A Letter to a Friend

Dear Julia, I’m very glad that you are coming to visit my family and me the next month. We haven’t seen each other for ages and I missed you a lot so I hope that you are not going to change your mind about that trip. So I’m writing this letter to let you know something about my plans for your trip. During your stay here we would like to take you sightseeing around Moscow, visiting different places of your interest. It could be museums, parks, exhibitions and anything else you would love to see and take pictures of.The next day after your arrival we are having my dad’s birthday, so it would be great if you agree to celebrate it with us. During the next couple of days it is up to you what we are going to do – we have plenty of activities for you to choose from: having fun at the waterpark, skiing, ice-skating, shopping and many more besides them. We hope that you will love your stay here! Speaking about what you need to bring with you, I want to warn you that winter in Russia is cold and windy.Try to take with you at least a couple of sweaters and warm pants or jeans, as well as socks and winter boots. And don’t forget your hat and a warm jacket. Anyway, if you forget anything – don’t worry, you can buy everything you need here. My dad and I will meet you at the Domodedovo airport on Thursday, February’28 at 4 p. m. near the main entrance. If you have difficulties in finding us – just call me. I can’t wait to see you! Yours,

Online Hotel reservation Essay

INTRODUCTION Over the years, the internet has greatly changed the way people use computers and communicate today. Many Internet terms have become part of people’s everyday language and e-mail has added a whole new means through which people can communicate. By the turn of the century, information, including access to the Internet, will be the basis for personal, economic, and political advancement. The popular name for the Internet is the information superhighway. Whether you want to find the latest financial news, browse through library catalogs, exchange information with colleagues, or join in a lively political debate, the Internet is the tool that will take you beyond telephones, faxes, and isolated computers to a burgeoning networked information frontier. The pace of change brought about by new technologies has had a significant effect on the way people live and work worldwide. New and emerging technologies challenge the traditional process of teaching and learning, and the way education is managed. Information technology, while an important area of study in its own right, is having a major impact across all curriculum areas. As internet technology has improved, so have online reservation systems. Today, it is possible through online, to make a reservation for a hotel anywhere in the world. Hotels can create Web site and post new content on it every day. Technology has gone a long way, improving the lives of people. These technological breakthroughs have lots to offer, making great things in the easiest, fastest and efficient possible ways you can think of. Online hotel Reservation is very useful for the people especially for socials that they can now easily reserve a room in a hotel through online Internet. Easy worldwide communication provides instant access to a vast array of data. Project Overview Project Statement The hotel reservation system will provide service to on-line customers, travel agents, and an administrator. On-line customers and travel agents can make searches, reservations and cancel an existing reservation on the hotel reservation’s web site. Administrator can add/update the hotel and the room information approve/disapprove a new travel agent’s account application and  generate a monthly occupancy rate report for each hotel. Literature review The design of travel and tourism websites has received substantial attention by scholars (e.g.Schegg et al., 2002; Law and Leung, 2002; Law andWong, 2003; Scharl, Wà ¶ber and Bauer, 2003; Landvogt, 2004; So and Morrison, 2004; Essawy, 2005; Jeong et al., 2005; Law and Hsu,2006;Zafiropoulos and Vrana, 2006; Schmidt, Cantallops, and dos Santos, 2007).Landvogt (2004) evaluates several online booking engines over 23 differentcriteria, like overall user friendliness, payment method, instant confirmation,reliability, and invoicing function among others. These criteria present some ofsystem’s functions and design principles discussed furtherin current paper.In their study Jeong et al. (2005) find that only two characteristics ofhotel websites (information completeness and ease of use) are importantdeterminants of perceived website quality. These results are bewildering asmost studies identify more dimensions of perceived service quality to besignificant for website users. Law and Hsu (2006), for example, assess thedimensions of hotel websites (information regarding the reservation, hotelfacilities, contact details of the property, surrounding area and websitemanagement) and attributes in each dimension mostly valued by online users.Some of the most important website attributes are found to be the room rates,availability and security of payments (in the reservation informationdimension), the location maps, hotel and room amenities (in facilitiesinformation), telephone, address and e-mail of the hotel (for contactinformation), transportation to the hotel, airports and sights (for surroundingarea information), and up-to-date information, multilingual site and shortdownload time (for website management). So and Morrison (2004) applysimilar criteria for website evaluation as the preceding study but they groupthem into technical, marketing, consumer perspective and destinationinformation perspective criteria.Essawy (2005) focuses on website usability and shows that severeusability problems with interface quality, information quality, and servicequality affect negatively the purchase and revisit intentions of website users.The author identifies some of the practical tools/activities for increasing users’perceived satisfaction, purchase intention, and potential relationship building –exchanging links  with local points of interest, shorter/simpler pathways toleisure breaks, greater depth of information for room facilities and pricing,providing proactive interactions, and avoiding third-party reservation systems. In similar vein, Scharl, Wà ¶ber and Bauer (2003) assess the effectiveness ofhotel websites. Authors identify personal, system and media factors thatcontribute to hotel website adoption. In the system factors group, that is morecontrollable by the hotel management compared to personal and media factors,they identify the perceived utility of the product, speed of the system,intelligence, layout, services, languages, navigation, interactivity, reliability ofthe system.Research has also shown that trust is an important dimension of websitedevelopment (Fam, Foscht and Collins, 2004; Chen, 2006; Wu and Chang, 2006). If consumers do not trust the website they will not visit it, or will nottransform their visits into real purchases.Although much effort has been put towards evaluating the design oftourism websites and the identification of website attributes highly valued bycustomers, there is a gap in the research in the OHRS design and its specificproblems have not received enough attention in previous research with fewnotable exceptions. In series of reports Bainbridge (2002, 2003a, 2003b)discusses the practical aspects of the OHRS design (the search option in thesystems, the booking process and the date format), while Ivanov (2002, 2005)discusses the types and main characteristics of OHRSs and the major marketingdecisions to be taken by the marketing managers in their design. The review of available literature on the tourism / hotel website and OHRS design reveals the following conclusions:  · Website users are interested in easy navigation through the system.  · They want abundance of information for the services offered in textand pictures.  · Trust is vital for the usage of the system.  · Website design can significantly influence the online experience of theusers and their purchase intentions.  · Website design itself does not guarantee online purchases but it is theperceived utility of the product that attracts customers. Demographic characteristics and Internet Usage Behaviour Education level, age, income,and occupation have been found to be significantly different among Internet users. Bonn etal.(1998)[15] study showed that those who use the Internet as a travel information-gathering tool are likely to bemore educated, younger, with higher household incomes, use commercial lodging accommodations while traveling, tend to travel by air and spend more money on travel-related expenses. Weber and Roehl’s (1999)[16] study shows similar results. They found that online travel purchasers are more likely to be people who are aged 26-55, with higherincomes, with higher status occupations, and have more years of experience with the Internet than those who do not search or purchase online. The Asian demographic patterns of online purchasers tend to mirror their Western profiles. According tostudies carried out by Technowledge Asia in 1999 and 2000, cybershoppers in the four Asian regions (Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia) were found to be mainly males, in the age group of 26 to 35 years and better educated. Hence, it has been shown that an individual’s educational level may affect their susceptibility to attitude change. Intelligent people understandcomplex messages better, and as a result, persuasion by complex messages is more likely. In addition, an individual’s educational level is alsopartially a measure of their socioeconomic status. Weber and Roehl (1999)[16] study found that Internet â€Å"bookers† were more likely to have used the Internet for 4 years. Other researchers confirmed that Internet bookers spend more time online per week than those booking offline (Weber and Roehl ,1999)[16]. Finally, the intention to shop online is also influenced by consumers’ Internet shopping history (Shim et al., 2001)[17]. It is demonstrated by pastresearch findings that prior online shoppingexperiences have a direct impact on Internet shopping intentions (Weber and Roehl, 1999)[16]. There have been other studies that have supported online experience or tenure as key determinant of onlinebuying behavior (Bellman, Lohse, and Johnson, 1999[18] and Beldona et al, 2004)[19]. Findings indicate that the greater the number of years the user spent online combined with higher frequency of Internet usage; the greater was the likelihood of buying (Bellman et al., 1999[18]; Weber and Roehl, 1999[16] and Beldona et al 2004)[19]. Alwitt and Hamer (2000)[20] posit that consumers increase  their control with more time spent on the Internet, and in turn develop finer expectations of their interactions with businesses in general. Hammond, McWilliam, and Diaz (1998)[21] of users’ attitudes towards the Web. Based from the literature review of the Internet users,it is noticeable that Internet users are better educated, higher incomes, higher status occupations, have more online experience, use commercial lodging accommodations while travelling and tend to travel by air. In Malaysia, one of the profiles that had an early exposure to the culture of using the Internetfor personal and professional reasons was university residents. These may consist of students, administrators and lecturers. However, university staffs are more likely to fit the profiles of the Internet users (in terms of purchasing) due to their financial capability and mobility. Consequently, this leads to: H1 : There is a relationship between the university   staffs’ demographic factors and the determinants of  online hotel reservation H2 : There is a relationship between the university   staffs’ Internet usage behavior and the determinants of online hotel reservation

