Suzuki Media Plan

Background Suzuki began operations 105 years ago by producing weaving looms to the silk industry in Japan. Twenty years later, Michio Suzuki had to patent his products to prevent replication. During this period, he managed to protect over 120 machineries and exported most of his inventions to other countries. Since the 1900’s Suzuki has improved its innovations through a careful study of the market.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Suzuki Media Plan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company came up with the first trail car in 1937 (Global Suzuki, n.d.). Suzuki made huge sales until the beginning of WWI when the Japanese government deterred citizens from owning personal cars following the heavy traffic they caused. By 1951, the company embarked on full production of weaving looms, but one year later, the cotton industry collapsed causing major losses for Suzuki. It forced the company to develop products that would ease traffic in Japan. Most companies began producing bicycles, and Suzuki took the opportunity to develop motorcycles. Suzuki brand positioned itself through originality. It ensured development of unrivaled products while improving their innovations annually. Suzuki mostly targeted the middle-income civilians who needed small, comfortable, and cost effective locomotives. In 2011, Suzuki assumed the 10th position among multinationals dealing in the manufacture, assembly, and sale of automobiles. In 2013, Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) rated Suzuki, as the country’s second greatest producer and distributor of automobiles (Global Suzuki, n.d.). Suzuki’s ownership is a family affair considering that its current Chief Executive Officer is Osamu Suzuki. Suzuki’s venture into small cars including the Maruti 800 was its marketing strategy for developing countries especially India, Uruguay, and Latin American States. Marketing The 4Ps of ma rketing include product, price, promotion, and place. They influence the brand position of an organization in the target market. Product In 1955, Suzuki focused on the production of motor vehicles that had a fuel capacity of between 36cc to 300cc. Today, the company vehicles have a fuel capacity that goes beyond 950cc. Suzuki Suzulight was the first innovation with a 36cc capacity. The company manufactured it in order to fulfill the growing demand for automobiles following the conclusion of WWI.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For an affluent market, Suzuki mostly offers the guzzlers and SUVs (Global Suzuki, n.d.). In Latin America, Suzuki seeks to take a similar approach, as the Indian market. It will introduce Maruti 800 since the Latin American market seeks affordable products that are easy to maintain. In addition, Suzuki India provides all the spare parts needed for th e Maruti to function. Price Suzuki will import both second hand and new Maruti 800 to the target Latino market. A brand new Maruti will cost between $8823 and $8430 (Global Suzuki, n.d.). On the other hand, a second hand vehicle will cost a Latino between $5924 and $6100. Many factors will determine the variations in pricing including the consumers’ bargaining power. Other determinants will include political stability, technological development, and economic position of Latin America. Recession is a likely economic impediment to reduction in prices of the Maruti’s. This company targets audiences with different products and prices. Small cars are on a high demand because of their high speed, low fuel consumption, and affordability. It would be the best idea to introduce Maruti 800 into the market that highly demands these products. Place Suzuki’s location in over 20 countries across the world signifies its strong presence in Europe and the Americas. Besides, it h as branches in India and Uruguay making it possible to provide services to the North American market. India’s Suzuki Corporation majorly manufactures the Maruti 800 making it possible to supply the Latin American market with these products (Global Suzuki, n.d.). Maruti manufacturers create it for hectic tasks even though it cannot carry heavy materials. It has the ability to maneuver through rocky areas, as it uses limited fuel and can access both urban and suburban areas. In Latin America, Suzuki will supply Maruti 800 in Brazil, Uruguay, and El Salvador, including other areas of Latin America. The Maruti 800 serves terrains in Africa and India; there are high possibilities that it will serve Latin American States properly. Promotion Promotion refers to short-term incentives that seek to improve sales. Suzuki has been supporting sporting activities since the 90’s. This provides it with the requisite exposure for brand positioning of its products. In addition, it posts advertisements around stadia during sporting events.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Suzuki Media Plan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company advertises on newspapers and television stations across the globe as well. Its most successful advert increased the purchase of Suzuki Chevrolet from 1985 to date. Through Rizla Suzuki MotoGP competition, many European markets learnt about Suzuki products in 2006 (Global Suzuki, n.d.). Other events include rallies that Suzuki supports. In other occasions, different sponsors often support events organized by Suzuki. Suzuki equally uses social media to reach out to audiences on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn among other avenues. Industry Information Suzuki belongs to the manufacturing industry. It deals in the design, assembly, and marketing of automobiles in its 23 subsidiaries across the world (Global Suzuki, n.d.). Many external factors influencing sales in the a utomobile sector include politics, economics, technology, and competitor information. Politics A stable political platform provides an opportunity for companies to thrive. Politics influence relations between countries and citizens. This influences the exchange rates of currencies in the targeted countries. Latin America has an unstable political ground. Investors in these countries need to develop risk measurement policies in their media plans in order to develop solutions to business stability even when wars occur. Economics In the past three years, Suzuki engaged in extensive financial training of individuals in Latin America. The company realized that financial illiteracy makes it difficult for consumers to make wise decisions before purchasing products or services. In its attempts to market Maruti 800 in Brazil, Suzuki imported trainees from Peru to teach Latin Americans how to observe financial trends including differences in exchange rates (Global Suzuki, n.d.). This will hel p Suzuki in attracting several Latinos who will have interest in Suzuki stocks. However, other financial factors such as inflation are beyond the control of Suzuki and General Motors (GM) among other players in the market. When recession occurs, it increases the cost of importing used Japanese cars, and new ones; this would increase the price of the imported products, which could interfere with sales. Technology Product development at Suzuki requires sufficient technological input. Technology assists in research, marketing, online banking, and other cost effective activities. Suzuki needs to venture into a market that understands technology properly. It should have an advanced technological community that would carry out online transactions for shipment purposes. Business trends shifted towards online support systems in the 20th century (Katz, 1995), and Suzuki needs to ensure that the Latin market understands these concepts properly.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Competitor Information Competition from direct and indirect rivals often influences the business strategies adapted by various organizations. In Latin America’s oligopoly market, Suzuki is likely to face direct competition from Toyota and General Motors. An oligopoly market refers to an economy that receives investors and ensures fair distribution of the market share (Katz, 1995). This makes all companies significant to economic growth as opposed to a monopolistic market that focuses on the success of a single investment. Even though Latin America has an oligopoly market, a few investors have outlets in that part America. Toyota and GM are major competitors who invested in Latin America in the mid 90’s. Both GM and Suzuki manufacture automobiles that use the least amounts of fuel; this happens in order to capture the middle-income market in Japan and other targeted countries. According to Sarrazin (2011), Toyota understands the Latin American market well since among th e competitors, it has the longest history in North America. The oligopoly market provides equal room for expansion irrespective of company reputation, size, or ownership. Competitors Financial Information In 2009, GM filed for insolvency because its target market strategy did not succeed. It provided customers with Saturn and Hummer brands even though the Latin American market majorly sought affordable and easy-to-maintain cars. Following a change of strategy in 2012, GM accrued a profit of 3% from the increased purchase of the fuel saving vehicles (Bennett, 2014). The 2008 sales were the least promising with a 23% reduction owing to the poor entry strategy. It entered the market in 1925, and today sells its stock at 11.7 crore for the Latin American market. By the end of the fiscal year 2013, GM made a profit of over $797 million (Bennett, 2014). Toyota’s financial position in Latin America explains its stay in the country since 1990. In 2005, Toyota introduced the Innovativ e International Multi-purpose Vehicle (IMV) following the urgent need for affordable and cost effective automobiles in Peru. This followed a profit reduction of 19% in 2000 because it focused on selling guzzlers. In order to succeed in this market, Suzuki should sell the Maruti 800 alongside farm tractors because of the agricultural landscape. Brand Positioning Toyota and GM are overly careful about the cost of branding their products. Lately, the two assumed an online approach to advertisements, which save space, and money. Online advertising also has many audiences who access social media and the internet. Concerning the adverts, they often critique the adverts or products of the competitors. Toyota and GM are major players in this market, and there are advert slogans that state, â€Å"The better choice.† In a market infiltrated by two companies, such slogans are likely to attack the opponent. Other avenues of advertisement include sports sponsorships and erection of billbo ards on major highways. Even though Toyota accessed the market first, most Latinos prefer GM products because of their diversity (Ogier Bamrud, 2011). People get variety of products depending on price, quality, and products. GM also uses mergers to enhance its brand image. A prospective merger is with Fiat and Opel because the two have a strong presence in Latin America. Suzuki has prospects of venturing the market through Brazil. It needs to focus on adverts that support football in order to acquire public goodwill. Pricing Prado, Chrysler, and Saturn are most of the cars sold in Latin America. The response level towards the products was low since the prices range between $23,529 and $47, 000 (Sarrazin, 2011). Toyota, Opel, and GM currently engage in production of cost-effective and eco-friendly cars in order to attract the target market. These cars are almost 10 times low the price of the initial cars. Even though the competitors manufacture cars only, Suzuki produces variety of automobiles. If the target population fails to respond positively to Maruti 800, they are likely to purchase motorcycles, tractors, or bicycles. Pricing tactics are important to marketers; they need to learn from competitors. Media and clients equally provide sufficient information concerning pricing, and manufacturers need to respond proactively to such data. Suzuki should analyze annual financial reports of its predecessors in the Latin American market. This will enable it make an excellent decision concerning place of investment. Product GM manufactures and distributes Saturn, SUVs, Cadillac Escalade, Chevy varieties, and Sierra among others. The company brought in about 400, 000 different varieties of vehicles in order to serve the American market. Most of these vehicles had a good response in the US, but few Latinos had interest in the classy cars. If the merger with Opel becomes successful, GM will equally distribute Chrysler, which enjoys positive response from the United Sta tes’ market (Ogier Bamrud, 2011). GM exports such vehicles because its target market has a population of many affluent people and many poor people. The socio-economic difference is huge and provision of different products is an advantage to a manufacturer. Innovative International Multi-purpose Vehicles that Toyota developed are cost-effective since they consume limited amounts of fuel (Takahashi, 2014). Today even the Land Cruiser, Vitz, and Demio varieties are relatively small, but heavy duty. Introducing Maruti 800 into the Latino market will compliment efforts made by competitors. Maruti 800’s media strategy succeeded in the African and Indian markets. There is a high possibility that Latinos will embrace the automobile. Place Before determining the place of marketing, competitors assess the response levels to products manufactured by rival groups. Latin America demands for affordable services because the states still strive to fulfill primary needs. It would be u nfair to introduce expensive cars in countries that barely access luxurious commodities. According to Ogier and Bamrud (2011), GM invests in Brazil because the country responds positively to the Saturn Vue. Brazil is a country that hosts many footballers who would be willing to purchase expensive cars. Secondly, in comparison to other Latin American countries, Brazil has the greatest population and physical size. Brazil’s fame in Latin America makes it accommodate immigrants who show interest in foreign automobiles such as GM cars. Suzuki is likely to choose Brazil because of similar factors. GM’s showroom in Mexico enabled the company sell over 900, 000 cars since 1925 (Ogier Bamrud, 2011). Toyota invests in Peru, El Salvador, Venezuela, and Uruguay among other states. As such, Suzuki should explore other markets such as Argentina and Costa Rica in order to gain a competitive advantage. The following chart best explains competitor investment in Latin America. Extern al Information Many factors influence the ability to invest in a foreign country. They include politics, economy, technology, and legal procedures. Politics Politics determine the inter-boundary relations between States. It also determines the relationship between a government and the citizens. Moreover, it exists in the relationship between rivals in a target market. When Suzuki invests in Latin America, it should assess the growth potential in the states by reviewing profiles of other competitors. There is a possibility that the progress of competitors such as Toyota in Latin America could equally apply to Suzuki’s progress in the same place. According to Katz (1995), a politically stable country negotiates monetary exchange rates reasonably. It saves resources for public gain; this reduces the cost of taxation. Most Latin American States have unstable political grounds, which adversely affect businesses. Economics Inflation influences major decisions in this industry. Foll owing the 2009 to 2011 worldwide recession, companies developed media plans that had financial risk management measures. Inflation also influences exchange rates between countries. Considering it is an external factor, Suzuki cannot control it. Instead, it needs to develop a good strategic plan that will help it manage the unpredictable economic terrain in Latin America. Other economic factors that Suzuki needs to assess include the number of major and minor competitors in the target market. This will enable it establish showrooms in the most receptive states in Latin America. Technology Technology is a necessity in the current world. Companies take advantage of it to improve productive for marketing and distribution. Latin American residents should embrace latest technological advancements in order to ease Suzuki’s work in the North. In most cases, it is difficult to traverse a conservative culture when technological matters arise. The Suzuki Association of the Americas unde rstands that penetrating Latin America might be a challenge since most people uphold traditional cultures in doing business and in their thinking (Global Suzuki, n.d.). This might affect technological breakthrough in the country. Suzuki will have to introduce simple aspects of technology during the entry level, and later discuss complex technological matters. Legal Countries have dissimilar tax policies and legal procedures. In Latin America, Suzuki will have to abide to the government regulations in the target country. Suzuki should respect the Equal Employment Opportunities Code (EEOC) in order to avoid any scandals with the public. EEOC standards oppose inequality, gender discrimination, racial prejudice, and other issues that prevent minorities from getting equal employment opportunities. Besides complying with EEOC standards, Suzuki needs to embrace ethical work standards. It should have a code of ethics that all employees follow across different showrooms. Most companies that ignore legal and ethical issue often face scandals (Katz, 1995). A media response unit helps in redeeming brand image and winning public goodwill during such occasions. Current Users After introducing Maruti 800 to the African and Indian markets, it was evident that the car suited middle-income earners who sought to reduce traffic and fuel consumption. A similar case applies to Latin America. Users of Maruti 800 compliment its speed and ability to access various terrains (Global Suzuki, n.d.). In India and Africa, people use the car in both urban and suburban regions. The fact that it reduces congestion of public vehicles promotes its convenience to the suburban areas. People from such regions constantly seek markets in urban regions while acquiring resources from the rural areas. They choose Maruti since it maneuvers through different terrains. Maruti 800 has many traits including affordability, which is a principal factor to consider. India and Africa have huge populations of low and medium-income earners (Global Suzuki, n.d.). They have huge differences between the rich and the poor. This contributes to high poverty levels making it possible for people to acquire the basics only. Following the introduction of Maruti in this market, people displayed interest in ownership of cars for commercial purposes. Indians and Africans like Maruti 800 because of the low fuel consumption rate. A capacity of 300cc enables an individual to drive the car for almost two weeks without refueling. This encourages most people to own such models. Further, its maintenance is easy because of locally available spare-parts in various markets. Maruti 800 provides services for light-users because of its size. However, it does not damage easily; this reduces the cost of maintenance (Global Suzuki, n.d.). In summary, demographics and psychographics of audiences in India, Africa, and Latin America are close. They share related political and socio-economic challenges, and this shapes their mindset. The same applies to audiences who choose other cars from Suzuki, Toyota, and GM. References Bennett, J. (2014). General Motors Profit Falls 13%. The Wall Street Journal. Web. Global Suzuki. Suzuki Motor Corporation. Web. Katz, H. E. (1995). The Media Handbook. Lincolnwood, Ill., USA: NTC Business Books. Ogier, T., Bamrud, J. (2011). Company Report: South American Boost for General Motors. Latin Trade Group RSS. Web. Sarrazin, M. (2011). Toyota and its global strategy. Slideshare.  Web. Takahashi, Y. (2014). Toyota Aims to Top 10 Million in 2014 Global Sales. The Wall Street Journal. Web. This report on Suzuki Media Plan was written and submitted by user J0nah to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Nurses Essays

