting With Your Grown Brothers and Sisters†, Time Magazine, July 10, 2006.This transgenerational feud was at the core of Jing-Meis’ mother’s incessant desire for her to force Jing-Mei to become who she wanted her to be. Causing Jing-Mei to rebel and to also plead with her mother to see her and accept her for who she was. She gained strength each time she rebelled. â€Å"I failed her so many times, each time asserting my own will, my right to fall short of expectation s†(79). She made the choice to be herself; and enabled herself to move beyond being a â€Å"Pleading Child† and into a woman â€Å"Perfectly Content†.

Is America a Christian country Should it be Term Paper

Is America a Christian country Should it be - Term Paper Example Christianity has various forms and branches with accompanying different practice sand beliefs. The three major branches of Christianity are Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism. There are numerous subcategories of these branches still. Most followers of Christianity were mainly found in the West until late 20th century but now it has spread rapidly to all the continents. The one God believed by Christians exist as The Father, The son and The Holy Spirit giving emphasis on the faith of Christ. The sacred book of Christians is the bible including Hebrew scripture (Old Testament) and the New Testament. The common practices to Christians are gathering at churches for worship, study fellowship and even interacting with rest of the world and other Christians through evangelism and social work. In the case America, Christianity was introduced to United States by the colonizing Europeans around 16th and 17th century. Immigrants from other places further increased the numbers. Christianity is the most popular religion and the denominations here can be divided into Mainline Protestantism, Evangelical Protestantism and Roman Catholic. A research conducted in 2004 on religions in United States, it showed 26.3% Evangelical, 22% Roman Catholics and 16% Mainline Protestantism. Most surveys done in America have constantly shown that over 73% of Americans identified themselves as Christians (Boyd, 2007). Many people especially some politicians and religious activists have argued that America was meant to be Christian nation by those who founded it. Having a large portion of the population being Christians does not simply qualify the country to be a Christian nation. To be a Christian nation it has to be official, Christian beliefs at least, have to be enshrined in the constitution and institutions like judiciary, education departments, and commissions should be shaped by Christian

Identify the internal and External Users of financial information ( Essay

Identify the internal and External Users of financial information ( Should include At least 5-7 References ) - Essay Example There are also retained earnings, which tell the user the portion of the net income reinvested in the company. The Generally Accepted Principles should be followed in provision of reports to be used by external persons. Accounting has some divisions i.e. cost accounting, managerial accounting, and financial accounting. Management accounting aims at providing information to the company management for the purpose of management decision. Cost accounting is the formation of financial plans, average costs, and actual costs of operation for production or processes and determining the variances on the desired results.Variuos users of accounting information have different interests in the information (Schneier, 2013). These users are internal and external. Firstly, the owners and investors of the business have a keen interest in the accounts kept by the business. Business owners are interested in knowing whether their funds are being misappropriated and not used in the desired manner (Leitner, 2012). The accounting information aids them in knowing the profitability and the financial status of the business in which they have invested their capital. Investors are concerned about risk and return in relation to their investment (Leitner, 2012). This helps them in making a decision on whether to continue investing in the business. It is also helps assess whether the business will be able to pay off dividends. Managers are also users interested in the accounting information. In small businesses, the management may comprise owners also. However, in large businesses, the management is made of employed experts who are delegated with responsibility of carrying out the business or a portion of it. The accounting information helps the managers in the performance measurement. The outcomes of the appraisal are then used to correct any discrepancies (Leitner, 2012). Managers are encountered with economic decisions that should be made regarding the business which require

