Theories of planned behavior: Smoking

Theories of planned behavior: Smoking To examine if the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) predict smoking behavior, 35 data sets (N= 267,977) have been synthesized, containing 219 effect sizes between the model variables using a meta-analytic structural equation modeling approach (MASEM). Consistent with the TPBs predictions, 1) smoking behavior was related to smoking intentions (weighted mean r =.30), 2) intentions were based on attitudes (weighted mean r =.16) and subjective norms (weighted mean r =.20). Consistent with TPBs hypotheses, perceived behavioral control was related to smoking intentions (weighted mean r = -.24) and behaviors (weighted mean r =-.20) and it contribute significantly to cigarette consumption. The strength of associations, however, was influenced by studies and participants characteristics. Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in western countries. Despite the constant reduction in smoking prevalence among adults over the last 20 years in developed countries, smoking rates have not decreased among young people, and the highest youth smoking rates can be found in Central and Eastern Europe. In an attempt to understand the psychosocial determinants of smoking initiation and maintenance, a variety of social cognitive models have been applied. One of the most influential theories predicting smoking behavior, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) 1has been used both for conducting a wide range of empirical research on smoking behavior antecedents and for designing many theory-based intervention programs to reduce tobacco consumption. An increasing number of empirical studies have examined this model in relation to smoke and the variability of results suggests that a quantitative integration of this literature would prove valuable. Up to the present, various quantitative reviews of the TPB have been performed but centered in other behavioral outcomes, as exercise, 2 condom use 3 and others. Hence, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the success of TPB as a predictor of smoking behavior through meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM), involving the techniques of synthesizing correlation matrices and fitting SEM as suggested by Viswesvaran and Ones. 4 The TPB, an extension of the Theory of Reasoned Action,5 incorporates both social influences and personal factors as predictors, specifying a limited number of psychological variables that can influence a behavior, namely 1) intention; 2) attitude; 3) subjective norm (SN); and 4) perceived behavioral control (PBC). 1 First, subjective norms are conceptualized as the pressure that people perceive from important others to execute a behavior. Second, peoples positive or negative evaluations of their performing a behavior are conceptualized as other predictor of intention (attitudes). Third, PBC represents ones evaluation about the easy or difficulty of adopting the behavior and it is assumed to reflect the obstacles that one encountered in past behavioral performances. Finally, attitudes, SN and PBC are proposed to influence behavior through their influence on intentions, which summarize persons motivation to act in a particular manner and indicate how hard the person is willing to try and how much time and effort he or she is willing to devote in order to perform a behavior. 6 The TPB has been applied through a relevant amount of primary studies and their predictive utility has been proved meta-analytically both for a wide range of behaviors 7, 6 and for specific health risky or health protective behaviors. 3, 2 These previous meta-analyses, however, have neither examined how useful the TPB is to predict smoking behavior, nor the overall structure of the model applied to tobacco consumption. Hence, some concerns remain relating to TPB and its utility to predict smoking behavior that deserves further examination through MASEM. Firstly, a weakness of the SN-intention relation has been found by previous meta-analysis 7 compared with attitude-intention and PBC-intention associations. It has been suggested that this lack of association indicates that intentions are influenced primarily by personal factors 6. In spite of, some primary studies finding strong beta values, ranging from .44 to .62, for attitude on smoking intention such as Hanson, 8 while others founded values near .18 or .19. 9, 10 At the same time, although researchers have theorized about the importance of PBC in this domain, regarding health-risky behaviors, the correlation between PBC and behavior had sometimes been disappointing. 3 One possible explanation is that PBC may not capture actual control. Other is that risky behaviors performed in social contexts may be more determined by risky-conducive circumstances than by personal factors. 11 Moreover, primary studies on smoking behavior have found contrasting results for PBC -behavior, such as r =.55 12 or r =.06. 