Nurses Essays Nurses Essay Nurses Essay (1) According to the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association (2010): ‘The term cultural competency refers to a long-term, developmental process that moves beyond cultural awareness (the knowledge about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people primarily gained through media resources and workshops) and cultural sensitivity (knowledge as well as some level of direct experience with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people). Cultural competency emphasizes the idea of effectively operating in different cultural contexts: knowledge, sensitivity, and awareness programs o not include this concept. Cultural competence aims to reduce barriers to high quality care experienced by Indigenous people and is directly linked to improving social and emotional wellbeing and mental health outcomes. ’ Cultural Competence What is cultural competence? Cultural competence is the ability to interact effectively with people across different cultures. It has four components: * Awa reness of ones own cultural worldview (assumptions, biases) * A positive attitude towards cultural differences * Knowledge of different cultural practices and worldviews * Cross-cultural communication skills What is cultural competence in health care? Culturally competent health care providers provide the best possible care for all their clients and work in the most productive way with all their colleagues. Everyone has a culture Cultural competence begins with the recognition that we are all born, raised and living in social, educational and organisational cultures. These cultures shape our assumptions, beliefs, values and behaviours. When we interact with others, the similarities and differences between our cultural expectations often make the interaction both more interesting, and more challenging. In a health setting, these challenges must be met if we are to provide equitable, appropriate and accessible services to all our clients. Competent practitioners are culturally competent A person who is culturally competent can communicate sensitively and effectively with people who have different languages, cultures, religions, genders, ethnicities, disabilities, ages and sexualities. Culturally competent health staff strive to provide services that are consistent with the clients’ needs and values firstly by acknowledging them, and secondly by, wherever possible, responding to them appropriately. Health care practitioners need to develop a broad repertoire of skills, knowledge, attitudes, perspectives and practices which they can use to enhance their cultural competence and direct their relationships with clients and colleagues. Cultural competence is about organisational competence It is very difficult to operate as a culturally competent practitioner without organisational support. SESIH is strongly committed to equality for clients and staff, and continues its commitment to the policies and principles of multicultural health. Benefits of a culturally competent workforce Lack of cultural competence impacts on both clients and staff. Clients who feel that their concerns have not been understood, who feel they have been dismissed or ignored, or who have not received optimum services because of their cultural background or ethnicity or language will find it hard to develop a sense of trust in a practitioner or a service. Culturally competent health staff build trust and respect which leads to increased client satisfaction and improved health outcomes such as a better use of the staff and clients’ time, more accurate information, and more effective and acceptable outcomes for staff and clients. Cultural competence benefits everyone. Why is culture so important in health care? Because health care is cultural. Although the scientific bases for medical treatment and care is considered ‘objective’, the way that we choose and use health services, whether we accept a diagnosis, how we decide if we will continue with a particular medical treatment, and the sorts of questions we ask health staff are all culturally influenced. Staff need to recognise the beliefs and values that affect our health decisions and take account of them when treating us (2)