Correspondence packet Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Correspondence packet - Article Example This social group has proved to constitute the bulk of our consumer audience (which isn’t surprising as the clothes produced by our company are orientated on youth), and we need to sense their needs and tendencies in their behavior accurately in order to increase our benefit. Thus, as marketing researches show, the internet has become virtually the main tool for advertising and promoting goods among a very wide category of consumers. Thus, our target audience tends to use the internet the most among all other media, and it is the area where we need to display our significant place in fashion clothing industry. Our surveys show that about three quarters of our target audience tends to use internet daily. On the other hand, popularity of television has dropped considerably in the recent years. This tendency, as you can clearly see, has a profound impact on our industry, too, as we currently focus our major efforts on the outdoor advertising and TV commercials. DIVERSE clothes, Inc. must shift focus from TV advertising to the Internet advertising using all its means like banners, pop-ups and e-mail ads. Changing our strategy will allow us to reach the greater number of our potential consumers who are young adults. The World-Wide-Web provides a valuable platform to place ads with the aim to reach millions of consumers around the world (Hamel). Again, surveys indicate that such websites as Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, Twitter and YouTube are among the top 10 most visited websites. This gives us a hint about where our efforts should be concentrated therefore. If we shift focus from radio and TV advertising to the popular Internet sites, we will increase popularity of our company and achieve much success in promotion of our products. And, obviously, the rate of sales is likely to increase considerably. Concerning the financial aspect of the issue, I would like to suggest simply redirecting

Journal Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Journal - Coursework Example The difference presented by this methodology compared with other teaching styles is that topics for study are selected because they are of interest to the children and their lives. These interests are supposed to exhibit meaningful relevance to the greater benefit of children’s lives. In this education curriculum, children go to great depths and higher levels in which teachers integrate content knowledge like reading, science and mathematics into these projects. This paper aims to highlight emergent curriculum by discussing topics that appear to interest children in a given class. In emergent curriculum formulation and implementation, development appropriate projects (DAP) should always be a primary consideration when planning to embark on designing a project. This ensures that the intended activity meets the overall objectives set out by the institution of learning and addresses the children’s immediate goals of learning through their experiences in the project (Carter & Curtis 203) DAP is achieved by ensuring that the intended project does not require too little or too much of the children in that it negates their efforts in attaining knowledge from the activity. In this case, similarity or monotony presented by indoor play areas can seem to be depressing or discouraging to teachers a scenario, I was able to find myself in during my time with the children. I came to notice that the children under my care did not get bored for being in the same play environment every day; the children illustrated progressive advancement in their daily activities in th e same setting. As a teacher, I am supposed to apply my knowledge on theoretical influences behind this observation made on the children in this static environment (Carter & Curtis 92). As outlined by Carter & Curtis, As a teacher and caregiver, I am supposed to claim my power as a principle to focus my attention on

Creative Action Plan XM Satellite Radio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Creative Action Plan XM Satellite Radio - Essay Example Client: XM Satellite Radio Holdings Target: Description of the target audience. Mobile Commuters. Early adopters of technology. Age 20-45years. Music lovers who appreciate variety. Techno savvy generation â€Å"Y†. Middle to upper class social strata. Competitive snapshot: Direct competitors as Sirius and WorldSpace (international competitor). Indirect competition from all providers of traditional AM FM radio, Internet Radio, cable music channels and other GPS mobile services that can offer music. CDs and MP3 Old thought/New thought: â€Å"When on the move, listening to my favorite stations becomes interrupted with coverage limitations. What’s more, the traditional AM /FM stations offer limited variety and high advertising clutter. But now with XM Satellite Radio I can listen to over 100 channels, uninterrupted in every corner of the country with crystal clear digital sound clarity† Competitive advantage: Specifically, what our product does that other brands donà ¢â‚¬â„¢t do as well. Offers technology innovation and program variety in digital sound quality anywhere within the country.

Diabetes and Stem Cell Treatment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Diabetes and Stem Cell Treatment - Essay Example Stem cells in the treatment of diabetes play a crucial role due to their capabilities in differentiation, in the early stages of development, they can develop into any tissue found in the body ranging from body organs to full body parts (Pileggi, p.1355). Their functionality lies in the way they differentiate into these tissues. To ensure that they can turn into any body tissue their ability must not be lost through the differentiation process. This is because differentiation makes the stem cells into tissue specific cells (Burns et al 438). In diabetes, they are used to regenerate certain parts of the pancreas. To reproduce this vital part that is affected by diabetes, there is a need to modify the stem cells that remain in a patient’s body, in spite of the limited reserves (Holger et al 2). Diabetes is a disease that results from the autoimmune destructions of pancreatic cells that are responsible for an individual’s ability to control and regulate blood glucose (Marko et al 1). Diabetes causes poor blood circulation, heart disease, stroke, infection, kidney failure and sometimes it even results in death (Zhao 2). Due to destruction of these pancreatic cells, the body is unable to produce insulin and thus insulin is administers, however, the role of insulin is to regulate the levels of glucose in the blood of an individual. The destruction of the pancreatic cells responsible for the production of insulin, pancreatic islet B cells, has yet to have a cure. For long periods, scientists have been unable to find a cure as the treatment involves individual approaches that are too complex and expensive. However, in recent times, studies and researches have revealed of a possibility that stem cells can be used to cure or at least reverse diabetic conditions by restarting pancreatic function in an individual and, as a result, eradicate if or

Psychological Analysis of the Story of Adam and Eve Essay

Psychological Analysis of the Story of Adam and Eve - Essay Example Interestingly, the Jewish story of God has a companion for him called Sophia 'Knowledge'. If God is the Oedipal father, then Sophia is the unobtainable mother. God is the mental 'superego', the judge or conscience. Adam is the Libido or Id. He is the human being of base desires; all this actions are inborn, and he lives in a state of gratification and simplicity. Eve is symbolic of the ego, which is concerned with the external reality, and the balance between physical desire and mental processes. Adam's knowledge is filtered through her; and where as Adam is unified with God's will, having no ego of his own, Eve is independent, her will is self-will, and Adam's is the will of the Other. Lucifer, as the serpent, is the symbol of a human being coming to consciousness, moving away from his parent, and beginning to reach out beyond the limitations of the Father. The serpent can be seen as the one who brings Adam and Eve out of the oedipal complex, and into the mental processes of Eros and Thanatos. In the story of Genesis, God is the Forbidding Father, or Thanatos, closely connected to the death drive; He represses the knowledge and understanding of Adam.

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 80

Marketing - Essay Example product helps diabetes patients that require monitoring constantly using devices and may also want privacy and services that are discreet with which to test levels of glucose. The incognito product in this case lines well with the clients to monitor their blood sugar levels discreetly. Currently, the company is designing devices and accessories for monitoring of glucose currently to sell them direct to the patients or the consumers in this case. The products are have great designs, are of great quality, and most significantly they are incognito, giving customers their desired privacy for use at whatever time they are comfortable. The avatar below is a prototype of a probable client by the name Emily Hewings. She is obese as a result of being diabetic and living in a region that has widespread diabetes infection, that is southern America (USA) (DeVol & Bedroussian, para. 13). The population of the people living with diabetes and other costs that are related are expected to double within a 25 year bracket from now. Significant changes in strategy of the private or the public, and growth of cost will add a significant strain to the USA healthcare system that is already

The Help Book Report Essay Example for Free

The Help Book Report Essay The Help, by Kathryn Stockett (2009) is a novel set in Jackson, Mississippi during the civil rights movements of the 1960s. It follows the lives of three women –one white, a recent college graduate, and two black maids. The book was a huge success and was turned into a major motion picture. However sadly like many overnight sensation novels The Help has an interesting storyline but is poorly executed. One problem I had with the writing of this novel was the contrasts she drew about the dialogues of the characters. In the book the author tells that one of the characters, Celia Foote, speaks incorrect English because of the poverty she was raised in (another character, Minnie, comments on her accent and way of speaking) however, when Celia speaks in the book her dialogue is impeccable. This is shown in the quote (for the purpose of differentiation, Celia’s speech is shown in italics and Minnie’s in bold) â€Å"They dont like me because of what they think I did†¦ They dont like you ‘cause they think you white trash. Celia has been said to speak in the same way as the black maids, but when she and Minnie are conversing they speak entirely differently. Note the way that because is pronounced- Minnie has obliterated the ‘be’. The contradiction the author has used suggests her incompetency as a writer. Another is the way this book was billed. The Help is said to be a true to events, accurate recount of life in the South in the 60’s, but the reader does no t have to look too deeply into the book to tell that this is untrue. Perhaps if the writer had spent a little more time researching the era she was going to write in her novel would be worthy of this acclaim. it is clear to almost anybody who reads the novel that she is totally unworthy of this praise and it is disgraceful that she does not seem to care that she is misinforming the readers of her book if they take her word for how life was in the South. This book became wildly successful only because it was thrown in the faces of those who would read it without really thinking into it, enjoying the idea of a white saviour to make America’s dark black civil rights history seem like it wasn’t really so bad. The very idea that the book is based on- that black maids would become so trusting of a white woman who also happens to be friends with their employer, to allow their stories about how difficult it is to work for the white upper class, is so far fetched that it borders on insanity. Stockett then proceeds to illustrate her story to seem s though it would be perfectly plausible. Whilst this would be perfectly fine if Stockett had ensured that the book was received as an entirely fictious work, Stockett also manages to belittle or remove the two most powerful influences of the time; racism and male dominance. I believe this to be because the two did not fit in properly with the storyline and how she wanted it to go- inst ead of rising to the challenge and changing her plot a little to incorporate the two, she once again proves her lack of any real eloquence in writing. I would go so far as to say that her imagination was the only reason she made it in the writing industry as it was definitely not her writing prowess. She wanted her antagonist (or heroine I feel she would prefer), a white upper class woman, to be completely blame free, and so blamed any racism, although to her credit there was very little, on the way she was raised, and blamed her mother for it all. (she does the same for Elisabeth’s daughter, saying that she will also grow up to be racist). Then she draws a complete parallel with Hattie, who is an extreme racist and whose mother is one of the least racist characters in the book. Hattie did not learn her racism from her mother, therefore Stockett cannot make the claim that the parents of a child are to blame. Nevertheless, my experience from reading The Help was not a purely negative one. There were many moments in the story that if I just ignored the constant contradictions in the text I found very moving or entertaining. The dedication Skeeter showed to finding her old maid Constantine, who raised her, and the evident love she had for her, was incredibly touching. Tying her into the story and revealing that it was because of her that Skeeter is not racist was possibly one of the only smart literary moves the author made –that is if you look past the fact that everyone else in her social circle and their parents were raised in the exact same way and not a single one of them turned out like Skeeter. The way that Abileen cared for Mae Moebly was also very touching, and the words â€Å"you is kind, you is smart, you is important† have become synonymous with The Help. These two aspects can be linked together in more than just how touching they both were. (although from what I can gather of Stockett’s writing ‘prowess’ or lack thereof, I cannot decipher whether or not this was purposeful) The way that Abileen cares for Mae Moebly and how Mae sees her more as her mother than her own mother Elizabeth, is a representative for how Skeeter was raised by Constantine instead of her own mother, and xplains why Skeeter was so desperate to find Constantine. Overall, I was incredibly disappointed with this novel as the author butchered an amazing concept that, had it been in an accomplished writers hands could have been an incredible story. The author has a very talented imagination, but perhaps it would be better for her to in future just create the concept and allo w someone who actually has some degree of eloquence to write the actual novel, or alternatively to hire an editor who actually knows how to proofread for contradictions.

