Thursday, October 31, 2019

Humidacure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Humidacure - Essay Example The product is reliable, comfortable, palatable, and effective to treat flu, cold, and cough. The aim of having a product with pleasant flavours is to enhance an added advantage over other competitors in the market. The product does not only focus on treatment but expands out to reach people who enjoy taking products with flavours such as ginger, lemon, or orange. The product is good both in consistency and quality, which is more likely to attract many consumers in the market. As many people struggle to identify the best medicine that heals flue, cold, and cough, this product aims to provide consumers with adequate information on how to take the medicine and the various ways they can do to prevent the illness. With this, consumers will be in a better position to comprehend about their illness and evaluate ways to prevent it in future. Still, there will be contacts displayed in the product, which consumers can use to communicate to the company in case of any complication, and this wil l create trust and confidence of consumers on the benefits of using the product. 2.0 Situational analysis At this point, it is important to understand the internal and external factors that will be affecting the business as this will lead to a better understanding of what will influence the product future. The product will be affected by the government that has a strong control over the product manufacturing activities. The company may spend some resources to ensure that the product align with the health standards of law. Secondly, economic crisis may make consumers to cut down their spending on medicines and instead prefer to make drinks that heal the cold. With many products in the market, most consumers may be forced to purchase other products that may be cheaper than Humidacure. It is pertinent to note that, a culture has a strong effect on people’s perception and preferences. Natural ingredients are among the crucial aspects of culture, which marketers will put into cons ideration. The product will contain various ingredients that help in relieving cold, flu, and cough such as ginger, lemon, and orange just to name a few. A comprehensive marketing strategy will be crucial to understand how to address the external environment of the product. Extensive training will be conducted to those manufacturing and distributing the product to keep good relations with consumers and maintain quality product that attract consumers all over regardless of various challenges that may emerge such economic crisis. Customer satisfaction will be considered as the most vital thing for the company’s progress. MARKET ANALYSIS 3.0 Market Demographics The product targets adults from urban middle class segment. The reason for this group is that adults are more likely to purchase medicine than adolescents or teenagers. In most cases, parents purchase medicines for their kids. Still, this target group is most preferable in that most adults are more concern with their heal th and children’s health. 3.1 Market Summary The product is intended to use the combination of promotion advertisements where the focus will be placed on attracting clients to purchase the product while converting the first users of the product to frequent and potential users. To accomplish these, the product will be marketed via technology tools such as internet that will create awareness in many people. Still, this will create a strong

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Writting paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Writting paper - Essay Example Even the terrible thought of getting beheaded by the king does not let down the protagonist in the beginning. And even in such a terrible situation the protagonist is brave enough to face the king who is going to behead him. But here also the fate of the protagonist works and the king’s heart melts. The hero then goes through many unexpected journeys of life in which he is also sold as a slave. He is treated inferior to other individuals because of the race to he belongs. And moreover he is conned by many of his fellow beings. The hero is seen as a person who has strong faith in his God because of which he cannot see foul play in this world. He is unaware of the thoughts which the people have in this world about him. And even though he has many opportunities to revenge from the individuals that have done bad to him, he does not take revenge. He rather believes in the notion that he would get a better life hereafter if he lets go these individuals. The hero is seen to be very innocent too as when it is seen that he trusts people too easily. And because of this trust he loses a great amount of property that he has made in his life. The story depicts the life of an innocent individual who is seen to be bestowed with mercy at many instances by the God. It is seen that the individua l at lot of instances has been helped by God. In situations in which he has no one God provides him a path through which he can be able to survive. The story gives a platform for the believers to learn that usually the hardcore believers of God are shown paths by themselves and these believers should not lose hope no matter how harsh the situation is. It depicts that the world is full of individuals who are both nice and ugly. But it is not necessary that the ugly people should be given a bad

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Main Causes of Water Pollution

Main Causes of Water Pollution The water pollution in Malaysia is originated from point sources and non-point sources. Point sources that have been identified include sewage treatment plants, manufacturing and agro-based industries and animal farms. Non-point sources are mainly diffused ones such as agricultural activities and surface runoffs. According to Malaysia Environment Quality Report 2004, the Department of Environment has recorded 17,991 water pollution point sources in 2004 comprising mainly sewage treatment plants (54%), manufacturing industries (38%), animal farms (5%) and agro-based industries (3%). Another main cause of water pollution encountered worldwide is oil spills. About 29 million gallons of petroleum enters the oceans off North America each year, shows a new study by the National Research Council. Water pollution can be classified according to the nature of pollutants, the sources releasing them and the water bodies into which they are discharged. Water pollution is measured by the concentration of pollutants in the water body and their effects on other water uses. Six categories of pollutants are recognized :- Pathogens Pathogens are disease-causing bacteria, viruses and protozoa, usually from human sewage. As pathogen numbers increase, so does the risk to human health. Biochemical Oxygen Demand Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is created by organic wastes decaying in the water body. Major sources of BOD are pulp and paper mills and municipal sewage. If dissolved oxygen is depressed to zero, all fish die and anaerobic decomposition generates noxious gases. Nutrients Nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, enrich waters and accelerate the aging of lakes and streams (eutrophication). The resultant rich plant growth often prohibits recreational activities, and plankton blooms depress oxygen levels. Major sources of nutrients are municipal sewage and urban and agricultural runoff. Toxic Materials Toxic materials can affect the health of aquatic organisms and their consumers, and of those drinking contaminated waters. Toxicants include heavy metals, chlorinated hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and phthalates. They originate from many sources as a result of the large quantities of chemicals used in industries. Mixtures of toxic materials can be toxic even if their individual concentrations are below lethally toxic levels. Oil pollutants are toxic and may also smother aquatic organisms and cause the death of birds, attracted by the appearance of calm water, by destroying the waterproofing properties of their plumage. Acidification Acidification, particularly of lakes, results from precipitation of sulphur and nitrogen oxides emitted by industries and automobiles. Acidification, particularly of lakes, results from precipitation of sulphur and nitrogen oxides emitted by industries and automobiles. Acid rock drainage, the leach water from waste rock produced from mining ores containing sulphide minerals, causes acidification of surface and ground water. Temperature Changes Temperature changes from waste heat discharges can cause pollution when their elevation reduces dissolved-oxygen levels, accelerates eutrophication, affects ecological processes and blocks migration paths of fishes. Effect of water pollution Effects on Ecosystem Besides the inorganic nutrient input, with the inflow of the waste water most of them from factory, decomposition of organic wastes in river, plant nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates will takes place. This process will promotes the growth of oxygen consuming algae (algal bloom), especially the blue-green algae which produce cynotoxics can cause poisoning to humans and animals. The growth of oxygen consuming algae, which deoxygenates water mostly kill the nearest fish and other animals is referred to as eutrophication. Addition of oxygen not sufficient to support life. Effects on Human Health Nitrate polluted water can cause incidence of tumours and ulcers. Contact with pollutants can cause skin disorders due. Water pollution also causing increased case of constipation, diarrhoea and infections to intestine. It also has dangerous effects on growing foetus in pregnant women. Loss of memory power and reduced mental sharpness. One of the biggest threats for the developing countries is the disease caused by polluted water cholera caused by drinking water to Malaria where mosquitoes breed on polluted stagnant water. Regular intake of polluted water may cause sclerosis, skin legions, and problems in blood circulation, mineral deposits in bones, certain cancers and disease of the nervous system. Reduced activity of immune system. Water borne diseases like jaundice, hepatitis, gasteroenteritis will be more prevalent due to water pollution.Diseases caused by water pollution are the major cause of human death across the world. Such toxic material travels up the food chain and effec ts human through the fish and meat that we eat .Contaminated water causes the food source and plant life to be destroyed , this inversely effects the climatic and environmental properties required for human survival. Improvement of Water Quality a) Primary treatment mechanical screening and sedimentation of undissolved solids in raw sewage is done. But it fails to remove dissolve substance in this liquid. b) Secondary treatment Sewage treated- the primary treatment is brought in contact with agent such as oxygen and aerobic micro-organisms. They will break down the organic matter(can be harmfull) into harmless materials as H2O and CO2. Furthermore, chlorination is carried out to reduce the bacteria.Further treated to tertiary level zero measures are adopted for secondary treatment :- i) Trickling filter method like the filter of mineral water,sewage water passes through a thick bed of gravel stones(large stone) so that bacteria will consume most of the organic matter. ii) Activated sludge process à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ in this stage,the sewage water is pumped into an aeration tank. This tank contains sludge which consisting of bacteria and algae. The bacteria is able to decompose almost all of the organic matter and algae will undergo photosinthesis and produces oxygen to promote the growth of these decomposers. c) Reverse osmosis Ways to Help Overcome Water Pollution Water remains one of our most important primary resources, vital to our survival on Earth, yet water pollution is happenning. It is serious. How can we avoid and possibly stop it? Ignorance is the main factor. Knowledge on how to preventing water pollution and its effects to our health should be spread to community. Tighter laws should be legislated and existing laws can be improved to curb illegal dumping of trash and poisonous chemical wastes into water sources.Moreover, waste materials should be disposed off properly. Faeces have to be sent to treatment tanks. Industrial wastes should be treated before disposal, to make sure the substances are harmless.Daily household rubbish can be buried or thrown away neatly in plastic bags, to be sent to special rubbish collecting areas. Increase the campaign of recycle. Excess use of insecticides and chemical fertilizers should be avoided as far as possible. If you are using chemicals that may be harmful to the environment, store them correct ly. Improperly stored chemicals can slowly sweep into the groundwater system, to avoid groundwater contamination,so keep them in tightly sealed containers, inside of structures with cement floors.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Shakespeares Othello - Othello and the Heroine, Desdemona :: Othello essays

