astitva international journal of commerce, management and social sciences

Astitva International Journal of Commerce Management and Social Sciences ISSN- 2320-0626 (Online)

A Journal of International Repute

By:

Astitva Consultancy Services

Volume 1, No. 1, December 2012


Address: 5/869, Vikas Nagar, Lucknow E- mail: [email protected], Website: www.astitvajournals.astitvaonline.co.in

FROM THE DESK OF MANAGING EDITOR

It is my pleasure to acknowledge you about the international journal of Commerce

Management and Social Sciences, which is the platform for research & development practices

to all respected professors, lecturers, researchers & eminent scholars. Our journal focuses on

core competencies as well as some methodological and industrial practices adopted in the

modern era.

As I think about research, it is sure that I consider three distinguished formats:

1. Research paper

2. Research article

3. Review paper

We will like to have a high impact papers with extensive research methods along with testing as

well as statistical analysis which is quite necessary for the sake of development in the industrial

practices adopted by the industrialists. Really these types of working will carry out a better

conclusion & findings for the upcoming global business scenario.

We will also appreciate the case studies which include critical analysis by doing thorough

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In last, I on behalf of our journal will say welcome to all to our journal which is devoted &

dedicated to the research in the field of Commerce Management and Social Sciences.

Thank You

Anand Bajpai

Managing Editor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

S. No Contents Page

No.

1 Editorial Board 4

2 Copyrights and Disclaimer 5

3 Company Overview 6

4 An Empirical Evaluation of Critical Success Factors of Knowledge Management for

Organizational Sustainability

Dr. Anli Suresh

7

5 The Study of Reasons of Stress among Human Capital in Delhi

Mr. Vaibhav Misra

19

6 An Empirical Study on Attitudes of B. Tech Students towards E-Learning

Ms. Akansha Misra

29

7 The Theoretical Study of Lying and Micro Expressions

Abhijatya Dhar and Dr. Vandana Shriharsh

46

8 How to Solve Case Study

Jatin Tekriwal

60

9 Guidelines for the Author 62

Patron

Mrs. Geeta Misra

Managing Editor

Mr. Anand Bajpai

Editorial Board

Dr. Vandana Shriharsh

Executive Director- Astitva Consultancy

Services

& Assistant Professor

Department of Psychology

Amity University

Noida, India

Dr. R Venkataraman

Professor

Department of Management Studies

Presidency Business School

Bangalore, India

Dr. Anli Suresh

Assistant Professor

Department of Commerce

Madras Christian College

Chennai, India

Distinguished Fellow Global Strategic

Management Inc.

Michigan, USA

Dr. Suman Pathak

Assistant Professor

School of Business Management

Sharda University

Greater Noida, India

Dr. Ratna Vadra

Assistant Professor- Economics and

International Business

Institute of Management and Technology

Ghaziabad, India

Dr. Aaruni Saxena, MD, PhD

Institute of Pharmacology

University of Duesseldorf

Duesseldorf, Germany


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6

VOL 1, NO.1, DECEMBER 2012

ASTITVA CONSULTANCY SERVICES- AN OVERVIEW

Astitva Consultancy Services is a Human Capital Services and Research Oriented organization

with a focus on providing Recruitment and Soft Skills Training and Research Consultancy to the

client organization. Astitva Consultancy Services is one of the leading organizations based at

Lucknow with the aim of providing overall human capital and research solutions to the institutes

and organizations. The Astitva Consultancy Services provides recruitment in the domains such

as- ITES/ BPO, FMCG, Telecommunication, Hospitality, Education and Software.

Astitva Consultancy Services provides suitable candidates for specific permanent positions,

according to the requirements communicated by the client. The client shall reserve the complete

right and responsibility of establishing the eligibility of employment and subsequent employment

of the prospected candidate/s.

Astitva Consultancy Services provides suitable research consultancy concerning the different

domains such as Marketing, Human Resource, Legal, and Financial consulting to the client

organizations. The activities such as conducting the market research, data collection, report

preparation and data analysis is conducted for the corporate.

ABOUT ASTITVA INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMMERCE MANAGEMENT

AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

Astitva International Journal of Commerce Management and Social Sciences (AIJOCMSS),

peer-reviewed and published bi-monthly, is committed to publishing scholarly empirical and

theoretical research articles that have a high impact on the commerce, management and social

sciences fields as a whole. Astitva International Journal of Commerce, Management and Social

Sciences encourage new ideas or new perspectives on existing research. Manuscripts that are

suitable for publication in Astitva International Journal of Commerce, Management and Social

Sciences is not limited to any particular domains instead it covers domains such as commerce,

marketing, information technology, financial management, psychology, sociology, business

strategy and policy, entrepreneurship, human resource management, organizational behavior,

organizational theory, and research methods.


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AN EMPIRICAL EVALUATION OF CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS OF

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT FOR ORGANIZATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY

DR. ANLI SURESH

Assistant Professor of Commerce

Madras Christian College – Chennai

[email protected]

ABSTRACT

The rapidly changing business environment and the constant challenges it poses to organizations

and businesses makes it imperative to continuously enhance knowledge and skill sets across the

organization. Knowledge Management involves several strategies that an organization may use

to educate, train, share experiences, document processes and procedures, distribute information,

and keep that information up to date. However the success of knowledge management lies in the

role played by the organization, the developers and the users themselves. A critical success

factor is a performance area of critical importance in achieving consistently high productivity

and sustainability. There are at least two broad categories of key success factors that are

common to virtually all organizations: business processes and human processes. Both are

crucial to building great companies. The focus of this paper is on the human process areas.

Compared to the work on explicit knowledge, the management of tacit knowledge is relatively

unexplored. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of how some factors are

critical for the successful application of Knowledge Management (KM). This paper makes an

exploratory study about Knowledge Management in practice at various organizations in

Chennai and tries to identify the critical success factors. Based on various literatures review key

factors for tacit knowledge management have been identified and the positive impact of tacit

knowledge on organizational sustainability is analyzed. A survey was done among 160

stakeholders of various organizations in Chennai and based on their responses a factor analysis

was carried out. The outcome of this empirical research provides indications on the leverages

for the effective development and management of KM through Critical Success Factors (CSFs).

The evaluation confirms the critical success factors, as dependent on both tacit and explicit

knowledge sharing and interaction which play a significant role for Knowledge Management to

thrive in an organization to enhance its sustainability.


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Keywords: Critical Success Factors (CSFs), Knowledge Management (KM), Knowledge

Transfer, Learning, Sharing, Sustainability.

INTRODUCTION

What is Knowledge?

Knowledge is the basis for, and the driver of, our post-industrial economy. In today's economy,

knowledge is people, money, leverage, learning, flexibility, power, and competitive advantage.

Knowledge is the full utilization of information and data, coupled with the potential of people's

skills, competencies, ideas, intuitions, commitments and motivations. Knowledge is more

relevant to sustained business than capital, labor or land. Nevertheless, it remains the most

neglected asset. It is more than justified true belief and is essential for action, performance and

adaption. Knowledge provides the ability to respond to novel situations. A holistic view

considers knowledge to be present in ideas, judgments, talents, root causes, relationships,

perspectives and concepts. Knowledge is stored in the individual brain or encoded in

organizational processes, documents, products, services, facilities and systems. Knowledge is the

result of learning which provides the only sustainable competitive advantage. Knowledge is

action, focused innovation, pooled expertise, special relationships and alliances. Knowledge is

value-added behavior and activities. For knowledge to be of value it must be focused, current,

tested and shared. Knowledge has been recognized as a key corporate asset and the only source

of sustainable competitive advantage. Organizations today can effectively create knowledge and

also utilize, manage and share that knowledge to sustain in the race for the top position. This is

made easier with the advancement in internet and e-commerce technologies that enable

companies to share knowledge easily and evaluate their intangible assets more accurately.

What is Knowledge Management?

Knowledge management is an audit of "intellectual assets" that highlights unique sources,

critical functions and potential bottlenecks which hinder knowledge flows to the point of use. It

protects intellectual assets from decay, seeks opportunities to enhance decisions, services and

products through adding intelligence, increasing value and providing flexibility. Knowledge


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management complements and enhances other organizational initiatives such as total quality

management (TQM), business process re-engineering (BPR) and organizational learning,

providing a new and urgent focus to sustain competitive position. To serve customers well and

remain in business companies must: reduce their cycle times, operate with minimum fixed assets

and overhead (people, inventory and facilities), shorten product development time, improve

customer service, empower employees, innovate and deliver high quality products, enhance

flexibility and adaption, capture information, create knowledge, share and learn. None of this is

possible without a continual focus on the creation, updating, availability, quality and use of

knowledge by all employees and teams, at work and in the marketplace. The concept of

knowledge management is to ensure that reinvention of the wheel does not take place, to ensure

that one can build on what he learn from others and in the organizational context to ensure that

the response time to adapt to environmental changes is reduced. In a highly competitive world

where every unit of time is crucial and where every decision is strategic, it becomes imperative

that an organizational repository of knowledge is generated and stored in an accessible place.

Knowledge management is an essential part of strategic management process hence;

organizations should undertake knowledge management programs. In doing so, they would gain

competitive advantage that comes with improved or faster learning and new knowledge creation.

KM programs may lead to greater innovation, better customer experiences, consistency in good

practices and knowledge access across a global organization, as well as many other benefits. In

the knowledge economy, organizations are no longer driven by their physical assets but by the

value of their knowledge. In this paper an attempt is made to identify the critical success factors

for KM to thrive in an organization to capture tacit knowledge of different stakeholders of the

organization and make it explicit so that other employees can take advantage of it and an

organization can enhance its sustainability.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

According to a case study made by Goswami (2004) large organizations suffer from a lack of

cohesiveness and duplicates efforts because they have scattered or virtual units, flexi-hours and

work from home options. Moreover the employees working in such organizations suffer from

lack of self-esteem and do not show loyalty. In such cases although a large amount of knowledge


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will be generated, it will not be put to proper use due to lack of connectivity. Hence knowledge

dissemination will not take place. Kim et al, (2004) suggest that: the decision-making oriented

approach is a valid way of identifying knowledge requirements. Interaction with others, as

opposed to isolation is important if knowledge conversion is to take place Stover (2004, p. 167).

Spring (2003) argued that transfer of tacit knowledge strongly depends on the distinction

between face-to-face and arm’s length relationships. According to Cavusgil et al (2003) the

closeness of the two partners are key to the degree of tacit knowledge transfer. Kochikar (2001)

in his case study suggest that Infosys has conceived, developed and deployed internally an

elaborate architecture for KM, that aims to take the company to a ‘Learn Once, Use Anywhere’

paradigm. The challenge is to create direct people-to-people sharing mechanism. Knowledge

which is new to an organization has to either be invented internally, or acquired from external

sources. There are two types of knowledge: explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge. Nonaka et

al. (2000) and other authors such as Hall and Andriani (2002) describe explicit knowledge as

what can be embodied in a code or a language and as a consequence it can be communicated,

processed, transmitted and stored relatively easily. It can be shared in the form of data, scientific

formulae, manuals and such like. In contrast, tacit knowledge is personal and hard to formalize –

it is rooted in action, procedures, commitment, values and emotions etc. Tacit knowledge is not

codified, it is not communicated in a ‘language’, and it is acquired by sharing experiences, by

observation and imitation Hall & Andriani (2002). Tacit and explicit knowledge are

complementary, which means both types of knowledge are essential to knowledge creation.

