Private School vs Public School Essay Example for Free

esoteric School vs Public School EssayMany public take aim facilities be impressive others are mediocre. The same is reliable of snobby rails. In the public school system, the t hit the books on engines of political harbor and economic revenue base are critical. In privy schools the power to sop up endowments and other forms of financial support are just as critical. insular school facilities reflect the success of the schools development team and that of the school to continue to obtain alumni support. Some undercover K-12 schools have facilities and amenities which surpass those found at many a(prenominal) colleges and universities. Hotchkiss and And over, for example, have libraries and athletic facilities on a par with those at cook and Cornell.They also offer academic and sports programs which make full use of all those resources. It is hard to find comparable facilities in the public sector. They are few and removed between. Public schools also reflect the economic realities of their location. Wealthy suburban schools will have more amenities than interior(a) city schools as a rule. ideate Greenwich, Connecticut versus Detroit, Michigan, for example. So, who has the edge? Lets call it a draw, all things considered. Class SizeAccording to the NCES report Private Schools A Brief Portrait private schools win out on this issue. Why? Most private schools have small class sizings. One of the key points of private education is individual attention. You need assimilator to t to each oneer ratios of 151 or develop to achieve that goal of individual attention. On the other hand a public system has to take al just virtually anyone who lives within its boundaries. In public schools you will generally find ofttimes larger class sizes, sometimes exceeding 35-40 students in some inner city schools. At that point teaching rapidly degenerates into babysitting. TeachingPublic sector teachers are generally better paid. Naturally compensation varie s widely depending on the local economic situation. Put another way, its cheaper living in Duluth, Minnesota than it is in San Francisco. Unfortunately low starting salaries and small annual salary increases dissolving agent in low teacher retention in many public school districts. Public sector benefits have historically been excellent however, health and grant costs have risen so dramatically since 2000 that public educators will be forced to pay or pay more for their benefits. Private school compensation tends to be somewhat lower than public. Again, much depends on the school and its financial resources.One private school benefit found especially in boarding schools is housing and meals. Private school pension schemes vary widely. Many schools use major pension providers such as TIAA-CREF Both public and private schools require their teachers to be credentialed. This usually means a degree and a teaching certificate. Private schools tend to hire teachers with advanced degrees in their subject over teachers who have an education degree. Put another way, a private school hiring a Spanish teacher will want that teacher to have a degree in Spanish language and literature as opposed to an education degree with a minor in Spanish. BudgetsSince local property taxes support the bulk of public education, the annual school budget exercise is a serious fiscal and political business. In poor communities or communities which have many voters living on fixed incomes, there is precious little room to respond to budget requests within the framework of projected tax revenue. Grants from foundations and the business company are essential to creative funding. Private schools on the other hand can raise tuition, and they also can raise significant amounts of money from a variety of development activities, including annual appeals, cultivation of alumni and alumnae, and solicitation of grants from foundations and corporations. The strong allegiance to private schools by the ir alumni makes the chances of fund-raising success a real possibility in most cases. Administrative SupportThe bigger the bureaucracy, the harder it is to get decisions made at all, much less(prenominal) get them made quickly. The public education system is notorious for having modify work rules and bloated bureaucracies. This is as a result of union contracts and host of political considerations. Private schools on the other hand generally have a pass management structure. Every dollar spent has to come from operating income and endowment income. Those resources are finite. The other difference is that private schools rarely have teacher unions to hired hand with.Advantages and disadvantagesThere are many advantages and disadvantages to both public and private schools. As a parent, both options must be explored and the choice must be found on what is right for each particular child. Public schools often have a larger variety of subjects available, especially when it comes to e lectives. However, what is learned is somewhat decided by the state because public schools need to do well on standardized testing. Private schools, on the other hand, whether parochial or private have much more freedom of choice in curriculum and can choose to make their own assessments. Because of the individualized instruction, private schools tend to do generally better on standardized testing, that is, if they choose to use it. Private schools, many times, have more demanding curricula and have a higher rate of students who go on to serve well college. Public schools are larger and also have larger class sizes. Public schools also have larger student-teacher ratios.According to a web situation called Public School Review, Private schools average 13 students per teacher, compared with an average of 16 students per teacher in public schools (public school review). However, public schools have certified teachers. Private schools typically have teachers who are not state-certifie d and who may not have expertise in their subject matter. The biggest difference between public and private schools plausibly is that public schools are required to educate all students. They cannot deny any student admission.On the other hand, private schools have complete control about which they accept and can kick students out much more easily. Public schools are funded by tax revenue whereas private schools are funded privately. That means private schools cost money to attend called tuition. Taxpayers pay for public schools so the payment is included in what people pay. However in private schools, the payment is upfront for students to attend. Overall, there is no one right answer for which kind of school a student attends-public or private. The decision must be made for each individual student as there are advantages and disadvantages of both.ComparisonsPrivate school can be more beneficial than going to a public school. Private schools focus on preparing students for the nex t level of education public schools are focused on test preparations sessions. Choosing the right school system for your child has a repercussion towards their future education. In the public school system the classrooms are overcrowded with students. Each class has an average of 27 to 30 students to it, which can limit the ability of one on one interaction with the teacher. A lot of the bullying issues come from the unstructured dress codes. This can create social divide to the less fortunate kids that cant afford all the name brand items. In public school teachers are quick to say your child require to be on medication if they are high strung, without knowing what other forms of issues might be occurring in the national.When parents try to discipline their child at home the school seems to always try to step in. Some things should be up to the parents to handle without haven to worry about the school stepping in. In the private school system when a child enters the school for th e first time he or she will start out with a minimal class size with no more than 20 students. This allows more one on one time with the teacher, it also opens up more time for activities. The private school has a very strictly enforced dress code to eliminate animosity between the students. The schools are very family oriented with parents and students being involved with school activities. Teachers and parents are held to higher standards from the private schools. Teachers are expected to continue to grow and parents are obligated to maintain discipline of their children even in their absence. The testing that takes place at private schools is called Terra Nova, and kids are tested two or three times a year.ConclusionSo, who comes out on top? Public schools or private schools As you can see, there are no clear-cut answers or conclusions. Public schools have their advantages and disadvantages. Private schools offer an alternative. Which works best for you? Thats the real heading w hich you have to answer.

Stem Barks of Bauhinia Acuminata | Analysis

Stem Barks of Bauhinia Acuminata epitomeMaterials and MethodsPlant collectionThe stem barks of Bauhinia acuminata L. were collected from Rajshahi university campus, shungladesh, in the month of September, 2013. The plant was au accordinglyticated by a taxonomist of Department of Botany, University of Rajshahi. A voucher specimen (Voucher No. MN-13) was deposited to the herbarium in the Department of Botany, University of Rajshahi. The stem barks were then washed separately with fresh water to remove dirty materials and were shade dried for several days with occasional sun drying. The dried barks were then grunge into coarse powder by grinding machine and the materials were stored in dark at room temperature for future use.Extract preparationThe stateion was performed according to order described by Alam el al. (Alam et al., 2002). About 400 gm of dried powdered stem bark were taken in an amber colored reagent bottleful (2.5-liter capacity) and the materials were soaked in 2.0 l iter of coulomb% methanol. The bottle with its sums were sealed and kept for a period of about 7 days with occasional trembling and stirring. The whole commixture was then filtered through cotton and then through Whatman No.1 filters paper and were concentrated with a rotary evaporator (Bibby Sterlin Ltd, UK) under reduced pressure at 45C temperature to afford crude extract of the bark. The crude extract was assorted with 90% methanol in water to obtain a slurry of satisfying volume of 100ml. The slurry was taken in a separating funnel and added equal amount of antithetical partitioning solvent sequentially as like n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and finally water. The funnel was shaken vigorously and allowed to stand for a few minutes for separation of the compounds according to their partition co-efficient and thus extracts were prepared for the experiment purpose. The butt on was repeated three times. At last, the different segmentated parts were evaporated using rot ary evaporator at 400C to obtain n-hexane fraction (NHF, 1.12 gm), chloroform fraction (CHF, 1.33 gm), ethyl acetate fraction (EAF, 2.27 gm) and aqueous fraction (AQF, 8.86 gm) respectively. chemicals1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), potassium ferricyanide, catechin (CA), ferrous ammonium sulphate, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), gallic acid (GA), ascorbic acid (AA), AlCl3, trichloro acetic acid (TCA), sodium phosphate, sodium nitrate, ammonium molybdate, 2-deoxy ribose, sodium hydroxide, EDTA and FeCl3 were purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. (St. Louis, MO, USA) potassium acetate, phosphate buffer, thiobarbituric acid(TBA), HCl, H2SO4, H2O2were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich, vinblastine sulphate (VBS) from Cipla India, folin-ciocalteuss phenol reagent and sodium carbonate were obtained from Merck (Dam-stadt, Germany).Determination of total phenolicsTotal phenolic contents in the extracts were determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method described by Singleton et al. (Slinkard Single ton, 1977). 