Management and Hr Essay

The CIPD introduced the HR Professional Map in 2009, which set out the new foundations for professional competency in HR and the criteria for new and revised CIPD qualifications. The map highlights 10 professional areas at four different levels and the eight key behaviours HR professionals need to operate. The HR Profession Map sets out the following eight behaviours: 1. Decisive thinker. Able to analyse information quickly and use it to make robust decisions. 2. Skilled influencer. Able to gain commitment from different quarters in order to benefit the organisation. 3. Personally credible. Expert in both HR and commercial issues, and takes a professional approach. 4. Collaborative. Able to work well with a range of people both within and outside of the organisation. 5. Driven to deliver. Focused on delivering best possible results for the organisation, and shows determination, resourcefulness and a sense of purpose in achieving this. 6. Courage and challenge. Has the courage and confidence to speak up and will challenge others even when met with resistance or unfamiliar circumstances. 7. Role model. Leads by example. 8. Curious. An inquisitive, open-minded type, who seeks out new ways to support the development of the organisation. The HR Profession Map identifies ten professional areas: 1) Insight Strategy & Solutions (the ‘core’ of the Map) : understanding the company ethos & activities, responsible for HR plans of action, is aware of the obstacles that block the path of being able to provide an effective HR function, provides solutions. Designs good rewards and benefits package, making the Company an attractive place to work, helping with retention of staff and attracting quality new staff members, central to the organisation. 2) Leading Human Resources : operational excellence understanding the requirements of the organisation. Will to be able to guide & direct a fit for purpose HR function, responsible for staffing†¦ 3) Service delivery and  information. Managing HR information professionally. 4) Organisation design. Managing structural change and ensuring the organisation is appropriately designed. 5) Organisation development. Ensuring the organisation’s workforce, culture, values and environment will enable it to meet goals and perform well in the future. 6) Resourcing and talent planning. Making sure the organisation attracts people who will give it an edge. Managing a workforce with the balance of skills needed to meet short and long-term ambitions. 7) Learning and talent development. Making sure that people at all levels of the organisation have the skills needed to contribute to the organisation’s success, and that they are motivated to grow and learn. 8) Performance and reward. Making sure that reward systems – principally pay and benefits – are fair and cost-effective. Ensuring critical skills, experience and performances are rewarded. 9) Employee engagement. Supporting employees in maintaining a positive connection with their work, colleagues and the broader organisation, with a particular focus on good relationships between staff and their line managers. 10) Employee relations. Ensure that the relationship between the organisation and staff is managed within a clear and appropriate framework. â€Å"Orme added: â€Å"The map will allow us to maintain rigour while improving flexibility: the flexibility to meet the needs of generalists and specialists and to support professionals at all levels, and the rigour to ensure HR professionals and employees alike can be confident that a CIPD qualification delivers not just the capabilities needed for today, but the capacity to adapt to the growing demands that will be placed on the profession in the future.† (http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/hro/news/1017104/hrd-2009-cipd-introduce-hr-professional-map-equip-practitioners-tougher-future-role#sthash.ks3fgXhT.dpuf- 10.03.20 14) Bands of Professional Competence: Band 1 – Entry stage into the HR profession and supports colleagues, manages data and information, broadly considered as being customer orientated. Band 2 – Advises and in some instances manages HR issues. An individual at this level will understand evaluation processes and be able to assist with known solutions. Band 3 – Defined as a leader of a professional HR area. An individual at this level will be have the ability to address major HR issues, generally at an organisational level and will be involved with  medium to long term HR planning. Band 4 – Manages and leads a professional HR area / division. Working at senior organisational level and will have responsibility for the development and implementation of HR strategies. There are standard definitions within each of the four bands which advise of the following 3 areas: 1) What you need to do within each band (activities covering 9 specific points) 2) What you need to know within each band covering 12 specific points 3) How you need to do it i.e. the prevalent behaviours that are essential for each professional area. The behaviour definitions are defined as: Driven to deliver Collaborative Personally credible Decisive thinker Skilled influencer For example an HR professional working competently at band 4 will be expected to be a decisive thinker, will be driven to deliver and will also need to be a skilled influencer. The point of the HR profession Map is that individuals either considering a career in HR, or who are currently working at any given level within HR, will understand the skills, requirements, knowledge and personal attributes required at each level therefor creating a clear progressive guide for their career path. My own experiences as a admin assistant has made me realise I am a generalist at present within HR, my limited experience is gradually developing and I am becoming a more confident person within the HR world, now being able to advise senior management without also reaffirming my thought with our HR director, I aspire to gain further knowledge and become a confident HR professional with this in mind it is not always advisable just to look at my own career and development but to that of others and whils t I don’t have the experience I do have the knowledge and the enthusiasm to help develop individual personal aspirations that need to be closely managed in consideration of an individual’s personal aspirations of how far i can progress my career. For example, a person with strong ability currently working at band 2 may well aspire to eventually be capable of working to the prescribed band 4 level but in reality, and despite whatever development takes place, they may well be unlikely to be able to progress to band 4. This may well be a  personality issue or that some people are just not leaders but not everyone will be able to develop themselves as decisive thinker and a skilled influencer, two of the most difficult requirements of any senior management. Looking at the overall Map and considering my current role within our organisation, I am confident that I am currently working within the band 2/3 area of Human Resources. It is clear that I have extensive work to do within my career path and feel that following onto further studies, whilst gaining the experiential knowledge will give me a sound grounding to a positive and progressive career. After assesing the the map I would consider that I am currently working between band 2 & 3. In my role as Admin Assistant I have responsibiity for ensuring that all HR related activities are managed effectivly and correctly under the supervision of the HR director. My customer base is predoninantly our management team but also our employees, union representatives and our clients senior managment teams. The conflicting needs of each group can be difficult at time to prioritise, not only do I have to answer to three sites managers who all require assistance in there own ways, I have the directors and the employees, as well as the employees of Youngs who are our client and at the end of the day (pay the bills). Within my own organisation we have a service level agreement with Youngs our client,this enable us to provide and maintain the service required, it clearly defines what is expected, when and how, it also states what we expect from the client to enable us to provide an effective service. Providing an effective service,with good communication in a timely manner builds customer confidence, but from a buisness point of view we also need to come in on budget, sometimes the clients expectations can be unreasonable, so as a service provider we have to sometimes negotiate and balance between our customers wants and needs to the needs and demands of the buisness, also balancing the needs of our employees needs to be apart of our management. â€Å"If you not serving the customer, you’d better be serving someone who isâ€Å" – Karl Albrecht – Developing Yourself as an effective learning and development practioner Whilst carry out the assignement and after discussing it with our HR Director  he brought to my attention a perfect example. â€Å"As an example, in a redundancy situation the needs of the union will be to ensure that as few employees as possible are made redundant however quite often in my experience a number of employees will activly want to be made redundantâ€Å" Director of HR Partners In Hygiene Whatever the situation, in my role I have to ensure that the needs of the business come are met first, then to time manage and balance the requirement of In terms of my own developemnt I am comfortably working within Band 2 for area such as insight, strategy, and solutions, leading HR and organisational design as well as performance and reward and feel with only 2 years experience I have progressed positivly, though am very aware I still need assistance coaching/ mentoring to develope my career path to continue and sustain the progression at the same pace. In order to ensure that I deliver to all my customers (internal & external) I must ensure that I have maintain effective communication. The four main communication tools that I employ are: 1) Verbal – Face to face conversations with individuals or groups 2) Written – letters of communication, formal and informal 3) E-mail 4) Telephone conversations Each of the above have both advantages and disadvantages e.g. verbal communication is an effective tool for maintaining close contact and relationships with people but can be time consuming and generall leaves no trail i.e. evidence that a particular conversation has ever occurred. E-mail is an efficient and fast method of written communication but as there is no face to face contact emotions within an e-mail can be misinterpreted leading to misunderstanding. The sheer volume of e-mail can be a problem and in my experience almost everyone is guilty of using e-mail as mean to cover themselves. Written letters are a good record of communication but can be perceived as being too formal and again can be time consuming to compose, print, mail etc. As with any business attempting to be efficient in terms of effective communication, we use all of the above comminication methods at various times. Personally I do prefer oral communication whenever possible wven if this is via telephone rather than face to face.