13 Based on these discrepant findings, we proposed, as a first purpose of this review, to test the strength of relationships between TPB constructs applied to smoking behavior. Secondly, in order to clarify the influence of moderator variables and to provide further explanation for the variability on the effect sizes (ES) between primary studies, some studies and participants characteristics may be taken into account. Ajzen and Fishbein 5 argued that intention and behavior should be measured as close in time as possible to the behavior. In spite of that, primary studies on smoking behavior 14, 15 have found that beta values for intention- behavior association have been maintained during six months (à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¢=.38), nine months (à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¢=.35) and a year (à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¢=.35). Thus, it is important to quantitatively review the moderator effect of time interval on strength of TPB constructs. It has been recognized that culture provides a social context that affects prevalence of certain behaviors. Moreover, some studies have compared results of TPB applied to smoking behavior by using diverse ethnic groups into the USA, such as Hanson, 8 while a great amount of primary studies have expanded their applicability to different cultural contexts. 16, 15, 10 These studies have revealed contradictory results, such as for Puerto-Ricans and non-Hispanic whites, SN was not found as a significant predictor of intention, 8 while it was significant for African-American teenagers, or beta values for SN-behavior ranging from à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¢=.20 for UK samples 17 to à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¢ =.43 for Netherlanders students. 18 Hence, because of cultural differences with respect to the SN-outcomes association, there is a need to meta-analytically examine the moderator effect of culture. Ajzen and Fishbein 5 and Ajzen 19 also recommended scale correspondence of measures for intention to properly predict behavior. However, meta-analysis on TPB applied to exercise behavior have found that only 50% of examined studies had scale correspondence, 20 and that ES was the strongest for the intention-behavior association when studies had scale correspondence. 2 Based on these previous findings, we contend that a thorough examination of moderator effect of scale correspondence on strength of smoking intention and behavior relationships is needed. Research indicates that teenage years are associated with heightened sensitivity to SN 6 and differences have been found in previous meta-analyses between age groups regarding their intention -exercise behavior association. 2 At the same time, only one study has tested gender differences applying TPB to cigarette smoking, 13 founding that the model fitted better among female students. Despite the fact that no consistent evidence has been found relating to the moderator effect of age and gender on the TPB constructs association, we state that an exploratory analysis would be advisable. Thirdly, while previous studies on TPB on smoking behavior had used stepwise regression analyses, more recent ones apply SEM or path-analyses. When all TPB relationships were tested simultaneously, same patterns would change. For instance, after controlling the influence of intention, the PBC- behavior association would turn to negligible values (à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¢=.05), such as Albarracà ­n et al 3 proved for condom use. Moreover, based on the fruitful results of meta-analysis obtained in many research domains, 3, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 it can be beneficial to use meta-analytic structural equation modeling techniques (MASEM) in testing causal models, such as some authors suggested. 4, 26 Based on these methodological and conceptual issues, the main objective of this meta-analysis was threefold. The first objective was to test the strength of the relationships between the TPB constructs with the smoking behavior. Specifically, we hypothesized: (1) large ES for intention-behavior, PBC-intention, PBC-behavior, and attitude -intention; (2) moderate ES for SN- intention; (3) larger ES for intention-behavior than for PBC-behavior and (4) larger ES for PBC-intention and SN-intention than for attitude-intention. The second purpose was to test the influence of moderator variables on the relationships between the TPB constructs. Specifically, we proposed (5) larger ES for attitude- behavior, PBC- behavior, SN-behavior, and intention-behavior when measures have been taken simultaneously; (6) larger ES when the time interval was shorter; (7) the largest ES for SN-intention and SN- behavior when participants belong to a collectivist culture, coded as Others into the category orig in of the sample; (8) larger ES for attitude- intention, SN-intention, PBC-intention and intention -behavior when constructs have been measured with scale correspondence; and (9) mean age of the sample, percentage of males and year of publication would moderate the relationships