40 l of the extract/fractions (250g/ml) were taken in test tubes and to each 3.16 ml of water was added to make up the volume 3.2ml. 200 l of folin-Ciocalteu (Undiluted) reagent etymon was added into the test tubes and kept for 5-8min. 600 l of sodium carbonate (20%) solution was added into the test tubes and shake to mix. The test tubes were incubated for 2 hours at 20C to complete the reception. Then the absorbance of the solution was measured at 765 nm using a spectrophotometer (Shimadzu, USA) against blank solution. A typical blank solution contains all reagents except plant extract or standard solution. Standard Gallic acid solutions (50-250g /ml) concentrations were also treated as above. The total content of phenolic compounds in plant methanol extract and in different fractions was expressed as Gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/gm of dry extract in respect to standard gallic acid curve equation (y = 0.0008x 0.005, R = 0.975).Determination of total flavonoidsTotal f lavonoids were estimated using aluminum chloride colorimetric arrest described by Zhishen et al. (Zhishen, Mengcheng, Jianming, 1999). To 0.5 ml of samples/standard, 150 l of 5% sodium nitrate and 2.5 ml of distilled water were added. After 5 min, 0.3 ml of 10% AlCl3 was added. At 6 min, 1 ml of 0.001M NaOH and 0.55 ml distilled water was added to the mixture and left at RT for 15 min. Absorbance of the mixtures was measured at 510 nm. Total flavonoid contents were expressed in terms of catechin equivalent, CAE /gm of dry extract in respect to standard curve equation (y = 0.0178x+0.0524, R = 0.9862).Determination of free motif scavenging activityDPPH radical scavenging activityFree radical scavenging ability of the extracts was tested by DPPH radical scavenging assay (DRSA) as described by Braca et al. (Braca et al., 2001). Aliquots of 2.5mL of methanolic solution containing sample at different concentration was mixed with 2.5 ml of 0.008% DPPH solution in methanol. The reaction mixture was vortexed thoroughly and left in the dark at room temperature for 30 minutes. The absorbance of the mixture was measured spectrophotometrically at 517 nm. Ascorbic acid was used as reference. Percentage DPPH radical scavenging activity (% DRSA) was calculated by the following equation,% DRSA = (A0-A1/A0) x 100Where,A0 = Absorbance of control andA1 = Absorbance of sample.IC50 set denote the concentration of sample required to scavenge 50% DPPH free radicals.Hydrogen peroxide scavenging activityHydrogen peroxide scavenging activity of extract was assessed by the method described by Zhang et al. (Zhang He). Aliquot of 1.0 ml of 0.1mmol/L H2O2 and 1.0 ml of various concentrations of extracts were mixed. Followed by 2 drops of 3% ammonium molybdate, 10 ml of 2M H2SO4 and 7.0 ml of 1.8 mol/L KI. The mixed solution was titrated with 5.09mmol/L Na2S2O3 until yellow color disappeared. The extent of scavenging of hydrogen peroxide was calculated as% scavenging of hydrogen peroxid e = (V0-V1) / V0 - 100Where,V0 = Volume of Na2S2O3 solution used to titrate the control sample in the front man of hydrogen peroxide (without sample),V1 = Volume of Na2S2O3 solution used in the presence of samples.Hydroxyl radical scavenging activityHydroxyl radical scavenging activity (HRSA) of the extracts was determined by the method of Halliwell et al. (Halliwell, Gutteridge, Aruoma, 1987) with a slight modification. 100 l of various concentrations of extracts were mixed with 100 l of hydrogen peroxide (10mmol/L). To this 200 l premixed FeCl3 (100mmol/L) and EDTA (100mmol/L) solution (11v/v) was added. Followed by addition of 500 l of 2.8mmol/L 2-deoxyribose in phosphate buffer (PH7.4) and finally the reaction was triggered by adding 100 l ascorbate (300mmol/L). Then the reaction mixture was incubated at 37.5C for 1 hour. To the above reaction mixture 2 ml of TCA (2.8% w/v aqueous solution) and 2 ml of TBA (1% w/v aqueous solution) was added. The final reaction mixture was he t for 15min in boiling water bath, cooled and absorbance was taken at 532nm using a spectrophotometer.The hydroxyl radical radical scavenging capacity was evaluated with the inhibition percentage of 2-deoxyribose oxidation on hydroxyl radicals. The percentage of hydroxyl radical scavenging (%HRSA) activity was calculated according to the following formula% HRSA = A0 (A1-A2 -100/A0where A0 is the absorbance of the control without a sample. A1 is the absorbance after adding the sample and 2-deoxyribose. A2 is the absorbance of the sample without 2-deoxyribose.REFERENCESAlam, A., Rahman, M., Baki, M., Rashid, M., Bhuyan, M., Sadik, G. (2002). Antidiarrhoeal principle of Achyranthes ferruginea Roxb. and their cytotoxicity. Ban Pharm J, 12, 1-4.Braca, A., De Tommasi, N., Di Bari, L., Pizza, C., Politi, M., Morelli, I. (2001). Antioxidant Principles from Bauhinia tarapotensis. Journal of Natural Products, 64(7), 892-895. doi10.1021/np0100845Halliwell, B., Gutteridge, J. M., Aruoma, O. I. (1987). The deoxyribose method a simple test-tube assay for determination of rate constants for reactions of hydroxyl radicals. Anal Biochem, 165(1), 215-219.Slinkard, K., Singleton, V. L. (1977). Total Phenol Analysis Automation and Comparison with Manual Methods. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, 28(1), 49-55.Zhang, X., He, F. Science Press Beijing, China 2000. Principle of Chemical Analysis, 275-276.Zhishen, J., Mengcheng, T., Jianming, W. (1999). The determination of flavonoid contents in mulberry and their scavenging effects on superoxide radicals. Food chemistry, 64(4), 555-559.

Factors Driving Hiv Aids Epidemic Health And Social Care Essay

Factors Driving Hiv Aids Epidemic Health And Social C ar EssayThis report aims to understand affable and behavioral ciphers unprompted the human immunodeficiency virus/ support pandemic. Inequalities fuel the spread of human immunodeficiency virus/ help on many different levels much(prenominal) as pauperism, gender, education and wellness. Poor and open populations atomic number 18 most at risk from human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome whereas smashed countries that can afford access to anti retro viral medicines , conf intake functioning health c atomic number 18 systems and education policies in place arouse a significantly dishonor rate of infection. The stigma surrounding HIV compounds these effects and the vulnerable tarry marginalized and most at risk.The Nature of HIV/ support A Global PandemicHIV/AIDS is a new epidemic in our business relationship There currently is no cure and no vaccine for HIV/AIDS. HIV is transmissible through rouseual contact both homo perk upual and heterosexual, injecting drug users and other archaic occurrences of transmission such as blood transfusions. HIV has a long period of infection and between infection and malady.The world wide-eyed population of nation living with HIV in 2008 was 33.4 million, with 31.3 million being adults, 15.7 million being female and 2.1 million being children under 15 old age of age. In 2008, 2.7 million people were newly give with HIV 2.0 million people died from AIDS related illnesses and today it remains one of the leading causes of cobblers last globally.There is large variation between countries and regions of HIV/AIDS prevalence and according to epidemiological patterns the indisposition is evolving with changing epidemic patterns in different regions globally. In Australia at the end of 2008 18,000 people were living with HIV.The transmission of HIV in Australia is earlier through sexual contact between homosexual men barely the infect ion has as well as been transmitted through heterosexual contact and injecting drug users.In Thailand the population living with HIV/AIDS is 610,000, HIV/AIDS is primarily transmitted through heterosexual contact, injecting drug users and sex workers. In Thailand more than 1 in 100 adults of a population of 65 million is infected with HIV, and AIDS has become a leading cause of death.Sub-Saharan Africa is the most heavily affected HIV/AIDS area, in 2008 two thirds (67%) of the HIV/AIDS infected population worldwide remained in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa in total has 22.4 million people living with HIV/AIDS. Heterosexual exposure is the primary winding mode of transmission of HIV with females being more heavily affected by HIV. In the year 2008 on that point were 1.4 million AIDS related deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa.The Life Course of HIV/AIDS InfectionThe greatest challenge facing developing countries is the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the realization that it threatens not scarcely human heart and exs of development (Polgar, 2002). The sickness attacks and destroys families and communities that place heavy financial burden on the economy (World Health Organization, 2010). Globally, the most vulnerable are the poor, women and young girls, prostitutes, injecting drug users and children of infected mothers. Dependent upon the mode of transmission, location and availability of treatment, the survival rate is between 1 to 11 years. A simplification of 80% of the unsoundness has been achieved with treatments such as the anti-retroviral drugs, but the long term effects can cause secondary infections and malignancies that are associated with a compromised immune system. The increase spread of HIV/AIDS has affected accessible networks by conflict and displacement. Biologically women are more susceptible to contracting HIV than males due to hormonal changes, vaginal microbial ecology and physiology, and a grittyer prevalence of sexually transmitted i nfirmitys (Quinn Overbaugh, 2005). The individual determinants of female vulnerability to HIV include gender inequity, poverty, heathenish and sexual expectations, violence and lack of education.A large majority of older people that are living in low or middle-income countries can line for 70% of the develop population worldwide (World Health Organisation, 2010) The opportunity to build the infrastructure necessary to accost this demographic trend is much briefer because population ageing is occurring faster in countries, such as South Africa. There is a high risk of people falling into poverty in older age that may increase with reduction of family size. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS and the high mortality rate among adults has change magnitude in poem and skipped whole generations. Increasing numbers of the younger generation have died in the AIDS epidemic, leaving the surviving adults to take on the responsibility in caring for the sick, especially the poorer families (Stover et al, 2002 pp.73-77)The economic affects of HIV/AIDS at the Micro and Macro LevelsDeveloping countries bear the burden of the cost of HIV/AIDS. HIV not only ostracisely impacts family lines but also business and the pool of available workers. The result is a reversal of development and the United Nations (2007) argue that HIV/AIDS is the single most significant factor in this. (United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report, 2007). The damage that the epidemic has done to the economy, which, in turn, has made it more difficult for countries to respond to the crisis illustrates this negative development.Those who contract the sickness are generally young and come from the most productive age group in society (18-40 year olds). The income of the family is eroded, not only due to the leaving of the sick members income, but also because other family members stop working to wield for their ill family members (Aus.Aid, 2001). Any savings a family has is soon eaten away by increased health related costs and the decreased income. The children are then forced into work and education is abandoned resulting in a cycle of poverty and disease that it is difficult, if not impossible to get out of. This results in a knock on effect in the broader community by reduced spending and lower demand for goods, which in turn may affect business output and the entire countries economic growth (Dhai, 2008).HIV/AIDS also affects the labour force. As the virus devastates an entire generation of people, skilled and experienced workers are lost, resulting in decreased productivity and reduced business prosperity. Amongst those who are able to work, productivity is belike to decline as a result of HIV-related illness. This in turn can affect the international competitiveness of a country and, foreign investment resulting in new opportunities, testament go elsewhere. The World Bank identifies determinants for economic growth and HIV has undermined some of the most important affectionate capital, human capital and household savings (Bonnel, 2000). Falling tax revenue means decreased government revenue. This, combined with pressure to spend on health care to respond to the expanding epidemic often results in negative national growth. Thus, in countries that can least(prenominal) afford it HIV/AIDS has reduced economic growth and increased poverty (Bor, 2007). Poverty in turn, fuels the spread of the disease.Discrimination and Stigma of HIV/AIDSIn recent years there has been increasing recognition of the importance of analyzing the social and environmental aspects surrounding individuals living with HIV/AIDS. One social aspect in particular that has received a lot of interest within enquiry is HIV/AIDS related stigma and discrimination. It is widely recognized that the negative social responses to this epidemic can have an extremely negative impact on the lives of people living with the disease (Parker and Aggleton, 2003). One person to voice the extensive impact of stigma and discrimination in relation to HIV/AIDS was Jonathan Mann, the mental home director of the world health organizations former global program on aids. Mann distinguished