Single Mothers by Choice: True Choice or Realistic Compromise?

This qualitative phenomenological study focuses on the process undergone by never-married Single Mothers by Choice (SMC) in their decision to raise a child on their own. The issue examined is whether the choice of this family structure reflects a social change or a personal compromise, a decision not to wait for a marriage partner. Semi-structured, in-depth, non-directive interviews were conducted. The findings reveal that SMC took the step as a compromise, having preferred to marry. While they are willing to compromise on family structure, SMC are not willing to compromise on a partner, nor are they willing to forego their intention to become mothers. Thus, marriage is still the most desired family structure for having children, but social change is manifested in the choice that women make to choose motherhood without a partner.

Russian Constitutional Development: Formal and Informal Practices

Transitional constitutionalism remains the subject of intensive political controversy. Based on a project made possible by the Institute of Law and Public Policy (Moscow) this article presents the analysis of the basic constitutional principles of pluralism, the separation of powers, federalism, the independence of the judiciary and the guarantee of political rights and freedoms. It describes the changing character of their implementation in different areas of constitutional practices – legislation, constitutional justice, administrative activities and informal practices, and the comparative level of constitutional deviations in each of them. The important new expertise of this research is the concept and methodology of the constitutional monitoring and recommendations for full-scale reforms in key areas of Russian constitutional and political settlement. The author shows that the true choice facing modern society is not between constitutionalism or its negation, which is a dilemma, but between real and sham constitutionalism, with a wide variety of intermediate options separating them. It is precisely this intermediate area which the author defines as a transitional type of constitutionalism, the field of collision between different political stakeholders. This is an area of unstable equilibrium where the implementation of different legal strategies and technologies may produce a definitive effect.

Modeling the rationality of customers’ switching mobile services behavior

This article analyzes the rationality of customer’s behavior when switching mobile services. Customer rationality is manifested by selecting the service provider capable of delivering the highest amount of benefits to the customer. A model based on multinomial logistics regression that makes use of the rational choice theory is developed to emulate customers’ service switching behavior and predicts the probability of switching mobile services. Customer rationality is assessed by comparing the choice predicted by the model with the true choice of customers and rationality is considered as achieved when a customer chooses a service provider that maximizes his/her benefit. The model was tested and validated by modeling the behavior of customers in the Jordanian telecommunication market and a rationality assessment was conducted. The results show that mobile service customers in Jordan are making rational decisions and would be willing to switch their current service provider if offered a better service. The study encourages service providers to challenge their assessment of customer loyalty and investigate new ways to enhance customer experience and guarantee customer loyalty.

The Socio-Political Debate of Dying Today in the United Kingdom and New Zealand: ‘Letting Go’ of the Biomedical Model of Care in Order to Develop a Contemporary Ars Moriendi

Death is a reality of life. Despite this inevitability, death today remains unwelcome and has been sequestered into the enclaves of medical practice as a means of quelling the rising tide of fear it provokes. Medical practice currently maintains power over the dying individual, actualised through the selective collaboration between medicine and law as a means of subverting the individual who attempts to disrupt the contemporary accepted norms of dying. There is, however, a shift on the horizon as to whether we can make the notion of a true choice become a reality in New Zealand. This serves to offer a compelling movement towards individuals seeking control of their dying trajectory to actualise the notion of individual choice. With this shifting landscape there is an opportunity to be grasped to change how we manage our dying trajectory away from the biomedical patterns of behaviour when dying, in order to balance life decisions. To achieve this prospect, we need to engage with a framework upon which to pin the changes. This paper offers a re-framing and re-presenting approach, using illustrative examples that draw upon British and New Zealand literature, together with over 50 years of professional nursing, and the Ars Moriendi to reflect upon the self-centricity of the contemporary Western individual to access a ‘good death’ of choice.

Menyingkap Makna dan Tanda dalam Iklan Rokok A-Mild Versi “Hasrat”: Kajian Semiotika

