Nutrition - Flavor Essay Example for Free

Nutrition Flavor Essay Science tells you what nutrients do in your body and how nutrients work together Explain why people who enjoy their food may absorb more nutrients from it. The brain reacts from the senses (sight and smell). It instructs your mouth and stomach to make chemicals that help digest food. What 5 factors contribute to different cultures having such different cuisines and food customs? Geography, Economics, Foreign Contacts, Religious Belief, Technology. List the 4 main components of the food chain and explain the function of each. Sun: The sun supplies the original energy for the planer in the form of light. This energy is needed to make food. Producers: Some organisms make or produce food. Green plants are important producers. Plants use the sun’s energy to produce food for themselves. Consumers: Organisms that must eat other organisms. Decomposers: Organisms such as bacteria and fungi that break down dead matter and return the nutrients to the environment. List the 5 reasons for using food additives. 1. Additive flavoring 2. Improving nutrition 3. Increase shelf life 4. Maintaining texture 5. Helping foods age Define the following: Nutrient – a chemical substance that your body needs to function, grow, repair itself, and create energy Wellness – good health and positive well-being. Includes physical, mental, and emotional health Comfort foods – are familiar foods that make people fell good Culture – the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively Cuisines – may be particular to a country or region, or it may be a blend from different areas. Staple food – the most widely produced and eaten food in an area Ecosystem – an environment and its community of organisms, which all depends on each other for survival Food chain – is the flow of food energy from simpler to more complex organisms Shelf stable – able to be stored at room temperature for weeks or months in the original, unopened containers Shelf life – the length of time food holds its flavor and quality Food additives – A substance added to food for a specific reason during processing. Food is essential for survival and affects the quality of your life. Healthy food choices promote wellness. Food offers more than nutrition. It also offers enjoyment. Comfort foods may slow the release of stress hormones, making people feel better. Preparing and serving food lets you express your creativity. Different cultures have more than individuals ingredients and dishes, they have entire cuisines. Income had/has an influence on what people have/had to cook certain meals. Cultures absorb new foods through immigration, travel, and trade with other people. The food we eat depends on the health of the world’s ecosystem. The U. S. is fortunate to have abundant resources for raising food. What is one of the most important roles of food processing? To keep perishable foods from spoiling Food additives include natural and artificial flavors. When vitamins and minerals are added to foods like milk, this is labeled as improving nutrition. Increasing shelf life and delaying spoilage is known as shelf-stable.

Crushing Plant in Ethiopia Essay Example for Free

Crushing Plant in Ethiopia Essay It is reported that DSMAC mobile crusher for Ethiopia was installed and debugged successfully last week. The Philippines customer uses this mobile crusher for crushing construction waste, and after installation the customer sent DSMAC technicist local specialities to express appreciation. At the beginning of January 2013, the whole set of mobile crusher with capacity of 100tph was completed from DSMAC production base in Jinzhai Town, Xingyang City. The after-sale service engineer Mr. Jin and Mr. Ren was sent to Ethiopia being in charge of the installation and debugging. When the equipment was operating at the working site, the customer called DSMAC to praise the two engineers’dedicated attitude and sent some local specialities to Mr. Jin and Mr. Ren. With the development of urbanization, the city reconstruction is going on. There are a lot of construction waste piled at the same time. It not only occupies land resource, but also brings pollution for environment. However, construction waste is not just the waste, but an effective and recycling resource if used properly. The recycled construction waste can be used as coarse or fine aggregate, which is the substitution for natural aggregate for making concrete, road base material and bricks, and so on. In this process, the choose of crushing equipment plays a critical role. [pic] DSMAC Mobile Crusher for Construction Waste Crushing Plant In DSMAC, the mobile crusher can be divided into mobile jaw crusher, mobile cone crusher, mobile impact crusher, mobile VSI crusher, mobile screening plant, MP portable crawler crusher, etc. The mobile crusher can be easily moved to any position in the work site without the limitation of topographic condition. At the same time, it is controlled by wireless remote manipulation, and easier to be driven to the trailer, saving much time. The crushed aggregate can be divided into the following types: 1, 0mm to 2.5mm aggregate, used in mortar for plastering wall. 2, 0mm to 4.5mm aggregate, used in mortar for brick making. 3, 2.5/4.5mm to 10mm aggregate, used for brick raw material. 4, 10mm to 32mm aggregate, used for road construction material. 5, above 32mm aggregate, sent back into crusher for further crushing. The mobile crusher is the effective crushing equipment for construction waste disposition. Looking back the production of mobile crusher for Ethiopia, it is related closely with salesman’s striving, technical section’s supporting, workman’s overtime working, etc. Under these employee’s joint effort, there will be more advanced crushing equipment and all-around service for customers. More information about DSMAC is available at http://www.dscrushers.com Contact Information

Research Methodology for Online Shopping Project

