Communication Strategies

The theory of semiotics can be used to interpret meanings in our everyday lives and in our surroundings. As Berger (2000) noted, the very simple objects such as eyeglasses and teeth can be used to convey meanings from a signifier to the signified. According to Berger (2000), eyeglasses are used as fashion statements to mean a variety of things and to become a costume, manifesto, clothing for the face, and social fetish (p. 49). A variety of meanings are associated with different types of glasses to show that the structure (shape, color, etc) of the object affects or introduces variety to the messages conveyed by the use of eyeglasses. For example, Berger (2000) cited that eyeglasses with black plastic rims are used to convey the message that the person wearing it uses glasses and there is no regard for being handsome or beautiful while wearing it. In other societies, the use of eyeglasses can be used to mean that the person is a nerd or an intelligent person.

Similarly, several meanings can also be attached to the teeth (Berger, 2000). When an image shows a pale man, a person would know that the image belongs to a male individual. However, when two sharp teeth are added, the person looking at the same image would interpret it to be a vampire (Berger, 2000). The importance of messages conveyed by the teeth of a person is further emphasized by the advertisement of Morley and an associate that is cited by Berger (2000). According to the advertisement, the alignment, shape, color and condition of your teeth are powerful communicators to friends, family and business associates (Berger, 2000, p. 50). For example, disarrayed teeth may show that the person is not beautiful or dumb.

However, it is to note that the meanings associated with the both the teeth and the eyeglasses are subjective based on a persons experience and cultural standards (Berger, 2000). One of the well-known examples where eyeglasses and teeth are used to convey a meaning is in television show, Ugly Betty. In reality, the person acting as Betty in the said television show is beautiful according to the cultural standards of the American Society. In order for her to be well-suited for the role, thick rimmed eyeglasses and braced teeth were used. According to the American culture, the use of braces and eyeglasses is associated with the need to correct a facial feature and a desire to make the person beautiful. Surprisingly, an observation of the television shows of Ugly Betty in other countries showed that the characters still wore eyeglasses and braces to signify the ugliness of the person. While the uniformity can be attributed to the fact that the producers in other countries may want to imitate the original Betty, the use of eyeglasses and braces are still accepted in the show as factors that make the character ugly. Nonetheless, it is possible that other societies view braces to be a form of fashion statement, which shows that norms and culture play a significant role in the understanding of semiotics.

A more common application of semiotics theory is found inside the toilet. When a person enters a public toilet for the first time, chances are heshe does not know whether the water flowing out of the faucet is hot or cold. However, it is easy for people to understand that when a faucet is colored red, it means that the water coming out of it is expectedly hot. On the other hand, a faucet that is blue is expected to give out relatively colder water. The association of heat with the faucet colored red is because the meaning usually associated with red. Moses (2007) mentioned that red is the color that is associated with anger, heat, fire (p. 33). Thus, people easily understand that the red-colored faucet is the one that gives hot water even without a sign that says so. The same is true with the blue-colored faucet where people associate colder temperatures with the color blue.

Communication and our actions are greatly influenced by the values, beliefs and the attitudes we hold about the different things in the world. For example the case of Steve, he holds a negative attitude towards women. He believes they are inferior to men .Thus feels that women are objects to be sexually harassed by men. Everybody communicates with each other for many different reasons. One of the reasons may be to behave or think in a way that one desires (Rokeach, 2000)

Attitudes refer to what an individual believes or feels towards something. Attitudes are mainly reflected in how a person acts according to her or his beliefs. Once attitudes are formed, it is very difficult to change. Attitudes are learned. People acquire attitudes during the socialization process from childhood to adolescence stages. Attitudes are global, evaluated and emotional. Attitudes are evaluated in that, having an attitude implies that you have already categorized and have some prejudgments of its net worth or value. Attitudes involve emotions, they express, love and hates, repulsions and attractions, dislikes and likes. Attitudes influence actions and thoughts. Attitudes allow people to categorise people, events and places.
They influence behaviour.they guide our actions and guide us to doing what we believe. Attitudes can be either positive or negative. Over time, attitudes may change (Wang, 1994). It takes efforts like in Steve case where Jack has to talk to him through the importance of having a high regard for women as equals. Steve agrees with Jacks, he changes his attitude and in turn, he becomes the most vocal and supporter of the policy of women at work place.

Values are ideals they are the guiding principles in an individuals life. Values are the overarching goals that individuals struggle to acquire. They are what individuals consider to good means and final actions. Values tend to conflict and collide, choices are hard to make.

Beliefs are the main components of attitudes. Either beliefs may be descriptive beliefs or they may be prescriptive beliefs. Descriptive beliefs are hypothesis that people have about the world in general.presriptive beliefs are statements expressing conceptions of the world with preferred end states, which people hold. Beliefs are the assumptions that individuals make about themselves, others and how they except things to be in the world. It is what individuals think things are, what the truth is and therefore the consequences that follow (Rokeach, 2000).