Explicit knowledge without tacit insight quickly looses its meaning. Knowledge is created

through interactions between tacit and explicit knowledge and not from either tacit or explicit

knowledge alone (Nonaka et al. 2000). Davenport and Marchand (1999) suggest that: “whilst

knowledge management does involve information management, beyond that it has two

distinctive tasks: to facilitate the creation of new knowledge and to manage the way people share

and apply it”. Prahlad and Hamel (1990) suggest that intellect clearly resides inside the firm’s

human brains. Elements of knowledge, skills and understanding can also exist in the

organization’s systems, databases or operating technologies. If properly matched, intellect in

each form is both highly leverage able and protectable.


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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Murphy & Verma (2008) stated that, “As globalization and shifting demographics reshape

competitive ground rules, companies that fail to treat knowledge management (KM) as an

initiative of the highest importance will lose intellectual assets, suffer from employee turnover,

exacerbate security threats, and ultimately lower valuations. It’s time for enterprises to exert

control over KM and treat it as an issue of the highest order.” Knowledge Management programs

are typically claimed to be tied to specific organizational objectives and are intended to lead to

the achievement of specific targeted results such as improved performance, competitive

advantage, or higher levels of innovation. Tacit knowledge is only known by an individual. The

complexity is in finding a way of communicating it to the rest of an organization. It is personal

knowledge that is rooted in individual experience, and involving personal belief, perspective and

values. Explicit knowledge is knowledge that can be articulated, codified, and stored in certain

media. Considering the tacit knowledge of an organization as one key for the efficiency of it,

knowledge becomes a vital and tangible asset. To facilitate the sharing of knowledge thus can

highly improve the efficiency of the whole organization by leveraging the existing knowledge.

The implementation of a knowledge management process that aims to target, transfer and

organize this knowledge is obviously especially important for companies that have to face a high

number of people leaving and joining. In general Knowledge management comprises three main

factors - designing learning cycles into all activities of an organization; developing ways of

systematic applying new knowledge in the activities of the organization; and in the process

finding ways to help convert the personal knowledge of individuals into organizational

knowledge, and vice versa. Although these elements have been discussed at length in the extant

literature on the subject, there have been no broad-based analyses of critical success factors for

KM to thrive in an organization to capture tacit knowledge make it explicit and its relationship to

one another to enhance its sustainability, and this gap in the literature is a serious deficiency for

both organizations and researchers alike.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

To identify the critical success factors for KM to thrive in an organization to capture tacit

knowledge of different stakeholders of the organization as customers, shareholders, employees,


12


suppliers etc. and make it explicit so that other employees can take advantage of it and an

organization can enhance its sustainability.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The methodology adopted is exploratory and descriptive based on the figures from the Primary

data questionnaire from the sample size which consists of 160 respondents of various

organizations in and around Chennai through simple random sampling. This sampling technique

is an economical method for collecting data from a large geographical area. This method is

cheaper and also faster. However, there is a chance of sampling error. This constraint was

overcome by increasing the required sample size. Sampling unit for this research are managers

from various selected industries. Questionnaire consisted of 25 factors which directly or

indirectly influenced Knowledge Management also consists of statements asking the

respondents’ to state their agreement/disagreement on the issues of knowledge management.

Each question was scored using a five-point Likert scale. Secondary data collected from various

books, journals, reviews and websites. After the data had been collected, it was processed &

tabulated directly in to SPSS 17.0 Software. SPSS version 17.0 statistical software was used and

the results obtained thereby have been analyzed and interpreted. Cronbach’s Alpha reliability

was done to find out the reliability of the data.

Data Analysis & Interpretation

As predicted KM awareness is higher in IT companies. More than 90% respondents from IT

companies are aware about Knowledge Management. Compare to that, 60% respondents from

Pharma & Chemical, 80% respondents from Banking and Insurance, and 75% respondents from

other industry are aware about knowledge management. This suggests that IT company

executives are more aware about knowledge management than other industry executives. Here it

can be observed that 70% of the respondents from IT industry are not only aware but also using

KM concepts, which is significantly higher than of others. KM has been more popularized in last

decade and more famous as an IT enabled concepts. Because of high employee turnover and

organizational knowledge losses, first implementers of KM are IT organizations. The critical

success factors of KM to thrive in an organization are validated by the findings.


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Data Reliability

The data reliability score alpha is 79.84% i.e. is approximated to 80% which is at an acceptable

level.

Table 1 - Re l i a b i l i t y An a l y s i s - Sc a l e (A L P H A)

Reliability Coefficients

N of Cases = 160.0 N of Items = 25

Alpha = .7984

Source: Primary Data

Factor Analysis - Critical Success Factors

Factor Analysis was done on the 25 factors that are believed to influence and promote

knowledge management. These factors were selected after doing an extensive literature review.

Exploratory factor analysis was conducted and the initial results of tests of sampling adequacy

showed the following results.

Table 2- KMO and Bartlett's Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. .884

Bartlett's Test of Sphericity Approx. Chi-Square 4384.284

Df 136

Sig. .000**

**Significant at the 0.01 level.


A KMO score of 0.9 is an acceptable score and therefore factors with low KMO statistic values

were dropped till the overall KMO rose to near about 0.9. Nine factors were dropped and factor

analysis was done on the remaining 16 factors.


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Table 3- Communalities Table

Initial Extraction

Improving competitive advantage 1.000 .992

Innovation and knowledge creation 1.000 .847

Employee development 1.000 .861

Cost reduction 1.000 .992

Revenue growth 1.000 .956

Faster response to key business issues 1.000 .970

Improving quality 1.000 .949

Improving delivery 1.000 .981

Changing people’s behaviour from knowledge hoarding to knowledge

sharing

1.000 .998

Determining what kind of knowledge to be managed & making it

available

1.000 .856

Willingness of employees to co-operate 1.000 .992

Overcoming technological limitations 1.000 .885

Attracting & retaining talented people 1.000 .996

Improving work culture 1.000 .949

Personal responsibility for knowledge 1.000 .959

Total Quality Management 1.000 .991


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Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.


Interpretation

Table 4- Final Critical success factors towards KM

Factor Statements Factor

Loading

Eigen

Value

Cumulative

% of

Variance

I – Quality

Output

29.206

29.206

Improving quality .865

Improving delivery .970

Overcoming technological limitations .871

II –

Organizational

Adjustments

Innovation and knowledge creation .782 28.205 57.412

Employee development .782

Cost reduction .536

Faster response to key business issues .897

Attracting & retaining talented

people

.924

Total Quality Management .621

III -

Leadership

Changing people’s behaviour from

knowledge hoarding to knowledge

sharing

.954 20.156

77.568

Improving competitive advantage .692

Determining what kind of knowledge

to be managed & making it available

.863

Personal responsibility for knowledge .864

IV – Culture Improving work culture .954 22.432 100

Revenue growth .759

Willingness of employees to co-

operate

-.970

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.

Rotation converged in 7 iterations.



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Component 1 comprises of ‘Improving quality’, ‘improving delivery’, and ‘Overcoming

technological limitations’. This group maybe labeled as “Quality Output” which is expected

both from the system developers and the users.

Component 2 comprises of ‘Innovation and knowledge creation’, ‘Employee development’,

‘Cost reduction’, ‘Faster response to key business issues’, ‘Attracting & retaining talented

people’ and ‘Total Quality Management’. This group maybe labeled as “Organizational

Adjustments” which is expected from the Top level management.

Component 3 comprises of ‘Changing people’s behaviour from knowledge hoarding to

knowledge sharing’, ‘Improving competitive advantage’, ‘Determining what kind of

knowledge to be managed & making it available’ and ‘Personal responsibility for

knowledge’ . This group maybe labeled as “Leadership” which is expected from the Team

leader.

Component 4 comprises of ‘Improving work culture’, ‘Willingness of employees to co-

operate’ and ‘Revenue growth’. It is observed that Willingness of employees to co-operate

shows a negative correlation, indicating that Willingness of employees to co-operate is not a

prominent factor. This group maybe labeled as “Culture” which is expected from the

Organization culture. Thus it can be concluded that for KM to thrive, the above mentioned

critical success factors i.e. Quality Output, Organizational Adjustments, Leadership and

Culture have to play a prominent role in an organization.

CONCLUSION

From the above findings of factor analysis one can observe that everybody seems to agree and

believe in sharing and application of knowledge. However they disagree that the entire

knowledge base of an employee can be easily transferred to another person or database. In

conclusion it can be said that emphasis is being given on the critical success factors of Quality

Output, Organizational Adjustments, Leadership and Culture identified in this study while

formulating strategies. The ambience within the organization is that of willingness to share one’s

own experience and learn from other’s experience. Knowledge dissemination and sharing is

believed to lead to rich dividends but a direct link with profits is still not yet clear cut.

Knowledge management is not an unknown phenomenon to organizations in India. With


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increase in information technology usage, many organizations have started KM initiatives in

India. The identified CSFs through this outcome of this research of Knowledge management is a

conscious strategy of getting the right knowledge to the right people at the right time and helping

people share and put information into actions in ways that strive to improve organizational

sustainability.

SCOPE FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

This work may form a basis for further research in the areas of knowledge management. Several

recommendations for additional research have emerged naturally from the present study. Study

of knowledge management in other industries will help practitioners and researchers to

understand the diversity of knowledge management in different business environments. One

question that requires further investigation is whether the findings of critical success factors in

this study are specific to the organizations studied or if this is a general phenomenon, which can

be observed in other organizations as well. Finally, even though the results of this study can be

generalized to other sectors or industry, it is necessary to expand the study into a wider range of

various industries and various management levels to see whether are there any differences

between the findings of the study. It is hoped that the findings proposed in this study would help

Indian companies to better organize their knowledge management activities, as well as helping

the country to create wealth and a knowledgeable society. It is also hoped that additional

research will be undertaken to build upon this work, and to further develop and enhance our

knowledge on differences in knowledge management understanding between various industries.

Further research should go towards the direction of empirical approximation using quantitative

and qualitative analysis methods to explore the relevant tacit knowledge in companies, to build-

up and sustain their competitive advantage. Therefore, it will be challenging to do further

empirical research especially on the field of the transfer of tacit knowledge, to include both the

transfer of tacit knowledge within the organization, and to only the relevant locations and

individuals within the organization and transfer of tacit knowledge to only appropriate locations

and individuals outside the organization.


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REFERENCES:

Cavusgil, S.T., Calantone, R.J., Zhao, Y. (2003): Tacit knowledge transfer and firm

innovation capability, in: Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 18 (1), 6-21.

Davenport, T. H., and Marchard, D. (1999): Is KM just good information management,

in: Financial Times Mastering Information Management Supplement, Financial Times,

and London March 8th, 2-3.