Incarceration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Incarceration - Essay Example Although prisons traditionally are deemed as rehabilitative units to correct and deter criminality, these penal institutions are doing the reverse: producing confirmed criminals incompetent to integrate into mainstream society. Prison conditions, prison populations and prison rates display the tragic terror of the public unable to reform felons. The private prison system is a growing industry which is nourished by tax payers dollars. Petty criminals are incarcerated with the tough and hardened criminals. This situation results in the violence being reproduced in both younger and inexperienced inmates. The deplorable conditions of the prisons are justified. Gross human rights abuses take place within the cells. Prisoners are beaten, fed unhealthy food, subjected to unsanitary rooms and sometimes, confined, and transported to prison quarters away from their home states, away from family support but far from their criminal networks. The imbalance in the races represented in prison only reflects the partiality of the justice system where judges sentence criminals based on their ethnicity or nationality. Incarceration rates describe the ratio of how many prisoners per population of 100,000 are committed to penitentiary institutions. The United States boasts the highest incarceration rate in the world: 753 per 100,000 people as at 2008. This ratio represents a 240 percent increase since 1980. This ratio means that 3.5% of the U.S. adult population is behind bars. Compared to the U.S, the rest of the world have much lower incarceration rates for example, Russia holds the second place with 629 per 100,000; Rwanda with 593 per 100,000 and Cuba with 531 per 100,000. Compare these numbers with Australia 134, Canada 116, England 153 and Japan 63 (Schmitt 2010).    The United States leads the list in incarceration rates because of the privatized prison system. The federal and state penitentiaries employ the facilities of private owners; therefore making imprisonment a mon ey-making business. In 2008, federal, state, and local prison institutions demanded $75 billion to keep supporting its inmate population. Criminologists observe that if  prisoners convicted of non-violent crimes were not incarcerated, prison costs would be reduced to $16.9 billion per year. Another reason for America's mass imprisonment is the discriminatory conviction of prisoners belonging to certain races, particularly Blacks and Hispanics which together make up about three-quarters of the prison population. The trend of longer prison terms for minor crimes also is a factor contributing to mass imprisonment.   The prison system is a system which systematically disenfranchises inmates, stripping from poor minorities a key right. As a result, a section of the population remains voiceless. The implications here become more political since in inner city constituents the residents cannot cast their vote and decide on government or even run for office. The exploitation in prison al so enriches the prison institution owners who take unfair advantage of the labor of inmates. Inmates are usually paid about 23 cents per hour-minimum wage law does not apply and is not enforced in prisons.

Portfolio Theory and Investment Analysis Assignment

Portfolio Theory and Investment Analysis - Assignment Example A good investment strategy is one that earns the investor an expected return that is at least equal to or higher than what comparable investments would earn (Sharpe, 1991). The goal of any investment strategy is to maximize the value of the investment by getting the highest possible expected return for a given level of risk. Every investment involves risk, which is the possibility of losing money if the investment decision turns out to be a wrong one. According to normal human behavior, the higher the risk, the higher should be the expected return. Different investments have different levels of risk. For the UK charity, the safest investment, which also gives the lowest return, is to buy UK government bonds because the government always pays its debt obligations. Other investments, such as metals, a start-up business, or equities have higher levels of risk, and according to studies such as one by Barclays (2007), equities have consistently given higher returns compared to bonds or metals. Thus, investing in equities is a good first step in the  Ã‚  Ã‚  The risk level of investments in equities is measured by beta (Black, 1993), which shows how the val ue of the investment moves compared to the FTSE All Share Index, a composite number that represents the investment return of the UK equities market. The Index measures the daily values of all shares traded in the London Stock Exchange. If this index went up from 6,131.50 to 6,554.90 in the last 52 weeks, then the return on an investment, also called the market return, in all the shares included in the index would be 6.91% and a 10,000 investment 52 weeks ago would now be worth 10,691 excluding fees and commissions (Economist, 2007). A beta of 1.03 means that the value of the investment portfolio moves very close to the market but is slightly riskier than the market and therefore gives a slightly higher return compared to the market. Thus, if the market returned 6.91% in the last 52 weeks, the portfolio returned 1.3 x 6.91% = 7.12%. A 10,000 investment would be 10,712 or better than the market. However, higher risk also means a higher loss than the market if the Index dropped. The correlation coefficient measures how the prices of the stocks in the portfolio move against each other. The figure is always between +1 (perfect correlation) and -1 (negative correlation) or zero (independent correlation). Perfect correlation means all stocks go up or down together; negative correlation means that some stocks go down when others go down, and zero or independent correlation means that the stock prices move independently of each other.   