Work based on the experimental cycle testing Newtons Essay Example for Free

Work based on the experimental cycle testing Newtons Essay Introduction: For this piece of coursework I have chosen to look at the laws of impact on a pool table. This will involve making initial assumption that will be made from inspection of the model and experience in playing the game. With these assumptions in mind I will carry out an experiment on the table to justify or correct my assumptions. After a clear understanding of the reality of the model I will attempt to compile a few practical points that will improve the performance of the player when they are playing in the specific environment that is being modelled. The models environment: There are many shots that can be played on the pool table that require different aspects of skill. The specific environment that I will be testing is the snookered shot. This means there is a ball between the cue ball and my colour (red). One of the options I have is to rebound the shot off the cushion and hit the ball. This would normally require experience in order to be accurate enough to hit the cushion in the right place. The model I will be testing will help the play know where to hit the cushion in order to hit the red ball. The elasticity of the cushion and the velocity of the ball are variables when determining the impulse from the cushion on the ball, this will affect the angle on the cushion. Assumptions: Due to my experience with playing pool I have formulated a few important factors for the experiement. I will start by looking at the constants these include velocity, which will remain the same through out the experiment. The next is the momentum, which will be treated as having been conserved and not lost in the collision with the cushion. These two points will allow me to use a basic model that uses only the knowledge I have acquired. In addition to this I will exclude the effect of sliding or spin on the ball, the motion of this is too difficult for me to model. The model: Newtons laws of impacts state that the initial speeds U1 and U2 collide so that final speeds V1 and V2 are produced under the effect of the coefficient of restitution. This can be written as: (e is the coefficient of restitution) This is the same as writing: This can be changed into component form to show the following: Parallel the cushion component   Momentum is conserved. Perpendicular to the cushion component. By showing the perpendicular component in comparison to the parallel component a final model is produced. With this model I can use the pool table to find the both angles with out using velocities or momentums. Predictions: By using this model I will take a value for the coefficient restitution as 0. 8. This value was acquired from a web site called www. gamasutra. com/features/20000516/lander_pfv. htm, which was about making a computer model of the pool game. The site was demonstrating the effect spin would have on the ball in the computer game. Below are the results from using the model. From inspection all the values for ?are less than ? by an average of 4. 5 degrees. This shows the effect the coefficient of friction and the elasticity of the cushions on the table. Method: The first part to the method was to collect the correct apparatus. This included finding a ramp to launch the ball each time. This is more suitable that a cue because I could keep the velocity constant with the ramp. No ramp existed for launching snooker balls so I made one using a mudguard mounted on a wood frame. The ramp was made so that the ball rolled down the rims of the guard so that it did not hit the screw fixing along the centre of the mudguard seen in the picture. The ramp was modified so that just before the end of the ramp the rims were made wider so that the ball was released on to the surface without bouncing. The ramp was tested before the experiment so see if it was accurate enough to hit the same point consistently, which it achieved. The ramp also considered the height the ball was released every launch by a notch at the top of the ramp. (see picture) The ball was held at the top of the ramp by a single figure holding the centre of the ball, this reduced spin on the ball when travelling down the slope. The same ball was used every launch to eliminate variables. The ramp was positioned on the surface so that it was always the same distance for a marked point on the cushion. The ramp was moved along this perimeter to change the angle of approach. To position the ramp I used trigonometry using the lengths of two cushions. Below is an example of the calculations required to put the ramp in the exact place. This value was then measured up the black line on the diagram above and traced onto the perimeter of the cushion points semi circle. This method was accurate but as the angle increased the ramp was moved closer to the cushion opposite the marker point. This meant the table was too narrow to continue readings, so I had to change the adjacent length to allow the readings to continue. When the ramp was correctly lined up, which was done by trial and improvement of rolling balls down the ramp, I ran the test three times to get an average. Each run of the experiment measured the distance from the cushion to the perpendicular cushion where the ball had hit. This was then processed in the same way but the opposite way round. This was then repeated for all the angles between 10? and 90?. All the readings taken were measured to the nearest 0. 5 of a cm. This has been taken into consideration in the table of results. The pictures show the markings in chalk on the table. The picture to the left has the 50? , 70? and 90? markings on it. Results: This table continues to show the coefficient of restitution as a result from comparing the two angles. These values for the coefficient of restitution varied from 0. 5495 to 0. 7535, which showed that the collisions were not constant. This is down to either inconstancies in launching the ball or different frictional values along the balls path that could cause spin. Before I analyse the results more carefully I will point out the values in the table that I think are the most reliable. The values include 0. 7062, 0. 7277 and 0. 7535; these are taken from the angles ranging between 50? , 60? and 70?. At these angles the collision between the ball and the cushion is more consistent and there is less component force parallel to the cushion to make the ball slide through the mark on the cushion. The graph shows the upper and lower bound for the coefficient of restitution, it was necessary to include the upper and lower bounds due to the inaccuracies of the measured angles. The lengths were measured to the nearest millimetre. The prediction stated that the coefficient of restitution should be constant at 0. 8. The results show that the coefficient never reaches this level so there is clearly a factor that needs explaining. The difference is probably because of the frictional effect on the ball and a variation of spin on the ball as it rolled down the ramp. Also there would have been slight inconsistencies in my method due to human inaccuracy. Corrections On review of the method I have found that the I have translated the model into my method with a small mistake. The angles that I initially measured were measuring from the wrong point on the ball. The trig method I used meant the balls centre had to hit the cushion; instead it was the surface of the ball. To correct this mistake I had to look at the diameter of the ball and decrease the according lengths. The balls diameter was 52 mm so this meant I had to decrease the two measurements perpendicular to the cushion. These were D1 and D2, the table below shows the corrections made followed by the corrected graph. These corrections changed the angles of ? so that the smaller angles got smaller and larger angles stayed the same. This had the effect of deducing the coefficient of restitution for the smaller angles but not for the larger angles. This is why the corrected graph starts lower and then maps onto the original graph. As well as the variation due to human inaccuracy in measuring shown above there are other forms of variation that affected my results, these were spin and sliding. The effect of these is too complicated so I have explained them and drawn diagrams to give an idea. Both of these could have changed the results by an unknown amount. Due to personal experience of the game it is usually for the ball to slide more along the cushion at smaller angles, this could be because of friction and would explain the difference between my results and the predictions. On the diagram is shown the ball sliding through the mark. The ball is supposed to hit the black mark, but instead hits at the red mark and rolls along the cushion to leave at the light green mark. Concise points for improving the players games * With small angles of attack the player must realize that the ball will be at a higher chance of experiencing sliding so will depart the collision at a smaller angle. * For high angles of attack the angle of departure will be slightly under the angle of approach. Evaluation To improve this experiment to get the best possible results from it think the introduction of a video camera could help position the ball on the cushion. This would work by having a measure attached to the side of the table and then video taping the balls cushion with the cushions. This would give more accurate marks. To reduce spin on the ball I would add a rubber surface to the ramp to ensure the ball had to roll down the slope and not spin or slide. This would set the ball rolling and so the points where the ball collided would be more accurate. The predictions came from a source off the Internet and they might not be the correct for the pool table I used. The predicted coefficient was an average for most pool tables, but really in order to evaluate this method I need the accurate coefficient for my table. This could be found by using light gates to measure the speed of the ball off the ramp and after the collision with the cushion. The speed of departure over the speed of approach would have given me the correct coefficient to compare to my results. Overall the correlation between the predicted results and my results is very bad, this means that my model is very basic and does not look at the effects on the table, such as spin and sliding. The model comparison has show me the effect of the certain variables and hopefully will improve my future games. Mechanics 2 Coursework James Ashley-Smith.