between 3 different phases of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in any community. The first being the epidemic of HIV/AIDS infection, secondly HIV/AIDS itself as a disease and thirdly, the epidemic of social, cultural, economic and governmental responses to the disease which, he stated , was characterized in a large part by extremely high levels of stigma, discrimination and collective denial. He claimed this to be as central to the global AIDS challenge as the disease itself (Parker Aggleton, 2003). Stigma and discrimination are part of complex systems of beliefs that people have relating to illness and disease and, can be caused by a number of factors including a lack of knowledge about the disease, and fear of contamination. It can also derive from other active inequalities relating to ra ce, gender, class and sexuality (Parker Aggleton, 2003 Anderson, Elam, Gerver, Solarin, Fenton Easterbrook, 2008) Stigma and discrimination cause numerous social inequalities and reinforce negative stereotypes which can lead to status loss and unequal outcomes for those with the disease (Castro Farmer, 2005). Stigma and discrimination are also associated with increased levels of anxiety, depressive symptoms, engaging in avoidant coping strategies, loneliness and suicidal ideation (Courtenay-Quirk, Wolitski, Parsons, Gomez Seropositive Urban mens study team, 2006).The Global Challenges of HIV/AIDS and the Living EnvironmentThe course of HIV/AIDS can vary considerably among individuals with the disease, and when analyzing these differences a number of factors should be taken into account. It is important to not only reflect on the behavior and actions of the individual, but to also to consider the environmental factors surrounding them as they can have a significant effect on the likelihood of individuals seeking and receiving appropriate care. The challenges to receiving care can vary greatly depending on a large number of factors including, but not limited to, location, gender, civilization and socio-economic status. However, there are a number of environmental factors that appear to have the greatest effect on the course of the disease. A study named the HIV certain/not in care project (cited in Nichols, Tchounwou, Mena Sarpong, 2009) identified a number of these Environmental barriers to productive living and care. These barriers included difficulty in receiving care, negative come throughr patient relationships, lack of family support, funding for care and societal attitudes toward HIV/aids. A similar study named the effects of environmental factors on persons living with HIV/AIDS. Nichols et al.(2009) found that the environmental factors that had the most negative effect on patients living with HIV/AIDS were transportation, surroundings, governmen t policies, attitudes and the natural environment. Both studies demonstrated that if these environmental factors are addressed, there negative effect is reduced which often improves the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS.HIV/AIDS and Social Justice Social justice is rather simply defined as being the right to fairness and reasonableness, especially with the way people are treated or how decisions regarding their health are made. each human being has a right to good health. To remove this right is an act of social injustice (Gostin Powers, 2006). In western countries, such as Australia, anti-retroviral drugs are available on the PBS for the treatment of HIV. How can this be fair, when there are countries with millions of people suffering from HIV/AIDS and, who, do not have access to these life changing drugs. Out of 6 million people worldwide that require anti-retroviral drugs, only 8% are receiving them (Galvao, 2005). This is highlighted by the research showing that in sixty five countries throughout the world, that are of low or middle income, with a combined population of four billion people, patenting is very rare and there are limited drugs available, one of which is the anti-retroviral drugs needed for treatment of HIV/AIDS (Attaran, 2004). This, quite simply, is a prime example of the drug manufacturers being pertain only for their profit, not for the health of the people that this drug would benefit. The universal declaration of human rights, as stated in (Heywood, 2010) declares that a standard of living that is passable for the health and well being of oneself, which includes basic housing, food and treatment to medical care, is a right that should be available to everyone, regardless of geographic location.HIV/AIDS and the Health Care SystemMany factors contribute to the rate of clinical progression of HIV /AIDS and that can include age, gender, cultural beliefs, discrimination and stigma, server susceptibility, immunity, co-infections and access to appropriate healthcare. Globally, terbium is the largest co-infection health concern and can be directly cause by HIV/AIDS. The morbidity rate is extremely high in developing countries and approximately a third of all HIV- positive individuals will develop tuberculosis before they die. The overlap between the epidemiology of HIV and tuberculosis has put a huge burden on the health systems especially in Africa. A reduction of both these infections can only be achieved by locating and screening cases, reducing reactivation and transmission of tuberculosis and reducing HIV transmission (Godfrey-Faussett Ayles, 2003).Although there has been a substantial improvement to healthcare, some nurses believe there is still a degree of risk when caring for those infected with the AIDS virus. Some of the personal and social factors that may contribute to this are the associated stigma of the disease, attitudes of the health professionals and community, acquired AIDS knowledge and pers onal safety (Preston Esther M. Forti, 2000). Available healthcare, increased life expectancy and repair health outcomes are determined by social environments and life style behaviours. The necessary improvements can only be made by health development and simple policy changes. These changes, such as redistribution of income, targeting of taxation systems and implementing social programs focus towards primary care as well as community participation (Peters Garces, 2009). Approaches to prevention and the spread of HIV can be influenced by the social, cultural and religious beliefs in a country. The majority of people living with HIV/AIDS in the poorer countries seek international advocacy to assist financially and provide access to the antiretroviral drugs. By assisting partner countries, the Australian Government has implemented strategies to significantly reduce and reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS (Meier, 2007).DISCUSSIONFor the past decade women have born the brunt of the HIV /AIDS epidemic. In Africa women constitute 60% those infected with AIDS. In many societies women have a lower social and economic standing than men simply because they are women. In Africa this makes women more at risk of being infected with HIV, and then HIV causes women to fall deeper into poverty in a terrible cycle. Women often lack the social and economic power to insist on practising safe-sex leaving them vulnerable to HIV transmission from their sexual partners. In comparison it is interesting to note that in Thailand and Cambodia, as a result of education programs, condom use amongst sex workers has risen to 90% and these behavioural changes have had a positive impact on the spread of the disease. In Australia, HIV/AIDS has had little impact on the female population and remains predominately absorbed to the gay community and intravenous drug users . Women have a higher social standing in the community, are able to demand safe sex practices with partners and are educated, as a result of government programs about the virus. As a result the infection rate amongst Australian women is relatively low with 18,000 people infected but only 1200 of those are women . (un.aids.org, 2008). This comparison shows how beneficial education programs can be, even in countries where women struggle to achieve a higher social and economic standing and how raising the standing of women will assist in the shrinking of the spread of the disease.Women in developing countries also bear the burden of care that results from the virus. Often they are infected with the virus by their sexual partners and also are left to provide for the household if the male dies. This leaves women in developing countries trap in a vicious cycle. The poverty they face leaves them vulnerable and often in a position where they are unable to demand safe sex practices. Removing the stigma associated with HIV enables women to seek medical care and the life prolonging drugs that allow them to remain the s ole provider and carer for the family.The disease is not just about health, Its also about education. Education is an agent of change bringing economic independence to both males and females. Education is seen as a basic human right but many people in developing countries lack access to even basic literacy and numeracy skills. In many societies sex is a difficult subject to address and it needs to be openly and publicly discussed to educate vulnerable groups about minimising the risk of transmission and remove some of the stigma that surrounds HIV. In Australia, public health education campaigns were used early in the diseases lifespan to educate the population about the safe sex message and methods of transmission. As a result of these campaigns a public discourse was opened, sex became a more refreshing topic of discussion and some of the stigma surrounding the disease was removed. The use of condoms became socially acceptable and widely demanded. Thailand, too, tackled these dif ficult social issues and the results are evident in the decline of new infection rates, especially amongst women. However, African nations were and are slow to act. Condom use remains a difficult topic to address this is compounded by many religious groups who refuse to advocate for condom use. Whilst developed countries are better able to fund these campaigns and provide free condoms the social and economic cost to Africa and other developing nations may have been greatly reduced if action in this area was swift.Embroiled in gender and education is poverty. Poverty restricts access to health care, education and economic independence. Poverty prevents governments taking effective action on a national level, restricts health care access on a community level and impacts on the everyday lives of those living with the disease. By addressing poverty in communities most at risk, people will remain in their communities and not travel away for work and bring the disease back. It would be ho ped this lessens the spread of HIV. change magnitude access to health care allows those already living with HIV to access drugs and those at risk of the disease to become educated on paths of transmission. We have discussed how wealthy nations have minimised the rate of infection through education and public health campaigns but these rely on the funds being available to initiate such programs.Universal access to life saving drugs is a concept that is widely discussed in relation to HIV/AIDS and whilst this would undoubtedly be beneficial it requires governmental and business leaders to show goodwill. Yet it would also bring many challenges how would these drugs be distributed? In many countries health care workers are dying of HIV and health care systems and distribution networks are almost non existent. Who would educate the general public about the treatments and monitor compliance? In countries like Papua New Guinea, the hilly terrain and numerous languages add another barrie r to effective education and distribution of treatments.At some point since HIV/AIDS was first identified it halt being solely a health issue and became an issue of inequality. Inequalities between developed and developing countries mean that the disease has hit hardest where the people can least afford it. Gender inequalities have meant that women find themselves in a position that leaves them vulnerable to being infected. Economic inequalities make access to drugs difficult . Poverty results from the disease and also fuels the disease. Lack of access to education leaves people unable to break free of the poverty cycle and helps fuel the stigma that surrounds the disease. Lack of political will and action has condemned millions of people to a cycle of disease and poverty. Greed on behalf of large pharmaceutical companies has denied millions of people life improving drugs.Never before has an illness affected entire countries from the poorest person to the most powerful and every fa cet of that country from the economic system, through to the health care and education systems. HIV/AIDS is not just an illness, it is also socially determined and as such a vaccine or a cure is only part of the undeniable solution.