Research Methods for Business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Research Methods for Business - Assignment Example Apart from this based on the study, it has been recognized that during the global trade, companies are facing several kind of risks from the global market place, which may be in terms of political aspects, economical aspects and commercial aspects. USASuperCars has been selling luxury sports cars. The company has developed a contractual agreement for selling cars to customers on a global context. In this respect, the intention of the article is to highlight information relating to foreign exchange along with the concept of global trade. Moreover, the study identifies the role of the bank in the sphere of exchange rate policy. At the same time, the involvement of risks in the foreign trade has been also discussed. In this assignment, selling prices of the USASuperCars has been given below along with the name of the countries. Thus, the aim of this assignment is to identify the consequences according to the situation given in the case. At the same time, involvement and occurrences of bank in case of foreign trade has been demonstrated through the study. In order to identify the probability of exceeding the revenue $ 2,200,000, it can be ascertained that if the company USASuperCars will incur loss approximately around (17%) due to foreign exchange and for other reasons such as distribution purpose, even then the company will definitely be able to ensure a revenue approximately $2,200,000 or more. Rationally, the cost of cars is found to be recorded as $2207607.45, which signifies that during the global trade if the company will perform their trade operation with a loss of 17%, instead of that the company will able to earn a revenue around at least $ 2,200,000. Thus, it can be claimed that the probability is high of exceeding the revenue level $2,200,000 (Niepmann & Schmidt-Eisenlohr, 2014; Economy watch, 2010). In order to identify the probability of exceeding the revenue $2,225,000, it can be claimed that

Art Culture and History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Art Culture and History - Essay Example But whilst Bocaccio does not give much importance to frame, one f Chaucer's greatest and most particular abilities lies in the creation f characters. Chaucer's main interest, and quite a modern one, is on portraying different human types. Chaucer chooses sources that fit with his purposes, using intertextuality to achieve a personal creative goal. The Wife f Baths's Tale is really appropriate to her character. Drawn from a popular story -already written by Gower in his Confessio Amantis, and later to become The Wedding f Sir Gawen and the Dame f Ragnell (in a manuscript written circa 1450)- the Tale looks for an answer to the question 'What do women most desire'. In the prologue to the tale, Chaucer develops some f his most shiny and colorful narrative that's containing great examples f intertextuality, but they are not as obvious as in the tale. For instance, there is a clear influence f Confessions, in the opening lines f the Wife's parliament: "If there were no authority on earth/ except experience; mine, for what it's worth,/ and that's enough for me, all goes to show/ that marriage is a raisery and a woe;/ For let me say, if I may make so bold,/ My lords, since when I was but twelve years old,/ Thanks be to God Eternal evermore,/ Five husbands have I had at the church door;" (Chaucer 279). The story that the pilgrims are going to listen to it's the story f her life and marriages. Truth be told, the wife's tale has little to do with the Confessions f St. Agoustin. In fact, the prologue's main plot is closer to the fabliaux tradition and its popular and sexual-orientated stories. The prologue shares with the Confessions a similar autobiographical tone, but switched to serve Chaucer's intentions, that in this case are slightly ironical. Fabliaux's witty word games are also shown in this prologue. "God bade us all to wax and multiply./ That kindly text I well can understand." (280) Or: "Let them be pure wheat loaves f maiden head/ And let us wives be known for barley-bread;/Yet Mark can tell that barley-bread sufficed/to freshen many at the hand f Christ" (282). The cheeky Wife's personality seems to be pretty convenient to the word games and the humorous content f her parliament. There is also strong influence f the exempla's tone that is also present in the prologue. "Listen, I'll tell you how I used to hold them,/you knowing women, who can understand." (284) Here, the wife uses her experiences to advise women on how to treat their husbands. The intention f her prologue is similar to the aim f the priest's exemplas, teaching the populace on how to behave. f course, the prologue's content is, again, far away from the exempla's and closer to popular tradition. Chaucer's tales are written in iambic couplets, a form that allows him to express himself more freely and brings him to one f his highest achievements: the transformation f English language into a vehicle that could drive popular and high literature through new ways f expression. This is probably one f the most attractive peculiarities f Chaucer, and probably the one that attracted Shakespeare to Chaucer the most. Chaucer's aim to transform English language was present in