Vietnam Airlines: An overview

Vietnam Airlines: An overview INTRODUCTION Vietnam Airlines is the flag carrier of Vietnam, the country with population of 85 million and 330 000 square meter. It was established in January 1956 by the Government and marked the birth of aviation industry in Vietnam, and served only domestic flights (Vietnam Airline, 2008). After the end of Vietnam War, from 1976, Vietnam Airlines started international flights, including South East Asian countries and China. Another turning point of Vietnam Airlines is year 1993 when this airline became the national flag Airlines of Vietnam. Nowadays, Vietnam Airlines connects 19 cities throughout the country and 42 international destinations (including code-sharing services) in Asia, Europe, US and Australia,. Mission: As a flag carrier, Vietnam Airline wants to be the bridge between Vietnam and other countries in the world and â€Å"bring Vietnam cultural to the world† (Vietnam Airline, 2008). The International Air Transport Association (as cited by Chan (2000)) predicts air travel in Asian Pacific will account for 40 % in 2010. The potential of this airline market increases due to the fact that the attractive of tourism, the emerging economies and the increase number of middle-class. Unlike in Western country, surface transportation, such as railways, highways in Asia is not good and therefore, it can create opportunities for airline transportation as the only and the faster way. Like other countries in Asia, the potential of Vietnam market is high and untapped. In 2007, 4.2 million foreign visitors travelled to Vietnam, 16 per cent more than in 2006 (Sydney Morning Herald, 2008). And according to Sydney Morning Herald (2008), Vietnam is ranked as number 4 by The World Travel and Tourism Council on its list of the worlds fastest growing travel destinations. Vietnams domestic market is also highly potential due to the fact that surface transportation infrastructure is not competitive. It takes more than 30 hours to travel by train, from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, much higher than nearly 2 hours of normal flight. Other alternative is coaches which also take time and inconvenient. Although average income per capita of Vietnamese is only 835 US Dollars (in 2007) (General Statistics Office of Vietnam, 2008), lower than other neighbour countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore; the income increases gradually in the last few years increase 7% per annum, shows the tourism potential of this airline in Vietnam market. Moreover, due to high population density and business opportunities in two largest economic hubs of Vietnam: Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, travel demand for business purpose is very high. However, aviation service quality in Vietnam is far behind the international standard. It is very easy to find tons of articles of customers complaints about all three domestic airlines in Vietnam: Vietnam Airlines, Indochina Airlines, Jetstar Pacific. Even in Vietnam Airlines, the national flag carrier and full service airline, service delivery is mainly product-oriented which has set the mind of management board to be far apart from customer-oriented. Customer dissatisfaction varies from booking services, poor catering, the temper of air crew to luggage delivery services. Broad aim of the research: Use SERVQUAL model to assess customer satisfaction and service quality of Vietnam Airlines. Research questions: How can the customer satisfaction with Vietnam Airlines be described? How satisfied of Vietnam Airlines customer with its services? How can Vietnam Airlines managers improve the service satisfaction among Vietnam Airlines customers? The main purpose of this study is to investigate customer satisfaction in airline industry. In the chosen airline, Vietnam Airlines, the author aims to explore what customer satisfaction is in the perceptions of the airline passengers and find the solutions to improve customer satisfaction. By analyzing questionnaires and interview of customers, customer satisfaction degree will be examined and after that, new strategies and recommendations will be given for Vietnam Airlines to enhance service quality. This study aims to help Vietnam Airlines management to better diagnose the customers needs and expectations. It will also play a role in identifying the present situation of this flag carrier and suggest future strategies for better customers service. Conceptual framework: To investigate the service quality and customer satisfaction of Vietnam Airlines, I will use the SERVQUAL model (Parasuraman et al, 1985, as cited by Chau and Kao (2009)) which the de LITERATURE REVIEW The importance of customer satisfaction: Thank to good services and customer satisfaction is met, behavioral acts of customer can affect the profitability and market share of a firm through three main behavior: word-of-mouth, repurchase intention and positive feedback. The first customer behavior is â€Å"word of mouth†, defined by Saha and Theinge (2009) as a flow of information about products and services that passes from one customer to other and can be used as trustable source of information to evaluate recommendations (mouth to mouth marketing). In all case, customer satisfaction does not always create mouth-to-mouth marketing but it is a necessity that satisfaction is met for positive word-of-mouth. Research conducted by Babin (2005) shows that not only pleased customers generate world-of-mouth but also extremely dissatisfied customers causes negative feedback and controlling two flows of information is necessary for marketers. Secondly, good services also lead to repurchase intention or customer loyalty. It is very necessary to gain loyalty because it is cheaper to keep old customers than lure new ones from other service providers. Airline carriers often use â€Å"frequent flyer scheme† but it is not often applied for budget airlines due to the high cost. Only by services and affordable price, low cost carriers can maintain the number of customers. Another behavior of customers as mentioned above, customer behavior, refers to transmission of complaints and compliments to service suppliers. Soderlund (1998) shows that dissatisfied customers tends to generate negative feedback than positive one from satisfied customers. The number of feedback cannot be the most precise method for customer analysis but it is useful to forecast consumer trends and improve services. Customer satisfaction in airline industry: Tai and Chan (2002) define service satisfaction as the post purchase evaluation of consumption experience. Unlike material products or pure services, airline service- like other hospitality services is combination of tangible products and quality of service offered to passengers. For example, satisfaction with hospitality service- such as a restaurant meal is amalgamation of the food or drink (material product), the behavior of waiters or waitresses, and the environment of the restaurant (decoration, lighting). In aviation industry, the core products are only physically transport customers and their luggage between two destinations. Other services in a flight, such as making enquiry and booking, seat allocation, in-flight services and baggage handling are only secondary tasks but they can create dissatisfaction if it is performed badly. Service quality and customer satisfaction becomes vital in the sustainability of aviation industry, basing on following criteria: financial data, fares, passenger load factors, service related issues (Sultan and Simpson, 2000). Sultan and Simpson (2000) suggest marketing strategies for airline industry focus on customer satisfaction, rather than company profit. Airline service can also be rated in terms of five dimensions: overall performance, comfort, service, food and website (Rhoades, 2006). On the other hand, Rhoades and Waguespack (2005) points out the operational measures of airline service qualities: the number of flight delays, mishandled baggage, overbooks flights and consumer complaints. Only a few airlines (including Singapore Airlines, British Airways and American Airlines) can establish the reputation of high service quality (Chan, 2000). These airlines are successful in positioning themselves, not by offering the cheapest prices but delivering excellent service quality. Providing consistent service quality is a challenge for all companies in service sector, including airline industry. In these days, to keep the high level of quality standard, mega carriers and small airlines are cooperating rather than competing with others by sub-contracting, code sharing and global marketing network. (Nejati et al, 2008). The formation of these alliances increases the benefit of economies of scale by enhancing flight availability and yield from customers. However, to work in effective way, two airlines must offer similar service level and position themselves in the same way in the market. Customer satisfaction Measurement SERVQUAL -the gap model which is firstly proposed by Parasuraman (1985) (as cited by Nejati, 2008) is a widely used model and has been applied for plenty of service industries: public services (Bryland (2001) and Wisniewski (2001)), police services (Donnelly et al, 2006), heath care (Kilbourne, 2004), mobile communication (Lai et al, 2007), etc. SERVQUAL is based on the assumption that the service quality is measured by the gap between the customers needs and wants of service and the actual service quality that customers receive from service provider (Donnelly, 2006). If the service is over customers expectation, it is assessed as excellent service; otherwise, the service becomes unacceptable. It is a useful method because service quality is assessed from customers perspectives, and by comparing and contrasting the difference between the each customers groups and the differences between the company and its competitors, managers know where they are in the market, how to position the s ervice and which group will be the target customers. Zeithaml (1990) (As cited by Donnelly et al, 2006) identifies five dimensions of service quality management: -Tangibles: the existence of modern equipment and facilities, professional employees, and communication materials. Reliability: performing the service as promised, carrying out the service right at the first time and managing to solve customer services problems. Responsiveness: willingness to help customers, provide prompt service and readiness to customers request. Assurance. The knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence. Empathy: understanding customers need and wants and giving customers individual attention, convenient business hours. Among the five gaps of SERVQUAL, this research concentrates on Gap 5- the difference between customers expectation and perception. The reason for this limitation of the research due to the fact that it is the only gap that can be investigated solely by the data provided by customers while other gaps need information from management board and the company itself. BIBILIOGRAPHY: Boddy, D. (2008), Management: An introduction, 4th edn, Pearson Education Limited: Essex. Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2007), Business research methods, 2nd edn, Oxford University Express: New York. Collis, J. and Hussey, R. (2009), Business Research: A practical guide for undergraduate and post graduate students, 3rd edn, Palgrave Macmillan: Hampshire. Chan, D. (2000), â€Å"Air wars in Asia: competitive and collaborative strategies and tactics in action†, Journal of Management Development, 19 (6), pp 473-488, EMERALD. [Online]. Available http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=ArticleFilename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/0260190602.pdf (Accessed May 25th 2009). Doganis. R. (2001), The airline business in the 21st century, Rouledge: London. Fisher, C. (2004), Researching and writing a dissertation for business students, Pearson Education Limited: Essex. Horn, R. (2009), Researching and writing dissertations: A complete guide for business and management students, Chartered institute of personnel and development: London. Knowles, R., Shaw, J. and Docherty, I. (2008), Transport Geographies: Mobilities, Flows and Spaces, Blackwell Publishing Ltd: HongKong. Hanlon, P. (2007), Global airlines: competition in a transnational industry, 3rd edn, Butterworth-Heinemann: Oxford. Liu, A.H.(2006) ‘Customer value and switching costs in business services: developing exit barriers through strategic value management , Journal of Business Industrial marketing,21(1), pp.30-37 EMERALD [Online].Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=ArticleFilename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/0800210104.pdf (Accessed: 14 May 2009)Mowen, J. (1995), Consumer Behavior, Prentice Hall: New Jersey.Saha and Theingi (2009), â€Å"Service quality, satisfaction and behaviour intentions: A study of low cost airlines carriers in Thailand†, â€Å"Managing Service quality, 19(3), pp 350-372, EMERALD. [Online]. Available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=962B9598F85C1E4B396446804F931677?contentType=ArticlehdAction=lnkhtmlcontentId=1789597history=false (Accessed May 25th 2009). Solomon, M. (2007), Consumer Behaviour: Buying, having and being, 7th edn, Pearson Prentice Hall: New Jersey. Vogel, V., Evanschitzky, H. Ramaseshan, B. (2008), â€Å"Customer equity drivers and future sales, Journal of Marketing, Vol 72 (Nov 2008), pp 98-108, [Online], Available at http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=2hid=6sid=7ab9124a-a6ce-45e3-8f37-f753a51e48ee%40SRCSM2#db=buhAN=34664503 (Accessed May 4th 2009) General Statistics Office of Vietnam (2009), Statistical Handbook of Vietnam 2008 -National Account, [Online] Available at http://www.gso.gov.vn/default_en.aspx?tabid=515idmid=5ItemID=8445 Accessed Jun 16th, 2009. . Mitton, R. (2007), Vietnam: Surge in flights to trendy destination, The Straits Times, [online], Available at http://www.asiaone.com/Travel/News/Story/A1Story20071203-39379.html (Accessed July 3rd, 2009). http://www.itpc.gov.vn/importers/news/2009/05/2009-05-14.683111/MISNews_view?b_start:int=40set_language=en Sydney Morning Harald (2008), Jetstar targets Vietnam tourists boom, [Online], Available at http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/jetstar-targets-vietnams-tourist-boom/2008/05/26/1211653891044.html (Accessed May 25th, 2009). Vietnam Airlines (2008), Our Background, Available at http://www.vietnamairlines.com/wps/portal/en/site/about_us/our_background (Accessed June 18th 2009).