Research Methodology for Online Shopping Project 1. INTRODUCTION: RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The project had two key questions to focus on and this acted as a guide to the research design and methodology. The two key research questions in my project were: What are the key consumer motivations for online shopping and how are these impacting the development of the online channel? This question is focused on the key drivers acting as make for consumers to pursue online shopping, and how these drivers were impacting the online channel as an alternative channel for making purchases. What are the emerging trends for online shopping, and how will the online shopping channel develop? As online shopping continues to increase, both organisations and consumers are expected to be better-placed with having a good understanding of where online shopping trends seem to be directed at. 1.1 Consumer motivations The project sought to understand the consumer motivations for choosing online shopping as an alternative channel or, for some consumers, their main channel for shopping particular items. This part of the project was based on determining what consumers have stated as their key motivation factors through secondary research. This was supported by primary research by surveying and interviewing consumers on their motivational factors. The objective was to list out the key motivational factors consumers have for online shopping. 1.2 Emerging trends for online shopping In addition to understanding consumer motivation, this project also sought, as an objective, to understand the emerging trends in online shopping, and establish a viewpoint on where the online channel was expected to move to. Similar for consumer motivations, this part of the project was based on a combination of primary and secondary research. 1.3 Foundation for research project There was a strong foundation for pursuing this project as it aimed to provide a greater understanding of the consumer and the motivations behind online shopping. As the importance of the online channel becomes increasingly greater for organisations, there is greater need for determining the consumers key drivers in choosing this as an alternative channel for shopping. The project results impact both consumers and organisations. For consumers, this gave them a venue for stating their preferences and key requirements to continue using the online channel which could lead to improvements on the online shopping experience. For organisations, this project provided an understanding of the current situation and also the emerging trends based on competitive dynamics, in order to be able to provide the consumers their requirements. This project was also important for me as the student as it gave me an opportunity to develop the knowledge and pursue the analysis of a critical management issue which was becoming a greater value add channel for a large number of organisations. The project, I believe, has led to new insights and a confirmation of consumers key motivations to online shopping. I believe this contributes to the growing knowledge on the online shopping experience of consumers. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW In this section, research works relating to consumer motivations for online shopping and related issues are critically evaluated. This research project was pursued with a qualitative research approach as the focus was on consumer motivations, which, while it could have been developed with quantitative metrics, seemed to translate better into a qualitative focus. The objective was more focused on going in greater depth across the key consumer motivations instead of tallying figures in terms of which factors consumers felt were their key motivations. The qualitative aspect of the research project was pursued through surveys and in-depth questionnaires. The primary data collected through the surveys and in-depth interviews were highly subjective as these were the results of consumers opinions and viewpoints. In this instance, it seemed best to pursue a rational approach to analysing the data results and the resulting interpretation. The interpretation of the research results was critical in this research project as there were no specific correct answers being pursued rather the collective view point and key motivating factors were being identified. Overall, the approach pursued for this research project was an interpretive qualitative research approached which seemed to fit best the requirements of the project. 2.1 Overview Even at the end of the last century, online shopping was already starting to catch peoples attention, and was slowly attracting consumers to use it as a channel, primarily because of its ease in completing purchases (i.e. not needing to step out of the home) and also in providing information as, even then, some sites already provided extensive information (Gay 1999, Gehrt et al 2007). But we are well into the first decade of the 21st century, and since then times have changed and certainly, consumers motivations, as evidenced in this literature review and the results of the research project, have changed. The use of the online channel for shopping varies greatly by country with the UK and the US ranking high up in the list with greatest ratio of online shoppers among Internet users, in addition to also having a large penetration of users for Internet access (Bhatti 2006). In the UK, Internet access among households has increased from 34% in 2000 to 54% in 2004, while Internet access for adults increased from 40% in 2000 to 64% in 2005 (Datamonitor 2006). 2.2 Consumer motivations In a research on consumer motivations for online retail shopping conducted a few years ago, some of the consumer motivations cited were interest in use of a new technology, ease of navigation and use, and convenience of online shopping (Childers et al 2001). While the research mentioned looked at consumer motivations, the research was only a subset of what could be learned from consumer behaviour as the study focused on only a few possible factors of online shopping activity. Also, the research is dated considering the advancements in technology over the past few years and the changes that have occurred in the online channel and the resulting consumer experience. A key thing to note was that the authors highlighted then the expectations that online retail shopping would continue to increase as consumers found greater reasons for shopping online. Linked to the increase of online shopping is the increase in access and usage of the Internet. For example, Rodgers and Sheldon (2002) researched the increasing use of the Internet and highlighted shopping as one of the key motivations for increased consumer use. In this instance, shopping was focused on as one of the factors resulting in the increased use of the Internet. In this work, the authors looked at shopping as a consumer motivation for increased consumer use but their work is interesting as the other factors they considered as increasing