Influence examines the cause of individuals change whether the change is change of behavior, attitude or a change of belief. Influencing a change in an individuals behavior is known as compliance. Persuasion is inducing a change in an individuals attitude. Depending on an individuals perspective inducing a change in an individuals belief is referred to as either propaganda or education.

PERSUASION THEORY
Persuasion is defined as the successful intentional efforts of influencing a persons mental state and attitudes through communication the persuaded has some measure of freedom.

Persuasion is one of the effects of communication .It is achieved only through effective communication with a person. Persuasion involves the change of mental state that is ones beliefs, value and attitudes. The change in the mental state results to the change in behavior ,after Steve changes  his mind state about his opinion of women, his behavior too changes he becomes advocates for the women harassment policy at work place. The persuaders objective is to influence the actions of the other person. In persuasion theory and research, mental state is characterized by attitudes (Wang, 1994). The relationship between attitudes and persuasion may vary but a closely linked. Persuaders ultimate aim is the change of anothers behavior his objective is attained through the process of attitude change, since attitudes are the processors of behavior. Change of attitude is the principal determinant of behavioral change of an individual.persuasion theory can be applied in politics to change opinions of masses to vote your favored candidate, in business for advertising, and in conflicts and negotiations.

The process of persuasion theory involves two phases. The first phase requires that the communicator take an audience analysis to establish the beliefs, values, attitudes and motives of the audience on a specific issue or topic. He makes use of surveys, interviews or any other form of applied knowledge of the audience. In the second phase, the communicator is required to change the attitudes of the audience. This is done by trying to change the beliefs of the audience or by modifying the motives or values that drive the group to a more mature belief. There are four factors, that reinforce and facilitate the process of persuasion they include the following The credibility and reputation of the communicator. It facilitates the acceptance of the message by the receiver the level of persuasion is high if the producer of the message is considered reliable and credible (Rokeach, 2000). The order of statements is of great importance, it creates the flow of information hence determines whether it is convincing or not. Completeness of statement increases the level of persuasion if the message contains both contrasting and supporting statements regarding the opinions and views. If the audience agrees on certain opinion n and is not educated, it is advisable that the message includes only the merits of opinion supported. When it has negative effects of persuasion, relevant topics about the opinion is left out in the content of the message. Announcement of the conclusion, when a receiver is interested in the message it is advisable not to state the conclusion of the message.

Persuasion works best when its purposes are realistic, when it takes in to consideration the audience values, beliefs, motives and attitudes. Persuasion mainly strives for the following creating uncertainty, this is the case where the communicator is facing an audience that completely opposes her views. The way out is to destroy, some certainties in the audience mind. In such a situation, you attain success by reducing comfort with a defined attitude of the audience. Persuasion is aimed at reducing resistance if the audience opposition to the communicators is average, the communicator should move the audience attitude from a negative one to a neutral ground. This may be achieved by asking the audience to accept the validity of the communicators view and opinions, rather than hold what they are not sure. Persuasion may also be aimed at changing the attitude of his audience. This happens when the communicator is faced with a neutral and open-minded audience, and a group that holds no prior attitude. A persuader may also be interested in amplifying behavior where the audience is already moderately into the communicators views and attitudes. A communicator may be aimed at gaining behavior of the audience where he wants the group to take actions in accordance to his shared attitudes (Wang, 1994).

There are several strategies of promoting persuasion. A party may ask another party to look at a situation from his point of view, to try to take the role of the other party. This serve to make the other party understand his or her intentions. It lays down a good foundation for a harmonious relationship between the two parties. Another form of persuasion is where a part B indicates the complementary that are enhanced by taking the option. Party B may benefit in a way or the other from the option that party A seeks. There are also persuasive arguments to turn divisive issues in to problem that is common to parties and requires a mutually satisfactory solution (Wang, 1994). Reframing ensures the adversary to seethe issue on a different perspective and return from an already stated singular position to anew one that is shared. Interlocking conflicts is another kind of influence. Where parties A and B may be in a conflict over number of issues, they may share antagonist against whom they may join to work together against. The concern is shared and it is of greater importance than the parties are differences. Persuasion also arises through appeals to norms and common values (Rokeach, 2000).

Limitations of persuasion
Persuasion is a cost effective means of solving many conflicts. Persuasion does not require weapons and expensive research. The protagonist is able to get the counter part influenced to change his or her behavior and attitudes in a desired way. However, persuasion is not always successful. Efforts in persuasion are effective when they seek to build on already existing values beliefs and attitudes fewer efforts are required to change peoples values or to build new ones for them. Persuasion is mainly used in radios, televisions, newspapers, arts and education and those who do not enjoy or use such materials are less likely to be persuaded (Rokeach, 2000). Persuasion is best effective when a communicator is building on an already existing beliefs and values .an attempt to create or change peoples values and beliefs has proved highly ineffective. It is very difficult to change an existing culture.