The Legality and Ethics of Internet Advertising Essay -- Exploratory E

The Legality and Ethics of Internet Advertising ABSTRACT: Recently, DoubleClick.com, one of the world’s premier Internet advertising firms was at the center of a Federal Trade Commission investigation on privacy. Consumer privacy advocates have charged the company with infringing on the privacy of websurfers because of the aggressive means it uses to gather data for profit. This paper discusses the legal and moral issues surrounding these tactics. Were the company’s aggressive tactics legally permissible? Were they ethical? Companies such as DoubleClick need to inform the websurfer that he/she is being monitored. The world of the Internet uses advertising as its central driving force. Internet start-up companies have spent millions upon millions of dollars on advertising, making Internet advertising a very lucrative business. In fact, right now the advertising market is estimated to be worth about $6.6 billion and is expected to be worth $27 billion by 2004.1 One of the leaders in the business, DoubleClick.com, has a significant market share of the industry with over 1,500 client sites. The aggressive means by which DoubleClick operates has made it the advertiser of choice by many Internet companies. The power of DoubleClick is in its usage of Internet "cookies" to gather information on web surfers. Every time you visit a website that is powered by DoubleClick, an Internet cookie is placed on to your web browser. The cookie helps DoubleClick track what your Internet habits are and which websites you visit most often. This information is then kept in a database that is later used by DoubleClick to target consumers with ads based on the information that it has on different user types. It is estim... ...m/NewWebstories/doubleclick_priv_2_23.htm Notes: 1 Frook, John E. â€Å"Tactics vary in race for ad network dominance.† BtoB. October 23, 2000 Vol. 85: 1. 2 Magill, Ken. â€Å"DoubleClick: Profiling Not Dead,† iMarketing News Vol.2 No.9 (2000):1. 3 IBID. 4 IBID. 5 â€Å"What Goes Up†¦(The DoubleClick Story).† Privacy Times. February 3,2000 <http://www.privacytimes.com/NewWebstories/doubleclick_priv_2_23.htm> 6 â€Å"FTC Closes Investigation of DoubleClick’s Privacy Practices.† January 22, 2001 http://www.doubleclick.net:80/us/corporate/presskit/press-releases.asp?asp_object_1=& press%5Frelease%5Fid=2489 7 Anstead, Mark. â€Å"Internet:Taking a tough line on privacy- New legislation threatens internet data collection.† Marketing. April 13, 2000. 8 IBID. 9 Hawkins, Dana; Mannix, Margaret. Personal Tech.† U.S. News & World Report. Vol. 129 No.13. 10 IBID.

Simon Armitageremains Poetry :: Slavery Judgement Poems Branding Essays

Simon Armitageremains' Poetry In this poem the person talks about:'' I am very bothered when I think of the bad things I have done in my life''. He talks about all the bad things he has done in his life with he now regrets. This is also similar to ''poem'' they both share the same theme of looking back. He talks about when he likes a particular girls a lot. So he ''held the scissors by the blades'' and ''played the handles by the naked lilac flame of the Bunsen burner''. Then he called her over and handed them to the girl. The heat of it ''branded'' her skin. He then shows regret towards the end: ''don't believe me if I say. That was just my Butterfingered way at thirteen of asking if you would marry me''. The poem uses very childlike language of such as ''butterfingerd'' to reflect the childlike qualities and immaturity of the persona. . In stanza two the persona uses a metaphor for marriage's the unrivalled stench of branded skin as you slipped your thumb and middle finger I, they couldn't shake off the two burning ring. Marked the doctor said for eternity'', this is saying that he was immature. He uses the word ''eternity'' because it is a way to show ever lasting love. In slavery times branding was a form of marking of property and making sure that that particular slave was marked there property. A very old fashioned view of marriage is that women become the property of there husbands many civilizations practiced this such as the: Greeks and Egyptians. This is why the word ''branded is used. He even goes on to say: '' Don't believe me, please if I say that was just my butterfingerd way at thirteen of asking If you would marry me''.. He is saying that his immaturity stopped him from reacting to the situation at hand in a more adult fashion and not hurting some one in the process. The poem is very much talking about love and fear of rejection. The theme of the poem is about childhood and regret. The persona is very much in love. The poem is written in a sonnet a traditional way of structuring a love poem. The poetic devices the persona uses is convey meaning to me because the words are descriptive and have rhyme and rhythm. Also it occurs quite strongly, in the mid line. In stanza one it is about the persona introducing the theme of the poem. The theme of the poem is on the subject of regret: ''I am very bothered when I think of all the bad things I have done in my life''