Country of origin, consumer’s Perception and Brand Image Essay

Introduction The impact of country of origin (COO) on the consumer’s perception of products has been one of the most widely studied areas of international marketing. Increasing globalization of today’s business has resulted in unprecedented problems for manufacturers, marketers, and consumers (L. Y. Lin & Chen, 2006). The country of origin (where a product is made) touches both consumer evaluations of the product as well as the firm’s decision to manufacture its goods in certain countries and how to brand (Parkvithee & Miranda, 2012). Country-of-origin or in other words the â€Å"Made in† is a concept which states that people constitutes attitudes and believes shaping the perceptions to products from specific countries and this influences purchase and consumption behaviors in international markets. The â€Å"Made In† image is the picture, the reputation, the stereotype that businessmen and consumers attach to products of a specific country (Bilkey and Nes, 1982; Gaedeke, 1973; Johansson, 1989; Nagashima, 1970, 1977, Zain and Yasin, 1997). Country-of-origin image (COI) has a strong influence on consumer behavior in the global market, as it is associated with mass communication, personal experience, as well as brand image. COI is defined as the consumer’s perception formed of a certain product offering according to this offering’s country of origin (Samiee, 1994; Peterson and Jolibert, 1995, Leonidou et al, 1999). The country, the type of product, and the image of the company and its brands all influence whether the country of origin will engender a positive or negative reaction. A variety of generalization can be made about country of origin effects on products and brands. Consumers tend to have stereotypes about products and countries that have been formed by experience, hearsay, and myth (Piron, 2000, p. 308; Roth and Rameo, 1992, p.479). Stereotypes of country and the preference of customer influence the purchase intention. Political system, culture and the economy of the country can be a  cause of sensitivity to people (Teo, Mohamad, & Ramayah, 2011). For instance, in 2006, protestors across the Muslim world demonstrated against the publications of cartoon images â€Å"Prophet Mohammed† in a Danish newspaper therefore many boycotted Danish products and many supermarkets in Cairo removed Danish products from their shelves. The question that this paper will attempt to answer is â€Å"To what extent does the country of origin image affect consumer perceptions, brand image and purchase intentions†. Previous research indicates that consumers’ and businesses’ evaluations are based on their assessment of product cues, which may be intrinsic (taste, design, performance) or extrinsic (brand name, country of origin). Buyers often make judgments about product quality and purchase value on the basis of extrinsic cues, especially when it is difficult to evaluate the intrinsic value of a product. This justifies the reason behind using the country of origin as an extrinsic cue in order to judge any foreign product. This paper also aims to fill the gap between the impact of country of origin on the brand image, consumer’s perception and purchase intention, more specially; the research objective is to develop a better understanding of the effect of positive and negative country of origin image on consumer’s buying decisions. Literature background The impact of COO applies to products in general, classes of products, specific types of products, specific brands, image among developed countries, between developed and less developed countries, or among less developed countries (Bilkey and Nes, 1982; Prendergast, Chan and Tsang, 2010, p.181). Country image is ‘‘the overall perception consumers’ form of products from a particular country, based on their prior perceptions of the country’s production and marketing strengths and weaknesses’’ (Roth and Romeo, 1992; Koubaa, 2008, p.140). Brand-image has been described as part of branding strategy at the country level (Meenaghan, 1995; Koubaa, 2008, p.141). Consumers tend to recall the  stored information about the brand and the country in question and then they relate the brand name with the COO to form a brand image and infer the product evaluation (Scott and Keith, 2005; Koubaa, 2008, p.141). Brand image is the reasoned or emotional perceptions consumers attach to a specific brand. It consists of functional and symbolic brand beliefs (Dobni and Zinkhan, 1990; Koubaa, 2008, p.141). Brand image is made up of brand associations. ‘‘Brand associations are the category of brand’s assets and liabilities that include anything ‘‘linked’’ in memory to a brand’’ (Aaker, 1991; Koubaa, 2008, p.141). â€Å"The ‘essence’ of the brand is a single simple value, easily understood and valued by consumer† (Arnold, 1992, p. 17; Pappu, Quester and Cooksey 2006, p.697).When brands are competing in the international arena, marketing managers should understand how to maintain the core essence of their brand across international boundaries. Examining how country of origin impacts brand image and its associated dimensions (e.g. perceived quality, brand associations) should reveal the means to protect or enhance the core essence of a brand. The country of origin of a product is an important marketing element known to influence consumer perceptions as well as behavior. Conversely, an inferior country of origin could tarnish a brand name (Thakor and Katsanis, 1997; Pappu, Quester and Cooksey, 2006, p.697). That is, if the country of origin of a brand were to change from a country towards which consumers have favorable associations (e.g. the USA), to a country towards which consumers have less favorable associations (e.g. Mexico), the brand names in question could be tarnished and the consumer-based equity of these brands erodes. Johansson (1989) speculated that consumers may, depending their circumstances, regard the country cue as a silent attribute of the product in question and that this attribute may influence the consumer through affective processes, as in the case of individuals who hold strongly patriotic feelings about their own country (Han, 1988; Knight and Calantone, 2000, p.129), or through behavioral intentions via processes such as social norms (Fishben and Ajzen, 1975; Knight and Calantone, 2000, p.129). Johansson’s (1989) model is an important accompaniment to the empirical work of Han (1989). Household and organizational buyers’ perceptions of the quality and purchase value of products are more favorable when these products are designed and/or assembled in developed countries than when they are designed and/or assembled in a newly industrializing country. A basic premise of the COO effect is that consumers’ image of a given product’s COO influences their subsequent evaluations of the product (e.g. Gurhan-Canli and Maheswaran, 2000; Josiassen and Assaf, 2010, p.296) as well as their subsequent behavioral intentions to purchase or repurchase the product (e.g. Ouellet, 2007). According to Johansson, country of origin is an extrinsic information cue allowing buyers to make inferences about the intrinsic value of a product (Ahmed and Astous, 1995, p.38). Consumers are more likely to purchase products manufactured by countries having distinctive images for that product(s) rather than countries that do not possess a good reputation for producing the same product(s) (Roth and Romeo, 1992; Chuang and Yen, 2007; Ozmen, 2004; Ahmed, Zbib, Sikander and Noujaim, 2012, p.110). The values which consumers associate with a brand are significantly associated with both the macro- and micro-images of the COO of the brand (Pappu et al., 2007; Ahmed, Zbib, Sikander and Noujaim, 2012, p.110). According to Cordell, consumer preferences are more product specific for industrialized than less developed countries. COO becomes of less significance when the product is widely known (Cordell, 1992; Ahmed, Zbib, Sikander and Noujaim, 2012, p.110). The image of countries as origins of products is one of many extrinsic cues, such as price, brand name that may become part of a product’s total image. Country image in respect of customer purchase intention is one of the most significant subjects among marketers for supporting their manufactured goods. The attention to this issue is because many researchers have demonstrated that a country’s image influences the prior purchase decision of customers. These kinds of investigation about country image and other related subjects dates back over three decades in developed countries  (YAMOAH, 2005). According to Laroche et al. (2005) country image and product beliefs affect product evaluations simultaneously regardless of consumers’ level of familiarity with a country’s products. A product’s COO can have a significant effect on consumer’s purchase and consumption decisions. Further, causal observation indicates the importance of COO in many consumer goods, such as clothing, cars, and food products. For instance, some luxury products (e.g. perfumes, fashion clothing) are strongly and positively tainted by being labeled ‘‘Product of France†. Most of the researchers agree that the â€Å"Country of Origin Image† has a significant impact on consumers’ evaluations of product quality and willingness to buy a product (e.g. Bilkey and Nes, 1982; Han and Terpstra, 1988; Maheswaran, 1994) Conceptual development and hypotheses In this study, Country of origin is the independent variable of interest while the dependent variables include 3 main dimensions (perception, brand image and purchase intention) as shown in Figure 1. Each of these dimensions is expected to be affected by the country of origin image. Since the proposed model is being tested for a certain product category therefore, there relation between COI and the 3 main dependent variables will be affected by the product category in question. In other words we can say that Product category will moderate this relation. Country of origin image (COI) The history of country image dates back to 1970, when Nagashima wrote about it in an academic paper. In a statement about country image he defined it as a â€Å"special image, stereotype and standing, which customers have in their mind about specific country, this picture can be shaped by historical, economical and traditional variables† (L. Y. Lin & Chen, 2006). In addition, country image is one of the first variables that researchers test when it comes to foreign product as well as international business and consumer behavior studies (Kotler, 2011). Studying issues concerning country image  has been prominent in international business for many years (Laroche, Papadopoulos, Heslop, & Mourali, 2005). In our research we investigate COI as an independent variable in order to monitor its effect on buyer’s decision making process which involves two main factors consumer’s perception and purchase intentions and also to examine its influence on the brand image through examining the brand’s perceived quality and brand associations. Brand image Brand image is defined as ‘‘a set of perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumers’ memory’’ (Hsieh and Lindridge, 2005; Koubaa, 2008, p.140). Brand image is determined not by only the brand’s perceived quality, but also by a host of other factors such as product characteristics, packaging, advertising, price and schemas of the typical user. Purchase intention Scholars define purchase intention as personal action tendencies according to brand. They have also concluded that intention is different from attitude. While attitude means evaluation of products, intention is the person’s motivation in the sense of his or her intention to perform behavior. Another definition declares that purchase intention is the individual’s awareness to make an attempt to buy a brand (Shabbir, M. S., Kirmani, S., Iqbal, J., & Khan, B. 2009). In a very competitive global market consumers are facing a variety of alternatives when they decide to buy a certain product therefore it is important to consider COI as a factor that can influence the consumer’s purchase intentions Consumer’s perception Individual act and react on the basis of their perceptions, not on the basis of objective reality. Thus, perceptions are much more important. Perception can be described as â€Å"How we see the world around us†. Perception is defined as the process by which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets stimuli in to a meaningful and coherent picture of the world. Customers are individuals, and each customer perceives things differently in the same  situation. Perception of the product is more important than the product itself (Dave, 2013). Product category Consumers have associations toward entities such as products, places, brands and countries of origin. These associations can have direction and strength. For example, Farquhar and Herr (1993) argued that product category-brand associations can be bi-directional. That is, consumers may recall a product category when they think of a brand name and they may recall a brand name when they think of a product category. Product category-country associations, which refer to consumers’ ability to evoke a country when the product category is mentioned, are of interest when examining the relationships between country of origin and our 3 main dependent variables. Since consumers are known to associate countries with certain product categories and vice Versa (Terpstra and Sarathy, 2000), consumers’ â€Å"product category-country† associations appear to be bi-directional. Based on the literature review and our research objectives, a conceptualized model for this research was developed and is shown in Figure 1. Previous research results support the following relations: CI directly and positively impacts brand image (Roth and Romeo, 1992; Hsieh et al, 2004). CI directly and positively impacts purchase intentions (Laroche et al, 2005). Brand image directly and positively impact purchase intentions (Esch et al, 2006). Hypotheses H1: COO image significantly affects how consumers perceive the products H2: COO image has a significant influence on the formulation of the brand image H3: The country-of-origin asserts a significant impact on the consumer’s purchase intention. H4: Product category will moderate the effect of COO image on the purchase intentions, consumer’s perceptions, and brand image We expect that the perceived quality levels of a brand will vary by the country of origin of the brand. That is, the perceived quality level of Ericsson made in Sweden is likely to be higher than the perceived quality  level of Ericsson made in Mexico or Hungary, for the product category â€Å"mobile phones†. Furthermore, consumers’ perception of the quality of products is known to be product-category specific (Kaynak and Cavusgil, 1983; Pappu, Quester and Cooksey 2006, p.701) Furthermore, consumers’ product category is believed to moderate the effect of the country of origin on consumer-based brand image. For example, the consumer’s perception of a brand made in a country with positive COO image in a certain product category (e.g. car/Germany) is likely to be substantially higher than that for the same brand made in a country with a negative COO image in that same product category (e.g. car/Mexico), in cases where consumers perceive substantive differences between the two countries in terms of their product category associated with COO (Pappu, Quester and Cooksey 2006, p.702). As concerns brand-origin effects, Takhor and Lavack (2003) declared that brand-origin is one such cue that plays potentially important role in determining a brand’s image. Samiee et al. (2005) found that consumers classify brands with their COO basing on the brand pronunciation or spelling and its similarity with the brand-origin language (Koubaa, 2007, p.142). When the brand is created, it comes out to consumers in association with its brand origin (Koubaa, 2007, p.143). Farquhar and Herr (1993) claimed that brand image will have different dimensions in consumer’s mind (Koubaa, 2007, p.143). Because brands have different perceptions among consumers across brands and across countries of production, and consumers are likely to be different as they have different backgrounds and are under different circumstances of consumption; we expect that brand image will differ across brands and across countries of production (origin) (Koubaa. , 2007, p.143). Nowadays, the international trade market is very competitive and there are many new ideas on the market to attract customers. In this case, customers have many alternatives for buying products; however, there are many elements that have an effect on product success and customer purchase intention. Other researchers believe that purchase intention is â€Å"what we think we will buy† (Park, J. 2002). It also describes the feeling or perceived likelihood of purchasing the products that are advertised, moreover, purchase shows the level of loyalty to products. Other scholars like Daneshvary and Schower (2000) believe that purchase intention has a relationship with demographic factors like age, gender, profession and education (Lu, M. 2007). There is another statement that shows that particular features of products, perception of consumers, country