among TPB constructs. The third purpose was to test the predictive utility of TPB on smoking behavior through MASEM analyses. Specifically, we hypothesized that: (10) intention and PBC will predict smoking behavior; (11) attitude, PBC, and SN will predict intention and (12) intention will be a stronger predictor of behavior than PBC. Method Literature search In order to locate relevant studies, we conducted a computerized bibliographic search of the PsycInfo, MedLine, ERIC, using the terms smoke, smoking behavior, nicotine, tobacco consumption, and TPB as keywords. We also conducted a manual search of journals that regularly published smoking behavior research. Descendent searches have been conducted based on the references section of retrieved studies specifically previous TPB meta-analyses including multiple behavioral outcomes- and some authors have been contacted to obtain unpublished papers. This processes resulted in 52 studies retrieved in full text to further screening. Inclusion and exclusion criteria A study was considered for this meta-analysis if it met the following inclusion criteria: (1) the study had to report quantitative research on TPB applied to smoking behavior; (2) the study had to report a Pearson correlation coefficient between TPB constructs or data that enable us to calculate ES. Upon closer examination of the remaining 52 studies, a total of 27 studies were included which provided an amount of 35 independent samples (N= 267,977) and 219 ES. A total amount of 25 studies were excluded. Reasons for elimination have been that TPB construct measures were not included (8 studies), i.e.: 27, or that the studies were focused on smoking cessation instead of on smoking behavior (17 studies), i.e.: 28, 29. Only one dissertation has been included and no unpublished papers have been obtained. The studies that focused on smoking cessation have been excluded because the outcome variable in the model-smoking behavior versus smoking cessation-differs substantially. These studies will be used to conduct a separate meta-analysis on smoking cessation. All the included studies are marked with an asterisk in the reference section. Coding of studies The study characteristics coded were: year of publication, origin of the sample, scale correspondence, and time interval between TPB measures. The subject characteristics coded were: the number or participants, mean age of the sample, and gender (as percentage of men in the sample). We consider relevant to code how smoking behavior was assessed (i.e., objective vs. self-report.) but we could find only one study which used objective measures, as CO (carbon monoxide) tests. 30 Following the procedures of Symons and Hausenblas, 2 the time interval between intention and behavior was examined by classifying the studies as: (1) short (less than or equal to six months), (2) medium (greater than six months and less than or equal to one year), (3) large (greater that one year). Regarding scale correspondence, we examined the method section of each study in search of the detailed information. Such as Symons and Hausenblas suggested 2, scale correspondence has been fulfilled when the same magni tude, frequencies or response formats are used to assess the constructs. If intention and behavior were measured exactly with the same items, we considered that scale equivalence was present. If intention was measured with a broader redaction (i.e.: How certain are you that you could resist smoking this term?) while behavior was assessed by a more detailed item (i.e.: How many cigarettes did you smoke per day?), or by asking participants to classify themselves as non-smoker/current-smoker, we considered that scale correspondence has not been fulfilled. In order to ensure accuracy, the studies were coded by two authors independently, reaching an intercoder agreement of 90%. The level of agreement reached was highly satisfactory and inconsistencies were solved by consensus. Some decisions about independence of the samples were taken. If the same study design was carried out in multiple but independent samples (i. e, boys and girls, asthmatic and no-asthmatic students, African-American, Puerto Rican and Non-Hispanic white teenagers) results were entered into the meta-analysis as independent samples. 8, 18, 13 In other cases, only one ES per study has been considered. Data analysis We followed Hedges and Oldkins 31 meta-analytic fixed effects procedures to estimate weighted mean correlations. In these procedures, correlations were converted using Fishers r to z transformations and weighted by N 3, the inverse of which is the variance of z, in analyses. Using Cohens criteria, 32 ES values of .10, .30 and .50 were considered small, moderate and large effects, respectively. Graphical procedures were used to explore the skewness of data. When an extreme value was detected, analyses were carried both including and excluding the outlier. Next, we tested the homogeneity of the ES (Q statistics) and we analyzed the influence of moderator variables using categorical model (ANOVA analogous) and