Film Analysis †Kill Bill Vol. 1

Kill Bill Volume 1 is the first part in a series of two movies that was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. He never seems to tire of pointing out all the movies he's referenced, paid tribute to and been inspired by. In this film analysis, I will describe all the movies that have influenced him and show up in Kill Bill. I will also describe some of the cinematography and how it made the movie stand out. Quentin Tarantino’s movies have a very different, unique feel than the perceived â€Å"normal† movie. Kill Bill Vol. 1† is very intriguing. He borrows ideas and styles from his many influences which, in the end, results in something not necessarily unique, but fresh. Everything Tarantino has done has been done before; however, he mixes different genres and styles with his own to create a masterfully directed piece of art. In Kill Bill, he uses Martial Arts, Samurai, Spaghetti Western, and Secret Agent (along with many other sub-genres) to create one film (Wi kipedia – Kill Bill). The story of the movie follows the character Beatrix Kiddo known as â€Å"Black Mamba†, played by Uma Thurman, as she seeks revenge on a group of assassins, called the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, which attempted to murder her at her wedding and her former boss, Bill. She crosses them off a list one by one as she kills them. The list reads as follows: 1)O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) – Codename: Cottonmouth 2)Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox) – Codename: Copperhead 3)Budd (Michael Bowen) 4)Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) 5)Bill (David Carradine) The movie is mostly adapted from the movie Lady Snowblood, a 1973 Japanese film in which a woman kills off the gang who murdered her family. Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41, from Japan, and Thriller: En Grym Film, from Sweden also has the same central theme of wronged women seeking revenge. Scorpion is an escaped convict gunning for the cruel warden who locked her up. Thriller (so hardcore it was banned in Sweden) follows an innocent girl who is turned into a mutilated, heroin-addicted sex slave, and turns the tables on her captors (Rose). The name of the group in Kill Bill, the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, is inspired by the movie The Doll Squad. They also wear similar outfits to the girls in The Doll Squad (The Quentin Tarantino Archives). The opening credit sequence features the Shaw Brothers logo which has the letters â€Å"SB† encased within a crest symbol. This iconic symbol is from Hong Kong’s cinematic history – movies produced during the late-1950s to the mid-1980s. I thought nothing of this logo until I read that the Shaw Brothers inspired Tarantino’s style (Chan). The entire movie does make me feel like it was right out of the 70’s but with some modern twists. The opening scene shows Beatrix lying comatose in a hospital bed silhouetted against a background of the window of her room. The lighting of her was obviously very high contrast, low-key lighting. This scene is homage to Citizen Kane (The Quentin Tarantino Archives). The movie then continues somewhere in the middle of the first part where Beatrix is facing off against Vernita Green at Vernita’s house. Five minutes into the film Beatrix and Vernita head off into an extremely intense fight that demolishes the living room. The sound effects are very interesting. They overlay sound onto every movement. I hear many swoosh sounds coming from the knives during their fight. Also, similar swoosh sounds come from them jumping. In my opinion this type of sound amplifies the action. This type of sound effects was very popular in Chinese cinema in the 1970’s. The 1978 movie The Five Venoms, a Shaw Brothers film, was an inspiration for these sound effects (The Quentin Tarantino Archives). After the fight Beatrix pulls out a list of people that she intends to kill to show the audience who she has killed so far, and who is left. This is typical Quentin Tarantino. This shows his preference of a non-linear storyline. The story then jumps back approximately sixth months into the past to show what happened to Beatrix and how she recovered from an intense shootout in a small chapel where she lost her unborn baby and almost her life. This scene would be linked to the sub-genre called â€Å"Spaghetti Western†. One of the shots of the police officer driving to the chapel shows the dashboard lined with sunglasses (16:52). This is the same as the opening scene of the original Gone in 60 Seconds from 1974 (The Quentin Tarantino Archives). During her recovery in the hospital room, Elle Driver approaches in a nurse’s uniform with a patch on her eye. She has been ordered by Bill to kill Beatrix with a syringe filled with poison. When Bill finds out that she is comatose, he orders her to just let her be as they think she won’t recover. Her walk down the hospital aisle contained a split-screen sequence with Mamba in her bed. This comes from the 1977 movie Black Sunday (The Quentin Tarantino Archives). The character played by Martha Keller in Black Sunday goes into a hospital and disguises herself as a nurse to kill Robert Shaw's character with a poisoned syringe. The look of her character (nurse outfit with patch that has hospital red cross on it) is a little out of the ordinary. Alfred Hitchcock's movie Marnie has the exact same nurse-walking-down-corridor scene (Rose). The story then jumps four years to where Beatrix comes out of her coma. It happens right after an extreme close-up of a fly biting her arm. It probably wasn’t a coincidence but the viewer may think that the fly was the reason she woke up. She quickly remembers that she was shot and a flashback shows in slow-motion the bullet coming at her (25:08). Her escape out of the hospital is via a male nurse’s truck. This is after a few important details. First, she kills the orderly who was renting her out like a prostitute while she was in a coma. Second, her escaped was slowed by the fact that her legs were not awake yet. The escape vehicle owned by the orderly was quite vivid. It has the name â€Å"Pussy Wagon† painted on the back of the bright yellow and pink truck. The term â€Å"Pussy Wagon† came from a lyric in the song â€Å"Greased Lightnin’† from the 1979 movie Grease (The Quentin Tarantino Archives). There was also 70’s style music being played during her escape via wheelchair. Once in the truck, there was a close-up of her toes. She talked to them, persuading them to move. While she waited for her toes to wake up, one of the most memorable parts of the movie occurred. It was the introduction of the character O-Ren Ishii. This introduction was done in Japanese Anime. O-Ren Ishii was an orphan whose parents were killed by gangsters and who eventually took revenge, becoming an assassin. After the attack on the wedding, she has since become the leader of the Tokyo underworld. The animation sequence made the scene much more dramatic. The anime allows the audience to see the immense pain the characters felt as they were fighting. The faces would become distorted and the skin would sort of come off of their faces to magnify the effect it has on the audience. The most shocking was how the blood loss was portrayed. The blood sprayed out of her parents was like spraying water out of a garden hose. I think showing this in animation reduced the gore value. Also, heads and limbs went flying across the room. I think all of this prepared me for the rest of the movie. It just made it easier to watch and not as gruesome. The fictional value was raised which made it more entertainment than reality (36:00-44:00). After thirteen hours of story time Beatrix finally regains the ability to move her toes and the rest of her legs. The movie regains some linearity as she now travels to Okinawa to obtain her weapon of choice, the samurai sword. Here she meets up with Hattori Hanzo who is portrayed as the greatest swordsmith of all time. Beatrix convinces him to make her a sword. There is some great camera work in this scene. A few times you can see her reflection in the sword. I think this shows the viewer the quality of a Hattori Hanzo sword. She also cuts a baseball in half after he throws it at her which also shows the high quality level. This scene is referenced from the movie Samurai Reincarnation from 1981. There is also a memorable line from this movie. Hattori Hanzo tells this to Beatrix as he gives her the sword. This is also a direct reference from Samurai Reincarnation. â€Å"If, on your journey, you should encounter god, god will be cut†. Other references to the movie are the Japanese atmosphere and flute music (46:00) (The Quentin Tarantino Archives). The last main scene is the showdown at â€Å"The House of Blue Leaves† in Tokyo. This is where O-Ren Ishii is located at. As Beatrix travels to Tokyo, the music is fast paced. This tells me that she is in a hurry to get there. Also, the sky has a bright orange color. This is homage to the movie Goke: Body Snatcher from Hell (1968) (1:04:39) (The Quentin Tarantino Archives). When she arrives in Tokyo, she travels by motorcycle on her way to the House of Blue Leaves. Her outfit is a yellow jumpsuit. This yellow track-suit is a direct homage to the one worn by Bruce Lee in Game of Death (1978), the last and unfinished Bruce Lee movie (The Quentin Tarantino Archives). Once she arrives, a very noticeable long take occurs. This take lasts over a minute (1:11:20-1:12:50). During this take, you get to see the inside of the restaurant and get a good feel for the layout. The long take includes bot forward and backward tracking and also a bird’s eye view of the restroom. This style of shot makes me feel like I’m inside the scene. The overall shot seems to be conducted in a clockwise rotation around the room. After this long shot, the main fight sequence of the movie occurs against O-Ren Ishii and her clan of sword-wielding Tokyo gangsters. The last main fight scene has an incredible amount of blood that sprays everywhere. It is similar to the earlier animated scene but 100x more frequent. I think it is much gorier because it isn’t animated. But, I think the earlier animation made this scene much more acceptable as entertainment. Beatrix takes on at least 100 people with ease. The many-on-one fight at the House of Blue Leaves references the Bruce Lee film Fists of Fury at several parts, including the surrounding mob's fear when Beatrix strikes a fighting stance (The Quentin Tarantino Archives). Also, Beatrix eventually dives to the floor and attacks her opponents' legs. One noticeable part of the fight sequence is when Beatrix pulls one of her attacker’s eyes out of his head. The picture instantly turns to black and white. The high contrast picture stands out even more. There is a lot of shadowing. The blood that is spraying out of her opponents bodies as she cuts off limbs sprays in a bright color of white. I think this added style to the scene makes Beatrix look even more invincible. She then finally blinks, sound effect included, and the picture turns back to color (1:23:10-1:26:50). She easily takes out everyone except one person. The last attacker looks pretty scared. Most of the movie does have a comedic overtone to it but I did laugh a little bit more when she bent the last guy over and spanked him on the butt while saying â€Å"Go Home to Your Mother†. I think this quote was another example of her feeling invincible. The last action sequence now takes place in an outside setting outside the restaurant with a showdown with O-Ren Ishii. Everything is covered in snow. This white landscape is another direct homage to Lady Snowblood. Beatrix eventually finishes off O-Ren Ishii who was actually the first target on Beatrix’s revenge list. Since there is only two on the list that have been eliminated, I know that there is a sequel that will tell the rest of the story. Even though the movie title is â€Å"Kill Bill†, you never see Bill's face. The movie does end with his voice though which makes me want to see the sequel even more. It’s definitely a little cliffhanger and I want to know what will happen next. Bill last words are â€Å"is she aware that her daughter is still alive? I didn’t see that coming. Quentin did an excellent job keeping me entertained and at the edge of my seat. I also appreciated the cinematography in this movie. I do appreciate movies even more know while looking at how a movie is made rather than just watching the storyline unfold. Quentin Tarantino did an excellent jo b on taking me for a thrill ride. He used many different genres and styles in his movie which made it very unique. He was able to combine all his influences from the 70’s and update and combine them into one fantastic movie. The cinematography was outstanding. I understand even more how important cinematography is to a film. Bibliography Chan, K. (n.d.). The Shaw-Tarantino Connection: Rolling Thunder Pictures and the Exploitation Aesthetics of Cool. Retrieved April 18, 2011, from http://www.tft.ucla.edu/mediascape/Fall09_ShawBrothers.pdf Rose, S. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2011, from The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2004/apr/06/features.dvdreviews The Quentin Tarantino Archives. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2011, from http://www.tarantino.info/wiki/index.php/Main_Page Wikipedia – Kill Bill. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kill_Bill Wikipedia – Quentin Tarantino. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quentin_Tarantino