Goswami Chandana, (2004). “Managing the Technical, Professional Workforce: Can

Knowledge Management is the answer?” In: Managing Trade, Technology and

Environment (M. Mallikarjun and Pawan K. Chugan Ed.), pp 362-372, Excel Books,

India.

Hall, R., and Andriani, P. (2002): Managing knowledge for innovation, in: Long Range

Planning, 35, 29-48.

Kim, S. K., Lim, S., and Mitchell, R. B. (2004) Building a knowledge model: a decision-

making approach, [Online], Available: http://www.tlainc.com/articl68.htm [25 October

2010].

Kochikar V.P. (2001). “Creating the KM Infrastructure at Infosys: The Technology

Challenge”; Management Review, Vol 13, No.4, pp 104-110.

Murphy, J & Verma, K 2008, Gaining the Knowledge Management Edge, Part 1: The

Master Key to Business Growth, AMR Research - AMR-R-21767, Boston.

Nonaka, I., Toyama, R., Konno, N. (2000): SECI, the concept of ‘Ba’ and Leadership: a

unified model of dynamic knowledge creation, in: Long Range Planning, 33(4), 4-34.

Prahlad C.K. and Gary Hamel, (1990). “The core competence of the Corporation”;

Harvard Business Review, May-June, pp79-91.

Spring, M. (2003): Knowledge management in extended operations networks, in: Journal

of

Knowledge Management, 7 (4), 29-37.

Stover, M. (2004): Making Tacit Knowledge explicit, in: Reference Services Review, 32

(2), 164-173.


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THE STUDY OF REASONS OF STRESS AMONG HUMAN CAPITAL IN DELHI

Vaibhav Misra

Management Consultant & Ex- Lecturer

Bora Institute of Management Sciences- Lucknow

[email protected]

E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The author emphasized on Organizational Stress in this study. The author focused that what are

the reason that causes stress and also studied about the relationship of the reason between the

territories. The study is based on theoretical framework and data collection; therefore the author

studied the literatures related to the topic extensively.

After finding out the objectives or basis of study the author designed the methodology of

working. The author found that the study is based on both primary and secondary data, the

author collected the secondary data by means of internet, journals and books and primary data

was collected from the employees from the multinational companies from Delhi. The author

considered teachers lectures, author’s views, employees’ and managers’ opinion as primary

data for the study.

Keywords- Organizational Stress, Reasons of Stress, Employee Stress, Causes of Stress,

Stressed Human Capital

INTRODUCTION

The human life today had become complex and knotty; living in this world today is full of

pressures, strains and stress. As asked from the respondents about the stress, the answer that was

given is tension, nervousness, headaches, workloads, deadlines to meet, family problems, and so

on. The list could be endless that could eventually form the pressure jigsaw but these are actually

a list of effects of stress or causes of stress, or stressors (Wan Hussin et. al, 2003). Stress is the

mailto:[email protected]


20


result of our expectations, greed, desires and ambitions. Stress “an adoptive response, mediated

by individual characteristic and psychological processes that is consequence of any external

action, situation or event that places special physical, psychological demands upon a person”

(Ivancevich and Matteson, 1980). Operationally defined, stress is the dysfunctional, psycho-

physiological response to excessive emotional challenges or inordinate instinctual demands

(Juniper, 2003).

LITERATURE REVIEW

Numerous studies found that fob stress influences the employees’ job satisfaction and their

overall performance in their work. Because most of the organizations now are more demanding

for the better job outcomes. In fact, modern times have been called as the “age of anxiety and

stress” (Coleman, 1976).The stress itself will be affected by number of stressors. Nevertheless,

Beehr and Newman (1978) had defined stress as a situation which will force a person to deviate

from normal functioning due to the change (i.e. disrupt or enhance) in his/her psychological

and/or physiological condition, such that the person is forced to deviate from normal functioning.

From the definition that has been identified by researchers, we can conclude that it is truly

important for an individual to recognize the stresses that are facing by them in their career.

Management role of an organization is one of the aspects that affect work-related stress among

workers (Alexandros-Stamatios et. al., 2003).Workers in an organization can face occupational

stress through the role stress that the management gave. Role stress means anything about an

organizational role that produces adverse consequences for the individual (Kahn and Quinn,

1970). Management will have their own role that stands as their related. Role related are

concerned with how individuals perceive the expectations other have of them and includes role

ambiguity and role conflict (Alexandros-Stamatios et. al., 2003). Several studies have

highlighted the deleterious consequences of high workloads or work overload. According to

Wilkes et al. (1998) work overloads and time constraints were significant contributors to work

stress among community nurses. Workload stress can be defined as reluctance to come to work

and a feeling of constant pressure (i.e. no effort is enough) accompanied by the general

physiological, psychological, and behavioral stress symptoms. Al-Aameri AS. (2003) has

mentioned in his studies that one of the six factors of occupational stress is pressure originating


21


from workload. Alexandros-Stamatios G.A. et al. (2003) also argued that “factors intrinsic to

the job” means explore workload, variety of tasks and rates of pay. Rapidly changing global

scene is increasing the pressure of workforce to perform maximum output and enhance

competitiveness. Indeed, to perform better to their job, there is a requirement for workers to

perform multiple tasks in the workplace to keep abreast of changing technologies (Cascio, 1995;

Quick, 1999). A study in UK indicated that the majority of the workers were unhappy with the

current culture where they were required to work extended hours and cope with large workloads

while simultaneously meeting production targets and deadlines (Townley, 2000). Role ambiguity

is another aspect that affects job stress in the workplace. According to Beehr et. al. (1976),

Cordes & Dougherty (1993), Cooper (1991), Dyer & Quine (1998) and Ursprung (1986) role

ambiguity exists when an individual lacks information about the requirements of his or her role,

how those role requirements are to be met, and the evaluative procedures available to ensure that

the role is being performed successfully. Jackson & Schuler (1985) and Muchinsky (1997)

studies found role ambiguity to lead to such negative outcomes as reduces confidence, a sense of

hopelessness, anxiety, and depression.

OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY

The Study is based on the following objectives

To identify the reasons of stress among the human capital in Multinational organizations

in Delhi.

To identify the impact of stress variables on different age groups.

HYPOTHESES

H0 There are no feasible reasons of stress among the human capital in multinational

organizations in Delhi.


Study Area

The territories selected to conduct this study is Delhi. The employees of different multinational

companies are the target respondents.


22


Sampling Method and Sample Size

The random sampling technique is used to identify the organizations for the study. Whereas;

convenience sampling is used to collect the data from the respondents. The sample determined

for the study is 150 respondents from different selected multinational organizations.

Data Collection

As the research is based on primary data, therefore, the primary data was collected from the

multinational companies from Delhi by interviewing the respondents personally. The structured

questionnaire is used for interviewing the respondents and the questionnaire was distributed with

proper instructions.

Analytical Techniques

Analytical Techniques are the statistical tools that were used to find the results from the collected

data. The statistical tool that is used to test the hypothesis is one- sample t-test. Further,

ANNOVA is used to identify the impact of stress variables on different age groups.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

The total respondents targeted for the study were 150, but out of 150 respondents only 131

respondents showed interest towards replying the questionnaire. That is, 12.67% of the

respondents did not answer the questionnaire.

Table 1: Stress Analysis

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Stressed 58 44.3 44.3 44.3

Not Stressed 73 55.7 55.7 100.0

Total 131 100.0 100.0

It was found that 58 (44.3%) respondents are stressed out of 131 respondents and rest 73 (55.7%)

the majority of employees were not stressed while performing their assigned tasks as represented


23


in Table 1. These 58 (44.3%) respondents were further asked the questions about their age and

their reasons that caused them stress.

Table 2: Age Group

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

18-28 16 12.2 27.6 27.6

28-38 20 15.3 34.5 62.1

38-48 16 12.2 27.6 89.7

48-58 6 4.6 10.3 100.0

Total 58 44.3 100.0

As per the analysis of Table 2, the minimum age of the respondent is considered 18 years.

Considering in mind the regulation passed by the government that the minimum age for working

should be 18 years. The maximum age of the respondents considered is 58 years, as the

employees in multinational organization retire at the age of 58 years. It is found that maximum

number of respondents comes under the class interval of 28-38 with the frequency of 20

followed by 16 each in the class interval of 18-28 and 38-48 respectively.

As per Table 3, 19 (14.5%) respondents consider target pressure as the major reason of stress

which is the major part of the study population. It is followed by job insecurity and work

overload with the frequency of 17 (13%) and 10 (7.6%) respectively.

It can be determined that the employees in the multinational organizations are having much

targets that they are not able to meet up, due to the failure of meeting the target they think about

the future consequences and are stressed.


24


Table 3: Reasons of Stress

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Interpersonal Conflicts 5 3.8 8.6 8.6

Work Overload 10 7.6 17.2 25.9

Lack of Recognition or

Reward 2 1.5 3.4 29.3

Job Insecurity 17 13.0 29.3 58.6

Lack of Support 3 2.3 5.2 63.8

Lack of Training 2 1.5 3.4 67.2

Target Pressure 19 14.5 32.8 100.0

Total 58 44.3 100.0

Table 4: One-Sample Test

Test Value = 4

T df

Sig. (2-

tailed)

Mean

Differenc

e

95% Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

Lower Upper

Reasons of

Stress 1.671 57 .100 .47 -.09 1.02

H0 There are no feasible reasons of stress among the human capital in multinational



25


H1 There are feasible reasons of stress among the human capital in multinational


After analyzing the results of one sample t-test it was found that H0 is rejected. As per the Table

4, the calculated value of t is 1.671 with the test value of 4. The value of significance level is

.100 which is not significant at 5% level of significance. Therefore taking a look on Table 4 it

can be said that null hypothesis is rejected and alternate hypothesis H1 can be accepted.

Table 5 shows the details about the reasons of stress and the age group of the human capital. The

table describes that at various age groups there are different employees who have different

reasons of stress. In the age group of 18-28 the maximum stress is due to target pressure with 7

respondents. Whereas, in the age group of 28-38 there are mainly three reasons that causes stress

among the employees. These reasons are work overload, job insecurity and target pressure with

the frequency of 6 each. Similarly, in the age group of 38-48 and 48-58 the employees are

stressed due to job insecurity with the frequency of 8 and 3 respectively.

Table 5 Cross tabulation- Reasons of Stress & Age Group

Age Group Total

18-28 28-38 38-48 48-58

Reasons of

Stress

Interpersonal Conflicts 4 1 0 0 5

Work Overload 2 6 2 0 10

Lack of Recognition or

Reward 2 0 0 0 2

Job Insecurity 0 6 8 3 17

Lack of Support 1 1 1 0 3

Lack of Training 0 0 1 1 2

Target Pressure 7 6 4 2 19

Total 16 20 16 6 58


26


Table 6: ANOVA (Reasons of Stress)

Age

Sum of

Squares Df

Mean

Squar

e F Sig.