Critical analysis on two primary research papers Essay

Critical analysis on two primary research papers - Essay Example The aim of this analysis is to assess these two articles and how well they follow general research standards and the use of (appropriate) methods. As a core requirement in the presentation of a scientific argument a paper has to begin by introducing the topic chosen in terms of a â€Å"research question" and a â€Å"hypothesis† (a â€Å"preliminary†, i.e. ahead of the actual research, answer to the question). It should then proceed by clearly stating the aim of the research and how the authors propose too â€Å"explore the problem† by comparing to other â€Å"literary source and concept†. Importantly, such published articles need to define the â€Å"setting† and/or the â€Å"sample† and qualify these and the literature in terms of a particular set of â€Å"methods† to be used and deemed appropriate, be they person-oriented and qualitative, or of a more quantitative nature, or a mix of the two groups. Following the method, is the †Å"results-section†, an analysis and discussion of the data collected. Finally, conclusions and recommendations are made, and including discussion how the study has tested the research question. Limitations of one’s findings should also be noted (Rees, 2003). The Research Process Research, the search for knowledge and problem-solving, is a process of adding to knowledge (Ellen, 1984). By this understanding, research is an ongoing process. There are, however, certain procedures to be followed and standards to be adhered to, be they of an â€Å"inductive† (experimental: â€Å"arriving at a theory based on facts†) or â€Å"deductive† (â€Å"facts are organized to match theory†) nature. Based on this division, one arrives at a â€Å"positivistic† and â€Å"relativistic stance†, resulting in a contrast of â€Å"explanation† (deduction, positivism) and â€Å"understanding† (induction, relativism) (Bowling, 2002, pp. 117-3 2; Alexander, 1983; Gellner, 1985). â€Å"The contrast has been exemplified by the different emphases placed upon structure and upon process; upon positivist, empiricist observation as against intellectual inference and propositions about deep structures of society; by notions of detachment and objectivity opposed by more subjectivist views; by assumptions of validity and certainty of generalisation set off against those of ambiguity, uncertainty of findings. Such contrasts are not unilineal; they often overlap† (Firth, 1992, p. 215). Firth’s last sentence is revealing. Contrasts between a quantitative and qualitative approach are often being set up but they do not refer to real differences in the end. It is, as another anthropologist notes, rather â€Å"a matter of degree† since both dimensions (induction and deduction) are indispensable for an understanding of other people and their worlds (Geertz, 1974). The alleged contrast is as straw man argument. Research question and hypothesis in the two articles 1. Brotherton, Abbott and Aggett’s (2006) article is about how percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) feeding relates to the daily lives of adult patients. The authors aim was to explore that question (research question) from two perspectives, that of patients and carers. Their research question assumes (hypothesis) that the two parties hold different notions and models regarding the

Expression of Political Thoughts in Latin American Cinema 1980s Article

Expression of Political Thoughts in Latin American Cinema 1980s - Article Example The filmmakers of that era proficiently employed their skills and creative capabilities to reveal huge issues in front of the masses using examples of different individuals and their lives (Wilson, p127). For instance, the official story (1985) tells about the miseries of people that were taken away from their homes during the Dirty War took place in Argentine. Romero (1989), on the other hands, tells how the authorities use to brutally deal with the people who publicly talk against their unfair acts. In the same way, Missing (1982) tells the story of American journalist disappeared during the Chilean cope of 1973 in order to refer the prodigious missing of people during the war. These films are based on different situations and stories, however; the common theme among these movies is the portrayal of true incidents took place during the war and political turmoil in Latin America during the 1980s. â€Å"The official story† was directed by Luis Puenzo in 1985 that basically tells the tale of a woman’s odyssey from complacency to political awareness. It was produced after the demise of the regime of the last dictator of Argentine General Galteiri in 1983. The movie is based upon real events occurred in Argentina during the late 1970s and 1980s, collectively referred to as Dirty war. The movie describes the real political incidents took place in 1976 when the Jorge Rafael Videla reactionary military known as â€Å"junta† came into power in Argentine. The Junta rule suspended the parliament, unions and political parties. The dictator rule initiated the Dirty War during which thousands of people were exiled from their homes. The movie highlights the issue of the disappeared people and tells about the repression and torture being experienced by the people of Argentina at that time. In the movie, Norma Aleandro played the role of high school teacher Alicia that lives with her husband Roberto who was a wealthy businessman and lawyer and uses to remain engaged with the government. The couple adopted a little girl named Gaby from the political prisons and after some years Alicia became inquisitive to know about the parents of her adopted daughter.

Reality TV (Black Musical Artist) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reality TV (Black Musical Artist) - Essay Example The reality television genre has really exploded since the original writers’ strike caused FOX to start airing episodes of â€Å"COPS,† and earlier, when PBS made its inquiries into the American family dynamic. In any case, it seems safe to say that reality TV is here to stay a genre, and is currently often being combined with the music industry, exemplified by the abovementioned African-American pop divas (and occasionally their siblings). Monica, perhaps most famous musically for her breakthrough single â€Å"Just 1 of Those Things,† can be found on reality TV on the BET network, in â€Å"Monica: Still Standing.† This is a show about female empowerment, struggle, and the ins and outs of the music industry. In the show, Monica struggles mainly with fame and the increasing expectations of her fans, although she also has to balance, as a modern woman, her career and her family. The show is very realistic about the drama Monica undergoes when she has to bala nce her personal life, her past run-ins with the law and dangerous people, and the present stresses of her fame. The show provides an empowering role model for African-American women, rather than focusing on a sexualized or objectified image of femininity. Also on BET, â€Å"Tiny and Toya† is another reality series focusing on a famous African-American female musician, Tiny, and Toya, who is the ex-wife of famous and currently-jailed rapper Lil Wayne.