Peer-reviewed journal articles Essay

Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to familiarize you with peer-reviewed journal articles published in psychological journals. By completing this assignment, you will learn how psychologists conduct research and communicate their findings. You will also learn how to critique psychological research. This assignment is worth a possible 50 points. The scoring rubric for this assignment is on the last page of this document. Directions (Part I): This is a two-part assignment and in this first part of the assignment, you are to review, and analyze the Stanley Milgram article provided by your professor. The complete citation for this article is: Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, Vol 67(4), 371-378. Doi: 10.1037/h0040525 General Information: A peer-reviewed journal article has the following major sections: Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, References, Table and Figures. The abstract for th is article is a summary statement that highlights the information in the Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion sections of this research article. Before you can begin writing your critique assignment, you will need to read and understand the Stanley Milgram article. Here are your guidelines for writing your critique assignment: This paper should be three pages in length, including your cover page. Please note your instructor will schedule a mandatory library class session for your class. Use the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Style Manual (6th edition), create a page that includes: Running head Page number Title of Article Your name Class Professor’s name Hint: use â€Å"Word† to set-up/format your paper for APA style writing Write an introduction for your paper that includes the following: Who conducted the study? Why they conducted the study? Who were the subjects? What did the researchers hope to learn from their findings? What research methods were used? What were there results? Write a two paragraph critique that includes: The research methods used and findings How the study relates to the Psychology 1010 course, and What impact the research findings have had on you as a student in this course? Assignment Schedule Library Session either in class or online Learn how to access databases Learn about which journals are applicable to your major area Complete the PGCC’s Library Plagiarism and APA tutorials Take quiz In class or online small group activities Identify components of the Milgram Study – See Critique Assignment I Write your 1st draft and share it with your assigned peer-reviewer Re-write your 2nd draft and submit to your instructor for feedback Submit your final paper to your instructor for a grade SCORING RUBRIC FOR CRITIQUE I ASSIGNMENT Grading Criteria- Please see the rubric below. This assignment is worth a possible 50 points. CRITERIA A B C D F Analysis of the Components of a Research Article (i.e., problem statement, hypotheses, methodology, results and discussion) and a Critique of the importance of the article for the discipline and the general public 15 points Presents a thorough analysis of all components of a research article ( i.e., statement of the problem, hypotheses, methodology, results, discussion, and a critical analysis of the importance of the research for the discipline and the general public (14-15 points) Presents a thorough analysis of three components of a research article and includes a critical analysis of the importance of the research for the discipline and the general public (12-13 points) Presents an analysis of two of the components of a research  article and omits critical components of the research article and the critical analysis (10-11 points) Presents analysis of at least one component the research article and identifies at least one component of the critical analysis (i.e. states the importance of the study for the discipline and or the general public (8-9 points) No attempts are made to present an analysis of the components of the research article or to a critically analyze the importance of the study identified (0 points) Peer-reviewed Journal Article is integrated in the critique assignment 15 points Psychology peer-reviewed journal article is used to write the critique assignment; the research article is data-driven and fully integrated in the critique assignment (14-15 points) Psychology peer-reviewed journal article is data-drive and integrated in the critique assignment (12-13 points) Psychology peer-reviewed journal article is only mentioned in body of essay and not fully integrated into the critique assignment (10-11 points) Psychology peer-reviewed journal article is only mentioned in reference list (8-9 points) No psychology peer-reviewed journal is used (0 points) General Writing Skills (i.e., syntax and mechanics) 10 points Uses college level writing that skillfully communicates meaning to readers with clarity and fluency, and is error-free (9-10 points) Uses college level writing that generally conveys meaning to readers. The writing has 1 – 3 errors (8 points) Uses college level writing that generally conveys meaning to readers with clarity, although writing has 4 – 6 errors (7 points) Does not use college level writing consistently throughout the assignment and this sometimes impedes the meaning of the text because of 7-10 errors in usage and spelling (6 points) Do not use college level writing and is generally unresponsive to the task(s) because of errors in usage and spelling (0 points) APA Format 10 points Demonstrates detailed attention to and successful execution of psychological writing task including organization, content, presentation, formatting and stylistic choices ( 9-10 points) Demonstrates consistent use of important conventions particular to psychological writing task including organization, content, presentation, and stylistic choices (8 points) Follows expectations appropriate to psychological l writing task for basic organization, content and presentation (7 points ) Attempts to use a consistent system for basic organization and presentation (6 points ) No attempt to use a basic format for organization or presentation

Changing Behavior Case Analysis

Changing Behavior Case Analysis Carlissa Tigue Psychology Narketta Sparkman Baker College October 25, 2012 The client, Mrs Freeman has been a drinker for 15 years and she currently drinks a fifth of Vodka a day and a six pack of beer. She is the mother of three girls and three boys. She has developed health issues related to her long term drinking habit. Mrs. Freeman wants to quit drinking for her own health and the health of her children. Classical conditioning could explain Mrs. Freeman’s drinking addition. Her drinking acted as an unconditioned stimulus.As she continued to drink, she craved for more drinks and then stronger drinks this becomes her unconditioned response. Over time social, environmental and psychological influences became the conditioned stimulus for Mrs. Freeman’s drinking habit. When Mrs. Freeman finds herself in certain situations that make her feel uncomfortable her conditioned response is to have a drink. An example of this would be that Mrs. Fre eman finds having depending solely on herself stressful, so she has a drink or two or maybe three.Mrs Freeman knows that this is not the behavior she wants to continue but because of classical conditioning (Morris & Maisto, p. 153), she continues to drink whenever possible. The negative effects of her drinking are poor health for her and her children. The cost of buying liquid and beer on a regular bases are things Mrs. Freeman wants to stop. Mrs Freeman could use classical conditioning to learn to quit drinking. She also could go to AA meetings and get a sponsor. The meetings would be the unconditioned stimulus (Morris & Maisto, p. 154). Every time Mrs.Freeman wants a drink she could go to a meeting or call her sponsor. Mrs. Freeman should pay attention to things that upset her and led her to having a drink. She should continue to go to her AA meetings and talking to her sponsor. In time the continued behavior of going to AA and speaking with her sponsor would become her conditione d stimulus. When Mrs Freeman finds herself in a situation that she cannot handle, she calls her sponsor or attend a meeting, this would become her conditioned response to situation that she cannot handle. Operant Conditioning could also play a part in Mrs.Freeman’s drinking habit. Mrs. Freeman started drinking when she was younger, as she got older she drunk more due to pressure. She continued to drink because she had so much going on, that she could not handle. The good feeling associated with drinking acted as a positive reinforcement, that made her continue her behavior. Now that Mrs. Freeman is grown and all on her own drinking has had a negative effect on Mrs. Freeman’s life. She has gone to work drinking, and been warn not to do it again. This has not stop Mrs. Freeman from drinking, she now just hides her drinking better. Mrs.Freeman knows that if she continues this behavior, she could loss her job. She has been affected by both positive and negative reinforceme nt (Morris & Maisto, p 159). The negative reinforcement of drinking is poor health and the possibility of losing her job. These things have made Mrs. Freeman motivated to quit drinking. Instead of having a drink Mrs. Freeman will call her sponsor or even have a cup of coffee. She will reward herself by buying herself a new dress every time, she doesn’t pick up a drink. Mrs. Freeman is motivated to quit drinking for her health and the health of her children.Cognitive and social learning also play a role in maintain unwanted behaviors (Morris & Maisto, p 174). Growing up with a father who was drinking everyday played a part in Mrs. Freeman’s emotional state. She grew up not knowing that the same thing could happen to her. Mrs Freeman saw her father drinking every day, she stole drinks when her father was not around. Mrs. Freeman modified her behavior so that her mother nor father knew she was drinking. Seeing her father get yelled at by her mother led Mrs. Freeman to lea rning how to not get caught drinking.When she reached adulthood, she had tried to quit drinking on several occasion. She felt that it was something wrong with her. As a young adult just finishing school Mrs. Freeman felt overwhelmed, and the drinking become worst. This type of behavior is known as learned helplessness (Morris & Mastio, p. 164). My conclusion is that after speaking with Mrs Freeman, and hearing her story with drinking. Mrs. Freeman will continue to seek help to overcome her addition. With the right people and motivation, she will be fine. Mrs. Freeman will live a productive life in society if she continues to follow the plans that she has set forth.

How the Digital World May Change Essay

The rapidly changing societies with constantly improving technology and occurrence of social digital technologies dramatically changed the way people communicate and interact with each other making them either â€Å"digital natives†, â€Å"digital residents†, â€Å"digital immigrants† or â€Å"digital visitors† based on their generation or familiarization with technology. More and more people today perceive the world as the complicated and mature network of computerized and online applications that help to communicate, search for, exchange and share information, make business with international partners, play games on distance, and many other purposes. Though, the question is whether digital natives and digital residents are the same in their perception of the world, behavior and life habits in the future? Behavior of Digital Residents Since personally I was born before 1994, I am related to the category of digital residents, who were born before the occurrence of social digital technologies. Such people like me learnt the computer and Internet-related skills either in schools or universities and have an opportunity to compare life and perception of the world before and after the digital world. Despite I am not a digital native, my behavior as a digital resident is already influenced by numerous technologies I am using daily like cell phone, computer, DVD player, iPod, etc. With occurrence of cell phones, for example, people became more flexible and mobile in their behavior, actions, plans and ability to communicate with their family members, friends and colleagues. Moreover, many people combine conversations by cell phone with other activities like cleaning the house, working on the computer, shopping or driving a car (Palfrey and Gasser, 2008). Recently more and more people, including me, prefer to make their personal or business calls while driving to the office, shop or gym. It might be a good way to use time efficiently, though at the same time might cause problems and distract a person from driving and being careful on the road. In one of his first video chapters Robert Schrag (2010) addressed exactly this issue when young people got used to talk by phone and type text messages while driving. Though, the main difference in such behavior between digital natives and digital residents is that the last ones are more careful, reasonable and less dependent on the technologies than digital natives are (Palfrey and Gasser, 2008). It might sound crazy, but computers, cell phones and other technology-related products became a mandatory and integral daily part of their lives. While as a digital resident I am less dependent, or better to say, obsessed with technology, the changing world of education and business requires being constantly aware and familiar with the latest technologies, either to learn the updated and useful information for my personal and professional development or to keep pace with younger people whose knowledge of languages, computers and technology-related applications make them more competitive at the labor market. Conclusion  As for the future behavior as a digital resident, it is rather hard to predict since more and more innovations enter our lives. For example, nowadays a debate exists concerning two main issues: human cloning and brain chips. Personally, I do not support either of these ideas since with their occurrence and legacy people will be controlled by those who created such innovations while the human being is independent self-thinker who is responsible for his/her own actions, has personal wishes and dreams and is unpredictable in his/her behavior. While digital world gives me more and more opportunity to learn the world and communicate with other people, at the same time it controls me more and more shaping my behavior in the way innovators and digital world creators want. I personally think that technology should be wisely and within certain limits without suppressing and eliminating the natural things and personal communication between people.