Between

Groups 18.799 6 3.133 4.603 .001

Within Groups 34.718 51 .681

Total 53.517 57

The Table 4 determines the impact of stress variables on different age groups. Here age group is

considered as dependent variable whereas reason of stress is considered as Construct that affects

the age group. There can be the impact of stress variables on different age groups. The value of

significance level is .001 which is significant at .1% level of significance.

CONCLUSION

After reviewing the literatures on the study it is concluded that stress is one of the most

important factors in increasing or decreasing human capacity of working. The reasons of stress

such as Interpersonal Conflicts, Work Overload, Lack of Recognition or Reward, Job Insecurity,

Lack of Support, Lack of Training and Targets were identified. It is also concluded that Targets

are the major reason that causes stress among the human capital. It is concluded that the reasons

of stress among the human capital are valid and they also have impact on different age groups.

REFERENCES

Al-Aameri A.S., 2003. “Source of job stress for nurses in public hospitals”, Saudi

Medical Journal, 24(11), pp.1183-1187.


27


Alexandros-Stamatios G. A., Matilyn J.D., and Cary L.C., 2003. “Occupational Stress,

Job satisfaction, and health state in male and female junior hospital doctors in Greece”,

Journal of Managerial Psychology, 18(6), pp. 592-621.

Beehr, T.A. & Newman, J.E.,1978. “Job Stress, Employee Health and Organizational

Effectiveness: A Facet Analysis, Model and Literature Review”, Personnel Psychology,

31, pp.665-669.

Beehr, T.A., Walsh, J.T., & Taber, T.D. 1976. “Perceived situational moderators of the

relationship between subjective role ambiguity and role strain’, Journal of Applied

Psychology, 61, pp.35-40.

Cascio, W.F., 1995. “Wither industrial and organizational psychology in a Changing

world”? American Psychologist, 50, pp.928-939.

Coleman J.C. 1976. Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life (Indian reprint),

Taraporewalla, Bombay.

Cooper, C.L., 1991. Stress in organizations. In M. Smith (Ed.). Analysing Organizational

Behaviour. London: MacMillan.

Cordes, C.L., and Dougherty, T.W. 1993. “A review and integration of research on job

burnout”, Academy of Management Review, 18, pp.621-656.

Dyer, S., & Quine, L. 1998. “Predictors of job satisfaction and burnout among the direct

care staff of a community learning disability service”, Journal of Applied Research in

Intellectual Disabilities, 11 (4), pp.320-332.

Ivancevich J. M. and Matteson M. T. 1980. stress and work: A Managerial Perspective

(Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman,), pp. 8-9.

Jackson, S.E., & Schuler, R.S. 1985. “A meta-analysis and conceptual critique of

research on role ambiguity and role conflict in work settings”, Organizational Behavior

and Human Decision Processes, 36, pp.16-78.

Juniper, D., 2003, “Leisure counseling in stress management”, Work Study, Vol. 52,

No.1, pp7-12

Kahn, R.L., & Quinn, R.P. 1970. Role stress: A framework for analysis, In A. McLean

(Ed.), Occupational mental health, New York: Wiley.


28


Muchinsky, P. 1997. Psychology applied to work: An introduction to industrial and

organizational psychology (5th Ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brookes/Cole Publishers.

Quick, J.C. 1999. “Occupational health psychology: The convergence of health and

clinical psychology with public health preventive medicine in an organizational context”,

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 30(2), pp.123-128.

Townley, G. 2000. “Long hours culture causing economy to suffer”, Management

Accounting, 78 (6), pp.3-5.

Ursprung, A.W. 1986. “Incidence and correlates of burnout in residential service

settings”, Rehabilitation Counselling Bulletin, 29, pp.225-239.

Wan Hussin, W. M. A., Shamshad, A. and Mohd Sanusi, S. A., (2003), Stress

Management and Its Relevance to the Performance of Site Engineers and Land

Surveyors: A Case Study in Malaysia, Third Global Conference on Flexible Systems

Management, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, India, 13-15 March 2003.

Wilkes, L., Beale, B., Hall, e., Rees, E., watts, B., Denne, C. 1998. “Community nurses’

descriptions of stress when caring in the home”, International Journal of Palliative

Nursing, 4 (1).


29


AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON ATTITUDES OF B.TECH STUDENTS TOWARDS E-

LEARNING

Akansha Misra

Faculty of Commerce,

Navayuga Radiance School- Lucknow

[email protected]

ABSTRACT

The education today is getting modernized and the colleges are accepting the new trend of IT

advancements. Therefore, the digitalization of education is taking place. The colleges are

adopting the different technology to sustain in the competitive environment. Here the evolution of

E- learning takes place. The methodology the colleges are adopting to make themselves

digitalized is using e-libraries, computerization of their books that are available in their

libraries, using LCD projectors to present the power point slides about the concern subject. All

these activities are done to be present the college as technology friendly. But the question is what

is the attitude of the student towards adopting these resources? Does their age or gender have

any effect on their attitude towards adopting these resources? To answer these questions the

study is done. The study was done on the B. Tech students from two different colleges. The

questionnaire was distributed to 400 respondents and 327 respondents replied to the questions

mentioned in the questionnaire. Random Sampling is used to choose the area of Lucknow from

which colleges were selected and convenience sampling is used to collect the data from the

students. Further, descriptive statistics is used to analyze the basic questions of the

questionnaire. To test the hypothesis one- sample T- test is used and ANOVA is used to find out

the effect of age and gender on attitude of the students.

Keywords: E- Learning, Attitude, Positive Attitude, Negative Attitude

INTRODUCTION

The education in today’s era is moving towards the new level of advancement, education today is

not only providing the in depth knowledge about any subject but it is now seems to be a game of


30


learning. Various companies had prepared different educational software catering the

requirements of the syllabus of educational different bodies. But E- learning is not limited to

these softwares in fact it is beyond that. There are different online libraries that provides the

guidance on various disciplines and also provides various hands on cases that gives the in depth

knowledge about the discipline. Some of the libraries are- EBSCO, Ulrich Periodicals, Cabell’s

Directory, Index Copernicus, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Docstoc, Scribd and

many more. E-learning has become one of the powerful supporting tools which have diversified

the traditional context of learning in colleges. On one hand, e-learning is not confined to

geographical barriers. Students can engage in self-directed learning, and learning resources can

be repeatedly used. On the other hand, e-learning provides flexible learning materials and

consistent information. The learning content is easy to update. With the rapid development of

technology, the Internet as a delivery platform has motivated colleges to invest their resources on

developing online programs.

Researchers from various fields have been trying to evaluate the effectiveness of e-learning.

However, some of them are focused on technology-based components of e-learning system and

some are focused on human factor of e-learning system.

These individual assessment frameworks comply with the needs only partially. Students' e-

learning system consists of many subsystems, such as personal factors, technical environment,

and social environment.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

In this study the main objective is to analyze the student’s attitudes towards e-learning in India.

Also the effect of gender and age group was analyzed on the attitudes of students towards e-

learning.

HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY

The following null hypotheses were prepared for the study:

H0a The Students has negative attitudes towards e-learning.

H0b There is no effect of age group on the attitudes of students towards e- learning.

H0c There is no effect of gender on the attitudes of students towards e- learning.

LITERATURE REVIEW


31


E-Learning is basically a web-based system that makes information or knowledge available to

users or learners and disregards time restrictions or geographic proximity. Although online

learning has advantages over traditional face-to-face education (Piccoli et al., 2001), concerns

include time, labor intensiveness, and material resources involved in running e-Learning

environments. The costly high failure rate of e-Learning implementations discussed by Arbaugh

and Duray (2002) deserves attention from management and system designers.

E-learning is the acquisition and use of knowledge distributed and facilitated primarily by

electronic means. This form of learning currently depends on networks and computers, but will

likely evolve into systems consisting of a variety of channels (e.g., wireless, satellite), and

technologies (e.g., cellular phones, personal digital assistants) as they are developed and adopted.

E-learning can take the form of courses as well as modules and smaller learning objects. E-

learning may incorporate synchronous or asynchronous access and may be distributed

geographically with varied limits of time (Wentling, Waight, Fleur, Wang, and Kanfer, 2000).

Some of the definitions on e-learning are:

E-Learning is instruction that is delivered electronically, in part or wholly – via a Web browser,

through the Internet or an intranet, or through multimedia platforms such as CD-ROM or DVD

(Hall, 1997).

E-Learning is a structured, purposeful use of electronic system or computer in support of the

learning process (Allen, 2003).

E-learning is training delivered on a computer (including CD-ROM, Internet, or intranet) that is

designed to support individual learning or organizational performance goals (Clark and Mayer,

2003).

Web-based training [an alternate term for e-learning] is the integration of instructional practices

and Internet capabilities to direct a learner toward a specified level of proficiency in a specified

competency (Conrad, 2000).

Evolution to E-Learning

The E-learning models of today are analogous to the earlier distance learning approaches. The

roots of E-learning can be, therefore, traced back to the correspondence course model of

learning. One of the first correspondence programs in the U.S. was developed at Pennsylvania

State University in 1892, where the main mission was to provide higher education access to


32


remote and rural areas (Banas & Emory, 1998). In later years, the correspondence model was

further developed into a more robust distance education program with the integration of

technology. During its heyday in the 1920s and 1930s, school such as Penn State experimented

with the use of radio to broadcast their correspondence course lessons nationally. To keep pace

with the demand generated by the GI Bill in the 1950s, prestigious universities such as

Columbia, Chicago, and Penn State launched several distance education programs.

In recent years, the knowledge based economy has exhibited a pervasive and ever increasing

demand for innovative ways of providing education and this has led to dramatic changes in

learning technology as well as organizations. As the new economy requires more and more

people to acquire new knowledge and skills in an appropriate and effective manner, the

advancement of computer and networking technologies are providing a diverse means to support

learning in a more personalized, flexible, portable and on-demand manner. These radical and

sweeping changes in learning needs and technology have catapulted a revolutionary transition in

modern learning tools in the backdrop of the internet, commonly referred to as e-learning. In the

midst of this transition, corporations, government organizations, and educational institutions

have to keep pace with the e-learning phenomenon and make strategic decisions on how to adopt

e-learning techniques in their unique environments (Zhang et al., 2004).

Practitioners (Berry, 2000; Coné and Robinson, 2001; Rossett, 2002) and researchers (Brown

and Ford, 2002; Salas et al., 2002; Steele-Johnson and Hyde, 1997) agree that technological

advances are dramatically altering the training and development landscape. In particular, the

increased use of Internet technologies to deliver training has been heralded as the ‘e-Learning

Revolution’ (Galagan, 2000). Although precise estimates for growth in e-learning vary,

published estimates indicate that organizations have increased and will continue to increase the

use of technology to deliver training (Rossett, 2002).

History Timeline of E-Learning

E-learning evolved gradually through the phase of time. Computers and Internet are major roles

in bring e-learning to what it is today. Education has various standards in many countries and

regions. Software’s are designed to meet various these standards and academic curriculum.

Below we shall discuss a brief timeline on the evolution of e-learning.

