Definition of Data Warehousing Essay

Search any resource (Books, Web Sites, Papers, etc.) to find three definitions for Data Warehousing. Include the detailed information (Title, authors and the source of the definitions. For example: â€Å"Data warehousing is a collection of decision support technologies, aimed at enabling the knowledge worker (executive, manager, analyst) to make better and faster decisions.† An overview of data warehousing and OLAP technology by S Chaudhuri, U Dayal, from ACM Sigmod record, Volume 26 , Issue 1 (March 1997) Pages: 65 – 74. 1. â€Å"A data warehouse is an integrated and time varying collection of data derived from operational data and primarily used in strategic decision making by means of online analytical processing (OLAP) techniques.† from â€Å"Conceptual data warehouse design† by B. Husemann, J. Lichtenberger, and G. Vossen. Page 1. 2. â€Å"A galactic data warehouse is a subject-oriented, integrated, time-variant, non-volatile collection of data in support of management’s decision making process about any and all enterprise business processes and departments, and about the enterprise taken as a whole. A business process-oriented data warehouse is a subject-oriented, integrated, time-variant, non-volatile collection of data in support of management’s decision making process about any and all business processes and their interactions with one another and the external world. A department-oriented data warehouse is a subject-oriented, integrated, time-variant, non-volatile collection of data in support of management’s decision making process about any and all departments, and their interactions with one another and with the external world.† From DKMS Brief No. Six: Data Warehouses, Data Marts, and Data Warehousing: New Definitions and New Conceptions by Joseph M.Firestone. 3. â€Å"Physically, a data warehouse system consists of databases (source databases, materialized views in the data warehouse), data transport agents that ship data from one database to another, and a repository which stores meta data about the system and its evolution.† From Architecture and Quality in Data warehouses: An Extended Repository Approach by M. Jarke, M. A. Jeusfeld, C. Quix, and P. Vassiliadis. Provide a brief summary to compare the three definitions that you’ve found. Tell me which one is your favorite and why? The first definition explains the components of a data warehouse and also its functionality in a general way. The second definition explains the function of a data warehouse and its components specific to each kind of a data warehouse like decision making with respect to a business module. The third definition explains the components of a data warehouse but does not specify the functionality of a data warehouse. I prefer the second definition over the other two definitions.

Non-Verbal Communication Essay

A number of people pay more attention on what they want to say,however,how to say it means more important. â€Å"In fact, studies suggest that during face-to-face communication, only 7% of meaning comes from the verbal content of the message —38% comes from tone of voice and 55% comes from body language. † Obviously, non-verbal communication refers to the process of the communication by means of receiving and sending the messages which are wordless. As an important tool of communication, non-verbal communication plays an important part in job interviews, medical care and social interactions. The process of a job interview is full of communication, including both verbal and nonverbal communications; however, nonverbal communication is more important than verbal communication in some ways. When people do the interview, it is critical for people to send the right messages and receive the good responses as well as maintaining eye contact, using facial expressions and making proper postures. Eye contact is essential when people are talking to the interviewer. The sustained eye contact could be respectful which show your confidence and trust. Also, this makes sure that you are listening and understanding about what you are communicating with each other. However, it’s not good to stare at interviewers constantly, which make them uncomfortable. The best way is to maintain the eye contact for several seconds, and then change your vision away from the interviewers briefly, finally put the eye contact on the interviewers. Meanwhile, facial expression is a necessary component in a job interview. Commonly, smile is a powerful communication tool, which is able to deliver the friendliness, happiness and interests. It helps people relieve nervous tension in order to make a good performance in the front of the interviewers. Also, it’s better to add a smile with your eyes so that you can show a real smile in your face, which makes your interview more successful. Additionally, making good postures can affect the quality of the job interview. The way of standing, sitting or talking shows the level of our attitude and manners, particularly in a job interview. For example, first, sit on the edge of the chair is a signal of nervousness and express you’re uncomfortable. Second, stand in the space belonging to the others and cross the arm, which can be hostile. In order to make your job interview extremely successfully, you’d better prepare eye contact, facial expressions and right postures. Furthermore, nonverbal communication is related to the development of medical care. Usually, most people are getting involved with each other through verbal communication. However, when people are getting older, they are lacking the functions of social network and body function degradation so that they need to depend on nurses’ care— nonverbal behavior,which establish the relationship between nurses and patients, such as, smiling, body positioning and touch. Smiling may be one of the most important characteristics of a nurse who wishes to establish good rapport with patients (Schabracq 1987; Heintzman et al. 1993). Smiling is positively judged by other people and is considered as a sign of good humour, warmth and immediacy (Mehrabian 1972, Reece & Whitman 1962). † The body positioning points out whether the person is caring and listening. In the process of nonverbal behavior, the forward leaning indicates that nurse pay attention and care about the condition of the patients. In earlier research Reece & Whitman (1962) showed that leaning forward conveys warmth and friendliness. Forward leaning combined with smiling, eye contact and verbal attentiveness (‘hm-hm’) communicates an attitude of involvement. † Additionally, touch is an essential part in the medical care, which is a significant connection between nurses and patients. Touch can deliver the feeling of comfort, identification and encouragement in order to give patients a strong response to be optimistic through the medical process. In the medical way, touch can be divided into two parts; one is â€Å"instrumental touch†, another is â€Å"expressive† touch. Instrumental touch refers to the physical touch, such as bind up a wound. Expressive touch is more emotionally and spontaneous. Hence, touch is a key tool in the medical care; it makes patients more positive to face the medical treatment. What’s more, social interactions are a significant form of nonverbal communication. Symbolic stands for religious and status. On one hand, status can be a symbol of social level with person through his uniform, the brand of the car, and the size of the house. On the other hand, religious belief is equal to the culture, which makes certain people have unique communication. However, comparing to the difference between cultures, it’s pretty obviously that we can see the difference in the nonverbal communication. For example, physical space is a main difference. The acceptable physical distance in Latin America and Middle East is much shorter than it in America and Europe. Commonly, that’s why people often leave enough space for each other when they are standing online to buy the food. Besides, in terms of physical postures, the common example is the habit of many Americans who prefer to have a rest with their feet on the desk, but in Asia, Europe, and Middle East is unrespectable behavior. Additionally, hand and arm gestures means different between cultures. In some cases, for instance the â€Å"OK† sign, commonly it means everything is all right perfect. However, it means worthless in France and is money in Japan. Also, it even means rude in Germany. Another gesture â€Å"thumbs up†, usually it indicated all things are OK. But, in Nigeria, it means very offensive, while in Turkey, it means political rightist party. To sum up, nonverbal communication affects the way of people’s daily life, which tends to add more value to our communication. It makes our job review perfectly, promotes the development of the medical care, and enhances the progress of social interactions. As a result, nonverbal communication, as an essential communication skill, is getting more important and brings people the powerful communication with each other in different areas.

Compare kennedy and johnson Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Compare kennedy and johnson - Research Paper Example However, the idealism that sprouted up amongst the enthusiastic American youth during 1960s eventually turned into a large rebellion. Thus, the decade, although started with high hopes, ended with the horrors of division and disappointment. A comparison between the policies of President Kennedy and President Johnson reveals the similarities and differences that led to their popularity with the masses. John F. Kennedy won presidency over Richard Nixon in the year 1960. He assured a new set of domestic reforms called 'New Frontier' for America that would cover reforms not only at home but also the victory in cold war. However, despite successfully creating his image as an intelligent and energetic leader, he faced legislative failures at the outset of his presidency. On the other hand, he managed to be triumphant in the approval of tariff reductions to promote economic growth in the country. He is mostly remembered for his efforts regarding tax cuts in the economic arena. However, his plans to increase federal aid in the field of education, medical care and urban renewal did not get accomplished. He became the president when the cold war was at its height. Thus, foreign policy initiatives occupy the maximum part of his agenda. John Kennedy succeeded in making himself the central focus of the entire nation and that is quite evident from the reaction of American citizens to his cold blooded murder in 1963. Lyndon Johnson followed John F. Kennedy as the US president. The events leading to the assassination of President Kennedy landed him in the white house. His presidency is marked by the expansion in the roles of federal government. He set to complete the unfinished work of President Kennedy’s New Frontier by constructing his own outstanding reform program which was ultimately called the Great Society. He accumulated the largest reform agenda since the time of Roosevelt’s New Deal. He, later on, won the elections of 1964. This indicated that he had no t just inherited White House but he had actually attained it through his policies and hard work. His government took several steps for the creation of social welfare programs in order to eradicate poverty from the American Society. The most prominent program was called as Medicare, aimed to help the elderly with their medical expenses. His policies regarding the revival of the decaying cities and schools, development of mass-transit system and the subsidization of middle-income housing mark the height of his era. In an attempt to ensure racial equality, President Johnson abolished the national origins systems that gave preference to immigrants from northern Europe over those belonging to the other parts of the world apart from Europe. Both, John F. Kennedy and Johnson were extremely skilled politicians. Kennedy, on one hand, appeared polished and well-educated while, Johnson, on the other hand, was brash and straightforward. Kennedy’s reluctance in politics was outweighed by the Johnson’s accomplishments, thereby making President Johnson’ more successful in pushing his policies through the congress. However, the events in Southeast Asia started to eclipse Johnson’s achievements regarding domestic reforms. The funds meant for the war on poverty were, instead, directed towards the war in Vietnam. By the year 1969, President Johnson’s hopes regarding domest