Internet use come into play, potentially, in increased motivation for online shopping. These include researching, communicating, and even Internet surfing. Despite the seemingly increasing growth of online shopping and also the increased interest in consumer motivations for online shopping, there has relatively not been much research in this area. This thought is supported as well by the research of Zhang et al (2007) which stated as a premise the online shopping environment s still representing a comparatively new, and largely unexplored, marketing channel. The premise of Zhang is hard-hitting as it exposes a large gap in the understanding of consumers motivations for online shopping. However, the research does have a major limitation in that the research focused only on college students as its respondents. The research was also very focused on impulse purchasing behaviours, and not consumer motivations for online shopping, as its key issue for analysis. Before going in detail in some of the consumer motivations discussed in research works, it should be noted that there has been considerable growth in Internet access and usage, and this has created a significant market in marketing and communications of organisations (Ko et al 2005, Tamimi et al 2005, Dadzie et al 2005). Online shopping has been growing and organisations have been focusing more on developing the online channel to capture a greater share of the wallet of the consumer. Online shopping Internet is the worlds largest network with high technology and greater controls, every day the standard of the internet is improving. In the past decades people and sales persons used to follow traditional methods for shopping and promotion of the business. Banks and thousands of businesses are using computers to share the data online and for transferring the funds using online banking. Internet is very flexible to view the information all over the world and for comparison of product prices from one to one organisation. A first step to understanding the growth happening in online shopping is to understand whats included in the term online shopping. It is generally accepted that it encompasses any product or service that is actually offered online, and hence does not relate only to the typical retail product that people buy but can also mean services that can be purchased online. A rather broad definition is given by Hult et al (2007) wherein online shopping can relate to any offering of service quality, product quality, or e-Business quality where the objective is the customer-based value creation for organisations. Based on this definition, we can see that the number of online shoppers has indeed increased significantly, at least in the UK, with the percentage of UK Internet users shopping online (including ordering tickets of buying goods and services) grew from 36% in 2000 to 61% in 2005 (Datamonitor 2006). For this research project, the broad definition is reasonable as the key focus of the research is in understanding consumer motivations for online shopping in general, with no specific product or service in mind. Undoubtedly, there are a large number of ways in which to cut the issue and there would be differences in the consumer motivations for specific products in specific markets, for example. The works cited in this section provided a good starting point in the consumer motivations to be considered. The research works also provided an indication of the increasing use of the Internet and online shopping as an activity. From the limitations cited in the research works, further research needs to be conducted on a general understanding of consumer motivations which are not limited to a few factors. The rest of this section discusses some motivating factors cited by consumers as driving their online shopping activity. 24-hour access One key factor mentioned as a motivation by consumers is the 24-hour access provided or allowed by most online shopping channels. Thus, the online channel is utilised by consumers as it provides them with 24-hour access for information, customer service, and purchase opportunity (Bramall et al 2004). This essentially gives the consumer the opportunity to browse products and purchase at the consumers own leisure. While the research of the authors states this factor as a motivation, the focus of the research work was actually on potential trust issues in online shopping. This specific motivating factor was not analysed in comparison to other motivating factors for consumers. Shopping convenience One oft-mentioned reason, and an early consumer motivating factor, for shopping online is the convenience of doing so as consumers wont need to go to the retail stores and experience the hassle of buying products in the stores (NBC News 2007). Another article does not only highlight the convenience of shopping online but also states that shopping only also helps decision-making as a large part of the information requirements a consumer may need to make the decision are found online (Furnham 2007). Clearly, shopping convenience is expected to rank high among the consumers in terms of their motivations for pursuing online shopping. Convenience can take many forms and includes all-hours access (i.e. the 24-hour access mentioned previous to this can be considered a subset of this motivating factor), own time and no pressure for decision-making, no requirement to dress up and go to the retail stores, and extensive available information, largely on demand, to support the product or service . Shopping convenience is a large factor for the US and UK consumers but this is not limited to the US or the UK markets only as even in Japan, online shopping has seen increasing growth rates, with shopping convenience as the greatest factor motivating consumers to do online shopping (Gehrt et al 2007). Another example where convenience plays a part in online shopping is in the office as a large number of offices are seeing their office employees turn to online shopping during their breaks or in between work in the office to do their shopping which, in some ways, actually results in more productive employees as they dont need to go to the retail stores for their shopping (Spillman 2006). As mentioned, online shopping allows unrestricted information search unlike in retail stores where comparisons are constrained largely by time and availability of sales staff to provide information (Chiang 2005). Thus, consumers tend to pursue online shopping if their information requirements are