This semiotic study seeks to investigate how meanings and ideology in the A-Mild advertisement are represented through denotation, connotation and myth. By using Barthes’ (1991) Orders of Signification and Dyer’s (1982) theory of visual elements, this study uses a descriptive qualitative method as the basic principle of methodology. The results of the study show that the advertisement tries to attract consumers by delivering a message that ‘desire’ is something crucial in someone’s life. Moreover, it is indicated that there are several myths in the advertisement. First, ‘desire’ is something which can determine someone’s success in life. Second, happiness can be defined as freedom, pleasure, success, luxury and happiness with beloved ones. Third, smoking may help someone to find his hidden desire and lead him to his true choice in life. Furthermore, it is also revealed that the advertisement has hidden ideologies. The advertisement has implicitly suggested a life style which is consumptive and hedonistic such as a high class life (having a luxurious car). It also distorts the idea that smoking is not threatening and dangerous. Considering the underlying ideologies in this advertisement, it is found that there is a form of persuasiveness which has implicitly tried to make a good image of cigarette on the consumers’ minds. Therefore, the results of this study are expected to show the real image of the advertisement that it affects the consumers’ psychology and in consequence they unconsciously perceive the act of smoking as something elegant (as implied in the hedonism and freedom view) or not dangerous. Abstrak Penilitian ini berjudul Analisis Semiotika: Menyingkap Makna dan Tanda dalam Iklan Rokok A-Mild Versi “Hasrat”. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui bagaimana makna dan ideologi dalam iklan rokok A Mild versi “Hasrat” direpresentasikan melalui makna denotasi, konotasi serta mitos. Dengan melakukan metode penelitian deskriptif kualitatif, penelitian ini menggunakan analisis semiotika sebagai prosedur penelitian yang berbasis pada teori tatanan signifikasi milik Barthes (1991) dan teori elemen visual milik Dyer (1982). Temuan menunjukan bahwa iklan rokok ini mencoba menarik minat konsumen dengan cara penyampaian pesan krusial mengenai pencarian hasrat dalam kehidupan seseorang. Akan tetapi, lebih jauh temuan mengindikasikan bahwa terdapat beberapa mitos dalam iklan rokok ini. Pertama, hasrat merupakan sesuatu yang dapat menentukan kesuksesan hidup seseorang. Kedua, kebahagiaan didefinisikan sebagai kebebasan, kesenangan, kesuksesan, kemewahan serta kebahagian bersama orang-orang terkasih. Ketiga, produk rokok ini dapat menginspirasi seseorang dalam menemukan hasrat terpendam yang dapat menghantarkannya pada pilihan kehidupannya. Selain itu, iklan ini terindikasi memiliki ideologi tersembunyi. Iklan ini telah secara implisit menawarkan gaya hidup konsumtif dan hedonistik seperti gaya hidup yang berkelas (memiliki mobil, dll.). Iklan ini juga mendistorsi konsep bahwa merokok bukanlah sesuatu yang membahayakan dan mengancam nyawa. Merujuk pada nilai-nilai ideologi yang terkandung dalam iklan ini, ditemukan suatu bentuk persuasivitas iklan yang secara implisit berusaha meningkatkan citra rokok dalam benak para konsumen. Ini berdampak pada psikologi para konsumen yang secara tidak sadar memandang bahwa merokok merupakan bentuk perilaku yang elegan (tersirat dalam makna hedonisme serta kebebasan) ataupun tidak membahayakan (ironis).

“Hobson’s choice” servicescape: consumer anxiety and enjoyment

Purpose A Hobson’s choice is a free choice in which only one option is offered. The aim of this study is to examine dimensions of “Hobson’s choice” servicescape and their effect on affective responses and to understand how affective responses drive consumer decisions in “true choice” and “Hobson’s choice” servicescapes. Design/methodology/approach Two studies have been conducted. The first study used mixed methods approach (focus groups and online survey) to examine dimensions of “Hobson’s choice” servicescape. The second study used a scenario-based experimental design to compare the effect of enjoyment and anxiety on consumer decisions in “true choice” and “Hobson’s choice” servicescapes. Findings Study 1 results indicate that hedonic and utilitarian servicescape attributes have a different effect on contrasting emotional responses. This study reveals a positive relationship between consumer enjoyment and hedonic stimuli in Hobson’s choice servicescape. Furthermore, inadequate utilitarian servicescape dimensions cause consumer anxiety. Study 2 results indicate that enjoyment plays a more important role in consumer decision-making in true choice settings, whereas anxiety is more important in Hobson’s choice settings. Research limitations/implications Hobson’s choice settings should focus on servicescape features that reduce anxiety and thus lead to affirmative consumer decisions. On the other hand, true choice settings should try to improve consumer enjoyment to create affirmative consumer decisions. Originality/value This is the first study to examine and compare drivers of consumer’s emotions and their effect on consumer decisions in Hobson’s choice and true choice servicescapes.

Political Development in Hong Kong: The Failure of Democratization

Democratization in Hong Kong has come to a dead end following the rejection of an electoral reform proposal by the Legislative Council on June 18, 2015. The measure was voted down because pan-democrats had been deeply disappointed by the fact that the reform proposal by the Chinese government would have only allowed pre-screened candidates and thus denied Hong Kongers a true choice. This followed more than two months of street occupations in which protesters demanded real universal suffrage to no avail. This paper seeks to demonstrate how the “China factor” has inhibited the democratization process in four distinct phases of political development. Since World War II, one of the main reasons for the lack of democratization was opposition by the Chinese government. In the late 1980s, the prospect of political reforms in China raised hopes for political change in Hong Kong. This was, however, crushed in 1989, which empowered a democracy movement in Hong Kong. Since the transfer of power from Britain to China in 1997, despite protests for democracy, there has been very little progress toward meaningful democratization. Moreover, in recent years, there has even been a slow process from liberal to illiberal authoritarianism which is accompanied by growing conflicts and even violence as political freedoms are being curtailed.

A Contextual Approach to Privacy Online

Recent media revelations have demonstrated the extent of third-party tracking and monitoring online, much of it spurred by data aggregation, profiling, and selective targeting. How to protect privacy online is a frequent question in public discourse and has reignited the interest of government actors. In the United States, notice-and-consent remains the fallback approach in online privacy policies, despite its weaknesses. This essay presents an alternative approach, rooted in the theory of contextual integrity. Proposals to improve and fortify notice-and-consent, such as clearer privacy policies and fairer information practices, will not overcome a fundamental flaw in the model, namely, its assumption that individuals can understand all facts relevant to true choice at the moment of pair-wise contracting between individuals and data gatherers. Instead, we must articulate a backdrop of context-specific substantive norms that constrain what information websites can collect, with whom they can share it, and under what conditions it can be shared. In developing this approach, the paper warns that the current bias in conceiving of the Net as a predominantly commercial enterprise seriously limits the privacy agenda.