Organizational Leadership Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Organizational Leadership - Term Paper Example Description of situation The organizational transformation Before moving into the realms of the organizational transformation a clear picture of the main parameters regarding the organization entails a necessary significance. The prime parameters encircling the transformation of the organization depend upon people, technology and structure (School of Business, n.d). People Connection to the external environment is done by the people and people are the holders of multi identity in different environment. People can be directly influenced by the external environment despite the fact that the public pressure groups or culture can divert the people’s behavior and attitudes. So people play a dominant role in the organizational transformation. To what extent people play an important part in the company profile of Hewlett Packard (HP) will be discussed in the analysis section (School of Business, n.d). Technology: Technology plays a significant role in the discussion of transformation of organization. Depending upon the complexity and level of technology adopted by the competitors firms must formulate its strategies accordingly in order to develop its technology and simultaneously formulate the profit structure. Although the main concern will be to look upon development of technology depending upon the customers’ need (School of Business, n.d). Structure: The structure of the organization is usually affected by the external environment. It has been found out that when external environment is highly skeptical or uncertain then the optimal requirement is to adjust the internal environment and make it flexible so that it can easily adapt to the... From the discussion it is clear that considering the complex transformation of today’s nature and economy of market the transformation of the business organization has become a very common issue. So the issue of transformation in the organizational leadership in Hewlett Packard will be the prime focus in this paper.As the paper stresses  connection to the external environment is done by the people and people are the holders of multi identity in different environment. People can be directly influenced by the external environment despite the fact that the public pressure groups or culture can divert the people’s behavior and attitudes. So people play a dominant role in the organizational transformation. To what extent people play an important part in the company profile of Hewlett Packard (HP) will be discussed in the analysis section.  Technology plays a significant role in the discussion of transformation of organization. Depending upon the complexity and level of t echnology adopted by the competitors firms must formulate its strategies accordingly in order to develop its technology and simultaneously formulate the profit structure. Although the main concern will be to look upon development of technology depending upon the customers’ need.  The structure of the organization is usually affected by the external environment. It has been found out that when external environment is highly skeptical or uncertain then the optimal requirement is to adjust the internal environment and make it flexible so that it can easily adapt to the uncertainties of the environment.

Can you Light Your Water on Fire Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Can you Light Your Water on Fire - Movie Review Example Fox set out across America looking for information about the methods of drilling natural gas and their effects on the environment and people’s health and areas within the drilling locations. Locally, he paid a visit to Dimock, Susquehanna County, where the drilling of natural gas had already been happening. A family that he profiled had had worries about their supply of water being contaminated. He established similar worries in inhabitants of other states that were host to drilling, such as Texas, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado (Www.theoildrum.com). One of the most significant concerns presented by the movie is the ruining of watersheds. The waters are being contaminated, and fishes die. The movie also shows inhabitants of a region drilled in Pennsylvania who reveal their ability to set ablaze the water oozing from their kitchen sinks. Another serious concern is that the inhabitants, including their pets, developed severe health problems, as a result of contaminated water after the drilling started. Therefore, health concern is another crucial issue. The movie reveals that hydraulic fracturing poses an intolerable risk to public health, and thus should be brought to a stop. Chevron argues that developing this resource of Shale’s natural gas can facilitate enhanced fuel job growth, strengthened economies and energy security. He says that natural gas from shale rock is providing the U.S. with cleaner, affordable, reliable and reliably produced energy. Chevron says that natural gas is the cleanest-burning conservative fuel that produces lower greenhouse gas’ levels discharges than heavier hydrocarbon fuels such as oil and coal. Natural gas resources that have been developed from shale rock have brought about cheaper natural gas for consumers in the U.S., making it cheaper for Americans to generate electricity and heat their homes from natural gas (Www.chevron.com). " Shale Gas | Energy Sources | Chevron." Chevron

Industrial Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Industrial - Assignment Example The root level meaning of culture is to nurture and cultivate. Values and beliefs to certain extent cannot be differentiated since they are internal to an individual. Beliefs and values are most integral component within an individual that governs their overall behaviour. Values basically includes analyzing what is wrong or right and staying truthful to others. This factor greatly influences attitude and behaviour of a person. There are certain common values for business such as community involvement, innovation and fairness. Beliefs and values are in-built within an individual and this drives their overall culture. Values can also be incorporated by getting influenced by a social group. Every individual possesses a set of values and beliefs which one follows for life-long. Organizational culture, values and beliefs play a significant role in terms of building a corporate image. Culture clearly reflects the execution of business operations in an organization (Boxall and Purcell, 2003 ). Organizational value helps to structure set of behaviours which is shared amongst all team members. This aspect distinguishes one organization from others. Values not only enhance commercial value but even enable workforce importance in a firm. For instance, some companies are focused on achieving high performance standards and some are aligned with developing a participative work culture. Hence values are different in both these organizations and this creates different corporate images. This can be observed in real world scenario where some firms are regarded as high performance workplace and some companies are denoted as following appropriate work culture in terms of employee motivation or level of job satisfaction. An organization’s importance is totally dependent on its set of values and beliefs. For example, a firm can be inclined towards seeking high revenue margins whereas another firm might be closely knitted with achieving higher level of

The Woman's Role in the Islam Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Woman's Role in the Islam Religion - Essay Example val of Islam. Similar to other religious, Islam has stipulated a certain position of women in society including their role and social status. The Islam tradition goes back to the 7th century when the revelations transmitted to the Prophet Muhammad who emphasized Islam’s continuity with earlier Semitic traditions. During this period of time, the patriarchal nature of most Islamic societies reinforced the pervasive belief that Muslim women were more subject to the control of men than were women in most other societies. This control was dramatic in the case of Muslim women during the 7-10 centuries. They were secluded immediately upon marriage; that was, they were removed from contact with men (other than relatives) and rarely allowed to move about in public. Islam stated that "marriage is the only road to virtue and that in marriage wives must be submissive and obey their husbands† (Roded 1999, p. 57). Girls generally married between the ages of ten and twelve. Scholars have argued that the definition of power should be broadened to include the invisible control of events by women, which gave them a certain stat us and position. In Muslim societies, kinship and lines of descent were important, and consequently women's power was most visible as they matured and developed the ability to influence the lives of others in their immediate kin and descent groups. In these societies, high-status aristocratic women in particular had power in their ability to influence the actions of their sons, husbands and other male relatives (Roded 1999). Quran and its laws had the profound impact n position and status of women in society and their relations with men. In general, Muslims affirm the Quran to be God's actual words; Muhammad is neither author nor editor, for no human agency influenced the formation of the text. Muhammad does not, therefore, function in the way, for example, the Evangelists do in Christianity. The Islamic tradition is reluctant to allow even this modicum of human involvement in the production of the Quran. Muhammad is not a partner but a go-between, chosen from among men to transmit verbatim God's Word communicated to him through the angel Gabriel. The role of women is to listen and obey, to live the life outlined for them in the revelation and the traditions, and made specific in the law. During the Middle Ages, the role of women in society did not change greatly affected by strict social laws and religious traditions. A blend of Islam and local cultural prescriptions shaped women's lives. In Muslim societies, the local culture was clearly patriarchal, making it difficult to distinguish what part of current culture came from Islam and what pre-Islamic influences remained (Roded 1999). The pre-Islamic record in Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq suggested important public and political roles for royal women. It was clear from historical accounts that the incorporation of Islam into the society profoundly changed the cultural, political, and social conditions under which women lived and worked. Prior to the coming of Islam, women of aristocratic origin had participated in public affairs (Nashat and Beck, 2003). Since the inception of the Islam religion, women were instructed to dress simply and modestly, while all men

Creating shared value (article summary) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Creating shared value (article summary) - Essay Example Importantly, the shared values are the benefits in relation to the cost of operations. There are three distinct ways that an organization can create shared value. The first approach is through the conceptualization of products and markets. Secondly, a company can create shared value by redefining an organization’s productivity in the value chain. Finally, an organization can create shared value by creating groups of similar things in the company that were supportive of the industry in which the organization operates in since a company cannot exist in isolation. One essential way of enhancing global economic growth is through the opportunity offered by creating societal values through economic values. In this regard, the approach provides business organizations with the opportunity to understand their customers, productivity, and external factors that influence the success of an organization. In effect, creation of shared values becomes more effective and the most sustainable effort of enhancing the organization’s participation in the social arena than the efforts that companies are currently practicing. In effect, the principle of shared value becomes an effective approach of ensuring innovation and growth in

Managing Change for Green Telco to Implement Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Essay

Managing Change for Green Telco to Implement Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Policy - Essay Example The company was established in 1989 and is currently performing leadership in telecommunication services in UK. It is a multi-awarded company which seeks to contribute for a greener world by engaging into environmentalism for improved biodiversity. As such, the company involved itself in tree planting activities and has committed to help offset carbon emission by supporting a renewable energy project—-the Wind Energy Generation. This report aimed to present an analytical process about how Green Telco should respond to the challenges on the need to innovate and manage changes in the implementation of operational policies targeting on significantly reducing companies’ wastes contribution and to nurture an eco-friendly workplace by using ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ principles for healthier working environment. The process will also identify alternatives that will produce a cost-efficient outcome in the administration of communications amongst its departments by adapting information technology for effective and efficient paperless administration and operations, as well as in its quality customer care. To concretely introduce changes, the company will conduct strategic organizational capacity assessment to appraise corporate performance viz-a-viz corporate vision, mission, goals, structure and its human resources capacity to actualize corporate plans. It will also evaluate corporate programs g auged on key success indicators and outcomes. Such will also ascertain how effective are its human resources in enforcing the company’s policy on â€Å"reduce, reuse and recycle† (3Rs) within specific period and to address the implication of these proposed changes. Data and information used in this report are sourced from primary and secondary sources that are accessible online. Sources are from Green Telco, journals, books, texts, and related studies. Materials are used based on its significance for managing organizational change. This document will further detail the problems of the company, key issues and proposed recommendations. The recommendations is inclusive of company’s determination of supportive plans that will strengthen human resource’s capacity; adaptation of information technology to develop paperless business operations; improve corporate business management; and strengthen organizational capacity through regular meetings, monitoring and e valuation. 1.0 Problem Identification and Analysis The world is beset with ecological problems (Johansson-Stenman, 2004). All pollution has contributed to environmental degradation which has been evidently affecting all of the civilizations that are currently confronting the impacts of climate change. In UK and like other nations,