large and can be met online, or if consumers would like to make comparisons between products and services, and across a number of stores. The shopping convenience factor has been recognised across a number of research works, but these only tend to highlight that consumers have different meanings attached to the terminology, and may actually be referring to different sub-factors under the general term of convenience. In understanding this factor further, specific meanings were attached to and discussed in the surveys and interviews for the research. Greater bargains An increasingly cited motivating factor in online shopping is the existence of greater bargains for products and services. Consumers are increasingly interested in shopping online due to the greater bargains found in the Internet as organisations pass on savings resulting from using the online channel for sales (NBC News 2007, Lii Lee 2005). This poses a challenge for organisations though as some may not have fully understood the online channel business model, and may already be providing greater discounts to their products and services through online purchases of consumers. Another challenge for organisations is that consumers are expected to continue increasing their online purchases but only if they receive greater bargains from sellers in their online sites versus their retail stores (Craver 2006). Thus, consumers are already building the expectations that prices online will be less that prices in retail stores. This means that part of the value for organisations in establishing their online channels has already been transferred to consumers who are expecting more competitive prices online. If only to hammer the point of increasing consumer expectations, two factors mentioned by consumers in their increased interest in doing online shopping were free shipping of their products purchased and also everyday low pricing particularly relative to the retail stores of the sellers (Hajewski 2006). The key limitation in the citations for greater bargains is that these are from press articles and the approaches were not based on proper research conducted to determine the consumer motivations for online shopping. Nevertheless, this should still be accepted as a consumer motivation as this has been mentioned to be a factor based on the articles cited. Overall online shopping site experience This final factor discussed touches on the overall online shopping site experience which, in a way, relates to the overall customer experience in online shopping. This factor is quite specific to online shopping sites which consumers may visit but this nevertheless provides a motivation for some specific consumers and it relates to the overall online shopping site experience and having a positive satisfaction to the experience (Elliott Speck 2005). Specifically, the authors argued that the following factors impacted on the consumer motivation to complete their online shopping transactions: ease of use of online shopping site, product information available, trust in the brand and the online shopping site, customer support, and entertainment experienced while in the site. The focus of the research conducted by the authors was not on online shopping specifically but rather on the attitude towards retail web sites but using the online shopping experience as an example, with an analysis of the resulting impact on the consumers. Similar to some of the other published research cited in this section, the key limitation is the set of respondents considered for the research which, in this case, consisted of undergraduate marketing students. The results are interesting and provide a good preview of what the results could be if the research is expanded to capture a greater sample of the population. 2.3 Emerging trends for online shopping In reviewing the related literature touching on online shopping and also consumer motivations, a number of emerging trends were clearly seen. These include the following: Increased efforts in improving online security Potential for an expanded product range and ancillary businesses Usability of an online site as an increasing differentiator Management of Internet product returns Increasingly demanding consumers Increasing opportunity for organisations to develop consumer relationships Increasingly older market Greater share of ad market Each of these trends is discussed in greater detail in this section. Increased efforts in improving online security Across most metrics, online shopping has shown strong growth and yet the belief is that online shopping growth rates could actually be much higher if not for security-related concerns by some consumers (Bramall et al 2004, Arnold et al 2007, OConnell 2005, Cullen 2005). Increasing trust in e-retailing was one of the factors cited that could significantly drive much greater online shopping activity. Organisations are thus investing in ensuring greater security for their online shopping sites. ConsumerReports.org even recently developed a tool to provide consumers with a safe and enjoyable online shopping experience (Ascribe News 2005). There are two trends to be noted in relation to the security concerns of consumers. The first, as mentioned, is that there are greater efforts placed by organisations in improving online security as breaches to their security could have considerable consequences. Online security is the ability to protect the information of the customers from unauthorised access and destruction. Most of the online business websites using the technologies to secure their online transactions which gains more customers faith and trust to shop online. The use of firewalls, data encryption/ decryption techniques, secure socket layer (SSL), digital certificates, electronic signatures is making online transactions secure. Many governments over the world implemented regulations and law to support the people who want to make transactions online. The European Union adopted the directive on data protection in 1998, which limits any dissemination of personal data. Security and privacy are the most important facto rs in peoples decisions to purchase online, so the sophisticated technology to secure online transactions is the main factor of customers motivations to shop online. The second trend is that a complementary approach to improving reputation for managing online security risks is paramount. In support of this, where there are great concerns for risk, it has been established that utilising expert endorsers, as