A Comparison of the Power of Will in Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse N

The story of Heart of Darkness was adapted to film after many failed attempts. (Hearts of Darkness, Coppala E.). Finally, director Francis Coppala collaborated with his friend John Milius on writing a screen play for Conrad's masterpiece. The two came up with Apocalypse Now, utilizing a more modern setting than the original story which was based in imperialistic Europe. The modern setting was that of the Vietnam war. Apocalypse Now focuses on the insanity of a decorated military colonial. "Kurtz intended to enlighten the natives, but instead he circums to the primal temptations of the jungle and goes insane." (Hearts of Darkness, Coppala E.) Â   The fiction of Joseph Conrad, as seen in Heart of Darkness, represents the teachings of the German philosopher and idealist Arthur Schopenhauer. Schopenhauer thought of the world as having two distinct entities, both of which are parts of the whole [world]. First, there is the world of representation or appearance. This is the phenomenal world which is made of tangible objects. For Schopenhauer the second entity being the thing-in-itself is will, and is the cause of everything. {Frost}. "The phenomenal world [world of representation] is merely an image; it mirrors the will, the real world." (Sahakian). Schopenhauer, being of pessimistic views, argued will to be a force that both "creates all and destroys all in its insatiable demand for " 'More!' [More of what it does not know it only knows that it wants more.]" (Palmer). All human actions are a result of will. As seen through the character of Kurtz, the world of will manifestates suffering, evil, and insanity into the world of perce ption. Â   There are m , Francis Copala, and John Milius. Paramount, 1989. Palmer, Donald. Looking at Philosophy; The Unbearable Heaviness of Philosophy Made Lighter. 1988. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1994. Sahakian William S. History of Philosophy. New York, Barnes and Noble Books, 1968. Schopenhauer, Arthur. Essays and Aphorisms. Trans. R. J. Hollingdale. New York, Penguin Books, 1970. Â   Works Consulted: Boyle, Ted E. Symbolism and Meaning in the Fiction of Joseph Conrad. 1965. ` Folcroft, PA; The Folcroft Press, 1969. Johnson, Bruce. Conrad?s Models of Mind. Minneapolis: Minnesota UP, 1971. Murfin, Ross C. Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness: A Case Study in Contemporary Criticism. New York: St. Martin?s Press, 1989. Wollaeger, Mark A. Joseph Conrad and the Fictions of Skepticism. Stanford, CA; Stanford UP, 1990.

Strategic management assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Strategic management assignment - Essay Example Now-a-days the organizations are bringing rapid, volatile and discontinuous changes. It makes strategic management more multifaceted and challenging. There are two principal drivers that influence the nature of competitors’ background. These will help the organizations to adopt and maintain that change. Technology and global economy are two important drivers of businesses. Therefore, substantial changes in these drivers can affect the strategic management process of an organization. Several models can help the CEOs to respond to the discontinuous changes. The combination of those two change approaches is suitable for the transformation of the organizations. This approach is considered as holistic approach. This holistic approach will help to produce effective flexibility to the businesses to counter the uncertain situations. It is necessary to have a strategic change plan that can be learned in order to relieve the fear of this change among the employees. Critical learning is indispensable. It will help to create a knowledge based work environment of understanding the critical problems. Moreover, transfer of knowledge will help to enhance the decision making ability in a situation of sudden change. Rapid, Volatile and Discontinuous Change Rapid and volatile organizational change is an intentional and structured approach that helps to transit the employees, groups and organizations from a current position to a significant future position. On the other hand, discontinuous change can be defined as sudden, unintentional and non-incremental change that threatens the power structure and existing traditional authority (Hubbard, 2004). The organizations implement rapid and volatile changing process to improve the internal structure of an organization. This process helps the management of the organization to capitalize on the potential opportunities and to meet with the changing customer demand rapidly by effective redesigning of product and services (Foster & Br owne, 1996). On the other hand, the objective of the discontinuous change process is to identify and rectify the current organizational problems. The organizations implement this change to establish new strategies to improve the organizational performance. Leading organizations around the globe are trying to capitalize on the potential opportunities by implementing these changes. Moreover, continuous changes in the organization required for any changes in external environmental factors help the organization to maintain a healthy work environment and achieve competence in the industry. It is important for the information managers to review the environmental factors and identify the current trends. This strategic audit planning will help the organizations to understand the external and internal information services (Sutton, 1999). PEST analysis is a common tool that helps the organization to assess the external factors, such as political, social, technological and economical changes. Another important common strategic audit tool is SWOT analysis. It helps the organization to assess the internal factors. This SWOT analysis considers internal strengths, weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. Following is the strategic management model that used to assess the role, impact and implication of rapid, volatile and discontinuous organizational change. An important principle of strategic managem

The Risks Involved if the U.S. Withdrew From Iraq Essay

The Risks Involved if the U.S. Withdrew From Iraq - Essay Example This flawed justification has since been proven to be untrue as well. However, because of the occupation of Iraq, the international terrorist organization, Al Qaeda has grown in number, increased attacks worldwide and has infiltrated the borders of Iraq. The war was wrong on many fronts but withdrawing would be committing yet another wrong. Even those against the reasons the U.S. is occupying a sovereign nation admit that leaving would be a catastrophic mistake that would plunge the entire region into chaos. The invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq in 2003 was initiated and largely conducted by the United States in response to what it claimed was an attack on its soil by various agents operating from within these countries. These actions have been defended by the Bush administration as not only legal but morally necessary to protect U.S. citizens. Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden hoped the U.S. would timidly withdraw from the Middle East, but he appears to have been aware that an aggressive U.S. response to 9/11 was entirely possible. In that case, he had a Plan: Al-Qaeda hoped to draw the U.S. into a debilitating guerrilla war in Afghanistan and do to the U.S. military what they had earlier done to the Soviets. The U.S. cleverly outfoxed Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, using air power and local Afghan allies (the Northern Alliance) to destroy the Taliban without many American boots on the ground. However, the Bush administration then went on to invade Iraq for reasons still unclear, where Americans faced the kind of wearing guerrilla war they had avoided in Afghanistan (O’Brien, 2005). Bin Laden obtained his wealth as an inheritor of his family’s highly profitable construction business. He has used this capital to finance the infamous terrorist group initially formed in an attempt to force the U.S. to remove its military base in his home country of Saudi Arabia.   Since that time the groups’ objectives have evolved and, because of the illegal occupation if Iraq, Al-Qaeda has succeeded in several of what are now its main goals.

Export Final Project - Malaysian fashion retailer wishing to expand Term Paper - 1

Export Final Project - Malaysian fashion retailer wishing to expand its business into the African Market - Term Paper Example In this presentation, international, export fashion competitors to Africa have been analyzed. The top twenty economies in Africa, representing the African market, have been analyzed. The presentation also provides ways in which international, financial and business risks can be managed, and defines the relevant criteria for exporting fashion products to the African market, where the market opportunities/business opportunities are of interest and risks may be acceptable. International Competitors The major, international competitors in fashion product’ export to Africa includes Guangzhou City Clothing Business Company Limited, Qingdao Shuoyuan International Trade Company Limited and Shenzhen USD Pack Production Limited. Brogan Sakutu International LLC also competes in exporting fashion products to African Countries. Guangzhou City Clothing Business Company Limited and Shenzhen USD Pack Production Limited are located in Guangdong, China while Qingdao Shuoyuan International Trade Company Limited is located in Shandong, China. Brogan Sakutu International LLC is situated in Florida, United States. Turnover Qingdao Shuoyuan International Trade Company Limited has a turnover of US$ 50-100 Million while Guangzhou City Clothing Business Company Limited has a turnover of US$100 Million. ... Guangzhou City Clothing Business Company Limited’s primary markets are North, Central and South America, Middle East and Africa. (Guangzhou City Clothing Business Co. Limited). The main markets of Shenzhen USD Pack Production are Limited Northern Europe, Eastern Asia, Central America and Africa (Shenzhen USD Pack Production Limited). South East Asia, Europe, America and Africa are the primary markets of Brogan Sakutu International LLC (Brogan Sakuti International LLC). Product Range The product range for Qingdao Shuoyuan International Trade Company Limited includes used clothing, used clothes, used bags and used shoes while Guangzhou City Clothing Business Company Limited markets used shoes, used clothing and used clothes, among other commodities. Shenzhen USD Pack Production Limited deals with wooden boxes, jewelry bags and jute bags. Brogan Sakutu International LLC sells used clothes, used shoes, used purses, belts and toys. Strengths and Weaknesses These companies have vari ous strengths and weaknesses. For instance, Qingdao Shuoyuan International Trade Company Limited uses agents in exporting fashion products to Africa. It uses its no torn, no dirt slogan to offer the best quality to customers. It also sorts, packs and loads clothing promptly to ensure efficiency. In addition, the company helps buyers from Africa to find other goods like computers and bicycles. Shuoyuan International Trade Company Limited has a superior geographical advantage because it is located near Qingdao Port, facilitating import and export procedures. The company has cooperative relationships with the international business community. However, the

The impact of advertising on male consumer Essay

The impact of advertising on male consumer - Essay Example This "The impact of advertising on male consumer" essay outlines how advertising shapes consumer patterns of male consumer and tools that it uses. A man's identity used to be dependent upon his role as a provider and his place of employment – this has been the traditional way that has defined the essence of the male identity in the modern society. This is known as the â€Å"hegemonic gender identity.† This morphed into contemporary society, in which, it is argued, Henry Ford is responsible for the increase in consumption, for he pioneered the idea that workers should be paid well, which led to more disposable income and, thus, more consumption. In advanced capitalist societies, Ford made consumption more egalitarian, and less the province of the rich. Modern consumption is driven by the choices that were being offered in modern society, choices that were not offered in earlier societies, before mass production of goods became the norm. According to Naomi Klein (2000), t his led to competitive branding and, ultimately, to the rise of designer labels, such as Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren. During this period, men were traditionally thought of as producers – too busy working to bother with consuming – marketers traditionally have catered to females, as they were considered to be the consumers to the male producers. Advertising and marketing in the modern era catered to women, with particular emphasis upon women in their traditional gender-defined roles – looking beautiful and doing domestic chores, while men were in the background.