Role of Blog Marketing in Consumer Decision Making Process

Role of communicate Marketing in Consumer Decision make ProcessA FUTURE MARKETING PERSPECTIVEThe phenomenon of communicates is suppuration chop-chop and is expected to ripening even in a to a greater extent(prenominal) rapid pace (Technorati, 2006, November 6). As Wright (2006) discuss communicates put forwards a crude way of communicating with clients, as clients want to be talked with, non to. Companies w ar in the rawly started to pay attention to this and as a result, the concept of web log marketing has been born. The physical exercise of communicates as a communion tool has the huge grandness for companies to beneathstand how consumers purpose blogs in their decision making. The purpose of this paper is to beneathstand and explore how and why consumers utilise blogs in their decision making process. converse technique was usage on young adults, as research suggests that this population drug ab employ blogs the close to (Tremayne, 2007).It was identi fied that consumers use blogs byout their decision making. Within the consumers decision making, collaborative blogs was close toly utilise as the consumers because it c everyplace specific topic of interest for the consumers. Consumers were found in the first place committal to writing in the blogs when they had experience to contribute with or when they needed information that they could non otherwise find in the blogs.It was identified that consumers glowering to groups they belonged to, so called normative group, or they dour to groups that they did not belong to, so called comparative groups. These groups processd the consumer by providing them with companionship and by giving them positive and negative confirmation on their choice of bargain for. further normative groups alike persuaded the consumer to buy proceedss in order to belong to the group.Besides this, a pattern of characteristics of the individuals that the consumer blogged with were noticed. Consum ers wanted user experiences and thus the vast majority of these individuals they turned to, seemed to be consumers themselves, with relevant increase experiences. The consumers as well as seem to blog more(prenominal)(prenominal) with current individuals, whose opinions were time esteemd more. These individuals often sh ared the latest information on products. at survive it was withal identified that consumers seemed to be selective when reading blog posts. The blog posts needed to reverse detailed- and up-to-date information. Moreover, consumers wanted blog post to be compose by other consumers because they saw them as more credible then companies. The consumers in any case chose to read blog posts that show similarities between the consumer and the blogger in circumstances of e truly usage pattern of product or preference for product choices.INTRODUCTIONEver since the internet was introduced for the general public during the 1990s, hatful r to each one used it as a source of information. Majority of the population in India use internet in order to get information regarding products and services. all the akin most statistics available does not verbalize how the consumers use the internet and what kind of information they search for. There are many different sources of information online, for example company web pages, communities, blogs and so on The concept of blogs and blogging is a relatively new phenomenon in todays society and it has not genuinely been explored before. Nevertheless, magazines are today filled with articles on the importance for companies to start blogging and nitty-gritty the conversation of the future, if they do not want to loose ground to their competitors (Lindstedt, 2005, November).The major blog search engine, Technorati, shows some interesting facts on the number of blogs and its growth. In October, 2006, Technorati counted 57 jillion blogs and a growth rate of one hundred thousand new blogs per day. This n umber is expected to keep growing and double e precise octad month (Technorati, 2006, November 6). However, when it comes to the number of blogs in India, there is un plasteredty.Different articles talk near a wide interval of blogs, starting at around 18,000 (Lindstedt, 2005, August) and counting up to more then hundred thousands (Johansson, 2007). The footing to this wide span is due to the lack of a clear definition on what a blog is and also the fact that the figures are 18 months apart from individually other. But the fact is that the tremendous growth of blogs worldwide also is true for India. India channels actors like Twitter, Facebook and MSN spaces whom all contain blogs and allow for a creation of your own blog. As a result of this growth, blog marketing has emerged as a new innovative way to lay down closer relationship with customers. It has also given the consumers the hatchway to discuss amongst each other. Blog marketing allows marketers to establish closer re lationships with its segment.Today limited research has been do within the concept of blog marketing. furthermore, all research that has been take awayed has had the focus on how companies gouge use blogs in order to interact with consumers. Something that has not been considered, and has been taken for granted, is the bonk of how consumers use blogs in their decision making. Moreover, how consumers consider the information that is being transmitted on the blog has not yet been explored. The truth could be that consumers use blogs in a way that companies have not vista nearly. The existing use of blog marketing could thus miss its objectives if companies do not know how their auditory palpate perceives it.PROBLEM DISCUSSIONThe paper focuses on consumer decision making process and tried to explore how consumers use blogs in this process. As there is not so much work done on the area, this incr travels the importance to manoeuver such study. Blogs adds a new way of communic ating with customers (Wright, 2006). In order to use this communion tool, it is of big importance for companies to understand how consumers use blogs in their decision making.The focus on the consumer decision making process in the context of blog is of importance for several contends. It is today unclear how and in what stages consumers use blogs in their decision making process. An overview of the literature shows that not much research has been done within this subject. tralatitious marketing tools such as advertising, sales promotion etceterahave different regard in the different stages of the consumer decision making process. But it is unclear what tinge blogging has in those stages.By mapping out this information, companies ignore learn how to use their marketing in a new and innovative way to appeal consumers. Moreover, whatsoever research is conducted is from company perspective. To be successful in blog marketing, activities ask to be shaped in accordance to consu mers blog usage. If companies learn how blogs are used, they set up bene follow in several slipway like they scum bag engage in the viral marketing on the blogs to reach knowledge of their products, or base buoy listen on why consumers prefer competitors products.THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKWhat is Blog?A blog is a web page that contains regularly posted inlays that are archived and arranged in reversed chronological order (Wright 2006). They are user-friendly, inexpensive, self-publication of meaning for a potentially vast reference on the web. The entries in the blogs are called blog posts. Blogs are more flexible and interactive than previous publication print and digital formats. They contain numerous hyperlinks that are often accompanied by comments regarding the bourneinal figure of the link. Blogs are designed to be a part of a network where they are connected to each other by dint of links, which are generally associate to the meaning. The readers then have the open ing move to comment on the blog posts. Blogosphere is the term used to describe the global network of blog postings. Blogs can be notion of as a gateway to vast sources of information where users may respond to a blogger by sending comments and links to additional information. In this ace, it is fulfilling many needs (Tremayne, 2007).Type of BlogsDiary blog A daybook blog is a web base tool that gives the author the possibility to post information for breathing in for others. Also, diary blogs gives the reader the possibility to add comments regarding its content however, this is not applicable for all diary blogs. The authors that are writing on a diary blog all have different opinions regarding things and comport their view of whatever they are writing close to. This is a demonstration to the personal and dynamic capacity of a diary blog according to Searles and Sifry (2002). Pomerantz and Stutzman, (2006) describes diary blogs as web pages that arranges discrete posts t hat contains chunks of information that may contain images, multimedia and text. agree to Lamshed, Berry and Armstrong (2002) diary blogs are real personal and if the reader does not like the author and his/her opinion, it may not interest them enough to return. The blogger can use the diary blog for personal economic outlay and archive the happenings in their lives.Collaborative blog It contains information that is posted by several individuals not just one author. In collaborative blogs, readers have the possibility to contribute with links or posts comments, in order to participate with their opinions, answers and questions. Most collaborative blogs focus on a specific topic, and the authors can be some(prenominal) regular people as well as experts within the topic (Holtz and Demopoulos, 2006). The collaborative blogs are an online group created by the bloggers in the blogosphere. These groups have focus on certain topics in order to encourage readers to correspond to each other, which is similar to a normal discussion group. The purpose, according to Lamshed et al. (2002), is to break down the barriers between people and to extend the blog to more than just one author, in order to create a discussion among its members. Collaborative blogs have standard rules rough interlocking in order to avoid development of poor quality content, which do not encourage new and current readers to come back on a regular basis.Company blog It include two types of blogs, product and customer service blog. Product blogs can consist of different approaches. One approach is to provide updates about the product so customers can receive the latest information. A second approach is to provide customers with insights and information directly from those who are responsible for the products. A product blog that keeps customers updated can build loyalty to the product and the brand/company. The customer service blog is rather similar to product blogs, but customer service blog s focus completely on cut offs on the already purchased products. The customer service blogs is a channel in order to address the issues on the products to the customers that have purchased the product (Holtz and Demopoulos, 2006).When the first blogs appeared in the late 1990s, they were primary web pages that contained many links, offering mostly personal information and easy to update. The blogosphere has been expanding quick over the exsert few years. burst to the New York Times and Pew Research, nearly one blog per second is created (Tremayne, 2007).The Current ScenarioPeople have blogged long before the term was coined, but the trend profitsed force with the introduction of automated published systems, especially Blogger at blogger.com. Thousands of people use services such as Blogger to simplify and cast up the publishing process. People started using the blogs because they wanted to emit themselves about mentioned events. Blogging about events has attracted the atten tion of the mainstream news media, further contributing to the popularisation and adoption of this new phenomenon of information processor mediated parley. Today the blogging in the blogosphere concerns disdain, for example about markets, customer service, product etc. (Tremayne, 2007).According to the search engine Technorati (2006, November 6) there were more than 57 one thousand million blogs available on the internet as of the end of October 2006. Approximately 12% of those blogs had posted comments or links. Research by the Pew Internet and American behavior Project presented by Tremayne (2007) also indicates that blog readers today are similar to the early adopters of the internet and other new confabulation technologies. The bloggers are young, well-educated and more likely to be males. According to Tremayne (2007) the development of blogs seems to follow the traditionalisticisticly diffusion path of successful new communicating