Instructor Led Training (Pre 1983)


33


Prior to the availability of computers everywhere and with everyone, Instructor Led Training

(ILD) was the primary training method. ILT allowed students to focus on their studies and to

come in direct contact and interaction with their instructors and classmates. Drawbacks of ILT

were high costs and time. Students had to ensure to take time off from all other activities and be

enrolled into academic institutions and spend most of their time there. These also hiked and

educational expenses whereby it was not easy for everyone to afford these standards.

Multimedia Era (1984 to 1993)

The mid 1980’s and early 1990’s saw a much changing computer era. Most of the people started

to understand the importance of computers and it started to become a need rather than a luxury

product. Various operating systems like Windows, Macintosh for Apple Computers with their

easy to use Graphical User interface made it easy for the users to take a much more liking

towards computers. Applications also evolved with higher standards focusing on the ease of use

by the end-users. Microsoft’s Office package that included standards day-to-day applications like

MS-Word, MS-Excel, MS-PowerPoint, MS-Access and such added software’s made using

programs easier. Out of this applications such as PowerPoint became handier tool for e-learning.

CD-ROM’s made it easier for these programs to be carried and stored easily rather than carrying

multiple numbers of Floppy Disks. All this led to the advancement of the multimedia era.

With the use of multimedia applications and in an attempt to make training more transportable

and visually engaging, Computer Based Training (CBT) courses were delivered via CD-ROM.

This availability of anytime, anywhere via CD-ROM’s provide time and cost savings compared

to the ILT’s and gradually reshaped the training industry.

These too had its disadvantages. Despite these benefits and saving of time and cost, these courses

lacked the personal student-instructor interaction and dynamic presentations making the

experience somewhat less satisfying. Students started to find it slower and less engaging.

Introduction of Web - (1994 - 1999)

Introduction of the internet and the World Wide Web, gave insights into training providers to

explore its potentiality and find ways to improve training. The introduction of email, Web

browsers, HTML, media players, low fidelity streamed audio/video and simple Java began to

change the face of multimedia training.


34


CBT’s improved with text and graphics, but the graphics provided were of low quality. E-mails

provided standards whereby CBT’s and similar contents could be reached to students with ease,

but care had to be taken for these files to be of small file size due to the Internet bandwidth

capacity.

The Next Generation Web (2000 to now)

Various technology advancements have enhanced the way e-learning has shaped today.

Application like Java and other IP (Internet Protocol) applications help streamlining rich media.

Internet has evolved with high bandwidth lines enabling users to access large files easily and

with speed. This has led to a combination of ILT along with electronic highway. Today, live

instructor led training (ILT) via the Web can be combined with real-time mentoring, improved

learner services and up-to-date. This growth in Internet, Web enables instructors to deliver high

quality content directly to the users.

With the evolution of PDA (Personal Desktop Assistants) and Smartphone and wireless

technologies such as WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network), GPRS (Global Packet Radio

Service) web based contents and emails can be accessed from anywhere, anytime. These

enhanced training solutions provide greater cost savings, higher quality of learning experience

and are the educational standards are being revolutionize and changing to adopt e-learning as the

basis for many educations levels. (Al-Khashab H M, 2007)

Uses of E-Learning

E-Learning is used in everywhere and across all types of areas. Businesses – private or public

sectors, non-profit organizations, NGO’s (Non-governmental organizations) and educational

institutions. E-learning is deployed with the objective of enhancing the students knowledge and

cost saving. E-learning also helps to reach geographically dispersed groups, to provide

“anywhere-anytime” learning, to provide consistency, to ensure compliance with regulations,

and to improve productivity, to name just a few.

Businesses used e-learning for introduction or orientation learning of the organizations and their

products and services in addition to remedial training, to provide certifications, to promote

products and services, to support organizational initiatives and to keep up to date with the latest

software’s. Educational institutions used it for broadening the academic scope. E-learning can

provide much more references and learning scopes than the ones provided in the usual text


35


books. Class assignments can become assigned to the students and also submitted back using e-

learning portals. (Al-Khashab H M, 2007)

Attitudes

Previous researches found by and large a favorable attitude towards e-learning. For example,

Peters (1993) explored the possible benefits provided by e-learning. Results show great

conformity to deriving benefits of e-learning in both teaching and research. However, faculty

members in this study expressed certain reservations regarding the future implementation of e-

learning at the university; for example: “One day the university will receive all its learning

provision through e-learning”, “e-learning will help faculty members develop better teamwork

and inter-personal skills” and “Implementing e-learning at the university will make faculty

members flock to sophisticated technologies in teaching”. These attitudes reflect faculty

members’ lack of trust in one another’s ability in using advanced technologies in teaching as

well as in building up teamwork spirit in the workplace.


Description of the Study Area

The area selected for the study is Lucknow. The colleges were selected to conduct the research.

Sampling Technique

Random Sampling is used to choose the area of Lucknow from which colleges were selected; the

area of Lucknow selected for the sampling is Gomti Nagar and Alambagh. The selection of these

areas was made because most of the colleges are in these areas only. Further, Convenience

sampling is used to collect data from the students. The total Sample size for the study was

determined 400 respondents and the time frame to conduct this study was four months.

Data Collection

The data is collected on the basis of structured questionnaire. The questionnaire is prepared

considering the demographic profile such as educational level and gender of the students with

some basic questions related to the objectives of the study.

Analytical Tools and Techniques Employed

The analytical tools and techniques that will be employed in the research are:

One sample T- test was used to test the hypothesis.


36


One- Way ANOVA is used to measure the effect of gender and educational level on the

attitudes of the students.

Nominal Scale was used for few questions in the research.

The SPSS for windows will be used for calculating the collected data.

DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

The total of 327 questionnaires out of 400 questionnaires was received. The data was classified

on the basis of demographic variables such as age, education level and gender of the students.

The students were classified into the age groups of 10-20, 20-30 and 30-40.

Table 1: Age Group

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

10-20 138 42.2 42.2 42.2

20-30 143 43.7 43.7 85.9

30-40 46 14.1 14.1 100.0

Total 327 100.0 100.0

As shown in Table 1, it is found that maximum students falls in the age group of 20-30. The

strength of the students in this age group is 143 (43.7%) followed by the students in the age

group of 10-20 with the strength of 138 (42.2%).

Table 2: Gender

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Male 175 53.5 53.5 53.5

Female 152 46.5 46.5 100.0

Total 327 100.0 100.0

In Table 2 it is found that the number of male students is 175 which contribute to the 53.5% of

the total population. It is also found that female students’ strength is 152 which contribute to the

rest of the 46.5% of the total population of the study.


37


Table 3: Education Level

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

B. Tech 1 Year 110 33.6 33.6 33.6

B. Tech 2 Year 80 24.5 24.5 58.1

B. Tech 3 Year 81 24.8 24.8 82.9

B. Tech 4 Year 56 17.1 17.1 100.0

Total 327 100.0 100.0

Further Table 3 determines the analysis is done on the educational level of the students, that is, in

which year the students are, it is found that maximum students in the study was in B. Tech First

Year with the strength of 110 (33.6%) students which is one third of the total study population.

The number of students in B. Tech Second Year is 80 (24.5%), the number of students in B.

Tech Third Year is 81 (24.8%) and the lowest strength of the students is found in B. Tech Fourth

Year with the strength of 56 (17.1%) students.

Table 4: Attitude of First Year Students towards E- Learning

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Positive 69 21.1 62.7 62.7

Negative 41 12.5 37.3 100.0

Total 110 33.6 100.0

Missing System 217 66.4

Total 327 100.0

Now, the students are further classified on the basis of their attitude. As shown in Table 4, it is

found that maximum number of students from First Year falls under the classification of positive

attitude towards the e- learning the strength of the students under this class is 69 which is 62.7%

of the total students of First Year. The number of students under negative category is 41 which is

37.3% of the total population of B. Tech First Year.


38


Table 5: Attitude of Second Year Students towards E- Learning

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Positive 47 14.4 58.8 58.8

Negative 33 10.1 41.2 100.0

Total 80 24.5 100.0


Total 327 100.0

As shown in Table 5, it is found that maximum number of students from Second Year falls under

the classification of positive attitude towards the e- learning the strength of the students under

this classification is 47 which is 58.8% of the total students of Second Year. The number of

students under negative category is 33 which are 41.3% of the total population of B. Tech

Second Year.

Table 6: Attitude of Third Year Students towards E- Learning

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Positive 53 16.2 65.4 65.4

Negative 28 8.6 34.6 100.0

Total 81 24.8 100.0


Total 327 100.0

As shown in Table 6, it is found that maximum number of students from Third Year falls under


this classification is 53 which is 65.4% of the total students of Third Year. The number of


39


students under negative category is 28 which are 34.8% of the total population of B. Tech Third

Year.

Table 7: Attitude of Fourth Year Students towards E- Learning

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Positive 38 11.6 67.9 67.9

Negative 18 5.5 32.1 100.0

Total 56 17.1 100.0


Total 327 100.0

As shown in Table 7, it is found that maximum number of students from Fourth Year falls under


this classification is 38 which is 67.9% of the total students of Third Year. The number of

students under negative category is 18 which are 32.1% of the total population of B. Tech Fourth

Year.

HYPOTHESES TESTING

Table 8: One-Sample Test

Test Value = 1

t

df

Sig. (2-

tailed)

Mean

Difference

95% Confidence Interval

of the Difference

Lower Upper

First Year 13.544 109 .000 .63 .54 .72

Second Year 10.607 79 .000 .59 .48 .70

Third Year 12.306 80 .000 .65 .55 .76

Fourth Year 10.775 55 .000 .68 .55 .80


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Null Hypothesis- The Students has negative attitudes towards e-learning.

Alternate Hypothesis- The Students has positive attitudes towards e-learning.

E- Learning is a new system; therefore we predict that there would be the negative attitude of the

students towards E- Learning. Therefore, null hypothesis was framed for the study. To test the

hypothesis the statistical tool One- Sample T-test is done. The test does not support to the null

hypothesis that is students have negative attitude towards e- learning. As per Table 8, it is found

that the value of significance is .000 which is significant at the level of 5% of significance.

Therefore, null hypothesis that is the B. Tech students have negative attitude towards e-learning

can be rejected and alternate hypothesis students have positive attitude towards the e- learning

can be accepted.

Table 9: ANOVA (Effect of Gender on Attitude)

Sum of

Squares df

Mean

Square F Sig.

First Year Between Groups .620 1 .620 2.666 .105


Total 25.718 109

Second Year Between Groups 2.989 1 2.989 14.218 .000


Total 19.387 79

Third Year Between Groups .068 1 .068 .294 .589


Total 18.321 80

Fourth Year Between Groups 4.032 1 4.032 26.614 .000


Total 12.214 55


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Null Hypothesis- There is no effect of gender on the attitudes of students towards e-

learning.

Alternate Hypothesis- There is no effect of gender on the attitudes of students towards e-

learning.

The test of ANOVA is done to test the effect of gender on the attitudes of students towards e-

learning. The test does not support to the null hypothesis that is there is no effect of gender on

the attitudes of the students of B. Tech towards e- learning. As per Table 10, it is found that the

value of significance is .000 for the students of B. Tech, which is significant at the level of 5% of

significance. Therefore, null hypothesis that is the B. Tech students have negative attitude

towards e-learning can be rejected and alternate hypothesis students have positive attitude

towards the e- learning can be accepted.