of origin and perception of country of origin, all have an influence on customer purchase intention (C. L. Wang, Li, Barnes, & Ahn, 2012). Purchase intention can also be defined as the decision to act or physiological action that shows an individual’s behavior according to the product (X. Wang & Yang, 2008; Rezvani, Dehkordi, Rahman, Fouladivanda, 2012, p.208). Sample characteristics Respondents were asked in the end of the questionnaire to deliver some personal information related to gender, age, income and education. Thirty eight respondents participated in the investigation. Regarding gender, the sample was selected randomly. Females’ percentage was 57.9 while the males’ percentage was 42.1. As for the income category 15.8 percent earned less than 5000 LE per month, 34.2 percent earned between 5000 LE and 10000 LE while 50 percent earned more than 10000 LE per month. And for the education 5.3 percent of the respondents were high school graduates, 71.1 percent are bachelor degree holder, 23.7 percent are master degree holders. Data collection: Our choice of COI stimuli and our variables (BI, CP and PI) was guided by our conceptual framework, specifically we wanted to test and compare the effect of COI on the three variables shown in figure (1) to enhance the generalizability of our results. To test our hypothesis we asked Egyptian  consumers to answer a questionnaire (see appendix) with regards to the latest purchased items. In addition to hypothesis advanced in this study we explore the reliability of the measurements of each variable to conduct a reliable computation regarding each variable in the questionnaire. Reflective scales were to operationalize the constructs in our conceptual framework. Except for the demographic indicators (gender, age, income and education) Measurements  COI 1. economic development 2. Political structure 3. Industrialization 4. standard of living 5. Product made in this country is reliable 6. Products made in this country of good quality 7. Products made in his country Prestigious 8. It is great to have a products from this country Khosrozadeh Shirin and Heidarzadeh Hanzaee Kambiz, (2011), P.614 Consumer perception 1. Important/ not important 2. Overall quality 3. Durability 4. Technological sophistication 5. Prestigious Gray A. Knight & Roger J. Calantone (1999) P. 144 Brand image 1. brand X offers high quality 2. brand X offers reliable products 3. I feel proud to products from brand X 4. I trust the company which makes brand X (Aakar,1991, 1996; Yoo et al. 2000) Purchase intention 1. the possibility I will buy this product 2. the possibility I recommend this product Khosrozadeh Shirin and Heidarzadeh Hanzaee Kambiz, (2011), P.614 Product category 1. Expensive/ inexpensive 2. Good quality/bad quality 3. I look for the COO to choose the best product available in a product class Ravi Pappu, Pascale G. Quester, Ray W. Cooksey, (2005) Country of origin image We used Khosrocadeh Shirin 9-items scale. The 9-items of the scale measure the extent to which the respondent perceives a particular product category from a particular country to be a good purchase choice, of high quality better than the same product category originating from other countries. The COI is formed according to the economic level of the country, the political system of the country, the standard of living and finally the technological advancement of that country. The items are anchored with strongly agree and strongly disagree. The scale displays lower reliability (ÃŽ ± = 0.66). In comparison with the previous studies reliability, our scale measurements are lower (Alpha = 0.83). Consumer perception We used five items scale from Ali Riza (April 2006). The items measure the importance of looking for COI as an external attribute. It also measures the perceived quality of the product from a certain country, so as the consumer’s association of COI with the technological sophistication of the product, and finally if they don’t have knowledge about the product’s COO; whether they will refuse to purchase the product or agree to purchase this product. The items anchored strongly agree and strongly disagree, the scale displays a good reliability (Alpha = 0.75). In comparison with the previous studies reliability, our scale measurements are lower (Alpha = 0.92). Brand image We mapped the brand image depending on two main indicators; brand perceived quality and brand associations using Aaker, 1991, 1996; Yoo et al. , 2000.  Seven items scale including the brand’s good quality, reliability, durability, its excellent features and prestige. Items was anchored with strongly agree and strongly disagree, the scale displays a good reliability (Alpha = 0.74). In comparison with the previous studies reliability, our scale measurements are higher (Alpha = 0.70). Purchase intentions The purchase intention was examined using Khostozodel Shirin. Two items scale including the possibility of the purchase and the recommendation of the purchased product. Anchored with very low and very high, the scale displays a very good reliability (Alpha = 0.89). In comparison with the previous studies reliability, our scale measurements are higher (Alpha = 0.87). Product category The research investigated the product category variable using Ray W. Cooksey, 2005. Scale with four items including the value of certain product category relative to the COI, the importance of this product category and whether it depends on the COI or not was also investigated. And finally the choice of the product class according to the COI. Ray W. Cooksey research suggested that four items scale are adequate when measuring this moderating variable. It was examined according to five-point likert scale, ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The scale displays a very poor reliability (Alpha = 0.5) which was very close to the researcher’s reliability (Alpha = 0.56) Correlation Analysis Correlation coefficient of Pierson was applied to study the relation between constructs. The results are listed in Table 3. As it is stated in the table, Pierson coefficients between constructs are significant at 95% confidence level. Several of the constructs in the research were correlated. The highest correlation was 0.36, which was between the COI and brand image, and also between the consumer’s perception and brand image. This correlation appears to be weak, positive and significant, while the lowest correlation was 0.08, which was between COI and consumer’s perception. This correlation appears to be weak, positive and insignificant. Correlations between our independent variable â€Å"COI† and the other 3 main dependent variables are as follows: there is a weak and positive yet insignificant correlation between the COI and consumer’s perception (0.08). The previous studies findings concerning this correlation were (0.48) which is higher than our correlation. These analyses were conducted by (Knight, Calantone, 1998, p.136). When comparing the correlations between COI and brand image with the previous studies, we found that our correlation was significant, positive and weak amounted to (0.36) while (Ahmed, Zbib, Sikander, Noujaim, 2012, p.118) concluded that it was (0.344) which is lower than our correlation. Table (3) shows that there is a significantly weak positive correlation between country of origin and purchase intention with (0.28) while the previous studies correlation was (0.375) by (Shirin, Kambiz, 2011) there correlation was weak significant and positive. COI has a weak and positive yet insignificant correlation with product category amounted to (0.14). It also has an insignificant weak positive correlation with brand image and purchase intention while, it has a negative weak correlation with consumers’ perception. According to the previous studies; the interaction between COI and product category was insignificant  at (correlation less than 0.05). Indicating that the product category will moderate the relation ship between the COI and consumer’s perception, brand image and purchase intention (Pappu, Quester, Cooksey, 2006, p.705) Two new significant correlations were deduced from the analysis; the brand image has a significant, weak, positive correlation with the purchase intentions (0.27) and also with the consumer perception (0.36). The prior correlation corresponds with previous studies (0.53) which states that â€Å"Brand image directly and positively impacts purchase intentions† (bu Esch et al. 2006). In light of our findings it appears to us that; COI has a positive impact on focal country’s brand image. This would be the case for Germany that has a strong reputation for cars in general (product) but also produces strong brands like BMW or Mercedes. Alternatively, a country like Turkey may develop a strong reputation for a certain type of product, such as carpets, but lacks the relevant skills to turn this product-related capability into strong and well-known brands (strong product image/weak brand image) Conceptually interesting are also cases where a country, such as Austria, manages to develop strong brands, for example Red Bull or Swarowski, but is not at all well known for its expertise in the respective product categories (weak product image/ strong brand image). It would be of immediate benefit for companies operating in such countries to analyze whether image advantages accrued by strong brands can also be used to support other less well-known brands in these product categories. Hypothesis Testing To test the hypotheses of the research, we used the correlation analysis in table 3 as an indicator. This testing resulted in several significant correlation and other insignificant ones and this analysis enabled us to reject and accept our previously stated hypothesis statements. Hypothesis H1 stated that COO image significantly affects how consumer perceives the product. The major substantive finding from the correlation analysis is that the correlation between the 2 variables is insignificant therefore H1 is  rejected. This finding doesn’t confirm the predictions of previous researchers that the country of origin image significantly impacts the consumer perceptions (including two important dimension consumer’s attitude and beliefs). Gary A. Knight and Roger J. Calantone (1999,p.131) stated that COI is a significant antecedent of attitudes and beliefs which form the consumer’s perceptions related to the product in question and this appear to be insignificant in our hypothesis testing. Hypothesis H2 predicted the existents of a significant influence of the COI and the brand image. Our findings support this hypothesis therefore H2 will be accepted. The correlation confirms that the COI is directly related to the brand image which supports the previous studies findings (Roth and Romeo, 1992; Hsieh et al, 2004) which stated that CI directly and positively impacts brand image. Hypothesis H3 stated that the country of origin asserts a significant impact on the purchase intention. The result of the correlation analysis shows a statistical significant relation between the two variables which supports our hypothesis therefore H3 is accepted. This finding confirms with the predictions of previous researchers that CI directly and positively impacts purchase intentions (Laroche et al, 2005) and also with â€Å"the country of origin has a significantly positive impact on purchase intention† stated by ( Shirin; Kambiz, 2011 p.605). Hypothesis H4 offered that the product category will moderate the relation between the COI and consumer perceptions, brand image and purchase intentions. The results supported the predictions made in H4,therefore H4 is accepted. This confirms with the pervious studies findings (Pappu, Quester and Cooksey, 2005 p.705). Conclusion The verification of the hypotheses in this paper leads to five conclusions: (1) Country-of-origin image has an insignificant influence on consumer perceptions (2) Country-of-origin image has a significantly positive influence on brand image; (3) Country of origin image has a significantly  positive influence on purchase intentions; (4) Brand image has a significantly positive influence on both consumer perceptions and purchase intentions; (5) product category moderates the relation between COI and the other 3 variables. The country-of-origin effect is an environmental factor that firms have to deal with whenever they trade in non-domestic market. Yet we can do little to change COI since it is defined by a set of historical and cultural attitudes rather than by anything lying within the control of an individual firm. The good news, however, is that consumer place (COO) below such things as quality and reliability as factor influencing purchase decision for instance Mercedes make good cars but don’t necessarily transfer such positive impression to other German products. Our findings confirms that consumers use a product’s COO as a cue in purchase decisions but this cue can be superseded by the brand image which proves to have a significant relation with the purchase intentions. Also COI insignificantly contribute to the consumer’s perceptions of a certain products this means that other information about the product reliability, quality or brand image will take precedence over COI in determining how people perceive a certain product. So where does this leave us? Companies cannot ignore COO effect but equally they should not rely on those effects in the promotion of their brands because for instance simply being an Italian clothing brand may be an advantage but it isn’t enough for the firm to rely solely on it when promoting its products. Any advantage from COO needs reinforcement through the marketing process this justifies the weak positive correlation between the COI and the brand image. In conclusion, COI is just one of many factors that influence the consumer’s decision to purchase or not to purchase a particular brand. And, yet again we find that consumers do not place a huge emphasis on where a product comes  from- unless they have nothing else on which to base a decision. â€Å"The origin of a product has never been more important in the minds of consumers† (Winter, 2004, p. 46). â€Å"Ninety three percent said it is good to know the origin of products such as where it came from and who made it. People are no longer content to pay for something superficial and hollow† (Winter, 2004, p. 46). Holt et al. (2004, p. 96) Elaborated on this sentiment by stating that consumers expect global brands to tell the myth from the particular places that are associated with the brand. In this research we are presenting both point of views supporting and against the idea that COI is considered an important external attribute that buyers take into account when making a purchase decisions. The research did not attempt to support a certain point of view that is why the predicted hypotheses were not initially directional. One of the limitations of the study was the number of samples collected. In our research we managed to collect 38 questionnaires which are relatively small in comparison to our population. More over the age range and income level range were narrow ranges also the reliability of the measurements imitated from previous papers of 2 variables including product category and COI was very weak; future studies shall consider such limitations. Reference Adamantios Diamantopoulos, Bodo Schlegelmilch, Dayananda Palihawadana,(2011), The relationship between country-of-origin image and brand image as drivers of purchase intentions. Ahmed, d’Astous, (1994), Comparison of country-of origin effects on household and organizational buyers’ product perceptions. Alexander Josiassen, A. Assaf, (2009), Country-of-origin contingencies: their joint influence on consumer behavior. APIL, (2006), Foreign Product Perceptions and Country of Origin Analysis across Black Sea; Studies on Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Russia, and Turkey Gerared P. Prendergast and Alex S.L. Tsang, (2010), The interactive influence of country origin of brand and product involvement on purchase intention. Hong, S. and Wyer, R.S. (1989), â€Å"Effects of country-of-origin and product attribute information or product evaluation: an information processing perspective Kamal Ghalandari and Abdollah Norouzi , (2012), The Effect of Country of Origin on Purchase Intention: The Role of Product Knowledge. Katja Jà ¤rvelà ¤inen, (2012), Effects of Country of Origin on Consumer Product Evaluations. Khosrozadeh Shirin, Heidarzadeh Hanzaee Kambiz, (2011), The Effect of the Country-of-Origin Image, Product Knowledge and Product Involvement on Consumer Purchase Decisions. Knight, Calantone, (1999), A flexible model of consumer country- of- origin perceptions. Pappu, Quester, Cooksey, (2005) Consumer-based brand equity and country-of-origin relationships. Piron, (2000), Consumers’ perception of the country of origin effect on purchase intentions of (in) conceptions products. Rezvani, Rahman, Fouladivand, Habibi,(2012), A Conceptual Study on the Country of Origin Effect on Consumer Purchase Intention. Schaefer, (1995), Consumer knowledge and country of origin effects. Zafar U. Ahmed, Imad J. Zbib, Arif Sikander, Ralph Gilbert Noujaim, (2012), Does country of brand origin (COBO) matter for the Lebanese consumers?