opposed to celebrity endorsers or even non-celebrity non-expert endorsers, can actually help in bringing consumers over their risk concerns (Biswas et al 2006). Potential for an expanded product range and ancillary businesses Another trend is that organisations are increasingly seeing potential for an expanded product range and ancillary businesses. For example, in recent months, Kohls, a US department store chain, has offered products online which were not normally found in their department stores and these included higher-priced items such as leather chairs, high-end home entertainment centres, and flat screen televisions (Hajewski 2007). This trend is not without its implications for organisation. In the Kohls example, one problem with the expanded product range as done by Kohls was that Kohls did not offer everything they had online in their retail stores. This is a concern as some consumers utilise the online site for their window shopping before moving to the retail stores to try on and purchase the items (Dodes 2006). The article states that more than 80% of online shoppers research products online first before sometimes going to the stores to see the products firsthand. Given that not all products are available in the stores, it would be prudent for online sites to be clear about which products are available in the stores and which products are not. In terms of ancillary businesses, the increase in online usage and online shopping has even spawned related business such as businesses which monitor traffic into organisations websites with the objective of increasing an organisations online sales (Newman 2007). Another ancillary business opportunity is from online shopping sites is as a social shopping space, such as Jellyfish.com which was recently acquired by Microsoft as it saw the growing opportunity in the business (Gallagher 2007). However, these new business are still untested as these are fairly new and would need some time before potentially growing into profitable businesses. As online shopping continues to grow, organisations will continue to seek out other opportunities that could help build the rationale for investments in establishing a highly competitive online shopping site. Usability of online site is an increasing differentiator While the extent of technological readiness of the consumer plays a part in determining the level of comfort in navigating through an online shopping site, the general usability of an online shopping site is an increasing differentiator and distinguishes between the different sites that consumers will utilise in online shopping (Massey et al 2007). There is a significant effect of the online marketing or advertisements on the customers to shop online and this pushing medium of marketing makes the people to shop online. The online marketing websites are designed with the facility of keyword search which brings more flexibility to online customers. Online stores are offering with much amount of choices and more information than atmosphere, so pure play sites attracting people with higher interactivity. The goal with these sites is to have it easily navigated through by consumers such that any potential barriers to keep consumers from purchasing products and services are effectively tak en out of the equation. Online promotions are very important to investigate the future trends of the online shopping. Customer relationship management is the most important function in any organization to promote their marketing strategies and to maintain good customer relationship. It is very important to consider the attitudes, behaviour and experiences of the customers to make the online promotions. An example of an initiative moving into the direction of overall ease of usability is the recent transaction involving Abazias.com and Google wherein Abzias.com partnered with Google for their shopping checkout process which is considered fast and very convenient (M2 Presswire 2007). The challenge for organisations is to continue making their online shopping sites easier to use. And to support the point, some online shopping sites now provide potential live help from customer service if particular requirements are needed in order to limit the number of lost purchases resulting from consumers abandoning their purchases (Prince 2005). Overall, the design of the website and the ease of use have a large impact on the online shopping sites performance (Auger 2005). Management of Internet product returns Another emerging trend is the establishment of clear guidelines in the management of Internet product returns, which then addresses a key concern or questions by some consumers. Internet product returns has been one of the key factors limiting part of the online shopping growth as the uncertainty surrounding how returns of defective or unwanted products impacted on the overall cost and inconvenience for the consumer. Organisations which are able to state clearly their policies on Internet product returns, and which provide a seamless process for allowing consumers to make returns for products bought online are at an advantage versus other organisations which have a perception of being difficult to coordinate with in processing Internet product returns (Mollenkopf et al 2007). Increasingly demanding consumers As the development of the online shopping channel continues, we are now seeing increasingly demanding consumers. This is shown in an example using the UK supermarket sector. In this sector, online shopping is still considered a poor offering by the UK supermarkets as none of the top five supermarket chains passed a service test conducted by a consumer affairs staff of a newspaper (Prunn 2006). Their failures were from their product offering to the product substitutes provided. The key good news for the UK and supermarkets thought was that the websites were generally easy to use for online shopping. Also, the delivery drivers were helpful and friendly. In contrast, in the US, online shopping offering for the supermarkets is a competitive offering with various supermarkets increasingly providing greater online shopping offerings for their consumers including chef-prepared, fresh-food delivery service (Food Institute Report 2006). Thus, the US supermarkets are able to provide the US consumers with their demands from US supermarkets. UK supermarkets will need to focus on improving their offering in order to capture the consumer wallet for shopping deliveries. Finally, an approach to cater to the demanding consumers