The Strategies Of Marketing Mix Marketing Essay

The Strategies Of Marketing Mix Marketing Essay There can be many reasons for wanting to be internationalized like saturation in the home market, the desire of export your product and catch new type of customers in new markets, little opportunity to growth in the own countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ HM wanted to get a strong brand and arrive to the best cities and establish their shops. They are looking always for the best cities and places to build their shops in order to get more and more customers all over the world. When they decided to internationalized, their wish was to become in a great famous brand, and finally they got it, because as I said, it is a well-known company situate in 47 different countries which is also planning to build new shops in more different ones. (See appendix2) Target Market HMs primary target market is based on consumer both men and women between 18-34 years old. In order to satisfy the target customer, they produce good design clothes with good quality and all of that in very cheap prices, so that, the customers of HM are very satisfied with it because it offers them everything they want. (See appendix 3) Market Selection Criteria (Keegan, W., J. and Schlegelmilch, B., B., 2001) When a company wants to be internationalised in a new country it must answered this question so as to know exactly where to establish their brand: (See appendix 4) Which market is the best? Philippines Portugal As it can be seen in this two graphics, without a shadow of doubt it can be said that the most secure country to enter in is Portugal. First of all, although this graphics not shows the complete reason, it is the main reason for choosing Portugal. As it can be seen, in Portugal the corruption is really high, the government is not as competent as in Portugal, the infrastructure is not as prepare as in Portugal to be able to build storesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Finally, making the positive and negative points of each country, it is clear that Portugal is the best option not only because of these results, but also because the geographic location of the country. (Global Competitiveness Report, 2012-2013) (See appendix 5) Portugal OPPORTUNITIES THREATS POLITICAL Parliamentary representative democratic republic ECONOMIC High income mix economy The financial crisis ECOLOGCAL Many land hectares Ecology conservation Laws TECHNOLOGICAL Pioneer of technology The financial crisis FASHION INDUSTRY Growth in the industry The financial crisis LEGAL REGULATORY Control competition Not allowed aggressive competition (Technology Portugal, 2009) (Economy of Portugal, Wikipedia, 2012) (Politics of Portugal, Wikipedia, 2012) (See appendix 6) Competitors (See appendix 7) Indirect Competitors HM does not have many Indirect Competitors in the sector, however, there someone that are strong and that they are gaining presence in the online shopping: (See appendix 8) HM ASOS Direct Competitors As everywhere nowadays, in Portugal also there are many fashion retailers that are establishing their shops in many cities so as to get more benefits and became much more international brand. In the case of HM, it would have many competitors, and the main one it would be Inditex. (Retail Index, 2012) (See appendix 9,10,11,12) HM vs. Inditex The major competitor of HM is Inditex, this table shows what main differences are between them: Outsourcing of Core Activities Group Model Competitive advantage Segmentation Communication No own factories 80% is produced in Asia Cheaper Major margins 39,7% of cost upon sales Need to create collection well in advanced Single chain Major margins in the short run Collaborations with Luxury brands, singersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Own industries 40% is produced in Europe Major flexibility Major ability for growth 44,3% of cost upon sales New collection every 2 weeks Different Chains Major dynamism and growth in the long run Collaborations with new designers, actorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Moda Rapida, 2012) Customers in Portugal In all countries the customer do not have the same purchasing habits, how are the shopping habits of Portuguese young consumers? Factors that influence in clothing purchasing At the time of purchasing clothes, young consumer In Portugal prefers not to have anybody behind them asking all the time if they need any help, that is, they prefer to go to big stores and have a look for everything and then if they need any help ask to a staff although they think that are really impersonal places. They prefer to be free, they want to be comfort when they are shopping. Shopping Behaviour and the influence of others Portuguese young consumers prefer to go shopping alone for many different reasons: More freedom of movements: They like to go alone as they dont need to be all the time calling to the other persona come here, go there and so on. More independence in choice: Young consumers do not like to be influenced by anyone; they like to buy things without any other opinion, if they like it they would buy it without having anybody prejudicing them. Individual decision: As it is individual decision, nobody would be saying anything bad about the clothes. Purchasing choice criteria What are looking for the customers at the time of buying clothes? They based their purchase in some factors that finally are the ones that makes one to take the decision of buying one thing or another. Low Price Comfort Good Design Good Quality Brand Name Does not have any influence in purchasing criteria as nowadays almost all brands are equal. (Information sources and clothing,2012) (See appendix 13) Perceptual Map Low Quality High Price High Quality Low Price INDITEX CORTEFIEL MODALFA CA HM PRIMARK MANGO GAP In order to create the perceptual, I use my perception about the fashion brands in the world, that is, I collocated each of the company in the position that I perceive. As it cam be seen, in the same square we can find HM and Inditex, but for my point of view, although the price of it is more expensive, the quality is much better so that its positioning is greater than HMs one. Apart from this, it can be said that for young people, Cortefiel and Mango are so equal in the quality and in the prince and also GAP and CA although being so expensive, their quality is very high. Finally, as for the brands with the lowest quality, although their low price is so attractive for punctual occasions, customers prefer to buy in companies that offer them a major quality. Recommendation I really recommend HM to go to Portugal as it can offer many advantages to HM starting with its geographical location. Although the financial crisis is affecting many consumer, as HM has very low prices it can be a very good opportunity for the young people to get fashion clothes with their low income, so as nowadays the physical aspect is gaining importance, HM would find a very good opportunity in Portugal (About HM, 2012) Appendices Appendix: HM 1980/90 Stores open in Germany and Netherlands. Stores open in France, and the use of celebrities to the advertisements 1947 1977 1976 1974 1968 1964 1952 Sales of cosmetic started. First store opened outside Scandinavia, In London. Listed on the Stockholms Stock Exchange Hennes buy the fish store Mauritz Widforss, and the name is changed to Hennes and Mauritz. First store opened in a foreign country, in Norway. Hennes open in Stockholm First store open in Và ¤steras (Sweedem), with the name of Hennes 2012 Plan to open Bulgaria, Latvia, Malasya, Mexico and Thailand. 2011 HM open in Romania, Croacia and Singapore. 2010 First stores open in Soth korea and Turky. Monki goes to Asia, HM home open in Sweden. 2009 First store open in Russia and in Beijing. HM home is launched, Weekday and Monki open in Germany 2008 First store open in Tokyo. Adquisition of Weekday, Monki and Cheap Monday brands. 2007 First Asian store in Hong Kong and in Shanghai. Expansion of online sales. COS stores launched. 2006 Major expansion of online and catalogue sales 2004 Initiates designer collaborations with luxury brands 2000 Stores open in US, Spain and in many European countries. HMs presence all over the world HM world map.   Ã‚   300+ stores   Ã‚   200+ stores   Ã‚   100+ stores   Ã‚   50+ stores   Ã‚   20+ stores   Ã‚   10+ stores   Ã‚   1+ stores   Ã‚   Upcoming stores (HHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HM_world_map.svgHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HM_world_map.svgM world map, Wikipedia, 2012) HM Group HM as Inditex is completed by many different brands, that is, HM is group that is composed by some different brands: HM: It produces a broad and diverse range of fashion for men, women, youth and children, furthermore, it also sales cosmetic, accessories and products for home. COS It offers customers a combination of timelessness and distinctive trends, for both women and men. Monki: It is a very creative brand that offers to the customer the opportunity to express itself. Weekday: It offers urban fashion for men and women always at the best price. Cheap Monday: Cheap Monday combines influences from street fashion and subcultures with a catwalk vibe. HMs expansion strategy HM is so conscious at the time of opening new stores in other countries, that is, it thinks that the stores should make much stronger the brand and attract customer giving them the best shopping experience as possible. When HM is moving to a new country, so as to see if it would be profitable or not to enter in it analyses the political, economic, demographic, and infrastructural environment. It creates very modern stores in all the countries that it establishes its business so as to offer a great shopping time to the customer. Furthermore, it is working in making its stores much more ecological so as to save the world and do not damage it. HM is looking for a great expansion in the future; it is planning to open many new stores in many different countries, so as to create a very strong brand. HM SWOT analyses Strengths Brand recognition: Low Price and style: It has presence in al over the world and people know it because of the fashionable clothes that sales in a very cheap price Operational efficiency: As it has a great control in the logistic area, it is able to have low cost and maintain really good margins. Opportunities Untapped potential in emerging markets: As the lifestyle is changing everywhere, people is much more aware of its physical aspects, so that, the fashion is gaining presence. Internet retailing: The fashion industry is increasing every day, and nowadays with the help of internet they can growth in an incredible manner, it gave them a great opportunity to growth. Weaknesses Reliance on outsourcing: The reliance of Inditex products put HM in critical situation as Inditex appeals much more to customers. Modest presence in emerging markets: It a well-known brand in the whole world, but the major presence is only in Europe and in North America. Threats Non-food expansion of grocery retailers: Many supermarkets like Tesco, are thinking in competing in the clothe industry with HM. Fast fashion becoming more competitive: Its major competitor is Inditex, that also does fast fashion, but new competitors also are appearing very strong (Ryerson, 2009) Vertical Integration HM has a vertical integration strategy in which was pioneer establishing it some years ago. Due to this strategy, the company is now able to collect information about the sales and customers and use it in order to make a better strategy always so as to get more profits for the future and catch much more customer. (Europa.eu,2012) LCCP, GCCP or FCCP? In the case of HM, it can be said that this company is GCCP( Global Culture Cultural Positioning), as they are a multinational that they sale their self saying that the customer is part of the global family. Although they need to adapt maybe their strategy in each of different country, they sale their brand as a global company; actually all their products are the same in all countries, they offer the same products for the customers of different places, Being the part of the global family is the message that they are selling to the customers mind. Appendix: Internationalization Motives There are 2 kinds of motives that prompt the companies to internationalised, Proactive and Reactive motives. In the case of HM there some points inside those factors that do not have any sense, so only the main points are going to be explained. Proactive Motives Profit and growth goals All companies want to growth, and so as to get that the best option is to go abroad and establish their brand in new countries. This is one of the main reason why the companies want to internationalized, in order to become i and bigger and be well known in the whole work. Managerial urge It is a motivation that the managers of the business have; their motivation is to be part of a company that works all over the world. Foreign market opportunities/market information HM could see many opportunities to growth in foreign markets as is a company that have great presence all over the world. However, it is not established in all countries, so if it wants to become a bigger brand, it should observe what opportunities offered each country and see if it is profitable or not. Economies of scale-learning curve Being internationalized, offers HM the advantage of the economies of scale as it could produce high amount of clothes at the same time. (Hollensen, S., 2007) Reactive Motives Competitive pressure HM could be scared for example of the competitive pressure of Inditex as it has a great strategy that helps it to continue in the top level. If the company see that other brands are growing all over the world and that are gaining customers and getting profits, the no internationalised company also would want to get all that. So for that reason, HM would like to enter in more and more countries so as to be a great company. Domestic market: small and saturated HM was created in Sweden many years ago, but as the market was becoming so small to compete there, it decided to enter in new countries so as to growth its presence. Extend sales of seasonal products As maybe the demand in the home country is not very big and it does not give the opportunity for the company to get the desire profits, they would find new opportunities to get what they want in foreign countries. (Hollensen, S., 2007) Appendix: How to choose the target market? Targeting is the action of evaluating and comparing the different groups of