Othello and the Heroine, Desdemona  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In William Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello we see a very exceptional woman in the person of Desdemona, wife of the general. She, as Cassio says, is a â€Å"paragon† of virtues, unlike the other female characters in the drama.    H. S. Wilson in his book of literary criticism, On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy, discusses Desdemona’s entry into the Moor’s life:    But Othello had not known Desdemona long; he had little knowledge of women in any case; his military life had left scant time for cultivating their society or studying them, before he met Desdemona; and there was a bitter modesty in the man, who thought it quite possible that, for all his greatness and his romantic past, a young girl like Desdemona might hold him but a passing fancy. (64)       In Act 1 Scene1, Iago persuades the rejected suitor of Desdemona, Roderigo, to accompany him to the home of Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, in the middle of the night. Once there the two awaken him with loud shouts about his daughter’s elopement with Othello. In response to Iago’s vulgar descriptions of Desdemona’s involvement with the general, Brabantio arises from bed and, with Roderigo’s help, gathers a search party to go and find Desdemona and bring her home. Once that Brabantio has located Othello, the father presses charges publicly in order to have Desdemona returned:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To prison, till fit time   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Of law and course of direct session   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Call thee to answer. (1.2)    The proceedings which take place before the Duke of Venice cause the father to permanently lose his daughter, mostly due to Desdemona’s own fluent presentation of her point of view in the city council chamber. This results in Brabantio’s virtual disowning of her and not allowing her to live in his house while Othello’s campaign against the Turks in Cyprus is in progress. Thus it would seem that Desdemona has been living her life with a father who is primarily interested in self and less in daughter.    Entrusted to the ancient’s care and that of his Emilia, Desdemona arrives at the seaport of Cyprus. Blanche Coles in Shakespeare’s Four Giants interprets the protagonist’s very meaningful four-word greeting to Desdemona which he utters upon disembarking in Cyprus:    Othello’s four words, â€Å"O, my soul’s joy,† tell us that this beautiful Venetian girl has brought great joy, felicity, bliss to the very depths of his soul.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Reflective Statements of Competence: Competency Essay

To maintain a commitment to professionalism. To maintain a commitment to professionalism in preschool classroom you should set a goal for yourself. My goal in my classroom is to set a standard of excellence with in the room and to commit myself to the growth and development of each child in offering a positive, kind, loving, and safe atmosphere. I have respect, not only for myself but, for my class, each child, and their families. I keep all parental information shared with me confidential. I also uphold all health and safety regulations and make children’s well-being my top priority. I also respect family diversity. This includes but is not limited to cultural differences, orientation, or economic status. I encourage individuality in children. I treat each child with respect and help them to build a positive self- image. Being informed is being ready to assist any child with any need they may have. I feel it is important to always stay positive and keep a smile on your face. Stay on top of new regulations for the school as well as updated laws and other developments within early childhood education. Always making sure to have information to help parents that have children with additional needs. I feel I am a kind and loving person and am genuinely concerned about the growth and development of each child entering in the class. I want to give them every opportunity to grow and learn in a safe environment. I love working and being around children not just in a group setting but also a one on one setting. I became an early childhood assistant teacher, because I enjoy working with preschool children. And looking forward to be a teacher. I enjoy guiding and watching them as they explore the world around them. Children are filled with curiosity. In class, I get the chance to say â€Å"It’s okay, you can do it!† all the time. I will maintain a commitment to professionalism by pledging to be a live long learner and to take advantage of the many opportunities to further improve my competence in early childhood education and development, and better understand the needs of families and the children in my care. I will use what I have learned through the education I have received to make educated decisions while working with young children and their families. I pledge to practice what I preach and perform to the best of my ability every day to  ensure that all children in my care will be receiving the appropriate educational foundation that all children need and deserve, and high quality care. I can only hope that my passion and love for caring and educating young children encourages others to find out what they’re truly passionate about, gain an education, and pursue what they love to do. I don’t think there is an occupation more fulfilling or gratifying than this. My deepest desire is to make a difference in the lives of the families and children I care for and pray that they go on to live happy, healthy, successful lives; partly due to the early educational foundation I had a hand in building

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Principles of Marketing Essay

   (Distance Learning) Semester Course Leader Office Location Telephone E-mail Consultation Hours : February 2014 : Normaziah Che Musa : FBIT, UNITAR International University, Level 12, Wing A, Tierra Crest, Jalan SS3/6, Kelana Jaya, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor DE. : 03- 7627 7265 : normaziah@unitar.my : Wednesday: 9.00 am – 11.00 am & 3.00 pm – 5.00 pm or By Appointment Course Synopsis This course is designed to introduce students to marketing principles and practices. Emphasis will be placed on marketing in the context of the firm and society. The course content includes a study of the relationship between marketing and society, nature and functions of marketing, marketing management processes, marketing tools, the markets, and the consumers. Course Objectives The main goal of the course is to provide an overview of the basic principles underlying modern marketing theory and practice. It will provide participants with an understanding of the analysis that is necessary for taking marketing decisions, and the wide range of factors (and interactions of those factors) that need to be considered in the design of a marketing program. Students should come away with this course with an understanding of the marketing system and its role within the Malaysian economy and within an individual firm by studying how products and services are planned, priced, promoted, and distributed in order to satisfy consumers’ wants. Learning Outcomes Upon completion of the course, students should be able to: ï‚ · define and apply knowledge of the key marketing concepts. ï‚ · explain how marketing decisions are influenced by environment, trends and developments. ï‚ · discuss the factors influencing consumer behavior. ï‚ · discuss the ways in which product, pricing, place (distribution), and promotion affect marketing . ï‚ · write a simple marketing plan. Required Materials ï‚ · Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. (2012), Principles of Marketing, 14th Edition, Pearson. Optional/Additional Materials ï‚ · ï‚ · Nor Khalidah Abu and Yusniza Kamarulzaman (2013). Oxford Revision Series: Principles of Marketing, (2nd ed), Oxford University Press, Shah Alam. Lamb, C.W., Hair, J.F. & McDaniel, C. (2012). Essentials of Marketing, 7th ed., South-Western CENGAGAE Learning, USA. Course Assessment Coursework (Assignments/ Group Project) : 40% Forums Final Examination : : 10% 50% Total 100% Course Requirements & Policies ï‚ · Attendance Attendance will be taken. Students are expected to turn up to class on time as to avoid disturbances and being late for participating in the class discussions. Attendance policy will be based on policies stated in the university’s Academic Regulation. ï‚ · Class Participation Students are encouraged to participate as much of the learning will come from discussion during class. It is expected that you switch off your hand phone! â€Å"SMSing† is totally prohibited! During class, you may be required to join as participants in marketing research projects. Please dress decently and appropriately (according to university’s dress codes) when attending classes. ï‚ · Group projects & Assignments There will be group projects and assignments. For group project, work together with your group members and at the end of the project your group members will assess your contribution to the project. You are expected to do a group presentation before submission of written copy during the semester. Assignments will be uploaded in UNIEC. In class assignments must be submitted on the specified date otherwise you may be penalized for late submission. If you encounter any problem to submit assignments on the specific date, you are required to inform the lecturer within 2 days of the specified date. For any type written assignments given, the format of the paper should be as follows: ï‚ § A cover page with your details – Name, Student ID and Sections ( as registered in CMS) ï‚ § Font: Time New Roman , size 12 with 1.5 spacing ï‚ § Include a reference page for every assignment that you submitted. ï‚ · Forums Students are required to participate in ALL 3 forums posted by the Course Leader and marks will be assigned based on the quality of the discussion. ï‚ · Accessing/ Checking UNIEC Virtual It is utmost important for students to access and check their UNIEC Virtual for any updates and information pertaining to the course regularly throughout the semester. Ignorance is NO EXCUSE. Examination Format Final examination will be a three hours-examination. The exam will evaluate your level of understanding and knowledge acquired in this course. The question formats may consist of multiple choice, true-false, short essays, and case-based problems. Week Topics Covered Overview 1 2 3 4 Topic 1: Marketing: Managing Profitable Customer Relationship Topic 2: The Marketing Environment and the Marketing Information Topic 3: Consumer Markets and Consumer Buyer Behavior Topics/Activities Remarks/ Deadlines Introduction. Class activities: – Getting to know. – Overview of course plan. Marketing: Managing Profitable Customer Relationship ï‚ · Definitions of marketing ï‚ · Basic concepts of marketing ï‚ · Evolutions of marketing ï‚ · Relationship marketing ï‚ · Marketing strategy and the marketing mix ï‚ · Marketing Challenges in the future Read: ï‚ · Kotler: Chapter 1 ï‚ · Harley-Davidson case. Chapter preview p158. Class activities: ï‚ · Discuss reading materials Topic 1 ï‚ · Discuss Harley Davidson exercise. The Marketing Environment and Marketing Information ï‚ · Company’s Microenvironments ï‚ · Company’s Macroenvironments ï‚ · Marketing research process Read: Forum 1 ï‚ · Kotler: Chapter 3 & 4 ï‚ · Real Marketing 4.2 ‘Tracking consumers on the Web: Smart targeting or a little creepy’. p 151 Class activities: ï‚ · Discuss reading materials Topic 2 ï‚ · Discuss ‘Prius: Leading a Wave of Hybrids’ case Consumer Markets and Business Market ï‚ § Consumer Buying Behavior ï‚ § Consumer Decision-making Process ï‚ § Factors Affecting Consumer Buying Behavior ï‚ § The Organizational Market ï‚ § The Organizational Buying Process ï‚ § Factors Affecting Organizational Buying Behavior Read: ï‚ · Kotler: Chapter 5 & 6 ï‚ · Real Marketing 5.2 ‘Lexus: Delighting Customers After the Sale to Keep Them Coming Back’, p 180. ï‚ · Real Marketing 6.2 ‘International Marketing Manners: When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do’, p 203. Class activities: ï‚ · ï‚ · 5 Topic 4: Creating Value To Target Customers Discuss reading materials Topic 3 Discuss ‘Arabic Blackberry: Adapting to the language of the market’ Creating Value To Target Customers ï‚ · Market Segmentation Bases ï‚ · Market Targeting ï‚ · Differentiation and Positioning Read: ï‚ · Kotler: Chapter 7 ï‚ · Real Marketing 7.2 ‘Dunkin’ Donuts: Positioning for the Average Joe’ p 235. Class activities: ï‚ · Discuss reading materials Topic 4 Product ï‚ · Levels & classifications of product ï‚ · New product development ï‚ · Product life cycle stages ï‚ · Product & service decisions ï‚ · Service marketing 6 Topic 5: Product & Services Read: ï‚ · Kotler: Chapter 8 & 9 ï‚ · Chapter preview ‘Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy’, p 214. ï‚ · Chapter preview ‘New Product Development’, p 280. Industry Linkages: Submit Group Assignment 1 Class activities: ï‚ · Discuss reading materials Topic 5 ï‚ · Discuss ‘Britvic: Creating a brand flavor’ case, p 278. Product ï‚ · Levels & classifications of product ï‚ · New product development ï‚ · Product life cycle stages ï‚ · Product & service decisions ï‚ · Service marketing 7 Topic 5: Product & Services Read: ï‚ · Kotler: Chapter 8 & 9 ï‚ · Chapter preview ‘Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy’, p 214. ï‚ · Chapter preview ‘New Product Development’, p 280. Class activities: ï‚ · Discuss reading materials Topic 5 ï‚ · Discuss ‘Britvic: Creating a brand flavor’ case, p 278. 8 9 MID SEMESTER BREAK Topic 6: Pricing Pricing ï‚ · Objective of Pricing ï‚ · Factors influencing price ï‚ · Pricing strategies and tactics Forum 2 ï‚ · Special pricing issues Read: ï‚ · Kotler: Chapter 10 & 11 ï‚ · Real Marketing 10.0 ‘Ryanair: Pricing low and Proud of it’, p 318. ï‚ · Real Marketing 10.2 ‘Pricing high and Proud of it’, p 325. ï‚ · Real marketing 11.1 ‘Pricing Dishonesty?’, p 342 10 Topic 7: Place Class activities: ï‚ · Discuss reading materials Topic 6 ï‚ · Exercise Price Place ï‚ · Marketing channel ï‚ · The importance of intermediaries ï‚ · Functions and activities of marketing channel member ï‚ · Channel Design Decisions ï‚ · Marketing Logistics and Supply Chain Management ï‚ · The role of wholesaling ï‚ · Different types of wholesaler ï‚ · The role of retailing ï‚ · Different types of retail operations Forum 3 Read: ï‚ · Kotler: Chapter 12 & 13 ï‚ · Chapter preview ‘Marketing Channels’, p 360. ï‚ · Real Marketing 12.1 ‘Netflix: Disintermediator or disimtermediated?’ p 372 11 12 Topic 8: Promotion Topic 8: Promotion Class activities: ï‚ · Discuss reading materials Topic 7 ï‚ · Discuss ‘Zara: The Technology Giant of the fashion world†, p 390. Promotion ï‚ · Promotion Mix – Advertising, Public Relations, Personal Selling, Sales Promotion, Direct & Online Marketing ï‚ · Integrated Marketing Communications ï‚ · Marketing Communication Process ï‚ · Shaping the Overall Promotion Mix Read: ï‚ · Kotler: Chapter 14 – 17 ï‚ · Real Marketing 15.2 ‘The Super bowl: the Mother of All Advertising Events – But is it worth it?’ p 469. ï‚ · Real Marketing 17.2 ‘Online Social Networks: Targeting Niches of Like-Minded People’, p 538. Class activities: – Discuss reading materials Topic 8 Promotion ï‚ · Promotion Mix Presentation of Group Advertising, Public Relations, Personal Selling, Sales Promotion, Direct & Online Marketing Integrated Marketing Communications Marketing Communication Process Shaping the Overall Promotion Mix – ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · Assignment 2 Read: ï‚ · Kotler: Chapter 14 – 17 ï‚ · Real Marketing 15.2 ‘The Super bowl: the Mother of All Advertising Events – But is it worth it?’ p 469. ï‚ · Real Marketing 17.2 ‘Online Social Networks: Targeting Niches of Like-Minded People’, p 538. Class activities: – Discuss reading materials Topic 8 Global Marketing ï‚ · Global Market Entry Strategies 13 Topic 9: Global Marketing 14 Revision Self study 15 Revision Self study 16 Read: ï‚ · Kotler: Chapter 19 ï‚ · Real Marketing 19.1 ‘Oreos and milk, Chinese Style’, p 594 ï‚ · Real Marketing 19.2 ‘Watch your language’, p 597 FINAL EXAMINATION WEEK Note: Course leader has the right to make amendments to the course plan as deemed necessary.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Critque of Horror Websites essays