Conclusion
Persuasion theory involves the change of individuals values, beliefs and attitudes. It involves an individual influencing anothers attitude to his desired attitude so that he may hold similar perspective as you. Change of attitudes ultimately leads to change of behavior or the way of doing things. For persuasion to take place communication must occur whether verbal or non-verbal. Communication helps to identify a persons values attitudes, values and attitudes, once the persuader is aware of ones stand he is able strategies on the best way to influence an individual. The process of persuasion requires that the speaker make claim that he supports adequately in such a way that the listeners appreciates them that is they are persuaded. Successful persuasion strategies call for the use of speaker credibility, arguments that are logical and psychological appeals.

Explain 1-3 instances of how the participants show sequential understanding of one another. AND Explain 1-3 instances of how the participants show understandings about social membership.

Introduction
Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis are important tools for identifying and understanding social behavior by observing conversations.

According to Pomerhantz and Fehr (1997), to carry out a conversation analysis, five steps, as illustrated in Figure 1, must be implemented.

Using the method described above, this paper will analyze a transcript to demonstrate a social behavior  how participants show sequential understanding of one another and demonstrate an understanding of social memberships. Sequential understanding is knowing that some things go together and understanding how they go with each other (OConnell  Gerard, 661). Social memberships are realizing which types of people go together socially.

Analysis  Sequential Understanding
In the following transcript portion, Kay and Des demonstrate a sequential understanding of one another. In line 190, Des is narrating the story with specks of laughter, laughs a little and tells more of the story. When she continues telling the story (in line 191) after having laughed, Kay automatically smiles at this (line 192).

He smiles when she has stopped laughing but is still telling the story. The fact that he smiles while she is telling the story without laughing (lines 191 and 192) shows that Kay understood the hilarity in Dess story. Kay understood that smiling was important because it went with Dess story at the moment, regardless of what Dess action was laughing or not laughing.

Assuming, Des telling the story without laughing is event 1 and Kay laughing is event 2. Kay demonstrated sequential understanding by knowing that event 2 goes together with event 1.

In the following excerpt, more sequential understanding between Des and Kay is set off. Des is still telling the story she tells Kay how she told the lifeguard what her apartment number is. Kay, however, gets confused for a bit, cuts her laughter and instead of laughing with her, asks her a question (line 204). Des is still going on (line 205) until she hears what Kay is saying and immediately answers his question without putting much effort into it. She knows exactly what the question referred to. She confirms it with such easiness that it shows the sequential understanding between the two participants.

When Kay interrupts Des, she just knows which part of her story Kays question was related to, even though she had moved on from that part and there was no explicit mention by Kay as to what part his question referred to.

Assuming that Des telling story about the apartment number is event 1, Kay asking a question about the apartment number is event 2, and Des answering the question is event 3. When event 2 occurs, Des understands that it sequentially goes together with event 1.

Another example of sequential understanding is shown in the following excerpt. Des is telling a story when suddenly something goes wrong with their connection. Des does not know that her voice is breaking up, so she goes on with her story. When it starts to break up, Kay signals it out. She takes a pause to understand what is going on and asks Kay (line 223). As soon as Kay starts telling her the part that he missed out. She mentally calculates where her voice must have started breaking up and immediately recognizes the point where it did. She looks for a confirmation by asking Kay but before he can answer (line 226), she continues with the story (line 227).

This shows that she understood what Kay was saying and knew exactly what to relate it with. Dess understanding of how the two things were related demonstrated sequential understanding.

Analysis  Understanding Social Memberships
In the following excerpt, Des and Kay both show an understanding of social memberships that is knowing and understanding how people are grouped together in a social context.
They demonstrate this understanding when Des is talking about John, another lifeguard that Ann had worked with in the past. She knows John from somewhere else. While she is talking to Ann, Lizzie is on the phone with John.

This is when Des sees the connection between the two people. She sees that they are both in the same profession lifeguards. She also realizes the requirements in order to make the connection work, a single relationship status and preferably a high income.

She tries to group them together socially by informing Anna about all of Johns such traits (lines 231and 232). Therefore, Des has a concept of social memberships.

Kay, on the other hand, laughs as soon as Des narrates about how she mentioned Johns income to Ann (line 233). He, therefore, understands this to be a more important requirement for a social membership. Thus, he also has an understanding about social memberships, only (probably) in a slightly different context that Dess understanding.