consumers and chooses which is the most suitable for the company. Companies have to base their research in 3 points: Current segment and the growth: It will be enough profitable to the company to centre only in that segment? Competitive intensity and potential competition: If that segment has a great competition, it is suitable to enter in? Compatibility and feasibility: If that segment give problems to the companies, could another company catch them? (Keegan, W.J. and Schlegelmilch, B.B., 2001) When HM creates its brand he had surely been thinking about these points at the time of creating its designs. When the companies are creating their collections they must be thinking on the target market as they are the wanted customers and they should create those clothes that appeals to them. Appendix: Market selection Criteria Market Potential Here the company should analyse if the market satisfied completely the customer and also if the customers has the necessary ability to purchase the product that the old retailers offer them. (International market selection, 2004) Market Size: The companies need to observe how much of the market it can expect to could afford. Market growth: They have to observe how much have grown this sector in that country during all the years so as to know if they would find and increase or a decrease in the industry. Competitive Intensity: The Company have to make a great research relating with the competitors of the industry in that country so as to know in what position they are and how strong are the competitors. Entry Barrier: In all countries are entry barriers to foreign companies so as to protect the future of the home country industries. They should make many deals so as to finally get into a new market. Political Environment The government of a country affects a lot the business life because of the changing policies, regulations and laws. Furthermore, the government of each of the country is who choose which businesses will receive protection and which is going to face an open competition. Furthermore, the political stability of a country will affect the action that government will take, and finally that actions will have many influences in an enterprise. (Sirkeci, I. and Cawley, R., 2012) Economic Environment Nowadays the economy has change radically, due to that factor all countries are now potential targets for every company. When a company has to make research in global marketing, the economy dimension of the world is crucial as it has great influence in this point. (Keegan, W.J., Schelegelmilch, B.B., 2001) Demographic Structure The company should observe how has change the demographic in the objective country so as to control the evolution of the Target customer. Purchasing Power It has to know how is the purchasing power of the objective customer so as to know if they are going to get benefits or loses in that country. Infrastructure The retailer need to observe if the infrastructure of the country is good or not so as to build and factories in that country. The country must have strong infrastructure so as to build powerful companies, strong social, economic, aerialà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦infrastructure. Appendix: Philippines and Portugal So as to choose the most appropriate country to enter in, many things must be analysed as it can be seen in the paper. However, not only those shown points are important, there many other things like the GDP, unemployment rate, population, innovationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ that should be take into account when an enterprise want to be opened in that country. Philippines Population: 93,6millions GDB per capita: 2,007$ Infraestructure: 3,1 Macroeconomic environment: 5 Goods market efficiency: 4,1 Labor market efficiency: 3,9 Having a look to these different score between 1-7, it is clear that Portugal it is clear that Portugal is much more secure country to establish their company. Although the most relevant dates had been explained before in the pages, this also are very important at the time of choosing the country to enter in. so finally, Portugal is the country that will be analysed for the report. Financial market development: 4 Technological readiness: 4,6 Portugal Population: 10,7 millions GDP per capita: 21,559$ Infraestructure: 5,5 Macroeconomic environment: 4,2 Goods market efficiency: 4,3 Labor market efficiency: 3,8 Financial market development: 4 Technological readiness: 5,3 (The Global Competitiveness report, 2012-2013) Appendix: Portugal Political Environment Portugal has a constitutional republic and a parliamentary system in which a semi presidential regime is establish. The prime minister is elected every four years and is the person who led the government, furthermore, the president of the government is elected every five years. (Doing business in Portugal, 2012) Economic Environment There can find many industries that has established their main company in Portugal, for example, in the case of Inditex, it has one factory there as the production is cheaper than in Spain. But although been a developed and high income country, it has the lowest GDP in Western Europe, and besides, the population has the lowest purchasing power of the European Union. (Economic of Portugal, Wikipedia, 2012) Regulatory Environment The Law 18/2003 In Portugal is create to maintain a competitive economy, not to have an unfair competitive and so heavy one. The law prohibited the company to make agreements that would affect the competition between economic agents in national territory. In addition to this, the companies are not allowed to make a very aggressive competition so as not to affect the sector in that country. (Doing business in Portugal, 2012) Fashion industry Nowadays the textile industry in Portugal represents just under the 10% of outputs. The situation in Portugal is not the best, but the companies that are surviving are having great profits, so people is seen as an optimist market. Many different brands produce their clothes in Portugal like Fred Perry, Inditex, Paul Smith because of the process is not as expensive as in other European countries, , however, although the industry is surviving, all the companies has suffered losses during the financial crisis. Every type of industry are suffering now due to the 2008 financial crisis, in many countries many companies closed their factories, nevertheless, the textile industry in Portugal is growing up again so slowly but is growing, every brand are getting now profits, so for HM it could be a great opportunity as the industry is having good results nowadays. Besides, it must be said that HMs strategy is very similar to Inditex ones, its clothes are so cheap and finally a country that is s uffering a lot because of the crisis , population wants to have the opportunity to buy cheap fashionable clothes. Inditex is having great results in the country, so as HM prices are cheaper, why it would not get many profits? Portugal as I said, can offer HM many great advantages. (UK reuters, 2012) Barriers to enter in country There many barriers in all countries for different companies that wants to establish their brand there are (Hollensen, S., 2007): General Market Risks The main barriers are the great competitiveness that HM could find in Portugal, the different culture and language, because the Swedish and Portuguese people are so different at the time of working and also the language is totally different. In addition to this, it is no easy to find a new distributor in a foreign country, they should make alliances an all of that work so as to get a great position, and finally, it must be said that it is a very difficult work to adapt all the company for that new culture and make a great company overseas. Commercial Risks Although Portugal is in Europe too, there are always delays in the delivering of the export products or some damages in them. Beside this, there are always changes in rates and that could have a great influence in the cost of a company. Political Risks This subject is a little bit special; companies have to take caution as politics have great influences in all countries. HM have to take into account how is the law of the exports in Portugal, what type of restrictions have impose the government, the thoughts of the citizensà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Opportunities of entering in the Portugal Investing in Portugal it would give companies many advantages for many different reasons (Doing business in Portugal, 2012): Strategic access to market Due to the Portugal economic openness and also because of its strategic geographical position it can offer great opportunities to different companies between EU and also different markets. As it has relations with Brazil and is near Africa, it offers great advantages so as to make exports and imports. Cost competitive, qualified and flexible workforce The Portuguese employers are known for having great attitudes at the time of adapting their self to new technologies, strategies and so on. Excellent environment to live and work It is a country that offers the companies very secure areas and ensure the security for their production, and so on as it is very pacific place. Infrastructure As during the last year Portugal has made great investment so as to modernizing its communication infrastructures, it is great country to establish a company as it can be adapted very easily to the new technologies that the company will bring with it. Appendix: Competitors Market 5 forces Threats of New entrance Rivalry among existing competitors Threat of Substitute products or services Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers (Keegan, W.J. and Schlegelmilch, B.B., 2011) Referring to HM, although it is a great company, its major competitor is doing everything much better than HM does. HM it would be the new entrance in that country and of course all those competitors like Inditex, Cortefiel and so on would be threat of it as they would need to fight with one more company. However, knowing that new entrance, those companies may start making much more deals with the suppliers so as to have the ability to offer much better products and service to their customers and not to lose them. Finally, HM has a great positive factor to the consumers that could be a great advantage to its competitors. It makes many alliances with famous designers like Versace, Moschinoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ so as to create new collection that are attractive to young consumers as they feel with higher status. Inditex should be worry about that as luxury brands are so attractive to consumers, but if it continuous doing a hard work it will be as everywhere the winner of the sector also in P ortugal. Appendix: ASOS ASOS is an online beauty store that provides the customer many products of different brands in very cheap prices. That is, the consumer can buy in the same website clothes from many different brands like Adidas, Armani, Topshopà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ it sales hundreds of brands, thats why it became so attractive to the customer, because it can find in the same place clothes from everywhere. ASOS was created firstly in United Kingdom in 2000, but them while it was gaining presence in whole Britain; it started going abroad and gaining presence in many countries of Europe. After that, the market of US was prepared to ASOS arrival as everyone wants to have the opportunity to buy many brands product in the same place. (ASOS, 2012) Appendix: MOFALDA Modalfa is a Portuguese fashion brand that offer the customer very fashionable clothes in a cheap prices. In Portugal, as I explained before, it is a great competitor for HM as it offers the customer similar opportunities as HM do. (Modalfa, 2012) Appendix: CORTEFIEL Cortefiel is the first brand created by Cortefiel group in 1946, which offer the customer an elegant and comfortable style with very high quality. With this personal style, Spanish brand has open its road to many countries and it is very strong competitor for many other companies. Its target customer is based on men and women between 35-45 years, and although HM is addressed to young people, finally all consumers are important for every company. (Cortefiel, 2012) Appendix: CA CA is a fashion company that has presence in 20 different countries of Europe. People have a very good perception about CA, it offers 10000 different products in all the countries, and although its high prices, the products have very high quality, the clothes lasts for years so people do not mind to pay more for those clothes. (CA, 2012) Appendix: Inditex The Inditex group is the most powerfull competitor of HM and as it, has many different brands inside that are very famous and makes the more and more strong everyday: ZARA: Zara has presence in 85 countries and it has opened 1671 stores in the best places of the cities. For Zara there is no any limit, they want to be in all the countries of the world in the future, and due to its great strategy it can get it as it is opening new stores every day. Pull Bear: It was create in 1991 especially for young people as it has very juvenile style. Is it one of the most profitable brand in terms of Urban clothes as every young people go there to get urban style clothes. Massimo Dutti: It has 567 stores spread in 53 different countries. It offers Urban and casual styles both for men and women, its target market is based on men and women adults, thats why the growth of the prices and the change in the style comparing with other brands. Bershka: It was launched in 1998 and nowadays it has 839 stores in 63 different countries, and as it is known, it appeals basically to the young target market. Stradivarius: It produces clothes, accessories, shoesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and its clothes are combination of elegant and hippie clothes that appeal a lot for young people. Oysho: Oysho sells the latest fashion trends in womens lingerie and intimate apparel Zara Home: It is specialised in home decoration and linen things that attract so much to women because of it reasonable prices. Uterqà ¼e: It is the newest brand of Inditex and it is the most expensive brand of the group. (Inditex group, 2012) Zara is the most powerful brand of the group, is the main competitor of HM alone as I said. In the above image appear where Zara has its stores. (Zara targetmap, 2012) Appendix: Customers The culture in which the consumers have been grew up have many influences in the priorities that the customers give to different activities an