Exploratory methods Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Exploratory methods - Research Paper Example In such context, Naslund (2008) defined case study approach as contraction of positivistic perspectives where researchers try to formulate case by analyzing secondary data or generate assumptions from small no of observations. Naslund (2008) defined four conditions for which, researchers should select case study approach over other exploratory methods and these three criteria can be defined in the following manner; When the research problem needs to be addressed through qualitative research. When researchers cannot access the primary data from respondents due endogenous and exogenous constraints. When aim of the researcher is to generate new knowledge regarding the research topic rather than validating previous claims. Researcher has the aim to address the research problem in comprehensive manner by comparing the examples of different subject matters. It is evident from the argument of Aastrup & Halldorsson (2008); researchers use summary findings of particular phenomenon as the case and use it to compare the phenomenon. In most of the cases, researchers use secondary sources such as company data, previous research works, academic journals etc to formulate the case while in exceptional cases, researchers might go for primary data based case formation approach (Naslund, 2008). There are some advantages associated with case study based exploratory research such as, 1- cost efficient, 2- requires less time than primary survey and 3- provides holistic view on the subject matter. But, Aastrup & Halldorsson (2008) pointed out that some disadvantages are associated with case study based research approaches such as, 1- researchers might indulge in incorporating subjective view on the research problem in the name of exploration and 2- scope of case study approach decreases with non availability of data. Despite these limitations, Naslund (2008) supported case study based approach as one of the fundamental aspect of exploratory research. Cozby (2012) and Campbell (2012) defined psychobiography as an important aspect of exploratory research which focuses on analyzing the lives of individuals who are historically important. In case of psychobiography, researchers take help of psychological theory and concepts in order to understand the lives of the very individual. Key objective of psychobiography is to understand the personality of the historically important figure and their motive behind taking any action. For example, Campbell (2012) did psychobiography of Jacques Derrida (one of the renowned thinker of twentieth century) while political leaders like Gandhi, Hitler, Stalin are some famous subjects among researchers to conduct psychobiography. Campbell (2012) also pointed out that psychobiography is not commentary like traditional biography rather psychobiography is intended to find self-identity of the historically important figure. Question 7 Jimerson (2003) stressed on the importance of archive as knowledge repository which stores historical dat a, criminal records, litigation papers etc in the course of exploratory research. Jimerson (2003, p. 91) stated that â€Å"representation in archives has privileged the stories of these groups, since it is their voices that are most often recorded and thus most frequently heard in historical accounts.† According to Jimerson (2003), archival research is alternative version

History of Movie Theaters in Louisiana and the Surrounding Area Essay Example for Free

History of Movie Theaters in Louisiana and the Surrounding Area Essay When we think of the history of the traditional, American movie going, a number of images come to mind: the mighty organ accompanying a movie palace’s silent-era feature, the Iconic searchlights proclaiming a Golden Age Hollywood premiere, teenagers cruising at the local drive in, an audience of otherwise sensibly attired adults wearing cardboard, and young adults carrying five dollar bills to the Cineplex at the end of the mall in order to see the latest sequel. But while these iconic, even stereotypical, images suggest something of the truth behind the American movie theater’s history, they also omit much of the social reality that has co-existed along with these instances of the mainstream filmgoing experience. While Hollywood features and first-run urban theaters may have greater single importance than any other mode of exhibition, a number of other important alternatives have fleshed out audiences’ encounters with film. One such alternative, with a fascinating yet understudied history all its own, was the Black movie house circuit that existed in the United States from (at least) 1907 until the 1970’s (Crafton 412). With the project in mind of examining the cultural, social, and economic history of Black film theaters. I will discuss in this essay the development of Black film theaters in Austin, Texas, focusing especially on that city’s longest standing and most prominent â€Å"show†, the Harlem Theater. Although movies came to the Texas capital before the turn of the century and all-movie theaters began to proliferate there during America’s post-1905 nickelodeon boom, the first recorded â€Å"colored† film theater – the Dixie-Dale – opened in Austin in 1920 under the management of Joseph Trammell. I found no other details about Trammell or the Dixie-Dale, but it is recorded that after two years the theater was renamed the Lincoln and managed by A. C. Lawson until it closed in 1928 or 1929. Austin also supported a second Black movie house in the 1920s. The Lyric, which opened in 1922, just one block east of the downtown Lincoln, was owned and operated by Dr. Everett H. Givens, a practicing dentist (with an office next door) who would become Austin’s most prominent Black civic leader from the 1930s until his death in 1962. For reasons unclear at this point, Dr. Givens’ Lyric, which changed its name to the Dunbar when A. C. Lawson took over its management in 1929, survived the Lincoln by a few years, closing in 1931. Whether the fist Black film theaters in Austin closed due to the Depression, the cost of converting to sound, or some other reason, is impossible to judge given the paucity of data available about these enterprises. However, placing the existence of the Lincoln and the Lyric in the contexts of both African American life in Austin and the concurrent national Black film theater scene enhances a historical understanding of these two houses both as business and as entertainment venues. From a national perspective, we know that the motion picture theater, with its roots in the Jim Crow era, had always been subject to racial segregation. Sometimes Black patrons were restricted to balconies or other special sections of the theater, but Black-only theaters were common in the United States from at least 1910, a year when a Black newspaper in Washington wrote matter-of-factly that â€Å"there are separate motion picture theaters among the whites and blacks in this country†(Washington Bee 4). Although at the turn of the century â€Å"there was hardly a theater for colored people in the entire United States† (Negro Yearbook, 24), by 1925, there were at least 425 Black theaters (of all types), virtually all of which offered films â€Å"in whole or part. Of these, nearly half were, like the Lyric and possibly the Lincoln, Black-owned (Negro Yearbook, 379). But ownership of Black movie houses, in contrast to the first-run, White theaters of the day, was not done by regional or national chains, nor by affiliated circuits; because houses operated independently, the dynamics of local conditions of affected theaters like the Lincoln as much as national structure did. Historically, social and economic conditions changed greatly for Austin’s Black movie houses appeared. During and after Reconstruction, Black neighborhoods had existed in several locations around Austin: Clarksville in west Austin, Kincheonville to the south, Gregoryville in East Austin, Masontown in the southeast. Horse’s Pasture and Wheatville to the north, and so on (Austin American-Statesman, D41). Compared to other towns of the time, particularly in the South, race relations were fairly calm, albeit within the practice of institutionalized racism. The town boasted â€Å"three colleges and institutions for colored people,† maintained some neighborhoods (such as Masontown) that were racially integrated among Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, and Asians, and in general obtained a reputation as a town without the major problems of racial violence that plagued most American communities. But during the ‘teens segregation patterns began to develop’ (Freeman). In 1919 a White representative of the young NAACp was beaten by a White mob in the middle of downtown, and in the 1920s â€Å"the city of Austin created a ‘Negro district’ in East Austin†¦ inducing blacks to move there† by implementing though zoning laws elsewhere (Austin American-Statesman, D41). So it was that the majority of Austin’s African American population (which has consistently remained at just below 20 percent of Austin’s total) became concentrated in an area east of downtown and between 12th Street to the north and 7th Street to the south. Not surprisingly, then, both of Austin’s silent-era Black theaters were built on East 6th Street, near the racial dividing line of East Avenue, within the only downtown shopping and dining district that served Black patrons, yet away from the White theater district on the city’s main thoroughfare of Congress Avenue. I could uncover little information, however, that would indicate the nature or reception of these early movie houses. Longtime Austin resident I. C. Jones recalled visiting the Lincoln as a child, where he remembers a piano player accompanying the motion picture entertainment. Lonnie Bell, who wrote for the Black press in Austin for 50 years, indicates that in the 1920s both the Lyric and the â€Å"Lawson Lincoln Theater† were among the very few venues for Black entertainment in the city and so â€Å"did well before the Great Depression in ’29. † (10)Other information about Everett Givens also indicates that he made the Lyric/Dunbar into a focal point for the Black community, viewing the theater as a civic improvement projects as much as a business investment. Flachmeier 32) That these two movie houses were well received an supported by the Black community can also be inferred from the fact that a 1940 account of Austin history prepared by students at Tiltson College (a Black institution) referred to the era of 1905 to 1929 as a time when â€Å"privately owned amusement centers were developed† by Blacks – even though no other Black amusements of second were instituted during this period (Brewer 34). As I mentioned earlier , the cause for these theaters’ demise cannot be established absolutely, but several factors undoubtedly offer reasonable explanations. Bell’s assertion that it was the economic devastation of the Depression that closed the Lincoln and Dunbar makes logical economic sense. Black theater owners, like even the big-time operators, would have been hit hard as the US economy collapsed. Moreover, inasmuch as movie tickets are purchased with â€Å"disposable† income, Black patrons would have been especially likely to curtail their moviegoing since even before the Depression Blacks in Austin earned only one-half the wage of White workers. More specifically, both houses in Austin would have found it even more difficult to cope with the hard times if they attempted to make the costly transition to sound technology in the late twenties or early thirties. The Dallas Film Board o Trade’s statistics on Texas theaters indicate that many theaters, especially independently operated ones, closed in the early thirties, having no sound. (In Austin, two of the five White houses, the Crescent and Star, also went out of business in 1929 to 1931. Furthermore, one-third of Texas’ 30 â€Å"colored theaters† were listed as â€Å"closed, no sound† by the mid-1930s. Other factors may have led to the closure of the Lincoln and Dunbar, but, given the theaters’ dependence on the patron-age of a small, economically marginalized population, in the midst of a severe depression their failure is not surprising. But the history of Black film theaters in Austin did not end with the closing of the Dunbar in 1931. In that same year, real estate was purchased and construction begun on a new movie house that would serve as the hub of Black filmgoing in Austin for the next 40 years. The Harlem Theater, which opened on October 5, 1935 (Green 9), distinguished itself from the earlier theaters – and all subsequent ones – by being located in the heart of East Austin, at 1800 E. 12 Street, where it could better attract Black moviegoers. However, before discussing the reasons for the Harlem’s longevity, I point out that although it was Austin’s only exclusively Black theater, it was not without its competitor for Black audiences. All accounts of Austin in the 1930s and forties agree that the Ritz Theater was the only other house that admitted Black patrons on a regular basis, though customers there were limited to balcony seating and made to use a separate entrance. The Ritz, located on the same block of East 6th street where the Lincoln operated, opened in 1930 under White management, showing a variety of second-run Hollywood films. Manager J. J. Hegman (and his son after him) maintained the segregated seating policy until the Ritz’s closing in the early 1960s. More prominent Austin houses, such as those first-run members of the prestigious Interstate Theater Fircuit (the Paramount, Texas, State and Queen), advertised â€Å"colored midnight shows† from time to time as part of the chain’s overall marketing scheme (1942 Yearbook). Thus, while there was some competition for the Black filmgoing audience, segregated, White-managed theaters did not attempt to offer African Americans the filmgoing experience and environment of an all-Black house like the Harlem; however, the Ritz balcony and special events at other White movie establishments did continue to cultivate and maintain Black filmgoing in the Depression, when no Black Austin theaters were open. Harlem were filled by Black employees with the single exception of the projectionists. But for a small neighborhood theater like the Harlem, any sort of product differentiation whether it was with films, live acts, or ambience would have failed to produce enough box offices for the theater’s survival. As with any theater, the bulk of the profit came not from fifteen and twenty-five cent admissions, but from concessions. On this count, the Harlem again distinguished itself as unique among Austin theaters. In addition to the usual popcorn, candy and soft drink sales, the Harlem Theater operated a confectionery. When the Harlem opened in the midst of America’s Depression in late 1935, the theater soon established itself as one of Austin’s most visible and stable Black-owned businesses. In film industry terms, the Harlem’s success was small. With only 14,000 African American residents in 1935, Austin’s marketplace for Black films was extremely limited, and the theater never expanded nor led to a chain of others. But, through a combination of strategic location, product differentiation, managerial conservatism, and diversification, the Harlem Theater was able to become a profitable local business in the midst of an industry whose structure tended to favor national giants. Like the Lyric before it, the Harlem was established by a middle-class, Black Austin native who had been educated at Tillotson College and operated successfully in other local business before embarking on a risky career in the amusement industry. But George F. Jones, who was already in his forties when he opened the Harlem, also had some experience in programming films for Black audiences. His older brother Evie had purchased an Edison projector in the ‘teens and traveled to tent shows in the South and Black churches in Philadelphia showing â€Å"church movies† (that is, filmed passion plays) to all-Black audiences. After college, five years as a postal clerk, and ten years as a bookkeeper. George F.  Jones himself had worked as the head of Prairie View, Texas’ Auditorium (a film theater) while employed as a clerk at Prairie View State College (1925-35) (Brewer 7). With his wife, Sadie, a Prairie View graduate and educator, Jones was active in the Austin real estate market and their â€Å"co-partnership† became known for â€Å"accumulating valuable real estate holdings. † For the last two decades of his life Jones devoted most of his efforts to managing the Harlem, setting up residence next door to the corner theater upon his return to Austin from Prairie View. While his establishment may not have been unique for its time (there were more than three or four hundred Black theaters in the country), the Harlem was remarkable for being only one of seven US theaters owned and operated by Blacks (The Early Days in East Austin, D42). As an experienced theater manager, real estate buyer, and member of Austin’s African American community. George Jones no doubt realized the importance of the theater’s strategic location in determining its success at attracting movegoers. East 12th Street was essentially the Main Street of East Austin (Early Days in East Austin, D42). The area around the Harlem represented a microcosm of African American life: it was both a quiet neighborhood of residences, churches, grocers, drug stores beauty shops, and cafes, and a place to be â€Å"going up on the cuts† – a street where the action and entertainment were, in the form of taverns, beer joints, and (a block away) the Cotton Club and Paradise Inn for music and dancing. The Harlem was also part of â€Å"The End,† that area around 12th and Chicon Streets (one block away) where Austin’s streetcars, until their cessation in 1940, stopped and turned back toward downtown. In essence, those factors which determined that White theaters were centrally located along Congers Avenue – transportation proximity, pedestrian traffic, shopping convenience, high visibility – similarly made East 12th the choice location for a successful Black movie house.