Free

Free Writing Essay Many annoying habits exist and bother so many human beings on earth. This is because there are so many people who are forgetting the importance of having good manners and do not practice it at all (Granato). One of these people is my friend whom I treasure like a family. However, despite her annoying habit, I still remain a true, loving and loyal friend to her. While friends are one of the most important people in one’s life, there are times when they do some things that can be really exasperating and annoying, such as habits that they cannot get rid of which can make one’s nerves and blood boil. In the case of my friend, she has this habit of burping for no reason at all. For instance, she burps while watching a movie, shopping or strolling in the mall, talking, and worst, while and after eating. She considers it as an amazing talent and not a disgusting behavior. On the contrary, she laughs and always feels proud of herself every time she does it. It bothers me a lot, and I feel ashamed of her whenever people around us hear her burp. Thus, I confronted her about her disgusting habit. I told her that having good manners is one of the most important values, and it is something that people should always bring with them wherever they go and whatever they do in their lives. However, it seems that it does not affect her at all. She just said that if I am a true friend, then I would just have to accept her and deal with her annoying habit. After all, I have some habits that annoy her too. Fair enough, I think that she has a point and that she is right on what she said. I probably have a habit that annoys her too or other people and that I am not really aware of. In that sense, having good manners rarely can be found on people, or only a few value it and think that it is still important these days. After all, true friends accept each other’s attitude, manners or behaviors no matter how good or bad it is because true friends never judge nor deny their friends for who they are and what they have or do not have. Consequently, I realized that no matter how annoying the habit of my friend is, I should just accept and deal with it if she really cannot get rid of the habit because for me, friendship is more important than any annoying habits in the world. Works Cited Granato, Sherri. â€Å"11 Highly Annoying Habits of Rude People. † Associated Content. 8 January 2007. 20 January 2009 http://www. associatedcontent. com/article/112207/11_highly_annoying_habits_of_rude_people. html? cat=47.