J.B.Priestley’s play, An Inspector Calls :: English Literature

An Inspector Calls Discuss the character of Sheila in â€Å"An Inspector Calls† Sheila Birling is the daughter of Mr Arthur Birling and Mrs Sybil Birling. She has a younger brother called Eric Birling. Sheila is in her early twenties and is in a high social class. However they are said to be â€Å"nouveux rishe† because her father wasn’t born into a wealthy family, he made his own way through life to be were he is. This, in a way, justifies the attitude and manners his children and himself. What I mean by this is that he hasnt got the sophisted vocabulary we would expect a man in his position would have. Sheila and Eric also seem to have this lack of â€Å"manners† and sophistecated vocabulary. â€Å"Dont be an ass† Sheila says this to Eric at the table. As we can see this is quite a modern vocabulary and not proper of a rich family.This contrasts grately with the behaviour and vacabulary of her mother. Sheila shows herself as an impressionable girl. She is willing to accept new ideas and concepts. She has an honest and attractive character and shows quite a different character than that of her parents. She is not so â€Å"cold-blooded†. This makes her able to change her attitude as the play progresses. I think Sheila represents two of the deadly sins. She represents envy in the shop where she went to buy the dress. She envied the way Eva looked in the dress. She also represents wrath (great anger).. Sh represents this mostly in her behaviour at Milwards. Sheila, before the inspector comes, is very immature and quite naà ¯ve as well.. She seems to say rather immature things especially to Eric using slang phrases such as â€Å"You’re squiffy†. This shows her little consciousness towards the power Gerald has over her. She doesn’t seem to realise that she is using slang vocabulary infront of her fiancà © which belongs to a high status family. Early in the play she shows herself to be a very dependent girl, looking to her parents for most decisions that need to be made. Her marriage to Gerald was a marriage of businesses, as well as love. I doubt Sheila saw this at the time, or just ignored this fact. Sheila is also quite a spoilt girl since she has everything she wants. This is shown in her attitude in Milwards. Here she shows that she relies on others and cares little for the lower classes. I think Priestly chooses to represent her like this at first so that we can realise the big change she makes as the play progresses.