Null Hypothesis- There is no effect of age group on the attitudes of students towards e-

learning.

Alternate Hypothesis- There is no effect of age group on the attitudes of students towards

e- learning.

The test of ANOVA is done to test the effect of age group on the attitudes of students towards e-

learning. The test does not support to the null hypothesis that is there is no effect of age group on

the attitudes of the students of B. Tech towards e- learning. As per Table 9, it is found that the

value of significance is .000 for second year and fourth year, which is significant at the level of

5% of significance. Therefore, null hypothesis that is the B. Tech students have negative attitude

towards e-learning can be rejected and alternate hypothesis students have positive attitude

towards the e- learning can be accepted.

Whereas; it is found that the value of significance is .105 for first year and .589 for the first year

and third year, which is not significant at the level of 5% of significance. Therefore, null

hypothesis that is the B. Tech students have negative attitude towards e-learning can be accepted

and alternate hypothesis students have positive attitude towards the e- learning can be rejected.


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Table 10: ANOVA (Effect of Age Group on Attitude)

Sum of

Squares df

Mean

Square F Sig.

First Year Between Groups 14.736 1 14.736 144.916 .000


Total 25.718 109

Second Year Between Groups 13.612 1 13.612 183.857 .000


Total 19.388 79

Third Year Between Groups 3.755 2 1.878 10.055 .000


Total 18.321 80

Fourth Year Between Groups 3.388 2 1.694 10.171 .000


Total 12.214 55

CONCLUSION

The statistical tools were used to determine the conclusion of the hypotheses framed. The tools

used for analysis of the data are- frequency distribution, which showed the percentage by which

the hypotheses has been accepted, one- sample t-test to test the hypotheses at 5% of significance

and ANOVA to analyze the effect of gender and age group on the attitude of B. Tech students

towards the e- learning.

The following points were concluding observation to satisfy the objectives of the study and

prove the hypotheses:

The total percentage of questionnaires responded by the respondents is 81.75% of the

total estimated population for the study.

The maximum number of students who responded the questionnaire falls in the category

of 20-30 years. More than 85% of respondents fall in the age group of 10-30 years.


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The majority of students are males; the total number of male respondents is 175 which is

53.5% of the total responded population.

Maximum number of respondents of B. Tech have positive attitude towards the E-

Learning.

The age group of B. Tech students of second year and fourth year effects positively on

the attitude towards the e- learning. That is, these students prefer technological

advancements in learning. The students of first year and third year do not prefer

technological advancement in learning.

The gender of B. Tech students effects positively on the attitude towards e-learning. That

means both male and female students prefer technology advancement in learning. That

means that there is no difference between the male students and female students in

adopting the technology in learning.

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The ASTD E-learning Handbook (pp. 3–18). New York: McGraw-Hill.

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Emerging themes in distance learning research and practice: Some food for thought.

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Intelligent tutoring systems and virtual reality. In M. A. Quinones and A. Ehrenstein

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Wenchieh Wu and Lan-Yin Hwang, 2010, The Effectiveness of E-learning for Blended

Courses in Colleges: A Multi-level Empirical Study, International Journal of Electronic

Business Management, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp.301-31

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THE THEORETICAL STUDY OF LYING AND MICROEXPRESSIONS

Abhijatya Dhar

Student of Psychology, AIBHAS

Amity University- Noida

&

Dr. Vandana Shriharsh

Assistant Professor, AIBHAS

Amity University- Noida

ABSTRACT

For centuries, we have been lying for our own advantage selfishly and seldom has it been used

for somebody else’s benefit. Looking at the modern definition of lying, the Oxford Advanced

Dictionary defines it as “the deliberate act of deviating from the truth”, but the question is- is that

all that there is to lying? Looking at the modern day researches, two inferences can be made

about lying: First, it will remain to be an inseparable part of our society since it is a defense

mechanism for almost all living beings, and second, all we can do is educate ourselves about the

loopholes of lying and eradicate the false beliefs regarding this topic. All the types of lying, the

emotions felt before and after a lie and their manifestations in various forms, need to be brought

in the public’s view. Since lying has a neurological basis attached to it, the awareness of the

manifestations of the emotions experienced during lying can be studied in order to understand it

fully, and protect ourselves from being duped. However, a deeper understanding of this

phenomenon & its effect on the human body needs to be made aware to the public perception.

INTRODUCTION

Since the very beginning of civilization, lying has been an integral part of it. Many a times, it has

helped various tribes to survive, to flourish. In the Holy Book of Bible, it is mentioned that Satan

is the father of lies, he was the first one to lie.

“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from

the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a


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lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (King James Bible, Cambridge

Ed.)

Since then, there have been many myths regarding signs of lying and its detection for example, a

liar will make less eye contact while telling a lie, but it’s a myth. People often make more eye

contact in order to see whether their lie has been believed or not. Many other such myths are

flying around and many a times these affect innocent people since they are believed to be liars.

Now to define the term “a lie- when one person intends to mislead another, doing so

deliberately, without having been explicitly asked to do so by the victim”- this definition was

given by Paul Ekman in his book “Telling lies” (Chapter 2, pg.28). Certain cultures have specific

display rules, which also sometimes are misinterpreted as signs of lying.

Darwin (1872) did not focus on deception. Only a few sentences in his Book “The Expression of

Emotions in Man & Animals” mentioned the issue. Certain very interesting questions were

raised of whether it is difficult to voluntarily inhibit the emotional expressions that are most

difficult to voluntarily fabricate. Another suggestion was that it would be possible to unmask a

fabricated expression by the absence of the difficult-to-voluntarily-generate facial actions. Still

another was that during emotion body movements could be more easily suppressed than facial

expression.

Lying as defined by Paul Ekman (1985) in his book, “Telling Lies” is when one person intends

to mislead another, doing so deliberately, without having been explicitly asked to do so by the

victim. He has described the various ways in which an individual lies and the factors affecting

the success rate of the lie. He has also mentioned in detail about the emotions felt at the time of a

lie and the micro-expression that accompany the lie. According to a recent study, a person lies

thrice in a ten-minute conversation on an average. The two most commonly used methods of

lying are concealment and falsifying. These are the two primary methods of lying and people

often choose concealment over falsifying until and unless they need to cover up their story.

There are other methods too, like misdirecting, the incorrect inference dodge, telling the truth

falsely and half concealment. In addition, there are two kinds of clues to deceit, leakage and

deception clues.

Now the second part of my topic, i.e. micro-expressions, to explain it I would first like to get you

acquainted with the definition of an expression. An expression is the manifestation of our

http://kingjbible.com/john/8.htm

http://kingjbible.com/john/8.htm


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thoughts, feelings, emotion and our attitude towards a specific object or anything for that matter.

These expressions vary from feeling to feeling and vary in their intensity in the same feeling.

There are 6 basic emotions that Darwin postulated and they are- joy, sorrow, surprise, fear,

disgust, anger and one was later added, that being contempt. These 7 emotions are universal in

nature and are found round the globe, in all civilizations. Their mode of expression is also

universal, whether in an urban area or in rural areas, tribes or big cities, they look the same on

each individual. They also look similar on most primates.

Now expressions are of 3 types, macro- expressions, micro-expressions and subtle expressions.

Macro-expressions are those, which typically last for ½ second to 4 seconds, and they can be

easily seen in our daily interactions with people. Micro-expressions are those that last less than ½

a second and they are experienced when people are consciously or unconsciously trying to

conceal or repress what they are feeling. Moreover, there is a difference between feelings and

emotions, most people mix up the two. The difference is that a feeling can come from the

outside world interacting with any of our 5 senses. Emotions are technically a state of

consciousness in which various internal sensations are experienced. However, whatever emotion

we experience or whatever we are feeling right now is visible on the face. It is a common ground

to express our emotions as well as feelings. Moreover, according to this, people will even resort

to lying in order to protect themselves, or to fulfill their selfish needs.

Now the relationship between lies and micro-expressions is also unbreakable since lying causes

some neurological changes that are manifested in various ways, the face, body, voice, etc. It even

may be in the content of our speech or the way we speak. There is nothing such as a perfect lie

but it only depends on the lie catcher’s skill. Neither do all lies succeed nor do all lies fail.

Now the reason why I chose this topic was to see why some lies fail while the others succeed,

and cause lies as I mentioned earlier are an inseparable part of the society and understanding

them better would just help us in leading our lives in a more fruitful way. There are lies that can

cause irreparable damage to our lives and understanding them in a more detailed manner would

just help us in protecting ourselves from them, if we are already prepared, we may be able to spot

a lie, the chances of us getting hurt or deceived are reduced.


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Citing one of the examples from Paul Ekman’s book “Telling Lies” (Chapter 1, pg. 15) where

he explains some of the biggest lies of the past, which led to major events that managed to create

history.

One of the biggest lies told in the past was that spoken by Hitler to Chamberlain, which went

undetected and became the reason for World War II. If the deceit would have been detected and

Hitler’s lie would have been unmasked, World War II could have been avoided. This incident

tells us how crucial lie detecting is, to protect oneself from being deceived.

Other than these, there have always been so many myths about the signs of lying, which I wanted

to find out for myself and I did. The basic fact about lie detection is, never take any one sign of

deception as a sign of lying and always tries to figure out why and what the person is trying to

conceal. People have always believed that if someone shifts his gaze repeatedly and does not

make much eye contact when having a conversation is lying, but it is a myth. In addition, the fact

that lying is always referred to in a pejorative manner, which it should not be. Just so many

aspects have to be taken into consideration while looking for signs of deception. It is not magic

and neither is it a myth, it is a clearly defined science with researches to back it up. Lies are also

of various types and everybody indulges in them every now and then, hence it becomes very

important for us to be prepared and to be thorough since it can be very risky if you misjudge a

truthful person.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The previous studies done in this field in order to find a relation between micro -

expressions and lying are recent but its root goes back in time. The expression of

emotions in man and animals by Charles Darwin has explained the way humans

express discomfort through their body language, which is a result of discomforting

emotions. He has also stated that these bodily movements are hard wired into our

systems since they are a result of evolution. Our certain habi ts and mannerisms

have changed, the others have been molded to fit the society to be acceptable, but

we cannot control the bodily changes that take place within us when we feel scared

or happy or threatened and when a situation such as this occurs, it show s in our

faces and our bodies. Certain bodily changes occur which are controlled by our


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autonomous nervous system and are beyond are control. Whenever we come in

contact with a person who has authority over us, we tend to behave in a certain

manner, when we are faced with a threat, we behave in a different way depending

whether we can overpower the threat causing agent or do we need to be submissive

and our bodily changes occur accordingly. The most basic and eminent example of

this kind of behavior would be the fight or flight response. Whenever we face a

threat, either the fight or the flight response would set in but what many people

don’t know is that it shows in our faces and accordingly in the changes occurring in

the body. There are over 44 muscles on the face, which participate to create over a

1000 facial expressions.