is to provide channels for consumers to give their reviews, and to act on the comments of consumers which have been seen to provide a good way of increasing the online sites business (Spors 2006). Increasing opportunity for organisations to develop consumer relationships The online shopping channel provides organisations with an additional channel to develop consumer relationships. Organisations which are able to effectively capture value from their online shopping offering are the organisations which are able to collect and analyse data on consumer patterns, interpret customer behaviour, respond with timely and effective customised communications, and deliver product and service value to consumers (Kennedy 2006). The game is not new to most organisations. The only difference is that there is a new channel to consider for the consumer relationships. In order to be competitive, organisations should be able to learn from their interactions with the consumers, and develop the channel into one that consumers will find value from. With the growth of the online shopping channel, more organisations will invest in ensuring that consumer information is managed properly to be leveraged by the organisation in capturing value from the interactions. Increasingly older market At least in the US, the trend is that the older internet users market comprises the fastest-growing demographic group in the US Internet market and are, aside from large and growing, generally financially secure (Iyer Eastman 2006). While a research has not been found to state a similar point for the UK, it is possible that this is the case as well given the increasingly older society with a lower proportion of younger people in the country. What does this mean for the online shopping channel? If this is truly the trend, then the investments that organisations will place in developing their online shopping channels will be geared towards an older generation, from site design to products and services to site technology used. This potential trend has large implications on various organisations that can benefit from this research work. Thus, a greater understanding of the key trends is important in order to allow the organisations to plan and invest properly in their online shopping channels. Greater share of ad market Finally, another trend worth noting is the increasing share of the ad market by the online channel. With the growth of the online shopping consumer market, the ad share of this channel (the Internet) is expected to grow as well from about 5-8% to up to one-fifth of total ad budgets over the next three years (Ong 2005). As examples, US auto firms spent ~14% of their total advertising budget for online advertising in 2005 while Procter Gamble was planning to shift ~5% of its television advertising budget for online advertising and marketing programs (Datamonitor 2006). The greater share of the ad market by the online channel has implications for organisations across two key points. First is that there needs to be a decision on the amount of the ad budget that will be allotted to the online channel. After deciding on the first point, the second key point is that it is imperative for organisations to understand the business model of the online channel, and that the organisations have a plan in ensuring their investments will eventually generate good returns, if not doing so already. 2.4 Framework of Analysis As mentioned, this literature review was used for building a preliminary understanding of the key motivations of consumers in online shopping activity and also in determining the emerging trends in the online channel. From the literature review in this section, the following framework of analysis was utilised in the surveys and interviews. Consumer Motivations The consumer motivating factors mentioned in the literature review was utilised in both the surveys and interviews to prompt respondents and to test the factors. The structure of the factors in the for prompt section of the surveys and the interviews followed this listing: 24-hour access Respondents were asked if this was one of the factors they considered as a key motivation for online shopping. Shopping convenience While this was included as a factor in the for prompt section of the surveys and interviews, greater depth was pursued in understanding what the consumer may consider as shopping convenience in relation to online shopping. Greater bargains This was tested to determine if consumers truly saw this factor as an expectation already, and if not having this factor would impact on their use of the online channel for shopping. Overall online shopping site experience This factor was analysed in the context of the overall consumer experience, and was assessed of the importance versus the other factors mentioned by consumers as their key motivating factors for online shopping. Emerging Trends For emerging trends, not all the possible trends were included in th

Cause of World War I Essay -- essays research papers

WWI Causes World War I, a war that started out locally in Europe between Austria-Hungary and Serbia that later ended up including thirty two different nations. This war has been around for almost a century and yet the causes of it are still being debated. There are many different scenarios that have been considered. Some of the key reasons that were believed to have instigated WWI were nationalism, imperialism, militarism, and an arrangement of treaties. Also the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was believed to be one of the immediate causes. Nationalism is the doctrine that your national culture and interests are superior to any other. From just reading the meaning of nationalism it is quit obvious to see that this idea will oppose some kind of conflict sooner or later, and as proved later on it did. At the settlement of Vienna in 1815, the idea of nationalism was ignored mainly because nations wanted to preserve the peace. Germany and Italy were left as divided states, but strong nationalist movements and revolutions led to the unification of Italy in 1861 and Germany also in 1871. Another result of the Franco-Prussian War, which took place 1870-1871, was that France wasn’t happy with the outcome of Alsace-Lorraine losing, and regaining what they lost from that was a major goal for the French. Nationalism was a problem for Austria-Hungary and the Balkans. Those areas had many conflicting national groups. The strong faith Serbia had for the movement advocating th...