weighted regression analyses (fixed-effect model). One problem in the interpretation of meta-analytic results is the potential bias of the mean ES due to sampling error or to systematic omission of studies that are hard to locate. According to Orwin, 33 the tolerance index of nul l results should be calculated and there must be more than 300 unpublished studies (and not recovered by the meta-analyst) for the results to be annulled. However, this statement should be qualified because the index by categories yields small values in some of these categories. Therefore, we can conclude that publication bias is not very likely to threaten the results severely. MASEM analyses Meta-analytic structural equation modeling, which involves the techniques of synthesizing correlation matrices and fitting SEM, is usually done by applying meta-analytic techniques on a series of correlation matrices to create a pooled correlation matrix, which then can be analyzed using SEM, as suggested Viswesvaran and Ones. 4 However, these procedures have received criticism by Becker (1992) and more recently by Cheung and Chan. 26 Despite some problems, the major advantage of these univariate approaches are their ease of application in applied contexts. Based on these recommendations, we used Viswesvaran and Ones procedure to test the strength of the association among the TPB constructs with smoking behavior. The complete weighted correlation matrix was 5 x 5 and it was submitted to SEM analyses. The predicted model was fitted assuming the harmonic mean (N= 239) as sample size, 4 and it was estimated with unweighted least squares procedures. The proposed model, according to TPB l iterature, had three exogenous latent variables and two endogenous ones, such as depicted Figure 1. Besides chi-square, we reported Goodness of Fit Index (GFI), Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index (AGFI), Normative Fit Index (NFI), and Root Mean Squared Residual (RMR) as fitness indices. It is typically assumed that GFI, AGFI, and NFI >=.90, RMR values

PLATE

The protein fraction from 70 percent saturation of recrystallised ammonium sulphate was found to have the maximum protein content (19.6 mg/g flower) and hence it was selected for further studies and is abbreviated as PAF in the present study. 4.2.1 Characterization of the selected PAF by Native PAGE and SDS PAGE The selected PAF was characterized by column chromatography. This showed a single peak and was further characterized in native PAGE and SDS page. The results are shown in Plate the SDS-PAGE analysis of the ammonium sulphate precipitated protein extract showed 15 different protein bands with good visibility in CBB R250 staining method (Figure). PLATE CHARACTER IZATION OF PFPa BY PAGE AND SDS PAGE A – Standard Protein Markers; B – PAGE; C– SDS PAGE Each fraction showed a number of major and minor bands indicating several proteins. Of the several bands obtained in 70 per cent saturation of ammonium sulphate, the major band alone was eluted. In order to find out the presence of subunits in this band, it was further subjected to SDS PAGE. The results showed one major protein indicating the absence of subunits. The molecular weight of this protein was found to be 99 KD when compared to the standard molecular markers. 4.3. Fifty percent effective dose of selected protein fraction of Plumeria alba The free radical scavenging capacity of PFC was tested by its ability to bleach the stable DPPH. The DPPH (2,2 diphenyl -1- picryl hydrazyl) radical scavenging activity was carried out using different concentrations of PFC (Figure). The radical scavenging activity was found to be dose dependent. Figure Percentage Free Radical Scavenging Activity of Selected protein fraction of Plumeria alba The protein fraction of Plumeria flower extract showed the dose dependent DPPH radical scavenging activity. From the graph, the 50 percent effective concentrations of these were found to be 28 Â µg and 35 Â µg and used in the further studies. Free radicals and their scavenging systems play important role in the healing of normal and delayed types of wounds. The dose response curve of DPPH radical scavenging activity 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 10010 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Ascorbic acid Plant sampleDPPH RadicalScavenging 9(%) of the extract and standards showed that at the highest concentration (0.5mg ml-1) the scavenging effect of the methanolic extract reached 9.3% (Afolayan et al., 2008). Shyuret al. (2005) also reported that the scavenging activity for free radicals of 1,1diphyryl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) has been widely used to evaluate the antioxidant activity of natural products from plants. The antioxidant activities of the leafy vegetables of India were measured in different systems of assays such as DPPH assay, super oxide radical scavenging assay, hydroxyl radical scavenging assay and lipid peroxidation assay and IC50 values were calculated (Dasgupta and De 2007). 4.4. Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization – Time of Flight Mass Spectra (MALDI-TOF MS) MALDI-TOF mass spectra were used for the analysis of peptide mass fingerprinting and MS/MS ion search identification of the in-gel trypsin digested protein fragments (Figure 5), selected peptide masses were submitted to Mascot (http://www.matrixscience.com) for SwissProt databases search. There was no conclusive match in peptide mass fingerprinting, since MS/MS ion search program was selected for further identification. The MS/MS ion search in the NCBIProt database revealed that, WRKY transcription factor WRKY24-like isoform X1 [Juglans regia] (Figure 6-7) with the protein score of 81 (Protein score is 10*Log(P), where P is the probability that the observed match is a random event. Protein scores greater than 80 are significant (p

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Essay - 822 Words

The Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire The Roman Empire was a beautiful place ruled by Augustus. The borders of the empire during the Pax Romana measured 10,000 miles and enclosed an area of more than 3 million square miles, that’s about the size of the United States today. The population of the empire during this period was between 70 and 90 million people. The city of Rome itself was home to about one million people. During the third century (A.D. 200-300), problems confronted the Roman Empire. The decline of the empire continued for almost 300 hundred years. The Roman Empire was brought to its downfall because of the way their Social, Political, and Economic systems were working. Historians say that the Roman Empire began to†¦show more content†¦Advanced militarism attracted men looking for victory. The character of the soldiers changed from armed men fighting to defend their homes and families to men signing up to fight as mercenaries. As demand increased for foreign goods, currency flowed out of Rome to foreign countries. Rome and its people no longer believed in their empire, and didn’t care much about family values anymore. The Economic issues were that they had poor harvest. Food was scarce and people needed food so they went after it. There was a disruption of trade by barbarians and pirates on Mediterranean Sea lanes. Since the war was over, there was no more war booty. Gold and silver were drained away to buy things from foreign countries, this led to inflation, a drop in the worth of money and a rise in prices. The Roman road and bridge system fell out of order, causing a hurt in trade. The crushing tax fell all upon the plebian class, who had no money to start with. Everything was quickly spiraling downhill. The Empire’s economy was worsened by its military problems. Tribes of northern barbarians called Goths overran the legions guarding the Danube frontier numerous times. Instead of fighting for patriotism, Roman soldiers now fought for money. The government promised higher cash awards to attract recruits into the army. Emperors started to recruit barbarians because they wouldShow MoreRelatedThe Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire913 Words   |  4 Pages A consistent measure throughout all history has been that all great empires fall. Many theories have been given to why the empire fell, but Gibbons famous book, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, provides reasoning for what we consider as why Rome fell. Even though there was an inconsistency of leadership, the main reason for the decline of the Roman Empire was due to the size of the empire. Supporting Gibbons reasoning, Rome fell because the immense size was too large to control, leadersRead MoreDecline And Fall Of The Roman Empire1310 Words   |  6 Pagesthat the Roman Empire was the greatest Empire in history. They destroyed their enemies and took their land. 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The fall of the Roman Empire was a combinationRead MoreFall of the Roman Empire1288 Words   |  6 PagesRomana was a two hundred year time period where the Romans had peace and prosperity under Augustus. The Roman empire started to decline at the end of the prevail of the last five emperors, Marcus Aurelius in 161-180 A.D. The rulers in the next century had no idea how to deal with the problems the empire was having. There was many reasons to the fall of the Roman Empire but three stood out the most. The preliminary reason was the economy begins to decline. The alternative reasoning was Rome started toRead MoreEssay about The Fall of the Roman Empire1275 Words   |  6 PagesThe Fall of the Roman Empire A reason that leads to Romes inability to remain self-sustaining as an Empire was its lack of technology. Technological advance did not increase at a rate proportional to the increase of the people per square mile. This lead to the inability of the Romans to become self-sustaining. 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What is democracy - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2501 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Politics Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? To what extent is the UK an example of a democratic state? Introduction Democracy usually refers to a political system that advocates the kratos (ÃŽÂ ºÃƒ ?