Critque of Horror Websites essays In todays modern world film studios are using many different methods of promoting there up coming movies, theses Medias include: television, radio, newspapers, magazines and the internet. All theses medias allow the viewer to see an image and read or hear about the film. The film studios have gone one step further and made websites that allow the audience to interact with the characters of the film and know what the film is about by visual and audible representations. Websites are all about visual appeal, layout and content. By using these features we can design criteria to critically analyze the website. The criteria that was designed has three sections: Using these criteria we were able to critically analyze websites. Two were chosen to be analyzed Finding Nemo and Van Helsing were chosen to be analyzed. Filmic Qualities (Symbolism, Motifs, Specific Selection of Images Sounds) There is a little symbolism displayed on the first page of the finding nemo website but in terms of this film as it is a fun loving film no symbolism is really necessary. Apart form the blues that represent tranquility of the water, this convays the felling of happiness and fun and the shadows in the water (still animation), and the same dialogue that is repeated. (Just a few lines from the movie) There are also various animated images of the characters from finding swinning acreoo the screen at various times. There is also sounds of water and some dialogue form the main characters in the film. In Van Helsing there is a lot of symboilism displayed, most of this symboilsm is more indepth than the symbolism displayed on the finding nemo website, as Van helsing is a vampire movie there is a lot of symbolism in the coloures displayed, a lot of blacks,and dark greys are uesd this symbolises that evil and that disarster lerks nearby, the ues of the pictures of the human bats in the background of the picture subconciously tell us tht the mo...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Consumers behavioral intentions in scenery restaurants Essays