Research Papers in Computer Science Essay

Since we recently announced our $10001 Binary Battle to promote applications built on the Mendeley API (now including PLoS as well), I decided to take a look at the data to see what people have to work with. My analysis focused on our second largest discipline, Computer Science. Biological Sciences (my discipline) is the largest, but I started with this one so that I could look at the data with fresh eyes, and also because it’s got some really cool papers to talk about. Here’s what I found: What I found was a fascinating list of topics, with many of the expected fundamental papers like Shannon’s Theory of Information and the Google paper, a strong showing from Mapreduce and machine learning, but also some interesting hints that augmented reality may be becoming more of an actual reality soon. The top graph summarizes the overall results of the analysis. This graph shows the Top 10 papers among those who have listed computer science as their discipline and chosen a subdiscipline. The bars are colored according to subdiscipline and the number of readers is shown on the x-axis. The bar graphs for each paper show the distribution of readership levels among subdisciplines. 17 of the 21 CS subdisciplines are represented and the axis scales and color schemes remain constant throughout. Click on any graph to explore it in more detail or to grab the raw data.(NB: A minority of Computer Scientists have listed a subdiscipline. I would encourage everyone to do so.) 1. Latent Dirichlet Allocation (available full-text) LDA is a means of classifying objects, such as documents, based on their underlying topics. I was surprised to see this paper as number one instead of Shannon’s information theory paper (#7) or the paper describing the concept that became Google (#3). It turns out that interest in this paper is very strong among those who list artificial intelligence as their subdiscipline. In fact, AI researchers contributed the majority of readership to 6 out of the top 10 papers. Presumably, those interested in popular topics such as machine learning list themselves under AI, which explains the strength of this subdiscipline, whereas papers like the Mapreduce one or the Google paper appeal to a broad range of subdisciplines, giving those papers a smaller numbers spread across more subdisciplines. Professor Blei is also a bit of a superstar, so that didn’t hurt. (the irony of a manually-categorized list with an LDA paper at the top has not escaped us) 2. MapReduce : Simplified Data Processing on Large Clusters (available full-text) It’s no surprise to see this in the Top 10 either, given the huge appeal of this parallelization technique for breaking down huge computations into easily executable and recombinable chunks. The importance of the monolithic â€Å"Big Iron† supercomputer has been on the wane for decades. The interesting thing about this paper is that had some of the lowest readership scores of the top papers within a subdiscipline, but folks from across the entire spectrum of computer science are reading it. This is perhaps expected for such a general purpose technique, but given the above it’s strange that there are no AI readers of this paper at all. 3. The Anatomy of a large-scale hypertextual search engine (available full-text) In this paper, Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page discuss how Google was created and how it initially worked. This is another paper that has high readership across a broad swath of disciplines, including AI, but wasn’t dominated by any one discipline. I would expect that the largest share of readers have it in their library mostly out of curiosity rather than direct relevance to their research. It’s a fascinating piece of history related to something that has now become part of our every day lives. 4. Distinctive Image Features from Scale-Invariant Keypoints This paper was new to me, although I’m sure it’s not new to many of you. This paper describes how to identify objects in a video stream without regard to how near or far away they are or how they’re oriented with respect to the camera. AI again drove the popularity of this paper in large part and to understand why, think â€Å"Augmented Realityâ€Å". AR is the futuristic idea most familiar to the average sci-fi enthusiast as Terminator-vision. Given the strong interest in the topic, AR could be closer than we think, but we’ll probably use it to layer Groupon deals over shops we pass by instead of building unstoppable fighting machines. 5. Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction (available full-text) This is another machine learning paper and its presence in the top 10 is primarily due to AI, with a small contribution from folks listing neural networks as their discipline, most likely due to the paper being published in IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks. Reinforcement learning is essentially a technique that borrows from biology, where the behavior of an intelligent agent is is controlled by the amount of positive stimuli, or reinforcement, it receives in an environment where there are many different interacting positive and negative stimuli. This is how we’ll teach the robots behaviors in a human fashion, before they rise up and destroy us. 6. Toward the next generation of recommender systems: a survey of the state-of-the-art and possible extensions (available full-text) Popular among AI and information retrieval researchers, this paper discusses recommendation algorithms and classifies them into collaborative, content-based, or hybrid. While I wouldn’t call this paper a groundbreaking event of the caliber of the Shannon paper above, I can certainly understand why it makes such a strong showing here. If you’re using Mendeley, you’re using both collaborative and content-based discovery methods! 7. A Mathematical Theory of Communication (available full-text) Now we’re back to more fundamental papers. I would really have expected this to be at least number 3 or 4, but the strong showing by the AI discipline for the machine learning papers in spots 1, 4, and 5 pushed it down. This paper discusses the theory of sending communications down a noisy channel and demonstrates a few key engineering parameters, such as entropy, which is the range of states of a given communication. It’s one of the more fundamental papers of computer science, founding the field of information theory and enabling the development of the very tubes through which you received this web page you’re reading now. It’s also the first place the word â€Å"bit†, short for binary digit, is found in the published literature. 8. The Semantic Web (available full-text) In The Semantic Web, Tim Berners-Lee, Sir Tim, the inventor of the World Wide Web, describes his vision for the web of the future. Now, 10 years later, it’s fascinating to look back though it and see on which points the web has delivered on its promise and how far away we still remain in so many others. This is different from the other papers above in that it’s a descriptive piece, not primary research as above, but still deserves it’s place in the list and readership will only grow as we get ever closer to his vision. 9. Convex Optimization (available full-text) This is a very popular book on a widely used optimization technique in signal processing. Convex optimization tries to find the provably optimal solution to an optimization problem, as opposed to a nearby maximum or minimum. While this seems like a highly specialized niche area, it’s of importance to machine learning and AI researchers, so it was able to pull in a nice readership on Mendeley. Professor Boyd has a very popular set of video classes at Stanford on the subject, which probably gave this a little boost, as well. The point here is that print publications aren’t the only way of communicating your ideas. Videos of techniques at SciVee or JoVE or recorded lectures (previously) can really help spread awareness of your research. 10. Object recognition from local scale-invariant features (available in full-text) This is another paper on the same topic as paper #4, and it’s by the same author. Looking across subdisciplines as we did here, it’s not surprising to see two related papers, of interest to the main driving discipline, appear twice. Adding the readers from this paper to the #4 paper would be enough to put it in the #2 spot, just below the LDA paper. Conclusions So what’s the moral of the story? Well, there are a few things to note. First of all, it shows that Mendeley readership data is good enough to reveal both papers of long-standing importance as well as interesting upcoming trends. Fun stuff can be done with this! How about a Mendeley leaderboard? You could grab the number of readers for each paper published by members of your group, and have some friendly competition to see who can get the most readers, month-over-month. Comparing yourself against others in terms of readers per paper could put a big smile on your face, or it could be a gentle nudge to get out to more conferences or maybe record a video of your technique for JoVE or Khan Academy or just Youtube. Another thing to note is that these results don’t necessarily mean that AI researchers are the most influential researchers or the most numerous, just the best at being accounted for. To make sure you’re counted properly, be sure you list your subdiscipline on your profile, or if you can’t find your exact one, pick the closest one, like the machine learning folks did with the AI subdiscipline. We recognize that almost everyone does interdisciplinary work these days. We’re working on a more flexible discipline assignment system, but for now, just pick your favorite one. These stats were derived from the entire readership history, so they do reflect a founder effect to some degree. Limiting the analysis to the past 3 months would probably reveal different trends and comparing month-to-month changes could reveal rising stars.