Challenges for Measuring Fear of Crime

Challenges for Measuring Fear of Crime A case study on the difficulty and the progress of measuring fear of crime Fear of crime has been the centre of attention of scientific inquiry for nearly half a century. Scholars in this field have argued that fear of crime is directly correlated to experiences of deviant activity (Blakin, 1979; Skogan Maxfiend, 1981). Additionally, fear of crime was also reasoned in terms of the risk an individual is exposed to (Jackson, 2005). Others have focused on explaining fear of crime in terms of the influence of environmental factors (Wyant, 2008). Although there has been extensive research in terms of explaining fear of crime, contemporary scholars have recognised methodological limitations when analysing it (Farrall, 2005; Gray, Jackson and Farrall, 2008). For instance, fear of crime was measured as a dichotomous response (yes or no) to fear of crime. One example includes the questions that were asked in the British Crime Survey (BCS, now called the Crime Survey for England and Wales, CSEW): How safe do you feel walking alone in this area after dark?. Therefore, this paper will argue what limitations these old measurements have when measuring fear of crime, as well as discuss how the new methods of analysis contribute to the better understanding of fear of crime. Firstly, this essay will draw upon the limitations of measuring fear of crime. This includes discussing the problem with defining fear of crime. Secondly, this essay will explain what progress researchers in this field made in terms of measuring fear of crime. This i ncludes how and why these advances improved researchers understanding of fear of crime, as well as how these new methods improved the validity and reliability of measuring fear of crime. Lastly, this essay will identify some examples from the literature, in terms of how these new measures have enabled researchers to conduct better studies of measuring fear of crime. This includes the female and male paradoxes, among others. DEFINITION Although many attempts have been made by scholars to define fear of crime, there remains a confusion as to what fear of crime means, due to the reason that there is not a universal definition in place. Therefore, because there is no general agreed definition of fear of crime upon researchers, questions differ from survey to survey, serving as a limitation to the way it is measured. For instance, Ditton et al., (1999) defined fear as a term à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ encompassing a confusing variety of feelings, perspectives and risk-estimations and thus meaning different things to different people. Ferraro and LaGrange (1987) defined fear of crime as the negative emotional reaction generated by crime or symbols associated with crime. Ferraro (1995 cited in Gray et al., 2011) also defined it as emotional response of dread or anxiety to crime. From these two definitions, aside from the fact that they are both quite outdated definitions of fear of crime, they are also very simplified definitions, as they only focus on the term fear of crime, being generated only from criminal activity. However, more contemporary definitions of fear of crime were provided by Gray et al., (2010). They defined fear of crime by making two significant distinctions in terms of fear of crime as everyday worries and fear of crime as anxiety. The way they explained fear of crime, not only widens the spectrums in terms of what it is categorised as fear, but it also enables researchers to evaluate and conduct studies using more specific definitions, further allowing them to better understand this topic. OLDER MEASUREMENTS OF FEAR OF CRIME To begin with It is important to mention how the two way of measuring fear of crime had emerged from the theoretical point of view. Firstly, the old standard measurement of fear of crime, which started to emerge in the 1960s, developed from positivist ideas, by using data-driven models of research (Lorenc et al., 2014, p12). Additionally, it has also used observational research in order to identify factors which causes fear (Lorenc et al., 2014). Secondly, the new measurements, were developed on a more critical basis, using the foundation of sociology and criminology. Furthermore, the new development of measurement of fear of crime was also determined by the feminist ideas, as it explores a variety of attitudes and anxieties, that people experience in their daily lives fear (Lorenc et al., 2014). Although these two measurement of fear of crime, were developed from two different theories, the way they measured crime also different. For instance, the old positivist measurement, focused primarily on quantitative surveys, whereas the new critical measurements focused primarily on qualitative and ethnographic studies (Lorenc et al., 2014). With regards to, more recent research on the measurement fear of crime, both qualitative and quantitative research were used, in order to obtain more accurate and reliable data (Gray et al.,). The traditional single questions used to measure fear of crime is identified by researchers to be a formless measure, as it does not make any reference to real or specific offences. Therefore, it is still not certain if those question measured fear of crime, or measured any other approach (Ferraro LaGrange, 1987). For instance, on the British Crime Survey in 1995 questions such as How fearful are you when walking alone at night? were asked. Fearful is ambiguous in this question. The fear expressed by respondents may be about their physical or psychological circumstances, such as having a bad vision at night. In addition, the fear may also be expressed due to other factors, such as low street lightning. Therefore, it could