Consumers behavioral intentions in scenery restaurants Essays Consumers behavioral intentions in scenery restaurants Essay Consumers behavioral intentions in scenery restaurants Essay Abstract In the yesteryear, comparatively small is known about which factors influence consumers behavioural purposes in eating house services industry. In this highly attractive and turning eating house services industry, faculty members, every bit good as practicians, would profit from look intoing the relationships between the servicescape and several other cardinal service concepts on consumers behavioural purposes. In order to research the cardinal factors impacting consumers behavioural purposes more specifically, a theoretical account is developed and tested on a sample of scenery eating houses clients. The SEM analysis consequences showed that overall service quality is a chief factor impacting consumer s behavioural purposes, and servicescape is a chief factor impacting overall service quality. Besides, among servicescape, waiting experiences, and monetary value reason, waiting experiences is most influential to consumer behavioural purposes, follo wed by servicescape. Keywords scenery eating houses, servicescape, waiting experiences, monetary value reason, behavioural purposes 1. Introduction With the rapid economic development, Taiwanese have increasing demands for high-quality diversions activities. The outgrowth of this diversions manner has made natural landscapes having alcoholic mountains, watercourses, flowers or workss and scenic musca volitanss characterized by a combination of art, humanity, and natural positions the best finishs for local citizens on weekend vacations. At these scenic musca volitanss, to fulfill consumers diverse and volatile demands, many high-quality scenery eating houses offering great nutrients and beautiful dark positions were established in recent old ages. However, after a rapid rise, scenery eating houses began to lose market portion, and many one time popular trade names were forced to downsize. It is critical that the eating houses directors investigate clients behaviours with scenery eating houses attributes in order to plan and measure schemes to obtain a greater portion of client disbursement and retain bing clients. By and large, scenery eating houses require clients to pass drawn-out periods of clip in the physical milieus of the service supplier. In such instances, the sensed quality of the physical environments ( i.e. servicescape ) may play an of import function in finding whether or non consumers are satisfied, which in bend influences how long they desire to remain in the installation, how much money they will pass, and whether or non they intend to re-patronize the scenery eating houses. Despite the tendency of facility-based service development, non many empirical surveies have mentioned the relationship between servicescape and other service properties, such as monetary value, waiting experiences, perceived value, service quality, and behavioural purpose. Although physical environment is an of import factor impacting clients service perceptual experiences, how it influences clients service perceptual experiences is yet to be clarified. Bitner ( 1992 ) suggests that servicescape is mediated by cognitive and emotional responses and will indirectly impact clients redemption purposes, trueness, installation image, and word of oral cavity ( Baker, Grewal, and Parasuraman, 1994 ; Wakefield and Blodgett, 1994 ) . However, the relationship between servicescape and these result variables may be affected by other variables or interactions between variables. It is therefore necessary to analyze whether waiting experiences ( Taylor, 1994 ) , monetary value reason ( Zeithaml, 1988 ) and other seldom discussed factors besides significantly influence clients future determinations. In drumhead, the intent of this survey was to look into the effects of clients perceptual experiences of the servicescape, waiting experiences, and monetary value reason on their perceived service quality, perceived value, and their subsequent repatronage purposes in the scenery eating house industry. This survey would lend to the theoretical development in the field of scenery eating house direction by through empirical observation proving the interrelatednesss among the servicescape, waiting experiences, monetary value reason, perceived service quality, perceived value, and repatronage purpose. Consequences of the survey can besides supply practical deductions for scenery eating house directors or undertaking directors who are set abouting new restaurant gaps or redevelopment undertakings to be after strategically and implement effectual direction. 2. Literature Reappraisal 2.1 Servicescape Bitner ( 1992 ) refers to the servicescape as the reinforced environment or, more specifically, the semisynthetic, physical milieus as opposed to the natural or societal environment . He proposes that servicescape consists of three dimensions, including ( 1 ) ambient conditions, ( 2 ) spatial layout and functionality, and ( 3 ) marks, symbols and artifacts. This definition was originally made for the physical environment. However, people involved in the service environment besides have certain influences on the physical environment, so the less touchable societal environment should besides be included in the wide definition of servicescape ( Baker and Cameron, 1996 ; Baker et al. , 1994 ) . Among the old research workers of servicescape related issues, Baker et Al. ( 1994 ) indicate that ambient and societal elements in the shop environment significantly affect clients quality perceptual experiences. Besides, Wakefield and Blodgett ( 1994 ) suggest that clients satisfaction in all dimensions of servicescape so increases their repatronage purposes. Mitchell, Kahn, and Knasko ( 1995 ) find that ambient olfactory properties affect consumer determinations if they are congruous with the mark merchandise category. Recently, Hightower, Brady, and Baker ( 2002 ) show that servicescape and perceived waiting clip positively act upon overall service quality ; overall service quality positively influences sensed value ; perceived value positively influences behavioural purposes. 2.2 Waiting experiences Most consumers have the experience of waiting for a demanded service. The length of waiting clip that consumers perceive frequently affects their emotional responses and assorted ratings, which determine their behavioural purposes. By and large, waiting is a cardinal factor impacting assessment of a service. The longer the delay is, the more disgruntled that the consumer may be. Therefore, delay has a negative impact on a house s service evaluation and image ( Baker and Cameron, 1996 ) . Harmonizing to Hornik ( 1984 ) , perceived length of a hold is a variable that is more of import than the nonsubjective continuance of the hold. Consumers perceptual experience of a hold may be a proximate factor impacting their ratings of a service. Besides, many research workers, including Hui and Tse ( 1996 ) , Kumar, Kalwani, and Dada ( 1997 ) , and Thompson and Yarnould ( 1995 ) have discovered that incongruence of the waiting clip with consumer outlook is a factor that critically affects consumers rating of the overall service quality. Therefore, if service suppliers can offer consumers a pleasant waiting experience, they can cut down unpleasant emotions ensuing from a long delay or hold, mitigate their negative impact on consumers service ratings, and besides increase the sensed value of their services. 2.3 Price reason In economic sciences, monetary value is the sum of money that must be given up ( sacrificed ) in exchange for a certain merchandise or service. Because people have changing perceptual experiences of the value of money, monetary value is evidently a comparative value which differs from the sold monetary value. Monroe and Krishnan ( 1985 ) propose that an nonsubjective monetary value derives a sensed monetary value. Perceived monetary value will act upon sensed quality and sensed forfeit, which farther influence perceived value and willingness to purchase. Consumers recognize the value of a merchandise or service merely when the merchandise or service can be purchased at a sensible monetary value and they can derive more benefits than expected. This means that the sensible monetary value of a merchandise or service perceived by consumers affects the sensed value of the merchandise or service. Price reason is a perceptual experience of rationality of the additions and losingss in the dealing of a merchandise or service. That is the consequence of comparing between the sum of money paid and the service really received. Of class, consumers agree that paying more for better services is sensible. However, a low-quality service is non considered worth the monetary value, if even the monetary value is non high. 3. Methodolology 3.1 Research model and hypotheses 3.1.1 servicescape and perceived service quality Baker et Al. ( 1994 ) propose that ambient and societal factors significantly influence clients quality perceptual experiences. The grounds in Wakefield and Blodgett ( 1994 ) suggests that client satisfaction in all dimensions of servicescape can heighten repatronage purposes. Hightower et Al. ( 2002 ) reference that servicescape and perceived waiting clip have positive effects on overall service quality. A recent survey by Kim and Moon ( 2009 ) validates the positive relationship between servicescape and overall service quality utilizing SEM. Based on the above literature, the first void hypotheses is proposed: Hypothesis 1. The servicescape of a scenery eating house has a positive influence on consumer perceptual experiences of overall service quality of the eating house. 3.1.2 Waiting experiences, perceived value, and perceived service quality Zeithaml ( 1988 ) argues that sensed value is a consequence of client assessment of a merchandise or service. It can be defined as a trade-off between perceived benefits and perceived costs ( Lovelock, 2001 ) . Hence, perceived benefits have a positive consequence on sensed value, and perceived costs have a negative consequence on sensed value. Previous literature indicates that sensed costs include sensed pecuniary costs ( touchable ) and perceived non-monetary costs ( intangible ) ( Murphy and Enis, 1986 ; Zeithaml, 1988 ) . Perceived non-monetary costs refer to clip costs, hunt costs, and psychic costs that clients need to bear to finish an exchange ( Zeithaml, 1988 ) . Customer waiting during ingestion of a merchandise or service is sometimes inevitable. To consumers, the length of waiting clip is a non-monetary cost, which has negative effects on their value perceptual experiences. Besides, the length of waiting clip is a cardinal factor impacting clients service assessment ( T aylor, 1994 ) , because service holds influence clients rating of service public presentation and perceptual experience of the overall service quality ( Bitner, 1992 ; Bolton and Drew, 1991 ; Cronin and Taylor, 1992 ; Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman, , 1996 ) . In this paper, waiting experiences is defined as the grade to which clients are satisfied with the waiting clip required by a coveted service. Therefore, if clients have a pleasant waiting experiences, they will hold less negative sentiment caused by a long delay or hold. As a consequence, the negative impact of the delay or hold on clients overall service rating can be reduced, and the sensed value of the service can be increased every bit good. Based on the above treatment, we propose the 2nd and the 3rd void hypotheses: Hypothesis 2. Customers waiting experiences has a positive influence on their perceptual experiences of overall service quality. Hypothesis 3. Customers waiting experiences has a positive influence on their value perceptual experiences. 3.1.3 Price reason and perceived value In contrast to comprehend non-monetary monetary value, perceived pecuniary monetary value is the sum of money that consumers need to pay for a coveted merchandise or service. Consumers recognize the value of a merchandise or service merely when the merchandise or service can be purchased at a sensible monetary value or they can derive more benefits than expected. Hence, monetary value reason perceived by consumers affects consumers value perceptual experiences. Price reason is the sensed rationality of the additions and losingss in the dealing of a merchandise or service. In other words, it is the consequence of comparing between the sum of money paid and the service really received. Consumers will surely hold that paying more for better services is sensible. However, a low-quality service is non considered moderately priced if even it is non dearly-won. Based on the above treatment, the 4th hypothesis is proposed: Hypothesis 4. Price reason perceived by consumers has a positive influence on consumers value perceptual experiences. 3.1.4 Perceived service quality, perceived value, and behavioural purposes Service quality is an ancestor of service value ( Bolton and Drew, 1991 ) . Service quality has important effects on sensed value of a service ( Sweeney, Soutar, and Johnson, 1997 ) and will positively act upon consumer behavioural purposes ( Cronin, Brady, and Hult, 2000 ) . Several bookmans have pointed out that sensed value has important influences on repatronage purposes ( Oh, 1999 ; Cronin et al. , 2000 ) . The empirical grounds in a recent survey by Hightower et Al. ( 2002 ) besides suggests that overall service quality positively influences sensed value, and perceived value positively influences behavioural purposes. Based on the above treatment, we propose the undermentioned void hypotheses: Hypothesis 5. Perceived overall service quality has a positive influence on perceived value. Hypothesis 6. Perceived overall service quality has a positive influence on consumer behavioural purposes. Hypothesis 7. Perceived value has a positive influence on consumer behavioural purposes. 