Dead Stars Essay

1. Is the title â€Å"Dead Stars† appropriate for the story? Justify. Yes, the title Dead Star is very appropriate for the story. In the story, dead stars symbolize a dream for something that is nonexistent. Alfredo loved Julia. She was his dream, his star. He thought there was love there. But like a dead star which is far away, and whose shine could actually be the leftover traveling light from it, he was a long way from getting the girl. And when the time came that they parted from each other, Alfredo kept on wishing to be with Julia but when finally they met again, he realized that the love he thought was possible was in fact, never was. The spark that he saw in his star was gone a long time ago even before he realized it. When he was with Julia after many years of separation, it was then that he learned that all along, he was dreaming for a love that was only an illusion, he was dreaming for a dead star. 2. What Filipino practices are evident in the story â€Å"How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife†? Perhaps one of the most evident Filipino practices shown in the story is the formal introduction of the wife-to-be to the parents of the man before the actual wedding. This is done as part of giving respect to the parents and also to get their blessings. This is a very important Filipino trait and it still done until now although there are instances that it is neglected. Another is the prevailing rule of the father in the family which is the common arrangement of the family system here in the Philippines. It was also shown in the story the tendency of the Filipinos to test the girl or boy so as tofind out his/her real personality and intentions. This was greatly depicted in the character of Leon’s father through Leon’s brother. 3. Does Filipino custom explains that love is absent when you don’t see the person? Filipinos are best known for being loyal people especially when it comes to love. This is mainly because our culture dictates that loving should be in this way, with all honesty and loyalty and being stick-to-one no matter what the hindrances there may be. These hindrances may include the long  distance between two lovers but still the relationship grows stronger because of the distance and this is one proof that even when we Filipinos don’t see our love ones, we still continue to love them deeply. In the case of Alfredo and Julia in the story Dead Stars, Alfredo had only thought that it was love that he had for Julia but in fact it was only a misconception and misinterpretation. So, the question could not be applied to them because at the first place, it wasn’t love that Alfredo felt for Julia before they were separated. However, there are really instances when love fades away due to the long absence of our love ones. This is only a case to case basis and it does not generalized the Filipinos. To answer the question, I would say no for love is not grounded in physical presence only. Personally, I would say that love for another continues to live even when the person is not present as long as it is being acknowledged and appreciated, otherwise, it will fade away.

Fund Managers, Intangibles, and Private Disclosure Essay

Fund Managers, Intangibles, and Private Disclosure - Essay Example Intangibles come in many different forms and nature. Example of these includes structural capital, human capital and relational capital. In the present case, however, intellectual capital is the only intangible that is mentioned. A large extent, it can be said that this is so because the intellectual capital of the present company is made up of an embodiment of all the components of intangibles. What is more, given any market value, intellectual capital is believed to be made up of the difference in the market value and tangible assets possessed by the company. Therefore, because the core component of cash input in the case was share price, the intellectual capital was named as the only intangible to represent all difference that would come from the share price and tangible assets. One critical condition that can be used to judge whether the meeting constitutes insider information or not has to do with whether or not the information given can provide any form of financial advantage in the trading of shares of companies. From this perspective, since the meeting with the fund manager involved information on how value arose and how efforts can be put in place to ensure that in future dealings, more value arose from the intangibles, this advantage could be described as insider information. If for nothing at all, the information that was received was a non-public fact and not accessible to all other players in the share trade business. Ideally, because the overall income of the fund manager is determined by a ratio of the overall fund average asset, it would be said that the insider information was going to benefit the fund manager. This is because he was going to be put in a position where he was going to have better strategies put in place to manage the portfolio of trading activities and consequently see a higher rise in the fund’s average assets.

Problems faced by mortgagors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Problems faced by mortgagors - Essay Example It is because of this reason that mortgage products have become very popular across the world and they have enabled many people become homeowners. However, mortgage facilities present certain problems to the borrowers, which will be discussed in this present essay and even how they affect the economy of the United States. Secondly, the essay will discuss recent act of legislations or proposal by the United States’ federal government that pertains to the problems that would be highlighted. The nature of mortgage facility is that the borrower pays a monthly premium plus interest which is flexible meaning that the rate of the interest may increase or decrease depending on the market condition. Baily stated that borrowers’ problems usually arise when the rate of interest in the mortgage market increases while their income, which they use to repay the mortgage, remains steady (68-71). This therefore, creates a scenario whereby the borrower is unable to satisfactory pay the m onthly premiums and interest, which then forces the bank to enact the foreclosure agreement that would leave the borrower homeless. Such a problem derails the entire economic growth of the United States, which is still on a recovery phase, and unemployment is still an issue since according to Baily lower purchasing power by the consumers who are servicing high interest rate means low demand for goods and products (33-35). Bolà ©at and Coles also lamented that presently borrowers have been locked with high interest rates despite the fact.

The Royal Tenenbaums -movie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Royal Tenenbaums -movie - Essay Example was my friends’ reviews that had made me dislike the movie, but then I figured out that the reason was the lack of adventure and eccentricity in the film which was something that I had expected from Wes Anderson. I had Rushmore, amongst others, as a trademark for Anderson’s movies and this one was just not as thrilling as its predecessors. As things turned out, I was forced to watch this movie again after a few months- this time with my family, and I must say it was a totally different experience. The movie showcases one of the best in the art genre with perfection abound in everything ranging from dialogue delivery to the sets and the overall theme. The story offers a unique blend of comedy and drama and revolves around a dysfunctional patriarch, Royal who is forced into unfortunate consequences despite the success of his children. The story takes a turn when, in an attempt to re-win the love of his former wife, Royal fakes up an illness and makes a comeback into his wife’s and children’s’ lives. The plot marks the death of Royal and life moves on the in the Tenenbaums family. As I watched the movie, I could not have imagined anyone else in Hackman’s place play Royal’s character. The struggle shown between his ill intentions and good doing is remarkable and effortless. As common sense would suggest, situations cannot be mended and troubles averted once a lot of time has elapsed. Anderson defies this logic in the movie by demonstrating how it’s never late to set things right. Love must be appreciated even if it comes from an ill-hearted character such as Royal’s because life is too short for