ÃŽÂ ¬Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¿Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¡, meaning the rule) of the demos (ÃŽÂ ´Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ ¿Ã¢â‚¬  ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¼ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¿Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¡) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" meaning, the collectivity of the people in Greek (Castoriadis 2007, p.122). The demos, that also stands for the political body of the active people who mutually contract with each other, is bound to the decisions of the majority (Hobbes 1994, p.119; 1998, p.94 p.117; 2006, p.103). However, democracy has seen a variety of different definitions and interpretations. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "What is democracy?" essay for you Create order For the ancients, democracy was almost synonymous with direct participation in the decision making, rejecting tout court any form of expertism and delegation of powers to third parties (Castoriadis 1997). Modern democracies, however, function based on the principle of representation in parliaments and councils, whose operation abide to legislations of national Constitutions (Zakaria 1997, p.41; Leach Coxall 2011, p.4) and jurisdictions that allow a body politic to exercise active surveillance over its representatives, discarding them if they betray their trust, or revoking the powers which they might have abused (Constant 1998, p.326). ÃŽÂ ¤his essay aims to explore these two diametrically opposite definitions, in order to provide a clear understanding regarding democracy and democratic politics. In addition, by examining up to what extent a state like the United Kingdom may be classified as   democratic (taking into account the two different interpretations of democracy), it will expose the theoretical deficiencies of the modern conception. It will finally stress that democracy should be better understood as a system of open public consultation and participation (according to the ancient model), acknowledging the modern Swiss paradigm of direct democracy through referendums and public initiatives as a vital alternative. The democracy of the ancients compared to that of the moderns Benjamin Constant in his speech at the Athenee Royal addresses two types of liberty, one in the Greek and Roman antiquity and the other after the consolidation of the French Revolution. In this speech Constant (1998) champions modern democracy as a system that respects individual rights and personal freedoms, which, in his view, appear absent from both the ancient Athenian and the Roman model. Respect to individual rights is a fundamental principle of a modern democratic state. But at the same time, such a state bases its institutioning upon a complex of liberal-republican values that were born during the French Revolution, such as the state of justice, the rule of law, the right of the masses to elect freely their own leaders and representatives, freedom of speech, free trade and private property; ideals considered among the highest, able to ensure social peace, stability and prosperity for every human society, ideals that have remained with us ever since (Graeber 2012). Anothe r important feature of modern democracies, however, is the principle of (majoritarian) consent, exercised through the process of electing a government. According to the modern democratic theory, elections give sovereignty or ultimate power to the citizens. It is through elections that the citizen participates in the political process and ultimately determines the personnel and policies of governments. Only a government which is elected by the people is a legitimate government (Denver Carman 2012, p.5). The elected governors and statesmen are also accountable to the people, and their power is limited to their demands according to John Locke (Laslett 2008, p.109). In case this public consent is neglected, the government should be immediately dissolved. Thus, it is for the people only to decide whether or when their government trustees have acted contrary to their trust, or their legislative has been changed, and for the people as a whole to act as umpire in any dispute between the go vernors and a part of their body (Laslett 2008, p.109). Democracy, therefore, is to protect people from arbitrary powers, since as Locke (2008, p.281) stated, force without Right, upon Mans Person, makes a State of War. Individual rights, consent and protection from arbitrary powers in modern democracies are safeguarded by national constitutions, which are designed to prevent the accumulation of power and the abuse of office. This is done not by simply writing up a list of rights, but by constructing a system in which government will not violate those rights (Zakaria 1997, p.41). In other words, the people who in order to enjoy the liberty