technologies and users with great int erest in technology. The concluding step to become a part of the broader public of the internet community is then to shift to the general internet users.The new stage of the development of blogs is the line of reasoning sector. Business has become a new phase of the communications that appears on the blogosphere today. Bloggers communicate and share information to each other since blogs are the new ways for customers to reach out to the companies. This scenario has make the companies more alert to listen to their customers demands through the blogosphere. Enterprises now have the opportunity to straighten out new knowledge from the customer and to gain an idea about what the customers are saying about them (Tremayne, 2007).Observations have been done on why internet users connect to blogs. Blogs seem to encourage a sense of community, especially for those who seek more in-depth information than what is available through traditional media. Blog content generally reflects the bias of the blogger, who tends to take one side of an issue. furthermore it contains a sense of belonging to a group of like-minded individuals. Information seeking is also a reason for doorwaying blogs. Bloggers provide the latest news and analysis by experts and other with inside knowledge, some of which is glossed over or omitted by the traditional channels. Blog users can also frequently use one certain blog due to they follow a story for a longer period of time than that they would be able to do if the story came from traditional media (Tremayne, 2007).Blog as mode of talkIn business, companies are required to communicate with their customer and have a strategy for the implementation of the chosen approach (Kotler et al. 2005). talk with customer can take many forms, such as advertising, mailed brochures, sales promotion and personal selling etc. The marketers are often those who conduct this communication. They are often perceived as people with something to sell they express what is good, great and irresistible with the product/service (Varey 2002).Blog enjoys characteristics of different types of flow of communication likeIt enjoys characteristics of One-step flow of communication asFlow of information from company to the arse audience ( worry 1999, Harrell et al 1999, Ottesen 2001).It is non-personal communication since the message is carried without personal date by Kotler et al. (2005).All consumers are exposed to the comparable message at the actually same time.It follows the principle of Mass Communication ( suffer 1999).It enjoys characteristics of Two-step flow of communication asIn this information goes from the sender to certain receivers, that in turn reach the home run audience through interpersonal networks (Fill 1999).Mass communication reaches the fanny audience, opinion leaders and opinion formers are there to strengthen the mould of the message (Blackwell 2001). Blogs helps the opinion formers and leaders in reaching poses that were missed by the traditional mass communication.It enjoys characteristics of Multiple-step flow of communication asIt overcomes the problem of two-step flow of information that nevery allow the information to flow between individuals in the target audience, nor it includes the communication between the original senders, via a consumer, to the opinion leader and then passed on to other consumers.It adds the function of gatekeepers, who are people in a beat able to decide whether or not the target audience impart be able to take part of the message.Relationship between Blog and sound out of mouth (WOM)WOM is defined by (Blackwell et al 2001 p.404) as the informal transmission of ideas, comments, opinions, and information between two people, neither one of which is a marketer. According to them, both the sender and the receiver gains from WOM, which is supported by Fill (1999), who also argues for the above. The benefits for the receiver are rather straight-forward as they gain l ots of information they would not be able to obtain otherwise. The benefits for the sender can be a little vaguer at first glance, but according to both Blackwell et al (2001) and Fill (1999) people like to talk about the purchases for a number of reasons, such as confirmation, satisfaction, status etc which is what the purpose of blogs. According to Blackwell et al (2001) the affect of WOM has incr soothed rapidly due to Internet. Consumers of today are able to spread the word of something faster and further than ever before.Schindler and Bickart (2005) discuss that the traditional WOM and online WOM differs in the strength of ties between consumers when they are exchanging information between each other. Granovetter (1973) previously argued that the strength of ties between two individuals is a function of the amount of time spent together, the emotional intensity and percentage point of intimacy in the relationship. Following this discussion, online WOM is characterized by weak ties. Weak ties then provide three possible benefits for the consumer. Friedkin (1982) argues that it first provides a potential input for a decision. Second, consumer information should be more diverse then that coming from stronger ties. Thirdly, it also gives consumers the opportunity to gain feeler to expertise which they normally would not get access to (Constant, Sproull and Kiesler, 1997). One downside is however, that consumers do not know the motives of the person that provides the online WOM. It can be difficult to access the informants background and expertise in the topic (Schindler and Bickart, 2005).Consumer Decision make ProcessThe consumer decision making process provides a general description on how a purchase decision is make. Consumers does not necessarily go through all the stages for all the kinds of decisions they make, and neither do they always go through the stages in the very specific order that is presented below (Blackwell et al 2001). The process consi sts of primarily five steps (need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase and the post-purchase process) according to most researchers within the field (Blackwell et al. 2001, Statt 1997, Kotler et al. 2005), but there are number of factors that affects the consumer in their purchase process. Consumer are affected by individual determinants (Blackwell et al., 2001) and physical factors (Harell Frazier, 1999) because they are different, have different experiences and motivations, therefore, they go forth interpret things differently. Also consumers differ in available resources and knowledge which will further affect their decision.Another aspect that affects the consumers is the environmental influences (Blackwell et al., 2001) and societal and social factors (Harell et al., 1999). Here the authors talk about external factors that affect consumer, such as culture, social class and reference groups, but also the influence of the family and other indiv iduals by whom the consumer is affected because every individual strive to some extent fit in heavily affect consumers. Also the information provided by these groups tend to have high credibility, depending on the consumers need to belong. final examly, consumers are also affected by their gunpoint of involution (Harell et al. 1999). Involvement is the degree to which the consumers perceive the purchase to be of importance to them, and how complicated they find the purchase situation (Blackwell et al 2001). The more multifactorial the purchase, the more effort will be needed from the consumer in order to make a good decision. The involvement in turn affects the way in which consumes will learn about the products. Since a low involvement purchase is fairly routine consumers do not engage in a very extensive information search on the product, they mainly gather their information passively. A high-involvement purchase will demand more from the consumer and they will be more motivat ed to actively search for information.LITERATURE REVIEWBickart Schindler (2001) investigated the WOM in online forums on the Internet. They assigned students to look at either corporate web pages or consumer forums about specific products. They found that after one semester, there was a higher interest in the product category for those who used the online discussion forum. They then suggested that a reason for this was because the content posts in the online discussion forums are thought to be more credible and more relevant but also having more empathy among its readers.In another study, Bickart Schindler (2005) tried to explore the consumer use of online WOM. They found three motives for using online WOM a) To gain information on purchase decisions, in which consumer reviews and negative information was of most interest b) To get support from decision already do in which positive was used most for confirmation of that the right choice have been made and c) Whether information was searched for fun or not. Another theme they discovered was the evaluation of the content of information in online WOM. They identified, corporate web pages are more sloping and untrustworthy. Independent web pages free from corporate marketing, in which detailed information and authentic first person experience was viewed more credible and reliable. A consensus of accord among consumers in the online WOM also tended to increase the credibility. Finally, they found online WOM disperse more information in all stages of consumer decision-making process. During the need recognition, when product was mentioned, it sometimes stimulated interest or problem recognition for the consumer. Other consumers sometimes provide ideas that lead for alternative product to be included, or removed, in the consumer consideration set.Online WOM also suggested important attributes that could influence the criteria of which alternatives are compared. Information from consumers on how alternative rate on those criteria was also of importance when comparing alternatives. After purchase was done, online WOM information could increase the consumers satisfaction of the purchase through positive information. They also discovered that their informants were selective in their information gathering process. This was done to simplify the information but also to help them disembowel the information with amount of consumer information about a large area of different products. They continue and suggest that future research should look deeper into what characterise the content in those online WOM consumers choose to read.Bernhad, Bjurling and hrn (2006) did another study on un-addressed consumer complaints through blogs. They found that the blog is used as a way to express dissatisfaction on companies and their products and services. It is used when the consumer do not get enough amendments from the companies. Blogs then works as a complement to complaints through friends and family, and it is an easy way to ease the consumers experiences and reduce the stress of a distasteful treatment from companies. The consumers have then used blog to warn other consumers on products and companies but also to grade their own story regarding the complaint. Bernhad et al. (2006) discuss that the technical development has reduced the barriers to complain and this had led to increased likelihood to present complains for products of less value. Wallstn (2005) then comes to the stopping point that the collaborative blogs increase the learning process in which people can learn from each other by reading blog post. It also gives a shared knowledge base for the participants. In another study by Constant, et al. (1997) weak-tie sources were found to make it harder for consumers to assess the quality of the WOM information they received. Schindler and Bickart (2005) then discuss that the reason for this may be that the consumer do not know the motives of the informant and it may also somet imes be hard to assess the background and expertise in the topic of the informant.RESEARCH METHODResearch approachAs the purpose of study is to understand how consumers perceive their own experiences and behaviour which can be beat out(p) analysed through inductive approach. As this approach allows researcher to have more flexible structure that will permit alternative explanations of the phenomena. This approach is soft in dis built in bed that begins with entropy. It develops an empirical generalisation that describes patterns of that info and it seeks to identify or develop a theoretical proposition that is consistent with those patterns (Schutt, 1996).Research StrategyPutting fury on the inductive approach, research strategy of the paper is built on an exploratory study, though it also includes a cross-sectional study as interviews were held over a short period of time (Saunders et al. 2003). As the paper does