Brand Equity Associates With Apparel Industry Marketing Essay

Brand Equity Associates With Apparel Industry Marketing Essay There were many scholars who studied on conceptual research of brand equity; trying to find out what are valuable dimensions of building brand equity for both the customer and the company. Aaker (1991) regarded a brand as a name or symbol which derives from the value provided by a product or service to a company and/or the companys customers, as well as a set of assets and liabilities linked to a brand. He divided brand equity into five categories as brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality, brand loyalty, and other proprietary brand assets. Consumer perceptions and reactions to the brand are directly pointed out by the last four elements of brand equity; moreover, the existing interrelationship among the dimensions of brand equity should be noted (see Table 1). Besides, Keller (2003) defined customer-based brand equity as the differential effect that brand knowledge has on consumer response to the marketing of that brand. A brand with positive customer-based brand equity might result in consumers being more accepting of a new brand extension, less sensitive to price increase and withdrawal of advertising support, or more willing to seek the brand in a new distribution channel. In 1993, Keller noted brand knowledge could be divided into two essential components as brand awareness and brand image (associations) to contribute consumer-based brand equity; it is also as well as a necessary premise in terms of consumer-based brand equity, or described as a point which keeps in mind by consumers are pertinent with diversified associations. These theories could be utilized in our research to contribute identification of the hypotheses. 1.2 Brand Equity in Apparel Industry Some researchers have done the similar tests. Jung and Sung (2008) measure and compare the consumer-based brand equity of apparel products by different consumer groups across cultures. Among the elements of brand equity, the perceived brand quality and brand awareness/association reported by American college students were significantly greater than those reported by South Koreans in the USA and Korea. Brand loyalty was the most important element of brand equity. In the relationship between elements of brand equity and purchase intention, brand loyalty showed positive correlation with purchase intention across all tested consumer groups. The finding supported by Xiao and Hawley (2009) based on Aakers well-known conceptual framework of brand equity, they found that brand association and brand loyalty are influential dimensions of brand equity. Weak support was found for the perceived quality and brand awareness dimensions. Moreover, they suggest considering the relative importance of b rand equity in their overall brand equity evaluation for better brand management, and concentrate their efforts primarily on building brand loyalty and image. Similarly, Holehonnur, Raymond, Hopkins, and Fine (2009) explored customer equity from a consumers perspective, examining the relative impact of the drivers of value equity and brand equity on purchase intention. The results show that quality and price-prestige relationships serve as drivers of value equity, whereas brand awareness and brand attitudes drive perceptions of overall brand equity. Likewise, they support the influence of brand and value equity on consumers purchase intentions. Retailer brand equity is also tested by several researchers, such as Swoboda, Haelsig, Schramm-Klein and Morschett (2009) examined on how consumer involvement influences perception of retailer attributes, which affects customer-based retail brand equity. In retailing, consumer involvement has a moderating effect on retail brand equity; whereas, the influence of price, communication, service and store design is greater on highly involved consumers than on those with low involvement. Since consumers with a different level of involvement have a different perception of retailer attributes, this factor is relevant to retail brand equity. It supported by previous research, Pappu and Quester (2008) examined whether retailer brand equity levels vary between department store and specialty clothing store categories. Retailer brand equity is conceptualized in this paper as a four-dimensional construct comprising retailer awareness, retailer associations, retailer perceived quality and retailer loyalty. Results referred to department store brands yielded significantly higher ratings for all the retailer brand equity dimensions than specialty store brands and providing the guideline for retailers possess brand equity. 2. Consumer Behaviour in Fashion Industry 2.1 Fad Fashion Industry with its Consumers According to Keynote in 2008, companies turn around new styles from design to shop floor within 2 weeks in the Fast-fashion industry. This successful recipe has allowed retailers to generate large profits selling vast quantities of low-price clothing to shoppers seeking something new to wear every week (Morgan and Birtwistle, 2009). The marketing and apparel literatures are unanimous in reporting that fashion leaders tend in general to be young consumers (Mason and Bellenger, 1974; Gutman and Mills, 1982; Horridge and Richards, 1984; Goldsmith et al., 1991). According to Keynote, a study of young males and females between the ages of 15 and 24 reports that 38% shop at Primark, 35% at Topshop/ Topman, 33% at New Look, 31% at River Island and 24% at H&M; Therefore, forecasts of demographical trends reveal that, while some age groups are in decline, there is to be an expansion in the 15- to 29-year-old group over the next 5 years (Morgan and Birtwistle, 2009). 2.2 Consumer Behaviour of Fashion Industry (add Table) Based on Keynote information, the consumers are growing tired of the relentless consumerism of buying so much clothing so frequently, but the appeal of cheap chic newness remains very alluring to teens and early twenties looking for something different to wear while socializing (Morgan and Birtwistle, 2009). Young consumers are more concerned with trends than probably any other age group (Martin and Bush, 2000). Additionally, Newman and Patel (2004) assert that, compared with other consumer groups, fashion leaders, or innovators, believe fashion to be of importance to their lifestyles. They have strong opinions about taste, are advocates of new trends and are sources of inspiration for other consumers when adopting and buying the latest styles (Polegato and Wall, 1980; Beaudoin et al., 1998). Besides, Pentecost and Andrews (2010) found weekly and monthly expenditure, gender and fashion fan ship were significant influences for consumer purchasing behaviour; while for yearly expenditure, gender, and impulse buying were significant. Attitudes towards fashion had no significant influence on expenditure. Females purchase more often and were significantly different from males on yearly expenditure, fashion fan ship, attitudes and impulse buying. Generation Y is higher on purchase frequency, fashion fan ship, attitudes and impulse buying compared with other groups under investigation. 2.3 Consumer Behaviour is impacted by Media Recent research by Birtwistle and Moore (2006) indicates that fashion innovators and early adopters, compared with followers, are heavily influenced by the fashion media. They shop and purchase fashion items more frequently, are influenced in their purchasing habits by celebrities and are spending more per month than they did previously. These findings are supported by Greenes (2008) observations about the influence of aspirational lifestyles and must-have fashions depicted in current US dramas. Indeed, fashion publicist Kristian Laliberte (cited in Greene 2008) hails the shows stars as the new influencers. In the focus groups, Morgan and Birtwistle (2009) referred to the majority of female respondents were readers of fashion or celebrity magazines. The most popular magazines as Cosmo, Elle, Glamour and Marie Claire, respondents used magazines to identify trends, which they then followed by purchasing lower-priced imitations from high-street stores. 3. IMC to Build Brand Equity (need to modify and check reference ) Belch and Belch (2009) noted IMC plays a main role in the progress which develops sustainable brand identity and equity. Likewise, Keller (1993) also noted brand identity and equity can be built and maintained by creating a well-known brand which has been kept in the mind of the consumer as favorable, strong and specific association. The integrated marketing paradigm focuses on the full set of contacts that affect the consumers brand experience (Calder and Malthouse, 2005). Marketers are faced with the questions of how to use multiple touch points to convey their messages in a more profound and engaging way and how to reinforce a message or brand more efficiently with the same advertising budget. 3.1 A model of brand equity for marketing communications According to the customer-based brand equity model (Keller, 2008), brand equity is fundamentally determined by the brand knowledge created in consumers minds by marketing programs and activities. Brand knowledge is all the thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, and experiences etc that become linked to the brand in the minds of consumers; it can be divided by two important components as brand awareness and brand image. Brand awareness is related to the strength of the brand node or trace in memory as reflected by consumers ability to recall or recognize the brand under different conditions. Brand image is defined as consumer perceptions of and preferences for a brand, as reflected by the various types of brand associations held in consumers memory. Strong, favorable and unique brand associations are essential as points-of-difference that can serve as sources of brand equity to drive the differential effects. These effects include enhanced loyalty; price premiums and more favorable price elasticity responses; greater communication and channel effectiveness; and growth opportunities via extensions or licensing (Hoeffler and Keller 2003; Keller 2008). Thus, the basic premise of the customer-based brand equity (CBBE) model is that the power of a brand lies in the minds of customers and the meaning that the brand has achieved in the broadest sense (Janiszewski and Osselaer 2000). To understand the role of all the different types of marketing communications for brand building, 3.2 Marketing communication effects on brand equity Marketing communications activities contribute to brand equity and drive sales in many ways (Keller 2007): by creating awareness of the brand; linking the right associations to the brand image in consumers memory; eliciting positive brand judgments or feelings; and/or facilitating a stronger consumer-brand connection. But these marketing communications activities must be integrated to deliver a consistent message and achieve the strategic positioning. The starting point in planning marketing communications is an audit of all the potential interactions that customers in the target market may have with the company and all its products and services. Marketers need to assess which experiences and impressions will have the most influence at each stage of the buying process. This understanding will help them allocate communications dollars more efficiently and design and implement the right communications programs. Armed with these insights, marketers can judge marketing communications according to its ability to affect experiences and impressions, build brand equity and drive brand sales. 