Another excerpt where only hints of social membership were set off is as follows. This is
when Kay expresses how he expected Des to have quietly got into the pool instead of having a conversation with the lifeguard. Des responds to this by saying that she started talking to her because she thought that Ann was funny. Therefore, Des acted differently because she thought that she would socially go together with Ann. She demonstrates an understanding of her social membership circle by hinting that she hangs out and gets along well with people who hve  asense of humor and who are friendly by nature.

Had this not been the case, had Ann been a stern old lifeguard, des would have stayed on the low. However, she acted differently socially because of her impression of her own social membership domain.

Executive Summary
This report analyses the importance of Trade as regards the Internet. It focuses on the methods and strategies employed for a successful online venture and security protocols used in online trades. It also deals with the possible risks that may be encountered while trading online and offers effective solutions. When the topic of online trade is been discussed, the most important concern for many is security. Since most of the transactions occur without the physical presence of both parties, an assurance of trust has to be reached for an effectual communication and exchange of goods, services and funds. According to Watson et al (2007) Security is so important that it has become an eternal concern for online based organizations since they have very sensitive data to which only limited persons are given access to and protecting this data and messages transferred from one party to another is definitely the most important concern when online trading is been considered. Alpesh and Priyen (2002) found out that the major misconception that faced a lot of people nowadays is that you have to trade short term to justify opening an online account. This however can be totally disclaimed as even people that buy shares only once a year can totally save in commission charges. Also when there is an economic depression and markets are falling, the number of online trading accounts invariably increases. This report covers all the essentials of Internet Trading, all the important issues that an Internet trader need to be aware of to achieve desired success in the online business.

Introduction
From time immemorial, people have been thrilled with the idea of competition, accumulation of wealth, application of new and advanced technologies on the internet and so on. One may even dare to say with certainty that everyone is involved somehow in financial markets or have contributed either directly or indirectly to the chain of demand and supply which forms the core of the market. Traditional market traders and market specialists and investigators have generally had until recent times determined the course of marketing and the dos and donts of trading. However, today with the speed of communication and information over the internet, availability of online traders, security protocols protecting customer and organizational rights and the instant execution of computerized trading, the general public have at the tips of their fingers all the necessary information that professionals and specialists possess to profit from a dynamic form of trading online. Trading online is one of the fastest growing businesses of this age. According to a research carried out by Alpesh and Priyen (2002), by the year 2002, the number of people with online trading accounts in Europe had exponentially exploded to over 8 million as compared with the 900, 000 amounts of online trading accounts that existed in the year 1999. Online trade accounts are becoming if not that they have already become as common as traditional bank accounts. Also with the advance of Internet securities, trading on the internet has become even more popular and safe and many organizations and business oriented persons have considered this approach. For an effective business of this nature however, the most important medium of exchange is the internet. The internet facilitates a sort of two-way communication between buyer and seller unlike the traditional face to face method of exchange but the most appealing attraction has to be that the Internet offers timeless availability and an opportunity for the buyer and the seller to be in control of their business (Watson et al 2007).  This is one of the reasons why trading on the internet, e-commerce, e-business among others have been so successful.

As a result of the importance of Internet Trade nowadays, this paper seeks to address major issues as touching trading online, offer much needed information in the importance and possibility of successful business online and provide valuable reasons as to why Internet Trading should be considered and practiced by many.

Trading Foundations
Internet Trading or simply abbreviated ITRADE is a form of trading done over the internet. Trading on the internet is as easy as it is costly. One can easily lose a large amount of money due to ignorance and carelessness. One of the first things any one willing to practice internet trading needs to know is how to read prices and there are two general ways in which prices are represented The traded price is the daily representation of price of a particular trade representing how an exchange or transaction took place and the general representation of data as a collection of transactions.  The indicative price quote on the other hand is a combination of the bid  offer or the bid  ask (John Forman 2006). While the bid is the highest price the market is willing to pay the offer or ask is the lowest price at which the market will sell.

Another trading foundation that any online trader needs to be aware of is order types. There are different kinds of trade orders. There is the market order which has to be carried out immediately, the limit order which is generally an order executed at a particular price or at a better price, there is also the stop order which refers to a situation where a trade execution is delayed  depending on certain factors such as price. Finally there is the stop limit order which is a combination of both stop and limit techniques. This enables traders to get a fill (trade execution) at or superior to the limit order price.

Trading however involves not only market competition but also personal internal issues such as fear, pride, and greed and of course distaste for losing money (Gonzalez and William 1999). There exists a general psychological factor when it comes to any type of trading at all, and in this case, trading online.

Psychology is the reason for both the consistently superior performance of the methods the financial academics cannot explain, as well as the consistently poorer results of those approaches that fail (Elvin 2004)
Predictable behavior in the market is usually determined by psychology. Customer reaction to certain ideas and strategies determine the success and failure of such and what determines the customer reaction is precisely psychology. When people are asked to risk their personal finances on a speculative venture such as trading online, many issues of trust and security usually arise. Notwithstanding, being able to take risks and overcome fears while trading will enable one to take advantage of better prices and available stock.