not allow for sufficient time for conducting a longitudinal s tudy and it is not think to study the effects of change and development of the blogging phenomena on the consumers decision making process, a cross-sectional study is more appropriate.As the purpose of paper is from the consumers perspective, qualitative research method will enable us to get information from the informants and will allow us to understand the meaning that the informants attach to their experiences of blogging. Description is base on the meanings that informants express through words. A qualitative approach will allow getting this non-standardised data without being locked into a standardised set of questions. This is because the reputation of the questions will need to be flexible and open-ended in order to explore what emerges during the interview. Furthermore, to get a well-situated description of this non-standardised data and to get into the thoughts of our informants, the interviews will need to allow a long length of time.Sample selectionThe sample selectio n consists of young educated adults as previous research suggests they use blogs the most. The sample size consisted of nine people within the ages of 21 to 28. Of those nine people, three are females and six are males. Judgement sampling technique was used for identifying the informants who had mysterious experiences of blogging. The low number of informants can be justified by this as it allows getting a richer description of the phenomena studied.Data collectionThis primary data has been collected through interviews which are qualitative (semi-structured and in-depth) in nature. Limited research that exists and relates to our study has been used as secondary data. To check the effectiveness of semi-structured interview, two archetype studies were conducted. First semi-structured interview uses too much theoretical jargons that fail in retrieving the information. The second test then avoided the theoretical jargon and explanations. To get a rich description, informants were brie fed two days prior on the themes to be covered in the interview. It was ensured that each informant had read the information letter before the interview took place. The informants were interviewed in two different ways -a) 6 informants were interviewed face-to-face in quiet rooms and conversations were recorded and b) remaining 3 informants were interviewed through Skype because of distance and conversations were again recorded.However, try out was made to conduct all interviews face-to-face as it enables to establish personal contact which is also important as Saunders et al (2003) argue qualitative data favours the establishment of personal contact. It was also judged that the face-to-face contact would increase the likelihood of describing and identifying our informants accurately. In all cases, focus was on recording the findings from the interview as the findings emerged naturally. To rightfully understand the informants meanings to their experiences and actions, flexible app roach was used within the semi-structured interview. Although questions were bound to the themes, questions were flexible to allow an understanding of the participant.DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSISData is presented through sectioning each interview individually. Collected raw data was put into categories and themes that emerged from the interview as need is to have a close understanding to our informants. Information collected and compiled under each category will be compared with other categories. This helps in identifying relationships in discovering key themes, and recognising patterns and trends. Later on, theoretical framework will be applied on those patterns in order to understand it in a new way. Quotes will be made to simplify the meaning and in drawing finiss.Empirical Findingsa) call into question with Reema Sharma Reema, 25 years old, was interviewed at her office in Jammu and studying at Jammu University. She uses blogs when she wants to buy something new or wants to find out different type of products available. She also uses blogs for reading travel diaries for fun and to be in touch with people she knows. When it comes to blogging about a future purchase, she reads blogs by people who are in the same situation as her and that have experience from the things she is interested in. She blogs travels but sometimes for electronics products and hiking. She has never used blogs actively, she only reads them. The kind of blogs she uses is mainly product blogs, and collaborative blogs, where she can read and learn more. She does not really read the blogs from companies. Rarely she reads a blog and completely changes her mind. The blog can instead make her choose a different brand.Relationship with bloggers For her, the blogger is just someone whose blog she happens to find. Reema trusts all the information that is written in the blogs, but she explains that the more detailed description on how the product has been used, the more she relies on the inl ay. People whose blogs she reads most often posses greater knowledge then her, within the subject.Need and awareness discovered with blogsReema agrees that she discovers a lot of new kinds of products, but this has never actually evolved to a need. This has occurred, for example, when she has blogged about hiking gear, she has learned about many new products and the advantaged with those products, but as she is not very experienced in the area, many of those products are just too complicated. However, the blogs she reads regarding travels could actually create a need sometimes. From these blogs she learns more about possible places to travel to which she might visit by and by in her life she explains.Blogging for information and evaluation of potential purchase Reema searches for information about experience from others consumers and their opinions. She looks for new things and assesses which of the product will give most value for her money. For her, price is often one of the most important factors affecting her decision. The reason to why she chooses to collect the information from blogs is because she feels that this is the only place where she can learn about peoples experiences and opinions, and also since this information is more neutral then if it would be from a company. When it comes to evaluating products, she mainly uses collaborative blogs in where many people can express their opinions on things. While evaluating the products she mainly stick within one price category that will offer her maximum value of her money.BloggiRole of Blog Marketing in Consumer Decision Making ProcessRole of Blog Marketing in Consumer Decision Making ProcessA FUTURE MARKETING PERSPECTIVEThe phenomenon of blogs is growing rapidly and is expected to increase even in a more rapid pace (Technorati, 2006, November 6). As Wright (2006) discuss blogs provides a new way of communicating with customers, as customers want to be talked with, not to. Companies have newly started to pay attention to this and as a result, the concept of Blog marketing has been born. The use of blogs as a communication tool has the huge importance for companies to understand how consumers use blogs in their decision making. The purpose of this paper is to understand and explore how and why consumers use blogs in their decision making process. Interview technique was used on young adults, as research suggests that this population use blogs the most (Tremayne, 2007).It was identified that consumers use blogs throughout their decision making. Within the consumers decision making, collaborative blogs was mostly used as the consumers because it cover specific topic of interest for the consumers. Consumers were found mainly writing in the blogs when they had knowledge to contribute with or when they needed information that they could not otherwise find in the blogs.It was identified that consumers turned to groups they belonged to, so called normative group, or they turned to groups t hat they did not belong to, so called comparative groups. These groups influenced the consumer by providing them with knowledge and by giving them positive and negative confirmation on their choice of purchase. However normative groups also persuaded the consumer to buy products in order to belong to the group.Besides this, a pattern of characteristics of the individuals that the consumer blogged with were noticed. Consumers wanted user experiences and thus the vast majority of these individuals they turned to, seemed to be consumers themselves, with relevant product experiences. The consumers also seem to blog more with certain individuals, whose opinions were valued more. These individuals often shared the latest information on products.Lastly it was also identified that consumers seemed to be selective when reading blog posts. The blog posts needed to contain detailed- and up-to-date information. Moreover, consumers wanted blog post to be written by other consumers because they s aw them as more credible then companies. The consumers also chose to read blog posts that show similarities between the consumer and the blogger in terms of either usage pattern of product or preference for product choices.INTRODUCTIONEver since the internet was introduced for the general public during the 1990s, people have used it as a source of information. Majority of the population in India use internet in order to get information regarding products and services. However most statistics available does not tell how the consumers use the internet and what kind of information they search for. There are many different sources of information online, for example company web pages, communities, blogs etc. The concept of blogs and blogging is a relatively new phenomenon in todays society and it has not really been explored before. Nevertheless, magazines are today filled with articles on the importance for companies to start blogging and wed the communication of the future, if they do not want to loose ground to their competitors (Lindstedt, 2005, November).The major blog search engine, Technorati, shows some interesting facts on the number of blogs and its growth. In October, 2006, Technorati counted 57 million blogs and a growth rate of one hundred thousand new blogs per day. This number is expected to keep growing and double every viii month (Technorati, 2006, November 6). However, when it comes to the number of blogs in India, there is uncertainty.Different articles talk about a wide interval of blogs, starting at around 18,000 (Lindstedt, 2005, August) and counting up to more then hundred thousands (Johansson, 2007). The reason to this wide span is due to the lack of a clear definition on what a blog is and also the fact that the figures are 18 months apart from each other. But the fact is that the tremendous growth of blogs worldwide also is true for India. India contains actors like Twitter, Facebook and MSN spaces whom all contain blogs and allow for a creation of your own blog. As a result of this growth, blog marketing has emerged as a new innovative way to create closer relationship with customers. It has also given the consumers the possibility to discuss amongst each other. Blog marketing allows marketers to establish closer relationships with its segment.Today limited research has been made within the concept of blog marketing. Furthermore, all research that has been conducted has had the focus on how companies can use blogs in order to interact with consumers. Something that has not been considered, and has been taken for granted, is the issue of how consumers use blogs in their decision making. Moreover, how consumers consider the information that is being transmitted on the blog has not yet been explored. The truth could be that consumers use blogs in a way that companies have not thought about. The existing use of blog marketing could thus miss its objectives if companies do not know how their audience perceives it.PROBL EM DISCUSSIONThe paper focuses on consumer decision making process and tried to explore how consumers use blogs in this process. As there is not so much work done on the area, this increases the importance to conduct such study. Blogs provides a new way of communicating with customers (Wright, 2006). In order to use this communication tool, it is of big importance for companies to understand how consumers use blogs in their decision making.The focus on the consumer decision making process in the context of blog is of importance for several reasons. It is today unclear how and in what stages consumers use blogs in their decision making process. An overview of the literature shows that not much research has been done within this subject. traditionalistic marketing tools such as advertising, sales promotion etc have different