3.2 Measurement All concepts included in the conceptual theoretical account were measured utilizing multi-item graduated tables designed to tap all relevant spheres of the concept ( see Appendix A ) . While the graduated tables used were based on anterior work, all of the points were adapted so that the point content matched the scenery eating houses. The questionnaire consists of seven subdivisions, including servicescape ( 17 points ) , waiting experiences ( 12 points ) , monetary value reason ( 3 points ) , overall service quality ( 3 points ) , perceived value ( 3 points ) , consumer behavioural purpose ( 3 points ) , and features of the respondents. To efficaciously obtain consumers attitude and sentiments, points for servicescape, waiting experiences, monetary value reason, overall service quality, perceived value, and consumer behavioural purpose are designed on the footing of Likert 7-point graduated table, and respondents basic informations are measured utilizing categorical graduated tab les. 3.3 Data aggregation The scenery eating houses in Taiwan are chiefly located in Cingjing, Shinshe, and Gukeng. From these three countries, 10 comparatively larger scenery eating houses were selected. The writer adopted convenience trying method to interview clients in these scenery eating houses. A sum of 450 transcripts were issued, and 432 responses were returned. Excluding 36 invalid responses, 396 valid responses were obtained. 4. Consequences and Analysiss 4.1 Features of the respondents The respondents features subdivision studies each respondent s gender, age, matrimonial position, instruction, business, monthly income, ingestion frequence, and mean disbursal. The sample consists of 52.5 % males and 47.5 females. Most of the respondents are single ( 61.4 % ) and holding a college/university grade ( 77.3 % ) . The largest age group is 25~29 old ages old ( 33.1 % ) followed by 20~24 old ages old ( 24.2 % ) . In footings of business, nine-to-fivers are in the largest group ( 43.7 % ) , followed by military and civil retainers ( 17.7 % ) . The bulk of the respondents have an mean monthly income between 30,001~40,000 ( 30.6 % ) , and have dined in scenery eating houses 2~3 times ( 43.4 % ) , with an mean disbursal for each ingestion between $ 201~300 ( 38.6 % ) . 4.2 Reliability and cogency analyses Confirmatory factor analysis ( CFA ) can be used to treat the covariance between observed variables and their latent variables. In this survey, CFA is performed on the valid responses to prove the convergent cogency and discriminant cogency of the measuring theoretical account. The CFA s consequences of each latent variable are presented in Table 2. Convergent cogency is a step of the grade to which two observed variables that are purported to mensurate the same concept are correlated. Joreskog and Sorbom ( 1996 ) suggest that points with an overly high remainder or an overly low standardised factor burden should be removed. The standardised factor burden should be greater than 0.45. The squared multiple correlativity ( SMC ) of each point should be above 0.20 ( Joreskog and Sorbom, 1996 ) or 0.50 ( Bagozzi and Yi, 1988 ) . We measure the factor burden and important ( t-value ) of each point based on the above standards. Items with a factor lading above 0.45, SMC above 0.20, and t-value greater than 1.96 are considered as important. As shown in Table 2, all the 41 observed variables reach the significance degree ( t gt ; 1.96, P lt ; 0.05 ) , and all of their factor burdens are above the 0.45 standard. Therefore, the measuring theoretical account demonstrates equal convergent cogency. Besides, the composite dependability ( CR ) values are between 0.85~0.96, and the mean discrepancy extracted ( AVE ) values are between 0.66~0.83. These values comply with the standards suggested by Bagozzi and Yi ( 1988 ) that CR should be greater than 0.6 and AVE greater than 0.5. Therefore, the internal consistence of the research theoretical account is by and large acceptable. Discriminant cogency describes the grade to which two different concepts are uncorrelated in statistical analysis ( Anderson and Gerbing, 1988 ; Churchill, 1979 ) . In this survey, we employ the standard that the square root of AVE for each dimension should be greater than over 75 % correlativity coefficients between dimensions ( Hairs, Anderson, Tatham and Black, 1998 ) . As shown in Table 3, all the square roots of AVE are between 0.81~0.91 and larger than the correlativity coefficients between concepts. This consequence reveals that the measuring has been developed with good discriminant cogency. Table 2. The consequence of confirmatory factor analysis Measurement variable SFL ( t-value ) 1 SMC1 EV1 ITC1 I ±1 CR1 AVE1 [ 1 ] Servicescape a-†  Ambient factor 0.96 0.96 0.83 amb 1 0.91 ( fixed ) 0.84 0.31 0.90 amb 2 0.94 ( 33.08 ) 0.88 0.24 0.91 amb 3 0.90 ( 29.89 ) 0.82 0.38 0.88 amb 4 0.92 ( 30.77 ) 0.84 0.32 0.89 amb 5 0.89 ( 29.09 ) 0.80 0.44 0.88 a-†  Design factor 0.94 0.94 0.76 diethylstilbestrols 1 0.90 ( fixed ) 0.80 0.36 0.86 diethylstilbestrols 2 0.90 ( 27.44 ) 0.81 0.35 0.87 diethylstilbestrols 3 0.83 ( 22.76 ) 0.69 0.59 0.81 diethylstilbestrols 4 0.80 ( 21.43 ) 0.64 0.68 0.78 diethylstilbestrols 5 0.92 ( 29.04 ) 0.84 0.26 0.87 a-†  Symbols and marks factor 0.89 0.89 0.80 sym 1 0.87 ( fixed ) 0.75 0.51 0.79 sym 2 0.92 ( 19.86 ) 0.84 0.33 0.79 a-†  Social interaction factor 0.92 0.92 0.71 soc 1 0.89 ( fixed ) 0.80 0.25 0.87 soc 2 0.72 ( 17.74 ) 0.52 0.59 0.70 soc 3 0.86 ( 24.48 ) 0.75 0.33 0.82 soc 4 0.83 ( 26.15 ) 0.80 0.26 0.84 soc 5 0.90 ( 22.84 ) 0.70 0.42 0.79 [ 2 ] Waiting experiences a-†  Filled waiting clip 0.95 0.95 0.82 fwt 1 0.88 ( fixed ) 0.77 0.34 0.86 fwt 2 0.88 ( 25.19 ) 0.78 0.34 0.86 fwt 3 0.93 ( 27.42 ) 0.86 0.19 0.89 fwt 4 0.92 ( 26.98 ) 0.84 0.23 0.87 a-†  Waiting clip 0.93 0.93 0.77 wai1 0.88 ( fixed ) 0.77 0.36 0.84 wai2 0.89 ( 25.00 ) 0.80 0.31 0.85 wai3 0.84 ( 22.31 ) 0.71 0.48 0.80 wai4 0.90 ( 25.87 ) 0.81 0.31 0.85 a-†  Control over waiting clip 0.92 0.92 0.75 hundredweight 1 0.90 ( fixed ) 0.81 0.26 0.86 hundredweight 2 0.91 ( 27.41 ) 0.83 0.22 0.86 hundredweight 3 0.81 ( 21.96 ) 0.66 0.45 0.77 hundredweight 4 0.83 ( 22.76 ) 0.70 0.45 0.78 [ 3 ] Price reason 0.93 0.93 0.81 pri 1 0.91 ( fixed ) 0.83 0.35 0.86 pri 2 0.91 ( 27.14 ) 0.83 0.35 0.86 pri 3 0.88 ( 25.69 ) 0.78 0.43 0.84 [ 4 ] Service quality 0.91 0.91 0.77 ser 1 0.86 ( fixed ) 0.75 0.48 0.81 ser 2 0.89 ( 22.39 ) 0.79 0.39 0.83 ser 3 0.88 ( 22.11 ) 0.77 0.45 0.82 [ 5 ] Perceived value 0.85 0.85 0.66 val 1 0.73 ( fixed ) 0.53 0.78 0.66 val 2 0.88 ( 14.93 ) 0.77 0.40 0.76 val 3 0.82 ( 14.85 ) 0.67 0.59 0.73 [ 6 ] Behavioral purpose 0.92 0.91 0.78 int 1 0.91 ( fixed ) 0.83 0.29 0.85 int 2 0.89 ( 25.26 ) 0.80 0.34 0.84 int 3 0.85 ( 23.41 ) 0.73 0.47 0.81 Note: SFL denotes standardised factor burden ; SMC denotes squared multiple correlativity ; EV denotes error discrepancy ; ITC denotes point to entire correlativity ; I ± denotes Cronbach s I ± ; CR denotes composite dependability ; AVE denotes mean discrepancy extracted. Table 3. Correlation matrix Dimension Correlation coefficient A Bacillus C Calciferol Tocopherol F Gram Hydrogen I Joule K A. Ambient factor1 0.912 B. Design factor 0.69*3 0.87 C. Symbols and marks factor 0.54* 0.65* 0.89 D. Social interaction factor 0.59* 0.67* 0.58* 0.84 E. Filled waiting clip 0.44* 0.43* 0.39* 0.36* 0.91 F. Waiting clip 0.40* 0.46* 0.42* 0.44* 0.62* 0.88 G. Control over waiting clip 0.31* 0.46* 0.38* 0.37* 0.57* 0.70* 0.87 H. Price reason 0.32* 0.37* 0.30* 0.30* 0.34* 0.46* 0.39* 0.90 I. Service quality 0.36* 0.40* 0.41* 0.47* 0.35* 0.38* 0.35* 0.37* 0.88 J. Perceived value 0.28* 0.36* 0.39* 0.39* 0.34* 0.47* 0.40* 0.47* 0.48* 0.81 k. Behavioral purpose 0.39* 0.39* 0.38* 0.43* 0.40* 0.43* 0.37* 0.32* 0.52* 0.51* 0.88 Note 1: The mean for each variable is the average mark of all points in each dimension. Note 2: The diagonal value is the square root of the AVE of the latent variable. This value should be greater than the non-diagonal values. Note 3: * : The correlativity between variables reaches the significance degree I ±=0.05. 4.3 Structural theoretical account consequences When utilizing structural equation theoretical accounts to verify the tantrum of the proposed theoretical account, research workers ever expect that the void hypothesis is accepted. In chi-square trial, the void hypothesis is: the covariance matrix of the theoretical account is equal to the covariance matrix of the collected information. This void hypothesis is expected to be accepted. However, this impression differs from the common hypothesis proving attack that the void hypothesis should be rejected and the alternate hypothesis be accepted. To prove whether the conceptual theoretical account fits the ascertained informations, is used as one of the observation indexes. Other of import statistical indexes provided by structural equation theoretical accounts should besides be considered ( Joreskog and Sorbom, 1996 ) . In the analysis of a structural equation theoretical account, the theoretical account fittingness and explanatory power of the conceptual theoretical account are analyz ed. Common goodness of fit indexes include, Normed Chi-Square ( ) , RMR, RMSEA, GFI, AGFI, NFI, and CFI. As shown in Table 4, the p-value of the Chi-Square index is below 0.05. Because sample size affects Chi-Square trial consequences, Bagozzi and Yi ( 1988 ) suggest utilizing the ratio of Chi-Square to degree of freedom ( i.e. Normed Chi-Square ) to prove theoretical account tantrum. They besides suggest that the ratio should be smaller than 3. Besides, GFI should be greater than 0.9, AGFI greater than 0.9 ( Henry and Stone, 1994 ; Chin and Todd, 1995 ) . Hairs et Al. ( 1998 ) propose that greater GFI indicates better fittingness, and AGFI and NFI should be greater than 0.9. SRMR ( standardised root mean square residuary ) should be smaller than 0.08 ( Hu and Bentler, 1999 ) . RMSEA is a step that tests the difference between the conceptual theoretical account and the absolutely fitting concentrated theoretical account. Hu and Bentler ( 1999 ) suggest that a good theoretical accoun t should hold a RMSEA below 0.06. McDonald and Ho ( 2002 ) propose 0.08 as the threshold of RMSEA. As shown in Table 4, all the trial consequences satisfy the suggested standards, bespeaking that there is a good tantrum between the conceptual theoretical account and the research informations. Further, we use a way diagram to analyse the significance of each way coefficient and the discrepancies of each dependant variable explained by the theoretical account. As shown in Fig. 3, all the waies in the theoretical account reach the significance degree. The standardised way coefficients are as follows: servicescape a† Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ overall service quality ( 0.40 ) , waiting experiences a† Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ overall service quality ( 0.23 ) , waiting experiences a† Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ perceived value ( 0.30 ) , monetary value reason a† Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ perceived value ( 0.24 ) , overall service quality a† Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ perceived value ( 0.31 ) , overall service quality a† Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ consumer behavioural purpose ( 0.38 ) , and perceived value a† Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ consumer behavioural purpose ( 0.37 ) . The standardised coefficient and t-value of each way are listed in the direct consequence and t-value columns in Table 5 and Fig. 3. In footings of the discrepancy explained ( R2 ) , overall service quality is 0.33, perceived value is 0.46, and consumer behavioural purpose is 0.43. Table 4. Good of fit indexes of the structural theoretical account Fit index Standard Consequence Conformity Chi-Square p-valuei?z0.05 296.484 ( p=0.000 ) No Normed Chi-Square a†°Ã‚ ¦3.00 2.088 ( 296.484/142 ) Yes GFI a†°Ã‚ §0.90 0.928 Yes SRMR a†°Ã‚ ¦0.08 0.051 Yes RMSEA a†°Ã‚ ¦0.06 0.052 Yes AGFI a†°Ã‚ §0.80 0.904 Yes NFI a†°Ã‚ §0.90 0.945 Yes CFI a†°Ã‚ §0.90 0.970 Yes RFI a†°Ã‚ §0.90 0.934 Yes IFI a†°Ã‚ §0.90 0.970 Yes NNFI a†°Ã‚ §0.90 0.964 Yes PNFI a†°Ã‚ §0.50 0.785 Yes PGFI a†°Ã‚ §0.50 0.694 Yes Note: 1. The figure within the parentheses ( ) is t-value, * denotes p lt ; 0.001. 2. =296.484 ( df=142, p=0.000 ) , GFI=0.928, AGFI=0.904, NFI=0.945 CFI=0.970, SRMR=0.051, RMSEA=0.052 CFI=0.965, RMSEA=0.059 Servicescape Waiting experience Price reason Overall service quality Behavioral purpose Perceived value 0.40* ( 5.52 ) 0.23* ( 3.26 ) 0.31* ( 5.50 ) 0.30* ( 4.61 ) 0.24* ( 4.25 ) 0.37* ( 6.31 ) 0.38* ( 6.77 ) R2=0.33 R2=0.46 R2=0.43 Fig. 3. Path diagram of the conceptual theoretical account Table 5. The direct, indirect, entire effects of the variables Dependent variable Independent variable Direct consequence { 0 gt ; c†ºZz?Taˆ? lt ; } 84 { gt ; t value Indirect consequence T value Entire consequence T value Support for hypothesis Overall service quality Servicescape 0.40*1 5.52 -2 0.40* 5.52 Yes Waiting experiences 0.23* 3.26 0.23* 3.26 Yes Perceived value Servicescape 0.12* 3.93 0.12* 3.93 Waiting experiences 0.30* 4.61 0.07* 2.93 0.37* 5.62 Yes Price reason 0.24* 4.25 0.24* 4.25 Yes Overall service quality 0.31* 5.50 0.31* 5.50 Yes Behavioral purpose Servicescape 0.20* 4.99 0.20* 4.99 Waiting experiences 0.22* 5.10 0.22* 5.10 Price reason 0.09* 3.66 0.09* 3.66 Overall service quality 0.38* 6.77 0.11* 4.32 0.49* 9.55 Yes Perceived value 0.37* 6.37 0.37* 6.37 Yes Note: 1. * : P lt ; 0.05 2. : no consequence or t-value In add-on to direct consequence, there may be indirect consequence between variables. Table 5 shows the direct consequence, indirect, consequence, and entire consequence between research variables. Overall service quality is an of import factor impacting perceived value. It non merely indirectly and positively affects consumer behavioural purpose through perceived value but besides straight affects consumer behavioural purpose. The entire consequence of overall service quality on consumer behavioural purpose reaches 0.49, doing overall service quality the most of import factor impacting consumer behavioural purpose. Servicescape is an of import factor impacting overall service quality. Its entire consequence on consumer behavioural purpose ( via overall service quality and perceived value ) reaches 0.20. Besides, the entire consequence of waiting experiences on consumer behavioural purpose ( via overall service quality and perceived value ) reaches 0.22, doing waiting experiences the most influential independent variable to consumer behavioural purpose. Scenery eating houses own a superior servicescape due to a good natural environment and originative attempts made by their directors. Because scenery eating houses are alone from common eating houses and extremely promoted by many organisations, they become the new best finish of recreationists. As more and more recreationists choose to dine in scenery eating houses, scenery eating houses may non be able to function each client decently during peak hours. Customers may necessitate to wait for demanded services or merchandises. If client waiting is truly inevitable, service suppliers should pay attending to client perceptual experiences of waiting clip, make fulling and control of their waiting clip. They can utilize perceptual experience direction methods to efficaciously cut down the waiting clip perceived by waiting clients. Through these attacks, they can heighten their overall service quality and perceived v alue of their services and farther enhance consumers repatronage purposes. 