Understanding the market, forces affecting the market and efficient strategies to use while trading online are indispensable for every online trader. Related to Internet trading, electronic commerce deals with the use of computer networks to improve personal or organizational trade performances (Watson et al 2007). Internet trade involves all interactions of the organization with its stakeholders.

Principally though, anyone willing to take a venture on online trading definitely requires the basic tools for business online. One of such tools is the PC. Depending on the needs of the trader and how much performance required, Pcs and other hardware required for Internet trading may differ. There are a lot of refinements to technology that have been implemented to improve the online trade business for instance the PC has been greatly advanced such that its capacity to communicate information over different networks and over large distances has paved the way for efficient methods of data management, processing and has resulted in even greater competition because of easy access to high-tech trading tools. The basic hardware requirements for anyone who is involved in Internet trading are basically a PC, modem, monitor, Internet Service Provider (ISPs), printer and a browser. Since online traders spend virtually all of their time on the internet, when acquiring an Internet Service Provider, it is always preferable to choose the unlimited time plan.

Online Trade on its own is a skill that must be developed if success must be achieved.
No matter how much you are sure of your trading system, no matter how much research you do, no matter how successful you have been, you are never 100 certain.(Alpesh and Priyen 2002)

When it comes to Internet trading, there are some golden rules that should be applied as ignorance is very costly. The advantages of gaining online trade knowledge are very essential to ensure that ones hard earned money is not lost. According to Alpesh and Priyen (2002) the three golden rules that every online trader must apply The first is of such rules is that anyone involved in online trading must know exactly what he is buying. A preliminary stock research should be carried out before venturing into the business. Secondly, the ground rules for all investors under which an online trader buys and sells a stock or bond must be clearly understood. Thirdly, an internet trader must have a clear perception of the kind of risks been undertaken. When analyzing returns, the trader must consider as well an analysis of the risks involved. Online trading is basically trade involving an internet broker and offers the advantages of speed, convenience of accessibility and most times cheaper than other traditional forms of trade.

Electronic day trading involves opening and closing a trade position the very same day in order to generate certain profit. Day trading involves two major distinctions which are order execution and volatility (Gonzalez and William 1999). Alpesh and Priyen (2002) further explain that day trading is associated with very fast reactions to market conditions because of the short time frame. Internet trade similar to gambling inspires a desire for risk taking without the social stigma attached to gambling.
                                 
Types of Trading Systems
Alpesh and Priyen (2002) defined a plan to be a list of strategic responses to events beyond ones control. A plan enables a trader to gain some sense of control through answering crucial trade questions like where, what, when, why and how. Trading plans are building blocks for trading systems as they determine a traders effort. Trading plans usually cover a number of factors which include the trading objective, markets and instruments traded, trading time frames utilized, software, hardware and other tools to be utilized, amount of risk capital to be used, trading platforms used, risk management strategies, trading systems involved and the trading routine employed (John Forman 2006). Trading systems play a very important role in determining the success of a trading plan.

The easiest way to define a trading system is a set of predetermined rules by which one makes buy and sell decisions and executes them(Forman 2006)

Trading systems can be understood basically from some series of statements for instance, Go long ifwhen, and exit long ifwhen an example could be staying in the market if a price is above a certain period of time (say a 30-day moving average) but if it is less than this average, then exit. The other statement is going short ifwhen, and exit short ifwhen (Alpesh and Priyen 2002  John Forman 2006).

Trading systems should have objectives that are bases on the trading plan. In other words, the system should be able to yield what the trader expects.

Trading systems are majorly divided into two types Mechanical systems and Discretionary systems. A mechanical system is one in which the trader has very little input. It follows an exacting set of rules in which a trader knows that for every market occurrence, he is either out or in. This system provides after a series of manipulations very clear buy and sell signals. On the other hand, the discretionary system is more of a free-form system where the trader has a more profound role to play and the ultimate decision depends on him and he is able to consider all facts and incorporate personal experiences and uses personal judgment to buy and sell choices in light of present or experienced circumstances.(Forman 2006) Unlike the mechanical system which demands a certain action given a particular prompt, the discretionary system involves the incorporation of human experiences and personal judgments. Both have their respective pros and cons, the mechanical system for instance are stress free and can also be mathematically back-tested thus providing relevant information about future performance. On the other hand, the discretionary system provides one with the ability to employ human reasoning in taking decisions, and this is really invaluable as there is no means yet of imputing human experience into a mechanical system choosing what particular trading system to employ depends on the persons involved in trade since there has always been a great debate about what system is more appropriate. At this point, psychology comes to play a major role as well, as deciding what trade system to go for can be sometimes based on the type of personality one possesses. For instance a mathematically inclined person who is also interested in programming computers and is more logical than emotional may better suited for a mechanical system whereas someone who is more emotional, who likes to make personal choices and work hard may be better adapted for the discretionary system. There are many psychological tests available that can be of great help in determining the type of trading system to employ.  However, a good advice would be that one starts off leaning more towards the mechanical system since they are fixed and require almost no action from the trader, then later on when a better understanding and knowledge of the market increases with sufficient experience, the discretionary system can be adapted.