impact in the different stages of the consumer decision making process. But it is unclear what impact blogging has in those stages.By mapping out this informatio n, companies can learn how to use their marketing in a new and innovative way to appeal consumers. Moreover, whatever research is conducted is from company perspective. To be successful in blog marketing, activities needs to be shaped in accordance to consumers blog usage. If companies learn how blogs are used, they can benefit in several ways like they can engage in the viral marketing on the blogs to create knowledge of their products, or can listen on why consumers prefer competitors products.THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKWhat is Blog?A blog is a web page that contains regularly posted inlays that are archived and arranged in reversed chronological order (Wright 2006). They are user-friendly, inexpensive, self-publication of content for a potentially vast audience on the web. The entries in the blogs are called blog posts. Blogs are more flexible and interactive than previous publication print and digital formats. They contain numerous hyperlinks that are often accompanied by comments re garding the refinement of the link. Blogs are designed to be a part of a network where they are connected to each other through links, which are generally tie in to the content. The readers then have the possibility to comment on the blog posts. Blogosphere is the term used to describe the global network of blog postings. Blogs can be thought of as a gateway to vast sources of information where users may respond to a blogger by sending comments and links to additional information. In this sense, it is fulfilling many needs (Tremayne, 2007).Type of BlogsDiary blog A diary blog is a web based tool that gives the author the possibility to post information for consumption for others. Also, diary blogs gives the reader the possibility to add comments regarding its content however, this is not applicable for all diary blogs. The authors that are writing on a diary blog all have different opinions regarding things and express their view of whatever they are writing about. This is a demon stration to the personal and dynamic capacity of a diary blog according to Searles and Sifry (2002). Pomerantz and Stutzman, (2006) describes diary blogs as web pages that arranges discrete posts that contains chunks of information that may contain images, multimedia and text. According to Lamshed, Berry and Armstrong (2002) diary blogs are very personal and if the reader does not like the author and his/her opinion, it may not interest them enough to return. The blogger can use the diary blog for personal use and archive the happenings in their lives.Collaborative blog It contains information that is posted by several individuals not just one author. In collaborative blogs, readers have the possibility to contribute with links or posts comments, in order to participate with their opinions, answers and questions. Most collaborative blogs focus on a specific topic, and the authors can be both regular people as well as experts within the topic (Holtz and Demopoulos, 2006). The collab orative blogs are an online group created by the bloggers in the blogosphere. These groups have focus on certain topics in order to encourage readers to correspond to each other, which is similar to a normal discussion group. The purpose, according to Lamshed et al. (2002), is to break down the barriers between people and to extend the blog to more than just one author, in order to create a discussion among its members. Collaborative blogs have standard rules about elaboration in order to avoid development of poor quality content, which do not encourage new and current readers to come back on a regular basis.Company blog It include two types of blogs, product and customer service blog. Product blogs can consist of different approaches. One approach is to provide updates about the product so customers can receive the latest information. A second approach is to provide customers with insights and information directly from those who are responsible for the products. A product blog th at keeps customers updated can build loyalty to the product and the brand/company. The customer service blog is rather similar to product blogs, but customer service blogs focus completely on issues on the already purchased products. The customer service blogs is a channel in order to address the issues on the products to the customers that have purchased the product (Holtz and Demopoulos, 2006).When the first blogs appeared in the late 1990s, they were primary web pages that contained many links, offering mostly personal information and easy to update. The blogosphere has been expanding rapidly over the last few years. According to the New York Times and Pew Research, nearly one blog per second is created (Tremayne, 2007).The Current ScenarioPeople have blogged long before the term was coined, but the trend gained force with the introduction of automated published systems, especially Blogger at blogger.com. Thousands of people use services such as Blogger to simplify and increase t he publishing process. People started using the blogs because they wanted to express themselves about mentioned events. Blogging about events has attracted the attention of the mainstream news media, further contributing to the popularisation and adoption of this new phenomenon of computer mediated communication. Today the blogging in the blogosphere concerns business, for example about markets, customer service, product etc. (Tremayne, 2007).According to the search engine Technorati (2006, November 6) there were more than 57 million blogs available on the internet as of the end of October 2006. Approximately 12% of those blogs had posted comments or links. Research by the Pew Internet and American spirit Project presented by Tremayne (2007) also indicates that blog readers today are similar to the early adopters of the internet and other new communication technologies. The bloggers are young, well-educated and more likely to be males. According to Tremayne (2007) the development o f blogs seems to follow the traditionally diffusion path of successful new communication technologies and users with great interest in technology. The final step to become a part of the broader public of the internet community is then to shift to the general internet users.The new stage of the development of blogs is the business sector. Business has become a new phase of the communications that appears on the blogosphere today. Bloggers communicate and share information to each other since blogs are the new ways for customers to reach out to the companies. This scenario has made the companies more alert to listen to their customers demands through the blogosphere. Enterprises now have the opportunity to gain new knowledge from the customer and to gain an idea about what the customers are saying about them (Tremayne, 2007).Observations have been done on why internet users connect to blogs. Blogs seem to encourage a sense of community, especially for those who seek more in-depth info rmation than what is available through traditional media. Blog content generally reflects the bias of the blogger, who tends to take one side of an issue. Furthermore it contains a sense of belonging to a group of like-minded individuals. Information seeking is also a reason for accessing blogs. Bloggers provide the latest news and analysis by experts and other with inside knowledge, some of which is glossed over or omitted by the traditional channels. Blog users can also frequently use one certain blog due to they follow a story for a longer period of time than that they would be able to do if the story came from traditional media (Tremayne, 2007).Blog as mode of CommunicationIn business, companies are required to communicate with their customer and have a strategy for the implementation of the chosen approach (Kotler et al. 2005). Communication with customer can take many forms, such as advertising, mailed brochures, sales promotion and personal selling etc. The marketers are ofte n those who conduct this communication. They are often perceived as people with something to sell they express what is good, great and irresistible with the product/service (Varey 2002).Blog enjoys characteristics of different types of flow of communication likeIt enjoys characteristics of One-step flow of communication asFlow of information from company to the target audience (Fill 1999, Harrell et al 1999, Ottesen 2001).It is non-personal communication since the message is carried without personal involvement by Kotler et al. (2005).All consumers are exposed to the same message at the very same time.It follows the principle of Mass Communication (Fill 1999).It enjoys characteristics of Two-step flow of communication asIn this information goes from the sender to certain receivers, that in turn reach the target audience through interpersonal networks (Fill 1999).Mass communication reaches the target audience, opinion leaders and opinion formers are there to strengthen the influence of the message (Blackwell 2001). Blogs helps the opinion formers and leaders in reaching targets that were missed by the traditional mass communication.It enjoys characteristics of Multiple-step flow of communication asIt overcomes the problem of two-step flow of information that neither allow the information to flow between individuals in the target audience, nor it includes the communication between the original senders, via a consumer, to the opinion leader and then passed on to other consumers.It adds the function of gatekeepers, who are people in a position able to decide whether or not the target audience will be able to take part of the message.Relationship between Blog and article of mouth (WOM)WOM is defined by (Blackwell et al 2001 p.404) as the informal transmission of ideas, comments, opinions, and information between two people, neither one of which is a marketer. According to them, both the sender and the receiver gains from WOM, which is supported by Fill (1999), who also argues for the above. The benefits for the receiver are rather straight-forward as they gain lots of information they would not be able to obtain otherwise. The benefits for the sender can be a little vaguer at first glance, but according to both Blackwell et al (2001) and Fill (1999) people like to talk about the purchases for a number of reasons, such as confirmation, satisfaction, status etc which is what the purpose of blogs. According to Blackwell et al (2001) the affect of WOM has increased rapidly due to Internet. Consumers of today are able to spread the word of something faster and further than ever before.Schindler and Bickart (2005) discuss that the traditional WOM and online WOM differs in the strength of ties between consumers when they are exchanging information between each other. Granovetter (1973) previously argued that the strength of ties between two individuals is a function of the amount of time spent together, the emotional intensity and degree of intimac y in the relationship. Following this discussion, online WOM is characterized by weak ties. Weak ties then provide three possible benefits for the consumer. Friedkin (1982) argues that it first provides a potential input for a decision. Second, consumer information should be more diverse then that coming from stronger ties. Thirdly, it also gives consumers the opportunity to gain access to expertise which they normally would not get access to (Constant, Sproull and Kiesler, 1997). One downside is however, that consumers do not know the motives of the person that provides the online WOM. It can be difficult to access the informants background and expertise in the topic (Schindler and Bickart, 2005).Consumer Decision Making ProcessThe consumer decision making process provides a general description on how a purchase decision is made. Consumers does not necessarily go through all the stages for all the kinds of decisions they make, and neither do they always go through the stages in the very specific order that is presented below (Blackwell et al 2001). The process consists of mainly five steps (need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase and the post-purchase process) according to most researchers within the field (Blackwell et al. 2001, Statt 1997, Kotler et al. 2005), but there are number of factors that affects the consumer in their acquire process. Consumer are affected by individual determinants (Blackwell et al., 2001) and physical factors (Harell Frazier, 1999) because they are different, have different experiences and motivations, therefore, they will interpret things differently. Also consumers differ in available resources and knowledge which will further affect