3.3 Mixing and matching marketing communications In developing an integrated marketing communication (IMC) program, a number of factors come into play (Schultz, Tannenbaum, and Lauterborn 1993). Marketers must consider several factors in developing their communications mix, such as the type of product market, consumer readiness to make a purchase, stage in the product life cycle and the brands market share and positioning, as well as efficiency considerations. This broad view of brand-building activities is especially relevant when marketers are considering strategies to improve brand awareness. Anything that causes the consumer to notice and pay attention to the brand such as sponsorship and out-of-home advertising can increase brand awareness, at least in terms of brand recognition. To enhance brand recall, however, more intense and elaborate processing may be necessary, so that stronger brand links to the product category or consumer needs are established to improve memory performance. In terms of brand image, the question becomes what effects are created by the communication option, how strongly are they linked to the brand and how do the effects that are created affect, either directly or indirectly, consumers propensity to purchase and use brands? Marketers should mix and match communication options to build brand equity that is, choose a variety of different communication options that share common meaning and content but also offer different, complementary advantages so that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts (Naik and Raman 2003; Naik 2007). Different brand associations may be most effectively established by capitalizing on those marketing communication options best suited to eliciting a particular consumer response or establishing a particular type of brand association (Edell and Keller 1989). For example, some media are demonstrably better at generating trial than engendering long-term loyalty. 4. Print Advertising McCarthy, Michael S. and Fram, Eugene H. (2008) provided measures of brand equity for the new brand, print advertising results in greater levels of brand equity and helps in a greater likelihood of a future visit to the brands website. 4.1 Influences on Brand Awareness The power of visual elements in magazine advertisements frequently has been demonstrated. Images are simple to process and easy to remember, which could result in faster recognition of brand or product (Edell and Staelin, 1983; Moriarty, 1987). On average, magazine advertisements receive 1 or 2 seconds of attention. Visual elements are the primary appeal 90% of magazine readers first look at the graphic element; of that group, 65% process the graphic intent. Text follows imagery; for the readers who wove from image to words, only 2% of the written content is processed (Franzen, 1994). A growing body of literature also demonstrates the ability of pictures to evoke an emotional response (Bradley, Greenwald, Petry and Lang 1992). This attribute of print advertising will be a big advantage to contribute brand awareness and association. The point is also agreed by Batra and Ray 1986; Derbaix 1995; Edell and Burke 1987; Stayman and Aaker 1988. They illustrated emotional response to an adve rtisement is important with respect to advertising effectiveness, in terms of impacting both attitude toward the advertising and attitude toward the brand. In addition, Callow and Schiffman (2002) defined the complexity of a visual image which refers to the level of implicit versus explicit information that is needed in order to arrive at a meaningful interpretation of the advertisements message. This may be why advertisements often resort to simple visual images as a means for creating brand or product awareness. In previous study, Keiser (1975) suggested that brand and slogan awareness are dependent on the age, social class, and amount of print media readership of adolescents. The most consistent relationship was that brand and slogan awareness was greatest among opinion leaders, adolescents in the upper-cla ss, and adolescents who spent the most time reading newspapers and magazines. Brand awareness appeared to increase with age, while the reverse relationship held for slogan awa reness. 4.2 Influences on Brand Loyalty Pint advertising is used as an important tool in brand image-creation, and there has been an increase in the volume of campaigns using celebrities to endorse brands both in terms of gaining and keeping attention and in creating favourable associations leading to positive brand knowledge and distinct brand images, with cultural meaning transferred from celebrity to brand to consumer. This process has been enhanced via explicit reference to the meaning of the celebrity in the advertisement and supporting publicity, result in positive brand loyalty (Carroll, 2009). Similarly, Goodyear (1996) referred to differentiation of brands could be achieved over time by some lifestyle advertising. Thus, increasingly there was no information about the product, only the type of people who might be inclined to use the product (Baran and Blasko , 1984 ). Furthermore, Bhat and Reddy ( 1998 ) also commented developing, communicating and maintaining a brand s image as critical to the long-term loyalty o f a brand have been accepted. Leclerc and Little (1997) investigated whether the content of the print advertisement influences consumer attitudes, will depend on the executional cues of the copy, the brand loyalty of the consumers, and the consumers involvement with the product category. 4.3 Influences on Brand Association Kim, Damhorst and Lee. (2002) examines how consumer involvement with apparel influences perceptions of an apparel product presented in a print advertisement. Consumer involvement with apparel was examined in relation to three advertisement response concepts: attitude toward the advertisement, product attribute beliefs, and product brand attitude. A combination of apparel involvement dimensions (fashion, individuality, and comfort) influenced consumer beliefs about product attributes in the advertisement and shaped consumer attitudes for brand. In terms of gender differences, the comfort variable showed to be a stronger component of apparel involvement for men and women tended to be more involved in fashion. Findings also supported relationships among advertisement response variables previously tested by scholars. Product attribute beliefs and ad attitude were significant in product brand attitude formation. Keller (2003) also referred to magazine is particularly effective at building user and usage imagery toward brand. Some brand such as Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and Guess, have also created strong non-product associations through print advertising. Some brands attempt to communicate both product benefits and user or usage imagery in their print advertising. After that, Chowdhury, Olsen and Pracejus (2008) researched that print advertising frequently conducts a single advertisement with multiple images, each of which is capable of generating an effective response. These multiple ad components combine to impact overall emotional response to advertising. This implies a greater number of positive pictures will lead to a more positive response which associates with brand in mixed-valence advertisements. Likewise, research on advertising in print media similarly has shown that the number and size of product shots can have a positive influence on recall (Twedt, 1952). 4.4 Influences on Perceived Quality Homer (1995) represented that consumers felt the large-sized ad was better designed and devoted more attention to it. The heightened design perceptions and attention, in turn, led to enhanced perceptions of quality and brand, overall attitudes, and behavioral intent. In support of past research, advertising size was found to lead to enhanced memory. Kirmani (1990) analysis suggested that consumers use ad size as an indicator of advertising costs and effort and that consumers make quality-related inferences based on their perceptions of advertising costs when quality-related information is not explicitly shown in advertising. The brand and quality perceptions are positively related to perceived advertising costs except at excessive levels when consumers may feel advertising is manipulative. Prior research has indicated that consumer perceptions as to the globalization of a brand leads to greater confidence in product quality which related with brand and higher intention to purchase (S teenkamp, Batra, and Alden, 2003). The point was supported by Chang in 2008. She revealed that western models were used to promote products and English brands were featured usually in magazine advertisements; and most likely to be used in fashions, cosmetics, and information/telecommunication categories. The use of western models and English brand names enhanced the perceived globalization of the brand and perceived quality of the product; higher on brand friendliness, brand trust, self-brand connections, and brand liking; moreover, encouraged participants to infer that the product originated from a developed western country. The third objective of this article is to understand the influence of Western models and English brand names on consumer product perceptions. It has been widely documented that products originating from developed countries are evaluated more favorably than products from developing countries (see Bilkey and Nes, 1982, for a review). In addition, an increased global perception of a product is associated with more favorable attitudes as to the products quality (Steenkamp, Batra, and Alden, 2003). Therefore, if consumers infer that Western models and English brand names indicate a products global qualities or that the product originated from developed Western countries, such inferences will also alter consumers product evaluations. 