be argued that those type of questions are mainly about fear of personal safety, rather than fear about crime (Radar, 2004). Questions about the validity of the instruments used to collect the data were also raised by various researchers (Gray et al., 1997 and Skogan Maxfiend, 1981). Additionally, the concept of fear of crime is being amplified from the research conducted via surveys (Farrall et al., 1997: 665-666). Furthermore, although some may argue that the traditional questions do measure fear of crime, those questions only measure general fear of crime, and not fear of certain type of offences (Gray et a.,). Therefore, participants might respond to questions based on offences they have experienced or offences they think about, rather than give specific, narrow answers. For instance, someone might think street robbery, while others might think of rape. It is important to specify the type of crime in questions about fear of crime, because the level of fear of crime that respondents experience, depend on different offences. One study shows that respondents expressed a higher level of fear of being a victim of burglary, when compared to the fear of being murdered (Warr and Stafford, 1983). It was also found that womens main reason of worry was being a victim of sexual attacks (Ferraro and Jackson, 1995). Nevertheless, the dichotomous single questions provide only two answers for respondents to choose from: yes or no. Therefore, it is difficult, if not impossible to precisely pinpoint the exact fears of crime experiences by the respondents. Additionally, because these questions measure broad areas, it is difficult to generalise different studies (Lane et al., 2014). For example, there is extensive research to show that females express a higher level of worry when are alone in the night, when compared to men (Ferraro, 1995). However, it can be argued that, the only reason women may express higher levels of fear is only because they are alone in the night, and not because females generally express a higher level of fear of crime. There is also a problem with perceived risk and fear of crime, in the formless measurements. For instance, LaGrange and Ferraro (1989) made a clear district ion between fear of crime and perceived risk. However, before this distinction, the surveys made no differentiation between these two concepts. Researchers who wanted to measure perceived risk of crime, used the same form of measurement used for fear of crime (La Grange and Ferraro, 1989). Also others have tried to measure fear of crime, as well as perceived risk of victimisation but they failed to distinguished between the two (Ferraro and Jackson, 1995). This could cause problems with the validity of the answers, as respondents might respond to experience of perceived risk, as fear of crime (Ferraro and Jackson, 1995). Various researcher also identified the problem with time. The earlier questions to measure fear of crime, does not include any time period; frequency (Farrall and Ditton, 1999). Due to this, some respondents might refer to their fear of crime, from an incident that happened years ago, while other might refer to an incident they witness recently (Nair, 1993). Problems with differentiating between frequency that fear of crime happens and the intensity of fear of crime also arises. These considerations are important because it is important to be able to make the distinguish between people who fear crime intensively and the frequency to which they experience those fears (Gray et al., 2008). Hough (2004) however opposes the view that these type of questions, require the need to know more about the frequency. He argues that researching the intensity of the fear is more important, than researching the frequency of the fear. He stated that: When we talk about mental states such as anxiety or worry, we are concerned with intensity, not frequency. Leaving aside acute anxiety attacks, anxiety is not comprised of a series of events that can be located in space and time (Hough, 2004, pp. 174). Although some researcher opposes the fact that frequency should be acknowledged when measuring fear of crime, Farrall (1997 cited in Jackson, 2008) found that when giving the respondents the opportunity to express their perceptions and feelings in detail (i.e. qualitative interview), showed that anxieties were happening rare. On the contrary, the old standard measurements revealed a more exaggerates image of the anxieties that respondents experience in their day to day life (Farrall, 1997 cited in Jackson, 2008). Old standard measures used to also ask respondents for a summary of the intensity of their worries. Researchers argued that, it is difficult to put emotions into writing, especially when the traditional questions were not clear, but where rather general (Jackson, 2005). Additionally, there is a problem with over-estimating the fear of crime. Researchers found that traditional measurements of fear of crime tend to exaggerate the results of the respondents. The reasons why this fear was amplified in the surveys, was because respondents summarised their most vivid and threatening experience of fear of crime as well as overestimated the frequency of those threatening experiences (Jackson, 2005). One example is from the 1995 British Crime Survey. it was found that there was a strong link between fear of crime, the experience of crime (which is either direct or indirect) and offences such a vandalism and drug use (Hough, 1995). Additionally, it was also found that fear of vehicle crime and mugging has increased since 1982 (Hough, 1995). It is difficult to say if those questions were accurately measured, due to the type of questions asked. NEWER MEASUREMENTS OF FEAR OF CRIME Various researchers have since modified the old