Seung-Hui Cho Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Seung-Hui Cho - Essay Example The paper then advances to two theories: rational choice and social learning in attempt to explain the Seung case. A background of each theory is provided, and each theory is applied to give an explanation to the case. In its conclusion, a personal opinion is provided in the paper to reflect on possible explanation of the case. Description of the Case Seung-Hui Cho studied at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and was a part of state varsity team. On the 16th of April 2007 Seung, a fourth year student undertaking a course in English, went on a shooting spree having killed 32 people and injuring another 25 people (Nizza, 2012). At the time of the incident Seung born in 1984 was 23 years old. This tragedy is referred to as the â€Å"Virginia Tech massacre†. Seung followed up the shooting spree by taking his own life after law enforcement agents breached the doors where the incidence took place. Seung was born in South Korea. His family moved to the US when he was 8 years old. He was a US permanent resident (Brunt, 2012). During his years in the middle school, Seung got diagnosed of a depressive disorder and a severe anxiety disorder referred to as selective mutism. Seung received therapy for this diagnosis until his years in junior high school (Nicolletti, 2009). Seung elicited concerns among his family for his behavior as a child. His relatives believed he was mentally ill. Most of his family members interviewed after the â€Å"Virginia Tech massacre† noted that he was extremely shy and did not mix up with other kids to play. He gets reported as a child who rarely talked (Nizza, 2012). At Virginia Tech, Seung got to raise significant concern in regards to instances of his abnormal behavior and the violence referenced in his plays and writings. After the massacre, a report provided by a panel convened by Tim Kaine, then Virginia governor, gave an explanation to the shooting (Nicolletti, 2009). The report dwelled on Seung’s troubled past and conde mned the mental health professionals and educators who handled Seung for their failure to notice his deteriorating condition and offer him help. The report also questioned the gun laws and gaps in the mental health system of Virginia. Notably, though, the report primarily blamed Seung for his massacre and for not seeking medical help because of his condition. Theories This paper shall aim at discussing Seung’s case using two theories: rational choice theory and social learning theory. Rational Choice Theory In accordance with the rational choice theory, an individual is said to weigh the options of cost and benefits, means and ends before making a rational choice (Samaha, 2005). Rational choice in this sense refers to both what different people may view as either sane or crazy acts. As long as one gets to rationalize his choice of committing a crime, then the crime is explainable. The basis of rational choice is that individuals try to be at their best under any situation. Hu man behavior gets determined by reinforcements in the form of rewards and punishments (Samaha, 2005). Before undertaking whatever actions they plan to take, all human beings calculate the costs and benefits of their actions. Individuals may undertake crimes since they find it easy, satisfying or fun. In the act of undertaking a crime, an individual may base it on personal factors, such as revenge, entertainment, target victim’s vulnerability or police. A supporting theory of rational choice is the routine activities theory which got advanced by Cohen and Felson. As a subsidiary to the rational choice theory, a routine activities postulates that three factors must be present for crime to occur. The three are: the potential

Historian root of the devil's highway Assignment

Historian root of the devil's highway - Assignment Example Thus entering America by any means had become a necessity for the Mexican people. For that they are ready to do any compromise, even sacrificing their lives also. The book â€Å"Devil’s Highway† is based on the same issue of illegal immigration from Mexico to United States. It is a true story that involves many aspects such as border issue, gangsters, deprived conditions of the immigrants, the business involved in illegal migration, political issues from both sides and many more. In this paper following major aspects of the story have been discussed 1. Migrant Labour 2. Federal Economy 3. Border policy History of Migrant Labors, border policies and the Economical Factors: Though the story is shocking, it is not an unexpected or new. â€Å"Two thousand people died crossing the border in the five years before these 26 men hit the road.† (Marc Ramirez 2012) The migration is a common phenomenon, which has its root in the history of American immigration. The beginning of migration of Mexican people to United States started in the early years of twentieth century. It happened in around 1907, when the Japanese immigration was abridged. When America officially entered World War I, the country was in need of Mexican laborers. After the war the US Border Patrol was created and it culminated into the restrictions the Mexican immigrations. Yet unskilled migrants started entering US for meeting their economic demands. Many times it was an illegal immigration. In early 1930s there was a slight drop in the migration. The demand for Mexican laborers again increased after Pearl Harbor. There was an agreement between US and Mexican government for a large number of Mexican laborers. This is known as braceros. During wartime the source of food supply was the Mexican laborers. A professor of Mexican and Latin American politics and economics, Jorge Dominguez Madero states, â€Å"It was Mexicans and Rosie the Riveter who ran the American economy and enabled Amer ican citizens to go to war,† The US growers pressurized to continue the same immigration process even after the end of the war. But there was an acute shortage of the documented or legal laborers, hence the illegal recruitment of Mexican laborers continued. The illegal immigrants became the major support for the US agricultural economy. In 1964 the US government ended the Bracero program and after that the problem of illegal migration started growing. In 1968 the economic condition in Mexico was horrible and it led to the number of undocumented immigration. â€Å"Mexican immigrants became convenient scapegoats for widespread joblessness and budget shortfalls. Paradoxically, they were blamed simultaneously for â€Å"taking away jobs from Americans† and â€Å"living off public relief.†Ã¢â‚¬  (Douglas Massey, Jorge Durand, and Nolan J. Malone Pg.33) Economic condition/ poverty of Mexican: Both Mexican Government and US government did not pay much attention to the immigration issue till 1980. Many reasons were involved in it. In 1986, the United States passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), but there was no voice from the side of Mexican Government. In political and economic unrest there is no substitute for Mexican immigrants to move to United States. The financial crisis led immigration. ‘Enrique Landeros Garcia was thirty years old. His wife, Octavia, was only twenty-three. They had a son named Alexis. He had recently turned seven, and he was ready for school, but Enrique and Octavia didn’

The Ku Klux Klan in the Reconstruction Era Research Paper

The Ku Klux Klan in the Reconstruction Era - Research Paper Example Members of the Ku Klux Klan waged underground campaigns of intimidation and violence against white and black Republican leaders and, despite the Congress’s legislation that aimed to curb Klan terrorism, the KKK organization carried out its primary goal of establishing white supremacy by ensuring Democratic victories in state legislatures particularly in the southern states around 1870’s. The Ku Klux Klan has persisted over the decades, sometimes declining in influence, only to re-emerge later, renewed and powerful than before, thereby leading to the different chapters of the organization that have no connection with one another; this paper provides a detailed account of the Ku Klux Klan particularly in the reconstruction era. The reconstruction era The Reconstruction era in the US refers to the period 1865 to 1877, following the American Civil War, during which many efforts towards addressing the inequalities of slavery together with its socio-economic and political leg acy (Ramold 164). Conventionally, the reconstruction period is a time when vindictive radical republicans imposed black supremacy upon the defeated Confederacy, though, the late 2oth century reconstruction period is an experimental moment for interracial democracy. ... ttance into the Union; the laws and constitutional amendments that laid the foundation for the most radical phase of the reconstruction era came in place from 1866 to 1871, granting freedmen equal rights under the constitution. Following these reconstruction amendments, blacks were voting and taking political office; a politically mobilized black community coupled with their white allies brought the Republican Party to power, with a redefinition of government responsibilities. The Ku Klux Klan in the reconstruction era had one primary objective, which was to trounce the Republican attempts to establish equal political and economic rights for the blacks through intimidation and violence that was directed to both white and black Republican legislatures. The Ku Klux Klan fired violence was so pervasive that Congress had to pass the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, granting authorization for military protection of the blacks against the Klan violence and terrorism. The reconstruction era was a significant mark in the history of civil rights movements in the US (Wiesenberger 951), though, most historians remain highly critical of this period’s failure to curb white supremacy effectively. The Ku Klux Klan then The Ku Klux Klan was a construct of the former Confederate soldiers and it was very active in the period following the Civil War, lasting throughout the reconstruction era; the group was largely comprised of Democratic ex-Confederate veterans, poor white farmers, as well as, white southerners, who were sympathetic to the declining white supremacy. The Ku Klux Klan of the reconstruction era was a highly organized entity that spread fear and violence systematically; the Ku Klux Klan system was largely a militant politico in nature, and it was meant to influence power

Automobile (Toyota in Saudi Arabia) customer reponces to price changes Essay

Automobile (Toyota in Saudi Arabia) customer reponces to price changes according to cusomer segmentation - Essay Example .......................................... 4 1.2 Problem Statement ........................................................................................ 8 1.3 Aims or Purpose of this Study....................................................................... 9 1.4 Research Objectives ....................................................................................... 9 1.5 Research Questions ........................................................................................ 10 1.6 Significance of the Study ............................................................................... 10 1.7 Rationale for Choosing the Research Topic.................................................. 10 1.8 Research Procedure...................................................................................... 12 1.9 Scope and Limitations .................................................................................... 13 1.10 Chapter Summary ............................................. ............................................. 14 2. Literature Review ...................................................................................................... 14 2.1 Conceptual Framework and Research Hypothesis ............................................. 15 2.1.1 Conceptual Framework ........................................................................ 15 2.1.2 Research Hypothesis for Further Verification ..................................... ... .............. 31 2.2.3 Brand Association ................................................................................ 34 2.2.4 Perceived Brand Quality ...................................................................... 39 2.3 Importance of Effective Pricing Strategy ........................................................... 41 2.4 Significance of Pricing over the Development of Brand Equity †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.... 46 2.5 Significance of Price Changes on Consumer Behavior ...................................... 50 2.6 Chapter Summary................................................................................................ 54 2.7 References............................................................................................................57 Chapter 1 – Introduction In order for marketing managers to develop and implement effective marketing strategies, it is necessary to understand the impact that price changes have on consumers’ purc hasing behavior and purchasing decisions. In particular, the market price of automobiles is one of the most significant factors that can influence consumers’ purchasing behavior and purchasing decisions. Since price movement can affect consumers’ purchasing behavior, a majority of marketing managers are concerned with analyzing the impact of price changes on brand equity and consumer behavior (Yoon and Tran, 2011). Most of the available research studies are focused on examining the impact of marketing mix on brand equity (Buil et al., 2011; Chattopadhyay, Shivani and Krishnan, 2009; Villarejo-Ramos and Sanchez-Franco, 2005; Yoo, Donthu and Lee, 2000). Specifically the study of Valette-Florence, Guizani and Merunka (2009) examined consumers’ opinion with regards to the impact of sales promotion intensity and

INVESTIGATING BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

INVESTIGATING BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT - Essay Example ers, it usually refers to those people who exist outside the organisation, such as, customers, suppliers, shareholders, customers, governments, and competitors. In case of the proposed companies discussed in this paper, the both categories of stakeholders are affected by the business activities and their real interest in the nature and types of decisions that the company takes. Stakeholders come together for a unified purpose and help to increases their strength to solve the business problems of conflicts at various levels to achieve common goals (Steven, Normand and Glavas, 1998; Jones, 2007). In this section, an attempt has been made to critically analyse the stakeholder composition of Asda and perform a thoughtful insight of the success features and the need for improvements, in this direction. In case of Asda, prioritizing on the quality product services and competitive price setting, the customers would be drawn towards the company due to its low-price setting and good range of products. Present day customers have high expectations from present day organisations. At the same time, they want to reap benefits and give back to the community. This way it helps to inform about the company’s dealings and ethical business proceedings. Similarly, the Asda stores and depots have community notice-boards and a monthly magazine to disseminate information. Adsa has been taken over by the American retail giant Wal-Mart. This as a result makes Wal-Mart a primary stakeholder of Asda as the business performance of the company will largely affect the financial status of Wal-Mart. The role of Wal-Mart as a stake holder lies as the owner of the majority of the condoling shares. However, the power to make decisions still dwells in the hands of Asda. Any major decision that can potentially change the organizational structure of the company needs to be approved by the parent company (Cowe, Buckingham and Martinson, 1999). Employees at Asda are conscious about the needs of