Allan Pease (1981) and his book on body language suggests that any gesture will

feel comfortable when you have the corresponding attitude, i.e. if you have a

negative, defensive or nervous attitude the corresponding position will feel

comfortable.

The most recent research has been conducted by Paul Ekman and Dr. David

Matsumoto which was to prove the universality of emotions and there

manifestations all across the world. Paul Ekman and Friesen conducted researches

on lying and micro-expressions and found out that there is a strong relation between

the two. Paul Ekman’s book Telling Lies tells us all there is to know about lying

and micro-expressions and how to catch a liar. It includes the most recent

researches. One very important fact that have been highlighted in the book is that

micro-expressions only tell us if some emotion is being concealed, now whether

that person is lying or not is a separate matter and lying should be taken as the last

option. Paul Ekman also suggests that certain bodily movements are a dead

giveaway of attempts at concealment while others are not but as a precautionary

measure, he suggests that none of the signs should be studied in isolation. One more

point, which is brought forward in their research, was that if you keep telling the

same lie repeatedly, there would come a point when you start believing the lie and

stop showing any signs of deception.


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New neuro-imaging study suggests that being dishonest inv olves activity in

control-related brain networks. The study is published in Proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences, and was led by Joshua Greene, assistant professor of psychology in the

Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, along with Joe Paxton, a graduate student in

psychology. According to studies, 65-95% of most messages are communicated nonverbally. Of

this 65-95%, most leakage occurs in the face. Micro-expressions are only one type of nonverbal

communication and can be helpful in detecting deception. However, a recent empirical

study conducted by Warren et al and published in the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior suggests

that subtle expressions, not micro-expressions, were positively correlated with lie detection. This

research suggests that subtle expression training is perhaps the next step in learning how to spot

liars.

Identifying the smile of enjoyment

Fig 1.1 Source : Photographs by Duchenne included in Darwin’s The Expression of the

Emotions in Man and Animals. (A) Smile produced when zygomatic major muscle was

electrically stimulated. (B) Smile generated when subject was told a joke. The orbicularis oculi

muscle was stimulated in addition to the zygomatic major.

The idea that actions that are difficult to make voluntarily will leak otherwise-concealed

emotions (Darwin’s inhibition hypothesis) is logically related to Duchenne’s proposal about how

to distinguish a smile of enjoyment from non-enjoyment smiling. Duchenne compared the smile

produced when he electrically stimulated the zygomatic major muscle (FIG. 1.1 A) with a smile

generated when he told the man a joke (FIG.1.1B). The smile in response to a joke included not

just the zygomatic major, but also the orbicularis oculi muscle (which orbits the eye, pulling the

cheeks up, producing crow’s feet, and slightly lowering the brows). Without orbicularis oculi,

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http://www.springerlink.com/content/e614008l03405471/


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Duchenne said, “ no joy could be painted on the face truthfully, it is only brought into play by a

genuinely agreeable emotion. Its inertia in smiling unmasks a false friend.” Most people cannot

voluntarily make this action. Those who can do it usually cannot do so on both sides of their face

simultaneously; although once they have produced it on each side of their face, they can hold the

contraction on both sides.

Darwin noted that the best sign that the muscle is not active is the failure of the eyebrows to

lower slightly. This implies what we have found: that it is not the entire orbicularis oculi whose

absence unmasks the false friend, only the outer portion of this muscle—what is called the

orbicularis oculi, pars lateralis. In discussing the smile that lacks the orbicularis oculi, Duchenne

said: “You cannot always exaggerate the significance of this kind of smile, which often is only a

simple smile of politeness, just as it can cover treason. …We politely smile with our lips at the

same time as being malcontented or when the soul is sad”. Darwin tested Duchenne’s proposal

by showing FIGURE 1 to observers. He reported that only FIGURE 1B, which includes the

orbicularis oculi, was said to show happiness.

In the last decade, a number of studies have supported Duchenne’s distinction. Fox and Davidson

found more Duchenne smiles in 10-month-old infants when their mother and more other forms

of smiling when a stranger approached the infants. When they combined Duchenne and non-

Duchenne smiles, the differences between approach by mother and stranger disappeared. They

also reported that only Duchenne smiles were associated with left frontal EEG activation, the

pattern of cerebral activity repeatedly found in positive affect. This EEG pattern of cerebral

activity was found in adults watching amusing films only when they simultaneously showed

Duchenne smiles. And when Ekman and Davidson selected subjects who could voluntarily

contract the orbicularis oculi, pars lateralis (a minority of people) and asked them to make a

Duchenne smile and a non-Duchenne smile, the EEG pattern of cerebral activity associated with

enjoyment was generated only by their Duchenne smiles. Many other studies by investigators in

a number of countries have also found differences between the two forms of smiling (many are

reported in Ekman & Rosenberg). Clearly, the distinction between Duchenne smiles and other

forms of smiling based simply on the presence or absence of a muscle that most people cannot

activate voluntarily (the orbicularis oculi, pars medialis) is powerful. Frank, Ekman, and Friesen

addressed this matter by asking observers to judge whether each smile they saw was a true,


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genuine expression of enjoyment or a false or social expression. The smiles were drawn from

two prior experiments, the one described earlier in which women lied or told the truth about how

they felt and a study in which subjects sat alone watching amusing or unpleasant films. When the

observers saw each smile one at a time, they were correct only 56% of the time, somewhat better

than chance. When they were shown two smiles of each person, one a Duchenne smile and one,

which was, not, accuracy was significantly higher, with a mean accuracy of 74%. Neither

condition—judging single smiles or judging pairs of smiles—very closely resembles real-life

contexts, in which smiles are seen embedded in other behaviors, including speech, voice, and

gesture. Nevertheless, this experiment does substantiate that Duchenne smiling can be

recognized in real time.

Ekman, Hager, and Friesen verified this difference in symmetry. In one study they found that

when children were asked to imitate facial movements, they produced asymmetrical facial

actions; while the spontaneous smiles they showed during the task were symmetrical. The

symmetry of the expressions shown by adults watching pleasant and unpleasant films was

consistent with the children’s results. Their smiles in response to watching an amusing film were

nearly always (96%) symmetrical. Their expressions that included facial actions associated with

negative emotions shown when watching unpleasant films were also for the most part

symmetrical (75%).

Hager and Ekman extended the earlier findings by comparing the facial actions shown in

response to a very loud noise (startle) with deliberately performed actions, and with a smile made

in response to an amusing event. Spontaneous smiles were more symmetrical than requested

smiles. The action of the orbicularis oculi, pars lateralis (the sign of genuine enjoyment identified

by Duchenne described earlier) was also more symmetrical when it accompanied a spontaneous

smile as compared to when it was deliberately performed. Stretching the lips horizontally was

more symmetrical when it occurred in response to the loud noise than when it was deliberately

performed.

How long an expression lasts?

Ekman and Friesen found that spontaneous expressions usually lasted between 2/3 of a second

and 4 seconds. Their observation was limited to spontaneous smiles shown when subjects had

watched pleasant films. Hess and Kleck replicated this observation, finding a difference in


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duration between spontaneous smiles and deliberately posed smiling. Frank et al. further

confirmed this difference in duration, examining Duchenne smiles and non-Duchenne smiles

shown in a sample of people watching a pleasant film and in a sample of people who described

their feelings as they watched a pleasant film. They found that there was less variability in the

duration of Duchenne smiling and that most such smiles lasted, as predicted, between ½ and 4

seconds.

Smooth Expressions

Ekman and Friesen observed another difference in timing between spontaneous and deliberate

expressions. In deliberate expressions the onset is often abrupt, the apex (moments of maximum

contraction) held too long, and the offset (the period from the apex to the disappearance of the

expression) is either abrupt or in other ways appears irregular rather than smooth. Frank et al.

confirmed these observations by contrasting the timing of Duchenne smiles and non-Duchenne

smiles shown in subjects watching an amusing film alone and in subjects talking about their

feelings as they watched an amusing film. There is no single source within demeanor that is

completely trustworthy,

impervious to efforts to disguise; nor is there a source that should be ignored because it is

completely untrustworthy. Darwin rightly noted how easily “… words may be falsified.” It is

easy not only to falsify what is said but also to conceal information from speech; yet we have

found repeatedly in studies with our experimental materials and in examining real-life cases that

words themselves provide important clues that a person may be lying. It would be a mistake not

to scrutinize very carefully what people say. Some of the verbal

clues are topic specific—that is, are useful if they are not part of the person’s usual behavioral

repertoire but instead appear only when a specific topic is discussed. Hesitations, changes in

emphasis, speech errors, indirect or distancing language (e.g., “that woman”) are all topic-

specific clues. Other clues, such as slips of the tongue, implausible statements, contradictions

between what is said at different times, and statements that can be incontrovertibly contradicted

by other facts, stand on their own. Taking into account not only what a person says, but also the

sound of the voice, the expression on the face, gesture, and posture is of critical importance.


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Clues that an expression is false:

False Emotion Behavioural clue

Fear absence of reliable forehead expression

Sadness absence of reliable forehead expression

Happiness eye muscles not involved

Negative emotions absence of sweating, changed respiration,

Or increased manipulators

Any emotion Asymmetrical expression, onset too abrupt,

Offset too abrupt or jagged, location in

speech incorrect.

Source: Telling Lies, Paul Ekman ( Table 3, Appendix)

DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION

My topic that is lying and micro-expressions are two separate topics. Micro-expressions being

one and lying the other. However, there has been a long relationship between the two. Haggard

and Isaacs first discovered micro-expressions in 1966. It is majorly based on Charles Darwin’s

book The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals, which deserves a special mention here

since Darwin worked on the universal nature of facial expressions and the muscles involved in

those facial expressions. Moreover, these very micro-expressions betray us when we lie, we can

try to cover our feelings with fake smiles, but involuntary face muscles reveal these hidden

emotions. There are many factors, which can affect the possibility of the lie going undetected

one of the major factors being stakes. Reason being there are certain emotions, which we

experience when we lie. They are detection apprehension, deception guilt and duping delight. All

these can give away a liar since they are all forms of leakage or deception clues and the higher

the stakes, the stronger will be the intensity of these emotions, which would make it more

difficult to conceal them and the chances of those emotions being leaked, are increased.

Now comes the various types of lies, concealment, falsifying, misdirecting, telling the truth

falsely, incorrect inference dodge and half concealment.

Concealment includes withholding some information on purpose without saying anything untrue.

Falsifying includes an additional step of presenting false information and withholding the true


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information. Telling the truth falsely is admitting the truth with such exaggeration or humor that

the target remains uninformed or misled. Half concealment is a way of lying in which only a part

of the information is admitted of being true in order to deflect the targets attention/interest in

what is being concealed. The incorrect inference dodge is one in which you tell truth but in such

a way that implies the opposite of what is being said.

However, there are certain pitfalls, which have to be kept in mind while trying to detect

deception. They are the Brokaw Hazard and the Othello Error. The Brokaw hazard is when any

behavior that is a useful clue to deceit will for some people be a usual part of their behavior. The

possibility of misjudging such people is known as the Brokaw hazard named after Tom Brokaw.