Free Essays on Education Of Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse has been a huge trend in violent victimization. Through out the last decade there has been extensive research on how and what sexual abuse is and how sexual abuse affects the minds of children. Child sexual abuse does not have one definite definition and can cause many disorders psychologically within the child’s mind. Through education of what sexual abuse is, what disorders the post-victimization causes, and how to prevent it, child sexual abuse cases will be lowered and parents and children will become more powerful with the knowledge that will encourage them to stand up to their perpetrator. Violence on children has become a societal problem. A very particular form of violence is child sexual abuse. According to the World Health Organization â€Å"violence prevention is a public health priority† (MWWR). When sexual abuse has been brought into a conversation, most people automatically think of the common definition of child sexual abuse, which is the unlawful sexual contact between adult and child. The National Center of Child Abuse and Neglect, child abuse consists of contact or interaction adult and child, although the perpetrator does not need to be above the age of eighteen, all the perpetrators have to be is older than the victim is, and in a position of power (Gordon, McConnell, Schroeder). Child sexual abuse can take many forms and does not have to be the unlawful sexual contact by a stranger, most people come to think of, and sexual abuse can be a gentle seduction by a trusted relative, to a violent rape by a stranger (Maltz). Sexual abuse also does not ne ed to be just rape; it can be being forced to pose for pornographic pictures, being prematurely exposed to pornography and being sexually harassed over the phone and the internet (Maltz). Sexual abuse can take many forms and be in many people. Knowing whether or not a person is a perpetrator, is what parents need to know to keep their child safe, and for the... Free Essays on Education Of Sexual Abuse Free Essays on Education Of Sexual Abuse Sexual abuse has been a huge trend in violent victimization. Through out the last decade there has been extensive research on how and what sexual abuse is and how sexual abuse affects the minds of children. Child sexual abuse does not have one definite definition and can cause many disorders psychologically within the child’s mind. Through education of what sexual abuse is, what disorders the post-victimization causes, and how to prevent it, child sexual abuse cases will be lowered and parents and children will become more powerful with the knowledge that will encourage them to stand up to their perpetrator. Violence on children has become a societal problem. A very particular form of violence is child sexual abuse. According to the World Health Organization â€Å"violence prevention is a public health priority† (MWWR). When sexual abuse has been brought into a conversation, most people automatically think of the common definition of child sexual abuse, which is the unlawful sexual contact between adult and child. The National Center of Child Abuse and Neglect, child abuse consists of contact or interaction adult and child, although the perpetrator does not need to be above the age of eighteen, all the perpetrators have to be is older than the victim is, and in a position of power (Gordon, McConnell, Schroeder). Child sexual abuse can take many forms and does not have to be the unlawful sexual contact by a stranger, most people come to think of, and sexual abuse can be a gentle seduction by a trusted relative, to a violent rape by a stranger (Maltz). Sexual abuse also does not ne ed to be just rape; it can be being forced to pose for pornographic pictures, being prematurely exposed to pornography and being sexually harassed over the phone and the internet (Maltz). Sexual abuse can take many forms and be in many people. Knowing whether or not a person is a perpetrator, is what parents need to know to keep their child safe, and for the...

Answers to Practice Questions before the Midterm ( Essays - Economy

Answers to Practice Questions before the Midterm ( Essays - Economy Answers to Practice Questions before the Midterm (MBAC 512) Prof. Silke Forbes Spring 2017 Multiple-Choice Questions 1 . The law of demand states that, holding all else constant: A. as price falls, demand will fall also. B. as price rises, demand will also rise. C. price has no effect on quantity demanded. D. as price falls, quantity demanded rises. 2 . An increase in the price of steak will probably lead to: A. an increase in demand for chicken. B. an increase in demand for steak. C. no change in the demand for steak or chicken. D. an increase in the supply of chicken. 3 . If A and B are complements, an increase in the price of good A would: A. have no effect on the quantity demanded of B. B. lead to an increase in demand for B. C. lead to a decrease in demand for B. D. none of the statements associated with this question are correct. 4 . Suppose both supply and demand decrease. What effect will this have on the market price? A. It will fall. B. It will rise. C. It may rise or fall. D. It will remain the same. 5 . Assume that the price elasticity of demand is -2 for a certain firm's product. If the firm raises price, the firm's manage rs can expect total revenue to: A. decrease. B. increase. C. remain constant. D. either increase or remain constant, depending upon the size of the price increase. 6 . One of the conditions under which market-based (third-degree) price discrimination is profitable is: A. ability to identify consumer types. B. inability to resell the good. C. differences in demand elasticities. D. All of the statements associated with this question are correct. 7. The own price elasticity of demand for apples is -1.2. If the price of apples falls by 5 percent, what will happen to the quantity of apples demanded? It will increase 5 percent. It will fall 4.3 percent. It will increase 4.2 percent. It will increase 6 percent. 8. If apples have an own price elasticity of -1.2 we know the demand is: unitary. indeterminate. elastic. inelastic. 9 . A consumer values a car at $525,000 and a producer values the same car at $485,000. If the transaction is completed at $510,000, the transaction will generate: No surplus. $25,000 worth of producer surplus and unknown amount of consumer surplus. $15,000 worth of consumer surplus and $25,000 of producer surplus. $25,000 worth of consumer surplus and unknown amount of producer surplus. 1 0 . The opportunity cost of an action: is equal to the marginal cost of an action. is equal to explicit cost. is equal to the value of next best alternative . is the total cost of an action 1 1 . If Average Variable Costs are equal to $5 and Average Fixed Costs are equal to $15, then the Average Total Costs are equal to: $10 $5 $15 $20 1 2 . Sarah's Machinery Company is deciding to dump their current technology A for a new technology B with small fixed costs but big marginal costs. The current technology has fixed costs of $500 and marginal costs of $50 whereas the new technology has fixed costs of $250 and marginal costs of $100. At what quantity is Sarah Machinery indifferent between two technologies? 5 6 7 8 1 3 . In 2011, Netflix raised prices on its DVDs and internet streaming plan. This decision could have been based on the following rationale: Netflix had become an industry leader thereby making the demand curve inelastic. Netflix had become an industry leader thereby making the demand curve elastic. Internet service, a complement to a Netflix subscription, had become more expensive. There are many substitutes to Netflix products. 1 4 . It costs a firm $80 per unit to produce product A and $50 per unit to produce product B individually. If the firm can produce both products together at $120 per unit of product A and B, this exhibits signs of Economies of scale. Economies of Scope. Diseconomies of Scale. Diseconomies of Scope. 15 . When there are economies of scale, per-unit costs increase as output increases. per-unit costs

The Law of Agency and the Power of Attorney Case Study

The Law of Agency and the Power of Attorney - Case Study Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that in the case of Francis Gagnon, Joan her daughter and Frank Gagnon the son, it is clear that Joan had the right and authority for the transfer of Shelburne property under her creation and control. First, once the power of Attorney has been signed, it holds and in the event of revocation, then the agent must be served with a copy of the signed revocation documents. In the case stated, it is evident that Francis Gagnon’s revocation was never told to Joan explicitly, and, therefore, the power of Attorney still holds. Secondly, according to the power of Attorney, any decision that an agent makes on behalf of the principle stands. Additionally, Frank Gagnon never incapacitated for any reason, to revoke the already signed power of Attorney. Based on such a perspective, it is sufficiently clear that the revocation of the power of attorney was unlawful. Since an agent should always act in place of the principle, the property had, therefore , be transferred to the trust, and, therefore, was the trust’s property.

Posing a problematic question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Posing a problematic question - Essay Example Putting up a home requires flat and leveled ground. According to the picture, the area in question does not hold this characteristic as it is on a steep area hence making it not suitable for human habitation. Other details in the picture are controversial to these assumptions. The leaves could indicate the possibility of trees growing in the area. Another feature is the landscape that is steep in nature. Trees and steep landscape are usually associated with high rainfall that is essential for human existence. The boy in the picture shows human existence in the area despite the harsh conditions surrounding the boy. The boys’ good health demonstrates that there could be possible measures put in place rendering the area harmless by use of mosquito nets to prevent malaria (Oberlender 10). The area in question has more advantages for human habitation than hindrances. In conclusion, we see that with intervention, this area is able to support conditions required for good and healthy living