their decision.Another aspect that affects the consumers is the environmental influences (Blackwell et al., 2001) and societal and social factors (Harell et al., 1999). Here the authors talk about external factors that affect consumer, such as culture, social cla ss and reference groups, but also the influence of the family and other individuals by whom the consumer is affected because every individual strive to some extent fit in heavily affect consumers. Also the information provided by these groups tend to have high credibility, depending on the consumers need to belong.Lastly, consumers are also affected by their degree of involvement (Harell et al. 1999). Involvement is the degree to which the consumers perceive the purchase to be of importance to them, and how complex they find the purchase situation (Blackwell et al 2001). The more complex the purchase, the more effort will be needed from the consumer in order to make a good decision. The involvement in turn affects the way in which consumes will learn about the products. Since a low involvement purchase is fairly routine consumers do not engage in a very extensive information search on the product, they mainly gather their information passively. A high-involvement purchase will deman d more from the consumer and they will be more motivated to actively search for information.LITERATURE REVIEWBickart Schindler (2001) investigated the WOM in online forums on the Internet. They assigned students to look at either corporate web pages or consumer forums about specific products. They found that after one semester, there was a higher interest in the product category for those who used the online discussion forum. They then suggested that a reason for this was because the content posts in the online discussion forums are thought to be more credible and more relevant but also having more empathy among its readers.In another study, Bickart Schindler (2005) tried to explore the consumer use of online WOM. They found three motives for using online WOM a) To gain information on purchase decisions, in which consumer reviews and negative information was of most interest b) To get support from decision already made in which positive was used most for confirmation of that the right choice have been made and c) Whether information was searched for fun or not. Another theme they discovered was the evaluation of the content of information in online WOM. They identified, corporate web pages are more non-white and untrustworthy. Independent web pages free from corporate marketing, in which detailed information and authentic first person experience was viewed more credible and reliable. A consensus of commensurateness among consumers in the online WOM also tended to increase the credibility. Finally, they found online WOM disperse more information in all stages of consumer decision-making process. During the need recognition, when product was mentioned, it sometimes stimulated interest or problem recognition for the consumer. Other consumers sometimes provide ideas that lead for alternative product to be included, or removed, in the consumer consideration set.Online WOM also suggested important attributes that could influence the criteria of which alternativ es are compared. Information from consumers on how alternative rate on those criteria was also of importance when comparing alternatives. After purchase was done, online WOM information could increase the consumers satisfaction of the purchase through positive information. They also discovered that their informants were selective in their information gathering process. This was done to simplify the information but also to help them swallow up the information with amount of consumer information about a large area of different products. They continue and suggest that future research should look deeper into what characterise the content in those online WOM consumers choose to read.Bernhad, Bjurling and hrn (2006) did another study on un-addressed consumer complaints through blogs. They found that the blog is used as a way to express dissatisfaction on companies and their products and services. It is used when the consumer do not get enough amendments from the companies. Blogs then wor ks as a complement to complaints through friends and family, and it is an easy way to ease the consumers experiences and reduce the stress of a distasteful treatment from companies. The consumers have then used blog to warn other consumers on products and companies but also to tell their own story regarding the complaint. Bernhad et al. (2006) discuss that the technical development has reduced the barriers to complain and this had led to increased likelihood to present complains for products of less value. Wallstn (2005) then comes to the conclusion that the collaborative blogs increase the learning process in which people can learn from each other by reading blog post. It also gives a shared knowledge base for the participants. In another study by Constant, et al. (1997) weak-tie sources were found to make it harder for consumers to assess the quality of the WOM information they received. Schindler and Bickart (2005) then discuss that the reason for this may be that the consumer do not know the motives of the informant and it may also sometimes be hard to assess the background and expertise in the topic of the informant.RESEARCH METHODResearch approachAs the purpose of study is to understand how consumers perceive their own experiences and behaviour which can be best analysed through inductive approach. As this approach allows researcher to have more flexible structure that will permit alternative explanations of the phenomena. This approach is qualitative in nature that begins with data. It develops an empirical generalisation that describes patterns of that data and it seeks to identify or develop a theoretical proposition that is consistent with those patterns (Schutt, 1996).Research StrategyPutting speech pattern on the inductive approach, research strategy of the paper is built on an exploratory study, though it also includes a cross-sectional study as interviews were held over a short period of time (Saunders et al. 2003). As the paper does not allow f or sufficient time for conducting a longitudinal study and it is not think to study the effects of change and development of the blogging phenomena on the consumers decision making process, a cross-sectional study is more appropriate.As the purpose of paper is from the consumers perspective, qualitative research method will enable us to get information from the informants and will allow us to understand the meaning that the informants attach to their experiences of blogging. Description is based on the meanings that informants express through words. A qualitative approach will allow getting this non-standardised data without being locked into a standardised set of questions. This is because the nature of the questions will need to be flexible and open-ended in order to explore what emerges during the interview. Furthermore, to get a rich description of this non-standardised data and to get into the thoughts of our informants, the interviews will need to allow a long length of time. Sample selectionThe sample selection consists of young educated adults as previous research suggests they use blogs the most. The sample size consisted of nine people within the ages of 21 to 28. Of those nine people, three are females and six are males. Judgement sampling technique was used for identifying the informants who had rich experiences of blogging. The low number of informants can be justified by this as it allows getting a richer description of the phenomena studied.Data collectionThis primary data has been collected through interviews which are qualitative (semi-structured and in-depth) in nature. Limited research that exists and relates to our study has been used as secondary data. To check the effectiveness of semi-structured interview, two buffer studies were conducted. First semi-structured interview uses too much theoretical jargons that fail in retrieving the information. The second test then avoided the theoretical jargon and explanations. To get a rich descript ion, informants were briefed two days prior on the themes to be covered in the interview. It was ensured that each informant had read the information letter before the interview took place. The informants were interviewed in two different ways -a) 6 informants were interviewed face-to-face in quiet rooms and conversations were recorded and b) remaining 3 informants were interviewed through Skype because of distance and conversations were again recorded.However, attempt was made to conduct all interviews face-to-face as it enables to establish personal contact which is also important as Saunders et al (2003) argue qualitative data favours the establishment of personal contact. It was also judged that the face-to-face contact would increase the likelihood of describing and identifying our informants accurately. In all cases, focus was on recording the findings from the interview as the findings emerged naturally. To really understand the informants meanings to their experiences and ac tions, flexible approach was used within the semi-structured interview. Although questions were bound to the themes, questions were flexible to allow an understanding of the participant.DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSISData is presented through sectioning each interview individually. Collected raw data was put into categories and themes that emerged from the interview as need is to have a close understanding to our informants. Information collected and compiled under each category will be compared with other categories. This helps in identifying relationships in discovering key themes, and recognising patterns and trends. Later on, theoretical framework will be applied on those patterns in order to understand it in a new way. Quotes will be made to simplify the meaning and in drawing conclusions.Empirical Findingsa) Interview with Reema Sharma Reema, 25 years old, was interviewed at her office in Jammu and studying at Jammu University. She uses blogs when she wants to buy something new or wants to find out different type of products available. She also uses blogs for reading travel diaries for fun and to be in touch with people she knows. When it comes to blogging about a future purchase, she reads blogs by people who are in the same situation as her and that have experience from the things she is interested in. She blogs travels but sometimes for electronics products and hiking. She has never used blogs actively, she only reads them. The kind of blogs she uses is mainly product blogs, and collaborative blogs, where she can read and learn more. She does not really read the blogs from companies. Rarely she reads a blog and completely changes her mind. The blog can instead make her choose a different brand.Relationship with bloggers For her, the blogger is just someone whose blog she happens to find. Reema trusts all the information that is written in the blogs, but she explains that the more detailed description on how the product has been used, the more she relie s on the inlay. People whose blogs she reads most often posses greater knowledge then her, within the subject.Need and awareness discovered with blogsReema agrees that she discovers a lot of new kinds of products, but this has never actually evolved to a need. This has occurred, for example, when she has blogged about hiking gear, she has learned about many new products and the advantaged with those products, but as she is not very experienced in the area, many of those products are just too complicated. However, the blogs she reads regarding travels could actually create a need sometimes. From these blogs she learns more about possible places to travel to which she might visit later on in her life she explains.Blogging for information and evaluation of potential purchase Reema searches for information about experience from others consumers and their opinions. She looks for new things and assesses which of the product will give most value for her money. For her, price is often one of the most important factors affecting her decision. The reason to why she chooses to collect the information from blogs is because she feels that this is the only place where she can learn about peoples experiences and opinions, and also since this information is more neutral then if it would be from a company. When it comes to evaluating products, she mainly uses collaborative blogs in where many people can express their opinions on things. While evaluating the products she mainly stick within one price category that will offer her maximum value of her money.Bloggi

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