which suits them resort to the representative system, must exercise an active and constant surveillance over their representatives, [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] the right to discard them if they betray their trust, and to revoke the powers which they might have abused (Constant 1998, p.326). Constitutionalism also seeks to protect an individuals autonomy and dignity against coercion, whatever the source à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" state, church or society (Zakaria 1997, p.25-26). The concept of democracy, however, according to the standards of the pre-modern, or even the ancient, world, differs significantly in many aspects. In ancient Greece à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" where one initially identifies the first emergence of democracy according to Castoriadis (1997, p.87) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" the idea of representation was unknown, and the idea of elections was considered an aristocratic principle, whereas among the moderns it is at the basis of their political systems (Castoriadis 1997, p.89-90). As Rousseau (2014, p.114) stressed, the idea of representatives is modern: it comes to us from feudal Government that iniquitous and absurd Government in which the human species is degraded, and the name of man dishonored. Further, for the ancients, politics was synonymous with the public sphere, characterized by openness and voluntary participation in the c ommon world of public life, in the making of decisions that determine the function and course of a community (Arendt 1961, p.149). According to the Athenian experience freedom itself needed a place where people could come together à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" the agora, the market-place, or the polis, the political space proper (Arendt 1990, p.31). The polis, for both Castoriadis and Arendt was also the self-governed body of active citizens who through open discussions could take upon themselves the creation of institutions that regulate their own active participation in the running of society (Straume 2012, p.3). Summarizing: there is, on one hand, the modern approach on democracy that is based on the principle of consent and representation (id est the acting and deciding on behalf of the demos), focusing at the same time on the institutions that regulate governments from abuse of office, protecting minorities and civil freedoms. On the other, the definition provided by Castoriadis and Ar endt who have thoroughly elucidated on the Greek and Roman antiquity, focuses on direct participation (rather than elections), on common appearance and, above all, on the ability of questioning laws, norms and institutions (Castoriadis 1997, p.87). Which among the two definitions, however, could be considered as more accurate, is about to be discussed in the next section, which also aims to examine whether a modern state, such as the United Kingdom, can be classified as democratic. This process will reveal major deficiencies in the modern understanding of democracy. Which democracy? The UK as a case study Britain, along with most states in the modern world, and many others elsewhere, claims to be a democracy (Leach Coxall 2011, p.4). At prima facie one could argue that this statement is valid up to an extent. In fact, a brief study on the political institutions of modern Britain shows that all the perquisites that must be met in order for a state to be classified as democratic are perfectly followed by the British political establishment. There is equality before the law, respect for individual rights and restrictions of the powers of the royal families, free elections and freedom of speech, which are also guaranteed by British legal documents, court judgments, treaties and constitutional conventions (Kavanagh 2000; Norton 2013; Wright 2013). However, do elected politicians make the real decisions that affect the British people? ask Leach and Coxall (2011, p.5-6). In other words, does the majoritarian consent and the voice of the demos predominate or is it exercised only formally? More real power and influence may be exercised by individuals who are not part of the formal political process at all say Leach and Coxall (2011, p.5-6). Such individuals are businessmen à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ bankers, or owners of newspapers, television companies and other media, some of whom may not even be British (Leach Coxall 2011, p.5-6). As also Roy Greenslade (2011) has argued, newspapers, despite their steady decline during the past few years, still have the capacity to influence the political process. Thus, on one hand the mass media (owned by powerful entrepreneurs) obstruct independent public commentary by shaping certain opinions (Leach Coxall 2011, p.5) while on the other the civil service, the City of London, or multi-national corporations exercise far more effective power and influence in the British political process than any single personality claim Leach and Coxall (2011, p.6). At this point it would be