The Othello error is just the opposite. Some people become emotional when suspected of lying

and the failure to recognize that fact leads to the Othello error.

Now there are clues to deceit everywhere, in our voice, our body, our face and our words. In the

body, there are some very specific movements, which have been identified as emblems,

illustrators and manipulators. Emblems have a very precise meaning, known to everyone within

a cultural group. For example, the shoulder shrug stands for I do not know, or the two fingers

forming a V shape meaning peace or victory. Illustrators are the actions that illustrate speech, for

example, when we move our hands to emphasize on the word being spoken or when we forget a

word and we snap our fingers looking here and there as if searching for the word. Manipulators

include all those movements in which one part of the body grooms, massages, rubs, holds,

pinches, picks, scratches or otherwise manipulates another body part. It just so happens that

whenever we lie, our body tends to secrete certain signals, which force a person to indulge in

such an action, but manipulators vary for various people. There are some changes in the body,

which are beyond our control, i.e. the autonomic changes that occur when we experience any

such strong emotions such as fear or disgust. There are some muscles, which are characterized as

Reliable muscles because they are not available for use in false expressions. One very important

aspect of deception detection, which Paul Ekman states, is that the judgments should be based on

the change in the suspects’ behavior.

Paul Ekman, Wallace V. Friesen and Joseph C. Hager have together developed FACS I.e. the

facial action coding system that gives us the full insight to all the facial actions, twitches and the

muscles responsible for it. It teaches how to recognize the action units responsible for the facial


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action manifested. Since Paul Ekman’s theory on universality of emotions stands true, that

means disgust would look the same on everybody regardless of age, sex, caste, religion, or

nationality. Each expression on the face has distinctive facial muscle involvement and each

muscle has a much-defined action, which it is responsible for. Hence, if we know how to

recognize the action units, we can be able to tell if somebody is concealing or falsifying, the

reason for that being the three strong emotions, which we feel before and/or after lying. Now all

these action units have been explained and given names, an extensive system for scoring them

has been provided in the FACS, and each action unit has its constituent action units. The Upper

Face Action Units has its own constituent action units such as AU 1, AU 2, AU 4, AU 5, AU 6,

AU 7, AU 8, AU 43, AU 45, and AU 46, each of these action units stand for a very specifically

defined action. Then there are combinations of these action units generating other diverse

emotions and varying the intensity of the emotions felt. The importance of understanding these

are numerous and can prove to be helpful. Sometimes our elders get angry at us or raise their

voice to scare us and make us feel that they are serious in their threats and are very upset with us,

but it is just fake anger or disapproval, they are not really angry but act to be angry so that we

realize our mistake or take them seriously.

There is no single source within demeanor that is completely trustworthy, impervious to efforts

to disguise; nor is there a source that should be ignored because it is completely untrustworthy.

Darwin rightly noted how easily “words may be falsified.” It is easy not only to falsify what is

said but also to conceal information from speech; yet we have found repeatedly in studies with

our experimental materials and in examining real-life cases that words themselves provide

important clues that a person may be lying. It would be a mistake not to scrutinize very carefully,

what people say. Some of the verbal clues are topic specific—that is, are useful if they are not

part of the person’s usual behavioral repertoire but instead appear only when a specific topic is

discussed. Hesitations, changes in emphasis, speech errors, indirect or distancing language (e.g.,

“that woman”) are all topic-specific clues. Other clues, such as slips of the tongue, implausible

statements, contradictions between what is said at different times, and statements that can be

incontrovertibly contradicted by other facts, stand on their own. Taking into account not only

what a person says, but also the sound of the voice, the expression on the face, gesture, and


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posture is of critical importance. Apart from micro expressions, there are seven characteristics

that will be of help in distinguishing voluntary from involuntary facial expressions:

(1) Morphology: This is best documented for enjoyment; but the absence of any of the reliable

movements should raise questions about whether the expression is voluntary rather than

involuntary, and the presence of the reliable actions should suggest that an expression is genuine.

(2) Symmetry: While tedious to measure, and not likely to be detectable in real time, asymmetry

is a mark that the expression is deliberate.

(3) Duration: Very brief (1½s) and very long (5s) duration of expression should occur more often

with deliberate than spontaneous expressions.

(4) Speed of onset: Although this varies with social circumstances, the onset of a deliberate

expression will more often be abrupt than that of a spontaneous expression.

(5) Ballistic trajectory: The expression will appear smooth over its trajectory, without a stepped

or jagged offset, if it is spontaneous.

(6) Cohesion: The expression will fit with what is being said simultaneously.

Source: Ekman, Paul. (1985) Telling Lies: Clues to Deceit in the Marketplace, Politics, and

Marriage

REFERENCES

Darwin, C. (1872). The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals: Oxford

University Press

Ekman, P. (1985). Telling Lies: Clues to Deceit in the Marketplace, Politics, and

Marriage, New York: Times Books (US): (W. W. Norton & Company, 1985)

Ekman, P. (1998). What the Face Reveals: Oxford University Press

Ekman, P. Friesen, W. (2003). Unmasking the Face: A Guide to Recognizing Emotions

from Facial Expressions

Ekman, P. Friesen, W. & Ancoli, S. (1980) Facial signs of emotional experience. Journal

of personality and social psychology

Lieberman, D. (1998). Never be lied to again, How to Get the Truth in 5 Minutes or

Less in Any Conversation or Situation, New York: St. Martin’s Griffin

Navarro, J. (2008). What Every Body is Saying: HarperCollins e-books


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Pease, A. (1981) Body Language: How to read others thoughts by their gestures, London:

Sheldon Press Viewed on – 17 May 2011

http://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug04/detecting.aspx Viewed on – 17 May 2011

http://face-and-emotion.com/dataface/emotion/expression.jsp Viewed on – 17 May 2011

http://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug04/detecting.aspx Viewed on – 17 May 2011

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060505161952.htm Viewed on – 17 May

2011

http://www.spyingforlying.com/2010/03/dr-david-matsumoto-how-to-tell-lie-with.html

Viewed on – 17 May 2011

http://wn.com/microexpression

http://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug04/detecting.aspx

http://face-and-emotion.com/dataface/emotion/expression.jsp

http://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug04/detecting.aspx

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060505161952.htm

http://www.spyingforlying.com/2010/03/dr-david-matsumoto-how-to-tell-lie-with.html

http://wn.com/microexpression


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HOW TO SOLVE CASE STUDY

Jatin Tekriwal

London College of Business and Sciences,

London, United Kingdom

Case Study Technique

A case study is a precise analysis of circumstances which have taken place in any organization or

institution. The actual events which must have happened in an organization could play a vital

role in moulding the description or sometimes the explanation can be inspired from several parts

of author’s experience. You will be required to analyze the organization charts, tables or any

other kind of data which implies to the previous data if in case it has been wrong. Students need

to support their answers with the arguments and analysis.

It’s preferred to participate actively for the students rather than to study passively. The treatment

of case studies in traditional business school can be categorized in the following parts-

1. The students comprehend the case on their own and write their comments on the

discovered situation. It implies to individual analysis.

2. Along with their team members the student can discuss the case.

3. Now in classroom session all the different groups formed will discuss their ideas and it

will be tested against each other. In this kind of session the professor’s role will be vital

as he will be a driving motivational source for the students to develop their own ideas.

4. Eventually the professor will summarize the fundamental learning points that came out

from the case.

Now in the above mentioned points, individual analysis (point 1) plays a pivotal role in the

treatment of case studies. In this step the students need to recognize the relevant principles and

concepts from the course. To create references one need to be aware of all the technical issues

pertaining to that industry or organization so as to avoid any loopholes.

Elements 2 and 3 don’t serve the purpose much as the student involvement and participation in

the discussion is generally less than expected. Sometimes majority of the students overtake the


61


small group of students in debate and discussion and not everybody gets an equal chance to

speak.

Studying theoretically is different practicing them in real life. In real life sometimes there is no

solution to few cases but only there are various opinions. The techniques learnt while studying

can be applied in real life that you have studied in the course. Few techniques that can be used to

understand the case study-

Annotation is the best way to understand and categorized the material as it highlights the

required area of text. By highlighting the desired text and commenting on it will make the

text conspicuous and will make the problems precise. This way we can easily concentrate

on the problems of the case study.

This method now leads to 2nd

technique in which we need to study and read the case

study several times but with different priorities and focus on their mind. The more you

will read the material the more in depth knowledge we’ll have of all the points of the

material. The first reading should be quick and further reading can be done keeping

different criteria and agenda in mind so that all the time the different conclusion comes

up.

These techniques are very useful in practical approach of any case study of an organization.

Following the key elements of the simple techniques can help the students to solve the case study

and apply their theoretical concepts in the real life situations. Hence, one should conduct their

reading and analysis with respect to the questions being asked for so that they directly hit on the

points that has been focused upon.


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GUIDELINES FOR THE AUTHOR

PAPER SUBMISSION

Prepare the manuscript in Microsoft Word format in Times New Roman font using a font size of

12. Title shall be in a font size 14, bold face capitals. All section titles in the manuscript shall be

in font size 12, bold face capitals. Subtitles in each section shall be in font size 12, bold face

lower case. Standard International Units could be used throughout the text. Pages should be

numbered, manuscript should be starting with the title page and the text should be arranged in

the following order: Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology/

Material & Methods, Results and conclusion, References, Figure and Table.

Complete file should be submitted Via -mail to: [email protected] or

[email protected]

TITLE

The title must be as brief as possible, comprehensive and descriptive. Each author must provide

their full name including their forenames and surname followed by their address in normal face

lower case. The Corresponding Author of the manuscript must be marked with an asterisk, and

should be listed first. In addition the corresponding author must include telephone, fax and E-

mail address at the bottom left corner of the title page. If any of the co-authors are from different

organizations, their addresses too should be mentioned and indicated using numbers after their

names.

ABSTRACT

Should start after the title page and should present the reason of the study, the main findings, and

principal conclusions, not more than 300 words.

INTRODUCTION

Should start on a new page and should clearly introduce the topic and subtopics thereof in

subsequent. Give the brief paragraph about the objective of present investigation/work.

mailto:[email protected]


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METHODOLOGY/ MATERIAL & METHODS

Should be clearly mentioned about the different methodology adopted for the investigation with

proper citations.

RESULT & CONCLUSION

The results and conclusion should be precise with discussion and be clear in presenting the data.

It may be supported and presented by the graphs, figures and tables.

REFERENCES

Journals :

Meredith, P. A., Elliott, H. L., Clin. Pharmacokinet. 1992, 22, 22 – 31

Yamamoto, K., Hagino, M., Kotaki, H., Iga, T., J. Chromatogr. B 1998, 720, 251 – 255

Books:

Myers, R. H., Montgomery, D., Response Surface Methodology, Wiley, New York 1995

Chapter in a book:

Crowther, J. B., in: Ahuja, S., Scypinski, S. (Eds.), Handbook of Modern Pharmaceutical

Analysis, Academic Press, New York 2001, pp. 415 – 443

astitva international journal of commerce, management and social sciences

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