Strategies and Methods used in Online Trading
These tools and strategies can be understood simply as mechanisms that determine what actions to take when practicing trading on the internet. The three primary strategies used to analyze the trade market are a fundamental analysis, a technical analysis and a quantitative analysis (Forman 2006)

Fundamental analysis deals largely with choosing stocks. According to Alpesh and Priyen (2002), fundamentals help one to know how stock is performing and how different aspects of the company are bearing up. Fundamentals deal with what profits are been made, how much money is been invested, if stock is overpriced or whether the companies earnings are worse or better off than expected. Fundamental analysis is however not very reliable when it comes to short term trade and the reason for this is because at a short term, many factors influence price movement. (John Forman 2006). Fundamental analysis encompasses prices and volumes, how much stock has been sold both in the past and how much is currently selling and at what price. Since price is always varied, the objective fundamental analysis drives at is a logical conclusion as to what direction the stock price will take in the future. A clear awareness of tolerance to price unpredictability must be considered when choosing what stocks to buy.

Technical analysis deals with the use of historical information such as prices and volumes of stocks to predict the future. It measures and predicts human behavior and takes account of price and price movement over time.

Technical analysis is a method of determining opportune buying and selling points. It involves methods used to forecast future prices using the price data alone or using the price as an input in mathematical formulae and plotting the results (Alpesh and Priyen 2002).

In contrast to fundamental analysis that deals with an analysis of company investments to determine how prices move, technical analysis uses tools such as charts, trend lines, use of support and resistance (which analyzes a sort of battle between buyers and sellers), inter-market analysis among others to forecast future prices.

Quantitative analysis most often operates in unison with either technical or fundamental analysis. As defined by John Forman (2006), Quantitative analysis deals with the application of mathematical andor statistical methods to market data.  Quantitative analysis on its part helps to compare different markets or securities and also develop a probabilistic make-up of market behavior. Quantitative analysis is generally grouped into a number of categories which include observation counting which simply observes the frequency of occurrence of events, statistical evaluation which deals with a regression factor and other measures and artificial intelligence which covers neutral nets and genetic algorithms. These tools make up very powerful mechanisms for modeling and forecasting and are even more efficient when they are understood and rightly applied.

Conclusion
Internet Trade is evolving explosively and soon enough everyone will have to trade on the net in one form or another. There are several methods and techniques that when strictly adhered to, are able to guide a person toward achieving success in the business of online trade. What every trade system seeks to determine is the direction of future market and some of the techniques explained in this paper function to do just that. Fundamental analysis can be used to determine in value terms a long-term direction although it does not provide sufficient efficiency for short term direction. Technical analysis can be applied to any market without much importance to the time frame albeit it makes use of historical information and patterns that may not always be consistent. Quantitative analysis predict tendencies given certain scenarios work efficiently for the purpose of understanding specific factors of market movement but are limited in terms of an immediate application of buy and sell signals.

Trading online comes with a lot of benefits even though may be costly if one is not careful, For instance trading on the net gives one the opportunity to be actively involved in trading on big return days and to exit on days when there are no returns. Trading online provides first class information about what is moving in the market and where one may likely benefit from investing. With the number of people opening online trade accounts by the day, the benefits of trading online and the various and numerous success stories, internet trading will soon become the order of the day and no one would want to be left out.

This paper would attempt to critically discuss and analyze the media richness theory. This is more important because it would provide some insight into the ongoing research on why people choose a particular medium of communication in different situations. It would also be an important scholarly material as it looks at the side argument of how media type affects the effectiveness of both personal and organizational objectives.

The theory was first proposed by Daft and Lengel (1984). The premise of this theory is that media has an ability to minimize ambiguity and uncertainty surrounding reporting of information and this would increase the level of understanding in human (Lee, 1994). The concept is sometimes termed as equivocality or information richness theory. Equivocality in this case refers to the ambiguity of information or variety number of conflicting understanding (Kahai  Cooper, 2003). It is therefore the work of the appropriate media to reduce equivocality by either clarifying andor explaining a complex data. There two basic assumptions of this theory as put forth by its proponents. First the theory claims that people would have desire to avoid ambiguity and uncertainty in every organization. While the second assumption is that in every organization, different media work better than others in different tasks (Kahai  Cooper, 2003). The proponents use four different illustrations to show how different media types solve ambiguity and uncertainty in every communication.
           