5. Decisions and Contributions 5.1 Decisions To understand the of import factors impacting behavioural purposes of scenery eating house consumers and the causal relationship among them, this survey analyzes informations collected from a questionnaire study and derives the undermentioned decisions. ( 1 ) Through literature reappraisal, we hypothesize the undermentioned relationship: servicescape has positive effects on overall service quality ; waiting experiences has positive effects on overall service quality ; waiting experience has positive effects on sensed value ; monetary value reason has positive effects on sensed value ; overall service quality has positive effects on sensed value ; perceived value has positive effects on consumer behavioural purposes. Through SEM analysis and proof, all the above hypotheses are supported. ( 2 ) There is a positive and direct relationship between servicescape and overall service quality. In other words, the better the servicescape that scenery eating houses offer, the higher overall service quality of the eating houses that consumers perceive. Besides, among all the factors, servicescape has the largest consequence on overall service quality. This empirical grounds confirms that servicescape is an of import factor impacting overall service quality. Therefore, scenery eating house directors should pay attending to building of the physical environment of their eating houses so as to heighten the overall service quality perceived by their clients. ( 3 ) There is a positive and direct relationship between waiting experiences and overall service quality. That is to state, the better the waiting experiences consumers have, the higher the overall service quality they perceive. Due to uniqueness and media publicity, scenery eating houses become popular finishs of recreationists and are normally crowded on vacations. Restaurant directors are suggested to pay attending to consumers perceptual experiences of waiting clip and filling and control of waiting clip to heighten the overall service quality and consumers repatronage purposes. ( 4 ) There is a positive and direct relationship between waiting experiences and perceived value. In other words, consumers waiting experiences non merely affects their rating of overall service quality but besides their value perceptual experiences. Therefore, if scenery eating houses are truly unable to cut down consumers waiting clip, they should use perceptual experience direction methods to efficaciously take down the waiting clip perceived by consumers. Decrease of sensed waiting clip can take to increase of sensed value of their services. ( 5 ) There is a positive and direct relationship between monetary value reason and perceived value. There are legion scenery eating houses in Cingjing, Shinshe, and Gukeng. Because most of these eating houses have similar places and characteristics, they are easy engaged in monetary value competition. In such competitory environment, they should measure the characteristics of the rivals and the environment foremost and moderately monetary value their services harmonizing to the service quality they offer. They can besides put up different monetary values for different service hours. They should increase their fight and enhance consumers value perceptual experiences to farther addition consumers repatronage purposes. ( 6 ) There is a positive and direct relationship between overall service quality and perceived value. This paper defines perceived value as the consequence of comparing between perceived benefits ( overall service quality ) and perceived costs ( waiting experiences and monetary value reason ) . The way analysis shows that among all the factors, overall service quality has the largest effects on sensed value, intending that overall service quality is the dominant factor that affects perceived value. ( 7 ) There is a positive and direct relationship between overall service quality and consumer behavioural purpose. In other words, the higher the overall service quality that consumers perceive, the more willing that consumers will be to revisit the eating house, urge it to others or purchase dining vouchers. ( 8 ) There is a positive and direct relationship between perceived value and consumer behavioural purpose. In other words, the higher the service value that consumers perceive, the more willing they will be to revisit the eating house, urge it to others or purchase dining vouchers. Perceived value has become one of the chief research topics in the survey of touristry and leisure industries. Ravald and Gronroos ( 1996 ) reference that perceived value is one of the cardinal factors in merchandise distinction and maintaining of competitory advantages. Hence, scenery eating house directors should pay attending to consumers value perceptual experiences. They should heighten the value of their services and supply more customized services to increase the sensed value of their services and influence consumers behavioural purposes. ( 8 ) Overall service quality is a cardinal factor impacting consumer behavioural purposes, and servicescape is a cardinal factor impacting overall service quality. Besides, among servicescape, waiting experiences, and monetary value reason, waiting experiences is most influential to consumer behavioural purposes, followed by servicescape. It can be inferred that because scenery eating houses are alone from common eating houses and extremely promoted by many organisations, they become the new best finish of recreationists. As more and more recreationists choose to dine in scenery eating houses, scenery eating houses may non be able to function each client decently during peak hours. Customers may necessitate to wait for demanded services or merchandises. As client waiting is truly inevitable, if service suppliers can pay attending to client perceptual experiences of waiting clip, make fulling and control of their waiting clip, and utilize perceptual experience direction methods to cu t down the waiting clip perceived by waiting clients, they can heighten their overall service quality and perceived value of their services, which can further heighten consumers repatronage purposes. 6. Managerial Deductions Scenery eating houses that fail to make sensed value of their services or disregard the importance of overall service quality are unable to last the intense competition of their rivals. By bettering the servicescape of their eating houses, directors can promote their overall service public presentation to run into consumer outlooks and make a certain value of their eating houses. Besides, they should pay attending to consumers perceptual experiences of waiting and set sensible monetary values for their services to finally heighten consumers positive behavioural purposes. Merely by doing attempts to heighten overall service quality and create perceived value of their services can they last ferocious competitions and win trueness clients. From the empirical groundss, we derive the undermentioned managerial deductions: ( 1 ) Overall service quality is a cardinal factor impacting consumer behavioural purposes The empirical determination suggests that sensed value is one of the major factors impacting consumer behavioural purposes, and overall service quality is besides a major factor impacting perceived value. Scenery eating house directors can better their overall service quality to increase the sensed value of their eating houses and influence consumers behavioural purposes. Bettering overall service quality can be more effectual than other steps. However, they can non increase service installations aimlessly. They should hold sufficient apprehension of consumers demands and the importance of each demand foremost and work on quality points that should be desperately addressed, with consideration of their programs and the costs of betterment. ( 2 ) Servicescape is a cardinal factor impacting overall service quality To efficaciously heighten the overall service quality of scenery eating houses, directors can foremost better the physical environment where services are delivered. The physical environment involves the landscape, shop ambiance, hardware installation, design, and societal interaction environment. Besides, if they can see uniqueness and distinction in their building of servicescape, they can decidedly surpass regional rivals characterized by homogenous characteristics. ( 3 ) The impact of waiting experiences and monetary value reason can non be ignored Consumers waiting experiences will impact non merely their assessment of overall service quality but besides their value perceptual experiences. Therefore, if client waiting clip can non be minimized, scenery eating house directors should use perceptual experience direction methods to efficaciously cut down the waiting clip perceived by clients. After the sensed waiting clip is reduced, the sensed value of services can be enhanced. Besides, there are legion scenery eating houses in Cingjing, Shinshe, and Gukeng, ensuing in intense competitions among scenery eating houses. Because most of these eating houses have similar places and characteristics, they are easy engaged in monetary value competition. In such competitory environment, they should measure the characteristics of the rivals and the environment foremost and moderately monetary value their services harmonizing to the service quality they offer. They can besides put up different monetary values for different service hours. T hey should increase their fight and enhance consumers value perceptual experiences to farther addition consumers repatronage purposes. Appendix A. Questionnaire points [ 1 ] Servicescape a-†  Ambient factor 1. The air inside the eating house smells fresh. 2. The air temperature inside the eating house is decently conditioned. 3. The illuming inside the eating house is sufficient but non excessively strong. 4. The music or other audio content broadcasted in the eating house is satisfactory. 5. The eating house environment, both interior and exterior, is satisfactory. a-†  Design factor 1. The eating house s installations and spacial designs are satisfactory. 2. The colourss and designs used indoors and outside the eating house are satisfactory. 3. The maps and deployment of the eating house s hardware installations are satisfactory. 4. The decor of the eating house has a comfy and high-end feel. 5. The place comfortability is satisfactory. a-†  Symbols and marks factor 1. Directions to the eating house s installations are clear. 2. The eating house s bill of fare provides a clear and elaborate account of each repast and drink. a-†  Social interaction factor 1. The attenders are good-humored and polite. 2. I will non be bothered by other clients. 3. The attenders have a friendly attitude. 4. They can rapidly and efficaciously take attention of my responses. 5. They take into history the single demand of each client when providing services. [ 2 ] Waiting experiences a-†  Filled waiting clip 1. The eating house offers some compensation ( such as drinks or bites ) to clients who have been waiting excessively long for repasts. 2. The eating house offers some extra services ( such as a impermanent place or a little drink ) to clients if it is full. 3. The eating house offers some price reduction on meal monetary value to clients who have waited excessively long for repasts. 4. The eating house provides some leisure or recreational facilitiesthat clients can utilize during waiting for service or repasts. a-†  Waiting clip 1. I am satisfied with the dining clip. 2. The existent repast waiting clip is really near to the expected. 3. I am satisfied with the repast waiting clip. 4. The existent dining clip is really near to the expected. a-†  Control over waiting clip 1. The service or meal waiting clip notified by the attenders will non be changed all the clip. 2. The attenders will be actively devoted to assisting waiting clients. 3. When the eating house is full, the attenders will reserve a place for clients who have been waiting for a long clip. 4. The attenders will state me how much clip I need to wait for service or repast. [ 3 ] Price reason 1. The overall service quality of this eating house is impressive. 2. This eating house provides better services than other eating houses. 3. The services provided by this eating house are by and large satisfactory. [ 4 ] Service quality 1. The repasts provided by this eating house are non inexpensive. 2. The repast monetary values of this eating house are unacceptable. 3. The repast monetary values of this eating house are unreasonable. [ 5 ] Perceived value 1. The service I have received is valuable comparative to its monetary value. 2. The quality of the service for this monetary value is acceptable. 3. It is more worthy to see this eating house than to others. [ 6 ] Behavioral purpose 1. I am willing to buy meal vouchers or rank of this eating house. 2. I am willing to re-patronize this eating house in the hereafter. 3. I am willing to urge this eating house to others.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