Macroeconomics - Globalisation Essay Example for Free

Macroeconomics Globalisation Essay For its supporters, globalisation describes a dream of opportunity and prosperity. For its opponents, it denotes a nightmare of greed and inequality Explain the term globalisation and the factors that may have contributed to the process. Globalisation can be defined as the integration of the worlds economies into a single international market, as local and national markets become incorporated into the global capitalist system of production with increasing interdependence. It promotes the free movement of labour, capital, goods, services, technology and management in response to markets around the world. The growth of markets in this manner is not a new, but a process that has seen the markets grow from a local scale to a national one during the Industrial Revolution and to an international scale by the end of the 20th century. The growth of international trade has been significant in furthering globalisation. During the Industrial Revolution, Britain had a significant comparative advantage as its advanced manufacturing technology allowed hugely improved transport through steamships and railway networks across its Empire. This opened up huge potential markets around the globe for British exports, at the same time making a huge range of goods from these new trading partners accessible to British consumers. Although comparative advantages have changed, this is a trend that has continued into the 21st century, with the rise of low cost air travel and other forms of transport becoming quicker, cheaper and further reaching. There is certainly incentive for this international trade driving globalisation has seen a rise in the trade of manufactured goods to $12 trillion in 2005, a hundred times greater than it was in 1955. Over a similar period, the industrialisation of LEDCs has also been significant. As systems of production in economies such as the Asian Tigers, including Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong, and increasingly the Tiger Cubs of Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia along with other NICs have advanced; their economies have become increasingly suited to manufacturing industries. Cheap labour costs in these countries encourage this development, which has been partly responsible for a new international division of labour. As production and trade of quaternary services such as research and development has increased in the three main areas of influence of North America, the EU and Japan, MNCs have increasingly looked to NICs to provide secondary industry, incentivised by low production costs and an increasingly welcoming attitude from national governments. Whilst restrictions still exist, this is particularly true in India, where rules that previously did not allow FDI are loosening and large firms such as Wal-Mart are seeing opportunities to access new markets, particularly in the IT sector. It is perhaps a result of this and other economic liberalising policies that India is seeing growth rates of 9%. Whilst the rise of globalisation has certainly seen a widening in participation in international trade not even the oil producing nations are, for example, energy independent, some economies are far more integrated in the global capitalist system of production than others. As many MEDCs specialise in the production of services, very little of their economies are left purely domestic. In contrast, however, the remaining non-industrialised LEDCs, such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa, have significantly less impact on the global economy. Trading in cash crops and similar primary goods, much economic activity in these nations is still domestic, with many farmers, notably, practicing subsistence farming to the point they have little to no involvement in the cash economy. Evaluate the view that, although globalisation has brought benefits to the UK economy, it has not been without significant costs. The process of globalisation has not continued without criticism. Clearly, there have been considerable benefits to the UK economy over several hundred years as a result of globalisation, but are there costs associated with the rise of the global economy and, indeed, are those costs now outweighing the benefits of an interdependent world? Globalisation has increased the competitiveness of UK markets. Competing in highly contestable markets, British firms face competition from abroad. A few large firms, between whom collusion very well may have occurred, as explained by game theory, had typically dominated domestic markets. As more firms entered the market, they erode larger firms market share with which they may have exercised monopoly power. Domestic firms are thus forced to become more productively efficient, producing at lower cost to compete with, for example, goods manufactured using cheap labour in South East Asia. Competition would also promote innovation so that in an economy with high labour costs, British industry could gain a comparative advantage over foreign firms. The effect of globalisation has thus been an influx of new goods and services combined with lower prices on existing goods, now of a better quality. Globalisation has therefore lead to a net gain in welfare for UK consumers. However, the realities of the situation are very different. Realistically, UK firms cannot compete in the manufacturing industry where economies with cheap labour have been deemed to provide unfair competition. The UK is a high labour cost country and thus at a comparative disadvantage which is effectively impossible to overcome, as demonstrated with the loss of the motor industry in the UK during the 1970s. Footloose capitalism has no preferred location, and as such will shift production to wherever costs are lowest. Globalisation has spurred the process of de-industrialisation, whereby employment in the manufacturing sector has fallen from 7.1 million in 1971 to 3.1 million in 2005, where the size of the UK labour force has in fact grown with rising participation rates. Many of these workers are either unskilled or have been trained to a specific task, making it difficult for them to find alternative employment, compounding the problem. The effects have not just been felt in manufacturing, but increasingly in the service section as IT booms in India and many firms opt for business process outsourcing. Surveys by Deloitte have shown that much of the UK population are deeply concerned about the outsourcing of white-collar jobs. Globalisation has lead to job losses in the UK, causing social distress and negatively affecting unemployment rates, an important economic performance indicator. The picture is not as bleak as it may seem, however. Unemployment rates in the UK remain low, and that generated can be viewed as frictional unemployment as other vacancies do exist. Government training schemes, such as free IT lessons under the auspices of Learn Direct also go a long way to combating structural unemployment as manufacturing workers can retrain for jobs in the quaternary sector. Whilst the UK has lost the majority of its manufacturing industries, a new international division of labour has emerged as the theory of comparative advantage shows that global production is increased if economies specialise in what they are relatively best at producing. The UKs specialisation in the service industry has lead to job creation and significantly increases in national output. Measured through real GDP growth, this rise in national output as a result of specialisation shows that globalisation has been in part responsible for economic growth. Augmented by the multiplier effect, this brings benefits to the whole economy. However, the direct economic benefits derived from globalisation have in fact widened spatial inequalities rather than benefited all, as impacts have differed between the regions. Under the international division of labour, there has been a greater emphasis on knowledge-based industry with the rise of the service sector, with 73.1% of national output in 2004 being in the service sector, compared to manufacturings 15%. Where benefits from these dramatic figured? Quaternary and knowledge-based services are concentrated around the M4 corridor the sunrise strip, and silicon fen, with R+D focused on science parks located around southern universities such as Oxford and Cambridge. These effects of de-industrialisation have created a north/south divide, as the north is traditionally home to the manufacturing industry. Northeast England never fully recovered from loss of traditional heavy manufacturing industries such ad shipbuilding. The consequential migration of workers to the south of England has placed pressure on resources and housing, whilst some northern areas such as Liverpool have seen a fall in population. This is allocatively inefficient resources are wasted whilst the necessary investment needed to deal with the new distribution of population has spurred further investment in the south, widening the north/south divide. In conclusion, the costs to the UK economy from the march of globalisation are highly significant, although their impact can be disputed when the importance of globalisation to UK economic development is considered. However, globalisation is not a process that can be reversed, halted or even slowed. The world is interdependent and will continue to be so, and the UK must be a part of it. International trade, the driving force of globalisation, is enormously important to the UK has been responsible for its position as a major economic power since the days of the British Empire. We have neither the resources nor the inclination to pursue a policy of economic isolationism, as the potential benefits from globalisation are huge. The best option, therefore, would be a cautious approach, devising strategies to tackle problems as they arise with a fundamental focus on sustainability.