5. Strengths of Magazine 5.1 Selectivity In 2005, Duncan regarded as most magazines are subject specific, one of their greatest strengths is their audience selectivity. Although there are a few general-interest magazines which include the vast majority of magazines focus on one area. Magazines offer a wider range of ways to present brand messages than newspapers do, although both are print media. Most magazines focus their content coverage on a particular subject. The subjects discussed are all related in some way to the companys product. Some of these customer-focused magazines have advertisings only for the company brand. Therefore, brands that advertise in them can benefit from this expertise halo, an added value for a brand message. The theory is supported by Belch and Belch in 2009. They said using magazine as an advertising medium is its selectivity which is an ability to reach a specific target audience. It allows advertisers to target their advertising to segments of the population who buy their products based on in terests. New consumer magazine are continually being introduced to meet the changing needs, interest, and passion of the public in areas such as sports/ recreation, entertainment/celebrity, travel, fashion/ apparel, and beauty/ grooming. New business publications are also frequently launched to respond to development in business and industry. Not surprisingly, Fill (2009) also pointed out magazines are able to reach quite specialized audiences and tend to be selective in terms of the messages they carry. The print media are most suitable for messages designed when high involvement is present in the target market. 5.2 Reproduction quality/ Creative Flexibility (change) Due to many advantages of magazines, making them attractive to the target audiences as a popular advertising medium; especially, the strengths such as reproduction quality and creative flexibility of magazine can provide excellent reproduction on high-quality paper stock, and offer a great deal of flexibility in terms of the type, size, and placement for different needs, thereby, magazines are a visual medium where illustration are often a dominant part of an advertising and enhance the creative appeal of the advertising and increase attention and relationship (Belch and Belch 2009). Magazine advertising can be a strong visual persuasion in retailing industry, in particular, heavily use visuals to get attention (Cutler, Javalgi, and Erramsilli 1992; Bulmer and Buchanan-Oliver 2004) and the use of visuals is becoming a popular method for standardising print advertisements in cross-national markets for a growing number of multinational corporations (Phillips 1997; Cateora and Graham 19 99). Visual messages in advertising are found to be more easily and quickly processed, and more effective in getting attention (Rossiter 1982) and stimulating curiosity than verbal messages (Berger 1998; Lester 2000; Wells et al. 2003), regardless of processing condition (McQuarrie Mick 2003). Visuals in ads are not only the major form of delivering messages, but it tends to be scanned first and considered as an important criterion for making purchase decisions (Smith 1991). Besides, Bu, Kim, and Lee (2009) revealed that ads with direct visual forms were more prevalent in both western and eastern cultures. They tested the effects of culturally matching the visual forms on consumers attitude towards the advertising and the brand advertised. The product type and the brand familiarity moderated the effects; when brand familiarity was low, direct visual forms were preferred regardless of culture. 5.3 Permanence A distinctive advantage offered by magazine is their long life span, comparing to TV and radio which have very short life span by fleeting massages or newspapers which is generally discarded soon after being read. Magazines are usually read over several days and are often kept for reference. According to a study which did by Magazine handbook, it found that reader devote nearly an hour over a period of two or three days to reading an average magazine, moreover, around 75% of consumers retain magazines for future reference. Meanwhile, advertisements which exposed on magazine can use longer and more detailed copy, which is essential for high-involvement and complex products and services; the reader can be exposed to advertisements on multiple occasions and can pass magazines along to other reader (Belch and Belch 2009). Rest of book 5.4 Prestige Another positive feature of magazine advertising is the prestige the product or service may gain from advertising in publications with a favorable image. Companies whose products rely heavily on perceived quality, reputation, and/or image often buy space in prestigious publication with high-quality editorial content whose consumers have a high level of interest in the advertising pages. Some kinds of magazines provide an impressive editorial environment that includes high-quality photography and artwork. The magazines upscale readers are likely to have a favourable image of the publication that may transfer to the products advertised on its pages. The seal can increase consumer confidence in a particular brand and reduce the amount of perceived risk associated with a purchase since it really is a money-back guarantee (Belch and Belch 2009). 5.5 Receptivity/ Engagement Consumers are more receptivity to advertising in magazines than in any other medium. Magazines are generally purchased because the information they contain interests the reader, and advertising provide additional information that may be of the value in making purchasing decision (Belch and Belch 2009). Studies have shown that magazines are consumers primary source of information for a variety of products and services, including automobiles, beauty and grooming, clothing and fashion etc (Magazine handbook). Numerous studies have shown that consumers become involved with magazines when they read them and are more likely to find ads acceptable, enjoyable, and even a valuable part of a publication. Ulrich and Minjae (2009) observed on consumer magazines to measure the extent which consumers are favourable to engage with advertising in Germany. The result represents based on different market segment if advertisements can provide sufficient relevant information, they will be appreciated with regardless of nuisance for readers of adult magazines. Some American scholars support the viewpoint, such as Ferguson (1983) and Lorimor, (1977). They tested on retailing industry and applied to retail advertising which content is purely informational, as a result in the print advertising tends to be received. On the contrary, in Europe, the invasion of the press magazine industry by commercial ads seems to have a rather negative impact on the fans of this press in Europe. Most readers would certainly prefer magazines with less commercial advertising and more entertainment content. Accordingly, Nathalie (2000) analysed consumer reflects to press advertising is country specific. The evidence i ndicated American readers tend to be ad-lovers; however, most European media consumers seem to be ad-averse; hence, readers attitudes toward press advertising are deeply rooted in cultural habits. Although womens magazines are easy to engage with the target audiences due to included functional information which caters for readers need, the journals provided different receptiveness of magazine in specific country. What are the situations which print advertising works for interpreting fashion brand, and what is characteristic of background in Singapore, that still need to be tested on this research. 6. Online Advertising 6.1 Influences on Branding Ten years of online advertising research has confirmed the importance of the internet as a major source of information on brands (Hollis, 2005). Brand sites are increasingly being used as preferred destination sites for other forms of advertising, such as TV advertisements, banner advertisements, email advertisements, print advertisements, etc. The website of a brand could provide greater contextual information and facilitate higher users interactions with the brand; also providing an excellent platform to foster genuine relationships with potential and actual customers based on a continuous dialogue (Christodoulides and Chernatony, 2004). Therefore, designing effective brand websites contributes significantly to firms brand equity building efforts (Argyriou, Kitchen, and Melewar, 2006). Similarly, Steenkamp and Geyskens (2006) referred to greater interactivity promotes greater brand learning through better information assimilation and could help companies forge cognitive and emotion al bonds with their brand users. Yet, Dou and Krishnamurthy found the present study found that the application of interactive functions in brand websites was still quite limited. Thus, brand sites that boost their levels of interactivity can fulfill their online brand building missions more effectively. The literature (Batra, Myers, and Aaker, 1996) identified the key elements of brand sites that may contribute to their branding effectiveness. Some companies prefer to establish their own brand site for branding, just like a unique advertising approach for enhancing brand equity in the online environment is the design of dedicated websites for brands (Goldsmith and Lafferty, 2002). After that, evidence on the efficacy of brand websites in building brands is starting to emerge from both academic and industry studies. Ha and Chan-Olmsted (2004) found that users visits of brand websites for networks had a significant effect on brand image, as well as the option that gives them the best ability to learn about their favorite brands. In the following research, Yoo (2008) represented consumers experience priming caused by implicit memory and build a more favorable attitude toward the advertised brand regardless of the levels of attention they paid to the advertisements during exposure of web ads. Furthermore, those who unconsciously processed web ads did not remember seeing the ad explicitly, but they were more likely to include the advertised brand in the consideration set than those who had no exposure. Besides, Okonkwo, Uchà © (2009) more specifically referred to the fashion industry as internet is a multidimensional channel that serves multiple purposes including communications, branding, services, design, retailing, consumer analysis, clien