The Use of the Modifier More in English

The Use of the Modifier More in English The modifier more is commonly used in English in a wide variety of situations. You are probably familiar with the use of more in the comparative form, but there are other uses as well. Below you will find explanations of each of the different ways more is used to modify nouns, as well as in the comparative form and as an adverb. More is different than (the) most which you can learn about on this page dedicated to the uses of most in English. Comparative Form The most common use of more is in the comparative form. More is used with adjectives of more than one syllable - with the exception of adjectives ending in y - to express that there is more of a particular quality. Notice that the opposite less is also used in a similar manner to indicate that there is less of a particular quality (This hike is less dangerous than the one we took last week.) Examples: My history class is more interesting than my math class.New York is more expensive than Seattle to visit. More Noun Determiner More is placed before a noun as a determiner to state that there is more of something. However, it is important to note that the preposition of is not used when speaking in general. Remember that the plural form is used when speaking in general about countable items or people (There are more students this year). When speaking about uncountable objects, use the singular form (We need more rice). Examples: Its important to eat more fruit in your diet during the summer.There are more books to read in the next room. More of Determiner Noun More of is used with articles and other determiners when speaking about a particular thing or group. This is true for people as well as for objects. Remember that the is used to indicate a specific object that both the listener and the speaker understand, whereas a is used to speak about something listeners do not which specific instance is referred to. Examples: He is more of a thinker than you might realize.Ill have to use more of this class to explain the present perfect. More Alone In some instances, its clear which noun more modifies. For example, in a restaurant, a waitperson might ask you if you would like more referring to coffee, water, etc. If the context is clear the noun may be dropped. Examples: Would you like more? - Sure, Id love more. (Mom talking to a child concerning cake)I wish I had more, but the economy is tough these days. (Friend talking about money) Number More Noun Infinitive A number used with more followed by a noun and an infinitive expresses that how many/much more there are/is to do of a certain task. One more ... to do can be substituted with another ... to do. Examples: There are three more tests to correct today.Jennifer needs two more credits to graduate. More as Adverb More can also be used as an adverb to indicate an increase in an action or feeling. The opposite of this form is less (i.e. I like him more every day. OR I like him less every day.) Examples: I like him more each time I see him.She wants more every time I talk to her. More and More The comparative phrase more and more before an adjective is used to state that something or someone is increasingly becoming a certain way. In other words, when stating that there is a growing tendency towards something use the phrase more and more before an adjective. The opposite of this phrase is less and less to indicate that something is decreasing (i.e. Its getting less and less expensive to buy a computer.) Examples: Its becoming more and more difficult to find a job.Peter is getting more and more nervous about his final exam.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Resource Creation and Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Resource Creation and Evaluation - Essay Example Increased use of internet provides an opportunity for interactive learning environment. In this vein, innovations such as Blackboard, Angel and WebCT have been found to support interactive learning environment (Samaras et al., 2006). Such innovations are used when chatting between students and their instructors, to receive assignments, view grades and remain connected to the learning institution. In addition, they have allowed teachers an opportunity to teach in an interactive learning environment. The development of such new technologies and increased research has transformed the way people think. Further, emergence of interactive teaching platforms has led educators to transform the ways in which they teach their students. This study will focuses on the use of online Blackboard to teach Physics to second year high school students. Needs Assessment With recent technological advances, the educational systems continue to adjust in order to meet the present societal needs. The fact tha t knowledge users are required to incorporate technology to befit present societal demands has brought additional responsibilities to producers of such knowledge. A decade ago, a glance at the Australian curricula revealed an inward looking system of education that was limited to classroom environment where a teacher and a group of students held discussions (Wieman & Perkins, 2005).. However, this mode of learning has proved ineffective particularly for science subjects that involve concepts. This notion has affirmed the traditional system of education inadequate and the existing educational materials hardly enough to meet the present education demands. To fill the existing gap, curriculum developers have come up with various online platforms that allow students to use the search engine to access diverse learning materials interact with instructors’ online, book and sit their examinations, make enquiries through chatting with fellow students and instructors among many others. Interactive learning via online Blackboard Evidently, use of online blackboard has greatly enhanced teaching Physics in high school. This is because it creates an opportunity of having visual illustrations that are critical for mastering the subject. Such online illustrations not only enables students to understand, but also allows them visual identification of diagrams hence ability to preserve them than they could have done in verbal descriptions. Further, such demonstrations highlight physics concepts leaving students to give physical explanations. Interestingly, this mode of learning commands attentiveness from the audience. In teaching Physics, the online Blackboard can be used in numerous ways. For instance, it has been used in Physics laboratory curricula since it provides real-time access to data required for the experiment. Unlike the traditional methods, a student can watch a real event as it is performed experimentally. Further, the Blackboard has also proved helpful dur ing interactive lectures. The online Blackboard enables teachers to plan and teach Physics as well as instructing students using integrated technology. On

Friday, October 18, 2019

Importance of Internal and Strategic Communication to the Business Essay

Importance of Internal and Strategic Communication to the Business World - Essay Example Strategic communication entails the concerns necessary for an organization to be successful and generate their competitive advantage. Therefore, the long-term objectives need to be defined in a managerial perspective, which is linked to the survival of an organization. There are theories such as Entrepreneurial Organization Theories of the firm, which tends to combine both endogenous together with exogenous outlook to generate organizational competitive advantage. At the same time, the theories provide essential insights into communication roles in the organization management and also enhancement of communication constituting components. On the other hand, the Entrepreneurial Paradigm tries to identify strategic communication components to support the achievement of organizational objectives. The strategic contribution in relation to communication in an organization plays four major roles, which are aligning, visioning, constituting and energizing activities. The alignment dimension of strategic communication takes into consideration environmental scanning, boundary spanning, bridging and engaging ones. Corporate communication tends to hold a privilege in terms of observation and interpretation of the context, which any organization operates. Entrepreneurship requires social interaction to generate support and shape development of new ideas. Such an approach entails the building of bridges in an organization and  is considered necessary among stakeholders to activate and facilitate both involvement and participation. Internal strategic communication embraces engaging with stakeholders to develop solid relations and lasting partnership.