The first criteria look at the availability of feedback. The immediacy of response to the information being communicated comes into scrutiny when the richness of a media is considered.  According to Kahai and Cooper (2003), the ability of the medium to transmit multiple signals, it looks at the ability of a given medium of communication to transmit the information simultaneously to a number of users.
             
How natural language is used in general communication and its variety among the receipts also came into focus in the study of how richer a medium of communication is. Then it also considers the personal focus by the media. The intention of focus on the recipient of the information must be considered and that would determine the richest media of communication to be used.

When the four criteria were analyzed, it was found that the rich medium of communication would be face-to-face encounters. Telephone, e-mails memos and letters would follow in that order (Markus  El-Shinnawy, 1997). This ranking of medium of communication does not mean that one is better than the other but every type has got its merits and demits and is suitable in different situations. In essence the media theory attempts to shed light on the suitability of different medium of communication in different situations. Therefore one is supposed to choose the most appropriate media type that would provide the highest efficiency and accuracy for the intended receiver (Dennis  Kinney, 1998). The media richness theory thus put it that one must make rational decisions by linking a particular tasks and objective to  a particular medium of communication as well as the degree of success needed in that task.

The strength of this theory is that it helps improve social perception. This is much evidence where a media type that provides multiplicity of cues and immediate feedback is used (Mintzberg, 1973). The richer media provides the opportunity to analyze the recipients understanding and expertise on a certain topic or information.
The richer media according to the media richness theory have been found to have greater and positive impacts on the quality of decisions made when the tasks knowledge by the participant is greater (Markus  El-Shinnawy, 1997). This makes richer media more appropriate in where immediate response is required on known task, for example in educational revision of tests.  

Limitations
The argument goes that there should be more research to fill the gaps left by the media richness theory. There is much focus on the perceptions that leaner media do not provide effective and accuracy in most cases. According to Dennis and Kinney (1998), there is therefore need for more research that would analyze actual performance rather than perceptions.

Another shortfall in the media richness theory is the generalization its outcome to other tasks. As Dennis and Kinney (1998) put it, the theory suffers from the limitations that are common in laboratory research where students are usually not familiar with the task they are required to do. And because there were no rewards on a particular performance, the students saw no need to put in more efforts. In these two case scenarios, lack of knowledge on a particular task could not be the sole reason for lack of performance. Lack of involvement or commitment could simply mean that the task would not be done.

Another limitation of the theory is that it involves a single size of team, in this case dyadic. Majority of managerial meetings are dyadic (Panko  Kinney, 1995a, as cited in Dennis  Kinney, 1998). In most cases, the technologies for communication are designed for dyadic communication, (Dennis  Kinney, 1998). But research shows that large groups may hamper communication hence the need for richer media. Again, in some cases, there are a lot of tasks that require many people to work together for a longer duration, unlike the managerial meetings that would run for short times (Panto  Kinney, 1995a in Dennis  Kinney, 1998). When the tasks require a longer period to finish, then there is the need for a richer media. The theory does not consider the variation in size and duration as factors that could influence the richness of media in its studies.

Media theory has also drawn much criticism in its deterministic approach. According to Markus and El-Shinnawy (1997), social issues can influence how the media is used more than richness. This could be much more inconsistent with the basic tenets of the media richness theory. Research has also shown that media choice is influenced by the socio-cultural background of an individual, with the predictions of the media richness theory notwithstanding.

Conclusion
The limitations of this theory clearly call for more research on the media choice that would shed more light on the media usage. The future research must fully explain the media choice in relation the communication tasks as well as contextual issues involve in ones decision. Credit must be given to the proponents of this for laying ground for future improvement.

The need of minimizing costs and increasing efficiency in the organizational practices is seem to be getting significant day by day, since the competition has risen all around the world. Organizations these days often face the problem of lower productivity and attitude problems from the side of employees who might have low skill level, casual attitude towards work, high absenteeism, and turnover. This all results in the loss of capital, precisely intellectual capital of the company, since it already had invested great amount of money over the training and development of the employees. So, the problem that is being faced by the company is of lack of effective recruiting and retention programs for the employees.

There is no doubt that for an organization, employees are its main asset but many companies often fail to understand their significance and do not fulfill the needs and requirements of their employees. Nevertheless, increased awareness and developments have shaped the managements strategies towards the Human Resources activities. Organizations have become more productive and skill-oriented and hire the best-of-the-best to boost up the performance and productivity. They have introduced long and stiff recruiting process where the applicants are tested based on different aspects such as, their aptitudes, experience, knowledge, and applicative ability. Moreover, the need for Emotional Intelligence has become important, which is the ability to understand ones own and others emotions, act accordingly through self-regulation, self-monitoring, and empathy (McShane  Travaglione, 2003). Such hiring processes include, written tests, group discussions, interviews, and a combined session where the applicants are provided with a complex situation and asked to come up with the most feasible and beneficial solution. The effective recruiting can be implemented by abolishing the trend of hiring those applicants who come up with strong references or other political powers and possess no knowledge or experience regarding their job.