important to acknowledge the following well known quote by R ousseau: the English people think it is free; it is greatly mistaken, it is free only during the election of Members of Parliament; as soon as they are elected, it is enslaved, it is nothing (Rousseau2014, p.114). This quote comes from his book The Social Contract (1762) where he exposes the impossibility of the representative system, claiming that only through an ancient model of democracy, popular sovereignty à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" and, therefore, freedom à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" could be achieved. Hence, since the English representative system cannot safeguard popular sovereignty it cannot also sustain freedom, except from the day of the elections, where the public can exercise its vote. After the end of this process the English citizen becomes again a subject to the decisions taken by their representatives. Further, since public consciousness in Britain is shaped by powerful media (whose role, as stated above, is contradictory), and most of the decisions of elected politicians is not as i nfluential as those coming from non-accountable institutions according to Leach and Coxall (2015), then it could arguably be said that the British people are not free even during parliamentary elections, since legislations and laws are influenced by non-political individuals. Consequently, only formally Britain might be considered as a democratic state. It would be more accurate to classify it as a liberal constitutional regime, since freedom of speech and respect for individual rights alone do not entail democracy. But Britain is not an isolated example of a representative democracy that appears to be insufficient in implementing the will of the people and safeguarding the consent of the majority. Castoriadis who has thoroughly observed the modern occidental world, came to the following conclusion: no western society, including Britain, should be called democratic. Instead they are liberal oligarchies (Castoriadis 2007, p.122). In his words, modern western societies are oligarch ies since they are dominated by a specific stratum of people [and] liberal because that stratum consents a number of negative or defensive liberties to citizens (Castoriadis 2007, p.126). Since, however, direct democracy, as Castoriadis and Arendt visualized it (according to the ancient model) could not be easily implemented under the current circumstances, a study on the Swiss paradigm would inspire alternative ideas. The political system of Switzerland allows its citizens to broadly participate in the decision making (Kriesi Trechsel 2008; Huber 1968). This is happening through referendums and open assemblies in many cantons (creating, thus, a public sphere). More precisely, over 30 referendums held every year by popular initiative, thus limiting the power of the parliament whilst parties and governments have often been forced to abandon their policies under the pressure of the popular vote (Kriesi Trechsel 2008, p.34; Huber 1968, p.24-25). Through such procedures power partl y remains in the hands of the citizens (as it is seen in the ancient types of democratic participation), and this power cannot be bypassed by representatives or by non-political institutions which may hijack the role of the elected representatives. The Swiss paradigm, therefore, being closer to the ancient model of democracy seems preferable in order to safeguard the majoritarian consent. It appears closer to the initial definition of democracy that is the power of the people. Conclusion This essay has highlighted the significant differences between the modern and ancient definitions of democracy. By examining the United Kingdom and the way political representation becomes easily taken over by strong powerful centers that invade the domain of politics, influencing important decisions and legislations, one understands the fragility of the modern model. Nonetheless, it could not be argued that Britain is an isolated case. In other words, the UK should not be understood as a unique example of ineffective representation. Although individual rights, freedom of speech and protection from abuse of power are important perquisites for a democratic state, the same state, in order to be classified as truly democratic has to fulfill also an area of other demands, such as effective participation and public consent, which appears marginalized not only in the UK but almost everywhere in the occidental world, with Switzerland being a notable example. The theoretical observations c onducted above, relying both the work of Castoriadis as well as on the Swiss paradigm, not only confirm this reasoning, but at the same time provide vital alternatives of how open participation (close to the ancient model) can safeguard the majoritarian consent, preventing officials and political personnel to bypass the will of the citizens. Bibliography Arendt, H., 1961. Between past and future: six exercises in political thought. 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