History of pencil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

History of pencil - Essay Example The pencil did not appear until the Middle Ages, before that the majority of writing that was done was chiseled or etched into stone and later the Egyptians and Romans would introduce the stylus. The stylus was a thinned piece of lead that would leave light, but readable, marks on papyrus, an early precursor to paper (Pencil History, 2014).However, the fact, is that the grounds for the modern pencil was actually discovered by accident. As stated previously lead stylus were used to write, but in 1564 that would change. A new material, thought to be lead, which would be name graphite, was discovered in Borrowdale, England. Immediately it was noticed that it left dark black marks on the land. Many experts feel that this may have been discovered earlier by the Aztecs, as well. This black lead is, in fact, graphite, which is not a form of lead at all (Pencil History, 2014).The first graphite pencils were simply shards of graphite that were wrapped in cloth or string; ideally to keep the hands clean. The development of pencils began in Europe, particularly in Germany, which was the location of the first massed produced pencil industry in 1662 (Pencil History, 2014).Of course, these pencils did not look quite like the pencils of today. In fact these earliest pencils were not painted at all. However, it was a man named Nicholas-Jacques Conte, scientist in Napoleon’s forces, in 1795, who is credited with the inventi ng of the modern pencil (Popova). It was the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century that spawned the first pencil product war. Different manufacturers were determined to highlight their products from those of others. This is when colors were added to identify different pencils from different companies. In the United States at this time is when erasers were conveniently added to one end of the pencil. However, to this day the majority of pencils sold in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe do not have and never have had

Impact Of Recordings On Performance Dissertation

Impact Of Recordings On Performance - Dissertation Example This is because they are able to pick up subtle differences in tone and sound on a recording that the average human listener cannot grasp in a live performance. This has served to not only improve the quality of recordings but has also worked to make the live performance even more enjoyable. The interesting reality in all of this is that the recording of music has likely pushed the musician to perfect his or her craft even further than in the past. Whereas mistakes in live performances went largely unnoticed in previous generations, the average listener today has an ear that is much more refined and cultured. As such, artists today tend to devote more time to get just the right pitch, rhythm, and sound out of their violin, regardless if they are performing in a recording studio or for a live audience. The recording has opened up music to a wider audience. Violinists, for example, are not known to travel the world on grandiose tours. Many of them stay with one symphony for an extended period of time. This creates a situation where the audience must either travel to them or pick up a recording of the art created either live or in a studio. This is not a bad development, however, because it gives the violinist access to a global audience, thereby promoting classical music to new generations on a continual basis. The recording of music, with all of its various downfalls, will most certainly continue to make a positive impact on the future of the industry, as represented in the works of Kreisler, Heifetz, and Menuhin.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

The influence and effects of JSR-170 on the Content Management Essay

The influence and effects of JSR-170 on the Content Management Industry - Essay Example For example business departments turning content into assets, that thus becomes a monetary value for the enterprise. The ECM market is rapidly growing. Regan (2005) quotes a Gartner study that estimates the value of ECM software at $2.5 billion by end of 2006 while Forrester are predicting 19% growth per annum to reach a value of $4 billion by 2008. The ECM market is predicted to rapidly grow in the next few years and will in all likelihood outstrip the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) market (Dschner et al, 2005). The content is currently locked in proprietary repositories or databases that only allow access with custom APIs. Attempting to have an application that can access information from different repositories is expensive since the application has to implement all the different combinations of repository APIs. As a consequence information that should be integrated remains isolated. This leads to vendor lock-in because the costs of changing a CM-vendor are high. The need for content access standards is obvious yet the content management industry has struggled to solve this problem. "[T]he ECM pure-play and infrastructure vendors are currently pushing their proprietary content repositories, hoping to grab as much market share as possible from rivals" (McNabb and Moore, 2005). Developing custom applications and services on top of a single vendor's proprietary API is an enterprise investment risk. Over time it is possible to lose the investment when the vendor goes out of business. That risk can be mitigated (but not entirely eliminated) through open standards, methodologies or documentation. The Java Specification Requests (JSRs) are documents within the Java Community Process (JCP) for defining new standards for the Java language. JSR-170, whose final version was released on June 17 2005, is expected to solve the above mentioned problem. It offers a standard, vendor-independent API to access data from a content repository and allows the required data flexibility that is needed for ECM to support additional business processes or applications. The concept of JSR-170 is explained in one sentence: "[JSR-170] specifies a standard API to access content repositories in Java 2 independently of implementation" (Nscheler, 2005) A proposed standard can only emerge to a standard if it is widely accepted and supported by the vendors and requested by clients of content management systems. The obvious problem is that while the standard is new not all vendors will have it implemented. This is akin to solving the proverbial problem of what comes first the chicken or the egg. With the standard not implemented the critical mass of customers demanding the implementation of the standard will not be easily achieved. The clients must first be aware of the new

Five Secrets of Charismatic Leader Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Five Secrets of Charismatic Leader - Assignment Example It enables people to go beyond the confines of mediocrity and tread into the realm of existence. In the process, it induces people to define their desires and to pursue them with passion. Ultimately, leadership transforms potential into reality. Charisma has been identified as one of the characteristics of transformational leaders. Tasler indicated that â€Å"displaying charismatic leadership is one of the most effective ways to boost everything from motivation and creativity to productivity and plain old satisfaction† (Tasler, 2010, par. 2). In this regard, leaders who do not seem to possess the charismatic qualities have renewed hope to develop the rudiments for honing this potential. Through a research conducted by Francesca Gino from Harvard Business School and David Hofmann of the University of North Carolina, the secrets of unraveling the charismatic powers in leaders are revealed. As presented by Tasler, there are specifically five steps to assist leaders in developing a more charismatic personae, to wit: (1) through a definition of the main character; (2) identifying the ultimate goal or the happy ending; (3) pinpointing the weakness of the current situation; (4) identifying the alternative courses of action; and (5) encourage outpouring of emotions. Simply put, Tasler’s advice is focused on: â€Å"charisma can be conveyed simply by using emotional words. Incorporate such words as nervous, afraid, and frustrated to heat up your descriptions of the not-so-happy beginning, and then use words like excited, confident, proud, and peaceful to make the happy ending feel happier. The goal is to create a stark contrast between the unpleasant feeling of the place they are currently in and the wonderful place they can go to if they do what you ask† (Tasler, 2010, par. 12).

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

The influence and effects of JSR-170 on the Content Management Essay

The influence and effects of JSR-170 on the Content Management Industry - Essay Example For example business departments turning content into assets, that thus becomes a monetary value for the enterprise. The ECM market is rapidly growing. Regan (2005) quotes a Gartner study that estimates the value of ECM software at $2.5 billion by end of 2006 while Forrester are predicting 19% growth per annum to reach a value of $4 billion by 2008. The ECM market is predicted to rapidly grow in the next few years and will in all likelihood outstrip the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) market (Dschner et al, 2005). The content is currently locked in proprietary repositories or databases that only allow access with custom APIs. Attempting to have an application that can access information from different repositories is expensive since the application has to implement all the different combinations of repository APIs. As a consequence information that should be integrated remains isolated. This leads to vendor lock-in because the costs of changing a CM-vendor are high. The need for content access standards is obvious yet the content management industry has struggled to solve this problem. "[T]he ECM pure-play and infrastructure vendors are currently pushing their proprietary content repositories, hoping to grab as much market share as possible from rivals" (McNabb and Moore, 2005). Developing custom applications and services on top of a single vendor's proprietary API is an enterprise investment risk. Over time it is possible to lose the investment when the vendor goes out of business. That risk can be mitigated (but not entirely eliminated) through open standards, methodologies or documentation. The Java Specification Requests (JSRs) are documents within the Java Community Process (JCP) for defining new standards for the Java language. JSR-170, whose final version was released on June 17 2005, is expected to solve the above mentioned problem. It offers a standard, vendor-independent API to access data from a content repository and allows the required data flexibility that is needed for ECM to support additional business processes or applications. The concept of JSR-170 is explained in one sentence: "[JSR-170] specifies a standard API to access content repositories in Java 2 independently of implementation" (Nscheler, 2005) A proposed standard can only emerge to a standard if it is widely accepted and supported by the vendors and requested by clients of content management systems. The obvious problem is that while the standard is new not all vendors will have it implemented. This is akin to solving the proverbial problem of what comes first the chicken or the egg. With the standard not implemented the critical mass of customers demanding the implementation of the standard will not be easily achieved. The clients must first be aware of the new

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Inkwell Accounting Department Essay Example for Free

Inkwell Accounting Department Essay The Accounting Department 1. Inkwell has a small finance team. The accounting department is based in the head office of the company, which is located in Birmingham. There are 8 people in the finance team. Each member of the team has their own computer. The team has access to the internet using Firefox and two printers integrated to each computer. 2. Inkwell has one Financial Director, Anil Gupta. Anil’s main job is to manage the overall financial position of the business, ensuring capital investments and corporate strategy is properly dealt with. He has delegated the running of the accounts department to the company accountant. 3. Inkwell has one company accountant, Michael O’Payne who has been in charge of most financial affairs before Anil Gupta joined the company. The others in the financial team report to him. 4. The team consists of one accounts technician, one General Ledger and Inventory Clerk, one Accounts Payable Clerk, one Accounts Receivable Clerk, one Costing Technician and one Payroll and Personnel Database clerk. 5. The accounting department keep a close relationship with the shop staff. The main mode of communication is through email and phone calls, occasionally a member from the team will pay them an unexpected visit. The Accounting Department- Key Internal Stakeholders 1. Anil Gupta, Financial Director, has the overall responsibility for all finance, legal and accounting procedures and systems. He produces annual reports and statutory accounts. Alongside this he deals with financial issues such as banking and also legal issues, such as contacts. Anil has 30% of the company’s shares when joined the directors in 2008. 2. Michael O’Payne, the Company Accountant, has been in the company since the set up of the company. His main duties include running the day to day responsibility of the accounts department. He also produces monthly management accounts and approves payments to suppliers. After observing the company there is a low level of tension between him and Anil. However, Michael still needs to report to Anil, if he likes it or not. 3. Alex Fox, accounting technician, has the responsibility of making sure the accounting system is reviewed and recommend changes, along with other project work. She has to report to both Anil and Michael, however works more closely to Michael. 4. Michelle Labelle, General Ledger and Inventory Clerk, has the duties of maintaining the company’s cash book and keeping control on the company’s inventory. This requires Michelle to keep in close communication with the store managers. She too reports to Michael. 5. Liana Khan, Accounts payable Clerk, has the responsibility of entering all the suppliers’ invoices and credit notes on to the accounting system. She also has to ensure payments are arranged to suppliers. Liana also reports to Michael, her Father in Law. 6. Greg Morris, Accounts Receivable Clerk, has the duties of inputting all data received by customers, as well as credit control duties. These duties include sending out monthly statements to customer, working out discounts and chasing customers who have not paid in the time given. 7. Alan Cook, Costing Technician, has the responsibility of operating the costing system. This means Alan has to work closely with the Sales director in order to reach market prices. Alan uses Quickcost software to do his work and has been doing it for since the company started. He also monitors the cost and profitability of each cartridge on a monthly bases and advises management about variance targets. 8. Sharon Ward, Payroll and Personnel Clerk is responsible for the running of the payroll, both Weekly and monthly and also to make sure the personnel database is always up to date. Sharon uses Sage Payroll systems to process all her statutory forms.