American and British English: variant differences at some levels of language structure ; Американский и британский английский: вариантные различия отличия разных уровеней языковой структуры

Употреба енглеског језика као међународни језик подразумева неопходност његовог сталног истраживања, дискусије, упоређење и имплементацију у развоју нових условима. Фокус ове докторске дисертације је на могуће разлике и варијације које постоје између британски енглески и амерички енглески. Циљ је да се дискутују, опишу и анализирају детаљно могуће варијације које могу постојати између две варијанте, истовремено узимајући њихов међусобни утицај у обзир. Поред земаља у којима се говори као матерњи језик, енглески такође игра важну улогу као светски језик у употребу у технологији, медицини, рачунарске науке и многим другим областима које се базирају на стручност и формалну комуникацију између професионалаца на међународном нивоу . Поред тога, део дискусије односи се на општег значаја који амерички енглески данас има преко британски енглески. Основна хипотеза је да Интра језичка упоредна анализа оба стандарда, америчког и британског, показају разлике (контраста) у следећим областима: Изговор: Исто писање, различити изговор Различито писање,исти изговор Вокабулар Различите речи за исте појмове Исте речи за исте појмове, делимичне разлике у значењу Исте речи разлике у стилу, конотацију и фреквенции Еуфемизми Политички коректни изрази Језичка креативност:сложенице: реферирање на реалност културе Граматика Разлике у структури реченице Разлике у употребе глаголских облика,уклућујучи и разлике у фреквенции Одељак Истраживање представља резултате добијене из свих четирих категорија поменуте путем упоређивања одређеним бројем одабраних узорка из обе језичке варијанте у питању. Затим се закључци добијају и резултати су приказане у закључку, показујући да ли је главна хипотеза потврђена потпуно, делимично, или уопште није потврђена.The use of English language as an international language implies the necessity of its constant research, discussion, comparison and implementation in the constantly emerging new conditions. The focus of this doctoral thesis is on the possible differences and variations that exist between British English and American English. The aim is to discuss, describe and analyze in detail the possible variations that may exist between the two variants, while also taking their mutual influence into consideration. Beside the countries where English is spoken as a native language, it also plays an important role as a world language due to its use in technology, medicine, computer science and many other fields which concentrate on expertise and formal communication between professionals on the international level. In addition, part of the discussion refers to the overall importance that American English nowadays has over British English. The main hypothesis is that an Intra-lingual contrastive analysis of both the standards, American and British, will show differences (contrasts) within the following areas: Pronunciation Same spelling, different pronunciation Different spelling, same pronunciation Vocabulary Different lexemes for the same terms Same lexemes for the same terms, partial differences in meaning Same lexemes with differences in style, connotation and frequency Euphemisms Politically correct expressions Language creativity – in reference to cultural reality Grammar Differences in sentence structure Differences in the use of verb forms, including differences in frequency. The research section presents the results obtained from all the four categories mentioned above by means of comparing a certain number of selected samples from both the language variants in question. Then conclusions are drawn from the results and presented in the conclusion, showing whether the main hypothesis has been confirmed either completely, partially, or not at all

Factors Influencing Customer Satisfaction towards E-shopping in Malaysia

Online shopping or e-shopping has changed the world of business and quite a few people have decided to work with these features. What their primary concerns precisely and the responses from the globalisation are the competency of incorporation while doing their businesses. E-shopping has also increased substantially in Malaysia in recent years. The rapid increase in the e-commerce industry in Malaysia has created the demand to emphasize on how to increase customer satisfaction while operating in the e-retailing environment. It is very important that customers are satisfied with the website, or else, they would not return. Therefore, a crucial fact to look into is that companies must ensure that their customers are satisfied with their purchases that are really essential from the ecommerce’s point of view. With is in mind, this study aimed at investigating customer satisfaction towards e-shopping in Malaysia. A total of 400 questionnaires were distributed among students randomly selected from various public and private universities located within Klang valley area. Total 369 questionnaires were returned, out of which 341 questionnaires were found usable for further analysis. Finally, SEM was employed to test the hypotheses. This study found that customer satisfaction towards e-shopping in Malaysia is to a great extent influenced by ease of use, trust, design of the website, online security and e-service quality. Finally, recommendations and future study direction is provided. Keywords: E-shopping, Customer satisfaction, Trust, Online security, E-service quality, Malaysia

Born Again Digital: Exploring Evangelical Video Game Worlds

Evangelical Christians have been creating video games for over thirty years, outpacing the efforts of all other religions. By the count that guides the present study, 773 games were made for religious audiences through 2010, of which 474 identify their affiliation as only "Christian," or "biblical." Like other artifacts of digital religion, these games allow us to see the entanglement of people's theological and technological universes. However, unlike many other aspects of digital religion, religious video gaming's novel artistic forms, cultural critiques, and theological possibilities largely blossomed beneath notice. Evangelical video game culture, thus, presents the creative production of a historically significant avant garde whose critical perspective has been neglected outside its own community. In particular, Evangelical video gaming transforms the concerns that connect it to other digital cultures - "violence," for instance, or "immersion" - by attending to the moral status of the player-in-play. This study combines the methods of Religious Studies, Science and Technology Studies, and Cultural Studies to show how the popular artifacts of digital religion can shed light upon their cultural context. My initial frame orients Evangelical video games through broad theoretical concerns and a series of cultural histories then focus our attention upon specific telling instances. My introduction applies a relational ontology to establish a vocabulary for examining religious video games in terms of the digital, religion, and play. Chapter two considers how groups learn to live with computers and details the specific stakes of digital religion for Evangelical Christians in the context of "spiritual warfare." Chapter three situates my catalog of religious games within a detailed history of digital religion. Chapter four focuses on the place of Evangelicals in the debates around video game "violence." Chapter five then considers how those debates are visible in seven Evangelical First-Person Shooter games. Chapter six provides a theoretical orientation to the future of Evangelical gaming by considering the notion of "immersion" in games. Chapter seven concludes by summarizing findings and offering suggestions for further research. Finally, an appendix presents a catalog of religious games as a resource for ongoing research.Doctor of Philosoph