As far as the retention of employees is concerned, it all depends on the fulfillment of their needs and requirements that make them feel satisfied with their jobs. Training the staff for their skill-development is a key strategy that can be adapted to retain the employees by doing so, the employees would be inline with the dynamic environment and would cope with the emerging challenges effectively (Daft, 1997). Secondly, compensating the employees is another vital element for keeping them contented and satisfied, since everyone seeks rewards in return for every job or task done. To keep the employees focused, directed, and motivated towards their tasks, the Performance-based pay system must be implemented which caters to those employees who have higher productivity level. The better they perform, the more they are rewarded.

Building up the comfort zone among the employees and managers is of worth significance supervisors must facilitate open communication and clarify the goals and procedures for the ease of the employees. Not only this, effective feedback is quite necessary to keep the employees on track and aware of their shortcomings. Feedback should be from various sources including several managers, supervisors, and department heads or in other words, it should be a 360 degree feedback (Schraeder, Becton,  Portis, 2007). In short, an appropriate method of recruiting and retaining programs must be introduced and implemented in order to overcome the problems of inefficiency, job boredom, absenteeism, and turnover.

Gay marriage (also known as same sex marriage) is the hot issue for quite some time now. Traditionally the definition of marriage is a union between a man and woman (Bidstrup, Scott 2009), but this definition has now been challenged by gay marriage, the reasons behind the criticism on gay marriage are endless. Even people, who support the rights of gays and lesbians, argue the validity of gay marriage.

The main reason for not giving gay marriage a legal status is they are against the nature, and allowing such marriages will devalue the concept of marriage. On the other hand support for these marriages is often based on the argument that marriage is commitment of two people to each other and their recognition as a family unit into a society so these marriages should be encouraged and accepted socially and legally. This paper will describe the problems and causes associated with gay marriage and how to avoid these problems.

Causes
What causes homosexuality Is a key question is it something that people are born with Or is it by choice This is important to know because if homosexuality is an inborn trait then gays and lesbians will be unable to change their sexual orientation even if they want to and if this is the case, then these people should be given equal rights and then gay marriage should not banned because it provides a strong ground for them to defend their case.

The fact of the matter is there is no single answer to these questions, some say that they became gays by choice and some will tell you that being gay is not something they chose. One interesting answer that most gays give is why anyone would choose to do something which is not acceptable to their friends, family and society. On the other hand gay marriage is not an age old concept the first legally and socially accepted gay marriage was held in 2001.

Many scientific studies have been conducted on this issue but still scientists have not been able to conclude that are there any genetic factors that make someone gay. Scientists and social sciences will continue to do their research on this topic but no matter whatever they find out gay marriage will always remain controversial.

Problems
Why so many people and societies are against gay marriages Why the future of gay marriages is so vulnerable What problems does a common man associate with gay marriages On what grounds these marriages are perceived as illegal Should the government interfere in peoples personal relationships These are some of the questions that need to be answered in order to have a strong argument against gay marriages.

The major concern regarding gay marriage is that they will destroy the traditional family structure, the love that a father and mother give to their child is natural and supporting gay marriages means going against the nature which is always treacherous. Allowing gay marriages will also encourage other people to become gay which will gradually put a stop to straight marriages.

The main purpose of getting married is to have children so in this way straight marriages are more valid gays cant have children the world is not overcrowded yet it need more children. If we had gay marriages they will raise gay children so why would we want to raise more gay children in the world. Religions also discourage gay marriages and nothing better than religion will tell you about the hidden truths and complexities of issues (Thompson, Eddie. 2007). It is an empirically proved test that children need both mother and father to be grown up properly and the love that real parents can give to a child is not comparable. Also marriage is a heterosexual institution gay marriages will completely change the meaning of marriage.

SOLUTIONS
By legalizing gay marriages the world is not moving in a right direction because of the problems and hardships that these marriages can create in the future are unstoppable. There is no harm in giving equal rights to gays but gay marriages should be banned and strict laws should be made to do so.

Also awareness should be given to the children from the school level about the problems and teachings of religion regarding gay marriages. The traditional family values and norms should not be replaced. And extra attention by higher authorities should be given to this matter.

CONCLUSION
People have different opinion regarding gay marriages and everyone has a right to make his own judgment but we should look at the bigger picture and future of humanity. The problems associated with gay marriages are immense and are a big threat to nature.

Gay marriage is a relatively new concept and it can badly hurt our next generations the best way to deal with this issue is to create awareness and knowledge through media and other communication mediums.