Effect of Oxidative Stress in Fertile and Non Fertile Women

Effect of Oxidative Stress in Fertile and Non Fertile Women 3. MATERIAL AND METHODS The materials and methods used in the study entitled â€Å"Comparative study of effect of oxidative stress in fertile and non fertile women† was carried out in the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, SHIATS, Allahabad. The detail of experimental techniques employed is as follows: MATERIALS STUDY AREA The blood sample of infertile and fertile selected married females having child bearing age (25-35yrs) without any metabolic disorder from different gynecologist clinical hospitals and infertility centers of Allahabad. COLLECTION OF SAMPLE AND SITE OF EXPERIMENT: The present study was carried out by collecting venous blood sample (5ml) of fertile and non fertile selected married females in Allahabad. Group-I 250 normal healthy fertile women without any metabolic disorder, Group-II 250 infertile female without any metabolic disorder. All the subject of the two groups were between the age group 25-35 yrs. 3.2 Glassware: All the glassware used were washed properly with detergent and rinsed with distill water and autoclaved prior to use. Fig.3.1: Flow chart for fertile and infertile females Instrumentation: The following instruments were used during the course of study Autoclave Centrifuge Balance (Remi) Cooling centrifuge (remi C-28) Hot air oven (tempo) Homogenizer Incubator Micropipette tips (100 and 1000  µl) pH meter Spectrophotometer Weighing balance Centrifuge Colorimeter Routine Investigation The routine investigation of the subject include BMI and weight and history which was taken by asking the subjects to fill a from including 9their approval to be a part of the study. 3.5 Routine biochemical analysis:- All of the blood sample were analyzed for 3.5.1 Evaluation of Routine biochemical Parmeters:- Hb : By Sahli (acid hematin) method. Blood Sugar :By GOD/POD method Glycosylated Hb : By Cation method Serum Protein:Biuret method Serum lipid profile Serum Total Cholesterol : By Autopack Kit Method Serum Triglyceride : By Autopack Kit Method Serum HDL Cholesterol : By Autopack Kit Method Serum LDL cholesterol : Friedwald method Serum VLDL cholesterol : Friedwald method 3.5.2 Thyroid Profile:- Serum T3 :ELISA Method Serum T4 :ELISA Method Serum TSH :ELISA Method 3.5.3 Female Reproductive hormones: Serum Estrogen: :ELISA Method Serum Progesteron: :ELISA Method Serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) :ELISA Method 3.5.4 Oxidative Stress marker:- Melondialdehyde (MDA): By the santos (1978)method 3.5.5 Antoioxidant level:- Catalase: Brannan (1981) method Ceruloplasmin: By Spectrophotometric method Superoxide dimutase (SOD): By Mishra and Fridovich (1972)Method Estimation protocol of routine biochemical protocol : The body weight and height was calculated manually with the help of weight balance and length scale respectively. Body mass index (BMI): The Body mass index was calculated when body weight is divided by the square of height. 3.5.1 Estimation of Hemoglobin: Hemoglobin reacts with0.1N hydrochloric acid and forms a brown colour complex called hematin.The resulting color after dilution is compared with standard brown glass reference blocks of a sahli hemoglobinometer. Reagent: N hydrochloric acid. Distilled water. Procedure:- By using pasture pipette add 0.1N hydrochloric acid in the tube up to the mark 20 Add 20ul blood to the tube. Leave the solution for 10 mins. Dilute the solution by adding few drops of distill water at a time till the color matches with the glass plate in the comparator. Read the reading. Normal value: In female: 12-14mg/dl In males: 14-16 mg/dl 3.5.2 Estimation of Blood Glucose: Estimation of blood glucose was carried out by using commercial available GOD-POD glucose reagent kit (Autospan, Span diagnostic limited, Surat, India). Glucose oxidase (GOD) oxidizes glucose to gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide. In presence of enzyme peroxidase, released H2O2 is coupled with phenol and 4-aminoanrttipyrine (4-AAP) to form coloured quinoneimine dye. The absorbance of dye is directed proportional to glucose concentration in the sample (Kaplan, 1984) Glucose + O2 + H2O Gluconic acid+ H2 O2 H2O2 + phenol + 4-AAP Qinoneimine Dye + H2O Reagents: 1) Glucose reagent Phosphate buffer Glucose Oxidase Peroxidase 4-amino antipyrine. 2) Glucose diluents 3) Glucose standard Procedure:- Preparation of working Solution: All the reagent are ready -to-use. Pipette into test tube marked Blank Standard Test Serum/plasma 20  µl Cholesterol Standard 20  µl Mix well and incubate at 37 C for 10 minutes at room temp Distilled water 1500  µl 1500  µl 1500  µl The absorbance of the test was taken after standard at 490-550 nm. Calculation: Serum/plasma glucose concentration (mg/dl) = Absorbance of test x 100(Conc. of Std) Absorbance of Std Normal Range: Fasting glucose: 65-110mg/dlPost Prandial: Upto140 mg/dl. 3.5.3 Estimation of Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C) The Glycosylated hemoglobin was estimated by (ion exchange resin method) commercially available kit (ERBA Diagnostic Mannheim, Transasisa Bio-Medicals limited, Solan India).A hemolysed preparation of the whole blood is mixed continuously for 5 min with a weak binding cation resin. During this time, HbAo binds to the resin. After the mixing period, a filter is used to separate the supernatant containing the Glycohaemoglobin from resin (Trivelli et al 1971) Hemolysed whole+ Cation exchange resin Fast Fraction Blood separation ( HbA1a,HbA1c,HbA1c) Reagents: Glycohaemoglobin Ion Exchange Resin Reagent Cation-Exchange Resin (8mg/ml) Glycohaemoglobin Lysing Reagent Lysing Agent (10 m M) Glycohaemoglobin Calibrator Calibrator (10%) PROCEDURE: The reaction mixture contained 500 µL Lysing Reagent and 100  µL whole blood and another tube 500  µL Lysing Reagent and 100  µL Calibrator mix and allow it to stand for 5 minutes till lysis is complete. Add 0.1 ml of the hemolysate from step-1 into the approximately marked Ion-Exchange Resin tubes. Close the cap and allow continuous gentle mixing for 5 minutes. Allow the resin to settle to assay temperature for 5 minutes. Position the resin separator in the tube and push down the separators until the resin is firmly packed. Read the absorbance of each tube at 415 nm against deionised water bank. For the fraction of hemoglobin add 20  µL sample hemolysate in 5.0 ml deionised water in calibrator 20  µL Calibrator Hemolysate in 5.0 ml deionised water, mix well and read the absorbance of calibrator and sample at 415 nm against deionised water. Normal Range: 6- 8.3 % Hb 3.5.4 Estimation of Serum Protein: The protein was estimated (Biuret method, End method) by commercially available kit (ERBA diagnostic Mannheim, Transasia Bio-Medicals Limited, Solan, India). The peptide bonds of protein react with copper II ion in alkaline solution to form blue violet color complex, (biuret reaction). Tartarate is added as a stabilizer whilist iodide is used to prevent auto-reduction of the alkaline cooper complex. The absorbance of color complex is proportional to protein concentration (Tietz 1986) Reagents: Total reagent Copper II sulphate Potassium Sodium Tartarate Potassium Iodide Sodium Hydroxide Protein standard Procedure:- Preparation of working Solution: All the reagents are ready -to-use. Pipette into test tube marked Blank Standard Test Serum/plasma 20  µl Protein Standard 20  µl Total protein reagent 1000  µl 1000  µl 1000  µl The absorbance of the test was taken after standard at 546 nm. Calculation: Serum/plasma total protein concentration (g/dl) = Absorbance of test x 6.5 Absorbance of Std Normal Range: Serum Total protein : 6.4-7.8 g/dl 3.5.5 Estimation of lipid profile: Determination of total cholesterol in serum/plasma: Method Name: CHOD-PAP method Principle: Cholesterol esters are hydrolyzed by Cholesterol Esterase (CE) to give free Cholesterol and fatty acids. In subsequent reaction , cholesterol oxidase (CHOD) oxidizes the 3-OH group of free Cholesterol to liberate cholest-4-en-3-one and Hydrogen Peroxide. In presence of Peroxidase (POD), Hydrogen Peroxide couple with 4-Amonoantipyrine (4-AAP) and phenol to produce red Quinoneimine dye . Absorbance of colored dye is measured at 505 nm and is proportional to amount of total cholesterol concentration in the sample. Procedure: Preparation of working Solution: All the reagent are ready -to-use. Pipette into test tube marked Blank Standard Test Serum/plasma 10 µl Cholesterol Standard 10  µl Cholesterol Reagent 1000  µl 1000  µl 1000  µl Mix well. Incubate at 37’c for 10 minutes or at room temperature (15-30’c) for 30 minutes. Read the absorbance of the sample Standard against blank. Calculation: Cholesterol concentration (mg/dl) = Absorbance of test x 200(Conc. of Std) Aborbance of Std Normal Range: 150-250 mg/dl. 3.5.6 Determination of HDL Cholesterol in serum/plasma: Method Name: CHOD-PAP Principle: Low density Lipoprotiens (LDL) Cholesterol, Very Low Density Lipoprotiens (VLDL) cholesterol and Chylomicron fractions are precipitated by addition of polyethylene Glycol 6000 (PEG) .After Centrifugation, the High Density Lipoprotien (HDL) Fraction in the supernatant is determined with CHOD-PAP method. Procedure: Preparation of working Solution: All the reagent are ready -to-use. STEP-I: HDL-Cholesterol separation Take 0.5 ml of serum /plasma in to a glass tube. Add 50ul precipitating reagent. Mix well; leave it for 10 min at room temperature. Centrifuge at 3000 rpm for 10 min. Take the clear supernatant for HDL-Cholesterol. STEP-II: HDL-Cholesterol Estimation. Pipette into test tube marked Blank Standard Test Supernatant form step-I _ _ 10 ul HDL-Cholesterol Standard _ 10 ul _ Cholesterol Reagent 1000 ul 1000 ul 1000 ul Mix Well. Incubate at 37’c for 5 minutes or at Room temperature (15-30 ºC) for 30 minutes.. Read the absorbance of the sample Standard against blank at 510 nm. Calculation: HDL-Cholesterol concentration (mg%)= Absorbance of test x 200(Conc. of Std) Absorbance of Std Normal Range: Men=30-60 mg%, Women= 40-70 mg%. 3.5.7 Estimation of Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) LDL= Total Triglyceride HDL 5-HDL LDL cholesterol were obtained by calculation using the empirical relationships of (Friedwald et.al.1995) 3.5.8 Estimation of Very Low Density Lipoprotein (VLDL) VLDL =Total triglycerides/5 VLDL cholesterol were obtained by calculations using the empirical relationships of (Freidwald et.al 1995) 3.5.9 Determination of Triglyceride in serum/plasma: Method Name: GPO-TRINDER Principle: Lipoprotein lipase hydrolyses triglycerides to glycerol and free fatty acid. The glycerol formed with ATP in the presence of glycerol Kinase forms Glycerol 3 Phosphate which is oxidized by the enzyme glycerol phosphate oxidase to form hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide further reacts with phenolic compound and 4-aminoantioyrine by the catalytic action of peroxidase to form a red coloured quinoneimine dye complex. Intensity of the colour formed is directly proportional to the amount of triglycerides present in the sample. The intensity of chromogen (Quinoneimine) formed is proportional to the Triglyceride in the sample when measured at 505nm (500-540nm). Preparation of working Solution: Allow the reagent bottle and AQUA-4 to attain room temperature .Add the amount of AQUA-4 indicated on the label to the contents of each vial. Swirl to dissolve, allow to stand for 10 min at room temperature. Procedure: STEP-II: HDL-Cholesterol Estimation. Pipette into test tube marked Blank Standard Test Working reagent 1000 ul 1000 ul 1000 ul Distill Water 10 ul _ _ Standard 10 ul Sample 10 ul Mix Well. Incubate at 37’c for 10 minutes. Read the absorbance of the sample Standard against blank at 505 nm (500-540nm) or 505/670nm on bichromic analysers against reagent blank. Calculation: Triglyceride (mg/dl) = Absorbance of test x Conc. of Std (mg/dl) Absorbance of Std Normal Range: Normal fasting levels: 25-160mg/dl. Oxidative stress marker : 3.6.1. Determination of Melon di aldehyde (MDA) in serum/plasma: Reagents required: Tricholoro acetic acid TCA Sulfuric Acid HCL Sodium sulfate N-Butanol 5-1,1,1,3,3 Tetra Ethoxypro-pane (Standard) Procedure: Malondialdehyde (MDA) Assay: Lipid peroxidation in the plasma is evaluated by the spectrophotometric method based on the reaction between MDA and Thiobituric acid (TBARS). Briefly, to 0.5 ml plasma, 2.5 of 20% tricholoro acetic acid (TCA) in 2M sodium sulfate is added. After precipitating the protein with TCA and washing with 0.05sulfuric acid. It was incubated in a boiling water bath for 30 min. After cooling, the samples are exactracted with n-butaneol and centrifuged at 3500rpm. The absorbance of samples is determined at 530nm. Calculation: TBARS (A) =10 x OD of sample/OD of control (Blank) x mg/ml protein. ) Normal Range: 0.5-2.0 nmol/ml 3.7. Estimation of enzymatic antioxidants: 3.7.1 Estimation of SOD activity in serum/plasma: Reagents required: Carbonate buffer (0.2M) Kcl (0.015 M) Epinephrine (0.025M) Preparation of the sample: Collect blood without using an anticoagulant such as heparin, citrate or EDTA. Allow blood to clot for 30 minutes at 25à ¡Ã‚ ´Ã‚ ¼C Centrifuge the blood at 2000 rpm for 15 minutes at 4à ¡Ã‚ ´Ã‚ ¼c.Pipette off the top yellow serum layer without disturbing the white Buffy layer. Procedure: 1 .The reaction mixture composed of 0.1 ml of carbonate buffer (0.2M, pH 10.2), 0.8ml KCl (0.015 M) 0.1 ml of diluted blood and water to make the final volume to 3.0 ml. 2. The reaction was started by adding 0.2 ml of epinephrine (0.025 M). 3. Change in absorbance was recorded at 480 nm at 15 sec interval for 1 min at 25à ¡Ã‚ ´Ã‚ ¼C.(UV-1800 SHIMADZU)Suitable control lacking enzyme preparation was run simultaneously.( Mishra and Fridivicl;1972). Calculation: one unit of enzyme activity is defined as the amount of enzyme causing 50% inhibition of auto oxidant of epinephrine under experimental condition. SOD Activity= Normal range: 12-16 unit/mg protein 3.7.2 Estimation of Ceruloplasmin activity in serum/plasma: At pH 5.4, ceruloplasmin catalyzes the oxidation of PPD to yield a colored product, which is believed to correspond either to Bandrowski’s base or to Wuerster’s red . The rate of formation of the colored oxidation product is proportional to the concentration of serum ceruloplasmin if a correction is made for nonenzymatic oxidation of PPD. Therefore, simultaneous assays are carried pH 5.45, which has been warmed to 37 ºC.The contents of the flask are adjusted to pH 5.45 at 37 ºC by dropwise addition of sodium hydroxide solution (1 mol/liter), and diluted to the mark with acetate buffer solution. The solution is stable for3h. Procedure (1) Into two test tubes (12 X 75 mm), labeled R (reaction) and B (blank), 2 ml of acetate buffer solution was pipetted. (2) Serum, 0.1 ml, is added to each tube. (3) Tubes R and B are placed in a water bath at 37 ºC to reach thermal equilibrium. A flask  containing buffered PPD solution is also placed in the water bath. (4) Warmed, buffered PPD solution (1 ml) is added to both tubes. The contents of the tubes are mixed, and the tubes are kept unstoppered in the water bath. The water bath is covered, to avoid exposure of the tubes to light. (5) After 5 min, 50  µl of sodium azide solutionis pipetted into tube B, and the contents are mixed. The tube is replaced in the water bath. (6) Exactly 30 min later, 50  µl of sodium azide solution is added to tube R, and the contents are mixed. (7) Samples R and B are transferred to spectrophotometer cuvette (light path, 1 cm), and absorbance is measured at 530 nm with a spectrophotometer. The color of the samples remains stable for at least 6 hrs. Calculations Ceruloplasmin (g/liter) = 0.752 (A AB), where AR is the absorbance of sample R, and AB is the absorbance of sample B. Normal range: 20-37mg/dl 3.7.3 Estimation of Catalase (CAT) activity in serum/plasma: Reagents: H2O2(1.2mM) Phosphate Buffer (pH-7.0)(0.05M) Peroxidase /potassium dichromate Procedure: The catalase activity of the hemolysate is determined by adopting the method of Brannan et.al. The assay is based on the disappearance of H2O2 in the presence of the enzyme source at 26 à ¡Ã‚ ´Ã‚ ¼C. In brief the hemolysate is prepared from lysed RBC suspension, further dilute by phosphate buffer(pH-7.0) Here the reaction mixture containing 0.05M phosphate buffer (pH-7.0), 1.2mM H2O2 and 0.2ml of diluted hemolysate is allowed to stand for 25 min. At the end of which reaction is stopped by the addition of 2.5 ml peroxidase reagent containing peroxidase and the red coloured compound chromogen system. Peroxidase reduced the H2O2 to give a compound and absorbance measure at 505 nm. Calculation: Activity= Std Conc.= 20 µ mol Std.OD =0.02 Unit=  µ mol/minute/mg protein Normal range: 3-5 unit/mg protein STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE DATA: The results were analyzed using Duncan multiple range test. All the data are expressed as mean. Differences between the groups were considered significant at pË‚0.05