Post-graduate Traveling Fellowship Recipient Essay -- Environmental Ec

Post-graduate Traveling Fellowship Recipient "With every step, you are met by the most bizarre and wonderful forms," she told me. I have never heard someone talk about nature in the way that my host mother in France did. She has not been able to return to what she calls "the jungles of Madagascar"-her birthplace-but images of wild and beautiful greenness have never left her mind. In Madagascar, there are two hundred thousand different species of living things; ninety-three percent of them are endemic to this island. Wide-eyed lemurs and bright red Fody birds can be found nowhere else in the world. Nature has made of Madagascar an isolated and thriving sanctuary for flowers, frogs, and monkeys different from those created elsewhere. This island is a place of magic and wonder. Yet while the baobob tree-locally called the monkey bread tree-once dotted the landscape of Madagascar, it is rapidly being deforested to make way for agriculture. Indeed, each year, thirty percent of Madagascar's land is burned or reburned. This practice not only threatens the habitat of unique wildlife; it is turning the country into an eroded and uninhabitable wasteland. The need for subsistence in this poverty-stricken nation has led many people to conceive of the immense natural resources of the island for their economic value alone. Yet if forestry and agricultural practices are to be sustainable, and if the magic and wonder of Madagascar are to be preserved for future generations, the Malagasy will need to conceive of their natural environment in a different way. Only through direct contact with environmental reality can students develop a real appreciation and understanding of nature that leads to a sense of stewardship and a desire to protec... ...n Antananarivo, these university students will assume director's roles and the program will thus expand to include more interested children. Upon my departure, these directors will completely take over and urban environmental education in Antananarivo will continue. Through public service, I have come to see the role of teacher as a creator of possibility. Through my proposed urban environmental education program in Antananarivo, Madagascar, I hope to create the opportunity for urban kids to have frequent and direct contact with ecological processes through which experience they might come to see their environment in a new and more sustainable way. In the end, my hope is to create the possibility that my host mother's children and her grandchildren might one day see "the jungles of Madagascar" where she was born and experience the magic and wonder she describes.

Teenage Abortion Essay -- Abortion Essays Research Papers

The subject of teenage abortion, is an emotionally charged one. The two major groups are completely opposite in their beliefs. Rather than discuss the emotional views of those groups, I have chosen to research, write, and conclude based on factual material, concerning teenage abortion. A discussion of abortion as a definition is explained medically, and in a small part the emotional effects on the participant. I have chosen to report in a factual not an emotional manner. The direct definition of abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by loss or destruction of the fetus before birth. ("Abortion") There are two types of abortion, spontaneous and induced. (Emmens 7) Spontaneous abortion occurs in the first trimester (first three months) of a pregnancy. (Emmens 7) This type of abortion is more commonly known as a miscarriage. (Emmens 7) "Miscarriages are usually attributed to an abnormality to the fetus." (Emmens, 7) Induced is the other type of abortion, the one creating a wide spread controversy throughout the United States and many other parts of the world. (Emmens, 7) Induced abortion is a procedure intended to terminate a suspected or known unwanted pregnancy. ("Abortion") The fetus is forced out of the uterus causing it to die. (Emmens, 7) There are only a few different ways that an induced abortion is performed. The most common technique is known as vacuum aspiration. ("Abortion") During the procedure the embryo or the fetus and the placenta is drawn into a tube by vacuum pressure. ("Abortion") Vacuum aspiration along with the other methods of abortion, are usually performed in the first trimester. ("Abortion") The procedure for second trimester abortion is a more risky and complicated procedure. ("Abortion") Thirty six percent of all teenage women who become pregnant choose to terminate their pregnancies by having abortions. (Meier,49) There are many reasons why teenagers decide that abortion is the best option for their own specific situations. "Some say they aren't ready for the kind of changes a baby would bring to their lives." (Meier,46) The top three reasons, teens and grown women alike, choose to have an abortion are: 1. A child would change the lives of all involved, drastically, in ways that many are not ready to handle. 2. A feeling of immaturity. 3. Financial problems, only to be made worse if a youngster was involved.(Planned)... ... to parental physical or psychiatric illness and/or drug and alcohol abuse. (Planned) Many are also frightened of what might be said and done to them. "There is evidence that teenagers who do not involve their parents believe, that involving their parents would not be in their best interests or are trying to protect their parents." (Planned) A strong majority of the teens having abortions already involve parents even if not required to do so by law. (Planned) Allowing teenage girls to have abortions is allowing them to go on with their lives. To pursue the many hopes and dreams of their childhood. It is allowing them to continue to be a child instead of raising one. As for the entire subject of teenage abortion, I am absolutely 100% pro-choice. I believe any women, young or old should have the right to choose, without legal strings attached. I would suggest a process of guidance be made available, should a women so choose. My thoughts are, an adult, maybe not a parent, but a pers