standard questions used in the surveys such as British Crime Survey (Gray et el., 2008), as well as researchers who wanted to investigate fear of crime in their studies (Warr and Stafford, 1983, Fisher and May, 2008). For instance, Fisher and May (2009). They conducted a study, and asked questions about fear of four particular offences, rather than asking about fear of crime in general. By this, Fisher and May (2009) minimized the changes of obtaining measurement error, as respondents only had to measure fear of crime in relation to those type of crime. Furthermore, this type of questions not only diminishes the chances of measurement error, but also improves validity and reliability of data obtained from those responses (Jackson, 2005). Lastly, this also makes the questions clear and unambiguous, unlike the standard old measures of fear of crime. Other researchers such as Smith and Hill (1991) developed questions which have more specific context; such as: inside, outside, day, night, etc. These type of questions also adds to the validity and reliability of the questions, when compared to the non-specific questions. The scale of which the questions are answered was also modified in order to obtain more accurate and more unambiguous responses on fear of crime. For instance, the traditional questions used a two way answer (yes;no), whereas the new questions used the Likert-scale questions (Lane et al., 2014). For examples, researchers such as Fisher and Sloan (2003) used for their studies a 10-point scale (such as 1 being not afraid and 10 being very afraid). Gray et al., (2008) also used Liked scale (i.e. 1 being not worried and 5 being very worried). The new measurements of fear of crime also include questions about frequency and intensity of the fear/worry/anxiety felt by the respondents. These new questions were not taken into account when the old standard questions were used. However, when the new questions started to be integrated into the fear of crime measurement questions about the frequency and intensity of fear of crime, it could be seen that fear of crime was not as frequent as one might think, as often respondents answers using the traditional survey was exaggerated due to the measurement error caused (Farrall et al., 2004). Nevertheless, the standards question, never asked the frequency of the fear, until the new measurements of fear of crime started to take control (Gray et al.; Jackson, 2005). The newer critical measurements of fear of crime used in its questions terms such as worry, rather than fear of anxiety (Jackson, 2005). It is suggested that although it is difficult to predict how respondents understand these terms, terms such as fear or anxiety could have a negative impact, as well as ambiguous responses to questions. One reason for this could be because fear is understood, as a present respond to a stimulus, as well as anxiety. It is believed that these two words have a strong significance, which in turn could have a negative impact on peoples responses (i.e. exaggeration) (Jackson, 2005). However, the term worry could be a better word due to the fact that it includes a mental state, a concern about potential danger à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ a chain of thoughts and images about an unpleasant and uncertain outcome (Jackson, 2005, p. 301). Although it is believed by researchers (Farrell, 1997; Gray et al, 2008; Jackson, 2005) that the newer forms of measuring fear of crime are more accurate, some researchers still argue that even these measures have its flaws. Due to these flaws, these measures can lack validity and reliability. Some people might be more influenced, than other by certain factors, which in turn can make them report a higher level of worry (Jackson, 2005). For instance, those who reported the highest level of worry, were most likely to live in the low crime areas, experience fewer victimisation levels, as well as know fewer people who experience crime (Jackson et al, 2008 cited in Farrall and Lee, 2008). Media is also believed to be an important factor, which influences peoples perception of fear of crime, as well as perceived risk. Also, knowing people who have been exposed to victimisation can also increase respondents fear of crime. (Jackson et al., 2008 cited in Farrall and Lee, 2008). THE BENEFITS OF USING NEW MEASUREMENTS OF FEAR OF CRIME However, although researchers believe these new forms of measurements can also attract ambiguous responses, these measurements, are the most advanced and accurate methods that exist today to measure fear of crime. For instance, due to the advancements of measuring fear of crime, it allowed researchers to distinguish between experiential and expressive fear of crime (Jackson et al., 2009). The experiential being the former, whilst the expressive fear of crime being the latter. A research was conducted and it was found that on one hand lower income areas with more crimes, experienced more experiential fear of crime, whilst on the other hand it has was found the expressive far was correlated with the sympathy expressed for the victims (Jackson et. al, 2009). These conclusions were drawn using questions about experience of fear of crime, as well as the frequency of fear experience by the respondents (Jackson et al., 2009). Additionally, Jackson (2008 cited in Farrall and Lee, 2008) also identified functional fear. This is when individuals who are worried about crime, in order to protect themselves, take precautionary measures, which in turn it does not affect their daily life, but makes it better. The new methods of measuring fear of crime were also beneficial in terms of distinguishing between the levels of fear of crime amongst men and women. 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