Comparison Between Lan And Wan Architecture Computer Science Essay

Comparison Between Lan And Wan Architecture Computer Science Essay We have been given this assignment to discuss about the awareness of technologies that are related to the internet and the topic Internet application which we have decided that my topic will be Comparison between LAN and WAN architecture. Using this topic we would have to discuss the current and latest issues that are related to the topic and subject, furthermore discuss the uses of technology and internet applications used in the topic. This topic is about the networks that are used by users across the globe they use these wondrous networks to work, communicate, do business, find information and even play games. Ever since these networks are made people are able to purchase an item or send a massage all by the push of a button. WAN is a network that is more wide in range while LAN is a network that is more limited or has a localized range, both of these networks have their perks and drawbacks and this report is about to discuss all about them including the technologies involved. Objectives Introduce the latest issues of the topic Discuss about the topics advantages and disadvantages Discuss critical comments and analysis What is LAN and WAN Network Architectures WAN A network is a connection between two or more computers that share information, hardware and software with each other this connection can be established via wireless or non-wireless media. LAN and WAN are two different networks that are used by users all around the world. The internet is an example of a WAN network, WAN was first created in 1969 it was first a networking project by ARPANET Pentagons Advance Research Projects Agency the main goal of the project was to allow scientists all around the globe, at different locations to share their information. Only four host nodes at the time and grew to 1000 host nodes in 1984, today there are over 350 million host nodes worldwide using the internet. The internet uses Domain name and IP address to differentiate or identify the computers connected to the internet. WAN is a network that spans over large geographical areas and is consisting of smaller networks called LAN or MAN. WAN is mostly used for business, collecting information, commu nication and other daily uses regardless of the users location. There are many ways to access the internet for example trough Wireless Internet Service Provider, Access provider where some business that provides individuals and other companies and their employees access to the internet with payment or for free. LAN Local area network better known as LAN is a network that has a limited area such as a house, school, computer laboratory, workshop or a small office building. LAN is normally connected through a twisted pair cable, hub or Wi-Fi, LAN is also faster than WAN because of the small area of the network and that the network lack of the need for a leased telecommunication line, in order to share data, printers or a LAN party which means a gathering of users, computers and game consoles for a multiplayer game. In a LAN network there is the main computer called a server and remote computers called clients, a LAN connection can be wireless or wired. Wired LAN network uses cable to connect to all the computers which would like to join the network and the main device called a switch. The wireless however uses radio waves to connect with other clients. Comparison between LAN and WAN Network Architectures There are many differences between LAN and WAN networks, the table displayed below compares the many differences between these two everyday networks. Differences LAN WAN Speed Higher(1000mbps) Lower(150mbps) Owners Owned and controlled by only one user, organization or server Not owned by anyone or any organization Set up costs Set-up costs are low as the devices are low-cost Set-up cost is higher then LAN as the there will be a monthly payment for connection, some connections are free as they are provided by companies Data transfer rate Higher then WAN Lower then LAN Components Use hubs, repeaters, bridges and switches Use router, frame relay switches and multilayer switches Connection Telephone lines and radio waves Often connect trough public networks example telephone lines, leased lines, satellite Maintenance LAN network encounters fewer problems as there are few systems to deal with. Maintenance is easy, faster and cheaper than WAN More errors are encountered in WAN as there are many systems that are at work. Maintenance is harder, slower and tends to be more expensive then LAN Geographical Area LAN covers an area which is within 100meters in length WAN covers a geographical area which is more than 100meters in length Bandwidth High bandwidth then WAN is accessible Low bandwidth is accessible Technical Area of LAN and WAN Network Architectures LAN: How LAN connects LAN has both wired and wireless methods to connect to each other, most LAN networks have a cable running from every computer to a wall jack. The wall jack is connected to a very similar type of cable that runs to a patch panel in a wiring closet. A patch panel is simply cable ports that allow all of the cables coming out of each wall jack to be connected to the LAN freely. Any active wall jack must have the matching port in the patch panel connected to a switch in the wiring closet. A wiring closet is small room or area where all of the wires connect and a building that uses computer networking will have more than one of these wiring closets placed in them, these wiring closets are mainly used for LAN networking. If there are many switches in a wiring closet, they are connected to one or two switches within in the same closet. These serve to connect all of the switches there as well as some of the cable runs entering the room. The switches in a wiring closet are connected to a switch pair in a main wiring closet. The switch pair helps to connect the entire LAN together. These distribution switches connect to the routers that helps the network travel further, connect the switches to the internet or the WAN thus extending the LAN.C:UsersuserDownloadsLANArchitectureDiag1.jpeg LAN Network: Cabling or Wired network Coaxial cable Cable is a medium in where information flows freely from one network device to next and then the next. In a LAN network there are many different types of cables used to connect the devices and computers in it, in the early LAN cabling system LAN used various versions of the coaxial cable. These cables are hard to install and are highly resistant to signal interference. They have a single central solid wire that symmetrically surrounded by a braided or foil conductor. Between the center wire and foil there is the insulation wire and then comes the copper mesh and the outer insulator.C:UsersuserDownloadscoaxla.gif Twisted-pair cable A twisted-pair cable is a cable that is made with an interesting technique, by intertwining the two separate insulated cables together with a certain color code, by doing this process it helps blocking out the electromagnetic interference EMI that could cause problems in the information sent through it. This cable is also the most widely used cable or the most suitable one for LAN networks. There are two different types of twisted pair cable unshielded twisted-pair UTP and shielded twisted-pair STP, the difference is that the STP has a fine wire mesh that surrounds the wire to protect transmissions while the UTP does not, and this is why the UTP is more sensitive than the STP. The STP can also extend to maximum distances and can withstand most environments. This cable was used in IBMs Token Ring in LAN implementation. C:UsersuserDownloadsutp and stp.jpg Fiber Optic cable Fiber optic cable is a the latest version of a LAN cable since the twisted-pair cable, this cable consists of tiny hair like fiber optic glass tubes that transmit the data which is protected by several layers of protective material called Kevlar. These hair like glass tubes transmit information or data with light signals rather than electronic signals, with this design and technology he fiber optic cable eliminates electrical interference, the cable is also known for its immunity to the effects of moisture and lightning which makes it ideal for network connections between buildings. This cable has the ability to transmit signals faster and further then both the coaxial and twisted-pair cable. However there are several disadvantages of the cable, which are the cable is more difficult to install and more costly than both the twisted-pair cable and the coaxial cable.C:UsersuserDownloadsFiber-Cable.jpg LAN Network Topology Network topology is the way they are assembled in which the network of computers and devices connect, each of this topology are used for a specific task and have their own advantages and disadvantages. The computers or users in a network topology are called nodes. Most network topology use a cable as a medium. Bus Topology The bus network topology is the simplest way to connect with multiple nodes, the bus has a single main cable that connects to other nodes, this main cable is also known as the backbone. Each node is connected one right after the other along the backbone, data or information that is sent from a node goes through the backbone until it reaches its receiving node, if an information or data sent such as an email does not reaches the receiving node it will be sent to the terminator which deletes the email completely. The bus is commonly used for implementing Ethernet at 10mbps.C:UsersuserDownloadsbus_topology.gif Advantages Disadvantages Easy to connect to computer or peripheral Backbone breaks entire system shutdown Requires less cable length then star topology Troubleshooting is difficult Ring Topology The ring network is a network topology where each node connects to two other nodes beside it forming a circle or ring and a single continuous link, the nodes are then connected to a main node or the first node. In the network information is passed from one node to the other, which means that a node acts as both the receiver and sender.C:UsersuserDownloadsRING_Topology.png Advantages Disadvantages Easy to wire and install If one node fails entire system fails Troubleshooting is difficult when the entire network fails. Star Topology Star topology is the most common network topology used, unlike the previous topology network the star has a hub or switch in its center, which acts as a conduit that transmits information through the network. Every device in the network is connected to the hub. The hub does not preform filtering or routing type tasks.C:UsersuserDownloadsfigure2.jpg Advantages Disadvantages Easy to modify and add new computers to network without shutting down network Requires more cable then bus and ring topology If one node fails the rest of the network will still function If the hub or switch goes fails the entire network fails Troubleshooting is easy More expensive WAN: NSP NSP also known as network service provider is an organization that does business by selling bandwidth or access to networks such as the internet by providing the backbone access to the internet itself as such the NSP is sometimes referred to or also known as backbone providers or internet providers. WAN network uses NSP to connect to other networks around the world and this is how, by connecting the NSP of other WANs together using links at Internet Packet Interchanges a global communication infrastructure is formed, these interchanges are also called peering points. The NSPs do not generally handle individual customer accounts except for the major corporate customers, but instead deal with intermediate organizations that they can charge for high capacity communications. They generally have an agreement to exchange certain volumes of data at a certain quality of service with other NSPs. So practically any NSP can reach any other NSP, but may require the use of one or more other NSP n etworks to reach the required destination. NSPs vary in terms of the transit delay, transmission rate, and connectivity offered.C:UsersuserDownloadswan.gif WAN: Dial-up access Dial-up internet is a connection which is made by the modem that is built in your computer and through a standard telephones line, by running by running the telephone line to the modem the computer can connect to the internet. This dialing must be done with a specific phone number. The dial-up system is a method that has been the thing of the past as it tends to take a long time to establish a connection with the internet, when it does the internet speed will be very slow. DSL DSL or dial subscribe line is a family of technologies that provide internet access by transmitting data by using the local telephone lines. POTS or better known as Plain Old Telephone Service One, POTS makes the most of the telephone companys wires and equipment is by limiting the frequencies that the switches, telephones and other equipment will carry. Human voices, speaking in normal conversational tones, can be carried in a frequency range of 0 to 3,400 Hertz cycles per second  for a great demonstration of this. This range of frequencies is tiny. These telephone lines are connected by copper wires to each home. Wi-Fi Wi-Fi is a wireless modem that allows a computer to connect to the internet. Wi-Fi can be less secure then the cable connections as bad weather or any other electrical interferences could damage the connection. Wi-Fi has adopted various encryption technologies. The early encryption  WEP, proved easy to break. Higher quality protocols WPA, WPA2 were added later. An optional feature added in 2007, called  Wi-Fi Protected Setup or  WPS, had a serious flaw that allowed an attacker to recover the routers password. Slow speed technology High speed technology Dial-up access uses a modem built in the computer that connects to the telephone line in the house to connect to the internet Cable modem, DSL, WI-FI and satellite modems Connection must be switched on when computer is turned on Connection is always on, when computer is running C:UsersuserDownloadsWAN-network.gif Critical Comments and Analysis This assignment has been a very interesting experience, not only have I learned a lot more regarding aspects of the Internet Applications module but it has also improved my understanding regarding various issues related to Wan and Lan network architectures. Ive come to understand that fundamental difference between them especially in the ways they function, and also in the way to set them up. Lan and Wan are two different networks architectures that are built to serve various users types and will come to play a very fundamental role as the world of information technology develops further. Conclusions The conclusion is, that LAN and WAN is two different networks yet both are just as important, these networks are used every day by everyday people like us. We use them to gather information and communicate with each other. This technology has helped develop our community and will continue developing it.