The Process Of Space Travel Philosophy Essay

The Process Of Space Travel Philosophy Essay Firstly I think space travel is worth the time and money because with space travel we can learn more about space and whats up there. Also with more knowledge of space we can use it to our advantage. Space travel could be dangerous but it is worth knowing some knowledge about it to know if something dangerous like a comet is coming. It could also help for us to know more about the moon and the stars. Secondly here are some things we could do in space thats if were able to go back up there are learn more about the planets and what each one holds. All of the planets are in many different shapes and sizes. Like Mars for instance scientists say that it is the closest planet similar to earth. It has water just like earth does but doesnt have enough oxygen on it for people to live on. But scientists also say that if they could get plant life on Mars that eventually people would be able to live on Mars. For now since people cant live on mars they put robots on the planet to gain information about the planet. Unlike humans robots can stay on the planet for a lot longer and get hard to reach areas on the planet that humans cant reach. One thing that a human could do on the planet that wouldnt require robots help would be collecting data. A human could collect samples of the planet as well getting the water percentage of the planet. Thirdly before I start talking about the costs of space travel I will talk about some of the things you do while going into a space shuttle. When you walk in the shuttle you have to take off your shoes and you are given a special pair of isolation chamber slippers. After the shoes you are given a light blue vinyl imprinted with the Japan Aerospace exploration logo on it (JAXA). Next is the isolation chamber, a freestanding structure inside building C-5 at JAXAs headquarters in Tsukuba Science City. If you make it to this chamber you are a top ten finalist for two openings in the Japanese astronaut corps. The people in this room are monitored by the JAXA members as well as psychiatrists to see their behaviors in the room. These are some of the things done when in a space shuttle. If the astronauts were able to use the water on mars they could probably stay up in space a lot longer without going back to earth for supplies. How exactly expensive is space travel? Well space travel can cost up to half a billion dollars per space launch. Even with that cost per launch it is still worth it to go to space to find all the undiscovered things up there. Like I said before with the water if they could find a way to stay in space longer it would cut a lot of the costs because you wouldnt have to make as many trips back and forth. Space travel is important because it can let us know if anything deadly is coming. Or it could help us learn more of when the sun is going to burn out. If the sun burns out us humans will only be able to live for a couple of days before freezing to death. As I said before NASA also wants to be able to put people in space because of over population. Just think in space there is no limit of capacity it can hold, so therefore you could fit everyone up there without a problem. Some scientists were wondering that if you went up in space could it actually blow your mind? Well reports from the 1957 issue of Aviation Medicine 35 percent of 137 pilots interviewed said they had a strange feeling on the way up. Some of the astronauts said they felt closer to god or they had broken bonds with the terrestrial sphere. This blowing of the mind theory is also known as the breaking away theory. David Simons from NASA compared the breaking away phenomenon to the deadly raptures of the deep. The rapture of the deep is a medical condition where a diver feels calm and at peace when 100 feet below water. This term is also known as nitrogen narcosis. Simons also said that one day this could be an astronaut going into space with this happening. Some astronauts said that even looking down at the earth spinning fast and the shuttle moving from earth so fast gives them space euphoria, which has the same meaning as the blowing of the mind theory. Some of the psychologists were nervous about the first two space walkers because they got nervous leaving the space shuttle and this made them want to go back to the space shuttle. But in most cases the astronauts were not nervous when they went out of the space shuttle without any problems. Crash simulation is a world made up of metal and men. The place that the simulator is located is at Ohios transportation research center. In the research center there is a crash sled with a track going down the middle of it. The room has a bunch of engineers in it with safety goggles on. In the room there are a bunch of orange and yellow hazard lights along with the cadaver. The cadavers are dressed just like a living person would dress but only there dead. In a couple of hours the cadaver will be hit with a piston that will be shot with pressurized air at the seat he is sitting at. The seat is designed to create any type of crash scenario that you need to be performed. If you need to do a scenario where a car travels 65 mph into a wall you can do that. Or you can even do a scenario where the cars are crashing into each other. In a space shuttle it is a little different than normal car crash testing because almost all space landings are kind of like crash test when it has to do with space. Next is the Gemini VII launched on December 4, 1965 it was a trip to the moon. The only thing different was that this time it was a round trip to the moon a mission that takes two weeks. This would be tough for the astronauts because they have never spent that much time in zero gravity, the old time was only 8 days compared to this ones 12. Just to see if they could stay up in space that long they had a rehearsal where the astronauts would stay on earth but would be in a space shuttle for two weeks to see if the astronauts would be able to handle it. If they could handle it then they would be sent up into space for the two weeks to the study the moon. The Nazis built the worlds first rocket; it was designed to deliver without leaving their home. The rocket that the Nazis built was called the V-2. The Nazis put their first strike with it on London. But anyways Dr. James henry asked David Simons a scientist if people would ever go into space and that thats when Simons said yes and then Henry asked about a monkey going into space and Simon said well when do we start. The only problem was that hey were worried that terrible things would happen to the monkey if he was launched into space. So they said the only way to know for sure was to send a simulated pilot up there so he could launch the animal in the nose of the fast V-2 rocket. But In 1948 Albert a nine-pound monkey was the first living creature to be launched into space. In Conclusion I have told you why space travel is important and if its worth it, I have also talked about mars and many other space experiments. Going into space is a very important thing because it helps us know more about what exactly space is and how it was formed. Without space travel we wouldnt have learned about gravity, the moon, or even the planets. So you see we do need space travel and we need to continue going up into space to learn new things and discover new things. Space travel might also be expensive but in the long run the money is worth it. As I said before the earth is becoming over populated and eventually we might not have any room left. So if we could put humans in space there would be no limit on how many people it could fit. Im also going to say that without space travel we might not be where were at today. These are just some of the many things on why space travel is important and why need it for a better future. Personal Review I thought packing for mars was a pretty interesting book. I thought it was going to be another boring space book but it turned out that the book wasnt so bad. I thought it was pretty neat how they have to package the food in special sealed bags so that when it gets to space it doesnt go all over the place. One thing that I didnt like about the book was that it didnt talk about going to mars all that much. One thing that was interesting but gross was the vomiting in the space helmets. Roach talked about how threatening it could be if a person were to throw up in their space helmet and I thought that was just gross. As I said before the book turned out not to be too bad.