The sample frame consists primarily of North Texas residents enrolled at a large public
university.This region and university are characterized by high in-migration fromother
states and nations, resulting in a sample rather representative of the USA as a whole.
Contemporary university students generally are digital natives (Prensky, 2001). They
exhibit higher than average propensities to quickly adopt new technologies and shop
online (O’Donnell and Associates, 2004; Prensky, 2001). This sample frame appears
appropriate for a study driven by these purposes. Potential respondents were identified
through the efforts of instructors and students in one merchandising course, two
political science courses and five business courses. Extra credit points were awarded for
participation. No penalty was imposed for not participating.