Une Petite Mort: Death, Love and Liminality in the Fiction of Ali Smith :: Ali Smith Death Love Essays

Death, Love and Liminality in the Fiction of Ali Smith The morbid marriage of love and death is not an original topic to postmodernist writing or to Scottish literature. Diverse forms of literature from Greek myth to Shakespearian tragedies have hosted stories of tragic love and romantic deaths, with varying nuances of darkness and romance. Nonetheless, this paper will attempt to establish a link between Ali Smith’s writing, postmodernist fiction and Scottish fantasy, while looking at the topic of love and death in conjunction with the concept of liminality. Liminality (from the Latin limen: limit) is an intermediate state, it refers to passage rituals and to existence between borders. Stories of love and death often suggest the abrupt interruption of the former because of the sudden occurrence of the latter. Sometimes, however, love and death share the same intermediate dimension between life and afterlife: the liminal stage. As this paper will stress, Smith’s writing deals with love and death in the context of liminality. Characters’ identities fluctuate and sometimes crumble altogether. Rational boundaries of time and space lose coherence. Stories develop in the uncanny limbo left after a death or some other form of disappearance. It is in this liminal dimension that love and death are sinisterly married in Smith’s work. When asked to comment on the love and death motif in her stories, Smith admitted that the two are closely related. In her words: Of course love and death are linked, from the French notion of orgasmic small death through the metaphysical poets all the way to something Winterson sums up in the perfect opening sentence, in Written on the Body: ‘why is the measure of love loss?’ (Germanà  , p.370) In Smith’s fiction, ‘petite mort’ is a more complex motif than the French metaphor for sexual climax. In her stories the trope of love and death does not refer only to the erotic sphere of love. In fact, because of its close relationship to liminality, the traditional topic acquires a more metaphysical twist throughout Smith’s fiction. The coexistence of love and death questions the boundaries between life and death, overcomes the threshold of the physical world to reach beyond this limit, and explores all the possibilities in between. In fact, death often seems to be a paradoxical vehicle through which life and love are manifested and asserted. The notion that death may overcome the borders between life and afterlife suggests a deeper analysis of the concept of liminality.

George W. Norris :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On July 11, 1861 in York Township Ohio Mary Norris gave birth too a boy and named him George William Norris. When George was three his father died. After his father died his mother had to take care of eleven kids.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When George was twenty he graduated with a bacheolrs degree and earned a law degree. He passed the bar exam to earn a law degree. Later, he tought some school. He did all of these events from age twenty through twenty-two.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Georgemoved to Beatrice in 1885 annd opened a law office. He lived in Beatrice for a few months. Later, he moved to Beaver City where he met Pluma Lashely his first wife. Pluma’s father died onne year after the wedding. His wife gave birth to thhree daughters and died while trying to give birth to the fourth an unborn boy in 1901. George would eventually remarry on July eighth. The girls name was Ellie Leonard who almost died while giving birth to twins. Nnorris and Ellie went a childless life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George William Norris had a bright career. George was in congress from 1913-1943 thirty years. He was the chairman of the ncpac which stands for: National Citizen Political Action Committee. George was also the father of the TVA which stands for Tennessee Valley Authority. He was a U.S. senator for Nebraska. He was the author of the twentyth amendment. The twentyth amendment is the rights for the underprivileged and tireless advocate of goverment reform.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George William Norris died on September second 1944 at the age of eighty-three. He died while still in political action. George W. Norris :: essays research papers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On July 11, 1861 in York Township Ohio Mary Norris gave birth too a boy and named him George William Norris. When George was three his father died. After his father died his mother had to take care of eleven kids.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When George was twenty he graduated with a bacheolrs degree and earned a law degree. He passed the bar exam to earn a law degree. Later, he tought some school. He did all of these events from age twenty through twenty-two.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Georgemoved to Beatrice in 1885 annd opened a law office. He lived in Beatrice for a few months. Later, he moved to Beaver City where he met Pluma Lashely his first wife. Pluma’s father died onne year after the wedding. His wife gave birth to thhree daughters and died while trying to give birth to the fourth an unborn boy in 1901. George would eventually remarry on July eighth. The girls name was Ellie Leonard who almost died while giving birth to twins. Nnorris and Ellie went a childless life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George William Norris had a bright career. George was in congress from 1913-1943 thirty years. He was the chairman of the ncpac which stands for: National Citizen Political Action Committee. George was also the father of the TVA which stands for Tennessee Valley Authority. He was a U.S. senator for Nebraska. He was the author of the twentyth amendment. The twentyth amendment is the rights for the underprivileged and tireless advocate of goverment reform.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George William Norris died on September second 1944 at the age of eighty-three. He died while still in political action.

The Prince Essay -- essays research papers

The Prince   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Governing countries and states properly has been a difficult task from the beginning of time. In every country there will be people to who are unhappy and will disagree with your rule, causing your system to fail. So, century after century, people have tried new ways to make their politics suffice everyone’s needs. However, the art of politics is a complicated and challenging issue that will always be needed to be dealt with. There have been many ways in which people have preached their ideas on politics, but none were better than those of Niccolo Machiavelli. Born in 1469, Niccolo was adamant in creating a master plan for seizing and controlling power. He voiced these themes on what it takes to be a prince of a state in his magnificent book, The Prince. In his book many themes were expressed in order to fulfill the role of a prince. These themes ranged from human nature to military force and most importantly virtue.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Machavelli believed that the state is the highest achievement of man and one should love the state more than his own soul. Being the perfect prince is clearly a difficult task, but if done correctly, it can be very rewarding. Machiavelli also believed that human nature does not change. In general Machiavelli thought people were ungrateful, selfish, and insincere people, who only care about themselves. Therefore the government must take account for man’s true nature and use his qualities for its purposes. Machiavelli also explained that a ruler who intends to be successful must be prepared to do bad things when necessary. He must sometimes caress, sometimes hurt, sometimes forgive, and sometimes punish. This requirement must override all moral judgments, and when making the decision, the ruler must act without hesitation. Hesitation would project â€Å"false wisdom†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another, and probably the most important concept of political success is the idea of virtue. Virtue means strength, intelligence, and courage, the necessary qualities of any human being. Machiavelli felt that the quality of virtue was found in some of the world’s most important leaders; Moses, Cyrus, and Romulus to name a few. Governments ruled by an individual depends upon this leaders virtue. Without it, the political success will crumble.   Ã‚  &... ...felt it was necessary to study history. This way he can focus on successful rulers’ victories and defeats and analyze them for his own well being. Alexander the Great studied and imitated the rule of Achilles and went on to become one of the most successful rulers ever. Machiavelli felt that these were necessary means in becoming a successful ruler. He also felt fortifications had little importance, stating â€Å"the best fortress is to be found in the love of the people†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince, we have read numerous aspects of becoming an effective and successful ruler. He focused on all aspects of life and discussed each in great detail. He studied human nature, fortune, military tactics, virtue, and personal qualities of past rulers and analyzed why each one’s rule collapsed. He found out the ruler with both the lion and the fox qualities, he was able to have a successful rule. Machiavelli was creating some sort of machine that would be able to conquer fortune, human nature, conspiracies, battle, and the test of to time to rule a politically unified Italy. The themes in The Prince have changed views on politics and leadership to this day.