on of legal age, should be available to give guidance because they care, not because they are bound to do so by law. In conclusion I do not believe Government should intrude in such personal matters. Teenage Abortion Essay -- Abortion Essays Research Papers The subject of teenage abortion, is an emotionally charged one. The two major groups are completely opposite in their beliefs. Rather than discuss the emotional views of those groups, I have chosen to research, write, and conclude based on factual material, concerning teenage abortion. A discussion of abortion as a definition is explained medically, and in a small part the emotional effects on the participant. I have chosen to report in a factual not an emotional manner. The direct definition of abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by loss or destruction of the fetus before birth. ("Abortion") There are two types of abortion, spontaneous and induced. (Emmens 7) Spontaneous abortion occurs in the first trimester (first three months) of a pregnancy. (Emmens 7) This type of abortion is more commonly known as a miscarriage. (Emmens 7) "Miscarriages are usually attributed to an abnormality to the fetus." (Emmens, 7) Induced is the other type of abortion, the one creating a wide spread controversy throughout the United States and many other parts of the world. (Emmens, 7) Induced abortion is a procedure intended to terminate a suspected or known unwanted pregnancy. ("Abortion") The fetus is forced out of the uterus causing it to die. (Emmens, 7) There are only a few different ways that an induced abortion is performed. The most common technique is known as vacuum aspiration. ("Abortion") During the procedure the embryo or the fetus and the placenta is drawn into a tube by vacuum pressure. ("Abortion") Vacuum aspiration along with the other methods of abortion, are usually performed in the first trimester. ("Abortion") The procedure for second trimester abortion is a more risky and complicated procedure. ("Abortion") Thirty six percent of all teenage women who become pregnant choose to terminate their pregnancies by having abortions. (Meier,49) There are many reasons why teenagers decide that abortion is the best option for their own specific situations. "Some say they aren't ready for the kind of changes a baby would bring to their lives." (Meier,46) The top three reasons, teens and grown women alike, choose to have an abortion are: 1. A child would change the lives of all involved, drastically, in ways that many are not ready to handle. 2. A feeling of immaturity. 3. Financial problems, only to be made worse if a youngster was involved.(Planned)... ... to parental physical or psychiatric illness and/or drug and alcohol abuse. (Planned) Many are also frightened of what might be said and done to them. "There is evidence that teenagers who do not involve their parents believe, that involving their parents would not be in their best interests or are trying to protect their parents." (Planned) A strong majority of the teens having abortions already involve parents even if not required to do so by law. (Planned) Allowing teenage girls to have abortions is allowing them to go on with their lives. To pursue the many hopes and dreams of their childhood. It is allowing them to continue to be a child instead of raising one. As for the entire subject of teenage abortion, I am absolutely 100% pro-choice. I believe any women, young or old should have the right to choose, without legal strings attached. I would suggest a process of guidance be made available, should a women so choose. My thoughts are, an adult, maybe not a parent, but a pers on of legal age, should be available to give guidance because they care, not because they are bound to do so by law. In conclusion I do not believe Government should intrude in such personal matters.

Do curfews keep teens out of trouble Essay

Should people take more responsibility for solving problems that affect their communities or the nation in general? I feel like people should take responsibility for solving problems in their community because you could make a difference in your community and help someone in your little community. Like if you do it nationwide, you probably could help someone but not everyone. In a community you could help just about anyone. Like creating little businesses to give jobs and little community get together. I honestly think its way better to help a community; because if you don’t have a community how will you have a nation? You need a community to even form in to a nation. Like what if no one took responsibility in the communities and went straight to the nation? Like that wouldn’t be good. I mean it’s not bad but it’s leaving the little communities out. Like who would be there if someone’s house gets robbed? Who will put a stop to it? Who will take char ge and find the criminal? The nation has more problems than worrying about a little community break in. that’s how I see it. Like who would be there to even pick up the trash in front of your house on the normal day? The nation would even know about that problem. I think the government needs to have at least 1 person checking up on EVERY community just to make sure if they are alright. Secondly, creating a little business to create new jobs for the community would be such a great idea. Those people could be helping out so many families in that could be in need of money. The government should donate money to some communities that really needs it. The government takes a lot of peoples taxes so why not donate some to money to needy communities? I feel as if the government doesn’t help people at all only like the big problems. I feel like people should take responsibility for solving problems in their community because you could make a difference in your community and help someone in your little community. Like if you do it nationwide, you probably could help someone but not everyone. In a community you could help just about anyone. Like creating little businesses to give jobs and little commu nity get together. So people should take responsibility in their communities. Prev Page